Interview Phase Two

Interview Phase Two

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Interview Phase Two

The name of the interviewee is X Williams he is from a mixed background. Jamaican Guyanese because his parents trace their ancestry to these two countries. The father, Gary Williams was born in Kingston, Jamaica and didn’t move to Canada until he was 12 to follow his mother who had immigrated earlier. While the mother, Sandra Welch was born in Toronto to Guyanese parents who had immigrated to Canada in 1961.Both of these families moved in search of greener pastures.

There are different cultures in this family for instance William’s father’s cultures is a combination of collectivist and individualistic culture where one is supposed to put the harmony and interests of the entire community above personal ambitions but at the same time young people are also encouraged to find something to do and become all they can be.

On the other hand Williams’ mother’s family place much more emphasis on accomplishing personal goals although one is expected to show respect to the elders. William’s father Gary who moved to Canada at 12 has been assimilated by the Canadian culture so much so that he can’t speak his native Patois any more but his mother has accommodate the changes of living in Canada she still speaks Patois to friends. The same can be said of William’s mom’s family have also accommodated the Canadian culture and that is why they speak Creole only when they are home.

There are similarities in the social status factors of both families of William’s. That is; on his fathers and mother’s side they all place strong emphasis on academic excellence for their children. They want their children to do well in school and make up for the poor education that they have. Because having a good education is the best way that help to propel one up the economic ladder.

Value orientation in the family is a drawn from the religion that is families practice and in this case it is Christianity. William’s Mother who is of Guyanese background they are catholic while Williams’ father family are predominantly Protestants though there are element of Afro-Christian religious practices that some of his family member practice. Overall the family draws their values on right and wrong and issues of morality such as sexuality from their religion. The main language of communication for both families both Jamaican and the Guyanese is English though they have other native languages that they speak at home (Smith,1984). For instance, William’s grandmother speaks Patois with black friends and acquaintances but not as frequently as she speaks English while his grandparents on his mother’s side also use Creole while at home.

Jamaican and Guyanese societies are very hugely stratified one along the basis of color an ethnicity and of course that has something to do with the colonial history of the two nations but the same cannot be said of the William’s family .Perhaps having stayed in Canada and exposed to different cultures and people of various ethnic backgrounds you can tell that they are very accommodating and tolerant of ethnic diversities of people that they interact with.

Some of the native Caribbean foods such as Jamaican brown stew chicken, steam cabbage and rice and Jamaican pumpkin soup are loved and preferred ( Smith,1984). But foods from the Canadian culture have been incorporated like burgers, pork chops, mashed potatoes, fries etc. There are many recreation activities in the Caribbean some of which immigrants move with them to new countries and territories. For instance, the Williams’ family love water sports such as swimming, fishing and scuba diving. Though they have other recreation activities such as athletics and ball games but the water sports are by far the most popular.

Reference

Smith, M.G. (1984) Culture, Class and Race in the Commonwealth Caribbean, Kingston: Department of Extra-Mural Studies, University of the West Indies.