Shaista Mohammed: What does the (English training program) involve? Do you study languages?
Na Jie Chen: Yes, to improve my English.
Mohammed: How many languages do you speak?
Chen: Chinese, English, a bit of Japanese and Korean. I learned by myself.
Mohammed: How long have you been (in the United States)?
Chen: The program is for three months, but I don’t think I can finish it in three months so my plan is to spend one year to finish my English training then go into the other varieties.
Mohammed: So is it going to be graduate language studies?
Chen: I applied for the restaurant program.
Mohammed: Are you planning to go back home to use your education or do you plan to stay over here?
Chen: I plan to stay here.
Mohammed: Where are you from originally?
Chen: China.
Mohammed: Do you like Houston?
Chen: Yes.
Mohammed: Is it different?
Chen: Coming here I need to buy a car, so it’s not convenient for me to go out, go shopping or buy things at all. To not have the same mother tongue, to communicate is very difficult.
Mohammed: I imagine so. What kind of public transportation to do you have at home? Do you need a car more here than you do there?
Chen: Yes.
Mohammed: So you can get along at home without a car?
Chen: I live with my sister and she has a car back home.
Mohammed: What do you like most about Houston?
Chen: The scenery. I first remember coming here and the trees, all of the beauty: animals, the birds.
Mohammed: Where else in Houston do you spend time?
Chen: The library, (University Center) and home.
Mohammed: So you haven’t been to parks and the fountains and downtown?
Chen: There’s a church owned by Chinese people and they will take us to go shopping outside, downtown.
Mohammed: Do you have family in China?
Chen: Of course.
Mohammed: Do you write back and forth to them, or do you use e-mail?
Chen: E-mail and cell phone.
Mohammed: And how long have you been here?
Chen: Several days.
Mohammed: Several days, oh wow. Welcome to Houston.
Chen: Thank you.
