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Published: September 8th 2016
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Week 1
Part A
This has been the first week that I’m in the USA, it’s been a hectic one as well.
I’m staying in Winchester, CA, to work on a ranch.
The twelve-hour flight was okay actually, I did not have a neighbour next to me so I had plenty of space to move around. When I walked out of LAX I realised it was warmer than I expected it to be since I was wearing long trousers and a hoodie. I did not mind the heat though. I was very nervous to be somewhere I didn’t know anybody but I was excited for it as well.
I took the bus from LAX to Union Station to get the train to Downtown-Riverside where I would be picked up by my host. During my ride to the train station I passed some giant buildings and signs that you would not see at home. From an apartment for sale to a new burger at McDonalds.
I arrived around 11PM that night and was introduced to my host, she was really nice but told me that they were in
the middle of moving the business from one place to another so it would be a bit weird the first week. I had to sleep in a trailer on the couch. I was the only volunteer at the time but she told me that a few days later a girl would arrive and two boys a week later.
On my first workday I managed to sprain my ankle so bad that I could not walk on it, this meant that not only could I not properly walk but also I could not do any work which I felt really bad about.
Also a very different thing I noticed when I tagged along running some errands is that they pack your groceries for you!
There is no Wi-Fi yet at the place that I am staying, so at the moment I’m sitting inside a Starbucks trying to get the work done. I am on my own a lot which I find hard because I like having company. Especially now that I can’t walk properly. I had a horrible case of being homesick the first few days and being alone did not help
with that. My laptop charger broke on the first day as well so I had to go out and buy a new one which was a challenge. I managed to find a new one eventually.
POP for LSD4 • I can understand in detail what is said to me in standard spoken language even in a noisy environment. I’m going to do this by having conversations with peers during a break or on the train.
• I can understand TV documentaries, live interviews, talk shows, plays and the majority of films in standard dialect. I want to do this by watching more TV-series and documentaries which are spoken in the British accent. I will do this by myself.
• I can read and understand articles and reports on current problems in which the writer’s express specific attitudes and points of view. I will do this by reading articles that contains current problems and different views of people. I will do this on my own.
• I can quickly look through a manual (for example for a computer program) and find and understand the relevant explanations and help for a specific problem. I want to do
this by reading an actual manual for a piece of furniture. I will do this on my own.
• I can initiate, maintain and end discourse naturally with effective turn-taking. I am going to do this by having more conversations with peers, I have a lot of conversations with them but they are sometimes one sided because the other one is not listening. I want to have a serious conversation. I will do this with the help of my peers.
• I can convey degrees of emotion and highlight the personal significance of events and experiences. I want to have a conversation about topics that are close to me and what I feel very strongly about to show my emotions and experiences. I will do this with some of my peers.
• I can generally correct slips and errors if I become aware of them or if they have led to misunderstandings. I want to do this by checking my own work and correcting the mistakes I make, even during talking just by correcting the mistake I’ve made. I will do this partially on my own but I will also ask my peers to correct me if I make mistakes.
• I can produce stretches of language with a fairly even tempo; although I can be hesitant as I search for expressions, there are few noticeably long pauses. I want to do this by training to have normal and flowing conversations, this way I can get used to a normal speaking tempo. I will do this together with peers.
• I can write summaries of articles on topics of general interest. I want to do this by reading articles about subjects that interest me and make summaries of those articles. I will do this by myself but will get my work checked by a peer.
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