Below I’ve posted an interview of a classmate I had to do for English Composition class. I know, I know, its a big suck-up job to the teacher but I can’t help it; my dad is Scot Jefferies. Anyways it may give you a good (what? it is good) read on just one of the other cultural backgrounds that I hang out with here.
Interview of Amin Ashraf
As I started to ask questions of Amin I got the distinct impression that we were incredibly different. You see I’m a Christian, home-educated, twenty-three year old who’s lived in the same 150 mile radius in Michigan for my entire life. Amin on the other hand is a nineteen year old Muslim who has lived in Dubai, India, and Taiwan, as well as traveling everywhere in between. Living away from his parents since the age of fourteen, he is incredibly self-reliant, independent, and has a maturity about him to be admired.
Born in Kanpur, India, May 4th, 1988 to Arif and Dr. Sabi Ashraf, Amin has three sisters, two of whom are now married and living in Dubai with the other studying in Yunsin, Taiwan. Until he was twelve Amin lived with his family in Kanpur, and had what he described as a pretty normal childhood. The language was a combination of Hindi, Urdu, English, and Arabic.
Before Amin’s father moved to Dubai for business Amin described himself as a shy young man who didn’t make friends very easily. However because Amin has been back and forth between India and Dubai as well as traveling extensively since the age of fourteen he says its completely changed. “Its like something popped” and now he “makes friends everyday.” While Amin wouldn’t say he’s religious, he considers Allah to be very close to his heart and wishes he had more time to pray.
The question is, how did Amin Ashraf end up in the International College of a university in Taiwan? The answer is spontaneity. Amin was in Yunsin visiting his mother, Dr. Sabi, who teaches at a university there, heard about Ming Chuan’s program, and said “let’s do it.” He chose the International Business degree because his goal is to own his own manufacturing business; probably something related to leather, or rubber-botox products.
Although he’s frustrated with the food in Taiwan as well as the language barrier, when I asked what he considers to be his greatest accomplishment his answer was “coming here to Taiwan to make a better life for myself.” Amin said he really likes the diversity of our class, giving him the opportunity to see perspectives he’s never thought of before, however “its been hard being the only Indian.”
Standing up from the interview I had a completely different perspective. I’m not so different from Amin. We’re both in a foreign country, trying to get used to everything. We both miss and love our families. We both love our god. We’re both here trying to make better lives for ourselves and so far having great times in our new home. What a great realization this is and how wonderful that I now have a friend who can challenge my way of thinking and expand my mind.
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