UBC GO GLOBAL CHIN234: LEARNING CHINESE IN A LIVING CLASSROOM IN TAIWAN
PHOEBE AUTIO'S REFLECTIONS
REFLECTION ON VLOG 1
高中学的时候，我每个星期都六次运动了。虽然我很喜欢运动，可是运动让我有那么受伤。所以 我看了很多的医生。再说我的爸爸是医生， 所以我觉得我知道健康实践的美国。可是我不知道台 湾的健康实践，还我觉得很有意思。我们想跟此地人说说的他们的健康实践。例如，你现在做什 么?为什么你喜欢运动?谁教了你的健康实践?
During our time in Taiwan, Liam and I will be exploring the customs and culture around traditional health and medicinal practices. I feel this topic suits us both nicely as we are both athletes and also deal with various injuries on a regular basis. I have sustained large injuries in both of my hips, and have regular back and shoulder issues. I had surgery on one of my hips last year and will likely get it on the other one this winter. Additionally, both of us have a parent who works in the medical field, and as a result we are both fairly familiar with health practices.
Although Western medicine has served me well, I feel that there are also parts of it that I dislike and would prefer an alternative approach to. For example, Western medicine is very heavily surrounded by drugs and medicine that are not natural and that end up doing more harm in the long run than good. It also prescribes a lot of surgeries and exercises that address very specific parts of your body, but do not address your body as a whole. I have studied a bit about eastern medical practices, and my impression (although it may change along this journey) is that it is more common here to treat the full body, or at least full regions (such as the full back rather than an isolated muscle). I feel that treating the full body, rather than specific areas as a whole, would improve both mental and physical health, and would serve as a much more natural and comfortable approach.
During this experience, I imagine that the primary obstacle we will face will be the language barrier, particularly when it comes to understanding the information passed to us by the individuals we meet with. The specific and precise nature of their practices will include a lot of vocabulary that we will not know. That being said, I am confident that with the help of our teachers and an open mind, we will be able to overcome these obstacles. I also feel that we are a very good team and work well together. Liam and I regularly travel around the city and do a good job working together in conversations. Our existing plan is to record the conversations we have and later, with the help of our wonderful mentor, work to further understand what information they passed on to us. We will go into each interaction with a list of carefully thought out questions and work our best to carry on a meaningful conversation for as long as we can.
In our second vlog, we are looking to interview individuals who practice daily health routines around our dorm and the track. We have observed that there is a very prevalent health culture among older individuals in the area. They regularly exercise outside in the mornings and at night and most of them perform 太极 like movements. I am curious to discover where they learned
what they do, and what their routines do to improve their health. In our third vlog, I believe we will expand our conversations towards local specialists such as acupuncturists, natural healers, or massage therapists.
REFLECTION ON VLOG 2
第二次Vlog的时候我们跟两位台北人一起打了气功。那位人每天都来大安公园打气功。他 们都是八十六岁，也都好像很健康。我觉得这个活动比加拿大和美国的活动健康极了。这是因为 打气功的时候，你的身体和你的心神都越来越好。再说，这个运动对你的姿势和你的弹性有帮 助。在说，我也喜欢大家一起出去外边做运动。我觉得在外面跟别人花时间很重要。
除了我上说的以外，打气功的时候，呼吸很重要。在我们的录音，你看得出我们打气功的 时候的呼吸。
After having completed our second vlog, I am starting to get a better sense of our strengths and weaknesses, as well as a better understanding of we have learned and what we still do not know. Prior to this project, I knew very little of traditional Chinese health practices, and most of my impressions were shaped by media and popular stereotypes. Growing up in the United States, particularly after being heavily immersed in Western Medical practices, I was constantly instilled with the belief that Western medicine is superior and grounded in science, while Eastern Medicine is lesser and more belief based. I have never liked this representation of holistic approaches, but I do not think I ever had the opportunity to explore and really talk to individuals who practice different methods. I am really interested in further exploring and learning about Eastern health and medical practices, and believe that there is something really special and essential among holistic approaches.
Throughout this journey, something that has brought me a sense of achievement has been being able to see the improvement in our Chinese comprehension and communication abilities. Although at times interviews have been difficult and as a result we do not perform as well grade wise, I believe that we are gaining the most by putting ourselves out there and practicing our Chinese with locals. we still have trouble understanding more complex language and grammar patterns, we are able to successfully talk to locals about our families, interests, and daily schedules.
Although we assumed that the language barrier would be our greatest obstacle to overcome, I am beginning to feel that with the help of our advisors, as well as our increased vocabulary, that language comprehension is not our main concern. I have begun to feel that it may in fact be our interviewees aversion to cameras and technology, as well as the difficulties that come along with filming. Many of the individuals we have been speaking with are of older generations, and unfamiliar with technology. After completing this latest vlog, I realized that I have never enjoyed vlogging due to the manicured conversation and uncomfortable atmosphere created by the presence of a camera and pre-written questions.
Although I am someone who often enjoys talking with and learning from friendly passerbys, recording and videoing our conversations leaves me feeling uncomfortable and insincere towards the person I am addressing, particularly if that person is of an older generation; I feel that my attention is taken away from the person I am learning from, and instead places it in an inanimate object.
In addition to this unforeseen barrier, I also find that we are not able to put as much time as we would have liked toward our project. Both Liam and I are very busy with school and other outside commitments, and vlogging on a regular basis has proven to be very difficult. That being said, we are making the best of the situation and doing the best that we can while keeping a positive attitude and not overextending ourselves. I feel that this approach is very appropriate for our topic as we both prioritize our health and self care over school when we feel it necessary. Although it may be difficult short term, I believe it pays off in the long run; in ten years we will not remember the grade we received in CHIN234, but we may be practicing 气功 every morning!
In our next vlog, we are hoping to help our bodies and vlog simultaneously as we meet with a local osteopaths and acupuncturists. We hope to learn more about the holistic nature of Chinese health practices and how they may compare to specialists in the West.
REFLECTION ON VLOG 3
做我们的Vlog的时候我觉得安谅和我学了很多的东西。我们认识了打气功的人，还有一位 整骨师傅。认识他们的时候我觉得我们一起学了台北的文化。来台北以前，我一点传统疗法都不 知道。现在我觉得回温哥华去以后我想更多学习中文的传统疗法。再说，在台湾的暑期班的时候 我觉得我不但学很多的中文，而且我觉得我跟很多人成了越来越好的朋友。我的同学都是很好的 人，还有我的老师们也都是真好的人。我会想我们的台北队，可是在温哥华我知道我们会一起见面。
On a more basic level, I feel that I have learned about a few specific traditional health practices, particularly 气功 and osteopathy. Our experience learning 气功 gave me insight into the daily lives of many older Taiwanese people, and is allowed me an opportunity to compare their lives with the lives of my grandparents. My grandparents all lived healthy and long lives, but their health practices were not as consistent or healthy as those of people here. I admire the daily routine of the general population here; they tend to wake up early, spend time outside, and get their bodies moving. I believe that if my grandparents had pursued something similar to 气功 that addressed both mind and body, they would have lived life with less stress and tension, and maybe could have avoided medical problems later in life. As for the osteopath, I think that the concept of approaching the whole body and treating the whole body as a whole entity, rather than treating individual issues, is very valuable. I often feel that my injuries and pain are a systemic issue, possibly rooted in both mental and physical scars, and that a full body approach could be the most effective. After returning back to the US or Canada, I am very interested in pursuing osteopathy or acupuncture as a form of alternative medicine. More broadly, I learned a lot of Chinese and along with the language, a lot about the culture and the people here. This project allowed me the opportunity to pursue various events and initiate conversations that I otherwise wouldn’t have. One morning in the park outside of our dorm, I spoke with a Taiwanese man who also spoke a little bit of spanish. We had both spent time in the same city in Guatemala, and he was an artist. We talked a lot about Taiwanese culture and although we highlighted the differences between our cultures, I felt we also bonded over values and interests. Moments like these give us greater insight on cultures and on diverse relationships, and I feel that taking part in programs like these are critical to learning Chinese in a culturally competent manner. Throughout this project I think I walked in many shoes; to most people in Taiwan I am a traveler and student here to study Chinese and learn about Taiwanese culture. I appear as, and most of the time I am, simply, a student here to study hard and learn Chinese. At the same time, along this trip I believe I also shared a lot of myself with my fellow classmates, teachers and people I met. After sharing experiences and overcoming obstacles alongside classmates and teachers, I feel we have all grown together and are all the better for it. My time in Taiwan is unforgettable, and I believe I have definitely changed and grown along this journey. I hope to see everyone back at UBC and in CHIN 331!