Peer review reflection

Based on my partner Yuhua Jiang(Sherry)’s topic proposal and Annotated Bibliography, I did some works on reading and thinking about her topic. Since we’ve been discussed and read a lot of information about Native American’s culture and stories. There’s one sentence I saw from Sherry’s topic proposal which I think listed her main thesis she wanted to talk about in her final paper :“ I want to explore the current situation and the reason of native American children's bad behaviors and high level of academic fail.” By the way knowing her thesis, I tried to search more useful websites for her. I think those might be the things she interested in to have a look for her paper.

From the feedback I received from Sherry, I think she really spent time on my stuff. She actually gave me a lot of useful and interesting suggestions about how she thought about my paper and what kind of things she wanted to know more around my topic. She did good work from a reader’s lens to kindly tell me what kind of things or points I should be able to work on, which is making my paper better.

From this peer review exercise, I have been doing a lot of communication with my partner, in order to know how we think about each other’s paper and useful suggestions for making our papers better. Sometimes I think paper’s good or not is based on different people’s personal views’ different. The paper we wrote is just from the one lens to see the things, but peer review is doing a good job on making our works more active from mutli-lens. So the peer review exercise helped me a lot. Whatever I looked my partner’s work or the feedback I received are all the things I think pretty interesting and I’d love to do since our goals’ the same.

I was able to give Sherry my useful feedback I think. I looked up her works which I think she already done a good job on collecting information and stated her thesis to follow in her final paper. But I think peer review’s one of the best points is get to know partners’ suggestions about what they want to know more about your topic. As Sherry’s topic is about Native American education’s current situation, I thought some of my resources would be helpful for her to know more about Native American’s general civilization and culture, also those information are not just based on a specific part about Native Americans. Those sources are actually could be well used on any topic about Native American culture. Also I found several websites that are fantastic to working on and collecting stories from.

Yes, it did. The suggestions I received from Sherry are pretty easy to understand and most of those are widely developed in my paper. She tried to make suggestions detailed, which better to understand correctly. By the day I finished my thesis stated, I think there should be more things I wanted to add but no more directions on my mind. Sherry’s peer review as a good guide for me to know what things I wanted to explore more and create fully.

Thanks for the process I went with Sherry, and I actually got so much help from our works and feedbacks. I’d love to know other people’s suggestions and here is the chance for both of us doing better on our papers. After I wrote this peer review reflection, I think I’m going to keep touch with Sherry to see is there anything else we can give to each other.

Almost the end of the quarter

Reminded by Seimy's post, it's almost the end of the quarter which there's just one week more left.


As I'm working on my final research paper, I want to share something with Melissa and my classmates. First I want to thank all of you guys, I had a very happy time in ENGL&102. Before I took this class, I thought it would be horrible because I've heard some of my friends who had already taken this class's comments. But I'd love to say this class is quite nice with our topic setting this quarter. Native American's culture is a absolutely new area I touched this quarter. On the way I explored more and more about their culture, I feel their civilization and traditions are magically interesting to know. All the works we did are the things to prove the way we are getting deeper and deeper on their culture discovering.


The project we did, the movie we watched and the paper stuff we wrote are all the memories we made, which are pretty precious to remember. Later on we will welcome the spring break time, the spring smell is getting closer too. Hope you guys have a great time on Spring!

Black Gold

A film reflection I did about "Black Gold", a good documentary film of coffee and trade. Just think there should be some conections between this film and our topic this quarter, like poverty, people who are low-educated and something else. I'd love to share my work with you guys, to see if we are thinking about this in the same way. :)

On the day I spend three dollar for one cup of coffee and feel quite nice with the unique taste of baked coffee technology by Starbucks, I watched this documentary film, a film about coffee, trade and unfair economic transaction among the world.

            At the first of the Black Gold, the leader from the local farmer cooperatives asked coffee farmers, guess how much a cup of coffee in Europe? All the people were shaken heads and said they don't know. Then the person asked, then how much a cup of coffee in your hometown? A coffee farmer said thirty cents. The leader told those farmers, a cup of coffee could sell to three dollars. Those farmers were silent by that time, someone asked soon, then why we just make a little money?

            Yes, why? We know on the day we are enjoying the economic globalization, all over the world are consummated the coffee beans produced from Ethiopia. The truth is the bottom farmer in this industry chain cannot even earn 1/10 of the final products' prices as their wages. Most of them are working hard for walking out of poverty or pursue education. But the people who watched this film know, their future that waiting for them out there are usually not that bright.

            Black Gold emphatically tells the story of the whole industry chain of coffee. For the global coffee industry, the final decision of price making on the hand of the New York stock exchange department's brokers and big buyers. The top four largest companies: Kraft, Nestle, Proctor Gamble and Sara Lee control the more than 70% of the import and export trades of the coffee beans in the world. They are not directly get the acquisition from Africa, but rather through middlemen or Africa middle local suppliers. Then they tried to seek the profitable price of financial derivatives market price to sell the original beans to the roasters all over the world. The process intermediate often pass through six or seven links to the final make-up, so the layer of detail prices are higher than the cost more than ten times. The prices' difference is not the only inequality, which the key question is the African farmers in the whole negotiation mechanism are absolutely out of the chance to speak up.

            The  Farmer cooperative organizations represents a kind of trying, like the peasant association in China before. The FCO put the production of coffee farmers organized and increase their ability to negotiations. Even step out of the intermediate links across the supply chain, just approach international processors directly. The process is very difficult, like persuading those farmers to join a peasant,  to earn money into education and other basic construction but not immediately points out.

            There's no answer in the film, but it shows the facts. The fact told me, if you spend a few cents when you drink coffee, and pay more attention on the products of "Fair Trade Certified", those farmers can get their actual gains.

            As you know, we are all together.

the most fun project I've done so far

Don't you guys think the artificial artwork about Native American story "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" is excellent?

We spent a lot of time on thinking about what kind of project we would be willing to do and made it more interesting and nicie. This is kind of a pop idea for us to do, which I think it gave me quite nice time working with my partners. They are pretty good and we really had a good time to be together.

When we finished this big family of Junior's story.

As long as I got to know the book written by Alexie Sherman, this is the happiest time I had. Especially thanks for all of my friends. Love you guys!

Native American marriage and wedding culture

      Accroding to my interests about Native American which the topic I'd  love to research in my final research paper, I chose Native American marriage and wedding culture to be the major thing to talk about. Since I think there are too much information about the negative or leggard stuff around the tribes. I seriously wanted to find some interesting and beautiful things to share with people.

      By the way I always think everything formed with reason and the reason of the Native American culture must be great since there's long time history and people's works behind. On the way to find the happiest and best thing to make everybody feels good, that'd be getting married.

      I thought every girl has a dream about the day getting married. I've been thought about that day for hundreds times for simply imaging how nice "the day" would be.

      So monogamy is thus found to be the prevalent form of marriage throughout the continent. The economic factor is everywhere potent, but an actual purchase is not common. The marriage bond is loose, and may, with few exceptions, be dissolved by the wife as well as by the husband. The children generally stay with their mother, and always do in tribes having maternal clans. Marriage's main idea and how the Native American's marriage traditions formed, talked from history and culture of the Native American Civilization.

By the time creating the topic proposal

As long as we get started to learn the Native American studies, I really got a lot of information and interesting culture background. I was really curious on other countries' culture and human background when I was a little girl. The special tradtions, beautuful clothing, great food history and also Native American's postive attitude are all the reason I intoxicated by the beauty of the distinctive Native American Tribes.

Now I just realized that I've seen some Native American have been showed in the movies I've watched before, and I started felt interested in them by that time.

I'm happy to read the book written by Sherman Alexie. He's a great writer, also a great part-time Indian maker. I have to say the book impressed me so much, and I cannot forget some pieces in the book until now. The way Sherman created the book is kind of special humor, but made people hard to forget. Anyway, I believe the life in nowadays Indian tribes should not be that hard anymore. I'd love to explore more interesting and happy stuff from their everyday life. So I chose the topic of "marriage". Hope to know their another part of live, which is the word "love". Since sometimes people feel hard to think of love happened in Native Americans, or that's not the point which people would focus on.

We all talked about poverty, poor-education or bad living situation around Native American. "The is no lack of beauty in the world but the eyes of finding it." That's what I'm going to do. Being the eyes of finding beauty in Native American Tribes, doing the works on describe the most romantic Native American Wedding.

Someday, everything will be fine

Something about Junior which happened in his high school and reservation are kind of little stories combined as a novel. And what Junior did and thought is the thing I learnt from him, someday everything will be just fine.

He has congenital deficiency. He got bunch of teasing and mocking. He was the only native American in his high school. He was nonperson in the school. He couldn't recognize who himself is. He lost his best friend's trust. He lived in the poorest hometown, and walked to the high everyday. He was alone. He was discouraged. He was thinking about give up. He just a normal person, but has much more than that on the shoulders.

But anyway, Mr. P tried a lot to save him. Doing suggestions, and giving him the biggest confidence. Mr. P put his hope on Junior. This is a thing. When someone really relies on you, you must keep going on the way whatever the difficulties out there in the future.

Finally, Junior lost his whole family. But he saved himself, and helped himself to achieve his aim.

So everything he was suffering are the past, those are not big deals anymore.

When we was facing a problem, the one which we thought too hard to break. We gotta drop the bad idea of give up.

Because no matter we win or lose, that's our stories. And someday, you will realize that everything you've been licked the dust is NOTHING. You even cannot remember when you forget those. All since time is going all the way, and we are not that easily to break by life.

I'm eighteen now, and I'm pretty sure I have much longer in the future life. So many difficulties and happness are just stand out there waiting for me to hug or kick.

I'll be there, someday. To see what and how.