Module 4: Interview Paper

Olivia Guida

Arizona State University

OGL 350: Diversity in Organizations

Professor Hirshorn

June 11, 2023

Introduction

Conducting a formal interview with a person from a different culture allowed me to gain

a better understanding of different behaviors, attitudes, and customs that differ from my own.

Exposing yourself to the realities of different cultures can not only further develop your

perspectives, but also increase your cultural awareness and competence. For this assignment, I

interviewed my friend's mom, Christina Caragao, who has a Filipino ethnicity and identifies

strongly with her culture. I found that there are many differences in Filipino culture compared to

my own, however, I also found that there were many similar components. Even though she grew

up in America, her family had strong Filipino values that she passed down to her own family.

What was particularly interesting was to see how her Filipino customs integrated with the

American culture. I have learned that cultures do not have to be individual, separate entities, but

can be shared and integrated. Gaining more insights on Filipino culture through research has

allowed me to explore different meanings and perspectives that differ from my own which has

deepened my cultural awareness.

Familial Differences

From the information I have gathered, family is a very strong value in Filipino culture.

According to Christina, family is supposed to be a close-knit unit that comprises her immediate

family as well as her extended family. In her exact words, she believes family consists of “parts

that make a whole.” When there are celebrations, it includes not only the immediate family such

as parents and siblings, but it also includes the extended family such as grandparents, uncles,

aunts and cousins. Our family dynamic greatly differs as most of my family gatherings include

my immediate family. Most of my extended family are scattered across the U.S which I believe

has to do with our individualistic culture. Americans tend to be more independent due to the
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United States' individualistic culture (Kim, H. S., Sherman, D. K , Ko, D., and Taylor, S. E.,

2006). Conversely, Asian Americans are more interdependent who consider themselves to be

connected to others which is based on their collectivist culture (Kim, H. S., Sherman, D. K , Ko,

D., and Taylor, S. E., 2006). The Philippines is a very collectivistic country as most of Southeast

Asia is which explains why the concept of family is much different than mine. Christina also

believes that the most respectful action within her culture is to take care of your elders which

correlates to the strong familial sense Filipino’s obtain. I have learned that despite our differences

in our collectivist and individualistic nature, our concept of family may differ, but it doesn’t

make it any less important.

Holidays and Customs

When asked what holiday is most celebrated in the Filipino culture, Christina said there is

a huge emphasis on Christmas especially in her family. Christmas is celebrated with the entire

family present including extended family and friends. Typically, her and her family conduct

family festivities on Christmas Eve which includes opening presents on Christmas Eve morning

with immediate family and having a large celebration in the evening with extended family.

According to Flavors of Asia, celebrations normally include singers, dancers, and other

entertainment to help children enjoy Christmas (Harris, P. L., 1994). Similarly, the Caragao

household holds a big Christmas Eve party annually, filled with amazing Filipino food, loud

music, and competitive games for both children and adults to enjoy. Even though she doesn’t hire

singers or dancers, she still puts on a huge event to celebrate the holiday with the people closest

to her. I have been able to go to one of her Christmas Eve parties and they have tables filled with

food and many games to participate in, such as, Left Right Center and a gift exchange. Going

from my quiet family who has a nice sit down dinner to a loud family allowed me to see the
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differences within our cultures. Since I do not have an extended family who celebrates Chirstams

with us, our celebration normally consists of 3 to 5 people which is vastly different from

Christina’s celebration which consists of 20 to 30 people. Not only do they celebrate Christmas

but they also celebrate Easter, New Year’s, and Fourth of July, etc. I noticed that we celebrate the

same holidays but just in different ways which is one of the ways our cultures integrate.

Eating Habits

Just like family, food is another staple to the Filipino culture. As I already mentioned,

celebrations tend to have a lot of food both native to the ethnicity as well as some outside the

culture. Christina and her family tend to have homemade Filipino food regularly, but consistently

at celebrations. One of the dishes she makes regularly is a soup called Sinigang which is a very

savory dish that consists of green vegetables, pork, and rice. Christina and her husband also

make a lot of beef with various spices that lean towards the savory and salty side. What I have

learned is that most of their meals include a very specific type of rice which is Jasmine rice. Rice

is a very traditional food that is a staple to Filipino cuisine (Filipino Reporter, 2005). Even for

breakfast, rice is still included, whether it's paired with eggs or bacon. During celebrations, other

Filipino food consists of marinated beef or pork, Pancit, Lumpia, and of course, rice. According

to Introduction to Filipino Cuisine, Filipino food is familiar yet exotic with ranging flavors from

Malaysia, China, and Spain (Filipino Reporter, 2005). I have had the pleasure of having Filipino

food and it is delicious and very different from the food I typically have. Within my culture, we

do not have specific dishes we make for each event like Christina’s family does. No matter the

event whether it is Christmas, Easter or a Graduation party, there will be Pancit and rice. It has

been interesting to see how different foods hold a different level of importance to different
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cultures. By becoming more educated on Filipino culture, I have learned that our everyday

cuisines and traditions are vastly different from my own.

Misconceptions

Unconscious bias may lead to irrational prejudices and misconceptions about a specific

culture that is unalike your own. Christina says that there have been many misconceptions about

the Filipino culture and ethnicity that she has personally dealt with. She believes that one major

misconception about being Filipino is that many automatically view her as an academic scholar

which she says is a common stereotype. Christina also felt very excluded in school due to her

common stereotypes and her Filipino ethnicity. She did not go into very much detail about her

experiences with discrimination, but she certainly has felt marginalized within her environment.

She also said that many confuse her Filipino heritage with other Asian groups. However, by

learning more about her culture I have learned that there are some clear differences. According to

a journal article explaining marginalization within the Filipino community, Filipino Americans

are very different compared to other Asian groups because they share different values and beliefs

(Del Mundo, J.L, 2015). Filipinos also have different racial backgrounds compared to other

Asian groups as they have Asian, Latino, and European descent that other Asian groups do not

(Del Mundo, J.L, 2015). In my own experience, I have never experienced any type of

discrimination based on my ethnic culture which is something that differs between cultures.

Despite her experiences with discrimination, she still has powerful cultural pride that she was

proud to share with me.

Conclusion

Researching another culture through another person’s perspectives and experiences not

only granted me exposure to the Filipino culture, but it also allowed me to gain a better
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understanding of the cultural differences between her culture and mine. I was able to learn that

there are many cultures besides Filipino that differ in traditions and customs. I was also able to

learn about the different ways of celebrating holidays that I also celebrate with my own family.

Learning about Filipino eating habits as well as other Filipino dishes inspired me to continually

expose myself to new flavors and dishes. I also believe that I was able to connect with my

interviewee by simply wanting to listen and educate myself on her culture which is something I

will take with me in the future. I believe that educating yourself on different cultures will help

you create more personal connections with the people around you. Also, education on different

cultures can help you better empathize with other people by understanding their identity. Even

though I still have a lot to learn about the Filipino culture, I believe I learned quite a few insights

I can apply to my own life. Overall, I believe that I learned a lot about a different culture based

on my research which has sparked an interest to continuously learn and immerse myself in

different cultures.

References

Del Mundo, J. L. (2015). The impacts of racism, marginalization, and discrimination on

perceptions of self in others: The case of second generation Filipino American women

(Order No. 3689753). Available from Ethnic NewsWatch. (1677543959).

http://login.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-these

s/impacts-racism-marginalization-discrimination-on/docview/1677543959/se-2
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Kim, H. S., Sherman, D. K., Ko, D., & Taylor, S. E. (2006). Pursuit of Comfort and Pursuit of

Harmony: Culture, Relationships, and Social Support Seeking. Personality and Social

Psychology Bulletin, 32(12), 1595-1607. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167206291991

Harris, P. L. (1994, Dec 14). Flavors of Asia: Christmas Begins in the Philippines. Asian Pages

http://login.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/flavors

-asia-christmas-begins-philippines/docview/195839480/se-2

Introduction to Filipino cuisine. (2005, Jan 06). Filipino Reporter

http://login.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/introd

uction-filipino-cuisine/docview/368118803/se-2

Appendix

This paper consists of the information gathered from the responses of the questions I asked

within a formal interview which include:

a. What is your cultural and/or ethnic background?

b. How do you define “family?”

c. Do you have any eating habits/rituals that are specific to your culture?

d. Do you eat foods that are indigenous to your culture? Why or why not? If you answered

yes, name some of the foods that you eat. If you answered no, what types of foods do

you eat?

e. What are your holidays and traditions?

f. Define and describe the most important (or most celebrated) holiday of your culture.

What are some of your cultural customs?

g. What is considered most respectful and/or disrespectful in your culture?

h. What would you say is, from your perspective, the most commonly held misconception

about people of your culture?

i. Have you ever felt excluded based on your gender or culture?