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Cristina HernandezThere is no doubt that music plays a great role in the identity of China and the crossing of boundaries that took place and still takes place in our lives. The influence of early missionaries on the musical scene in China makes me wonder about the music that emerged at a later time. The introduction of the instrument Clavichord also gave place to a new style of music. As I was listening to the different pieces of music played during the sessions, I had the opportunity to reflect on the other music that I listen to and I wonder how many of those pieces have being influenced by East Asian music roots.
Cristina HernandezThank you Tom! I visited that museum five years ago, when I visited China for the first time and I was really surprised to discover that the city had been a refuge for the Jews that were fleeing Nazi Europe. However, I wasn't aware of the other Jews in China... this seminar has been fun of new learning for me.
Cristina HernandezJessica, you are amazing! Thanks for your help and resources. I really appreciate the fact that you did research to help us find more information about it.
Cristina HernandezIt was a surprise to learn that there are more minorities in China than what I thought. Chinese Muslims are part of the minority group and it seems like they are fighting for their survival as a religious-ethnic group. I really don’t understand the reason why the government is trying to segregate them to camps, but I believe that China is experiencing a great problem with ethnic and religious equality. Also, I was wondering about the Chinese Jews that the professor mentions on his lecture. What happened to them? Where did they come from? How they ended up in China? Cheers!
Cristina HernandezThese lectures are amazing. As I was watching them I realized that there are a lot of similarities between religions/philosophical thoughts and I was amazed at the way Buddhism spread around Asia. The paintings of the birth of the Buddha and the Seer predicting Buddha’s future are so similar to the Christian tradition of the birth of Jesus and the visit of the wise men. Also, the manifestation of Buddha in Japan to the monk who wanted to go to India seems pretty similar to the manifestations of the Virgin Mary around the Catholic world. Most important is the fact that religion has played such an important role in the crossing borders and cultural development. The way Buddhism integrated into the already practiced religions in other countries and the way it blended with their already existing traditions is a great example of the way crossing boundaries creates, changes and impacts the cultural identities of individuals and communities in the long term. I would like to show my students more about this topic. I am looking forward to them drawing their own conclusions regarding Buddhism as a philosophy and religion. Cheers.
Cristina HernandezAfter watching the lectures and analyzing the readings, I have a better understanding of the stratification of the Hallyu and I relate it to my niece who lives in Mexico. She started listening to K-Pop music. BTS is her favorite group and she spends a great deal of her time listening to them and learning more about South Korea. She wants to taste the food and eventually travel to Korea. Obviously, she falls into the category of the fandom ARMY. However, the opposite happened to me back in the 1990’s, I began working as a customer service representative for a South Korean Textile company and my life changed. I got to taste lots of traditional Korean food (our lunch was provided by the company), I got to learn some valuable vocabulary, I made great Korean friends (one of them is my son’s godmother) and then I got to watch some Korean dramas and lately movies… As I understand and learn more about the Hallyu, I also get to understand that the main influence comes from the people’s behavior. It is easier to appreciate a dish that is offered with a smile as well as enjoying a movie with your best friend explaining the context of it. I am looking forward to share my personal story with my students as an example of crossing boundaries and to listen to their own personal examples of how the Hallyu has influence their lives. Cheers!
Cristina HernandezI found very interesting the fact that “Talavera” a Mexican traditional ceramic style that hails from the city of Puebla in Mexico has its origins in the exchange of Chinese ceramic with Mexico during the 1600’s -1700’s. Carr’s essay clarified some of the questions that I had since I visited Puebla a couple of years ago. When I saw the Mexican ceramic, it brought to my mind the same ceramic that I have admired during my visit to China and I was fascinated by the similarities. In Mexico, this ceramic style is considered very traditional and often is celebrated as one of Mexico’s cultural icons. I wonder how the crossing of boundaries affected the development of the Mexican cultural identity and the evolution of the same. I am looking forward to see how my students will look into their own cultural backgrounds and see the influence of other cultures and the crossing of boundaries that shape their identity. Cheers!
Cristina HernandezI totally agree with you that food is such a great way to get students engaged in the study not only of history, but also of languages and many other disciplines. I teach ELD and AP Spanish and food is a sure way to engage students to learn and practice their new acquired skills on the target language. They not only cross the boundaries of language, but they also get the opportunity to try new gastronomy and get to learn about the background of the dish/culture/country.
Cristina HernandezMy name is Cristina Hernandez (Crista) and I teach at a continuation high school in the city of Orange, CA. I teach ELD, AP Spanish and Expository Reading and Writing. I love to travel and to read. I usually travel during the summer, but since this year that was impossible due to the COVID19 pandemic, I have been doing a lot of reading. I enjoy learning and I am looking forward to learn a great deal during this seminar. Cheers!
Cristina HernandezCristina HernandezI agree that it will be a great way to implement this reading in the classroom by having the students compare and contrast the content of this article to the way of living in East Asia. However, I will also show the students clips of documentaries about contemporary people's lives in those countries. Furthermore, it will be a good experience for them to infer what could be the motives of East asian teenagers when they look up towards the future. It will be interesting to see how teenagers every where in the world are pretty similar, when it comes to their dreams and goals. I would like to focus more on education in China and on the big test (Gao Kao) the students have to take in order to enter the university and the tests (SAT) we take here in America.
Cristina HernandezI agree that this session was one of the most interesting and informative when it comes to ideas to implement information in an engaging way in our classrooms. Having students role play historical characters is a great way to have them connect and understand information from the past. I really liked this strategy and I am planning to use it in my class too.
Cristina HernandezOne of the advantages of taking this seminar is that I become more aware of the influence China plays in our daily lives. One of the aspects is the film industry. I was waiting for a movie to come out and when I went to the theatre one of the biggest surprises I got was the fact that it was distributed by the company "H Brothers" a chinese brand. Also, one of the main characters was a chinese actor and obviously he was representing a chinese character with a very positive role. This movie was a teen movie and after that I got to pay more attention to the companies that distribute, or produce movies because I believe there is more influence from the Chinese companies in the western world.
Cristina HernandezI agree that this seminar was fast paced and full of information. However, I totally appreciate it. It has made a difference in the way I see East Asia, but mostly China. I have made my students aware of the enormous influence China plays in our daily lives and some of them began to get more curious about Chinese culture. The Kpop is also a great influence in our teens here in America and it is such a great idea to make them aware of the influence that East Asian countries have over our societies without even thinking about it. We find China even in the movies that seem to be "American" but the influence goes above and beyong. It is interesting to see how the students begin to understand this concept by looking at their surroundings and appreciate all the different things that come to us from China and by the Chinese people. Cheers.
Cristina HernandezI agree that the movie "We the workers" was an interesting film. However, when I discussed it with my high school students I realized that there are a lot of misconceptions surrounding China, communism and capitalism. I teach reading and ELD so I have a lot of freedom to choose my topics, but some times I had to be careful not to step on anyone's toes when it comes to core subjects. Most of my students believed that communist countries did not have Unions, workers' strikes, etc because they think that the workers are the leaders of the country. Also, they believe that China is a place where everything is either easy or non-existent. I had a long conversation with them trying to answer questions about their misconceptions and then I found a couple of contemporary movies to show them that China is just another country with the similar challenges as ours.
I agree that the movie "We the workers" was an interesting film. However, when I discussed it with my high school students I realized that there are a lot of misconceptions surrounding China, communism and capitalism. I teach reading and ELD so I have a lot of freedom to choose my topics, but some times I had to be careful not to step on anyone's toes when it comes to core subjects. Most of my students believed that communist countries did not have Unions, workers' strikes, etc because they think that the workers are the leaders of the country. Also, they believe that China is a place where everything is either easy or non-existent. I had a long conversation with them trying to answer questions about their misconceptions and then I found a couple of contemporary movies to show them that China is just another country with the similar challenges as ours.