Reflective Essay On Intercultural Interview

My cultural interview was with a coworker, 28 years of age and of Hispanic descent. While conducting the interview I learned a lot about the Hispanic culture. Many Hispanics like to be called Latino (a). Some do not like to be referred to as Mexican when they are from other countries other than Mexico. Hispanics also use slang within their culture just like African Americans. Within the culture the male is the dominant figure in the household. All the decisions that affect the family go through the father. If there is no father in the house, the oldest son fulfills that role. The older son may drop out of school so that they may assist the mother at the house in the absence of the father. Many Hispanics

For the intercultural interview, I decided to interview my friend Medelyn, a 19 year old female of Honduran and Mexican descent. During the interview, I focused on her Honduran culture, as she was born in Honduras, I asked her a multitude of various questions ranging from formalities in her culture to gender roles to classism in her culture.. The interview lasted about twenty minutes, I asked her about fifteen questions, and after she answered each question there would be a small discussion about her answer. When interviewing Medelyn, it was important to rid myself of any ethnocentrism, assumed cultural similarity or differences, stereotyping, and anything that could create a bias and compromise the interview.

Culture is defined as the boundary between different people from different ends of the earth. For my project I had to interview another person from a different culture. This was difficult for me because I had no idea where to start because I didn’t know what made my culture specific to me. I found my interview subject relatively fast and I sat down and asked the questions. I found my subject from my boss I interviewed my bosses boyfriends sister and we went at it.

I interviewed Durward “Durk” Lynch he is in my field of interest where I want to work as one day. He is a Nurse Practitioner at the Vanden Bosh Clinic and at the College Clinic. He gave information on his background and what drove him to be a Nurse Practitioner (NP). He really has had a lot of experience, as I will explain to you what he has shared.

In this Ethnographic paper, I will be interviewing and discussing the differences between my culture and that of another. My culture consists of two-parts, one being Puerto Rican and the other being Caucasian. I will be interviewing my best friend’s mother Cristina Carlesso Dager, who is from Venezuela. South American culture consists of many influences due to the arrival of the Europeans; Europeans cultures brought a mix of Spanish, Portuguese, and French creating what we know today as Latin America. This paper will highlight key topics discussed in class like kinship, political and social organization, food, clothing, religion, etc. From this interview, I want to gain a new-found knowledge of what is like to be from a different culture then my own. I will interview Mrs. Dager with no bias and will cover every subject to my capability. I am interested in discovering the differences between our cultures, so that I can be aware of this diverse world that I live in.

In sixteen years of life, I have received an opportunity to experience different cultures, learning styles, and languages. To start of, I am an American since I was born here, but the reality is that I was raised in India. My parents’ main motivation for moving back to India was because they wanted us to embrace our traditions, and most importantly, value our family relationships. We relocated back to the US at the start of 9th grade. This transition was a huge factor for transforming me as a person. I am cognizant of the two systems, cherish both, and realize that these multicultural experiences have encouraged me to grow and mature beyond my years. Relocating from a place is not as easy as one can imagine. When compared to the US, India

Mexican culture is colorful and rich, enriched with pride and heritage. Family values and strong moral constitution have sustained the culture for hundreds of years. I have had the pleasure to interact and consort with the Mexican culture most of my life in the business that I'm in. Dedication and hard work are the stables that bound the stigma of the Mexican culture. Being that I truly honor the culture I have chosen a friend of mine that I work with to perform my interview upon. My interviewee is Maria Dimas; she was born in Cancun Mexico but has lived most of her life in the United States.

I chose Ashli Foster for someone who has been a leader and a role model in my life. I asked her questions about people in her life, her motivations, and her experiences. After interviewing her, I discovered that we have a lot more in common than I knew! It was nice to talk to someone who knew who I could relate to so easily on so many topics.

I interviewed Lori Reed, Owner and Principal Creative at Reed Creative, LLC, through email. We discussed what a typical day in the life of a graphic designer is like. Before her current position she worked as a freelance graphic designer.

The person I interviewed is my co-worker Kris. She's a very nice person. Kris was born in West Haven in the USA. When she married, she moved to Hamden. She has two different jobs. She has been working as a waitress at the French restaurant in Branford sins 2005, and she has been working as bookkeeper at Dental Clinic in Hamden sins 2000. Now Kris lives in a big apartment in Hamden. Also, she has 3 dogs: 2 adult dogs and 1 puppy. She loves them very much. Her hobby is to care about her dogs.

Lisa Nolting, Iowa State University’s Dining Dietitian, is someone I consider a leader. I decided to interview Lisa because I have gotten to know Lisa pretty well since I have a dairy allergy and I get to see her pretty often. Lisa is a very honest and respectable person, not to mention a very motivated individual in her day to day life. I picked Lisa to interview because I already knew Lisa pretty well and it wouldn’t be awkward like it probably would have been if I interviewed someone I didn’t know. Plus, I can relate more during the interview since I have a food allergy and constantly going to the special diet kitchen. That is why I picked Lisa to interview about leadership styles and learn what she values as a leader.

Humans have been communicating since four million years. On the other hand, the birth of culture is estimated to have taken place about 35,000 years ago. Today, both culture and communication have evolved considerably and have become interdependent of one another, to the point that communication is considered to be a product of culture. Thus, our own culture has a deep impact on our thoughts and behaviors. Since each culture has its distinct aspects, intercultural communication can be the cause of conflict and disorder. There are three main issues which are at the root of the problem of intercultural miscommunication : language as a barrier, cultural diversity and ethnocentrism. I will analyze

My face to face interview was by far the best interview I have ever done in my life. Kellie Stallings is such an incredible and genuine person. Through this interview I learned so much about staying true to myself while helping others reach their goal. During this interview I was intrigued the entire time. When she was in high school, she was dead set on being a physical therapist which I found ironic because in high school, I was sure I was going to do the same thing. She volunteered at different facilities and rehab around town and while helping she began to see social workers help patients and she instantly knew she wanted to change lives. She saw how the Social worker helped an amputee farmer. The social worker helped him find resources and ways to still do his job and what he loved. Stallings stated “I loved how the social worker helped him emotionally while he was dealing with something physically”(Stallings) .When she told me that I was truly in shock because I had never thought in that way before. I realized social workers definitely have to deal with every single thing the person goes through. I will have to reach my client mentally and emotionally. The thing she said that affected me the most was “when working in this profession, it is important to have a strong sense of self.”(Stallings) She went on to tell me that in this profession, I have to set boundaries or I will get burnt out. In this field I have to stick to my values and never lose sight of myself or who

Over the course of this semester, I have had to opportunity to study Italy and get an insight of what Italy’s culture is all about. In Italy they have a collectivistic society because of their socioeconomics, demographics, history, and communication styles. In this paper I will address what I need to change and embrace to communicate effectively in Italy.

About 20 years ago, it was impossible to imagine that the world will become global. Cultural extension has appeared with the blurring of frames, and different cultures can freely interact with each other. A breakthrough in technology spawned the special role of intercultural communication. Today intercultural communication is an important part of everyday life. Every day on TV or in the Internet we have seen the development of relations between different countries. However, in most cases they couldn’t find a compromise on foreign policy. Why did it happen? Because each nation has its own value orientation. As a rule, they rarely coincide with each other, thereby they are creating the insuperable obstacles to make a dialogue. The thaw in intercultural communication is possible when people can study the identity of specific cultures and correct understand historical and political genetic code.