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Each One Teach One

Tandem teaching & learning diaries of TAMK students.

Blog10: Internet and tech savy people: Today Myko came with a friend to hook up my internet connection. I received the modem in the mail but I didn't know how to connect this without Myko's help. I learned so many new Vietnamse words that I added to my book. She explained a lot about Vietnamese culture and the role of women and the role of women in Europe. It was so interesting and important for me to recognize my privilege and predisposition as a Canadian female, we laughed and had so many complications with the modem but finally Myko got it to work. Myko taught me so much today about being strong and pursuing your dreams as a mother and a woman. I was able to exchange services and help Myko to pronounce her words more clearly and we looked through my lonely planet travel book that I have been dreaming of making a reality. We talked a lot about the possibilities of future travel together. I learn so much from her on a day to day basis. Her strength inspires me and makes me less afraid of my own. I am happy now that I internet and a dear friend who knows so much about so many different things.

Blog 9: Finance and business: Today we walked and talked about the business ideas that we have to open a sandwich shop. I learned the words money, bank and dreams in Vietnamese. We had a fantastic walk and discussed so much that I barely remember to take notes on my Vietnamese but luckily we were able to revise my new financial vocabulary later on the tram home. Dong is the word for money and I think now that I have been able to collect so many Vietnamese words over these last weeks that I will try to book a trip to Vietnam so that I remember everything that I have learned. Walking and talking about finances made me realize how lucky we are in Finland that we dont have to pay for education. In Canada as well as Vietnam, it is very expensive to study but this how now created a new business idea for Myko and I. We have so much to learn and discover about one another. This was a lovely brisk walk!

Blog 8: Vegetables and Beef, important words in Vietnam: Today I learned the words for onion and carrot as well as beef and chicken. The improvement in both of our pronunciations has surpassed my expectations. We went around the table and Myko pointed out all the different names of the vegetables. I repeated many times and started to think that I might get the hang of this language very soon. Myko taught me how to use different verbs like eat and walk and talk. The verbs in different tenses was quite fun, we laughed a lot as my pronunciations made no real consistent sense. Now I can list the food that I eat and say that I am hungry, tired and or am going for a walk. I feel like I learned so much today. I have expanded my vocabulary and took action on pronouncing full sentences with the new verbs that I have learned. I feel confident that I could definitely go to a restaurant and order a Pho soup!

Blog 7: Hot coffee and discussions about feeling and values: We met at school and started to talk about casual leadership things and I noticed that Myko had a confusing time with so and too. We started to teach each other the differences between values and prim´nciples. I asked Myko to help me find the correct terms in Vietnamese and tried to pronounce them correctly. I realized that making jokes doesn't usually translate well from one language to another but I wanted to practice some written Vietnamese so I translated a joke from English to Vietnamese and the writing was so interesting looking. You can not recognize any words at all but we had a fun time. I tried to explain the importance of having flexibility and humanity in values and not being too principled in how we see the world. Some rules are important but it is also valuable to remember that human beings are deeply flawed and need mercy and flexibility in their values. We had a philosophical conversation with a hot cup of coffee. It was wonderful to see written Vietnamese and to discover more about how deeply Vietnamese culture and values are in the eyes of the people. Myko and I always enjoy each others company. I learned so much today.

First meeting: Vietnam tourist attractions and delicious street food: This evening went very quickly as we got lost in the conversation.I learned how to say please and thank you and to ask for directions. Words like left and right were practiced over and over again. I spent a lot of time daydreaming and looking at photos of Vietnam with Myko, talking about the weather and the different parts of the country that she enjoys visiting with her family. I noted some very good spots and practiced my hello and goodbye in Vietnamese as well as How much does that cost? I emphasized the ending pronounciation with Myko as her English started to improve, I dared to correct and help with ending sounds. We spent the evening practicing the things we had on our minds spontaneously!

Blog5: Lamb Hot Pot, chopsticks, plates and bones! Today I learned so many words that my notes ran out of pages in my book. The evening began with a hot plate in the middle of the table and a lot of little things to eat in separate bowls, pickles, and meat, noodles. I learned the words fork and knife and spoon and napkin. We talked a lot about future business plans and ideas for different sectors of business in Tampere. Every culture has different ways of approaching the situation. In Finland people are on time and they come with the idea of getting things forward and working hard but of course there are always exceptions. Tonight I brought siskoonmakkara and I cut it into little pieces and served it in the boiling hot broth. Myko's daughter really enjoyed the sausages and i promised to make her the soup one day. It was nice to learn so many new words and eat so many new kinds of food. We really enjoy the course and it gets us out of the house on these cold winter nights! Myko's daughter is very good in learning Finnish and it is always surprising to realize how much faster children are able to learn new things! I got inspired and realized that I should practice reading in Finnish more as to improve my vocabulary also in that area. Soon my Vietnamese will surpass my Finnish!

Blog4 :Sometimes I wonder if learning Vietnamese will help me in tarot!? This day was full of laughter. I thought it would be nice to think of learning a new language through a whole new custom of doing. Tarot is not so common in Asia and can be seen as a bit of a waste of time but I was surprised how many words I learned. Today I practiced the Vietnamese numbers and I used the tarot and story telling as a way to build a context for new vocabulary. My Vietnamese will be so abstract and random but it will also be cool to at least know how to count to 10 and the word Death and Magician ! 😂

Blog 3:Leadership, rules, punishments and values!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! With the strike and the snow and the generous offer of a free ride to school, Myko and I discussed in the car the importance of guiding in leadership instead of punishing. The values of respect and the ability to teach and guide instead of shame and punish.The vocabulary used in the discussion was rich but I didn't gather as much new Vietnamese words but we were able to have a fruitful conversation and I realized that Myko's vocabulary and English pronunciation had improved. We managed to keep the conversation going and came to the conclusion that leadership between adults is not about punishments but about getting to understand each others needs and values and how to establish respectful boundaries and rules that enable synergetic cooperation. Talking with Myko using professional jargon is really helping herimprove and we are getting to know each other so much better. After we spoke I google translated some key words like values, respect and leadership in Vietnamese. I repeated them many times to help me remember.

Blog 2: Dialogue and friendship!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This evening went to explaining aspects of the Dialogue and the structures and frameworks that we are implying at school. My Vietnamese vocabulary grew this evening as I asked Myko to explain the 6 rules of dialogue and then to translate the key vocabulary to me in Vietnamese. I learned the words suspension, assumption, listening, observing, polarization and thoughts in Vietnamese. These words helped us both to solidify our learning in both our mother tongues. Learning Vietnamse also gives me a new perspective on sounds and how difficult pronounciation is when you dont use all parts of your mouth from early childhood. There were some sounds that I just couldn't make and the we laughed alot. This class has helped us to break the cultural norms and explore vulnerability and our inspiration for learning new things. It has not been easy to start a new education with international students from all over the world because of the different approaches to learning however with Myko we have been able to find the common thread of the joy of learning and it has strengthened our ability to trust and explore more the framworks in which we study.

Blog 1 Emotions and children in Vietnamese: Today I was surprised by a little bundle of energy that took over the learning experience. Coka was able to switch between English, Finnish and Vietnamese as proficiently as she was able to shift between feelings. We went on an adventure together and I learned a list of emotions in Vietnamese. As I helped Myko to emphasize the S and differentiate the SH, I quickly realized how difficult it was to pronouce new words in a new language with a new set of phonetical structures. I didnt know that a small girl would teach me so much about feelings. As she ran and played, we ate ice cream and discussed the many different words for different emotions in multiple languages. I was thrilled to see how quickly a child can adopt a new language with an energy and flow that inspires adults. The emotions that I practiced most were, anger, sadness, disappointment, happiness and frustration. These I repeated and wrote down many times in the phonetic form to help me remember how to pronounce later on my adventures to Vietnam. Hopefully I will only need to learn happiness!