To promote communication and exchange of ideas among students, including international and exchange students, CKPC holds a series of World Café sessions.  In the second session this week, students from different cultural backgrounds sat together and took part in several rounds of stimulating conversations.

The topic this week was “Communicating with Parents”, a topic with literally tons of ideas for participants to share.  Several international students volunteered to be table hosts, who are responsible for taking notes on the ideas and thoughts of other participants.

In the first round, participants briefly shared their family situation, some facts about communicating with parents, and what their parents are like.

In the second round, they mainly identified issues on communicating with parents, tried to account for such problems in terms of values, different education backgrounds, etc., and also brainstormed some possible solutions.

In the final round, participants looked to the future by reflecting on what they would like to tell their parents that they have never told them before, and how they will be different when they become parents someday.

Some notable ideas emerged from the conversations were:

• Asian and non-Asian families differ markedly in the intensity of parental control and the frequency with which they express their love for one another (especially out loud).
• Some students thought that their parents just followed what their grandparents did back in the old days and didn’t really understand or listen to them.
• Students, especially Chinese students, hoped that their parents would give them more choices, respect their decisions, and allow them to do what they want.
• Most students said that when they become parents, they will give their children more space and resources.

The participants were excited to share their ideas and feelings through engaging conversations. Since they had a lot to talk about or even “complain about,” they continued the discussion even after the designated rounds or during snack times. The room was filled with laughter and joy.

The students said that they liked the World Café atmosphere because it gave them the opportunity to learn about other people’s thoughts and to express their own.  They are all looking forward to next month’s session, which focuses on the phenomenal social media Tik Tok (Douyin).