I'm thankful for...

I feel like I haven't written a talky-talky post is quite sometime, so I am going to do one for today's BEDIHT (Blog Every Day In Half Term). On Wednesday, my friend Stripeytofu, wrote his post: "I'm thankful for...", and I'm going to write my own version of it in response to it.

WARNING: THIS IS A WAFFLY, BADLY STRUCTURED AND A MARATHON OF A POST, SKIP TO THE BRAIN AT THE END FOR A SUMMARY

My Parents:
Obviously my parents are who I am most thankful for, as most people would say. This is because they are usually the people in the world who  teach you some of the most important and basic skills required for a successful life: what is right and wrong; how to converse and communicate and how to look after yourself, so hopefully one day, you can leave the nest, live your own life and pass on these skills to the next generation - it's basic biology.

Now as for myself, I may not have a story as poignant as Stripeytofu and even though I may have not appreciated it at the time, I am eternally grateful for what they have taught me and done for my upbringing.

• Independence
• I personally think that I am a very independent person for my own age (you can be the judge of that). This is mainly because my parents have given me so many opportunities to explore the world by forcing me do things, which to begin with may feel scary, but is something vital to learn. For example, I have been to a variety of places by myself, plus I also went on a plane to Finland for the first time when I was 11, which at the time, was really nerve racking, but now I know how to navigate an airport. It has taught me try new things, take the risk and not be afraid.
• I also think that this independence has made me very self-motivated. I strive to achieve, not because my mum is going to shout at me if I don't, or to impress to parents, but for my own satisfaction. Even though perhaps, deeper down that may be still a reason, but it is not the sole reason. If I achieve an A* in an exam, I don't go telling my parents, or anyone else for a matter of fact. I try to be pro-active as possible, and find my own opportunities, than relying on other. 
• Eek, I just realised these two paragraph makes me sound so egotistical and I hate talking about myself, so don't judge me And no, I am not using reverse psychology.
• Appreciating other cultures and travel
• This is something that is a huge part of my life, and is something I am extremely, extremely thankful for. Being a BBC means that I have been able to appreciate two different cultures, and my parents have done very well to try and bring alive my cultural heritage. We go on holiday almost every year to a variety of countries. These holidays, however, are never just sun bathing on the beach. I always manage to learn something from these holidays to places of cultural/historical importance. I feel like appreciating other cultures is absolutely imperative for the future as the world is becoming increasingly globalised, and multicultural. Cultural understanding and acceptance is the key living harmoniously together (I sound like Confucius or someone!). I am going to write a more in depth post on this subject later this week, as I feel like a measly paragraph cannot do it justice.
• Obviously, I am thankful that my parents have the time and money to take me on holiday, as I do realise that lots of parents aren't able to do that, so thank you!
• Modesty
• This is almost a paradox by saying this, but I thank my parents for making sure that I'm always modest - lol, what a hypocrite.
•  Violin lessons
• Again I am not attempting reverse psychology or anything, but I do not think I am very musically talented in anyway, at all. Why are you grade 8 violin I hear you ask? Well, I think it's simply because my parents have been sending me to music lessons since I was 7, and I practise (sometimes!). This is all thanks for my parents, especially since music lessons are so PAINFULLY expensive.
• Taxi driving
• Some of my musical activities are very far away, so thank you Dad for driving 60km a day for a week, for my music course! Also, I must mention that my school is 15 mins away from our house and there is no bus, so thank you for driving my sister, others and I to school every day for the 11 years - now that's dedication.
• Having a love for food
•  Something that is a HUGE part of my life is - of course - food. My parents have taught me something, which I am SOOO grateful for, and that is to not be picky with food. I can honestly say I am probably the least picky person you could ever come across. This is probably because I love food so much and that my parents fed me some food from a young age, which you guys may find rather bizarre/grotesque/stomach turning, but I find delicious! For example, in this week alone, I have eaten frogs legs, pigs ears, and fish cheeks.
• Culinary skills 
• My mum is a whizz in the kitchen and has passed on a few tips to me about food preparation, but I really hope to learn as much as I can before I leave for university.  

The Internet: 
We are the first generation who cannot remember a time without the Internet, or a personal computer, thus in that sense, I am so grateful to live at a time in history when technology is so quickly evolving and changing our lives.

Why it's so cool:

• If anyone has any problem they need solving, type it into Google and BAM, there you go, an answer in around 0.15 of a second. 
• They say the uprising and revolutions in the Middle East were catalysed by social media via the Internet. 
• Over 35 hours of video is uploaded to Youtube every minute.
• Imagine if North Korea had the same level of technology and accessibility to Internet as South Korea, and everyone suddenly became computer-literate, what would happen?
• We can't deny that we do enjoy those Internet memes such as the troll face, nyan cat or rickrolling. 

 

What optimises the Internet - in my eyes - is that there is freedom of speech, and when there is opposition against it, such as SOPA/ACTA/PIPA, a huge backlash is prevalent. That is why I do believe that when governments do block/regulate the internet (such as the Great Firewall of China), it can be so detrimental. That, and also the fact that it does enable opposite sides of the globe to be connected in milliseconds, linking into the ideas of increasing globalisation and other points I mentioned earlier.

Anyway, I enough about all that deep stuff. I really should do some more research before these types of posts - I don't claim to be a expert in this topic! Back to what I was getting, I am also so thankful for blogger, as doing BEDIHT, has made me realise just how much I enjoy doing it, and being able to express my views online, even if no one is reading it.

Future Posts:

• Being a BBC (British Born Chinese)
• Drinking culture vs Food culture
• Cultural intolerance and Stereotyping
• (They sound so lame, but they will be enlightening!)

Okay, that was a really long post. Sorry if my writing and grammar is a bit flouncy and incoherent- I am in a weird essay writing mood (what has the world come to!) and I think I went off on a tangent on quite a few subjects. I am a pseudo-intellectual, at least at the moment!

In summary, I am thankful for my parents for teaching me everything I know, and the internet for being awesome. 

Hasta la vista,


Rebecca x

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I is bare cool, init?

Today, in English we started our Spoken Language element of our GCSE language coursework. Now, usually hate English with a passion, I wouldn’t even think about it outside the context of our classroom, but today I was compelled to write this blog post about it. Bizarrely enough, I actually found what we were studying really quite interesting (I can’t believe I’m saying this, what has the world come to?!).

We commenced by exploring what actually is spoken language. It is not just when you have a conversation with someone or if you give speech, but then could also be an online conversation. That means that it’s anything which is intended to be said out loud first rather than written down and edited. In that aspect, I suppose my blog is spoken language, considering that I simply just write down whatever the train of thought is in my head. Some of my friends at school even mentioned today that when they read my posts, they read it with my voice in their head.

Next, we moved onto accents. People associate them with foreign people and dull (what is the opposite of funny and witty?) comedians, but everyone has an accent. Even in our class there were a variety accents, however there were a few which were most prevalent and reflective of our entire year group (all images copyright WANG)

1.       The majority of the people just have a southern estuary accent; however laziness in annunciation is common.

2.       Some people have Home Counties accents with perfect diction and speak eloquently, but are slightly audacious and arrogant. It is clear that their parents probably whipped them every night to make sure they don’t drop their T’s.

3.       Other people have been whipped by their parents to speaking in Received Pronunciation, due to peer pressure, attempt to add in slang, (such are “bare” and “allow”), thus sounding rather ridiculous.

4.       The FOBs. FOB stands for fresh off the boat, i.e. they have just moved to this country from another. Most common FOB accents in our school include American and Australian accents.

5.       A few people have a London “youth accent” in order to seem “hard”. I don’t get it either. (sorry the picture is a bit stereotypical!)

As I was writing these categories for my school, it struck me that an accent is not only the way you speak or where you come from – it can also suggest social status and stereotypes. It’s amazing how something so intrinsic can have just a prominent affect on how you are perceived to be like. However, this is not always a negative; everyone has their own unique accent and style which is almost like a vocal fingerprint. The English language is constantly developing and accents can often offer meaning beyond just the letters. If everyone had to speak in RP, what a monotonous world it would be.  I think regional accents provide personality.

So, what category do I fit in?

Being a BBC (British born Chinese), my parents hardly ever communicate to me in English, thus they would not have influenced my accent in anyway. This must mean that my accent has been mostly affected by my schooling.

1.       I always drop my T’s, probably because almost everyone around here does. After our English teacher pointed this out, I attempted to perfectly pronounce my T’s, but in the end, I thought I sounded slightly silly.

2.       I used to always say “f”, when it’s supposed to be “th”. For example, I used say “f”ursday, instead of “th”ursdays, probably because this is a trade mark of being brought up in “emel. I remember my sister always used to tease me about it, so I tried to change it. Another reason could be because, in the Chinese language (Mandarin), there is no “th” sound at all, so I probably grew up not using it in both languages, since it wasn’t used in one. I still find it slightly hard to pronounce to this day and sometimes the devilish “f” does still creep in out of habit.

So yes, in conclusion, I believe that spoken language is something which should equate to more than a measly 10% of a GCSE. The way you speak/talk is just so imperative to every walk of life – that is unless you decide to move to another country and never utter another word in English ever again. Apart from grades and what is written down on your CV, the second most important factor when in an interview situation is the way you converse and portray/sell yourself with your words. Therefore, English teachers, I think you should teach us less about pointless poetry and make us write fewer critical essays, and teach us the skills that will be invaluable all throughout our life.

Here is a hilarious video of this one guy attempting 24 English accents. By the way, it contains lots of swearing.

Wow, I can’t believe I wrote an entire post about English.

“F”anks for reading!

Rebecca x

P.S. I am planning to blog every other day this month! So far, I have managed to stick to this goal, and it’s something I really do want to keep to throughout the year, so check back regularly for more content!

P.P.S. I have far too much fun using MS paint...