2009年夏天來自國外的五位志工，將在伊甸基金會服務為期兩個月，邀請個性開朗、英文流利、不排斥基督教信仰的青年朋友，一同參與。 - 第一梯次：多元文化夏令營
- 第二梯次: 視障英文夏令營
EDEN's Ideal:“We are brothers without the same flesh and blood. Give a man a fish and feed him for a day, but teach a man how to fish and feed him for a lifetime.” EDEN's Mission: Serving the Weak to Witness Christ, Promoting Gospel and Welfare to Bring People to God. EDEN Vision: Wherever there is a need, there is an answer from Eden.
2009年6月2日 星期二
2009年4月23日 星期四
4/23/2009 Accessible Tourism Video and I am the voice
Hello hello!!!
Let me tell you about an interesting and nerve wrecking experience that I had this week. So I am working on the assignments that the office gives me to do here at Eden, and it turns out that I was going to be recorded for an instructional video for the Accessible Tourism Department.
I found out about it last week but when I was told I just thought it was going to be a dubbed voice for a Taiwanese speaker and so that would result in a few lines. However, arriving to the office on Tuesday it turns out I was to read 2 pages of listed sentences for the whole movie. I was feeling a bit nervous after that because yes I can speak English fluently but you know, it is just a small bit nerve wrecking when you realize that many people will be watching this video and I was not sure if my voice is nice enough to be put on a video.
So I get these two pages of print outs with Mandarin and its English translation. I was asked to make corrections but I was not sure what type of corrections were going to be needed. I thought at first that the Mandarin and English were separated to help me know where one sentence starts and another begins, so that originally it was like one big paragraph. So I made corrections as if the sentence were to form a big paragraph. But it turns out that, that was not the case I was going to read each sentence separately. So some of the corrections that I made were not needed, I felt a bit embarrassed after that and hope I did not offend the person who wrote it out in the first place.
Then 3 of us (myself included) went into a small room and did the recording. It was interesting because I had Catherine to translate for me but I did make a lot of mistakes anyway. Such as not starting at the right time, my voice cracking up, and sometimes there were noises when we had to record in silence. We had a few laughs over some of the incidences so it was not bad or anything. It was really cool and I tried to my best to make this video up to the expectations that were needed.
But before I go on, let me fill you in, a little bit about the Accessible Tourism if you don't already know about it.
So I will start off by saying that accessible travel, is pretty much a set itinerary for physically disabled people. Unfortunately, most places of attraction do not necessarily target to the physically disabled or attraction areas do not even have the area built so that people with physical disabilities can't get around alone very easily. So that makes it very hard for those with disabilities to go on vacation, and many of them don't even bother taking vacations because of those reasons. So what this department does, is take all of that into consideration and has created a plan to make traveling something all people can do no matter if they are physically disabled or not.
In addition to that, they have created instructional videos to show to places around the world who for the most part are mainly vacation destination areas, who might be interested in making their place of business/attraction more accessible. The process of Accessible tourism is spreading so much that there are even International Conferences being held to inform the world. This year the International Conference on Accessible tourism is being held in Singapore from April 22-24th. It is believed that business ventures that incorporate accessible tourism will benefit from travel, tourism, and will enhance the lives of many people in the host country.
To find out more please visit:
www.ICAT2009.com.sg or http://www.wretch.cc/blog/barrierfree
I find that this will enhance the lives of many people as well, accessible tourism is opening many doors for people to enjoy the world as well and take in the beauty that it has to offer. Being the English voice for an accessible tourism video is an honor but I have got say that hearing my voice being recorded is a bit strange. I would have never thought in my life that I would be the voice for a video. Although, they probably could have picked someone with a better voice, I am glad that I was able to experience this. Who knows if people who watch the video listen to my voice it could be a potential for me to go professional! LOL Just a joke (^_*)b
Well I would like to say Thank you to all who were involved in the process and it will be an experience that I definitely will remember.
Cheers!!
Jasmin Nunez
I found out about it last week but when I was told I just thought it was going to be a dubbed voice for a Taiwanese speaker and so that would result in a few lines. However, arriving to the office on Tuesday it turns out I was to read 2 pages of listed sentences for the whole movie. I was feeling a bit nervous after that because yes I can speak English fluently but you know, it is just a small bit nerve wrecking when you realize that many people will be watching this video and I was not sure if my voice is nice enough to be put on a video.
So I get these two pages of print outs with Mandarin and its English translation. I was asked to make corrections but I was not sure what type of corrections were going to be needed. I thought at first that the Mandarin and English were separated to help me know where one sentence starts and another begins, so that originally it was like one big paragraph. So I made corrections as if the sentence were to form a big paragraph. But it turns out that, that was not the case I was going to read each sentence separately. So some of the corrections that I made were not needed, I felt a bit embarrassed after that and hope I did not offend the person who wrote it out in the first place.
Then 3 of us (myself included) went into a small room and did the recording. It was interesting because I had Catherine to translate for me but I did make a lot of mistakes anyway. Such as not starting at the right time, my voice cracking up, and sometimes there were noises when we had to record in silence. We had a few laughs over some of the incidences so it was not bad or anything. It was really cool and I tried to my best to make this video up to the expectations that were needed.
But before I go on, let me fill you in, a little bit about the Accessible Tourism if you don't already know about it.
So I will start off by saying that accessible travel, is pretty much a set itinerary for physically disabled people. Unfortunately, most places of attraction do not necessarily target to the physically disabled or attraction areas do not even have the area built so that people with physical disabilities can't get around alone very easily. So that makes it very hard for those with disabilities to go on vacation, and many of them don't even bother taking vacations because of those reasons. So what this department does, is take all of that into consideration and has created a plan to make traveling something all people can do no matter if they are physically disabled or not.
In addition to that, they have created instructional videos to show to places around the world who for the most part are mainly vacation destination areas, who might be interested in making their place of business/attraction more accessible. The process of Accessible tourism is spreading so much that there are even International Conferences being held to inform the world. This year the International Conference on Accessible tourism is being held in Singapore from April 22-24th. It is believed that business ventures that incorporate accessible tourism will benefit from travel, tourism, and will enhance the lives of many people in the host country.
To find out more please visit:
www.ICAT2009.com.sg or http://www.wretch.cc/blog/barrierfree
I find that this will enhance the lives of many people as well, accessible tourism is opening many doors for people to enjoy the world as well and take in the beauty that it has to offer. Being the English voice for an accessible tourism video is an honor but I have got say that hearing my voice being recorded is a bit strange. I would have never thought in my life that I would be the voice for a video. Although, they probably could have picked someone with a better voice, I am glad that I was able to experience this. Who knows if people who watch the video listen to my voice it could be a potential for me to go professional! LOL Just a joke (^_*)b
Well I would like to say Thank you to all who were involved in the process and it will be an experience that I definitely will remember.
Cheers!!
Jasmin Nunez
2009年4月13日 星期一
Up with People Day 4 4/10/2009
Day 4 the last day of the volunteers working with us.
The final activities are being held today and once again we are doing the charity selling and work at the gas station. I once again spent my day at the gas station but there was a switch in groups everyday, so there were different people to spend the day with.
The day was really interesting, it seemed as though many people wanted to purchase gasoline for their vehicles and most of us were hoping that it was because they looked forward to not only meeting foreigners but also to support the foundation by purchasing gas from us. But myself and the other volunteers really think that holding the signs and waving to people passing by really helped in bringing in customers. We did a test to see what worked best. We first just held up signs and stood on the corner with them and we saw that not many people came in. Then, we waved to people and smiled and held the signs up and noticed that many more people came into the gas station. It was a lot of fun. Most people seemed happy with us waving, we even got elderly ladies and ran
dom people waving to us as they were walking down the street. The waves seemed to make many peoples day.
I noticed that many people from the day before returned once again to get their gas tanks filled. The group that was filling the gas tanks always seemed to have a good time, they spoke with the customers and they seemed to like the fact of pumping the gas tanks. It was a whole new experience for them since, the pumping system is probably different compared to the way it is done back in their home countries. I know in the United States, most gas stations do not even have people waiting to pump the gas for you, you have to fill it up all by yourself. So I can easily see where the excitement might be when it came to the volunteers pumping gas for the customers.
Some of those people were impressed that the international volunteers were trying their best to speak to them in Mandarin. However, it also seemed that some of the customers who knew English also wished to practice their English with the volunteers, which was pretty nice all on its own.
I was taken back to realise the amount of people who appreciated what the international volunteers did that week.
That morning went by so fast for me, I really had a lot of fun working with this group of individuals I learned a lot from them as well. It will be sad not to see them after having worked with them. Our time together was brief, but I feel that I will always remember their great personalities and the good times we had together, and I am sure that anyone else they might have affected as well, will always look back and smile.
Until next time!! See you!!
Jasmin Nunez
Up with People Day 3 4/9/2009
The days just keep on rolling we are in Day 3 already!!
Today pretty much consisted of the same projects as the day before, one group was to stay in the Eden area and do some charity selling but of course with different items. Then the other half was to work their magic charms and bring in customers to the gas station. Today I spent my day with the group that was to stay at the gas station. It was a pretty fulfilling day, but just like a normal business, it had its high and low moments when it came to customers.
Today pretty much consisted of the same projects as the day before, one group was to stay in the Eden area and do some charity selling but of course with different items. Then the other half was to work their magic charms and bring in customers to the gas station. Today I spent my day with the group that was to stay at the gas station. It was a pretty fulfilling day, but just like a normal business, it had its high and low moments when it came to customers.
The way the volunteers worked is that a small group was to stand on the street corner and hold up the signs that they made to call the attention to customers. Then the other group would stand but the gas pumps and either introduce themselves to the customers and give them small gifts or they would introduce themselves and pump the gas with the help of the regular workers. Then after a certain amount of time, the groups would switch.
They all looked like they were having a great time, from my observation, it also seemed like the workers also had a great time getting to know the Up with People volunteers. Some more than others were very interested in learning more about the volunteers and asking them questions in English as best as they could. When there was a problem with communication they tried their best to show what they are talking about or they would ask the Taiwanese volunteers.
Even without the volunteers, it was great to see them interacting without worrying about language barriers. The customers seemed really interested in meeting the volunteers and learning about where they come from.
All in all I think it was a good day for everyone.
Until next time!!
Jasmin Nunez
Up with People Day 2 4/8/2009
Welcome to Day 2
Today was the first day after the introduction to the Foundation that we had the Up with People split into groups and take on various activities for the day. One group stayed in the Eden area and did some charity selling, while the other group went to an Eden Gas Station to work their best to bring in customers.
This day I was with the charity selling group. We tried our best to sell some goods to people passing by on the street, since it was a bit rainy in the morning, umbrellas was the item of choice for the day. The volunteers practiced a bit of Mandarin (none from the group ever learned Mandarin in the past) and used what they learned to bring in the customers and introduce themselves as international volunteers.
This day I was with the charity selling group. We tried our best to sell some goods to people passing by on the street, since it was a bit rainy in the morning, umbrellas was the item of choice for the day. The volunteers practiced a bit of Mandarin (none from the group ever learned Mandarin in the past) and used what they learned to bring in the customers and introduce themselves as international volunteers.
After a bit of work trying to attract the customers to buy the umbrellas, the volunteers were given handouts that informed the community that Eden will take use able goods that people no longer need/want and will use them to give to people in need. I thought it was an interesting activity because people passing by were able to meet some foreigners, which might not be a daily routine of theirs. Not only that but many people seemed a bit surprised that Eden takes such items to reuse.
The volunteers worked hard and tried their best, it was great to see them speaking in Mandarin, because they just picked up on words so quickly that very morning. They gave it their all and it looked like they were having a good time with the tasks that were given to them for the day.
Well until the next post!
Bye-bye!!
Written by Jasmin Nunez
New Intern for Eden
Welcome to my first blog post! I would like to introduce myself. My name is Jasmin Nunez, I am a new arrivee to both Taiwan and Eden Social Welfare Foundation. I come from the city of Milwaukee in the states of Wisconsin, and I am a Global Studies Major at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. As of last month I have arrived to the nice country of Taiwan and I am currently studying Mandarin at the Mandarin Training Center in Shida.
I have also just recently joined the Eden Social Welfare Foundation and I will be assisting them in all that I can do to help not only the community but also to inform the communities all around us about the foundation and its goals. I look forward to these up coming months and hope to get to know the Eden community very well. Please feel free to join me during this time with Eden by keeping track of the blogs.
Yours Truly,
Jasmin Nunez
p.s. in the picture I am the one on the far left (^_*)b
2009年4月8日 星期三
Up with People Project Day 1 4/7/2009
Brief Introduction to Up with People
The International department has come together with another program called Up With People together we are working to inform the community and raise money for charity. Up with People was started in 1965 by J. Blanton Belk and acted as a positive voice for young people and the organization was incorporated in 1968 and became known as an international, non-profit entity. Young people from around the world come together, and through traveling and cultural interaction build an understanding of cultures, learn how to build leadership skills, open their minds to worldly issues, and also involve themselves in community service.
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(Info taken from Up with People website: http://www.upwithpeople.org/index.php)
I met the group from Up with People today, they all were very nice and seemed really interested in working with Eden and learning more about Taiwan. It was cool to see this group of mixed cultures, because from speaking with one of the volunteers she told me that the Up with People students have come together and are like a big family, a home away from home in a manner of speaking. The Up with People volunteers consists of people from the United States, a few from Belgium, Nepal, and Israel. I was really excited to meet them all. So we stared the day off by introducing the volunteers to Eden by showing them a video. Then they were also introduced to other departments of Eden so they can see how Eden works not only with Taiwanese community but the communities of people that come from other parts of the world.
Sharing Disabilities Activity Afterwards we had a challenge exercise for them, the volunteers had to go buy a drink from the convenience store, but their was a catch to that. Some of them had to push themselves on a wheelchair down the street and the others had to guide themselves down the street(blind folded) as well using only a guiding stick to feel the surrounding area. It was quite a challenge as some of them said but it was a great learning experience for them I can only imagine how hard it was. I did not do the outside activity but for lunch we also ate blindfolded, and I was able to test that out but it was a challenge, and was a real eye opener and makes me applaud those who do those things masterfully on a daily basis.But I am glad that the volunteers had a great time participating here is are a couple of statements from them that I would like to share with everyone about that challenge:
"The activity that we played being a blind and a differently able person was a very innovative and new idea to experience. Personally, I really don’t see any difference in handicapped people and normal people. But the physical difference that we have sometimes make us forget how hard it is for them to do simple things that we can do without even thinking or being grateful for what we have. This activity has helped me to realize the difficulties they face in their everyday life and respect them more. "Shubheksha Rana-Nepal
"............It was a great experience depending on the person in front of us for the blind experience. We could not see but yet we trusted where they were going. I could not believe that we were in the street, it was scary but at the same time thrilling. The whole time I kept thinking, people were staring at us. I was embarrassed, you could hear them talking.....""Overall it was an impactful experience. It put me in the shoes of people that live like that every day. It is a challenge, makes you realize our world is not built for people with disabilities. The next time I see someone with disabilities struggling on the street or having trouble buying something I will remember this experience and help them." -Hans Nelson-United States
Overall, in my opinion I thought it was a great learning experience for everyone and I am glad to have been a part of it. I look forward to the coming days in doing the various jobs with the volunteers and hope of learn from them as they have learned from Eden.Until next time!!!
Written by Jasmin Nunez
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