Final Paper

Trang Phung

ENG191 27

Dr. Roland Specht-Jarvis

Final essay

Dec 12^th, 2012

The Changes in Vietnam From Past to Present

Everything changes with time. A person, a market place, a country, etc, can change in years, in days, or even in minutes. A person changes his or her personalities and his or her hobbies. A market place always has new employments and new products. A country changes its system and develops daily. My home country, Vietnam, is a developing country. It has changed a lot in the past ten years. Vietnamese people, Vietnamese culture and Vietnamese society are now totally different than they used to be years and years ago. The five most rapid changes are the food, the fashion trend, the relationship between parents and children, the education, and the communication between people and people.

As an international student in the United States of America, I go back to my home country every summer to visit my friends and family. Summer 2012 was the third time that I went home. I can clearly see the changes in Vietnamese people, culture, and society. I am always surprised about the changes and also happy about it at the same time. Each summer when I go back home, there are new kinds of food, new delicious restaurants, new trends of fashion, new buildings, new shopping malls, new laws made by the government, and so on.

The first, and also the best, change in Vietnam is the food. Vietnamese used to eat traditional food all the time. People eat noodles such as Pho or rice with meat, for breakfast. Lunch and dinner are served with white rice and some main dishes such as tofu with tomatoes, stir-fry, vegetables and meat. Vietnam –A Global Study Handbook written by L. Shelton Woods states,

Breakfast might consist of sticky rice served with some type of fish or other meat. Lunch is served around 11:00 a.m. and is much more substantial than the lighter breakfast. Supper, which occurs later in the evening when the entire family is together, usually begins with a light soup followed by some type of meat or fish dish and then rice. Desserts are not normally a part of a meal, although sweet fruits might occasionally be served after the main course has been served.

There are only a few restaurants and street-side stores open at that time since there are not many kinds of food available. Nowadays, there are foreign foods and foreign restaurants everywhere, especially in my city, Hanoi. There are varieties of food from many different countries such as Italian food, Chinese food, Korean food, Japanese food, Thailand food, and American food. Fast food such as Pizza Hut, cheese sticks, hamburgers, French fries, cheesecakes, milk shakes, smoothies, and brownies are famous and preferred by a lot of teenagers or young generations. However, some famous fast food brands in the world have not existed in Vietnam yet. According to Vietnam Online Channel, “Although the two biggest names in the world of fast food –McDonald’s and Burger King –are currently absent in Vietnam, one still has the choices of KFC, Pizza Hut, Lotteria, Carl’s Junior… among others. There is also one brand new Subway in Ho Chi Minh City which already excited diners” (“Fast food”, 2011). Life becomes busier and rusher, people then prefer to eat fast food than to cook or eat Vietnamese traditional food. This is a reason why you hardly see any old generations in a fast food store. Old generations like to stick with the traditional healthy food. Beside American food, Sushi (Japanese food), Kimchi, Bibimbap, and Bulgogi (Korean food) are also well known.

            Secondly, fashion is another main change in Vietnam, comparing between the past and present. Ten years ago, Vietnam remained as a poor country; it was not developed as nowadays. People did not make good money; they used their money for food, for their children’s education so no one really cared about fashion. In the last three years, Vietnamese economy has developed rapidly. People are making a lot more money than they used to in the past. Everyone now cares about fashion, especially the females. Young generations wear mini dresses, leggings with jumpers, shorts, skinny jeans, and boots instead of just a T-shirt, jeans and sneakers. About fashion in school, Vietnamese students, from primary school to high school, have to wear uniforms. They could not wear what they wanted like American students. Vietnamese teachers had to wear traditional dress to school ten years ago; but not anymore. Nowadays, they can wear normal and appropriate clothes to school. Anyway, in any traditional or special events, all Vietnamese females still wear Ao dai, which is the Vietnamese traditional dress. A lot of people all over the world know and love our traditional dress. According to Viet Nam Online,

Unlike many other traditional costumes, Ao dai still remained popular and influential in the modern day Vietnamese culture. Although Ao dai is no longer worn by men, nor do women on a daily basis, in special occasions, they are still used widely. Ao dai are still women favorite dress in traditional festivities or occasions such as Tet, wedding or graduation. In some high school and universities in Vietnam, the white Ao Dai is considered school uniform for female students.

However, fashion trend is changing everyday and it has a lot of impact on students and teachers.

            Thirdly, the relationship between parents and their children have changed a lot. Traditionally, Vietnamese children have to listen to whatever their parents tell them to do. They cannot make their own decisions. Their parents would tell them what they should do and what they have to do for their futures. Parents even decided whom their child would get married to. Most boys and girls could not marry the one that they loved, “marriage was considered to be a duty, and was generally arranged in a non-emotional manner by the elders in the family. Sometimes, mere children have been committed to each other for later marriage” (Nguyen, 2007). Back then, marriage also based on the partner’s horoscope and family standards. Parents would not let a couple get marriages if their horoscopes not match to each other, “the couple’s horoscope should be in accord and not conflict”, or their family standards are not the same, “certain standards should be maintained in the choice of mate under the traditional system. For instance, social rank, education, moral history, etc. should be similar in background and on as equal a level as possible” (Nguyen, 2007). Today, everything is getting better now. Most family let their sons and daughters decide to marry whom they want to marry to. Parents start to respect their children decisions. They understand that it is their child’s life, not their lives; it is the one that their child lives with for the rest of their life, not the one that they live with. Unfortunately, there are children who live in the countryside that still cannot make their own decisions. “Couples readily submitted to the parents choosing their mates and still do to a great extent in the countryside. In the cities, they have begun to "fight for their rights." Youngsters have more opportunities to meet each other these days, so often the role of the parents has been cut down to merely advising and counseling” (Nguyen, 2007). About parents, rarely anyone get divorced ten years ago. Whoever gets divorced will be considered bad parents. At that time, most parents who got in fights a lot still try to stay in the relationship until the end, because of their children. They do not want their child to be effected by their divorce; they do not want their child to live a life without a mom or a dad; they care about their child a lot. As society is changing everyday, more and more people are getting divorced. Parents nowadays also care about themselves, not only about their child like they used to be. They enjoy their rights, their lives, and do what they want. Couples get divorced with their partners to marry the one that is better, at least in their opinion. Many children are living in the sadness because their mom or their dad left them.

            Fourthly, education has changed a lot since 2002. There have been many improvements in both general education and higher education. Vietnam used to have only Vietnamese schools, which have Vietnamese teachers only. In the past ten years, more and more international schools have opened in Vietnam, especially in the two main largest cities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh. Students who attend these international schools will learn everything in foreign languages; most of them are English. Of course, international schools have much higher tuition rates compared to Vietnamese schools. In other words, international schools are opened mostly for high-income families. Attending these schools, students will live and study in a totally different environment. There are scholarships for students whose families cannot afford the tuition fees, but not a lot of students are qualified. In addition, high-income family also send their children to study abroad in other countries such as United States of America, England, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and so on. According to DanTri International, “Over 100,000 Vietnamese students studied abroad in 49 countries and territories in 2011, according to the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET). Of the total, around 90% of students pursued overseas training programmes based on their own funding, a 10-fold increase compared to a decade ago” (“Rising numbers of Vietnamese studying abroad”, 2012). In Vietnam Today, written by Mark A. Ashwill, he states,

Vietnamese young people –full of energy, ambition, and a desire to be challenged that is not being fulfilled in their country’s institution of higher education –are intrigued by Western cultures. In the words of one Vietnamese student, they want to “do something” in a system that does not give them sufficient knowledge, skills, or freedom of action to realize their potential or, in many cases, even to find gainful employment. For them, overseas study is a means to that end.

Anyway, parents nowadays are easier on their children’s future decision. At present, boys and girls are getting more freedom in education than they used to get. In the olden, teenagers will follow the major that their parents tell them to study, just as marriage. At that time, parents made money and paid everything for their child, including education; so somehow, that is understandable for them to do that. Now, most teenagers work part-time. They are no longer totally dependent on their parents. The money they earned from the job can be used to pay the school tuition. Instead of forcing children to do what they do not want, Vietnamese parents nowadays take time to talk to their sons and daughters, help them make their decisions, and encourage them to do what they want.

            Finally, communication between people and people in society is another important change. In the past, men and women always have to keep space between each other in public. Men rarely can talk to women except in the working place, and there is absolutely no touching between men and women in crowded areas. In Vietnam at that time, one could never see any couple holding hands or kissing each other. Culture Shock, written by Claire Ellis states, “It is impolite to touch anyone of the opposite sex. The Vietnamese are largely a conservative people and in traditional society, even a husband and wife will not hold hands while walking down a street”(Ellis, 2001). According to Huynh Te, “shaking hands is a friendly greeting between men (but not the elderly), not customary between a man and a woman” (Te, 2002). Moreover, Vietnamese people prefer to speak about sensitive subjects indirectly, and making eye contact when talking to someone is considered impolite. As Vietnam is becoming so Westernized and Americanized, people can freely communicate with others, no matter if they are male or female. Men can talk to women anytime they want and so do women; couples can show their love, holding hands and kissing in public; more people now talk about sensitive subjects directly; and making eye contact is absolutely part of the conversation. Because of this change, Vietnamese are much better at communication, especially the young generation.

In conclusion, Vietnamese people, Vietnamese culture, and Vietnamese society have all changed a lot in the last ten years. The food, the fashion trends, the relationship between parents and children, the education system, and the communication between people and people now are so different compared to the past. The foods are very delicious and diverse; foreign foods are getting popular. The fashion trends are influencing people a lot; young generations love to wear trendy clothes. Parents nowadays respect their children’s decisions, especially in marriage, instead of forcing their child to do what they want. Education in Vietnam is improved a lot; international schools are open mainly in the two biggest cities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh, creating an English-speaking environment for students. Communication among people is freely and openly, especially between men and women. All the changes and improvements are making Vietnam become a better country, a country of good food, trendy fashion, close relationship between parents and children, better education, and open communication.

                                                                    Bibliography

Ashwill, Mark A. “Vietnam at Peace.” Vietnam Today: A guide to a

            Nation at a Crossroads. Yarmouth, Maine: Intercultural Press, 2005.

DanTri International. Rising numbers of Vietnamese studying abroad. 16 Jan. 2012.   

            Retrieved from

            http://www.dtinews.vn/en/news/020/20449/rising-numbers-of-vietnamese-study-abroad.html

Ellis, Claire. “Communication.” Culture Shock! : Vietnam. Portland, Oregon: Graphic

            Arts Center Publishing Company, 2001.

Le Thi, Hop, Van, Tran Khanh, & Thanh, Hoang Kim. "Food Based Dietary

Guidelines In Vietnam: Progress And Lessons Learned." Asia Pacific

Journal Of Clinical Nutrition 20.3 (2011): 495-499. Academic Search Premier. Web. 14 Dec. 2012.

Lieu, Nhi T. "Remembering "The Nation" Through Pageantry: Femininity And The

Politics Of Vietnamese Womanhood In The Hoa Hau Ao Dai Contest."

Frontiers: A Journal Of Women Studies 21.1/2 (2000): 127-151. Academic

Search Premier. Web. 14 Dec. 2012.

Nguyen, Bobby. Marriage in Viet Nam. Yahoo Voices. 15 Oct. 2007. Retrieved from

            http://voices.yahoo.com/vietnam-travel-culture-marriage-vietnam-461527.html

Nguyen, Thi Thai Lan, Hugman, Richard & Briscoe, Catherine. "Moving Towards

An 'Indigenous' Social Work Education In Vietnam." Social Work Education

Te, Huynh. Non-verbal communication. Viet Spring. 31 Jan. 2002.

            Retrieved from

http://www.vietspring.org/values/nonverbal.html

Viet Nam Online Channel. Fast food. 18 Oct. 2011. Retrieved from

http://www.vietnamfood.org/overview/fast-food.html

Viet Nam Travel & Living Guide. Ao Dai. 11 Jul. 2011. Retrieved from

http://www.vietnamonline.com/culture/ao-dai.html

Woods, L. Shelton. “Vietnamese Language, Food, Etiquette, and Holidays.” Vietnam : A Global   

            Studies Handbook. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 2002.

29.8 (2010): 843-854. Academic Search Premier. Web. 14 Dec. 2012.

First draft

Everything changes with time. A person, a market place, a country, etc, can change in years, in days, or even in minutes. A person changes his personalities and his hobbies. A market place always has new employments and new products. A country changes its system and develops daily. My home country, Vietnam, is a developing country. It has changes a lot in the past ten years. Vietnamese people, Vietnamese culture and Vietnamese society are now totally different than they used to be years and years ago.

As an international student in the United States of America, I come back to my home country every summer to visit my friends and family. Summer 2012 was the third time that I came home. I can clearly see the change in Vietnamese people, culture, and society. I have always surprised about the change and also happy about it at the same time. Each summer when I came back home, there are new kinds of food, new delicious restaurants, new trends of fashion, new buildings, new shopping malls, new laws made by the government, and so on.

The first and also the best change in Vietnam days by days is the food. Vietnamese used to just eat traditional food all the time. People eat noodles such as Pho, for breakfast. Lunch and dinner are served with white rice and some main dishes such as tofu with tomatoes, stir-fry, vegetables and meat. There are only a few restaurants and street-side stores opened at that time since there are not many kinds of food to available. Nowadays, there are foreign foods and foreign restaurants everywhere, especially in my city, Hanoi. There are varieties of food from many different countries such as Italian food, Chinese food, Korean food, Japanese food, Thailand food, and American food. Fast food such as Pizza Hut, cheese sticks, and hamburgers, French fries, cheesecakes, milk shakes, smoothies, brownies are famous and preferred by a lot of teenagers or young generations. However, some famous fast food brands in the world have not existed in Vietnam yet. According to Vietnam Online Channel, “Although the two biggest names in the world of fast food –McDonald’s and Burger King –are currently absent in Vietnam, one still has the choices of KFC, Pizza Hut, Lotteria, Carl’s Junior… among others. There is also one brand new Subway in Ho Chi Minh City which already excited diners.” Life becomes busier and rusher, people then prefer to eat fast food than to cook or eat Vietnamese traditional food. This is a reason why you hardly see any old generations in a fast food store. Old generations like to stick with the traditional healthy food. Beside American food, Sushi (Japanese food), Kimchi, Bibimbap, and Bulgogi (Korean food) are well known also.

            Secondly, fashion is another main-change in Vietnam, comparing between the past and present. Ten years ago, Vietnam remained as a poor country; it was not developed as nowadays. People did not make good money; they used their money for food, for their children’s education so no one really cares about fashion. In the last three years, Vietnamese economy has developed rapidly. People are making a lot more money than they used to in the past. Everyone now cares about fashion, especially the females. Young generations wear mini dresses, treggings, and leggings with jumpers, shorts, skinny jeans, and boots instead of just T-shirt, jeans and sneakers. About fashion in school, Vietnamese students, from primary school to high school, have to wear uniforms. They could not wear what they wanted like American students. Vietnamese teacher had to wear traditional dress to school ten years ago; but not anymore. Nowadays, they can wear normal and appropriate clothes to school. Anyway, in any traditional or special events, all Vietnamese females still wear Ao dai- the Vietnamese traditional dress. A lot of people all over the world know and love our traditional dress. According to Viet Nam Online, “Unlike many other traditional costumes, Ao dai still remained popular and influencial in the modern day Vietnamese culture. Although Ao dai is no longer worn by men, nor do women on a daily basis, in special occasions, they are still used widely. Ao dai is still women favorite dress in traditional festivities or occasions such as Tet, wedding or graduation. In some high school and universities in Vietnam, the white Ao Dai is considered school uniform for female students.”

            Thirdly, the relationship between parents and their children have changed. In tradition, Vietnamese children have to listen to whatever their parents tell them to do. They cannot make their own decisions. Their parents would tell them what should they do for the futures, who would they get married with. Sons and daughter could not go to the school that they wanted nor married the one that they loved. Back in the days, parents made money and paid everything for their child; so that is understandable for them to do that. Nowadays, parents are much more open to their sons and daughters. Although some parents still control their children, most parents respects their children decisions. They spend time to talk to their children, help them make decisions, encourage them to do what they want.
 

<!--[if !supportLists]-->1.     <!--[endif]-->http://www.vietnamfood.org/overview/fast-food.html

<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.     <!--[endif]-->http://www.vietnamonline.com/culture/ao-dai.html

<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.     <!--[endif]--> 

OUTLINE

OUTLINE

Vietnam –past and present

Thesis: Vietnamese people, Vietnamese culture and Vietnamese society have changed a lot in the past 10 years.

I.               Food

A. Past

1. There are few restaurants and street-side stores.

2. There are only traditional foods such as rice, stir-fry, and noodles.

B. Present

1. There are many restaurants and street-side stores.

2. There are many foreign foods others than just Vietnamese food.

a. Italian food.

b. Chinese food.

c. Korean food.

d. Japanese food.

e. Thailand food.

            f. American food.

II.             Fashion

A.     Past

1.     Teachers have to wear traditional clothes when they go to school to teach.

2.     People do not care about fashionable.

B.     Present

1.     Teachers do not have to wear traditional clothes to school.

2.     People care a lot about fashion trend, especially the young generations.

III.           Communication in society

A.     Past

1.     People do not communicate with other people openly.

2.     Men cannot touch women in public.

B.     Present

1.     People are now very open.

2.     Communication between people and people are much better now

3.     Men and women can touch each other to a certain limit.

IV.            Family

A.     Past

1.     Children have to listen to everything that their parents tell them to do.

2.     Parents are rarely divorced

B.     Present

1.     Children can make some decision on their owns.

2.     More people are getting divorced.

My final topic

My final topic is about the behavior of men toward women in Vietnam in the past and nowadays.
Nowadays, Vietnamese culture and society has changed a lot comparing to it used to be 10 years ago. Vietnamese people, Vietnamese culture and society are becoming Americanize now. That is the reason why I chose this topic.

Review of interview 3

My scorecard

The top three interviews are
1) Chancelvie Louzolo (20 points)
One more time, I found it very interesting to review Chancelvie's interview. She did such a great job on the third interview about my home country, Vietnam. Her interviewee is even from the same city that I am from, Hanoi. The interview remind me of my coutry a lot. The information that was given in the interview was great.
2) Donald Akroman (19 points)
The interview about Nepal was did in details by Donald. He asked the interviewee a lot of questions about Nepal and got all the answers that he needed.
3) Thanh Dao (19 points)
The interview about China was really good to be reviewed. There are a lot of the similar information as the interview that I did on my first interview.

Review of interview 2

My scorecard

The top three interviews are
1) Donald Akroman (20 points)
The interview about Nepal that Donald did help me understand more about the country Nepal. The country reports containted most of the important information about Nepal and the interview was done in details.
2) Chancelvie Louzolo (20 points)
Again, Chancelvie did such a good job on the interview about India. I am very interested in reading the country reports and the interview transcripts. I have known pretty much nothing about India, but after reviewing Chancelvie 2nd interview, I have learned a lot about India. She asked the interviewee a lot of questions and got all the answers detaily.
3) Gerry Jonathan (19 points)
Gerry's interview about Germany was very helpful to me. All the information about Germany's education, food, tradition are contained in his interview detaily.

3rd interview- Japan

Interview Preparation

My interviewee name is Azusa Nishimura. Azusa is the friend of my best friend, Tung. She is Japanese and she is now a senior at St. Cloud State University. Few days ago, I asked Tung if he has any Japanese friends because I have to do an interview about Japan for my English class. After that, Tung introduced Azusa to me. Tung and Azasa met each other in an international organization. I got Azusa’s number from Tung. I asked Azusa if I can interview her and she said “Of course.” We decided to meet each other in Caribou, Atwood Memorial Center at 4:00 pm on Friday, November 9^th. The interview lasted for 50 minutes. I asked Azusa questions about herself and about her home country, Japan. The interview went well. I recorded the interview by my cell phone.

Interview Report

The interview between Azusa and I lasted for 50 minutes, started at 4:00 pm and ended at 4:50 pm. I started the interview with the greeting; followed by the questions about her daily life, her decision to study abroad, and so on. I asked Azusa all the eleven questions required questions about Japanese traditions, Japanese music, Japanese foods, Japanese education and other questions that I wanted to asked her. Azusa answered all the questions in details. During the interview, few friends of Azusa came over and talked to her. There was also a guy who asked us some questions for his Public Relation class. I was surprised that Azusa was a senior in high school as an exchange student in Oregon before she came to St. Cloud State University. She has been to the United States for 5 years. After this year, Azusa will graduate and then she will come back to Japan and work. I also surprised that Azusa is from a small city, which is 7 hours from the capital of Japan, Tokyo and 2 hours from the second biggest city, Osaka. In addition, I surprised that Japan does not use Lunar Calendar like other Asian countries. Japan uses the same calendar with the United States of America. Japanese Culture and Vietnamese Culture (my home country) are very similar. Japanese and Vietnamese have very alike traditional and educational system.

Country Report

My third country report is about Japan. Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun".

Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest islands are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, together comprising about ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population, with over 127 million people. Honshu’s Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.

A major economic power, Japan has the world's third-largest economy by nominal GDP and by purchasing power parity. It is also the world's fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer. Although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the sixth largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. After Singapore, Japan has the lowest homicide rate (including attempted homicide) in the world. According to Japan's health ministry, Japanese women have the second highest life expectancy of any country in the world. According to the United Nations, Japan also has the third lowest infant mortality rate.

More than 99 percent of the population speaks Japanese as their first language. Japanese is an agglutinative language distinguished by a system of honorifics reflecting the hierarchical nature of Japanese society, with verb forms and particular vocabulary indicating the relative status of speaker and listener. Japanese writing uses kanji (Chinese characters) and two sets of kana (syllabifies based on simplified Chinese characters), as well as the Latin alphabet and Arabic numerals.

Primary schools, secondary schools and universities were introduced in 1872 as a result of the Meiji Restoration. Since 1947, compulsory education in Japan comprises elementary and middle school, which together last for nine years (from age 6 to age 15). Almost all children continue their education at a three-year senior high school, and, according to the MEXT, as of 2005 about 75.9 percent of high school graduates attend a university, junior college, trade school, or other higher education institution.

The two top-ranking universities in Japan are the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University. The Programme for International Student Assessment coordinated by the OECD currently ranks the overall knowledge and skills of Japanese 15-year-olds as sixth best in the world.

About music, Japanese music is eclectic and diverse. Many instruments, such as the koto, were introduced in the 9th and 10th centuries. The accompanied recitative of the Noh drama dates from the 14th century and the popular folk music, with the guitar-like shamisen, from the sixteenth. Western classical music, introduced in the late 19th century, now forms an integral part of Japanese culture. The imperial court ensemble Gagaku has influenced the work of some modern Western composers.

Notable classical composers from Japan include Toru Takemitsu and Rentarō Taki. Popular music in post-war Japan has been heavily influenced by American and European trends, which has led to the evolution of J-pop, or Japanese popular music.

Japan enjoys full religious freedom based on Article 20 of its Constitution. Upper estimates suggest that 84–96 percent of the Japanese population subscribe to Buddhism or Shinto, including a large number of followers of a syncretism of both religions. However, these estimates are based on people affiliated with a temple, rather than the number of true believers. Other studies have suggested that only 30 percent of the population identify themselves as belonging to a religion. According to Edwin Reischauer and Marius Jansen, some 70–80% of the Japanese regularly tell pollsters they do not consider themselves believers in any religion.

Nevertheless, the level of participation remains high, especially during festivals and occasions such as the first shrine visit of the New Year. Taoism and Confucianism from China have also influenced Japanese beliefs and customs. Japanese streets are decorated on Tanabata, Obon and Christmas. Less than one percent of Japanese are Christian. Other minority religions include Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Judaism, and since the mid-19th century numerous new religious movements have emerged in Japan.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan

Image Source:

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=japan&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&tbo=d&biw=1230&bih=604&tbm=isch&tbnid=hSXclDKPoqnIlM:&imgrefurl=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ja.html&docid=QAziMpZuOewMvM&imgurl=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/graphics/flags/large/ja-lgflag.gif&w=451&h=302&ei=JpygUMuQIYbJyAHgqoCoDw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=4&vpy=189&dur=1392&hovh=184&hovw=274&tx=155&ty=123&sig=104032491894295845661&page=1&tbnh=132&tbnw=201&start=0&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:140

Transcription

Me: My name is Trang and I am from Vietnam.

Azusa: Okay. My name is Azusa. I am from Japan.

Me: Can you write down your name?

Azusa: Yes, sure. Ha-ha. This is my first name, Azusa. Do you need my last name? No?

Me: Yes, I do.

Azusa: Okay. (Writing down her last name, Nishimura)

Me: Okay, thank you. So how long have you been to the United States?

Azusa: United States? Totally, it is 5 years. First year, I was a high school student in Oregon and I went back to Japan. I came to Seattle for 2 years and I transfer to here for 2 years.

Me: So the first year in Oregon, were you an exchange student?

Azusa: Right. Right.

Me: And then you went to community college in Seattle?

Azusa: Right.

Me: Which one did you go to?

Azusa: I went to Green River Community College. I know one of my friends from Vietnam. There are so many people from Vietnam too.

Me: I have some friends from North Seattle Community College, South Seattle Community College, and Seattle Central Community College.

Azusa: Oh really? They are famous Community College. One student here that I met, I think she is from Vietnam.

Me: Is her name Duyen? D-U-Y-E-N?

Azusa: I am not sure about her name, but she has short hair and she has a brother as well, I think.

Me: Yes, I just took a test with her because we have the same class.

Azusa: Okay, that is cool.

Me: Okay. So I will start with the first question. What city are you from in Japan?

Azusa: I am from Mie, which is near from Osaka. Osaka is in the South and it is not Tokyo. Tokyo, it takes me 7 hours to get there by bus. If you fly, it just takes one hour. I am from the South.

Me: Okay. What is the value of family in Japan?

Azusa: Oh, that is really important. I think family is really important for me. Friends are also important. The value? Can you give me an example?

Me: In your tradition, are your parents…

Azusa: My parents’ pay for my education. Here in US, they pay for their education themselves. I think they have so many responsibilities. My parents will raise me until I graduate from the university. I don’t know. What else?

Me: So your parents will pay for you until you get a job?

Azusa: Oh not until I get a job, just until my graduation. People stay with their parents. If they want to go to Tokyo, then they go to Tokyo, or Osaka, or something like that. If they can afford their living fees and everything, they won’t send you money. Usually, they will stay together until they graduate.

Me: Are you going back to Japan or are you going to stay in the United States after graduation?

Azusa: Okay this is my last year, so I really have to think about it. The thing is, I am trying to apply for the internship. After that, I am thinking that I will go back to Japan.

Me: So are you going to do a Master Degree after that?

Azusa: No, I am not. Right now, I don’t think about it. I am going to work right now, so… Ha-ha.

Me: What is your major now?

Azusa: International Business.

Me: Okay. So the second question, what is your family structure like?

Azusa: Oh okay, like my mom, my dad, my younger brother, and me. And I have two pets. I have two dogs at home.

Me: So who is the head of the house?

Azusa: My father. It is kind of culture I think. Father is really important because he is making money for us, he is supporting for living. We tried to eat together all the time, in the morning, especially for the dinner. For lunch, he works. If he is late, we will wait until he comes home.

Me: Your father goes to work, does he give the money to your mother to buy stuffs?

Azusa: Yes, that is right. My mom also works for him, in the same business. But she is usually at home. I think my mom has the power for the financial thing. You know… when dad does not know how much money do we have. My dad is making money and my mom is trying to keep track of the money.

Me: Yeah. So the third question, does gender matter in a family?

Azusa: I think the women do the housework. My dad sometimes has the relaxing time because he is tired at work. He wants to take a rest. My mom usually does the clean up, does the laundry, makes the food for us. I don’t really see my dad clean up my room. Oh not my room, but the house. My room is my responsibility; I just do it by myself. My mom is kind of try to clean up kitchen, living room.

Me: Yeah. Some questions about the culture, how does your home country culture different from the US culture?

Azusa: I think it is totally different. I think it is totally opposite. I don’t know, there are so many things. For example, people in Japan do not talk to each other randomly. When you take a bus, you don’t take to a random guy or random girls like “Oh, you look nice” or something like that. We are not going to talk. What else? I think customer service over there (Japan) is so much better. When I came here, wow, it is so bad for the customer services. They are just, of my god, just throw things. They don’t really give it to you. They just throw it to you. Wow, customer services over here suck. What else? For example, here, classroom setting is different. In Japan, if I meet a friend in class, we will stay together. Outside class, we want to hang out more. But here, I made a friend in class. I know she is busy, but we don’t really hang out outside. Inside the class, we are friends, but outside, we are nothing. When I said “Hi” to her, she didn’t really know or she didn’t even notice. For me, in Japanese culture, family and friends are stronger than here.

Me: In Japan, when you go to school, can student pick the subject that they wanted to study like in the United States, or does the school tell you what to study?

Azusa: The high school, we have required classes that we just need to follow. But for universities, we can take whatever we wanted. You also have to decide the major before you get into. So that is the thing different from here. In here, you can gradually choose your major. In Japan, you have to know what you want to focus on in your freshman year. If I am going for an English major, they will have certain classes that I have to take. Others than that, classes are flexible, I can decide which class I want to study.  It is not really free like here, you know.

Me: In Vietnam, we have the same thing with Japan, I think. We cannot really choose what we want to study.

Azusa: Oh okay. Ha-ha.

Me: There are a lot of subjects that I did not want to study, but I still had to study. What are the highlights in your cultures? What things will make people immediately think about your country?

Azusa: I think people care about you. I know, Japanese, they are really shy. But they are really crazy at the same time. If you get to know them, they are really open and they really care about you. I think it takes time to open their mind. When you get to know them, they are so crazy. It is kind of fun. People try to understand what they are thinking as well. In here (United States), you have to say what you are thinking. In Japan, we kind of get to know what you are thinking when you are not saying it.

Me: Yes, I know. If you don’t like something, you won’t say it. In here, if people don’t like something, they just say, “I don’t like it, I don’t want it.”

Azusa: Yes, that is right. Sometimes it is good, but sometimes, it is not good though. Sometimes, people may unclear about what you are thinking. But still, I think people are interested in it.

Me: So… is Tokyo the biggest city in Japan?

Azusa: Yes. It is the capital so it has modern technology. Osaka, the second biggest city, is both traditional and modern at the same time. That is more mixtures. First time, my friend wanted to go to Tokyo. But later, after they went there, they was like “Oh, I wanted to go to other places.” I think cities, or capitals are kind of the same everywhere. You know… New York.

Me: Yes, there are a lot of people. It is just… too much people.

Azusa: Yes, and Seoul is kind of the same like Tokyo.

Me: Yeah. So what is your hometown and where do you live? I think I asked you before, but can you write down the name of your hometown?

Azusa: Okay, sure. (Writing down Mei, her hometown)

Me: So you have been living here for the whole life?

Azusa: Yes, that is right.

Me: Could you tell me a little about the city?

Azusa: The city is really small like here (St. Cloud) but there are so many transportations such as trains and buses. You can go everywhere anytime. It is not like twice an hour. It works every ten minutes or so. It is not really inconvenience even it is a small town.

Me: Do you guys have subway in your town?

Azusa: We do… No, it is a train. We don’t have a subway in my cities. But we have the trains all the time to go to the big cities, you know. There is also a supermarket near by my house. I need to have a car though, if I wanted to go to somewhere else.

Me: Do you know how many people are there in your city?

Azusa: I don’t know how many right now. I can check and I can give you the answer later.

Me: Oh, I can Google it too. And how a young person considered troublemaker in Japan?

Azusa: How do I think? I think they are really troublemaker. Ha-ha.

Me: What make you think that they are troublemaker? Troublemaker is just a not good person.

Azusa: The kids who are just loud in the public.

Me: They talked loudly?

Azusa: They just think about themselves, like “I’m the best”. I think it is the habits for the young generations everywhere, I guess. Especially high school students, when they try to get a train to go to their high school in a different city, I noticed that they talk really loud. They are so loud. I think I was like that when I was a high school student as well. I didn’t tell others but I am just thinking by myself. For the little kid, when they are bullying and fighting each other, I see them as troublemaker.

Me: What do you think about the music culture in your country? Is it significant in your country?

Azusa: Music? It is really big. Actually, right now, it is more J-pop. I think it is kind of Westernize. I think everywhere become Westernize, I guess. They are sexier; they show how sexy they are. R&B is also famous. Country music is kind of a slow one, you know. I think a lot of people like R&B and J-pop. Right now, K-pop is the biggest one. A lot of K-pop group came to Japan. They are hitting Japan as well. I think we have famous music from foreign as well.

Me: Like Big Bang, Super Junior?

Azusa: Yeah, and Kara, and Girls Generations.

Me: So do you think K-pop and J-pop is kind of similar?

Azusa: Yes, it is like the same. Do you know AKB?

Me: No, I don’t.

Azusa: I can just write down. (Writing down AKB). AKB is a really big group right now. I am a big fan of them. They are just like Girls Generation.

Me: Oh, so they are girls group? Not boy group?

Azusa: Just girls. Yeah. The mid-thirty people kind of like the younger girls. For me, it is kind of “No, no, not really.” You know.

Me: Is marriage important that everyone in Japan pursue?

Azusa: I guess yes. It is changing I think. The age that we are getting married is getting older, compare to my mom’s generation, my grandma’s generation. Right now, my generation is getting married at the late age.

Me: How old?

Azusa: 29 or 30.

Me: Is that for boys or for girls?

Azusa: For both. The girls tend to get married at early age like 22 or 24. Some of my friends get married very soon, like after they graduate from high school. For the whole Japan, I think they are getting married in the late age. I know they want to get married, but we are worry that, they have a little money, and it will cost to raise the kids. I think people care about that too. They want to get their certain job first, and they want to have more money security, you know.

Me: Okay. Is there still gender or race discrimination in your country?

Azusa: I guess so. Comparing to here, especially for gender. For the girls, at working place, women and men should have equal rights. In here, the company give you break when you have the baby, even for men. But in Japan, only the women can get the break. It is getting better though. Comparing to here, I can see more different. Men are higher than women. And also, back in Japan, I saw a lot of Chinese in Osaka, which is a big city. I didn’t see a lot of them 4 or 5 years ago. Right now, the government allows Chinese to come over freely because they can spend a little money here, in Japan. I heard that people in Osaka don’t really like Chinese because Chinese just talking Chinese all the time and Japanese people could not understand what are they talking about. For me, I met a lot of Chinese friends and it is really good. It is okay to just come over than I can show them all kind of stuffs. But for the older generations, they don’t think it is a good thing, you know. They think why the Chinese are here, why are they talking in Chinese. I think it happens everywhere.

Me: Yeah. I think we have a Chinese town in the city down to the South in Vietnam.

Azusa: Oh really?

Me: All the Chinese people live in that town.

Azusa: And they talk in Chinese? For me, it is okay. I understand, you know.

Me: And they can speak Vietnamese too.

Azusa: Oh. I don’t think they can speak Japanese. They just speak Chinese.

Me: Some questions about the food, what is the most famous food in Japan? Sushi?

Azusa: Oh, you know sushi, right? I am trying to say something different.

Me: What else?

Azusa: Hot pot as well. It is very famous. It is the big thing with hot water inside. You can put meat in it. You can put any kind of seafood. Sukiyaki is more famous.

Me: Oh, you should write it down for me.

Azusa: Sukiyaki is kind of expensive a little bit because of the group of meat. And you will have white rice to eat together. We will beat the eggs. All the meat and everything have a very strong taste and we will deep them into the eggs and then we eat.

Me: Raw eggs?

Azusa: Yes, raw eggs. I know that is kind of strange for you but it tastes good, you might want to try it if you go to Japan.

Me: But actually, I don’t really like raw eggs. What food do you think is the best?

Azusa: The best? I would say hot pot, because it is health. You can eat as much as you want and it won’t make you gain weight or something like that.

Me: Yes, it is not like American food.

Azusa: I know, right? Ha-ha. Hot pot keeps me healthy and my skin will be better. It contains vitamins and nutrients. I feel hot pot is really. I don’t have to care about how much I am eating. I am kind of person who has big stomach, I can eat a lot.

Me: Yes, me too. Did you gain weight after coming to the United States?

Azusa: Yes. I gained weight so easy, you know. Oh my god. Especially when I am stress from the tests, I keep eating. There are a lot of calories in it.

Me: I know. I gained 20 lbs after I came here.

Azusa: You look so skinny.

Me: But I lost 18 lbs.

Azusa: So it is 2 kilograms, not 2 lbs, right?

Me: No, 20 lbs is 10 kilograms.

Azusa: Yeah.

Me: That’s a lot. I looked really fat.

Azusa: Ha-ha. But you lost weight then.

Me: Last summer, when I came home, I gained 10 kilograms and my parents couldn’t recognize me. They said, “You’re so fat.”

Azusa: How long have you been here?

Me: This is my third year. But I was an exchange student in high school.

Azusa: Where were you?

Me: In South Dakota.

Azusa: Really? Wow. There is not a lot of Asian, rights?

Me: No. There are only 300 people in the town that I lived. It is a really small town. And I am the only Asian in that town.

Azusa: Really? Do people curious about you?

Me: Yes. They looked at me like “Look at her, she has black hair and blah-blah-blah.”

Azusa: I don’t know. I can understand how you feel.

Me: Ha-ha yeah. Do most people in Japan like spicy food?

Azusa: I don’t think so. I know that most of my friends like spicy food. Personally, I really like spicy food because I have eaten the Korean food.

Me: Korean food is spicier.

Azusa: Yes, I love Korean food, so that trained me a lot. So now I like the spicy food. But not a lot of people eat spicy food.

Me: One time, I tried to eat Kim-chi and my tears just… Ha-ha.

Azusa: Oh… but now it is okay, right? I mean now it is not spicy at all, but the first time I ate it, oh my god, it is so spicy. But there are so many Korean foods in Japan right now, a lot people experience to eat it as well.

Me: About education, what is the education system in your country?

Azusa: Before elementary school, they might go to the kindergarten for 3 or 4 years. And at 6, they go to elementary for 6 years, and 3 years for junior high, and 3 years for high school. After high school, you might want to decide if you want to go to work, or you want just to focus on haircuts, make up, designers, so they go to designer schools for 2 years. And other students like me; they go to college for 4 years. And they have 2 years college also.

Me: Community College?

Azusa: Yes. They get to choose where they want to go after high school. Elementary school and high school is mandatory. After high school, you can get to choose.

Me: Oh okay. So what is the most important subject in your country generally?

Azusa: I think English, right? Ha-ha. It is kind of weird in Japan. I learned English when I was I junior high. Right now, they are putting it into fifth grade or sixth grade. But I know a lot of my friends from Asian countries like you guys, I know my friend from South Korea, they learned English from their elementary school.

Me: Yes. I learned English when I was 6 years old. And I have a younger sister, she learned English since she was 4 years old.

Azusa: Yeah. In Japan, we don’t really have a good education for English. But still, I think English is really important. Japanese don’t really want to go outside, they just stay inside, so they should know some English. I think English is really important right now.

Me: Actually, in my high school, no… my middle school, we have a class for the best students in our school. If you get into that class, you can learn Japanese also. But I didn’t get into that class because I wasn’t good enough. One of my friends gets into that class, she learned Japanese. And when she came to America, she got a Japanese boy friend.

Azusa: So that is good for her, right? Ha-ha. She can use the skills just as like what she learned. That is really cool. So many Asian students can learn a third language but in Japan, it is not famous to do that.

Me: Oh okay. Do students have to wear uniform in every school?

Azusa: In elementary school, they don’t have to. Usually, they don’t wear, but in private school, they do have to wear. For the P.E. class, I have to wear some weird uniform. In junior high and high school, you have to wear certain kind of uniform. It is kind of funny because my friends decide which high school they wanted to go to because of the uniform. “That school’s uniform is cute, so I wanted to go there.” Ha-ha.

Me: I saw a lot of Japanese students pictures and I saw they wore short dresses and really long stocks.

Azusa: I know, the white stocks? That was in the older generations. A lot of people wanted to do that. Uniform is really fun, I guess.

Me: So do a lot of people get a chance to attend college in your country?

Azusa: Yes, I think a lot of people wanted to go to college. Colleges help you prepare for the jobs so a lot of people wanted to go to college.

Me: So do you guys have to take the examination?

Azusa: Yes. I think most Asian countries have to take it, right?

Me: Yes.

Azusa: It is not like here. The high school for the senior years, they just focus on the subjects to get into college. And in junior high, they have to study too. They have big exams to get into high school as well.

Me: But you didn’t have to take it because you came to the United States?

Azusa: Right. But when I was in junior high, I had to study to get into the high school. But then I don’t have to take the big test for college.

Me: Me too!!!

Azusa: Yes, that is kind of a good thing.

Me: I hate taking those tests.

Azusa: I know!

Me: Too much stuff to study. About social, what are the top three social pastimes or hobbies?

Azusa: Can I just say my hobbies?

Me: Yes. It’s okay.

Azusa: Okay. I love sports. For example, I was in the soccer team when I was in elementary school; actually my dad was the team coach. I play soccer with my friends. I also do skiing and snow boarding.

Me: Oh really? Oh because you guys have snow in Japan. We don’t have snow in our country.

Azusa: Oh ha-ha. We don’t have that much snow in our place so we have to go to certain place, like few hours of driving. But I do like snow boarding. A lot of people do go to the concert as well, but I haven’t been to any concerts yet. Actually, I like to be out door; I am not an indoor person. And that is how I grew up. My dad likes camping and soccer. Whenever we have a holiday or something like that, we tried to go to some other places such as amusement park. We also do camping, those kind of activities.

Me: Okay. You have a meeting at 5, right?

Azusa: Yes, I have a meeting at 5.

Me: Okay so I will pick which questions that I should asked you. How many children can each couple have in Japan?

Azusa: We don’t have any limit. If you have more than one, it is considered as very good because we are getting fewer kids. Right now, the government pushes us to have more kids. But other people just have one or two right now because they cannot afford the money, you know.

Me: And you have to take care of the little kids.

Azusa: I know. Usually right now, they just have 2 or 1 or 3. That’s average. In my mom’s generations, they have 4 or 6. It is different.

Me: Yeah. In Vietnam, we do the same things. But when I was an exchange student in South Dakota, I knew a family and they had 9 children.

Azusa: They had 9 children? Really? Wow. That’s a lot. Wow. I have never heard of that.

Me: And they looked the same.

Azusa: All the same? Ha-ha. They are 1-year difference, and 2 years difference.

Me: Yeah. I cannot remember their name ha-ha. And another question, what are your views on tattoos? What are the views your country has on tattoos?

Azusa: Tattoo is a really bad big thing in Japan. If you have a tattoo, at the job interview, if you put it somewhere that others can see, they won’t hire you, and you are considered as a really bad person. I think tattoo is very interesting. Do you know gangster in Japan?

Me: Yes. They have tattoos all over?

Azusa: Right. They view tattoos that way, even if you just want a tattoo as a cute or funny thing. People think tattoos as very bad. We have hot spring, a public place, we don’t cover anywhere, it’s kind of weird culture, and they are separate for boys and girls.

Me: Oh that is good ha-ha.

Azusa: Ha-ha yes that is good. If they look at your tattoos, they will consider you as bad people. If people have tattoos, normally they will try to hide it inside or in the back. My friend, she actually came over here with me to the Community College in Seattle, she debated whether she should have a tattoo or not because she wanted to have it for a kind of cool thing. And she decided to have it in the back, just a little bit. But it is a really big decision for her, you know. In Japan, we considered it as really bad. You cannot really show it to the public, you know, without wearing something.

Me: Actually, in Vietnam, in my country, 10 years, people viewed tattoos really bad. But now, people at my age, they have a lot of tattoos, they like tattoo.

Azusa: Yeah. In my generation, I don’t really think about because of tattoos, you are a really bad person. I don’t really see that way, but most people in societies, they think that way.

Me: Especially the older generation?

Azusa: Yes, right.

Me: What age is considered adult in your country?

Azusa: 20.

Me: Is that the drinking age?

Azusa: Yes.

Me: The driving age?

Azusa: No. Driving is 18 actually. But drinking and considered as adult is 20 years old.

Me: So 20, you have to go to the jail if you do anything bad?

Azusa: Right.

Me: Okay. What are the different religions in your country?

Azusa: Most of us are Shinto, which is a kind of Buddhism. I don’t think we are strong Buddhism, but most of them are like me, Shinto. We sometimes go to the temples, but we don’t go to the temples every Sunday, we don’t go all the time. If sometimes, I wanted to pray for the exam, I will go to the temples and pray and I will get a little thing and I put it into the bad, it makes me feel better. I think that’s a part of my religion. I know there are some percentages of Christian. I don’t really see Muslim like here. Christian is a little bit after Buddhism.

Me: Can you write down the Shinto?

Azusa: Yes. (Writing down Shinto). Maybe you can kind of search for it.

Me: Yes, I will do it later. About special occasion, what are some holidays that you celebrate in Japan?

Azusa: In Japan, New Year is really big, December 31^st. January 1^st is also a big one. We do get together and we eat together for the first day of New Year. You have to eat, and you will go shopping at the same time. You also go to visit your grandpa and grandma.

Me: So you guys don’t use the lunar calendar?

Azusa: I don’t now. I didn’t know actually. I was really surprising when I got here. I know a lot of friends form China, Vietnam, Korean whose follow lunar New Year. First time when I heard of it, I was like “What is the lunar New Year?” you know. I didn’t know about the lunar New Year.

Me: I though Japan use the lunar calendar.

Azusa: I know. When I think of New Year, it is January 1^st; it is a really big thing. Usually for Christmas, it is for friends; boy friends and girl friends hang out together. Always we have winter break on the 22^nd until January 10^th for students. For lunar New Year, we do have school, you know. It is kind of different. What else? Yeah I think New Year is a big thing. For the students, we have summer break. We have family gathering for the ancestors. If people die and their soul come back to our house or our living, we get together. If our grandpa and grandma live far away, we will visit them and try to pray for the grace. I think that is the big one too.

Me: Okay. The last questions, what things you do not like about Japan? And what you feel proud of Japan?

Azusa: The thing that I don’t like in Japan, and most of Asian countries, are people considered to be the same, you know. For example, people care too much about what others think about themselves. I just don’t like that. You can just live like what are you thinking, it is like what you can follow by your feeling. I don’t like the society system in Japan. It is so hard to explain. For example…

Me: Like in here, just get a tattoo if you want.

Azusa: That’s true. College in USA, people in any ages can come here and study anytime they want. But in Japan, college is only for students who are 20, 21, and 23. They have a trail, and people just ride on the trail. For me, you can go any other ways, you know. For me, the way that I look at the society is always the same. I feel a little bit boring. I don’t like that part. But I really proud of, I think, people respect each other. I think people do respect each other that are a very proud part, I guess. People know what you are thinking and they care about you. That is what I am proud of, I guess.

Me: Okay, so those are all the questions.

Azusa: Okay.

Me: Thank you for being my interviewee.

Azusa: Well, it is nice to meet you.

Me: Actually, do you want anything to drink? I just wanted to say thank you.

Azusa: Oh really? Oh my god. Seriously, I love coffee. But it is really nice to talk to you.

Me: It is really nice to talk to you too.

Audio recorded

http://soundcloud.com/user643942237/interview-3