Process Description:
1. Describe the preparations.
Before the interview, everything is included in the interview is very important to me, so I made sure all of it is all very clear and there are enough details so the person I am asking will know exactly what I am talking about. I needed to think of the questions to ask an international student. I am an international student too, so I thought about all things that were difficult for me or that I thought was weird about America and SCSU and created questions about them. Some things I thought of first for example were "How does the climate in your home country compare to here?" and "How do you celebrate your tradition festivals here." In the first interview, the questions weren't very clear. So in the second interview, I divided the questions into four parts: personal information, experience and life in the U.S, home country, and plans for the future. I chose 7 question from 10 questions list which have include into four parts. Then I made ten questions more to interview. In the first interview, I chose a girl from China to interview, so the second interview I wanted to choose a boy from China. I want to know if their opinions are different or not. Before the interview, I sent the questions of interview to him by email because I wanted him to know what kind of questions there were before I met him. He did not like to record, so I prepared a notebook to write down everything that he said. On the interview, I printed off two copies of all my questions, I gave one to him when we met and I kept one myself.
2. How did you approach people?
I needed to find a boy who is from China to interview, so I asked my classmate in religion class if he would answer some questions for an interview. I went to my religion class, I asked him to help me about this interview. He agreed, I asked him email address and his phone so I could contact him easily.
3. When, where ?
I made an appointment at 7:00pm, March 16 at second floor of the library. I went to the library about a half hour early to choose a quiet place on the second floor, then I called him to meet me there.
4. How did you conduct and record the interview?
He did not like to record, so I wrote down all of the questions and answers in my notebook.
5. Whom did you interview?
Sixin Shen, a senior Chinese student that is studying at SCSU. His major is accounting and minor is computer science. He doesn't have any sisters or brothers. He is very nice and friendly. We are in the same religion class and also working on a group project for the class together. So we are very friendly and comfortable talking to each other.
Describe the interview. What did surprise you? How did the interview unfold? Interview report
In this interview like the first interview, I was surprised about the weather in China which is very different depending on the are. In Suzhou they do not have heaters, this information made me surprised because I thought China is a very rich country, so it has a lot of modern technology. Age to marry in China, men usually marry after 22, and women usually marry after 20. In my country, men and women can marry at 18 years old. I thought Sixin is a freshman or sophomore because he is so young but Sixin is a senior. He spoke English very well, he sounds like American people so I was very surprised about that.
At 7:00pm, March 16 on second floor of the library, I interviewed Sixin Shen. He is an international student who is from China. The interview was about 30 minutes. The interview with Sixin went very well like the first interview. He was happy to answer all of my questions, and he enjoyed talking about his home country, his personal information and his experience in the US. I learned more things about Chinese culture, such as food, festival, clothes.
I also was happy that he had some of the same experiences as me, because I am also an international student. Like he is homesick like me and he learns English the same as me. And how many times American people don't understand some things you say when you first come here to Minnesota.
After the second interview, I recognized Sixin spoke English better than Mangya Xia. And, in the second interview, I have a lot of information which I didn't have in the first interview. Moreover, the second interview I talked better with Sixin, and asked more questions than the first interview because I had experience from the first interview.
Country Report
China is located in the Eastern Hemisphere with a population of "1.3 billion"(fco.gov.uk) people, and area is 9,596,960 km2 (wikitravel.org). The type of the government is Socialist Republic. The capital is Beijing, and the official language of China is Mandarin, but many people also speak Cantonese.
Most people in America know China for its historical structure, The Great Wall of China, which was build by the Emperor Qin to keep other tribes away. But it also has other historical landmarks like The Forbidden City of the Ming Dynasty in the 1400s which was home to many Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasty.
The weather in China is very different depending on the area. Northern China has long and cold winters from December through March, summer is very hot and rather humid from May through the end August. Southern China has high temperature, winter is short from January to March, and April through September is very rainy. Central China has cold winters too, but not as long as Northern China. It also has very hot and humid summers.
China has five important holidays such as: National Day (October 1), Chinese New Year or Spring Festival (the end January or mid-February), Labor Day (May 1), Dragon Boat Festival ( 5th day of the 5th lunar month, boat races and eating zongzi are a traditional parts of the celebration), and Mid-Autumn Day (15th day of the 8th lunar month, this is also call the Moon Cake Festival. People will meet outside and put food on tables, then they look up at the full harvest moon)
China and other countries in Asia have a different Zodiac and New Years than America because they use a lunar calendar. The New Years happens around February and there is a big festival for about one week where they celebrate and nobody needs to go to work or school. It is similar to the vacation we get for Christmas. People clean up and decorate their house around one month before the New Year. They also buy new clothes, shoes, presents, and get new hair cuts before New Year. In the New Year, almost all the stores are closed in the first, second, and third day of celebration. People wear new clothes when they visit their family to wish them a Happy New Year. The children receive a red envelop which has lucky money inside from their parents or their relatives. People have a big dinner together with their parents and their relatives.
http://www.martial-arts-info.com/120/kung-fu/
http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/country-profile/asia-oceania/china
http://www.yourdiscovery.com/ancient_china/landmarks/great_wall_2/index.shtml
Interview transcription
Course: English 191
Interviewer: Thao Vo Herman, Vietnamese
Interviewee: Sixin Shen, Chinese
Time: 7:00pm, March 16 at second floor the library
Thao: Good evening, my name is Thao. How are you?
Sixin: I'm fine. How are you?
Thao: I'm good. What is your name?
Sixin: My name is Sixin Shen. Nice too meet you!
Thao: Did you get my email about the questions?
Sixin: Yes, I got them.
Thao: I have two copies of all the questions. You can have one, I will keep one.
Sixin: Yes.
Thao: Where are your from? Please tell me a some information about your hometown?
Sixin: Suzhou, China. It is a city of 5000-year history. It is famous for its classic Chinese traditional gardens. Now I ranks number 5 in GDP growth in China.
Thao: What is your major?
Sixin: My major is accounting, my minor is computer science.
Thao: How many people are there in your family?
Sixin: My parents only have me.
Thao: I see, I know a lot parents in China only have one children. Do you want to have one sister or brother in your family?
Sixin: I do not want to have a sister or brother because I want my parents love only me. hahaha
Thao: Haha, me too. But I have one sister and one younger brother. So I'm not happy about that. how long have you have been here?
Sixin: 4 years.
Thao: Are you a freshman, sophomore, junior, senior?
Sixin: I'm a senior student
Thao: How does the climate in your home country compare to here?
Sixin: It is definitely warmer in my hometown during winter. But since we do not have heaters in Suzhou, I feel more comfortable staying in MN.
Thao: How do you celebrate your tradition festivals here?
Sixin: I am not a big fan of celebrating festivals. The only I celebrated was the Chines New Year cultural night here at SCSU. Other than that, I do not think I did much to celebrate Chinese New year.
Thao: What are some cultural differences between your country and here?
Sixin: Since the Western culture has greatly influenced China, I did not feel a lot of differences after I came to the US. People are able to get almost everything here in China and living a pretty much same lifestyle in China too. But I have to say food is still quite different.
Thao: At what age do men and women spend private time and at what age do they consider marriage?
Sixin: Nowadays, students will probably start dating in high school. Any age after 20-22 is when people consider marriage.
Thao: Is religion more open in your country? Explain.
Sixin: I would say positive. But as a matter of fact, people still do not have complete freedom of religion in China. Most of the biggest churches are still run by the government.
Thao: What was the hardest thing about transitioning to the U.S.? (Culture shock)
Sixin: Honestly, I did not have any cultural shocks when I came to the US.
Thao: What were your preconceptions about the US before coming here and how have they changed?
Sixin: Actually, my conceptions about the US did not change a whole lot after I came to the country. I think that is because American TV shows are now very popular in China and they portray the real American ideas.
Thao: What is the most difficult situation you have faced when you live in the U.S?
Sixin: Finding the real authentic Chinese restaurant. Other than that, cannot think of any.
Thao: I like Chinese restaurants a lot. The food is very good. I love spicy food.
Sixin: I like spicy food too.
Thao: Why did you decide to come to SCSU instead of studying or working in your own country?
Sixin: I wanted to receive higher education and I thought SCSU would be the right place for me. The tuition is reasonable, and the people here are very nice.
Thao: What is the most interesting event you like in this school?
Sixin: The cultural nights. They are great opportunities for us to learn about each other.
Thao: I like cultural nights, it helps students understand each other's country.
Thao: What surprises you the most about this school?
Sixin: I cannot think of any.
Thao: How do you improve your English?
Sixin: I watched news on TV. I talked to native speakers often.
Thao: Your English is very well. I want to speak the same as you. I need improve my speaking. Hahaha. What does your professor say about your speaking?
Sixin: They often say I speak well, haha
Thao: Do you have any plan for the future?
Sixin: I may sound boring. Being able to find a descent job. Getting married to the one I love.
Thao: Do you think it will be easy to find a job after college?
Sixin: No, I do not think so. I think I will go for my Master's degree.
Thao: How often do you call your family? What do you do when you are homesick?
Sixin: Every week. I do not get homesick very ofter. When I do, I go home. I have been going home every summer since I came here. It is nice to have family around.
Thao: What will you do for fun in your free time in China?
Sixin: I often hang out with friends and play pool, and watch movies.
Thao: Could you describe your life now?
Sixin: I am pretty comfortable with what I am doing and where I am at right now. Enjoying my life is very important to me.
Thao: Could you describe a little about three foods you like?
Sixin: Fried chicken strips. Cheeseburgers. Oranges.
Thao: I like these foods too.
Thao: Thank you so much. I have a lot of your information so I can do my assignment
Sixin: You are welcome. If you need more information, you can call me to meet again.
Thao: Thank you. You are so nice. See you later
Sixin: See you
Thao: Have a good night
Sixin: Good night. See you tomorrow at class.
