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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