Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Comparison of the First interview and the Second
The main change between my first and second interview was the location. For the first interview Faisal and I conducted our interview in an open area, but it was during Spring Break so there was no outside noise. Abdullah and I conducted our interview in a study room in the media center, and I will probably do this for my third interview. I used the same questions, the same recorder, and the same transcription method of listening to the file on the computer. Even though I learned a lot from my first interview, my second interview helped confirm some things and even add new information. For example, after the first interview I knew about the basic structure of Islam but after the second interview I learned some specific things like their charitible nature. Nothing was contradictory, so this must mean that both of my sources are credible. I spent about 1.5 hours transcribing the first interview, and about 2 hours transcribing the second. I think that this time was well spent though, because I'm satisfied with the quality of my work. Some of my classmates did excellent work, which may be better than mine, but other classmates didn't put much effort into it.
Interview Rankings #2
All of the interview rankings: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AuG_zYyO-d1JdFNfYThUTUtjYm9rbTVsc3I4NjFnNGc
1 : Wenting Cai here 19 points
2: Justine Barron here 18 points
3: Tiffany Smith here 18 points
1 : Wenting Cai here 19 points
2: Justine Barron here 18 points
3: Tiffany Smith here 18 points
Monday, March 26, 2012
Region Presentation
Nicholas—Saudi Arabia
Ashley—Somalia
Tiffany—Germany
Justine—Saudi Arabia
-We didn't have any problems talking to our interviewees.
-The person we interviewed learned a little bit about our culture.
-Each turned out more of a conversation than a formal interview.
-The schooling systems are similar among the countries: children go to kindergarten at young ages followed by an intermediate school, and then a high school.
-Rice is a staple food in middle-eastern countries like Saudi Arabia and Somalia, but not in Germany-Germany and Saudi Arabia have many fast food restaurants, but countries like Somalia mainly cook their meals.
-Germany's infrastructure is very developed resulting in networks of highway systems, the Autobahn, railway and metro systems. Many people travel by bus, train or metro systems.
-In Saudi Arabia they mostly travel by car. There is also one train that goes throughout the country.
-In Somalia they rely mostly on walking, camel, and buses for transportation.
Ashley—Somalia
Tiffany—Germany
Justine—Saudi Arabia
Similarities
-The person we interviewed learned a little bit about our culture.
-Each turned out more of a conversation than a formal interview.
-The schooling systems are similar among the countries: children go to kindergarten at young ages followed by an intermediate school, and then a high school.
Differences
-In Germany the major religion is Christianity, and the other countries are Islam. This may be because western countries are predominantly Christian.
-In Somalia education is not a high priority unlike in Germany and Saudi Arabia
-Germany's infrastructure is very developed resulting in networks of highway systems, the Autobahn, railway and metro systems. Many people travel by bus, train or metro systems.
-In Saudi Arabia they mostly travel by car. There is also one train that goes throughout the country.
-In Somalia they rely mostly on walking, camel, and buses for transportation.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
My second interview (30 - 45 minutes in length)
This post is all about my second interview. In this post there will be my preparations, how the interview went, a report on my interviewee's country, and the transcribed interview.
1. Interview Preparations
For this interview, my preparations were slightly different than before. Before heading into the interview, my objectives and goals were the same: to learn about a different country's food, how their education system is structured, and to hear other ideas about American government. My selection for my interviewee was also different this time: my last interviewee was from Saudi Arabia so I wanted someone with the same background so I could reference information. Knowing this, AbdullahAA was the prime interviewee for me. I asked him if he wanted to interview and he accepted. Our interview was scheduled for Tuesday March 20, 2012 at 6:00 P.M. in the library. We didn't reserve a room in advance, but once we arrived a room opened up soon. This is one of the few things I would change for next time: reserve a library room in advance. Using my digital camera worked well for the first interview, so I used it again for this second interview. Once it was recorded, I transferred the audio file onto the computer and transcribed the interview.
N: Twenty-five, ok. And which country are you from again?
A: I came from Saudi Arabia....from Riyadh which is the capital city of Saudi Arabia.
N: Oh wow, the capital. Is it really busy there?
A: Yes, and around there it's around 4 million.
N: Wow, that's amazing. So..is it really crowded living there?
A: Yeah. Actually, I haven't been there since 2010 or 2009 and every time I'm there they have something new in the city.
N: Really?
A: Yeah. Something different happens like new buildings, towers, malls.
N: I'm sure there are a LOT of buildings and restaurants like that. Speaking of restaurants, are there any restaurants that you find here like McDonalds in Saudi Arabia?
A: Yes, there is like McDonalds, ehh....everything is actually there...McDonalds, Burger King, uhh..KFC, Applebees, Fridays, and Chili's.
N: Do you think that people eat fast food more here in America compared to Saudi Arabia?
A: Actually, uhh..in America. But, the new generation in Saudi Arabia is starting to follow you. They are starting to like fast food too.
N: *laughs* So do you think Americans eat fast food too much?
A: Yeah, they seem to eat it all the time.
N: So besides fast food, what kinds of traditional foods are from Saudi Arabia?
A: Traditional food? Well if you go anywhere in Saudi Arabia , or ask anyone they will say kepsa.
N: Oh ok. Can you tell me what it is?
A: It's like..a rice mixed with meat...any meat that you like it...because kepsa means like a mix. It's usually with chicken, lamb, camel, beef...
N: What is the general taste of kepsa? Is it sweet or spicy or how would you describe it?
A: It's not as spicy as Indian restaurant and not as sweet as like Chinese-sweet. It's in the middle like..almost sour.
N: Sour?
A: Well, it's not sour. I mean like..spicy a little bit. The flavor on it is like cinnamon, salt, black pepper, onion, garlic, chili, and crushed pepper. I don't know what they call it, Maggi cubes(he's referring to a brand of bullion cubes).
N: Interesting. If you had to describe all the food in your country as sweet, sour, or spicy, which would it be?
A: Salty.
N: Oh really?
A: Yeah. It's like...have you ever tried Irish dishes?
N: I might have tried one a long time ago.
A: Ok. This Irish dish with vegetables, and this sliced lamb on it. The flavor of this reminds me of back home.
N: Do you ever get to eat foods like kepsa here in America?
A: Before I came, I didn't like to go to the kitchen. After I like face the pizza and the burgers man, my stomach gets bad and hurts. I face like a health issue man, so I became the best chef in Saint Cloud.
N: You think so?
A: Yeah. Some people have paid me to cook for them.
N: Wow, very interesting. So what kind of foods do you like to cook?
A: Uhh, I cook spaghetti, I am good with kepsa, and some dishes I just like create. You know? I just open the fridge and cook whatever's there.
N: Hmm. So as we've been talking about your culture, I've been wondering about your country's greetings. Can you tell me a little more about them?
A: They mostly come from India and China.
N: So what are the typical greetings? Like, do you shake hands, hug, or what?
A: Oh, I thought you were asking where the ingredients of kepsa come from. Well, we have a phrase that translates to "Peace in you guys" that we use. We usually say it when we face towards people.
N: Ok.
A: If you want to translate it to English, it doesn't make sense to you guys. If you had to make it into English, it would be "Peace in you guys" or "God make the peace".
N: So do you usually shake hands with this greeting?
A: Yeah. We do this to people we know and don't know.
N: Can you describe both to me?
A: Sure. We like shake hands, kiss each other, ok? This is for a man, like...if you know the guy you will shake hands and kiss him on the cheek. For the parents, like me, I have special greetings for them. I kiss the head of my parents and the hand everyday.
N: Everyday?
A: Everyday. Morning...in the morning and night. But, if you kiss the head and hand and you will be with her all the day, you don't need to do it again. It shows respect to them.
N: Do you think the greetings here or from your home country are more friendly?
A: Uhh..the greetings back home are based from the religion, and they have like rules. If you sit and I am walking next to you, I will say the greeting to you. And for the parents, it's more to show the respect for them.
N: Interesting. So I'm sure that moving here to America has got to be a huge life change. What is one thing that Saint Cloud State University could do to make your stay here better?
A: Actually, as I said like first the English. We face a lot of problems with English.
N: Ok.
A: We're shy. Sometimes we think that we can't make a mistake. Even though we're all human and we all make mistakes.
N: Yeah, of course.
A: But like, sometime when you be like a certain age everything will be formal. I didn't face a lot of help for my English to go and spend the time with American people. Like yes, I went to the institute here and there is a writing place for us, that's good.
N: Ok.
A: But, they didn't afford someone or some place to go and like speak. To go and like conversations and like tell me about the country. I came from another country, another system, and I faced this. I need a guide to me actually.
N: Ok.
A: Infact, I have talked to the instructor of this institute, Saint Cloud institute, and she said like "ok" that's good point and we will try to have a better system.
N: I can see where you're coming from. I'm just starting to learn Spanish as a second language and I envy you for being able to speak two languages fairly well.
A: Thank you.
N: So, how would you describe sports in your home country? Which sports are the most popular?
A: Soccer.
N: Alright. Can you tell me about the national soccer games, or any teams that you like?
A: The team I like back home means "half of the moon" or "quarter of the moon". They're doing good actually, like back home we have different competition. We have this competition called the King cup, and the Crown cup, and the Queen cup.
N: Do these leagues usually play with other Saudi Arabian soccer teams, or who do they compete with?
A: We have like Asian league, and after that you will be like International league. They have competition to go to the Asian league, then after that you will go for International cup. Like the World cup with all teams, like for example you will face Barcelona, Madrid, all the huge teams
N: Are there any other sports that are popular in your home country besides soccer?
A: Yeah, the volleyball. Actually, karate..you know like the self-defense?
N: Yeah.
A: Yeah..we have like I think martial arts.
N: Ok. Would you say that sports are more poplar here in America, or back in your home country?
A: Like here, you can't say that one sport is the most famous. Because like, special times for special sports. Like now, the time is to watch basketball and after like I think its hockey or whatever. You have like, you're doing good with the soccer. Your team, like no one likes them but the national team says "yeah they're good".
N: Really?
A: Yeah. For like two years you played against Brazil and also like France...you doing good guys. Also here like, I think the most popular sport that people are crazy about is football. Like, most of the places say they like football.
N: Ok. So can you describe to me the religious holidays you celebrate in your home country?
A: For religious we celebrate like two times. It's a festival called Eid-al-Fitr. You know we have like special month for fasting?
N: Yes. Ramadan?
A: Yeah. After Ramadan we have Eid-al-Fitr which is yeah..a festival. And after that we have the Hajj where people go to like Mecca. This means like people go to mosque, the holy mosque, in Saudi Arabia in Mecca city. They go this time and they like go and pray and do like practicing the religion down there because it's part of our religion.
N: Ok.
A: We go there like one time, and yeah. After that they finish, they like, have a sheep or lamb, cows, camels, and they eat it and they share the meat together. Also, like giving to the poor people. After Eid-al-Fitr, which is after Ramadan, why we fasting and we don't use food in this month to remind that we have something to eat. Also like, we like the father of the family or who have a job gives like 10% of what he owns to the like charity or poor people.
N: Wow.
A: That should be like everywhere , they call it zakat.
N: That's really amazing. So would you say that everyone in Saudi Arabia is Muslim?
A: Yes. But we have like...we are all Muslim..like what religion are you?
N: Christian.
A: You know how Christian have people like believing in Christianity? There's like 2% back home, they have like..not different beliefs but different concepts and particular rules.
N: And what are those divisions called?
A: Uhh they are called Shia and there is like Sunni. When you say Shia you are still Muslim, it's not all about the name. It's like, they call themselves Shia but like they practicing Shia rules. So yeah, they have different called Shia and Sunni. They mainly just have different details.
N: So do you think it's a good thing that Saudi Arabia only has Islam for religion, or do you think it should allow other religions?
A: Actually, so you see back home thousands and thousands and thousands of years ago people lived here as a Muslim. Because one of the holy cities like Mecca and Mina, which is like the land of all Muslims, it is like the house of God. But, back in the history they didn't say "don't be next to someone who believes another religion". Like, we have stories and the history and they tell us..and also the Qur'an tells us. Like in this life I will like show you my religion and describe it to you.
N: Ok.
A: But not go and force you to go and have my religion. This will make me insane if I do this.
N: *laughs* Ok. Can you describe to me the schooling system? Starting with what age do you think children go to school.
A: I think people go to school when they like 6 or 7.
N: What kind of umm..school do they go to? Because here I know they go to kindergarten, is it something like that?
A: Do you usually have daycare you go to before?
N: Yeah.
A: Ok. We have the same thing, they didn't give you any mean classes or mean majors. We go playing and you know..like toys and that stuff you play.
N: How can you describe the high-school system back in Saudi Arabia?
A: People now they enjoy their education. Before, I didn't enjoy my education because there is something we were missing especially my generation. Now the system is like very acceptable and people, like, like it.
N: So after high-school you told me that you had a job: can you tell me where you worked and what you worked as?
A: After I graduated high school, I studied working and I have a diploma for working. After that I work in a company called Alphasensor (I'm not sure if this is correct).
N: Ok.
A: I work there for like a year and 9 months, almost 2 years. I worked in the uhh..human resource department as..what do they call it here..like the technology department and human resource department.
N: Ok.
A: What I like, do specific is I like arrange for like the staff or the worker like good time to explain if they have a problem with their job if they don't like something. You know, like give them motivation and support them, make them more optimistic about the job.
N: Ok. So what are you majoring in here at Saint Cloud State?
A: Actually, I major here for finance.
N: Ok, do you have any career plans after you graduate?
A: No. I don't have any clue, but I have experience and hopefully I have like two languages and I have two like certificates from different majors so it might like help me. I really hope to like work here for an international company.
N: What modes of transportation do people usually use in your home country?
A: Yeah, like cars. Everyone has cars, the buses are like..they use the buses but it's not recommended for you to go to the bus. It's like, I don't know..it's because the gas is so cheap down there. SO cheap.
N: Like how much in dollars?
A: You can't even compare it, it's so cheap. Like there, it's almost zero. Maybe like ten bucks to fill the tank.
N: Wow, that's really cheap.
A: Yeah. Like, a hundred bucks maybe for like a month or two months. And also, we don't have a tax..we are lucky actually. We have like public school, like free school, free education, free hospital, uhh..also people help you tax free.
N: Well, then what made you come here to America?
A: Uhh, the knowledge, the experience that America have it or has it.
N: Do you think that America has a better system of colleges
A: Yeah. I see the system of like high schools and colleges here, and I'm jealous man. I didn't face this, but they make you comfortable about the education. Before in like my generation, most of the people hate it, like they don't like it. They don't wanna like go. This generation though, they are different. Like, my younger brothers I see how they deal with the system of education different than how we did before. But yeah, there is a great system and that's why people come here.
N: Hmm, ok. So can you tell me a secret about yourself that few people know that shows us who you are?
A: So, why they call it secret?
N: Why do they call it that?
A: Yeah, because if I tell you why they call it secret?
N: Yeah, it won't be a secret anymore if you tell me.
A: *laughs* Ok, lemme think about this..
N: We can come back to this if you want to think about it.
A: Yeah I will think about it.
N: Alright. Can you describe to me a typical day for a child in your country? Like what do they usually do?
A: Ok. I usually, my mother like wake me up at like 5:00 and I pray in the morning because we pray 5 times a day. After this I take like a nap, and after that I eat the breakfast and have a good meal. And after this, I go to my school until 2:00 or 1:30 then I come back to my home and have a lunch. After this I like also take a nap, and wake up to do my homework, all my homework, and after that I go with my brother and neighborhood to play soccer.
N: Ok.
A: After that I come back and prepare to pray again, and then my father comes back and we sit together and like talk about the day. After this we pray again, eat a light dinner, and finally sleep. On vacations we might go out early to hunt birds then cook them, you know?
N: Yeah.
A: It's something to do.
N: Ok. So do you know what kind of government is in charge of Saudi Arabia?
A: Yes, the government..like you mean the rules?
N: Kind of. Because here in America we have a democracy where all of the people vote to elect the leaders, is it kind of like that in Saudi Arabia?
A: No, it's like about the royal family who like decide it. It's like, the founder of Saudi Arabia who make it one nation, Abdul Aziz. He had like forty child or something, and all of his children they became a king. We have like an agreement to support him like a contract. People agree and support it, like my grandfather had a document to support him.
N: Do you think this is a fair method? What if you didn't like the decisions he was making, what could you do?
A: Actually, the fairness I meant to not all be about the royal family. If it's like something bad in the system, the people can take him off and the system will be cool. For example, we have soccer like the national team.
N: Yep.
A: They become suckier, and the big head for the soccer team or something is one of the royal family but the people complain "we don't want you". Then they take the team out and kick them out. So, there is a fairness and you can't just say "blah blah blah" and they will accept it. Bring me a good point supported with like information, supporting with knowledge. They're not 100% wrong or like 100% right, but they see your points if you have them.
N: Ok. So have you thought about any secrets that you could tell us?
A: Secrets...hmm. Yeah, I stole my brother's car when I was in the second grade of high school.
N: Ok, can you tell me more?
A: Yeah. It was in the summer, and I was crazy like" I wanna drive I wanna drive I wanna drive" you know, thinking about driving a lot. So I sneak to my brother's room and I take the key from his pocket and I took the car. I got into an accident, but not a huge accident , but I hit a wall or something.
N: Did you have a license or..?
A: No, nothing. That's why. After the accident I was scared, but like only the front light was broke not like serious damage. I brought the car like to the house again, and put it back outside. I started thinking "how I make it real?" that someone hit the car. I took a Coke..uhh..the glass one and I broke the glass and I put little bits on it.
N: Ok.
A: I came to wake him up to tell him that someone crashed your car on their way. And he just look at the car and look at me and said "No any sign, no break around it, if it was a car it would be moved". He figured out like right away.
N: What is one thing you wish you could change here in America?
A: Respect.
N: Respect? What do you mean by that?
A: I mean by that..uhh...the respect of the young people to the old. Like when I go to the bus, I enter the bus and there are old people, they stand up and the young people sit. Back home, you will not see this and it's based in religion more. Also like, kids yell to their parents but back home they don't. Like, they yell for sure but they have like..umm..
N: More respect?
A: More respect yeah. Sorry, it's not me like saying "there's no respect here". No no, there is like a lot of respect, a lot of humble people, kind people, like amazing people. I am only talking about this like this particular section of kids with their parents.
N: Ok. Well, I think I have all of my questions answered. Is there anything else you'd like to say about moving to America in general?
A: Well, moving to America is like a good experience, and I like the whole process. I read the rules before I came here in a book, and I totally agree with the rules. Yeah...no complain about the rules actually. Everything is fine..good..good experience to be here. Saint Cloud actually gives us a good environment, you know?
N: Yeah.
A: Especially for native, international..everyone. Yeah..it's good. It's good to be here actually, I'm glad to be here.
N: That's good. Well, all of my questions are answered so this concludes the interview. Thank you for your time.
A: Thanks
2. Interview Report
Like my first interview, this one went very well and there is only one thing I would change for next time. Abdullah answered every question and he seemed to be comfortable. Abdullah helped me expand my knowledge of food in Saudi Arabia: they have a lot more fast food chains than I previously thought. I learned a bit on the education system of Saudi Arabia and how they structure schooling very similar to the United States. It seems that when you are younger, school gets out much earlier than in the U.S. and apparently most children eat lunch at their homes. I certainly learned a lot about the government style of Saudi Arabia and how families signed contracts saying that they agreed with the leader. Also, the fact that gas prices are cheap in Saudi Arabia was confirmed and it truly amazed me that to fill up a car it only costs about $10. I've learned that there are two major denominations of Islam : Shia and Sunni. Lastly, for my next interview I need to reserve a library study room in advance. For my first interview it wasn't an issue because we had a different location, but I need to consider that for my next interview.
3. Country Report
Saudi Arabia is a somewhat large country found just east of Africa and south of Eastern Europe. Although it is close to Africa and Europe, Saudi Arabia is officially part of Asia. Saudi Arabia is about 1/5 the size of the United States, and it consists of very dry deserts and mountains. Saudi Arabia is perhaps best known for its exports in oil and for having the two most holy Islam mosques.
As mentioned, Saudi Arabia contains the two holiest Islam mosques in Mecca and in Medina. Saudi Arabia is an Islamic state where the government is based on Islamic holy law. The specific type of government is technically a monarchy. This was apparent when Faisal was explaining to me about the secret police who enforce the religious laws. In Saudi Arabia, the citizens are only allowed to be Muslim and no other religion. The two main divisions of Islam are Shia and Sunni, but most people are Sunni. In these regards, every person celebrates religious holidays like Eid-al-Fitr and Ramadan. Ramadan is a month in which Muslims don't eat from sunrise to sunset, and Eid-al-Fitr is the day after the month of Ramadan that they celebrate. In addition to these holidays, Muslims also pray five times a day: once when the sun rises, once at noon, once after noon, once at sunset, and once at night. These things are part of the five pillars of Islam. Abdullah had told me about the great generosity and giving that Muslims do and he said nearly 10% of someone's total income is donated. Religion is a major part of everyday life for Saudi Arabians.
Greetings in Saudi Arabia are usually hand shakes, hugs, or kisses on the cheek. Faisal noted that here in America, people are more distant and less friendly in their greetings. Abdullah has also told me that the greetings of his home country are more respectful that here in America. Children around the age of eight have a typical day consisting of going to school and then unstructured time after school to do things like play soccer. Like America, Saudi Arabia has kindergarten, then elementary school, then high school, and finally college. When children are about age 9, they get out of school earlier than American schools and typically eat lunch at home. College in Saudi Arabia has a first year called orientation where everyone has the same classes and schedule. When asked to compare, Faisal thinks that the United States has a better quality of education than Saudi Arabia. The main sport in Saudi Arabia is football, which is the same sport that Americans know as soccer with the ball on the ground and the goalposts with nets. Abdullah has told me that there are many different leagues and different cups that Saudi Arabian football teams compete for.
Cars are the most popular mode of transportation in Saudi Arabia. There are many types of cars available including American cars, German cars, and other European cars. The trains and buses in Saudi Arabia are only practical for going long distances, and there are few taxi cabs. Most people can afford cars because the gasoline is relatively cheap compared to most places. Abdullah has told me that it costs only about $10 to fill up a gas tank, and $100 can pay for gas for up to two months. Saudi Arabia holds about 1/5 of the world's total petroleum, exports the most petroleum, and has an important role in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC). Since oil companies have a lot of revenue, it makes sense that Faisal wants to work there: they will give a better salary.
Food in Saudi Arabia is very diverse and there isn't one thing that categorizes it. Rice and chicken, however, are found in many Saudi dishes. Also common is cheese, bread, mutton, and eggs. The most iconic food is kepsa, which is a spicy dish with orange rice and chicken. Abdullah and Faisal have both told me that there is a very special and secret combination of spices that really makes the meal taste good. Light roasted Arabic coffee is the national beverage. Some foods are considered taboo and never to be eaten. These include pork, wine, beer, and any other alcoholic beverage. It is part of the Islamic faith to never eat these things.
In this summary, one can see how Saudi Arabia and America are two vastly different countries. Although some of the differences come from religion, natural resources(like oil) also play an important role.
Sources: http://www.everyculture.com/Sa-Th/Saudi-Arabia.html
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3584.htm
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sa.html
Sources: http://www.everyculture.com/Sa-Th/Saudi-Arabia.html
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3584.htm
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sa.html
4. Interview Transcription
N = NicholasES (me)
A = AbdullahAA
N: So Abdullah, it's nice to see you here. Thanks for the interview again.
A: No problem.
N: So, can you start by telling me your age?
A: I'm twenty-five.
A: I came from Saudi Arabia....from Riyadh which is the capital city of Saudi Arabia.
N: Oh wow, the capital. Is it really busy there?
A: Yes, and around there it's around 4 million.
N: Wow, that's amazing. So..is it really crowded living there?
A: Yeah. Actually, I haven't been there since 2010 or 2009 and every time I'm there they have something new in the city.
N: Really?
A: Yeah. Something different happens like new buildings, towers, malls.
N: I'm sure there are a LOT of buildings and restaurants like that. Speaking of restaurants, are there any restaurants that you find here like McDonalds in Saudi Arabia?
A: Yes, there is like McDonalds, ehh....everything is actually there...McDonalds, Burger King, uhh..KFC, Applebees, Fridays, and Chili's.
N: Do you think that people eat fast food more here in America compared to Saudi Arabia?
A: Actually, uhh..in America. But, the new generation in Saudi Arabia is starting to follow you. They are starting to like fast food too.
N: *laughs* So do you think Americans eat fast food too much?
A: Yeah, they seem to eat it all the time.
N: So besides fast food, what kinds of traditional foods are from Saudi Arabia?
A: Traditional food? Well if you go anywhere in Saudi Arabia , or ask anyone they will say kepsa.
N: Oh ok. Can you tell me what it is?
A: It's like..a rice mixed with meat...any meat that you like it...because kepsa means like a mix. It's usually with chicken, lamb, camel, beef...
N: What is the general taste of kepsa? Is it sweet or spicy or how would you describe it?
A: It's not as spicy as Indian restaurant and not as sweet as like Chinese-sweet. It's in the middle like..almost sour.
N: Sour?
A: Well, it's not sour. I mean like..spicy a little bit. The flavor on it is like cinnamon, salt, black pepper, onion, garlic, chili, and crushed pepper. I don't know what they call it, Maggi cubes(he's referring to a brand of bullion cubes).
N: Interesting. If you had to describe all the food in your country as sweet, sour, or spicy, which would it be?
A: Salty.
N: Oh really?
A: Yeah. It's like...have you ever tried Irish dishes?
N: I might have tried one a long time ago.
A: Ok. This Irish dish with vegetables, and this sliced lamb on it. The flavor of this reminds me of back home.
N: Do you ever get to eat foods like kepsa here in America?
A: Before I came, I didn't like to go to the kitchen. After I like face the pizza and the burgers man, my stomach gets bad and hurts. I face like a health issue man, so I became the best chef in Saint Cloud.
N: You think so?
A: Yeah. Some people have paid me to cook for them.
N: Wow, very interesting. So what kind of foods do you like to cook?
A: Uhh, I cook spaghetti, I am good with kepsa, and some dishes I just like create. You know? I just open the fridge and cook whatever's there.
N: Hmm. So as we've been talking about your culture, I've been wondering about your country's greetings. Can you tell me a little more about them?
A: They mostly come from India and China.
N: So what are the typical greetings? Like, do you shake hands, hug, or what?
A: Oh, I thought you were asking where the ingredients of kepsa come from. Well, we have a phrase that translates to "Peace in you guys" that we use. We usually say it when we face towards people.
N: Ok.
A: If you want to translate it to English, it doesn't make sense to you guys. If you had to make it into English, it would be "Peace in you guys" or "God make the peace".
N: So do you usually shake hands with this greeting?
A: Yeah. We do this to people we know and don't know.
N: Can you describe both to me?
A: Sure. We like shake hands, kiss each other, ok? This is for a man, like...if you know the guy you will shake hands and kiss him on the cheek. For the parents, like me, I have special greetings for them. I kiss the head of my parents and the hand everyday.
N: Everyday?
A: Everyday. Morning...in the morning and night. But, if you kiss the head and hand and you will be with her all the day, you don't need to do it again. It shows respect to them.
N: Do you think the greetings here or from your home country are more friendly?
A: Uhh..the greetings back home are based from the religion, and they have like rules. If you sit and I am walking next to you, I will say the greeting to you. And for the parents, it's more to show the respect for them.
N: Interesting. So I'm sure that moving here to America has got to be a huge life change. What is one thing that Saint Cloud State University could do to make your stay here better?
A: Actually, as I said like first the English. We face a lot of problems with English.
N: Ok.
A: We're shy. Sometimes we think that we can't make a mistake. Even though we're all human and we all make mistakes.
N: Yeah, of course.
A: But like, sometime when you be like a certain age everything will be formal. I didn't face a lot of help for my English to go and spend the time with American people. Like yes, I went to the institute here and there is a writing place for us, that's good.
N: Ok.
A: But, they didn't afford someone or some place to go and like speak. To go and like conversations and like tell me about the country. I came from another country, another system, and I faced this. I need a guide to me actually.
N: Ok.
A: Infact, I have talked to the instructor of this institute, Saint Cloud institute, and she said like "ok" that's good point and we will try to have a better system.
N: I can see where you're coming from. I'm just starting to learn Spanish as a second language and I envy you for being able to speak two languages fairly well.
A: Thank you.
N: So, how would you describe sports in your home country? Which sports are the most popular?
A: Soccer.
N: Alright. Can you tell me about the national soccer games, or any teams that you like?
A: The team I like back home means "half of the moon" or "quarter of the moon". They're doing good actually, like back home we have different competition. We have this competition called the King cup, and the Crown cup, and the Queen cup.
N: Do these leagues usually play with other Saudi Arabian soccer teams, or who do they compete with?
A: We have like Asian league, and after that you will be like International league. They have competition to go to the Asian league, then after that you will go for International cup. Like the World cup with all teams, like for example you will face Barcelona, Madrid, all the huge teams
N: Are there any other sports that are popular in your home country besides soccer?
A: Yeah, the volleyball. Actually, karate..you know like the self-defense?
N: Yeah.
A: Yeah..we have like I think martial arts.
N: Ok. Would you say that sports are more poplar here in America, or back in your home country?
A: Like here, you can't say that one sport is the most famous. Because like, special times for special sports. Like now, the time is to watch basketball and after like I think its hockey or whatever. You have like, you're doing good with the soccer. Your team, like no one likes them but the national team says "yeah they're good".
N: Really?
A: Yeah. For like two years you played against Brazil and also like France...you doing good guys. Also here like, I think the most popular sport that people are crazy about is football. Like, most of the places say they like football.
N: Ok. So can you describe to me the religious holidays you celebrate in your home country?
A: For religious we celebrate like two times. It's a festival called Eid-al-Fitr. You know we have like special month for fasting?
N: Yes. Ramadan?
A: Yeah. After Ramadan we have Eid-al-Fitr which is yeah..a festival. And after that we have the Hajj where people go to like Mecca. This means like people go to mosque, the holy mosque, in Saudi Arabia in Mecca city. They go this time and they like go and pray and do like practicing the religion down there because it's part of our religion.
N: Ok.
A: We go there like one time, and yeah. After that they finish, they like, have a sheep or lamb, cows, camels, and they eat it and they share the meat together. Also, like giving to the poor people. After Eid-al-Fitr, which is after Ramadan, why we fasting and we don't use food in this month to remind that we have something to eat. Also like, we like the father of the family or who have a job gives like 10% of what he owns to the like charity or poor people.
N: Wow.
A: That should be like everywhere , they call it zakat.
N: That's really amazing. So would you say that everyone in Saudi Arabia is Muslim?
A: Yes. But we have like...we are all Muslim..like what religion are you?
N: Christian.
A: You know how Christian have people like believing in Christianity? There's like 2% back home, they have like..not different beliefs but different concepts and particular rules.
N: And what are those divisions called?
A: Uhh they are called Shia and there is like Sunni. When you say Shia you are still Muslim, it's not all about the name. It's like, they call themselves Shia but like they practicing Shia rules. So yeah, they have different called Shia and Sunni. They mainly just have different details.
N: So do you think it's a good thing that Saudi Arabia only has Islam for religion, or do you think it should allow other religions?
A: Actually, so you see back home thousands and thousands and thousands of years ago people lived here as a Muslim. Because one of the holy cities like Mecca and Mina, which is like the land of all Muslims, it is like the house of God. But, back in the history they didn't say "don't be next to someone who believes another religion". Like, we have stories and the history and they tell us..and also the Qur'an tells us. Like in this life I will like show you my religion and describe it to you.
N: Ok.
A: But not go and force you to go and have my religion. This will make me insane if I do this.
N: *laughs* Ok. Can you describe to me the schooling system? Starting with what age do you think children go to school.
A: I think people go to school when they like 6 or 7.
N: What kind of umm..school do they go to? Because here I know they go to kindergarten, is it something like that?
A: Do you usually have daycare you go to before?
N: Yeah.
A: Ok. We have the same thing, they didn't give you any mean classes or mean majors. We go playing and you know..like toys and that stuff you play.
N: How can you describe the high-school system back in Saudi Arabia?
A: People now they enjoy their education. Before, I didn't enjoy my education because there is something we were missing especially my generation. Now the system is like very acceptable and people, like, like it.
N: So after high-school you told me that you had a job: can you tell me where you worked and what you worked as?
A: After I graduated high school, I studied working and I have a diploma for working. After that I work in a company called Alphasensor (I'm not sure if this is correct).
N: Ok.
A: I work there for like a year and 9 months, almost 2 years. I worked in the uhh..human resource department as..what do they call it here..like the technology department and human resource department.
N: Ok.
A: What I like, do specific is I like arrange for like the staff or the worker like good time to explain if they have a problem with their job if they don't like something. You know, like give them motivation and support them, make them more optimistic about the job.
N: Ok. So what are you majoring in here at Saint Cloud State?
A: Actually, I major here for finance.
N: Ok, do you have any career plans after you graduate?
A: No. I don't have any clue, but I have experience and hopefully I have like two languages and I have two like certificates from different majors so it might like help me. I really hope to like work here for an international company.
N: What modes of transportation do people usually use in your home country?
A: Yeah, like cars. Everyone has cars, the buses are like..they use the buses but it's not recommended for you to go to the bus. It's like, I don't know..it's because the gas is so cheap down there. SO cheap.
N: Like how much in dollars?
A: You can't even compare it, it's so cheap. Like there, it's almost zero. Maybe like ten bucks to fill the tank.
N: Wow, that's really cheap.
A: Yeah. Like, a hundred bucks maybe for like a month or two months. And also, we don't have a tax..we are lucky actually. We have like public school, like free school, free education, free hospital, uhh..also people help you tax free.
N: Well, then what made you come here to America?
A: Uhh, the knowledge, the experience that America have it or has it.
N: Do you think that America has a better system of colleges
A: Yeah. I see the system of like high schools and colleges here, and I'm jealous man. I didn't face this, but they make you comfortable about the education. Before in like my generation, most of the people hate it, like they don't like it. They don't wanna like go. This generation though, they are different. Like, my younger brothers I see how they deal with the system of education different than how we did before. But yeah, there is a great system and that's why people come here.
N: Hmm, ok. So can you tell me a secret about yourself that few people know that shows us who you are?
A: So, why they call it secret?
N: Why do they call it that?
A: Yeah, because if I tell you why they call it secret?
N: Yeah, it won't be a secret anymore if you tell me.
A: *laughs* Ok, lemme think about this..
N: We can come back to this if you want to think about it.
A: Yeah I will think about it.
N: Alright. Can you describe to me a typical day for a child in your country? Like what do they usually do?
A: Ok. I usually, my mother like wake me up at like 5:00 and I pray in the morning because we pray 5 times a day. After this I take like a nap, and after that I eat the breakfast and have a good meal. And after this, I go to my school until 2:00 or 1:30 then I come back to my home and have a lunch. After this I like also take a nap, and wake up to do my homework, all my homework, and after that I go with my brother and neighborhood to play soccer.
N: Ok.
A: After that I come back and prepare to pray again, and then my father comes back and we sit together and like talk about the day. After this we pray again, eat a light dinner, and finally sleep. On vacations we might go out early to hunt birds then cook them, you know?
N: Yeah.
A: It's something to do.
N: Ok. So do you know what kind of government is in charge of Saudi Arabia?
A: Yes, the government..like you mean the rules?
N: Kind of. Because here in America we have a democracy where all of the people vote to elect the leaders, is it kind of like that in Saudi Arabia?
A: No, it's like about the royal family who like decide it. It's like, the founder of Saudi Arabia who make it one nation, Abdul Aziz. He had like forty child or something, and all of his children they became a king. We have like an agreement to support him like a contract. People agree and support it, like my grandfather had a document to support him.
N: Do you think this is a fair method? What if you didn't like the decisions he was making, what could you do?
A: Actually, the fairness I meant to not all be about the royal family. If it's like something bad in the system, the people can take him off and the system will be cool. For example, we have soccer like the national team.
N: Yep.
A: They become suckier, and the big head for the soccer team or something is one of the royal family but the people complain "we don't want you". Then they take the team out and kick them out. So, there is a fairness and you can't just say "blah blah blah" and they will accept it. Bring me a good point supported with like information, supporting with knowledge. They're not 100% wrong or like 100% right, but they see your points if you have them.
N: Ok. So have you thought about any secrets that you could tell us?
A: Secrets...hmm. Yeah, I stole my brother's car when I was in the second grade of high school.
N: Ok, can you tell me more?
A: Yeah. It was in the summer, and I was crazy like" I wanna drive I wanna drive I wanna drive" you know, thinking about driving a lot. So I sneak to my brother's room and I take the key from his pocket and I took the car. I got into an accident, but not a huge accident , but I hit a wall or something.
N: Did you have a license or..?
A: No, nothing. That's why. After the accident I was scared, but like only the front light was broke not like serious damage. I brought the car like to the house again, and put it back outside. I started thinking "how I make it real?" that someone hit the car. I took a Coke..uhh..the glass one and I broke the glass and I put little bits on it.
N: Ok.
A: I came to wake him up to tell him that someone crashed your car on their way. And he just look at the car and look at me and said "No any sign, no break around it, if it was a car it would be moved". He figured out like right away.
N: What is one thing you wish you could change here in America?
A: Respect.
N: Respect? What do you mean by that?
A: I mean by that..uhh...the respect of the young people to the old. Like when I go to the bus, I enter the bus and there are old people, they stand up and the young people sit. Back home, you will not see this and it's based in religion more. Also like, kids yell to their parents but back home they don't. Like, they yell for sure but they have like..umm..
N: More respect?
A: More respect yeah. Sorry, it's not me like saying "there's no respect here". No no, there is like a lot of respect, a lot of humble people, kind people, like amazing people. I am only talking about this like this particular section of kids with their parents.
N: Ok. Well, I think I have all of my questions answered. Is there anything else you'd like to say about moving to America in general?
A: Well, moving to America is like a good experience, and I like the whole process. I read the rules before I came here in a book, and I totally agree with the rules. Yeah...no complain about the rules actually. Everything is fine..good..good experience to be here. Saint Cloud actually gives us a good environment, you know?
N: Yeah.
A: Especially for native, international..everyone. Yeah..it's good. It's good to be here actually, I'm glad to be here.
N: That's good. Well, all of my questions are answered so this concludes the interview. Thank you for your time.
A: Thanks
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Interview Rankings #1
This is the link to my rankings of my peers' interviews.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AuG_zYyO-d1JdFB1dE13N3JiaURIeEFCc3RIUDZKMkE
My top ranked interviews are:
1.Wenting Cai here 19 points.
2. Joseph Reece here 18 points.
3. Tiffany Smith here 17 points.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AuG_zYyO-d1JdFB1dE13N3JiaURIeEFCc3RIUDZKMkE
My top ranked interviews are:
1.Wenting Cai here 19 points.
2. Joseph Reece here 18 points.
3. Tiffany Smith here 17 points.
Monday, March 12, 2012
My first interview (30-45 minutes in length)
This post will be concerned with my first full interview. In this post I will include information about my preparations, how the interview went, a country report, and the transcribed interview.
Before I selected a person to interview, I wanted to create some objectives that the interview would fulfill. By the end of the interview my goals were to learn about another county's cuisine, learn how another country structures their education, hear different opinions about American government, and to learn about the bad things that come from moving to America. With these objectives in mind, I set out to find someone who knew a lot about their culture. Here I began to contact possible interviewees through their Husky Net e-mail accounts. After several students didn't respond, FaisalHA had agreed to be interviewed. In the e-mail I stressed the fact that the best time is dependent on their schedule and convenience.We had arranged our interview for Friday March 9, 2012 at 5:20 P.M. at Stewart Hall. When we arrived though, Stewart Hall was closed so we conducted our interview in the room above the Ritsche auditorium doors. I recorded the interview using a digital camera, and I used a mode where it just records the audio. After the interview I moved the audio file onto the computer for transcription. As a reminder, I interviewed FaisalHA who is from Saudi Arabia.
1. Interview Preparations
2. Interview Report
The interview went very well from my perspective. Faisal was willing to answer every question and he had a unique perspective about many topics. All of my goals for the interview were also met and the answers surprised me for some questions. In Saudi Arabia, fast-food franchises like McDonalds actually have special items that are made just for the country. Saudi Arabia structures its education much like the United States with kindergarten and middle/high school. Faisal had studied at a Saudi Arabian college for one year, and he says that the U.S. actually has a better quality of education. The thing that surprised me the most was how much the government is dependent of religion. In America, government and religion try to separate themselves. In Saudi Arabia, from my understanding, the citizens are only allowed to be Muslim and no other religions. People who break any religious codes or rules are also persecuted. When asked what he thought about his old type of government, where kings and their heirs rule, he didn't really mind it. There are some decisions he didn't agree with, but overall he wasn't angry at the government or anything.
3.Country Report
Saudi Arabia is a somewhat large country found just east of Africa and south of Eastern Europe. Although it is close to Africa and Europe, Saudi Arabia is officially part of Asia. Saudi Arabia is about 1/5 the size of the United States, and it consists of very dry deserts and mountains. Saudi Arabia is perhaps best known for its exports in oil and for having the two most holy Islam mosques.
As mentioned, Saudi Arabia contains the two holiest Islam mosques in Mecca and in Medina. Saudi Arabia is an Islamic state where the government is based on Islamic holy law. The specific type of government is technically a monarchy. This was apparent when Faisal was explaining to me about the secret police who enforce the religious laws. In Saudi Arabia, the citizens are only allowed to be Muslim and no other religion. In these regards, every person celebrates religious holidays like Eid-al-Fitr and Ramadan. Ramadan is a month in which Muslims don't eat from sunrise to sunset, and Eid-al-Fitr is the day after the month of Ramadan that they celebrate. In addition to these holidays, Muslims also pray five times a day: once when the sun rises, once at noon, once after noon, once at sunset, and once at night. Religion is a major part of everyday life for Saudi Arabians.
Greetings in Saudi Arabia are usually hand shakes, hugs, or kisses on the cheek. Faisal noted that here in America, people are more distant and less friendly in their greetings. Children around the age of eight have a typical day consisting of going to school and then unstructured time after school to do things like play soccer. Like America, Saudi Arabia has kindergarten, then elementary school, then high school, and finally college. College in Saudi Arabia has a first year called orientation where everyone has the same classes and schedule. When asked to compare, Faisal thinks that the United States has a better quality of education than Saudi Arabia. The main sport in Saudi Arabia is football, which is the same sport that Americans know as soccer with the ball on the ground and the goalposts with nets.
Cars are the most popular mode of transportation in Saudi Arabia. There are many types of cars available including American cars, German cars, and other European cars. The trains and buses in Saudi Arabia are only practical for going long distances, and there are few taxi cabs. Most people can afford cars because the gasoline is relatively cheap compared to most places. Saudi Arabia holds about 1/5 of the world's total petroleum, exports the most petroleum, and has an important role in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC). Since oil companies have a lot of revenue, it makes sense that Faisal wants to work there: they will give a better salary.
Food in Saudi Arabia is very diverse and there isn't one thing that categorizes it. Rice and chicken, however, are found in many Saudi dishes. Also common is cheese, bread, mutton, and eggs. Light roasted Arabic coffee is the national beverage. Some foods are considered taboo and never to be eaten. These include pork, wine, beer, and any other alcoholic beverage. It is part of the Islamic faith to never eat these things.
In this summary, one can see how Saudi Arabia and America are two vastly different countries. Although some of the differences come from religion, natural resources(like oil) also play an important role.
Sources:
4. Interview Trascription
N = NicholasES (me)
F = FaisalHA
N: Hello Faisal, thanks for letting me interview you.
F: No problem.
F: No problem.
N: So, how are you this evening?
F: I'm pretty good, and the weather is nice today.
N: Yeah it certainly is. Personally, I'm really hungry at the moment. I'm really wondering, how is the food of your home country?
F: Well, it's pretty much rice. It's the main meal. We make different meals with it like kepsa is the most popular meal.
N: Ok.
F: It's kind of an orange rice with chicken.
N: Is it like sweet or spicy or..?
F: Spicy, yeah.
N: Ok. Is spicy food really common in your home country?
F: Not really common. We out spices on it that makes it special.
N: Interesting. What can you tell me..I mean how is it similar or different than the food here in America?
F: Well, the food here in America is mostly burgers and pizza and stuff...right?
N: Yeah.
F: Ok, so like I said the main food here is rice, bread, pastas but yeah rice is the main thing we eat like daily. Daily eating is rice.
N: Do you have any like fast-food restaurants in your home country?
F: We do. We do have McDonalds and Burger King all over the country.
N: Cool. Do they have any special items that are only sold in the restaurants of your home country?
F: Yeah. We have the meal called McArabia. It's made of Arabic bread and chicken. It's kind of an Arabic burger.
N: Does it have hamburger for the meat then or..?
F: Uhh..yes chicken.
N: Ok.
F: I'm pretty good, and the weather is nice today.
N: Yeah it certainly is. Personally, I'm really hungry at the moment. I'm really wondering, how is the food of your home country?
F: Well, it's pretty much rice. It's the main meal. We make different meals with it like kepsa is the most popular meal.
N: Ok.
F: It's kind of an orange rice with chicken.
N: Is it like sweet or spicy or..?
F: Spicy, yeah.
N: Ok. Is spicy food really common in your home country?
F: Not really common. We out spices on it that makes it special.
N: Interesting. What can you tell me..I mean how is it similar or different than the food here in America?
F: Well, the food here in America is mostly burgers and pizza and stuff...right?
N: Yeah.
F: Ok, so like I said the main food here is rice, bread, pastas but yeah rice is the main thing we eat like daily. Daily eating is rice.
N: Do you have any like fast-food restaurants in your home country?
F: We do. We do have McDonalds and Burger King all over the country.
N: Cool. Do they have any special items that are only sold in the restaurants of your home country?
F: Yeah. We have the meal called McArabia. It's made of Arabic bread and chicken. It's kind of an Arabic burger.
N: Does it have hamburger for the meat then or..?
F: Uhh..yes chicken.
N: Ok.
F: Uhh....just so you know we don't eat pork.
N: Is that religious?
F: Yeah.
N: Ok. So going along the same lines as food, how would you describe typical greetings in your country?
F: Ok. Well, we shake hands with the person you are meeting that you don't really know. Like, not really knowing that person. We hug with close persons with brothers or close friends.
N: Ok.
F: We also kiss cheeks with our siblings and friends. So kissing is like the main thing if you're my friend and I haven't seen you in a while.
N: Do you think that the greetings of your country are more intimate than the greetings here in America?
F: Absolutely. What I notice here is that you keep distances. Sometimes you don't even shake hands.
N: Right.
F: People are less social.
N: Yeah. So, I imagine that it's got to be quite a lifestyle change coming here to Saint Cloud State University. What are some things that you think Saint Cloud State University could do to make your stay better?
F: Let's see...actually everything here is kind of perfect. I went to college in my..in my..in my home country and here everywhere you go you have to use money.
N: That's right.
N: Is that religious?
F: Yeah.
N: Ok. So going along the same lines as food, how would you describe typical greetings in your country?
F: Ok. Well, we shake hands with the person you are meeting that you don't really know. Like, not really knowing that person. We hug with close persons with brothers or close friends.
N: Ok.
F: We also kiss cheeks with our siblings and friends. So kissing is like the main thing if you're my friend and I haven't seen you in a while.
N: Do you think that the greetings of your country are more intimate than the greetings here in America?
F: Absolutely. What I notice here is that you keep distances. Sometimes you don't even shake hands.
N: Right.
F: People are less social.
N: Yeah. So, I imagine that it's got to be quite a lifestyle change coming here to Saint Cloud State University. What are some things that you think Saint Cloud State University could do to make your stay better?
F: Let's see...actually everything here is kind of perfect. I went to college in my..in my..in my home country and here everywhere you go you have to use money.
N: That's right.
F: Like for parking..we didn't have to pay for any of that. So we could stay in the library for long hours, like the whole day, and we don't have to pay anything.
N: Wow.
F: So, what I really suggest for Saint Cloud State University is to make it free. Or to make like a coupon for $30 for the whole month.
N: That's a neat idea. So were the classes more expensive because the parking was free, or was it like the same?
F: Actually, we get free education to college. Also we get like a salary from he college.
N: What made you come to Saint Cloud State University then?
F: Uhh... my dream was to study abroad, especially in the U.S. To get..to be better in English.
N: By the way, what are you majoring in?
F: Finance.
N: Oh, very cool. Do you have any plans for careers after you graduate?
F: Uhh..I'm planning to work in a big company in Saudi Arabia it's actually an American company for petrol. So you get your oil from this company actually.
N: Ok.
F: Most of your oil comes from this company. It's called Aramco.
N: Oh ok. I think I might have heard of that.. So another big part of culture especially here in America is sports. Could you describe the sports of your home country?
F: Ok. Well the main sport is soccer. I don't think we play any other major sport other than soccer.
N: Is soccer the most important sport in your home country?
F: Yeah. Also we call is soccer but it is the American football.
N: What's your..do you have a favorite soccer team? Or football team?
F: Well, I don't really like the local, my country. I like the Barcelona Spain.
N: Ok. So, what religious holidays do you celebrate in your home country? And can you describe the traditions for them?
F: Sure. We have two main celebrations, one called Eid-al-Fitr. We have a month , we fast in this month. What we do is we don't eat food from the sunrise to the sunset. Ok?
N: Ok.
N: Wow.
F: So, what I really suggest for Saint Cloud State University is to make it free. Or to make like a coupon for $30 for the whole month.
N: That's a neat idea. So were the classes more expensive because the parking was free, or was it like the same?
F: Actually, we get free education to college. Also we get like a salary from he college.
N: What made you come to Saint Cloud State University then?
F: Uhh... my dream was to study abroad, especially in the U.S. To get..to be better in English.
N: By the way, what are you majoring in?
F: Finance.
N: Oh, very cool. Do you have any plans for careers after you graduate?
F: Uhh..I'm planning to work in a big company in Saudi Arabia it's actually an American company for petrol. So you get your oil from this company actually.
N: Ok.
F: Most of your oil comes from this company. It's called Aramco.
N: Oh ok. I think I might have heard of that.. So another big part of culture especially here in America is sports. Could you describe the sports of your home country?
F: Ok. Well the main sport is soccer. I don't think we play any other major sport other than soccer.
N: Is soccer the most important sport in your home country?
F: Yeah. Also we call is soccer but it is the American football.
N: What's your..do you have a favorite soccer team? Or football team?
F: Well, I don't really like the local, my country. I like the Barcelona Spain.
N: Ok. So, what religious holidays do you celebrate in your home country? And can you describe the traditions for them?
F: Sure. We have two main celebrations, one called Eid-al-Fitr. We have a month , we fast in this month. What we do is we don't eat food from the sunrise to the sunset. Ok?
N: Ok.
F: After this whole month, we do this everyday,uhh..the day after this is called Eid-al-Fitr.
N: Ok.
F: What we do is we get out in the early morning, we pray we have a special pray for this day, and then we eat breakfast. Then we go and visit our siblings.
N: Ok, so do you think that everyone in the country does this then?
F: Yeah. It's a religious thing so we all kind of have to do it.
N: Do you think that the majority of your country is Muslim?
F: Yeah.
N: Ok. So which county do you think is more religiously diverse with more religions, America or your home country?
F: What do you mean by that?
N: Like, here in America you know there are a lot of different religions.
F: Uh-huh.
N: Compare that to your home country: are there a lot of religions or is everyone mostly the same?
F: We only have Islam in my home country of Saudi Arabia.
N: Ok.
F: And one thing I don't like about my home country is we don't have a visitor visa. So you cannot come into my country unless you work or you need to go to Mecca to do Hajj. It's..you go to the..we call it our god house, you go to there to do Hajj. Unless you work or to do this you will not be allowed to enter.
N: So if you wanted to go and visit your home country, you couldn't do that?
F: I can, because I'm Saudi.
N: Oh, ok.
F: If you want, you have to be a worker there or be a Muslim to go to the Hajj.
N: Interesting.
F: Yeah..it's one thing I don't like about my country. I wish they had the visitor visas.
N: To be more open?
F: Yeah.
N: So, do you have any daily rituals in regards to your religious beliefs?
F: Like, things that we do daily?
N: Yes.
N: Ok, so do you think that everyone in the country does this then?
F: Yeah. It's a religious thing so we all kind of have to do it.
N: Do you think that the majority of your country is Muslim?
F: Yeah.
N: Ok. So which county do you think is more religiously diverse with more religions, America or your home country?
F: What do you mean by that?
N: Like, here in America you know there are a lot of different religions.
F: Uh-huh.
N: Compare that to your home country: are there a lot of religions or is everyone mostly the same?
F: We only have Islam in my home country of Saudi Arabia.
N: Ok.
F: And one thing I don't like about my home country is we don't have a visitor visa. So you cannot come into my country unless you work or you need to go to Mecca to do Hajj. It's..you go to the..we call it our god house, you go to there to do Hajj. Unless you work or to do this you will not be allowed to enter.
N: So if you wanted to go and visit your home country, you couldn't do that?
F: I can, because I'm Saudi.
N: Oh, ok.
F: If you want, you have to be a worker there or be a Muslim to go to the Hajj.
N: Interesting.
F: Yeah..it's one thing I don't like about my country. I wish they had the visitor visas.
N: To be more open?
F: Yeah.
N: So, do you have any daily rituals in regards to your religious beliefs?
F: Like, things that we do daily?
N: Yes.
F: We hav..we pray five times a day. Uhh, one when the sun rises. One at noon and one after noon, one at the sunset, and one at the night.
N: Ok. What do you think that the purpose for praying for you is? Why do you pray?
F: To go to heaven.
N: To go to heaven?
N: Ok. What do you think that the purpose for praying for you is? Why do you pray?
F: To go to heaven.
N: To go to heaven?
F: Yeah.
N: Ok. So, can you describe like the typical day for a child in your country?
F: Well, I'll describe mine actually.
N: Ok.
F: Uhh, well we get up in the morning, I go to school. I meet my friends, we do some cool stuff like soccer.
N: What age do you think children do this? About eight or..?
F: Yeah, eight. That's a good childhood age. Uhh, I get back and we have to eat lunch with our whole family. Mother, brother, father, sisters, uhh and after we drink tea. It's the main thing we do, my family.
N: Ok.
F: After that I meet my friends, we go play soccer again. And that's it.
N: Ok. Along those same lines, what age do children start school in your country?
F: Uhh, six and five.
N: Can you kind of describe how the education system is structured? 'Cause here I know we have kindergarten and then certain schools, but I was wondering if it is different.
F: Yep, we have kindergarten. And then the elementary school, the middle school, and the high school. It's kind of the same.
N: Would you say that, I know it's hard to judge, but you said that you went to college back in your home country. How would you rate the quality of the education, like which one gives you a better education?
F: The United States. Actually I just studied for one year, so that's why I moved here. I didn't finish the school there.
N: Do you think that the schooling system is rigorous and kids are under a lot of stress there?
F: Yeah. We have like an orientation. So here you have freshman year, ok?
N: Yep.
F: But in the college there we had orientation then freshman. What we do there in orientation is we get Physics, Math, English and a lot of material to deal with in one semester. That's one thing I didn't like about it. Unlike here, you get to choose your classes and begin with them.
N: Yeah.
F: But there they choose for you the classes and the orientation.
N: Interesting. So what kinds of different modes of transportation are used in your home country, because I think it's pretty safe to say that most people in America have their own car?
F: Well, everybody has their own cars too.
N: Ok.
F: You might know that women don't drive in my country. They're not allowed to, which is a sad thing to me. I don't agree with that.
N: Ok.
F: Uhh, we use cars and we don't walk a lot 'cause it's extremely hot in the summer. Uhh, what else...we have only one train that goes through three cities. The whole country.
N: Oh really? So trains..
F: Yeah, the trains only go through three cities. Uhh, not a lot of buses unless you want to go to really long distance.
N: Do you think that a car is the most practical mode for people with jobs?
F: Yep. We also don't have a lot of taxis, we have taxis but we don't..uhh...everyone their own has cars.
N: Do you know, like, what kind of cars people own? Are they usually like, American cars maybe or..what?
F: They are different. Everyone has a budget.
N: Are American cars available to buy in Saudi Arabia?
F: Yep. American, Germany... yeah
N: Interesting. So, can you tell me a secret about yourself that kind of, you know, explains to me who you really are.
F: Didn't think about that. Uhh...
N: We can come back to the question if you want.
F: No I got it. I'm afraid of , you know, high places.
N: Can you explain that?
F: Like, when I go to a really tall building I'm afraid to take a look.
N: Is there any particular reason for that?
F: Not actually, but I just get scared..I don't know...I get dizzy so that's why. I also, uhh, am afraid of some of the closing places like the elevator.
N: Yeah?
F: This one has a story. One time when I was a kid, we were in a hotel and I went into elevator by myself and it got stuck.
N: You got stuck?
F: Yeah, I was like ten maybe. So I was..since then I got really scared but now I'm ok with it. But not for a really long time. Like, every time I go to the elevator I wish that it doesn't get stuck you know?
N: Yeah. How did you get out of it when you were stuck?
F: I pressed the alarm button.
N: Wow. I don't know if I'd go on elevators if that happened to me. Moving on, what kind of government is in charge of your home country? Do you know?
F: It's like...what do you mean exactly?
N: Because like, here in America we have a democracy where the people elect the leaders. Do you know if it's anything like that in your home country?
F: Yeah, we don't elect our king...it's a kingdom. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. So the king, if the king dies, his son comes after him or his brother. We don't elect.
N: So what do you think about that? Do you think it should be a democracy, or what do you think about the government system of democracy?
F: I don't really know actually, I'm not really good with politics. But...I mean...I'm used to the kingdom I don't know what's the difference but..
N: Yeah. Like, have they..has your country of Saudi Arabia ever made any decisions that you didn't agree with or you really didn't like?
F: Yeah, like women's uhh.. are not allowed to drive. It's not a good thing. Also the visitor thing.
N: Right, ok. Let's see if there's anything else I can ask you... So you did briefly mention that it's hot in Saudi Arabia, can you kind of describe to me the weather more?
F: Ok. We don't...I don't think that we have spring or fall. We only have summer and winter.
N: Ok.
F: Yeah, so..in the summer it's like fifty, I don't know about degrees but Celcius fifty degrees Celcius is the max. Yeah, it's really hot.
N: So do you think it....that's also got to be a drastic change coming from really hot weather to you know, in the winter where it's cold.
F: Exactly, exactly. Well when I first came here, it was my first time to see snow.
N: Oh really?
F: Yeah I haven't seen snow before this. So yeah, it was a bit shocking but I got used to it.
N: Yeah. You probably had to buy your first winter coat too?
F: Yeah, a heavy one. Cause it's cold in my country too, but not like here.
N: What do you think the temperature gets down to there?
F: Uhh, 1 - 0 Celcius. I think zero, minus one, minus two is the max.
N: Interesting. So do they use all of the other..the metric system of like Celcius, meters, and all those?
F: Yeah, we don't use feet, inches, we use meters uhh..kilometers, and Celcius.
N: I'm sure that's got to be another big change.
F: Yeah, it's totally the opposite here. When I first came here and I uhh..got my driver's license "how tall are you", and "how do you weigh"...how can I say that..?
N: How much do you weigh?
F: Yeah exactly. I told them by kilograms and meters, and they were kind of shocked.
N: Yeah, I think the United States will probably transition to use that pretty soon though. It's getting kind of silly because the conversions..the metric system is much easier to use. For example, most people could know how many kilometers are in...how many meters are in a kilometer. Well, it's 1,000. How many inches are in a foot? Well, twelve. Why twelve? It's confusing and it doesn't make much sense.
F: Yeah. Even the weight, when you see your weight in kilograms it is like eighty. But in the pounds it's one hundred and something.
N: Exactly. Let's see...so..do you have a job right now?
F: Uhh, no. I have a full scholarship from my country.
N: Ok. So you mentioned earlier that you want to work for a big company. Do you have any other career plans as a backup?
F: Well, we have a lot of companies. I have alternities, I mean I have Aramco and SABIC.
N: So you're set on working for an oil company?
F: Yeah, because they give a lot...they give a good salary.
N: So, I guess I haven't asked this yet, what do your parents work as?
F: Well my mother works at this company, Aramco. My father is the manager of a hospital.
N: Interesting. Do they both live back in Saudi Arabia?
F: Yep.
N: Ok. So when is the last time you saw them?
F: Yeah, my mom recently visited me. She came here in the Christmas. Yeah we spent the Christmas together, but my father he stayed there. And it's kind of hard, the distance.
N: I'm sure it is, that's got to be pretty crazy not seeing your own parents. They're not even on the same continent as you.
F: Yeah it's hard.
N: Hmm..well, could you tell me a little bit more about the food? I just think that America is definitely a nation of hungry hungry hippos, we love our food.
F: *laughs* Actually I've know a few American friends. They tried the kepsa, and they REALLY liked it.
N: Really?
F: Yeah, it's delicious actually. Well I told you that it's the main thing we eat. It's kind of rice, tomatoes, uhh..sauce, chicken, and spices. Special spices just for this meal. So this makes it special, no one can really make it good unless you try it a few times.
N: So do they have things of your culture for sale here? For example, do they have the food that your used to eating available for sale in America?
F: You mean like, do they sell it here?
N: Yeah.
F: Yes, we have to go to the Twin Cities to get them.
N: Oh really?
F: Yeah, they don't have them here in Saint Cloud.
N: Do you think it's worth it though? Going the distance?
F: Yeah. Also we eat..there is one thing that you need to know is the halal. What halal food is when you kill the chicken or the cow we do special things. When we kill it we face it to the Saudi Arabia..to the....to the east.
N: Ok.
F: During this we say "Bismillah...(the rest I cannot understand, sorry)." We say that sentence to make it halal. We also cut the eh..cut the chicken from the neck. We don't just face it to the city, we also cut it from the neck.
N: Ok.
F: We cut it here so all the blood goes out, and the dirty stuff in the blood to make it clean. That's why we do that.
N: Are there any other traditions or things you'd like to mention? I mean, I just don't know that much about your culture yet it's interesting to me. Is there anything really different that you notice?
F: Ok. We're not allowed to have girlfriends in front of people.
N: Really?
F: Yeah. We actually do though, but in secret. No one knows. We have like a special police..we have police but there's another police called Al-Haya(this is probably spelled incorrectly). Uhh, they are a group of religious people who look for those nasty boys who are dating and stuff.
N: Do you know why they do this?
F: Yeah, because in our religion it's not allowed to like, kiss a woman if you're not married to her, or touch her or something. That's why we..if you've seen Muslim girls eh.. they wear scarves. They have to cover their hair, their legs, and arms.
N: Interesting. So what is one thing that you would change or bring here to America? If you could bring something from your home country to here, what would it be?
F: Well...the taxes and the..the..the insurance. We don't really pay for our health insurance, it's all covered. I feel sorry for those people who don't have health insurance, I mean what should they do? They don't have the money...should they die?
N: It's kind of a messy system we have here.
F: Yeah, so that's one thing I would like to change in the United States.
N: So you've been talking about some things that you buy. What kind of currency does your home country use?
F: We use the Saudi riyal.
N: Do you know what the conversion is, like how many riyals per dollar?
F: Ok. Well one dollar is three riyals and seventy-five halalas. Halalas are the cents.
N: Interesting. Well..I think that answers all of my questions now. Thank you for your time
F: Sure.
N: It was a great interview.
F: Yeah.
F: Well, I'll describe mine actually.
N: Ok.
F: Uhh, well we get up in the morning, I go to school. I meet my friends, we do some cool stuff like soccer.
N: What age do you think children do this? About eight or..?
F: Yeah, eight. That's a good childhood age. Uhh, I get back and we have to eat lunch with our whole family. Mother, brother, father, sisters, uhh and after we drink tea. It's the main thing we do, my family.
N: Ok.
F: After that I meet my friends, we go play soccer again. And that's it.
N: Ok. Along those same lines, what age do children start school in your country?
F: Uhh, six and five.
N: Can you kind of describe how the education system is structured? 'Cause here I know we have kindergarten and then certain schools, but I was wondering if it is different.
F: Yep, we have kindergarten. And then the elementary school, the middle school, and the high school. It's kind of the same.
N: Would you say that, I know it's hard to judge, but you said that you went to college back in your home country. How would you rate the quality of the education, like which one gives you a better education?
F: The United States. Actually I just studied for one year, so that's why I moved here. I didn't finish the school there.
N: Do you think that the schooling system is rigorous and kids are under a lot of stress there?
F: Yeah. We have like an orientation. So here you have freshman year, ok?
N: Yep.
F: But in the college there we had orientation then freshman. What we do there in orientation is we get Physics, Math, English and a lot of material to deal with in one semester. That's one thing I didn't like about it. Unlike here, you get to choose your classes and begin with them.
N: Yeah.
F: But there they choose for you the classes and the orientation.
N: Interesting. So what kinds of different modes of transportation are used in your home country, because I think it's pretty safe to say that most people in America have their own car?
F: Well, everybody has their own cars too.
N: Ok.
F: You might know that women don't drive in my country. They're not allowed to, which is a sad thing to me. I don't agree with that.
N: Ok.
F: Uhh, we use cars and we don't walk a lot 'cause it's extremely hot in the summer. Uhh, what else...we have only one train that goes through three cities. The whole country.
N: Oh really? So trains..
F: Yeah, the trains only go through three cities. Uhh, not a lot of buses unless you want to go to really long distance.
N: Do you think that a car is the most practical mode for people with jobs?
F: Yep. We also don't have a lot of taxis, we have taxis but we don't..uhh...everyone their own has cars.
N: Do you know, like, what kind of cars people own? Are they usually like, American cars maybe or..what?
F: They are different. Everyone has a budget.
N: Are American cars available to buy in Saudi Arabia?
F: Yep. American, Germany... yeah
N: Interesting. So, can you tell me a secret about yourself that kind of, you know, explains to me who you really are.
F: Didn't think about that. Uhh...
N: We can come back to the question if you want.
F: No I got it. I'm afraid of , you know, high places.
N: Can you explain that?
F: Like, when I go to a really tall building I'm afraid to take a look.
N: Is there any particular reason for that?
F: Not actually, but I just get scared..I don't know...I get dizzy so that's why. I also, uhh, am afraid of some of the closing places like the elevator.
N: Yeah?
F: This one has a story. One time when I was a kid, we were in a hotel and I went into elevator by myself and it got stuck.
N: You got stuck?
F: Yeah, I was like ten maybe. So I was..since then I got really scared but now I'm ok with it. But not for a really long time. Like, every time I go to the elevator I wish that it doesn't get stuck you know?
N: Yeah. How did you get out of it when you were stuck?
F: I pressed the alarm button.
N: Wow. I don't know if I'd go on elevators if that happened to me. Moving on, what kind of government is in charge of your home country? Do you know?
F: It's like...what do you mean exactly?
N: Because like, here in America we have a democracy where the people elect the leaders. Do you know if it's anything like that in your home country?
F: Yeah, we don't elect our king...it's a kingdom. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. So the king, if the king dies, his son comes after him or his brother. We don't elect.
N: So what do you think about that? Do you think it should be a democracy, or what do you think about the government system of democracy?
F: I don't really know actually, I'm not really good with politics. But...I mean...I'm used to the kingdom I don't know what's the difference but..
N: Yeah. Like, have they..has your country of Saudi Arabia ever made any decisions that you didn't agree with or you really didn't like?
F: Yeah, like women's uhh.. are not allowed to drive. It's not a good thing. Also the visitor thing.
N: Right, ok. Let's see if there's anything else I can ask you... So you did briefly mention that it's hot in Saudi Arabia, can you kind of describe to me the weather more?
F: Ok. We don't...I don't think that we have spring or fall. We only have summer and winter.
N: Ok.
F: Yeah, so..in the summer it's like fifty, I don't know about degrees but Celcius fifty degrees Celcius is the max. Yeah, it's really hot.
N: So do you think it....that's also got to be a drastic change coming from really hot weather to you know, in the winter where it's cold.
F: Exactly, exactly. Well when I first came here, it was my first time to see snow.
N: Oh really?
F: Yeah I haven't seen snow before this. So yeah, it was a bit shocking but I got used to it.
N: Yeah. You probably had to buy your first winter coat too?
F: Yeah, a heavy one. Cause it's cold in my country too, but not like here.
N: What do you think the temperature gets down to there?
F: Uhh, 1 - 0 Celcius. I think zero, minus one, minus two is the max.
N: Interesting. So do they use all of the other..the metric system of like Celcius, meters, and all those?
F: Yeah, we don't use feet, inches, we use meters uhh..kilometers, and Celcius.
N: I'm sure that's got to be another big change.
F: Yeah, it's totally the opposite here. When I first came here and I uhh..got my driver's license "how tall are you", and "how do you weigh"...how can I say that..?
N: How much do you weigh?
F: Yeah exactly. I told them by kilograms and meters, and they were kind of shocked.
N: Yeah, I think the United States will probably transition to use that pretty soon though. It's getting kind of silly because the conversions..the metric system is much easier to use. For example, most people could know how many kilometers are in...how many meters are in a kilometer. Well, it's 1,000. How many inches are in a foot? Well, twelve. Why twelve? It's confusing and it doesn't make much sense.
F: Yeah. Even the weight, when you see your weight in kilograms it is like eighty. But in the pounds it's one hundred and something.
N: Exactly. Let's see...so..do you have a job right now?
F: Uhh, no. I have a full scholarship from my country.
N: Ok. So you mentioned earlier that you want to work for a big company. Do you have any other career plans as a backup?
F: Well, we have a lot of companies. I have alternities, I mean I have Aramco and SABIC.
N: So you're set on working for an oil company?
F: Yeah, because they give a lot...they give a good salary.
N: So, I guess I haven't asked this yet, what do your parents work as?
F: Well my mother works at this company, Aramco. My father is the manager of a hospital.
N: Interesting. Do they both live back in Saudi Arabia?
F: Yep.
N: Ok. So when is the last time you saw them?
F: Yeah, my mom recently visited me. She came here in the Christmas. Yeah we spent the Christmas together, but my father he stayed there. And it's kind of hard, the distance.
N: I'm sure it is, that's got to be pretty crazy not seeing your own parents. They're not even on the same continent as you.
F: Yeah it's hard.
N: Hmm..well, could you tell me a little bit more about the food? I just think that America is definitely a nation of hungry hungry hippos, we love our food.
F: *laughs* Actually I've know a few American friends. They tried the kepsa, and they REALLY liked it.
N: Really?
F: Yeah, it's delicious actually. Well I told you that it's the main thing we eat. It's kind of rice, tomatoes, uhh..sauce, chicken, and spices. Special spices just for this meal. So this makes it special, no one can really make it good unless you try it a few times.
N: So do they have things of your culture for sale here? For example, do they have the food that your used to eating available for sale in America?
F: You mean like, do they sell it here?
N: Yeah.
F: Yes, we have to go to the Twin Cities to get them.
N: Oh really?
F: Yeah, they don't have them here in Saint Cloud.
N: Do you think it's worth it though? Going the distance?
F: Yeah. Also we eat..there is one thing that you need to know is the halal. What halal food is when you kill the chicken or the cow we do special things. When we kill it we face it to the Saudi Arabia..to the....to the east.
N: Ok.
F: During this we say "Bismillah...(the rest I cannot understand, sorry)." We say that sentence to make it halal. We also cut the eh..cut the chicken from the neck. We don't just face it to the city, we also cut it from the neck.
N: Ok.
F: We cut it here so all the blood goes out, and the dirty stuff in the blood to make it clean. That's why we do that.
N: Are there any other traditions or things you'd like to mention? I mean, I just don't know that much about your culture yet it's interesting to me. Is there anything really different that you notice?
F: Ok. We're not allowed to have girlfriends in front of people.
N: Really?
F: Yeah. We actually do though, but in secret. No one knows. We have like a special police..we have police but there's another police called Al-Haya(this is probably spelled incorrectly). Uhh, they are a group of religious people who look for those nasty boys who are dating and stuff.
N: Do you know why they do this?
F: Yeah, because in our religion it's not allowed to like, kiss a woman if you're not married to her, or touch her or something. That's why we..if you've seen Muslim girls eh.. they wear scarves. They have to cover their hair, their legs, and arms.
N: Interesting. So what is one thing that you would change or bring here to America? If you could bring something from your home country to here, what would it be?
F: Well...the taxes and the..the..the insurance. We don't really pay for our health insurance, it's all covered. I feel sorry for those people who don't have health insurance, I mean what should they do? They don't have the money...should they die?
N: It's kind of a messy system we have here.
F: Yeah, so that's one thing I would like to change in the United States.
N: So you've been talking about some things that you buy. What kind of currency does your home country use?
F: We use the Saudi riyal.
N: Do you know what the conversion is, like how many riyals per dollar?
F: Ok. Well one dollar is three riyals and seventy-five halalas. Halalas are the cents.
N: Interesting. Well..I think that answers all of my questions now. Thank you for your time
F: Sure.
N: It was a great interview.
F: Yeah.
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