Evaluation

the evaluation sheet
1st Gerry, Jonathon M:
 It has a full direction of the country China. And the interview interests me because some special topic and make the process interesting.
 2nd Xianping He:
Using her own experience in the United States to share them with the person she interviewed. Make the interviewee feel free to answer the question and give the information from her own to the other people.

3rd Hua Gong

The first interview

First interview

Interview preparation:

The first of my interview is talking about Japan. Japan is one of the countries which I am most interested in. Japan is the neighbor country of my home country China. These two countries have a good relationship and communication through the former history. I love watching Japan comics a lot like Slam Dunk and One Piece. Some of the comics witness the growth of my childhood. For example the Slam Dunk makes me crazy about the basketball. Also I love the culture from Japan such as the life style and the sense of fashion. So I want to interview a friend from Japan to learn more about this country Japan.

The person I interview:

Miki is an international student from Japan. She came to the United States in the same semester as me. We have some communication before about the life in the United States and the difference between here and our home countries. I always ask her some question about her home country to compare between the sense of Japan in my mind and the “real” Japan. She is also interested in China and its ancient history.

The report of country Japan:

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun".

Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands.

The four largest islands are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, together comprising about ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population, with over 127 million people. Honshū's Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.

Japan comics:

Slam Dunk is a sports-themed manga series written by Takehiko Inoue about a basketball team from Shōhoku High School. It was first serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump in Japan from 1990 to 1996 and had also been adapted into an anime series by Toei Animation which had been broadcast worldwide, enjoying much popularity particularly in Japan, several other Asian countries and Europe. Inoue later used basketball as a central theme in two subsequent manga titles: Buzzer Beater and Real. In 2010, Inoue received special commendations from the Japan Basketball Association for helping popularize basketball in Japan.

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One Piece:

One Piece is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump since August 4, 1997; the individual chapters are being published in tankōbon volumes by Shueisha, with the first released on December 24, 1997, and the 67th volume released as of August 2012. One Piece follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy, a young man whose body gains the properties of rubber after inadvertently eating a devil's fruit, and his diverse crew of pirates, named the Straw Hat Pirates. Luffy explores the ocean in search of the world's ultimate treasure known as the One Piece and to become the next Pirate King. Along his journey, Luffy makes several friends and battles a wide variety of villains, many of whom try to kill the Straw Hats.

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Japan Street Fashion:

Japan began to emulate Western fashion during the middle of the 19th century. By the beginning of the 21st century, this emulation has formed street fashion, a fashion style in which the wearer customizes outfits by adopting a mixture of current and traditional trends. Such clothes are generally home-made with the use of material purchased at stores.

At present, there are many styles of dress in Japan, created from a mix of both local and foreign labels. Some of these styles are extreme and avant-garde, similar to the haute couture seen on European catwalks. The rise and fall of many of these trends has been chronicled by Shoichi Aoki since 1997 in the fashion magazine FRUiTS, which is a notable magazine for the promotion of street fashion in Japan.

More recently, Japanese hip-hop, which has long been present among underground Tokyo's club scene, has influenced the mainstream fashion industry. The popularity of the music is so influential that Tokyo's youth are imitating their favorite hip hop stars from the way they dress with over-sized clothes to tanned skin. The idea of darkening one's skin to more closely resemble an American hip-hop star or ethnic group may seem like a fad, but this subculture, the black facers, do not particularly set themselves apart from many other sub cultures that have emerged as a result of hip hop.

Compare to the street fashion in the United States like Stussy and Supreme, these brands from Japan like Mastermind Japan, Bape, Visvim, they choose the comfortable sense and the luxury in low key to make their production.


interview transcript

Blake: Hello, my name is Blake, nice to meet you.

Miki: Hi, I’m Miki, nice to meet you too.

Blake: I like your name. You look so pretty today.

Miki: Thank you.

Blake: I am very excited because I will do interview with you and it is about one of the countries which I am most interested in..

Miki: Yes, I am also very happy, because I can make friend with students from other countries and I am also very interested in the history of China.

Blake: Hah, nice, we are friends now.

Miki: Lol.

Blake: let’s start the interview.

Miki: Ok.

Blake: I think we have completed the first question.

Miki: Which question?

Blake: The question is what is your name?

Miki: Aha.

Blake: OK, Miki. I got your name. Let’s continue to the second question. Where are you from?

Miki: I’m from Tokyo, the capital of Japan.

Blake: Wow, Kimura Takuya is also from Tokyo.

Miki: Yes, I knew him in Japan.

Blake: OK, the third question is describing the education system of your country.

Miki: Let me think. Firstly, we have three semesters for each academic year. And the academic year begins at April. Except winter and summer holiday, we also have spring holiday like it is in the United States. And we are required to write entrance exam to enter into schools.

Blake: Oh, it is a little different from Chinese education system.

Miki: Yeah, I know you just have two semesters in China.

Blake: Yes. I really want to have three semesters. OK, next question, how has your culture influenced your family values?

Miki: I think it depends on whether the family is a traditional family. If the family is traditional, I think it influenced the values very much. If not, I think there is no influence.

Blake: Yeah, it is the same as in China.

Miki: I think it is the same in the world. Ok, what is the next question is?

Blake: What is the form of government in your country?

Miki: I don’t know how to describe it, but I can tell you that we have emperor, but the emperor doesn’t have real power. The real power is held by the head of Japanese government.

Blake: Yeah, I know some political information about this. Next question is one thing that makes you proud of your country.

Miki: There is no doubt that Sakura is the thing makes me proud.

Blake: Wow, I know Sakura is very beautiful; I also like it very much.

Miki: Yes, in our country, we have Cherry Blossom Festival during March and April every year. At that time, we can see much beautiful Sakura.

Blake: It must be very beautiful. Next question, what places would you recommend to tourists?

Miki: Aha, I think my hometown Tokyo is a good place. Also there are many good places to go in our country, like Nagoya and Osaka.

Blake: If I have chance, I want to travel to Japan.

Miki: Ok, welcome.

Blake: The next question, what festivals do you celebrate in your country?

Miki: We have New Year’s Day, Age Day, National Founding Day, Children’s Day, Cherry Blossom Festival and so on. Besides traditional holiday, we also celebrate Christmas.

Blake: That’s cool. We don’t have Age Day in China. Next question, what’s the weather like in your hometown?

Miki: Let me think. Firstly, we have four seasons and the average temperature of one year is during 15℃ to 20℃.

Blake: I think it is similar with China. What is a type of sport in your country?

Miki: Sumo. It is well respected in our country.

Blake: Wow, my three interviewees have the answer to this question. I really want to go to Japan to watch sumo matches.

Miki: Aha, it is worth watching.

Blake: Really? Cool. What is your favorite sport?

Miki: Tennis.

Blake: I like tennis too. The next question is what is the traditional food in your country?

Miki: I think sashimi is. And sushi also is.

Blake: I like both sushi and sashimi very much. And often go to Fuji restaurant to have dinner.

Miki: Aha, Fuji is nice.

Blake: How about the people in Japan think aboutt their comic? And how about the most famous
Miki: They are popular. Such as the Slam Dunk,Dragon Ball.
Blake: The last question, what do most women do after they get married in your country?

Miki: Like my mother, she chooses to be a housewife after get married to my father. And almost women will to be a housewife after they get married. But I want to continue working after get married.

Blake: Hah, best wishes. I think you can catch your dream.

Blake: Ok, thank you Miki. The interview is over.

Miki: You’re welcome. 


work cited:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Piece
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slam_Dunk_(manga)

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Challenges and benefits of interviewing an US student

                           Challenges and benefits of interviewing an US student

Challenges

1.       Difference between the eastern culture and western culture

2.       English is not my native language

3.       Do not feel free to communicate with local students

4.       Always do not have the same life style so hard to find the same hobbies or interests

5.       The lack of information and topic to continue the interview

6.       How to make the interview more relaxed and more like a face-to-face chat

Benefits

1.       To know more about the culture of  western countries

2.       Develop friendship with local students

3.       Be used to the life in the United States and the life style here

4.       Use the second language more fluent

5.       Knowing the thinking of our home country from the US students

6.       Be familiar with the school, the social and join them

The solutions of the challenges

Because we are the international students, language is the most important thing that we need to improve firstly. We should try the best to use time in communication with US students to make our oral language more fluent. When we have free time, we can read more newspapers and watch the TV programs to know more about the newest news happened around. And some of the programs can help you be used to the life here. You can find some popular topics like sports or music to start your interview so you can make the interview more relaxed and under your control

Source: http://www.streetarticles.com/college-university/meeting-the-challenges-of-being-an-international-student-at-university-in-the-uk

http://www.gradshare.com/blog/gradshare_updates/2011/03/31/1301597372522.html

interview objective

The three countries i choose are the United States, Japan and China.
1. To know the more culture about the United States and Japan.
2. Why the sports can be so popular in schools around the students in the United States.
3. To know how the other people from United States and Japan think about China, Chinese and Chinese culture.
4. To know the culture difference between the United States. Japan and China.
5. To learn the history about the two countries and compare to the Chinese history.
6. How music develops in the United States and Japan.
7. To help me be used to the habit and culture in the United States and easily join them.
8. To know the religion in the United States and Japan because i do not believe any of it so i am really interested in them.
9. To know the life style in Japan and the United States and find the difference to life style in China.
10. To learn how is people's attitude to the govenment and the people's right in the United States and Japan.

Three countries

The three countries that i will choose in my study are China, Japan and the United States.
The reason i choose China is that China is my home country, now i am in the United States so i want to know more about my home country from the people here. To know what is their opinions to China.
I choose Japan because i am interested in this country a lot. I love the culture and their life style. So i want to know more about them.
Because of the condition now that i am studying in the United States and i am an international students, the final country i choose is the United States. I will study here for about 3 more years so i need to be used to the culture and habit here and it will make me get into the family of the United States quickly.

Five books

Thailand
Author:Roger Jones 
Published: Kuperard in Great Britain in 2003.
Cool and rainy are relative terms. The average temperature in Bangkok in December is 25 degree, but it usually feels much hotter because of high humidity, and there are plenty of fine days in the rainy season.

The Fate of Humor

Author:James M.Cox 

published:Princeton University Press in 1966.

But the snodgrass letters confined Clemens to the ignorant and illiterate utterance of snodgrass, whereas the literate Mark Twain allowed him a full range of style and expression.

The Development of Memory in Children

Author:Robert Kail,  

Published:W.H Freeman and Company in New York City.

One simple way in which the age groups differed was in the number of ways they suggested of trying to remember the birthday party: The older children were considerably more resourceful, suggesting an average of 2.5 ways of remembering the party compared to 1.35 for the kindergarten children.

A Technique for Producing ideas

Author:James Webb Young  
Printed: Crain Books in Chicago Illinois in 1975. 

This has brought me to the conclusion that the production of ideas is just as definite a process as the production of Fords; that the production of ideas, too, runs on an assembly line; that in this production the mind follows an operative technique which can be learned and controlled; and that its effective use is just as much a matter of practice in the technique as is the effective use of any tool.

The Battlefields of England

Author: Lieutenant Colonel Alfred H. Burne

published by: Meuthen and Company in London as well as Barnes and Nobles in New York

The King's column followed suit, whether spontaneously, or in response to a definite order it is impossible to say, and needless to speculate.