Communication Case

Background:

My cultural partner grew up in Empalme, Mexico until the age of six. Coming from a family of six children, her mother and father wanted more. She was smuggled across US borders twice in the trunk of her father's car. Raised Catholic their family had very strong beliefs and faith. Lupita and her family finally settled in Yakima, WA. with several other members of her family.

She joined the US Army when she graduated high school. Served two tours in Iraq, and met her husband. Her husband is my husband's cousin.

Cultural Differences

One basic precondition for individual intercultural competence is the need to allow one's attitudes to be challenged by recognizing that the other has the freedom and the right to be different, whatever one's own opinion is.

Both partners in the exchange are experts of their respective cultures and should treat each other with mutual respect.

The practitioner is responsible for the process. S/He has to enable the different experiences and viewpoints to be identified properly and related to the problem they are talking about.

Being non-judgemental. In communicating with a migrant, the practitioner has to be aware of the fact that they are making an interpretation of what is being communicated to them and that they will never have the full picture.[1]

Beliefs, Values, and Norms

Successfully communicating with people from another culture requires learning more than just their language. As defined by our book "culture is a learned set of shared interpretations about beliefs, values and norms which affect the behaviors of a relatively large group of people." Lupita and I grew up in two different households. But we were both made to attend school, get good grades, go to church on Sunday, and respect your elders.

A difference we had is she had to help raise her younger siblings. Both of her parents had to work full time jobs, and Lupita at the age of seven had to watch the other children. She said it was the toughest part of being a kid, was the fact she didn't get to be the "kid." She cooked and cleaned, made dishes for her other family members. She recalls her grandmother teaching her at the age of four to make tortillas and salsa.

I grew up with two older sisters, one younger. Both my parents worked as well but we were never left to fend for ourselves, we always had a sitter. I don't think I cooked my first meal till I was ten. Just because it wasn't a necessity for me to learn these things.

Lupita was Catholic and went to Wednesday/Sunday mass, she went to confession and pointed out the cross before her meals. I was brought up in a Christian home, went to Church on Sunday, bowed my head and said