Cultural Exchange Seminars!
Each night (Monday through Friday) we conducted cultural exchange seminars. We each had a topic and would speak for about a half hour (with a translator, in case some of the students who attended needed assistance with understanding terms or our accents!), and then we would break into groups (6-10 students) to discuss the topic and what the Chinese culture was for that topic. The topics included Holidays, Dating and Relationships, Weddings (this was Jerry and my topic!), Funerals, and American Religious Traditions. Each topic garnered a lot of questions and some great discussions. Jerry had prepared a wonderful power point presentation to go with my speaking part, and the file got corrupted and did not work (we found this out about 5 minutes before I was suppose to go on). For those of you who know me well, you know how "by the book" and "everything in order" I am (some may say "control freak"). I know that God helped me through this because, first of all, after a minor meltdown, I pulled it together and was able to do the talk. Also, before we left the States, I decided to buy three Brides magazines, "just in case I need them" and so was able to quickly go through the magazines and find layouts of rings, bridesmaid dresses, bouquets, and other stuff to go with my information. I know so many people prayed for me ahead of time and during my trip, and in this situation (as well as throughout the trip), I know that God had control of everything.
Some of the things that were very odd to the students about our customs were the following:
Holidays: We could not really explain Groundhog Day very well to them. It was mentioned in passing, but got a lot of questions and discussion (then again, I really don't get it at times either!).
Weddings: The biggest thing about the wedding topic that really was unusual to them was the fact that we throw rice (or now birdseed or bubbles) at the couple as they leave. The translator asked twice "You throw rice?" and I said yes, uncooked rice, and she asked again to make sure she had it right that we threw rice at the couple....
Funerals: The photo of the casket had a few saying "It looks like a bed!" They asked questions as to why we could be happy at a funeral. It gave a good intro into explaining that we are sad that the loved one is no longer with us here, but if they were a Christian, we would see them again.
American Religious Traditions: The person who gave this talk did great explaining that America was founded for freedom, and freedom of religion was an important aspect of that (our three "biggest" holidays---Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving---have a religious background). I think the perception and questions we had that evening dealt with explaining that God is the God of the world, not an American or western God. Again, that night we had some great discussions going.
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