Cross-Cultural Interview and Summary - Essay Example

Cross-Cultural Interview and Summary Essay

The United States is made up of people from different cultural backgrounds. Asians form part of this cultural diversity. Therefore, I was able to find an Asian man for this cross-cultural Interview and summary essay. He was a man, aged 29 years from India and who had lived in the US for over seven years. This meant that he had experienced the joy and challenges of living in the region in equal measures. He currently works as an App Developed at a Multinational Tech Company in California. This has forced him to reside in the city as it makes it easier for him to go to and from work. His name will not be mentioned for confidentiality reasons. As a result, he will only be identified as Mr. P, which is a pseudo name to hide his true identity. I chose someone from the Asian and Pacific Islander American (APIA) community because this is one of the fastest-growing communities in the United American Society.

First, let us have a brief history of the APIA community in the US. The number had risen to 11 million by 1999. This was roughly 4 percent of the entire American population. However, the number of Indians could not be compared to different Hispanic communities who were 11 percent and the African American community, which made up 12 percent of the entire American population in 1999. However, the APIA community still had a considerable number because they were immigrants from different parts of the world. To be specific, many people came from the Philippines, India, Japan, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Korea, Micronesia, Hawaii, Papua New Guinea, Pakistan, and Polynesia. Their numbers are expected to rise to 20 million by the end of 2020. Interestingly, most APIA community members live in California, which is another reason why they are the best community to approach when interviewing in the city.

It is clear that the APIA community is made of different nationalities. This means that their norms and beliefs vary based on nationality. Collectively, Indians have to get used to the weather in the United States, which happens to be slightly different from what they were used to in their respective countries. Some have had to battle with different health challenges due to the climatic changes in the region, as well as since they have to deal with different diseases that are unique to the American continent. I went into this Interview with all these challenges in mind. I desired to get as much information as possible regarding the issues that Asians face.

Many questions were formulated and asked during this Interview. The first question in the Interview was on demographics. I had to record his gender, age, level of education, and source of livelihood. The second was to understand more about cultural identity. I desired to know how my respondent identified culturally. The third was to know how my respondent got to the United States. I wanted to know if he was a refugee, immigrant, or if he came in as a slave. I also desired to know the experience he had when he first came to the US. Forth was to know if the APIA community had experienced any form of historical oppression as a minority group in the US. It would help if I knew the direct impact that this form of oppression had on my respondent. The fifth was to know if he had experienced racial discrimination due to his cultural identity. I wanted him to be specific; therefore, I was able to ask him to give me the specific forms of cultural discrimination he had experienced as well as how each affected him. The sixth question was on ambitions and expectations as he grew up into who he is today. I wanted to know he had any dreams and what exactly they were.

I had many other questions on my list. For instance, my seventh question was on relationships and other choices. I wanted to know whether he had many options in his selection of who to date or court. I also wanted to know whether he had an easy time accessing basic needs like housing or medical care. Eighth was to know if any or all his expectations were realized. If not, I wanted to understand the obstacles that made it impossible to accomplish those goals and expectations. The ninth question was on the misconceptions regarding APIA community members and the mindset that my respondent wishes that people would change about Asians and the Asian community. The tenth question was on the beautiful virtues inherent in Asians and members of the Asian community. I desired to know if there was anything specific worth admiring about the people and culture, based on my respondent’s perception. The last question was on the virtues that my respondent admired about members of his community. Finally, he was able to share anything else that was probably not covered in the questions asked once we were done with the questions. This was to get as much information as possible regarding Asian culture.

Here are the responses I was able to get for the Interview.

Mr. P was born in India and only migrated to the United States with his family at the age of 10. His parents believed that the United States would give them better opportunities based on the region’s levels of development compared to India. Mr. P continued with his education in the United States from where he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science. He is now 29 years old and works as an App Developer at a local Multinational Tech Company. He has to monitor or supervise the progress in all the locations within which the company has its branches. As a result, while he is a resident of San Francisco, Mr. P considers himself a migrant since his job requires him to travel to different regions on many occasions. As a result, there are months when he spends less time in San Francisco than in other cities in the United States. I was connected to Mr. P by a mutual friend who happens to be his colleague at the same company. I chose him for this assignment since I felt like he had experienced both Asian and American culture. I also realized that working in a multinational company had exposed him to more challenges and opportunities encountered when people with different cultural backgrounds meet. I met him at a restaurant as he had a casual chat with the relative who introduced me to him. I joined them, and that is when I learned a lot about him, picking him as the best fit for this task.

Through his trips, Mr. P had experienced different cultures, the main one being the American culture since he has been able to live in the United States for over seven years. However, he still feels comfortable identifying himself as an Asian than an American. This is because he appreciates his Indian culture since he believes that it is part of his identity. He believes that his Indian culture is what has made him into who he is today. He had seen this culture being practiced by his family and Asian relatives back from when they lived in Indian cities to the several years they have been in the United States. According to him, nothing much has changed in terms of his cultural and religious practices. For instance, he identifies himself with the Hindu religion, which he believes, is what makes him an Indian. Mr. P believes that other cultures have a direct impact on the lives of some of his community members. However, he still considers himself to be an Indian living among other non-Indian communities. According to him, there is no way he can be an American since everything he has known during his most defining stages of life has been about the Asian culture and the need to stick to it.

Mr. P came to the United States using an immigration Visa. He came together with his two brothers, one sister, mother, and father. However, coming to the United States was never an easy thing as they had to wait for years before they were finally granted the opportunity to visit and live in the United States. According to him, his parents had to be sure that this was the best decision for the entire family. The decision was filled with anxiety and uncertainty in equal measures. However, his parents finally decided after visiting the country on a few occasions using tourism visas. This is what informed their decision to apply and live in the United States as permanent residents. Fortunately, his parents were able to get travel documents successfully.

Mr. P states that he had been through oppression before. In fact, he believes that this is the same oppression that makes him, together with his family, to live Indian and travel to the United States. He told the story by giving me the history of British colonization in India. According to him, the British were united and treated those from India as second-class citizens in India, and exploited their resources, making it impossible for any ordinary Indian to succeed in the region. However, he believes that Mahatma Gandhi came in as a blessing as he was able to cause a revolution in the country. His was a message of peace and transformation. As a result, he, together with many other Asians, consider Gandhi as an icon to be remembered for as long as they live. When oppressed, Mr. P finds peace and hope when he remembers the life and accomplishments of Gandhi. According to him, this is the strength of a majority of Indians who would have probably loosed hope by now if they never had anyone to look up to amidst adversity.

Mr. P faced a lot of racial discrimination as he grew up in the US. He got belied for his appearance and lifestyle. By that time, he had not adopted any of the American lifestyles and was only beginning to learn about it. Some of his schoolmates thought he was too strange based on the texture of his hair, the color of his skin, and the appearance of his eyes. They mocked him both in class and out of school. He had to struggle with this situation as it was some form of culture shock. Surprisingly, he easily became friends with his Indian schoolmates more than he was with those from other communities. According to him, Indian friends never laughed or mocked him for any of his physical features. He also never received awkward questions about his appearance in his interactions with Indian schoolmates. It was a struggle that he had to deal with as he grew up. Regardless, he was able to continue with his studies. However, he later understood why people in the United States looked at him differently and had, over time, developed a coping mechanism to avoid the negative effects of such mockery from people.

On his ambitions, while growing up, Mr. P said that he dreamt of being a doctor. He desired to serve the less fortunate members of the society in whichever way he could. According to him, this is the true meaning of a responsible Hindu person. From a young age, they were taught to always be of help to the needy if they were ever blessed with better education and greater wealth. He was not able to picture the challenges he was likely to face in the course of his education. To him, riches and fame were never far from where he stood. They were within reach, and he thought he could get there without a struggle. However, he was wrong, as he later discovered, since he says that he is yet able to attract the riches and fame that he dreamed of. According to him, he is still an ordinary Asian American living a normal life.

Mr. P was not comfortable with the interview question regarding his dating life. He tried to dodge it before being bold and responding to it. He talked of how difficult it was to enter into relationships due to his looks. He says that this was one of the struggles of many Indians. He also had low self-esteem that made it hard for him to approach his female peers and propose something like a relationship. According to him, most girls rejected him even before he approached them only because he was different. However, he mostly blames his low self-esteem for his solitude while growing up. Regardless, Mr. P never has any limitations joining school since his parents were united and could afford to pay his fees. He also sees no limitations in access to healthcare or housing by Indians, especially by him, since he can sort all these out based on the salary he currently receives. He believes that the salary is high but not high enough to the levels he desires.

He believes that the most common misconceptions about Indians are that all of them own convenience stores. People never see them as being able to hold formal employments since they are mostly identified as only influential in the informal sector. However, he believes that people are misguided in this perception since Indians happen to be the best when it comes to technology or health. He wishes that the world was able to see India by its rich and admirable Hindu culture. This would make citizens of the United States appreciate Asian culture more than they currently do. Despite the high levels of discrimination against those from India and all people of Asian origin in general, Mr. P still appreciates being an Asian and an Indian since this allows him to experience the rich culture of India that others can’t. He also says that immigrants from India are more united in the US, which he appreciates as his support system.

From this Interview, I discover that discrimination is one of the main challenges that most Asians and other minority groups have to deal with. Most people are not able to live their full lives all because Indians are denied the opportunity to live, work, or study in the US based on their culture. Misconceptions cause some of these cases of discrimination about Asians, specifically those from India, and their way of life. A great change could be witnessed only if Indians and other people were all united and respected each other’s culture and created a conducive environment for growth. Hopefully, people will one day be united and live for a common goal. However, this seems to be a dream that might take forever to be achieved. These were the findings from my cross-cultural Interview and summary.