Blog #1 Initial Thoughts

   It’s always scary to walk into a room full of people you have never met. You see others like yourself nervously glancing back and forth between the floor, the blank walls, and other individuals, trying to seize up who won’t reject their gesture of friendship.

         Although my cowardly little heart is not immune to the panic this causes, I know that my job as a cafe chat facilitator requires me to put that aside, smile a little brighter, open my eyes a little wider, and welcome every student that comes in the room. Many international students at the University of Michigan note that it is difficult to find a community on campus, and I am determined to make cafe chat just that. I know that my attitude will affect my group’s attitude, so I will fake it until I make it. The usual, “Hi! My name is Jessica! I am so nervous about talking to you that I am about to pee my pants.” will be stored on the highest shelf. Instead, I will be confident in my own ability to reach out to other people, and show them that I am ready to make friends with them.

I will make it clear from the first day that their attendance is expected, not just recommended. This is important because it is very difficult to form a strong group dynamic when only half the group shows up every week. I had this problem when I facilitated conversation circle for the ELI program, and I am still unsure about how to fix it. Another reason that attendance is so important is because if students feel like they don’t have to attend, they won’t feel like a vital part of our cafe chat group. However, I want them to feel like every member, including themselves, is an important part of our cafe chat community. Group would not be the same without the attendance of every single member.

        One thing I would like to work on this semester is learning how to come up with interesting topics to facilitate conversations around, and actually having these conversations. In the past, when I did ELI conversation circles, I organized many icebreaker games, card games, and even minute to win it. My group was very active and I bought in a lot of energy, but we didn’t spend much time with free conversation past the icebreakers. However, I think that allowing more room for conversation is very important because the members are there to practice English.

All in all, I’m very excited for cafe chat to start. This is my first class at the University of Michigan that I might not dread going to, because I love how it helps us pursue our real world passions. Although I am nervous because I am a little bit socially awkward, I believe that many of the international students will be nervous too and we can work through it together.