My English year

     This is a kind of long year, but in the feeling of time it is also short. If I would talk about the school year, and as especially this English II year, the feeling I would say is I couldn't believe that I have past it just right now. I still have a feeling about the next day I would come to ask the teacher, "What's our next book, Ms. Guarino?" But the truth is, we already finish our whole school year, our English II class. Time has been past so fast even not got touched, I believe I am not only person to think that way. 

     The another kind of totally opposite feeling I would like to share too. It is the English II year is too long. Long enough to be a kind of traditional stuff. I come to my G period, sit and talk about the books we read. We discussed a lot. In the early of the year although I didn't really work hard. Every time I went to class I just bring with my mouth to speak and my brain to think, but not the memory from the book. Actually I didn't really read the books carefully, until the later on of the book Me and You. I finally found out how interesting that book is, and as usual our sad ending books. 

After I realized two days of homework missing almost break my grades, I started to notice how important homework is in this class. But also the positive attitude. I started to love this class! To be honest, as the start of the school year I thought this class is too hard for me and I didn't really like it. Well, if we talk about the improvements, the first thing I would like to say is my attitude became positive, I start to love reading books words by words carefully but not pages by pages quickly. I guess this is one of my best improvements in this year. As the "first honor request for coming next year" from my parents, I have to work hard, but start to like it more.

I think the work that I need to work on there are a lot! First is reading speed. My reading speed is so slow! Every single time when I decided to read words by words carefully, it is just like a non value sacrifice of a battle. I spent a lot of time but still got headache of it. I guess read more is the only way out! 

My favorite book? I would like to say Persepolis. I love the story, the style she narrates, and the meaningful ending. It makes to feel the shape of life. It is getting adapted. Well, if you let me to make a choice of favorite it's pretty hard. I love all the books we read. Especially Me and You and We Were Liars. Hmm Frozen in Time? No thanks. I'm sorry I wouldn't even consider it as literature. I would like to read similar book with the latest book we have been read. But please, a happy ending. I really hated the feeling when I read the ending and how sad I was. It already happened three times! So please, make a happier one. Life is not only sadness. Just like me. Although my grade is too horrible to look at because of the two missing homework, but I am still insisting and keep trying hard! Never say never, my motto. 

Reaction to the novel ( I think it is the best of my English writing)

The first that I need talk about is I really love and enjoy reading this novel. Well, although at first I don't like it at all. I felt the beginning part was so boring and the middle part is so confusing. But actually after I really get into the novel, I started to like the spot and content of that novel. I found this novel is also with the color of mystery. 

For example, the mystery of the accident in summer 15. To be honestly, this is the main part of mystery all cross the middle three parts of the book, until the answer was given in the last part, the truth. The another setting, which is included with the last reason, Cadence as one of the most important characters in this book, also the narrator, she is unreliable. And also the other characters. It mentioned, all of the kids, the liars, and the whole Sinclair family are all liars, perfect liars with perfect life, at least they think so. 

When I read through the middle part, the more I am closer to the ending, the more I doubt about the death of the other three liars. This was leaded by a student when we were discussed about the book in my English class. I couldn't believe it, or I don't even would like to think on that way. How much and when I start to like the characters in this book? I don't know. But when I read through the last part, the whole book are under the shadow of sadness. 

Yes, if what the book in the previous part that we are reading was like, just like the shining sunny sky, but with later on it turned into cloudy, and finally rain heavily with lighting in the ending. I even didn't know that how much I liked this book. When it towards to the sad ending like that, I feel really sad. I thought, if all the stories that Cadence wrote was called fairy tales, so why this heavy tragedy happened to her family? Isn't Sinclair is just like a family perfect in the fairy tale? I don't know the answer, and I can't get it even from the writer. It just happened. 

When it was directly described in Cadence's fair tale, the flame burned and clean their souls. I was like I just saw them in the flame. They died. Without a word to blame. But the only thing left for Cadence was infinity guilt. Also the scene when they say goodbye to Cadence. 

It lets me remember the song "Seasons in the Sun".  The lyrics "Goodbye my friend it's hard to die, when all the birds are singing in the sky, now that spring is in the air. Pretty girls are everywhere, think of me and I'll be there." They walk to endless death, to the endless sea, such brave, such confident. I don't believe in ghost, but I would like to think if there are ghosts in this world, just for them. 

After all, I don't know as the only of the four liars left, Cadence; how she will live alone in this world? The story of Sinclair continued. The three liars just use the flame and their soul to sacrifice for the peace of the family. They did, perfectly successful. Maybe Cadence will remember their words and live better life with the better life, as I hope so.

After all, Sinclair goes back to that perfect family.

Maybe not for a while.

Maybe forever. 

Review of Bone Chiller

In this Thursday, I went to watch the play Bone Chiller. It was a two hours show, I was really enjoyed about it. It was a mysterious play, from the name I can understand from it. And yes, even now I am really clear with the content in it. But the language was normal, and luckily I can understand them well. The show was talking about a rich man Josiah Travers died, he left the posthumous paper with rebuses, with answers of the way which is where he's heritage will be belongto. Because he is old and he knows that there will be something happen to him, so he tried to make them into a rebuses, which can make the murderer used longer time to find out, or never. He invited he's friends and the people who he wants to get his heritage to come to the house and find out and solve the rebuses. But unfortunately, he died couple weeks before the dinner. With a "pieceful" way. Not "peaceful", "pieceful". He was found with 17 pieces of his body, which is such a scared way. The night came. Everyone starts to come into the house, with their funny and notable charactertistics. I felt the Gypsy women and the cook were really funny. Especially the Gypsy women, her cute Eastern European accent and weird behavior, and the strange magic let me laugh a lot. After they got together, they started to talked about rebuses. They started to guess, or the way to figure out words by words, maybe pictures by pictures. By the time passed and they progress they solved, something happened weird with it. First, the light was turned by someone's hand, then the lady was serving for people to come (sorry, I am not sure how to call her excatly) died first with a diggar on her back. It was just a start. The cook said she knew the truth and who was the real murderer, then she was found with she hang herself. The two of the not really well known inviters, or visitors came out with their real idenity. The one who said herself as a teacher of kindergarten, she is actually the Josiah Travers' private detective, which was fired by couple months ago. Another one who said he was invited as a policeman captain, actually the real one was in the hospital caused by a car accident, which was he really made it. He is the partner of the real one. They figured out the bulter was the real murder and used gun pointed at her. She told the part of the truth, she did murder the old rich guy, and wants his money for repay a gambling debt. Suddenly (I am not sure how) both of the bulter and the policeman captain hijack the others with guns. The Gypsy women used magic to let the bulter became a frog. Then the policeman captain left with gun keep hijack others. But the cook, who hanged herself before was died fakely, she turned back to call the police and stun the policeman captain with a pot. With the right answer of the rebuses and safe freedom, a young man (sorry I am not sure who is this either) called Jerry got the money.

I am not really clear of their idenity and why they discuss about the birth of bultuer twins.

Ghosts?

In my opinion, I would like to see the other dead three liars as Cadence's imagination.  As we all know, ghost as a concept which is not yet proved. We don't know if there are really ghosts exsisted in this world. Also if we talk about the background and the situation of Cadence, we would like to consider this as an imagination. Because, she got brain injured and took madecine with the influence similar to drugs. This also can physically make her get imagination easily. And also we know how close Cadence and the three liars are. So I believe this is perfectly her own imagination.

ch50-70 revealed

We have leart that how the aunties fought around the stuff which they all want to get. The other liers are lying and hide from Cadences, and go activity without her.  Cadences rememered the a lot about the experiences with the liers which they dont want to tell. They burt the house of Clariment. Her fairy tale which is nothing much new but mentioned the Gat-like mouse will burn down the island. The book which Gat gives her and she gives to Gat.

2 Test questions

1. Why Miren lied for she has a boyfriend?

2. Why Gat always tries to get start over with Cadence?

ch 31- 40

Ch31: As usual Cadence still gives her stuff away to the people who needs them, or at least she thinks so. She talked with Mirren, but the weird thing is she didn't get the doll. Johnny comes back and showed up in their conversation.

Ch 32: Cadence met Gat, and she still loves him. As surprised or not, Gat still wants to be back with her. He showed a lot, and asked for "start over", she accepted. " After lunch, and it will be awakard if we just walk. You better start run" And Gat runs.

Ch 33: Granddad said " The old life starts over." Everything changed, old stuff, memories. Johnny was shocked and started to ask where was this where was that, and Granddad was a liitle bit piss off with that.

Ch 34: Cadence starts to get in with the life back with the Sinclair. She mentioned more about the littles. She tried a lot to ask what happened in Summer 15, but even the littles didnt tell her anything.

Ch 35:  The liars got together. Johnny acted weird about the thing happened with Cadence's memory lost. He is nervous. And the end Gat shows up how he starts over with Cadence. 

Ch36: They played Tennis. After that they talked about the travel in Europe of Cadence. But she said the only experience was just a blue toliet and how bored she was. 

Ch37: The Aunt Bess wants the expensive house which is in Boston with 4 million dollars, but also the other daughters of the Grandad. Cadence remembered how they fought around for the house. Aunt Bess was acting really heliraous and fake. 

Ch 38: Liars were playing Scrabble.They talked about how cool and motto can help people get out of the hard times. Cadence told hers, "Always to do what you are afraid to do"

Ch39: Cadence did what she was "afraid", grab his hand and kiss him. But Gat starts to feel weird and stoped. He talked about the story of Heathcliff, which is really important in this book. There's one thing Im not really clear with, pg 104, "A brute beneath a pleasant surface, betraying his kindness in letting me come to his sheltered island every year- I've betrayed him by SEDUCING his Catherine, his Cadence. And my peneance is to become the monster he always saw in me." Why he said Granddad is betraying his kindness?

Ch 40:  She wrote a fairy tale again. This one makes me feel not that comfortable. She wrote about a king and a queen with three daughters. But Gat as first time joins the fairy tale. Cadence becomes the tiny princess. She's so tiny that she could fall in love with a mice. And she successfully did. Fell in love with a mice which truly called Gat. The king found out and angry with her with that and also sad. But Cadence, the tiny princess chose to leave the palace and married with the mice Gat. What a "wonderful happy ending for a fairy tale"! At the end she wrote down her real voice, "If you want to live where people are not afraid of mice, you must give up living in palaces."

ch16-25

16.Cadence talked about two kinds of fairy tales which she is used to read from her father and she wrote one also.

17.Cadence started to project she gives away her personal to public as donation, but she doesn't know why

18.Cadence can't remember the things happened in summer 15, her mother told her about it and she wrote it down.

19.Grandad came to visit Cadence and he looked old and different.

20.Cadence is allowed to go back to beechwood island for four weeks

21.Cadence gives her things to public (continues)

22.Taft called Cadence on phone, and now we know more about the littles.

23.Some big changes in Beechwood Island built new Claremont.

24. It talks about more about the littles, one of them liked to read things about death, another one is not pleasing.

25. Four liars got together, no one had big changes but Cadence thinks she became taller, and Mirren got a boyfriend. They all decide not ot go the new Claremont. 

10 vacab words

1. charity: a kindly and lenient attitude toward people

2. enormous: something is extremely large in size or amount.

3. taxidermied: the art of mounting the skins of animals so that they have lifelike appearance

4. fabrics: artifact made by weavig or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers

5. puddle: a small, shallow pool of liquid that has spread on the ground

6. opponent: in a sports contest, your opponent is the person who is playing against you.

7. dismay: if you are dismayed by something, it makes you feel afraid, worried, or sad

8. oblivious: lacking conscious awareness of 

9. stagger: walk as if unable to control one's movements

10. snorkeling: a snorkel is a tube through which a person swimming just under the surface of the sea can breathe.            

Chapter 8 summary

Lorenzo was on his way to see his badly sick Grandma Lauren. He was really nervous. He had to go there sneaky, and he's also sad and worried about the unknown situation of his dear grandma. It seems take forward for him to get the way down there. Finally he went in there, and he was shocked and sad about how badly sick Grandma Lauren is, even on the way to die, she is still suffering. For the room she's living, also. She lives in a such a ugly room. " Shouldn't they let them die in a pretty room? I would like to choose my room when I will die. " He thought. Then he was about to leave, because it was not really good for him to stay longer, what if the nurses found him here and they will tell his parents, which can break his plan totally. But Grandma Lauren asked him for telling story. Lorenzo wants to complete his grandma's every request. So he made up a story about a pool-cleaning robot. And the plan of assassination to Saddam Hussein. There was an accident that the wrong person picked up the box of robot and the robot with weapon inside killed his family. Then it's moving on the other places of California. Under the army's attack, the robot chose to ran to the sea. And finally found in the middle of the oscine, a small island.  

Test questions of Me and You

19. From the quote from the book, it is the description of Lorenzo's mental action. After he got to know that her sister is a junkie, and how she hated their father, he felt really angry on his sister. But she threatened Lorenzo as the way with "telling others that he hides under the cellar", he was scared and forced to let his sister stay with him. The things that really changed his mind is how suffered his sister was, and he is the only person who can really help her. Compare with the life that Lorenzo spent before, he hasn't got that kind of experience which others need him. He started to think if there is something that he could help. Then the description mentioned,"The giant that had been holding me up against his stone chest had let me go", which just showed us how Lorenzo changed and start to help.

22. As a normal reader, and based on how dreamlike the last day they spent, I would believe their hopeful promises come true in the future. But not even the  real world, just couple of pages at the end of the book also extinguish them, and also myself. It's a kind of unexceptable ending, but we have to say it's wonderfully realistic. An innocent and naive young boy, and a young woman looking for salvation, seem like they won't have any intersections. But under a cellar, a dramatically experience influenced both of their lives---or didn't. But as our narrator, Lorenzo has changed into an active person, which starts to care about others or at least leart to stand up for his responsbilities. How his sister suffered and need for salvation gave him the way to try and taste how wonderful to help others. 

Lorenzo as a child, which should make Olivia reflects about her childhood. How her childhood would be like? Sunshine, the smell of grass, playing games with friends, or moonlight? She just felt how innocent she used to be. As a smart girl, she also noticed how her little brother was suffered about and how he tried to get rid of it. From his help, from his changes, from at first he doesn't care at all to be active and try his best to help. Olivia also believes that she would have that kind of changes also. And her brother is just her model.

23. As the event that he undergoes to hide under the cellar, I think it is pretty hard for him to be honest with himself. He hasn't been found about the real himself for too long. He understands about why he lies but he just couldn't face the lie to explain the truth to his mother. I think he has rediscovered who he is until the last day he spent with his sister under the cellar. The revelation to him that he wants to have friends and have fun is, the real himself's charactertistics. Olivia acted a really important position in his heart and his entire life. From their only one week experiences, until 10 years later her life ended, all brings Lorenzo huge influences. I believe he would face and survive the real world. His sister's life just like an alarm, which pushes him away from the underline which he should never touch.

My haiku poems

University,

my dream already started,

this just like sunshine

I believe in that, 

if you try keep working hard,

you will get success.

3 questions

1. How does Lorenzo think about his sister?

2. What do you think that the car addicent influences Lorenzo from inside?

3. How doesn Lorenzo's mother thinks about him?

Olivia, Lorenzo's sister

"I pulled myself up and, like a dog that has been caught with his nose in the fridge, I slid out.  She'd lost a lot of weight and her square cheek-bones stuck out. Her face looked stretched and tried and her long blonde hair had been cut short. Above her jeans was wearing a faded T-shirt with Camel cigarettes logo and a blue sailor's jacket." She is Olivia, Lorenzo's sister, same father sister. In his memory, his sister was "incredibly beautiful, one of those girls that as soon as you look at them your face burns red and everybody knows you think she is beautiful, as if she talks to you, you don't know what to do with your hands, you don't even know how to sit down."  

" She had lots of curly blonde hair that fell all the way down her back and grey eyes, and she was sprinkled with freckles, just like me. She was tall and had big, wide breasts. She could have been the queen of a medieval kingdom." Such a wonderful blonde angel! Let's see how her character like?

In her letter to their father, " I was thinking that if I had to write a book that tells the story of my life I would call the chapter on you 'Diary of a Hatred'. "

Summary Chapter 5

The story continues on the Chapter. It seems like half of the book was almostly past, but the narrator's style was pretty smoothly, expect the Chapter 4. Lorenzo felt a little bit nervous to stay in the basement by himself but mostly feels free and relaxing. Suddenly, a "stranger" came in and destroyed the calm of his "ski life".  

"I pulled myself up and, like a dog that has been caught with his nose in the fridge, I slid out.  She'd lost a lot of weight and her square cheek-bones stuck out. Her face looked stretched and tried and her long blonde hair had been cut short. Above her jeans was wearing a faded T-shirt with Camel cigarettes logo and a blue sailor's jacket." She is Olivia, Lorenzo's sister, same father sister. In his memory, his sister was "incredibly beautiful, one of those girls that as soon as you look at them your face burns red and everybody knows you think she is beautiful, as if she talks to you, you don't know what to do with your hands, you don't even know how to sit down."  

" She had lots of curly blonde hair that fell all the way down her back and grey eyes, and she was sprinkled with freckles, just like me. She was tall and had big, wide breasts. She could have been the queen of a medieval kingdom." Such a wonderful blonde angel! Let's see how her character like?

In her letter to their father, " I was thinking that if I had to write a book that tells the story of my life I would call the chapter on you 'Diary of a Hatred'. " Absolutly Lorenzo couldn't understand the way she hated their father and how. Just a second, Lorenzo completed changed his mind about his pretty sister. "Naked pictures, worse situation, strong hate for their father" every thing connected together and which makes Lorenzo starts to hate her. But she asked to stay with Lorenzo because she has no place to go and as the way of threatened. Who knows what will happened next? Such a surprised turning point.

Questions based on Chapter 4

In Lorenzo's memory, there was once happened a car accident. His mother drived the car with him on the street of Rome, the start was a kind of really lovely story. Suddenly their car hit with another one, the owners are a couple. The man is very tall and tough, with also a really aggressive altitude. The woman he didn't mention a lot, but the samilar with the man. Their car was expensive. They insulted his mother and pulled her down on the street. Lorenzo tried to do something but he couldn't. He felt angry and wanted to " kill this man", but with guilty also because he can't react with this thing. He couldn't get out of the car, and also afraid of the man. In his younger memory, he doesn't have that much self-confidence with him. Also based on his willing to be more muture, he pretended he's like a real man. But that accident happened, he realized suddenly he couldn't help anything with that. The describe of how he couldn't get out of the car, is also based on his mental activity. He WAS afraid. I think this accident is just like a seed, which makes him wants to get stronger in the future. He knows he is ashamed by him mother, and him also-- from that time, he starts to be ashamed of himself a little bit, too.

Chapter 3

This is a really short chapter compares with others, so I see this chapter more like a connection of the story, which just shortly brings us to the story and happening after he goes away from his home and "go to the skining place". As he arrived the host place which he would live for a week, he feels relaxing a lot. He read a book named Salem's Lot, and he slpet sweetly. He dreamed about something randomly such as he was a survivor of an alien invasion, and he was alive in Rome. Just as a boy's fantasy. Then his mother called him, and asked him about the situation and everything. He felt that his mother found something weird, and he becomes more vigilant.  His feeling is complicated.

Do you like Lorenzo as a character or not and why?

In Me and You this book, I like Lorenzo as a character and especially the main chracter of the book.  Because he is a kind of unique and naughty child, which can brings this book more interesting.  He is always trying to pretend that he is a man, not a young boy anymore. For example on the way he goes to ski, when his mother is driving him to the place and they were really close to the place, he tries to stop his mother and lets her to put him down at the area to let him go to the place by himself. His mother feels strange and askes why he always tries to act like a young kid. But he replies the reason is that he wants to go there by himself which can show he is an independent man. Although his father just told him that don't " call his mother per 5 minutes". 

Another point of him is about naughty and the way that he wants to take adventure. For example the skiing trip was totally a lie by himself which he told his mother, but he hasn't told his mother the truth until he has already on the way. We can look more about inside of a naughty young boy's inside world. That's why I like Lorenzo as our character in the book Me and You. 

Review of Spelling Bee

Last Friday, I went to the Black Box to watch the Spelling Bee. This is the second time that I have been watched about that kind of musical show. It started at 7pm. As I went there, there are already lots of audiences sat there. We have been told that the show would be about two hours long, and when it has pasts one hour we will have a midterm break. There were snacks sold in the first floor of gym. When 7pm started, the lights turned off, everyone also turned of their cell phones and ready to watch the musical show. 

At the beginning the two judgments are famous. The female one is a really good singer, who always shows on cats and morning meeting. Then every selected players came in. Everyone looks different from others a lot. They all have their own stories and characteristics. At the far side of the stage there are a group of four cheerleaders and there's one girl acts the one to keep security there (?) After the two judgments annouced that the spelling bee started, the game started. The two judgments would ask every player a vocabulary for its spelling. Players were allowed to ask the two jughments about the definition and put that vocabulary into a sentence. Then they started. The difficulty level would grow up as the rounds has past. Every player showed us their own special way to spell the vocabularies. There were also some teachers were asked to join the game also, which made more fun in this musical show. Although we already know that the mode of this game before, but it was still interesting and funny. The two judgments were humorous, too. I think the selected players are really good at acting, because all of them used their specfic action to show us their character's unique characteristics. There is another thing that shocked me is, although some of the selected players I have already knew in life, but I hadn't heard that all of them can sing that well. Some of them are still young, and they have so much more time to improve. Their way in the future and probability to become successful are unlimited, I think. 

Two hours has past so quickly, as they finished everyone smiled. They worked so hard and their performances are not only for one day. I feel thankful that their hard-working brought us so much joy. 

Top three books

1. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini — Afghanistan and California

Why you should read it: You’ll have a really good cry and also learn about the ethnic and religious conflict in Afghanistan.The Kite Runner’s depiction of Afghanistan and Afghan immigrants was a resounding hit at the time of its release and holds up extraordinarily well to this day.

Reason: Well-known books about Muslims immigrant, and also from a special place: Afghan.

5.Enjoy your life 

The aim of the book is to train the reader to enjoy living his life by practicing various self-development and inter-personal skills. What is so compelling and inspiring about this book is that, in order to highlight the benefit of using social skills, the author draws from the lives of the Prophet (S) and his Companions.

Reason: Muslims' world value, and their way to live the life happily. Let's have a look.

4. No God But God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam

Though it is the fastest-growing religion in the world, Islam remains shrouded in ignorance and fear for much of the West. In No god but God, Reza Aslan, an internationally acclaimed scholar of religions, explains this faith in all its beauty and complexity.  

Religion, it must be understood, is not faith. Religion is the story of faith." That is the reader's key to this fascinating account of the origins and development of Islam. Faith is a way of moving and being in the world; religion is a body of traditions and practices and institutions that preserve the story of how to move and be in the world that way. 

Reason: This one is a kind of "huge book", but it is a realistic book generally about Islam as a religion. Maybe, none of us really understand what a kind of treasure that our ancestors left for us. 

Book list

1. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini — Afghanistan and California

Why you should read it: You’ll have a really good cry and also learn about the ethnic and religious conflict in Afghanistan.The Kite Runner’s depiction of Afghanistan and Afghan immigrants was a resounding hit at the time of its release and holds up extraordinarily well to this day.

2. Minaret by Leila Aboulela — Sudan and Britain

What it’s all about: A young, secular Sudanese woman moves from the party life of Khartoum to a quiet life of service in London.

Why you should read it: Minaret is a subtle portrayal of the complex internal world of an orthodox Muslim woman as well as a criticism of classism in Muslim communities at home and abroad.

3.The Good Muslim by Tahmima Anam — Bangladesh

What it’s all about: A doctor comes home to find that the 1971 Bangladeshi war of independence from Pakistan has utterly changed her relationship with her brother, now a local religious leader.

Why you should read it: It will open your eyes to the trauma of independence on Bangladesh and the complicated role of faith in the young nation.

4. No God But God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam

Though it is the fastest-growing religion in the world, Islam remains shrouded in ignorance and fear for much of the West. In No god but God, Reza Aslan, an internationally acclaimed scholar of religions, explains this faith in all its beauty and complexity.  

Religion, it must be understood, is not faith. Religion is the story of faith." That is the reader's key to this fascinating account of the origins and development of Islam. Faith is a way of moving and being in the world; religion is a body of traditions and practices and institutions that preserve the story of how to move and be in the world that way. 

5.Enjoy your life 

The aim of the book is to train the reader to enjoy living his life by practicing various self-development and inter-personal skills. What is so compelling and inspiring about this book is that, in order to highlight the benefit of using social skills, the author draws from the lives of the Prophet (S) and his Companions.

Summary of the 25th Annual Putnam Country Spelling Bee

The 25th Annual Putnam Country Spelling Bee is a kind of long single acted muscial comedy. The people who conceived is by Rebecca Feldman and the music lyrics are by William Finn. This show centers on a fictional spelling bee, which sets in a geographically ambiguous Putnam Valley Middle School, Connecticut. 

In 2005, it has been produced by Broadway, and directed by James Lapine, produced  by David Stone, James L. Nederlander, Barbara Whitman, Patrick Catullo, Barrington Stage Company and Second Stage Theater, got a really good rfeviews, box-office success and was nominated for sixth Tony Awards. There is one thing interesting, which is four real audience members are invited on stage to compete in the spelling bee with the six young characters.  

This show has been shown all around the world, and used lots of kinds of different languages.

The start of this musical show begins with Rona Lisa Peretti entering the gymnasum to set up. When she passes by the microphone, she has a flashback which is about she won the third annual spelling bee by correctly spelling syzygy.  The spellers are introduced when they enter, and sing out about their aniticipation of the bee.  Then is the spelling bee, each non-audience speller is called forward, then audience learns about his or her background through flashacks. Then auidences can interact with the acters. It's a kind of lovely show which the whole gym will be lighted. 

Haiku poems

Others: Basho Matsuo in 1600s

An old silent pond...

A frog jumps into the pond,

splash! Silence again.

Recent one 

As the wind does blow

Across the trees, I see the

Buds blooming in May

Mine:

University,

my dream already started,

this just like sunshine

I believe in that, 

if you try keep working hard,

you will get success.

Two discussion question

1. What is the arguments between Sookan's sister and Sookan?

2. What do you think that how sookan will change into with native Korean culture and the new American culture mixed?

The letter to Sookan's sister

My dear sister,

I havn't seen you for a long time! How are you these days? I already miss you. For me, living and studying to a totally different country which is also pretty far away from our homeland, it's not that easy. As you know, I just came here and I needed to prepare for the courses that I will study with, the dorm, communication with other students and teachers... Recently I am just too busy and tired of the new days here, so I am really sorry that I didn't write journal to you. I just let you know that everything here is okay, I like it and I have no problems to get better in this new environment. 

Don't worry about me! I wish everything in your life will be as exciting as mine too!

Love you,

Sookan 

5 facts about Sook Nyul Chop

Sook Nyul Choi is a Korean American children's storybook author. 

She was born in Pyongyang, North Korea, and during the korean war, she fled to South Korea.

She emigated to pursue higher education, earning her B.A. from Manhattanville College in 1962 and becoming a school teacher in New York. 

She is the widow of Nung Ho Choi, with whom she had two daughters. 

Gathering of Pearls got award: 1995 books for the Teen Age Award 

Blog 10

During this winter break, I didn't have that much stuff to do. So I have watched some movies. The only one which gives me the strongest feeling is Mongol. It is about the story about Genghis Khan, from he was young until he united all the Mongolian tribes and built the Mongol Empire. It was took in these countries, Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. It is a kind of epic movie, it has actors from Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China and Japan. The language basically is Mongolian, all the actors from other countries also learned and spoke Mongolian. I am interested in this movie because I have mongolian blood from my mum, and I would like to know more about how the people now think about the great conqueror Genghis Khan, and how people made about him in this movie. 

The movie was from when Temujin, which is the boy who becomes Genghis Khan in the future, when he was 9 years old. His father, Yesugei is the leader of the tribe. He brought his son to a friendly tribe to choose his wife in the future, as the old tradition in Mongolia. The girl, Borte, as the time when Temujin chose her, she also chose Temujin as her only man, only husband. He didn't know his great choice of his wife was just the biggest help for him to have chance to conquer the world. 

As the way they go back to their tribe, they went to an enemy tribe, joined their party--- In Mongol, any one can join the tribe party, friends, strangers or even enemy. Unfortunely, Temujin's father Yesugei drunk the wine with poison. He left the young son to face all the problems: The khan died, then lots of people wanted to leave the tribe. There's an old saying"If there's not a king in a group of wolves, we can't say it's a group." in Mongol. Young Temujin ran away with his mother, brothers, a little people who still loyal to the old Khan, and with a heart full of  wishes to revenge. 

Days has its own way to pass, and Temujin grows up quickly. When he is 15 years old, he is very strong and energetic. People in the grassland all know there's a strong, young wolf king leads his tribe. Their enemy also know that. "It's so much easy to kill a young tiger especially it hasn't grown up", the Khan of their enemies said.And he seems know how to do: He made a few cavalryman lurk in the place near their tribe, and they surrounded the forest that Temujin was hunting in. Three days past, Temujin felt hungry and thirsty. He couldn't  bear it, during this hard time he remembered  his father. At the last day of three days, he decided to go our. 

"I rather to get killed by their blades to compare with get starved," He thought," Tengri helt me too much, now my life all depends on myself now."

Unfortunately he got caught as he went out of the forest, but the Tayichiuds didn't kill him. They wanted to insult him, made him wear shackles and took him around their tribe, as their celebration of revenge. They let every family in the tribe watch him each day. Temujin waited, until the day as a chance, just like the cheetah waited for his preys.

In that day, there was only a teenager watched him. Others went to a party but left him to watch him. The teenager felt upset and drunk. Temujin used his shackles to stun him, and he ran away. He ran into a river because water can decrease the smell of him then the dogs can find him lately. The river he hided is Onon River, which now we called the mother river of Mongolians.

Tengri is the god, the sky of Mongol. 

During Temujin's life, lots of hard problems were waiting for him to figure out. The only thing he had, was himself, and his wife, the girl who promised him to use her whole life to stand with him and help him with everything. The movie stoped when he conquered the whole Mongol, and bacame the real Genghis Khan, which means the Khan, the king who is great like ocean. He tidied his armour, his blade , his belt and his heart--- to conquer the world.