Third interview report

PREPARATION FOR INTERVIEW

I have had two interview experiences, so I do not worry about my third interview. I think it can go well. I got contact with Mohammed and ask him to be my third interviewee. Before the interview, we talked about where and what time we could meet. I looked over the questions several times before I met him. We met at the library at about 7:30 on November 8^th. I was very comfortable approaching Mohammed, because we were the classmate last semester. When we started the interview I used my camera as a recorder.

DESCRIBING THE INTERVIEW

We enjoyed the interview and had good flow. Even though, I have already heard from the first two interviews, I also heard some new material that I did not know about Saudi Arabia.

·        What is dating and marriage like, is it similar to what American do here?

They don’t have dating in Saudi Arabia. Because of the religion, Muslim. They don’t believe in dating before marriage. Sometimes they dating but it is in secret, the girls and the boys can date but nobody can know it.

·        Are there any differences in the way men and women contact each other? Like eye contact.

It is similar to here. Some people feel afraid with eye contact and others don’t.

·        What do the women normally wear?

Women can do whatever she wants, but she has to cover herself with an abayah and under that she can wear whatever she wants. She can take off it when women at home.

·        How does the money differ?

10 dollars in American is worth about 37 dollars in Saudi Arabia.

Report On Country

Saudi Arabia is located at Mideast and it is the birth place of Islam.  The Saudi state was founded in 1932. Saudi Arabia is located in the Middle East by the Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf. The area of this country is about 1,960,582 million sq. km. Its area is the largest in the Middle East. Most of the area of this country is dessert. But under the dessert, there is a lot of oil. The discovery of oil reserves was in 1937 a few years after the founder of the Saudi State. This is the reason why Saudi Arabia is super rich. The weather in Saudi Arabia is usually very hot. Sand and dust storms are very often. The population of Saudi Arabia is about 28 million, but 5.6 million of them are foreigners. The birth rate is still on the rise, because of their increasing economy. The language is Arabic. More than 200 million people speak Arabic and some of the people speak English. The religion that people believe in is Islam. The word Islam means “submission to God”. The people who follow Islam are called Muslims. The political system of Saudi Arabia called monarchy. A King is chosen from the Al- Saud Family and the King will work with the councils of Ministers. The work week for people in Saudi Arabia is Saturday to Wednesday and Thursday and Friday are weekends.

TRANSCRIPT OF THE INTERVIEW

XIN:X

Mohammed:M

X:Hello, how was your day?

M: I am doing good thanks.

X: Can you tell me a little about yourself and your country?

M: My name is Mohammed Al Rashed. I am 23 years. I have 5 brothers and 3 sisters and we live in the same house in Saudi Arabia. That is the normal size of family in my country. I am from Saudi Arabia.

X: Why did you choose to come to St. Cloud State?

M: I have several friends here and they are all doing well in their classes. The people here in Minnesota are friendly. The only thing I don’t really like here is weather, it is too cold. All the other aspects of Minnesota are good.

X: Do you have colleges in Saudi Arabia?

M: Yep, it is around 20 - 30 Universities.

X: What is your major?

M: My major is electric engineering.

X: Are you planning on going back to Saudi Arabia after you graduate?

M: I have no idea now. At the moment I am thinking of staying several years after graduating. If I do not have a job here after I graduate then I will go for my masters.

X: How is the education system in your country compared to the United State?

M:In the past we didn’t have good teachers in primary schools and high school but from 1990’s education in Saudi Arabia has improved, because of the scholarships have helped education in Saudi Arabia by having more communication with Americans, we also have scholarships to go to Canada,  China, New Zealand.

X:Alright. Next question. Do you have different rules of eye contact and body language in your country? For example, job interview.

M: I believe it’s same here, no rules.

X: Do you eat a lot of American food or do you eat your cultures food every day?

M: I eat my cultures food every day because most of the American food is not healthy. American food makes me put in weight, so that I have to work out more time. I think that my cultures food is healthier.

X: What are some of the holidays that you celebrate?

M: We have about two holidays. One of them is after the holy month Ramadan. The holiday is called Eid ul-Fitr. The other holiday that we celebrate is Eid Al- Adha. It is usually the time when we do something for Allah.

X:Are your winter’s cold back home?

M: It is cold but not cold like here. Like the lowest degree would be 40 at night and during the day it would be like 55 we don’t have snow.

X: What is dating and marriage like, is it similar here?

M: we don’t have dating in Saudi Arabia because of the religion, Muslim and we don’t believe in dating before marriage. We have dating but it must be in secret.

X: Are you segregate boys and girls in your schools?

M: In primary schools we were separated. In high school and some universities are still segregated but we don’t have to stay separate.

X: Did you guys have a ceremony for graduation?

M: No, we never have it.

X: What do you usually eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?

M: For breakfast we eat eggs, cheese, bread, something like those. It is not a big difference from here. For lunch we usually eat what we call Kapsa, which has rise, chicken and a special sauce from back home. That is also what for dinner.

X: What do the women normally wear in your country?

M:Women can do whatever she wants, but she has to cover herself with a abayah and under that she can wear whatever she wants. She can take off it when she is at home.

X: Thank you Mohammed. Because of I had take two interview about Saudi Arabia that is all the questions for you. Do you have any that you want to ask me?

M: oh, no.

X: Alright thank you so much for everything. Have a good weekend.

M:You are welcome. Thank you!

We enjoyed the interview very much.