LIFE HISTORY INTERVIEW

I interviewed Serge Wawa Nkire, who was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo and lived in West Africa for fifteen years. Serge was born in an educated family; his African father worked for the United Nations, and his French mother was a teacher. He was only two when his family had to flee from the Democratic Republic of Congo and take refuge in West Africa. Being the youngest of seven siblings, Serge learned a lot from his four brothers and two sisters. He was too young to remember the time when his family migrated, but shared the stories that his brothers had passed on to him. As a kid he moved a lot based on his fathers profession, but he has carried his culture and roots with him wherever he settled. Although, Serge is from the African continent, he has had the opportunity to get a feel of western culture, as he lived in France for three years, and has had influences from both western and eastern cultures. He has lived in the United States for seven years--three years in Boston, a couple in Atlanta, and in Salt Lake City for almost two years. I chose Serge because he is my husbands friend and co-worker, and he also plays basketball every Wednesday night at our Churchs gym. I wanted to get to know him better, learn more about his experiences in life, and about his adventures. As a Pakistani myself, I did not have any knowledge of the African Culture, and by speaking to Serge I was enlightened about his culture. I found several similarities and differences between our two cultures. So in order to conduct the interview, we met for lunch twice at the African Restaurant on Redwood road. I used this opportunity to try out some African cuisine that included a communal platter

which we shared. This pIatter was lined with injera, a spongy bread and laden with various dishes, which included halal meat, chicken curry, lentils, cabbage, banana peppers and feta cheese. Serge mentioned that in their culture they exclusively use their hands to eat. I enjoyed using injera to scoop up some of the most delicious food. Serge also mentioned that in Africa their diet was quite Mediterranean. They enjoyed a lot of meat, chicken, fresh fruits and vegetables. He is also suggested I should try Fufu next time, which is made of plantains or yams, and is very popular in Africa. I learned that in Serges culture, respecting your elders was very important , and that being the youngest in his family, he had learned this rule from his dad when was very young. Where his dad was the breadwinner of the family, his mom was the backbone who held the family together. After her first child, she left teaching to raise a family of seven kids. Serge was spoiled, being the baby of the family, and while living in West Africa, he went to a private school and enjoyed privileges that were granted because of his dads position in the United Nations. Serges childhood was very satisfactory, he moved a lot so that his family members were his closest friends, but he made connections with people wherever he went. In the interview, he spoke with passion about his country, how much he missed it, but also how lucky he was to be in the United States now. After lunch Serge spoke about his experience of moving to the United States. He was only nineteen years old, and the hardest thing that occurred during that time was a split in the family. Some of his siblings stayed in France, and some moved to Alabama and Atlanta, but Serge was destined for Boston and officially moved there in 2006. He enrolled in a community

college to pursue his career in nursing. Because he spent three years in France before moving to the United States he was somewhat familiar with Western Culture but was not prepared for the faced paced lifestyle of the east coast, and struggled on his own. Boston was a fun city, but predominately white; Serge struggled to make friends as he was nervous and shy about speaking to others. He was embarrassed by his accent, as it was heavy and was afraid that others might make fun of him as he spoke to them. He struggled to fit in. His interest in sports was a common thread with some of his peers at college, and soon his interest became his strength, which he used to make new friends. Serge is a big fan of soccer and he also played football (soccer) in his home country. He joined the college team, so that he could be more social and make some friends. But he, faced similar challenges with the language barrier, as his teammates would use slander that he was unfamiliar with. By spending more time with the locals he adapted to the different food and sports, and was tempted by things that were prohibited in his religion. Born and raised a Muslim, Serge belonged to a respectful family who took the word of the holy Quran being sacred and followed the principles set there by the holy prophet. He was tempted to try alcohol, being in a big city like Boston where there were many temptations-from pubs, to dance clubs, and so many beautiful women surrounding him. Serge stated that it was a true test of his faith, whe n he said no to alcohol while socializing with his friends. Serge talked about Religion as being such a key difference that he felt he had to move from Boston. Serge is happy living in Salt Lake City. He has strong ties with the Muslim community here, and generally likes how he is treated. He told me that people here are friendly, and much

nicer than in the people in France or Boston. But one thing that drew a clear contrast was the difference in the values of the United States versus West Africa. In his experience the concept of family is completely the opposite between the two cultures as in Africa, the family sticks together, and helps each other, but so far he has seen the opposite here, and was extremely surprised at the fact that kids as young as sixteen have to leave home and start on their own. He and I agreed, as I have a similar concept in my culture. I asked Serge about the traditional clothing of West Africa and he explained that people there wear 100% cotton. The clothes there are very loose, and they wear light colors to stay cool and comfortable. The male outfit is called a BuBu and a female outfit is called a Phagne. The rich were more colorful with their Bubus and Phagnes. They showed wealth by accessorizing their outfits and this made that person more attractive as well as giving them a status symbol. But being mostly a Muslim majority, the men could wear anything they wanted, but the women had to be covered. He remembered his parents were very strict with his sisters about covering their arms, shoulders and legs and not showing their bodies where other men might be tempted. We then focused on the traditional dance of Western Africa. Serge remembers the Ndombolo, which is a hip-swinging dance to fast paced music called soukous ndombolo. Serge described this dance as very obscene, with gestures to attract a mate and to seduce them. Some parts of Western Africa tried to ban both the dance and the music, as it was seen being very sexual and certain countries like Mali, Cameroon, and Kenya tried to ban it. Serge

mentioned that in the year 2000, the Democratic Republic of Congo placed a ban on the dance so it could not be televised, but this only added to the popularity of ndombolo. It was, a pleasure to interview Serge as I learned so much about his culture. The languages he can speak, and the dance and principles that he follows, were somewhat close to what I had in Pakistan. Values like respecting your elders, and how family stayed together through thick and thin reminded me of my own story. It was also good to see that Serge, who had many challenges initially with moving to the United States was adapting nicely. He is on the path towards becoming a United States Citizen. This is a very big deal for my family, he told me. In the process of this assignment, I have come to know Serge as a great person that he is. I have made a new friend and I am looking forward to finding more about Serge in the future.