The Interview
Preparations
To prepare for my first interview I thought of four additional questions to ask my interviewee that would relate to the culture in her country. I made sure all of my questions where clear and easy to answer so there wouldn’t be any confusion and so that I would get earnest answers. I printed off two pieces of paper with all of the questions on them. This way there would be no surprises in the interview and we could each look off of our own sheet. We set a date and time that would give us an ample amount of time to go through all of the questions without being rushed to get to a class or work. We chose to meet at the library so we would have a quite space to go through all of the questions with no interruptions. To record the interview I decided to use a recording application on my IPod. I played around with it and recorded my own voice to learn how to use it and make sure that it would work the day of the interview. When the day of the interview cameput on a nice outfit so I would present myself in the best light. I completely charged my IPod to ensure it wouldn’t run out of batteries in the middle of the interview. I got to the library ten minutes early to prepare myself and set everything up and make sure everything was working properly.
Personal Review
I had a great time interviewing Ornella. She was very intelligent and she was an overall pleasant person to talk to which made my first interview go very smoothly. I've never conducted my own interview before, so all of this was very new to me. A few things that I could improve on for my next interview would be confidence. I was a little bit nervous in the beginning of the interview but after a few questions I began to relax. I could tell by listening to myself in the recording that there were some awkward moments in the interview that could have been avoided by having better reactions to Ornella’s answers. I used the word "okay" a lot for my response to Ornella's answers. I think I would be a good idea to extend my vocabulary and use words like Fascinating or interesting. We also ended up having the interview in the libraries coffee shop which wasn’t such a bad thing but every time a blender whet off we would have to speak up. I think I will reserve a room in the library so there will be no distractions or loud sounds. One thing that I did very well at was always staying absorbed in the conversation. There was always eye contact and I always had a reaction to what she had to say. I kept good posture and I really look like I wanted to be there and I think Ornella appreciated that. Another thing that went well was our introductions. We both Approached each other in a very friendly manner and made comments about how good coffee smelled.
Country Report
After my first interview with ornella I was excited to get to know a little bit more about Burundi. "Burundi is located in Central Africa and it is about the size of Maryland. It is covered in hills and mountainous areas"(2). "Burundi has the second-largest population density in Africa. The population is made up of three major ethnic groups--Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa. The Hutus are mainly agriculturalists. The Tutsis have always dominated the army and the government of Burundi. They also raise cattle. The Twa people are mainly dependent on hunting and gathering" (1). "The Capital of Burundi is Bujumbura. The two main Religions are Christian and Muslim. Freedom of religious practices in Burundi has been constitutionally established"(2). "In Burundi the official language is Kirundi but because of European colonialism French and English are commonly spoken. Republic is there main form of government" (2). "Burundi's economy is based predominantly on agriculture so a majority of the country lives on farm or in rural areas. The main cash crop is coffee. Little industry exists except the processing of agricultural exports. Lake Tanganyika is the second largest lake in the world and it is located on the south east side on Burundi" (3). "Traditional drumming is an important part of Burundian cultural heritage, these performance scan be seen in various ceremonies. The richness of Burundian culture is apparent in a strong literary and musical tradition and a wide range of fine crafts" (4).
Works cited
(1)http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2821.htm
(2)http://www.everyculture.com/Bo-Co/Burundi.html
(3) http://www.countriesquest.com/africa/burundi/culture.htm
(4) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Burundi
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