Tuesday, December 1, 2009

New Outline

Food and the culture:

Topic: Food around the world

Introduction:

We need food to survive. The food has wider perimeter than just eating food. There are different uses of food, ways of cooking the food and it is different from culture to culture.

Body:

  1. Food is used for different purpose:

  • Decoration

Wedding cake, candies and others

  • Celebration

Moon cake in Moon light festival, Turkey and mashed potato in Thanks giving.

  • Social gathering

Eat in restaurant, fast food, vending machine, street vendors


  1. Ways of cooking the food:

  • There are different ways of cooking food.

Fried, steamed, grilled and others.

  • The way people eat food also differs.

Some use chopstick, some spoons and forks and some use hands as well.


  1. Food differs from culture to culture:

  • There are different types of foods depending in the culture and the nationality.

  • In Nepal and China, people eat rice and meat usually but here in America people eat sandwiches, burger and others.

Some people do not eat beef, some do not eat pork.

  • As we visit different places, we have difficulty adjusting with the food.



Conclusion:

  • Food has different purposes, depending in the culture and places.

  • It is not only used to survive, but also to celebrate ceremonies and so on.


Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Outline of final paper

Education in Nepal vs. education in USA

Nepal and United States of America are physically in two opposite parts of the world. The food, the culture, the civilization, the language and everything is different between these two countries. In terms of education too, the whole system is quite different. History of education is quite old in USA but new in Nepal. Getting uninterrupted education in Nepal is a privilige but education in USA is totally free till high school.


If we compare the academic year, it starts in May in Nepal and ends in March whereas it starts in June in USA and ends in May and they have a summer break in between. Also, the categorization of high school is different. In Nepal, there is secondary school till grade 10 and grade 11 and 12 are run separately. On the other hand, high school in USA include grades from 9 to 12. In terms of running the schools too, secondary schools in USA are all government run whereas secondary schools in Nepal are both public and private run. I think it's a good idea to have the school run by the private entity too as it will increase the competition and improve the quality of education. Next, if we observe an American classroom and a Nepali classroom, again there's a huge difference. After I attended the university in the USA and did tutoring in a American high school. I found that the classes here are student-focused whereas the classes in Nepal are teacher and professor-focused. This directly affects in the understanding of the context of the topic. Also, I found that American classes are openly interactive and

challenging.


As a whole, the quality of education is progressive in Nepal and it is motivating in the USA.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

The topic on final paper

The topic on my final paper is going to be on "Education in Nepal Vs. education in the USA". So, I will be comparing and contrasting the quality of education, the literacy rate, high school dropout rate, and the whole process and system in Nepali education and American education.

Final Report on Interview 3

Interview 3

Vishal Gurung

ENGL 191 SEC 21

Prof. Specht-Jarvis

Date: 11/16/09


  1. Preparations made

    For my last interview, I was excited to have my interviewee from Bangladesh. As we were supposed to have countries from similar region, Bangladesh ahs many things in common with India and Nepal.

    The questions I asked him were:

  • Where you from? What part of the country are you from?

  • What is one biggest issue you face while living away from home?

  • Why did you choose to study in an American University?

  • What is your immediate goal after you graduate from the University? Are you planning to stay around here or you want to go back as soon as possible and help your country?

  • How can you contribute back to your home country with the skills you have learnt over here?

  • How much successful do you think you/your national organization have been to make the people here culturally aware?

  • To what extent do you think you can adjust to the American culture and lifestyle? (Is the culture too open for you because of the background you come from?) What are the pros and cons of living in a new culture?

  • What kind of food do you eat back home? Is it easy to find food from back home over here? Have any local people commented you for eating foods from back home?

  • Which one is easier? Making friends with international students or American students? Why is it so?

  • Have you felt any awkward moments while talking with American students because you don’t know what to talk about? Can you explain about it?

  • Is intercultural marriage a good idea or a bad idea? Support your answer.

  • My objectives for this interview was:

    First and foremost, I would like to be prepared myself for the interview by picturing what its motivation would be like at the end and do some quick rehearsal too.

  • Next, I have to convince three international students with similar physical and cultural backgrounds for the interview. They have to be eager and interested to be actively involved with their ideas and perspective.

  • Then, I should arrange for a quiet place, date and time suitable for the interviewees.

  • My next target is to do a thorough background study of the students' countries so that I won't be embarrassed myself by asking culturally-awkward questions.

  • As I would be mostly asking questions to them related to their culture (cultural stereotypes, things they like or don't like about their culture) and perspectives on different issues, I also want to compare and contrast these aspects to the American culture and perspectives. At the same time, I would want to make them feel relaxed and comfortable about what they are saying.

  • I would also ask them about any problem they have been facing in and out of class and what did they do from their side to minimize it.

  • Another interesting question to ask would be coming to St. Cloud State University (SCSU). Why did they choose to come to this part of the USA and not other states?

  • Again, as English is considered as an international language, I am eager to know when they started to learn English. Was it in middle school or only later in high school or not at all? How is that helping or affecting them in their class performance right now? Does their professor address these issues while teaching in a classroom?

  • Another big issue would be to find out if they had been a victim of racism at any phase at SCSU. Were they verbally offended or was it more than that? How did they respond to it?

  • At the end, I would be going through all of my interviews, transcribe the 2 best out of 3, write a detail analysis of it with additional ideas and a suitable conclusion (and probably the objectives at the beginning of the paper again).

    Location

    The interview was conducted on one of the group study rooms in t he third floor of the SSU library.

    Technology used:

    I used Nikon Digital camera to record the entire interview.

  1. I had a couple of International friends from Srilanka who knew my interviewee and that is I how I approached him.

  2. I took the interview on November 1st, 2009 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Along with asking the biography questions.

    The interview took place in one of the study rooms on the second floor of SCSU library. The study room was nice and quiet and so the interview went smooth.

  3. Interviewee's Biography

    Name: Morshed Alam

    Nationality: Bangladesh

    Age: 21 years

    Place of Birth: Kuwait

    Zodiac Sign: Virgo

    Educational Experience: High school

    Major at SCSU: Information Sysytem

    Hobies: Watching movies, exercise

    Places traveled: Minnesota, North Dakota

    Language fluent in: Bangla, English

    Describe yourself: Quiet, contemplative, hardworking, honest

    Any memorable incident: Satisfactory academic performance in the last few years, coming to USA

    Any kind of phobia: Lonliness

    Source of inspiration: Friends, siblings, rivals

    Do you write a day-to-day diary: Sometimes

    Message for people in general: There is no such thingas luck

  4. My last interviewee surprised me with some of his answers. When I asked him if marrying and living with people from another culture is a good idea or a bad idea, he told me living with people from other culture is thrilling and you always get to learn and discover interesting things. In addition, his ideas were strikingly similar with my ideas.

  5. About Bangladesh

    Bangladesh is a parlimentarily democratic country first formed by its separation with India in 1947 A.D. and later on by its separation with West Pakistan in 1971 A.D.(Bangladesh was east Pakistan then). Its area is comparable to the Iowa state of the USA. The official language of Bangladesh is Bengali.

    Bangladesh has a hot, humid summer and a mild, tropical winter. Being mostly a flat country, many people do farming and agriculture. The population of the country is around 156 million and the majority of this population is muslim (83%) eventhough there are Hindus there (16%).

    Bangladesh's economy is growing day by day since 1996.

    Since Banglades was a part of India before 1947, there are still many resemblance between Bangladesh and India's west Bengal. Bangladesh has a very rich culture and the food are mainly derived from Indian and Middle Eastern origin. Women wear “Saris” and men wear “Kurta Paejama” as their dresses in day to day life. Western clothes are also increasingly popular nowadays.

  6. Transcript

    None ( Chose not to include the 3rd interview due to techincal errors in the recording of the interview)


    Observations and lessons learnt:

    From my interview, I learnt that international students are as frank, honest, and open as any other American students. They just have a little bit of language barrier. Also, they are pretty much decided on what they want from their college classes and how to utilize them.

Final Report on Interview 2

Interview 2

Vishal Gurung

ENGL 191 Sec 21

Prof. Specht-Jarvis

Date: 11/16/09


  1. Preparation made

    For my second interview, I was really excited to ask question to my interviewee since she is permanently going to live in the United States. Basically, the questions I asked her were the same as I asked in my first interview. They were:

  • Where you from? What part of the country are you from?

  • What is one biggest issue you face while living away from home?

  • Why did you choose to study in an American University?

  • What is your immediate goal after you graduate from the University? Are you planning to stay around here or you want to go back as soon as possible and help your country?

  • How can you contribute back to your home country with the skills you have learnt over here?

  • How much successful do you think you/your national organization have been to make the people here culturally aware?

  • To what extent do you think you can adjust to the American culture and lifestyle? (Is the culture too open for you because of the background you come from?) What are the pros and cons of living in a new culture?

  • What kind of food do you eat back home? Is it easy to find food from back home over here? Have any local people commented you for eating foods from back home?

  • Which one is easier? Making friends with international students or American students? Why is it so?

  • Have you felt any awkward moments while talking with American students because you don’t know what to talk about? Can you explain about it?

  • Is intercultural marriage a good idea or a bad idea? Support your answer.

    My objectives for this interview was:

    First and foremost, I would like to be prepared myself for the interview by picturing what its motivation would be like at the end and do some quick rehearsal too.

  • Next, I have to convince three international students with similar physical and cultural backgrounds for the interview. They have to be eager and interested to be actively involved with their ideas and perspective.

  • Then, I should arrange for a quiet place, date and time suitable for the interviewees.

  • My next target is to do a thorough background study of the students' countries so that I won't be embarrassed myself by asking culturally-awkward questions.

  • As I would be mostly asking questions to them related to their culture (cultural stereotypes, things they like or don't like about their culture) and perspectives on different issues, I also want to compare and contrast these aspects to the American culture and perspectives. At the same time, I would want to make them feel relaxed and comfortable about what they are saying.

  • I would also ask them about any problem they have been facing in and out of class and what did they do from their side to minimize it.

  • Another interesting question to ask would be coming to St. Cloud State University (SCSU). Why did they choose to come to this part of the USA and not other states?

  • Again, as English is considered as an international language, I am eager to know when they started to learn English. Was it in middle school or only later in high school or not at all? How is that helping or affecting them in their class performance right now? Does their professor address these issues while teaching in a classroom?

  • Another big issue would be to find out if they had been a victim of racism at any phase at SCSU. Were they verbally offended or was it more than that? How did they respond to it?

  • At the end, I would be going through all of my interviews, transcribe the 2 best out of 3, write a detail analysis of it with additional ideas and a suitable conclusion (and probably the objectives at the beginning of the paper again).

    Location

    The interview was conducted on one of the group study rooms in t he third floor of the SSU library.

    Technology used: I used Nikon Digital camera to record the entire interview.

  1. I found my interviewee at the Indian Cultural Heritage club. I figured out that since my first country's (Nepal's) culture is common with India's in many ways, I decided to go into the club and that's how I found her.

  2. I conducted the interview on October 20, 2009 in one of the group study rooms of the SCSU library (third floor).

  3. Interviewee's biography:

    Name: Anushree Patel

    Nationality: India

    Age: 18 years

    Zodiac Sign: Aries

    Educational Experience: High School

    Major at SCSU: Finance

    Hobbies: Watching TV, playing badminton

    Places traveled so far: Africa (Zambia), USA

    Languages fluent in: English, Gujrati, Hindi

    Describe yourself in few words: Smart, cool, intelligent.

    Any memorable incident in life: When I came to USA

    Any kind of phobia: water (Swimming)

    Source of inspiration: My religious follower (Pramukh Swami)

    Do you write a day-to-day diary: Nope

    Message for people in general: Think in the present

  4. I liked the part when my interviewee said it's easier to make American friends than friends from her own culture . She added that since she has been living in America for a while now, it has made her easier to make American friends. I think this is a process of cultural adaptation.

  5. India

    India is a big country in the southeast Asia. It is highly developing country with the second most dense population in the world. Its neighboring countries are Pakistan, Nepal, China, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar.

    If we look at the history of India, the Indus valley civilization, one of the world's oldest civilization developed in India around third and second centuries B.C. The climate varies from tropical monsoon in south (due to the passing of equator on its southern part) to temperate in North. Because India is largely surrounded by sea and ocean, it affects many of the seasonal weathers. India has one of the world's highest population which is roughly around 1 Trillion and 166 million.

    The Indian society is highly respects its values and cultures. The society is divided into different level of hierarchy by thousands of castes often termed as “Jatis”.

    The Indian subcontinent has a wide variety of food appeal. Although the staple foodis rice and wheat and used in day to day life, there is a significant influence of the western culture too. Fast foods are common now.

    There are four main religions in India. They are Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. The majority of people are Hindus.

  6. Transcript

Vishal: Hi! Nice meeting you.

Anushree: Same here. I'm Anushree.

Vishal: I'm Vishal.

Anushree: Nice meeting you.

Vishal: Have a seat.

Anushree: Thank you!

Vishal: And your question is there.

Anushree: I am originally from India. I was brought up in Bombay. It is like known as Mumbai formally. I stay with my parents over here.

Anushree: So, you came to USA to do your undergraduate degree and you are a resident here. You had more opportunities to apply to more expensive college, better college than this, more renowned college than this. Why did you choose St. Cloud State University?

Anushree: Because it's closer to my house and the fees are very affordable compared to other private colleges. Over here, you pay one semester. Over there you pay a lot. You can cover your all four years over here compared to private college.

Vishal: Let me start with your introduction again first. You said you are from originally, right? You are born in Mumbai. You spend your whole life before coming here or?

Anushree: I was in Africa for a year since my parents moved to Africa.

Vishal: Which part was that?

Anushree: Zambia. That is closer to South Africa.

(Then she talked about how she moved to USA eventually.)

Anushree: Staying in India is much better life compared to life over here.

Vishal: Really? Is it because of the language thing?

Anushree: Yeah. Language thing plus, you have more freedom. Over here you too get freedom but it's only like Saturday and Sunday sometimes. But pretty much over there, it's free the whole time.

Vishal: So, you mean like, when you go to college over here, you don't get time to do anything except the weekends?

Anushree: Here, I do get time but I stay on the other side of the town. So, there isn't anything to do beside coming to St. Cloud. My parents freak out at me since they don't like me going home late. Maximum I can stay at college is till 7. Vishal: Why is that? Because many American students who

are born here stay till midnight at the library working and on Fridays, they hang out.

Anushree: It's because our culture is totally different. In my culture, my parents come back home by 5:30. That's why I need to be home by that time too. It's like culture influencing right there.

Vishal: What was your major?

Anushree: I'm doing Finance. It's actually listed as Accounting but I'm doing Finance.

Vishal: Why did you choose Finance?

Anushree: Because Finance give you more option than Accounting. Accounting is like you have to stick to one particular curriculum. With Finance, you can do MBA, minor in Accounting, you get more job opportunities than Accounting. Whereas in Accounting, until and unless you do the CPA exams, nobody can hire you officially.

Vishal: Are you thinking of going back home after you graduate?

Anushree: I don't think so. Because my parents are going to stay here and eventually, if I get married, that is when I get back to India.

Vishal: I don't mean to offend you or anything like that but do you have any preference for marriage. Are you going to marry just people from your home country or ?

Anushree: Yeah. I'm planning to get married to some Indian. Anywhere from India.

Vishal: But not from America, from the USA.

Anushree: Yeah, not an American. I wouldn't get married to an American. Because we don't believe in the intercultural marriage thing.

Vishal: Do you think it's hard to live with people from a different culture.

Anushree: For example, I'll give you my parent's example. My dad, he should do everything before he got married. But my mom completely changed him and got made to culture what we follow. If I could change my husband to follow our culture.

Vishal: So, you want to stick with your culture?

Anushree: yeah.

Vishal: So, how can you contribute back to your home country, India once you graduate? You are studying here and gaining new ideas and technological advancements. How do you think you can contribute back to your home country?

Anushree: I would say I won't be able to contribute with Accounting. Accounting over there is completely different than what we do over here. Way different. I have 35 percent chance of helping my country. I would stick for a job over here than getting a job over there.

Vishal: Do you know if there's any cultural organizations from your country at Saint Cloud State that is trying to raise people's awareness about your culture or at least try to tell them that India is this type of country, lies in this part of the world.

Anushree: They have this organization called Indian Heritage Club. And we hae Indian Night coming on November 7. So, we are prety much trying to get people's hand to do at Indian Night. So, in that way, they are trying to promote Indian culture.


Vishal: What do you usually talk about with your American friends?

Anushree: It's usually about movies. They are asking me about Indian movies. I talk about Indain movies and they talk about English movies. And we exchange DVDs or watch online movies together.


Vishal: To what extent do you think you adjust to American culture: in terms of your academics, in terms of your day to day life.

Anushree: It's hard to get used to the American life since I got used to the Indian life. But after sometime, you will get used to the American life. You stay here for certain years and you will get used to it. I'm sort of getting used to it but if I go back to India, I'll get back all the Indian culture.

Vishal: Do you feel time is more valued over here in America or itls the same thing?

Anushree: It's the same thing because they have schedules evreywhere. Even back in India, they have schedules.

Vishal: What kind of food do you eat back home?

Anushree: Um....we eat Gujarati food which is basically “chapati”.

Vishal: What is that?

Anushree: It's like made from wheat flour, vegetable and lentisels and rice. Sometimes, in festivals, we make festive kind of food that is basically like sweet and fried food. And it's hard to get Indian food over here. There are Indian foods but they are all in Minneapolis. So, it's hard to go to Minneapolis. They have one in St. Cloud but it's not how much you can say manage to say get Indian food.

Vishal: Do you think people over here wonder what you eat or they think that you eat the same thing as they eat. What do you think? Are they aware of what you eat?

Anushree: Yeah my American friends they ask me each time I bring my food, they are like what you are eating? They would think that you might be eating the same food as well.

Vishal: You mean the general people?

Anushree: Yeah. The general American would be thinking

Vishal: So, you said you have more American friends than people from back home. Why is that? You couldn't find people from back home or was it more easier to make American friends?

Anushree: Yeah. It's more easy to make American friends. Because I grew up in the same environment for like a year. So, it's very much easy to talk to American friends. I have some Indian friends too but it's very hard to find Indian friends over here.

Vishal: Have you felt any awkward moment when you are talking to other American friends or American people; not your friends but other American people in general? Do you feel like there's any awkward moment?

Anushree: No, staying here has made me used to it.


Vishal: Like other American students, do you know how they for their tuition?

Anushree: I know one person who works with me. She's American. She has two different jobs. First in Albertville and even in Apollo high school. They pay like that and some of them do by financial aid and scholarship.


Vishal: Talking about things back home again, how are the schools there? I guess you went to the middle school there too. How is it different from here. Was it hard to go to school over there or?

Anushree: Pretty much school start at 9 till 4. And you would have sports section compulsory for all the students for 1 hour from 3 to 4 for everyone to play sports. Over there, you pay fee. Over here, it's free till 12 grades, it's free, free education. Over there, you pay for your education. And pretty much, you are in one same classroom and teachers move around. Over here, it's different. You move around, teachers are in the same room. Simple.

Vishal: How about maintaining the grades? Was it easier back home

    Anushree: There was tough competition as compared over here. But over here, it's like

Vishal: What kind of family structure do you have back home? You have a single family or?

Anushree: Yup. It's just a single family. I wish I had a sibling.

Vishal: Is it the same thing back home having a single family?

Anushree: No. It's different. They have a joint family. When I was in India, I was in a joint family but when I moved here, we just had a single family.

Vishal: You said that you might stay here if you find the right person. What kind of challenges would you probably face if you get married and you have children? What would be the problems with raising children over here?

Anushree: We have to make sure that kids don't get into the wrong side and make sure that they don't go into drugs and all that side. And mainly teach them about culture which will keep them intact.

Vishal: Do you find any good traits in the American culture?

Anushree: They are friendly. They talk to anyboy even if they don't know, they talk.

Vishal: How about the bad things then?

Anushree: Drugs. Alcohol. That's what I think and peer pressure.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

REVISED REPORT ON NEPAL

Vishal Gurung

ENGL 191 Sec 21

Prof. Specht-Jarvis

Date: 11/03/09

Revised report on Nepal


   Nepal is a Himalyan kingdom located in the Southeast Asia landlocked between India and China. It is the second richest country in water resources. In comparison to USA, its area is slightly bigger than the Arkansas state. The population of Nepal was 28.8 million in 2007. 1 Nepal is also one and only “Hindu” kingdom in the world. Also, Nepal has become the youngest Republic in the world with the eradication of Monarchy and participation of different parties in the House of Representative.

   Physically, Nepal is known for its natural beauty along with the water resources. Nepal has a variety of climates. It varies from cool smmer and severe winter in North to suptropical summer and cold winter in the south. The highest mountain in the world, Mt. Everest lies in Nepal and it is also the birth place of founder of Buddhism, Lord Gautam Buddha. There many famous tourist destinations in Nepal. People from all around the world comes for trekking, rafting, bungee-jumping, skydiving, mountain viewing, safari hunting or simply view the scenery. Therefore, it is truly called the Shangrila of the world.

  The first civilization in Nepal started around 6 B.C. Until 1768, Nepal was divided into small kingdoms ruled by different kings. It was then that Prithvi Narayan Shah from “Shah” dynasty unified these small kingdoms and made a single country “Nepal”. 2 So, there was monarchy in the country until 2008 when King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev was forced to quit palace and hand over the ruling power to the leading parties. Even his name was changed to just Gyanendra Shah. Thus Nepal was declared democratic republic in 2008 and the communist party of Nepal (Maoist) joined the government.

  Nepal is also culturally rich. It has about 36 main ethnicities which are all categorized under 4 main caste systems, vizually, “Brahmin”, “Chhetri”, “Vaishya”, and “Shudra”. All these ethinicities have their own culture, traditions, languages, and festivals. Hinduism and Buddhism are the two major religions of the country although there are christianity, Muslim, and Islam too. All these people live in harmony with each other and religious tolerance has been practiced for a long time. When it comes to food, Nepal has many variety of food affected by the Indian subcontinent and the Tibetan border. Mainly rice is used day to day accompanied by curry, which is a spicy vegetable dish. Eating rice with your right hand is also a tradition. Marriage is also an integral part of the life. Usually, the marrying age for bride is 20 and for groom is 22. Additionally, Nepalese greet each other by saying “Namaste”, which is joining your two palms in front of you.

  49 % of people are literate till now and awareness has been raised to be literate and go to school. 3 Agriculture is main profession of the country (about 71%), although people are increasing in the service and government sector too. 4


Works cited:

  1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal (October 31st, 2009)

  2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal (October 31st, 2009)

  3. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5283.htm (October 21st, 2009)

  4. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5283.htm (October 21st, 2009)

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Interview 1: NEPAL

Interview 1

Vishal Gurung

ENGL 191 Sec 21

Prof. Specht-Jarvis

Date: 10/28/09


1. Preparation made

Being an international student myself, I knew what questions to ask exactly. I came up with questions from my own experiences. In addition, I did some research online about the country I was going to interview (i.e. Nepal). As I would be mostly asking questions to them related to their culture (cultural stereotypes, things they like or don't like about their culture) and perspectives on different issues, I also wanted to compare and contrast these aspects to the American culture and perspectives. At the same time, I wanted to make them feel relaxed and comfortable about what they are saying. Next, I wanted to ask them about any problem they have been facing in and out of class and what did they do from their side to minimize it. Another interesting question I wanted to ask was coming to St. Cloud State University (SCSU). Why did they choose to come to this part of the USA and not other states? Again, as English is considered as an international language, I was eager to know when they started to learn English. Was it in middle school or only later in high school or not at all? How is that helping or affecting them in their class performance right now? How has it changed over the period? Another big issue I wanted to be clear was to find out if they had been a victim of racism at any phase at SCSU. Were they verbally offended or was it more than that? How did they respond to it? At the end of the interview, I would ask them if they had any objection of me publishing their interview electronically ( online, in forms of DVDs, audios, written form.)

2. Coming from a different nation than US itself, I used to hang out with a lot of international students. So, I was involved in the student Government Association and and many international student activities. So, I just went to the NSA (Nepalese student Association) and asked if somebody could volunteer for my interview. One of the members was eager to get interviewed and that's how I set up an interview with him.

3.Location

The interview was conducted on October 18, 2009 in the study room of Library (Saint Cloud State University Miller Resource Center). I used a digital camera to record the video.

Technology used

I used Nikon digital camera to record my entire interview.


4. Interviewee's Biography:

Name: Ujjwal Lamichhane

Nationality: Nepal

Age: 21

Zodiac sign: Aries

Educational experience: High school graduate

Major at SCSU: Mechanical Engineering

Hobbies: Singing, Listening to music

Places traveled so far: Different places in Nepal and Maryland (in USA)

Languages fluent in : English, Nepali, Hindi

Describe yourself in few words: Practical, Sincere, Faithful

Any kind of phobia: No

Source of inspiration: Self-actualization on my mistakes

Message for people in general: No matter what, never lose smile from your face.


5. I think the interview went well. I was really comfortable taking the interview and I tried to make my interviewee feel the same way. I dressed formally and was there on time and made sure everything was alright. Since we were interviewing in one of the study rooms in the SCSU library, it was quiet and much less distracting than other places. I made two copies of my interview questions (one for me and other for my interviewee). I was actually impressed by his overall performance during the interivew. He had too much to say and knew about a wide variety of subjects. Many times, I didn't have to explain the questions furthermore to him. He would say a lot information and explaination on a particular subject.


6. Nepal is a small country located in the Southern Asia landlocked between India and China at 28 00 North Latitude and 84 00 East Longitude. If you compare its area, it is slightly bigger than the Arkansas state of the US. Climate in Nepal varies from cool summer to severe winter in North to subtropical summer. Nepal is also a famous tourist destination because of its scenic beauty and natural and cultural heritages. It has some of the world's famous national parks and wild life reserves in the world.

The first civilization in Nepal started around 6 B.C. And it was only around the Kathmandu valley, the capital city. 1 Nepal has about 36 main ethnicities. 2 Some of the major ones are “Chhetri”, “Brahmin”, “Magar”, “Gurung”, “Newar”, etc. All these people have their own language and culture. The biggest festival of all these people is “Dashain”. During this festival, people return home and celebrate the festival with their families and friends. Another interesting fact about Nepal is that it is the holy land of Lord Pasupatinath ( the Hindu God) and Lord Buddha, founder of Buddhism. Hindus and Buddhists have lived in Nepal with religious tolerance for centuries. Many times, Hindus and Buddhists worship the same god with different names which is a clear indication of how much harmony is there in the country. 3 october 20, 2009) When it comes to food, Nepal has really good variety of cuisine affected by the Indian sub-continent and the Tibetan border. Mainly rice is used in day to day life accompanied by spicy curry and pulse soup. Eating rice with hand twice a day is a ritual everyday.

Do not feel offended if any Nepalese hesitates to shake hands with you because it hasn't been very long since the western traditions were introduced to them. Most Nepalese greet one another by a “Namaste”, a common act done by putting the palms together in a prayer like gesture.” 4 Marriage is also an integral part of Nepalese culture. The genearlly accepted ages for bride and bridegroom are 20 and 22 years respectively.

Nepal is a newly republican country. During the year 2006, there was revolutionary movement against the monarchial system of the country. As a result, king had to give up his throne and democracy was restored in the country with the inclusion of different political parties. Maoist (communist party

fighting the civil war) was one of the significant leader in the house of parliament.

References:

  1. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107820.html October 14, 2009

  2. http://www.nepal.com/culture/ October 14, 2009

  3. http://www.nepalinformation.com October 14, 2009

  4. http://www.nepal.com/culture/ October 14, 2009



Interview Transcript

Vishal Gurung

ENGL 191 Sec 21

Date of Interview: 10/16/09

Vishal: Hi!

Ujjwal: Hi!

Vishal: I'm Vishal

Ujjwal: I'm Ujjwal

Vishal: Okay. Please have a seat.

Ujjwal: Thank you.

Vishal: And yeah, here's your question.

Ujjwal: Oh. Okay.

Vishal: So, how are you doing?

Ujjwal: I'm from....I'm doing good.

Vishal: Um...Where you from actually?

Ujjwal: I'm from Nepal.

Vishal: Oh..okay. Um...you know like actually this interview is for my English 191 class. It's like for....to know about how inernational students are adjusting to a new culture in America right now...are they doing fine? So it's about that.

( I asked about the location of his hometown in Nepal.)

Vishal: So, it's like half of the nation or?

Ujjwal: No, the whole country is divided into 5 development regions. Western is the third starting from East. And we have Eastern development region, Western development region, Mid-Western development region, and Far-Western development region. So, Western is the third one starting from he East.

Vishal: So, how did you came from there, that part of the country to a whole other part of the globe?

Ujjwal: Actually, my parents....we, our family moved from the Western region to capital region which is the central region. And after that, after completing my high school, I decided to attend the university which has more higher reputation, which has more recognition and American university has such quality in them. That's why I chose to move over here and complete my education.

Vishal: So, how long have you been here in the America?

Ujjwal: Um...It's been one year.

Vishal: Almost one year.

Ujjwal: Yup.

Vishal: So, how's it going so far?

Ujjwal: Pretty good.

Visahl: Good

Ujjwal:Yup. I'm in the sophomore level and it should be good.

Vishal: What classes are you taking right now?

Ujjwal: Um..I'm taking my pre-major courses for my majors..um...like right now I'm a pre-mechanical and after I enter it will be mechanical engineering.

Vishal: You came to St. Cloud State, like you could have gone to other college like, maybe community college over here, maybe private college over here where you could have applied for scholarship, the more renowned one. Why did you choose St. Cloud state in specific?

Ujjwal: The main reason for choosing st. cloud state is basically about the accreditation of my major, it's accreditated. And the main reason is it's cheap and it provides more qualitative education than what we have to do in for getting education

Vishal: What is your immediate goal like after you graduate from the bachelor's degree here? Are you going to have a master's degree or you going back home or

Ujjwal: I'm not decided yet. So, first I would think about just completing my education and after that

if the things are generally what happens, that would be my decision according to the situation. But right now, I would say, I would first complete my education.

Vishal: What is one biggest issue or problem right now that you have faced within this one year period that you lived here? Any personal or educational issues?

Ujjwal: The biggest issue that I have faced is mainly the cultural issue and I have lived in the part of the globe that is just totally different culturally, mentally, socially from the USA. From the beginning times, from the early times when I came over here, I had issue about culture. How would you react with situation, how would you interact with people who have different culture than you. How would they think about you. The main struggle, the main issue was cultural.

Vishal: So, you were worried about how to adjust to a new culture.

Vishal: What were your expectations from America/Americans before you came to America and what did you actually find when you finally arrived here?

Ujjwal: I never expected anything when I came to USA. The main goal to come to USA was to complete my undergraduate studies. The only expectation is to complete my education.

Vishal: So you are graduating from here within the next three or four years. How do you think you can contribute back to your home country with the education you are gaining right now?

Ujjwal: I would say that after I achieve my degree, I would definitely help my citizens, my country, to develop new things, to implement the things how system runs here. How everything goes? How it is organized? So, I would say that I would also be more active in my country to arouse awareness in the citizens that we have our own resources.

Vishal: Have you faced any faced any form of cultural shock within this one year period?

Ujjwal: I would say I have never experienced any kid of cultural shock till now.

Vishal: Did you hear about the stereotypes about America before you came to America?

Ujjwal: I would say that Americans, they are very hard working, they usually enjoy their life a lot. We usually don't socialize but Americans are socaible type of person. They are more interactive. They are likely to be more professional in their job. So, that was kinda stereotype I have heard and I that came true.

Vishal: Do you find, personally, Americans more approachable than people from back home. And more accessible, to get to know them, both professionally and personally.

Ujjwal: I would say, professionallly, yes, personally, no. because we are foreign people to them. They always interact differently. You re different person. You don't know how to think. How would you react? So, professionally, you have a job. They will interact with you. But socially, there's still cultural difference. They don't expect us to interact in the same way they would approach us or we would approach them. So, socially, not possible.

Vishal: What do you think you want to make changes in if you want to live here and to adjust here? Do you need to change yourself or you don't need to change at all?

Ujjwal: Probably I would have to change but not to the extent that I would totally change myself or I totally change my attitude. So, I would say that I might ghave to change but not totally. Cuturally and socially, yes. Mentally, I don't have to change.

Vishal: What kind of food do you eat back home?

Ujjwal: Rice and pulses, and vegetables.

Vishal: Do you think you can find that kind of food over here?

Ujjwal: Yeah. So far, I'm able to find that.

Vishal: What does the average American think about eating food differently.

Ujjwal: They think that I'm from Southeast Asia. They think that the south asians eat a lot of spicy food that are really hot and it' hard for them to eat.

(talked about location of Nepal and most of the Americans did not know about it.

Vishal: In comparison, do you have more international students as friend or do you have more American students as friend.

Ujjwal: I would say 30% of my friends are American students and 50% are American students.


Vishal: Why do you think is that?

Ujjwal: Well, bascially, I work on campus. So, I have a lot of friends who know me and I know them. So, professionally, we have to be friends. A lot of time, I don't hang out with the American students because I don't stay with them or live with them. So, basically, It's because I live with my own roommates from my own country. That's why I have no foreign students as friends.

Vishal: Do you think your cultural background or your way of living here is a barrier to be friends with American students?

Ujjwal: I would say that might cause barrier to make friends with American students. Because if you are living in a foreign country then, you are in the middle of something, then it's really hard to adjust yourself, whether you are completely involved in that culture or you want to follow your own culture and traditions. So, cultural differences might be a huge barrier for making friends in foreign country like I'm facing right now.

Vishal: Have you felt any moment of awkwardness while trying to talk to the American students because you don't know what to talk about?

Ujjwal: Yes. Most of the time, if I going to a new place, a lot of time when I talk to kids from school or volunteering, it was really huge difficulty that how would you interact that not with the adults but with the kids! (Then he talked about how to start the conversation)

Vishal: What do you think about marriage from two different nation like a boy from America meets a girl from your country, and they fall in love and they decide to marry. Do you think it's a good idea to get married like that or?

Ujjwal: I don't have any opinion on that actually. It's a good idea or a bad idea. The main thing totally depends on the couple. Okay, I'm gonna marry a foreign culture boy or girl. It's upon them that how would they adjust to a new culture or different feeling or different attitude or living style. It totally depends on the couple.

( And then we talked about marriage in his country.)

Vishal: In what way do you think your way of thinking or your perspective of life or you know, anything in general has changed as a result of living here in America.

Ujjwal: I would say it has totally changed. I have to think about a lot of things . Back in my country that's my country. It's obviously gonna be the same way, a lot of people react the same way as I do. Most of the people here are more individualistic. So, they give personal occupancy more preferences.

Vishal: You have a good fluency of English. When did you learn to speak in English.

Ujjwal: Actually, I started learning since I've been going to school. So, that would be from the age of 5 or 6 years old.

Vishal: How was English taught in your school?

Ujwal: I would say English would be taught in English.

Vishal: But were they taught by Native speakers or they people from back home?

Ujjwal: No, we were taught by our own native Nepalese speakers.

Vishal: Do you think learning to speak in English is a demand right now back home for job interivews or for higher education. Do you think it's a demand and necessity to have good English?

Ujwal: yeah. Definitely! For every job searches, almost all of the employer or companies will prefer that the person will have a fluent speech in English.

Vishal: What kind of family structure do you have? Do you have a big family or a neutral, small family?

Ujjwal: We have a small family.

Vishal: Is there any kind of expectation from your parents for you like to have a better job, better standard of living, good job, well-settled life. Do you think you have any kind of expectations from your parents for you?

Ujjwal: Yeah. My parents have a lot of expectations from me. I'm not boasting but I'm one of the brightest children in my whole family. They want me to graduate in Mechanical Engineering or any other field and do progress and be a good person and achieve success in career.

(And we talked about new from across the globe and awareness of it.)

Vishal: What do you think about the Americans? An average American would like to know about other part of the world or are they aware about what's happening globally or are they too much concerned of their own work?

Ujjwal: I think Americans are too much concerned about their own work.

Vishal: Who is supporting your educational expenses right now?

Ujjwal: My parents. They send money to cover educational expenses

(Then we talked about how the tuition system works for international students and his family's source of income.)

Vishal: What do you think about the good traits about American culture? Do you think there are good traits or there are no traits at all?

Ujjwal: The good traits of American culture is that sometimes they go more personally because each and every person is different.

Vishal: Any bad traits?

Ujwal: Being too much individualistic is one of the bad traits of the same culture.

Vishal: What do you think would be the icebreaker between two different cultures?

Ujjwal:

Vishal: Do you have any objection if I publish this interview?

Ujjwal: Not at all

Vishal: Alrgiht. Thanks for your time and contribution!


Post Production:

I didn't have to do much for my post-production. Well, I attached my digital camera to my laptop and transfered the video. Then, I burned the video to a DVD and the video was ready. For my transcript, I omitted a lot of parts though. I only included those parts that I thought would be useful for the interview.


I learnt a lot from my first interview. I had once taken a interview before with the director of the counseling department but it was a group assignment. So, this time a learnt a lot on being responsible. I learnt to ask questions without offending my interviewee. Next thing I learnt was to listen acutely to my interviewee but keep myself calm and relaxed at the same time. Also, I learnt to follow track of time from beginning to end.


Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Preliminary report on Nepal

    Preliminary report on Nepal

Nepal is a small country located in the Southern Asia landlocked between India and China at 28 00 North Latitude and 84 00 East Longitude. If you compare its area, it is slightly bigger than the Arkansas state of the US. Climate in Nepal varies from cool summer to severe winter in North to subtropical summer.

The first civilization in Nepal started around 6 B.C. And it was only around the Kathmandu valley, the capital city. ( http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107820.html October 20, 2009) Nepal has about 36 main ethnicities ( http://www.nepal.com/culture/ October 20, 2009). Some of the major ones are “Chhetri”, “Brahmin”, “Magar”, “Gurung”, “Newar”, etc. All these people have their own language and culture. The biggest festival of all these people is “Dashain”. During this festival, people return home and celebrate the festival with their families and friends. Another interesting fact about Nepal is that it is the holy land of Lord Pasupatinath ( the Hindu God) and Lord Buddha, founder of Buddhism. Hindus and Buddhists have lived in Nepal with religious tolerance for centuries.( http://www.nepalinformation.com/ october 20, 2009) When it comes to food, Nepal has really good variety of cuisine affected by the Indian sub-continent and the Tibetan border. Mainly rice is used in day to day life accompanied by spicy curry and pulse soup. Eating rice with hand twice a day is a ritual everyday.

Do not feel offended if any Nepalese hesitates to shake hands with you because it hasn't been very long since the western traditions were introduced to them. Most Nepalese greet one another by a “Namaste”, a common act done by putting the palms together in a prayer like gesture.” ( http://www.nepal.com/culture/ October 20, 2009). Marriage is also an integral part of Nepalese culture.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

SOME IDEAS FOR SUITABLE GOALS BEYOND WHAT I ALREADY HAVE.......

       Conducting an interview is a great responsibility and challenge with lots of work. There are some aspects we should be paying attention to while in the interview seat. In a sequence, I have listed them as follows:
  1. The first challenge is  to find students who are willing to give interviews. We should be convincing and modest at the same time while requesting them to give the interview. 
  2. When they are ready, we should work out a date, time, and place suitable and convenient for the interviewees. The place of interview should be quiet like the library or a study room.
  3. Next, we should pay attention to what we are wearing. A semi-formal dress would work as it will give the interviewee a sense of professionalism.
  4. On the day of the interview, before starting the interview, we should make 2 copies of our questions and give one to interviewee and tell them to go through it so that they are mentally prepared. We should NOT read word for word though while asking questions.
  5. Another thing many of the interviewers don't pay attention to is their sitting positions. We should never spread our legs (THAT'S RUDE!) but cross it or just keep it straight. 
  6. To make the interview more interactive, there should be a good response from the interviewer's side too like maintain a good body language which would make the interviewee feel comfortable.
  7. Never pause for more than a minute to ask questions as it ruins the interview environment.
  8. Don't hurry to jump into next questions. Interviewees might be lost for words.
  9. In addition, to avoid conflicts and arguments, we should avoid commenting as much as possible and affirm to their ideas instead as we are collecting their ideas not ours.
  10. Try not to make the interview longer than 1 hour. This would make the interviewee bored.
  11. At the end, thank them for their time and help, and also take their consent to publish their ideas in a written form as well as electronic forms (audios, videos, etc.).
-Vishal Gurung.

New Objectives for the Interview

    I really want to do my interview in a proper way because I'm excited about this topic for personal reasons. US is diverse and it has embraced many cultures and nationalities since its inception in the 1700s. However, being raised with a particular nationality in the US is different from coming from the respective country itself with lots of cultural barriers. So, I have thought about some objectives which would lead me to conduct the interview in a smooth way. They are:
  1. First and foremost, I would like to be prepared myself for the interview by picturing what its motivation would be like at the end and do some quick rehearsal too.
  2. Next, I have to convince three international students with similar physical and cultural backgrounds for the interview. They have to be eager and interested to be actively involved with their ideas and perspective.
  3. Then, I should arrange  for a quiet place, date and time suitable for the interviewees.
  4. My next target is to do a thorough background study of the students' countries so that I won't be embarrassed myself by asking culturally-awkward questions.
  5. As I would be mostly asking questions to them related to their culture (cultural stereotypes, things they like or don't like about their culture) and perspectives on different issues, I also want to compare and contrast these aspects to the American culture and perspectives. At the same time, I would want to make them feel relaxed and comfortable about what they are saying.
  6. I would also ask them about any problem they have been facing in and out of class and what did they do from their side to minimize it.
  7. Another interesting question to ask would be coming to St. Cloud State University (SCSU). Why did they choose to come to this part of the USA and not other states?
  8. Again, as English is considered as an international language, I am eager to know when they started to learn English. Was it in middle school or only later in high school or not at all? How is that helping or affecting them in their class performance right now? Does their professor address these issues while teaching in a classroom?
  9. Another big issue would be to find out if they had been a victim of racism at any phase at SCSU. Were they verbally offended or was it more than that? How did they respond to it?
  10. At the end, I would be going through all of my interviews, transcribe the 2 best out of 3, write a detail analysis of it with additional ideas and a suitable conclusion (and probably the objectives at the beginning of the paper again).
-Vishal Gurung