Final Paper

Neset Furkan Akbas

Final Draft

ENG 191

4/24/12

Non-Smoking Life

            I`m certain you know that smoking damages your body. Please tell me, why do you smoke anymore? Is it because you have not become conscious about all the bad effects or that you haven`t seen any effect of smoking on your health, or body. There are also some scientific articles about why do people still smoke. An article which was written by Valerie Ebbens states that: “Many clients lack confidence in everyday tasks and struggle to find the confidence and motivation needed to quit smoking. In contemplating quitting, they may also fear failure. The smoking culture among mental health care clients and staff, which has been perceived as normal for many years, is difficult to change.”(“Use of smoking cessation therapies in adult mental health settings”, n.d.)(1)Anyways, people should not smoke at all if they care about themselves. Main effects of smoking cigarette are health issues, spending a lot of money which belongs to your family’s future, and negative impact on people who are not smoking.

            The first reason why we shouldn`t smoke is because of the health effects on our body. If you smoke, exercising will be harder especially for professional athletes. For example, soccer players are not allowed to smoke because smoking affects their running and condition abilities. Furthermore, when your physical condition is negatively affected, you won`t be able to succeed in sports, or even using stairs of your apartment which is a way for doing exercise in your daily life. Besides that, smoking produces killer diseases like cancer. Another example is smoking during pregnancy. Woman`s should not smoke when they are pregnant. The reason of that is, it may cause bad effects on babies life. A book which was written by Office Of Women`s Health states : “Women who smoke are more likely to have premature, still born, or low birth weight babies.”(“Smoking”, pg. 4)(2) These are just some examples for effects of smoking during pregnancy.  Plus, the quality of your life lessens with every single cigarette. A report which was written by the Surgeon General’s Office states: “there is no safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke. Any exposure to tobacco smoke – even an occasional cigarette or exposure to secondhand smoke – is harmful” (“How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease”, n.d.)(3). Maybe you think about the other smokers and say; “ Why don`t all smokers get sick?”. They do get sick! A book which was written by Alton Ochsner states: “ Sometimes the sickness does not appear to be related to smoking. Smokers, for example, are experiencing a marked increase in cancer of the bladder. This is seemingly a remote area to suffer tobacco damage, but it has been found that certain tobacco irritants are too resistant to be detoxified as they pass through the system and accumulate in the bladder, where they do their damage before the body can dispose of them.”(Smoking:Your Choice Between Life and Death, p.g.183)(4) Currently, maybe you do not know all the physical effects of smoking, but one day you definitely will. Also, you will be sorry about your past decisions of your life and be sorry to your family because of spending their money to harm yourself.

            The second important point is spending money for smoking cigarettes. In my opinion, nobody starts to smoke cigarettes by themself. For example, someone may offer you to smoke one cigarette, or some parents teach their child how to smoke, but do not forget that if you try it, once one day you will feel the need for another cigarette. Henceforth, you will start paying money for cigarettes, and every time this amount will increase. Then finally one day you will damn the first day you smoked a cigarette. Additionally, maybe one day you will marry the most beautiful woman you have ever seen, and you will have children for whom you have responsibilities. Nowadays, cigarette buying rate is so high which means a lot of people is smoking cigarette. Research done by the Center for Disease Control states: “more than 315 billion cigarettes were purchased in the United States in 2009, with 3 companies selling nearly 85% of them” (“Economic Facts About U.S. Tobacco Production and Use”, n.d.)(5)  Moreover some people do not care about $5.00, but with a small calculation you will see it`s a big deal. So, if we make it more specific for better understanding, smoking a pack everyday for ten years with a $5.00 average price will show how serious it is. In fact, it will be around $18,250.00, and with this amount you could send your child to college, or buy a nice car, or even go to Europe for one weeks’ vacation with your family once a year for five years. Imagine that you passed away because of smoking cigarettes when you are responsible for your family. What are your children, your wife, and parents going to do after you die? Don`t you think that you need to spend your money on something better?

            The last reason why you shouldn`t smoke is the negative impact on the people who are around you. An article which was published online by the Mayo Clinic explains: “exposure to the toxins in secondhand smoke can cause asthma, cancer and other serious problems. Know what you're breathing — and consider practical steps for clearing the air.”(Secondhand smoke: Avoid dangers in the air, 2010)(6) So, when you smoke cigarettes, it will not damage only you, it will also injure people who are near you. Even, your  family can get affected because of second-hand smoking. A book which was written by Paul Slovic states: “The most recent meta-analysis combined evidence from 37 published studies and estimated the excess lung cancer risk for nonsmokers married to smokers as 24%.”(Smoking; Risk Perception,&Policy, pg.26)(7)   You should at least try to be aware of smoking in front of the people who do not smoke. In fact, many people do not want to smell the cigarette odor. The people around you might not want to be secondhand smoker, but in this situation you are forcing them to be one.

            In my opinion, many people started smoking because of their social circle. When a friend offer one cigarette, you may not be mature enough to know what can be the bad effects for you , friends, and family. Also, some people believe that after they start smoking they can easily quit with some kind of medicines like nicotine gums. An article about nicotine gums which was written by David Gutierrez states that:” Although we acknowledge the importance of encouraging people to quit smoking, our research suggests nicotine found in lozenges and chewing gums may increase the risk of mouth cancer” (“Nicotine gum linked to mouth cancer”, 2009)(8) Therefore, families should tell the bad effects of cigarette to their children when they were young. Furthermore, if the family gives that knowledge to their child, he/she might share that with everybody. So that, they can learn cigarette is a murderer. Also, it should be a class for young children for the same reason. The reason of that is, if you can show young children that smoking is bad it will take a place in their mind for his/her future. Next generation should understand that smoking cigarette is a murderer and the biggest disease of mankind.

            In conclusion, I have explained the main reasons why you shouldn`t smoke. Don`t forget that smoking has many serious disadvantages. Therefore, I hope that now some of you who smoke cigarette are going to think a little and try to make good decisions against cigarettes. Besides all of the reasons I have said, I would like you to think about how much you love yourself, your parents, your family, and also your friends. Even after, think about harming yourself without any benefit. If your feelings are with smoking, what a big shame. If you decide to even think about it, you`ll feel the difference. Don`t forget, if you succeed to kill the need for cigarette in your brain, you will bury it!    

<1> Ebbens, V., & Crane, S. (2011). Use of smoking cessation therapies in adult

                        mental health settings. Mental Health Practice, 15(4), 26-28.

      <2> (2007). Smoking. [Rockville, MD]: FDA Office of Women's Health, .

      <3>How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease (2010). Retrieved from website: http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/tobaccosmoke/factsheet.html

Visited on:(4/17/12)

 <4>Ochsner, A. (1971,c1970). Smoking: your choice between life and death. New York: Simon and Schuster.

 <5>Economic Facts About U.S. Tobacco Production and Use (2011). Retrieved from website:                 `            http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/economics/econ_facts/

Visited on :(4/17/12)

 <6>Dangers of smoking. (2010, March 6). Retrieved from website:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/secondhand-smoke/CC00023

Visited on:(4/17/12)

      <7>Slovic, P. (2001). Smoking: risk, perception & policy. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications.

<8>Gutierrez, D. (2009). Nicotine gum linked to mouth cancer. Retrieved from http://www.naturalnews.com/027219_nicotine_cancer_smoking.html

Three person whom I talked

1-) FAISAL
2-) FARUX
3-) JANAKA

Final Paper Outline

Introduction (Thesis):

I`m certain you know that smoking damages your body. Please tell me, why do you smoke anymore? Is it because you have not become conscious about all the bad effects or that you haven`t seen any effect of smoking on your health, or body. People should not smoke at all if they care about themselves. Main effects of smoking cigarette are health issues, spending a lot of money which belongs to your family’s future, and negative impact on people who are not smoking.- An overall sentence which includes the summary of body paragraphs.

1. Body - Health Effects on Body

- Effects on Athletes
- Diseases (cancer,..)
- Effects on Pregnant Woman
- Reduces the life quality

2.Body - Money Spent on Cigarette

- Before being addicted to cigarette
- After being addicted to cigarette
- Spended money on cigarette in U.S.
- Spended money on cigarette per person and things we can do with that money.

3. Body - Negative Impact on the People Who Are Around You

- Bad effects on non-smokers
- The danger for second-hand smokers.
- Cancer risks

Conclusion

- An overall sentence which obtains the summary of body paragraphs.

- A good ending sentence which may help people remind the essay to quit smoking.

In conclusion, I have explained the main reasons why you shouldn`t smoke. Don`t forget that smoking has many serious disadvantages. Therefore, I hope that now some of you who smoke cigarette are going to think a little and try to make good decisions against cigarettes. Besides all of the reasons I have said, I would like you to think about how much you love yourself, your parents, your family, and also your friends. Even after, think about harming yourself without any benefit. If your feelings are with smoking, what a big shame. If you decide to even think about it, you`ll feel the difference. Don`t forget, if you succeed to kill the need for cigarette in your brain, you will bury it!

Using quotes correctly

Country Report

Introduction

“Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam and home to Islam`s two holiest shrines in Mecca and Medina.”(1) Also, they are directed by kingdom. Their last kings` name is King Abdullah bin Abd al-Aziz. His official title is the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. Saudi Arabia is so rich because they have a huge oil reservoir. They sell oil overseas and earn money for their economy with this awesome opportunity. “Saudi Arabia has the world's second largest oil reserves and is the world's second largest oil exporter. Oil accounts for more than 90% of exports and nearly 75% of government revenues, facilitating the creation of a welfare state.”(2) Saudi Arabia has a huge land but the population is 27 million. The weather in the north side is hot, but south side is cold from what I heard from my interviewees. The capital of Saudi Arabia is Riyadh.

Source(s):
*(1)  http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107947.html?pageno=2 

*(2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabia 

Grading

Grades

1st Place :Schleif, Nicholas E

2nd Place: Alali, Faisal H

3rd Place:Smith, Tiffany M

Comparing all interviews

I was so lucky about my interviewees they helped me a lot. That`s something helped me improve my skills for every other interview. Also, they were all so relaxed when we were doing interview which keeps me calm during interviews.

My first interview wasn`t that good because for that one I was a little bit out of time to finish it. So, I hurried up too much. That`s something provoke me to do mistakes. Anyways, this is a life lesson that teaches me to never hurry up to finish a work. Hurry always reduces the quality of the work. Anyways, my first interview was the easiest one because I knew Faisal from IEC. So, it was easy to have a dialog and we corrected our mistakes. For the first one my point was to ask the questions and get the answers. That makes the first one the worst one.

My second interview was better than the first one. I felt that because I was asking my questions with connecters. So that, every other point was connected to the next one. Yet, the questions were still the same with the text. After the interview I saw that, it wasn`t a good way to interview like that.

My third interview was the greatest I think. I have corrected most of my mistakes which I point out before. For an example, I asked my questions with connectors and with my own words. So that, the conversation was more informal and friendly. Since our assignment is not like a journalist interview I felt that it was better way to have the dialog more friendly and informal and I thought it`s going to be better for our assignment.

Finally, the progress I have made satisfied me in some ways. If we had more time on this assignment, I bet everyone in our class would make perfect interviews. Anyways, I liked what we do, I enjoyed and I get skills with this work. That was our goal and we made it I think.

Third Interview, Preparation, During, Country Report

Third Interview

Abdullah M.

Furkan A.

F: Hi Abdullah how are you ?
A: I am good how are you doing?
F: I am good too. Did you like this place where we interview?
A: Yeah, it is good but a little bit chilly. But, yeah.

F: I`m sorry for this because I could not find any study room in library. Anyways, I am wondering to know typical day of a child in your country, how is it in your country?
A: Hmm.. It is typical to I don`t know like how can I compare to other countries, but it`s like wake up at 7.30 and go to school, after that come eat lunch and after that do your homework, go pray and yeah in the end we sleep like 10 or eleven.
F: So, typical day for child…
A: Typical day, yeah.. Typical day for child.

F: Was it same for you too, when you were child ?
A:Yeah..
F:So, it is like this for everybody in your country?
A: Yeah..

F:Also, I am wondering to know how is our campus, like do you have any thoughts to make campus life better?
A: Yeah, actually I like the campus. They give us everything we need. They put everything, but there should be something missing in my opinion. Nothing is complete in this life. So, I think for me as international student I need someone to like speak and introduce me the culture as a reality. You know go with me, show to me. Show me what is good, what is not. You kow. Like introduce me about the culture more and also as well as I will get a benefit for also my speaking. It`s going to improve my speaking.
F:I agree with that.. You mean like assistance?
A: Assistance, or.. I don`t know.

F: People who can help you improve your speaking skills and…
A:Speaking also like this institution for the English here they give us like culture classes we need to practice the culture. It`s not only like improving speaking. It`s like to know what is going on. For example, sometime rule.. Okay, you will know it from the people so it will be easy for you.
F:Yeah.. Like you need to see it visually to understand what`s up.
A: Yes..

F: Okay, and how about sports in your country? Let`s go back to our country topic. What is the famous sport in your country?
A: Soccer..
F: How many million fans does soccer have in your country?
A: Million… I don`t know like half of the population.

F: For real?
A:More than that yeah..
F:So, then Arabic people like soccer?
A:Yeah, it is the first sport for us.

F: Do you have any other famous sports like basketball, volleyball?
A: Yeah, after I came here I was interested in basketball and the American football
F: Yeah, that’s cool. How about the food. I always ask questions about the food and which country`s food do you like the most or is your country`s food is famous ?
A: I guess it is not that famous, but like as a Arabian person it is best food, yes. Saudi Arabia, our food is not famous until now,yeah..

F:  Which country`s food do you like the most?
A: Most of the Arabian country, also Turkish food. I love Turkish food.
F:Is there any similarities or differences between Arabic and Turkish food ?
A: Actually, ours is like lubnanies . No, actually it`s not like different maybe spices are diferent. I don`t know.

F: Yeah, the spices are different, but the name are same, right?  Kebap, shwarma..
A: Yeah, kebap, shwarma, sis kebap.
F:How about the government in your country. What type of government is in charge of your home country? How did it affect your life and how has democracy in America been a change?
A:Hmmm.. Actually, the government back home based in the religion. They should follow the original rule and for here they are like more like free for religion for other cultures. They all do whatever they want to do, but they should like follow those rules. So, the difference here like you can see it the legal person.

F: So, the government type is kingdom in your country,right?
A: Yeah, kingdom.
F:Who is your king?
A:Abdullah.

F: Nice, since when he is your king ?
A: Around like four or five years.
F:So, let`s continue talking with your country. If I go to your country how can I greet people, how can I meet people ? What`s the typical greeting in your culture and what does it mean ?
A: Ah.. The typical one is selamun aleykum. It`s like peace on you . Also, the other like when I say you selamun aleykum you should like say aleykum selam which means like the same meaning. This is also piece in the religion. So, most of like I would say like eight percent of our culture is based on our culture, not one hundred percent. Yeah, most of our greeting is based on religion.

F: So, when you saw someone who you know do you kiss cheeks, like Turkish people do ?

A: Yes, we do . Like about special events if it`s like your friend who you didn`t see for a long time. Yeah, we do the same hug, and shake hands and like kiss from both side of the cheeks.
F: So, if I go to your country If I shake hands and if I say selamun aleykum  I can kiss cheeks. How about the females? Can we do the same for them?
A:Ahh.. No, at least if you know her. As I told you before it`s based on the religion who you allowed to do or not. For relatives you can do it, but for strangers nobody is allowed to do it to opposite gender.

F: How about the school starting age, how old a child should be to start school? And are you under a lot of stress when you are in the school.

A: Ahh. We start at 6 years old or 7. Yes, six. What was the other question was? Sorry for that.
F: Are you under a lot of stress in the school when you were a child ?
A: A lot of stress, yeah. In the past I didn`t like the education system before the..

F: The government change ?

A: The government change.. No, it`s not the government change it`s like the education the system. Because we have like a special department for education that … When you say like kingdom. When you say king everybody things that he is responsible about everything inside and outside of the country, yeah he is but, there are different embassies like some people have give a budget for each like hear to spend it in education or to spend it in any like department. In the past, I didn`t like the education it was more hard, it`s more like being I think soldier, not as a student. They are so strict. Yeah, but now thanks god, everything is getting better and better. I can tell from the young people as my brother  or cuisine`s. Like I can tell how difference knowledge they get and the school and the education.
F: So, you like the education now, not in the past?
A: Yeah, while I was studying also everything has changed. Like for me when I was in high school the first things was changed and after like I graduate they changed better and better. Yeah..

F:Yeah, nice. How about the religios holiday other cultural events, do you have them ? Can you explain traditions for each?

A: Yeah, actually we have two that we celebrate. Which like also based on religion. Which is Ramadan it`s I think you know it and sometimes we celebrate independence day for the Saudi for the independence. Now they celebrate it, but not like Ramadan.
F: Like Ramadan, Qurban.
A:Yeah, like Ramadan.

F: So, how about the daily rituals in regards to your religios beliefs? How do you do it in your religion?

A: We pray five times a day. We, ahh this is what we practice actually.  Also, we have like a month that we fast. The all month reminding the poor people and also we pay people like zekat which is ten percent what you own. Ahh, that`s it. Also ,we have something like hac and umre that who like able to do it. Yeah..
F:Yeah.. Nice man. We are almost same in this religious stuff, because you know our countries are both muslim, so I know a little bit what you mean. How about the transportation in your country. Which transportation do you guys use in the most.  I know the fuel is cheap, so..
A:  Yeah, that`s why.. The fuel is so cheap down there so people use their own car in the city. Like traveling from a city to the other they use train, airplane ,busses..

F: So, cars are the most popular, then?

A: Ahh.. Airplane, then like busses and train.
F:So, how about when they travel for example to Turkey, do they use planes, or cars.
A:I think the planes, because I heard about it.

F:I thought like that because the fuel is so cheap, so they can use cars to drive around.

A: Yeah, but when you across the border  the price will be changed. You will face like Georgians which have the most expensive fuel in the world.  
F: Turkey, Turkey, it`s Turkey.
A:Turkey, Syrian, yeah..

F:How much is it in Syria?

A: Ahh.. I don`t know actually, I haven`t gone to Syria, but like  what I heard it should be more expensive then ours.
F: In my country it`s like one litre is three dollars.
A: Wow, same here now . Your`s cheaper than here then.

F: From the U.S. ?

A: Yeah..
F:No.. The U.S. is one gallon three dollars. So it`s like three or four times expensive.
A:What ? Waow.

F:Then let`s try the private question. If you don`t want to answer, it is your choice.

A: Yeahh.. The secret.
F: Could you tell me a secret about yourself that very few people know about that, and shows us who you are better?
A:As I said before there is no secret. So, why they call it secret end even like I will tell you like I don`t know. It`s not that like funny. For sure, everybody have secrets.

F: So, what`s yours?

A: I don`t have one. I don`t have something to tell you about it. Ahh.. I don`t know actually..
F: So, you don`t have any secret?
A: No, actually.

F: So, you share everything with people than ?

A: Yeah, I share everything.
F: That’s nice. Also, when a person asks you like what`s your secret it`s hard to tell at that moment.

A: yeah, exactly.

F: Alright, man thanks for coming and helping me with my interview project.

A: Not, a problem man.



Preparation

          It was the fourth of the April. I figured out that I have to return my third interview for next day. Than I decided to call, Abdullah to schedule an appointment to do my interview. I asked him if he was available, or not. He told me that he was fine to help me. We set the appointment at 9.15 p.m. I was so happy because I was absent last week, so I couldn`t ask anybody to interview with me. After that, I printed out my question sheet in library and I asked the help desk for an available room. He told me that there is no room available until 11p.m. However, Abdullah accepted to interview outside. It was a little bit cold, but anyways we didn`t die. J

During

           We did the interview outside in the dark. It was a little bit cold, but we were find because both of us were wearing hoodies. Once we started the conversation I feel that he was so confortable having a dialog. The was so fine with giving answers. Also, I learned a lot of other things from Abdullah. I think he wasn`t bored or anything like that because he wasn`t giving short answers. The answers were long and understandable. Only problem was to make the transcript of the dialog because I didn`t think about how loud can busses be. When they drive around recording machine wasn`t allowed to record our voice.

Country Report

"Introduction

Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam and home to Islam's two holiest shrines in Mecca and Medina. The king's official title is the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. The modern Saudi state was founded in 1932 by ABD AL-AZIZ bin Abd al-Rahman Al SAUD (Ibn Saud) after a 30-year campaign to unify most of the Arabian Peninsula. One of his male descendents rules the country today as required by the country's 1992 Basic Law. King ABDALLAH bin Abd al-Aziz ascended to the throne in 2005. Following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, Saudi Arabia accepted the Kuwaiti royal family and 400,000 refugees while allowing Western and Arab troops to deploy on its soil for the liberation of Kuwait the following year. The continuing presence of foreign troops on Saudi soil after the liberation of Kuwait became a source of tension between the royal family and the public until all operational US troops left the country in 2003. Major terrorist attacks in May and November 2003 spurred a strong on-going campaign against domestic terrorism and extremism. King ABDALLAH has continued the cautious reform program begun when he was crown prince."(3)

"Geography

Saudi Arabia occupies most of the Arabian Peninsula, with the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba to the west and the Persian Gulf to the east. Neighboring countries are Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, the Sultanate of Oman, Yemen, and Bahrain, connected to the Saudi mainland by a causeway. Saudi Arabia contains the world's largest continuous sand desert, the Rub Al-Khali, or Empty Quarter. Its oil region lies primarily in the eastern province along the Persian Gulf.

Government

Saudi Arabia was an absolute monarchy until 1992, at which time the Saud royal family introduced the country's first constitution. The legal system is based on the sharia (Islamic law).

History

Saudi Arabia is not only the homeland of the Arab peoples—it is thought that the first Arabs originated on the Arabian Peninsula—but also the homeland of Islam, the world's second-largest religion. Muhammad founded Islam there, and it is the location of the two holy pilgrimage cities of Mecca and Medina. The Islamic calendar begins in 622, the year of the hegira, or Muhammad's flight from Mecca. A succession of invaders attempted to control the peninsula, but by 1517 the Ottoman Empire dominated, and in the middle of the 18th century, it was divided into separate principalities. In 1745 Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab began calling for the purification and reform of Islam, and the Wahhabi movement swept across Arabia. By 1811, Wahhabi leaders had waged a jihad—a holy war—against other forms of Islam on the peninsula and succeeded in uniting much of it. By 1818, however, the Wahhabis had been driven out of power again by the Ottomans and their Egyptian allies.

The kingdom of Saudi Arabia is almost entirely the creation of King Ibn Saud (1882–1953). A descendant of Wahhabi leaders, he seized Riyadh in 1901 and set himself up as leader of the Arab nationalist movement. By 1906 he had established Wahhabi dominance in Nejd and conquered Hejaz in 1924–1925. The Hejaz and Nejd regions were merged to form the kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932, which was an absolute monarchy ruled by sharia. A year later the region of Asir was incorporated into the kingdom."(1)

"Area

Saudi Arabia has an area of about 2,240,000 sq km (about 865,000 sq mi).

Capital

Riyadh

Language

The national language is Arabic. English is spoken in business circles.  "(2

The Discovery of Oil and Political Evolution

"Oil was discovered in 1936, and commercial production began during World War II. This oil-derived wealth allowed the country to provide free health care and education while not collecting any taxes from its people. Saudi Arabia was neutral until nearly the end of the war, but it was permitted to be a charter member of the United Nations. The country joined the Arab League in 1945 and took part in the 1948–1949 war against Israel. Saudi Arabia still does not recognize the state of Israel. On Ibn Saud's death in 1953, his eldest son, Saud, began an 11-year reign marked by an increasing hostility toward the radical Arabism of Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser. In 1964, the ailing Saud was deposed and replaced by the prime minister, Crown Prince Faisal, who gave vocal support but no military help to Egypt in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.

Faisal's assassination by a deranged kinsman in 1975 shook the Middle East, but it failed to alter his kingdom's course. His successor was his brother, Prince Khalid. Khalid gave influential support to Egypt during negotiations on Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai Desert. King Khalid died of a heart attack in 1982, and he was succeeded by his half-brother, Prince Fahd bin 'Abdulaziz, who had exercised the real power throughout Khalid's reign. King Fahd chose his half-brother Abdullah as crown prince.

Saudi Arabia and the smaller oil-rich Arab states on the Persian Gulf, fearful that they might become Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's next targets if Iran conquered Iraq, made large financial contributions to the Iraqi war effort during the 1980s. At the same time, cheating by other members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), competition from nonmember oil producers, and conservation efforts by consuming nations combined to drive down the world price of oil. At the time Saudi Arabia had one-third of all known oil reserves, but falling demand and rising production outside OPEC combined to reduce its oil revenues from $120 billion in 1980 to less than $25 billion in 1985, threatening the country with domestic unrest and undermining its influence in the Gulf area.

At the start of 1996, King Fahd passed authority to Crown Prince Abdullah, after suffering an incapacitating stroke. In 1998 the country's oil income fell by 40% because of a worldwide decline in prices, and it entered its first recession in six years.

In 2000, Saudi Arabia, along with other OPEC nations experiencing a recession, decided to reduce production to raise oil prices. In 2001, OPEC cut oil production three additional times." (1)

Sources
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107947.html?pageno=2 (1)
http://www.arab.de/arabinfo/saudi.htm (2)
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sa.html (3)

Grading

Grades

1-) Schleif, Nicholas E
2-)Abdullaev, Farrukh K
3-)Alali, Faisal H

Comparing my first and second interview

Interview is always important for our future life. The training we did in class is really useful and it is going to help us a lot. Every interview we do gives us more skill to do the next one better and better. My first interview wasn`t that good because it was our first assignment. For me, my way of asking questions improved when I compare with the first one. Plus, I was more relaxed and comfortable because in the second one I understood what to do. It helped me to ask my questions easily and create new topic to talk about. Actually, it is always easy to ask questions to a person who you know before.  Only different thing that I noticed is, I felt that I am improving.  My interviewee was from Cameroon which is way to different to Arabic culture. The conversation was so fluent because my interviewee was so cool when he was answering my questions.  The new thing for my second interview was the way I ask questions has changed when I compare to the first one, because I felt that in the first one it was so basic. However, his culture was contradictory and because of that it was hard to compare with the other cultures. I have spent at least one and half hour to transcript the recording. The reason of that is, his pronunciation was a little bit hard to understand.  I`ve satisfied with my interview, but I think I need to practice to be natural when I am asking questions. What I mean from natural is I shouldn`t just focus on the questions which I have to ask. The introduction part should be like a normal conversation rather than starting with questions directly. That`s something I have to fix. I felt this when I read my classmates interviews. I hope my next interview will be better.

Preparation, During the interview, Country Report

Preparation

I`ve decided to interview Mark when I was in library. I`ve asked Mark is he available or not. Then, when he sayed he was available I reserved a room in library on March 26th 2012. After that, right before the interview I reviewed the questions and rearranged everything. I called him to meet me in room 234 and we started interview.

During


The person whom I`ve interviewed with was my roommate so he wasn`t stressed when we started the interview. He was so confortable when he was answering the questions. Plus, I was so confottable to ask questions because he was my roommate. However, there was some questions that makes him think about. For example, he was so depressed when I asked about a secret of his. I think it was his privacy, so I just told him to say anything that makes him confotable. That was the hardest part of the  interview but other than that it was a great interview to know more about Mark and his culture.

Country Report

COUNTRY DESCRIPTION

Cameroon is a developing country in central Africa that offers many natural and cultural attractions, but lacks modern tourism facilities. The busy port and commercial center of Douala, its largest city, contrasts with the relative calm of inland Yaounde, the capital. Cameroon is officially bilingual. French dominates as the language of education and government in all regions except the southwest and northwest, where English is widely spoken. Most educated people and staff at major hotels speak both languages. In February 2008, social and political discord led to civil unrest; however, since that time the country has experienced relative stability and peace. Crime continues to be a significant concern throughout Cameroon. National elections are expected to be held in late 2011.

Geography

Cameroon is a Central African nation on the Gulf of Guinea, bordered by Nigeria, Chad, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. It is nearly twice the size of Oregon. Mount Cameroon (13,350 ft; 4,069 m), near the coast, is the highest elevation in the country. The main rivers are the Benue, Nyong, and Sanaga.

Government

After a 1972 plebiscite, a unitary republic was formed out of East and West Cameroon to replace the former federal republic.

History

Bantu speakers were among the first groups to settle Cameroon, followed by the Muslim Fulani in the 18th and 19th centuries. The land escaped colonial rule until 1884, when treaties with tribal chiefs brought the area under German domination. After World War I, the League of Nations gave the French a mandate over 80% of the area, and the British 20% adjacent to Nigeria. After World War II, when the country came under a UN trusteeship in 1946, self-government was granted, and the Cameroon People's Union emerged as the dominant party by campaigning for reunification of French and British Cameroon and for independence. Accused of being under Communist control, the party waged a campaign of revolutionary terror from 1955 to 1958, when it was crushed. In British Cameroon, unification was also promoted by the leading party, the Kamerun National Democratic Party, led by John Foncha.

Cameroon Becomes an Independent Republic

France set up Cameroon as an autonomous state in 1957, and the next year its legislative assembly voted for independence by 1960. In 1959 a fully autonomous government of Cameroon was formed under Ahmadou Ahidjo. Cameroon became an independent republic on Jan. 1, 1960. In 1961 the southern part of the British territory joined the new Federal Republic of Cameroon and the northern section voted for unification with Nigeria. The president of Cameroon since independence, Ahmadou Ahidjo was replaced in 1982 by the prime minister, Paul Biya. Both administrations have been authoritarian.

With the expansion of oil, timber, and coffee exports, the economy has continued to improve, although corruption is prevalent, and environmental degradation remains a concern. In June 2000 the World Bank agreed to provide more than $200 million to build a $3.7 billion pipeline connecting the oil fields in neighboring Chad with the Cameroon coast. In Aug. 2006 Nigeria turned over the disputed oil-rich Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon—Nigeria had been resisting the World Court ruling since 2002.

Sources
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107382.html

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1081.html#country

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cm.html

Interview -2-

Mark K.

Furkan A.

F: Hey Mark ! How are you?

M: Hey Furkan ! Good, how about you ?

F: I`m pretty good. Thank you for helping me out with my interview by the way.

M: No, problem man.

F: If you don`t mind I want to start asking my questions now because I`m excited to hear your answers to my questions.

M: Let`s do it.

F: Okay then, my first question is can you describe a typical day for a child in your country?

M: Of course, I will go with my brother to explain a typical day for a child in my country. First of all, children in my country likes playing football a lot, because it`s one of the famous sports in my country. When his friends are free my brother calls their friends to play football or other cultural games that belongs to our culture.

F:Nice, so you guys have your own games that belongs to your culture?

M: Yes, I can`t explain them without showing but every person in my country used to play these games.

F: Cool ! There some cultural games in my country too, but recently we are losing our culture because children are started playing pc games, so they are not interested in playing football outside anymore.

M: Yeah ! I agree that but anyways there are some kids that enjoy playing football rather than playing games on pc.

F: Definitely, but just saying. However, in the future it`s going to be different than what happened in the past.

M: Right.

F: How about your typical day in SCSU what can they do to make it better?

M: Okay, for that I have some thoughts for benefit of students. The biggest problem in SCSU is parking fees. They are a little bit expensive for students. For example, if a person have 15 credits classes that means he or she has to pay 15 dollars per week for parking to go classes with the car. Another thing for SCSU is they can build some entertainment places such as game rooms or something like that.

F: You have nice thoughts. I wish we can see them until we graduate. Also, there is no football field to play soccer. I hope one day it will take a place in the campus.

M: That`s something I wish too , but soccer is not famous in the U.S. so I don`t think so.

F: Since we are talking about sports, how would you describe famous sports in your country ?

M:Hmm, as I said soccer is one of the most important sport in my country. We have some famous soccer players such as Samuel Eto`o and our national team was so good in the past but I am not sure how they are right now.

F: Well, Turkish national team was good in the past too, we were in 3^rd place in the world but after that we couldn`t catch that kind of success anymore for some reason.

M: Yeah, I know that I have watched that world cup, too. It was awesome.

F: Anyways , I`ve always wonder other countries famous dishes. Which country`s dish do you like the most? What are the similarities and differences between it and your own culture`s food ?

M: Hmm, it`s kind of hard question for me because I don`t see any difference between any food. I like them all but of course like everybody I like my country’s` food most. It`s similar with your country`s food though. We like spicy food and we have some cultural foods that are so delicious. I bet the only difference is our vegetables which are produced naturally. Our farmers are not using chemicals like the others.

F: That`s nice. I am a big fan of natural foods because they taste wonderful comparing to the others. By the way, what kind of government is in charge of your home country? How did it affect your life and how has democracy in America been a change?

M: Well, Cameroon has democracy and the president is selected by votes every other 7 years. It`s similar to the U.S. system which I think same with your country too.

F: Yeah, we have some similarities between our countries too.

M:True, but there are some big culture differences, too. As you know sometimes we don`t agree with some stuff. I think that’s because of our culture difference.  

F: I agree, for example we kiss cheeks when we saw our friend. How about your country what are the typical greetings in your culture and what do they mean?  

M: Hmm, actually it depends on the part of my country but we usually greet people like Americans. It`s one of the difference between your country and mine I guess. I shake hands and say hi in our language.

F: That`s something I am familiar with because of the U.S. but when I first came to the U.S. it was so hard to adapt because I was trying to kiss people and I think they were thinking bad about me. That`s something I struggled with before my teacher in class warned me about this.

M: That was funny. It should be a hard time when you try to explain yourself.

F: Yeah, but It was okay. Also I wonder what age do you guys start school and how was it when you first start was it so stressful?

M: Like every other child I was stressed because I was having fun with my friends outside then I found myself in classroom when I was 7. Actually that was fine too, because our teachers are letting us play outside and make class more fun. I was lucky to have that kind of teacher in the first year of my school life.

F: That`s something I was struggled with too, man. It was so hard to adapt class with thinking that my friends were playing something outside, but after a while it became normal. Turkish students are always seeking for holidays is that same in your country, too ?

M: Of course, especially me I was counting days for holidays.

F: Well, then can you give me examples for religious holidays or other cultural events? Can you explain your traditions for each?

M: In my country I think fourthy percent of the population is Christians and the rest is mixed, I don`t know for sure how many percent is Muslim population. So , for Christians we have Christmas and Easter. As we know Christmas is the birth of Jesus and Easter is when he resurrected from the death. For Muslims there is a holiday which called Ramadan , but I am not Muslim so I don`t know exactly what it is.

F: Oh, so your population is mixed with many religions that`s something interesting. So, do you have any daily rituals in regards to your religious beliefs?

M: As a Christian we are supposed to read bible every day and go to church on Sundays. Other than that, we don`t have things like praying five times a day like Islam.

F: Nice, how is it in your country do you have church and mosques everywhere? Is it easy to reach either one for every person? I mean do they need any transportation to reach there?

M: Of course, because of the population mixed with religions, we have praying places everywhere. However, churches are more then mosques, so people might need some type of transportation to get there.

F: Then, how about transportation what different modes of transportation are used in your country?

M: Of course, we have cars, busses, motorcycles, boats, so on.. The gas is cheap in my country so people can afford it and most of the people prefer to ride their own cars to get around.

F: I think I get everything I wonder to know about you and your country but lastly could you tell me a secret about yourself that very few people here know about and that shows us well, who you are and what you stand for?

M: Yeah, sure I am a very shy person and I don`t show that here in America. When I am in America I tend to be an outgoing person because I don`t have my family with me, so have to do everything by myself but when I go back my country there is family there is support so I am shy I am lazy I am not alone anymore.  So, that must be my secret.

F: Well, thank you for cooperation and giving me time Mark.

M: Thank you it was a pleasure.

Region Report

Abdullah Alkalthami - Turkey
Neset Furkan Akbas - Saudi Arabia
Farukh Abdullaev - Sri Lanka

-Similarities-

1. Turkey and Saudi Arabia are Muslim countries.
2. Turkey and Sri Lanka are democratic countries.
3. Main dish in Turkey and Saudi Arabia is Kebap ( Rice + Different type of Meats)
4. Turkey and Saudi Arabia are not islands.
5. Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka uses mainly cars to travel around.
6. The main holidays in Turkey and Saudi Arabia are two of the important holidays for Islamic religion.
7. The population in Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka are both around 24 million aproximately.
8. Turkey and Sri Lanka`s weather are mostly tropical, however Turkish weather can be different depending on the part of the land.
9. The main sport in Turkey and Saudi Arabia is soccer.
10. Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka are the countries in which some religions were established. (Islam and Budizm respectively)
11. All three countries are in Asia.

-Differences-

1. The main religion in Sri Lanka is Budizm.
2. Saudi Arabia is a kingdom country.
3. The main dish in Sri Lanka is Cuisine.
4. Sri Lanka is an island.
5. Turkish people use public transportation.
6. Most of the holidays of Sri Lanka is based on their lunar calender.
7. Turkey has 76 million population which is almost three times bigger population then two others.
8. Saudi Arabia is extremely hot, but anyways in the south part of Saudi Arabia is cold.
9. In Sri Lanka the main sport is cricket.