Interview_Communication Assignment #2

International Student.
My first interviewee is Mainak Sengupta. He is from India. His major is the same with me, Engineering Science and Mechanics. His home town is Kolkata, India.
Questions:

1. How does State College (or Pennsylvania) compare to your home town?
His home town is a metropolis. It has more than just a university. It has a lot of business, a lot of, a lot of shops and a lot of people. Also, he mentioned that the climate in his hometown is hot and humid, comparing with cold weather in State College.

2. Do you like studying at Penn State? Why or why not?
He likes studying at Penn State. He likes the atmosphere and culture.

3. Names of two good restaurants
The first one is Cosy Thai, it serves Thailand food. It is a good place for dinner. Another one is Mad Max, which is a Mexican restaurant. It also serves alcohol.

4. Two interesting things to do on weekends.
He likes to see the movie at weekends in the HUB. Sometimes he will go to a concert. Another thing he likes is cooking. And I think it is good for him that he can have fun from a necessary work in daily life.

5. Things I should do.
He suggested me to go to see the cities around the State College, such as New York, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. He thinks that studying at Penn State is a good opportunity for us to visit the east of US.

Local Student
The name of my interviewee is Jamal. His major is Engineering Mechanics, too. His hometown is Virginia Beach.
Questions:

1. How does State College (or Pennsylvania) compare to your home town?
State College is much smaller and it is more rural than his hometown. It is also colder than his hometown.

2. Do you like studying at Penn State? Why or why not?
He likes Penn State because he likes the program. He thinks that graduate is easier than undergraduate.

3. Names of two good restaurants
The first one is Big Bowl Noodle House, a Chinese restaurant. Another one is Margarit. It is an Italian restaurant.

4. Two interesting things to do on weekends.
He likes going to the football game. Another one is hanging out with the friends.

5. Things I should do.
He recommended me to go to the football game. He went to all the football game last year.

Interview_Communication Assignment #1

The interviewee’s name is Michael and he is the English partner of my friend. He is a senior student in sociology. As he has several English partners, the conversations he recently struck up are mostly with international students. Generally, they just started by introducing themselves. He thinks that he will shake hands in either formal or informal circumstances and he hardly use “How do you do” even in formal circumstances. When it comes to shaking hands, it depends. If other person is sitting down, you do not have to stand up, but typically, people will stand up to shake hands. He would start a conversation when in the class or in a formal situation, such as a dinner, when you need to introduce yourself to other people. In class, it is common to strike up a conversation when asking questions, introducing yourself and talking about the course.

I would talk with some people I did not know when I want to ask something or when I think they need my help. Also, when in a meeting or a picnic, I would talk about the content of the meeting with people who sit next to me. In my opinion, when talking with others, I can know other people, share some interests and learn the culture of other countries. Recently, when I was working in my office, one student came in to looking for another TA who was not there because she missed the first class and did not know when and where the tutoring would be held. Luckily, I am in the same class with her, and I told her the office hours of that TA and it seems there is no fixed tutoring time.