Category: Fun

Fun North Carolina Animal Encounters for Homeschool Families
Fun · Homeschool Life

Fun North Carolina Animal Encounters for Homeschool Families

Deby Ciui (Chewy)Leave a comment

We are two weeks into homeschooling this year and have officially had our first field trip. I’ve lived here for so many years and somehow am only now hearing about so many cool things to visit and experience. This week we visited the Greensboro Science Center, a museum, aquarium, and zoo, all in one. Aside from the heat it was quite an enjoyable experience. Some of the zoo animals were understandable hiding/sleeping due to the temperatures but we still got to see otters playing, the adorable red pandas snuggling up together, and many many more. I have been to North Carolina Zoo several times but in terms of ease, I do believe I enjoyed this place even more. As much as we love the big NC Zoo we do tend to get overwhelmed and exhausted whenever we visit. The Greensboro Science Center let us take our time and enjoy ourselves at our own leisure. Of course, now that I know what to expect, I think I’ll wait to return during the spring/fall when it is much cooler.

Every year I am excited to plan out field trips with the girls. It is one thing I always loved when I was younger and wished that I could have more of but they seemed to no longer exist after elementary school. So, since I am the teacher now, I get to plan as many field trips I want. For now though, I’ll admit that majority of our field trips often involve animals of some kind whether they’re wild animals or domesticated. This year promises to be no different as I already have a list of places I’m looking forward to exploring with the girls.

  • The Carolina Tiger Rescue
    • This is somewhere I have visited on multiple occasions but have not taken the girls to yet. I am excited to see their faces when we are so close to the big cats. I personally always enjoyed the tiger rescue and learned something new each visit.
  • Carolina Raptor Center
    • I have lived in NC for almost 20 years and somehow only just discovered that this place existed! This is also on my list of field trips this year but will take some planning due to distance.
  • Aloha Safari Park
    • Another place I only recently discovered and am looking forward to visiting.

The list goes on, between local museums that we have visited before and the usual zoo/aquariums that we always love. I don’t know who looks forward to our field trips more, me or the kids.

Impact of bilingualism on Life Experiences
Fun · Writing Prompts

Impact of bilingualism on Life Experiences

Deby Ciui (Chewy)Leave a comment
Daily writing prompt
Which languages do you speak and how did that impact your life?
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I’ve never answered one of these writing prompts before but when I read this I thought, oh hey!

I am the only child from my family that was actually born in the US after my parents/siblings came to this country as refugees in the 80’s to get away from Communist Romania, ooh boy is THAT a story.

I grew up speaking English and Romanian. How did this impact my life? When you grow up in a bilingual family you find yourself doing things that seem totally normal to you but is completely different to other people. Like translating what teachers or doctors say so that your mother can understand. Imagine getting in trouble at school and then having to translate what your teacher is saying to your parents. Or helping you parents put together invoices for clients or respondings to text messages and emails on their behalf. Not to mention those awkward moments when they have to call a utility company and then randomly hand you the phone to speak for them.

Some key things I find this experience has shaped in my life:

  • I’ve found that it is often much easier for me to understand foreign clients with thick accents than some of my colleagues and I have to avoid offending the client by repeating what they say so my colleagues can also understand.
  • Got me used to talking to strangers/utility companies on the phone (I’m used to it. But I still try to avoid it.)
  • Taught me how to build out invoices. (I wonder if I should include this on my resume, just kidding.)
  • ACTIVE LISTENING – You have to actively listen to someone to be able to translate for them.

It also taught me that there are different levels of fluency of a language. Sure I might consider myself fluent in Romanian, I can carry a conversation, can read and write, etc. But when I had to deal with a Romanian customer using technical IT terms I realized very quickly that I do NOT in fact speak technical Romanian. It’s like a lawyer speaking ‘legalese’.