Week 1: Storybook Favorites

Here are my favorite storybooks! It was a bit intimidating at first because there are just so many different stories and people have such a different take on each one. Luckily, I was able to find these three storybooks that interested me.

For my first storybook favorite, I chose Constellations: Fact or Myth?. I was drawn into this because of it's title which I found on someone else's blog post. I have always wondered where all these tales come from about constellations because if you just look at them, they are really just dots in the sky. Still, people can come up with the most interesting things about them. The storyline of this is of how Capricorn, Taurus, Sagittarius, and Leo came about. The author has an interesting take on these stories and the introduction was the most intriguing to me.

For my second storybook favorite, I chose The Four Beauties of China. I like how the blog's layout design. It really fit the title and storyline. The storyline flowed very nicely and it was an interesting plot. The storyline is about four beautiful women, whom influence the decisions of powerful rulers of their time and it is from the perspective of an immortal cricket. I have mentioned it earlier, but I am always a sucker for anything having to do with women empowerment or prestigious women making a change. I can see how much time the author put into their blog because everything fit very well together and it was overall very interesting.

For my last storybook favorite, I chose Siren, the City of Clouds. My initial impression of this blog when I first came to it was, "Wow. This is amazing!" It has a very Sci-Fi inspired theme to the blog. It reminded me a bit of Tron: Legacy even though the colors are different. The storyline is about four female rulers of Siren and how they influenced their government. I am not exactly familiar with government, politics, or science fiction in general, but it was still an interesting read for me.

Week 1 (Introduction): Hello.

Hi everyone, my name is Paula Tran. I am a 3rd year chemical engineering major. The other courses I am taking are Chemical Engineering Computing, Chemical Engineering Numerical Methods, Chemical Engineering Momentum, Heat, and Mass Transfer, and Bioengineering Principles. A lot of science, right? A few of my hobbies are playing flag football, working out, reading and taking pictures of my dog, Coco. I only have one dog and she is......everything. She is quite the rowdy dog and she loves to roll around in the dirt, but she is spoiled like a princess.

 

(photo: Princess Coco; photo from 2013)

My second love is pho and potatoes. Not together, of course. If you don't know, pho is a traditional Vietnamese cuisine consisted of a beef broth, rice noodles, and assorted meats and vegetables. There are a bunch of pho restaurants in Oklahoma City. My favorite is Bistro VII on Classen Blvd! I highly recommend it if you have never tried it. If anyone has any other restaurant/cuisine suggestions, please comment below. I am always looking for something new to try out. Potatoes are another one of my favorite foods. It is basically any potato product: french fries, chips, scalloped potatoes, baked potatoes, etc. I love it!! I especially love it with bacon and cheese. Yuuum!

Another thing about me is that I love to travel. I am sure there are lots of other people that do as well. My goal after I graduate is to go backpacking on my own in Europe. I recently did "training" for my Europe trip over spring break when I went to Chicago on my own. I have never gone anywhere by myself before, but the experience felt exhilarating.

Let's see....I like music? Some of my favorite artists are Lady Gaga, Kimbra, and Beyonce. Of course, I do love more than just that. Right now I usually listen to indie pop/electronic like Passion Pit, Young the Giant, and Little Daylight. I am slowly listening to more female indie pop/folk music like Yuna, Noosa, and Haim. If anyone has music suggestions, please also list them below!

Week 1: My First Un-Textbook

I am actually pretty excited for this class. I have never heard of an "Un-Textbook" so I don't really know what is in store for me. I have always been fascinated by different cultures and ideologies, but never motivated to really read different ones. I am hoping this class will improve my knowledge of that. Let's gooooo Fall 2014!

Week 2: I have always been interested in Indian Fairy Tales so I am going to start up my semester with that unit. I work at the library as an aide and each time I pass by this section, I skim through a few of the books. My knowledge of Indian Fairy Tales is still quite minimal so I want to expand that.

Week 3: On the second week, I want to read the Adam and Eve unit. I was raised a Catholic, but I have lost touch with my religion over the years. I am not really looking to rediscover my religion, rather, I am curious of the stories because I grew up not knowing them.

Week 4: Next, it is Russian Folktales. One of my favorite movies is Anna Karenina so I thought it would be cool to read up on those stories even though they probably have no correlation with each other.

Week 5: Then, it is the Arabian Nights unit because I feel like it is such a popular theme for parties like prom or a wedding, but I have never really looked into the history or stories of it. It must be interesting since so many people use it right?

Week 6: After that, it is the Laos unit. I have a few friends that are Laotian, but out of all the cultures of Southeastern Asia, Laotian culture is one of the, if not is, the culture that I know the least about so I am curious about it.

Week 7: Then, it is Decameron. I have never heard of this before, but I read the synopsis and it seemed interesting.

Week 9: For week 9, I will read the Bible Women unit. I am always one for women empowerment. In the bible, I feel like women are typically shamed in it so I want to be proven wrong.

Week 10: I am not familiar with the Finnish culture, but I have been planning on traveling around Europe once I graduate college so I figured why not educate myself a bit? I have no idea what the Kalevala unit has in store for me.

Week 11: I do know quite a bit about Japanese Mythology, but I thought that it would be good to reread on somethings and then compare it to the new stories that I will have read. I may gain better or new perspective on these stories.

Week 12: Then, it is the Jataka unit. Although I did not grow up as Buddhist, I am definitely intrigued by the teachings of Buddha. I like the idea of enlightenment and disciplining yourself mentally.

Week 13:After that, I will read the Congo unit because, well why not? It seems interesting. I don't know much about the Congos.

Week 14: Finally, I will end with Faerie Queene because it has a really cool unit title.

Week 1 (Storytelling): The Little Vixen

There was a family of foxes. In this family, there is a father, a mother, 3 pups. The oldest of the pups is a male, he was the biggest of the 3, strong and fast. The middle pup is also a male, he is the smart one, he always knew the best way to catch prey by doing the least amount of work. The youngest of the pups is a female, she was small, quiet, and quite peculiar. The third pup was not as strong as her oldest brother and certainly not has smart as her other. She liked to spend her days exploring around their den and make up stories. Many foxes found her strange so she did not have any friends.

 

 (photo: three fox pups taken by Hank Vander Velde. Source:PBase)

 One day whilst the father and mother were out hunting for their children. The youngest fox was playing by an enormous oak tree where she typically at. All of the sudden, her brothers leaped out from behind the bushes to scare her. She jumped, a bit frazzled from the scare. Her brothers laughed. 

The older brother said, "Hahaha, Girls are always scared. If they were strong like me, they would have nothing to be afraid of."

The younger brother said, "You are right. At least other girls aren't as weird as our sister!"

Hurt by those comments, the youngest fox said, "Why are you guys here?! Buzz off!"

That only made the brothers laugh even more. Then the younger fox looked up and said a delicious bundle of grapes right above them. Unfortunately, it was much too high for them to just grab. Then he got an idea.

"We came to challenge you. The fox who grabs that bundle of grapes will be the master of the other two for the next month."

The oldest brother jumped for joy, "I like it. Prepare yourself. I will definitely be the one to grab those grapes and you two will be my slaves."

The oldest brother went first. He decided to use all of his brute force so the oldest brother backed up and charged for the base of the tree. Nothing changed. He tried again, nothing. He tried again and again until his body began to ache and he had no strength left.

Next the younger brother went. He saw a squirrel walk by the branch with the grapes. He yelled at that squirrel, "You! With the fluffy tail! Cut down those grapes for me and we can split the profits evenly!" The squirrel looked at the fox and then recognized him. This was the same fox that had stolen all of the squirrel's winter food bank from his secret hiding spot yesterday! Now the squirrel had to work twice as hard to save up food for the upcoming winter. Angered by this, instead of doing as asked, the squirrel threw down seeds at the fox's head and then scurried off.

It was the vixen's turn now. She looked at the grapes, they were much too high for her to just jump. She looked at the base of the tree and thought of an idea. She backed up a few steps and then ran. Instead of running straight into the trunk, she began to climb it. She felt herself getting tired, but she could not lose momentum. She could see herself getting closer and closer to the branch with the grapes. Finally, she made it. Tired, she too a rest on the branch. The tree branch was thin and quite unstable. She felt it shake when she rested on it. However she was determined to succeed. She took slow and steady steps towards the grapes. Her brothers watched from below, amazed that she actually got that close to the grapes. Then when she was just one step away, the branch snapped. The youngest fox was falling and fast. She could see the ground rushing towards her, but there was nothing to stop her from falling. Then, thud.

"Ouch, you are so heavy," said the oldest brother.
"You really should think about cutting back on your diet." said the youngest brother.

The youngest fox opened her eyes and say her brothers under her. They had saved her life. She looked next to her and the beautiful grapes were smashed.

The youngest brother said, "Hey, it's alright. I'm just glad you didn't break any bones."
"Me too," said the oldest.
"Me three," said the vixen, "Let's go home."

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Author's Note: The original storyline is from Aesop's fable of The Fox and the Grape.

A Fox one day spied a beautiful bunch of ripe grapes hanging from a vine trained along the branches of a tree. The grapes seemed ready to burst with juice, and the Fox's mouth watered as he gazed longingly at them.

The bunch hung from a high branch, and the Fox had to jump for it. The first time he jumped he missed it by a long way. So he walked off a short distance and took a running leap at it, only to fall short once more. Again and again he tried, but in vain.

Now he sat down and looked at the grapes in disgust.

"What a fool I am," he said. "Here I am wearing myself out to get a bunch of sour grapes that are not worth gaping for."

And off he walked very, very scornfully.

There are many who pretend to despise and belittle that which is beyond their reach.

I really enjoyed this story and I basically changed it to be my own.

"The Fox and the Grapes" by Aesop, from Aesop for Children (2006). Web Source:  The Project Gutenberg EBook

Week 1:C-H-I-C-A-G-O! (My Favorite Place)

My favorite place that I have been to thus far is the Windy City, Chicago, Illinois. I went there this past spring break and it was, I guess you could say, "milestone" in my life because it was my first time traveling on my own. I was lucky enough to stay with family up there, but they had work most of the day. So I spent my days wandering the streets on my own (something I would never do in Oklahoma). I loved the city life with so many people walking somewhere and the bustling of the cars. I even loved the more suburban area of North Chicago where all of the smaller and local business came alive at night. My favorite thing about Chicago: the arts. I am far from having an acting career or creating the next masterpiece, but I greatly appreciate them. Here are so photos I took while in Chicago:

(image: personal photo of the Chicago skyline on the way to Museum Campus;

photo from March 2014)

(image: personal photo of inside the Chicago Culture Center;

photo from March 2014)

(image: personal photo of Sears Tower (Willis Tower);

photo from March 2014)