Interview #3
11/7/09
Eng. 191.21
Interviewer: Maria Wollak
Interviewee: Theodrose Ayle
My third interview went incredibly well, as much as I wanted to spice things up with this one, I still stuck to my original style and format. I was planning on picking a new location to meet up with this student, yet ended up again at the same place in the library. The spot I had conducted all three interviews worked perfect. It was a neutral location that most students know where it is and the environment contained very limited distractions. I also did not change my questions or objectives up, I did this not because it was easier but because I wanted to be able to compare the stories and life styles across Africa. I now can look at each question I asked and see how the people in each separate country differ or are alike. I video recorded this interview the same as the last two, with my digital camera, thankfully this time the battery did not run out. I again asked politely if my interviewee did not mind for me to do this, and with his permission I set it on top of a few books and we began our interview.
The student I interviewed last is Theodrose Ayle, from Ethiopia. Throughout this entire assignment I have came up with many ways to find students to talk to. My first and second interviewee’s were the hardest to approach I had to work up the courage to start a conversation with someone I had never met before. One student I found working in the library, and my second I chose to approach a girl in my class, my third and last interview was a bit easier, Sisay, one of my group members in class is from Ethiopia, we were talking and I had mentioned I was still looking for another student from Africa to interview, Sisay was more than happy to help and found me one of his friends from Ethiopia. We exchanged contact information and met up a few days later in the library. We set the interview date through e-mailing to be November 4th 2009 at 7:00pm, yet we had to switch that around a bit due to a few interruptions in our schedules. The actual interview took place three days later the 7th at the same time.
Through the new beauty of texting, I could describe to Theodrose where exactly I was and what I was wearing so he could get to the library and find me with ease. He walked toward me, I stood up and we politely shook hands and introduced ourselves. He was very charming and also dresses nice. The Interview went incredibly well, Theodrose was more than willing to share with me everything about his life, family, values and much more. I am happy I was given the chance to talk with a male international student, the woman were very pleasant to talk with as well but it was nice to here life living in America from a males perspective. Patricia and Bishaaro described not being able to get close to many males in America, but Theodrose, being that he is a male found it easy to become close friends with both males and females. He even talked about having a girlfriend in Minnesota. With Theodrose’s interview I was not nervous at all, which made him completely at ease as well. We talked like friends just getting to know one another, hopefully we can become closer friends in the future.
Theodrose Ayle is a international student from Ethiopia. He was born and raised in their capital city, Addis Ababa. About 15 years ago his family decided to come to the United States for a chance at a higher education. Theodrose and his family had friends that had also moved to the United States a few years before them. The friends settled in Minneapolis Minnesota, since it is hard to come here and not know anyone Theodrose said his family decided to come to Minnesota as well. From when Theodrose was 8 till he was 18 he lived in the cites with his family, going to school with his brothers and sisters. He applied for a scholarship to St. Cloud State and got accepted, he has now been going to St. Cloud State for 6 years and will be graduating with a masters in Finance. I talked with Theodrose about many of his interests her, he said he enjoys trying new sports although he has not much time for them. A funny thing conversation we got into was about pets. I had never realized before how funny Americans must look with their pets. He said he still laughs at the crazy things we do with them, in his country Ethiopia you may have a stray dog or two as your own, but would never imagine it riding in cars and wearing outfits.
Theodrose and I’s conversation flowed very smoothly, simply switching from one topic to the next. It was very enjoyable to learn and laugh with him about his experiences. Unlike the others, Theodrose periodically would ask about my own life, I was not expecting this but was excited to share with him a few of my views. I would pause numerous times to make sure he got in all he had to share about each topic then easily moved on. He was very funny to listen to, he also opened my eyes to many new ideas. At one point our conversation got a little deep, we began to talk about life and the complicated busy society in America. We discussed the need to slow down and take in every day. Theodrose said in his country there is plenty time for friends and family, but in America life is too busy.
I am very glad our conversation went the way it did, but the reason I chose to not transcribe it is because we got into long conversations. Our talk was at least a half hour and I could not transcribe it well if I had to cut out some of the pieces. I would have like for everyone to here what Theodrose had to say but it would have not been a complete transcription, and the conversations dragged on into some personal stories and deep discussions. In conclusion I have truly enjoyed all of these interviews. They are such a good way to meet new people, and people you may probably never approach on your own. Although SCSU is a very diverse school we still have a long ways to go. With students participating in these interviews each year, we are on our way more than ever to a completely diverse integrated college.
What I learned about Ethiopia; through the help of research and this interview I have gotten to know so much about the continent of Africa and its amazing countries. Ethiopia “Ethiopia is in Eastern Africa and lies west of Somalia. Sudan is to its North and Kenya to its South.” (1) Ethiopia is landlocked meaning it does not touch the ocean on any part of the country, yet it in past time bordered the red sea until Ethiopia's entire coastline was lost with the de jure independence of Eritrea on 24 May 1993. The terrain consists of a high plateau with a central mountain range divided by the Great Rift Valley. “Ethiopia is a land of enormous ethnic diversity, with people of Semitic, Cushitic, Nilotic and Omotic stock. There are more than 80 ethnic groups and as many language.” (2) Amharic, Tigrinya, Oromigna, Guaragigna, Somali, and Arabic are some of the languages, English is the main one taught to school children. “Agriculture is the backbone of the national economy and the principal exports from this sector are coffee, oil seeds, and pulses, flowers, vegetables, sugar” (2)
Ethiopia’s government type is a federal republic it is the oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world - at least 2,000 years. Since October 2001 its countries president GIRMA Woldegiorgis has held office. The religion of Ethiopians varies from Muslim 45%-50%, Ethiopian Orthodox 35%-40%, animist 12%, and other 3%-8 %.( 1) Education in Ethiopia is a little rough, that is why we see many international students from the area. “The sequence of general education in Ethiopia is six years of primary school, four years of lower secondary school and two years of higher secondary school. In 2004 school enrollment was below that of many other African countries. Half the populations of Ethiopia are illiterate”. (3) I was fascinated by all the interesting facts about this country, it was wonderful to be able to listen to someone like Theodrose teach me about something after I have learned a bit through researching. Getting to know Theodrose and his country really broadened my knowledge about Africa and its people.
1:http://www.ethiopiantour.com/ 11/6/09
2: http://goafrica.about.com/library/bl.mapfacts.ethiopia.htm 11/06/09
3: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopia 11/6/09
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