Review of Interview 3

1. Who scored the highest?

 Jasmin Sainju, Valerie Mattson, and Mahmoud Aboaljadaiel.

2. Whose interview did I like best? Why?

I liked Jasmin's interview the most because it is intresting and organized.


3. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Al3t2MnD_-1MdHZHNkZWZ25haU0ySlZsOTN1Mlp3dkE&usp=sharing

My Third Interview

  Description of preparations:

 

Before beginning the interview, we wrote an objective in class. This objective answered the questions “why”,“with whom”, and “how”referring to the interview with an international student. We also wrote ten questions together as a class. Also I did add five of my own questions to the ten questions that we already chose as a class. After that I started looking for international students to interview them.

 

 

How did I approach people?

 

I started studying at St. Cloud State University August of 2009. As a result I have met many students from many countries. Moreover, I did live at the dorm for two years, so my communication skills improved a lot and I became very social. I go to the library every day, except weekends because I am taking 19 credits this semester, as a result I have a lot of work to do every day. On Nov 18th I was at the library and I saw my friend from Ethiopia, I told him I have to interview international students for my English class. He said "ok I am done with my homework you can interview me now" I said ok and I started interview him.

 

 

When, where, and how did I conduct the interview?

 

 

I conduct the interview on Monday, November 18th at the library. I saw him there when I was studying. We said “hi” to each other and I told him about my project for my English class. He said ok right away “let us do it right now” because he was done with his homework and he had nothing to do.

 

 

Whom did I interview?

 

 

I did interview Dawit. He is an international student studying at St. Cloud State University from Ethiopia. He came to St. Cloud in Aug 2011, his major is Economics.

 

Country Report:

Country: Ethiopia

 

Location; The State of Oromia borders Afar, Amhara and the State of Benshangul/Gumuz in the north, Kenya in the south, The State of Somali in the east, the Republic of the Sudan.

The area: the estimated area of the State of Oromia is about 353,690 Km2, and accounts for almost 32% of the country.

The population; the total population was 18,732,525 of which 9,371,228 were males and 9,361,297 females.

Major economy activates; Over 90% of the people of Oromia live in the rural area, and agriculture has remained the source of livelihood for the overwhelming majority of the people. The main agricultural crops include maize, teff, wheat, barely, peas, bean and various types of oil seeds.

The languages: 84% of the people spoken Oromo language. Other major language is Amharic.

 

 

Interview transcription:

M = Moheemed (me)

D = Dawit

M: how do you communicate with each other in your home country?

 D:  There are about 85 languages in Ethiopia, however where I live there are two main languages that are spoken, Oromo Language and Amharic Language. People communicate through these two languages.

M: what is the clothing style for men and women?

D:  women wear dresses and men wear jeans. However now they are following the western cultures when it comes to clothing. In some places Muslim women still wear coverings, and Muslim men also use the Muslim traditions. On other hand Christians men and women dress just like western.

M: How are women and men treated differently?

 D:  About a decade back women work in homes and take care of children, when men work outside to provide for families. However these days that has dramatically changed. Women are also working outside to support their families. Women are now attending school in large numbers as well.

M: How has your experience here helped you interpret and respect cultural differences?

D: When I was in Ethiopia I was only exposed to about two to three different cultures. But when I came to U.S I was exposed to much more cultures. I think diversity is good thing. Here on campus I get to know people from different countries and cultural background, which opened me to the greater world. I definitely love other cultures and respect them.

M: do you enjoy speaking with other exchange students?

 D: Yes I definitely enjoy speaking with other exchange students. I have learned lots of things from them and I also thought them lots of things they didn’t know before. I think having exchange students is such a wonderful, because we can learn each other’s’ culture, religion and manners at the same time respect them and live with them peacefully.  

M: How long have you been in the United States?

 D: I have been In United States for 6 years.

M: Have you been able to visit any other parts of the United States?

 D: Yes I have visited some states. I visited, Georgia and Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota and Kansas.

M: what are your home country’s major religions?

 D: Christianity is major religion by 43%. Islam is the second religion by 34%. There are also some traditional religions.

M: what influenced you to come to the United States? Especially Saint Cloud State?

 D: There are many things that influenced to come to United States. Since there were wars and chaos going on where I was living I didn’t have any choice to live in such environment, but to flee it. So US happen to help me live here. U.S is known for helping people who are in need and want migrate from such conditions. I came to St. Cloud State University because there are lots of opportunities for me here. The campus is clean and their education is much better than other schools. The students’ body is not too big or too small. The city is also located in good place and it not too large or too small, just the right school I was looking for.

M: how is the political system of your country structured?

D: it is a parliamentary system.

M: what are the major holidays in your country?

D: there many holidays in my country, but the major holidays are New Year eve, Genar, and Fashiacka.

M: what do you perceive as differences between your culture and the American culture?

D: the American culture is more modernize then my culture.

 M: can you tell me about activities that young people like to do in your country?

D: soccer, and playing carts.

M:  do you have any question for me? I have asked so many of you?

D: no.

 

 

Review of Interview 2

1.      Who scored the highest?

Valerie Mattson, , Jaffar Alshaikhahmed, and Abdulhameed Aljahdali.

 

2.      I liked Valerie’s interview the most because it is organized and it has good information.

 

 

3.  Score Card interview 2

My Second Interview

 

  Description of preparations:

 

Before beginning the interview, we wrote an objective in class. This objective answered the questions “why”,“with whom”, and “how”referring to the interview with an international student. We also wrote ten questions together as a class. Also I did add five of my own questions to the ten questions that we already chose as a class. After that I started looking for international students to interview them.

 

How did I approach people?

 

I started studying at St. Cloud State University August of 2009. As a result I have met many students from many countries. Moreover, I did live at the dorm for two years, so my communication skills improved a lot and I became very social. Also while living in St. Cloud community  I got to know many Saudi students, due to same language that we speak. One of my Saudi friends was at the library the day that I was looking to interview an international student. When I saw him at the library I stopped to say "hi" to him and then I asked him to interview him.

 

When, where, and how did I conduct the interview?

 

 

I conduct the interview on Monday, November 4th at the library. I saw him studying at the library I stopped and I said "hi" to him and I did ask him to interview him. After he finished his homework he called me to do the interview. It was very interesting interview we talked about many interesting things about our countries. We both enjoyed the interview.

 

 

Whom did I interview?

 

 

I did interview Abdulhameed Aljahdali. He is an international student studying at St. Cloud State University from Saudi Arabia. He came to Minnesota in Jan 2013, his major is Computer Science.

 

 

Country Report:

 

Country: Saudi Arabia

 

 

 

Officially known as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is the largest Arab state in Western Asia by land area (approximately 2,150,000 km2 (830,000 sq mi), constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula) and the second-largest in the Arab world (after Algeria). It is bordered by Jordan and Iraq to the north, Kuwait to the northeast, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates to the east, Oman to the southeast, Yemen in the south, the Red Sea to the west and Persian Gulf to the east. Its population is estimated to consist of 16 million citizens and an additional 9 million registered foreign expatriates and 2 million illegal immigrants. Saudi Arabia’s geography is diverse, with forests, grasslands, mountain ranges and deserts. The climate varies from region to region. Temperatures can reach over 110 degrees Fahrenheit in the desert in the summer, while in the winter temperatures in the north and central parts of the country can drop below freezing. Saudi Arabia gets very little rain, only about four inches a year on average.

Saudi Arabia has the world's 2nd largest oil reserves, which are concentrated largely in the Eastern Province. Oil accounts for more than 95% of exports and 70% of government revenue, although the share of the non-oil economy has been growing recently. This has facilitated the transformation of an underdeveloped desert kingdom into one of the world's wealthiest nations. Vast oil revenues have permitted rapid modernization, such as the creation of a welfare state. It has also the world's sixth largest natural gas reserves.

The official language of Saudi Arabia is Arabic. The three main regional variants spoken by Saudis are Hejazi Arabic (about 6 million speakers), Nejdi Arabic (about 8 million speakers ) and Gulf Arabic (about 0.2 million speakers). The large expatriate communities also speak their own languages, the most numerous being Tagalog (700,000), Rohingya (400,000), Urdu (380,000), and Egyptian Arabic (300,000).

There are about 25 million people who are Muslim, or 97% of the total population. About 85–90% of Saudis are Sunni, while Shias represent around 10–15% of the Muslim population.The official and dominant form of Sunni Islam in Saudi Arabia is commonly known as Wahhabism (a name which some of its proponents consider derogatory, preferring the term Salafism), founded in the Arabian Peninsula by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab in the eighteenth century, is often described as 'puritanical', 'intolerant' or 'ultra-conservative'. However, proponents consider that its teachings seek to purify the practice of Islam of any innovations or practices that deviate from the seventh-century teachings of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad and his companions. Shias face persecution in employment and religious ceremonies.

Saudi Arabia has centuries-old attitudes and traditions, often derived from Arab tribal civilization. This culture has been bolstered by the austerely puritanical Wahhabi form of Islam, which arose in the eighteenth century and now predominates in the country. The many limitations on behaviour and dress are strictly enforced both legally and socially. Alcoholic beverages are prohibited, for example, and there is no theatre or public exhibition of films. However, the Daily Mail and Wikileaks indicate that the Saudi Royal family applies a different moral code to itself ("WikiLeaks cables: Saudi princes throw parties boasting drink, drugs and sex. Royals flout puritanical laws to throw parties for young elite while religious police are forced to turn a blind eye.") Public expression of opinion about domestic political or social matters is discouraged. There are no organizations such as political parties or labour unions to provide public forums.

 

 

Interview transcription:

M = Moheemed (me)

A = Adulhameed

 M: how do you communicate with each other in your home country?

A:  face to face.

M: what is the clothing style for men and women?

A: for men we have “Thop” and for women “Abaya”.

M: how are women and men treated differently?

A: In my country men are more powerful than women.

M: how was your experience here helped you interpret and respect cultural differences?

A: respecting each culture by each self and I learned a lot of other cultures while I am here.

M: do you enjoy speaking with other exchange students?

A: of course yes.

M: how long have you been in the United States?

A: year and a half.

M: have you been able to visit any other parts of the United States?

A: yes, I went to North Dakota and Florida.

M: what are your home country`s major religion?

A: Islam.

M: what influenced you to come to the united states especially St. Cloud?

A: the good education that America has, and I choice St. Cloud because I have cousin in it.

M: how is the political system of your country structured?

A: kingdom.

M: what are the major holidays in your country?

A: Eid Alfater and Eid Aladha.

M: what do you perceive as differences between your culture and the American culture?

A:  my culture is a religious culture, but the American culture is a free culture.

M: can you tell me about activities that young people like to do in your country?

A: soccer, hang out at hoka bars, and going to the beach.

M:  do you have any question for me? I have asked so many of you?

A: no.