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I initially considered interviewing myself, but I don't remember much about how I felt because I moved from Cuba to Miami when I was just three years old. Therefore, I decided to interview my grandma, she moved to Miami from Cuba in 2009 at the age of 64. My grandmother spent the majority of her life in Cuba, so I wanted to interview her to have a better understanding of how she felt about leaving her native country and adjusting to life in the United States.

In Vaughn (2019), four strategies are described that a person may employ as they integrate into a new culture. My grandma went through two of Berry's (1997) stages, separation and integration. Grandma had a cultural shock when she moved in with my family for the first time in Miami. She had spent 64 years of her life living in a country with its own traditions, norms, and methods of going about daily life. She was surprised that no one was outside talking to neighbors or that there weren't children playing in the streets. She was also surprised that no one was walking anywhere and that she now needed a car everywhere she went. The separation stage started at this point. An individual attempts to maintain their cultural identity and refuses to embrace a new culture during the separation period (Vaughn, 2019). She missed her family and her old ways of living. She believed Americans were crazy and wasn't open to their new customs and ideals. This phase lasted for a few months. My grandma stated that as time went on, she became more open to adopting new cultural conventions, beliefs, and attitudes. Integration occurs when a person embraces a new culture while also preserving their own (Vaughn, 2019).