Caitlin CP #3

Date/Time: January 29, 2016, 12:30-1:00pm
Location: In the back of Hecht House

1) What did you learn and share with your conversation partner(s)?

  I got to know Nhan a little bit since it was our first time meeting. I also learned a lot about Vietnamese culture. I shared my hobbies, my schooling history, and aspects of American culture with him. We talked quite a bit about sports and transportation in both America and Vietnam.

2) How did the CP session inform your awareness of other cultures?

I honestly have never had any contact with anyone from Vietnam before or consciously experienced anything from Vietnamese culture. So today I learned a lot from Nhan and tried to show him my interest so that he would not be too shy to communicate with me. I learned many of the similarities and differences between America and Vietnam as well.

3) How did the CP session inform your awareness of your culture?

  I really became aware of how easy it is to go to school here in the United States. Nhan would spend an hour each way on a motorbike in heavy traffic in order to go to school while here most college students live fairly close to the campus, some even driving themselves instead of relying on car pools or buses like Nhan does here. This session also brought to my eyes how little America spends on acknowledging cultures that are not one of 'the big ones' like China, Japan, Britain, France, and Australia for example.

4) How could you apply what you learned to your teaching practice?

If I end up teaching in another country, I definitely need to communicate with my students to find out the difficulties of getting and leaving school. I need to be an understanding person who listens to the students to learn more about their lives. If I am living somewhere else, I will need to adapt to their culture not the other way around and I think that today I had a great chance to practice how to ask questions and properly listen to someone talk about their culture and customs.