Final Paper

The Internet and Its Uses

Give a hungry person a fish and you feed him for a day; teach that person how to use the internet, they get a way to feed themselves. This clearly gives an idea about the importance of internet in this age of globalization. The internet has answer to all our questions; it’s informative, useful and obviously fun to us. Internet has become an indispensable part of our day to day life. In the recent days, it is not only used in educational sector like few decades ago, but also in various other sectors such as entertainment, communication, business and many others. Because of its wide usage and usefulness, the use of internet has remarkably increased throughout the world.

The Internet
What is the internet? According to Oxford English Dictionary, the Internet is “a computer network consisting of or connecting a number of smaller networks, such as two or more local area networks connected by a shared communications protocol; specially such a network (called ARPAnet) operated by the U.S. Defense Department. In later use (usu. the Internet): the global computer network (which evolved out of ARPAnet) providing a variety of information and communication facilities to its users, and consisting of a loose confederation of interconnected networks which use standardized communication protocols; (also) the information available on this network.”
People started using the internet in 1993-94. When it first began, the internet was not commercial, rather it was only used for academic and research purposes. Then, software companies started to take a lead; because of easier availability, more people started using the internet and they used it more than they did before. As people were exposed to the uses of the internet, they realized its vast usefulness and gradually began using it for purposes such as recreation. Many countries in Northern America, Europe and Asia started to capitalize in the field of the internet. The internet was also advanced by installing fiber optic cables, high speed switches and wireless transmitters. (McBurney )
These days, the internet is used for many more purposes. According to the book NetActivism: How Citizens Use the Internet which is written by Edward Schwartz, “the different uses of internet by citizens are getting connected through electronic mail lists. The other uses of the internet are also for development purpose for their community, political purpose such as registration, voting and others.” (Schwartz)
The main objective of the internet is to facilitate people. According to the website Eastman Internet, the uses of the internet include email, information, services, buying and selling of products and communities. The full form of email is electronic mail. Before the introduction of internet and email, people used to depend on postal services, fax and telephone. The email is, without a doubt, superior in comparison to other modes of conveying messages. It’s reliable, fast and free as well. No matter where people are, if they have the access to the internet, they can conveniently communicate with others, provided the other person also has access to the internet. The information found on the internet is easier for people to access in comparison to other sources of information. Whether it is government policies, movies, or political conditions, internet has information about everything. Online banking, job seeking and application are a few of the services that the internet provides for people. People use the internet to buy and sell products as well. There are many social networking sites which are famous all over the world. Internet can be and has been extensively used in various ways.
As every coin has two sides, the internet not only has advantages, but also has few disadvantages. Few of the main disadvantages of Internet, according to Jayashree Pakhare are theft of personal information, spamming, virus threat and pornography. The basic information that people need to accomplish any transaction in the internet can be accessed by any person who has good internet skills. There are many unwanted emails that people get daily; it is called spamming. Besides spamming, Virus threats are something that erupts the functioning of the internet. As we all know, both spamming and virus threats are provoking and annoying. The fourth disadvantage of the internet is pornography. It affects everyone, especially the children. Hence, internet has advantages as well as disadvantages.
According to Matt Rosenberg, “A very frequent geographical question is "How many countries are there in the world?" Different numbers pop up when one inquires or reads about the number of countries in the world. Each source you use often yields a different answer. Ultimately, the best answer is that there are 195 countries in the world.” Among all the countries, few countries are developed; most are not, they are just developing. On these bases, we can distinguish the use of internet by the people living there.


The different uses of the internet

Medium of Communication
Communication is very important in this era of development. Communications are of different type. Some are formal such as business delegates exchanging their views and ideas and others are informal communication where a person is writing a simple mail to his friend or a family member.
Internet has become a prominent medium of communication. Rather than using postal services, people tend to use internet as it is reliable, convenient and fast as well. It just takes minutes or so to send a message through internet and other person gets it. The internet not only helps in these kinds of communication but other as well. There are different surveys in the internet that helps to draw conclusions in various topics. The internet helps not only in field of surveying process but also facilitates in feedback.
There is also a new means of communication where citizen can communicate to the government. That helps in bridging the gap between the government and citizens. It helps the people be a part of the change in the society. In these ways the internet has helped people facilitate communication. (Bimber)
Business
One of the aspects of a country which is greatly influenced by the internet is the Business sector. The perspective of business now and how it was perceived few decades ago and its situation now is completely different. Now, business has wider range than just the stereotypical thought where a person needs to be in office to fulfill his duties and responsibilities. The concept of the Home based internet business has attracted people towards earning staying home.
The commerce layer has increased 127% over the years. The internet businesses start with the websites. There are many types of companies providing various services to the customers or the people. The internet business not only provides services to the customers but also provides employment to the people. There are many service based sites. Few of them are telecommunication services, billing facilities and others. Nowadays due to competitive market people have started to provide optimum service at minimal cost. As a result of the business sites, the bills can be paid through internet. (Mahadevan)
For those people who have hectic schedule, the business that facilitates internet services saves a lot of time. They do not have to go to the concerned office to pay the bills. In that way they are not only saving time but also money by saving fuel. They can also devote that time in other productive work.
Sources of Information
The internet is the medium through with we can access many sources of the information. There are different types of information. Information not only means information related to education; the perimeter of information covers all the area of human curiosity. It might relate to news, education, celebrity gossips, health tips, historical monuments, and weather report or can be anything.
Internet has made the world a small place. Anything that happens in one corner of the world can be accessed by people from all over the world, if they have access to the internet. The sites like www.Google.com, www.msn.com, www.bing.com are few of the famous sites that provide information about anything and everything. The internet has answers to every question that a person has. A person only needs to type the key word and a click follows number of answers in form of various websites.
There is other information related to job vacancy, weather, foods, housing or anything that people can find in the internet.
Online Study and Classes
The education system has changed a lot since they have adopted the internet. The concept of distance study has only been possible due to the internet. Distance learning has gained attention of many people. It has helped lot of people get education and degree, which otherwise was inaccessible to them. People living in India can get education from an American university due to the introduction of the concept of distance education. (Sherry 337-365)
Other than distance education, people can get enrolled to online classes. There are many online quizzes and assignment that are done in ordinary classes as well. The internet not only facilitates students but also facilitate teachers in many ways. Teachers can find sources that can help them help the students’ grasp the subject matters in easier way. The internet has not only made the education field much easier, but it has also helped it in many ways.
Entertainment
Initially television or radio was the only sources of entertainment where people could watch movies or programs or listen to the songs. Theatre was the place where they could go to watch new movies. Now the whole concept of entertainment has changed.
Now people can watch their television shows through internet in their computers. Every channel has their own websites where they update the shows on regular basis. There are many websites were we can watch not only old movies but new as well. This has facilitated people to watch movies easily and it is cheaper than any other way. There are many websites such as www.ovguide.com, www.watch-movies-links.com and other which has all kind of movies that a person can watch.
The websites not only have movies but they also have music as well. A person no more needs a tape recorder to listen to his best song, they can listen it in many websites such as www.pandore.com, wwwimeem.com and so on which provides songs of their choice. The bands and music company have their own official music sites through which people can listen to their official songs.
Internet not only entertains people by the choices of the movies and the music it also provides latest gossip about celebrities, news about Hollywood, awareness shows which many people look up to. Hence, internet is one of the best sources entertainments.

Social Networking
There are many social networking sites that are gaining popularity day by day. The sites like Facebook, Myspace and Twitter are famous among all the other networking sites. Due to these networking sites people can communicate much easily. It helps people of different ages communicate with each other. It not only helps to communication but it also educates people about different culture, traditions origins and others. (Barlet, Doz, Hedlund 46-62)
Miscellaneous Uses
Other than the uses mentioned above the internet has other various usages as well. few other usages of the internet are:
· Online advertisement
· Multiplayer gaming
· Online buying and selling of products
· Survey
· Long distance calling and so on

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the internet is an indispensable part of our life and our society. The internet has advantages as well as disadvantages. In spite of its disadvantages, internet is used in various fields and in many ways as possible. There are many uses of internet. It is used in many various fields such as business, education, entertainment and so on. Hence, it is very important in today’s world.




BILIOGRAPHY
"Advantages of Internet." Eastman Internet. 26 Jan 2009. Web. 10 Dec 2009. .
Bimber, Bruce. The Internet and Citizen Communication With Government: Does the Medium Matter?. 16. Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group , 1999. Print.
"Internet, n." The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989. OED Online. Oxford University Press. 15 Dec. 2009
Mahadevan, B. "Business Models for Internet based E-Commerce An Anatomy." 2002. Indian Institute of Management, Web. 10 Dec 2009. .
McBurney, Sally. "The Emergence of Internet." Santa Clara Valley Historical Association. Web. 10 Dec 2009. .
Pakhare, Jayashree. "Advantages and Disadvantages of Internet."Buzzle.com (2007): n. pag. Web. 10 Dec 2009. .
Rosenburg, Matt. "The number of Countries in the World."About.com: Geography. 31 Jul 2009. Web. 12 Dec 2009. .
Schwartz, Edward. NetActivism: How Citizens Use the Internet. First. Morris Street: Songline Studios, 1996. Print.
Sherry, Lorraine.(1996). Issues in Distance Learning. International Journal of Educational Telecommunications, 1 (4), 337-365.

Food and the culture:

Food and the culture:

Topic: Food around the world

Introduction:

We need food to survive. The food has wider perimeter than just eating food. There are different uses of food, ways of cooking the food and it is different from culture to culture.

Body:

1. Food is used for different purpose:

· Decoration

Wedding cake, candies and others

· Celebration

Moon cake in Moon light festival, Turkey and mashed potato in Thanks giving.

· Social gathering

Eat in restaurant, fast food, vending machine, street vendors

2. Ways of cooking the food:

· There are different ways of cooking food.

Fried, steamed, grilled and others.

· The way people eat food also differs.

Some use chopstick, some spoons and forks and some use hands as well.

3. Food differs from culture to culture:

· There are different types of foods depending in the culture and the nationality.

· In Nepal and China, people eat rice and meat usually but here in America people eat sandwiches, burger and others.

Some people do not eat beef, some do not eat pork.

· As we visit different places, we have difficulty adjusting with the food.

Conclusion:

· Food has different purposes, depending in the culture and places.

· It is not only used to survive, but also to celebrate ceremonies and so on.

Outline Of Final Paper

Use of Internet in America verses Nepal

Outline of the final paper:

Introduction:

· Introduction of America and Nepal.

· What is global communication?

· Impact of global communication in different countries(focusing in these two countries)

· Comparison of America and Nepal.

· Introduction of Internet.

· Thesis statement

Body:

Main Point 1

Education system:

· Background information about different education system of the world.

· Education system of America and Nepal.

· Some basic fact related to education system of America and Nepal.

· Use of internet in these countries in field of Education.

Main point 2

· Business sector of both the country.

· Relationship between business and development of the country.

· How the countries have uses internet in business sector?

Main Point 3

Personal Use:

· Access of internet in both the countries.

· How much can an individual use internet?

· Use of internet in home( in America and Nepal)

Conclusion:

· Introduction of America and Nepal.

· Use of internet in education system in America and Nepal.

· Use of internet in business sector in America and Nepal.

· Use of internet in America and in Nepal for personal purpose.

Audio portion of third interview

My Final Paper

Use of Internet in America verses Nepal

My final paper will be a comparison between the use of internet in America (a developed country) and Nepal (an underdeveloped country). The main reason behind me choosing this topic is because I think I can write about this topic. I did my schooling from Nepal and I am doing my undergrad from America. I have experienced the use of internet in both the part of the world.

The points that I will focus in are:

• · Education system
• · Business
• · Personal use

Third Interview Report

Interviewer: Sneha Shrestha

EN 191 (21)

Interviewee: Gamir Shrestha

Origin: Nepal

Date: November 7^th, 2009

Third interview Report

I am an international student from Nepal. The education system of Nepal is different than the education system of America. In Nepal, the education system is more teachers based and the education that universities provide there are more theoretical than practical. When I first came here, I was surprised as every aspect of the education system here was new and very different to me. The process of registering classes, going to different classes for different subjects, and grading system were few differences to enlist. The assignments professors give are also very different from the assignments we have in my country. I felt very eccentric when I found I had to take an interview of international students as an assignment. As this was new to me, I was excited and frightened at the same time. My first two interviews went well. I was satisfied with my results as this was my first time interviewing people.

My English 191 class is different from other classes that I have. Everyone knows that the English we speak is easy and different in comparison to the English language we use for writing. I think in this class the students are made familiar with the English writing. There are many aspects of grammar that we avoid, ignore and do not know at all. This class just tries to make us conscious about these aspects and help us be a mature writer. In my opinion, the main objective of giving the interview is to help us students to improve our English speaking and writing skills. The other main objective of giving an interview is to inform student about international student. It is beneficial for the students who are born here rather than the international students.

The first step of giving an interview is to list the questions that you are supposed to ask to the interviewee. About preparing the question, everyone in our class had an idea as we prepared a lot for it. We had come up with ten practice questions that helped us for interviewing. In my opinion, coming up with a question spontaneously is better than preparing for a question. It depends in the situation and what the interviewee wants to talk about. After giving two interviews, I can clearly distinguish what the interviewee wants to talk about.

As we all know, location plays a vital role in the interviewing process. Giving an interview in a noisy place is not a good decision. So, my interview and I decided to meet at Library, in the third floor. The atmosphere there was very supporting. It was peaceful there and no one disturbed us. I used my laptop to record the interview. The sound recording function of my laptop helped me a lot.

When I finished my second interview and met my professor, I was really happy to know that he liked my work. It gave me more confidence and encouraged me to work harder than before. In the beginning, I was thinking of interviewing someone from a different country than where I am from. As my interviewees were from Tibet and India, I was thinking of interviewing someone from another Asian country, but not from Nepal. I had a really hard time finding the third interviewee, so I decided to interview someone from Nepal. His name is Gamir Shrestha and he has been here for a year now.

My third interviewee is from Nepal. According to Location of Nepal, “Nepal, officially Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is the world's youngest republic. Earlier, Nepal was a constitutional monarchy and it became a democratic republic on May 28, 2008. Locked within the rugged ranges of the Himalayas, Nepal is bounded by the Tibet region of China on the North and India on the South, East, and West. The Kingdom of Bhutan lies in its East whereas the Autonomous region of Tibet in Northeast. There are various entry points from the Indian side but the major ones are Nepal Gunj, Mahendra Nagar and Bir Gunj. From the Chinese side there are couples of passes to enter Nepal. Some of the major ones are Renjo La at 5465 meters, Cho La at 5420 meters and Kongma La at 5535 meters. There is only one entry to Tibet and Bhutan and that is Lungu La pass. It was cut off from the rest of the world until the early 1950s. A palace revolution and the subsequent overthrow of the autocratic Rana dynasty marked the beginning of Nepal's emergence into the modern world. Kathmandu is the capital and the largest city.”(http://www.bharatonline.com/nepal/travel-tips/location.html, November 7^th, 2009)

According to History of Nepal, “Modern Nepal was created in the latter half of the 18th century when Prithvi Narayan Shah, the ruler of the small principality of Gorkha, formed a unified country from a number of independent hill states. The country was frequently called the Gorkha Kingdom, the source of the term “Gurkha” used for Nepali soldiers.” (http://saarc.org/visit/category/nepal/, November 7^th, 2009)

Nepali, Newari, Bhojpuri, Maithili, and Magar are the commonly used languages in Nepalese community. People in Nepal are Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Muslims and others. The famous temples of Nepal are Pashupati Nath temple, Shiva temple of Hindu. They scarify water buffalo, goat, sheep, chicken and duck but only male. Cow is the national animal of Nepal and people there treat cow as god. There are many Buddhist monasteries as well. The biggest festival of Nepal is Dashain. It is celebrated for nine days. Tihar is festival of lights. Other main festivals are Buddha Jayanti, Shiva ratri and so on.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Nepal, November 7^th, 2009)

According to Nepal world heritage sites, “UNESCO has declared 10 World Heritage Sites, 7 inside Kathmandu Valley &3 outside; Lumbani including Kathmandu Valley are Cultual Heriage & Chitwan National Park & Sagarmatha National Park as Natural Heritage Sites. These seven World Heritage Sites are all amazing man-made wonders still standing majestically? Some of them are as old as 2500 years.” (http://www.nepaltourismdirectory.com/nepal_travel_information.php?id=9, November 7^th, 2009)

My third interviewee, Gamir Shrestha is an engineering major student. He has been in America for a year now. He comes from upper middle class family from Nepal. He lives in the capital city of Nepal which is Kathmandu but his parents are from Gorkha. Both of his parent work, which he mentions is not as usual as it is in America. His mother is a nurse and through his interview I felt he was very proud of it as many mothers in Nepal are housewives. He is a second son and his elder brother is studying in Bangladesh. He is the Public Relation co-ordinate of Nepalese Student Association of Saint Cloud State University. He looks very determined and dedicated.

My experience with my third interviewee is different than my experience with my other interviewees. I came to know him through Nepalese Student Association. We had never talked before. Nepal night was held recently, as I was helping for the program I came to know him. I got his number for my friend and asked him if he was willing to give an interview. He directly said yes, he looked very excited about the interview. I was a little nervous at the beginning, but everything went well. I tried a lot to make him feel comfortable. I gave him time to think about the answers as we were taught in the class.

As I am also an international student I can relate a lot with all of my interviewees, but as Gamir is from Nepal, I think I relate to him more than the others. There were moments in the interview where I thought he sounded just like me. The main reason behind this was our similar background. We both are from the same country and that might be the reason. We grew up in the same environment and I think we perceive many things similarly.

When I talked about family, I think he meant more than just those words he spoke. He looked like he is very much attached with his family. He also mentioned bringing his mother’s picture, which is a nice gesture of showing love. Though, that made his father a little upset as he did not bother to bring his father’s picture. When he talked about his family, I missed my family a lot. I was just thinking of why we need to grow up and take responsibilities. Why do we have to come abroad for studies so far away from our family, our mother and father who have done so much for us? I have the answer back in my head, I know it is for our own good and for our future but still I want to have those questions.

The other topic which we talked about was the political condition of Nepal. I felt really touched when he spoke about what he felt about this topic. The political condition of Nepal is degrading day by day. The process of merging and detaching between the political parties seems common nowadays. Due to these issues the political condition of Nepal is not stable. This has lead to other many problems and the economy cannot function smoothly. While talking about these issues, there was a certain worry in Gamir’s eyes and tone. It seemed like he was concerned about it. I could relate with him as I am also concerned about the political condition of Nepal.

Among all the interviews, I prefer to transcript my first two interviews rather than choosing the final one. I thought it would be better for me to transcript those interview where I interviewed people from other than my own country. I thought it would be challenging and exciting for me to transcript those interviews.

In conclusion, I liked interviewing people. It taught me a lot academically and also about people. I found this interviewing process really interesting.

Second interview

Interviewer: Sneha Shrestha

EN 191 (21)

Interviewee: Nikita Tondon

Origin: India

Date: November 1st, 2009

Second interview:

When the first interview finish, I was little experienced about the interview taking procedure. The first step for taking an interview is to prepare for the questions. As I was experienced in taking an interview, I had already set the questions. The first interview helped me a lot while preparing for the second interview. The main objective of taking an interview of an international student is to improve the writing skills. I have personally felt that my writing skills have improved ever since I have transcript my first interview. The other important objective of taking an interview is to know more about international students.

Taking an interview is not an easy task. I had problem finding my second interviewee. My second interviewee is from India. Her name is Nikita Tondon. Both of us had same ESL classes. When I asked her at first she said, “I am busy.” Then later I asked her again and she told me that she had only forty minutes. Even though it was here convenient time, she made me wait for one hour thirty minutes. Later, she explained she had here exam and also had paper due. At first, we meet at the library. We felt that the people around us were getting disturbed so, we decided to go at the Atwood.

I must mention the first interview helped me a lot. I was experienced and I had an idea about how to conduct an interview. As I used my laptop to record the first interview, this time also I used my laptop. I was scared that it would not be recorded properly, but after a while when the interview was finished I checked it and it had recorded it properly.

My interviewee was from India. India is also called Bharat. It is the seventh largest country in the world which is located in the Southern part of Asia. India is the second populated country of the world. It shares its boundary with China, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. It is also bounded by Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India, November 2, 2009)

According to India, “Home to the Indus Valley Civilization and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four major religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated here, while Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam arrived in the first millennium CE and shaped the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by the British East India Company from the early eighteenth century and colonized by the United Kingdom from the mid-nineteenth century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by widespread non-violent resistance”. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India, November 2, 2009)

According to India, “The Constitution of India, the longest and the most exhaustive constitution of any independent nation in the world, came into force on 26 January, 1950. The preamble of the constitution defines India as a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic. India has a bicameral parliament operating under a Westminster parliamentary system. Its form of government was traditionally described as being 'quasi-federal' with a strong centre and weaker states, but it has grown increasingly federal since the late 1990s as a result of political, economic and social changes.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India#Government, November 2, 2009)

The main attractions of India are its monuments, wildlife and beaches. Taj mahal, which is also one of the wonder of the world and Khajuraho are the famous monuments of India. Corbert and Periyar are the famous wildlife there. The popular beaches there are Anjuna and Mararia. Indian people are very religious. The temple that are popular there are Golden temple, Mahalaxmi temple and others. (http://www.famous-india.com/, November 2, 2009)

According to Indian Culture, “India is blessed with rich culture and heritage. The culture of India is one of the oldest cultures in the world. Right from the medieval period there prevail diverse cultural diversities in form of dances, languages, religions, people, their customs, and festivals. Every state of India has its own distinct cultures and has carved out its own cultural niche. In spite of so much of cultural diversities, Indian's are closely bond and makes India as a great country perhaps because of its common history. Dating back to over 5000 years old civilization, India's culture has been adorned by migrating population, which over a period got absorbed into the Indian way of life. This great Indian culture comprises of Indian music, Indian Dance, Indian cuisine, costumes and Indian Festivals. (http://www.indiasite.com/culture/, November 2, 2009)

My second interviewee is Nikita Tondon, who is from India. This is her second semester in Saint Cloud State University. She is the youngest in her family. After hearing her interview I felt, she is from educated family. She lives in a join family. One fascinating fact about her family was that her mother’s sister was married to her father’s brother. She explained that, it is one of the reasons why they are so closed. Her father and mother both work. Her father is a business man and her mother is a teacher.

The main reason why she joined Saint Cloud State University was because of her brother, who is her uncle’s son and her sister. Both of them study here and she said that was the reason why I am here. She has not been here in America for a long time but she has visited a lot of places with her parents as they came to visit her last summer. This December, she is going to back to her country for the holidays and she mentions that she is very excited to meet family, relatives and friends.

The interview was very good. As we learned in class I gave my interviewee time to speak. I thought the interview as a whole was very informative as I knew a lot about Indian Culture and Indian Economy. As many other people, I also had a lot of wrong information stored in my mind about India. But now, I think that has changed as I came to know how India really is from Nikita.

When we come abroad for education we are far from our native country, in that process I think a sense of patriotism is buried. I would not say it is vanished, but it is not seen or visible. When she started to talk about her country and how others perceive her country I was really touched at that moment. I could sense her feeling for her country and how she did not like the stereotyping about her could. She had defended those stereotyping which I thought were very impressive.

Talking to her was really pleasurable. I am very emotional and I miss my family a lot. When she started talking about her family vacation that she spends visiting different parts of America was amusing. I missed my family very much. I am a little jealous when she explained her road trip and as she is returning to her native country too. I could see that excitement in her eye.

In conclusion, the interview was good. It was a learning experience and I enjoyed it. I should thank my interviewee for being very friendly, open and answering my questions properly.

Transcript of second interview:

Sneha: Hi, I am Sneha Shrestha, I have take English 191 class and I am supposed to take an interview of an international student, so you are my second interviewee. Would you like to introduce yourself?

Nikita: Hi, Sneha. I am Nikita Tandon, I am from India. India is in Asia.

Sneha: So would you want to tell me something more about your country, in a detail?

Nikita: It is called the Indian Sub Continent basically because it surrounded by water. It is major part of the Asia. It is a known country now because it has taken initiatives in various fields of life and activities. India is famous for its culture. It has this culture that has been there since ages, which basically is an inherent of traditions and values. The people of India are very into traditions and values.

Sneha: What is your culture like?

Nikita: it is very ethnic you can say. We respect elders; the joint family system basically is very prevalent out there. It is very unlike what it is in USA, not totally unlike but we have this culture of staying with our parents throughout our life. People even live with their parents when they are forty or fifty. It is considered good thing out there, it is not considered bad that you do not have another place to live or something like that, people do this willingly.

Sneha: So, you are here for studies right, what are you studying?

Nikita: I am doing Computer Science now. This is my second semester. This is my first year in USA. I like Computer Science a lot.

Sneha: Why did you choose Computer Science? Is it something like in your family they tell you to study this or something like that?

Nikita: Actually, it is not like they have told me to take Computer Science. My sister, my siblings have been great influence in me. I live in a joint family. My uncle’s son took Computer Science; you can say he is like my own brother. Then, my sister also took Computer Science and I like Science too, so I took Computer Science.

Sneha: Why did you choose America?

Nikita: America I choose basically because again my siblings are here.

Sneha: Did you mean sibling your uncle’s son?

Nikita: Yes, my uncle’s son and my own sister. She is here too, in the same university so that is why I choose Saint Cloud State University.

Sneha: Did you have any other option rather coming to America for studying?

Nikita: I had consideration of studying my own country and going to abroad. Whenever we thought going abroad, we always thought of going to America than going somewhere else. We did considering UK, but I do not know we do not feel comfortable about that so we decided on coming to America.

Sneha: What kind of education system do you have in your country?

Nikita: The education system in my country is very good; it is in good level out there. It is not based on practical experience as it is here. I would say it is more theoretical in the sense that they provide the level of education that is very high but the system to provide education is not good. It is good, it is better than most of the countries but it is not good as it is good in here. That is what I have thought right now and the relationship between teachers and students is not as friendly as it is here. There, we respect the teachers, but it is not very friendly, we fear them also and after coming here the friendliness that is offered here helps a little in your studies as well. My high school education is the best education that anyone can get. It has taught a lot about life and things. Actually, up till the high school the education system is very good but beyond that the higher level education is good in the sense that, if you are ready to your own work then it is good otherwise in India, it is a common practice of copying stuff from your friends, not put as hard work as you should put in.

Sneha: When we talk about education it is so common to talk about plagiarism here. So, do you guys have something like that in your country?

Nikita: Plagiarism is considered bad but they are not strict about that as it is here. I mean, in India if someone is caught copying in an exam or test, they would not be failed directly whereas here they will just be failed. It is a big deal but not as a bigger deal as it is here. In comparison it is a milder form of it you can say.

Sneha: What education system do you like right now, the education system that you were used to in your country or the education system of America?

Nikita: If you compared that, the education system here is little better than my country in the sense of the higher level education. I have not been to colleges in India, so I am not so sure about it but I have heard that the education system they provide there is also good, but it is not very useful in the long run. Here what I am experiencing right now is the education system they provide might be very helpful in the long run. Actually, the education system makes you do your own work, you have to put in the hard work and in the process you learn of it. But, in my country there are a percentage of students who will put in their hard work and the other percentage will just copy. So, I am not too sure if I had studied in my country, I might have been in the later percentage but I think here I am in the first percentage of the student.

Sneha: Would you mind talking about your family a little more?

Nikita: Yes, what do you want to know about my family?

Sneha: Just tell me something about your family, your mother, father and your siblings as you have talked about.

Nikita: I have a joint family. My family and my father’s brother family live together along with my grandparents. My father’s brother has been married to my mother’s sister.

Sneha: Oh! That is sweet.

Nikita: So, did you understand what I mean. That is why we are more close to each other and it helps. Everybody works in my house. My mother also works. She is a lecturer in the university. She teaches Sanskrit. Sanskrit is like a basic language for us. It is the dialect that we use, Hindi comes from and most of the language comes from Sanskrit. I think people here also know lot about the Sanskrit. My father was first an officer in a company, but then he had a kidney transplant and he decided to take a voluntary retirement. Now, he has his own well established business of wrist watches.

Sneha: Oh! Then you must have collection of few.

Nikita: Yes, I have a great collection of wrist watches. Then we also have a family business. It is not a family business you can say. My grandfather is an insurance agent and my uncle is also an insurance agent. It is very reputed business in my city and people know them a lot. My aunt, who is my uncle’s wife and my mother’s sister, she is also a lecturer. She teaches sociology in another university. We all are very emotionally attached.

Sneha: When you came here first did you missed you family?

Nikita: The first few days when I came here it was not so bad. I came here to my brother and sister and I enjoyed it a lot, but now I really miss my family. I specially miss my dog. She is Drentse and I really miss her. When I was coming here, I think I was going to really miss them; it was a bad situation there. Even now the pressure is too much like college pressure, the exams are irritating me a lot and I miss them. But, I am going back in December and I am all excited about that.

Sneha: So, you missed your family. Did you have any cultural difference?

Nikita: Not exactly. People have been saying that there is a cultural shock when you come here. You experience different things. I enjoyed it right in the beginning, may be because I was used to it hearing from my sister and brother, and I knew what was going to happen, what was going to turn out and also because I have someone who looks after me and show me around. I was more used to it when I came here. Then the food and other stuffs, even though I am a vegetarian I adjusted again because of my brother and sister. They showed me around they told me what is right and what is not. But, some of my friends experienced cultural shock. When they came they were excited but after sometime they became very quiet and started experiencing cultural shock thing that we speak of in the orientation and stuffs. But, I was fine with it.

Sneha: Let us talk something about our countries economy, like what kind of jobs do they do?

Nikita: Unlike the belief that India is under developed country that is totally wrong. I am not saying it is a developed country but it is a developing country. It has a strong economical back ground right now. There are enough jobs and food for people. I will tell you a story, when I came here someone asked me do they have enough water and food for people. I was like totally shocked and I literally wanted to laugh at that time because it is such a wrong belief, it is not like that. In every country, there are areas or section which is not as rich as it should be. I do not know how to put it, but there is enough food, water and everything for every individual out there. The economical condition out here, I would not say it is as good as it is here. It is basically because of the political issues, not because of the economical condition. There are very developed cities and not so developed cities but on the whole it is gearing up and it is moving towards the better ray of hope. And you might have heard about its own established movie industry. It is called “Bollywood”. Here it is Hollywood and in India, it is called Bollywood. The movies are featured all over the world and most of the people know about these movies. The actors are very famous. You might have heard about Amitabh Bachan, Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai so, these movies are doing good people are recognizing India more due to these movies and industries and they are getting to know the culture better.

Sneha: When you came here did you had any expectation about America?

Nikita: I came here in December. I was expecting a very green America. Totally green, very clean and a yellowish kind of touch on it as I had seen in movies, but since it was in December there was absolutely no speck of green out there. So, when I was in flight I thought I was going in different isolated island, which is just brown and white. When I came here, as I expected the roads were very clean. It is totally different than India.

Sneha: How did you feel when you came to Saint Cloud?

Nikita: I felt good. I liked the university, the whole atmosphere. I enjoyed every part of it. I do not know why but I was a little scared. It might be because I had come to another country for the first time, and I was going to start my new career stuff. But I had seen most part of Minnesota. I had seen Minneapolis, Saint Paul and areas around it. I had seen most of the place around it. I was not shocked after coming here, but yes, I found Saint Cloud different than the cities.

Sneha: Where have you been except Saint Cloud?

Nikita: Except Saint Cloud, I have been to Minneapolis, Iowa and different places of Iowa. I have been to different places actually. During the summer, I went to California, Nevada, Idaho, and Chicago then, I really do not remember each city. I liked Salt Lake City a lot. It was all white. I liked Los Vegas also. These were the cities I have been to a lot of places actually, this is just my first year but I have seen a lot. I have also been to Wisconsin too. I really enjoyed in Valley Fair that is in cities. It was a great experience; I had not seen something like that in India. India does have amusement parks, it does have rides and others but it does not have as huge and magnificent as it is here.

Sneha: Do you have any good experience, something you want to share?

Nikita: My parents came here. It was like a good experience all together. Since, we went to California and Nevada, it was really good. It was basically a road trip, it was adventures and it was really fun. We went through different states. We went to California, Saint Francisco, Los Angeles and Sacramento and then we went to the beaches. I really liked it all. Los Vegas was also really nice. The whole atmosphere there was very festive. I am underage but my parents, they gambled a lot there. We stayed in Excalibur. The hotels in Los Vegas are based in different themes. The main features or excitement or amusement thing in Los Vegas is the Los Vegas strip that has all hotels in it. The hotel in which we stayed was based on different fight that we used to have in the history that was Excalibur castle. Other hotels had snow-white, Cinderella and different fairy tales. It was very good and beautiful. Each hotel has its own casino. People go to different casino and from different hotels. It was awesome. We stayed in casinos for five to six hours and we had so much fun. Then there was this band performing. We danced to its tune. This was the first time, we were doing something with our parents because in India, when we generally go out my parents do not dance and stuff. Everybody was dancing and everybody was going mad. It was nice, it was awesome actually.

Sneha: While in the trip, did you find something weird or a sense of discrimination that usually an international people do feel sometimes? Did you?

Nikita: Not really, something that I felt really odd that I had seen first time in Los Vegas was prostitution being legal out there and people were actually selling cards and girls were roaming all around. I found it a little odd. I had a miss feeling about it, it was funny and odd. It was totally like I was in the movie. Like we see a movie there is something happening out there, you just want to see it but you do not want to experience as such.

Sneha: What do you like most about America and being in America?

Nikita: I have not given much thought at it yet. Actually, I do not know. I like the education system, but I miss my country too. I think my country is also very great. Everything in America is easy, it is easily available. I think that is a good feature about America. One thing I do not like about Saint Cloud is there are no Indian restaurants out here. I really miss the Indian kind of food out here so, that something I do not like about Saint Cloud otherwise there is many Indian restaurant in Minneapolis, even though that are very expensive I really love them. There is no any Indian groceries stuff out here too. It is in the cities, they should have one in Saint Cloud as there are so many Indians and Nepalese student out here. We share the same food and groceries, vegetables and stuffs. That is something I miss a lot. There are no good very cheap shops. I have been in the mall a lot, but I do not find it any exciting. In India, there used to be small shops, we used to go window shopping. There used to be accessories, different cheap things available for good rates. It is good here also I am not saying it is not, but it is all about the malls out here.

Sneha: You told me you are going back this December, are you excited about going back?

Nikita: I am really excited about going back this December. I am going to miss my parents, my family out there and my friends. All my friends are coming to meet me. Since, we moved out after our high schools all of them are in different cities, they have joined different colleges. We are making plans already. I am very excited and then it will be a good break since I have been studying for months now. There are going to be many ceremonies, so that will be nice to. I am going to visit some temples, so we are planning of going to those temples like Maha Laxmi Temple and Shiv temple in India that are very famous. People here might have heard about them, they show them a lot in the Discovery Chanel. I am very excited to do there, visit these temples because I have not been in a temple for one year now.

Sneha: Thank you, Nikita for agreeing to give an interview. I hope you do well in your exam.

Nikita: Thank you, it was really a nice experience sharing it with you. I hope you have a good semester and awesome class