Difference between women's and men's brain

BOTANICAL GARDENS this Thursday confirmed!

click on the link below to see their website:

http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu/

Hi everyone - so we decided to go to the Botanical Gardens this Thursday.  Let's bring some snacks because we'll be there for a few hours and we won't be near any stores or restaurants.  We can either pick up some food and drink on our way there, or some of you may want to pack your own lunches.  

Let's meet at school at 9:00 as usual - on time as usual ;)  (ha ha) we  WILL leave at 9:30 from school.  The walk up to the gardens will probably take about 45 minutes to an hour.  Wear comfortable shoes.  Tomorrow in class we can look up the weather forecast for Thursday so you will know how to dress for that day since our weather has been so bizarre lately!  

Please take a look at the Botanical Gardens website!  Hey, who knows what the plant is in the logo above?  Name the plant and the country of origin if you can.

See you tomorrow - we will finish the unit on marriage, men's and women's brains ;) and both Eugene and Anatoliy will give their presentations.  We might even have time to read the summary of chapter 3 of the Metamorphosis to see what Gregor Samsa's fate is in the end!

Ciao for now - D 

New gang!

Today, 4 Taiwanese students joined our class. It was awesome, 4 Taiwanese joined us in one day. It is cool, isn't it? Our class has had a new gang since today. Haha... I was just kidding. Anyway, welcome you guys. I'm so glad to see you guys here. Hope we can study and learn something new together. Oh ya, please be active and feel free to post on this blog. I believe, we'll be so glad to see your post here! All right, see you guys tomorrow.

My "HOT" weekend !

Sunday, I went to Vacaville Outlets shopping with my family. We took 45 minutes to get there. It was too hot there. Damn HOT. The temperature was almost 110'F . I couldn't stand it, I think it was hotter than Malaysia. I believe, if I brought a bowl of water and put it under the sun, it would boil. Anyway, I bought a CK bag. It looks simple and cool (I think, haha). After that, we were ready to come back home. On the way back home, traffic was very heavy. When we arrived home, it was already 6 o'clock. My conclusion, I won't be there again during the summer.

Art on the wall

Botanical Gardens this Thursday?

Hi crew - the UC botanical gardens is free the first Thursday of the month - shall we go?  I had said that we would do presentations that day, what if we did those on Wednesday instead?  We could pack a lunch, walk up and spend the day there - it would be a great last day together before I leave for a month!  What do you think?  D

Try this

Without searching, can you try reading this?
YYUR
YYUB
ICUR
YY4ME

Breaking news- Michael Jackson dies in LA hospital!!

LOS ANGELES-Michael Jackson, the child star turned King of Pop who set the world dancing but whose musical genius was overshadowed by a bizarre lifestyle and sex scandals, died on Thursday. He was 50.

Jackson was pronounced dead at 2:26 p.m. PDT (5:26 p.m. EDT) after arriving at a Los Angeles hospital in full cardiac arrest, said Fred Corral of the Los Angeles County Coroner's office. The cause of death was not known and an autopsy would likely take place on Friday, he said. Michael Jackson's brother says it's believed that the pop star died of cardiac arrest.

Jermaine Jackson cautioned at a hospital press conference Thursday that the cause of his death would not be known until an autopsy was performed.

He said Michael Jackson's personal doctor and paramedics tried to resuscitate him at his rented home in Holmby Hills. A team of doctors at UCLA Medical Center also tried for more than an hour.

Los Angeles police Lt. Gregg Strenk said at a separate news conference that police robbery-homicide detectives have been ordered to investigate, which is common in a high-profile case. Strenk says the coroner's office, which will handle inquiries into the type of death, is taking possession of the body.

An old person I know.

I know a lot of old people. And I love a lot of them too. But the one I want to talk about is my grandmother (my mother's mother) She is about 85 now if I am right. She is a sweet grandmother. She gave birth to 12 children but only 10 of them grew up but now she only has 9 because my aunt just died. She is a very strong woman. My grandfather died long time ago. Can you imagine how hard it would be to raise 12 kids? She was telling me about how hard her life was when my mother was very young and couldn't help her with the household chores. Now she just stays home. Tries to live as long as possible for everybody because she is the last grandparent for a lot of people. And because of having too many children she now has prblems with her womb. No worries everybody is taking good care of her because she really deserves it. Last time I called my mother I talked to her she asked me a very hard question "Will I see you before I dei?"

My neighbour (Anatoliy Konovalov)

I remember one old guy. I was walking from my University. I felt tired and was dreaming about how lovely just touching my pillow on my lively bed would be and not so far from me and my home i saw a dirty old person. He was lying on the ground and had heavy breathing. I didn't recognize him and almost passed him when a familiar voice for me, called me. I turned around and recognized one guy who in the past was nice and kind. He was one of the people who sacrificed himself to clean out places from radiation after nuclear disaster in Soviet Union times. People who had been there haven't lived long. I remember him. He always gave me presents, toys or some sweet stuff, for the hell of it, when I was child. And now he looked horrible. He was lying and his face was scratched, tired and burned out by the scorching heat and heavy life. I came upon him and felt the smell of alcohol. He was a little bit drunk. He twisted his ankle or maybe had even broken it and the world around was oblivious to him, birds were singing their lovely songs, the din of the street muffled his groaning, everybody was busy with their own business and he was a useless spot on his homeland. I helped him and got a taxi and sent him to a hospital. I felt sad and before I took a nap I thought about his lonely life in this world. And I remembered one expression

"Make good and good will come back to you"

but this was not his case.

An older person that I know (JeFF)

An older person that I know is my grandmother. She is very old now, 87 years old. She looks like a witch, because when people get old, their faces shrink. She sews some shirts that are torn and have small holes when she is free. She feels low key everyday, everytime.

An older porson I know

 I am thinking about my grand mother. She passed away* this May.

She had a human touch. I liked her very much.

 She was the pastor's wife. So she had a lot of responsibility.

She was so altruistic*, she almost didn't have her own life. So I'm very sad for this.

She always volunteered for poor people and sick people.   I want to follow her //

She was very respectful.  I miss her.... TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT 

* to pass away = to die

   to pass out = to faint - to lose consciousness

* altruistic = unselfishly concerned for or devoted to the welfare of others

Check this out

This place is not very far from Berkeley. The scene is very beautiful; endless ocean. It's close to Richmond or probably some part of it is in Richmond. It's calle Point Isabell. I like the geography there.

I love Summer Time!!!

Summer ...


Of course, everyone is satisfied with summer time like me. I usually do activities in this season much more than the other ones, although the weather is a little bit warm or rather hot some days. My favourite thing that I always do is go to the sea and on some occasions to the waterfalls with my close friends. Slow walking on the beach with a gentle wind makes me so happy and relaxed from troubled life. Just relaxing on some holidays can make me recover power and vigorous energy back in order to face my working, studying, or everything I've related with. I do enjoy travelling during this time as well. It's good to go outside; everything reflects the beginning of new life. Trees and plants are green and fresh and they create shade. People usually go out with their pets, especially take their dogs to the dog-park. They can wear their sunglasses, bikinis, hot pants, T-shirts, or someone prefers to take their bare body; they can!!!. It does not make sense if you do it in winter time. It's impossible !!!


Weng,

Photo by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer

My favorite season (JEFF)

The season that I most like is summer. Because the weather is the same as in Malaysia. I can do a lot of outdoor sports. Summer will sunny, breezy and dry. I like it. I can go to the beach to have fun and I can play in water. That is so great it could be summer everyday. OH, YES!

My Favorite Season "SPRING"

The season that I like the best is spring. It comes after winter goes when it was cold and the weather was dark and many poeple sometime felt depression. Life is harder in winter but when spring comes, plants develop leaves and there are many kinds of flowers. The weather is fresh and it's bright and sunny. You can feel the rebirth of everyting . Also LOVE....

The chapel of the chime

Hi,

It's me again. Sorry but I can't help posting, I love it. I went to see the chapel of the chime on Sunday afternoon. I had no idea what it was. I am not interested in the music much. I mean for me if I have to pay for it, music is not very interesting. :D The place is very interesting though. It's the place where people keep there beloveds' ashes. The architecture is marvelous. Basically just walls after walls of bones. The trails look like they force you to keep walking and it's endless. There are always people playing electronical music. Wierd for me, but it's music anyway. I always see those kind of music on Spark, a TV program on KQED. But on that day it was real. There were a lot of people there. There was only one peice of music I really like. It was violin and piano perfoming. I felt like I was listening to a woman crying and talking about her sadness.

My favorite season

I like the end of the rainy season and the begining of the cold season.  Under the clear blue sky, the weather is just right.  Very green and cool and breezy.  Rivers, canals and ponds are filled with water and water plants.  In a clear water pond we try to get in a boat and row even though we are not allowed to do so.  Picking lotuses and some water vegetables is just fun fun fun.  You can see what water birds or amphibians see.  Climbing up trees is one of our favorite activities.  In the rice field up on the trees jasmine vine abounds.  We climb up there to smell the flowers and sing. We can sing as loudly as we want because it doesn't bother people.  Also bouncing on the tree, it's so fun and we won't fall of the tree because the vine is so thick to hold us on.  Poor tree, but we are happy.  The evening activity is the best, swimming.  We get together to make a small group, no adults please, because adults have rules but we don't like them.  We swim in a pond not far from our house in our grandpatents' rice field.  How fun.  Actually we take a bath there.  Everything is done there. We don't need to take a shower again because it's too cold without the water heater and nobody in the village has one. 

My favorite season :D

I think winter is the best season +_+!!
 

  In winter time, I can see snow in my country.

Snow is so cool !!

I can make snow man use the snow and many children have snow fights ~

In Korea adult men have to go to the army . My friends also go to the army.

All soldiers said they hate the snow.. because they have to clean up and still training!

My friend  also hate the snow . hehehehe 
  But I like snow and winter sports. 

Actually If I do exercise in summer time, I'm very tired.
Because I get too sweaty !!!
So I like winter sports more than summer sports !
In addition, Christmas and my birthday are in December !
  Winter is a happy season for me. I wish this Christmas will be a white Christmas !

Naked people biking

I don't know if I am a pervert but as soon as I saw these people passing us I tried to cath up with them. Just to share with you guys. Look at them and think about yourself. Well people say that most of the times when somebody does this sort of things they are NOT IN SHAPE. In this case I absolutely agree.

Spring is My best season that i like (Anatoliy Konovalov)

Beginning of May is the best time in my homeland. Time when I was born, time when spring contends with summer and the air is filled with fresh odors of the spring mood, that sates your thirst for life. It's the shortest season in my country where it is mostly insufferably hot, there are brutal dust blizzards and the sky forgets that clouds exist!

Hello...and bye bye for a while!

Hey everyone!

Finally the school has already canceled my visa so I will go back to France from july 2nd to august 2nd! It will be good to be back home, to see my friends and family...it's quite a long time though without my "brand new" husband! Anyway, the most important is that I have found a job for september. Life will be much more easier next year!

Also, I'd like to recommend the Strawberry Canyon pool in Berkeley. I've been there last friday and I had a great time. It is an outdoor swimming-pool, in the middle of the trees (It is located n the hills, after the campus, behind the stadium). The entrance fee is quite expensive though ($5) so it's worth planning to stay there for several hours. I am sure those of you who has been living in Berkeley for a while already know that place...but for the newlycomes in the Bay Area it might be a good way to spend your time with this great weather!
Have fun.
Cecile

The Swing up Albany Hill

Hi everybody,

This is the swing I told you about. I went back there today because I like it so much. It 's like flying I guess. Birds know wether I am right or wrong. I tried to post the video but it took forever and it couldn't be uploaded finally. The file is too big. So just so you have an idea. These are the pictures. You can see how high it is.

Hi everyone,

It took me a while to decide which picture I should upload to the blog. There you go. Have a fun weekend. See you on Monday.

Hey good live music I recommend this weekend in SF:

Not sure which of the two I will go to, but here are the two shows, out of the many, many shows going on in SF, that I recommend:

Dolores Park SF - get there by BART 16th or 24th it's in between those two.

http://www.rockthebike.com/

Check out the website - powered by people pedaling stationary bicycles! There is a variety of music I think.

And then this should be awesome too, African American gospel style music, Herbst. Theater, SF

http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=92848561027&h=s5Aoe&u=F5RIs&ref=nf

OK - thought I would give you the heads up!

etymology dictionary for us!

This is the etymology dictionary - I find it fascinating and VERY useful, just 

click for this! 

Monday Field trip and picnic

Berkeley Marina.
Meet at school and leave around 9 :30
camera, food, bikini and water bring with you,
and leave messages who wanna bring a blanket, beer, any game equipment
If you are late follow this map

happy happy happy !! :D

Two days ago I went on a field trip with my class to the Fire trail !
I saw many beautiful things for the first time in berkeley and I saw many pretty flowers~
Our trail was very wonderful ! I thought I became an adverturer!!
We climbed the hill... It was so hard...........
But after I arrived to the summit, I was very proud of myself~~and I could see very beautiful scenery !! and then some smell reaching my nose.... that was goat's poop smell....
It was like the goat cheese smell...
We climbed one more hill and we could see many goats!! It was a very awesome experience!
after we came down the hill !! I was very tired...
But my mind was more comfortable and happy !!!!!!!
I'm looking forward to the next trip ! :D

Beautiful view

Yesterday, I went hiking with my classmates. We hiked in the Berkeley Hills. There was a great view that I've never seen before. I felt connected with the nature. And we had a blast. In the morning, we met in class, then we had breakfast at People's Cafe. I got a ham sandwich with cheese and a small Mocha with white chocolate.There were 8 people who showed up, Denise, Lori, Pim, Gulizar, Anatoliy, Ugur, Mr. and Mrs Eugene, and me! We had two photographers to take pictures of us. Actually, we had 3, but one of them, their camera ran out of battery. :) After breakfast,, we started our trip. We walked up the long stairs. I told Denise that was a small staircase for me, but I didn't know that was just a small part of the way. We had been hiking about 3 hours. Inside the 3 hours, we saw a nice view, that was the whole bay area. And we saw a lot of goats, the nice guy who was in charge of those goats, said we could go inside the fence if we wanted. We went in and caressed those goats, but when we were caressing the goat, one male goat looked angry. He had been butting his head and showing us his horns, it seemed like he was threatening to expel us. After we "visited" those lovely goats, we'd almost done our field trip. We worked out very hard, I was super tired when I got back home. Of course, I took a nap. HAHA... :)

LAZY STUDENT

I wanted to write on our blog about someting and I coudn ' t until now.
I want to say something to the new mother Who has a little beatiful girl, Mandy...
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!......
YOU WON......

Mandy, I will go to my country soon, then will come back with a blue eye for your little daugther in August. The blue eye is an amulet that we use in our country against the evil eye, it is used for protection. I know that your little daugther will have good lock that she has a lovely mother like you...
I wish that your little daugther will have a happy life....

More photo from our trip

FireTrail

+_+/  look at the door +_+->>

fire trail field trip

Look at us.....:)

HOME video available again! PLEASE watch this!

 

click here  for the HOME video we watched in class about our planet earth!  

Some funny grammar

You must see it

wanna see more follow to my blog 

There is a two-letter word that perhaps
has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is "UP"

It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?

We call UP our friends. And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car. At other times the little word has real special meaning.. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special.

And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.

We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more. When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP.

When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP.

When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP.

One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now my time is UP, so..... Time to shut UP.....!

Oh...one more thing:
What is the first thing you do in the morning & the last thing you do at night? U-P

sorry HOME video not available now...

Hi - as I had read a few days ago, the HOME video was only viewable by June 14th.  Somehow we were able to see it this afternoon after class, but it seems more complicated now...  Maybe we can figure this out together.  See you tomorrow, D

HOME video clip - also field trip tomorrow 6/16

http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=213076370106&h=plA7b&u=vspjc&ref=mf

Hi everyone, please copy and paste this URL address in order to see the HOME video clip!  This clip lasts 1 1/2 hours - but it is worth it - share it with your friends if you can!  Write down any words that you do not understand and we can go over them together.

Again congratulations to Mandy and her husband for their beautiful new baby girl!

FIELD TRIP 6/16 - Tuesday - meet in class as usual, then we will have a snack at the People's Cafe' after which, we will walk up to the fire trail by way of some stairs going through the Berkeley hills - be prepared with comfortable walking shoes and some water!  We will come back to downtown Berkeley by 2:30.

Bring writing utensils, paper, cameras, and any drawing or coloring utensils (if you are so inclined!)

See you tomorrow!  D

HOME video clip

I got a lovely baby finally !!

Hi! I got my baby this Tuesday about 1AM. The baby is a girl. I really wanted it!
My baby and I am O.K.
I started in labor on Monday evening and fortunately it was after the class. So,I managed to go to a hospital safely with my husband.
I came back to my house this Thursday.
I`m busy because of breastfeeding these days.
I`d like to come back to the academy again after recoverary.
I`d like to communicate with you through our blog until then.
Bye!!

POTLUCK - Monday - 22nd of June!

Hi everyone,

We are enjoying a potluck together, watching Harold and Maude and having a blast!  We decided we should another potluck again - so we planned for the 22nd of June - and we will decide together which film to watch.  

Meantime, remember to please post your recipes if you haven't done so already!  See you on Monday and have a great weekend!  D

Hi everyone,  I hope you like this photo - actually I took it from the net - it's a primary forest.  Notice the subtle mist and the canopy that the forest creates!

Hey, I created a vocabulary list for us - not sure how to upload the Word doc though... Anyone know how to do this?  Help!  

Meantime, I guess I will just try to copy and paste it here!  OK, the table didn't come out, but here is a list of words I would like you guys to know - please try to review these words for tomorrow.

Link in a chain
Water vapor
Furnace
Blue green algae	Vital ancestor of plants
Strata
Springs
Subtle
Harmony
Habitat
To defy  - Trees defy gravity.
To shatter
Pinnacle
Foliage
Customs
Rituals
To sate  -  The animal sates its hunger.
Nomadic
Bank of a river or a lake
Black gold
Ancient pocket of sunlight
Deforestation
Reforestation
Grain  - give some examples
Livestock
To graze
Pasture
To till the soil
Arable land
Drought
Flood
Pesticide
Fertilizers
To cater to the demands of people
To desalinate
Non-renewable resource
Renewable resource
A trickle
Charcoal
Disparity
Megalopolis
To exploit
To deploy
Justice
Equity
A trace