Sookan's experience on Cultural Differences: Korea v.s. U.S

In Korea

1. Marriage is decided by the elders and young girls does not talk about it or decide it themselves. 

2. Young children are expected to respect more and fulfill what the elders' order and wishes on them. 

3. Women is expected to be serving meals and doing house works for men without doubt. 

4. Sookan and Korean teenagers would not get paid for babysitting their neighbor's children. 

5. Korean most likely would want to pay for a whole group of friends when going out for meals. 

In the U.S.

1. Marriage is often talked about and can be decided in one's own, for example, Ellen wanted to marry her boyfriend. 

2. Children dares more to do what they want with more open minded family, for example, Marci wanted to do something else she wanted rather than what her father and sister liked. 

3. Even men works in the kitchen and helps women on house workshop for example, professor Bennett cooking a meal for his family. 

4. Sookan got paid for babysitting professor's children. 

5. Sookan and Ellen pays separately (divided into two.) 

Do not worry

Marinda Hsu

English IS ll

Ms. Guerino

2015.10.27

         

                                            Do no worry 

After reading Sookan's feeling and experience when she first arrived to the U.S. I immediately related the event to myself because it is really similar to mine when I first arrive to the U.S for high school. I remembered the day holding on to huge luggages with my mom and brother in the airport back in Taiwan. I was looking forward and excited to be in New York for a few days with my mom and brother. I was not thinking about school, I thought it would be just like my bilingual school in Taiwan with no big differences. I was focusing on my phone to use some time left in Taiwan with Internet to say goodbye to my friends, I would definetly miss them so much, my father, too. I remembered well about that afternoon before me, my mother and my brother went in the gate. Three of my best friends went to the airport and surprised me; My grandparents were there with food; My aunt, uncle and my favorite sister cousin also went to the airport to say goodbye to me. We will still see eachother within a year when summer and Christmas comes, but I felt that we were never going to see eachother since all of these people that went to the airport for me, we were always together. It is hard to not feel sad, but I tried my best to smiled and bantered with them to make them feel that my decision going to the U.S. is correct and bright. I tried to pull my tears back into my eyes, I did not cried that afternoon. 

             After a few lovely, adventurous days me and my mother, brother have in Manhattan, New York, the day for registration of school came. I remembered that day when I woke up and felt the sa,e feeling I had when I was in the airport saying goodbye to my friends and family. I was glad that my mom came with me so my first longest flight was not that scary and lonely. The ride from our hotel in Manhattan to is about 2 hours. Within the two hours, I could not fell a sleep and was thinking about everything that happened. If I can not even do my own food orders in New York, If I can not understand what people are saying in their normal talking speed, why am I going to a school in the U.S. right now? What if I can not understand my classes and what if I don't get along with the people in my school? Questions are floating around me, I could not make them dissapear. Questions that are doubting my decision were flying around like flies, annoying but I got nothing to do to let them stop. I remembered how I promised my dad and my mom that going to the U.S. will make me a better person with better education and it will be so much better on everything comparing to Taiwan. My parents doubted my decision and thought I'm too childish to come alone for school, I persuaded them and made them believe in my decision. But who knows, when my parents agreed and satisfied about my plan, I was doubting the plan and decision myself. I made more friends in Taiwan, although my school in Taiwan was not that good but I got a lot of fun things to do with my friends, my parents and family are living in Taiwan, will I be able to go back for Chinese New Year and all the festivals in Taiwan? I was upset and missing Taiwan already on our ride to Cheshire Academy. 

         When I finally arrived, the campus was big and beautiful but I was still nervous. People start shaking hands with me and asked me how am I feeling. People in Taiwan don't usually be so outgoing and talkative for the first time we meet, we don't usually speak to people if we are not familiar with them. I was shy to ask what to do and where should I go for registration with my slowly English. After me and my mom set up my dorm room, she had to left with my brother for their flight that night. She started crying and my brother pulled her back to the car and tried to make jokes for her to stop her tears. I said goodbye with them and it seemed like the driver knew these kind of situations too much, he soon on started the car and wave goodbye to me with my mom opening the window saying goodbye and I remembered her saying do not worry, you'll be fine. I said back to her, I know. But actually I do not know. I was lying on my bed crying for the whole night. This was my first memory about leaving home to a foreign country. 

5 discussion questions for chapter 3 &4

1. When Sookan starts studying aboard, how do her family and kneibhors feel?

2. What are some differences between Sookan and Marci? 

3. What do the teachers think of Sookan?

4. What kind of person is Sookan's mother like and how is she different from other mothers in Korea?

5. What is the relationship between Marci and her sister?

Partner: Lilian

Author of The Gattering of Pearls

Sook nyul Choi is the author of Gattering of Pearls. Obviously by her name she is a korean. But after researching, I found it interesting that she is not just a normal Korean immigration to the U.S. Instead, she is a refugee from North Korea to South Korea then later immigrated to the U.S.. I think her background will make her story more unique from others and tell some stories about the war during her childhood time period. I also see that most of her writings are for children and younger adults' novel, storybook. 

Reading and writing for me

Marinda Hsu

English IS

Ms. Guerino

2015.10.12

                                                            Reading and writing

My high school life in the U.S. Requires me to read and write in a language that I don't usually speaks and is my second language. During this summer back at home, I remember my mom saying:" Why are you always on your phone? You used to read so much that I have to ask you to stop." I always answer her with a simple sentence:" I don't know, there's nothing fun to read." Actually, I have the exactly same question my mom is asking to myself, why do I start reading less after I grew older. I used to hide under my blanket with a small light up during sleep time to finish reading all these fiction novels I enjoyed reading so much. I also liked writing and writes good essay in Chinese, it is extremly easy for me since I’ve read so much Chinese books and knows so much Chinese vocabularies, so I can control my essay to be written out with plentiful of good word choices and exciting plot lines.  I liked reading a lot and whenever someone told me that reading is boring and hard, I feel suprise, because it is just like watching a movie for me. I really enjoy reading speculative novels for example, Sherlock Holmes, these genre makes reading exciting and varies, it is like going on an adventure, a trip throughout the book and solving problems step by step together with the characters.

    Within the school year, my ELL classes have been giving us English reading assignments which I mostly do not enjoy reading. Suprisngly, I really like our reading for the first semester--- Pesepolis; it is a graphic novel which we do not usually get and for me, never have had as a class book. With my small amount of known English vocabularies, it is more difficult for me to read a normal, thick novel, I’ll always have to stop and circle words I don’t know. But after all, my biggest problem is that I could not remember so many vocabularies once right after the reading. Eventually, graphic novels are interesting and have gave me a more visual analysis, understanding of the story. Besides graphic novel as my class reading, I actually liked my English class reading a lot back in my school in Taiwan, especially The Boy in Stripped Pajamas and The Giver. I have to admit that books I read outside of class are regularly Chinases books, just because I can connect to the words better and fell more into the story events. It is an immidiate connection and understanding of the words easily while reading books written in my first language I feel so comfortable speaking. I do not have a specific favorite book since in my opnion every book and story have their own property and style. But I really like a series of mandarin novels written by a Taiwanese author called Jiubadao(Chinese pronounciation). Most of his books are positive, inspiring and about youthhood’s adventures. I feel connected to the events in his novel and think that quotes in his books are actually useful and applies to my daily life. I can feel hope and feel my morale boosted up after reading his novel. His writting always made me look forward and expect my adolescence to be colorful, enrich and adventurous.

    In conclusion, I think reading and writting are interesting, enjoyable but at the same time difficult if you’re doing it in another language you’re still learning. I love reading and writing once ago when I was younger and I believe that one day I’ll pick up my good habbit I used to have again to love reading and feel easy about writting no matter in class or outside of school. I also hope that after my school life in the U.S. English can also be a language that I’m comfortable, familiar with. 

My favorite color is blue and pink! 👀💖