Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Jovi Chan @ University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA (from CityU) 16 August - 13 November 2010
August 16th 2010
In the morning, I attend an International Students Welcoming Party, in which I made friends with lots of other international exchange students. The exchange coordinator of the host university told us a lot about history, language and culture of Hanwaii, that I felt very interested. Hawaii is a unique state that has their own common language and culture. I learnt that every time Haiwaiian give guests a "lei", which is a string of flower, when they want to welcome a person. And I learnt that Hawaiian play "ukulele", which is a mini size guiter, instead of electric guiters.
August 23th 2010
It was the first day of my school life in University of Hawaii at Manoa. In the class, I noticed the difference between that in Hong Kong and United States. Professors in United States were more demanding for student's interaction and participation. They liked student to talk about and discuss about the topics, and most importantly from different viewpoint. Students in the host university were much more active and creative than my home university. They did not avoid mistakes, but they love taking risks to try and guess. They did not feel shy when they guessed wrong, but they continued to discuss until they get the answer. Honestly, I really appreciate their learning atmosphere, because most of the time, we can generate some new ideas and eleborate the professors' viewpoints, which would be very intuitive. In my home university, it is rare that students openly discuss with professors in class, because we do not want to take risks of making mistakes.
August 27th 2010
There was a night party on August 27th 2010. All the international exchange students attended. we played lots of games with local students. I noticed that they loved to play competition games that require cooperation between groups of people. I felt very happy at that night because this was the first time I socially interact with the local Americans and other international exchange students, coming from around the world. I talked with Japanese, American, Korean, Austrian, and much more from other countries! I feel that it is amazing that I can communicate with students from many different countries.
October 28th 2010
Time flies. This day, I attended a group meeting with my group mates to discuss details about the group project. I noticed that local people are both individualistic and collective. They are confident of themselves but still they like to cooperate with others. They are confident enough to express their views freely and analyze critically. It is totally different from that in my home university, students tend to be more conservative and reluctant in expressing themselves. I appreciate their style of discussion because they really get into the point and think thoroughly before giving a conclusion.
Nov 13th 2010
Today, I went to Walmart supermarket and bought a lot of food. When I came back, I gave some sweets to my roommate. My roommate said that:"You cam have it. This is your money." I felt quite shocked because in Hong Kong, it is normal to share something that we have, especially when we are eating. I explained that I just want to share something with her, however, she still felt that it was strange. I realized that it is because of cultural difference between Chinese and Americans, so when I make friends with people from other countries, I have honestly let them know our Chinese culture and try to understand their culture.
In the morning, I attend an International Students Welcoming Party, in which I made friends with lots of other international exchange students. The exchange coordinator of the host university told us a lot about history, language and culture of Hanwaii, that I felt very interested. Hawaii is a unique state that has their own common language and culture. I learnt that every time Haiwaiian give guests a "lei", which is a string of flower, when they want to welcome a person. And I learnt that Hawaiian play "ukulele", which is a mini size guiter, instead of electric guiters.
August 23th 2010
It was the first day of my school life in University of Hawaii at Manoa. In the class, I noticed the difference between that in Hong Kong and United States. Professors in United States were more demanding for student's interaction and participation. They liked student to talk about and discuss about the topics, and most importantly from different viewpoint. Students in the host university were much more active and creative than my home university. They did not avoid mistakes, but they love taking risks to try and guess. They did not feel shy when they guessed wrong, but they continued to discuss until they get the answer. Honestly, I really appreciate their learning atmosphere, because most of the time, we can generate some new ideas and eleborate the professors' viewpoints, which would be very intuitive. In my home university, it is rare that students openly discuss with professors in class, because we do not want to take risks of making mistakes.
August 27th 2010
There was a night party on August 27th 2010. All the international exchange students attended. we played lots of games with local students. I noticed that they loved to play competition games that require cooperation between groups of people. I felt very happy at that night because this was the first time I socially interact with the local Americans and other international exchange students, coming from around the world. I talked with Japanese, American, Korean, Austrian, and much more from other countries! I feel that it is amazing that I can communicate with students from many different countries.
October 28th 2010
Time flies. This day, I attended a group meeting with my group mates to discuss details about the group project. I noticed that local people are both individualistic and collective. They are confident of themselves but still they like to cooperate with others. They are confident enough to express their views freely and analyze critically. It is totally different from that in my home university, students tend to be more conservative and reluctant in expressing themselves. I appreciate their style of discussion because they really get into the point and think thoroughly before giving a conclusion.
Nov 13th 2010
Today, I went to Walmart supermarket and bought a lot of food. When I came back, I gave some sweets to my roommate. My roommate said that:"You cam have it. This is your money." I felt quite shocked because in Hong Kong, it is normal to share something that we have, especially when we are eating. I explained that I just want to share something with her, however, she still felt that it was strange. I realized that it is because of cultural difference between Chinese and Americans, so when I make friends with people from other countries, I have honestly let them know our Chinese culture and try to understand their culture.
Labels: 2010/2011 Semester A
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