HomeMy WebLinkAboutLiteracy Handout - In Our Own Words 2015Newport/Mesa ProLiteracy
International Literacy Day
September 10, 2015
In Our Own Words
Volume VIII
Diverse Stories From Diverse Lives
We dedicate this edition of In Our Own Words to two
of our long time volunteers…. Both of whom left us
too early but remain in our thoughts.
Beverly Canton
Beverly worked in the office for eight years and
brought with her a smile that warmed everyone’s heart.
Bruce McKeag
Bruce was a tutor for several years and then, in Bruce
style, realized that he could help even more people by
teaching a class (and then two). He touched so many
lives with his dedication and empathy.
From Our President
Today we join millions of people around the world in celebration of
International Literacy Day. This is a day to honor those who are striving
to improve their literacy skills, and to raise public awareness of the
importance of literacy to individuals, families and our society. The
collection of heart-felt stories come from those who have met the
challenge head-on. Enjoy their effort and salute their courage. We are
proud of them all!
Jason Brady
Newport/Mesa ProLiteracy
Advisory Board President
From Our Library Director
Literacy transcends its literal definition as the ability to read and write.
Literacy and its many rewards are much more than reading and writing.
Improved literacy skills benefit everyone in our community regardless of
age, race, gender, or background. The economic benefits of literacy
match its social and political importance. It is a great equalizer, and an
important reminder that full liberty cannot be achieved without
literacy.
Literacy also brings joy: the joy of reading a good book, or reading a
story to a child. It brings the simple joy of being able to find your way in
a new place, or ordering from a menu. It promotes the joy of feeling
confident and competent in school, at work, or at home.
The Newport Beach Public Library recognizes that literacy is a
cornerstone of the public library. We are proud of our partnership with
Newport/Mesa ProLiteracy.
Tim Hetherton
Director of Library Services
Newport Beach Public Library
Table of Contents
Editor’s note: All writings are published as they were written however some stories
may have been edited due to space limitations. We hope this does not detract from the
reader’s (or writer’s) pleasure.
Hiking Up Vernal Fall (Sylvia Chiu) .................................................................................. 1
Pure Joy (Hyejung Song) ...................................................................................................... 2
Letter for the Return to My Sicilian Roots (Stefan Samodumov) ............................ 3
Limpy (Jessy Chen) ................................................................................................................ 4
My Husband’s Birthday Cake (Amy Gouvis) ................................................................. 6
A Tour to Segerstrom Center for the Arts (Sylvia Chiu) ............................................. 7
Tire Flat (Soni Choi) .............................................................................................................. 8
Father’s Day (Crystal Huang) ............................................................................................ 8
Mission Inn (Mariko Myogoji) ............................................................................................ 9
My Life (Laura Ransom) .................................................................................................... 10
My Name (Jeonghee “Jenny” Moon) ............................................................................. 12
A Trip to Hawaii (Shamcy and Reza Movahedi) ....................................................... 13
Summer! (Zhanna Karabayeva) ..................................................................................... 14
A Dream Summer (Carolina Henriquez-Sanguineti) ................................................ 15
Newport Beach Photographic Exhibit (Sylvia Y. Aceves) .......................................... 15
Yale’s Trip to America (Yumi Kudo) .............................................................................. 16
My Tutor (Afkham Karimi) ............................................................................................... 17
This Is My Story (Avishai Tzur) ....................................................................................... 18
Madam C.E.O., Get Me a Coffee (Camilla Chelini) .................................................. 18
My Grateful Things (Grace Wang) ................................................................................ 19
Belarus Weather (Sviatlana Kandybovich) ................................................................... 20
Me (Liang Hong) ................................................................................................................. 21
My Napa Valley Vacation (Kaori Okuhara) ................................................................. 23
Promotion Day (Soni Choi) ............................................................................................... 25
Moving to USA (Mariana Ramos) .................................................................................. 26
Happy Halloween! (Chie Zusho) .................................................................................... 27
Introduce Myself (En T.) .................................................................................................... 28
Some Interests (Akane Izutsu) ........................................................................................ 29
Understanding Dog Behavior (Maja Kuta) .................................................................. 29
Who Am I? (Carolina Henriquez-Sanguineti) .............................................................. 30
MOVIE TALK REVIEWS
“Antwone Fisher”
Eila Emani ............................................................................................................................. 31
Mariana Ramos ................................................................................................................... 32
“The Fault In Our Stars”
Lima Alexandrova................................................................................................................ 33
Yuin Jung ................................................................................................................................ 33
“In America”
Mojgan Bardeh .................................................................................................................... 34
Il Jeong Choi .......................................................................................................................... 36
“Marley & Me”
Jasmine Liu ............................................................................................................................ 37
Hong, Liang ........................................................................................................................... 38
“This Means War”
John David Chung ............................................................................................................... 39
Carolina Henriquez-Sanguineti ....................................................................................... 40
“We Bought A Zoo”
Camilla Chelini ..................................................................................................................... 41
Mojgan Bardeh .................................................................................................................... 42
Table of Contents
A
Aceves, Sylvia Y. ............................... 15
Alexandrova, Lima .......................... 33
B
Bardeh, Mojgan ........................ 34, 42
C
Chelini, Camilla ......................... 18, 41
Chen, Jessy ........................................... 4
Chiu, Sylvia ...................................... 1, 7
Choi, Soni ...................................... 8, 25
Choi, Il Jeong ..................................... 36
Chung, John David .......................... 39
E
Emani, Eila ........................................ 31
G
Gouvis, Amy ......................................... 6
H
Henriquez-S, Carolina .... 15, 30, 40
Hong, Liang ............................... 21, 38
Huang, Crystal………………...8
I
Izutsu, Akane .................................... 29
J
Jung, Yuin ........................................... 33
K
Kandybovich, Sviatlana ................... 20
Karabayeva, Zhanna ...................... 14
Karimi, Afkham ................................ 17
Index
K (cont.)
Kudo, Yumi ........................................ 16
Kuta, Maja ........................................ 29
L
Liu, Jasmine ....................................... 37
M
Moon, Jeonghee “Jenny” ............... 12
Movahedi, Shamcy & Reza .......... 13
Myogoji, Mariko .................................. 9
O
Okuhara, Kaori ................................ 23
R
Ramos, Mariana .......................26, 32
Ransom, Laura ................................. 10
S
Samodumov, Stefan .......................... 3
Song, Hyejung ..................................... 2
T
T., En .................................................. 28
Tzur, Avishai ..................................... 18
W
Wang, Grace .................................... 19
Z
Zusho, Chie ....................................... 27
Index
In Our Own Words 2015
1
Hiking Up Vernal Fall
Sylvia Chiu
I opened my eyes and realized that it was already morning. I was
excited and couldn’t wait to hike up the mountain and witness the
powerful Vernal Fall, one of the mighty falls in Yosemite National
Park. Currently, we were camping at Yosemite Valley campground,
and trees as tall as skyscrapers were everywhere, providing shade
for the campers. The temperature was quite cool in the morning at
the bottom of the valley even though the sun was already up.
The beginning of the trail was quite flat, so it didn’t seem very
hard. As we hiked farther, the ups and downs of the trail and the
baking sun made it a little more laborious. After all the resting and
panting, we finally arrived at the Vernal Fall footbridge, the first
photographic spot that attracts hikers to linger. I strode over to
the bridge, and a tingling sensation rippled through my body when I
looked down at the foamy water gushing through boulders beneath
the bridge. Quickly, my eyes moved over to the splendid look of
Vernal Fall; the substantial amount of water was cascading down
from the wide opened granitic cliff, forming a huge white water
curtain, and the seething water continued pounding downstream
through countless boulders. After our first taste of Vernal Fall, we
continued our hike. Now the torrential river was on the left side of
our trial, and we could constantly hear the raging water. As we
were getting closer to the waterfall, the trail became damper and
more slippery. In some area of the trail, I could see moss growing
on the brownish granitic wall. Within minutes, the powerful Vernal
Fall appeared in front of my eyes; the abundant amount of water
roaring down vertically from the wide opened mountain top was
like endless trains thundering by.
After a nice rest, we started to drag our weary body back to
the campsite. Although we were exhausted, we were all satisfied
with our accomplishment witnessing the powerful Vernal Fall. It
was such a spectacular scene that I would never forget!
2
Pure Joy
Hyejung Song
A few weeks ago, I got an urgent call from my friend and she asked
me to pray for her husband. She said that he had a sudden heart attack
and his condition was so serious that he was waiting for a donor to
give him a heart. I was shocked because he had always stayed in good
health, was active and energetic. I felt that she was scared and worried.
She suffered from all the painful and dreadful fears. I empathized with
her fears and worries as well.
However, I encouraged her by saying that she never has to face her
fears alone because G-d always with her and his strength is there for
her. No matter how dark his days seemed, we kept praying for him
with all our hearts.
Two days later, a miracle happened. They found a donor and my
friend’s husband went to surgery to receive the heart. The surgery
took a long time because it was a delicate and difficult process. After
the surgery, his pain was so severe that he was given many medicines
and sedatives. Slowly he managed to get through the difficult days and
finally we watched him begin to get better.
My friend confessed to me that she believed the heart was a gift
from G-d. After she reflected, she considered this medical emergency
as a precious moment because all her family members and friends
united and kept praying for her husband. It was really pure joy because
she thought that her husband had been reborn again. She had seen
how her family members loved each other despite all their difficulties
and it made her give thanks to G-d.
The Bible says that “Consider it pure joy, my brothers. Whenever
you face trials of many kinds.” (James 1:2)
Considering trials of many kinds as pure joy is not the way the
world usually looks at problems. The world says to do everything you
can to avoid problems. However, I find there is no way to avoid every
problem, no matter how hard I try. The blessing of patience can be
learned from an illness. I watched my friend’s patience and faith grow
during this difficult time. G-d teaches us many things through our
problems and struggles. He also use them to draw us closer to him.
After witnessing my friend’s crisis, I truly believe problems are able to
3
In Our Own Words 2015
Letter for the Return to My Sicilian Roots
Stefan Samodumov
Hello Mr. James and Mrs. Shirley W.
I am Stefano Manfredi, the son of Elio Maria Manfredi from
Corleone, Italy.
In 1958, my father moved with all his family and cousins from Italy
to New York, USA.
In the beginning, they spent much time together and they were very
happy because they lived together in one house with two floors. My
dad told me that for lunch and dinner they gathered, and my mother
would be very angry with the children because
they were hiding and making mischief, and causing
her to clean up the whole house. When mom was
angry, she bit my father’s hand, so the children
understood that they must be good and play
quietly. When the food, the dish, was delicious,
my father touched his finger to mom’s cheek, and
all the children understood and laughed.
The Italian people, every time they are talking,
use hand gestures. Also, this is a more common
way to speak another language. The Sicilians do not speak very often;
they understood each other with looks and gestures. Although he
taught me and I tried to learn the Sicilian gestures, I remember that my
father told me that I would never be a true Sicilian because when I
talk, I am hard as wood. My father remembered, with much love, many
of these gestures until the last of his days. Do you remember some of
these gestures?
My dad, Elio Manfredi, spoke of your family many times and I saw
different cards from Christmas, New Years, and Easter. The last
postcard from Christmas, I knew that Mrs. Shirley made it for my
father and me. On my father’s desk, I saw different photos with your
help us learn about pure joy. I can see G-d’s light shining through on
these dark days.
4
Limpy
Jessy Chen
We haven’t seen Limpy again in our alley, stopping on his favorite
spot up high the electric wire, settling his feathers, yelling, asking for
food, eating, chasing other birds away and pooping.
I did not like Limpy too much. Every early morning, he acted as an
alarm clock and the loud “Ah-Ah-Ah” sound woke me up without a
miss. When I first saw him, he was a strapping bird. He had a
magnificent physique; his black feathers shone under the sun, his beak
was sharp as if he could tear everything into pieces. When I was
watching him, he watched me back with his black eyes aggressively as if
he was saying: “I am the king of this area, I take charge of here.” The
only shortcoming he had was his right claw. It was curved. He mainly
stood on his left claw and tapped the right one on the surface
continuously until he found a position where he felt comfortable. My
husband then named him “Limpy”.
My husband is an animal-loving person with a warm heart. When
Limpy was asking for food, he never refused. After several times of
feeding, Limpy expected this treatment all the time. Everyday, he flied
over on time once we show up in the kitchen. As soon as my husband
threw some food on the ground, he swooped down to enjoy his meal
family, children and grandchildren. I saw as they grew up in the
photographs, in the holidays of different years.
My dad, many times, spoke with me about your family, and told
me many interesting stories of your family life. So, I decided to send
this letter to you and maybe visit you, because I want you to also tell
me your stories, the best moments and hand gestures. And if you can, I
would like to learn and compare with you the American’s way to speak,
please.
If you want to write to me, or call me, I would be so pleased
because I want to see my father’s cousins in the USA, and speak with
you like my father did before.
I will send you a photo of my father. Do you remember this place?
5
In Our Own Words 2015
immediately. If an incoming bird did not know the rule and tried to eat
with him, he would yell at him and chase him away. If he had leftovers,
he hid them underneath the neighbor’s roof which was his food
storage. He did not leave right away after his meal. He stayed on the
electric wire, watching, digesting the food and marking his territory
with his excretion. If some days we did
not have food for him, he yelled loudly
for a long time as if he was threatening:
“Where is my meal? Hand over my
meal right away!” I did not want to be
threatened, so I tried to stop my
husband from feeding him.
His drama was continuing everyday.
One day, he came over with a crow
which looked smaller than him. They probably lived on the palm tree a
block away. Sometimes they’d sit on the neighbor’s roof, extending
their wings under the sun and spending a relaxing afternoon.
We called him “friend” when he appeared nearby. My husband
missed him if he did not show up for a while. One day, an unusual noise
erupted. Two new crows appeared. Limpy and his company yelled
loudly to them. The chaos ended when the two crows flied away. But
the fight did not finish. I still heard noise in the following days. And
Limpy did not come by.
Finally he showed up. He looked tired, his beautiful feathers bald in
some spots, he even could not touch his right claw on the surface any
more but crouched his whole body on the wire. This time, I did not
stop my husband from feeding him.
The last time we saw Limpy, the feathers around his neck were
missing. Other ragged feathers were grey colored, trembling in the
wind as if they would drop off in any second. He was sad and looked
like an old man. Even though, he refused to show his misery to us. His
head still kept up high as if he was still the king. But we knew it
wouldn’t last long.
Predictably, he disappeared. The two new crows started coming by
every day and my husband is also giving them food.
But I know they are not Limpy.
6
My Husband’s Birthday Cake
Amy Gouvis
This year for my husband’s 43rd (he made me say that) birthday
I decided to surprise him with a homemade birthday cake. Whoa, I
went to the market and I was overwhelmed with all of the choices
of cake mixes. Chocolate, vanilla, yellow, spicy and Angel’s food
cake. What to buy? Which one should I choose I asked myself?
I simply could not decide which mix to buy so I did the logical
thing and bought two of them; should I have bought them all I
wondered? I reduced it to two and bought a chocolate mix and an
Angel’s food cake mix. I thought this was a sure thing. Wouldn’t
you? I mean my husband LOVES
chocolate…I do too and that white
fluffy cake looked so good on the
box.
I decided to make my husband’s
favorite flavor, a chocolate cake
first. I followed the instructions on
the box explicitly except for one
thing. The directions said to use the
electric mixer but I decided to just
mix it by hand. Oh, oh, that was my
downfall. I worked so hard on this cake hoping to surprise my
husband but the darn cake went in the oven filling the container
about one inch from the bottom and after the prescribed time
frame it came out maybe a half inch taller than when it went in the
oven. It didn’t look right and I was a bit upset. Shouldn't it be like
three inches tall, I thought?
So, the chocolate cake from hell was something that actually
tasted pretty good but it looked like something the cat dragged in…
and stepped on a few times by that fat cat. I am easy to please and I
liked it but my old fart tried it and spit it out but immediately
apologized to me and thanked me for my efforts! Most women
would have been annoyed by his actions but he is a very discerning
person and I took it as constructive criticism.
7
In Our Own Words 2015
“Now what?” I thought. What do I bake? Well, I only had one
mix left. And this time I followed the directions to the letter!
Something about letting it rise while holding it upside down still
eludes me but I did it, it worked and he loved my cake!!! I was so
happy. I loved the cake so much as it was so light and fluffy, it truly
was from heaven!
We couldn’t eat the entire cake but fortunately two of my
girlfriends visited the next day and we ate the entire remaining
portion of cake. Of course, I told them there were no calories in
the cake. Did I exaggerate? Actually, I ate most of it.
So now you know the story of my cake mixes and the Angel
food cake mix experience.
A Tour to Segerstrom Center for the Arts
Sylvia Chiu
The center was named Segerstrom Center for the Arts to
honor the great contributions of the Segerstrom family. The
beginning of the story started with a dream of a group of Orange
County community leaders who wanted to build a world-class
performing art center locally right in Orange County and followed
by the land donation from the Segerstrom family. Not only each
theater was carefully designed but also the materials for the chairs
and walls inside the theaters were specially chosen to ensure
acoustics. The center hosts many
performances from different places,
even internationally! We were told
that the language of the signs on
backstage would be changed
accordingly so the performers would
not have any problems following the
signs.
8
Tire Flat
Soni Choi
Last Friday, I went to Laguna Hills for celebrate my oldest son’s
friend’s birthday. However, I was so angry at that time, because my
oldest son (Hyunwoo) did not want to go there with his brother. I
have two sons, they are doing well and play together well, but, from
time to time they fight each other too. It was so endurable for me,
mom. I hope that they trust each other, help each other. Because, if
I die, nobody here, only just two brothers.
Anyway, because of the anger, I drove
so aggressively. As a result, I did not check
the obstacle, my car tire was flat. I called
my husband, and he exchanged the spare
tire. I spent over $300 buying new tire. I
regret why I drove so aggressively. Even
though, nobody hurt, but I spent big
amount money instead of my anger.
Father's Day
Crystal Huang
Every third Sunday in June is Father's Day in USA, it is different
from Taiwan. It's every August eighth in
Taiwan. Actually, Father's Day is not a
traditional holiday in Taiwan. Why it is set
on August eighth is because the
pronunciation of August eighth sounds
like "POP", therefore, businessmen
created the day to become Father's Day.
That was good for business.
I thought I would tell a little bit about my dad. He was of
medium build, dark and a responsible man. He was a businessman,
9
In Our Own Words 2015
Mission Inn
Mariko Myogoji
The Mission Inn is one of the places I like very much. Mission Inn
is a hotel in Riverside. My tutor, Milvi told me about that. My
husband and I went there during the Christmas season. They have
great decorations of the season. When I saw the view, I was very
excited. It was more than Disney Land! I
had never seen anything like that. I was
exactly in a fantasy world. There were a
lot of Cinderella Carriages on streets. Of
course, my husband and I rode it. I felt like
a princess. If you’ve never been there, I
recommend
you to go in
the Christmas season.
On the next month, Milvi took me
to Riverside. We had lunch at a
restaurant which had funny decorations.
After that we joined a tour at Mission
always busy doing business in the daytime, social at nighttime. He
taught us by his personal behavior. He was serious and straight and
never played with us when he was home. However, I love him
deeply.
Of course, I love my parents, or rather, I love my dad more than
I love my mom. Because my dad educated us in the importance of
fairness with no pampering, no favors. He altered his personality
into very calm and no longer serious, when he retired. We started
being closer, laughing, and chatting between him and us until he
died. He died in 1995. I have wished that my dad could appear in my
dreams often, although, he just appeared a few times.
I am so grateful for having had such a good father.
10
Inn. When I couldn’t listen what a guide said, Milvi helped me to
understand. The guide explained about history and luxurious
antiques which were collected by a Founder,
Frank Augustus Miller.
The stained glass windows at the church were
made by “Tiffany”. And many presidents visited
there. There is Taft’s big chair. Before I went
there I had read about Taft at the “News for
You”, so it was very interesting for me. I could
enjoy the Mission Inn thanks to Milvi.
My Life
Laura Ransom
I am from Mexico City. My life was okay; I was single with a
good job and a great family. I came to the USA California for
vacation. On my vacation I met a man and I fell in love with him.
After time passed, we got married. I came to live with him in
California, but I didn’t speak English. However, my husband
knew Spanish and spoke with me very well. I knew I needed to
learn English, so I went to OCC to get ESL classes, but these classes
were always full so I needed to wait. I stayed at home and
supported my husband raising three girls, putting my education on
hold. My husband and I decide to speak Spanish with my girls so
they would know two languages. Living in the USA is very good
because we have freedom that others countries don’t have. I love
living here and I learned a lot about others countries because
California has people all over the world and has a lot of different
culture.
People say that living here is a dream because they have
freedom; I think it’s true, but what people forget is that you need to
work hard to get what you want.
Living here for so many years, I learned to speak English for the
most part, but my pronunciation is bad and sometimes people don’t
understand what I say. I knew that if I decided to live here I would
11
In Our Own Words 2015
need to fit in, speak better, read, and have better job. Having three
girls made me busy and left me with no free time because my kids
had very busy lives. They needed to go school, play sports, and
have a little time to play with their friends. My girls always had
sports to do. At first, I put the three girls on the same sports, swim
and karate, so I didn’t need to drive to different places. They did
ballet, gymnastic, piano, hip-hop, soccer, volleyball, basketball.
When they got older they decided to do different sports. My oldest
daughter always liked to swim because she started swimming when
she was 7 year old, so she joined the swim team for 4 years when
she went to high school. She needed to swim at 5:30 A.M. and
swim again after school at 3:00 P.M. I needed to get up to help my
girl with the things she needed to take to the school and I had to
prepare her lunch and drop her off at the school at 5:30 A.M. I
would then come back home to prepare breakfast and lunches for
my other two girls and take them to school too. My husband
helped me take the girls to practice when he wasn’t busy with his
job. I always helped at my girls’ schools in their classrooms and I
got a small job teaching kindergarten Spanish at Montessori school.
So yet again I had no time to go to school and learn English.
Now since two of my girls are at a university and my youngest
daughter is in high school, I think is time for me. I was talking with
my friend Sasha (she is from Russia) and told her about wanting to
get a better job for myself and to speak English better, but I am too
old to go to school. My friend told me about the adult learners
section of the Newport Beach Library (Newport/Mesa
ProLiteracy). Immediately, I went to the orientation and assessment
and I was able to get a tutor. She is an American teacher who
listened to my poor English, yet still understood me. I gained
confidence and became motivated to study English more because
she always encouraged and praised me.
I feel thankful to live in this country and to have people in this
program that help me with the language and culture. Thank you
very much.
(My daughter proof read my story, but I hope to soon be able
to write entirely on my own.)
12
My Name
Jeonghee (Jenny) Moon
As a lot of Korean parents did in the 1960's and 70's, my parents
went to a naming place, and a naming person picked a good name that
would bring good luck to the baby. It is very funny that even though
my husband was born in Junju and I was born in Seoul, we got our
names from the same person. We were surprised when we found out
that both of us got our names from the same person who must have
been one of the famous professional naming people in those days.
My name is one of the common names that Korean girls were given
at that time; therefore, I always had at least someone who had the
same name in my class in my school days. I admit that when I was little
I wished I had a better name that was fancier and not as common as
my given name even though my last name is not a common last name
so there is no way that people will confuse my name with other's.
As a lot of Korean words are from Chinese words, two people
could have the same name but the names could have different
meanings. My name has its own unique meaning. It is a two-syllable
word: Jeong-Hee. ‘Jeong’ means straight, upright, honest, or right-
minded. ‘Hee’ means glad, happy, pleased, or delighted. Altogether, it
probably reflects my parents’ wish that their daughter live an upright
and happy life. As I get older and mature, I am really grateful that my
parents chose my name for me. All my life I've tried to live up to their
expectations. When I show my name with Chinese characters, most
people agree that my name really fits my personality and that I am just
like my name — upright and happy.
You might not like the name that your parents chose for you. It
may sound old-fashioned or too common that
everybody else has it; however, if you think
about the time that your parents were so
excited to have you and tried very hard to
find the perfect name that would bring good
luck to you, you would appreciate that you
have your name and understand that your
name is so special to you. Being a parent
myself, I went through the exact same naming
process for my own son and daughter. My
13
In Our Own Words 2015
A Trip to Hawaii
Shamcy and Reza Movahedi
In June 2015 we traveled to Honolulu, Hawaii for 5 days. As now
we are celebrating our 50th anniversary of marriage, our daughter and
our son arranged this trip and they paid all expenses for it.
Our flight was from LAX in Los Angeles to Honolulu which took
more than 5 hours. Our hotel was one block away from Waikiki
beach, so we had very easy and quick access to the beach as well as
the ocean.
On the second day of the trip, we had an interesting full day tour,
with guide, to the “Polynesian Cultural Center,” which is 50 miles
away from Honolulu. It is best place to learn about Polynesia, which
includes 6 islands: Hawaii, Tahiti, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga and Aoterra. It is
a very large park and there were many
different shows to introduce life in that
part of the world.
On the third day, we went to
downtown of Honolulu and visited a
new and luxe shopping mall.
On fourth day, we had another full
day guided tour around the island. During the tour, we experienced
nice views of ocean side and green and bright forests. Also we visited
“Dole Plantation,” which is one of the world’s largest pineapple fields
in the world.
On the fifth day, our trip finished and we returned to Los Angeles
by flight.
Conclusion: Hawaii is a fantastic place to visit, even for more
than once.
husband and I spent days and nights agonizing to find a perfect name
for Jake and Jadie. When we name our children, we are not just
picking out letters, we are also giving them our wishes and hopes that
they would live a happy life.
14
Summer!
Zhanna Karabayeva
I would like to tell you about my summer holiday. All the people
enjoy the summer holiday very much and certainly my kids and I are
no exception. My kids and I are so happy to have a rest after a
whole year of hard work and study. We like to travel during our
summer holidays. Sometimes we go to other states or other
countries, or sometimes we have guests from Kazakhstan and
spend time visiting theaters, museums, and parks. We like
everything!
But most of all I love a calm vacation.
We are lucky. We live near the ocean. So we have a great
opportunity to go to the beach every day. My kids also like to have
a rest at the ocean side best of all.
We like to walk along the shore, feed the seagulls, swim, and
play with a beach ball. My kids like to swim with boogie boards on
the waves. They also like to walk on the rocky shores and look at
the living things. At this time I can lie down and read a book or just
lie back down and dream.
And at the end of the day we love to watch the sunset and
make wishes.
15
In Our Own Words 2015
A Dream Summer
Carolina Henriquez-Sanguineti
I was wondering what would be a dream summer for me. Of
course, just being next to the ocean, not any ocean just the Pacific or
the Mediterranean sea.
I love going for a walk along the sea shore, feeling the sea breeze
and the warm sun on my skin. I love swimming but I am not a good
swimmer, better to say, I do not swim because I am afraid of the water
covering my face.
I used to be very daring when I was a teenager, I used to jump into
the swimming pool and also in the ocean. One day, a big wave in the
Pacific Ocean got me high and finally throw me head down. I lost
conscious. I woke up somewhere else on the beach. Since then, I am
afraid of water covering my face.
Since that incident, I just stay at the shore feeling the cold water in
my legs but not getting deeper in the water.
I really enjoy summer because I can have different fresh fruits, also I
love the smell of peaches.
This summer, I do not have definite plans. I just go day by day
enjoying the beautiful weather in the sunny California.
Newport Beach Photographic Exhibition
Sylvia Y. Aceves
Two weeks ago I saw here in the Public Library a exposition of
pictures about age (old people). I was impressed with a man’s hands
who all his life worked in boats. I could see how hard was his work.
Another picture I really liked was an old lady who every weekend
was in the plaza with her puppet (also an old lady dressed just like
her). She was doing that to entertain the children on the street;
imagine the energy she had to get dressed so nicely.
You can see the age of the people from the wrinkled skin on the
hands, not everyone’s hands seemed happy.
16
Yale's Trip to America
Yumi Kudo
My dog's name is Yale. He is an eleven years old brown dachshund.
He has two sisters and he was born in Gifu-ken, Japan. The first time
we met him, he was sleeping in a glass cage at pet shop. I thought he
was very lovely and pretty. We brought him home to live with us and
learned his disposition. He is gentle and quiet. He does not like walking
so he is fat. He hates gathering dead leaves to his body when his fur
drags the ground.
Last year my son and I came to Irvine for my husband's job. One
year and five months before we came to Irvine, Yale got sick. Yale
stayed at the hospital about one month. The dog doctor said to me,
“Yale does not go to America.”
We did not give up. I believed
that Yale would get well. After
one month, Yale got well. Dog
doctor said to me, “I cannot
believe it. Yale improved.” I
started the procedure for the
visit to the United States.
First we went looking for an
airplane company that would let
us ride together. We were booking Delta. Then dog doctor put a
microchip in Yale and gave him two injections for rabies.
A week before the trip I had to:
・I needed an export inspection document.
・Injection certificate of the rabies shot.
・Certificate of the vaccination.
・Registration of the microchip.
I faxed the documents of the examination of export to the
quarantine station of Narita International Airport. On May 10, 2014, I
went to the airport by Shinkansen and Narita express train to the
hotel that was close to the airport. I arrived at the airport with
17
In Our Own Words 2015
My Tutor
Afkham Karimi
I want to tell a little bit about my tutor.
My tutor’s name is Sharon. She is very nice and kind with me.
She is very helpful and caring. She is always working very hard with
me. Sharon, all the time, brings good books to me with CDs. She
doesn’t give up on me!!! She recently
brought a book that is very nice and has
good advice. This book is named, “The
Most Important Lessons in Life”. This
book teaches me a lot of good things.
Yale five hours ahead of my flight because there is the quarantine
inspection.
After the inspection, we finished the restroom of Yale and took him
to the quarantine station in the airport and turned in Yale's
documents. Then go to the check-in counter. I confirmed the
reservation for the carry-on for my pet then our check-in was finished.
While after taking Yale to the restroom once again, we relaxed in a
lounge praying that our trip to the United States would be safe.
Yale did not move and never barked in the cage. I was not able to
sleep at all on the plane. No one knew Yale was with us. We came into
LAX and the passport control passed safely. Yale went to the
restroom and we took the limousine home. Then I hastily gave Yale
some water. I think Yale was not able to move very much for
uneasiness. Yale was uneasy because he is an older dog and it was a
long trip. My family thinks that it was good to come the United States
with Yale.
We have been here one year. Yale is completely used to the United
States and loves window-shopping now.
18
This is My Story
Avishai Tzur
My name is Avishai Tzur. I was born in 10/27/1959 in Israel. I have
3 kids, my eldest daughter live in Ohio and my other 2 kids live in
Israel.
I moved to California in 2010 after I met my wife
Maxine on the internet.
When I got here I did not know how to read, write
or talk in English. With my wife and I used to
communicate with a translator.
About 2 years ago I started to learn the English language in the
public library with the help of my good teacher. He voluntarily and
with a lot of patience teaches me to read, write, and talk English. He
also teach me how to work with the computer.
With his help he helped me and still helps me to get my citizenship.
There are not enough words to describe my appreciation for my
teacher and to the public library for all the help they gave me and still
giving me.
May God bless you all and bless America. Amen.
Madam C.E.O., Get Me a Coffee
From the NY Times
Camilla Chelini
The women’s work position around the world is sad. Women help
more but benefit less from it.
The common stereotypes are that men are ambitious
and results-oriented versus women that are more
nurturing and communal. In the general thoughts, we
have the idea that women should be helpful instead, men
are busy.
19
In Our Own Words 2015
A New York University study evaluated the performance of male
and female employee. The results was that a man that give identical
help is more likely to be recommended for promotions and important
projects than a women.
Men are more selfish. Women are more mind-set to take care of
others and to do the majority of “office homework” but this type of
help doesn’t “pay off”. Instead, women lose opportunity and miss killer
points. Tough men help with visible behaviors while women help more
privately. The women’s help kind of disappears if there are more
sacrifices for others. But, in a recent event the person who took notes
for the entire time was surprisingly a man: Richard Branson, the
founder of the Virgin Group.
We can benefit from encouraging people to help each other,
doesn’t matter what gender they are!!!
Hopefully the work world is starting to get some direction in this
way.
My Grateful Things
Grace Wang
I'm so grateful for living in Irvine, my lovely parents, who sadly
passed away 15 years ago, and my gorgeous husband of 26 years. I am
more than happy to reflect my past year since I don't think I can
express enough gratitude to those around me that have supported and
continued to love me unconditionally. The more I think to express my
gratitude, the more I will appreciate what I have now. First of all, I'm
thankful that I live in a place and time where I am free, safe, and
comfortable. No Ebola epidemic, no hunger, no war. I thank God for
protecting me and this beautiful land - Irvine.
Second, I'm thankful for my loving parents because of their support
and guidance that has made my life simple but meaningful even though
they had been gone for years. This special bond remains unchanged by
time.
The last one is my gorgeous husband, inside and out. For the last
26 years, he has taken care of me, allowed me to boss him around
20
(80% of the time), and rarely complains about our busy weekend even
for volunteering at NOVA. Now, let's not go crazy and think he's
perfect, but I love every bit of him, good and bad, from his receding
hairline to his Santa belly on his waistline.
This concludes my gratitude list for 2014. I know there are more
things and people to be thankful. But in here, I thank you Marcia for
giving me this opportunity to put in words all of my thoughts that I
never have time to write.
Belarus Weather
Sviatlana Kandybovich
Unfortunately the weather in Belarus is not as favorable as in
California. There is a lot of rain in the Autumn and Summer in
Belarus. Also during the wintertime it is very snowy. Usually snow
covers the ground in November and stays until the end of March.
Snow cover reaches 4 feet and more in the North. The snow and
ice in rivers begin to melt in late March and this causes severe
flooding every year. In the Polesie, an area of Western Belarus,
water rises up to the roofs of homes and floods the whole village.
This is a very extreme situation for the local population.
Accordingly this is also the time for spring holiday for school boys
and girls. They have to stay at home until the end of the flooding.
This usually takes two or three weeks.
In the summertime as a rule June is
a very rainy month. Sometimes the
rains do not stop for several weeks.
During this period mushrooms thrive
throughout the forest and they are
harvested for eating.
July and August can be dry. This is a difficult time for agriculture.
Although the weather predicts how the people of Belarus live,
they love their country for its beauty and culture.
21
In Our Own Words 2015
Me
Liang Hong
My name is Liang Hong. I was born in Huaining, a small town in
Eastern China, and grew up in Shuicheng, a city located in Western
China. Later I moved back to the east and completed my
undergraduate program (clinical medicine) at Hefei, the capital of
Anhui province in Eastern China in June 2000. And then I worked
as a resident physician in department of cardiology of a hospital for
4 years.
In 2004, I decided to do a pharmacological Ph.D. program and
attended Zhongshan Medical School in Sun Yat-Sen University. This
university was founded by Sun Yat-Sen and named after him, who
was the first president and founding father of the Republic of China.
Guangzhou is the largest city in Southern China, it is very
beautiful city as well as in its nickname “flower city”. And I luck out
in the “flower city”, here I met with my flower, Jasmine, she is the
most beautiful girl in my life. We fell in love and sooner married.
I graduated in July 2009. After a short visiting in National
Institutes of Health in Eastern U.S., I moved to University of
California at Irvine in Western U.S. in November 2010. It seemed
that my life always traveled from Eastern area to Western area
either in China or in America. And subsequently, Jasmine followed
the way of “From East to West”, she moved to Irvine in 2011, from
an Eastern country to a Western country.
We have lived in Irvine more than 4 years till now. In February
2012, our son, Lucian, was born. And 22 months later; he has his
younger sister, Lillian. We like Irvine, a small and beautiful city, it is
really a perfect place to work, study, and live.
I have a big moment each year in Irvine. For example, in 2010, I
moved here; in 2011, Jasmine joined in; in 2012, we have our first
baby; in 2013, the second baby was born; so what would happen in
2014? Yes, the answer is Newport Beach Library Literacy!
In last June, I was told by Jasmine that there were numerous
wonderful programs in Newport Beach Library for who wants to
22
improve English. I attended them at once, and it turned out that
Jasmine was right! I love the Literacy Programs! Here, not only
made I friends from different counties, but I also learn diverse
cultures all over the world. I enjoyed every program with our
friends. I like book club, pronunciation program, vocabulary
program, writing program, and especially movie talk.
The teacher in the vocabulary program is Bruce. He is very
smart; his humor is impressive. Bruce made vocabulary so
interesting, and we did not realize that the time was flying in the
class. We like his class! However, unfortunately, Bruce suffered an
illness now. When knowing this news, we all were sorrow for that.
Hopefully he would recover very well, we love you.
Alesia is our teacher of writing program. Her teaching is very
enlightening. Although the writing program only was 6 weeks, we
benefited from it much more. The writing class showed us good
ways how to improve writing, and introduced many useful learning
resources on line, thank you, Alesia.
My favorite program is Movie Talk. I liked this program so much
that I did not want to miss it any time. I thought this program help
us not only to practice hearing, speaking, and writing; but to learn
the life and culture of America. Among all movies we watched, to
date, “We bought a Zoo” is my best love. Thanks Cherall for
selecting and sharing these great movies!
I want to thank my teacher, Herb. He is so patient, professional,
and warm-hearted. We have many topics in common. I learned
many knowledge from him, for instance, what big moments were in
American history, politics about how president or senator selection
were processed, economy on how to do with stock, and travel on
how to visit famous views all over the world, etc. I really enjoyed
the time we talk. Thank you, Herb.
And other friends, workers, teachers, and tutors, I am sorry I
could not include all names here, I want to express my great
pleasure meeting you guys, and thanks for your helping and
contributions. The time in Library Literacy is one of the happiest
moments in my life, I love you all.
23
In Our Own Words 2015
My Napa Valley Vacation
Kaori Okuhara
Hello, my name is Tetsu, I am 13 years old Welsh Corgi. I live in
a wonderful home with my mom, Kaori, and dad. Mom and I are
very close, I always sit next to her at home, in Starbucks, and in the
car. Mom talks to me everyday, I know many words such as “Hello”
in English and Japanese. When I understand the meaning of words I
react by opening my eyes widely and turning my head to the side.
Also I like people watching, I know what behavior is good and what
people will do next; for example, at dinner time dad opens the
refrigerator to get a beer. When I hear the door opening, I run up
to him and say cheer. Don’t be surprise that I drink a little bit beer.
Later while they were eating dinner, they told me we would be
taking to a trip Napa Valley by the car tomorrow. Awesome! I was
so excited because I like taking drives and particularly when we are
going on a new adventure.
In the morning at eight I
jumped into the back seat, which
was covered by bath towels. At
first I thought mom wanted me to
be more comfortable. However
now I know the real reason, I
shed. I settled down on the seat
and was glad to see my water and
favorite cookies close by. I was ready to start the seven hour trip.
I like looking out the window. I saw many tall buildings with
shiny windows as we went through downtown Los Angeles. Later
we went through deep green colored mountains. There was no
building or houses, but there were many trees. My parents told me
we would see almond trees and citrus trees. After that many cattle
were eating grass and drinking water around range. While I was
munching on cookies, I thought where do they sleep every night
because I couldn’t find their house. Later I was ready to a take a
nap. I was exhausted, when we finally we arrived at the hotel. I
went to sleep.
24
Next morning, my parents said goodbye and left to explore
Napa Valley. I was alone in the cozy room, but it was a good time
for relaxing and watching TV on my bed. The rest helps my weak
back legs. Two years ago I became a disabled dog because of
Degenerative Myelopathy. DM is a progressive disease of the spinal
cord in older dogs, especially Welsh Corgis. I used to walk every
morning and night with mom. I liked chasing a football and kicking it
with my nose. Since last summer I have not stood up myself, so
mom prepared a sling to hold up my hip. At the same time she
searched and compared many wheelchairs online every day. Two
months later I got my cool personalized wheelchair for outside.
First, I could not walk. I felt uncomfortable. I tried exercise over
and over. Mom stayed patiently with me, my many dog friends and
neighbors cheered for me. Finally, I can walk now. I go shopping in
Fashion Island and the pet stores. I can meet many people who give
me a big smile and pat me gently. I can chase the tennis ball on the
hill. I’m so happy to come back to a fantastic social life.
When my parents returned, we played with the tennis ball in the
backyard of the hotel. Mom told me I would be going with them in
the morning to visit a winery. I was so excited because I have never
been to a winery.
The next morning, we drove 10 minutes to visit the dog friendly
winery. On the both sides of the narrow road, the huge vineyards
spread. Where were the grapes? Dad told me we could not find
grapes on the vines because they were out of season in March. The
rustic town scenery made me relax. The car slowed down as we
entered the entrance of the winery. It looked like a modern art
center. The very tall metallic rabbit statue stood by the entrance.
We parked the car at the parking lot, I sat in my wheelchair. I felt
the soft winds and smell of sands from the vineyard. I walked
toward to the main modern building and saw a cute staff waiting for
me. She said welcome and gave me a big cookie. Wow! I like this
winery. She showed us to the second floor balcony where the fence
and the exterior of the building were clear glass. I could see
through the inside tasting room form the balcony. My parents sat
on the comfortable sofa and started wine tasting with other staff.
All staff and other visitors were so friendly, I felt happy.
25
In Our Own Words 2015
I really enjoyed Napa Valley vacation. It was a good time,
refreshing and exciting. After a long drive, we arrived at home. I
went to my bed. I fell in a deep sleep.
Promotion Day
Soni Choi
June 18, 2015 was the 6th grade Promotion Day at Woodbury
for my son, Hyunwoo. It was a wonderful day for our family. My
son came to America in 5th grade, so he was struggling with his
studies every day. Even though I knew that fact, I could not help
him. However, he overcame the struggle and finally faced this
wonderful day. So, I really want to applaud him.
Actually, I did not expect him to get any prize because he was
not good at English. However, he got an
athletic prize. It was so surprising to me
and I was so happy too! Hyun is a very
skinny boy, he does not look like an
athletic person. That’s why is was such a
surprising thing!
In Korea, we call the ceremony not
Promotion Day but Graduation
Ceremony. It takes place in the winter
season so we wore coats and take
photos on a chilly day. After the
ceremony, lots of people eat Chinese food (zazhang noodle) with
families for celebrations. I do not know the reason why, but we
love to go and eat Chinese food.
In America, we went to a Japanese restaurant to eat sushi
instead of Chinese food. I think we made another new tradition
here of eating Japanese food after a Promotion Ceremony.
26
Moving to USA
Mariana Ramos
I am Accountant and worked in an international company in
Brazil for 3 and half years. I used to audit public and not public
companies but working abroad was something that always crossed
my mind.
I was 25 years old and my focus was work and study hard to
accomplish my financials goals. So, building a family was my second
plans, therefore I could say I am workaholic.
How I met my husband and moved to US: My cousins were
living in California and I came to visit them in May 2013. I could not
imagine that I met my future husband in this trip.
The last weekend of my vacation I went to a Club in Los Angeles
with my cousin. When I was least expecting it, I met my husband.
From this day we talk each other every single day.
We had a relationship almost one and half years far from each
other. During this period he
went to Brazil six times and I
came to US three times.
Although meeting someone and
getting married wasn’t in my
short plans, I felt that I could
not lost someone that I love
and make me feels happy.
Then I left everything behind
to start a new life in US with
my husband, and to start a new
life in a different country with different culture and language and far
from my family.
Lastly, I am here in USA. I got married and I am so happy with
my married life, however I am learning English, trying overcome
difficulties of the adaptation and seeking a job.
27
In Our Own Words 2015
Happy Halloween!
Chie Zusho
Halloween is just around the corner. I was thinking how to
decorate in my house and outside of my house. I wanted to surprise
them and I wanted to make them happy too. I know that my
youngest son likes scary staff and my oldest son likes candy and
candles. So I went shopping to find some decorations. I bought some
LED skull luminaries, big pumpkins, a big spider, a large bag of spider
webs, a skull head and some treats. Of course I prepared carving kit
for carving pumpkins. Also I got some stuff to make DIY Halloween
decor such as an orange and black balloons and some crepe paper to
hang them from the ceiling. First I don't want to spend a lot of
money. Second I don't like having a lot of stuff in my house too. So
DIY is a great way to save money. And I got some idea from
Pinterest. When Halloween is approaching a week before, I set them
up and I did it myself using crepe paper and
balloons. And I took some Halloween
decorations from the garage from last year. I did
it when my kids were at school. It was fun to do
it. “This is perfect. They must be surprised”. I
said excitedly. I was taking a video camera with
my hand when they got home from school.
“Welcome back” I said. When they came in, first the boys gasp and
then they said “Wow what is that, mom, did you do it?” I said “Yes!
isn't it nice?” My youngest son said “Oh I like these”" pointing to the
eyeball erasers behind the framed pictures. Oldest son patted
hanging balloons from the ceiling with his hand and kicked balloons
with his legs, he said “I like these hanging balloons, so cool.” I said to
my self “I'm so happy and they are awesome kids”. We started
carving. Oldest son was excited to do it but youngest son doesn't
care so he started to watch TV. We made one scary face and the
other one looked like an angry face. We left them outside and I
placed some flameless candles between two pumpkins. After that I
made roasted pumpkin seeds. We ate everything while we're
watching kids TV channel. I took many pictures and video. It will be a
great memory for the future when we get older. It was such lovely
and wonderful day.
28
Introduce Myself
En T.
My name is En. I am from Tokyo, Japan. There are many things
about me that I would like to share with you. First, please let me
tell you something about my hometown. Tokyo is the capital of
Japan and the population is approximately 13 million. It is an
international city and convenient to live. You can find 24 hours
convenient stores everywhere and buses, subways always come in
time. It is also a beautiful city to visit. You can enjoy the
atmosphere of traditional downtown, venerable temples, Japanese
garden, hot springs, delicious foods, etc.
When I was a child, I was living with my parents, grandfather and
grandmother together. Since I am an only child, I always played with
my cousins, sometimes with my aunts. My parents raised me
tenderly. And I often went to shopping, park and travelling with my
family on holidays. I got married last year and now I am in here
with my husband.
I like traveling, cooking, baking, listening to music and cycling.
But I like the most is traveling with my family. I can not only
experience the different culture, but also share the beautiful
scenery and exciting things with beloved family.
Have you ever been to Japan? When I was in Japan, I traveled
Japan with my family from North to South, from Hokkaido to
Okinawa. Hokkaido is located in the farthest north in Japan. It is
very cold and heavy snowfalls in winter. It is famous for hot springs,
magnificent natural and delicious foods. I like Hokkaido in summer,
because there will be many beautiful and lovely flower fields there.
Especially lavender, I can’t forget the aroma even now. Okinawa
Island is Japan’s southernmost prefecture. As all the islands are in a
subtropical zone, you can enjoy a deep blue sky, emerald green
seas, and beautiful coral reefs.
This year, I traveled with my husband in the US. We went to Las
Vegas, Sedona, Grand Canyon and Zion national park. Las Vegas is
the most interesting city I have ever traveled. Because it looks like
a theme park — “a small world”. There are “New York”, “Paris”,
29
In Our Own Words 2015
Some Interests
Akane Izutsu
When it is fun for you, what kind of time is it?
I get absorbed in cross-stitching.
First of all, I would like to introduce
myself. My name is Akane Izutsu. I
come from Japan. I have been living here
for one and half year.
I came here and three months later I
made a friend. She tells me about cross-stitching. We do cross-
stitching together and think about a new design.
The time to spend with a friend while doing cross-stitching is
very happy.
“Venice”, “Egypt”, many symbolic buildings concentrated there.
From 5 star resort hotels, amazing shows, games to restaurants, we
can find everything you need in this city which is in the middle of
the desert. Differ from Las Vegas, the nature of Sedona, Grand
Canyon and Zion Park are not just magnificent but intensely
beautiful. We can feel deeply emotion and astonishment.
Sharing my interests with you has been fun and I hope you
enjoyed reading about me.
Understanding Dog Behavior
Maja Kuta
I read Cesar Millan’s book, “The Natural, Everyday Guide to
Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems”. It is a
wonderful book, written in an accessible, friendly language. I think
the book can be interesting even to those not directly interested in
dogs as a topic.
30
Who Am I?
Carolina Henriquez-Sanguineti
I am so numb after your departure
that I am not me anymore,
I hear but I do not have feelings,
it is like my feelings were taken away from me.
My life is not my life any longer,
my feelings are not mine any longer,
I do not know who I am now....
Like a vessel without an engine
floating without a purpose and a compass.
I do not know where I am going...
The roots, I thought I had, are exposed to the elements
I wonder, where I will land....
It is amazing that in the era of space travels and such advanced
technology – the vast majority of us still make mistakes in
understanding something as simple and old as dog behavior. Dogs
have accompanied us for thousands of years.
After reading the book, I think it is very
important that correctly reading canine
behavior becomes common knowledge. I
believe that the drawing global attention to
this issue is very important. It’s not just about
the obedience of dogs, but the dog’s entire
mental health. This can eliminate stress for
both human and dog happiness.
I will use my artistic abilities to spread this
knowledge as much as I can.
31
In Our Own Words 2015
Antwone Fisher
“Antwone Fisher” is an inspiring movie which has a great
message for everyone. I think the most powerful message of the
movie is “not losing hope” even in the worst situations.
This movie is about a young man in navy who needed to have
therapy sessions with a psychiatrist who helped him find the
sources of his anger and sadness from his childhood and also forced
him to deal with his problems. He tried to find hope in his life and
he motivated by the help of the psychiatrist and his new girlfriend.
He was desperate and full of anger but at last he moved on by
believing in himself. He was alone all his life without the warm circle
of family and friends. At the end he found himself between his real
family, his love of life and the father and son relationship with his
psychiatrist.
I’ve been touched by this movie. It is an incredible movie with
outstanding performances. The movie is very emotional and has
great positive views. The best thing is that it’s based on a true
story. It shows how someone who had a terrible and aggressive
childhood turned to a great and successful person with a
magnificent character. He fought for his life to beat his loneliness
Each month, learners have the opportunity to participate in
Movie Talk. This provides a comfortable environment to watch a
film and to ask questions and discuss the content. After each film,
the learners are asked to write a review about the movie.
Following are a collection of reviews from selected films. Enjoy!
32
and his bad temper and with all of that he became a new young
man.
This movie made me think more about life, people and whole
world. Everyone must see this movie.
Eila Emani
The history of Antwone makes me remember how thankfully I
am because God permitted that I had a good childhood and nice
family.
Even though I have never met someone who had this kind of
problems, but I know that these things there are happing in the
whole world all the time, adults distract kids and abuse these kids
or even of their own children.
This kind of problem occurs mainly in poor countries. So these
children grow up with psychiatric problems and sometimes they
become bad adults with bad behaviors, causing harm to society, this
movie show for us how important is our childhood and from which
we lived and we learned will form us in the future.
By the way, I could learn to listen the people who want to help
me, mainly when bad things are happing with me constantly and the
problems is within my mind, my behavior and I need to stop and
thinking about things that are surround me.
Sometimes I think is easier just be mad or fight with someone
instead to stop and find out where and what is the real problem,
stay calm make us more quality of life and make us understand
different kinds of people and being at one with your surroundings.
It will make me happier and more positive and it can even
improve my health, just thinking about how solve the problems
instead increase the conflicts and problems.
Mariana Ramos
33
In Our Own Words 2015
The Fault in Our Stars
I really enjoyed the movie "The Fault in Our Stars". I think that
the movie is informative, psychologically difficult and it makes us
reflect about life and relationship. Especially, I want to commend
the work of the actors. The pain and emotions felt by the
characters felt so real, as if I was feeling the same. The whole movie
I was worried about Gus and Hazel and really would have liked to
see a miracle for them. At the end of the movie our class was silent.
I realized, that all of us thought about his personal life and asked
ourselves same questions. That's why we probably were not ready
to continue our conversation about the movie. Perhaps, on that day
each of us has changed for better.
Lima Alexandrova
I have not watched American movie for a while. Even though I
love movies, I was not willing. I did not know why. I watched “Fault
in Our Stars” then I realized why I did not feel like to watch
American movies. In the USA, watching American movies was
considered as one method of studying English. It prevents me from
appreciating the beauty of movies. I wanted to enjoy the movie
itself, not thinking about improving my English. However, I enjoyed
“Fault in Our Stars” a lot.
This movie is about two teenagers, Hazel and Augustus who
love each other very deeply. Since they both are very sick, they can
understand each other and make each other laugh. They share their
34
concerns and fear of dying. Especially when Hazel is worried about
their parents, I could feel for her a lot. As a mother of two sons, if I
were in her shoes, I will probably only think about the future of my
sons without me. At the beginning of the movie, I felt sorry for
Hazel and Augustus because they have cancer and they do not have
ordinary teenager life. In the middle, I thought that this movie is
really sad because they started to enjoy their lives but soon or later
they are dying from cancer. However, I became so happy that they
all found the answers to their own questions. This is a happy
ending. It is a very touching happy ending. And I love it!
Yuin Jung
In America
“In America” was a wonderful movie that cause me to think a lot
about hope and faith. There were four people in the family (mother,
father, and two daughter). They got in trouble when they were passing
the US boarder illegally to find a new life. Elder daughter asked a favor
of her dead brother so we figured out they lost him and maybe they
want to run away of painful memories. The elder daughter was so wise
and independent. A youngest was truly pure happiness and hope.
They hadn't have enough money so they settled down in a very
dangerous and cheap area in old crowded building for a poor people in
New York where were many immigrants came from different
countries. They decorated their house with hope and second hand
stuffs. The parents couldn't find a job in their level so the mother
became waitress and the father became taxi driver. The parents had a
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In Our Own Words 2015
lot of pain in their hearts about loss but they always be calm and had
fun with their daughters.
There are a strange apartment in the lower floor with a big sign in
a door: GO away. A strange, horrible man lived there. He didn't like to
connect with anybody and sometime screamed badly. In Halloween,
when anybody didn't answer their knocking, the two girls knocked the
strange neighbor door. The sweet younger girl insisted knocking
because she always drives herself with hope and happiness. Afterwards
the man opened the door and encountered two angel faces. They
started to be good friends. The man had HIV and he was going to die.
Meanwhile the mother got pregnant but there was problem. If she
decided to keep the baby, it would be a dangerous for both of them.
She was a religious person and decided to keep the baby with all the
risks. They enjoyed the life with hope, pain, and happiness. Except for
the father, rest of family, even the neighbor, had faith in their heart and
prayed.
He had hope for his son, he prayed when his son was in coma, but
he lost him, he lost his hope, he lost his faith. He preferred to have icy
heart instead of having hope. He suffered inside and had a big smile in
his face.
The baby was getting big and bigger and the neighbor was getting
weak and weaker. Both of them hospitalized, one of them for birthing
a life and the other for losing a life. Meanwhile the father struggled
with anxiety of lacking money for hospital, for his wife, for his children
that maybe lose their mother and for his friend that struggling with
death. He was really scared. Finally the mother gave birth but the baby
have problems. The elder daughter gave her blood to keep her sister.
She wanted to do every thing to keep the baby because she believe
this is a last opportunity to bring back hope in her father’s heart.
The baby stayed alive but the neighbor died. He was rich so he paid
hospital bill for family before he died. The family came back home, they
already had passed the pain and started new life with hope.
Although I really enjoyed to watch the movie, life is life and it’s so
different.
Mojgan Bardeh
36
I watched this movie — “In America” — at Newport Beach
library. Frankly speaking, I watched the movie for the first time after
I gave a birth. So I was concentrate during movie time, and I was
touched about the story of movie, and I thought the acting of the
two girls, Christy and Ariel, was great.
The movie described family love. They lost youngest son,
Frankie, by accident, suddenly. However they all tried to overcome
the tragedy, even two girls, too.
If we have terrible accidents, for example, we lost family
members by accident, can we love each other after that? Most of
case, we would blame each other, very much, all of moment, for a
long time. Finally, the family relationship would be broken.
For my family case, when we got traffic ticket, my husband and I
blamed each other. When my son got hurt, my husband sometimes
blame me and I tried to make an excuse.
Nevertheless, Sarah and Johnny cared for each other, they did
their best to have a responsibility as a parents and as a husband and
a wife.
Finally Sarah was pregnant. It was definitely happy, but they
fighted, because they couldn’t express their feeling. Unfortunately,
the baby and she was serious condition. So, they were hospitalized
for a while. Sadly, they have no money, but their friend, Mateo,
treated for them.
Sarah gave a birth to a new born baby, and Mateo died from
AIDS.
I think that two girls noticed Mateo’s death. But they believed
that he was still alive in the moon like as ET. In last scene, Christy
asked her father to let Frankie go in our mind and our memory,
because she wanted to lead happy new life with her family and new
baby. Most of all, she thought that Frankie hope so. Christy was
really mature. She is better than any other adult.
Is it easy to forget somebody, especially family member?
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In Our Own Words 2015
I think it is really hard. However, we should forget, left family
members should lead their normal life. And then, the person who
die would be happy.
I want to recommend to my friends who have a family trouble.
I’m sure that they would be better after they watch this movie.
Anyway, I appreciate Newport Beach Literacy Service.
Il Jeong Choi
Marley & Me
We just discussed “our first pet” at our vocabulary class and I
was thinking of getting a puppy for my children when we are ready,
then I watched this movie. I loved it from the beginning, because it
is a story about a puppy, though not an obedient one. It also has
Jennifer Aniston (my husband and I are fans of “Friends”). I was
more and more attracted by the movie as I watched it. This is not a
movie but our real lives. The scenes when the couple got married,
when Jenny was pregnant, when she was struggling between her
children and her career were exactly the same experiences in the
development of my family. It reminds me so much of our past: our
dreams and lives when we have not had children, the busyness
when we had our first one, then second one. My husband reacted
same as John when I was pregnant with my second one, and we had
the same conversation:“no more child!” after our daughter was
38
born. Maybe my husband was also staying in the car and hesitating
to go inside.
Jenny quitted her career, and John was not as successful as his
friend in career, but what they gain is more than that: three
beautiful children, a dog still full of energy, a great and sweet family.
This is a great family movie, which is about being a wife, a husband
and parents, about sacrifice, compromise in raising our children.
What impressed and moved me most is no matter how
rambunctious Marley was, how many troubles did he make, the
couple had never thought of sending him back. Just like our
children, no matter what they do, how they are, we still love them.
John was a good columnist but he wanted to be a reporter,
while after he became a reporter, he found he missed the time
being a columnist. Just like Jenny told him: we always want
something that we don’t have. Yes, we do this all the time. We all
need to learn spending more time in treasuring things we have than
pursuing things we don’t have. But I am thinking that how could we
know if we don’t try!
“A dog doesn't care who you are, if you're rich or poor, if you're
tall or short. He's always there for you.” How true it is and it
makes me love dogs more than ever.
Jasmine Liu
“Marley and Me” did not just talk about a dog, but about life. If I
can learn something from this movie; it is that life is not what you
long for or wishes, but is what you must face and live with.
At the beginning of the movie, Jenny had a life plan, she
scheduled what she would do and achieve in each step. She seemed
to arrange her life with a perfect fortune ahead of time. However,
John, actually, Marley, broke her plans. Marley always made mess
everywhere; it might be okay when there were two people in the
family, but when babies were born, Marley turned out to be a jerk
for Jenny. Jenny could not bear with Marley, she was exhausted.
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In Our Own Words 2015
However, it was Marley accompanying with her when she was
depressed or in bad mood, and Marley also accompanied with
children and brought them happiness when they grew up. This
made Marley be a member or a part of life in the family.
About John, I really appreciate his characters; he has very good
temper, he is optimistic, and he has the ability of changing himself,
which was difficult for other people like me, and finally he could
surprise himself. I think that most people have to change
themselves to meet with life, because life is not what you hope, but
what you have to live with.
Liang Hong
This Means War
The movie was about two detectives who were best friends as
well, one of them a lady man and the other one a British and more
down to earth than the other one, they worked on secret missions
until they did something wrong and they put them in bench.
They started to date the same girl without knowing the true
fact, they both realized the girl was the same one until they talked
about their dates and looked the same picture of her.
Everything turned like a challenge to decide who's gonna keep
her, on the other hand she was doing the same thing, trying to
forget her ex she decided to date both of them, try them to finally
decide who is the right one.
40
At one point of the movie the three of them met in a restaurant
and that's where she figured out they knew each other. After that
she was kidnaped by a terrorist and the officers, both of them
rescued her.
She finally decided to stay with the American guy who was
actually the one who didn't want a serious relationship at the very
first time.
John David Chung
THIS MEANS WAR is an American romantic comedy.
In fact, it is a simple love triangle. This American version of it,
places the plot in the hands of two good friends CIA agents. The
characters FDR and Tuck used all their CIA resources to help
themselves to impress a girl, Lauren. The war between them
started when they realized they were dating the same girl.
The characters, FDR, a womanizer presented himself as a ship
captain, and Tuck, a divorce, presented himself as a travel agent.
This silly war between them is framed in a bigger violent plot with
an international criminal organization to give a twist to the movie of
a violent drama.
Carolina Henriquez-Sanguineti
41
In Our Own Words 2015
We Bought a Zoo
Benjamin is a man that has lost his wife.
Beside him two children, the son in a really hard and black time
for the lost of the mother as well as because of the age.
The little girl full of exiting energy.
Benjamin decide to give a big change to his family's life for fight
the pain.
And “why not?” the great change is: he bought a new house with
a zoo in the back yard!
So the opposite connotation to death: the life, the challenge of
trying to live the life against the trial of a death.
The engine for Benjamin is the love for his kids and the force to
bring forward what he loved “why not?”.
Successfully Benjamin has brought happiness and changes in his
family with the perfume of his wife and children's mother.
Camilla Chelini
42
The movie theme was Drama and it was about a family (included
father, son — elder child — and daughter) mother of family died
in the beginning of movie. Each of them struggled with big lost in
different situation. Benjamin (father) had lost his wife, his love
and everything around him remembered his memorial of love. He
wasn’t able to tolerate that any more. The son who was in teen
age lost his Mom whom always was his friend and supporter and on
the other hand he had problem with his father and his school too.
Finally the nice little girl that lost her Mom in childhood .
It was very hard situation and Benjamin wanted to just run away
so he quitted his job, and decided to change his home and his living
area. Accidently he bought a bankrupt zoo. He thought this
adventure maybe help him to not think about his loss. So they
moved to zoo but his son didn’t agree, he didn't want to lose his
friends or his home. They work hard with the rest of zoo’s staff and
finally they were able to overcome problems and convert a
bankrupt zoo to a popular zoo.
I really like the movie because it wanted to show us, certainly
sadness and loss happen in our way. We can stay in that
situation and sorrow in the rest of our life or we can accept that in
our heart and keep open all doors and move to new situation. A
new situation could be about the gifts that life gives us again and
again.
Mojgan Bardeh
43
In Our Own Words 2015
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