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Published: August 21st 2016
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Sunday, 8-21-16
It has been my first week of my stay abroad and in the US. I am staying in Santa Ana, CA, to work at an in-home daycare.
Exactly one week ago I came into the US, slightly dazed because of the ten hour flight I just had. When I walked out of LAX the warmth hit me and I immediately felt like I was overdressed, I was wearing long pants and a shirt with long sleeves. Everywhere were I looked were palm trees and people. I had never been to the US so I felt nervous but also ready. This was a whole new adventure.
On my way to the hotel I noticed the gigantic signs that were decorating the highway. Everywhere you looked was something: 40%!s(MISSING)ale at a furniture company and a sign inviting you to try the new hamburger McDonalds just brought out. I wondered how all those people in their cars didn't get distracted by the display of colorful billboards.
When I arrived the next morning at my volunteer address my host, Cheryl, gave me a warm welcome with a hug and a quick tour through
the house. I also met the other volunteers, two German girls, one Italian girl and one Spanish girl. We talked about or home countries and how different it was from the US. Of course they had been there for a few weeks, so they knew a lot already. They told me everything was big here, the supermarkets, the beaches, the drinks and portions of food in the restaurants.
When I went shopping the next day I understood what they meant. You don't have baskets in the supermarkets, only carts and boy, do you need them. I went to Sam's Club, which you can compare to an Albert Heijn, a Mediamarkt and Bol.com in one store. They had EVERYTHING; tv-screens, mini fridges, couch sets, barbecues, household stuff, make up departments, toys and of course groceries. You could even get an eye check at an optician at the store! While I stood their admiring the store, the American people walked past me and thought nothing about buying a microwave and mini fridge along with their normal groceries.
The next few days I was mostly at the home to learn how the people worked there and what to do at the daycare, but yesterday, I went out to do some groceries on my own. I went to the local Target, which was even bigger than the Sam's Club I had been to. They had a small Starbucks inside, a clothes department and a mobile phones department too. I was tempted to look everywhere, but it would have taken me hours. I bought whatever I thought I needed and walked to the register.
At the cash register, they pack your groceries for you. In theory, this is nice but they use at least ten plastic bags to pack them all. I was dreading the way back home as I came to the store by foot.
There I was, outside Target under a palm tree with ten plastic bags wondering how I was ever going to take this home.
LSD4 Personal Development Plan
POP LSD4
Starting point
I want to improve the skills that make me come over as more professional and formal. I want to be taken seriously when I talk and write. I need to improve on my vocabulary and writing but I also want to be able to understand manuals, scientific articles, newspaper articles and the like. This is to broaden my horizons but also to make me feel more confident when I am practising one of the language skills. Often I find myself second guessing anything I am writing, saying or reading and I want to feel confidence even if I make mistakes.
The can-do statements for LSD3 and LSD4 I can understand the main ideas of complex speech on both concrete and abstract topics delivered in a standard dialect, including technical discussion in my field of specialisation.
I can read and understand articles and reports on current problems in which the writers express specific attitudes and points of view.
I can understand in detail texts within my field of interest or the area of my academic or professional speciality.
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 can initiate, maintain and end discourse naturally with effective turn-taking.
I can convey degrees of emotion and highlight the personal significance of events and experiences.
I can account for and sustain my opinions in discussion by providing relevant explanations, arguments and comments
I can give clear, detailed descriptions on a wide range of subjects, related to my fields of interest.
I can construct a chain of reasoned argument, linking my ideas logically
I can speculate about causes, consequences, hypothetical situations.
I can write clear and detailed texts (compositions, reports or texts of presentations) on various topics related to my field of interest.
I can write about events and real or fictional experiences in a detailed and easily readable way.
I can speak in a formal way.
I can write a formal text.
What goals/sub goals do you set for yourself?
All these can-do statements are a lot to learn and I am sure we will handle some of them in the lessons of LSD3 and LSD4. My main goal is to write and speak in a formal way because that is required for the second year, and that is the issue that still needs improvement. I want to focus on that and also on creating a vocabulary database with more words and synonyms I will use in formal texts and speech. I want to mainly focus on that but also on clear speech. I sometimes notice that my sentences can have been structured better and clearer and I also want to focus on that. The sub goals I have set for myself are the other can-do statements. I am sure we will discuss a few of these aspects in class, but I also want to explore these myself.
How are you going to achieve them/what activities?
I want to watch a lot of scientific documentaries and I want to watch lectures of topics I am interested in to learn something from it, but also to pick up formal vocabulary and speech techniques they use. I also want to watch some of these with my classmates and friends so when I talk to them we will use these words in everyday speech and through this we become more comfortable using these words.
Because we are going abroad, this will also help me to acquire a wider vocabulary base and use different words I would not use before, simply because I did not know them. I am also going to ask my hosts to help me with vocabulary and explain to me what a word means so I can put it in my vocabulary database as well.
With whom?
I want to do some of these activities with my hosts of my stay abroad and with Monique, Rick-Emal and Maxim. I also want to do some of these activities with my step-dad so he can help me with discovering new words.
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