The most interesting topic for me so far is the concept of new masculine gender identities in East Asia. The fact that men in East Asian countries are starting to go against the current and the traditional social norm is intriguing. My approach to learning in this course was to do the reading/quiz the day before the lecture to have some sort of understanding about the topic, then go to class and listen to the professor go in-depth about it to further my knowledge. This class definitely changed my view of linguistic as a field. Before the class I didn’t know much about this field and sometimes even thought there is not much to study about. But this class has shown me that language, just like any other subject, is very complex and fascinating. Languages are infused deep in our culture and society without we even know about it. That is amazing to me. For example, as an Asian, my parents were always very strict and protective of me. I always thought it’s just how my parents are but through this class, I found out that these behavior is to  be expected of parents in East Asian countries. The class also changed the way I think as I look at the world as a big picture now.