My Second Interview

1.

            The morning of Friday, October 25 found me set for my second interview. The documents on which the questions had been printed on were neatly organized in my satchel and ready for use. It had been quite easy for me to find the interviewee since we shared the same subjects at school. I had asked her to help me with the project, and she was more than eager to share a part of her life with me. The interview was at ten o’clock that morning in the SH Building. It was a laid-back interview, informal, and I recorded the interview in my notebook, as well as on tape. My interviewee was X W, a transfer student from China, and I was surprised by her punctuality. She was already at the venue before I got there, yet I was ten minutes early. The interview was sated with witty remarks, laughter, a lot of exposure about X, and the culture of her people.

            I met with X at the SH Building after my Psy class on October 4. We talked for almost an hour, and I think the interview was a great success. She was amiable and good-natured, and a far cry from shy. X explained her culture at length and even made a few jokes about how backward she felt on her first few weeks in the United States. She, however, managed to fit in after overcoming the culture shock. It is not as if she had a choice; she had to fit in and work hard, “harder than ever,” she said.

2. About China

X is from Canto, the capital of Guandong Province in China. Canto is a major port on the Pearl River, and it is the commercial, transport and industrial centre of South China. According to history, it has been serving this purpose for the past 2000 years. Canto was originally a centre for the distribution of rare tropical produce. The languages spoken include Mandarin, Cantonese, Wu, and Haka. There are other languages that are also spoken, but they differ from province to province in China (Guangzhou Travel Guide).

The people of Canto are collectivists; they place more value in cooperating and individual modesty than in self-reliance and capitalism. They make few lifelong friends and work hard to keep these friendships alive with a certain level of nobility and sacrifice; they could take a bullet for one another if it came to that. The Chinese put relationships first before business; they cultivate bonds with their business partners first, before making business deals. Direct confrontation is unfamiliar with them. Hence, they avoid open criticism and solve their problems under the table. This is because they despise embarrassing one another (Overview of Chinese culture 19)

The Cantonese people prefer tea in the morning to any other beverage.  The staple foods there are bean sprouts, scallions, rice, and cabbage.  Since they hardly ever eat beef or pork, tofu serves as the main supply of protein. The religion in the region is not quite clear; actually, there is no official religion and the people claim no religious affiliations or identify themselves as atheists. However, one cannot ignore the rich mystical and spiritual history of the region; there are myriads of spiritual figures of Buddhism. On his birthday on September 28, every year, there is a pilgrimage to Confucius’ birthplace in Shandong Province. People also visit Taoist temples to pay tribute to the goddess of mercy, Guanyin.  The biggest festival of the year is the Spring Festival, which marks the commencement of the lunar New Year. It is held in the period between mid-January, mid-February, as well as serves as an opportunity for people to honor their ancestors. Children are given cash in red envelopes believed to attract good fortune and houses are cleaned thoroughly to signify fresh beginnings (Gainty and Lin 27-28).

Works Cited

Gainty, Christopher and Hua Lin. Cantonese Chinese I. Concord, MA: Simon & Schuster, 1999.

http://www.supadu.com/images/ckfinder/133/pdfs/Booklets_Guides/Chinese-Cantonese_Phase1-Bklt.pdf

Guangzhou Travel Guide. 2013. Web. 28 Oct. 2013

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/guangzhou.htm

Overview of Chinese culture. Culture. N.d. web. 28 Oct. 2013

http://www.cdc.gov/tb/publications/guidestoolkits/ethnographicguides/China/chapters/chapter2.pdf

3. Interview Transcription:

M: Me

X: X 

M: Hi, Can I have an hour or more to ask you some questions?
X: Sure take your time.
M: It's a nice weather today isn't it?
X: I think It is a cold weather.

M: So,where are you from?

X: I’m from Canto, the capital of Guandong Province, South China.

M: Is the weather cold there ?

X: No, the weather is nice over there. Where are you from?
M: I'm from Saudi Arabia. The weather is very hot It's reaches 50 degree at noon in the summer time.
X: ooh It's really hot to live there!

M:It is good for you because the weather is nice in your home country ,and  you came from one of the biggest countries of the world and the so what do you think about that?

X: oh yeh and I'm proud of being Chinese. 

M: hmm why are you studying at SCSU?

X:  The majors offered here are unavailable in my country, and I like the exposure. They say that once you make it in America, you can make it everywhere.

M: What is your language? How many languages do you speak? How many languages are in your country?

X: I speak three languages; Cantonese, Mandarin, and English and I am very fluent. I do not know how many languages are in my country; never been curious about that.

M: Where do you prefer; your home country or here? Why?

X:  In terms of education, I prefer it here, but in terms of family and heritage, I prefer my home country.

M: How is the economy in your country?

X: The economy is rapidly growing, and more business ties are being made overseas.

M: Do you like the weather in St. Cloud?

X: I really cannot complain; the weather is uncontrollable. However, it is safe to say, I like it.

M: What do you do for leisure?

X:  I play tennis and read pretty much anything.

M: I love playing tennis too, who is your favorite player?

X: Nadal is my favorite player, do you know him?

M: Yes of course I know him his name is Rafael Nadal from Spain and he is my favorite too.

M: Could you please tell me about yourself?

X: I am very outspoken and athletic. I improvise what I have to get what I want, and I secretly eat ice cream at midnight.

M: How often do you communicate with your parents back home?

X: I call, and Skype them as often as I can, tell them about my progress at school and promise to visit.

M: What is the biggest holiday in your country?

X: The Spring Festival takes the cake. It marks the start of the lunar New Year and lasts fifteen days. There are fireworks and parades adorned with dancers dressed as dragons. It is usually celebrated between mid-January and mid-February.

M: In what ways might it be difficult to practice your religion here in the US?

X:  It is not difficult at all. I believe in God, pray, and do the right things.

M: Tell me some important things from your culture.

X:  Tea is the most favorite beverage and the friendships we make among ourselves last forever.

M: What is the biggest difference between the American culture and your culture?

X: Americans use each other then forget about each other. The Chinese people create bonds with their friends and keep them at heart for the longest time.

M: What are your goals for the future; after you graduate, what are you going to do?

X: I have already acquired US citizenship so I will immediately start looking for a job that befits my qualifications and build a future for myself here.

M: Do you have any questions for me? I have asked so many of you!

She laughed and offered to interview me next time. After the interview, I carefully kept my voice recorder and my notepad in my backpack. X W offered to buy me ice cream and we had a good laugh about it since it was a mutual indulgence. She was pleased that I displayed genuine interest in the Chinese culture and her.  She jokingly invited me to the spring festival next year as we strolled towards the library.

Review of interview 1

1. Who scored highest?
Alsayed, Saif

2. Whose interview did you like best? Why?
Almukhtar, Hassan, Almanasif,. because they showed all of the informations that they have to do, and theier informations were so clear and understandable.

3. Link to your evaluation score card (be sure to give public access for viewing!!)

My first interview

 

            Preparation for an interviewing process is relatively important as the interview itself. It enables you to acquire the knowledge of the audience and go through the interview questions. Approaching random people is not as easy as it sounds and that is why preparation came in handy. During the preparation, I went through the questions; prepared myself for the questions my audience would ask me. I arranged my question materials prior the interviewing date. I selected the place and the type of people I would ask questions.

            The place I decided to interview people was in campus. This is due to the close. The interview questions were asked on the Chinese people who live in this town. I had expected a harsh audience when preparing for the interview and I was surprised when the interviewees were cooperative and willing to answer the questions. The interview went on well as all the respondents were positive about the process.

            There are distinct difference between the Chinese culture and the American culture. From the mode of dressing, food, and the way they carry themselves out. What captured my attention is the way they great each other. According to the interviewees, the Chinese people have different ways of greeting people, the traditional greeting and the normal or rather the modern way of greeting. When using the traditional greeting, the Chinese people bow as a means of showing respect, they also bow when they want to part ways. The Chinese greet each other using the right hand, as the left hand is considered rude (Wang 45). This is a common culture that the Chinese shares with the American culture. In the Chinese culture, the young people are the ones who are supposed to offer greetings to the elders. In America, any person can offer greeting and the other person answers.

            Unlike the American culture where hugs and kisses on the cheeks are acceptable, the Chinese generally dislike body contact. They keep a distance of an arm’s length while talking to each other. This aspect I learnt when I offered a hug to one of my interviewees and he corrected me. The Chinese have an eye and a passion for art. A walk into three of my interviewees’ place of residence confirmed this (Wang 78). Beautiful designed pots, dishes and paintings characterized their living rooms. They have a passion for cooking as their cuisines are mouth watering and tasty. The cuisines range from sushi to Fujian. The American people generally like these Chinese delicacies, as they are tasty.

           

Interview transcription

interviewer	Interviewee
Where you from?	China
Where are you studying at SCSU	SCSU Because it is a great school with diverse culture
What is your language? How many languages do you speak? How many languages are in your country?	I am from China, I speak three languages English, Chinese and Spanish
Do you prefer your home country or here?	My home country, because of the rich culture it has, after all east or west home is best
How is the economy in your country?	It is stable as we are one of the developed county’s
Do you like the weather in St.Cloud? Please explain	Yes I do, the weather is appropriate for doing ones daily activities
What do you do for leisure?	I do charity at some children’s home
Could you please tell me about yourself?	I am a young generous and humble man
How often do you communicate with your family back at home?	Every evening, I view my family as prestigious and important, they help me in achieving my goals and dreams
What is the biggest holiday in your country? Please explain about the holidays (Activities, Food, Date, Origin, and etc,)	Lunar New year holiday is the biggest holiday in our culture. It occurs every first of January every year. In this holiday, people visit their friends and family. The dish cooked mostly is sushi among other cuisines
Tell me some important things from your culture ?	People greet while bowing to each other, hugs and kisses are considered in appropriate as personal space is vital
The biggest difference between the American culture and your?	The way people talk, the food we eat are different and the modes of greetings.
What are your goals for the future; after you graduate, what are you going to do?	Start my own charity organization
Do you have any questions for me?	What do you do for leisure?
I play soccer with friends	Interesting, pleasure meeting you
Same, thank you	welcome

Work Cited

Wang, Ling. Tea and Chinese Culture. San Francisco: Long River Press, 2005. Print.

Final Interview Questions

Objective

Different Cultures

How to know the other cultures and deal with them. We have to learn the other cultures because here in Saint Cloud we have many people from many countries. To know what is their experiences in US and their countries. Finally, I will depend on some questions to do my interview with the people, so these are the questions:

1- Where are you from?

2- Why are you studying at SCSU?

3- What is your language? how many language do you speak? how many languages in your country?

4- Where do you prefer your home country or here? why?

5- How is the economy in your country?

6- Do you like the weather in St.Cloud? Please explain.
7- What do you do for leisure?
8- Could you please tell me about yourself?
9- How often do you communicate with your family back at home?
10- What is the biggest holiday in your country? Please explain about the holidays (Activities, Food, Date, Origin, and etc,)
11- In what ways might it be difficult to practice your religion here in the U.S?
12- Tell me some important things from your culture ?
13- Whats the biggest difference between the American culture and your culture?
14- What are your goals for the future; after you graduate, what are you going to do? 16-
Do you have any questions for me? I have asked so many of you! (mandatory question at the end)

Summary + find 2 books and 2 links

Al-Afghani, Jamal al-Din Writing

Al-Afghani, Jamal al-Din is well known for his inspiration of the modern revival of Islamic authority. Afghani, born Muhammad ibn Safdar, was a pan-Islamic activist and a principal leader of early nationalism in Egypt and different Muslim nations. Through his life, he travelled to many nations where he attracted many followers, who he instructed on his religious views. Afghani is also famous for his speeches and newspaper articles, which forms the basis for this summary.

“His fiery speeches and newspaper articles were his main legacy” (Goldschmidt 15). The quote refers to Afghani and informs the reader that he was a rational philosopher through his writing. Keddie (1) provides illustrations of some of Afghani’s writing noting his writings contained reforming ideas. He began writing for Misr following an invitation to Egypt by Riyad to become an instructor at al-Azhar, where he rented rooms and started a salon. Through his business, he drew students sharing his viewpoint, religious development and national opposition. Among the students was an editor of Misr, Adib Ishaq. Bashiri (1) also notes that Afghani was involved in seminars and giving public lectures, as well as writing.

Afghani is recognized for having written his treatise, al-Radd ala al-dahriyin, which refers to a denunciation of the materialists. Modernist Islam is another book asserting that Afghani also published al-Urwa al-wuthqa in 1884 together with one of his students, Muhammad Abduh (Kurzman 103). However, most of his writings were banned resulting in his expulsion from many nations. The writings were banned because he preached rationalist philosophy to the open-minded and conventional Islam to the masses. He was also a strong opposer of British imperialism as asserted by (Rahnema 11), who notes that Afghani is recognized for his promotion of pan-Islamic unity as a way of strengthening the Muslim world to oppose the West.

It is obvious that Afghani has had great influence on Islam through his writing. He progresses to be an inspiration of the modern revival of Islamic authority. Afghani’s writings are still read to date with some having been translated in An Islamic Response to Imperialism.

Works Cited

Bashiri, Iraj. Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, 2000. Web. Oct 9, 2013. Link:             http://www.angelfire.com/rnb/bashiri/Afghani/Afghani.html

Goldschmidt, Arthur. Biographical Dictionary of Modern Egypt. Boulder: Rienner, 2000. Print.

Keddie,Nikki R. Imperialism, Science and Religion : Two Essays by Jamal al-Din al-Afghani,    1883 and 1884. Modern Middle East Sourcebook Project, (2004): 1-10. Web. Oct 9,             2013. Link:             http://sitemaker.umich.edu/emes/sourcebook/da.data/00000000000000000000000000000            0000000000000082631/FileSource/1884_al-afghani.pdf

Kurzman, Charles. Modernist Islam, 1840 - 1940: A Sourcebook. Oxford: Oxford University             Press, 2002. Print.

Rahnema, Ali. Pioneers of Islamic Revival. London: Zed Books, 1994. Print.

A book Selection (Five Student's Posts)

Step #3

1. Zaid choose a book called "Dubai Gilded Cage" which was written by Syed Ali. As Zaid mentioned this book was painted by Yale University Press. Also this book was re-printed by the Great Britain by Hobbs the Printers Lab, Totton , Hampshire and was distributed in the US. Zaid had special reason behind choosing this book which was about Dubai as it's a famous city in the Middle East. The last time this book was printed was in New Haven and London in 2010. Syed Ali in his book started talked about the paradigm shift that occurred in Dubai during two decades. Also he talked about the success of Dubai's rulers of making Dubai into a worldwide brand. Zaid's Book Review

 2. Victoria selected a book called "The Mummy" which was written by E.A. Wallis Budge. This book was published by Random House, and printed in 1989 in New York, Toronto, London, Sydney, and Auckland .The reasons behind choosing this book were she has been interested in ancient Egyptian and the title of the book is the same title of the old Brendan Frasier movie. The book include lots of information about her inserted topic which is the ancient Egyptian sociality. For sure reading this book will encage her knowledge about ancient Egyptian. Victoria's Book Review

3. Justin choose a book called " The Physics Handbook", written by Charles Poole Jr. This book was printed in the United States and Canada by John Wiley and Sons, Inc. and published in New York City in 1998. Justin chose this book because he is using it to prepare for the Physics Graduate Record Examination (GRE) exam. The book discusses various fundamentals, large number of topics studied in graduate school, and some applications of the material. Also, this book is good one since the author collected the information from many sources in the physics community and summarizes them into one book. Justin's Book Review

4. Ahmed chose a book called " Mother America " which was written by Carlos P. Romulo. As Ahmed mentioned this book was painted in Garden city, New York 1943. Ahmed thought that gaining knowledge about the living story of democracy of The USA is one of his favorite topics. This book talks about the democracy and the story of the Filipino solders before the advent of America rule in the Philippines. Ahmed's Book Review

5.  Hazza selected a book called " How to improve your reading " written by Paul Witty. He selected this book because he wants to improve his English language. This book was painted in Chicago, USA in 1963 by Science Research Associates, Inc. In this book, the author mentioned many benefits for improving the readers skills. Hazza's Book Review