I interacted with people from all over the United States and connected with them to share my knowledge and passion about the University of Arkansas! I really enjoy hearing a little bit about how every family comes from different backgrounds and being able to connect with a large variety of people!
I volunteered on Wednesday, April 13th, at an event called USA Day which was an opportunity to introduce students to the diversity of the US. This event gave international students and scholars an opportunity to learn more about specific states from a personal view of someone who is actually from that state. I was a presenter for this USA Day event, representing Texas with two other Texans, and I contributed by bringing Texas like items to help create our “Texas cultural table." I also stood at our table talking about Texan culture to the international students and scholars. I loved this event and it seemed to be a huge success!
On Tuesday, April 12th, I invited our conversation club to attend the Venus Williams Q&A event hosted by the UARK Distinguished Lecture Committee (DLC) and moderated by Danyelle Sargent-Musselman, who is Eric Musselman's wife! We attended this event instead of our normally scheduled event and it was so exciting to hear about all things Venus and the Williams family! She let us into her personal life, family, personal childhood, and the culture that she was raised in. She also talked about the competitive culture surrounding her being a star tennis athlete and the international pressure that comes with it. This event was very enjoyable and gave us all a different take on culture and what makes it up, what it can be, and what it means! The culture someone is raised in truly does have an impact on them into adulthood, and she definitely echoed that as well!
Went along the Greenway Trail near and around Wilson Park and collected trash along the trail to dispose of it properly!
For this experience me and my group got together to meet for the sixth time, but this time we met on the fourth floor of Mullins Library in a newly remodeled lounge area. Joining in the meeting this week was me and Joel, as well as four of our conversation partners, Jay from South Korea, Anatolii from Ukraine, Hui from China, and Maika from Japan. During this sixth meeting we talked about everything from nonverbal communication practices in our home cultures to the differences within education systems in our respective countries. We also discussed the recent developments and happenings in Ukraine, as one of our conversation partners is actually from there and has family there right now. We had a great meeting with lots of discussion and I am looking forward to next week!
For this experience me and my group got together to meet for the fifth time, but this time I attended the end of the International Women's Day performances and keynote speaker event where one of my conversation partners, Maika from Japan, was actually performing a dance! I really enjoyed seeing all of the different outfits from the fashion show portion, as well as just being surrounded by so many different cultures! Afterwards, our group met by the Multicultural Center in the Union where we had our weekly conversation and discussion! Joining in the meeting this week was conversation leaders me and Jaclyn and three of our conversation partners, Maika from Japan, Hui from China, and a new addition to our group, Jay, who is from South Korea! During this fifth meeting we talked about everything from birthday celebrations in our respective countries to learning more about our new member, Jay, and his life and home culture. We had a great meeting with lots of discussion and I am looking forward to next week!
For this experience me and my group got together to meet for the fourth time, but this time we attended an event together that the honors college hosted in Gearhart Hall, which was a professional panel discussion and Q&A on Russia and Ukraine, as one of the members of our group is actually from Ukraine. Joining in the meeting this week was all three of us conversation leaders and one of our conversation partners, Anatolii from Ukraine. During this fourth meeting we heard and discussed everything regarding the recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia, from the history that has led to this moment to how this event effects the rest of Europe and the world. This was a great event with lots of discussion through knowledge and I am glad we went to become more educated on the issue as well as to support Anatolii and his country.
For this experience me and my group got together to meet for the third time, but this time we had a large study room reserved on the fourth floor of Mullins Library, to better help us maintain social distancing and to meet in a more quiet environment. Joining in the meeting this week was all three of us conversation leaders and three of our conversation partners, Sriloy from India, Anatolii from Ukraine, and Hui from China. During this third meeting we talked about everything from our religious practices to the movies and steaming services that we and the people of our respective countries enjoy. We also discussed the recent developments and happenings in Ukraine, as one of our conversation partners is actually from there and has family there right now. We had a great meeting with lots of discussion and I am looking forward to next week!
I interacted with people from all over the United States and connected with them to share my knowledge and passion about the University of Arkansas! I really enjoy hearing a little bit about how every family comes from different backgrounds and being able to connect with a large variety of people!
For this experience me and my group got together to meet for the second time, again at the Starbucks on campus. Joining us this week was another conversation partner leader, Joel Torres of Dallas, TX, who is also from this class, and another conversation partner student who is from China! During this second meeting we all made sure everybody, including our new members, had access to WhatsApp, which is what we use to have an easier way to communicate with one another and we also got to know and share more background about each other and our new members. We talked about everything from traditional foods where we are from, to sports that we are interested in or play/played, and even public transportation in the cities we live in. We had a great meeting with lots of discussion and I am looking forward to next week!
