International food day and last class

I hope all of you have enjoyed the year or semester. Remember to update all of your blogs for grading by next Monday February 2nd. Thanks to Gareth for making the class interesting this semester. I hope he joins me for April CCC class! Here is my presentation about how to make chocolate chip cookies Have a good spring break and congratulations to the graduates!

Monika Sensei's power point presentation

For those that missed her great presentation, here it is. Please this is for private use only and only for the HJU CCC students. DO not reproduce or save this file. Look at the end of the speech. It has great web sites to help you remember words. Thank you Monika sensei for a interesting and helpful presentation!

Class #12 Education

Today, we are very lucky to have Monika Sensei visit us. I hope you enjoyed her presentation about the Hungarian education system. I also hope you are motivated to expand your language interests and abilities and learn another language. For homework, answer the following questions in your bog.

1. Do you think Japan should give more students options to study more languages (other than English) in Junior and Senior High School?
2. Read this interesting article about changing the way English is taught in High School. Do you agree with the this plan? What about Mr. Hamada's opinion that the university entrance exam needs to be changed? http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_321075.html

Next class is Wednesday, January 27 and our last class! This is the food class. Please remember to make ( or by) a dish that is traditional for the group you belong to. Expect 16 people to be eating. I will bring some ocha to drink, plates and hashi.

Class #13 Reflection Class

Saturday, I decided to switch the reflection class with the education class. Sorry about that! I hope you enjoyed the movie 'What Women Want' . Don't you wish that all men could read minds and really understand women? This is a good comedy with a good message. On your blog, please tell me how you felt about the movie and what were some of your favorite scenes.

Class #11 Men and Women

This is one of the most interesting classes for me.

This week's homework is to read an article from the Japan Times and give your opinion. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/member/member.html?ek20060110ks.htm
Do you agree or disagree with the author (who is Japanese). Please explain why in your blog.
Remember:
January 24 Saturday Topic: Education and Schools Presentation: Australia (Speaker will come on Monday!)
January 26 Monday Topic: Reflections Guest speaker: Professor Monika S. Blogs will be checked.
January 28 Wednesday Topic: Food All groups must prepare a traditional food from their group country to share with us and present how to make it.

Happy New Year! and Class #10 Table Manners

Welcome back to class! I hope all of you have had a good rest and ready to finish this semester with some interesting ideas and discussions.
Today we discussed table manners from all over the world. Please answer the following questions in your blog. Have you ever eaten in a foreign restaurant? Where? What did you eat? Did you make any mistakes? Please explain your experience. Did you learn anything?
We have a busy 2 weeks coming up. We have class:
January 22 Thursday Topic: Men and Women Presentations: France and Korea
January 24 Saturday Topic: Education and Schools Presentation: Australia (Speaker will come on Monday!)
January 26 Monday Topic: Reflections Guest speaker: Professor Monika S. Blogs will be checked.
January 28 Wednesday Topic: Food All groups must prepare a traditional food from their group country to share with us and present how to make it. YUMMY! Gareth, will you make something Hawaiian? Spam musubi?

Reflections Class #2

Happy holidays! I hope you enjoyed watching the movie today. In your blog please write your comments and thoughts of the movie. Do you think this is a true story? Can this really happen in today's modern times?
Next class is January 19 we are discussing table manners. The Russia and Thailand groups will be presenting . See you then.

Class Number 8 Weddings

We talked and saw many international weddings and compared them with Japan.
Please answer the following questions in your blog:
1.Since Japanese weddings are expensive, do you think having a massive wedding like Korea or UAE is a good idea?
2. What do you think about eloping? Having a wedding in a foreign location like Hawaii?
3.What is your ideal wedding?
4.What would you definitely do, wear or go to on that big day? Why is that important?
5. Have you ever been to a foreigner's wedding? What was your impression?

Next week is the reflections class and all blogs HAVE TO BE UPDATED BY THIS DATE!

Class Number 7 Superstitions

We talked about many superstitions in many countries. Today's homework is to answer the following questions in your blog.
Do you think it is important to talk about superstitions in cross culture communication class? Why?
Is communication affected by superstitions?
Do you believe in superstitions? If yes, what superstitions do you believe?
Why do you do, use, or believe in them?

Next week's class is about weddings. If you have any pictures of weddings please bring them in to share with the class. Also, Korea and Thailand groups will have a presentation on this topic.

Class Number 6 Time

Today your first Reflection grades will be returned to you. Most of you did very well. Some of you are still giving simple, vague answers. Please give reasons for your opinions. Also at the top bar of the new post screen is a button labeled ABC with a check. This is a spelling check option and I suggest all use it to correct their posts! some students did not comment on other blogs! This is also important! Everyone should read and comment on Gareth's blog http://gareth-ccc.blogspot.com/ It is very good and is a great model for what I want in your answers!
Today's class is about the different concepts of time in different cultures. For homework, please answer the following in your blog:
Read the proverbs and sayings about time. For each one describe the meaning. Tell me what cultural values do they suggest. In your closing statement please explain a time proverb in your culture.
Proverbs:
1. Time is money.
2. A stitch in time saves nine.
There's no time like the present.
Let's meet at 4. If I'm not there by 5, leave without me at 6, and I'll be there at 7.

Next class's topic is about superstitions. The groups for Australia and Russia will be presenting. As preparation for the class, think of 2 superstitions that you believe in. Be prepared to tall the class why you believe in them!

Thank you Dr. Phuoc!

We would like to thank Dr. Phuoc for taking time from his busy schedule to talk to our Cross Culture Communication class at Hiroshima Jogakuin University. This was a unique opportunity for the students to have face to face discussions about the education system and friendship styles in Vietnam. We learned a lot and hope Dr. Phuoc learned a lot from us, too! A special thank you goes to Dr. Klein for making these arrangements! Here are the pictures from class. Enjoy!

Homework Number 4

Nice to see everyone again. This Monday class does not meet enough and I feel the semester has not really started! I hope everyone had a good time at the festival. Today we are lucky to have Dr. Phuoc Tran to speak at our class. I hope everyone enjoyed talking to him. If you want to find out more about Hue University, here is the web site http://www.hueuni.edu.vn/hueuni/en/
Next week is our reflections class, please make sure you have all of your blogs updated and commented on at least 4 blogs per subject (Death and Funerals, Language of Clothes and Friends).
Also, I have updated the blog name page, check it out!
See you.

Homework Number 3

Today we discussed the language of clothes. After listening to the lecture and the meaning of colors in clothing, answer the following questions:
1. Do you judge people according to what they wear? Why?
2 Do you think Japanese society puts an importance on clothing when judging other people from another country?
3. What colors are you wearing now? Do they reflect your mood?

Next week we will discuss friends, please prepare by answering the following questions:
1. What are some subjects that you will never discuss with a friend?
2. Do you have different friends for different parts of your life? If so, how are they different to you? Do you talk about different things? Go to different places? Give me some examples.

See you in 2 weeks, no class next week.

Class Blog List Fall 2008

Here is the list of blogs for the Fall 2008 class. As of December 1, 2008

Blog Address
http://vvvevevvv.blogspot.com/
http://slyusdaushimisyo.blogspot.com/
http://cheery-cat.blogspot.com/
http://hju-girl.blogspot.com/
http://redvan.blogspot.com/
http://bgcookies.blogspot.com/
http://aikoroom.blogspot.com/
http://ccculturehw.blogspot.com/
http://cassis-orange.blogspot.com/
http://gareth-ccc.blogspot.com/
http://crea-murasaki.blogspot.com/
http://ccc-blogger.blogspot.com/
http://jimina-shiomusubi.blogspot.com/

Try to comment on 5 or more blog posts, since there are few members in this class.

Homework #2

Please answer the following questions in your blog:
1.Death and Funerals:
a. Do you have any international friends or a host family? If so, how would you express your condolences to them if a family member died? If not, then how would you express consolences to an American host family if their Grandmother died?
b. Have you ever been to a foreign funeral?
2. The language of Clothes (preparation for next weeks topic):
a.Why are Japanese designer label crazy? Why is what you wear so important?
b.What does “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.” mean to you?
Good Luck!

Homework #1

There are 2 topics for homework. Both must be answered in your blog:
1. Reflecting about today's class:Today we discussed the Japanese concept of "wrapping". Do you agree with the web site's description?What do you do that can be called "wrapping"? Give examples and reasons for your actions.
2. Preparation for the next class "Death and Funerals" Answer these questions in your blog;
a. Where do you go when you die?
b. Explain why do Japanese have death memorial services 1 month, 1 year, 3 years, 7 years, etc. after a person's death?

Blog homework must be done before the next class (October 20)

Welcome (back)

This is the first blog post for the HJU Cross Culture Communication class Fall 2008. The class is on Monday's from 1:00 to 2:30 in Sophia 104. I hope we can have a successful semester and enjoy learning about communicating with the world!
S. Meiki
Instructor

Thanks for the great blogs and comments!

I have just finished marking all of your blogs and reading your comments. All of you did an excellent job. Some of you did not complete or finish homework. I will hand in your grades tomorrow morning (August 4th) If you want to know your grade, e-mail me. Have a good summer and see you in the fall.
Susan Sensei
P.S. Thanks for all of your positive comments about the course, too!

Politics

Today's speaker talked about Japanese politics. We also heard about the USA, Ghana and India's governments. International relations (IR) is also important to understand how a government approaches living with the rest of the world.
For your homework, I want you to answer these questions:
The United Nations (UN) is the key organization to promote and maintain world peace between governments. For homework, research the UN in the library or on the Internet http://www.unic.or.jp/ . If you were working for the UN, which job would like to do using your English abilities? Why?

This is our last class, blogs must be updated and comments ( 3 for each topic) must be done by July 31st. Please let me know what blogs you commented on. This is also a sayonara to Megan. Thanks for making our class more interesting with your ideas and perspectives. We all wish you the best of luck in your future studies. Please comment on this blog from time to time.
Take Care everyone and have a safe and happy summer. See you in the fall.
Susan Sensei

Personal Spaces

Today we talked about personal spaces. For homework answer questions 1-10 on page 18 of your textbook. Make sure you explain why you do it this way.

Remember class is Friday July 18th at 9:00. We will have a guest speaker to talk about politics and 2 presentations. This is our LAST class. Blogs must be updated by July 31 and please comment on 3 blogs per topic (from the last reflections class, family life dating, work customs, personal spaces and politics)

Thanks for the comic Megan!