By: isabel gentil garcía

Double direction of linguistic and cultural learning

Not only are immigrants exposed to another language and cultural form, but natives are as well. A Moroccan woman, who works in domestic service, comes to the Center with the son of the family for whom she works. This woman has taken care of the same boy since he was two-months-old; the boy is now seven-years-old. She, who has spent many hours with the boy because the parents have jobs which force them to travel much, has spoken to him in Arabic since he was an infant until today. Today, the boy speaks Arabic fluently, but he does not know how to write it so he now attends Arabic writing classes for immigrants.

Language and culture are interlaced. To know a new language is to know a new culture because language inherently reflects and transmits cultural components. The boy of my last example has not only been acquiring the Arabic language, but also Arabic ways of thinking and being. For example, the boy likes Moroccan food very much. The cultural cross-referencing has multiple open routes. It is important to recognize the existence of the double direction of cultural learning.

Health education

As a nurse, I believed I was prepared to carry out health education at the Center; but when the health messages are not directed to a middle-class with bad nutrition habits –such as the over-consumption of calories and fats— it is necessary to face another totally different reality, which is that of immigrants and their circumstances. In the face of this different reality, the apparently solid formation as a health educator can lead to failure. For example, the adherence to a nutritious food diagram is necessary to conserve good health, protecting us from disease. In order to prevent osteoporosis in women –a ubiquitous public health problem in our society– we have to insist, among other objectives, on the importance of the calcium intake. I was commenting with menopausal immigrant women the importance of drinking milk to keep healthy bones. After listening kindly one said:

A liter of milk is 0.60 € per day, 5 € per week, 20 € per month for milk only for me: I cannot. There are five mouths to feed here, and seven in Morocco. If I buy milk, my family does not eat.”

The pragmatic reality of subsistence imposes upon the knowledge of disease prevention. On the other hand, the pragmatism of metaphorically considering “mouths” instead of the relatives who depend on her and her husband reflects the meaning of immigration for her; to satisfy the most fundamental necessity of survival: eating.

On another occasion, while I was speaking on the importance of eating foods like fruits, meat, and fish, I observed that they listened to the explanations very kindly. After the silence which followed my explanation, I requested that they comment something. One breaks the silence and says, “Those things are good for you, who have a house and a job. We do not have a house; we do not have a job. We immigrants have problems.” Another one said, “I eat in one day, seven slices of bread and tea.” He asked the man beside him, “And you?” That man replied, “I am just as my cousin: bread is cheap.” The fact carbohydrates constitute a high percentage of their diets is not bad, considering that their jobs require physical effort. Carbohydrates are their dietary staple, but they need other nutrients to maintain good health. Immigrants’ diet directly correlates with the economic and social conditions they face.