Lane CP #5

On June 5th, I met with my conversation partner, Ki Woong, again. Although we had discussed cultural differences in past sessions, this one in particular had me thinking about the different anthropological aspects of culture we would later discuss in the TEFL class. For example, I feel like it's a shared cultural view amongst young American women like I am that we want to resist having things paid for for us because we would rather be independent and not rely on anyone; however, I found that when I tried to reject Ki Woong's offer to pay for my coffee at the Books a Million, it communicated a kind of ungratefulness that I didn't intend. Therefore, I tried not to feel bad allowing him to pay for my coffee, since it was cross-culturally its own kind of gift. Not accepting a gift communicates an unkindness that I hadn't noticed or thought about before. It was interesting to observe this, as well as to discuss the various cultural expectations and preferences that we had shared and come across in our life.