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We had a very engaging time this week at Naluwan with our grandmas. Together with the grandmas, we made seashell hanging ornaments using the shells we collected last week.
Reflection on how Place can be Preserved for Generations to Come
e0418040Annotation of
In response to
Interesting how you managed to discover the Amis language connection to Malay, further connection to Austronesian, and the similarities the language has to other Asian languages. I also liked your posed questions, which are in line with what I am concerned about after reading your piece. I remembered posing such a similar question to my Ahma, regarding whether there would be a loss of culture as the younger generation starts to live far away from their original hometown, Taitung. She mentioned that the younger generation here in Naluwan, Hsinchu are working hard to continue to uphold the Amis culture and roots in their new "home". So hopefully for generations to come, the Amis people will not lose their heritage, and not forget their original roots.
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This week, one of the grandma shared more about her attachment and relations with Naluwan in Hsinchu.
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I was seated with the same grandmas of the families I met last week and was also attached to a new grandma at the table.
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Listening to the passing trains slowly accelerating away made me excited for what was to come in Naluwan. Arriving at Xiangshan station was a whole new feeling, it was peaceful.
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When we first arrived at the Naluwan tribe in Hsinchu, we were just in time to join in with the elderly of the tribe, at what seemed their morning exercise.
Seismic St. Louis
Emily SekineAnnotation of
In response to
I'm interested in better understanding the ongoing geological processes that shape St. Louis and the Mississippi Valley region. So far, I've been looking into the history of seismicity in the region, focusing on the fascinating but little known history of the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811 and 1812 -- the most devastating earthquakes to have hit the US east of the Rockies. I've also been exploring how St. Louis and surrounding areas are dealing with the possibility of another earthquake occurring in the future. According to one article I read, one of the biggest uncertainties is what would happen to the heavily engineered Mississippi River in the case of another major tremblor. The shaking could break the levees, flooding wide areas along the river and creating cascading effects. The flow of the river might also reverse completely, as occurred during the New Madrid earthquakes.
On these possibilities and the lack of scientific consensus surrounding intraplate seismicity in this zone, see this article in The Atlantic.
On current efforts to create earthquake hazard maps in St. Louis, see this overview on the US Geological Survey site.
For a deeper dive into the history of the New Madrid earthquakes, see this book by historian of science Conevery Bolton Valencius.