Reflections on comments about post #4

Hi everyone, once again thanks for leaving comments on my blog posts.

Firstly, the comments that were suggested are very relevant and I will ensure these suggestions are included in future similar posts. Personally, I felt that the post was lacking in the reflection and judgment of my performance. Moreover, this post could do better with a video link of my group meeting and a criteria list to gauge my role and performance. However, it is challenging to maintain the delicate balance between the amount of content and the word limit. Therefore, whenever possible, I shall apply the constructive criticisms for the blog posts.

Lastly, I have included a comic strip to bring some laughter before the mid-term tests start.

Jonathan

Post # 4: Reflection on meeting 1

Preeti, Renuka, Roger, and I were grouped together for the CG1102 Project. We chose Discussion Room 7 of the Central Library as the venue for the required filming of our project because it is an ideally serene place, and on top of that, it provides a beautiful backdrop for the scene of our project discussion.

As this was the first time I am doing a group discussion in front of a video camera, I felt awkward while trying to bring across my idea during the recording. In addition, since none of my group members did such filming before, none of us knew the appropriate manner to conduct such meetings. As a result, the flow of the discussion was not smooth; there were often awkward pauses in between each speech made. Despite the awkward silence and occasionally sidetracking during the filming of the meeting, I felt that it was a good learning experience, and a good start to all my possible filming projects ahead. I believe that we will appear much more natural on our next filming. As a Chinese saying goes “Wisdom comes from experience”.

On the whole, I believe that both teamwork and spontaneity is evident in my group. We were willing to accommodate to each other while staying firm on our ideas. Furthermore, since everyone was not afraid to voice out their opinion, all aspects and possibilities were discussed and considered during the brainstorm for ideas.

In conclusion, with everyone coming from various ethnic and culture, I believe after the project, I will gain both knowledge and communication skills while interacting with my group members.

Reflections on comments about post #3

Hi everyone,

Once again, thank you for commenting on my post. After reviewing the comments that were posted, I noticed that the most common solution suggested was to arrange the two friends for a face-to-face meeting to clear any misunderstanding between them. During the meeting, they will be able to talk things out and learn more about the reasons why their Christmas presents are inappropriate. After clearing the misunderstandings, the two friends should be back on talking terms.

Although the suggestions that were posted are feasible and applicable, my initial remedy was very different from those mentioned. The remedy that I had in mind would not only solve the current problem and could also prevent possible future dilemma from occurring.

I would persuade the two friends to take turns staying at the each other’s house over a weekend. Since they will be living in a different cultural setting, they will realise their mistakes they had made while choosing the Christmas gift during the process of interaction with their family members.

Furthermore, staying at each other’s house will enable the two friends to develop a better friendship through avoiding unintentional actions that might be insulting to the other party, since they will gain more insight on the other friend’s culture.

Moreover, I believe this implementation will be an effective method because they will learn each other’s culture in a fun and relaxing way, and realise their mistakes at the same time. Therefore, there should be little or no conflicts thereafter.

Jonathan

Post #3: Resolving interpersonal conflict

It was Christmas and you were hosting a party in your house. For the party, you decided to invite two of your best friends over. Your two friends are a Chinese (Ah Ming) from China who is a Buddhist and a Malay (Aisha) from Malaysia who is a Muslim respectively. As to promote the spirit of giving during Christmas, your friends were informed to bring presents to exchange with others.

For the exchanging of presents, Aisha got Ah Ming a clock as Ah Ming was always late for lessons. She bought the clock as a gift since she thought it would make a practical gift for Ah Ming and it could assist him in arriving on time for lessons. However, Aisha did not know that, for the Chinese, it is inappropriate to use clocks as a gift, as the pronunciation of “giving clock” in mandarin sounds as though "to send a person off for his last journey", or simply, to wish him dead.

Meanwhile, Ah Ming got Aisha a pencil case that resembled a plush pig because he noticed her old pencil case was old and worn-out. Since Aisha was born in the year of pig, which is one of the Chinese zodiac characters, Ah Ming bought that pencil case intending to make the present more significant to her. However, Ah Ming did not realize that Malays, whose religion is Islam, consider pigs as dirty and unholy animals that must be avoided.

During the Christmas day party, both of them exchanged those inappropriate gifts ignorantly. As a result, Aisha and Ah Ming were not on talking terms for the following week.

What should you do?

Reflections on comments about post #2

Hi everyone,
Firstly, I would like to thank those who took the time, effort to post compliments and constructive feedbacks about my post 2. I have read through all the comments that were posted and felt that the criticisms that were posted were very relevant, especially the comment on the lack of consistency in the tenses in certain area. I reviewed that portion of my post and realized the mistake. In addition, I also recognized that my post was too focus on the examples and was lacking in the interpretation of the examples.

Secondly, in the comments, it was mentioned that most of the readers enjoyed reading my post 2 and liked the usage of pictures for the post. I will attempt to continue keeping my post as interesting as possible and if applicable, will include pictures to liven up my blog.

Lastly, if there is anything that you feel my post is lacking, feel free to post a comment. Have a good weekend and happy reading for the rest of my blog.
Jonathan