Referencing

• Turner (1985: 1), Addressing the body page 21 of critical studies reader 2A: The Body.

•  Douglas (1973,1979b, 1984), Addressing the body page 25 of critical studies reader 2A: The Body.

• Pierre Bourdieu (1984), Body in consumer culture page 43 of critical studies reader 2A: The Body.

•  Fay,B. 1996. Contemporary Philosophy of social science. Massachusetts: Blackwell publishers

• Overcoming Communication Barriers Between People By Martin Hahn, Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/119628. Accessed 20 March 2011.

• Meaningful Conversation Contributes to Happiness?

  By Nancy Schimelpfening, About.com Guide  March 10, 2010. Accessed 22 March 2011.

Fin

I have learnt alot these past 10 days its been hard and frustrating but is also been fun, exciting and very interesting.
I've learn't there is nothing better than being able to communicate especially in the 1st language of the person you are communicating with be it english or french.
A sense of happiness comes from being able to express your thoughts and share your life with friends and family and a stronger sense of belonging and home comes from speaking the same language.
I felt very comfortable speaking to my mauritian friends and could understand why its easier for them to stick together as most immigrants do have a group of friends from similar country, language or culture that brings a bit of home and the familiar with them on their travels.
I also experienced how hard it is to do basic everyday interactions when there is a language barrier.
I am much more confident in my knowledge of french and my ability to speak it in front of friends and family as well as strangers.
I really feel this project has helped me over come some of my shyness especially when it comes to speaking french and when i spend time with my mom, my family and my mauritian friends I look forward to using my new confidence to communicate with them.

                                                                     Merci et Adieu

Sava? Sava. Sava? Sava! :D

Day 10. Wed 23:

Today i was mostly at college and I had a quick chat with Richard in French. Unlike my friends or peers who had by now just stopped trying to speak to me He asked me questions and engaged with me which was nice that someone was making an effort and a good way to end my intervention.
I discovered how irritated and sad i got when i couldn't speak engagingly with my friends and family. I found this article by Nancy Schimelpfening that talks about a study to see if  meaningful conversation really does make you happier.

"According to a new study, small talk is great, but meaningful conversation is what connects us to people and makes us happier.

For the study, researcher Matthias Mehl and his team equipped 79 college men and women with with a portable device called an electronically activated recorder (EAR), which periodically recorded bits of conversation as the participants went through their daily routines. Every 12.5 minutes a 30 second sample of sound was recorded. The sampling went on for a period of four days, acquiring more than 23,000 recordings (about 300 per participant).

Mehl and his team then listened to the recordings, classifying them as either small talk (e.g. "What do you have there? Popcorn? Yummy!) or substantive (e.g. "She fell in love with your dad? So, did they get divorced soon after?").

The participants also took tests to evaluate their personality and their well-being.

Mehl and his team found that those who reported higher levels of well-being were those who spent less time alone and more time talking with others. Those who were happier also spent more time engaged in substantive conversations rather than small talk.

The study doesn't prove whether deeper conversations actually make people happier, according to Mehl. It could be that happy people are simply better at engaging in deeper conversation. The study results do, however, complement other happiness research, which indicate that happiness is linked with greater social support."

Konnichiha

Day 9. Tues 22:

Today was a very hard day at college and i was so frustrated with no-one understanding me i  eventually started to speak english.

Later on when I went for sushi with friends if was very hard ordering in french when the waitress could hardly speak english. I take my hat off to immigrants they a very brave and have a lot of patients. I know i was having trouble and frustration and at least i can speak english. I can imagine how hard it is for them daily.


This article talks about overcoming communication barriers between people and highlights what hinders communication.
"The meaning exists in your mind and in the mind of your receiver. To understand one another, you and your receiver must share similar meanings for words, gestures, tone of voice, and other symbols."
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/119628

Allez Le Bleu

Day 8. Mon 21:

Im not referring to the french rugby team but  to a personal joke my dad and I have, we used to say this when going canoeing into the blue sea in Mauritius.

So i thought it was appropriate as we went on a restored submarine in Simon's town today. It was Fantastic to go inside and have a tour from the now retired men who used to serve in that very same submarine. Again being in a tourist attraction i was accepted as normal by tourist standards.

As Turner (1985: 1) says in Addressing the Body “dress is a basic fact of social life and this is true of all known humans”  so i decided to dress in a very stereotypical french way, with blue and white stripes, braided hair and a berret and i got some funny looks from people, it was interesting how the way i dressed changed peoples judgements of me and how they easily decided what kind of person i was just by what i was wearing.

Ce la vie!

Day 7. Sun 20.
Its another amazing day in fishhoek no wind and sunny skies. Not much happened today except a waitress being very confused when I was ordering in French and repeating myself loudly while pointing and hand gesturing what food and drink i wanted, But she handled it very well loudly gesturing right back at me, I think the restaurant must get  a lot of tourist because she was very good at it.
Why is it we think by speaking louder and slower with very frantic charade gestures people will understand us better? If it achieves anything is comedy for the people watching.

Oh La La

Day 6. Sat 19:

Today was a beautiful day in fishhoek and i spent the morning on the beach with my family.

Later on we all went to the Cape Town Carnival which was amazing! www.capetowncarnival.com 

It was a very exciting experience and the floats and costumes where beautiful.

There were a lot of foreigners in the restaurant we went to even brazilians i think its great that we have started this carnival which is a festive celebration of the wonders of Cape Town with a slight Brazilian flare. I fitted in quite well as a foreigner and no-one thought it strange i was the only one speaking french. I had a nice chat with a car guard as well.