Interview 2

Preparation for interview:
What I did to prepare for this interview was continue up on my research with the culture and history of China. My friend helped me meet up with this person to do the interview with. I took some of the questions from the first interview that I did and added some of my own onto it so that the whole interview process could flow easier.


Post Interview Thoughts:
I thought this interview went great. It was a little bit rushed because the interviewee had to leave for class. She was tight on time that week so I was grateful that she was able to squeeze in an interview for me between her busy schedule.

Country Report:

China is the largest and most populated country in the world, currently home to over 1 billion people. "The population of China is not easy to calculate, in spite of the existence of a sophisticated bureaucracy from early times" (Morton 8). According to the CIA's World Fact book Website, the death rate for China is at 7.17 for every 1,000 people while their birth rate sits at 12.31 for every 1,000 people. This means that there are more people who are being born everyday, but not enough people are dying to balance out their quickly growing country.

Chinese history and all of the traditions that are carried over to the next generations is one of the most fascinating things someone could study. Written Chinese history could be dated as far back into the Shang Dynasty, which began in 1600 BC. Old Chinese traditions are also carried over carefully into the younger generations. “A custom is often an established behavioral pattern that prevails through years. It is commonly the result of social influences on the people of a society. Traditional customs have their own analogies. They associate certain things or actions with certain happenings in life. Traditional customs are meant to invite good omen while warding off the evils” (Ancient Chinese Traditional Customs, Buzzle). Along with traditional customs, comes traditional holidays that are widely celebrated through the whole country. One of the biggest holidays that are celebrated in China is Chinese New Years. Chinese citizens live off of two different calendars. They have the regular calendar that is used throughout the whole world and they have their own special calendar, called the Lunar Calendar, which is used for special holidays. “The ancient Chinese calendar, on which the Chinese New Year is based, functioned as a religious, dynastic and social guide. Oracle bones inscribed with astronomical records indicate that it existed at least as early as 14th century B.C., when the Shang Dynasty was in power. The calendar's structure wasn't static: It was reset according to which emperor held power and varied in use according to region” (Chinese New Years, History). With Chinese New Years, it actually begins in the middle of the 12^thmonth and would come to a conclusion in the middle of the 1^st month. Unlike New Years that is celebrated around the rest of the world, Chinese New Years actually is celebrated in a lengthier time span.

Since China is such a large country and has such a huge population living there, knowing the basics of the culture and their history could even be a difficult thing. By doing these 3 interviews, I hope to expand my knowledge on the country and how their people live their daily lives.

Work Cite:

"Ancient Chinese Traditional Customs." Buzzle.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2012.< http://www.buzzle.com/articles/ancient-chinese-traditional-customs.html>.

"Chinese New Year." History.com. A&E Television Networks, Jan. 2012. Web. 22 Oct. 2012. <http://www.history.com/topics/chinese-new-year>.

Morton, Scott, and Charlton M. Lewis. China Its History and Culture. 2nd ed. United States of America: McGraw Hill, 2004. Print.

Interviewer: Hi, thank you for doing this interview for me. Can you please start off by telling me your name and your country?

Lin: Yes, my name is Lin and I came from China.

Interviewer: It is very nice to meet you Lin. Can we start talking about your family first? I was curious about the different values that you and your family carry.

Lin: Values? We like to stay very close to each other. In the Asian culture, there families are very close to one another.

Interviewer: Yeah, that is really important in my family too.

Lin: Yes. Like, even when we grow up, we rarely move out from our parent’s house. We would all live together.

Interviewer: That is great. So then how is it like in your household? With your family structure and who would be in charge.

Lin: Well, everyone in my family has a say in most things. My parents take care of the children and it is not like my dad or my mom is in charge. They are kind of 50/50 when it comes to making decisions. They are equal.

Interviewer: Okay. Well, I would say that is how most of the families in America work. They view each other has an equal. Can you tell me some things that would be different culture wise, between China and the United States?

Lin: Well, earlier I said about how my family likes to stay close to each other. I think that is a big difference between China and here because here [America], once people turn 18, they would move out of the house. Or even if they go to college, and the school is close by, they would still move out instead of living at home with their parents. In China, everyone lives together. Even sometimes, when people get married, they would still live together with the parents. Everyone in China likes to stay close to each other. Even if they would move away, they would move to a new place that is close to their family.

Interviewer: I like how close families are to each other in the Asian community.

Lin: I like it too because I can be closer to my parents and there is a lot of trust between us.

Interviewer: That’s really good that your family has a really good communication system going. Now, can you tell me more about your culture? And all the different foods that people in China eat?

Lin: Well Chinese culture is very old. I think China’s history is one of the oldest histories that were ever recorded and there was a lot that happened. I don’t know too much about Chinese history because I don’t like learning about old history, but with our food, we have a lot of different types that we eat. I like to eat peaking duck with white rice.

Interviewer: What would you say China is most famous for, food wise?

Lin: Famous for? I think a lot of people in China like to eat dim sum. It is a meal that is usually eaten as breakfast. My family and I really like to go eat dim sum as a family sometime on Sundays.

Interviewer: I love dim sum! It is really good and I wish I could make it, but there are so many different types in it.

Lin: Yeah, that is one of the reasons why I like to eat it. I don’t get tired of eating the same thing over and over.

Interviewer: I have that issue too. So for your meals in China, how many times would you eat a day over there and how is the portions compared to the ones here in America?

Lin: We eat three times a day, just like over here in America, but I think our meals are a lot smaller compared to here. Americans eat a lot, I think. And when we eat, we also eat it family style most of the time. Everyone would have their own plate and there would be different dishes on the table and we would all sit together to eat as a family.

Interviewer: Okay, and how is your education system in China then? Is it different from here, in America?

Lin: Our education system is really different compared to here. We have to pay for school after elementary school. And there are a lot of families who cannot afford that so their children have to drop out of school and go work to help out the family. I was lucky that I got to go to college here in America.

Interviewer: So I would guess that there are not a lot of people who get the chance to attend college in China then?

Lin: No. A lot of people over there can’t afford to go to school, but I think now, more people are able to go to college.

Interviewer: That is really good because college is really important. Well, I know you have to leave early, but thank you again for being able to do this interview for me! Since I have had the privilege to ask you all of these questions, are there any questions that you would like to ask me before you have to leave?

Lin: I have a question about your culture. You’re Vietnamese right?

Interviewer: Yeah!

Lin: I know Vietnam is pretty close to China. Do you know if the culture is pretty close with the Chinese culture at all?

Interviewer: Well, I would say that it is similar. I can’t fully answer that because I am not too sure with the Vietnamese culture because I was born in America, but from my understanding, it is very close and we do eat almost the same types of food. And rice is also our main crop as a food source.

Lin: Oh, okay. I have never been to Vietnam, but I have always wanted to go there.

Interviewer: Yeah, you should when you have the chance! I have only been there once when I was younger, but it is pretty awesome. It really is different from America.

Lin: Yeah, China is really different from America. Okay, I have to go now. Thank you for interviewing me and learning more about my country.

Interviewer: Thank you! And it was really nice to meet you Lin.