is making lists really going to help when i can't even speak the language?
two of the little girls who used to be favorites of mine when i used to babysit are having their graduation receptions this weekend. i made a card for one of the girls on photoshop today, with pictures of her and me at camp (i was a volunteer, it was her first time away from home) in '96. it's a super cool card:) i love photoshop.
i'm reading survival kit for overseas living by l. robert kohls right now. it's super short, and parts of it are skimmable duh stuff ("when you go overseas, it will be different."), but there are some lists and charts i've been copying down. so far i've copied down
~his list of common stereotypes of americans
~a chart comparing some basic cornerstones of philosophies of any society (surprisingly good at reminding me that things that i automatically assume are right and good or at least universal may not be so--for instance, deciding against too much technology doesn't = lacking in sophistocation)
~a list of american values
~another one of american proverbs (reminds me of the adrienne rich quotation: "until we know the assumptions in which we are drenched, we cannot know ourselves.")
~6 things i can do when i arrive to make myself feel more comfortable as soon as possible
~a list of 47 questions that sound very promising in what they would reveal to me about my country's culture once i find answers (who are the country's heros? can i recognize the national anthem? what will shopkeepers assume if i handle their merchendise? what's taboo? etc)
~a list of things that bother americans when they live abroad
~things americans do that bother people in their host countries
~and a chart listing symptoms of culture shock, breaking them up into people who withdraw and people who become more aggressive in response to it.
at first, honestly, i thought this book would end up hardly worth skimming, like the art of coming home (a book about return adjustment) was, but i'm finding this thought-provoking. and how american of me to feel so action-oriented toward my study-abroad preparation.
by being as well-prepared as i can, i'll be depriving myself of a lot of what i'm sure would be really interesting stories about misunderstandings and misery. and i'm ok with that:) since there's no way i could get to know everything there is to know about china in a year, i figure the more i learn now, the more i'll be able to learn when i get there.
and it's worth learning as much about the history now as i can, taking notes to bring with me, because i've heard that a lot of museums there don't have any english explanations of what you're looking at.
hey, i get the feeling that as august approaches, i'll continue talking about china a lot. i'll probably want to come on here and talk about my reflections on whatever i'm reading at the time, whether it be cool facts from the history of china, or thoughts about how american culture is, or geez, maybe even about teaching english as a foregin language, eventually. i'll feel tiresome always posting about this to people who will see that as my subject and skip, so i'm thinking of making a filter.
Poll filter
i'm reading survival kit for overseas living by l. robert kohls right now. it's super short, and parts of it are skimmable duh stuff ("when you go overseas, it will be different."), but there are some lists and charts i've been copying down. so far i've copied down
~his list of common stereotypes of americans
~a chart comparing some basic cornerstones of philosophies of any society (surprisingly good at reminding me that things that i automatically assume are right and good or at least universal may not be so--for instance, deciding against too much technology doesn't = lacking in sophistocation)
~a list of american values
~another one of american proverbs (reminds me of the adrienne rich quotation: "until we know the assumptions in which we are drenched, we cannot know ourselves.")
~6 things i can do when i arrive to make myself feel more comfortable as soon as possible
~a list of 47 questions that sound very promising in what they would reveal to me about my country's culture once i find answers (who are the country's heros? can i recognize the national anthem? what will shopkeepers assume if i handle their merchendise? what's taboo? etc)
~a list of things that bother americans when they live abroad
~things americans do that bother people in their host countries
~and a chart listing symptoms of culture shock, breaking them up into people who withdraw and people who become more aggressive in response to it.
at first, honestly, i thought this book would end up hardly worth skimming, like the art of coming home (a book about return adjustment) was, but i'm finding this thought-provoking. and how american of me to feel so action-oriented toward my study-abroad preparation.
by being as well-prepared as i can, i'll be depriving myself of a lot of what i'm sure would be really interesting stories about misunderstandings and misery. and i'm ok with that:) since there's no way i could get to know everything there is to know about china in a year, i figure the more i learn now, the more i'll be able to learn when i get there.
and it's worth learning as much about the history now as i can, taking notes to bring with me, because i've heard that a lot of museums there don't have any english explanations of what you're looking at.
hey, i get the feeling that as august approaches, i'll continue talking about china a lot. i'll probably want to come on here and talk about my reflections on whatever i'm reading at the time, whether it be cool facts from the history of china, or thoughts about how american culture is, or geez, maybe even about teaching english as a foregin language, eventually. i'll feel tiresome always posting about this to people who will see that as my subject and skip, so i'm thinking of making a filter.
Poll filter