Interview 2

Hannah Motschke
Eng 191 Sec 21







Interview 2
Mei Li
China
11/29/09













Hannah Motschke
Eng 191 Sec 21
Interview Report

For interview two, I used many of the same questions that I had created for the first interview. They were general questions about China’s history, the lifestyle, family life, and the educational system. I felt much more comfortable in this interview about expanding on the prepared questions because in the first interview I found it to be an easy and natural process. However, because my second interviewee was a female student from China, I decided to create some questions that were more female oriented such as: “How are women viewed in China?”, “Are they viewed as inferior to men?”, and “Do women have the same rights as men?” I also used the same objectives that I created for interview one. I found that my objectives for my first interview were very clear guidelines and they prepared me well; therefore, I decided to follow them again. Through email, Mei and I agreed to conduct the interview in the St. John’s library. We decided it would be the most convenient, quiet meeting place. I was prepared to use the same computer I used for my first interview because the computer worked well to successfully record the audio in my previous experience.
I do not have any international student connections or contacts from St. Cloud State University. As a result, as I stated in my first interview report, all three of my interviewees were arranged and secured with the assistance a friend who attends St. John’s University and is acquainted with many international students. He gave me Mei’s email address. In an email, I explained to her that for a Global Communications English class I am required to conduct three interviews with international students. I told her that in the interview we would converse about topics such as lifestyle, family life, and history of her country. I also informed her that it would be fairly informal and probably take around 30 minutes. Thankfully, she agreed to partake in the interview, and I told her how appreciative I was of her meeting with me. We set up a time and a gathering place for the interview to be held later in the week.
The interview was held at 7 p.m. on Thurs. October, 29 in the library at St. John’s University. We found a quiet area in the lower level of the library to perform the interview. There were not many people around us, so we did not have to worry about disrupting other students’ studies. Also, I brought my friend’s computer along to audio record it. When I first met Mei, I introduced myself and thanked her for coming. I told her a little about myself as I set up the computer and arranged the chairs for the interview. I asked Mei if it was alright if I recorded our conversation. I explained that as a part of the project we have to transcribe the dialogue; therefore, our professor requires us to record it. She said it would be fine. I told her that the interview was going to be relaxed and much like a natural discussion. I also notified her that she should feel free to ask me questions too. When we were ready to start the interview, we sat down and I pushed the button to record. I began by asking her what country she was from and how the lifestyle there is different from the lifestyle in the United States. The interview continued as we conversed about several topics. I asked her questions while she also requested information from me about the U.S.
My second interviewee, Mei Li, is a junior at the College of St. Benedict. She came to live in the United States three years ago for college. When she was younger, she had taken vacations to the United States to visit extended family in New York; however, she had never been to Minnesota before coming here for college. Mei is from the capital city of China, Beijing, which is a large metropolitan city of about 17 million people. Mei started learning English when she was in first grade. Her parents are bilingual; however, they did not teach her English at home because they wanted her to learn it in school. Her English is fluent, although sometimes she says she has difficulty understanding different dialects. Mei’s immediate family consists of a younger brother who is 11 years old, her mother and her father who all are still currently living in Beijing. In her free time Mei enjoys playing computer games, hanging out with her friends and drawing. She is a math major at St. Ben’s. After gradation, she plans to move back to China to find a job closer to her family.
For the second interview, I felt much more confident and prepared. I knew my objectives I had written for the previous interview were successful guiding principles, and my prepared questions were a good foundation for the interview in which I could easily expand from. On the day of the interview, I felt a little nervous; although, once I met and introduced myself to Mei my anxiety was reduced. I found that I was much more comfortable conversing with a female interviewee. I was not as nervous around her, and she was very personable and easy to talk to.
When I met up with Mei, she informed me she had to attend another required meeting for one of her classes at 7:20 pm to work on a project. Therefore, we only had about 15 minutes for the interview. I was surprised that she had not mentioned the conflict in an email, but I told her I could still collect some information in the time we had. I decided at that moment, that due to the lack of available time for the interview, it would be the one I would not transcribe. I still recorded it because I knew the conversation data might be useful for the class presentation or final project.
During the short interview we addressed three major topics: the Chinese lifestyle, family life and educational system. I thought the most interesting part of the interview was when Mei explained the daily schedule of a Chinese high school student. She reported that a student typically starts his/her day at 5:30 a.m., attends class for 10 hours, and then goes home to complete large amounts of homework every night. I am very impressed by the strong work ethic of the Chinese culture. Students view school as their job, and they perform at their highest potential in an effort to succeed. In the brief amount of time, I was still able to learn a lot from Mei. She answered my questions thoroughly and typically expanded on the related subjects. The interview process was very pleasant, and if the opportunity arises I would enjoy talking with Mei again.














Hannah Motschke
Eng 191 Sec 21
Country Report (China)
China is located in Eastern Asia. It borders 14 different countries and is the third largest country in the world. The geography of China is very diverse consisting of many different landforms such as mountains, plains, and basins spread throughout areas of desert and jungle. “The official language of China is Mandarin, however, only about 53% of the population speaks Mandarin.”1 Many different languages are spoken in China including: Jin, Hakka, Min and Cantonese. More than 80 different dialects and community languages are employed throughout the country.
China is the most populated area of any country in the world. It has a population of more than 1.3 billion people. Due to the concern of the population growth, the government established the "One-Child Policy" in 1979. “This policy states that families are permitted to only have one child. Couples who have a second child may face forced abortions or sterilization. There are exceptions to the policy for ethnic minorities and rural families”1
The religious beliefs of China are immensely diverse. The three major religions are Buddhism, Taoism and Islam. “Religious leaders and leading organs of the various religious bodies are selected and ordained in accordance with their own regulations.”2 The religions and their organizations are managed independently and are not controlled by the government. However, under the communist government, religion has been downcast in China. Much of the Chinese population is Buddhist or Taoist, but do not practice the ordinances of the religion.
The Chinese government is comprised of the People's Republic of China. It is ruled by a single party, the Communist Party of China. The authority of the People's Republic is divided into three separate branches: The National People's Congress, the president and the state council. Hu Jintao is the current President of China and General Secretary of the Communist Party.
Cuisine is an important aspect of the Chinese culture. It is one of the “Chinese cultural treasures.”3 Depending on the area of the country, northern or southern China, the styles of cooking differ. “Pasta plays an important role in Northern Chinese cooking. While rice and rice products such as rice noodles, rice cakes, and rice congee, are the usual accompaniments to Southern style cooking.”4
Education is another crucial aspect of the Chinese culture. The educational system is run by the government. It is a law that all citizens attend school for at least nine years. “Chinese take children education very seriously since they know that a person's personality is mould in the early childhood.”5 Education starts at the preschool level, then proceeds to six years of primary education, high school, and finally university studies. To be admitted into a university, Chinese citizens have to pass a national college entrance examination. The exam is designed specifically for your area of study, either art or science.

1http://asianhistory.about.com/od/china/p/ChinaProfile.htm 10/20/09
2http://chineseculture.about.com/library/china/whitepaper/blsreligion.htm
10/20/09
3 http://www.chinatoday.com/culture/chinese_food_cuisine.htm 10/22/09
4http://www.chinatownconnection.com/chinese_style_cooking.htm 10/20/09
5 http://www.index-china.com/index-english/education-s.htm 10/22/09