Cultural Immersion 1 Running head: Cultural Immersion

Cultural Immersion Victoria Kamara Wilmington University

Cultural Immersion 2 Cultural Immersion My agency populations are primarily African American, a few percentage of Hispanics and Whites. The population I initially selected for my cultural immersion paper was Hispanic males. However, doing my research I came across a movie based on a true story of a Romanian boy name Alex Chivescu. The film told a story about Alex struggle through the foster care and his determination to find a family. Before going into Alex Chivescu story, I am going to provide some history about Romania culture, tradition, people and milestones the country overcame. The name "Romania," which was first used when the three regions (Walachia, Moldavia, and Transylvania) of the country were united in 1859, reflects the influence of ancient Rome on the nation's language and culture (TANFORD, 2013). According to TANFORD (2013), Romania is in southeastern Europe at the north end of the Balkan Peninsula, bordering Ukraine and Moldova to the north, Hungary to the northwest, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, and the Black Sea to the east. The majority of residents share a common culture and history dating back to the Dacians. National identity is informed by pride in the country's resilience and ability to withstand attacks from the AustroHungarian Empire and the Turks and later from the Soviet Union. Romania has one of the world's largest populations of Roma. The Roma have a long history of persecution throughout Europe and still face discrimination. TANFORD (2013) noted they have high rates of poverty, unemployment, and malnutrition, and many have left in an attempt to better their conditions. The Romanian turns to the United States in search for those better conditions. Romanians have a recorded presence of over 250 years on American soil. In 1849, a group of Romanians came to California during the Gold Rush but, being unsuccessful, migrated to Mexico. Romanians continued to immigrate to

Cultural Immersion 3 America during this period, and some distinguished themselves in the Union Army during the Civil War. The first major wave of Romanian immigration to the United States took place between 1895 and 1920, during which 145,000 Romanians entered the country. They came from various regions, including Wallachia and Moldavia. The majority of these immigrants particularly those from Transylvania and Banat were unskilled laborers who left their native regions because of economic depression and forced assimilation, a policy practiced by Hungarian rulers. This is a graph of Romanian Communities Allocation in United States. These are the states the Romanian people reside in made their homes.

The Romanian culture is rich with tradition and folklore which they like to share with visitors. During my research, I learn that the Romanian people are naturally hospitable and welcome visitors by sharing their stories with them. Some of their traditions include but not limited to, arranged marriages by the couple's parents through a matchmaker, festivals that feature bright ornamented costumes and traditional dancing, wood carving, skillfully woven carpets and pottery. They are also about taking care of their families including extending family members.

Cultural Immersion 4 Traditional families were large patriarchal units, as extra hands were always needed in the fields. Urbanization has led to smaller families, however, and to a decrease in the importance of family ties. Romanians are known for hospitality and generosity. Guests are always fed. Men indicate their respect for women by a tip of the hat, a kiss on the hand, or standing to offer them a seat. It is also customary for younger people to defer to their elders. The Romanian tradition and culture is similar to my native country of Liberia, West Africa. Africa is also very rich in culture and celebrates through traditional dancing where the dancers are always in costumes with face paint and beautiful jewelry. The book I selected is call Kiss the Hand You Cannot Bite: The Rise and fall of the Ceausescus by Edward Behr. This book is about the rise and fall of cruel dictator name Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife Elena. Nicolae came from a poor family with no educational background. Growing up he was a loner and got in trouble with the law a few times. Nicolae knew from a young age he wanted a different life for himself so he left his family home and move to the city of Romania. When Nicolae was 14 years old, he join the illegal activism communist party. It was from this party that Nicolae started potting his plans to gain power. His plans work and Nicolae became a dictator for Romania. The book discuss Nicolae leadership and the kind person he became once he got power. The first couple of years after he took office was good until he visited China and North Korea. Nicolae notice that the Korean leader at the time had full control over his people and he wanted that for the people of Romania. It was at this point that Nicolae decided to take control over his people causing great harm and suffering. When the country was facing economic policies, Nicolae decided to cutback. He had everyone from children, teachers, students and the army working. Electricity was cut leaving people struck in elevators, heat and water were also cut.

Cultural Immersion 5 While Romanian people were left hungry and, cold, Nicolae and his wife live in a mansion. He did not want the people to have any independence so he force them out of their homes, land and destroy everything. Leaders are supposed to protect their people not destroy what they have. It was a fascinated book because it was the evolution of the Ceausescu and how power and greed corrupt them. But on December 25, 1989, the Romanian people got a great gift. Nicolae and his wife Elena was arrested, trial and executed. In my opening paragraph, I mention a Romanian boy name Alex Chivescu. Alex is the reason by I decided to select this population because his story inspire me. When I was doing my research, I came across a film call Finding a Family on YouTube. Finding a family is an amazing film about the true story of Alex Chivescu a young boys journey through foster care. The film was directed by Mark Jean in 2011 and air on the hallmark movie channel. The film begin with Alexs mother graduating from college. During this time, he made a promise to his mother that he will attend Harvard University. Alex was determine to achieve this goal no matter what. When Alex was ten years old, his mother got into a car accident that resulted in her having a head injury and was also diagnose with bipolar disorder. While his mother was in the hospital, Alex stay with a family friend until his mother return home. His mother was on medication that help her stay on track. But the medication had bad side effects that cause her not to think straight. So she will stop taking the medication when the pain became unbearable and end up being hospitalize. Each time his mother was in the hospital, he went to live with a foster family and when his mother got better he return home. This went on for a while causing Alex to change schools often and be placed in seven different homes. Alex said when my mother was taking away from me, I felt abandon, alone, and I was terrify that I

Cultural Immersion 6 will not see her again. He also stated I will never forget the first time I was put in a strange home with people I didnt know. Days felt like weeks, months without my mother felt like a lifetime. Alex was very affected by the situation with his mother because she was his everything. He was close with his mother and she inspire his love for learning. There were times when my mother return from the hospital that I thought I had my life back but it didnt last long. Alex got frustrated with the back and forth so he terminate his mothers parental right and went to live at Mercy Pointe Childrens Home and attended Eagle Creek High School. The home provided him with transportation to school until the funding got cut. Alex was entering his senior year and wanted to graduate from Eagle Creek. So he did something remarkable and change his life forever. Alex knew that his social worker wasnt real helping him so he took matters into his own hands. He research potential foster parents in the area and wrote a letter that change everything. I wasnt able to get his full letter but I recover half to share. Alex wrote Im sure youve never received a letter of this nature before. Im also quite sure that youll be surprised, albeit unpleasantly, at the circumstances under which I am writing this letter. I understand it is a great emotional and financial burden to take a 17-year-old into your home, but I want to make several things clear. You have no commitment to me after I graduate from high school next year; I pay for myself, find my own scholarships, get myself a job, apply for my own financial aid-there is no undue burden beyond what you have already agreed toTruly all I need is someplace to stay. Alex also noted I suppose this is where I should delve into a brief summary of my life. My parents divorced when I was 2 years old and I have not heard from my father since. My mother was a nurturing and loving person, to which I credit my early start on a path of

Cultural Immersion 7 academics. My school means everything to me. When chaos reigned at home, I immersed myself in my studies and my friends. Im a good kid, straight As, top 1 percent in ACT scores. My most fervent dream, is to be accepted to an Ivy League school. Im a good kid in a bad circumstance. I need a home. Alex letter work and he was taken in my Mr. &Mrs. Bante. A couple daughter was going away to college and convince her parents to meet Alex after reading his letter. Alex kept his promise to his mother and is now attending Harvard University. The population that came to my mind immediately when I thought about this assignment was Hispanic. I was focusing on a population that my agency serve and since I couldnt do African American, Hispanic was next on the list. When I started doing research on my selected population, I was frustrated because the result wasnt exactly what I was looking for. But as I continue my pursue I discover a video on YouTube call Finding a Family. It was a very heartfelt, emotional, and inspirational film that open my eyes to appreciate what I have. Not having any knowledge or experience about the Romanian culture fuel my interest in learning something different. Learning about the Romanian people, culture and tradition give me a new insight into a culture that would have not cross my mind if it wasnt for this assignment. I feel like I took what I was supposed to out of this assignment because I gain an experience and learn new information about a population that was non-existence to me. I am always open to learning and experiencing new thing because it makes me grow as a person and become more knowledgeable. We are all from a different culture and as a human service professional we are in the position to provide services to several populations. And I feel like being culturally competent provide that ability to interact effectively with people from different culture backgrounds.

Cultural Immersion 8 My field placement agency is Progressive Life Center located at 1415 N. Board Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122. I have not really just walk around the neighborhood because Im always driving and sometime once I arrive at my site, I dont leave until Im done for the day. But when Im driving, I do take a look around the community to get a feel for it. The populations that work in the community are African American, Hispanic, and Whites etc. The services that are available in the community are, Temple University, Ben Franklin High School, Roman Catholic high school, salvation army, The school district of Philadelphia, Temple University Hospital, the Freedom Theatre, and Hahnemann University Hospital, YMCA, The Philadelphia Inquirer and daily news etc.

KFC Romanic Catholic High School

Temple University Dunkin Donuts Temple University Hospital

Y M C A

McDonalds Progressive Life Center

Super Fresh Supermarket

Payless Shoes Hahnemann University Hospital

Freedom Theatre

Citizen Bank

The commercial services available are payless shoes store, super fresh supermarket, Chinese restaurants, and dunkin donuts, McDonalds, KFC, as were as Citizen bank, united bank of Philadelphia and BP gas station. I dont think the population that I selected reside or work in

Cultural Immersion 9 this community. If members of my chosen population wanted to access the agency, they can use Septa transportation. Because the agency is located on North Board Street, member of my populations can use the Subway. If people cannot come to my agency, they can get information from the agency website at http://www.plcntu.org/. On this site, people can learn about the agency and the services they provide to their clients.

If I was a member of the population I have focus on, I would feel welcomed and comfortable at the agency. The dcor and color schemes is very power because they use the color Red. I feel like the color red makes people stop and think. For instance, stop signs are red, the do not enter signs are red, wrong way is also red. The waiting room of my agency chairs and carpets are red making people to take notice and glance around. There is also a tables with brochures and pamphlet of others agencies within the community and magazines to keep visitors entertain. These information are in a language and format that I can understand. The agency employ professionals and staff based on their qualification and experience not their ethnicity.

Cultural Immersion 10 If the agency had open positions and members of my population were interested in working for the agency and they qualify, I think they will get employ because of their ability to get the job done. The agency funding is not directed to a specific services with specific populations. The funding is use for all the populations that receive services from the agency. Even though the primary population is African Americans, that doesnt mean that the funding is use specifically for African American. The agency also has Hispanic population its a small percentage because of the community being primarily African American. Funding are also use to facilitate training on various topics like LGBT, ABC intervention, parenting classes etc. The staff at my agency are sensitive about the populations they provide services to. Even though I wasnt around the client, I never heard staff speak negatively or have a judgmental tone in regards to their clients. Staff respect their populations and understand their clients needs and what they are going through being in the foster system and in and out of homes. I didnt see any interactions between staff and their clients but I know the staff has their clients best interest at heart. People of my population are not clients but if they were, they will be treated with respect. The agency does not have Romanian as clients because I selected a population that most people dont hear about in human service. Once again the services my agency provide does not pertain to my population because they are not clients. However, the agency definitely take into account cultural variation and cultural barriers that their clients encounter in accessing services through the agency programs. The agency is a non-profit that provide services to families living in urban communities. Eligibility criteria for service are not culturally sensitive to my population. Even though I think my population doesnt reside or work in my agency community, if someone like Alex walk into the office of Progressive Life Center he will not be turn away because of his culture.

Cultural Immersion 11 The agency can provide training to educate people about my selected population culture to enhance service and take cultural difference into account. The agency is very good on keeping people inform about different groups they serve like LGBTQ. To my understanding, the agency is providing quality and quantity services. My population will not have any difficulties from this agency because their mission and goals are to help children in a bad situation. Since I only work with staff and foster parents, I dont know how the clients feel about theservices they receive from the agency. However, the feedback from the foster parents shows that they are following their mission. The agency coordinate well with other services within the community that address the needs of their populations. The agency has a program call Total Love Parenting which is a parenting program preparing foster parents for their foster child. This program coordinate with other agency like Salvation Army, Mothers in Charge, and People for People etc. The agency get their referrals sources and resources from the Department of Human Services (DHS), Statewide Adoption and Permanency Network (SWAN), and Department of Public Welfare (DPW). DHS and SWAN are were the agency gets their contacts and referrals for their permanency and adoption program. DPW is use as a sources for perspective foster parents to get their clearances. The standard I selected to review is Statement 18 which state Human services professionals are knowledgeable about the cultures and communities within which they practice. They are aware of multiculturalism in society and its impact in the community as well as individuals within the community. They respect individuals and groups, their cultures and beliefs. My agency is Progressive Life Center and the program and services are, Recruitment,

Cultural Immersion 12 Training and Licensing. The services are recruiting potential foster parents, providing them with the necessary training and licensing them to be foster parent to children in need of a home. I chose this ethical standard because it is very important to know about the culture and community of the population receiving services. I was able to observe my agency put this standard into practice. They know the backgrounds, culture and community of their clients. And if you are not knowledgeable about a population like the one I selected, they educate themselves and offer training. My personal cultural competency is Statement 19 Human service professionals are aware of their own cultural backgrounds, beliefs, values, recognizing the potential for impact on their relationship with others. I feel like if a person doesnt know who they are and where they come from, they will not be able to effective help someone else. People have to know what they have to offer someone else base on their experience, culture, values, and beliefs etc. This assignment has given me the opportunity to learn about a population that I knew nothing about. Even though my agency doesnt have members of my population as clients, I was interested in gaining knowledge and experience about the Romanian culture. The cultural immersion purpose is to get student out of their comfort zone and explore an unfamiliar culture. As a human service professional my population may not always be what I am used to, so I have to educate myself to become knowledgeable of other cultures.

Cultural Immersion 13 References Behr, E. (1991). Kiss the hand you cannot bite: The rise and fall of the ceauescus. (1st ed.). Villard Books: New York, NY. TANFORD, E. L. (2013). Romania . Retrieved from http://www.everyculture.com/No-Sa/Romania.html Griffin, P. (2013, 04 26). Finding a family. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGDfv58aOhs