Second Interview Review

Phung did an outstanding job that stuck out the most because of the good representation of cross reference in her country report. You can tell she put in a lot of time in her work and went the extra great lengths to put more in depth details that was very unique.

http://trangpen191f12s27.blogspot.com/

Louzolo came in following right behind Phung. Both these people did a great job with their interviews and country reports. The reason is because of the detail and information she was able to transcribe on her blog. Another thing that stuck out the most in Louzolo was she was able to bring something new to the table, videos.  

http://nelleamouren191f12s27.blogspot.com/

Hyun follows right behind because of her great use of cross reference with the country report and she was able to use their interview well to squeeze out interesting information.

http://hshyun191f12s27.blogspot.com/

 

Third Interview

 Jonathon Gerry 
 English 191
 Interviewee: Vlad 
 Date of Interview: Friday, November 19th, 2012
 Time of the Interview: 3 P.M.
  Location of Interview: Third Floor of the Library
  Country: Kyrsgyzstan

 

 Country Report: Kyrgyzstan                                                  

Kyrgyzstan, a country located in Central Asia is a beautiful country secluded by mountains and abutting several countries such as Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhsta, and China. Kyrgyzstan has a population rate of about “5,550, 239 with Bishkek being it’s capital city” (C.I.A.). Kyrgyzstan is well known around Central Asia because it is a country mostly consisted of beautiful mountain ranges, valleys, and lakes.

             Kyrgyzstan had a fascinating and quick changing history that has greatly impacted the nation to this day. One of the most significant dates was on December 5th, when Kyrgyzstan joined the Soviet Union. Kyrgyzstan joined the high power Soviet Union. Once Kyrgyzstan joined the Soviet Union, they flourished and exceeded in many aspects of their life. After a while though the Kyrgyzstan realized that the alliance they had joined was soon to fall and became fully independent on December 25, 1991, the day before the Soviet Union ceased. The following year in 1992 Kyrgyzstan the joined the United Nations and became what is known today as the “Kyrgyz Republic.” These were key factors in Kyrgyzstans life but the one that had the biggest impact on it was when Kyrgyzstan became independent because of the fall of the Soviet Union. Once the Soviet Union died off it left Kyrgyzstan struggling economically as the 2nd poorest country in Central Asia. To this day the country is still trying to bounce off the devastating blow and dig itself out of a hole using the land they have. Majority of the land that thrives in Kyrgyzstan are used for economical purposes. For example, gold exporting is the best business in Kyrgyzstan because of the mountains, following up with the vast agricultural approaches with numerous fruits the land is able to produce. Last, but not least, Kyrgyzstan is able to use its high mountains for hydroelectricity energy. Hydroelectricity energy is “the production of energy, through the use of gravitational force of water”(Wikipedia). So what they would do is use the mountains as like a dam and produce energy through the use of it and live off that. Kyrgyzstan is a small country that has had a tremendous impact on the world and should be looked into.


 

            Another key importance to Kyrgyzstan that ties into it’s geography are the means of transportation. Transportation is pretty much a “do what you got to do” basis in order to get from point A to point B. In Kyrgyzstan, due to the rough geography features, such as the mountains, transportation is a lot more difficult than none other. Mountains make it a lot slower and more dangerous to pass through. In open land one can make a straight road going all the way through, where as in the mountains, you have to adjust to the landscape and following it all the way through. This makes means of transportation slower. Factors that make it dangerous are mother nature incidents, such as avalanche or mud slides. With all this being said, how do the civilians cross this rough terrain? Well there are multiple ways one can get across the land, such as railway, car, and most importantly the horse. The horse is probably the key transport in Kyrgyzstan because of its ability to adapt to the mountains and cross through and “fuel efficiency.”

            The next topic that will be introduced about Kyrgyzstan are the sports played among the country. Some sports played in Kyrgyzstan sports are familiar to all of us such as hockey and soccer. Hockey and soccer and the two top sports played among Kyrgyzstan, but the one that comes out on top is soccer. Other sports such as hockey are played among the country, falling by the uprising of wrestling. To show the success in Kyrgyzstan’s   movement in wrestling “In the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, two athletes from Kyrgyzstan won medals in Greco-Roman wrestling: Kanatbek Begaliev (silver) and Ruslan Tiumenbaev (bronze)” ( Wikipedia).  With Kyrgyzstan’s success in these world known sports, they also have been excelling in sports that most American’s haven’t even heard about. For example, two sports that Kyrgyzstan has been on the uprising are Bandy and Ulak Tartysh.  Ulak Tartysh is a “popular sport among the south Central Asians such as the Uzbeks, Hazaras, Tajiks, Kyrgyz, Kazakhs, Turkmens and Pashtuns” (Wikipedia.) There are several only differences between Ulak Tartysh and polo. Yes, both games include throwing an object up and down the field to score a goal, but the objects aren’t the same, nor are the time periods. In Ulak Tartysh, the time period can last for days but it the game is represented in a “tournament” version, where as polo is in a set period of times and last for a couple of hours. Last, but not least, are the objects: Ulak Tartysh uses a headless carcass of either a goat or a calf, while polo uses a ball. Once again, both these games have similar objectives, but they also differ in numerous ways other than just the time period played and what they use to play with. The second sport that is unfamiliar to the United States that I thought was pretty cool is Bandy. Bandy is pretty much like a combination of ice hockey and soccer all in one. Bandy has the same rules of soccer and the same length of the “field,” but relate to hockey with the usage of equipment, except they use a ball instead of a puck. Bandy has progressively grown throughout Kyrgyzstan and is getting more and more exploited to the world. Kyrgyzstan has relevant sports that we can compare to, but they have outstanding traditions such as Bandy and should be looked into as an opportunity to explore here in America. By opening up our minds I feel like even more athletic activities could blossom from such an idea.

 

            Overall Kyrgyzstan is a fascinating country of it’s own in many ways. It has had a huge impact in the pass with one of the most thriving forces, the Soviet Union. Unfortunately after the Soviet Union died off, Kyrgyzstan almost did as well. It is still to this day thriving to pick itself back on it’s feet and will probably be doing so for a very long time. Luckily this country has the right tools and the right equipment, it’s geographic foundation! Kyrgyzstan’s geography is significant in more ways that one and without it, Kyrgyzstan would probably not be able to make it back in this world.

Work Cited

United States. Central Intelligence Agency. Kyrgyzstan: , Print. <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kg.html>.

Wikipedia contributors. "Bandy." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

Wikipedia contributors. "Hydroelectricity." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

Pre-Interview

            The preparation for this interview was probably not the best one because not everything went according to plan on my interviewee terms. Initially I wasn’t supposed to interview Vlad or anybody from Kyrgyzstan. Rather the initial plan was to interview somebody from China one more time because that was the first country I did a report on and I wanted to be consistent with that. Originally I had a date picked out, November 16^th , at 2 p.m. in a study room. Leading up to that date I was on track. I was preparing better than I ever was before and even going further research about China and broadening my knowledge on the succeeding nation. The person I have chosen was from one of my other classes, her name was Lien. I approached her the week before and told her that I have to do a report on a country and that I would love to do hers. Lien is a very outgoing person and was thrilled for the interview. So the hard part was done, asking someone for an interview. It was someone I knew and someone that wasn’t from here, now all it was is prepare for the interview.

          As the week went on I did just glanced more into my books that I had rented out from the first interview and was getting more comfortable with my approach towards the interview. The day finally came and I was ready. As I was going to the library around 1:30 I received a text message from Lien saying that she couldn’t make it to the interview anymore because she had gotten sick and that she couldn’t do the interview at all anymore because she didn’t want to get me sick. I was at a lost, I had no one to go to, it was Friday, everybody goes home for the weekend and I was at a lost.

          I had no idea what to do, I started to panic a bit because everything was going perfect up until that point. While I was outside one of my Biology lab partners, Vlad, was walking by and noticed my “panicking.” He stopped by to ask what was wrong and I told him the situation. Vlad was very excited because he said he wasn’t from around the United States either, but from Kyrgyzstan. Vlad then threw me off guard even more, he asked if I would like help and do a quick interview with him before he went down to the cities later that night. I felt bad because I didn’t want to put that on Vlad, nor was I ready for this interview at all. I knew absolutely nothing about his country and was going in it blind- folded. Vlad understood the situation I was and said he wouldn’t take to any offense of what was to come out of this country. Since Vlad and I have lab together, we all ready had a mutual respect for one another because of that other class, so that did help the case out a lot.

Post-Interview

            Looking back at the interview with Vlad it was probably the most fun and the most interesting interview out of the three. A couple reasons why it was the most interesting is because I went into the interview knowing nothing about his country. As you know, my previous interviewee, Lien, canceled on me on the last second because she was sick, so Vlad decided to take her place. Vlad and Lien are both from two separate countries, so you can see what I meant by going in there blind-folded. The thing that seperated Vlad and Lien apart was the connection between the individual. I feel like Vlad and I connect a lot more than Lien because we both push each other to strive to be the best in our biology lab, where as Lien and I are just classmates and don’t really associate with one another.

            The fact that Vlad and I had a good connection coming into the interview made it more fun and a lot more relaxing. I didn’t even have to warm up and I didn’t have to worry about sounding like a fool. What made this interview more successful than the others is I wasn’t only able to just discover interesting facts about Vlad’s country; I got to unveil some personal life stories. I got to see a more personal and in depth story than what I got from my previous interviews. Yes I felt the least prepared for this interview, but that was out of my control from what happened, but the fact that my interviewing skills have gone up compared to the first time, where it took me a long time to warm up Shu to just jumping right into the interview and getting that information, I felt successful.

            The one thing that I did notice in the interview is Vlad was really excited to share his life story! He was so open about anything and he said it how it was. He didn’t try to sugar coat everything or tried to beat around the bush, he said it how it was. Vlad pretty much did all the talking and filled in all the gaps before I could even ask the questions most of the time. He was great interviewee and because of that I know my classmate even more. Overall, after reviewing all my interviews, from my first to my last, I have noticed a great difference in the information I was able to uncover. Each interview I progressively got more and more interview out of my interviewee along with getting more comfortable with the whole situation. This was a great experience overall and I am glad I got to see a different world besides my own. I have realized how isolated our country is and how we keep to ourselves. I think that this class has helped my become broaden my horizon on what’s out there and to be more open and acceptance with difference because we all have different lifestyles, none of them are ever right or wrong it’s just the culture we grew up with!

 

Interview:

Interviewer= Jonathon/ Me

Interviewee=Vlad

 

Interviewer:All right Vlad, thank you for coming today, please sit down! ( Shake hands and we both sit down. So Vlad, do tell me, where are you from?
Vlad: I am from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. It is the capital city of Kyrgystan! It is a small country West of China and it used to be part of the Soviet Union.
Interviewer: All right, so you liking the United States so far?
Vlad: I like the United States, I think it’s a good place to be.
Interviewer: That’s good to hear! So where are your parents from originally?
Vlad: They are also born and raise in Kyrgyzstan! They were born and raised their most of their life.
Interviewer: That’s great to hear! So do tell, what’s the school system like up in Kyrgyzstan?
Vlad: In Kyrgyzstan, I’ll tell you a little bit about before how it was in the Soviet Union part and what it is now. Although a lot has changed religiously! Back in the Soviet Union, they segregated the people that were Christian. They didn’t get certain grades although they could. I know for example, I know this lady from my church, she is a pediatrician. She went to school everything completed and the last exam she had to take they didn’t let her take because they asked her “ Either there is no God, or we’re not going to give you the test to become a pediatrician.”
Interviewer:What?!
Vlad: The president, or the leader back then said I will take till the last person, I will be putting them up on the news, tv, whatever, in front of everyone to view to see that they are Christian and to show that they are for their one God. So Russia in general, the Soviet Union in general, which Kyrgyzstan was a part of, they were totally against…they were Anti-Christ, they were trying to put everything, all their resources together to see if there was a God or not. However now these days, it’s no longer there, but you know it’s still in the back of their heads.
Interviewer: Wow, that’s a little (all of the sudden Vlad added on more to his previous comment)
Vlad: In the class it’s still probably the same. The kids are a lot more respectful in Kyrgyzstan. Like over here a kid can say something to the teacher, backtalk to the teacher, and not get penalized for it, where as there..the teacher will whoop you up (haha)
Interviewer: (Haha) that’s so?
Vlad: Yeah like the kids have to raise their arm like this (uses arm gesture to lift his arm up) in a way in front of the teacher respectively before they are allowed to even say anything.
Interviewer: So would you say the students in the system are a lot more dedicated to school work than like…(stumbling to complete my sentence)
Vlad: I would say they are!
Interviewer:They are?
Vlad:Yeah, I would say they get..I know a lot of the kids have to learn poems, like LEARN them, no reading them! And rehearse them in front of the class. Things like that, just a little different. Another thing that’s different in the Russian school system or Kyrgyzstan in that matter is like they don’t get grades “A, B, and C,” rather it’s one through five, five being the best and one being the worst.
Interviewer: Wow, so what’s not passing?
Vlad:Well two isn’t passing, and ones are really rare, they hardly happen. Yeah so that’s…anyway there’s that part. Anyways although now not as much before…there’s still this uhh they still play their favorites, a lot!
Interviewer: Wait, what?
Vlad:Like maybe not as much as before, but teachers play favorite. Like pretty much you could suck up to the teacher and he could help you through.
Interviewer:Ok then.
Vlad:Like before, like much more you have more people  going to schools. But I would like to say that was back in the you got the different government systems, like back in the Soviet Union…like the Soviet Union happened 10, 12, no wow! About 20 years ago so about, umm a lot of the stuff is still there. You go some of the older people that used to work for the Soviet Union and still have that same mind set you know?
Interviewer:All right! So I did a little research on this about something people having to enlist in the army. Tell me, what do you have to say about that? Like is this true or…what? (Haha)
Vlad:Uhh, the Army…like I’m going to go back to the Soviet Union because it wasn’t that too long ago. When the Soviet Union, as of now, the people are to serve, like mandatory serve up to three years I think, at least three years.
Interviewer: How do they do the process of recruitment?
Vlad: They are pretty much taken outside of their house, unless they have some certain medical conditions or severe religious conditions that just totally..AGAIN back in the day the Soviet Union didn’t care much about your religion, so they just made you do it. And just because of the odds of being a Christian they said, “We are not putting a gun in your hands,”
Interviewer:So Christians weren’t allowed in the army?
Vlad: They were, they were made to still. However, those Christians weren’t allowed to take guns. They were of course segregated. They were…it was harsh, you know they made them do the worst jobs, clean the tables, scrub the floors. None the less, the first freshman army batch that came in, they are like belittled by the third year or last year army guys. Even the third year or the last year army guys do a beating.
Interviewer:What?!
Vlad:Yeah it’s really sad, it’s ridiculous the way it sounds, but they do like a “Fresh meat beat” as they like to call it.
Interviewer: So you beat up on the new guys?
Vlad: They beat up the new guys to show them what’s up. They show them who’s boss. Like you come up to them and they do is the smack them. Like no joke, like a full swing on the back of the neck or like
Interviewer: (Astounded by this shocking news) Wait what?!
Vlad: Yeah no joke!
Interviewer:Holy shit!
Vlad:Yeah!
Interviewer:So has anyone ever died from these beatings?
Vlad: A lot of people bones break from these fights obviously. A lot of them get into a lot of fights to of course…like I know there’s fights in the American army, but this is like a GROUP of people, a group of individuals of the third year. Like they just go on a full smack down on the little guys for a few reasons. 1. To let them know what’s up. Like we are what runs the show kind of thing. Another reason is to tell them that this is not a joke being here! Kind of like the tough message across.
Interviewer: Yeah! Oh so it’s a must do in order to set the tone for the rest of your years
Vlad: Yeah, pretty much be like “Don’t start anything with the older guys, that’s how it is in the army.”
Interviewer: All right so let’s say if you don’t go to the army or you choose not to, do you know what happens?
Vlad:  There’s a lot of people that really don’t have a choice and not a whole lot of people stay home. I have a friend, he’s actually my uncle now, uhh he didn’t go to the army because he had some sort of medical condition or he was leaving to America at the time.
Interviewer:Mmmhmmm
Vlad: So yeah if you didn’t get to go to the army you don’t have a choice, you pretty much lucked out.
Interviewer: Oh shit! So that’s got to be a really big relief! So let me ask ya, what’s the food like in Kyrgyzstan?
Vlad: In Kyrgyzstan there’s a lot of food that they really like, they really don’t like a lot of those fatty stuff that the American’s like, like the hamburgers or the greesy burgers, they really don’t like that stuff. They have some of the traditional entrées, for example plough. Plough is a bunch of rice, kind of like a Chinese stir-fry, and they really like to make it in a huge bone called the Kazong. They like to make it under a campfire so it has the smoke smell kind of to it. So meat and rice, lots of onions and cucumbers, onions and carrots…yeah. What they do is they cook the meat and they poured uncooked rice in it, then they cover the top and put the fire on low. They then cook it for 30 to 40 mins and then you get this Plough, it actually tastes very wonderful.
Interviewer: That sounds very appetizing!
Vlad: Yeah another dish they like to do is called Monte. Monte are like dumplings, they look like dumplings! They have dough that covers the inside which is like meat, with onions. The difference with these compared to dumplings is you don’t just throw them into the water and just cook them and boil them, you have this grit pan with little holes on the bottom, so you have the Monte in those. The bottom of that is a heated up bowl. You then “pile up the dishes” so to speak so that the evaporation of the water cooks the dumplings. So they’re not in the water, but they’re sitting on a plate with holes right above it so that the evaporation of the water cooks them.
Interviewer: Sheesh!! Sounds so good!
Vlad:Yeah that stuff is very tasty actually! Umm, a lot of their foods are mixed with the Russian food. Like Borsch! A guy told me that Borsch is kind of like the “Spit and go kind of soup.” So like you throw whatever you could find into this soup, like meat, onions, cabbage, tomatoes, potatoes, so yeah throw all this together kind of like a “spit” and it’s actually very tasty!
Interviewer:Now when you said “spit” what do you mean by that?
Vlad: What they guy meant by that is it’s so easy to make.
Interviewer:So you can put what ever you want in it?
Vlad:For the most part. All you got to make sure you have is your meat cooked first, and then go ahead and toss all the veggies that you like in it and go ahead and wait for the veggies to get soft and go ahead there’s your soup. That’s like famous soup in Russia!
Interviewer:What’s it called again?
Vlad: It’s called Borsch!
Interviewer:I’m going to have to try it out one of these  days!
Vlad: A drink, you know I’m going to try to get an entire entrée for ya..umm a drink that the Russian’s really like aside from Vodka is called Kvas. Kvas is like a..there’s fermented one for alcohol and there’s a nonfermented one…it kind of tastes like alcohol beer…alcoholic beer, and there’s one that’s not alcoholic beer, that’s what they like to drink. That’s what they like to drink, nonalcoholic beer.
Interviewer: So it tastes like beer, but it’s not beer.
Vlad: Exactly! They ferment, I can’t remember what it is exactly, but I think it’s wheat or..yeah wheat, but they don’t wait till it’s really really strong and alcoholic, right before the alcoholic part, right before the alcohol stage they stop it. I actually really like it, I drink it many many times!
Interviewer: Nice!
Vlad: Yeah, so a good salad that Kyrgyzstan loves is Ale via. Al via is a salad with cucumber, ballonet, or our American ballonet, but just with a different name with it, some ham and salad. So cucumbers, ham, ummm (eyes rolling to the back of his head as he’s thinking)
Interviewer: (As Vlad was thinking of the salad I quickly asked) So is this all on one salad?
Vlad:Yeah! So they chop it up into really define, diced up pieces. So potatoes, ham, cucumbers, green peas, some eggs, some may, and they with eat it with some pepper and  salt. They REALLY LOVE that salad!!
Interviewer: Damn! Sounds amazing! I don’t mean to get off quick topic right now, but I have a quick question that I forgot to ask you about the army!
Vlad:Mmmhmm?
Interviewer:Do they enlist women in there as well or is it predominant by guys?
Vlad:Women, it’s kind of like the American army, before women weren’t as much in, so back then it was pretty much all men, but now I think women are more and more joining it, but still it’s predominant by men.
Interviewer:So do women have a choice whether they want to go or not, or do they not have a say in it?
Vlad:Umm, women had a choice to go before, like back in the Soviet Union women never attended cause like…(Vlad right then gave me the “you know” face)..yeah, if you were a girl they didn’t even do anything to you. Even now they don’t even do anything to ya, so now women have a choice whether they want to go in or not, but they don’t have to. Russia and the Kyrgyzstan army are predominant by all men.
Interviewer: Ok then!
Vlad: Like America now, even though our women get underpaid for that same job, in Russia it’s about the same thing.
Interviewer: Same thing you say?
Vlad: Yeah but Obama wants to change that, but it’s still gonna be in Russia there for like…for like forever (haha) Unless somebody comes in like Obama you know?
Interviewer:Yeah I know what you mean! Well let’s talk about sports, like what’s big…what’s like our “American NFL”?
Vlad: American NFL would probably be either soccer or hockey! They only have two I want to say…from the two I would have to say hockey is the highest one. They really like hockey up there! I’m sure you have heard of the movie “Miracle”
Interviewer:Yep!
Vlad: Yeah well that was based off of Kyrgyzstan.
Interviewer: Kyrgyzstan? I thought it was based of the United States!
Vlad: Nope! The movie was based upon umm..Russia has been winning the cup for 20 years in row and American team wanted to beat them because Russia has been winning the cup for so long and the miracle behind the story is the young American teams won and brought the cup back here.
Interviewer:Oh!
Vlad: But otherwise soccer! You know just like an American NFL player, a lot of the kids want to grow up and become some professional player. Like in Russia, soccer I called football…but by far hockey is the most popular.
Interviewer: Ok then!
Vlad: Like said between hockey and soccer, hockey predominates for sure! However, basketball is on the rise!
Interviewer: No kidding!
Vlad: Yeah! Actually a lot of the basketball players are starting to move to America. We have two Russian guys on our Timberwolves team right?
Interviewer: I don’t watch a whole lot of basketball so I don’t really know (haha) sorry!
Vlad: (Haha) It’s all good, but yeah we also happen to have players from Russia in America right now! For example, on the Washington Capitals, there are two players on the team, Stanislav and Evgeny. In Russia you don’t get much.
Interviewer: Really, so you don’t get spoiled like our players do in America?
Vlad:That’s the reason why they’re leaving actually. You don’t get paid much. You actually get paid very little for being a hockey player or a sports player in general. They play it as a “job” pretty much. So what ever an average job makes that’s what they get as well.
Interviewer: Wow! That’s a lot on the line right there. Like if you got hurt, like there goes your “average job,” what next?
Vlad: Yeah! It’s very sad, like I’m sure they’re working on that to fix that up, but that’s the reason why a lot of Russian players take America over Russia if they were to play that sport here.
Interviewer: Ok then, so let’s see…what about your family. Tell me about your family! Like how many kids are in your family?
Vlad: Uhhh right now there’s about 10 of us total.
Interviewer: (My eyes just popped out at this point) 10 total?! Are you the oldest?
Vlad: I’m the second oldest actually (haha)
Interviewer:Wow, so what about your mom or dad, how did they raise you in a way?
Vlad: So I guess I’ll start from my childhood up till now, I’ll be brief
Interviewer:No it’s all right, we have plenty of time!
Vlad: Ok as I was growing up, all of us, well the first five are all one year apart, actually the fourth and fifth are eleven months apart. So you can tell how busy my parents were. My dad, he was a butcher, he loved to buy animals, butch them, and then sell them in the market. My mom was a stay home mom..ummm…she took care of all of us. She took care of all of us while my dad worked on the farm. Ummm but growing up, my dad he really likes horses, so he would have to leave to go to Moscow to train horses.
Interviewer:What?!
Vlad: Yeah, if not in Moscow he would be raising horses somewhere else. He really likes horses!
Interviewer: You dad is a hard worker I can tell!
Vlad:Yeah he is! Umm when I was two or three, my brother, my older brother at the age of four, he burnt down or shed and some of our house. We had a huge house fire because he lit up a match and he didn’t know what to do with it. So yeah since he started a fire and we had a little barn umm pretty much we had extra propane tanks and extra gas supply for our tractors and that and ALL that went into flames! Like there were gas tanks blowing up and flaring around everywhere and my mom pregnant with the fifth kid.
Interviewer: (Awed by this I couldn’t help but squeal out) oh..my..gosh (as I bring my hand to my mouth)
Vlad:Yeah she only got hit in her belly! She went to go open the door to the house and this HUGE explosion flew at the door and she hit the floor, recovered from that and ran through the doors to grab our papers.
Interviewer: Holy!!! Oh my gosh your mom’s a champ! Why did your mom go inside the house?
Vlad:Yeah, after that my mom ran inside the house to grab the family papers right before…anyways she grabbed the major documents and brought them over to the neighbors house and called the fire departments came and they poured 10 tons of water until there was nothing they could do. Eventually the shed burned down and part of the house did. (At this point Vlad was getting into his personal life of his family and requested what was said after the burnt house incident to not be documented)
Interview: That is one hell of a story you got their Vlad!
Vlad: yeah well growing up, living in Russia, living in Kyrgysztan especially, it’s a bunch of poverty!
Interviewer: How sad, I did not know that!
Vlad: Yeah they really like to drink their vodka! They pretty much would sell everything to get them some vodka or some spirit drink. So yeah poverty was defiantly a big thing back then and it is still to this day.
Interviewer: All right then.. So growing up, who was stricter, your mom or your dad?
Vlad: My dad! He really..like I think it’s in his brain , he really likes to bring back some money and everything falls into place. And all that stuff that is supposed to be “falling into place” that’s what my mom has to do.
Interviewer:mmmhmmmmm
Vlad: So concerning with strictness, I would have to say both my mom and dad are both pretty strict , but my dad is more relaxed until shit hits the fan, then get’s pissed about it! Like my mom is more relaxed about it. She is VERY nice! However she is this way, the way she believes is her way or no way at all. She is not lenient at all about any of her stuff.
Interviewer: So literally it’s her way or the highway? (Haha)
Vlad: (Haha) well what she does is she sets the standards that will stand all the way through. Where is my dad he can be strict, and then he’ll stop, and then we can’t predict him and then if it’s wrong he just lays down his hand (slams his hand on the table)
Interviewer: All right then who would you say is more disciplinary in Kyrgyzstan?
Vlad: In Kyrgyzstan it’s a lot more different than in America. Like what I mean by that is we, the kids, get spanked by our parents in a disciplinary way. Our family was disciplinary by this implemented.
Interviewer: Dude, I got the belt bare buttcheeks and all!
Vlad: Yeah yeah yeah! Bear ass, bear back, whatever it came to!
Interviewer:You got bear back?!
Vlad: (Haha) Yeah! Where ever you could get hit pretty much.
Interviewer: Holy shit!
Vlad: (Haha) Yeah you know sometimes you run away and your dad is still swinging!
Interviewer: (Haha) Yeah I remember and all you hear is “Get back here! I’ll get you!” and all you can do is cry and scream NO!
Vlad: (Haha) Yeah my mom though, she was neat about it! She just laid us down and she would..my dad, he was a little unfair. There was times if we were wrong he would be like “All right get in your room I’m going to come spank you” and he would just do it until he would see us cry or until he felt bad for us. However he wouldn’t exceed over force or LITERALLY beat us up! We were kids and I think the thought of being spanked made it a lot worse than the actually moment!
Interviewer: Yeah I agree!
Vlad:Where as with my mom on the other hand she’s disciplinary herself and she would be like “All right I’ll give you five” and that’s it whether you’re crying or not crying that’s all she’ll give you. Where is my dad, there’s been many times where he’d be like “Get in your room I’ll get my belt” and there would be times I would be crying before he even hit me with the belt and he would give me one little one and let me go! So both my mom and dad are disciplinary, and Kyrgyzstan in general is very disciplinary as well. Like a pull on the ear or smack on the head it’s ok.
Interviewer: Here it’s not the same, like you touch a kid and you can get in a lot of trouble!
Vlad: Yeah I would have to say here there’s a lot of restrictions, like you could go to court and get as far as your children getting taken away from you.
Interviewer: Yeah that is true, I did not know as a child we couldn’t get hit, but man if I know that, it would have been a blessing in disguise! (Haha)
Vlad: (Haha) Yeah for sure!
Interviewer:What would you say is the role a brother in the family?
Vlad: Me from being the older brother, being the older kid, well I’ll tell what it’s like being from the young kid from the older kid ummm from my youth growing on up to my adulthood.
Interviewer: Ok then go right at it.
Vlad:Growing up there was five of us older kids and then there was a gap, like a five or six year gap before my mom had anymore children, and then there was another five children from that.
Interviewer:Sheesh!
Vlad: Yeah, my older brother is more of a computer geek. He loves sitting in his room watching movies usually all the time. My younger brothers and me would usually clean and help around the house and stuff, however they didn’t want to do much, she didn’t really want too. However, my mom developed a type of arthritis at a really young age where her immune system attacked her joints.
Interviewer: I’m sorry to hear that.
Vlad: Yeah she developed that at my age of seven or eight. So from about my youth to my late adolescence I pretty much did a lot of work! I helped take care of my mom every day, I would message her hands or her feet, I would take care of the children when she’s hurting, clean the floors; I pretty much did a lot to take away the pain from my mom.
Interviewer: Yeah that’s a good son right there!
Vlad: My brother’s wouldn’t do as much or they wouldn’t want to! Like my older brother, we would always call him the lazy guy cause he never really wanted to work. My brothers after me they did some work, but they didn’t really want to either so yeah. Me as a role model, I had to do a lot more than probably all of them, show them that we need to all work and stay focused.
Interviewer: There you go! Way to step it up as a leader! Well what about….let’s talk about a new topic since we’re running out of time! Tell me about the geography!
Vlad: The geography of Kyrgyzstan is VERY different than from here! It’s very very mountainy! Lot’s of mountains all over the place. Plus there’s a lot more sun so it’s always hot there!
Interviewer: Really?!
Vlad:  Yeah, it’s usually in the 90s you know..
Interviewer: The entire year?!
Vlad: Yeah, well not all year! Like usually in the summer it’ll be around the 90s, but of course it’ll go down to the 60s in the winter.
Interviewer: So you guys do get winter like us?
Vlad: Yes, as a matter of fact we do get winter, but it’s not as extreme as it is down here. Like for example, Russia, Canada, and Minnesota, those are extreme temperatures, we have mild compared to that!
Interviewer:That’s got to be nice not living in an ice age!
Vlad: The one thing I love about Kyrgyzstan is it’s very beautiful! What I mean by that is there’s flowers growing on the mountain side, really really green! There’s the apples, the fruits that grow there, the apples, the peaches, watermelons, the melons, a lot of fruits. And the fruits usually very ripe because they get a lot of sun you know?
Interviewer: I didn’t even know about that at all, I will have to go visit this place! So you guys have mild winters, so I’m guessing it’s uncommon for people to come skiing or snowboarding up there.
Vlad: Yeah skiing and snowboarding is something you would want to do in Austria.
Interviewer:So what about transportation, what is transportation like?
Vlad: Transportation, they…well I’ll start off back in the 1990s because obviously it has evolved! Back in the 90s it was a lot of like, very little buses. Like pretty much what it was like in the 20s and 30s here in America! A lot of little buses crammed with people, donkeys, horses, umm, pretty much they would be strolling around the streets. A lot of people would be walking around in the streets too! A lot of the people back in the 1990s would do a lot of walking, like donkeys and horses, packed their buses and are used to drive around. Now of course people have course. Very little cars though, VERY poor cars! Still very bad there, but you know trains still go through there!
Interviewer: Do people still use donkeys to this day?!
Vlad: Yeah yeah yeah! They still uses their animals, donkeys, horses, yeah people still walk around too! (Haha)
Interviewer: (Haha) That’s awesome! So I feel like…no offense it’s like way back in the days, just riding your horse to school or something! Would just tie up the horse and go about your ways?!
Vlad: (Haha) None taken! No uh because you’re so poor, you would probably stroll up to school with your horse and then your dad would take it home because he needs it to do work at home or something,  (Haha)
Interviewer: So what about holidays?! Do you celebrate Christmas and everything else here in America?
Vlad: Yes we defiantly celebrate Christmas by far! New Years is a huge holiday there as well! For Christmas, a lot of, well a lot of people where I’m from  aren’t rich so like all these different presents of stuff for each child, it never happened. We never did that, we never got that, uh, however, the fundamentals like meeting up with the family on Christmas and singing, we always did that! We still do caroling a lot. So we go to people before, Christmas Eve, and we’ll go ahead and sing a song with all of our friends, for our friends.
Interviewer: That’s awesome
Vlad: Of course usually on Christmas day we would usually go to church and then we, yeah we would convert conversation with everybody, and then after that we would do a church party after usually! And then afterwards we would go out and celebrate Christmas you know?
Interviewer: There you go!
Vlad:Yeah and then for New Years people would get together with our friends and usually sing and have a good get together. For most Russians or Kyrgyzstan’s they would drink just like Americans or many other countries.
Interviewer: (Haha) Celebrating the new holiday!
Vlad: (Haha) Exactly!
Interviewer:So is there any holiday here in America that we celebrate that isn’t in Kyrgyzstan?
Vlad: Umm in Kyrgyzstan we have heard about Halloween, but do not celebrate it at all.
Interviewer: Oh wow, well I feel like America uses it as an excuse to get more food (haha)
Vlad: (Haha) yep! Another holiday that’s actually celebrated in Kyrgyzstan that’s celebrated in America is Valentine Day. The only thing is it’s on a different date. Here in America they have it on February 14^th, we have it on March 8^th. So one month to add, same reason why celebrate the holiday though.
Interviewer: That’s nifty! So Vlad do tell, do a lot of people in Kyrgyzstan get the opportunity to go to college?
Vlad: Umm college, for sure more than ever than before! Now because the Soviet Union broke off and people aren’t favored, umm although there are some favoring going on amongst the students and professors, people actually are getting their degrees and diplomas from what they have earned and not from favoritism. Because college is affordable, even though it is more affordable over here in the states, umm many more people are going to school, people are getting their degrees and going out with what they want to do. However, there is still to this day where teachers favor certain students and will fail other students just because they don’t like them or if the student does stupid things.
Interviewer: Oh my! So do the students have a saying in that?!
Vlad: For the most part NO! If you are hated by your teacher for example, she obviously have the right to do many things and in that case tell or fail you and you’re gonna not have much to say because she’s going to let the dean know that you are an effective bad student, you don’t have much to say.
Interviewer: So you really can’t screw off in school! So if you want to be the “class clown” you are sacrificing your grade.
Vlad: That for sure is true!Also if you try to be a smart ass, be a jack ass, or try and act out of the ordinary, or yeah being somebody the teacher just doesn’t like.
Interviewer: So does that lower the rating of screwing off in school in Kyrgyzstan?
Vlad: I would say it most defiantly does contribute to it! Another thing is for example, I know before, that you couldn’t get your diploma without giving your teach a gift!
Interviewer: What?!
Vlad: I know this was before, but I’m not a whole lot sure anymore, but I remember you couldn’t get your diploma unless you gave your teacher a gift. Favorites right?! They’re still there!! So if you bring your teacher a big box chocolate, as a matter of fact CHOCOLATE and TEA!! They are huge on that! Especially to the women, you are on their better list and she will do what she can to make sure you get a good grade in that class.
Interviewer:Really?!
Vlad:REGARDLESS of what you know, they will make sure you pass that test!
Interviewer:So let’s say you fail the test will she just give you an A?!
Vlad:She’ll help you get an A, but it’ll be through a lot of extra credit!
Interviewer:Oh ok then!
Vlad:Yeah because honestly there will be a lot of times where people will walk through school and not know much!
Interviewer: So kissing ass works over there? (haha)
Vlad: (Haha) exactly! Like here there’s NO WAY you will ever see that!
Interviewer: So back in Kyrgyzstan you would see a lot of people with “brown noses” coming out of college? (Haha)
Vlad: (Haha) Pretty much!
Interviewer: So what’s it like over here knowing you can’t brown nose your way through this one? (Haha)
Vlad: (Hahaha) at this point you get used to it of course, I mean I got used to it! I mean in my family since we grew up like that there were times where I would try to suck up! There’s actually this one time where I got pulled over in the States, and I asked the cops if he wanted to we could bargain and I could give him some money if he let me go…and he just yelled at me “Sir I am going to arrest you if you ask me that one more time!!”
Interviewer: (Haha)
Vlad: (Haha) yeah he told me never to ask a cop a question like that here in the states!
Interviewer: (Haha) Yeah I agree!
Vlad: Well Johny I must be heading out here soon! I got to catch the bus my brother! I’m sorry about that!
Interviewer: No it’s perfectly fine!!! I just want to thank you very much for your time and consideration Vlad! It means a lot that you came out here to talk about your life and where you come from! I had a great time getting to know you even more! Is there any questions you have for me out of curiousity?!
Vlad: Yes actually, what class is this for?!
Interviewer: This is for my English 191 class.
Vlad:Really?!? Why do you have to do this outta curiousity?..
Interviewer:Well the professor has his students broaden their horizon and their knowledge on the world around them. It’s a fun project and it defianetly has given me a different perspective of what the world is like! You know I kind of just looked at the world with just one opinion or angle, and that was “America’s, but now I’m starting to see a broader range of angles to look from and see a whole other side of the story!
Vlad: Wow! That’s awesome, well good luck typing up this conversation Johny! (Haha) I’ll see ya next week my friend!
Interviewer: (Haha) I’m gonna need all the luck I can get, well at least it’s the last interview, so that should be motivation itself right there! Thank you again Vlad for everything, have a great weekend!

(We shook each other’s hands and Vlad left the study room while I stayed back and started typing up the conversation)

 

 

 

 

Second Interview

Jonathon Gerry
Interviewee: Tom Shutz
Date of Interview: November 1st, at 4 p.m., on the 3rd level of the library
Country that it was based off of: Germany

         

Research Paper
            One of today’s country that I researched for my second country interview is Germany. Germany is one of the largest countries in Europe with it’s landscape reaching “357,021 square miles with a population of 81,799,600,” (Wikipedia). Germany is well known throughout Europe as the largest and most successful economy. Germany didn’t get this successful by just doing nothing, they worked hard for it. Germany has excelled over the years to become what it is today. What I’m going to discuss about in this research paper is the building foundation of this country success, education.

            The education system in Germany is phenomenal and is looked up to in Europe as a system strived for excellence and benefits in the future. Germany takes self pride in their education system and emphasizes the importance of getting one. They are a role model of the European world when it comes to education and continue to strive to excel in it. Education in Germany isn’t just a necessity; it is a requirement of the children to attend school. Germany goes the point that if the parents don’t send their children to school, they will get fined. What makes Germany education so unique is it divides in numerous routes for children and their family to choose from.

            One of the branches the school system breaks off into is the State School. State schools are free and is one of the best way’s you can send your children to for ready them for German society. “The first four years of school, called die Grundschule,, mix all students together in basic classes where the next two are divided among four such choices” ( 123 Lord ). What is meant by this is the first two years children in Germany are put together to take the “general education” of a normal German student and the next two are divided into four different branches after that.

            Once the first two years are up in a German child’s education they then sit down and decide between four different routes that they are going to take for their future. One of the routes they can choose from is Hauptschule. Hauptschule is the lowest ranked and prepares a child for jobs in the trades and industry. Another route a child can choose from is Realschule. Realschule is a little bit higher than Haupstchule and provides broader range of education, preparing the students for jobs in business or jobs in public service. The level after that is known as Gymnasium. Gymnasium focuses on their traditional academics and prepares their students for college. The goal of the Gymnasium is give the students the proper tools for industry and commerce.

            As a student is getting closer and closer to the next step in their educated career in Germany, the education system of “Gymnasium prepares the students for seven to nine years for a brutal test, the Abitur” (124 Lord ). So pretty much what’s going on in Germany is they are help preparing the students for this important test in ones career that will help them take the next step in their career.  The Abitur is pretty much the make it or break it for deciding which college or university the student will get into, or what kind of job they will be offered. All these steps and processes that one must take up to college is very complex, but also beneficial. The fact that the classes you are taking pertain more to the area of your study, you will be benefiting yourself as you get farther down the road.

            As you can tell the education system in Germany is very complex and organized a different way than America does. The education system in Germany is like a filter. The first couple of years everyone takes the same thing to get the general foundation of Germany education. Once every one gets the general education done, they then choose different paths that will lead to different future outcomes. Germany system is unique and helps someone focus on the area of their study and what will benefit them in their future. Germany has been on top of things when it comes to their education system. Because of their competitiveness in education, Germany will continue to excel in producing people well fit and ready to continue on the countries legacy of tomorrow.

Work Cited

Lord, Richard. Culture Shock! Germany. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Pte Ltd, 2004. Print.

Wikipedia contributors. "Germany." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 4, November 12.

Preparation

            The preparation compared to lasts interview was a lot smoother and lot more relaxing than last time. The first interview that I did, I was rushed and had no time to prepare myself for what was to come. What I did the first time was I took quick glances at little facts about China and didn’t really go into depth  about it. For this interview I was able to sit down and go into even more thorough research and have a better background of where I was coming from and what I was talking about.

            The first thing I had to do is find somebody for my interview. I was lucky because that I interviewed actually came to my friend and I and first. I have a friend that used to live in Germany for a time period and discussed about his life up there. A person behind us noticed this and was thrilled to hear because he too was from Germany. So the three of us got to talking and found out about each other’s lifestyle and compare and contrasting our two separate worlds. After that conversation I decided to interview the person that approached us, Tom. Tom is a remarkable character and was very thrilled to discuss about his country and where he was from.             The first thing I did of course for preparation for the interview is research the country that I was going to interview, which was Germany. In my research paper I focused more on the education system and how the student life was like, but I did more than that. I sat down and read Germany’s successful road to a well established economic country and the history that made it the country of what it is today.

            Once I did some research I then talked to Tom about scheduling a date and a time for our interview, which was Thursday, November, 1^st, at 4 p.m, on the third level of the library.

            Once the day have arrived I did the same thing I did in my first interview. What I did was I researched some fun interesting facts about Germany to see if it will spark up some topics in the interview. Plans fell through and Tom and I had the interview the time we scheduled it at.

           

Review of the Interview

            Looking back at the interview, it was whole lot smoother than the first interview. The first interviewee I did, Shu, was really nerve wrecking at first because Shu and I have never met each other before the interview. I met Shu through one of the classmates, Tranh. The interview started out really rough and unease between Shu and I because we literally had to “break the ice.”

            The second interview was a lot more successful and comfortable than the first one. The reason for this is because Tom and I have met before hand and we had an idea of each other from the first conversation that we had with one another. As soon as Tom came upstairs we smiled, greeted each other, and hit it off. Before I even started the interviewing Tom and I just had a normal conversation outside the interview and just talked about life. I do regret not recording that section because there was a lot of information that could have been helpful or interesting in the tape. I felt like I didn’t even have to “warm up” Tom because I felt like we have become friends before that. Before I first encountered Tom we have seen each other in the library numerous times, it was just that one moment to greet one another. Once Tom, my friend Vlad, and I talked for the first time, I felt like a relationship between Tom and I just blossomed. The interview didn’t even feel like an interview, but rather a normal conversation.

Interview

For this conversation, John will be represented by the letter, J. Tom will be represented by the letter, A. This is for organizational purposes.

J-Alright, here we go. Alright, now so what brought you all the way out here to St. Cloud State University?

A-    Well this was the only partner University of my university, so there was no choice.

J- There was no choice

A-    There was no choice. There are other universities, but in a partner university you don’t have to pay tuition. So that’s a financial reason. Otherwise you have to pay tuition and then it is more expensive.

J- Ok then, so like, this like, do a lot of people our age get like, the opportunity to go to college? Or do very few people like, go to college after they’re done with high school?

A-    Umm. You mean for an exchange semester?

J- Umm. Just for anybody.

A-    Ok. Umm. In Germany, many people are going to a university, because its for free and the education. Its mostly for free, only some states are different, and there you have to pay. But its very easy to study, and there are different educational ways to study. So, umm yeah.

J-So college is free up in Germany?

A-    Its only, there are I think only three or four states where you have to pay, but also only eight hundred bucks a semester.

J-What!?

A-    Yeah! And many people are studying, because the government thinks that education is one of the most important things and they subsidence it, I don’t know the word. They pay for it.

J- Oh, the government pays for your school?

A-    They pay for the schools and everything, because they think that education is the most important, so it is free.

J- That’s awesome!

A-    Yeah everybody is happy, not everybody, but many people who want a good education.

J- ok then, so like, what about, for the people that travel, or international students, you just did it because you wanted the experience, or?

A-    Yeah, I think that there was a little pressure, from the university saying you should go abroad for studying, because in your resume, it looks very good because of your language skills and that you experience different cultures, and yeah.

J- Ok then. So let me ask you again. Are you a junior, sophomore?

A-    No I’m a junior I think, because junior means that I’m undergraduate isn’t it? So next year I am a graduate. So I am now a junior, but next year I can graduate.

J- Alright. Yeah I forgot, that you are one more year away from graduating.

A-    One more year.

J- Lucky! I have a couple more left. I don’t know how I am going to do it, but day by day Tom. So let me ask you, how is the school system in Germany? How do you go from one level to the next?

A-    There are many different ways. I think here there is only high school then college? Or you go to university, or I don’t know. In Germany, for example, in every state it is a little bit different. For example, in Poland and my state, Bavarian, you’ve got the normal school career. You have the primary school, then you have a middle performance school. And then a high performance school. And a very easy performance school. Then that is your degree at the end.

J- Ok, so do you go up from the very easy or do..

A-    No, no, in Braveria, you’ve got four years of primary school then you can make three options. The easy school, then you are finished in four years. Or you can go to the middle performance school where you are finished in five years. Or you go to the high performance school, and you are finished in eight years. You can also switch, for example, my parents said I can switch to the high performance school, and then I, umm, after four years my marks were bad. Because when you are sixteen or seventeen, everything you are interested in, that’s not in school.

J- oh yeah.

A-    So then I go to the middle performance school for one year. Then I make an apprenticeship. And afterwards, there is also an opportunity to make the high performance school again. So that is another way to get your, is it a degree in high school? A high school degree to finish?

J- yeah a high school degree.

A-    Ok then it’s a degree.

J- ok then.

A-    So there are many opportunities. There are also some states in Germany which have one school for everybody.

J- Really?

A-    Yeah, its complelely different from state to state.

J- so like, what are the, lets say someone graduated from the easy school. Compared to someone who graduated from the high like the highest school, like, what do the highest people get to do and what do the easy ones get to do?

A-    They can only make an apprenticeship, or they can make also, they can go to the middle school, but it is harder for them.

J- Ok, alright.

A-    And they can make an apprenticeship. And the high performace school, I think not all, but most of them go to the university. You can only go to the university if you have the high performance school. So its not as simple as everybody goes to college, so only the high performance.

J- so lets say you started out at the easy school.

A-    The first four years?

J- yeah, that is the super easy, to the easy, to the middle, to the highest, right?

A-    Yeah, yeah, but there are different ways. You can switch from one school to another, but normally, if your parents say, after the first four years, the first four years is for everybody, it is a primary thing. Then in secondary school you have the three ways.

J- Oh! Ok.

A-    Three different schools. The lower performance schools, then the high performance school.

J- Ok.

A-    And you can switch, for example, after the easy school, if you finished it fine, you can switch to the middle.

J- so you are saying that you have to take four years at the lowest school, right?

A-    Yeah, you take four years.

J-then you have to take five years of the medium..

A-    No, no. you only have to take one. Because they have five, and they had four, so they take the one more, but it is very difficult. Only some people make this.

J-Really?

A-    Yeah, because easy performance school..

J- doesn’t prepare you for the middle?

A-    Yeah, definitely not. If they are interested in they can.

J- so, how hard is it for them to get from the middle to the high?

A-    I think you can kind of go, when you have an apprenticeship. So in middle school, you can make an apprenticeship. And after you can go to the high performance school, but this is only, I think thirty or forty percent do not finish it.

J- they just go straight to a university after?

A-    No they cancelled. Because it is too hard for them. I think thirty or forty percent. The school after my apprenticeship, thirty or forty percent cancelled because they said it is too tough.

J- Way to tough it out tom!

A-    Yeah, I think its not that hard.

J- yeah its just the amount of time and commitment. Youll be going somewhere in life, I can tell you that. Like, these years are hell, but they’ll, once we are out of it we are in the clear.

A-    Laughs, yeah in the clear.

J- I am so excited. So, what major are you going into again.

A-    In Germany it is called, international, there are two ways of studying. One is in a university of applied sciences, and the other is a normal state university.

J- Ok.

A-    And the difficulty is the same in the end, but in the university of applied sciences, you have more practical, because everybody has to finish it. And there are some models, some I don’t know, some. There are different study opportunities. Like, the most general is business/economics. And here it is business major and engineering studies. Mine is a subdivision of administration economics. It is called international retail management. And it is only a study course that you can choose if you have a company in your back and you have to work over the study course for three and a half years. You are supported by the company with money the whole study, but you have to work for the company on every break and in your practical semester. There is one semester, my next semester I have to work six months for them. And yeah. But you get money.

J- that is true, you cant complain. So a company that you want to work at, say best buy.

A-    Yeah, for example, if I have a fall break here. I have to work at best buy.

J- ok.

A-    And in Germany I have to work at the company on every break.

J- so, like, the company that is paying for your school you have to work for on every break?

A-    On every break. I have to work, yeah. But they pay when I work, as well as I am in school. So they pay the whole year and then yeah, that is even better!

J- there you go! So once you are done with school and everything, you don’t have to work for them at all ever again?

A-    Ive got no contract with them. Now I have a contract with them, but afterwards I am not. There are some companies that say you have to work for me afterwards. But in my company, that is not common. They  don’t, I don’t have to work afterwards for them, but they would prefer it if I go to them and work for them for many years.

J- So, let me ask you. You said it was one of the really good industries in Europe?

A-    It is like Best Buy in the U.S. its called MediaCenter. They also have difficulties at the moment as well as best buy.

J-Yeah.

A-    Yeah its. They also have a multi channeled strategy. Multi channeled strategy. Its like, if you buy something from JC Penny. You can go online and say send it to the store. Or please send It to me, and when they send it to you, you can bring it back to the store. And get your money back and such things. The store and online shopping are interacting.

J- oh my, that is why I don’t go into business Tom.

A-    Yeah, and I think that is called the anatomy.

J- yeah its hard work, its just all memorization though. Like you actually have to know how things work. For example, your bones aren’t going to change shape and youre like shit, what do I do now? Atleast with you, it is a lot more challenging.

A-    Yeah its not so, that retailing it doesn’t count in which retail business you are, because its always people business. You always have to market with the people and give them the good sorts that they are wanting. And its always the same. If you sell clothes or electronics it is the same.

J- Yeah. So true. So let me ask you, for the people out there. How would you compare the egocentric to the people in America to the people in Germany?

A-    Egocentric means personality?

J-  Yeah, like our ego. How would you compare?

A-    Like how do they them of themselves?

J- Yeah.

A-    Ok, ok. I heard when I was in Germany that the americans are so…

J_ Stubborn?

A-    I don’t know the word, they uhh, they don’t talk to each other very deep. They only say, ok, hello, whats going on, and such. That’s only why the Europeans, they mean when somebody asks whats going on? They want a real honest answer. Here it isn’t like that.

J- ok, you guys literally take that for context. Like wahts going on means is something wrong?

A-    Yeah, and in Germany, if you ask someone how are you, you expect a really honestly good answer. And here its oh, fine. You see it in kind of a forced way.

J- Ok, yeah.

A-    Communication is umm, but if you talk to someone deeper or more, I don’t know how to say. I think the americans are more not so as they seem.

J- so we are not as like, in depth with our conversations, like more personal with our conversations?

A-    I think the conversations are also personal, but the Europeans see it as, yeah.

J- they just have a serious personal connection? Like, I don’t know.

A-    It is really difficult to describe.

J- I cant imagine, I really cant.

A-    I think that the americans have, I like the mentality, It is more easy-going. In Germany it is more focused on himself? And the people are more seeing about their own goals, and they are not so friendly?

J- not so friendly?

A-    No definitely not. Americans are also more in depth in their conversation when you have more people. And they are also critical I think. The only thing, for example, in such I think the mass comm here is incredible good. And that’s a point that some americans often don’t understand the complexity but they talk with so good communication skills, that if you know what is going on, you know that they are talking crab, but the with so much confidence and when you say its like, they don’t care what they are talking about I don’t know.

J- there are so many ways that we can communicate, like you don’t really know if you are really interpreting it or not. Like if he is fooling around or if he is like.

A-    Yup, and you know it, because you understand the complexity. There are very good communication skills. And there is a connection with not understanding the complexity.

J- Yeah

A-    Atleast you understand it. Laughs. For example I think there are many teachers who are not so intelligent I think.

J- Oh my gosh.

A-    But they have good communication skills. And if you combine these two and you combine this with the confidence it all works out.

J- yeah, for example I have a really good professor. Smartest guy ever. And he talks like he is so fast and there is so much information and you cant absorb it. And you are trying to keep up with him but you cant. You know when someone is too smart to talk to the other? It is exactly like that. Whereas, someone who completely doesn’t know what they are talking about.

A-    But that is more seldom here. That point with small conversation skills but you are very smart.

J- Yeah!

A-    It is very seldom I think. The difference here is often here that you have.

J- I think it depends on the area you are in. there are some people who have great communication skills, like they are just upbeat and outgoing, but they have a low intelligence level. Like they balance each other out.

A-    Doctors are a good example for this, because they are so smart but they cannot communicate.

J- yeah they cannot stoop down to our level. In a way. And it isn’t their fault or our fault either, they are just too advanced. Laughs. Definitely a breed of their own. So let me ask you about sports and activities.

A-    The big sport in Germany is soccer, everybody plays when they are six years old you go to a soccer club and learns soccer. Everyone can play soccer. If you are very good in soccer you get honored in this. But if someone is better in school, you are more honored.

J- so people would rather be smarter than be better at soccer?

A-    Yeah. To be smart in Germany is better than being good in sports. There are only some guys at the top of the soccer reaches, they are phenomenal. People love them, if someone is very good and popular in soccer. But there are many people like athletes here that are ok. The people look at them and say wow. But the people in Germany that go to America to play soccer, nobody cares about.

J- Really?

A-    Yeah, because it is just a sport. If you are good at sports it is fine, you can look a little better than others because you have a good work out. Laughs. I think education skills get more and more important. And yeah.

J-So you guys take education really serious down in Germany. I saw online, my friend is from Poland. He was talking how he loves soccer. Like he gives me all these updates and I have no idea what the hell is going on. He told me one time in England, the players start training in little clubs that feed into the big clubs. The kids train to be professionals at such a young age. Is that how it is in Germany?

A-    I think if you are very good at sports you will go to a sports school. You live there, you learn there, and you play soccer.

J- So you have schools that pertain to sports, so let’s say for football or soccer?

A-    Yes but the schools are very seldom.

J- The education is poor?

A-    No their education is fine, it’s not poor, but because they teach the same you have the same degree afterwards but everything is focused on Soccer.

J- That’s awesome

A-    Only the best players can get there, it’s very hard.

J- It is different here because people look up to NFL players and MLB players like gods, and role models. If you see one of them walk by you immediately want to shake their hands. It is awesome how Germany values education still; I wish the United States could be like that. I feel like we are lacking in that aspect.           

A-    Yes like Dirk Nowitski, do you know of Dirk Nowitski?

J- No I not pay attention to Basketball. Do you watch Basketball?

A-    No but I read something about him and I think that his autobiography is coming out and I think I should read it because I like his personality and he complained at the beginning that he always has to bring the big guys of the NBA and has to bring them their drinks and their shoes at the beginning of his career.

J- So he was the lower type of guy?

A-    Yes he starts very low, for a German guy, there’s only one or two German guys in the NBA and he is the best.

J- Oh, so he is a NBA player from Germany?

A-    He is the only German guy who is good at Basketball (Laughs)

J- See I am sorry I do not watch Basketball

A-    It’s okay I only look up to him because he is very good, he has a lot of money but he is down to earth, he has a very small house, 500 squared meter house.

J- So he is giving away some of his money to other players?

A-    Yes, Dallas has to invest in other players, and I like that.

J- Yes he’s like Ray Lewis, this guy named Ray Lewis, he has so much money but he cuts a ¼ of it so the coaches can go get more players.

A-    Oh I see, I will look him up.

J- Who did you look up to when you were growing up?

A-    Soccer, my daddy is a big soccer fan, he is only interested in sports and the stock market.

J- My dad is boring and he loves his job but loves the Vikings, that’s all I know, he loves pulling teeth, his family and the Vikings.

A-    He pulls teeth out?

J- Yeah he is a Dentist, they have a hygienist, he’s not allowed to clean or anything but he does surgery and looks at x-rays. Have you had your wisdom teeth pulled?

A-    Yes before I came here I was told by my Dentist that I would have to get them pulled, so I did not go anymore, then I subscribed and now I have to go do it in Germany cause it is free there because of Social Insurance.

J- You get it for free?

A-    Yes because of Social Insurance

J- Can you explain to me how your economy works? How the Government pays for everything, doesn’t everyone have to help each other out?

A-    Umm, the economy is more, you do not have lower wages, the wages are very high in Germany, there are costs, the employer has to pay 100% and you only receive 50%, the other 50% goes to insurances.

J- So, when the company pays you, they give you half the money and the rest goes to insurance?

A-    Yep half goes to me and the rest goes to insurances, if you’re married you don’t have to pay for so much but if you are single you have to pay for 50%. My company has to pay me 1000 euros and the other 1000 goes to companies and insurances.

J- That’s awesome.

A-    Yes, that’s awesome, but here you do not have as many costs or wages, here you receive what your employer pays isn’t it?

J- Mhm

A-    For example, to pay for this, 20 bucks, that amount here, everything is more expensive in Germany, there are two types of GDP, goods, and additional costs and services. The services here are very cheap but in Germany they are very expensive.

J- Alright then

A-    For example if you buy groceries in Germany they are cheaper, most are imported and there is much more competition, here you have Wal-Mart knocking out all the competition.

J- Yeah Wal-Mart, no kidding, Wal-Mart is knocking out all the small businesses.

A-    So I think in Germany, if we want to export we can only export premier products because of our higher wages, and we can only create better products if our people are well educated.

J- I agree, you guys are on the right track.

J- So let me ask you, is there a lot smaller businesses than larger businesses, for example less Wall-marts than local businesses?

A-    Yes, a lot smaller, middle businesses, I think the smaller, middle businesses cover 90% of employers.

J- Just because there is a lot more competition over there?

A-    Yes there is a lot of competition, there is an also very small business which are very specialized and make very special products and are very successful. Very specialized in Auto motives.

J- So, alright, that makes more sense, so if you want to start a business in Germany, you have to make sure you’re right on, do a lot of small businesses get shut down in Germany?

A-    I think there is and there is also Americanization, because there are also many big players like TJ Max or Forever 18, they are very big chains, which go into inner cities and the small independent businesses have to leave because they get beat out.

J- Okay

A-    For example, here there are so many fast food chains, I think in Germany there is 1 subway for every 50,000 people. McDonalds for example is only in big cities. KFC is only in cities of 100,000 plus people. Everywhere is a fast food chain here.

J- So how would you compare the food in Germany to here? What’s big in Germany?

A-    I think you have more variety than in America, you don’t have the strong ingredients, in Germany the food is very restricted by the Government, you are not allowed to use much flavor enhancer. In Germany, I can only eat McDonalds once a week. McDonalds doesn’t taste as good in Germany because of flavor enhancers. Everything is more light.

J- Okay, so we have a great variety

A-    And in Germany people cook for themselves more because it is cheaper than eating out at a fast food restaurant.

J- Sounds a lot more healthy than we are

A-    At a University for example you can never buy unhealthy food there.  I think the only unhealthy thing you can buy at a primary school is a healthy chocolate bar.

J- (Laughs) That is sad

A-    My first Primary school they do not sell lemonade, apple juice was the sweetest.

J- Wow I would die.

J- When you go back home to Germany do you like the food better there or here?

A-    I would like the food better here because there is no flavor, the food here is so intensive and then the food in Germany has no flavor enhancer so it tastes like nothing.

J- well you gotta love America for that, but if we give you the freshman 15 I am sorry for that, have you ever heard of that?

A-    No

J- Like usually when kids go to their first year of college in America most kids gain the freshman 15 because of drinking, or eating, or not working out, like I remember after coming back from my first year most of my friends were big. One of my friends runs a fraternity and he drinks all the time and he is smart he has a 3.8 but he has been gaining weight more and more per year.

A-    And he wants to become a doctor?

J- Yeah he’s smart, and he works hard in school, he is always studying. Him and his brothers are all smart.

A-    So he can be proud of his grades because he works hard for them

J- Exactly, like if you see your hard work paying off that feeling feels better than anything.

A-    Yes and if you do well on a test than you can look forward to the next party.

J- Exactly one weekend I destroyed myself and after that it was so hard to concentrate on school and once you have fun it’s hard to get back to it.