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
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