Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Dear me! I was in the spotlight or shall i say centre of attraction in today's communication & diversity lecture. Today was our last lecture and the last topic was about 'What is effective intercultural communication?' Just as well after so many weeks of sitting in front, me and my friends sat at the back since we were the last ones to enter the lecture hall. Half way through the lecture, the lecturer started popping up a question! Oh yeah, it was on the section of 'slang'
"Is there anyone here who comes from a different country?"
Without further ado, i raised my hand up! ..i cant just sit there and keep quiet! I looked left and right and i was the only one who raised my hand up..which means i am the only international student not only in the course but in this lecture for today. Gahhhh everyone was staring at me! Just mentioned that, i came from Malaysia and the lecturer asked if i am familiar with some given examples of slang on the slide..i was familiar with most of it..like
Awesome, gonna-be, gross, a nerd, a wanna-be, wicked, sick, cactus..
but never heard of chuck, fizzer, a hoon...LOL and of course i hardly or never used some of the slangs before i came to Aus.
Next after few minutes, she started asking me what is the culture difference between Aus and M'sia. My brain was blocked..couldnt think and asked me to think bout it and probably share later in the lecture...so some ideas started to flow in, i had my points, ready to share but sadly didnt get to share it...well i think in terms of culture, Aussie people are more open whereas we tend to be more conservative. I also realised, we tend to speak at a fast pace that its hard for the Aussies to catch what we are trying to say. Ohh another thing that i just realise.. dinner in aussie sometimes they call it 'tea'. OMG..when my friend first said..'i had pasta for tea'..hmmm i was thinking..tea as in 'coffee and cake...tea break...in the middle of the afternoon'??? Actually its dinner!!!! LOL ...
The lecturer also asked if we celebrated christmas..or any other similar special occasions with aus...i said yes we do celebrate christmas, church is a number 1 priority...and there would also be family and friends gathering..food. I also add in that malaysia is a multicultural country and that we had celebrations like Chinese New Year...ethnic group celebration...( Harvest festival )...wanted to say deepavali or hari raya...but i am affraid nobody would know and definitely alot to explain. Then my lecturer goes, what about Easter? I said easter is celebrated among christians but we dont have easter breaks! LOL!....Gahhhh i was blushing the entire time.
3 weeks in a row, my OT tutorial class has turn into a cooking session. Yesterday another group presented on how to make tiramisu!~..YUM! Started of with a quiz on Italian Food? Then it was fun time! The group has prepared most of the ingredients which consist of; freshly beaten cream, mixture of coffee and orange juice, biscuits, and cocoa powder. First break your biscuit into half..as long as it fits the bottom of the surface of the plastic cup that we used. Dip the biscuit into the mix coffee and orange juice...now here comes the skill. If you dip it too long, your biscuit will become soggy and mushy. So you need to get the right amount..you dont want your biscuit to be too hard or too soggy! After that, apply a layer of cream..and repeat the first step again till your cup is almost full. Lastly, sprinkle some cocoa powder and refrigerate for at least 30minutes. Wala enjoy ur tiramisu! It was really good..maybe a hint of rum/alcohol would be good :) .
Yesterday also during my understanding health lecture, we watched a short animated movie clip called 'Harvie Krumpet' produced by Australia and won the Golden Globe Awards in 2004. Its a very interesting, embedded with some deep meanings and of course hilarious! This short movie was kind of link to our topic of healthy ageing and social determinants of health context.
You should be able to watch it on YouTube:
you can find part 2 & 3 as well at YouTube! Enjoy~
"Is there anyone here who comes from a different country?"
Without further ado, i raised my hand up! ..i cant just sit there and keep quiet! I looked left and right and i was the only one who raised my hand up..which means i am the only international student not only in the course but in this lecture for today. Gahhhh everyone was staring at me! Just mentioned that, i came from Malaysia and the lecturer asked if i am familiar with some given examples of slang on the slide..i was familiar with most of it..like
Awesome, gonna-be, gross, a nerd, a wanna-be, wicked, sick, cactus..
but never heard of chuck, fizzer, a hoon...LOL and of course i hardly or never used some of the slangs before i came to Aus.
Next after few minutes, she started asking me what is the culture difference between Aus and M'sia. My brain was blocked..couldnt think and asked me to think bout it and probably share later in the lecture...so some ideas started to flow in, i had my points, ready to share but sadly didnt get to share it...well i think in terms of culture, Aussie people are more open whereas we tend to be more conservative. I also realised, we tend to speak at a fast pace that its hard for the Aussies to catch what we are trying to say. Ohh another thing that i just realise.. dinner in aussie sometimes they call it 'tea'. OMG..when my friend first said..'i had pasta for tea'..hmmm i was thinking..tea as in 'coffee and cake...tea break...in the middle of the afternoon'??? Actually its dinner!!!! LOL ...
The lecturer also asked if we celebrated christmas..or any other similar special occasions with aus...i said yes we do celebrate christmas, church is a number 1 priority...and there would also be family and friends gathering..food. I also add in that malaysia is a multicultural country and that we had celebrations like Chinese New Year...ethnic group celebration...( Harvest festival )...wanted to say deepavali or hari raya...but i am affraid nobody would know and definitely alot to explain. Then my lecturer goes, what about Easter? I said easter is celebrated among christians but we dont have easter breaks! LOL!....Gahhhh i was blushing the entire time.
3 weeks in a row, my OT tutorial class has turn into a cooking session. Yesterday another group presented on how to make tiramisu!~..YUM! Started of with a quiz on Italian Food? Then it was fun time! The group has prepared most of the ingredients which consist of; freshly beaten cream, mixture of coffee and orange juice, biscuits, and cocoa powder. First break your biscuit into half..as long as it fits the bottom of the surface of the plastic cup that we used. Dip the biscuit into the mix coffee and orange juice...now here comes the skill. If you dip it too long, your biscuit will become soggy and mushy. So you need to get the right amount..you dont want your biscuit to be too hard or too soggy! After that, apply a layer of cream..and repeat the first step again till your cup is almost full. Lastly, sprinkle some cocoa powder and refrigerate for at least 30minutes. Wala enjoy ur tiramisu! It was really good..maybe a hint of rum/alcohol would be good :) .
Yesterday also during my understanding health lecture, we watched a short animated movie clip called 'Harvie Krumpet' produced by Australia and won the Golden Globe Awards in 2004. Its a very interesting, embedded with some deep meanings and of course hilarious! This short movie was kind of link to our topic of healthy ageing and social determinants of health context.
You should be able to watch it on YouTube:
you can find part 2 & 3 as well at YouTube! Enjoy~
4:50 PM