-TKAM SELF REFLECTION

Nowadays, many schools across the United States are dropping To Kill a Mockingbird from the curriculum in favor of more "modern" literature. People think the book contains too many negative perspect on racism, ranking, and sexual morality, which is not really good for children or students to learn about it too early. Also, people who oppose to have this book in the school reading list, think it shows too much about the negative side of the society so directly that would influence our view of our life.


I hold opposite opinion to those people, I think this book would be a very good curriculum resourse for us high school students to read. As history is an important part the world, it's neccessary to learn the true side about it. The author actually wrote about the society that he's living in, he was being so honest to tell us the story which is based on the true condition. The theme of the book is against racial prejudice. It would help us to learn more about the society, both on the positive and negative side, so that we can have a objective point of view about it which we could realize the mistakes that people made at that time and exam ourselves to make our world better.

Jem AND Scout                                                                    Atticus AND Tom Robinson
                                                       

The charaters in the novel are so unique that I love them so much. Scout, as the protagonist of the story, a tomboy who tells us the story in her special perspective, which is a child's view. This also forms a contrast that shows the black side of an evil in front of a pure angel. Atticus is my favorite character, he's Scout's father and a famous lawyer in the town. He himself always being an example to teach his children to do what's right and to try things even though you know it's impossible. He's the hero of the Blacks society, he helped a nigger in a court case to fight for their legal right even though he didn't succeed. On the other hand, there are also some negative characters in the story, such as Bob Ewell. He's the biggest evil in the town, which is a lazy man who live in a dump with his many children, he doesn't have a job and could not provide his children to go to school either. He accused a nigger of raping his daughter even though the nigger was innocent. He tries to kill Atticus's children but kill himself accidently. This shows the result of being an evil, they would vanish for sure.


In chapter 26, Scout was in school talking about when Hitler persecuting the Jews. Scout's teacher ask the class what do they think is the meaning of democracy. Scout quotes "Equal rights for all, special privileges for none." Her teacher praised her after hearing the answer. And it was so irony that the teacher herself was a racist that when Tom was at the court, she was on Bob Ewell's side. This makes Scout so confused, she could not understand those people who way others are so hypocrite when they are the ones that are really hypocrite.


The racial problems were a big problem at that time, and it's still exist in today's society, though most people understand that it's not appropriate to be a racist. This book helps me have a better understanding of racism and teaches me to be a righteous person that I need to choose the right. The book To Kill A Mockingbird remains an American classic for people not only students, but also people at all age levels. I personally consider that it would always be one of my favorite books.

NewS ComMenTarY (2)

-Judge Blocks New York City’s Limits on Big Sugary Drinks

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/12/nyregion/judge-invalidates-bloombergs-soda-ban.html?hp&_r=0

-The Distracted American Driver

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/15/the-distracted-american-driver/?ref=health

News Commentary

The New York Times

-North Korea

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/09/world/asia/north-korea-sanctions.html?ref=asia

North Korea just did a third nuclear test in February, and this threatened America, South Korea, even the whole globe so much. What i want to say is that as a country, North Korea could not be as a little child and do something that is so irresponsible to the world.

The whole globe is advocating denuclearization, but NK is the first challenge that makes the other countries could not give up nuclear weapons. Plus, people in NK are suffering starvation, they could not even make sure that their people are taken care how can they just ignore it and aiming at destroying world peace. I was so surprised it was China that wrote the sanction, that means that China would not stay neutral anymore especially when the new presidency take power.  I just couldn't understand what's the point for them to do all those things, it will be just perfect if all the countries could be in a peaceful world (though it seems it's still too hard to practice this kind of ideal world..)

(North Koreans are so proud of their third nuclear test... which is truly sad)

-Chinese old prime minister's retirement speech

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/05/world/asia/on-eve-of-chinas-party-congress-vows-of-change.html?pagewanted=2&ref=asia&_r=0

The prior Prime Minister of China, Mr. Wen, gave his last speech few days ago, it warned people about its current situation from all aspects.  No doubt,Mr. Wen did make many contribution to our society, but people still think he didn't work "hard" enough to make big changes.

 As it always is, the inequality of wealth is still a serious problem in China that needs to be solved. Chinese Government has promised that they would devote themselves to improve this kind of situation, but doesn't show any obvious improvement. This becomes a great task for the new president.
 

In the report, it also urges China continue to building military, which is really important especially when facing so many threaten from many countries, for example the North Korea nuclear test, some conflicts with America, and the territory problem with Japan.

 

The problems of corruptions of the government officials increases in these few years, the old ministers did adopt measures, but we are expecting the new president to reform the politic system to prevent the corruptions in maximum extent.

lists and poetry

LIST1:
- I am living in this world.
- My parents are the people who love me the most.
- I have my dream and I know I can achieve it.
- The world will keep spinning even when you are dead.
- Don't share your sadness easily, most people will only laugh at you instead of                   comforting you.
- Don't complain, just work harder.
- You have to have something that you believe in.
- What you did effects what you will get.
- Even though there are so many bad things going on, there are still true things in the world. Don't be too absolute.
- You are always luckier than most of the people in the world.

LIST 2:
- Air, water, sunlight
- Friends
- Family
- People who I learn things from
- People who are racing with me (enemies)
- Music, Piano
- Books
- The curiosity to explore things around me
- Food
- Sports

LIST 3:
- Knowledge is the thing that you can never finish learning
- There are always truth in the world
- You should believe in yourself
- There are people who always love you, and offer comfort when you get hurt
- Failure is the mother of success
- You can do everything better
- People should have something that they really believe in
- You need to experience different things to find the one that fits you most
- There are always potential inherit in you
- Be satisfied but keep pursuing.

LIST 4:
- Marathon, cross country =. =
- Making me parents disappointed
- Being not worth trusted by people
- Losing my friends
- The animals people keep at home (instead of leaving them in the zoo)
- Could not insist on the things I like
- Don't finish the things that I want to do before I die
- Could not get sick
- The GPA, ACT, SAT, TOEFL
- How my future will be

LIST 5:
- Friends
- Family
- House
- Entertainment Park
- My schools in China
- Europe
- The city where I was born
- A place that I can relax myself
- People who are humorous
- A completely new place

LIST 6:
- The place that has most of my memories
- Britain
- Germany
- Korea
- Africa
- Roller Coaster
- New York
- Pennsylvania
- North Pole
- Any place that I can go with the people I love

Sunny

Mean, Funny, Helpful, Dramatic

Dara Le

Swimming, New things, Piano

Need to go back to China, She has to be more intelligent, Like to change stuffs

To find a new music sheet, People to talk with, To be more diligent

Warmth like sunshine, Help for people who need, Smily face to people who walk pass by

Being forgotten by friends, Walking in the street in dark by herself, Could not achieve goals

The sunrise with people she loves, Her friends' living in happiness, Her family members sitting together for dinner

In a new place that is far way from her origin country, a new family, Cedar Hills, Utah

Le

~HoW tO EnJoY YouR KiWi FrUiT~

B L O G   T I M E ~!!!

I was so happy that my last post was one of the best of the week... LALALA~ [=. =]...
Okay, I will keep myself working on it. Thank you!

As everybody knows, fruits are super good for us. They can make us look healthier and strengthen our bodies. 

 Especially kiwi fruit, it's one of my favorite in the world. Its abundance of vitamin A,B,C,D,E,F,G.....Z(whatever... well, i am not kidding, they really have something called vitamin K..  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiwifruit  click this link and check it out...) keeps you away from getting seasoning flu( especially in spring, you will get flu easily! ) 

But many people have no idea how to eat a kiwi fruit, the fuzzy kiwi skin have troubled many people.  Well, then let me introduce my way to eat a kiwi ^_^

STEP 1

Of course,, you have to buy some kiwi fruit from the market.

              [also, there's a tip for you when you want to ripen your kiwi: put the kiwi in a zip bag with some apples and leave then in room temperature for one day.]

STEP 2

 Prepare a bowl of water(make sure you can immerse the kiwi with water). a teaspoon of salt.

Dissolve the salt in the water and put the kiwi fruit in the water. 

Wait for 10-15 minutes...

Before                                                                                            After                   

STEP 3

GET A FRUIT KNIF AND CUT THE KIWI FRUIT INTO HALF

------------------------JUST LIKE THIS

STEP 4

Then,, welcome to the high-tech part,,

all you need is a spoon.. (just a normal one)


put the spoon in between the peel and the pulp of the kiwi 

like this---------------------------

spin the spoon (keep the spoon in between the peel and the pulp)

see..? -------------

this way you can take the whole pulp out of the skin EASILY..

and you are not wasting it!! 

(not like when you are using a peeler, you always get only half of the kiwi..T^T..)

STEP 5

ENJOY YOUR KIWI FRUIT!~~!!!

You can put it in your yogurt, eat it with honey, whip cream, 

put it on top of your waffle, make it a fruit salad.....

But I personally just like to eat it by itself,

sweet enough, sour enough

***no extra calories no worry***

---THE END---

How To Make Fortune Cookie Notes

People who want some special idea of Valentine's gift please come look at here :)

It is Valentine's Day!!! I am so excited :) Did everyone have a great day with your friends?  

Was anybody having hard time thinking of something special to give to your friends? Well, many people can't come out of the idea of what to give to their friends on Valentine's Day. Nowadays, people prefer those gifts that can be kept for a long time than the simple chocolate candies (plus, sweets are not really good for your health). Then what should we do?

 Dingdingdingding~!!! I have a super good idea for you! To make a FORTUNE COOKIE NOTE is the best choice for your next Valentine. 

This FORTUNE COOKIE NOTE helps you express your love for your friends on Valentine's Day perfectly. And, of course, it's made of your love! You can write whatever you want to say to your friends without being embarrassed that sometimes it's hard to say how much you love a person directly. It's super easy to make and I am pretty sure that it would turn out very well.

Then, let's get started!

First, these are the things that you will need: Several pieces of nice paper, tape, scissors, notes

STEP 1:
Draw a circle on a paper and cut it out. The size of the circle can be variable (I just used my water bottle to draw the circle) .

Also, you can use some other kind of scissors to cut a cuter circle :)

Finished circles

STEP 2:
Write or print a note and cut it in a rectangle shape. (the note should be little bit longer than the diameter of the circle, and the width of the note should not be over 1/4 of the diameter.)

STEP 3:
Fold the circle to half, but don't pinch it too hard. Then you put the note in it.

STEP 4:
Fold the semi-circle with the note into half again, (don't pinch it too hard...).

STEP 5:
Then you put a little bit of the tape on the edge of the circle. This time you can pinch it  super hard, or maybe you can say you are showing how much you put your heart into it... ... =. =

FINISH!!

It is easy, isn't it? Now you know how to make the fortune cookie notes, do you feel like to make a box of them to your best friend? Then just do it! I am sure that he/she will be really happy to receive such a gift from you.

You are welcome to comment on this post, and let me know if I should explain the procedure more clearly.

BLOG REVIEW

I chose three blogs which focus on Chinese culture.

- http://www.thebeijinger.com/blog/Chinese-Culture

I like this blog a lot. When I first open this web site, a red background poped into my eyes and what I feel is, this is so Chinese!! It's called the Beijinger's Blog, so it's easy to tell that is a blog about Chinese things. It introduces things about Chinese culture, especially it's a blog that is open to the foreigners and it's in English.

The posts in this blog are all about Chinese traditional festival, Chinese food, and some other things about China, so basically, this blog focus on it's theme very well and it does a great job introducing our culture to the foreigners.

I like how the author put his words into different small paragraphs, it makes the articles easier to read. In some ways, it catches the readers' interests better! Also, the author uses many pictures on the posts, that makes the blog more fun. The blog focus on almost everything about China, for example, it introduces Chinese culture, it has some recipe for Chinese dishes, and it also introduces some of the famous people in China. I feel like myself totally agree with the information on the blog, and I also learn a lot things from the site even though me myself is a Chinese.

- http://www.lostlaowai.com/blog/category/china-stuff/chinese-culture/

This is also a blog about China. The name of the blog is "Lost Laowai", which is a pretty interesting name that the writer uses the informal "Chinglish"(a language that combine Chinese and English). It's easy to tell that the writter of the blog is a Chinese, and wants to introduce our culture to people who wants to know about China. The blog is in English, so it also provides a very good opportunities for the foreigners. 

The blog not only talkes about the Chinese culture, also some other things about China, such as arts and entertainments, travel information, and also some lessons to learn Chinese. It almost covers every field about China. 

LIke other good bloggers do, the writer does put articles into small paragraphs, and this makes the blog easier for readers to read. Also, pictures in one of the most important elements in a blog, the writer uses many pictures and explain things in a conciser way. 

Also, I noticed that the people who comment on the blog are most foreigners, it seems that they do learn a lot things about China from this blog and they do enjoy it. So I think the writer is satisfied about it.

- http://blogs.transparent.com/chinese/

This blog is a little different from those two above, it focus on teaching people to learn Chinese. The background of the blog is white, so it looks very clean and it's easy for people to find some information that they want. 

Videos are the main parts in this blog. The writer is very smart, because a video actually works better than pictures to help people learn Chinese, so that you can know the exact pronunciation of the Chinese words. Also it has many vocabularies with the Chinese "pingyin" on it, when you know about the "pingyin", you will know how to pronounce a Chinese word easily. 

There are many articles which also introduced some Chinese traditional culture, and there are some explanations by the hard words. The writer didn't put all the words together on the same line, instead, he put it in different paragraphs and it's easy for people to read.

Many people shared those posts on twitter and Facebook, which means  there are many people like this blog and it does help them learn Chinese very well. It's a good way to spread Chinese culture through blog since people from different countries and different cultures and learn or know more about China. We do expect a blending with multiple cultures so that we can communicate with each other and share about our own. 

College Week

Last week we had our college week while other half of our class were doing service in Mexico. We visited BYU on Tuesday, UVU on Thursday, and U of U on Friday. It was really a nice college tour, and it seems like I found my goal became clearer than before. The tour stimulate my ambitions to get in my dream college and major.


Who Am I ? - I am in different characters at the same time: a daughter, friend, a citizen of my country, and so on. But for now, the most important role i am playing is a student, or more specifically, a student who is getting ready gor the senior year and all kinds of tests to get in a dream college. I didn't realize how little the time has left for me to study for all those tests until i went to the college otur last week, especially for me, as an international student, i have to prepare for more tests than the native students (ACT, SAT, and TOEFL).They made me feel so stressed out and it seems like I have been lost in a fog for a long time that i dont know what to do with it. But now, i know who I am and I know what I'm going to become, I know how to achieve my goals. I know I have to pay all my effort. "Time is money", there's no any reason for me to waste all my time watching dramas or shows, or to sit in front of a computer and spend the precious time on Facebook. To change from who i am to who i want to be, i know i can as long as i 'm trying my very best.


What Was I Born To Do ? - Actually i 've already thought about that long time ago. At that time, i told myself "all you need to do is to satisfy your parents, do what they want you to do, and be what they want you to be. " I just need to obey my parents on everything for no reason. Both of my parents are business man, so i want to major in business and get in a good business college, that's all my dream. It might sound very unbelievable for many of the American students, but for me it's been the truth or the "doctrine" for me since i was born. But now, i found that i have to change it a little bit, i have to have the dream for myself and live for myself, not only for my parents. I still want to get into a business college and major in business, not because of my parents, i just found that i love it, and feel like that's how i can create my own world. So if you ask me now, what am i born to do. i will say, to achieve my own dream.


What Is Stopping Me? - As a teenager, the internet is still the biggest enemy for me to stop me from achieving my goals. Dramas, TV shows, movies, and those online games drag me away from focusing on study. Even though i know that's wrong for me to do things except for study, i just could not control myself sometimes. But at least, now i realize the importance for me to work harder and get over all the temptings from the internet, and i know what is that means by "a minute does farm work, a minute harvest." I will get over all the troubles and focus on what i should do.