Sweet Love

I’ve read an article about this story, true story:
At the National University, Vietnam, that day during break time, a group of students stood in a corridor of the biggest building looking down the school yard. They were surprised because of a big heart shape made by a thousand of red roses in the center of a school yard. Inside the big heart was a sentence written by roses:” TR, I love you!” There, a young man stood beside that heart. The crowded discussed, whispered, and wondered who that man was and who the roses were for. Some students realized the man was a brilliant student in their class. Suddenly a lovely girl stepped out of the crowd and walked forward to the school yard. She came up to the man. He took her hand and held her tight. The crowd was excited. They laughed out loud and clapped. When the couple was asked, they said they were best friends, and gradually they’re in love. The man said he appreciated what she had done for him, so he wanted to show his love to her in a special way. Of course the girl was thrilled, and she smiled happily. They said they didn’t plan to marry. They want to study until they earn their college diplomas, and they’ll help and encourage each other in any situations. What’s a sweet love! I hope they’ll happy forever.

My Badness

Today is Thursday. I got up late this morning, so I didn’t have breakfast. After dressing up, I went to the bus stop at 8:30 am. I stood there waiting for the bus for about 15 minutes. Because of the cold weather, I shivered. I found no more seats on the bus. It was so crowded! I stood near the back door all the way from my house to school. It was 9:10 when I got to school. That meant I was late for my speaking class which started at 9am. I didn’t want to be late, I felt guilty about that. I promised I’ll never be late again. After the speaking class, I went to the grammar class. The grammar teacher is a gentle lady. She reviewed the Present Tense and Past Tense. Because she went slowly through the lessions, I felt sleepy. I didn’t concentrate because my stomach was upset. I was hungry! I almost slept in that class. So bad! I didn’t focus on studying at all. I know that’s not good, and I’ll never improve my English if I didn’t study seriously. I’m really angry myself. My future’s in my hand and I won’t have it if I don’t work for it. So I have decided to study harder and catch all the opportunities to build my future.

Boorin.

Among the cartoons I’ve seen, I love “Boorin” best. “Boorin” is an anime, Japanese cartoon. The film is about a middle school girl named Lin. She was outgoing, friendly, and good-hearted. One day, she saw a small pig lying in the middle of the street when she was on her way to school. She thought it was injured, so she picked it up. It was not a normal pig. It came from another planet. In order to receive it throne, it would choose one Earth’s girl and persuade her to become a pig knight. Lin was chosen because of her good personality. It gave her a magic mirror. Whenever people need help, the mirror would alert. The chosen person would hold the mirror up and read an incantation to transform to a pig knight with a special power, like superman, to rescue people. Each time she’d done a good thing, she would receive one pearl. After collecting 108 pearls, she would have one of her dreams comes true, and she would finish her duty, and the small pig would pass its test to become a king of his planet. At first, Lin didn’t accept its offer because she thought transforming to a pig was so ugly. On the other hand, she realized that too many people needed help, and she really wanted to save them. At last, she agreed to become a pig knight. From that time, she had 2 lives. One was a great hero, and one was a normal and lazy student. I like this film because it’s funny, and its message is don’t be afraid of difficulties and don’t hesitate to give a hand to whoever needs help.

My Grandma's Garden.

My grandma has a beautiful small garden. The garden is in the front of the house. She puts several flower pots there. At the right hand side there are five pots of roses. She has different kind of roses. One pot is red roses with small buds; one is also red, but the flowers are bigger; and the three ones left are roses with a light orange color. They’re all odorous. Besides those pots are some herb pots. These herbs are short and lushly green. My grandma uses them to treat some small injuries like bruises, pains, and bleeding. At the left hand side, there are pomegranate, jasmine, and dahlia. Pomegranate is the tallest and the oldest tree in the garden. It rarely blooms, but its flowers are beautiful. Jasmine has flowers all the time. Its flowers are white and odorous. I like jasmine best. My grandma loves flowers. Everyday she goes out the garden to see and water them. She goes around the pots to examine the roots and the earth. She fertilizes the earth and exterminates insects frequently. Under my grandma’s hands, the flowers grow more and more beautiful. They bring fresh air and comfortable feelings to our house. That’s why I love my grandma’s garden.

My Apartment.

My apartment is not big. It’s has 1 living room, 1 bathroom, 1 kitchen, and 2 bedrooms. It has 2 doors, a front door and a back door. Near the front door is the space to put shoes. After that space is the living room. It’s medium size. At the right corner, we put a small set of a sofa. In the opposite wall, there are a TV, a VCR, and a DVD player. On the left side of the TV is where my computer stands. Not so far from my computer is the door to the kitchen. There are a sink, a gas stove, a refrigerator and cabinets. On top of the cabinets is a microwave oven. In the middle of the kitchen is a table. This is a place where my family has dinner every night. Opposite the kitchen, there are 2 bedrooms. The big bedroom is for my parents, and the smaller one is for my sister and me. In each bedroom we put a bed and a pile of blankets to keep us warm. The bathroom is near the back door. It’s not big, but it’s clean. We clean up our apartment every week. The back door leads to a small garden and a garage. This is a four- unit apartment, so we have 3 family neighbors. They’re Mexicans, and they’re very kind. We get along pretty well. This apartment is our new home, and we’ll love it as our home in Vietnam.

A Spider's Web.

A web of a spider is very complicated. How can it build the web? A spider’s body makes a liquid called silk. The spider spins its web from liquid silk. The silk is liquid when it comes out of the spider’s body. Slowly the air dries the liquid. Then the liquid silk becomes a strong thread. The spider’s body makes two main kinds of silk. One kind of silk is sticky, and the other is not. The spider makes the first part of the web of non-sticky silk. Then it adds the strands of sticky silk. It’s take the spider a long time to build a complete web. Insects then will get caught on the sticky silk. The sticky silk holds the insects tight so that they can not escape. The spider has a special claw on each foot. It uses these claws to walk on the threads. The spider doesn’t get caught in its web. The web is not only its home, but also its trap to catch its food. The thread of spider’s web is one of the best thread in the world. It is durable, and it’s hard to be cut.

My Busiest Day

Saturday is my busiest day of the week. I wake up at 6am and prepare to go to work. I work in Chinatown in a Vietnamese- Chinese restaurant. The restaurant opens from 7am to 6pm. They serve Chinese and Vietnamese food, noodle soup, French coffee, and Vietnamese sandwiches. My job is to greet the customers and to serve food. Because there aren’t enough workers, I play in 2 roles. My main role is making sandwiches. There are different kinds of sandwiches: beef, pork, chicken, ham… If there is no one ordering sandwiches, I’ll be a bus girl put away dishes and clean tables. The restaurant is busy, so I get a lot of work. Usually I’m done at 4pm. I go home after I have cleaned up and prepared the stuff for the sandwiches for the next day. My legs feel tired because I stand the whole day. But I’m happy because for the first time, I make money on my own. Also, it’s good to work part time. I can get a work experience while I’m studying. This will be a good preparation for my future career.

My Speaking Class.

I study ESL Speaking 4 class this semester. The instructor is Ms. Lisa Cook. I’m impressed at her strong voice and her friendly attitude. She seems an outgoing person. She always smiles. At first I didn’t like her. I could not understand and followed what she said, because she spoke very fast. When I was in level 3, the teacher spoke kind of slow and clearly, so we were able to understand her. For the first 2 weeks, I tried to pay attention and listened to her carefully. I can catch up with her now and realize that she’s a good teacher. She explains everything for us clearly. Because we get a little time in class to practice, she finds opportunities for us to speak outside. She plans ad gives a topic for our next presentation. That’s our great assignment, because we need to go out to interview other people, and we’re going to give the class the information we got from the interview. That sounds tough! But I think this is a good chance for us to practice in a real life and improve our speaking skills.

Custom Differences.

There are many things in the U.S. that are totally different from my country. Here are some examples. First, American’s stores always have sales at the end of each season and during holidays. Sometimes there is big sale in a big holiday like Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day… But in Vietnam, the price of all items such as food, clothes will increase during holidays, especially for New Year Day. The price will not go down until after the events, or it’ll continue to go up the next year, so Vietnamese people are afraid of holidays and New Year. Second, Americans love pets and treat pets well like their friends or like their kids. Americans will get in trouble if they treat pets badly. Pets eat good food and play toys, and sometimes they sleep with their owners. Vietnamese don’t treat pets like that. Most of pets eat food that left over from the owners. They aren’t allowed to step into the owners’ rooms and cannot watch TV. Sometimes if the owners are not happy, they hit their pets badly. Sometimes pets run out of their houses, go alone without their owners, and they’ll return home after several days by themselves. Third, Vietnamese don’t get in line as American do. They are not organized, and they aren’t patient to wait in line. Those are some differences in customs between 2 countries. There are many interesting customs from other countries in the world that are fun and useful for us to learn about.

Flea Market.

According to the information given in the book “I love reading”, a flea market is a place where people can sell things they no longer need. There are long tables at some flea markets. People can rent a table and display their used items on it. Some people just put their things on the ground. Items at a flea market do not cost much money. I went to a flea market which locates on Laney College parking lot last Sunday. There are a lot of things to see: clothes (old and new), electronics, bicycles, household items... I’ve never seen a flea market before. In Vietnam, people usually use things for a long time and fix them if they malfunction. They just throw them when they can’t be fixed anymore. So it’s very interesting for me to visit a flea market. Even though almost all items are used, they look new and in good condition. The prices for those things are affordable for some people. My friend likes flea markets. She said there are many interesting things to see and buy at flea markets.

People's Rights.

This is my writing topic in GED class which is about people’s rights:
People nowadays have a lot of rights that they didn’t have before. Some rights are very important such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to bear arms. Freedom of speech gives people great chances to express their ideas. If they disagree with the government’s policy or criticize something, they will speak out without fear or hesitate. Some countries don’t allow their people do that, or they will get in trouble. Newspapers, TVs, radios… are places that people give out their words. There are many different religions in the U.S. such as Catholic, Baptist, Buddhist… No one can force you to follow a specific religion or change your belief. The freedom of religion gives people the right to choose which religions they prefer. Safety is very important. The right to bear arms allows people have gun that they can protect their properties and keep them away from danger. People are all equal to have these natural rights, and only the U.S. offers these rights and more for its people than any where in the world. That’s why, I think, the U.S. is the land of freedom.

The Hall of Fame.

I want to know what “the hall of fame” is, because I’ve heard this phrase several times on TV. So I searched and found a definition for “hall of fame”. According to the book “I love reading”, “a hall of fame” is a special kind of museum. A hall of fame honors famous people. They are inventors, musicians, sport players… There are many kinds of hall of fame: The National Baseball Hall of Fame, The Senate Hall of Fame…. The names of the people are put on the walls. Some have statues with just heads and shoulders to display those people. The first hall of fame is The Hall of fame for Great Americans. It was built in New York in 1900 to honor Americans who did very important things for the United States of America. Halls of Fame are very meaningful, because they help us to remember great people and their great jobs and honor them respectfully

My Favorite Park.

There was a park which I usually visited when I was in Vietnam. It was three blocks away from my house. After dinner, I would go there for a walk. The park was not big, and it had an oval shape. Surrounding it was grass and flowers. In the middle of the park was a round fountain. Along the park there were several rock benches. At the other end of the park, there were children slides, see-saws, playing tent… for kids to play. The park was much crowed in the evening, because people wanted to relax and enjoy the cool air. Most of people were elderly and children. Old people were sitting on benches, talking to each other, and watching over their kids and grandchildren. Children were playing and laughing. They ran all over the park and shouted. Some parents or grandparents taught their kids how to ride a bike or how to play a game. I would like to go around, watched and observed their activities. Then I would sit down, play with the grass and the flowers, and watch the sky. I liked the blue sky with no clouds. After 15 minutes, I would go home. Sitting in the park was a way to relax and comfort myself after a busy day.

Travel to Vung Tau

Vietnam has a long coast line with many beautiful beaches, but Vung Tau was the only beach I’ve visited. I came there 2 years ago in the summer. The weather wasn’t too hot as in the city. The air was fresher. There were a lot of people on the beach when I arrived. Many people were sitting and relaxing on canvas chairs under the shadow of big umbrellas. Some were eating outside, and some were getting a tan. Children were playing with sand and water and running around. Young people were swimming and soaking in the water. The water was cool and salty. That day there was a small wind, so the sea didn’t have big waves. I swam and played for a while, and then I got hungry. My aunt took me to a seafood restaurant. There had all kind of fresh seafood: shrimps, oysters, crabs, fish,… and they cooked them in a special way. We ordered a lot of dishes. What a delicious meal! After I finished eating, my aunt drove me around Vung Tau City and visited the biggest market there. I saw a lot of souvenirs,local fruits, and seafood, but we didn’t buy anything. I like the air of Vung Tau. It’s cool and very pure. I have a good memory after visiting Vung Tau. I hope someday I’ll come there again.

The Library.

Every week I go to the library in downtown Oakland. This is an Asian library. There are books, videos, and CDs from many countries such as Vietnam, China, Thailand, Cambodia… The library is crowded most of the time. Usually there are a lot of elderly. They sit at the tables and read books and magazines. Internet access is available here, but you must sign up before using the service. The library is not big, but it’s neat and clean. Books are arranged on shelves by categories and languages, so we are easy to search and find whatever we want. There has a section for kids with books, pictures, films, and music. Every Saturday, there will have someone comes to entertain the kids. The staff is very friendly and helpful. You can borrow up to 20 books, and the books will be due in 3 weeks. I like the library because it’s place for us to gain more knowledge about life and the world.

A Joke

I’ve read a joke lately in my grammar book. It says:
“A woman is outside her house. A dog is near her. A man walks by and is interested in the dog. He wants to pet the dog, so he asks the woman,” Does your dog bite?” The woman answers no. The man pets the dog and it bites him. He says,” You told me your dog doesn’t bite.” The woman answers,” This is not my dog. My dog is in the house.”

Education in Vietnam

The method of education in Vietnam is very different from methods of education in the U.S. As in the U.S., we have two semesters in one school year. There are a lot of tests and exams. Every week, teachers give fifteen minutes test about the lessons in that week. Those are small tests just to check if students understand and remember the information. Twice a month, we have a period test of 45 minutes. Those 45-minutes tests are harder and longer than 15- minutes test. Those include critical thinking questions which require more skills and knowledge. We also take exams each semi-semester and at the end of each semester. The final exam is the most important, because it will decide of our total grade in that year. Teachers are very strict and give us a lot of homework. They check us every day to see if we studied the lessons. Teachers usually write and read what they explained on the boards, and we copy them down. We must learn them by heart, memorize each sentence in order to do well and pass all the tests. That’s why we study all the time at school, in class, at home, and even on weekends. Examination really makes Vietnamese students exhausted.

Better die

There was a mean and stingy man who lived in a small town. He was rich, but he didn’t want to spend his money. Things in his house were old because he never bought anything. His shoes were torn, but he didn’t care. He said, “They’re still good. I can wear them without hurting my feet.” He had two servants. His servants hated him because he didn’t give them enough food to eat and enough clothes to wear. Once, he prepared to go to a city with his two servants. In their journey, they were tired and thirsty. His servants wanted to buy some water, but he didn’t allow them. He told them to wait until they got in a boat. Because of thirst, they bent over and drank water from a river. Unfortunately, the mean man fell into the river. His servants were frightened when he struggled, so they yelled,” the person who will rescue my master will get $5”. He heard those words and angrily said from the river,”$5 is too expensive.” His servants immediately said, “OK, I’ll give $2 for who rescue my master.” His voice echoed,” $2 is still too much! I’d better die than giving away my money.” After saying that, he slowly drowned.

Job interview.

A job interview is very important, so I want to know how to prepare for it well. Here are some tips that I found in the book that I’ve read the day before. First, prepare yourself by learning as much as you can about the job you’re applying. Look for information about the company online or speak to others who work in that field. Second, make a list of your skills and experience. Write down those things that will have you succeed in the position you hope to fill. Try to memorize them so that you can refer to them easily during the interview. On the interview day, try to arrive early. Finally, try not to be nervous. Take a deep breathe and calm yourself before enter an interview room. Confidence is the most important factor. Following these advice can bring us a successful interview.

My spare time

In my spare time, I like to read books and listen to music. I read all kind of books, such as: fictions, newspapers, magazines… I like mangas- the kind of picture books. I like its style, pictures are cute, and stories are attractive. I also read a lot of fictions, especially mysterious and detective stories. I always read in Vietnamese, but sometimes I go to the library to borrow English books. Well, I’m in the U.S. now, I must get used to the written English. Besides reading, I like to listen to music. I don’t care about music types: hip- hop, pop, rock, R&B... whatever, but I care about lyrics. I love and choose songs with beautiful, sweet, and melodious words, especially old songs like: “Right here waiting”, “Hello”… If I have a day off, I’ll stay late in bed. Then I’ll get up, find something interesting to read, turn on favorite music, and get some fruit to eat. I can be a little lazy in that day. That’ll be a perfect leisure time for me.

The Park.

There is a park near my house. It is clean and nice. The park has several big trees. These trees give shade when it’s hot in the summer. There are benches under the trees. People enjoy sitting on those benches because it’s cool. In the middle of the park is a playground for kids. The ground is covered with green grass. Some kids like to play basketball and soccer there. Around the park is a walk side. This walk side is useful for those who enjoy walking and jogging. The park is also a home for some animals. Squirrels make their houses on the big trees. Birds come there to find food. Sometimes they make homes on the tree, too. Those animals make the park becomes livelier. There are many trashcans in the park to keep the park clean. This park is really beautiful. It’s a perfect place to play and relax.

My Family

My family consists of seven members: my grandparents, my parents, my aunt, my sister, and I. My grandpa is 80 year - old, but he’s very strong. He exercises every morning to keep healthy. My grandma is not as healthy as my grandpa, so she practices Tai chi to feel better. Both my grandparents are generous and kind. Everybody loves them. My father is 50 years old. He’s tall. He’s a worker in a factory. He’s sometimes strict, and he doesn’t let me go out too much with my friends. My mom is a wise woman. Unlike my father, she lets us do whatever we want. She’s hard working and diligent, so her boss and co-workers like her. My aunt is my father’s youngest sister. She’s a seamstress. She always makes dresses for my sister and me. The dresses she makes are beautiful. My sister is younger than me. She’s in high school, and she dreams to become an artist. Family means everything to me, because they are the only one who love me in this planet.

New Year Day

In Vietnam, we celebrate New Year in February (the day and the month may change, because it depends on Lunar calendar). The Lunar New Year is really the beginning of a year for us. One month before New Year, we prepare everything to celebrate it. At that time of the year is the harvest of many tropical fruits, so we buy a lot of fruits and out on altars to worship our ancestors, gods, and the sky. We usually buy watermelon, grapefruit, coconut, mango, and soursop. These fruits have a good meaning: happiness, fulfillment, richness, and luckiness. This is also time for people to shop. They buy new clothes and new house wares and things to decorate their houses. Flower markets are always crowded. Every New Year, my aunt makes new dresses for my sister and me. We will put on new clothes one day before New Year. On New Year's Eve, people don't sleep. They go to temples or worship at home. Of course there will have a lot of good food. On New Year day, we eat a lot and sometimes we drink. Gambling is allowed in these days. In the other time of the year, gambling is illegal. Older and married people give away little money for kids. This action means adults want kids to have a healthy life and grow up faster. Usually we celebrate New Year for a week, and then we go back to work or school. This is the longest holiday in the year for us to relax, play, stay with families, and enjoy our time.

My Mother

My mother is not tall, and she's thin. Her eyes are big and brown. Her nose is flat as most Asian people. Her hair is naturally curly and black. She's a kind and generous woman. She's also friendly and likes to help people. That's why everyone who knows her loves her. She's a good mother too, of course. She's not as strict as my father. She understands her children and lets us do whatever we want to do. Sometimes she explains what is right and wrong, what is good or bad for us to understand and change our bad habits or behaviors. She's very skillful and handy. When I was at school, I was bad at art. I couldn't draw, sew, or embroider; therefore, I always had trouble in art class. My mother would help me out and guide me to complete the projects. My mother is not strong, but she does a heavy work. She works at a market in downtown. Her job is to take care of vegetables section. She must carry all the heavy boxes of vegetables to the storehouse, pack them into smaller containers, and display them out on shelves. She’s never worked before, so this job is really difficult for her. But she tries all her best to work to support our family. She endures all her pains, tries to smile all the time. She just doesn't let us worry about her. She wants me and my sister go to school, because she hopes we will have better lives than hers. I love my mother so much and appreciate all the things she's done for us, for our family

Pets

Americans love pets. A large number of Americans live with pets. Most families own dogs or cats. They think pets are part of their families. I've heard that American owners buy gifts for their pets, call them through answering machines, and leave TVs on for them when the owners go out for work. Some restaurants and hotels allow dogs. There are toys and clothes for them. And the cost for taking care of pets is always expensive. Although pets are fun and important to lonely people, some are not able to have pets because they need a lot of attention. In my country, animals are not treated as well as in the U.S. You can see cats or dogs sometimes walk alone in the streets. Some bad guys will catch them if they go alone without owners' supervision. Those poor animals will be killed and sold as meat. What a terrible thing! I never eat dog or cat meat even though I've heard it tastes good. Vietnam has a policy to protect animals now, but it seems very hard to enforce it. We expect they would find more ways to protect animals' lives.