Author: nguye16224@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg

CAS – A new hobby… #circuitbreaker

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Hello from isolation! While circuit breaker has proven to be a little lacking in the fun department, I’ve picked up a new skill (still needs working on): crochet! Many years ago I tried crocheting with my mum but it never really worked out, she was always the one who would be making the little creature we were supposed to be making and I was off doing something else. I never had the patience. Until now. I was inspired to start this new hobby for several reasons. The most important one is that I have an allergy to something unknown which causes me to run through tissue boxes faster than the average person. I’ve seen all the Kleenex tissue box designs by now and I wanted something a little more personal. So, this led me to want to crochet a sort of tissue box cover. Like this one (I hope the formatting works).

So far I’m nowhere close to this, but I’ve been taking my time and been trying to build up a solid base by learning the basic stitches, eventually a more complicated one, and then I might start the covers or do something else. I’d like to say that I’m a lot more patient this time around, mainly because it’s something that I want to do, so it’s sort of a relaxing activity to do whilst listening to music or a podcast. I think I’ve pretty much got comfortable with the chain stitch. Oh yes. I’m well aware this is one of the most basic stitches, but hey I’ve gotta start somewhere! Another thing I’m learning about is consistency. It’s extremely important to keep the tension the same if you want an even end product and it’s much easier to find the holes if it’s looser, but not too loose or else it’s just a mess of string.

Doing this has made me realise that I have a commitment issue when it comes to activities. I’ll have a brilliant(ish) idea and something that I’m really excited about, but if I take too long to start it or if I realise that results don’t pop out of nowhere, I lose my will and give up. By writing this, I’m hoping that I’m speaking/writing it into existence and that I’ll stick with it a little while longer because it could be a really satisfying little hobby to have. And I’m not limited to just tissue box covers. I could be unstoppable. I could make it my mission to fill the world with my Crochet Creations ™.

I hope these reflections are allowed to be informal.

So yeah! That’s what I’ve been doing. Before I make the tissue box cover I might actually take a detour and make a pea pod because from the many years ago when I did crochet, I had made (more like my mum) two peas but I never (she saw no point because I wasn’t doing it) finished making the pea pod. Here’s a picture of those guys and the to-be pea pod. There’s also a picture of me and me practising my chain stitch.

I’ve also just realised the instructions booklet for the peas in the pod is in Dutch so I suppose that could be another challenge although I have a friend called google translate who might be able to help me out. But I’ll try and read it by myself because we’re all about resilience and critical thinkers at UWC.

Thanks for reading and I’m just as surprised as you are that I could write this much about crochet.

CAS – #circuitbreaker Reflections

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In 1720 there was the plague, 1820 was cholera, 1920 had the Spanish flu and now in 2020 we have the Covid-19 outbreak. The last major pandemic was SARS which was in 2003, when most people in our grade were born.

What are you learning from your experience of the coronavirus as a global issue? LO6

Personally, I’ve never gone through an experience like this (that I remember) and I know that it doesn’t even begin to compare with the people who are on the front lines, people in places with more than 20,000 cases per day, especially those who are suffering from the coronavirus or a loss of someone important. However, we are all being affected by this virus whether it be big or small. During this whole situation, I’ve realised a couple of things. Firstly, I’ve learnt just how quickly things can change and how really anything could happen at any moment. There are probably many other ways to learn this but I’ve learnt to enjoy every moment you have with the people in your life because you never know when the next you’ll see them will be. As an only child, I quite miss my friends and people my age, so I’ve realised how important the communities I involve myself in are. Today I did an online training session with one of my boxing coaches, Sul, which was really fun because two of my friends participated as well. Had they left UWC several years ago? Maybe. But that’s not the point. Another thing I’ve come to understand a bit better now is how countries and people react to a pandemic. We were talking (virtually) about it in geography today, how the media and figures of authority can alter our perception – perhaps this is why there are such drastic discrepancies between countries…

How is it testing/prompting your ethical considerations? LO7

I’m not particularly happy with the comments that Chinese people are receiving, especially the ones who haven’t even lived in China for several years, or even EVER. In biology around February, we were talking about the UK’s response to the pandemic and how they were using the “herd immunity” approach. Yet they’re really not doing too hot. While I don’t want to judge other people’s behaviours, I’m not too sure why there are some people who seem to continue to attend mass gatherings while everyone else is locked up inside. ALAS. One thing’s for sure: the world will have definitely changed after this pandemic, whether is for better or for worse.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#LO6 #LO7 #circuitbreaker

ENGLISH – Poems :)

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Little Red-Cap and Mrs Darwin.

How has Carol Ann Duffy rewritten/transformed a known text or story? How can her versions have the same characters, but be “about” something different?

Speaking specifically about Little Red-Cap, Duffy has taken the original story of Little Red Ridinghood and transformed it into a darker, more adult poem/story. After analysing it as a class, we’ve come to the conclusion that she seems to be talking about a past experience she had, perhaps with an older man or someone ‘wolfy’… whatever that might imply. The characters are the same, except the wood carpenter is MIA and the grandmother remains quite dead. In the poem by Duffy, Little Red Ridinghood is 16 and a little hungry for something other than a picnic. She spots the wolf and is charmed by his poetry, despite his wolfiness and his wine-stained beard. She willingly follows him into the forest and they stay together for 10 years in his house, until one day when she’s become sick of him, she cuts him open from scrotum to head. Here, I’ve mentioned just a few differences but these are the ones that stood out to me. Someone in the class mentioned female empowerment?

This part is actually quite interesting, how the fairy tale aspect of this version where women have previously also fallen in love with this wolf, only to be eaten by him later on in their relationship (interpreted from her grandmother’s “virgin white bones”). But this Little Red stood up for herself before that could happen and took matters into her own hands.

Another interesting metaphor we considered was how in the children’s version, Little Red was told not to stray from the path for there were dangers, but she did so anyways. As a class, we discussed how the path could’ve been a metaphor for ‘adulthood’ and sexuality, how she’s drawn to the deep dark forest.

In this case, Duffy has taken a known story and zoomed in, adding depth to the story that wasn’t previously there. If anything, it’s almost like Duffy was adding context to the children’s story.

I found my favourite poem during this lesson!!

 

Mrs Darwin

7 April 1852.

Went to the Zoo.

I said to Him –

Something about that Chimpanzee over there reminds me of you.

Medusa

Today we looked at the poem Medusa, also by Carol Ann Duffy. It was interesting how it was similar to Little Red-Cap, where it was a known story with a spin on it. Compared to Little Red-Cap, she starts out as ‘evil’ and its not a pure and wholesome beginning, although it’s difficult to make Medusa pure and wholesome. Little Red grew wise in her poem and ended things before she could be manipulated, whereas in this poem was raped or betrayed first, so her sorrow turned her into a monster. (Progression of sorrow into anger at her sorrow into revenge).

ENGLISH – Personal Essays

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What are the conventions of a “personal essay”?

  • Usually told in the first person and in past tense, where the writers recall an event, person or an important part of their life
  • They can have bias and opinion throughout the whole essay

 

  • Autobiography vs biography: an autobiography is written by the subject themself (1st person), and a biography is written by someone else (3rd person)
  • Memoir vs autobiography: memoir is more about a specific part about someones life, a shorter time frame or a certain element, it could even be more personal than an autobiography
  • Memoir vs personal essay: a memoir would be like a reflection on a past event, whereas a personal essay has cherry-picked anecdotes that kind of support the same point

CAS – International Women’s day

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How might your actions have helped move towards greater gender equality? Where might you have helped celebrate female achievements?

The first thing that comes to mind when I think about female empowerment in my life is in boxing. When I first started doing boxing, the ratio of girls to guys was pretty much 1:10. The majority were always guys. Perhaps this might’ve been because girls weren’t interested, but I’m quite sure that it’s because they were intimidated. I’m sure about this because I was also intimidated. Before I started doing boxing, I did Karate and I was the only girl in that class. Now, there’s a lot more girls who box at our school and that really makes me happy to see their confidence rise. For my student coach activity, my coaches initially spoke to me about the role so that it would empower more girls to join and to eventually help lead sessions. OH ON A SIDE NOTE: I LEAD THE WARM-UP ON FRIDAY, IT WAS QUITE SCARY BUT I DID IT.

Which woman in school has had a positive impact on you and why?

I’d say most, if not all of my female teachers that I’ve had in my almost 10 years at UWC. There are a few that stand out and they’re the ones who have definitely helped shaped my personality and my regard towards life and other people, just by being someone that I looked up to and idolised. I remember one of my middle school english teachers, Ms Pau, who was really extraordinary. She regularly dyed her hair and had many tattoos. I found her so cool. She inspired me in the little parts in life which add up to a big part of me.

#CAS #LO6 #LO7 #BALANCEFORBETTER #GIRLPOWER

CAS – (Almost) 30 weeks in

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Hi there! This reflection is a little overdue but I thought it would be better if I spread it out a little since my last one for LO1. After several weeks of doing service, Samba and boxing (I guess boxing coaching as well), it might be interesting to see if any of the strengths that I have have changed. For Samba if I’m being honest, I had a bit of commitment issue a few weeks ago but I managed to push myself to continue by reminding myself that I’m not going to have another opportunity like this in the future (unless I join a Samba band) so I should enjoy it while it lasts. Since then, I feel happier about going to Samba and having something to work on as a group. This isn’t really part of the LO1 guiding questions but we’re combining samba with When The Saints Go Marching In! It made me realise just how much I appreciate music 🙂

In terms of involvement and realising areas of strength and weakness, I think that for SustainaBrew, it’s going pretty well. It’s been running more smoothly with the grade 9s than it was with the grade 10’s, probably because now we have the momentum to keep going. I’d like to think that I’m doing pretty well and involving everyone in conversations and making sure no one’s lost and has something to do – in a good way and with fun work, I’m not torturing them with work. For an area of weakness, I haven’t done much on the technical side of things but maybe that’s not a bad thing because that’s generally the more enjoyable side of the service. I’d like to improve my communication skills with other services and help establish more relations with them so that we can make more drinks.

The last little thing I’d like to reflect on is what I think I could improve, specifically in boxing. Apart from technique work which is on Tuesdays, on Fridays when we coach I tend to let others lead the warmup while I immerse myself with the kids and work on their skills individually. This should be the next step for me as I don’t entirely feel comfortable with leading a warmup, mainly because I feel like I’m worse than the other (student) coaches. Despite this, hopefully, by the end of the year, I will have done it once.

Me and Sul <3

Posted in CAS

ENGLISH – Auntie Jules and el Escribador

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1) the Mario Vargas Llosa telling the story is obviously older than the “Marito” who is living it . . . how would you describe the tone? what is the attitude of the narrator to the young man he was? 

According to Google, Llosa was 41 when he wrote Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter, which would help to define the sort of relationship between the 18-year-old and him. From a reader’s point of view, the tone for the Mario chapters seem quite descriptive and there isn’t really any underlying emotion behind it. However, when we were talking about it in class today, it would make sense that he might be a little sentimental over particular moments or emphasise certain parts of his story that was important to him – whether he’s intentional about it or not.

2) if every other chapter, basically, represents one of Pedro Camacho’s serials —if they didn’t happen, in other words, what is the point of spending so much time on these characters/events/conflicts?

Initially it might be to keep the readers updated on the serials and give them an opportunity to get to know the scriptwriter in ways that Mario’s encounters with him don’t show us. While the Mario-chapters are plenty descriptive and tell us about Camacho’s character and the issue he’s currently working through, the serial-chapters do add an extra intertextual layer of context behind the events that are happening. Personally, I find it quite amusing to be confused with what’s happening in his serials, just as everyone else is – including the characters of Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter, because it provides such a refreshing and absurd point-of-view into Camacho’s issues that you would have to infer yourself as the reader. Like some sort of first-hand experience.

3) If a story is basically, “one time, in one place, something happened” then it’s not really literature —it’s journalism or history or maybe even just gossip. Literature is usually thought to express something timeless —something true in a bigger sense. What might this novel be saying about life?

[Rough thinking, not actual structured answers to an essay question] Something about the versatility of Mario’s situation? But then again incest isn’t that popular (to my knowledge at least). Maybe the pains of love? Wanting someone but things being in between of you acquiring that love? Maybe the incest is a time stamp.