Blog Post #6

I think it has been a very rewarding experience to be a part of Chat Café. This was a very new endeavor for me and I am glad that I did it. While it was initially difficult to integrate all my participants and have them attend the sessions, I slowly developed a relationship with them. By taking them out to dinner and enjoying in good food, we bonded on a more deeper level. We were able to discuss similarities and behave as friends, which I believe is my greatest accomplishment with the Chat Café. I am proud to have been able to interact with my participants and provide them with a better understanding of the American lifestyle. I hope I improved their communication skills and made them feel comfortable and welcomed in the campus community.

If I had to do it all over again, I would conduct our sessions in more casual setting from the beginning of the semester. Earlier, we had been meeting in study rooms at the Ross School of Business and I realized that it was too formal of a setting. It made it seem more like a classroom lecture and less of a casual discussion. When we decide to travel and have activities outside of that setting and go to restaurants, my participants opened up more and discussed their interests and hobbies more. I realized that light-hearted environments proved more beneficial to having true Chat Café sessions with my students.

Overall, the most crucial quality that I have learned as a facilitator is patience. It is very important to maintain a certain degree of tolerance, especially in group settings where everyone communicates differently and has undergone a variety of experiences that have shaped their diverse perspectives. For that reason, not everyone thinks the same way or interprets conversations in a similar manner. I learned to be patient and calmly listen to my participants. I personally enjoy talking but by allowing my students to do most of the talking, I learned to accept their viewpoints open-mindedly and help them accordingly. Going forward, I hope to continue this next semester. In the end, I feel that I have experienced an interesting journey that had its ups and downs; nonetheless, I was satisfied with the outcome and hope that I was able to do good for my participants. It was a wonderful learning experience that I will always treasure as a memorable aspect of my college journey.