final topic

                               Topic of my final paper: damage done by nuclear waepons 

          I have decided to do a research paper on this topic because one of the biggest challenge of all countries in this world is to acquire a nuclear weapon in order to solidify their armies. when I look back into what happenned to the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaky, I do believe that those types of weapons shoud not be created because the effects of that weapon are still affecting (morally and physically) people from those cities till nowadays.

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.

Interview #2

                                                                 Interview #2

Interview with Meenakshi

Me:  What is your name?

Meenakshi:  My name is Meenakshi, but most people can't pronounce it right, so most people call me Mini.

Me:  Where are you from?

Mini:  I am from Nepal.

Me:  Where is Nepal?

Mini:  It is in south Asia.

Me:  Where exactly?

Mini:  South of China, and borders India on the other three sides.

Me:  Is it a pretty small country?

Mini:  Yes, a very small country.

Me: Which city in Nepal are you from?

Mini:  Dhangadhi.

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

Mini:  It is on the Western edge bordering India.  Not really, it is about the size of St. Cloud with a little under  70,000 people.

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

Mini:  Well, there were definitely a few things that were really weird and completely opposite of my country.  In Nepal, time is not important, but in the USA time is everything.  So it took me awhile to come up with a routine that would help me to get to classes, work, appointments, etc. on time.  Also, the up and down head shake actually means no and the sideways head shake means yes in Nepal.  So, I was often confusing the two and getting the opposite results of what I wanted.

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

Mini:  Well, I don't really have any personal experience with college life over there since I have only attended in the USA as of far.  However, high school over there is much harder, much stricter and much more time consuming.  I think  Americans have class for like seven or eight hours a day.  Well it is about six or seven hours a day as well, but then in order to excel, most students would have private tutors come to their homes for an additional 4 or 5 hours a night as well.

Me:  How big is your family back home?

Mini:  I have one younger sister and an older brother.

Me:  What does your family do for a living?

Mini:  Well, back home there are very few opportunities for women to work.  So my mom stays home and takes care of the family and our home.  My little sister goes to school, comes home and works with her tutor for a few hours after school, and then does some laundry and other household chores to help my mother out.  My brother and  father both travel to work on a farm outside of the city every day.

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

Mini:  In this country, everyone is always in such a hurry. You have to be to school and work on time.  Back home, you can take time to rest or pray whenever you want.  Back home religion is important, so at school and work they allow you to take time out of your day to pray. 

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

Mini:  Back home, soft and weak handshakes show respect, whereas here a firm handshake is common.  The first American that I met shook my hand so hard that it kind of hurt, and it kind of threw me for a loop until I learned that this is how it is done here.  Also, I had dinner with an American family and I belched.  They looked at me weird and laughed.  In my country, it is a way of complementing the meal preparer and thanking them for the meal you just ate, but here it is considered rude.  And also, here it is mostly frowned upon to see two people of the same sex holding hands, for they are considered gay or referred to in other negative terms.  But in Nepal, you  often see same sex friends walking holding hands or arms.  Men and women rarely show affection in public, even married couples don't hold hands.  So that was pretty confusing for me and took awhile to get used to seeing men and women holding hands and showing affection to each other often but not being able to hold hands with my girl friends without getting stared at.

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

Mini:  We play football.

Me:  Do you mean soccer?

Mini:  Yes.  Soccer. 

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

Mini: Religion has always been pretty free and open but also very important.  My religion allows you to be open and free to what you believe in and what god you pray to, but encouraging religion was always important in schools.  They always gave us breaks during the day to pray.

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

Mini:  In high school back home I started learning English, but it was more British English.  They used different words that you do not use here and they have a different way of speaking it.  So it was more like I needed to get used to the dialect here.  Also, with any language you are learning, I always have some words that I don't know the meaning to.  Constantly having to look up the meaning of words that I come across in my textbooks has been my biggest issue so far.

Me:  What are you studying?

Mini:  Biotechnology.

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

Mini:  I plan on returning home.

Me:  Why do you plan on returning home with all the opportunities that may arise for you in the medical field in this country?

Mini:  I miss my family back home.  Especially my boyfriend.  We are  to be married as soon as I am done with my education and return home.  I know that opportunities for women in the workforce are scarce back home, but I hope having my college degree will change that.  There are very few women, very few men for that matter, that have a college education back home.

Preparing for the Interview

                For my interview, I thought of ten basic questions to learn more about Mini's country and thought of more during the interview process.  I wanted to learn about the basic differences in life, culture, traditions, and education between the US and Nepal.  Once again, as I did for the first interview, I recorded this interview using a voice recorder that I use to record my professors' lectures on occasion.

Approaching People

                Being that Mini has been a friend and co-worker of my wife's, setting up this interview was easy.  My wife had her over for dinner one day and at that point I had asked her if she would be willing to sit down and do an interview with me for an assignment.  She was very nice about it and agreed to do it that same day.

interview #1

                                                                    Interview #1

Interview with Mohamed

Me:  What is your name?

Mohammad:  My name is Mohammad, but I prefer to be called Moh.

Me:  Where are you from?

Moh:  Saudi Arabia.

Me:  Where in Saudi Arabia are you from? 

Moh:  Riyadh.

Me:  Can you tell me a little bit about Riyadh?

Moh:  What exactly would you like to know?

Me:  The basics. Where is this located? Is it a big or small city? You know, anything that will help me learn about your home.

Moh:  Well, Riyadh is actually the capital and largest city in Saudi Arabia.  It is located in the central region of the country.

Me:  So when you say it is the largest city in your country, do you mean it is comparable to the size of Minneapolis (the largest city in Minnesota), or even larger perhaps?

Moh:  Oh no.  Riyadh is MUCH bigger than Minneapolis.  My hometown of Riyadh has a population of more than 5 million people!

Me:  Oh wow that is a big city! So coming to an area like St. Cloud with a population of only a little more than 60,000 must be quite a big change for you then, right?

Moh:  Oh definitely!! St. Cloud is more like a village than a city to me...ha ha ha!

Me:  So what brings you to St. Cloud?

Moh:  Well my mother is actually from Minnesota, originally from Duluth actually.  And my aunt and uncle still live in the cities.  So my parents had arranged for me and my brother  to live with them  while attending the University of Minnesota. 

Me:  Why are you in St. Cloud now then if your parents arranged for you to live in the cities with your family?

Moh:  I was living with them for awhile, but living with family is difficult.  They have an understanding with my parents to make rules for me and keep an eye on me.  Really though, I wanted to have a life of a normal college student who truly gets to live on his own, have fun whenever he wants, and not have a curfew set for him.  So my brother and I decided to transfer to St. Cloud State. 

Me:  How would you compare life here in St. Cloud to life  in the twin cities? Do you like it better?

Moh:  Well the cities is definitely a lot more fun and closer to the busy city life of back home, and most importantly I always had something to do.  I am not going to lie! St. Cloud is pretty boring!   But even though there is more to do in the cities, I wasn't allowed to enjoy myself with having to obey the rules of my aunt and uncle's house.  St. Cloud has been much more fun because I finally have the opportunity to live on my own and experience the things that other college students get to.  Also, with St. Cloud not having as many fun things to do, it is easier to focus on my school work. 

Me:  Thank you for a little bit of information on you background.  Now I would like to focus a little bit more about life back home in Saudi Arabia.  Can you tell me the biggest difference about life here and life back home?  How about the difference in college life here and back home?

Moh:  The biggest difference I would say between here and Saudi Arabia is freedom.  Here in America you have freedoms that we do not have back home.  And in college life the biggest difference is here you have the ability to go out and enjoy yourself with your friends, but in Saudi Arabia it is much more strict.

Me:  You say we have freedoms here that you do not have back home.  Can you be more specific?  What I mean is what is the main freedom you enjoy here that you cannot enjoy in Saudi Arabia?

Moh:  Well most definitely I like the fact that I can go out and have a few drinks, party, or do whatever with my friends.  However, alcohol is strictly forbidden in Saudi Arabia and the consequences can be pretty harsh.  Another really big difference in the society here and the society in Saudi Arabia is the difference in women's rights.  Rights for women in the USA has been pretty well established for years now, but in Saudi Arabia, our religion is a big part of our families way of life and traditions.  Until recent years it was very uncommon for a woman to get a driver's license or a college education, or even walk down the street without a close male member of the family.  Finally, that is starting to change but very slowly.

Me:  Do you have any other brothers and sisters besides the brother that you live with?

Moh:   Yes, I am the second youngest, and other than my little sister, I have four older brothers!!  

Me:  It sounds like you come from a pretty big family!! Do all your family members still live over there?

Moh:  It's just my parents, my little sister, and one of my older brothers that still live there.  I said earlier that I live with one of my brothers.  I also have a brother that lives in North Carolina and one that lives in California.

Me:  What does your family back home do for a living?

Moh:  My mother is a stay at home mom, my little sister is in her final year of high school at a boarding school, my father works for the Saudi Arabian government, and my big brother owns a communication company over there.

Me:  A lot of international students that I have talked to have a plan set for their futures by their parents.  Do your parents have a career plan set for you?  Do you plan on moving back to Saudi Arabia?

Moh:  My parents do hope that once I finish my college education, I will move back there to be with them.  My dad has a job lined up for me with the government working with their computers and such.  But I feel that better opportunities may arise for me here in this country.  We have agreed that after I graduate, I will stay here for 1 year.  If in that time I do not find a job, I will move back home.

Me:  You said your dad has a job lined up for you working on the government's computers.  Is the degree you are pursuing related to computers? What is your major?

Moh:  I am going for computer programming with a minor in general business.

Me:  That sounds like it will be very useful, and you should have no problem finding a career in that area.  In pursuing your career, does the English language pose a problem?  I mean being that all the classes are taught in a language other than your native language, does it make the work more difficult for you?

Moh:  No, not really.  Back home Arabic and English were both my first languages, and they were spoken equally in my household.  I mean, being that my mom is American and doesn't speak Arabic, my parents had no other option but to communicate with each other in English.  And my dad's first language is Arabic, so he would try to speak it to us children as much as possible so we would be able to speak his language as well.  I feel very lucky compared to other international students that have to  learn the English language and then have to read complicated textbooks in a language that is not their native language.  I can't imagine how difficult that would be.  I feel that my main problem is forgetting the Arabic language while I am in this country and everyone around me is speaking English.  Therefore, my brother and I speak Arabic to each other as much as possible to keep it fresh in our minds.

Me:  I have one last question that I forgot to ask earlier but it will help to learn more about the Arabic culture.  Do you guys play sports in Riyadh?  What is the main sport you play?

Moh:  We play football, ummm... I mean soccer. It is called soccer in the US.  It is a big deal over there and pretty much everyone is into it.

This is the end of the interview, as I had to hurry to fit the last question in as time was an issue.  Moh had to get to his class.

Preparing for the Interview

                While preparing for this interview, I thought of questions I wanted to ask that would be of interest to me.  I wanted mostly to know about life, culture, and family back home.  So I thought of 15 basic questions I wanted to ask Moh.  The interview was conducted on my tape recorder that I use to record lectures in a few of my classes. 

Approaching People

                Luckily, this interview was very easy for me to arrange being that Moh has been an acquaintance of mine for some time.  I called a good friend of mine and asked for Moh's phone number.  I then called Moh and left him a voice message describing my assignment  and asked him if he would be willing to sit down with me and help me on this assignment.  Within a few hours,  he called me back and we set up a time to meet that was at his earliest convenience.

Conducting the Interview

                I conducted the interview with Moh at Caribou on campus.  I arrived  a few minutes early to find a quiet spot to sit and to get my notes and recorder set up so that the interview could start on time.  The interview was scheduled for 10:00 am, however, Moh was 10 minutes late arriving.  This area was really quiet at this time and turned out to be a great spot to interview Moh.  I started by explaining to Moh that I had a few very basic questions to ask him about his home in Saudi Arabia and that I just wanted to learn a little bit more about his lifestyle, traditions, and culture back home.  I also explained to him that the interview was going to be recorded so that I could go back and refer to it later to write my paper.  He agreed, and then I turned the recorder on and conducted the interview.  The interview was completed quicker than planned due to the late arrival of Moh, and then he left early to get to his class.  Because of this, not all of the questions that I had planned on asking were able to be asked.

Who was Interviewed?

                I interviewed Mohammad (Moh) Bakri.  Moh is from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and is located in the central  area of the country.  He is 24 years old and will graduate next semester from St. Cloud State University with a degree in computer programming and a minor in general business.  He comes from a big family, having one younger sister and four older brothers.  His family hopes that after college he will move home, where his family has a job lined up for him.  However, Moh believes that the USA will have better opportunities for him.  Therefore, he hopes to find a job in his field here within a year after his graduation.

Description of the Interview

                Considering the unexpected time constraints, I thought that the interview went really well.  I learned more about Saudi Arabia in the few minutes I had talked with Moh than I have known in  my entire life.  I was very intrigued with the majority of the information he had shared  with me, especially his information about women's rights.  Another thing that was also very interesting to me was how he has concerns about forgetting his native language of Arabic while going to school in America due to everyone around him speaking English.  To try and prevent this,  he speaks his native language with his brother as much as possible.  I am grateful that I have many friends in St. Cloud that I speak French with every day so that I as well do not have to worry about forgetting my native language.

Report on Country and Culture

                Saudi Arabia in the biggest country on the Arabian Peninsula, with about 27 million people residing within its territories¹.  Its capital and largest city is Riyadh, comprising just over 5 million people, is  located in the central region of the country².  Saudi Arabian traditions are rooted in their religious teachings of Islam.  During the Islamic "holy month" known as Ramadan, fasting happens from dawn until dusk.  Going without food makes Muslims thankful for the food that they do have and teaches them how to sacrifice.  This leads to other traditions that teach generosity and hospitality towards strangers, friends, and family¹. 

                Education in Saudi Arabia includes 24 public and 8 private universities, with religious teachings of Islam being at each of these universities' academic core¹.  These schools today are available to all citizens, male and female.  Females were first allowed to attend college in 1964 when the first school for girls was built, and it was not until the 1990's when girls' schools were prevalent in every area of the country.  Today, females comprise about half of all the students in the Saudi Arabia school system¹.  In fact, Riyadh has the largest all female university in the entire world². 

Works Cited

1.  Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington, DC.  2012.  www.saudiembassy.net/about. 

2.  Riyadh.  2012.  Wikipedia Encyclopedia Online.  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riyadh,_Saudi_Arabia.                            Interview #1

first interview spreadsheet

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Aj377LUa_MSedHV0T00wMHZKRF9EQVBFcVVUUlh0d0E#gid=0

essay on challenges and benefits of interviewing an international

 

           Countries could be different in term of language, culture, religion, education, and many other aspects. This is why interviewing someone from a country different than yours could be challenging, and beneficial at the same.

          Concerning the challenge in interviewing an international, there are some issues that come into it Such as language conflict. Not be able to clearly understand someone else’s saying is not very beneficial for the interviewer. This could be due to the interviewer being not familiar with the accent or could be due to the interviewee not being able to clearly speak the interviewer’s language. There can also be an excessive talking coming from the interviewer side.  The excessive talking could either be too many information at a time or too many info that is not related to the question being asked. Another challenge would be an improper question to ask coming from the interviewer. Some people sometime feel very uncomfortable talking about certain things regarding their countries or themselves. Honesty could also be a pretty big challenge when interviewing not only an international but anyone. Since you are interviewing someone from a different country that you have no clue of who exactly he is, and trying to get important information from him should be a very huge hope in making sure to get the right information. Not recording information is very challenging as well because It is important to write down very important keys information possible in order to have it as a backup in case you forget. Also bad initial introduction from either could result in bad verbal interaction during the interview.

                Regarding the advantages in interviewing an international, you can easily obtain detailed information about personal feelings, perceptions and opinions, allow more detailed to be asked. Because this gives to the interviewer, the possible to clarify all types of questions and thoughts he had concerning the country.  The Interviewer gets a better understanding on the culture, education and other aspect according to the type of information he or she is seeking.

  Reference:
http://www.evalued.bcu.ac.uk/tutorial/4c.htm
http://www.relocation.com/library/career_guide/interview_challenges.


reference cite for strength and weaknesses of the team
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NXtyOMmogBiRg6RONFHzkWO80BtnKKe9WQMfwTdC5yk/edit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 favorite picked countries

      I first pick Japan because they have the most successful Car industries in the world. Since I'am going for mechanical and specicaly want to be a design engineer, I think learning or having an experiemce with the type of system they adopt for their companies could be very beneficial for me in the future.

     I secondly pick Germany for pretty much the same reasons I pick japan. both countries have an excellent system that enable car industries to be successful. The other reason I pick Germany is because I have 02 sisters and a brother that lives there, so it will be pretty easier for me to assimilate

    Saudi Arabia is my third choice because I do have a lot of Saudi friends, so I wouldn't mind living there and explore a new culture.