Oral Interview

 The world is made up of numerous cultures, which thrive off of the existence of others  differences. To embrace these differences is to gain a whole new understanding of the world around us. Through intercultural communication, we are able to bridge the gap between cultures and develop into a more aware society and learn to appreciate the world that we share. For this reason, I have chosen to interview the one and only Mrs. Denise Porcaro. Through her life experiences and culture ups and downs, I will be able to view the world through her lens and demonstrate the importance of our culture differences and how to build better intercultural communications.

 As noted earlier, I have interviewed Mrs. Denise Porcaro, better known as Denise. Denise is my next door neighbor and recently moved here to Italy with her husband Lawrence and daughter Gabriella. She is driven and has experienced many obstacles during her life, thus far. What honestly captivated me about Denise is that she is so willing to offer a helping hand to anyone in need. Within the short time of knowing Denise, it is obvious that through communicating with her that she is a woman with a great background. In the article, Overcoming Intercultural Communication Barriers, Hulbert explains when people communicate the use of their verbal and nonverbal to relay information, but also explains how this communication is highly influenced by our background experiences and cultures (Hulbert, 1994, p. 1).  It is as though her cultural background has molded her into a woman with a servant heart. Her husband is quite the opposite and it is fascinating to see how their clear differences strengthened her as an individual.

Initially, Denise thought her life wasn’t very interesting because there was no sob back story, but her story is proving to be fascinating. It provides a sense of hope on the outlook of life and how we as individuals mold our intercultural communication skills. She stands about 5’5 and wears glasses, is 40 years old, and her culture is a Mexican female. According to Jandt, a culture is a group that is big enough to “self-sustain” and one that is large enough to continue on in the future (Jandt, 2013, p. 6). To Denise, being a Mexican-American is an honor and something that she enjoys sharing with not only her family, but the world as well. It is fascinating to learn how the two have helped Denise grow, being Mexican and American. In the article, The Mexican American Biculturalism Scale: Bicultural Comfort, Facility, and Advantages for Adolescents and Adults, the author had this to same about the concept of Biculturalism: “biculturalism defines it as a psychological construct that characterizes the degree to which individuals have internalized aspects of two cultures in terms of their identity, behavior, beliefs, attitudes, values…” (Basilio, 2014, p. 540). As we continued our interview, it was apparent that Denise had found a way to balance her being Mexican with that of being an American. She noted that she “loved the differences, but felt the expectations of each needed to be compromised.” When asked about her native language Spanish Denise expressed how she was unable to speak the language but explained, “I am able to understand the language fully.”

Denise is very outgoing and has a bubbly personality. Denise enjoys cooking and relaxing, but has recently become proactive in the Red Cross volunteer community on base. “I find that the Red Cross provides me with the opportunity to meet new people and get acquainted where ever I move” said Denise. Although we share many differences, we can also relate through our military affiliations and marriages, but from quite different perspectives.

            There are numerous sub-cultures that Mrs. Porcaro identifies with, these would include being a Texan, mother, military brat and spouse, and a Catholic. From these subcultures, Denise was able to build upon her values, norms, and rules for being within her surrounding society (Jandt, 2013, p.8). She has developed a sense of Texas pride, claiming the state to be one of great heritage within the United States. She shared the following about her association with the military, “the military has always been a huge part of my life, my father was a major in the Army and my other uncle had designed and created the seats use for ejection in the space shuttles.” On top of her vast history with the military, Denise still thrives today as a military spouse to her loving husband. These subcultures have helped her to build a stronger sense of loyalty and independence throughout life. Most of all these have helped her appreciate and value other cultures and more sensitive when communicating.

            Her earliest memory was growing up in San Antonio, Texas. She has two older brothers and grew up and a single story home at the end of a cul da sac. Her parents were high school sweethearts. Mrs. Porcaro explained how her family moved around a lot within the United States and both Europe, due to her father being in the military, but they eventually moved back to Texas, after her father was sent to Vietnam. From what was gathered during the interview, Denise grew up in a predominantly Mexican neighborhood and was not exposed to any racial bigotry at all. She was surrounded by family members that taught her to respect the differences in culture and to always remain loving and helpful to others. Denise said, “I never really experienced any racism, but knew that it existed.” She noted how she remembers very little, but definitely recalls the lack of ignorance that she had to deal with.

            Although Denise recalls very little from her experiences during her childhood, she did express how she spent most of her time enjoying family and friends. She explained that, “to Mexicans, family is everything.” She would listen to family members speak Spanish and share in learning the importance of cooking a “good” meal. Denise shared how even though her experience was not one of despair, this diverse outlook on life has helped her develop into the woman that she is.

            When asked about the aspects of her life like during her childhood, Denise had this to say, “My life was like any other child’s life, I suppose. I grew up an area that was more suburban and went to a relatively nice school with lots of Mexican students.” With regards to this portion of her life, Denise and I shared loads of similarities. She would walk to school and noted that although her home was small, her family was well off. Denise explained “with my dad being in the military, we were taught to be more accepting and respectful during our childhood.”

            For the most part, Denise’s experience with the dominant culture was a positive one. As mentioned earlier, Denise was not subject to harsh ridicule or pointed out as someone different from society. She knew that she was Mexican, but also appreciated what she could learn from others. This is however, where the interview took a turn. For most of her life, Denise had not experience any trouble with the dominant culture, that is, until she met her husband Lawrence. “Most of the racial slurs or comments that I have encountered, have all come from Lawrence.” Her husband was raised in Brooklyn, New York. He is a Sicilian mix, but grew up quite definitely from Denise. His family is very introverted and simply put up with one another. His mother would share racial comments to about his Mexican wife. Lawrence would use racial jokes that he was accustom to hearing, although unaware that his wife did not share the same outlook. In the article, Editorial: Race, Ethnicity, and Intercultural Communication, Hirji states, “Comedians who incorporate race and ethnicity into their acts can be alternately popular and offensive” (Hirji, 2009, p. 544). Although intentions were well, the culture difference between Lawrence and Denise made it difficult to find mutual ground. Based on ethnocentrism in his own, a negative outlook on another culture, when compared to own (Jandt, 2013, p. 83), Lawrence and Denise had to adapt to the life that they have today and learn to understand the values of their youth differently. He was used to this humor because he grew up in a culture that thrived off of racism. This was the first time that Denise ever had to deal with this kind of drastic difference. This hurdle made for an interesting barrier with Denise and her husband’s family. She said, “It used to make me feel uneasy, but I learned to accept that I can only be who I was raised to be and I love my husband regardless. Nowadays, we simply find the humor in the whole barrier thing.”

            When we think of the media, we think of mass influence however, for Denise the media play a pretty insignificant role in shaping her views on culture. Although, she was highly perspective to the media’s depiction of beautiful women and how the media placed Caucasian women on a pedestal. Denise commented stating, “I did notice how the media did not have a whole lot of Mexicans, but it never really bothered me.” For the most part, Denise felt as though the media demonstrated to her what the average women to act, feel, and look like. She noted how race was never truly an issue, but did mention that she felt the media “fed into stereotypes.” As an adult, Denise was able to recognize the potential media had for connecting cultures. According to the article, The Impact of New Media on Intercultural Communication in Global Context, Chen claims that, “With its distinctive and unique nature, new media has brought human interaction and society to a highly interconnected and complex level”(Chen, 2012, p. 2). Denise states how today we utilize Facebook and twitter, which allows us easy access to information and other people around the world.  Although the media has negative aspects associated with it, the media has developed into a method in which to strength our intercultural communication with others. Due to the fact that Denise had limited exposure to media related materials, Denise gained most of her thought pattern from first hand experiences.

            In the United States today, Denise shared that her diet has significantly changed. She used to be more into Mexican dishes, but learned the importance of a healthy lifestyle and that she is no longer 20 years old. She enjoys television and the Internet more due to the overabundance throughout America. She shared, “Times are nothing like they use to be, but we adapt. That is a part of life.” Denise does not feel that her family customs as dramatically changed, although she notices that she is more lenient with her own children today.

                        Based on the experiences in her life, Denise has adapted the mentality to live each day, one at a time. She places her family above anything else in the world. Denise is a woman that has devoted her life to going above and beyond. He values consists of taking care of others. She volunteers her time to organizations that promote diversity. Subconsciously, Denise has developed a similar mindset to that of Martin Luther King Jr., “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” (usconstitution.com). Denise does not see the world in black and white because that is not how she was raised. Without hesitation, Mrs. Porcaro strives to develop her own perception of those she allows into her life. There is much to be gained from changing how we view the world and the cultures that make up this land and Denise has molded her life around this notion.

            Although Denise has experienced many differences in her life, she has not let what she has experienced hinder her ability to learn from the world around her. This interview has proven to be highly insightful and a great learning experience. Before this interview, I assumed that due to her background Denise was exposed too much racism and I did not expect that her upbringing would have led to such an astounding woman. From this interview, it is clear that Denise values the importance of life and culture differences due to her family life and military affiliation. Where she is today is because of who she chose to become. This has molded her into being more effective in her intercultural communications.

References:

Basilio, C., Knight, G., O’Donnell, M., Roosa, M., Gonzales, N., Umana-Taylor, A., & Torres, M. (2014). The Mexican American Biculturalism Scale: Bicultural Comfort, Facility, and Advantages for Adolescents and Adults. Psychological Assessment, 26(2), 539-554. DOI: 10.1037/a003591.

Chen, G. (2012). The impact of new media on intercultural communication in global context.  China Media Research, 8(2), 1-10. Retrieved from database: Communication & Mass Media Complete

Hirji, F., Karim, K, H. (2009). Editorial: race, ethnicity, and intercultural communication. Canadian journal of Communications, 34(4), 543-546. Retrieved from database: Communication & Mass Media Complete.

Hulbert, E, J. (1994). Overcoming Intercultural Communication Barriers. Bulletin of the Association for Business Communication, 57(1), 41-44. Retrieved from database: Communication & Mass Media Complete.

Jandt, F.E. (2013). An introduction to intercultural communication: Identities in a global community (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Mount, S. (2010). The I have a dream speech. Retrieved from http://www.usconstitution.net/dream.html.