Interview Report II
Report II
With the experience of the first interview, I did more preparation than the fist time. I cleared my objectives and reviewed my questions again. From the research of the first interview, I got to know more information about the country Sri Lankan. I want to know how do they feel after come here and what their lives in Sri Lanka are like in their point of view. What are the differences between the information from the Internet and their real experience. All my questions are related to my objectives. The next thing is to check the technology. At this time, I made an experiment before the interview. From the experiment, I figured out how high my volume should be. At last, the coffee shop in the library was still considered to be the right place for interview.
Since I work as a night security in the residential hall, I can meet with a lot of international students from different countries. Luckily, one of the community advisors Yoshan who always work on the same day as me is also from Sri Lanka. I asked him if he can be my interviewee during the time when we work together. I told him that I was doing a interview for my English class to know more about the international students in our school and I chose Sri Lanka. Yoshan promised to be my interviewee after my explanation.
I conducted my interview at the coffee shop in the library on March the 25th which was also a Thursday at 5 pm. We first talked about the weather, what we did during the spring break and asked him if he has already find an apartment then I plan to start the interview. I told him that I would ask him some questions about his country and his feelings about the United States and I also need to record our interview. I asked him if he has problems with the recording and he said okay about it. Before I started to ask my questions, I checked my recorder to make sure it works well. Then, the interview began.
Yoshan is an international student comes from Sri Lanka and he is now working as a community advisor(CA) in Benton Hall. He has been here for almost four years and has been a community advisor for three years. He told me that he is now so sick of being an CA even though that's part of his life experience and he wanted to move out of the campus. To be a CA, he has to deal with so many troubles made by his residents, sometimes he even need to be woken up late in the evening because there are students get drunk again. It was really a hard time when he first became a CA. "But that is part of the life, this job gives me a place to live and eating for free in the Garvey, that helps a lot", he said. In his family, there are three people. His mother and his younger brother are in Sri Lanka and his brother is in high school now. Because of his outstanding, his mother decided to sent him to the US and the government also paid half of the tuition for him. He is now major in the coumputer science and will graduate in two semesters. He plans to stay here for a while either to find a job or go to the graduate school. He wants to have more experience and find a good job in Sri Lanka that his mother can retire and have a good rest.
From this interview, I learned a lot from Yoshan. His braveness of facing the difficulties made think about myself. In fact, I had the chance to apply for an community advisor but I didn't, because there is so many troubls in the residential hall and CAs also need to contact with A lot people they don't know very well. Yoshan is right, that's part of our life. I need this experience to help me to overcome the difficulties.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is an island country. It is in the South Asia and lies in the India Ocean. It is located to the Southeast of the bay of Bengal. It has 65610 square kilometers. Because it's near the equator, it is always summer on the island for the whole year. The average temperature there is 28 degree Celsius. The country is also known as "the pearl on the Indian Ocean", "the kingdom of gem" and "the lion kingdom" in the world.
In the late 6th century B.C., the first Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka. The Buddhism was introduced in at the Mid-third centuray B.C.. During the 200 B.C. to A.D.1000, civilization was developed in the Anuradhapura and during the 1070 to 1200, clivilization was developed in Polonnaruwa. In the 14th Centurey, Indians in the south built their Tamil Kindom but the coastal areas of the island were controlled by the Portuguese in the 16th Centuray and by the Dutch in the 17th Centuray. The island was ceded to the British in 1796 and became a crown colony in 1802. By 1815, it was united under the British rule. As Ceylon, it became independent in 1948 and its names changed to Sri Lanka in 1972. From 1983 to 2009, there was an on and off civil war against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam which is short for LTTE. It is a separatist milllitant oganization who fought to an independent state and named Tamil Eelam in the north and wast of the island. Both of the Sri Lanka government and LTTE have been accused of various human rights violations. On may 19, 2009, the president of Sri Lanka officially claimed an end to the insurgency and the defeat of the LTTE.
The population of Sri Lanka is 21,324,791 and the growth rate is 0.904 percent by 2009. Sinhalese, Sri Lankan Moors, Indian Tamil and Sri Lanka Tamil are the main ethnic groups of the country. People in Sri Lanka also have so many religions such as Buddhist, Islam, Hindu, Christian and so on. Sinhala is their official and national language. Tamil is also another national language of Sri Lanka. English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about ten percent of the population.
The government type of Sri Lanka is republic and divided into three parts which are executive branch, legislative branch and judicial branch. The executive branch is consisting of the chef of state, head of government, the cabinet, elections and election results. The legislative branch has elections and the election results. The Supreme Court is the main institution of the judicial branch.
Colombo is the captain of Sri Lanka and known as the "Oriental crossroads" since the Middle Ages. It is one of the most important business ports in the world and the world’s famous gemstone is flowing from here to the overseas. The average temperature is 28 degree. It has a population of 223.4 million (2001).
In Sri Lanka, it's traditional food was influenced by both the Westerns and Middle Easterns. Western influences customary diet are rice and curry, Kiribath, wattalampam which are made mainly by coconut milk. The Middle Eastern influences are found in the traditional Moor dishes such as, Lamprais, Breudher which is a Dutch Christmas cake and Bolo Fiado which is a Portuguese style layer cake.
Every April 13, Sinhala anad Tamil people celebrate Sinhala and Tamil New Year. Muslims celebrate the Ramadan for every year. Esala Perahera is the grand festival hold on July ot August in Kandy which is in the middle part of Sri Lanka. It is a Buddhist festival consists of dances and richly decorated elephants. It has already become a unique symbol of Sri Lanka. Fire dances, Whip dances and Kandian dances are the main dances in Sri Lanka. During the festival time, elephants are usually adorned with lavish garments and people have the shows of different dances. The festival ends up with the traditional Diva-Kepeema and the elephant is paraded around the city bearing the tooth of Buddha.
The tourism is a very famous industrial in Sri Lanka and more and more people are selecting Sri Lanka as their vacation paradise.
Reference
Sumit G. (2006). South Asia. New York : New York University Press. March 2010.
Introduction to Sri Lanka. Applied Language Solution.com. March 2010.http://www.appliedlanguage.com/country_guides/sri_lanka_country_introduction.shtml
Interview Transcript II
Engl191 Section 22
Ziyi Feng
Yoshan from Sri Lanka
03/25/10
F: Where do you come from and what's your native language?
Y: I'm from Sri Lanka and my native language are Sinhala and Tamil, but I also speak English.
F: Cool, so do you have any problems with speaking English when you first arrive in the US?
Y: Actually we don't have big problems for understanding but you know my country was the colony of British, so there are still a lot differences.
F: Yes, I can understand. So what is the imagine of the US in your home country? What do you think now?
Y: Before I came here, I have heard about the US a lot and I also did some research from the Internet. but St.Cloud is smaller and colder than I thought. It's like a small town in my home country.
F: Yes, i have the same feeling when I just arrived. Do you like the weather here, compared to Sri Lanka?
Y: To tell the truth, no. I like summer more than winter but the winter here is much longer than summer, I can't do sports outside or hang out with my friends. In the winter, I'm so lazy to move.
F: haha,me too. What’s your daily life like in your home country? How is it different from your life here?
Y:When I was at home, we can have a lot of fun after class or work. I don't need to worry about my study and tuition. But at here, I need to work everyday and I also need to keep my GPA in a required level or I'll lose my job. I'm so busy sometimes especially when the exams comes. But sometimes it's so boring that I don't know what to do during the breaks.
F:yep yep.What is the most different thing here comparing to your own country?
Y: First, the culture is really different, people have different ways to thinking to spend their time and make plans for their life. people don't have many stresses here except for the exams,haha. We also have different types of food, in Sri Lanka, we like rice and curry every much.
F: I have heard about that some of the food in Sri Lanka was influenced by both western and eastern cultures. Did you find any similar things here?
Y: Yes, that's true. but I did not really find any similar habits here.
F:What type of government does your country have? How is it different from the US government?
Y: yes, it's pretty different from the American government. The president is the biggest and then the ministers and vice-ministers.
F: what about the cilvil war?
Y: Yes, we have civil war in our country, it was because of the two different organizations they have different opinions about the politics and it was ended last year.
F: Okay. Why did you choose MN for schooling, why St.Cloud? What makes you to come to the US?
Y: I don't have many chance to make the choice for which country to go you know, because the government paid part of my tuition. But I choosed St.Cloud because it's really cheap here.
F: yep. Do you have any difficulties to adapt to a professor with a different accent?
Y: At first, it's really hard for me to catch the different accents. but after a while when i get used to it , I can understand better. but for me i prefer the professors with no accent better, that makes me feel relax in the class.
F: What is the greatest influence the US has had on you? What affects you the most?
Y: I became more independent after i come here. I get a job and earn money by my self. you know i'm a CA, so i work to pay for my living place and eating in the garvey. to be a CA is really a important experience in my life i think. cause there are so many troubles in the residential hall and i have to help them solve the problems . especially the freshmen, they always have parties in their rooms and sometimes even drank and pass out in the bathroom. I was woken up in the midnight and to deal with this. what's worse is I have a exam at 8 o'clock in the morning.
F: Wow, that's really sucks. how long have u been a CA, have u thought about to quit?
Y: i 've been a CA for three years. I had thought about to quite, but then i have no money to pay for the rent. That's the life, you need the experience to make you stronger, right?
F: Yes, That's true. What’s your major? Why do you choose it? Does it provides you more chances to find a good job?
Y: My major is computer science. I like to deal with the computer very much and I had a interest in it when i was in high school. i want to have a good job no matter here or in Sri Lanka. i want to give my mother and my brother a better life. My mother is so tired to work for our tuition. i want her to retire and enjoy her life now.
F: What do you plan to do, where do you want to go after graduate? Stay here or go home?
Y: Well, it depends. if i can get a job after i graduate, i'll stay here for a while or maybe I'll go to the graduate shcool. but I'll go back to Sri Lanka at last.
F: yes, I agree with you, that's a good choice. If you get a chance to introduce your country, what do you want the others to know the most?
Y: It's really hard to say just one thing, but our food and the beautiful place worth to go to Sri Lanka.
F: What about the traditional festivals, is the Esala Perahera, sorry, i don't know if i'm right. Is that a special holiday in Sri Lanka?
Y: yes, you are right. It's a very big event. at that day. we'll have to elephants decorated with beautiful garments and people have different types of dance on the street. it's a buddhist festival.
F: i see, do you have any religions? are you a Buddhism?
Y: yes, I am.
F: Cool, thanks for today. Thanks for taking the interview.
Y: yep, with pleasure.
2010年3月31日星期三
2010年3月24日星期三
Reaction on the Presentations
I have learned a lot from today's presentations. It’s really interesting to learn the cultures of other countries. The pictures and videos in the power point caught my attention a lot. They gave me a clear image of how and what the country exactly looks like. It was really good to see the student from Saudi Arabia to bring and show their traditional dress. He introduced what the clothes are made of and even how to wear them. Some other students gave their presentations in different views. They either made a compare of two different countries or talked about the special cultures that mentioned by their interviewee. These new ways of thinking caught my attention and helped me not get too bored by the same content.
Even though most people did a good job of their presentation, there were still some problems I want to mention. Some students talked in a low voice with a slow pace which made me hard to concentrate. In my opinion, it was also better to stand out and talk loudly than hide beside the computer. Some of the power points included a lot of information and people just read through. It was hard to see and figure out where they are.
Overall, today’s class gives me a good chance to know the places that I have never been there before. Hope I can get a chance to go someday.
Even though most people did a good job of their presentation, there were still some problems I want to mention. Some students talked in a low voice with a slow pace which made me hard to concentrate. In my opinion, it was also better to stand out and talk loudly than hide beside the computer. Some of the power points included a lot of information and people just read through. It was hard to see and figure out where they are.
Overall, today’s class gives me a good chance to know the places that I have never been there before. Hope I can get a chance to go someday.
2010年3月17日星期三
The First Interview
The First Interview
Report of the First Interview
Before I start my interview, I did some preparation. First of all, I have to clear my objectives. I’m curious that if the other international students have the same feeling as mine. I want to know about what the other international students' ways of thinking and how their culture does affects them. I also want to know the reasons make them come to the US, how do their lives change and what are their plans for the future. After I make sure what I want to know from the interview, I start to choose the questions, I used some of the questions that we came up with in the class and combined them with my own questions. All my questions are related to my objectives. What was the next to be considered is the technology. I checked my recorder which haven’t been used for a long time and tried to find a quiet place for my interview. At last, I chose the coffee shop in the library.
After the preparations, I need to think about which students I would like to interview. Since I work as a night security in the residential hall, I can meet with a lot of international students from different countries and even some of my co-workers are international students. I know that one of my co-workers is from Sri Lanka and I’ve heard about the country when I was in high school. I have interests in this country and I want to know more about it so I decide to have my co-worker Rajitha as my interviewee. I told him that I was doing a interview for my English class to know more about the international students in our school and I chose Sri Lanka. Rajitha is really helpful and he also introduced two of him friends to be my other interviewees. Before I went to the meeting, I did some research about Sri Lanka.
We discussed about the date and location for the interview during our work and we finally decided to meet at the coffee shop in the library on March the 11th which was a Thursday at 5 pm. We first talked about the weather, our classes and our plans for the coming spring break then I plan to start the interview. I told him that I would ask him some questions about his country and I need to record our interview. I asked him if he has problems with the recording and he said okay about it. Before I started to ask my questions, I checked my recorder to make sure it works well. Then, the interview began.
Rajitha, as I mentioned before is my co-worker who comes from Sri Lanka. He has been to St.Cloud for three more years since he was nineteen. He is now twenty two and is a junior student of the marketing major and also the information system minor. He has a sister who lives with the other family members in Sri Lanka. During the three years, he had only been back home once. He likes the education system here so he comes to the United States. He had applied for some other schools, but here has his courses and the tuition is cheaper, he made the decision to come to the St.Cloud State University. He plans to stay here for a while after his graduation. He want to find a job here to have some working experience then he would like to go back to his own country. Actually he wants to take the MBA degree very much, but that should depends on if he have enough money for it. Rajitha is very hard working and he does well on his studies. Also, he is a very helpful person. Because I just start to do the work this semester, I don’t know it very well and I have a lot to learn. He teaches me a lot during the work and gives me so many useful suggestions on my study. He really helps me a lot.
From the first interview, I really learned a lot. I need to put the recorder much closer to the interviewee and we need to talk louder. During the interview, I need to develop more details about the factor that the interviewee provide and make the interview have more fun. To keep relax is very important, that helps the interviewee to come up with more ideas. I get to know more about my co-worker from the interview. I know how others are thinking and a different culture. Overall, I think I have to improve my interview skills for the next time. More and deeper information are needed to be discovered.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is an island country. It is in the South Asia and lies in the India Ocean. It is located to the Southeast of the bay of Bengal. It has 65610 square kilometers. Because it's near the equator, it is always summer on the island for the whole year. The average temperature there is 28 degree Celsius. The country is also known as "the pearl on the Indian Ocean", "the kingdom of gem" and "the lion kingdom" in the world.
In the late 6th century B.C., the first Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka. The Buddhism was introduced in at the Mid-third centuray B.C.. During the 200 B.C. to A.D.1000, civilization was developed in the Anuradhapura and during the 1070 to 1200, clivilization was developed in Polonnaruwa. In the 14th Centurey, Indians in the south built their Tamil Kindom but the coastal areas of the island were controlled by the Portuguese in the 16th Centuray and by the Dutch in the 17th Centuray. The island was ceded to the British in 1796 and became a crown colony in 1802. By 1815, it was united under the British rule. As Ceylon, it became independent in 1948 and its names changed to Sri Lanka in 1972. From 1983 to 2009, there was an on and off civil war against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam which is short for LTTE. It is a separatist milllitant oganization who fought to an independent state and named Tamil Eelam in the north and wast of the island. Both of the Sri Lanka government and LTTE have been accused of various human rights violations. On may 19, 2009, the president of Sri Lanka officially claimed an end to the insurgency and the defeat of the LTTE.
The population of Sri Lanka is 21,324,791 and the growth rate is 0.904 percent by 2009. Sinhalese, Sri Lankan Moors, Indian Tamil and Sri Lanka Tamil are the main ethnic groups of the country. People in Sri Lanka also have so many religions such as Buddhist, Islam, Hindu, Christian and so on. Sinhala is their official and national language. Tamil is also another national language of Sri Lanka. English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about ten percent of the population.
The government type of Sri Lanka is republic and divided into three parts which are executive branch, legislative branch and judicial branch. The executive branch is consisting of the chef of state, head of government, the cabinet, elections and election results. The legislative branch has elections and the election results. The Supreme Court is the main institution of the judicial branch.
Colombo is the captain of Sri Lanka and known as the "Oriental crossroads" since the Middle Ages. It is one of the most important business ports in the world and the world’s famous gemstone is flowing from here to the overseas. The average temperature is 28 degree. It has a population of 223.4 million (2001).
In Sri Lanka, it's traditional food was influenced by both the Westerns and Middle Easterns. Western influences customary diet are rice and curry, Kiribath, wattalampam which are made mainly by coconut milk. The Middle Eastern influences are found in the traditional Moor dishes such as, Lamprais, Breudher which is a Dutch Christmas cake and Bolo Fiado which is a Portuguese style layer cake.
Every April 13, Sinhala anad Tamil people celebrate Sinhala and Tamil New Year. Muslims celebrate the Ramadan for every year. Esala Perahera is the grand festival hold on July ot August in Kandy which is in the middle part of Sri Lanka. It is a Buddhist festival consists of dances and richly decorated elephants. It has already become a unique symbol of Sri Lanka. Fire dances, Whip dances and Kandian dances are the main dances in Sri Lanka. During the festival time, elephants are usually adorned with lavish garments and people have the shows of different dances. The festival ends up with the traditional Diva-Kepeema and the elephant is paraded around the city bearing the tooth of Buddha.
The tourism is a very famous industrial in Sri Lanka and more and more people are selecting Sri Lanka as their vacation paradise.
Reference
Sumit G. (2006). South Asia. New York : New York University Press. March 2010.
Introduction to Sri Lanka. Applied Language Solution.com. March 2010.http://www.appliedlanguage.com/country_guides/sri_lanka_country_introduction.shtml
Interview Transcript
Engl191 Section 22
Ziyi Feng
Rajitha from Sri Lanka
03/11/10
Ziyi: Where are you come from and what is your native language?
Rajitha: I’m from Sri Lanka and my native language is English.
Ziyi: Do you speak any other languages in Sri Lanka?
Rajitha: Sinhala and Tamil are also our official language but most people in Sri Lanka can speak English. We use English more often.
Ziyi: Okay. So what is the imagine of the US in your home country? What do you think now?
Rajitha: um, I think it’s much different, but, compare to the other places in the US, I think this place, I mean St.Cloud, is kind of laid back. Because here is not much people and stuff.
Ziyi: um, I mean what do you think about the America would be like when you were in Sri Lanka?
Rajitha: It’s pretty much the same, but I have expected some more actually. I mean the US is almost the same as I thought before, but St. Cloud is a little bit laid back than I think.
Ziyi: Yeah, That was what I think. What about the weather, have you ever thought about the weather before, cause I know Sri Lanka is pretty warm sometimes even hot, right?
Rajitha: Yes, the weather is the thing I don’t like the most, it’s too cold here, I took a long time to get used to when I first came.
Ziyi: What’s your daily life like in your home country? How is it different from your life here?
Rajitha: Here is like so busy. I go to school and then go to work. Time just flies away. I just working and Working and I don’t even realize that time has already past. But when I was in my country, I just go to school then go back home and do my homework. After all of this, I still have a lot of time. The time just goes fast here, that’s how I feel.
Ziyi: So that means you can have a lot of time to relax, to have fun with your friends. Life is boring here right?
Rajitha: Yes.
Ziyi: What is the most different thing here comparing to your own country? I mean the culture, the food ect.
Rajitha: the differences are very obvious. There are a lot different things. The culture is different and they always have a lot of deadlines, people just keep working and working.
Ziyi: What type of government does your country have? How is it different from the US government?
Rajitha: yeah, my country has a different system and the government type is republic. The president is the biggest and then the ministers and vice-ministers. It’s the opposite from here. Here has the senate first and then the president.
Ziyi: Why did you choose MN for schooling, why St.Cloud? What makes you to come to the US?
Rajitha: The first is, I like the education system here in the US compared to the other countries like the United Kingdom and Australia, they kind of have the same system. So it’s similar to my country cause my country was a British colony, so they pretty much follow the same thing. But here is much different, so that’s why I choose here, I like here more. Then talk about st.cloud, I have applied several schools and I found my courses that I want to do here and the tuition is cheap compared to the New York city.
Ziyi: Have you ever thought about Canada?
Rajitha: Canada is also similar to the UK system, too. I have considered about Canada, but I still like here more. I really like the country for some reason I don’t know.
Ziyi: Okay. I can understand.
Ziyi: During class how do you adapt to a professor with a different accent?
Rajitha: You mean get adapt to the professor’s accent here?
Ziyi: Yes.
Rajitha: Well, it’s kind of natural. I mean the first couple days, we usually have some difficulties to understand. But then I get used to it so I can catch up with what the professor is talking about. I have been taking so many classes with Indian professors, Chinese professors and some other international professors. I don’t have lot problems with them, even though some of them really have a little bit accents. But then I get used to it.
Ziyi: Yep. I have the same experience. So do you have some professors you prefer more?
Rajitha: No, they are kind of the same. If he is a really good professor, I don’t really care about where he or she comes from.
Ziyi: What is the greatest influence the US has had on you? What affects you the most?
Rajitha: For what?
Ziyi: For everything on your life.
Rajitha: To compare?
Ziyi: No, such as study, your way to think, your plan about your career, or even the changes of your daily life.
Rajitha: um..
Ziyi: Does it change what you wan? your views about the other things? For example, does the American culture changed yours? Do you prefer to live a way more American or still the same as before?
Rajitha: I’m kind like to work towards my goals, the deadlines. I get used to live with a rush life.
Ziyi: What’s your major? Why do you choose it? Does it provides you more chances to find a good job?
Rajitha: I select marketing as my major. I like it and want to do it, and I also choose the information system to be my minor. I guess I’ll get a good job with the combination of both.
Ziyi: Either for here or Sri Lanka?
Rajitha: Yes, I think so.
Ziyi: What do you plan to do, where do you want to go after graduate? Stay here or go home?
Rajitha: Well, I’m going to stay here for a little bit and trying to find a job. if I get the chance to work here I’ll probably be here for one and half years, maybe two years. Just to get the work experience. Then I might go back to Sri Lanka. But I really want to get my MBA here, so may be I’ll work for a while and start my MBA degree.
Ziyi: Yeah, almost all the international students they all think the same. At last, what I want to know is if you get a chance to introduce your country, what do you want the others to know the most?
Rajitha: Well, it’s hard to only choose one thing to introduce, I like so many things in my country and I don’t know which is the best one to present.
Ziyi: What about your culture, the beautiful things there?
Rajitha: oh, okay, what about my country in general right?
Ziyi: yes, what do you want the others to know the most?
Rajitha: oh, there’s a lot of beautiful place and the history of the place. Also the beaches are a proud thing of the country.
Ziyi: yes, I know Sri Lanka is a really beautiful country and the tourism is very famous, so many people go for vacation there.
Rajitha: Yes, That’s right.
Ziyi: Do you have any religion?
Rajitha: Yes, the major one is the Buddhism and also the Christian and so many other religions. I’m the Buddhism.
Ziyi: Okay, I see. Thanks for being interviewed that helps me to get closer to my objectives. Now I know how the other international students’ life is like. I really appreciate your help.
Rajiatha: You’re very welcome.
Report of the First Interview
Before I start my interview, I did some preparation. First of all, I have to clear my objectives. I’m curious that if the other international students have the same feeling as mine. I want to know about what the other international students' ways of thinking and how their culture does affects them. I also want to know the reasons make them come to the US, how do their lives change and what are their plans for the future. After I make sure what I want to know from the interview, I start to choose the questions, I used some of the questions that we came up with in the class and combined them with my own questions. All my questions are related to my objectives. What was the next to be considered is the technology. I checked my recorder which haven’t been used for a long time and tried to find a quiet place for my interview. At last, I chose the coffee shop in the library.
After the preparations, I need to think about which students I would like to interview. Since I work as a night security in the residential hall, I can meet with a lot of international students from different countries and even some of my co-workers are international students. I know that one of my co-workers is from Sri Lanka and I’ve heard about the country when I was in high school. I have interests in this country and I want to know more about it so I decide to have my co-worker Rajitha as my interviewee. I told him that I was doing a interview for my English class to know more about the international students in our school and I chose Sri Lanka. Rajitha is really helpful and he also introduced two of him friends to be my other interviewees. Before I went to the meeting, I did some research about Sri Lanka.
We discussed about the date and location for the interview during our work and we finally decided to meet at the coffee shop in the library on March the 11th which was a Thursday at 5 pm. We first talked about the weather, our classes and our plans for the coming spring break then I plan to start the interview. I told him that I would ask him some questions about his country and I need to record our interview. I asked him if he has problems with the recording and he said okay about it. Before I started to ask my questions, I checked my recorder to make sure it works well. Then, the interview began.
Rajitha, as I mentioned before is my co-worker who comes from Sri Lanka. He has been to St.Cloud for three more years since he was nineteen. He is now twenty two and is a junior student of the marketing major and also the information system minor. He has a sister who lives with the other family members in Sri Lanka. During the three years, he had only been back home once. He likes the education system here so he comes to the United States. He had applied for some other schools, but here has his courses and the tuition is cheaper, he made the decision to come to the St.Cloud State University. He plans to stay here for a while after his graduation. He want to find a job here to have some working experience then he would like to go back to his own country. Actually he wants to take the MBA degree very much, but that should depends on if he have enough money for it. Rajitha is very hard working and he does well on his studies. Also, he is a very helpful person. Because I just start to do the work this semester, I don’t know it very well and I have a lot to learn. He teaches me a lot during the work and gives me so many useful suggestions on my study. He really helps me a lot.
From the first interview, I really learned a lot. I need to put the recorder much closer to the interviewee and we need to talk louder. During the interview, I need to develop more details about the factor that the interviewee provide and make the interview have more fun. To keep relax is very important, that helps the interviewee to come up with more ideas. I get to know more about my co-worker from the interview. I know how others are thinking and a different culture. Overall, I think I have to improve my interview skills for the next time. More and deeper information are needed to be discovered.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is an island country. It is in the South Asia and lies in the India Ocean. It is located to the Southeast of the bay of Bengal. It has 65610 square kilometers. Because it's near the equator, it is always summer on the island for the whole year. The average temperature there is 28 degree Celsius. The country is also known as "the pearl on the Indian Ocean", "the kingdom of gem" and "the lion kingdom" in the world.
In the late 6th century B.C., the first Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka. The Buddhism was introduced in at the Mid-third centuray B.C.. During the 200 B.C. to A.D.1000, civilization was developed in the Anuradhapura and during the 1070 to 1200, clivilization was developed in Polonnaruwa. In the 14th Centurey, Indians in the south built their Tamil Kindom but the coastal areas of the island were controlled by the Portuguese in the 16th Centuray and by the Dutch in the 17th Centuray. The island was ceded to the British in 1796 and became a crown colony in 1802. By 1815, it was united under the British rule. As Ceylon, it became independent in 1948 and its names changed to Sri Lanka in 1972. From 1983 to 2009, there was an on and off civil war against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam which is short for LTTE. It is a separatist milllitant oganization who fought to an independent state and named Tamil Eelam in the north and wast of the island. Both of the Sri Lanka government and LTTE have been accused of various human rights violations. On may 19, 2009, the president of Sri Lanka officially claimed an end to the insurgency and the defeat of the LTTE.
The population of Sri Lanka is 21,324,791 and the growth rate is 0.904 percent by 2009. Sinhalese, Sri Lankan Moors, Indian Tamil and Sri Lanka Tamil are the main ethnic groups of the country. People in Sri Lanka also have so many religions such as Buddhist, Islam, Hindu, Christian and so on. Sinhala is their official and national language. Tamil is also another national language of Sri Lanka. English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about ten percent of the population.
The government type of Sri Lanka is republic and divided into three parts which are executive branch, legislative branch and judicial branch. The executive branch is consisting of the chef of state, head of government, the cabinet, elections and election results. The legislative branch has elections and the election results. The Supreme Court is the main institution of the judicial branch.
Colombo is the captain of Sri Lanka and known as the "Oriental crossroads" since the Middle Ages. It is one of the most important business ports in the world and the world’s famous gemstone is flowing from here to the overseas. The average temperature is 28 degree. It has a population of 223.4 million (2001).
In Sri Lanka, it's traditional food was influenced by both the Westerns and Middle Easterns. Western influences customary diet are rice and curry, Kiribath, wattalampam which are made mainly by coconut milk. The Middle Eastern influences are found in the traditional Moor dishes such as, Lamprais, Breudher which is a Dutch Christmas cake and Bolo Fiado which is a Portuguese style layer cake.
Every April 13, Sinhala anad Tamil people celebrate Sinhala and Tamil New Year. Muslims celebrate the Ramadan for every year. Esala Perahera is the grand festival hold on July ot August in Kandy which is in the middle part of Sri Lanka. It is a Buddhist festival consists of dances and richly decorated elephants. It has already become a unique symbol of Sri Lanka. Fire dances, Whip dances and Kandian dances are the main dances in Sri Lanka. During the festival time, elephants are usually adorned with lavish garments and people have the shows of different dances. The festival ends up with the traditional Diva-Kepeema and the elephant is paraded around the city bearing the tooth of Buddha.
The tourism is a very famous industrial in Sri Lanka and more and more people are selecting Sri Lanka as their vacation paradise.
Reference
Sumit G. (2006). South Asia. New York : New York University Press. March 2010.
Introduction to Sri Lanka. Applied Language Solution.com. March 2010.http://www.appliedlanguage.com/country_guides/sri_lanka_country_introduction.shtml
Interview Transcript
Engl191 Section 22
Ziyi Feng
Rajitha from Sri Lanka
03/11/10
Ziyi: Where are you come from and what is your native language?
Rajitha: I’m from Sri Lanka and my native language is English.
Ziyi: Do you speak any other languages in Sri Lanka?
Rajitha: Sinhala and Tamil are also our official language but most people in Sri Lanka can speak English. We use English more often.
Ziyi: Okay. So what is the imagine of the US in your home country? What do you think now?
Rajitha: um, I think it’s much different, but, compare to the other places in the US, I think this place, I mean St.Cloud, is kind of laid back. Because here is not much people and stuff.
Ziyi: um, I mean what do you think about the America would be like when you were in Sri Lanka?
Rajitha: It’s pretty much the same, but I have expected some more actually. I mean the US is almost the same as I thought before, but St. Cloud is a little bit laid back than I think.
Ziyi: Yeah, That was what I think. What about the weather, have you ever thought about the weather before, cause I know Sri Lanka is pretty warm sometimes even hot, right?
Rajitha: Yes, the weather is the thing I don’t like the most, it’s too cold here, I took a long time to get used to when I first came.
Ziyi: What’s your daily life like in your home country? How is it different from your life here?
Rajitha: Here is like so busy. I go to school and then go to work. Time just flies away. I just working and Working and I don’t even realize that time has already past. But when I was in my country, I just go to school then go back home and do my homework. After all of this, I still have a lot of time. The time just goes fast here, that’s how I feel.
Ziyi: So that means you can have a lot of time to relax, to have fun with your friends. Life is boring here right?
Rajitha: Yes.
Ziyi: What is the most different thing here comparing to your own country? I mean the culture, the food ect.
Rajitha: the differences are very obvious. There are a lot different things. The culture is different and they always have a lot of deadlines, people just keep working and working.
Ziyi: What type of government does your country have? How is it different from the US government?
Rajitha: yeah, my country has a different system and the government type is republic. The president is the biggest and then the ministers and vice-ministers. It’s the opposite from here. Here has the senate first and then the president.
Ziyi: Why did you choose MN for schooling, why St.Cloud? What makes you to come to the US?
Rajitha: The first is, I like the education system here in the US compared to the other countries like the United Kingdom and Australia, they kind of have the same system. So it’s similar to my country cause my country was a British colony, so they pretty much follow the same thing. But here is much different, so that’s why I choose here, I like here more. Then talk about st.cloud, I have applied several schools and I found my courses that I want to do here and the tuition is cheap compared to the New York city.
Ziyi: Have you ever thought about Canada?
Rajitha: Canada is also similar to the UK system, too. I have considered about Canada, but I still like here more. I really like the country for some reason I don’t know.
Ziyi: Okay. I can understand.
Ziyi: During class how do you adapt to a professor with a different accent?
Rajitha: You mean get adapt to the professor’s accent here?
Ziyi: Yes.
Rajitha: Well, it’s kind of natural. I mean the first couple days, we usually have some difficulties to understand. But then I get used to it so I can catch up with what the professor is talking about. I have been taking so many classes with Indian professors, Chinese professors and some other international professors. I don’t have lot problems with them, even though some of them really have a little bit accents. But then I get used to it.
Ziyi: Yep. I have the same experience. So do you have some professors you prefer more?
Rajitha: No, they are kind of the same. If he is a really good professor, I don’t really care about where he or she comes from.
Ziyi: What is the greatest influence the US has had on you? What affects you the most?
Rajitha: For what?
Ziyi: For everything on your life.
Rajitha: To compare?
Ziyi: No, such as study, your way to think, your plan about your career, or even the changes of your daily life.
Rajitha: um..
Ziyi: Does it change what you wan? your views about the other things? For example, does the American culture changed yours? Do you prefer to live a way more American or still the same as before?
Rajitha: I’m kind like to work towards my goals, the deadlines. I get used to live with a rush life.
Ziyi: What’s your major? Why do you choose it? Does it provides you more chances to find a good job?
Rajitha: I select marketing as my major. I like it and want to do it, and I also choose the information system to be my minor. I guess I’ll get a good job with the combination of both.
Ziyi: Either for here or Sri Lanka?
Rajitha: Yes, I think so.
Ziyi: What do you plan to do, where do you want to go after graduate? Stay here or go home?
Rajitha: Well, I’m going to stay here for a little bit and trying to find a job. if I get the chance to work here I’ll probably be here for one and half years, maybe two years. Just to get the work experience. Then I might go back to Sri Lanka. But I really want to get my MBA here, so may be I’ll work for a while and start my MBA degree.
Ziyi: Yeah, almost all the international students they all think the same. At last, what I want to know is if you get a chance to introduce your country, what do you want the others to know the most?
Rajitha: Well, it’s hard to only choose one thing to introduce, I like so many things in my country and I don’t know which is the best one to present.
Ziyi: What about your culture, the beautiful things there?
Rajitha: oh, okay, what about my country in general right?
Ziyi: yes, what do you want the others to know the most?
Rajitha: oh, there’s a lot of beautiful place and the history of the place. Also the beaches are a proud thing of the country.
Ziyi: yes, I know Sri Lanka is a really beautiful country and the tourism is very famous, so many people go for vacation there.
Rajitha: Yes, That’s right.
Ziyi: Do you have any religion?
Rajitha: Yes, the major one is the Buddhism and also the Christian and so many other religions. I’m the Buddhism.
Ziyi: Okay, I see. Thanks for being interviewed that helps me to get closer to my objectives. Now I know how the other international students’ life is like. I really appreciate your help.
Rajiatha: You’re very welcome.
2010年3月16日星期二
My Objectives for the Interviews
In my opinion, the interview is not only to ask people some questions, it's also a chance to know more about the people around you. My objectives are to know about what the other international students' ways of thinking and how does their culture affects them. I also want to know the reasons make them come to the US, how do their lives change and what are their plans for the future.
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