My first interview (30-45 minutes in length)

  1.     Interview preparations

I began my interview preparations after I came back from Chicago. My entire interview preparations were a little bit hurried but I still finished. Because I just came back from Chicago, it’s hard for me to contact my original partner and I was really worried. However, one of my friends was going to interview someone and I think I should go with him, so I interviewed one of my other ENGL 191 classmates whose name is JosephR After my friend called him, he said we could meet at his home at 9.30 p.m. on Monday, March 12, 2012. So, I started preparing my staff that I would use during the interview such as recorder, paper and pens before I came to his home. When we meet each other at his home, JosephR and I started interviewing each other first. When we finished, my friend interviewed him next.

When I finished my interview, I started write the transcript according to the record first, and finished the main points one by one.

Anyway, I interviewed JosephR who is from Mozambique but moved in America when he was three.

2.     Interview report

The entire interview went very well. We started the interview with introducing ourselves and what really shocked me is that JosephR is from Mozambique but he looks like so American. I thought he is a typical American boy but he was born in Africa. He moved in America when he was three. His family is a traditional African household since he was born. And he told me south Africa is more British so there are more British things in his family such as they drink a lot of tea. And before he came to here, he lived in Alabama for a while. Then, we just went through the 11 core questions and I also asked him few extra questions and he answered really patiently. And he told me he is not really known about Mozambique since he lived not long enough to know about it. So, I think he is pretty much an American.

2.       Country report

Since JosephR is not really know about his home country because he left his own country when he was three, I think he is pretty much an American boy so I mainly describe the America.

America is a developed country located in North America with about 300 million populations. I think US is famous for its top science and technology, top quality of education, and the center of finance.

Education in America is world famous. America has the best university of the world which is Harvard I think. There are a lot of people come to America to study every year. Children in America usually start school at the age of three. As typical American children, they do not have much homework to do when they after school. They never feel stressed out until they go to high school. Students in high school feel relatively stressed because maybe some of them want to go to some famous universities so they would work hard on SAT. I am from China and I have never dream about that when I was that age. In China, we had a lot of homework to do so we really under a lot of stress of study since we were children. Until graduate from high schools and we went to college, we were just like the children in America who feel so relaxed about study. Contrary to China, American students feel stressed out when they go to college.

Democracy is charged well by government in America. People can feel free to chase their dreams and they could say something against the President or government if they are not happy with the policies. People have more rights to do want they want to do. Freedom is the symbol of America. It is one of the most important reasons why America has so many elites.

The most popular transportation in America is car. Most people drive instead walk. But not everywhere is the same. For instance, people who live in big cities like New York, they might prefer to taking subway and buses or they just go somewhere on foot. On the contrary, people who live in small town drive more. It is quite similar to other countries of the world.

Americans celebrate the Christmas. Christmas is a big deal in America and people just get presents, especially children. Christmas is a Christian holiday, but people not really care if you are a Christian. Easter is a pretty big holiday if you are religious. Not every American is religious so some of them do not have daily rituals.

Greeting in American is really simple. People just say ‘hi’, ‘hello’, ‘what’s up’ etc. to each other when they meet. Sometimes they may shake hands. I think most people in other countries use that way as well. Food in America is really convenient and simple compared to other countries like France, China. These countries usually make food better than America. Fast food is popular in America like hot dog, burger. America is good at sports. The most famous sport in America is football. Other sports like basketball, baseball are also popular among people.

All in all, America plays an important role around the world.

      

Transcript

 W=WentingC (me)

  J= JosephR

W: Hi, my name is Wenting. I’m from China, where are you from?

J: Hi, I’m Jo. I was born in Mozambique and I lived in Mozambique for three years and I moved in America when I was three.

W: When did you move in Saint Cloud？

J：Last year.

W: So you just came here for going to St.Cloud State University?

J: No, I came here for living with my mom. Before I came to Saint Cloud, I lived in Alabama for a while.

W: So what do you think of Saint Cloud?

J: Saint Cloud is not extremely challenging but it has good atmosphere and people enjoy their lives in here.

W: So you like the big city or small town like Saint Cloud?

J: I’m in the middle. I mean I like big city but I also like living far away from the city not surround by the city.

W: Allright. Let’s get to the core questions. So what could SCSU do to make your stay on campus better?

J: Well, I think they could have more online classes and more parking lots. And have more opportunities for students to get involved.

W: Yes.

J: I mean sometimes, people just said: no, I’m not doing that. So nothing really fun to get together to do things and I think it will be better if people are more social and not just do their own things.

W: Yes, definitely.

J: I mean everything will be better if students get involved like when they were in high school.

W: Yes. So could you tell me a secret about yourself?

J: Umm, most people just don’t that I am African; I mean I was born in Mozambique. So I have the African traditional household since I was born. South Africa is more British so it’s kind of more British things in my home.

W: Yeah, that’s really shock me.

J: Yeah, most people don’t believe coz I am from Africa but I’m not black people.

W: Yeah, I can’t believe that unless you tell me coz you are so American.

J: Yeah, I know that.

W: So, what is your favorite food? The British food?

J: Italian food I wanna say. I don’t really have a specific country. I like tender food. French food is really good, too. I like steak. It’s really good.

W: Yeah, I like steak, too. Have you ever tried the Chinese food?

J: Yeah, Chinese food is good.

W: So what are the similarities and the differences between it and your own culture food?

J: Umm, In America, food is more convenient.

W: Like fast food.

J: Yeah, like hot dog, burger. They are very simple. Food in other countries is done better and well.

W: Yeah, I think so.

J: Yes.

W: What are the typical greetings in your culture and what do they mean?

J: Umm, I think people just say ‘hello’, ‘hi’, ‘what’s up’ when they meet.

W: Yeah, I think it is a common and simple way to greet others in other countries, too.

J: Yeah, I think so.

W: What kind of government is in charge of your home country, how did it affect your life and how has democracy in America been a change?

J: South Africa is similar to democracy. I don’t really know about that coz I am not live in my home country for a very long time. But I think many things in Mozambique just are copied from America. I think democracy in America is charged by government very well.

W: Do you feel free to do what you want to do in your home country?

J: You mean in south Africa?

W: Yes.

J: Yeah, it’s pretty free. But it is not always free. Like they separate the blacks and whites.

W: So do the black people have more rights or the white people have more rights?

J: I think neither of them deserves more rights.

W: So what different modes of transportation are used in your country?

J: Umm, in America, most people drive cars. South Africans are pretty similar. I like motorcycle.

W: You like motorcycle that’s pretty cool.

J: Yeah. I mean most people like driving. But it depends. If you live in a big city and the traffic is really bad, you probably not prefer to driving but take buses or subway. Or just go to somewhere on foot.

W: Yeah, I think driving is convenient.

J: Yes, that’s true.

W: When I just came to America, I need to wait a bus for one hour.

J: So, it is not convenient at all. It’s good to drive because I could get to somewhere as fast as I can.

W: Yes, that is ture.

J: Yes.

W: So when do you start to school?

J: About 3.

W: Are you under a lot of stress of your study?

J: I think high school was relatively stressful. But before that, I never felt stressed out.

W: So what did you usually do when you were in high school?

J: Usually, in high school I just went to school and I would not do much homework coz I could get away with it so I would still do well on the test.

W: Really, you are smart.

J: Thank you. But in college I would keep up homework much better for the test. In average day, I try to wake up early and take a shower and make breakfast for 1 hour (it depends how much time I have).

W: How many classes did you take when you were in high school?

J: You mean in Minnesota or Alabama, coz I did high school 1 year in Alabama.

W: What about in Minnesota?

J: In Minnesota, I had six classes per semester when I was in high school,

W: What about Alabama?

J: In Alabama it was just 4 classes per semester. By the way, each class in Minnesota is about 40-minute or 50-minute long and each class in Alabama is about 1-hour long.

W: So which class is your favorite?

J: In Minnesota, my favorite class is Auto I think. Coz I could learn how things go on cars and how to fix it. It was really helpful coz I don’t have to pay extra money, sometimes I could fix my car by myself.

W: What religious holidays or other cultural events do you or others celebrate?

J: We celebrate Christmas. And I think Easter is a pretty big holiday if you are religious, but I am not religious at all. You know Christmas is a big deal in America and people just get presents, especially children. Christmas is a Christian holiday, but I think people not really care if you are a Christian.

W: Do you have any daily rituals in regards to your religious beliefs?

J: I don’t have any rituals during a day; I just wake up and…….

W: Are you religious?

J: No, I am not religious at all.

W: Yeah, me, too. So, how would you describe famous sports in your country?

J: I think football is the most famous sport in America. I think baseball is a boring sport to watch. And I like a traditional sport in South Africa.

W: So what is your favorite sport?

J: Last year I played rugby for a year, so I think probably rugby is my favorite sport to play. But, for watching, I think football is the most interesting sport to watch. I am not really watching many sports. I think rugby is really really fun to play. It is just it is really physical. But it is easy to get injury when you play rugby so sometimes I think it is not worth it. 

W: Wow, that’s really cool. I like football as well.

J: Yeah, it is.

W: Can you describe a typical day for a child in your country?

J: Kids usually have a lot of free time in here I thought. I wake up in the morning, have breakfast, go to school, after school come home and have dinner with my family, play toys for a while.

W: You don’t have any homework to do?

J: As a child, not really. I was home-school for second, third and forth grade. I don’t think we get that much homework for school.

W: Yeah, I have never dream about it. Kids in China have to do a lot of homework.

J: That’s bad.

W: Yeah, so, we are done. Thank you very much.

J: You’re welcome.