Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Outside Reading Homework Section #4 post A and B

Vocabulary:
1) Sibilant (page 170): a hissing sound
2) Moue (page 190): a pout or frown, a disdainful grimace

Theme:
A new theme arising in the book Wicked Lovely I feel is confusion, because Aislinn is trying to deny herself becoming a faery but she feels the changes and then she is given the choice to accept Keenan and be his summer queen or be just another summer girl and fade away after time, but all she really wants is to be mortal again and be happy with Seth.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Outside Reading Homework Section #3 post A and B

Vocabulary:
1) Conspiratorially (page 111): relating to or characteristic of conspiracy or conspirators.
2) Liege (page 124): a feudal lord entitled to allegiance and service.

Theme:
An emerging theme that I feel in Wicked Lovely is trustworthiness, because Aislinn has to believe in and trust that her rules and friends will help her get through hard times and succeed in getting away from the faeries and the dangers they bring.

Response:
I really enjoy Wicked Lovely and the further I get into it now the harder it is to put down. I like how the book shows the feelings and sides of a few characters which makes you love every character and makes you think that each is good, but really each of them is bad for each of the other characters and poses a threat to all of them. Sounds confusing, but really, Aislinn is trying to stay away from the faeries because she can see them and knows they're very dangerous, while at the same time, Keenan is trying to get her attention and get her to trust him because he needs someone strong to save him and his kind, and then Donia's job is to watch after Aislinn and to keep her safe but Aislinn can see her therefore is always running away and hiding from her and the other faeries. starting on chapter 11, Keenan obviously purposely got enrolled in Aislinn's school and got the same schedule as her in attempt to get her to trust her and fall in love with him, but Aislinn knows that she can't have anything to do with him because she doesn't want to get influenced by any of the faeries but at the same time, she is given the job of showing Keenan the school and get him caught up and will of course have to spend a lot of time with him which is very risky she knows. So I really enjoy the book and I love the themes arising and the relationships showing between the characters.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Monday, November 26, 2007

Outside Reading Homework Section #2 post A and B

Quote: "Maybe you should slow down, so I can catch you (page 106)." The significance of this quote said by Seth is that he likes Aislinn and wants to be more than just friends with her. He means that she should slow down, as in not trying to always run away from him, and then they could be more.

Vocabulary:
Omnipresent (page 100) - presence in all places at the same time
Whim (page 103) - a sudden desire

Response

In Wicked Lovely, not much has changed since the first section, but we can tell that the characters are getting closer and they have more to do with each other. I’ve learned that Keenan is called the Summer King, and that it is very out of the ordinary for someone on the faerie court to follow one specific person, which is why Aislinn is very concerned that she is being followed by Donia. I think that I would be very concerned also if I were being followed by a group of faeries that only a random few people could see. I would have done the same thing that Aislinn did and tell a really close friend, it would just make me feel a lot better and like I wasn’t alone and like I could turn to someone if I needed and not need to keep secrets. Aislinn also keeps a few secrets from her grandmother, who she lives with, and I think that I would have done the same if I was in her position because I usually tend to keep issues and most everything to myself, but if a friend was in on the issue then I would be comfortable going to them and telling them what’s going on rather than my parents. On page ___, Aislinn is just coming home from a long day after she got attacked by humans and then saved by the faerie, and her grandmother is very good at seeing that something is wrong and asked what happened and Aislinn just said that two faeries were following her and that everything was just fine otherwise and that she wanted to try to figure out what they wanted from her. Her grandmother was at first very nervous and said that she planned to take her out of school and home school her and basically put her on lock-down, but then to Aislinn’s relief, she said that it was okay and to just be very careful and to still abide by the three rules. Even though Aislinn knew that she would need to tell her grandmother eventually, she couldn’t do it now and she wasn’t going to.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Outside Reading Homework Section #1 post A and B

Vocabulary
1: Blotter (page 23)-a log in which daily activities are recorded.
2: Labret (page 33)-object that pierces the area below the lips and above the chin.

Theme
I think that the theme so far brought up in the story is friendship in that Aislinn has her troubles and Seth is there for her and even the faerie Deadgirl helped her out when she is in need of some help and comfort.

Response
Wicked Lovely is a really good book in that it is good at elaborating themes and concepts that Aislinn has lived with and has loyally abided by for her whole life. Now things have changed in the way that she has broken and interfered with those rules of staying away from the knowledge of the faeries all around her by telling Seth, her human friend, about her situation and the faeries that she can see and hear while he and most others can not. The antagonists in Wicked Lovely are the faeries and they are invisible to everyone except an occasional few including Aislinn and they are out to get her. It seems as though they are actually good in some parts when they are involved, but the only reason they are perceived that way is because all the faeries are ordered to look after her and make sure nothing bad comes to her so that they can be sure to take over her eventually. On page 68, Donia, or Dead-girl, the faerie whose assignment is to keep a watchful and protective eye over Aislinn is following her home when a few guys took her and started harassing her so Donia, turned into her mortal form and when they told her to get lost, she had her wolf attack them. This again is only because she has orders to keep her safe. The protagonists in the story are mainly Seth and Aislinn's grandma, Seth is her best friend an she trusted him enough to tell him about how she can see the faeries and her latest interactions and stories and he is always there for her even though he knows that he is getting into trouble himself. Her grandma can also see the faeries and so have most all the women in their family, but Aislinn's mother died when she was young, and her grandma is the one who keeps her safe from the faeries too but Aislinn is too afraid to share with her her latest encounters with the faeries, because she has broken every promise and rule she has ever had with her grandmother so she is afraid that she will get punished or just limited in her freedoms. On page 25, Aislinn is just beginning to tell Seth about her knowledge of the faeries and he stays calm for her and makes her feel protected. I really like how she has her troubles this way and the views of the faeries, Seth, and her Grandma are told along with her story and i really enjoy and can follow along well with the book as Aislinn's story is being told.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Quarter 2 Outside Reading Choice Information

Hero by Perry Moore
Published in August 2007
Hero is a fictional story
428 pages
This book is suggested for higher than 9th grade level and is a teen 'coming-of-age' novel. The general vocabulary and sentence structure seems pretty close to the level of what I think of myself to be around right now, and I've researched that it is tough to follow along with and comprehend, so that will most likely be the biggest challenge for me.
I chose this book because I tend to be a fan of books that have some fantacy while being realisticly of fiction, and I think that this book will be good because it involves a boy, Thom, who has a superhero for a dad but he got kicked off the 'League', and now Thom is being invited to join the League becuase he knows that he has powers too but at the same time he wants to keep it out of his dad's knowledge so that he won't be hurt. Also, the author was the executive producer for the Choronicles of Narnia which really pleased me so I think he has proven pretty good and creative, so I guess I'll have to just find out whether he can do movies or books better...

Friday, October 26, 2007

Outside Reading Literary Analysis Essay

Maria Blanek (-- =indentation)
4th hour
Everyone Can Succeed

-- Chinese Cinderella was written by Adeline Yen Mah to show her readers that they can be successful in life under any conditions growing up. Chinese Cinderella tells that through the hard times, an unloving family, and loneliness, everyone can be successful in life.
-- Adeline Yen Mah went through her whole childhood with series of hard times, yet she kept trying to be successful and she was. Adeline was always the smart one in school and was even elected the class president numerous times, yet while she was seen as really cool at school, it couldn't have been more opposite at home. She was always neglected at home by her father because her mother died shortly after giving birth to her so she was seen as bad luck, and no matter how hard she tried and tried to be noticed, she just wasn't accepted by her father. 'At the time of birth, big sister was six and a half years old. my three brothers were five, four and three. They blamed me for Mama's death and never forgave me' (page 4). This shows that they really do believe that she was the source of their mothers death, and it is really hard for her to have to live with that thought. Adeline was successful in life, even though she was going through hard times constantly for an issue that she didn't even have any control over.
-- Following the hard times was the fact that she had a very unloving family that she couldn't get the acceptance from. Her mother died when she was two weeks old, and a year her father remarried to a beautiful French-Chinese woman who had two kids with her father. These two step-siblings received all the attention and love from their mother and father, while he just ignored Adeline and her blood siblings. '"What gets me," Big sister said, "is the blatant inequality between her children and us. I wouldn't mind if all seven of us were treated the same way. If they really believed in traditional clothes, then all seven of us should be wearing them, not just the five of us"' (page 43). This is a quote said by Adeline's older sister when they were talking about their clothing that they received for the Chinese New Year celebration and how it was so monotonous in comparison to their step-siblings outfits. 'Since no one had ever come to visit me (let alone brought me an egg), it was humiliating to sit there morning after morning looking on, knowing my number would never come up. During one of these sessions, I usually pretend to be deaf and preoccupied' (page 163). This is explaining Adeline's experience at her boarding school every morning when there are eggs given to children whose parents bring to them as a special treat, and Adeline never has gotten one. On this same day, she received her first egg, and later on overheard her friend saying that she changed the number on her egg so that Adeline would get hers instead. Adeline grew up in a household where she received no credit for her hard work and got no acceptance or love from anyone yet still managed to give and show her absolute best through school, where she was successful.
-- Since Adeline was neglected by her family and was not allowed to be involved with any friends, she was always lonely. Adeline spent most all of her time away from school alone in her room and because her siblings always picked on her, she even tried to steer clear of them also. One time, a family friend came over and presented each of the seven kids with baby ducklings which they kept as pets. Adeline named hers PLT which stood for Precious Little Creature, and PLT was her best friend for a long while up until it was killed by the guard dog in a game that her father wanted to play and carelessly let PLT be killed. 'The tension seemed palpable while I hoped against hope that fate could be sidestepped in some way. Then PLT cocked her head in that familiar way of hers and spotted me. Chirping happily, she waddled unsteadily toward me. Tempted beyond endurance, Jackie sprang forward. In one powerful leap, he broke away from Father's restraint and pounced on PLT, who looked up at me pleadingly, as if I should have an answer to all her terror' (page 82). This occurred after dinner one night, Jackie being the guard dog, and Adeline was traumatized for the rest of her life over this reality of losing what was a best friend to her, yes, the next morning PLT was dead. Adeline was a very lonely girl because she was always ignored or picked on and she was not even allowed to have friends, and still, she was successful in the end.
-- Chinese Cinderella is a memoir that shows a true story of survival through hard times, hatred in family and loneliness can still lead someone to success when they get through it all. Adeline went on to college in college with her brother after she was in boarding school and got through to her father by winning an international children's play wright contest, being the first chinese child to win. Anyone who grows up a terrible regretted childhood can be just as successful in the future as anyone who grows up a perfectly shaped life.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Outside Reading Homework Section #5

Chinese Cinderella

Summary
It had been three days since Adeline's Aunt Reine had taken her out of her boarding school, and she was still very nervous becuase she knew that Niang didn't know of this news yet, and would most liekly be furious and blame her. Claudine and Victor, her step-cousins that she had never met before, are really nice and she likes them a lot more than her own siblings. They are getting on a ship to travel to Hong Kong to get away from the comunists that are taking control quickly of the whole northern part of China and advancing further south. On the ship, the three kids would spent most of their time playing hide and seek, but they also liked to go to the library and play Monoply, which Claudine was very good at. Adeline felt like she was a part f their family and not always getting the short end out, she even imagines getting adopted by them and never having to see Niang ever again. On their first night, there were only two beds in the girls' room and Adeline just assumed that it was for her. But then her Aunt Reine said "oh no, it's share and share alike in our family," and they drew papers to determine who was to sleep on the cot. Claudine ended up drawing the paper that showed 'cot,' and she slept there without any fuss at all. When their ship reached Hong Kong, the family was expecting Adeline's family to be there waiting to brig them to their home, but they were no where. So Reine called their house and they were home and told them to get a taxi to their house. When they arrived, Adeline's siblings were all gone except for her step-siblings, and no one greeted her. When she got inside, har grandfather was there and she was very happy to see him, and she thought that there was something different and familiar about him at the same time, and she figured out that he seemed defeated. The first time Niang derectly addressed Adeline was the next morning and she told her to stay home and give her Ye Ye (grandfather) a neck and back massage while she took Reine and the kids shopping. Adeline was happy for this and thought that maybe she had been foriven from Naing's wrath. When Adeline was talking with Ye Ye in chinese, she could hardly remember many words any longer because she had been in an english emmersion for so long.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Outside Reading Homework Section #4 Part 2

Chinese Cinderella

Summary
Adeline's friend, Wu Chun-mei, had been bugging her and wanting her to come over to her house for a long time, so finally she agreed to go over to her house for her birthday party on a special school holiday. Adeline wanted to do it then because she knew that she wasn't allowed to go to friends houses at all, so if Niang thought that she was just going to school like any other day, then she would get away with it. So Adeline went to her house on that Tuesday, and while she was there, they were about to have lunch, so she said that she was supposed to go home for lunch instead of eating there (since she always went home lately because the school can't afford food due to no more rations from America). She went home and she was a little to early and Niang was in her room when she got there, Niang asked her why she was home so early and she replied saying that they got let out of class early, then Niang asked her what she had in her pocket (Adeline had been flipping a silver dollar coin in her hand in her pocket) and she said nothing, so Niang grabbed it and got really mad. She claimed that she had stolen it or that her aunt had given it to her and spoiled her too much, and she didn't like that very much, Adeline didn't tell her that aunt Baba had given it to her in award for her stellar grades and performance in school. Then Wu called her house, since Adeline had absentmindedly given her house number to her earlier, and so found out that Adeline had been at a party and that there was no school that day because of a special holiday, so she made Adeline stay home after that and when her father got home, she got whipped by him with the dog's whip. Adeline was told by her parents that she was going to be moved to Tianjin away from them in Shanghai and to a school. She was very sad and disappointed with herself because she was sure that she would never see her friends ever again, and she would not probably see her aunt Baba for a long time if ever again. She flew to Tianjin with her father and Niang, and while they were on the flight, her father had to fill out a card for her to be on the plane, and he needed help because he had forgotten her name (HIS OWN DAUGHTER'S NAME!!!!!) and her birthday, she obviously knew her name, but she didn't know her birthday, because since she was a step child, her birthday was not celebrated, let alone acknowledged. Then they arrived in Tianjin and they dropped off Adeline at her boarding school. There were very few children because a different dynasty was taking control of China bit by bit, and Tianjin was soon to be on their map, and therefore all of the residents in the areas and towns that they were taking over were being persecuted or imprisoned. Pretty soon, all of the other children at this boarding school had been brought home by their parents and most likely moved away, and so Adeline was the only person there except for the sisters (nuns). One day Adeline was playing outside of the school throwing a ball up against a wall trying to get it to go as far as she could through it up, when Mother Marie said that her ant had come to get her and bring her to hong Kong the following week. Adeline was so excited that aunt Baba had finally come to get her, but when she got to the front door, it was not aunt Baba. This lady was her aunt from Niang's side, Niang's sister. So she brought Adeline to a place where they were to stay until they left for Hong Kong next week. The lady was really nice Adeline thought and she had two kids, a daughter of age 9, and a son of age 10. Adeline asked her if Niang knew that she had gotten her out of the boarding school, and she said no, that she hadn't had the chance to get a hold of her at all. Adeline was so afraid of what Naing might do when she saw her, she couldn't think of anything worse than going back to her family. They didn't want her anyways.

Outside Reading Homework Section #4 Part 1

Chinese Cinderella

Quote #1
'They had tossed me aside like a piece of garbage.' (p. 127)
Quote #2
'Now they knew the pathetic truth! Unloved and unwanted by my own parents! How long did it take
for a person to die of shame.' (p.115-116)

Said by Adeline Yen Mah's thoughts in Chinese Cinderella, these quotes show how much she really feels and is neglected. The first quote is used when Adeline had been dropped off at the boarding school, and Adeline had the realization that they were abndoning her there and didn't care about her enough anymore to even want her in the house. Then the second was used when Adeline's friends had come to her house after school and were congratulating her for winning and being nominated the President of her Class by her classmates, and all of her friends had thought that she had a loving family like the rest of them sinse she had kept her faimly issues to herself, and they saw that her step-mother beat her, and so now they all knew that and she had not wanted her friends to know any of that. These are important because they show what she is going through and how she feels in response to the actions her careless and hateful family.

Monday, October 8, 2007

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Reflection

I really have no opinion on whether I actually like the book, Diving Bell and the Butterfly, but because of the fact that we had a certain amount of it schedueled to read through a class every night for homework. It was just another assignment to worry about and I didn't enjoy it that way. I enjoy reading books, but this one truly is a different story from some of the other ones I would choose to read, and it's hard to tell if it is in a good or a bad way. The book overall was good, but it was obnoxious to me in that it was written in the style of jumping to and from the past and his prior experiences in life. I did not much like that, mainly becasue I cound never figure if he is having a dream, recalling a past experiance, or just better in the future and out of his locked-in syndrome. I know that he otherwise wouldn't have had much of anything to say at all, but just his stories of him in the hospital, and the people visiting him there could have been a better book for me to read. However, I did really like the fact that he was making it almost a comedy at the same time a tragedy. It was good that he could have fun with the story and be humorus; accepted the fact that this was the condidtion he was in, yet still at that same time, he did not ever want to give in to his paralysis. He was very good at comparing experiences and feelings to real life concepts and even items, things such as the fact that his body was a 'diving bell' yet his mind was a 'butterfly.' I think that that really helps a reader like me see and imagine what he is going through and feeling, and that is a hard concept to pull off due to the fact that he is the one with locked-in syndrome and has issues such as not even being able to tell his own children that he loves them too. So overall, I could say that I did enjoy reading the book and getting a taste and a feel for this different style of a book, I guess that it has to do with the fact that it is a biography, and that is the feel of one.

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Outside Reading Homework Section #3 Part 2

Chinese Cinderella

So far in the book, they have introduced all the characters of Adeline's family, the ones she likes and dislikes. How they get along and function as a family. All the children, except for their step-siblings, have hated their step-mother, Niang, and she has notoriously been the reason for all the commotion and anger among the family. The children's grandmother, Nai Nai, passed away when they were still living in Tianjin, and that was after father and Niang had disappeared somewhere and didn't come back for well over a year. Then they all moved to Shanghai, which was where father and Niang had been living for a year so that he could get away from the Jap Soldiers that were demanding to be his business partners. Now they lived there and went to school, Adeline had a few good friends, but they couldn't be so close because she was afraid she would get into trouble with Niang if she were to get caught playing with anyone of them. Then a few years later, big sister got engaged to be married to a man that their father had known his father.
I really feel moved by this story, mainly in that their idea of family is so much different than my experience of a family has been and my impression of a family. It really gives you a sense of what some other families and children are going through around the world, or maybe even right here in our own country. I can really connect with the fact that she had a pet duck that she was practically best friends with, not that I'm best friends with a pet, but I have a dog and a turtle that I too talk to sometimes which she quite often did. I can't really connect with the idea of hating my family though which she did, and that makes me sad and wonder what it would be like living with people that you can't wait to get away from and don't get any attention from ever. I also don't think I could live with the idea that I can't ever be with my friends outside of school because of fright that I will be punished in a big way from my step-mother, and that my biological father wouldn't do anything or try anything to help me or any of my siblings out at all.

Outside Reading Homework Section #3 Part 1

Chinese Cinderella

Summary of Section 3
At school, Adeline met one girl named Wu Chun-mei, and she was the most athletic girl at the school. They became very good friends and since Adeline would never accept a ride to or from school, out of fright that Niang may catch her and punish her, Wu Chun-mei would walk with her if she saw her on her way to or from school. Then America won World War II in 1942 when they bombed Japan, so China was now free of the Japanese soldiers that used to occupy everything. The US soldiers would come, and the children from school would go to greet and welcome them. After a little while, Hollywood came to China, so all the American actors and people became faces if China also. Then Wu Chun-mei loaned Adeline a book called A Little Princess which she'd said was one of her favorites. Adeline read the book and it was a story about a girl who was an heiress and then was on her own and with no money because she'd lost her father. One day, some family friends brought seven ducklings for a present to the children. Adeline named hers 'Precious Little Gift' or PLT for short. She grew very fond of the duck and the duck recognized that Adeline was there to take care of her and she could trust her. Then one day, she was digging up worms for PLT, and the dog bit her in the arm. Then later that same day, the dog attacked PLT who got a broken leg and died by the next morning. Her father and Niang had been going out of town on business, and had been bringing big sister with them, who later got engaged to a man she had been introduced to on one of the business trips. She had a grand wedding ceremony, during which Adeline overheard her Grand Aunt tell Niang about the necklace she had given Aunt Baba to give to big sister. Big sister had gotten the necklace and didn't want Aunt Baba to tell anyone, especially Niang, about the necklace so that she wouldn't have to give it to her. So Adeline went to tell big sister that Niang now knew that she had the necklace, who in turn went to Niang and told her that Aunt Baba had told her to not tell anyone that she had the necklace so that she could keep it. So she got Aunt Baba in trouble because she didn't want to get in trouble.

About the author
Adeline Yen Mah was born on Tianjin, China. Her mother passed away two weeks after Adeline was born. She was considered bad luck to the family because of that. Her father remarried a few years later to a beautiful French/Chinese woman, who took over the house and was mean to all the children except for her own biological children. She is now a physician and a writer. She lives in London, Hong Kong, and her home is in Huntington Beach, California with her husband and her two kids.

Photo at http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.adelineyenmah.com/falling_files/adelinesc.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.adelineyenmah.com/falling.html&h=238&w=195&sz=6&tbnid=wOBhGkrRrSVFDM:&tbnh=109&tbnw=89&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dadeline%2Byen%2Bmah%26um%3D1&start=2&ei=5jAJR6KOCZeMigGev92VDA&sig2=_Q5goqw-Bk9U0t29vBBhIA&sa=X&oi=images&ct=image&cd=2

Bibliography

http://www.adelineyenmah.com/index2.html

http://www.randomhouse.com/author/reslts.pperl?authorid=18683

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Outside Reading Homework Section #2

Chinese Cinderella

Loaded words:
--1) Mercilessly - page 36
This word is loaded because it shows emphasizes the fact that the boys were really teased. She used it for that reason, to make the teased point stand out.
--2) Loyal - page 39
This word is laoded becasue it shows that they are not only going to obey their grandfather, but also they will always be on his side. She used it to show that they will be only worried about being good to their grandfather.
--3) Daintily - page 40
This word is loaded because it explains how the other classmates so easily get around, while Adeline had to walk to school. She uses this word to show how they get it so easy while Adeline doesn't.
--4) Detest - page 44
This word is loaded becase it tells that Big brother really dislikes their step siblings tutor-nanny. She uses the word to do just that, show that the children really do dislike the nanny.
--5) Volatile - page 46
This word is loaded because it is showing the personality of big brother, and it really tells alot about him. She used it for the reason to show big brothers personality over the subject of their step mother.
--6) Spinxlike - page 47
This word is loaded because it is describing with frightning features, their step mother. She used the word to show that quality if her and how she is so scary to the children.
--7) Harrowing - page 51
This word is loaded because it intensifies the fact that so many things around her are turning against her and the ones she cares about the most. She used the word to get to the reader to be reminded of that.
--8) Paradise - page 53
This word is loaded because is tells of how Adeline visions where and how her mother is living in her heaven, and it is so much different than how Adeline is living. She used it to tell a story, but also to show that Adeline still has hope a nd belief of a better place she could be and that her mother is in a better place now.
--9) Illicitly - page 53
This word is loaded because it shows how happy her classmates are for her, and the attention she gets form her teacher and classmates. She used it to show the difference from how she feels and is treated at school versus home.
--10) Dreadful - page 55
This word is loaded because it shows how much Adeline hates her life. She uses the word because it shows that she not only hates her life, but can't tell anyone about her troubles because she feels she will never be loved again.

Summary of Section 2
Adeline and her siblings are neglected and are told that they have to walk to and from school every morning and afternoon. So they go to their grandfather, Ye Ye, and aunt and as for money for tram fares, and they get it from them. When their stepmother, Niang, found out of this that they were receiving money from their grandfather and aunt, she was very upset and said that it was good for them to walk the way to school. She told them that they could get tram fares if they came and apologized and admitted that they were wrong. Big sister and her brothers all went and said their sorrys and got their fares. But Adeline didn't want to give in and she felt that that would be disloyal to Ye Ye. The Chinese New Year is the most important holiday for them, and they all get a new wardrobe to signify the new change. So all the family got a new outfit for the celebration. The five children got very bland outfits, and their two step siblings got brilliant nice outfits. They were very upset that they always got the worse side of everything, so they got together for a meeting, and during which, plotted what they could do against Niang. They decided to write a letter in Chinese characters, which Niang never read, to their father. Then when third brother left the room to go to the bathroom, Niang was right outside the door, she had been listening to them the whole time. During dinner that night, Niang didn't seem at all bent out of shape, in fact, she seemed better than usual, which made the children worried what she was up to now. Then Niang invited big sister to move into the bedroom on their floor, which was a huge thing, since that floor was for only Niang, father, and the step siblings, she had obviously figured out that big sister was the leader and had to be seperated from the others. So big sister was just as spoiled as the step siblings now, and was really close to the tutor-nanny who she used to despise, she was on the other side now. Adeline grew even closer to her aunt, and their room was her get away place, where she always went to, and in scool she was getting extra attention now because she was especially good at writing papers/stories for class. All the girls in her class would crowd around her and talk to her about her stories, or the latest ones she had written about. However, things around home were as bad as always, she hated her life, yet she wouldn't dare tell anyone because she would never have a chance of being loved by Niang or even her own father.

My Reactions
I really feel for Adeline in this story and i can't even imaine what she is going through. And I have a lot of respect for her and her siblings for being so strong through all of this they're having to deal with. I would have gone so crazy by now, I don't even want to know what its like to live hating all of everything. The part that really gets to me is the fact that their step siblings are spoiled beyond end, while they would rather starve than live the way they are. And while all of this is going on, their biological father is home during all of this nonsense, and he is the one bringing in all of te family's income, but he doesn't and can't do anything against Niang because of tradition of the woman being the head of the house.

Outside Reading Homework Section #1

Chinese Cinderella

Summary of Section 1
Adeline received a medal/award for being top of her class. The award was written in english, so they couldn't read it yet untill she learned to read english in school. Her mom died giving birth to her, so she is considered bad luck. She has a sister and three older brothers, all older. She lives with her father, siblings, grandparents, and her aunt. everything was done and seen in French, becasue France had taken over their city of Tianjin. Because of custom, her grandmother's feet were bound when she was young, so her feet were very small and deformed. Her feet hurt so bad that she hasn't been able to run or jump since she had it done. Adeline's third brother congratulated her for her award, and her other bother was picking on her and going to beat her up becasue he was mad that she was getting the attention. Her step mother is very beautiful and because of it, her children are considered far more superior to Adeline and her siblings. Her father was very proud of her for getting the award, and that felt very good too, because she never got any attention or affection from her father. Her and her older sister would get a ride in the rickshaw to and from school becasue her older sister complained of having to walk Adeline there. At school, she felt as though she blonged there, no one looked down on her and she was included. After school gets out, her older sister takes a very long time to get to the rickshaw becuase she wants to be with her friends for longer, so Adeline and Ah Mao, the rickshaw puller, have to wait for her. Adeline was winning the award for her class every week, which displeased her siblings, but mad her father proud, and she was always happy for that. Japan had taken over most of China, so her brothers were required to take Japanese classes, and whenever they were near a Japanese soldier, they had to show their respect and bow, otherwise they would be punished. The Japanese demanded to be her father's business partners, because he had such a good business. They would come by the house daily looking for him, wearing surgical masks and carrying bayonets with sharp tips. Then her father disappeared one day, then months later, her step mother and older sister disappeared too. The Japanese came looking for her father a few more times, but then lost interest as the business went down. After her father, step mother, and sister had been missing for over a year, they had almost forgotten about them, and hr grandmother had hired several extra maids to keep the house runing. Her grandmother was soaking her feet in hot water one night, when she had a huge stroke, fainted, and died. To keep her grandmother's body company, the childern had to sleep on the floor of the room of the coffin, and there was a big funeral the next day. Six weeks after her grandmother died, her grandfather took them out, and they went to the train station where they found her father. He told them that they were going to Shanghai where he had been living in a house with step mother and their sister, becasue they wanted to get away from the Japanese soldiers. Their grandfather had to stay back in Tianjin, so they had to say bye to him for now. Their house in Shanghai is very nice and big and decorated well, they are also not to invite friends over or visit their houses either, and they have been enrolled at expensive missionary schools. In the morning, her brothers were taken to school, but seperate from her because it was in the opposite direction of her school, and her sister's school started an hour later than her's, so she was still sleeping when Adeline woke up. The cook had to bike her to school becasue she was going to be late if someone didn't bring her really soon, and the other maids had forgoten about her. After school had gotten out, nobody had remembered to pick her up, so after a whie, she just started walking down the streets not knowing where she was at all. When it had gotten dark, she went and stood outside a restaurant and a lady eventually came up to her and asked what she was doing there, so she went inside with her and used the phone and her father came to pick her up there. Her aunt, grandfather, and step siblings were schedueled to move into the Shanghai house at the end of October and she was very excited about for that. When they arrived, everyone was happy to see them, and her step siblings looked so different and bigger, her little step sister was shying away from her own mother because she was a stranger to her since she had not seen her in over a year and had been taken care of by her aunt. The little sister ran away from her mother, and when her mother picked her up, she yelled don't like you, don't want you, go away! and squirmed trying to get away. Everyone was shocked at the scene and the mother was very upset that her own daughter didn't want her. The mother startedbeating the little daughter becasue she would not stop fussing and squirming, so Adeline told her step mother to stop because she's only a baby. The step mother get very angry, saying how dare you, and to get out, and that she will never forgive her for being o arrogant.

My Reactions
I thought that the first section of this book was very well told. I could really imagine the setting, and can understand what kind of environment Adeline grew up in. I am kind of upset that the young child was getting beat, and for no reason at all, she didn't recognize her mother, therfore should not interact with her, which is exactly what she did, but she got beat up. If I were in Adeline's situation I would definitely do the same, or just say anything to stop beating the child. It's terrible that these things actually do happen even today in our world.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

This I Believe Assignment

1) A link to the essay:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4853839

2) Author:
Bill Gates

3) Title:
Unleashing the Power of Creativity

4) One sentence of what the belief is:
He believes that computers are the most incredible tool we can use to feed our curiosity and inventiveness -- to help us solve problems that even the smartest people couldn’t solve on their own.

5) 2 examples from the story that showed their belief:
~for all the cool things that a person can do with a PC, there are lots of other ways we can put our creativity and intelligence to work to improve our world.
~through our natural inventiveness, creativity and willingness to solve tough problems, we're going to make some amazing achievements for medicine, education and, of course, for technology in my lifetime.

6) 1 favorite passage:
I feel particularly lucky to do something everyday that I love to do, he calls it: "tap dancing to work."

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Sophomore Goals

This sophomore year of high school, I have an overall goal to maintain at least a B average. That will require me to work very hard to finish all homework, and spend a lot more time studying for tests and quizzes.

High School Anxieties

In high school, I am anxious about getting good grades, because I plan to go to college after high school. I also want to challenge myself, but I know that that will equire a lot of effort on my part. I am also nervous about the fact that my best friend moved to Texas this summer, so she and I won't be at the same school and therfore we won't be able to see eachother every day.