Topic Research: Understanding Sanskrit and the Sounds of Sanskrit

Hello VagaBuddies,

At much encouragement, and with genuine curiosity, I have decided to do a storybook focusing on Sanskrit! (probably a death sentence but we will see!)
For this week's research, I decided to just focus on some of the sounds of Sanskrit and becoming familiar with how the language sounds. First, I started at Valmiki's Ramayana, which gave a wonderful page that allowed me to see the original Sanskrit, the romanticized Sanskrit, an English language, and English commentary about the passage, all at once! For about 15-20 minutes, I just tried to follow along the romanticized script! Even just that was pretty difficult!

A necessary phrase after trying to follow along Sanskrit : Illumine

After struggling through this a little bit, I decided to try to find linguistic descriptions of the sounds that Sanskrit uses that aren't in English, so I could try to familiarize myself with those sounds before I went back to trying to follow along. English already has a lot of vowels, so luckily I didn't have much to learn there, just a few consonant-vowel mergers such as ɽɪ (think of a classed rolled 'r' but only doing one tap instead of the full roll, and saying the vowel from 'sit' at the same time). For my own notes (or for other interested people), here are all the vowels of Sanskrit:

IPA Nagari IAST English approximation

ɐ अ, प         a         comma

aː आ, पा ā         bra

ɪ इ, पि         i         sit

iː ई, पी         ī         feet

ʊ उ, पु         u         look

uː ऊ, पू         ū         loot

ɽɪ ऋ, पृ         ṛ         as rri

ɽiː ॠ, पॄ         ṝ         as rrī

lɪ ऌ, पॢ         ḷ         as lli

liː ॡ, पॣ         ḹ         as llī

eː ए, पे         e         wait

ai ऐ, पै         ai         hi

oː ओ, पो o         old

au औ, पौ au         h'ow

◌̃ ँ         ◌̃/m̐ nasal vowel [ɐ̃], [ãː], [õː], etc.) *

*ok I have only like half an idea what this vowel is supposed sound like. 

The consonants of Sanskrit were a bit trickier. For the non-linguists, we describe consonants with three characteristics: where the sound is made with the tongue (the place of articulation), how the sound is made (manner of articulation), and whether you use your vocal cords or not (voicing). For example, the [p] in 'pit' would be described as a voiced (vocal cords are engaged) bilabial (made at your lips) stop (you one puff of air and then none more). One important note about Sanskrit is that it makes a distinction between aspirated consonants and un-aspirated consonants. In English, this would be like if the [p] sounds in 'pie' and 'ripe' were completely different letters. In 'pie' we also release a little bit of air when we make the [p] sound (called aspiration), but we don't when we make the [p] sound in 'ripe.' That tiny difference to us would be as clear as the difference between [b] and [p] to Sanskrit speakers, so it's something that I should watch for.

For next week's research topic, I want to delve further into what stories I could use. Right now, I still really enjoyed the Ganges Origin story that I talked about in my Ramayana Reading A Notes and the Story of this week, so I would like to use that story. Potentially focusing in-depth on a couple words to discover the full breadth of their meaning, or using a couple short mantras to describe broad trends in the stories! We will see next week!
Vaga-Buon Voyage

Week 3 Story: The Faucet vs. the Milli-Q

Once upon a time, in a research lab far, far away, a Scientist was conducting a very important experiment. At one point, the unthinkable happened and the Scientist accidentally poured a whole bottle of sulfuric acid into his reaction! They needed to save the reaction, and fast! If left uncorrected, the reaction, and maybe even the experiment, would be ruined forever. They consulted the heavenly Primary Investigator for guidance, and she suggest to dilute the solution using water from the Faucet.

The Faucet : PSA Laboratory Furniture LLC

So, They prayed for 0.271 teraseconds (Ts) to the Faucet to dispense some of this lifesaving water. Finally, the Faucet answered in the guise of a small vapor cloud that said, "You need my help, sure, but can you withstand the full force and raw quality of my water? Surely, you know that I should not be put into your reaction, the water I give is much too impure and would taint your reaction."
The Scientist looked crestfallen. They lowered their head thinking that there was no hope for their experiment, but the Faucet offered some wisdom.
"Go forth and pray to the Milli-Q, the device that can bear the force of my water and transform it miraculously into the purest water imaginable."

The Milli-Q in all its glory : Fisher Scientific

And so the Scientist prayed and prayed to the Milli-Q, and, after 0.008314 Ts, the Milli-Q responded thus: "Let the Faucet come down," the Milli-Q decreed. "I will help you. I will see to it that no drop of that water is wasted or allowed to trouble any experiment."
And so for 6.626 gigaseconds (Gs), the Scientist made the necessary preparations to connect the Milli-Q to the Faucet. They assembled tubes and gears, sinks and drains, and all manner of equipment. At the end of the Scientist's preparation, the Faucet, who was bringing water from the farthest reaches of the plumbing system, began the outpour with a roaring deluge of impure water. However, the Milli-Q, true to its word, was in place and received the impact and the deluge vanished within its chambers. For a while, the Faucet kept flooding more and more water into the Milli-Q, yet nothing came out the other end. The Scientist waited with bated breath, and worried that all their prayers had amounted to nothing. When, suddenly, the Milli-Q let out a small, calm stream of water that looked clearer than any water the Scientist had ever seen.
"Thats what a 22-micron filter can do for you," the Milli-Q said, grinning from tube to tube.
"It's beautiful," the Scientist whispered. "It's so pure."
Thus, the Scientist saved the experiment just in time to discover the answer to the question that no one cared  no, a hot dog is not a sandwich.

Author's Notes:
Whew! Second story in the books. This story is based on the Ganges River origin story where Bhagiratha is seeking salvation for his ancestors who died without receiving the proper funeral rights. At this time, there was no Ganges River, and even no oceans. He prays for many years to Brahma, who directs him to seek the help of both Shiva and Ganga (the goddess of the Ganges) to direct water down to the earth. After praying for tens of thousands of years each to both gods, and living an ascetic life subsisting off of practically nothing, Bhagiratha finally witnesses Ganga release the flood onto the earth and Shiva absorbs the force, releasing just a small stream that eventually becomes the Ganges. Bhagiratha saved his relatives, and India now has the holy Ganges River because of it.
To help understand my story, one Ts is equal to about 32,000 years, and one Gs is equal to about 32 years. A Primary Investigator is the title for the professor that is in charge of entire research topic, usually a senior tenure professor who has associate professors, grad students, and undergrads working under her. A Milli-Q, in short, is a device that purifies water to such an extent that it is practically only H2O with no other chemicals in it. In my lab, we use a Milli-Q to remove even microscopic DNA from the water.
I really enjoyed the original story, and maybe because of that, I am not very happy with my story. It's ok but not great. Maybe I needed better characters than just a couple inanimate objects.... anyway I think next story I will try something else besides the science-children's story mix that I've done for the last two.

Bibliography:
Narayan, R. K. "The Ramayana"

Reading Notes: Narayan's Ramayana Part B

Hello VagaBuddies!

I can definitely tell that I am getting very into reading the Ramayana. The first reading was tough just because of the names (which all felt like the started with V-I-S then 20 more letters), but now I am getting a hold on the names (mostly) and I am loving the story! It still feels like a classic myth (duh) but that doesn't mean I don't find it new and interesting!
Some of my thoughts on Part B:
Lucy (Kaikeyi)  got what she deserved! Even her own son Bharata, shames her for her actions, and is more concerned with distancing himself from her plot than he is about claiming the throne. I thought that Bharata was especially noble for venturing out on foot to find Rama in the same ascetic clothing (of tree bark?? That seems very uncomfortable, but I guess that's the point). Even when he is unable to convince Rama to return, he still does not claim the throne but uses Rama's sandals to hold Rama's place until his return. During that whole conversation, I also enjoyed how comedic it was to have two people saying "Yours, not mine" instead of fighting over whose kingdom it is. I really liked how the narrator himself got involved with a little commentary on how strange it was.
Soorpanaka (Shurpanakha), who I will now call Sour Pancake based on her appearance after her run-in with Lakshmana, was also a very interesting character here. She reminded me of sirens that would attract sailors to jump overboard with their sweet voices before the sailors realized that all the sirens were monsters. Sour Pancake pretended to be a sweet, beautiful creature who was shunning the ways of her family (which would honestly be a compelling story), but in reality she was a monster who wanted nothing more than be subservient to Rama. When I was reading this story, I was acutely aware that we (the readers) were meant to dislike Sour Pancake from the start. She was definitely very forceful and acted with hostility towards Sita, but Sita hardly did much better when she first laid eyes on Rama. Remember, when the first shared that little glance, Sita had acted rudely to all her attendants and became distraught at the very thought of never seeing Rama again. Sour Pancake is more forceful and hostile, sure, but never very violent. (I am also curious why the Dasaratha the king could have multiple wives and Rama cannot, but it is probably a cultural thing that I don't understand). However, my views definitely changed when she was caught stalking Sita by Lakshmana. She probably should have been killed for that, or when Kara attacked them with his army.

I like this image because it shows Sour Pancake clutching her chopped and bleeding nose : SmileMakerKrishna

Speaking of armies, it was really interesting how what seemed to be a huge fight between Kara and his army vs. Rama and Lakshmana was reduced to the same amount of sentences as the damage dealt by Lakshmana to Sour Pancake. The short description made what I assume was a huge battle into something that didn't seem to matter so much and didn't have much action. Maybe that's the point though. Maybe the point is that the battle was so trivial to Rama and Lakshmana, even if it was a whole army of demons against two people.
Overall, this reading was the one where I got into the story, and I am excited to keep reading!
Vaga-Buon Voyage!

Narayan, R. K. "The Ramayana" pp 53-89

Reading Notes: Narayan's Ramayana Part A

Hello VagaBuddies,

Wow. This first reading was a wild ride. Overall, I really enjoyed it. It had all the trappings of an ancient tale: magic and monsters, special weapons and quests, plenty of lore to go around. I am always a fan of myths that explain how the world came to be how it is.
For example, the story of the Horse Sacrifice and the Ganges River. Obviously this story has huge cultural, political, and religious significance for Indian society in that it has the formation of the Ganges River. However, one tiny detail that can be easily overlooked is that it explains the creation of the oceans as the giant holes that were dug in search of the sacrificial horse and then filled by the flow of Ganga.

Bhagiratha praying to Shiva and Ganga, watching the Ganges flow down : HinduGod99

Within this story too, the devotion of Bhagiratha amazes me. I can hardly imagine a grandson praying for tens of thousands of years for the salvation of his entire family. On top of that, he was constantly jerked back and forth by the gods Ganga and Shiva, who seemed to just be competing with each other. I am no stranger to myths, but this story really got to me, since someone devoted their entire life to saving their ancestors, whom he had never met, subsisting on dry leaves or air or rays of sun or nothing at all just to do it. This also served as a good look into Indian culture's veneration of austerity, which has only minor parallels in Western culture, and never with the same effects. Usually I think of hermits as seeking personal salvation in a higher plane, but in the Ramayana, there are countless examples of kings or warriors undergoing severe austerities for special powers, weapons, or favors. It is strange to think of these ascetics as warriors instead of monks.
Finally, I extremely dislike Kaikeyi (whom from here on out shall be referred to as Lucy which is short for Lucifer). She was completely fine with Rama (the god-king incarnate) being king, which was very gracious of her. Then she listens to Krazy Kooni and all of a sudden, Lucy is a [sic] horrible person. It was all an interesting glance into the concept of motherhood in Indian culture; that Lucy was overjoyed at Rama being crowned kind, who she saw as one of her own sons. But noooOOoo00oo, Krazy Kooni had to come and mess it all up. I hope this gets fixed soon, but I have a feeling Lucy is going to stay a [sic] mean person.

Vaga-Buon Voyage

Narayan, R. K. "The Ramayana" pp 1-53

Wikipedia Trail: "Sanskrit" to "List of English Words of Sanskrit Origin"

Hello Vagabuddies!
Welcome to my first ever Wikipedia trail. I often find myself mindlessly trekking through Wikipedia's pages, so I might as well get some class credit for it!
For this time, I decided to dive into Sanskrit, since I am looking into having Sanskrit as the central theme for my storybook. And, as a linguistics major, I always enjoy a good foreign language.

Sanskrit in Sanskrit : Wikipedia Commons

Page 1: Sanskrit
This was a pretty basic starting point. I am learning about Sanskrit, so start with the basics, right? Here are some of what I thought were important takeaways. First, basic facts, Sanskrit is an Indian language with deep religious, cultural, and political significance. However, it has also migrated with its speakers throughout Asia, and has subsequently played a major role in many of the religious traditions of Asia such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism,  to name a few. Second, Sanskrit is not only part of the Indo-European language family, which makes it related to everything from Latin and Greek to German and Russian (which I had known), but it is also one of the oldest, documented languages of the world, dating back to the 2nd millennium BCE. Third, there are actually two forms of Sanskrit: Vedic Sanskrit (the language of ancient India) and Classical Sanskrit (the newer, standardized form of Sanskrit).

Page 2: Sanskrit Literature
In this first descent, I decided to dive more into the literary significance of Sanskrit, which lead me to practically every major Indian religious text. In keeping with a pattern seen across all cultures, language and religion go hand-in-hand, which meant that most of the oldest writings of Sanskrit are religious texts.

Bhagavad Gita written in Sanskrit (left) and translated into a Latin script (right) with an English translation (middle) and English commentary (bottom) : QuotesGram

Page 3: Sanskrit Revival
This title interested me, not only because language revivals are fascinating (see the wildly successful Maori Language Revival in New Zealand), but because this implied that Sanskrit needed reviving. This confirmed for me what I was thinking, that Sanskrit, though still spoken today, was mainly contained within a religious sphere. In fact, only about 0.002 % of India's total population (still around 25,000 people) speak Sanskrit as their first language. This percent expands to a still-tiny 0.19% of Indias population when the category expands to speakers of Sanskrit in general. I also learned here that Sanskrit was never an official language of any Indian state until it became one of the official languages of Uttarakhand in 2010.

Page 4: List of English Words of Sanskrit Origin
This final deviation was mostly for fun, and I honestly wasn't expecting too many English words to have Sanskrit origins. BOY WAS I WRONG. Out of the 100+ words, here are some of my favorites: Avatar, Bandana, Candy, Cheetah, Crimson (!!), Juggernaut, Loot, Pundit, Sapphire, Shampoo, and Tank.

Feedback Thoughts: Why I Suck and Why That Kind of Thinking is Wrong

Hello Vagabuddies,

Deep Talk Daniel (TM) here. Time to get deep and talk about feedback, taking risks, and rejection.
The first article I read for this week was the article about Neil Gaiman's Make Good Art commencement address. I had read a few stories and books by Neil Gaiman, and seen his Doctor Who episodes, so I was excited to hear his advice to recent graduates. And I was not disappointed! I especially connected with his imagery of imagining your personal goal as a mountain in the distance. Everything you do should bring you closer to that mountain, and if it doesn't then it probably isn't for you. I am definitely someone who has a lot of different interests and I can get carried away with them all. This mountain metaphor seems like a great way to keep myself accountable. In addition to the mountain, Neil Gaiman also gave this piece of advice to creatives: Make Good Art. As more of a STEM major, I don't relate as much to the 'art' part of his quote but his message is clear: do something that you are proud of. If it fails or isn't profitable, then at least you have something you're happy with. If you make something just for the money, and then it fails, you're left with nothing. To me, this means that I should pursue research projects that I am fascinated by, instead of only chasing patents or grants.  Neil Gaiman also heavily emphasized the importance of making mistakes and learning from them. Making mistakes means that we are taking risks, trying something new, and pushing yourself. Ultimately, "the world (will be) more interesting for your being here."

Graphic of THE line from Gaiman's speech : RedBubble

Moving onward from Gaiman's talk about mistakes, I read Guy Winch's article about Why Rejection Hurts. I think the best part about this article was reading about how you should boost your social connections after experiencing rejection. The article said that even something small like calling your grandparents can be an extremely useful reminder that even just your voice brings joy to some people. I think it is too easy to be overly self-critical (another flaw the article point out) and isolate yourself after a rejection, so reminding yourself about your other social connections seems like a great idea. Even if you're just helping someone through a rejection, I could even see it being useful to take them out to do their favorite activity. Not only are you spending time with someone and reminding them of their other social connections, but you are also letting them do something that they are probably pretty good at, which also boosts their self-esteem. I can definitely utilize this advice moving forward.

To you, dear VagaBuddy, I challenge you to try something new, go out of your comfort zone, and seek discomfort. It is in your "discomfort zone" that you truly grow as a person, and, even if you make mistakes or get rejected, learn from that experience and remind yourself of your strengths.
Vaga-Buon Voyage. 

Topic Brainstorm for a Vaga-Project: TikTok, Sanskrit, Ancient Aliens, and Italy

Top Four Storybook Ideas:

•  If Ramayana Characters were on TikTok...

Tiktok is a new social media platform centered around short videos, often with a song or other audio playing over the video. It has a wide range of content from comedy shorts, dance trends, challenge videos, and sometimes just hot people staring into cameras (which somehow gets huge amounts of likes). If the characters of the Ramayana were on TikTok, what would their accounts look like? Would Hanuman create original funny skits? Would Ravana make "social experiment" prank videos as an excuse to do something mean to strangers? Would Sita have a makeup tutorial account? Would Rama film himself trying to learn the hot new dance? I think there is a lot of potential in this idea, and perhaps they all share their scripts with each other for feedback. Or maybe someone else is writing a review of all their best videos? 

This project would be similar to this Dating Profile storybook in that each character would have their own page in the storybook to develop their personality, their connection to the theme, and their connection to each other. 

Potential Lineup of the four main characters? : The Live Mirror

• Sanskrit and Indian Epics

The Ramayana and the Mahabharata are the two great Indian epic poems, and they were both written in Sanskrit. As one of the oldest still-spoken languages in the world (the most ancient form dates back to the second millennium BCE), Sanskrit is intimately tied to the history of India. Just as a study of ancient Romans like Caesar or Cicero is enhanced with a little bit of knowledge about Latin, I think that this class over the Indian epics would be enriched by a little understanding of Sanskrit. As a linguistics major, I love learning about other languages, and this would be the first language I study that doesn't use the Latin alphabet. What a challenge!

Links: Sanskrit Introduction | Sanskrit Revival

• Ancient Aliens

I don't really subscribe to conspiracy theories, but I find them so fascinating. Because these conspiracy stories often start with an unexplained phenomenon, such as myths of flying vehicles, I find these explanations interesting (think the Ancient Technology video from Youtube playlist of India-related videos). I think for this idea, I could try to place myself as a time traveler in these stories that have unexplained phenomena, and then I could "explain" all the phenomena as a modern-day scientist. I would love to find modern-day inventions and studies that relate to the fantastical topics that are described in these ancient texts!

Ancienct Aliens Meme, self-made : ImgFlip

• Italian Ramayana?

This is probably my least developed idea (hence why it is last), but I have a lot to work with. I rewrite several stories from the class, but it in modern-day Italy. Having spent a few months immersed in Italian culture as much as I could (and since I have several Italian friends), it might be interesting to put those characters and stories into an Italian context (leaning into some Italian stereotypes). Instead of traditional Indian food,  the characters could eat pasta ragu or lasagne. Instead of the Indian social hierarchy, there would be the Italian familial system where all family members live together until you are married after turning at least 30. I can even write in some dialogue, phrases, or short stories in Italian to keep it interesting! I guess maybe I am just looking for an excuse to practice my Italian in some way, but it's definitely an idea with some substance!

---

Those are my top four ideas for a storybook project, and I can't wait to hear some feedback about it! If you're in my class, let me know which storybook you'd read! If you're not in my class, you're probably my mom so hi mom! Thanks for loading me up with groceries and doing my laundry last time I visited home!

Alright, Vaga-bye for now!

Week 2 Story: The Little Cancer that Could (SAD)

Once upon a time, in a body that works just like yours, there were a group of cells happily living and growing and dividing all together.
"How nice our lives are," the cells bubbled together. "We just follow our programming and we even get told when to die! Oh, speaking of when to die, hey apoptotic signal! We were just talking about you!"
"Hello, cells," the apoptotic signal greeted them. "It is my job to tell you when it is time to make room for new cells! You all have very important jobs, but it's also important for the survival of the whole body that you make room for new cells."
On the edge of the group of cells, a carcinoma cell thought to itself, "I don't want to die! I want to grow and divide faster than I do now! When the others are going to be killed, I am going to escape and continue to grow and divide because I shouldn't have to die if I don't want to."

So, when the time came for all the cells to undergo apoptosis and make room for new cells, the carcinoma cell executed its plan and escaped its death.
"Now I can divide as much as I want," the carcinoma cell exclaimed. And the carcinoma cell duplicated itself many, many, many times, until there were so many of the carcinoma cell, that the apoptotic signal noticed them. Knowing that the carcinoma cell was too strong to kill without any help, the apoptotic signal went to the T cell and begged for its help.

But, the carcinoma had seen the apoptotic signal go to the T cell, and knew that it was too strong for the apoptotic signal to kill it alone. So the carcinoma cell watched the T cell go to work, so that the carcinoma cell could outsmart it.
As the carcinoma cell secretly watched, the T cell came upon a nervous cell, and looked at a very small part of the cell's shell. The cell was shaking as the T cell latched onto the cell and exclaimed, "You're sick!"
Then, in quick succession, the T cell released a few chemicals to go and kill the sick cell. In only a moments,  the sick cell was a dead cell.
The carcinoma cell quickly realized that it was only after the T cell reviewed a part of the sick cell's shell that the T cell knew to kill the cell. "If I can make myself look like a normal cell," the carcinoma cell thought, "then maybe I can trick the T cell into letting me go!"
As quick as it could, the carcinoma cell changed the format of every single copy of itself so that all had the same part as a normal cell. When the T cell finally found the carcinoma cell with the apoptotic signal close behind, the T cell looked at that specific part. The T cell looked very closely over the carcinoma cell, but, after a while, decided that it was close enough to normal and that there was nothing that it could do.
"Looks fine to me," said the T cell.
"B-... Bu-... But that can't be! I know that it's not meant to be there," the apoptotic signal stuttered. "The carcinoma cell will ruin the whole body!"
But the carcinoma cell had gone right back to dividing rapidly, not listening at all to the apoptotic signal. It grew and grew and grew and grew, until no other cells had any room for them to grow! But still the carcinoma cell kept growing. Until finally, the carcinoma cell was so big that no other cells could even move around it. Now, the carcinoma cell wasn't just hurting other cells; it was hurting the body. The body became sicker and sicker until it couldn't support itself anymore.
The carcinoma cell, in its own selfish desires, ultimately brought its own downfall.

-----
Author's Note: Phew! First story done! I wanted to play around with the story about the Monkey Who Gathered Lotus, because I like how both of the main character's worked to outsmart and defeat the other. I also wanted to incorporate my science background into this story and explain a tough concept (the immune system response to cancerous cells) in an easy-to-comprehend way! I really enjoyed the fun contrasting dynamic between a children's book style of writing with the scientific labels for the molecules that were my characters. I had to change the story around though, making the Bodhisatta's equivalent character (the carcinoma cell) into the 'bad guy' and the Devadatta's character (the apoptotic signal) into the 'good guy.' This also changed the lesson of the story from "Work hard and be good" to "Don't be too selfish," but I think it worked. I also had to oversimplify slightly for the story such as combining the two types of T cells into one character. (Normally, a helper T cell notices the cancer and a cytotoxic T cell kills the cell.) Overall, I am happy with this first story and I know that I will get better as the semester progresses!
Vaga-Buon Voyage!

Images:
Figure 1: Cartoon drawing of a normal cell next to a carcinoma cell with description of the carcinoma cell in green: YouTube
Figure 2: Cartoon drawing of a Helper T Cell: Growing and Developing Healthy Relationships

Bibliography:
Chalmers, Robert. "The Monkey Who Gathered Lotuses" Tayodhamma Jataka, Jataka Volume 1. https://sacred-texts.com/bud/j1/j1061.htm

Reading Notes: Week 2 Anthology (The Monkey Who Gathered Lotuses)

Welcome VagaBuddies!

Here is the first reading notes post! I am reviewing story The Monkey Who Gathered Lotuses. Like I said in the previous Week 2 Reading Overview post, I enjoy stories with clever main characters, and this story had two very clever characters! I think it made for a very fun story to see both the Bodhisatta and the Devadatta try to outsmart the other. Ultimately, the Bodhisatta is able to outsmart the Devadatta and even impresses an ogre so much that it becomes his ally. 

The set-up of the story seems very similar to the Greek mythology story of Kronos eating all his godly children so that they could not grow up to fulfill the prophecy that he will be defeated by his children. In that story, Zeus's mother, Rhea escapes to Crete to birth Zeus, similar to how the Bodhisatta's mother escapes give birth to him. However, neither the Bodhisatta nor his mother return to the father Devadatta until the Bodhisatta is old enough to challenge him. 

I also used this story as an opportunity to read a bit more about yakshas, the race of the ogre in this story. Since I am unexperienced with Indian folklore and mythology, I am still unsure if the ogres (called a water demon in the introduction) is necessarily evil, or if it is just (as the Wikipedia page suggests) mischievous, capricious, or whimsical. In this story, the ogre seems more whimsical because it helps Bodhisatta carry the lotuses and becomes his ally, yet also the ogre would normally eat all the travelers that came into the water. Further reading on the yakshas seems to suggest that they are normally benevolent or neutral creatures, not necessarily evil, but I can't wait to read more stories with them!

Mudgarpani Yaksha statue from the Mathura Museum dated around 100 B.C.E: Wikipedia Commons

As an optimist, I do also like that the story has a happy ending, and that the 'good' monkey is the victorious one. It is also interesting how Devadatta wasn't even killed in this story out of revenge by Bodhisatta. Instead, he died of fear/anguish. Bodhisatta won without even having to get blood on his hands, keeping him as an incredibly pure character. 

Im excited to compose a story based off this!

Vaga-Buon Voyage!

Bibliography:
Chalmers, Robert. "The Monkey Who Gathered Lotuses" Tayodhamma Jataka, Jataka Volume 1. https://sacred-texts.com/bud/j1/j1061.htm

Week 2 Reading Overview

Welcome VagaBuddies!

In answer to all your questions about which version of the Ramayana I will read....
I have decided.....
To choose....




NARAYANA'S RAMAYANA
(the crowd goes wild "ahhhh")

For me, it came down to the fact that I can always get background information, notes, etc,  but having a singular writing style throughout the whole story will be nice to keep the flow of the story going. I also like the idea that this is sort of a "third-generation" story, in that it was based on a story based on a story. The other version of the Ramayana, despite how interesting it looked, also seemed to have less of a distinct "ancestry" than Narayana's version. I am excited to dive right in!

For the comic book section of this assignment, I chose Vishvamitra: The King Who Became an Ascetic and The Pandavas in Hiding: Outwitting a Wily Enemy. I chose the Pandavas story because it seems like it has a very clever main character (the title uses the word 'outwitting'). I really enjoy stories where the main character is clever in some way and proceeds logically. I get frustrated when characters make wholly illogical decisions such as giving the villain a second chance for no good reason. (Side note: I want to be clear that I am ok if the character has any sort of justification for his actions: the villain was family, the hero is morally good, etc. etc.; I just need something). I chose the Vishvamitra comic book because it seemed like an interesting story. Vishvamitra seems to be a really compelling character that works hard but also doesn't always act morally.

For the videos, I watched the Ancient Technology video and the Sanskrit in 60 seconds video. Ancient technology and subjects similar to that (like Ancient aliens and conspiracy theories in general) are a sort of guilty pleasure for me. I don't really believe them, I just think that it is interesting to think that all the talks of flying vehicles in ancient texts could have been aliens. My favorite of the two, though, was the Sanskrit video. As a linguistics major, I really enjoy learning about other languages, and I am always trying to develop my language acquisition skills. The video itself left a little bit to be desired. If you watch, I recommend reading the top comment by Jaskaran Mangat that gave some excellent background information and corrections to things said in the video. Overall a sub-par introduction to a fantastically amazing language.

A linguistics meme based on a quote about Sanskrit by William Jones: Tumblr

Vaga-Buon Voyage!

Time Strategies: Things that Unsuccessful People Do and More!

Hello VagaBuddies!

We are talking about time management strategies today! Fun!

I honestly wonder this everytime, then my friend tells me "I dont know how you do everything you do." So I guess I just overwork myself: University of Waterloo Writing and Communication Center

I have always been a quite involved person (in high school I juggled cross country, theater, advanced classes, drum line,  and several clubs at the same time, and I've only slowed down a tiny bit!), so time management is a skill that I always need to keep improving. This isn't to say that I don't have any time management skills; I would say it is quite the opposite. I just recognize that I could always get better (read: I could spend less free time mindlessly scrolling through dance trends on TikTok).
One of my biggest problems is that I feel like I don't have much time in the day, so I was immediately attracted to the article 3 Steps to Recapture Time. I found this article really interesting, especially the part about "Recognizing the Pruning Season." I always find it difficult to finally quit a project before completion, but it is definitely important to let a project go when it isn't working. It's hard to put time and creativity into something that just won't bear fruit.
The second article I read was 11 Ways Unsuccessful People Mismanage Their Time, which attracted me with a good title. I am a firm believer that a good way to learn is to understand why the other way is wrong, and this article does exactly that. By pointing out traits that lead to time mismanagement, such as not planning fun time or even scheduling at all, it inherently tells what to do instead. For me, the time "mismanagement" strategy I most related to was juggling too much, because I constantly feel like I am pulling myself in different directions. However, one way in which I combat this is to plan ahead for challenging times and decide in advance what order to give things up. For example, if my schedule gets busy, the first thing I will stop doing is tutoring math, since I am fortunate enough to be able to get by without that paycheck for a week or so. That extra ten-fifteen hours a week would help me get back on track and back to my normal routine.
One thing that I hope to incorporate into my time management strategies would be pruning, the art of cutting things out. I hope to use this to limit my unproductive time in between various activities throughout the day, so that I can be productive during the day and actually get a full eight hours of sleep at night!
Here's hoping for more sleep!

Technology Tools + Extra Browser Extensions!

Welcome VagaBuddies!

Since this is my first online class, I was already mentally preparing myself for a different structure compared with my other classes, but this class also seems to be different than a typical online course! I did appreciate that it was explained why Canvas isn't used very much in this course, and I also appreciate all the helpful links that are provided to us!

Meme about how I learn practical skills and everything with technology: MemeBase

Most of the technology tips (especially about browsers and browser plugins) I was very familiar with. I do have a couple more browser extension suggestions!

Firstly, for all those who care that the earth is burning, I recommend Ecosia! Ecosia replaces your default search engine (which is probably Google or Bing), and uses profits from your searches to fund tree planting projects all over the globe! Not only are they very transparent about their profits on their website, but even independent reviews are also always positive! It's a great way to incorporate green living in your everday life.

Another suggestion I have that EVERYONE needs to download is Honey. Honey is another free browser extension that automatically searches the internet for online coupons and then checks all of them in a couple while you are just sitting at the check out page of your favorite online store. Then, based on how much you save, you also receive "honey gold," which can be spent on more bonuses. Basically, it's a must-have for online shoppers.

I hope that you find either of these extensions useful, and happy internet-ing!

Vaga-Buon Voyage!

Class Assignments Review

Hello VagaBuddies!

First of all, enjoy this meme I made about this class:

Created using Meme Generator

Just as a general review of this class, I am very optimistic! As a biochemistry and linguistics major, this is very different than anything I have studied previously, and I am excited to dive into the world of Indian epic poetry! 

Overall, I think I am most excited for the storytelling aspect of this class. I am a creative person, and I don't get a chance to be creative in my other classes very often. This is also why I am excited to try out the microfiction extra credit assignments. I have read a lot of the six words stories blog, and it is amazing how talented authors can convey a whole story in just six words. 

For those of you in my class, I can't wait to read your stories!

For those of you not in my class, enjoy the rest of my Vaga-Blog!

Growth Mindset: an Inspiration or an Oversimplification?

Welcome Vagabuddies,

Today, I will be discussing the "Growth Mindset," popularized by psychologist Dr. Carol Dweck, as well as a few criticisms on this educational philosophy.

In short, the Growth Mindset approach to education holds that there are two basic groups of students: students with a fixed mindset and students with a growth mindset. Students with a fixed mindset are students that view intelligence as a fixed trait, and they will only seek problems that will make them look smart. On the other hand, growth mindset students view intelligence as a skill that can be developed, and they see challenges not as a potential failure but as an opportunity to learn. Having done research on these mindsets for a few decades, Carol Dweck in multiple Ted Talks has given numerous examples of applying her advice to foster a growth mindset. This advice usually has the theme of praising effort and persistence rather than skill, with phrases such as "You did really well! You must have tried very hard" being preferable to "You did really well! You must be really smart." 

Growth Mindset Motivational Poster: Pinterest

Critics of Dweck's Growth Mindset, such as fellow psychologist Dr. Dave Paunesku and writer Alfie Kohn, state that this approach has the same shortcomings as many other education suggestions: it blames students for failures instead of the system. Growth mindset does little to resolve students' real problems like a troubling home life, an unwelcoming classroom environment, and other systematic problems.

For my own thoughts, I ultimately found the critics of the Growth Mindset unconvincing. Although they did raise thoughtful critiques about the educational system and the problems with putting the blame on students, some of the critics seemed too nebulous to be useful and often included ad hominem attacks on Dweck. I doubt that anyone would unconditionally support the idea that the educational system is perfect, but that doesn't mean that Dweck's research focusing on student attitudes is useless. I enjoyed Dr. Paunesku's commentary, which challenged some of her advice, but not the general conclusions of her research. I am personally a bit more on the side of growth mindset rather than against it. 

As a math tutor for children in grade school and high school, it was easy to visualize these mindsets and categorize some of my own students into the two categories. I will conservatively apply some of Dr. Dweck's advice when I am tutoring, because I do think that praising their approach and their persistence will be more beneficial than just a simple "Wow! Good job." 

Overall, I am excited to explore this growth mindset approach more as the semester continues.

For now, Vaga-Buon Voyage!

Introduction to Daniel the Vagablond

Hello VagaBuddies! Welcome to my Vaga-Blog!

My name is Daniel Pfaff and welcome to this blog! (If you are confused about the title of the blog, or the first line, go read the P.S. section at the end of this post.)
Here is my bland college introduction: I am a Junior majoring in Biochemistry and Linguistics. I am from Kansas City, MO. And my favorite style of potatoes is some nice thin french fries (Think McDonalds but like better).

Me halfway into an eight hour hike in Northern Italy: Personal Photo. 

For a little more in-depth about my studies, I would eventually like to go on to study neurolinguistics in grad school (which is the study of how the brain processes language), but that is very long term. In the near term, I love learning languages! Besides random little phrases in various languages, I have studied Latin for many years, I speak Italian at an almost conversational level, and I am just starting to learn ASL!

Adjacent to my love for languages, and a drive for me to learn other languages, is my love of traveling. I was lucky enough that my family could travel around the United States as a kid, but my focus in the last few years has been international. I have done a bit of traveling throughout the Caribbean, and I studied abroad at OU in Arezzo, Italy last spring semester. I had the amazing opportunity to work as an English teaching assistant for an Italian high school, and my students probably taught me about their slang, hobbies, and customs just as much as I taught them (I even taught them a bit about Ultimate frisbee, which I play here at OU!). My love for travel is actually the inspiration for my blog name! (Scroll down to the bottom of this post for further explanation). I traveled throughout a lot of Europe while I was there, and I will continue my world traveling throughout my life!!

Heres some more fun facts about me:

- I have visited 12 countries

- I collect national flags at the country's capital and I have seven flags so far. 

- I have driven a steamboat down the Mississippi River.

- I biked 50 miles in one day (but I am not a biking guy at all. It was rough.)

- I can recite 100 digits of pi.

- I am the 2011 State Fence Painting Champion in Missouri.

Me overlooking the Florence skyline last spring: Personal Photo.

Well, that's all for now! I hope you got a little bit of my energetic, friendly personality, and if we ever meet in person feel free to say hi!


P.S. - Vagabond (noun) [vag·​a·​bond | ˈva-gə-ˌbänd] : a person who wanders from place to place without a fixed home; one leading a vagabond life. (Merriam Webster)
Yes, I am going all in on vagabond puns. Go big or go home right? Actually vagabonds don't have a home haha jokes.
P.P.S. - I will admit I did kind of maybe steal the word Vagabuddies from a travel YouTube channel called the VagaBrothers, so go check them out. They did a great 6 month travel around the world challenge video series a few years ago, so I highly recommend that!

Storybook Favorites: From Mermaids to the Brahmazing Race

EPIC WOMEN TELL ALL (link)

Cover Photo for Epic Women Tell All. Panchakanya, a pre-1945 lithograph from Ravi Varma Press, Authors listed: Anant Shivaji Desai, Ravi Varma Preaa, Source: Wikipedia

I loved how this storybook not only retold the stories with a bit of a twist, but also fleshed the characters in a believable setting that was consistent. Other blogs that retold stories were often disjointed, but this blog had a really consistent and just generally well-written narrative that was entertaining and modern. I'm not very familiar with the Ramayana (I am excited to read it for this class!), but the stories were still explained enough that I could easily follow them. I also enjoyed the "feminist twist" the author included in the retelling, which gave the characters fun and modern attitudes. Overall, wonderfully crafted and very entertaining.

THE OTHERS IN WONDERLAND (link)

This storybook had a great twist on it: retelling a common story from a different character's (or characters') point of view. The introduction specifically of this storybook did a good job of explaining the idea and the motivation behind the project, which provided great context for reviewing the rest of the storybook. The writer did a good job of using the Rabbit to connect the stories together, but it still felt as if the storybook was missing a few stories. Overall, I liked this storybook because it did a great job of reinterpreting stories and adding lore and new motivations to characters that were lacking a fully developed character in the source material.

THE BRAHMAZING RACE (link)

Webpage "Logo" crafted by the student, Jason Yingling: image

Not only was the storybook wonderfully crafted and well-written, but it was based on a pun. I love puns (obviously). Anyway, I also enjoyed how this storybook, in distinction from all the others I reviewed, made a specific effort to include information about the geography in which the stories take place. This contributed interesting and worthwhile context to all the stories while still remaining thematically consistent. Throughout the storybook, I also enjoyed how the characters within the "Brahmazing Race" made reference to the Ramayana and the scenes within it, having legitimate impact on the story being told. For example, several nods are made to Ravana's misdeeds throughout the storybook, leading to more terse and tense interactions than with the Ramayana's hero, Rama. Overall, I loved the unique spin that incorporated both the stories of the Ramayana, the geographical context of the stories,  and a potential travel itinerary to boot! 

MERMAIDSONLY.COM (link)

This was the only blog that made me laugh out loud. It was also one of the first blogs I visited, which unfortunate for the other blogs, since it set such a high standard. The set-up as an online mermaid-dating site was hilarious yet well composed and thought out. Importantly, the storybook felt complete and it felt like each page was made specifically for this project, unlike some of the other storybooks. It was such a unique idea, and it was executed very well, despite what seems to be somewhat sparse source material. Nevertheless, whatever tidbits of lore that this storybook was based on seem to be incorporated into the project well. This was my favorite storybook that I found. 

Kansas City and Arezzo: My Favorite Places

KANSAS CITY, MO, USA

My first favorite place is Kansas City, MO, my hometown. I believe that it is the perfect midsize city in America, but that is a topic (probably more like a TedTalk) for another day. Overall, KC is known for BBQ (which tends to be a bit sweeter than Texas style), Jazz, and a huge amount of fountains (Kansas City allegedly has the most amount of working fountains in the world!). I personally love how Kansas City, despite having around 2 million people in the KC Metro area, still feels like a small town in that everyone knows each other. One of my favorite places to go hang out with friends is the Plaza, a shopping district modeled after Seville, Spain!

PS: Kansas City is mostly in Missouri, which I know is confusing. Kansas City itself was actually founded before the state of Kansas, and both are named after the local Kansa Native American tribe that was originally on that land. There is also a Kansas City, KS, but practically everything notable about Kansas City is on the Missouri side. 

Plaza Shopping District in Kansas City, MO: Wikipedia Commons

Kansas City Skyline overlooking Union Station: Wikipedia Commons

AREZZO, ITALY

My next favorite place, and the place I consider to my second-home, is Arezzo in Italy. I studied abroad in Arezzo in Spring 2019, and I threw myself into local Italian life. One of the first things I did when I arrived was get to know a few local Italian university students like Lisa, Marta, Christian, and Giuseppe. Uniquely, that semester, I also spent a couple hours a week as an English Teaching Assistant at a local high school, teaching Italian teenagers about different aspects of American life such as slang, sports in America (especially football), holidays, food, common idioms, etc. Through this internship, my coordinator,  Laura Terrazzani, would frequently invite me to her apartment for authentic Italian meals with the rest of her family, and I was also invited to several school events such as an Italian improv show (all in Italian, oddio) put on by some of my students! When my family came to visit, it quickly became their favorite place in Italy due to its unique local history as a major Roman city and the host of a bi-annual joust (La Giostra del Saracino),  and its general Italian small-town charm. I know I will be back to visit soon, because I have made some life-long friends there.

Overview of Arezzo: Wikipedia Commons

Piazza Grande in Arezzo: Wikipedia Commons