FINAL

PREPARATIONS:
When trying to figure out a time to meet with everyone was very hard. I was only able to meet with 2 of my 3 people that I wanted to interview, because our schedules never matched up. I was, however, able to get things working with my other two interviewies. The two interviews were with people I knew so, this left out alot of the small talk. I was able to just keep my interviews to 15 minutes, because I was able to get right to the point.
CASSIES INTERVIEW:
Cassie is my sister, who she was able to study in London, United Kingdom her junior year of college. She was able to stay there all year and she studied at the Queen Mary University of London. She enjoyed her time there very much, and hopes to go back there whenever she gets a chance. We met up half way between where I live and she lives. We were able to grab lunch and just catch up and talk about her trip.
ELLIES INTERVIEW:
Ellie is a good friend of mine, who i met my freshman year of high school. She studies at Eau Claire. She is majoring in accounting. She is in her junior year. Last year she was able to study in Greece. She loves to talk about her trip. One friday night when we were both at home, she came over to my house to hang out. She was able to show me some pictures of her trip and tell me all about it.

TRANSCRIPTS:TRANSCRIPT CASSIE'S INTERVIEW

Stephanie:  What was the hardest thing about transitioning to the U.S.? (Culture shock)

Cassie: Language was easy. The thing that I remember was hard for me was what I wore to class. When I was going to classes at the U of M, I never dressed up for class. I was the type of person to just jump out of bed and go to class, not really thinking about what others would say about me. In london, people paid attention to what you wore to class. They are way more fashionable and care about what you wear. If you do not wear the right clothes to class then you are not the type of person that people will talk to. In london, I got up 1 hour before class to make sure that I was ready and looked fashionable for class. 

Stephanie: Why did you decide to study abroad?

Cassie: I have always wanted to see the world. Not to mention that London, is a top business place in the world. My family wasnt the type to go on vactions when we were growing up. The first time I was on an airplane was my senior year of high school. This trip was going to show me things that I never thought I was going to do.  

Stephanie: What is your opinion of the diet there?

Cassie: I found it very familiar to me. They eat burgers and beer for dinner like we do. The only thing is that fish and chips are big there. I am not much of a fish eater, so I did not eat this very often. Something that I found funny however, was that at noon, business men would have a beer with thier lunch and then go back to work. This is something that is not socially acceptable here, but there it was very normal. I found this very intresting and very neat all at the same time.

Stephanie: What were your preconceptions about London before going there:

Cassie: Over there they have very bad health care, so I though they would have bad teeth. I would say that most of my preconceptions have changed since I was there. I found all the people I met very nice and inviting. I lived in a flatt with 3 other girls who were from Britain. I was afraid that I would not fit in with them, but there were very welcoming.  

Stephanie: What are your personal experiences with racism while you were there being an american girl?

Cassie: In Briain, I had no issues, they speak our language with just a different dialege. They are much like us but totally different at the same time. I did however, run into issues in France while I was visiting. We ran in to alot of people who spoke french, and because we were not able to understand what they were saying they would jsut look at us like we were stupid. In london, people read the paper daily. They read the world news, and know about what is going on in the whole world, and actually care. They pay attention to other peoples problems and not just thier own. If you wanted to seem like you knew what you were talking about, you need to pay attention to the news, otherwise people would see you as idiots.  

Stephanie: What are some cultural differences between America and there?           

Cassie: They way people dressed. They were more into fashion then here. You never went out in public in sweats. You wanted to always act like you were an important person.  They are also, more relaxed.They have a different pace, they go slow. Something that I found very intresting is that, once while I was walking on a street, I saw a car accident, and the first thing that happened is that a tea cart came. That is the first thing that they do is have tea. It is sort of a relaxation thing. I found this intresting and also think that we as americans can learn alot from them.

Stephanie: Who takes care of the finances in families in london?

Cassie: Lots of females were indepent. They are not the type to be depentant on males. They split the finances equally I would say.   

Stephanie :What is customary in families for dating?

Cassie: They are the same as us. 

Stephanie: What do you miss most about your home culture?

Cassie: As stupid as this sounds, I missed wearing my sweats to class. I am not the type of person who likes to get up early and in a way be told what to wear because of the social norm. I guess I didnt have to listen to it but I wanted to have friends. So I did listen to the social norm. 

Stephanie:  What was your reason for studing abroad? What were the benefits in your prospective? 

Cassie: The experience, I felt would be amazing and I was right. I became more dependent for myself. I got to see the world, and meet alot of knew people who I still talk to. Some even came to my wedding, which was so awesome to see them there to celebrate my big day. I realized so much about who I am as a person. I would never take my trip back for anything! I also got to learn about a new culture.

Stephanie: What religions are commonly practiced in your country?

Cassie: I didn't really pay attention to relgion. I am not that much of a religios person.

Stephanie:  How often do you get to contact your family? Why?

Cassie: At first I called home alot! It was so hard for me to be away from my family. I didnt like not being able to talk to them when I wanted to talk to them. As time went on I still missed them but it wasn't so hard, because I was able to keep myself busy. I also in a way created a new family. The people I lived with were to close to me. I went home with friends on weekends to thier houses, and also went out and traveled europe. I mostly used skype or talking on the phone. I stayed in touch with my friends on facebook. The part that did suck, was that I missed my sisters prom, and her graduation. It was hard for me to not be there for her when she was there for mine.

TRANSCRIPT ELLIES INTERVIEW:

 Stephanie: Where did you visit, and for how long?

Ellie:  I visited Thessaloníki, Greece for 9 months. I loved every second that I was there and would go back

Stephanie: Why did you decide to go to the other country then stay here or go to another country?

Ellie: I have always wanted to travel the world! I thought Greece would be a great place for me to go because I thought that they had so much history and culutre that I wanted to expereince. As much as I enjoyed Greece, I wouldn't ever consider living there for good. I would however like to visit again sometime when I am older.
Stephanie: What is your opinion of the diet of the country that you visited?

Ellie: Some things in the diet are healthier and somethings are unhealthier. Fruits and vegetables are huge over there and they are much more fresh since many of it is grown locally and can be bought daily at many street markets around the city. The diet does contain lots of carbs (breads & pastries) but also a lot of meat. The dinners are family style and you share everything. For being new to the country it was very easy to try many things. I enjoyed everything that i tried!
Stephanie: What were your preconceptions about the country you visited and how did they change once you arrived?
Ellie: I imagined Greece to be exactly like the movie Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, which I found out is only the Greek islands that look like that and not in Northern Greece where I was living. The weather was colder than I expected because it was winter still when I arrived. Some of the Greek food I tried in America before going to Greece is way different for example gyros over there have fries inside with ketchup and mustard.
Stephanie: What are some cultural differences that you noticed right away between here and the other culture?
Ellie: Families are much closer over in Greece. They have huge family dinners. Many times, the grandma and grandpa will live with the family. Many of the wealthier people spoke English because they could afford nicer schools and tutors. In Greece, many more people walk places. Also, in the city they have many small markets so they go to the markets everyday or a few times a week while in America, we go to HUGE grocery stores and go less often. The time they eat meals is very different. They don't really eat breakfast just coffee with a pastry and then eat a late lunch around 2 or 3 and then a huge dinner around 9 pm. 

Stephanie: Who takes care of the finances in that culture if you were able to see this?

Ellie: Mostly the men in the families do. I did not see to much of this but when I went out to eat you saw mostly men paying for food and things.

Stephanie: What is customary in thier family for dating? Do they have to reach a certain age? do the parents get to pick who it is?

Ellie: It is customary for the parents to approve of the significant other. They start dating at an older age in Greece than here. I didn't see alot of little kids holding hands with each other either. Just the older couples.

Stephanie: What was your favorite element in your trip culturally?

Ellie: My favorite part was seeing all the new places that I wouldn't normally see. I also, enjoyed new traditions for example my friends I would go the market every Tuesday morning to buy fruits/vegetables and take long walks along the boardwalks like the locals did.

Stephanie: Did you have to learn a new language? If so, what language and how long did it take you to learn it? Was it hard to learn the language?

Ellie: I took the Greek language class, however I didn't learn it very well. It is a completely different alphabet for most letters. You are able to make it without knowing the language but sometimes it is hard. But, we learned new things and it caused a some funny stories.

Stephanie: What religions are commonly practiced in the country?

Ellie: Greek Orthodox is the most common. There are several holidays honoring Saints which EVERYBODY closes down for these holidays not just a few places like in the United States. Easter is a big holiday with a lot of festivities but I was out of the country during this time. I was actually in France that weekend.

Stephanie: What do people do for fun in the country? 

Ellie:  Going out for coffee or drinks along the boardwalk is very common. They were always crowded no matter what time of day except for mornings. People in Greece like to stay up late and sleep in. Clubs and bars are open till 6/7 am so a lot of people go out. People also go shopping a ton and visit with people. The sidewalks are always very crowded with people walking places. In the summer the beaches are very common.

INTERVIEW REPORT:

CASSIE:

The interview with Cassie, went very good. I was able to get all the information out of her and I found out some things that I didnt know about her trip. I know she loves to talk about her time in London, so by giving her that chance, I feel that it was good for both of us. The interview went how I thought it would go. She talked alot about her trip, but I feel that I was in control of the interview the whole time. I never felt like there was a question that she could have talked more about. She gave me information about what she knew. She never tried to make information up.

ELLIE:

The interview with Ellie went really well. I was able to hear about Greece, something that I only know from the movies. I would have to say that I agree with Ellie about the preconceptions, because all I know about Greece, is from the Sisterhood of the Traveling pants. I feel that I found the information out.

ALL INTERVIEWS:

When I compared all three of my interviews, I am able to see that they all agree on one things. That the American diet is very fatty. Cassie had the closest food to home for her and she still said that it was not the healthiest.

 

COUNTRY REPORTS:

UNITED KINGDOM:

The United Kingdom is often called the UK. They are under the goverment called a monarchy, and a parliament system. Both of the seats of government is in the capial city. The capital city of the UK is London. This is where my sister, Cassie, went to school. She was able to see alot of historical sites. The UK was created on January 1, 1801, due to the Acts of Union of 1800.

The are of the UK is about 243,610 sq. kilometers. One thing that Cassie liked most about the UK is the temperature. In the UK you will never have negative digits. The temp., depending on the time of year ranges between the 14*F and 95*F.

In the news recently, you will see the prince getting married to Kate. This is very cool for me to watch, because when I was visiting my sister, I was able to visit the same church that they got married. I find it very intresting about how the Queen is not a very polical part of politics. My sister went on to tell me that the Queen is more of a symbol of the UK as a whole. She is someone that the people love very deeply.

The information that I have above was taken from the website:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom visited on 4/29

GREECE:

Greece is a country in Europe, that is 1,160 sq kilimeters. Greece is mostly made up of islands. One thing that Ellie talked about with me is the the temperature in Greece. She was telling me how in the winter it wasn't that cold. The summers were very hard to handle because they were so dry and humid. She remembers walking around and just dying of thirst.

Greece elects the head of state which is considered the President of the Republic. The president gets elected by the Parliament for a five-year term. The type of governement that Greece has is a parliamentary republic. The first head of the state was Count loannis Kapodistrias.

The shipping industry is a big part of the economy life of Greece. The shipping industry employs 160,000 people in Greece. A lot of tourists come to Greece, due to the facts of the islands and how pretty it is there. When watching the movie Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, I see exactly why Ellie would think that Greece is a great place to visit. I hope one day I am able to visit.

The information that I have above was taken from the website:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece visited on 4/29

This interview process was a great thing that I learned about and just how to present myself when I am in an interview. We will all have to go through an interview at one point in our lives. I know that what I learned from this class, will help me with this process, and how I present myself to others!