Interview #2
ENGLISH191
Interviewer: Zhu Xian
Interviewee: Ileys Osman
Preparation of Interview
This is my second interview; I still used the first interview’s twelve questions. I wanted the same questions in both interviews with people from different countries, so that not only can we clearly understand different cultural characteristics in various countries, we also can summarize their same points. This time I interviewed people from Somalia. There is still war there, so before my interview, I had been concerned about Somali news and also searched some Somali information from the internet. I especially participated in the cultural night about Somalia last semester at the Atwood Center. The show was wonderful for me and was very fresh. I also tasted some Somali food. The Somali night gave me a deep impression and I still remember it clearly. So I have already known something about Somali’s culture, education, food, as well as the current situation. With this basic groundwork information, we would not be embarrassed during the interview. In this second interview, I chose a girl because I thought it was easier for me to talk with girls. Girls also have many similar habits that will make our communication become more intimate. Before the interview, I sent the questions of the interview to her on Facebook. Because I wanted her to know what kind of questions there were before I met her just like the last time I did the preparation. Although she is from Somalia, she has lived in the United States for 18 years, so she usually speech is like a naturalize American. I don’t want to miss any information so I prepared a record this time. For the interview, I printed off two copies of all my questions and I gave one to her when we met and I kept one myself.
Personal review
The interviewee is one of my friends and we have known each other since last semester. Both of us took SOC 268 last semester. We both sat together and often did homework after class. Her major is Ethnic Studies and this is her third year. She has one more year to graduate; she told me that she would stay here after graduation and become a graduate student. Racism is still the mainstream of societies problems and she would like to see an era of peace. Her home country still has one of the most harsh living conditions and she would like for her home country to make some contributions.
Process description
We had the interview in the library on October 7, 2011, at 6:00 p.m. We reserved a study room on the third floor. So we could have more space to communicate and not disturb others. Because I already did an interview once, this second interview let me accumulate some experiences. During the interview, I put the key word and the major record information below each question. Sometimes she said a word I didn’t understand. She would explaining to me patiently. During this interview, the process was very formal until we finish all of the questions.
Describe the interview
This is my second interview; compared to the first interview, this time I did more preparation. The main preparation of this interview was that I paid more attention to this country’s background. My interview questions were all related with education, government and family. However in Somalia, war still exists. This country’s education and government are not very mature. I know that the background information in my interview process and the interview summary is my job to describe and record, and not judge. For the interview, the most important thing is the interview preparation. For example, a few days before the interview I sent the questions to my interviewee. It not only can save time, but also can make the answer more clear. For sure, this interview let me know more about Somalia because before that, Somalia only gave me the impression of pirates off the coast Somalia. After this interview, I think Somalia is actually a very friendly country; we should give more help to this country. Also, Somali’s spirit is worth our admiration. There is a thing that makes Somali people proud of their country; how there were one people, one language, and one religion. It’s really hard to find a country speaking and practicing one religion.
Country report
Somalia, (1) “officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country’s territory. The internationally recognized Transitional Federal Government controls only a small part of the country. Somalia has been characterized as a failed state and is one of world.”
Geography:
(2)”Location: Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Indian.
Ocean: east of Ethiopia
Coordinates: 1000 N, 4900 E
Total Area: 637,657 sq km
Terrain: mostly flat to undulating plateau rising to hills in north
Climate: is principally desert; northeast monsoon (December to February), moderate temperatures in north and hot in south; southwest monsoon (May to October), torrid in the north and hot in the south, irregular rainfall
Natural Resources: uranium and largely unexploited reserves of iron ore, tin, gypsum, bauxite, copper, sait, natural gas, like oil reserves”
Economic: (3)”according to the CIA and the Central Bank of Somalia, despite experiencing civil unrest, Somalia has maintained a healthy informal economy, based mainly on livestock, remittance/money transfer companies and telecommunications. Due to a dearth of formal government statistics and the recent civil war, it is difficult to gauge the size or growth of the economy. For 1994, the CIA estimated the GDP at 3.3 billion. In 2001, it was estimated to be 4.1 billion. By 2009, the CIA estimated that the GDP had grown to 5.731 billion, with a projected real growth rate of 2.6%. According to a 2007 British Chambers of Commerce report, the private sector also grew, particularly in the service sector. Unlike the precivil war period when most services and the industrial sector were government-run, there has been substantial, albeit unmeasured, private investment in commercial activities: this has been largely financed by the Somali diaspora, and includes trade and marketing, money transfer services, transportation communications, fishery equipment, airlines, telecommunications, education, health.”
Sources:
(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somalia
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