My in-depth project has been going along very smoothly after the little struggle in the beginning. My friend, Renee, gladly offered a place to meet and practice in. The location was also near my mentor’s place making it easier for my mentor as well. So far, I have learned the basic steps and the breathing techniques. I also learned to handle the fan which took me a while just to learn to open and close the fan quickly. At first, I was worried that my learning speed was too slow. However, my mentor has been very optimistic about the progress as it can be a lifelong process to master completely. 

One of the learning challenges I faced was from my poor posture. I may have not realized this about myself before; but according to my mentor, I tend to point my chin up and have my neck extended forward. I think I created this habit either because of the amount of times I use my laptop while laying down on my bed or because I extend my neck to look at things that are far away. Hopefully, I can get rid of this habit as time passes by.  Some other challenges emerged from the equipment. The fan that was bought online from Korea did not end up having good quality. It was hard to close the fan because of its uneven layers. 

My goal for the next in-depth post is to have learned and memorized a choreography about a minute long. I also need to work really hard on time management to make sure homework and extracurricular activities don’t interfere with my in-depth meetings and practices. I would like to buy a new fan and make sure to provide videos and pictures for the next in-depth blog post. 

Some strategies that can improve the quality of my mentor interactions are communication, observation and patience.  Communication is a great strategy for my in-depth project. This may sound very obvious but asking good questions and interacting with my mentor can create a deeper understanding of something I did not know about and learn new information. I can also get closer to my mentor learning about her experiences as an expert in the field. Observation is also a good strategy as I need to try my best to emulate my mentor. I will look at every movement and every step carefully and try my best to imitate my mentor.  Lastly, patience is another component that is essential to my in-depth project. One of the learning habits I have is trying to rush through everything. I think this in-depth project will help me learn to take things slowly and learn more “in-depth”.