Loudi student interviews

Li Yang was born in May 24, 1994. She is 16 years old. Her American name is Betty. She is the only child in her family and she feels special about that because her parents can put their full love on her. Sometimes she feels like she needs a brother but Li Yang says, “it’s OK."  She has been in the United States for three days only. Her school gave her and other Chinese students the opportunity to come to America. It is an Educational Exchange. They are going to be in the United States for only 15 days. After that they will go back to China. After nine days in Minnesota, they are going to New York, Washington and Boston. They are nine students and three teachers. 

When asked what the difference between China and America is, Betty said, “China has 5,000 years of cultural history”.  The Beijing Opera has kind of a song that explains China’s history.  China is becoming an international country.   America has less history than China.  America developed very quickly.  America is open, the environmental is great, it’s better than China.  The weather is cool especially at 6:00pm.  Betty goes to High School.  Her school starts at 7:00am to 6:00 p.m., after 6:00 p.m. she goes to evening school and she does her homework.  In China everything is about learning, practicing and studying.  When Betty grows up, she wants to be a lawyer.  Her parents want her to be a teacher or a doctor but she doesn’t want that. Betty is planning to attend college in Europe or America.

Betty said people in America welcomed her very well.  People in America are open, friendly and happy to talk to them. The family that hosted her are very nice. “They become like my real family,” says Betty. Betty and the group went to Mall Of America, the University Of Minnesota and some Middle schools. Betty learned English when she was in Elementary school. She studied English when she was 3rd grade. “But this generation learns English earlier,” says Betty. She studies from Monday to Saturday, morning to evening. On Sunday she spends most of the time doing homework, sometimes shopping or playing sports. She likes to play tennis. 

When there is a celebration or holiday all the families gather and have a big family dinner. After they are done with the dinner, they light fireworks with their grandparents. They celebrate for seven days.  Girls stay home with their family on the first three days. The other days they can hang out with friends and hold a party. Betty climbed the Great Wall before but her mom didn’t because she got scared. In China they have something called QQ.com and MSN. It’s like Facebook. You can chat with anyone around the whole world.

Loudi student: Dai Zi Hao
Interviewer: Phillip Latu
  
My interview with Dai Zi Hao was a spur of the moment thing. I was still at work, and then was later asked to interview him. While my interview with him I had to ask certain questions that he was supposed to answer. I felt that I should ask more than that was needed in the interview.  Also while interviewing him I noticed that it was hard for him to understand me as it was hard for me to understand him.  I honestly felt really different considering that I had no idea what he saying at times, but then later got used to his accent.

Phillip Latu: Who gave you the opportunity to come to America? 
Dai Zi Hao: “my parents”. 

Latu: What is the difference between China and America?
Hao: Culture, and American kids say good morning, not in China.

Latu: When and where you born?
Hao: China, the Hunan Province Laudi, I don’t know when I was born but I was born in 1992.

Latu: What is the best thing about China?
(He didn’t really understand my question or he just didn’t have any answer. He said he loves the United States.)

Latu: How do you feel about being the only child?
Hao: Good education.

Latu: Explain your feelings about America?
Hao: I love America, the kindness, the education.

Latu: Describe China?
Hao: Very busy every day.

Latu: How long is your trip?
Hao: A half a month.

Latu: What is your dream and hopes for the future?
Hao: To come to America and work on Wall Street or an American Bank.

Latu: How is your school schedule set up?
Hao: I don’t know what you mean?...

Latu: How did the people treat you when you came to America?
Hao: Very kind.

Latu: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Hao: Banker, Lawer, work on Wallstreet.

Latu: Do you plan to go to college? Where? What do you want to study? 
Hao: I want to go to University of Minnesota, to study law and finance.

Latu: How did you learn English?
Hao: 2-3 years of English.

Latu:  What have you done since you have been in America?
Hao: Tour, and Shanghai.

Latu: Do you like American food?
Hao: Yes. 

Latu: What are your hobbies in China?
Hao: Basketball, bad mitten, ping pong. Very active.

Latu: Is America what you expected it to be?
Hao: It was better.

Latu: How do you celebrate the Chinese New Year?
Hao: With family.

Latu: What do girls do on the New Year? What do boys do on the New Year?
Hao: Spend time with family.

Latu: Do you have a Hello Kitty factory?
Hao: No.

Latu: Do you have a social networking site?
Hao: Many networking sites.

Loudi student: Zoe
Interviewer: Sha Lor

The nervousness and anxiety of going into the room of these fellow students who just came over to America from China to see a whole new perspective on how it would be like to be on the other side of the world. Pressure was being build up to make connections with these students, which I found it really exciting. It wasn’t like any other normal day of rehearsing the play, it was like being in a room full of students that never experience anything that I grew up with, let’s just say that I’m getting a better perspective on how the other side of the world is like and of how their life style is different from what I just only see on television. However I only have this one opportunity to interview a fellow student. Her name was Zoe.

As I walk in to sit with her, I noticed that she had on a khaki seventy’s looking hat, a blue and white plaid shirt on with shorts. She was there waiting for me patiently, texting on her phone, which I have never seen it before in the United States, I was really amazed of how it was so unique looking that it was the first thing I notice of her that interested me a lot. She greeted me with a polite calming smile that helped me relax more.  The details of who gave her the opportunity for her trip was that she had support from her school which she calls it the number one high school of Loudi, and mostly from her loving parents who gave the time and effort into fundraising some money for this dream come true trip.

Zoe was born on December 01, 1995 in the city of Loudi. Her life style at home is very pressuring because she is the only child in her family but she says that she understands why her parents are like that to her because they just want her to be a good person. Her future goals and major in life is still undecided but she is aiming for law like her father which he is a prosecutor, which she finds it interesting like her father. In her spare time she likes to study, paint, draw, badminton, reading, and sleeping (if that is a hobby). Zoe gave me details of how they spend time together during the Chinese New Year, she says that the families gathers together and spend time together, make dumplings, lotus, and many other food.  Sometimes they sing and dance, also play card games, or computer games, but Zoe says that sometimes she just want to study.  One thing that I found interesting about the Chinese New Year was that Chinese boy gets to do all the same thing as a Chinese girl, they can play together and do shopping together.

Zoe tends to think that the Hello Kitty Factory in China isn’t quite as cute as many other girls think it is, she’s not very fond of it. Zoe interested me by giving me the details of how China is very historical, beautiful, and most people there are very kind-hearted and warm hearted. She says that she is too nervous to go out of the country China alone and that she would like the opportunity to stay in China and study more about law until she has the courage to go out and explore. She said that she misses their traditional food back in China and that she learned how to read and write in English in school.

The detail of Zoe’s experience was very positive which she wants to stay longer because their trip in America only last seventeen days only. She wants to continue with her shopping skills at the Mall Of America and visit more schools. The biggest difference between China and America is the transportation, clothing, technology, and almost everything is very different. Zoe says that the people in America are very polite, patient, kind-hearted, and very generous. Zoe loves the food in America but her favorite is salad and cake. Zoe describes her experience so far in America that it is fantastic, a lot of beautiful clothes, and modern fraction of technology that she isn’t very use to.

I was very fond of having Zoe as my guest, who I thought that she was a shy, quiet girl but I guess I only got those thoughts of Chinese girls from the television again. I found her to be very understandable and imaginable person. She was a very generous and has a lot of empathy in her heart; she thought that the interview went well too. I believe that befriending with Zoe had made me realize how it is like to be in China and how it completely gave me a different view on China’s modern living style and ways. I also want to give a huge thank you for my new friend Zoe for letting me have this interview with her and I hope that Zoe and her fellow classmate have an adventurous and exciting journey here in America.

Loudi student: Amee (Livge) 
Interviewer: Mariah Shepherd

Amme was born July 15, 1994 in Hunan China.  She has been in America (mei auo) for 15 days on a vacation with her classmates. When she came she says the people were very nice, and she has just been enjoying her vacation since she’s been here.

According to her China is different from America. In China the weather is always hot, the streets are very populated, and the food is really spicy. She said she doesn’t like American food because it is not spicy enough. I asked her to describe how she feels about being in America, she replied “Very good in America because in China it is very hot and you see people everywhere. She also likes that there are a lot of busses here in America. However she says she doesn’t like American food or American music because it is too loud.

Amme told me that she goes to school from 7 a.m. -6 p.m. and then again from 8 p.m.-10 p.m. She said all she does all day is study, study, study, and she is tired when she comes home but she is too young to have a job. Obviously she doesn’t have that much free time but when she is not studying she is watching TV at home. She learned English from her teacher, Ms. Liu, and she wants to learn English better in the future. She likes to go shopping even though it is more expensive to shop in China. One pair of shoes that cost $100 in America costs $1,200 in China. She was very surprised when I told her that we got paid to go to a class the summer, she said if they paid her to study she would study all day long.

Loudi student: Siman Jocelyn
Interviewer: Pajhuab Vang

It was the 5th of August and I was given the opportunity to come into Loretta’s room and interview Siman, English name Jocelyn.  She is a Chinese High School student. It was a great talk with her. This is my first time talking to someone who lives China. During the interview I learned much from my partner and her culture.  She seemed to be very proud, which is a wonderful thing.

I learned a little bit about her.  Siman was born on July 22nd of 1995 in a little town in China, Loudi Hunan.  She is the only child in her family.  She says it would be great to have a brother or sister because they can teach her how to take care of others.  Although, she is not lonely, Siman has many great friends in her life.  Her hopes and dreams are to be a good daughter for her loving parents.  As a, career Siman would like to be a kindergarten teacher because she love kids.  She wants to attend XiaMen University and also study business, like marketing.  Siman hopes to get a lot of money so that she can buy things for her parents and that her family will stay healthy.  From her reactions I feel like she and her family get along well.  

Her parents and school gave her the opportunity and support for her to visit America. The trip on the plane took 20 hours.  So one of my first questions for her was what was the difference between China and America?  She said China has tall buildings in big cities, for example, Beijing and Shanghai.  There are lots of small cities in China too.  About America, it also has tons of tall buildings but there are more races around.  Siman thinks that she has leaned a lot about the United States and would like to live here some day.  One of her thoughts was that many people will fall in love with America after visiting.

As a Chinese citizen, Siman is very proud of her country.  China is very big, and the population is huge while having a colorful culture.  Siman also said that Chinese people are very friendly and hard workers.  The scenery in China is BEAUTIFUL.  The best things about China is the writing, tea, people, places like the Great Wall, food, and most important, culture.

Well, when she first arrived in America, the people here treated her friendly, and were very polite.  Siman learned English from school, so things were a little easier for her. So far she has visited U of M, shopped at many malls, parks and an American high school. Their schedules are different from ours.  They wake up at 7:00 a.m. to get ready.  At 8 a.m. they study until 12 p.m. with four classes in the morning. However in the afternoon they also have 3 classes and start class at 3 p.m. and return home at 6 p.m.

Overall, things went well during our conversation.  Siman was very comfortable with talking with me about her life and answering these questions.  I had to leave at 11:30 so I couldn’t ask her more and finish the interview questions.  Siman is a hard worker and a proud Chinese.  It was great to getting to know her and interview her. I hope things for her will be successful.

Loudi student: Tim – Yannyi
Interviewer: Bonnsy Vue

I was still at work, but then I was pulled out to interview a Chinese High School student in the next room. I felt comfortable interviewing him. His name is Tim, but his Chinese name, his real name, was Yannyi. I’d rather call him by his real name. I hate it when a person gives another person another name, just so that they could fit in. When I met him, he wore clothes just like us—preppy. I could not help but think if he would want to fit in the American norm. I treated him like he was a part of our family. When I looked at him, he looked friendly. For most of the questions that I asked him, I had to make the questions simpler for him to understand.

His American name is Tim, but his real Chinese name is Yannyi. He was born in 1993, at Hunan. It was really disturbing to ask him a question about how it feels like to be an only child. When I asked him that, he had on a happy mask, but I could see that he is having a hard time trying to understand what I am asking him. “(I have) cousins to play, (so I feel) okay to be an only child”-Yannyi.

He wakes up at 6:00 a.m., goes to school at 7:00 a.m., classes starts from 7:30 –noon and 3:00 – 6:00 p.m., and from 8:00 – 10:00 p.m., he goes home and eats dinner. In the future, he wants to study science. Yannyi does want to go to college. He wants to go to Hunan University, where he can major business. At school he takes an English class and has been taking it for 4 years.

His hobbies are games, basketball, ping-pong, and tennis. I always thought that Chinese students would play video games or become game freaks, but it was so shocking that they do not.

To celebrate the New Year in China, his family eats a great feast. He does not know what the girls do for the New Year, but he celebrates the New Year with his family.

His school had given him the opportunity to visit America. It took him two days to get here. He told me things were different from here and over there. Their way of life was way more different and more difficult than I would have ever thought it would have. “At China, (there are) more time (to) study”- Yannyi. Yannyi said that the worst thing about China is that there are “too many people”, but the good thing he told me was that their culture is good. The best thing about China to him is that there are girls over there and the food is very tasty.

He liked America, because he is free here and the school is big as well, but over at China, their schools are smaller and all he does is study. When he came to America, they treated him weird. He thinks American food tastes great. To him, America is just what he has expected to be. Yes, there is a Hello Kitty factory in China. And yes they have a social networking site.

After the interview, I made a new perspective about the Chinese teens and what they do over there. They are not those teens that are in the movies, in real life, they just want to have fun. They work really hard to earn their freedom, but I think that they are really struggling through their education. I think China is putting their children into a too complicated life. I felt like they did not have any free time at all. It was a good thing they came to visit the United States, because over here you have freedom. I really think that they felt a part of our freedom as well.

Loudi student: Grace
Interviewer: Paly Yang

Grace, one of many students at her school in China got the chance to come to the U.S.  She was born in Hunan, Loudi China in the year of 1994.  Being the only child in her family she gets a little free time to hang out with her cousin.  Often she feels very lonely not having siblings.  But the rest of her time is spent studying and going to school.  She says she wants to be a doctor when she grows older.  So she studies very hard to succeed and get into a good university.  Grace plans to go to college but struggles with not knowing which college she wants to go to.  She may even go to college in America.

The biggest difference between America and China is the schools and how many students there are in one class. In China they have about 50 students in one class, said Grace. School goes from 7:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and night school from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. They have to learn English at school too.  All Grace does is go to school, she doesn’t spend much time on her and her hobbies.  School is very important and is held very high in their community.

I asked Grace what she does during the Chinese New Year.  She answered, “Playing cards and spending a lot of time with my family eating and watching the programs on TV.  I also get money after the New Year and that’s good.”  She doesn’t get to see the fire works in real life, but she doesn’t mind much.  What she really loves about her culture is the very colorful traditions and its rich history.  “That’s only some things but there is so much more,” Grace said.

“America is nice” says Grace.  Since being in America for only three days she has been to MOA and Eden Prairie High School.  She and her classmates still plan to do many other things for the next 14 days.  They all plan to go swimming and go to other states than just Minnesota.  She loves the sweets and the food is alright.  Grace really likes how the environment is clean and there is so much space compared to China.  In China, they have really tall buildings, little grass, and little choice she said.  She still wants to see much more of America.  Grace and her classmates are very excited for more of what America holds.

Loudi student: Johnson
Interviewer: Tou Yang

Johnson was born in the year 1994 in Hunan Lou Di. Johnson had been given an opportunity to come to the United States by his mother. He had told me; in China the Chinese students are very hard workers and works very early. He had said that over here compared to China students have such free time not like the youth in China. For Johnson the best things he said about where he came from are basket ball and the hard workers there. 

Johnson feels happy for being the only child in his family where all the attention is brought on to him only. He is happy to get to spend some time with his parents.  Johnson’s thoughts on America were positive; everyone is very wonderful and so friendly also so happy. Also the Chinese education is very bad there and I will love to study here in the United States of America said Johnson.

From the way Johnson describe China everyone there is very dedicated to their work and is very peaceful. It was a 12 hour flight from China to here that Johnson had. Johnson’s dreams are to achieve as a banker, to drive a Hummer H2, last but not least to meet the NBA superstars.  Johnson also wants to be in the band which is called the spin the flag in Beijing and to continue working hard to support his parents. 

When Johnsons arrived to the United States of America everyone was nice and kind. His thought on The American civilization was very simple. The thought that ran through his mind was; they are nice and kind people so friendly.

Whenever Johnson has free time he would always either playing basket ball or on an online site called Round Bright Garden.

On Chinese New Year Johnson would celebrate with his parents lighting fireworks.

Johnson’s school schedule is very complicated. Johnson has to wake up at 6 am in the morning biking to school. Then at 7:30 am the school starts. At 12 p.m. it’s lunch time so Johnson bikes back home to eat. Then at 2 p.m. Johnson bikes back to school until 6 p.m. At 6 p.m. it is dinner time so Johnson bikes back home again. At 7:30 p.m. Johnson returns to school until 10:30 p.m. when school is over.  Johnson learns his English at school.  Johnson wants to move to Florida where his aunt lives and go to the college there where he can learn about auto mechanics.