IN QINGDAO

I traveled in Qing-dao for six days.
Here are some pictures for you to look at.

This is China Ocean University. It was my first job place.This is a picture of my colleagues and I.

This building was built by Germans. It is a historic building at the Ocean University.

This picture was taken at my other colleagues’ home.

Forty four years ago, we lived in this pink building on the second floor in Qing-dao.

This is the Olympic sailing boat racing area.

The Trestle Bridge is an important building. The octagon pavilion is five hundreds meters in length.

Mei Fong Can't Sign in The Blog.

Richard, our classmate Mei Fong can't sign in the blog with the her last user name and her ID which you wrote down for her.
I have tried to sign in for her with her user name and ID. However, it was unsuccessful.
Please check it and tell us what happened. Thank you.

How do you feeling?

How are you doing? Teacher, Tomorrow is the first day of Adult school,right? How do you feeling? I think you are very flutter with excitement and happy. Because tomorrow You can meet your students again. I think everyone miss you so much!

I come to Laney, before, I think I can study at your class in the afternoon but I have a job in the bank now, that why I feel sad. If I have free time I can go to school meet everybody and specially meet you Teacher, because You teach very interesting I can learn a lot of about everything at room 101.

Teacher, Where did you go for Labor Day? I went to San Francisco with my family by BART because you know the Bay Bridge close of Labor Day and came back by Boat that was very interesting.

Hi Teacher

How are you? How about your weekend? I heard your video,I saw the blog everyday and naturally I watched your cartoon. It was very funny,a rabbit was very intelligent.
Yesterday I went to San Jose meet my friend and went to coffee shop together,we were talk about some new "In Peru has earthquake,how many people dead in there?" and last night I watched the football game between San Francisco and Oakland. Teacher,Did you watch that game? I'm very sad because Oakland has lose.
Teacher, in August 22 I'm going to Laney, maybe I will come to your class in the afternoon if I have time, but I think on September I have a job in the bank again.

Garfield?

Have you ever heard of Garfield?

Scroll down to the bottom of the page.

What do you think about the cartoon?

Is it funny? Why?

Thank you

How do you feeling to day Teacher? I heard a song on the blog you add is"From a distance" I'm very happy and I tell you I hear this song till now is 5 times, thank you very much.
This weekend I went shopping with my classmates and today in the morning I played tennis with my brother.How about your weekend Teacher?
Last month I didn't know that place Because My brother guide my family and I to there had a festival about the garlic. The first time I can ate garlic ice cream and a lot of new food I didn't eat before. We had a nice day I felt very happy. Do you went there before teacher?

HI, my classment and my dear teacher

Joys

Hi! Teacher, classmates.
Teacher, I was very happy for you because you had a wonderful time together with your brother and you enjoyed your time a lot which you want to do. I think life will be wonderful and happy if we know how to use it.
You know that last summer I returned to my home town. I had a wonderful time with my mom and the rest of my family in VietNam. This summer is so quiet with no trip. So that is ok to me. And I have enjoyed my time by walking around lake Merrit three times a week, read books, work, go to the park with my daughters, go shopping sometimes, and one more thing I often look on the blog but sometimes nobody wrote on it.
At that moment I wonder where did everybody go? where are famous writings in room 101?

Great to see you again

Hi. Teacher how are you doing to day,great to see you again on the blog, you look tired and I saw you thiner then before I saw you in the class. But I hope you feeling best now. I wish you have a good health.
Teacher, I heard a song and I like it so much but I didn't know that song title but I know the first sentence "From a distance the world looks blue and green..." You know that song Teacher ?
We are miss you, see you in September.

I'm Glad To See You In Video

I am glad to see you in video.
I have seen your two videos. You looked tired in the first video but looked better in the second video.
I only saw the half screen in video on the computers in our classroom, so I suggest that if you can spread the outside borders of the left and right hands of the blog.
I like the songs on blog, especially no. 3 “ Right Here Waiting for You”
Thank you and I wish you getting well day bu day.

Hi! Teacher.
This is Thuong Thi. How are you? How is your summer?. It's been a long time that I didn't see you.
Today It is a lucky day because my computer had been broken for three weeks and It is fixed now, so I have a chance to enjoy the blog .
Then I saw you and another music. Anyway I enjoyed them very much. But my favorite song is '' Right Here Waiting For You''. Sometimes I heard this song somewhere but I didn't know the title. Thank you very much I will love Those song.

Hi teacher

Today I'm very happy to saw you in school, because long time no see you, Teacher, How about your cancer? Do you peck it yet? I saw you feeling best right! I wish you have a good health.We are miss you so much.
Thank you about famous song you send to us, I like it very much. A song "Right Here Waiting" is my famous song, and your video is good I can hear everything you said.
"Teacher",In September you come back to school right.Where do you want to go in August please tell us and show the picture after you go there ok.
I wish you have a good vacation after you come back to school.See you in September.

Video

Check out the video on the right side of the screen.


There is also a short video about Yosemite further down on the right.

Music Player

Your comments are needed!

Tell me which of these songs is your favorite. Also, please suggest songs that you would like me to post on the blog.

Enjoy the summer and keep those comments coming,
Richard

akunamatata

Hi my dear classmate and my teacher MR. richard, I saw your photo I felt very happy and very sorry. you know why I felt sorry becouse I was not enjoy with you i did not get chance to came there i mean i was busy. Any way i wish you to have a very good summer and good luck.

Certificates

Hi,

If you wrote 10 essays and didn't receive a certificate, I probably have it.

Email me at Techtutor@gmail.com and I will make sure you get your certificate.

Have a great summer!
Richard

Picnic Photos

Click for photos of the 2nd Annual Jean Mulligan Neighborhood Centers Picnic at Redwood Regional Park.

Click for more photos of Room 101 Morning students

All the photos were taken by our phtographer extraordinaire, Kai Yan Lok.

Student Suggestions to Improve the Jean Mulligan NC Picnic and BBQ

Here are some notes from our debriefing discussion:

King suggests that we bring a microphone and loudspeaker so that everyone can hear announcements.

Victor suggests that someone should coordinate student volunteers so that everyone that wants to help has a job.

Tania suggests that more activities are needed so that people do more than just eat.

Kai Yan noticed that some schoolmates wasted food and threw it everywhere. He suggests that we talk to all students, in their classes, before the picnic and discuss picnic manners.

Cam Hong suggests dancing. Last night she went to the event at Clinton Park. There was dancing. She wants to dance at next year’s picnic.

Yan Hua also wants more activities. She wants some organized hikes. She would like to explore Redwood Regional Park.

Yan Hua suggests that we put signs (ARC/Shoong, 750) on the buses so that students are not confused.

Victor wants us to tell everyone, before they go to the picnic that there will be “No doggie bags.” “Eat as much as you can, but don’t bring food home.” Some students took sodas, etc. and put them in their backpacks.

Alberto suggests that we tell students to speak more English at the picnic.

Tania suggests that people be told to be careful with the garbage.

Alberto suggests that we talk to students, in classes before the picnic, and tell about how the tradition of the Jean Mulligan Neighborhood Centers Picnic and BBQ started. We should show pictures of Jean and of the tree that we planted in her honor.

King suggests that student volunteers work in pairs at each table. One person would keep an eye on the table and the other would keep the food refilled. This would control waste. Students could sign up for 1 hour shifts.

Kai Yan suggests that we take photographs of each class. Perhaps each class could have a class blanket area.

A Manager Of A Restaurant

Last Sunday night, our family attended a wedding. It was my cousin’s elder son wedding.
My cousin and her husband were very cheerful. Because this was the first time, she and her husband are a mother-in-law and father-in-law.
In the wedding, bridegroom’s clothes were very casual. He didn’t wear a necktie and his hair was in a mess. But his younger brother, Andrew, his clothes was clean and tidy. And he wore a necktie. He looked young and vigorous.
When some of guests were coming, a manager of the restaurant appeared in front of Andrew. The manager shook Andrew’s hand and said, “Bridegroom. Congratulations!” Andrew replied immediately, “No, no, not I. He is really bridegroom.” Andrew pointed at his elder brother. All people were laughing and the manager was very embarrassing.

MAYBE THIS IS BETTER!!

HELLO! It`s me one more time,because I tried to correct my other blog.Maybe is boring but this is for practice my write.

I was tell you, went I write some time,but I never had a god luck,because I could`t be publish that.

The titles for my blogs is;
MY FAMILY IN MEXICO.
MOTHER`S DAY.
MY BIRTHDAY.
I A GODMOTHER.
QUESTION FOR POLICE MAN?
FUNNY EXPERIENCES FOR MY HUSBAND`S FAMILY.

Well wish this time you can read my blog,help me to correct my mistake.and I continue to type god blog.

I LUCK TODAY?

HELLO! CLASSMATE I whis this time,I have a good luck,becose I wreti some most time but never can publish my blogs.Before I tallyou about my family in Mexico,other time is aboute mother`s day,nex is for my bithday,other is went I was a godmother,the last is whent I remember funy experiences for my husba`s family.Well hope this time you can reading my blog ,help me to correct my mistake.and I to continue to type a god blog.Bye

A laugh

A Laugh

A Story by Yan Hua Yang

In China, many years ago, my husband, my son and I went to Jilin City to visit our family for the Chinese New Year holiday.

When we arrived at my husband’s home, his sisters, brother and their clans had already come together to celebrate the holiday. We had a big dinner. After we finished that dinner, we talked with everyone, and we enjoyed the delicious tea.

We asked each other, “How are you?” “How about your health?” “How about your job?” and “How is your family?”

My husband spoke with a six years old boy named Xuefeng. He is my husband’s brother’s son.

My husband asked him, “How are you?”

The boy answered, “I am good.”

“Did you go to school this year?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Did you take the test at the end of this term?”

“Yes, I did”

“How many students in your class?”

“There’re more than forty students.”

“What number did you make in your class?” (In China, they rank all the students after the test. The best student is number one.)

“Six,” Xuefeng answered.

“Six? You didn’t do too badly!” my husband said.

“Counting from the back” Xuefeng looked at the floor and spoke softly.

Everybody had a big and long laugh.

Keyboard Symbols and Punctuation Marks Quiz

Take this quiz to review keyboard symbols and punctuation marks.

About Present Perfect Tense

Hi, classmates, recently our teacher, Richard, taught us about the present perfect tense. I felt that it was not easy to make use of the present perfect. So, I wrote down some examples of sentences for my understanding and reviewing. Our teacher made corrections for me. And he asked me to post those sentences on the blog. I thought, if it is helpful for our classmates, I am willing to post it.


Present Perfect Tense

Subject + have (has) + past participle

Usages:
1, recent past action that is important now. (Just, already)
2, past experience, indefinite (now) past time. (How many times, ever, never)
3, past experience (past action or situation) that continues now. (Since, for)
4, with yet.
5, with a superlative.
6, with “the first”, “the third”, etc.
7, repetition of an action.

Examples:
Usage 1:
Key words: just, already.
1, I’ve just gotten up.
2, I’ve already bought one. I don’t need two.
3, Taame has just learned that his friend is alive.
4, Susan has just gotten back from China. She told me that she had a great time.

Key words: finish, realize, come cook, take, run.
Sam: I have just cooked some spaghetti. Would you like some?
Dean: No, thanks. I have just (means recently) finished eating lunch.
Pete: Hey, the next time you go to the post office, would you pick something up for me?
Gwen: It’s too bad you didn’t ask me sooner. I have just come back from there.
Keith: Can you give me a ride to the store now?
Jim: I’m sorry, but my car has just run out of gas.

Woman: Excuse me, sir. Has flight 663 left yet?
Man: Yes, it has already taken off. Why do you ask?
Well, I’ve just realized that I have left my carry-on bag on the plane.

Usage 2:
Key words: How many times, ever, never.
1: “Have you ever gone there?”
“No, I’ve never gone there, but my uncle has traveled there many times.”

Key words: Have, think, hear, study, eat, be.
Emily: Have you ever eaten tempura?
Laura: No, I haven’t. What is it?
Emily: It’s a Japanese dish. It’s fried vegetables or fried fish.
Laura: Really, I have never heard of it.
Emily: You should try it. It’s delicious.




Vic: Have you ever studied a foreign language? (Present Perfect – indefinite)
Carl: Yes, I studied French when I was in college. (Past – definite)
Vic: Have you ever had a chance to use it? I mean, have you ever been (traveled) to France?
Carl: Unfortunately no. I have never traveled (have never been) a broad.

Ben: I’m sorry I’m late, but I had car trouble again this morning.
Jean: Why do you keep that old car? Have you ever thought about getting a new one?
Ben: Sure, I’ve thought about it many times, but I have never had (don’t have) enough money to buy one.

Usage 3:
I have been studying (Perfect continuous) here for two years.
I have studied here for two years, but I’m going to go to Laney this summer

Use Since with a beginning date or time (yesterday, 2:00 am, 1993).
Use for with a period or length of time (2 weeks, 1 minute, 3 years, decade)
I live in Oakland. (Present Tense)
I moved here five years ago. (Past Tense)
I moved there in 2002. (Past Tense)
I have lived in Oakland for five years. (Present Perfect Tense)
I have lived there since 2002. (Present Perfect Tense)

Apples are on sale. The sale started on Monday.
The apples have been on sale since Monday.

Cam owns a BMW. She bought it in 2001.
Cam has owned a BMW since 2001.

We know the mayor. We met him ten years ago.
We have known the mayor for ten years.

I began to work at this office two years ago. I still work here.
I have worked at this office for two years.

Henry has a huge house. He bought it when he moved here.
Henry has owned a huge house since he moved here.


Keith plays tennis. He learned how to play in 2003.
Keith has played tennis since 2003.
Keith has played tennis for 4 years.


Usage 4:
1, Ben always eats dinner at 7:00 pm. It’s 6:45 now.
Ben hasn’t eaten dinner yet.
2, The weather report predicted rain for today. The sky is dark, but the ground is dry.
The rain hasn’t fallen yet.
It hasn’t rained yet.
3, The monitor says the plane will arrive in 10 minutes. The plane is still in the air.
The plane hasn’t arrived yet.
The plane hasn’t landed yet.
According to the monitor, the plane hasn’t landed yet.
4, We are all very hungry. The stew is on the stove. It needs to cook some more.
The stew hasn’t finished cooking yet.
5, I wanted to speak with Dr. Adams yesterday, but I didn’t have time. I need to speak to him.
I haven’t spoken with Dr. Adams yet.
6, The big game is tomorrow. I forget to buy my ticket this morning. I need a ticket.
I haven’t bought my ticket yet.

Usage 5:
1, Key words: long, trip, take.
That was the longest trip that I have ever taken.
2, Key words: good, mojito, drink.
That was the best mojito (that) I have ever drunk.
3, Key words: expensive, car, drive.
It was the most expensive car I have ever driven.
4, Key words: delicious, meal. Eat.
That was the most delicious meal I have ever eaten.
5, Key words: beautiful, flower, see.
It was the most beautiful flower I have ever seen.
6, Key words: expensive, shirt, buy.
This is the most expensive shirt I have ever bought.
7, Key words: busy, day, have.
It was the busiest day I have ever had,
8, Key words: fun, movie, see,
It was the funniest movie I have ever seen.
9, Key words: hard, time, experience.
That was the hardest time I have ever experienced.
10, Key words: bad, day, have.
Yesterday was the worst day I have ever had.

Usage 6:
1, This is the second time that you have given me yesterday’s paper.
2, It’s the third day that I have seen Frank and Tony, but I still have trouble remembering
their names.
3, that is the fourth time that you have dropped a ball in this game. Are you trying to set a
new record?

Usage 7:
Paolo: Yeah, it’s crazy. We’ve had six tests so far this month. (Key words: six…so far)
Weiping: You know, in my biology class, the teacher has given only one test this semester.
(Key words: one…this semester)
Maybe so, but I’ve had a lot of classes like that here. (Key words: a lot)

People make a mistake sometimes

When I was in my country, I didn't like to study English.
But I don't why I didn't like it to study
Al thought the people in my country use English as their second language I didn't like to study.
My mother was advancing me to study English, but I didn't take her advance.

Sometimes I remember her advance.
when I was in my country, I learned Arabic language.
but know
sometimes I said to my self ''why you don't study English instead you studied Arabic language.''

any way I am happy know because, I have marvelous teacher.
I am happy to my self. If I say one correct English word, because English is not my first language, and I have been studding English a few months
When I came this school I was like deaf people I couldn't understand one word.Thank you teacher I did what you requested to me I wrote ten stories on the blog.

By:Sadia Nur

My last day Of the school

Hey,classmates
Today was my last day of the School.
tomorrow morning I am goingto fly to Is to visit my family. I will comeback to Oakland September
I am sorry because I miss the picnic.

Iwill miss all my classmates, and my teacher also I will miss room 101.
Thank you teacher for your helping.

By:Sadia Nur

The bully guy

One month ago, I went to Berkeley with my friend. We took a bus there. We waited for the bus for about for a long time. After about thirty minutes the bus came and we got on.

The bus was almost full so we couldn’t sit together. I sat next to an Asian guy. After a few minutes a black guy came up, and said to the Asian guy, ''Stand up and find another seat!''

The Asian guy stood up quickly and found another seat. When the black guy sat next to me, I was scarred. I worried about my English because my English isn't very good. Sometimes I can't understand the people.

After a few minutes, he asked me, ''Are you from Africa?''

I answered, “Yes.”

He said, “Me, too. I am from Africa, too.”

After that he took out a small knife. I asked, ''What is that?''

'He answered, “It's a knife.'' '

I said, “I see but what are you going to do with it.''

He answered, ''Nothing, but sometimes I use it to kill people.”

While we were talking the bus stopped and the Asian guy got off. Before he got off he said a bad word to the black people. Then all then black guys got off the bus. The Asian guy didn't run so the black guys caught him quickly. The black guys beat the Asian guy and then the police came.

By Sadia Nur

.

My biggest mistake in my life

Last year I visited my aunt. She lived in Kenya. My aunt was living in an apartment building. She lived downstairs. In her apartment building there were some very rude girls. The girls were from my country, but they had grown up in Kenya.
.

Every night when we tried to sleep they were noisy. One night they made a lot of noise. I went upstairs to their apartment and knocked on their door.

One girl opened the door. When I tried to speak to her in my language, she laughed at me. She spoke to me in the Kenyan language . After I went back to my aunt’s apartment, they were noisy again. I couldn't sleep all that night.

The next night, they did the same thing. They made a lot of noise, just like night before. I went back up to their to the girls’ apartment. One girl spoke to me in Somali, my language. We said many bad words to each other.

While we were talking, another girl spoke in another language. Then she said '' I will kill you'' in Somali. When she raised her hand to her head. I thought that she was going to hit me, so I smacked her. I thought to myself, ''Smack her before she smacks me!” I didn't know she is only trying to scratch her hair.

That was the biggest mistake in my life, but it was an accident.

By:Sadia Nur

English drive me crayz

S

Sometimes English drives me crazy.

Last Saturday I heard one new word on TV. That word was [appreciate]]

Then I wanted to memorize that word. I went to the mirror to practice the word. While I was talking to myself in the mirror, my brother saw me, but he didn't come into my room. He saw me but he didn't interrupt me. He went back to the living room

What happened was that when my brother saw me he thought that I was not OK. He thought I was going crazy.

All that day, my brother treated me in a different way. He asked me many questions. At night, after dinner, he asked me, ''Sadia, what was going on with you this morning. Why were you talking to yourself''

I laughed and then I explained it to him.

By: Sadia Nur

I understand little

Thanks, teacher Richard, for helping us to review the present perfect tense.

Now, I understand a little more about it. The present perfect tense has seven usages:

#1. Recent past action that is important now
#2. past experience indefinite past time
#3. Past experience that continues now
#4. With yet
#5. With a superlative
#6. With “the first”, “the third”
#7. repetition of on action

We have already reviewed usage number one. The key words are just and already.

Usage number two key wards are ever, never, and many times.

Usage number three key wards are for and since.

My Last Vacation

I took my last vacation to China in September, 2006. I went to China earlier than I had planned, because my mom passed away. I arrived in China 40 days after my mom died.

My whole family came together in remembrance of her. I felt very sad that week.

One week later, I left Jilin, my mom’s hometown, and traveled to my home in Chang Chun. I made a round trip between both cities a total of three times in that month. I was very busy on my last vacation, and also I did a lot of things.

I bought a new house in China. I met my good friends at one of my friend’s home. We remembered a lot of interesting stories from when we were young. One of my friend’s husband asked me a lot of questions.

“How do you make a living in America?”

“Is there really freedom in the United States?”

“Is it safe to live in America?”

“How do you study English?”

“Why did the United States send its army to Iraq?

My friend’s husband is a sport teacher in college. Their daughter is a teacher, too. She is teaching English in a different college. That day all of my friends made me very happy.

So, I felt different on my last vacation.

The Foolish Man

There once was a foolish man. His name was Ahmed.

Ahmed worked in a store. Ahmed wasn't a smart man, he was also a coward.

One day he went out and he saw a fat man carrying a guitar.

Ahmed wasn't too smart so he thought the guitar was a big knife.

He said to himself, ''This man lives in town and I am working in the store maybe someday in the future he is going to go to the store and kill me. I have to do something to protect myself.''

He went back to the store and took all the money and he also took a knife to protect himself. He wrote a letter to the owner of the store.

He wrote, ''I am going to go home. Don't follow me. If you follow me I will kill you.''

When he arrived home, he said to his wife, ''Today, somebody tried to kill me. Maybe that person is going to follow me here. You have to listen to me carefully. I am going to hide under the bed. If anybody comes to house, and asks you where your husband is, tell them that I am dead.”

“If he asks you when I died, tell him that I died yesterday. I am going to listen to you so don't make any mistakes!''

His wife said, “OK.”

After a while, two men knocked on Ahmed's door. His wife opened the door.

The men asked, “Where is your husband?”

She answered, “He is dead.”

The men asked, “When did he die?”

She said, “The day before yesterday.''

When Ahmed heard her say “The day before yesterday” he yelled and said ''No! No! Say yesterday Say yesterday''

Then the men heard him and came into the room but Ahmed killed his self with the knife before the men could reach him.

Before he died, he said, ''A coward dies twice.''

By:Sadia Nur.

Grammar Suggestion

The Grammar book almost finished. last week a teacher Richard Blum requested students to write on the blog Their suggestion.

So I am goingto write here my suggestion

My idea is why we don't review present prefect.
That tense is difficult for me. I can understand when the people using but I can't use when I am speaking.

Iwould like to review that tense.If some my classments and my teacher agree with me that idea.


By:Sadia Nur






;

New Experiment

Click here to try this new experiment.

I am trying to find a way to add more multimedia to our blog.

Hi, Classmates

My name is Taame. I am going to write a story on the blog today.

Look for it!

A Funny Story

A Funny Story

Hi, teacher, today I have a funny story I want to tell everyone.

This morning, my friend and I went to San Francisco, Chinatown by BART. When we were on the BART, my friend saw a woman reading a story in a magazine. She was reading a Chinese magazine. My friend was very surprised because she was a black woman.

My friend asked her, "Excuse me ! Are you Chinese?"

She said "No, I'm not. I'm Vietnamese."

My friend was very very surprised and said, "But I saw you reading a Chinese magazine and you are a black woman."

She smiled and said, "I was born in Vietnam but my Dad was a black man. He was American and my mom was Chinese. We lived in Vietnam that is why I'm Vietnamese.

She is a black woman but she knows a lot of Chinese words. She said she understood everything in the magazine.

The Dress Of Lace

A few weeks ago. I called my friend and she told me this story. She is from Kenya, Africa.

She told me about her first day in school when she came U.S.A.

She said:

I was fifteen years old when I came to the U.S.A. but the schools were closed for the summer vacation.

A few weeks before school started, my aunt, my uncle, and some of my dad's friends came to visit us, and they brought a lot of presents. I was surprised when I found clothing in one of boxes.

The clothes were nice but ordinary. They weren't special or fancy except for one dress. It was a dress of lace. There was lace surrounding the neck and the sleeves and lace on the bottom. I was very happy when I saw this dress.

On the first day of school I wanted to look my best and impress the other students. I wanted them to make friends with me, so I put on my fancy dress of lace.

When I got to school, all the students stared at me. They were laughing and saying something in English. I didn't know why they were doing this. I thought that maybe they had never seen an African girl in a dress before or that they wanted to make friends with me but were too embarrassed to come over.

In the classroom, an American teacher spoke to me in English and pointed at my dress, but I didn't know what she was saying so I just smiled. The whole morning she didn't let me walk around or stand up. I had to sit all the way in the last row in the back of the room. During lunch, when all the others students had gone, a teacher from Kenya came into the room. The minute she saw me she spoke in my language. She told me that I shouldn't wear a nightgown to school, that American only wear nightgowns to sleep in!

I was so embarrassed that I almost burst into tears. That morning, when I left home, I thought I looked good but I didn't. Instead, I embarrassed myself on my first day of school. I felt like not going to school anymore.

This embarrassment taught me not to try to impress others or I might end up making a fool out of myself. I also learned the difference between a fancy dress and a nightgown!

Immigration Questions

I will try to write some questions here about immigration. I hope you can understand my questions.

1.What are our immigrant rights?

2. Sometimes I hear people say ICE, but I don't know what that means.
So what does ICE means?

3. What do the letters ICE stand for?

4. If I am walking on the street and the Immigration Police stop me, and ask me some question, do I have to answer their questions or not?

5. If the immigration police come to my home, and knock on my door should I open the door?

6. If the Immigration police arrest me, and request me to sign some paper, what should I do?

7. What does the Immigration Service do?

Thank you teacher for this chance to ask these important questions.

Review Grammar

We almost have finished all the grammar units, and the teacher asked all the students to suggest what we would like to review in grammar.

In my opinion, why don't we concentrate on adjectives and adverbs?

I know that an adjective describes a noun, but sometimes I get confused about adverbs.

About Review

The spring term is almost done. We only have three more weeks to study English in this term.

Teacher Richard asked the whole class, “What grammar do you want to review?”

Some students wanted to review the past tense. Somebody wanted to review the irregular past tense verbs.

I want to review the present perfect tense because I know what that tense means. I understand it when I read it or hear it used, but I can’t use it correctly when I write or speak.

So, I hope we can review the present perfect tense.

Thank you!

My First Dream Came True

When I was in my country. My dream was to come U.S.A
Everynight I was dreaming my Father and my brothers and America.


When I was in my Country I heard people sayin A merica there are not poor people or homeles everybody is rich.

so I had wrong Idea to America when somebody said to me America isnot what you think.
I always got ungry and said to person don't tell me anything I will see there one day in the future. Although there were some of my family Idid'nt believe them when they said to me there are many Homeless, and poor people Ididn't beliene them.

But I was sure my dream will come true.
Idon't know why I was sure, but my heart and my mind was telling me that.
When I got visa I got stomachache Ididn't believe.

When they said to me you are goint to go tomorrow I didn't believe until I got in the airplane.
when I got in the airplane I began to worry, and said to my self ''Sadia maybe you are gionto die in the airplane maybe you arenot gionto see America and your family.

But I came When I came Idon't believe my eyes!

I saw many cars on the highway and the road. on the otherside, the street were dirty.
some buildings were broken. some people were drunk they made noise in the street.
A couple of homeless men were lying on the Street.
that was what my eyes don't believe.


The things my eyes believe were
the supermarket were bright and clean. the fruit, vegetable, and meals were fresh you can buy anything you want.

anyway I like this country But I don't know why That was my first dream.
Know I will find out the scond dream


By; Sadia Nur

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat is one of the most famous world heritage sites. It's a temple that is located in Cambodia, and was built in 12th century.

My wife and I traveled to Cambodia by airplane from Thailand. We were backpacking for a month. When we got to the airport in Phnom Phen we didn't have the local currency so we had to change our money to Cambodian dollars. We didn't know the currency rate when we changed 300 US dollars. Guess how much local money we got? About 1 million dollars. It could not fit in our wallet. We were shocked to be millionaires!

On the first day in Siem Riep, we took a tuk tuk tour around Angkor Wat. We saw the amazing architecture in the jungle. It's incredible!

We decided to ride bikes on the next day to look at the intricate carvings.

Posted by Long Sheng at 9:27 PM

Hi, Classmates

This is my first post.

I will be posting a story soon.

A Warning

A Warning
by Yan Hua Yang

We learned about many kinds of crimes in the last three weeks. Some crimes were carefully planned, but sometimes people didn’t know that they were disobeying the law until a policeman gave them a warning, Once, I broke the law, but it wasn’t intentional.

Four years ago, the Beijing WuShu team came to Berkeley to perform at about 10:00 at night. After watching the performance, I drove our car to go home with my husband.

I had been driving for about five minutes when I saw a police car following us. I didn’t want the police car to follow me, so I drove slowly and turned down a side street. But the police car still followed my car. I stopped my car. The policeman came to my car, and he said “Do you have car lights?”

At that time, my English was very bad. I didn’t understand what he was saying. I thought he wanted to see my driver’s license. I gave my driver’s license to him, then I got a ticket. He told me that I had to go to court the next day in the morning. I didn’t go the next day. I was very lucky; the police man dropped my case.

I remembered this well and never broke the law again.

The Difference of Culture

Al is one of my neighbors. He is an American. He is a kind person. He has a black dog named Shirley.

Sometimes I meet Al with his dog when I come back home. Recently I noticed that his dog was getting fatter day by day.

One day, when my elder son and I were picking up the groceries from the trunk of my car. Al walked past my house with his dog Shirley. Of course, we had a chat. I remember that we needed to change talking topics after I said, “Al, your dog is too fat.”

I just had hoped he would put his dog on a diet. Al misunderstood me. He frowned and he looked unhappy. And it made me feel embarrassed.
I didn’t understand why Al was unhappy. In Kwangtong, China, there is a saying “The master who owns a thin dog should feel shame.”

Later, I understand the word “Fat” has a bad connotation.

Shall I Compare Thee to a Summers Day

Shall I compare thee to a summers day
Sonnet 18
William Shakespeare

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed.
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;
Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st,
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Hawaii

I left for our vacation in Hawaii on Wednesday. My son treated our whole family because it was my daughter's birthday.

We had to change flights. First we went to Honolulu then we switched flights and ended up in Kona. It was beautiful. The weather was a steady 84 degrees the whole trip. We could wear a t-shirt and shorts and be comfortable even at night. We stayed at the Fairmont Orchid; a four star hotel. The beach was a 2 minute walk from my hotel room.

My son taught me how to swim and we went snorkeling. We attended luaus at night and had buffet breakfast and lunches every day. One night we went out for dinner and got lost. Hawaii has no street lights or signs. We drove around for 1 hour when the restaurant was only 13 miles from our hotel. It was so scary. I thought we would never get back. Hawaii was my favorite vacation, I was sad when we left. I want to go back next year.

A Big Protest

Yesterday, May First, there was a big march. It went down International Boulevard. The purpose of this demostration was to support all the illegal immigrants who live in this country (U.S.A.)

When the morning class was over, some of the students went outside the school to wait for the protest. Just a few minutes later, the big demonstration passed by the school.

Veronica and I decided to join them. We said, "Just for a few blocks." We kept going until we were in front of the City Hall, where the demonstration finished.

I have never been in a protest before. I think it is very important to do it when we want something to change, like this big march. If all the illegal immigrants really want to have the oportunity to work and be treated fairly in this country, they should have joined this protest.

One Of My Dreams

Last night, I had a strange dream.

In the dream, I met a Mexican couple. The husband spoke to me in fluent Cantonese. Cantonese is my mother tongue. He told me that they have been in the United States for just a half year . As I was wondering why he could speak such fluent Cantonese, I woke up from the dream.

I wondered why I had this strange dream. Oh! I knew why. I remembered a story that I heard in our class.

Do you remember when Mei Mei told us about her dream. She said that in her dream she spoke fluent English. The teacher said, “You have reached your goal! When you dream in English, it means that your English skills are much improved.”

My dream meant that my English has not improved.

Understanding that, I went back to sleep.

OCCUPATIONAL HABITS

A Ticket Seller

She was a ticket seller on the bus. One day, she and her husband came home. When they arrived in front of their door, she opened the door, entered her house, and closed the door quickly. Her husband was still standing outside.

Her husband knocked at the door and shouted, “I didn’t come in. Open the door!”

His wife answered, out of habit, “You, take the next bus!”

An Officer Leader

An officer leader received a telegram. The message in the telegram was “Mother has died. Father is seriously sick. Come back quickly!”

As the officer leader read,he was so overwhelmed with grief that he hardly wished to live. He cried.

He was accustomed to signing telegrams with the short message “agree”

When the post officer saw return paper, he was very surprised. The paper was signed “agree”.

The Police

A policeman and a friend went hunting. Suddenly the policeman saw a Sitka deer. He moved around quietly behind it. He lifted his gun and shouted, “Don’t move! Lift your hands up. I will shoot you if you move!”

Meifang

The crying woman: A Mexican Superstition

Albero Ortega Servin

The Crying Woman (La LLorona): A Mexican Legend

The Crying Woman is a story about a ghost woman who wanders the streets of cities in search of her children. This legend not only scares children, but also adults.

A beautiful young society woman was married to a poor man. He was not rich, but he was good, responsible and loving.

He loved his wife. He knew that his wife was used to comfortable life with many servants. He worked without rest to be able to satisfy the economic desires of his wife. She felt content but she was wasteful.

This story is famous in Mexico because people tell it to scare children. They had 4 children. The children were educated by the servants. The mother had parties with her friends. One day, her husband became sick and he died.

The widow was left without a penny. She was responsible for the children. They needed to eat. She sold the furniture, and then she sold her jewels. Finally, one day she had nothing left to sell. She had never worked in her life. She worried about her children.

One day she told her children that they were going on a picnic near the river. The children were very happy, because this was the first time that their mother had brought them on a picnic.

When they arrived at the river, mother took each child down from the wagon and threw them into the water one by one.

The children couldn’t swim. They waved for help with their little hands. They were drowning, but she watched them with indifference. She got back in her wagon and left that place moving like a robot.

How the devil takes soul! She felt remorse and she returned to the place of the crime, but it was useless. The children had gone to a better life. When she realized that her children were dead, she threw herself in the river. Now, four children and one woman floated in the river.

The legend says that La LLorona rises from her grave at midnight. She cries because of her misfortunes. It is also said that La LLorona wanders the city in her wagon in search of her dead children. At midnight you can hear the sound of the chains of her wagon.

Also legend says that La LLorona screams and shouts at midnight. She asks, “Where are my children”

People say that she passes through the streets at midnight and under the light of the moon. People swear that this lady passes on her wagon pulled by wild horse. Some say that she is wearing a dark dress, while other people say that she is wearing a white dress. Everyone agrees that she is searching for her children.

A Frustated Examination

Hi there!

I am going to take a few minutes of your time, and I will talk to you about an examination that I have never had.

Well, I still thinking about to leave my actual job. One of the reasons is: I am unhappy with him. I think you are asking to yourself WHY? No class?
I will give you a quickly answer right now: I am unhappy with him, because this is a hard job, I do not want to continue working at nights and I need to go ahead and reach my goals.

O.K. Class, talking about the interview, In January ( this past January) I applied on line for a job at the Alameda County web site.
By February, when I did not have hopes to get the job, I received a letter , and SURPRISE CLASS!! it was a letter from the Alameda County Social Services. They have been approved my application.

Everything was going well at that time, I was happy because they could give me the job, but I was nerves for my English skills too. But I was just waiting for the appointment that they gave me.

I have been applied for a Social Worker Child Welfare position, and I was happy because I have never thought about to reach and pass the first step: THEY REVIEWED MY APPLICATION, AND APPROVED IT FOR THE NEXT STEPS ( and one of the next steps was an examination)

Sometimes, we do not see clear somethings that are obviously clear. The examination day, I was mad with myself, but at the same time, I was laughing of myself. Why? well, for the simple reason that I was not intelligent.

I say I was not intelligent, because when I went to the office to get the examination, I arrived on time, I was wearing for the occasion, I had my transcripts with me ( because they were asking for my transcripts too) and finally, I thought, I had everything in order. But I made a big mistake: They were asking me for my transcripts in English, and I had them with me but in their original version, in Spanish. And how you know, we are in United States, and logically, they could be asking for a translation of them in English.

I felt terrible, when the person who was ready to give me the examination, told me: I am so sorry Mrs. Lopez, But you can not get the examination today, because we need a translation or an equivalence of your transcripts and your diploma first. She gave me some web pages and told me that I will need to apply with them for the evaluation of my transcripts.

Oh my God! I was really sad and mad with myself that day.

At the moment, I still waiting to get the application and send everything to one of that institutions, and after I will need to take some courses to finally get the evaluation.

And that is the big reason because I lost the examination.

I think I was not ready to take it, and I hope to get the job in the future. And I will always say, that the better way to reach our goals, is being optimistic, and do not dishearten although the doors close. We could be lucky some day, and find one of this doors open.

Day by day we learn of our mistakes, and in this matter, I learned a lot.
An advise class: always, when you fill out an application, and if they call you for an interview or an examination, do not forget about to ask for everything, until it is clear in your mind.

Peng! peng!

Peng! Peng!

by Yan Hua

An old man was a house owner. His house was divided into two flats. He lived alone in the downstairs flat. He felt very lonely. The upstair apartment was empty, so, he wanted to rent it to somebody.

One day, a young man wanted to rent the old man’s upstairs apartment. The young man asked the old man “I come home every night very late, is that ok?”

The old man said, “Okay! No problem!”

On his first day in the old man’s home, the young fellow arrived home after work in the middle of the night. The old man was already sleeping. The young man tip toed to his room He took off his left boot - peng! The heavy boot fell down on the wood floor, then, peng! The second one fell down, too – peng!

The old man woke up suddenly. He didn’t know what had happened. He couldn’t get back to sleep again.

For three nights, at the same time, the same thing happened. Now, the old man knew what was happening. He knew the sound came from the young man’s boots.

The next day, in the morning, the old man told to the young man, “Please, put down your boots on the floor gently. Be quiet in the middle of the night.”

The young man apologized to the old man, and he promised to remember.

That night, the old man still didn’t go to sleep before the young man came home. When the young man finally arrived home, he took off his left boot - peng! The boot fell down and made a loud noise. Suddenly, the young man remembered.

“Oh! I’m sorry, I forgot!” he told himself, and then, he put down other one very quietly.

The old man only heard the first peng! So, he waited for the second peng! After a long time, he didn’t heard it. The old man got angry. He ran upstairs and he knocked on the door.

He said very loudly, “Please, put down your second one boot quickly!”

The young man said “I already did.”

Hi, Classmates

Hello, how are you?

Simret, I hope you feel better.

I will write a story soon.

I promise!

Hi, Classmates

My name is Hang Kit.

I will write you a story soon.

Please help me get used to using this blog.

Haven't Wear Clothe's Chicken

A month ago, l read a story in a Chinese newspaper. The title was "Haven't Wear Clothes Chicken". Now I am going to tell my classmates this story.

A man, who was a foreign student in China, went to a poultry market. He wanted to buy a chicken to cook for dinner. He spoke Chinese to a seller at the market.

He said, "I want to buy a haven't wear clothes woman chicken.” He pointed to a girl and said “Same like her."

When the workers heard this, all of them burst into laughter. A worker said: "I know you want chicken whose feathers have been plucked."

In China people classify people as men or women. They classify animals as male or female. The foreign student was embarrassed and hung down his head. The workers didn't see him blush because his face was very black. He was a black man.

Meifang

Picking Grapes with An American

I was married in Moldova to an American woman in August. We stayed in Moldova for a few months after we were married to help my family collect and gather crops such as corn, potatoes, and grapes. Wine is very traditional in Moldova. Most Moldovan families have their own house wine which means that they all have land that they grow grape vinyards on. When my family started to gather grapes my new wife helped for the first time and thought it would be fun. We woke up at 6AM, ate a bowl of chicken soup and drank a small glass of wine. My wife thought that eating chicken soup and drinking a little wine in the morning was strange and all she could eat was some bread and butter. After breakfast we went to the vinyards. It was very cold in the morning and my wife had to wear 5 layers of clothes. She even had two pairs of gloves on! We started picking and gathering the grapes the baskets. It is very hard, physical work. After about 4 or 5 hours we all took a break and had a picnic together. After lunch we picked grapes for about 3 or 4 more hours. After our hard day of work we all went home and my mother cooked us all dinner. We do this day after day until we harvest all of the grapes. My wife said that she was so tired and sore after the first day. She could not believe that we do this for many days in a row. She also said that she could not believe that my 60-year-old mother was able to do this physical work, she said that most Americans do not do this kind of physical work ever in their lifetime. Although it was not as fun as she thought it would be, my wife is very happy that she had the opportunity to help my family and she is happy that she was able to have the different experience.

Hi class

My name is Simret. How is spring break?
Ni Spring Break ,i read book story of Beetles & Angels, his name is mawi he home lands of Eritrea and Ethiopia this story form 19 61 t0 1991 Eritrea became an idepenent nationin 1993.Mawi with his family went Sudan camp 19 80 to 19 83 then his famliy went chicago U,A left he gradution from Harvard.
I love this stroy
This Simret keleta.

Our teacher, Mr. Richard’s vacation

Our teacher, Mr. Richard’s vacation

Our teacher, Mr. Richard’s Vacation

Teacher Richard, welcome back to our class after your four week vacation. We are very, very sorry that. nobody wrote any essays on the blog during your four weeks vacation, but we had good reasons.

We perfer you to edit our essays in the classroom than for you to edit them by computer. And, some of us don’t know how to print the edited essays and the unedited essays by ourselves. But the most important reason was that we were very busy learning about medicines with Teacher Linda and Teacher Anna during your vacation.

In March, everyday we learned about pills and tablets and their dosage. We discussed drops and why they are used only for eyes and ears. We learned that ointments are for external use. Medicines can cause side effects like drowsiness and nausea. We need to carefully look at the expiration date of medicines before taking them.

Welcome back! I think every classmate of mine will write many essays on the blog. You will be very busy editing them. I think you had better save prepare a lot of energy to edit our essays or you will have to limit each student to only write a single essay (a joke).

Three Pictures

I had taken three pictures from our teacher Richard Blum and his lovely dog Ciga on January 24th this year.
I post these three pictures on blog today. I hope Richard likes the pictures.
I like dogs, But I have many things to learn. I have not enough time to take care of them. Especially, I don’t want to see their sickness. So, I don’t want to own any one.
Excuse me, Richard. I have tried to upload the photos four times in the defferent day. But the blog showed up the "No photo available". I don't know why. I think I need your help.

Welcome Back to Our Teacher

Next Monday our teacher is going to be back with us. We’re very happy and looking forward to see him again. We all like him because he is an intuitive teacher. He knows what we need and what we dream. He lets us practice to tell stories. While we’re telling stories he helps students to make the stories clearly. He is a very patient teacher.

Everyday we have three hours to study in class. He makes us to do many thing such as telling stories, a pair of conversation, learning grammar and write stores at home. In addition he still have time to correct essays for students in class. We do the same like this everyday. We have many things to learn from him.

My class is the highest level in school so that we stay in this class for a few years with him, but we still like the way of his teaching because he always helps students to reach their goals.
After his vacation, we hope he will bring us a miracle technical to teach and help us how to reach to American dream, that is Speak English Fluently.

A Strand Of Keys

My youngest son came back home after work one evening near the end of last year. He opened the front door and came into the living room. He picked up something from under the coffee table and went out quickly. I wondered what happened to my younger son. I went out after him.

When I opened the door, I saw my neighbor, Mrs. Mohammad, her two young daughters and my son. They were looking for something around the bushes in front of my opposite neighbor’s house.

Mrs. Mohammad and her two daughters looked anxious. My son told me that they were looking for their keys.

Mrs.Mohammad’s two daughters had been playing in the street when their mother asked for the key to the her front door. The oldest daughter threw a strand of keys to her mother. Unfortunately, the keys flew over the bushes then dropped somewhere. They could not find the keys.

At that time, my son had just arrived home and saw what happened. He wanted to help them, so he took the flashlight from under the coffee table to help them look for the missing keys.

Once I understood what was happening, I took out two big flashlights and joined them.

We checked the bushes from top to bottom, one by one. We could not find the keys. It was getting darker. Mrs. Mohammad said, “It is difficult to find them. Please don’t worry about them now. Thank you for your help.” She returned home to cook dinner.

Before we gave up looking, the older sister saw the keys lying on the ground between the post of the house and a bush. She picked up the keys, raised them over her head and shouted, “Mama, I got them!” Then, she and her sister rushed into their house to show their mom.

Although my son and I did not find the keys ourselves, we felt happy, because we had helped our neighbors.

Travel to Vancouver

Hello Classmates,

On March 28, I went on vacation for 3 days to Vancouver, Canada. I met up with my friend that I haven't seen for approximately 40 years. She looks completely different. We stayed at The Hampton Inn in Richmond. The next day we went on a tour of Vancouver City. We went to a couple different parks and Chinatown. It was very big, but everything was more expensive. Tax in Canada is 13%. The day after, we went to Victoria. We drove the whole bus onto the ferry that took us there. It was a 2 hour ferry ride to Victoria from Vancouver. We also went to the Chinatown in Victoria as well as Butchart Gardens. It was the biggest garden I had ever seen. Most of the flowers were in bloom, it was beautiful. Everywhere we went, I saw cherry blossom trees. They are my favorite. This was a great trip. If I have free time, I would definitely make another trip out there. Bye.

Hi again

It is me, Simret.

I wish you a nice day

Hi, class

My name is Simret,

I will write about a book I am reading.

The name is of the book is "Of Beetles & Angels"

No Richard No Stories

Hi, teacher,

Please don’t ask how come? How come we have no stories? As you know you had been a student and you know more than us?

We all right here wait for you. How has your vacation gone? We really want to know about your vacation. Certainly, you have a lot of stories during vacation. Could you post yourself stories on the bog? We prefer to read your stories than we write because English is so difficult for us.

We all study well while you are on vacation. We are very busy because the big test is coming soon and it is very important. That’s why we have no stories for you. Sorry!

We enjoy to read stories of native writer than foreigner writer because we can learn more English.

Whazzzz Up?

How come nobody is posting any stories?

Here is a picture of my son, Alex, in the hayak surf competition in Santa Cruz.

Richard's Last Day

Tomorrow is the last day of our teacher. He is going to take a three week vacation. For sure, we will miss him infinitely because he is an amusing teacher. He always brings a lot of laughter to students.

Our teacher is a very savvy person. He is very good with computers. No one can compare with him. We love and respect him very much because he gives students freedom of speech. Our class is a democracy. Oh, we love it! In addition, he likes to listen to students’ opinion. He is an open teacher.

We are very lucky under his teaching. We all say,“Thank you very much” and we wish him, “Have a good time!” Bye bye!

We all send a thousand of kisses to him.

The Difference Of Culture

Here are some editing suggestions. Sometimes I have to guess what you were thinking, so please ignore the suggestions that do not accurately communicate your meaning. It also gives me a chance to give an example of how the word “connotation” is used.

Al is one of my neighbors. He is an American. He is a kind person. He has a black dog named Shirley.

Sometimes I meet Al with his dog when I come back home. Recently, I noticed that his dog was getting fatter day by day.

One day, when my elder son and I were taking the groceries from the trunk of my car in the garage, Al walked by my house with his dog Shirley. Of course, we had a chat. I remember that we needed to change our topic of conversation after I said, “Al, your dog is too fat.” I had just hoped that he would put his dog on a diet. Al listened to me, but he felt unhappy. And it made me feel embarrassed.

I didn’t understand why Al was unhappy. In Kwangtong, China, there is a saying “The master who owns a thin dog should be feeling shame.”

Later, I learned that the word “Fat” has a bad connotation.

About the "Grandma"

Classmates:
In grammar unit 97, part "D", the fourth sentence:
Could you speak a ( little ) bit ( or a little ) more slowly?
Whether I understand it for being the following?
(1) Could you speak a bit more slowly?
(2) Could you speak a little bit more slowly?
(3) Could you speak a little more slowly?

Imagination

Imagination

Yanhong Li

I'm an ordinary woman. I'm not young anymore, but I still love to imagine a lot. Don't think

that is only a young person’s right. Many different age of people like imagination, because it

makes you feel a lot of different ways. It keeps you young. Imagination doesn't belong among

the 7 intelligences. It's a special one.

I don't like to drive. I prefer to be a backseat driver, because if you drive a car, you have to pay

attention to the road. You can't imagine anything.

I can start imagining anytime and anywhere. For example, when I am listening to the teacher in

our class, when I am looking at you, or when I am walking alone, I can start to imagine.

Sometimes, the imagination is like a story with a beginning and an ending. Sometimes it has no

beginning and no ending, just a part of something. Sometimes it really happens in the real life.

For example, when I was pregnant, I was imagining about my baby's looks: black and dense

hair, pink and round face, big eyes, straightened up nose, and nice lips... I had imagined this so

many times, that I had a clear picture in my mind.

When I really gave birth my son, he looked exactly like the picture in my imagination. It

seemed that I had seen him a thousand times. God gave me a perfect child. That credit should

be completely put on my abundant imagination.

I have different imagining at different times, in different places, during different moods. When

I'm delighted, all of the characters are in a beautiful mood, and the feeling is absolutely

wonderful.

One day, I saw a bird flying alone. I began to imagine that the bird was hungry, but it couldn't

find any food. What a pitiful bird! It lost its mom. A while later, it found its mom. When the bird

grew up, it met a pretty bird. Finally, they got married. At the end, I became a bird, I didn't

need to worry about my language, my life, my future...

On an unhappy day, the bird would die at the end.

Now I'm imagining while I'm writing this composition. I think, if I'm not me, I'm another person,

maybe she will finish writing soon, she will write well, she won't make too many mistakes as I

do. She can speak English fluently. She will be a full-fledged intelligent woman.

At that moment, my husband says,"Don't daydream again. You always think of useless things. If

you want to dream, you had better think about the mega-million number."

I have an abundant imagination, but I can't make a forecast. I spent a lot of time imagining. Let

me do it again. Suddenly, I have the special function. I win this mega-million, a lot of money

comes from the sky...

Human Rights

What do you think of this report from China that criticizes the United States ?

MY BROTHER-IN-LAW'S HOUSE

Last Sunday my family and I went to Los Angeles to visit my oldest brother-in-law. This may have been our last opportunity to see him, because he has had cancer for about 10 years and now he is so weak.

After an hour on the plane, we landed the airport and my niece picked us up. Then she drove us to my brother-in-law’s house. We were six people. Three of us had been to his house before, so we found it easily.

When we arrived there, we didn’t call first, because we didn’t want to bother him too much. We stood in front of his house. It is a beautiful house and my oldest sister-in-law told us that Khoa (the name of my oldest brother-in-law’s son) had just repaired the garden and the side walks a few months ago.

That is right! Because it is a new house and very beautiful. My young brother-in-law, Duc, rang the bell. which was not connected inside the house. And then he opened the gate. My sitter-in-law and I followed him. He knocked on the front door and shouted, “We are here! Please open the door!” But nobody opened the door to welcome us. Then Duc took out his phone up and called my oldest brother in law to ask him to open the door.

At that moment, my sister and I were sitting on chairs at a table and looking at the garden. It had a lot of flowers and candles. Everything was very romantic.

Suddenly we heard my sister-in-law shout; “We are at the wrong house!”

As quickly as possible, we left this house quietly. All of us thought that we were very lucky, because nobody yelled at us or called the police or shot us.

Anyway, we laughed a lot.

News From Changchun City

Check out this news story from Yan Hua's hometown.

Hi, Classmates

My name is Alma.

I am hapy to join you on the blog.

I'll write a story as soon as possible.

Mei Fang, you were right!

You are not good. You are great!

You said that " Eva lived in the US for five years, so she speaks very good English." and you were correct.

Good is an adjective that describes English.

I read the sentence very quickly and made a mistake.