Report of Interviewees' Countries Presentation

The presentations made last class section were undoubtedly interesting. It is really helpful, after going through the interview process, to have some of the basic info of the countries where each interviewee is from. The first group up was actually mine. We talked about China and Mongolia. One factor that surely enriched our presentation was the fact that one of the group members was a national from China, which supported every argument made about his country.

The second group talked about Sri Lanka and Nepal. Among the interesting data therein provided, I gathered the most crucial, which said that Sri Lanka is a small island off of the coast of India, and there are mountains and hill on the center of the island. Also, the natives in Sri Lanka are believed to inhabit the island since 6th century b.c. It consisted of a British colony until 1815. Esala Perahera, Duruthu Perahera, Sinhala, and Tamil New Year, are some of the names of festivals of the country. About Nepal, I learned that its constitution was created in 1962, also that it was ruled by kings until 1990, and after the monarchy the movement began. This makes Nepal the world’s youngest republic, since May of 2008. The country hosts a lot of festivals, namely: Dashain, Goddess, Durga, Tihar, Itoli. Another aspect is that marriages are very expensive, once the bride’s family has to come up with a dowry. Polygamy used to be legal and marriages were arranged. Though, people are starting to marry each other for love.

The third group talked about Japan and South Korea. About Japan, it was nice to know that mainly four islands compose it, although there are 6.852 other ones. Its flag represents the country as the land of the rising sun. Also that Japan is a constitutional monarchy, having a prime minister and an emperor. With the 10th largest population in the world, the country has the size of California. After that, what was said about South Korea was that it has had three kingdoms, but after its unification Korea was annexed to Japan. Also, the U.S and the Soviets at the end of WWII occupied it. After this fact, Korea split into North and South.

The fourth group talked about Malaysia, which used to be a British colony. The country has around 5.000 years of history, the official language is Malay and it currently is a federal constitutional elective monarchy, where the king is elected for a five-year term, and where chief ministers govern the states. There is a big Chinese and Indian population. This influences a lot in religion, language and business.

Then the country in focus was Saudi Arabia, which is the largest Arabic country of the Middle East. Its capital is Riyadh, and their constitution is also their bible, it’s called the Qur’an. There are no political parties or national elections. This government is based on the Sharia, which means the Islamic Law. Saudis pray five times a day, and weekends begin on Thursday due to Friday. The country’s biggest holiday is called ‘Ramadan.’ After that, Turkey was mentioned, and the most interesting aspect I found was about its first president, Ataturk, who was responsible for separating state and religion in Turkey.

Another group came to speak about Senegal. It was said that French is the major language over there, although only 15% of the population can speak it. Wolof is another official tongue, now spoken by 80% of the people. Muslim is the primary religion, and the main foods are rice, spices, and vegetables. Society is family oriented. Portuguese were the first to reach the country, after its natives, in 1444. In 1963 Senegal elected its first President. This group also talked about Kenya, which national language is Swahili, but most speak English. Kenya consists of a slow paced society where citizens have daily breaks from work so they can spend time with their families. Nationals eat mostly fresh food, having little refrigeration procedures. It became a British colony in 1890, and reached independence in 1963. Citizens have the right to choose for their religion. The third country mentioned by this group was Ethiopia. It is one of the few countries in Africa that has not become a European colony. There are more than 80 ethnic groups, and Amharic is the official language. Others like English, French, and Italian are also spoken. The main religions are Orthodox and Islamism.

The last group, talked about Burundi and Togo. About the first nation, I learned that its population is something around 9.9 million and that beer is an important drink in many occasions, much more for the way nationals drink it, which is with a straw. The Germans went up there and claimed the land as theirs, although, England and France were the most important in the dispute for Burundi. The biggest genocides in human history took place in Burundi, more precisely in Rwanda. About Togo, I learned that is used to be a small kingdom, until the British took the west part of the country, and the French go the east. Voodoo is an approved religion and soccer is the most famous sport in the nation.

Again, it was a really rich experience to hear a little about all of these nations, especially when there were natives from some of the mentioned countries present in class. Right now, I feel excited to hear more about my classmates’ reports of their second interview, and we will again be able to share experiences and cultural interactions we have acquired.