Q3

3). Pick one concept from throughout the semester that you feel can use further discussion.

a: I think that the topic of cultural communication could be explored further. It is understood that to be a cosmopolitan, global citizen, we must be able to understand cultural differences. To be able to adapt is also another important skill in this type of communication. To the Japanese, you are not allowed to speak casually with a stranger or anyone unless you ask for permission or are granted permission. In the middle east, women are not allowed to speak and males are the dominant person in the household. Cultural differences influences the topic of communication heavily. And another heavy impact is also the history of the country. For example, in China males are favored because of the traditions in which the male son carries down. It is considered an honor to carry down the family name and other heirloom/artifacts. If we had known this then during a wedding ceremony we would understand why everything is paid for by the male family and the female family must give at least one expensive heirloom to the male family. Understanding the history also helps us see how much communication as developed in terms of gender roles.

Q2

2). What was your favorite thing about the class?  What was

your least favorite thing about the class?  How can this class

be improved?  Again, be specific.

a: My favorite thing about the class is the fact that it is online and allows me to do things at my own pace. The fact that we had WEEKLY blog posts instead of daily blog posts really helped in maintaining a flexible schedule this semester. I enjoyed how the essays and everything were all due online. Posting on blogger has been a delight as well. Commenting is a bit tedious because of the user verification everytime we comment, but other than that it isn't much of a hassle. Perhaps the only cons are the online quizzes and tests. Desire to learn isn't a really user-friendly interface. There were several times where my screen froze or I clicked submit and all of the questions refreshed and I had to redo the whole quiz in under ten minutes. The questions on the quiz, at times, feels as if there are several answers. I'd much rather do a one page or two page, roughly 500 word, paper or blog post about the chapter.

Q1

1). What have you learned in this class over the course of the semester?  Be specific.

a: I have learned many things this semester. From relationship development to various communication concepts that I would have been blind to if not for this course. For relationships, I have learned how different relationships have different forms of communication. Communication between regular friends, close/best friends, significant other, to family. Each of these relationships have special qualities and require a different approach of communication. With your family you may be blunt, but amongst friends you are careful with your words. I have also learned that in different countries there are also different customs. For example, silence in some countries mean respect while to others they consider it rude or disrespectful. I think that the concept that will benefit the most in the long run is understanding how to communicate with your family effectively. In a family there are always bound to be mis-communication or misinterpretation and being about to sit down and properly solve your problems and come to a agreed resolution is important.

Q3

Q3). Pick one concept from the reading this week and discuss it in detail.

A: The topic which I would like to discuss this week is the section labeled "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff". I think that after knowing someone a long time and being very comfortable with them we start to see more and more of their flaws enlarged. What we "dismiss" in the beginning may become the thing we hate the most about the person. In my own personal relationship, one that I'm not very comfortable with is his messiness. His trunk is like a junkyard and I dismiss it sometimes and I start nagging at him sometimes to clean it up. But, then I mentally decided in my mind, instead of getting angry at him for a dirty trunk I should just clean it up myself. Probably will only take me 20 minutes to get everything cleaned, deodorized and in vacuumed.

Q2

Q:2). In this chapter, you have read about some of the ways in which marriage has changed over time.  Based on cultural trends and evolving values of your generation, what changes in marriage would you predict over the next 50 years?

A: Over the next 50 years I expect families to have less face to face communication and more technological communication. Since the development of instant messaging and cell phones we have spent less and less time face to face with others. Since we are currently growing up in this stage of technology it is likely that in the future, this is how we will act with our families. The google glasses is a pretty accurate description of what I think future communication will be like. It will be portable and around you almost 24/7. You can voice call, video call, send email and messages anywhere and to anyone. I imagine data will be much more affordable as well.

Q1

Q: 1). How do you define family?  What do family members do for each other? Which types of relationships discussed in this chapter do and do not fit your definition?

A: I define family as people whom I am genetically related to and people whom I can rely on as support no matter what.  There are some things and only family members are willing to do for you and help me through. For example, you want to get a loan to buy a house and you need someone to co-sign for you. Which basically means, if you can't pay it off the person much pay for you. Not a lot of friends are willing to do that. Another example is, your car broke down and you want to get it fixed. It costs around seven thousand to repair, and instead of taking out a loan you family member can lend you the money and you can just pay them back.

Q3

Q3: free post
A: This week I wish to discuss how people's pride get in the way of their true self and lifestyle. They desire to live a certain life, or they think that they must act a certain way to gain people's liking and will buy physical things or say things to purposely deceit others. For example, a high school student driving a new Honda and has a LV backpack. We all know she can not afford those things; those things have been gifted to her. She struts around school and every one gives her compliments. Because she went home too late last night she drives to school the next day with a regular jansport backpack and her old beat up pick up truck. She her pride just got shattered. Desperate to get her "face" back her makes up lies saying she crashed her car and this is her dad's beat up car and her LV purse is at home. But the truth is, she drove her mom's new car and her LV purse was face. Lies and deceit in real life don't get you far, your pride gets hurt because you climbed to the top for the pyramid for the day and now you fall back down to the bottom.