1. Describe the preparations.
The preparations for this assignment were good. In class, all of the students came up with eight questions together we have to ask our interviewees. The other questions, we came up with it ourselves. I came up with some questions that were interesting to me. I made sure I didn’t have too much questions, but enough that will last about an hour. I had more questions as well in case the interview ended short. I wanted to learn more about foreign exchange students from Ethiopia. I went to the library to rented a recorder and practice using it. After couple of hours reading and using the instructions on the recorder, I learned how to use the recorder correctly. I tested it out by recording myself talking.
How did you approach people?
I approach people by going to Atwood and to the multi-culture room. I asked a student worker if it is possible to get some information about Ethiopia student club. The student worker was helpful and gave me a calendar about the events and activities that will be held in school. She also gave me the dates and times the clubs are going at. Later, I went to some students and asked them their names and told them the information on what I’m doing for my English class and if they could help me. Some people left right away, but most of the students were nice and listened to me. Therefore, I got their information, for example, e-mails and cell numbers.
When, where, and how did you conduct and record the interview?
I conduct and record the interview on a week day at Miller Center in the library. I rented a room for two hours on second floor couple days before the interview, so it’ll be quiet and relaxing. I went 15 minutes early for my interview to make sure I had everything, such as, my recorder and interview questions for my interviewee. My interviewee came on time. We introduced ourselves and talked about our day and the weather. After the introduction, I started to record and that’s how I got started.
Whom did you interview?
I interview Fasika Estifanos. She is a student from St. Cloud State University. She’s 23 years old. This is her last year of college and she’ll be graduating from political science. She loves to dress up and likes fashion. She likes to spend time with her friends and family.
2. Describe the interview. What did surprise you?
I thought the interview went okay. I could tell my interviewee was a little nervous, so I had to relax myself a little, so she could feel relax. She talked a lot which was helpful. I mostly listened to her and I didn’t interrupt her when she was answering my questions. One thing that surprised me was how comfortable I was talking with her later on in the interview. I also learned a lot about her country and religion.
3. Report on country/region and culture. 4. Transcribe the interview.
Ethiopia
“Ethiopia is the tenth largest country in Africa, with approximately 61 million people, covering 439,580 square miles” (Countries and Their Cultures, 2010). There are over eighty ethnic groups in Ethiopia. However, the Amhara, Tigreans, and Oromo have the largest population. They consist over 75 percent of the population. The Sidamo, Somali, Welamo, Beja, Awi, Gurage, and Afar are the smaller ethnic groups in Ethiopia (Countries and Their Cultures, 2010).
“Ethiopia has been a country with religious freedom for centuries” (Countries and Their Cultures, 2010). Therefore, there are many religions that the Ethiopian practices. The most dominant religion in Ethiopia is the Orthodox Christianity. Other major religions are the Judaism, Islam, and Polytheistic religion. The Orthodox Christianity and Islam religion have about 85 to 90 percent of the population (Countries and Their Cultures, 2010).
There is a huge gap between the status of men and women in Ethiopia. The men are consider to be the head of the household. They are free to socialize with anyone outside of the home. However, women are restricted and are responsible for the household (Countries and Their Cultures, 2010). It is not the norm for men to practice cooking and child rearing because they may become a social outcast by other men (Countries and Their Cultures, 2010).
References:
Countries and Their Cultures, Initials. (2010). Ethiopia. Retrieved from http://www.everyculture.com/Cr-Ga/Ethiopia.html
Me: Hi, umm.. can you tell me a little bit about yourself and your country?
Fac: okay, my name is Fasika, Fasika Estifanos…. Ummm… I came in the U.S. when I was sixteen. Umm… I’ve been around six years now and well, I’m from Ethiopia, umm.. that’s East Africa if you don’t know it and about me… ummm.. what can I tell you about me, I came here with my family and that’s kind of a big deal because most people come here by themselves . It’s kind of hard because we have a lot of culture thing. I came with my parents like my mom, dad, and sister. I still have some family back home like my brother’s back in Ethiopia, it’s kind of hard, but we’re making it. I go to St. Cloud. This is my last year. I’m excited. I didn’t go to college back home, I was only in high school.
Me: Cool, oh okay, let’s see.
Fac: umm… religion is a big deal, religion and culture, everything is like really really a big deal because most people down there, they believe that culture religion is shaping your whole life. Like if your religion, like most people are way religion, but I can’t say I am, but I do believe in a lot in God, but I don’t really got the time to go to church most of the time, but my mom is really really religion.
Me: oh
Fac: I’m Orthodox Christian
Me: oh, okay
Fac: So yeah, that’s the Roman kind of Christian. That’s all. I don’t think a lot of people know about that. But if you research it, it’s a lot of interesting things and we go to church when I was a kid in back home, my mom use to take me to the church almost every Sunday. And it starts really really early and it takes long and a lot of direction that goes with it. You can’t go to church with pants, you have to wear dresses, like girls got to cover their hair.
Me: Oh really
Fac: Yup and the church is different, like the guys and girls don’t mix together in the church. Like the guys have another door and the girls have another door, so you don’t even see each other, it’s kind of forbidden. You cover your face and everything.
Me: Like your entire face?
Fac: No, just the hair.
Me: Just the hair part?
Fac: You don’t cover the face. We don’t wear any makeup. You see here, like most people go to church dress up and you know, really really dress up, but there you have to wear something simple like long dress and you have to cover your hair.
Me: What’s the color?
Fac: It’s white, like if you go to the church..
Me: Yes
Fac: It looks so beautiful because everybody wears white
Me: Oh okay
Fac: It’s really really beautiful like you turn around and everywhere is in white. It’s our traditions clothing’s that people wear to the church.
Me: Oh okay, does that symbolize anything? Like the color white?
Fac: Ummm… pure, I guess.
Me: Oh, okay.
Fac: Purity..
Me: Does the church last all the way until the afternoon?
Fac: ummm… it depends on like there are different days and different kinds of ceremony. Like Sunday, it usually ends around like 9 or 10, and it ends early because it starts early like 6. But there are some days you have to fast and that kind of stuff. It’s once a year, there are different kinds of ceremony and sometime it takes the whole day, you go to church and then it stays till 3 or 4 afternoon.
Me: Really
Fac: And you probably fasting, so
Me: Oh my god.
Fac: It’s a pretty big deal. We used to like doing it.
Me: Okay, thanks. Ummm. Okay, do you have different rules of eye contact and body language in your country?
Fac: Well, yeah, kinda because we are girls, we’re raise a lot in the culture and tradition, so like you can’t really see people eye to eye, that’s kind of forbidden. I can’t say it’s forbidden, but like you can’t do that, you know, it’s more like, that’s not our culture, you don’t see somebody like that, especially, if you’re a girl, they’re more focus on you because especially it’s an elder person.
Me: Oh
Fac: you can’t just stand there and stare at them and talk, it’s kind of you know, why are you staring, that kind of stuff.
Me: Okay
Fac: I can’t really say a lot about body language, I don’t know.
Me: yeah
Fac: I don’t see a lot of different.
Me: Okay, I see. Umm.. How are elders treated?
Fac: They are treated very well down there, very well like if you’re sitting and there’s an elder person, you have to get up and got to give them the seat. Otherwise, they will think you’re so mean and don’t respect them.
Me: Oh
Fac: They’ll be like, get up.
Me: They’ll say that to you, if you..
Fac: Yeah, because they go like, this new generation kids, they don’t respect us and that kind of stuff. Elders are really big. You got to respect them. It’s all about respect.
Me: They’re kind of like the leaders?
Fac: Yeah, they kind of tie the family together.
Me: Oh
Fac: Yeah, you know, if even they’re not your family and you know them in the area. They live with you in that area, you got to respect them the fact that they are elders. If they ask you to do something, you have to do it for them or they’ll tell your mom and you’ll get in trouble.
Me: Oh, yes. I see. They’re really respected. Ummm… What are weddings like?
Fac: I think weddings are too expensive. I don’t think I’ll do it that way.
Me: Yes.
Fac: I think it’s really time consuming. Really really time consuming. It’s like a four to five day long wedding. There’s an engagement thing, your husband have to have to ask your family first for permission before anything happens, usually it’s the dad that’s asked. Back in the days they use to have arranged marriage. My mom and dad was not arrange in an arrange marriage. He has to buy you stuff.
Me: Oh,
Fac: He’ll have to buy you jewelries, like mostly gold. Not really silver.
Me: Oh, I see. In your country, what are the traditions for funerals?
Fac: Only families go to burry somebody.
Me: Right.
Fac: But there, the whole village goes to the house. The entire road will be close. The church will be full and everyone goes to the funeral. People are burry around the church. Even though you don’t know the person, you have to go.
Me: like the whole community?
Fac: Yes, the road will be close and a bunch of people will wear black and our traditional clothings. It’s white, but it got color on the bottom. There are colors up on your hair, that represents funeral ceremony. But if it’s funeral time, the colors have to be at the bottom. It symbolize the funeral.
Me: Oh okay
Fac: Yeah
Me: What kinds of sports are played in your country?
Fac: I think almost everything the play here, they play it down there, but soccer is the famous one. It’s call football down there. There all a lot of runners too.
Me: Oh okay, how does your culture celebrate New Year? If so, can you explain what the tradition is like?
Fac: New Year is a big deal because it’s a start of a new year. They believe it’s a start of a new life, a new thing, a new change in your life, so it’s pretty much a big thing.
Me: Oh okay.
Fac: We do a lot of culture things, you know, eat food, family get together, you eat like almost the whole day because everybody will be calling you to go to their home to eat
Me: Oh okay.
Fac: yup, so you go around the communities to go and eat and we have a song that girls and kids that dress up and sing, people give them money.
Me:oh okay, how is the education in your home country compared to the United States?
Fac: It’s completely different. I don’t know, I don’t think there’s a lot of culture here because I don’t see a lot of it, there might. But we have a lot of traditions. Like you see a lot of teenager pregnant here, but we don’t have people pregnant down there unless they are marry. It’s forbidden.
Me: Oh, okay. Any difference in how a man and a woman may contact each other? Anything that is not considered “proper”?
Fac: Ummm… the guys always make the moves, the girl don’t do anything. It’s not a tradition for a girl to ask a guy out, it’s going to be crazy and dramatic if she does. It’ll be like, oh what kind of girl is she, you know.
Me: Yes
Fac: But, the guys always do.
Me: Oh, the guys does all the things.
Fac: Always play hard to get. Family looks at you so hard. You can’t have a boyfriend. I can’t say, dad I have a boyfriend.
Me: Does it matter whom you date or marry? If so, why?
Fac: Yes, it does.
Me: It does.
Fac: Ethiopian is divided in many ethnicity and everybody thinks their ethnicity is better than the other, they never get along, so it kind of hard, you have to marry somebody within your ethnicity or you know, your culture, otherwise if you go off your culture, you know, it’s kind of war
Me: Oh okay.
Fac: People do get marry out of their religion, but it hard for the parents to take it in.
Me: I see, so what do you have for your diet, for example, breakfast, lunch, and dinner?
Fac: We usually have Ethiopian food, I can’t stay away from it. If I don’t have it in three days and three days past, it’ll be crazy. I like American food, but I still have to have Ethiopian food.
Me: Okay, do you have any questions for me?
Fac: Umm… no.
Me: Thank you, Thank you.
