What's a Podcast?

I was the one who asked "What is a Podcast?" So yes, this podcast thing is a new experience for me. I can honestly say that I am still not exactly sure if I am suggesting the right type of dialogue for our podcasts. We have still not recorded them. However, the editing has been ongoing. My concern is, "Who listens to them?" This is a skeptical thought, but I really wonder. Luckily, Buck is creative and knows how to give a creative spin to our podcast. I am excited to record it because I think it will be fun. To be honest, the podcast thing is all a mystery to me. I can give more detail in a couple of weeks on how I feel about it all.

Seeking understanding

I lived for awhile as an R.A. on campus. I was a recently returned missionary from Italy who roomed with a manically depressed American from Kentucky, an excited Chinese Clarinet student who spoke broken english, and a thin, wiry Arabian who spoke no english, with the exception of "Hello," "Very good," and "Yes." We were a motley crew. Our apartment was often consumed with the vapors of various cultural foods, and though sometimes our conversations were lost in translation, we had a good time. I recall how one day my chinese roommate, in his excitement to assimilate the american culture, had bought a case of 50 corndogs and stashed it in the freezer. He ran up to me, unable to contain himself in his excitement to share this american delicacy with someone who could appreciate the finer points of american cuisine. (I have actually never been very fond of corndogs...) He opened the freezer with a flourish, and I just about fell on the floor laughing. Even though corndogs are not my favorite thing, we shared a few, and I was grateful that he had been so thoughtful of me. I believe that one of the keys to a happy and rewarding life is to follow the old adage: "Seek first to understand, then seek to be understood." This is extremely important in the writing center as well. As we seek to understand the student, we can better help them. We can empathize with them, and find the most effective way to communicate with them as well.

Podcasts?

This is the first class where we have required podcasting from you all. What do you think so far? Do you like it? Is anything particularly frustrating about it? Is anything particularly awesome about it?

Culture and Diversity

I've always been fairly interested in other cultures, languages, diversities, and so forth. Coming to Weber State has surprisingly opened up all of my doors to many diversities. A lot more than I thought it would. I have made quite a few new friends from around the world that have come here to get an education. I've also been able to stay in contact with some of those friends even after they have left the country to their home land.

Back when I was in elementary school there were two years when we had Koren students come and live with us for the summer. That was when my interest was first piqued. There was a Korean girl that stayed with us one year that we've even managed to stay in contact with, she chose to go by the name Tina. Now that I'm older I'm able to have more 'adult' conversations with her and talk to her about her culture a lot more. It is truly fascinating to me the differences and similarities we can find in each others culture by speaking to each other. She's opened up my view to a very wide scope, and I've been able to apply much of what she has told me about her culture to my tutoring.

I feel like whenever I tutor someone from a foreign language I can piece together their writing a bit better because that is what I sometimes have to do with Tina's writing. That is encouraging to me. I hope it is also encouraging to the student that I have an interest in their culture as well, not that I'm just a random person trying to decipher what they have said and get a session over with.

I've enjoyed learning about other people's cultures and even religions as I have read various papers. I feel I still have a lot more to learn and a long ways to go before I feel accomplished in a general knowledge of other cultures and otherwise. But for now, I'm generally enjoying learning different things and finding ways I can connect to the students that come in from other diversities.

The Trouble With MLA...

the trouble that I discovered I had with MLA is that just about everything I thought I knew about the format turned out to be... not quite so correct. there were a few things about MLA that had changed from when I had learned it, and then there were things about it that I did not even know existed in MLA format. I used MLA a lot my second semester of college, so I thought I really had the hang of how it worked. I thought I was a genius at it.

I also thought I was superb with citations on a works cited page. Nope. Wrong again. So I feel like I've truly learned a lot now from reviewing it so much. I still have questions about it though, and often ask for backup help. My plan is to study the MLA book so that I know it. Thoroughly.