Writers in the Making

This summer, a few of our students created their own stories from a gap-fill exercise.  Since we teach our students not to be afraid of making mistakes, we present to you their story before corrections are made. Making mistakes is cool!  It’s an important part of the learning process.  Please sit back, relax and enjoy!  

Mermaid-Ville 

Our submarine speeds along at 15 (large number) miles an hour, and we spot something cloudy (adjective) in the distance. Underwater skyscrapers! Or are they called seascrapers here? “Welcome to Mermaid-ville,” says a woman with blue (color) legs (animal body part, plural). “My name is Mikasa (Celebrity’s name). Would you like a ride?” Of course we do! We ran (verb) onto the stingray she is riding and take off. First, we go to see the school where the principal is a scarf (clothing item)-wearing rabbit (animal)! At the library we see mermaids reading blue skye (favorite book) and sipping tomato (vegetable)-flavored coffee. Our tour guide hears our hands (body part, plural) jumping (verb ending in -ing). It’s been a while since we last ate. She takes us to a diner called ears (animal body part)’s place. We park the stingray outside and follow a police (type of job) to our sky (noun), where we order lots of sea salt-covered hamburgers (favorite food, plural). Our new mermaid friend even treats us to apple pie (favorite dessert). What a great city! 

Florida Everglades 

My next adventure is in the swampy Florida Everglades! Our boat skims across the cold (adjective) water. Mosquitoes as big as sky (noun, plural) zoom by our heads. Suddenly, a big (adjective) alligator pops out of the water! I think he is going to running (verb) me. Instead, he sobs like a sea (noun) and points to his mouth with his legs (body part). Fortunately, I’ve seen every episode of rabbits (animal) Whisperer on channel 5 (number); so, I know his tooth hurts. But when I get close with my chocolate (ice-cream favor) flavored dental floss, he jumping (verb) his mouth shut. Just then, Anne (friend’s name) slips on liver (something gross), shrieks like a dragon (mythical creature), then falls into some water (liquid). The alligator laughs so hard his mouth opens wider than a sky (noun). Here’s my chance! I quickly (adverb ending in -ly) lasso the tooth. It pops right out. Just then, the alligator’s mom jumping (verb) through the water toward Anne (same friend). That’s how I discovered my friend is faster than a boat! 

The End 

The Influence of Rock Stars on Us

Today, young people are strongly influenced by rock stars.  They follow the behavior, clothes and beliefs of their favorite rockers without much thought.  If you ask a fan why he or she painted his or her room black, he or she will probably tell you something like "Because I love rock!  And black is a rock color!"  Or why he or she has piercings, he or she would tell you "Because I am a rocker, and rockers have piercings!"

Young people like to dress like their favorite rock stars.  It's common to see them wearing ripped clothes or T-shirts with the name of a band.  Another thing is that all their clothes are black, blue, violet or gray.  Their clothes are really informal too.  Only a T-shirt, jeans and boots.  That's all.  They also have black lipstick or black nail polish.  You can't forget the piercings.  They have a lot of them.

The rock stars influence the behavior of the young people too.  There are two different types of fans, and they are very different from each other.  On the one hand, there are the excited, loud and screaming fans who look like they can run a marathon without sweating.  On the other hand, there are the sad, depressed and lonely fans who look like vampires.

There are a lot of types of fans like there are a lot of types of music.  The fans of rock, however, stand out from the crowd.

My Life at Home

My Morning Routine

I'm going to talk about my morning routine.  My mornings start at 6:00am.  If I could, I would wake up later, but I can't.  "Why" you might ask.  Because of my siblings!  I live really close to my school, but I always arrive late at school.

I wake up, get dressed, have a bath and brush my teeth.  I do this all really quickly, but then, just when I am finished, my sister wakes up.  She is really lazy.  I have to help my little brother get ready too.

I have to make breakfast, and my sister eats really slowly, which makes us leave the house at 7:45am.  I still have to get my little brother to school.  OMG!  I'm going to be so late for school.  I think to myself "Why do I think that?"  Well, because my class starts at 8:00am!  That's the time I arrive at the school.  I run with all my life, but oh no!  I have to go up the stairs because my class is on the third floor!  At 8:05am, I am in front of the door.  I am not allowed to be later than that.  I knock on the door.  "At this time?!" my teacher says - again.

Rowing

I started rowing two years ago, and I like it so much.  I train every day to be a good athlete.  I have many friends who train too; so, I want to go train.

When I train on a still lake, I'm so happy and relaxed because when you move the oars, the boat goes fast.  Without waves, I am at one with the lake.

I train on the lake of Como 3 times a week, 2 hours each time.  Sometimes, I train on the rowing machine.  I hate this because we do it when it rains, and it is boring.  The machine also makes an ugly sound!

My NYC Experience

My trip from Spain to New York was long. Last Tuesday, I took a plane from Spain to New York. It was an eight-hour trip in which you were served two meals, and each person had a TV on their seat with movies, games, and more stuff to entertain themselves. Although it was a long journey, it didn’t feel that long to me. I was given a seat next to the window, and I was lucky since I didn’t have anyone next to me.  When I arrived, my uncle, who lives in New York, picked me up, and I went to bed because I was very tired. It was a long and tiring trip, but the in-flight entertainment made the journey feel shorter than it actually was.

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On Monday (my first day at Hi-New York), we went to a museum about New York.  When we arrived, we did an activity that I liked because it consisted of constructing a building with people, plants, and different floors. When we finished with this activity, we saw a video on the evolution of the city. It was very interesting because I could see how the city was before and how it is now. To finish the trip, we did one last activity where we read some texts and wrote some ideas for another activity. In conclusion, the trip was very interesting, and I learned a lot of new things about the city.

We also visited an island this week. The ecologist there told us interesting things about the environment and what destroys it. We also went outside.  However, when we went outside, it started to rain. Even though the weather was bad, we still enjoyed the visit. We also tried new berries– juneberries– and we saw something very uncommon for New York- a cactus!

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In New York, there are a lot of big stores. My favorite store is the Apple Store and the Nintendo Store because they have a lot of games. To get to the stores, you can take the subway. I would like to go by car, but I can't because it  expensive. My favorite game is Brawl Stars of Supercell. I have many trophies in this game; I am so good at this game. My sister is so bad at this game. I like these stores because they have iPads, iPhones, 3Ds, and Nintendo Switch.

Last week, I went to Times Square. It is full of stores, and at night, the buildings are decorated with many colored lights. There are many yellow taxis and tour buses. In the streets, you can find dancers or people who sell tickets for Broadway shows. I think that it is a very good place, and it makes New York a better city.

In New York, there are a lot of places where we can go - for example, Broadway. Broadway is a very popular avenue in New York City. It is famous for musicals. Close to Broadway, there is another famous area in New York: Times Square. I hope while I am in New York, I can go to see a show.

In New York, there is a place on the coast called Coney Island. At Coney Island, you can find an arcade, a Wheel of Fortune, roller coasters, and carnival games. There is a beach where you can swim, and you can get french fries at the original Nathan's restaurant.

Some Thoughts on Food

I think that the food in New York is a lot different from the food in Italy.  First of all, in Italy there aren't as many variety of restaurants as there are here.  I think that also in Italy, you can eat healthier because they don't use as much sauce and the quantity is about half of the American one.

I was very surprised at the pizza restaurants here in New York.  The menu always says that the pizza is just like the Italian one, but I think they're just saying it to attract more people.

I was also surprised by the huge number of Chinese restaurants.  There are about five of them in only one block!

As a conclusion, I would say that both types of food are really good, and I think it's good to sometimes try new things.

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New York City is a huge city where the number of immigrants and so the kinds of food they brought to it is unbelievable.  Like in Paris.

In Paris, like in New York, there are a lot of restaurants and different kinds of food like Chinese food, Japanese food and Italian food.  These two cities are the gastronomical capitals of the world.  Therefore, there are luxury restaurants but also restaurants that are less expensive like Five Guys and Toasties in New York and Tunisian restaurants in Paris.

Differences in the food between these two cities arise from the immigrant groups that live in these cities.  In Paris, many immigrants are from North Africa, China and Portugal.  In the suburbs, there is an area called St. Denis.  Its international market is very famous because we can find everything from all over the world like Portuguese food, Tunisian food, Algerian food or Turkish food.  A specialty of this place and many restaurants in Paris and its suburbs is a sandwich called "kebob".  It's a sandwich composed of meat, tomato, lettuce and onion.  Generally, it's eaten with fries.  I love this sandwich because it's composed of basic ingredients but makes for an original meal.

In New York, there are immigrants from many places, and all kinds of food are from the different ethnic groups.  The pastrami and the bagel are from the Jewish population, and the hamburger is from Hamburg in Germany.  But sometimes, this food which has travelled a lot changed like the Chicago deep dish pizza.  The best food that I have eaten in New York is soul food which is from the south of the USA.  It's composed of fried chicken, corn bread and waffles.

One big difference between the food in New York and the food in Paris is portion size.  Portions are bigger in New York and generally in the USA.  For example, the deep dish pizza at Uno's Pizzeria can feed more than 5 people!

So, the food in Paris and the food in New York are similar and yet different.

Learning about Different Cultures

At the beginning of my Hi-New-York program, I was quite sensitive to everything here. It was strange here and I didn’t know my teacher. I nervously sat on the sofa with my father and looked around.

I was surprised with my teacher Heather. She looked as young as a college student. I didn’t think she was older than me. Then, we had a private lesson. I wasn’t accustomed to the questions in the book, so I didn’t do well at first. After that, it was a group lesson with three sweet guys. I didn’t talk too much that day, but I liked the group.

In the following days, I became active, but continued to speak Chinese. After a week’s practice, I would understand what others said, and I began expressing my opinions in English. I made great progress every day with Hi-New-York. I always had Chinese food with my father, but I had a different and new type of food every day here. I learned about different cultures through the food. Finally, I had the courage to overcome my English difficulties and talked with Americans.

Thanks a lot Hi-New-York!

Stars: Their Influence on Us

There are many ways in which young people are influenced by stars. For example, a star’s choices of clothes can become a fashion craze. Young people are eager to own all the things stars have—the sweater, coat, shoes, earrings, and even socks. That’s why so many advertisers find stars to promote their brands.

Young people may copy the behaviors of stars, whether they are right or not. Drinking, staying up late, and saying curse words become the usual among teenagers before they know whether or not these behaviors are correct. They want to copy them because they are curious about things they haven’t tried. When you idolize a star, you think that all the things they do must be the best.

Stars also give young people positive energy to help themselves, their families, and the world.

           

I was personally influenced by Emma Watson, an actress from Hollywood. I still remember the emotion when she said “both men and women should feel free to be sensitive. It is time that we all perceive gender on a spectrum, not as two opposing sets of ideals.” It was seriously from the bottom from her heart. I have tried doing everything by myself, and I will never become a woman who just wants to depend on her husband.

In life, stars may influence us in a positive or negative way. Follow the right answer from your heart and make your life more successful and meaningful.