Interview #2

I was not able to transcribe this interview because we met in a place where it was surprisingly loud, I was able to record most of it, but a lot of words are missing and the laughter in the background covered up a lot of the conversation.  

Preparations for the interview: 
First, I thought of twelve questions that I wanted to ask my interviewees. As a class we decided on eight more questions and I added those to my final list of questions to ask the interviewees. I decided that I wanted to interview foreign exchange students from Germany, since we had a total of 22 students and most of them lived in my dorm; Benton. I decided to use my computer to record the interview, before this decision, I did a test interview with my roommate to see if the sound quality would be suffice for the interview, so that I could write a transcript. For this interview, the recorder didn't work very well because there was a lot of background noise. 

How did you approach people? 

I walked over to Carol Hall and asked them if it was possible to get a list of e-mails or room numbers of the German exchange students. They were very helpful and got my information, and they actually sent an e-mail to a couple of German exchange students explaining the project with my contact information. The same day, I got two e-mails from two very willing German exchange students. We sent e-mails back and forth figuring out when to conduct the interview. This interview was with Klaus, who was one of the first ones to e-mail me, saying that he would be willing to help. He wanted to do it before class, so we didn't have as much time as I would have liked. 

When, Where, and How did you conduct the interview?

I conducted the interview with Klaus in the basement of Carol Hall. I figured this spot would be comforable because there are rarely any students in the basement during the day, and its a spot that most residents of Benton are very familiar with. My first interview went well in the basement of Carol Hall, but this time there was a study group down there, and they actually made a lot of noise. I arrived ten minutes early and set up my computer. When Klaus arrived, we introduced ourselves, I explained the assignment a little more clearly and gave him the list of questions, so that he knew a little bit more what to expect.

Whom did you interview? 

I interviewed Klaus Henze, he is from East Germany. Klaus has a younger brother and lives with his mom and dad. After high school, he went into the army. After the army, he started University, and decided to attend SCSU because he had always wanted to come to the United States. 

Describe the interview 

I thought the interview went okay. It was the second interview, and I was still slightly nervous. It was more difficult to interview Klaus, because he wasn't as willing to answer a couple of the questions. I learned many things about Germany that I didn't know before. He talked a lot about the Berlin wall, and explained more about the East/West Germany. Before this interview, I didn't know that much about it. The interview only lasted around 35 minutes, because he had to head to class. 

Country Report
Germany is a country located in Europe. In Europe, Germany has the largest economy. "It is a federal parliamentary republic of sixteen states." (Wikipedia, 2010) Germany's flag consists of "three horizontal stripes of equal width, black at the top, red in the middle and gold at the bottom." (Country Reports, 2010) This country is about the size of Minnesota. Germany has a population of around 81,000,000 and it's ranked "15th overall for population." (CIA, 2010) Germany's main religion is Christian and there are two main types of Christianity, Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. Germany has a climate very similar to Minnesota, and this type of weather is called temperate seasonal climate. The current president of Germany is; Christian Wulff, and he will be in office for a five year term. "Germany maintains a network of 229 diplomatic missions abroad and holds relations with more than 190 countries." (Wikipedia, 2010) In Germany, they have a life expectancy of about 79 years of age. Germany is actually known for producing many poets and thinkers. Sport wise, soccer would be one of Germany's favorite, but some other sports on the rise are handball, volleyball, basketball, ice hockey, and tennis. Once people reach the age of 16, they are allowed to drink wine and beer. When they are 18, they are allowed to drink any alcoholic beverage of their choice. Germany after WWI, was a very poor country. People felt helpless at the time. "Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor by President Paul von Hindenburg in 1933." (Country Reports, 2010) Germany is known for having the most holidays for a country. They have around twelve holidays that they get off of work from. 

Works Cited. 

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany 10-27-10

http://www.countryreports.org/history/timeline.aspx?countryid=91 10-27-10

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gm.html 10-27-10