KAITLIN CHOW'S REFLECTIONS
周凯琳的反思

REFLECTION ON VLOG 1

Kaileigh and I had so much fun shooting our first vlog. We had the chance to discuss exercise culture and find out what forms of exercise we really want to focus on in our next few vlogs. Initially, we planned to do surface level videos and interview people walking at the track, doing Tai Chi in the park and lifting weights in the gym. We wanted to ask them what their weekly exercise schedule is like and why they exercise. We planned to study what exercise brings to their lives. Is it a sense of community or confidence or is it simply to just get active and be healthy? Sports have always been an integral part of my life. I have learned a lot from my experiences playing sports and it has truly shaped my character, personality and values. I was interested to learn what sports teaches Taiwanese people and what it adds to their community and society. 

After talking with 张老师, we decided to shift the focus of our videos to forms of exercise that are popular and unique to Taiwan. Although many Taiwanese people practice exercise methods similar North Americans, such as weight lifting, jogging and playing basketball and baseball, we decided to focus on sports unique to Taiwan. We believe this will make our vlogs more special and more educational to North Americans who have less knowledge about these activities. 

Now, we plan on focusing our next vlogs on martial arts and dragon boating. Not only will we teach our viewers about the cultural and societal themes that exercise bring to Taiwan, we will also educate them on these new forms of exercise. Both martial arts and dragon boating are wildly popular in Taiwan but, noticeably, less popular in Canada. Why is that? Is it because of tradition, spirituality or religion in Taiwan or something else entirely?

We encountered some unforeseen difficulties when filming our first vlog. First of all, after our first edit, we realized that our video consisted of Kaileigh and I talking to the screen and telling our viewers information in different sporting locations, like the track and the basketball courts.

In addition, we realized that we did not have enough footage to use for our voiceovers to illustrate what we were talking about. Overall, this resulted in our video telling our viewers our ideas and plans, instead of showing them. We quickly realized our video was not very engaging or interesting. To solve this problem, we acquired some videos from Youtube of traditional Taiwanese exercise to make our vlog more interesting. We found videos of dragon boating, kung fu, tai chi and other traditional Taiwanese activities so our vlog could show the viewers our ideas, rather than just telling them. We also put in some pictures of our experiences with exercise in Canada and in Taiwan, such as playing field hockey and hiking Xiang Shan, to make the vlog more personal. 

We also had some issues editing our video. Since my computer does not come with editing software, I had to find a free editing application online. Unfortunately, after editing the entire video and uploading it to Youtube, I found out that the video had a huge watermark across the entire video. To solve this problem, I had to record our computer screen in the dark with my phone then upload the video without the watermark to Youtube instead. This compromised our video quality. So next time, we are going to use a new editing application. 张老师 suggested another free editing app that has no watermark that we will use for our future vlogs.

In our next vlog, we want to visit a martial arts studio. 张老师 has reached out to her friend to ask if and when Kaileigh and I can visit a martial arts class and ask the students and teachers a few questions. Martial arts is very popular in Taiwan. There are so many different forms of martial arts that are very popular, such as, karate, fencing, judo, taekwondo and kung fu. Different martial arts have many different intents, such as combat and self defence, health and exercise and religion and spirituality. I am curious to know if Taiwanese people’s values link to one of these intents and is the cause of this popularity. What do these seemingly violent but, beautiful and soothing activities bring to Taiwanese people and Taiwanese society. Does it make people more zen? More confident? Does it help them balance their yin and yang? Does it improve their sense of community? How does it benefit their society?

今天早上我们到跆拳道(Tai2 quan2 dao4)中心。我们学怎么提。我觉得跆拳道很难学。

我们看看跆拳道学生练习。我觉得跆拳道不但很优美 (you1 mei3)， 而且很酷。跆拳道优美是优美，我觉得跆拳道有一点儿危险。因为我不喜欢战斗(zhan4 dao4)，所以我怕跆拳道。跆拳道比赛的时候，他们得穿特别的运动服。我觉得很聪明。我觉得跆拳道很有意思。

在温哥华，加拿大人常常打篮球，足球和网球。加拿大人不常学习武术。可是，在台湾台湾人常常学习武术。为什么？他们妈妈爸爸告诉孩子得学习武术吗？他们很喜欢武术吗？他们觉得武术不但很酷，而且很有意思吗?

下个vlog我们要到武术(wu3 shu4)中心。我们想知道为什么台湾人常常学习武术 。我们要问武术  学生和武术师傅几个问题。为什么你喜欢武术 ? 你最喜欢什么种武术 ? 为什么？ 你学习武术学习了多长时间了？你一个星期运动几次？每次几个小时？

I am very excited to complete these next two vlogs and dive into Taiwanese exercise culture. I cannot wait to learn more about martial arts and dragon boating and share this knowledge with my classmates and viewers. I am interested in connecting these exercise habits to larger societal themes in Taiwan and discovering what exercise brings to Taiwanese individuals and the community. Hopefully, studying exercise habits will lead to new discoveries about Taiwanese culture, values and society. 

REFLECTION ON VLOG 2​

This vlog was a huge breakthrough for our project. We learned so much from interviewing our kung fu classmates and the kung fu master. 

Originally, we thought that all Taiwanese people enjoyed exercise because we have seen people of ages in the park, at the basketball courts and at the track exercising in different ways. We have seen an old couple passing a basketball and groups of old people doing tai chi at 6:00 in the morning and teenagers walking the track together at 11:00 at night. However, according to our classmates and the master, this idea is not representative of the majority of Taiwanese people. 

About 10 years ago, kung fu and other martial arts were very popular. However, with the rise of technology and an increasing focus on school and work, these traditional exercise forms are becoming less and less common. On the other hand, our classmates told us that Western exercise activities like lifting weights in the gym and playing baseball are gaining traction in younger generations due to the influence of dominant North American culture. 

While this is certainly a positive change in that more Taiwanese people are exercising, it is also sad to see a loss of tradition and culture as some of these older exercise forms decrease in popularity. This a very interesting connection globalization and an example of how globalization can affect different parts of a country’s traditions and activities. Initially, I had not considered that technology and globalization might play a role in the changes in Taiwanese exercise culture. Thus, this was a huge breakthrough that made me feel very proud of the progress of our project. 

The greatest challenge in creating this vlog was definitely the language barrier between the master, our classmates and ourselves. Fortunately, Zhang Lao Shi came with us to the kung fu studio and helped translate for us. However, when editing the vlog we had some trouble understanding the video. Once again, Zhang Lao Shi helped us with the subtitles by repeating what the master said in a slower fashion and explaining some of the confusing parts in simpler terms.

In general, the project is progressing very well. We have learned a lot and as a result, have shifted our perspective and views on Taiwanese exercise culture. Initially, we wanted to focus our next vlog on dragon boating, another traditional form of exercise. However, after learning from the master and our classmates that dragon boating is also, actually not very popular, we have decided to shift our focus.

In our next vlog, we will go to Daan Park and interview some of the Tai Chi participants. According to the master and our classmates, Tai Chi is a martial art form that is still quite popular, especially among older Taiwanese people. Kaileigh and I are excited to learn about a truly popular exercise form in Taiwan and inquire about why this martial art has stood the test of time and continues to be a significant part of the Taiwanese lifestyle.

I think at the end of this project, we will be able to learn a lot about Taiwanese exercise culture by studying two traditional exercise forms. I think by comparing these two very different martial art forms we will be able to learn a lot about Taiwanese exercise culture by inferring what differentiates them, in terms of their demographics, popularity and influence in society. Kung Fu continues to decrease in popularity, while it appears Tai Chi is consistently a popular form of exercise in Taiwan.

Kung fu participants is mostly composed of older people and some kids whose parents sign them up for classes in a studio after school, while tai chi is mostly loved by older people who start their morning with a group tai chi class in a park. What forms of exercise do old people prefer? What about young people prefer? Do people of different ages prefer different forms of exercise? Why? Thus, at the end of our project, I hope we will also be able to make some generational inferences about Taiwanese exercise culture. This may lead to an understanding of the cycle and generational patterns of exercise culture and popularity.

I hope at the end of this project, I will be able to make at least one confident conclusion about Taiwanese exercise culture and how it affects Taiwanese society. I am so excited to continue learning about exercise culture, so I can analyze why certain patterns exist and see if I can connect this to a larger global cause or purpose in Taiwanese society.

上个星期三我们到功夫中心去问功夫师傅几个问题。我们学功夫，还问师傅和我的同学几个问题。很好玩！可是师傅只说中文。他说中文说的很快，所以我有的时候听不懂。幸好张老师跟我们一起去。张老师帮我们跟师傅聊天儿。师傅觉得现在很多台湾人最喜欢的地方是健身房，最喜欢做的事是用手机和学习，所以功夫的学生比以前功夫的学生少得多。越来越少人喜欢功夫, 让我很难过。我觉得功夫是一种很特别的运动，不但很酷，而且很有意思。

下个vlog，我们想到Daan 公园去问太极的人几个问题。为什么你们喜欢太极？你觉得太极的人比以前太极的人怎么样？为什么？你觉得太极会不会影响？你的生活？

REFLECTION ON VLOG 3

期末报告开始以前，我们以为台湾人常常做运动。可是很多的台湾人告诉我们台湾人不常做运动，是因为台湾人常常觉得工作比运动重要。我们觉得很有意思，是因为加拿大人和美国人常常觉得运动很重要。他们觉得运动对身体很好。

在这个vlog，我是想学台湾的运动文化的学生和运动员。我想知道台湾的运动和加拿大的运动有什么不一样。所以，我问台湾人很多的问题。

因为我们学到很多新的东西，我们觉得这个的期末报告很有意思。虽然做传统运动的人越来越少，但是我们也听说打太极和做西方运动的人越来越多。我觉得只要是运动都很好，所以这让我们很高兴/。运动对生活不但很好，而且很有用。运动也教了我们很多生活的道理。