Describe - Interpret - Evaluate

1. DESCRIBE: Think of one episode that has left you confused or that you think was strange/different. Describe the object or situation in concrete, observable terms. What happened in the interaction? What was said? What did you see? What did you feel at the moment?

Making this task seemed rather difficult as Danish behavior is very close to Finns. However, one thing has been different in comparison to how Finns communicate. During the conversation one may touch someones shoulder or back for a moment. Another student came to talk to me and touched my shoulder. She greeted me at the same time. It felt a little bit strange. Because in Finland we usually have our own personal space and we dont touch each other during the conversation.

2. INTERPRET: Think of possible explanations (interpretations) for what you observed or experienced. From your cultural perspective, try to explain why you think this situation or experience occurred? Try to find at least 3 different interpretations of the interaction or occurrence. What cultural information have you used to produce these interpretations?  

I think that a person just wanted to be friendly because we were both students. it can also be a habit to touching someone's shoulder or arm when talking or making a point. Maybe Danes are more open than the Finns. In Denmark touching during conversations is a sign of intimacy, so if you are very close with someone so maybe she think that we are good friends. I think also that personal space depends on how well you know the person. And I had been discussing with her several times before.

3. EVALUATE: Evaluate what you observed or experienced. What positive or negative feelings do you have regarding the situation? Consider how you might feel if you were a member of the host culture and held the dominant cultural values and beliefs?

First it felt a little strange, but when I thought of it I realized that she wanted to be just kind. I also heard from other students similar experiences and I thought it was fine. If I had been a Danish I think it would have been more familiar to me. On the other hand, if I had not known this person, it would still have seemed strange. I red that touching during conversations is a sign of intimacy, so if you are very close with someone, it is normal, otherwise it can be construed as insincere, invasive or out of place.  

 Pictures from the lake called Søndersø.

D-I-E, Spain [Assignment2]

Universidad Pontifica Comillas, Madrid

1.     Think of one episode that has left you confused or that you think was strange/different. Describe the object or situation in concrete, observable terms. What happened in the interaction? What was said? What did you see? What did you feel at the moment?

ð     My stay in Madrid for 4 months had been great, but their visa process got me confused. Here’s the story: Anybody staying in Spain for more than 90 days should acquire visa or make the registration in immigration office. It was easier for the EU students, as they could just send documents and get registered. Me, as non-EU citizen it was so difficult. Before going to Spain, I contacted with Spanish Embassy in Finland, and they said that I won’t need any visa as I had valid Finnish Resident Permit, and I could simply register as an EU-students after the arrival in Spain. When I went for the registration, people in immigration office said I should have had visa from Finland or my home country, Nepal. Even I showed them the email conversation with Embassy, they simply denied and even showed me the "rule-book". It was a shock, at that moment I felt like: “what am I gonna do now?”. Neither I had Visa, nor they agreed to register my documents. After numerous attempts in different places, a personnel in another department took  the documents and said he’d send it to right place for registration, 3 months went by but never got the decision.

2.     INTERPRET: Think of possible explanations (interpretations) for what you observed or experienced. From your cultural perspective, try to explain why you think this situation or experience occurred? Try to find at least 3 different interpretations of the interaction or occurrence. What cultural information have you used to produce these interpretations?  

ð    One thing is for sure, either people in Embassy had no idea at all or the people in immigration were wrong. There had to be some provision for such students coming from outside of the Europe as Madrid is one of the highest student-accepting cities. Moreover, almost no one speaks English in the offices, everytime I had to go to registration office, I had to ask someone from my university or friend to go with me. Also the language-barrier made it very difficult. Whenever I had to say something, it had to go through someone else’s interpretation and vice-versa.

3.      EVALUATE: Evaluate what you observed or experienced. What positive or negative feelings do you have regarding the situation? Consider how you might feel if you were a member of the host culture and held the dominant cultural values and beliefs?

ð    I felt so bad that I had to live in Spain for more than 1 month without any visa or documentation. I don't know if I should call it legal or Illegal stay. Even people at international office in University, tried to help at the fullest but were unable.

               They felt so bad about the situation and worried that might occur in future again.

D-I-E South Korea

1. DESCRIBE: Think of one episode that has left you confused or that you think was strange/different. Describe the object or situation in concrete, observable terms. What happened in the interaction? What was said? What did you see? What did you feel at the moment?

Once, we faced such a problem that during a group work with Koreans, they preferred to use their mother language, not English. First it was confusing and felt a little bit offended, because we couldn't follow the progress of our work and understand what is going on. Sometimes they were explaining us something, when they saw our sight full of misunderstanding. After some time, we started to remind that we don't speak Korean and also would like to participate in this work. They apologized, but after a while they could start again and we had to remind once more.  

2. INTERPRET: Think of possible explanations (interpretations) for what you observed or experienced. From your cultural perspective, try to explain why you think this situation or experience occurred? Try to find at least 3 different interpretations of the interaction or occurrence. What cultural information have you used to produce these interpretations?  

In our opinion, the reason of such situation is lack of confidence in English skills and that it is easier for them to speak in their mother language. From our cultural and personal perspective, this was quite impolitely and disappointing. But we think that it can be acceptable since we can improve our basic Korean language skills and lead to better understanding of Korean culture. We knew before that Koreans don't have good English skills and are quite shy to speak it, so we were prepared for such situations. 

3. EVALUATE: Evaluate what you observed or experienced. What positive or negative feelings do you have regarding the situation? Consider how you might feel if you were a member of the host culture and held the dominant cultural values and beliefs?

During this situation, we had a negative feeling of discomfort and incomprehension. We would feel comfortable if we were a member of host culture, because this language is naturally easier to speak in. So, we can understand why they behave like this and accepted it.     

Introduction - Diego Villegas

La Rochelle, France.

My name is Diego, I am 24 years old. I am currently studying business administration and soon I will be doing my exchange at La Rochelle Business School in France. My expectations according to the university are great, because I hope that the level of demand is greater than what I am now accustomed to. This is because I would like to be able to experience the different ways of working in different countries and cultures. According to my friends; French students in Centria university, the way of studies and the rhythm the have in France is different to the one's in the educational system here in Finland. But the way of working and doing things it's similar to what I was used to in my home country, Mexico. 

I previously had the opportunity to live in France and learn about the culture and way of living in different parts of the country, for this reason I am looking to pay more attention to the details of daily life in French society, especially when doing business. I am also interested in my knowledge of the French language and to improve the relationships I have with old friends who live in the country and who are in the same line of studies as me. On the other hand, as I mentioned in my motivational letter to make my exchange. Before studying business administration, I studied international relations, and the topic of multiculturalism in different countries has always been of my interests, now more focused on doing business or working in a multicultural markets.

I believe my life and time in France will be pleasant, and it will be great to be back to a country that gave me so much years ago. I go there with a different vision and perspective. La Rochelle is a unknown place for me but I believe is going to be peaceful and interesting. 

The idea that La Rochelle is a city with a big population of students motivate me to open in an easier way to the new life there. Is not always easy when there are not people with similar ideas, backgrounds or lifestyles, but the student aspect make everything a lot easier.  

INTRODUCTION - Thu Tran

Source: Trever Miller

Hello everyone! My name is Thu Tran. I am studying Environmental Chemistry and Technology for the third year at Centria. I came from Vietnam, a tropical country of quite high temperature approx. 30 Celsius degree, so I wish to come the countries of lower temperature and Finland is my first abroad destination. After 3- year study in Finland, it is a really nice country about nature and human, too.

However, I would like to discover more places as well as different cultures in this world, so I decided to go for a exchange study. Because I like studying about green and living things, so the courses I want to study exchange should relate to biology, which is a bit different from what I studied at Centria. Fortunately, I had an opportunity to for studying 1 semester in Environmental technology at Centennial in Toronto, Canada.

It is one interesting thing that I am a Asian and studying in Europe while Canada is located in the North America, so I will experience a totally new culture. Study in 3 continents. It is amazing. Canada is also a multicultural country and it is also famous with beautiful landscapes, so I hope I will have a great time there with new foreign friends and enjoy the natural scenes there. A scene in Canada summer looks so lovely when I came across it on the Internet, so I chose this picture to illustrate my incoming destination.

Introduction-Miika Raninen

Greetings,

I'm Miika Raninen I'm 21-years-old and I look forward to achieving double degree in business management from La Rochelle. La Rochelle named after the city is a private school located in France. I have heard many things from student's there who are currently doing their exchange at Centria about the facility of La Rochelle. School seems to be more demanding than what I'm used to but that is something I was hoping for as I believe pressure is required in order to grow in your professional life.

Networking is of course an opportunity that is granted by the exchange. Personally I wish to spend most of my time with French people instead of solely doing things with other exchange students as I have learned from my friends who have returned from exchange that the experience is better if you take the effort to really dive in to the local culture. Language is also best learned when you are not only surrounded by people who speak it but also interact with them. I wish to get to know many people out side of school as well to broaden my horizons.

I personally prefer smaller towns 80 000 people of La Rochelle is more than enough for me. Instead of traveling around I prefer to stay there and get to know the city through out all though places don't matter to me that much it's the people in them.

I don't believe in planning I believe in preparation. Therefore I have some guidelines that I will follow in La Rochelle but I will not restrict myself too much.

Environment at least is something different!

Introduction- Jon Selin

Hello,

My name is Jon Selin, a 3rd year music student in Centria UAS. I will hopefully study in Royal college of music in Stockholm in next fall semester as a classical violinist.

I'm more than happy to learn more skills in Sweden as a musician and make valuable contacts along the way. I find it also intriguing to learn more about the Swedish culture and brush up my language.

Thank you for your reading :)

Cheers,

Jon Selin

Introduction - Phong Ho

Hi,

My name is Tan Phong HO, from Vietnam. I am studying Environmental Chemistry and Technology in Centria UAS. I will have a exchange semester in Hanze UAS of Netherlands at 2018-2019.
I like beauty of nature, even so beauty of modern society in middle of nature. Netherlands, which is one of some countries, like Finland..., works well at sustainable development. I hope I will have more valuable experiences and understanding about Netherlands and the Dutch. Besides, after long time to study at Centria, I have realized myself as an engineer in future, but it is not enough. Maybe this exchange study chance can help me realize more clearly about my own way for my future.

Thank you for your reading :).

Tan Feng HO 
Nil-wind

Introduction - Ngoc Nguyen

Hi,

My name is Ngoc Nguyen from group NITK17K which means that I am studying Information Technology. Now is my second year and I am preparing for my exchange year in the city of Lodz, Poland. I have been planning a lot of milestones to achieve during the time I will be in Poland, such as meeting new friends, enjoying student life in ”real” dorm like what I have known from TV shows, exploring more countries, having an internship, and so forth. I hope that choosing University of Lodz for the double degree will be a good decision.

Love to meet all of you,

Ngoc Nguyen

Introduction- Ngo Tan BUU

Hi,
My name is Ngo Tan Buu, I am studying IT in Centria UAS.
I am also a Youtuber ! My channel is Buu's channel.

Hola guys, you can call me Hung. I am from Vietnam. I am now a 3rd year student. I will study in ESCE business school in France for the next fall semester. I would like to know how Student in France deals with their live such as study, party or look for a job.

Hello, I am Thang Vu, I am a second year IT student, I applied for a double degree program in University of Lodz in Poland. I hope to learn and experience new environment in a new country.

Introduction - Teemu Herttua

Hello,

My name is Teemu Herttua and I'm studying IT at Centria UAS.

I'm going to University of Highlands and Islands as an exchange student.

While studying abroad, I hope to improve my English language skills and spontaneous speaking skill.

Especially, since the latter doesn't come naturally to me.

Introduction - Jussi Kärkinen

Hello there!

My name is Jussi, I am 19- years old, I study Business Administration in Centria University of Applied Sciences, and I will be doing a double degree next autumn in La Rochelle, France. During my studies I would like to make new friends, socialize, learn new things about the French culture and improve my networking/language skills.

Pre-departure training part 1 and Return workshop 20.3.2018

Welcome to the ultimate exchange student meeting at Centria!

The material of the day is found here: Pre-departure training part 1 and Return work shop

D-I-E Chile

There were situations where I felt that the Chileans take things more personally, they are more formal and expect people to always ask “how are you?” (both in person and in written messages). My landlord even got a bit uppset once when I didn´t ask how he´s doing. So, also the e-mails I received from e.g. school were much more personal than the ones I receive in Finland. They always started like “Dear Justiina, I hope you are fine.” 

It felt a bit weird that persons I´ve never met called me “dear” and the fact that you shoul always ask “how are you?” feels sometimes unnecessary since the answer is always “good” and in most of the situations they really aren´t that interested to hear how you are, it´s just a habit and a way to show politeness. But I don´t know if that always feels so polite to me since I´m used to the finnish way when you don´t ask every person how they are, but when you ask you tend to have even a small chat with the person and mention something about how´s it going in school or work etc.

But I don´t mind the habit, it just took a while before getting use to it and remembering to ask it. Especially because at the same time I had to get use to people coming to kiss you on the cheek when you meet them. Many times a local entered the room he or she actually kissed everyone in the room on the cheek, said hello and asked how are you (two men just shake hands), when in Finland you would just shout Hi, and take a seat. If even that.

D-I-E Scotland

1.     DESCRIBE: Think of one episode that has left you confused or that you think was strange/different. Describe the object or situation in concrete, observable terms. What happened in the interaction? What was said? What did you see? What did you feel at the moment?

I couldn’t think just one episode that was only strange, at first some things might have felt weird but in the end you get used to the way locals do things. Most situations that left me confused were because of Scottish accent and slang.  There were times when I had to ask maybe even five times before I understand what they were trying to say to me. This kind of situations happened more often when talking to older people. Young people were almost always understanding and they talked so that I could understand.

2.     INTERPRET: Think of possible explanations (interpretations) for what you observed or experienced. From your cultural perspective, try to explain why you think this situation or experience occurred? Try to find at least 3 different interpretations of the interaction or occurrence. What cultural information have you used to produce these interpretations?  

I think this kind of things are common no matter where you live. There is always regional differences in speech. If you are from southern Finland you might find it hard to understand northern Finnish slang.

3.     EVALUATE: Evaluate what you observed or experienced. What positive or negative feelings do you have regarding the situation? Consider how you might feel if you were a member of the host culture and held the dominant cultural values and beliefs?

These kind of situations didn’t leave me any kind of hard feelings. I think it only improved my English and increased my vocabulary.

D-I-E Scotland

D-I-E, Joonas Nuolioja, Scotland

D-I-E Canada

I can't remember any situations where I would have been particularly confused. Of course, there were many things that were different than I expected. One thing that surprised me was to see how multinational Toronto is. I knew that Toronto is a big city, and there are millions of people but still the multinationalism surprised me. Especially the area where we lived; I felt like most of the people came from different countries (majority was from India and China). I'm not saying it's a bad thing. It was great to get to know and learn more about these other countries but of course would've been nice to get to know better Canadian culture because we were in Canada.

Toronto is the largest city in Canada and there are more people than in Finland so, of course there are lot of international people and that's good because they enrich the city. Also, it was easier to go to school when you knew you're not the only foreign there.

Great journey and good memories. Learned a lot about people and realized that the world is full of opportunities. I’m so happy I got to experience all these with Emilia. I might not have met her without this exchange so I’m thankful for that.

Letter Home- Maija Kukkola

1. In what country and University are you studying? /
Where are you doing your internship?
 I am at the moment doing my internship in Denmark in a town called Viborg. Its a quite small city in central Jutland.

Viborg Cathedral.

2. In what Study program are you studying at Centria?
 I am studying nursing and this is my final year Im probably graduating during this summer.

3. What are the courses like at the host University? or What has your work placement been like?
I am working in dialysis ward which patients has kidney diseases and receive dialysis treatment. This is very different and interesting job. I have learned a lot of new things.

4. Describe the study culture? / What is the corporate culture like?
Working culture in the hospital is very similar compared to one which we have in Finland.
In the ward there is being used working method where every patient has their own nurse. In there ward there are working only nurses and doctors so there are no helpers or practical nurses.

6. Please describe what the everyday life is like in your host country? What do you like in particular?
Most of my day goes to work at the hospital. On weekends I have more time to spend on the city and outdoors. Viborg is a small town, but there are other cities close to it. Aalborg has a Viking burial ground and a museum where I would like to visit if I have time. Life here is quite similar to Finland.  I have noticed that the Danes eat a lot of bread, and on Sundays they spend time with their family as we do in Finland. 

7. What has been challenging? Why? 
The most challenging is definitely the interaction with the patients. It is really difficult to understand and speak Danish. Little by little the patients in the department have become more familiar and some of them have dared to speak English to me. It has been nice to notice. The Swedish language skills also help a bit in communication. The Danes often downplay their knowledge of English although the majority of Danes speaks excellent English. 

At the beginning there were also problems when our suitcases were lost. Fortunately, the nice tutors helped us find the necessary goods in the stores. It is important that there are people who can help when you need it.

8. What has been the highlight of your exchange so far?
I have talked with new people and been researching Viborg surroundings. At the end of the month we also have a food event with other international students. I look forward to it!

 
 Viborg centrum on sunday.
 

Letter Home - S. Korea. Ekaterina Vasilyeva and Ekaterina Ponomareva

1. In what country and University are you studying?

We are studying now in Chungbuk National University (CBNU) which is located in Cheongju, South Korea.

2. In what Study program are you studying at Centria?

Un Centria UAS we are studying Industrial Management degree, but in CBNU our faculty is Economics. 

3. What are the courses like at the host University?

There are a lot of engineering courses and courses which are connected to mathematics/physics/chemistry. They are mostly focus on theoretical part of the subject and preparing a HW for the next lecture.

When we arrived, we got information that the list of available courses was changed and therefore, we had to replace some of them. Because of that we had more courses which are not connected to our specialty, but still interesting.

4. Describe the study culture?

The study culture in Korea is quite hard. They used to prepare to lecture very well and they spend a lot of time in library or study cafes. Grades plays the most important role in their studying life. As well, they have a rating which influence on the grand (or better say how much cheaper will be the education for them). Additionally, only 40% of Korean students can get A or A+ (this doesn’t apply for exchange students).

Our studying courses are really different from subject to subject. The course about economics mostly just have lectures which has a lot of theoretical knowledge and homework. But courses about language and culture contain a lot of teamwork and interactive tasks. For example, play of traditional tea ceremony course about culture or rope play for language class.

5. What is your study group like?

The group is quite big, more than 20 people. For some courses (Economic and English Literature) it consists of mostly Korean students, but for others (like Understanding of Korean culture) there were only foreigners. Teacher always use microphone, so everyone can hear him well. People there are mostly friendly and nice.

6. Please describe what the everyday life is like in your host country? What do you like in particular?

Ekaterina P:

Actually, my everyday life is not differing so much from my life in Finland. As I don't have a lot of courses I do study about 4 hours every day in a class. I like the most the fact that the student campus is really huge and there are a lot of events for students like festivals or fairs.  

In the weekends I mostly try to travel and see beautiful places around like parks, fortress, beaches etc.  

Ekaterina V:

My everyday life is mostly active: I am trying to meet new people and taking part in different activities (like English club, English Clinic, Astronomy club) and travelling. I also don’t have so much courses, so I like to explore the city and travel to cities nearby. As was said before, we have really huge campus and lot of activities. Additionally, International Student office is supporting us and organizing different events like festivals and trips.  

7. What has been challenging? Why?

Ekaterina P:

The most challenging thing is strict attendance and deadlines in school. Other challenging things is Asian food in cafeteria (which even native Korean students don't like). Other challenging thing as difference in culture and language with people in Korea. For example, not each good place for eat has a translation in English. But, however, people are usually trying to help even if they don't know English with gestures at least. 

Ekaterina V:

For me the most challenging was also language. Not all Koreans can speak English, and even if they can, they are shy. So, it was a little bit hard to integrate to Korean society. And in the dormitory instructions were mostly in Korean or Chinese, so it took a lot of time for us to guess hot the laundry works.

8. What has been the highlight of your exchange so far?

Ekaterina P:

I think that the first days in Seoul are the greatest highlight as it was the first experience. Walking around historical building, seeing new people, eating a lot of street food, watching a concert of favourite group really made me feel that this exchange will be wonderful. 

Ekaterina V:

As well, the travelling to other cities and meeting new friends. And the festivals, they were amazing! Also. It was my first time to participate in different clubs (English club and Astronomy club). Many people were trying to help us and introduce to their culture, that was wonderful.