Interview Notes Examples

Example Q/A's:

  1. Not enough talking OR follow ups. This is the whole thing.

What was your childhood like?

Well I had to do all the chores around the house, my dad was very strict if I did not do something. I would like mop, wash clothes, wash dishes, and on. I would wake up early ready to go make the nixtamal. Then I also went to school.

What did you do after school when you were my age?

(No pues mija yo) I used to clean, cook, around the house. I would also help my mom with other home duties. My day would repeat, it was like a cycle.

What did you make most of the time to eat?

I used to make beans and rice, sometimes soup. I would also bake stuff like bread. In fact I used to make tortillas every single day.

So you did not really have any free time?

Not really like I said I had to help around the house do chores. But then when I had your mom and her siblings, I was getting older so they helped me out.

Tell me about my mom, was she well behaved?

(uuuhhh pues mija me ayudaba un chingo tu mama) Well, mija your mom helped me a lot around the house. She took care of her siblings, she did a lot around the house. Everytime when she got home from school she started to do stuff right away.

 

2. Detailed Notes. Covers 1 or 2 questions.

Youngest kids(Dad) were the ones who really brought people together, Dad was really close with uncle Nate, liked to paintball and swim and spend time with jeff, did a lot of stuff with pompi(make things), good easy kids, helped taught by the rest of the kids
Dad was the second child with Pompi, only 16 months apart from uncle nate, older kids loved to play with the youngest three, one time dad was with great grandfather and one ime uncle nate threw dad over the back of the couch and broke his arm, ran into the rearview mirror and had to get stitches, going to the store was a trip at first, then moved onto a hill, lived on a dead end, had to walk all the way down the hill to get to where the bus would pick them up, included even kids friends in work, Moved into town aunt beth was in middle school dad and uncle nate where in highschool
Quote: “They did all kinds of things, when you have thirteen acres’
Pompi was in the process of retiring and a medical director of health care, a fiend said to think about going there,
October 2003- july 2005 serving
Was the medical for that mission
People could not really go to eastern europe(2003)
Got to go there as the country was opening to the rest of the world
Learned a lot about the great freedoms she had, she learned about what people had to go through, they were commonly scared, taught people to think with free agency, met a lot of people. Some people were still very shy to the rest of the world, people talked very close together for fear that they would be overheard and gathered information on
Some people said goodbye to people then never saw them again
Served in Moscow, went to red square a lot probably twice a week
There were military parades that celebrated serving in war
Loved the country and people
Also spent time in moscow for half a year and a year and a half in ukraine
Kieve(soft) (keeve) is ukranian
Apartments everywhere no houses, 1991 Ukraine was still governed by russia
Some people were selling stuff (mainly street vendors) from tranoble so there was a whole nuclear contamination so but would still buy flowers from the beautiful places like turkey and armenia
Overnight all the russians were gone, people lived in apartments(property) but when the russians left Ukrainians gained ownership
New leadership system created, hard to find leaders amongst people who normally followed
Do it this way type of government, kind of corrupt
Lots of decisions made by just one person not by a group

3. Sweet Finished Product.

“Alright first question, what has been your biggest struggle in life and why?”
With a deep sigh and a second of thought she replies, “I have had multiple struggles in life starting from my childhood. I had a very dysfunctional childhood and my parents were not happy, I survived my parents constantly fighting but in the end I came out of childhood stronger. I ended up being the parent in the relationship and they were the children. That’s the main one,” she states, “but I have also struggled throughout my life with my health having survived cancers and broken bones and just recovering from them and getting healthy.”
“That’s also not to mention the open heart surgery you had about a year ago,” I add on.
“Yes that to,” she states with a somewhat sorrow reply.
“Did your parents divorce?” I ask.
“No,” came the reply I wasn't expecting. “But it would have been good for them.”
“Did you feel connected and like you had a good relationship with them even though they didn't divorce?”
“Yes actually, I felt very close and connected with them and I could tell that they loved me even when they didnt come to love each other.”
“Okay onto the next question, what has motivated you in life to keep going?”
Without hesitation she states, “My family.”
“Why may I ask?”
And the deep sigh repeats itself again. “Because they are very special to me and I love them, and I want to see everybody be healthy and grow and become caring, sensitive, special, and most of all great people.”
Having known that I picked hard questions I knew that the sigh would repeat itself again on every question to come including the next one.
“What has been your goal in life and has Covid changed that?”
She sighed, “Hmmm interesting. To remain alive and healthy and as long as I follow the Covid rules and stay home here which is not any fun than I will stay alive and healthy. But no Covid hasn't really changed that. Grandpa and I are not really social people, we're used to being alone except for our family and it has been very hard not to be around family.”