A Great News For Our Classmatess

I have read Cam’s essay which had been posted the day before yesterday.
She said our teacher Richard Blum had promised to edit Cam’s essays continually. I think this is not only a great news for Cam but also for our classmates.
That is right. If we study riding a bicycle, teacher can uphold the seat of the bicycle, pushes the bicycle and balances it behind us, and tells us how to steer for a certain time.We will get to the goal successfully.
But when we just learn to understand balance, teacher lets go of his helping hands, we would fall down badly. We do not know what was wrong. And we would stop learning riding a bicycle forever.
Constantly, I think our classmates start to study writing. We need more help from our teacher. I understand that teacher Richard Blum will spend more time, and works hard for editing our essays.
I appreciate our teacher Richard Blum for this changing.

A Young Girl's Handbag

Few years ago, a Sunday morning, my friend, Ron, went to San Francisco with his wife and their niece. Their niece was eleven years old.
Ron had invited his friend to meet at a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. When Ron drove approaching Chinatown, he discovered many cars had parked along the road sides. He thought that it was no reasons to spend some money to park his car in a garage on Sunday. So he drove through several streets around Chinatown to find the park space. Certainly, he could only park his car on the road side far away from Chinatown.
Before he left his car, he made sure that he had closed all windows and the doors of his car. The seats were very clear except his niece’s handbag. Her handbag was a toy. There was no money inside.
After enjoyed a lunch, they returned to their car. Ron found some broken glasses appeared on the ground near his car. Then he looked up at the window. Oh! left rear small window was broken. He checked the car inside. Only his niece’s handbag disappeared. He felt unlucky and sighed himself.
This story tells us that do not leave anything in the car seat, especially the thing looks like worth. It may attract thieves’ interesting and will cause the meaningless loss.

I Might As Well . . .

Hi, Classmates,

I have enjoyed reading you guys' essays for almost two months. I really like them and would like to share my essays with you from now on. I hope my writing is as good as yours.

In fact, I didn't want to write on the blog again, but our teacher wants me to write and he promises me to edit my essays, so, I might as well write to make him feel happy.

As you know, we are very lucky to have a teacher like Richard. He always works hard on students' essays. Richard is the one who always encourages students to get ahead with their English.

I feel very happy that he is editting my essays again.

A Good News

On Wednesday afternoon, my mom was making a phone call to me while I was studying at school.
She said, "I have a good news for you." I said,"really." She said," Yes, I find a new job as a waitess in the restaurant. I only work four hours a day, but the money is less than the ex-job,but I can cook for the family and I can take care of the family. Do you agree?" I said,"It's up to you. If you don't like to do your ex-job, you can have a try on your new job, but I heart, you have to work very hard in the restaurant, because it has a lot of works to do. If you think you can stand for it, just do it. "She said,"Ok, I want to have a try and now I want to make a phone call to you Dad. Good-bye."I said,"Ok. Good-bye."
After that, I was very happy,because I don't need to cook dinner any more, and I don't have to think about what shall I cook today, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. I think it was really a good news for me and my family.

Planning Our Vacation

My husband, children and I are planning to go to Mexico at Christmas time. We have gone to Mexico in December for the last three years. We always had traveled to Mexico by plane. It is especially expensive to fly at Christmas time. The cost of the tickets can be double during the holiday season.

This time we plan to go to Mexico by car. People who have traveled this way say that we can spend half of the money that we usually pay for airline tickets.

There will be two weeks vacation at my children's school, but we are thinking about asking for an extra week, so we could spend two weeks in Mexico. We can spend the extra week to get there and come back.

We are very excited about our trip to Mexico.

I Quit My Job

Last Sunday was my last day of work at the restaurant.

I quit my job, because that area is not safe. Last Monday, one young guy was killed. Many police came to investigate and to make a report. I saw a lot of blood around the young guy's body. I felt so scared. I decided to quit my job.

A Funny Day

Last Sunday, I went to the park with my cousin, sister and brother. When we arrived there, we went to the basketball playground. We didn't have a basketball. We only had a volleyball, so we decided to use the volleyball as a basketball . We tried to throw the volleyball into the basket. Sometimes it was easy to get it into the basket, but sometimes it was hard.

My cousin asked us to stand a short distance in front of the basket and then to shoot the ball. If the ball didn’t go into the basket, he would help us to throw it into the basket.

We started to play. I was the first one. I threw the ball , fortunately, the ball went into the basket. My cousin was very disappointed, because he could not do what he wanted to do.

The second one was my sister. After she threw the ball, my cousin was very happy, because the ball did not go into the basket. He ran and caught the ball and then threw it, but the ball did not go into the basket. No matter how many times he tried, it was the same. He felt upset and angry. He held the ball in his hands and said, "I don't want to play it again. It makes me crazy, I don't like it. Let's go home now." After that, he walked home by himself, so we went home with him.

On our way home, he said, "Let's go to the park next Sunday."

I Learned My Lesson

One day when I was on my job, my sister called me to ask if I had time to go to lunch with her.

I said, "Yes."

So at lunch time, I drove on the freeway to meet my sister at a restaurant, but I never got there.

I was driving too fast, maybe about 85 miles an hour. A policeman saw that I was driving over the speed limit. I didn't notice the policeman because I was listening to music on my CD player. When I finally saw the flashing lights behind me I felt scared. I knew that I had been driving too fast.

I heard the policeman talking on a loudspeaker. "Pull over," he shouted. But when I pulled over, the car in front of me pulled over also.

The policeman began to ask me questions. He asked me, "Why didn't you pull over sooner?"

I told him, " Because I thought you were trying to stop the car in front of me."

He said, "So, is that why you didn't stop?"

"Yes," I told him.

Fortunately, that day was also lucky. Even though I didn't have a driver's license or any other ID with me, the policeman didn't have my car towed. He just gave me a ticket. I didn't meet my sister, I just drove back to work. I don't remember how much I had to pay for that ticket.

I learned my lesson. I don't recommend that you drive over the speed limit if you don't have a driver's license.

My Library Card

Today, after school I went to the Oakland Public Library to apply for a library card for myself.

I arrived at the library at 11: 55 a.m. The library had not opened yet. At noon the door opened. I presented an application form to the clerk who was working at the check out counter. He typed my information on the computer. Then he scanned a library card and gave it to me. I felt happy. I did not understand clearly his explanation about the effective date. I thanked the clerk and left the library with my new library card.

From presenting the application to getting the library card, I spent less than two minutes. How highly efficient the library is!

A suspicious crime

What would you think if you heard that a man was found seriously hurt in bed and that his wife did nothing to help him?

Something strange happened one night. Mr. Sanchez was stabbed in his bed. He passed away some hours after the police came to investigate..

Mr. and Mrs. Sanchez had been married for five years. they had a two years old son,and Mrs. Sanchez was pregnant again.Mr. Sanchez worked as a policeman.

The day before the murder, while on duty, Mr. Sanchez had an argument with a man. The angry man had shouted at Mr. Sanchez, "I'm going to kill you."

The police, however, arrested Mrs. Sanchez. The police thought that she acted suspiciously because she didn't do anything to help her husband. She told the police that she had been in the bathroom when she heard some strange noise. The police asked her why she didn't come out of the bathroom. She answered that she was scared.

There is a lot of evidence that points towardMrs. Sanchez. One of the bedroom windows was broken, but the police said it had been broken from inside the room.The police think she is guilty because some wet clothes were found in the Sanchez house .The police suspect that Mrs. Sanchez got some blood on her clothes when she stabbed her husband and that she had washed the clothes immediately. .

Now she is not in jail. she is on bail and she lives with her parents. She can't leave the city untill she can prove that she is innocent or until the police find another suspect.

Who do you think killed Mr. Sanchez?.

My Son's Soccer Game.

My son, is a soccer player. Every weekend, I go with him to his soccer game. This Sunday, we went to Stockton. We had never been to this town before. It is a beautiful place. People have farms, and there are many grape and strawberry fields. I liked it a lot, more than other places that my son and I visited before.

The day was perfect.It was sunny, but not really hot. My son's soccer team was excited. They have been waiting for this tournament for long time. The game started at 10:00 a.m.

The two teams played very well. In the first half, one of my son teammates scored the first goal. The game got thrilling at this time. Everybody was shouting. Emotions were high. There were a lot of parents and everyone was excited. My son scored the second goal and I was very happy, but he was happier than me. He was running and jumping around the field. It was very funny.

In the second half, my son's soccer team scored three more goals, and the soccer game ended 5-0. The other team's players were very sad, because they did not score any goals. It was their unlucky day. But then, the two teams exchanged greetings and everybody was happy.

In any kind of game, sometimes you lose, and sometimes you win. But the most important thing is that you enjoy the game. It shouldn’t matter if you lose or you win. Watching children play soccer is a lot fun and it's very interesting, because they express their emotions when they are playing.

Now, we are waiting for another game next weekend.

A Terrible Morning

Hi, my class. This is my first time to write on the blog. I hope all of you can understand what I wrote.

On Tuesday morning, I was on my way to school. I saw two men fighting in the street. I was very afraid. I didn't know what was happening, so I just stood there and thought whether I should go to school this way or go another way.

While I was thinking, I saw a white man wearing a white T-shirt. His T-shirt was torn and there was a lot of blood on his T-shirt. It looked ugly. I also saw a black man. He was wearing a black jacket. His forehead was hurt, and blood as streaming down his face, and it looked terrible. A car was parked next to them and a woman was standing in front it. That woman was, maybe, with the black man, because the black man asked the woman to call the police. While the woman was making the phone call, the white man was trying to run away. The white man couldn't do that, because the black man was pulling his T-shirt.

After that, I made up my mind to change the way I go to school. I don’t know what happened to them. This is all I know.

A Little boy's Day at Fairyland

On Sunday morning, there were many people at Fairyland, a playground near Lake Merritt. Some of them were feeding the geese. Some of them were strolling.

A father held his son in his arms. The boy’s mother walked beside them. The boy was about two years old. When the boy saw the many geese eating, he kicked his father.

Speaking in Chinese, the boy demanded, “Let me down!”

(to be continued)

Where Are We?

IMG_1911
Originally uploaded by muypadre.

Teacher Jean and I were here today.

Can you guess where we were and what was happening there?

Add your guess to the comments.

My First Time at the Water Slides

This was the first time that I saw a park with water slides. It was a beautiful place. There were slides in the park and there was a beach with sand. I want to write about the experience that I had there.

When we were there, my son wanted to go down the slides. I took him there, but after arriving there I asked the lady how deep the water was. It wasn’t very deep, but I felt scared. My son and I didn’t know how to swim.

I went down first. It was very fast. When you go down the slide you put a piece of plastic under you. This helps you go faster. I was so scared, I let go of the piece of plastic, but I made it down.

When it was my son’s turn, I was worried. I worried about how he would feel. I waited for him at the bottom in the pool. The first time he slid down he felt scared, too, but he wanted to go down again and again.

Finally, he lost the piece plastic that he was sliding on and he got stuck on the slide. He started crying. He was really scared. But, he was lucky. My niece came behind him and she gave him her piece of plastic. He slid down safely. She shared her friend’s plastic.

After that, my son didn’t want to go on the slide anymore.

We had a great day. The water slide in Pleasanton is a nice place to bring your family.

My Relative Mrs. Chan Tao

Mrs. Chan Tao is a relative on my wife’s side. Twenty years ago, Mrs. Chan Tao was pregnant. Unfortunately her husband died from cancer. She was very painfully sad.

After her son was born, she gave her unique son all of her love and time. She fed him and gave him a good education. She worked hard for him.

Twenty years past. Mrs. Chan Tao’s son, Derrick, grew up to become a youth.
He enrolled at UC Davis this year. He had prepared everything for the coming new term this September. His mother was very happy.

But an unfortunate thing happened to her again. Last Tuesday at midnight, Derrick drove to his uncle’s home. He drove too fast. His car crashed and turned over. He passed away.

Today, in the morning, my family attended Derrick’s memorial service in San Francisco. During the memorial service, his mother fell into a swoon twice. I tried to keep calm in my mind, but I could not stop the tear that dropped from my eyes.

This is one of the tragedies in the world, especially for our relative, Mrs. Chan Tao.

Vacation By Plane

This summer my family took a three week vacation to Viet Nam. My husband bought the tickets two months before we left. At first we decided to buy four tickets from Eva's Airline Company, but they were sold out. We bought tickets from China Airlines.

We started our trip on July 13. My brother took us to SFAirport. At the airport we checked in. We went through passport control. We waited in the departure lounge. It was almost time to get on the plane when, suddenly, they told us the flight delayed because of a huge storm inHong Kong. We waited and waited. Finally, we got on the plane. It took about twelve hours to get to Taiwan Airport. In Taiwan we transfered to another plane to Viet Nam. The flight took about three and half hours. I was very tired because it took so long.

The stewardess reminded the passengers to complete the landing cards because in fifteen minutes more would be landing.

At last we arrived at Sai Gon city. You know, Sai Gon is very hot and wet in the summer. We took a taxi to the Sai Bay Hotel. During the three weeks we stayed at the hotel, we visited our big family, friends, and old neighbors. My daughters love to swim, so sometimes we went to the beach or a swimming pool. At night we went shopping and enjoyed delicious food.

Have you ever been to Viet Nam? There is a lot of food , and it is very delicious!

My Return to School.

Hi class! Let me tell you a little be about my return to Oakland Adult School this year. I left it around five months ago, but right now, I'm here again. Ahhhh, how I missed this wonderful school...in truth!!! Are you asking to yourself why? Well, well class, I'll tell you why in a few lines; don't be anxious please. There are too many reasons why I missed and I came back to school. One of these is: I didn't come to school in a lot of time, therefore, I didn't learn new things about English, and it was hard for me, because my son came from my country two months ago and I still needing to improve my English for help him with his homeworks, talk with his teachers, and specially you know, find a better job. Another one more reason is: I wont to see one of my favorite teachers at school again. Do you know who is this teacher? Yes class, you get it!!! He is an excellent, terrific and smart teacher, who always has something new to teach us, sure, he is the Teacher Richard. You don't think? I think so! I hope to see my old partners at school too, you know, when you have good partners, good teachers, and you want to go ahead in your life, you always, always will be thinking about school. O.K. class, thank you for read about it, take care, and I'll write more next time.

A Man and A Bird

When you see this picture, what do you feel?
Last time, I had a trip to Monterey. I went to a street fare there. I saw this scene which gave me a strong impression.
The bird acted like a spoiled child leaning on her parent, and the man was comforting his child. This scene was full of love.
At this time, I thought that If our world were full of love, it would be becoming peace and brightness.

Last Sunday

Last Sunday, My friend’s family and my family went to Santa Cruz, Monterey and Carmel. This was the first time to visit these places for my friend’s family.
In the morning, we met in Oakland. Then I explained the routes about this journey with the maps, and allocated a walky-talky and several maps to my friend. It is convenient and reliable to communicate using the walky-talkies during traveling.
My family’s car was a navigator. We drove towards south along the highway 880 and 17. When we arrived a path near the Mystery Point in Santa Cruz, we saw many cars were stopping in line and waiting for entering. My elder son got off the car and went ahead to ask a superintendent what was the situation. He told my son that we had to wait to enter the Mystery Point in forty five minutes. We felt it wasted our time. So we went on to Monterey. When we went to the Monterey Municipal beach, we were attracted by its white sand and blue sea. We walk to fisherman’s wharf along the coastal trail. There are many different kinds of restaurants in the wharf. We could take a sniff at the fragrant smell of the food from air. The fragrant smell guided us to a Mexican’s restaurant and we had the smoked salmon sandwiches there. The taste was very good. After lunch, we visited a Greek’s street fare. We did not stay there for a long time and left to Carmel.
Carmel is a small town with Europe style. There are beautiful houses and shops in the main street. Many visitors and vehicles go there during the holidays. We did not easy to park our cars on the street, besides the time was late to return home. So we decided to leave.
Leaving Carmel we enjoyed the Vietnam’s food for our dinner in San Jose.
We all enjoyed this day, and we hope we will have another chance to visit Monterey and Carmel again.