Blog Post #2--The First Meeting

Phew--I made it.  Well, I made it through one session, at least.  And while I don't want to celebrate prematurely, I'm extremely pleased with how things went last Friday and feel excited, rather than anxious, about the rest of the semester.

This isn't to say that the session went absolutely perfectly--for one, I was very aware of sounding like a moderator, rather than simply a member of the group, throughout it.  When the conversation would lull, I would insert myself into the silence, rather than let others come up with a new topic organically.  "So," I said, after a pause in a discussion about American insurance rates, "What's everyone's favorite restaurant in town?"  It wasn't great.  My hope, however, is that in time, my facilitation will become more refined and less clunky.  For one, I think I'll simply get better at sitting through silence.  I also think these moments (ones of genuine silence, rather than just momentary pauses) will become less common as members of the group get to know one another better.  Familiarity breeds conversation, so I think each session will be more comfortable and talkative than the last.

On the whole, though, I'm happy with how things turned out at the session.  Even the more stiff, formal parts of a first meeting--like having everyone introduce themselves, their hometown, and their major--were helpful.  Two students, Qianli and Camille, found out that they were from the same province of China, and talked for a bit about their concerns about making it through a Michigan winter.  Three students were computer science majors or minors, and they talked about the requirements for the program and the difficulty of different classes.  I wonder, in part, if an icebreaker might be a good way to start the next few sessions as well.  Even though icebreakers feel a little unnatural and tedious, I think they really can give group members a chance to find out things they have in common.  I like to think that from something forced will emerge a natural, free-flowing conversation--a bit delusional, maybe, but for now I'm going to test it out and see how it works.

Looking forward, I'm excited to see how the group continues to develop and how members become more acquainted with each other and with UM.  I do worry a bit about losing some members down the line--already, only 5 of 7 group members came to the first session--but I'm hopeful that people will find value and fun in the time we spend together.