Comparison of the First interview and the Second

By now, I have already done two interviews. Since I did not do such kind of interview, I felt a little nervous for the first interview. Obviously, I felt much better for the second interview. This time, I prepared well and felt relaxed during the conversation. For the second interview, I invited my Japanese friend, Keita, to be my interviewee. We often play basketball together and we are neighbors living in Lawrence Hall, so I did not feel nervous at all. The interview went through smoothly. 

This time, I almost did the same as the first interview. I just changed the place. Since, we both live in Lawrence Hall, we had our interview in the lounge.

The two interviewees are from different countries. Janvier is from Rwanda and Keita is from Japan.
Keita’s English is not as good as Janvier. Sometimes, I need to guess what he meant. By some body language, I could almost understand him.

I used the same questions and the same recorder.

I learned a lot from the first interview. Africa is kind of mysterious to me. I knew little about Africa before. Thanks to Janvier, I knew something about the education, food, daily life, military and so on. Since Chinese and Japan are close to each other and the two countries have many similarities, I had known something about Japan before. What Keita said still increased my knowledge.

I spent about 1 hour to transcribe the recorded audio portion and I spent much time to complete the whole interview report, so I am satisfied with my second interview. Some classmates also did perfectly.
I will prepare well to complete the third interview better.

Top three scores of the second interview

1. Reinke, Kelsey M    19   link
2.Schleif, Nicholas E    19   link
3.Smith, Tiffany M       19   link

Score Card of the second interview

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AsmOzgLTbMRmdDdnMldXbEhlbFVFanV1WnlxdllSOFE#gid=0

Similarities and Differences between countries

Similarities and Differences between countries

Yi Gu- Rwanda
Mengyao Ding- Burundi 

                                                                        Introduction of Africa

Africa is a very mysterious continent, that a place hidden beneath the dense rainforest. Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most-populous continent, after Asia. Africa has abundant natural resources; also African art and architecture reflect the diversity of African cultures. By most estimates, well over a thousand languages are spoken in Africa. Map showing the distribution of the various language families of Africa.

As the religion, forty five per cent (45%) of Africans are Christian, 40% are Muslim and 15% practice indigenous or local religions. The African religions are usually monotheist and many originate from or are mixed with Christian practices. Most Africans marry within their own ethnic groups. There are 56 countries in Africa; we have 2 classmates Janvier from Rwanda and Ariane from Burundi. Next, my partner will introduce the similar and different between these two countries for you.

Reference: http://library.thinkquest.org/27257/africa.html

                      http://us-africa.tripod.com/intro.html

Similarities

• They are both very small countries in Africa.
• Population density( Rewanda is the highest and Burundi is the second highest in Afirca) 
• Burundi is in Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north.
• Similar economy, history, language and food.
• Most people in the two countries are Christian.
•  Education system is similar.
• They have the same ways of greeting.

Differences

·      They represent two very different models of ethnic conflicts.

 

 http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/burundi.htm
http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/africa/rw.htm 

My second interview

Interview preparation

This time I was in a hurry. Last week I was so busy so that I almost fogort the second interview. So it was a little late to look for interviewee. I sent e-mails to several classmates but I did not get any reply. So I asked Keita who is my neighbour living in Lawrence Hall whether he was willing to be my interviewee. He agreed with no hesitation.Keita is my friend from Japan. We are both freshman. We often play basketball together. He's a nice guy. We went to the activity room in the lawrence hall to have the interview. I brought the laptop and the cell phone used as recorder. Thanks for him again.

Interview report

The whole interview went very well. Since Keita and I are neighbours in lawrence hall, our conversation was just like a normal chat. We talked a lot about Japan. There is a gap between China and Japan due to the history. I think it's a nice thing to interview a Japanese. After the interview, I knew a lot about Japan and the interview corrected some of my misunderstandings about Japan. I am so interested in Japanese culture. I like Japanese food very much. I may go to Africa for travelling if I have chance. Keita is a nice person. He answered each questions patiently. We stopped the interview in about 20 minutes because it was too late that night. It's time to go to sleep. It was a pity.

Country report 

 Japan is an island nation in East Asia. 
 Japan has four major islands, they are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku, also "Japan has the world's tenth-largest population, with over 127 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents. 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bc/Regions_and_Prefectures_of_Japan_2.svg/500px-Regions_and_Prefectures_of_Japan_2.svg.png

Japan is a major economic power in the world, after the second world war, Japan got very poor as a loser in the war. However, Japan's economic growth very fast from the 1960s to the 1980s has been called the Japanese post-war economic miracle. Japan developed fast because The Vietnam War and the Marshell plan. Also, Japan's auto-mobile industryl and electronic industry are very advanced. This is why Japan revive so quickily. 

      

           

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Toyota_Prius_plug-in_--_2010_DC.jpg

   The climate Japan varies greatly from north to south. "Japan's geographical features divide it into six principal climatic zones: Hokkaidō, Sea of Japan, Central Highland, Seto Inland Sea, Pacific Ocean, and Ryūkyū Islands."  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kongobuji_Koyasan07n3200.jpg

Japanese food is famous. The typical Japanese meal consists of a bowl of rice (gohan), a bowl of miso soup (miso shiru), pickled vegetables (tsukemono) and fish or meat. While rice is the staple food, several kinds of noodles (udon, soba and ramen) are cheap and very popular for light meals. As an island nation, the Japanese take great pride in their seafood. A wide variety of fish, squid, octopus, eel, and shellfish appear in all kinds of dishes from sushi to tempura. 

                                         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_cuisine 

Education in Japan is also good. Primary schools, secondary schools and universities were introduced in 1872 as a result of the Meiji Restoration. Since 1947, compulsory education in Japan comprises elementry and middle school, which together last for nine years (from age 6 to age 15).       

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan 

               http://www.japan-zone.com/culture/food.shtml

Transcript

Yi: Let’s get started.Thanks for being my interviewee. Where are you from, Keita?
Keita:Japan.
Yi: Which city? 
Keita:Akita.
Yi: How to spell it? 
Keita:A-k-i-t-a. It's in the north if Japan.
Yi: What kind of government is in charge of your home country? 
Keita:Uhm. 
Yi: Public? 
Keita: Uhm... 
Yi: If you don't know. We can just skip this question. 
Keita:Oh. I am not sure. Skip it. I'm sorry.
Yi: That's Ok. Never mind. The next question is Can you describe a typical day for a child in your country? 
Keita:Like school kids?
Yi: Yes. 
Keita: Children in primary school go to school at 8,9 in the morning.
Yi: 9? It's a little late. 
Keita: Then spend about 12 hours in the school.
Yi: 12 hours? How could that be? You go home at 8?
Keita:Not 8. It's about 4. 
Yi: So you spent 8 hours in school every day? 
Keita:Um..Yes, that's sorry. My bad. Sorry.
Yi: It's Ok. Then? 
Keita:I used to play with friends after school to 6,7 p.m. I went home, had dinner and went to sleep.
Yi: Students in Japan do not have much homework?
Keita: No, they don't. They don't have much homework. But in high school, they do.
Yi: What religious holidays or other cultural events do you or others celebrate; can you explain your traditions for each?
Keita: Um...
Yi: What's the religion in Japan? 
Keita: I am not sure. We don't have main religion. People may say Japanese are Buddhists.
Yi: Which holiday do Japanese usually celebrate? 
Keita: We celebrate like... Um?
Yi: Tranditional holidays? 
Keita:Yep. We have one called The Day of Sea but we don't do anything
Yi: In memory of what? 
Keita: Nothing. It's a holiday but we don't serve anything.
Yi: There's no meaning of the holiday? That's strange. 
Keita: There may be some meanings but I don't know.
Yi: What about the other holidays?
Keita: I don't know what it is called in English. It's the day that Japan became a country.
Yi: So is it the national day? 
Keita:Yes, kind of.
Yi: Next one is Do you have any daily rituals in regards to your religious beliefs? 
Keita: Since I don't have religion, I don't have any daily rituals.
Yi:Oh, yes. I forgot it. And What are the typical greetings in your culture and what do they mean? 
Keita: We just bow. We also say hello and say "*******" which means thank you for your hardworking.

Yi: How to say hello in Japanese?
Keita: Hello is "********"
Yi:What different modes of transportation are used in your country? 
Keita:I think it's train.
Yi: In Japan, you can see train everywhere? 
Keita:Yes. Especially in Tokyo.
Yi:Which country`s food do you like the most? Japanese food? 
Keita: Yes, absolutly.
Yi: What's the second one? 
Keita: Chinese food. It's really good.
Yi:What are the similarities and differences between it and your own culture`s food? 
Keita: The difference between Chinese food and Japanese food is how spicy they are.
Yi: Ha. You don't get used to spicy food? 
Keita: I really like spicy food.
Yi: Do you have sushi every day in Japan? 
Keita:No. It's the special dinner.
Yi: So what do you have in daily life? 
Keita: Like curry, Chinese food.
Yi:Like a bowl life rice and some dishes? 
Keita:Yes.
Yi:Ok. How would you describe famous sports in your country? Baseball? 
Keita: Yes, baseball is the most famous sport in Japan. Every night, you can watch baseball game on TV. Baseball has the most population of players.
Yi: What about the others? Soccer? Basketball? 
Keita: Soccer is famous but basketball is not. Basketball is getting better and better.
Yi:It's your favourite sport,is it?
Keita: Exactly.
Yi: Are you the tallest in your school in Japan.
Keita: No.
Yi:Which position you play?
Keita: Center.  
Yi: Cool.  At what age do you start school? 
Keita: 6.
Yi: Are you under a lot of stress in school? 
Keita:I don't think so.
Yi: What could SCSU do to make your stay on campus better?  
Keita: Make the garvey's food better.That's the most important.
Yi: You don't like garvey food?
Keita: Who likes it?
Yi: Your American friends do not like it, also?
Keita: They don't like too.
Yi: Do you make Japanese food by yourself here?
Keita: Sometimes.
Yi: Have you been to some Japanese resraurant here?
Keita: I have been to one in Minneapolis. It's a sushi buffet and it's really good. 
Yi: Is it traditionell?
Keita: Yes. You can have as many as you can.
Yi: Sounds good.
Yi:  That's it. Thanks so much for coming.
Keita: You are welcome. 

  
  

Top three scores of the first interview

Nicholas S  http://en191s12nicholasschleif.blogspot.com/2012/03/my-first-interview-30-45-minutes-in.html  19 points

Tiffany S    http://en191s12tiffanysmith.blogspot.com/2012/03/first-interview.html  19 points

Wenting C http://en191s12wentingcai.blogspot.com/#!/2012/03/my-first-interview-30-45-minutes-in.html  18 points

Score Card

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AsmOzgLTbMRmdC1meDBXekxFZElZUTZqRzdCVEdRNVE#gid=0

My first interview

Interview preparation

I began my first interview right after I came back from Orlando. There were only 3 days left before the due time of first interview. I was a little worried. I sent emails to several people to check whether they have time to be my interviewee. Finally, Janvier Byiringiro agreed to be my interviewee. We decided the time and place for the interview. Before the interview, I download a software to my phone for recording. I brought a note book, pens, computer and my phone to the library when we meet. We started our interview at 2:10 p.m. on Monday.

Interview report

The whole interview went very well. Since Janvier and I were classmates in ESL lesson last semester, our conversation was just like a normal chat. We talked a lot about Africa. I just know about Africa very little before. Africa is a mysterious area to me. After the interview, I knew a lot about Africa and the interview corrected some of my misunderstandings about Africa. I am so interested in African culture. I may go to Africa for travelling if I have chance. Janvier is a nice person. He answered each questions patiently. It was a pity that the interview had to be stopped after 30 minutes because Janvier had a work to do.

Country report

Rwanda is a country in central and eastern Africa. The population is about 11.4 million. Rwanda is a very small country. It’s more peaceful than some parts of the Africa which we saw from the news that have wars. 
Republic is in charge of the country. Most people are Christian and they celebrate Christmas.

The children’s life is regular. They do have many homework to do. They do not feel stressful until they enter high school. They start their school at 6. The only difference is that every students need to go home for lunch. T
he main transportation is taxi, motors and bus. They used to ride bicycles. 
There are much tranditional food in Rwanda such as Isombe and Fufu. 
The most popular sports in Rwanda is soccer. Almost every one likes it.

 

http://api.baike.baidu.com/image/d4239b35fe6fbf3891ef3978 

 http://bbs.voc.com.cn/topic-2126937-1-1.html

The main resources of Rwanda are Fish catch, Oil production and reserves and livestock resources.
Schools are run by the state and by Christian missions. Primary education is officially compulsory, but only 78% of children attended in 1997; just 12% go on to secondary schooling. 
Rwanda has a network of 34 hospitals and 188 health centers. At the end of 2001, 9% of the population was estimated to be HIV-positive.
Traditional arts and crafts are produced throughout the country, although most originated as functional items rather than purely for decoration. Woven baskets and bowls are especially common.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Igiseke.jpg

REFERENCE

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwanda 

http://dev.prenhall.com/divisions/hss/worldreference/RW/introduction.html

Transcript

Yi: Let’s get started. Hi I am Yi Gu, thanks for being my interviewee. Where are you from, Janvier?

Janvier: I am from Rwanda.

Yi: Oh, I know it. Would you please spell it to me? Sorry for that.

Janvier: That’s OK. R-W-A-N-D-A. It’s in the central of Africa.

Yi: In the central of Africa?

Janvier: Yes.

Yi:  What kind of government is in charge of your home country?

Janvier: Republic.

Yi:  How did it affect your life and how has democracy in America been a change?

Janvier: I would say ,for me, the government right now is fine. I have possible things to do, so I feel ok. It has fixed to my life. I would say I have good education. I am able to plan a business and then make it work in my home country. I do not know about democracy in America, it works fine. Things in America are pretty good.

Yi: ok. Well, when we watch the news, we can often see that there was a disorder in Africa and some wars took place in Africa.

Janvier: Right now, it ok now. Things are going well.

Yi: Are guns allowed in your country? When we watch news, we can see  some Africans carrying guns in their hands.

Janvier: No, we do not have wars. You are not allowed to have a gun if you do not have a permit. It does not mean everywhere.

Yi: So your country is peaceful by comparing to other areas?

Janvier: Yes, there is no way to carry a gun. We don’t need to.

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

Janvier: I would say, most of , how I grew up, wake up , have breakfast, go to school, then go back home for lunch and then go to school again, come back around 5, then play with my friends. We eat, like, around 7, then go to sleep.

Yi: You don’t have homework?

Janvier: Sometimes, not always.

Yi: Every one need to go home for lunch? Do the school provide lunch for studens?

Janvier: No, school does not provide food. Every one have to go home.

Yi: What religious holidays or other cultural events do you or others celebrate; can you explain your traditions for each?

Janvier: It depends on which religion you are in. For my home country, we mostly celebrate Christmas.

Yi: So, are you a Christian?

Janvier: Yes, I am a Christian.

Yi: Do you read Bible every day?

Janvier: No, if I could, I would. Sometimes, I am lazy.

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

Janvier: No, it depends on you.

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

Janvier: We say hello to others.

Yi: Do you speak French?

Janvier: Yes, we speak French. We have native language also. We have 4 languages.

Yi: Wow, that’s cool. What different modes of transportation are used in your country?

Janvier: The main one is taxi. Motor, bus also. In the past, people rode bicycles, but now, kind of no.

Yi: I heard that women can not drive a car in Africa?

Janvier: That’s not true.

Yi: Or in Arab countries?

Janvier: Yep, in Arab countries.

Yi: Which country`s food do you like the most?

Janvier: Here?

Yi: Yes, here.

Janvier: It depends. Sometimes I eat Chinese food and Mexican food because they have rice. Rice is the main food in Africa.

Yi: You don’t like American food?

Janvier: No, it’s always fast food and I do not like it.

Yi: Which kind of food do you like most in your country?

Janvier: We have a lot of food. We have Isombe and Fufu?

Yi: Can you spell it to me?

Janvier: I-s-o-m-b-e, F-u-f-u. They are made with rice.

Yi: What’s the famous sports in your country? Soccer?

Janvier: Yes, everyone like soccer but I don’t like it. I play basketball. Most people like soccer.

Yi: I go to the stadium almost every day to play basketball, I never saw you before.

Janvier: Yes, I never saw you too. That’s strange. Maybe we may meet someday.

 Yi: At what age do you start school?

Janvier: 6.

Yi: Do you feel stressful in school?

Janvier: It depends on what you usually do. When you grow up, kind of. It’s fine, not so stressful. But during high school it’s really really stressful.

Yi: What could SCSU do to make your stay on campus better?

Janvier: I would say it’s better to provide more events and more international foods for international students.

Yi: Mm, that’s all. Thank you so much.

Janvier: You are welcome. Do you have class next?

Yi: Yep,  at 4.

Janvier: I have to go to work right now. See you tomorrow.

Yi: See you. Thanks again.