Interview 2

Preparation

(Describe the preparations. How did you approach people? When, where, and how did you conduct and record the interview? Whom did you interview?)

Preparations for the interview

              The only issue I had during my first interview was  maintaining a logical flow between my questions. So, for my second interview, I decided to master my own questions and put them in a logical manner. Having a strategy on hand already, my only concern now was to find an interviewee. 

How did you approach people?

After a series of thought, I decided to interview my neighbor, Peshal who lives right across from me.

When, where, and how did you conduct and record the interview?

             On Saturday November 3rd, I asked Peshal, if he could sit down for an interview with me and talk about Nepal. He said that he had already done a similar interview for his friend and told me that he would be more than happy to help me. Since, we live in the same building I invited him to my apartment; we decided to do the interview in the evening after he was done with his homework. So, I made some food for us and after having a dinner I started the interview process. I took my phone and grabbed the 2 sets of questions from my room. And without wasting any time, we jumped directly into the questions. 

Whom did you interview?

               I interviewed Peshal N. who is from Kathmandu, Nepal. He is 22 years old and he is already a junior student at SCSU.

Personal review

(Describe the interview. What did surprise you?)

          The second interview, for me, went extremely well in terms of the flow and the pattern. Since, Peshal had already been interviewed for an assignment like this before, getting the information from him was exactly what I need for my interview. However, after the interview it was a little bit hard to put all conversation in words because when you speak and write it is a big difference. Overall, everything went really smooth. 

         However, at times, I did feel that this interview was the repetition of the first interview and I did feel asking some other questions which were not primarily in the questionnaire. But since, the goal of this interview was to bring uniformity in the information, the questions had a positive impact on the interview. As usual, I was very lucky to have an interviewee who was very insightful and informative. My main goal in this interview was to know more about the cultural Nepal and I think the goal was fairly attained. Peshal did an excellent job not only answering my questions but understanding what I really wanted from each of my questions.
        So, I’d very much like to thank Peshal for his great help and would like to continue to conduct my next interviewee in the same manner.

Country report

Culture in Nepal:

        Pic.1. Flag of Nepal

         "Nepal's flag is the only national flag in the world that is not rectangular in shape. According to its official description, the red in the flag stands for victory in war or courage, and is also color of the rhododendron, the national flower of Nepal. Red also stands for aggression. The flag's blue border signifies peace. The curved moon on the flag is a symbol of the peaceful and calm nature of Nepalese, while the sun represents the aggressiveness of Nepalese warriors."(2)

        "The Nepali year begins in mid-April and is divided into 12 months. Saturday is the official weekly holiday. Main annual holidays include the National Day, celebrated on the birthday of the king (28 December), Prithvi Jayanti (11 January), Martyr's Day (18 February), and a mix of Hindu and Buddhist festivals such as dashain in autumn, and tihar in late autumn. During tihar, the Newar community also celebrates its New Year as per their local calendar Nepal Sambat." (2)

           "Most houses in rural lowland of Nepal are made up of a tight bamboo framework and walls of a mud and cow-dung mix. These dwellings remain cool in summer and retain warmth in winter. Houses in the hills are usually made of unbaked bricks with thatch or tile roofing. At high elevations construction changes to stone masonry and slate may be used on roofs." (2)

Pic.2. Vatsala Durga hindu temple at Bhaktapur, Nepal

Religion in Nepal:
        "In Nepal, religion is not just a set of beliefs and accompanying rituals handed down from generation to generation; rather it is a complex intermingling of traditions, festivals, faiths and doctrines that have permeated every strata of Nepalese Society in such a way as to become the very heartbeat of the nation."(1)

         "Nepal is famous, as the world's only Hindu Kingdom. However, it is an intricate and beautiful tapestry formed by the interweaving of Hinduism, Buddhism and other beliefs. Religious tolerance and harmony such as is found in Nepal, is perhaps a unique example to the world." (1)

Work cited:

1. "Religion in Nepal": http://www.thamel.com/htms/religions.htm
2. "Itour International travel Service": http://itoursnepal.com/culture-in-nepal.html
3. Pic. 1.: http://www.advadventures.com/information.php?aId=7

4. Pic. 2.: http://www.123rf.com/photo_8744705_vatsala-durga-hindu-temple-at-bhaktapur-nepal.html

The Interview

Interviewer: Helen Galkina

Interviewee: Peshal N.

Location: My apartment.

6:00pm (11/3/2012)

H-Helen                           

P-Peshal

H- Hello, my name is Helen and what’s your name?

P- My name is Peshal.

H- Ok, Peshal. And where are you from?

P- I am from, Nepal.

H- Where in Nepal actually?

P- I’m from capital city, Kathmandu.

H- Chandra has told me also a lot of interesting things about Nepal… It is a fascinating place indeed! I’m so excited to know and learn something more from you too!! So, we can jump directly to questions for now.

P- Sounds good!

H- I’m wondering how would you introduce your country to somebody who has never heard of it?

P-Nepal is a wonderful country which is between India and China. It’s a land of mountain Everest. Place where Buddha was born.  And a very beautiful country!

H- That is interesting!!! And could you tell me now about some differences in educational systems between Nepal and the US?

P- Completely different! Back in Nepal schools are more intensive than here. Teacher comes to your class; you don’t go around to different classes choosing your own subjects like in the US. Also teachers have their have fixed categorical, you cannot choose any subject you have to study what has given. That how it works there! From kindergarten to all the way to college.

H- Is it based on credits or you have a fixed set of classes to take?

P- Yes, we have fixed classes to take but we take credits too. But not like in the US, our techers don’t design courses for you

H- Okay. Let’s skip education. Let’s talk about your family now. How many members are there in your family?

P- There are 5 members… Dad, mom, my brother, sister and I.

H- So how has family values shaped you as a person?

P- People care about family members a lot there. So, I mean there is a sense of giving and carrying about everybody in the family. People are always trying to be together as a one unit and I don’t see it out here.

H- What about your grandparents? Do they live with your parents?

P- My grandparents don’t live with my parents. But they live with my uncle.

H- So, it’s common that grandparents live with their children and grandchildren, right?

P – Yes, always! First parents take care of you and then it is all your responsibility to take care of them.

H- That is a good thought!!! Was it really hard for your parents to agree with you to come here?

P- No, they supported me! I have brother and sister over there.. so.. they are not lonely! But, still... they miss me of course!

H- Do your siblings want to come here to study as well?

P- Not really. They just want to come to visit me and go around the US.

H- Oh, Ok. How was your life different from the lifestyle in the US?

P- You give more value to time here. Back home they don’t really care about the time. For example, businessmen of the restaurant can open and close it any time if there is no business but here its open 6 days a week or 7 days a week because they give more value to customers

H- What do you like to do here?  Any special hobbies?

P- Watch footballs, soccer… do ice-skating

H- Do young people do same activities in your country like in the US?

P- Yes, mostly they do the same activities. Except may be for the bars. We don’t really go to bars back home and we don’t really have them. Normally, we just hang out with our friends at their place

H- Ok Peshal. Let’s talk about major holidays in your country now. Chandra has told me told me some interesting things about Dashain festival and some other holidays. Could you tell me something more about it?

P- Dashain is one of the biggest festival in Nepal. It is like Christmas here (smile). I would say.. it is like combination of thanksgiving and Christmas. People celebrate it for 10 days. They buy new clothes, cook food, gets together.. it is a lot of fun!

H- And what about you major holidays of Nepal?

P- As I said Dashain, Tihar, Holi... and there are like so many festivals… Festivals are almost every day there. It is because we have 330000000 of Gods. So all our festivals relate to Gods and their names!!

H- And what is your favorite holiday back home?

P- I would say Tihar. It’s the festival of lights.

H- Why do you like it? What do you do during this holiday?

P- Because its so bright everywhere! People light homes, lit up candles and ‘Diyo’. Play with fireworks. Play Deusi, where group of people go to different houses and sing traditional songs and give them blessings. So ya, it is really awesome!!!

H- Wow!! That is so interesting!! Could you tell me something about your traditional food now?!

P - The national food of Nepal is Dhindo, which is made of corn or millet flour and dreid spinach, which is amazing. Besides, there always is rice and curry. Also, there are other ethnic cuisine which are unique to different regions. However, I like Newari cuisine the most, ‘Choyela’, ‘Bara’ and ‘Samyebaji’ are the best food.

H- So, Do you know how to cook your traditional food?

P- Yes, of course!!

H- Where did you learn it? In the US or back home?

P- I learned it here. Back home my mom cooked for me..

H- What is your favorite dish that you like to cook?

P- The best dish that I like is Momo. It is more like a dumpling but lot better!!! But the taste is deferent here! Back home it is much better.

H- Yamy Yamy!!! Can you invite me for dinner then? I would love to see how you cook it and learn how to make it!!!

P- Sure (smile)

H- Thank You!!! Well, what about your country's major religions then? As Chandra told me that your country predominantly follows Buddhism and Hinduism, right?

P- Yes, right. The main religions are Hinduism and Buddhism. And ye, there are a little bit of Muslims, Christains and some other religions!

H- Also, Chandra has told me about Castes... Could you tell me something about it too?

 P - Nepal consist of 4 social classes Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Sudra and these are the 4 major castes on which people are divided. But, these days, people don’t really care about these Castes any more. It is not important now!

H- Okay…   And now I want to talk about your country's traditional process regarding marriage. Tell me something about it.

P- Most of the marriages in Nepal are arranged by the family… but we can see a lot of love marriages nowadays. As far as the customs and rituals during marriage go, it’s very complicated. Marriage is mostly celebrated for 2 days. The groom goes to bride’s house, marries her and brings her to his house. Then, they go through several rituals at his place again the very next day!

H- And what do most women do after they get married? Do they work or act as a housewife?

P- Ye, some women become housewives. But time is changing now… And more women are educated now. They open shops, work on some fields.. so.. do any kind of work that related for women.

H- And now the last question! What are the differences between your culture and the American culture?

P- Everything I suppose!! People here know the value of time!

H- Thank you so much Peshal for your time and help!

P- No problem at all!

H- Is there anything else would you like to add before we end our interview?

P- Yes! (Laugh) Let’s cook some Nepalese food now!!!

H- Ok.(laugh) Do you have any questions for me?

P- Not really…I was glad to help you with your assignment! 

That was the end of my second interview with Peshal N. I desire to learn some more about this country from my the last interviewee.