1. As I look over my time at Rock Island, I notice a couple of reoccuring themes. To start off, I was always very careful with the questions that I asked related to the students' lives. I have never really had interaction with people from different countries in this aspect before, so obviously I didn't really know what to say. I could use some common sense to determine what would be okay and what wouldn't be, but for the most part I would just let the students tell me what they were comfortable with sharing. As I've said in a previous blog, talking about their lives before coming to America probably isn't very enjoyable, and that's another reason that I was careful with what I would ask or say. Another theme I saw among most of the students was the desire to go to college. I think it's great that after all of the things these kids have been through, college is still on their mind. Maybe they wish to go to college because it's the "American" thing to do, but I think the majority of these students want to go to college because they genuinely enjoy school.
2. This experience will greatly affect how I interact interculturally in the future. Because of this experience, I learned how to talk to students in all the different stages of culture shock. This will greatly help because I have learned sort of what is going through a person's mind at each stage, which allows me to know what I should or shouldn't say. This was also a great learning experience, and every student that I had interaction with taught me something. The biggest thing I learned from this experience is just how different other countries are from America. I knew about some of the struggles that other countries experience, but I had no idea to what extent all of the issues were. As I've said many times, this experience has taught me how to interact with people from other cultures, and how to appropriately respond to the things that they decide to share with me.
Monday, November 18, 2013
Blog 4
1. Once again today, I arrived at the school earlier than normal. Today I was at the school for a total of 4 hours, which I think I prefer over just an hour at a time. Today I got to know a student named Bannie (Ban for short). Ban was in nearly every class that I was helping with, so this really gave me a chance to get to know him and his story. Ban is a 16 year old from Liberia, and has been in America for about 5 years. Ban seems to have adjusted to America very well, and seems to enjoy it. He told me that he really enjoys school and hopes to go to college to become a doctor. During his study hall, he asked if he could show me his grades. I of course said yes, and I was glad to see that he had really good grades! He had all B's and an A, and he was very proud to show me. I enjoyed seeing how happy he was and listening to everything he told me about his classes. Maybe it's because he's been in America for so long, but he really seemed comfortable sharing things with me. Also, the way he interacted with other students was something that I hadn't seen in the school before. He introduced me to his best friend, but he talked and joked with all of the students in his class. This might be because he is so comfortable in America now, so he feels the need or has the want to make sure that his classmates feel the same way.
2. In terms of culture shock, I believe that Ban is in the final stage of acceptance and integration. He has been in America for an extended period of time, and seems to be getting along just fine. While he did talk about his family a little, most of the conversations I had with him involved his future in America, which is what leads me to believe that he is in this final stage. Also, in terms of the adaptation process, I think that Ban is practicing assimilation. Obviously I don't know how he is at his home, but just in the classroom setting, he seemed to be more "Americanized" than some of the other students.
3. Unfortunately, my time at Rock Island is over. However, I still believe I will be able to apply my experience with Ban in the future. Since Ban seems to be in the final stage of culture shock, I now know how someone in that stage will act. Because of this, I should be able to determine which stages other people are in. If I can tell what stage someone is in, I will be able to monitor my conversation with them and will be aware of things that I should or shouldn't say.
2. In terms of culture shock, I believe that Ban is in the final stage of acceptance and integration. He has been in America for an extended period of time, and seems to be getting along just fine. While he did talk about his family a little, most of the conversations I had with him involved his future in America, which is what leads me to believe that he is in this final stage. Also, in terms of the adaptation process, I think that Ban is practicing assimilation. Obviously I don't know how he is at his home, but just in the classroom setting, he seemed to be more "Americanized" than some of the other students.
3. Unfortunately, my time at Rock Island is over. However, I still believe I will be able to apply my experience with Ban in the future. Since Ban seems to be in the final stage of culture shock, I now know how someone in that stage will act. Because of this, I should be able to determine which stages other people are in. If I can tell what stage someone is in, I will be able to monitor my conversation with them and will be aware of things that I should or shouldn't say.
Blog 3
1. Today I arrived at the school about 2 hours earlier than normal. Because of this, I was able to work with kids in classes that I never had before. Two kids stick out in particular from this day, and they are John-Jacque (JJ), and James. JJ and James are both from Africa and have been in America for quite awhile. JJ has been here for about 3 years, and James for about 6 years. During their English class, the three of us went to the library to work on their homework. The assignment was dealing with vocabulary words. They were learning synonyms for words like happy, angry, scared, surprised, etc. The assignment was to come up with 2 sentences for each word, one example and one non-example. The boys were coming up with sentences saying how they would be shocked if the war ever ended in their country, and how they wouldn't be shocked if they never got to go back home to see their family. I wasn't very familiar with the war in Africa, so we got to talking about it. The boys explained that the war was mainly over simple things like food and water. Hearing this almost put me in a state of shock, as I had no idea that this was going on. The boys said they were happy to be away from the war, but they would really like to go back and see their family.
2. The biggest concept that I can apply to today is culture shock. I had no idea that this war over simple human needs was going on in Africa. Obviously I know about war, as America has been involved in a few, but it has never been in America, always in other countries. The boys were telling me about this war in their country like it was no big deal. It's really sad that they could talk about the war basically like it was nothing because it happens so often. Also the fact that the war is taking place in their own country is just unbelievable.
3. In the future, I need to realize that things that people from other countries are used to might not be things that we as Americans are used to. America might not be perfect, but it isn't suffering nearly as much as other countries. I have also learned to be very careful with my questions, because these kids have experienced things that I couldn't even imagine. I'm sure talking about such things isn't something they enjoy or look forward to, and I need to keep that in mind when asking questions.
2. The biggest concept that I can apply to today is culture shock. I had no idea that this war over simple human needs was going on in Africa. Obviously I know about war, as America has been involved in a few, but it has never been in America, always in other countries. The boys were telling me about this war in their country like it was no big deal. It's really sad that they could talk about the war basically like it was nothing because it happens so often. Also the fact that the war is taking place in their own country is just unbelievable.
3. In the future, I need to realize that things that people from other countries are used to might not be things that we as Americans are used to. America might not be perfect, but it isn't suffering nearly as much as other countries. I have also learned to be very careful with my questions, because these kids have experienced things that I couldn't even imagine. I'm sure talking about such things isn't something they enjoy or look forward to, and I need to keep that in mind when asking questions.
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