Thursday, March 28, 2013

This film reminds me of my daughter

Let's think together!
 
I watched this film last week and I saved it in my favorite folder. I guess I wanted to watch it repeatedly and share with others. I watched it again tonight, I had to finish my third reflection though. when I have an assignment which is difficult to handle, I usually do anything that I do not have to do.
 
The producer focused on two things about korean high school students. one is academic stress and the other is one standard of beauty which makes high school girls gotten plastic surgery. The idea of getting plastic surgery is popular in korea, which I do not agree with it though. My daughter is in third grade in middle school and one of her friends already got the eyelid plastic surgery as a present of her mother. How ridiculous it is!
 
While I was watching the film I thought most of the students were beautiful because they are young and fresh even though they do not notice yet. I always talk to my daughter how beautiful she is, however she refuses to accept it. She always does the same thing as I watched at this film(drawing eyelid and glue her eyelid to make double eyelid) Because she has a specific image of beautiful girl like most of korean girls and she does not fit the ideal girl that is why she draws eyelid everyday and makes resolution to lose her weight every month. I have tried to change her idea of beauty however I did not make it. This film reminds me of my daughter who is pretty however does not accept the fact at all.
 
Who gave this kind of concept? Why people can not accept that there are different style of beauty? Because of homogeneity???
 

How big the world is! (Week#2)


Interesting Things which I read the second week
 
The eye-tracing maps that resulted from a study showed that people from different cultures browse web pages differently. While Chinese and Korean scan the entire page to get an overall picture, Americans focus on information groups. So there is no question that cultural differences pose a challenge to global web design.
I am a korean and I usually scan the whole page kind of holistic thinker. From a business perspective, understanding and paying attention to the difference of cultures are important.
 
 
Modern Nose-blowing is the result of post a epidemic tuberculosis.
When I read this I understand why nose-blowing is acceptable manners for westerners and I can teach this part to my students to explain the background culture. And I am wondering why korean elderly spit out phlegm, my mother believes when she spits out it she can prevent from diseases. Before reading this I thought her idea was nonsense now I guess there is some reason maybe.
 
Due to the wide distribution of American television and movie, the younger generations from all of the countries are developing a generic form of North American body language.
Like upper sentence I thought we have much common sense of body languages however after reading a few articles about nonverbal languages I realized that I had short ideas of nonverbal languages and the differences of cultures. How interesting that the same nonverbal languages have totally different meanings it can be compliment, it can be insult.
 
Considering that 80% of North American don't have a passport, it follows they would be the most ignorant of international body languages customs. Even Gorge W Bush had to apply for a passport after becoming president of the united states.
I was surprised that North Americans are not interested in travel overseas. How come it happens? I thought people naturally had curiosity of others such as 'how people live?' 'how they eat?' 'how they think?' Then I realized again that I could think from my narrow point of view.
 
Spoken language is only 5% to 35% of communication. The majority of our feelings and intentions are sent through nonverbal communication.
 
I imagined that the same gestures could interpret several meanings because of diversity of race, countries, cultures. However I did not have examples that is why I just assumed it as a possible theory now I can explain the diversity of nonverbal languages.
When I volunteer I feel that speaking their own languages or English is not always necessary to communicate each other because we can feel each other from the bottom of our heart.

Friday, March 22, 2013

My subcultures and feelings of 'out of culture'(week#1)


"What is culture?" "What is your subculture?" "When have you felt 'out of culture'?" When I heard these questions I was frustrated. Because I had no idea at the moment, I was not ready at all. I expected that I was going to learn about how to teach English properly things. After the class I thought about my subcultures, 'out of culture' experiences.
 
I think my subcultures are my family, teachers society, Gimhae migrant worker's center. My family is the most big part of my life like others. My husband and I have similar ideas of life so we can share lots of activities, ideas of politics, education and so on. I have learned from him and I hope he has learned from me, too. One of our big concerns is raising our children properly, not from other people's point of view but from our point of view.
 
I volunteer Gimhae migrant worker's center every Sundays. Most of workers are from the Philippines and the center is run by 임호 Catholic Church. I started it as an Korean teacher, now I volunteer as an advisor for their work problems or marriage problems(there are multicultural families too) I know I learn from them more than I do for them. I want to live to share with my neighbors what I have. So this volunteering subculture is also important part of my life.
 
I am a teacher so my subculture should be teacher's culture. The relationship with other teachers was good so we keep in touch. We got along with each others so whenever we had break time we gathered to drink teas and to chat. I learned a lot of things from the teachers which I never learned from my professors. That time teacher's society was a hierarchial society than nowadays. Nowadays teacher's society is changed a lot like Korean society. Less hierarchical more responsible, less respect more limitation, from teacher centered to students and parents centered(kind of customer centered), some part of them are reasonable, good, however some part of them are not always good.
 
When I first have felt 'out of culture" was in Turkey and Greece in 2001. That was my first travel to overseas. I was shocked about tall and big people with extremely simple cloths, kissing and hugging at the public places(we were very conservative in those days) it was a kind of culture shock. The natural environment was totally different and the people were totally different, too. So totally different experience for me. After that I traveled some European countries, America, some Asian countries, however I never felt that kind of feeling.
 
I remembered the first day of "school birthday' as a teacher. It was a holiday not for everyone but for only my school staff. That day I was anxious about not going to school. It seemed I was in a wrong place. When I am getting old, I never felt that feeling. Now, I am delightful just imagining of not going to my school, though.
 
I felt 'out of culture' when I worked at my previous school a few years ago. That time I enrolled an open university to study English so I did not have much time to spend with my fellow teachers. Besides, I had my own English classroom which had to share with my co-teacher. I talked most of time with the co-teacher who was a new native teacher. I felt I was isolated from the other teachers which I made the circumstance.
 
I asked myself why I felt 'out of culture' those time? Firstly, I had never been to another country, it meant I probably was nervous. And actually I had not much expectation because I did not have much information or preconcept. I was an alien.
 
Secondly, I had my daily routine however I broke out my daily routine. I guess that made me uneasy. I assume if I had a day off national widely with other teachers I could enjoy the day off maybe. Because difference from others made me uneasy that time.
 
Lastly, I belonged what I had to belong that time. Teacher's society is my subculture now and then(in all ages?) so I was supposed to be a sincere member of it. I think Korean society respect homogeneity. We usually look at something same point of view and there is no doubt that can be wrong. Therefore difference is not acceptable including me.(I guess I am not.^^; I am not sure about it though)