Hey guys! My name is Soriyana - say sor-ee-ya-na together quickly and that's how you pronounce my name! I've taken a similar class before and I actually liked reading different myths and stories, so I'm sure I'll enjoy this class. Personal photo of me. I am a biology/pre-pharmacy major planning on graduating this Fall 2020 at the University of Oklahoma. It can definitely be intimidating and scary getting to this point of your college career...and I am feeling that. However, I think it's great that people can go down various career paths with a biology degree; many people go into the healthcare field (i.e., dentist, physician, pharmacy, etc.), some go into the research, or one can become a biology teacher, and more. Of course, more schooling and education may be needed. When I am finished with school, I definitely want to get out of Oklahoma - possibly go back to Long Beach, California or go somewhere different like Savannah, Georgia? It may not even be either of...
Hi Soriyana, I was not familiar that the people of Cambodia are called Khmer. I really appreciate you giving us a great background about Cambodia. Thank you for also giving us another perspective, a personal aspects such as how your parents escaped from genocide. I was not familiar with this, and knowing that your parents were around when this occurred shows how this was not even that long ago. I also did not realize how diverse Cambodia was with different religions and did not realize that Buddhism is the predominant religion. I feel like I learned a lot more about Cambodia just through your intro. I am really excited to read some of your stories and learn a lot more about Cambodia. Also, I love the purple-ish pink color for your comment wall. I am currently working on a project where I create the national dish of every country in the world, and I have not made Cambodia's yet which is amok. I wonder if you have a good recipe for it.
ReplyDeleteHey Soriyana! I think it is super cool that your storybook is about Cambodia! A lot of people are using fictional settings or settings from books previously written as the backdrop for their stories, so I like the idea of using a tangible place for imagery and for cohesion. I also like how your introduction was very factual and gave insight to what's going on currently and what has happened in Cambodia. I personally had zero frame of reference about anything that I read, so having that background information was definitely needed. You presented it in an educational way that was very easy to read. As far as the functionality and presentation of your website goes, I like the images you've used and how you included a map. Both aid in the imagery aspect of your future stories and will give readers a more accurate insight to the images you are creating. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHi, Soriyana! I've never read folk tales from Cambodia before! So you're the first person to introduce them to me. I love how your intro has information about Cambodia and it's history. My mother visited Angkor Wat and it looks absolutely beautiful. With your first story, I really liked how you gave it a personal touch by making it from the point of view of a grandparent sharing the story to his grandson. That gives it a human element, and also cements your point on how family is really important in your culture. Will they be recurring characters in your future story? Is it always going to be the grandfather sharing a folk tale each time? Or will you change the method with each one? Can't wait to discover more Cambodian folk tales!
ReplyDeleteHey there, Soriyana!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a fun and interesting idea for a story book! You are the first person to introduce me to Cambodian folk tales before and reading some of the above comments makes it seem like you are the first to introduce them as well. I appreciated your introduction set up. I have minimal knowledge of Cambodia and its culture so it is nice to have some background before diving straight into the stories that originated from the region. Your website is very easy to navigate and seems to flow really well together! For your first story has such an intimate feel that I believe really draws the reader in. You r images work very well with the story and the layout also helps provide separation from the interactions between grandson and grandfather, to the story being told which is nice. Overall, well don and I cannot wait to read more about Cambodian legends.
Hi Soriyana,
ReplyDeleteThe introduction to your Storybook was so very informative! I could really tell that you took the time to do your research and I loved that some of the information that you gave was personal to yourself because it invested me in the story to come more than it would have if it was all just facts and data.
As to the story itself, it was such an interesting retelling of why red moons exist. I've never read the original, but I liked how you nested the story of Rahu within the story of Rathana and his grandfather because it added an extra layer to the story that made it more intriguing to read. What I would really love to read in this story was a little more of the celebrations surrounding the red moon because, by the end, I'm feeling left out of something that sounds like it would be so totally awesome to be a part of. Maybe that works in your favor with this story as well though. It would also be beneficial to see more descriptive phrases in the retelling of what happened with Rahu.
Excellent job!
Hi Soriyana!
ReplyDeleteI really really love what you've chosen for your storybook! The introduction was incredibly helpful, and I definitely learned a lot about the country and the people. Your description of the impact that the history has had on you personally really helped me realize just how important and significant these events are. I also appreciate all the extra links that you included on the page!
Your first story was very well done! From what you describe in your author's note, I think you do a great job retelling the story to fit the medium that you're working with. I also appreciate the addition of the grandfather and son. It really does help with giving us an introduction as to what the holiday is and its cultural significance. I also appreciate the additional folklore of what the eclipse means. Your story is both informative and grabbing, and I really loved reading it!
Hey Soriyana! I think your introduction was one of the most well explained that I have seen! I thought it was a great overview of Cambodia. It also gave your audience some great background information before they delved further into your storybook. I really enjoyed your first story, The Lunar Eclipse. I always love the stories that explain natural phenomena. The character of Rahu reminded me of Ravana, the demon king from the Ramayana. I liked how your story was formatted--from the start we could see that the lunar eclipse was very important to Rathana's family. We learn about the history behind this tradition just as Rathana does. You did a fantastic job of explaining the mythical origins behind it, as well as why it was important to Rathana's family. The story Rain was fun to read as well. I like when characters use their brains to succeed--I don't think I would have thought of using a handkerchief! Great project!
ReplyDeleteHey Soriyana! I really enjoyed your storybook! Your introduction was great for setting up the reader to have the context needed to understand your stories. The first story was also really enjoyable. I think having the story be told by a real story teller in the grandfather. I do think that having a higher resolution picture to accompany the story would be nice. I am not sure if it would be difficult to find though. It was really cute for the story to end on the child thinking of a wish to make. I wonder if the kid will remember this and end up telling his kids and grandkids the same things. Your second story about the origins of lightning and thunder was also good. I liked that you added dialogue in the story. I think you did a good job of leading the reader into not knowing where the story was going and having them gradually get enough information to understand.
ReplyDeleteHey Soriyana! I am from the Indian Epics section of the class and I wanted to see what sort of projects are being worked on over here! I had never read anything from Cambodia really during my time in this section, so it is really interesting to see how you have developed your project. It looks like you just have one more story, so yay! That is so exciting. For the layout, I love it! I love the color scheme you have decided to go with as well as how you have organized your project. As for your writing, it is just amazing. I especially liked your "Goddess and the Giant" story, I really love how well you have incorporated dialogue and text in that story. Overall, fantastic job and I look forward to seeing how this project progresses!
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