For this assignment, you are to interview an individual who has come to the U.S. from a different culture, i.e., someone who is a first-generation immigrant.  This may not be a member of your family; it can be someone else whom you know from school, church/mosque, work, etc.  You are interested in finding out their perceptions about the U.S. and the similarities and differences between their “first” culture and their “adopted” culture.  You will probably need to interview someone who immigrated as an adult (or near-adult) in order to get the kind of information you need.

Consider questions such as:
Tell me why you came to the U.S. (looking for better job? fleeing a war?)
What surprised you the most?
What did you expect to find that you didn’t find?
What do you miss the most about your home? (i.e. your home culture)
What, if anything, do you not miss?
What changes have you had to make to adapt to living here?
What, if anything, have you decided not to change?
You do not have to ask all of these questions, and you may find that your interviewee volunteers information without your having to ask much of anything.  Think of this as a “semi-structured” interview: you have certain topics you want to be sure to cover, but your interviewee may mention some things that you didn’t even think to ask.  If those are interesting to you, follow up on them.

Write a 2-3 page summary of your findings (typed, double-spaced).  Think anthropologically!  What did you learn from your informant?  Did anything surprise you?  Remember that you are focusing on the question of culture, so resist the temptation to report on everything your interviewee said!

For this assignment, you are to interview an individual who has come to the U.S. from a different culture, i.e., someone who is a first-generation immigrant.  This may not be a member of your family; it can be someone else whom you know from school, church/mosque, work, etc.  You are interested in finding out their perceptions about the U.S. and the similarities and differences between their “first” culture and their “adopted” culture.  You will probably need to interview someone who immigrated as an adult (or near-adult) in order to get the kind of information you need.

Consider questions such as:
Tell me why you came to the U.S. (looking for better job? fleeing a war?)
What surprised you the most?
What did you expect to find that you didn’t find?
What do you miss the most about your home? (i.e. your home culture)
What, if anything, do you not miss?
What changes have you had to make to adapt to living here?
What, if anything, have you decided not to change?
You do not have to ask all of these questions, and you may find that your interviewee volunteers information without your having to ask much of anything.  Think of this as a “semi-structured” interview: you have certain topics you want to be sure to cover, but your interviewee may mention some things that you didn’t even think to ask.  If those are interesting to you, follow up on them.

Write a 2-3 page summary of your findings (typed, double-spaced).  Think anthropologically!  What did you learn from your informant?  Did anything surprise you?  Remember that you are focusing on the question of culture, so resist the temptation to report on everything your interviewee said!