Transcript of the interview is here.

Interview 1

10/23/2011

Interviewer: Hanquan Cai (Jack)

Interviewee: Mehret Girmay

Process Description

          I found my interviewee through one of my international friend, and we decided to do the interview at her apartment. I picked up another 4 questions from my own question list except the 12 core questions; those are easy questions since I do not want my interviewee to have a hard time answering it. I decided to use my ipad to record the interview because I used it for similar things before and it worked very well. After everything was set, I took 2 question sheets I printed out to her apartment at 8pm, we sat in her living room and talked a little bit before we really started, because I wanted to introduce myself first and show some friendliness, make sure that she is comfortable with it. I also let her see the question sheet first, just make sure she is ready to answer all the questions. After we got started, we spent around 20 minutes talking, it went very well, she answered all the questions and there was no awkward moment in between. After we have done it, I asked her to write down her name, the traditional food’s name and some other names, because I really do not know how to spell it. Anyway, I think the whole process was very smooth and we all had a good time.  

Personal Review

            I think my first interview went pretty well, we both had a great time. Since I never met her before the interview, so I was kind of nervous when I first walked in her apartment, but I felt comfortable immediately after talking to her for a few minutes before we started. She was nicer than I expected which was fantastic, besides, I have never gotten to know Ethiopia before, and so when she was answering some of the questions, I was shocked by their cultures and values. This was very helpful for my next interview, and I think there is something that I can do for the next time in order to assure a higher quality one, for example, I should search my interviewee’s home country first and also prepare some sub questions under each main questions, so I can know more details and also make the interview more interactive instead of doing it in a most basic pattern, one question and one answer. Anyway, it was a very good experience for me and I learned a lot about another country, including its culture, family value and people’s religion, which broadened my horizon and made me more knowledgeable.    

Country Report

     

      My interviewee is from Ethiopia, which I never really get to know before; here is some information about it.

 Ethiopia is located in the northeast of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million people and its capital is Addis Ababa. Ethiopia is surrounded by Eritrea, Sudan , South Sudan, Djibouti , Somalia , and Kenya. Ethiopian is known as one of the oldest site of human existence in the world, its history can be traced back to thousands of years ago. “The politics of Ethiopia takes place in a framework of a federal parliamentary republic, whereby the Prime Minister is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Federal legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament” (1).

The Ethiopian economy is based on agriculture, “which contributes 42% to GDP and more than 80% of exports, and employs 80% of the population. The major agricultural export crop is coffee, providing approximately 26% of Ethiopia's foreign exchange earnings, down from 65% a decade ago because of the slump in coffee prices since the mid-1990s and increases in other exports”(2).

Ethiopia has almost 50 different domestic languages, but a lot of people know how to speak English that is the most popular foreign language in its country. Moreover, there are also numerous indigenous African religions in Ethiopia, mainly located in the far southwest and western country, and the most popular religions are Christianity and Muslim.

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Ethiopia

2. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2859.htm#econ

Presentation Group 1 : Research Basics

My presentation of finding resources is here.
Tim---Evaluating sources
Berekti---starting your research
Puspak---using the imformation you find.

20 Questions of the Interview

Category One: Basic Information of the Country

1. The name and the location of the country

I want to know its basic information before I go on.

2. How many people live in your country?  What is the color of the people?

I want to know its population and people’s color in their country.

Category Two: Education System

3. How many years of education are required for the children to receive in your country?

  Based on the nine-year compulsory education system in China, I want to know if yours is the same or different.

4. Does the government pay the tuition for the students to obtain education or not?

  I want to know the relations between the education system and the government, if the government pays how many years it will be responsible.

5. Do you need to pass an entrance test to get into college after high school?

  Every country’s system is different, I want to know if yours is the same as ours or not.

6. How does the college class in your country look like? Is it the same as in America or not?

I want to know some details of how the class runs in their college, is it of no difference?

Category Three: Family

7. How many children does each family usually have in your country?

I want to its fertility rate, and if it is creating over-population problem to the world.

8. Does the government punish or reward the family for giving birth after each family had certain number of children?

I want to know how the government reacts towards the fertility rate in their country. Does it oppose or support?

9. Are children in your country responsible for taking care of their parents in their old age?

I want to know the family-culture in their country. Should the children take care of their parents or their parents take care of themselves?

10. How old are people in your country by the time they get married?
I want to know how long young people wait with marriage, when they think the time and conditions are right, and where they live, once married.

Category Four: Culture

11. What kind of food do you have in your country? Is it spicy or sweet?

I want to know the food culture in their country.

12. Does family like to go out for meal or have a feast at home when there is something that is worth to celebrate?

I want to know how people in their country like to celebrate their party or holiday.

13. Is there any culture that can represent your country?

Each country has something that is unique compare to other country and can represent itself, I want to what is in their country that can be representative.

14. Do people in your country dress like American?

I want to know what the clothes is looking like in their country, is it the same as American or ours.

15. Dose female in your country have the equal rights as the man or not?

I want to know if the women are discriminated or not in their country. How serious is it?

16. What is the most popular sport in your country?

I want to know what people like to do in their country when they do exercise.

17. What kind of Martial Arts do people practice in your country?

I want to the Martial Arts system in their country, since I do Chinese Martial Arts myself.

18. Do people in your country like to watch a movie in theater or at home?

I want to just people’s habit of enjoying theatrical culture.

Category Five: Religion

19. What is people’s religion in your country?

I want to know what people will believe in their place, what people will ask help for when there are in trouble.

20. Do you have more than one religion in your country? 

I want to know the religion system in their country.