My Second Interview

My second interview with Fahad B

1.  Preparations

Description of preparations:

            Before beginning the interview, we wrote an objective in class.  This objective answered the questions “why”, “with whom”, and “how” referring to the interview with an international student.  We also wrote ten questions together as a class.  I then added five of my own questions to the ten core questions.  After I completed these tasks and bought my recorder, I began to search for people to interview.

How did I approach people?

            I live on campus and often eat my meals at Garvy Commons.  Because it is a cafeteria, I often use this time to socialize with friends and use it as an opportunity to make new friends!  I was sitting with a group of friends, and I was introduced to Fahad.  He told me he was from Pakistan, so I asked him if I could interview him for my English class.  He agreed and was willing to do the interview.  I was excited to interview him because I wanted to compare this interview to the interview I had previously done with Myra.

When, where, and how did I conduct the interview?

I conducted the interview on Thursday, October 24^th at the Caribou Coffee inside of Atwood.  We enjoyed some coffee and made small talk.  I told him more information about the interview, such as I was doing it for my English 191 class.  I also asked him if it was okay for me to record the interview, so I could transcribe it later.  He gave me permission, which allowed me to begin the interview.  I used a recorder I had just purchased at Office Max.  I began with small talk, which included an explanation of why I was interviewing him, then used my questions to conduct the interview, and slowly winded down by asking if he wanted to ask me anything.  I also thanked him for his time.  During the interview, I made sure not to be strict with following the questions and let him converse with me as much as he wanted.  I found most of the information he said to be comparable to what Myra had said.  There was still information that was new to me that Myra had not mentioned.  The interview went very well!

Whom did I interview?

            Fahad is an international student from Pakistan.  He is studying engineering and is an internee engineer at Pak Elektron Limited.  He is an exchange student; therefore, he is a cultural ambassador of Pakistan in the United States.  He helped to represent Pakistan at the Pakistani cultural café that took place on Friday, October 25.  In Pakistan, he studies at the Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences.  He is from Lahore, Pakistan.  He is studying electrical engineering.  He speaks English, Urdu, and Punjabi.  He is Muslim.

2.  Interview report

Description of the interview:

During the interview, I made sure to have good posture, so he would know I am interested in what he has to say and am also respectful.  I also made sure I let him talk for as long as he wanted about a topic.  Sometimes, I would ignore my question list for a little bit if we were becoming engaged in conversation from a previous question.  The interview went very well because he was very open and willing to talk about both his personal experiences in Pakistan and more of a generalized description of what he knew about Pakistan.  There were no topics that made him uncomfortable and not want to discuss.

The questions covered multiple topics.  Through these topics, I was able to learn that Pakistan is very traditional in many aspects, such as conservative clothing style, many mosques located throughout the country, and religious customs and celebrations that occur.  Even though Pakistan is traditional in these aspects, it is also modernizing.  As the literacy rate rises, more women are working outside of their homes and fewer marriages are being arranged.  Because Fahad was so thorough with his answers, I was able to receive a lot of interesting information.  Because he was willing to discuss a lot, the interview went very well.

I met with Fahad in Atwood’s Caribou on the 25^th of October.  We talked for about 30 minutes.  I think the interview went very well.

What surprised me?

            Because I had previously interviewed a Pakistani student, I was not very surprised by what Fahad was telling me.  I was surprised, however, to find that not everyone in Pakistan does an arranged marriage.  Myra made it seem as if that was a custom that everyone practiced.  This is because they are both from different regions of Pakistan, and practices will vary throughout Pakistan, so that was very interesting to learn and also surprised me.

3.  Country Report

            Both of my interviews are of students from Pakistan, so please refer to my first interview to view my country report and cited sources of Pakistan.

4.  Interview transcription of my interview with Fahad B

V = Valerie (me)

F = Fahad B

V: How do you communicate with each other in your home country?

F: In my home country, our national language is Urdu.  Almost everyone in our entire country can understand that language.  We have four provinces.  Each province has its own language.  I am from the Punjab province, and there we speak the Punjabi language.  In my home, we communicate using mainly the Punjabi language, but in our schools, we primarily use Urdu as our means of communication.  In offices, English is the official language.  I can speak three languages because of this; English, Urdu, and Punjabi.  Throughout the country, everyone can understand Urdu, even though every region has its own language.  This is the language that joins us and binds us together.  Otherwise, each region has its own language.  Urdu is the official language, and that is how we communicate. 

V:  What is the clothing style for men and women?

F: Men and women have a dress called Salwar Kameez.  It is long and loose fit.  The shirt is a long shirt.  The pants are loose.  Men and women wear the same, but women’s dresses are fancy and colorful.  Men’s are simple.  That is it.

V: How do you compare that clothing style to what you have seen in the United States?  Could you compare Pakistani clothes versus American clothing?

F:  Actually, in urban areas of Pakistan, a lot of people also wear plain shirts and jeans.  Men also wear these clothes.  In Pakistan, we are religiously a little conservative society.  It depends on the person.  I have never seen someone in shorts.  Some you will see without sleeves, but you do not see that a lot.  Mostly, women will cover themselves.  Otherwise, it is okay.

V:  If you are more conservatively dressed, is it common to go swimming? 

F:  Actually, there are some places were men and women cannot swim together.  There are different places for men and women, so it will make it more okay for how they are dressed for swimming pools.  They are segregated.  That way men can be in their swimsuits and the women too. 

V:  How are women and men treated differently?

F:  Actually, it depends on whether you are part of the urban center or in the village.  Mostly, we are a society that is evolving, but in most of the cases, women are treated with respect.  It depends on the rights they are given.  In urban areas, they are given more rights in their families.  In villages, they have less opportunities than men.  It is not like their rights are violated.  There are cases in the country where women will have their rights violated, but this is not usually.  That is a part of our culture that men have morals with women that are out of tradition. 

V:  Have you noticed any differences in how men and women are treated in the United States compared to Pakistan?

F:  Like I told you, it depends on place to place.  Throughout all of my life, I have lived in urban areas.  I have never seen anyone violating the rights of women.  In my own family, I have a sister.  My father will, all of the time, give her preference.  In many societies, it is more common for women to be given less privileges.  My father, in my family, because we have four brothers and one sister, he always gives priority to my sister.  And that is okay.  I have never seen huge violations.  Maybe it happens somewhere with less educated people who are not very educated and are not well aware of the global life. 

V:  How has your experience here interpret and respect cultural differences?

F:  Here, I have seen people are from almost every part of the world.  They all have their own culture and values.  When I came to American, I got a scholarship, and I had an orientation with close to one hundred people.  They told us that no culture is bad culture.  Every culture is different.  You have to respect them.  You are different to them, and others are different to you.  From that day, I am holding these guidelines, and I feel that they are true.  Each culture is different and has its own values.  I respect them. 

V:  Do you enjoy speaking with other exchange students?

F:  Yes.  I think most of my friends here are exchange students.  Whether they are from Germany, Korea, or any other part of the world.  I live in Lawrence Hall, and some of them live in that building too.  It is good to be talking and exchanging our views and ideas.  Also, I do also have American friends.  When I first came, all of the international students and I became closer friends, and I think it is good to be with them. 

V:  Are you involved in any organizations with exchange students or how did you become friends with them? 

F:  When we came here, we had an orientation week.  From there, the activities we went to allowed us to become closer to each other.  I am also part of the ISA, which is the International Students Association.  This also gives us a platform to come closer.  That is it.

V:  How long have you been in the United States?

F:  I have been here since the fifth of August of 2013.  Not so long.  This is my first trip abroad, and it is good. 

V:  Have you been able to visit any other parts of the United States?

F:  Yes, when I first came, I went to Washington DC, and we had an orientation there.  I got a chance to visit the Washington Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, and the White House.  Then, I came to Minneapolis and the Saint Cloud.  During the fall break, I went to Chicago, and it was good.

V:  Does the United States look like how you expected it to look when you first traveled?

F:  Not really.  From far outside of the United States, we always viewed it as New York.  We thought the entire United States would be like New York.  Now that I came here, I know it is different.  There is Saint Cloud and many places with small towns.  Even much smaller than where I am from.  It was much different than what I expected. 

V:  What are your home country’s major religions?

F:  I am from Pakistan.  The figures show that 97% of Pakistan follow Islam.  The three percent minorities generally follow Christianity.  I think they are Catholic.  I am not very sure.  There are also Hindus.  It depends from which area you are talking about.  Christians mainly live in my province of Punjab, and Hindus are in the southeast province.  I have never seen any Hindu in Punjab living there, but in my university of my hometown, there is one student in my class who is a Hindu and also came to the United States on the same exchange program. 

V:  Are there a lot of mosques?

F:  Yes, actually.  As I told you, 97% of our population is Muslim, so you will see a lot of mosques around.  It is not weird to see them anywhere.

V:  For the minority of Christians and Hindus, are there places of worship for them too?  Or is it mainly mosques?

F:  I live in a place, you can say it is in Lahar, it was a village twenty years before.  Now it is much more developed.  There are two churches there.  Christians will have their own places of worship.  On my way home, there are two cathedrals.  They are always there.  From my childhood, I grew up seeing them. 

V:  What influenced you to come to the United States?  Especially, Saint Cloud State?

F:  As you know, the United States is considered to be the land of opportunities.  As a student, I wished to come to the United States for my undergraduate studies, but I could not.  Luckily, I got a scholarship.  Because of that, I came to the United States.  It was a test that on a merit base they put us into the different universities all over the United States, and I got Saint Cloud State, and I like it. 

V:  If you could choose a different university in the United States, would you choose one?  Like, out in California or something?

F:  Prior to knowing Saint Cloud State, because my major is electrical engineering, the main university I knew of was MIT, and it quite fascinates me. 

V:  How do you usually spend your free time?

F:  Here in the United States?

V: Both!

F:  In my free time, I usually hang out with my friends.  That is the thing that I enjoy.  Otherwise, I will be in my room most of the time because I do not want to get fat.  Besides that, if I have no one to tease, I will watch movies and use Facebook.  These are my main favorite ways of passing time.  I do like to read news.  I like to learn about what is going on all around. 

V:  Is there a common hobby you have back in Pakistan or that is common for people your age? 

F:  Common hobby?  In Pakistan, I used to play cricket, and it is the most favorite sport in Pakistan.  Now, because I am in a university, I do not have much time, so I do not do it while I am in the university.  That is something I used to do when I was a kid.  It is very popular in Pakistan. 

V:  What are important festivals and how do you celebrate them? 

F:  For festivals, there are two religious festivals.  We call them Eid.  Like, Eid ul Fitr and Aid ul Azha.  They are both after Ramadan.  Eid ul Fitr is after Ramadan.  Ramadan is a period of a month where we fast.  We believe that God gave us the festival, called Eid.  We celebrate it.  There are usually a lot of sweets because people make sweets during those days.  It is a family get together.  Families will come and meet and have food and cuisine.  Aid ul Azha is related to the prophet Abraham.  He was going to sacrifice his son, and God replaced his son with a lamb.  From that day onward, Muslims celebrate by sacrificing animals, like lamb, cattle, and anything in regard of that.  This is also a very big holiday for us.  There are also a lot of festivals that are in different places.  There are specific festivals in villages.  People celebrate them.  People used to not have very fun activities, so for a whole year they would stay inactive.  Then, for a period of time, they would get together and play.  There is a sport they can play.  People will come and watch these sports from all over the places. 

V:  During those festivals, is there a lot of eating or parades?  Or, similar to Thanksgiving in America where we eat a ton, is there something that marks the holidays? 

F:  It is kind of the same in Pakistan.  Like, how I told you, there are Eid festivals.  Eid is meant for family get togethers and cuisine.  Mostly, Eid involves sweet eats.  People will make sweet dishes.  It is not only that they make sweet dishes even though it is marked as a sweet eats.  There is a lot of cuisine that families make and share with each other.  During Aid ul Azha, we sacrifice animals and there is a lot of meat all over to eat.  It is mostly linked to food as well.  In the traditional and local Maylas, food is the main compliment as well.  It is very good.

V:  What is the most popular food?

F:  The most popular food involves bread.  Our bread is thin as compared to other parts of the world.  It is thin and white in color.  It is not very brown, but it depends.  Like, if you add oil in it, it turns brown.  It is called paratha.  It is white.  Otherwise, we have curries and chicken.  There is chicken curry and mataar curry.  There are spices.  Maybe you have heard of these?  There is chickpeas and beans.  We have both cuisines of veggie and non-veggie.  The favorite among non-veggie foods would be carahi, such as chicken.  There is a lot of other food too.  Mataar is cooked with spices and with curry, and you will eat it with bread.  For non-veggie, we have peas.  Most of the food is a little spicier than here.

V:  How do you compare that food to the food here in the United States that you have eaten?

F:  It is a lot different.  In my country, it is not like you will totally find only Pakistani food.  There are places where you can find fast food restaurants and also restaurants that offer food from all over the world, like Chinese and Italian.  You can find this food.  Our traditional food is very different from what I have observed here.  It is also different from the fast food restaurants as well.  But if you go to a five star hotel and want to eat any kind of food, you can get any kind of food from the food you like.  Mostly, the traditional food is very different from what we have here. 

V:  I have heard that Pakistani food can be really spicy.  Is there any food here, in the United States, you have had that is more spicy than anything back home or no?

F:  Here, I have not eaten any food that is more spicy.  Here, you are given more options.  Like, everything is in parts.  You have to arrange it yourself.  Like, our food is cooked in a bowl.  Everything is added to it before getting the food out of that bowl.  Here, you have to arrange everything in parts.  Like, for sausage you make, you can make it spicy, but actually, our food is more spicy.  It depends, though, if people add chilies and sauce according to their own taste.  It is not like everything is mandatory. 

V:  Did you say you follow a certain religion?  I am wondering about eating restrictions with food and religion. 

F:  In my home country, in Pakistan, Muslims usually eat halal meat.  We will slaughter animals and kill animals in a certain way.  First, we will have a prayer before slaughtering or killing the animal.  And then, we let the animal bleed for some time, so that the blood flows out from the body.  This is because blood is forbidden in my religion.  We then get meat from this.  It is halal that we eat.  It is only for cows, buffalos, goat, and chicken.  Fish is okay because there are no conditions for fish.  You can eat fish anyway.  Pork is totally forbidden for us.  These are some restrictions for us.

V:  Have you been able to eat meat at Garvy or anywhere? 

F:  No.  I am always eating cheese pizza, fries, and fruit.  That is it.  Everyday and every time. 

V:  That must get old.  How does dating work in Pakistan?

F:  Interesting question.  As you know, Pakistan is a religious country.  Dating is not very common in this society.  You will not find anyone going on dates in public places, mostly.  It depends because urban areas are more open than the village small towns and if you are in an educational institute, we will maybe have co-education.  Here people will date and do all kinds of activities that they want to do.  Mostly, our environment is a little restricted.  Dating does not happen very often, but it is not non-existent.  It depends if you are studying in a very poor area or in a very open area, then you can date.  It is okay.  There are cafés and restaurants, so you can go anywhere.  This is not in most parts of the country. 

V:  I have talked to someone from Pakistan.  They said that arranged marriages are common.  Do you want to talk about that at all?  If it is like common at all.

F:  Yes.  Well, actually, like I told you, there is a liberal and traditional society.  Traditionally, there are often arranged marriages.  And the same thing for liberal families.  Liberal families usually live in cities.  The conservative people normally live in villages and small towns.  I am not saying it is mandatory, but mostly we will have arranged marriages.  For my family, because I am a boy, my family will look for a girl for me.  They will not impose on me.  They will ask me whether or not I would like it or not.  Because in our culture, people will not generally mix with the opposite gender, it is a way to help us get married.  Otherwise, we will be single forever. 

V:  You do not have to have arranged marriages, but it is an option?

F:  Yes.

V:  Okay.  Do you follow a religion?  If so, how does it affect you, such as beliefs, daily life, and preferences?

F:  Like I said, mostly all or 97% of people are Muslim, so I am a Muslim too.  Here, it has affected my life particularly here in the United States.  In Pakistan, for my religion we are obliged to pray five times a day.  It is a ten-minute period for each prayer.  It is the personal will of he or she that want to pray.  No one will force you, but yeah it affects me because everybody is praying around you, so you feel like you should pray.  Here, there are not many mosques around.  In Pakistan, we have prayer calls for five times a day, so that we know when it is the prayer time, so I would know when to go.  Here, sometimes I will miss it.  As far as food is concerned, it is affecting me. 

V:  As far as religion goes, have you noticed it is really hard to follow it or is it not really that big of a deal? 

F:  No.  It is not a big deal.  I have followed it.  The United States is very open to everyone else.  The people are very tolerant.  They honor your beliefs and respect your values.  I have never come across a person who will discriminate against me regarding my religion. 

V: Good!  I know you guys read the Koran, so do you then read that everyday in your room or do you not do that?

F:  Actually, in my country, as a kid I would learn to read Arabic for the Koran.  The Koran is in Arabic.  Arabic is a very complicated language.  I can read it, but I cannot understand it or what it exactly means.  As I told you, I can speak three languages.  Arabic is one that I can read, but I cannot understand.  Mostly people read it early in the morning.  They will go to the mosques for prayer that is before sunset.  Along with it, people will read the Koran.  You can read the Koran any other part of the day as well, but this is what people usually do.  As I said, life in the United States is not very similar to Pakistan, so I do not get a chance to read the Koran very often here.  We do it in Pakistan. 

V:  I know there are different festivals that happen with Islam in Pakistan, so is there anything special that happens here that allows you to celebrate it?  Or is it just like a normal day here when Eid happens?

F:  Here, it depends on the area you are living in.  In Saint Cloud, there are a lot of Muslims.  When I first came to Washington DC, there were a lot of Pakistani students around, and some of them knew how to offer Eid prayer, so I got a chance to offer Eid prayer.  Here, I could not because I could not figure out where it was.  It was not around campus.  It was quite far away.  I missed my Eid prayer.  We have two Eid holidays.  We also have some other festivals and events that happen in a year that are related to religion.  We celebrate the birthday of our prophet.  It is very much celebrated.  People make a rally where they can offer prayers and arrange events.  We will sing knots in regard to our prophet.  They are honorary songs for him.  I cannot get the exact translation of that.  We will have events and organize rally revering him.  We also have an Islamic calendar.  When the year first starts, Muslims mourn the deaths of the sons of the prophet.  And will fast for the month.  In the English calendar, the first month is January, so we have a different name for our first month.  People will mourn for the grandsons of this prophet.  It will depend of which sect you are.  People who are Shias, they will mourn.  Pakistan was founded on the name of religion.  People are very attached and tied to religion, so you will see people following Islam.  Our society is open to almost everyone.  Everyone has religious freedoms in our society.  Everyone follows religion.  Here, I have seen that people mostly do not want to share.  There, we will share, but it is not that anyone will stop you.

V:  Do you have any questions for me?  I have asked a ton from you!

F:  It is hard to figure out…

V: You do not have to if you do not want to.  I am just wondering if you have any questions. 

F:  Oh.  Not really.  Thank you.

V:  All right.  Well, thank you so much.

F:  Yes.  No problem.