Cultural Chasm Classroom

Asia Retrospective
The World Newspaper
November, 2006

A quick look at election returns on the Tokyo airport television, following an early morning flight from Shanghai to Tokyo, reminded me of the drastic dissonance among our cultures. The televised American election commentary amidst countrysides of hand-shocked rice fields and state-mandated college curriculum underscored the contrasts in our basic freedoms evident amidst my visit to Korea and China. While Korean citizens experience significant personal freedom, the mere economic gaps in our cultures limit their ability of pursuit. Chinese citizens privately contrast current economic progress with the Revolutionary days under Mao, but still maintain a central political influence over personal pursuit foreign to our American experience.

Cultural contrasts were most evident on my last day in China which began with an ancient river city tour and ended in Shanghai. The two-tunnel city entrances over the river, initially one for women and one for men, were designated by Mao as worker and government official entrances. My young hosts, all English-speaking Chinese professors, insisted with laughter that I use the government official entrance, much to the consternation of the older gentlemen workers entering with me. Once in Shanghai, we viewed the Yangtze River traffic from the Oriental Pearl Tower: ancient barges rowed by singular oarsmen amidst sleek schooners mounted with full electronic advertising screens. The sight reminded me of similar contrasts downtown Seoul as I viewed skyscrapers above the ancient Emperor’s Castle compound.

A beautiful Oregon sunrise above the clouds greeted me as our jet arrived at the U.S. coast. News of big rains on the Northwest Coast welcomed me home as I shook the China smog and Seoul dust from my clothes. Despite the cultural contrasts, both Hyejeon College and Changzhou Institute of Technology presidents and I agreed to common intercultural education opportunities for Southwestern and our sister colleges in Korea and China: Exchange chefs, Exchange interpreters; English Language Institute at Southwestern for Korean and Chinese students; and Service Learning opportunities in Korea and China for Southwestern students to complement Current Student Scholarship and Faculty Exchange initiatives. Both Hyejeon and Changzhou were most excited about the Chef Exchange. They each plan to send a chef and interpreter within the next year to provide short-term coursework for students and community alike at our Oregon Coast Culinary Institute in exchange for a similar visit from our chefs to their institutions.

As I returned, Secretary of Education Spellings announced plans to visit China to develop relationships for American colleges and universities. The announcement confirmed for me that the vision Southwestern Oregon Community College has embraced for intercultural education exchange leads national pursuits. I feel exceptionally proud to lead Southwestern’s dreams for our citizens and students.