Hei taas! Olen kuullut monilta ihmisiltä, että he pitävät blogini lukemisesta ja että se on heistä mielenkiintoinen. Kiitos kaikille, minulle merkitsee paljon tietää, että oikeasti luette tätä blogia. :) Tästä eteenpäin en kirjoita erikseen jokaisesta päivästä, koska monet päivistäni eivät ole kovin jännittäviä - saatan olla koko päivän firmassa koodaamassa... Saatte siis vain kohokohdat.
Viikko sitten sunnuntaina olin kokoontumisessa, jossa oli paikalla sekä vietnamilaisia että ulkomaalaisia. Menin sinne Ms. N:n kanssa, joka on ollut minulle suuri apu ja mahtavaa seuraa. Kokoontuminen oli oikein mukava, juttelin monien uusien ihmisten kanssa, ja yhtä tyttöä, H:ta, olen nähnyt myös jälkeenpäin (lisää siitä myöhemmin). Join jotain juomaa jossa oli hyytelökuutioita - en ole nähnyt mitään sellaista aiemmin.
Pari päivää sitten kuulin, että eräs henkilö, joka oli kokoontumisessa, ryöstettiin heti sen jälkeen ja menetti kaiken mukaanlukien passin ja rahat. Pistää todella miettimään että täällä täytyy olla varovainen.
Torstaina oli ensimmäinen kertani kurssiassistenttina Linux-kurssilla. Se oli melkoinen kokemus. Olen tehnyt paljon kurssiassarointihommia Suomessa monilla erilaisilla kursseilla, joten työ itsessään oli tuttua. Työni oli olla paikalla vastaamassa kysymyksiin ja auttamassa tehtävissä. Ongelma täällä on kuitenkin kommunikaatio. Monet (ehkä useimmat) opiskelijoista eivät puhu englantia kovin hyvin, jos lainkaan. Toinen ongelma on, että toisinaan minulla on suuria vaikeuksia ymmärtää heidän aksenttiaan. Tilanne oli siis se, että he eivät ymmärtäneet minua enkä minä heitä. Epäilen myös, että kun annoin heille linkkejä Stack Overflow'hun ja muille apusivuille, hei eivät luultavasti ymmärtäneet niitäkään... No, katsotaan miten ensi kerta menee. Yritän ainakin puhua vielä hitaammin, jospa ainakin he ymmärtäisivät minua paremmin.
Assaroinnin jälkeen tapasin U:n ja hänen ystävänsä. Molemmat puhuvat erittäin hyvää englantia, koska se on heidän pääaineensa. Meillä oli oikein kivaa, he kierrättivät minua NLU:n kampusalueella. Siellä oli alue täynnä ruokakojuja, ja söimme herkullisia kääryleitä, joiden vietnaminkielisen nimen olen unohtanut. Tämän jälkeen menin Ms. N:n kanssa kirjakauppaan. Pidän aina kirjakaupoista, vaikka useimmat kirjat olisi kirjoitettu kielellä jota en ymmärrä. Manga näyttää olevan täälläkin suosittua, etenkin Salapoliisi Conan.
Sunnuntaina menin etsimään reittiä kuntosalille, jonka kotisivun löysin. Kesti noin puoli tuntia kävellä sinne (en siis mennyt sisään, vain katsomaan missä se on). Reitti oli kuitenkin jalankulkijalle epämiellyttävä, joten en tiedä, haluanko alkaa käydä siellä. (Tämä kaupunki ei todellakaan ole jalankulkijoita varten vaan mopoilijoita.) Kapeat jalkakäytävät ja pelottavat tienylitykset eivät olleet houkuttelevia. Onneksi kuulin H:lta toisesta salista, joka sijaitsee paremmassa paikassa, joten ehkä menen sinne jos minulla on aikaa.
Sunnuntaina menin kiertelemään kaupungilla H:n ja hänen ystävänsä kanssa. Kävimme kuuluisassa Ben Thanh Market:ssa (basaarityyppinen paikka siis), kauppakeskuksessa alueella 7 (se oli kuten mikä tahansa kauppakeskus Euroopassa) ja kiinalaiskortteleissa. Kiinalaiskortteleissa menimme basaariin, joka oli aivan muuta kuin mitä olen koskaan ennen nähnyt. (Jopa Ben Thanh Market, vaikka olikin täynnä tavaroita ja ihmisiä, ei ollut mitään tähän verrattuna.) Tavaran määrä oli aivan uskomaton. Laukkuja, kenkiä ja koruja lattiasta kattoon ja todella kapeat käytävät täynnä ihmisiä. Siellä oli myös valtavat määrät erilaisia ruokatavaroita, joista suurinta osaa en tunnistanut. (Myös haju oli jotain, mitä en ole kokenut ennen.) Tämän jälkeen menimme todella kivaan kahvilaan, josta tuli mieleen Berliini. Se sijaitsi vanhahkossa kerrostalossa, eikä sinne kyllä löytäisi jos ei tietäisi missä se on. Pidin siitä todella paljon.
Oho, ajattelin kirjoittaa tällä kertaa vain lyhyen postauksen... :D Ei ihan niin lyhyt sitten.
tiistai 7. lokakuuta 2014
New people, new places, teaching
Hello again! I have heard from many people that they like to read this blog and find it interesting. Thank you all, it means a lot to me to know that you actually read this blog. :) From now on I don't write about every single day because many of my days are not so exciting - I might be a whole day in the company coding... So you will get only some highlights.
On Sunday a week ago I was at a gathering where were both Vietnamese and foreigners. I went there with Ms. N, who has been a great help and great company for me. The gathering was very nice, I talked with many new people, and one girl, H, I have seen also afterwards (more about that later). I drank a drink whick had some kind of jelly cubes in it - I haven't seen anything like that before.
A couple of days ago I heard that one person who was at the gathering had been robbed right after it and lost everything, including passport and money. It really makes to think that you really have to be careful here.
On Thursday I had my first session as a teaching assistant in a Linux course. It was quite an experience. I have done lots of teaching assisting in Finland in many different courses, so the work itself was familiar. My job was to be available for questions and help them to do the exercises. The problem here, however, is communication. Many (maybe most) of the students don't speak English very well, if at all. The other problem is that occasionally I have real difficulties to understand their accent. So basically the situation was that they did not understand me and I did not understand them. I also suspect that when I gave them some links to Stack Overflow and other helping sites they probably did not understand them... Well, let's see how the session goes this week. I will try to speak even more slowly, maybe at least they will understand me better.
After the assisting session I went to see U and her friend (I have to think about with what letter I should call him, his letter is already used in this blog.). They both speak very good English as it is their major. We had very good time. They took me around the NLU campus area. There was an area full of different food stalls and we ate delicious rolls (I don't remember their Vietnamese name any more). After that I went to a bookstore with Ms. N. I always like bookstores, though most of the books are written in a language I don't understand. Manga seems to be popular also here, especially Detective Conan.
On Saturday I went to explore a route to a gym whose homepage I had found. It took about half an hour to go there (I did not go inside just checked where it is). The route was unpleasant for a pedestrian, though, so I am not sure if I want to start to go there. (This city really is not for pedestrians, this is for motorbike riders.) Narrow pavements and scary street crossings were not tempting. Luckily I heard from H about another gym which would be in a better place, so maybe I will go there if I have time.
On Sunday I went to go round the town with H and her friend. We visited the famous Ben Thanh market, a shopping mall in District 7 (that was like any shopping mall in Europe) and Chinese quarters. In Chinese quarters we went to a bazaar which was nothing like anything I have seen before. (Even Ben Thanh market, though full of stuff and people, was nothing compared to this.) The amount of goods was unbelievable. Bags, shoes, accessories from floor to ceiling and very narrow corridors crowded with people. There was also a huge amout of different foods, most of which I did not recognize. (The smell was also something I have not experienced before.) After that we went to a very nice coffee shop which reminded me of Berlin. It was in an older house, you could not find there if you did not know where it is. I liked it very much.
Oops, I thought to write only a short post this time... :D Not so short, after all.
On Sunday a week ago I was at a gathering where were both Vietnamese and foreigners. I went there with Ms. N, who has been a great help and great company for me. The gathering was very nice, I talked with many new people, and one girl, H, I have seen also afterwards (more about that later). I drank a drink whick had some kind of jelly cubes in it - I haven't seen anything like that before.
A couple of days ago I heard that one person who was at the gathering had been robbed right after it and lost everything, including passport and money. It really makes to think that you really have to be careful here.
On Thursday I had my first session as a teaching assistant in a Linux course. It was quite an experience. I have done lots of teaching assisting in Finland in many different courses, so the work itself was familiar. My job was to be available for questions and help them to do the exercises. The problem here, however, is communication. Many (maybe most) of the students don't speak English very well, if at all. The other problem is that occasionally I have real difficulties to understand their accent. So basically the situation was that they did not understand me and I did not understand them. I also suspect that when I gave them some links to Stack Overflow and other helping sites they probably did not understand them... Well, let's see how the session goes this week. I will try to speak even more slowly, maybe at least they will understand me better.
After the assisting session I went to see U and her friend (I have to think about with what letter I should call him, his letter is already used in this blog.). They both speak very good English as it is their major. We had very good time. They took me around the NLU campus area. There was an area full of different food stalls and we ate delicious rolls (I don't remember their Vietnamese name any more). After that I went to a bookstore with Ms. N. I always like bookstores, though most of the books are written in a language I don't understand. Manga seems to be popular also here, especially Detective Conan.
On Saturday I went to explore a route to a gym whose homepage I had found. It took about half an hour to go there (I did not go inside just checked where it is). The route was unpleasant for a pedestrian, though, so I am not sure if I want to start to go there. (This city really is not for pedestrians, this is for motorbike riders.) Narrow pavements and scary street crossings were not tempting. Luckily I heard from H about another gym which would be in a better place, so maybe I will go there if I have time.
On Sunday I went to go round the town with H and her friend. We visited the famous Ben Thanh market, a shopping mall in District 7 (that was like any shopping mall in Europe) and Chinese quarters. In Chinese quarters we went to a bazaar which was nothing like anything I have seen before. (Even Ben Thanh market, though full of stuff and people, was nothing compared to this.) The amount of goods was unbelievable. Bags, shoes, accessories from floor to ceiling and very narrow corridors crowded with people. There was also a huge amout of different foods, most of which I did not recognize. (The smell was also something I have not experienced before.) After that we went to a very nice coffee shop which reminded me of Berlin. It was in an older house, you could not find there if you did not know where it is. I liked it very much.
Oops, I thought to write only a short post this time... :D Not so short, after all.
lauantai 4. lokakuuta 2014
Kuvia / Pictures
Hotellihuoneeni / My hotel room
Yliopistolta, vasemmalla informaatioteknologian tiedekunta jossa olen vierailemassa / At the university, on the left the Faculty of Information Technology where I am visiting
Matkalla harjoittelufirmaan. Loppumatkalla on harvinaisen vähäliikenteinen osuus. / On my way to the internship company. The last part of the journey has very few traffic which is rare here.
Liikennettä bussin ikkunasta kuvattuna / Some traffic, photo taken through a bus window
Ja vähän vähemmän liikennettä / And a little less traffic
Talo bussimatkan varrelta, huomatkaa pyykit / A house on my way by bus, notice the laundry
Sotamuseosta / From the War Remnants Museum
Puisto, joka on omistettu poliittisen itsemurhan tehneelle munkille / A park dedicated to a monk who committed a political suicide
Herkullinen, makea vihreän teen makuinen juoma / A delicious, sweet green tea flavored beverage
Yliopistolta, vasemmalla informaatioteknologian tiedekunta jossa olen vierailemassa / At the university, on the left the Faculty of Information Technology where I am visiting
Matkalla harjoittelufirmaan. Loppumatkalla on harvinaisen vähäliikenteinen osuus. / On my way to the internship company. The last part of the journey has very few traffic which is rare here.
Liikennettä bussin ikkunasta kuvattuna / Some traffic, photo taken through a bus window
Ja vähän vähemmän liikennettä / And a little less traffic
Talo bussimatkan varrelta, huomatkaa pyykit / A house on my way by bus, notice the laundry
Sotamuseosta / From the War Remnants Museum
Puisto, joka on omistettu poliittisen itsemurhan tehneelle munkille / A park dedicated to a monk who committed a political suicide
Herkullinen, makea vihreän teen makuinen juoma / A delicious, sweet green tea flavored beverage
Tilaa:
Blogitekstit (Atom)