NOVERMBER SNAPSHOT

This semester I've been teaching one class to senior English majors called "Intercultural Communication." We've been discussing the ways we can define cultures (for example: individualist or collectivist, internal locus of control or external locus of control) based off of the book Figuring Foreigners Out. We're also comparing various worldviews such as Animism, Judaism, Hinduism, Confucianism, and we have four more to go, Daoism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam.

Harbin is a unique place in China in that you can find traces of almost all these worldviews. So, as an extension for this class I've been organizing field trips to related locations. The first trip was to Harbin's Jewish History and Culture Museum, housed in an old synagogue. The second was just last Friday; three students and I went to Harbin's Confucian Temple and Museum. I was sort of surprised to find out that none of them had ever been to a temple, even for a field trip. Actually none of them had gone on a field trip before, except for one student from Gansu Province said her middle school class would have a picnic at the great wall each year, but she didn't consider that much of a field trip, especially since they went every year.

Though not many students have come on these optional field trips, they've been worthwhile since those that come are genuinely interested in learning more. It's also been fun to get to know these three students better. They act different outside the classroom and (usually) are less afraid to speak English. I also get a chance to practice some Chinese this way, too!

At the Confucian Temple Museum there was a sign said that if you could lift the gate bar over your head you'd pass your exams. Looks like one girl isn't going to pass... just kidding. She's really a good student.