Need help! Trying to locate someone living in China willing to complete an interview

[clarkscottkent]

My college professor has given me and my classmates only 5 days to perform an interview with someone from a different culture on the internet. I came across this site as a possibility to get this completed. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

Here we go...

Hello to all. My name is Chris Renfro. I live in Mt. Washington, KY, USA. I am a 36 year old college student. I have been working in a Ford Motor Company factory for over 15 years, but am looking to obtain a college degree in the next two years. I hope to teach middle or elementary school after retiring from Ford Motor Company. I will be 51 years old when I am able to retire from Ford. I hope to teach part-time as a substitute teacher after retiring from Ford. I was assigned a project of interviewing someone from a different culture to get a better understanding of their everyday life. I am attempting to find websites where I may be able to conduct an interview with college students or individuals that are older about the culture of China. If anyone is willing to help, please answer some or all of the following questions. Thank you! Please provide a brief introduction…name, age, marital status, any children, occupation, level of education, etc…

Chris: Where were you born? Where do you currently live?

Chris: How long have you lived there?

Chris: Is English a widely spoken language where you live?

Chris: At what age did you begin speaking English?

Chris: At what grade or age do they start teaching students English now?

Chris: In the United States, we have twelve years of schooling, 5 years of elementary school, three years of middle school, and four years of high school. How does this compare to the education system in China? Do students in China go to school year round? In the United States, we have a summer break that is usually about 3 months long.

Chris: If a student, what school do you attend? If not a student, do you have a job/career? Where do you work? How many hours a day and/or week do you work or go to school?

Chris: How far is your daily commute to and from school or work?

Chris: What is your mode of transportation? Do you ride a bicycle, own a car, use public transportation, etc…?

Chris: What is your family/home life like? How close is your family? Is an effort made to have dinner together as a family every night? Are there many scheduled activities that are completed together as a family or are family members taught to be more independent?

Chris: Could you briefly describe your average day to me? What time you get out of bed, what time do you go to work or school, what time do you get home, what time do you eat dinner, what time do you go to bed?

Chris: What about entertainment? What do you like to do with family or friends to have fun? Do you engage in any sports or hobbies? What do you like to do with your free time if you have any?

Chris: What is the social/economic status like in China? In the United States, we have the lower, middle, and upper class. The middle class is slowly vanishing in the United States. With the loss of manufacturing jobs, we are slowly on our way to having two classes of people, the “have” and the “have nots”…either rich or poor. How does this compare to China’s social/economic status?

Chris: What are some of the signs in China that one has succeeded in life? Could it be a career or job that they have obtained? Is it material items that make them appear wealthy? Education…must you be educated in China to succeed?

Chris: What are your expectations of yourself? Do you have goals set for yourself to achieve? What are you trying to obtain in life in general to consider yourself a success?

Chris: If I were to visit China, and only had two days, where/what would you recommend I see? What city would you consider the most beautiful in China?

Thank you very much for your time! Have a wonderful day, Chris Renfro

[Scoobyqueen]

Are you Chris or is this a fictitous example?

[clarkscottkent]

I'm not sure I understand, I am Chris Renfro and there is nothing fictitious about this. I need to get this survey completed by Sunday and I am having absolutely no luck.

[monto]

I am Chinese, but I can't answer the last question. No city in the world is beautiful in my eyes.Washington, London, Paris is most dirty cities in my eyes.

[skylee]

i tried to pm you but it didn't work. so i have to list my answers here.

Chris: Where were you born? Where do you currently live?

me: Hong Kong.

Chris: How long have you lived there?

me: all my life.

Chris: Is English a widely spoken language where you live?

me: i would say yes.

Chris: At what age did you begin speaking English?

me: hmm... six? we have to learn it from kindergarten but back then it was primary school.

Chris: At what grade or age do they start teaching students English now?

me: kindergarten.

Chris: In the United States, we have twelve years of schooling, 5 years of elementary school, three years of middle school, and four years of high school. How does this compare to the education system in China? Do students in China go to school year round? In the United States, we have a summer break that is usually about 3 months long.

me: when i was a student we got free education for 6 years in primary school and 3 years in junior high. but starting from 2008-2009, free education in Hong Kong will last till the end of middle school (i.e. 12 years). summer break is from july till the end of august. here we also have long breaks during chinese new year and easter.

Chris: If a student, what school do you attend? If not a student, do you have a job/career? Where do you work? How many hours a day and/or week do you work or go to school?

me: i have a job. i work in the public sector. officially i work 44 hours/5 days a week.

Chris: How far is your daily commute to and from school or work?

me: about half an hour.

Chris: What is your mode of transportation? Do you ride a bicycle, own a car, use public transportation, etc…?

me: the metro.

Chris: What is your family/home life like? How close is your family? Is an effort made to have dinner together as a family every night? Are there many scheduled activities that are completed together as a family or are family members taught to be more independent?

me: i am close to my mother and brother. i have dinner with my mother whenever it is convenient, but it is not every night (i am a grown-up, what do you expect?). normally no scheduled activities together as a family. we respect one another's private life.

Chris: Could you briefly describe your average day to me? What time you get out of bed, what time do you go to work or school, what time do you get home, what time do you eat dinner, what time do you go to bed?

me: i wake up at 0545, rise at about 0700, go to work at about 0830, get home at about 2000, eat afterwards, go to bed after midnight.

Chris: What about entertainment? What do you like to do with family or friends to have fun? Do you engage in any sports or hobbies? What do you like to do with your free time if you have any?

me: i am a loner. i go to movies every week. if the weather is fine and i feel like it i go for long walks. i don't do sport. but i do read, and i travel as much as i can. and i surf the internet.

Chris: What is the social/economic status like in China? In the United States, we have the lower, middle, and upper class. The middle class is slowly vanishing in the United States. With the loss of manufacturing jobs, we are slowly on our way to having two classes of people, the “have” and the “have nots”…either rich or poor. How does this compare to China’s social/economic status?

me: is this a question? i have no idea how to answer. here in Hong Kong there is not much manufacturing either, but i don't think there are only the have and the have nots. life is not that simple.

Chris: What are some of the signs in China that one has succeeded in life? Could it be a career or job that they have obtained? Is it material items that make them appear wealthy? Education…must you be educated in China to succeed?

me: i would think that if a person is independent and can support himself even after he stops working then he is successful. if one is loved, or famous, then he is even more successful. this is really a simpleton question. no you don't have to be educated, if you are rich, or respected, or famous for your achievements, then you are successful. is it any different elsewhere?

Chris: What are your expectations of yourself? Do you have goals set for yourself to achieve? What are you trying to obtain in life in general to consider yourself a success?

me: i am a thru and thru failure. my goals are that i will be independent and will have enough to support myself till i die.

Chris: If I were to visit China, and only had two days, where/what would you recommend I see? What city would you consider the most beautiful in China?

me: i am not sure about beautiful places in china. i love hong kong very much so perhaps you should consider visiting hong kong. i visited croatia last year and it was very beautiful. china, though, is not always about beauty, it is more about history and culture. imo, cities on the mainland usually seem chaotic.

[monto]

skylee:

well done!

[ruoxuan]

ok,I think this is interesting. so here I am.

I'm Li Ruoxuan. I'm currently living in Chongqing,China. I am a 22 year old university student majoring in architecture. single,no work,undergraduate.

so here are my answers.

Where were you born? Where do you currently live?

Fuyang,Anhui. Chongqing.

How long have you lived there?

three and a half years

Is English a widely spoken language where you live?

No,not really.

At what age did you begin speaking English?

I was taught english at the age of 11.But I don't think I ever spoke english. just writing, reading, listening. sometimes teachers would ask us to recite the text when I was in middle school.

At what grade or age do they start teaching students English now?

Kids start to pick up english at the age of 5-6 when they get to elmentary school. in some districts they start to learn english in kindergartens.

In the United States, we have twelve years of schooling, 5 years of elementary school, three years of middle school, and four years of high school. How does this compare to the education system in China? Do students in China go to school year round? In the United States, we have a summer break that is usually about 3 months long.

In China, 2(or 3) years of kindergarden,5(or 6) years of elementary school, 3 years of middle school, 3 years of high school. we have a summer vacation 2 months long, winter ( spring festival) 1 month

If a student, what school do you attend? How many hours a day and/or week do you work or go to school?

University.

It depends. like this semester, only 15 hours a week . but last semester we got 48 hours a week.

How far is your daily commute to and from school or work?

10 munites' walk or less. i live on campus.

What is your mode of transportation?

By bus or on foot

What is your family/home life like? How close is your family?

Since my university is in another city , i don't live home with my parents 9 months out of a year. my father's retired,staying home taking care of household. my mother works out. I have a younger sister in college. The whole family get along just well. family conversations are mainly about mum's business, my studies and my sister's. I respect my parents more than I actually know about them.but I can't really talk to them like I talk to my friends.I mean parents are parents, I just try to do what they want and what I want to make them happy. and they are sacrificing anything at any cost to provide us with better opportunities. We love this family.

Is an effort made to have dinner together as a family every night?

yes,we have dinner together every night while my sister and I are home.

Are there many scheduled activities that are completed together as a family or are family members taught to be more independent?

Not many, we don't do many things together. but yes i remember a couple of years ago, me and my parents went travelling to a nearby ancient town together,but it ended up with unpleasant miffs. I think my mother is teaching me to be more independent, letting me do most of the things on my own despite the fact that she doesn't believe that I'm able to do things alone and handle them well. But my father (step-dad) is more willing to spend his time with me together.

Could you briefly describe your average day to me? What time you get out of bed, what time do you go to work or school, what time do you get home, what time do you eat dinner, what time do you go to bed?

My average day, that really depends on my school schedules. I get out of bed around 11am if there are no classes/lectures in the morning, around 7:30 if there are. go to bed around 0:30-3:00am. 11:30am lunch, 6:30 pm dinner. other time left it's just classroom, dorm, sometimes library,ect.

What about entertainment? What do you like to do with family or friends to have fun? Do you engage in any sports or hobbies? What do you like to do with your free time if you have any?

Entertainment, if i hang out with friends, we go to a movie theater, go to a cafe for some chatting, go to my friend's place to learn some cooking,go to nearby ancient towns,go visit some galleries or museums. well, i don't like sports. if i'm not hanging out, i would like to just sit in front of the computer, watch movies, listen to music, chat, write some blogs,ect...

What is the social/economic status like in China? In the United States, we have the lower, middle, and upper class. The middle class is slowly vanishing in the United States. With the loss of manufacturing jobs, we are slowly on our way to having two classes of people, the “have” and the “have nots”…either rich or poor. How does this compare to China’s social/economic status?

I'm not sure if what i'm saying is 100% correct. lower, middle, and upper class. i think it's pretty much the same here in China. the majority of people belong to middle class or a lower level. but the income gap is insanely widening between rich and poor. you can be top rich, or you can be penniless.

What are some of the signs in China that one has succeeded in life? Could it be a career or job that they have obtained?

could be a prospeous career/business, getting the top positions in government offices, getting a PHD/Master's degree from an excellent university or simply a well-paid job. depends on which field you're in

Is it material items that make them appear wealthy?

yes, i think so. expensive purses,watches,clothes,cars,pets.... but there are exceptions(some people I know): sometimes it's the way they deal with things, their lifestyles make them appear wealthy.

Education…must you be educated in China to succeed?

Not necessarily. still, getting an oversea degree in a depeloped country seems to let you score more.

What are your expectations of yourself?Do you have goals set for yourself to achieve?

get a well-paid job in the architectural field after graduation, save money, then get admitted to an excellent architecture graduate school aboard, get a MS degree, become an architect.

What are you trying to obtain in life in general to consider yourself a success?

to become an indepedent woman.

don't have to work for living, don't have to stick to one job a lifetime

If I were to visit China, and only had two days, where/what would you recommend I see?

Pingyao, Shanxi. to see the historic urban quarters to experience local people's lifestyle.

What city would you consider the most beautiful in China?

I don't really know. i haven't visited many Chinese cities. the cities i traveled are just some big cities. they are just ok.

[skylee]

If I were to visit China, and only had two days, where/what would you recommend I see?

Pingyao, Shanxi. to see the historic urban quarters to experience local people's lifestyle.

Pingyao! of all places! I wrote about it in my blog here.

[ruoxuan]

I wrote about it in my blog here

different impressions. I was there 2004 winter. did not come across sandstorm. people were great. don't know what's it going to be like next time i'm there.

[clarkscottkent]

I really appreciate the replies and participation. Thank you very much!

Just completed reading your responses, I really do appreciate you taking time out of your day to help me complete my assignment. I am forever grateful. Thanks!

Chris Renfro