We tried to prepare for the Joint Project by using books from UH Hilo library and getting necessary information as much as we could. My two other team member, Moe and Chris, and I read many books and tried to find key words and shared what we found from our research with each other. We decided our topic together and divided works. Although we divided up the work, we checked each section one by one and made sure all members know what other members did. Our topic was related to multicultural communication so we were able to share both Hawaii and Japanese culture and learn from each others’ culture.

Some difficulties we faced were reading academic books and talking about Hawaiian history, politics and social situation. Why were they difficult? It was because most of the things were new for us and vocabulary was difficult. Although we faced knowledge and vocabulary problems, we used all the words we knew to communicate with each other. What I learned from this was that next time I make a presentation about different countries, it is necessary to study history of those countries a little ahead of time. Another difficult situation was using Skype, chat and e-mail to prepare the presentation. There was a time difference between Hawaii and Japan so we could not talk at anytime. Moreover, sometimes we misunderstood what the others had said in an email. What I learned from this experience was that it was very important to think from another person’s standpoint. As long as I keep this in mind, I always think about what is the best for the person. It is the most important thing when working in a team.

by Yumi K.