ESL 924 has been a wonderful time and a great experience for me. My vocabulary and my writing skills have improved dramatically. To continue progressing, I will be focusing on these three strategies. The first strategy is to continue reading. This is probably the most important strategy. Reading will continue to improve my grammar and fluency. It will also help me learn the rhythm of English.
My second strategy is to continue writing. I will continue to write in this blog, and also in my personal food blog. This will strengthen my sentence structure and reinforce my grammar. Finally, my last strategy is to be more conscious of my speech. In other words, I will think before I speak. This last strategy will probably the hardest.
If this strategies are not enough, I also enrolled this summer in ESL 805 (Advanced Grammar Review). I am looking forward to this class!
In conclusion, I have three strategies and a class to help me to continue polishing my grammar and writing. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my Professor, Jeanne Gross, for being very patient, understanding, and attentive to her students. Also, I must say that all my classmates are very friendly and I wish them the best in continuing their academic plans.
Have a great summer everyone!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Easter in Philippines
The U.S. has many traditions which are celebrated in the Spring, for example, an Easter egg hunt. In the Philippines there is no Spring season. We have only two seasons which we call “Rainy season” and “Summer.” The only tradition we have in common with the U.S. during this season is to celebrate Easter, in a very religious way.
Lent begins the week on Monday through to Good Friday. This is what we call “Holy Week.” It is an emotion-packed series of religious ceremonies. I remember when I was a child some people would perform singing and reading of the passion of death from verses of the Bible for 24 hours, seven days straight. Food and drink, specially coffee, are served to the singers. Some people would stay up to listen and play cards. Just like here, in the United States, this is an annual celebration, commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For us, in the Philippines, it is also the principal tradition of the Christian year.
Lent begins the week on Monday through to Good Friday. This is what we call “Holy Week.” It is an emotion-packed series of religious ceremonies. I remember when I was a child some people would perform singing and reading of the passion of death from verses of the Bible for 24 hours, seven days straight. Food and drink, specially coffee, are served to the singers. Some people would stay up to listen and play cards. Just like here, in the United States, this is an annual celebration, commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For us, in the Philippines, it is also the principal tradition of the Christian year.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Turmoil in Middle East
I think the Middle East needs better government, honest leaders, and stronger human rights. My heart and thoughts are with those innocent people who are affected by the turmoil in the Middle East. The thing is, I don’t have much more to say about what is going on there because I don’t follow it closely enough to have an informed opinion. From what I see though, I think this is happening because a lot of the young people are fed up with corruption and a lack of opportunity.
I can sympathize because my home country has the same problems.
This is not only affecting Middle Eastern countries but also, other counties too, like us here in the United States. Gas prices are rising significantly even though our wages aren’t going up. And gas prices don’t just affect what we pay at the pump. It affects the prices charged for a lot of goods and services like food and heating.
I hope and pray that this thing going on in the Middle East gets settled peacefully and soon.
I can sympathize because my home country has the same problems.
This is not only affecting Middle Eastern countries but also, other counties too, like us here in the United States. Gas prices are rising significantly even though our wages aren’t going up. And gas prices don’t just affect what we pay at the pump. It affects the prices charged for a lot of goods and services like food and heating.
I hope and pray that this thing going on in the Middle East gets settled peacefully and soon.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
It’s Raining... Again!
In the past few weeks, the weather has been very cold and wet.
As a Filipino, I grew up in tropical weather so, this was a big change for me.
Even now, after eighteen years, I am still not used to this kind of weather.
However, it rains a lot in the Philippines, specially during the rainy season which starts in June. Since it is very humid, though, I could play with other kids in the rain without getting cold. But, still, I am not a fan of a rain. I don’t like when it’s raining specially when it’s a very cold rain and the weather is gray, that makes me feel sad and lazy.
I am so happy that Spring is around the corner. I can feel it coming!
As a Filipino, I grew up in tropical weather so, this was a big change for me.
Even now, after eighteen years, I am still not used to this kind of weather.
However, it rains a lot in the Philippines, specially during the rainy season which starts in June. Since it is very humid, though, I could play with other kids in the rain without getting cold. But, still, I am not a fan of a rain. I don’t like when it’s raining specially when it’s a very cold rain and the weather is gray, that makes me feel sad and lazy.
I am so happy that Spring is around the corner. I can feel it coming!
Monday, February 14, 2011
Why I admire who I admire
I admire good Presidents, Ronald Reagan in particular.
However, I want to describe my admiration for a person named Craig. He is one of the most intelligent, wonderful, friendly and helpful men I've ever known. He volunteered for more than 4 months at San Mateo Peninsula Works. He continues to volunteer, helping a lot of unemployed to be motivated and uplifted. He organizes and presents many seminars covering technology, career development, emerging industries, and more. I have attended some of his seminars and the most recent one,two weeks ago, was about The Cloud- The IT Future. I admire how he presents and delivers his speech very clearly and comprehensively. How I wish I could do same.
I admire his friendliness. We play badminton together and, over the years we have created a group of people and made lots of friends. Whenever there's a new face on the court or someone is feeling lost, he'll step in and introduce himself to let them know when we normally play and to ask if he or she wants to join in our group mailing list. He asks for everyone's name and email of the people who wants to be in our group. Craig created a private email group for all of us. So far we have about over 30 people in our badminton group that plays badminton throughout the week.
I admire his love, respect, care and closeness for his Mother and brother.
I admire him for being very helpful to others in need. He helps my family and friends with their computers. I admire him for being a very understanding and loving person. I admire Craig for being patient with all my whining and complaints about my homework.
Thank goodness he happens to be my husband!
However, I want to describe my admiration for a person named Craig. He is one of the most intelligent, wonderful, friendly and helpful men I've ever known. He volunteered for more than 4 months at San Mateo Peninsula Works. He continues to volunteer, helping a lot of unemployed to be motivated and uplifted. He organizes and presents many seminars covering technology, career development, emerging industries, and more. I have attended some of his seminars and the most recent one,two weeks ago, was about The Cloud- The IT Future. I admire how he presents and delivers his speech very clearly and comprehensively. How I wish I could do same.
I admire his friendliness. We play badminton together and, over the years we have created a group of people and made lots of friends. Whenever there's a new face on the court or someone is feeling lost, he'll step in and introduce himself to let them know when we normally play and to ask if he or she wants to join in our group mailing list. He asks for everyone's name and email of the people who wants to be in our group. Craig created a private email group for all of us. So far we have about over 30 people in our badminton group that plays badminton throughout the week.
I admire his love, respect, care and closeness for his Mother and brother.
I admire him for being very helpful to others in need. He helps my family and friends with their computers. I admire him for being a very understanding and loving person. I admire Craig for being patient with all my whining and complaints about my homework.
Thank goodness he happens to be my husband!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
My goals and plans
For this blog entry, I have chosen to write about my short term goals and plans. Specifically, I will blog about my academic goals and plans for the next six months or so. Here is my list of short term goals and plans.
These short term goals and plans lead directly to my longer term goals of; speaking and writing English fluently, understanding business management, getting a certification in nutrition and, eventually, running my own food business. I plan on achieving on these goals by studying hard, receiving tutoring when needed and finding the grants and scholarships to do this full time. I don’t know all of the resources available to me to accomplish these goals but, right now, the most important resources I have are my teachers and my counselors.The two biggest obstacles I face are financial and intellectual. I think the financial obstacle is obvious. When I say “intellectual,” I mean that I am not used to being a student anymore. I am pretty sure that I will get use to being student again.
- “graduate” the ESL program, specifically, get high grades (preferably A's) in both ESL 914 and 924
- get enough grants and scholarships to go to school full-time
- continue English (400)
- start business math or bookkeeping class
- start nutrition-related class
These short term goals and plans lead directly to my longer term goals of; speaking and writing English fluently, understanding business management, getting a certification in nutrition and, eventually, running my own food business. I plan on achieving on these goals by studying hard, receiving tutoring when needed and finding the grants and scholarships to do this full time. I don’t know all of the resources available to me to accomplish these goals but, right now, the most important resources I have are my teachers and my counselors.The two biggest obstacles I face are financial and intellectual. I think the financial obstacle is obvious. When I say “intellectual,” I mean that I am not used to being a student anymore. I am pretty sure that I will get use to being student again.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
My word of the day
My word for today is "brevity".
Brevity is a noun and it means "shortness of duration," especially in writing or speaking. It comes from the root word, "brief". Probably the most famous use of the word in a sentence comes from the author William Shakespeare in the play "Hamlet":
Brevity is a noun and it means "shortness of duration," especially in writing or speaking. It comes from the root word, "brief". Probably the most famous use of the word in a sentence comes from the author William Shakespeare in the play "Hamlet":
Here, Shakespeare wants to say that using a few good words can be a sign of intelligence. I hope my professors remember this when I turn in my really short essay. :-)
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