After hosting eight chat cafes, I realized I have only three more left. As I get closer to my final session, I cant help but think whether they actually got anything out from my sessions. Since day one, I have been fussing over what to bring to the table every Sunday in terms of language and how can I serve my community as much as I can. Knowing the struggles of being a non-native speaker, I took great pains of making a schedule that tried to encompass English language learning as well as different activities that appealed to my groups members. While being on top of such things is beneficial, I started to become rather uptight as a result and this caused unnecessary stress when things didn't go out as planned. However ,after talking to Scott and going through a period of self-reflection (which I do on a daily basis anyway), I realized to let go and not to throw a hissy fit if I have only one member attend my session. All I could now is wait for a final feedback from my members.
Besides that, I realized my chat cafe members tend to be overly formal with me. Cultural differences aside, I assumed they would be more comfortable with just saying 'Hi Irfan' rather than saying 'Dear Irfanul, my name is X' every time they would send me an email. I wouldn't bring it up because I know the answer they would give so I might as well just roll with it (although saying your name every time isn't necessary). In my last session, one member shook my hand before he left and I was rather unprepared - I didn't moisturize beforehand. I looked at him perplexed but went ahead and did what I had to do. I hope by the end of the semester, they would start treating me as fellow student/friend and stop being so formal. Oh and carry a hand lotion before attending future chat cafes.
Besides that, I realized my chat cafe members tend to be overly formal with me. Cultural differences aside, I assumed they would be more comfortable with just saying 'Hi Irfan' rather than saying 'Dear Irfanul, my name is X' every time they would send me an email. I wouldn't bring it up because I know the answer they would give so I might as well just roll with it (although saying your name every time isn't necessary). In my last session, one member shook my hand before he left and I was rather unprepared - I didn't moisturize beforehand. I looked at him perplexed but went ahead and did what I had to do. I hope by the end of the semester, they would start treating me as fellow student/friend and stop being so formal. Oh and carry a hand lotion before attending future chat cafes.
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