Top Three interviwe

First,
Nick Carroll-Anderson -(19 points) http://en191f12s28nickca.blogspot.com/
This interview was clear. the best thing that I liked is the transcription of the interview. it was easy to read.

Second,\
Mohamed Toure - (19 points) http://en191fl12s28mohamedto.blogspot.com/
This interview was very interesting to me because it cover many points about the country that he chose it. also, it was very clear .

Third,
Galkina, Elena V-(19 points) http://elenaen191f12s28.blogspot.com/
This interview has more information about Nipal. I like the way that she did in the country report.
In addition, the transcription of the interview was clear and easy to know what was happened.


I think all of them have good clarifications to the interview .But Nick he had added what he recorded for the interview. All of them have did a great in this interview.

Scorecard

Here is my Scorecard

First Interview

Preparation for the Interview:

           As an international student, I chose the Unite States of America as the country of choice for this interview. We had general questions that we drafted as a class, but I added and edited some questions so that they could fit my environment of interview. USA is a large country consisting of several states. I will have to choose one state that will be my basis of interview. I choose to do the interview in the city of Saint Cloud to interview a number of people. At the end of this report is a transcript of one of the interviews with an American citizen who lives and works in the city of Saint Cloud. America is a vast democratic land that is full of people with different backgrounds. There are people of different origins such as Blacks, Whites, Latinos and a host of other diverse societies. These societies interact on a daily basis producing the most powerful nation in the modern world.


         The USA now has a Black president. This shows that racism and ethnicity have slowly declined in the country. However, many challenges continue to rock it. The affected areas are the economy, society, health and infrastructure as well as employment. This interview is aimed at finding out how the interviewee copes with the current state of the country. What their opinion about everything in the society affecting him or her. Through this interview, I will be able to gain experience with the field of interviews. I will also be able to reflect on the experiences of the interviewee and draw conclusions regarding their standard of livelihood.   

How did you approach people?

       As an international student, I had contact with many students from the USA. One of my classmates introduced me to a longtime friend of his called Mike agreed to be interviewed. He told me that it was the first time he was doing this. He was obliged to chip in with my Interview. I told him that the interview was for my class work and that I would ask him general questions and that, I would record our conversion. He wanted to know why I wanted to record the conversation and I told him that is was for transcription purposes. He promptly agreed to go ahead with the interview. We met at the library. It is here that we conducted the interview.

       As an international student, I had contact with many students from the USA. One of my classmates introduced me to a longtime friend of his called Mike agreed to be interviewed. He told me that it was the first time he was doing this. He was obliged to chip in with my Interview. I told him that the interview was for my class work and that I would ask him general questions and that, I would record our conversion. He wanted to know why I wanted to record the conversation and I told him that is was for transcription purposes. He promptly agreed to go ahead with the interview. We met at the library. It is here that we conducted the interview

       As an international student, I had contact with many students from the USA. One of my classmates introduced me to a longtime friend of his called Mike agreed to be interviewed. He told me that it was the first time he was doing this. He was obliged to chip in with my Interview. I told him that the interview was for my class work and that I would ask him general questions and that, I would record our conversion. He wanted to know why I wanted to record the conversation and I told him that is was for transcription purposes. He promptly agreed to go ahead with the interview. We met at the library. It is here that we conducted the interview

When, where and how did you conduct and record the interview?

       The interview was conducted on a Saturday morning. This was convenient for both of us since we did not have obligations over the weekend. I took with me my mobile phone that I would use as the recording device. I also had a printed copy of the questions that I was going to ask Mike. I also had with me some snacks that would serve to keep the mood lively throughout the interview.

Whom did you Interview?

        I interviewed Mike who is a longtime friend to one of my classmates. He is 25 years of age and is a student at our campus. Clair was born and raised in Saint Cloud. He travelled within America with his family while growing up. This was before his parents ended up settling in Saint Cloud. It was after clearing his High school in this city that Mike joined our campus.

Interview Report

      Arriving at his residence, Mike warmly welcomed me to his room. We spoke casually about our friends. I was surprised to realize that we share two other friends from our campus. After the chitchat, he directed me to the study room. The venue of the interview was a neat room that was well arranged with a diverse type of books on the shelves. It is at this point that I realized that Mike read many books. He was able to describe each book briefly. Each time I picked a book he had something to say about it. 

I was surprised by the fact that Americans have an industrious spirit. The education sector was well funded and supported in this country. This has contributed greatly to the development of the country. I was also surprised by the levels of insecurity in the country. There are gangs that mainly deal in drugs. This is the ugly side of USA that was revealed to me. I soon realized that while the government was fighting terror abroad, some of the most biting issues were in their back yard.

Country Report:

        USA is a developed country located in the Western seaboard. It is mainly comprised of different people. Most residents are people who are originally immigrants from other parts of the world. The society is diverse and rich of different cultures. USA is a unity between 52 different states that are represented by a president who is currently Barrack Obama. Below is a map of the USA.

(1)

The USA

     The city of Saint Cloud, where I conducted the interview is the hometown of Clair. The city is known by the University of Saint Cloud. Many people come to Saint Cloud to study at the University of Saint Cloud. 

(2)

Interview

Interviewer: Tareq Alsomahi

Interviewee: Mike

Location: University of Saint Cloud, USA, 10.00AM

S-Student

M: Mike

S-  First, I would like to thank you for your time this morning For let me do the interview with you.

M- That's Ok. I am glad to hear from you.

S- Could you tell me about yourself? (Your name, home country)?

M- My name is Clair. My home country is USA. It is here that I was born and raised.

S- What are you planning to do after school?

M- I plan to get employed in my home town in the USA.

S- Why did you choose to study at St.Cloud University?

M- Their vision, mission and goals resonated with me.

S- Would you like to tell me about your country history?

M- The USA is a country that has many people of different original homes. This is both our strength and weakness. It has resulted into good competition and bad blood at the same time.

S- Can you tell me about activities that young people like to do in your country?

M- Young people in The USA are mainly involved in contemporary art, music and technological stuff.

S- What are major holidays in your country?

M- Some of the major holidays include Memorial Day, Independence Day, Easter, Columbus Day, and Thanks Giving.

S- How is the political system of your country structured?

M- There are two major factions, the republicans and the democrats.

S- What are your country's major religions? 

M- Christianity and Islam. There are also other religions.

S- What’s considered offensive in your country?

M- There are many offensive things however; one of the most offensive is being a racist. I consider derogatory racial terms offensive.

S- What do you perceive as differences between your culture and the other culture?

M- We are more of a modern diverse culture unlike other cultures that are intrinsic.

S- Is there anything you would like to add before we end our interview?

M- Am proud to be American!

S- Do you have any questions for me, now that I have had the pleasure of asking you about so many things?

M- I don’t have questions really, just a suggestion. Make sure this interview is published.

S- I will do my best. Thank you and I appreciate that.  It was nice to meet you 

M- Nice to meet you too

Work Cited:

      (1) http://www.factoryoutletstores.info/outlet-malls-by-map-of-usa/

       (2) http://www.wausauwindow.com/projectGallery/index.cfm?page=galleryDetail&catID=3&itemID=47

Google Document

Strength and Weakness of the group
Comparraion Document

Challenges and benefits of interview

                Interview is a conversation that could be with someone who does not know. Interviewing people is not that easy. When I interview a native speaker I should be in the same level of the speakers’ language.  There are some challenges and benefits of interviews people of other country.

         
              

F                  First of all, the challenges of interviews people. There are some parts of the interviews that are Challenging. The main challenging thing to me is the Language barrier because as an international student it is hard to speak as a native speaker. “Precise wording can be tailored to respondent and precise meaning of questions clarified (eg for students with English as a Second Language)”(1). For example, some times when I speak to a native speaker I hear some academic vocabulary that I could not understand.  Second challenging thing is doing some actions could come off offensive on accident. For example not paying attention to the interviewee. In addition to that body language could be offensive. Third, starting the conversation starting the interview is one of the important skills that you have to do to make the interviewee fell comfortable. Here are some challenges that we could face when we interviews people: Mispronunciation on words, Miss use of words, Might have to stop the interview to ask a questions because might be unclear on the answer, Trouble finding time on when to meet – conflicting schedules.

                            Second, The benefits of interviews people. When we interview people from other country we could get some benefits from the interview. The first benefit is meeting a new person from a different country. When I meet a new person I could learn many things form him or her such as know more about his habits and custom and also the way the talk to me. Second benefit is learning how a different culture goes about a professional meeting. For example before starting the conversation how the interviewee wear and are the check hands when they seeing each other for the first time. Here are some benefits that we could have from interview people: More professional – less small talk, Learn how/where/time they will want to meet, Talk more professional due to a common interest, learning about nonverbal communication.


           In Conclusion, interview a new person could give you some challenges and so benefits. I believe that you can get many benefits of interviewing new person than challenges things. However preparing for the interview is the most important part to do well.

 

Work cited:

(1) http://www.evalued.bcu.ac.uk/tutorial/4c.htm

             

Challenges and Benefits of interviewing

Challenges:

1. Difficult to find an international student

 

2. Language barrier

3. International student may be shy to talk

4. Might slip and say something offensive

5. Not a high level English speaker

6. International students might not know some words

7. International students may have difficulty in expressing what they want to say

8. Some actions could come off offensive on accident

9. Some questions might scare/offend the interviewee

10. Body language could be offensive

11. Certain questions may be misunderstood

12. International students may have troubles continuing a thought because it is not in their native language

13. Mispronunciation on words

14. Miss use of words

15. Might have to stop the interview to ask a questions because might be unclear on the answer

16. Starting the conversation

17. Not on time (culture difference on what “on time” is)

18. Trouble finding time on when to meet – conflicting schedules

Benefits:

1. Firsthand experience with a country

2. Meet a new person from a different country

3. Learning about a new culture

4. More professional – less small talk

5. Arrange and execute a professional meeting

6. Learn how/where/time they will want to meet

7. Learn about new customs

8. Learn new Traditions

9. Learn how a different culture goes about a professional meeting

10. Learn about clothing

11. Learn about their food

12. Learn about their educational background

13. Learn about their family

14. Won’t speak in local small talk – helps stay on subject

15. Talk more professional due to a common interest

16. Learning about nonverbal communication

17. Learn about their manners

18. Learn about the foreign exchange process

Objectives and questions for my interview

            I Believe  that this assignment will give me more responsibility for interview people. Also, having all my questions answered. I hope to find answer to my questions that I could not find. My interview will be about the United State of America.

My objectives:

• Knowing my interviewees 
• Getting to know about my interviewees habits.
• Having more information about my interviewees country.
• Knowing about my interviewees culture and religion.
• Knowing about the politics in the country and also about the education system 
• Knowing if the interviewees have any question that he or she would like to have me answered.  

The core questions for my interview:

1. Could you tell me about yourself?(your name, home country) ?
2. What are you planning to do after school?
3. Why did you choose to study at St.cloud University?
4. Would you like to tell me about your country history?
5. Can you tell me about activities that young people like to do in your country?
6. What are major holidays in your country?
7. How is the political system of your country structured?
8. What are your country's major religions? 
9. What’s considered offensive in your country?
10. What do you perceive as differences between your culture and the other culture?
11. Is there anything you would like to add before we end our interview?
12. Do you have any questions for me, now that I have had the pleasure of asking you about so many things?

Country Report

        I am choosing to do my interview next week about three countries. Actually I chose this countries because i like the improving country and nature country. There are three countries that i would like to do my interview on : Japan ,China, and United state.


        Japan is my first choose. I chose Japan because I like the developed country. Japan is one of the
powerful country in the world in technology. Japan, a country of islands, extends along the eastern or Pacific coast of Asia. The economy in japan is strong. "Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation (1% of GDP) helped Japan advance with extraordinary rapidity to the rank of second most technologically powerful economy in the world after the US and the third-largest economy in the world after the US and China, measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis"(1)

       China is one of the biggest country in the world and powerful. I chose China for one mean reason.Nowadays, many thing is made in china even the computer that we work on. China is one of the helpful country to many countries."The People's Republic of China is the second-largest country in the world by land area after Russia and is either the third- or fourth-largest by total area, after Russia, Canada and, depending on the definition of total area, the United States"(2).

      The United State of America is one of the most powerful country in the world. I chose America because i am studying in it and I like it. American economy is too strong. "The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $48,100. In this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and the federal and state governments buy needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace"(3)

Work Citesd:

(1)"Japan Facts" (2012): http://www.phrasebase.com/countries/japan/

(2)"Political geography" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China

(3)" The world factbook" (Oct 4,2012): https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html#

Library Works and The Five Books

         My Fist book was from my classmate Sultan Alnawmasi . The Title of the book "Now is The Time For Running"(1). The book talks about a story. On page 15, I found the first sentence: "You know what sacrifices were made for the freedom we now enjoy" as what we see hear freedom is the way we can enjoy.


         My second book was From my classmate Sengwiza Loris . The title of this book  "U.S.Economic Policy Toward Africa" (2). This book talks about the U.S economic policy in Africa and how it was.  On page15 , I found:  "to help the poor majority of men and women in sub-saharian Africa to participate in a process of long-term development through economic grow ht that is equitable, participatory,environmentally sustainable, and self-reliant". Here it talks about the U.S economic policy in Africa.


        My Third book was from Alkahtan Abdulmohsen. The title of the book "Horse Thief " (3).  This book talks about how a teenager with adventure with the horses. On page 15 , the first sentence: "Only merritment as they nipped and nuzzled one another ".It hard to understand it.


        My Fourth book was from Ouedraogo Jonathan. The title of the book  "How to talk Minnesotan AVisitor's Guide"(4) .This book talks about how to speak In Mineesota with deffernt words . On page 15 of this book , I found:  "Hand me another napkin ,please. This taco is not too bad, but it's running down my arm. It sort of reminds me of the barbecues we had yesterday".


       My fifth book was from Toure Mohamed. The title of the book "Islam without fear" (5) . This book is about "the story of a group of centrist Islamist intellectuals who call themselves the "New Islamic Trend." On page 15 I found: "With exaggerated seriousness, the prominent Islamic columnist Ahmed Bahgat reports in al Ahram of August 13, 1995, on "breaking news" from the art world". I would like to read this book.

Works cited

(1) Micheal Williams, Now is Time For Running, Little Brown and Company , New York Boston ,2009

(2) Herbst, Jeffrey Ira, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS PRESS, New York 1992

(3) Robert Newton Peck , Horse Thief, Harper Collins Publishers, 2002
(4) Howard Mohr, How To Talk Minnesotan (A Visitor's Guide), Penguin Group,1987

(5) Baker R.W. (2003). Islam without Fear, Boston, US and London, UK: Harvard University Press.

Bibliographical Review

First blog review( http://en191f12s28alnawmasi.blogspot.com/) : 
The student chose the book called "Now Is The Time For Running" the student selected this book because he is fan of soccer game.
The refrence of his book: William's, Michael, Now is the time for running, New York and Boston2011, page 4.

Second blog review( http://en191f12s28nickca.blogspot.com/):
The studen chose the book called "The Secret of Wilhelm Storitz"  he selected this book because he likes thrillers. Also this book was in a section dedicated to being of interest to students.
The refrence of his book: Verne, Jules. The Secret of Wilhelm Storitz. 1st ed. N.p.: Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska, 2011. Print. English. 

Third blog review(http://en191f12s28bingzhe.blogspot.com/) : 
He chose the book called "The Rise of MODERN CHINA" he selected this book because he interested in his country history.
The reference of his book: IMMAUEL C. Y. HUS “The Rise of MODERN CHINA”, The Oxford University Press Inc,  New York 1970, page 718.


Fourth blog review (http://en191f12s28yanjunli.blogspot.com/) : 
He chose the book called "Last Shot" he selected this book because the topic attracted him so much. he likes basketball and also this book is also talked about mystery. 
The reference of his book: John Feinstein, “Last Shot”, published by Alfred A. Knopf. In Random House, New York, 2005, page 11.

Fifth blog review (http://en191f12s28yiming.blogspot.com/) : 
He chose the book called " Hitler’s Storm troopers and the Attack on the German Republic" he selected this book because he want to know more information about the world history.
The reference of his book: Otis C. Mitchell; McFarland Company, North Carolina, 2008, Page 46.