4th interview TRANSCRIPT

Interview Transcription

Interviewee: Sabrina Soh

Interviewer: Vidura Wickramasinghe

Date: 04/24/2011

Time- 2pm

Location: Mitchelle Hall Lobby

VW: Hi Sabrina, how are you today?

SS: Im good, a little stressed out about exams.

VW: oh I know, aren’t we all!

SS: yeah, cant wait for it to be over!

VW: yeah me neither! Okay.. just to make sure, you don’t mind being recorded do you? Its only me and my professor that will be hearing this.

SS: Oh its ok go ahead.

VW: kay sounds good thank you! You’re from Malaysia right?

SS: yup!

VW: how long have you been in the US?.

SS: almost two years now. I came here in 2010.

VW: oh me too! How are you finding it here?

SS:  pretty good!

VW: that’s good! Do you miss home at all?

SS: oh of course!

VW: what do you miss the most?

SS: ooh tough question! My family, friends, sense of belonging, food, and the list goes on!

VW: aha gotcha! I miss it all too! But you get pretty used to it after a while though don’t you?

SS: oh yeah. I think we have to!

VW: true. Going into the questions, what was the hardest thing about transitioning to the U.S?

SS: Umm, Trying to fit into to a place where no one knew the country I come from even existed. And the weather too! I have never seen snow before I came here.

VW: oh yeah that does sound tough. How did you manage get through it?

SS: Umm, I have relatives in the Twin Cities who come and visit me like every month. And I made a lot of good friends in the dorm.

VW: ah I see. And why did you decide to come to St Cloud state instead of studying in Malaysia?

SS: erm, my parents thought I would have less competition here. And more job opportunities.

VW: oh true. One of the many reasons I chose this place too! And what is your opinion of the American diet?

SS: hmm, yummy but dangerous! (chuckles)

VW: hehe couldn’t agree with you more! What are some cultural differences between your country and here?

SS: mmm I think people here are liberal in a materialistic sense. And people in Malaysia are more of the collectivist type that the individualistic type when it comes to how they view themselves.

VW: true. And.. moving on, who takes care of the finances in your family?

SS: My Dad.

VW: okay, what are your personal experiences with racism since coming to the US?

SS: Not a lot. But I noticed that in class, American students are uncomfortable working with non- American students.

VW: yeah I have noticed that too! I think its because of the language barriers and all that jazz.

SS: yeah I think so too.

VW: okay, moving on.. What were your preconceptions about the US before coming here and how have they changed?

SS: I thought the political structure of the USA was much better and implemented more freedom, but I found out capitalism does all the dirty work. And politics isn't as pretty as it looks!

VW: Glad to see more people are noticing this stuff. I have been looking into some of these conspiracies lately too. And, why did you choose America to continue your education?

SS: I applied to the UK and Australia but I got into the schools here instead of UK and Australia. And I always kinda wanted to come here for some reason! (chuckles)

VW: aha I see. And how many languages do you speak?

SS: Umm, three: mandarin, Bahasa Malaysia, and English. But my mandarin is a little broken. But I can understand it!

VW: that’s good! I wish I spoke three languages!

SS: How many languages do you speak?

VW: just two. English and my mother tongue, Singhalese.

SS: oh okay.

VW: Umm moving on, what are your plans after you graduate?

SS: I and going to be working here for a year, then moving back hopefully!

VW: I see. Do you plan on getting a job once you go back?

SS: yes, I haven’t thought about doing my masters yet.

VW: oh okay, and I think we addressed this question earlier but what is the most challenging thing about living in America?

SS: umm I’d say, not having the luxury of having parents around!

VW: oh true! And moving onto our next question, have you lost proficiency in speaking, writing or reading in your native language since coming to the US?

SS: No, there are a lot of Malaysians here. They keep me from losing touch.

VW: gotcha. Have you been to any other countries other than America?

SS: Yup! Japan, Thailand.. and Turkey, Australia, Singapore, Burma, Brazil.

VW: wow you seem to travel a lot!

SS: yeah I used to when I was back home. We used to go on vacations a lot!

VW: oh that sounds fun!

SS: It was! A lot! (chuckles)

VW: hehe im sure it was! Well that’s all the questions I have for you Sabrina, do you have any questions for me?

SS:  Mmm no I don’t think so.

VW:  Okay, well thanks a lot for letting me interview you Sabrina! I got some very useful answers from this interview!

SS: Oh no problem and I hope so! (chuckles)

VW: Oh I did! And good luck on your finals!

SS: Thanks!

Final project- 4th interview

Preparations Report

As usual, I started my preparations by listing out my main objectives for the interview which addressed what I ultimately wanted to get out of the interview. Knowing this, I was able to move onto the questions I wanted to ask my interviewee and narrowed them down into more specific ones with the help of my classmates and came up with the final 7 core questions and 7 questions of my own. After looking at the last three interviews, I managed to discover the questions that needed clearer and more precise answers.

The next step was to find an interviewee. Sabrina, my fourth interviewee was introduced to me by one of my friends. We were introduced to each other at a kiosk session in Atwood, and after I explained to her what this interview is going to be about, she agreed to do it. She was a tad hesitant when she heard the length of the interview since it was closer to finals week so I worked around her schedule and made sure the time and date of the interview was convenient to her. She was a Malaysian as well and she has been in the US for a year and a half now. I emailed her a copy of the list of questions I was going to be asking her during the interview process so that it went smoothly and she had time to come up with better answers. We scheduled our interview for the 24^th of April at 2pm which was a convenient time for the both of us. On the day of the interview I tested my recorder, and got two copies of the interview questions and headed to the location of the interview.

               Since she was living on-campus, I met her at the Mitchelle Hall lobby and I brought with me a bottle of pop and a bag of chips as usual as a token of gratitude, and to show that her devoting her time for this at this time of the semester was much appreciated. Before we began the interview process I thanked her for letting me interview her and asked her if it was alright if I recorded the interview process and told her that it was a requirement for my class and she said it was ok. I started recording and asked her again if it was okay that I recorded the interview so I had verbal proof if any discrepancies regarding the interview was to occur and she said it was ok. Once we were done with the questions I thanked her again for devoting his time for this and concluded the interview.

Interview Report

I started my interview with my main 4 objectives in mind. They are as follows:

1.       Learn about the differences and similarities in someone else’s culture compared to mine.

2.       Converse thoroughly and learn about the underlying reason as to why they chose the US.

3.       Learn about they handled the transitioning process during their first few months in the US

4.       Find out what their perspectives about the US were before coming here and how and why they changed (If they did).

Since I was doing a comparison between the American culture and the Malaysian culture I made it a priority that I asked her more questions in order to support my new fifth interview objective.

As for my first objective, I managed to learn a fair amount about the similarities between my culture and hers but it was nothing out of the ordinary when compared with my last three interviews. We came to realize that both cultures highly value traditional practices such as festivals. We also talked about some festivals we have in common. In addition, I learned more about the preconceptions of the Malaysians about the US and to what extent they are true. 

I got clear answers to my second objective as well. I learned that she had always wanted to come here for higher studies since a degree from an American university is usually given higher priority and there are better job opportunities here. The reason for her choosing SCSU was because her she has relatives in the Cities and affordable the tuition rate.

As for my third objective, I managed to find out that many students coming from the same or bordering countries seem to experience some of the same effects of culture shock, such as adapting to the Minnesotan weather. Apart from that she stated it didn’t come as much of a ‘shock’ to her.

I managed to get good answers for my fourth objective too. Like two of my other interviewees, she too agreed with the notion that Hollywood movies majorly influence their outlook on the US. She was comfortable and open-minded and I managed to get some good answers which I think will greatly help me with the comparison section of my assignment.

To sum up I think this interview went very well and I managed to get good, clear answers for most of my questions and my four objectives were also met at a satisfactory level and I managed to put together the inputs from all four of my interviewees and get a much broader perspective about their culture which I think will add to the accuracy and credibility of my comparison/contrast section.

Country Report (Malaysia)

Begin Clip:

Malaysia is a federal constitutional monarchy in Southeast Asia. It consists of thirteen states and three federal territories and has a total landmass of 329,847 square kilometres (127,350 sq mi). It is separated by the South China Sea into two regions, Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo (also known as West and East Malaysia respectively). Land borders are shared with Thailand, Indonesia, and Brunei, and maritime borders exist with Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Peninsular Malaysia is connected to Singapore via a causeway and a bridge. The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government. The population as of 2010 stood at over 28.25 million.

End clip.

Information paraphrased from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia” accessed on February 27, 2011.

The most commonly used language in Malaysia is Bahasa Malaysia, also known as Malay, along with Tamil, Chinese, Iban, and English; which is also widely used. Malaysia has five main religions, namely Muslim, Buddhist, Taoist, Christian, and Hindu along with a few others. Some  popular sports playedin Malaysia are, football, squash, bowling, badminton, and field hockey.

Information retrieved from “http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/country-profile/asia-oceania/malaysia”   

and “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport_in_Malaysia” accessed on February 27, 2011.

Begin Clip:

During the late 18th and 19th centuries, Great Britain established colonies and protectorates in the area of current Malaysia; these were occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945. In 1948, the British-ruled territories on the Malay Peninsula formed the Federation of Malaya, which became independent in 1957. Malaysia was formed in 1963 when the former British colonies of Singapore and the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak on the northern coast of Borneo joined the Federation. The first several years of the country's history were marred by a Communist insurgency, Indonesian confrontation with Malaysia, Philippine claims to Sabah, and Singapore's secession from the Federation in 1965. During the 22-year term of Prime Minister MAHATHIR bin Mohamad (1981-2003), Malaysia was successful in diversifying its economy from dependence on exports of raw materials to expansion in manufacturing, services, and tourism.

End clip.

Information paraphrased from “https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/my.html” accessed on February 27, 2011.

Malaysian Culture and American culture.

From the four interviews I conducted, I learned that the American culture and Malaysian culture are very much different that they are similar. I came to realize that the Malaysian culture value relationships with close family/ friends much higher than the American culture. 

When it comes to friendships its rather a small number of close, lifelong friends who feel deeply obligated to give and help each other out in whatever the situation maybe whereas an individual accustomed to the American culture would have a large number of friends and acquaintances who’s bonds aren’t as strong.

Moving on to self conception, the Malaysian culture is collectivist, which means group cooperation is highly valued whereas the American culture is Individualistic, which means a higher value is placed on ‘I’, or self- reliance. In the Malaysian culture, a son or a daughter is expected to live with their parents until they are sent off in marriage, especially women whereas in the American culture one is expected to find their own way after college. 

Traditionally, in the Malaysian culture, a person's standing in society depends mostly on inherited characteristics such as age, gender, and family whereas in the American culture one’s status is based mainly on their own achievements (education, work, qualifications etc).

Bibliography 

King Victor T.,Malaysia, London : Kuperard ; 2008.

  

Foreign Area Studies- the American University,Malaysia, a country study, (date published unavailable).

http://www.jstor.org.libproxy.stcloudstate.edu/journals/10521151.html