Topic: Chinese traditional food
Reason to choose Chinese food other than others: We have one group member(thats's me)that come from China and know about the Chinese food. Also Chinese food is famous for its huge variaty and history.
Intro: Chinese food has a very broad culture. It usually just not only for eating but also the symbols of chinese custom.
Detail 1: Chinese food play a crucial role in gathering and celebrating.
Detail 2: Meanings of different Chinese food.(birthday noodle-- people make good wishes and hope the life of the birthday person will be smooth and long just like the birthday noodle. Moon cake-- Eat on the Moon light festival. in acient chinese use moon cakes to deliever the seceret information during a war, but nowadays they send their miss and wishes to the person they care and miss,living far away from them.)
Detail 3: Chinese food is influences by other culture and modified to cater to people from different country.
Detail 4: Food taboos in different Chinese ethinical groups. (Because China is composed by 56 differet ethinical groups and lots of them have their own religion. Different religion has different food taboos in their beliefs.
Conclusion: During the 5000 chinese history, Chinese food shows the changing of the country, the prosperous of the country, and the wisdom of Chinese people.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Outline of the Final Project
Topic for Final Project: Study abroad
I. INTRODUCTION:
• Thesis: Study aboard can totally change life and broaden your view in global perspectives.
II. BODY PARAGRAPH 1:
• Opening Sentence: It is hard for a people to decide whether study abroad or not.
• Detail 1: Advantages: broaden view, new experience, master a foreign language, and prohibit the independent ability…and so on…
• Detail 2: Disadvantages: Being along, homesick, cultural barrier… and so on…
Detail 3: Other problem: Financial burden…and so on…
III. BODY PARAGRAPH II:
• Transition/Opening Sentence: What I experience is so valuable that can influence on myself all through my lives.
• Detail 1: I improve our ability in global communication.
• Detail 2: I equip myself with the knowledge and value across different cultures.
• Detail 3: I become a strong multi-cultural adapter.
IV. BODY PARAGRAPH III:
• Transition/Opening Sentence: I am becoming stronger in my own life.
• Detail 1: I live in an environment without receiving any help from our relatives. I become stronger in problem-solving.
• Detail 2: I become more sociable and cooperated by making friends and helping others.
• Detail 3: I become more financial independent from our family.
VI. CONCLUSION:
• Reconfirmed Thesis: Study abroad is hard and not easy but I really enjoy it.
I. INTRODUCTION:
• Thesis: Study aboard can totally change life and broaden your view in global perspectives.
II. BODY PARAGRAPH 1:
• Opening Sentence: It is hard for a people to decide whether study abroad or not.
• Detail 1: Advantages: broaden view, new experience, master a foreign language, and prohibit the independent ability…and so on…
• Detail 2: Disadvantages: Being along, homesick, cultural barrier… and so on…
Detail 3: Other problem: Financial burden…and so on…
III. BODY PARAGRAPH II:
• Transition/Opening Sentence: What I experience is so valuable that can influence on myself all through my lives.
• Detail 1: I improve our ability in global communication.
• Detail 2: I equip myself with the knowledge and value across different cultures.
• Detail 3: I become a strong multi-cultural adapter.
IV. BODY PARAGRAPH III:
• Transition/Opening Sentence: I am becoming stronger in my own life.
• Detail 1: I live in an environment without receiving any help from our relatives. I become stronger in problem-solving.
• Detail 2: I become more sociable and cooperated by making friends and helping others.
• Detail 3: I become more financial independent from our family.
VI. CONCLUSION:
• Reconfirmed Thesis: Study abroad is hard and not easy but I really enjoy it.
Monday, November 23, 2009
#3 Interview Report
#3 Interview Report
LU WANG
F09.Sec21.Eng191
11/15/2009
For the third interview, I followed the same interview objectives but I slightly change my interview questions to be closer to approach the native custom in Malaysia. The reason for this changing is because I think I have collected enough ideas about the experience and thoughts of study abroad from last two interviews and it is time to add more information on another side to polish my culture report to be more brilliant.
I made fully preparation for the last interview as usual and conducted the interview in the same place with Peijun Fong on Nov 15th.
My third interviewee Peijun Fong is also a Chinese Malaysian and we know each other for a long time. She is a finance major senior in SCSU. She works a lot on campus. She is born in a big Chinese family in Malaysia and she is very knowledgeable about the culture among all three ethnic groups in Malaysia.
The third interview went very smoothly! It is very helpful for me to get a general idea about how a Chinese Malaysian, Native Malay or Indian behaves in his/her culture and religion in his/her daily life instead of just reading the materials from my online-research before. After this interview, I was so amazed by knowing the coexistence of the cultural diversity in Malaysia and I also found it was so interesting to learn lots of special meeting etiquette and taboo among these three ethnic groups which is really important to me to prepare for the global communication in my future career so I revised my culture report instantly.
Besides the wonderful part of knowing the Malaysian culture during the interview, there is another part caught my focus on- the Chinese Malaysians’ history of surviving in a foreign country. The reason why I use “surviving in a foreign country” instead of the word “immigrant” is because that it is not easy even super hard for the first Chinese Malaysian generation to create their new home land in a foreign country.
“Our parents are always telling us to cherish everything we get from life and we should work hard to appreciate what we are given in our life.” said by Peijun. Peijun told me that their ancestor fled from some very poor area of China to Malaysia with the purpose of perusing a better life standard and running away from the Anti-Japanese war. “I cannot imagine how hard for them to create everything with nothing even without knowing the Malay language but they successfully did. They are the most brave and dedicated generation. We all thank them for bringing a new life for us!” said by Peijun. Chinese Malaysian have been using their wisdom, hard working and strong will to break the discrimination and unfairness of political treatment and become the dominant power of supporting Malaysian economics. The prosperity of Malaysia cannot be reached without the effort made by several Chinese generations.
Unfairness treatment to Chinese Malaysian I found during the interview:
• Officials in Malaysian government must be all Native Malay. No any consideration and working right in government for Chinese Malaysian.
• For the admission of colleges in Malaysian, the acceptance to Native Malay student is around 80% and just 20% opportunities left to be shared by Chinese Malaysian and Indian.
• Every Chinese Company in Malaysia must at least leave 50% empty job position to Native Malay according to the business law.
A lot of Chinese Malaysian now are leaving Malaysia to other country because of these unfair treatments from government. They all feel very sad to be treated by those unfairness after contributing so much to Malaysia.
Through these three interviews, now I am familiar with the Malaysia which was a totally new country to me before. I really enjoy the process of completing these interview tasks and I did improve many skills in writing, communication and researching.
Added-up Questions for the third interview
1. What’s the most important value educated from your parents in your family?
2. When your family immigrant to Malaysia? Why they chose Malaysia?
3. Are there still discrimination and conflicts between Malaysian government and Chinese Malaysian? What do you think about this?
4. Could you please tell me something interesting in meeting etiquette and custom with people from different ethnic groups in Malaysia?
New Cultural Report for Malaysian Culture
Geography
1. Malaysia is located in Southeast Asia.
2. It has fourteen states and three Federal Territories.
3. Its total landmass is 329,845 square kilometers.
4. The capital city is Kuala Lumpur.
5. The population stands at over 28 million inhabitants.
6. The country is separated into two regions, Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo, by the South China Sea. Malaysia borders Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei.
7. The country is located near the equator and experiences a tropical climate.
Language
“Malaysia as a unified state did not exist until 1963. Previously, the United Kingdom had established influence in colonies in the territory from the late 18th century, so English is widely understood in service industries and is a compulsory subject in primary and secondary school due to the history of the British colony. “(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Malaysia) Malaysia is a multicultural nation. The national, or official, language is Malay which is the mother tongue of the majority Malay ethnic group. The main ethnic groups within Malaysia comprise the Malays, Chinese and Indians, thus Chinese and Indian are also spoken in Malaysia.
Religion
Malaysia is a multi-religious society and Islam is the official religion.
• 63.4% Islam
• 18.2% Buddhism
• 7.1% Christianity
• 6.3% Hinduism
• 2.6% Chinese Traditional Religion
Culture
Malaysia is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multilingual society. Malaysian cultural mosaic is marked by many different cultures, but several in particular have had especially lasting influence on the country. Chief among these is the ancient Malay culture, and the cultures of Malaysia's two most prominent trading partners throughout history--the Chinese, and the Indians. These three groups are joined by a dizzying array of indigenous tribes, many of which live in the forests and coastal areas of Borneo. Although each of these cultures has vigorously maintained its traditions and community structures, they have also blended together to create contemporary Malaysia's uniquely diverse heritage.
A Multi-Cultural Society
1. Ethnic groups
Malaysia is a multi-cultural society. The main ethnic groups are the native Malays as well as large populations of Chinese, and Indians.
2. Festival
The most important festivals of each ethnical group are public holidays.
3. Education
Children from different ethnic groups are educated in the same schools.
4. Marriage Tradition
Few people marry outside their own ethnicity.
5. Family Tradition
Families from different ethical groups retain their own ethnical tradition and tend to socialize within their own ethnic groups.
Group Orientation
The family emphasizes on unity, loyalty and respect for the elderly just like other Asian countries. The family usually will give their children fully financial support until they graduate from college and can make money by themselves.
Etiquette and Custom
1. Greeting
Malay women can of course shake hands with women but may not with men. Men may also not shake hands with women and may bow instead while placing their hand on their heart.
The Chinese handshake is light and may be rather prolonged. Men and women may shake hands, although the woman must extend her hand first. Many older Chinese lower their eyes during the greeting as a sign of respect.
Indians shake hands with members of the same sex. When being introduced to someone of the opposite sex, nodding the head and smiling is usually sufficient.
Among all these three cultures, when people introduce others they introduce people from the most important person to the lower ranking person, women to men and older person to young person.
2. Giving Gifts Etiquette
Gift giving to Malays:
• Never give alcohol.
• Do not give toy dogs or pigs to children.
• Do not give anything made of pigskin and any food made by pork.
• Avoid white wrapping paper as it symbolizes death and mourning.
• Avoid yellow wrapping paper, as it is the color of royalty.
• Offer gifts with the right hand only or both hands if the item is large.
Gift giving to Chinese:
• If invited to someone's home, bring a small gift of fruit, sweets, or cakes, saying that it is for the children.
• A gift is traditionally refused before it is accepted to demonstrate that the recipient is not greedy.
• Do not give scissors, knives or other cutting utensils as they indicate a desire to sever the relationship.
• Flowers do not make good gifts as they are given to the sick and are used at funerals.
• Do not wrap gifts in mourning colors - white, blue, or black.
• Wrap the gifts in happy colors - red, pink, or yellow.
• Elaborate gift - wrapping is imperative.
• Never wrap a gift for a baby or decorate the gift in any way with a stork, as birds are the harbinger of death.
• It is best to give gifts in even numbers since odd numbers are unlucky.
• Gifts are generally not opened when received.
Gift giving to Indians:
• If you give flowers, avoid frangipani as they are used in funeral wreaths.
• Money should be given in odd numbers.
• Offer gifts with the right hand only or both hands if the item is large.
• Do not wrap gifts in white or black.
• Wrap gifts in red, yellow or green paper or other bright colors as these bring good fortune.
• Do not give leather products to a Hindu.
LU WANG
F09.Sec21.Eng191
11/15/2009
For the third interview, I followed the same interview objectives but I slightly change my interview questions to be closer to approach the native custom in Malaysia. The reason for this changing is because I think I have collected enough ideas about the experience and thoughts of study abroad from last two interviews and it is time to add more information on another side to polish my culture report to be more brilliant.
I made fully preparation for the last interview as usual and conducted the interview in the same place with Peijun Fong on Nov 15th.
My third interviewee Peijun Fong is also a Chinese Malaysian and we know each other for a long time. She is a finance major senior in SCSU. She works a lot on campus. She is born in a big Chinese family in Malaysia and she is very knowledgeable about the culture among all three ethnic groups in Malaysia.
The third interview went very smoothly! It is very helpful for me to get a general idea about how a Chinese Malaysian, Native Malay or Indian behaves in his/her culture and religion in his/her daily life instead of just reading the materials from my online-research before. After this interview, I was so amazed by knowing the coexistence of the cultural diversity in Malaysia and I also found it was so interesting to learn lots of special meeting etiquette and taboo among these three ethnic groups which is really important to me to prepare for the global communication in my future career so I revised my culture report instantly.
Besides the wonderful part of knowing the Malaysian culture during the interview, there is another part caught my focus on- the Chinese Malaysians’ history of surviving in a foreign country. The reason why I use “surviving in a foreign country” instead of the word “immigrant” is because that it is not easy even super hard for the first Chinese Malaysian generation to create their new home land in a foreign country.
“Our parents are always telling us to cherish everything we get from life and we should work hard to appreciate what we are given in our life.” said by Peijun. Peijun told me that their ancestor fled from some very poor area of China to Malaysia with the purpose of perusing a better life standard and running away from the Anti-Japanese war. “I cannot imagine how hard for them to create everything with nothing even without knowing the Malay language but they successfully did. They are the most brave and dedicated generation. We all thank them for bringing a new life for us!” said by Peijun. Chinese Malaysian have been using their wisdom, hard working and strong will to break the discrimination and unfairness of political treatment and become the dominant power of supporting Malaysian economics. The prosperity of Malaysia cannot be reached without the effort made by several Chinese generations.
Unfairness treatment to Chinese Malaysian I found during the interview:
• Officials in Malaysian government must be all Native Malay. No any consideration and working right in government for Chinese Malaysian.
• For the admission of colleges in Malaysian, the acceptance to Native Malay student is around 80% and just 20% opportunities left to be shared by Chinese Malaysian and Indian.
• Every Chinese Company in Malaysia must at least leave 50% empty job position to Native Malay according to the business law.
A lot of Chinese Malaysian now are leaving Malaysia to other country because of these unfair treatments from government. They all feel very sad to be treated by those unfairness after contributing so much to Malaysia.
Through these three interviews, now I am familiar with the Malaysia which was a totally new country to me before. I really enjoy the process of completing these interview tasks and I did improve many skills in writing, communication and researching.
Added-up Questions for the third interview
1. What’s the most important value educated from your parents in your family?
2. When your family immigrant to Malaysia? Why they chose Malaysia?
3. Are there still discrimination and conflicts between Malaysian government and Chinese Malaysian? What do you think about this?
4. Could you please tell me something interesting in meeting etiquette and custom with people from different ethnic groups in Malaysia?
New Cultural Report for Malaysian Culture
Geography
1. Malaysia is located in Southeast Asia.
2. It has fourteen states and three Federal Territories.
3. Its total landmass is 329,845 square kilometers.
4. The capital city is Kuala Lumpur.
5. The population stands at over 28 million inhabitants.
6. The country is separated into two regions, Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo, by the South China Sea. Malaysia borders Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei.
7. The country is located near the equator and experiences a tropical climate.
Language
“Malaysia as a unified state did not exist until 1963. Previously, the United Kingdom had established influence in colonies in the territory from the late 18th century, so English is widely understood in service industries and is a compulsory subject in primary and secondary school due to the history of the British colony. “(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Malaysia) Malaysia is a multicultural nation. The national, or official, language is Malay which is the mother tongue of the majority Malay ethnic group. The main ethnic groups within Malaysia comprise the Malays, Chinese and Indians, thus Chinese and Indian are also spoken in Malaysia.
Religion
Malaysia is a multi-religious society and Islam is the official religion.
• 63.4% Islam
• 18.2% Buddhism
• 7.1% Christianity
• 6.3% Hinduism
• 2.6% Chinese Traditional Religion
Culture
Malaysia is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multilingual society. Malaysian cultural mosaic is marked by many different cultures, but several in particular have had especially lasting influence on the country. Chief among these is the ancient Malay culture, and the cultures of Malaysia's two most prominent trading partners throughout history--the Chinese, and the Indians. These three groups are joined by a dizzying array of indigenous tribes, many of which live in the forests and coastal areas of Borneo. Although each of these cultures has vigorously maintained its traditions and community structures, they have also blended together to create contemporary Malaysia's uniquely diverse heritage.
A Multi-Cultural Society
1. Ethnic groups
Malaysia is a multi-cultural society. The main ethnic groups are the native Malays as well as large populations of Chinese, and Indians.
2. Festival
The most important festivals of each ethnical group are public holidays.
3. Education
Children from different ethnic groups are educated in the same schools.
4. Marriage Tradition
Few people marry outside their own ethnicity.
5. Family Tradition
Families from different ethical groups retain their own ethnical tradition and tend to socialize within their own ethnic groups.
Group Orientation
The family emphasizes on unity, loyalty and respect for the elderly just like other Asian countries. The family usually will give their children fully financial support until they graduate from college and can make money by themselves.
Etiquette and Custom
1. Greeting
Malay women can of course shake hands with women but may not with men. Men may also not shake hands with women and may bow instead while placing their hand on their heart.
The Chinese handshake is light and may be rather prolonged. Men and women may shake hands, although the woman must extend her hand first. Many older Chinese lower their eyes during the greeting as a sign of respect.
Indians shake hands with members of the same sex. When being introduced to someone of the opposite sex, nodding the head and smiling is usually sufficient.
Among all these three cultures, when people introduce others they introduce people from the most important person to the lower ranking person, women to men and older person to young person.
2. Giving Gifts Etiquette
Gift giving to Malays:
• Never give alcohol.
• Do not give toy dogs or pigs to children.
• Do not give anything made of pigskin and any food made by pork.
• Avoid white wrapping paper as it symbolizes death and mourning.
• Avoid yellow wrapping paper, as it is the color of royalty.
• Offer gifts with the right hand only or both hands if the item is large.
Gift giving to Chinese:
• If invited to someone's home, bring a small gift of fruit, sweets, or cakes, saying that it is for the children.
• A gift is traditionally refused before it is accepted to demonstrate that the recipient is not greedy.
• Do not give scissors, knives or other cutting utensils as they indicate a desire to sever the relationship.
• Flowers do not make good gifts as they are given to the sick and are used at funerals.
• Do not wrap gifts in mourning colors - white, blue, or black.
• Wrap the gifts in happy colors - red, pink, or yellow.
• Elaborate gift - wrapping is imperative.
• Never wrap a gift for a baby or decorate the gift in any way with a stork, as birds are the harbinger of death.
• It is best to give gifts in even numbers since odd numbers are unlucky.
• Gifts are generally not opened when received.
Gift giving to Indians:
• If you give flowers, avoid frangipani as they are used in funeral wreaths.
• Money should be given in odd numbers.
• Offer gifts with the right hand only or both hands if the item is large.
• Do not wrap gifts in white or black.
• Wrap gifts in red, yellow or green paper or other bright colors as these bring good fortune.
• Do not give leather products to a Hindu.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Final paper topic
My final paper's topic will be studying abroad. As an international student, I will wrote about my experience, feeling and thoughts of studying abroad. It's a exciting and interesting topic to me !
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
#2 interview report
Second Interview Report
LU WANG
ENG191 SEC21 FALL2009
At the very beginning of preparing the second interview, I reviewed the objectives for the interviews I wrote to make sure everything had been settled down before the second interview and I also revised the 10 interview questions for the purpose of being more close to the intention of my interview objectives. This time, I made some more personal and intimacy questions around the 10 main questions in order to let the interviewee feel more comfortable and relaxed to receive the interview and give me their true thoughts to questions. I also used blog to be informed of others’ progress of their interviews, thus, at the same time, I can absorb others’ advantages of conducting their interviews and avoid those disadvantages. In addition, according to the problems they met during the interviews I can also improve my ways to conduct my interview. I am so benefit from the wonderful information stage that makes my work more efficiency and considerable.
I chose the same place to conduct the second interview (study room of the library on campus) because this is the most quiet and convenient place for students. I also prepared voice recorder this time to record the conversation during the interview and the electronic dictionary to help international interviewees express their thoughts better and more smoothly.
I still choose the Malaysian culture as my second interview’s topic. The second interviewee is also from ICSA (International Chinese Student Association) who I met and know from the Malaysian Night on campus last month. He was very friendly and warm-hearted to receive my invitation of the interview and we exchanged the cell phone number at that night.
After communicating with the interviewee, I scheduled the second interview on Nov 3th but he told he was not available at the last minute on that day so we finally changed the time to Nov 6th at 10:30 am in the study room of library on campus. The second interviewee is the technology director of ICSA, Eey Yang Chow. I had reserved the study room two days before the interview’s day and told him the room number on the night before the interview. I came there about 10:00am to set the voice recorder and organized the interview procedure in my mind again. I met my interviewee on time in the study room. He didn’t come with the question paper which I had given him when we first meet on that Malaysian Night so I asked whether he had read and think about those interview questions and he answered “Yes”. I offered him with the drink which I had already prepared before. I told him to be relaxed and feel free to use the electronic dictionary which I had prepared and put beside him when his thoughts stuck in his mind and didn’t know how to translate in English. I also asked him whether I can use the recorder to record the whole conversation and post it online. He also rejected my request of posting the interview conversation online in the end for some reasons. After both of us reach the agreement, I pressed the start button on recorder and formally began our interview. I began the interview by formally introduce myself with standing up and making a firm handshake with Eey and stated the purpose of conducting an interview with international student to get knowledge and understanding another culture and custom. During the interview, I concentrated in listening every minute and used eye contacts and buddy language to interact with Eey. Our interview probably ran about 20 minutes and successfully accomplished every goals and procedure of the planned interview. At the end of interview, I also gave him a small gift in reward.
My second interviewee was Eey Yang Chow. He came from the capital of Malaysia. Both he and his brother are studying in SCSU. He is a transfer student from Malaysia and a member of ICSA (international Chinese student association). I met him on Malaysia Night last month and invited him as my second interviewee.
The second interview was very successful. It really helps me to get a further know about Malaysia. I didn’t translate some parts of the interview which involved in the sensitive political problems in Malaysia. It’s mainly about the discrimination and unfair treatment of Chinese Malaysians in Malaysia and I was so amazed to know about that. Because my interviewee didn’t want to disclose those problems in public I respected his willing and didn’t write it in transcript.
I really felt more confident and professional when I was doing the second interview. After two interviews and my further research for the Malaysian culture I became very interested in the area of the life and history of Chinese Malaysians. This interview project really brings me lots of fun from sharing and communicating study abroad experiences with international students from different cultural background.
Short report about Malaysia:
Geography
1. Malaysia is located in Southeast Asia.
2. It has fourteen states and three Federal Territories.
3. Its total landmass is 329,845 square kilometers.
4. The capital city is Kuala Lumpur.
5. The population stands at over 28 million inhabitants.
6. The country is separated into two regions, Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo, by the South China Sea. Malaysia borders Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei.
7. The country is located near the equator and experiences a tropical climate.
Language
“Malaysia as a unified state did not exist until 1963. Previously, the United Kingdom had established influence in colonies in the territory from the late 18th century, so English is widely understood in service industries and is a compulsory subject in primary and secondary school due to the history of the British colony. “(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Malaysia) Malaysia is a multicultural nation. The national, or official, language is Malay which is the mother tongue of the majority Malay ethnic group. The main ethnic groups within Malaysia comprise the Malays, Chinese and Indians, thus Chinese and Indian are also spoken in Malaysia.
Religion
Malaysia is a multi-religious society and Islam is the official religion.
• 63.4% Islam
• 18.2% Buddhism
• 7.1% Christianity
• 6.3% Hinduism
• 2.6% Chinese Traditional Religion
Culture
Malaysia is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multilingual society. Malaysian cultural mosaic is marked by many different cultures, but several in particular have had especially lasting influence on the country. Chief among these is the ancient Malay culture, and the cultures of Malaysia's two most prominent trading partners throughout history--the Chinese, and the Indians. These three groups are joined by a dizzying array of indigenous tribes, many of which live in the forests and coastal areas of Borneo. Although each of these cultures has vigorously maintained its traditions and community structures, they have also blended together to create contemporary Malaysia's uniquely diverse heritage.
Lu Wang
English 191 Section 21 Fall 2009
Interviewee: Eey Yang Chow
Country: Malaysia
Interview Date: 11/6/2009
Transcript of the first interview:
L= Lu Wang E= Eey Yang Chow
W: Could you tell me which city of Malaysia are you from?
E: I am from Kuala Lumpur.
W: Oh, that’s the same city my first interviewee came from. It’s your country’s capital, right?
E: Yeah, it’s a fantastic metropolis.
W: I made a research about your country before this interview and I know your city is one of the most modern and biggest cities in Asia. You must have lots of fun and very accustomed to the big cities’ life, do you?
E: True. I really enjoy my life in my city because you always can find a lot of things to do there and the life there is really convenient and enjoyable.
W: What’s your religion?
E: I am a Buddhist
W: Are you born in a Chinese Malaysian family?
E: Yes, I am. Both of my parents are Chinese.
W: What else language do you speak except English?
E: Since I was born in a Chinese Malaysian family I speak Chinese at home. I also speak Malay. But we are those Chinese generation who grow up in another country, most of us are very poor at writing even reading in Chinese because we were taught and learn in Malay which is the official language in Malaysia. Chinese for us is just home-speaking language and we learn it just from our parents.
W: Cool, you master so many languages! I came from China too so I guess we almost came from the same Chinese culture background.
E: I agree with you. Our Chinese Malaysians celebrate same Chinese traditional Festivals in Malaysia and behave the same Chinese tradition too. Because Malaysia is a multi-ethnic country we have official holidays for each Chinese festival. Also, Malaysia very protects and respects each culture on its land.
W: After I researched the history of Malaysia I found Chinese Malaysian have been playing a very important role in supporting Malay economy through business. Could you tell me more about that?
E: Definitely. A lot of Chinese Malaysian are very successful business persons and very rich. They have huge economic and business contribution to the entire Malaysian economy. If you are walking in the street in Malaysia you will surprisingly find there are more Chinese Malaysians than Native Malaysians running business.
W: During my research, I also found there is a regulation for those company which are run by Chinese Malaysians in Malaysia that each company must at least employ 50% Native Malays. Why does your government make this policy?
E: It is because government wants to improve the development of native Malays in everywhere under the help of Chinese Malaysian.
W: I am kind of confused now. Is that means the development of Native Malaysians in everywhere can’t keep up with the development of Chinese Malaysian.
E: It is a truth. The development of Native Malays is backward to Chinese Malaysians. Their families usually are less emphasis on education than Chinese Families. However, government also uses many other policies to induce them to receive higher education. For example, Native Malaysians have much lower requirements to enter into a college that Chinese Malaysians have.
W: I see. Did you live with your family in your country.
E: Yes. I live with my parents and siblings.
W: How many siblings do you have?
E: I have an elder brother and a younger sister.
W: Sweet! I am the only children in my family and living a big family and having sisters and brothers have been my dream since I was just a little kid.
E: I also feel very lucky and happy to be living in a big Asian family.
W: Which part does your parents emphasis on educating children in your family?
E: I think it should be sharing. My parents are always telling us, as one of the family member, we should share not only the material but also the spiritual mind with each other. We should share our happiness when we success and help others when they are in depression or sadness.
W: That’s the same answer I would give for this question in my situation. I think sharing is the most unique different concept between Asian and Western culture. This concept also reflects that we are more group-oriented than Western people in family concept.
W: How long have you been to US?
E: I just came here this August so it is just about 3 months.
W: So, what do you think about St Cloud?
E: Although here is a pretty small town compared to the city where I came from it’s not bad.
W: Do you like here?
T: Yes. Here is very quiet and I think it is very good and suited for me to attend college here because you know life in big cities is exciting and funny but at the same time it will distract lot of your attention on your study. Furthermore, the most important thing to me is that I really enjoy the new surroundings here which are totally different from the one I came from.
W: Oh, could you describe your feeling about the new environment?
E: I just have one word to describe my feeling: fresh. You know everything is totally new in my life everyday now. I like the fresh feeling and experience that I have never met before and I am really enjoying adapting this new environment.
W: Cool, it sounds great! I quite enjoy my life here now as you but when I first came here I was in opposite mood to yours. I could not adjust to the totally different environment and felt I did not belong here. I even planed to end my study abroad after my first semester.
E: Oh, really? You know I was hesitating about the decision whether I should study abroad alone or not for a very long time because I could imagine how many challenges and difficulties would appear in my study and life. However, later I persuaded myself that it was the hardness which I could meet during studying abroad that made my life meaningful because I could be stronger after overcoming those difficulties and challenges.
W: Why did you choose St Cloud State University?
T: The College which I attended in Malaysia has the study abroad program with St Cloud State University so I took the great opportunity to come here.
W: You must have already made a lot of friends here, do you?
E: Yeah, making friends with new people is one of the most wonderful parts in my daily life. I really like to know and communicate with new people and it does make a great effect on improving my language skills. By talking with my new American friends who are totally growing in a different culture from mine, I learn a lot of things about American culture and I think it is very helpful to me to get understanding of and put me thorough into another culture.
W: Did you feel any language barrier during making friends with Americans?
E: From the language point, of course, at the very first beginning I was shy to speak and communicate with others in English but I have overcome this difficulty very fast by attending those activities organized by ESL department which are aimed to help us who use English as their second language in speaking English. We almost have group discussions in class and other interesting community activities off campus everyday so I practice a lot and get accustomed to speak in English in public. I really don’t think language is a barrier to me now since I am very willing to and comfortable to communicate with others in English. And oftentimes even I cannot put my meaning in right sentences but people will still understand it by guessing and repeat it in their native way to me to check whether they get the right meaning or not. This is a great chance for me to learn how to speak in their native English and I learned a lot through this way.
W: No wonder you speak so fluently English now! Do you have any homesick so far?
E: No. Since I just have been here for 3 months and quit enjoy my new life I don’t have any homesick right now. However, I miss the food cooked by my mom so much now.
W: Yeah, me too. Food is the only thing I cannot change my taste for here so far. Can you tell me why you want to study abroad in US?
E: My father runs international business and has his own company in Malaysia. He wants me to receive the international education in order to prepare myself well to take in charge of his company in future. In another hand, I also want to broaden my view and develop my ability to be independent.
W: I see. Do you think the cultural barrier is a big problem for our international students?
E: I don’t think so. I think learning other culture is one goal of studying abroad for international student instead of being a barrier. We should enjoy and learning a foreign culture to equip us to face the globalization in our future life.
W: Do you feel any difference in academic environment between here your country?
E: It’s almost same but I recognized that the emphasis of learning here is more on self-study. Professors are usually assigning the tasks which require your self-developing and self-organizing to prohibit your independent ability to solve a problem. Sometime the homework really takes a lot time but it is interesting tough and help you learn a lot from it.
W: Thank you for coming to today’s interview. You really help me a lot about knowing Malaysia.
E: You are welcome. I think as an international student I have responsibility to spread our country’s culture to the world.
LU WANG
ENG191 SEC21 FALL2009
At the very beginning of preparing the second interview, I reviewed the objectives for the interviews I wrote to make sure everything had been settled down before the second interview and I also revised the 10 interview questions for the purpose of being more close to the intention of my interview objectives. This time, I made some more personal and intimacy questions around the 10 main questions in order to let the interviewee feel more comfortable and relaxed to receive the interview and give me their true thoughts to questions. I also used blog to be informed of others’ progress of their interviews, thus, at the same time, I can absorb others’ advantages of conducting their interviews and avoid those disadvantages. In addition, according to the problems they met during the interviews I can also improve my ways to conduct my interview. I am so benefit from the wonderful information stage that makes my work more efficiency and considerable.
I chose the same place to conduct the second interview (study room of the library on campus) because this is the most quiet and convenient place for students. I also prepared voice recorder this time to record the conversation during the interview and the electronic dictionary to help international interviewees express their thoughts better and more smoothly.
I still choose the Malaysian culture as my second interview’s topic. The second interviewee is also from ICSA (International Chinese Student Association) who I met and know from the Malaysian Night on campus last month. He was very friendly and warm-hearted to receive my invitation of the interview and we exchanged the cell phone number at that night.
After communicating with the interviewee, I scheduled the second interview on Nov 3th but he told he was not available at the last minute on that day so we finally changed the time to Nov 6th at 10:30 am in the study room of library on campus. The second interviewee is the technology director of ICSA, Eey Yang Chow. I had reserved the study room two days before the interview’s day and told him the room number on the night before the interview. I came there about 10:00am to set the voice recorder and organized the interview procedure in my mind again. I met my interviewee on time in the study room. He didn’t come with the question paper which I had given him when we first meet on that Malaysian Night so I asked whether he had read and think about those interview questions and he answered “Yes”. I offered him with the drink which I had already prepared before. I told him to be relaxed and feel free to use the electronic dictionary which I had prepared and put beside him when his thoughts stuck in his mind and didn’t know how to translate in English. I also asked him whether I can use the recorder to record the whole conversation and post it online. He also rejected my request of posting the interview conversation online in the end for some reasons. After both of us reach the agreement, I pressed the start button on recorder and formally began our interview. I began the interview by formally introduce myself with standing up and making a firm handshake with Eey and stated the purpose of conducting an interview with international student to get knowledge and understanding another culture and custom. During the interview, I concentrated in listening every minute and used eye contacts and buddy language to interact with Eey. Our interview probably ran about 20 minutes and successfully accomplished every goals and procedure of the planned interview. At the end of interview, I also gave him a small gift in reward.
My second interviewee was Eey Yang Chow. He came from the capital of Malaysia. Both he and his brother are studying in SCSU. He is a transfer student from Malaysia and a member of ICSA (international Chinese student association). I met him on Malaysia Night last month and invited him as my second interviewee.
The second interview was very successful. It really helps me to get a further know about Malaysia. I didn’t translate some parts of the interview which involved in the sensitive political problems in Malaysia. It’s mainly about the discrimination and unfair treatment of Chinese Malaysians in Malaysia and I was so amazed to know about that. Because my interviewee didn’t want to disclose those problems in public I respected his willing and didn’t write it in transcript.
I really felt more confident and professional when I was doing the second interview. After two interviews and my further research for the Malaysian culture I became very interested in the area of the life and history of Chinese Malaysians. This interview project really brings me lots of fun from sharing and communicating study abroad experiences with international students from different cultural background.
Short report about Malaysia:
Geography
1. Malaysia is located in Southeast Asia.
2. It has fourteen states and three Federal Territories.
3. Its total landmass is 329,845 square kilometers.
4. The capital city is Kuala Lumpur.
5. The population stands at over 28 million inhabitants.
6. The country is separated into two regions, Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo, by the South China Sea. Malaysia borders Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei.
7. The country is located near the equator and experiences a tropical climate.
Language
“Malaysia as a unified state did not exist until 1963. Previously, the United Kingdom had established influence in colonies in the territory from the late 18th century, so English is widely understood in service industries and is a compulsory subject in primary and secondary school due to the history of the British colony. “(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Malaysia) Malaysia is a multicultural nation. The national, or official, language is Malay which is the mother tongue of the majority Malay ethnic group. The main ethnic groups within Malaysia comprise the Malays, Chinese and Indians, thus Chinese and Indian are also spoken in Malaysia.
Religion
Malaysia is a multi-religious society and Islam is the official religion.
• 63.4% Islam
• 18.2% Buddhism
• 7.1% Christianity
• 6.3% Hinduism
• 2.6% Chinese Traditional Religion
Culture
Malaysia is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multilingual society. Malaysian cultural mosaic is marked by many different cultures, but several in particular have had especially lasting influence on the country. Chief among these is the ancient Malay culture, and the cultures of Malaysia's two most prominent trading partners throughout history--the Chinese, and the Indians. These three groups are joined by a dizzying array of indigenous tribes, many of which live in the forests and coastal areas of Borneo. Although each of these cultures has vigorously maintained its traditions and community structures, they have also blended together to create contemporary Malaysia's uniquely diverse heritage.
Lu Wang
English 191 Section 21 Fall 2009
Interviewee: Eey Yang Chow
Country: Malaysia
Interview Date: 11/6/2009
Transcript of the first interview:
L= Lu Wang E= Eey Yang Chow
W: Could you tell me which city of Malaysia are you from?
E: I am from Kuala Lumpur.
W: Oh, that’s the same city my first interviewee came from. It’s your country’s capital, right?
E: Yeah, it’s a fantastic metropolis.
W: I made a research about your country before this interview and I know your city is one of the most modern and biggest cities in Asia. You must have lots of fun and very accustomed to the big cities’ life, do you?
E: True. I really enjoy my life in my city because you always can find a lot of things to do there and the life there is really convenient and enjoyable.
W: What’s your religion?
E: I am a Buddhist
W: Are you born in a Chinese Malaysian family?
E: Yes, I am. Both of my parents are Chinese.
W: What else language do you speak except English?
E: Since I was born in a Chinese Malaysian family I speak Chinese at home. I also speak Malay. But we are those Chinese generation who grow up in another country, most of us are very poor at writing even reading in Chinese because we were taught and learn in Malay which is the official language in Malaysia. Chinese for us is just home-speaking language and we learn it just from our parents.
W: Cool, you master so many languages! I came from China too so I guess we almost came from the same Chinese culture background.
E: I agree with you. Our Chinese Malaysians celebrate same Chinese traditional Festivals in Malaysia and behave the same Chinese tradition too. Because Malaysia is a multi-ethnic country we have official holidays for each Chinese festival. Also, Malaysia very protects and respects each culture on its land.
W: After I researched the history of Malaysia I found Chinese Malaysian have been playing a very important role in supporting Malay economy through business. Could you tell me more about that?
E: Definitely. A lot of Chinese Malaysian are very successful business persons and very rich. They have huge economic and business contribution to the entire Malaysian economy. If you are walking in the street in Malaysia you will surprisingly find there are more Chinese Malaysians than Native Malaysians running business.
W: During my research, I also found there is a regulation for those company which are run by Chinese Malaysians in Malaysia that each company must at least employ 50% Native Malays. Why does your government make this policy?
E: It is because government wants to improve the development of native Malays in everywhere under the help of Chinese Malaysian.
W: I am kind of confused now. Is that means the development of Native Malaysians in everywhere can’t keep up with the development of Chinese Malaysian.
E: It is a truth. The development of Native Malays is backward to Chinese Malaysians. Their families usually are less emphasis on education than Chinese Families. However, government also uses many other policies to induce them to receive higher education. For example, Native Malaysians have much lower requirements to enter into a college that Chinese Malaysians have.
W: I see. Did you live with your family in your country.
E: Yes. I live with my parents and siblings.
W: How many siblings do you have?
E: I have an elder brother and a younger sister.
W: Sweet! I am the only children in my family and living a big family and having sisters and brothers have been my dream since I was just a little kid.
E: I also feel very lucky and happy to be living in a big Asian family.
W: Which part does your parents emphasis on educating children in your family?
E: I think it should be sharing. My parents are always telling us, as one of the family member, we should share not only the material but also the spiritual mind with each other. We should share our happiness when we success and help others when they are in depression or sadness.
W: That’s the same answer I would give for this question in my situation. I think sharing is the most unique different concept between Asian and Western culture. This concept also reflects that we are more group-oriented than Western people in family concept.
W: How long have you been to US?
E: I just came here this August so it is just about 3 months.
W: So, what do you think about St Cloud?
E: Although here is a pretty small town compared to the city where I came from it’s not bad.
W: Do you like here?
T: Yes. Here is very quiet and I think it is very good and suited for me to attend college here because you know life in big cities is exciting and funny but at the same time it will distract lot of your attention on your study. Furthermore, the most important thing to me is that I really enjoy the new surroundings here which are totally different from the one I came from.
W: Oh, could you describe your feeling about the new environment?
E: I just have one word to describe my feeling: fresh. You know everything is totally new in my life everyday now. I like the fresh feeling and experience that I have never met before and I am really enjoying adapting this new environment.
W: Cool, it sounds great! I quite enjoy my life here now as you but when I first came here I was in opposite mood to yours. I could not adjust to the totally different environment and felt I did not belong here. I even planed to end my study abroad after my first semester.
E: Oh, really? You know I was hesitating about the decision whether I should study abroad alone or not for a very long time because I could imagine how many challenges and difficulties would appear in my study and life. However, later I persuaded myself that it was the hardness which I could meet during studying abroad that made my life meaningful because I could be stronger after overcoming those difficulties and challenges.
W: Why did you choose St Cloud State University?
T: The College which I attended in Malaysia has the study abroad program with St Cloud State University so I took the great opportunity to come here.
W: You must have already made a lot of friends here, do you?
E: Yeah, making friends with new people is one of the most wonderful parts in my daily life. I really like to know and communicate with new people and it does make a great effect on improving my language skills. By talking with my new American friends who are totally growing in a different culture from mine, I learn a lot of things about American culture and I think it is very helpful to me to get understanding of and put me thorough into another culture.
W: Did you feel any language barrier during making friends with Americans?
E: From the language point, of course, at the very first beginning I was shy to speak and communicate with others in English but I have overcome this difficulty very fast by attending those activities organized by ESL department which are aimed to help us who use English as their second language in speaking English. We almost have group discussions in class and other interesting community activities off campus everyday so I practice a lot and get accustomed to speak in English in public. I really don’t think language is a barrier to me now since I am very willing to and comfortable to communicate with others in English. And oftentimes even I cannot put my meaning in right sentences but people will still understand it by guessing and repeat it in their native way to me to check whether they get the right meaning or not. This is a great chance for me to learn how to speak in their native English and I learned a lot through this way.
W: No wonder you speak so fluently English now! Do you have any homesick so far?
E: No. Since I just have been here for 3 months and quit enjoy my new life I don’t have any homesick right now. However, I miss the food cooked by my mom so much now.
W: Yeah, me too. Food is the only thing I cannot change my taste for here so far. Can you tell me why you want to study abroad in US?
E: My father runs international business and has his own company in Malaysia. He wants me to receive the international education in order to prepare myself well to take in charge of his company in future. In another hand, I also want to broaden my view and develop my ability to be independent.
W: I see. Do you think the cultural barrier is a big problem for our international students?
E: I don’t think so. I think learning other culture is one goal of studying abroad for international student instead of being a barrier. We should enjoy and learning a foreign culture to equip us to face the globalization in our future life.
W: Do you feel any difference in academic environment between here your country?
E: It’s almost same but I recognized that the emphasis of learning here is more on self-study. Professors are usually assigning the tasks which require your self-developing and self-organizing to prohibit your independent ability to solve a problem. Sometime the homework really takes a lot time but it is interesting tough and help you learn a lot from it.
W: Thank you for coming to today’s interview. You really help me a lot about knowing Malaysia.
E: You are welcome. I think as an international student I have responsibility to spread our country’s culture to the world.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Revised Cultural information of Malaysia
Revised Cultural information of Malaysia
LU WANG
ENG191 SEC21 Fall 2009
Malaysia is located in Southeast Asia and its capital is Kuala Lumpur. “Malaysia consists of thirteen states and three Federal Territories, with a total landmass of 329,845 square kilometers. The population stands at over 28 million inhabitants. The country is separated into two regions, Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo, by the South China Sea. Malaysia borders Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei. The country is located near the equator and experiences a tropical climate.”1
There three ethnical groups of people live in Malaysia: Native Malaysian, Chinese Malaysian and Indian.
Malaysian is the official language in Malaysia. Chinese Malaysian also speaks Mandarin, other Chinese dialects and English in Malaysia, too. “Malaysia as a unified state did not exist until 1963. Previously, the United Kingdom had established influence in colonies in the territory from the late 18th century, so English is widely understood in service industries and is a compulsory subject in primary and secondary school due to the history of the British colony.”2 A lot of Chinese immigrated to Malaysia 100 years ago during the war time and became the first generation of Chinese Malaysian, therefore, Chinese Malaysian inherit almost the same culture and custom as Chinese culture.
Malaysia is also a multi-religions country. Almost native Malaysian believes Islam and therefore Islam is the official religion in Malaysia. Chinese Malaysian believes Buddhism a Daoism. Indian believes Hinduism. There are just a small amount of people are Christian in Malaysia.
Malaysia has many holidays for different ethnic festivals since it is a multi-ethnic country. Native Malay culture, traditional Chinese culture and traditional Indian culture are three dominant cultures in Malaysia.
1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia
2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Malaysia
LU WANG
ENG191 SEC21 Fall 2009
Malaysia is located in Southeast Asia and its capital is Kuala Lumpur. “Malaysia consists of thirteen states and three Federal Territories, with a total landmass of 329,845 square kilometers. The population stands at over 28 million inhabitants. The country is separated into two regions, Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo, by the South China Sea. Malaysia borders Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei. The country is located near the equator and experiences a tropical climate.”1
There three ethnical groups of people live in Malaysia: Native Malaysian, Chinese Malaysian and Indian.
Malaysian is the official language in Malaysia. Chinese Malaysian also speaks Mandarin, other Chinese dialects and English in Malaysia, too. “Malaysia as a unified state did not exist until 1963. Previously, the United Kingdom had established influence in colonies in the territory from the late 18th century, so English is widely understood in service industries and is a compulsory subject in primary and secondary school due to the history of the British colony.”2 A lot of Chinese immigrated to Malaysia 100 years ago during the war time and became the first generation of Chinese Malaysian, therefore, Chinese Malaysian inherit almost the same culture and custom as Chinese culture.
Malaysia is also a multi-religions country. Almost native Malaysian believes Islam and therefore Islam is the official religion in Malaysia. Chinese Malaysian believes Buddhism a Daoism. Indian believes Hinduism. There are just a small amount of people are Christian in Malaysia.
Malaysia has many holidays for different ethnic festivals since it is a multi-ethnic country. Native Malay culture, traditional Chinese culture and traditional Indian culture are three dominant cultures in Malaysia.
1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia
2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Malaysia
First Interview Report
In the part of preparing the interviews, first I made 10 unique questions which are designed for International Students. These 10 questions contain the aspects of their life, study and culture. Second, I wrote the objectives for the interviews in the purpose of conducting three interviews successfully and productively. After creating our own blogs during the English 191 class, we got a great information base to communicate our ideas and progress of our interviews with classmates. I read each classmate’s objectives of his/her interviews and their comments on my first objectives. After reading, I noticed that I missed many detailed and crucial points in my first objectives. In order to make the objective more professional, clear and thoughtful, I revised my old objectives in many places and made it in three parts: before interviews, during the interviews and after interviews. I chose the final location of interviews’ place in the study room of the library on campus because this is the most quiet and convenient place for students to conduct a formal interview. I also prepared voice recorder to record the conversation during the interview and the electronic dictionary to help international interviewees express their thoughts better and more smoothly.
Choosing three interviewees is not a very difficult in St Cloud State University since there are around 1500 international students studying on campus. First of all, I needed to decide to which cultural I would interested in interviewing and finally I focused on Malaysia for the following two reasons: I travelled with my family around Malaysia 10 years ago and this country left me very deep and great impression on the cultural diversity and beautiful scenery; ICSA (International Chinese student Association), which is composed by Chinese Malaysian student, is one of the biggest student association in SCSU and they have hold many successful cultural events on campus. I went to Malaysian night two weeks ago and invited three committee members from ICSA to be my interviewees. They are very friendly and warm-hearted to receive my invitation of the interview and we exchanged the cell phone number at that night.
After communicating with three interviewees, I scheduled the first interview on OCT 25th at 10:30 am in the study room of library on campus. The first interviewee is the event director of ICSA, Tak Seng Choy. I had reserved the study room two days before the interview’s day and told him the room number on the night before the interview. I dressed formally on that day and came there about 10:00am to set the voice recorder and organized the interview procedure in my mind again. I met my interviewee on time in the study room. He came with the question paper which I had given him when we first meet on that Malaysian Night. I offered him with the drink which I had already prepared before. I found he had already wrote some general ideas on the question paper for each question. I told him to be relaxed and feel free to use the electronic dictionary which I had prepared and put beside him when his thoughts stuck in his mind and didn’t know how to translate in English. I also asked him whether I can use the recorder to record the whole conversation and post it online. He said I could use the content of record when I was writing the transcript but refused me to post it online. After both of us reach the agreement, I pressed the start button on recorder and formally began our interview. I began the interview by formally introduce myself with standing up and making a firm handshake with Tak and stated the purpose of conducting an interview with international student to get knowledge and understanding another culture and custom. The next parts of interview went very smoothly because both of us got fully prepared with the questions and answers. Also both of us were getting more and more relaxed during the interview. I concentrated in listening every minute and used eye contacts and buddy language to interact with Tak. Our interview probably ran about 13 minutes and successfully accomplished every goals and procedure of the planned interview. At the end of interview, we also exchanged our msn and I also gave him a small gift.
My first interviewee was Tak Seng Choy and his English name is Jason. He came from the capital of Malaysia. His family immigrated to USA 8 years ago but he didn’t come USA with his family until he graduated from his high school in Malaysia 4 years ago. He had stayed in Los Angles for two years to study English and came to St Cloud 2 years ago. He studied in IEC program in SCSU for 0ne year and then became college student in SCSU. He is the event director in ICSA and he has performed the Lion Dance on many Malaysian cultural events. His ideal major is computer science but he is now majoring in business because he was born in a business family and his parents want him to take in charge their family company in future.
As an international student myself, I found many same situation I faced with as interviewee’s. Especially when I heard the reason why the interviewee hesitated at first to come to USA is because he didn’t want to leave his friend and the land he born in I was deeply touched at that time. I remember how struggled I am before I made decision of study abroad. I understood that I would face many difficulties and suffer huge homesick but I still encouraged myself not to give up my dream, pursuing my higher academic goals. Studying abroad is a hard and big decision through my life and shows my brave and determination of achieving my personal life goals. Also, through the process of conducting this interview, I found it was not easy to follow the steps from what I wrote in the objectives. The whole process of interview cost a lot time and preparation, but after I experienced it I think it worthed. It let me experience a new learning style which requires me to plan, conduct and revise a project all by myself. When I finish the first report of the interview, I feel very the self-satisfaction which gave me the motivation in experiencing other different writing tasks.
Short report about Malaysia:
Geography
1. Malaysia is located in Southeast Asia.
2. It has fourteen states and three Federal Territories.
3. Its total landmass is 329,845 square kilometers.
4. The capital city is Kuala Lumpur.
5. The population stands at over 28 million inhabitants.
6. The country is separated into two regions, Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo, by the South China Sea. Malaysia borders Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei.
7. The country is located near the equator and experiences a tropical climate.
Language
“Malaysia as a unified state did not exist until 1963. Previously, the United Kingdom had established influence in colonies in the territory from the late 18th century, so English is widely understood in service industries and is a compulsory subject in primary and secondary school due to the history of the British colony. “(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Malaysia) Malaysia is a multicultural nation. The national, or official, language is Malay which is the mother tongue of the majority Malay ethnic group. The main ethnic groups within Malaysia comprise the Malays, Chinese and Indians, thus Chinese and Indian are also spoken in Malaysia.
Religion
Malaysia is a multi-religious society and Islam is the official religion.
• 63.4% Islam
• 18.2% Buddhism
• 7.1% Christianity
• 6.3% Hinduism
• 2.6% Chinese Traditional Religion
Culture
Malaysia is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multilingual society. Malaysian cultural mosaic is marked by many different cultures, but several in particular have had especially lasting influence on the country. Chief among these is the ancient Malay culture, and the cultures of Malaysia's two most prominent trading partners throughout history--the Chinese, and the Indians. These three groups are joined by a dizzying array of indigenous tribes, many of which live in the forests and coastal areas of Borneo. Although each of these cultures has vigorously maintained its traditions and community structures, they have also blended together to create contemporary Malaysia's uniquely diverse heritage.
Lu Wang
English 191 Section 21 Fall 2009
Interviewee: Tak Seng Choy
Country: Malaysia
Interview Date: 10/25/2009
Transcript of the first interview:
W= Lu Wang T= Tak Seng Choy
W: Where did you come from?
T: I came from Malaysia to USA 5 years ago.
W: Oh, I see. How long have you learned English?
T: I was taught English from kinder garden and I am still learning now.
W: You speak very fluently English! What else language do you speak?
T: I was born in a Chinese Malaysian family so my grandparent came from China so we speak Chinese in our daily life, too. We also speak Malaysian as our official language in public.
W: Cool, you master so many languages. Why do you come to USA?
T: My family immigrated to USA 8 years ago. I didn’t followed them to USA at first because I didn’t want to leave my friends in Malaysia and I am not sure whether I would like the living style in USA so I decided to stay in Malaysia until I graduated from high school. At that time, I was feeling like to experience more new things and know more new friends so I came to USA to attend college.
W: Why did you choose St Cloud State University?
T: Because when I first came to USA, I was still waiting for my green card, I was considered as an international student at that time. St Cloud State University is very famous for offering the substantial scholarship for international students and my family also live in Minnesota, so I applied for this school.
W: I see. Actually that’s exactly the same reason for me to choose this school. Do you like here?
T: Yes, I do. Although St Cloud is a very small town compared to the city which I came from, here is very nice, peaceful and convenient. It is a great campus town for me to pursue my academic goals.
W: I think so, too. I quite enjoy my life here as you. Do you meet any problems or troubles here so far?
T: Well, of course. I think the biggest trouble for me is the weather here. I have already experienced three winters here and they were all terrible. I had three car accidents happened in each winter to me while I was driving in a snowy day. In my study life, I think the language is also a very big problem for almost international students including me. We need to spend a lot time to reading to understand the knowledge in books. I could just understand little from the lecture of classes when I began studying here. I spent a lot time learning English by reading, watching American Movies and making native friends, so my English improved a lot now.
W: Yeah, I was in the same situation as yours before but now I am getting better at English. Just now you said one of the reason you didn’t want to come to USA with your family was that you were not sure whether you would like the living style here, so after living USA for 5 years, do you like live here.
T: Yes, I do though I had hesitation and worries at the beginning. I am very accustomed to the living style here.
W: As a Chinese student here, I experienced a totally different living style after I came to USA, what about you? Is the living style here very same or different from Malaysia?
T: My situation is definitely same as you since both of us came from an Asian country which has totally different culture and custom from a Western country. For example, People here go anywhere need to drive but in my country most places you want to go can just be reached by walk, subway or bus.
W: That’s true! Are there any differences in academic environment you think between Malaysia and USA?
T: I think here academic environment needs you have more ability of self-discipline than that in Malaysia. Professors here usually give you enough time to finish homework in order to help yourself to find your own ways learn and to extend the knowledge taught in class. This learning style requires you well self-organized ability. I think this is the most unique and special difference between these two country.
W: Do you like the difference you just said?
T: Yes, I do. I feel very free and comfortable to learning things in that style instead that accomplishes homework in the same form.
W: What do you think is the most important thing you learn during the time you study here?
T: I think the most important thing happened to me is that I know how to be independent. Now I learned how to live by myself and how to earn money by myself to support my life. I also have formed a clear life plan for my future American life!
Choosing three interviewees is not a very difficult in St Cloud State University since there are around 1500 international students studying on campus. First of all, I needed to decide to which cultural I would interested in interviewing and finally I focused on Malaysia for the following two reasons: I travelled with my family around Malaysia 10 years ago and this country left me very deep and great impression on the cultural diversity and beautiful scenery; ICSA (International Chinese student Association), which is composed by Chinese Malaysian student, is one of the biggest student association in SCSU and they have hold many successful cultural events on campus. I went to Malaysian night two weeks ago and invited three committee members from ICSA to be my interviewees. They are very friendly and warm-hearted to receive my invitation of the interview and we exchanged the cell phone number at that night.
After communicating with three interviewees, I scheduled the first interview on OCT 25th at 10:30 am in the study room of library on campus. The first interviewee is the event director of ICSA, Tak Seng Choy. I had reserved the study room two days before the interview’s day and told him the room number on the night before the interview. I dressed formally on that day and came there about 10:00am to set the voice recorder and organized the interview procedure in my mind again. I met my interviewee on time in the study room. He came with the question paper which I had given him when we first meet on that Malaysian Night. I offered him with the drink which I had already prepared before. I found he had already wrote some general ideas on the question paper for each question. I told him to be relaxed and feel free to use the electronic dictionary which I had prepared and put beside him when his thoughts stuck in his mind and didn’t know how to translate in English. I also asked him whether I can use the recorder to record the whole conversation and post it online. He said I could use the content of record when I was writing the transcript but refused me to post it online. After both of us reach the agreement, I pressed the start button on recorder and formally began our interview. I began the interview by formally introduce myself with standing up and making a firm handshake with Tak and stated the purpose of conducting an interview with international student to get knowledge and understanding another culture and custom. The next parts of interview went very smoothly because both of us got fully prepared with the questions and answers. Also both of us were getting more and more relaxed during the interview. I concentrated in listening every minute and used eye contacts and buddy language to interact with Tak. Our interview probably ran about 13 minutes and successfully accomplished every goals and procedure of the planned interview. At the end of interview, we also exchanged our msn and I also gave him a small gift.
My first interviewee was Tak Seng Choy and his English name is Jason. He came from the capital of Malaysia. His family immigrated to USA 8 years ago but he didn’t come USA with his family until he graduated from his high school in Malaysia 4 years ago. He had stayed in Los Angles for two years to study English and came to St Cloud 2 years ago. He studied in IEC program in SCSU for 0ne year and then became college student in SCSU. He is the event director in ICSA and he has performed the Lion Dance on many Malaysian cultural events. His ideal major is computer science but he is now majoring in business because he was born in a business family and his parents want him to take in charge their family company in future.
As an international student myself, I found many same situation I faced with as interviewee’s. Especially when I heard the reason why the interviewee hesitated at first to come to USA is because he didn’t want to leave his friend and the land he born in I was deeply touched at that time. I remember how struggled I am before I made decision of study abroad. I understood that I would face many difficulties and suffer huge homesick but I still encouraged myself not to give up my dream, pursuing my higher academic goals. Studying abroad is a hard and big decision through my life and shows my brave and determination of achieving my personal life goals. Also, through the process of conducting this interview, I found it was not easy to follow the steps from what I wrote in the objectives. The whole process of interview cost a lot time and preparation, but after I experienced it I think it worthed. It let me experience a new learning style which requires me to plan, conduct and revise a project all by myself. When I finish the first report of the interview, I feel very the self-satisfaction which gave me the motivation in experiencing other different writing tasks.
Short report about Malaysia:
Geography
1. Malaysia is located in Southeast Asia.
2. It has fourteen states and three Federal Territories.
3. Its total landmass is 329,845 square kilometers.
4. The capital city is Kuala Lumpur.
5. The population stands at over 28 million inhabitants.
6. The country is separated into two regions, Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo, by the South China Sea. Malaysia borders Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei.
7. The country is located near the equator and experiences a tropical climate.
Language
“Malaysia as a unified state did not exist until 1963. Previously, the United Kingdom had established influence in colonies in the territory from the late 18th century, so English is widely understood in service industries and is a compulsory subject in primary and secondary school due to the history of the British colony. “(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Malaysia) Malaysia is a multicultural nation. The national, or official, language is Malay which is the mother tongue of the majority Malay ethnic group. The main ethnic groups within Malaysia comprise the Malays, Chinese and Indians, thus Chinese and Indian are also spoken in Malaysia.
Religion
Malaysia is a multi-religious society and Islam is the official religion.
• 63.4% Islam
• 18.2% Buddhism
• 7.1% Christianity
• 6.3% Hinduism
• 2.6% Chinese Traditional Religion
Culture
Malaysia is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multilingual society. Malaysian cultural mosaic is marked by many different cultures, but several in particular have had especially lasting influence on the country. Chief among these is the ancient Malay culture, and the cultures of Malaysia's two most prominent trading partners throughout history--the Chinese, and the Indians. These three groups are joined by a dizzying array of indigenous tribes, many of which live in the forests and coastal areas of Borneo. Although each of these cultures has vigorously maintained its traditions and community structures, they have also blended together to create contemporary Malaysia's uniquely diverse heritage.
Lu Wang
English 191 Section 21 Fall 2009
Interviewee: Tak Seng Choy
Country: Malaysia
Interview Date: 10/25/2009
Transcript of the first interview:
W= Lu Wang T= Tak Seng Choy
W: Where did you come from?
T: I came from Malaysia to USA 5 years ago.
W: Oh, I see. How long have you learned English?
T: I was taught English from kinder garden and I am still learning now.
W: You speak very fluently English! What else language do you speak?
T: I was born in a Chinese Malaysian family so my grandparent came from China so we speak Chinese in our daily life, too. We also speak Malaysian as our official language in public.
W: Cool, you master so many languages. Why do you come to USA?
T: My family immigrated to USA 8 years ago. I didn’t followed them to USA at first because I didn’t want to leave my friends in Malaysia and I am not sure whether I would like the living style in USA so I decided to stay in Malaysia until I graduated from high school. At that time, I was feeling like to experience more new things and know more new friends so I came to USA to attend college.
W: Why did you choose St Cloud State University?
T: Because when I first came to USA, I was still waiting for my green card, I was considered as an international student at that time. St Cloud State University is very famous for offering the substantial scholarship for international students and my family also live in Minnesota, so I applied for this school.
W: I see. Actually that’s exactly the same reason for me to choose this school. Do you like here?
T: Yes, I do. Although St Cloud is a very small town compared to the city which I came from, here is very nice, peaceful and convenient. It is a great campus town for me to pursue my academic goals.
W: I think so, too. I quite enjoy my life here as you. Do you meet any problems or troubles here so far?
T: Well, of course. I think the biggest trouble for me is the weather here. I have already experienced three winters here and they were all terrible. I had three car accidents happened in each winter to me while I was driving in a snowy day. In my study life, I think the language is also a very big problem for almost international students including me. We need to spend a lot time to reading to understand the knowledge in books. I could just understand little from the lecture of classes when I began studying here. I spent a lot time learning English by reading, watching American Movies and making native friends, so my English improved a lot now.
W: Yeah, I was in the same situation as yours before but now I am getting better at English. Just now you said one of the reason you didn’t want to come to USA with your family was that you were not sure whether you would like the living style here, so after living USA for 5 years, do you like live here.
T: Yes, I do though I had hesitation and worries at the beginning. I am very accustomed to the living style here.
W: As a Chinese student here, I experienced a totally different living style after I came to USA, what about you? Is the living style here very same or different from Malaysia?
T: My situation is definitely same as you since both of us came from an Asian country which has totally different culture and custom from a Western country. For example, People here go anywhere need to drive but in my country most places you want to go can just be reached by walk, subway or bus.
W: That’s true! Are there any differences in academic environment you think between Malaysia and USA?
T: I think here academic environment needs you have more ability of self-discipline than that in Malaysia. Professors here usually give you enough time to finish homework in order to help yourself to find your own ways learn and to extend the knowledge taught in class. This learning style requires you well self-organized ability. I think this is the most unique and special difference between these two country.
W: Do you like the difference you just said?
T: Yes, I do. I feel very free and comfortable to learning things in that style instead that accomplishes homework in the same form.
W: What do you think is the most important thing you learn during the time you study here?
T: I think the most important thing happened to me is that I know how to be independent. Now I learned how to live by myself and how to earn money by myself to support my life. I also have formed a clear life plan for my future American life!
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