Because my meetings with my IEP partner got cut a little short.... I was going to share a little bit about my travels to different countries and the experiences I have had there. I have been to Mexico, Spain, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slavokia, Hungary, Japan and India and have had some of the most eye-opening experiences that I will always remember.
Possibly my most memorable experience (and one that I would most likely want to revisit someday) was my time in Japan. This culture was more different than any other I have ever visited. I remember the first thing anyone could say about Japan as we rode into Tokyo on a bus from the airport was that the cars were so small! Everyone was freaking out about the stupid cars. But in all honesty, as Americans, we are so used to big everything that this truly was a culture shock. Not only were the cars small, but when I walked into my hotel room, it looked like it was made for midget.
Although these few things that my friends and I noticed at the beginning of our trip sound stupid and trivial, Americans take for granted the "large" accommodations that we expect in our culture. Aside from these minor details, the culture was possibly the most amazing thing I have ever experienced. The architecture included some of the most beautifully designed buildings I have ever seen and I truly felt as though I was looking upon thousands of years of history right in front of me. The people were as nice as they could be and I have never met a group of people more respectful of who you are. People were intrigued by our race and were constantly looking at my blonde-haired, blue-eyed (white skin obviously) friend who looked like a goddess to the Japanese.
Ultimately this trip included so many new experiences that showed me so much about our world and how different life can be just across the ocean. I definitely plan on going back to Japan as soon as possible and hopefully be able to have an experience like this one again.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
My "Double Date" with Jae Hoon
Jae Hoon and I recently had a "double date" you could say with Kara and her conversation partner. We went to the BLUU and hung out in the Union Grounds area and got to talk with each other. I was informed that Kara's partner was from China while Jae Hoon is from South Korea. I never really realized how many different international students there are that come here and unlike Latin America (where everyone speaks Spanish of some form), everyone from Asia has their own dialects according to their country. It is so interesting how you can live so close to each other (like that in Europe) and have completely different languages surrounding you no matter where you go.
Our activities in Union Grounds included a failed attempt at playing Apples to Apples (the conversation partners aren't really familiar with American culture, which is completely expected yet necessary in order to play Apples to Apples) and a crazy game of Jenga in which Kara lost. I had a very interesting conversation with Jae Hoon during this time because he told me that he had recently gone out to Dallas the past weekend and had stayed at a friends Korean bar until 4 in the morning. I had no idea that Jae Hoon even was interested in going to bars! This whole conversation with him about this trip to Dallas really informed me that even if your from a different country, you still want to do that same things that I would do (such as take a trip to Dallas to go out and drink with friends).
I also recently saw some pictures that Jae Hoon put up on Facebook of he and his friends going to downtown Fort Worth and just walking the streets. I thought it was so cool to see him going out and doing stuff with his friends because I know he had told me before that he had wanted to do more things than just sit in his house alone all the time. I hope that he can continue to make lots of new friends in the coming months and get to truly experience all that TCU has to offer.
Our activities in Union Grounds included a failed attempt at playing Apples to Apples (the conversation partners aren't really familiar with American culture, which is completely expected yet necessary in order to play Apples to Apples) and a crazy game of Jenga in which Kara lost. I had a very interesting conversation with Jae Hoon during this time because he told me that he had recently gone out to Dallas the past weekend and had stayed at a friends Korean bar until 4 in the morning. I had no idea that Jae Hoon even was interested in going to bars! This whole conversation with him about this trip to Dallas really informed me that even if your from a different country, you still want to do that same things that I would do (such as take a trip to Dallas to go out and drink with friends).
I also recently saw some pictures that Jae Hoon put up on Facebook of he and his friends going to downtown Fort Worth and just walking the streets. I thought it was so cool to see him going out and doing stuff with his friends because I know he had told me before that he had wanted to do more things than just sit in his house alone all the time. I hope that he can continue to make lots of new friends in the coming months and get to truly experience all that TCU has to offer.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Fathers and Sons
Fathers and Sons examined one of the most important themes of the Nick Adams stories; the theme of the father and son relationship. This short story meant a lot to me personally as well because I know that my relationship with my father has been so important in my life.
Nick Adams' father is a very harsh and stoic man. During the story it seems as if Nick wishes to have a relationship with his father and to have a meaningful relationship with him, but his father solely wishes to educate his son in how to be a man. His father instructs him about how to be a moral man (not to masterbate, have sex with prostitutes, etc.) and how to hunt. However, Nick's father doesn't even follow his own instruction about morality (because he frequently has other affairs) and Nick knows this because of his clear eyes and good health. This hypocrisy carries over into Nick's own life when he begins an affair with Trudy (an Indian woman).
Ultimately the relationship between Nick and his father is a poor one that doesn't create any kind of love or compassion between the two. The relationship between Nick and his son is completely different however. Nick's son wishes to pray at his grandfathers grave and has a deep love for Nick and Nick's father. Nick reciprocates this love for his son by granting him his wishes and telling him that they will visit Nick's father someday. This story serves to compare the two father-son relationships and how one is filled with love while the other is just a formality.
I think this story meant so much to me because if I had a father-son relationship like the one between Nick and his father I would be miserable. I can relate to the hurt that Nick felt and the difficult adolescence he experienced because of his relationship with his father. I thought this story was an excellent representation of the importance of a father-son relationship and the effect it has on one's personality and one's actions.
JaeHoon's first Tex-Mex Experience
The other day I decided to take my conversation partner to Fuzzy's Taco Shop. JaeHoon not only didn't know what a taco was, but he had no idea what the Tex-Mex cuisine was all about. I tried to describe it to him to the best of my ability, but I kept on saying, "You just gotta try the food."
I helped him order two Tempura shrimp tacos with everything on it and I got us a side of queso and chips. After his first bite into the taco I asked him, "Is it good?", and he replied, "Very good." My work was completed in exposing him to possibly one of the biggest cultural identities of Texas. I take my Tex-Mex very seriously and it made me proud to give JaeHoon only a sample of the wide variety of Tex-Mex.
We are already planning to watch the Utah vs. TCU game together in which there will be a lot of yelling and screaming from me and a lot of "What's going on here?" from him. I promised to teach him the rules of the game and I can't wait for him to get excited about TCU football.
God Bless Texas and Go Frogs!!
I helped him order two Tempura shrimp tacos with everything on it and I got us a side of queso and chips. After his first bite into the taco I asked him, "Is it good?", and he replied, "Very good." My work was completed in exposing him to possibly one of the biggest cultural identities of Texas. I take my Tex-Mex very seriously and it made me proud to give JaeHoon only a sample of the wide variety of Tex-Mex.
We are already planning to watch the Utah vs. TCU game together in which there will be a lot of yelling and screaming from me and a lot of "What's going on here?" from him. I promised to teach him the rules of the game and I can't wait for him to get excited about TCU football.
God Bless Texas and Go Frogs!!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
IEP Partner
So I have had three meetings so far with my IEP partner and I have had such an amazing experience getting to know him. Sunny, one of the other Koreans in the IEP program frequently joins our discussions to get extra practice.
For my second meeting with Jae Hoon, he and Sunny invited me to come over to Sunny's apartment and have a Korean style dinner with them. It was amazing to say the least. Sunny had prepared so many different kinds of dishes for me to have and I was so grateful for the company and the enormous feast that was on the table. I was able to find out a lot about Sunny's family and her children. Apparently she has two daughters in Southwestern Seminary and one daughter in High School as PHS right down the street. Sunny wants to learn to speak better English so that she can attend Seminary too and graduate with a degree in Christian Religious Studies.
Her husband is still in Korea and I can't believe that she is able to stay away from him for this long. Jae Hoon on the other hand is a 24 year old bachelor who enjoys going to Dallas and going to his friend's Korean bar downtown. He told me that he was there till 4 AM one night and had been at the bar since 9 PM with all of his Korean friends in the IEP program.
I have really enjoyed these meetings and am so glad to be a part of such a great program here at TCU.
For my second meeting with Jae Hoon, he and Sunny invited me to come over to Sunny's apartment and have a Korean style dinner with them. It was amazing to say the least. Sunny had prepared so many different kinds of dishes for me to have and I was so grateful for the company and the enormous feast that was on the table. I was able to find out a lot about Sunny's family and her children. Apparently she has two daughters in Southwestern Seminary and one daughter in High School as PHS right down the street. Sunny wants to learn to speak better English so that she can attend Seminary too and graduate with a degree in Christian Religious Studies.
Her husband is still in Korea and I can't believe that she is able to stay away from him for this long. Jae Hoon on the other hand is a 24 year old bachelor who enjoys going to Dallas and going to his friend's Korean bar downtown. He told me that he was there till 4 AM one night and had been at the bar since 9 PM with all of his Korean friends in the IEP program.
I have really enjoyed these meetings and am so glad to be a part of such a great program here at TCU.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
This short story was really fun to read. I kept on comparing it to the movie the entire time. I am not totally sure which one I like better because both are practically completely different. While in the movie, Benjamin is born as an old baby who grows older in thought processes but younger in age, in the short story Benjamin grows younger in age and thought processes.
I wonder what people who read this story for the first time without seeing the movie would think and if they could wrap their mind around the subject of this story without visually seeing it. In all honesty it is easy for me to envision an old man who gets younger because I have Brad Pitt in the bag of my mind going from an old looking man to a young one, but I feel that I would have had trouble doing this if I didn't have that visual in my back pocket.
The plots between the movie and short story are completely different too. While the movie includes so many different plot lines and so many different aspects of life, the short story follows a fairly linear model of birth to death with 1 romance, and Benjamin living a "normal" life. Also, the year is much earlier, mainly because Fitzgerald didn't intend there to be a movie made in the 21st century about his short story. The movie begins in basically the late 19th century instead of directly after the Civil War (like the short story does). I also noticed that in the short story, Benjamin is not adopted but rather is taken care of by his actual father while Benjamin in the movie is born and placed on the doorsteps of a retirement home.
Overall I really enjoyed the short story and I was glad in a sense that I had seen the movie before so I could compare it while I read. I really think it is interesting how the writers of the movie could take this short story and weave such a complicated and long adaptation of this story. I think Fitzgerald is one of my favorite writers and I always think his writing is fresh and unique (and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is no exception to this rule).
I wonder what people who read this story for the first time without seeing the movie would think and if they could wrap their mind around the subject of this story without visually seeing it. In all honesty it is easy for me to envision an old man who gets younger because I have Brad Pitt in the bag of my mind going from an old looking man to a young one, but I feel that I would have had trouble doing this if I didn't have that visual in my back pocket.
The plots between the movie and short story are completely different too. While the movie includes so many different plot lines and so many different aspects of life, the short story follows a fairly linear model of birth to death with 1 romance, and Benjamin living a "normal" life. Also, the year is much earlier, mainly because Fitzgerald didn't intend there to be a movie made in the 21st century about his short story. The movie begins in basically the late 19th century instead of directly after the Civil War (like the short story does). I also noticed that in the short story, Benjamin is not adopted but rather is taken care of by his actual father while Benjamin in the movie is born and placed on the doorsteps of a retirement home.
Overall I really enjoyed the short story and I was glad in a sense that I had seen the movie before so I could compare it while I read. I really think it is interesting how the writers of the movie could take this short story and weave such a complicated and long adaptation of this story. I think Fitzgerald is one of my favorite writers and I always think his writing is fresh and unique (and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is no exception to this rule).
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Araby
This is another great piece of fiction that I also read back in High School. I really enjoy short stories and I think next to poetry it is my favorite kind of literature. I think Araby symbolizes so many different themes such as young love, vanity, desire, and simply the emotion of "want".
The young boy in the poem is a student at a Catholic Boys School and has a infatuation with Mangen's sister and wishes to change his dull life into something with excitement. He follows her around every day after school and describes her as an "image" that accompanies him "even in places the most hostile to romance".
The most interesting thing about their relationship however is that even though he has a romantic passion for Mangan's sister, he "had never spoken to her". This is the symbol of desire and young love. Basically this young man is entangled in the passion of romance and even her name is "a summons to all my foolish blood" (even he himself calls him a foolish youth). The theme of foolish young love is also shown in this young man when he doesn't even want to deal with the "innumerable follies" of waking and sleeping. I think this is ridiculous that one man can be so obsessed with a woman that he doesn't even want to sleep.
Ultimately though, his desires are crushed when he travels to Araby to buy his love a gift from the bazaar. This trip to the bazaar is a symbol of the relationship ship between him and Mangan's sister. He arrives the bazaar right before it closes and is unable to buy anything (not out of cost, but because of the saleswoman and how she is acting with the two men in the shop). The young man leaves the shop and is left alone in the dark of the closing bazaar, cursing himself for thinking things in his life would be different.
I love this short story and I think Joyce truly captures the essence of youth and a failed love. Even though I feel that the reader can see there never really was any hope for this young love's romance, the reader feels pity and empathy towards this young man, because we all know how it feels to lose a love that you never had.
The young boy in the poem is a student at a Catholic Boys School and has a infatuation with Mangen's sister and wishes to change his dull life into something with excitement. He follows her around every day after school and describes her as an "image" that accompanies him "even in places the most hostile to romance".
The most interesting thing about their relationship however is that even though he has a romantic passion for Mangan's sister, he "had never spoken to her". This is the symbol of desire and young love. Basically this young man is entangled in the passion of romance and even her name is "a summons to all my foolish blood" (even he himself calls him a foolish youth). The theme of foolish young love is also shown in this young man when he doesn't even want to deal with the "innumerable follies" of waking and sleeping. I think this is ridiculous that one man can be so obsessed with a woman that he doesn't even want to sleep.
Ultimately though, his desires are crushed when he travels to Araby to buy his love a gift from the bazaar. This trip to the bazaar is a symbol of the relationship ship between him and Mangan's sister. He arrives the bazaar right before it closes and is unable to buy anything (not out of cost, but because of the saleswoman and how she is acting with the two men in the shop). The young man leaves the shop and is left alone in the dark of the closing bazaar, cursing himself for thinking things in his life would be different.
I love this short story and I think Joyce truly captures the essence of youth and a failed love. Even though I feel that the reader can see there never really was any hope for this young love's romance, the reader feels pity and empathy towards this young man, because we all know how it feels to lose a love that you never had.
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