Good Example Of Cultural Background Essay

For my interview of a person from a different cultural background, I chose a woman named Jennifer Ridley, who was originally from Africa. I asked her a series of questions that probed her life, the culture of her home country, as well how she felt about current event issues. Ms. Ridley has lived a very interesting life.
It was important to learn about Ms. Ridley’s background before moving onto more specific questions. She was originally from Nigeria, and moved to America when she was nineteen years old because there was civil strife in her home country. She was fluent in English, though at home also learned French. She said that at her home her dad made her speak English because it was the language through which he saw best opportunities for her future. She came from a small village and there they also spoke an indigenous African language. Although she no longer knows the language, she mentioned how many of these languages are dying out. She hopes to one day learn these languages and teach them to her children. She was one of four children and has two older sisters and a younger brother, all of which now live in America.
The school she attended was one very similar to western styled schools. She learned science, mathematics and history. Christian missionaries from America started the school and, therefore, they also learned Christianity at their school. Religion was her favorite subject in school as well. She did not like science very much, but the stories of the Bible were always interesting to her and the missionaries working at her school were very kind. Her childhood sounded interesting, so I asked her to tell me more about it. She said that she lived in a middle class Nigerian home and her dad as a professor and her mom as a local receptionist made them have luxuries that many of their neighbors did not. They were one of the first people in her town to own a car. Every Sunday there was a market, in the center of town that she would go to. At this market there was everything from local fruits, newspapers, books and if you had money, foreign made appliances. She recalls fondly that twice a year her dad would let her pick out three dresses from the market and she would wear them proudly to church every Sunday.
Nigeria did not have much technology in the 1980’s. Televisions were not common, but everyone had radios. The radios would play government sponsored programs mainly, but her dad would often listen the news every night where they would tell about what happening internationally. He was always very interested in events in America because he wanted to move his family there. The electricity in Nigeria was spotty at times during her childhood. There were times when it would go out for a day or two, but she had access to most modern amenities in Nigeria.
Following her graduation from high school, she attended a government college for a year in order to get a civil service job before she decided to leave school and go to America. When she arrived in America she finished her bachelor degreee. She has since worked for a social services company trying to help young immigrants adjust to American life. Her experience of an American college was very different than she expected. According, to Ms. Ridley she did not enjoy her time in college because of all the partying.
After college, Ms. Ridley was married and since has three kids. Her husband is an African American who has since gone back to Nigeria with her to visit her aunts and uncles who still reside there. She has also taken her kids back to Nigeria because she feels that they must learn her culture. She hopes they come to love it, just as she does. At home, she currently has a pretty standard American house and eats differently than she did in Africa although she still loves tea. She also maintains some of the African styled clothing from her home country, such as colorful dresses and beautiful head wraps. Religion plays a very important role in her family. She was a Christian in Africa and finds that to be one of the principle reasons for her success in America. She is currently a Pentecostal Christian and goes to church every Sunday, making sure that her family goes with her. She also teaches a Sunday school class at her local church. Ms. Ridley says that some day she would like to go back to school to pursue her Master’s of Divinity and become a preacher at her church.
She did not want to talk about modern American politics, but she did give me her opinion on Obamacare. She has not signed up for it because she receives insurance through her job. She said that America’s health care is great but she is saddened that so many people go into crippling debt because health issues. She thinks that it is great that President Obama would try to extend health insurance to more people and believes everyone should have health care. I asked her about healthcare in her home country. She said they lacked many medicines and technologies that America has, however, no one was turned away because they did not have money and no one went into crippling debt for illnesses or injuries that they could not help. She told me some about the history of Nigerian society and government. For example, throughout the twentieth century, they underwent a series of violent episodes that brought warlord dictators to power. Nigeria was recovering from the perils of being a colonized country and following WWII was still trying to become a modern nation. Her dad, who was a professor at a Nigerian college, at one point lost his job for two years because he was critical of the government in many ways. The critical role government had in her own life at home was also the reason that she did not like politics, but she respected the American government a democracy, very much. She says that Nigeria is still currently struggling to form a democracy and she admires how America does it successfully.
Ms. Ridley was a wonderful person to talk to and her life story was very interesting. Her perspective on her religion and the thankfulness she felt for being in America was truly amazing and made me thankful for what I have. After talking to her, I now realize how important it is to take a more multi-cultural view, and I hope that one-day I can go to Africa and see the places she told me about.