Interview #3

Interview #3 

Interview with Amali

Me:  What is your name?

Amali:  I am Amali.

Me:  Where are you from?

Amali:  Sri Lanka.

Me:  Where is Sri Lanka?

Amali:  It is an island south of India.

Me:  Is it a pretty small country?

Amali:  Yes it is.

Me: Which city in Sri Lanka are you from?

Amali:  I am from Kandy.

Me:  Where is that located? And is it a big city?

Amali:  It is in the central providence.  It is actually the capital of the central providence and the second biggest city in the country.  Compared to the sizes of most of the other cities in my country it is a big city, but it has a population of only 120,000 people.

Me:  Did you experience any culture shock when you came to the USA?

Amali:  Well, when I got off the plane in the US and got on the bus to St. Cloud, I was really shocked that the bus was driving down the right side of the road.  In Sri Lanka, we drive down the left side of the road.  Also, I arrived here in the summertime, and it was very hot.  I saw all these girls walking around in short skirts and shorts and tank tops.  It was a really big culture shock to me because back home girls are expected to dress conservatively. 

Me:  How would you compare high school in the US with high school back home? How about college?

Amali:  Back home high school is really hard.  Beyond the typical school day, most families also hire private  tutors to come to your home and work with you on your homework for a few hours every day after school.  When I was in high school, my parents hired a math and science tutor for me.

Me:  How big is your family back home?

Amali:  I have my mother, my father, and just one older sister.

Me:  What does your family do for a living?

Amali:  My sister actually went to college here in the US.  Now she is married and lives in Chicago with her husband and my baby niece.  She works as a lab technician in a clinic there.  My mom and dad both still live back home in Kandy.  My dad works in a furniture factory and my mom works in a clothing store at the shopping center.

Me:  What is the major difference between life here and back home?

Amali:  Here, life is really fast-paced.  Back home life is more laid-back, and time is not as big of an issue as it is here.  Also, back home cars are not needed.  There are public buses that run everywhere at all hours.  Here in St. Cloud, it is more difficult to get around with public transportation being that some buses only come once an hour.  So here in St. Cloud I really have to plan my day to be on time for everything. 

Me:  Is there anything else that was different here that kind of shocked you?

Amali:  On TV back home, all we see about America is how you are free.  I get here, at the age of eighteen, completely shocked that the land of the free won't let me drink alcohol.  Back home in my country, there is not really a legal drinking age.

Me:  What sports, if any, do people in your country play?

Amali:  The national sport of Sri Lanka is volleyball, but I would say the sport that most people follow is Cricket.  However, in my hometown of Kandy, the most popular sport is Rugby.

Me:  Do people play soccer in Sri Lanka?

Amali:  Yes, we do.  We play tennis as well.

Me:  How important is religion placed in education back home?

Amaali:  It is not that important.  Back home, depending on the location in Sri Lanka, education is influenced by Buddhism or Hinduism.  They allow you time during the day for religious purposes such as praying, but you have the right to chose if you want to participate in them or not.

Me:  Was coming to school here hard when you didn't really know the English language very well?

Amali:  In Sri Lanka, English is a national language used mostly in government agencies.  Therefore, they taught us basic English as well in the educational system.  When I came to the US, I had studied the English language for two years, so I knew English really well, and it made my studies a lot easier.

Me:  What are you studying?

Amali:  I am studying Biomedical Science.

Me:  What year are you? And when do you plan on graduating?

Amali:  I am a sophomore, and I plan on graduating in spring of 2015.

Me:  Do you plan on staying in the US? Or are you planning on going back home when you are finished with school?

Amali:  Since I have come to this country, I have fallen in love with it.  I hope to stay here, if I can find a job.

Me:  What kind of job do you hope to find when you are done with college?

Amali:  I hope to do cancer research someday. 

Preparing for the Interview

                For my interview with Amali, I thought of a few basic questions that would help me learn about the basic differences between the US and Amali's culture, religion, education, and basic everyday life style.  I recorded this interview on a voice recorder.

Approaching People

                Because my wife has had several classes with Amali and is a good friend of hers outside of the classroom, she helped me set up this interview with Amali by providing me with her phone number.  I called Amali and set up a meeting with her for the next day.

When, Where, and How was the interview conducted?

                Amali and I met at the couches on the second floor of Miller Center at 3 pm the next day.  I explained to her that I was going to record the interview so that I could go back to reference it later while writing my paper.  The interview went smoothly, and I was able to ask Amali all of my planned questions with plenty of time to spare.

Who was Interviewed?

                Amali Dabrera, a 20 year old sophomore, from Kandy, Sri Lanka was interviewed.  She plans on graduating in two years with her biomedical science degree and plans on using this degree to do cancer research in the US someday.  If she is unable to find a job in her field here in the US, she will return home to Sri Lanka to be with her family. 

Description of the Interview

                Learning about Amali's culture, traditions, lifestyle, and education in her country of Sri Lanka was very interesting to me.  Amali showed so much enthusiasm while talking about the way of life back home, her family, education, religion, and traditions.  While talking, it was very clear that she missed her country, especially her family back home, but also had fallen in love with the US.  Her love for both countries was remarkable.  She loves America so much that she wants  to leave her family behind back home and make the USA her new home.

Report on Country and Culture

                Located off the southern tip of India, Sri Lanka is a tropical island¹ in the northern Indian Ocean. Formerly known as Ceylon², Sri Lanka is home to approximately 21 million with Colombo as the capital and largest city.  The Sinhala speaking Buddhists make up the majority of the population while the Tamil-speaking Hindus make up the largest minority.  Besides Buddhism and Hinduism, Islam and Christianity are also major religions in Sri Lanka¹.  Also, besides Sinhala and Tamil, English is widely used for education, scientific, commercial, and governmental purposes ².  With one of the fastest economic growth rates of the world², Sri Lanka's main exports are clothing, textiles, tea, gemstones, rubber, coconuts, coffee, and cinnamon¹.    With over 9000 government schools, 800 private schools, and 15 public universities, education in Sri Lanka is very important.  In fact, Sri Lanka is one of the most literate populations among developing nations, providing free education from primary school to the tertiary level².

Works Cited

1.  Sri Lanka Profile.  14 December 2011.  www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-Asia-11999611.

2.  Sri Lanka.  Wikipedia Encyclopedia Online.  2012.  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri-Lanka.