Interview 3

Preparations for Interview:
I was having some difficulty finding my last person to interview, but luckily, I was able to ask a classmate to do a quick interview with me. Since I have done two interviews already, this third one seemed to come more easily for me. The questions I have prepared also came with sub topics that could be lightly touched on before moving onto the next main question, making it a lot less choppy of an interview and much more comfortable for the both of us.

Post Interview Thoughts:
I really learned a lot during this interview. The questions were answered and even though my interviewee didn't speak perfect English, we were able to communicate very well. After interview 2 other people, this one came a lot easier with feeding the questions and listening to their answers.

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: Hello. Thank you for doing this interview for me. Can you please tell me you name and a little about your home country?

Jay: My name is Jay. I am from China. Sorry, I don’t speak English good.

Interviewer: That is okay. You are doing very well. I just wanted to ask a couple of question. First, I wanted to know a little bit about your country and how your family structure is like.

Jay: My family? I have my mom, dad, and an older sister. They live in China. Both my mom and my sister have to go to work and I come here to go to school.

Interviewer: Does your sister also go to school too while she is working? Or does she just work.

Jay: My sister only works. She go to high school, but after she did not go to college. Only I go to college in my family.

Interviewer: Okay. How do you like the United States and college so far? Is it a big difference from China?

Jay: I like it here! It is really different from my home country, but I like the people and school here. I miss my family and home, but I really like it here. Everything is really clean and the people are really nice to me.

Interviewer: That is great. I am glad that you are enjoying yourself here. When will you be able to see your family again? Are they coming to visit you soon?

Jay: My parents are coming here. They are coming during Christmas holiday to see me. And they have never been to America before so I am excited to see them and show them around.

Interviewer: Oh that is going to be really exciting! And I am glad that you will get to see your parents soon. Are you guys really close to each other?

Jay: Yes, my family is close. We all live together and we tell each other everything.

 Interviewer: That is awesome. Now, can you tell me a little bit about the difference between your culture and how things are in the United States that you have noticed so far?

Jay: Oh. There are a lot. The holidays, I feel like, are really different. In China, when there is a big holiday, the whole week, people would go outside to celebrate. I don’t think a lot of people do that here. They just stay at home and celebrate, but in China, everyone is outside and there are a lot of kids running around and playing. There would be fireworks and firecrackers. Everywhere would be busy. Not here.

Interviewer: Yeah. I think during Christmas, it gets quite busy in the mall, but on Christmas Eve and day, everyone is indoors enjoying the holiday with their families. It sounds like a lot of fun in China though! I wish it could be like that here, but I think it would be way too cold to be outdoors all the time. It is already starting to slowly snow and it is not even December yet.

Jay: Yeah! I like the snow. It is really pretty and I like to watch it snow outside. It is cold so I stay inside but I like to watch the snow fall.

Interviewer: Yeah, I like the snow, but I hate how cold it gets. If only we can only have snow on Christmas, I would be okay with that! What is the biggest holiday that you celebrate in China?

Jay: We celebrate Chinese New Years. It is really big and everyone would go outside to watch the fireworks at night. I really like it. And my whole family would come to my house to eat.

Interviewer: Is there a particular food that you eat for Chinese New Years.

Jay: We just eat what my mom and grandmother cooks. A lot of rice. We always make a lot of food for everybody to share.

Interviewer: That sounds like so much fun. I love it when my whole family gets together to celebrate something and all my relatives are together. So, I know that you are currently attending St. Cloud State, but do you know how the education system over in China is like?

Jay: Yeah, in China, school is different. Do you have to pay for school here?

Interviewer: Yeah. We have to pay for college.

Jay: No, like not in college. In the younger schools.

Interviewer: Oh, no we don’t have to pay for elementary up to high school. It depends though. If you go to a public school, then it is free, but if you go to a private school, then you have to pay every year.

Jay: Yeah, in China, you use to have to pay. I have to pay when I go to school back in China. People don’t have money in China so a lot don’t get to go to school and they go work. They have to work for money for the family.

Interviewer: Yeah. It is really hard when you have to pay for school for your whole life. Especially when a family has more than one child to focus on.

Jay: My sister did not like school so she did not go to college, but I like to go to school so my mom and dad saved money to send to me college here. I am lucky.

Interviewer: You are very lucky. It is really important to get a higher education in order to secure a good job to take care of your family.

Jay: I think so too.

Interviewer: So besides education and going to school, what do you and your friends like to do for fun in China?

Jay: I like to go shopping. Me and my friends go to the shops a lot and we hang out there. There is a lot to do in China. You could go to the sauna too. A lot of people I know like to go there a lot when they have nothing to do or they go with their family.

Interviewer: I have heard that there are a lot of sauna places in China. Is it a new thing that a lot of people are starting to go to those places? Like a spa?

Jay: Yeah. I do not go to it that much, but I know a lot of people that like to go.

Interviewer: Besides going to the mall, is there anything else that you enjoy doing in your free time?

Jay: I like to play sports with my friends. Like badminton and I go swimming sometimes too.

Interviewer: I love to play badminton! Well, I have had all the privilege to ask you questions about your home country and yourself, is there any questions that you would like to ask me?

Jay: Nothing I can think of. Thank you. Sorry, I speak English not good.

Interviewer: It was perfect. I understood everything and your English is actually really great. Thank you again for letting me ask you questions about China. It was really nice meeting you today, Jay.

Jay: Thank you. It was nice meeting you.