Las Vegas(^^)

After leaving Grand Canyon, we went to Las Vegas!!

It was my first time to visit Las Vegas, too.

I really like Grand Canyon rather than Vegas, but it was funny that we could see extremely different places. One is totally nature, on the other hand, one is totally human made.

We enjoyed both night and daytime in Vegas.

It is ...sleepless city!!

Grand Canyon!!!!!

Finally!! I could visit Grand Canyon in Arizona!!
Actually I have been longing to go there since I was 16. So I waited for this day for 10 years!!!!

It was amazing and I couldn't find right words to express.

We went down about 3 hours and climb up.

I am so thankful that my dream finally came true!!

Charlie bit my finger!!

I love this a lot!!




I cannot stop watching!! So cute!!!
Thank you for sharing ,Sophia(^^)

Journal #13 Thanks giving holiday!!

During this week-long holiday, post a picture (if you have some) and talk about what you did.

Happy thanks giving!!

I am planning to go to Las Vegas and Grand Canyon this weekend, so I am writing this blog Tuesday!! So far, I am having really great time!!

Last Friday, I went to see the movie "Twilight", which was the first day. That was so good and for me, so funny!! I really enjoyed the movie.

Today, I went to LA and hike (not so hard one) with my friend. The weather forecast said it was going to be raining, but it was sunny!! Amazing(^^) Moreover, it started raining just after we climb down from the mountain!! I am so thankful(^^)

The mountain is close to Hollywood, and I could enjoy the scenery of LA. However, I felt a little bit sad, because LA is obviously polluted!!! I knew it, but I had to accept the fact. This is car society America.

I am planning to go shopping on black Friday, and right after shopping, I will leave to visit Grand Canyon!!

I hope I can update this blog again(^^)

Have a nice thanks giving.

Sunny

Journal #12

I would like you to think about 3 things you are thankful for this year. Why are you thankful for these things? Use specific examples.


What a great holiday!!
3 things I am thankful(^^)


1. I am so thankful that I am here in America.

To study abroad in America has been my dream since when I was 16. I am so happy that finally, the dream came true. I think I am so lucky to be here in this year, because I could enjoy the election which is once in 4 years. Actually, in Japan, most students really don't care about politics or whoever the prime minister is. But here, every students has their own opinions, so I was so impressed.

2. I am thankful that I could realize the importance of my family.

Before I came to America, I had lived with my family. Now I lived with my friends and I really enjoy my life in America, however I sometime want to share what is happening here. I don't miss Japan, but I miss my family. Still, I can often talk to them through Skype without time lag. I am so thankful to the development of technology!!!!

3. I am thankful that I am able to learn a lot !!!!

I can learn something from everything I do here in America. When I was in Japan, no matter how hard I tried to study English, there was some invisible limitation, but now, to watch TV is also learning. I love chatting, and chatting with my friends is also learning.
I am not planning to enroll University, so I could choose some language school, but I am so lucky to choose this University, I mean ALP. Also I am taking open University course which is so helpful!! I can feel the college life in America!! There are many interesting events going on in this campus!!! Difference culture, religions, races, languages and so on... there are many things that I can't experience in my country.

Thanks God!!!

I hope everyone have a nice holidays(^^)

Journal #11

Free Journal!!!! Yeah(^_^)V

Today, I will introduce my favorite artist B'z.
B’z is one of the top artists in Japan. This band consists of 2 guys, one of them is vocalist(left; Koshi Inaba), and the other is guitarist(right; Takahiro Matsumoto). Both of them succeeded in their own fields. B’z is famous as a rock band, however they have produced many ballad songs, cheerful songs and also Rock songs. Some of their songs are well known to not only among their fans but also to most people in the country.

We can tell how much they are popular by knowing the fact that they are accepted as a Rock ‘n’ roller in Hollywood. They became the first Asian artists to be inducted into the Hollywood Rock Walk.They have their hand prints at Rock walk in Hollywood, same as Elvis Presley, Eric Clapton and ….So on. B'z have been selling over 70 million albums and singles.

The other day, I finally visited rock walk and put my hand to their hand prints!!!!

I am sure I never quit being fan of B'z. I am so proud of them.

Journal #10

If you could vote this Tuesday, which political party would you go for? Why? Give reasons and be specific with the party's policies.

I wish I had a right to vote, however, to choose the candidate/political party is very hard for me. We should know the background and also their policies well.

This time, I think that people didn't focus on the political parties, but we seemed to compare Obama and McCain. In my opinion as an international students, they both have good points and bad points.

If Obama become the president, he would make many changes, and also work well with his original idea. However, young people would ask him for more freedom, I think this country has already freedom. We should think well about "freedom", freedom sometimes cause chaos.

If McCain become the president, he has many connections between many countries because he has been in the political world for a long time and also he is from Republican Party. However he might too old to lead the country and he looks stubborn and conservative.

Now, America has big economical problem like a great depression. This country needs someone who can save from the economical panic. In this point, Obama has a clear strategy. However, it might so hard to fix this situation right away, so no matter who take this position, it takes some times.

We already know the result, but I, personally, think that this country needs some social order, so I prefer McCain to Obama.

I hope the result of this election has meaning, and change this world into peaceful world.

Journal #9

Free Journal!!!

At last, I drove in America!!
The other day, my friend from my high school visited me. We planned to rent a car and go to some famous places around here.

I just got a temporary driver's licence, but it is not the real driver's licence, so I was wondering if I could rent a car or not. As a result, I could rent it with my international driver's license! The car was TOYOTA Corolla, and was a very good car. It was very smooth and easy to drive.

There were so many challenging for me. We didn't have a GPS, so I got lost a lot.
I drove freeway for the first time, I drove at night for the first time, and I drove Down Town LA for the first time. I mean everything was new for me. Sometimes, I felt so uneasy, but everything was fine.

I've done what I felt scary, so there is no more scary thing for me!!
From now on. I am trying to get my own car. I hope I can get a good used car like the car I rented.

Journal #8

In this journal, I want you to reflect on the last 8 weeks of this semester. Do you think your writing has improved? If so, how has it improved? What could you have done better? In the next 8 weeks, what would you like to accomplish? What would you do differently?


I think my writing ability has been improving. Especially this kind of quick writing, which I don't have to think about the structure or grammar, I really feel better than before.
I graduated University 4 years ago in Japan, and I had to write research paper in English. At that time, maybe I learned about thesis, topic, intro, conclusion,,,,, so on, however I didn't remember at all!!! So thanks to this composition class, I could recall how to write the essay properly. I think I have to keep writing in order not to forget again.

Also, I am so lucky because I am taking open university course, and I can use this strategy right away!! What if I didn't learn how to write essay from this class, I think I couldn't find what to do in writing at open university course.

Still I have many problems in writing, so I want to learn more about grammar, how to cite, and so on. Reading good essays would be helpful, so I want to keep reading some reading material everyday.

I can't imagine 8 weeks has passed already!! I have only 8 more weeks.. I have to save some time and do what I should do now!!!!

Journal #7

This week's journal entry is:
1. What is your favorite movie?
2. What is this movie about? What genre?
3. What do you like the most about this movie?
Make sure to give a background information on the movie. Who played the characters? What is the main idea behind the story?

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2761621785/

1)My favorite movie is definitely "Patch Adams"!!
I watched this movie when I was high school student for the first time, and I decided to be like him.

Robin Williams played the main character.

2)This movie is based on the true story. "Laughter is contagious ", this is the main theme in this movie. Patch Adams shows the real American medical physician Dr. Hunter Campbell "Patch" Adams. He is not only a doctor, but also social activist, citizen diplomat, professional clown, performer, and author.
In this movie, he realized that most important thing in medical care was warm heart and laughter. At this time, the world did not pay attention to the mental care to the patients, so he got many persecution but he never give up!!!
Now he still alive and teach his method to all over the world.

3) I really like his mentality. He always makes people happy and laugh!!! He really loves patients. I think it is true that physical illness come from mental illness, and today, many people in this world suffer from loneliness, sadness, emptiness, and so on. It is so hard to feel satisfied only with materialistic fulfillment. I want to be like him and I want to make people around me happy!!

Oh, maybe he is in America,,, I should meet him while I stay here!!!

Journal#6

Free journal!!

"Surprise Party!!"

In the movies and dramas, I saw many "SURPRISE!!" on some one's birthday. I wanted to have "surprise!!" one day... and my dream came true.

I turned to be twenty-**** years old last week. My birthday was on Saturday. But the surprise party was on Thursday, so I couldn't expect at all.
In the morning on Thursday, my roommate called me and say "I have something to tell you, so do you have time at night? I will pick you up at your school." Hearing my friends voice, I felt a little bit scary, because her voice was so serious. I thought I did something bad to her or other roommates. I said "OK, I have time....."
At night, I was so nervous what she had to say to me. Also I though I had to choose a place to eat together. 'It is already 7pm, so maybe TSU is closed, Ummm... where is the good place to talk seriously.....'

I got a call from her and say she would pick me up soon at the university, I felt like praying nothing bad happens to me.
She drove to our house, but she kept talking and didn't get off the car. I was so nervous at this time, but she didn't say anything seriously.
Suddenly, she said, "Are you hungry, I will cook something to you, so let's go inside." I was curious because I know that she never cook.
At the door, she asked me to open the door.
I opened the door and saw darkness inside our house.

And then....

"Surprise!!!"

There were about 15 friends of mine!!
I was really surprised, and also felt so happy.

She tricked me well, I didn't expect anything like that!!
We really had a good party.

I think this experience would be the first and last time, but I never forget about this!!
And I want to plan some good surprise party next time!!

Enjoying Culture Shock!!

I came to USA in July, and I visited Reno, NEVADA before coming to California.

Since then, I really enjoy the culture shock.

On the second night in Reno, I went to see the movie at University of Nevada, Reno with my friends. It was outside movie theater on the grasses of the campus, which was set by student organization. Then we watched the movie,,,,the movie was "Harold and Kumer" and I thought ... it was so funny, but it is not appropriate to be shown in campus. We never have this kind of movie shows on campus in Japan!! Never. I like this comedy movie, though.

The other thing that I was surprise at that night was, many couple came to see the movie, and they hugged each other while watching the movie in front of everyone!! In Japan, it is so rude to make out in the public place. Through the trip in Reno and here in California, I see many couple hugging in public. It is so funny for me.

Now, I can attend the open university class with American students. I am so impressed by every students, because they respond to the teacher very well. When the teacher ask some questions, someone answer quickly without hesitation. In Japan, university students are so shy to talk in front of people, and when teachers ask questions, no body answer, so teachers must call out.

I'm really happy to be in the campus in America. There are so many differences between my country, but I can learn from many things here.

Journal #5

Tourism is becoming increasingly important as a source of revenue to many countries but its disadvantages should not be overlooked. What are some of the problems of tourism?

Tourism is one of the most important industries in each places, however, we have to be careful about the problems which is caused by tourists. Every sightseeing spots has its own way of inviting tourists. Some of them might care about the problems caused by tourists. What are the possible problems from tourists?
First, we have to protect the scenery from garbage thrown away by tourists. Although the place is wonderful, if there are full of garbage, nobody wants to visit again.
Second, we should care for the lives of the residents in that area. It might happen that tourists disturb their lives, and cause big problems between tourists and the people who live there.
Finally, we have to think about what the tourism is. Some tourism places seem to pretend as gorgeous and luxurious places, which is not so in reality. We should show what it really is. We don't have to decorate the places only to get people together. We can enjoy the natural places.

As a tourist, I also should be careful about these points. I will bring my garbage by myself, and never disturb the people who live there, and then I will be able to enjoy the sightseeing.

Disneyland In CHINA!?

I found the news about the fake Disneyland in China!!

I am so sorry, I couldn't find it in English, so please learn Japanese. haha
I will summerize the news.





This amusement park is 'Government management park' in China.The name of the park is Sekkeizan park(I don't know how to read in Chinese). The video is taken in the first day of big holidays, that's why there are so many people.

The banner sais "Disneyland is too far, so let's go to Sekkeizan Park"!!
The number of people who visit this park is about 1,500,000 a year!!!!

We can meet many familiar characters..., are they Disney characters!?
However, this park didn't get permission to use them from Disney.

The president of this park said 'There is no relationship between Disney.We made those characters. It is not Micky mouse!! It is just a CAT with BIG EARS!!' Oh...

But the workers said "This might be an imitation park of Disneyland."

What do you think of this!?
Ummmm. Interesting!!

Journal #4

In "The Coast With The Most," Richard Zinsser wrote about his partiality towards Southern California versus the North East. In this journal, I want you to pick two places you've visited while in California and compare and/or contrast the two.

In this summer, I visited two beaches in California. I went to New Port beach and Ocean side beach. They are both Californian beach, however, I found some differences between those two beaches in the aspects of people who visited and the scenery around the beach.
First, let's see the people who visit there. It is said that New port beach is kind of the richest place in California, and we could see the people who look like wealthy around the beach. The interesting thing is, most of people there is not like 'American', I mean they are not so fat. It might be because of their wealth that they can afford to maintain thier health. On the other hand, in the Ocean side beach, the people who enjoyed the beach seemed to be like a nomal people. We could see many 'American' people who is so big. It might be said that the people who enjoy New Port Beach seem to be wealthier than the people who visit Ocean Side Beach.
Next, the scenery around the beach is also different. New Port beach has lots of vacation houses along the beach, and people who look rich played beach volleyball, flying disc, and rode beach bicycles. Also the houses around the beach look like a palaces. In contrast, there is not luxury houses around Ocean side beach, but there are so many boats near the beach. New Port Beach can be said the place for the rich people.
I really enjoy both beaches, so I should not say which is better. Each beaches has a good aspects. Californian are so lucky that they have so many good and beautiful beaches.

Journal #3

This journal is a free journal. Free journal means you may write about anything you like. Remember to keep focus on a topic.

Politics in Japan

Today, I want to talk about Japanese Prime minister. Usually, I am not interested in politics, but now, the political situation in Japan is so bad.
I have been in America for 3 weeks, so I can’t watch TV news, but thanks to the development of the internet, I can read the Japanese news even from America.
Last week, Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda suddenly resigned his job. It is said that he implied to quit around April. He had been Prime Minister less than one year, and in this period, many injustices of politicians were being found out. The gas price rose up, the problems of pensions, etc.. The government had lots of problems. Therefore, Japanese people always complain to the government even though those problems were not because of the prime minister. Most of those problems are caused long time ago. Of course the Prime Minister is the job to take full responsibility for everything happened in the country, but it means that no matter who takes the place of prime minister, nothing would be changed, and we can prospect that the next prime minister would end up with the same result.
I hope someday, one great person like superman(batman spiderman!?) shows up and save the country. However, we have to change our attitude toward government, because the politicians are also parts of the nation. Everyone in the country might make mistakes, so we should not blame them for their faults. We have to think together, support each other, and be unite as one to make our country peace.

Journal #2

Describe your first impression with ALP. How does it differ to how you feel, or what you think about ALP now.

My first impression with ALP is like 'wow, so many international students!!!' I couldn't imagine that there would be so many foreign students from all over the world. I also didn't imagine that so many students really want to enroll University in America.

Next, I feel relieved because every teachers look so nice and kind. The first day was placement test, but the teachers tried to get rid of our stress. Also they tried to let us talk to new friends. On Friday of the first week, we had a BBQ on campus, at that time I could talk to many ALP teachers, and feel that ALP has wonderful teachers.

The new semester started and I met new friends in the classes, they are so nice and friendly. Everything is new to me but thanks to the good friends, I don't have to feel nervous!!

Now, I heard that I don't have to write this,,, SO, I will concentrate on the FIRST DRAFT!!!!

Thank you !!

Sunny

Greeting

This is Sunny from the land of Sunny.
Nice to meet you everyone!!!

I will introduce myself.
I am from Okayama, which is not so small but not so big city in Japan. I really love my hometown.

To study abroad to America has been my dream since I was 16. When I was 16, I could live in Boulder, Colorado for 2 months with my family. At that time, I could attend to the public high school, which was a great experience!! Since then, I really eagered to study abroad at USA.

However, when I was a freshman in University, 9.11 happened... and I couldn't come at that time....
About 7 years past, finallyI could make my dream come true!!!

So, I am so happy to breathe the air in America(^^)

About my hobby, I really like to play sports, talk with friends, watching movies, and so on.
About movies, my favorit movie is "Patch Adams", and any of comedy movies!! Please teach me if you know good movies.

Let's have fun together!!

From Sunny