Interview of Steffi De Moor and Elke Cossey

interviewing Cdric Verkinderen from Belgium

1 The cultural image that is projected of each setting
considering which phenomena, traits, rules, norms and
values.
The main reason for the interviewee to have chosen Canada as the
country for his internship was because the weather in Canada is known to
be very cold and he was very interested to see and experience himself
how his future profession landscaping is executed in the very snowy
environment.
The image of Canada that is created during the interview illustrates the
friendliness of the local people, the interviewee easily made contacts with
local people when he got to go to the city. Also he experienced the
Canadian culture as more relaxed opposed to Belgium.

2 The attitude the interviewee holds towards each setting?

The interviewee was very enthusiastic about his foreign experience. He
passionately shared his thoughts and feelings with Steffi and Elke not only
about Canada, but also about Belgium. Also, after this experience he
definitely will keep on traveling and exploring more cultures. It is a choice
he absolutely does not regret making and one he advises every other
student to make as well.

3 What message the interviewee is sending about his or her

cultural identity, and about the cultural identity of his/her
hosts?
From the interview you can clearly tell Cdric Verkinderen is a very polite,
open and social person, he easily answered all our questions very
thoroughly and exchanged all the information he possibly could to help us.
Comparing that to the local identity, he also mentioned local Canadians
are very open and social. So in that way, his personal identity and that of
the local culture match perfectly.

4 Ways in which the interviewers or interviewees may have

questioned or made explicit the way these cultural identities
were constructed?

Cdric Verkinderen himself explicitly stated that the Belgian and Canadian
cultures are actually very much alike, there were no major difficulties he
experienced when adapting to the local culture. Both cultures are very
similar which made this experience for him very easy and pleasant. One
difficulty he did encounter was understanding the language, not because
his French or English was bad, but because the accent was very strange
and different from ours. It was also very clear he could not think of one big
cultural difference that surprised him when he was asked by the
interviewees.
5 What is indicative of a (non-)essentialist viewpoint on the
part of both the interviewers and the interviewees?

The interviewee did not have to do much preparation or research on the

location he was going to, since a friend of his had worked there already
and had already made contact with a few of the local people. For both
interviewees, the destination of exchange is chosen without any medium
between the home country and the country abroad. Therefore, more
preparation will need to be conducted by both interviewers that compared
to the interviewee.
Also, the interviewee stayed at an Airbnb whereas the interviewers will be
staying in dorms on campus. So this will also be a different experience for
both parties.

6 How interviewees construct Erasmus students communities

and people they have met or tried to avoid meeting. What
do these stories/constructions tell us about their attitudes
to diversity?

The first week was rather difficult for Cdric Verkinderen as he only had
contact with one girl who also stayed at the same Airbnb, but
unfortunately she was not very open and social. So that gave him a hard
time to adjust in the beginning. However, he did make contact more easily
once he went into the city and visited some pubs and bars. Also a while
after Cdric entered the Airbnb, two other guys from France came with
whom he could easily talk and make contact with.
 Interview of another student: Anouk Bossuyt and
Victoria Buylaert interviewing Alexandra Korsten from
Switzerland
1. The cultural image that is projected of each settingconsidering
which phenomena, traits, rules, norms and values.
The image that Ms. Korsten shows of the United States of America is one
of openness. Generally, people are kind, however it is slightly difficult to
go into their inner circle. Moreover, the Americans that she encountered
were very fund of their traditions such as Christmas and Thanksgiving.
Another important element in the American culture, is family. Thus,
spending time with your family on for example the 4 th of July, is of great
significance to the Americans. Lastly, the country is also slightly cheaper
when comparing to Switzeland. This was clear by her statement of going
out to eat regularly in America.

2. The attitude the interviewee holds towards each setting?

We had the feeling that the interviewee was keen on sharing her
experiences with Anouk and Victoria. Her enthusiasm was visible through
her answers on the questions. We believe that Ms. Korsten is a very open
and enthusiastic person whom will help others where ever she can. This
positive attitude is very good aspect of someones characteristics.
3. What message the interviewee is sending about his or her
cultural identity, and about the cultural identity of his/her hosts?
It was difficult to identify her cultural identity. We did notice that she was
really keen on studying in a larger country than Switzerland since she
wanted to experience a totally different culture. The difference she
encountered was mainly about the dissimilar economic situation.
Especially, the price differences of products were very shocking to her.

4. Ways in which the interviewers or interviewees may have

questioned or made explicit the way these cultural identities
were constructed?

Even though Ms. Korsten wanted to experience a different culture, she

mentioned that her culture is not so different than the American one. Bot
cultures are liberal and therefore are slightly similar towards each other.
However, the greetings are different which she really had to get used to.

5. What is indicative of a (non-)essentialist viewpoint on the

part of both the interviewers and the interviewees?

Ms. Korsten mentioned that she liked the city where she lived because it
was lively and often busy. However, Victoria, whom also previously studied
in the United States said that where she was staying that there wasnt
really much to do. Here it is clear that not all experiences will be the same
even though they are studying in the same country.
6. How interviewees construct Erasmus students communities
and people they have met or tried to avoid meeting. What
do these stories/constructions tell us about their attitudes
to diversity?

As mentioned before, it was difficult for Ms. Korsten to get in to someones

inner circle. Even though she met regularly with people and became
friends with some of the students, it was still on a different level than she
was used to in Switzerland. Especially, because they all already have a
group of friends on their own. Even though the students are friendly, it is
still a challenge to get at that certain level of a good and profound
friendship.