🏙

[juliannali]

Back from Birmingham (Re-entry)

I spend over three months in the UK and came back to the USA at the beginning of Jan 2020. From these three months of study in the UK, I changed some of my views of the British and knew more about British culture. And of course, I would love to share my experience with my friends and other people.

I met my friends in the past few days and they were really interested in my study aboard. I told them about my travel, which is one of the most important parts of my journey. The city of York is one of my best favorite cities and London as well. Also, I shared my experience with my academic study and compare them to my home school in the US. I have to say I prefer small college other than big university. Professors in UoB are not as close to the student as NCC since there is much more student in the class, but the tutors in UoB are really helpful and friendly. From a language perspective, I was worried about the British accents, but I adopted them really quick after I used to the environment. But it is hard to understand some of their byword and some language use. The way British people talk is too polite compare to US people. I have friends who visited the UK before, so we share our experience and found something mutual. We are all very excited when we talked about the time back in the UK, and we all felt it is hard to make friends with British people since there is a kind of distance, they made between themselves and foreigners.  It is such a valuable experience for me. I will continue to share my experience with my friends and also some of the professors that I close. I will go to the re-entry conference this semester and share my experience with other students and I will encourage them to go for study aboard. I hope I could influence more and more people.

Study abroad in England definitely changed my values and identity. First of all, I am more international. For example, experience the lifestyle, I started to understand why British people eat fish and chips because the UK is an island surrounding by sea and they have a very good seafood supply. The authentic fish and chips taste very good. Also, the British love the style of wind coats, because the weather is always rainy and windy. Second, I view people more equally as I am not as “stereotype” as before. I changed some of my views I had before. I know I should not be too judgmental about people and the other culture. Third, this experience will help me further in many other places. I made new friends and I will keep relationships with them. I will have more topics when I socialize with others, not only for school but also in the future workplace.

I learn so much from study aboard in England, and I will continue to share my story with others. I hope I can go back and visit my friends over there in the future. I will carry my memory and go forward.  

[juliannali]

LEARNING CONTRACT AND PROGRESS

For the academic side, I hoped I have a better understanding of the world economy from the UK’s view. I do go to class very frequently even the school doesn’t take attendance. We don’t have a class assignment which surprised me. Also, the only class assessment for the course I took is a test or one 2,500 words essay, so I had pressures for the final assessment. I got one grade back with an Ace so far and I hope I could achieve my evaluation/goals with at least B+ for the rest of the classes. Most of my economic class were study about economic theory other than practical world economic issues. Only one of my classes in China and World Economics discussed some world economic issues. Such as economic structure in China, gender inequality in China. Further, we talked about the trade war between China and the US, how trade war affecting the UK. I focused on human capital and wrote a paper about it. In the seminar, we discussed how human capital, as a main competent of economic development, functions in economic in both China and the UK. Other than learning the economic theory as a student, most importantly I learn a new way and objective to study economics.

For global awareness, I was focusing on the trade war issue as well as the Brexit problem. Since I am an economics student, I am interested to know more about how locals think about those on-going economic problems. I felt the trade war issues is not as much as Brexit that affected UK’s economics from all the newspapers and people’s discussion. Form the class, we had a topic to discuss trade world issues, so I have better understand how UK economists think about China and the US. I would say our professor is pretty natural and objective on China’s economy. They dislike the trade war situation as it hurts very parts of world economics. Also, in the afternoon tearoom and café, I heard a lot of people discuss Brexit issues. As what I felt is most of the British are voted for Brexit, they think to continue to stay in the EU will hurt their benefit. Some people also mention the trade war is changing the world division, so UK should not stay in the EU as the world is changing. I agree with Brexit, but the process is costing too much time and money, so the UK is hurting for the Brexit process. I learned and talked with locals and professors about the issues and I think I achieved my study goals pretty well.    

For personal growth, I planned to travel around Europe. However, I don’t have enough time to apply for a Europe visa as I need the UK’s visa which took me a long time to get. Instead, I travel around in the UK (which is also part of Europe, so I think I am still in the plan). I visited a few cities such as York, Manchester, Nottingham, etc. I learn from their architecture and history as I visited the museum, history parks, the church. I stay in Airbnb so that I had a chance to talk with locals people. They are friendly but a little distant (in general for British). I made a friend from school and I hope that  I could stay in touch with them later on. It is a pity that I could not join the club that I interested too, as I only stay in Birmingham for one semester. Overall I felt I learn so much form the academic study, from the people, and the travel. I would say I achieved most of my goals from my study aboard.

[juliannali]

A Key Event on British History- Death of Princess Diana  Aug 24th, 1997

Diana was the ex-wife of Charles, Prince of Wales. Diana's death in a car crash in Paris. On 6 September, one million people lined the streets of London for her funeral. It was later discovered that the driver of the car in which he, Diana and her friend Dodi Al Fayed were killed had more than the legal limit of alcohol in his blood and was traveling at over 100mph.

Early Life:

Diana was born on July 1, 1961, in Sandringham, England. Although she was a member of the British aristocracy, she was technically a commoner, not a royal. Diana's father was John Spencer, Viscount Althorp, a personal aide to King George VI and to Queen Elizabeth II. Her mother was the Honourable Frances Shand-Kydd. Diana's parents divorced in 1969. Her mother ran away with a wealthy heir, and her father gained custody of the children. He later married Raine Legge, whose mother was Barbara Cartland, a romance novelist.

Marriage and Divorce:

After Diana left school, she moved to London and worked as a housekeeper, nanny, and kindergarten teacher's aide. In 1980, Diana and Charles met when she went to visit her sister, whose husband worked for the queen. They began to date, and six months later Charles proposed. The two were married on July 29, 1981, in a much-watched wedding that's been called the "wedding of the century." Diana was the first British citizen to marry the heir to the British throne in almost 300 years.

Before long, however, the fairy tale couple grew apart, an experience that was particularly painful under the ubiquitous eyes of the world’s tabloid media. Diana and Charles announced a separation in 1992, though they continued to carry out their royal duties. In August 1996, two months after Queen Elizabeth II urged the couple to divorce, the prince and princess reached a final agreement. In exchange for a generous settlement, and the right to retain her apartments at Kensington Palace and her title of “Princess of Wales,” Diana agreed to relinquish the title of “Her Royal Highness” and any future claims to the British throne.

 Death of Princess Diana:

On the evening of August 31, 1997, Diana and Al-Fayed were dining privately in the Imperial Suite at Paris’ famous Ritz Hotel. They had planned to have a quiet, romantic meal at the hotel’s restaurant—Al-Fayed had reportedly purchased a ring for Diana earlier in the day—but they had to leave after 10 minutes because they were being disturbed by the press and other patrons.

At 12:19 a.m., the Mercedes carrying the couple, Paul and Rees-Jones, crashed into the 13th pillar of the Pont d’Alma Bridge, which traverses the River Seine. They were less than two miles from the Ritz Hotel.

Al-Fayed and Paul died at the scene. Diana was taken to Paris’ La Pitie Salpetriere Hospital, but several hours later, at 4 a.m., she died as a result of injuries she sustained in the crash, including a severed pulmonary vein. She was 36 years old.

   Sources:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/timeline/present_timeline_noflash.shtml

https://www.biographyonline.net/people/biography_princess_diana.html

Pic: https://www.instyle.com/celebrity/princess-diana

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/charles-and-diana-divorce

https://www.history.com/topics/british-history/princess-dianas-death

[juliannali]

Cross-Culture Adjustment

When we are aboard, we will go through cross-culture adjustment.  There are three types of adjustment: Physical Adjustment, Social Adjustment, and Internal Adjustments. These adjustments will take places along with the different stage of cultural adjustment. There are four stages in total: cultural euphoria, cultural confrontation, cultural adjustment, and cultural adaptation.

The first stage, cultural euphoria, is also called the "honeymoon stage."  Most of the tourist is in this stage since they only stay in another culture for short-time. For study aboard experience, the honeymoon stage probably lasts around one month. The second stage is the hardest parts. People start to realized the differences between host culture and their own culture. In the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity, I believe the feeling of Denial and Defense will happen at the second stage. People have a negative attitude toward the new culture and hard to change the dominant behavior from their own culture.  The stage two usually lasts two to three months. At stage three, cultural adjustment, people start to accept the differences. People will learn from the host culture and make a change, not only physically changing but also mentally. The minimization and acceptance I believe that happens at stage three. People will more be involved in host cultural activities and minimize the differences between the two cultures. This stage usually lasts two months or more. The last stage is a cultural adaptation, where people start to act more like a local. Adaptation and integration happen at this stage — people corporate their own culture and host culture together. Internal adjustment occurs at this point.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257758994_Sociality_as_a_Basic_Dimension_of_Intercultural_Competences_Intercultural_Education_in_a_Sociological_Perspective

I went through all of these stages since I have been studying in the USA for three years. At the begging, I felt good to be here, and everything is new to me. When I passed the honeymoon stage, cultural conflict showed. I went through many struggles from life and study. I need to change the way to communicate and live. For example, people here drink cold water while my culture prefers warm or hot water. People here have more personal space, while people in my culture have less personal space. I realized the differences, and it was a hard time because I don't like too much change, which means I am in defense and denies the new culture. At stage three, I start to observe and learn from the U.S. culture. I made a lot of change to fit myself into the U.S culture. Then, about half a year later, I started to use to live here. I began to think like a local and act like a local.

When I back home, the process start again. I adjust my behavior over and over again at a different culture. I am still learning as I travel and study in different countries. I understand this adjusting process, and I believe I will be more comfortable and prepared for my study aboard in England.

[juliannali]

UK Political System and Current Political Debate

The United Kingdom is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch. A king or queen is the head of state, and a prime minister is the head of government. The people vote in elections for Members of Parliament (MPs) to represent them.

The Prime Minister, the Cabinet, and Ministers. The Prime Minister is the leader of Government and is ultimately responsible for all policy and decisions. Today, the Prime Minister is The Rt Hon Theresa May MP. The Cabinet is made up of the senior members of the government. Every week during Parliament, members of the Cabinet (Secretaries of State from all departments and some other ministers) meet to discuss the most important issues for the government. Ministers are chosen by the Prime Minister from the members of the House of Commons and House of Lords. They are responsible for the actions, successes, and failures of their departments.

About government departments, some departments, like the Ministry of Defence, cover the whole UK. Others don’t – the Department for Work and Pensions doesn't cover Northern Ireland. Non-ministerial departments are headed by senior civil servants and not ministers. They usually have a regulatory or inspection function like the Charity Commission. The Civil Service does the practical and administrative work of government. It is coordinated and managed by the Prime Minister, in their role as Minister for the Civil Service. Laws go through several stages before they are passed by Parliament. The House of Commons and the House of Lords work together to make them. 

Political Debates 

1.(21-May) Theresa May will make the case for her new Brexit plan in Parliament later, amid signs that Conservative opposition to her leadership is hardening. The prime minister will give a statement to MPs on her changes to the Withdrawal Agreement Bill - including her promise to give MPs a vote on holding another referendum. But Labour MPs said too little had changed for them to come on board. And one ex-Tory minister questioned whether June's vote would even happen. MPs have rejected the withdrawal agreement negotiated with the EU three times and attempts to find a formal compromise with Labour have failed.

On Tuesday, the prime minister asked MPs to take "one last chance" to deliver a negotiated exit - or risk Brexit not happening at all. But Mrs. May's new plan had "failed to turn skeptics into endorsers", said BBC political correspondent Chris Mason.

2. (12-March) Assembly to debate whether to give legislative consent to the UK Healthcare (International Arrangements) Bill. The UK Government introduced its Healthcare (International Arrangements) Bill in the House of Commons on 26 October 2018. The purpose of the Bill is to enable it to make arrangements in relation to reciprocal healthcare after the UK leaves the EU. The Bill enables the UK Government to implement reciprocal healthcare arrangements in various Brexit scenarios, including ‘no deal’.

Sources:

https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121003074658/http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/UKgovernment/Centralgovernmentandthemonarchy/DG_073438

Pic:https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-22/u-k-cabinet-ministers-are-wargaming-the-fall-of-theresa-may

https://www.gov.uk/government/how-government-works

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-48360456

https://www2.staffingindustry.com/eng/Editorial/Daily-News/UK-MPs-debate-Loan-Charge-and-Off-Payroll-legislation-but-water-leak-forces-early-closure-of-Parliament-49548

[juliannali]

Week5 Jornal

When we discuss intercultural communication of receiving information, there are two categories: low-context communication and high-context communication. According to MSA, low-context communication “tends to be more verbal and explicit”. People say out what they are thinking and what they want. In contrast, in high-context communication, people need to “pay a lot of attention to the situation, the environment, and the people with whom they are communicating”. (126) People will not explain everything and expect others could understand in certain situation.

In China, I believe we are more high-context communication. At a different occasion, people act and say differently. For example, if a guy asks a girl out, the girl says “sure, we can do next time when we are both available”. This means the girl doesn’t want to go out with him. Since if the girl wants to go out with him, she will probably set up a time right away instead of saying that. In our culture, it is not respectful to reject right away most of the time. We will say something more polite to not hurt others feeling. In the United State, people are much more direct to say out whatever they want, which fit in low-context communication. I think the UK is fall in between low-context and high-context compare to China and the US. It is important to think about the differences and change our mindset when we in different context communication. We may miss some information in the high-context communication if we don’t aware of it. We may feel hurts or rude since people say directly in low-context communication.

About the specific communication style, I would say I am an indirect, circular, detached, and idea-oriented communication style most of the time. I would change the way I am communicate based on the situation and who I am communicating with. On the cultural bases, eastern and western have clear differences in direct/indirect communication and liner/circular communication as well. It is important to figure out the communication style as a whole but there may have some differences on a personal level and different situation. Such as when we talk with parents may more direct since we are more familiar with them; some people may like to say out directly compare to the whole culture communication style. I personally prefer detached communication style, which is more rational, logical, and objective. At this case, I may pay less attention to an emotional reaction. I think I will care about other emotional react, but I may not show my own emotional feeling. I will recognize others feeling and emotion changing to decide what I should say and act. Meanwhile, I am more idea-oriented other than relationship-oriented communication style. For more professional occasion, I will listen and respect others opinion. While it is important for me to give my own ideas even there may be some conflict between ideas. For the other occasion, I will care more about people’s feeling and try to make everyone feels good.    

I will try to be more observative when I communicate with others. It is important to distinguish different communication styles on a cultural level and personal level as well. It will help us to have more effective communication and better relationship outcome.   

[juliannali]

Politics,history and values, and relevant to dating across cultures

Dating is an important part of social activities, while it is really unique from one culture to others. If we are going to dating someone from different culture background, we need to a built-in cultural informant and probably need to learn the language. It is a good way to have a deeper understanding of the other culture. Under the dating scenario, we need to understand when is a date or it just hanging out. I would say if people show their interest to the other, it should be a date. While for some people they are too shy to say that is a date directly, it will depend on the context people say in the invitation and what they are going to do. I think it really depends on the person and the situation. For the first date, I think to have dinner or lunch together and then watch a movie is really common. If people have some common interest like sports, they probably will do something that both of them think is fun. I think there is no difference whether guy or girl ask for the data. There are must be someone initiative and ask first. Even guy ask for the first day is most common, but it really depends on their personality. In my culture, if a girl and a guy go for a date, a guy always pays for the meal and drink. A girl will pay some time or pay some smaller bills, while the guy pays most for the date.

I personally would like to date alone, since it is quiet and focus our attention on two of us. For the first date, I would choose a public area. While if we are close to each other already or in a relationship, I don't mind date in a private setting. I don't like too much physical contact for the first date. I can accept hold our hand but no more.

I think to date an American or a British will be a challenge for me since the culture barriers. I prefer my own culture’s dating custom. Dating someone from my country will be easier, more common topic to discuss, and more common in the way of thinking. I think in the media, American dating culture is more open. Go to date with someone is a good way to know someone if people have an interest in. Also, have sex scenes common things if people have a few more date. While to get married is a huge a serious thing in the American culture.

Me personally from a middle-class family so I prefer someone from a similar family background as me. Since we will have a lot in common especially on the view of money and value. About sexual attitude, I think I have more Liberal attitude compare to my own country, which is more similar to the sexual attitude in America.

I am not sure if I will date someone is British, but I may date someone from my country but live in the U.K for a long time. It is also a way to know about the culture and learn a different view of society. 

pic: https://preen.inquirer.net/55112/dating-culture-philippines-involve-gossip

[juliannali]

Food: Bakewell Tart and Chicken Tikka Masala

This week, I want to introduce two British food. One is a desert, Bakewell tart; the other is soup, Chicken tikka masala.

“Bakewell claims to be the home of the authentic Bakewell Pudding and many believe it to originally come from the Rushbottom Lane district.

A Bakewell tart is one particular version of the Bakewell pudding. This is a dessert which used to be made in homes all over the country and consisted of a sponge mixture in a pastry case, flavored with almonds, with jam at the bottom. This dessert is also widely available commercially but it is not really at all like the Bakewell pudding either in flavor or texture.

The famous authoress Allison Uttley, who lived in Lea, a village near Bakewell, wrote in her book 'Recipes from an old Farmhouse': "(the local name was Bakewell Pudding, for the tart was really for the pudding stage of the meal and not for tea.) Cover a wide shallow dish with thin puff paste. Put in it a layer of jam, preferably raspberry, but any kind will do. It should be half an inch thick. Take the yolks of eight eggs and beat the whites of two. Add half a pound of melted butter and half a pound each of sugar and ground bitter almonds. Mix all well together, and pour into the pastry case over the jam. Bake for half an hour and serve nearly cold.”

“Chicken tikka masala, a common British dish consisting of marinated boneless chicken pieces that are traditionally cooked in a tandoor and then served in a subtly spiced tomato-cream sauce. It is one of the most popular takeout dishes in Britain and is a staple menu item in the curry houses of London, especially in the East End restaurants along Brick Lane, known as “Curry Mile.”

The dish’s origins are debated. Some believe that it was invented in the 1970s by a Bangladeshi chef in Glasgow, Scotland, who, in order to please a customer, added a mild tomato-cream sauce to his chicken tikka, which is pieces of boneless chicken marinated in yogurt and curry spices and served on a skewer, kebab-style. More likely, it derived from butter chicken, a popular dish in northern India. Some observers have called chicken tikka masala the first widely accepted example of fusion cuisine. The dish has taken on a large cultural significance in Britain. It is widely considered the country’s national dish.”

I try those in a British pub and I love it. I would love to try these two dishes again when I am in England. Both of them have a long history and have various way to make. I love the desert but I don't like the American desert as those are too sweet. I want to try the authentic British Bakewell Tart. I was surprised the Chicken tikka masala is one of the British national dishes since it more like Indian food. While if we look back to history, it seems Chicken tikka masala has reasonable origin from the U.K. I know the British dishes mainly made by potato and British love drink tea. Chicken tikka masala is a really unique dish in British food culture. I can't wait for the trip to the U.K and try them again.  

http://bakewellonline.co.uk/documents/the_history_of_the_bakewell_pudding/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/chicken-tikka-masala

https://www.wellplated.com/instant-pot-chicken-tikka-masala/

(Picture)

https://www.bbc.com/food/recipes/marys_bakewell_tart_12584

https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/chicken-tikka-masala

[juliannali]

Movie: Shaun of the dead

I watched the movie, Shaun of the Dead, last week. Shaun of the Dead is a 2004 horror comedy film directed by Edgar Wright. The film was a critical and commercial success in British movie history.

Shawn (Simon Pegg) has trouble in career and relationship. He met a bunch of friends who were also loafers and hung out with them all day, including Pete and Ed. Ed could only play the computer and was annoying. Rare Sean for girlfriend cheer up once, but he was laughed at by colleagues and his girlfriend also can't understand. Shawn continues to drink with friends. One day, the whole city was changed beyond recognition. When zombies invade, anyone they bite becomes a zombie. Shawn and Ed find themselves surrounded by zombies. Then Shawn has to be heroic and to defend his family and friends.

At the beginning of the story, Shawn is a loser, who has a low expectation and frustrated about life for years and years. He lived a life like in walking dead. While when the zombie apocalypse, Shawn’s friends and relatives under the zombie‘s attack, become a zombie or sacrifice step by step. Then Shawn more like a zombie Bose. In this process, Shawn realized the love from family, friendship, and lovers. At the same time, he also showed extremely brave and not afraid of sacrifice. After the disaster, People slowly accept the zombie such non-human species. Shawn and his girlfriend also had a sweet life. At the end of the movie, the scene cuts to Shawn and Ed who already became a zombie. Shawn changed a lot but still plays games with Ed like before. Everything seems to take care of after the disaster. While the disaster let Shawn grow up, but his life has not changed the routine and the repeat over and over again like a zombie’s life.

This is a typical British black-humorous film. First is a reversal of priorities, with arguments on tiny, not important stuff when some big things happening, such as when the cleaner killed his locker before it was cleaned. In short, it's a cross between a teammate and an idiot. Second, to tribute some British content, like in British pubs and British rock 'n' roll, two people take a vinyl record hit a zombie, there is no way to think about which one to give up. There is nothing powerful than a brief poking fun moment to show British humorous. For example, at a dangerous moment, the inappropriate, random play bar start to playing Queens Song again and can not shut off, which attract more Zombie.

I like this movie very much. It represents the British culture and reflects British people’s life and a way to communicate. I would recommend to my friends.

Pic: https://cleanmediaworks.com/products/shaun-of-the-dead

[juliannali]

Non-Verbal Communication

In non-verbal communication, there are three forms: eye contact, sense of personal distance/space, and touching. In England, I think the non-verbal communication should be mostly the same as the U.S. since they are both western culture. People using direct eye contact with someone they are close to, while using casual or indirect eye contact with people they are not familiar with. In the sense of personal distance and space, there are four different levels of space: intimate, personal space, social space, and public space. People hang around in social space or personal space most of the time. Compare to western culture, I think personal space is larger in the western world. People have larger “bubble” in the western.

I don't think touching is happening that often as eye contact in nonverbal communication. It happens more with someone close to. I think touching means more than verbal communication. It could show encourage, love, or relax. Sometimes people hard to say the words but they could express their feeling by touching.

For this week journal activity, we need to observe people’s non-verbal communication in a conversation. I observed two people in a restaurant for this activity. It is a fast-food restaurant at not busy hours. There was rock music on play in the restaurant.

A girl and a guy sat on a table beside me and my friends. They probably were in a relationship. They looked young as my age, and dress like normal college students. I can tell they are close to each other. They finished the food and sat there talking. The girl talked more often than the guy. She used a lot of gesture when she is taking. She waved her palm and pointed with her fingers. While the guy did not make a gesture. When the girl stops talking, the guy will start to say something. The girl says more than the guy. They made direct eye contact all the time, and they laughed a lot. The girls had plentiful facial expression, but I could not see the guys face from my place.

Alone with rock music, the guy seems really like it so he starts to wave his arms and sing with the song. The girl also moves her body along with the beats. They were enjoying the music and smile to each other. After a while, both of them started to look at the phone, so they had silent for a moment. Then the girl found something interesting so she showed her phone to the guy. The girl were laughing and explained something to the guy. She pointed on the screen and then the guy started to laugh.  

It is important to observe and understand people’s non-verbal communication. It tells us more information than what people tell. Also, in case of any misunderstanding, know the differences in nonverbal communication between countries is also important. We should observe others and practices what we learn.

(Picture) https://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/communication-for-business-success/s15-02-types-of-nonverbal-communicati.html

[juliannali]

In The News

Politics: The EU and UK have agreed a further delay to Brexit until 31 October. The UK could leave earlier if a withdrawal agreement has been ratified by MPs. The country must now take part in European elections on 23 May - if it did not the UK would have to leave the EU on 1 June without a deal. Meanwhile, Theresa May has said she hopes the UK will leave the EU well before the new 31 October Brexit deadline. She told MPs there was no reason the UK could not leave in a matter of weeks once MPs backed an agreement, which they have so far rejected three times. Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson sacked over Huawei leaky: Gavin Williamson has been sacked as defense secretary following an inquiry into a leak from a top-level National Security Council meeting.

Social Media: Facebook and Twitter executives have been grilled by MPs over how the social networks handle online abuse leveled at parliamentarians. MPs argued that such hostility undermined democratic principles. MPs also questioned how useful automated algorithms were for identifying abusive content.

Headline from the region: Teen killed Gosport lecturer with electric drills and hammers. A teenager who killed a university lecturer using electric drills, hammers and knives have been indefinitely detained in hospital. Dr. Barry Hounsome, 54, was attacked in his home in Gosport in October. He suffered "catastrophic" head injuries as well as at least 35 stab and slash wounds. The 17-year-old boy, from Gosport, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Princess Charlotte: Photos mark the fourth birthday. Princess Charlotte's birthday has been marked with the release of three photographs taken by her mother.

Sport：Barcelona 3-0 Liverpool: How Lionel Messi proved a force too powerful for Liverpool. Liverpool lived with Barcelona and Lionel Messi for 75 minutes of this Champions League semi-final first leg - then discovered there is a force too powerful to resist.

Science and environment: London Marathon: How do you reduce the environmental impact? Tens of thousands of runners will take part in the London Marathon on Sunday -a grueling 26.2-mile race around the capital. This year the London Marathon is making some big changes and trialing a number of ideas to try to make the event greener. A study by King's College London found that air pollution in the capital fell by 89% during the last London Marathon due to road closures. And the experience of running a marathon also encourages people to be more environmentally friendly.

source: BBC News

[juliannali]

Important Person in UK history- Adam Smith

Adam Smith (1723-1790) was a Scottish political economist and philosopher. He has become famous for his influential book The Wealth of Nations (1776). He is widely considered to be the father of modern economics. “Smith’s work is both a cornerstone in the history of modern philosophy and a major source of political and economic reform in the past two centuries.”

Smith was born to a widowed mother in the port town of Kirkcaldy on Scotland’s east coast. His father, a lawyer, and comptroller died two months before he was born. After graduating at the age of 14 from one of Scotland’s top secondary schools, Smith went to Glasgow University, studying moral philosophy Francis Hutcheson. He later attended Balliol College at Oxford, graduating with extensive knowledge of European literature and an enduring contempt for English schools.

Smith began rising to public recognition in 1748, when he started a series of lectures in Edinburgh on rhetoric, belles lettres, and jurisprudence. At the age of 28, Smith became a professor of rhetoric and moral philosophy at the University of Glasgow. His lectures formed the basis of The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759), which was met with great acclaim in Britain and across the Continent.

The Wealth of Nations has become so influential since it did so much to create the subject of political economy and develop it into an autonomous systematic discipline. In the western world, it is the most influential book on the subject ever published. When the book, which has become a classic manifesto against mercantilism, appeared in 1776, there was a strong sentiment for free trade in both Britain and America. This new feeling had been born out of the economic hardships and poverty caused by the war.

However, at the time of publication, not everybody was convinced of the advantages of free trade right away: the British public and Parliament still clung to mercantilism for many years to come (Tindall and Shi). However, controversial views have been expressed as to the extent of Smith's originality in The Wealth of Nations. Smith has been blamed for relying too much on the ideas of great thinkers such as David Hume and Montesquieu. Nevertheless, The Wealth of Nations was the first and remains the most important book on the subject of the political economy until this present day.

Sources:

(Picture)https://www.ft.com/content/56831986-a204-11e8-85da-eeb7a9ce36e4

https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Smith.html

https://thegreatthinkers.org/smith/biography/

http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/biographies/adam-smith/

https://www.adamsmith.org/about-adam-smith

[juliannali]

WEEK 4 Journal

Differentiating cultural from personal and universal

When we think about human behavior in the intercultural background, we should think about the is the certain behavior belongs to cultural, personal preferences, or common in universal. On the cultural sides, there is a certain pattern that can be observed. While personal preferences could relate to cultural background. I personally think the cultural pattern affects most people in a way to behave in a certain culture, like social norms. If there are any specific behavior different from the cultural pattern will be personal preferences. There are also some obvious personal preferences like food, temperature, expression, etc. It is important to distinguish them in order to have better or accurate precision and expectation for other culture. We should understand the culture patter first. Such as people prefer to drink ice water in some culture while hot water in others. Sometime people will feel wired about the different behavior or preferences. We should understand and accept the differences.

I would say most of ethic and emotion are universal. People may have a similar feeling or think about the same things from different cultural background. However, I think the way people express the feeling and reaction may be different. For example, when people want to show their wish, will use certain emoji. While that emoji may mean beg in other culture. It is easy to figure out the difference once we pay attention to those behaviors.  

Strategies for culture-specific learning

I think the strategies on culture-specific learning should be really useful for my future adventure. As we know more about the culture such as popular trends, a form of society and government, traditional customs, films, and music, etc. As we know more about the cultural background, not only about history, we may have more topic when we were there. Also, I will better understand the reason behind certain things and reactions.  

Working with stereotypes and testing hypotheses

I think I am a little bit stereotypes, such as I will look at people’s Zodiac, in order to predict what he or she will do or react to a thing. It is good sometimes to help me to understand a person. But I am not a stereotype on a cultural level. According to the MAS, the stereotype is “the automatic application of information we have about a country or culture group, both positive and negative, to every individual in it.” (57) On the opposite is a generalization, which means “using initial ideas about a group to form hypotheses.” (57) In this case, I think we should distinguish cultural pattern from the big picture and stereotypes based on a personal level. Testing hypotheses is a way to help us to see if a certain behavior or thought in general or not. We need to observe first and then come up with some questions for the local to testify. However, I think is ok we have our own attitude or judgment on a certain situation based on our own cultural background and consciousness. We still need to respect different people and behavior all the time.  

Resource: R. Michael Paige ... [and others]. Maximizing Study Abroad: a Students' Guide to Strategies for Language and Culture Learning and Use. Minneapolis, MN : Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition, University of Minnesota, 2004. Print.

[juliannali]

Music Review -Amy Winehouse

I heard Amy Winehouse’s songs but did not know about her until the report of her death in 2011. Then I started to know about her and her songs. I personally love jazz music and Amy is a jazz vocal singer. I enjoy her deep voice and music style. For this week music review, I will focus on her latest album Amy.

Amy Winehouse is an England singer who was born in 1983. She got her first guitar and started self-learning at the age of 13. She expelled from school when she was 14 and begun her music career when she was 16. Her first album Frank (2003) when she was 19. According to the Internet movies databases, “During the next several years, she survived a period of personal upheaval, a painful relationship, and struggles with substance abuse.” After all these hard times, Amy came out her final album Back to Black (2006). She won five Grammy Award in 2008 which is the highest achievement that a British female singer ever had. At the same year, she got into the hospital because of serious lung disease. Her behaviors and public image be criticized but her voice such a unique and people love it. In July 2011, Amy died because of alcohol poisoning at the age of 27.  

The album Amy is the soundtrack of Amy Winehouse’s documentary Amy, which public in 2015. This album includes various form of Amy’s music. For example, her most famous pieces like “Stronger Than Me” and “Back to Black”, live sessions like “Raheb” and “Valerie”, also demo version of “Like Smoke” etc. 

One of my best favorite song from Amy is “Stronger than me”. I would say every time I hear this song; I have different feelings. It seems she is asking something from her relationship. I feel the struggle and some hopeless in it. The song tells the story, but her voice gives the song a soul. The song won’t be that meaningful without her voice and her experiences. I think her live pieces better than the recorded song since the live performance had simple accompany which highlight Amy’s unique voice. Another song that I enjoy is the live version of “We’re still friend”, which is a cover from Donny Hathaway. Her voice so deep and soulful that makes me think of wine and cigarette. There are stories in her voice which is separate from her song. The song is about her feeling to a friend. She in love with the friend but could not tell. Her voice gave the song another meaning.

Her voice perfectly matched her appearance: heavily tattoo on the arm, long and sharp eyeliner, and long black hairstyle into a '60s-inspired beehive. I think she is a genius in music and this type of people always overthinking and over-sensitive to the world. With her extreme and misfortune experience, she can make her own music that different from others. It is a pity for the world to lose her so early, but it meant to be because of her personality and her experiences.

Sources: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1561881/bio

https://genius.com/Donny-hathaway-were-still-friends-lyrics

[juliannali]

Learning Style Survey & Cultural-Learning Strategies

This week, I did the learning style survey and the cultural-learning strategies inventory from MSA. According to the learning style survey, I had a better understanding of how I learn new thing and my behavior preference. From the cultural-learning strategies, I learn more helpful tips for me to have a better way to performance when I study aboard. Meanwhile, I reflected my current study aboard with those strategies.    

From the Learning Style Survey.

I am a visual person which means I accept new thing easier when the things in visual. Such as pictures, charts, and video. I do feel I like the visualize information. At the same time, I like auditory. I like to learn things in lecture other than reading the book. Second, I am really extroverted, since my extroverted points (17) much higher than introverted (6). The way I handle possibilities is random-intuitive. I do not really follow the step-by-step instruction and I don’t really like regulation sometimes. If I want to achieve a goal, I will try anyway to finish that other than follow some rules. Besides, I like abstract things like painting or other art pieces, which is another way to prove I am random-intuitive.

I don’t preference global or particular way when I receive information, but I am a more synthesizing person when I future process information. I love to understand the thing in a whole other than focus on small parts. Same with the fact that I deal with the multiple inputs. I am an impulsive person, so I deal with stuff is more holistic. I will more focus when there is not too much distraction when I work or study.

From the cultural-learning strategies

Since I already study aboard for three years, I found most of the strategies I already learn from my own experiences. However, I found some of the strategies that I could use in the future to have better understand or accept the differences in a new culture.

The first strategy I found really interesting is “use generalize instead of stereotypes when I make a statement about people who are different from me”. I am that kind of people love to tag others. I feel it is an easier or more direct way to know a person when I stereotype. But maybe more generalize next time will give me a better understanding of others. Second, there are many strategies about learning non-verbal communication which I think are helpful such as observed gestures, use appropriate eye contacts, and figure out the space between people. It will be really different between China, the US, and the UK. I should pay attention to the differences and use non-verbal communication correctly. Third, after I come back from England, I will definitely share my experiences with my family and friends whether back home or in the US. Also, I should stay in touch with friends that I will make in England after I come back. I think it is hard to stay in touch since we may not have a chance to meet each other in the future, but I will try to do that.

I would say I understand parts of American culture so far and I also live with these. But my culture background still made in China. There are conflicts and I need to deal with those conflicts. I want to learn the good side of the culture I experienced, and the culture I am going to experience in England. I will use more of these strategies from now and in the future study.  

About the stress factors, I feel I had them all before. I would say culture isolation is really hard to avoid and I think lonely is something everyone needs to go through. About language parts, I will worry about the English accent. I think it should be easy to adapt and learn when I am there. In the different scenes, my status will be different. I understand not everybody has a chance to know about the world, so people are biased. People will judge others by clothes, nationality, social class, etc. As a student who studies aboard for three years, I had a bad experience like not respectful or ignorance. I will except some people are not respectful l and I will not be surprised if it happened again.  I will try to balance the power and control when I study aboard. In some cases, especially more intercultural background situation, I will have more power and control on it. It is hard to have control when I don’t know about myself. I need to understand myself, and know my advantage and disadvantage to have better sense to deal with different situations.

[juliannali]

UK’s Economy outlook

The United Kingdom is a developed country with a market-oriented economy. The services sector has dominated by the sector in the UK economic contributed to 80%of GDP. London is one of the most important financial centers in the world. The UK is the first country realized the industrialize in the 1880s and become the world most important global economic place. Then the WWI and WWII waken the position of the UK, while the US and German empire rapidly growth.

The UK spent a long time to recovered from Wars. It joined the European Economic Community, which is today’s European Union. Then the British economy got significantly improved. Today, there is around 2% of the population work in agriculture. On the fishing sectors, even the UK is the top fishing country in Europe, the production has decline caused by the water’s limitation of fishing. The UK has large energy resources while limited sources of minerals.

Quick economic facts about the UK:

The population of the UK is 66.1 million. The GDP is $2.9 trillion with an unemployment rate of 4.3%. The inflation rate is 2.7% and the FDI inflow is $15.1 billion (inward direct investment from a foreigner). According to 2019 Index of Economic Freedom, The UK ranked 7th in the world and 3rd in the European countries with the freedom score of 78.9. The UK has soiled court system and the rule of law is well established. The regulatory system is effective and transparent. Today, the leader of the Conservative party and the Prime Minister is Theresa May.

The PWC project the growth rate of the UK GDP is from1.4% in 2018, and it will down to 1.1% in 2019 and turn to 1.6% in 2020. The low growth rate mostly causes by the political uncertainty of Brexit, with the dragon investment. There is a short-term risk on the outcome of Brexit process. The manufacture growth rate will go down with the consumer spending growth rate will go down. If Brexit successfully happened, the analysis assumes the bank of England will raise the interest rate from 0.5% to 1%.    

The UK planning to Brexit this May and it is clear to affect the economy. In the academic paper The Effects of Brexit on the UK economy, written by Patrick Minford, Cardiff University, shows the key trading effects from Brexit. Using the Trade model such as Gravity Models and the Classic Models to analysis the economic changing from Brexit. Then, the paper discusses the policy assumptions and how cross-Whitehall study implication affect welfare. Last, the author lists a few positive impacts of full Brexit. Such as better free trade opportunities with non-EU countries, improve trading regulation without EU-based Single Market regulation, and don’t need to budget contribution to the EU. In the end, the author suggests the UK economic growth will rise around 0.5% every year on average for next fifty-years if full Brexit.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_United_Kingdom

https://www.britannica.com/place/United-Kingdom/Economy#ref44691

https://www.heritage.org/index/country/unitedkingdom

https://www.pwc.co.uk/services/economics-policy/insights/uk-economic-outlook.html

 Minford P. The effects of Brexit on the UK economy. World Econ. 2019;42:57–67. https://doi.org/10.1111/twec.12771  

[juliannali]

WEEK 1 who am I

The study abroad experience is a good chance to know about myself out of my comfort zone. Before that, I should know who I am so far. It is important to understand what kind of person I am, from my personality and preferences. Also, people react differently to different occasion or meeting with different types of people, so I need to know my different roles in our life. I am going to the University of Birmingham, the UK for my next study abroad journey.

In the graph, I listed female, finance student, cat lover, Jazz lover, Chinese, extrovert, logical and independence in the circles. First, I am a female in society. Male and female have a different way to think and act. Other than understanding the broad differences, I should pay more attention to specific cultural-based differences between male and female. Such as the dressing, the way to greet, and appreciation. It will be a huge difference from China, the US, and the UK. I would love to observe how locals talk and live to adjust my own acts.

I original from China and study abroad right now. For me, go to England just change a place for my study abroad journey. I already have a lot of experience in learning other culture and I understand and accept the differences based on culture. I feel really excited about England because I will know more about England culture with a new lifestyle. Since I already study in the US for three years, and I traveled to lots of countries before. I can do most of the thing by myself and I can handle any emergency situations. I am an extrovert so I never afraid to talk with new people and express myself. I like to know what other people’s opinion and have discussion from various aspects. I like cats and Jazz music. My music and animal preference will help me make more friends when I aboard. This will help me have more topic in socially conversation.

I am a logical person. Maybe because I major in finance and economics. I really interested in this field, so the way I am thinking and talking will more from the economic side. I usually talk clear with fast-speed, while I try to express myself or I have a strong opinion on something. As a student, I would love more about the UK’s economic when I study abroad. This will be a good chance for me to know economic opinions from the locals. I will take economic classes when I study abroad in the UK. The format of the teaching and the class size will be totally different from NCC. The accent is one thing that I concern right now. I need to adapt the changing. Meanwhile, I will compare and contrast the US and UK’ economic after I know more about the UK. The UK is going on “Brexit”, so there will be a lot of economic activities and changing when I am there.   

I am looking forward to the study abroad in England. I will travel around the countries and experience more than I can not do in other places. I hope this journey--- the places I am going to visit, people that I am going to meet, and the things that I am going to learn, will give me a better understanding of myself and more mature.