Below is a verbal portrait that I wrote on February 18, 2007:
When Feedback is a Bad Thing: Verbal Portrait of a 12-year-old Halo 2 Informant
I took advantage of a snow day to interview my son about video games. I’m taking a class in ethnography, which is the study of groups, and I’m studying a group I don’t belong to: Halo 2 players.
At first, Daniel was an eager informant, but he became resistant when he saw there were sixty-five questions on my list. I bribed him with a cheeseburger and a mug of hot chocolate, but that wasn’t enough to keep him from fidgeting.
“Come on, Mom, it’s a snow day. I was in the middle of game.”
I resorted to parental authority. He continued to exhibit symptoms of withdrawal, his excessive thumb twitching evidence of my contention that his gaming is obsessive.
The interview provided useful background information for someone who has little knowledge of and even less interest in video games. The very first question provided insight: “Why do you like video games?”
“’Cause they’re fun! Interactive!”
He actually said the word “interactive.” Ah, so this is not a passive medium, and it even has the potential to improve vocabulary.
Daniel’s favorite game is Halo 2. It takes a lot of practice to get good at the game, and yet Daniel insists that age and skill don’t matter so much among Halo 2 players.
“What matters is how you act. How you treat people. That you’re a good sport.” An ethical code of conduct among group members!
Daniel gets angry at “modders,” people who modify the game to take unfair advantage of other players. Modders can be reported by providing “feedback” online to the “Bungee people” who represent the manufacturer.
“Another player gave feedback on me ‘cause I beat him.”
My poor, innocent—wait a second. I remember seeing a copy of Halo 2 Hacks in Daniel’s book bag. Ambiguity here.
Daniel has X-Box Live, which provides audio so players can talk to each other.
“Is there is anything people say that makes you laugh?”
“Yeah, people acting like they’re constipated.” So potty humor is accepted and appreciated by group members.
I asked about team etiquette on Halo 2.
“Huh?”
I rephrased my question: “Is there any particular behavior that is not tolerated among teammates?”
“What?”
I rephrased again: “What makes people think you’re a jerk?”
Instant recognition.
“Running over your teammates with the wart-hog,” he said. Apparently a
wart-hog is a type of transport vehicle.
My husband, Brad, sometimes plays, but Daniel said he’d rather play with other kids: “Dad’s not that good at Halo.”
Daniel said that once when they were playing Halo 2 together on X-Box Live, Brad could hear their teammates saying that he “sucked.” So Brad blew up the teammates and logged off. Apparently Dad’s not a very good sport.
I recently visited my grandparents to interview them about our family history. My grandma and grandpa have recently traced back our family almost all the way to the Mayflower, it’s still a work in progress. I arrived at my grandparents and I received a warm greeting at the door. My grandma, Judy, and my grandpa, Jim, were both very excited to tell me all about tracing our family back. The best part was that this excitement lasted the whole entire time.
ReplyDeleteJim is a retired General Motors employee who enjoys spending time researching our family history. Jim was so happy that I was interviewing him about our family history. He already had documents, pictures, and all of his researching that he had all laid out across the table. He talked to me for about two hours straight about family stories and the technology involved in researching the family. I eagerly asked Jim “How far away are you from tracing the family all the way to the Mayflower?” He stated “There is only one or two documents that are missing to prove that our family history started with the Mayflower. The problem is that back then they didn’t keep back-ups of information. All of the marriage licenses, birth certificates and such were all kept in the same building. A local fire destroyed the building that would have all of the proof he needs.” I then asked him “Are you still researching even though the information has been destroyed?” He replied “I still have hope that I can find it. I still search online, but many of the online sites are completely wrong. I have copies of the original documents of our ancestors like where they were born and such, but websites that I search online say the complete opposite. Ancestry.com is the worst.” He proceeded to show me a copy of a birth certificate and then showed me what Ancestry.com said. He said that many online websites that he has tried were wrong. Jim stated that the best way to get information about family history is by traveling to Fort Wayne, Indiana where the largest genealogy center is located in Allen County Public Library. Jim stated “There are a lot of really helpful people there and it’s nice to see the actual documentation in front of you.”
Judy is a retired nurse who first started all of our family researching. She stated “Your Papa thought that it was so silly that me and my sister wanted to trace back our family history. I told him a few days before we were going that he was welcome to come, but he said we would not find anything. This was the first time we went to the Fort Wayne Library.” I asked her “What did Papa say when you got back?” She replied “Well, in case you can’t tell, he’s more into it now then I am. He was so fascinated by all our stories and he always went with us every time after that!”
I interviewed Rachel Ramer, my mother, about her Mennonite background. I have always been interested in my parents’ transition from the Mennonite culture, in which they were raised, to our current one. I would like to know what it was like to live in that culture, why my parents changed, and how difficult the transition was.
ReplyDeleteRachel talked about how her dad “was difficult to live with”, but that not all Mennonites had the same rules and characteristics as him. He was adamant and particular about religion, which is why they drove over two hours for church every Sunday. Seeing my grandfather now, he appears as a kind elderly gentleman. He always brings the comics from the Sunday paper to family reunions, along with cracking his own jokes. One would think he was a great father, but my mom said that he has always been more personable with other people. She explained how her mother was not raised as a Mennonite. This benefitted my mom in many ways, but complicated her parents’ relationship. My grandmother died when I was young, so I do not remember her, but I can tell my mother reveres her more than she does her father. I imagine that Rachel got a majority of her best qualities from her mother.
Rachel explained that Mennonite women are supposed to submit to their husbands. This was only one of the many reasons she left that lifestyle. It also put pressure on her to do everything right and seem perfect from the outside. Life was completely different with her father around. He often avoided my mom and her siblings, but if he did address them, it was usually a lecture. I have noticed that when I visit my father’s side of the family (who are still Mennonites).
I like to think that my parents have taken the good qualities from the Mennonite lifestyle and left the poor ones behind. My mother has made an effective effort in raising my brothers and I different than how she and my father were brought up.
David Chase is a 52 year old man, although could seamlessly pull off a younger age. David’s stature is slim with a triathlete’s body. A triathlete’s body usually consists of slimmer tone, rather than a body builder or football player’s type of body. He still has a full head of hair with a mixture of gray hairs spiking through, all timed off to a military haircut. He is comfortable with his long life aspirations and his inspiring family. He is a Ball State alumni from the year of 1981, graduating with a degree in Marketing and Sales. While at Ball State he found two loves other than his major; Debra who he proposed under the statue of love, Benevolence and the knowledge he had gained about triathlons. Both remained a strong influence in his life to this day. During his educational process at Ball State there was research conducted on triathletes. David Costill’s work on triathletes later taught David the art of endurance in depth and how to run correctly. Before David’s college days he had never been interested in running, swimming, or biking competitively. The only sport he was influenced by was baseball.
ReplyDeleteAs I called up David I wondered whether my questions would excite him or not. I never really took too a deep interest of triathlons in my youth, because I preferred to play soccer. Knowing him for 19 years I did not expect there was much left to learn about him. David is the type of man that loves to share knowledge of wars and random facts to everyone around him. Subjects can be easily changed with this specific man. When David answered the phone in an excited voice, I asked him if I could interview him for my Interview project in English. Before I conducted the interview I had a simple outline and a list of general questions to ask him. Knowing him for 19 years I was nervous to touch a subject that I simply avoided in my youth because I was afraid of a lecture I might not understand.
When I told him I was to research and interview him about triathlons, his reaction sounded like he was shocked and honored simultaneously. I asked my first few questions about the general facts such as, “What is a triathlon?” He had answered, “swimming, biking, and running,” continuing on to say, “a lot of racers prefer to call it endurance racing.” Understanding the simple things about triathletes I moved on to more intricate questions such as, “What types of proteins should endurance athletes eat?” David answered without hesitation, “Eggs, lean red meat, power bars, and milk.” David elaborated how these foods contributed to triathletes body composition:
Red meat and proteins helps rebuild muscles and develop them. You also need protein to build additional muscle. You need red meat for iron so your blood can rebuild- red blood cells. Stroke volume is a measurement of how much volume per heart beat that it can pump. To test your heart strokes volume it must be at a resting heart rate, which gets lower and lower. When your heart reaches a lower rate you know you have more blood and more muscle mass. This can cause fitness to be at higher level.
After answering multiple questions I had learned this is why I have always eaten differently than most families. My Dad, David Chase has made my family eat lean and healthy like we are athletes.
Works Cited
Chase, David. Phone Interview. 18 Jan.2012.
I interviewed my dad, Bob Gallup, about his opinion on Greek life and its involvement in the college community and communities surrounding it/them. He had never really given much thought into going Greek as he focused on his future career plans instead. Having earned his Masters in business while working full-time with IBM, he had proven how strong-willed and determined he was to accomplish what he knew he needed in order to truly get where he saw himself being in life. A strong and independent man, he is the vice president of Defender Direct, a company that installs ADT security systems and is beginning to grow independent due to the changes that my dad has made since he started to work there. With his deep and strong voice, my father is a figure of power and potential intimidation, although he hardly uses it for the latter reason. A lot of his life he has lived to succeed in life and climb the ‘chain-of-command’ ladder.
ReplyDeleteI had been interested on seeing what he thought of fraternities and sororities since he never got involved in any sort of social club or community in college besides his classmates. He agreed to do the interview and I allowed him to pick the environment/location in the house that he was most relaxed in. He chosen his office space in our and I noticed as soon as we walked into the office that he was taking charge of the interview. He went directly to the desk and sat down in his black leather reclining office chair and then waited for me to ask him my questions. I noticed how often he had his arms crossed during the interview, which showed me that he was set in his opinions of the topic I was interviewing about. As well, I noticed that he continually would look around the room while answering the questions and occasionally made eye contact with me. However, about 10 minutes into the interview he relaxed a little and leaned forward from the chair and clasped his hands on the desk in a more informal way. Another 10 minutes after that he began to use his hands for gestures with what he was saying.
As we got more into the interview I began to understand who he ‘was’ in college. I asked him about what he wanted to do In/with college and what he went into it thinking. He replied with, “Some people are ready for college and are looking for the social engagements and some people view college as I have to go do it because I have to so they just plow through it. I was that latter person.” Knowing him now, I see that all-work-no-play mindset that he used through college, which doesn’t really surprise me. He also stated that he “realized the impact and usefulness of having joined a Greek organization back in college.”
After finishing my questions and wrapping up the interview, I realized that he is still the same person as he was going into college. He focuses on his employment successes and doesn’t necessarily regret not joining a fraternity. At the same time, he stated that if he were to join one, it would be for the networking. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
Returning to my room one night at the beginning of the school semester, I noticed a rather small girl at the end of the hallway going door to door talking to those who answered. I wasn’t sure what their conversations entailed, but I guessed that since she spotted me, she would soon be at my door, and now I had to answer. Sure enough, a few minutes later there was a soft knock at my door. It was the girl from the end of the hallway. “Hi, I’m Julia!” She said in her comforting sweet voice and I could quickly tell that she was older than I was, not a student, but a small, pixie-like young adult and I could immediately tell that I was going to like her. Julia has become a very influential person in my life. Later discovering that she was a nurse, I became even closer with her because of our shared religion and choice profession.
ReplyDeleteI interviewed her on what it meant to be a nurse and what it was like sharing her faith in the medical world. As I spotted her coming to meet me for the interview, familiar short pixie brown hair and petite figure dressed in full scrubs coming toward me, I could tell that she had had a long day at the hospital but I could also tell from her big smile that she was beaming with excitement and that the toll of the day didn’t matter anymore. She explained in detail about her daily routines and responsibilities as an R.N in the medical diabetes unit at Ball Memorial Hospital, but it was when we began conversation about the aspect of her faith and the role it plays in her profession is when she really lit up.
Julia told me that “I originally wanted to become an art therapist, but when I got to college, it just wasn’t for me. I spent a lot of time in prayer about my future, and God revealed to me through my science and nursing classes that nursing was where I was meant to be. Through nursing I was fulfilled. God really placed it on my heart that that’s where I needed to be: helping others and being in a position where I could share the Gospel”. I had also learned that Julia spent a summer in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Africa. There she had worked in a clinic alongside doctors, dressing wounds, helping deliver babies and giving intravenous care to the sick. It was that moment that completely solidified her confidence that she was doing what she was born to do. I asked Julia if being in a predominantly Muslim country on medical mission was spiritually challenging for her, and she answered, “No. I would go back in a heartbeat. However, I am spiritually challenged here at home in my work. I am tested on my focus. It should be on Jesus, and not on my stress, which is challenging. Sometimes I get angry when I’m not in control over a situation, or a terminally ill patient cannot get better. It weighs a lot on me but I find that prayer is the best thing to get me though my day and I ask God to give me the strength and refocus I need”. Through her answer I was curious to know how well receipted her faith is in the medical work place. “I don’t think it’s a problem. I don’t spend a lot of time with my coworkers, as we are always running around, but many times when I’m in conversation with my patients, I can really connect with them spiritually. Many times patients will even ask me to pray for them or with them. It gives them hope. I just want everyone to know that Jesus is their ultimate hope. I’ve never had a problem sharing my faith. Religion isn’t really taboo with those who I come into contact with at work. If anything, patients are thankful and comforted to hear about Jesus”. During this part of the interview, I could barely write fast enough to get everything Julia was saying to me. She was so excited, literally on the edge of her seat. Through this experience I learned that religion is much more accepted in the work field than I had anticipated and I was glad to know how serious and excited Julia was about sharing her faith with others in her work place. I could see it in her beaming eyes and glowing smile throughout the course of the interview.
Works Cited: Buben, Julia. Personal Interview. 20 Jan. 2012
Through a computer screen I was "face to face" with Muhamed Sulejmanagic, a young man that was born in Bosnia and whole family dates back from that area of the world. Muhamed now goes to college at Ive Tech in Fort Wayne and is majoring in Computer Information Systems. At the time of his birth, Bosnia had just gained independence from Yugoslavia, and the corner of Bosnia that he lived in was having a "sub-war" over how it would be governed when it gained independence. While at his house in Velika Kladusa, a bomb went off right after a family photo was taken, this fact shocked my so much that I delved more into the war and what was really going on. But because of the war, many of the people relocated to refugee camps to live, as did Muhamad and his family.
ReplyDeleteAfter winning a lottery at the camp, they moved to America where Muhamad has lived since, still visiting and co-existing with other Bosnians that he lived near back in the homeland. He stated that he was about three years old when the move to America occurred. Around which time his parents bought him the first gaming system invented, the Atari 2600, with which he dismantled and remade many other things with, stemming his passion for technology and beginning his decent into Computer Information Systems.
In 2000, Muhamed visited Bosnia for the first time after moving to the United States. He had a run in with a bike, which hit "a tiny little pebble and sent me FLYING" (Sulejmanagic). He also told me that that was the first day he bought cigarettes. His mother told him to go buy her cigarettes, and little Muhamad was only seven at the time, worried that he was not allowed to he argued with his mother, but ultimately did her bidding. "It was amazing", said Sulejmanagic, "I can't buy these for another seven years in America!" Not only was this the first time he bought tobacco products, but it was also the same year that he learned there was basically no drinking age in Bosnia, which surprised me beyond belief. The fact that a seven year old can get hammered, and buy tobacco products.
Yet at the same time that any drinking age is legal, drinking and driving, and driving alone, are very different topics. It takes about six months of driving to actually obtain a permit, and $950, although their currency is the Konvertibilni Maraka, which has a low exchange rate with the American dollar.
I was very surprised by how "hidden" the government seems, that there is no enforcement of drinking laws and items like such, but Muhamed got some good stories out of it, and more to come.
Over the weekend, I interviewed Naji Ropkey. My aunt currently works with her and is also a good friend of her. In the past she was an Interior Designer. She worked at CSO Architectural Firm in downtown Indianapolis. After that, she started her own business called Naji Ropkey Interiors. She nearly worked there for ten years. She then wanted to be home more often so she began working as a realtor and a property investor or renovator. Also while doing that work she decided to begin a different business that was in relation to reality, staging. Her new business is called Naji Staging and she basically goes to houses that are not selling and makes them more presentable to potential buyers.
ReplyDeleteAlthough she isn’t well known, her work is. She is the designer for the Indianapolis Ball Room, which is her prize project. She has also done some other historical renovations all in the downtown area. However, the Ball Room is her more prized design. A year after the opening of the Ball Room, the room beautiful design along with the credit of her design was published in National Geographic as well as a few other design based magazines and advertisements.
When planning to meet and conduct the interview, she instead invited me to her home, which doubled as her office. The interview was on January 21, 2012. I arrived at her house around three in the afternoon. It had just snowed the night before and all the roads were a mess. Finding my way from Southside Indy to Eagle Creek was quite the challenge. Right when she opened the door, she said, “Oh, of course you’re Stephanie. I can see the resemblance to Gina.” (Gina being my aunt.) We walked through her home and back to the back lounge area. There on the ceiling were many large model planes. Her husband and son love to fly planes in their spare time. There were two large tables in front of the wrap around sofa. Both of them engrossed with piles of Architectural and Designing magazines. She explained that those were her favorite kinds of research. She could look at them constantly and always spot something new. No matter where she goes she always has to have one with her. She then gave me about five to take home for myself.
I was extremely interested in interviewing her because of my interest in both architecture and interior design. She has had experience with both. I wanted more or less to know her opinion of both professions. They can each be similar as well as completely different. With one degree you could hold both professions, but with the other you can only hold one profession. I wanted to know more of how an interior designer can be seen also as a valued partner to an architect. She was interesting to interview because we had a lot in common and could understand each other’s points of view and accept them completely. When the interview began winding down I then noticed that I had been there nearly three hours. Thinking that I had been interviewing someone for three hours, one would think that it would be quite boring. However, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It wasn’t so much and interview per say. It was more or less me asking about ten or so questions, then her telling stories and showing me her many portfolios. I enjoyed meeting and talking to Naji and I also gained knowledge from the experience.
AN INSIGHT ABOUT BEING A SPANISH TEACHER
ReplyDeleteToday, as usually, professor Pak was greeting me as most Hispanics do with friends and family—she gave me a hug and a kiss on the right cheek—instead of a light hug, a bow, or a polite nod as most Koreans do. When I entered her little and crowed office, she said with her distinctive enthusiasm, “Hola, adelante. Siéntate, por favor.” (Hi, come in and sit down, please). She encouraged me to come closer by opening and closing her right hand with the palm facing down; I guess a usual Korean gesture.
Even though she already knew the purpose of my visit, I explained it once again.
While she was serving tea in a very fine Korean teapot with slow grace and in a very smooth, controlled motion, I asked one of my first questions, with my heavy Cuban accent, where aspiration of final /s/, /d/, and /g/ is common. “What attracted you to teaching Spanish?”
At the same time I asked this question, I thought, “This is weird, I’m conducting an interview in English to a Korean lady that speak Spanish and she’s going to talk about teaching Spanish as a second language.”
So, going back to my interview, when I asked her what attracted her to teach Spanish, she started to talk first about her background. This multilingual Korea native grew up in a very traditional Korean family, where the ambition for a high-end job for a woman wasn’t a big concern. “My brothers were encouraged to select a career at an early age, but with me it was different. Females in most Korean families are not discouraged from selecting a career, but still more encouragement is placed on them to remain at home.” She explained.
Dr. Pak received her B.B.A in Finance from The College of William and Mary and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Spanish from the University of Michigan.
By the time she was in middle school, Dr. Pak learned Spanish while she spent a couple of years with her family in Canary Islands, Spain. She remembers the beginning of her foreign language-teaching career as something fortuitous in her life. “I was looking for jobs while I was doing my Finance major senior year. So, I applied for a Spanish instructor position at William & Mary, my former college.” She said. “I felt that teaching was a passion that was hitting on me because one evening I woke up in the middle of the night with an idea and I started planning my lessons.” She continued.
“What teaching methods have you found to be the most successful in motivating and hence, increasing productivity from your students?” I asked, but she didn’t understand me at first. I read the question again, this time I tried to enunciate better. We look at each other with undeniable complicity and laughed at my broken English. “I like to use a direct teaching approach, Audio-Lingual Method and Total Physical Response, you must have heard these terms before, haven’t you?” She assumed, because I’m majoring in Spanish Education and because my husband teaches Spanish. “Also I engage my students by keeping them accountable, by requiring that they support the lesson, by providing examples or explaining why things might be connected.”
When I asked her how the BSU Foreign Language Department incorporates technology into the curriculum, she replied, “Technology is used to bring the native Spanish world closer to the student. I use realia that is highly visual, materials created by and for the native Spanish speaker: cultural, social and political pod casts, blogs, editorials, news articles, music, media, feature films, and more.”
Dr. Pak’s most helpful advice for me as a Spanish Education student was to be sure to always be myself and to use teaching styles that compliment the way I naturally present myself to the world. To teach Spanish at middle and high school levels is my career goal, but I realize that to teach any discipline at any level requires a great deal of dedication, commitment, and hard work.
Ashley Ebert
ReplyDeleteEnglish 104
1/23/12
Box 25
Ms. Pauline (Polly) Shilling is a mother first, high school nursing teacher second, and an actual Registered Nurse third. She teaches a Certified Nursing Assistant course at Logansport High School in Logansport, IN. A cheerful, helpful person, her personality stemming from her nursing and teaching careers, she was glad to take part in my interview and help with my project. Since her home and work is in Logansport, and I am here at Ball State, I had to conduct my interview through e-mail.
After spending an academic year in her classroom, I can imagine the nursing teacher typing answers back to me in her office. She always has a relaxed demeanor and a smile. She is serious about her work, though, and intends to teach all of her students the best and most efficient ways of Certified Nursing Assistant procedures. As nursing was her first profession, she still carries with her a sense of caring urgency and perfection. She dresses fashionably and meticulously, usually a dress or skirt, a blazer, and one of many beautiful sets of jewelry. Ms. Shilling is a mother, and like most mothers, she loves to talk about her children. On her desk are several pictures of her kids in various stages of childhood.
Ms. Shilling is a hardworking mother and teacher who considers her students to also be her own, and assumes responsibility for their physical and emotional, as well as educational, well-being. She loves her teaching job, and also the jobs she has held as a nurse. For this reason, and many others, she is a wonderful nursing teacher.
I awkwardly sat the recorder on an old wicker chair in my grandmother’s living room. Being the first time I had used the thing, or rather the first time I have formally interviewed anyone, I felt a little awkward. Mam, as all of us grandchildren call her, on the other hand was visibly showing her nerves. I asked her to say something to make sure that the recorder could pick up her voice and she froze. I looked up at her and told her it was fine laughingly. It was the first time I had ever saw her nervous towards me. I guess she felt just as awkward as I did.
ReplyDeleteI was sitting on her couch about five feet away. She sat in her the old blue chair by the fire place holding her worn Bible with reading glasses resting on top. While she has lived in the house for a few years now, I can’t say anything really seemed as at home as the house she lived in for twenty years across the bridge where I grew up around. Although new, the house has character. Everything seen was built or refurbished by my uncles and mother, a neat sight being that they were all products from the woman sitting across from me. Grandad’s old rocking chair rested next to the giant box television, both below the cuckoo clock and all brought from the house I remember so well. The pas was all around us while the stories from their time were brought to life by her.
At seventy years old, the grey in Mam’s curly hair set in long before, now looking silvery. The wrinkles in her face near her eyes and mouth truthfully indicated that she has always been happy. Below her worn CCHS sweatshirt and brown sweatpants her feet were covered by self-knitted house slippers. Nevertheless it was my Mam as I had always seen her. Although rigid at first, she quickly slouched back in her chair as our interview turned into casual conversation. As time went on she often answered the questions I had without me asking them. Every time Grandad came up in conversation a sparkle came to her eye. Her laugh was soothing when she brought up all of the crazy things my uncles and mother did. After an hour of interview I turned the recorder off and shared a pizza with her, yet she still kept talking about the past. She loved telling me what life was like in her time and dually I loved hearing it. Knowing that I was connected to those stories was meaningful to me. Even though it started out a little slow, Mam turned out to act the same way she has my whole life, loving and caring.
With my laptop in hand, I took a short trip to the room two doors down from my own. There I had a very casual interview with my close friend Saadie Sail. Although Saadie is a born American citizen, she was raised by her Muslim parents and taught Indian culture. I already knew some about her Indian culture just from asking questions prior to this assignment. I was very intrigued by all the stories she told me of growing up knowing what was normal for Indian culture yet being immersed in American culture. From the knowledge I already had, I decided I wanted to know more about the Indian marriage ritual. After one night in the lounge on my floor of exploring youtube videos of Bollywood wedding movies, I decided I wanted to know more about the Indian cultural wedding traditions. That is why as soon as I got the assignment for this paper and realized this was my chance to get to know more about Indian weddings, I asked my friend Saadie if she would let me interview her.
ReplyDeleteOver the weekend, I met with Saadie and interviewed her in her bedroom. I set up my laptop on her desk and began to think out where I would begin my interview while my friend heated her dinner in the microwave. I began my interview by simply asking Saadie “What happens at an Indian wedding ceremony?” It was then that I learned that an Indian wedding is not just one day but four to five days of celebration. She explained to me what happened each day while I interjected questions every once in a while simply for clarification when I was confused. The interview ran rather smoothly except that Saadie was also in the process of doing her laundry during the interview. I found those breaks good times to review my notes I already had and think about what else I might want to ask about. After three hours and almost two pages of notes, I decided I had enough information to put together my draft. I hugged my friend and thanked her for her time.
For my project I intend to write about my interviews with my sister, Katie. My sister and I share an 8 year age difference and she has already experienced nearly everything I am currently experiencing. She went to Indiana University and worked for the yearbook majority of her time there. She currently works for Fleishman Hilliard in their Chicago location and does public relations full time on Gatorade's account. Katie's job is my ideal career. She travels nearly every weekend, gets to meet and collaborate with major athletes, goes to some of the most exclusive events, and helps create up and coming Gatorade products.
ReplyDeleteAs she sat down for my FaceTime interview I noticed she was dressed perfectly city chic, nothing new for Katie; she always knows exactly how to find the right variation between fashionable and classic. She took a seat on the couch in her Chicago condo. She seemed a little bit stressed and distracted. I soon found out she had just got off work for the day and was exhausted. Let me just start by saying my sister gets stressed out quite quickly and doesn't relax easily. Once we were a few minutes into the interview and after she ran out of things to distract her she finally sat still and began to talk. Throughout the interview I learned a lot about what my sister does in the public relations field.
I know that by conducting multiple interviews with my sister I am going to get a real perspective on my chosen field. I am excited to see how learn more about how she views her career. Overall, my sister has taught me how if you can only have one thing in the world make it hard work and everything else will follow.
This evening after my last class of the day I will make my way over to the student center's Starbucks and meet Lisa Dunaway for the first time. For most people she would be like any other person but to me she is someone who I am dying to meet and hopefully get to know better. The reason I am so excited to speak with her is because like no one else I have ever personally met other than myself she is a Vegan. To be honest it was very hard to find another individual that shares the same dietary views as myself and I was almost about to give up on the idea of actually interviewing another Vegan, until I came across her information on google.
ReplyDeleteYou may be wondering why I am so excited to meet another vegan when I myself have been vegan for a year this February, and have already been so involved in research, promoting the diet, and understanding the lifestyle, that I already know so much about it. So why would I care to interview someone else? However, Veganism comes along with a lot of controversy that you receive from others. You never thought someone would care so much about what you personally choose to put on your plate! I am excited to see how she personally has had to deal with friends, family, and even strangers who love to point and prod at your point of view on choosing tofu over meat and extra veggies over extra cheese; as well as her views on boycotting factory farming and animal abuse.
I can't wait to listen to her journey with a vegan lifestyle and finally be able to have someone else to relate with! I'm sure our conversation will roam anywhere from vegan shoe shopping to the frustrations of uneducated people in your face telling you that you NEED more protein or calcium to be healthy! I also hope that whoever reads this interview whether it being a teacher or fellow student will become enlightened about why it is we choose to be vegan and promote personal health, the proper treatment of animals, and the restoring of our environment.
I interviewed Arlene Guthrie, my grandmother. An elder lady that has had much tragedy in her life. She was sitting on the living room couch very relaxed. I asked to interview her at this time, and she was fine with that.
ReplyDeleteI started by asking what it was like to be a mother. She answered with the closeness that it brings to you, and the responsibility that this brings. When I asked about the loss of a child, she became teary eyed. My grandmother has lost multiple babies through miscarriage and an adult child, my mother. We talked about the pain that is felt and how hard it is to continue with your normal life after the loss. The conversation shifted to my mom, and how much my grandma has forgotten about the "small" things about her. She says that you never expect for something like this to happen, but it does and you can only take it one day at a time.
I interviewed my mother about a tool she developed for her job. It was a very informal face to face interview. She is a quality manager at a hospital, so her job requires her to deal with patients getting the proper care when they visit the hospital. She talked about how in recent years health care has dramatically changed and continues to change. She works at a hospital that does not turn anyone away for any reason. With this and the changes in healthcare hospitals are dealing with an increase in costs. She described how insurance companies do not pay for visits if the patient returns within thirty days, no matter why they are returning. My mom has the job of decreasing the number of returns for patients. Many patients that return are suffering from a chronic disease. She said that the most common is heart disease. She described how heart disease is a very manageable disease with simple things being controlled such as diet and weighing yourself daily. The problem is that doctors and nurses do not take the time to make sure that patients understand completely how to control their disease because of their busy schedule. To do this she developed a tool for nurses that well access the patient’s knowledge of their disease and how they can maintain this disease properly through a series of questions and ratings. She described how her time she worked on the floor helped her understand that nurses are so busy treating acute illness that they over look the chronic disease that the patients are dealing with. She developed this tool for a project for her masters depress and implemented it her hospital. It is in its first year trial run in 2012. My mom was very passionate about the project and the steps she is taking to change patient care. She has been a nurse for 20 years and knows the struggles nurses have with patients because they are busy. She wanted nurses to get the recognition they deserve and she believes this tool will help. I still have my follow up interview to do but I hope to continue this and work the interview into my research.
ReplyDeleteAfter traveling back home to Indianapolis and conducting an interview with my grandmother (Mamaw), I have a deeper sense as to what she endured earlier in her life as a young mother compared to what new mothers experience today. The conversation took place in our living room where Mamaw sat in her usual place on the ample leather love seat, encompassing her petite stature. She was dressed in her Colts sweatshirt, jeans, and of course the staple in her everyday apparel- slippers. Although my grandmother suffers from a severe case of Dementia, a degenerative disease that affects memory, her long term memory is surprisingly sharp and had no problem reminiscing on times regarding labor with her 6 healthy children. To avoid overwhelming her with an array of questions, I started off slow by asking simple questions like, “What year did your first pregnancy occur?” Mamaw recollected that her first pregnancy dated back to 1952 and her last pregnancy was in 1964, and immediately was taken back to the excessive amount of pain each one entailed. From there we moved on to questions like, “What did the Doctors and Nurses administer for pain? Or what precautions did you take during the 9 months preceding birth?” Despite having to write down everything that happens minutes ago on endless sticky notes, the interview ran rather smoothly with multitudinous memories and stories resurfacing from decades prior. At 86 years young, my grandmother provided me an insight as to how much pregnancy and the arduous labor for each differs from present day science, to what they perceived as correct and safe in the hospitals throughout the early 1950’s and 1960’s.
ReplyDeleteCommitment Prevails: How Determination and True Love Make for a Lasting Relationship
ReplyDeleteMoving three hours from home for school has forced me to often reflect back on my life prior to college. I often think about my family and wonder what would be happening if I were present. As I see all the couples walking around campus, I wonder how they met and what holds them together. I automatically thought back to my grandparents, Ron and Sandy, and how solid of a marriage they have. Sure they fight once in a while, but it's all part of it. As I interviewed, I learned that not once did they face anything they could not work through together.
I began by making a phone call, which my grandma answered. She always has such a warm greeting and many stories to tell me. Naturally, my grandpa picked up on the other line and chimed in. We had to kick him off so I could start my informal, phone interview. I began by asking very general questions like when did you met, when was your first date, and when did you become exclusive. Her and my grandfather answered almost the exact same for these basic questions.
My grandma gave pretty simple, one sentence answers. She always expresses her opinion and answers fully, but keeps it short. My grandpa on the other hand is a man of many words. He loves to share as much knowledge with me as possible whenever he sees me; something I adore about him. His answers did surprise me a bit. I saved a specific question for him, which was when he knew that he wanted to marry my grandma. “Uhh, she decided that. We had made plans for when I graduated. I was not going to get married before I had my degree. I went to summer school twice, so I made it in four years. To be honest, she put it bluntly. She said, ‘Once you graduate, it’s then or never.’" I mean grandma will tell grandpa what's up when he gets out of line, but I was shocked that he didn't say he wanted to marry her before she cut to the chase.
My grandparents both showed a deep love and commitment for each other, especially towards the end of the interview. My favorite answers came from the following question: How has seeing your parents’ developing relationship throughout the years molded your own marriage? My grandma responded with, “I had a very good example from my parents. They had a strong marriage and with seven kids; they made it work. Mom made a lot of our clothes and the house was always clean. Plus I had religion; both parents always went with us to church and every two weeks had confession. I had a great childhood. Dad was home every night, he come home from work and was always there. Mom was a stay at home mom.” My grandpa followed with: “It wasn’t after my parents, it was after her parents for sure. Dad and mom had a pretty starving marriage. Mom worked most of the time to support us. I became closer with my sister and looked towards grandma’s parents to model my marriage after. That was part of the reason I wanted to marry her; I loved her family. And that’s why all of those years we always visited home (Tell City). We were always close to home even though we lived three-hundred miles away from it.” This told me that not only did my grandpa have unconditional love for my grandma, but also for her family. This is why family has been so important to us all these years, because that is where our roots are. The interview process not only pulled me even closer to my grandparents, but I now understand the basis for a lasting relationship and how big of a part commitment plays. Two things that marriages seem to lack in the present days. Bringing me back to their old fashioned ways helped me to appreciate them even more.
I went back home to Bloomington, to talk to my mom about growing up in the south, and moving around a lot. I thought that she would be candid about her experiences as she had in the past, claiming that I was too young to have to hear about the kind of life she lead. I began with the easiest and most obvious question: Where were you born? She told me about the small town she was born in in Arkansas. We talked about all of the different places she lived in. She shared with me the eight places that she lived in for the longest; she said the places she lived in for a few months were not important. I could tell that there were places that she wasn’t comfortable talking about because she apprubtly moved on to the next place. She told me about her mother’s three husbands and her four siblings, and what it was like being the only child.
ReplyDeleteAfter talking about her life in the South, we talked about what it was like for her moving to Indiana, and not knowing anyone but her sister. She says that she is so much happier here than she would have been in Alabama. She says she still misses her mom, she wishes she could see her more often, but other than that she wouldn’t change a thing.
Throughout this interview process, I learned a lot about my mother that I didn’t know, including some things about her childhood and her family that were surprising.
I interviewed two people as part of my research into my church, it's affiliations, and the changes it has seen in the past few decades.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I took a brief trip to my hometown to talk to Patricia Shrock. She's been a member of our church for about thirty years now, and she's well-known among our congregation as an academic authority on all things "Friends." I walked through a half foot of the most powdery, perfect snow I've seen all year to Pat's house, which is only about two houses east of my own. Her living room is quaint, small, but with high ceilings, and the walls are near-covered with a slightly eclectic collection of knick-knacks. She brought us each a cup of tea and a cranberry scone from her kitchen as we started the interview. As we moved through the interview, she told quite a few stories about "God things," moments and circumstances in her life about how God has provided for her in ways she least expected. These are stories I always enjoy hearing, but her comment on the relationship between generations in the church was the most important insight I garnered on Saturday morning: she told a story about an older woman in our church who had a great impact on her life, and made a remark about how important it is to the church that older generations mentor their younger counterparts.
I had planned to focus my research this semester on the changes in Indiana Yearly Meeting, as one may deduce after rereading my definition of terms that I created last week. After a few other comments from Pat and after learning about the richness of the Quaker church's heritage from her, my research began to take on a new light in my mind. I want to focus on our history and legacy as Friends and perhaps a bit on how that legacy has not been passed down to my generation very well.
As such, when I interviewed my pastor, Jesse Vore, I had to reformulate my questions and he seemed intrigued by the change, though most topics pertaining to the Friends church intrigue him.
Having been a part of one Friends church or another since his teens, and now a pastor of one, Jesse has good insight into the history, structure, and purpose of the early and modern Friends. I interviewed him over the phone, so there isn't much to say about our setting, though I can say I was in a study lounge in my dorm. Jesse is a young pastor, definitely younger than forty, though I'm not sure about his actual age. His passion for God and the people in his church is inspiring to me, and I know now how carried away he can get when he talks about our denomination. I even came away from the interview with homework: a challenge to visit a church that is very different from the one that I grew up in, though it is still a Friends church. I appreciated Jesse's ramblings, though: I took notes on my laptop as fast as possible, and though I didn't get everything he said down, I'm confident that he made his intentions clear, and i remember those rather well: he feels that our heritage as Quakers isn't half so important as our heritage as Christians, and I will bear that in mind as I write this paper.
The person I chose to interview is the assistant jazz director here at Ball State, Amy Rempel. She is a very knowledgeable and kind person. When I knocked on her office door today at five o'clock as we had agreed on, she opened the door and greeted me warmly. Then she told me that I should sit in the wobbly chair near the piano and we began the interview.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing I noticed about Amy's office was that it had a large window facing out at McKinley and I could easily see all of the happenings and passers-by. The next outstanding thing that I noticed was that even though the room had the holey walls that I believe were created for the purpose of sound proofing the music rooms, I could clearly hear a loud timpani drum coming from the basement and an equally loud operatic singer. The walls are obviously not very well sound proofed. Other than that, her office seemed to be typical of a piano/music professor with pieces of music lying around, a couple of pianos, a computer, and a metronome sitting on the desk.
After we both were seated, we exchanged a quick "how are you?" and I began the questions. She answered them all to the best of her ability. Most of them seemed reasonable to her and she had answers pretty quickly. On a few of the questions over things she had not considered, it took her a while to come up with answer. Throughout the interview, she was very helpful and knowledgeable with her answers taking much care to insure their accuracy.
At the end of my questioning, we both considered the topic of women in jazz and discussed many of the important figures in this subcategory. We also talked about an important example who is going to be performing at Ball State later this year: Ingrid Jensen. We discussed other aspects of jazz and wrapped up by listening to some music by up and coming female jazz artists. At about six o'clock, I thanked her for her time and left to go eat dinner.
Javonte's post:
ReplyDeleteIt was a cloudy day. The ambience was very melancholy. I positioned myself comfortably on the couch. This was a situation I have come to be very familiar with. My mentor, Aaron Lake, and me were about to engage in another educated, deep, and intriguing conversation. The only difference was the location. We were in his home, rather than his office.
Mr. Lake and I are similar in many ways. We are both Black, educated, Christians, and have devoted our lives to helping others. However, we are different in many ways also. He is from a different generation, more distinguished and accomplished.
Minus my laptop, voice recorder and notepad Mr. Lake and myself conducted our conversations as usual. Very relaxed, both of our legs crossed and sitting on adjacent couches. Throughout our conversation there were constant laughter, stern opinions, and a vernacular that only former members of a Jack-and-Jill club would understand.
We immediately delved into the psychology of the Black male in the present day. More specifically, we discussed why the Black man psyche is so fragile. I asked Mr. Lake what he thought was the most influential factor throughout our history, and he replied “ourselves.” He stated how the hardships we’ve faced in the past are undeniable, however we have reached a time where although the playing field is not exactly equal, it is leveled enough for us (Blacks) to attain success.
Towards the end of our conversation I made a profound statement to Mr. Lake. I said, “In America I believe racism in the present day is equally inflicted on whites, as it is on any other minority group.” His reply was, “nonsense.” At that moment I realized why I wanted to interview him so badly. He stated, “One must have power to be racist.”
I interviewed my grandparents at their house. The setting was very relaxed and I have always found it very easy to talk to my grandparents about pretty much anything. We all sat down for dinner and I asked all of my questions. My grandpa loves talking about researching the family, so the information was very easy. My grandma likes to talk about where people are now and how they are doing, so I was able to get both past and present information from my interview. My grandparents both love to talk and our first interviews often led to my grandma talking about how school was going for me and all of that, so my second interview was more on topic. My relationship to my interviewees helped to eliminate any awkward moments or pauses in the interview.
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