Journal #20: I love you and I will miss you!

Dear my friends:

It was about four months ago when I met most you for the first time. I remember I was very excited and looked forward to making new friends. Although now I regret not having more time to talk to you, I am sure that I was so happy to study with you this semester. Besides the differnt nationalities and cultures, your unique personalities influenced me almost every day. If I can, I would like to remember your smiling faces and the good time when we had together forever.

I fully know that you came to the U.S. with your own goals such as gaining an academic degree, improving English skills, or getting more experience. You guys often showed your passion, determination, and enthusiasm, which made me respect you. Sometimes I was worried about you when you looked tired or depressed; however, your bright faces got me to be free from the worries afterward. You might have a hard time to reach your goals, but I believe you will succeed if you could enjoy studying and living here.

Last semester I complained about the unfamiliar weather and some unkind people many times, but I can enjoy the weather and accept almost everything in California recently. I think I somewhat adjusted to this environment. If I had not met you, I must still have complained about boring things. I really missed my familiy and friends while staying here; likewise, I will miss you very much after going back to Korea. I love you and I will pray for you!

Sincerely yours,

Hyesun


P.S. I will sell my car in August before I leave here. Please feel free to ask me about my car if you are interested in it!

Anna, Elaine, Kurt and Mai

Journal #19: To the higher sky...

Before this spring semester, I considered studying at the collegiate level beacuse I would like to improve my speaking skill at that time. However, I changed my mind and decided to learn more how to wirte an essay in the advanced class. Frankly, I was not confident about my decision although I was determined to improve my writing skill. Around the half of the semester, I found that I was enjoying my classes and I had made a wise deicision.

I was really happy when I was in class. Of course, sometimes I was disappointed at my lack of English skills and discouraged by some circumstances that made me stressed out. Except for these situations, I really loved my classes because I not only studied English but also broadened and accumulated knowledge. Especially, I learned a lot in composition class, vocabulary class, and pesentation class. Moreover, the biology class always made my day, three days a week.

In addition to the variuos classes, my teachers and classmates were wonderful influences to me. The interactions with them helped me think more deeply about humans and understand other people better. In fact, it was such an interesitng experience to acquire the similarities and differences between ALP teachers and students who have different cultures. I am very thankful for thier kindness.

Despite the thought that my English skills have been improved, I still have significant problems. I have to make more efforts to be a good listener and speaker. I also have to overcome stress that could be derived from an English test such as an IBT. It will take some more time to prepare for a test; nonetheless, I believe I will do well because I obtained enough basic skills in ALP and stand on the rock. I will continue to enjoy studying English after I go back to Korea!

Michael and Ryoko

Journal #18 : Reaction - Baraka " The beauty of water"

The sea waves are surging and smashing into rocks again and again, and the raging waves raise a large amount of spray. The lake is still calm without any ripple. There is no wind around the lake, so everything doesn't move or shake an inch. The huge waterfalls are continuously pouring an enormous amount of water, and they make beautiful rainbows. In the air, the clouds spread all over the place and cover every mountain and land. They look like a bunch of cotton candies, and they are flowing like streams.

While watching the documentary, I was in high spirits although I was keeping quiet. In fact, I was extremely moved by the beautiful scenery. However, as the differnt types of water showed on the screen, I felt like I was getting smaller. Furthemore, I thought I was nothing as a tiny human in the whole Universe. It doesn't mean that I was discouraged, yet I was rather thrilled with the wonderful scenery. Then, at the end of the film, I worried that we might destroy it in the future.

After watching the film, I thought about the balance and harmony of the nature. Although water is one of the most important parts of the nature, water cannot exist alone and it has no meaning itself. When it is with other abiotic components such as soil and air, and biotic ones such as a variety of animals and plants, water is meaningful and plays its unique roles. Likewise, the balance and harmony of the nature and humans are required for our lives. I assume most people know how to keep the good connection with the nature; however, they doesn't seem to practice with determination. At this moment, I ask myself about it.

Anna, Michael, Elaine, and Kurt