GETTING READY FOR THE INTERVIEW
When doing this second interview, I had a better idea of where I was going to start. When talking with my last interviewee, Quiwen, she was able to give me the name of one of her friends, that was interested in letting me interview him. Since I was friends with Quiwen on facebook, I asked her to send me a list of some of her friends on facebook that she thought would be ok with being interviewed. She responded right away. Jay, she said was very interested and he would have a lot of good experiences for me to talk to him about.
So I added Jay as a friend on facebook. After he added me, I asked him if he was able to meet me on Wednesday for the interview, because I had nothing planned for that day, and it was the best day where I would be able to work around his schedule. He responded right away, and said that Wednesday would work out for him and he had class until 1:50, so we could meet at 2 in the library entrance if I was ok with that. I was totally fine with that, so we planned to meet on Wednesday at 2:00pm and then we exchanged phone numbers.
I called Jay when I got to the library at 1:55 and he told me that he would be there in a couple minutes. Once he got to the library he came right up to me and asked if I was Stephanie. I said yes, and then we just walked back to a table on the 1st floor, where we would be able to conduct the interview and not be interrupted by a lot of noise by other students. This is when I gave him the questions on a piece of paper and asked if it would be ok if I recorded the interview.
AFTER THE INTERVIEW
After the interview, I went home and transcribed the interview right away. This took me about 3 hours for the 30 min. interview that we had. I feel that this interview went smoother than the last interview that I conducted. I feel that I was more comfortable with him, maybe due to the fact, that this was indeed my second interview, and not my first. I was able to know what was expected of me and what I would have to do to get a better grade on the interview. I feel that this was a great experience. Jay had a lot of interesting things to say about himself and his experiences both here and in china.
One thing that I did find interesting is the fact that American Chinese food is not like authentic Chinese food. There is a total different taste between the two. It is not even close to being the same. I also found it interesting that both Jay and Quiwen had not experienced racism.
CULTURAL BACKGROUND PAPER
There are many different aspects of Chinese culture. Looking at some different background facts, I was able to see how different Chinese culture is from my own. While looking at the Chinese culture, I was able to look more in depth in to the holidays that are important, food, and some basic philosophy of the Chinese culture.
Chinese culture is one of the oldest cultures in existence. It has a recorded history as early as 1700 BC. Many of the traditions and beliefs in current Chinese culture have been shaped by their ancient history. This paper will explore some of the aspects of the traditional culture as well as the modern culture of China.
Though many parts of the Chinese culture are more modern today, there are still many aspects of the traditional culture present. They still hold traditional festivals to pay tribute to the ancient history. They have many original sounds in their current music and they still observe traditional art designs in many stores. Chinese culture is almost split into two subcultures. Some people still live a very simple and traditional style life with very little technology while other people have adopted a much more modern style of life that includes some of the world’s latest technology. However, even the more modern style of life still has a rich inheritance of the traditional culture.
The Chinese new year is the most important of all the traditional holidays. It is referred to as the Spring Festival. It is a fifteen day celebration that begins on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon fifteen days later. Since the Chinese calendar is based on solar and lunar movements, the Chinese new year falls on a different day each year. The dates can range from January 21 to February 20. The Chinese calendar is made up of five cycles that last twelve years. This creates a full sixty year cycle. Some other Chinese festivals include The Lantern Festival, The Dragon Boat Festival, and the Mid-Autumn Festival. Traditional Chinese Festivals are one of the strongest bonds the make up the Chinese culture.
Chinese pharmacies are much different than those of the American culture. A typical Chinese pharmacy will have many plant, animal, and mineral products that are very neatly organized throughout the store in little drawers. Many different combinations can be blended to fill the prescription given by a doctor.
Food is also an important aspect of Chinese culture. They try to cook with three to five colors in one setting. They eat their food based on the aroma, texture, and color. They don’t just eat with their mouths, they eat with their eyes. When looking at China, it is easy to divide it into two parts, with them being the north and south. When doing so you can see that the north and south have different types of things that they eat.
Pastas are a big part of the northern part of China. They seem to have more oily products in their diets. While on the south side, they seem to have more spicy food. They like to use chili peppers in a lot of their dishes. This is where you will find something like rice being a main stable food for them. Along with what they eat for food being traditional, there is also a tradition for how you eat your food. They eat while sitting down. They also have a certain way that they sit down. The order is from oldest to youngest, and men to woman.
The mind is more important to the Chinese culture than materials are. Wealth is something that you do not benefit from. It is a nice thing to be wealthy, but it is not something that you value. Confucius is someone that had an important impact on the Chinese culture. He sought out to discover the nature of human beings. He thought that there should be one ruler over all of the people, and he was a strong believer in justice. Mencius, one of Confucius disciples, believed that all humans possessed a good nature at birth. He stated that the environment around them is what corrupted men.
The Yin-Yang is a symbolic symbol for the Chinese culture. Happiness is the balance between the yin and the yang. The yin is seen to be the symbol for feminism, earthy, and wet. While the yang is seen as a symbol for heavenly, men, dry, and light. When you have the right balance between the two you are seen to be happy.
I think that the whole idea Chinese culture is a good one. I feel that if cultures looked more into what other cultures had to offer then maybe we would see the common ground that we share between the two, or if we just understood each other’s culture a little more we might be able to better understand each other. I think that the idea of them taking most of what they base their culture on from the past is a good idea. Just goes along with the saying, “If you don’t learn your history, you’re doomed to repeat it.”
I got my information for the above paper from three different websites:
INTERVIEW
Stephanie- So your name is Jay? Does your name stand for anything in Chinese?
Jay- My name shoujie, which is pronounced shoujay- so that is why I am able to use jay as my American name. The pronunciations is the same.
Stephanie- What was the hardest thing about transitioning to the U.S.? Did you have any culture shock about coming here?
Jay- The food. I can say that everything is fried here. When I first came here, I signed a contract with the university. I have to live in the dorms and eat at Garvey. Everyone who goes to school here knows that Gravey sucks. I have no place to eat except for Garvey so I went every day. My food plan was unlimited. So I ate there every day. I was sad when I used up all my much money.
Stephanie- How long have you been at St. Cloud State?
Jay- This is my 3rd year here. My major is operational management.
Stephanie- Why did you decide to come to scsu instead of studying or working in China?
Jay- Actually I took my mom’s advice. She thinks by studying abroad, that I am able to have more advantages than other people from china. It’s not just the language advantages, but also the cultural advantages. I am able to learn a whole new world, and society. This will be a huge benefit for my future is I work in an international company. I will have my cultural background and then I will have the U.S. cultural background as well.
Stephanie- What’s your opinion of the American diet.
Jay- The first word I can think of is that everything is fried. I have been growing up in China for 18 years. The Chinese food here, is totally different than the Chinese food back home in china. I went to some Chinese restaurants around here and the taste is totally different. The restaurants want to be successful here, so they have to change the food so that Americans will eat it. So if you get a chance to go to China, you will have to try like real Chinese food, it is totally different then what you have here.
Stephanie- What were your preconceptions about the U.S. before coming here and how have they changed?
Jay- I have never been here before I came to school. All I knew about the U.S. is what I see in the movies. New York City and down town, it looked to pretty. High buildings and I think that it looked awesome. And then I came to SCSU, I was like oh my goodness. It was so plain. That is why I travel to Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington. I just got back from New York. I got lost in the city. I go with my friends. I am not a solo traveler. When I had to leave New York, I was thinking that I don’t want to come back.
Stephanie- Since coming to the US have you had any racism problems or do people look down on you?
Jay- Never. When I first came here, I was afraid to talk to people because of my language barrier. When I first came here my English sucked. When I first went to the campus subway, I did not even know how to say cucumber. When being educated English in China, they use the United Kingdom version. It’s just different culture.
Stephanie- What are some cultural differences between here and your home country?
Jay- American people are more direct. Chinese people are indirect. For example, if someone wanted to interview me today, in china, we would not tell you the direct reason, we would think of another random reason just to let you know that I don’t want to go. The reason we do this because we don’t want to piss you off. The Americans will tell you exactly what they are doing. No matter if it is for school or for business.
Stephanie- Who takes care of the finances in your family.
Jay- Both of my parents.
Stephanie- Do both your parents work?
Jay- Yes.
Stephanie- What does your mom do?
Jay- Both of my parents work in the government. My professor made a joke in class today. If you do business in America is based on who you are. If you do business in china is based on who you know. If you know someone who has a high position in a company, you will do business very well. In America people compete it is based on your competitiveness and in china it is based on your relationships.
Stephanie- Are you an only child?
Jay- Yes. In most of China, you will find only one child. But I did not grow up alone because I have my cousin. I grew up with my cousin. I had an older sister and brother with them.
Stephanie- What’s customary in your family for dating? Are you allowed to date? Do you have to wait a certain time?
Jay- No age. My mom is like American parents. She is very open. She doesn’t pay attention to that type of stuff. She only really cares about my studying. I had my 1st girlfriend when I was 15. My mom was like what’s wrong with you when she first found out about her. Your parents notice the littlest thing changes. She is like the monitors me. She only wants me to worry about studies. She doesn’t want to interfere with the rest of my life.
Stephanie- Does your dad care about your dating at all?
Jay- No my dad is a workaholic. He works 7 days a week. If I am lucky I can meet him 2 days out of the week. I was always with my mom.
Stephanie- What do you miss about your culture at home?
Jay- The food. I am forced to cook on my own. It is still not as good as a restaurant in china. The weather at home.
Stephanie- Is learning English really difficult?
Jay- Not really.
Stephanie- When did you start learning English?
Jay- High School first year. I have been speaking it for 5 years.
Stephanie- How old are you?
Jay- I am 21. I just turned 21. I went to the bar and I went to buy drinks right on my birthday and they wouldn’t let me. You have to wait for the next night to buy drinks.
Stephanie- What is your legal drinking age in China?
Jay- There isn’t one. I remember my 1st drink. My dad just let me drink. I was very young.
Stephanie- What religions are commonly practiced in your country?
Jay- Buhda. I am wearing a jade. The god is for Christian. Medical prospective says that it is healthy for you to wear when it is on my chest.
Stephanie- How often do you talk to your family?
Jay- Depend. My dad is a workaholic. Every time I phone him back. He is never there. He is always doing business. I talk to my mom one time per week. I skype her through camera. The mail takes too long.
Stephanie- What do people in your country do for fun on the weekend?
Jay- We go fishing and we go to karokee. It depends, but the most thing that we do it drive to the countryside and go fishing or hiking.
Stephanie- Do you have any questions for me?
Jay-What year are you in school?
Stephanie- I am a Junior. I am going for elementary education. How many years of school do you have left?
Jay- 2 years
Stephanie- Do you like it here at SCSU so far?
Jay- Yeah I do when the weather is nice. I love august when the leaves are changing and its pretty. I went to Duluth. The lake was really big. It looked like the sea. I just talked to my mom and told her to come here and see where I live right now. Tell her the people here are really nice. My roommate did not have such luck. The professor for one class would not call on him when he had his hand up. I do have a lot of American friends. I am going to be living with 2 Americans and 1 Chinese next semester.
