Reflection #8

For my final reflection post, I've decided to summarize what I've learned this semester in this class.

For starters, it was easily the most diverse class I have ever been a part of, and I still remember going back to the first day of class having that "ice breaker" activity getting to know everyone based on questions on the paper such as "born in the same city as you". to "has the same first initial in their name", to "has gone backpacking."

I thought this was truly a great way to meet most everyone in the class, to get us comfortable enough to begin to talk about our own personal experiences with intercultural communication and how our competency levels have changed over the time in the course. We learned that some people are unaware of cultural miscommunication, that some know they are not competent yet do not attempt to change it, other like where our class is now at would be the consciousness of competency, and unconscious competency of intercultural communication. the majority of us, I would assume are at the conscious competency stage as only a few in the class have traveled abroad.

One thing I enjoyed most about this course was the eye opening documentaries about the situation in the middle east regarding how little religious tolerance there is. It is crazy to think that people have so much energy for hatred in their lives when still living in a third world country where they even struggle to survive.

Another documentary I really enjoyed was the "Living on a Dollar" and seeing how the truly poor people live. Not the beggars you come across here in Lincoln, Ne, but those who couldn't go to a homeless shelter as there are none in tiny poor countries.

My favorite part of the course was getting to see the pilot episode of Idiot Abroad and continuing to get more and more hooked on this great show. It really sums up how NOT to travel the world and live your life being ethnocentric and closed-minded.

Great semester and great class!