Methods Practice 2
Interview
I feel like interviewing is going to be very valuable to my project so I wanted to do another interview to get more practice. Also there was some sensitive subject matter that came up in this interview, which I felt like really helped prepare me for future situations.
This person is a recent acquaintance, who is from Israel.
I asked him to tell me a little bit about where he was from and what it was like to grow up there:
He said that he grew up in a Mediterranean town. Jerusalem is a Middle Eastern place. The part of Israel that borders the Mediterranean is very different. The way people think and behave is very different to that of people from Jerusalem.
He explained that body language is a big deal in the Middle East. His knees were facing me, which he indicated means that he's into the conversation. If they were facing the other direction that means that he is not into the conversation.
How do people dress in Israel?
He personally didn't really care about the latest fashion. Contrary to popular opinion, he hates wearing sandals and enjoys wearing comfortable tennis shoes. There's also a vast range of apparel. There are a lot of orthodox Jews who wear traditional clothing. Those people living closer to the sea, wore more modern trends.
What is life like for Women in Israel?
Women in Israel are very independent. More independent than women here in America. They work the same as the men do.
Why are the women there more independent?
Could be because of their service in the military for 18 months.
How was your experience in the Military?
He refused to talk about his own personal service in the military, because he felt that people made rash judgments about him and treated him differently. He said that it was wiser to not tell people about his experience there.
Midway through our interview, a friend of mine walked by. I introduced them and referred to the interviewee as “my friend from Israel”. He got a little upset with me for doing that. He said that he would much prefer to be introduced as my friend rather than my friend from Israel. He said that he wants to blend in rather than to stick out. What I did was rude in a sense, which was a very good thing for me to learn so that I don't make that mistake again!
What are some do's and don'ts in Israeli culture?
Because I have blonde hair he explained that I would have to be very careful in the way I communicated with males especially. Blonde hair is a novelty in the Middle East. People would treat you differently and you can't expect them not to. You also can't expect them to change their behavior because you would be in their back yard.
You also should not be even remotely flirtatious with men there. It's very different than it is here in Utah. People here go on multiple dates a week! People don't really do that in Israel. Dating is merely getting physical and they interpret the desire to be physical through flirting. He then explained a situation of having some friends come visit from the United States. They did not understand this principle and it got them into some trouble with the natives. He said that it was very frustrating to him because he had to put out the fires.
If you are visiting certain parts of Israel, you must dressed very very modestly because it is rude if you do not.
What are some of the cultural differences you've had a hard time adjusting to?
Dating is very hard here. It is more competitive than anything I've ever experienced.
It's been an interesting adjustment to the LDS culture here in Utah. I've lived in the Eastern United States and that wasn't so hard because there was a lot of diversity. However, here there I stick out a lot more and I don't like it.
