Interview Preparation
This is my second interview and I really care about this interview. Last time I did my interview not very well because of my carelessness. So this time I started my preparation earlier to make sure that I have enough time to write a better report. So I started my interview preparation on Thursday morning. I also list some extra questions on a piece of paper in order to go deeper into the American cultural. I double checked my stuff such as recorder, question sheet, pen, and some pieces of paper, etc. to make sure they were in my bag. Then, I contact my partner TiffanyP who is one of my ENGL191 classmates. We talked about when and where would we meet each other. Eventually, we decided to meet in the library at 7 p.m. After we found each other in the library, we started interview right away. She interviewed me first, and I interviewed her.
Anyway, everything is okay except the place. The coffee shop is a little bit noisy, so next time, I will change a place.
Interview Report
The entire interview went very well. This time, I interviewed TiffanyP who is one of my American classmates. Since I want to go deeper into American culture, I interviewed an American student again. TiffanyP is from Wisconsin and comes to Minnesota for college.
We started our interview with introducing ourselves. As I did it before, we went over the eleven core questions and a list of my extra questions.
Since I am not religious and I do not really know about religion thing like religious practices. So what surprised me were Tiffany’s religious practices. TiffanyP is a Catholic so she goes to church with her family or her roommate every week. Also, she would experience a 40-day period of time called the Lent. Lent is a time period about 40 days in Catholic that a person would give up something that he/she really like, such as Facebook, candy, fast food etc. Lent starts on Ash Wednesday and ends on the Easter. And also, Tiffany told me that majority of American people are religious including Christian and Catholic, etc. There are a lot of different religions in America so there are a variety of beliefs among American people.
The record was clear and I could listen to every single sentence clearly when I worked on my transcription. Then, I post it on my blog.
Country Report
American is the world’s third largest country located in North America with about 300 million populations. America possesses the top technology of the world, the highest reputation of education, and also the financial center of the world.
This time, I learned something about the religions in America. There are a lot of different religions in America so there are a variety of beliefs among American people and people feel free to choose what they believe. The majority of the religions are good for people, but there are few religions which mislead people. The main religions in America include Christianism, Catholicism, Mormonism, and Judaism. According to TiffanyP, as a Catholic, she would experience a 40-day time period called Lent which people give up something they really like. For religious holiday, Christmas is a big deal in America. If you are a Catholic, then the Easter is pretty big to you. Majority of people in America are religious but some of them are not, probably a good mix.
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. A high school student usually has 5 classes a day and stays in school for about 7 hours. 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.
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, but they are not healthy which contain too much calories and fats. 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, my two interviewees’ descriptions of America are almost the same, except the religion due to one of them is religious and the other is not.
Sources: The country report is based on my interviews. Additional information may be found at:
1. http://www.usa.gov/
2. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html
3. http://www.wikipedia.org/
Sources: The country report is based on my interviews. Additional information may be found at:
1. http://www.usa.gov/
2. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html
3. http://www.wikipedia.org/
Transcript
W=WentingC
T=TiffanyP
W: Hi, my name is Wenting, nice to meet you.
T: Hi, my name is Tiffany.
W: Thanks for coming.
T: yeah, no problem.
W: So, where is your hometown? Here? Or other cities?
T: Actually, I’m not live in St.Cloud, I just came here for the college. My home is about 2-hour away from here, in Wisconsin.
W: Do you like your country?
T: Yes, I do. I love America.
W: So, what are the typical greetings in your culture?
T: I think people just shake hands, say: “ hello, hi, what’s up, how are you, etc”, or sometimes give hugs. I usually say: “ Hi” when I meet my friends.
W: Okay, I think it is a simple way for greetings and it is common around the world.
T: yeah. I think so.
W: What about in some formal occasions?
T: You mean what kind of formal occasions?
W: Like meetings.
T: I think we just shake hands.
W: Okay. What different modes of transportation are used in your country?
T: Umm, I think most people drive. I mean auto. Sometimes people would go somewhere by bike or by bus.
W: What about trains?
T: I experienced trains very seldom. I think it is not quite popular in America. People usually drive to somewhere instead of trains.
W: Cool, train is one of the popular transportations in my country. So, what about the transportations in big city?
T: I don’t really know, because I don’t live in big city, I think people just drive.
W: Okay, So which country’s food do you like the most?
T: Italian food. I like a kind of Italian food called pasta. I think it’s really good.
W: I like it, too. What else?
T: Cheese, I think.
W: So, what are the similarities and differences between it and your own country?
T: I think the Italian food contains fewer calories than the American food. Eating American food could get fat easily.
W: Okay, so, do you like American food?
T: Yes, I like some of them, but I eat it occasionally because it is not very healthy, it contains too much calories.
W: Yes, I agree. So, can I ask what kind of American food do you like?
T: I like burgers. I eat them occasionally.
W: Okay, I like burgers, too.
T: Yeah, it tastes good unless you are not afraid of fats:
W: Yeah, have you ever tried the Chinese food?
T: Yeah, it’s good. I like it. I usually ate them in my hometown. There is a Chinese restaurant near my home. So I usually went there. Chinese food is really good.
W: I have been to England, so, I like British food very much, especially the dessert.
T: Really? That’s cool.
W: So, Could you tell me a secret about yourself that very few people here know about and that shows us well?
T: The thing that very few people know about me is that I’m adopted.
W: Oh, I’m sorry.
T: That’s okay. It’s not a bad thing.
W: So, do you mind me ask when have you been adopted?
T: It’s okay, when I was six.
W: Okay, do you like your family now?
T: I do, of course.
W: Do you have any memory about your original family?
T: Not really, umm…..Not really.
W: Sorry.
T: It’s okay.
W: Let’s change a topic.
T: Yeah, sure.
W: Can you tell me a typical day for a child in your country? You can take yourself as a example.
T: Umm….. For a child in United States, a typical day would be, getting up in the morning, eating breakfast, going to school for seven hours, then going home and doing homework, having dinner with family, if you still have homework then finish it, hanging out with family or watching TV, bed time.
W: Do you think American children have a lot of activities?
T: Yeah, there are a lot of activities.
W: What kind of activities?
T: There different sports for children, music, instruments.
W: Do you think American parents would force their children to do what they actually don’t want to do?
T: I think majority of them would not force their children to do things that they don’t want to do. But, there are probably few of them would.
W: Wow, I never dreamed about that when I was a kid, really. Because most Chinese parents sometimes would force their children to do things.
T: Really.
W: Yeah. So, how would you describe famous sports in your country?
T: The most famous sports in USA would be football. Also would be baseball, basketball.
W: Yeah, I know football is a big deal in America.
T: Yeah. It’s really big.
W: What is your favorite sport?
T: My favorite is football.
W: And what do you usually play?
T: Personally, I don’t really play any sports. Maybe badminton, it is fun.
W: Really, I like that, too. Badminton is one of the most famous sports in China.
T: That’s cool. Badminton is fun to play.
W: Do you like to watch games like football games on TV?
T: Yeah, I do. When I was home, I watched it with family. My family is really into foottball. Sometimes I would scream when I watch the games.
W: I like football, too.
T: Yeah.
W: Do you think American people like sports?
T: I will say, yes. Especially young people. Boys like playing basketball, football, baseball…….
W: Okay, let’s talk about religion. What religious holidays or other cultural events do you celebrate?
T: For me, I’m a Catholic, so I celebrate Christmas and Easter and there is a season of Lent. I celebrate some holidays like Thanksgiving and New Year.
W: Could you tell me something about the Easter.
T: For me, I always go to church with my family and go to my grandmother’s house. We usually have a good time together.
W: And what is the Lent? I’m really interested about this.
T: It is a time period about 40 days in a Catholic. A person will give up something who really like, such as Facebook, fast food, candy or something like that for the 40 days. It begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter. And we don’t eat meat on Fridays and Ash Wednesday during that time.
W: Wow, for me, I’m not religious, so it is really amazing for me to hear that, really.
T: Yeah.
W: So, what kind of things do you give up during Lent?
T: Umm… I give up Facebook.
W: Yeah, umm…. Do you think American people are religious?
T: Yeah, I think most people in America are religious, some of them probably not. Probably, it’s a good mix.
W: Okay, so how many friends of yours are religious?
T: Umm…..I don’t know, maybe most of them.
W: Okay. In China, most people are not religious, except old people.
T: Really?
W: Yeah. So, what kind of religions do most people believe?
T: I think most people are Christians, Catholic. There are a lot of religions in America, every one could choose what they want to believe.
W: So, do you have any daily rituals regards to your religious beliefs?
T: I don’t have daily rituals, I have weekly one. I just go to church every week on Sunday.
W: With your family?
T: When I at home I am. When I at school my roommate go with me.
W: What time do you go to church?
T: When I with my family we usually go in the morning. When I at school, I usually go at night.
W: Okay. So, I’m gonna move on to next question.
T: Sure.
W: At what age do you start school?
T: I start school at six.
W: Are you under a lot of stress of study?
T: As you get older, and classes that you take become harder, there is more stress. So, of course when you are in high school you will feel more stressful than you were in kindergarten.
W: Okay, how was your high school life?
T: I liked high school, I had a lot of friends. I was really into music and that was a big part of my life and I tried really hard in my classes.
W: How long would you stay in high school daily?
T: About 7 hours.
W: Did you have a long break during that time?
T: The longest break would be lunch break. And we only have 3 minutes between classes.
W: What about the teachers in your high school?
T: The teachers in high school were really nice. They were helpful. I always went to them when I had questions about what I learned.
W: Would they get angry if you had a bad grade of your class?
T: They wouldn’t.
W: So, they are very kind.
T: They are.
W: Did they give you a lot of homework to do?
T: Some teachers just gave more than others.
W: How many classes did you take?
T: 5 classes a day.
W: Do you think American parents would force their children to do what they don’t want to do.
T: I think majority of them wouldn’t force their children to do things. Probably few of them would.
W: what kind of government is in charge of your home country?
T: The government in charge is democracy, which means we get to vote for the President and political leaders.
W: Have you ever vote for someone?
T: No, not yet.
W: Do you care about the politics?
T: I’m not really into politics.
W: How did it affect your life?
T: For me, I have the freedom to say what I wanted to say.
W: Are you feeling free to chase your dream?
T: Yeah.
W: Do you think you have a lot of rights?
T: I do.
W: Can American people say something against the government?
T: Yeah.
W: Is there any bad consequences?
T: I don’t think so.
W: Wow, in my country, we cannot say something or do something against the government. There maybe some bad consequences.
T: Really?
W: Yeah.
T: America is freedom.
W: Yeah. So, here is the last question. What could SCSU do to make your stay on campus better?
T: I think they could have more variety of food in Garvey.
W: What kind of food?
T: I don’t know. Just let us experience more food.
W: I think so.
T: Yeah.
W: So, I think that’s it. We are done.
T: Finally.
W: What is your major, by the way?
T: Now I have not decided yet. Maybe, Science.
W: That’s cool.
T: Thank you.
W: Well, all right, we are done, thank you for coming.
T: No problem.
No comments:
Post a Comment