Challenge eight

Before coming to Vietnam I tried to find videos on youtube that could help me say basic phrases.  At first it took me an hour just to say simple things like, “thank you, no problem, your welcome, and where is the bathroom”. However, once I came to Vietnam I realized that there are at least three different Vietnamese dialects, the northern, southern, and central accents. I was watching a youtuber named “Learn Vietnamese” and she does a great job in pronouncing words, slowly.  She teaches her subscribers the Northern dialect which is considered “the original” accent and it was also the dialect that I learned in class.

An app that I found useful was “Vietnamese dictionary box- Tu Dien“.  This particular application is great because it has pictures and clear definitions.  In addition, Vietnamese is a tonal language that has 6 different tones that are extremely hard to type in your ipod.  There are many words that are spelled the same but have different accents that change the definition.  For example, ban can mean friend, table, busy, or dirty depending on your pronunciation.  This app does a good job incorporating the different tones without confusing the reader.  Once, this app helped me communicate with a lady across the street my guesthouse and I managed to have a decent conversation about her kids and husband.

Challenge Eight: Favorite App

What’s your favorite iTouch App, and how did it help you this semester?

One of the primary goals of the Asiapod initiative is to explore the usefulness (or not!) of mobile technologies to facilitate language learning while students are on the move.

Asiapod bloggers: your challenge this week is to share one application or “app” that you have found particularly helpful in the five months(can you believe it?) that you’ve carried the iTouch. A particular dictionary? Virtual flashcards? Videos via Youtube? The summer period is specifically included, as we are equally interested in stories of travel preparations as navigations of your new environs. Imagine your potential readership as students planning to follow in your footsteps next semester; a few sentences summarizing the app’s functionality and value will do the trick.

Has the iTouch been irrelevant? If so, any particular reason? These stories are important as well.

So I think I’ve had that experience that so many people told me I would have abroad… the one where you get lost, things DO NOT go as planned, and it turns out better (although very different) than you thought. Last weekend a group of classmates and I went to Hualien.
Hualien is famous for its Taroko Gorge, which we all went to on Saturday, but on Sunday two of my friends and I decided to go to a place we’d heard about called the Sugar/Mochi Factory (Hualien is also famous for its mochi)… Still not sure if the factories are different places, if they both exist, or they’re the same place with two different names. The research we did online the night before gave us little info about how to get there so we went to the information center near the train station in Hualien to see if they knew anything about the place(s.) They seemed to know what we were talking about and told us to get on a particular bus and that it would take us there. We bought our tickets for what we thought would be at most a half hour ride…not sure why we made this assumption, it wasn’t going off of anything. It turned out to be the last stop the bus made, so an hour and a half later we were asking the bus driver if he knew how we should walk there from the bus stop. He, like the women at the information center, seemed to know what we were talking about, and offered to drop us off as close as he could get. When he stopped he pointed in a direction and we were on our way, in the rain, with out any real idea where to go… We were NOT in Taipei anymore. We were the only foreigners in sight, and much of what was around us was farmland. We guessed to turn right when we got to an intersection. We walked a bit more, and at this point we were truly lost. But the right turn happened to be a happy guess!

What we stumbled upon next was a center of little shops full of aboriginal Taiwanese gifts, tea shops, and a Mochi store! Just for reference, this place is what I would consider the middle of absolutely nowhere, so I think we were fair in thinking we were on the right track to finding the factory. Busses of Taiwanese and Chinese tourists came every half hour, and all immediately went to the ice cream stand in the complex. First, we stopped to eat at “Taiwan Dumplings,” where of course, we ate dumplings, and for less than 2USD I might add, the further away we get from Taipei, the cheaper everything becomes. Then we decided to look around the shops as we asked people if they knew what we were trying to find. The shops were nothing like we would find in Taipei, even in the crafty night markets. They sold everything from aboriginal style jewelry (Hualien is home to one of many aboriginal groups in Taiwan, the Yami), to locally grown tea and coffee. While shopping and testing the many mochi flavors we continued to ask around about where the factory was. They all pointed in the same direction, so we crossed the street and entered the building they seemed to be pointing at. We entered “The Tea House” and were immediately welcomed by the family running the shop with a tea ceremony to test the locally grown tea. Before we could ask them where they thought we should go next, I was buying two tins of loose tea… it would be rude, I think, to go through the testing and not buy any, and it was great tea! We asked about the factory and they clearly pointed to where we had just come from. They said the “factory” is famous for its ice cream. We finally realized at that point, that we were not going to find the factory.

No one was the least bit upset at how our day turned out. Being in this new place, so unlike where we have been living for the past three months made us realize that Taipei is far from all Taiwan has to offer. Of course, I love Taipei, but it far from represents everything in Taiwan. The small family owned shops with handmade crafts, the best mochi I’ve ever had, aboriginal culture and hospitality, all in this complex in the middle of farmland, all so far from Taipei reminds us how important it is get out and get lost. We decided we needed to try the ice cream (the green tea was delicious!) and laughed over how much fun poor planning can turn out.

Challenge Seven: Giving thanks

While being in Vietnam I have realized I am privileged in so many ways. For starters being able to live abroad is probably one of the most rewarding experiences in any ones lifetime. The friendships I have developed and the experiences I’ve had are truly unforgettable. I want to start off by giving thanks to my mother who not only emotionally and financially supports me but also has the patience to deal with such an impatient child. My family and friends mean the world to me and although this Thanksgiving we were apart I am thankful that they are healthy and doing well. But most importantly I am thankful that no one in the Vietnam program eats as much as I do!

But in all honestly I am thankful for the food. I come from an extensive Ecuadorian family where turning down a plate of food is a sign of disrespect. Probably one of the main reasons I love Vietnam so much is because it reminds me of my home. Food is definitely a universal unifier of all races, gender, sexuality, people, and animals.

Giving Thanks

I am thankful for my parents who support me through all the twists and turns my adventurous spirit takes me; moving mountains so I can explore them.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

: )

Asiapod Challenge 6 posted on behalf of Melissa…

 

 (A play written by Melissa Hosek, based on a true story)

(Scene 1: Setting the Scene)

~I am sitting in the lobby of the on-campus hotel. A little old woman sits down on the sofa across the way from me. She had just come inside after walking around in the crisp autumn air and is wearing her winter coat, silk scarf, and sunglasses .  My American and Japanese classmates sit next to me on the lobby sofa as we discuss our class movie project.

American Classmate: “Uh oh, my computer 没点了 (my computer just died).”

Me: “Now how are we going to finish the movie?”

American Classmate: “Maybe we can go to Nyoki’s room, his dorm is nearby.”

~He turns to our other classmate, Nyoki, who is from Japan and speaks very little English.

American classmate: “我们可不可以在你的宿舍里继续拍电影？(Can we continue making the movie in your dorm?)”

Japanese Classmate: “可以! (Sure!)”

~American and Japanese Classmates exit the scene.  I decide to stay behind and wait for another classmate to arrive.

Scene 2: The Dialogue Begins.

~ The old woman stares at my classmates and I. She is probably wondering “who are the foreigners and why can they speak Chinese?”

~I move to sit next to her.

Me: “你好“(Hello!)

Beijing Woman 1:“你好， 你是哪个国家的呢？” (Hello, which country are you from?)

Me:“我是美国人” (I am American)

Beijing Woman 1: “真的吗？你现在离你的家很远。 你想念你的妈妈吧。“(Really? You are quite far from home. You must miss your mother, don’t you?”

Me:“对，我想念她。”(Yes, I miss her.)

Beijing Woman 1:“你为什么在这儿？你是学生吗？”(Why are you here [in Beijing]? Are you a student?)

Me:“是。 我在这里学习中文。” (Yes, I am studying Chinese here.)

Beijing Woman 1:“你的中文说很好。 你在北京呆好久吗？” (You Chinese is pretty good! Have you been in Beijing for a long time?)

Me:“我只在北京呆了一个学期了。”(I am only in Beijing for one semester)

Beijing Woman 1:“那你很想你的妈妈把？” (Ah, I’m sure you miss your mother, right?)

Me:“对，我很想她。”(Yes, I miss her a lot)

Beijing Woman 1:“你的家里人是多少?” (How many people are in your family?)

Me:“我的家有五口人：妈妈、爸爸、哥哥、弟弟和我”(My family has 5 people: My mom, dad, older brother, younger brother, and me)

Beijing Woman 1:“唯一个女儿吧？那你肯定是你妈妈的宝贝儿。你今年多大？?” (You are the only daughter then! You surely must be your Mother’s [favorite] baby! How old are you?)

~Another Beijing Woman sits down beside Beijing Woman 1.

Me:“20 岁“(20 years old)

~Beijing Woman 1 turns to Beijing Woman 2 sitting beside her .

Beijing Woman 1: “看这个宝贝儿，20岁， 呆在北大学习汉语“。 (Look at this baby! 20 years old, and staying at Peking University to study Chinese!)

Beijing Woman 2“小宝贝儿！ 我今年60，70 岁左右。” (What a small baby! I’m 60 or 70 years old this year!)

Me: “您们俩为什么在这家宾馆里？ 您们在等朋友吗？” (Why are you two here at the hotel? Are you waiting for a friend?)

Beijing Woman 2: 我们刚吃完了午饭， 来这儿休息一下， 外面太冷了。 (We just finished eating lunch. We came here [inside] to rest a bit, it’s too cold outside)

Me: 对， 北京的天气越来越冷了。 请问， 我可不可以拍您们照片？“(Yes, the weather in Beijing is getting colder and colder. Excuse me, could I take your picture?)

Beijing Woman 1:“我们这么老！为什么要拍我们的照片？” (But we’re so old! Why would you want to take a picture of us?)

Me:“回国以后我想给我妈妈介绍一下您们俩。”(When I go home, I want to tell my mother about you.)

Beijing Woman 1“好的好的。 你可以告诉你的妈妈你认识了两个老北京太太。”(Ok, Ok. You can tell your mother that you met two old Beijing wives)

~I pull out my camera and take a picture of the two women.

Me: “好的。 谢谢您们”(Ok, thank you!)

Beijing Woman 1:“不客气。 好。 我们走吧。 再见宝贝儿!” (You’re welcome. Ok, we have to go now. Goodbye baby!)

~They Exit. End Scene.

~Fin. 

Traditional Korea and "Yummy" bugs!

SO while on vacation during Chusok here in Korea, I visited a small traditional village where I stated in a traditional Hanok: Korean housing with heated floors that we slept on and enjoyed the chestnut festival. I even got to try on a Hanbok (traditional Korean dress)!  Among the festivities, my friends and I decided to enjoy some of the traditional street food cuisine, one of them being silk worm pupae!

It was crunchy and had a aroma that surrounded the entire area…

I’ve been told it was Bee Larvae, but it in fact Silkworm Pupae. While it was exciting to try, I won’t be eating these again. 🙂 lol