Reaction To Video Session 1

The video chat meeting was very interesting and something I had never gotten to experience before. The concept of bringing different cultures together to discuss culture itself is an interesting idea and I think it will lead to good conversations and ideas. I am looking forward to discussing more with the Swedish students the ideas we are learning in class and getting their feedback. I think it also helped going into smaller groups to allow for move discussion and not having to worry as much about being overwhelmed by the large amount of people video chatting. The only issue we had was some audio ones, which I believe we will be able to work out soon to allow for better communications and conversations.

The discussion topic was who should take care of the elderly and how gender roles play in society. We determined that it seemed Sweden and America were on the same page with women’s role in society and how they have been gaining power recently. We discussed that perhaps as women work more for their jobs and for power they will be able to become equal in society with time.

 We also got to discuss how America and Japan differ in how they take care of the elderly. Because of the IE system that use to be used in Japan, the elderly grew up believing they would eventually get taken care of similar to how they had to take care of their parents, which is a very different view from the United States, who greatly value independence. But because Japan’s idea of family is very close-knit and grew up putting the whole in front of the individual, it makes sense the elderly believe they should be taken care of. While the independent nature of America, the elderly tend to prefer to live on their own and take care of themselves as long as they can.