Response to 2001: Space Odessey

Since I've watched this movie for one hour, I think this movie has deep meaning of human being. To be honest, when I watch movies, I usually don't think too much about the details, meanings or relationships with other movies. After our instructor pointed out that some settings and things in this movie reflect the development of human beings from apemen to human in civilization period. Overall, this movie is done quite well in the way they linking between things. So I'm looking forward to seeing the end of this movie.

What I have learned from Vancouver

I came to Canada last June. The weather nicer than this summertime. I lived with a homestay family downtown. Then, I moved out to an apartment. It's been more then one year that I have spent my time here. This trip is the longest trip I have ever had. I have some ups and downs...quite a lot of joy and sorrow.
When I first came here, I rarely had homesick. Everything was new to me...new people, new place, new atmosphere and new weather. I found it challenging to hang out with friends after the class everyday. I was studying in private school at that time. So I didn't have a lot of homework. I can say that last summer was the best time for me in Vancouver. After summer had gone, winter came. Frankly speaking, I really hate wintertime here. I rains most of the time. There's no sunshine. Everything is grey. Plus, people usually stay at home. I almost got depression at that time. It's my first time to be in gloomy weather which is totally different from my country. The weather is getting warmer these days (even though it's still chilly) and we have more sunshine. Luckily, I can stay here for another summer before I go back to Thailand!

Back to the topic, what I have learned from Vancouver? Well, I would say I have learned a lot from here and I will never find this kind of experience in Thailand. First, I learned how to adapt to other cultures. Most of my friends here are foreign friends. When I first came here, I sometimes felt like...Why don't we have same opinion? Why do they do/act that? Why is it difficult for them to understand? Why don't they like the same thing with me? I found it interesting to expose to different culture. Some good things are: I need to communicate with them in English; Something from different culture is good to know and can be adapt with my life; I will hardly find this atmosphere in Thailand. Secondly, I learned to live independently. When I was in Thailand, I had my family and friends who always support me whenever I need help. When I live here, my life is kind of free. I can be what I want to be; I can do what I want to do. I have to make decisions on my own. I can't rely too much on friends here since I have known them for a short time. I have to be strong(mentally and physically) and mature. And I feel that I'm stronger than before. Last, I learned how to deal with people. When I was young, I was protected by my family. Once I'm old enough and living far away from my family, I'll have to deal with other people by myself.

Summary of the talk

The things that we call beautiful are different. They vary from human being, natural landforms, works of art and skilled human actions. They travel across the world. There are some things that people all over the world that they are beautiful.The Charles Darwin Theory can be used to explain this universality. It is believed that human's idea on beauty depends on human's psychology. Charles Darwin's natural selection theory explains revulsion and pleasure. The main goal of these are survival and reproduction. One trait that is passed on from our ancestors is the beauty that we find in skilled performances. Every human beings have permanent innate taste for beauty.

Personal response to Bill Reid Gallery

I went on a field trip to Bill Reid Gallery last Wednesday with my classmates and my instructor. I have never been to this Gallery before. I was impressed by several displays in the Gallery. I wonder how could Bill Reid created so many pieces of arts. Each piece of arts is very beautiful and represents first nation culture. My favourite carving is 'Mythic Messengers'. It looks complicated that implies some meanings in reality. I guess it must be hard to make it.

Also, there are some accessories made of gold and diamond. They look so precious and absolutely stunning. For example, 'The Milky Way' necklace with detachable brooch.

Even though we weren't allowed to take photos in the gallery, I can still remember what I've seen there. It will be one of my interesting experiences in Vancouver.

A diappointment from an international student's heart

Yesterday, I went to The Citizenship and Immigration Canada(CIC) office. I went there with my Thai friend. We wanted to ask if we can extend our Canadian visa. We got there around 3.45 pm. The office was closed at 4 pm. There were very few people in the office. My friend got a queue number before me so she talked to that person first. She asked about how to extend Canadian visa in Canada. That person just reply her shortly 'No'.
My friend wanted to tralvel to the USA after the day Canadian visa expires. She would not be able to come back here if she did that. She tried to ask if there is any ways she can do to travel to the USA at that period of time. That person replied angrily and impolitely 'There is no way you can do that'.
My friend stepped back from the window with a pale face. Then, she told me to try talking to the person because I have better English skill than her and I also have similar situation with her. So I reached the counter.
'Is it possible if we make a visa from inside Canada?'
'No'
I was curious and stopped talking for a second. I was thinking about the reason and the logic for this answer. The person didn't explain the reason or anything else except 'No'.
My friend interrupted 'What if...'.
'Don't you hear that? Visa is a permit'
I and my friend looked at each other's face. That person kept saying 'Visa is a permit' many times.
I was thinking 'So what?'
I asked her 'If we apply visa from Seattle, then we will pick it up in Seattle...' 'THERE.....IS....NO....CIC....office...in..Seattle' that person  shouted at us at a very unusual slow speed and sighed heavily.
'You'll have to mail it and wait for them to mail back.Understand?'
'Yeah, thank you'.
We left the office immidiately. I was so disappointed with that person's beheaviour. She didn't look like government representative. She has quite a lot of tattoo.
My friend doubted 'Is it ok for a government representative to have several tattoos? It's very rare in our country for government people to have rude beheaviour.'
I agreed 'Yeah. If we faced this situation in Thailand, I would do something to revenge her.'
My friend curious ' Maybe because we are international students, people usually look down on us.'
'It could be' I said to her.
At least,I learned something from this situation. It will be one of my unforgettable experience in Vancouver.

My wonderful weekend

This weekend is one of the wonderful weekends in Vancouver. I had quite a busy schedule. First, on friday, I went to a Thai cultural showcase in Richmond. I felt like I was in Thailand at that time. It was my first feeling since I have been here for a year. I sometimes feel like it is so hard to find Thai people in Vancouver. When I was studying in private school, I had some Thai friends. Even though it is not good to speak our own language, sometimes I need to be with people who have same culture and language. The reason for this is that I can expect what I want from them. For instance, I just realized how strong our friendship is in Thai culture. It is different from friendship in other cultures. By the way, I was so happy to feel like being at home again. I saw Thai dance, ate Thai food and mingled with Thai people. You can see my pictures below.



Thai traditional dress




At the main stage




She is more beautiful than normal woman!


On Saturday, I went to Summer Live festival in Stanley park. We enjoyed listening to live music in the park and doing activities in the festival. It was so crowded in the park. We took a free shuttle from Waterfront station to the park. Can you believe? It took almost one hour to get there because of the traffic. After we saw everything in the park, we decided to walk along sea wall back to downtown. On the way back, we saw a man walking with a snake on his neck. I was so freak-out. I think he was not supposed to do that in a public place. Even though he seemed to be familiar with his snake, it didn't guarantee that he could definitely control it. We walked pass him quickly. I almost ran. Once we got to downtown, we went to ramen shop. It was yummy. Then, we went to drink bubble tea.

At the festival

It's so crowded here.



Bubble tea with pearl^^














On Sunday, my Korean friends came to my house. We cooked and drink together. I drank So-Mac(Soju+Macju) again this time. It taste incredibly good. I love eating spicy food! Right now, they just left my house. So I'm doing homework now and I'm going to a movie tonight!

Comparison between Genesis 3 and Prometheus Bound

First, to be honest, I don't quite understand the story of Prometheus Bound because I was absent that day. Also, I don't have any knowledge about Western history before. However, I'll do the best I can.

In Genesis 3, the serpent was not a bad guy. He told Eve the truth about the fruit but he didn't prohibit then from eating it. When God found out that Adam and Eve ate the fruit, he investigated all of them. Eve blamed on the serpent, so they all were punished and sent out from Eden Garden.

The similarities between these two stories are: First, God in Genesis 3 can be campared with Zeus in Prometheus Bound because they are responsibility for punishing people. Also, they punished people unreasonably or they might have wicked reasons. In Genesis 3, God punished the serpent, Adam and Eve because he didn't want human to know good and bad. In Prometheus Bound, Zeus punished Prometheus because he helped people gain vital knowledge. Zeus didn't want people to get knowledge. Second, the serpent's role is similar toPrometheus' role in these stories. They both tried to help people but they got punished somehow. Last, Adam and Eve can be compared with people in Prometheus Bound.

These stories show that if we do good things, we may get bad results somehow. It's similar to a proverb that we have in Thai but it's totally different from Buddhist moral precept.

A Very Short Story: My personal response

Well, after I read this story, I feel like this is the way humans are. It is inevitable that there are both good and bad guys in this world. This is an example of such a bad guy. We can't deny that women are responsible for being pregnant-- not men. But this is our nature. We can't change it. One thing women can do is to protect themselves. There is a Thai proverb 'Always love yourself more than loving anyone else' It might sound a little bit selfish but it helps us survive from bad people in this brilliant world.

The difference between the first and the second account

From my point of view, the first account is well-organized and written in process. He created things by speaking. It takes six days of creation. First day, God created light, therefore, the earth had day and night. On the second day, he created the sky. Third day, he created the sea and dry land. He created sun, moon and stars on the following day. Fifth day, he created fish and bird. Last, he created animal and people. The sequence of creation is from vegetation to human. In this account, God didn't seem to have any feelings. He seemed to be a fair God.

In the second account, God created everything in a day. He created things not only by words but also by breathes, forms, builds and plant improvization. The way narrator wrote is like a story. It is not in a process like the first account. The sequence of creation is man, vegetation, animals and woman, respectively. In addition, God seemed to have feeling like human. He sympatized that there was only man on the earth so he created woman and took a good care of him. Also, this account gives feelings of inferiority of woman.

How do I like Vancouver?

I have been in Vancouver for a year. Whenever I told somebody that I have been here for quite a long time, people usually asked me...How do you like Vancouver? The answer is I do like Vancouver because...

First, I like fresh air here. Vancouver is a middle size city. However, there's very little pollution. The scenery  in Vancouver is full of green. There's not a lot of car on the street in downtown...Thanks to the reliable public transportation. Second,as I mentioned in the previous post, Vancouver is a multicultural city. I enjoy eating food from different parts of the world. Also, I enjoy meeting people from various countries. It's always exciting to learn something new. Third, the weather, Even thought Vancouver is known for 'Raincouver', summertime here is fantastic!. I love going out everyday in the summer. Long daytime makes me want to stay outside longer. Third, politeness of Canadians, I didn't know how to get on the escalator at the first time. Later on, I realized that there are standing line and walking line on the escalator. Plus, Canadians always say 'Excuse me' whenever they want to walk pass or want me to be out of their ways. Last, I enjoy studying English!

An impressed experience on the other side of Canada

Last weekend was the most exciting holiday I have ever had in Canada. I took a 6-day off on midterm break and flew to Toronto! My first impression toward Toronto is that it's a huge city that offers many activities to do. Once I landed there,I got it right. I could feel that the city is energetic, lively and diverse. I could notice some differences between Toronto and Vancouver. First, the lifestyle, people in Toronto have more active lifestyle. They are always in a rush. They don't care about others as much as Vancouverites do but they are quite friendly. Whenever I needed help with direction, they always answered nicely. Second, diversity, when I first came to Vancouver, I thought that Vancouver is a very diverse city. You can hear many languages spoken on the street. When I went to Toronto, it's even more! I saw many people from different ethnic. For instance, the majority of Vancouverites are Caucasian and Asian. In Toronto, I saw some African-American, Caribbean, South American and, of course, Caucasian and Asian. In addition, there are more young people than seniors in Toronto. It's similar to other big cities around the world that young people usually live there.

I went to many places in Toronto. You can see my pictures attached. 

 at the front of Casa Loma with my friend who showed me around Toronto

 inside Eaton Center...a huge shopping mall in downtown Toronto

I spent almost a day there!

view of downtown Toronto from the ferry