A Weekend in Shanghai

Although I hope to visit many places in China, one in particular that I cannot pass up is Shanghai. It would take just over 3 hours on a train to arrive in Shanghai. One of my favorite sites for traveling in China is Ctrip. This website offers discounted plane and train tickets as well as hotels at very low rates. According to Ctrip I could purchase a train ticket for about 300 Yuan, or $50. This would be a total of $100 for transportation. Additionally, I also found a nice yet reasonably priced hotel for $50/night in Shanghai.

While I am in Shanghai I would like to ride the Shanghai Maglev Train, which is a magnetic levitation train that reaches speeds of over 400 mph. A one way ticket costs 50 Yuan, less than $8. One free activity that would be fun is to go to the Fuxing park. It is apparently bustling with every type of person and activity and a god way to get a sense of the city and culture without spending a dime. I would love to visit Nanjing Road as well, one of the most well-known shopping strips in the world. This may not be budget friendly, but even just window shopping would be fun in this area. Finally, I would like to see The Bund, the famous waterfront area of Shangai. Budget friendly and infamous, The Bund would be an excellent addition to the weekend. Lastly, I would like to Qibao Ancient Town to gain insight on Chinese history and culture.

Intercultural Competency by Jacob

Leaving the American Southeast for the first time will be at once a sincere challenge and an invigorating adventure.

I believe that for purposes of cultivating intercultural competency, the most powerful weapon at my disposal is my state of mind.  Traveling to Sweden with the frame of mind that I will hold everyone I meet and everything I see to my standards and schema of home would be a mistake.  To do that would be to close myself off from this new place- and deny myself opportunity for growth and personal development.  

Instead, I will seek to make myself open to this new land.  Importantly, this is not analogous to allowing my fundamental character to be washed out by new experience.  I do not think that is a genuine concern.  Rather, I should embrace as best I am able the host country and host people.  I should seek to live like them, see society and culture through their lens, and be not afraid of how this might impact my values.  We human beings are, after all, consistently dynamic and fluid beings.

I think that by keeping this open-minded, non-judgmental attitude, I can dramatically improve my intercultural competency.  I believe it will be key to integrate and succeed in the host culture.

I am a valuable person and bring value to my host country just as my host country has a wealth of value for me to discover if only I would allow myself to receive it.

Intercultural Competency

I tentatively say that while of course the culture of the United Kingdom can be very different from the culture of the United States, those differences are not nearly as large or severe as the differences between the U.S. and other countries.  The United Kingdom, from what I (someone who has never been there) understand, is fairly western in culture, just as the United States.  The language in England is the same, and many practices and traditions seem to be similar.

That said, there are of course many adjustments that I will have to make in transitioning to a new culture.  There will be time change to get used to, but (hopefully!) that will not take more than a few days to a week to get fully adjusted to.  Although I have yet to experience homesickness, staying in another country for an extended period of time may invoke it, and I will have to figure out a plan of communication for keeping in touch at home.  Though I do not want to get so involved in what's going on a home that I forget to experience what's around me!  Hopefully, orientation will introduce me to other international students as well as locals so I can have a supportive friend group when going through possible bouts of frustration and sadness.  Another thing I'll need to consider is change in weather.  Although it will not be as drastic as studying in say, Africa, it might be a little chillier in England!  I will need to bring appropriate clothes and research what weather is usually like in that time of year.  I am excited to be able to learn more minute differences in culture and possibly adopt some of them for my own!

Intercultural Competency

In adjusting back to Greece, I think that it will be interesting to see if I transition similarly to how I did the first time I went there, or if returning will be a completely new experience. I think that already being familiar with the culture and having friends and community, I will have an easier time adjusting at the beginning. However, since this trip will be significantly longer, I do expect to experience more homesickness and perhaps a deeper level of culture shock as I continue to learn and immerse myself in the culture. How I plan to deal with the transition is to 1) Seek the help of those around me and 2) Allow myself to stay connected with home. First, I know that I am going to have friends and a support group already around me and they can encourage me and help me adjust back into the culture. They will also push me to step outside my comfort zone and seek out new friends and relationships that can further help me transition and feel comfortable in the new environment. Second, I know that I may be tempted to stay in such close contact with home that I don’t really engage where I am, so I know it will have to be a balance. But I think it is good to allow myself to stay connected with people at home so that I don’t feel completely out of the loop, which will hopefully help with reverse culture shock as well. Overall I am excited to transition back to Greece, even though I know there will be new and unexpected challenges along the way.

Adjusting to a New Culture

I'm definitely nervous about studying abroad - this is going to be my first time ever leaving the country! I don't have any idea how immersing myself in a new culture will affect me - maybe my experience will be all good, but what if I completely freak out? I'm guessing that all in all, I'm going to have good and bad moments as I adjust - hopefully mostly good. One of the biggest things that I think I can do is thoroughly prepare now. I want to try to get as close to the Irish culture as I can, before I even go there. Researching and planning are two of the best ways I know to de-stress about something, and I think that's going to really help me out here. Learning about transportation, money, food, and slang terms are all ways that I want to use try to help me ease into the culture. Knowledge is power, right? On the other hand, I know that it's impossible to find and store every piece of information about Northern Ireland that I might need before I go there - of course, I will find myself in situations where I won't have any idea what to do, and that no amount of Google searches could have prepared me for. In those instances, I think it's just important that I handle myself as best I can and keep my attitude positive by not losing sight of my goals in coming here. I don't expect every moment in Ireland to be perfect - in fact, I hope that a lot of them aren't. I'm trying to expand my horizons, and I think that facing challenges is going to be a big part of that. With the right mindset, I think that problems I run into will only make me stronger in the long-run - including homesickness and feeling out of place in a new city.

Cultural Competency

Living in another country for about five months can be intimidating. Learning a new culture and language at the same time will be difficult and taxing on the mind. Constantly trying to think in another language that I am not fluent in will be tiring and frustrating at times for communication with local people. I will have to adjust to a new way of life in France and learn to juggle my emotions to keep a smile on my face. Transitioning to culture in France will be exciting, but I know that there will be some days where I just want to be in America and in my own culture. To ease this transition, I will have to practice some techniques that I have learned throughout my life to cope. Hopefully, if I become frustrated, homesick, insecure, withdrawn, or otherwise I will take a deep breath and remember that everything is going to be ok. Keeping an open mind to the new cultural differences and going with the flow will be important for me to stay positive and integrate into the new culture. I love French culture, so I do not think I will have problems assimilating. I am a very quiet person and I generally learn by observation. So, I like to try to stay aware of my surroundings and the actions of others when I am traveling so that I can learn what I should be doing or what is acceptable by the local people. Luckily for me, I know that people in France are generally accepting of foreigners who at least are trying to learn the culture and speak the language. Knowing that people will be understanding of my struggles gives me confidence to put myself out there and not be afraid to make mistakes. 

Intercultural Competency by Kelly

When I go to my home country, I expect to notice what I haven’t noticed so far, this can include any cultural differences that I haven’t experienced or what I haven’t  been aware of, differences and similarities of cultures, and uniqueness of Korean cultures. I think knowing Korean history, visiting Korean museums and old places, and meeting my grandparents would help be know more about Korea.

I think Koreans would say that I no longer have Korean blood in my body. Talking with strangers, asking how they have been, using body languages and gestures, paying with separated bills, sleeping over in friends’ house, paying big money for textbooks, drinking lots of soda, and having fast food at least 7 times a week is what most of Koreans don’t but what most of Americans do. Because I came to U.S. in young age, my perception and behaviors are a lot influenced by the time lived in U.S. I am bit afraid of Korean people’s perception of what I think is right and they think that I am different or even wrong.

The adjustment that I will face in Korean culture is gender issues. Gender issues in US and S. Korea is similar but different. Korea still has Confucian ideas that men are superior than women. And there are still jobs that require specific gender. Still the idea of men making money and working outside, and women support men and do the house work are what old people still think. Young generations like my ages start to change their thoughts and ideas about this. They now think men and women are equal that they both need to make money and both need to contribute house work. But still it is cultural difference that can’t be changed easily. Since we now have female president, I expect this issue to be changed socially and culturally.

Changes of the home environment are big changes in my life. I always lived with my family or relatives. But for next semester, I will live alone in one of the college dorm, make my own money if possible, do my laundry, and cook my own food. That would be one of the biggest change compared to how I live in here in Maryville and how I will live like in Seoul.