Archive for the 'learning' Category

Meeting Jessamyn West

Published on 4 March 2007 in meetup, librarianship, bloggers and learning. 4 Comments

I didn’t mention that Jessamyn West was here, in Perth, last week, did I? She was here as a guest of the Loclib conference. I didn’t get to hear her speak at the conference itself but my friends Kathryn and Sputty were there, and Sputty reports that she “wasn’t disappointed” in Jessamyn’s talks (which are available at her blog, if you’re interested). Jessamyn graciously agreed to have drinks and meet folks at a pub (the Northbridge) afterwards, which is where I got to meet her.

Over a middy of Heineken, I asked Jessamyn how she handles the frustrations of being a technology evangelist. (Although technology evangelist wasn’t the term I used.) I described a couple of scenarios, e.g. folks wanting to know how to embed Microsoft Word into a wiki - gaaaaaah!! I asked her how she handled this sort of situation and how she coped with the constant frustrations of trying to show people how “new” technologies like blogs and wikis might make a difference in the workplace. Jessamyn’s answer: “be a smiling Buddha”- i.e. don’t let it get you down, just keep at it, be patient. I guess I wanted her to give me a magic panacea, but, on reflection, I’m glad to know that she’s experienced the same situations (it’s not just me!).

We also talked briefly, about the ALA and ALIA, “clean” jobs in rural Vermont, the Australian love of sport, which led on to how cricket is incomprehensible to Americans (silly mid on? huh?), and do Americans play rugby? (do they?) Followed by what to do in Perth (the consensus was the beach), and the weather (of course).

I think Jessamyn and Kate (her sister, who is accompanying her on this trip) are now in Adelaide. Fortunately for them, they are missing out on a forecast top temperature of 39°C/102.2°F today (tomorrow and Wednesday: 40°C/104°F). They’ll also be going to Sydney and meeting up with Fiona, I think. I hope you enjoyed Perth, despite its severe lack of wifi, and the rest of your trip, Jessamyn and Kate!

Eavesdropping

Published on 24 January 2007 in Chinese language, language and learning. 2 Comments

I really like my new office. Apart from the fact that I get to start over in a new area and have all sorts of new things to learn (which alternately daunts me and inspires me) and the fact that I don’t have to sit in airconditioning if I don’t want to (the window opens, and being on the fifth floor means that there is a breeze even on a warm day - I haven’t used the airconditioner in the room yet), one of my neighbours is an academic from mainland China. This means I can occasionally hear him speaking in Mandarin through the open window/thin walls. His voice is just muffled enough so that I can’t usually hear what he is saying, apart from the odd word when he gets excited and raises his voice. And this is a good thing, you ask?

Well, I am one of those strange people who enjoys listening to programmes in languages I don’t necessarily understand, on SBS radio (which broadcasts in various community languages), just to let the sounds of the languages wash over me. And listening to Mandarin is strangely soothing, even if I can’t hear exactly what he’s saying, and even if it makes me realise that my verbal skills in Mandarin are quite rusty due to lack of use. This morning, reading this post on the Learning Cantonese blog, on language teachers and the reality of trying to master an ever-changing language, really makes me want to work on improving my Mandarin.It’s making me think I should organise a tutor in spoken Mandarin for myself. The only question is how I would fit this in.