Interview 4

How I know Cici and how I approached her:
I met Cici through my television production class in first semester of last year. Our relationship actually started when she walked into the women's bathroom in Stewart hall where I was having an emotional moment. I had just had a heated phone conversation and wanted to shake it off before going back to class. She asked me to tell her what was upsetting me and she instantly made me feel better. There was something about the compassion in her voice that made me burst into tears and I instantly felt embarassed. She comforted me and I told her what was upsetting me. Talking to Cici flipped my emotional state around completely and we walked to class together as if it hadn't happened.
Our class only met once a week and because of that my relationship with Cici didn't grow much from there. I work the checkout desk for Mass Communications students in Stewart Hall and Cici is a regular there, due to her full load of production classes. Cici and I have become close now that I see her regularly outside of the classroom. She makes sure to come say hi when I am working and we've learned that we have quite a bit in common.
Cici is one of the more beautiful people I have ever met. She has light brown skin and an amazing hairline that leads to bouncy, shiny, flowing hair that most girls dream of. She is kind and it shows in everything she says. Of course I am going to say positive things about someone in an interview, but Cici is one of those people that you want the important people in your life to meet. She "lights up a room" so to speak and is seriously funny on top of it. Her strength and independence are obvious but she's just like any of my friends from home in the sense that she's not entirely positive where her schooling will lead her. She's easy to talk to and the conversation never falls flat or gets awkward. I feel very lucky to have a friend like Cici, and we have even talked about me coming to Sri Lanka when she goes back to visit. I approached Cici simply by texting her and asking her if she could do an interview for me, and we met up at Stewart Hall after my last class and checked out a computer editing suite so we wouldn't bother anyone.


Sri Lanka country report:
Sri Lanka is a country bordering India and rests on the Indian Ocean. The famous tourist spot of the Maldives lies just a ways south of Sri Lanka, and many from Sri Lanka travel there (Cici included). It's a president run country and is the oldest democracy in South Asia. Sri Lanka is known for it's beautiful landscape and also has the nickname of "the nation of smiling people". Sri Lanka makes the top 25 list for Biodiversity Hot Spots in the world. Sri Lanka produces Ceylon tea as well as coffee and various other crops. Rice and curry and string hoppers are common dishes across Sri Lanka and they can even commonly be seen being eaten off of a plantain leaf. Sri Lanka has a high GDP and has a positive outlook for economic growth in the years to come.

A picture we found together that we both liked

Interview:

M- How do you communicate with eachother in your home country?

C- I use Skype mostly or Viber at times but Skype is much more common and easy to access when I'm here. But we also use cell phones and social networking to talk too. Like, while I am here and when I am there. But Sri Lankans are pretty direct when they speak.


M- What is the standard clothing style for men in your country? Women?

C- There isn't really a standard clothing style for men and women. However women in Sri Lankan culture wear an "OSARI" at certain events but otherwise you could probably catch me wearing this any day!


M- How are men and women treated differently in your home country? (things like work or religion or family values could influence this)

C- They like aren't even treated differently. It's a lot like the United States that way, men and women both go to school and work and do the same things as here. Like, I don't know, in a way I don't see many differences at all.

M- How has experience here in America (or on your many trips abroad) helped you respect cultural differences?

C- By getting my self adopted to each culture. Europe was an entirely different way. I have traveled to quite a few places across Europe and people weren't as friendly or warm and the setting was different, SCSU is so used to all these cultures coming all over.

M- Do you enjoy speaking with other exchange students? Do you speak with any from your country?

C- Yes, getting know where each other is from is a wonderful thing, it's the number one reason why I chose to travel. I've met people from all over the world. And the most variety I've seen has been here. I like also like how people here treat each other equal. It's a lot like Sri Lanka that way.


M- How long have you been in the US?

C- Uh... It's been seven years now.


M- Have you seen or visited other areas of the US?

C- Yes, many! I traveled to New York City last winter and this spring I went to Vegas. I've also seen parts of Florida like Miami and Orlando and went to Disneyworld. Ahh I'm going to California in March over spring break. I've seen parts of like New Jersey too I guess.


M- What is the major religion of your country?

C- Buddhism is like the main religion of families in Sri Lanka. But Christianity also is common, I'd say like the second most popular. And then there's like Muslim and Tamil too but not as much.


M- What made you come to the US? How about St. Cloud?

C- Well my education of course but I also wanted to see the United States and see how well I like it. I got a scholarship to SCSU, I would definitely have gone somewhere else if not for the scholarship. Somewhere in a bigger city maybe even a different state... it's too cold here!


M- Do you miss your family? Do you talk to them? What are they like and how do they feel about you being here?

C- I do miss them sometimes. I'm very close with my mother and she is a teacher so I spent so much time with her growing up. I talk to them a lot though and skype makes it not so hard. They send me letters and like litte gifts sometimes too!


M- What's your favorite food from your country? How about US?

C- In the United States? PIES! (laughs) I love pie! That's why Thanksgiving has to be my favorite American holiday. My favorites so far have been pumpkin and that caramel apple one. And in Sri Lanka I'd have to sayyy String hoppers. It's like bread made of rice kind of and it's like sweet and hot. I don't know how else to describe!


M- Do you plan to stay here when you graduate? Why or why not?

C- Yes, I have loved it here and had so much fun! I guess I don't know if I want to spend the whole rest of my life here but I really hope to find a job here when I graduate. America has like so much to offer that way and I like how like fast paced it is here. There's just always something to do and there's so much to pick from.


M- What is your major and/or minor?

C- My major is Mass Communications and I am doing a focus on television producing. I already have a German major from Germany though and I am getting a minor in Geography because it's kind of fitting for me (smiles).


M- When did you decide you wanted to come to the US?

C- I'd have to say it's when I was about 16.


M- Any questions for me?

C- No ma'am!

The interview was pretty brief, interviewing a friend that I knew a bit about already made it kind of difficult to get as much information as possible from it. But all in all I am glad I chose Cici because I did end up learning things about my friend that I did not know. I see her going very far in the United States with her career and friendships. She definitely has the motivation and strength to make it here and I hope that we remain friends for a long time.

Paper Topic

For my final paper I am considering writing about the origin and successes of the United Nations. I believe this applies to what we have done so far with our interviews in class because of the benefits that come from global organizations and programs. Many students come to America on scholarships or globally organized education programs, and many Americans too study abroad across the world. It is because of those who appreciate peace of the world that this is possible for college students today. I have developed interest in United Nations over the course of the semester in my Global Studies class and in my English course as well. I'm not positive this is what I'm going to stick with for the topic of my paper, but I think it would be beneficial to my educational experience if I did.

My Third and Final Interview

Preparations:
 

In order to prepare for my third interview I did a little further research on Saudi Arabia, because when it came to my second interview I found out that there was so much that I didn't know. I wrote out the fifteen questions on a piece of paper and made sure it was clear enough for my interviewee to read. I wanted to make sure my second interview was with someone that wasn't already in our class or in the Monday class. If I could not find someone in the given time I planned to ask Abdul or Mooda if they knew of any one else from Saudi Arabia that wasn't in our class and that would be willing. Fortunately a friend of mine knew a girl from Saudi Arabia and she even offered to give me her number

I texted Esraa saying my name and explaining the situation. She was very kind and more than willing to meet me and we began to work out a time that would fit our schedules. We have an almost opposite class schedule so it made working out a time difficult, but she remained patient and we finally landed on a time and date. Our plans were to meet in the library and I assured her it wouldn't take too long. When the day finally came, November 17th, to meet after near three weeks of planning, I texted Esraa and described what I was wearing and she did the same. We found each other in the lobby of the library and we headed up to a study room. I asked her a few questions about her schedule for the day and about herself. We began to chit chat and learned a bit about each other. Though it was our first time ever meeting we picked up conversation right away and it stayed that way throughout the 45 minutes we were able to spend together.

 

Country Report: Saudi Arabia:
 

90% of the ethnicity of Saudi Arabian people are Arab and the other 10% are African-Asian. The urban population makes up 82% of the country. Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam and houses the two holiest places of Islamic faith. Saudi is more commonly known as home to the largest amount of oil and natural gas at 17% of the world's total production.Family is valued in Saudi Arabia and they tend to be large and stay close with each other. This is something that I learned from my three interviewees. I definitely feel as if I have received more insight into the way of Saudi Arabian life than the Internet or other materials have provided me. I asked Esraa what she thought about me or any other interested American visiting Saudi Arabia. She encouraged visiting somewhere more Americanized first to what I'm sure, would save one from complete culture shock. She explained that the way of life in Saudi Arabia isn't quite as obvious as that of Americans. She suggest Dubai or other places in the UAE first, but definitely did not discourage the idea of submerging oneself in Saudi Arabian culture and life.

 

Esraa:
 

Esraa is a graduate student here at St. Cloud State. She majored in Management Information Systems and is now pursuing a Masters in Computer Science. She is from the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and is the oldest of four children, one brother and two sisters. Her mother is a science teacher and her father is a retiree of Customer Service at an airport in Saudi Arabia. She claims that her English is poor, but I couldn't disagree more. Esraa is a sweet and beautiful young woman with an intellectual mind and exudes a strong sense of independence, even though she may not realize it. At 24 years old she has seen more of the United States than most of the Americans I know, as well as other parts of the world. She's an inspiring girl with a seemingly large heart that I now have the pleasure of knowing. 

Transcription of Interview:
M means me (MJ) and E means Esraa
 

M- How do you communicate with each other in your country?

E- Everything you can imagine. All technologies. Maybe a long time ago we communicate with each other more face to face but now because we have cell phones even like if you're in the same house (laughs) you prefer to send someone text.

M- What is the clothing style for men and women?

E- They wear long clothes, I don't know if you know it, the white thing. They wear something really long, like a white dress, it's not like they have to wear it. They just wear it because it's comfortable, easy to wear it. And women we prefer to wear out Habaya, the black one, with a black scarf. It's not like we have to wear it, it's just we see it's common. So it's okay to wear it, but its not like we have to wear it, we can wear any color.

M- How are men and women treated differently in your country?

E- If you wanna talk about long time ago I think it's common for I think most countries that women prefer to stay in. But now it's not easy, you see the lifestyle like men can't handle everything because everything became expensive, you know that. So women have to work and help their husbands. But now not just because they want to help their husbands because this is your personality, this is what you want to do. Women don't want to just stay at home they feel that they can handle their houses and do something to present them. So I think now most of the women work more than men because they prefer to work in like any place. The men maybe they prefer places that give them a good amount of money but women want to go out and work.

M- How has this experience helped you respect other cultures?

E- For me? Even before I came here because we have internet and everything we have like an idea. And also we travel before so you have an idea before here. you can compare Europe with the US. Maybe they are different but you have to respect people here and here. Let me think about this.. Maybe, when I travel we should respect everybody. But when I LIVED here its different, I know how people interact with each other I know how to respect them according to their believes and according to mine, I respect them according to their life, not just my ideas or my thoughts. After living here. Not just traveling. Traveling is different, you can't see how people live, you just see their country, you just visit.

M- Do you enjoy speaking with other exchange students?

E- Actually I prefer to speak with others other than Saudis because you travel to a different country that is far away so you need to see other people. I know Saudis. So I need to have an experience with others. For me they are familiar, but like I like to know about Eastern Asia, China, how they interact with each other. I found its real different from America like how they interact with us. The same in Saudi. But with Chinese it's different there.

M- How long have you been in the US?

E- I've been here since April 2011.

M- Did you learn English before?

E- Yeah in school but it was really basic. Even in University the things they give you are really basic, but here even when I went to the English Language center they still give me the basic thing! I learn maybe from movies (laughs), from interacting with people, not from the school. How to speak- this is really different. Movies first! (laughs again)

M- Have you seen other parts of the US?

E- Yeah, I went to Florida, Washington, but I just transit. I went like to the downtown but not everything. Also New York. But I think Minnesota is better. If you like buildings, everything like this, if you like to live inside these, its different for each person. For me i like to visit just visit but not living in it. Too crazy, too crazy!

M- What is religion like there?

E- Islam. We have like some Christians, not like the main religion of our country but they live in our country.

M- What made you come to the US?

E- Twas my chance. Because I didn't think of traveling to study abroad, I didn't think about this. Like my family just to apply, just apply you never know what can happen! Just apply for a chance you can apply here or for a job. Then I got this, the scholarship. Even I didn't want to just applied! I had to travel to England, but I think they closed my major there, its full of Saudis.

M- SCSU?

E- First I came to MN. I like the atmosphere here. It's not expensive here, not like Massachusetts, I don't know if that's right to pronounce like this. I had it first in Mass but it's real expensive, so then we changed to MN because we know some people here. People said its really comfortable here and also every summer my family they come here. Just visit, then we go to other states. But like for a family it's not good just to live in the city, Like in New York. So they just live here but we can visit. We prefer Minneapolis, I wanted to study at the U of M but they said you have to take too many courses from bachelor, I said this is too much. But here they said no you can just take two courses. I needed just from my Computer science just two courses from my undergraduate because my previous major was different. So I had to take some courses

M- What was your previous major?
E- Management Information Systems was my bachelor. So now I'm studying.

M- Do you miss your family?

E- Of course. (laughs) But not like crying everyday. We have Skype, I can talk to them everyday, so yeah. Its not like missing every day you think about them. We talk just like we talk to each other, nothing important to the conversation.

M- What is your favorite American food?

E- I don't like fast food actually, but I think we forced to eat fast food here because we don't have time. But I went to a Thanksgiving party, is it party? I don't know if it's a party?
M- Some people have parties on Thanksgiving!

E- Mm, yeah it's like a party. They cooked something really nice. She said it's in Thanksgiving, on Thanksgiving they cook it, it's like toast with something?

M- Is it the bread chunks with celery and onions?
E- Yeah, it's not like dry?

M- Yeah and they stuff it inside the turkey?

E- Yeah, not always though. That one is my favorite for American food. Because I don't see American food just like fast food I don't see like American food, like do you have restaurants here for American food? Not fast food? Do you cook like this?

It depends on the restaurant! The American thing is kind of a mixture of everything. There's restaurants that serve steak or mashed potatoes

E- But I mean food in Thanksgiving, like you don't see that?

M- No, no, not often. People don't make turkey often, you don't see stuffing throughout the year.

M- What is your favorite Saudi food?

E- I don't know if you know it, but I don't like Kapsa. I hate it, I hate Kapsa! (Laughs)

M-That was the other twos' favorite!

E- It depends on who cooks it but I hate it generally. I like something called Siadia (spelling?) It's not black rice but when you cook it it becomes like, really black, because you need really right amount of onions! And its with fish. The fish is baked. Yeah, it's really nice. I don't know if I can give you while we're talking I will be able to find you a picture. It's really nice! Better than Kapsa! (laughs) You should try it. How they cook it is different. The spices are different. For me it's not nice.

M- Yeah because the other two talked about Kapsa!

E- (Hesitates) Boys! (laughs)

M- Do you plan to stay in the US?

E- After graduating? Mm, no. Because I got a job, in Saudi. I'm not sure if I want to stay but I have to go just for to stick with that job but like I have to start. Because i got it but I have to at least start it then I can decide if I like it. I don't mind living in the US, Europe, anywhere. But I prefer close to my family. If they move with me, then! You need support sometimes, you need support, you need someone to push you.

M- What is your major? You majored in IS and now you you're going for your Masters in Computer Science? It is it hard?

E- Ohh my God! For me it's hard, yeah it's hard. You can enjoy it, but it's not easy. But I think if I just studied alone always, I would feel like it's really terrible. But because we always study in groups the assignments, we do it together, so it's better.

M-When did you decide to come here? Did you ever consider the US before you sent in that application?

E- No. Like I said the country I will travel to. I like the US! But Um, I said, I want something close, I want a country that is really close to my country. Then they chose England, then England was full of Saudis! Then they moved me here. I think it's really good for me. Like maybe I didn't decide before, I didn't plan for it, but you never know where is the place that is really good for you and I think it's good for me. Especially like, you have multi cultural like, I can find many people here, unlike Europe. You can find just Europeans. Before I didn't think about people, I just wanted a close country, but now after I came here, No. it's better to live among not just Saudis, but Americans, Chinese, Bengalian, everybody. So it's helpful. In Europe I visited France; you see the majority, just French people. So it like won't be helpful. Sometimes you need to meet people! Not just the Internet.

M- Did you get the picture?
E- It's like this. (Shows me picture on her phone)
M- Oh my God that looks good!

E- I like fish!

M- I love fish! And isn't it kind of native to your country? A lot of people fish?

E- Oh my God too much! Maybe I can find you the recipe!

M- I would love that!

 

M- Any questions for me?!

E- Not that I can think of, no!

 

Conclusion:
 

Esraa and I talked for a few minutes after the interview closed. We spoke for a while about studying abroad and what it has done for her and all of the benefits that come from living in a different country. "I got benefit more living here than computer science classes!" she claimed, "if you don't know yourself yet, you can't know what are your goals, nothing!"

As we walked down the stairs of the library and she met with a friend for a group project, she suggested that we should get together sometime. I agreed, flattered to have been asked. "I have your number" we said almost in unison, parting ways and laughing.
Meeting Esraa was to me, an example of what going to a university should be. Getting to know someone of a different lifestyle on a personal level, and coming out of that acquaintances. I am more than happy to have met her and truthfully would love to hear more about her life at home and the travels she has made and maybe even receive some advice. :)

 

Sources:

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sa.html
 

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/saudi-arabia-country-profile.html

Review of Interview 2

My Top 3 Scores:
Yipeng Lu
Valerie Mattson
Jasmin Sanju

All three of these ladies did great jobs on their interviews. They were clear and understandable and being someone who appreciates organization I liked the look and flow of their presentations. I also found each of their interviews to be careful and considerate of the interviewee.
Yipeng Lu's was my favorite because I liked the personalization of her interview. I think she did a wonderful job at going in depth and the look of her post made it easier to read and was pretty on the eyes :)

My Reviews

My Second Interview

My Second Interview 

Interview Preparations:

Abdul, from class and my first interview actually suggested that I interview Mooda. He explained to me that they were neighbors in the same apartment building. I didn't realize at first that Mooda was actually from our class as well. At first I felt hesitant when Abdul said this because I knew I should expand my personal comfort zone and find someone myself, but I also thought it would be a good opportunity to get to know more people from our class. I got Mooda's phone number from Abdul and we texted and discussed a good time and place to meet. We decided on a study room in the library and he drove to campus to meet me. I thought this was very kind, especially when I was the one who wanted to have the meeting in the first place. Abdul was also in the library and the three of us sat together for a while and small talked. 

I also had Mooda write down a few basic things about himself for me which are as listed:
     Full Name: Mahmoud Ahmed AboAl Jadaiel
     Nicknames: Mooda
     City From: Jeddah
     Brothers/Sisters: 12
     Age: 25

Interview Report:

I asked him a few questions off the record about how dating works in their country and also asked the two of them to translate a few words into Arabic for me. I was surprised by how comfortable the conversation between Mooda and myself was, for two people who had little prior communication. With both interviews now I can say I am truly intrigued by this experience. Whether it is just these two Saudi Arabians I have had the pleasure of getting to know or if its how most international students are in general, the cultural differences seem to fade away when small talk ensues. We talked about things that I would talk about with any 20 something American I just met. I found myself laughing and smiling more than I had all day. These interviews have been enlightening and refreshingly educational for me. We talked about everything from social life to politics. I learned that their country is actually a kingdom ruled by an actual King, something that didn't even occur to me when doing my research on Saudi Arabia, even after knowing that it's technical name is "Kingdom of Saudi Arabia". 
I was surprised by the the comfort of conversation and the ease in which we acknowledged our cultural and even physical differences. When it came to the interview there were things that surprised me as well, like the fact that he just began learning English two years ago and can already speak and write it fluently. I am impressed by the work ethic I have seen among almost all international students that I have met for this reason and others and Mooda was no exception. Overall the interview was short but sweet, and had I known we would have conversations like we did, I would have left the recorder on from the beginning. 

Country Report:

See my first interview for my country report.

Interview Transcription:

How do you communicate with each other in your country?

Back home usually we talk face to face.

What is the clothing style for men and women in your country?

For men we got something we call it Thawb. That's our like traditional like dress so we dress it like every day, its like a piece of fabric, whole piece,  its white. Sometimes especially  in winter we dress in black and different colors but the typical one is the white one. For women like here, they dress like shirt and jeans but they cover up with some they call abaya. When they get out they must wear the abaya. 

How are men and women treated differently?

Well that's... that's like a real hard question for us because we come from very different cultures. Women now days are working back home, they make money. 

How has this experience helped you respect other cultures?

As we came from different cultures to here to United States to study we gotta respect other cultures and we gotta learn from other cultures. So that's a good experience for us. 

Do you enjoy speaking with other cultures?

Yes, yes I do, especially here in the United States because since I came with no English completely, that was like two years ago.. So i started talking little by little so now I'm getting better and better. 

Have you seen other parts of the US?

Yeah.. since I came I was in New York and then New Jersey and then Washington DC and then Chicago and finally I'm here. I'm planning to go Christmas to Los Angeles and Vegas. 

What’s the major religion?

Muslim.

What made you come to the US? 

Actually, this is like, back home we have a big program called King Abdullah program for Study Abroad. That's helped me to come here but since I was in High School I was planning to come here and complete my higher education. So the government help pay for the school, health insurance.. 

             SCSU?

                  Because before I came here I got couple of my friends here. So I talk to them about the SCSU                     and they told me it's nice. And I like it so I came because a couple of my friends.

Do you miss your family? Do you talk to them?

 Yes! Of course, of course. Um like almost every day. Skype or What's Up. Usually I talk to my mom and some of my siblings.

What is your favorite food? What is traditional?

Everything (laughs) Everything, especially seafood. We have fish back home, I've never seen it here. Like fish, the big fish. Dinner I would say Kapsa maybe. 

               Breakfast? 

              It depends. For some families they eat like eggs or milk, some families eat white cheese or tea, we                 don't really have like traditional breakfast.

Do you plan to stay here?

 Like after when I graduate? No, not at all. Because here, the life's super hard, like I can't even imagine to stay here.

             What do you mean it's hard?

              I mean the life is hard like you always got to work and make money, work and make money.

             And its not like that there? 

             Yep. You got a time for your family, you got time for your friends. For everything. 

What is your major?

 Right now I'm doing electrical engineering but I'm trying to switch. Because it's super hard. Yeah, I'm trying to switch, 

           What would you switch to? 

            IS, Information Systems. 

When did you decide to come here?

 High School.

Any questions for me?

No that's it, nice meeting. 

My interview with Abdul! (finally!)

To prepare for my interview I did brief research on Saudi Arabia. I chose to interview Abdulhameed Aljahdali from our class, whom also goes by Abdul. He and I had spoken a couple of times before and I got to know a few things about him before our interview. He originally volunteered at the Center for International Studies on campus and because he did so well with that he now will have a paid position aiding incoming foreign students. I found this admirable. Any logical person coming across the world to study abroad would I'm sure be nervous and have many questions, and now here is someone who has been through and is going through the same thing to help them with whatever it is they may need. We talked for a while before we got into the interview questions and I got to know quite a bit about him and his take on America. We discussed St. Cloud in depth and our views on things here, I was happy to hear that we share some of the same values and ideas about balancing the fun of college and the importance of education. We had plenty to talk about and the conversation didn’t have an awkward silence or scramble for conversation. We met at Starbucks inside of Target and he even insisted on buying me a latte.

Saudi Arabia is a country in Asia and has a population of 29,000,000. It is the second largest Arab country and is surrounded by Iraq, Yemen, Oman, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and the Red Sea. In English Saudi Arabia is literally translated as "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia". The official language of the country is Arabic. 97% of the population is Muslim, but there are about a million Christians that reside there for work. 

 

What is the clothing style for men and women in your country?

 

We have different kinds of clothes, the white that you see, we have something that covers our head too and this is the formal way we go out, for banks, for school. But when we are hanging out you can wear whatever you want. This is for men, women should cover everything, but in her house she can wear whatever she wants.

 

How are men and women treated differently?

 

My country has a different style of living there because we are a 100 percent Muslim country. So yeah, women, most of them don’t work, they stay home. They do like basically everything in the house, they cook, they do everything. Men do everything else. Which is job, money, he has to give his wife what she wants, he has to pick the kids up from school, he will buy groceries, he has to control the home. In my country now they are becoming more of workers there (the women). It used to be like back in the day men have to go to school, even the government paid.

 

How has this experience helped you respect other cultures?

 

I still like have now been here for a year and a half so I don’t a lot of experience. I’m getting like a different culture, totally different people. I had mistakes communicating with people when I first came, but now things have changed. This is my first experience in a university. I finished high school and came here right away. Now its getting hard for me to catch up with everything because of the language. 2012 I left my country.

 

Do you enjoy speaking with other cultures?

 

That has 2 different meaning, but international, I work on campus with them so I get more experience with other cultures. We are in school so this is our only opportunity to speak with other cultures.

 

Have you seen other parts of the US?

 

I went to Florida last year, Daytona Beach and Orlando. I celebrated the New Year there, I went to DisneyWorld too, I went to three different parts of it. I went to Epcot and Universal Studios. I also went to Washington DC, it was the same trip. We went to Florida first and then Washington. I’m going to New York this Christmas, I’m meeting friends there. There are a lot of Saudis here, some of my friends from High School are here, some are in New York. They go to school there but they are in an English program. You have to have English first before you can go to a university. I used to study in North Dakota, because ND was a small town in Grand Forks, I thought that living there might be helpful. People are more tied together, for me, I knew some English so it was good for me, but for others I would suggest if they are new to English I would suggest for them to go into bigger cities so that they can like take the bus, the trains, they know how to get from place to certain place. I used to live with a host family, so I stayed home and did my homework, where in a big city you can do things like go to the movies or do things with other international students. For my situation because I was in the middle of English, so I had to be in a place to study English, not for fun. For me I just wanted to study.

 

What’s the major religion?

 

Saudi Arabia is 100% Muslim, We do have some other religion, but you have to be on a certain Visa. We do have Americans there, but you have to have a visa to get there if you are not Muslim. All the Saudis are Muslims. Some people are there for jobs or business. Maybe there are some people that are not Muslims, but they can not be Saudi Arabia. Like the Vatican.

 

What made you come to the US? SCSU?

 

As we talked about cultures, different people, new people. A good education system. There are many internationals in here especially Midwest, Midwest has a good education system. St. Cloud wasn’t my choice from the beginning, their admission wasn’t that hard for me so I got accepted. I wanted to pick something in MN, my uncle graduated from here. Not here, a bachelor and master from Mankato and then his PhD in Virginia in Computer Science. He’s a dean of the Computer Science college in Saudi Arabia.

 

Do you miss your family? Do you talk to them?

 

Well this is kind of, not everybody say that, they do but they  know that I am here for school so I don’t have to be like “I miss my family” but still in my heart, yeah for sure, this is my family, you are here for school so you should stick in school and go there for summers. My mom still wants me to come back because I haven’t been there in a year and a half. But now over Christmas I might go. My mom called me Saturday, my dad too. I have three other brothers and one sister. My oldest brother is in Mankato, he used to be here but he transferred.

 

What is your favorite food? What is traditional?

 

We have many good food. The original food is Kapsa, its basically like chicken and rice or lamb and rice. My traditional food for my family is fish so we do special kind of rice with the fish. My city where I am, the old people they used to live on fishing, I live by the Red Sea. My grandma and grandpa, they went fishing for their money, but now its not that popular anymore. The people want to move to the city. My dad grow up in a village, which is not that far from my city, here they say suburb there they say village. More houses, a tiny place.

Do you plan to stay here?

 

I can’t for now because I have to follow the rule that I’m here for my student visa. If there is ajob offer I will see how it goes. No one knows. My plan of course is to live in my country but still I’m not guarantee 100% that I’m going to be there. You can’t plan it, you might have better jobs here. Maybe get some money and go back, we’ll see how it goes.

 

What is your major?

 

Computer science. I’m learning now.

 

When did you decide to come here?

 

When I was in High School, a freshman, I came to the US to study English in Minneapolis. So I came here in the summer after freshman year. I was in St. Thomas just for the English program. It’s like even SCSU they have an intensive English Center. It’s in the B51 building. It was different program, but it’s all the same English. It’s still hard learning English. Sometimes English, even Americans sometimes have a hard time. For me to learn English is not that hard to catch up is. Of course, its going to be hard for anyone learning a language. In Arabic, we write from right to left. (at this point Abdul showed me his license and we finished the interview.) 

Any questions for me?

(we just kept talking after this question, nothing in particular was asked)

My interview with Abdul (finally!)

To prepare for my interview I did brief research on Saudi Arabia. I chose to interview Abdulhameed Aljahdali from our class, whom also goes by Abdul. He and I had spoken a couple of times before and I got to know a few things about him before our interview. He originally volunteered at the Center for International Studies on campus and because he did so well with that he now will have a paid position aiding incoming foreign students. I found this admirable. Any logical person coming across the world to study abroad would I'm sure be nervous and have many questions, and now here is someone who has been through and is going through the same thing to help them with whatever it is they may need. We talked for a while before we got into the interview questions and I got to know quite a bit about him and his take on America. We discussed St. Cloud in depth and our views on things here, I was happy to hear that we share some of the same values and ideas about balancing the fun of college and the importance of education. We had plenty to talk about and the conversation didn’t have an awkward silence or scramble for conversation. We met at Starbucks inside of Target and he even insisted on buying me a latte.

Saudi Arabia is a country in Asia and has a population of 29,000,000. It is the second largest Arab country and is surrounded by Iraq, Yemen, Oman, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and the Red Sea. In English Saudi Arabia is literally translated as "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia". The official language of the country is Arabic. 97% of the population is Muslim, but there are about a million Christians that reside there for work. 

What is the clothing style for men and women in your country?

We have different kinds of clothes, the white that you see, we have something that covers our head too and this is the formal way we go out, for banks, for school. But when we are hanging out you can wear whatever you want. This is for men, women should cover everything, but in her house she can wear whatever she wants.

How are men and women treated differently?

My country has a different style of living there because we are a 100 percent Muslim country. So yeah, women, most of them don’t work, they stay home. They do like basically everything in the house, they cook, they do everything. Men do everything else. Which is job, money, he has to give his wife what she wants, he has to pick the kids up from school, he will buy groceries, he has to control the home. In my country now they are becoming more of workers there (the women). It used to be like back in the day men have to go to school, even the government paid.

How has this experience helped you respect other cultures?

I still like have now been here for a year and a half so I don’t a lot of experience. I’m getting like a different culture, totally different people. I had mistakes communicating with people when I first came, but now things have changed. This is my first experience in a university. I finished high school and came here right away. Now its getting hard for me to catch up with everything because of the language. 2012 I left my country.

Do you enjoy speaking with other cultures?

That has 2 different meaning, but international, I work on campus with them so I get more experience with other cultures. We are in school so this is our only opportunity to speak with other cultures.

Have you seen other parts of the US?

I went to Florida last year, Daytona Beach and Orlando. I celebrated the New Year there, I went to DisneyWorld too, I went to three different parts of it. I went to Epcot and Universal Studios. I also went to Washington DC, it was the same trip. We went to Florida first and then Washington. I’m going to New York this Christmas, I’m meeting friends there. There are a lot of Saudis here, some of my friends from High School are here, some are in New York. They go to school there but they are in an English program. You have to have English first before you can go to a university. I used to study in North Dakota, because ND was a small town in Grand Forks, I thought that living there might be helpful. People are more tied together, for me, I knew some English so it was good for me, but for others I would suggest if they are new to English I would suggest for them to go into bigger cities so that they can like take the bus, the trains, they know how to get from place to certain place. I used to live with a host family, so I stayed home and did my homework, where in a big city you can do things like go to the movies or do things with other international students. For my situation because I was in the middle of English, so I had to be in a place to study English, not for fun. For me I just wanted to study.

What’s the major religion?

Saudi Arabia is 100% Muslim, We do have some other religion, but you have to be on a certain Visa. We do have Americans there, but you have to have a visa to get there if you are not Muslim. All the Saudis are Muslims. Some people are there for jobs or business. Maybe there are some people that are not Muslims, but they can not be Saudi Arabia. Like the Vatican.

What made you come to the US? SCSU?

As we talked about cultures, different people, new people. A good education system. There are many internationals in here especially Midwest, Midwest has a good education system. St. Cloud wasn’t my choice from the beginning, their admission wasn’t that hard for me so I got accepted. I wanted to pick something in MN, my uncle graduated from here. Not here, a bachelor and master from Mankato and then his PhD in Virginia in Computer Science. He’s a dean of the Computer Science college in Saudi Arabia.

Do you miss your family? Do you talk to them?

Well this is kind of, not everybody say that, they do but they  know that I am here for school so I don’t have to be like “I miss my family” but still in my heart, yeah for sure, this is my family, you are here for school so you should stick in school and go there for summers. My mom still wants me to come back because I haven’t been there in a year and a half. But now over Christmas I might go. My mom called me Saturday, my dad too. I have three other brothers and one sister. My oldest brother is in Mankato, he used to be here but he transferred.

What is your favorite food? What is traditional?

We have many good food. The original food is Kapsa, its basically like chicken and rice or lamb and rice. My traditional food for my family is fish so we do special kind of rice with the fish. My city where I am, the old people they used to live on fishing, I live by the Red Sea. My grandma and grandpa, they went fishing for their money, but now its not that popular anymore. The people want to move to the city. My dad grow up in a village, which is not that far from my city, here they say suburb there they say village. More houses, a tiny place.

Do you plan to stay here?

I can’t for now because I have to follow the rule that I’m here for my student visa. If there is ajob offer I will see how it goes. No one knows. My plan of course is to live in my country but still I’m not guarantee 100% that I’m going to be there. You can’t plan it, you might have better jobs here. Maybe get some money and go back, we’ll see how it goes.

What is your major?

Computer science. I’m learning now.

When did you decide to come here?

When I was in High School, a freshman, I came to the US to study English in Minneapolis. So I came here in the summer after freshman year. I was in St. Thomas just for the English program. It’s like even SCSU they have an intensive English Center. It’s in the B51 building. It was different program, but it’s all the same English. It’s still hard learning English. Sometimes English, even Americans sometimes have a hard time. For me to learn English is not that hard to catch up is. Of course, its going to be hard for anyone learning a language. In Arabic, we write from right to left. (at this point Abdul showed me his license and we finished the interview.) 

Any questions for me?

(we just kept talking after this question, nothing in particular was asked) 

:)

Interview Evaluation

Highest Scores:

-Valerie Mattson
-Yu Fan
-Yipeng Lu
-Sajjad Rabaan
-Jasmin Sainju

I couldn't decide which interview I liked best, they were all very informative and they all transcribed what was said very well. Some could have used more original information on their country reports, though. Other than that I think these five did an outstanding job, and many who scored less than 20 still did well too :)


https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmCNjmed-jONdGhCQTliVUZDNDdFa3FoZmswWE16dXc#gid=0

Interview Question Ideas

Interview Question Ideas:

1. Do you miss your family? How often are you able to talk to them? What are their thoughts on you getting an education here?

2. How much schooling in your country do you need in order to go to an American college or university? Where is your hometown in relation to the nation's capitol?

3. Are you in a relationship? What do you and your friends like to do?

4. What is a wedding traditionally like in your country? Do you have anything like Christmas, Halloween, etc? What is your favorite holiday? 

5. Do you agree with the policies of your nation's leader? If you know about American government, how do you feel about it? 

6. What do you do for fun? Do you have a favorite taste in music? Do you play sports or instruments?

7. What is your favorite food from your home? America? How do you get from one place to the next? Do people in your country have their own cars? Do you work? If yes, where?

8. Do you plan to stay here? Do you plan to visit if you don't? Were you scared when you first decided to come to America? Did you come here on your own? What is your major? Do you like St. Cloud? Have you been able to see any other parts of America? If yes what was your favorite destination? 

Emotion and Imagination: A summary and expanded research

On page 15 of Emotion and Imagination Adam Morton discusses the connections between emotions and imagination. His philosophical standpoint is that emotion could not exist without imagination and that it would be nearly impossible to have imagination and not feel emotion from it. Morton states "An emotion is a state which generates a range of representations on a given theme, usually with respect to particular objects." (1) Morton provides an example of someone witnessing a kitten being killed by a dog. The witness would later feel horror when replaying, or imagining, that image in their mind. This is an example of the direct correlation between imagination and emotion. We feel emotions from the things that we think, and what we think is always going to technically be imagined, whether it happened or not if we are not seeing what is causing us to be emotional in that very moment it is then imagined, and that is Morton's central argument.
Morton continues to explain that imagination holds representations. These representations could be anything from imagining your cousin getting married to imagining the purse you saw last week that you wish you had purchased. He refers to these representations also as a "short-cut" to a whole grouping of emotions. (2)
In order to do a little more research on the philosophical aspect of emotions I searched the same section of the library to see what I could find. I was pleasantly surprised to find "The Emotions; A Philosophical Introduction" by Julien A Deonna and Fabrice Teroni. This book discusses relations between emotions and the multitude of things that affect them; such as values, perceptions, moods, beliefs, desires, etc. As asked on page 16 "Why think unconcious emotions exist at all if, as we have implied in Chapter 1, emotions are essentially felt?" the author covers a somewhat similar approach to the development of emotions. (3)
In "Emotions and Reasons" another book that I found, the author Patricia Routledge goes in depth on the reasoning for emotions, moreso than the development, as the other two books did. I found on page 55 her thoughts on love and "attachment-love" interesting. I also have pondered on the idea of love and whether or not it is something we can control. (4)
The first internet link I came across is actually a downloadable document that came from the same publishing company as "Emotion and Imagination", which is Polity Press. It reviews imagination as well as imagery and its effect on emotions. (5) The authors, Dustin Stokes and Jonathon M Weinburg also explain the architecture of the imagination.

(1,2) Adam Morton, "Emotions and Imagination" 1st Edition 2013, Polity Press, Malden, Cambridge, page 15
(3) Julien A Deonna and Fabrice Teroni, "The Emotions; A Philosophical Introduction", 1st Edition 2012, Routledge, New York, page 16
(4) Patricia Greenspan, "Emotions and Reasons" 1st Edition 1988, Routledge, London, page 55
(5) stokes.mentalpaint.net/.../stokes-weinberg-proposal-final-7July2011.do