For this tutoring session with Abdullah, we wanted to get a good grasp on what the TOEFL exam was going to entail. We went over the different sections of the TOEFL, how much time he would have for each and the structure of the test. I wanted to make sure that he was very familiar with the format of the test so he would feel comfortable when he was taking the test for real. We found out that his Reading and Speaking were his weakest links, so we decided that during our sessions we would focus more heavily on those. I found a great website that has practice READING TOEFL tests.
First we practiced with smaller paragraphs, but fairly tough material. Very science heavy passages. I think that Abdullah really enjoyed reading about science because that is his area of study back in Saudi Arabia. We did timed readings at first, trying to retain as much of the information as possible, then trying to answer questions about the passage. After the first tutoring session that we had a definitely had a better grasp of what we needed to work on.
For my last CP blog I chose to write about the international dinner. I sat with Kari, Brian, Stan, Sydney, Claire, Jackson, and some CIES students. Some people switched around at our table and one of my tutoring partners Mg ended up sitting with us along with another student who attended my class earlier that day; his name escapes me currently. I taught my class on Thanksgiving so when I noticed that they had pumpkin pie on the dessert table I had to show them. It was interesting that I had just taught them about that dessert and they had it available for them to try. Soufiane sat with us as well, he is one of Stan’s tutoring partners. Soufiane is from Paris so we had a lot to talk about in regards to soccer. We agreed on many things about the sport and his favorite team Real Madrid. Sydney even got to practice her French a little. After we watched the performances we all talked about many different things at the table from Ramadan to music. I ate a lot of different types of food, I tried to get a little bit of everything but that was impossible. Mg was eating a lot because it was his first meal since the sun went down. We enjoyed our dinners and the presentations of the awards before all taking pictures and leaving. I learned a lot in this class, not only about teaching English, but also about other cultures and people of the world.
Growing up in Guyana, there were three main religions: Hinduism,
Christianity, and Islam. Hindus and Christians make up the majority of the
population, though Muslims are a very large minority. I was raised as a Baptist
Christian even though most of my family at the time was Hindu. That was the
only denomination of Christianity that I knew until I moved to the United States
and learned about all the others. There were other denominations of
Christianity in Guyana, but as a child in the countryside, one really never
thinks about it. I’ve had the opportunity to attend services at several other
churches such as Methodist and even a Jehovah Witness service. When the
cultural immersion project was assigned, I had two ideas for what I wanted to
do. The first was to attend a Hindu temple and the second was to attend mass at
a Catholic church. I could not get a hold of the Hindu temple in time, so
instead I attended morning mass at St. Joseph Catholic Church.
My curiosity of attending mass was
finally satisfied. I have friends who are Catholic and I’ve studied
Catholicism when I minored in religion in my undergraduate studies, but my preconceptions
were corrected as I sat with the rest of the congregation and listened to the
sermon.
St. Joseph’s was the biggest church
I had ever been in. It was somewhat an awe-inspiring place to be. The ceilings
were high and the church itself was apparently modeled like Catholic cathedrals
throughout the world. In this aspect, my preconception of what the church would
look like was reinforced. I got there a little over five minutes before mass would
begin and I observed the diversity in the congregation. Since it was the 8am
mass, I had the completely false notion that it would be filled with the
elderly, mainly because they wake up earlier. Instead, it was a good collection
of people of all ages as well as differing ethnicities. Winter Haven, my town,
is a fairly homogenous population of Caucasians so it was surprising that there
were so many Asian and African American congregates.
As mass started and altar children and
the priest walked to the altar, I was surprised to find that the priest was
Haitian. I found that he had a thick accent and though I understood what he was
saying, I could not catch every word. His English and ability to communicate
with the congregation as well as his use of intonation was impressive; I guess
it would have to be to speak to a native English speaking audience. I thought
that the priest would stand at the altar and speak, but he walked around a
little as he delivered his sermon.
There was a lot of singing
throughout mass and it was very helpful to have the lyrics up on screens on
either side of the altar and also a lady leading the signing with a mike up in
front. The hymns were different from the ones that I am familiar with and some
of them were in Latin. Another thing
that I noticed throughout the service was the recitation of creeds and prayers
such as the Prayer of Penitence, in the beginning, and the Proclamation of
Faith, towards the middle.
The priest then gave communion, or
Eucharist, and the Lord’s Prayer was said. The congregation formed lines in
which they took the wafer and wine, which according to Catholic theology is
transubstantiated into the body and blood of Christ.
Then the concluding rites were
administered through the priest praying and then the congregation replying. The
alter children and priest then left while the concluding hymn was being sung.
When the priest left, then the congregation left the church.
As I felt it would be improper to
take pictures during mass, I asked the pianist, who was the last person in the
church, if it would be okay to take some pictures which are shown throughout.
The entire experience was a positive one. There were times when I felt apprehensive
as I didn’t know when to kneel to pray or when to make the sign of the cross; I
followed along what everyone else was doing more or less. The people were very
nice and welcoming and the very formal mass that I was expecting was a lot more
personable than I thought it would be. I'm glad that I had the opportunity!
For my third class observation, I sat-in on Ms. Walters' 1B composition course. The majority of the class was spent correcting mistakes they had made on a test. Many of the students struggled with choosing the main idea/concept of a paragraph and didn't understand how to decide what information was the most important out of all of the text. Ms. Walters' explanation was to try to find concepts or ideas that appear multiple times throughout a block of text as they might be the most important. I enjoyed how the class felt very easy-going and how students didn't seem afraid to ask questions or to make mistakes. Only when you make mistakes can you learn how to do it better, and it seemed as if the entire class had that mindset and was eager to make beautiful mistakes so their English could improve.
After Yi-Jhen and I finished our tutoring session following the cancellation of my culture class, she, Joyce, and I sat around in the CIES lounge while they asked me the etiquette of dating in America. First of all, I'm probably not the person to ask for dating advice. Secondly, poor Joyce has experienced horror stories in regards to dating in America. She went on a date with a guy who asked her to pay gas money and to split the meal. I told her that in America, we would call this guy a "jackass." It was a lot of fun getting to talk about the differences in dating between America and Taiwan and what is considered "normal" in each culture. For example, neither of them had heard of "gas money" before, nor were they familiar with the dynamics in double dates. I hadn't had conversation sessions with more than one partner, and it was nice to get more opinions than just my own.
So after having to cancel Brian and my culture class due to a lack of students, Yi-Jhen asked if we could spend the time tutoring instead. She explained that she thought her receptive skills had improved dramatically since she'd moved to Tallahassee, but she thought her speaking needed the most work. She wanted to tell me about her weekend and have me offer feedback on grammatical and pronunciation errors that she made during her story. As I listened, I noticed that her English has improved an incredible amount since the first time she and I met. She told me about some boy she had met in whom she was interested, and her visit to Alligator Point. The only errors she made while telling the story were a few confusions with tense and lack of vocabulary. I corrected her as she asked me to do, but overall she needed very little help in sharing her story.
The last class that I went to observe was Calyn's Reading Class. Her class is a Level 1 class, so every student was a beginner. I am really glad I observed more than one level of Reading class. It is so helpful to be able to compare the different levels. I came in early to talk with Calyn before her class started. She told me that all of her students were male and all were Arabic. Something interesting that I noticed was that all the students were leaving at the end of the week to go back to their hometowns for Ramadan so Calyn's lesson plans were going to have to be pushed up. She was very understanding and accepting of the changes and she did a great job of making sure the students got all the information for their final exams. When the class started, she introduced me and I gave a little background about myself. I used the phrase "brownie points" in my introduction and so Calyn asked her students if they knew what those were. We spent a few minutes dissecting that phrase, then we moved on to going over a pronoun quiz from the earlier class. All the students did very well on the quiz. Calyn did a great job of explaining foreign vocab. She speaks very slowly and enunciates very well. The lesson that day was on summarizing and paraphrasing and the differences between both. We read a short passage on "Telecommunication" and the students were given note cards to write a short summary. At the end of the class, we read along with Calyn as she read aloud to a book. All the students were very interested in the story.
For my second class observation, I got the pleasure of sitting in Wayne's Reading class. I sat in on a Monday class, so they had homework due over the weekend. At the beginning of class, Wayne handed back the student's homework. Their homework was to read anything they want for 90 minutes outside of class. Then Sunday, at noon, the must send an email (in proper email form, which they went over for another class lesson earlier) with at least 2 unknown vocab words, the part of speech, the definition in their own words, and correctly use them in a sentence. Then during the next class period he asks one or two students to do a "vocabulary presentation" on two of the vocab words, then the following class they will have a quiz on some of those words. A few interesting things that I noticed while I was observing Wayne's class was that everyone was very excited about being in his class. He is a great instructor with a lot of experience. I wish I had a teacher that was as passionate about reading and literature as Wayne. Another interesting thing I noticed in his class is that every time he gave the class a time limit for an activity, everyone in the class took out either their phones or their watches and set a timer. I have never had that happen in one of my classes.
So my first classroom observation was a Level 2 Grammar class. The instructor was a very young lady, Alexandra Ramos. I got to her class about 15 minutes early and so I helped her set up for her lesson. She told me that she was very new to teaching English, only three weeks in! There were only about 4 students in her class, so it was very quiet and personal. The first part of her class, they went over the homework from the previous class. Alex projected the students sentences on the white board and then went through some corrections with them. The lesson for the day was on articles, and count and non count articles. During the class, I noticed that the instructor used very advanced language like, idiosyncrasy, to explain some of the lesson. It was very hard for the students to understand some of the instructions that she was giving. Yuki, one of my conversation partners was in this Grammar class and he did very well in the class. The instructor did do a great job of giving handouts to her students on the count and non count articles. At the end of the class, Alex showed the students different pictures of objects, cats, toys, trees, milk, water, and air- and they had to decide it those nouns would require a count or non count article.
For my cultural immersion project, I attended a service at Jacob's Chapel Baptist Church. My friend Jiwuan picked me up early on a Sunday morning, and on the way there I started getting concerned about staying awake through an entire sermon. Once we took our seats and the sermon began, however, my attitude quickly changed. From our seats, we had a great view of the band, which included a drum kit, bass, guitar, an organ and two saxophones. From the first shimmering chord played on the organ, I was hooked. The service opened with some songs that the audience joined in singing. With hands clapping and cheers of "amen," the atmosphere quickly became very lively.
From the opening songs, the service flowed naturally and seamlessly from one activity to the next. Different speakers made announcements, both a choir and a group of children preformed songs, baskets were passed around for donations while the band provided a gospel soundtrack. At one point, the speaker and the audience performed a sort of call and response while reading a passage from the bible. The pastor would read one verse and the audience would read the next until we had completed an entire chapter. This quality of audience participation wasn't limited to scripture reading. Throughout the entire service, the audience was much more than a passive observer of what was going on. Particularly emotional moments were punctuated with "Amen," "that's right," and my favorite, "keep talking about what you're talking about!"
As the service progressed, you could feel the excitement in the room continue to grow. This continued through the sermon, titled "Walking the Tightrope of Faith." The preacher was a charismatic, young, dynamic speaker, animating his words with waving hands and stabbing the air with his fingers. As the sermon neared its end the preacher's cadence increased, and bluesy organ chords swirled underneath his fiery conclusion. The service reached its emotional peak as the audience erupted into a cheer and the band burst into full song. The entire experience completely exceeded my expectations, and I'm so thankful I got the opportunity to attend.
(Note: it seemed inappropriate to be taking pictures during the service, so these were taken from the church's website.)
For my Cultural Immersion assignment, I wanted to 'immerse' myself in a cuisine entirely different from what I am used to rather than going to a religious service. So, when Fei invited me to her Hot Pot dinner I was ecstatic to try this traditional Chinese cuisine. Prior to my experience, Hot Pot was described to me as Chinese fondue.
Brian and I drove to Fei's friend's house, who is also from China, out in Miccosukee. We got a little lost and almost turned around and headed home, but then we found the beautiful brick house in the middle of an open field. When walked in we were greeted by Fei, five of her friends, and a table decorated with all of the different ingredients used for the meal. It worked out well with the small group we had because too many diners sharing one pot could lead to spills and longer cooking times. In the middle, there is literally a hot pot of simmering water, spices, some kind of soup broth, and pieces of meat. It is "hot" as in temperature and spicy! Around the pot of broth, Fei set our prawns, tofu, crab, quail eggs, sliced meat, mushrooms, seaweed, scallops, tripe, and a variety of fish rolled into balls.
Fei explained to us that hot pot is a very popular dish in China because it is a communal meal where everyone can contribute something. She told us that where she comes from many families cannot afford to buy a lot of food for themselves so joining forces with others is a great way to stay nourished and feed your family. Chinese hot pot has been around for more than 1,000 years! It originated in the north, and then spread to southern China during the Tang Dynasty. In time, regional variations developed with different ingredients such as seafood and the availabilities of different types of vegetables. By the Qing Dynasty, the hot pot became popular throughout most of China. Today hot pot is used in many modern homes, particularly in the big cities. We all sat down with our bowls and started picking out ingredients then dumping them into the pot. You have to keep an eye on each ingredient so it is not undercooked or overcooked when you eat it. Expensive and delicate ingredients, such as the scallops and quail eggs, are put into what looks like a mini strainer, hung on the side of the pot, and cooked individually. It is important to watch your food not only to monitor the cooking time but also making sure no one steals it!
Mini strainer given to each person to cook certain ingredients and, of course, chop sticks!
Quail eggs!
One of the ingredients that looked the most interesting was the tripe. I had no idea what tripe was, but because I am an advocate for adventurous eating I stuffed a huge piece of it in my mouth. Fei and her friends giggled because it took me forever to chew. The texture felt like spikey rubber but after it was cooked in the broth it wasn't half bad! After I got the piece down they told me that tripe is the lining of the stomach of cattle. In fact, Fei's friends told me that a cow actually has eight different stomachs! I asked them why on earth do Chinese people use cow stomach in their dishes? Fer's friend responded, "We Chinese will eat whatever we can get, you know!" It made me think about my eating choices. Why on earth do I eat certain foods in my own culture? Fast food is just as rubbery as tripe I suppose!
Tripe.
The great thing about hot pot cuisine is that you take your time in between bites while waiting for the food to cook. This leaves room for great conversation and also time for one to digest their food. Even though I was surrounded by mostly strangers, I felt right at home once I got the hang of using chopsticks and cooking each bite of food right there in front of me. Fei and her friends were so hospitable and made my first hot pot experience was an absolute treat. I'd like to try this out one day with a group of friends!
Hello Everyone! I hope that you all are enjoying your break in between classes. Though many of you may not look back at the blogs to see this post, I wanted to share my cultural experience...
In the year 2012 (Gregorian)/ 1433 (Hijri) I resolved to observe the fasting ritual of Ramadan. For those of you who have never fasted, fasting strengthens your will power, your body, mind, and spirit. I have fasted many times (usually some form of juice fast), but I have never observed a fast quite like this...
During Ramadan Muslims fast from sunrise until sunset for one lunar calendar month(30 days). They abstain from food, water, and sex as well as any substances they usually partake of despite traditional regulations (intoxicants such as caffeine, tobacco, and alcohol are prohibited by Islam). Due to my past-fasting experiences, I found that abstaining from food during the daylight hours was not so difficult, but abstaining from water was quite a challenge (especially for the first couple days). Initially I felt a bit dehydrated, but as I endured the fast my body adapted and I was able to establish a rhythm that kept me adequately hydrated as well as nourished.
Every morning I would set my alarm to awake me about a half hour before sunrise. I would drink 1 large glass of water, and 1 small glass with a packet of emergen-c (about 30oz in total). I would then go back to sleep for a couple hours. When I awoke for the second time, my fast had already begun. I picked up some tea tree infused toothpicks from New Leaf Market. These helped me to salivate when I was extremely parched and also freshened my breath during the day. I would break fast in the evening after sunset with some coconut water, fruit and nuts. After my first meal (breakfast), I would would wait about a half hour, and then I would have a large salad. On certain days I integrated cooked foods in the evening. I found that because cooked foods break down slower they helped to sustain me throughout the day, but also require more energy from the body and therefore more water thereby amplifying dehydration.
For my cultural immersion I decided to go to the Islamic Center on Old Bainbridge for Iftar (the evening meal when Muslims break their fast)on Wednesday, August 8th. I asked Soufiane if he would like to accompany me since he is a Muslim and lacks transportation to and from the center. He was obliged to join me, and so we(my girlfriend, Katie and I) picked him up at about 8pm (Iftar fell at 8:29pm on this particular day).
When we arrived at the center at just after 8 we were not quite sure that we had the right place, because the lot was empty. We were certain that it was the Islamic Center, but perhaps they weren't having service this evening. I asked Katie to wait outside so we could check it out, we walked up to the door and saw two gentlemen setting a table with dates and water (the traditional Muslim break-fast). It seems we were early. We stepped inside and spoke with the gentlemen who were organizing the break-fast for a few moments. I explained to them that I was doing a "Cultural Immersion Project" for a program at FSU, and they invited me to take pictures and ask questions. They asked that we remove our shoes. Soufiane and I stepped outside to remove our shoes, and I waved Katie off.
Soufiane and I sat inside while the gentlemen continued to set-up. People started to filter in as the time passed. Despite the fact that Soufiane is Muslim, he seemed as, if not more, uncomfortable than I. Surely, this was a new experience for both of us.
At Sunset, the Imam or prayer leader said a short prayer in Arabic, and then we feasted on dates and water. A few people were also dipping their dates in sour cream, but as you may have guessed...I didn't partake (little did I know I would eat dairy before the night was through).
After our date feast, it was time for Maghrib the "evening prayer" prayed just after sunset. A gentleman instructed me in the ways of Wudu, a traditional cleansing done before prayer. Devout Muslims pray at least 5 times a day. The five obligatory prayers are Fajr (just before sunrise), Zuhr (after true noon), Asr (mid-afternoon), Maghrib (just after sunset), and Isha (at Dusk).
After Wudu it was time for Maghrib, the evening prayer. During prayer, Muslims alternate between four postures; standing, bowing, kneeling, and prostrated(on hands and knees with forehead touching the floor). A leader guides prayer in community settings. Everyone knows when to change position, because the leader will say "Alluah Akbar," meaning God is great, to signal a change in position.
When kneeling Muslims rest their hands on their knees and often extend the index finger of their right hand which signifies that there is only one God.
Traditional Prayer Service:
The women and most of the children took part in service in the back of the temple. There was a blue partition separating the men and women. They also dined in a separate area.
After Maghrib, we feasted on Hungry Howie's and Publix cake. Due to my dietary restrictions I refrained from eating pizza (mostly because I knew that the cheese would mess me up!), but I broke down after several offers and ate some bread and cake (which was not without regret!)!
After we binged on pizza and cake, we went back to the prayer room for Isha, the final prayer of the day. It appears that the five prayers that are observed are the same or similar, they only differ in Raka'ah. Raka'ah is a repeating unit, or cycle of postures. A Muslim performs a different number of Raka'ah for each daily prayer.
When we completed Isha, the service for the evening was concluded. Everybody was glad to have me their and they invited me to come to future services. They recommended I return on a Friday, because that is their main service. Unfortunately due to scheduling conflicts, I didn't return until the final evening of Ramadan.
The ceremony was much the same on the final evening of Ramadan, but Isha was followed by a post Ramadan celebratory speech. The food was significantly better as well! We broke fast with watermelon, pineapple, grapes, and dates, and we had Indian food following Maghrib : )
There were many CIES students present on both occasions...
Ramadan is followed by a day of celebration called Eid-ul-Fitr or simply Eid. On Eid, Muslims are forbidden to engage in fasting rituals, because this is a time of celebration rather than abstinence.The morning of Eid everyone in the community gathers for Zakat. Zakat is a form of charity or tax that the Muslim community is prescribed to take part in at the end of Ramadan.The Tallahassee Islamic Community celebrates Eid/Zakat at Godby Highschool on Ocala and Tharpe. Soufiane and I were invited to take part in Zakat. We were told that if we would like to participate we should arrive at Godby at 6:40am.
We arrived at Godby for Eid prayers at 6:45am, and I feared we were late. As fate had it, we were one of the first members to arrive. I was told the number of Muslims present would be in the thousands, and though I don't think it quite reached those numbers...the Gymnasium in which the services took place definitely filled out...
Ramadan is a time of spiritual reflection, improvement and increased devotion and worship. The act of fasting is said to redirect the heart away from worldly activities, its purpose being to cleanse the soul by freeing it from harmful impurities. Ramadan also teaches Muslims how to better practice self-discipline, self-control, sacrifice, and empathy for those who are less fortunate; thus encouraging actions of generosity and compulsory charity (zakat).
Overall, the fasting, the feasting, the prayers, and the celebrations were a great experience. Though I am sure I will fast again in the future, I am not sure I will ever again observe a fast of this nature.
If you would like to see more of my photos from these events, you can view them at:
During our previous meeting we worked on some reading comprehension exercises that Mg seemed to like but he mentioned that he wanted to practice more on pronunciation so I prepared some exercises for our last meeting. We met at Starbucks and we went over some of the exercises. I also thought that going over homophones with Mg would be relevant to the lesson so I had a chart containing the most common homophones prepared. We started with the vowels on the pronunciation worksheet (listen below). Mg seemed to have some issues with the “u” sound found in the word union. We went through the “u” section on the worksheet and came up with examples for every type of “u” sound that can occur in English. We came up with words such as bull, dull, cute, union, stuff, and cup. Mg was writing the words as we defined each different sound in correlation with 1-4 in the “u” section on the worksheet. The vowel “e” was a little less difficult than “u” for Mg but he still had some minor difficulty with words such as “beta.” I explained that it can be said as “ay” which Mg wrote down and began pronouncing. It seemed as if writing everything helped Mg retain and pronounce the words present. We didn’t have much time after finishing this worksheet so we decided to quickly go over the homophones.
I explained to Mg what a homophone was and used some examples such as “meet” and “meat.” He said that he had heard of this before but he liked reviewing pieces of the English language like this. I asked for an example and he provided “their” and “there.” I told him that was a perfect example and it actually appeared on the list (found below). We went over the list together with me reading every fifth set and Mg reading all in between. We quickly ran out of time so we said our goodbyes. Mg is a very nice guy and he is very smart. We wished each other the best of luck in the future and I told Mg that he can contact me with any questions that he may have in the future.
For my last session with Majdi, we met at the global cafe for international coffee hour before going to his house. Majdi told me that he had TOEFL exercises that he was working on at home so we decided to walk there. Majdi had the reading portion of the TOEFL coming up so I wanted to help him review the material. He said that he felt confident with his answers but he still wanted me to take a look. The passage that he was working on was about an American novelist. The passage was a few paragraphs with 8 multiple choice questions following. I asked Majdi if he could read the passage and he did. I could tell that he had been working hard on the passage to get ready for his exam. One line that seemed to confuse Majdi was “...this novel features a tenacious female protagonist...” He did not know the definition of “protagonist so we went over a few synonyms of the word. We came up with “main character” and “lead character” which seemed to clear everything up. I noticed that Majdi also had everything in his house labeled with sticky notes. I thought this was interesting and a very good way to learn through immersion. We finished his lesson and then I told Majdi that I will be leaving town the next day. He was not too thrilled but I told him that we could keep in touch and we both wished each other the best of luck in the future. Majdi was not one of my original TPs but I am glad that I got to start meeting with him. He taught me a lot about his culture and I feel as if I helped him a lot with his English.
Wednesday of last week, I met with my tutoring partner Rashed for the last time. He had already taken most of this exams so he didn't need help with his classes. He told me that he had just come from the career center because he wants to apply for the master program in International Affairs in 2013. The people over at the career center told him about getting his resume and personal statement ready for the application. So instead, I guess you could say we had a lesson on resumes and CVs and the types of things people put on their resumes and CVs and things they don't. Rashed said that resumes are a lot less formal than our formatted standards for both resumes and CVs. We also talked about personal statements and what a potential master's student candidate would write on their personal statement rather than just telling about yourself. We also went over the application process for applying to schools and letters of recommendation and how everything is done online. I hope that everything works out for Rashed and that he gets admitted into the program!
The final class I went to was a listening class with Natalie. She initially warned me that the class is using a new listening book and Olga’s new listening activities (which are evidently longer than Ramin’s old ones) that has made Natalie need to readjust her teaching methods to afford extra time. On one hand, I see how this change is annoying although necessary. Natalie seemed to have a status quo that yielded good results and it is now upset, however, I think it is important to be open to change to make sure you are offering the best education possible to your students. Natalie included individual, pair, and class work in her organization of the class, which seems to me to be the the most effective framework for a successful class. She had the students trade worksheets on which they defined idioms they had just learned and grade each other. I thought this was an effective time saver for the teacher, but to give a worksheet and immediately take it up doesn’t let the student have the material to review and memorize while it is still fresh in their minds.
For the last time I met Kosuke at the international dinner. Since he wanted to focus on speaking we ended up talking about what he made for the dinner. Him and Yuki made sushi rolls for the dinner. They had avocado inside and other yummy ingredients. I really enjoyed eating what they made. They tasted very good, a lot better than most other Japanese restaurants in the area.
Kosuke also talked about the fact that he had to borrow Yuki's clothes because he did not bring any traditional Japanese clothes with him. I didn't know why he had to wear traditional clothing though. The other international CIES dinner I went to only some of the performers wore anything that can be considered traditional at all. We were actually all talking about how Kosuke looked like he was wearing something that sushi rollers would wear in Japanese restaurants. Everyone laughed a bit at the statement. While people were performing Kosuke was talking about Yuki. I thought it was interesting that he stereotyped Yuki as an Osaka-jin or person from Osaka. I guess it was because compared to other Japanese people, people from Osaka are more lively and outgoing instead of shy. That is how I saw the comment.
At the very end we took a picture together and went on our own ways, I really hope I will get to see him during the school year and continue speaking with him. He is a really fun person to be around.
While it has been a few weeks since I partook in my Cultural Immersion, I still remember the experience as vividly as if it were only a few days ago. As soon as I found out about this project I knew right off the bat what I wanted to do - go to an Islamic mosque. Seeing how Ramadan was approaching and I had already developed a strong bond with my conversation partner, Omar, I saw the opportunity. I began asking him all types of questions in preparation, mainly the type that would ensure that I wouldn't offend anybody. "What should I wear?" "Is there anything I need to do?" "Do I need to pay my respects to the leader of the service?" Etc. Also, in preparation, I learned everything I possibly could (through wikipedia mostly) about the prayers and actions involved in a typical mosque service. Omar seemed to find humor in my concern with doing everything "right" so as not to offend anyone but I explained to him that this was an important moment for me and I wanted to get as much out of it as possible. So on Friday, the very first day of Ramadan as well as the holy day of the week for Muslims, I got ready to meet Omar for the service. We decided we would be going to the Islamic Center of Tallahassee (also known as Masjid Al-ansar) which is located on Old Bainbridge Rd.
**I'll go ahead and say this right now: I didn't take any photos during this Cultural Immersion. I had to use my judgement to deem whether or not it would be appropriate and given it was the holiest day of the week on the first day of the holiest month of the year, I thought it would be better not to. All pictures I'm using are found using google.
(Photo of Islamic Center of Tallahassee)
I arrived with both Omar and his friend from the CIES, Amar. Right off the bat I knew that this was going to be a very memorable experience. The first thing we did was take off our shoes before we entered the mosque. As we walked in there were three things that were readily apparent. The first was that there were no seats, only a carpeted floor, where everyone in attendance was sitting either on their knees or with their legs crossed.
The next thing that I immediately noticed was that almost every pair of eyes were fixed on me. Since we were running a little bit late, the service had already began. As we walked to the very back corner of the room to get a seat, I both felt and saw everyone staring at me. Clearly, tall, blond-haired, blue-eyed patrons were not a frequent there. And lastly, there were no women to be seen.
The Imam (or leader of the service) was in the process of delivering Al Khtbah (sermon/speech) as we seated ourselves. He was speaking very quickly in a monotone voice, alternating between both English and Arabic. I later found out that he was reading from the Al-quran (Quaran) in order to reinforce the points he was making. I have to admit, I wasn't able to understand as much of the service as I would have liked, but I was by no means disappointed because it wasn't until 15 minutes before we arrived that I found out that the Imam would also be speaking in English. The day's Al Khtbah had an obvious message: Ramadan and it's importance to Muslims. I learned that Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. The other four being: Accept Allah as the one true god, Salah (prayer five times a day), Zakat (charity), and Al Hajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca). The rest of the Al Khtbah was about just what exactly Ramadan means to Muslims. It is not only an homage that Muslims pay to Allah, but it is also for their fellow man who may not have access to food or water. The Imam went on to say that everyone should do their best during this holy month to help people any chance that they get.
At the very end of the service the Imam lead the men in attendance in their Al Sogod, a practice where they bow, stand up, and bow again. During this, Omar suggested that I just sit back and take it all in. It is one of the most powerful moments for the Muslim faith when they do their bowing, and I could tell that this particular moment, veiled in silence, was of great importance to every person in attendance. Even the elderly men who were not able to walk without the assistance of a cane were doing it.
After the Al Sogod, the service was over and people began filing out the doors. During this process many people approached Omar and myself and said "Al Salamo Alekm" which is a greeting that means "peace on you." After I had put my shoes back on, Omar ran back inside to volunteer some of his time to help around the Islmaic Center and I saw a group of 5 or 6 muslim CIES students, including one of my conversation partners, Awad. I introduced myself, wished them a "happy Ramadan" even though that is an incorrect way of expressing that sentiment, and tried my hardest to say "Al Salamo Alekm."
Once Omar, Amar, and I had left we discussed what my feelings were about the experience of going to the Mosque or "Abroh lil almasjid." I told them how happy I was to have partook in this experience and thanked them both for guiding me through it. They expressed that I had an open invite to attend whenever I wanted, an offer that I'm confident I will take up during my last year at FSU.
Last Friday night I with Brian, Claire and their Conversation Partner, Dohoun. It was a great night, which included getting to know in depth more about a culture in which I will probably be immersed in the next couple of years (South Korea) as well as exposing Dohoun to a Tallahassee staple - First Friday! We started off the night at Claire's home. Take note of how I referred to it as a home and not a house, place, or pad. It's extremely quaint and cute and feels just like a little home. We drank wine, listened to vinyl, and talked about some things that were different in South Korea. I think the funniest tid-bit that we picked up from the conversation was the differences is the "club scene". In South Korea, there are some clubs where the men sit down, and women are LITERALLY dragged by the wrist to the men by bouncers at the club. The men then tip the bouncers, who will bring more women who are attractive relative to the size of the tip they received. We were all laughing at how absurd this sounded, but Dohoun insisted that the women wanted to be treated like this - "they wouldn't be there if they didn't want it to happen." Once we got to First Friday we walked around and watched a couple bands play as well as checked out a couple of art exhibits. It was great getting to know Dohoun in more depth and pick his brain about a country in which I am most likely going to move to. We discussed many things about Korean history, and he informed me that Japan ruled Korea as early as 100 years ago. We also talked about the relations between North and South Korea. He said that for him personally, he has nothing against North Koreans and he actually feels that there is a sense of brotherhood between the people of both North and South Korea. It is only the politics of the governments that get in the way of there being a healthy, prosperous relationship between the two countries. Dohoun hopes that one day the two will reunite in harmony, but he doesn't foresee this happening in his life time. Lastly we talked about food. I told him about a famous South Korean movie which I loved called Oldboy and how during one of the scenes the main character eats a live squid. I mentioned to him that I wanted to try this and he said that he personally has and that it is rumored to increase your "stamina." He also told me about how they serve dog in South Korea, usually in soup, and how this also increases your "stamina." I plan on eating a bunch of great food if and when I move to South Korea, but live squid and dog might take some courage to attempt!
Last night I went to the International Dinner with my two conversation partners Joyce and Yi-jhen as well as my ITA Serena! It was an absolute blast! They all got to meet some of my friends who came to the dinner as well as my boyfriend. We all decided to sit at the same table and hang out and talk before the dinner started. All the musical performances were fun, and I was especially proud of Yuki's performance since he is my tutoring partner. I was also proud of Yi-jhen who got a certificate because it is her first semester here - she gave me a shout out when she talked on stage! I really loved trying all the international foods too. We all talked about the different kinds of food, and whether we liked them or not. Sadly Serena had to leave a little early, but I told her we would meet up for some fun after I returned from my trip to visit my family. After the dinner was over, I took a picture with each of my conversation partners and Yuki! (Pictures: Yi-Jhen is next to me at the top, along with my friend Lauren who came. Then Yuki is below that, and Joyce and I are in the bottom picture).
This is my last CP blog, as I have 10 in total combined with my 3 ITA blogs! I just want to say you guys were all awesome classmates this semester and I am so glad I took this class. I have learned SO much. I plan on being involved in CIES in some way even after this class, and I loved getting to know all the international students. I am so sad this class is over, and I wish I could have come to Milano's tonight! Thanks for being such awesome peers, this is truly a class I will never forget. :)
Today I taught my class in CIES during lunchtime. I had asked my ITA Wangsuk if he would like to come to my class and he did. The class went well but I had not eaten so after I asked Wangsuk if he would like to get lunch with me. At first I insisted that we could go wherever he wanted but Wangsuk is very polite and made me choose. I asked if he liked American-Mexican food such as burritos and he said yes so I suggested Tijuana Flats. He told me that he had never been there so I felt as if I was showing him something new. Tijuana Flats is a chain but I think it is one of the better ones out there. When we got there I helped him order and we sat down. The handball semi-final game happened to be on between South Korea and Norway. Since Wangsuk is from South Korea we watched it together. Unfortunately, South Korea did not win but it was still fun to watch. Wangsuk really enjoyed the food, we both got burritos with chips. We talked a lot about other cities in America and how he is applying for many different schools for a PhD program. He asked me what cities I would like to live in and he had actually applied for some schools in the cities that I said. After we left the restaurant we stopped at publix and then came back to campus. Wangsuk had to go to the library to work on his thesis so we said that we would talk later. We may go to a pub later tonight.
Yesterday (08/08), after our listening session, Soufiane and I went over composition homework that I had assigned to him. We had watched "Howl's Moving Castle," with Yuki and done some comprehension questions one Friday afternoon. I asked him to write a brief summary of the film over the weekend so that we could go over it together. He did so and was able to provide it promptly the following Monday afternoon. I told him that I would take a look at it and discuss it with him at a later time (we were currently in the midst of conversation with a large group). His summary was good. It wasn't quite the way I would tell the story, but he delivered his message very well. There were very few grammatical errors and a few words were misused. I felt that the most constructive way to work with him on this assignment, since we had the vantage of one-on-one interaction, was to re-write the assignment, merely focusing on structure and grammar, while maintaining the message. We read though the summary sentence by sentence and retyped the entire summary. One of the most notable things that I witnessed him learn was the difference between "called" and "named." In the beginning of the summary, he described the main character and said there was a girl "called" Sophie...I mentioned that you 'could' say that, but more appropriately it would be "a girl 'named' Sophie." He said that he had never heard this before. He said he always writes this way and no one had ever mentioned it. Charles, who was observing the session, mentioned that in the romantic languages they typically use "called" instead of "named." The most brilliant, and therefore 'notable' thing about this was, that as he continued to read through his paper, he was automatically changing 'called' to 'named' without me even mentioning it. When we finished typing up the 'final draft,' I emailed it to him for later reference. I gave him the rough draft so he could compare them later if he so chose to. For most individuals this method may prove of very little to no use, but since Soufiane is so eager to learn, I believe it worked very well. He is one of the few people I would say, that actually might refer to that assignment at a later point. (If given that option, I can't say for sure that I would!
Yesterday (08/08) I met with Soufiane, Jose David, and Mire for a listening lesson. This time around Mire provided the song... This was her first time doing this type of exercise with me so I am sure she did not know what to expect. I asked her what her favorite listening song was, and she replied, "uh, I don't know, 'Whistle' I guess," though it sounded more like she said 'weasel' in her think Spanish accent. So, while she was taking a bathroom break, I pulled up both the lyrics and audio/video for "Whistle" by Flo rida. For those of you who have never listened to, or heard of this song, let's just say that most people might not deem the content appropriate for a classroom environment. However, I felt that it was a great teaching moment (the line between appropriate and inappropriate are very obscure to me), after all, we are all adults, no? This did in fact prove to be a very good teaching moment for a number of reasons...
1. Flo rida's pace forced the tutees to listen intensely. 2. The content stimulated conversation. 3. The nature of hip-hop uses a lot of puns, idioms, and metaphors that required explanation and modeling. 4. There was a definite cultural aspect to the manner in which the artist directed his words at the females which also required explanation. When we finished with Flo rida, we moved onto California Dreaming by the Mamas and Pappas which was much easier and self explanatory by comparison. I think the only real hang-up in this song that required explanation was the noun "Preacher." None of the tutees had come across this word yet, but a brief explanation was enough for them to grasp the concept. Soufiane had another song prepared by Aloe Blacc, but we didn't have time for it. He wants to work on it at a later date, during break perhaps. That cat is so eager to learn. Gotta love it!
Due to the fact that I was not present last week when everyone turned in their listening logs, I asked Ramin if it would be cool if I did a listening blog instead. Though I knew this song would be a little advanced for my level of understanding, I wanted to try using "Al Final Del Camino," that is "End of the Road" en Espanol!
Initially I wanted to try listening to the song and writing down the lyrics (as I did with my tutees in our first couple listening lessons. Now I see why the fill-in-the-blank method goes so much more smoothly). This was a huge fail. It seems this was i+12! Below is my failed attempt. As you can see I gave this battle after the third line...
My Attempt at "Al Final Del Camino": Se que tu mi quires No divorcé memorar, Te partería mi amor des pesos Mi first time, (hard to block out the English lyrics that have been pounded in my head)
As stated above, I quickly abandoned that method, and moved onto listening while reading. Here are the "real" lyrics...
Lyrics to Al Final Del Camino : (in parenthesis are my best guess of what the lyrics are in the beginning of the song) Se que tu me quieres (I know that you want me) No te vas a enamorar (?) Te faltarian mi amor mis besos (___ ___ my love my kisses) Mi verdad (my truth) Tu me perteneces (?) No lo dudes mas (?) Tu eres mia ahora y siempre (You are mine now and forever/always) Lo seras (?) Al final del camino (at the end of the road) Me vas a encontrar (you will see me) Es nuestro destino (it's our destiny) Volver a empezar (?) Siento tristeza en mi corazon (Something about apologizing to my heart) Por el dolor de tus adios (blah blah blah blah goodbye) Chorus: Donde tu estes Si te llega mi voz Al ponerse el sol Me recordaras Es lo natural Sigo estando en ti Yo... Te perdono el error Vuelve por favor No juguemos mas Tu eres para mi Dime que es asi Ya no soportare estar sin ti Ni una noche mas Tu no comprendes mi sufrimento Tu no estas Tal vez si quisieras Volver a empezar Juntos do nuevo y amarnos por siempre Sin final Al final del camino Me vas a encontrar Nuestro destino es Volver a empezar Nada es igual Si no estas aqui Ya todos mis dias se visten de gris Chorus Mike (spoken): Todo este tiempo sin ti Todo este tiempo extranandote Todo este tiempo imaginandote Con quien estas? A quien quieres? Con quien juegas? Pero que importa Solo me importa Que vuelvas a ser mia Que sepas que yo no te engano Que sepas que te perdono Que estoy perdido y sin rumbo Que me duele estar solo No puedo seguir solo No puedo seguir Solo, solo, solo No puedo Nada es igual Si no estas aqui Ya todos mis dias Se visten de gris
This worked a little better, but in all honesty...I still only understood half of the lyrics and less than a third of the meaning could even be inferred. Had it not been for "schema," that is, for my incessant play back of this 90's motown hit, I probably would have known even less than that. I decided at that point to do what most of us in the modern age do when we don't know a word in a foreign language...GOOGLE IT! So I put the Spanish lyrics into the google translater, and this is what I got...
Direct “Google” Translation of the Spanish Lyrics: Lyrics to End Of The Road: I know you love me You will not love We'll be wanting my love my kisses my truth You belong to me Do not hesitate more You are mine now and forever what you will be At the end of the road I'll find It is our destiny Back to start I feel sadness in my heart For the pain of your goodbye Chorus: Where you're If you reach my voice As the sun remember me It is natural I remain in you I ... I forgive the error Please Return Let's not play more You are to me Tell me that is so It endures not be without you Not one more night You do not understand my his sufferings You are not Maybe if you wanted Back to start Do together again and forever love no end At the end of the road I'll find Our destination is Back to start Nothing is the same If not here Now all my days are gray dress Chorus Mike (spoken): All this time without you All this time missing you All the while imagining Who are you? Who do you want? With whom do you play? But that matters I care only May be mine again Know that I will not deceive you Know that I forgive you I'm lost and aimless It hurts to be alone I can not go it alone I can not go Alone, alone, alone I can not Nothing is the same If not here Now all my days They dress in gray
Lastly, here are the original lyrics for those of you who didn't own the "Cooleyhighharmony" cassette tape in early adolescence!
End of the Road lyrics as intended for the American/English Speaking Audience: Boyz II Men: End Of The Road Lyrics We belong together And you know that I'm right Why do you play with my heart, Why do you play with my mind? Said we'd be forever Said it'd never die How could you love me and leave me And never say good-bye? Well I can't sleep at night without holding you tight Girl, each time I try I just break down and cry Pain in my head oh I'd rather be dead Spinnin' around and around Chorus: Although we've come to the End Of The Road Still I can't let go It's unnatural, you belong to me, I belong to you Girl, I know you really love me, You just don't realize You've never been there before It's only your first time Maybe I'll forgive you, hmm Maybe you'll try We should be happy together Forever, you and I Could you love me again like you loved me before This time I want you to love me much more This time instead just come to my bed And baby just don't let me go
Chorus: Although we've come to the End Of The Road Still I can't let go It's unnatural, you belong to me, I belong to you
Although we've come to the End Of The Road Still I can't let go It's unnatural, you belong to me, I belong to you
(spoken) Girl, I'm here for you All those times of night when you just hurt me And just ran out with that other fella Baby I knew about it, I just didn't care You just don't understand how much I love you do you? I'm here for YOU I'm not out to go out and cheat on you all night Just like you did baby but that's all right Hey, I love you anyway And I'm still gonna be here for you 'till my dying day baby Right now, I'm just in so much pain baby Cuz you just won't come back to me Will you? Just come back to me (Lonely) Yes baby my heart is lonely (Lonely) My heart hurts baby (Lonely) Yes I feel pain too Baby please This time instead just come to my bed And baby just don't let me go
Chorus: Although we've come to the End Of The Road Still I can't let go It's unnatural, you belong to me, I belong to you
Come to the End Of The Road Still I can't let go It's unnatural, you belong to me, I belong to you
