Spring 2005 Newsletter - Page 5

Colombian Colleges
by Andres Espinosa

In all cultures there are different kinds of people with different customs and goals. It depends on the culture you grow up in and the family you grow up with. It also depends on the education you might have, including pre elementary school, elementary school, middle school, high school and College. College education is different all over the world, especially in a small country like Colombia. You may find differences regarding the buildings on campus, the behavior of the students in class and after class and the type of education you might receive.

In Colombia you may find several universities with a lot of programs, majors or careers to choose, with different kinds (designs) of buildings, classrooms, places to eat inside the University and safety procedures in case of an accident. However, one thing you are never going to find in Colombia is a university with dormitories for the students. Also, we don’t have green zones (grass), Cambus or computer laboratories; rather, we have only seven or eight buildings that are nine or ten floors high all together. Sometimes you don’t even have to change classrooms between classes, so you always stay in the same place. Besides that, a lot of people with different majors study in the same building, which means we don’t have a building for each program, and while in the U.S. you find a lot of bathrooms for men and women and disabled people in all the buildings, in Colombia if you are disabled you might need to go to the bathroom for disabled people in the University, which is sometimes very far away. We have bathrooms every other floor, but not all the buildings have an elevator.

University Sergio Arboleda, Bogotá, Colombia

Colombian Colleges have classrooms with only one board. In other words, if you are late, you may need to sit at the back of the classroom and probably you are not going to be able to see anything, and they also have uncomfortable chairs for everyone. In addition, we don’t have TV’s or projectors and if you want to use one, you need to reserve it at least one or two months before, and places to eat are not allowed inside the university. However, you probably find a place to drink coffee or smoke cigarettes, but if you want to eat you must go outside.

Bogotá is a big city, so our universities are located between streets with a lot of traffic, and sometimes we can not concentrate on what we are doing. Safety procedures don’t even exist in some parts of Colombia. We don’t have smoke detectors, and we don’t have fire extinguishers on every floor. For those reasons and many more, we don’t have dormitories. Everybody lives with their parents and if you are from another city, you need to rent an apartment. In fact, a long time ago, the government tried to create a university with dormitories, but they became very dangerous places with drugs and guns.

The behavior of the students inside and outside the classrooms is weird. In Colombia, we rarely speak or participate in class because some people laugh at what people say. Some people are afraid to express their feelings. However, some people speak, and they are the ones who everybody else “respects” or who have some friends in the same class and also, we are used to always being late for class. The only thing you need in Colombia is to get good grades on the exams. Even if you never go to class, if you pass the exams, you will pass the course. Week days, we usually go for a beer or play sports and on weekends we usually go dancing, (we have almost 300 bars and discos), to a party or on a short trip to little towns near the city.

Finally, all this doesn’t mean anything with respect to the level of education that you can receive in Colombia. We have excellent professors, and it’s up to you to learn and take advantage of that. I’m very proud of my country and if someone asks me, we don’t have anything to desire from other countries or from other types of universities.

Kimchi: One of the Most Famous, Healthy Korean Foods
by Jeong-Ho Kim (John)

Most countries have their own specialties, which can be languages, industries, climate, customs, foods, and so on. The meaning of traditional foods demonstrates the culture, characters, and even people’s lives of a country. As most nations have their own traditional foods, Korea has Kimchi as one of the representative foods in Korea. Kimchi has not only a long history but also plentiful nutrition.

First, although the exact source of the origin of Kimchi has not been found, Kimchi appeared in Korea at least thirteen centuries ago according to the book, “History of the Three Dynasties,” in which Kimchi was mentioned for the first time. The book, written in 1145, has a record of foods served in the wedding feasts of King Shinmun, which includes the word “hae.” The word means “pickling,” which can be interpreted as collectively referring to the Kimchi and salted fish families. We do not know exactly what it meant. Referring to other records in China and Japan, we assume that it was probably a kind of simple pickled food like a cucumber pickle, and it is the origin of Kimchi.

There are some reasons why Kimchi, such a historical food, has been developed in Korea. An environmental factor has prompted the development of Kimchi. There are four seasons in Korea, which are strikingly different from each other. Consequently, people could not eat fresh vegetables during the winter when it is too cold for vegetables to be planted although people could enjoy fresh vegetables from spring to fall. However, people wanted to eat vegetables during the winter and also needed them for their health. Thus, they tried to figure out a method by which people would be able to store vegetables longer. Kimchi was one of the ways of eating vegetables during the winter. Even though Kimchi originated from the needs for vegetables in winter, it is beneficial to people’s health.
Kimchi is very healthy food, which is made up of various vegetables which have a great deal of necessary nutrition. If you see what kinds of ingredients are used in Kimchi, you will recognize how excellent it is. The most common, primary ingredient is Chinese cabbage, which is plentiful in protein even though it is a vegetable. Except protein, the cabbage contains a lot of minerals and vitamin C and A. The secondary material is a radish whose roots are rich in vitamins and diastase, which helps the digestion of carbohydrates, so it has a good influence on people who have digestion problems. Also, the leaves of a radish have calcium, vitamin C, and carotene. In addition, green onions, garlic, and ginger are mainly used for Kimchi. According to much research, garlic has a component which can restrain the expansion of cancer cells. These ingredients make Kimchi have lower calories, higher fiber, and more nutrition than any other foods. For example, some research proves that Kimchi is richer in vitamins than apples.

Sometimes, foreigners who try Kimchi for the first time do not like the smell of Kimchi because it is unique. After they try it, however, most of them start to like and enjoy it. Since I came to the U.S., I have introduced Kimchi to many international friends including Americans. All of them really love it. I think that Kimchi is one of the ideal foods in the world, which is not only delicious but also healthy. Would you like to enjoy Kimchi with me?

How to Make Gong Bao Chicken (spice chicken)
by Yun-Jen Kuo (Ren)

Have you ever eaten Gong Bao Chicken? It is one of the most popular Chinese dishes, which consists of chicken, dry chili, peanuts and so on. It came from Sichuan, which is in the southeast of China. In the Ching dynasty, an official servant who was named Gong Bao liked to eat chicken and spices; also, one day Gong Boa hosted some guests for the spice chicken he invented. Most guests in Gong Bao’s home loved this meal very much, and then most people called this spice chicken as Gong Bao Chicken. Now, it is easy to learn how to cook Gong Bao at home, if you follow these steps: prepare all the ingredients, and track the cooking ways.

First of all, we need several materials: one pound skinless and boneless chicken breast, five pieces of whole dry chili, 1 tablespoon peanuts, 1 teaspoon hot ngo which is a kind of popular Chinese spice, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon rice wine, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoons sugar and 2 tablespoons powder. I recommend the Tayson’s skinless and boneless chicken breast because the breast looks fresh pink and has flexibility with your fingers. Moreover, you can buy any brand of salt, sugar, and powder in general grocery stores if you lack them or just use what you already have. However, you had better purchase whole dry chili, peanuts, hot ngo, soy sauce, and rice wine in Asian supermarkets because they are not American style products and so specific. Whole dry chili, which looks like very small long dark red dry peppers, and hot ngo, which looks like round brown peppers, are kinds of the common Chinese flavors. Furthermore, you are able to choose Kikkoman soy sauce and Taiwan rice wine which has very good qualities. These things are the basic components, so you must prepare them well. Now we are ready to cook after buying the ingredients for Gong Bao Chicken.

Combine the chicken breast, which has been cut into small pieces like erasers, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon rice wine, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon sugar in a big bowl for 30 minutes.

Fry the chicken to well-done after mixing well with 2 tablespoons powder, and put the breast in a filter to decrease a little oil. Next, put 3 tablespoons oil in the pan and fry 1 teaspoon hot ngo for 5 minutes with meddle fire, then get it away. Fry five pieces of whole dry chili which doesn’t take away from the pan for 5 minutes before adding the chicken and 1 tablespoon peanuts. Finally put Gong Bao Chicken in a dish after cooking about 5 minutes. You will get delicious Gong Bao Chicken with these steps. In conclusion, If you like to eat spicy food, you can add the chili or you can change amounts of whole dry chili, peanuts, hot ngo, soy sauce, rice wine, salt, and sugar. Gong Bao Chicken is fairly easy to cook at home if you follow the steps, and you will enjoy it.

How much do you know about Jessica Simpson?
by Shinya Toda

It is interesting that people in the different cultures are conscious of privacy differently. Some cultures have a strong tendency to be private and others do not. For example, in the university dorm in America, people tend to open the door to show friendliness. However, in Japan, people don’t like it and mostly keep doors closed. Japanese children like to be in a room which is private. If a person visits someone’s house and opens the door without asking, people think the person is a robber. This difference may come from the culture or national character. Japanese people feel it is very important to keep individuals’ privacy and try not to invade others privacy. American people are friendly, open and tend to like deep interpersonal relationships.

Have you ever seen the TV show about Jessica Simpson and Nick? It shows the normal life of Jessica Simpson and Nick, her husband who is also a singer. It seems the TV crews live in their house or spend much of their time with them from morning to midnight. We can not only see Jessica and Nick’s living room, kitchen, but also what they are watching on TV or what they eat. Sometimes, Jessica doesn’t wear make up or wears casual clothes, which look like pajamas. As most people know, Jessica is one of the most famous American singers now. It was very surprising that the one of the famous artists isn’t strongly conscious about privacy. Even though on their third wedding anniversary, camera crews followed them, took pictures of their kissing and exchanging sweet words and broadcast it all over the United States.

On the other hand, in Japan, usually famous artists try not to expose their personal information. It seems completely opposite from the United States. None of the famous artists feel happy being interviewed about their private life. Although they are dating somebody, they try hard to hide it until they are formally engaged. It often happens that the couple of artists tell lies during interviews to hide their private information from the public. Thus, most Japanese don’t know about famous artists’ private lives. It is true that there is a cultural difference between America and Japan through the media. American famous artists have less privacy than Japanese ones, and also American culture is less conscious of keeping their own privacy than Japanese culture. American people may expose more information willingly or share the story of occurrences or feelings. On the other hand, Japanese people try to hide or to pretend that everything is fine even though people have sad things going on in their lives. Sometimes, this cultural difference causes misunderstandings.

For example, in the United States, people expect to insist on their own opinions or ideas. However, it is hard for me as Japanese to express my thinking, especially in the different country because it is hard to guess how other people think. Without any privacy, we may feel uncomfortable that we couldn’t hide anything, or feel pressure to expose much of our own information. Still there is privacy in American culture, but it scares me more when I am in a society in which people are less conscious about privacy.

There are a lot of cultural differences in the United States which are completely different from Japan. Whenever I encounter those differences, I often felt confused and unpleasant in the different culture. However, it was also interesting to know the new viewpoint of the same situation, and I noticed how large amount of my characteristics are composed of cultural elements. Culture affects a person’s character, language and thoughts. I know more about Japan which I hadn’t noticed before I came to America by observing it from the outside, and I am getting confidence and pride as a Japanese. What I have experienced in the U.S. has broadened my horizons. It can be said that the TV program of Jessica Simpson and Nick also has helped make me thoughtful and have a flexible personality.

Three Things That Are Different Between American Culture and Korean Culture
by Woo Sun Choi (Sunny)

Have you ever visited other countries? If you experienced some strange and unfamiliar feelings, language is not the only reason. Because we come from different cultural backgrounds, it is natural to feel unfamiliar. Each country has a different culture. To live with the people of other countries, we have to understand and know them. America and my country, Korea, have different backgrounds such as history, politics, economy and culture. There are three general things that are different between America and Korea: respecting others’ privacy, the relationship between parents and children and communicating with other people.

First of all, most American people respect others’ privacy more completely than Koreans do. They don’t like someone to jump into their problems, even though that someone is their best friend or parents. Maintaining their personal life without too much attention is very important to them. In the workplace, they want their privacy to be protected by their employer. If an employer requires them to work over vacation or a holiday, they say “no” exactly. Also, they respect their family’s privacy at home even though the family member is so young. On the other hand, most Koreans prefer to have other people involved in helping them with some their problems. They want to talk and discuss the problems with familiar people. In the workplace, many employers emphasize not individuals but an organization. In their home, older people in the family require family members to join in many family activities together, even though they don’t want. Although both of the privacy styles have advantages and disadvantages, I prefer to respect others’ privacy completely like American people. In addition, the relationship between parents and children in American families is quite different compared to the relationship in Korea families. The relationship in American families is more equal and independent than that in Korean families. Most parents in America emphasize independence to their children. For example, many university students in America have a part time job. The students pay the tuition of their university. Also, they live apart from their parents after they get married. On the other hand, students in Korea rarely pay their school tuition by themselves. Many Korean parents think that supporting their children with money is their duty as parents. They delicate themselves to their children like their parents did for them. However, that sometimes causes stress to children, because parents force their desire too much to their children. Also, offspring usually live with their parents after they get married. It is a Korean tradition. I want to respect our tradition and appreciate my parents’ protection.

Finally, the communication style between America and Korea is also very different. In American style conversation, interaction between speakers is very important. For example, if I bring up a topic, I expect you to respond right away. Whether you agree or not does not matter as long as you show interest in my conversation. American people participate in the conversation as if they are playing a game of tennis. When many people have a discussion, the conversation becomes more active and lively. On the other hand, in Korean style conversation, people are not to respond quickly. They respond more carefully. Also, the conversation is different depending on the member. When we communicate with older people, the conversation becomes much more polite. We don’t interrupt each other’s turn. We just watch politely. I believe that communication style is especially influenced by cultural backgrounds.

By thinking about differences between America and Korea, I came to the conclusion that America and Korea have quite different cultural backgrounds and it shows in areas such as privacy, the relationship between parents and children and communication. Each area has advantages and disadvantages. Different backgrounds produce different cultures. The culture is the mirror of the country. Even though we are sometimes unfamiliar with different cultures, we have to understand and accept the diversity between people and cultures. Don’t forget, it is the most important thing to keep an open mind about differences.

Observations of Light at Sunrise
by Jae Hee

I observed the light at sunrise in Iowa three times. One was from the curtain. That was timid and white. When I finished my project, I turned off all the lights before I moved out, but I could see a timid light source. I tried to find where the light came for a while because I had not seen it a few minutes before. That made me surprised and curious about where the light came from. Finally I found it was from the window. That was my first time seeing light at sunrise.

My second time seeing the sunrise was six months ago. The time was around 6 o’clock in the morning. I saw it in the drafting room with our classmates. The color was pale violet, red, orange and blue, and it was fantastic. I had never seen that kind of sunrise before. Whenever I tried to see the sunrise in Korea, I was at the seashore because only the sunrise near the seashore is famous for the fantastic color. The sunrise at the seashore looked like the sun pulled up out of the sea. For that reason, I didn’t expect a fabulous sunrise in Iowa, but it was contrary to my expectation. It was so fabulous and colorful in Iowa. That color was like a huge fabric which was dyed peach, pale violet and pink red. At that time, the sun was also at its highest point. Basically, the sky color was pale blue and on top of that, the peach, pale violet and pink red was parallel to the ground like cotton candy, which has a striped texture.

The third time was in the middle of Thanksgiving break. I was waiting for the sunrise. I wanted to capture the moment when the sun was rising. It was a special, lazy sunrise. Everything was dark like a cursed ground, but after a few minutes, I felt a little bit of brightness on the ground. That color was Prussian blue and ultramarine. Then the color changed slowly. The changing color was pale yellow and the focus distance was long. Everywhere was dark except in the middle of the ground and sky. The color in the middle was pale yellow. The color gradation was from pale yellow to dark blue. The following color was orange. The color was red, orange, yellow, pale red ochre, cerulean blue, and cobalt blue. The entire color mood was brighter than before, and then I could see the cloud. The reflected cloud was so fabulous. I realized that the second sunrise I saw was like this. I think that reflected color has so many colors that there are more than I can imagine. Of course, every color that humans can perceive is from reflection. I was surprised by the variety and change in the color. In addition, the sky color in Iowa is not as simple as people usually think. I think humans have more perceptions than a single color name, and we need more perceptions when we observe the sunrise in Iowa. I realize that there is a lot of color variation in sunrises in Iowa.

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