Interview #2 Chile

Melanie Folske
English 191 Section 21
Interviewee: Mical Bernaldo
Chile
November 3, 2009


Chile
Geography
Chile is located in “Southern South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Argentina and Peru.”1 In terms of size, Chile is “slightly smaller than twice the size of Montana.”2 Some natural hazards there are “severe earthquakes, active volcanism, and tsunamis.”3

People
Chile’s population is approximately “16,601,707 (July 2009 est.)4 The ethnic groups that can be found there are “95.4% white and white-Amerindian, 4% Mapuche, and .6% of other indigenous groups (2002 Census)” 5 For the religions of Chileans, “70% are Roman Catholic and 15.1% Evangelical.” 6 The official language of Chile is Spanish. The school life expectancy is “14 years. “7

Government
The government type of Chile is “republic.”8 Chile gained its “independence from Spain on September 18th, 1810. (This is their national holiday for Independence Day)”9 The design of the Chilean flag was “influenced by the American flag.”10

Transnational Issues
As for illicit drugs, “domestic cocaine consumption is rising, making Chile a significant consumer of cocaine (2008)” 11

Culture
“Chile culture is marked by the Inca and Mapuche cultures. This cultural diversity reflects in several forms of its cultural aspects and life. Music, theater, dance, cuisine, and literature mark its cultural diversity and distinctiveness.” 12 Chile is called the “land of poets and the country can boast of many eminent literary personalities, such as Pablo Neruda and Gabriela Mistral.” 13*
“Today, when modernization has become the cornerstone of the Chilean economy, some traditional customs still endure, particularly in the countryside. One of them, the trilla a yegua, involves using horses to help separate wheat from the chaff. In another, the rodeo, huasos on horseback rope and bring down calves in a crescent-shaped barricade, la medialuna.” 14 Chile has a national dance called the “cueca. It originates from peasant folklore and some people believe it emerged as a symbol of the newborn republic in rebellion against the Spanish crown. The steps represent the cock stalking the hen, the amorous courting of a couple, or the cornering of a filly (Chilean cowboy), which he is trying to lasso. Men and women dance to the classic rhythm, twirling their kerchiefs in the air.” 15

1-11:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/np.html 2 Nov 2009
12-13:
http://www.mapsofworld.com/south-america/culture/chile.html. 2 Nov 2009.
14-15:
http://www.chipsites.com/ww/chile_culture_101.html 2 Nov 2009.

Preparations Made:
I used the same questions that I did for my previous interview because I felt they were helpful in getting the interviewee to open up. I especially enjoy asking questions about what people do in their free time as well as what they eat, because it is almost always something unique and fun. I also kept just about the same objectives that I had last time. The only revised objective that I had was to have my pauses last a little bit longer than they did in my previous interview. I thought during my first interview that I was waiting long enough for a response, but it wasn’t until the transcription process that I realized that I should have waited a few seconds longer. Once again, I booked a room at the Miller Center Library for this interview. I got there about fifteen minutes early to prepare the room and to get my thoughts and nerves gathered. I think that using the rooms is very professional and a good idea because it is a quiet and neutral environment. For technology, I used my friend’s video camera again. It worked well last time, so I didn’t think it was necessary to make any changes in that sense.

How did you approach people, how did you secure them for the interview?
I was originally planning on interviewing someone from Nepal for my second interview, but he cancelled at the last minute, so I ended up interviewing a girl from Chile. She is a learning assistant in one of my classes and all I knew about her was that she was an international student. I approached her after class this past Monday, November 2nd, 2009 and told her my name and that I had to interview international students for my English class. She told me she would love to be interviewed because she really enjoys talking about her country because not many people are brave enough to ask her about it. We then set up a time that worked for the both of us.

When, where, and how did you conduct?
On Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 2pm, Mical Bernaldo and I met up in the Miller Center Library café. We then went up to a room on the second floor that I had previously booked. I arrived there at approximately 1:50pm to go up to the room to set up the video camera, leave out a copy of the questions for the both of us, as well as to have water bottles handy for the both of us. Once again, I conducted the interview in a very professional manner. I didn’t dress up as much as I did last time because I had class beforehand and I didn’t want to intimidate her because she seemed to be sort of a shy type of person. I didn’t have gum in my mouth and I was careful to not interrupt her as well as to pause after she finished her last sentence to make sure there wasn’t anything additional that she wanted to say.

Whom did you interview? Provide an abstract of the interviewee's biography.
I interviewed Mical Bernaldo. She is from Temuco, Chile. Temuco is a medium-sized city, comparable to the size of Minneapolis. She is 22 years old and has been in the United States for about 4 years. Her favorite food is empanadas chilenas. It consists of a flour-based dough with a filling that has beef and raisins in it and then is baked. Since she was about 14 years old, she has been intent on coming to America to travel the country and to get a higher education. She does not go home much, but speaks to her parents about every other day on the phone. She does, however, enjoy the culture here and plans on staying her for her career. In her free time, she likes to dance and to cook her native foods because it reminds her of her friends and family back at home. Mical has found it very easy to make friends here. She has found the people to be very approachable and friendly to her. The only thing she doesn’t really like about Minnesota is the cold weather here. She also mentioned she doesn’t like the fact that it is difficult for her to find genuine Chilean food.

Describe the interview process from your vantage point. Was there any part that impressed you, moved you, or gave pause to you?
The interview went very well. Mical and I plan on getting together again sometime as a result. The fact that they have a national dance is very interesting to me. I’ve learned that dancing is an important part of their culture. Chile makes the United States seem really boring. I am surprised by the fact that it is fairly difficult to tell that she is not originally from here, other than from her accent. She is fairly adapted to the American culture. A part that gave pause to me was that despite being so far away from her family and not being able to see them much, she has been very successful here and is planning on living here for the rest of her life. However, when she is through with college and getting settled in her career, she plans on going back more often.

Why did you choose to not transcribe this interview?
I chose to not transcribe this interview not because it wasn’t interesting, but because it wasn’t who I originally planned on interviewing. She is also from a place completely different from Nepal, so all of the information that I gathered was somewhat useless. The experience from interviewing yet another person, though, is something that I managed to gain from this. Through interviewing people, especially international students, you gain the opportunity to learn more about different cultures and hardships that people have gone through. It teaches you to listen more closely to other people as well as to be more aware of the world around us.