Hola
by kenwardt
Hi everyone, my name is Kenward Tran and I am a fourth year student in the LFS faculty majoring in Global Resource Systems. My specializations include Environment, focusing on its impacts in Latin America. What better way to expand my knowledge about Latin America in the form of literature! I am excited for this course as this is the first time in my life where I will be experiencing “contract grading.” It puts good pressure on myself in terms of accountability, and I won’t be shocked at the end of the term when I see the letter grade, as I have chosen it. I am excited to dive deep into Latin American Literature and understand how authors were feeling at that point in time.
A little intro to me – I was born in the good ol’ prairies of Winnipeg, Manitoba, and moved to BC when I was in grade 4. (I don’t know what age that was but grade 4!) I was always interested in the environment and was very curious on the surroundings I often found myself in. BC is an amazing place for hikes with amazing views and I’d say it makes up for the amount of rain we get. If the hikes aren’t enough, in the winter we can do winter sports with all the mountains we have. Coming from Winnipeg where it is flat farm lands I was amazed by this and love snowboarding now mainly at Cypress and Grouse Mountain. I have previously taken a Latin American Studies course with Tamara Mitchell, and it was very interesting. Tamara would use Professor Beasley-Murray’s lecture videos so I already have an idea of how his teaching style is, and I personally enjoy it. The drink pairings set the tone of how reading is a stimulant and the drinks can set the vibe to make you want to read even more.
The first lecture was intriguing, and the idea of literature and how it can be a play of words in terms of puns and jokes made me realize the connections they had with one another. It was unfortunate we never got to play hopscotch outside, but at least now I understand why the course is called hopscotch!
I have a question for everyone, do any of you speak more than one language? If so, which languages? (Bonus if it’s spanish. I took up to SPAN 202 so I am algo bueno en español.)
Hi Kenward! I think it’s really interesting that you’re studying the environment of Latin America and taking this course to enrich your specialization. As for your question, the only other language I can speak is French.
Hola Kenward! Love your introduction! We’re on the same boat here as this is also my first (probably last too. I will be graduating in May – hopefully) time experiencing “contract grading”. Looking forward to seeing how this works out in a few months’ time! ????
As for your question, as someone who is born and raised in Malaysia, it’s sort of a convention for us to learn at least 3 languages (English, Malay, Mandarin) since elementary school. So, I can speak 3 languages (and some Cantonese and Hokkien too, since those are dialects so I don’t think I should count them in) y un poquito espanol!
También tomé SPAN 202 – unfortunately I took it online without much conversation though, so I can read and write well enough but am lost when it’s spoken. I’d love to learn more Spanish in the future though, and I also find Portuguese to be a beautiful language if I ever have time for that.
Hi Kenward! I feel the exact same way you do about BC, since moving from Ontario myself. Although it is quite rainy most of the year, sunnier days really show how beautiful Vancouver is. It’s also fascinating that you’re studying Latin American environment!
I wouldn’t say I speak another language because I am not at a comfortable level where I could have a fluent conversation with someone, however I did complete my language requirement by taking Spanish classes. I still know how to say a few sentences, but once I completed the requirement I naturally started loosing more and more of the language. I really do love how it sounds!