2007 Student Writing
2010 Student Writing of the Month
2009 Student Writing of the Month
2008 Student Writing of the Month
2007 Student Writing of the Month
2006 Student Writing of the Month
2005 Student Writing of the Month
2004 Student Writing of the Month
November/December 2007 - Student writing of the month by Aslan Yandarov In part one of his story, Aslan wrote, "I am from Chechnya, in the North Caucasus. My country is on the border between Russia and Georgia. It is a very beautiful place near snowy mountains with green valleys.") Part III Autumn-Winter (1999-2000) I left the city and went to live with my family in Moscow, when in September 1999, the second war crashed upon us. The most terrible events occurred in Grozny. New bombs fell again onto the city. The new war was more fierce, severe, and ruthless. There wasn’t any sign of humanity. For the third time, people left the city. The Russian air force bombed even refugees leaving the country with Red Cross flags. My mother and sisters went to the small Ingush village, Surkhakhi. Unknown people gave them a place to live in an unfinished house. My wife’s family decided to stay in the city. On the last day, when the road to escape was still open, only my mother-in-law with her grandson managed to escape from the city and death. On the following day the military closed the borders for everyone. The family didn’t know they had been separated forever. On February 5, 2000 everyone in the city was killed by the Russian military. The military burned their bodies and homes. The burned bodies were found on the next day eaten by hungry dogs. It was a massacre of defenseless people. My wife asked authorities to give her permission to bury the bodies. She was told to make a statement that all of them had died because of a bomb explosion. Later my sister told me that a bomb fell onto my neighbor Taya’s home, and she and her husband had been burned alive. A bomb fell onto my parents’ house and heavily damaged it. They made a desert in my city. The same desert came into our souls. We became refugees in our own country. My mother, who always dreamed of dying in her home, died in June 2001 in Moscow. My sister died a few months later. After the funeral, I was told that the military wanted me. I realized that I had to make a choice: to be arrested or killed, or attempt to escape. We decided to leave the country. Spring (2004) - Spring (2007) In April 2004, we left Russia and arrived in San Diego. Life is so nice here. I’ve never been so calm and satisfied. I do not feel discrimination regarding my race, religion or nationality. Moreover, Americans always welcome me when they know where I am from. They are friendly and kind. The first few months, I was deeply shocked and depressed; it is not easy to start over at any time. But at least now, I am not afraid for myself or my family. There is always the promise of a new life. I have fallen in love with this great country, and I love it from the bottom of my heart. I know that my children have a future here, and it makes me happy. I love this country because I can also say that I am not a refugee anymore. When I first got here, I had two jobs and I also studied ESL at adult school. I am still studying, and I am going to work as a paralegal. I was a human right’s lawyer in my country and I would like to help people here, too. One day, I’m going to visit the country where I was born and the cemetery where my parents lie. I know they would be glad if they were alive. They would be glad that through thousands of miles and dozens of years their son has come back to visit them. VOCABULARY HELP October 2007 - Student writing of the month by Aslan Yandarov (Editor’s note: Aslan Yandarov was a student at
Part II Summer (1996) August 6, 1996 was a beautiful, sunny summer day when I came with my family to visit my mother and sister. We were leaving when I suddenly noticed that people and cars had disappeared from the streets. A few days later the bombings started again. The city was surrounded; rebels were inside with thousands of peaceful people. The military didn’t care if they killed the inhabitants; they shot anytime, anywhere. Once again, it was a terrible, long-living nightmare. My wife and my children went to the Red Cross building, and I didn’t know anything about them for a few weeks. I stayed in my mother and sister’s house. I could not leave them alone. Once, when we were trying to sleep in the night, I heard my sister’s desperate cry. I went into her room. Dust and the smell of gunpowder were in it. I looked up and saw a big hole in the ceiling. A bomb had dropped onto the house and exploded on the roof. Luckily, my sister was not wounded, but she became deaf. Exhausted, depressed and scared, my mother and sister went into the basement. I stayed up at the other end in case a bomb smashed the house and destroyed it: someone had to recover them from the basement. My mother refused to leave the house. Over and over she used to say if it was her time to die, she wanted to die at home. My sister told me to do something with the broken roof because the rain was pouring in and it could collapse. It was really a strange idea to be one step away from death and still think about life. When I got up on the roof, a grenade crossed the air with a horrible noise and exploded in front of the house. I jumped from the roof and ran to the shelter when another grenade exploded on the roof. I lay on the floor between bricks, trying to be small and invisible. Another one fell in the back yard. Then I stopped counting. Grenades were dropping like rain for half an hour. When they finally stopped, I went in the backyard. I saw bloody spots on the wall. One of the explosions killed my mother’s chickens and smashed them against the wall. I was scared to tell my mother that her chickens were dead. I thought that it might kill her as she loved them. I started shouting. “Mom, they came to kill us. They will not stop until we are dead. We should escape from the city.” She agreed. My mother, sister, and I got into the car. I started the engine, and pushed the gas pedal. I drove the car through bombed streets and nearby burning and collapsed houses. God heard my prayers, and by the evening we were in a village with relatives far away from the burning city. On the following day, I found my wife and children in another village. When the military and rebels had declared peace, I returned with my wife back to the city. It was empty like in fantasy movies, without electricity, water or light. It was destroyed, and burned. People were still scared to come back. We spent nights in the full dark, worrying about any suspicious noise. We felt like we were the only two people in the whole universe. Then Wass came. He was a nice red, white and black cat with three legs. It was so exiting to see someone else left alive after the terrible war. We fed him. I gave him the name Wass. When I lit my lighter, the cat ran away immediately. I called it, and it returned. I realized, that the war taught even animals. This nice three-legged cat was like a sign from the Lord saying that this creature was wounded and broken, but alive and still struggling for its life. To be continued... VOCABULARY HELP* deaf - unable to hear *Definitions from The Newbury House Dictionary of American English 4th edition, by Rideout. © 2004 Monroe Allen Publishers. Reprinted with one-time permission of Heinle & Heinle a division of Thomson Learning. FAX 800 730-2215. (Editor’s note: ESL teacher Mimi Pollack sent us the story which follows. Mimi writes “Aslan Yandarov was a human right’s lawyer in his country,
Aslan’s story is so long that we are going to run it in three parts. Parts II and III will appear in the October and November/December issues of Easy English Times.) Part I Sometimes I wish I could have changed my path in life. Nevertheless, every way is given by God, and we should follow it from the beginning to the end. That is why life is so special and unpredictable. My path brought my family and me to
Winter (1994-1995) I am from
On November 24, 1994, the
Finally, at the end of February 1995, I went back with both my sisters to find out whether our houses still existed. We passed many military check-points on the way. It was already dark when we arrived. My parents’ house was damaged and robbed. The roof and all the windows were broken. It was a long night in the house where I grew up with my brothers and sisters. In the morning, I went with one of my sisters through the city to check on her house and the apartment I rented, and to visit my wife’s family. It was still dangerous. Rebels had left the city a long time ago, but from time to time we heard sporadic shooting everywhere. I saw hundreds of burned and destroyed houses, cars, and collapsed buildings. We were walking through the main street when suddenly several armed soldiers ran across it, shooting and screaming. Bullets whistled in the air. They shouted, “Let’s go! Catch the rebels!” There wasn’t anyone else on the street except my sister and me. We stopped frightened, but the soldiers passed us, and rushed into one of the private houses. A few minutes later, it started to burn, and black smoke and fire appeared above it. When we reached my wife’s parents’ house, I became nervous. I saw only broken walls. The house didn’t exist anymore. It was burned out. I went to the backyard and saw them (her parents). Both of them were living in a basement; moreover, they were terribly scared, thin and exhausted. Then we walked through the empty streets. The smell of death was everywhere. I felt that something broke inside of me that day. I felt like all the bombs and grenades that had been thrown on the city, hit, broke and crashed inside me, and left me lying on the earth helpless. It was like a real hell happened on earth where heaven used to be. It was a ruthless and brutal war. In the village, I met my older brother. The keys were all he had left of his home. My older sister had come to the place where her house had been. It didn’t exist either. My sister told me when she was still at home her son’s friend had come to visit them. He was only 16-years-old. A few minutes later when some shooting began, he was killed in front of them, shot in the head. They buried him in the backyard after the shooting had stopped. When we were coming back, a tired soldier at the check-point asked where we were going. “I don’t know,” I answered. It was the truth because I didn’t have any idea where to go. I used to live like other people obeying the law, paying taxes and doing my work. In exchange, the government illegally bombed the city as if all of its inhabitants were its worse enemies, and murdered thousands of innocent children, women and old people. A few months later, in the summer, I returned to
To be continued... VOCABULARY HELP* bullets - round, usually pointed pieces of metal shot out of a gun *Definitions from The Newbury House Dictionary of American English 4th edition, by Rideout. © 2004 Monroe Allen Publishers. Reprinted with one-time permission of Heinle & Heinle a division of Thomson Learning. FAX 800 730-2215. July 2007 - Student Writing of the Month America, My New Home (Editor’s note: Josephine Okwudu won CATESOL’s 2007 adult-level essay contest. She is a level 6 ESL student at the Educational Cultural Complex in
I would like to mention a famous African expression or proverb. It says: “Those who have been first in the kitchen have broken many pots.” I think the meaning is similar to the American expression, “The early bird catches the worm.” A person who gets up early and starts a project ahead of others has the best chance of success. Hard work is important in any country, but I am thrilled and giving thanks to the government of the United States and all who joined hands in making this country a great place to be. My dear fellow people, when I was in my native country, I was NOT able to read or write. The amazing power of reading and writing is one thing I have experienced since coming to the
I am soon going to be 66 years old. If you could see me, I am like a young lady, more like a 50-year-old. And at present, I am in school. I can not express how patient the teachers are teaching us at ECC; they are so lovely and thoughtful about us, dedicating their lives for us. My teacher contributed to my changing. I have achieved so many things, such as communicating in English in different situations. Now I can see that I am assimilating into American culture, eating and enjoying the food and the way of life here. It is amazing for me to say that I am now working at a cafeteria in a local elementary school. For the first time in my life, I have a job. In addition, I have found peace of mind in this land. I lie down and sleep at night, without shooting of guns, no thieves breaking down our door, even in the daytime. For me, this peace is a huge change in my life. I have numerous testimonials about my changes in this land of opportunity called
As I said before, “The early bird catches the worm.” In my home country, I knew some of our neighbors who had come to the
June 2007 - Student writing of the month The sacrifices of my father by Mahmoud Harb Now I wish to pay for the sacrifice made by my father, but the time has gone! I pray to God that I will meet him in paradise to kiss his hands. May 2007 - Student writing of the month from Santa Cruz Adult School My country is Vietnam by Thuy Rebhahn, Santa Cruz Adult School Vietnam is a small country in Southeast Asia. It is near China, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. Saigon is the biggest city. Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam. It is located in the north. Nha Trang is a small city. It is beautiful. It is my hometown and it is a city for tourists. I was born there and lived there a long time. Especially the beach is very nice. You can see many islands from the beach. You can take a trip by boat and go to the islands. Tourists can see attractions like Ha Long Bay, Sapa, the Mekong River, hot springs and ancient temples. Ha Long Bay has many mountains rising from the beautiful blue ocean. There are limestone caves and lakes in the mountains. There are many natural sights such as waterfalls, streams and jungles. Mount Fansipan is the highest mountain in Vietnam. It is at Sapa, on the border with China. There are many tribal minority people in Vietnam, including Hmong, Day and Tay. In summer the weather is very hot and humid. There are no air-conditioners in the homes. The people often go to the beach rather than stay home. In the winter it is very cold because there are no heating systems inside the houses. The population of Vietnam is over 84 million. It is the twelfth largest country in the world. In 2006 about three million foreign tourists traveled to Vietnam. There are many restaurants, cafes, hotels and shops in Vietnam. The food is very tasty and cheap. Special Vietnamese dishes include Saigon rolls, pork or beef with chili and lemon grass, steamed mantis prawns with lime, crab in tamarind sauce, baby squid stuffed with pork, hot soup and spicy food. Although Vietnam is small, it still has many beautiful places, nice scenery, and interesting history and culture for both foreign tourists and Vietnamese residents. April 2007 - Student writing of the month from Petaluma Adult School The way my life has gone until now by Jocelyn "Jova" Valca, Petaluma Adult School (Editor’s note: Jova’s teacher, Ana Manwaring, sent us this story. It was edited for length.) Born in Haiti in the second half the twentieth century, I dreamed of having a good life like everybody did in this period. Loving politics, law and literature, I considered these as my favorite ways to make good money. But for that I knew you must go to school and study hard. You also have to have great friends to promote you into high society. I went to the best elementary school my parents could afford. At almost 16 years of age, I entered high school and, after seven years, I graduated. The cost to go to college was so much that I stopped there and did what they call "m’sou beton-an", meaning "you finish your high school and what else." This situation stops almost all the Haitian middle class students from going to college. I tried to teach elementary school for several years but it wasn’t what I dreamed of and the paycheck couldn’t pay for college. I arrived in America. Here you see opportunities for everyone to go to college. But so many people don’t go. That annoys me. I say to myself, "If it was me, if it was my time, I would accomplish miracles." I’ve got a big problem: a family back in Haiti which lives by the money I send them. If I don’t send money, they don’t eat, they don’t go to school and their rent is not paid. As a father, these responsibilities are on my shoulders. In our Haitian culture, moms and dads sacrifice themselves for their children. Because of that, I keep working for my children and hoping that all of them will accomplish their dreams. I know it is hard for a man to not achieve his dreams, but sometimes where you come from can play some bad tricks. I hope we can change that one day in these poor countries and give every single person a chance to see his dreams come true. March 2007 - Student writing of the month Sunrise Tech Center students write about their hometowns (Editor’s note: Stephanie Miller sent stories from students in her Intermediate High/Advanced Low ESL class. The Sunrise Tech Center is in Citrus Heights, California. It is part of San Juan USD Adult Education. We received writing from Angeles Barrios, Irena Cebelinshi, Marjorie Diaz, Doris Duenas, Barbara Gajek, Ye He, Kattia Pina Jara, Shahram Kouklari, Kanae Nakazawa, Pouya Namdarian, Miguel A. Reyes, Jihye Shin, Abtin Vafadari, and Sonia Woods. The stories have been edited for length. Stephanie writes, "My students really enjoy Easy English Times and so do I! Thank you for providing a newspaper for ESL students as well as a place for them to publish their writing.") Zator, Poland I grew up in a very small town called Zator. It is historical because it was founded 700 years ago. It is located in southern Poland close to Krakow which was the first capital of Poland. The population of my hometown is only 7,000. Since my town is not that big, it is very cozy. Everything is close by. Stores are located a stone’s throw away from people’s houses. We have a castle for tourists to visit. In the center there is a town square with benches and a fountain. You can sit there and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. Behind the castle there is a park with pathways. People like to go there with their children to relax. My town is also famous for many ponds where you can go fishing. I left my hometown almost three years ago. I have good memories of living there. I would love to go back there sometime, but now I only go to visit. Thu Duc, Vietnam My name is Tien. I was born in Vietnam. I grew up and went to school in Thu Duc, which is near Ho Chi Minh City in South Vietnam. My hometown is not as beautiful as some other famous places for tourists, but in my heart this place is very special for me. It made me who I am. Where I came from is a very small and poor town. A lot of young people went away to the big city. So most people who still live there are seniors or people who don’t want to leave their land and houses. Life there is very peaceful and quiet. People are very kind, honest and caring. It’s a safe place because people take care of each other. When I lived with my grandmother in this town we never shut the windows and sometimes we forgot to lock the door. But nothing happened. I did a lot of fun things like fishing, swimming in the streams, walking along the fields to watch people transplant rice seedlings or harvest rice, and lying down on the green grass. My life has been changing a lot. I am now very far from home but my heart belongs to this place. Thanks to my grandmother and all my childhood friends who were with me and gave me the best gifts ever. I will go back and do everything again someday. My hometown is Yokohama, Japan Before I moved to Sacramento, I lived in the city of Yokohama. It is a very big city. The population is about three million. I lived there for 24 years. Yokohama has a lot of special places. One of these is the port. It is an international port. There is a ship called "Hikawamaru." There is a marine tower called "Minato Mirai." Many people visit it. There is also a big park. It is called "Minato ga mieru oka koen." It means that we can see the port from the park. I often act as a tour guide there for my foreign friends. There is a Chinatown and many shopping places and restaurants. I love my hometown, but I don’t like one thing. This is the increase in population year after year. The commuter railway is very crowded. The ridership has increased by more than 200%. I don’t take the morning commuter railway. It is comfortable not to rush in California. My favorite thing about Yokohama is that it has a lot of nature. There are many trees, birds and animals. I am proud of my hometown. Tanchachin, Aquismon, Mexico My hometown is located in the state of San Luis Potosi, Mexico. This state is composed of the altiplano and the Huasteca. The altiplano is an arid region and the Huasteca is a region composed of vegetation. It forms part of the eastern Sierra Madre mountain range. My hometown is located in the Huasteca zone. The Huastecos, native Mexican Indians, originally populated this region. Tanchachin and Aquismon are words from those native people. The first word means "place of birds" and the second word means "place of the yellow flowers." My town is small. There are almost 700 people. All speak Spanish but some people from the nearby towns used to speak different dialects such as Huateco, Pame and Otomi. Tanchachin, Aquismon is a beautiful place to visit. There are many rivers, caves, canyons and waterfalls. The "cascada del Tamul" is a famous waterfall near the town. The only way to get there is by boat. Another place is "La cueva del agua" (water cave). It has beautiful, colorful water. You can go into the cave and swim there. Hundreds of tourists visit my town every year. I love everything about my hometown. It was part of my life. Maybe I don’t have so much Indian blood in my veins because some of my ancestors were immigrants. However, I am a Huasteca, native of Tanchachin, Aquismon, San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Incheon City, South Korea I was born in the eastern part of Korea. I lived there until I was six years old. Then my family moved to Incheon City which is in the west. I lived there for 20 years until I came to the USA. The population of my hometown is close to four million. It has many factories that produce a lot of different things. So the air pollution is really bad. Sometimes we can hardly see the sky or views of the city. But I love my hometown because there are a lot of shopping malls. The prices are reasonable and the quality is good. Our city has a good transportation system with buses and a subway. There is a huge, beautiful international airport. My favorite place to visit is Wol-Mi-Do. It is a kind of island where there are nice restaurants and a small amusement park. It is on the coast so we can see the ocean. It is especially beautiful at night. I miss my hometown a lot. I went there not too long ago, but I still want to go back. I love America too. Student writing - February 2007 "Tet" by Dung Ngo, Stockton School for Adults "Tet," Vietnamese New Year’s Day, is a very important holiday for Vietnamese people. The celebration starts on the first day of the lunar calendar. When anybody mentions "Tet" it brings me back to Vietnam. I remember the customs for this holiday. People start getting ready a month before. They clean the house, cook special food, buy new clothes and new shoes, get fireworks (phao), get flowers of many colors, red envelopes for children and presents for relatives and neighbors. On "Tet" most people like to eat "Banh Chung". It is made from sticky rice, green peas and pork covered with banana leaves. There is a cake, which represents Vietnamese New Year which is always eaten as dessert. People only play, drink and eat during this holiday. They don’t want to do anything else so that good luck will be in their life in the new year. When I was a child I loved "Tet" very much because it showed me many new things. I also learned about my customs and my important holiday. Student writing - January 2007 The Cabrillo Marine Aquarium by Maria Mota, Evans Community Adult School, Los Angeles My favorite place in Los Angeles area is the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium. It is located in San Pedro Beach. This is a familiar place where everybody can have fun. I like this place because there are a variety of sea animals, which are separated by type such as whales, fishes, crabs, electric eels, and jellyfish. It is easy to see the different colors and shapes of marine life. I had the opportunity to touch some of them. It was amazing to feel their skin with the tips of my fingers. I also like the way the aquarium is designed. The inside part is dim which resembles the depths of the ocean. The only light inside the aquarium is from the fish tanks. There are also details of the fish posted next to each tank. The only noise was the hum of the tanks. It was beautiful and, as I was walking through the hall, there were statues of fish. I saw different sea plants, which I had never seen before. They varied in shape and color. There were fun games in which you could test your knowledge. Also outside of the aquarium is a picnic spot right in front of the beach. The day I went there, I had lunch with my family and friends. The admission is free. There is easy accessibility for the handicapped. For more information go to the following website: http://www.cabrilloaq.org
The seasons of the year - Memories of a ruthless, brutal war
bury - to put a dead person into a grave
defenseless - without a defense, unprotected
fierce - cruelly violent
from the bottom of my heart - most sincerely
moreover - in addition
refugees - persons trying to leave bad living conditions, such as war, oppression, etc.
shocked - upset
The seasons of the year - Memories of a ruthless, brutal war
exhausted - extremely tired
in case - should something happen
lighter - a device for lighting cigarettes
nightmare - a terrible experience, a frightening dream
over and over - many times, repeatedly
rebels - persons who fight against a person or group in power, especially against a government
relatives - persons connected by blood or marriage, relations
smashed - hit against something, crashed
spots - marks that look different from their background
struggling - using much physical or mental effort and energy to do something
wounded - injured, hurt
check-points - areas for examining identity cards
debris - ruins, remains of something broken
exhausted - extremely tired
howl - a howling sound, loud crying, wailing
rebels - persons who fight against a person or group in power, especially against a government
rushed - moved quickly
ruthless - without pity, not thinking about the feelings or health of other people, merciless
sporadic - happening in an irregular way
wreckage - the remains of something that has been destroyed
by Josephine Okwudu
from Bakersfield Adult School
Bakersfield Adult School
(Editor’s note: This story was sent to us by ESL teacher Kristin Thiessen.)
(See the March issue for other writing from Sunrise Tech.)
My hometown
by Barbara Gajek
My lovely hometown
by Tien Bruce
by Kanae Nakazawa
My hometown|
by Angeles Barrios
My hometown, the place I grew up
by Sonia Woods