Interview 3

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

              I had already learned a lot about Nepal from my two previous interviews. So, the third interview was just an opportunity for me to explore more about culture of Nepal. As I was having all my questions ready and organized it was pretty easy to interview my friend.

How did you approach people?

           Finding an interviewee was not hard at all as a friend of mine, Sushma P. lives at the same building where I live. I gave her a call and asked if I can come to her place and interview her. Since she was coming home from Minneapolis we set the time at 6pm.  

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

             On November 12^th, we sat down at her place with the 2 sets of questions and my phone, and we started the interview process!

Whom did you interview?

               I interviewed Sushma P. who is from Kathmandu, Nepal. She is 25 years old and she is already a senior student at SCSU.

Personal Review

            As I mentioned earlier, I wanted to learn more about culture of Nepal from my third interviewee. Since I knew Sushma very well, it was so easy and interesting to interview her.  As always, I was very lucky to have an expert interviewee who was very knowledgeable. I think this interview was very successful in terms of what I wanted from it; getting personal view from my three interviewees about Nepal was certainly beneficial.

          I’d like to thank Sushma for her time and hope I would be able to conduct interviews in the future in similar fashion!

Country report

Weddings and Marriage in Nepal

pic.1. Hindu marriage

           "Weddings in Nepal are momentous occasions which are often planned years in advance of the wedding itself. In line with other festivals in Nepal, weddings are colorful and beautiful events.

             Traditionally, weddings in Nepal are arranged by the respective families. It is not uncommon for matches to be decided when the two individuals are still children. However, child marriages in Nepal – as with the majority of countries the rest of the world, are illegal and the couple therefore wait until adulthood to complete their marriage rites. Traditionally families in Nepal consider a number of factors before arranging the marriage. These factors may include caste (traditionally marriages do not happen across castes), religion, ethnicity and also the consideration of ties between families in an effort to build allegiances. It is important that arranged marriage and forced marriage in Nepal are not confused. It is not normal practice for families in Nepal who are arranging marriages to force their offsprimarry someone that they do not wish to marry. The offspring are also consulted and it is important that they consent to the marriage.

             Hindu weddings and marriages in Nepal are colourful occasions and travellers to Nepal may be fortunate enough to witness either the wedding itself or, at least to witness the wedding parties making the journey to the bride's house. These journeys can sometimes take a number of days to complete due to the distance between the groom and bride's home. Hindu marriages in Nepal are often arranged with the assistance of a priest, who analyses the horoscopes of the couple to ensure that they are compatible and they typically take place during the months of January or February.

           Buddhist weddings in Nepal are often quieter occasions, with a focus on ceremonial displays. The weddings are usually extremely large, sometimes encompassing whole villages and large numbers of extended family.

         Sherpa weddings and marriages differ to Hindu and Buddhist weddings quite considerably. Sometimes the marriage rites for the couple are completed years in advance of the actual wedding ceremony and consequently, the couple may even have their children attend the wedding!"(1) 

Work cited:

1. "Country Facts" (March 29th, 2010): http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/articles/nepal/Weddings-and-Marriage-in-Nepal/435

2. Pic.1.:0 http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamie-mitchell/5577091238/

The Interview

Interviewer: Helen Galkina

Interviewee: Sushma P.

Location: Sushma’s apartment.

06:00pm (11/12/2012)

H-Helen                           

S-Sushma

H- Hello Sushma, Thank you so much for your time, I really appreciate that!

S- No problem Helen! (smile)

(we had some talk about classes and planes and after words we started the interview)

H- Ok, Sushma let’s start the interview. Where are you from?

S- I am from, Nepal.

H- Where in Nepal actually?

S- I’m from capital city, Kathmandu.

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

S- Sounds good!

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

S-Well, Nepal is located in Southeast Asia. It is rich in natural beauty. It is also birth place of Gautam Buddha. We have the highest peak, Mt. Everest in our country.

  

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

S- It is completely different than here. In our country, we don’t have to go to different classes. We stay in the same class and teacher comes and teaches us. We need to take one board exam at the end of the year which is very tough and we must pass that test to take other courses.  

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

S- we have fixed set of classes.

  

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

S - I live in a joint family. We have 17 people in our family. I have grandparents, dad, mother, 2 uncles, 2 aunts, 2 siblings, and 7 cousins.

H – WOW!! It is so big family!!! It should be fun then, ha?

S – It is!! We are all friendly!!! And every time we do some fun stuff back home!

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

S – Yes, because it is children and grandchildren’s responsibility to look after grandparents.

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

S- I have always lived with group of people so I am more oriented towards the collectivism. Most of my decisions are made by my elders. I try my best not to hurt them too.

H- I see!!! Was it really hard for your parents to agree with you to come here?

S- Yes, it was little bit a tough decision for them since I was the first kid to go abroad and study. And after I came here we have been talking trough skype all the time so, they are fine.

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

S- No, they don’t want to come here. They think that I am living a very lonely life here.

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

S- Life was totally different back home. I used to get back to home by 6:00 pm but here I can go home anytime I want. Whatever decisions I make here will directly affect me. Most of the time, it was my parents who used to make decision for me.

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

S- I like to hang out with my friends. I like to read novels and cook.

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

S- To some extent, I would like to say yes. But not totally like US.

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

S- Dashain is the biggest festival in our country. We celebrate it for 15 days but the major celebration is for 10 days.

H- And what about other major holidays of Nepal?

S- Since we have lot of people from other ethnicity, we celebrate lhosar, tihar, chaat, holi, janai purnima, and so on.

H- And what is your favorite holiday back home?

S- Dashain, tihar and Lhosar

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

S- Most of the time, it is time for a family reunion. We have a big feast in our house.

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

S – Most of the people eat rice, lentils and vegetables. In main festivals like Dashain and tihar, we make different varieties of food. But in the ethnic festival like lhosar, we make khapse and wine in addition to other foods. Also, we eat different kind of meat except beef because it is against to our religion. Hindus worship cow that’s why they don’t eat it.

H – Oh, it is good to know... So, Do you know how to cook your traditional food?

S – Yes, But not all of them

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

S- I learned it back home. I used to help my mother in kitchen.

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

S- Momo, it takes time to cook but it tastes so good. Most of the time, all of my friends get together and cook momo with combined effort.

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!!!

S- For Sure! But you need to have patience to learn how to cook momo as it takes lot of time.

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

S- Yes, the majority of the populations are Hindu and Buddhist. But the number of Christians and Muslims are also increasing.

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

  S – In our country, we have 4 casts Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Sudra. People were given these castes depending on the work they do. However, in our days, my parents are still pretty much religious and they want me to get married to the guy from the same cast. But, things are changing rapidly over time so now it depends on the family how religious they are.

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

S- Normally, we have arranged marriage in our country. It means the family will find a bride or groom. They need to perform all the rituals while getting married. They check the compatibility of both bride and groom. If everything looks compatible then only the family set up the date. All rituals are supposed to be performed otherwise it will be considered bad luck.

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

S- My mom used to go to school before getting married but once she got married she stayed being house wife. She was the one to look at the house, and look after the kids. But the things are changing now. Even when girls get married, they can continue their study, the work they are doing. The role of women is changing.

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

S- I see a lot of differences in my culture and American culture. In my culture, we believe in group work and family makes most of the decisions. But in America, it is very different. People are very individualistic here.

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

S- No problem at all!

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

S- Yes, It was a very good experience to share my culture with you Helen. Since it is our Diwali festival day today, I have special Nepalese food in my house. I want you to taste our Nepalese food.  

H- Uuu.. wow (laugh) Sounds good!!!! I would love to taste it!!! And by the way do you have any questions for me?

S – Not really…I was glad to help you with your assignment! And I would like to know about your culture too.

That was the end of my last third interview with Sushma P. As a result I learned a lot about Nepal from my three interviewees. It was such a good chance to know better my three interviewees and learn some new information about this fascinating country!!!