AMERICAN INFLUENCE

America has a huge influence above Europe, in some countries more than others.

It influences our life style, our culture and our eating habits.

The most powerful influence it comes from music, movies and entertainment series, especialy in Portugal that we think that everything that comes from outside of our country, for instance from the USA, is better than anything that is made inside our country or it only is good if it's a copy of what is made by them, when the major artist and music from north america it is influence by other cultures like: jazz, blues and hip hop influence of the african comunity.

Other big influence from the USA is the food, particularly, fast food, for instance restaurants like McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut, KFC.

Cultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture. It is opposed to affirmative philosophy (for example, multiculturalism) which recognizes and works to maintain differences.

The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. New customs and attitudes are acquired through contact and communication. The transfer of customs is not simply a one-way process. Each group of immigrants contributes some of its own cultural traits to its new society. Assimilation usually involves a gradual change and takes place in varying degrees; full assimilation occurs when new members of a society become indistinguishable from older members.

Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g. schools, businesses, neighborhoods, cities or nations. In this sense multiculturalism approximates to respect for ethnic diversity.

When we talk about cultural integration we talk about an ideia to combine different cultures, but the result of this doesn't necessarily mean that the minority has to adquire everything that belongs to the other culture.

In the USA, continuous mass immigration has been a feature of economy and society since the 19th century. Multiculturalism has become an issue for businesses as non-white people address how to meet the needs of a workforce that is increasingly more diverse but not that doesn't always understand the differences that occur between cultures.

Immigrants contribute to the american culture and development by starting their own business related with their culture for example places like Chinatown or Little Italy.

African Americans have lagged behind whites and other ethnic groups for centuries and the gap just keeps on getting bigger. With President Barack Obama in the White House maybe it will change. Only the fact of American citizens electing Barack Obama for president shows a change of mentality of the people.

The USA history

It is not definitively known how or when the Native Americans first settled the Americas.

British were the first to colonize America. After a period of exploration by people from various European countries, Spanish, Dutch, English, French, Swedish, and Portuguese settlements were established. Between 1776 and 1789, the United States became an independent country, creating and ratifying its new constitution, and establishing the federal government. The Americans declared independence on July 4, 1776.

"What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable."

“Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder.”

Gap Year

A gap year is constructive time out - it can be anywhere, anytime, doing anything. You could be building a school in Chile, doing some work experience, basking on a beach in Fiji or simply working for a year to save enough money for university or a new house - or even taking time out to change your career. It is about living life to the full and realising that there is a world of opportunity out there just waiting to be explored.

In the UK a 'gap year' was traditionally viewed as the activity of taking time out before university. The word on the street was that it involved travel for the wealthy few and pretty much nothing for the rest of us. Nowadays, however, all sorts of people are taking ‘gaps’, doing a thousand different things. A gap year is now one of the most talked about phenomena of this millennium. With the baby-boomer generation fast approaching retirement, globalisation changing the nature of society and young people now heading into a life of 'portfolio careers', taking time out is now seen as a positive, rather than a negative thing.

Advantages:

- have time to think about their career

- find different aspects of life

- work and save some money

- meet different people and know diverse cultures

- personal development

- you get a chance to know the world outside school and to seek out adventure
- you gain maturity, self-confidence and self-esteem

Disadvantages:

- lose contact with some people

- lose study habits

- it may be expensive unless you are paid for your work

When I grow up...