Maple Garden is located on the corner of Alder and 13th, and I walk by it nearly everyday, so I figured I’d check it out for our blog post. Unfortunately it wasn’t open, so I was only able to get photos of the sign and the menu on the wall outside. That being said, it was nice that they had the menu in both English and Chinese. I assumed that the letters underneath “Maple Garden Restaurant” was a direct translation, but just to be sure, I did some translating. I found that the first character is a combination of the Chinese character for tree, and character for wind. Because Chinese is a phonographic language, I know that each character represents a sound rather than a meaningful unit, like in a logographic system.

I don’t have any questions about the course so far, seeing as it’s engrossing and well organized. I like how the course is being taught because it’s a familiar format. As I said on the last blog post, I like that we get more, shorter length assignments rather than less frequent, lengthier assignments. I really like this approach because it keeps me engaged throughout the week, and I end up spending more time on the material overall than if it were project-based. The reading quizzes are also very helpful and I like that we don’t have a time limit, giving me time to be more thorough with the reading instead of feeling rushed.