SDLAP 105 Entry #4
Presentations Last Week:
I thought Pooja’s focus on the Hindi tradition of touching feet as a sign of respect was particularly interesting for two reasons. First, in the Chinese/Laotian/Malaysian cultural household I’ve grown up in, the feet are considered dirty. Setting one’s foot on an eating surface or at an individual’s head level is considered extraordinarily rude. The foot has a connection with the dirty ground, bacteria, and overall poor sanitary conditions. To touch or kiss another’s feet would be considered not as a sign of respect, but one that signifies either humiliation or the imposition of power over another. So when heard Pooja’s presentation of touching feet as one of the highest signs of respect and exaltation, I was intrigued. Second, this drastically different cultural practiced led me to think about greetings in Bosnia. I recently learned that Bosnians engage in 2-3 cheek touches/kisses to greet one another. In contrast to a comparatively conservative Asian culture, I found this very interesting. While Bosnians are considered social, they are also considered sexually and socially conservative. They tend to trust only close friends and family and have a very conservative attitude towards sexual practices, especially foreplay and the romance involved. But they kiss! Interestingly, mainstream Americans seem to possess opposite traits: socially and sexually liberal. Perhaps this is why Americans find kissing or cheek touching inappropriate or uncomfortable? Precisely because kissing is sexually or romantically connected whereas in Bosnian culture sex is quite literally and exclusively, sex (I’ve yet to see BCS movie sex scenes, but this is the impression given to me by my language partner)?
How many new words have you learned? Do you have realistic goals?
I’ve probably learned between 500 and 700 words. I would really love to double or triple this count by the time the semester is up. Some might consider my goals too high. I acknowledge the dangers of doing so. One might feel disappointed or underestimate one’s accomplishments. One might even overestimate one’s accomplishments in an effort to “save face” and meet those goals.
For me however, it is precisely these high-bar goals that keep me motivated. The prospect of reading, writing, and speaking fluently in the target language is really exciting. To keep medium and long range goals in sight, for me, is incredibly important. If anything, friends and mentors should encourage or help you understand how “realistic” goals are by helping you verbalize, quantify, or conceptualize exactly what it is going to take to reach that place you want to be. Having knowledgeable, pragmatic, yet supportive and encouraging friends and mentors have been incredibly important to my progress thus far. They’ve either lifted me in times of doubt, or motivated me with their pessimism! To believe that it is possible to read a novella by the end of the semester, realistic or not provides me with an opportunity to plan steps that, at the very least, provides a chance that the goal might be reached.
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