Ju Hye Choi_Ch 4 Final Draft_Tues 3 4

 

                                           The Field

 

     We all have those moments where we wish it would last forever. Growing up I had to move from one place to another having to adjust in a new environment all the time. I realized nothing lasted forever. However, as a child the soccer field has always been a place I could be myself. Wherever I was, wherever my family moved to, as long as I was in the field I did not feel the need to adjust to anything. Coming to Korea for university was another transition in my life. I did not quite picture myself playing in Korea. However, it was different when I first saw the school field myself.

     It was late February when I first entered the main gate of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. To my right was a field which reminded me of a desert. The weather was not as scorching as one, it was rather cool and windy. I felt that a sudden gust of wind could easily form a sand storm and contaminate the area. It looked rather dull looking at it. It was as if the trees that surrounded the field took away all the colors. However, despite the field which resembled so much of a sand paper up close, young children and adults seemed to have no problem with the field. They somewhat looked extremely hooked on the game yelling and kicking balls at each other. They made the field seem quite alive.

     Standing on the side of the field near the main gate, I saw school buildings standing behind the cold concrete steps on the other side of the field. And to the right, there was a basketball court where busy buses and cars passed by right next to it. People were scattered everywhere and I could hear the sound of the vehicles passing by, children laughing, and people passing balls to each other all at once. The field was lively and before I knew it I found myself mesmerized by what I was seeing. Later did I taste the salty flavor and smell of the sand from the wind. It started to stuff my nose a little the more I stood there but it did not stop me from getting excited.

     I was excited to play soccer even though I knew I would be alone. I remember I would come out late at night and play by myself while there were people jogging and playing basketball in the dim light. It was the start of the many memories I shared with the field. There were days of playing soccer with little boys, days when I had friends join me in the spur of the moment and days when I got to join people playing soccer from different countries. Being in the field allowed me to meet people from all walks of life especially my dear friend whom I have spent most of the time together in the field. It became a very meaningful place to me already.

     Almost three years have passed by since then. Now I am sitting here on the cold concrete steps lost in memory as I see people jogging and playing basketball under the dark sky. Unlike the first day I saw the field, it is rather empty and chilly. But I am grateful I have a place to go to whenever I feel lost and older; a place to remind me of the days when I was young and lively. And I am grateful to have the memories here to keep me warm. 

 

 

Lee Jong-ho / Final draft / Tues 3-4

Where is the place that remains in my memory? When I thought about it, I could not come up with an answer easily. I never really liked places. Actually, I do not remember the places I went very well. After some time of deep thinking, I found the place that left relatively big impacts on me. It was the place that I did not like, rather, the place that I hated. It was the military unit where I did my service.

I remember being carried on a train. My hair was freshly shaved, and I was wearing the green military uniform. I was just out of the boot camp in Non-san. We ate the military ration for our lunch, and it was awful. After the long ride back to Seoul, the recruits were disposed. I was taken and led by a small female officer to my unit. On the small bus, there were some other recruits rode with me to our new two-year home. We were all so silent. None of us recruits dared to speak first, for we were afraid of the new officers, and were afraid of our future.

We arrived at a place. Amidst the mountains, completely shutdown from the outside world by the woods and ridges, there was my unit, the gathering of small and humble buildings, a tiny training field, and steep stairs. The moment I realized I was doomed. It was somewhere near Kyeonggi-do. The mission is classified and I cannot tell, but I think it will be sort of OK to tell that there were huge antennas. The antennas were so big that they cast shadows on half the unit - the unit itself was small, too. It was this small that running around the unit would not take more than fifteen minutes, and most of the running time would be spent on climbing up the stairs. After analyzing the place, I felt like I was comdemned in the middle of the dammed mountain. But what I saw was just the beginning of the pains to come.

I was a military translater and needed to handle the classified documents. I was introduced a bunker. The underground office that I would be spending most part of my two year service. It was the most terrible part. Air, cold and dry, since the air-conditioner was running twenty four-seven for the sake of the machines. Space, ceilings low and walls narrow. Doors, always shut and required keys to pass. Computers, so many and the light and some kind of eletromagnetics from the displays tortured my eyes. Sunshine, none. In the prison wearing the facade of a military unit, I was given the worst cell. They thought that my mission did not require much more spaces than the bunker. It was true. But a human needed more spaces than that.

The whole place was a jail to me. At first, I thought I was going to suffocate. The boot camp was a vast place. It usually took half to an hour walk to get anywhere in the boot camp. But here in the bunker, I could walk no more than a dozen steps in one direction. Outside the bunker it was not much better. The training field was very small and was occupied with vehicles. We had gym facilities but none of them worked properly. The troops had to repair the facilities constantly. Our quarters had two story beds, which I thought will soon collapse. Thankfully, that did not happen during my time. If we would leave the place only for a month untouched by human hands, the unit would look no less than a ruin. Walls had cracks, and it was worse than the hundred-year old school building which I attended in my childhood.

The food was what made me suffer, too. We did not have proper cook nor the kitchen facility. We had to order our meals from the outside food suppliers. Most of the times the meal was horrifying. They were merely not edible. The meal that my highschool offered was bad but it was worse. Meats were tough and the seasoning was too salty or too spicy. Salt was always the problem. The food was never properly salted and was one of the either way; too salty or too bland. We did not have PX either. I think that was the peak of it. The lack of PX drove everyone in the unit mad. No snacks, no cigarettes (though I did not smoke), no drinks, just nothing. So we made our driver troop to buy some extra food when he returns from the driving. But that was a rare occasion, since it need the permission from the commander. 

To top it all, I was so alone. I had no friends. Yes, I did not get along with my comrades. But all they wanted to me were to play football with them, eat a lot, sleep early, those kinds of things. I was only a private and they expected me to be a healthy, not-questioning and empty-minded hard-working soldier. I was a person far from that. I tried to. But in less than months I found myself not a good soldier. I needed some distance from other people, I hated playing sports with them, and I thought I was not so strong. It gradually got better as I spent more time with them, but still I did not like them.

The two horrible years taught me that my home is the best and most comfortable place in the world. I missed mother's caring, I missed my bedroom and my computer and my everything that I could not bring into the unit. But it also taught me to live without someone taking care of me. It helped me when I lived on my own after I finished my service. I knew how to cook, how to do the laundry, how to clean up the room, and most of all, how to live with the loneliness. Solitude makes one grow, after all. 

Soohee Oh / CH4 Final draft / Tues 11-1

A City in Peace     Whenever I looked outside, the color I saw was always green. From my room, from my school and from cars, there were trees and grasses. I lived in a small city called Abbotsford without my parents when I was in high school. There was not a once when the city became crowded with people or jammed with heavy traffics; it was such a quiet, peaceful place     There were some days I took buses to go home from my school. Then on the bus, through the bus windows, I could see some cows eating or sitting on green grasses. The slowly-moving cows seemed to make the whole place very tranquil. As I got out of the bus, what wrinkled my nose was the air filled with a smell of cowpats. On the other hand, it made me feel like I was a countryside girl. Passing by houses, I would hear "hi!"s from random neighbors who were watering their yard. The grasses then looked greener and lusher reflecting the sunlight. It seemed like not a single crime would occur in this town.     I sometimes walked to the closest 7-eleven which took about forty minutes. I had my friend with me on the walk and talking to her while walking along the trees and listening to birds tweeting was never boring but peaceful and calming. When we stopped talking, the birds filled the silence. On freezing winter days, I took a red muffler for the walk and wrapped my face with the thick, fluffy muffler. Because of the snows on the ground, she and I strongly held our hands together, with the other hand trying to keep the balance of our bodies. With reddish noses and cheeks, we either had hot chocolate or toffee nut latte from the 7-eleven. Holding the hot paper cup, I got to taste the hottest sip of the chocolate. I always thought that there was nothing sweeter than the first sip of those hot chocolate, melting down my frozen hands and body.     On sunny weekends, I went to a park with my camera. And I used to take pictures of my friends who lied on grasses and rolled around, making rustling sounds. My friends and I would be chatting for a few hours on the grass; and there was not a single pause. When the sun seemed to go down, we would go close to a lake in the middle of the park. In the lake, we often saw some big leaves and birds. After minutes, there was a beautiful, glowing sunset over the lake that made us gaze at it without a word. Watching the sunset with a gentle breeze was a motivation in my life, feeling thankful to have those moments.     All the memories in Abbotsford remind me of peace - the cows, fresh air and green grasses. I felt the years I studied abroad were like a three-year vacation. Now living in one of the busiest cities in the world, I wish I could go there again and feel the calm atmosphere that could refresh me.

final draft

 

      An unforgettable place

 

    Dawood Muhammad/ Final Draft Ch 4/ Tues 3-4

 

      A lush green garden located 5 kilo meter away from my house,attracted me in my childhood.Garden contains variety of fruit trees like, guava,pomegranates,oranges and lemons etc.The both sides of the garden 's view delighted my eyes the most.At the one side long trees were standing in the rows,and on the other side of garden, a small swimming pool ,a round shaped and well designed with painted walls like mirrors, was erected to swim.In front of swimming pool was a large field ,with flat level and nice pitches to play the games like football , cricket and hockey etc. 

                                                                                                            In the evening,when sky seems dark, light breeze blows and the leaves flicker gently in the breeze, children and young ones used to flock into the playing ground to play different games.I still feel that breeze which sometime caused me to shiver with cold.

     Wearing sports suites and shoes ,riding the bicycle to reach the play ground to play cricket with my friends were great moments of my childhood.I never forget the faces of my friends who used to play cricket with me.Every one seems busy in the playing ground,shouting and clapping for others , making noise, when the cricket match used to start.I remember,it used to instill into me a new spirit of fighting in the match as if I am alone enough among the 11 members of my team to dominate over other team.After winning the match ,celebrating as if we have won the world cup, was the daily routine of my childhood.

    After match finishes, we get into the garden ,which looks to me as haven, to pluck the oranges from trees gossiping with friends ,were amazing moments of my life.Sun is near to set in,standing in the rows to wait for our term to plunge in to the swimming pool used to create a thrill and sense of joy in me.Water in pool shines like pearls, and my eyes blinking due to that shine,always used to create a fascinating view of swimming pool. The noise in swimming pool creates the atmosphere as i am listening the melody song. Whenever I play my cricket match ,It drifts away my thoughts to my childhood and reminds me the garden and its surroundings.

      Returning back to home after the sun setting in West, and horizon looks like gloomy , used to make me upset and wish to stay more there and not to leave it as if ,it was my home.I still considers that place to my second home, which gave me very valuable moments in my life. Many a times, I got accidents while driving the bicycle to go to play cricket,it happened rather due to my carelessness or passion for cricket.Even now,i can not define the specific reason which caused the accidents.The only thing I know, were the worries on the faces of my parents after the accidents.They often told me to ride the bicycle with low speed but, i never listened to them and continued to ride as i did before.

     It was my wish to stay there for entire my life and to enjoy the moments more there.The nature did not allow me to stay there any more.My father was the civil servant ,got the promotion and was appointed to another city.Our family had to leave that wonder full place which provided me great memories of my life. It caused a great pain and anguish to leave the place like haven and friends.After the passage of time, It made me to realize world's suffering, and to learn a lesson to face the challenges, and to remain steadfast in difficult time .I am lucky,i am still in touch of with those friends who shaped my life in a excellent way,and furnished the opportunity to dream.whenever i go to my country,i visit that place in order to recall my memories.It generates enthusiasm to live this life happily and face the challenges of future.I miss that garden and it surroundings a lot!   

 

 

 

 

 

Han Gyul Kim/Chapter 4 final draft/Tues3-4

Meaningful place

201200909 Han Gyul Kim

When I went into my room in upstairs of the house I used to live, the first thing I could see was the sunlight shining down on me through the window and dust floating. I also could see a few pieces of furniture. One side of the wall was inclined because it was a part of the roof of our mansion, and that made the room look smaller. Actually, it was more like an attic rather than a room. Right next to the door was my white desk with blue drawers and a blue desk chair. On the right side of the desk, there was my cozy bed, which was my favorite place in the room, with a dark gray cover which I loved very much. Between the desk and the bed, I had a small three tier bookshelf which could only contain about twenty books or so. It wasn't the perfect ideal place I have always dreamed of, but it gave me many memories that still make me smile.

My room looked little different with others; the only window in my room was placed in the ceiling. More specifically, it was at the center of the celing, so I could see it when I was lying on the bed. The window reminds me of one day of June, 2011. It was the day the total lunar eclipse happened. I thought it would be so cool to watch the eclipse in the attic through the small window in the ceiling. The eclipse was expected to start at 3:30 a.m., so I planned to wake up around 3:00 a.m. and watch it through the window, lying on my bed. Fortunately, I succeeded waking up in the middle of the night as I planned, so I waited for the moon to wane. However, what I could see was just a moon I already know, but only a little brighter. Unfortunately, I was so sleepy by then and just fell into sleep before the actual eclipse started. I still regret missing what could be the unforgettable scenery.

Anyway, it was a strange room liked by nobody in my family, since it was boiling in summer and freezing in winter. In winter, I could somehow manage to live in the room because I had a bed with an electric heat pad, which I still sleep on. No matter how cold the room was, my bed was the warmest place in my house and that made me so frustrating to get out of my bed in every morning. In summer, the room was like burning hell since I couldn't install an air conditioner. The temperature was like two or three degrees higher than downstairs. It was humid and hot like a sauna. So I had no choice but to turn on a fan all day.

Rainy days were the worst, especially in summer. It was hot, but I couldn't open the window because it was at the ceiling. If I opened the window, rain would just fall down right to my bed. But there was an unusual thing that I liked about rainy days. Although rain made the room so hot and humid, the sound of it striking the window was pretty good. It was like a soothing, rhythmical music without any melody. Falling asleep with the sound of the rain is still one of the greatest experiences of mine, though it would have been better if my room wasn't hot.

Not only the sound of rain, but the fact it was my first own room made the room as a meaningful place. Before I moved to upstairs, I couldn't have my own room. Since I have three siblings - two brothers and one sister-, I always had to share the room with my brothers. For a teenage boy, it was a big stress not to have a room to spend time alone. For example, my younger brothers fought almost every day, and it was hard for me to ignore those fights because they were arguing right next to me. They screamed, screamed and screamed. Consequently, I ended up fighting together with them. Indeed, the fact that I got my own room was a big happiness for me.  

It is meaningful for me not only because it was the first room I had for myself. I have a lot of happy memories with my friends in the room. Because the room was a separated space with downstairs where my other family members were living, I used to invite my friends to my room regardless of date and time. Almost every weekend, seven or eight friends of mine visited my room and spent time together. Sometimes they had sleepovers in my room; they stayed until late night, and spent the whole night talking and playing games. Eventually, it became the place we all love, and I loved the room where my friends were.

Now I don't live there anymore; a year ago, I moved to another house I live now. In the new house, my windows are at the right place like other ordinary rooms. It isn't boiling or freezing which makes the room more comfortable for me and my cat to live. However, it doesn't feel the same with the room I used to stay in my old house. I miss the room and all the small memories I had in that room.

 

Gui Hwan Kim / CH 4 Final Draft / Tue 3 4

Civic Hall

This place is a meaningful and very private place to me. Only one person can be in this place at one time. Other people can be in this place, but it can only be a truly meaningful place to me. This place moves when I want it to move and has been with me to many places. This place is the driver's seat of my old car.

         Upon entering college my sister gave me her old car because she longer needed it. My cobalt blue four door Honda Civic sedan was a bit old with a few dents and bruises around the car. My sister punched in a few scratches on the front and rear bumpers. One day while trying to park the vehicle in a tight parking spot, she scratched the whole left side of the car. She decorated the side of the car by etching in a bright yellow streak from front to back. The interior was bland with not much color. The interior was all grey tone, and no other colors can be seen except for the colored lights on the dash board. The seats were grey linen seats with just enough cushioning just enough to prevent bruises while speeding through a speed bump. The seats were worn out and gave off a vague scent. I call this scent "time" because it was a mix of a lot of smells that have been soaked into the seats over a long period of time. The scent welcomes me when I ever enter the vehicle.   

The driver's seat was always clean with no bread crumbs or garbage lying around. The seat was perfectly set for a comfortable cruise. I set the seat just right so that it felt like the seat was hugging me from the back when I sit down. When I sit in the seat, the audio interface is within arm's length reach. The driving experience and the audio is what made this cozy place of mine meaningful. It may only have a volume knob and track skip buttons, but to me it was like the audio interface professionals use at recording studios or at concerts. The moment I sit down in my seat I get ready for another meaningful drive and another sold out concert.

         Every day I would take my car to school and I would always have my phone ready to play music through the audio system. I always made a playlist with songs I knew the lyrics to. Every day driving to school or to wherever I would head to, I had a mini-concert of my own in my car. No one can hear me, just me and my loyal imaginary fans. Listening and singing by myself in the car relieves all my stress and fatigue. I can be whoever I want to be. I could exit the parking lot by being Freddy Mercury and then arrive at school as the Backstreet Boys. I listened to all genres of music. I am horrible singer outside of the car, but while driving I sing like a 10 time Grammy Award winning singer. At traffic stops I would use empty water bottles as my microphone and play the air guitar rocking my head side to side. Sometimes when I am excited I become a world famous DJ. The audio buttons and the volume knob is the turn table. I crank the volume up and down to the beat of music imagining I am remixing at a famous club.

         Sometimes when I've had a bad day, or just feeling down from the rainy Vancouver weather I would go for drive. Listening to music along with the sound of raindrops hitting the windshield helps me make me smile. When I am angry and mad it helps me to be patient and understanding. When I am in situation of making decisions, sitting in the driver's seat helps me make wiser choices. It is place where I can express myself and also control my emotions.

         It wasn't only music that I listened to. I often listen to hockey games through the radio. I still remember the AM dial. It was AM 1040 Team AM. They would broadcast every home game. Tickets were hard to get, so I could not go to many games, but sitting in the driver seat with the broadcast on, feels just like I was in the arena. When I open the windows and let the cold winter air flow in, it feels like just like the hockey arena. When a player is on a breakaway I would sway my body side to side just a hockey player would skate. My body would move to wherever the broadcaster said the puck would be. I would sing along to the rants and cheers and yell when our team gets scored on. Sitting the driver seat with cold winter air and live commentary, I was there at the game.

         Unfortunately I had to sell the car as I left Canada for Korea, and my self-made concert hall is no longer with me, but luckily my father lets me use his car sometimes. It was my first car and the most memorable one. I will never forget all the emotions I let out in that little seat. I still have the playlists from those days and still listen to them once in a while. I hope the new owner of the vehicle can experience all the joy I had experience from that seat.

Soeun Yoon/ Chapter4 Final draft/ Tuesdays34

Life in Michigan     My family moved to the state of Michigan, the United States, in 2003. We arrived there on a very hot summer day of June. I will never forget the day when I first climbed up the stairs to the apartment where my family was to stay for a year. Running up the stairs with great anticipation, my heart was fluttering at the thought of living in a new home. Everything looked and felt different. In our backyard, the dazzling sunlight streamed into the lush forest and I could breathe in fresh air from the abundant trees. Even the smell of the freshly painted walls in my new room gave me an adrenaline rush. But such feelings of excitement did not last very long. Being an only Korean student in my school, my first few months in the new country brought me an endless chain of challenges and hardships. However, by overcoming these difficulties, I could find great joy in learning a new language and gain a lifetime of memories I will never forget.   A week after my arrival in Michigan, I was immediately enrolled in a public school near my neighborhood which was a tiny little rural town called Okemos. Unlike people nowadays who have lots of opportunities to study abroad, there were not many Asians, let alone Koreans who were living in the eastern United States ten years ago. But since I had to mingle with people from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds using the common language, English, I had no choice but to quickly grasp how to speak English for communication. For the first few months in my new school, I avoided talking to other students because it was frustrating not to be able to understand or respond to what they were saying. I was always tense and living on my nerves, afraid that somebody would approach me and ask me a question. But I soon realized that I had to do something about this situation which was haunting me day and night. I had to stop hiding behind the shadow of my language barrier. Eventually, I decided to take on the attitude of a learner and accept the fact that I was a foreigner in this country without language abilities. I stopped avoiding people, but instead, approached them first. I asked people for help when I didn't know how to solve a question in class and I made new lunch buddies in school. As I was getting more used to the new environment, my language skills also showed a big improvement in the course of time. Soon, I was speaking English just like any eight-year-old native speaker. I had overcome my language barrier.   Although I had become more comfortable with the new language, I still had to speak Korean when talking to my parents because both of them were not very fluent English speakers. Thus, I repeated the daily routine of speaking English with my friends and teachers in school and talking to my parents in Korean back at home. This was how I became bilingual in English and Korean. Even when I returned to South Korea in 2005, I tried my best to maintain my English fluency while readjusting to a brand new life in Korea. As for me, English was a gift I earned from my two-year stay in the United States and I never wanted to lose it. My experiences in the United States also enlightened me on some of the most effective ways to surmount a language barrier and to quickly grasp a foreign language. One method I found very effective is exposing oneself as much to the foreign cultures. I learned by experience that learning a language not only involves the language itself, but it also concerns accepting a new culture and interacting with new people. That is, accepting new cultures and showing active participation in them is crucial in learning a new language. Instead of rejecting cultures that differ from our own and considering them as something wrong, we need to exercise tolerance to foreign cultures. We must bear in mind that understanding a country's unique cultures can significantly help us successfully acquire their language. Likewise, during my stay in the United States, I made conscious efforts to actively participate in the traditional American cultures by celebrating holidays which were not celebrated back in my native country, such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Easter. Such efforts later proved their effectiveness in bolstering my understanding of English and securing fluency in it.   Upon moving to a new country, I initially suffered from a deep slump as I had been isolated from my peers due to a language barrier. I had even begged my parents to take me back to South Korea where I thought I belonged. But, after acknowledging the fact that I had to adjust to my new life in Michigan, I started out from a step. I tried to view my American classmates with an unbiased eye and constantly tried to get along and fit in with others. I also made conscious efforts to think and to act like an American, celebrating their culture and mimicking their way of speaking. Eventually, I surmounted my language barrier and got over one of the most difficult crises in my life.

Jang Sung Young/ Ch.4 draft 2/ tues 11-1

When I was a kid, I liked the feeling of a late afternoon breeze. The slowly dimming lights, the smell of fresh grass and cool wind was all that took to make a perfect ending on a hard day. My brother and I went for a short ride on our bikes after dinner, just before the sky became too dark to see anything. We always waited for the moment to go out on our bikes at the end of the day. On our bikes we would usually ride around in our neighborhood, but sometimes we would go all the way to our elementary school. To me this school is one of the most memorable places.

 

I went to an elementary school in a suburban area in the middle of Texas, so the school grounds were quite big and there were a lot of people. My mom would always drive me to school and we would get off at the main doors, where everybody got off. The school was sort of shaped like a big 'T' with a spacey corridor in the middle. There was a cafeteria on the right side, a gym on the left, and a library in the far end of the corridor. The school grounds did not have a sandy playground like they have in Korea, but instead had a lot of grass everywhere. When I attended school there, my friends and I would always run around like crazy at school. Recess time was especially an energetic time for us. We loved the vast plains of grass and the small playground we had.

 

Elementary school is where I made my first friends and where all my American best friends were. I don't keep in touch since I'm so far away, but I still remember the great times we had running around in school and also around the neighborhood. Some of my best memories I have of the school are the great times I had with my childhood friends. Even though I cannot keep in touch anymore, I always cherish the memories, as they have become a large part of my memories of my childhood, and of the US.

 

I remember this place more than anything because I was not able to say goodbye to anyone before I left. My family had to move to another part of the state before moving back to Korea and I wasn't able to tell anyone because it was during summer break and we were in a hurry. I regret that I wasn't able to say a proper goodbye, I was too young at the moment to understand the consequences of moving and transferring to another school. If I had been able to see them one last time, I might have been able to keep in touch with all my friends there, but when I think of my school once in a while, all I can do is remember the good times.

 

After moving to a new school, our family came back to our old neighborhood to just look around. Most of the time we just swept by in our car, looking at the view through the windows. One afternoon, we took our bikes to the old neighborhood for a final ride before returning to Korea. I rode hard and fast, just as I always had during my many days there. I rode until it became dark and it was impossible to ride anymore. I headed back to the car tired, but happy, happy I had been able to ride once again. With that, I wasn't able to see my old neighborhood, ever again. 

Na Shil Hwang / Second Draft / Tues 11

The View

If I were to think of back home and back in my school years, I would always remember my body forming countless drops of perspiration from the humid air around me which was so difficult to resist from the stickiness. Every morning I would go to school but the in the mornings, the sweat drops did not form as much as you think it would since the air has risen up the day before. At school, students young and little will busily scurry their feet toward their classrooms. I could smell of the fresh cool air before the rise of sunshine at its peak which is one of the best things to breathe in before first period. While moving my feet quickly along towards my first period, I would pass an area on purpose to always see the atmosphere filled with fog before my eyes.

"Hey do you want to see something cool?"

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Follow me."

As soon as I arrived after a few minutes following my middle school friend, my jaw dropped and I could feel myself oohing and ahhing standing in front of a spectacular view. This view was difficult to describe in words when I had first seen it. Before middle school, we were not allowed to go far from our classrooms since it was dangerous that we might get lost. It was a freedom given only after becoming older and to be able to be more responsible. I met this place first in middle school, without a doubt falling in love with it the moment I had seen it.

On the back of the view, there was the gym and below the gym were the locker rooms. Every time I had PE, I was able to enjoy the view of Manila while before and after changing for class. Standing at the edge of the hill, where the landscape can be seen was always view unforgotten. Whenever I stood at the edge of the cliff top, a few more steps could lead to disaster, however always being careful but always trying to grasp the moment of silence around the area, my eyes would close automatically trying to feel the distance. Every time I was able to see the wide space around me, my body would relieve itself from tension. My feelings would always change after I saw this place whether if I was stressed, upset, or sad. Looking at the world around me at a faraway point of view, I could smell the calming breeze and taste the warm rich air. I could taste something like mint which gave a soothing feeling.

The last time I went was a couple years ago, and as always, in this cliff top, many things happened and even many students were there. Everything was as I remembered, nothing had changed from my memory. I was able to start the day by looking down from this place and enjoying the view of Manila from it. Not only that, Manila had not seem to change at all. What I would always see on top of all the buildings and constructions, was a fog, a greyish white fog that always presided especially in the early mornings where the sun was not at its fullest shine If I were to choose the first place to visit if I ever went back to school, it would not be the classrooms, the swimming pool, the auditorium, or the gym. I would first of all visit this place, an area without a particular name, but where everyone could see the outspread landscape of Manila.

The best thing about this place was not only its view in the morning. When I had chances to go to it at night, I could see the small and shiny white and yellow lights on every building and every house. One of its special features, on the 31^st of December every year, the sky would be filled with red and yellow popping lights high and low. Some would shine so brightly, in the midst of all darkness, you can see everyone's faces lighting with excitement.  I would most definitely recommend this place if anyone wanted to see Manila from the outskirts. 

Choi Yun/Second Draft/Tues 34

Crying Rock

The bright moon sits down on the shallow lake where I could even see the pebbles and carp in it. The tranquil water reaches to the lakeside, which is lined with knee-high water plants. The scent of the grass on the riverbank wafts through the air and tickles my nose. A huge rock between water plants hangs over the lakeside, letting me to climb aboard it. It is a beautiful place indeed which is one of the most favorite haunts of many romantic couples, however, to me, it is a place where I can lean in hard times. Although I did not visit there nowadays, but I used to go there once.

About a year ago, I was just a common third grade who wanted to enter one of the most prestigious universities. But it was especially hard for me since I had spent overly long stormy period of adolescence unlike the smart students. The difference between grades was significant. To catch up with those competitors, I did not have 5 hours' sleep in two years. I studied at a reading room until the closing time, 2 a.m, slept at three, and woke up early in the morning. And my radius of action was the school and home only. My daily routine like a treadmill did not changed without any exception. As if rewarding my strong will and great efforts, I achieved remarkable development of my grades. However, this ascending current was not stable. Since my life at that time was all about studying, my fluctuating academic grades completely dominated my emotion.

One day I totally messed up a mock, and I could not suppress my feelings and could not devote myself to studying. It was necessary for me to find something that could divert me. But I could not find what to do, so I walked on as fancy led one without any other choice. My feet led me to the one and only lake in where I live. I walked and walked again around the lake, fighting back my tears. Then the rock appeared in front of me and I mindlessly went it up. The sight over the rock was so beautiful that I could not help but burst into tears. Staring the moon shaping an imperfect circle, I felt a sense of kinship. Both of us were failing to achieve their own dream. The imperfect moon was pouring its soft light. The moonlit embraced me by the way that even my mother could not. The chirping of crickets seemed that they were crying, sympathized with my sorrow. The chilly wind made me adjust my dress, helping me not to be caught by the people passing by that I was crying. After I discovered the rock, I invariably went to see my rock and cried in front of him, not only whenever I got terrible grades but also whenever I was in trouble.

I had spent a great deal of time with the rock. The rock was a fine man indeed who stood by me whenever I needed. He was someone who understood me without a word. He was also very dependable like a condemned criminal, holding his tongue until his death. Thanks to the rock in the lake, I could go through such a difficult and heart wrenching time.

 

Bo-won Kim/ second draft/ tues 3-4

Sunshine was coming through the windows in the bus with the breeze blowing my hair. I was on my way to my friend's house. She is a friend of mine from a high school. We spent years studying and hanging out together. We know each other's secrets and we shared everything. But as time went by, we were busy dealing with our own lives so we gradually drifted apart. It was the day we finally made it a promise to meet. I was very nervous feeling both shyness and awkwardness at the same time.

 The bus was so crowded and people in the bus started to bump into each other as it got more and more crowded. Girls next to me giggled and talked all the way to their destination. The man standing across me talked into his phone with a loud voice. Boys at the back seat were making fun of each other that in the end got into a little fight. So imagine how noisy the bus would have been. As everyone is breathing heavily in the bus and as no one was opening the window for they didn't want the cold air from an air-conditioner to get out through the window, the bus was full of carbon dioxide. However, the air in the bus was not cold enough to make me satisfied with the situation. I got annoyed by the humid air and loud noises.

 The people in the bus were usually students and mostly middle and high-school students. Several bus stops went by and these annoying conditions continued until the bus came to a place called 'Bank Intersection'. The place was named for four banks' existence at an each intersection road. The bus stopped there and suddenly almost all the people in the bus were gone. This is because lots of private educational institutes gathered at the 'Bank Intersection' and since most Korean students go to these institutes; the place was very well-known.

Kids got out of the bus and dragged their bodies to their destination which would probably have been private institutes. However tired they might have been, they were looking at each other and laughing. Watching kids giggle and talk to each other on their way to private institutes from the window, I could not hide my smile coming from the memory of mine. I was also one of the students who had been lingering around at the place when I was a high-school student. I hated to go to these institutes since it was like a living hell to me. But I had to go because it is kind of a duty for many Korean students to take private lessons besides school education.

Looking back on those days, almost every day was same. After I finished a dinner at a school cafeteria, my friend and I brushed teeth and got ready to go to institutes located at the 'Bank Intersection'. Since the place was not very far from my school, we walked there, talking and having fun together. However, as soon as we got there, all of our energies were drawn out from our bodies and suddenly we felt tired. I went to the institute where they teach both math and science. The place was all white, which reminded me of hospitals. Entering the place, I could hear the bell ringing from the bell tied to a door. The smell of woods struck me every time I walked down the hall. At that time there were only boys' high-schools and girls' high-schools around my town and I was also a student from a girls' high-school. There were many boys in the institute since they teach only math and sciences and because I couldn't see any boys from my school, it was the only place I could encounter boys. For this reason, there were many students with a blushing looks and a face of bashfulness.

The bus stopped at my destination and my friend had been waiting for me at the bus stop. I ran into her as soon as I saw her. She greeted me with that face I had missed for years. I could not stop thinking of back when I was high-school since I passed the 'Bank Intersection'. We talked all day about the old days and had a great time as if we were high-school students I'd seen back at the bus.

It was like a living hell at that time but the place was rather a very valuable place, now I think of it. It is where I have spent half of my life and the place is full of my teenage memories that I could not have gained otherwise. I plan to go there some time and look back on the time I have spent.

 

Seon Hyuk Im / Ch.4 2nd Draft / Tues 11am

Color of Sunset

           A large oak tree is seen on a front lawn of the house across mine. There's a wooden box on top. It has a door, a window, and a ladder going up. It's a tree house. I've always wondered how it would feel like having a tree house, a special private place for myself. Many people have this so called "special" place of their own. I used to live on an island called Guam, and since there were many places that could be private and quiet, I really liked living there. My meaningful place was the beach in front of a hotel.

           There are many beaches on Guam since it's an island. There are many tourists since it's a beautiful tropical island. There are many people on the beach since people like the view of the clear blue endless ocean. There are many people on the beach because it's relaxing but also fun. I was one of those many people who liked the tropical island, who liked the endless blue ocean, who liked to have fun playing volleyball then lying down on the soft sand, relaxing. This beach, specifically the beach in front of Outrigger Hotel, which is the hotel in the middle of the busy tourist location which has many duty free shops and hotels around. I really liked this beach because of the location. It always had many people, many events, and many things to watch like volleyball games or people surfing on the sea.

           While many people would prefer quiet places like a tree house, I prefer a place with many people, with many noises, with no time to be alone. I like a place where there are people everywhere you look, where there are many conversations going all at once, where I feel like I am around people. On this beach, there were always Japanese and Korean tourists playing on the beach, splashing water, swimming in the water, or building sandcastles. There were also many people who would be lying down on the soft sand, tanning. If I look around even more, there would be local Guam people playing volleyball or having a barbeque. They do have amazing barbeques when they're fully set. The scent of the meat cooking over the grill was and will always be a delightful scent to me. I would just enjoy watch everyone do their own thing, or sometimes, I'd bring my friends and hang out with them.

           "No! You're robbing all of my money! Why'd you have to build a hotel on this block! I hate this game!" On the last day I spent on Guam, I was on that beach playing monopoly with my 2 best friends. Although this game was a game of breaking friendships and cursing at each other, it was fun watching each other get angry and seem like all hope is lost when one goes bankrupt. It was around 6:30 pm, with the beautiful orange red sunset at the end of the ocean. There were people having a barbeque next to us, and people enjoying a game of volleyball on the other side. I lost the game though, I never won. I'd always end up being the angriest person and cursing like there's no tomorrow.

           I enjoyed my last day watching my best friends getting angry and watching what Guam people enjoy the most. In Korea, there is no place as great as that, where I can enjoy watching people relaxed and enjoying themselves.

Jieun Kim/ Chapter4 Second Draft/ Tues11-1

           I was 8 years old when I first visited my aunt's house in South Carolina. It was not a family trip. Only my brother and I flew on the airplane without our parents. It was not a usual experience for an 8 and 10year old children to go on a trip without adults. Even before the airplane departed I shed tears and told my brother, "I miss my parents so much." It was a very long and lonely flight. I was almost terrified by the fact that there was no one to depend on in this large plane.

          After a long 14 hours of flight, we finally landed on the airport of Atlanta and met my aunt and uncle. My uncle, an American soldier, loved us very much and was very happy to see us. We drove for another hour or so to arrive at my aunt's house, which was located in the Fort Jackson Army base. And after a few days of trying to get rid of the jet lag, we went to visit the Youth Camp. My brother and I registered and started going the day after.

           To describe the Youth Camp for a little bit, when you enter the building there was this huge gym on the left. This gym was also used as a cafeteria where students would come and eat breakfast and lunch. At this very moment, I can almost hear the students chatting and smell delicious food being served. It was certainly a place filled with laughter. In addition, on the right, there was a teenager room. By saying teenager room, it literally meant "room for teenagers" and students over 12years old were allowed. There was no room for junior students like us and we could just use all the rooms except the teenager room. Right across the teenager room was the snack bar where you could buy ice cream or crackers. I remember buying my favorite ice cream sandwich. The chocolate biscuits on the outside and the vanilla ice cream on the inside tasted like heaven. And behind the snack bar were all kinds of rooms including the game room, arts and crafts room, karate room, and so on. In the backyard of the Youth Camp, there was a parking lot and a place for students to gather around and hang out.

           When I first started going to the Youth Camp, my brother and I were the only Koreans and most of them were African American. Therefore, for us, "Are you Japanese? Are you Chinese?" was a common question. But they never got to guess that we were Koreans because they did not have the slightest knowledge about Korea. During the 2months in the camp, I introduced them a lot about Korea. I introduced them how to play with the jackstone, which is Gongi, a Korean traditional game. Also, I taught them how the Korean character looks and one of them even said that she would get a tattoo of "자유", which means freedom in Korean.

           After spending my summer vacation in the Youth Camp, I was so sad to return to Korea, despite the fact that I was terrified to come here at first. Therefore, I almost annually visited the camp during the summer vacations when I was in elementary school. Now, I do not have an opportunity to go there and register again but one day I truly wish to visit the camp and pull out some old memories.  

Jihee Won/ Second Draft

To tell you the truth, I am not good at geography, so I cannot point out locations of the major cities in Korea. However, I exactly know where Gyeongju is. It is the city where I spent my childhood for 3 years. It makes me to smile when I think of the place. These days, even kindergarteners are busy attending so many academies but when I was in their age, I had lots of free time: I only attended an art academy because my mother, who worked as a computer graphic designer, wanted me to learn art. The academy was 10 minutes walk from our house but way back to home took me more than 40 minutes because I always stopped by at a reservoir and a farm near it, even if it was a rainy day.

More than 10 years passed but I clearly remember way to the reservoir: on the roadside, there was a pathway to the reservoir and starting from counting 1,2,3.. to almost 400, I could arrive at the small farm. There were puppies, chickens, and a black goat. The farm was always noisy filled with sounds of animals: "Bow wow!", " Cluck Cluck!". "Hi my friends! How have you been?" I I always spent time playing with them. I got familiar with Mrs. Yoon, the owner of a farm and when my chicks grew too much that I couldn't raise them in my apartment anymore, I took them to the farm. After visiting the farm, I walked about ten minutes and finally arrived at the big reservoir. Near the reservoir, it was filled with clovers so I sat down to find if there are four-leaf clovers , with my eyes wide opened. And the reservoir was like a mirror: it reflected the landscape around it and I was touched by the wonderful scenery. I often dreamed swimming at that wide reservoir once I become a good swimmer. I sat on the grass and took out my sketch book and color pencils to draw the reservoir, doing my best to depict the place , imagining as if I was a professional artist.   

When I arrived home and finished dinner, me and my brother went to reservoir with my mom to take a walk. Yes, I visited the place twice a day because I loved that place so much. There are lots of stories related to it, but to tell you about the most impressive one, there were trifoliate orange trees near the reservoir. And the tree's leaves are food for yellow swallowtail butterfly so there were countless caterpillars. We took them to our home and feed them fresh leaves every day. Several weeks later, they were in the pupal stage, tying themselves to the tree and not moving themselves as if they were dead. I cannot forget the day when I first saw a butterfly coming out from the pupa: I stepped into balcony, where we placed caterpillar cage, and then I saw a beautiful butterfly pulling out itself from the pupa! Not many people have seen a caterpillar-pupa-butterfly stage by their own eyes! Gyeongju was a place where I could experience beauty of nature directly.

I became eight years old and I entered elementary school. The same year, my father was promoted and we had to move to Seoul. Leaving my friends was sad, but leaving the place filled with special memories was much hard to me. When I entered high school, my family had a chance to visit Gyeongju. When we arrived, we heard that the reservoir was gone few years ago due to redevelopment projects. Although the place filled with my childhood memories doesn't exist right now, I cannot forget about the place because my memories are still alive.  

second draft

    An unforgettable place

 

    Dawood Muhammad/ Second Draft Ch 4/ Tues 3-4

 

   A lush green garden located5 kilo meter away from my house attracted me in my childhood.Garden contains variety of fruit trees like, guava,pomegranates,oranges and lemons etc.The both sides of the garden 's view delighted my eyes the most At the one side long trees were standing in the rows,and on the other 

a small swimming pool ,a round shaped and well designed with painted walls like mirrors was erected to swim.In front of swimming pool was a large field ,with flat level and nice pitches to play the games like football , cricket and hockey etc.In the evening, when sky seems dark, light breeze blows and the leaves flickers gently in the breeze, children and young ones used to flock into the play ground to play different games.I still feel that breeze which sometime caused me to shiver with cold.

 Wearing sports suites and shoes ,riding the bicycle to reach play ground to play cricket with my friends was great moments of my childhood.I never forget the faces of my friends who used to play cricket with me.Every one seems busy in the play ground shouting and clapping for others ,creates a up roaring and lot of noise when the cricket match used to start.I remember,it used to instill into me a new spirit of fighting in the match as if I am alone enough among the 12 members of my team to dominate over other team.After winning the match ,celebrating as if we have won the world cup was the daily routine of my childhood.

 After match finishes, we get into the garden which looks to me as haven to pluck the oranges from trees gossiping with friends ,were amazing moments of my life.Sun is near to set in,standing in the rows to wait for our term to plunge in to the swimming pool used to create a thrill and sense of joy in me.Water in pool shines like pearls, and my eyes blinking due to that shine.The noise in swimming pool creates the  atmosphere as i am listening the melody song. Whenever I play my cricket match ,It drifts away my thoughts to my childhood and reminds me the garden and its surroundings.

Returning back to home after the sun setting in West, and horizon looks like gloomy , used to make me upset and wish to stay more there and not to leave it as if ,it was my home.I still considers that place to my second home, which gave me very valuable moments in my life. Many a times I got accidents while driving the bicycle to go to play match,it happened rather due to my carelessness or passion for cricket.Even now,i can not define the specific reason which caused the accidents.The only thing I know, was the worries on the faces of my parents 

after the accidents.They often told me to ride the bicycle with low speed but, i never listened to them and continued to ride as i did before.

It was my wish to stay there for entire my life and to enjoy the moments more there.The nature did not allow me to stay there any more.My father was the civil servant ,got the promotion and was appointed to another city.Our family had to leave that wonder full place which provided me great memories of my life. It caused a great pain and anguish,it was terrible to leave that paradise and friends.After the passage of time, It made me to realize world's suffering, and to learn a lesson to face the challenges, and to remain steadfast in difficult time .I am lucky,i am still in touch of with those friends who shaped my life in a excellent way,and furnished the opportunity to dream.whenever i go to my country,i visit that place in order to recall my memories.It generates enthusiasm to live this life happily and face the challenges of future.I miss that garden and it surroundings a lot!   

 

 

--

 Muhammad Dawood Zafar

Mobile No:+821022616635

 Fax  No :   +8223735283

Yujeong Suh/ Cha4 Final draft/ Tues 3-4

The Hidden Place

201301616 Yujeong Suh

 

I used to live in the forest of apartment buildings. Wherever looking around, I was surrounded with packs of matches which were ready to pierce through the sky. All those buildings were identical in size, form and design. It seemed as if no other types of buildings were allowed. The place could be characterized as tall, big and gray. However, even among this severe atmosphere, there was a place of safeness and peace.

It was near a playground I often played in elementary days. However, for years, never had I noticed and heard about the place. One day, one of my friends swore a bad word to me and it resulted into a serious fight with her. My face turned into a pure reddish kettle that was about to peak a hundred Celsius and to boil. I needed to steam out my rage to turn my reddish face into a normal status. So, I turned back, dragged the steps and ran fiercely to erase all the memories and thoughts of my friend. Finally, about several minutes later, I arrived to a place where I hadn't been before.

The place was surrounded with moist moss, unfamiliar blue green leaves and curly trunks. The overall mode was colored with blackish dark but lights from the sunset came to harmonize with the darkness and to clear my vision. Due to the scattered leaves all around the place, the temperature was cool enough to get rid of the hot summer. I could also smell some moist came out from the trees. And there were a brown bench which was almost broken apart. But still, it provided me a room to sit and rest. It was quite place where all the shouts and screams from children slowly fade away.

             However, it was not the nature nor the bench that made the place special. The thing was that it was a perfect place for me to be alone. The day I fought with my friend, I set in that shaking and unstable bench for hours. There was no need to pay attention to how others might think or see me because I was alone. I could only focus on my own emotion and arrange my thoughts. After several hours, I got out of the place and could manage myself and my emotion. I could be calm and control my anger. Few people recognized and visited the place since looked from outside, it was just a dirty and should-be-developed place, not attractive at all. No one tried to come here and pay attention to the place. From the day, the place became my hideout where I could be lone not bothered by others.

             The place usually functioned as my secret mission place. Whenever the time I came to the place, I even did not tell my mother whom I always told truth. I just made up the words like, "Mom, I have to do a group assignment with my friends". My mom allowed me to go because I seldom lied to her so she trusted me. I wanted the place to be my own one that no one else could touch. When I felt gloomy, I came here. I came here to murmur, grumble myself and to blame others own my own. I did not want others to see my cowardice. Also, when I tried to do something shameful, I came here. Even I was completely safe from others scary attention, I cowered my shoulder and body due to the guilt penetrating through my heart.

             Looking back, the place gave shelter to my shame. I exposed my shameful feelings like anger, sadness and showed shameful behavior like lying in the place. The place and I shared the secrets that no one else even my mother did not know. My family moved to another town so I could no longer visit the place. However, the feelings and experiences that I had shared with the place live forever in my heart.

Han Gyul Kim/second draft/Tues 3-4

Meaningful place

201200909 Han Gyul Kim

When I went into my room in upstairs of the house I used to live, the first thing I could see was the sunlight shining down on me through the window and dust floating. Also I could see a few pieces of furniture. One side of the wall was inclined because it was close to the roof. That made the room look smaller. Actually, it was an attic rather than a room. Right next to the door was my white desk with blue drawers and a blue desk chair. On the right side of the desk, there was my cozy bed with a dark grey cover which I loved very much. Between the desk and the bed, I had a small three tier bookshelf which could only contain about twenty books or so.

The only window in my room was placed in the ceiling. It was at the center of the ceiling, so I could see it when I was lying on the bed. The window reminds me of one day of June, 2011. It was the day the total lunar eclipse happened. I thought it would be so cool to watch the eclipse in the attic through the small window in my ceiling. The eclipse was expected to start at 3:30 a.m., so I planned to wake up around 3:00 a.m. and watch it lying on my bed through the window. I succeeded waking up in the middle of the night as I planned and waited for moon to wane. However, what I could see was just a moon I know, only brighter. Unfortunately, I was so sleepy and just fell into the sleep before the actual eclipse started. I still regret missing it.

Anyway, it was a strange room liked by nobody in my family, since it was boiling in summer and freezing in winter. In winter, I could somehow manage to live in the room because I had a bed with an electric heat pad, which I still sleep on. No matter how cold the room was, my bed was the warmest place in my house and that made me so frustrating to get out of my bed in every morning. In summer, the room was like burning hell since I couldn't install an air conditioner. The temperature was like two or three degrees higher than downstairs. It was humid and hot like a sauna. So I had no choice but to turn on a fan all day.

Rainy days were the worst, especially in summer. It was hot but I couldn't open the window because it was at the ceiling. If I opened the window, rain would just fall down right to my bed. But there was an unusual thing that I liked about the rain. Although it made the room so hot and humid, the sound of rain striking the window was pretty good. Falling asleep with the sound of the rain is still one of the greatest experience of mine, though it would had been better if my room wasn't hot.

Not only the sound of rain, but the fact it was my first own room made the room as a meaningful place. Before I moved to upstairs, I couldn't have my own room. Since I have two brothers and one sister, I always had to share the room with my brothers. For a teenage boy, it was a big stress not to have a room to spend time alone. For example, my younger brothers fought almost every day, and it was hard for me to ignore those fights because they were arguing right next to me. They screamed, screamed and screamed. Consequently, I ended up fighting together with them. Indeed, the fact that I got my own room was a big happiness for me.  

It is meaningful for me not only because it was the first room I had for myself. I have a lot of happy memories with my friends in the room. Because the room was separated space with downstairs where my other family members were living, I used to invite my friends to my room regardless of date and time. Almost every weekend, seven or eight friends of mine visited my room and spent time together. Sometimes they had sleepovers in my room; they stayed until late night, and spent the whole night talking and playing games. Eventually, it became the place we all love, and I loved the room where my friends were.

Now I don't live there anymore. A year ago, I moved to another house I live now. In the new house, I have a window in the right place in my own room. However, it doesn't feel the same with the room I used to stay in my old house. I miss the room and the memories I shared with my friends there.