Josh Restivo
Blog 4
Working with SISU Students
State College, PA-For our third package for Comm 465 I got the chance to experience working with students who came from Shanghai, and the region of China. These students came to State College to cover the mid term elections with our class. My partner, Gabby and myself got paired up with two of the students. One of my concerns before meeting up and working with the students, would be the language barrier we would face; However, I was pleasantly surprised with how well we were able to communicate.
The first step in working with the students, was meeting up with them at their hotel. While meeting with them, we introduced ourselves and got a feel for who each other were before even talking about how to approach the project. They were very friendly, and fascinated by our culture, as we were also fascinated by theirs.
I was also very impressed by how much knowledge they had of politics and the elections in our country. I can’t say I was anymore knowledgeable of the topic than they were, and I live in the country. We collaborated on ideas and angles to approach the story, then discussed how we would get it done.
unfortunately on the day of election our schedules did not match up the best, so we decided to split up to get video. The day after the election we met up, and collaborated on what we had each gotten, and worked together to see what each could use for the project to make it better. They were very on top of things, and were always a joy to be around and work with. Then we each helped each other put together a project.
Working with the students was definitely a memorable experience. I found it fascinating to learn about their culture and home, while telling them stories of our lives halfway across the world. Sometimes, I feel I take what I have and where I am for granted. Like when I walk by Old Main everyday and don’t take in the true beauty of it that many people will never see. I feel like I became more cultured just by spending time and talking with them, It made me realize how many different cultures and people their truly are in the world. It has inspired me to do better, so that I can grow culturally and maybe have the opportunity to travel and learn more about this beautiful world.