Writing II ENG 2150T ETB
Ruzhe Zhang
This time I interviewed with my grandfather about his past time in Tibet. The main purpose of this interview is to explore what it was like in Tibet in 20th century from the perspective of an ordinary people. At the same time, I want to show the good aspect of Tibet, which is different from foreign official opinions and some foreigners’ ideas.
My grandfather is an aging man. Although he is able to express himself logically, he will get tired, if I keep asking him for a long time. Therefore, I must talk with him in an informal tone and arrange two intermissions. In the beginning of the interview, I want to play Zhuoma, a famous Tibet-style song, which attracts the audience and introduces the topic. Before I talk with my grandfather, I make a brief statement about Tibet on the basis of the library resources, like “When it comes to Tibet, foreigners think of the phrase “no human rights” firstly. However, what situation was living in Tibet in 20th century? Let’s talk with an aging man who lived in Tibet at that time.” During the process, when my grandfather talks about his happy time, I use the melody of Zhuoma again. It aims to give the audience the emphasized impression about Tibet.
What questions should be asked in the interview is my weakness. I tried to make a preparation for the questions that are used in the interview. Because I thought I could ask more specific questions, when I talked with my grandfather. And I had to give some freedom to my interviewee. Nevertheless, during the process of the interview, I could not control the interview. In other words, my grandfather sometimes talked about something irrelevant to the topic. When I heard of that, I felt nervous, and I tried to pull him back to the topic. I think I should make a better preparation for the next interview. I figure out some steps that I should take next time:
- Write down all the questions that I think about.
- Identify and select them to form an outline.
- Share the outline with my professor or classmates and listen to their advice.
- Conclude the final, important questions.
On the other hand, I tried to present the idea of an ordinary people who lived in Tibet. Nevertheless, when I transcribed the interview, I wondered whether I was realizing the aim well. Some sentences that my grandfather said are close to the local culture. It is not easy for me to translate them perfectly. For example, the combined pronunciation of Xi mu du means Yummy. Ka la sa means eating meals. In some sense, the pronunciation of the dialect helps the audience to appreciate Tibet. I am not sure whether I have done well or not. So far I haven’t found the effective solution to the cultural barrier, but the question is planted in my mind like a seed. I hope I will find a way in the future.
During the course of this project, I have made some progresses in writing. For example, how to express my idea logically and think about questions in English. What is the most important, I have leaned to make a self-reflection on my assignment. For example, in this assignment I have to consider what I failed in the project of interviewing someone. It helps me to have a good habit of absorbing lessons from my previous experiences. I believe I will become better and better once I keep such a habit.
