Running head: THE LIFE OF A BI-CULTURAL

The Life of a Bi-cultural

University of South Florida

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Introduction of Informant
The informant was born in the United States and she is 19 years old right now.
She has lived in the United States her whole life. However, her first language is Spanish
because that is what she was spoken to as a child first. She later learned English because
her mother is Non-Hispanic White and her father is a mixture of Cuban and Dominican.
As she has gotten older and since her parents have divorced, she has embraced both sides
of her culture. Therefore, I thought it would be interesting to interview someone that has
a mixture of different cultures and to find out what it was like for her growing up.
Cultural Questions
1. Describe yourself as a preschool child. Were you compliant, curious,
adventuresome, goody-goody, physically active, nature loving?
a. I was an active, rambunctious child, who was a bit bratty at times.
2. What was the knowledge environment like in your home?
a. I had two older siblings who helped teach me a lot, and my mom was
really active in helping me learn what was necessary for my age.
3. What kind of a grade-school pupil were you?
a. I was interactive and relatively smart in class.
4. What is your ethnic group?
a. I am Hispanic and White.
5. What was your experience with ethnic diversity?
a. I went to private schools so they were relatively diverse, I had some
friends who were Spanish, Black, and Indian, although most were white.
6. What contact do you have now with people of dissimilar racial or ethnic
backgrounds?
a. I have many friends of different races and backgrounds in my life and in
my school and workplace.
7. What is your definition of culture? (Cultural Interview Questions)

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a. My definition of culture is a way of life and traditions surrounding a group

of people whether it be ethnically connected or connected another way.
8. How do you define family? (Cultural Interview Questions)
a. Family is the people closest to you who love you whether bound by blood
or not.
9. Who holds the most status in your family? Why? (Cultural Interview Questions)
a. I don't think one person in my family holds more status than the rest. We
consider each other equals.
10. How do you define success? (Cultural Interview Questions)
a. Being happy, healthy, and loving the life you live.
11. Do you consider your parents to be successful? (Cultural Interview Questions)
a. Yes.
12. How important is education in your family? (Cultural Interview Questions)
a. Education is one of the most important things in my house and my family.
13. Is punctuality important to you? Why or why not? (Cultural Interview Questions)
a. Punctuality is super important to me. I was raised that if you are not five
minutes early, you are late. Being punctual in my family is connected with
respect for the people you might be meeting and what you are doing.
14. What is the most important meal of the day? (Cultural Interview Questions)
a. In my house we tend to think dinner is the most important meal.
15. Did you ever live with your grandparents or extended family? (Cultural Interview
Questions)
a. No I did not.
16. Do you actively participate in an organized religion? (Cultural Interview
Questions)
a. Yes I do.
17. How important is religion in your family? Why? (Cultural Interview Questions)
a. Religion is very important to me and my family. I was raised going to
private Christian schools and church frequently. We believe God put us
here for a purpose and we want to do all we can to fulfill that purpose.
18. If religion is important in your family, do you plan to pass this on to your
children? Why or why not? (Cultural Interview Questions)
a. Yes I do because it was so important to me growing up and I want my
children to grow up having a close relationship with God. I want them to

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be well rounded individuals and I feel like growing up knowing God

helps.
19. Do you have any specific eating habits/rituals that are specific to your culture?
(Cultural Interview Questions)
a. My fathers Cuban and Dominican side of the family always have our
traditional meals for any family gathering that includes, rice, beans,
plantains, pork, flan, and many others.
20. Define and describe the most important (or most celebrated) holiday of your
culture. (Cultural Interview Questions)
a. Christmas! We love this holiday not only for its religious meaning but also
because it brings all of us close together no matter how far apart we had
been throughout the year, when we meet up for Christmas it is like nothing
changed.
Cultural Self-Analysis
1. Describe yourself as a preschool child. Were you compliant, curious,
adventuresome, goody-goody, physically active, nature loving?
a. I was a compliant, goody-goody preschool child.
2. What was the knowledge environment like in your home?
a. The knowledge environment in my home was very much centered on
gaining as much knowledge as you can. Knowledge is everything and that
is something that nobody can take away from you.
3. What kind of a grade-school pupil were you?
a. The kind of grade-school pupil that I was would have been the same type
of preschool child I was. It always listened to my teachers and I always
completed all of my assignments.
4. What is your ethnic group?
a. My ethnic group is Non-Hispanic White
5. What was your experience with ethnic diversity?

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a. My experience with ethnic diversity started when I was in elementary

school. I grew up in a rural farming town that consisted of many Hispanic
people. The whole town was either Non-Hispanic White or Hispanic and
that is it.
6. What contact do you have now with people of dissimilar racial or ethnic
backgrounds?
a. Now I have some contact with people of different ethnic backgrounds. My
best friend is a half and half so, she has a lot of spunk that I was not used
to at first, but I became acclimated to it. I was working for eight months at
my old elementary school where there was numerous Hispanic students
present. One of my co-workers was Hispanic and the other was African
American and Non-Hispanic White.
7. What is your definition of culture? (Cultural Interview Questions)
a. My definition of culture is the customs you were raised with. I do not
think it has specifically to do with your family, but it definitely starts there
because when you are little those are the only people you are around. Then
as you become an adult your culture shifts and changes in your life.
8. How do you define family? (Cultural Interview Questions)
a. Family are the people that are there for you through the toughest times in
your life and stick with you through it all; whether it is blood relatives or
people that you are just extremely close with.
9. Who holds the most status in your family? Why? (Cultural Interview Questions)
a. The person that holds the most status in my family is my father. He is the
breadwinner of the family and he holds the highest degree. He has done a
lot for our family. However, with that being said he encourages me to go
to college and receive a degree so that I can survive on my own without
depending on a man.
10. How do you define success? (Cultural Interview Questions)

THE LIFE OF A BI-CULTURAL

a. I define success as working hard and earning what you deserve. I do not
think you get anywhere in life successfully without hard work and
dedication.
11. Do you consider your parents to be successful? (Cultural Interview Questions)
a. My parents are extremely successful to me and I look up to them very
much.
12. How important is education in your family? (Cultural Interview Questions)
a. Education is the most important thing in my family. At first my family did
not know anything about college and then my dad decided to go one day
and everything has changed since then.
13. Is punctuality important to you? Why or why not? (Cultural Interview Questions)
a. Punctuality is important to me. I think it shows respect for the person(s)
you are meeting.
14. What is the most important meal of the day? (Cultural Interview Questions)
a. The most important meal of the day is breakfast. It gets you ready for the
day and prepares your mind for what is ahead.
15. Did you ever live with your grandparents or extended family? (Cultural Interview
Questions)
a. I have never lived with my grandparents or extended family.
16. Do you actively participate in an organized religion? (Cultural Interview
Questions)
a. I do not actively participate in an organized religion.
17. How important is religion in your family? Why? (Cultural Interview Questions)
a. Religion is extremely important in my family even though we do not
actively go to church. It is important because it sets great guidelines for
life and makes one want to become and be a better person.
18. If religion is important in your family, do you plan to pass this on to your
children? Why or why not? (Cultural Interview Questions)
a. I do plan to pass this on to my children. I want my children to understand
morals and consequences. I want them to understand how to live life as a
good person and I think religion has wonderful guidelines for the type of

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person I hope my children become. However, when they become older it

is their choice to continue with religion or leave it.
19. Do you have any specific eating habits/rituals that are specific to your culture?
(Cultural Interview Questions)
a. I typically have Sunday breakfast and/or dinner with my family. I have
just always been taught that Sundays are reserved for hard work and
family time.
20. Define and describe the most important (or most celebrated) holiday of your
culture. (Cultural Interview Questions)
a. The most important holiday in my culture is Christmas. It is the most
important because it brings my families together to celebrate a central
idea. I have always been a big believer in loving ones family so, I think
the whole Christmas season is the start of that for many people. Even if
they do not think that way, all year long this one season can make others
appreciate each other and love each other.
Conclusion
I think it was important for me, as a future teacher, to interview someone that has
a mixed culture because this is something that is becoming very prominent in our society.
Moreover, sometimes these people do not know whom to identify with because they are
not a part of one specific ethnic group. After interviewing the informant, I learned that
her culture is completely different from mine and she is even half-white. However,
having her fathers culture play a heavy influence in her life at a small age had made it
her first identifiable culture. As her parents divorced, she took on some of her mothers
American ways. And now as an adult she is a mesh of both cultures and developing her
own culture every single day that she will one day pass on to her own children. From

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answering the questions myself, I discovered my own culture in a new way that I had not
seen before. I can now see how my culture heavily influences my teaching philosophy.
However, as my teaching philosophy will change my culture will change as well because
I live in the United States and I am constantly exposed to different peoples cultures.
Which is why the United States is considered a big melting pot of different cultures,
races, and ethnicities.

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References
Cultural Interview Questions. (n.d.). Retrieved from San Jose State University:
https://www.google.com/url?
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%2Flinda.levine%2Fcourses
%2FHRTM111%2Fs1%2FCultural_Intervxw_Questions.doc&usg=AFQjCNGLwzexhZ
VZRlEuc_1F3MnR7