How-to Host an Exchange Student

     When I was in high school I had the incredible opportunity of hosting a foreign exchange student. In fact referring to Yui as merely a"foreign exchange student" sounds quite strange because she was so much more than that- she became a sister to me. Hosting a foreign exchange student is not for every family, but if you have the chance to, then there are many things that you and your family can do to prepare for hosting someone from another culture.

     For instance, it is important to do the following to prepare:

• Ask your host student about their house rules and lifestyle. Tell them about your family's rules and lifestyle. Discuss the similarities and differences. Make sure expectations are clear and that you have a system in place for the event that complications arise.
• Learn something about your host student's country/city before they arrive. Read books and articles online about their culture. Ask them questions! Remember that you are able to learn from them just as much as they are from you.
• Go over what your goals are for the exchange semester/year. List out how you can ensure you meet those goals.
• Provide a safe space to ask questions and talk through ideas. If difficult situations come up make sure to set a outline for how to approach problems.
• Include host student in all family activities and go above and beyond to make sure they feel like part of the family.

     Looking back I desperately wish someone had prepared us for being culturally sensitive and culturally aware. Without getting into too much detail, essentially we had rescued Yui from another household in which she had not been comfortable or happy at. Although we did provide Yui with a much stronger sense of family and fantastic host experience, it was not as if we did not have our fair share of problems. There were many factors that had a powerful impact on our family dynamic. For instance, the basic manner in which we spoke to one another was very different. In Japanese culture and in her family specifically, Yui was not used to saying "I love you" to her parents or to her siblings. While on the other hand, my family said that phrase to one another multiple times throughout the day. Over the course of the eight months that she was with us, Yui began feeling more comfortable with the phrase and by the end of her stay was saying "I love you" to us. In fact when she arrived home to Japan after a year abroad her parents greeted her at the airport with only a  handshake and Yui was actually very upset that they did not hug her or say how much they loved her. This was just one example in which demonstrated through our shared experience how we learned from one another's culture.

     One of the greatest lessons I learned from Yui, in addition to understanding that my beliefs and ideologies were no greater than my Japanese sisters', was that love can be communicated differently from culture to culture, and that although the medium in which love can be communicated may be different, that it is to it's core a shared human experience, and one that binds us all together. Learning about intercultural communication techniques enables you to better interact and engage with people from varying backgrounds, which is an essential set of skills to have when hosting an exchange student. When this happens you are able to not only learn about someone else's culture, but in turn help to learn so much more about yourself.

The Culture of Wine

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When you picture yourself drinking a glass of wine, what do you imagine? Are you sitting somewhere outside, on a porch with a nice view, or inside in a classy restaurant eating by candlelight? Or perhaps you’re at home, relaxing by the fire with a glass of chianti to pair with a plate of aged parmesan cheese? Regardless, many people often associate wine with a clean, calm, elegant, peaceful setting. Why is this? Why do we associate this specific beverage with upper-class life? Perhaps it’s because wine often is marketed as the spirit of choice that people with money in lavish locations often enjoy. Wine is seen as an indulgence. At least, this seems to be the case in the United States. Here, we tend to think highly of wine, and it’s not hard to find someone who collects it and considers themselves a connoisseur. We associate wine with money, and the quality of wine is often judged by how much it costs. While this may be the American perspective of wine, is this how wine is viewed in other countries and cultures?

First, let’s take a quick look at the top wine-producing countries in the world. According to the below figure, the top countries are listed as follows:

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Italy, France, Spain, United States, Chile, China, Argentina, Australia, and South Africa (as of 2015). These are typically the main countries you will see listed on the aisles of any medium to large-sized liquor store.

If we journey to Italy, you will see a difference in how wine is viewed by the general public. In Italy, wine is treated much more casually. People drink wine during lunch, typically following water at most meals. The cost of wine is also far less – it’s not uncommon to be able to purchase a bottle for 4 euros (which is equivalent to approximately 4.47 USD), when the average bottle of wine in the U.S. costs around 10-12 dollars. Perhaps this is because Italy is one of the world’s largest wine producers, so its abundance and accessibility may make it seem less exclusive, although the United States is in the top five production companies as well.

Each country has certain characteristics that are embodied in their wine, all based on a number of factors surrounding that country and its identity. Wine produced in California tends to differ from wine produced in Chile, for example, due to the different grapes that grow in each climate, which make Chilean wines have a different taste and composition than most French wines. Since wine is such a globalized commodity, someone in America can taste wines from any of these countries without even having to travel. This, in its own way, can be seen a form of intercultural communication.

Culture can mean a number of things, but generally the word brings to mind the following ways that culture can be demonstrated: food, location, agriculture, economy, and climate. All of these factors affect wine – how it’s produced, how it tastes, how much it costs, and how it is consumed. With a wide variety of wines available from many areas of the world that embody elements of other cultures, we are given a taste of another culture. 

So, whether you prefer wine, beer, or water, it’s interesting to look at the globalization of wine and how widespread and diverse its culture can be.

By: Rachel Levitt

Sources:

Wikipedia

Numbeo.com

Football Fans Cry Too

Portuguese boy consoles crying France fan after Euro 2016 final

While Cristiano Ronaldo began his big night with tears of woe, it was France who ended the Euro 2016 final in heartbreak after falling at the very last hurdle. It was all too much for one emotional French supporter watching in the fan zone, who was seen sobbing away as the enormity of the evening reduced him to a tear-strewn wreck. Thankfully, his pain was eased following the intervention of a young lad, who helped console him after the defeat.

How lovely))

Hot Communication Between USA and USSR in 1961

At Checkpoint Charlie, US and Soviet tanks faced each other at point-blank range.

If any place was ground zero for the Cold War, it was Berlin.

Awash in intrigue, the former capital of the Third Reich lay 110 miles inside the Iron Curtain but was not part of East Germany. Each of the four victorious powers in Europe in World War II—the United States, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union—held control of a sector of the city, which would be preserved as the future capital of a reunified Germany.

Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev called it "the most dangerous place in the world." Nowhere else did the superpowers confront each other so closely and constantly. West Berlin was a source of embarrassment and aggravation to the Communist East German regime, which suffered by comparison. Large numbers of East Germans, especially skilled workers, fled to the West through Berlin.

Three times in the decades following World War II, the Soviet Union provoked crisis in Berlin. The third and last of these crises was set in motion June 4, 1961, when Khrushchev gave Western armed forces six months to get out of Berlin. The Russians had made similar demands before, but this time, they held the hard line and the situation escalated rapidly.

The Berlin Wall, constructed by the East Germans beginning Aug. 13 that year, cut off access to West Berlin. For those attempting to escape, the East German border guards had shoot-to-kill orders.

As the crisis escalated, the US Air Force and the Air National Guard reinforced NATO with the largest overseas movement of aircraft since World War II. Before it was over, US and Soviet tanks faced each other at point-blank range at Checkpoint Charlie, raising the fear the superpowers would go to war. Ramifications from the Berlin Crisis of 1961 persisted in Cold War relations for the next 30 years.

The roots of the confrontation went back to September 1944, when Allied occupation protocol divided postwar Germany into three zones, and Berlin into three sectors (Soviet, American, and British). The protocol was amended in July 1945 to provide France a role in the occupation.

Source: http://www.airforcemag.com/

Intercultural Communication on Russian Fishing

Russian men place great importance on friendships. In Russia, men tend to build their friendships for years and male friends often become as close as relatives. The companies of male friends often entertain themselves with such traditional activities for men as fishing and hunting. Fishing and hunting are the hobbies of practically all men in Russia. Russian women do not normally participate in these traditionally masculine activities, preferring to stay at home and wait patiently for their husbands to come back.

Video Time: Do you want a boyfriend/girlfriend

Video Time: Do you Want a Boyfriend/Girlfriend 

Hey everyone! 

Welcome to the video time.America,a country that people have different culture background live together.The cultural diversities sometime create unexpected difficulties when it comes to find a partner for life.

Here are some videos that might help ^3^.

First: There is a CUTE girl sitting in the coffee store! I want to talk to her,however... How old she is?

    

Second: Do white guys really takes all the girl?