Dear CCC students and friends,
It was a good first week in CCC. Thank you for your participation and suggestions. Here are some of the classroom rules we created to support open and free dialogue:
1) To be respectful and understanding.
2) Open your mind and listen.
3) Feel free to share your idea in class.
4) Be polite.
5) Don't let your English skills stop your ideas. Work to communicate.
6) Please respect class’ ideas when discussing, though you might not agree. And feel free to speak your opposite idea.
This is a good start. This first week, we discussed the meaning of culture and the different kinds of knowledge that it gives us. We know that we have a culture, but it is difficult to describe how or why it makes us who we are...
My question this week is: How far does one need to travel to be a foreigner?
Remember that culture is learned, and it is the result of our communication with people over time. Can you be a foreigner in your own home? Or, do you need to go far away?
I look forward to the conversation. Aj. M
“No culture can live, if it attempts to be exclusive.”
Mahatma Gandhi
Hi Aj. Canada!
ReplyDeleteIt was hard for me to answer the questions who and why we are. It is really hard to explain the reason of the tacit knowledge we got.
I hope I'll find out and can change the tacit knowledge to be the explicit knowledge as I've been told.
This week's question is kind of hard as well. I'm sure most of us never thought about this question before. Well, is this a homework? Do we have to summit it to you in class?
Anyway, thank you for reading and I'm so glad that you can remember my name.
Take care.
ah... this is not homework... but it is an idea to discuss that will prepare us for what we will learn next week. There are no wrong answers. Feel free to speak, like our rules allow us. Invite your friends to share their ideas.
ReplyDeleteHi, Aj Matthew
ReplyDeleteThis new question is quite interesting. I think that a foreigner is a person who belongs to a country that is not his own but if we focus on the feeling, I think we can be a foreigner in our own home. When I came to Chiangrai at first time, I felt I just like a foreigner. I didn,t know the culture and I couldn't speak and understood the local language here. I was new and i had to learn like a foreigner that just came to Thailand although I'm Thai.
This is just my case and my thought about this question.
I will look foward to read another ideas.
byeee^^
very interesting spider... thank you for your thoughts
ReplyDeleteHi, Aj.Mathew
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm glad that this is not a homework. Ha ha ha...
For me, I think it is not necessary that one has to come from another country even another town, school, whatever...
My case is, I live in the northeastern, but I never speak local language and I never try to. When I was a child I hardly know the northeastern local language when I went to work I didn't understand what people said at first. That makes me feel like I'm a foreigner.
Even in school in the same town, I met many friends who always talk local language in their home. When they went to school, they spoke central Thai weirdly.
I think it depends on what that per son think and what society think. For example, you stay in a place for a long time. Many people in the society see you every day and get used to it and think that you are not a foreigner. Maybe you never think like that. You can think that you still be a foreigner and you always be.
Or you trieed so hard to be part of the society and you think that you are a local, but people in the society may always think that you are a foreigner.
So, these are what I think.
See in class.
This is excellent Paechan. Thank you for this. We inhabit many cultures, even in our hometown... sometimes it is difficult to "feel at home" at home.
ReplyDeleteEncourage your friends to join the conversation and share their experiences.
Sawandee Ka, Aj.Falang!
ReplyDeleteHow far does one need to travel to be a foreigner?
In my opinion, it's just two hours, I become a foreigner. I means I have travelled to Bangkok, it is far from my hometown, Choun Buri around 2 hrs., it's just two hours, I become a foreigner. This is because there are many things that is called 'culture' differ from my hometown such as the ways of life, clothes or manner. For example, in Bangkok, most of people need to compete to get on a bus, especially, anusaowareechai but in my hometown, I have never care about it anymore. However, when I paticipated in the situation as mentioned above, I need to follow those people.
I hope that my comment would answer your question.
Ps. Your reading is so hard!!!
Hello Aj.M,
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, it depends on how people feel when they interact with other people in the new environment.
At the first glance, to feel like a foreigner may be just physically different. For example, when I went to the Netherlands, as an Asian among Europeans I felt like a foreigner already, does not need to mention the cultural differences.
However, it may not need to go that far. Even a small unit like family can make people feel like a foreigner. I have learned one experiment in AE class where students were put into other family. They felt reluctant and did not know exactly what to do.
I believe that it is a matter of familairity of a person with a particular environment.
take care,
Personnally, I think being a foreigner doesn't have to go a place where is very from the origin. It's only the place that people feel unfamilar to the people life's style or other culture, so that means people can be foreinger everywhere. For instance, when I came to MFLU as a first year student, I felt unfamilar and un comfortable with life style here including food or communication. This point can tell that I'm a kind of foreigner for people around here.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I think most people understand "foreigner" as people who comes from oversea. One of the reason for supporting is people from overseas, mostly, do know our culture much.
These are all my idea
Let's share some more idea!!!
Ps. There gonna be cool outside, so plz take care of yourself, everyone.
This is great gon-mek. Thanks for your ideas and warning about the weather!
ReplyDeleteYou're right... "foreigner" is a political word, which means someone that comes from outside your country. But as you said about moving to the university, at first you will feel like a foreigner, because the university is a new culture for you.
I'm very happy to hear your ideas. Aj. M
Dear Aj.Matthew
ReplyDeleteAlthough your question is not easy to answer again, I like it!
I think it's quite hard to be the foreigner in my own country, especially for traveling. In my opinion, we can be the tourists in Thailand, but we can't be the foreigner. Many places we didn't go and we are tourists, but not foreigners.
I've never been aborad, but I hope oneday I'll go. Many places around the world are very interesting! Have you ever been other countries? Please share with us. ^_^
I joined in your class this morning and thought about your question which is the differences between South Asia. I have a friend who live in Pakistan. He scared the whole fish on plate too. ^_^ Your question makes me laugh a lot when he answered me!
and absolutely, it's tacit knowledge!
Please ask me the interesting questions more, because we learn each other through the answer!
^_^
Sawaddee ka aj. Matthew
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question, How for does one need to be a foreigner? First of all, I need to tell you that I do not quite understand or be able to interpret your question to be much right... but what I think is that the foreigner is the person who does not belong to that local, city or country... They just would like to visit or feel the wonderful of that local can provide to him/her which I think it is the good idea. In addition, sometimes I think to be the foreigner does not depend only the distance of the city, local but it is also depended on people. For example, if there is foreigner who is really fallen in love with that country,culture,tradition so, he/she will try many ways to learn and get in touch with that culture, people as much as he/she can. So, I think then that local people will not think that this foreigner is as foreign anymore but part of them ... that is what I think...
At last, thank you so much to make me get a bit more frustrat to think about your nice question...
Take care,
May
Hi.aj,M.
ReplyDeleteI was so hard to explain your question who and why am I?I just know who I am,but I dont know why am I?:) like you said in the class.
Take care....
Hi, AJ.
ReplyDeleteHow far does one need to travel to be a foreigner?
I don't think the word "foreigner" will be defined by the way of travelling.
In this case, I understood this word that is the one who live or stay in another place you are, speak another language. From what I think, It depends on various factors that can affect to this difference like language you used, nationality you got, and may be you can specific other by only looking from the different charactors they had. All these things always look different when you see whoever came from other countries.
So It's easy to know that who will be the foreigner if you notice enough.
take care,
I'm enjoying this conversation very much.
ReplyDeleteI think that the word "foreigner" makes us think about it in a different way. When you see a tourist with a suitcase or a backpack... it is easy to call them a "foreigner!"
Now, I think about other people that live in Thailand. I know Westerners that have stayed in Thailand for a very long time. They are married with a Thai partner and have children. They speak Thai and have a business... they participate in the culture... but forever they will be a "foreigner" in the culture, even though this is their new "home."
This is not only for western people, but I have met Japanese, Filipino, and Chinese that have this experience. What do you think about this?
Moreover, in my country in Vancouver, there is a huge Chinatown. Many people there don't speak English, but they have families and businesses and they can get Canadian passports... so are they Chinese or are they Canadian? Are they foreigners or not?
Keep your comments coming!
hello Mr.Matthew
ReplyDeleteHow far does one need to travel to be a foreigner huh?
I like to answer ur Q.
i think it's not far, veryone can be a foreigner in our home. I ever felt like a foreigner when my family move to Chiangrai. I used to live in BKK for 10 years and I like the way I live. then, when I move to study in chiangrai. I felf like I was a freak. I can't speak dialect language and I don't understand ppl. No one in my class wanna talk to me coz they thought I was a stranger one. I felt so bad about this. I don't know how to behave. I don't know the foods. but not too long that I can join this culture. It's hard in the first time to change the way I used to but I can do it now.
we can be a foreingner when we come to live with others family or when u go to ur friend home and stay there for a couper night.
u will feel like u r a foreigner. Bcoz u don't know what u should do or should behave.
so, we can be a foreigner in our home in"Thailand"
Aj. Matthew ... I love your style of teaching, the way that let the students to express his/her idea.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Spider :P
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, we can be a foreigner in many places not only in the other country but also in our own country.
If I have to live the another place that it's not my hometown, I will be a foreigner, because i don't know any its folk customs and local language. Finally, I have to adapt myself to live in that place happily.
You maybe confuse about my comment hahaha.
Anywat, it is just my comment that I want to share with you. ^___^
Ps. Your class is very wonderful...
Hello,,,Aj,Matthew
ReplyDeleteHow far does one need to travel to be a foreigner?
---I'm not sure, actually I don't know..But I do like all the ideas above....
I'm very impressed with everyone's ideas and feeling about this question.
ReplyDeleteYou're right that when we go somewhere new and meet other people, we must adapt to communicate. Hopefully they will adapt too.
This is a great conversation.