Final (10 Pages)

ESL Students Bring You the World Volume 9

Essays, Stories & Cultural Insights

South Puget Sound Community College English as a Second Language Department Winter 2009

Dear Reader,

Sponsored by Services and Activities Fees & International Education

Although the students in the English as a Second Language program at South Puget Sound Community College come from all over the world, their common experiences and dedication to learning English bring them together. As teachers, we are honored to have students who are so caring, and interested in learning. We hope you draw as much inspiration from reading their stories as we have. About 190 students from 31 countries have shared their stories here. The stories are organized by theme. To find a story or essay about the people, places or customs of a particular country, please see the Index of Countries after the About the Authors section at the end of the book. Students of the following ESL instructors contributed to this volume: Deborah Dohrmann Linda Haglund Ingrid Jodziewicz Lauril Sachet Mya Shaftel Heidi Smith Heather Williams Julie Williamson A special thanks to Services and Activities Fees & International Education for sponsoring this publication.

“You must learn day by day, year by year, to broaden your horizon. The more things you love, the more you are interested in, the more you enjoy, the more you are indignant about, the more you have left when anything happens.” - Ethel Barrymore

Table of Contents

A Good Place to Visit in My Country ………………...……………………………………… 4 Going to School in My Country .……………………………………………………..……… 25 Food We Eat in My Country …………………………….........................................…… …26 A Good Job in My Country ……………………………………………….…………………. 28 An Interesting Custom in My Country ……………………………………………………... 30 A Childhood Memory …………………………………………………………………………41 My Family ……………………………………………………………………………………...… 46 My First Day in the U.S.A. …………………………..…………………………………………. 51 Working in the U.S.A. ……………………………………………….…………………………. 64 Traveling in the U.S.A. …………………………………………………….…………………... 65

Learning English ………………………………………………………..………………………. 71 My Life, My Story ………………………………………………………..……………………… 76 Decisions and Change ……………………………………………..………………………… 85 ABOUT THE AUTHORS …………………………………………………..………………… …....92 INDEX OF COUNTRIES ……………………………………………………...………………… 107

A Good Place to Visit in My Country

MY BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY By: Hicham Afif, Morocco Moroccois a country that is famous for its oceans and fish. Morocco is in northwest Africa and in between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Due to its location, Moroccois full of tourism because of beautiful natural resources. It also has beautiful beaches and wonderful weather. If anyone ever visits Morocco I would recommend that they visit Marrakesh – a city that is surrounded by mountains, forest, Sahara Desert and ocean. MEXICO OPENS HER HEART

By: Lucy Amado, Mexico I’m Lucy from Mexico, I would like to talk about my beautiful country, and good places for you to visit. One of the most wonderful place is located in Southern Mexico is close to South America. The place is full of beaches, trails, and cultural events. One place is Cancun. It’s located in the peninsula of Mexico. Many tourists around the year travel there to get sunshine, a lot of swimming. It’s popular because many visitors who travel here they always talk really good about this place, they way those places never sleep. Another place is Oaxaca, a big state full of tradition. This place has many different ways to prepare meals, the food is really good. The people are hospitable and friendly always try to make you happy. I recommend to everybody to go to my beautiful country and taking a little bit of it. Never forget: Mexico always opens her heart to travelers, and visitors around the world. GWAZA NATIONAL PARK By: Danpullo Bako, Cameroon Gwaza National Park is in Cameroon. It’s in the far north of Cameroonin Marwa. The park get animals like elephant, giraffe, lion, buffalo, monkeys, hyena, antelope, deer, and wild ostrich. If you go there, the game reserve workers take you around in a car to see all those animals. You can also see hippos there. You can go quite close and see them grazing. Sometimes you can see how the lions and leopards hunt. If the leopard has something like antelope and a lion comes, it take the animal up a tree to hide it. Sometimes the lion sits the whole night to see if the leopard get tired and go away. GUATEMALA IS A WONDERFUL COUNTRY By: Wendy Caballeros, Guatemala Guatemala is a country in Central America between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. There are touristic place for example Panajachel, Tikal and Antigua Guatemala, Sweet River (Rio Dulce) and the temple of Esquipulas. Of all international turists visiting Guatemala durin the year, 45 percent visit Panajachel, 60 percent visit Antigua Guatemala and 30 percent Tikal, Sweet Riverand Esquipulas. There are the good places to visit in my country. WELCOME TO TAIWAN By: Shu-Hsin Cheng, Taiwan My home country is located between the Pacific Ocean and Taiwan Strait. It has nice weather. The average temperature is between 28° 35°Cthroughout the year. Taiwanhas many picturesque natural views, and it is an unforgettable place you should visit. It offers the experience of looking at

the fanciful sunrise view, natural hot spring baths with the fun activities of cooking eggs, and delicious fresh local seafood and snacks. Have you had an experience riding on a classic small train to the mountain top in the midnightlooking at the fanciful sunrise? It is as magical as the sun jumping up from the mountains, the dark sky is changed every seconds. You can feel the dramatic sky of the day and night, the bright light suddenly jumping in your vision, unforgettable natural sunrise experience. Have you ever had fun in the natural hot spring baths and fun activities of cooking eggs in hot spring water? Taiwan has many hot springs. The most popular tourist destinations are in southeastern Taiwan. Hot springs are so popular in Taiwanbecause of its famous benefits to the skin and to general health. Bring your family to swim in the hot spring pool, relax in hot spring baths and have fun cooking eggs in a large stone trough with boiling spring water. Add this joyous memory in your lives. You should try delicious fresh local seafood and fruit. It has nice weather through the year and the oceans around it. Nice weather makes delicious food paradise. When you come to Taiwan, you eat and eat, specially seafood and fruit. People buy seafood, only buy just catch them the same day or live. They smell like the ocean and are 100% delicious. You can see many different kinds of fruit at street markets. Same kind of fruit but different variety. For example, Mango, Apple Mango, Banana Mango, and Local Mango. Pineapple, Perfume Pineapple, Shi Pineapple and many kinds of fruit at different seasons. I like to eat perfume pineapple in the summer and sugar cane in the autumn. What about you? There are a lot of fun activities and places you can tour. So, if you want to have a beautiful unforgettable vacation, please come to Taiwan. SEL OCK MOUNTAIN By: Yeon Chung Choe, South Korea I went to Sel Ock Mountain in Korea. I was so excited. It is a very famous mountain in my country. It’s hard to describe because each season has different scenery. For a while there are four season. Fall is the best. Many trees has colors. The whole mountain has red, yellow leaves. One more thing remain on my memory. Sky is very clear and higher than other mountain. If you visit in my country, I should like to recommend Sel Ock Mountain. COME TO VISIT ZAKARPATSKA AREA By: Yana Clark, Ukraine In Ukraineyou can find so many interesting places to visit. But now I‘d like to tell you about one very interesting place. It is the Zakarpatska area which is located in western Ukraine. This area has a very interesting culture, traditions and history. All the territory is populated now. Nowhere in Ukraineare traditions alive so much as in Zakerpatska area. Other than

Ukrainians , different nationalities live there now like Hungarians, Romanians and Rusyns. As a results culture and language are different too. The Carpathian Mountainsare about 80% of the territory Zakarpatska area. It is a beautiful area of mountains, clear lakes and fresh air. It is also known as the geographical center of Europe. The Carpathians Mountainswere formed during the Alpine orogeny. The Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc about 1500 km across Central and Eastern Europe making them the largest mountain range in Europe. The chain of mountains stretches from the Czech Republic to the northwest to Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine and Romania. The Carpathians are divided into 3 major parts. The Eastern Carpathians are in Ukraine. These mountains are without rocky ledges, peaks are a plateau. At the tops of the Mountains are the alpine meadows, peaks are covered by snow for 6 months during the year. In the unique ancient forest cranberries, blueberries, blackberry grow. Also such trees as pine, beech, oak, hornbeam, alder grow there too. Even a rare growing flower named Leontopodium is there. Also about 74 different kinds of mammals live there . There are 281 kinds of birds, and a lot of fish. The most popular is trout which lives only in clean water. According Rom’s chronicle in 1 A.D. The Dacia tribe of Carps lived there; which gave the name Carpathian to these mountains. Of course I should tell you about the highest of Ukraine’s mountains, Hoverla, which is one of the most popular places in Carpathian mountains. Hoverla is 2061 metersin altitude. The slopes are covered with beech forest, on top the subalpine meadows. The date of the first ascent is unknown but, the first tourist route was opened in 1880. In the 20th century; its popularity has been increasing as an extreme sport site. The Zakarpatska area is also famous for water resources: rivers, lakes, waterfalls. There are about 9429 rivers are there. Many waterfalls are not as high as some waterfalls in the world, but not less beautiful. There are about 130 lakes in this area. Some are small and not deep, salty and fresh, many are located 1400-1800 metersaltitude and all appeared many thousands of years ago due to glaciers melted. The deepest and biggest lake is Synevir Lake. Very old trees surround this bright blue lake .The water is so clean you can see bottom of lake. Some old legend was connected with this lake . A long time ago some count had a daughter, named Syn . Once she met the shepherd Vir, and they fell in love with each other. But the count didn’t agree with it and he tald his servants to kill that young man Vir and throw him from the high cliff. Syn found out about it and she cried so much, even a lake was formed from her tears. Since then this lake has been named Synevir. And nowadays many new married couples come there to celebrate their wedding. The territory of the Carpathians also consists about 800 mineral springs of many different types. Some of them are known worldwide. Because there are many mineral springs , the network of spas and sanatoriums are highly developed. For the treatment not only mineral water is used , but also salt that is received from processing the evaporation of water. Some water is

used only for drinking, other is used in bathing, inhalatians, and hydromassages. Another interesting place in that area is the Valley of Daffodils-the only place in Ukraine and former USSRcountries where we can find the natural growing thicket Daffodils Angustіfolіus. The same daffodils, but much smaller area, remained in a few places like the Alps, Romaniaand some Balkan countries. They are rare plants and they are in Ukraine’s Red Book. According to a legend, exactly in this place a Greek god named Narcissus saw his reflection in the water and fell in love with himself , then he died because of melancholy. And due to it flowers appear there. They bloom each year in May and are incredibly beautiful. Besides all these wonderful places I want to talk about the castles and fortresses in Zakarpatska area .There are 12 medieval castles that were built for wars in the 10th -18th century. And for a peaceful life, grandiose, big, luxurious in interior, originality of architectural palaces were built. Now you can see why I think it is a good place to visit in my country. Because of all these good things, many tourists go there all year around. Everyone can find interesting things to do. If they want to improve their health, mineral water plus fresh mountain air with pine forest aroma help a lot. People who like fishing or hunting have much opportunity to so. For interesting excursion programs they can easily find many historical places and beautiful natural parks to see. In winter time, of course there are skiing and snowboarding. Even for people who prefer an adventure vacation, they can go hiking on the mountain’s tops, ride a horse, be engaged in paragliding. And last as some Russian classic said “Better than mountains can be only mountains”. SULROCK MOUTAIN IS A GOOD PLACE TO VISIT By: Ok Nyu Freo, South Korea If I were living in Seoul, I would take a summer vacation in South Korea at Sulrock Mountain. It is located on the east coast of South Korea. It contains a lot of small and big hills. There are three reasons I recommend visiting Sulrock Mountain: the views are incredible, the nature is made beyond my imagination, and the fresh air. The views are incredible! If you are a mountain hiker or climber you know what I’m talking about. The views are unspeakable. Once you have reached the top of mountain you will love that mountain’s views more and more. Go to visit Sulrock Mountain. The views are great. The natural wonders beyond my imagination! Trees and rocks were so big and huge. I had never seen those any other places. One of the rock’s names is Hundle. “Hundle” means shaking. We can shake the huge rock, but it doesn’t go anywhere. The nature is made beyond my imagination. The fresh air makes people happy and brain healthy. It was stunned because I could breathe deeply and got rid of all of the air pollutions from city.

If you want to rest and get away from your work, try something different and go to visit Sulrock Mountain in South Korea. Sulrock Mountain in Seoul Korea, I can guarantee that you can get away from your busy schedule because they have everything that what you want, such as great mountain views, nature, and fresh air. When I was in my early twenties I went there once. After that I didn’t have a chance to go again. I have always remembered that mountain trip because I really had a great time. Sulrock Mountainis a great place to visit in my country. HONDURAS By: Cintia Guzman, Honduras In my country Honduras, there are different good places to visit. The first is Roatan Islas de la Bahia. Many people travel from different countries there. It is a nice place because it has a big beach, a beautiful aquarium and many animals. Pulapanzac is a very nice place. It has a big river, a spectacular water fall and a lot of plants. Ceiba is a beautiful beach. People go to the beach because it is sunny all year long. Ruinas de Copan is a historical place. People go to see the Mayan art. People should go to Honduras because it a unique experience.

DA LAT By: Tram Hoang, Vietnam In my country, Viet Nam, there are many gorgeous places to visit. But Da Lat is the most beautiful place that people usually travel to. Da Lat is an ancient city of North Viet Nam. They come to Da Lat not only because of scenery but it is also because of the nice weather and inexpensive price. People usually go to Da Lat because the scenery is very glorious. I used to hear my friends and other people who went there tell me and I wished I could go to Da Lat one time. The wish came true. Last year, I visited Da Lat with my husband on our honeymoon. In Da Lat, we went to Love Valley where couples usually visit because the sights are very romantic. After that we went to Da Lat flower garden. It was as if we were lost in the garden with many different kinds of flowers. We took some pictures to keep the memory of the vacation. Then, we went to Dream Hill. It was actually beyond my imagination. We hired a couple horses and took them around the hill. We also went to other places in Da Lat such as impressive Cam Ly waterfalls and Buddhist temple. Because we had to travel somewhere else, we just stayed 2 days. But it was unforgettable vacation. Beside the scenery, people go to Da Lat because of the weather. The climate in Da Lat is very pleasant and fresh because it has many trees. Da Lat can be called a place of fog. It is located on a high and fanciful hill. At night,

the weather is lightly cold. It is about 56-600 F. This is very ideal for the couples to walk hand in hand around Da Lat. But at noon, the weather becomes very warm. So people come to Da Lat feel very warm and friendly. Another reason they should go to Da Lat because the price is not expensive. Da Lat has many cheap and comfortable inns and motels. Moreover, there are many delicious restaurants suitable with your money. There are also some places in Da Lat where they go sightseeing for free. If they have to pay the fee, it is just a little. Going to Da Lat, they never worry about money. Therefore, if someone asks me somewhere to visit in Viet Nam, the first place I will tell them is going to Da Lat. They should go to Da Lat because of beautiful scenery, wonderful weather and inexpensive prices. If I can choose again a place to go in my country, I would still choose Da Lat. Going to Da Lat will be unforgettable for you. MY VISIT TO ANGKOR WAT By: An Keo, Cambodia I was born in Cambodia but I never had an opportunity to visit Angkor Wat because of the prolonged civil war in Cambodia. I came to live in the United States. I hoped one day I would go back to visit Angkor Wat, but that hope never came true until April 5th, 2008. I went to visit my homeland for the New Year celebration and to visit Angkor Wat. First I wanted to visit Angkor Wat, but when I arrived at the Pochentong Airport in Phnom Penh it was too late to connect to another flight to Siem Reap and I decided to stayed in Royal Hotel for a night. Then the next day I flew from Pochentong to Siem Reap, about 45 minutes. Then I took a taxi from Seam Ream Airport to Mom Hotel and spent the night there. In the next morning the hotel's owner offered me a tour ride to Angkor Wat $50 a day which was good price, I guess! On the first day of my visiting Angkor Wat, I had noted a lot of beautiful sculptures (called Apsara in Khmer language), but I could described only a couple things. The first part begins with the geography of Cambodia. Historical details follow tracing the Khmers from early times through the period of Angkor to the rediscovery of the ruins by foreigner. Angkor temple has represented Khmer people for many years. Many people like to touch the sculpture's wall and wishes for good luck. Some of the temples have been rebuilt by the government recently and supported by international art historical group. The second day I visited the Bayon. It vies with Angkor Wat as the favourite monument of visitors. The two evoke similar aesthetic responses yet are different in purpose, design, architeture and decoration. Bayon was built nearly 100 years after Angkor Wat. The basic structure and earliest part of the temple are not known. After I walked nearly five hours I was exhausted and I tried to find shade of the tree and rested under the big tree and closed my eyes a few minutes and I heard the big feet walk toward me and soon I opened

my eyes it was a big elephant. I was shook and panic for a moment but he kept walk past me and it was tourism's elephant. And that was the end of my second day in Angkor. The third day I visited Banteay Srei temple. It is nearly everyone's favorite site. The special charm of this small temple lies in its remarkable state of preservation, small size and excellence of decoration. Banteay Srei Temple was built by a Brahman who was grandson of Harshavarman II and some describe it as being closer in architecture and decoration to Indian models than any other temple at Angkor. Angkor Wat is built in the heart of the Cambodia jungle. I toured Angkor temple several days. I could not tour all the temple of Angkor Wat. I would recommend for the best way to visit Angkor temple and to get to know the heart of Angkor temple you should pay for the tour guide and they can speak different languages. At the hotel, they have brochure book for all languages. It was my first time that I visited and I still have emotional feeling connect to sculptures on the wall of Angkor temple. It tell me how strong the humans were back then.