Country Report:
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic which consists of fifty states and a federal district. [1] It has a total area of 3.79 million square miles and over 312 million people, making it the third or fourth largest country in the world. It is also one of the most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations in the world because of the large-scale immigration from many countries. [1]Washington, D.C is the capital of United States. [2]
Description: Map of US depicting state boundaries and their capital. [2]
"Flag of the United States consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows of five stars. The fifty stars on the flag represent the 50 states and the 13 stripes represent the thirteen colonies that rebelled against the British monarchy and became the first states in the Union." [3]
[3]
[3]Climate in United States varies due to its large size, big range of geographic features, and non-contiguous arrangement. [4] According to Wikipedia, " In the contiguous United States to the east of the 100th meridian, the climate ranges from humid continental in the north to humid subtropical in the south. The southern tip of Florida is tropical. The Great Plains west of the 100th meridian are semi-arid. Much of the Rocky Mountains, the Sierra Nevada, and the Cascade Range are alpine. The climate is arid in the Great Basin, desert in the Southwest, Mediterranean in coastal California, and oceanic in coastal Oregonand Washington. The state of Alaska—on the northwestern corner of the North American continent—is largely subarctic, with an oceanic climate in its southern edge and a polar climate in the north. The archipelago state of Hawaii, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, is tropical." [4]
In United States, different regions have their own distinctive cuisine. For example: Midwestern Cuisine covers everything from barbecue to the Chicago-style hot dog. The cuisine of the south has been influenced by the many diverse inhabitants of the region, including Americans of European descent, Native Americans and African Americans. The foods in the west are mostly fast food hamburger and the San Francisco burrito. [5]
Description: Midwestern Cuisine [5]
Description: Cuisine in the West [5]
There are about 28 different religions in United States. [6] According to the imformation proveded by Wikipedia, the major religion in United States is Christian,which covers about 76% of American adults. Non-Christian religions cover about 3.9% to 5.5% of the adult population. Another 15% of the adult population is identified as having no religious belief or no religious affiliation. About 5.2% said they did not know, or refused to reply. [7]
Description: The Washington National Cathedral, in Washington, D.C., is a cathedral of the Episcopal Church. [8]
There are a lot of holidays in the United States. For example: New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving Day, Veterans Day and Christmas. Christmas is the holiday Americans celebrate the most. It is on December 25 and it is a holiday to remember the birth of Jesus. [9] The traditional colors of Christmas are green and red. [9] White, silver and gold are also popular. Christmas trees are used for decoration. [9] Exchanging of gifts is one of the most important things to do in Christmas. [9] Children believe their gifts are given by Santa Claus. A standard Christmas meal includes turkey or goose, meat, gravy, potatoes, vegetables, sometimes bread and cider. [9] Special desserts are also prepared, such as Christmas pudding, mince pies and fruit cake. [9]
Describe: Anbetung der Hirten (Adoration of the Shepherds) (c. 1500–10), by Italian painter Giorgio da Castelfranco [9]
Describe: A Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center, New York City [9]
Describe: Christmas pudding [9]
Preparation:
This was my third interview. I chose the fourteen questions that I used in the second interview but I changed the order a little bit. I printed out two copies of the questions. I was going to give my interviewee one of the copies so that he/she could read the questions before we get started. I used my cell phone to record my interview because it worked well on the previous two interviews. I made sure I charged my cell phone. I decided to interview a random person in Atwood. After I got ready, I went to Atwood. I walked around in Atwood but most people are walking, sleeping or charting. I found a person sitting in the dining area playing games in his cell phone. I asked him if he has time to spend twenty minutes to take the interview. He told me that he have a class at two o’clock so he could not take the interview. So I didn’t find an interviewee easily like my previous two interviews. I thus went to Centennial Hall and found a person sitting in the couch on the first floor. I asked him if I could have some of his time. He was willing to take the interview.
Interview
Interviewer: Wenjun Wu
Interviewee: Josh
Location: First floor of Centennial Hall
Interviewer: Wenjun Wu
Interviewee: Josh
Location: First floor of Centennial Hall
Time: 11/17/11
Me: Good afternoon. My name is Wenjun Wu. What is your name?
Josh: My name is Josh.
Me: Where are you from?
Me: What is the weather like in your hometown?
Josh: Pretty much same here. It is cold in winter and hot in summer. It is just one hour drive from here.
Me: What places would you recommend to tourists?
Josh: In general or in my hometown?
Me: In U.S.
Josh: Ok. I recommend Las Vegas, New York and California.
Me: Have you ever been there before?
Josh: No. Some of my friends went there before. They recommend me to go there.
Me: Ok. What festivals do you celebrate in your country?
Josh: Fourth of July. We eat BBQ, watch fireworks.
Me: What is a traditional food in your country?
Josh: Hamburgers, hotdogs, pizza something like that.
Me: Do you like them?
Josh: Yeah.
Me: Dumpling is a traditional food in China. Have you had it before?
Josh: No, I didn’t.
Me: You should try it. They sell dumplings in Target. You will love it. What is a type of sport in your country?
Josh: My favorite is football.
Me: Do you play football?
Josh: Sometimes. Mostly watch it though.
Me: Nice. Do you often read newspapers or magazines?
Josh: I read newspaper sometimes.
Me: Which sections do you like best?
Josh: Usually like local stuff, culture, music and the comics too.
Me: I like music and comics too. How has your culture influenced your family values?
Josh: Basically be nice to everyone.
Me: What do your parents believe? Do you follow the same religion as your parents?
Josh: They are Christian and Catholic. I do, but I don’t attend church.
Me: Ok. What do most women do after they get married in your country?
Josh: Most women they are usually stay at home, have kids. Or they also go to work. Like my Mom, she is the housewife for a lot of time, but after I attend college, she started working pretty much full time.
Me: Oh, that’s nice. I think that’s all the questions. Thank you for the time.
Josh: No problem.
Personal impressions:
It was a nice talk with Josh. It went well, but I didn’t choose a good place this time. The location where I did my interview is beside a classroom. The class was over while I was still interviewing Josh. Students were talking while leaving, so I didn’t hear some words clearly. He was patient and repeated what he said again. I prepared how to respond to my interviewee this time. I use different words to instead of “ok”. The answers to the questions are similar like “What is a traditional food in your country?” and “What is a traditional food in your country?” It is very good experience interviewing other people and I learnt a lot.
Work Cited:
No comments:
Post a Comment