Privatization of Aztra

Martin Zerda
Level 6
March 1, 2008

Privatization of Aztra

The creation of a wonderful factory called Aztra was the spark for the creation
of my hometown, La Troncal. Aztra was the biggest sugar factory in my country Ecuador, and it was managed by the government; therefore, it was an excellent source of job opportunities for many people from all over the country. People came to the small town of La Troncal with dreams of improving their quality of life. However, happiness was not staying forever, and the government considered selling this company to a private firm. Nobody understood it, but we could not do anything to prevent it from happening. Corruption was all over it, and everyone could perceive it. Aztra had meant a lot to me. Since I was born and raised in this town, I remember clearly my town as the best place in the world, and Aztra as the best place in my town. Aztra was more than a factory; it was my childhood and my dreams. Therefore, when I think about it the first thing that comes to my mind is my town growing along with Aztra, followed by the nightmare of the company’s transformation, and finally, how hard it was for us to recover and rethink our projects and dreams.

Certainly, my people considered this factory as the best thing in town, it was a source of income for the families, and they did care about employees and their children. I gladly remember a huge park created by the company thinking of employees’ children, and I used to meet my friends there and play for hours on the weekends. My dad used to get from this company his uniform, all his tools for work and some sugar tickets. No doubt, my father was proud to be part of the company. Meanwhile, this small happy town started to grow, and later it became a city, City of La Troncal. It was incredible how fast it happened, and the city’s name became well known in the country. Although it was not the capital of the state, it was soon called the economic capital. The city was a good place to open a business, so inside of this small city, it was easy to find a variety of small stores visibly showing its growing potential.

In the same way it started to grow, I felt that the entire town was beginning to fall down. Unquestionably, the government sold the company to a private firm, and we could not find a logical reason for that. It was basically a negotiation between the government and a private firm. However, the entire town qualified this act as corruption, but nobody could prevent it from happening. Unfortunately, the employees had only one choice, so they accepted the financial compensation for the years they had worked there and then they were fired. The company took a new name, which is the name of the town La Troncal. After a couple of months, the company rehired its workers and reopened the production, but it was not the same as it was before. The employees’ income decreased around 70%. It was incredible, and there were no benefits at all. It was unacceptable and painful, but we had to realize that “Aztra” had disappeared.

Undoubtedly, my town, my family and I felt the impact of this transformation, and it was easy to read the dissatisfaction on our faces. Since it was the main source of employment in town, people had to accept the cheap price for their labor. It was hard to see how the things had changed, and I could see on the face of my father all his worries about the future of our family. He did not say anything, but I knew he was hurt for not being able to achieve his goals. This event forced me to leave my dreams and goals on the side and do something to help my family. Consequently, I arranged to immigrate to the US, and look after my family. Unfortunately, many people experienced what I had, and probably reacted in the same as I did, but the cause was the same, privatization of Aztra.

As I have said, the privatization of Aztra was painful for me because I considered it the best place in town. My town grew along with this factory and my people were happy, but then it suddenly disappeared. Nowadays, this factory is even bigger with new machines, and it is good looking, but the employees are unfulfilled and wondering about their old Aztra, which has disappeared together with their hopes and dreams. This event changed my direction, my goals and erased many of my dreams, but I still remember that huge old factory with its big letters in the front saying: “AZTRA”. I will keep that beautiful memory inside my heart even though I may never see it again.

Juan Corte

The worst crisis that affected my family
In 1994 there was the worst economic crisis in Mexico. It made Mexican people suffer, and it was hard for people to provide for their families. People had many problems getting their basic necessities. The government decided to take away three zeros from the Mexican money. The goal was that people could handle the Mexican money easily. However, it caused chaos and so much confusion among people. Obviously, many families were forced to work two jobs and save money as much as they could. Consequently, the devaluation of the peso has been one of the things that have affected my family.

My father had to retired from his work because the factory where he was working closed. The factory made cloth, due to of this crisis, the price of material rose. The cloth was so expensive, so the factory did not have enough economic support to pay its workers. For example, that year when this crisis started, the materials to make cloth such as cotton, petroleum and others materials were so expensive, and when the product was done it cost twice as much that the year before. My father was fired the year before he supposed to retired. Therefore, my father had to find a part time job where he works three days a week. Now, my father makes only makes half of the salary he used to make at the factory.

Another effect was that prices for the basic meals rose, and many people could not buy their own necessities. People felt this crisis in their pocket. Their poor salary could not cover all their necessities or their basic meals. For example, staples such as rice, corn, bean, sugar, and salt were over their original price. The most common example was the tortilla. In 1993 the tortilla cost 2500 pesos (2.50c; 2c US), but in 1994 the cost was 5000 pesos (5.00 MP; 2.50c US), so it was double the price of the previous year. Therefore, other thing that caused crisis in my family was when the public services went up such as telephone, water, gas, and electricity; their cost was so expensive and my family had problems pay some bills. The electricity had been the cheapest bill to pay, but in that time it was similar to gas bill. For example, before the economic crisis, my family paid an electricity bill of 50, 000 pesos (50.00 MP; 5.00 US), but during the crisis my family had to pay 100, 000 pesos (100.00MP; 10.00US). It was so crazy. My family had to save electricity energy eliminating some lights and TV at home.

Finally, other effect of this crisis that my family experienced was when my brother graduated as a mechanic engineer, but he could not find job in the field. My brother graduated as mechanic engineer in 1995, he got married in 1996 and his wife and he had their baby in 1997. During those years, many factories were closed because they had to pay higher taxes for leasing, so those companies had to move to other place where they could pay less money. The result of that was that people began to immigrate to the U.S. My brother applied for many companies, but he did not get a job. He decided to come to the U.S, so he had to leave his family, and go to work outside the country. It is a common case in Hispanics families. For example, parents have to leave their families to get a job and the result is family segregations. Now my brother is working in San Antonio, Texas as a mechanic in a small tire shop, but he cannot go back to Mexico to visit his family or see his child because he is not a resident of the U.S. He cannot come back to his job in San Antonio Texas easily.

The devaluation has been one of the experience lived with my family. Many times my parents had no money to buy the basic necessities for us, and many times we were often limited for eating and clothing. I remember one that occasion when I got mad of that situation because those times were very difficult. For this reason I want to graduate and help my parents. My parents have worked all their live for me. Now I have to do something for them.

How World War II Influenced my Culture and my Thought

In 1939, World War II was occurring all over the world. Japan was damaged by the war. A lot of people died, and historical buildings and houses were completely burned. America destroyed the city of Tokyo which is the heart of Japan, and dropped two atomic bombs one in Nagasaki and one in Hiroshima. My great uncle died in the World War II. My grandfather was also in the war. World War II influenced my family, the Japanese culture and my thought.

First, World War II influenced my family with a single letter. This letter was sent by the Japanese government to each man of the house, to notify them that they must go to the war. Even young teenage boys must to prepare for the war. However, majority of the men did not come back to their families. My grandfather was one of the young boys, but he had a bad health condition at the time, so he could come back from the war early. On the other hand, my great uncle was different. He was a “ kamikaze” which meant human-bomb. His duty was to go war to die for his country. To die for the country meant an honor at the time. This is unbelievable history, but a lot of young teenagers and adults were just like my great uncle.

After 1945, World War II changed the Japanese culture. Japanese culture was more flexible after the war. Japan recovered completely; Japanese people had developed the economy rapidly within sixty years. Foods, fashion, and some trends came from other cultures. My family grew up in this mixed culture generation eating foods like India curry, Chinese fried rice, Italian spaghetti and American foods. Now Japan is open to accepting other cultures more because of the Influenced of World War II.

Third, World War II influenced my thought by giving me a chance to see how different other cultures are. Before World War II, Japanese people married to Japanese people. Now a day people are getting married outside of their race. I am an example of the effect of the war. I am marred to an American native. If there was not a World War II, I realized that I would not have met my husband. I believe that it effected me a positive way, and it gave me a chance for my future.

Finally, World War II influenced my family, the Japanese culture and my thought. In just two years, the war had changed one small island’s future. The war changed us in both ways good and bad. The affluent society has changed Japanese which World War II had brought. People in America think war was ended, and people think America helped Japan to finish the war. On the other hand, it is not done yet because still there are a lot of a-bomb victims alive in Japan. I think world should consider about them more because only my country received two atomic bombs, and people are still influenced by World War II. In addition, we have to hand down this fact to next generation. We cannot forget the story of World War II for peace of the world.

A Big Tragedy in Mexico City

Maria Resendiz
February 28, 2008
ESL Level 6

A Big Tragedy in Mexico City

How I can forget that big disaster on September 19, 1985 when the entire city almost collapsed. At that time my brother was studying in Mexico City, but how could he have known what was going to happen. The city was going to disappear in seconds. It took three minutes. Three minutes seems like nothing, but in three minutes an 8.0 earthquake meant a lot. The 8.0 earthquakes created a big disaster, and I will never forget all the people screaming, crying, and looking under the ruins for their families like we were too. The earthquake was so terrible that everyone including my family and I couldn’t forget. that big catastrophe, we would remember it for the rest of our lives.
My brother told us years later what happened on that day during the tragic earthquake that occurred. It was 7:30 AM and everybody was getting ready to do their chores, to go work, and to go to school. Suddenly, this enormous thunder started moving the earth like a blender. Instantly, all the buildings started falling down as if they were made of sand, destroying everything they touched. Four hundred and sixteen buildings were destroyed, and three thousand buildings were seriously damage. In consequence of all this damage, very important buildings disappeared; for example, the Government Palace, universities, hospitals were detroyed, and the most damaged place was the historic Lake Texcoco. That morning no one was expecting an earthquake, but this 8.0 earthquake created massive damage to the city of Mexico.
The consequences of this earthquake were so terrible it affected the lives of thousands of people. As a result of all this damage, ten thousand people were killed, thirty thousand people were injured, and one hundred lost their homes. It was terrible seeing all the dead people and the terrors of the earthquake. People were looking for their families inside the smashed cars, under the ruins, and inside the buildings everything was devastated. This terrible earthquake caused a lot of problems to the people in this city. This earthquake caused people to lose their jobs, their families. This was devastating for the people of Mexico they didn’t even have anything to eat, and the worst thing is they didn’t have anywhere to live. Many people lost everything that they had. I was here in the U.S. when this happened, and I thought that I had lost something too, my brother.
This earthquake not only affected my family in Mexico, but also my family here in Chicago. I was in Chicago in that time when all this happened, but I immediately flew to Mexico to look for my brother. Since I left so quickly, I was able to see the damage the earthquake had left. I had to leave my children and take the risk that something bad could happen to them, but I didn’t have another choice. My family and I started looking for my brother as soon as I got there. We looked for him for five weeks at his school, his job, his apartment but everything was completely destroyed and we couldn’t find my brother. After all this chaos, we were resigned that we lost my brother and I can’t describe the pain that we all felt. I couldn’t stay longer because I had to come back to Chicago to be with my family, and I tried to get relief. After two years, I received a letter from my family were they said that my brother was alive. I couldn’t believe it just as much as I couldn’t believe that he was dead two years ago. I went to see him, and all the family thanked god for my brother’s safe return.
Finally, we had my brother back from the ‘dead’. My brother and thousands of people lost almost everything and many had lost their lives. We were worried that our brother was one of those who had been killed. That was all we thought about, we thought that he had been killed that day. Twenty-two years have passed since then and the city has been fixed and all seems well. I still remember how terrible it felt to hear about the thousands of people who had lost their families and jobs, and how I felt knowing that my brother was among those there. More years will pass, but in the mind of all those people who lived through that 8.0 earthquake, it will still be fresh in their minds.

The Effects of Returning Hong Kong to China

Lim-Che Yan
Level 6
2/27/08
The Effects of Returning Hong Kong to China
Change is always occurring. Most people think a change might do them good, but some people consider a change might bring bad effects. One day on December 1984, I read in a newspaper that Britain and China had signed a historical agreement in Beijing whereby Britain agreed to return Hong Kong to China on July 1st 1997, and China agreed not to alter Hong Kong’s capitalist and free way of life for at least fifty years. Also, the governments of China and Britain negotiated on solving the major issues of Hong Kong’s problems during the period from 1984 to 1997 -“the transitional period.” I grew up, was educated, lived with my family and worked in Hong Kong for more than fifty years. I knew Hong Kong like the back of my hand; it was part of me. After I read the news, I felt both happy and worried. Happy for all the Chinese people in Hong Kong would return to their homeland, China no longer ruled under the sovereignty of Britain, yet I was worried about some changes in the transitional period that might have negative effects on Hong Kong. Since the news was announced, people from all walks of life have had different perspectives on the future of Hong Kong, but by then I still worried that such change would have a great impact on the economy, law and my lifestyle.
The first effect from the transitional period was on the economy. The financial condition of the government would affect the daily lives of people. It went from good to worse. In the first ten years of the transitional period, the economy grew rapidly. The housing and stock markets were prosperous like a woman in love. Everybody enjoyed this good economic period. However, in the last three years of the transitional period the prices of homes house and stock share prices dropped down dramatically. As a result, most people lost money and suffered its consequential adverse effects on them. A friend of mine lost a lot of money in the stock market and he was unable to repay his bank loan, so he went bankrupt. I felt sad because I had bought an apartment almost at the peak of the market. The price was insufficient to repay the mortgage loan if I sold it at the difficult economic time, so I was an unlucky victim of the transfer.
The second effect was on the law. Hong Kong had a stable society by virtue of its good judicial systems. China is a communist country where freedom of speech, press and remitting money to foreign countries were to a certain extent restricted or controlled by the government. In China, it was against the law to criticize publicly the Chinese Government on the press and the internet. They imposed strict censorship on the press as well as the internet so that the freedom of speech was limited. In contrast, Hong Kong had the freedom of speech as provided by its laws. Most people were worried that the new government would deprive the existing freedoms, such as freedom of speech and press. They were also worried that the new government would impose new restrictions on remitting money to foreign countries. However, it ended up that the new government did not make any changes relating to freedom of speech or press nor were there restrictions on remitting money. By looking back on the matter, I probably overreacted.
The third effect was on my lifestyle. A sweet home is very essential for everybody. My family lived happily and used to have family gatherings to celebrate my mother’s birthday, Chinese New Year and other important holidays. My mother celebrated her birthday every year. On her birthday, my whole family got together and spent the whole day at home. We had a birthday cake and gifts for my mother. My brother, my sister and I would play Majhong with my mother. My family gatherings were always so much fun. Now, my two brothers and my sister have immigrated to Canada, and I immigrated to America because of the transfer. My mother remained in Hong Kong. As a result, our family is now scattered. At one time, my house was full of laughter and happiness, but since my siblings and I immigrated, my mother has been left alone. I often miss them and feel lonely myself.
Now almost eleven years later, Hong Kong basically remains unchanged. The predicting effects on the economy and law, except my lifestyle, are very remote because China has kept its promises. In fact, today’s China is in all respects improving, including, but not limited to the economy, law and lifestyle of people. Surprisingly, China really did a successful job, and it has surpassed my expectations. Maybe, one day, I will consider returning to Hong Kong.

SARS and Me

March 29, 2008
Maggie Huang

SARS and ME

Many Chinese people will never forget November, 2002. That year, there was a new virus in southern China. The new virus was called "SARS". If a person got the virus, he or she would die in only a few days. The main way to spread the virus is by close person to person contact. When an infected person coughs or sneezes, it is possible that the SARS virus might spread through the air. There were hundreds of people died from SARS in China this year. SARS continued for one year. During that terrible year, my family's normal social life such as going shopping, working and enjoying leisure activities were severely disturbed by the epidemic.
One important effect of SARS on our life was that my parents felt the world was going to end. They were only able to get the SARS information through TV and newspapers. For their simple mind, they believed the government officials were hiding information about the epidemic. They were like a cut silk of kite. They didn't know what would happen tomorrow, and they didn't know what to do. Therefore, they used their own remedy and bought vinegar to boil and perfume the house. Everyday when I went home, I felt uncomfortable with the bad smell; then they heard Chinese herbal tea could prevent SARS, so they bought a lot of herbal teas. Everyday we stopped having soup, instead of the herbal teas. "How did you feel today"? They always asked the same question. In those days, I felt like my parents were going crazy and I was like a patient living in a hospital.
The effect of SARS also disturbed my normal work. When SARS came, my job completely changed. Everyday when I entered the company's entrance, I had to check my body temperature, and then put on a mask. Even though it was cold outside, we had to open all windows to keep the air fresh. I felt that I sat in an ice house to work; it was too cold. We seldom talked to each other. There were no more laughs or joking in our office. Everybody looked like had lost ten thousand dollars. After work, our office had to sterilize to destroy harmful germ with chemical products. Every day I worked with bad smell. I really didn't like that work situation. The whole situation made me uncomfortable and no more energy to work.
One more effect of SARS was on children. For them, they did not know what was happing in the world. They only felt every adult look very serious. Before SARS came, my parents often took my brother's daughter, who was about two years old to visit relatives and friends, but during SARS, they did not take her out, so her personality became different. She was scared of seeing new faces. When she went to school, she was very nervous too. There was a sink in their classroom. Her teacher made her wash her hands before class, after meals and at most times of the day. All these changes made her nervous. I felt so sad for my cousin's alarmed. I wanted to help her, but I didn't know how. I felt like I was lost in a forest with nowhere to go.
All of` those effects of SARS had brought severe suffering to everyone. Even though it is over, it is very important not to forget the suffering. I think there may be a good lesson and experience from the SARS. It made people have greater awareness of crisis, and people realized the most important thing is family and health in the world.

How Diversity Visa Changed my Life

Heben Hailu


How Diversity Visa Changed my Life
There was a war between Ethiopia and Eritrea before I was born. They fought for seventeen years. At that time the government was socialist, so a social party forced people to join the army. It was the worst period of history I heard because a lot of people died and were hanged on the street. After that period, the war was over and these two countries separated in each other. Their separation made everything different. For instance, people got peace and freedom, education, and an opportunity to travel outside of the country, such as U.S.A. This is called diversity visa (DV). The diversity visa changed my life in profound ways, and helped my dreams come true.
After the government changed, everyone could get the diversity visa. It was a big opportunity for Ethiopian people. Also the diversity visa helped people to live and work legally in America. The visa comes in a three page form, so people had to fill out the form and send to America with two passport size photos. The American Embassy selects the form randomly like a lottery. And then they send it to Ethiopia. Every year my father and my siblings sent applicator. They also filled out the form for me and asked me to sign it. One day, I was doing my homework and somebody knocked the door. When I opened the door, I saw my father’s face delightfully. After he entered in, he hugged me and said,” Congratulations!” I could not even say a word. Finally, my father told me he got diversity visa for my siblings and me. The reason my father filled out the form just for the test because he did not trust that the government would give an opportunity for people to travel outside of the country. That is why he did not fill my mother’s name. However, he never felt any regrets because he had a big dream to send us to America, for he believed we can get better life and education in the rest of our lives.
Even though my diversity visa made me excited, I felt sad about leaving my mother, my friends, and my country. That is why I thought I wasn’t going to see my mother for a long time. Most of people think if their family move to other country, they feel they are not going to see each other again. In addition, people think about leaving their country could change their life. My mother thinks like them too. I am the youngest child in my family, so my mother thought I can miss her and my friends a lot. Also my father gave me a warning about being sad. Finally, I accepted everything was going to be good; especially my dream of living in America gave me a big hope about my future as long as I work and study hard. Beside that, I felt sorrow to say goodbye to my mother. When I saw her, my tears came on my cheeks. She was crying every time until I left her. The situation was complicated to decide to leaving or staying with her. Finally, my father explained to me leaving my mother is not the end of the world; I can see her any time I want.
I thought I live in America for good, for everything seemed confuse in the beginning. After a month, I started school. I was fascinated to learn the English language, but I had a hard time to understand it easily. Gradually, I could communicate with people and make new friends. Also I was participating in extracurricular programs. That helped me to improve my language skills and my grades for all classes. In addition, I participated in different kinds of clubs, which helped me to get a job. Until I graduated from high school, my father was supporting me even though I worked at school. After I graduated, I got a job. My job helped me to live better life and made me to think as a grown up what I have to do in the future. Moreover, I would realize everything is going to be improved day after day even though I live in America in the rest of my life.
In general my diversity visa changed my life. It helped me take care of myself, my family, and my mother by sending some money to Ethiopia. I thank my father a lot because he sacrificed many things for all of us. Now things are getting improved as I expected before. My diversity visa helped me to live and work legally in America and make my future brighten.

-=[Cause and Effect Writing]=-

The life in Germany after the reunification

In August 1961 the german Government start to construct a Wall that devided East and West Berlin. During this period a lot of people tried to escape but they all were captured by the German Border Police. So Berlin became an isolated part of Germany. Then it was the 9^th of November in 1989 when the great wall of Germany was gone and the government declared that the border is open. Although many Germans left East Germany before the wall came down and escaped from the cities around, through Poland or Czech Republic. For example my uncle left before the wall was gone and tried to get away to the south. So the reunification was at first a great thing, because the people could leave East Germany and start over in a different city.

At first me and my family went to my grandmother’s house for two or three nights and after that went to a kind of relocation camp next in Bavaria. I can remember exactly one sentence I told my mother when we arrived: “I am not sleeping in here mom with all these strange people!!!” However, after we stayed there for two nights we left to the south of Germany in a city which is called Ludwigsburg. We met some friends over there who left East Germany, too. My Family, I and these two friends moved for one week in the same hotel and both family’s searched for a new house. However we couldn’t found any house or apartment for us. So we moved on in another hotel next to this city for nine months, before we found our new house where we currently live. In that city I went to the kinder garden and my big sister to school. It was a hard life during this time, especially for my sister, because she left all her friends in the East. I was just five years old, so for me it wasn’t that hard. Nevertheless it was hard time for the whole family, all this moving around and looking for a place and also to find a job for my father. As a result, the reunification effected that my family and my moved around a lot before we settled down in the south of Germany finally.

We settled down in a city called Oberstenfeld where our new house was. My sister changed the school and I had my first school day at this time. So I met a lot of new friends, like my big sister and we both we’re happy at this point because we forgot about that what had happened earlier in our lives. Nonetheless the job situation for my father was a kind of difficult, because all the people from East Germany we’re searching for a job in the west of Germany. However my uncle has been working for a company after he came back from the prison in 1990 and moved with my aunt to the south. So he was the person who found out a job for my father. But if you want to have a job in that part of Germany, you have to work hard all the time. As a result, my father was working hard and became an employer in this company that builds kitchen for restaurant and hotels. While he was working the most of the time, my mother took care of my sister and me. She starts her career later as a tax counselor. And now she is very successful and is working by herself. As a result my family and me are happy that we survived this event, in addition we all got a job and we are all healthy. To start over a kind of new life was sometimes not easy. However we finally found everything that we need to settle down and to go on with our lives.

Therefore the reunification was actually a good event for Germany and the government, however for a lot of people it was a hard time to go through and to find a new job and also a new house or apartment. In addition, most of the people started a “new life” like my family and that was not easy for anybody. Nevertheless, this event will be a part of my life forever.

The Effects of a Revolution

Until I was fifteen, my grandmother told me she was deeply affected by a revolution. It was cruel and complicated. In the early 1930s, the government decided to overthrow the landowners in the countryside. Moreover, the whole family was involved if the landowners owned a big estate. Husbandmen were empowered by the government, so it was legal to tyrannize the landowners until they handed over all the wealth. Therefore, some of the landowners died from this revolution, and some of them ran away with their family. Fortunately, my grandmother escaped from this tragedy. However, she had to leave her husband and daughter and begin a new life in my home country. Although this revolution is over, it has affected subsequent generations.

First of all, one effect has been the lack of contact with family members who live in the countryside. Last year, I met my uncle’s family who lived in the countryside. I didn’t even know how to call them. We had to introduce ourselves the first time we met, and then we shook hands with each other. Eventually, we had a connection by touching. We didn’t continue to talk. It was like we were separated by the wall. Also, we didn’t have contact with each other at all. For instance, my family often hangs out with the other relatives. We have dinner on some important holidays, and we usually talk to each other on the phone. If we are busy, we visit each other at least once a year. On the contrary, we don’t receive phone calls from each other. We don’t have dinner with each other. We don’t visit each other at all. As a result, we still are strangers even though we are relatives.

In addition, it is hard for me to explain the relationship between my uncle’s family and my family to other people. There is no doubt that the person who has consanguinity or connection with your family is your relative. Nevertheless, in my heart, they are like guests or friends in my family more than relatives. Once, I had a family interview from my teacher. When I brought her to my room, she saw them in the dining room. After we finished the interview, she said, “I am sorry to trouble you while you are meeting your guests.” I didn’t correct her because I couldn’t define the relationship either. Sometimes, my friends and I meet them on the street. They always ask me who they are, and my answer is always “some of my friends”. I don`t think of it as a shame. Actually, I feel guilty about my words, but I don’t know what the best answer is at all. Consequently, I find that the relationship between us is somewhere in a gray area.

Finally, it is unexpected when I find out the person who is always working for my family is my relative. When I was a child, I didn’t understand why my father referred to the housemaid as sister. Afterwards, my grandmother told me she was her daughter. She worked here because she had to support her rural family. I was shocked by that news, and I couldn’t give any reaction at that moment. From then on, I didn’t treat her as usual. For example, I tidied up my bedroom, and I washed my clothes by myself. I felt strange asking my relative to do these chores for me. Furthermore, I had to change the way that I used to call her. Unlike the past, I have to call her aunt now. It is hard to change because I was accustomed to using her name. Sometimes, I can’t help thinking what a complicated family I have.

Now, seventy years later, the revolution has become part of history, but it is not really over. It still influences generation after generation. I can’t image how hurt my grandmother was after she had to leave her family. This revolution has affected not only my grandmother’s original family, but also her new family. I have to take pains to deal with our relationship because they are not strangers, guests or friends for me anymore. In fact, they are my relatives and family members.

Thailand Prime Minister ..... Thitthita " mook "

Four years ago, On March 25,2004 was the day the people in Thailand who were 18 and above had to go to their hometown and vote for the prime minister. It was the most interesting year for Thai people because many candidates for parliament were young. They had a lot of experience, high education and looked very trustworthy. They promoted themselves so terrifically. A few days later the results of the vote appeared and the person that got the highest points was “TUKSIN SHINNAWAT” He was very active and determined. He was going to do everything that he thought was good for Thailand right away. It seemed perfect at that time, but two years later everything changed. The person that everyone respected had changed. Everything he had done make Thailand worse. Many people were affected by this situation including of my family. I have asked my parents so many times why we had to come to United States, and they told me because they did not approve of the way Tuksin was running the country.
The bad administration of the Tuksin system is one of the reasons why many people and my family had to move to this country. After a year that he became the prime minister, he has never given attentive a person that lack of a change. He has never gone to the rural areas and make those areas better like he promised when he wanted us to vote for him. He always went on vacation with his family by his private jet, which he bought with people’s money. Last year, there was some problem happening in country, but Thailand had no prime minister to solve it because he was too busy taking his children to travel around the world. Fortunately, we had the assistance of the prime minister that was not acting the same way as him. The person that assists him to run the country, who person that we should call prime minister of Thailand.
Taking advantage of low income people was the thing that he had done. Most of the low income people in Thailand are the people that have low education, do not go school, or do not finish school. These people are very gullible, so they are very easily believe in whoever they think is reliable. Whatever those people are offered, They will take it without thinking about the follow results. Two years ago, Tuksin offered one option for them. It was called “30 baht maintain every sickness” This option was very marvelous at that time. Many low income people went to the hospital and took this option. A few days after they paid 30 baht, the people from the hospital were supposed to sent the letter to them. The detail of the letter will tell them to pay expensive fee. Some of them had to pay more than ten times of what they paid before. My mother told e the reson that Tuksin could do this without problem because he knew that the loe income people would bot be able to do anything to him because they were cared of the consequences from the people who have more power than them. They preferred to pay the money than get themselves into danger.
Betraying the country is the most wicked thing that he did to Thailand. It is the worst thing that no one can forgive. He is totally bad person that no one has ever seen before. After I moved to this country about what he did from the news. The news said he sold one of Thailand’s satellites to a neighboring country. Some people might think that is not a big deal, so why did Thai people get so mad, however nobody knew what are going to happen next. The neighboring country can come in our country easier than before. If he could sell this, who knows maybe he would sell something else more and more, so Thailand would get into bad situation one day if this guy plans to sell the country. We will have no more places that are belong to us. There will be no more Thailand on the map.
During this position, Tuksin has been taking advantage of his own country, and has taken over a million bahts. It will increase to another million in a few year. On the other side, they are some of the people came out, and try to get rid of him by dig out his bad side. Then , show the proof to the people. My parents told me that as long as Tuksin has this position, they will never go back to live in Thailand because he always praises people to his face, but abuses them behind his back. After I has heard the awful things that he has done to my country, I felt similarly. We should not only fire him from this position, but he should be exited from the country. It might uplift the people of Thailand, so they can have a better future.

The sexual discrimination

If you are a woman, have you ever felt that you are looked down upon by men? If you are male, are you a good man who respects women? In Chinese feudal society, men were powerful, and women had to obey them and submit to their control. According to the Chinese cultural history, there is a saying called “san cong si de”(Three obedience and Four Virtues), which becomes the women’s moral, behavior, ability and training standard. “San Cong” means that the female should obey her father before her marriage, her husband when married, and her sons in widowhood. “Si De” refers to morality, proper speech, modest manner and diligent work of women in ancient China. As a result, the spiritual fetters of the wifely submission and virtue were imposed on women in feudal society. In a word, there was sexual discrimination in the feudal society because men were always considered superior to women. Nowadays, after the long fight against sexual discrimination, Chinese women have already gained the equal possibilities and rights as male in the society. However, the sexual discrimination is still ingrained in people’s brains, and it also has affected my family and our lives from the older generation to mine.
In my family, my grandfather was influenced by the feudal thoughts mostly, so he had never tossed aside the sexual discrimination. In his opinion, sexual equality is impossible. My grandfather’s parents were born in the feudal society, so he had a feudal upbringing. My grandfather had three sons and two daughters, one of whom is my mother. He was very poor when he was young. He had to work to support his big family, and his income was the only income. He took good care of his children, but he loved his sons much more than his daughters. Consequently, my mother and my aunt couldn’t go to school because my grandfather had spent all the money on his sons’ education. Moreover, he didn’t care so much about his daughters’ marriages, especially my mother’s. He treated my mother’s marriage as a trade. He bought over her daughter and brought some money from my father as a return of raising her. That’s because her daughter had married somebody, and she didn’t belong to the member of his family for good. In other words, he believed in only the sons in his family could carry on generation. My grandfather was a headstrong person, who had never absorbed the new ideas of sexual equality.
Sexual discrimination also has brought the negative effects to my parents. My father is in the central and dominant position of my family, and my mother has to obey and listen to him. He always thinks that the man is the main and most important productive force, who can make more money than woman. In addition, man has the responsibilities to work and support the family whereas the woman has the duty to do housework and take care of the family. Therefore, my father doesn’t let my mother work outside, and he never thinks that my mother can get a good job and earn a lot of money. On the other hand, my mother seems to agree with my father. She prefers to stay at home because she thinks her only responsibility is to take care of her husband and her children. Even though her life is boring and not free, she has never complained about it. Anyway, she needs to be confident and independent. Both my parents should believe in the equality between men and women.
I oppose sexual discrimination; in fact, I feel inequitable as a daughter in my family. Even though my parents always say that they love my brother and me equally, sometimes I still feel unloved. Actually, my parents love my brother more than me. For Instance, each time I used to have an argument with my brother, my father or my mother would firstly put the blame on me. When I was a child, I complained too much about that. In contrast, now I can understand that my parents are influenced by the feudal thoughts as the most Chinese parents do, and they have made an effort to change it. They at least offer me the same living condition and education as my brother, and they have spent a lot of energy and passion raising us. I am now in America, where there is sexual equality, so I can try to get rid of the sexual discrimination. Life is better here but not perfect. I want to prove that women can be superior to the men. If I get married and have my own children, no matter boys or girls, I will love them equally. Moreover, I won’t let the sexual discrimination pass on to my next generation.
“Ladies first”, the guy said to me politely. He gave way to me, and let me get on the bus first. Nowadays, more and more men are aware that women have the same existence value as them in society. Without women, there is no love. Without mother, there is no hero. Women should be on equal terms with male in their jobs and marriages. Moreover, female should have the rights to share the social power and family responsibilities in the society with the men. In a word, female should be respected. Even though sexual discrimination hasn’t been completely eliminated in my family, I won’t let it pass down to the future generations.

Big Damange (Essay 2) - Siritus

Big Damange
Thailand was one of the countries worst affected by the tsunami in December 2004. One million people were directly affected and more than thousands went missing. It was caused by an underwater earthquake. The tsunami rolled many kilometers into the land from the sea. I lived in Southern Thailand. My hometown is Phuket and my house is not really far from the sea. My family has owned business for twenty years. Before the natural disaster happened, Phuket had a good economcy because many tourists come to visit Phuket. Most people have a good life because they have job and good income. Everything was lost when the tsunami came. Many people were missing, died and got injured. My family was affected by the tsunami gone, and we have had many problems since that day.
The first consequence of the tsunami was that my family had to rebuild building. I had lived my hometown since 1972. My family worked on this business for long time. Everybody in my family was very happy. After the tsunami came, everything changed and we had a big problem. The tsunami destroyed everything. We had to fix building, and repair stuff in my house. The big wave bough lot of water to my house. My father spent a lot of money fixing our building. My house is very old so it is difficult to find spare parts to fix it.




Second, the tsunami caused the economy of my area to fall down. Before the natural disaster happened, the economy in Phuket was very good. We had tourists visit Phuket more than one million per year. People in Phuket had a good jobs and good income. When the tsunami came, everything shut down and people lost their jobs. One of my friends lost members of her family. My family was affected from this situation too. People didn’t have enough money to spend and we lost a lot of income. We had to bring money that we kept in the bank to support our business.
Finally, due to this situation, the stress in my family because very serious. The personal relationships in my family are not as good as before because everybody got very stressed out. We always did activities together, and we went to travel every year. After the tsunami came everything changed. Now, we are very serious and don’t understand each other. My mom had to found a new job to help my father and support our business. We didn’t spent time together anymore. My friend in Phuket she had resort by the sea, but when the big wave came, everything was gone in ten minutes and she lost her house.
Four years have passed since the tsunami of December 2004. It is not easy to forget that day. I have had many changes in my life. We spent a lot of money to rebuild my house. We interrupt each other in my family. We lost a lot of income. Many families are waiting for people help them and some people they don’t have house anymore. They have to restart again. It is not easy to rebuild everything in one or two years. It was the worst experienced in my life.

My First Year Maria R

Maria Resendiz
ESL Level 6
January 30,2008

My First Year of Struggle
What brought me here to the United States were the necessities of a better life like most people who come to the United States. I wanted a better life for my family. The U.S. was a different country where people speak a different language, and have very different customs. It wasn’t easy to make this decision, but if making this decision was hard, it was going to be harder not knowing the language. I could never have expected all the trouble that I was going to have for not speaking English, not understanding what people were telling me, and afraid that I wouldn’t be able to provide for my family. I should have thought twice, before coming to The United States.
It’s horrible when somebody talks to you, and you only open your eyes and stay mute because you don’t have anything to say. I was on an airplane, and suddenly a lady came to me and asked me if I wanted something to drink, I got scared, completely scared. I didn’t know the word ‘pop’ or ‘soda’ because in my country we say ‘refresco’. Timidly, I answered her no and I closed my eyes because I didn’t want to see her reaction, and when I opened my eyes she wasn’t there. After this, I saw her asking something to the other passengers. That’s when I realized that she was the flight attendant, and she came with me first because I was in a front seat. What a relief I felt when I noticed that she was only offering a drink. This was one of a lot of misunderstandings that I would go through on my way and in the U.S.

Another experience I had was when my family and I were hungry. I remember it was about a week that we just arrived from Mexico and I didn’t know where the stores were. I went outside to look for something to eat, but I didn’t know which way to go. I asked a person for directions with body language because I didn’t know a word of English. She said, “go straight two blocks down and make a right and then walk half a block and there is a store”. Thank god she didn’t send me to Jewel at that time because I don’t know what I would have done. I didn’t understand her and I continued walking because I had to find something to eat. Compared to this country, my hometown is very small so I never had to walk much to get to the store, I would just have to cross the street and there was a store. Finally, after thirty minutes of walking I could see the store. Glad that I had found the store, I went inside to buy food.
Buying food was another problem that I had when I came to The United States. If getting to the store took me long, getting the food would take me longer. Another problem was the food; even though some English words sound or look the same as Spanish, I couldn’t find the salt. In Mexico the salt is in a big wooden box, and we use a scoop to get it. Here in the U.S. it comes in a round package with a little girl with a yellow dress, how could I know that was the salt? I also looked for meat, but again I couldn’t ask because of the language? In Mexico, if I want meat or something else I asked the owner of the store. In the U.S. you get all the food you want by yourself. I couldn’t see the meat because the meat was behind the counter and covered with paper now I find out that those papers were specials like $1.99 for a pound of beef, (those kind of specials). I was so frustrated, and I couldn’t find anything; every thing was different from Mexico. As a result of all this confusion, after looking through the entire store, I just had tomatoes and eggs. I lost my time looking for what I needed and I didn’t find anything because I did not understand American supermarkets.
In conclusion, I would like to give advice to people who want to come to this country. If you have the opportunity at least take a basic English course it is very important, or carry a dictionary because it is so frustrating when you try to find something and nobody can help you because you cannot communicate. I did not know how to react to the flight attendant, on the streets or at the food store. If you know a little English you wont be as confused as I was. At this time of my life, I laugh at all of my experiences, but it has taken me a long time to get to this place of comfort.
Maria Resendiz

I miss my Culture

Heben Hailu
ESL 100
01/31/08
I Miss My Culture
The Ethiopian culture has particular customs for communicating, respecting, and acting well. When I think about Ethiopian culture, I feel full of happiness. I appreciate my mother a lot because she taught me to respect everyone, especially God. When I attended Sunday school in my country, I learned God created us in a special way. That made me believe and respect him the rest of my life. However, living in America made me nonchalant about my Sunday school and I wasn’t eager to attend it like I was in Ethiopia. The situation makes me feel like something is missing in my life. Even though I live in America and I have different cultural backgrounds from others, I believe I have to keep my culture throughout my whole life. Ethiopian culture has many religious practices that teach people more about their identity and belief.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Church is one of the oldest established churches. The church ceremonies are major features of Ethiopian life. Especially, the holiday of Epiphany which is called Timkat. Epiphany or Timkat means the baptism of Jesus Christ. At the ceremony, only priests are allowed to see and handle the Ark. This is called tabot. The tabot is taken out in the afternoon on the eve of Epiphany and stays overnight with the priests and faithful worshippers. The following morning, the water is blessed and splashed on everyone in a ceremony where the faithful renew their vows to the church. When I was in Ethiopia, my mother took me to the church to celebrate Timkat or Epiphany. I was fascinated to know about splashing the water. I thought it would give me a long and successful life. Even though I meet Ethiopian people in Chicago, they have no idea which day Timkit is going to be celebrated. Also, I haven’t seen tabot pass by anywhere or the ceremony of splashing the water. I believe the events are impressive and unique, so at those moments, I desire to be back home.
The people of Ethiopia wear many different types of costumes. The traditional dress of the Christian highland has white color, and it is made of cotton and different materials. The designs are based on natural wool colors. These are called yabesha kemis. People put on these costumes for any special occasion, especially Epiphany or Timkat. And then, they celebrate the holiday by singing and dancing to spiritual music in the church. Even though I put on my yabesh kemis here in Church to celebrate Timkat, the ceremonies don’t seem like I celebrated in Ethiopia. For example, people feel a shamed to sing spiritual music in church; they don’t even clap their hands. These situations really make me miss a lot of things about my culture. Sometimes I feel I have to tell them our culture or customs explain who we are. These give for everyone fulfillment, respect, and happiness.
The national dish of Ethiopia is doro wot, a type of spicy stew that comes in many varieties. Doro wot consists of chicken, red pepper, herbs, spices, and other flavoring. Before the chicken is cut into a lot pieces, an elder man of the family cut the neck of the chicken. And then rests of the parts are cut by a woman of the family. And then it depends on the useful parts and elder woman of the family washes until it is cleans. Therefore, it takes almost the whole day to prepare doro wot. The meal does not begin until the head of the household is blessed. The ceremony begins with the washing of hands. This small ceremony is sometimes followed by a short prayer of grace. After we start the eating ceremony, we will have only one piece of wing or leg for each of us. However, the head of the house or the older guy eats the big part of meat. That explains how much we feel happy and respect about the person who blessed our food. Since I have been in Chicago, I have never seen the ceremony of doro wot and how Ethiopian people prepare it. I don’t see the chicken alive; it is just packed in food store. Once in a while, my mother sends me doro wot from Ethiopia. The lack of this meal makes me feel like I am neglecting my culture a lot.
Even though I live in America and have memories about celebrating the holiday with my families and friends, I always feel full of nostalgia for the time when I was in Ethiopia. However, I accept my culture as basic as shelter the one people need the rest of their lives. I really understand how much my culture is very important to know who I am.

The Umbilical cord
Even though I did everything to get my trip to America done, I could not have any idea of what my life out of Benin, my country and my homeland would mean. I was just excited that I was going to live in the world’s most famous country, America. Just by saying that, I could feel all respects I gained from people in my country. My thought was that I would soon become familiar with the most talented, the most famous personalities, and the most popular language, English, spoken worldwide. There was no doubt that I was going to get myself transformed in many ways, and far away from my native land. All those thoughts became accentuated when I said my farewell at the airport to my parents and relatives. At that time we had to leave each other, making myself a new life in an all new world was not as easy and clear as it was in my mind before. I felt like a baby who is about to go out of his mother’s body. I even felt like the umbilical cord had just been cut for good as my airplane took off, flying farther and farther from my family, my friends and my different social and religious groups.
I have been in United States for about two years already, but I still can feel like missing something precious in my life-My family. I mean my mother, my sister, and then my father. My mother was the only one who took my sister and I, from our village to the biggest economic city of my country when I was nine. And, while she sent us to school, my father whose business was more prosperous than my mother’s, didn’t care about our school and other expenses. I never looked for a job like I have done since I’ve been in America. All my needs were covered by my mother. All that my father cared about was having multiple wives and children. Although he didn’t take care of me, I have him in my heart because nothing can change the fact that he is my dad. Also, I remember that he always gave me the respect I deserved as the elder son. I was even proud that he forced my nine step brothers and sisters to call me not by my name, but by “big brother”. When I was in Benin I couldn’t have any problem like getting sick without having every family member around me, ready to be my hands and my legs until I got back on my feet. Due to this, I feel like I was a fetus connected to the placenta. Since I’ve been in America, I have had to do everything by myself without parents to care for me.
Beside my family, it is my friends that I also feel separated from. I have my friends from my childhood to my high school, and my cousin-friends from the both sides of my parents. They were almost all at the airport looking at me go away from them. They were friends of worth to me. I particularly miss the way we used to hang out with each other. We didn’t really need to make appointments before we visited each other. When I went to a friend’s house and he or she was not in, I would just hang out with his or her household. Without those friends, the two past New Years’ holidays I’ve spent in U.S have been like hell. If I was in Benin, I would spend the holidays with my friends , where I would have invited everybody to a party or some friends would have done that and I would have been from party to party or from party to club. Any time I was in trouble, it’s like all my friends were in trouble, so I automatically got their support. There is almost nothing more reliable than that one my trip to America could break up.
The social, cultural and spiritual parts of me have most likely received the separation shock as well. When I was in my country, I was involved in so many clubs and associations religious and non religious. The little shy boy I used to be in my childhood started becoming the public speaker and source of peace and joy everywhere I passed by. Due to the cultural clubs and associations in which I had to create magazines, organize public parties and public games, a lot of people got sad when they learned of my departure. I indeed felt the same way because of experiences I gained from those activities. In particular, the religious group that, I joined which was a chorus in my city was just what I needed to get a direction to my life. As a spokesman, I learned as much as I had to deal with the Bible. I even talked about it several times to millions people who needed consolation in their difficult times like in one’s relative death situation. I spent a least a quarter of my time each week in church life through my chorus. I loved praising the Lord in group as my chorus was known for in my country. All members of my chorus behaved like belonging to one and unique body. At times, I can still feel like I’m from that body too.

When I think about my family, my friends, and my different socio-cultural and religious groups, it’s now clear in my mind that I’m not connected to any “body” anymore. That time is over. The umbilical cord has already been cut off. So, like a baby disconnected and out of his mother’s body, I am out now in a new world that is America. I have to live here by myself. I have to work, support myself, take care of myself, and I will do so even if I’m sick. No more visits without appointments. Everything I do must be well thought out and planed. The only thing that remains, like a baby, is probably communication. That communication has to be well set up between my parents, my country and me.

Characteristic habits from my town

Kylie Kwok
Level 6
Characteristic habits from my town
People from different nations have their own styles of living, like favorite tastes of food, characteristic ways to express themselves and outstanding apparel from each city in this world. Do you know the ordinal way to drink Chinese tea? Have you seen a lot of people get in a very long line outside of McDonald’s that were not waiting to feed their hunger? Do you carry umbrella not because of rain or snow but sunshine? People not from Hong Kong might think my habits of mine are strange, but that’s very common for everyone in my home town. Let’s imagine when we blend all these distinguishing characteristic cultures to a big pot, you might think you live in a fantastic place with all kinds of elements, or you might think all different races other than yours are wacky because you’ve never seen someone look or do things like that in your hometown. Adapting to the culture in the U.S. has been the most important part for everyone’s lifestyle because we all need to suit in the society where we live with different cultures.

The method we eat or drink and dietaries are varied for different culture. In the U.S., it’s customary to pour your own cup of tea first. It’s very normal to see people pour themselves tea before the others in the U.S. That’s how my foreign friends do. In the Chinese point of view, we should pour everyone a cup of tea on your table before yourselves no matter whoever you just meet, men or women. We learned this manner when we were small. We would be considering impolite if we didn’t do it that way. After someone has poured tea in our cups, we are supposed to say ‘Thank you” or tap your finger on the table. There’s a historic meaning behind this way to say thank you. A very long time ago, a King from a Dynasty of China had made a tour in disguise with his trustful generals to observe the lifestyles of his people. Of course, nobody knew he was the king. One day he went to a tavern with his general because he wanted to experience the life of common people, so he poured tea for the general. The general was shocked and he was supposed to kneel down for this highest bestowal by the King but he couldn’t because that would expose the secret of this tour. Then he decided to tap his two fingers on the table to symbolize it. Since that, we have been using this way to thanks whoever pours us tea. This is one kind of manners we need to learn in our upbringing. Even though that’s not very necessary to follow but this habit had already seeped in our lifestyles.


When foreigners go to The McDonalds in Hong Kong, they will experience many attractive advertisements by these franchise stores. The McDonalds in Hong Kong use many ways to fascinate customers. Add 2 dollars to any of the combo meals, then you’ll get some fine work, like toys or dolls. There was one time that they wanted to sell a set of 30 snoopy toys in different period with different posts only 2 dollars extra when people purchase the meal. Then everyone went crazy and want to got in McDonalds even didn’t mind waiting in a long line only because of purchasing the meal so they could get the snoopy toys. McDonalds didn’t sell the whole set at the same time, they only sold a couples styles of snoopys weekly and only sold until the last in stock which means people needed to keep buying their food for at least three months to get the whole set. Every McDonald that I passed was extremely crowded while I was going home from school. People were all waiting in a snake-like long line for the little snoopy toy. And I saw some of them even throw away the food they had just bought and put the snoopy in their handbags or school bags. I wasn’t impressed much because people from my hometown were somehow materialistic and never care about the worthiness of spending on unnecessary. The foreigners would be confused if they face this situation in Hong Kong’s McDonalds and that’s very hard to explain if they don’t grow up in that place.

On the other hand, it's very hot in Hong Kong during summer which is from May until September. Hong Kong is a southern city of China. Even though it’s not nearby the equator, but it is still hot and humid, probably because it surrounds by sea. In the summer, we never called it strange when parents walk on the street with umbrella with their kids or girls hold an umbrella under the sunlight. We know the knowledge of the harm from sun and we started to protect ourselves. People in the U.S. might think that’s wired because they would never say good bye to sunlight. They all love it because they live in the northern part on the earth. The weather of our home town has also affected the lifestyle of us. I would be embarrassed if I hold the umbrella under sunlight in the U.S.
I’m always glad that I can experience different cultures at any moment in the U.S. I’ve never had the uncomforted feeling since I’ve been living in the U.S. It’s fun that living in a place where I can be excited when I see some objects or people which act or look interesting. However, I’ve lost in translation for some reason that I can’t even explain when I started living in the U.S. I’ll never forget the lifestyle I had in my home town, but I also started to accept the new culture of where I am now.

Lost In Translation

Lost in Translation

Many people travel around the world looking for a better quality of life. For some of them the new country will be their new home and for others their temporary home. However, the key of being successful in a foreign land is to learn about the new culture, and adapt to it. This hard process could be good because it helps us to fit into the new society, but at the same time, we begin disconnecting ourselves from our roots which is our own culture. The fact that we are far from home and living into a completely different culture make us vulnerable to lose our identity and become part of a melting pot. The price of living in a new country and learning about its culture could make us feel disconnected from our own culture, and the results are to be unable to use our native language correctly, to be out-of-date with the things which are happening in our native and new country, and to be far from family and friends.

Learning and using a new language could make it hard to remember some words of our native language. In my case, I’m experiencing some of that because I don’t use my language as often as before. It is easy for me to get the news in English than Spanish. At the place I work, we speak English and some Spanish. I’m studying English, so the most of my writing is in English. All these facts are the cause for me to forget some words of my native language. When I’m talking to my family, I take extra time finding some words, and sometimes I tell them some expressions in English. With my friends and family here in the US, it is very common to use both languages at the same time in a conversation because they understand and it’s easy to say in English the things which are hard to translate. However, living far from my home country has given me the opportunity to learn a new language, but meanwhile I am forgetting my own.

Having a conversation with people either from my country or the US has become a hard task, and the reason is because I’m out-of-touch. I don’t know exactly what’s happening in my home country because I’m far, and I don’t know what’s exactly happening in the U.S. because I don’t understand the system or the language very well. When I’m talking with someone in the US about news, music or politics, I got confused because I hardly have an idea, and if I do, I don’t know how to answer. When people from a different country ask me about my country the same thing happens. I don’t know what to say or if I do I don’t find the right words to explain them. That is why I focus more on what I’m doing because it is hard for me to figure out my atmosphere and the things inside of it.

I miss my family and friends very much, and being far from them makes me feel that life has changed, and it is different than it was before in my home country. I feel that most of the days for me without my family are just a day full of dreams, and the word family is the only thing I have from them. I really feel lost and sad when a family holiday comes because most of my friends are planning something to do or somewhere to go with their family, and for me not being with my family makes me feel that it is simply another day . Time helps me to understand it better, and my reasons to be here empower me to keep going and make my dreams to become true.

In a few words, adapting to a new culture could remove from us the things we are no longer in touch with and be replaced by new things which we are currently using. If we constantly have contact with both cultures, we could get along with both even though it takes more time. The key to attain perfection is the practice and constancy, and the things we left behind could easily disappear. Lost in translation for me is not understanding myself, my culture or my environment; in other words, it is a “Lost of Identity”.

To Deal with Living America

I have been living in Chicago for two and a half years since I moved from Japan, and I have been getting used to living here. I'm working, going to school and I can do anything that what I want to do for myself now. However, at the time I moved here form Japan, I had suffered to living in the United States. I could not deal with living here at all because some people do not accept other cultures, it was hard to understand people who came from different backgrounds, and some people are not helpful to people who speak a second language.

One experience that I made me feel different was when people looked at me like I was an alien. When I got to Chicago, I was living in a neighborhood which was mostly African American. There was only one Asian, and that was me. Every time I went out, people stared at me. Even little kids were interested in me. They wanted to talk to me, and tried to play with me. Some people tried to get my attention by sounding their car horn and that bothered me. Sometimes people said bad things to me when I passed next the person. I stop going out, and felt like a bird in a cage. I was like a stranger in the neighborhood.

Another experience was that it was hard to understand people who came from different backgrounds. Several months after I moved here, I decided to go to beauty school. There were many people who came from other countries. One day someone asked me to use my beauty supplies. Once I said "yes", she continued to use my supplies every time she needed. When I left my supplies while I went to restroom, people started using my supplies who I did not know. It was unexpected behavior because people in Japan do not act like them because manner is very strict in Japanese society. Once I permitted some one nicely, some people took advantage of me. However, at the time I couldn't refuse them because in my country to accept is respectful to the person, and to refuse is disrespectful. I was confused, and I could not handle some people’s behavior.

My final problem was that some people are not helpful to those who speak a second language. When they noticed that I could not speak English fluently, they treated me like a dog. For example, one day I went to register to take an ESL class at Harold Washington College. A lady told me that according to my data in the computer, I was going to take a class next semester in at Malcolm collage, and she could not do anything about it until people fixed this problem at Malcolm X College. Therefore, I went to the college that she wanted me to go, and I talked to an old lady about this problem. She gave me an attitude of arrogance, and she told me that we could not fix anything about it. She was not helpful, and she did not even try. It seemed like no body was taking my problem seriously at all. I went to two colleges back and forth two more times after this day. Finally, late in the day people in Malcolm X College fixed this problem. I wasted my entire day dealing with this problem, but they never apologized to me. I was so sad because they just did not care about my case. It would not be like this If I could speak English fluently.

As you can see, I had a hard time to dealing with living here. The U.S has so many different people; everyone has different backgrounds than me. Some people are not helpful at all. Now If someone stares at me when I walk down the street, I don't care anymore like used to, and I can say no to people if somebody tries to bother me. If people don't want to help me, that's fine. I found out to how to deal with living here, and that is not to take any bad experience personally. This is the best way to deal with living America.