This is something not directly related to English education, but is something which will be more important when we involve in "teaching", so I post it here.
I decided to interview 100 people about what they think is the most important thing in life during my stay in America, and here's the story of my first interview.
~ ~ ~
I had my first interview of life with my friend and my conversation partner. He friendlily shared his story as well as his thought on the questions I asked him.
He studies International studies as his major in university, as well as Anthropology and Religious studies as his minor (he’s a double minor student). He is also interested in Asian studies. When I asked my first question, why he’s interested in these areas, he answered,
“Because I’m interested in the way people lived in the ancient times and how their ways influence our life today.”
I got interested in why he is interested in people and their way of living. I knew I was going to ask him a lot of “why” questions. He took a couple of seconds to think and said,
“It’s related to my half Lebanese background.”
Here came new information about him. I didn’t know that he has this background! He smiled and started to tell me his family’s story.
“My mom and my grandma cooked many ethnic dishes from there. We sometimes had family gathering with neighbors and had simultaneous dancing competition with Arabic music. Also, when I was little, my grandma told me a lot of Lebanese stories. Those stories made me interested in Lebanese culture and life there, and after that, I found it very interesting to learn and know different cultures even from areas which you don’t know where it is.”
He told me that he was tried to send his grandmother to Lebanon twice, because he intuitively recognized that it is very important to visit one’s genetic home. He, himself also wants to visit Lebanon, because that place is wired to his gene. He, then, told me that culture and history are strongly related with each other. He shared some stories which describe how strong culture oppressed, dominated and pushed out minor culture in history. That was very interesting, to tell the truth. I always like listening to stories from people who know better than me.
After the historical story, I asked him how he is going to connect his background and his study to the future. He told me about three things he wanted to do in the future. First one was Arabic translator, but he admitted that he felt it very tough to learn Arabic when he started, and gave up the first one. The second one was to work as a study abroad supporter. This was based on his own experience when he studied abroad in Spain.
The woman in the international office who was in charge of me was very nice. But, she didn’t contact me, and actually all the other students who were studying abroad at that time, even though she said she would do before we had left. I know people face culture shock and all the other difficulties when they go abroad, so I want to support them, and I will definitely contact them while they are there to help them with their problems.
After he told me the story, he stopped talking for a couple of seconds, and then, he started to talk about the third thing he wants to do.
And, actually, I want to be a massage provider. I want to provide people with holistic healing.
It reminded me of one martial art which I do, so I talked about it for a while. After that, I asked him a holistic question which is an important question in my interview: with a whole picture of your life from the past to the future, what are the important things for you? His answer reflected his character and background.
I think one thing which is very important for me is to do something good. For everybody. I want to be a study abroad supporter because I want to help people who suffer in cultural difference. I want to be a massager to heal people who need it. I want to help people, and have good influence on them.
I asked him another which I thought was realistic: what do you if you find that what you can do to help people is very limited, such as helping people in poverty in the world. You can’t help all of them, right? His answer was something I didn’t expected and therefore, very interesting.
From my philosophical view, what I can do is to hope. We have a very short time to exist in the world, but I believe everything is connected to where the world is gonna go. Even though I can’t have direct influence, hoping will connect to those people in some way.
This was enlightening for me, because I had never thought that even hoping will connect in some way. This was truly an eye-opener for me. He added one more important thing in his life.
Also, I believe that ideal will help. If you have something strong in your mind, it will help you when you face difficulties.
I thought his study about Socrates might have had influenced him to reach this answer. I don’t know. But in any cases, it is a very nice comment which I don’t think I can get from many people.
Finally, I asked him the question which is the purpose of my interview. What is the most important thing in life? He smiled and answered,
I think the most important thing in life is having an ideal. Having something to stand by. At the same time, once you get the ideal, it is very important to be open to other ideas. People think differently, and the conceptual thoughts differ. It is possible and probable that your ideal or belief is different from those of other people’s. In that case, you cannot neglect or discard the other ideas. You have to stay open to them.
Have ideal and be open to other ideas. Those are the most important things in life.
