Christmas poem

I’ve crossed out my calendar every day

Black crosses are all I see

What is close, seems far away

I am as excited as one can be

Dusty boxes brought up at last

Sparkling treasures put out

Memories awakened from the past

I’m happy and want to shout

I lay awake in bed

Outside the snow is falling

The day that comes ahead

Will see Santa comes a calling

Japanese culture

Last English class, we worked with texts about Japanese English, manga and anime including English in South-East Asia. We were given the freedom to work however we wanted, witch in my opinion is an alternative more teachers should give their students. We are able to use the method that works best for each individual student, and that way we are able to increase our learning. I chose to read the texts and take notes along the way.

The tree texts we worked with were about the importance and the usage of the English language in South-East Asia. In other words, in countries like Japan, China and India, but mostly we learned about English in Japan.

Two extremely popular phenomenon’s called Manga and Anime, was something I’d heard of, but wasn’t to familiar with. Manga is the Japanese word for comics, and Anime is the Japanese word for animation. What I find most interesting about this particular subject, was how Manga and anime can interest as wide of an age specter as is does. It obviously appeals to children like the cartoons we have here, but as the text says Today it is common to see grown men reading comics in business suits on public places.

I’ve always thought Japanese was a fascinating language, and an interesting fact i found, was that the Japanese language doesn’t have the sounds of “v” and “f”. It also said that the Japanese sometimes understand English grammar better than the native speakers themselves, and the reason behind this remarkable fact is that the Japanese study English at a high and strict level.

I definitely want to learn more about Japanese culture, I find that it is so different than any culture I have seen, and therefore it intrigues me.

From book to film

Last English class we watched the movie The Kite Runner. We had just read the book and I was excited to see if the pictures I had created in my head would match the actual film. I enjoyed it a lot, but was disappointed to find that many details and events from the book were shortened and some removed. But of course I realize that when you make a book into a film, this is unavoidable.

Earlier we had written a double entry journal in order to reflect over many aspects in the book. I have chosen to compare one of the events in the book which reflected a major theme in The Kite Runner, namely, self-realization.

“Then I did what I hadn’t done in fifteen years of marriage; I told my wife everything. I had pictured this moment so many times, dreaded it, but, as I spoke, I felt something lifting off my chest. I imagined Soroya, had experienced something very similar the night of our khastegari, when she’d told me about her past.”

Throughout the entire book Amir had been keeping a big secret. It had been burning inside him and on his mind ever since the day it occurred. This was the first time Amir told anyone about it, and it is to his wife Soroya. When he finally confides in her, he realizes he should have been honest all those years ago.

Even though Soroya, earlier, disclosed a part of her life she wasn’t proud of, he avoided telling her about his dark secret. At this point it was absolutely necessary since he had to explain why he was returning to America with a small Afghan boy. This is a turning point in the book, together with Amir’s self realization being open and honest, a quality he has had difficulties with his entire life.

This part is completely cut out of the movie. We never find out if Amir tells Soroya about his past at all. I find this a shame as it was a critical moment in the book and by cutting it out, felt  the story l lost some of its essence. In the movie Amir never tells anyone about his big secret and therefore never gets closure with the incident or himself. And to be honest I find Amir to be troubled with more guilt and shame in the book than in the film.  

The Kite Runner

This semester we are reading a book called “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini.

The novel was his debut, first published in 2003, and is now a worldwide success.

The book starts when the main character Amir receives a phone call he doesn't seem too pleased about. He starts thinking about his past, and sins he had committed that had made him the person he was today.

The author takes us back to the late 70s in Afghanistan when Amir is a young boy and meet his father, Baba, a wealthy and important business man. Their relationship was very strained and Amir felt he wasn't being the son his father had hoped for as he was not interested in sports or a career like his father. All Amir cared about was writing stories and reading.

Amir's best friend, also an important character in the book, is Hassan. He is the son of their servant Ali who is also Baba's adopted half-brother. Amir and Hassan grew up together and were almost like brothers. The only problem was their background. Hassan was a Hazara, while Amir was a Pashtun. This meant that Hassan was a Sunni Muslim while Amir was a Shi'a Muslim. History and religion is not easily overlooked, therefor Amir never really saw Hassan as a friend and would only play with him when there was no one else around.

A main event in Afghanistan at the time was the annual kite tournament, hence the title of the book. Every year there would be a large competition and this was something Amir intended to win. Not for his own glory and fame, but to prove himself worthy of his father, and earn his respect.

When Amir cut the last kite in the sky, Hassan ran to catch the fallen kite, which was a huge honor together with having the last flying kite. Hassan didn't return so Amir went looking for him. He found Hassan in an ally being sexually abused by a gang of bullies Amir was familiar with. Amir was present but did nothing to help, he just hid behind a wall. This costs him their friendship as well as lifelong guilt.

Because of the problems in Afghanistan at the time, Amir and Baba were forced to leave the country, and fled to America, leaving everything behind, including Hassan and his father. After living there for many years, Amir received a call from his old friend Rahim Khan who dying. This is the same phone call with which Hosseini opened the book. Rahim Khan asks him to come back to Afganistan and see him one last time, and Amir does what he is asked. When Amir arrives he is met by a person that was once his friend but is no longer recognizable. Amir is suddenly faced with his past again, and now, for the first time, he would have to face it and take the consequeces.

This is how far I have come in the book and I am enjoying it a lot. There are a lot of things I have left out in my summary, but I feel I have given a good overlook of the book so far. I find the book both educational, and a good read. Educational because I've learned a lot about Afghanistan history and the conflicts between Hazaras and Pastuns. On the other hand I am, as I was saying, enjoying the book a lot. I find the story very good, and well written.

My favourite quote in the book is Hassan's whisper to Amir “For you a thousand times over”

I find this a beautiful thing to say, and very touching. Especially considering their past. Hassan always had Amir's back, and no matter how mean or unfair Amir was back, he never said a word.

Advice to fellow students!

In International English, we discussed an article called "Facebook hits exam results by 20 per cent". Then we were asked to write a little about it on our blog.

Here is a link to the article

In short, the article describes a study that indicates facebook may contribute to lower grades among many students.

The study showed that students who used facebook at the same time as they were working on an exam – even if just a little – had, on average, 20 per cent lower results than students who did not. 210 students between the ages of 19 to 54 were examined by researchers in America. The study determined  that Facebook users scored a grade point average of 3.06, while non-Facebook users scored an average of 3.82. Furthermore, three-quarters of those who used social networking websites while studying, did not believe it was affecting their studies in any negative manner.

This study puts in doubt a commonly held view that young people's brains are adept at performing several  tasks on electronic devices at the samt time.

Professor Paul Kirschner, author of the paper, said many students – while working with schoolwork– would have Facebook or other similar websites running at the same time. This causes distractions and while students may believe they are doing more in less time, they are in fact using more time to finish individual tasks and also are also making more mistakes.

This article is very interesting as I can relate to it to a great extent. While I recognize Facebook to be extremely distracting while trying to concentrate on my homework, it has become a very big part of  my generation's social life and is hard to shut off. The constant “checking” if anything is new for fear of missing out on something going on, has become a daily routine for many. The problem however, is that this routine appears to have a negative impact on our learning and ultimately our grades.

The lesson to be learned here is that when studying you should be studying, and that's that. Facebook and other social networks are for later and should be turned off during homework! We should really be focusing while working with assignments and exams, rather than spending twice as long on a result half as good as it could otherwise have been.

Erin Brochovich

The movie Erin Brochovich is based on a true story about a unemployed, single mother with financial difficulties and trouble finding a job based on her lack of education. After showing up at a law ferm demanding them to hire her, she finally gets lucky and is hired as a file clerk. At this point, Erins life will soon change dramatically.

One day she comes across a suspicious file, and after looking in to it a little further she discovers that the company PG&E is responsible for industrial poisoning (hexavalent chromium) of the town of Hinkley's water supply and as a result infected many residents in the city, with such as cancer. She starts fighting to bring the company to justice, and after many ups and downs they manage to not only win the case, but PG&E were orderen to pay a settlement amount of $333 million that was divided among the 634 plaintiffs.

This story is incredibly inspiring. It shows how a woman, with everything in her life going downhill, can still find the strenght to not give up and fight for both herself and others. The message in this movie is deffinately to never give up, have faith in yourself, and belive that nothing is imposible, and that one person can actullay make a difference.

Me and my expectations

I am writing this blog for a course i take, International English. Our first assignment was to write a little about ourselves, and our expectations for this year.

My name is Julia Conley, I'm 17 years old and live in Asker. I go to Sandvika highschool, and am currently in my last year. The path of study I take is media and communication which I enjoy alot. In my free time I take photoes, hang out with my friends and work at a womens clothing store.

My expectations for this year is that it will be tough, seeing as it is my last. Nevertheless I find it very important that I do well in this class, and I'm looking forward to this comming year! My father is Canadian, and I have spoken english to him since I was little. English has allways been a large part of my life.

I finished english in school last year, but I wanted to learn more, mainly because I want to study abroad and find it important in general to master this language. I also find it interesting to learn about multiculturalism and english in other countries than England and USA.