Second Interview

Interview Preparation

Preparing for the interview was easy since I reserved a study room in the library ahead of time. I talked to one of my classmates and we arranged a time to meet that is comfortable for both of us. The day that I interviewed Furkan was on Monday. As I did in my last interview, I also got a recorder, so that it would be easy to listen to the record and write down the transcript. Before meeting, I made sure that my questions were appropriate to ask. So, he came on time and we started the interview.

Interview report

The interview was very informative, as I learned many things that I did not know about Turkey. Because of my friendship with Furkan from before he felt very comfortable being interviewed by me. I believe that he answered all my questions fully. He also showed me some images of Turkey, so I have a better idea of what Turkey looks like. I was actually impressed with some information about Turkey, such as: gas is three times more expensive than in the US and etc. Anyway, we had a nice interview, towards the end of my questions list I wrapped up my interview and made sure I said thank you to him.

Transcript

F: Hi Furkan how are you?

A: I am good, and you?

F: Not too bad. Actually, I had some questions to ask you. This is the list of the questions that I will be asking.

A: OK!

F: So, where are you from?

A: I am from Turkey! From Samsun which is Asian part of the Turkey.

F: OK…

A: Turkey has European part of its land and Asian as well.

F: Oh that is interesting. What made you come to the US?

A: I have watched some videos about some Universities in the US, ever since I was inspired to study abroad in the US. Additionally, the educational system in the US is very good.   

F: How do you like SCSU so far then?

A: I like it a lot. It is fun…, and the professors are very knowledgeable.

F: OK. What are the things that SCSU should improve in order its student feel more comfortable studying at SCSU?

A: I think if the rooms of the dormitories were bigger that would have been great. Because sometimes students feel really uncomfortable staying in one bedroom dorms.

F: Do you also live in a dorm?

A: Actually, I used to live in a dorm when I came to here for the first time, and I found the room was too small. We also used to have some problems arranging the small room and putting TV etc.

F: That is right I have had some other friends who were also saying the same things. So I am curious, how is the educational system like in your country?

A: Well, I would say that it is good, on an average level, because there are some private colleges that have a very good reputation and a good educational system as well.

F: Are the public schools free for everybody?

A: Yes, of course.

F: Good, can you describe a typical day for a child in Turkey.

A: Of course, a typical day for a child would be getting up in the morning, going to school, after coming back from school, children would play outside or play some games at home, and towards the end of the day they do their homework, have lunch and go to bed. So it is pretty much the same for most of the children.

F: Sounds interesting. How do they usually get their school?

A: Usually, by bus or sometimes their parents drop them off at school

F: So is the bus mainly used transportation in Turkey?

A: Actually, because of the high price on gas, most of the people tend to take bus if they are traveling somewhere or if they go somewhere on a daily basis. Otherwise, it is going to be very expensive for them to drive their own car.

F: Is gas so expensive in Turkey?

A: Yes, the gas price in turkey is three times more expensive than what it is in the US.

F: Really…? What makes the gas price be so expensive in your country?

A: The main reason is that in Turkey, they do not produce any oil; Turkey imports its oil from other countries. That makes the oil price so expensive.

F: OK. That is something very new to me. Then, how come the economy in Turkey is on good level.

A: Well, one of the reasons for that is tourism in Turkey. Every year there are more than 30 million tourists in Turkey, especially in Istanbul. Because Istanbul is considered one of the most touristic places not only in Turkey but also in the world. There are so many hotels, shopping places and in fact Turkey is also one of the country leading textile-industry.

F: Sounds like a touristic place! What are the some types of greetings in Turkey that is mainly used by people?

A: If we are to greet someone who is close we give them a hug otherwise just a handshake.

F: Yeah, I guess it is pretty much the same in most of the countries. Do you have a favorite sport?

A: Yes, I do, it is soccer. I love playing soccer in fact I used to be a good soccer player when I was back in Turkey. But after coming to the US, I had many more things to do, so now I am not playing soccer lots of times. 

F: Ok. It seems we have the same favorite sport, because I also like soccer. But soccer is not very popular in the US apparently.

A: That is right.

F: Can you also tell me what religions exist in Turkey?

A: Actually, the Islam is number one religion in its population. So the majority people are Muslims at 96% of the population, including me.

F: Oh, so the main religion is Islam then right?

A: Yep.

F: Do they have daily rituals?

A: Yes, we have to pray five times a day and we have Friday prayer that is on every Friday.

F: OK. What kinds of celebrations they have?

A: Since the majority of the population being Muslim, we mainly celebrate two religious celebrations. That are “eid ul-Fitr”, and the second one is “eid ul adhaa”. The second celebration is 70 days after the first one.

F: Good. So there are mainly two celebrations a year in Turkey right?

A: Right.

F: So which countries’ foods do you like besides your own?

A: Actually, I really like American foods. Especially, when it comes to pizza I love it. But sometimes it might not be healthy. So I try to keep the balance.

F: OK. Well, It was nice interviewing you, and I learned lots of thing about you and your culture. Do you have any questions to me before I wrap up?

A: I guess no, but I am happy that I could give you some information you need.

F: Thank you very much, I appreciate your time.

A: Alright. You are welcome.

Country Report : Turkey Location: Southeastern Europe and Southwestern Asia, bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria Geographic coordinates: 39 00 N, 35 00 E Area: total: 780,580 sq km land: 770,760 sq km water: 9,820 sq km Land boundaries: total: 2,648 km border countries: Armenia 268 km, Azerbaijan 9 km, Bulgaria 240 km, Georgia 252 km, Greece 206 km, Iran 499 km, Iraq 352 km, Syria 822 km Coastline: 7,200 km Climate: temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior Elevation extremes: lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m Natural resources: coal, iron ore, copper, chromium, antimony, mercury, gold, barite, borate, celestite (strontium), emery, feldspar, limestone, magnesite, marble, perlite, pumice, pyrites (sulfur), clay, arable land, hydropower Environment: party to: Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification Population: 70,413,958 (July 2006 est.) Age structure: 0-14 years: 25.5% (male 9,133,226/female 8,800,070) 15-64 years: 67.7% (male 24,218,277/female 23,456,761) 65 years and over: 6.8% (male 2,198,073/female 2,607,551) (2006 est.) Median age: total: 28.1 years male: 27.9 years female: 28.3 years (2006 est.) Population growth rate: 1.06% (2006 est.) Birth rate: 16.62 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) Death rate: 5.97 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2006 est.) Infant mortality rate: total: 39.69 deaths/1,000 live births male: 43.27 deaths/1,000 live births female: 35.93 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 72.62 years male: 70.18 years female: 75.18 years (2006 est.) Total fertility rate: 1.92 children born/woman (2006 est.) Religions: Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews) Languages: Turkish (official), Kurdish, Dimli (or Zaza), Azeri, Kabardian note: there is also a substantial Gagauz population in the Europe part of Turkey Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 86.5% male: 94.3% female: 78.7% (2003 est.) Background: Modern Turkey was founded in 1923 from the Anatolian remnants of the defeated Ottoman Empire by national hero Mustafa KEMAL, who was later honored with the title Ataturk or "Father of the Turks." Under his authoritarian leadership, the country adopted wide-ranging social, legal, and political reforms. After a period of one-party rule, an experiment with multi-party politics led to the 1950 election victory of the opposition Democratic Party and the peaceful transfer of power. Since then, Turkish political parties have multiplied, but democracy has been fractured by periods of instability and intermittent military coups (1960, 1971, 1980), which in each case eventually resulted in a return of political power to civilians. In 1997, the military again helped engineer the ouster - popularly dubbed a "post-modern coup" - of the then Islamic-oriented government. Turkey intervened militarily on Cyprus in 1974 to prevent a Greek takeover of the island and has since acted as patron state to the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus," which only Turkey recognizes. A separatist insurgency begun in 1984 by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) - now known as the Kurdistan People's Congress or Kongra-Gel (KGK) - has dominated the Turkish military's attention and claimed more than 30,000 lives. After the capture of the group's leader in 1999, the insurgents largely withdrew from Turkey mainly to northern Iraq. In 2004, KGK announced an end to its ceasefire and attacks attributed to the KGK increased. Turkey joined the UN in 1945 and in 1952 it became a member of NATO. In 1964, Turkey became an associate member of the European Community. Over the past decade, it has undertaken many reforms to strengthen its democracy and economy; it began accession membership talks with the European Union in 2005.

History Anatolia (Turkey in Asia) was occupied in about 1900 B.C. by the Indo-European Hittites and, after the Hittite empire's collapse in 1200 B.C., by Phrygians and Lydians. The Persian Empire occupied the area in the 6th century B.C., giving way to the Roman Empire, then later the Byzantine Empire. The Ottoman Turks first appeared in the early 13th century, subjugating Turkish and Mongol bands pressing against the eastern borders of Byzantium and making the Christian Balkan states their vassals. They gradually spread through the Near East and Balkans, capturing Constantinople in 1453 and storming the gates of Vienna two centuries later. At its height, the Ottoman Empire stretched from the Persian Gulf to western Algeria. Lasting for 600 years, the Ottoman Empire was not only one of the most powerful empires in the history of the Mediterranean region, but it generated a great cultural outpouring of Islamic art, architecture, and literature. After the reign of Sultan Süleyman I the Magnificent (1494–1566), the Ottoman Empire began to decline politically, administratively, and economically. By the 18th century, Russia was seeking to establish itself as the protector of Christians in Turkey's Balkan territories. Russian ambitions were checked by Britain and France in the Crimean War (1854–1856), but the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) gave Bulgaria virtual independence and Romania and Serbia liberation from their nominal allegiance to the sultan. Turkish weakness stimulated a revolt of young liberals known as the Young Turks in 1909. They forced Sultan Abdul Hamid to grant a constitution and install a liberal government. However, reforms were no barrier to further defeats in a war with Italy (1911–1912) and the Balkan Wars (1912–1913). Turkey sided with Germany in World War I, and, as a result, lost territory at the conclusion of the war. http://www.turizm.net/turkey/info/turkeyfacts.html https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/tu.html http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108054.html