Assimilation - Separation - Integration - Marginalization

Assimilation
-When you abandon your own cultural habits and values in order to accept the new country totally.
-The ambition is to become accepted as a part of the majority culture

Separation
-When you focus on keeping your own values and avoid contact with the majority culture as much as you can
-The “britts”in new Zeeland are more British than the “britts”in Great Britain
-The Swedes in Minesotawho celebrates swedishtraditions that “real swedes forgotten”

Integration
-When you hold on to some aspects of your own culture (cultural integrity) such as central norms and values, and at the same time, try to melt in to the new cultural environment

Marginalization
-A strategy where you don’t keep hold on to your original culture, nor integrate in the new culture
-Isolation from both cultural groups!
-Living in a non-identity

OK, it is perfect time to mix up real-life and studies! These categories are from previous HR lecture identifying the way what can happen with people in abroad. I am having the luck to experience some of them... and I can tell, sometimes it can be astonishing..
Take my landlord, he has been living here for 18 years, family back at home, only working here...and -now i am trying to reflect one of the above-mentioned categories -
-talking only with other Hungarians
-behaving in any means as a Hungarian
-driving like a Hungarian... seriously, I really hate to take a seat in the car next to him, `cause he does not give the priority for pedestrians when approaching to a crossing... he makes me feel ashamed....
Reading this you can figure out that I am writing about separation... experiencing this is so sad for me, that behavior is that what I find so pathetic in here.... no wonder that they will have such a bad opinion about us... and it is -especially in this cases- is not misleading... it is true :(

Well, according to Max, our HR lecturer (Italian father-Finnish mother, living here and driving an Alfa Romeo Spider...in a polite way :) ) he rather goes for Integration what is preferred -i think- by me also...

So after this little emotional beginning, let me say something about Swedish higher education. :)
We have 2 semester per year, each contains two quarters..what a surprise :). Each quarter contains two subjects. Currently we have Human Resource Management and Project Management.
I really love the first as it is taught by Max, who is a psychologist and HR consultant. We really like his lectures, he was also responsibly for the team building activities during the kick-off on the second day. When he opens his mouth to talk all the time there is that silence in the classroom when you can hear the flies flying :) And what is even better than just listening to a lecturer is that we are enforced to be active during any time. We must solve problems in groups, we have tasks to complete together and finally we always get the consequences. Moreover, after spending years of being a six-digit code for the teachers, it feels so good when a teacher calls you on your real name :D

Just a little hint from our first emails inbetween:

Herby I confirm that I recieved the e-mail!
I will celebrate with a glas of Vilmos Körte Palinka!

Max

:)
Secondly, there is Project Management. We are a bit more since it is a joint course with Construction Eng Proj. Managers so around 100 people. During lectures, the teacher, Sven does not worry about spending time with forming groups for a 5 minutes activity. I mean, it took 10 mins while we managed to mix up with the others, and the whole task took aprrox. 5 mins.... Unbeliavable.. as everything for me here :D
Furthermore, we had last week that two days so-called Live Project activity. We formed groups again, and the task was to create a Management proposal for next years Goteborg`s Culture Exchange Festival. Well it was not was easy at all, since we were bothered all the time with instant, but useful presentations :) Also they devoted time and efforts to invite some fake people representing the Client and the media, and finally made plenty of conclusions and consequences...
One more thing related here: deadline was yesterday 16:00, we sent the our proposal on 15:59. :) On guy who was not in charge of the last activities suddenly showed us the following LINK what apparently made us laughing big time :D

Besides, we also went to a boat trip around the city :)