2013年11月14日 星期四

outlines

Topic:

What I see back from the exchange in Lin Fen

Main Idea:

The differences between students in Lin Fen and us and the causes behind our differences.

Topic sentences: 

Topic sentence 1:

We went to Lin Fen First High School for academic exchange.
(Summarize the days there.)

Topic sentence 2:

From many activities we attend together, I find them really humble and seemed inflexible. I don't mean we don't have good rules, but what they made me feel was like they were under a strict rule and more pressure, whether in study or daily life. Their imagination and creativity were limited.

a) applause: They like to applaud almost anywhere and anytime.
b) ideology: They were sometimes afraid of asking some questions.
c) class schedule: We have at most 8 classes a day bur they get 12. What's more, they don't have 2 days holiday like we do every week. However, they get to take a break on Saturday afternoon, and return to school on Sunday afternoon.
d) manners/ learning attitude: They seemed to be under a great pressure on school work and thus there we could see mountains of textbooks and reference books. Also, during class, they pay great attention and discuss their thoughts smoothly when asked to.
e) envy us for our "freedom": They were so surprised and jealous when they heard of the variety of activites we have here in Taiwan's high schools.
e) hosting: While collaborating with their host and hostess, I saw a very big difference that they were really conservative and, on the other hand, they turned out to be quite inflexible.
f) messages they left for us: Mostly we receive really similar messages.

Topic sentence 3:

There isn't a right and wrong or ups and downs between these differences. It only depends on which one do you prefer, and it differs between people. It's hard to get into the deepest reasons that led to the differences, but there are some feelings that I can share to all.

a) applause: Since they applaud so often, sometimes I got a little embarrassed (because I was the one who was receiving the claps). Yet it still encourages people in some way. I think this can be considered a good and cool habit which shows good manners. I'm curious about this: Were they taught to do so?
b) ideology: 
c) class schedule/manners/learning attitude/hosting/messages they left for us: In their culture, still there many things are determined by "scores". And much because lots of things are done there only because one is related to another who has authority over something, thus the college entrance exam is so important for the, since that might be the only way for them to reach their goal with their own effort.
Here is what I found on the Internet:
中華人民共和國教育法對教育的理解是:「為了發展教育事業,提高全民族的素質,促進社會主義物質文明和精神文明建設,根據憲法,制定本法。」
中華民國教育法對教育的理解是:「為保障人民學習及受教育之權利,確立教育基本方針,健全教育體制,特制定本法。」
Since there is such difference, this leads to the "stuff education(填鴨式教育)" there. But this isn't totally bad since they are really having sturdy training. We are proud of our "not so stuff education compared to theirs" and is emphasized that we have multi-development for students. But things seem not so absolute.
Though they left similar messages, and those were like poems or articles they memorized before, but it is sure to see that they could apply what they've learned into use.
The education also influenced the way they hold an activity. The hosts there speak conservatively and the lines were well-prepared. Ours were prepared, too, but what I mean is that their lines were written like the way we write an article, serious. Ours were more lively and flexible, so it's easier for us to deal with emergencies; theirs were "safe", but they got to be sure that everything is under control.
d) envy us for our "freedom": Compared with us, it seemed that they have "less freedom". For instance, they were ruled to live in the dormitory. However, maybe they are under more rules but it doesn't just completely means bad. There is always pros and cons in any kind of system.

2013年11月11日 星期一

Research on Ideology

辭條:意識型態(Ideology)

意識形態(Ideology)是特定的一組概念或一個概念體系。在用法上可以指稱某個歷史時期社會思潮;反映一定階級或特定社會集團的利益和要求的系統思想、觀念的總體;或是政治制度、經濟和社會型態的思想體系。簡而言之是一種認知體系、一種世界觀。不同的社會階級與社會集團成員經常是抱持著相異的意識型態,而意識型態之間的鬥爭則發生在社會各個領域如政治、經濟、文化、藝術、法律等等之中;佔有優勢地位的意識形態常以一種「中立」的姿態呈現,而所有其他與這個標準不同的意識形態則常常被視為異端或偏見。
意識形態這個概念的正式提出和原始意義應始於法國的啟蒙運動,最早提出這個概念並立之為觀念科學的是法國18至19世紀的學者德崔希(Destutt de Tracy,1754-1836)。他首創「意識型態(Ideologie)」一詞,並賦予該詞「思想科學」的意義,以之為所有科學的基礎。黑格爾(Georg Wilhelm Friedrich   Hegel,1770-1831)則認為意識泛指一切精神現象。馬克思(Karl Marx,1818-1883)則以唯物主義觀點闡釋了意識形態,融會德崔希和黑格爾這兩派學說,視意識型態為一種客觀的隨人類社會的矛盾在歷史上發展程度而變化的動態現象。馬克斯更將其經濟、政治和社會理論作為研究意識型態的基礎,提出居統治地位的意識型態也正是統治階級的意識型態的批判觀點。
新馬克思主義學者阿圖塞(Louis Althusser)則將意識型態延伸為由外部文化所建構和塑造的整套再現系統與論述,而媒體、法律、教育、政治系統等意識型態國家機器則透過每日不斷的運作建立並合法化社會規範,達成意識形態控制的目的。
對於意識型態常有的兩種誤解,一是視之為獨立存在並可指導社會各領域,另一則將之視為只是社會特定領域或各領域各自的衍生產物,無自主性。合理的看法是意識型態既是再現了特定社會存在,也同時是社會存在與構成的一部分。其與其他部分之間,依時空等各項條件,有著錯綜複雜的關係,會一同變遷,而有時也會被視為變遷的動力或是結果。
延伸閱讀
1.孟登迎。意識形態與主體建構:阿爾都塞意識型態理論。北京市:中國社會科學出版社。2002。
2.Althusser, Louis. On Ideology. New York: Verso, 2008.
3.楊小濱。否定的美學:法蘭克福學派的文藝理論和文化批評。臺北市:麥田,1995。


http://hep.ccic.ntnu.edu.tw/browse2.php?s=657

Topic, Topic Statement, Main Ideas (new new version)

Topic:

What I see back from the exchange in Lin Fen

Main Idea:

The differences between students in Lin Fen and us and the causes behind our differences.

Topic sentences: 

Topic sentence 1:

We went to Lin Fen First High School for academic exchange.
(Summarize the days there.)

Topic sentence 2:

From many activities we attend together, I find them really humble and seemed inflexible.

supporting examples:
  • applause
  • ideology--afraid of asking some questions

Topic sentence 3:

I don't mean we don't have good rules, but what they made me feel was like they were under a strict rule and more pressure, whether in study or daily life.

supporting examples:
  • class schedule
  • manners/ learning attitude
  • envy us for our "freedom"

Topic sentence 4:

Their imagination and creativity were limited.

supporting examples:

  • hosting
  • messages they left for us

2013年11月10日 星期日

Topic, Topic Statement, Main Ideas (new version)

Topic:

What I see back from the exchange in Lin Fen

Main Idea:

The differences between students in Lin Fen and us and the causes behind our differences.

Topic sentences: 

Topic sentence 1:

We went to Lin Fen First High School for academic exchange.
(Summarize the days there.)

Topic sentence 2:

Here are some points I saw.
  • class schedule
  • manners/ learning attitude
  • applause
  • hosting
  • ideology--afraid of asking some questions
  • envy us for our "freedom"

Topic sentence 3:

Their imagination and creativity were limited.

2013年11月6日 星期三

Topic, Topic Statement, Main Ideas

Topic:

What led to the great difference between Lin Fen and us

Main Idea 1:

Topic sentence: 

We went to Lin Fen First High School for academic exchange and there I saw much difference.
From the class schedule...

Main Idea 2:

Topic sentence:

I did the hosting of the show with some fellow students in Lin Fen and we differ in style.
From this point...
I talked with a reporter about their student council...

Main Idea 3:

Topic sentence:

When we were going on with the cultural exchange, I could see their curiosity if knowing everything.

Advice from Teacher Hazel

Teacher Hazel admitted that she couldn't help much with my project but I really had a nice talk with her. She's cool!
Since I'd been worrying about my topic was something our whole class experienced ALL together instead of my personal experience and I felt kind of bad, Teacher Hazel taught me a way to solve this problem--I would just admit this right in the beginning of the speech like saying, "Hey, I know we've been there together, but here are some points I saw myself and I'd like to share with you guys..."

Other we talked about the direction my topic is going. I feel like my topic is becoming some academic report digging into the difference between two cultures, but what I really want was something like interactions between people.
Teacher Hazel gave me a point--exchange students--that was an interesting one. However that was something not related to my personal experience and it would be difficult to do that way.
Thus, I am right back to the topic about Lin Fen since I could take advantage of the experience I have.
The solution I got from Miss You is that I may combine the "interaction" part in my big topic, maybe use this point to help with the whole topic.

2013年11月4日 星期一

Some Extra Points

  • Since I did the hosting for the presentation, I collaborated with many members of their student council. I really admire them of their capability running the whole show. To my surprise, when I told a reporter how great the student council was, he shook his head. We may propose and vote for something we want. However, not like us, he told me that the student council there only did what the superiors assigned them to do. If the head don't agree with them, there is nothing left to say.
  • The students there really like to applaud. Why so? Are they taught to?
  •  I introduced 6 books we read in the previous and present semester. Miss You said, they should read many books, too, don't they? But after the conversation with the reporter, he told me that here, students only read books that are associated with  the lessons such as The Dream of the Red Chamber, Water Margin...etc. Other outside readings will be complement only when they enter college.
  • When I was introducing things above, I was really afraid of them feeling bored. I asked them, "Do you still want to learn more?" They gave me great feedback saying, "Yes! Keep going! Keep going!" Later I asked again, they still gave me the same feedback. That really encouraged me. 

2013年11月3日 星期日

Topic, Main Idea, Outline

Topic: 

Points I see after days in Lin Fen

Main Idea:

  • Fellow students in Lin Fen envy us for our "freedom". Or I would like to say just in contrast, we have lots more extracurricular activities and holidays. 
  • During the hosting, I found that their style was more conservative. Unlike us, we turned out to be much more lively and flexible.
  • Because of ideology, even when they were curious about something, they were often afraid to ask the question for fear that they may touch the taboos.
  • Above all, I want to learn more about WHY and HOW come they were so different from us.

Outline:

  • Begin with briefly talking about the summary of days in Lin Fem and emphasize the points I'm going to discuss later.
  • ideology
  • (factors that influence their education?)
  • (continue with the previous idea)---their imagination and creativity were limited

2013年10月31日 星期四

Days in Lin Fen First High School

Now my topic is about the academic exchange in Lin Fen First High School, but I haven't figure out a point that I could thoroughly discuss.
Thus, Miss You asked me to share all the details that happened in the two days and we may grab the point later.

Day 1

When we first arrived, lines of students from Lin Fen stood there waiting outside our bus.
Students from different groups came and give us gifts according to the class we were going to.
It was just in time for them doing the break time exercise.
Our partners took us strolling in their campus, taking a look at the buildings, their dormitories,  and there was even a big lake!
When we got into the crowd, some juniors from their school came to us.
Some girls kept coiling my arm, telling me how much they desire for Taiwan; including our freedom contrast to theirs, and the way we speak etc.
They really wanted to spend more time with us but since they weren't in the second grade, they didn't get the qualifications.
They said only by this time, they could get a chance to peek at us.
They kept me company on the way back to the classroom.
They even said, "See the passer-bys' admirable gazes!"

The class I stayed for the two days was Class 473.
We took physic and history class this day.
Though it seemed that I'd learned the chapter of physics already, I couldn't really understand what the teacher were talking about. I'm not sure if it was because of the different terms or I just forgot what I've learned.
To my surprise, I find the lay outs of their history textbooks really different from ours.

Soon it was time for lunch and we went to the dining hall.
We'd never seen such a scene before--so many people in so big a hall, waiting for lunch.
Some food there were really cheap, you can get a big bowl of noodles just with less than 5 NT dollars!

After lunch, we got back to the classroom and watch the movie "Step Back to Glory", which was mostly filmed in our school, with the students there.
We were scheduled to do a report after the movie watching, but time wasn't enough, and we went on with another activity--the erudition competition.

After the competition(we lost), most of us go visit an art exhibition in their school. However, because Crystal and I were the comperes of the presentation in the evening, and we had to collaborate with the comperes from Lin Fen, so both sides decided to have dinner together and we may discuss our lines.
During our communication, we got familiar with each other, about ourselves and mostly learning the differences of hosting manners.
We turned out to be really different. Their style was kind of inflexible, which is safer, while ours was more lively.
No one is definitely better or worse. I really admire their rhetoric, since it would get me forever to write something like that on my own.
I was worried about the difference in the beginning, afraid that they might not accept our words.
Fortunately, they like it. Yet I think learning the difference between each other is the main purpose of this academic exchange.
There they were the student council who run the whole show. What's more, one of their hosts is the chairman of the student council, so we got to meet many members of them and cooperate with them, which was my pleasure.
Their capability in handling the whole activity surprised me; I especially worship their vice-chairperson, a cute but shrewd girl.

Throughout the show, though there were some little accidents, but I still consider it a satisfactory performance.
I feel pretty much confident in the process, and the deepest impression I got is:
I really love the tacit understanding between strangers first met and able to complete a task together.
I think that Crystal and I are the people who reaped the most.
There was another thing that inspired me:
Phoebe's music for her presentation had some problem and we tried several times. I even asked the teacher who was in charge of the sound control if we should give up.
However, he kept trying, and when we finally succeeded, he told us, "After this experience, we should learn that no matter what we encounter, we should conquer it!"
Isn't that uplifting?


 Day 2

We again arrived at Lin Fen and started a new day with them, still the same excited feeling.

We had math, biology, English, and Chinese class this day.
For math class, I didn't have too much thoughts.
For biology, I considered the teacher a cool and humorous one, and quite charming.
For English, to be really honest, their grammar was not bad, but when it comes to pronunciation, we win.
For Chinese, I really broadened my horizons. They had so many poems memorized in their head; they could speak frankly with assurance about their opinions when the teacher asked them to.

After lunch, again, was our time to share something with them.
I first introduced our class to them, how we were formed and what we do...etc.
After some introduction of books and displaying some of my silly works, I asked them to ask me questions.
We talked about studies, simplified and traditional Chinese characters, spelling methods, and so on. I even showed them New Taiwan dollars.
I think it was really cute of them when some of them were curious and try to ask some embarrassing questions, the others would stop them and tell us not to keep it in mind.

(Sorry that I had to jump over the part of the English class by Miss You first. I'll make up for it other time.)

Though we had only got along for less than two days, memories and what I'd learned from them will never fade away even we said goodbye. "A hedge between keeps friendship green." In fact, we could still get in touch by the internet!

2013年10月29日 星期二

Websites about Days in Lin Fen

Since my new topic is about days we spent in Lin Fen First High School in Shanxi, I would like to share some websites about this.



http://big5.huaxia.com/sxlf/lfsc/2013/10/3588167.html
This is a great one for it can remind me of some events. It even wrote something about me! But there are some untrue messages, though.

2013年9月15日 星期日

Excerpts I

So far I only got these.
I had a hard time finding more "books" instead of Internet information.
Seriously, if I'm not able to make out the way of carrying out the project, I'm thinking that maybe I should change my topic.
I'll show you what I've got lately anyway.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gutman, Ron. THE UNTAPPED POWERS OF THE SMILE. September, 7, 2013, from http://blog.healthtap.com/2011/05/the-untapped-power-of-smiling/

-I started my exploratory journey in California, with an intriguing UC Berkeley 30-year longitudinal study that examined the smiles of students in an old yearbook, and measured their well-being and success throughout their lives. By measuring the smiles in the photographs the researchers were able to predict: how fulfilling and long lasting their marriages would be, how highly they would score on standardized tests of well-being and general happiness, and how inspiring they would be to others. The widest smilers consistently ranked highest in all of the above.

-Even more surprising was a 2010 Wayne State University research project that examined the baseball cards photos of Major League players in 1952. The study found that the span of a player’s smile could actually predict the span of his life! Players who didn’t smile in their pictures lived an average of only 72.9 years, while players with beaming smiles lived an average of 79.9 years.

-Smiling is not just a universal means of communicating, it’s also a frequent one. More than 30% of us smile more than 20 times a day and less than 14% of us smile less than 5 times a day. In fact, those with the greatest superpowers are actually children, who smile as many as 400 times per day!

-Have you ever wondered why being around children who smile frequently makes you smile more often? Twostudies from 2002 and 2011 at Uppsala University in Sweden confirmed that other people’s smiles actually suppress the control we usually have over our facial muscles, compelling us to smile. They also showed that it’s very difficult to frown when looking at someone who smiles.
Why? Because smiling is evolutionarily contagious and we have a subconscious innate drive to smile when we see one. This occurs even among strangers when we have no intention to connect or affiliate with the other person. Mimicking a smile and experiencing it physically helps us interpret how genuine a smile is, so that we can understand the real emotional state of the smiler.

-So now we know that:
When you smile, you look good and feel good
When others see you smile, they smile too
When others smile, they look good and feel good too
Perhaps this is why Mother Teresa said: “I will never understand all the good that a simple smile can accomplish.” What’s the catch? Only that the smile you give has to be big, and genuine!


-Other muscles can simulate a smile, but only the peculiar tango of the zygomatic major and the orbicularis oculi produces a genuine expression of positive emotion. Psychologists call this the “Duchenne smile,” and most consider it the sole indicator of true enjoyment. The name is a nod to French anatomist Guillaume Duchenne, who studied emotional expression by stimulating various facial muscles with electrical currents. (The technique hurt so much, it’s been said, that Duchenne performed some of his tests on the severed heads of executed criminals.) In his 1862 book Mecanisme de la Physionomie Humaine, Duchenne wrote that the zygomatic major can be willed into action, but that only the “sweet emotions of the soul” force the orbicularis oculi to contract. “Its inertia, in smiling,” Duchenne wrote, “unmasks a false friend.”

-Psychological scientists no longer study beheaded rogues — just graduate students, mainly — but they have advanced our understanding of smiles since Duchenne’s discoveries. We now know that genuine smiles may indeed reflect a “sweet soul.” The intensity of a true grin can predict marital happiness, personal well-being, and even longevity. We know that some smiles — Duchenne’s false friends — do not reflect enjoyment at all, but rather a wide range of emotions, including embarrassment, deceit, and grief. We know that variables (age, gender, culture, and social setting, among them) influence the frequency and character of a grin, and what purpose smiles play in the broader scheme of existence. In short, scientists have learned that one of humanity’s simplest expressions is beautifully complex.


天天心理學(2011)。【微笑真能挣钱??】。201397日,取自http://qing.blog.sina.com.cn/tj/6e576b2b330001jt.html

-你微笑,世界就对你微笑(至少是半个世界:p
       生命中能体会到一种简单的社会化快乐,有时候我们不会注意但已然成为一种自发反应,即我们对别人笑,对方会报以同样的笑容。
      不过也许你注意到,并非每个人都会还(音:huan )你一个微笑。 Hinszand Tomhave(1991) 想知道有多少人会对他人投送过来的微笑给予微笑的反应。结果显示约50%的人会给我们(同样的)微笑作为回报。相比之下,几乎没有人对那些面露不悦之色的人给予类似反应。
        如果以上研究结果都没法让你笑逐颜开,那来看这个理由吧:常微笑的人会活得更长!1952年一项研究中,研究者对当时的棒球运动员进行拍照,笑着的球员比那些板着脸的要多活7年。
      这个让你微笑的理由该足够了吧!


陈世旭(2012)。学习心理学系列课程--陌生人,他们需要你的微笑。華夏心理。201397日,取自http://www.psychcn.com/psylife/201208/150063193.shtml

-在报上看到,某大学一项研究结果表明,即使被陌生人忽视也会使人受到伤害。那项研究的过程是这样的:研究人员随机对散步的路人进行测试--对部分人微笑并作出眼神接触,对另一部分人故意忽视,而后,再由另一位研究人员前去询问被忽视和被关注的人。结果发现,看到对方微笑的人表示有种被关注感,而被忽视的人明显感到沮丧。这说明,即使是陌生人不理睬,甚至完全忽视一个人的存在,那个人一定会受到负面情绪的影响。这项研究的负责人在研究报告中说:这个实验的有趣之处在于进一步证实了人类社会关系的强大力量。


逆旅(2012)。微笑果然是共通的語言。PanSci 泛科學網201397日,取自http://www.businessweekly.com.tw/KBlogArticle.aspx?id=1378


-達爾文認為全人類的共同祖先使用同一套表情語言,就像遺傳的一部分;微笑和皺眉源自生物性,而非文化。

2013年9月8日 星期日

Books

Here I found some information to help me define my topic clearer.
My topic is temporarily about the "smile".
Hope these would help.
I'll do more researches later.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chernoff, Marc. 88 Ways To Make A Stranger Smile. September, 8, 2013, from http://www.marcandangel.com/2011/05/08/88-ways-to-make-a-stranger-smile/

Gutman, Ron. THE UNTAPPED POWERS OF THE SMILE. September, 7, 2013, from http://blog.healthtap.com/2011/05/the-untapped-power-of-smiling/


Smile Event Photography. September, 7, 2013, from http://www.smileevent.co.uk/

Smile Movement. September, 7, 2013, from http://www.smilemovement.com/

Smile4Gay. September, 7, 2013, from http://www.smile4gay.org/en/

天天心理學(2011)。【微笑真能挣钱??】。201397日,取自http://qing.blog.sina.com.cn/tj/6e576b2b330001jt.html

王延煌。微笑,源源不絕的正向力量。學生輔導電子報。201397日,取自http://guidepaper.edu.tw/?menu=5&subject_sn=523

陈世旭(2012)。学习心理学系列课程--陌生人,他们需要你的微笑。華夏心理。201397日,取自http://www.psychcn.com/psylife/201208/150063193.shtml

施振榮/著、林靜宜/採訪整理(2012)。微笑走出自己的路:施振榮的Smile學,20堂創業、創新、人生課。天下文化。

逆旅(2012)。微笑果然是共通的語言。PanSci 泛科學網201397日,取自http://www.businessweekly.com.tw/KBlogArticle.aspx?id=1378

徐澄(2013)。微笑背後隱藏著力量。鎮江日報。201397日,取自http://big5.xinhuanet.com/gate/big5/news.xinhuanet.com/fashion/2013-06/14/c_124844022.htm

黄敏(2011)。英心理学家研究发现“完美微笑”有公式。北京晨报。201397日,取自http://news.sciencenet.cn/htmlnews/2011/11/255624.shtm

微笑台灣319鄉。2013微笑台灣 活動簡介。201397日,取自http://www.319.com.tw/custompage/show/47


微笑牆 讓世界看到你內心的溫暖。201397日,取自http://app.xinli001.com/smile/

2013年8月21日 星期三

A New Idea

Still struggling about how to move on on my project, a new idea popped into my head.
I haven't been in touch with most of my junior high school classmates.
Actually, I can say that there is only one that I've been in contact with--we talk on the phone quite often.
For the others, I only see them updating there Facebook and sometimes give them a "like".

And now I think, if I am told to connect the world, why not start from the people nearby?
Maybe I should start from calling one classmate a week.
I don't know how good it will work out and what I will gain, though.

Maybe just for fun?

2013年8月9日 星期五

The Differences

I went to Yilan with my friend on weekend.

She now studies in Canada, having a entirely different life from mine.
During the 2-day trip, I deeply felt that we are gradually heading foward to two super different worlds.
We can still be great friends, laugh out loud together, share each other's tears...
But my intuition told me I could stay with her all day long, day after day, for a long period of time.

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There would be too much details to tell, but what I try to convey in this article was merely this:
You don't have to understand yourself by abstruse means.
Just get along with someone, anyone, a friend, a family member, your neighbor... and you can see the differences between you and the people.
Step by step, you will be able to join all the pieces you get from the course of dealing with others.

And that's you.

The Summer Camp

I'm back from the summer camp, and I still hadn't decided my final topic. Anyways, I would like to share something about my camp, and maybe I could grab some inspirations.

The reason I went to this camp was wholly because of a guy I had a crush on.
I'll skip the details and get to the point.

There, I met a girl in my team, which is relatively an inner girl in my presence.
I could manage almost every thing on my own, but the girl was like seeking help from others.
I took care of many things for her, for she is one year younger than me; and in the other aspect, this way she wouldn't have to bother the guy I like.
However, the guy still took much care of her, way more than me. I felt jealous. He was supposed to be better to me! (That's another story to tell.)

This made me ponder over a point: Should a girl be strong and capable or delicate and powerless?
I don't want to bother the guy so I tried my best to do everything myself; I thought he would feel more relaxed and be happy about that.
And he did seem happy, but happy that he could help that girl more! (Okay, this may be just what I think, but it really upset me.)

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Leave the wonder above aside, I think I've learned more about myself from the camp.

#1
I'm quite an extrovert.
Back from the camp, when I was recollecting about the 6 days, I figured out that I was nearly the wildest girl in the whole camp.
I thought of this as "being myself", maybe I really was, however, not everything is good when "being myself".
There are advantages and disadvantages on this point.
Mom always tells me to astringe myself.
Maybe I was a bit too out-going?
And that may scare someone away...

#2
I've always been a girl that loves to smile and laugh.
I resign myself to a happy person and can also bring others some happiness.
That's what I love to be, and now I learned how powerful smiling could be.

It's impossible for you to know everyone in the camp, but I smile to people I know belong to our camp, especially to girls.
On the last day, there was a time for us to write some words to anyone you'd like to.
Here I received some words like this:
Though I didn't have much contact with you, but you smile all the time. So cute. ♥

This made me so proud.
A smile won't be efficacious all the time, but it does most of the time.
It brings you more friends and less enemies.
And you're happy.

2013年7月19日 星期五

The Beginning

I'm supposed to do a project based on the topic 17. 17-year-old.
From this project, I get to connect the world, and soon, to the endless end, I finally would learn about myself, understand myself more.
Being a bit confused about the direction, I still listed some ideas:

1. Global Love Letters
As a teenage girl, the word "love" in the title caught my attention at first. However, it wasn't simply about the boy and girl love as I was thinking. Still it is an interesting topic for me to do--we write anonymous love letters and leave them wherever we go, to spread love to those that might need some love in the meanwhile.
You may check out the details from the link below:
Yet this isn't able to put in practice though, because I couldn't figure out a way to get feedback from those who get the letters.

2. Typos
This is another interesting topic--to find out all the typos in English on the signs and boards in the city and really take action to make the shop-owners or the government-related bureaus do something. This requires courage and I'd love to take the challenge. However, still there are some difficulties and considerations so it is not the best choice either.

3. Interview Foreigners in the Neighbor
The idea is to talk to some foreigners in my neighbor, not those walking by, but those who stay at a place where they belong to (a store, a stand, or their house...etc.) so I could constantly do visits. I'd like to chat with them and understand them--understand their backgrounds, their countries, their reasons coming to Taiwan, what they like or think about Taiwan.... This seems to be a feasible one, but I don't know what the next step should be. I might get stuck then.

4. Summer Camp
(details in the next article)