I had another interesting conversation with Young. I talked with him about his military life in Korea. He seemed to specialize in driving trucks and making maps. Sounds like a useful skill since I can barely read maps, but I digress. Talked a little bit about military politics. He said a lot of people in Korea don't think they need America's help, but he thinks it is needed. Since there is no real damage being done now, the average citizen in Korea doesn't think about the dangers with their neighbors in North Korea. Young said America's help gives them the strength to keep his country safe. Hearing this makes me proud of my country and what it does for the rest of the world. I am happy to hear that from him. I felt moved. It's hard to believe he is only in group two class since he can convey such complex feelings.
He also said he will get a driver's permit soon. Once he gets that, he wants to take the drivers test to get his license. I didn't know foreigners could get a license here in the states so fast! I need to ask him if he has a car yet. I don't know why I didn't ask him those details but I will for next time.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Conversation partner week 4 Rita Schwab
I invited Eric out to a party tonight and he had an absolutely beautiful time. He was just shining.
It was a potluck and house warming party. He learned what potluck is about, which he had no concept of. He also was impressed with the housewarming idea - people bringing presents for the new house (my friend planted a tree) and bringing well wishes. He thought it all very beautiful.
There were many people of all ages and Eric got to speak with older couples as well as college students. Even some grand babies arrived and add the dogs, there was a mixture of everything including skin color. I had a blast. And everyone seemed to enjoy Eric. He sure did not get a quiet moment because everyone had plenty of questions for him. He share eating habits at a party in his country and the simplicity of eating on the floor as some of the party guests just made themselves comfortable on the floor in the living room. That was very familiar to Eric and he pointed it out.
He also got familiar with root beer, a non-alcoholic root beverage that looked like beer but did not taste like it at all. And he liked it.
At the end of the party while saying good-bye, Eric got a lot of handshakes and a lot of hugs and we brought him back home to his apartment. He was so happy and appreciative as he never leaves his compound to go anywhere else but grocery shopping and the college, of course.
As homework I assigned Eric to watch President Obama's 'State of the Union' speech, which he did not know anything about.
It was a lovely evening.
It was a potluck and house warming party. He learned what potluck is about, which he had no concept of. He also was impressed with the housewarming idea - people bringing presents for the new house (my friend planted a tree) and bringing well wishes. He thought it all very beautiful.
There were many people of all ages and Eric got to speak with older couples as well as college students. Even some grand babies arrived and add the dogs, there was a mixture of everything including skin color. I had a blast. And everyone seemed to enjoy Eric. He sure did not get a quiet moment because everyone had plenty of questions for him. He share eating habits at a party in his country and the simplicity of eating on the floor as some of the party guests just made themselves comfortable on the floor in the living room. That was very familiar to Eric and he pointed it out.
He also got familiar with root beer, a non-alcoholic root beverage that looked like beer but did not taste like it at all. And he liked it.
At the end of the party while saying good-bye, Eric got a lot of handshakes and a lot of hugs and we brought him back home to his apartment. He was so happy and appreciative as he never leaves his compound to go anywhere else but grocery shopping and the college, of course.
As homework I assigned Eric to watch President Obama's 'State of the Union' speech, which he did not know anything about.
It was a lovely evening.
Elizabeth-tutoring-Week 3
A few weeks I met a girl named Jen Chu through penpalworld. We usually send e-mails to each other or we chat through web-cam. She is from Jiangxi province in China. She attends Harbin University at the provincial capital of Heilongjiang. She is learning English right now. Her writing skills are great, but her speaking abilities are somewhat lacking. She was really happy when I told her about TEFL and the different things we were learning in it. Jen was fascinated by the different learning methods that we covered and asked me if I could help her by using some of those techniques as well. We talked about intensive and extensive reading and she told me that her professor at the university told her that the most important was extensive reading. She asked whether her professor was correct or not. I told her that the great outcome of extensive reading is that by doing so, later on she would unconsciously start reading intensively. Right now she is reading a lot in class, and is having a better time learning too.
Last Thursday she asked me what it meant when people say, "It is so sick! I love it."? How can people be sick and like it. I told her that in America we have certain expressions which can mean the opposite of what the actual word means. I asked her whether she could gues what "sick" meant by the context. She told me that it seems like the person was saying that it was really good. I explained to her that sometimes if she does not understand something to try to guess by the context. We worked on a few more saying such as "Just hanging" or "Out of the blue". I told her to look out for expressions like those that we talk about and guess again what they are trying to say. Jen says that sometimes it is hard to understand because even though she is capable of reading English, these expressions come out and she doesn't have anyone who can explain why they are written a certain way or why it seems to be the opposite of what they are saying. It was really nice meeting her and so far tutoring went great because I can apply all the new techniques that we are leaning in TEFL. My tutoring times vary with Jen because of time differences but it is great. I am always making tutoring times with international students so it is great to have a feel at what different students need or want. Next time she wants to talk about
Last Thursday she asked me what it meant when people say, "It is so sick! I love it."? How can people be sick and like it. I told her that in America we have certain expressions which can mean the opposite of what the actual word means. I asked her whether she could gues what "sick" meant by the context. She told me that it seems like the person was saying that it was really good. I explained to her that sometimes if she does not understand something to try to guess by the context. We worked on a few more saying such as "Just hanging" or "Out of the blue". I told her to look out for expressions like those that we talk about and guess again what they are trying to say. Jen says that sometimes it is hard to understand because even though she is capable of reading English, these expressions come out and she doesn't have anyone who can explain why they are written a certain way or why it seems to be the opposite of what they are saying. It was really nice meeting her and so far tutoring went great because I can apply all the new techniques that we are leaning in TEFL. My tutoring times vary with Jen because of time differences but it is great. I am always making tutoring times with international students so it is great to have a feel at what different students need or want. Next time she wants to talk about
Katherine Tutoring 2
Katherine was 15 minutes late and seemed to really be in a rush to leave as soon as she arrived. She was like this in our first meeting, she kept her jacket and purse on, like she was ready to run at any second. She is a busy woman with a full-time job, two children to look after, and now a part-time student pursuing her Master's degree. This is the hardest obstacle for us both. I want to help her with her English, but she has to be ready to take a few steps back to take the time to learn. I am not yet convinced that she is willing to do that. She's now faced with having to write lengthy papers for her Master's degree in Information Technologies and I guess is realizing she needs to really improve her English. But after living in the US for over twenty years, and already comfortable in her own skin, does she really want to improve her English?
I am concerned Katherine is looking for an easy fix to her homework. She has again asked me if she can email me her paper for her class and have me edit it then email her back. I told her she can email me the paper, I'll make the corrections and bring it to our next meeting so we can go over it together. But she wants me to email her because she can't meet before next Wed and needs revisions before then. I told her I didn't want to email her, but would like to explain it in person. Her reply was, "Ok, but dis time u exception. Next time we meet, OK?"
In our brief meeting, she showed me a first draft of an outline she had to write for her class. The writing was at a level 2. In our time together, I had the chance to help her with 2 of the sentences in her outline. Then she had to go.
I hope in our next meeting she's able to spend more time with me. Katherine needs a lot of help in both writing and conversation. I hope she is willing to take the time to learn.
Elizabeth-CP-Week 2
Every week is turning out not so well, when it comes to meeting my conversation partner. This past Wednesday I called Rama to tell her that I was going to be a bit late to tea time. She told me that she was on her way to her home. I asked her to please stay there for a little while so I could talk to her. As I am rushing to the 4th floor, I noticed that there were a lot of people missing. I looked for Rama until I found her sitting by the giant map. She told me that the reason she was trying to leave early was because she needed to go buy a laptop. She owns a desktop, but she really wishes to own a laptop so she can take it to campus and work from there. I told her about my nomination to the Peace Corps and that they want me to go to Sub Sahara Africa. I explained all the details to her and she was so amazed about the program and wished me lots of luck. Rama says that hopefully the PC sends me to her hometown so I can hang out with her. It was really nice to see how friendly she is, which makes me feel really positive about going to Sub Sahara Africa. Even though I still don't know my final destination, I feel better about it. We talked about her cousin, Moussa, who is studying English in Algeria. Rama says, that most of her family, like sisters, brothers and even cousins are learning English. It is essential for most people to do so, since many jobs would like for their workers to be bilingual.
After a few minutes she had to go so we said goodbye until next tea time. I called her this weekend to see if she wanted to go out or something but she did not pick up the phone. Even though three weeks have passed I still don't know much about her, but maybe things will get better. ^_^
After a few minutes she had to go so we said goodbye until next tea time. I called her this weekend to see if she wanted to go out or something but she did not pick up the phone. Even though three weeks have passed I still don't know much about her, but maybe things will get better. ^_^
Dwinetta CP 2
Hello again,
Aside from helping Venus with prepositions, we decided to feed our addiction to starbucks again! We met up again at Starbucks to chat it up a little more. Over orange blossom tea, capuccino, and chicken paninis, we discussed ourselves a little more. I found out that where she lives, she is not really forced to speak english at all because she lives with her sister and other people who speak spanish. Then when she hangs out with the other CIES students, its not native english. So she said we have to hang out more often. I told her that I am going to take her out of her comfort zone so she will be forced to use her english. When we were at Starbucks she ordered with ease, but I want to take her to the grocery store and the movies where she doesn't have her sister to translate or speak for her. I told her I wanted to see the princess and the frog and she got really excited and said she wanted to see it too. She told me before that it is easy for her to watch cartoons in english so it works out for the both of us! We instant message each other throughout the week through blackberry and she communicates well through it, I just have to correct spelling and sentence structure. So far Venus and I are having a good time and I can see her english improving if she hangs out with me and more english speakers more often. Thats it for now. Netta Out!
Dwinetta
Aside from helping Venus with prepositions, we decided to feed our addiction to starbucks again! We met up again at Starbucks to chat it up a little more. Over orange blossom tea, capuccino, and chicken paninis, we discussed ourselves a little more. I found out that where she lives, she is not really forced to speak english at all because she lives with her sister and other people who speak spanish. Then when she hangs out with the other CIES students, its not native english. So she said we have to hang out more often. I told her that I am going to take her out of her comfort zone so she will be forced to use her english. When we were at Starbucks she ordered with ease, but I want to take her to the grocery store and the movies where she doesn't have her sister to translate or speak for her. I told her I wanted to see the princess and the frog and she got really excited and said she wanted to see it too. She told me before that it is easy for her to watch cartoons in english so it works out for the both of us! We instant message each other throughout the week through blackberry and she communicates well through it, I just have to correct spelling and sentence structure. So far Venus and I are having a good time and I can see her english improving if she hangs out with me and more english speakers more often. Thats it for now. Netta Out!
Dwinetta
Dwinetta Tutor Session 1
So I know I am a little behind on my tutoring, due to unforseen circumstances, but I am coming in full force so be ready! I am scheduled to be a tutor with the English conversation club, but I asked my conversation partner if I could help her with her homework as well. So Venus is having trouble with prepositions, especially (in,at,on) in regards to time and location. So I told her I would help her out! I told her to give me some examples of where she was getting confused, so I wouldn't ramble on and on about random examples of preposition usage. She didn't know when she should use in or at when she is referring to her location "Should I say I am in CIES or I am at CIES?" I told her that in and at could be interchangeable in certain circumstances such as the one above. But to make a long story short we went over different examples of using those certain prepositions. And I told her we could work on them again. I am supposed to meet up again with her to help her with an assignment she has for Felicia's class. She is a fast learner though! That's all for now!
Dwinetta
Dwinetta
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Keith CP #2
It's been awhile since I've updated y'all on the Faisal situation. Well, good news! I've met with him twice since our earlier communication mishaps! Last weekend I got a hold of him and we arranged to meet at Starbucks on a Friday afternoon. It looks like Richard has also had an experience with the difficulties of having phone conversations with our CP's, and I'm here to say it was no different with me. This is not hard to understand though, since even with native speakers the occasions of awkwardness are raised exponentially when there is that conversational middleman. It probably has something to do with the eyes and the hands. What percentage, do they say, of communication is non-verbal?
Anyhow, a few minutes before we were supposed to meet last Friday Faisal texted me saying he wasn't going to make it. I was touched by the way he opened the message with "My friend." We rescheduled to Saturday night at nine, but then I realized that it would be difficult for me to get back into town from the cabin I was staying in with my visiting family. In other words, I had to reschedule too!
After all this it was a relief to see Faisal again on Sunday afternoon.
He brought his friend Abdullah along, also a CIES student, and he helped Faisal along, or answered for him if the vocabulary was out of his range. First off, Abdullah helped clear up a mis-communication: Faisal doesn't work at Shisha, he's been accepted into the Phd. program in Psychology! He has a year to learn English and get a 1000 on the GRE. I realized what a tough order that was-- I've been learning English for 22 years and I still only got a 1070 when I took it in December. (Granted, I didn't study after I decided not to go straight to Grad School, but still...)
Faisal and Abdullah are both from the capitol of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, were they knew each other from the Psychology department there. They both miss a regional dish: Kabsa, made with rice, chicken and vegetables, but the spices are key to its taste-- Black Pepper, Cloves, Cardamom, Saffron, Cinnamon, Black lime, Bay Leaves and Nutmeg. (wiki copy and paste :)
Faisal told me he'd been married for six years (His wife will join him in the states in six months) and the longest time he'd ever been apart from his wife was 1 day. I asked Faisal how they met and Abdullah explained to me that in Saudi Arabia the mothers look for suitable wives for their sons and then the sons meet the choices to confirm their mothers' taste. Abdullah told me that this may seem strange to Westerners, but the fact of the matter is he trusts his mother to know what's good for him. I'm kinda on the fence about this, but I think part of it is wise in the sense that women might be more suited in their judgment...
It was a great meeting and I felt like a learned a lot about Faisal and Abdullah, but I was a little disappointed because I felt like I ended up talking to Abdullah more-- I would ask Faisal a question and he wouldn't understand... I'd ask Faisal what kind of music he liked and somehow wound up talking to Abdullah about how you can watch live Opera broadcasts at the Governor's Square Regal... Anyhow I was resolved to keep focused on Faisal the next meeting.
Anyhow, a few minutes before we were supposed to meet last Friday Faisal texted me saying he wasn't going to make it. I was touched by the way he opened the message with "My friend." We rescheduled to Saturday night at nine, but then I realized that it would be difficult for me to get back into town from the cabin I was staying in with my visiting family. In other words, I had to reschedule too!
After all this it was a relief to see Faisal again on Sunday afternoon.
He brought his friend Abdullah along, also a CIES student, and he helped Faisal along, or answered for him if the vocabulary was out of his range. First off, Abdullah helped clear up a mis-communication: Faisal doesn't work at Shisha, he's been accepted into the Phd. program in Psychology! He has a year to learn English and get a 1000 on the GRE. I realized what a tough order that was-- I've been learning English for 22 years and I still only got a 1070 when I took it in December. (Granted, I didn't study after I decided not to go straight to Grad School, but still...)
Faisal and Abdullah are both from the capitol of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, were they knew each other from the Psychology department there. They both miss a regional dish: Kabsa, made with rice, chicken and vegetables, but the spices are key to its taste-- Black Pepper, Cloves, Cardamom, Saffron, Cinnamon, Black lime, Bay Leaves and Nutmeg. (wiki copy and paste :)
Faisal told me he'd been married for six years (His wife will join him in the states in six months) and the longest time he'd ever been apart from his wife was 1 day. I asked Faisal how they met and Abdullah explained to me that in Saudi Arabia the mothers look for suitable wives for their sons and then the sons meet the choices to confirm their mothers' taste. Abdullah told me that this may seem strange to Westerners, but the fact of the matter is he trusts his mother to know what's good for him. I'm kinda on the fence about this, but I think part of it is wise in the sense that women might be more suited in their judgment...
It was a great meeting and I felt like a learned a lot about Faisal and Abdullah, but I was a little disappointed because I felt like I ended up talking to Abdullah more-- I would ask Faisal a question and he wouldn't understand... I'd ask Faisal what kind of music he liked and somehow wound up talking to Abdullah about how you can watch live Opera broadcasts at the Governor's Square Regal... Anyhow I was resolved to keep focused on Faisal the next meeting.
Sabrina - Tutoring (attempt#2) Week 2- "Where is everyone?"
Tutoring was a total wash again this week. No show. Ugh!
I am moving on to the public Library.
I am a bit frustrated and feel like I am losing some ground. I find myself hearing "foreign accents" and having to refrain from compulsively tutoring. Well, that is not entirely true but I do hear accents and wonder if they might be in need of a tutor and if it would be rude to ask them. Dang, that is not completely true either. The truth is that for the time being, I hear a foreign accent in my home everyday but tutoring is out of the question (trust me on this one).
I have an appointment with Karen at the library on Monday. I have my fingers crossed for a quick and productive match!
Friday, January 29, 2010
Conversation partner week 3 Rita Schwab
I have actually not seen Eric this week due to a bad cold I have been carrying around. I did make it to all of my classes, but after class each time the cold set me back and hit me hard.
I did not want to expose Eric and when I called him up with my raspy voice, he was so compassionate. He is a really sweet and intelligent guy.
He called me back a couple of days later and wished me speedy recovery. His vocabulary was excellent, just his pronunciation and his intonation a bit off.
I have been a bit concerned about him however, as he called me last Saturday night in a bit of an emotional state. He seemed quite lonely and homesick. It was a Saturday night and he was home alone. He talked about how he needed a car. Also he talked about how expensive his apartment was and how expensive to cost of living is here. He seemed a bit discouraged.
I listened with patience and reached out to him. I said that it was normal to experience this culture shock - I very well understood. I also assured him that things will get better and that we would talk about his situation when we meet again.
I thought to hook Eric up with a student housing agency, that could get Eric a room on or close to campus, so that he is not dependant on having to take the bus every day. It also would be nice for him to live with a family. My experience as an exchange student was always with families. I felt taken care of and had company and amusement. This is something the exchange program could/should provide for their foreign students.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to help Eric?
I did not want to expose Eric and when I called him up with my raspy voice, he was so compassionate. He is a really sweet and intelligent guy.
He called me back a couple of days later and wished me speedy recovery. His vocabulary was excellent, just his pronunciation and his intonation a bit off.
I have been a bit concerned about him however, as he called me last Saturday night in a bit of an emotional state. He seemed quite lonely and homesick. It was a Saturday night and he was home alone. He talked about how he needed a car. Also he talked about how expensive his apartment was and how expensive to cost of living is here. He seemed a bit discouraged.
I listened with patience and reached out to him. I said that it was normal to experience this culture shock - I very well understood. I also assured him that things will get better and that we would talk about his situation when we meet again.
I thought to hook Eric up with a student housing agency, that could get Eric a room on or close to campus, so that he is not dependant on having to take the bus every day. It also would be nice for him to live with a family. My experience as an exchange student was always with families. I felt taken care of and had company and amusement. This is something the exchange program could/should provide for their foreign students.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to help Eric?
"Jose" - tutoring session 2
I met my second tutoree the other night. I will probably work with him as I feel there is a work ethic that I appreciate. Not that I am personally some badass ninja but I could see how he was kind of open and willing to do repetitions to try to find the pattern or "el modelo" as it is called. He's quite a beginner and I find myself trying to recall more and more Spanish to communicate basic points. We were working through some simple present tense uses of "do" and "does" and he was starting to get it. I could feel the "flow" coming through. Then he blew me away by asking me to show him the past forms and the future forms and then he proceeded to write them all out. Since I know a little handwriting analysis I could tell that he was gaining confidence by the changing slant in his middle zone. That made me happy.
The resistance in myself I encountered was the inability to communicate and wanting to just place my brain in his brain. But when I saw that he didn't understand simple things I was saying and got very frustrated and self judging, I slowed down a little. At this point, I realized that he was started to write out repetitions of the the simple assignment and even though I was losing patience with myself he was actively learning. So I had to essentially get out of the way and let him take some time writing the repetitions. Transforming in this way was useful.
The resistance in myself I encountered was the inability to communicate and wanting to just place my brain in his brain. But when I saw that he didn't understand simple things I was saying and got very frustrated and self judging, I slowed down a little. At this point, I realized that he was started to write out repetitions of the the simple assignment and even though I was losing patience with myself he was actively learning. So I had to essentially get out of the way and let him take some time writing the repetitions. Transforming in this way was useful.
Tutoring week 1 Rita Schwab
I finally got a student to tutor through the library coordinator Karen
Gotti. She has been so very helpful.
Anyway, Yongheon Park and I met for the very first time at the library last night. He is a student from Korea. He has been in this country for 6 months and is working on his Master's degree in Public Administration. He comes from Seoul, South Korea, the capital which houses 11 million people. Seoul is about 600 km from the Chinese border. Yongheon works for the Seoul Metropolitan Government, who sent him to this country to receive his Master's degree. His studies are all paid for by his government. Upon his return, he is guaranteed his job back.
He is taking 3 courses this semester: Health Care and Finance
Budget Management which includes
Accounting, Contracting and Management of Assets
and Human Resource Management, which includes
Recruiting, Training, Promoting and Job positioning.
This information was the first part of our conversation. Yongheon is entirely familiar with the terminologies of his subject, which was of great relief to me as I know nothing about his field.
His vocabulary is excellent, his grammar is quite good - he has issues with conjugation - but his pronunciation is rather choppy and he does not pronounce certain consonants correctly, in specific the letter f. As it turns out there is no letter f in the Korean alphabet and saying "f" is difficult for Yongheon. Which brought us to practising "f" and a list of f-words. And here the conversation turned funny, as the meaning of the f-word was not familiar with Yongheon and I decided to educate him about it. We also decided to make a list of f-words for the next meeting so he can practise the words to himself in privacy.
Earlier in our conversation I asked him how I could help him, in which way my tutoring could be most beneficial to him. And he know his weaknesses, which were primarily in conversation English and pronunciation. He wants help with everyday lingo, jargon, idioms and casual language. Like he asked me what the word 'freak' meant and the word 'punk' and the expression 'that beats me'.
Then I asked him if he gets around in the 'real' world outside of the college and he just laughed. He says that he has a difficult time ordering food and does not understand the menus. Especially the Mexican menus. Again we laughed because I said I don't
understand the Mexican menus either. So I suggested to bring in several to-go menus, which was a hard for him to believe that you could as a menu to go. Next time we will go over the menus and see how I can help him understand food and ordering and talking to a waiter easier. And we will be practising f- words. I will have a list for him.
We met until 8:30 pm. His character is rather formal and stiff, but I think I livened things up a bit and we parted comfortably.
Gotti. She has been so very helpful.
Anyway, Yongheon Park and I met for the very first time at the library last night. He is a student from Korea. He has been in this country for 6 months and is working on his Master's degree in Public Administration. He comes from Seoul, South Korea, the capital which houses 11 million people. Seoul is about 600 km from the Chinese border. Yongheon works for the Seoul Metropolitan Government, who sent him to this country to receive his Master's degree. His studies are all paid for by his government. Upon his return, he is guaranteed his job back.
He is taking 3 courses this semester: Health Care and Finance
Budget Management which includes
Accounting, Contracting and Management of Assets
and Human Resource Management, which includes
Recruiting, Training, Promoting and Job positioning.
This information was the first part of our conversation. Yongheon is entirely familiar with the terminologies of his subject, which was of great relief to me as I know nothing about his field.
His vocabulary is excellent, his grammar is quite good - he has issues with conjugation - but his pronunciation is rather choppy and he does not pronounce certain consonants correctly, in specific the letter f. As it turns out there is no letter f in the Korean alphabet and saying "f" is difficult for Yongheon. Which brought us to practising "f" and a list of f-words. And here the conversation turned funny, as the meaning of the f-word was not familiar with Yongheon and I decided to educate him about it. We also decided to make a list of f-words for the next meeting so he can practise the words to himself in privacy.
Earlier in our conversation I asked him how I could help him, in which way my tutoring could be most beneficial to him. And he know his weaknesses, which were primarily in conversation English and pronunciation. He wants help with everyday lingo, jargon, idioms and casual language. Like he asked me what the word 'freak' meant and the word 'punk' and the expression 'that beats me'.
Then I asked him if he gets around in the 'real' world outside of the college and he just laughed. He says that he has a difficult time ordering food and does not understand the menus. Especially the Mexican menus. Again we laughed because I said I don't
understand the Mexican menus either. So I suggested to bring in several to-go menus, which was a hard for him to believe that you could as a menu to go. Next time we will go over the menus and see how I can help him understand food and ordering and talking to a waiter easier. And we will be practising f- words. I will have a list for him.
We met until 8:30 pm. His character is rather formal and stiff, but I think I livened things up a bit and we parted comfortably.
"Strawberry Hamburgers" - cp session 3
For real. That's what my CP says he likes on his hamburgers. His English is very beginner and sometimes he's says things that contradict things he said earlier. It turns out it was just the um, "beginner-language" talking. Like he said he never eats pork. I'm cool with that. I had another Korean friend who never ate it etiher. Plus I know Christianity is big in Korea and I thought maybe it was an early Christian "pork is dirty" thing. You know like in Islam and Judaism. But a few minutes later he's talking about sausage and ribs and I'm like, "Wait. You do know that's pork right?" He's like, "Duh. Of course I know that." It turns out what he was trying to say earlier was that he doesn't eat with a fork.
But what this means to me is that he is not to be trusted. No really. It means I have to be very, very clear and ask similar questions and elicit slightly different responses. All in the interest of having a conversation. I almost didn't believe him when he said he puts strawberry jam on his hamburgers seeing as how we just finished the pork/fork conversation. I said, "strawberry" and proceeded to act out strawberry. He was firm. That's what he said. That's what he meant. I laughed very loud. Not really at him but at the interestingness of this notion. I may have to try it.
But what this means to me is that he is not to be trusted. No really. It means I have to be very, very clear and ask similar questions and elicit slightly different responses. All in the interest of having a conversation. I almost didn't believe him when he said he puts strawberry jam on his hamburgers seeing as how we just finished the pork/fork conversation. I said, "strawberry" and proceeded to act out strawberry. He was firm. That's what he said. That's what he meant. I laughed very loud. Not really at him but at the interestingness of this notion. I may have to try it.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Heather - Cp - Week 3
So, this week's CP meeting was not as eventful as the others, which isn't a bad thing. Xin was already there when I arrived, but she was not alone. I got to meet her friend, Rocky, who was her last CP. Turns out Xin really wants to go to Japan to study, but her parents weren't big on the idea. However, Rocky is teaching her Japanese and she's very passionate about it. I got to learn a little to. Equating it out to Spanish helped, but still the language daunts me. Xin proudly stated she had also learned how to say something in Spanish. Hola. Como esta? She had a lot of trouble with esta, but once I said it a couple of times she got it right. (Yes, I know the a is missing its accent. I apologize.) We spent our time hanging out at CIES talking about odds and ends. A friend of hers was in the same room with us and we ended up talking with her too. Her friend asked if painting was my major and I said no, its my hobby. Thus we ended up in a discussion about hobbies. Xin's hobby is travel. An expensive hobby, but then again painting and jewelry making aren't necessarily cheap either. She told me a little about her weekend and I had to apologize for not calling her like I said I would. I had texted her, but luck would have it she had just canceled her messaging service so I was left looking like a cad. Oh well, it happens. We had technical difficulties with getting on the internet, which she wanted to do so she could add me on Facebook and check out a website Rocky told her about. It also turned out she needed to e-mail an assignment to a teacher. Since her friend was going to the library and the time on my parking meter was winding down we decided to go our separate ways for the time being. We have decided to get together on Friday too. We're supposed to work details over the phone tomorrow night. I'm looking forward to it because I enjoy spending time with her. We'll see what works out.
Heather - Tutoring - Week 3
Unfortunately, Chomy and I were unable to meet for a tutoring session because she was in a car accident today. She's not seriously hurt, but she does need to go get checked out by a doctor. We're going to try and get together next week. All of our communicating took place over the phone and I noticed that it was much harder to understand her than it was in person. I wondered how that works. Reading Sebastian's blog about tutoring his wife and the exercise with synonyms got my thought processes going and I think I'm going to change things up on Chomy once our sessions resume. She's really keen on reading and summarizing and though she needs work with writing, there are other areas she needs to work on too. I'm wondering if maybe her setting affects her English too. I know her husband isn't really keen on practicing English with her, so maybe her accent thickens when she's home. I don't know. I know that up until the last few years, when I was upset my Spanish accent would flair up even though I was speaking English. So maybe her being harder to understand was also a byproduct of the emotional and physical stress she's under from her car accident. I told her to call me if she needs help getting around or with anything at all. She thanked me and I hope she'll call on me if she really needs help with anything. Well, we'll see what next week brings.
Richard's 30 Seconds (Literally) with Ruiting Han -- Week 3
I walked into Tea Time at 3:09. Ruiting wasn't there, so I called him. I've provided a transcript of our conversation:
Ruiting Han: Hello.
Richard Beahm: Hey, Ruiting. How are you?
RH: I'm fine.
RB: Are you coming today?
RH: ...
RB: Ruiting?
RH: I forgot.
RB: Oh, okay.
Here's where it gets interesting
RH: I have a bad headache (this verses forgetting).
RB: Oh, no. I hope you feel better.
RH: I am so so so sorry. I'm coming right now.
RB: Oh, you don't have to. Feel better.
RH: I'm so sorry.
RB: It's okay. Feel better. We'll talk another time.
RH: Okay
RB: Bye, now.
Yeah, I know this doesn't count. I just had to share it.
Ruiting Han: Hello.
Richard Beahm: Hey, Ruiting. How are you?
RH: I'm fine.
RB: Are you coming today?
RH: ...
RB: Ruiting?
RH: I forgot.
RB: Oh, okay.
Here's where it gets interesting
RH: I have a bad headache (this verses forgetting).
RB: Oh, no. I hope you feel better.
RH: I am so so so sorry. I'm coming right now.
RB: Oh, you don't have to. Feel better.
RH: I'm so sorry.
RB: It's okay. Feel better. We'll talk another time.
RH: Okay
RB: Bye, now.
Yeah, I know this doesn't count. I just had to share it.
Rawan-CP-Week 3
My CP and I met at tea-time, and as soon as she walked into the lounge I said, “I’m hungry, I need to have lunch. Let’s go!” We immediately left the building into that awesome January sunshine. We went to Sunberry for my dessert (ahead of the sandwich I would have later), and we sat inside near the window so we could talk. She expressed her interest in getting help with pronunciation when she’s talking or reading aloud. She volunteered to read some passages from her CEIS notebook. Her “world” sounded like “word,” so we briefly practiced saying world vs. word. She had difficulties saying “v” as in “very.” When she said “every” it sounds like “ewery.” It was a good exercise for her to read to me out loud, and point out her weaknesses in pronunciation. In addition, we talked about when she would visit her home-county. She said, “next time, next time, next time,” and I had no idea what she meant. She said, “two years later.” I clarified her meaning by saying “You will visit Turkey in two years?”
Walking back from Tennessee Street, she pointed to a fire hydrant, bench, and ground-cover, for vocabulary. We sat in the Ruby Diamond area. I explained that "that's a fountain and it's like mountain, but with an f."
I think she will ALWAYS remember the things I told her today. Our interaction was overall positive and unplanned. It worked!
Tutoring Katherine 1
I had my first tutoring session with Katherine today at the LeRoy library. She's a US Citizen over the age of 50 and has lived in the United States for over twenty years. Her and her husband are originally from Taiwan and have three children. Two live at home and the oldest is studying Economics at NYU. Katherine works for the Department of Finance here in Tallahassee and is now pursuing her Masters degree in Information Technologies. As we talk, I notice her English is really broken and she has a strong accent. She tells me that at home her and her family only speak in Mandarin. Perhaps this is why her English has not progressed after so many years?
Katherine wants my help mostly with writing and describing things in detail. She says at her work, when she needs to communicate, she is as brief as possible in her emails and communication. Now that she is in pursuit of her Masters degree, the program requires many long papers, which is why she is seeking my help. She wants to email me papers and would like my assistance with proofing her papers and then wants to go over the papers in person. I am concerned with how I can help her. I don't know anything about Information Technologies. My brother is a computer engineer, but he won't care to get involved. I am also concerned if I proof the papers, will she then just turn in what I wrote, sort of using me as her translator? I am going to wait to see what she emails me, and then will talk with Karen Gotti if I'm not comfortable with the situation.
"Francisco" - tutoring session 1
I met my tutoree yesterday. He works at the Goodwill with many other women from Latin America. The whole day was a little confusing because I wasn't sure where to be, or how to act, or what to do, or how to communicate. And I was running late. And I was dressed in hip American, distressed fashion which though looks cool in the East Village could be viewed as rags by folks from Latin America. At least that's what I remember Senora Olivella telling me in High School. She didn't have a problem with the mullet I was sporting.
So the the day started abruptly. I had some grand notion that I was a "Presence Ambassador" of some sort and that by simply sitting with my tutoree I would induce better English in him (or her). Not true. It was incredibly challenging. He was a low, low beginner. In fact, he doesn't really know any English. I found myself actually learning and needing to learn more Spanish to communicate. I ran head on into his frustration with learning a foreign language and had a "Tong-lin" moment of really feeling his frustration and relating with it because of my own. Of really being able to radiate compassion for all those who can't communicate and so desperately want to.
However, I still feel that relaxation is the key. At least for Francisco. I want to know who he is and what his story is and what I have to offer is the space for him. I must be a stainless steel blade. I must be disciplined in my own practices so that I can come at him authentically. I may have to work on numbers and the alphabet and would like to bring in the Oxford Picture Dictionary. First and formost I desire for him to be calm and soft in the uncertainty he experiences. How will I do this? How indeed will I do this?
So the the day started abruptly. I had some grand notion that I was a "Presence Ambassador" of some sort and that by simply sitting with my tutoree I would induce better English in him (or her). Not true. It was incredibly challenging. He was a low, low beginner. In fact, he doesn't really know any English. I found myself actually learning and needing to learn more Spanish to communicate. I ran head on into his frustration with learning a foreign language and had a "Tong-lin" moment of really feeling his frustration and relating with it because of my own. Of really being able to radiate compassion for all those who can't communicate and so desperately want to.
However, I still feel that relaxation is the key. At least for Francisco. I want to know who he is and what his story is and what I have to offer is the space for him. I must be a stainless steel blade. I must be disciplined in my own practices so that I can come at him authentically. I may have to work on numbers and the alphabet and would like to bring in the Oxford Picture Dictionary. First and formost I desire for him to be calm and soft in the uncertainty he experiences. How will I do this? How indeed will I do this?
Maria Tutor 1
Reading this blog is fascinating and very instructive! Case in point, looking at Stephen's latest entry I found out that my tutor student's name is spelled Seong Bong (I actually had it as San Bon) and that he is Catherine's famous CP. I had written my tutoring comment ahead of reading the blog, so I'll leave it as I had it, because my experience with this student is a third version of how things can go (or be seen). You be the judge, although mine is definitely the more boring one :)
"I am tutoring at the English Conversation Club run by the International Student Center. I had my first tutor session on Monday. I was nervous on my way there as I was not sure what to expect. I had planned to bring a picture book from my old language-school teaching days, just to have as a prop if need be -- but couldn't find it (of course). So, off I went, empty handed and hoping for the best. In the event, only a student showed up and we ended up having a nice conversation. His name is Seong Bong and he is a law student from South Korea. This is his first time abroad. He is taking classes at CIES but has very little opportunity to practice his English outside of class, so he has been participating quite actively in the Conversation Club. I would place his level at (low?) intermediate. He is definitely keen on improving his spoken English, especially his fluency. His pronunciation is good for his level and so is his grammar. When he speaks it is obvious that he is constructing his sentences paying attention to grammatical correctness (for instance, he corrects himself mid-sentence if his verb tense is wrong). All in all he wanted to talk, which made the tutoring very easy. For next time I will prepare some possible conversation topics and make a list of relevant vocabulary for each".
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Tutoring Week 1: Keith
I decided to do my tutoring through the public library because my older sister who lives in town volunteers with them and she told me it was a good program. After I gave Karen my application she saw my major at FSU is creative writing. "I have just the person for you!" she said and told me there was a student needing to practice essay writing for the LSAT. Karen felt that we just needed to get her to write and write until she was comfortable with the 35 min time limit imposed during the LSAT.
A few days later I met ShanShan at the library and we planned our attack. Her husband is a faculty member in Computer Sciences, and she herself is very smart. She brought me a writing sample and I was instantly impressed by the fluidity of her voice. I realized that it would be difficult to explain how to do something that has become second nature to me after writing so many papers. I told her I'd prefer to look over her paper to think about what to work on. I would then send her a LSAT essay prompt, found online, and she'd respond and we'd go over this our next meeting.
After I got to look at the essay in detail, without the pressure of her looking on, I was able to see a few things I could address. I am confident I can help her become a better writer by focusing on a few structural points. I think next class I'll help her construct an essay from ground up, using some LSAT practice information I found online.
A few days later I met ShanShan at the library and we planned our attack. Her husband is a faculty member in Computer Sciences, and she herself is very smart. She brought me a writing sample and I was instantly impressed by the fluidity of her voice. I realized that it would be difficult to explain how to do something that has become second nature to me after writing so many papers. I told her I'd prefer to look over her paper to think about what to work on. I would then send her a LSAT essay prompt, found online, and she'd respond and we'd go over this our next meeting.
After I got to look at the essay in detail, without the pressure of her looking on, I was able to see a few things I could address. I am confident I can help her become a better writer by focusing on a few structural points. I think next class I'll help her construct an essay from ground up, using some LSAT practice information I found online.
Sabrina - Conversation Partner WK 3 - "Seoul for the Road"
She had intended to bring her study guide but forgot it. After thinking about it for awhile, I asked if she was studying the English guide, she said yes (great!). I told her that would really help since the test itself would be in English as well. I could tell she did not think she would pass the first time. I said that even if she did not score well, there is no limit to how many times she can take it.
We were outside Panchero's again since this is close to the CIES building where she has class before and after our sessions (can you imagine such English overload?). The metal mesh tables outside have metal mesh benches on all four sides. Shin was to my right and I had an idea. "We're going to take the driver's test right now." Her slightly panicked answer was "Oh! now?" I asked her to switch to my bench on the "driver's side" and that I would be the examiner. We began the exam with lots of giggling from her friend Lyl who had joined us as before. We laughed too as I asked her to "start the car". She really must have been studying because instead of going directly for the ignition she said, "first seat belt". So we belted up and then she turned on the car. We ran through what you should check before backing up or driving (trees, cars, and humans were her answers - very good!) and then we were off.
We didn't get far because laughter loves company and funny enough, there was a trio of guys who appeared to be construction workers sitting at the next table. They were having lunch and were listening in on our conversation. I know they were listening because one of them asked across the divide if we were talking about the drivers test. All it took was one question about how many times HE took the test before passing and he was at our table asking all kinds of questions about where Shin was from and what we were doing, etc. He was a flirt, that was obvious, he also seemed to think Shin was pretty cute, which she is. He told us that he spoke two languages as well, English and Ebonics. After a short interchange he returned to table and then was off back to work.
I asked Shin if she understood what we had said and could she tell me what the conversation was about. She did a so-so job on the explaining part but I could tell she does understand quite a bit more than she can say. However, when I put her in the position of speaking whatever topic we are on doesn't get very far because we have to stop and do a bit of tutoring. I don't mind this - she seems to need it - but I worry about keeping her focused (and myself) on one conversation topic all the way through.
We did make some headway though with speaking in complete sentences. I can tell she gets tongue tied and then only a few words come out. We practiced taking a deep breath as well as taking our time to answer or make a statement with a complete sentence, or even a broken sentence, but something more than just few words that the listener has to put together.
Near the end of our session, I asked her again about sewing lessons. I feel like it would be a way for us to have more conversation in a way that we can both enjoy and relax. She said she would like to try. When we tried to figure out a time to meet I had another idea. I gave her the simple task of calling my phone and leaving a message. I asked that she leave one complete sentence telling me what time and day she wanted to meet. I reassured her that the machine would wait for her to take a deep breath and say what she wanted to say - completely.
Out of Egypt: Session 3
Last night's tutoring session with my Egyptian couple went better (less pressure) than last week. Thanks Ramin, for your suggestion! We wrote several full sentences together (instead of asking them to SAY sentences). They learned some new vocabulary, like "stroller" and "sign." Overall, writing was effective, and I think they were more eager and responsive.
After the lesson, I spoke with Karen about my frustrations the week before. She advised that I take a few steps back, and I think she's right. It's important to know some simple vocab first: What is this? A trash can. More than to know "the trash can is next to the sink" when they don't know what a sink is, it can be difficult to say 'next to'.....fundamentally, it hadn't occured to me that they can't just absorb the words in thin air. Let's just say, I won't be going back to that method.
My plan for next week is to take a few steps back, and take a walk around the library naming things that we see. Anything. Computer, pencil, table, whatever. I need them to know the basics...and I think we can move back to prepositions with a little more time. They need more vocabulary. I am going to turn it down a notch, and hopefully that'll be more fun and useful to them at this stage.
Monday, January 25, 2010
CP Week 2 Catherine
fter last weeks less than stellar meeting with my conversation partner Seong Bong I was looking forward to hopefully connecting more with him and learning more about him, instead of our time together just consisting of me asking him a series of mundane questions. I invited Stephen and his partner to come to lunch with us, since the three of them had become such good friends and constantly hang out and I wanted to show Seong Bong that I was down to hang out with the guys. But sadly I don’t think that that is the vibe he got. The little conversation we had was awkward and short, I think the only question he asked me that scratched the surface of learning more about me other than why I was in TEFL or if I were interested in movies, was when he asked if American women liked Asian men. For most of the meal I felt like the third wheel, since the 3 of them had been hanging out all weekend and even rode over together. I wasn’t upset that they had formed a friendship or that they had been hanging out, I just wish I would have been invited to hang out with them once, so that my meeting with Seong Bong wouldn’t have felt so forced and scheduled. I felt like it was at least the polite thing to do to shoot a text my way. I feel the arrangement but that has formed, hanging out with the "boys" for fun and having to hang out with a girl for CIES made Seong Bong see me as an outsider since he had already made such a connection with Stephen. I didn’t think being paired with a male conversation partner would be a big deal, I pride myself on being able to find a common thread with anyone, but since Seong Bong and I really never got the chance to interact on the level that he and Stephen it greatly hindered any chance we had at having a positive relationship. After leaving our meal I decided that this situation was not working for me, I'm not going to waste my time trying to be a conversation partner when there is no chance of anything really positive coming from it. I went into CIES today and expressed my concerns and luckily they were able to set me up with a new CP, so I am very excited for this second opportunity to be a CP.
Stephen CP #2
On this past Saturday John met me at my apartment. It was my birthday this past Friday so John and Seong Bong bought me a gift. The first thing I noticed was that the gift was in a Sponge Bob gift bag. Inside was a really awesome smelling candle and birthday card. The card said "Happy Birthday Brother" and the two of them left me a nice message and they signed their names in English. Their take on their signatures was pretty funny because all they did was scribble a bunch of wavy lines. I was pretty psyched about their gifts and gave the two some hugs. That's one thing I definitely notice about these South Koreans, they are definitely more touchy feely with the same sex. In many ways it feels like they are family; two new brothers.
After opening presents we decided to go to the Leach Center and swim. It was fun because I got to show John some swimming strokes, that he obviously knew, but didn't know the English names for them. We had some races and I won on the breast stroke, and we tied on the freestyle. I also tried to teach Seong Bong how to swim. Right now he uses the kick board to stay afloat and we're training him to kick his legs. I can't believe that he doesn't know how to swim. I thought Korea was surrounded by water!?
Later, we went to Wendy's to find something fast and cheap to eat. I thought it was interesting how John ordered only a sandwich while Seong Bong got a large meal so that the two of them could share. Now that I think about it I'm sure that's cheaper, and in South Korea you usually don't order individually so it makes sense. Maybe I should try that option with my brother sometime. Then John asked me a really random question, do American women hate Asian men? I told him right away that I wouldn't say hate, but maybe not like. I told him that I didn't know that existed but maybe it came from the idea that American women are used to more freedom than traditional Asian women. Also, Seong Bong asked me about how the USA feels about Canada. I told him what the majority of America thinks about Canada... it's cold, not America, and socialist. Then I told him that I didn't agree and that you shouldn't make stereoypes about somebody's character because of where they are from.
On Sunday, Catherine and I met Seong Bong and John at Los Compadres. John wasn't hungry because he had just eaten, but Seong Bong wanted some really spicy food. In turn this meant dumping massive amounts of habenero hot sauce into some salsa and ordering the La Diabla super spicy shrimp. This time John asked Catherine if American women hate Asian men. I think she did a better job than I did and just told John that she had a friend who loved Asian men, and that the stereotype wasn't true. I think that made Seong Bong and John feel better... now I feel bad how I answered the question in the first place. As we prepared to leave we found out that in South Korea they usually don't tip in restaurants and that this was their first time tipping. I explained to them that you usually tip 15-20% and only when you have a waiter. They didn't like this concept at all. Seong Bong liked tipping in Korea because he worked at an Outback Steakhouse and Americans would accidentally tip him. :) One thing they struggled with was the concept of going up to the register and tipping with a credit card. They thought that they had to give their waiter cash, or the man at the register would receive the tip. The kind man at the register realized their confusion and told them that this indeed was not the case.
All in all, another great week with my CP. John will be taking the IBTOEFL exam in 2 months so I need to find him a book and start tutoring him for the test. I felt really good correcting his English this week, and I know he appreciated me helping him. I was pleased with myself because he randomly asked me what the difference was between "I had been" and "I have been". In turn I asked him for an example, and I used his example to explain the difference. He thanked me for helping him understand. This next weekend I will visit John at his home and eat some traditional Korean food. I am pretty stoked!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Sebastian-CP-Week 2
Today I had a very interesting conversation with Juseob. We talked about a lot of things. From what his major was (history), to how bad I am at playing golf. He loves to talk about history. We talked about US history, particularly Florida's, and how Spain controlled it until the 1890's. He was amazed to find out that my first language is not English, but Spanish. And I was amazed at how much he loves Starbucks' coffee. He drinks coffee at Starbucks every single day. I think I would destroy my nervous system if I started to drink coffee like that...you know me.
I also learned that his wife is a very good piano player. So, after drinking Starbucks coffee, we went to the parking lot (behind Boca Cafe) and our wives met there. My wife is also very good at playing the piano, and she has traveled to Korea before, so our wives were talking very enthusiastically. Juseob still wanted to get together to play some golf, but I think I will pass on that offer. Next time we plan to go to a restaurant together. That should bring some conversation to the table...
I also learned that his wife is a very good piano player. So, after drinking Starbucks coffee, we went to the parking lot (behind Boca Cafe) and our wives met there. My wife is also very good at playing the piano, and she has traveled to Korea before, so our wives were talking very enthusiastically. Juseob still wanted to get together to play some golf, but I think I will pass on that offer. Next time we plan to go to a restaurant together. That should bring some conversation to the table...
Elizabeth-CP/Tutoring-Week 2
Rama and I talked about meeting for tea time since it is the most convenient for both of us but the most unfortunate thing happened, when I went to CIES she wasn't there. I tried calling her but she wouldn't pick up her phone. I was so sad. It made me think that she didn't like me or something.
Since I was already at CIES, I decided to hang out and talk to some of the other students. I met SungSub (S.Korea) and he is taking Salsa classes. He is such a funny guy. We even had the pleasure to see some of his Salsa moves. I talked with JooHyun (S.Korea) and he used to be a student at CIES but now he is going back home. It made me realize how fast time goes by and how much he has learned since he first came to the U.S.. I also played games with Karis(NY) and HyeYoung (S.Korea) and it was so much fun because we couldn't figure out how to set up the game. We looked like the Three Stooges. It was really fun but I still felt bad about Rama, so I called again and nothing.
Once I was home, Rama and I chatted through facebook and she told me that she was sorry about missing our appointment. She says that she was sick, so decided to not go to tea time. But will try next week. I told her that I had researched some information about Bamako, Mali. She was really happy and invited me to visit her home and family. Also, after I read Ramin's comment about the different singers from Mali, I looked them up and listened to their songs. I especially liked Amadou and Mariam and their song Je Pense A Toi. I told Rama about it and she was so excited and gave me some background information about them. She said that they are a very famous, blind couple.
We talked about the famous Tour d'Afrique, a very famous bicycle race. After a while I asked her if she was feeling better, but only a bit. I told her to go to bed and to take some medicine so I could see her next time. She was very thankful and then she logged off. This made me realize how fortunate we are that we live in this era. Communicating with each other it is so easy but I still like our one on one meetings.
Tutoring:
Sabrina and I are supposed to tutor on Thursdays for the English Conversation Club but it was a total FAIL! So sad. I was looking forward to that day. Everything was ready to go and all we had to do was wait for Thursday. It was a horrible day. I thought the world was going to end, especially when you have FSU texting you every 5 seconds to tell students that FSU was flooded and to take cover in the nearest building. My final verdict: the weather's fault!
If this does not work next Thursday, I already had a backup plan. I asked my unni (older sister) HyeYoung if I could tutor her and she agreed. I have tutored HyeYoung before but now I have a better idea of how to teach her.
Until next time! o(^_^)o
Since I was already at CIES, I decided to hang out and talk to some of the other students. I met SungSub (S.Korea) and he is taking Salsa classes. He is such a funny guy. We even had the pleasure to see some of his Salsa moves. I talked with JooHyun (S.Korea) and he used to be a student at CIES but now he is going back home. It made me realize how fast time goes by and how much he has learned since he first came to the U.S.. I also played games with Karis(NY) and HyeYoung (S.Korea) and it was so much fun because we couldn't figure out how to set up the game. We looked like the Three Stooges. It was really fun but I still felt bad about Rama, so I called again and nothing.
Once I was home, Rama and I chatted through facebook and she told me that she was sorry about missing our appointment. She says that she was sick, so decided to not go to tea time. But will try next week. I told her that I had researched some information about Bamako, Mali. She was really happy and invited me to visit her home and family. Also, after I read Ramin's comment about the different singers from Mali, I looked them up and listened to their songs. I especially liked Amadou and Mariam and their song Je Pense A Toi. I told Rama about it and she was so excited and gave me some background information about them. She said that they are a very famous, blind couple.
We talked about the famous Tour d'Afrique, a very famous bicycle race. After a while I asked her if she was feeling better, but only a bit. I told her to go to bed and to take some medicine so I could see her next time. She was very thankful and then she logged off. This made me realize how fortunate we are that we live in this era. Communicating with each other it is so easy but I still like our one on one meetings.
Tutoring:
Sabrina and I are supposed to tutor on Thursdays for the English Conversation Club but it was a total FAIL! So sad. I was looking forward to that day. Everything was ready to go and all we had to do was wait for Thursday. It was a horrible day. I thought the world was going to end, especially when you have FSU texting you every 5 seconds to tell students that FSU was flooded and to take cover in the nearest building. My final verdict: the weather's fault!
If this does not work next Thursday, I already had a backup plan. I asked my unni (older sister) HyeYoung if I could tutor her and she agreed. I have tutored HyeYoung before but now I have a better idea of how to teach her.
Until next time! o(^_^)o
Sebastian-Tutoring-Week 2
Hola! I have found that the time taken to tutor my student (wife) has been very helpful to her. This time we started the session by playing a game. I would say a word in English and she would have to answer with a synonym. I taught her other words and phrases that she did not know, and explained them to her. I also explained material that had been covered in her English class in more detail.
Teaching her has increased my desire for language learning, because I must know how to explain what I am teaching. One thing is knowing how to speak a language, and another is figuring out how to explain to the students why something is said in a certain way.
This is a learning experience for both of us. It helps me appreciate the "trials and tribulations" that my wife has gone through while learning English. And of course, it helps her to have a deeper knowledge of the English language. I will soon take some time to learn Japanese myself, but for now, I will concentrate in taking advantage of this beautiful opportunity.
Teaching her has increased my desire for language learning, because I must know how to explain what I am teaching. One thing is knowing how to speak a language, and another is figuring out how to explain to the students why something is said in a certain way.
This is a learning experience for both of us. It helps me appreciate the "trials and tribulations" that my wife has gone through while learning English. And of course, it helps her to have a deeper knowledge of the English language. I will soon take some time to learn Japanese myself, but for now, I will concentrate in taking advantage of this beautiful opportunity.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Conversation partner week 2 Rita Schwab
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Friday, January 22, 2010
CP Part Deux
Heiku conquers her fear of ordering at restaurants
Heiku & I walk to the Loop for lunch and on the way she tells me how she only eats hamburgers. I ask her "Why"? She responds " I am scared to try something I don't know. I know I like hamburger and that's all I eat".
Oh no, I am thinking, this is not good!
I tell her that she has to try something new. She agrees and is so excited she's almost skipping on the way to the restaurant. It was really cute and made me smile.
We sit and carefully go over all the items on the menu together. Soups, salads, sandwiches, she seems to know what they all are, but it's the detailed descriptions of each item that bog her down and lead her to wanting to order a hamburger.
Finally she decides she wants the chicken ceasar salad. I have to help her with the pronunciation of "ceasar". She pronounced it "Seh-Zar".
Heiku walks up to the register to order and...... she gets stage fright! She points to the menu item and just says " I want that".
That's ok Heiku, we'll try it again next week, I think to myself. The conversation at lunch was fun, we covered many topics and then she asked me to help her with a newspaper she was reading. She had many words underlined that she did not understand. I went over each word with her and did my best to explain them. I really enjoyed helping her, but I also struggled with wondering if I was explaining it clearly.
Any suggestions on cheap, american food spots, walking distance to campus, that don't have hamburgers? And have Menus? (emphasis on Cheap)
Maria CP Week 1
My CP is from China, from a big city near Beijing. She is very young and sweet, and, as all Chinese her age, an only child. I was aware of the one-child policy implemented by the Chinese government, but actually getting to know someone who is part of it made it so much more real: no siblings. An entire generation (if not more), millions of people who have grown up without a little brother or big sister; nobody between you and your parents, no little version of you to protect (or make fun of). And in school, classroom after classroom full of only-children. That has got to affect society somehow.
But returning to my CP. She is very keen on learning English and told me that when she first arrived to the States she could not utter a single sentence. That was five weeks ago. She had to spend sometime at the airport in Detroit, waiting for her connecting flight to Tallahassee, and was unable to make the people working at the airport understand that she wanted to make a phone call home to China, to tell her parents that she (their only child) had made it safe and sound to America. She could not make the call and felt frustrated and worried. Now, a little over a month later, she is quite capable of communicating in a fairly eager and articulate way. Sometimes her pronunciation makes it difficult to understand her and, at times, she does say something utterly incomprehensible, but it goes by so fast that I barely have the time to register it. However, from my own language-learning experience, I know it can be very irritating to be constantly interrupted and corrected when you are seriously trying to say something, so I've been doing it sparingly, practicing instead my extensive-listening skill (?) and butting in a comprehension question here and there (If I catch it in time, that is). So far so good.
Richard -- CP -- Week 2.2 (that means we conversed twice this week, slackers!)
I visited Ruiting at his apartment today, so it goes without saying that I was quite anxious since I'm not familiar with Chinese etiquette. Nor am I exactly aware of these sorts of things in my own country -- even I lack Southern hospitality! Still, I kept thinking about how I could express gratitude for his inviting me. Should I bring a gift? Maybe I should've combed my hair? Put on a business suit?Anything, to be truthful! This became overwhelming.
And so I did nothing. Sorry, Ruiting.
Anyway, we met near the swimming pool. Because it was such a nice day outside, lots of people were basking in the carcinogenic sun. I was in a (light) jacket. What? The sun's dangerous to my skin, so I choose to remain pale.
We played ping pong. He won. End of that story.
No, I'm kidding. We actually played pocket billiards (also known as "pool," but we were next to a pool, so I refused to confuse). Isn't the English language awesome?! But I did decide to teach him a few things about the nomenclature regarding the sport. For example, there are two kinds of balls -- don't you dare laugh! -- which are equally divided into Solids and Stripes. Still with me? Then he asked me what the pockets were called. I said pockets. Other words included chalk, cue ball, and triangle (Seriously, what is the triangular thing called?).
So after every 10 minutes or so, I would quiz him on the vocabulary. I point to the pocket. "What is this?" I ask. "Poetry!" Ruiting replied.
For the first time in my life, I had to say, "Poetry is incorrect." How do you think this makes me feel?! I corrected him, of course. "Nope, that's a pocket." 10 minutes later: "What is this?" (pointing to the pocket). "Poetry!" He made me do it again. For the second time in my life, I had to say, "Poetry is incorrect." I hope I never say this combination of words again!
Again, as we were playing pocket billiards, Ruiting would occasionally focus his vision toward the ladies in their two-pieces. Then he said something about stripping. And, well, you can tell where this is going. So perceptions of women in America and China are pretty similar, I learned. Put a group of guys together and what do they talk about? The View (and I'm not talking about Barbara Walters).
After pocket billiards, he showed me the fitness center. We worked out (more like He worked out). I hated it. He told me he does it to protect his girlfriend. That's cool. I just sat down on some Bowflex-looking contraption and listened to Maria Sharapova's grunts. You guessed it! Apparently, this guy right here -- and I'm being reflexive -- is no protector whatsoever. I mean, I'm a poet (hence the rhyme), not Ah-nuld.
Still, I had a good time. By the way, Ruiting gave me a gift. It was in a red pouch ( I'll show you what it is on Tuesday, okay?). Now I feel very, very guilty. Just as I'm typing this, I'm perusing the Internet and researching this.
I now know that I need to stay away from the number 4. If you have no idea, what I'm talking about, you need to click the link. See you Tuesday (or Saturday for some of y'all).
Bill-CP-Week 2
I met with Young Song yesterday for an hour. We talked a bit about his life in Seoul. He said drinking, pool, and movies was popular at his university...a universal trait world wide! Since I visited Seoul, I talked about my experiences there with him. I told him I didn't do much traveling there but that I ate a lot of Korean food, especially kimchi! He was surprised a foreigner would like it. He said his mom mails him kimchi from home. I can understand why. If you never ate kimchi made from Korea, you do not know the true tastiness of kimchi!
But I digress...I also talked about some culture differences that I noticed in Korea. Like lots of women hold hands there, and the men kind of put their arms around their guy friends neck when walking. I read about it before I went so I wasn't too surprised, but it was amusing to see. He said it was normal, but you would never see a guy holding hands with another guy (unless they were gay).
It seems like there is a lot of interesting things I can talk with Young. His English is pretty good in my opinion. I do not know what his reading comprehension level is, but he talks at a decent speed and his English makes sense. Although there are some odd uses of words, such as "There is many snow in Seoul" instead of "There is a lot of snow in Seoul now". But these are mistakes that can be corrected with time and practice.
But I digress...I also talked about some culture differences that I noticed in Korea. Like lots of women hold hands there, and the men kind of put their arms around their guy friends neck when walking. I read about it before I went so I wasn't too surprised, but it was amusing to see. He said it was normal, but you would never see a guy holding hands with another guy (unless they were gay).
It seems like there is a lot of interesting things I can talk with Young. His English is pretty good in my opinion. I do not know what his reading comprehension level is, but he talks at a decent speed and his English makes sense. Although there are some odd uses of words, such as "There is many snow in Seoul" instead of "There is a lot of snow in Seoul now". But these are mistakes that can be corrected with time and practice.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
"14 Hour School Days" - cp session 2
I think that's what he said. My CP said in Korea, they go to school from 8 am to 10 pm. I found this terribly hard to believe. They don't even make people work that hard in Mexican Maquiladoras! I kept repeating the question. I kept trying to get him to elaborate. I'd ask it different ways with different inflections to determine if he was really understanding me. I felt like one of those stupid tests they give you in big chain corporate restaurants. You know, like when they ask you what would you do if a twenty dollar bill was hanging out of the register. And then two questions later they ask, what would you do if you found a twenty dollar bill hanging out of the register. This was how it was like with this kid.
I'm like, "Whoa. Stop. Wait. You're saying in Korea, you go to school from 8 am to 10 pm?"
He says, "yes."
I say, "So, like what are you doing at 8 am?"
He says, "We're starting school."
Me, "And like what are you doing at 10 pm?"
He says, "Uh, finishing school."
"Lunch?"
This went on for some time. It is just hard for me to believe anyone can study that long. I lose attention quicker than squirrel on methamphetamine. But he says it's true. Then he said something about 2 am. Like that's when he finishes homework for the day. I changed the subject because I didn't believe it.
I'm like, "Whoa. Stop. Wait. You're saying in Korea, you go to school from 8 am to 10 pm?"
He says, "yes."
I say, "So, like what are you doing at 8 am?"
He says, "We're starting school."
Me, "And like what are you doing at 10 pm?"
He says, "Uh, finishing school."
"Lunch?"
This went on for some time. It is just hard for me to believe anyone can study that long. I lose attention quicker than squirrel on methamphetamine. But he says it's true. Then he said something about 2 am. Like that's when he finishes homework for the day. I changed the subject because I didn't believe it.
Sabrina - Tutoring (attempt) - Week I " Torrential Emptiness"
Today should have been my first day of tutoring at the Center for Global Engagement along with Elizabeth. We had our one hour session well planned and ready to put into action. However, when I arrived at the tutoring room, there was no one there. I am used to being perpetually early to appointments and other obligations so I did not find arriving to an empty space unusual. I flipped on the lights and looked at what was in the room. Soon after, Elizabeth arrived and we went about setting up the sign-in sheet and I prepared what we needed for our planned activities. When there was nothing left to prepare or straighten, nothing to go over "one last time", nothing more to do but wait for our eager international students to file in, Elizabeth and I sat down and chatted.
We continued to chat for several minutes and then several minutes more. It was wonderful. A bit of Spanglish thrown in here and there; I was enjoying listening to her. She talked about her work with the Amnesty International group on campus and I talked about Peruvian food. We both would glance quickly at the door now and again to see if anyone was arriving. No. No one. How about now? No. Not now. Not one. Aaaaand now? Uh-uh.
Did I mention that this was just about 30 mins after the deluge of rain had flooded the parking lot at University Center A sending staff, faculty, and students alike swimming to their cars to save them from the rising waterline? Or that this was a new time slot that Aleks from CGE was trying out? Or that it was lunch time? Did I tell you that my stomach was well aware of the time of day and its necessities? Well, all of these things are, were, did, and did not.
With just 20 mins left to tutor ourselves on how to get essential elements for Papas a la Huancaina transported at a discount from Miami, Elizabeth and I called it a wrap and we headed out.
I think we will give it another whirl on next Thursday but in the meantime I will get with the Leon County Public Library and find out more about tutoring there one on one.
We continued to chat for several minutes and then several minutes more. It was wonderful. A bit of Spanglish thrown in here and there; I was enjoying listening to her. She talked about her work with the Amnesty International group on campus and I talked about Peruvian food. We both would glance quickly at the door now and again to see if anyone was arriving. No. No one. How about now? No. Not now. Not one. Aaaaand now? Uh-uh.
Did I mention that this was just about 30 mins after the deluge of rain had flooded the parking lot at University Center A sending staff, faculty, and students alike swimming to their cars to save them from the rising waterline? Or that this was a new time slot that Aleks from CGE was trying out? Or that it was lunch time? Did I tell you that my stomach was well aware of the time of day and its necessities? Well, all of these things are, were, did, and did not.
With just 20 mins left to tutor ourselves on how to get essential elements for Papas a la Huancaina transported at a discount from Miami, Elizabeth and I called it a wrap and we headed out.
I think we will give it another whirl on next Thursday but in the meantime I will get with the Leon County Public Library and find out more about tutoring there one on one.
Out of Egypt: Session 2
Last night I met up with my Egyptian tutoring partners at the library. I decided to focus the lesson on prepositions: The book is on the table, the book is under the table. Where is my cell phone? The cell phone is in the bag. I also used a picture book. But I had some difficulties keeping my thoughts from showing on my face, because what I was thinking was this: "I've repeated the same sentence for you to say 25 times and you're still not getting it. Why?"I was thinking back to the 7-time repetition rule, and asking them to repeat what they said was important to jog their memory. I just NEEDED them to respond to my questions in full sentences, but 9 times out of 10, that simply wasn't working. I would praise them when they responded correctly, clap my hands, and they'd smile.....but mostly they got it TOTALLY wrong. I think I had to keep myself from showing my disappointment when I asked them to describe the location of the toilet in a bathroom-picture: "Where is the toilet?" only to recieve "Ugh, toilet in next, in the sink?"
You have no idea how many times I told them both to repeat: "The toilet is next to the sink." They had some MAJOR difficulties saying "Next"....it sounded more like "nek-ist," which was good enough, but without the "to" right after it's incorrect.
Last night was a difficult session even though we were using a picture book. If only I could get this couple, though they have resided in America for 2.5 yrs, to know how to fully respond to a simple question: Where is the girl sitting?
"ugh, sitting?....the girl in nek-ist. No. The girl is in the sofa?"
You get what I'm saying, right?
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
CP1
Guess who loves her new convo partner?!? This girl! I finally got to meet my CP today, her name is Venus and she is awesome! She is a 20 year old student from Panama studying law. She decided to take a break from school to come work on her english. She is in the beginner classes at CIES, and has only been here two weeks, but she seems to have a good circle of friends from CIES already. We decided to meet at starbucks and suprisingly I wasn't nervous! At first she seemed a little nervous but we quickly got passed it once we started talking. Her english is minimal but if I speak slowly and enunciate she says she can understand the main words. We ended up talking in a group with some other CIES students Daniel and ali. After that we all went to cafe shisha for a little hookah. I found out that Venus has a blackberry and we promised to bbm (blackberry message) each other! Its great cuz I love my blackberry! I enjoyed hanging out with Venus and the other students, I was learning as well as them. We actually got into a discussion about history and religion, its different trying to explain basic words for me, because they are difficult for english learners. But until next time!
Netta
Netta
Heather - Tutoring - Week 2
Yes, I met with both my CP and the woman I tutor, Chomy, today. I had a break between both the sessions, of course. I find the tutoring challenging and somewhat nervewracking. I feel inadequate in my role as tutor. I'm really learning just as much as she is, or hopefully is anyway. And I do share that with her too. 'We're both learning!'
Last week, I e-mailed Chomy a link to an article that she could both listen to and read. I asked her to write down the main points of the article and anything she had trouble with for us to go over together this week. The article was about the nicknames of New York. I didn't want to throw too much at her, but it turned out that article only had two things in it she didn't understand so she asked me to pick one a little harder for this week. Instead of just writing down the main ideas she did a short summary. For the most part I understood what she wrote, but a couple sentences did cause me trouble. Upon reading her e-mails I decided we had our work cut out for us! Her English isn't as good as Xin's. She does pause a lot while talking, but she is fairly good at communicating her ideas anyway, at least I think so. However, her writing needs work too. She tends to have trouble conveying what she really means to say. I'd ask her what she was trying to say with this sentence or that sentence and when she explained it to me I understood it perfectly. She really has some great thought processes going on! I would then tell her that this is the meaning I got out of it and we would (painfully) work our way through correcting things together.
I have discovered that asking leading questions is sometimes harder than one would think. This made it problematic to always get her to think of the right answers. I know I ended up doing way too much helping and talking tonight, which I inwardly cringed at. We worked together for two hours and as time passed it got a little better, but there's definitely room for improvement.
I noticed that she tends to reword exactly what she reads without fixing tenses, article, pronouns, prepositions, etc. (Think I know my grammar? She taught me a lot of the terms! lol Its amazing the things she does know, but then the things she struggles with.) She also has trouble dividing up ideas, or points, and developing them separately and clearly so that what she's trying to say is understood. For instance, she wrote 'The Big Apple became known for good fruit like original meanings.' When she explained that sentence to me I discovered she actually has a couple ideas crammed into that one sentence. The first is that the Big Apple became known-because of the name being used by a night club in Harlam and in a famous song. The second idea is roughly along the lines of using fruit as an analogy for why the nickname The Big Apple helps to reform the city's image into a good one.
We talked about taking ideas and developing them with the details that inspire them and not needing to stick rigidly to the words in the text. I devised and exercise on the spot to try and help her understand and practice this concept. I wrote down three different but similar ideas, in incomplete sentences and asked her to use them to write 5 sentences. After that we went over the sentences and looked at any errors and then I asked her to write a very short story using some of what she developed in those sentences. She did a good job, but we did need to make corrections. We'll work on it some more next week for sure. I made a point of praising her ideas and the direction she was coming from in her work, but also pointing out how we could improve these things. One of the hardest challenges we face is using the language at home because her husband doesn't want to really practice with her. Also her two year old son requires a lot of her time and energy, which makes it difficult for her to be able to sit down and focus on working on her English homework.
I really want to help her get the hang of really developing her ideas, separating them out when need be and conveying what she really means. Of course, I also want to help her with the grammar errors and comprehension, etc. We talked about something she could do to help her with listening comprehension. She actually asked me if subtitles were bad when watching tv/movies. I answered yes and no, saying that it does help her in understanding, but that it also distracts her from listening. Because she's focused on reading what is being said rather than listening to it she's not building her listening skills as well as one might think. She hears what's being said, but she's not listening to it. Instead of the visual text reinforcing what she's listening to, what she's hearing is reinforcing what she's reading. I suggested she could watch the first few minutes of a movie without subtitles then go back and watch it again with subtitles to see how much she understood.
We've got our work cut out for us, but I know we can do it. I decided to ask her to rewrite the summary for this article and she also requested that I send her another article on top of that! I know I'm going to need to do more prepping for these sessions! I'm also going to work on more exercises similar to the one I devised on the spot tonight. Hooray for challenge!
Heather - CP - Week 2
So today was a bit of an adventure with Xin. She was a little surprised to see me, saying I was early and I was. I had walked over from the Main Library a couple blocks away, so I had time to kill while waiting for her, but that's ok. Last week she said she would like to see some of my art so I made of point of bringing sketch books this week. She wanted to see them, but she said the first thing she needed to do was go to UPS to mail some documents to another university in Maryland. She said we could look at the sketches first and then go to UPS on campus. She kept saying she had a folder with papers and then she showed it to me and asked me what it was called. It was an (DHL) envelope. At first, when I answered with 'envelope' she was puzzled, so she asked me to spell it. I didn't have to get very far into spelling the word before she went 'Ah, yes.' (I really do love those moments.) Anyway, we took a few minutes to look at my drawings and then packed our stuff up and headed for the stairs. I told her I was following her because I wasn't entirely sure where we were going.
Walking over to the student union gave us ample time to talk. I learned that she is going to be teaching piano to two little boys of another Chinese family that lives near her. She's from a part of China that's an hour away from Seoul, Korea by plane and two hours away from Tokyo. I asked if she had been to Tokyo and she said no, but that she will go there, then corrected it to she hopes she'll go there. I got to ask her about the TOEFL and how she did. She's nervous, still, and thinks she'll get her results soon. Over the course of our time together we talked about her English. She doesn't feel confident in her abilities and she thinks that sometimes people are just humoring her and telling her she's doing fine. I told her that I quite honestly think she's very good at communicating her ideas and I only rarely have trouble understanding her. We discussed being shy and the role that plays in language use as well. She asked me to help her with her English by correcting her grammar and so on. Now that I think about it, maybe its easier for me to understand her than it is for others because I grew up in Miami with Hispanic neighbors, friends, family, etc. Therefore I grew up with people who had all kinds of abilities/levels in speaking English and speaking it with accents. I'm also willing to be patient and listen, I guess others aren't?
I'm glad I went with her to UPS because the guy, though not out and out a jerk, wasn't helpful or compassionate either. (He also had a black-eye so he just might not have been in a good mood.) We successfully got her papers mailed off, which I felt was a small victory for us, especially her. She successfully handled his questions and asked her own in return and nothing needed to be repeated. I helped only a little here and there. She had wanted me to go with her because sometimes she has trouble understanding people and sometimes people have trouble understanding her. Chomy (the woman I tutor) has the same problems.
However, I think it shows that Xin has put effort and practice into speaking English even before she came to this country. I haven't had a chance to tell her yet, but I think she's courageous in coming to this country where she will have to rely on a language she is not adept in, leave her family and friends, be confronted with a new culture and on top of those things, choose to study law here. I think law and law jargon is complicated enough to grasp in one's own language, let alone one's second language! I think this is telling of her efforts, but it may also just be part of Chinese culture and the work ethic that drives them. She told me that in her class she was top in English, but here she doesn't feel like it. She holds her own in a conversation with me well and I've heard on her cell phone, she handles that well too. She does, sometimes, use words that we wouldn't, being native speakers, but I still understand what she means. Since she's asked me to help with things like that though, I now feel lovingly obligated to tell her things like, 'Well, I understand what you mean, but maybe someone else might have trouble understanding because they would use this word instead.' We talked a lot today! It was exciting. I'm really enjoying time with my CP. I like the freedom of just talking about anything and everything and helping with points that Xin asks me about. She has a drive to learn the language, which is great.
Richard Böhm(e) & Ruiting Han: FarmTown, Poetry & English Teachers -- Week 2
Before I get to the feature presentation, I would like to share some news with everyone. This Saturday -- January 23 -- the Leon County Public Library is offering a tutoring tutorial at 10am for those who decided to tutor with the Literacy Program. The event lasts till 3pm but there's an hour-break for lunch. You should probably consider it (because I'm going) and how could you resist that face anyway! In fact, that regal hick demands your presence.
Now for what really matters:
Ruiting and I are bonding. This is good. I let him do most of the talking this time, so I allowed him to show me his QQ, which is somewhat equivalent to our Facebook (FYI: Facebook is banned in China). And speaking of that, I told him I was aware of it being banned there. He did not want to discuss it, and he did this by interrupting me halfway through my spiel by asking me if I wanted some tea. Basically, I understood it as something I should not discuss with him any further. Facebook is banned in China. This will from now on be the extent of my understanding.
Anyway, he showed me some pictures from his QQ account. Of one picture, Ruiting said, "This is my girlfriend."
My response: All of them?!
No, Ruiting only has one girlfriend, and he shows me specifically to whom he was referring. The other girl in this picture was his mother. WoW! Suffice to say I was way off, huh?
He then showed me this FarmTown application that's accessible through his QQ. As soon as he showed me his virtual pasture, he told me that somebody stole his goat... and his fruit. I'm not familiar with FarmTown, so I showed contempt for the person who stole his goods. Apparently, it was his best friend. And I thought it was some random hacker. I absolutely showed contempt, too, and it turned out to be a prank. Let me tell you, if it was my pasture...
Ruiting also showed me some pictures from his high school years. He expressed how bad his English teacher was. To quote him, "She was the baddest teacher I had." To me, this could mean either two things: (1) she was intense, but an excellent teacher, or (2) she really was the most evil human being to walk on the face of this earth. I asked him to tell me more about his English teacher, and I learned that she is the reason he came to the USA to learn English. So what kind of teacher was she? The Baddest One, but also, the one who inspired Ruiting. So choice (1) describes his teacher perfectly.
That's something we have in common, too. After all, I'm pursuing an English degree because of a most positive experience I had with my English teacher. It's refreshing to hear a similar story. Ruiting told me he was a bad student, but his English teacher changed his life. Again, to me, I'll assume he was bad in the sense that he was on the verge of failing his English class. Then again, he could have been a vigilante. Though I strongly doubt this. I wish I had asked him in what sense he was bad. It doesn't matter either way, but now I'm curious. I continue to suspect it was an issue with his education rather than a social problem. I mean, you have to look at the guy. There is no way he could have been a vigilante! But it's interesting how I interpreted this compared to what others might have interpreted it. What do you guys think? Is it a fair assumption?
In our talk about inspirational English teachers, I segued into my favorite topic: POETRY! He had no idea what I was talking about, although he had his pocket translator handy. He typed 'poetry' into his little device, pressed 'enter,' and the light-bulb turned on.
I swear, if pocket translators did more than that, I don't think we'd have jobs! Pocket translators are taking away those "click" moments from us. I say we go after the company and boycott pocket translators!
So back to poetry. Ruiting recited a Chinese poem to me from memory and I was very inspired by his reading. I also didn't know what he or the poem was saying, but I heard music, and I was dancing. So I returned the favor by reciting one of my favorite poems, one of which I myself forced to memory. I gave him a reading of Sylvia Plath's "Daddy."
You do not do, you do not do
Any more, black shoe
In which I have lived like a foot
For thirty years, poor and white,
Barely daring to breathe or Achoo.
Apparently, I forgot her poem has a few German words and phrases in there, i.e. "Ach, du" and "Luftwaffe" ... and there's more. Thankfully, he understood nothing, and I didn't have to tell him the poem had German elements. That could have been confusing for him. But we ended our discussion on another poem, a short one by William Carlos Williams called "The Red Wheelbarrow:"
so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens
That's the poem. He understood some words, and I helped him understand the poem's meaning altogether -- that we have to pay attention to our surroundings and understand that everything we see has some degree of beauty in it.
And we left it at that! I'll be meeting with him again on Friday. We had a good talk this time around. I think we're playing ping pong. Take a stab at who you think is going to win. I'll let you know on the next post.
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