Monday, December 13, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
25th of November: Project: Responce to Literature: The Monkey' Paw
This is the first part of my RTL with Alex. We decided to divide our project into two part: essay and video because the video isn't so clear and the essay is basically has the same content.
Monday, November 22, 2010
23rd of November: ICT: CottonCandy Advertisement
This was made by Anna, Darlene, Tom and Olia/
Anna as the little girl.
Darlene as the seller.
Tom as the low voice.
Olia as mom.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
4th of November: Homework: New vocabulary
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| A statue to commemorate Terry Fox |
Thursday, October 28, 2010
27th of October: Homework: Stop the Sun and Gentleman of Rio en Medio: Sentences with New Vocabulary
Vocabulary word: Commotion
The dead body in the pool of my school made such a big commotion that all students were excused from coming to school for a whole week.
Vocabulary word: Foundered
He foundered the test because he played video games the day before.
Vocabulary word: Ruin
The bomb brought great ruin to millions of people, leaving some without a house and some without a family.
Vocabulary word: Inert
After the unfortunate accident my body was inert for month.
Vocabulary word: Negotiation
After so many years of war, the two countries decided to hold a negotiation and try to come up with a peaceful solution.
Vocabulary word: Innumerable
The relatives form my father's side are innumerable.
Vocabulary word: Boundaries
After the the country conquered more land, the boundaries changed.
Vocabulary word: Descendants
He decided to leave all his fortune for his descendants.
The dead body in the pool of my school made such a big commotion that all students were excused from coming to school for a whole week.
Vocabulary word: Foundered
He foundered the test because he played video games the day before.
Vocabulary word: Ruin
The bomb brought great ruin to millions of people, leaving some without a house and some without a family.
Vocabulary word: Inert
After the unfortunate accident my body was inert for month.
Vocabulary word: Negotiation
After so many years of war, the two countries decided to hold a negotiation and try to come up with a peaceful solution.
Vocabulary word: Innumerable
The relatives form my father's side are innumerable.
Vocabulary word: Boundaries
After the the country conquered more land, the boundaries changed.
Vocabulary word: Descendants
He decided to leave all his fortune for his descendants.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
27th of October: Homework: Gentleman of Rio en Medio
Literary Focus: Literary Analysis:
Question #6: Infer Why doesn't Don Anselmo reveal who "owns" the trees on his first visit to the lawyer's office? Was he being clever, or was he unaware of the potential problem? Explain.
Don Anselmo was not being clever. Don Anselmo is an honest person. He didn't take the additional money for the land which shows how honest and self righteous he is. A self righteous man such as Don Anselmo was not trying to be clever in this situation.
He was aware of the potential problem too. The reason why Don Anselmo didn't take the money was because he knew that he couldn't sell the trees. Knowing that, he probably could predict that the kids might still come visit the trees and overrun the property of the Americans. Don Anselmo knew that he couldn't sell the trees and thus probably could predict the potential problems that might occur.
My theory is that he just didn't find it necessary to talk about the ownership of trees at the moment. I read this story, where the main character doesn't find out a lot of things until it's too late. But when she asks her fellow classmates about the reason why they didn't tell her, they tell her that she didn't ask. I think Don Anselmo is like that too. I think he just didn't find it necessary to talk about the trees on his first visit to the lawyer's.
Question #6: Infer Why doesn't Don Anselmo reveal who "owns" the trees on his first visit to the lawyer's office? Was he being clever, or was he unaware of the potential problem? Explain.
Don Anselmo was not being clever. Don Anselmo is an honest person. He didn't take the additional money for the land which shows how honest and self righteous he is. A self righteous man such as Don Anselmo was not trying to be clever in this situation.
He was aware of the potential problem too. The reason why Don Anselmo didn't take the money was because he knew that he couldn't sell the trees. Knowing that, he probably could predict that the kids might still come visit the trees and overrun the property of the Americans. Don Anselmo knew that he couldn't sell the trees and thus probably could predict the potential problems that might occur.
My theory is that he just didn't find it necessary to talk about the ownership of trees at the moment. I read this story, where the main character doesn't find out a lot of things until it's too late. But when she asks her fellow classmates about the reason why they didn't tell her, they tell her that she didn't ask. I think Don Anselmo is like that too. I think he just didn't find it necessary to talk about the trees on his first visit to the lawyer's.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
26th of October: Homework: Stop the Sun
Literary Focus: Literary Analysis:
Question #5: Compare and Contrast Terry and his mother support his father in different ways. What do these differences tell us about them?
Terry's mother tries to ignore her husband's syndrome. She tries not to talk about Terry's father's past and his syndrome too. I think she tries to block the reality and just wants to live a normal life. She thinks that it's best to not remind her husband of his past and hurt him in the process. She is the type of person that finds it better to ignore a problem rather than confront it.
Terry, on the other hand, wants to know more about the syndrome and even though he tries to ignore the syndrome when it bothers him, he can't. Terry is very curious of his father's past and wants to find out more about it one way or the other. He wants understand his father's problem by asking his mother, teacher and later his father about it. Terry thinks it's better to confront the problem and deal with it rather than ignore it. In this aspect, he is totally different from his mother.
Question #5: Compare and Contrast Terry and his mother support his father in different ways. What do these differences tell us about them?
Terry's mother tries to ignore her husband's syndrome. She tries not to talk about Terry's father's past and his syndrome too. I think she tries to block the reality and just wants to live a normal life. She thinks that it's best to not remind her husband of his past and hurt him in the process. She is the type of person that finds it better to ignore a problem rather than confront it.
Terry, on the other hand, wants to know more about the syndrome and even though he tries to ignore the syndrome when it bothers him, he can't. Terry is very curious of his father's past and wants to find out more about it one way or the other. He wants understand his father's problem by asking his mother, teacher and later his father about it. Terry thinks it's better to confront the problem and deal with it rather than ignore it. In this aspect, he is totally different from his mother.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
7th of October: Homework: Short Story
“There are Idea Starters on the right side of page 231. You can use these ideas, mix them together or even come up with a new idea. It’s all up to you.” Mr. Patrick explained to his sixth period class. Both hands holding the big Language Arts book, he walked around the small classroom full of eight grade AIS students. Olia, who was sitting in the front row was excited about the assignment. Sure her stomach hurt from eating too much in lunch time but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that Mr. Patrick was giving a writing assignment and Olia loved to write.
“You guys have twenty minutes to brainstorm and fill in the “Pre-write” worksheet. What you can’t finish now will be your homework.” As soon as Mr. Patrick said that, Olia took out her pencil and started to brainstorm.
After five minutes, Olia finally thought of what she called an average story.
“A story about a dead girl.” She said to herself. “That might work.” And she started filing in the worksheet. But minutes passed and Olia still couldn’t fill in the events part of the worksheet.
For the whole afternoon, Olia’s head was busy filtering her ideas, throwing bad ideas out and taking possible good ideas in. What she learned in Life Science or what she read in Chinese class was totally forgotten for the whole afternoon.
By the time Olia came home, she was too tired to brainstorm and admitted to herself one thing: She was stuck.
“Huh.” Olia sighed and went upstairs to her room.
“Hey.” Olia greeted her sister, Tania who was sitting on the bed of their shared room. “I need your …”
“Wait.” Tania cut her off. “Where’s Cirque Du Freak that you promised me.” Olia sighed and took out Cirque Du Freak volume five that her sister was so eager to read. Tania snatched the comic book out of Olia’s hands and started flipping through the pages.
“Hey, I have a short story assignment. I came up with something but I’m not sure if it’s god enough. Can you…” Olia glances in Tania’s direction. “Are you listening to me?” Olia put her hands on her hips and puffed her cheeks. Tania was too busy reading to notice what ever Olia did.
“I have a lot of homework today. Can you please let me read in peace before dinner?”
“Fine.” Olia exclaimed and went to take a shower. “I’ll just ask her later.” She thought and slammed the bathroom door.
“… and then she finds out that her family really loves her and goes up to after life happily. What do you think?” Olia was sitting next to her sister in their room after dinner. Her sister as sitting at the big wooden desk surrounded by pink walls that Olia was so annoyed with.
“It’s okay.” Tania said, her eyes never leaving her homework.
“Can’t you give me a better comment than ‘OK’?” Olia said feeling frustrated.
“I don’t like it.” Tania said. Her eyes were still on her homework.
“Then give me a better idea.” Olia said, raising her voice a little bit.
“Write about ethics.”
“What about them?”
“The super factorial number 1! x 2! x 3! x…x 12! can be written as a factorial times a perfect square, that, is in the form m! x n2. What is m… I think m should be six…”
“What are you talking about?” Olia leaned over her sister just in time to see Tania circle option B.
“Math homework? Come on, is your homework more important than me?” Olia finally exploded.
“I told you my idea and you didn’t like it. What else can I do?” Tania sighed.
“Come up with a new idea, of course.” Olia said in an exasperated voice.
“I’m no writer, sorry.”
“You don’t need to be a writer!” Olia shouted and sat on the bed that was right next to the table.
“You know, if you struggle so much just to think of a plot, why don’t you write about how you struggle? There’s a conflict and there are characters right?” Tania said, finally looking at Olia while speaking. A light bulb turned on on top of Olia’s head.
“Tania, that’s a genius idea!” She exclaimed and started to fill in her worksheet, this time, with no difficulty.
“Hey Tania!” Olia yelled from the first floor of her house the next day.
“What?” Tania yelled back from the third floor.
“I got 100%.”
“On what?” Tania yelled.
“Arg.” Olia said. “Forget it.” She yelled and went to eat. Tania will never change.
“You guys have twenty minutes to brainstorm and fill in the “Pre-write” worksheet. What you can’t finish now will be your homework.” As soon as Mr. Patrick said that, Olia took out her pencil and started to brainstorm.
After five minutes, Olia finally thought of what she called an average story.
“A story about a dead girl.” She said to herself. “That might work.” And she started filing in the worksheet. But minutes passed and Olia still couldn’t fill in the events part of the worksheet.
For the whole afternoon, Olia’s head was busy filtering her ideas, throwing bad ideas out and taking possible good ideas in. What she learned in Life Science or what she read in Chinese class was totally forgotten for the whole afternoon.
By the time Olia came home, she was too tired to brainstorm and admitted to herself one thing: She was stuck.
“Huh.” Olia sighed and went upstairs to her room.
“Hey.” Olia greeted her sister, Tania who was sitting on the bed of their shared room. “I need your …”
“Wait.” Tania cut her off. “Where’s Cirque Du Freak that you promised me.” Olia sighed and took out Cirque Du Freak volume five that her sister was so eager to read. Tania snatched the comic book out of Olia’s hands and started flipping through the pages.
“Hey, I have a short story assignment. I came up with something but I’m not sure if it’s god enough. Can you…” Olia glances in Tania’s direction. “Are you listening to me?” Olia put her hands on her hips and puffed her cheeks. Tania was too busy reading to notice what ever Olia did.
“I have a lot of homework today. Can you please let me read in peace before dinner?”
“Fine.” Olia exclaimed and went to take a shower. “I’ll just ask her later.” She thought and slammed the bathroom door.
“… and then she finds out that her family really loves her and goes up to after life happily. What do you think?” Olia was sitting next to her sister in their room after dinner. Her sister as sitting at the big wooden desk surrounded by pink walls that Olia was so annoyed with.
“It’s okay.” Tania said, her eyes never leaving her homework.
“Can’t you give me a better comment than ‘OK’?” Olia said feeling frustrated.
“I don’t like it.” Tania said. Her eyes were still on her homework.
“Then give me a better idea.” Olia said, raising her voice a little bit.
“Write about ethics.”
“What about them?”
“The super factorial number 1! x 2! x 3! x…x 12! can be written as a factorial times a perfect square, that, is in the form m! x n2. What is m… I think m should be six…”
“What are you talking about?” Olia leaned over her sister just in time to see Tania circle option B.
“Math homework? Come on, is your homework more important than me?” Olia finally exploded.
“I told you my idea and you didn’t like it. What else can I do?” Tania sighed.
“Come up with a new idea, of course.” Olia said in an exasperated voice.
“I’m no writer, sorry.”
“You don’t need to be a writer!” Olia shouted and sat on the bed that was right next to the table.
“You know, if you struggle so much just to think of a plot, why don’t you write about how you struggle? There’s a conflict and there are characters right?” Tania said, finally looking at Olia while speaking. A light bulb turned on on top of Olia’s head.
“Tania, that’s a genius idea!” She exclaimed and started to fill in her worksheet, this time, with no difficulty.
“Hey Tania!” Olia yelled from the first floor of her house the next day.
“What?” Tania yelled back from the third floor.
“I got 100%.”
“On what?” Tania yelled.
“Arg.” Olia said. “Forget it.” She yelled and went to eat. Tania will never change.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
29th of Spetember: Homework: A Retrieved Reformation: Sentences with New Vocabulary
Vocabulary word: Rehabilitate
Sentence: Parents of drug addicts usually want their child to rehabilitate.
Vocabulary word: Clemency
Sentence: Hoping to get clemency, criminals tried their best to improve their behavior.
Vocabulary word: Elusive
Sentence: The elusive butterfly flew left and right, dodging the hands of a little boy.
Vocabulary word: Anguish
Sentence: Hearing her parents argue in the living room caused her great anguish.
Sentence: Parents of drug addicts usually want their child to rehabilitate.
Vocabulary word: Clemency
Sentence: Hoping to get clemency, criminals tried their best to improve their behavior.
Vocabulary word: Elusive
Sentence: The elusive butterfly flew left and right, dodging the hands of a little boy.
Vocabulary word: Anguish
Sentence: Hearing her parents argue in the living room caused her great anguish.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
28th of September: Homework: A Retrieved Reformation
Think as a Reader/Writer: Use It in Your Writing: The descriptive words O. Henry uses help you get to know the characters. Write a short description of someone you know. Use vivid adjectives to bring the person to life for your reader.
Tania had her messy hair tied into a low pony tail. She wore an old worn-out dress that looked too big for her and a pair of long blue pants that were worn inside out. Her glasses reflected the monitor. Hunch-backed on the chair, she rapidly typed on the keyboard.
Tania had her messy hair tied into a low pony tail. She wore an old worn-out dress that looked too big for her and a pair of long blue pants that were worn inside out. Her glasses reflected the monitor. Hunch-backed on the chair, she rapidly typed on the keyboard.
28th of September: Remake Homework: Hamadi
Since my last post was too short and I barely described Vania, I decided to rewrite my work. I added a lot of details and I'm proud to announce that my work is now around one page long (double spaced). Here's my new work and thank you, Linda and Mr. Patrick for commenting.
Choice: As you respond Choices, use these Academic Vocabulary words as appropriate: incident, factor, interact, response.
CONNECT: Write a Letter: Mr. Hamadi is a "fish out of water" when he goes caroling with the English Club. Imgaine that you want to invite someone who wouldn't usually be part of the group to come with you to a favorite activity. Write a one-page letter to that person in which you persuade him or her to join you. Give reasons and examples to support your argument.
Hey Vania,
It’s been a while since we saw each other. Both you and me are busy with school work and you rarely come to my house with your mom since the incident in the camp (was your mom that angry at you?).
I’m going to the mall with some of my friends this weekend and I was wondering if you’d like to come too. You might not know most of my friends but they are all very nice and are fun to interact with. I'm thinking of a movie marathon starting with the new movie "Devil" and then we can just vote for the next movies to watch. We (me and my friends) decided to stay in the mall for lunch and then have some shopping time. I know that you don't like spending your money on clothes (such a shame since you'd look great in anything) so you and me can go together to the book shop. There are a lot of good books that I'm sure you'll love to read. We'll be home by around 5 and you can come to my house for dinner (mom missed you so much) if you want to. You don’t have to worry about transportation since I can come and pick you up and if we’ll go back too late, you can stay at my house. You won’t have to worry about paying the movie tickets either. My friend (Van Anh) is paying for that (but not the books). One of the factors that lead to her paying for the movies is because Dong was calling her selfish so you should thank him if you come.
I really hope you’ll come because it’s been so long since we went to the mall together. Call me if you want to come and we’ll discuss the trip in more detail. Hope to get your response soon.
Yours,
Olia
Choice: As you respond Choices, use these Academic Vocabulary words as appropriate: incident, factor, interact, response.
CONNECT: Write a Letter: Mr. Hamadi is a "fish out of water" when he goes caroling with the English Club. Imgaine that you want to invite someone who wouldn't usually be part of the group to come with you to a favorite activity. Write a one-page letter to that person in which you persuade him or her to join you. Give reasons and examples to support your argument.
Hey Vania,
It’s been a while since we saw each other. Both you and me are busy with school work and you rarely come to my house with your mom since the incident in the camp (was your mom that angry at you?).
I’m going to the mall with some of my friends this weekend and I was wondering if you’d like to come too. You might not know most of my friends but they are all very nice and are fun to interact with. I'm thinking of a movie marathon starting with the new movie "Devil" and then we can just vote for the next movies to watch. We (me and my friends) decided to stay in the mall for lunch and then have some shopping time. I know that you don't like spending your money on clothes (such a shame since you'd look great in anything) so you and me can go together to the book shop. There are a lot of good books that I'm sure you'll love to read. We'll be home by around 5 and you can come to my house for dinner (mom missed you so much) if you want to. You don’t have to worry about transportation since I can come and pick you up and if we’ll go back too late, you can stay at my house. You won’t have to worry about paying the movie tickets either. My friend (Van Anh) is paying for that (but not the books). One of the factors that lead to her paying for the movies is because Dong was calling her selfish so you should thank him if you come.
I really hope you’ll come because it’s been so long since we went to the mall together. Call me if you want to come and we’ll discuss the trip in more detail. Hope to get your response soon.
Yours,
Olia
Sunday, September 26, 2010
26th of September: Homework: Hamadi
Choice: As you respond Choices, use 2 of these Academic Vocabulary words as appropriate: incident, factor, interact, response.
CONNECT: Write a Letter: Mr. Hamadi is a "fish out of water" when he goes caroling with the English Club. Imgaine that you want to invite someone who wouldn't usually be part of the group to come with you to a favorite activity. Write a one-page letter to that person in which you persuade him or her to join you. Give reasons and examples to support your argument.
CONNECT: Write a Letter: Mr. Hamadi is a "fish out of water" when he goes caroling with the English Club. Imgaine that you want to invite someone who wouldn't usually be part of the group to come with you to a favorite activity. Write a one-page letter to that person in which you persuade him or her to join you. Give reasons and examples to support your argument.
Hey Vania,
It’s been a while since we saw each other. Both you and me are busy with school work and you rarely come to my house with your mom.
I’m going to the mall with some of my friends this weekend and I was wondering if you’d like to come too. You might not know most of my friends but they’re all very nice and are fun to interact with. You don’t have to worry about transportation since I can come and pick you up and if we’ll go back too late, you can stay at my house. You won’t have to worry about paying either. My friend is paying for everything.
I really hope you’ll come because it’s been so long since we went to the mall together. Call me if you want to come and we’ll discuss the trip in more detail. Hope to get your response soon.
Sincerely,
Olia
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
21th of September: Homework: Hamadi : Sentences with New Vocabulary
Vocabulary word: Tedious
Sentence: I yawned as my teacher continued his tedious lesson.
Vocabulary word: Archaic
Sentence My grandmother said that this archaic house was built even before she was born.
Vocabulary word: Vaguely
Sentence: Because it happened so long ago, I could only vaguely recall the events.
Vocabulary word: Inquiring
Sentence: My mom said that I was inquiring about a lot of things as a kid and that I was curious all the time.
Sentence: I yawned as my teacher continued his tedious lesson.
Vocabulary word: Archaic
Sentence My grandmother said that this archaic house was built even before she was born.
Vocabulary word: Vaguely
Sentence: Because it happened so long ago, I could only vaguely recall the events.
Vocabulary word: Inquiring
Sentence: My mom said that I was inquiring about a lot of things as a kid and that I was curious all the time.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
14th of September: Homework: The Monkey's Paw and Aunty Misery: Sentences with New Vocabulary
Vocabulary word: Amiably
Sentence: The group discuss their findings amiably.
Vocabulary word: Presumptuous
Sentence: The soldier was such a presumptuous man that he thought that he could take on the lion all by himself.
Vocabulary word: Credulity
Sentence: The woman laughed at her daughter's credulity.
Vocabulary word: Hospitality
Sentence: The family was rewarded for their hospitality.
Vocabulary word: Gnarled
Sentence: Her hair was twisted and gnarled.
Sentence: The group discuss their findings amiably.
Vocabulary word: Presumptuous
Sentence: The soldier was such a presumptuous man that he thought that he could take on the lion all by himself.
Vocabulary word: Credulity
Sentence: The woman laughed at her daughter's credulity.
Vocabulary word: Hospitality
Sentence: The family was rewarded for their hospitality.
Vocabulary word: Gnarled
Sentence: Her hair was twisted and gnarled.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
7th of September: Homework: The Treasure of Lemon Brown: Sentences with New Vocabulary
Vocabulary word: Probing
Sentence: The police conducted a probing investigation of the dealer's past.
Vocabulary word: Impromptu
Sentence: The trip to Vung Tau was an impromptu vacation.
Vocabulary word: Ominous
Sentence: The tiger came closer and sent me an ominous glare.
Vocabulary word: Intently
Sentence: The student sat straight in his chair and listened to the lecture intently.
Vocabulary word: Tentatively
The boy looked at the stranger and took a cookie from the plate tentatively.
Sentence: The police conducted a probing investigation of the dealer's past.
Vocabulary word: Impromptu
Sentence: The trip to Vung Tau was an impromptu vacation.
Vocabulary word: Ominous
Sentence: The tiger came closer and sent me an ominous glare.
Vocabulary word: Intently
Sentence: The student sat straight in his chair and listened to the lecture intently.
Vocabulary word: Tentatively
The boy looked at the stranger and took a cookie from the plate tentatively.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
31st of August: Homework: Personal Experience Narrative
Sometimes I can't sleep... Sometimes, I'm too scared to close my eyes. The scenes from that time keep on coming back, repeating themselves like a broken CD... The only difference is... I can't seem to turn them off.
i can still smell the ocen, see the blue sky, the people, the happiness and hear my dad yelling at me:
"Don't go too far!" He shouted from the shore.
I heard those words far too many times to care. I stayed in the same place, jumping up and down the waves, enjoying my summer. I didn't know what the consequences of those actions would be. Not until I decided to swim back to the shore. I started to move my arms and legs in the water. I moved... only backwards. The water was too strong, it kept pushing me further from the shore. I tried different styles of swimming and different paces, nothing worked. When I was losing all my hopes of swimming back to the shore, I felt a pair of strong hands that I identified as my dad's push me. His hands didn't push me that far, but I sure felt stronger. After a while of active swimming, two pairs of slim hands lead me back to the shore, two strangers that I didn't even know helped me back. They looked thinner than me yet they were much stronger. As I was continuing to struggle in the water, I realized that I couldn't find my dad, nor could I find my sister. I heard my dad's voice from afar, in the ocean.
"Help! Help!" he yelled in Vietnamese. No one seemed to notice him. I looked back to the ocean as I walked into the shore. My sister was out there, too. Much further from the land than my dad was.
"Tania! Dad!" I yelled continuously, not caring if any one was looking at me or if my dad and sister could hear me. Their lives were all that mattered. Everything started to blur and I lost sight of my dad and sister. My heart was beating fast, picking up it's pace with every breath I took. I wanted to swim to them and help but I knew that no matter how much I try, I'll be no help to my dad and sister out in the ocean. I could still hear my dad shouting for help. The first few drops of tears fell on my cheeks. That's when my dad slowly neared the shore and came out of the water. I ran to him as fast as I could but he yelled and pointed at my cousins and brother:
"Get them out of the water!"
I did as he said. I ran to the little kids and told them to get out.
My sister was still out in the ocean and all I did was stand there with the kids. After a few seconds of waiting, my brother ran back into the water.
"No!" I yelled and pushed my brother back to the shore. "Please, just stay here.' I said in Vietnamese so that he could understand. I hugged him and my cousins tightly. I didn't want to risk any more lives.
I looked back into the ocean; my sister was getting further and further away, so far that I could barely see her. A group of 4 men ran into the water and swam to where my sister was. For a while, I didn't see them, nor could I see my sister. My heart started to beat even faster and I felt like I wasn't breathing. The images of me living without my sister kept on flashing in my head. My throat went dry and I started crying hysterically.
After a few minutes, my sister came out of the water, with the assistance of 4 men and a little boy. Turns out, she was trying to save that little boy when he was drifting away and got caught up in the waster herself.
I ran to her, tears flowing like a waterfall. I hugged her tighltly, holding on to her like she was my lifeline. My sister hugged me back. She wasn't trembling, nor was she crying.
"Silly girl, what did you think would happen to me? God loves me too much to just let me go like that." she said, trying to calm me down. I heard those words far too many times yet only today did it seem so meaningful.
I didn't take my eyes off my sister for a whole day. My sister and I slapped and pinched each other many times, wondering if this was all a dream and that perhaps, one of us didn't survive after all. The theory was proved to be wrong. My cheeks were all red by the end of the day. I didn't care.
Sometimes I can't sleep... Sometimes I'm too scared to close my eyes... The scenes from that time keep on coming back, repeating themselves like a broken CD... The only difference is... I can't seem to turn them off.
I can still remember the dark room, the frightening darkness that surrounded my and my sister's voice as she was falling into slumber:
"Life's short, treasure it."
i can still smell the ocen, see the blue sky, the people, the happiness and hear my dad yelling at me:
"Don't go too far!" He shouted from the shore.
I heard those words far too many times to care. I stayed in the same place, jumping up and down the waves, enjoying my summer. I didn't know what the consequences of those actions would be. Not until I decided to swim back to the shore. I started to move my arms and legs in the water. I moved... only backwards. The water was too strong, it kept pushing me further from the shore. I tried different styles of swimming and different paces, nothing worked. When I was losing all my hopes of swimming back to the shore, I felt a pair of strong hands that I identified as my dad's push me. His hands didn't push me that far, but I sure felt stronger. After a while of active swimming, two pairs of slim hands lead me back to the shore, two strangers that I didn't even know helped me back. They looked thinner than me yet they were much stronger. As I was continuing to struggle in the water, I realized that I couldn't find my dad, nor could I find my sister. I heard my dad's voice from afar, in the ocean.
"Help! Help!" he yelled in Vietnamese. No one seemed to notice him. I looked back to the ocean as I walked into the shore. My sister was out there, too. Much further from the land than my dad was.
"Tania! Dad!" I yelled continuously, not caring if any one was looking at me or if my dad and sister could hear me. Their lives were all that mattered. Everything started to blur and I lost sight of my dad and sister. My heart was beating fast, picking up it's pace with every breath I took. I wanted to swim to them and help but I knew that no matter how much I try, I'll be no help to my dad and sister out in the ocean. I could still hear my dad shouting for help. The first few drops of tears fell on my cheeks. That's when my dad slowly neared the shore and came out of the water. I ran to him as fast as I could but he yelled and pointed at my cousins and brother:
"Get them out of the water!"
I did as he said. I ran to the little kids and told them to get out.
My sister was still out in the ocean and all I did was stand there with the kids. After a few seconds of waiting, my brother ran back into the water.
"No!" I yelled and pushed my brother back to the shore. "Please, just stay here.' I said in Vietnamese so that he could understand. I hugged him and my cousins tightly. I didn't want to risk any more lives.
I looked back into the ocean; my sister was getting further and further away, so far that I could barely see her. A group of 4 men ran into the water and swam to where my sister was. For a while, I didn't see them, nor could I see my sister. My heart started to beat even faster and I felt like I wasn't breathing. The images of me living without my sister kept on flashing in my head. My throat went dry and I started crying hysterically.
After a few minutes, my sister came out of the water, with the assistance of 4 men and a little boy. Turns out, she was trying to save that little boy when he was drifting away and got caught up in the waster herself.
I ran to her, tears flowing like a waterfall. I hugged her tighltly, holding on to her like she was my lifeline. My sister hugged me back. She wasn't trembling, nor was she crying.
"Silly girl, what did you think would happen to me? God loves me too much to just let me go like that." she said, trying to calm me down. I heard those words far too many times yet only today did it seem so meaningful.
I didn't take my eyes off my sister for a whole day. My sister and I slapped and pinched each other many times, wondering if this was all a dream and that perhaps, one of us didn't survive after all. The theory was proved to be wrong. My cheeks were all red by the end of the day. I didn't care.
Sometimes I can't sleep... Sometimes I'm too scared to close my eyes... The scenes from that time keep on coming back, repeating themselves like a broken CD... The only difference is... I can't seem to turn them off.
I can still remember the dark room, the frightening darkness that surrounded my and my sister's voice as she was falling into slumber:
"Life's short, treasure it."
Friday, August 20, 2010
21st of August: Homework: Flowers for Algernon
Question #6: Interpret What does it mean ""to pull a Charlie Gordon""?
""To pull a Charlie Gordon"" means to do something that Charlie Gordon would do. Charlie is considered stupid by his friends. So ""to pull a Charlie Gordon"" means to do something stupid.
""To pull a Charlie Gordon"" means to do something that Charlie Gordon would do. Charlie is considered stupid by his friends. So ""to pull a Charlie Gordon"" means to do something stupid.
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