Red Azalea by Anchee Min

This book is a memoir of the Chinese author Anchee Min. She talked about her life in China in the years of Chairman Mao and the communist party. She was at the age of six when she started taking care of her siblings whom were younger than her a year. She was sent to the Red Fire Farm camp and she suffered a lot there because of the hard duty that was given to her. After that, she was sent to the studio to work as a set clerk after she failed becoming an actress. She used to sing operas. She loved one of the comrades in the Red Fire Farm camp her name was Yan. She also loved the supervisor of the film Studio whom nobody knew his name. Anchee Min saw how the people in her country were suffering. Her parents were an example of being victims of Chairman Mao cruelty. Both of them had to leave their jobs as professors and work in the factory. Nobody dared to talk badly about the communist party and if they did, they would be considered as reactionaries. Finally, Madam Mao was arrested and the people of China celebrated with crabs and wine.

               

We recommend this book because it is about the years of Chairman Mao and the communist party. It was interesting for us, for we learned about the culture of China. Also, it is a memoir of the famous Chinese author Anchee.    

The Joy Luck Club

The Joy Luck Club

By Jaime, Bella, and Vicky

The book I am reading is “The Joy Luck Club” by Amy Tan. It is about four different stories and relationships between daughters and mothers. I really recommend people read this book because it is stories about immigrant family and their experiences. In the beginning it’s very confusing because it starts talking about the Chinese culture and the way of life in China. Before the four mothers immigrated to United States with their bad experiences in China, but they came with a lot of hopes to start a new life. Their daughters were born in the U.S, which it makes them different from their mothers and as they growth they experience cultural crash. I like some parts of this book because they have some myths like when Suyuan Woo and her family went to the beach, and her little son drowned in the beach. After the police didn’t find the body, her mother came with a Chinese bible to pray to the Chinese gods. This book remained me of some parts of my life. For example, as I immigrant I felt things Jing-Mei’s mother felt when she arrived to this country. I know it’s very hard for immigrants to start a new life.

The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency

Book Review

Ping, Ting, Jin, Cheung

The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency

This book The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith talks about the woman, Mma Ramotswe, sets up a detective agency to help others solve their problems. She is not afraid of the difficulties or dangers, and she uses her intelligence to help people find the truth. Her goodness and enthusiastic attracts a man, Mr. J.L.B.Matekoni. He had ever asked her to marry him, but she refused him. At the end of the book, Mma Ramotswe accepts his proposal finally.

We would like to recommend this book because this book is not only talks how to solve the cases, but also includes love and some of African cultures. In this book, there are many chapters, which are about different stories. All of the characters have different personalities, Mma Ramotswe is warm-hearted, Obed Ramotswe is selfless… We especially like some cases such as the chapters, Missing Husband, Kidnap Boy and Witch Doctor. They really catch our attentions in what happen to her each case.

Brookyln book review

Gladys Onoh and Hannah Onoh

English 100

11/30/2011

                                                                       Book review

            We read Brooklyn, a book by Colm Toibin. This book is quite interesting and educative. However, it is also depressing. Brooklyn is about a girl named Eilis and her family in Ireland. Eilis have an elder sister and three brothers. Her brothers lived in England. Eilis couldn’t find a good job in Ireland after she graduated from college. She decided to go to America so that she can find a better job and help her family. The author did a good job because he narrated the story very well to the extent that the reader visualizes settings. When you read the book it makes you feel like everything is happening right in front of you and can put yourself in the main character’s shoe.

            Nevertheless, the book is a little depressing and realistic because right from the beginning of the novel, the story started off very sadly. We kept reading with the hope that things will get better but just as the story was about getting better tragedy struck the family. They lost the eldest sister rose, who happens to be breadwinner and our second favorite character. Throughout the story, it was one misfortune or the other. The book is educative because it makes you travel to Ireland without actually going there physically. Though the book didn’t end as we expected   but we will recommend this book to anyone who likes to read all type of books  because little realistic, it is not like fiction where anything is possible or where things that don’t happen in real life take place. This book is not for anyone who is easily unhappy because it will worsen their situation. Overall, the book is the bomb.

Fight Club Review

Fight Club Group
By, Pan, Jin, Christopher

This Chuck Palahniuk novel is a master piece of its own. The characters are unique in their personality. Tyler, one of the main characters has its own master plan that will involve soap and fights with groups of men where they’ll meet in bar basements around the country. This twisted, dark comedy will make you start your own fight club, or even make your own soap. Every little step they take, or do will be for their final preparation of the ultimate master plan, a plan that will take them through laughter, pain, agony, and pleasure. Fight Club is a must read for anyone interested in a dark comedy

"Red Azalea" Review

Salma, Ling, Alan and Tania

Red Azalea

Our group liked Red Azalea by Anchee Min, which is about a young Chinese girl who used to live under the revolution. She had been sent to the Red Fire Farm as a part of her party’s task. She had to work hard to survive, and she wanted to become a member of the party. Her life changed when she became close to her commander Yan. This part was the most interesting part of the book. Her relation with Yan transformed from a friendship to a secret relation between lovers. One day Anchee got a chance to ran away from the farm and be an actress. She fell in love with the producer, who was a close friend with Mao’s wife. After Mao’s death everything changed and she lost her supervisor, Yan and ended up in America. We were expecting that she will be with the supervisor in a love relationship, but she moved to the USA and stayed single.

Untitled Project

Untitled Project

Shaking Moment By Sina

Shaking Moment

Scientists have the ability to predict natural events. They can predict most of them before they happen. They can even predict when they will happen such as hurricanes for example; however, they cannot predict earthquakes. Nobody in the world likes events which puts him or her in very bad situations. Luckily, there are some things humans can do to be safe against natural disasters. For instance, they can make their houses stronger against earthquakes. However, I was born and raised in a small town named Bam, Iran, and no one ever thought this city would be hit by an earthquake. Unfortunately, in 2003, my hometown experienced a devastating earthquake. I had never experienced a tragic event like this until that earthquake happened. This earthquake devastated my family and our lives.

The trauma in Bam began with the tremors in themorning of that day. Bam had had a few small tremors. One of them was around ten o’clock at night. People knew that an earthquake would soon come. Some smart people took advantage of those little tremors, and they spent that night outside of their homes. A few people slept near the exit door of their houses, and some of them did not sleep at all that night. My family and I also spent that night at home close to the exit door of our house in the living room. Finally, all of the people from Bam went to sleep except those people who were sitting up at night.

Only five hours and twenty five minutes passed after the tremors before the main earthquake hit, when suddenly the ground started to shake. The earthquake was very strong. I was inside of my house with my family. We thought that the shaking was over, but it was not. I tried to stand up, but it would not let me stay up and it knocked me down. Also, it did not let me open the door. It had a very loud sound and I was not able to hear the screams of my family members. After ten seconds, the silence came back again. When we got out of the house, the air was completely dark with dust, so we could not see anything. There were a lot of sounds in the air. Some people asked for help, and everyone was crying. Fortunately, our home was not destroyed completely and we got out of the house safely. On the other hand, the people who did not have strong houses could not get out. Even the people who were up all night could not escape their house. Even though I was only thirteen years old, I was still able to help other people. I went to help out my neighbors. More than forty thousand people died and around fifty thousand more were injured. Ninety percent of the city was destroyed in that event. I lost many of my family members and also I lost most of my friends. There was a historical landmark in my city called “Arge Bam”. It was completely destroyed. It was three thousand years old.

My family and I could not stay in Bam anymore. The weather was extremely cold, so we could not stay there without our house. I had to leave my hometown with all my belongings and childhood memories. We moved from Bam to Kerman. Another reason that forced us to move was because the earthquake happened in the middle of school. In Kerman, I went to a new school, but I did not have any friends there and the environment was alien to me. On the other hand, the kids were very kind to me there and they helped me a lot.

Since that huge earthquake, all of the people in my country have been building their homes with better materials. Now the people in my country are more conscious of their environment. My whole family was so devastated by this earthquake that we see things much differently. Now, whenever my family and I are looking for an apartment, our first concern is whether or not the apartment is strong enough against earthquakes. Unfortunately, scientists care more about first world countries such as America and Japan, and they do not care about third world counties such as Iran. Maybe one day in the future, every country will be prepared for future natural disasters.

The Marriage Sheet between Lebanon and USA

Salma Raydan

ESLINTG-100

Nov. 2, 2011

The Marriage Sheet between Lebanon and USA

I still remember the day when my brother came home and told my parents that he had proposed to his girlfriend and they had arranged everything about the wedding. As much as we were happy for him, this hurt us for many reasons. In Lebanon dating and marriage have special traditions and we have to follow the rules, so we cannot just choose a girl/boyfriend to date then suddenly decide to marry this person without asking the elders. The concept of marriage and dating is much different between Lebanon and the United States because these two countries have their own tradition and culture.

In Lebanon the idea of dating is so strange. In our culture a man cannot be with a woman by himself with nobody else. Nowadays, the idea is beginning to change, and the two lovers could go out for dinner, but they should get permission from their parents. And usually there should be another person with them when they are going out. On the other hand, in the USA they could go out dating, and after the age of eighteen they could live together with no marriage and the parents have no right to interfere. In Lebanon if a girl was seen in a man’s apartment, that means that they slept together and he should marry her as soon as possible to save the family’s honor. In contrast, in the United States this is something very normal and Americans do celebrate the age when she could have her right about sleeping with the man she wanted to sleep with, and the “sweet sixteen” is considered a special occasion for any teenager girl.

Another issue in Lebanon that has many arguments in the families these days is arranged marriages. The marriage before a few decades could not happen without the permission of the elders, and usually the father would choose the next wife for his son. In addition the girl had no chance for negotiation if the father or the grandfather decided whom she will marry. And here it came out the old stories and the poems about the eyes of love, when the lovers could not speak or touch each other, so they just looked to each other from distance, and would have a little talk on the water sink while she brought water in the jar. But these stories did not end up normally. At the end the two lovers would decide to escape together and run away. A s soon they were caught, however, the girl would pay the price by her death.

These days the idea of arranged marriage is beginning to disappear with the new generation, which makes a huge struggle between the family’s members. On the flip side, the United States will protect the girl and would not allow the father or the brother to kill her for such a reason. In addition marriages are no longer arranged. This land is a blessed one to the people who had find true love, because the most families and the society are more comfortable with the marriage based on love.

When the relation has ripped apart, the two partners will start to arrange to their wedding. And here the stress begins, the planning nights and the non-relaxed days. These feelings like you are swinging from one side to another are common between the two countries. However, Lebanon has his own special way. From my hometown, I will describe the way we celebrate our wedding parties. The first thing is the number of people and usually it exceeds eight hundred people.

The invitation cards will be distributed one week before the date. The celebration differs between the Christian and the Druze community. For the Christians, the celebration is quite similar as it is here in the USA, in the church and the party at night.

But for the Druze community, it is different. The groom’s family will join together at the groom’s parents’ house, and they will take him to one of his best friend’s house’s to help him dress beautiful. After that he will go with the family and friends to the bride’s house. Then he will ask the permission to take her from her father.

Then they will go back to the groom’s house to have a lunch, and then the party will be at night. After the party, if they are from strict families, the mother in law on the both sides will wait outside the bride’s room to take the honor sheet. It should be bloodied to demonstrate the bride’s honor, and to identify that this is her first time with a man. In the old days, they used to hang the sheet on the groom’s parents door. On the other hand, the wedding in the USA is much simple, where the people in the wedding would be not more than a three hundred. The party here is more arranged and the goal is to make the bride and the groom relax. The groom will wait for her at the church, and then they will have a party at night. The only sheet that they will be proud of is their married sheet paper.

Whatever the rules, and it does not matter the tradition, the most important thing is that two people should not marry unless the love fills their hearts. Marriage is the first brick for the family, and if it was fractured, the family could break down on the first exam. Honor is so essential in our lives. But nobody could have the right to judge a woman’s life, even if she lost her virginity for any reason. Honor means to be respectful, to be loyal to your partner and to have a strong united family. I will allow my girl to date her lover, to go out with him, in the American way. But I cannot skip my traditional way of thinking; I will not give her my permission to date her lover to the extreme, like to sleep with him. This tradition should be maintained. This is her choice, and this is the generation conflict. At the end, the goal in our society, wherever in Lebanon or in the USA, is to build a good strong family for a better future.

my history essay..... Gladys Onoh

GLADYS ONOH

ENGLISH 100

10/5/2011

                                                            Economic Crisis

The election of one corrupt president after another has led to years of corruption in Nigeria. This resulted in a huge economic crisis. Due to corrupt system in Federal Republic of Nigeria, there is not much employment opportunity. In addition there is lack of basic services like electricity. Political violence is also a huge problem in the Nigerian government. This also affected the healthcare system, people can’t get treatment from government funded hospitals because poor health facilities. The only option left is going to private medical institute, which is very expensive, and most of the time only the higher middle class and upper class can afford such treatment. There are many problems that Nigeria is still facing because of corrupt government. In fact, life has become unbearable for many people.

Unemployment rate is so high that many Nigerians find it very difficult to live in their own country. Every year numerous numbers of students graduate from universities with degrees, but they are not able to get jobs. This is not because Nigerian government can’t create job, but because the people in power don’t consider other citizens than themselves. They use federal money to do things that are not relevant and things that might likely not be of any help or benefit to the citizens. The politicians and people in power go to other countries like South African to build big hotels and hospitals thereby developing and creating job opportunities for South Africans while people in their own country, are suffering. Furthermore, Nepotism is very common in Nigeria; People with no qualification will be working in high companies for they had connection with top bosses who are in charge of the place while most of the times people who have bachelor’s degree will be  found working  as waitress in restaurants and hotels.   As a result of unemployment, many youths become armed robbers because they want to be able to survive and support their family, but the government can’t offer them job. So, they have to rob rich people, banks and politicians in order to survive. They believe that they are taking revenge against the government by doing so. Some youths wouldn’t want to get education because they think it will be of no use since they can’t job even with education. My friend’s relative had a chance of going to school, to be educated and successful in future but he decided not to go, because he said it was of no importance since they is a chance that he might not get a job after he graduated. Instead he started robbing people and homes. People advised him against his choice, but he didn’t heed to people’s advice. After some months he was killed while robbing a bank.

Lack of constant electricity is another of the major problems that Nigerians are facing. As a result of this, my country is lagging behind in several ways. There is instable and insufficient production of goods. Few companies that are able to use generator as their means of electricity will produce high demand goods and sell them in a high price. Some people who can’t afford to buy those things will end up being hungry. So, they start begging on the streets. There is always high rate of stealing especially in the night because there is no light and people can’t be able to identify the robbers. One of the basic things that people need in order to survive is food and water. However, Water can’t be running if there is no electricity to operate it with. So, people end up drinking unhealthy water, which transmits water borne diseases. In addition, Hospitals don’t have adequate medical facilities because most of their facilities needs electricity in order to operate because of this, there will be poor medical treatments. People with disease especially the water borne diseases wouldn’t get treatment.

Furthermore, inadequate health facilities have taken countless number of lives. It has left poor families with no hope but to wait until their next relative will die. In Nigeria, there is high rate of death. People don’t get satisfactory treatments from hospitals. Before an individual with ill health is treated he/she has to first deposit money, no matter how severe the illness is, the individual wouldn’t be treated unless the money is deposited. Some families are not able to afford the hospital bill and they can’t go to government funded hospitals because of inadequate facilities and lack of well-trained doctors and nurses, so most of the time the patients die. This was one the case in which one of my uncles lost his wife, because the doctor that was in charge of the medical institute wasn’t educated enough to treat her. Instead of the doctor recommend taking my aunt to another hospital, he ignorantly left her to die.  Most good hospitals are private and very expensive, only the rich can afford while the poor are left to die. Higher class families are basically the ones that enjoy good thing because no one cares about the poor.

  

            Finally, during the elections there are always riots and massacre, which claims lives of many people. The different political parties tend to fight on which party wins the election. After the votes have been cast, rich politicians will take the vote boot and add it to only the candidate the will favor them. They believe that they are doing a huge favor for the candidate, so when he wins the election, he will return the favor by sharing the government money amongst themselves and by promoting their illegal businesses. Any president who doesn't comply with the way they planned it or any president who will try to change the corrupt way of Nigerian government will either be impeached or killed. The moment that Nigerians stop voting for corrupt political candidate, that moment will be a start of great turning point for Nigerian economy.