Engkent's Mother

Is learning the English language essential for living in the United States or Canada? The English language is well known for being the hardest language to learn if it is not your native language. It is also more difficult to learn a language if you are an older person. Ideally if a person is going to learn a second language it should be in their early years of life. Knowing this, I can understand why Engkent's mother, being a native Chinese woman, would not want to learn English as a second language. Engkent's mother moved to Canada when she was around fifty years old. It is a very difficult for a fifty year old to learn a new language. It is especially difficult with two languages that are so different. She lived in the Canada for twenty years and did not speak English and she survived. This lifestyle would be difficult and not one I would want to live but it is not essential for a person to have to speak English for them to live in a English speaking county.

Miscommunications

In class on Wednesday we discussed having miscommunications. Mickey asked us to write about a time when we could not or someone else could not understand us. In a hurry to think of a situation I overlooked a good topic to write about. This past spring break for my senior trip I went to Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. I went with a group of my seven best friends. All of the workers that worked in the resort were awesome. By the end of the week all we all knew each other by name! Our two favorite employees, Gerardo and Richard,were by far our favorite. They worked at night in the resort's sports bar as bartenders. When we went down to see them we would all have a good time and for fun we would start speaking Spanish with them. Being a little over confident with my four years of spanish in high school I tried to be as fluent as possible. In the middle of a Spanish conversation with them, I said something to them and they both started dying of laughter. Not knowing what I said wrong, they wouldn't even tell me! They convinced me that I would have been too embarrassed. After that I decided I shouldn't be over confident with my Spanish abilities.

Turning my poem into a narrative

I personally found turning my "Where I'm from" poem into a narrative story somewhat difficult. Writing poetry to me, is a lot more simple. I love that I do not have to add so many details and can be very vague. I feel like with poetry you have your own rules. When starting to write my narrative paper, I had a huge case of  "writers block". I was trying to use the techniques we used in class: making it something that people can relate to, using imagery and a vivid setting, and making it very conversational. By using these tips I tried to tell stories that many people could have experienced in high school. Such as, first loves, broken bones, skipping class, and friends getting busted by the police. Writing about my vivid memories that I hadn't thought about since I had been at Western was a really good chance to reminisce on the place where I'm from. 

Where im from

I'm from surrounding waters and miles of beaches. Where I would watch the Forth of July fireworks every year.
I'm from big hills and lookouts that can always take your breath away. Where I had my first kiss.
I'm from the summer, locals leave and the tourist flood in. Where cherries grow the best and we feel the need to host a festival to celebrate it.
I'm from serving steak and smokey bean burritos and flaming chili con quesos. Where I spend most of my summers and make all my money.
I'm from a safe and friendly community, the perfect place to raise a family. I'm from Traverse City, Michigan.

Introduction to me

Hello, let me tell you about myself. I am currently a freshman at Western Michigan University and am in my second week of classes. I am from a smaller town in northern Michigan called Traverse City. Traverse City is a very unique spot. It is literally surrounded by water everywhere. It is a beautiful town and it brings in thousands of tourists every summer. I went to high school at Traverse City Central. In high school I was on the girl's varsity golf team for all 4 years. As a senior we went to state finals and ended up Division II state runner ups. Being on the team was one of my best memories from high school. One of my other favorite memories was going to Mexico for senior trip. I got to stay a week in Playa Del Carmen with a group of my 7 best friends. We had WAY too much fun! I had a lot of good times in high school and those times are going to be missed. On the other hand, this new chapter in my life has been amazing and I cannot wait to see what the future brings!