Food and healthy

Turkey has a rich cuisine with many kinds of Kebabs. Nobody wants to be full with dinner,so they will have room for dessert. But we can not be healthy if we eat too much.Oil is unhealthy for adults or old people cholesterol starts in your veins and heart when you eat a lot of beef but no one can resist when they are in front of delicious meals.
Some families want to change their cuisine to be more healthy. They want to use vegetables and white meet.The government is helping this change with expensive taxes for meet's price. But the goverment is more concerned about their economical plan so we should think about our healthy ourselves.
Some newspeapers and magazine writers are thinking about unhealthy fast food. Adults can understand it, but some children and young people don’t want to understand it. If you want to ask them why you are eating from fast food restaurant. They’ll give classic answer “Fast food is so practical and delicious.” But they don’t know that fast food kills.

National holidays in Korea

There are two national holidays in Korea.
We called them the lunar New Year's Day and Chusok.
The lunar New Year's Day is a very good day for children.
Because old people give them money when they perform a New Year's bow.
We usually eat rice-cake soup on this day.
And we wear Korean traditional clothes.
The children who wear Korean traditional clothes look like angels.
They are so cute.
Anyway everyone celebrates the New Year.
Another holiday, Chusok, is the Korean Thanksgiving Day.
We get together and we play games.
We usually exchange Chusok gifts to each other, but these days because of an economic deadlock, we don't give Chusok gifts.
We make songpyons on this day.
Songpyon is a half-moon-shaped rice cake.
House wives including my mother, are very tired on this day because they made lots of food.
But I'm very happy on this day.

RICE CAKE

I think the rice cake is the quintessential Korean food. We make it with rice, of course, and we eat it like bread in Korea. And we can make many kinds of food. For example, we make rice cake soup with rice cake, beef, eggs, and so on. We eat this soup on the lunar New Year's Day. And we eat songpyon that looks like a half-moon at Chusok. In addition, we also make new food with rice cake like tteokbokki, a broiled dish of sliced rice cake, meet, and hot seasoning. We make it with rice cake, gochujang(red pepper paste), and boiled fish paste. Anyway, I think rice cake is such a great food to eat, because we can make many kinds of food with it.

University courses begin tomorrow

I'm really excited about this semester.  I'm getting deeper and deeper into my subject and it feels great.  Taking English 657, Grammar and rhetoric of the sentence and 737, Corpus Linguistics.  Both classes should prove to be quite wonderful.  I have decided to complete the certificate for composition, pushing my graduation date another semester at least, but I think it's worth it.  I can't believe how much I enjoy school!

It's raining out and I just worked on some homework for the 657 classes which meets tomorrow for the first day.  I'm excited for tomorrow.  The only problem is that my course begins at 3:30, so I have to RACE out of BEA by 2:10 to catch the 2:14 train to try to get there on time.  Hope all goes well!

Now am ready to dive into some books about earthquakes and volcanoes, a topic of discussion in my class at BEA.

recycling some wool

Today I found a wool scarf for 80 cents at the East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse, one of my favorite places.  The scarf in and of itself was not that great, but I liked the wool, so I decided to take it apart and am looking forward to making some nice fingerless gloves for myself, I might even have enough to make some for my daughter.  Next step: BPL - Berkeley Public Library - to check out a little crafts book I saw that has a sweet and simple crochet pattern for me to follow.  It feels so nice to recycle!

Tectonic plate youtube, very clear and informative!

Hi you guys, here is a short video explaining plate tectonics, check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfziy_860GU

What we did today, Wednesday

Hi everyone, for those of you who were absent today, 4 classes joined forces: Rachel's, Tom's, Rob's and ours, till 1:15 p.m.  We read an article about the stormy weather, discussed the article, learned what to do in an emergency during this storm, learned some new words and then we watched a National Geographic video called, Nature's Fury.  The video was about natural disasters, with a focus on earthquakes, floods and tornadoes.

I typed up a little worksheet on the school computer and didn't save the document, but I will make copies for anyone who was absent.  I also gave some homework.  Your task is to look up two expressions: tectonic plates and fault lines.

I hope everyone is keeping warm and dry.  Remember to read as much as you can and bring questions to class.  See you tomorrow, Denise

cozy at home

As I see the sky darkening, black rain clouds are taking charge and the thunder awakens my senses. Wow, it's really coming down now.  I was going to go the East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse, but have changed my plan.  Instead, it's time for a nice bath and a nap.  I feel so happy to be warm and dry in my cozy home.

How we can help the Haitian people:

The devastation in Haiti is overwhelming.  Please help if you can with a donation for relief efforts.  
Here are some ways to donate:

US State Department has issued a great way to help. Text 'HAITI' to '90999' and a donation of $10 will be made automatically to the Red Cross for relief efforts. (The donation will be charged to your cell phone bill).''

or

Text 'YELE' to 501501. $5.00 for Haiti (will go on cell phone bill)

I hope you will consider helping.  Pass this information on please.  Denise

GLOBAL WARMING

The atmosphere of the earth has 21% oxgen, 76% nitrogen and 3% other gases. By product gases from industrial plants, homes and carsa re emilted into the atmosphere and then greenhouse effect occuring so earth’s temprature is rising.

Results of global warming are people and people .this problem started in the 20th century.But many people don’t want to unerstand the problem of global warming .Nowadays, people are stil cutting trees. Observe ,how muchstuff comes from wood: homes,doors,tables,chairs,boooks,pencils…. Our earth needs gren color. Global warming’s remedy is large forest.We should plant trees for our helty and our future.

The Mystery Spot

The Mystery Spot is a very interesting place in Santa Cruz, CA, where the law of gravity seems not to apply, or at least not in the way we know it.

It is a little spot located at the base of a mountain where you can see things like balls rolling up slopes, a broom standing up by itself and people that are taller than you looking shorter (and vice versa).

They say that many scientists have been there already, including a few from NASA, but up to this day, no one seemed to have been able to clarify the mystery of that spot.

www.mysteryspot.com
465 Mystery Spot Road
Santa Cruz, CA 95065-9658
(831) 423-8897

Don't you wanna know about my school?

I am a middle school student. And on March 2nd, I'll be a 2nd grade student. And that's why I want to describe my school in Korea. The name of my school is Bang-I middle school. Almost 850 students go to our school. Everyone wears the same clothes, a school uniform. It is located at Seoul, Song-pa-gu, Bang-I-dong. For if I go there, it takes less than 5 minutes. All the students have to come to the school before 8:30 a.m. The class starts at 9:00 a.m. We study 11 subjects to 12 subjects. We usually study 6 subjects a day, but on Tuesday, we study 7 subjects. We study 45minutes for each subjects. We have lunch time for 50 minutes. At lunch time, we all eat provision of meals. But it is not that delicious. We have C.A.(club activity) time once a month. I think that's all about my school.

My lovely cats

I have two lovely cats in Japan. They are both eleven-year-olds. I took care of them until I left Japan. My mother who loves cats is taking care of them now. She often sends me photos in which they are sleeping. You know, cats always sleep, so it's difficult to take a photo in which cats sit up. I miss them soooo much, but I'm not sure if they miss me. My mother says that sometimes they wait for me in front of the door of my room. What cute cats! I know I'm their doting mom.

I bought one of them at a pet shop. About one month later, I bought the other one from a cat breeder. Before buying the second one, I studied how I should receive the new one. Actually, it was the same as a human. Usually the first one is jealous of the new one. It's like a sibling rivalry of humans. So I took care of them carefully. I didn't pet and hug the new one when the first one was nearby me. But one day, the first one found that I was hugging the new one. He ran to me quickly, and he took a punch at my foot. And then he ran away! I was surprised, and froze for a few seconds. He was so funny and cute.

They are good friends of each other now.

A piece of Fun

Five surgeons from big cities are discussing who makes the best patients
to operate on.
The first surgeon, from New York , says, "I like to see accountants on my
operating table, because when you open them up, everything inside is
numbered."
 
The second, from Chicago , responds, "Yeah, but you should try
electricians! Everything inside them is color coded."
 
The third surgeon, from Dallas , says, "No, I really think librarians are
the best, everything inside them is in alphabetical order."
 
The fourth surgeon, from Los Angeles chimes in: "You know, I like
construction workers.....those guys always understand when you have a few
parts left over."
 
 But the fifth surgeon, from Toronto , Canada shut them all up when he
observed: "You're all wrong. Politicians are the easiest to operate on.
There's no guts, no heart, no balls, no brains and no spine, and the head
and the ass are interchangeable.

My wonderful grand mother.

I respect my grand mother as a woman. Even though she is an 83 year-old, she is still fashionable and lovely. She wakes up early every morning, and she wears beautiful make-up.
When my mother was a newlywed, she was told to be always pretty for my father and herself by her mother. (= my grand mother) My grand mother is'nt just a shallow woman. She is smart.
Although she is 83 year-old, she learned pharmacy at University. It was a rare case in Japan which women went to University at that time. When she was young, it was an era of terrible war. So her father told her to become a docter or a pharmacist to help poor people who were injured. Actually she didn't want to see blood, so she chose pharmacy.
She was perfect wife and mother. She lost her husband who she had been with over 60 years. So she was depressed and cried, but now she is trying to be positive to live her life.
I want to be like her.

He is a chauffeur!?

I will tell you about one of my friends,Usa.He is very kind and a friendly person.He's not handsome and dosen't have sense of humor,so he's not atractive.but he has a lots of money.After I introduced him to my friends,they said to me"He is nice".I'm sure he often give me ride wherever I need to go.I like him ,but sometimes I feel like unpleasant when I saw him with big smile.
he's lived for one year in Berkeley and he usually drives to work,but he dosen't remember any direction except address of women.One day I invited him at my friend's party,but he refused.He came to the party finaly,for I told him There were some cute girls.And then he took a girl home,so he really really likes women.
The other day He picked my friend up from the airport to her home. He could come anywhere,anytime if there are some women there.he needs a girlfriend,or he should be a free taxi driver for women, i think!!

Haerim Lee

My cousin' name is Haerim.
Her appearance is very Korean, but her character is the opposite of the Korean.
Almost of Korean do something very fast, but she doesn't.
She has worn glasses for 5 years, so the glasses look like her body.
Her hobby is reading novels. She really likes reading books.
I think she eats everything like vegetables, fish, and meats.
She always looks calm. But she loses her calmness in front of her younger brother.
She studies hard in shool. She wins frist prizes in her class.
She has a brother and a sister.
Her brother always bothers her, so she is very tired.
She often wears a black jacket.
She doesn't care about trends.
She doesn't go to academies in Korea. That is a interesting fact, because almost all students in Korea go to academies.
She wants to be a professor. Because of that she has to study hard.
She hopes to go Europe, so she has saved money.

My best friend Fatih

My best friend is Fatih. He is 21 so He's younger than me.He has green eyes and long hair and he is handsome.His clothes are very colorful.He likes fashion.Actually all young people like shopping and it's very exciting for him.He is crazy for the color red.However if you want to show yourself ,you can use the color red.For example ,a red car, a red hat or a red t-shirt. If you're using red ,you can't be shy.However red is for a pompered person.He is some what spoiled.
He is an engineering student at the university.He is very smart so he's popular in school.If you aren't clever,you can't be his friend.He wants to find friends who are creative and who have practical intelligence.His girl friend is beautiful but not a resourceful girl.She's saying to herself "I'm very beautiful,oh my god ".Ithink she's stupid and she has some complex.However , They have some problems with each other.Because his political views are liberal but his girl friend has different political views.
If you want to see a clean boy,he's in front of you.Really he is too hysienic of a person.If you want to be in his roommate,you don't have to forgetful about cleaning.First of all ,the people have to keep clean their heart.

Hye-won Kim

I'd like to introduce my cousin, Hye-won Kim. She is older than me, and she has a brother. She is a middle school student. And as the normal Korean middle school students, she goes to an academy almost everyday.

She has short hair, and has been wearing glasses for almost 4 years. She looks very smart, and really she is. It's not difficult to know that she studies hard.

She often looks at the dictionary or her mp3 player carefully and laughs. Do you know why? Because she is reading fantasy novels. She is crazy about fantasy novels.

Her handwriting is really great. When I saw her note she wrote something, I felt enviable.

Anyway, as I said, she is a smart middle school student who wants to be a teacher.

HER NAME IS GULCIN

She is my favorite sister, my words aren't enough to describe, how special she is.
First, she is a beautiful woman an she has two cute dimples. You can see her cheerful face when she stars to laugh with her wanderful dimples. She is also a tall woman like a model. Many of her girl friends are so jealous becouse she is so smart and has a good character.
She is the youngest sister of our family, but she is the oldest in mental age. I love to drink with her, so I laugh always when she is drunk, she is really amusing.
She doesn't like liars or two-faced people otherwise she is a humanist.
The most important thing in her life is to be at peace. She is always patient with people. She is an entellectual and an opendminded person.
I am so lucky that I have a glorious sister like her.

My friend Raquel

She is one of my classmates who is very elegant & intelligent. We have known each other for 4 months. When I saw her the first time I didn't suppose she was from Brazil, because I imagined that all Brazilians had brown dark skin & black hair & athletic bodies before I met her.

But She had brown hair with some blond. It looks good on her white skin.

I like to talk with her because she is a very good listener. When I talk to her she always pays

attention & show a bright smile. It is so awesome!! I don't think she knows how attractive she is!

She is a little shy person who always talks very quietly. She like to read many books, and she specially likes nonfiction. I think she is the smartest student in my class. I respect her knowledge about English & sciences.

I am really happy with her. Because I learn so many things from her. I want to be like her :)

I hope she is also happy with me.

In my memory.

I still miss my maternal grandfather who passed away 8 years ago. He was very nice, kind and funny, but sometimes he was strict to his daughters and sons.
He was very handsome, so when he was young, he was an actor in the theater. Also, he was an architect for he was smart and talented.
But he had a bad habit: it was smoking. He didn't drink, but he loved smoking and couldn't quit smoking. As a result, he got cancer of the lungs. So the last of his life wasn't happy. He always felt pain.
Even if the years flow on, I can vividly imagine him. He especially loved his grandchildren. So all his grandchildren loved him, too. Sometimes we talk about him how nice he was. We can't forget him and will miss him forever.

East Bay Regional Parks information!

For you nature lovers, check out this link for the East Bay Regional Parks.  I have also added this as one of our links on the blog as well.

http://www.ebparks.org/