CP-2/5/2015
On Thursday, I once again participated in Ramin’s class. I
was grouped with a Korean guy in his mid-30’s, and a Saudi kid, around 20 years
old. We continued the activity from last week, picking up the discussion of
different cultural norms where we left off. We spent a lot of time talking
about the different ways we might greet someone who was older than us. We
learned that in Saudi Arabia, for instance, one will kiss an elder on the head,
even if the elder is taller, and one must stand on his/her tiptoes to reach.
Our Korean student explained that he still kneels before his grandfather
whenever he visits him. He demonstrated the gesture, a full prostration with
his forehead touching the floor. Seeing this made quite an impact, and I
realized that I’d never seen anyone do this in person, other than perhaps in
prayer. We also discussed the different
ways to get teacher attention and interact with peers, strangers, family, etc.
The different groups shared their learned experiences with
the class, and then Ramin gave the class an assignment to prepare materials for
a poster about cultural differences in behavior to be completed next class.
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