Three toppest one in class:
First, Gong hua (20 points)
His interview is about South Korea, as well as China, South Korea is also an asian country. It has many similarities and differences between China and South Korea. He did a very good job, he showed many details about the culture in South Korea, also, it will help us deepen our relationship with Korean friends by learning the differences and similarities of Korea.
Second, Sun yihao (19 points)
His second interview is about America. As an international student in America, that is good to get more information about this country. Sure, there should be many differences between China and America, because the differences of Eastern culture and Western culture. Through his paper, we can have more idea about America, and it also helps us to deepen our relatinship with American friends.
Third, Gerrey(18 points)
He had an organized interview. And there are many details in his paper. We can imagine the country he interviewed, and we can know more informationa about that country. With the fast development of the world, it is very important to open our eyes, and know more information about different countries and culture.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Monday, November 12, 2012
My Third Interview
My Third Interview
Preparations for the interview
After my first and second interview, I made a comparison between these two interviews I have done before, and I had a full consideration for my third interview. As well as the first one and second, my third one also need to make my interviewee feel comfortable. First, Saudi Arabic is a totally unknown country for me, I searched many resources online, and I asked my classmate Mohamed to help me with my interview; second, I rewrote my questions again, compared to the interviews I did before, this one had more interesting questions; third, I printed my questions and made a copy for my interviewee; final, I was interested in this country, and I was eager to get more information about this country, I called Mohamed and we decided to meet in the library on this weekend.
How did I approach people
Mohamed, one of my best friend. We knew each other because we took the same ESL listening class last semester, and day after day, we built a deep friendship between each other. Last semester is the first semester for both of us, then both of us felt a little struggle with the new education system. We went to library together and we did our homework together. Time flies too fast, and we need to say goodbye to each other because of the end of the semester. However, we are glad to meet in this writing class, and we can study together again! This time, we are required to do our third interview, and I am interested in his country, and I also want to know about him. Then, I asked him to be my interviewee, and he agreed with no hesitation.
When, where and how did I conduct and record my interview
On this weekend, I called Mohamed and decided to meet each other at the library on this Sunday. Because both of us are busy with our homework, we decided to do our homework first and then we can do our interview during we have a rest. Almost one hour later, I asked him if it was a good time to conduct our interview, and he answered yes. At first, I gave him a copy of my question; second, I gave him a few minutes to prepare the answers; final, we pay attention to our conversation. During our interview, he introduced a lot of information about Saudi Arabic, and we also shared our ideas about some issues. He also asked if those situations happened in China, what were our response, and what will we do for those situations. We indeed had a nice talk, after our interview, we did our homework together.
Who did you interview
Mohamed, who is one of my best friend. He comes from Saudi Arabic, and he is freshman in this school, as well as me. We met each other in our ESL listening class, and we built a deep relationship between each other. We had similar habits although we had different majors, we enjoyed our talks when we had free time. I was sad to say goodbye to him during the end of last semester, and I knew it was very difficult to have the same class together. However, we found each other in the same classroom for this English writing class, and we were very excited about this.
Interview report
This is my third interview, also, it is my last interview. I enjoyed the joy when I conducted my interview, because I gained many information from my interviewees, and I also had more ideas about different countries. This gave me a good chance to know more about my friends and their culture.
Country report
The area of Saudi Arabia is almost 2250,000 km2, and the population in Saudi Arabia is about 27 million, which consists of 9 million legal foreign and 2 million illegal immigrants.
Saudi Arabia is known as Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, it was found in 1932. It is also called “ The Land of the Two Holy Mosques” compared with Al-Masjid al-Haram and Al-Masjid al-Nabawi, the two holiest places in Islam.
In the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia has the second largest oil reserves in the world. And oil takes up over 95% of exports and 70% of government revenue. This boosts the creation of a welfare state[1].
Politics in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy. However, the Basic Law of Saudi Arabia was accepted by royal decree in 1992, the King has to comply with Sharia and the Quran. There is no political parties or national elections in Saudi Arabia, from the economist’s 2010 democracy index, the government of Saudi Arabia is the seventh most authoritarian regime from among the 167 countries rated.
In 2011, the women in Saudi Arabia was permitted to have rights to stand and vote in future local elections and join the advisory Shura council as full members[2].
Education in Saudi Arabia
Through the World Bank database, the government spent almost 6.8 percent of GDP on education. From 1970 to 2000, the cost of education is almost triples of government expenditure, there is no effects from the price of oil or the economic growth.
(1)Pre-primary education
In Saudi Arabia, children go to kindergarten when they are from 3 to 5 years old. However, it is not necessary for children to attend kindergartens when they are registered of first grade of primary education. Many private nurseries were built with the help of government.
(2) Primary education
There is 6 years for primary education in Saudi Arabia, and children can enter the first grade of primary education when they are 6 years. When children are graduated from Grade 6, they have to pass the exam and obtain the Elementary Education Certificate in order to get into intermediate education.
(3) Intermediate and Secondary education
Intermediate education in Saudi Arabia is three years. In 2007, according to the data of government, the total rate of gross enrollment is up to 95.9 percent.
Secondary education is also three years and it is the final stage of general education. When students finish the intermediate education, they can have the opportunity for both general and specialized secondary education[3].
Religion in Saudi Arabia
Islam is the major religion in Saudi Arabia, however, the freedom of religion is not protected by government.
(1) Islam
It is the official religion in Saudi Arabia, it is created by sunni of the Hanbali school. There is almost 10 to 15% of the population are Shia Muslims, and Mecca and Medina are two holiest cities of Islam in Saudi Arabia.
(2) Christianity
There is mainly non-citizens from a variety of countries.
(3) Hinduism
The main population of Hinduism is non-citizens from India[3].
Food In Saudi Arabia
Food pictures
Islamic dietary laws states that the pork and alcohol are forbidden in Saudi Arabia. According to halal Islamic law, before we eat the animals, we need to butchered them in a special way and bless them. In 2008, sheep meat and goat meat become the fifth largest importer in the world in Saudi Arabia[4].
Audio Record:
Transcript
X: xianping
M: Mohamed
X: Hello, Mohamed, thanks for helping me with my interview. How are you today?
M: Good, I have a productive day. Because of this longer weekend, I spent some time with my cousin and friends, we had a nice talk between each other. And we made some food together! This is a joyful moment.
X: Nice, I am glad to learn your joy. Yes, I can see, during the study week, we have too much homework to do, and we also need to prepare our quiz and exams, it must be very tired and stressful. We have little time to stay with our friends. But weekend applies us a good chance. Are you ready for our interview?
M: Sure, let’s begin.
X: Great, thanks. Where are you from?
M: I am from Saudi Arabia.
X: I knew many people who are from the same country with you. Good, why did you choose this school?
M: First, before I came here, I knew some friends who studied here, and they have me a lot of suggestions. Second, my country has an excellent education policies, it offers us scholarship to study abroad. Final, I knew Saint Cloud is a small city, it is very quiet, I think it is a good place for us to study.
X: Good. Yes, i agree with your opinion. What’s your major?
M: My major is computer science.
X: Good, this major is popular among boys. And I think it will be a good career field in the future. Would you want to talk something about your family?
M: Sure, what do you want to know about the family in my country?
X: What’s the value of family in your country?
M: I think family plays an important role in my country, and people will care a lot about their family member. Most people want to stay with their family as much as possible, because it always brings a lot of laughters when we are staying with our family.
X: Good, I have the similar ideas with you about family. Mohamed, I have one question, I heard it from many people. But it is a private question, would you mind it?
M: Please do not worry, I’m glad to give answers for your questions.
X: Thanks so much. In Saudi Arabia, if one male can marry many female?
M: That’s true. Because of our different culture, and the sex ratio of male and female. Then, male can shave rights to marry many female, but they need to buy a house for every female. And they also need to support the female’s life. So, how many wives can a male has depends on his financial.
X: Sounds interesting! It is so different in my country and America. In my country, we can just have one legal wife or husband. And we also have children policies. Such as, one couple just can have one child. What’s the child policy in your country?
M: Actually, we don’t have any child policies. Instead, it is promoted to have many children in one family. One family usually has more than 10 children.
X: That’s amazing. It is so different. Then , the parents will support their children until they have jobs.
M: Correct! Because of the excellent education system, our parents son’t need to pay for our education.
X: Sounds interesting! I have another question, maybe you noticed that many students who find part-time jobs on campus or off-campus, what do you think of this situation? Do you need to find a part-time job in your country when you are 18?
M: Good questions. Yes, when I came here, and I found many of my friends find part-time jobs on campus. It is very different from that in my country. But it also depends on individual, some people prefer to make money by themselves, and some people prefer to get money from their parents before they have jobs.
X:Awesome! It depends on individual. The education system in your country is so great,could you talk some details about the education system in your country?
X: M: Of course. To be honest, I like the education system in my country. There are many private schools which are built by our government. And the cost of education accounts a large percentage in education. And we have very excellent teachers, they are pretty nice and patient. Besides, we have many freedom to choose our class schedule.
X: Sounds good. Current, it is the first year for you in college, do you find out the differences between high school and college.
M: Yes, there are many differences between them. When we were in high school, we had to study many subjects, and we had to study for a long time. Because of the strong education support of our country, most students will go abroad for their study in college. If we want to apply for a famous school in a foreign country, we need to study hard, and we also need to learn English well. When we entered college, in general, we attended the college in foreign country, and the life and education will be very different. And other countries will have different study requirements and different teaching style. Besides, we will have many activities in college, and we can have rights to choose how many years will we finish our study. That’s really flexible.
X: Sounds good. What do you think of the school you attend now?
M: Good. I like everything here, especially for the friends here, and I remembered the days when I just came here for a short time, I made many friends, and I also felt the friendly relationship between us.
X: I’m glad to hear that. As well as you, I am an international student, and I have the similar thoughts with you. I remembered everyone I met here, and I am grateful for their help. And I am glad to meet you and become classmate with you. We talked so much about education, can we talk something about culture in your country?
M: Yes, please. What do you want know about culture?
X: I knew, there should be many differences between your country and America. As an international student, do you find out some difference between them?
M: Great! It is a good question. Yes, as you said, there are many cultural differences between my country and America. Such as, we will have many siblings, and all of us lived together. We can have a very good relationship between each other. But in America, when the children are 18 or when the children are married, they usually don’t live with their parents. That’s a big difference.
X: Really? Sounds interesting. I have one thing to share with you, in China, the parents also live with their children, and in some families, the siblings live together. It is similar with your country.
M: Good, thanks for sharing this with me.
X: I’d like to do that. I am curious about your country, and I have so many questions for you. Eating is one of the important things for every one, would you want to talk about the food in your country?
M: I’m glad to help you, please don’t worry about this. Yes, what do you want to know about food?
X: Thanks so much! Could you talk about the major food in your country?
M: Sure. Maybe you know this before, most people are Muslim in Saudi Arabia, the pork and alcohol are forbidden in Saudi Arabia, before we eat the animals, we need to butchered them in a special way and bless them. And sheep meat and goat meat have a large demand in Saudi Arabia.
X: That’s unique. Do you know, In China, pork is the ordinary food in people’s life. I think we even eat pork everyday, that’s because of different culture. What’s your favorite food?
M: My favorite food is Kapsa, my mother is good at cooking it, and it is always delicious.
X: Nice, what’s your favorite American food?
M: I love most American food, such as hamburger, pizza. Most of them are very delicious, and they are very easy to cook, especially when we are busy with our study and homework.
X: Sounds good. I love American food too. But I love Asian food best, Asian food are very spicy, and we have a strong satisfies when we are eating them. Did you taste Asian food before?
M: Actually, I did go wo Chinese restaurants before, but I did not taste the Asian food which were cooked by native Asians.
X: Ok, don’t worry about this, when both of us have time, I can invite you to my place and I can cook some Chinese food for you.
M: Thanks for you invitation, that’s awesome.
X: You are welcome! Do you have any religion?
M: Yes, as most people in Saudi Arabia, I am a Muslim.
X: Good, I am an Christian. I knew little about Muslim, could you give me some details about Muslim?
M: No problem. Muslim is different from Christian, but we also have activities every weekend, we have to dress special clothes. I can show you some pictures for our clothes.
X: Thanks, that’s interesting. What’s your favorite holiday in your country?
M: We just have two holidays, and Edi is my favorite holiday.
X: That is special, I don’t hear this holiday before, could you give me more details about this holiday?
M: Sure, during Edi, we need to forbid food and drinks for one month, and we also have some activities, such as, all of the Muslim stayed together and pray together.
X: That’s interesting, thanks for helping me with my interview. I appreciated it!
M: You are welcome, I’m glad to help you.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Second Interview
My second interview
Preparations for the
interview
For my second interview, I searched a lot of information to help me to do a good interview, especially for the ways to make interviewee feel comfortable. First, I choose another people who are from America to be my interviewee; second, I rewrote my questions for my second interview; third, I went back to my first interview, and I found my advantages and disadvantages in my first interview. I want to make some progress for my second interview. Finally, I printed two copies of my questions, and one is for my interviewee, and one is for me.
How did I approach people
I have a good friend, her
name is Yuhwa, she is an exchange student in Saint Cloud, although we don’t have the same
major, we took the same ESL classes together before. She is from South Korea.
This Tuesday, when I finished my class, I gave her a call and asked her to help
me with my interview. She agreed it with no hesitation.
When, where and how did I
conduct and record my interview
On Tuesday, when we finished
our dinner together, we went to the library and reserved a study room for our
interview. At almost 7 am, we began our interview. First, we talked something
about our classes. Then, I gave her a copy of my question, and gave her a few
minutes to have a look for the questions. Final, we pay attention to our
conversations. During our interview, we talked a lot of issues about the life
in South Korea, such as: The education systems in the South Korea, the geography in South Korea,
the language in South
Korea and the religions in South Korea. We also exchanged our opinions about different
issues.
Who did you interview?
My interviewee is my best
friend, who is from South Korea She is an exchange student here
and this is the last semester for her in this school, and her major is education. We
took the same class together before, and we also met in the international student dinner. When I met her in the international
student, I found we had the same class together. Although we didn’t have much
talk before, we had a very nice talk during the dinner, and we exchanged our
contact information. Day after day, we built a very deep relationship between
each other.
Interview report
This is my second interview,
I was more careful when I was doing this interview. I think we indeed have done
a good job, because both of the interviewee and I are from Asian countries, we
shared a lot of differences and similarities between our countries. And both of
us as an international student, we exchanged our feelings and opinions about
SCSU. Otherwise, this also gives us a good chance to know more about each other
and know more about our different countries, and it will help us have a deeper
relationship between each other.
Country report
Korea,
a country which was built in the Middle Age. In the west, its neighbor is
China, in the East, its neighbor is Japan and in the North, North Korea is its
neighbor. The area in South Korea is 99392 square kilometers and its population
is 50 million. Seoul is the capital of South Korea, whose population is 9794304
[1].
Education is one of the most
important parts in South Korea. Education can be classified into Kindergarten,
Elementary school, middle school, high school and secondary education.
Kindergarten
is not a public administered program. Most children are sent to private
schools, and some schools are taught in Korean while some taught in English.
From the age of three to seven, children will attend Kindergarten and most
children don’t attend preschool [2].
When
children reach 6 or 7 years old, they will be moved to the first grade of
elementary school, but 8 years old is the calendar system in Korea. From
kindergarten to high school, students are not admitted by their grade level,
instead, it is according to their age.
In
general, the school year is divided into two semesters. From the beginning of
March to mid-July, it is the first semester; and the second begins in late
August and ends in mid-February. The summer vacation is from mid-July to late
August, and they also have a Winter break from late-December to early February.
Then they come back to school for a week and take another vacation from
mid-February to early March [2].
Culture in South Korea is similar
to that in China. According to the traditional culture of Korea, South Korea
has developed a culture which is different from that in North Korea. The
effects of economy and lifestyles make population concentrated in main cities,
which is similar to China [3].
South
Korea is affected by foreign counties. At the beginning, America and Japan have
big effects on it. Many people in Korea enjoy watching American movies, and it
also changed people’s diet habits. Many people prefer to Western food and other
Asian food instead of traditional Korean food. Such as, Pizza, hamburger,
chicken, coffee and ice cream become very popular in Korea.
Images of traditional
Korean food.
Holidays in Korea. There are a lot
of holidays in Korea, they are:
New
Year’s Day: it is a day to celebrate New Year.
Korean
New Year’s Day: The first day of Korean lunar calendar, it is regarded as the
most important holiday in the tradition of Korea.
Independence
Day: It is memory of March 1st Movement in 1919.
Children’s
Day: The day for children to share their happiness.
Buddha’s
birthday: Bucheonnim Osinnal.
Mid-autumn
Festival: Korean traditional harvest day.
Christmas
day: The day for Christmas [5].
Audio record:
Transcript
X:
xianping
T:
Yuhwa
X:
Hello, Yuhwa, thanks for helping me with my interview. How is your day going?
Y:
You are welcome! I’m glad to help you. I have a nice day, because I’m prepared
for my wedding, and everything goes well with us.
X:
Great! I’m glad to hear that. Are you ready for our interview?
Y:
Sure. Let’s begin.
X:
Where are you from?
Y:
I am from South Korea.
X:
Sounds nice! Why did you choose this school?
Y:
Ok, I am an exchange student here. When I decided to attend this school, I
heard many suggestions from my friends who studied here before, and they said
this is a good place for studying. Besides, my school in South Korea has cooperation
with this school.
X:
Good, what’s your major?
Y:
My major is Education.
X:
Great, I have many friends who have the same major with you, it is indeed a
good major and teacher is an excellent career. Would you want to talk something
about your family?
Y:
Sure, please.
X:
Thanks. What’s the value of family in your country?
Y:
Family plays an important role in my country, and people usually want to stay
with their family, because it always brings a lot of laughter when we stay with
family.
X:
Good, it sounds similar with my country. Yuhwa, I am a little curious about one
thing: Both of us are from Asian countries, and then I guess we should have a
lot of things which are similar. Such as, when children are over 18 years old
in your country, do the children find part-time jobs to support themselves or
their family will continue support them?
Y:
In my family, I did not find part-time job even when I was 18, and my parents
support me. But I knew some of my friends found part-time jobs when they
entered college. They thought this could a good chance to get some experience,
and they can also help their family reduce the financial stress. I agreed with
their opinions. I did not do as well as them because my major has much stress
and I need to pay attention to my study.
X:
Good, it is similar to that in China. Compared with the children in western
countries, there are fewer students who will find part-time jobs when they are
studying. But I think both of them have the advantages and disadvantages.
Thanks for talking so much about family. Could you talk something about
education?
Y:
Yes, what do you want to learn about education?
X:
What do you think of the education system in South Korea?
Y:
Nice, I like the education system in my country. Because we can have a lot of
freedom to choose our professor and class, and the class schedule is very
flexible. Then, we can have a chance to get what we need.
X:
Sounds attractive. Do you find some differences between high school study and
college study?
Y:
Yes, they are very different. In high school, we have more class than college,
and if we want to apply for a famous school, we need to get higher score in a
very important exam. But when we enter college, we can have more activities, we
can choose the majors we are interested in, and we can also join a lot of
interesting clubs.
X:
Good, what do you think of the college you attended now?
Y:
Good, I like everything here, and the education program is awesome, and the
professors are very nice and patient here.
X:
I’m glad to hear that. Do you know how many people can have a chance to attend
college in your country?
Y:
South Korea has wonderful education system; we can get free education from
elementary school to high school. And if we have satisfied score, we can also
apply for the scholarship when we are in college. Then, most people can have
the chance to go to college if they like.
X:
Excellent! Education is very important to everyone. Thanks for talking so much
about education! Can we move to culture? I know, there must be a lot of
differences between Asian countries and Western countries. As an international
student in America, do you find some differences between America and your home
country?
Y:
great! I’m glad to help you. Yes, you are right; cultures between Korea and
America are so different. Such as, when we hang out with our friends, we
usually keep a little space between each other, but in Korea, we can hang out
hand by hand.
X:
Yes, China has similar situation with Korea. Which points of culture make you
be proud of your country?
Y:
Korea as the developing country in the world, it has its unique economy
development. And it has inclusionary culture; we can have many chances to
contact with diverse people.
X:
Sounds interesting! It will be really helpful to get on well with diverse
people. Yuhwa, I knew Korea is also famous of food; could you give me some
introductions of food in your country?
Y:
Of course. We can different taste restaurants in Korea, such as Asian food restaurants,
Indian food restaurants, and American food restaurants.
X:
Nice. It will give us a satisfied feeling when we taste different delicious
food. What is your favorite food? Do you taste other countries’ food, such as
American food?
Y:
Of course! I think Pizza is my favorite American food. Maybe most people will
think Pizza is a common food in America, but it is very delicious and
convenient, especially when we have a lot of classes. When I lived on-campus, I
met a lot of students who were from different countries, and they made
different tastes of food for me. But I think Asian food is my favorite food,
such as tofu, noodles. They are indeed spicy and delicious.
X:
Yuhwa, I am glad to hear that. Yes, I love Asian food too; they are very spicy
and delicious. Religion will be another important issue in Korea. Do you have
any religions? What do you think of them?
Y:
Yes, I am a Christian. When I was in high school, I chose to be a Christian.
God is always awesome person. Every time, when we need any help, he always
stays with us, and give us support. And you don’t need to care how well you
did. Sometimes, when you were in plight, you don’t need to give up, you just
need to talk with him, and he always has a plan for you.
X:
Good, do you know how many people is Christian in Korea? Is it the dominant
religion in Korea?
Y:
Yes, many people are Christian in Korea, and I think it is the dominant one.
X:
Thanks, what kinds of activities do you have as a Christian?
Y:
Well, we need to go to church every Sunday, and we sit together and study Bible
together. We share our opinions about Jesus. And sometimes, we also bring some
snacks to church and share them together.
X:
Sounds good! Do you have your favorite holiday in your country?
Y:
Yes, I think Christmas Day is my favorite holiday in my country. Because it is
connected with Christian, and we will have many activities to celebrate.
X:
sounds nice, could you give me some examples of the activities you will do on
that day?
Y:
Sure. At first, we will sing Christian songs, and then we will read bible
together. Final, we will go boating, and we will have dinner together.
X:
sounds attractive! I can image the joy when you celebrate it. Tracey, thanks
for your sharing, it is indeed helpful. We have done an excellent job!
Y:
You are welcome! I’m glad to help you, and I also have fun.
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