1- Find someone who was born and raised in another culture. Preferably, someone NOT from your own culture, find someone you don’t know, or don’t know very well. Some students have interviewed family members in the past, but I request that you don’t use them for this project. If you have a family member who was born somewhere else and you don’t know about their life, please talk to them and use it as practice for this project. You may find out a lot of things you don’t know about them and your ancestry that you may find interesting. I had one student who interviewed his grandfather and he died the next day. It was very sad but he was so glad that he had the opportunity to do it! I cried when I read his story.
The person you find may have an accent or trouble speaking English. That is ok. In fact it is part of the learning experience. You may need to learn how to listen better, to understand what they are really saying.
2- Set up an interview time and a list of questions you want to ask. Look at the project sheet for some sample questions. I especially want you to find out about their eating habits; in their homeland and now (how have they changed?) BUT, also I want you to learn about why they came here, when and how they got here, what they do here, what their life was like back home, etc. You will get personal and you will need to learn how to ask questions that get the person to talk. Get as many details and descriptions as you can. Ask about how their kitchen smelled at home when the food was cooking, where they got their food etc.( market, farm? etc.) Do not be surprised if people start to cry when you ask these things! It can be very emotional asking about these topics, people may get very homesick. Ask to record the interview if you are able, so you don’t have to write so much as you are speaking.
3- Write their story in essay form. MUST BE 1500 WORDS! Using your best writing ability, write their story. Use your best grammar, vocabulary, lots of descriptive sentences (especially when describing food,) as if you are in an English class. Start with a great first sentence to make me interested. Remember, everyone has an interesting story and I am very interesting in hearing it. Here are two examples of great first sentences that students wrote:
(This first one was written in the first person, but that was just the style used. I prefer that you use the 3rd person. But “google” writing styles if you like and decide what works for you.)
Example one:
“Thirty of us climbed into the back of a tanker truck to get across the border. Once we were across, fifteen of us got out. The “coyotes”
buried the dead in the desert.”
Gripping, right? I want to know more! By the way, “coyotes” refer to the people who help smuggle people over the border from Mexico.
Example two:
“ Ivana sat in front of a computer screen with an application to become a mail order bride in America in front of her. She moved the curser to send and clicked.”
This is what I expect from you, your best writing. Writing skills will help you no matter what field you are in. You need to develop them. I will also have you talk about your person in discussions, so we can share some of these experiences. The interviews will be posted for the class to read!
THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS THAT MUST BE IN THE ESSAY
For this project you will need to find an adult who came to live in the United States from another country. They need to have been old enough to remember their homeland and to give you the information below.
Try to ask open ended questions to allow them the opportunity to elaborate on various topics, rather than simply stating yes or no. Ask if you can record your interview so you can spend time listening instead of writing. After the interview you need to write their story in a narrative form.
DO NOT write this as a question/answer format or you will be requested to write it over. You must include the information below but please feel free to ask your own questions and include anything you find interesting in your paper.
• Country of origin, when they came here
• What life was like back home (work, home life, traditions, food accessibility, mealtimes, where they shopped, etc.)
• How have things from the above question changed since coming here?
• Why they came here?
• Who they came with?
• How they got here
• How did they make a living when they arrived?
• Schooling at home and here
• Food: Types of food used in homeland, special dishes, changes in diet, difficulty finding certain foods here, etc.
• What foods do they miss most? What else do they miss?
• Have they made visits back? What were they like?
• Do they have family here? Who is back home?
• What is (was) their impression of the United States?
