Kayla_CP_IE_#4

Date/Time: Feb 5th, 1:00 pm
Location: Ramin's Intercultural Exchange Class

During this class, we continued with the expected/acceptable interactions worksheet. This time, Meredith joined the group (with Shuo and Shahd). We discussed several things, like what is expected when greeting someone of the opposite sex, someone who is older than you, someone who is younger than you, etc. We had a few differences, but nothing too extreme. They were all generally nice greetings. However, Shahd explained that when she meets someone who is much older that they kiss the top of their heads when greeting them. Shuo explained that when she meets someone who is much older that when they shake hands, the older person's hand is slightly on the top (literally the upper-hand).
We got to act this out in class, and I think it went over well. Shuo kind of thought it was funny that a lot of people think that Chinese bow a lot. She said that bowing isn't typical in Chinese culture, but more so in the South Korean culture. The class asked about this too, and she kind of giggled because Shahd had just asked her about it too. Meredith and I didn't bring it up, so I assume it's a universally-believed idea that Chinese bow often. Not true (according to Shuo)!
Anyway, this class was interesting for sure. A few other groups got to act-out interactions as well. Something that I was especially curious about was answered in class. Burns and a young lady from Saudi Arabia showed how if a man was trying to shake her hand, that she would politely cross her right hand over her chest and nod. This piqued my interest and I asked if it would be okay if I were in Saudi Arabia for me to shake a man's hand or if that would offend them. A lot of the Arabian students chimed in and essentially explained that they would know that I'm not of their culture and would generally accept a handshake from me. (Super interesting and important to know for people teaching in Arabian countries/cultures.)