public speaking

It's said that public speaking is ranked the #1 fear for most people. I used to be, and still am, one of those people. It's gotten easier over the years though. For one thing, I don't stutter as bad as I used to, and I'm trying to eliminate those infamous "like's" and "um's".

Where exactly did these filler words come from? Who was the first person to start using these words to bridge those awkward gaps in your speech? The answer may be untraceable like a lot of things. It's almost a part of your culture to use these words in everyday conversation too. I overhear many conversations and people tend to over-exaggerate a lot of situations by constantly saying "very", "so", and "literally". That sentence itself used too much "too much".

I  think public speaking will probably get better as you experience more things...and practice doing it a lot. That's the only way you're going to get better at it. To this day I still don't know if speaking in front of people you do know is harder/easier than speaking in front of those you don't.

Sometimes in English we watch these videos called TED talks, and although I don't always follow what the actually speaker is saying, I watch what they do...and how they project their idea. It doesn't matter what you say most of the time, it really is how you go about it. I hope one day to be an effective public speaker like so many I have seen before.

stranger than fiction

Stranger than Fiction is a movie about an IRS auditor who one day hears a voice that narrates his life. The strange part is that no one else can hear this voice besides him. Will Ferrell stars as the main character, Harold Crick. So far I enjoy this movie and I hope that it'll get better too. Normally, when it comes to movies, I'm very picky and my attention starts to wander off. I don't know why, but I automatically judge movies when I first hear of them. But this one seems nice. I think my taste in movies would definitely be weird or bizarre movies, like Donnie Darko.

If I were to hear a voice that narrated my life, I'd be creeped out but kind of fascinated at that same time. It'd be nice to have another perspective on my own day-to-day actions, like say for instance, if I got a 100 on my test, it would be nice if  someone repeated that to me for my own benefit. I feel like there are definitely moments in real life where music could come into play too...like when someone proposes to me (hopefully), there'd be some sappy indie music playing in the background. Band of Horses maybe. Yeah that'd be nice.

I'd like to make this post longer but unfortunately my ideas are tapped right now!

Language barriers

Today in class we watched a TED video that talked about languages and the restrictions it places on people. But on the other hand it also can benefit us, if we want to protect our ideas from other people. I always wonder about that. When someone copies me, it is not "the sincerest form of flattery", I think it's stealing. But like the guy in the video said, if I communicate that I allow you to do it, then it's not stealing. It still makes me angry when I see someone take my ideas however..

Anyhoo, that's a little off-topic. My mom and I got in a tiny argument over dinner and while I could express most of my thoughts clearly, my mom had to improvise. Cantonese is not as specific as English is. My mom can definitely understand what I'M saying, but she can't fully articulate what she's thinking. And I don't know whose more at fault here for this barrier. One side is that my mom and dad did not exactly keep up with teaching Cantonese to me while I was taking ESL classes; the other is that I did not make more of an initiative to continue it as well.

It's mind-boggling how many languages there are in the world, and how these two in specific vary so much. Even as I was watching a Korean drama the other day, the differences between Chinese and Korean are huge. Korean would be very difficult for a native English speaker to even begin to learn. Romance languages aren't as hard because they have a similar root...but Asiatic language seems to be very hard. For one thing, you have to develop the "tongue" for it.

But I can't say any one language is hard. Funny how we deemed English to be the most universal language when really it is one that causes the most difficulties. But I suppose that's life right? Gluttons for punishment.

it's all in the deets

So I just got done having an impromptu heart-to-heart with my sister.

It's amazing how much I actually learn from these chats. I mean, do you really listen to what people say to you? If we did, the world would be 100x more productive.

People will hear what you say, but they don't always listen. Some would say it is "selective hearing", and I believe that. When you take the time to listen to words and roll them around your mind, you start to gain perspective.

One topic came up and it was about social norms, about how people are expected to say certain things at certain times. Words can make someone feel put-out, or just that much happier. Take, for instance, if you were invited to dinner at someone's house and they ask you how it was. And you could say "Pretty good" in a flat monotone, or you could respond earnestly with "I really loved it, it was great!". I find that sometimes I fall into the dull responses category, but not even on purpose. I say "pretty" and "kinda" before many of the replies I give, and I realize that it makes things sound uncertain. That kind of tone can hurt another's feelings. Although I do not mean any harm by it, another person will not know that. So the point of this was to emphasize the importance of diction, of tone. It's not what you say (although that's important too) but mainly HOW you say it.

Words can be sharper than knives!

crime and punishment, punishment and crime

This week in English we started to read Dostoevsky's Crime and Punsihment. Dostoevsky was a brilliant fiction writer, a journalist, and a publisher. He also had a gambling problem, suffered from epilepsy, and had constant financial problems. Like the hero of our novel, he spent time in prison in Siberia. He wasn't imprisoned for murder, though, but for being a member of the Petrashevsky Circle.(source). Crime and Punishment opens up to Rodion Raskolnikov, a poor ex-student in St. Petersburg, Russia who goes to a pawn broker and plans on murdering her for her money.

I, of course, had my doubts about the story. However, when I read the first few pages, it started to interest me. The only problem is with the crazy Russian names, like Alyona Ivanovna and Marmeladov. I know these names are difficult to pronounce since they're from a different culture, but it makes me wonder how phonetically-challenging American names are in comparison. Alex or Jan doesn't seem that difficult to pronounce compared to most Russian names. I also found names from Africa even harder to pronounce.

But enough about that names. I am only a few pages into C&P, but I hope that there is more in store as I read on!

apple of my eye

So this week's blog post was inspired by the Fuji apple in my lunch. I've never realized how many types of apples there are! Of course everyone knows the basic ones like red delicious, golden delicious, and delicious delicious (just kidding). My favorites as of right now have to be Honeycrisp or Fuji. Here's a site that lists many types of apples: http://www.nicholsfarm.com/ottoapplecard.htm

Anyway, I wanted to spotlight the origin of the name for the classic Granny Smith apple.

Granny (Ramsey) Smith apples were “born” in Australia in 1868 when Maria Ann Smith discovered a new kind of apple, purely by chance, growing on her compost heap. The seedling (malus domestica x malus sylvestris) was growing happily in the humid almost subtropical climate of Sydney.

(src:http://www.justfoodnow.com/2008/09/13/sour-apples-and-sesame-snaps/)

Granny Smith apples are considered all-purpose apples. They have an even green skin and have a crisp, firm flesh. Granny Smith apples are simply good for eating, as well as being a good cooking and baking apple. Granny Smith apples can be made into applesauce, apple pies, and many other apple cobblers and cakes. Granny Smith apples are also desirable for their long shelf life. They will stay crisp for much longer than other varieties of apples.

j'aime cat.

For the past few weeks in English, we have expanded our vocab unit to include French terms. French is one of the most phonetically pleasing languages spoken, in my opinion. There's something heavy about German and something nasal about Chinese. (Lol I would know.) And I know that makes me sound like an overly opinionated elitist but hey c'est la vie.

I was surprised by how many French terms that I already knew, considering I am from an Asian American upbringing and supplemented my linguistical studies with Italian to start, then Spanish. I've always been scolded for forgetting my native language, but taking ESL classes at the age of 5 tends to make you do that! I wish I had kept up with Canto, but it was just too hard. I don't even remember speaking it..it was that long ago. Writing Chinese is even harder than trying to speak it; my mom admits that it's really difficult since the marks are hard to differentiate.

Anyhoo, I only knew about most of the French terms since I read a lot. These terms, such as pièce de résistance, was used in a fashion book that I read a while ago. France is one of the fashion hubs of the world. I find French culture really interesting too. One day I hope to travel the world and Paris is definitely on that list! Hopefully I'll have learned more than a basic "bonjour" by that time!