On wednesday, we played the drums of West Africa. Some people were taken in 30 minutes before everyone else to be volunteers and play more things than the rest of us. I thought the activity was cool. We played a lot of different beat and I tried to make them my own by changing the rhythm a little. The man who taught us how to drum actually wasn't a professional drummer; he was a social worker. But, he was very skilled at drumming nonetheless. Overall, I thought the experience was pretty fun, I wouldn't mind doing it again.
After lunch, we went back to working on our projects. My group was getting pretty close to finishing, we even started on some of the physical parts of the project. Our museum is going to look like a West African market. I'm pretty proud because I'm the one who suggested Central Market for the letter C; so it was basically my idea. I also made a sign for the art part of the exhibit. It was my first time drawing a realistic person(not anime), so it's not very good, but if you look at it from an angle, it's not that bad. I plan to draw more realistic people in the future to broaden my perspective, and that was a good start.
Monday, January 18, 2016
Saturday, January 16, 2016
The Peaceful Dragon
On Tuesday, we went to the peaceful dragon; a kung fu dojo. I was exited because I've always thought kung fu was really cool. When we arrived I was very impressed. The scenery was very tranquil and the building was decorated nicely. Then, we entered the room where we were going to do kung fu. The man there explained to us that kung fu is only for defense. Then he talked about China and it's four great inventions; gunpowder, paper, the printing press, and the compass.
After that, we moved on to the physical part of the presentation. We started out it simple stretches and then tai chi. It was all very relaxing even though some part made my body hurt. The we went to the main course; kung fu. The instructor taught s how to defend ourselves if someone were to try to punch us in the face. It was really fun! Then we got to ask him questions. I asked him if he had ever had to use kung fu in his life. He said yes but he never punched someone; then he told us an amazing story of how he saved some guy from getting killed. That was really cool. After we left, I felt like maybe I could try out kung fu one day, even though it was a lot of exercise!
After that, we moved on to the physical part of the presentation. We started out it simple stretches and then tai chi. It was all very relaxing even though some part made my body hurt. The we went to the main course; kung fu. The instructor taught s how to defend ourselves if someone were to try to punch us in the face. It was really fun! Then we got to ask him questions. I asked him if he had ever had to use kung fu in his life. He said yes but he never punched someone; then he told us an amazing story of how he saved some guy from getting killed. That was really cool. After we left, I felt like maybe I could try out kung fu one day, even though it was a lot of exercise!
Bracelet Making
On Monday, my group and I spent the first half of the day working on our Kumasi project. We gathered information on the city and tried to decide what each letter of the alphabet should represent. It was hard work and I may or may have not fell asleep a couple of times, but my group kept me going. Me and Gillian got the culture part of the project. I was pretty happy about that; since I could do the art research for the project.
After lunch, both groups gathered in one room to do an activity. A guest visited and talked to us about beading in Ghana. He wasn't from Ghana but he was an art teacher and he knew quite a bit about Ghanaian beads. After talking to us, we got o make our own bracelets. We painted them and put them on a string so we could wear them. I chose to go with a pastel color pallet for my bracelet. I didn't put enough beads on my bracelet so it was a little wonky, but I was happy with it nonetheless. The activity was really fun and I might make more bracelets in the future.
After lunch, both groups gathered in one room to do an activity. A guest visited and talked to us about beading in Ghana. He wasn't from Ghana but he was an art teacher and he knew quite a bit about Ghanaian beads. After talking to us, we got o make our own bracelets. We painted them and put them on a string so we could wear them. I chose to go with a pastel color pallet for my bracelet. I didn't put enough beads on my bracelet so it was a little wonky, but I was happy with it nonetheless. The activity was really fun and I might make more bracelets in the future.
Friday, January 15, 2016
Asian Market
On Friday we went to an Asian market. It was really fun! I was very exited to see all of the foreign products. Me and Elizabeth walked around the market and saw a lot of cool products. We bought some Pocky and a golden cat that swings it's paw back and forth. While we were walking, we happened to see a fish get beaten to death by some guy over by the fish part of the market. It was... unsettling to say the least. But it did make me feel better about how I killed a fish, since I didn't bludgeon it to death. A tour guide there showed is all of the unique asian products and told us about them. I happened to spot a cute panda and fell in love at first sight. But unfortunately, the panda was like $80 so I had to say goodbye to Pamantha.
After looking around, we all went to the cafeteria part of the market and got a bite to eat. I was kind of nervous talking to the woman at the counter and ordering my foo, but that's how I am with all strangers. The food was kind of like mall food but that's okay because I love mall food! Afterwords, me and Elizabeth tried the Pocky that we bought and it was really good. We ate the whole packet in about 2 minutes. I thought this trip was really fun and interesting and I'm glad we got to go to the Asian Market.
A-Z Charlotte
On wednesday everyone got put into two groups and we created a poster about Charlotte from A-Z. On it, we wrote down what a museum on Charlotte A-Z would look like. I was the person who had to write it down, but I spelled Charlotte wrong a couple time and everyone made fun of me for it! But I did like the part where I got to draw pictures to represent the exhibits. I was pretty proud of the poster I made(despite the spelling errors).
After lunch we went back to the posters and this time we were to critique the other group's poster. This part was hard. I couldn't really find anything wrong with their poster. Although, I've never been good at editing. I admit that I did start drawing at one point, but later I got back on track! Overall, our group thought the other group did a pretty good job, but there were some things that could have been changed. Then, we presented the other groups poster with our critique; this was unexpected, I thought we would present our own poster! After we presented, the other group went ahead and critiqued our poster. This is the part where my spelling got made fun of. But it was nice how everyone liked my drawings. Then, at the end of the activity, our groups were assigned a sister city to Charlotte to create a real A-Z museum exhibit on. My group got Kumasi, Ghana and the other group got Baoding, China. I was kind of disappointed that my group got Kumasi, since Im kind of an Asian fanatic, but I'm still exited to learn about it because I don't know much about Kumasi, Ghana.
After lunch we went back to the posters and this time we were to critique the other group's poster. This part was hard. I couldn't really find anything wrong with their poster. Although, I've never been good at editing. I admit that I did start drawing at one point, but later I got back on track! Overall, our group thought the other group did a pretty good job, but there were some things that could have been changed. Then, we presented the other groups poster with our critique; this was unexpected, I thought we would present our own poster! After we presented, the other group went ahead and critiqued our poster. This is the part where my spelling got made fun of. But it was nice how everyone liked my drawings. Then, at the end of the activity, our groups were assigned a sister city to Charlotte to create a real A-Z museum exhibit on. My group got Kumasi, Ghana and the other group got Baoding, China. I was kind of disappointed that my group got Kumasi, since Im kind of an Asian fanatic, but I'm still exited to learn about it because I don't know much about Kumasi, Ghana.
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Chinese Speaker
On Thursday a Chinese teacher at UNCC came to talk to our class. She presented a slideshow about China and taught us some Chinese. It was very interesting. I learned that China has a lot of different cultures in it like America. Also, apparently Chinese people are very friendly and indirect, and they will pat your child on the head and pinch their cheeks. China is also very crowded; after all, there are 1.4 billion people living there. She taught us about kung fu and that it is only used for self-defense. She taught us about the food in China too. In China, the food is prepared to look beautiful. She showed us the amazing designs created with food. It made me wonder how someone can eat something that pretty!
I think that was important because I got to learn more about China. Even though my group isn't studying China, I still the presentation to be helpful. I've always thought of to be more of a Japan kind of person but I've found myself getting more and more interested in China. I think it's good that I got to learn some Chinese because 1.4 billion people already speak it. It is an interesting language; the way that you say a word can mean a totally different thing than if you say it a different way. I might actually consider learning Chinese in the future.
I am now more interested in Chinese culture than ever before. I usually am more into Japan, but China is seeming more intriguing the more I learn about it. I think someday I might travel to China, there are many things to do there, maybe I could walk along the great wall or taste some of the beautiful food there. I think that I could learn Chinese one day, it seems kind of hard to, but I believe I can! China really is an interesting country.
I think that was important because I got to learn more about China. Even though my group isn't studying China, I still the presentation to be helpful. I've always thought of to be more of a Japan kind of person but I've found myself getting more and more interested in China. I think it's good that I got to learn some Chinese because 1.4 billion people already speak it. It is an interesting language; the way that you say a word can mean a totally different thing than if you say it a different way. I might actually consider learning Chinese in the future.
I am now more interested in Chinese culture than ever before. I usually am more into Japan, but China is seeming more intriguing the more I learn about it. I think someday I might travel to China, there are many things to do there, maybe I could walk along the great wall or taste some of the beautiful food there. I think that I could learn Chinese one day, it seems kind of hard to, but I believe I can! China really is an interesting country.
Charlotte
Last friday, the freshman, sophomores, and juniors all went on a field trip to the City Council. It was in Charlotte in a huge government building. There, we learned all about Sister Cities. The tour guide told us how sister cities are formed, what they do, and lots of cool things about sister cities. We even got to sit in the city council chairs! Then, we got to see tributes to Charlotte’s sister cities. Afterwards, we went to an authentic West African restaurant in honor of our sister city; Kumasi. The lady there taught us about West African cuisine , it was very interesting. Although the service was slow, the food was exquisite. I can be picky, but sometimes it’s fun to try new things!
This experience was important because we got to learn and do new things. I would have never known what a sister city was if it weren’t for this trip, nor would I have ever tried African cuisine. And, now I can say that I sat in a city council chair! I also got to learn about cities in other countries which is a nice change of pace from the whole “American History” thing. It also gave me the idea to maybe try and set up a sister city in Japan. I think that would be cool, since I really love Japanese culture.
As stated before, I plan on possibly someday setting up a sister city in Japan. Since the tour guide told the class how to set up a sister city, I now know that maybe it wouldn’t be that hard to do. And maybe I could come to one of those open mic city council days. I could talk about my ideas for change in Charlotte. Perhaps someday I could even be the mayor of Charlotte! Well, I might be getting a little ahead of myself. But the point is that this field trip actually got me excited for the city of Charlotte. And that is not an easy thing to do.
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