To complete our discussion of the introductory reading in Part 1 of chapter 6, "Old Country Advice to the American Traveller", please add a comment, or two, or three, responding with your ideas to any or all of questions 1. to 3. in exercise E. on page 199 (Hartmann & Blass, 2007).
These are
- In what ways can another person's experience teach you something about life? Give an example of a time you learned something from someone else's experiences.
- Was there a time when someone's experience was not like your own? Explain your answer.
- What role do older friends and relatives play in your life?
Hartmann, P., & Blass, L. (2007).
Quest 3 Reading and Writing (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
I think that another person's experience teach me how to deal with my life, particularly problem. Generally, my mom and I are usually talking about everything. She is not only mom, but also my best friend. When I'm in trouble about my job or love, my mom always give a useful ideas or suggestion for me to solve the problem based on her experience and Buddha's principles.
ReplyDeleteA case in a point, when I had a first broken heart, she knew that how much it hurt from her experience. She said that "It is usually pain for you in the first, I know. Let him go from your life, now you feel pain but time can heal your heart. The more you stuck in it, the more pain you got. You aren't be with him, but you have me. Don't look at only one side, you have an advantage from it. It will make you stronger"
Actually, I can't remember exactly she said to me. But her words relieved me. I felt better after that. Almost month, I didn't feel hurt anymore, but neutral.
So in my view, another person's experience can teach you about your life.
Mo reminded me of my mum again, and that got me thinking on the third of Hartmann and Blass's questions.
DeleteI do have a few older friends, but although they are twenty years older than I am, that isn't such a big deal when I am already my age. When I was a university student, twenty years seemed lots, and what I was a child, a twenty year age difference was enormous. Apart from my parents, some of my aunts were very important to me as a child. I was a shy and awkward sort of child, and very uncomfortable around adults not my parents, but my aunts were very good, and treated me like a small adult in some ways: when I showed an interest, they taught me to cook, to do different crafts, and to write. The first things I ever wrote for pleasure were letters to my aunts, some of whom lived a long way away. Nothing at school could motivate me as a ten year old to write like the replies from my aunts, who would also invite me to visit. I am sure that their calm and patient attention helped me a lot to gain confidence in myself and to try new and different things, even if they were challenging and uncomfortable.
We lost touch for some years when I left for university and then went to live over seas, but over the last few years, I've an effort to catch up with them more, and we always meet up for a long meal and talk at least once now when I'm back in Australia, and like my parents, my aunts are getting on - the youngest are in their seventies, and some have died of the once many: my father had eight sisters and my mother had seven, so there were a lot of close aunts around (not so many uncles, just one brother for my father, and two for my mum - good Italian Catholic families in those days tended to be large).
Other older people who influenced me were teachers, but I might write that one up in a new comment. This one started in response to Mo's comment, and I think it's long enough.
A this period, the most frequently told experience is the future plan like jobs, family or finance. Considering jobs, I was given advice from my teachers and my university advisors since I have to go study abroad and come back to work of the Thai government. I can choose to be a teacher or a researcher. They is very different. Some of them suggested that I should not to be a teacher because they think that, according to more than ten-year teaching experience, it is a boring work. I can be more successful than them who decided wrong when I choose to be a researcher. However, I am a talkative person. I like to teach children or my friend for the examination. Every question from my students always challenges me. Sometimes, it brings a new idea to my mind. So, this job might be boring for some of teacher, but it is very interesting for me. My idea was supported by most of my teachers that I should go back and teach in the university. They told me that even if this job is boring sometimes, it is a respected job which I can devote myself to improve students' potential. One of them said that she is very proud of her students since most of them succeed in having a good job. And after, that they brought their happy family to meet her every New Year. She felt that she is one of contribution to make them successful.
ReplyDeleteHowever, in my research project, there was a conflict to one of my project advisors in measuring method. She kept saying that I have to follow her since she was familiar with the device and used it for long time ago with her method. But, I created my own measuring method. She prohibited me to follow my method even if it could be explained scientifically and could be calculated. I insisted to follow mine and compare with hers. My method can show better results than her since it can be fit to the device's capacity.
There were several times that others’ experience was not similar to mine. These are some of my examples.
ReplyDeleteI went to Chiang Mai last month and had read many reviews about restaurants on the Internet. Some posted that *** Restaurant was dirty. It served simple foods with simple taste and the waitress was impolite. Nevertheless, some reviewed that it was a must-visit restaurant due to its delicious foods and nice decoration. I hesitated to visit this restaurant but my sister insisted to go there. I was impressed by its nice atmosphere and several yummy foods. The waitresses were not rude and the restaurant was clean. It would be a pity if I had not visited there.
Turning to my negative experience, it happened when I was a sophomore. There was on elective course which my seniors recommended me to study. They told me that it was a very good and enjoyable course effectively boosting learners’ inspiration, the teacher was generous and always organised many activities to do in his class which were all fun. In addition, the seniors also told me that I would never be disappointed to learn this course. In the first day of this course, the teacher told students to individually compose a jingle and sing it in front of the class. I was stressful since I had to compose it in the limited time. Moreover, I was very shy and shaking while I was singing and felt that everyone was staring at me. After that class, I encouraged myself and thought that the next classes might be better. On the other hand, it was even worse! The teacher kept complaining my works, such as radio spot, magazine ads and commercial posters, in a discouraging way although some classmates argued that my works were not as bad as he said. I tried to be open-minded, optimistic and did my best. However, I did not experience any enjoyable moment in this course and sometimes felt upset and tired. Everything was completely different from what the seniors had told before. Some of my friend experienced the same situation like me. In contrast, some might feel that this course was entertaining.
I plan to study in the UK this year and asked many friends about their experience. Some of them are studying there while some already graduated. Surprisingly, they all had dissimilar experience even though they talked about the same town.
From my perspective, it depends on personal feelings, preferences and attitudes towards something or situations they have experienced. Listening to others’ experience is not a worthless thing seeing that I got a lot of valuable information to help me decide which university I choose to study. :)
When you are worrying about something, someone says a solution which you already in your mind, you would happily follow it.
ReplyDeleteAlmost six months ago, I heard unexpected shocking news from my parents-in-law which my farther-in-law found he got cancer of the rectum, so he got an operation to cut the part. However, he has being emaciated day by day. Before the operation, he did a simple exercise every day, liked more walking than using transportation to the contrary of my husband who drives a car for very short distance even though it takes longer time. Also, he ate usually small amounts of food, didn’t meats and alcohol, and didn’t smoke. All things that he had been doing are good for health. He is a hard-working type person. Most of his generation has thought diligence is the vest virtue to live well, and working for family is a father’s duty. Before he retired from his job, he didn’t enjoy his life. His misfortune came to him out of the blue.
His misfortune gave me the thought that I had to enjoy my life: most important thing is not staying on me, but looking after me. I try to spend more time with family, travel around new places, eat more delicious things, and so on. I don't know my life could be chagned, but I try to be a laid-off person.
I have many experiences which other people's advice are totally difference to what I later experience them myself.
ReplyDeleteMy recently trip to Laos during last new year holidays can be a good example. Some of my friends who have been to Vang Veing, a province in the northern part of Laos, warned me to be careful because this town is like a play park for dunk(or may be drug) early-adult-European. Its most famous activity is called tubing which each traveler can float on a swim ring along 6 kilometers of the Song river where there are a few camps along the side for traveller to do adventurous activities (for example, climbing 2 strings rope bridge , Tazan liked- jumping into water). My friend said that it is very fun but also dangerous because,in each camp, they give traveller alcohol drink. This makes those boy-scout-activities turn into the dangerous ones, in case that the participian are drunk. The tubing activity is very famous among the European, so that you can meet lots of them there, more than the number of local people. According to what she said, I agree that it is danger and not what I am expecting for my Laos trip which I planed to visit a town fulls of beautiful nature and friendly Laos people. However, at the end I decided not to change my plan, I went to Vang Veing with an idea that I will take a look there if it is like what my friend said I will not take the tubing but do some other activities.
It turned out to be totally different to what my friend said. It is a very peaceful, quiet city. I took tubing but there were no activity camp there. Tubing activity is more like taking a slow boat (actually a swim ring) pass along the river allowing the traveller to absorb the scenery of quiet and beautiful Song river. It is one of my good memories about Laos. Moreover, it is not dangerous at all because the water level at that time is very low, even you drop down from your swim ring, you can stand in the middle of the river.
By the way, my friend did not lie to me. It is because Laos government banned the dangerous version of tubing a few months before I went there. Vang Veing has returned to be a quiet, and peaceful town like it was before the boom of tourism. My friend's experience about Vang Veing and mine is totally different. I think that I would be regret if my Laos trip does not have tubing in my list.
I have learned from this experience. If someone ask me for advice about Vang Veing trip or any other tourism places I have visited, I will tell them briefly about my memory and add that you should visit there yourself and make your own memory, no matter it turn out to be good or bad, I am sure that it will be different from mine.
2. I reflect how I have responded to the problems I have faced. I accept whenever I meet them I decided as following my mind after all. Of course I have some mentors;when I was a student my parents tried to help me always and then there was nearly no problem and since I has been grown up their experiences already looked very old ones. Sometimes theirs have valued as a story so sometimes moving and interesting but did not proper in my problems.
ReplyDeleteAs I became mom a my oldest daughter then I was worrying about how to care my baby without any experience so I searched information on line
ReplyDeleteand in some books relating baby care. By the informations this is necesary and that is important, you have to do this and it's very harmful for baby. After time goes by and my experiences pile up I'm sure most of them were garbages as they were themselves. I think that
it's necessary the wisdom of our own to get or throw away and how to adopt the informations or experiences.
ReplyDelete