As you’re working on a project that allows you to actually interview someone, you get intrigued. You’re just thinking of all of those wonderful questions that you may ask. And then the time comes. You’re so focused on how your interviewee talks about his journey. And by the end, you learned so much about that person. That was how my experience of interviewing an immigrant went. It was so much fun with many things you had to prepare. But in the end, it was all worth it.
When I first started this interview process, I knew I would do my Dad, or my Mom. In the end, my sister did my mom, so I did my dad. I knew that my dad would have a lot to tell. I knew this because he has been in the U.S. for longer. I thought about the questions I wanted to ask. It was hard to come up with them though because I knew some parts of his story were Very violent. But in the end I was able to get 14 questions. Since I had learned about push and pull factors, I knew I would need questions that talked about push and pull factors.
When it came to the actual interview, I had the prosperity to do it in person. I really enjoyed listening to my dad talk about his experience coming to America. I really learned a lot just through this simple interview. I felt that it didn’t go as expected because I thought I already knew a lot about Venezuela and my dad’s journey here. But actually, I learned so much talking to my dad. I feel it was very interesting that my dad had to go through a whole process just to leave my moms house and enter his house. It just goes to show how dangerous Venezuela is. I also learned that in order to have a better interview, you should try to act more engaged then you really are.
And then the interview ends. You realize how much you learned just by talking to someone for 5-10 minutes or so. It just goes to show how much you can learn if only you just listen!