Question Interview

1. Tell me briefly about yourself ( age, nationality, ethnic background, etc. )
2. How is the weather at your country?
3. How do you end up choosing going to school at St. Cloud State?
4. What is your own perspective before coming to America?  How about now?
5. How is the school system in US compare to your origin country?
6. What major are you attending or thinking of attend?
7. Does your family/culture/religion have some kind of impact with your decision ( major? future?)
8. Is it common for the student in your country to go study abroad?
9. How is the culture teach you in life?  Cultural has a big impact with decision?  or Family?
10. Do you have arranged marriage?  About what age people usually get married?
11. Religious different might have an impact in a marriage?
12. Do you celebrate any other holidays different than the US?
13. What people usually do when they are free?
14. How do people travel? Car/motorcycle/bike/ train/ bus/ subway?
15. How long have you been in the US?  How do you like the food? Do you eat in Garvey? Do you cook your own country food over here?

Top 3 - Interview Process and Objectives

Here is my top 3

Kyle Matti
Chenlong Mao
Pa Kou Lee

Diane Hacker Site On-Blog Quiz

The "Diane Hacker Site" On-blog Quiz is a very useful site that can help you to do better in your English grammar.  The site gave you number of problem for you to try, also variety topic for you to practice.  They also explain why you do it right or wrong when you chose the answer.

As an English as a Second Language learner, I know that i made a lots of mistake in talking or writing even I use the writing check in Word Document.  So after I do all the quizzes in the site, I found some of the mistake that I kept making everyday but people dont really point it out for you so you can fix it.  It's good way to learn because now I know why I have been mistake since the site explain it.  "At our warehouse sale, cash, MasterCard, or Visa will only be accepted" or "At our warehouse sale, only cash, MasterCard, or Visa will be accepted".  In that example, i will choose the first one, but actually the right one is the second one.  Because they explain that "the limiting modifier only should come just before the words it modifies: only cash, MasterCard, or Visa".  Or I actually found out the way to use the semicolon and the comma.  Example " Experience is the best teacher (, / ; ) it gives the test before presenting the lesson. - Vernon Law"  I will choose the comma, but they explain that the semicolon is right, "because there is no coordinating conjunction between the independent clause".  Another thing that i found interesting is that something seem easy to do, but actually it's easy to fail.  Example :"In Germany it is difficult for foreigners to become citizens even if they've live (at/on/in/by) the country for a long time." I will choose at because at can stand in front of a geographic location, but in is also work, and in is the right one.

As I go through all the quizes, I actually find that interesting that something i used everyday is actually wrong, and need to  be fixed.  It's good that the site can focus on a small little things that people seem to forget, or think that it's too easy that they don't need to learn, but then they will make a mistake out of it.

Interview Processes & Objectives

Interview Process

1. Create question that need to ask ahead
2. Find places where international student used to hang
3. Find an organization that I am interested in their cultural
4. Speak to the student
5. Explain what is the assignment about
6. Ask them if they can help
7. Ask if they want face-to-face interview or chat
8. Where do they fell like to be interviewed at ( Carribou coffee, Atwood Lounge, or Library)
9. Make an appointment time and place
10. Get a recorder + notepad
11. Finalize the topics that will ask and also the questions will concentrate on
12. Probably get a study room in Miller Center ( library) so it'll be quiet and easy to record the conversation.
13. Make copy of the question will ask and give to the interviewee
14. Meet up with them at the appointed place
15. Thanks the interviewee for giving up their time just to help our assignment.
16. Go through the question with the interviewee and see if they fell comfortable to answer it.
17. Discuss with the interviewee about the question
18. Conclude all the question, come to the final, and thank the interviewee again.
19. Go home and write an outline about the interview.
20. Type it up as draft, then type a report, transcript
21. Post it to my blog.

Interview Objectives

1. Understand interviewee background, ethnic, cultural, religion
2. Culture and religion make an impact on one's life
3. School system different than America?
4. Why go study abroad? Why America? Why Minnesota? Know about the coldness in MN? Is it common to go study abroad?
5. Family culture? Asian? African? European? Any special during the year? Any holidays different than US?
6. What do people do for activities for fun?
7. How do people travel around? car? motorcycle? train? bus? subway?

Homework due sep 23rd

Do all hacker HW!@!~~

The Antique Box

For those who are international student like me, you will definitely know the feeling of seeing your family after a long time. Right after my finals ended, I traveled back to Viet Nam, such a nice feeling when you are back to your home country like the smell of the fresh air, smell of the about-to-harvest rice flowers, and of course the hot air from a humid country. Met my parent at the arrival gate, hugging, kissing, my mom was like all over me, crying happily because she just missed me so bad.


Arrived at my house after an hour sitting behind my dad seat, I felt like I am in heaven, there is my room, my bed, my teddy bear. This is home, finally. After a few minutes enjoying my old, comfy bed, my parent called me to the living room.

- “So what is your plan this summer?” – My dad asked.

- “I don’t know yet, but I would just love to spend my time with you and mom, and Hien” – I told my dad after he asked me right away.

- “If you want, we can travel together this summer, since me and your mom already retired, and your sister can get sometimes off from her work.”

- “Yes dad, I would love to travel” – I answer with a smile, even thou in my heart, I was screaming out loud.

- “Hey, why don’t you come over here, I will show you something.” – My dad wanted me to go with him to his study room.

I followed him to the study room. I saw something on his table, it’s a box. “Maybe it’s a gift for me. Yes!” I was thinking and smiling at the same time. He told me to sit down, and he brought the box closer. That’s a big antique box. He told me to open it. There are a lot of junk stuffs inside.

- “That’s all the stuff that your mom and I have been collecting when we traveled since we retired from work.”

My dad emotionally told me that. I felt bad because I thought they were junks at first.

- “Your mom and I had been travelling alot since then, but I would love to have a whole family trip now, since you are back for the whole summer.” – Dad said.

- “Of course, dad. It’ll be the most memorable trip ever for me.”

I excitedly told him, of course, not without asking him about all the collected and antique stuffs that he had in the box. He told me every single little detail about how he got that, and this. He seems so happy when he told each of the stories. There are a black statue African women with long-ear that he got during his trip with the Red Cross to Africa, a strange women head made of clay, a small hand-made wallet from Mongolia that he got since he like how strange it looks, a beautiful rug (I mistook it like a table cloth for awhile), a small boat made from a tree from India, and a strange wood guy playing drum from Japan I think. My dad sure does love collected strange but interesting things. Then I found a smaller box inside, thought that my dad got it somewhere that he travel to.

- “Dad, where did you get this?” – I curiosity asked.

- “At the market where your mom go grocery shopping every weekends” – my dad asked and tell me look inside.

I thought he collected somewhere else, but no, it’s from where I lived. But when I take a look inside, there is more things, now I can tell these things are the things that he collected but it’s breakable, so he has to put it somewhere else. There is this little stone stamp from China, it look breakable to me, a small green glass jar with a cover, a small plate made of clay, a souvenir house from Spain, a coin collection from Singapore, and this three little rocks.

- “Dad, why is there a coin collection in here?” – I wasn’t thinking and asked.

- “Oh, that one, I was looking for it so I can give it to your sister, she was born in the year of dog, don’t you know? We got it during the trip to Singapore.” My dad told me, and looks at the three little rocks that I was holding. “You know what that is?” he asked.

- “Rocks?” I was clueless and answered at same time.

- “No, they are chestnuts, but I left it there for so long so it look like a rock now, your mom picked it when we were at the Europe.” My dad was laughing so hard.

- “Dad, what is my old ruler doing here?”

- “Oh, I used it to draw a line from our country to where your mom and I had traveled to before”

Then he pointed to the world map over the corner, where my study table used to be at. Things have been changing so much since the last time I went back home. My dad and mom love travelling now, my older sister is busy working, and of course I do change too. But I know that the love from them to me will never change.

- “So dad, where do you think we should go this summer?” I asked

- “Umm, my mom and I were thinking that we should go to somewhere have such a nice weather, places. How about we will go to America?”

- “What? America? Dad, really? America? No, not America, no, please”

I was screaming out loud to him. But then I heard nothing from his reply even though I can tell that his lips are moving. There is some noise in the background. That’s my alarm clock from my phone that’s ringing. Why alarm clock? Closed my eyes, and opened it again. I am not at home, I am actually at the Miller Center, the library. I just woke up from a nap. I was studying for my finals, and I just too tired so that I felt asleep. That was just a dream. It’s only a dream.

- “Oh well,” I was thinking, “I will go back to Vietnam soon anyway after the final, so no need to worry, but I will definitely warn my parent about going for summer vacation in America, because that’s where I lived. That’s ok if they want to go, because I will enjoy a lot of fun time with them anyway.”

I was laughing and writing an email to my parent at the same time.

- “What a strange dream, when I go back, definitely I will ask daddy about that antique box.” I am thinking and smiling.

by Ha Le

Inventory List

1. Ruler
2. Stone stamp
3. Coin collection ( year of the dog)
4. Cloth
5. Wallet ( from Mongolia0
6. A boat (Indian tree)
7. 3 little chestnuts
8. Women head
9. Wood guy doing drum
10. Small green glass jar
11. Small plate
12. Souvernir house from Spain
13. A black statue with long-ear (lady)