Interview 2

1.      Preparations:

 

      * When I just wake up on Tuesday morning at 9 AM, I went to the library and I was wondering if I will find someone to make an interview with. First I was looking at first floor but I couldn’t find international student. Then, I went to the third floor and I found Sana was doing her homework and I asked her where she is from.  She told me that she is from Pakistan and I asked her if I can make an interview with her and I explained for her about my project in this class. Next, I got study room which was 209 in second floor to be more comfortable for us. Finally, I recorded the interview by my IPhone and actually it was interesting to know about my new friend Sana.

 

 

 

2.      I just surprised with few things that when Sana said that they have so many holidays in their country, they almost have nine holidays in their country, but in my country we just have two holidays which are Eid ul-Adha and Eid ul Fitr. Also, when she said that women in their culture have to wear clothes to cover the whole body as we have in our culture, but in our culture they also have to wear some cloth called ‘’abaiah’’.

 

 

 

 

 

3.      Country report:

 

 

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is situated in South Asia and is bordered by Iran towards its west, Afghanistan towards its north, China towards its north-east and India towards its east. Towards its south lies the Arabian Sea. It has a land area of 796,095 sq. kilometers (UK Border Agency, 2013, p. 11). The capital of the country is Islamabad, which is located at 33° 43' N, 73° 3' E. As of 2012 its population is 179.2 million and its GDP is $231.2 billion (The World Bank Pakistan, 2013).

            The country derives its name from the word “pakstan”, which means “land of the pure” – the word was coined in 1933 by a prominent politician, Rahmat Ali (Malik, 2008, p. 336). It came into being in 1947 through a partitioning of the Indian subcontinent when the erstwhile British rulers transferred power to the governments of Pakistan and India. Since then it has been beset by internal and external conflicts, military coups and a restive tribal region towards its north-west (The World Factbook Pakistan, 2013).

            The country has a rich cultural history. It was home to the Indus Valley Civilization (approximately 5000-3500 B.C.), with its two principal settlements, Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, being located in the Punjab and Sindh provinces of Pakistan. Later it came under the influence of the Aryans, who brought Hinduism and Buddhism to the land. From the late 10^th century, however, it was dominated by the influence of Islam. From 1500 onwards it came under Mughal rule, and later came under British colonial influence from 1800 to 1947 (Blij and Muller, 2010, p. 413). Islam has been its official religion post-independence.

            The Pakistani society is hierarchical and deeply influenced by Islamic beliefs and values. Its main festivals are the Eid ul-Fitr and Ramadan. Both men and women wear the shalwar-kameez, a form of flowing robe and trouser. It has a vibrant arts and cultural scene, influenced by elements of Sufism (Green, 2012, p. 126). Its music is a mix of folk, traditional styles such as Qawwali and Ghazal as well as Western fusion. There are also many well-known writers of prose and poetry, who write both in English and local languages such as Urdu, Punjabi, Baluch and Pashtu (Burki, 2013).

 

 

 

 

 

References

Blij, H. J. de and Peter O. Muller. (2010). Geography: Realms Regions and Concepts. 14^th ed. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Burki, S. J. (2013). Pakistan, the arts. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/438805/Pakistan/276109/The-arts

Green, N. (2012). Sufism: A Global History. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Malik, J. (2008). Islam in South Asia: A Short History. Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill, NV.

The World Bank, Pakistan. (2013). Data. Retrieved from http://data.worldbank.org/country/pakistan

The World Factbook Pakistan. (2013). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pk.html

UK Border Agency. (2013). Pakistan Country of Origin Information Report. Retrieved from http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/policyandlaw/coi/pakistan/report-09082013.pdf?view=Binary

 

4.      Interview:

 

M = Mubarak

S = Sana

 

M- What is your name?

S- My name is Sana.

 M- Where are you from?

S-  I am from Pakistan.

M-How long have been studying at SCSU?

S- I have been studying since two years at SCSU.

M-What is your major?

S- My major is mathematics.

M- Do you like the weather in St.Cloud? Please explain.

S- Yes, I like the weather in St. Cloud because everything is very pleasant here. The students are being treated very nicely and all students use to get much knowledge which is relevant from the studies and the other facts of the Universe as well.

M-What do you do for leisure?

S- For leisure, I use to visit library of St. Cloud and use to borrow some books and novels from there which help me to improve my vocabulary.

M-Could you please tell me about yourself?

S- I belong from Pakistan. I am at SCSU for studying quality education which may help me to achieve my future goals. I really want to become a successful person.

M-How often do you communicate with your family back home?

S-I use to communicate twice in a week.

M-What is the biggest holiday in your country? Please explain about the holidays (Activities, Food, Date, Origin, and etc,)

S-There are so many holidays in my country. Some are Independence Day on the 14th of August, this day remembrance in the independence from Britain in 1947. Pakistan Day on the 23rd of March in the remembrance of  the passing of the Lahore resolution, labour day on 1st May, Muhammad Day on the 21st of September, Iqbal Day on 9th November, who is a national poet, birthday of Muhammad Ali Jinnah who is the founder of Pakistan celebrated on 25th December and also days like Eid ul-Adha, Eid ul Fitr, Eid e Milad.

M- In what ways might it be difficult to practice your religion here in the U.S?

S- In our religion, we offer prayers for five times, but in the U.S you can’t ask your teacher to give some break to offer prayer.

M- Tell me some important things from your culture?

S- Our culture has so many important things such as the clothing of women must cover the whole body. The big celebration are celebrated on the occasions of Eid ul-Adha, Eid ul Fitr, Eid e Milad and the people run their life according to the teachings of the holy book of Islam which is known as “Quran”.

M-What is the biggest difference between the American culture and your culture?

S- The biggest difference is clothing between the American culture and my culture because in America much shorter clothes are used by people that the whole body is almost clearly visible and in our culture the whole body must be covered with the clothes.

M-What are your goals for the future; after you graduate, what are you going to do?

S-After my graduate, I would like to do a very good job through which I can show my skills and talents for attaining success throughout  my life.

M-What are your favorite sports?

S-My favorite sport is football.

M- Do you have any questions for me? I have asked so many of you! (mandatory question at the end)

S-Yes,

S-what is your major ?

M-my major is IS.

S-What is your favorite sport ?

M-I like soccer and volleyball. Also I like witch American football because it is amazing and I hope to know all rules of American football.

S-Do you like St. Cloud ?

M-Yes I do because my father had graduate from here in 30 years ago. Also, this is was my dream to come here when I was a child.