I would first talk something about mine (just brainstorm lah):
1. My emotional feeling:
Though with many years of ICC experience, I was still a bit nervous when I contact them for the first time---this may be called anxiety aroused by uncertainty / meeting with strangers. But my tightness relaxed when I really saw them! They are nothing but ordinary peopl like us. Moreover, I was concerned how I can contribute to the relaxed atmosphere like two of the students did: Guo Yanping, an English major, braid the hair of a French girl; Wang Wei, a junior in international commerce, continuously urged Tomo to make some black humor "来点冷笑话".
I would like to share with all guys three major principles suggested by Yanping:
(1)Treat them like one of us;
(2) Don’t try too hard to please them;
(3) Focus on similarities rather than differences.
(Her talk can be retrieved via:
/G2S/Template/View.aspx?courseId=784&topMenuId=142441&action=view&type=1&name=&menuType=1&curfolid=153958 )
2. My intellectual gains:
Surely I gained lots of cultural knowledge, at both superficial and deep level.
For example, I was surprised that Frits was surprised to see so many high buildings in our city---they don’t have so many back home in Holland.
Shocked when Tomo mentioned they seldom eat seaweed rolls (紫菜卷) , and they have porridge usually once a day (me at every meal!) while Frits almost never has it---he drinks juice or milk instead of porridge.
Impressed when Frits proudly depicted how the gays and lesbians celebrated their holiday happily and he said people there would encourage the kids to accept them as just an ordinary matter of fact.
3. My expectations:
Surely I hope me, along with many girls, could chat in a wide range of topics like a physics major Junhui did: He spoke sometimes like a spokeman that night in his group, talking from Japanese Cartoon and literature to European football teams.
Of course, I also appreciate all guys being so kind as to allow me to take photos of them, and so considerate that they paid attention to give a talk to everyone else and involve all the present while they are talking.
Last but not least, I would thank the three foreigners and all my dear students and friends involved!