So. I feel kind of bad that I had to demonstrate in such a way my point about talking while others are talking. But, let's return to what we said in the first class: - outside of China you will not be considered as children. You will be thought of as adults. Adults don't behave like this. Moreover, you will be adults representing your country. All that some people will ever know about Chinese people will be from observing your behaviour. I am sure that not just you and your parents, but other Chinese people would be very sad if, because of your behaviour, people gained a negative impression about Chinese people.
The aspect of talking while others are talking - whether its a teacher or your classmates- is something that staff at a Swedish University engaged in this programme have given as unacceptable behaviour that Chinese students have shown. I might have seemed rather unkind demonstrating in such a way, but we don't have much time and I hoped that, as discussing this hadn't worked, showing it might be better.
I know that this was the first time you have done presentations in class and that I did not give any details about how to do it. This was because I didn't want to waste time talking about it if all of you knew how to do it. I was really pleased to see that some of you had put quite a lot of effort into your presentations and also that it was obvious that you really had done research into your subjects. Well done to everyone.
However, the general standard was not up to the same standard which will be shown by your future classmates, so we might have to do spend just a little more time learning what your new teachers will expect from you.
I'm going to write a separate post giving some Swedish history: those who researched this area did a good job, but as some classmates perhaps did not hear properly or understand completely, perhaps it will be more helpful to have it written out. (I'll try not to make it too boring!) As we agreed in class, it is helpful to know at least a little about a country's history, as this helps us to understand the culture better, as well as not feeling left out or embarrassed when National Holidays, discussions etc. happen.
I hope that the pictures of the houses and gardens gave you at least a small idea of what to expect: Sweden is indeed a beautiful country and the sight of many, many flowers growing in gardens, in hanging baskets outside shops and growing wild in the fields, is a common feature throughout Europe and the United Kingdom. It means that small villages and town looks very colourful (and often smell really good, too!) - but rather different to the towns and villages you are used to. So its good to be prepared for these differences before you arrive.
I didn't know Lily of the Valley was the national flower: as I said, its one of my favourite flowers and the smell is just gorgeous. Knowing this will also prepare you to find, I'm sure, that lots of these tiny white flowers, that look like little bells, will be used as decoration and that lots of products with this lovely scent will probably be available.
Perhaps some of you were comforted too, to learn that Sweden, like China, is a country where the family is very important. In fact, there are very few countries in the world where this is not the case. But the importance of knowing this for you is that people will be sympathetic and completely understand if you get homesick and miss your parents. I'm sure every effort will be made to help you overcome these feelings because everyone will be thinking how they would feel if they were separated from their own families.
I don't know if anyone made notes about the following facts in one of the presentations: Sweden has a population of 9.2 million. (For some reason the population of the country you are going to always seems important to others. It is a very common question. You would look pretty silly if you didn't know the answer!) This seems very small to Chinese people where single cities often have a larger populations. When we also learned that there are only 20 people per each square kilometre it almost seems funny compared to China's population density.
The aspect of talking while others are talking - whether its a teacher or your classmates- is something that staff at a Swedish University engaged in this programme have given as unacceptable behaviour that Chinese students have shown. I might have seemed rather unkind demonstrating in such a way, but we don't have much time and I hoped that, as discussing this hadn't worked, showing it might be better.
I know that this was the first time you have done presentations in class and that I did not give any details about how to do it. This was because I didn't want to waste time talking about it if all of you knew how to do it. I was really pleased to see that some of you had put quite a lot of effort into your presentations and also that it was obvious that you really had done research into your subjects. Well done to everyone.
However, the general standard was not up to the same standard which will be shown by your future classmates, so we might have to do spend just a little more time learning what your new teachers will expect from you.
I'm going to write a separate post giving some Swedish history: those who researched this area did a good job, but as some classmates perhaps did not hear properly or understand completely, perhaps it will be more helpful to have it written out. (I'll try not to make it too boring!) As we agreed in class, it is helpful to know at least a little about a country's history, as this helps us to understand the culture better, as well as not feeling left out or embarrassed when National Holidays, discussions etc. happen.
I hope that the pictures of the houses and gardens gave you at least a small idea of what to expect: Sweden is indeed a beautiful country and the sight of many, many flowers growing in gardens, in hanging baskets outside shops and growing wild in the fields, is a common feature throughout Europe and the United Kingdom. It means that small villages and town looks very colourful (and often smell really good, too!) - but rather different to the towns and villages you are used to. So its good to be prepared for these differences before you arrive.
I didn't know Lily of the Valley was the national flower: as I said, its one of my favourite flowers and the smell is just gorgeous. Knowing this will also prepare you to find, I'm sure, that lots of these tiny white flowers, that look like little bells, will be used as decoration and that lots of products with this lovely scent will probably be available.
Perhaps some of you were comforted too, to learn that Sweden, like China, is a country where the family is very important. In fact, there are very few countries in the world where this is not the case. But the importance of knowing this for you is that people will be sympathetic and completely understand if you get homesick and miss your parents. I'm sure every effort will be made to help you overcome these feelings because everyone will be thinking how they would feel if they were separated from their own families.
I don't know if anyone made notes about the following facts in one of the presentations: Sweden has a population of 9.2 million. (For some reason the population of the country you are going to always seems important to others. It is a very common question. You would look pretty silly if you didn't know the answer!) This seems very small to Chinese people where single cities often have a larger populations. When we also learned that there are only 20 people per each square kilometre it almost seems funny compared to China's population density.
But this knowledge also helps you, because you will not be expecting huge cities or crowds and so will not be surprised to find that what is called a Town in Sweden would only be considered a villagein China! Having been told this - and that 85% of the population live in urban areas you will also realise that there will be a lot of countryside with kinds of flowers and trees the girls showed us - especially as we also learned that Sweden is the third largest country in the European union.
It's also reasonable to expect, from this, that activities such as walking, hiking, cycling, camping, boating and fishing will be very popular. (Remember the Fishing Festival for men and boys which takes place on August 7th each year?)In fact, I have heard from students already there, that a lot of time is spent enjoying the beautiful outdoors and that students spend a lot of time outside.
O.k., - as I said, I'll write a separate article on history and will also include some of the facts that others gave us: the namea of very well-known Swedish people - musicians, writers etc.
Btw, - how many of you knew before that the Nobel Prize originated in Sweden? Its good that your classmate mentioned this as I imagine that this is, understandably, a source of pride for the Swedish people. Perhaps you might have felt a bit embarrassed if you had arrived there knowing nothing about M. Nobel - surely one of Sweden's most celebrated forefathers.
It's also reasonable to expect, from this, that activities such as walking, hiking, cycling, camping, boating and fishing will be very popular. (Remember the Fishing Festival for men and boys which takes place on August 7th each year?)In fact, I have heard from students already there, that a lot of time is spent enjoying the beautiful outdoors and that students spend a lot of time outside.
O.k., - as I said, I'll write a separate article on history and will also include some of the facts that others gave us: the namea of very well-known Swedish people - musicians, writers etc.
Btw, - how many of you knew before that the Nobel Prize originated in Sweden? Its good that your classmate mentioned this as I imagine that this is, understandably, a source of pride for the Swedish people. Perhaps you might have felt a bit embarrassed if you had arrived there knowing nothing about M. Nobel - surely one of Sweden's most celebrated forefathers.
As a resul then, of your own work and not mine, you already know quite a lot about Sweden that you didn't know before.
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