#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.