General Discussion Forum for the Class

[Anonymous]

Cathy,
I couldn't have said it any better! I so much enjoyed Professor Ye's lecture. What an interesting and rich life he has lead so far. After class, I called my family to tell them the great news about our trip, and found myself telling them about Professor Ye. Every school should be lucky enough to have such a professor. His lecture on film reminds us all how valuable visual presentation is as an educational tool. I too, would like to further explore the use of film to help explain the different cultures around the world. Let's get together when we plan the China unit to see what we can come up with. Alex and I are ready to pick your brain about the trip!!!

Steph

[Anonymous]

Interesting article in the financial news section of Yahoo, "McD's Preps for China Drive Through Boom". The article states that McDonald's corp. partnered up with China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. to launch the first drive-through McDonald's. Apparently, the recent boom in the auto market (second-biggest vehicle market next to the U.S. last year a 37% growth) lead to the joint venture to put in drive-through windows). How sad that this international marriage leaves McDonald's as the partner that represents the U.S. Visualize this-the article states that the ceremony mixed traditional lion dancers with a Chinese speaking Ronald McDonald!!

[Anonymous]

http://www.usc.edu/dept/ealc/chinese/newweb/character_page.html

Here's a cool page (from USC) that shows how to write a few characters. This would look great on an LCD projector in front of the class. 😛

[Anonymous]

And a good book to learn Chinese letters I checked out at the Redondo Beach Library.
It is called "Read Japanese Today". I know it says "Japanese", but the characters the book focuses on are the ones taken from Chinese.

Read Japanese today /
by Walsh, Len.
C. E. Tuttle Co., 1969.
Call #: 495.686 WALSH
Subjects Japanese language -- Readers.

ISBN: 0804804966

Description: 159 p. : ill. ; 18 cm.

No. of Holds: 0

[Anonymous]

I also recently heard about this story via my stepdaughter in Fresno. Her family's church had an event for the International Day of Peace where they had a sermon containing the Sadako story, and then all the members of the congregation of the church made paper cranes together until there were 1000. She enjoyed this so much that she stole the idea for the school where she is an art teacher. The school is a public arts magnet school grades K-8, and she is planning an event where all the students will make paper cranes and they will be covering the entire multipurpose room with the 1000 paper cranes. She has both of the books mentioned, and found a lot of information on the internet as well.

[Anonymous]

I also really enjoyed the session with Professor Ye. I had some really good professors in college - history, ethnic studies, and Chinese Literature - it reminded me of those days. It would be great to have him back for future sessions.

Christina

[Anonymous]

It would be great if those of you who went on the trip last year could give the first timers some insight, advice, tips for the trip.

Christina

[Anonymous]

What do you want to know??
alex

[Anonymous]

Cathy,
I just saw an article in the Japanese American daily newspaper (Rafu Shimpo) that Veronica Chambers will be a guest speaker on Thursday, Jan. 25th, at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center Garden Room in Little Tokyo (by the L.A. City Hall) at 12:00 p.m. She will be leading a discussion on the ways women in Japan are changing themselves and their nation.
Aileen

[Anonymous]

Alex,

anything you can tell us - food, packing, things you wish someone would have told you before you went.

Christina

[Anonymous]

That is a very interesting article about Ghengis Kahn. It sounds like he had a strategy!! I think I'll vote for him too.

[Anonymous]

Christina, Cathy, Steph and others,

I too was blown away by Professor Ye’s class last Saturday. I’m sure the Chinese have a beautiful character for a genuine scholar gentleman, which he indeed is. However, what surprised me was how many times I referred to and emulated him with my eighth graders.
In LA 8 we’re currently reading London’s Call of the Wild. After covering the typical “what” questions that one must cover to be sure the kids actually read it, I moved into the “how” questions. I shared with them Prof. Ye’s philosophy on this point and we reread passages to simply enjoy the power of London’s descriptions. Being eighth graders, they love to hear that I’m also taking a class, sometimes with joy, others times with confusion. (I had previously related to them my struggle with the Chong’er narrative) On another day last week, I was giving instructions on their research power point presentation when I suggested they end with an interesting thought or quote. Again Professor Ye had left me with a great example with his closing quote on cultural universality

[Anonymous]

In a LA Times article (1/24) on South Korea presidential race, I discovered P.Roh and his liberal Uri Party are in shambles. What a surprise! When I did our readings in the Economist for our group work, I was under the impression that Roh had successfully bridged the generational and political gap and brought economic and political stability to the country. It’s a good thing I never gave my five minute lesson; it seems I had it all wrong, at least according to the Times. Roh’s approval rating has dipped below 10%, and the Uri Party is considering dissolving and reforming under another name. Koreans blame him and his liberal party for economic anxiety and on a naive engagement policy with North Korea. The underground nuclear testing by North Korea has tested many citizen’s belief in current foreign policy. Domestically there are soaring prices affecting the middle class ability to afford homes and education for their families. However, elections are almost a year away, and the article suggested that South Korean politics are forever in flux. Stay tuned.

Chris

[Anonymous]

In the LA Times business section (1/26) China’s economic growth this year of 10.7% was discussed. First it’s the largest yearly growth in a decade and brings them almost to replacing Germany as the world’s largest economy. However, it’s not all smooth sailing for the Chinese. According to economist Sun of Lehman Brothers, “Investment needs to slow even faster. Second, there is an urgent need too reduce the trade surplus.” There also seems to be a concern that inflation might climb. The good news is that incomes of urban households grew by 10.4% and urban households by 7.4%, the latter slowly making a dent in China’s historical poverty.

Chris

[Anonymous]

I agree with the ideas presented in the article "Things that people despise" They are a bit harsh but can be related to everyone overyday. A mud wall that has started to crumble can be used to represent relationships and or your mental health.

This weeks readings seam to deal with the problems faced by women, or the problmes of not having enough of htem around in society. Am I wrong?

[Author]

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