What is like to go to high school and college in South Korea
Robert Compton, who created the documentary, ‘2 million minutes’ explored Asian countries and compared the secondary education systems in India, China and the U.S. worrying about the fact that American students learn 2-3 years behind Asians do. This is how I began to think of self-comparison between how I was taught in my country, South Korea, and how I have been learning in the U.S. college. Robert mentioned on his blog, “As the American public school system fails to adapt to this century, schools in China and India produce four times the number of high school graduates as the U.S. and educate these students to a much higher level.” [1] As a third person, it was interesting to find that Americans could have a thought like this about their education system whereas many Korean people think their education is going too beyond than what it really has to be. In other words, Korean teenagers are so much pressured to study and study for a long period of their lives.
Whether he was right or wrong is not an issue, but for those who have not experienced education system in Korea, or in Asian countries, I will introduce how Korean secondary and college education systems are like and its culture based on research, and my personal experience.
First of all, entering college for Korean high school kids is quite demanding compared to American youngsters entering college. Korea is often called an educational country because education is primarily emphasized and believed to be the most effective factor in one’s success. Many Korean parents tend to think seriously about their kids’ education, which is also relevant to high prenatal education rate among young parents in Korea.
Six years of Korean secondary education system is composed of 3 years of middle school (junior high school in America), and 3 years of high school (senior high school). After completing middle school, students choose what kinds of high schools they wish to go including special objective schools such as foreign language and science high school, vocational, or classical high school. Entering those special objective schools is as highly competitive like entering college in that they accept students via grades and other additional tests like TOEFL. It is hard for students to go through higher secondary education in Korea because students have to spend so much time to study and get good grades. It is not unusual for high school kids (especially those in the highest grade) to arrive at school in the early morning and stay until midnight. Schools also offer some after-school programs, but they are not as developed and encouraged as in American high schools because the test-oriented education system rarely allows students to spend time for extracurricular activities due to excessive work load. In addition, while U.S. students can choose classes they want to take each semester, Korean high school students do not have rights in choosing courses because they have been already decided. According to the website, StateUniversity.Com, “Until recently, precollege students had little freedom to choose specific courses for themselves. In high schools, students learn all subjects in small increments at each level rather than concentrating on a few chosen subjects at a time as in the United States. “ [2] Korean secondary education system (6 years) focuses mostly on students’ getting high grades on school exams and CSAT(College Scholastic Ability Test – college entrance exam; Korean language, math I and II, natural and social sciences, and foreign languages) which is held at the end of the high school year. After finishing 3 years of high school and taking CSAT, students start to apply for colleges. The results from CSAT usually determine which college and majors students go for. Since all Korean colleges are ranked as in a hierarchy, whether someone goes to prestigious school is considered more serious than in America and therefore, high competition since elementary school has always been usual in my childhood. However, I saw many American people going to college if they wish to without being under pressure.
Getting into majors is different from American college in that students apply for certain majors in certain college with the test results. In contrast, Americans enter college as general students and apply for their major after completing pre-requisite courses.
This challenging education system has always been an issue in Korea and the Education Ministry has been criticized for decades. According to a book, ‘The Koreas’ by Marry E. Connor, it is stated, “The Education Ministry has attempted to rectify the problems in the current education system….The ministry’s policies in 2000 were targeted at increasing the budget for key educational policy items, removing rote memorization from the center of education and giving more weight to the development of individual students’ creativity and ethical development.” (p. 178) [3]
Korean college students study as hard as American students, but the college life in Korea is somewhat different from Americans’. After secondary education, education is considered to be prolonged in college and among high school students, not going to college is often thought to be a taboo. To enter good college, numbers of high school graduates continue to prepare for the next entrance exam for extra years and they are very commonly seen in society. With high school degree, everyone is eligible to take CSAT every year and apply for college.
When taking classes in Korean college, unlike in American college, relative grading method is frequently used. This means every student in class has to compete with others to get higher grades on every single test, assignment, and project. As I mentioned, most students are generally familiar with educating themselves through competing with others since childhood although it is hard. The best performers get A+ (4.5/4.5 or 4.3/4.3) and the second best get A zero (4.0/4.5) while American college focus less on competition, but more on individual performance (absolute grading). In addition, since it is difficult to gain grades in Korean college, students have opportunities to retake the courses and the previous lower grades will be completely replaced with the new ones if higher. In contrast, here in American college, all grade points are shown in one’s transcript without exception even if s/he retakes some course. Since there is no second chance, I have to try hard enough to get good grades at once without mistakes. Furthermore, it is an interesting fact that when the registration days come in Korean college, some students stay up at night to register for classes they want to take, and within a few minutes, their classes are determined. This is because most Korean colleges are crowded and this phenomenon is called ‘Registration battle’.
In general, one class in Korean class has at least 60 students and more while the smallest class that I am taking at St. Cloud State has about 25~30 students. Also, I could see lots of international students on campus and study with many various Americans such as African Americans and Vietnamese Americans, but most Korean campuses are not as diverse as here in America. Consequently, learning diversity and racial issues is not considered the most serious at Korean universities although the number of international students studying abroad is gradually increasing. Personally, it was surprising to know that many classes here value students’ learning diversity and participating social activities. Despite of this great emphasis, one of the authors, Cameron McCarthy, in a book, Education (the opposing viewpoints), mentioned, “School districts and school principals must set diversity as an explicit goal and seek ways to integrate the notion in the organization of the curriculum and the institutional life or schools. Right now, multiculturalism is treated as a side topic, mentioned only during Black History Month and on International Women’s Day.” (p. 116) [4]
Unlike high school kids, college students in Korea can have better opportunities in engaging in club activities and they are called, Dong-a-ri (meaning, clubs). Club activities are similar to the ones in American colleges, but the difference is that Dong-a-ri plays a big role when there are a couple big festivals once or twice a year. Each of them prepares and sells certain types of Korean food and drink – there is no dry campus in Korean colleges - and plays a variety of games. Also, Korean celebrities are invited to perform until late night and the festivals last about a week. Students also compete with other departments or other college people when there is a sport competition such as baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer and volleyball. However, In American colleges, it is hard to find any specific annual festivals or events where each department cooperates to compete with others for fun. In St. Cloud State, there is once-a-month event, called, 'Atwood Afterdark' and many cultural events such as Chinese night and South Korean cafe which are hardly seen in Korean college due to a lack of cultural diversity.
Social networking is especially regarded important in Korean society. Freshmen are supposed to attend as many social gatherings as possible to get to know their classmates and seniors. Korean people’s gathering –drinking together, so to speak- has somewhat different meanings from ‘parties’ in America because building good relationships with people is the most significant objective when attending socials. When drinking with older people, one should talk with them with extra caution because of ‘respect elders’ culture. Social norms will require you to speak and behave politely to elders such as your professors and seniors and in this situation, certain types of drinking manners are required such as avoiding declining the first glass of alcohol and taking the glass with both hands. In addition, the older are supposed to be offered alcohol first before the younger and their glasses should not be empty.
Having good relationships with seniors is necessary even after graduation in that you can actually encounter them in society – or, they could be your boss! -and it cannot be ignored that South Korea is a small, crowded country. Here is interesting news from Korea Time New York, regarding Korean drinking culture; “According to the rules of Korean etiquette, drinking plays a strong social role; upperclassmen and freshmen express their fellowship and become familiar with one another at drinking parties…. Students in South Korean universities have long experienced such excessive social drinking; what’s new is its spread to America.” [5] To get to know people closer, nothing is better than having some soju* together. (*soju; Korean traditional alcohol made from rice)
While drinking socials are dominant in Korean campus, college students are still under pressure as they were in high school. According to Suite101.com, “The typical image of Korean university students having a fun drinking night during summer vacation is long gone. Instead, university students are hitting their school libraries to study for language proficiency exams, computer licenses and civil service examinations…. Admittedly, this is not a situation uncommon throughout the world. What is different in Korea, however, is the degree to which the university students are dedicating their time and energy to focus solely on the job prospective.”[6] College life in Korea is as much hard as in anywhere.
To conclude, secondary education system in South Korea has many different aspects from Americans in that it is highly competitive and Korean students are more forced to study and go to good colleges than American students are. What they should learn from Western education can be; first, students can be given more options in scheduling as well as choosing their classes. More physical education classes should also be required to students and schools have to encourage students to participate in various after-school programs, or extracurricular activities by giving them more credits and so on. In addition, students’ staying at school until late is due to mandatory evening self-study sessions* and this can be illegalized as some cities already have. (*evening self-study sessions; students’ studying after classes at school, lasts until 9 p.m.) In college, different systems are used such as relative grading and Korean universities are much more crowded compared to American colleges, which explains why each class has to accommodate greater numbers of students. College festivals are developed as well as socials between juniors and seniors while individual performance is more emphasized and respected in American schools. Korean colleges can promote diversity by accepting more international students and also providing them Korean language schools.
In American colleges, graduate rate is lower than the average - United States ranked 14th in 2004 - among developed nations such as Korea, Japan, Germany, and United Kingdom, according to Perspective newsletter. [7] Unlike in other countries, more competition should be encouraged among American students and the drop-out rates should also be declined.
I recommend students to experience studying-abroad at least one time in their lives to broaden their perspective and learn about other cultures. Furthermore, although American campus is full of diversity, it is necessary for American students to go beyond America and know what is like to be a member of minority and sometimes feel cultural shock, which will make their college life even more exciting and dynamic.
*Pictures are NOT shown above.
References
[1] 2 million minutes website
Robert Compton 2009 Call me Bob. Retrieved from http://www.2mminutes.com/call-me-bob/
[2]
http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1400/South-Korea-EDUCATIONAL-SYSTEM-OVERVIEW.html
South Korea - Educational System—overview (unknown author, date)
[3]
Marry E. Connor (2002). The Koreas, A Global Studies Handbook, Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, Inc. (p. 178)
[4]
Mary E. Williams (2000). Education, Opposing Viewpoints. In Cameron McCarthy, Curricula and Textbooks Should Reflect Multiculturalism (pp. 109-117) San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, Inc.
[5]
Jae-Ho Hong (2004, October 29). Korean college students’ drinking culture a problem. Korea Times New York. Retrieved from http://www.indypressny.org/nycma/voices/141/news/news_2/
[6]
MeeHyoe Koo (March 14, 2007) College Life in Korea; Competition is Fierce for Students in University. Retrieved from http://collegeuniversity.suite101.com/article.cfm/recipe_for_success_or_not
[7]
U.S. College Graduation Rate Is below Average among Developed Countries 2004 Retrieved from Prospective Newsletter website: http://www.achieve.org/files/enewsletters/200504/Perspective-April2005.html
Picture 1.
http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/wJStcbqh7Lx/Students+Face+Crucial+Exams+University
Picture 2.
http://10ball.net/data/attach/Z3gCyt6XY68Al1qRA.jpg
Picture 3.
http://www.pulug.com/news/news_view.html?n_idx=1013&n_ctgr=6
2009년 12월 15일 화요일
2009년 12월 1일 화요일
Food outline
Topic sentence; Chinese food has cultural diversity and meaning while being affected by other culture.
Introduction
- There are a variety of chinese food around the world
- Basics of Chinese food (staples)
- Roles of food in China
Body
1. Chinese food for celebration and social gathering
eg) Birthday, New Years, historical hero or tales
2. Chinses food influenced by other culture
eg) Chinese cuisin in America (Buffet) - modified for locals' taste
3. Nutritious facts in Chinese food
4. Food taboos in different regions in China
eg) Pork is not supposed to be consumed in some area.
5. Various meanings in food
eg) noodle for long and peaceful life in birthday.
Conclusion
Chinses food has various meanings in people's celebration and social gathering and has been largely influenced by other countries such as America. In some regions in China, port or beef should not be eaten and are considered as taboos. Chinses food have many different meanings and as global food, they possess many characteristics such as nutrition and taste.
Introduction
- There are a variety of chinese food around the world
- Basics of Chinese food (staples)
- Roles of food in China
Body
1. Chinese food for celebration and social gathering
eg) Birthday, New Years, historical hero or tales
2. Chinses food influenced by other culture
eg) Chinese cuisin in America (Buffet) - modified for locals' taste
3. Nutritious facts in Chinese food
4. Food taboos in different regions in China
eg) Pork is not supposed to be consumed in some area.
5. Various meanings in food
eg) noodle for long and peaceful life in birthday.
Conclusion
Chinses food has various meanings in people's celebration and social gathering and has been largely influenced by other countries such as America. In some regions in China, port or beef should not be eaten and are considered as taboos. Chinses food have many different meanings and as global food, they possess many characteristics such as nutrition and taste.
2009년 11월 21일 토요일
Introduction to korean secondary and college education and comparison with american education
1. Intro
2. Body
Entering collge
; brief summary of secondary education system 못놀아서 축제때 미침
Korean secondary education system (6 years) focuses mostly on getting high grades on school exams and CSAT(College Scholastic Ability Test) at the end of the school year.
After finishing 3 years of senior secondary high school education, Korean students take CSAT to get into college. Getting into majors is different from American college in that students apply for certain majors in certain college when they get their test results. In contrast, Americans enter college as general students and apply for their major after completing pre-requisite courses and
Korea) getting accepted in majors depending on the scores from entrance exams (Korean, math, natural sciences, social sciences, 2nd foreign languages)
different secondary eduation system
America) high school performance, activities + additional tests (e.g. SAT)
college education system
; different grading methods (retaking classes, relative grading), "registration battle", technology, plagiarism, less focus on diversity education, studying abroad programs of each
-Here in America, all of the grades students get from the beginning are shown without exception.
Unlike it, when students in korean college get low grades in class, after the semester, they could re-take the same class and the previous lower grades will be completely replaced with the higher ones. In addition, most korean students gain their grades through competition, so the best performers get A+ (4.5/4.5 or 4.3/4.3) and the second get A zero (4.0/4.5) while only the individual performance matters when it comes to grades in America. Since most korean colleges are crowded, when the resisgration days come, students stay up at night and choose their classes with clicking within a few minutes.
college festivals
Korea) a specific festival held once a year, 'dong-a-ri' (club activities)
America - St.cloud state) No specific annual event except homecoming week
When there is a festival once a year in korean college, each department works independent of others and they prepare for selling food and drink and make a booth for a variety of games. They also compete with other departments when there is a sport competition. Each collge invites Korean celebrities to hold a big show during the festival. The festivals normally last a few days. In American colleges, it is hard to find any specific annual festivals or events where each department cooperates to compete with others for fun. In St.Cloud state, there is once-a-month event, called, 'Atwood Afterdark' and many cultural events such as Chinese nights and South Korean cafes which are hardly seen in korean college due to a lack of cultural diversity.
relationship between students and professors/juniors and seniors
Korea) 'respect for elders' culture
America) view professors as instructors
Respecting for elders is very critical in any society in Korea, or in Asian countries. Social norms will require you to speak and behave politely to elders such as your professors and seniors and if someone does not follow them, s/he will be in trouble in college, and even it will affect career life after graducation.
3. Conclusion
2009년 11월 17일 화요일
2009년 11월 10일 화요일
The second interview transcript by Kaye Lee
ENGL 191 21
The 2nd report transcription
Kaye Lee
Where are you from? Why did you come to America? Are you going back after graduation?
I’m from Katuneriya, Negombo. I have parents there and my sister is in the cities studying medicine. I’m studying community health and will get a job in the States. I’m planning on going for master’s degree, but might eventually go back to my country after traveling around the world.
Have you taken any college classes in your country? What’s the difference between home college and here?
No, I went to high school there, but here is the first college that I’m taking. If I go to college in the states or Australia, or England, I would get more chances to get a better job back in Sri Lanka. Also, colleges in Sri Lanka don’t require students to complete internship, so they lack practical experiences. It’s also very hard to get into Sri Lankan colleges because they are not many.
How long have you been here? Do you feel that your attitude toward life and career has changed in the States?
This is my 4th year in St. Cloud. If I were in Sri Lanka right now, my priority would be marriage and having children, or family, and never thinking of traveling around. Since I’m here, I like when I meet people from all different world.
When was the most culturally shocking event in the states? 7:07
People here often talk about sex openly and it was not comfortable at the first place. They share their experience with others, but people in my country normally don’t. Also, homosexual people fight for their rights, but gay people are rare in Sri Lanka. In South Asian counties, we don’t have arranged marriages any more, but when in a relationship, we think about marriage.
Is you home country as culturally diverse as here?
Not as much as here, but people are divided by religions they believe and languages they speak such as Sinhalese-Buddhists and Sinhalese-Christians, Tamil-Hindu and Tamil-Christians. Tamils are from India, so there are few Christians, but mostly Hindu. It’s common to say Sinhalese and Tamils are the majority because there was a war between two, but the government made the country Sinhalese-Buddhist. I am in the minority since I am Christian.
How many languages do you speak?
I speak Sinhalese and English. It is common to speak the first language and others because Tamils speak their language plus Sinhalese. So Sinhalese, Tamil, and English.
When do you feel homesick the most?
Christmas! It is hard to spend Christmas without family here. We celebrate Christmas back home where most people are Catholic. However, my sister does not celebrate Christmas because she converted to be a Buddhist due to marriage.
If I want to travel your country, where would you suggest me to visit?
My hometown, first, is Katuneriya, Negombo that is much family-oriented. I would recommend Negombo with beautiful beach. I would also recommend kokendi where ancient capitals and temples exist. Segehiria is also famous for its castles made of rock……. I will take my friends to those places and my house. We often treat guests the best food such as seafood and Sri Lankan curry with rice.
Is there anything that I should not do or say when meeting Sri Lankans?
Well, if you visit my country, you’d better not travel alone, so you should contact me. Don’t try to talk to strangers otherwise they will look at you strangely. It commonly happens in developing countries. Also, if you meet older people, try not to be rude to them, but say something with respect.
Plagiarism?
In high school, we didn’t’ care. We didn’t care about references, but focused more one so many exams than papers. In college, people might try to cite sources with permission or reference. Illegal downloading is really common in Sri Lanka. Students don’t fail for plagiarism either.
Is being gay, divorced, or being single parents common back home?
No, in my hometown which is a very small community, it will be not acceptable to be a single mom, divorced, or be homosexual. It is very rare to find divorced people back home and I don’t know anyone around me being single parents. Raising kids without moms or dads will be really hard because the entire society is family-oriented. Sri Lanka is definitely not a good place for homosexuals. Those minorities will be treated unfairly back home because for instance, if a kid goes to school, the first thing to be asked is about his/her parents.
Can widows marry again?
They can, but most choose not to be married because of their children. Most parents don’t focus on their own happiness, but their kids.
Is your society male-dominated?
I’m not sure, but in family, mom is very important because of Buddhism influence. Sri Lankan women work like their husbands do, but males still have more advantages in society. If a couple wants to get divorced, they go to court and mostly, mom will take her child with her, not dad.
Any other comments?
People here often think Sri Lanka, India, and Nepal are the same, but they are wrong. Starting from religions, we are all different. This is my concern. I hope people can understand those differences. Lastly, if you interview other Sri Lankans, they might give you different opinions because I’m from the minority, Christian community, so keep it in mind.
The 2nd report transcription
Kaye Lee
Where are you from? Why did you come to America? Are you going back after graduation?
I’m from Katuneriya, Negombo. I have parents there and my sister is in the cities studying medicine. I’m studying community health and will get a job in the States. I’m planning on going for master’s degree, but might eventually go back to my country after traveling around the world.
Have you taken any college classes in your country? What’s the difference between home college and here?
No, I went to high school there, but here is the first college that I’m taking. If I go to college in the states or Australia, or England, I would get more chances to get a better job back in Sri Lanka. Also, colleges in Sri Lanka don’t require students to complete internship, so they lack practical experiences. It’s also very hard to get into Sri Lankan colleges because they are not many.
How long have you been here? Do you feel that your attitude toward life and career has changed in the States?
This is my 4th year in St. Cloud. If I were in Sri Lanka right now, my priority would be marriage and having children, or family, and never thinking of traveling around. Since I’m here, I like when I meet people from all different world.
When was the most culturally shocking event in the states? 7:07
People here often talk about sex openly and it was not comfortable at the first place. They share their experience with others, but people in my country normally don’t. Also, homosexual people fight for their rights, but gay people are rare in Sri Lanka. In South Asian counties, we don’t have arranged marriages any more, but when in a relationship, we think about marriage.
Is you home country as culturally diverse as here?
Not as much as here, but people are divided by religions they believe and languages they speak such as Sinhalese-Buddhists and Sinhalese-Christians, Tamil-Hindu and Tamil-Christians. Tamils are from India, so there are few Christians, but mostly Hindu. It’s common to say Sinhalese and Tamils are the majority because there was a war between two, but the government made the country Sinhalese-Buddhist. I am in the minority since I am Christian.
How many languages do you speak?
I speak Sinhalese and English. It is common to speak the first language and others because Tamils speak their language plus Sinhalese. So Sinhalese, Tamil, and English.
When do you feel homesick the most?
Christmas! It is hard to spend Christmas without family here. We celebrate Christmas back home where most people are Catholic. However, my sister does not celebrate Christmas because she converted to be a Buddhist due to marriage.
If I want to travel your country, where would you suggest me to visit?
My hometown, first, is Katuneriya, Negombo that is much family-oriented. I would recommend Negombo with beautiful beach. I would also recommend kokendi where ancient capitals and temples exist. Segehiria is also famous for its castles made of rock……. I will take my friends to those places and my house. We often treat guests the best food such as seafood and Sri Lankan curry with rice.
Is there anything that I should not do or say when meeting Sri Lankans?
Well, if you visit my country, you’d better not travel alone, so you should contact me. Don’t try to talk to strangers otherwise they will look at you strangely. It commonly happens in developing countries. Also, if you meet older people, try not to be rude to them, but say something with respect.
Plagiarism?
In high school, we didn’t’ care. We didn’t care about references, but focused more one so many exams than papers. In college, people might try to cite sources with permission or reference. Illegal downloading is really common in Sri Lanka. Students don’t fail for plagiarism either.
Is being gay, divorced, or being single parents common back home?
No, in my hometown which is a very small community, it will be not acceptable to be a single mom, divorced, or be homosexual. It is very rare to find divorced people back home and I don’t know anyone around me being single parents. Raising kids without moms or dads will be really hard because the entire society is family-oriented. Sri Lanka is definitely not a good place for homosexuals. Those minorities will be treated unfairly back home because for instance, if a kid goes to school, the first thing to be asked is about his/her parents.
Can widows marry again?
They can, but most choose not to be married because of their children. Most parents don’t focus on their own happiness, but their kids.
Is your society male-dominated?
I’m not sure, but in family, mom is very important because of Buddhism influence. Sri Lankan women work like their husbands do, but males still have more advantages in society. If a couple wants to get divorced, they go to court and mostly, mom will take her child with her, not dad.
Any other comments?
People here often think Sri Lanka, India, and Nepal are the same, but they are wrong. Starting from religions, we are all different. This is my concern. I hope people can understand those differences. Lastly, if you interview other Sri Lankans, they might give you different opinions because I’m from the minority, Christian community, so keep it in mind.
The third interview report by Kaye Lee
My Third Interview Report with a Sri Lankan student
For the final interview, my goals were the following;
1. To reserve a study room
2. To email the interview questions to the interviewee before the interview
3. To listen carefully to the interviewee
4. To avoid assume that the interviewee would give the same answers as the first interviewee since both are from Nepal
5. To print out the questions sheet and give it to the interviewee
6. To ask some different questions from the original ones
Before the interview, I came up with other different interviewee candidates because I wanted to hear from people with different backgrounds. However, I decided to interview my ex-classmate, Sagun since he was willing and to interview a different person from a country other than Nepal or Sri Lanka, I had to start researching from the beginning.
I decided to reserve a study room hours earlier because they were often filled by others. I emailed the question lists on the same day I emailed second interviewee, but changed some questions to make them more interesting. I met the interviewee on Nov. 8 on the third floor in the library. As usual, I brought a recorder, a pen, and two question sheets. During the interview, I tried to make pauses to give the interviewee more time to think and talk, but he often read out next questions before I asked him as soon as he finished answering, which made me a little nervous. After the interview, I thanked him, turned off the recorder, and asked more about him for his biography. I am not decided whether I should submit the transcript of this interview or not because the first and second interviews went well, too, but I will put the audio into a CD and submit it for extra credits.
The person I interviewed was Sagun Rajkarnikar from Kathmandu in Nepal and came to St. Cloud about two years ago. He was born in Kathmandu in a Buddhist family. By ethnicity, he is in ‘Newar’ which is one of the upper caste in Nepal. He went to a private English school (A.V.M higher secondary School) first, and then to another, called N.I.S.T. He has a huge family back in Kathmandu including grandmother, father, mother, uncle aunty, one brother and two cousins. His hometown is tripureshwor, which lies in the heart of the capital city, right in the main business area. His hobbies are to play guitar, games, and sleep all day. He speaks Nepali, his tribal language, Indian, and English and wants to be a successful medical professional and support his family in the future.
When the interviewee said he would go back to his country after graduation and I asked him why, he said he could get more opportunities to get a better job if he graduates from American college. However, it reminded me of young people in my country who have been struggling for unemployment even if they went to prestigious colleges. Sagun said colleges in Nepal lack technologies and equipments such as computers and projectors, and there are too many students with too few resources. It was also interesting to hear that Nepalese kids learn English from their kinder-garden and all textbooks except Nepali subject are written in English. Furthermore, he said he has not experienced any culturally shocking events because he has been exposed to American media since childhood. He was also familiar with Indian language due to Indian movies and dramas broadcasted on Nepali media, and therefore, I could better understand why speaking multi-languages is not unusual in this country.
When I asked a different question from the previous interviews, his response was just neutral and indifferent. I asked how he felt about living in a male-dominant society and he knew that women 20~30 years ago were not allowed to work outside their home. While the first interviewer seemed serious about the gender issue, he did not seem to care maybe due to the fact that he was belongs to high status in caste and was a male. Whereas the first interviewee said a widow had to wear white cloth for the rest of her life, the last interviewee said wearing white cloth lasts for a year only, so it depends on regions and culture.
Nepal is in South Asia and located south to Republic of China and north to Republic of India. Kathmandu is the capital city and most Nepalese students on campus came from here.
Hinduism is the national and major religion in Nepal. Although Hinduism is the official religion in Nepal, there are a variety of religions that Nepalese practice such as Buddhism (2nd largest), Christianity, and Islam (both minor). The north part of the country has many famous mountains such as Mountain Everest and south part is highly populated and developed.
There are more than 92 languages spoken in Nepal. Four major groups of languages are Indo-Aryan, Tibeto-Burman, Mongolian, and Indigenous. The major languages of Nepal (percent spoken as mother tongue) are Nepali, Maithili, Bhojpuri, and so on. There are more than 50 major festivals in Nepal and most of them are religious-related. One of the biggest festivals is Dashain. “The festival is said to be held in honor of the gods’ victory over wicked demons. Legend has it that the god Ramayan was only able to kill Ravana, the king of the demons, when the goddess Durga was evoked. Thus the goddess Durga plays a pivotal role in the celebrations and the entire event is seen as a celebration of good over evil.” [1]
Terai is southern lowland and usually urbanized. Hill is on higher altitude and has subtropical to temperate climates. The mountainous are (Mountain region) is famous for Mountain Everest in Great Himalayan Range. This region is on the northern part of the country. Her hometown, Damak is in east part of Nepal and lies between the border of Ratuwa and Mawa rivers. One Nepalese blogger said, “The favourite hangout place in Damak is 'The Himalayan Tea garden','Mini Palace' of The Himalayan Tea Garden, 'banks of Ratuwa river' and the famous 'Ratuwa bridge' from where the sun sets more beautifully than ever. Even the mountains seems to be mightier. Damak truely is gifted by nature.” [2] The interviewee’s hometown, which is Tripureshwor, Kathmandu, is on Hill region. Kathmandu is the largest metropolitan city in Nepal and is situated in Kathmandu Valley. “The word "Kathmandu" is derived from the Sanskrit word, "Kastha Mandap" which means "temple of wood".” [3]
Nepal has four distinct seasons (spring, summer, autumn and winter). There is a raining period during summer and it is called ‘monsoon’. Travelers have the best chances to travel around Nepal during the monsoon period. “Monsoon Nepal is our selection of the best trips in the rainy season, featuring the valleys of Kathmandu and Pokhara, a six-day moderate grade trek in the Nepal trans-Himalaya, and optional high water rafting and wildlife safari extensions.” [4]
Citied Sources
1. Nepalholiday.com
http://www.nepalholiday.com/nepal/nepal_trekking/ganesh_himal_trekking_nepal/dashain-festival-trekking-nepal.html
2. http://jhapadamak.blogspot.com/2008/01/nepal-jhapa-damak.html
3. Maps of World.com
http://www.mapsofworld.com/cities/nepal/kathmandu/
4. Wayfarers – Himalaya adventures (Monsoon Nepal)
http://www.wayfarers.com.np/trekking/monsoon_nepal.htm
For the final interview, my goals were the following;
1. To reserve a study room
2. To email the interview questions to the interviewee before the interview
3. To listen carefully to the interviewee
4. To avoid assume that the interviewee would give the same answers as the first interviewee since both are from Nepal
5. To print out the questions sheet and give it to the interviewee
6. To ask some different questions from the original ones
Before the interview, I came up with other different interviewee candidates because I wanted to hear from people with different backgrounds. However, I decided to interview my ex-classmate, Sagun since he was willing and to interview a different person from a country other than Nepal or Sri Lanka, I had to start researching from the beginning.
I decided to reserve a study room hours earlier because they were often filled by others. I emailed the question lists on the same day I emailed second interviewee, but changed some questions to make them more interesting. I met the interviewee on Nov. 8 on the third floor in the library. As usual, I brought a recorder, a pen, and two question sheets. During the interview, I tried to make pauses to give the interviewee more time to think and talk, but he often read out next questions before I asked him as soon as he finished answering, which made me a little nervous. After the interview, I thanked him, turned off the recorder, and asked more about him for his biography. I am not decided whether I should submit the transcript of this interview or not because the first and second interviews went well, too, but I will put the audio into a CD and submit it for extra credits.
The person I interviewed was Sagun Rajkarnikar from Kathmandu in Nepal and came to St. Cloud about two years ago. He was born in Kathmandu in a Buddhist family. By ethnicity, he is in ‘Newar’ which is one of the upper caste in Nepal. He went to a private English school (A.V.M higher secondary School) first, and then to another, called N.I.S.T. He has a huge family back in Kathmandu including grandmother, father, mother, uncle aunty, one brother and two cousins. His hometown is tripureshwor, which lies in the heart of the capital city, right in the main business area. His hobbies are to play guitar, games, and sleep all day. He speaks Nepali, his tribal language, Indian, and English and wants to be a successful medical professional and support his family in the future.
When the interviewee said he would go back to his country after graduation and I asked him why, he said he could get more opportunities to get a better job if he graduates from American college. However, it reminded me of young people in my country who have been struggling for unemployment even if they went to prestigious colleges. Sagun said colleges in Nepal lack technologies and equipments such as computers and projectors, and there are too many students with too few resources. It was also interesting to hear that Nepalese kids learn English from their kinder-garden and all textbooks except Nepali subject are written in English. Furthermore, he said he has not experienced any culturally shocking events because he has been exposed to American media since childhood. He was also familiar with Indian language due to Indian movies and dramas broadcasted on Nepali media, and therefore, I could better understand why speaking multi-languages is not unusual in this country.
When I asked a different question from the previous interviews, his response was just neutral and indifferent. I asked how he felt about living in a male-dominant society and he knew that women 20~30 years ago were not allowed to work outside their home. While the first interviewer seemed serious about the gender issue, he did not seem to care maybe due to the fact that he was belongs to high status in caste and was a male. Whereas the first interviewee said a widow had to wear white cloth for the rest of her life, the last interviewee said wearing white cloth lasts for a year only, so it depends on regions and culture.
Nepal is in South Asia and located south to Republic of China and north to Republic of India. Kathmandu is the capital city and most Nepalese students on campus came from here.
Hinduism is the national and major religion in Nepal. Although Hinduism is the official religion in Nepal, there are a variety of religions that Nepalese practice such as Buddhism (2nd largest), Christianity, and Islam (both minor). The north part of the country has many famous mountains such as Mountain Everest and south part is highly populated and developed.
There are more than 92 languages spoken in Nepal. Four major groups of languages are Indo-Aryan, Tibeto-Burman, Mongolian, and Indigenous. The major languages of Nepal (percent spoken as mother tongue) are Nepali, Maithili, Bhojpuri, and so on. There are more than 50 major festivals in Nepal and most of them are religious-related. One of the biggest festivals is Dashain. “The festival is said to be held in honor of the gods’ victory over wicked demons. Legend has it that the god Ramayan was only able to kill Ravana, the king of the demons, when the goddess Durga was evoked. Thus the goddess Durga plays a pivotal role in the celebrations and the entire event is seen as a celebration of good over evil.” [1]
Terai is southern lowland and usually urbanized. Hill is on higher altitude and has subtropical to temperate climates. The mountainous are (Mountain region) is famous for Mountain Everest in Great Himalayan Range. This region is on the northern part of the country. Her hometown, Damak is in east part of Nepal and lies between the border of Ratuwa and Mawa rivers. One Nepalese blogger said, “The favourite hangout place in Damak is 'The Himalayan Tea garden','Mini Palace' of The Himalayan Tea Garden, 'banks of Ratuwa river' and the famous 'Ratuwa bridge' from where the sun sets more beautifully than ever. Even the mountains seems to be mightier. Damak truely is gifted by nature.” [2] The interviewee’s hometown, which is Tripureshwor, Kathmandu, is on Hill region. Kathmandu is the largest metropolitan city in Nepal and is situated in Kathmandu Valley. “The word "Kathmandu" is derived from the Sanskrit word, "Kastha Mandap" which means "temple of wood".” [3]
Nepal has four distinct seasons (spring, summer, autumn and winter). There is a raining period during summer and it is called ‘monsoon’. Travelers have the best chances to travel around Nepal during the monsoon period. “Monsoon Nepal is our selection of the best trips in the rainy season, featuring the valleys of Kathmandu and Pokhara, a six-day moderate grade trek in the Nepal trans-Himalaya, and optional high water rafting and wildlife safari extensions.” [4]
Citied Sources
1. Nepalholiday.com
http://www.nepalholiday.com/nepal/nepal_trekking/ganesh_himal_trekking_nepal/dashain-festival-trekking-nepal.html
2. http://jhapadamak.blogspot.com/2008/01/nepal-jhapa-damak.html
3. Maps of World.com
http://www.mapsofworld.com/cities/nepal/kathmandu/
4. Wayfarers – Himalaya adventures (Monsoon Nepal)
http://www.wayfarers.com.np/trekking/monsoon_nepal.htm
2009년 11월 3일 화요일
The second interview report by Kaye Lee
The Second Interview Report
Class; ENGL 191 21
Interviewer; Kaye Lee
Interviewee; Dabarera, Rasika A
Country of Origin; Sri Lanka
Interview Date; Nov. 1 2009
My Second Interview Report with a Sri Lankan student
The revised objectives for the second report were the following;
1. To find an interviewee from a different background other than the first one (Nepal)
2. To research the country (Sri Lanka) that would help the interview process
3. To find a quite and comfortable place
4. To let the interviewee comfortably talk
5. To avoid interrupting while the interviewee is talking
6. To expand topics and make the interviewee think I am fully listening to him/her
7. To provide snack or drink
8. To compare the interview result with the first one and improve
I found the second interviewee by asking one of my roommates whether she had a friend from her country. After that, when we had a birthday party in our place, my roommate introduced me her friend, Amali, who was wiling to do interview for me. I researched general information, geography, culture (religions, languages, food, and festivals), history, and education in Sri Lanka and posted them on my blog.
She wanted to meet in library since she often stays there, and a week before the interview, I emailed her the questions that I was going to ask. On November 1st, I was going to reserve a study room prior to the interview, but there was none available until late at night, so I found a cozy place with some couches in the basement in library where almost no one passes by. I gave her a copy of the question lists and prepared the same mp3 player that I used for the first interview and a pen.
After the interview, Amali said that her answers might be different from others from Sri Lanka since she was one of the religious minorities, Christian. Therefore, I think it is also a good idea to interview a person from her country, but with a different background such as a Sinhalese Buddhist and Hindu. For now, I secured one Nepalese male for my last interviewee.
Amali Debarera was born in Katuneriya, Negombo (her hometown), in Sri Lanka and is 25 years old. She is Catholic and was raised in Catholic Christian family, so she called herself as ‘minority’ since Christian people are not many in Sri Lanka. She is majoring in community health as a senior and St. Cloud State is the first college she has attended. She came here because her married sister lives in the cities. Her sister, however, decided to be a Buddhist now because her husband is one. She wants to get a job in the States after graduation and is interested in meeting people from different backgrounds. In addition, Her last name, Debarera, is Portugese because Sri Lanka was once colonized by Portugese people. She said her enjoys all kinds of food, but chocolates is her favorite. She likes salsa, flamenco, and jazz.
The second interview went better than the first one for some reasons. First, I tried to listen to the interviewee more than I did at the first place because during the first interview, I tried to make a conversation rather than listen. While I was silent, the interviewee kept talking and gave many details in her story, which was impressive and she did not seem to be bored at all. In terms of the interviewee, she answered thoughtfully and made the interview go smoother compared to the first interview, so if I let her to think of the answers for a while, she understood the questions quickly and said something on the right direction, which I appreciated. Furthermore, when Amali talked about herself changed in the States, it was interesting to hear about it because she seemed to enjoy her life here more than when she was back home. She said she was enjoying diversity here and dating guys other than Sinhalese Christians; Sri Lankan people are also strict about marriage like Nepalese since they belong to different subgroups. I mostly agreed when she talked about her life in the states as an international student and especially, I could not agree more when she said she missed her home the most during American holidays without her family being together.
Lastly, when Amali made her last comment about the interview, she said that she did not want people here to judge her country as the same as all other South East Asian country. I also did not doubt how she felt because western people often do not think beyond ‘orientalism’. Sri Lanka, India, and Nepal were established based on different religions, languages, culture, and people and so do China, Japan, and Korea.
In terms of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka is an island that is located in the southern cost of India. It is officially named as the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka with the capital city, Colombo. Her hometown, Negombo, is a small port town where tourism is the main industry. For tourists, it could be an ideal place due to the international airport near the town and the large fish market is also famous. European colonization influenced people’s religion, so many churches are found in the town such as the Katuwapitiya Church. However, according to christaintoday.com, Sri Lankan Christians are facing more persecution and violence than in the past. [1]
Sinhalese and Tamil are two official languages and English is also spoken by some. Therefore, it is common to speak more than two languages for Sri Lankan people such as Sinhalese and English, or Tamil and Sinhalese. Buddhism is the main religion in Sri Lanka (about 70%), and other minors include Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity. Buddhism came from India very early with civilization culture and influenced Sinhalese society. The biggest holiday in the country is Sinhala and Tamil New Year (the national festival), but the festivals in Sri Lanka are divided by each religion; Deepavali (the festival of lights) as a Buddhist festival, and Ramadan for Muslims, for example.
Sri Lanka is the most literate country among developing nations. 9 years of compulsory education is required and most enter secondary education. There are 16 public universities (six national) in the country and this is why it is thought to be difficult to get into college in Sri Lanka. The modern school system was established by the British in 1836 and based on this after independence, the number of schools and literacy rate increased. “The contemporary Sri Lanka education system owes its origin to the British colonists. The education is imparted through Sri Lanka colleges. The mode of education in Sri Lanka schools is imparted through the primary, lower and high secondary schools.” [2]
The basic Sri Lankan food is composed of rice, curry, fish and vegetables. Most dishes contain coconut milk and are hot and spicy (usually spicier than other South Indian cuisine). “Sri Lankans use spices liberally in their dishes and typically do not follow an exact recipe: thus, every cook's curry will taste slightly different. Furthermore, people from different regions of the island (for instance, hill-country dwellers versus coastal dwellers) traditionally cook in different ways while people of different ethnic and religious groups tend to prepare dishes according to their customs.” [3]
Cited sources
1. Christiantoday.com - Violence against Christians Escalates in Sri Lanka
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/violence.against.christians.escalates.in.sri.lanka/8509.htm
2. Maps of World – Sri Lanka Education
http://www.mapsofworld.com/sri-lanka/education/
3. Wikipedia – cuisines of Sri Lanka
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuisine_of_Sri_Lanka
Class; ENGL 191 21
Interviewer; Kaye Lee
Interviewee; Dabarera, Rasika A
Country of Origin; Sri Lanka
Interview Date; Nov. 1 2009
My Second Interview Report with a Sri Lankan student
The revised objectives for the second report were the following;
1. To find an interviewee from a different background other than the first one (Nepal)
2. To research the country (Sri Lanka) that would help the interview process
3. To find a quite and comfortable place
4. To let the interviewee comfortably talk
5. To avoid interrupting while the interviewee is talking
6. To expand topics and make the interviewee think I am fully listening to him/her
7. To provide snack or drink
8. To compare the interview result with the first one and improve
I found the second interviewee by asking one of my roommates whether she had a friend from her country. After that, when we had a birthday party in our place, my roommate introduced me her friend, Amali, who was wiling to do interview for me. I researched general information, geography, culture (religions, languages, food, and festivals), history, and education in Sri Lanka and posted them on my blog.
She wanted to meet in library since she often stays there, and a week before the interview, I emailed her the questions that I was going to ask. On November 1st, I was going to reserve a study room prior to the interview, but there was none available until late at night, so I found a cozy place with some couches in the basement in library where almost no one passes by. I gave her a copy of the question lists and prepared the same mp3 player that I used for the first interview and a pen.
After the interview, Amali said that her answers might be different from others from Sri Lanka since she was one of the religious minorities, Christian. Therefore, I think it is also a good idea to interview a person from her country, but with a different background such as a Sinhalese Buddhist and Hindu. For now, I secured one Nepalese male for my last interviewee.
Amali Debarera was born in Katuneriya, Negombo (her hometown), in Sri Lanka and is 25 years old. She is Catholic and was raised in Catholic Christian family, so she called herself as ‘minority’ since Christian people are not many in Sri Lanka. She is majoring in community health as a senior and St. Cloud State is the first college she has attended. She came here because her married sister lives in the cities. Her sister, however, decided to be a Buddhist now because her husband is one. She wants to get a job in the States after graduation and is interested in meeting people from different backgrounds. In addition, Her last name, Debarera, is Portugese because Sri Lanka was once colonized by Portugese people. She said her enjoys all kinds of food, but chocolates is her favorite. She likes salsa, flamenco, and jazz.
The second interview went better than the first one for some reasons. First, I tried to listen to the interviewee more than I did at the first place because during the first interview, I tried to make a conversation rather than listen. While I was silent, the interviewee kept talking and gave many details in her story, which was impressive and she did not seem to be bored at all. In terms of the interviewee, she answered thoughtfully and made the interview go smoother compared to the first interview, so if I let her to think of the answers for a while, she understood the questions quickly and said something on the right direction, which I appreciated. Furthermore, when Amali talked about herself changed in the States, it was interesting to hear about it because she seemed to enjoy her life here more than when she was back home. She said she was enjoying diversity here and dating guys other than Sinhalese Christians; Sri Lankan people are also strict about marriage like Nepalese since they belong to different subgroups. I mostly agreed when she talked about her life in the states as an international student and especially, I could not agree more when she said she missed her home the most during American holidays without her family being together.
Lastly, when Amali made her last comment about the interview, she said that she did not want people here to judge her country as the same as all other South East Asian country. I also did not doubt how she felt because western people often do not think beyond ‘orientalism’. Sri Lanka, India, and Nepal were established based on different religions, languages, culture, and people and so do China, Japan, and Korea.
In terms of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka is an island that is located in the southern cost of India. It is officially named as the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka with the capital city, Colombo. Her hometown, Negombo, is a small port town where tourism is the main industry. For tourists, it could be an ideal place due to the international airport near the town and the large fish market is also famous. European colonization influenced people’s religion, so many churches are found in the town such as the Katuwapitiya Church. However, according to christaintoday.com, Sri Lankan Christians are facing more persecution and violence than in the past. [1]
Sinhalese and Tamil are two official languages and English is also spoken by some. Therefore, it is common to speak more than two languages for Sri Lankan people such as Sinhalese and English, or Tamil and Sinhalese. Buddhism is the main religion in Sri Lanka (about 70%), and other minors include Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity. Buddhism came from India very early with civilization culture and influenced Sinhalese society. The biggest holiday in the country is Sinhala and Tamil New Year (the national festival), but the festivals in Sri Lanka are divided by each religion; Deepavali (the festival of lights) as a Buddhist festival, and Ramadan for Muslims, for example.
Sri Lanka is the most literate country among developing nations. 9 years of compulsory education is required and most enter secondary education. There are 16 public universities (six national) in the country and this is why it is thought to be difficult to get into college in Sri Lanka. The modern school system was established by the British in 1836 and based on this after independence, the number of schools and literacy rate increased. “The contemporary Sri Lanka education system owes its origin to the British colonists. The education is imparted through Sri Lanka colleges. The mode of education in Sri Lanka schools is imparted through the primary, lower and high secondary schools.” [2]
The basic Sri Lankan food is composed of rice, curry, fish and vegetables. Most dishes contain coconut milk and are hot and spicy (usually spicier than other South Indian cuisine). “Sri Lankans use spices liberally in their dishes and typically do not follow an exact recipe: thus, every cook's curry will taste slightly different. Furthermore, people from different regions of the island (for instance, hill-country dwellers versus coastal dwellers) traditionally cook in different ways while people of different ethnic and religious groups tend to prepare dishes according to their customs.” [3]
Cited sources
1. Christiantoday.com - Violence against Christians Escalates in Sri Lanka
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/violence.against.christians.escalates.in.sri.lanka/8509.htm
2. Maps of World – Sri Lanka Education
http://www.mapsofworld.com/sri-lanka/education/
3. Wikipedia – cuisines of Sri Lanka
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuisine_of_Sri_Lanka
2009년 11월 1일 일요일
Preliminary report on Sri Lanka
General information
Sri Lanka is an island that is located in the southern cost of India. It is officially named as the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka with the capital city, Colombo. The country lies between major sea routes that connect west Asia and south east Asia. Sinhalese and Tamil communities are the majority and others include Moors, Burghers, Kaffirs and the Malays. Sri Lanka mostly exports tea, coffee, coconuts and rubber. It’s also famous for the beauty of beaches, landscapes, and tropical forests.
Geography
The island is located in Indian Ocean. The climate is tropical warm and includes monsoon season in May. The southwestern part of the country, mountains, is ‘wet zone’ where heavy rain falls occur during the year while the southeastern and northern part is ‘dry zone’. “The total estimated population of Sri Lanka is 20,926,315. The population growth rate of Sri Lanka is 0.982 % which was last estimated in 2007.” [1]
History
In colonial era, the island was colonized by Portugal, Dutch, and the British. The British developed plantation of tea, cinnamon, rubber, sugar, and coffee and abused people of the natives. Soon, the people struggled for independence and after the World War ll, the country became independent. There was also a civil war by Sinhalese community and Tamils were defeated. “These people give the island the name by which it has been known throughout most of history: Sinhaladwipa, meaning 'island of the Sinhalese', which becomes Ceylon in English. The name of the country is changed to Sri Lanka ('beautiful island') when it becomes a republic in 1972.” [2]
Culture
Sinhalese and Tamil are two official languages and English is also spoken by some. Buddhism is the main religion in Sri Lanka (about 70%), and others include Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity. Buddhism came from India very early with civilization culture and influenced Sinhalese society. The biggest holiday in the country is Sinhala and Tamil New Year and Muslim people celebrate Ramadan. “Sinhalese as well as Tamils welcome the Sinhala and Hindu New Year at an auspicious time and carry out all the important activities like first light the hearth, start cooking, eating and anoint oil all at an auspicious time. Commencing work and doing the first business transaction is also part of the traditions. Visiting the relations and friends forgetting all the bad things happened in the previous year is the most important social aspect of the festival.” [3]
Education
Sri Lanka is the most literate country among developing nations. 9 years of compulsory education is required and most enter secondary education. There are 16 public universities in the country. The modern school system was established by the British in 1836 and based on this after independence, the number of schools and literacy rate increased. “The contemporary Sri Lanka education system owes its origin to the British colonists. The education is imparted through Sri Lanka colleges. The mode of education in Sri Lanka schools is imparted through the primary, lower and high secondary schools.” [4]
1. Maps of World – Sri Lankan Demographics
http://www.mapsofworld.com/sri-lanka/geography/demographics.html
2. History. Net – History of Sri Lanka
http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ac68
3. South travels - Events and Festivals in Sri Lanka
http://www.southtravels.com/asia/srilanka/events.html
4. Maps of World - Sri Lanka Education
http://www.mapsofworld.com/sri-lanka/education/
Sri Lanka is an island that is located in the southern cost of India. It is officially named as the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka with the capital city, Colombo. The country lies between major sea routes that connect west Asia and south east Asia. Sinhalese and Tamil communities are the majority and others include Moors, Burghers, Kaffirs and the Malays. Sri Lanka mostly exports tea, coffee, coconuts and rubber. It’s also famous for the beauty of beaches, landscapes, and tropical forests.
Geography
The island is located in Indian Ocean. The climate is tropical warm and includes monsoon season in May. The southwestern part of the country, mountains, is ‘wet zone’ where heavy rain falls occur during the year while the southeastern and northern part is ‘dry zone’. “The total estimated population of Sri Lanka is 20,926,315. The population growth rate of Sri Lanka is 0.982 % which was last estimated in 2007.” [1]
History
In colonial era, the island was colonized by Portugal, Dutch, and the British. The British developed plantation of tea, cinnamon, rubber, sugar, and coffee and abused people of the natives. Soon, the people struggled for independence and after the World War ll, the country became independent. There was also a civil war by Sinhalese community and Tamils were defeated. “These people give the island the name by which it has been known throughout most of history: Sinhaladwipa, meaning 'island of the Sinhalese', which becomes Ceylon in English. The name of the country is changed to Sri Lanka ('beautiful island') when it becomes a republic in 1972.” [2]
Culture
Sinhalese and Tamil are two official languages and English is also spoken by some. Buddhism is the main religion in Sri Lanka (about 70%), and others include Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity. Buddhism came from India very early with civilization culture and influenced Sinhalese society. The biggest holiday in the country is Sinhala and Tamil New Year and Muslim people celebrate Ramadan. “Sinhalese as well as Tamils welcome the Sinhala and Hindu New Year at an auspicious time and carry out all the important activities like first light the hearth, start cooking, eating and anoint oil all at an auspicious time. Commencing work and doing the first business transaction is also part of the traditions. Visiting the relations and friends forgetting all the bad things happened in the previous year is the most important social aspect of the festival.” [3]
Education
Sri Lanka is the most literate country among developing nations. 9 years of compulsory education is required and most enter secondary education. There are 16 public universities in the country. The modern school system was established by the British in 1836 and based on this after independence, the number of schools and literacy rate increased. “The contemporary Sri Lanka education system owes its origin to the British colonists. The education is imparted through Sri Lanka colleges. The mode of education in Sri Lanka schools is imparted through the primary, lower and high secondary schools.” [4]
Citied Sources
1. Maps of World – Sri Lankan Demographics
http://www.mapsofworld.com/sri-lanka/geography/demographics.html
2. History. Net – History of Sri Lanka
http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ac68
3. South travels - Events and Festivals in Sri Lanka
http://www.southtravels.com/asia/srilanka/events.html
4. Maps of World - Sri Lanka Education
http://www.mapsofworld.com/sri-lanka/education/
2009년 10월 27일 화요일
Preliminary report on Nepal - Revised
General informationNepal is in South Asia and located south to Republic of China and north to Republic of India. Kathmandu is the capital city and Hinduism is the national and major religion in Nepal. Nepal is the only country that set Hinduism as its official religion. The north part of the country has many famous mountains such as Mountain Everest and south part is highly populated and developed.
Religions, languages and festivals (Culture)
Although Hinduism is the official religion in Nepal, there are a variety of religions that Nepalese practice such as Buddhism (2nd largest), Christianity, and Islam (both minor). “Hindu and Buddhist worshippers may regard the same god with different names while performing religious rites. Though Nepal is the only Hindu Kingdom in the world, many other religions like Islam, Christianity and Bon are practiced here.” [1]
There are more than 92 languages spoken in Nepal. Four major groups of languages are Indo-Aryan, Tibeto-Burman, Mongolian, and Indigenous. The major languages of Nepal (percent spoken as mother tongue) are Nepali, Maithili, Bhojpuri, and so on.
There are more than 50 major festivals in Nepal and most of them are religious-related. One of the biggest festivals is Dashain and many Nepalese people outside their country celebrate themselves missing their home country. “The entire population of Nepal celebrates the festival that falls between mid September to mid October. Nepalis celebrate Dashai by buying new clothes, eating good food and visiting family members. Card games are very popular during this time. Various fairs and celebration events are organized during the Dashain fortnight in both villages and cities”. [2]
When Nepalese women get married, they wear red clothes. Likewise, if they get divorced or become widows, they no longer wear red, instead, wear white color only for the rest of their lives.
History
In the mid-18th century, the kingdoms of Nepal unified. “Prithivi Narayan Shah is known as the creator of Nepal…Nepal was defeated and the Sugauli Treaty was signed in 1816, under which Nepal lost one-third of its territory…. The period between1836-1846 is marked with confusion and intrigues… Then began the Rana period in Nepal which lasted up to 104 years. During this period, the country was kept in isolation and the people were deprived of political and social rights… Mahendra’s son King Birendra reinstated multipart after the movemenmt in 1989. When the late King ‘Birendra’ and his entire family were killed on 2001, his brother, Gyanendra Shah became the king of Nepal. Gyanendra reinstated the parliament aftewr popolar struggle in 2006. In 2008, the newly elected constitution assembly declared the country a republic.” [3]
Geography
“There is no coast in Nepal, as it shares three quarters of its borders with India (south, east and west) and the remaining northern border with China.” [4]
Terai is southern lowland and usually urbanized. Hill is on higher altitude and has subtropical to temperate climates. The capital city, Kathmandu, is on Hill region. The mountainous are (Mountain region) is famous for Mountain Everest in Great Himalayan Range. This region is on the northern part of the country.
Nepal has four distinct seasons (spring, summer, autumn and winter). There is a raining period during summer and it is called ‘monsoon’ and tourists can have good opportunities to travel around and enjoy the natural beauty of Nepal.
. “Even though the arrival of the summer monsoon can vary by as much as a month, in Nepal it generally arrives in early June, is preceded by violent lightning and thunderstorms, and lasts through September, when it begins to recede.” [5]
Cited Sources
1. Nepal Tourism. info (A complete tourism information)
http://nepaltourism.info/nepal_religions.html
4. Kwintessntial – Geography of Nepal
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/articles/article/Nepal/Geography-of-Nepal/332
5. The Library of Congress Country Studies; CIA World Factbook (original source)
http://www.photius.com/countries/nepal/climate/nepal_climate_climate.html
The first interview transcript by Kaye Lee
The First Interview Report
Class; ENGL 191 21
Interviewer; Kaye Lee
Interviewee; Jamuna Adhikari
Country of Origin; Nepal
Interview Date; Oct. 24 2009
Where are you from?
I’m from Nepal. I lived in the capital city, Kathmandu for like 5~6 years.
What about college? Did you go to college there?
I went to college in the second biggest city in my country because I had some of my relatives living over there, so I can go and visit them.
So why did you come study in American college?
American education is recognized all over the world and American education provides practical education. We can get benefit from our daily life and more advanced technology.
So, are you going to get a job as a nursing career after graduation in the states or are you going back home?
I think I might practice here for years and I might go for master’s degree and then once I finish higher level of education, then I will go back to my country..
So you are going to the graduate school in Minnesota, maybe?
No, just in America.
Have you taken any college-level classes in Nepal?
Yes, I have. I took some health classes like 3 years because I wanted to go for nursing, I didn’t do my graduation there because I wanted to come to America and finish my education here.
So what are some differences between colleges there and here?
I think one of them is the way they teach in the class in my country, it’s more like teacher speak and students listen, you know, they don’t really participate in activities, but in here, they participate a lot, they do presentations and you know, and they are encouraged to do that. Most do group studying you know. And another thing is technology you know. We most of the work we do here use computers, which in my country we don’t do. We only get library sources. And more participation and it makes students independent and learn more things than just listening to lecture you know. We just had lectures without discussion of participation like experiments.
So how long have been here?
More than four years. I was in another state and I transferred here because it’s cheaper, and you know… it’s a nice and quite society. You prefer being in a quiet place.
Since you’ve been here for a while in the states do you feel that your perspectives toward your life, or college, or career in the future have been changed?
Culturally yeah. I think I learn more how to be independent you know. Like do my things, myself instead of depending on my parents you know. Most of the things we do, you know. If we are going to college, because we expect money and all the resources they(parents) provide us.
And we don’t have to work. But here, we work on campus and other things.. In the class, the way they teach here,, group participation thing.. I like that more than you know listening to lecture which I didn’t prefer in my country, I was like.. “oh~! No participation! It’s not a good thing! It’s not a good idea!”. Now, I think it’s a good idea, we learn things by ourselves. I want to go for nursing so I need more like.. give like teaching, education.. I need that. Nurses have to teach patients, patient education, and different fields of education, you know. Hygiene, defend disease.. So it’s going to help me a lot..
Do you think your perspectives are different from your friends or your siblings back home?
Yeah, of course. Even my brother, he’s in my country, and going to college over there, I think he doesn’t believe group participation. It was the same thing for me, when I was in my country, I didn’t believe participation thing, you know. I thought why didn’t teachers give lectures and go? Why participate you know?
What about getting a job, and starting your career?
Getting a job, yeah, once they finish the college and education, I think it’s important to get a job. It’s lilke they have to work somewhere, it’s like gaining knowledge. And they have to work. And they work. But here, you know and then if you go for.. for example, if you go for nursing in my country, you have to work as a nurse. You can’t change it. It’s not a good idea to change your profession.. You know. You cant’ just stop going for nursing. Here you can change it and It’s a good thing about.. And you can go for different professionals. And that also gives you freedom of choice. You can go for whatever you like.
Maybe I’ll ask you about cultural things.. cultural experience here. Besides college thing..
So when is your most culturally shocking experience in the states? Or here in college?
Yeah, in a couple relationship, people here can have multiple guys, and they can change their boyfriends and girlfriends whenever they would like to. But in our culture, it’s like more serious relationships, yeah, exactly.. and if you have a boyfriend, then you know that you are going to have a relationship like forever, you want to get married, you know. You just don’t for like 1 or 2 years relationship or break up. So it’s not common to have temporary relationships.
So, is your home country culturally diverse as here in the states?
Yeah, it’s culturally diverse. We have people from different backgrounds like Mongolians, you know. They have different castes and the caste that I belong to is the second greatest caste. And there is a thing that we can’t even get married with people from higher castes. So I belong to the second caste. It’s a taboo, you know. People from 1st class, they want to find somebody from the 1st class. And if they get married to people from lower class, it’s going to be a sin. It’s not normal. It’s not illegal, but just not normal. Most of the time, guys and girls listen to their parents, you know. They prefer parents’ sources and their relationships.
We have four castes. Like different sub-groups. They speak different languages from me. People from different castes celebrate different activities and religious activities. And even you know like.. the thing I celebrate.. because we have different activities like festivals.. not all the people celebrate the same festivals and the same activities at the same time you know because they have different activities and we don’t even know them. We are not even family with them.
Most of the common religion is Hindu, and Buddism, islamics, and Christians and then.. um.. some other islam, and muslim. So major group is Hindu. I’m Hindu.
Are there some conflicts among those people like different groups with different religions?
Yeah, because sometimes they favor hindu people they favor Hinduism. Hindu people are more liberal, they accept other people, but other um.. for like people who are muslim or people who are really strict with religion you know. They really don’t accept other culture very well. I think..
In India, people have been fighting each other because of the religions. But not in my country, it’s peaceful in my in country.
Is it common to speak multi-languages in Nepal?
Yeah, very common and we don’t even understand them. I speak like… you know my Nepalese language? And that’s the national language. I only speak that language. I don’t even understand other people. Even the letters are totally different. However, people can speak Nepalese because it is the national language. All the textbooks are written in Nepalese. I can also speak Hindu, which is the national language in India.
14:41
I am going to ask you some personal questions. Do you feel homesick sometimes? If you do, when do you feel that way the most?
When festivals (such as Dashain) come in my country, I feel homesick. I miss my family a lot because they get together to eat and celebrate, so I call them often. I miss home food the most and there are various religious and traditional foods back home made of rice, vegetables, and curry, for instance.
If I want to travel Nepal, where would you suggest me to go?
You can go to Mount Everest. Now, you can go take a car and enjoy the beauty of the mountain. Also, you can visit Hindu temples which are in the capital and world famous. If you want to see natural beauty, you should visit western part of the country, Pokkura. There are lakes, bridges, and craves and so many things.
Is plagiarism considered as a serious crime in your country?
No, not as much as here. I think it’s a good thing that we learn about giving credits to authors for using their sources, but it’s common to copy others’ sources in Nepal. Even when I took English courses, we did not learn about citing sources in text. Plagiarism is not taken seriously even though it’s illegal.
This is a society-related question and has a different topic from previous questions. It’s about being different in a society. So, is being homosexual, being divorced, or being a single parent common or acceptable in Nepalese society?
22:20
Being a single parent is not common and not acceptable in our society. It’s like a taboo. If a girl gets pregnant, she has to find somebody to marry. Being divorced is common these days, but not widely acceptable. Divorce rate is only 10% in Nepal. However, being homosexual is common. There is a specific community for people who are homosexual and it’s called ‘Blue Diamond Society’. They do special events wearing different clothes. Even people from rural areas have homosexual spouses, and it’s legal. Those people tend to move to cities and can adopt children, too. Furthermore, it’s illegal to discriminate them, but single parents (especially women) might suffer in the male-dominated society. Widows have to wear white clothes all her life. They are not supposed to wear redish color.
Class; ENGL 191 21
Interviewer; Kaye Lee
Interviewee; Jamuna Adhikari
Country of Origin; Nepal
Interview Date; Oct. 24 2009
Where are you from?
I’m from Nepal. I lived in the capital city, Kathmandu for like 5~6 years.
What about college? Did you go to college there?
I went to college in the second biggest city in my country because I had some of my relatives living over there, so I can go and visit them.
So why did you come study in American college?
American education is recognized all over the world and American education provides practical education. We can get benefit from our daily life and more advanced technology.
So, are you going to get a job as a nursing career after graduation in the states or are you going back home?
I think I might practice here for years and I might go for master’s degree and then once I finish higher level of education, then I will go back to my country..
So you are going to the graduate school in Minnesota, maybe?
No, just in America.
Have you taken any college-level classes in Nepal?
Yes, I have. I took some health classes like 3 years because I wanted to go for nursing, I didn’t do my graduation there because I wanted to come to America and finish my education here.
So what are some differences between colleges there and here?
I think one of them is the way they teach in the class in my country, it’s more like teacher speak and students listen, you know, they don’t really participate in activities, but in here, they participate a lot, they do presentations and you know, and they are encouraged to do that. Most do group studying you know. And another thing is technology you know. We most of the work we do here use computers, which in my country we don’t do. We only get library sources. And more participation and it makes students independent and learn more things than just listening to lecture you know. We just had lectures without discussion of participation like experiments.
So how long have been here?
More than four years. I was in another state and I transferred here because it’s cheaper, and you know… it’s a nice and quite society. You prefer being in a quiet place.
Since you’ve been here for a while in the states do you feel that your perspectives toward your life, or college, or career in the future have been changed?
Culturally yeah. I think I learn more how to be independent you know. Like do my things, myself instead of depending on my parents you know. Most of the things we do, you know. If we are going to college, because we expect money and all the resources they(parents) provide us.
And we don’t have to work. But here, we work on campus and other things.. In the class, the way they teach here,, group participation thing.. I like that more than you know listening to lecture which I didn’t prefer in my country, I was like.. “oh~! No participation! It’s not a good thing! It’s not a good idea!”. Now, I think it’s a good idea, we learn things by ourselves. I want to go for nursing so I need more like.. give like teaching, education.. I need that. Nurses have to teach patients, patient education, and different fields of education, you know. Hygiene, defend disease.. So it’s going to help me a lot..
Do you think your perspectives are different from your friends or your siblings back home?
Yeah, of course. Even my brother, he’s in my country, and going to college over there, I think he doesn’t believe group participation. It was the same thing for me, when I was in my country, I didn’t believe participation thing, you know. I thought why didn’t teachers give lectures and go? Why participate you know?
What about getting a job, and starting your career?
Getting a job, yeah, once they finish the college and education, I think it’s important to get a job. It’s lilke they have to work somewhere, it’s like gaining knowledge. And they have to work. And they work. But here, you know and then if you go for.. for example, if you go for nursing in my country, you have to work as a nurse. You can’t change it. It’s not a good idea to change your profession.. You know. You cant’ just stop going for nursing. Here you can change it and It’s a good thing about.. And you can go for different professionals. And that also gives you freedom of choice. You can go for whatever you like.
Maybe I’ll ask you about cultural things.. cultural experience here. Besides college thing..
So when is your most culturally shocking experience in the states? Or here in college?
Yeah, in a couple relationship, people here can have multiple guys, and they can change their boyfriends and girlfriends whenever they would like to. But in our culture, it’s like more serious relationships, yeah, exactly.. and if you have a boyfriend, then you know that you are going to have a relationship like forever, you want to get married, you know. You just don’t for like 1 or 2 years relationship or break up. So it’s not common to have temporary relationships.
So, is your home country culturally diverse as here in the states?
Yeah, it’s culturally diverse. We have people from different backgrounds like Mongolians, you know. They have different castes and the caste that I belong to is the second greatest caste. And there is a thing that we can’t even get married with people from higher castes. So I belong to the second caste. It’s a taboo, you know. People from 1st class, they want to find somebody from the 1st class. And if they get married to people from lower class, it’s going to be a sin. It’s not normal. It’s not illegal, but just not normal. Most of the time, guys and girls listen to their parents, you know. They prefer parents’ sources and their relationships.
We have four castes. Like different sub-groups. They speak different languages from me. People from different castes celebrate different activities and religious activities. And even you know like.. the thing I celebrate.. because we have different activities like festivals.. not all the people celebrate the same festivals and the same activities at the same time you know because they have different activities and we don’t even know them. We are not even family with them.
Most of the common religion is Hindu, and Buddism, islamics, and Christians and then.. um.. some other islam, and muslim. So major group is Hindu. I’m Hindu.
Are there some conflicts among those people like different groups with different religions?
Yeah, because sometimes they favor hindu people they favor Hinduism. Hindu people are more liberal, they accept other people, but other um.. for like people who are muslim or people who are really strict with religion you know. They really don’t accept other culture very well. I think..
In India, people have been fighting each other because of the religions. But not in my country, it’s peaceful in my in country.
Is it common to speak multi-languages in Nepal?
Yeah, very common and we don’t even understand them. I speak like… you know my Nepalese language? And that’s the national language. I only speak that language. I don’t even understand other people. Even the letters are totally different. However, people can speak Nepalese because it is the national language. All the textbooks are written in Nepalese. I can also speak Hindu, which is the national language in India.
14:41
I am going to ask you some personal questions. Do you feel homesick sometimes? If you do, when do you feel that way the most?
When festivals (such as Dashain) come in my country, I feel homesick. I miss my family a lot because they get together to eat and celebrate, so I call them often. I miss home food the most and there are various religious and traditional foods back home made of rice, vegetables, and curry, for instance.
If I want to travel Nepal, where would you suggest me to go?
You can go to Mount Everest. Now, you can go take a car and enjoy the beauty of the mountain. Also, you can visit Hindu temples which are in the capital and world famous. If you want to see natural beauty, you should visit western part of the country, Pokkura. There are lakes, bridges, and craves and so many things.
Is plagiarism considered as a serious crime in your country?
No, not as much as here. I think it’s a good thing that we learn about giving credits to authors for using their sources, but it’s common to copy others’ sources in Nepal. Even when I took English courses, we did not learn about citing sources in text. Plagiarism is not taken seriously even though it’s illegal.
This is a society-related question and has a different topic from previous questions. It’s about being different in a society. So, is being homosexual, being divorced, or being a single parent common or acceptable in Nepalese society?
22:20
Being a single parent is not common and not acceptable in our society. It’s like a taboo. If a girl gets pregnant, she has to find somebody to marry. Being divorced is common these days, but not widely acceptable. Divorce rate is only 10% in Nepal. However, being homosexual is common. There is a specific community for people who are homosexual and it’s called ‘Blue Diamond Society’. They do special events wearing different clothes. Even people from rural areas have homosexual spouses, and it’s legal. Those people tend to move to cities and can adopt children, too. Furthermore, it’s illegal to discriminate them, but single parents (especially women) might suffer in the male-dominated society. Widows have to wear white clothes all her life. They are not supposed to wear redish color.
The first interview report by Kaye Lee
My First Interview Report with a Nepalese student
My first goal was to find an international student that I was going to interview. I found one girl in my psychology class who was always sitting next me at the front of a huge auditorium. In fact, I have seen her several times around campus, but did not know her very well. Since she said that she was from Nepal, I asked her of being my interviewee. She seemed somewhat unwilling when she heard a word, ‘interview’, but I said it would not take much time and was an assignment for my English class. Also, I said I also had a classmate from Nepal and she knew him.
My general objectives include; first, to research about her background, set time and a place to meet her, bring proper equipments such as a recorder, and give her questions before the interview. Second, to hear about her opinion about American college, share her cultural experiences in the states, and know about her concerns, and current issues in her country. Finally, to let her ask me questions at the end of the interview, thank her, and make a transcript and report of the interview.
I could secure two more interviewees in that the first interviewee introduced me one male student from her country and it turned out that he was my classmate last semester. The last interviewee is one of my roommate’s friend and she was from Sri Lanka which is south to India. Although Nepal and India are somewhat distant each other, it was a good chance since I was thinking of the last person to be either Indian or Sri Lankan.
Virtually, I wanted to meet her before the fall break started, but could not because she said she wanted to meet up during breaks because of busy work. The library closed during the break, I invited her to have lunch in my place and cooked some Korean food for her after the interview. Before the interview, I prepared a question sheet, a pen, a recorder (my iPod), and a cup of strawberry juice. My mp3 player worked very well as a recorder and had a plenty of memory space available, so I did not have to buy or burrow a recorder. She seemed a bit busy on the interview date, so as she arrived, I started the interview.
In terms of my first interviewee, her name is Jamuna Adhikari. ‘Jamuna’ is the name of a river. She is 22 years old and came from the eastern part of Nepal, Damak. She has two elder and one younger brother back home and has been in the states for four years. She finished 3 years college in Pokhara, Nepal, majoring in health sciences. She is vegetarian and likes to share culture and talk to people from diverse cultural backgrounds. She also likes to listen to music, but it depends on her mood. Her favorite food is traditional nepali food, which is made of daal, rice, curry and chutney. She said she did not like to have American food because they are usually cheesy and greasy. The city she came from, Damak is small, but beautiful, which is in Jhapa district and mechi zone.
When I first had to do research about the country, I felt lost because I could not find the way to approach and it seemed too broad to begin to know about one nation. I tried to look at other classmates’ research and could start mine on the right track. The research helped me a lot understand her background because the country I chose was the one I have heard of, but knew almost nothing about. Since there were more than three hundred of Nepalese students on campus, I thought it will be good to know about them better. During researching, I could find some famous festivals that most Nepalese students are missing about their home country the most and some well-known places such as Mount Everest and the famous capital city, Kathmandu by searching pictures. When I found the biggest festival, Dashain, I found Korean news that Nepalese workers in Korea gathered this year for celebrating Dashain themselves, so I could imagine how she was excited, or somewhat disappointed of not being with her family members.
Furthermore, since I am an international student, I could better understand what issues she was interested in, what concerns she had, and so on. When she explained how she felt about American college education system, I could see why she emphasized ‘participation’ so much because I was also from a part of Asia where passive attitude in class is common among college student and is acceptable. I could imagine how she was surprised when she first saw American students raising their hands, being active in group discussion, and not hesitating expressing their opinion freely.
Also, although I did not have chance to do the interview in library, I think doing it in my place was not that inappropriate for the interviewee and myself. This is because we could know each other better than the first place and share each other’s culture. If I do this interview, the interviewee would have felt pressured in that she had to go to the library and do the interview rather than have a conversation about culture.
Finally, it was very interesting to hear about gender-related issues in her country. It was very surprised to know that being a single mom is considered as a taboo in Nepalese society more than being homosexual because it is often opposite in my country. Divorce rate is much higher in Korea compared to that in Nepal, so there are many single parents in society. However, gay marriage has not been legalized, and many homosexual people have been suffered from being treated differently in their workplaces and schools. I was wondering why women are often thought as a sub-dominant group and have less opportunities in marriage options than men do.
Nepal is in South Asia and located south to Republic of China and north to Republic of India. Kathmandu is the capital city and most Nepalese students on campus came from here.
Hinduism is the national and major religion in Nepal. Although Hinduism is the official religion in Nepal, there are a variety of religions that Nepalese practice such as Buddhism (2nd largest), Christianity, and Islam (both minor). The north part of the country has many famous mountains such as Mountain Everest and south part is highly populated and developed.
There are more than 92 languages spoken in Nepal. Four major groups of languages are Indo-Aryan, Tibeto-Burman, Mongolian, and Indigenous. The major languages of Nepal (percent spoken as mother tongue) are Nepali, Maithili, Bhojpuri, and so on. There are more than 50 major festivals in Nepal and most of them are religious-related. One of the biggest festivals is Dashain. “The festival is said to be held in honor of the gods’ victory over wicked demons. Legend has it that the god Ramayan was only able to kill Ravana, the king of the demons, when the goddess Durga was evoked. Thus the goddess Durga plays a pivotal role in the celebrations and the entire event is seen as a celebration of good over evil.” [1]
Terai is southern lowland and usually urbanized. Hill is on higher altitude and has subtropical to temperate climates. The capital city, Kathmandu, is on Hill region. The mountainous are (Mountain region) is famous for Mountain Everest in Great Himalayan Range. This region is on the northern part of the country. Her hometown, Damak is in east part of Nepal and lies between the border of Ratuwa and Mawa rivers. One Nepalese blogger said, “The favourite hangout place in Damak is 'The Himalayan Tea garden','Mini Palace' of The Himalayan Tea Garden, 'banks of Ratuwa river' and the famous 'Ratuwa bridge' from where the sun sets more beautifully than ever. Even the mountains seems to be mightier. Damak truely is gifted by nature.” [2]
Nepal has four distinct seasons (spring, summer, autumn and winter). There is a raining period during summer and it is called ‘monsoon’. Travelers have the best chances to travel around Nepal during the monsoon period. “Monsoon Nepal is our selection of the best trips in the rainy season, featuring the valleys of Kathmandu and Pokhara, a six-day moderate grade trek in the Nepal trans-Himalaya, and optional high water rafting and wildlife safari extensions.” [3]
Cited sources
My first goal was to find an international student that I was going to interview. I found one girl in my psychology class who was always sitting next me at the front of a huge auditorium. In fact, I have seen her several times around campus, but did not know her very well. Since she said that she was from Nepal, I asked her of being my interviewee. She seemed somewhat unwilling when she heard a word, ‘interview’, but I said it would not take much time and was an assignment for my English class. Also, I said I also had a classmate from Nepal and she knew him.
My general objectives include; first, to research about her background, set time and a place to meet her, bring proper equipments such as a recorder, and give her questions before the interview. Second, to hear about her opinion about American college, share her cultural experiences in the states, and know about her concerns, and current issues in her country. Finally, to let her ask me questions at the end of the interview, thank her, and make a transcript and report of the interview.
I could secure two more interviewees in that the first interviewee introduced me one male student from her country and it turned out that he was my classmate last semester. The last interviewee is one of my roommate’s friend and she was from Sri Lanka which is south to India. Although Nepal and India are somewhat distant each other, it was a good chance since I was thinking of the last person to be either Indian or Sri Lankan.
Virtually, I wanted to meet her before the fall break started, but could not because she said she wanted to meet up during breaks because of busy work. The library closed during the break, I invited her to have lunch in my place and cooked some Korean food for her after the interview. Before the interview, I prepared a question sheet, a pen, a recorder (my iPod), and a cup of strawberry juice. My mp3 player worked very well as a recorder and had a plenty of memory space available, so I did not have to buy or burrow a recorder. She seemed a bit busy on the interview date, so as she arrived, I started the interview.
In terms of my first interviewee, her name is Jamuna Adhikari. ‘Jamuna’ is the name of a river. She is 22 years old and came from the eastern part of Nepal, Damak. She has two elder and one younger brother back home and has been in the states for four years. She finished 3 years college in Pokhara, Nepal, majoring in health sciences. She is vegetarian and likes to share culture and talk to people from diverse cultural backgrounds. She also likes to listen to music, but it depends on her mood. Her favorite food is traditional nepali food, which is made of daal, rice, curry and chutney. She said she did not like to have American food because they are usually cheesy and greasy. The city she came from, Damak is small, but beautiful, which is in Jhapa district and mechi zone.
When I first had to do research about the country, I felt lost because I could not find the way to approach and it seemed too broad to begin to know about one nation. I tried to look at other classmates’ research and could start mine on the right track. The research helped me a lot understand her background because the country I chose was the one I have heard of, but knew almost nothing about. Since there were more than three hundred of Nepalese students on campus, I thought it will be good to know about them better. During researching, I could find some famous festivals that most Nepalese students are missing about their home country the most and some well-known places such as Mount Everest and the famous capital city, Kathmandu by searching pictures. When I found the biggest festival, Dashain, I found Korean news that Nepalese workers in Korea gathered this year for celebrating Dashain themselves, so I could imagine how she was excited, or somewhat disappointed of not being with her family members.
Furthermore, since I am an international student, I could better understand what issues she was interested in, what concerns she had, and so on. When she explained how she felt about American college education system, I could see why she emphasized ‘participation’ so much because I was also from a part of Asia where passive attitude in class is common among college student and is acceptable. I could imagine how she was surprised when she first saw American students raising their hands, being active in group discussion, and not hesitating expressing their opinion freely.
Also, although I did not have chance to do the interview in library, I think doing it in my place was not that inappropriate for the interviewee and myself. This is because we could know each other better than the first place and share each other’s culture. If I do this interview, the interviewee would have felt pressured in that she had to go to the library and do the interview rather than have a conversation about culture.
Finally, it was very interesting to hear about gender-related issues in her country. It was very surprised to know that being a single mom is considered as a taboo in Nepalese society more than being homosexual because it is often opposite in my country. Divorce rate is much higher in Korea compared to that in Nepal, so there are many single parents in society. However, gay marriage has not been legalized, and many homosexual people have been suffered from being treated differently in their workplaces and schools. I was wondering why women are often thought as a sub-dominant group and have less opportunities in marriage options than men do.
Nepal is in South Asia and located south to Republic of China and north to Republic of India. Kathmandu is the capital city and most Nepalese students on campus came from here.
Hinduism is the national and major religion in Nepal. Although Hinduism is the official religion in Nepal, there are a variety of religions that Nepalese practice such as Buddhism (2nd largest), Christianity, and Islam (both minor). The north part of the country has many famous mountains such as Mountain Everest and south part is highly populated and developed.
There are more than 92 languages spoken in Nepal. Four major groups of languages are Indo-Aryan, Tibeto-Burman, Mongolian, and Indigenous. The major languages of Nepal (percent spoken as mother tongue) are Nepali, Maithili, Bhojpuri, and so on. There are more than 50 major festivals in Nepal and most of them are religious-related. One of the biggest festivals is Dashain. “The festival is said to be held in honor of the gods’ victory over wicked demons. Legend has it that the god Ramayan was only able to kill Ravana, the king of the demons, when the goddess Durga was evoked. Thus the goddess Durga plays a pivotal role in the celebrations and the entire event is seen as a celebration of good over evil.” [1]
Terai is southern lowland and usually urbanized. Hill is on higher altitude and has subtropical to temperate climates. The capital city, Kathmandu, is on Hill region. The mountainous are (Mountain region) is famous for Mountain Everest in Great Himalayan Range. This region is on the northern part of the country. Her hometown, Damak is in east part of Nepal and lies between the border of Ratuwa and Mawa rivers. One Nepalese blogger said, “The favourite hangout place in Damak is 'The Himalayan Tea garden','Mini Palace' of The Himalayan Tea Garden, 'banks of Ratuwa river' and the famous 'Ratuwa bridge' from where the sun sets more beautifully than ever. Even the mountains seems to be mightier. Damak truely is gifted by nature.” [2]
Nepal has four distinct seasons (spring, summer, autumn and winter). There is a raining period during summer and it is called ‘monsoon’. Travelers have the best chances to travel around Nepal during the monsoon period. “Monsoon Nepal is our selection of the best trips in the rainy season, featuring the valleys of Kathmandu and Pokhara, a six-day moderate grade trek in the Nepal trans-Himalaya, and optional high water rafting and wildlife safari extensions.” [3]
Cited sources
1. Nepalholiday.com
http://www.nepalholiday.com/nepal/nepal_trekking/ganesh_himal_trekking_nepal/dashain-festival-trekking-nepal.html
3. Wayfarers – Himalaya adventures (Monsoon Nepal)http://www.wayfarers.com.np/trekking/monsoon_nepal.htm
2009년 10월 20일 화요일
Preliminary report on Nepal
General informationNepal is in South Asia and located south to Republic of China and north to Republic of India. Kathmandu is the capital city and Hinduism is the national and major religion in Nepal. The north part of the country has many famous mountains such as Mountain Everest and south part is highly populated and developed.
Religions, languages and festivals (Culture)
Although Hinduism is the official religion in Nepal, there are a variety of religions that Nepalese practice such as Buddhism (2nd largest), Christianity, and Islam (both minor). “Hindu and Buddhist worshippers may regard the same god with different names while performing religious rites. Though Nepal is the only Hindu Kingdom in the world, many other religions like Islam, Christianity and Bon are practiced here.” [1]
There are more than 92 languages spoken in Nepal. Four major groups of languages are Indo-Aryan, Tibeto-Burman, Mongolian, and Indigenous. The major languages of Nepal (percent spoken as mother tongue) are Nepali, Maithili, Bhojpuri, and so on.
There are more than 50 major festivals in Nepal and most of them are religious-related. One of the biggest festivals is Dashain. “The entire population of Nepal celebrates the festival that falls between mid September to mid October. Nepalis celebrate Dashai by buying new clothes, eating good food and visiting family members. Card games are very popular during this time. Various fairs and celebration events are organized during the Dashain fortnight in both villages and cities”. [2]
History
In the mid-18th century, the kingdoms of Nepal unified. “Prithivi Narayan Shah is known as the creator of Nepal…Nepal was defeated and the Sugauli Treaty was signed in 1816, under which Nepal lost one-third of its territory…. The period between1836-1846 is marked with confusion and intrigues… Then began the Rana period in Nepal which lasted up to 104 years. During this period, the country was kept in isolation and the people were deprived of political and social rights… Mahendra’s son King Birendra reinstated multipart after the movemenmt in 1989. When the late King ‘Birendra’ and his entire family were killed on 2001, his brother, Gyanendra Shah became the king of Nepal. Gyanendra reinstated the parliament aftewr popolar struggle in 2006. In 2008, the newly elected constitution assembly declared the country a republic.” [3]
Geography
“There is no coast in Nepal, as it shares three quarters of its borders with India (south, east and west) and the remaining northern border with China.” [4]
Terai is southern lowland and usually urbanized. Hill is on higher altitude and has subtropical to temperate climates. The capital city, Kathmandu, is on Hill region. The mountainous are (Mountain region) is famous for Mountain Everest in Great Himalayan Range. This region is on the northern part of the country.
Nepal has four distinct seasons (spring, summer, autumn and winter). There is a raining period during summer and it is called ‘monsoon’. “Even though the arrival of the summer monsoon can vary by as much as a month, in Nepal it generally arrives in early June, is preceded by violent lightning and thunderstorms, and lasts through September, when it begins to recede.” [5]
Cited Sources
1. Nepal Tourism. info (A complete tourism information)
http://nepaltourism.info/nepal_religions.html
2. HotelNepal. Com (Gateways to hotel in Nepal)
http://www.hotelnepal.com/festival.php
3. Nepal. Travel (Nepal Travel Directory)
http://www.nepal.travel/Nepal_History.html
4. Kwintessntial – Geography of Nepal
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/articles/article/Nepal/Geography-of-Nepal/332
5. The Library of Congress Country Studies; CIA World Factbook (original source)
http://www.photius.com/countries/nepal/climate/nepal_climate_climate.html
6. The image - Mount Everest
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~shres20e/classweb/worldpolitics/2%20page.html
6. The image - Mount Everest
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~shres20e/classweb/worldpolitics/2%20page.html
2009년 10월 13일 화요일
Revised objectives
- To study interviewee's cultural background before the interview
- To prepare pens, paper, a recorder, and some water.
- To set time and a quite place such as a study room in library
- To tell them that I will record their voice and post the conversation we have on my blog.
- To get to know the interviewee more personally if I just know about where the interviewee is from and what his/her major is.
- To see if s/he is adjusting well in a new environment by asking questions like homesickness.
- To compare myself as an international student with the interviewee.
- To know whether the interviewee thinks it's usual for him/her to be in a diverse society.
- To hear interesting stories about his/her cultural experiences in the states.
- To share their concerns regarding living and studying abroad.
- To get to know about current issues in his/her society and if they have similar issues to those in the states.
- To let the interviewee ask questions freely after the interview so that the interviewee can feel s/he is sharing ideas with me.
- To make transcripts and reports of two better ones among three interviews. It should not be done too late after having interviews because of memory loss.
- To thank the interviewee via texting or email.
2009년 10월 5일 월요일
Presentation 580-586
Kevin L H, Vishal, Kaye
Choosing a documnetation style
Choosing a documnetation style
- MLA- Modern language association (English papers)
- APA- American psychological association (Social Sciences)
- Chicago
Select the appropriate ciataion for what you are citing.
MLA and APA are similar because the citations refer to a list at the end of the paper. There are also a few differences between the two, author's name, date of publication, page numbers, and verb tense in signal phrases can differ between the two.
Chicago style is the style you should use when you are dealing with a large number of citations. Instead of the author's name after the citation there is just a number, which then you can refer to the work cited to see the source information.
If not positive on which to use consult a style manual.
Objectives of my interview questions
- To get to know the interviewee more personally if I just know about where the interviewee is from and what his/her major is.
- To see if s/he is adjusting well in a new environment by asking questions like homesickness.
- To compare myself as an international student with the interviewee.
- To know whether the interviewee thinks it's usual for him/her to be in a diverse society.
- To hear interesting stories about his/her cultural experiences in the states.
- To share their concerns regarding living and studying abroad.
- To get to know about current issues in his/her society and if they have similar issues to those in the states.
- To also answer his/her questions friendly so that the interviewee can feel s/he is sharing ideas with me.
2009년 9월 29일 화요일
questions for international students
1. Why did you come study in American college? - school/personal
- Are you also going to get a job here after graduation?
2. Have you taken any classes back home? If you have, what are some differences between home college and here?? - school
3. How long have you been in the states? Do you feel that you have different perspective toward life here from your friend back home since you have been here for a while? (eg; cultural, political view.. etc) - culture/personal
4. When is your most culturally shocking experience in the states? - culture
5. Is you home country as culturally diverse as here? Explain. - culture
- Approximately how many sub-groups are there in your country?
- What about religious groups? Are they diverse? Do they have conflicts? How?
6. Is it common to speak multi-languages in your country? If so, how many languages do people normally speak? How many do you speak? - culture
7. When do you feel homesick the most? What do you miss the most about your home country? -personal
8. If I want to travel your country, where would you suggest me to visit? (what to do, what to eat.. etc.) - Culture
- Is there anything that I should not (or must not) do or say when meeting people?
9. Is plagiarism considered as a serious crime in your home college as in American college? - school/culture
- When you were attending college there, did you consider it as serious?
10. Is being gay, being divorced or being a single parent (or not being married) normally acceptable in your society? - culture
- Would people treat those people differenly, or unfairly in society? (in workplace, school..)
- Are you also going to get a job here after graduation?
2. Have you taken any classes back home? If you have, what are some differences between home college and here?? - school
3. How long have you been in the states? Do you feel that you have different perspective toward life here from your friend back home since you have been here for a while? (eg; cultural, political view.. etc) - culture/personal
4. When is your most culturally shocking experience in the states? - culture
5. Is you home country as culturally diverse as here? Explain. - culture
- Approximately how many sub-groups are there in your country?
- What about religious groups? Are they diverse? Do they have conflicts? How?
6. Is it common to speak multi-languages in your country? If so, how many languages do people normally speak? How many do you speak? - culture
7. When do you feel homesick the most? What do you miss the most about your home country? -personal
8. If I want to travel your country, where would you suggest me to visit? (what to do, what to eat.. etc.) - Culture
- Is there anything that I should not (or must not) do or say when meeting people?
9. Is plagiarism considered as a serious crime in your home college as in American college? - school/culture
- When you were attending college there, did you consider it as serious?
10. Is being gay, being divorced or being a single parent (or not being married) normally acceptable in your society? - culture
- Would people treat those people differenly, or unfairly in society? (in workplace, school..)
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