THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF ACCULTURATION: Life Stories of Students from Rural Areas as they Acculture Themselves in the University of the Philippines Diliman
THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF ACCULTURATION: Life Stories of Students from Rural Areas as they Acculture Themselves in the University of the Philippines Diliman
Agonos, M.M., Cabuling M.J. (2015). The Lived experience of acculturation: Life stories of students from rural areas as they move to study in the University of the Philippines Diliman, Unpublished Undergraduate Thesis, University of the Philippines Diliman College of Mass Communication.
This study probes into the acculturation process that student migrants undergo as they move to study in the University of the Philippines Diliman. Acculturation is a continuous process of adaptation to a new culture upon separation from the culture of origin. Through life stories, the experiences of the student migrants regarding their integration into their new environment are explored. The language is one of the most pressing barriers that the migrants face for they strive to express themselves through languages that they are not accustomed to using. On the other hand, consumption of available mass media sources, organizations, and student groups were useful in the student migrant‘s management of the unfamiliar things that they are exposed to. Moreover, participation in the UP community‘s events and ceremonies draw the migrants into fellowship with the other members because these are where shared meanings are derived from. Despite acculturation being a continuous process, this study elucidates how student migrants can successfully adapt in their host community. Through looking at culture in a communication perspective, the success of message exchange is highly exemplified through the construction of a ―meaningful cultural world, which, for the purpose of the study, is the meaning of UP Life.
Keywords: Lived Experience, Migration, Acculturation, Student Migrants, Life Story