Reaction #2 Video Conference

This video conference went much smoother than when we first met. Due to the fact that we did not face any technical difficulties, I was able to hear the Swedish students much more clearly, and thus have a more complete conversation. I thought that the smaller groups were much more effective in terms of actually learning about the topics and concepts.

            During the small group discussion, we spent most of our time talking about “cool Japan”. I had actually never heard of this concept and neither did the other two U.S. students in my group. Therefore, the Swedish student did most of the talking, while the U.S. students were able to ask him questions using the messaging tool so we did not interrupt his lecture. He was extremely detailed in teaching us about this concept and actually gave about a five minute lecture on the basic facts of what this cultural concept means, and his own opinion of the trend. Due to the fact that he was giving us so much information at once, I was  not able to fully grasp all of the various aspects that are included this overarching theme: “cool Japan”. However, I did get a lot out of what he was saying and was able to come up with some questions to ask him.

            I felt as though because we were able to have a more effective conversations due to the lack of technical difficulties, that we were able to draw connections with a variety of other themes we had learned in the class that semester. For example, Dan, actually reminded me of my show and tell topic from the beginning of the semester, when I wrote about Japanese clothing. I realized then, that some of the clothing trends in Japan were directly related to the themes we were discussing in the video conference such as “cool Japan” and “cuteness”. I then mentioned this to the Swedish student and we were able to smoothly transition from the small group into the big group to discuss the topic of “cute Japan” and “cuteness.” 

            Overall, these video conferences are definitely enjoyable and it is always interesting to have a conversation with an individual from a different country. Considering this is a class about culture, it is definitely important to get a cross-cultural perspective in regards to various aspects of Japanese society. In both video conferences we normally discuss the themes and concepts of Japanese culture with a comparison of U.S. culture. However, with the Swedish students, we are able to compare and contrast Japanese culture with the Swedish culture as well, which is definitely an interesting view point and one that is unfamiliar to us.