Essay On Haitian American Culture

On the journey to become culturally competent, one must be able to immerse his or her self behind the lenses of another person’s eyes. Performing an interview to assess a culture lush in heritage, yet burdened with injustice, provided valuable insight in appreciating the Haitian Americans. Haiti is a gem, located among many islands in the beautiful Caribbean Sea. Haitians have weathered instability and chaos but are strong and resilient. Although Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western part of the world, the cultural roots of Haitians are rich in traditions. I had the pleasure of working with a Haitian American at my place of employment and was granted the opportunity to interview my previous co-worker and friend. This paper will discuss the interview, present her Haitian heritage, and distinguish preconceived notions about the Haitian culture.
Description of Person and Cultural Heritage
I was honored to interview my previous co-worker and
Skin and eye color are various shades of brown to black. V.C. states that some Haitians are tall and dark while other may be short; there are no physical distinctions. According to Giger (2013), the “true” Haitian has a large, long and narrow face with slight eyebrow ridges, square orbits with wide eyes, flattened nasal bones with wide nostrils, wide cheeks, full lips, and a wide forehead. Haitians have a diet consisting of dried turkey, rice, beans, chicken, bananas, pork chops, cassava which is hot fish or vegetables, cashews, meat pies, or charbroiled pork (Brown, 2010). V.C. explains that rice and beans are huge aspects of the Haitian diet and many Haitians are diabetic or have other health issues. Haitian food is made cheaply but eaten all the time, so it is very hard for them to adhere to a special diet because the cultural food choices are very restrictive (V. Calixte, personal communication, November 23,