Third Interview Report

Third Interview report

Interviewer: Zhe Wang

English: 191

Interviewee: Suain

Interviewee's country of origin: Japan

Interview date: 11/7/2010

Me: Nice to meet you, my name is zhe, what is yours?

Suain: Nice to meet you too, my name is Suain, I am coming from Japan.

Me: when did you come to American? What is your feeling at the beginning when you live here?

Suain：Two years ago, I had been there to study English. I am in IEC for one and half a year. So this is my third year in USA. I cannot adapt to the life in America at the beginning. I don’t have the food here; the food here tastes so weird. And the winter here is so cold, I am almost frozen everyday when I just came here, it is terrible. Because of my country is warmer than Minnesota. Actually, at the beginning of the life in America, I always call my parents over two hours every day and cry to them. Although I am almost adapt to the life and environment in Minnesota now, but it doesn’t means that I can stay here for a long time.

Me: So it is means that you will go home when you graduate？

Suain: I want to get the master degree when I graduate from university. Or I will find a job to work first, when I earn the money can offer me the all tuition when I take the master degree. Basically, I want to go home when I graduation. Because, I have more opportunities to find a job as well in my country. In the same I miss my parents very much.

Me: So Can I know something about your family? Like how many people in your family, their jobs and how are your relations?

Suain: I am the only child of my family, we have good relationship. Actually, they are very busy for the business. So when I study in the high school I have been live on campus. At the same time I began to learn how to independent and to be a man. I know I am not a child any more. This is one reason that I chose the overseas study here.

Me: Why you chose overseas study here?

Suain: My parents thought that the basic system of education in America is better than Japan; I can learn much knowledge which I cannot learn in Japan. And I can also improve my English level too, you know, it is hard for me to study English in Japan. On other hand, I like the way of studying in America. Because it is free for students we have more time to do what we want. Here is more freedom than Japan.

Me: I want to know what your major is.

Suain: My major is Finance and if everything goes smoothly, I will be enrolled in my major. You know, most of the international students chose the finance here, because the current society many people want to earn more money, so they want to be a successful business man. I have a dream that I want to buy a house with a big garden in Florida. In that way I can see the ocean every day when I wake up on the morning. I hope I can make my dream come true.

Me: If you work hard every day in the university, and learn more knowledge in USA. I am sure you can make your dream come some true in the future. How do you spend your free time when you live here?

Suain: I like playing soccer, in my free time I always visit my friends and play soccer together. Soccer is very popular in my country. But the most popular game in Japan is baseball. Most teenage they play the baseball when they are very young. So this is why baseball is popular in Japan.

Me: what do you think of the most important festival in Japan?

Suain: New Year festival is the most important festival in my country. I think in China, the New Year festival is very important as well. Right?

 Me: Yes, so why the New Year festival is so important in Japan?

Suain: Almost all the family celebrate the New Year, this is the first day in the new one year. Most of us can have almost 7days off in this festival, especially the students in the school, so we have enough time to prepare for that day.

Me: How is the education here compared to back home?

Suain: At home if the professor just didn’t like the way you looked then he could give you an F if he wanted to. This is means that to have to build good relationship with every professor who teach your classes. You have no dignity because the professor is always right and you have no say in it. So it is a little tricky to graduate from there and plus what they teach isn’t that good. We have many good universities in my country. But when I graduate from high school I had to take the final test to decide who have the chance to go to the university. Every year almost 200million students graduated from high school, however, just 80 million students have opportunity to go to the universality. So in Japan we under great pressure when we study in the high school. Instead of Japan, America has more good university than my country, like Harvard University. This is many students’ dream in my country. In USA high most of high school students have chance to have high level education. They have open mind, and free educational pattern.

Me: Do you have any religion in your country?

Suain: Sure, we have many religions in my country. But I am not a believer actually. We believe that you have to be a good person. You have to do no harm to anyone, whether they are Christian, Muslim, Jews, etc. Although I am not a believer, both family and friends are very important for me. All of these things physically make you to be a good person.

Me: what is the weeding like?

Suain: It has a little bit different; first you gather your tribe and friends and then you can invite your uncle’s tribe and so on. There is a lot of traditional dancing and singing during the wedding.    

Me: how long it take you to learn English?

Suain: It almost takes me about 8 years to study English. In the middle school we have learned English and do some exercise for the test. This is why now I can study here and understand what you say easily.

Me: What do you think of the food? I am interested in your country’s food.

Suain: Sushi is the most important food in my country, so in the daily life we always cook the Sushi by ourselves. Sushi is made of rice, meat, fish and vegetable. You know, most Japanese like to eat rice and noodle. And our almost all the Japanese like to eat fish. Actually, in USA we can eat the Sushi as well, but is not good as I ate in Japan. Because some fish is not fresh when fish was made to Sushi.

Me: So will you go home this Christmas?

Suain: No, because it is too short for me to go home. In USA the winter holiday is too short that we have no time to go home to stay with my family. Actually I went to home last summer, so I did not miss my parents very much right now. In the same way, the ticket is also very expensive.

Me: I agree with you, thank for you time and useful information. This is good to understand a real Japan.

Suain: You are welcome.