M.

EvanSon

OGL 350 Diversity and Organizations

Interview – Ria Crowley

I interviewed Ria Crowley, nee Vicinae. She is not only my friend, but also my sister-in-law. Ria

immigrated to the U.S. sixteen years ago from the Philippines as a teacher. She describes her

cultural identity as Asian, although throughout our conversation she also mentioned Spanish

influences in the culture. She told me that Filipino culture has been heavily influenced by

centuries of conquer and occupation by Spain, China, Japan, and the U.S. As Ria put it -"we

were conquered by Spain for three hundred years."

Ria's native language is Tagalog, and her second language is English. This is common in the

Philippines and most Filipinos are bilingual. Ria explains that school, work, and business are

conducted in English and schools encourage English proficiency. The country has eight major

dialects and designates Tagalog based Filipino and English as the official languages (CIA, n.d.).

Ria did not indicate a specific meal as the most important, rather she mentioned a food. Typical

of an Asian culture, the most important food is rice, and it is eaten at every meal. Ria states it is

eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Ria grew up in Manila and mentioned that she did

not eat exotic foods that are consumed in the more remote area, such as insects. She said that

Filipinos eat meals at specific times and start preparing meals at specific times. They always ate

lunch at noon and would start preparing for lunch at ten thirty. She had to adjust to the American

practice of just eating when hungry.

Filipino cuisine is a fusion of the many cultures that occupied the country including Chinese,

Spanish, and American. Some typical dishes are spring rolls called lumpia, noodles, adobo, and
skewered barbeque. Lumpia is Chinese in origin (Malaysia, 2021) whereas the term adobo is

derived from the Spanish word adovar which means to marinade (Zulu, 2019). Ria was quick to

explain that the Filipino barbeque is not what we think of here. It is not pulled pork; it is

skewered meat cooked over flames. (I have had Ria's lumpia and can confirm they are delicious.)

Food is important to her family, and they love to gather, cook, and eat. When they would get

together it was a big party including extended family and friends. Family is important in the

Filipino culture, and it often includes trusted and close non-relatives who are treated like family

(Fancia, 2001). Lasting from noon to midnight, they are making and eating food the whole time.

Several times during our conversation Ria mentioned poverty in the Philippines. She explained

that it is a third-word country and there is persistent poverty in some regions. Research from

World Population Review shows the Philippines are a historically third-world country and now

considered a developing country (World Population Review, 2021). Yet, when Ria left home in

2005 the Philippines were a third-world country. The Asian Development Bank determined that

two of the reasons for poverty in the Philippines is lack of educational attainment and

unmanaged population growth (ADB, 2009). Wealth inequality among social groups is another

factor as well as local corruption (Jennings, 2019). In some of the rural areas poverty rates are as

high as 75% (CIA, n.d.).

Ria grew up in Manila where her father is a respected photographer and journalist (retired). They

could be considered part of the small urban middle class in the city. Even so, Ria never had

health insurance until she started teaching in the U.S. She told me that when she or her siblings

were sick as a child, her parents would take them to the doctor and pay for the cost of visits and

treatment themselves. There is no mandatory health insurance or socialized healthcare. This was
all true at the time Ria lived in the Philippines; however, all Filipinos are now eligible for

healthcare through Philippine Health Insurance Corporation's PhilHealth program (PHIC, 2014).

The Philippine nation is considered a democratic country electing a President, Vice-President,

and members of a bicameral congress through popular vote (CIA, n.d.). This fledgling

democracy has had a rocky history. Most notably, President Ferdinand Marcos nearly bankrupted

the country by using government money to fund an extravagant lifestyle. His successor, Corazon

Aquino struggled to gain control over political infighting and was subject to no less than seven

coup attempts (Fancia, 2001). According to Ria, current President Duterte does not like the U.S.

even though most Filipinos love the U.S.

Education is prioritized by Filipinos, says Ria, as they know it is important to getting a job or

attain higher pay and the ability to move to urban areas. There are no student loans and parents

usually fund college educations, just as hers did. According to Ria, those who have only a high

school degree or a few years of college can obtain lower paid work at call centers, which is a

growing industry. Even this is a step up for people from rural regions who go directly to work

after high school to aid in the financial support of their family.

Interestingly, she told me that the University of Santo Tomas, where she graduated college is the

only university that offers Spanish classes, all others prioritizing English over other languages.

She told me this university was founded in 1611 by Thomasite missionaries and remains rooted

in the Catholic faith. The dominant religion is Roman Catholic, with 80% of the population

ascribing to the faith (CIA, n.d.).

As we spoke about her arrival in the U.S., she shared her experiences with discrimination and

stereotyping. Her first job was on the Whiteriver Apache Reservation in Arizona. Ria
experienced double culture shock in the beginning, adjusting to American culture and Apache

culture all at once. When she started working, she was continually questioned about her

education, licensing, and qualifications by other teachers and native Apache, even though she

had been hired and vetted. This was very frustrating; she came to this country as a professional

and was professionally qualified for the job. People indicated that she was only a visitor or that

she only took the job on the reservation to get a green card. She said that people often think

Filipino women only come to America to get money or get married, not to be Americans. Ria

faced some of this scrutiny when she started dating my brother-in-law. She was self-conscious

about the stereotype of being a mail-order bride and felt that people were always looking at her.

Funny stories she told me related to American greetings and salutations. It is unusual in the

Philippines to say "good morning" or "hi" to everyone. She thought it was strange to have to say

it to each person every day. Then she had to learn about "see you later". Once after a gathering, a

person said, "see you later" and she was left wondering when they had made plans to see each

other later that day.

One custom that Ria spoke fondly of was the custom of blessing your elders. Filipinos are raised

to revere and respect elders and will greet them with a hand to their forehead to bless them. They

are also addressed as sir and ma'am as a sign of respect. A person's boss or superior is also called

sir or ma'am out of respect. When she started working here, she called her boss sir and he said

not to because it makes him feel old and she should just use his first name. This would not

happen in the Philippines, as using a superiors first name is disrespectful (Fancia, 2001).

Ria is now an American citizen. When she decided to marry and remain permanently in the U.S.,

she knew she would need to adapt. Sometimes she prepares traditional Filipino dishes, but her

kids do not like most of them and they do not eat rice three times a day. Mealtimes are not
strictly scheduled, and they eat when they are hungry. When she took the kids to Manila for a

visit, they asked why people put their hands on old people's foreheads. They now live in

Tennessee, which has its own unique culture and where sir and ma'am are used more out of

politeness than reverence. Before she came to the U.S. she thought of America as a single culture

and now knows that each state/region is different. She is happily raising American kids and still

adjusting to American life.

 References

ADB. (2009, December). Poverty in the Philippines: Causes, Constraints and Opportunities. Retrieved

from adb.org: https://www.adb.org/publications/poverty-philippines-causes-constraints-and-

opportunities

CIA. (n.d.). CIA Factbook: Phillipines. Retrieved from cia.gov: https://www.cia.gov/the-world-

factbook/countries/philippines/#people-and-society

Fancia, L. H. (2001). Passport Philippines. Novato, CA : World Trade Press.

Jennings, R. (2019, July 29). Poverty in Philippines, High for Asia, Falls as Economy Strengthens.

Retrieved from voanews.com: https://www.voanews.com/economy-business/poverty-philippines-

high-asia-falls-economy-strengthens

Malaysia, R. (2021). LUMPIA (FILIPINO SPRING ROLLS). Retrieved from rasamalaysia.com:

https://rasamalaysia.com/lumpia-filipino-spring-rolls-recipe/

PHIC. (2014). History. Retrieved from philhealth.gov:

https://www.philhealth.gov.ph/about_us/history.php

World Population Review. (2021). Third World Countries 2021. Retrieved from

worldpopulationreview.com: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/third-world-

countries

Zulu, M. (2019, May 1). What Is the Difference Between Mexican and Filipino Adobo? . Retrieved from

chowhound.com: https://www.chowhound.com/food-news/191932/what-is-the-difference-

between-mexican-and-filipino-adobo/
 Appendix 1
Interview Questions

1. What is your cultural and/or ethnic background?

2. What is the primary language spoken in your family? Any foreign language speakers?

3. What is the most important meal of the day?

4. What foods are indigenous to your culture? Do you prepare/eat these foods regularly?

5. What kind of government system do they have in your country of origin?

6. What kind of health care system do you have in your country of origin?

7. What is the economy like in your country of origin? How do people make a living?

8. What would you say is, from your perspective, the most commonly held misconception

about people of your culture?

9. Have you been discriminated against or stereotyped?

10. What was strange to you about America when you first moved here?