Christmas Celebration in Second Life on December 28th

I was looking forward to the mission because Christmas is always a popular topic for EFL learners to discuss. To my surprise, the customs and the way to celebrate Christmas between Taiwan and Canada are quite different.

I had learned many new stories and activities in the mission. Jason provided some examples and illustrated the activities in detail. For example, Jason told us that people will go shopping the day after Christmas. It was called “Boxing Day.” Many stores will sell some products and goods in very low prizes. People in North America are crazy about it. In addition, it is hard to buy a real Christmas tree in Taiwan so we always use the artificial one instead. The “plastic” Christmas tree can be reused for several years. On the opposite, in North America, they will buy the evergreen or conifer and decorate them with beautiful and shining decorations. Jason told us that the tree smells very special and make the house full of Christmas atmosphere. But the tree won’t last for a long time. The evergreen and conifer belongs to coniferous forest. So after a few days, the tree will drop their needles and fade out.

The song “Santa Claus is coming to town” is encouraging children to be good and well-behaved, then they will receive presents from Santa. We always know that good children will get the gifts. But how about the “bad” kids? The custom in Canada, bad or naughty children will get the presents, too. But unfortunately, bad child will receive a lump a coal. That was interesting and I really enjoyed in it.

After the mission, I learned something new about Christmas. Through the discussion between Jason and the participants, the content of the conversation becomes fruitful and creative. I will share the new knowledge and ideas with my family and friends. They will be happy and excited, too. I am looking forward to the next mission.

Donner in Second Life brings me in a real fantastic world. I like there because all the decorations and the environment make feel like I was in a foreign country. I saw a lot of cute bunnies, a candy house, silver trees, gingerbread men, and hundred of thousand of decorations there. It gave me a deep impression. I will go there next year!

Winterfest in Second Life

There was a huge and beautiful Christmas tree in Galveston Island. I had to fly high to see the whole Christmas tree and the shining Bethlehem star. But it deserves, the scenery here was fascinating. Plenty of over-sized presents reminded me of my experiences on Christmas. Christmas is a joyful holiday for me because I always get Christmas gifts from my families and friends. We all like to exchange gifts with others. The most exciting thing is the moment I opened my gifts.

In Donner, I felt I was in the fairy tales. I saw a lot of decorations and big colored light bulbs here. I could hardly imagine that there had such an attracted place on the Internet. I had never saw snow before. Some snowflakes fell lightly around me, I felt really excited and decided to stay for a long time.





I went to a village and there were some wooden houses and cabins. Every cabin was decorated with sparkling and shining colored ribbons, glass ornaments, candy cane and Christmas presents. Some houses were decorated by poinsettia.





Then I saw cute and lovely bunnies in Donner. Some of them were running everywhere. They looked vivid to me. I did want to touch them and give them a hug. I observed them for a while because they were so lovely. I almost forgot my mission in SL.




I went to Prancer and saw some short snowmen dancing there. They held each other hand in hand, I hoped that I could join them, too. The bright silver trees moved with the wind. I did want to live there if I could.

I did have a good time in Second. I enjoyed this marvelous and incredible scenery there. I hoped that I can visit more places next time.

Canadian Food in Second Life on December 14th

Different countries have different ways to eat food. If you want to know more about one country, you have to be aware of their food, too. ^^

In mission three, Jason told us that Canada is a multicultural country. Many things were influenced by other cultures. Take food for example, many of them are from French and England. So bread, potatoes and meat are the staple of their meals. One of the most interesting Canadian foods for me is poutine. It was sold by the street vendors in Canada. It looked very yummy. Poutine includes French fries, cheese curd, and gravy. The recipe looked very simple. I think I can do it by my self at home.

Maple syrup is famous in Canada; many people flavored the desserts with maple syrup. For example, pancakes, pies, bread, cookies, ice cream and waffles. I like to eat snacks especially sweets and desserts. I hope that I can eat them, too. Jason also told us how to get the maple syrup from maple trees. It was quite interesting.

In Second Life, there was a good area called “Food.” It provided a variety of ingredients for people to use. There also had a complete set kitchen. When we talked about food there, it made me feel that I was really in the cooking classroom. We also discussed some ways of how to cook Canadian food. I am not good at cooking but I would like to give it a try.

The Trip to Banff in Second Life on November 30th

Before I started the mission in Second Life, I already attracted by the mountain and river in Banff through the video on YouTube. Banff is an impressive and breathtaking place for me. I hope that I can visit this incredible place once in my life in the future.

During the mission, Jason introduced us some vocabulary which seldom be used in our traditional formal classes in Taiwan. That’s what I want because some words in the textbook are not very useful in our daily lives. Fortunately, Jason was a good facilitator that helped us to think widely and plan thoroughly. For example, as a foreigner, I was not familiar with skiing but I did want to try it out. Jason introduced two different skiing for us and explained them in detail which were very useful for us to have a general idea of skiing. I think these concepts and ideas will be very useful in the future if we have the chances to go abroad.

I do like to discuss different topics with the facilitator and other participants because it can not only enlighten me to think more but also help me to practice how to speak properly and fluently. In sum, I think cooperative and collaborative learning are good for English learners.

Even though we were not in the real place, we still enjoyed some beautiful paintings in Fosse. The mission was quite interesting but if all the participants’ sound could be heard, that would be wonderful.