Blog Post 6

With the blog posting coming to a close and the final Chat Café session drawing closer I believe it’s time for some well-deserved reflection.  Reading through my first blog post I remember the nervous state I was in at the time. Looking back its almost comical to think I was that nervous for something that ended up being so natural. I still remember drafting that first email, constantly deleting and retyping words to find the perfect sentence and make a memorable first impression (or at least not mess it up). The first meeting with my group was good but I could tell everyone was nervous and reserved. The most notable member of the group at the time was a named Alila. She was by far the most reserved participant. She was very soft-spoken and barley made eye contact when she talked to the other members. One of the major successes of Chat Café, at least for me, was to watch her develop. Each meeting she would talk more and more and become generally more confident with her conversation skills. I was astounded when she came into a meeting and began talking right away with everybody and lead the conversation. To watch her, as well as the other members, develop their conversational skills over one semester was truly a gratifying moment.

If I could go back in time and give myself one piece of advice I would tell myself calm down and do less preparation for each meeting. I feel as though the weeks where I did the most preparation where the weeks that felt the most unnatural. The whole point of Chat Café was to help international students prepare for natural conversation. You can’t plan natural.

Chat Café has allowed me to expand a wide myriad of my facilitation and conversation skills. This summer I will be working with a Canadian International School in India and I plan to apply my experiences from Chat Café to working with international middle schoolers in India. One of the most helpful skills I honed will doing Chat Café was how to direct a conversation so everyone participates equally. While interviewing with the Canadian International School they told me one of my responsibilities would be to ensure that all students are involved equally in the various activities of the school. I plan to use my skill of conversation directing to help shy students break out of their shell in India.

With my final blog post I would like to thank Scott for being such a helpful resource during this process. I would also like to thank all my classmates for being so open during our discussion sessions to help create a dynamic and memorable dialogue. Thank You!

Blog Post 6 - Reflections

I sincerely cannot believe that next week is the last time I'm meeting with these amazing groups of people. I've had so much fun doing this and it was pretty unforgettable. Looking back, I honestly feel quite accomplished over the bonds that have grown out of these conversations and the real intercultural exchange that has grown out of the topics we've covered.

Some of my favorite moments from this semester largely come from the conversations that I never would have predicted having with others. Like the time my participants debated the merits and downsides of ethnic enclaves, or the time someone taught me all about the Korean film industry, or when the whole group banded together to explain to me how driving permits and license plates work in large cities in Eastern Asia; sometimes, I felt like the one who benefited the most from all of this was me based on how much interesting stories and information I got out of it.

That said, if I could go back and do it over, there are certainly things that I would change. There are some small logistical things that I would change, such as emphasizing how important it is to show up and be engaged, and also putting more focus on the conversation being more self-directed; I never really felt like I accomplished the right balance of me speaking or explaining or posing questions as compared to everyone else doing these things. 

Moving forward though, there are so many useful skills that can be drawn from this experience. For me specifically, I am considering a career in journalism more seriously than ever and asking pointed, open-ended, engaging questions that lead to thought provoking answers is a huge skill to have in interviews. This entire experience definitely helped me develop that ability as I pushed my participants to keep talking, tell me more, and look at things from different angles. 

In the end, I'm just so, so glad I did this!! That's the real takeaway here. 

Blog Post #6: The end of chat cafe :(

Chat cafe has been a wonderful experience for me, and I am very glad to have been a part of it. I met some wonderful people, had very nice conversations, and learned a lot about what life can be like for international students at UMich. I would definitely do it again, mostly because I have learned from my past experiences and from fellow facilitators about what not and what to do. 

One of my favorite chat cafe sessions was when only one of my participants came. At first, I was bummed that so many of my participants couldn't make it. But, our conversation ended up being wonderful. We talked all about our families, our history with relationships, what are plans for our future are, and more. I felt honored that my participant was willing to share personal details with me and that she could trust me. It felt like we were friends instead of facilitator and participant. Another session I really enjoyed was when I prompted my group with questions about themselves. I remember a lot of us interpreted the question in different ways, which made our responses very unique and also hilarious at times. It seemed like everyone was comfortable and it was one of the times where we were sad that our hour had passed so quickly. 

I learned something from each and every one of my sessions, which I really value. I am always someone who is very inquisitive and tries to be open minded, and I think chat cafe has helped me expand on those qualities. I learned about how to hold a conversation with a stranger who may not be fluent in English. I learned that there are a variety of struggles that international students go through. I learned that there are so many things that international students do not know about UMich or even American culture, which can make things hard for adjustment. 

If I were to do this again, I would plan more. I always thought about how I would love to do more activities, or go to more places, but I truly never got the time. I also felt that since my sessions were on Thursday evenings, it made it hard to have an outing. I think I would have benefitted from a little more structure, although it is definitely not a necessity. I also would have tried to change up the scene more or maybe invited more students to join throughout the semester, as my group was never larger than 4 people. But, all of these things are simply suggestions. I loved my experience and I wouldn't change it!

From here, I hope to definitely be a facilitator again if I get the chance. I love being an ally to our international friends and I absolutely love meeting them and hearing their stories. I hope to use this experience as a personal learning experience, as I feel that I have grown and really pushed myself somewhat out of my comfort zone. I also hope to reach out to international students in my classes and maybe help spread the word of chat cafe or simply be a friend to them. I have learned that I am able to carry on a conversation, gauge what the group needs, and be committed to a group of students that I care about. I hope to get an experience like this again :)

Blog Post #6

This is it. The end of our first (and for some, our only) semester as Chat Cafe facilitators for Sweetland. We all knew that this day would come, we just did not expect it to arrive so soon. It's somewhat bittersweet. On one hand, this signifies the end of our groups, the collection of people that we as facilitators have come to had meaningful and interesting conversations with. Ranging from food to art to customs to politics, each one of these sessions have undoubtedly resulted in both the facilitator and participants learning and growing from the dialogue provided: and now such groups will dissipate alongside the semester. Yet, we should not be sad over such things occurring, it was only natural that this would happen. Rather, we as facilitators should relish in the fact that we have learned from these sessions as much as the participants have. We learned a lot about interacting with individuals who have english as a secondary language, how to strike a conversation with them, and how silence can sometimes lead to the most fruitful dialogues. All of these lessons will be invaluable to us as we carry on with our lives, and will undoubtedly be of use in the future of this ever connecting world.

In terms of the highlights, I would say that the best moment was when natural dialogue started to occur. When I got the participants to effectively communicate with each other while saying very little, I knew that I have succeeded in my role as a facilitator. Rather than trying to instigate a conversation, it occurred quite spontaneously without any guidance from me. From then on, for the rest of the session, I let them take the reigns while offering my opinions here and there when asked. I would say that this moment was undoubtedly the most successful one that has occurred throughout the entirety of the semester.

With regards to improvements, I would say trying to organize more events next time would be far more beneficial for promoting dialogue. Most of the time, we were situated around a table talking about random things for an hour; ergo, it would sometimes become difficult to nurture natural conversation. If I could change one thing about my chat cafe sessions overall, I would try to promote more trips throughout the campus; not only would the participants benefit from seeing much more of the university they go to, but it would also lead to more interesting topics of conversation.

Finally, in terms of lessons that could be garnered from this experience as a whole, there are so many little aspects that will undoubtedly help me in future endeavors. The finite details in conversation that many may overlook when speaking are of paramount importance when it comes to chat cafe sessions, and being able to recognize the importance of these will serve as crucial information when it comes to interacting with other people internationally. I plan to use such information in order to help non-native english speakers improve their speaking and writing, in order to allow for more effective forms of communication. As a peer writing consultant, these lessons will certainly help me in further consultations, as I will be able to better help the writer express their concerns and points of view, subsequently allowing me to better address such problems in their pieces. While this specific application may only be applicable to me, I know that there are many more avenues with which such information will aid all of us in our future.

Blog Post #6

The end is imminent, and as trite as it may sound, I really am surprised by how quickly this semester and my time as a Chat Cafe facilitator have gone by.  During my last session, as I reminded my group that we wouldn't meet this week due to Thanksgiving, I realized that we only have two sessions left.  Two!  How did time slip by so quickly?

I'm a regrets kind of person--I have them about almost everything, and think a lot in terms of "what ifs" and "what could have beens."  Upon reflecting on my time as a facilitator, however, I've found that I have no major regrets from the experience.  No, things often didn't go perfectly--some sessions were awkward, many of my strategies and attempts to break the ice between group members futile--but I realize that the goal of Chat Cafe was never really to have consistently perfect meetings.  The program is based in and relies on people, which makes it inherently subject to the quirks and roadblocks of person-to-person interaction.  Sometimes there's silence.  Sometimes there's confusion. Sometimes there's awkwardness.  Communication is not always ideal, but therein lies the opportunity for students to become more comfortable with how to navigate conversations in effective ways, especially in a second language.  

As our weekly sessions went on, I found that my group members seemed to become more and more confident and comfortable in their English communication.  They dwelled less on their mistakes and seemed to take increasing pride in their successes, which made them more open to engaging with one another frankly.  This in turn led to better conversations and more authentic bonds (and maybe even friendships?  Some of my group members exchanged numbers and added one another on Facebook!) between members.

Our most recent session, in particular, seemed to serve as a culmination of all the progress we've made as a group during the semester--the group split into two pairs, which I floated between.  Each pair was united in conversation about something both members found interesting--Hohyun and Qianli discussed basketball, while Camille and Tim tried to determine whether Universal Studios or Disneyworld was Orlando's best amusement park (I was more heavily involved in the latter conversation, because of my love for Harry Potter World).  Then the group rejoined in a larger discussion about multilingualism and the difference between Chinese dialects, and then halted conversation for a couple minutes to together watch a squirrel jump from tree to tree.  Then, organically and without my prompting, the group split into pairs again, once more talking about things they had learned over the semester their conversation partner would find interesting.

It's meetings like these that make the stagnant sessions of the beginning of the semester seem to have been worth it.  I feel that we needed those first few weeks to adjust and grow comfortable with one another--only after kicking some of our anxieties were we able to engage in real conversation that felt natural and was (hopefully) helpful.  One of the most valuable lessons I'll take from Chat Cafe is to allow things time to grow and develop naturally.  I've long been the kind of person that feels antsy when things don't go right immediately--it's normally been hard for me to have faith that things will work themselves out and get where they need to go.  Chat Cafe has proven to me, however, that waiting can be rewarded, especially in situations that can't be forced (as in those involving large groups of strangers).

To future Chat Cafe facilitators, I would advise this: be patient, and allow your group to develop at its own pace.  Yes, it would be great if we could overcome the tension and nervousness inherent to a group like this at out first session (I'm working on that for my capstone project!), but don't bank on that being the case.  It's okay--and, honestly, probably a good thing--for things to be a bit slow at first.  That's how both friendships and communication develop.  In time, your group will become more loquacious, and your students will hopefully become increasingly confident in their English speaking.  That, at least, has been my experience.  I'm immensely glad to have joined Chat Cafe this semester, both because I hope I helped my group members become more comfortable with their English and with life in Ann Arbor, and because it helped me become a better and more sympathetic conversationalist and person.

Blog Post #6

I would like to use this final post to reflect on my experience and my participants' experiences throughout the semester. Even though the semester flew by, a lot happened.

For our first meeting, I was much more nervous than I was prepared to admit. The same tension could be felt amongst the participants. This was to be expected as no one in the group knew one another. Regardless of this, my group was quick to start chatting. I thought that our semester was off to a wonderful start. However, sometime between the 1st and 2nd meeting, my participants hit a conversational roadblock, the origins of which were unbeknownst to me.

It's easy, as a point-person of any group, to become flustered when things don't go as planned. I will admit that I felt stranded during those meetings which were not as lively as the first. But, I will share this piece of advice: failed attempts at conversation should not be taken as a failure or a disconnect. Rather, failed attempts give you, as a conversational leader, a better idea of the preferences of your group, and moreover, a better opportunity to allow your participants to incite conversations of their own.

One of the most successful strategies I implemented during the semester was allowing my participants to begin the conversation themselves. By taking a few moments of silence at the beginning of each meeting my participants eventually realized that the conversation would begin only when they took the initiative. Not only did this lessen their nerves about communicating in English, but it also allowed us to avoid stagnant conversation.

As the weeks passed, so did the occurrence of silences, long pauses, and crickets. Now, headed into our last week, I am happy to say that not only have these participants gained a tighter grasp of the English language and conversational skills, but have also grown closer as members of the international community. Although it is my ultimate goal to is to catalyze friendship between domestic and international students, this is a pretty good start.

Blog Post #5: International Students at UMich

My group has addressed cultural frustrations, especially since I have asked about them many times. I came into chat cafe wanting to be able to ease those frustrations and be a guide for international students who may need a space to vent or ask questions. Common frustrations include: understanding what the professor is saying/what exam questions are asking, knowing common lingo or knowing about annual events at the university, and being able to make friends with non-international students. 

1) Breaking barriers between students: I think that international students should be able to have special office hours or meeting times with professors so that they can get one-on-one time with them. Exams written in simpler English or access to a dictionary/ more time during an exam could help students understand what the questions are asking. Students could also be buddied up with another student or have a special study group for international students through the SLC/ other tutoring orgs so that they don't feel pressured and unable to ask questions. 

2) Knowing about campus events/ locations: I've noticed that many of my participants are not aware of things such as 'tailgating', cider mills, the arb, thanksgiving, etc. I think chat cafe is a great way for students to learn about these terms/things to do. The university could have a calendar or some kind of infographic for each month to explain what kinds of activities occur on campus at that time. Students would know what events they have access to and would be able to participate and learn. 

3)Being able to make friends with non-international students: Professors should make an effort to pair international students with native students so that they can learn from one another in group projects/study sessions, etc. Chat cafe is also a great way for this to happen.

Overall, I think the university needs to recognize that more resources or better accessibility to existing resources needs to be implemented. Chat cafe is one of the best ways to do this. Professors and other university institutions will need to be involved to make UMich more welcoming to international students.