Reverse Culture Shock

Returning home after your time of study in the UK can bring as much, or even more, culture shock than students often expect.  We had some good discussion around this topic at TABLEtalk last night.  Many of the students shared their own personal stories and journeys both of initially arriving in the UK and, for some, the experience of returning home.

One student, who has been in the UK for some years now, described going home like living in a 'parallel universe'.

Here are some Top Tips from our students ...

* Prepare your mind for change

* Roll with the changes

* Live the moment in your own country / culture

* Have quality relationships with those you're staying with

* Recognise the need for compassion in the early days

* Take the good things, apply them

BUT remember you are no longer in the UK

* Remind yourself how you've grown. You are a

better person - degree, language, personality

* Embrace your increased tolerance to

new cultures / new perspectives

* Use your experience to change your home country

for the better

* Remember the new skills you've learned

* Remember those back home don't always understand the

journey you've experienced  -  be patient with them

* Remember - wasn't just a weekend away

- it was a culture away

For more information on how to prepare for returning home, check out the UKCISA website:

UKCISA: Reverse Culture Shock

Take Ten - Generosity of Time

Writer William Penn said, “Time is what we most want but what we use the worst.”  If you think back over your week, how have you spent your time? However you've spent it - IT'S GONE - you can't go back a re-allocate it.  Time is potentially the most precious gift we can give, to God, to ourselves and to others.

View video:

Take Ten - Generosity of Time

Thought for the week ...

Take Ten - Leaders who Last

View video:

Take Ten - Leaders who Last

What makes a good leader? What good are skills and abilities without values and character? For those who aspire to leadership, how do they not only start well, but finish well? 

American Basketball coach John Wooden once said, “Ability may get you to the top but it takes character to keep you there.”  Character  traits such as integrity, dependability, empathy, the ability to listen well, make trust possible, and trust is essential to great leadership.

Thought for the week ...

Rochester Trip

Enjoyed a marvellous day out in Rochester yesterday, with my colleague Kirsten, and 12 students/alumni from the Universities of Greenwich and Kent.  Especially great to have a good group come down from London to join some Medway folk.

Deboky, Kirsten & Kuntal

Namrata, Yamama & Corina

Our day began with a Quiz Trail, that took everyone on a nice walk around Rochester, including the High Street, the Vines Park, Rochester Cathedral and Castle. Along the way the challenge was to observe buildings, read notices and maybe a spot of googling to discover the answers to 15 questions.

Basel & Aiste

Dominika and Temple

Eshan, Sahan & Chovy

Unfortunately, I had failed to take into account the fact there might be a wedding in the cathedral 😕😕

The final aspect of our Quiz Trail was to identify a three word phrase first introduced by Charles Dickens, and to discover the meaning of this phrase. 
Finally, it was time for lunch. Most people got something to eat and we gathered together in the Castle grounds, enjoying food, company and good conversation.

Most people also had some time to explore the town a little bit more ...

Many thanks to everyone who came and helped make the day so enjoyable!!!  It's not too late to send photos or feedback 😀😀😀

"Thank you for a great day in Rochester! The Quiz Trail was amazing - for the first time I paid attention to information boards and signs around the town and it helped a lot to learn more about the area and history. I think this should definitely be part of staff and students induction when they join Medway campus"  Aiste  (Lithuania)

"It was really fun. At start it was interesting as we had to find clues and go ahead. I really like the 2nd or the 3rd question which asked about the dickens small character. The question was interesting as we had find the name of the opposite shop and then find the answer. After the cathedral we were bit tired with the quiz and wanted to explore the area more. So we were walking around taking pictures and couldn't focus on the quiz. I enjoy travelling and exploring so I really enjoyed today's trip. I wish we stayed like an hour or 2 more just sitting under a tree relax and talk and maybe do some small activities.  However it was really nice to meet everyone in real life and would love to have this kind of activity once a month. Just one outing per month it would be really nice."

Eshan  (Sri Lanka)

"Many thanks for the trip today. The puzzle/quiz was a most brilliant way to tour a site, I have ever seen. This made the history of Rochester more than just comprehensive but also fulfilled. May God continue to increase you in wisdom." Temple  (Nigeria)

"Yesterday’s quiz trail was amazing and we had lots of fun and roamed around the beautiful city of Rochester. Also I became friends with many people, Specially my Chinese friend, I call him “Ching” and it was a great experience to drop him on the Heron Quays DLR station. And the journey was marvelous….."  Sahan (Sri Lanka 

"The trip to Rochester will be a memorable event in my life, I enjoyed the entire journey to Rochester thoroughly. While travelling from Greenwich, I talked a lot with Kirsten. and she patiently answered all my questions. I came to know a lot about British people. Once I arrived at Rochester, I was perplexed by observing the beauty of the castle and nature. The Quiz Trail was an exciting way to get acquainted with the city. Moreover, I was introduced to solving puzzles which I never knew I could do, After the puzzles, we had out lunch together on the grass. It was fun to eat with such a fantastic bunch of people. Taking this one day trip with people from TABLEtalk helped me rid from my mundane daily life. It helped me improve my communication skills, understand people of different cultures, within a stress-free day. I pray and hope that TABLEtalk gains popularity and gets the attention of more students who can participate and expand their horizons." Deboky (Bangladesh)

Room 101

Great conversation at TABLEtalk last night, huge thanks to all who came. As always it was lovely to welcome some new faces 😀 Our theme for the evening was 'If I Ruled the World'.

Using the concept of Room 101 from the novel 1984 by George Orwell, groups discussed what they would like to banish, under the headings of Technology, Driving and People.  

On the topic of TECHNOLOGY, the four suggestions were:  (1) Tech companies, because of the power they hold, (2) frozen screens!!!, (3) self-service checkouts, and (4) gaming addiction.  Who would've thought we could spend almost ten minutes discussion the pros and cons of self-service checkouts!! However, Kirsten chose gaming addiction as the thing to banish.

DRIVING is always an interesting topic to discuss, especially with so many cultures represented. The nominations were: (1) selfish drivers ... hmmmm that's quite a lot of people, (2) road rage, (3) traffic jams, and (4) potholes. Personally, I was a bit worried about banishing road rage, just in case I ended up there myself 😂😂😂 so I chose potholes, which seem to be a never-ending problem.

And finally, the topic of PEOPLE - hmmmm, so much choice! The four proposals were: (1) unethical people, (2) noisy eaters, (3) people who always think they are right, and (4) power-abusers. This really was a tough one and I'm not sure if we made a final decision. Some people, like noisy eaters,  you can choose to avoid but it's hard being around those who think they are constantly right  ...  so off they can go to Room 101!!

We also had some visitors for the evening, Celso and Mostafa from the University of Greenwich, they spent time in groups with the students finding out more about how TABLEtalk works and what students think are the benefits.