Day five was a bit uneventful. We started off the morning by heading to EMLyon for another lecture. This time it was with an American ex-pat named Nikki Papadoulous who spoke about being an ex-pat in France. At first I thought the lecture and its topics were very straight-forward relating to cultural difference, but then I realized that I am very different than the rest of my class -- I'm bilingual and bi-cultural. I was fortunate to have traveled to many places in the world and experience all sorts of different people. In fact, it was shocking to me to have found out that quite a handful of people (who are over the age of 30) that have never been abroad before. Knowing the fact that globalization is the new norm (and that the topic has been beaten to death with now a blunt object), I thought it was a given that there are differences between culture and that people interpret and value things differently. Overall, I was very impressed with how adaptable she was as person. She's from New York, speaks Spanish fluently after living in Mexico for many years then migrated to France to be with her husband.
What I liked about her lecture was her explanation of how her French students behave compare to Americans. For example, French students are less likely to be outspoken during class and give their opinion for the fear of being wrong or stupid. American students, on the other hand, freely express their ideas and opinions and most of the time with confidence. It was interesting to hear that after her lecture, most French students would approach her in private to discuss their ideas. Another interesting factoid that I learned was that being "critical" as a person signifies intelligence in France. However, being critical in America can easily be seen as a negative Nancy and someone who needs a major attitude check.
It seemed that no real business trip was lined up so we visited some random silkscreen printing workshop. One positive thing that I took from that visit was seeing someone demonstrating silkscreen printing right in front of my face. I've always been fascinated with Andy Warhol (and read his biography as well) and how he managed to turned silk screen printing into popular art. Apparently, the French have been doing it for hundreds of years since the silk workers in the age of the Renaissance. Neat.
What I liked about her lecture was her explanation of how her French students behave compare to Americans. For example, French students are less likely to be outspoken during class and give their opinion for the fear of being wrong or stupid. American students, on the other hand, freely express their ideas and opinions and most of the time with confidence. It was interesting to hear that after her lecture, most French students would approach her in private to discuss their ideas. Another interesting factoid that I learned was that being "critical" as a person signifies intelligence in France. However, being critical in America can easily be seen as a negative Nancy and someone who needs a major attitude check.
It seemed that no real business trip was lined up so we visited some random silkscreen printing workshop. One positive thing that I took from that visit was seeing someone demonstrating silkscreen printing right in front of my face. I've always been fascinated with Andy Warhol (and read his biography as well) and how he managed to turned silk screen printing into popular art. Apparently, the French have been doing it for hundreds of years since the silk workers in the age of the Renaissance. Neat.
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