Just a little about differences.

I asked the participants to STereotART to jot down their most memorable feelings and moments while preparing their tasks every day. Later, I wanted to use these notes as a basis for the "Project's diary", the non-official chronicles of events.
When teams submitted their first notes, the difference in the way they wrote them was striking!

It is not a rigorous approach at all to analyse a small piece of writing and attribute traits of national character to it. However, you just need to take a look at them to spot the difference right away.

• Russians: creative thinking prevails. The way those notes were written insinuates a vivid mind, strive for social activity, and the ability to perform better when under a time pressure.
• Koreans: discipline, good organisation and responsibility are those traits that differ the team greatly from The Another Russia. However, the promptness in obeying the rules of the project strictly defines the borders of the action field, thus limiting the overall creativity and non-standard thinking of the team.

I leave the following notes for your judgement:

January 10 

Our team members are uploading their works on the Cyworld Club! [DIABS]
Panic! Panic! Panic![The Another Russia]

January 11 

Checked how we’re doing on-line! Can’t wait to meet the Russian Team  [DIABS]
Much to do. Do not have enough time. [The Another Russia]

January 12

 Worked on PPTs, final check! [DIABS]
The main goal for today is achieved: we freezed ourselves to death. [The Another Russia]

January 13

Russia, Siberia, Tomsk

 Finished the PPT and sent it! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED  [DIABS]
Froze too much yesterday. Still moving slowly. [The Another Russia]

January 14 

Waiting for the meeting with Russian Team. Time scheduling~ [DIABS]
A couple of members of our group are balloons…[The Another Russia] 

January 15 

Finally!!!!! The meeting was really awesome. New participants, new friends. [DIABS]
silence or echo – perfect conversation^^ [The Another Russia]

Screening process is over

Soon the project I was designing for several months will start (if Russian participants are more active than they are at the moment)

Yesterday I was looking through the applications received from Korean students. Of course, it is not correct to generalise (especially in my case, because I am the one who is trying to work against generalisations), but still. Here are some interesting conclusions (generalised!!) I came up with after screening somewhat 30 applications:

1) The biggest achievement or failure for Korean students is getting/not getting into the university they were striving to get in.

No doubts, in the country where education is highly prioritised, and even brought to the level of mass hysteria, what else can you come up with but your academical achievements. The majority of people just bored me with their touching stories of struggle with memorising lengthy passages in text books and sleep deprivation in the entrance exams preparation period. Isn't there anything else left to achieve?

2) Lack of non-conventional creative thinking
 I don't really know what causes this, but it is a fact that students do not really show the sparkle of non-standard thinking. There was this question supposedly to check student's imagination's flaw.

"Imagine You have 1 kg of coins, a grandson of Cuban government leader 

as your friend and rubber shoes in bulk. 

What are you going to do with this all? "

Standard answer: sell shoes, give money to the poor Cubans.

Yes, and what's wrong with the poor? Many people wrote that they are wholeheartedly willing to help the poor and deprived of any opportunity and joy of life Cubans (well, I a bit exaggerated here.) 

The best answer award goes to a girl from Yonsei University, department of Politics and Diplomacy:

"I'd like to give rubber shoes to Cuban beggars and 1 kg of coins if they learn Korean. After that, I will ask Cuban government leader to visit Korea with those beggars and it can be a chance to exchange cultures with them." 

One 'cool dude' asked the following: "Do you think it would be possible to save world with these stuff above?" 

Hello! Did anyone here ask to save the world???

No doubt, people ARE different. With tons of similarities...

Response to the picture of Koreans

What do Koreans think about Russians? (based on non-official poll among people I know and several-years' exposure to the country and its people)

Russia is big and cold. Very cold! This is the reason all people drink vodka. Russian women are tall and beautiful. Russian men are just big, as well as Russia itself. The territory from Vladivostok up to the very Ural mountains is called Siberia (even if it is not.) There is also Moscow which is a capital city of the country. Everyone* dreams about crossing Siberia and going to Moscow, and if to open the rail way through North Korea, there will be nothing to dream about any more.

There is crude oil in Russia. Too much of it. However, not more than natural gas.

There is also one representative of the nation notable for a his 'career trajectory' - Fyodor Emeljanenko (who is he anyway?) He, as well as many others, was born during the Soviet period. But times have changed. Russia became stronger when Mr. Putin became a president. What? Putint isn't a president any more? Well, it doesn't really matter! Still Russian army is the strongest, and one should be really careful not to fool around with this autocratic giant. 

__________________________________________
* inexcusably rough generalisation

ST [ereot] ART

Of course Mesopotamia might have been the cradle of civilization, but modern world revolves around American culture, represented by Coca-Cola, McDonalds, and ignorant people who know nothing about the rest of the world; French are eating frogs, and Jamaicans are the most relaxed people on the planet; Indians work hard on tea plantations so that Englishmen could indulge with their 5 o’clock cup of orange pekoe with milk; Brazilians party every day, while Chinese work up a sweat at the rice fields; Egyptians have a big attraction towards geometrical figures, and Germans are all victims of Freudian psychological analysis; Russians drink, Greeks dance, Koreans produce computers, and Bulgarians flood the world with local yoghurt.

Does the picture look familiar? Is it the world you know and live in? Oversimplification of world’s cultures helps us to grasp the essentials of other countries and form our particular attitude towards people living abroad. However the same oversimplification can be the source of misunderstandings, wrong expectations, and even offence in situations when other people pretend to know you by resting their knowledge upon stereotypes.

StereotART is an on-line based project designed for the young generation. Its main objective is to overcome generalizing and stereotyping among nations through works of art and works of creativity performed by the participants. Let the study of another culture be fun and entertaining!

What is the project “StereotART” about?

The project StereotART brings together two teams from two different countries of the North-East Asia region. Through creative activities participants engage into engrossing learning process, communicate to each other, share ideas and world vision, and build firm ties of respect, friendship and understanding among all team members.

WHEN: January 8 2012 – March 4 2012 (8 weeks in total).

WHERE: Anywhere you like! At any place with the Internet connection.

WHO: College students with creative view of the modern world and the will to change the current state of international affairs through direct action and digital diplomatic activities. All those who have the sense of art are highly welcomed! Knowledge of English language is preferable for making the exchange effective, but not mandatory.

HOW to get involved:

this information is classified till December 5. Since then all the requirements will be disclosed!