The Dragon Boat festival is one of the most important traditional festivals in china. This festival is on May fifth in the lunar chinese calendar. In this festival, different area's people have different customs to celebrate. In my hometown, we celebrate the Dragon Boat festival in the most traditional way. There are three elements you should know about this festival, the legend of this festival, the event of this festival and how to make "ZongZi".
First, this is a legend of the Dragon Boat. At first, the festival was for lustrating the disease. Later on, a poet named Quyuan committed suicide on that day. So the festival evolved in memory of Quyuan. Quyuan is a great patriotic poet and a minister of kingdom of Chu in ancient China. During that time, Quyuan helped the emperor a lot and contributed to their country. However, the emperor was very silly because he believed rumors spread by the mean miniters. Quayuan was later exiled for that. He was very disappointed about that and felt he didn't have power to save his country and that his country's future was hopeless. Because of that, he wrote down tha famous poem "Lisao" and committed suicide by jumping into the "Niluo" river on May fifth. The local people were very sad when they heard this news so they went by boat to find Quyuan's corpse. They were afraid that the fish would eat Quyuan's body so they threw a kind of dumpling tied up with five colors of thread to prevent the fish from eating Quyuan's body Unfortunately, they couldn't find his corpse so they held the fesitival to commemorable Quayun.
On that day, people hold some traditional activities such as the Dragon Boat race. The dragon boat race is one of the oldest activities in china, it has more than 2000 years of history. This is fesitival is not only an entertaining activity, but also an expression of patriotism and collectivism. In addition, we also hang some special chinese madicine on the door to exorcise bad spirits.
The most essential part of this festival is making and eating "Zongzi". On the day of the festival, we need to get up a little early to make the "Zongzi". To mke Zongzi, ingredients needed included lotus leaves, sticky rice and some other seasonings, depending in your prefrence. But generally, we use beans, red dates and meat. To make zongzi, first, use a lotus leaf to wrap the sticky rice, which is mixed with beans, red dates or meat, After that, use five colored string to tie it up in a pyrid-shape. Finally, steam it for around three hours and then it will be ready to eat. It is very delicious and looks very cute.
The Dragon Boat fesitival is cery meaningful in the Chinede culture for the above reasons. That iswhy it is a very important event in china. I am very pround of the chinese culture and enjoy this festival!!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Women In Two Generations
Women in my generation are totally different from my grandmother’s generation. For the women, no doubt this is good news and it means we can live better and have more independence! They differ in terms of education, job and amount of time they spend on family.
In my grandmother’s generation, getting education depend on the area. For instance, in village, women couldn’t go to school because the villagers thought women should stayed at home to do housework. Just men could go to school to get education. So women didn’t have a chance to go school. However, in bid city, women could go to school. All rich people’s daughter could get education, but poor people had a right to go to school, but most didn’t have money. In my generation, no matter in village or city, we all must go to school because education is compulsory. Most women not only just finish compulsory education but also go to university to get higher level education.
After that, in my grandmother’s generation, some women don’t have job, and some women just could have part-time, lower salary and easy job, which was totally different from men. And they also had less job opportunity because lots of jobs ruled not allowed women do. But in my generation, almost all of us have full-time, high salary and all kinds of jobs, which is same as men. And we also have equal job opportunities, sexual discrimination is illegal in any places.
The amount of time and money they spend on family is different too. In my grandmother’s generation, ordinary or poor women spend all of their time on family, such as doing housework, cook and take care of children. However, rich women didn’t need to do that. They always go shopping mall, go theater and get friends together play mahjong. Women didn't have income or less income at that time, so just men invested money to support family. But in my generation, women spend some time or a little bit more time than men because most women have job that are simillar to men’s job. In addition, men and women all have to invest money for their family because family is two people’s responsibility, but maybe sometime men need invest more.
In conclusion, there are major deferences in the roles of the women in my grandmother’s generation and mine. I think men and women should be equal in this world； they have different roles which are both important. No one is more important than anyone else! So, in my opinion, I hope There are no sexual discrimination any more, and this situation can bring many benefits for women that could lead them on the equal and independent way.
In my grandmother’s generation, getting education depend on the area. For instance, in village, women couldn’t go to school because the villagers thought women should stayed at home to do housework. Just men could go to school to get education. So women didn’t have a chance to go school. However, in bid city, women could go to school. All rich people’s daughter could get education, but poor people had a right to go to school, but most didn’t have money. In my generation, no matter in village or city, we all must go to school because education is compulsory. Most women not only just finish compulsory education but also go to university to get higher level education.
After that, in my grandmother’s generation, some women don’t have job, and some women just could have part-time, lower salary and easy job, which was totally different from men. And they also had less job opportunity because lots of jobs ruled not allowed women do. But in my generation, almost all of us have full-time, high salary and all kinds of jobs, which is same as men. And we also have equal job opportunities, sexual discrimination is illegal in any places.
The amount of time and money they spend on family is different too. In my grandmother’s generation, ordinary or poor women spend all of their time on family, such as doing housework, cook and take care of children. However, rich women didn’t need to do that. They always go shopping mall, go theater and get friends together play mahjong. Women didn't have income or less income at that time, so just men invested money to support family. But in my generation, women spend some time or a little bit more time than men because most women have job that are simillar to men’s job. In addition, men and women all have to invest money for their family because family is two people’s responsibility, but maybe sometime men need invest more.
In conclusion, there are major deferences in the roles of the women in my grandmother’s generation and mine. I think men and women should be equal in this world； they have different roles which are both important. No one is more important than anyone else! So, in my opinion, I hope There are no sexual discrimination any more, and this situation can bring many benefits for women that could lead them on the equal and independent way.
Married Life and Single Life
Today, in China, the parents always require that their children get married as soon as possible when the children have already been over 25, in contrast,more and more teenagers select single life, and they give the family up. In fact, the single life brings us different style of the life and people enjoy it very much. The single life and married life differ in terms of freedom, expense, and feeling.
In China, a poem which talks about the status of the freedom is famous. It says the love and life, both of them are very necessary for human’s life; however the freedom is more important than either. All over the world, young people need much free time, they don’t long to go into the marriage which is like the grave of freedom. After work, people obtain more free time to go anywhere and do anything they want. For example, they go to watch basketball game at 7:00pm and the team which they support wins the game and makes them very excited; therefore they drink and dance for celebration in the club till 12:00pm even 2:00pm. Whereas the married person must refuse invite from their friends because they need to take care of the family,by cooking dinner for children, and doing housework.
Expense is the second problem for people to face. Single and married people both deal with it. .Single people earn money by themselves and just need to pay for themselves. The basic expense of single life is much lower than married people who usually have more responsibility, such as children’s tuition, car insurance and money for emergency. More pressure is put on the married people. Saving money is the second point. From the first problem, an obvious thing is that single life doesn’t usually have such a complex situation as married life; therefore family people need higher financial capability.
Finally, not only des married life differ in terms of freedom of expense but also in benefits. Although the free time of single life gives people much happiness, being lonely still becomes the worst thing for them. After every happy, sad, and crazy night, especially when they don’t have jobs to do and no friends stay with them, they go back home, lay on the bed, and think why they are alone and eager to find a close friend to talk with from inside. While the man who has wife or husband is better, every night they can share the interesting or sad things that happen during the days and get encouragement or solace from each other. It makes people more optimist and keeps a perfect emotion for everyday.
In the future, single life might become a trend, because young people think they have long time to enjoy their married life, but only have several years of being single; however, the reason why people select different ways to spend their lives is to enjoy themselves. Neither single nor married life is absolutely correct or wrong. Please remember one sentence, “the best one is what is fit for you!”
In China, a poem which talks about the status of the freedom is famous. It says the love and life, both of them are very necessary for human’s life; however the freedom is more important than either. All over the world, young people need much free time, they don’t long to go into the marriage which is like the grave of freedom. After work, people obtain more free time to go anywhere and do anything they want. For example, they go to watch basketball game at 7:00pm and the team which they support wins the game and makes them very excited; therefore they drink and dance for celebration in the club till 12:00pm even 2:00pm. Whereas the married person must refuse invite from their friends because they need to take care of the family,by cooking dinner for children, and doing housework.
Expense is the second problem for people to face. Single and married people both deal with it. .Single people earn money by themselves and just need to pay for themselves. The basic expense of single life is much lower than married people who usually have more responsibility, such as children’s tuition, car insurance and money for emergency. More pressure is put on the married people. Saving money is the second point. From the first problem, an obvious thing is that single life doesn’t usually have such a complex situation as married life; therefore family people need higher financial capability.
Finally, not only des married life differ in terms of freedom of expense but also in benefits. Although the free time of single life gives people much happiness, being lonely still becomes the worst thing for them. After every happy, sad, and crazy night, especially when they don’t have jobs to do and no friends stay with them, they go back home, lay on the bed, and think why they are alone and eager to find a close friend to talk with from inside. While the man who has wife or husband is better, every night they can share the interesting or sad things that happen during the days and get encouragement or solace from each other. It makes people more optimist and keeps a perfect emotion for everyday.
In the future, single life might become a trend, because young people think they have long time to enjoy their married life, but only have several years of being single; however, the reason why people select different ways to spend their lives is to enjoy themselves. Neither single nor married life is absolutely correct or wrong. Please remember one sentence, “the best one is what is fit for you!”
Spring Festival Day
On Spring Festival day, Chinese usually have three family happy periods: the afternoon before the festival day, the night before the festival day, and the festival day. All of them make people excited and happy.
Follow the tradition in the afternoon before the festival, every young family goes to their grandma’s home and stays with their parents to prepare for family reunion dinner. There must be fish, chicken, pork feet, and the most special one—dumpling. Why is dumpling the most important? The answer is that the dumpling of the festival will be wrapped with red dates and coins. In Chinese culture when we eat them, during the coming year people can obtain much luck and money, and great health. Usually people must spend an entire afternoon on cooking all of the food. Although the process takes a long time and makes people tired, they also enjoy themselves.
The second part is the eve before festival. There are two exacting activities to do. One is eating and drinking. At 8:00 pm people start to eat a nice dinner. First, the oldest people will give a presentation about the conclusion of the whole year, which includes positive and negative events as well as a big wish for the New Year. After that it’s the drinking part. The young people must drink with the older people with a toast, such as “good luck in everything” and “good health and a long life”, which means young person respect them deeply. The other element is to watch New Year’s party, which is popular all over China. Mr. Zhao is the most famous actor and gives people infinite happiness. We looked forward to seeing on the stage every year. It almost becomes a habit as if the festival dinner is not perfect without him. Till 12:00 pm while the clock is ringing, people go outside and light firecrackers. So many different and colorful firecrackers make the night beautiful and full of detonation. At that moment people happily welcome the coming year.
Finally, on the first day of new year, people wake up early, wear their new clothes for the new year and go to relatives’ and friends’ places to bring good wishes to each other. Particularly, children who don’t have a job could get money as a gift from the older generationwhen they say, “Happy New Year”. Therefore, many friends meeting and enjoying together for the new year is the most important event for the for the festival.
The spring festival is full of welfare atmosphere. Spring Festival is the most important day in the Chinese heart.
Follow the tradition in the afternoon before the festival, every young family goes to their grandma’s home and stays with their parents to prepare for family reunion dinner. There must be fish, chicken, pork feet, and the most special one—dumpling. Why is dumpling the most important? The answer is that the dumpling of the festival will be wrapped with red dates and coins. In Chinese culture when we eat them, during the coming year people can obtain much luck and money, and great health. Usually people must spend an entire afternoon on cooking all of the food. Although the process takes a long time and makes people tired, they also enjoy themselves.
The second part is the eve before festival. There are two exacting activities to do. One is eating and drinking. At 8:00 pm people start to eat a nice dinner. First, the oldest people will give a presentation about the conclusion of the whole year, which includes positive and negative events as well as a big wish for the New Year. After that it’s the drinking part. The young people must drink with the older people with a toast, such as “good luck in everything” and “good health and a long life”, which means young person respect them deeply. The other element is to watch New Year’s party, which is popular all over China. Mr. Zhao is the most famous actor and gives people infinite happiness. We looked forward to seeing on the stage every year. It almost becomes a habit as if the festival dinner is not perfect without him. Till 12:00 pm while the clock is ringing, people go outside and light firecrackers. So many different and colorful firecrackers make the night beautiful and full of detonation. At that moment people happily welcome the coming year.
Finally, on the first day of new year, people wake up early, wear their new clothes for the new year and go to relatives’ and friends’ places to bring good wishes to each other. Particularly, children who don’t have a job could get money as a gift from the older generationwhen they say, “Happy New Year”. Therefore, many friends meeting and enjoying together for the new year is the most important event for the for the festival.
The spring festival is full of welfare atmosphere. Spring Festival is the most important day in the Chinese heart.
The National Day
On national day, October 1st, we have a wonderful time in Beijing and some special activities for public celebration, family outside home and family at home.
The first thought which Tiananmen Square is because it is the best important place you should go on those days. Tiananmen Square is a ceremony of building up a country which is China, and Tiananmen Gate located there which is a significant building. It is very classical architecture with Chinese characteristics; it is the main Chinese red color. Our president, Chairman Mao, declared funding of new China on Tiananmen Gate on October 1st, 1949. Every ten years there will have a magnificent parade on Chang An Street which is established in front of Tiananmen Square, and it is axis of Beijing. You can see beautiful floats, various units, orderly phalanx army, the latest militarized weapons in the parade, etc. But just minorities people can go there see this magnificent scene on that day. Most of people will see this celebration at home through TV live. Our today’s leader will stand on the Tiananmen Gate to review troops.
In addition to, there are some other kind’s activities. Especially, our government usually arranges four flower terraces in each corner of Tiananmen Square according to different meaning of each year. Like in 2008, our topic is Olympics. Our new constructs will added in those flower terraces through epitome such as The Nest’s Bird which is National Indoor Stadium, The Water Cube which is National Swimming Center. Almost every year my parents and I will go there see that and take some pictures for memory. After that, you can choose to go some parks and join specific activities on this good season which is good for going on spring outing. For example, Zhong Shan Park which is located behind of Tiananmen Gate will hold flowers exhibition such as China rose and tulip, potted landscape shows, etc. In ancient times, Zhong Shan Park is the royal garden. In my opinion, it is one reason why there are many various plants grow there. Also you can enjoy friendship associations, amateur performer gathering of Peking Opera in other parks, like Bei Hai Park, Jing Shan Park, and so on. If you hobby shopping, this day which has a big sale is you best choose to shopping and I highly recommend New World, Big Joy City and The East New Field.
Besides above two aspects, the last favorite one which is the best item I like. All of Republic of China populations have a seven day’s holiday. Every family members gather together have rich dinner. We will cook various Chinese dishes on the table around fifteen dishes include meat, vegetable and soup, etc. After dinner, we will seat in front of TV and watch live article evening entertainment which usually goes at Great Hall of the People. Many celebrities will participate in the performance which will keep three hours. In October 1st, 2009, this year is our founding 50th anniversary. Although I didn’t catch it last year because I had came to America already, I can feel that spectacular scenes of shock through TV live. Especially, I have strong feeling; I love our hometown, China. I didn’t have same feeling before I came to here. I am proud of my country.
Anyway, The National Day is our most popular celebration because it is a symbol of our mighty country. I enjoy it very much. If you experience, I believe you will like it.
The first thought which Tiananmen Square is because it is the best important place you should go on those days. Tiananmen Square is a ceremony of building up a country which is China, and Tiananmen Gate located there which is a significant building. It is very classical architecture with Chinese characteristics; it is the main Chinese red color. Our president, Chairman Mao, declared funding of new China on Tiananmen Gate on October 1st, 1949. Every ten years there will have a magnificent parade on Chang An Street which is established in front of Tiananmen Square, and it is axis of Beijing. You can see beautiful floats, various units, orderly phalanx army, the latest militarized weapons in the parade, etc. But just minorities people can go there see this magnificent scene on that day. Most of people will see this celebration at home through TV live. Our today’s leader will stand on the Tiananmen Gate to review troops.
In addition to, there are some other kind’s activities. Especially, our government usually arranges four flower terraces in each corner of Tiananmen Square according to different meaning of each year. Like in 2008, our topic is Olympics. Our new constructs will added in those flower terraces through epitome such as The Nest’s Bird which is National Indoor Stadium, The Water Cube which is National Swimming Center. Almost every year my parents and I will go there see that and take some pictures for memory. After that, you can choose to go some parks and join specific activities on this good season which is good for going on spring outing. For example, Zhong Shan Park which is located behind of Tiananmen Gate will hold flowers exhibition such as China rose and tulip, potted landscape shows, etc. In ancient times, Zhong Shan Park is the royal garden. In my opinion, it is one reason why there are many various plants grow there. Also you can enjoy friendship associations, amateur performer gathering of Peking Opera in other parks, like Bei Hai Park, Jing Shan Park, and so on. If you hobby shopping, this day which has a big sale is you best choose to shopping and I highly recommend New World, Big Joy City and The East New Field.
Besides above two aspects, the last favorite one which is the best item I like. All of Republic of China populations have a seven day’s holiday. Every family members gather together have rich dinner. We will cook various Chinese dishes on the table around fifteen dishes include meat, vegetable and soup, etc. After dinner, we will seat in front of TV and watch live article evening entertainment which usually goes at Great Hall of the People. Many celebrities will participate in the performance which will keep three hours. In October 1st, 2009, this year is our founding 50th anniversary. Although I didn’t catch it last year because I had came to America already, I can feel that spectacular scenes of shock through TV live. Especially, I have strong feeling; I love our hometown, China. I didn’t have same feeling before I came to here. I am proud of my country.
Anyway, The National Day is our most popular celebration because it is a symbol of our mighty country. I enjoy it very much. If you experience, I believe you will like it.
Compare Single Life and Married Life
Recently, there is an interesting thing happening in my family with two of my cousins. One of my cousins was married two years ago and he had a baby last year, and the younger one did not marry yet. One day, they drank with their friends outside. And they made a deal: my older cousin told his wife that he will drink with my younger cousin and then he can back home later. If his wife asked my younger cousin is her husband drinking with him, then he would say “yes.” After 10 o’clock, the older one’s wife called my younger cousin, “Is my husband drink with you?” And he said, “Yes, he is drinking with me.” But the funny thing is my older cousin drinks a lot and he forgot the deal. Then, he told his wife he was drinking with his friends. Finally his wife saw through the deceit. It’s kind of funny and it also showed us that single life and married life are very different. Single life and married life differ in terms of mentality, activities in free time, and financial.
Firstly, single and married person’s spirits differ in that single person do not have much pressure from family and social, while married person have more pressure from family and social. Single person can do whatever they want and needn’t think about families too much. But married person are different, they need to think about their families more, they need to care for the family members all the time. For example, my older cousin just had a baby, and he needs to take care of his daughter special in the evening. It’s very hard and hardship. So married person have more pressure on family. On the other hand, my younger cousin just needs to care for himself and needn’t work that hard to support house and car, etc.
Secondly, single person and married person have different in terms of what they do in free time and where they go on weekend. Single person usually do something they want, exciting, and special. For example, my younger cousin usually goes to club with his friends and drinks a lot. And on weekend, he goes hiking and snowboarding and has a little travel by himself. But the married person may have narrower space than single person. They do chores, housework, and don’t always go outside on weekends. For example, some married man want to exercise with their friends, but their wives disagree, women think husbands should stay with their wife and children. On the other side, my younger cousin can do anything he wants. One day, he went skiing with his friends, after skiing they played roller coaster and then they went a friend’s home and played poker the whole night. He can do every crazy thing, he wants and has no wife to tell him “No”!
Finally, single and married life’s differ not only in spirit and free time, but also in financial. Single person have less pressure from family, so they can buy something they like, and also can save a lot of money. But married persons have more pressure from family, they need pay for food, clothes, and all kinds of living expenses including children’s tuition, etc. One married person has two children. One day, he went shopping with his wife and children. His wife wanted to buy a suit of cosmetic, so he bought it for her. Later, he bought a new MP3 and a new phone for his children. The reason is the girl said her MP3 was broken and her brother thought it was not fair, so he bought one for both of them. These things often happened but he didn’t buy anything for himself. On the other side, a young single man went shopping and just bought a pair of useful shoes. He saved a lot of money and got what he wanted.
In short, the differences between single life and married life have three aspects, mentality which shows different public has different pressure. Private space, which let us know, married and single people have different life. Financial tell us that two kinds of populations have difference money issues. People should get married when they are mature enough and have more social experience. In my opinion, people should get married when they have steady income and social status. These will safeguard happiness.
Firstly, single and married person’s spirits differ in that single person do not have much pressure from family and social, while married person have more pressure from family and social. Single person can do whatever they want and needn’t think about families too much. But married person are different, they need to think about their families more, they need to care for the family members all the time. For example, my older cousin just had a baby, and he needs to take care of his daughter special in the evening. It’s very hard and hardship. So married person have more pressure on family. On the other hand, my younger cousin just needs to care for himself and needn’t work that hard to support house and car, etc.
Secondly, single person and married person have different in terms of what they do in free time and where they go on weekend. Single person usually do something they want, exciting, and special. For example, my younger cousin usually goes to club with his friends and drinks a lot. And on weekend, he goes hiking and snowboarding and has a little travel by himself. But the married person may have narrower space than single person. They do chores, housework, and don’t always go outside on weekends. For example, some married man want to exercise with their friends, but their wives disagree, women think husbands should stay with their wife and children. On the other side, my younger cousin can do anything he wants. One day, he went skiing with his friends, after skiing they played roller coaster and then they went a friend’s home and played poker the whole night. He can do every crazy thing, he wants and has no wife to tell him “No”!
Finally, single and married life’s differ not only in spirit and free time, but also in financial. Single person have less pressure from family, so they can buy something they like, and also can save a lot of money. But married persons have more pressure from family, they need pay for food, clothes, and all kinds of living expenses including children’s tuition, etc. One married person has two children. One day, he went shopping with his wife and children. His wife wanted to buy a suit of cosmetic, so he bought it for her. Later, he bought a new MP3 and a new phone for his children. The reason is the girl said her MP3 was broken and her brother thought it was not fair, so he bought one for both of them. These things often happened but he didn’t buy anything for himself. On the other side, a young single man went shopping and just bought a pair of useful shoes. He saved a lot of money and got what he wanted.
In short, the differences between single life and married life have three aspects, mentality which shows different public has different pressure. Private space, which let us know, married and single people have different life. Financial tell us that two kinds of populations have difference money issues. People should get married when they are mature enough and have more social experience. In my opinion, people should get married when they have steady income and social status. These will safeguard happiness.
Spring Festival
On Spring Festival, we have special celebration: wonderful time with family in home and happy time with relatives. Rery give us wellbeing and sweet memory, all the families get together, no worry no grief.
Rery is on lunar calendar January 1th, which is the most important night during Spring Festival. Three central aspects are wrap dumplings, set off firecrackers, and eat dumplings together. Before 12 o’clock, my mother and grandmother wrap dumplings, there is something special in dumplings: coins and red dates. My grandmother will put them into dumplings. If someone eats a dumpling which has a coin, it means the guy will earn much money in the New Year, and the red date means good luck. When I was young, in order to got a coin, I ate as much dumplings as I could. The Spring Festival Gala is the most important gala in the whole year; I watch it with my family every year, and most Chinese are same with us, it has gradually become a tradition. On 12 o’clock, my grandmother cook dumplings when my father sets off firecrackers outside, it’s so jollification. After that, we eat dumplings together and say some lucky words to families, then parents and grandparents will give children red envelope, which is the happiest moment for children.
Another aspect during the Spring Festival is when we spend happy time with relatives. The first two days is a busyness stage: visit elderships and aunt. On the first day of the Chinese New Year, my parents will bring me to my elderships’ home to pay New Year call to them, and chat about some family things with them. And also, elderships will give children red envelope. Some of the relatives may have not seen each other for a long time; it’s a sweet moment to visit them. Second day is a happy day for me that I can play with my cousins. My parents will take me to my grandma’s home, and pay New Year call to grandma, aunts, and uncles. My aunts and my mom will cook many dishes, and we eat together. Adults also drink some wine and children set off firecrackers after lunch.
Spring Festival is the most important festival in China because we have wonderful time with family in home and happy time with relatives, every day was full of joy.
Rery is on lunar calendar January 1th, which is the most important night during Spring Festival. Three central aspects are wrap dumplings, set off firecrackers, and eat dumplings together. Before 12 o’clock, my mother and grandmother wrap dumplings, there is something special in dumplings: coins and red dates. My grandmother will put them into dumplings. If someone eats a dumpling which has a coin, it means the guy will earn much money in the New Year, and the red date means good luck. When I was young, in order to got a coin, I ate as much dumplings as I could. The Spring Festival Gala is the most important gala in the whole year; I watch it with my family every year, and most Chinese are same with us, it has gradually become a tradition. On 12 o’clock, my grandmother cook dumplings when my father sets off firecrackers outside, it’s so jollification. After that, we eat dumplings together and say some lucky words to families, then parents and grandparents will give children red envelope, which is the happiest moment for children.
Another aspect during the Spring Festival is when we spend happy time with relatives. The first two days is a busyness stage: visit elderships and aunt. On the first day of the Chinese New Year, my parents will bring me to my elderships’ home to pay New Year call to them, and chat about some family things with them. And also, elderships will give children red envelope. Some of the relatives may have not seen each other for a long time; it’s a sweet moment to visit them. Second day is a happy day for me that I can play with my cousins. My parents will take me to my grandma’s home, and pay New Year call to grandma, aunts, and uncles. My aunts and my mom will cook many dishes, and we eat together. Adults also drink some wine and children set off firecrackers after lunch.
Spring Festival is the most important festival in China because we have wonderful time with family in home and happy time with relatives, every day was full of joy.
Compare women’s roles in two generations-by Peggy.w
My mother and I are very close as friends; we talk about everything and also argue about everything. However, it’s not just me who has arguments with my mom, even my sisters do too. This generation gap makes us have different ways of thinking and also makes us differ in terms of our opinions about the appropriate time to get married, the time we spend on our work, and the definition of a good life.
First, my mom and I have different thoughts about the appropriate time to get married. She got married when she was 21 years old, and my father was 25 years old. They both just graduated from the school and started their first job, but they got married. In my mom’s generation, people think the marriage is necessary to a meaningful adult life, so usually the women wants to get married right after they graduated. But that’s not what I thought; my idea about the appropriate time to get married is when you are ready. In my opinion, I think before you get married you should have more experience of your life and have strongly financial foundation to support your life. Not just the man, also the women. They both should make sure they are strong enough to support a family; then, you are ready to get married.
Second, the time we spend on our work is different. Because we have different way of thinking, so my mom realized that she needs to built up her own career after her marriage to support the family (at that time, she already had me and my sister). Even though she still won’t spend too much time on work and always has high priority for the family. On the other hand, my job is my dream and my life. If I am doing a production, I usually spend day and night for it and never stop until I achieve my goal. Therefore, my job is my first priority; I spend a lot of time on work while my mom doesn’t spend time on work.
Third, we have different definition of a good life. People work hard for better life, so they deserve the life they want, and that is what I think. After graduation, I started to make my own money; therefore, I spend the money in the way I want, but my mom disagrees with my idea. In my mom’s generation, people been taught to stay frugal and save a lot of money which make them feel secure. But they end up passing away without spend any money. So, in my opinion, I would like to work hard and stay in the life with quality while my mom saves all the money and gives up the quality of her life.
The differences between my mom’s generation and mine, even though the gap it’s been there than 20 years, but it’s still different. The old generation women care more about the marriage and family; however, my generation is more individualistic. As a result, this is normal and just the way it is.
First, my mom and I have different thoughts about the appropriate time to get married. She got married when she was 21 years old, and my father was 25 years old. They both just graduated from the school and started their first job, but they got married. In my mom’s generation, people think the marriage is necessary to a meaningful adult life, so usually the women wants to get married right after they graduated. But that’s not what I thought; my idea about the appropriate time to get married is when you are ready. In my opinion, I think before you get married you should have more experience of your life and have strongly financial foundation to support your life. Not just the man, also the women. They both should make sure they are strong enough to support a family; then, you are ready to get married.
Second, the time we spend on our work is different. Because we have different way of thinking, so my mom realized that she needs to built up her own career after her marriage to support the family (at that time, she already had me and my sister). Even though she still won’t spend too much time on work and always has high priority for the family. On the other hand, my job is my dream and my life. If I am doing a production, I usually spend day and night for it and never stop until I achieve my goal. Therefore, my job is my first priority; I spend a lot of time on work while my mom doesn’t spend time on work.
Third, we have different definition of a good life. People work hard for better life, so they deserve the life they want, and that is what I think. After graduation, I started to make my own money; therefore, I spend the money in the way I want, but my mom disagrees with my idea. In my mom’s generation, people been taught to stay frugal and save a lot of money which make them feel secure. But they end up passing away without spend any money. So, in my opinion, I would like to work hard and stay in the life with quality while my mom saves all the money and gives up the quality of her life.
The differences between my mom’s generation and mine, even though the gap it’s been there than 20 years, but it’s still different. The old generation women care more about the marriage and family; however, my generation is more individualistic. As a result, this is normal and just the way it is.
The Different Lives of between Men and Women
Since the 1960s, Korea has developed rapidly as the 11th president of Korea. Many population increased, and the same time the women's status has come up with men' position. Many women wanted position and role same as men, and argued for equal rights. So, men's activities and lifestyles are similarly situated. Although the difference between men and women have disappeared in many parts of our life, there are still many different lifestyles because of the biggest reason that is the 'Confucian ideas' that were made by 'Confucius' and 'Mencius' who were scholars in ancient china. Therefore, today in the Korea lives of men and women are different in terms of the type of activities they do, the sort of work they do, and rewards they receive.
The first thing is that men and women differ in their type of activities in their leisure time. Men have valued outdoor activities more than indoor activities for a long time. On the other hand, women do not and so they restrict their outdoor activities. For instance, after men work hard in their office, they enjoy playing sports or watching the sports games with their friends or co-workers on their weekend such as going to Staple Center to see the basketball games, or playing basketball in the gym. Unlike men in Korea, who spend more time doing the outdoor activities, women in Korea live to do indoor activities with their friends or mother or alone like chatting or gossiping about men's appearance, women's life, or brand-new accessories like rings, necklaces, and bags.
Another thing is the difference of work between men and women in their workplace. Most men work without any restraint in their office or company, whereas women are limited to work a little bit. For instance, men must serve in military for two years in Korea. They can also go high positions like a sergeant, a captain, or a general if they want to get jobs in military, while women can voluntarily serve in the army, but their position are confined as sergeant and captain. The other of example is that men's salaries are higher than women's salaries.
Not only type of activities and work they do, but also rewards they receive are differ from men to women. Above all, men are given feel passion and energies from their outdoor activities and workplace. On the other hand, women receive stable mind and emotion in their free time and from their jobs. For example, after doing the outdoor activities and taking a shower, men look exhausted, but acturally it is to fill with energies. Men do not show their sleepy eyes and sit limply in the chair anymore. In contrast, women receive stable mind through indoor activities to take a break as well as they get the pleasant and get rid of stress to go shopping such as purchasing nice clothing and entirely new cosmetics.
In spite of being equally position between men and women as well, we can see still the difference of the lives of men and women- type of activities they do, sort of work they do, and rewards they receive. A few conservative men still believe the lives of men and women should not be identical, and think in terms of the stereotype that women should do house work or indoor activities. The lives of men and women are much different until recently; however, this idea will vanish soon. We should think outside the box and prepare lives that are changing everyday.
The first thing is that men and women differ in their type of activities in their leisure time. Men have valued outdoor activities more than indoor activities for a long time. On the other hand, women do not and so they restrict their outdoor activities. For instance, after men work hard in their office, they enjoy playing sports or watching the sports games with their friends or co-workers on their weekend such as going to Staple Center to see the basketball games, or playing basketball in the gym. Unlike men in Korea, who spend more time doing the outdoor activities, women in Korea live to do indoor activities with their friends or mother or alone like chatting or gossiping about men's appearance, women's life, or brand-new accessories like rings, necklaces, and bags.
Another thing is the difference of work between men and women in their workplace. Most men work without any restraint in their office or company, whereas women are limited to work a little bit. For instance, men must serve in military for two years in Korea. They can also go high positions like a sergeant, a captain, or a general if they want to get jobs in military, while women can voluntarily serve in the army, but their position are confined as sergeant and captain. The other of example is that men's salaries are higher than women's salaries.
Not only type of activities and work they do, but also rewards they receive are differ from men to women. Above all, men are given feel passion and energies from their outdoor activities and workplace. On the other hand, women receive stable mind and emotion in their free time and from their jobs. For example, after doing the outdoor activities and taking a shower, men look exhausted, but acturally it is to fill with energies. Men do not show their sleepy eyes and sit limply in the chair anymore. In contrast, women receive stable mind through indoor activities to take a break as well as they get the pleasant and get rid of stress to go shopping such as purchasing nice clothing and entirely new cosmetics.
In spite of being equally position between men and women as well, we can see still the difference of the lives of men and women- type of activities they do, sort of work they do, and rewards they receive. A few conservative men still believe the lives of men and women should not be identical, and think in terms of the stereotype that women should do house work or indoor activities. The lives of men and women are much different until recently; however, this idea will vanish soon. We should think outside the box and prepare lives that are changing everyday.
Young people’s expectations for marriage and reality of married life
Today gender roles of people have changed in the last few years as a result of the extension of women’s rights. And it has affected social and cultural life styles of between men and women. Those who are young imagine their marriage in terms of what chores are divided between marriage couples, how mates use leisure time and what they do, and how couples live independently from parents-in-law.
First, many young people have responsibilities of housework. Husbands and wives expect to share the housework fifty-fifty before marriage such as, cooking, laundry, vacuuming, throwing trash away, and cleaning bath room. If not only a married woman is working late at night, but also her working still doesn’t finish; furthermore, there are household; which may be not finished yet. She hopes that her husband does some housekeeping. But reality is contrary to expectation. Both of them procrastinate their housework because these days, there are lots of double-income families. They are tired enough and don’t have time to split housework precisely half and half. When they come back home after working, not only do they just want to sleep or take a rest for tomorrow, but also they cannot afford to do housework. And this phenomenon is increasing.
Second, many young people differ in their expectations to spend extra times or holidays. They want to spend time together, doing same hobbies or dating such as going travelling, going to the movies, and having dinner together in nice restaurant etc. that they did before they were married. They always think they will be of one mind and will not change their heart after marriage. However, reality is different. They find unknown facts about their partners that they don’t know or that they are not interested in. At first, they are pleased to know new truths about their spouses, but later, knowing new things about their husbands or wives can bring difference in opinion. And time goes by they are getting exhausted because marriage life is difficult in aspects of patience and taking care of not just yourself, but family. These devotions sometimes make them sick of being their family. And they don’t want to spend much time together with their partners. They start to do what they want. They like different hobbies more than matching hobbies to behave separately. Sometimes also they don’t want to spend time together when they get into the state of ennui in married life. For example, with some married couples, a husband don’t want to come back home early after working run on, he just gets drunk with friends or colleagues all night. And a wife enjoys buying whatever she wants. They release their stress, doing what they like.
Last, many young people suppose that they will live apart from their parents-in-law. Then, they think the relationship with them will be more at ease. There is no doubt that marriage couples are relationship with their parents. They wish to get comfortable and nice parents-in-law. These days, there are lots of nice, gentle parents-in-law. At first, the partner’s parents show them warm and kind image; in addition, they say that they just want couples to live together happily. On the other hand, after marriage, some parents-in-law change and interfere with their lifestyle such as eating habits after marriage. Parents come to couple’s house and say “don’t eat toasts and serials. You should eat it because it is not enough to work in the morning.” This interference makes young people uncomfortable, and the first image which was good will change, and their relationship can be just formal. Furthermore, they can also interfere with having children of couples. For example, they say impolitely “why don’t still you have children?” or “Maybe you need checkups for pregnancy.”
Expectation and reality is completely different like I mentioned already, so you need preparation for marriage. When you marry somebody, you should be careful and need efforts to overcome your marriage life wisely. I think before you marry, if you make agreements to maintain peace of family with a man who will be your spouse, it will be helpful to each partner in aspects of endurance.
First, many young people have responsibilities of housework. Husbands and wives expect to share the housework fifty-fifty before marriage such as, cooking, laundry, vacuuming, throwing trash away, and cleaning bath room. If not only a married woman is working late at night, but also her working still doesn’t finish; furthermore, there are household; which may be not finished yet. She hopes that her husband does some housekeeping. But reality is contrary to expectation. Both of them procrastinate their housework because these days, there are lots of double-income families. They are tired enough and don’t have time to split housework precisely half and half. When they come back home after working, not only do they just want to sleep or take a rest for tomorrow, but also they cannot afford to do housework. And this phenomenon is increasing.
Second, many young people differ in their expectations to spend extra times or holidays. They want to spend time together, doing same hobbies or dating such as going travelling, going to the movies, and having dinner together in nice restaurant etc. that they did before they were married. They always think they will be of one mind and will not change their heart after marriage. However, reality is different. They find unknown facts about their partners that they don’t know or that they are not interested in. At first, they are pleased to know new truths about their spouses, but later, knowing new things about their husbands or wives can bring difference in opinion. And time goes by they are getting exhausted because marriage life is difficult in aspects of patience and taking care of not just yourself, but family. These devotions sometimes make them sick of being their family. And they don’t want to spend much time together with their partners. They start to do what they want. They like different hobbies more than matching hobbies to behave separately. Sometimes also they don’t want to spend time together when they get into the state of ennui in married life. For example, with some married couples, a husband don’t want to come back home early after working run on, he just gets drunk with friends or colleagues all night. And a wife enjoys buying whatever she wants. They release their stress, doing what they like.
Last, many young people suppose that they will live apart from their parents-in-law. Then, they think the relationship with them will be more at ease. There is no doubt that marriage couples are relationship with their parents. They wish to get comfortable and nice parents-in-law. These days, there are lots of nice, gentle parents-in-law. At first, the partner’s parents show them warm and kind image; in addition, they say that they just want couples to live together happily. On the other hand, after marriage, some parents-in-law change and interfere with their lifestyle such as eating habits after marriage. Parents come to couple’s house and say “don’t eat toasts and serials. You should eat it because it is not enough to work in the morning.” This interference makes young people uncomfortable, and the first image which was good will change, and their relationship can be just formal. Furthermore, they can also interfere with having children of couples. For example, they say impolitely “why don’t still you have children?” or “Maybe you need checkups for pregnancy.”
Expectation and reality is completely different like I mentioned already, so you need preparation for marriage. When you marry somebody, you should be careful and need efforts to overcome your marriage life wisely. I think before you marry, if you make agreements to maintain peace of family with a man who will be your spouse, it will be helpful to each partner in aspects of endurance.
Strategies to Study Korean
I used two strategies to help me prepare for the Korean teacher’s certification examination. The strategy of studying Korean literature is to grasp of a literary work‘s theme. Above all it is important when a literary work was written. For example, poems written during the Japanese colonial rule usually have the theme about the hope of country’s independence usually. When I pretended to be a person living at that time while I was reading novels or poems, I was able to feel the mood of these days. This imagination helped me remember features of each period and do well on the exam. The strategy of studying Korean grammar is learning by rote. Korean has a developed rule of the honorifics; it’s built into the language. For example, you can greet someone with “annyong” and if you want to signify polite respect, you have to suffix “haseyo” or “hasimnikka”. In case of an irregular verb, “meokda” means ‘to eat’ and there are irregular honorifics; “deusida”, “japsusida”. I used to read the whole grammatical rules repeatedly and then write down the rules as I memorized them to check my weaknesses. After these practices, I was able to analyze the construction of a sentence and find several grammatical errors in an ancient dialogic paragraph. Even though I was not able to pass the teacher’s certification examination, these strategies helped me get a high score. After I go back to Korea, I am going to use these useful strategies again and I know I will pass this time.
Four Distinct Seasons of Korea
Korea, which is surrounded by three seas, has four distinct seasons every year.
First, spring is so warm and gentle. Forsythias let us know the coming of spring then, Koreans realize winter is over. But there is the last cold snap which is temporary cold after becoming warm and before the beginning of genuine spring for a while. It is one of the climate features of the Korean Peninsula. Korean students not only go back to school after a long winter vacation for about two and a half months, but also start school in spring contrary to American schools which start in autumn.
Secondly, summer is the rainy season, and it is intense hot and humid. For example, there are big damages as the crops are submerged because of heavy rain. On the other hand, many people say that “just sitting makes me sweat” in high humidity. And also when people are in summer lethargy, we say “you are affected by the heat.” To endure summer, traditionally Koreans eat health food such as “Samgyetang”, which is chicken broth with ginseng and other ingredients, during the hottest period of summer. We call the day “Sambok”, and there are three special days –the first hottest day, the second hottest day, and the last hottest day- settled on a calendar from old times.
Third, autumn is not only a little bit chill but also warm, but it is a different kind of warm than spring. Leaves are getting dyed colorfully, and some people pick out some pretty fallen leaves and put between papers of a book to keep the feeling of fall. Also, the sky is usually clear blue, and the air is fresh. That’s why people say “autumn is the best season for reading books.” On the other hand, some people go to picnic because the weather is so good to journey in. For that reason, there are heavy traffic jams on the road on weekends because of so many Koreans who are travelling and trying to enjoy the pleasant weather.
Lastly, winter is harsh cold and people need thick coats to go out. It feels like getting your skin cut by a sharp object. And when snow falls, snow freezes due to low temperatures during the night, and there is often big traffic accidents caused by sliding on the road. And there is piled snow on both sides of the road. Sometimes, a cold wave approaches like mountains of clouds and it drops plenty of snow, so some schools close temporarily because students can’t go to school because of so much. Whereas it makes some people happy who like winter sports such as skiing or snowboarding, it inconveniences many others.
The Korean peninsula has good fortune to experience all four seasons.
First, spring is so warm and gentle. Forsythias let us know the coming of spring then, Koreans realize winter is over. But there is the last cold snap which is temporary cold after becoming warm and before the beginning of genuine spring for a while. It is one of the climate features of the Korean Peninsula. Korean students not only go back to school after a long winter vacation for about two and a half months, but also start school in spring contrary to American schools which start in autumn.
Secondly, summer is the rainy season, and it is intense hot and humid. For example, there are big damages as the crops are submerged because of heavy rain. On the other hand, many people say that “just sitting makes me sweat” in high humidity. And also when people are in summer lethargy, we say “you are affected by the heat.” To endure summer, traditionally Koreans eat health food such as “Samgyetang”, which is chicken broth with ginseng and other ingredients, during the hottest period of summer. We call the day “Sambok”, and there are three special days –the first hottest day, the second hottest day, and the last hottest day- settled on a calendar from old times.
Third, autumn is not only a little bit chill but also warm, but it is a different kind of warm than spring. Leaves are getting dyed colorfully, and some people pick out some pretty fallen leaves and put between papers of a book to keep the feeling of fall. Also, the sky is usually clear blue, and the air is fresh. That’s why people say “autumn is the best season for reading books.” On the other hand, some people go to picnic because the weather is so good to journey in. For that reason, there are heavy traffic jams on the road on weekends because of so many Koreans who are travelling and trying to enjoy the pleasant weather.
Lastly, winter is harsh cold and people need thick coats to go out. It feels like getting your skin cut by a sharp object. And when snow falls, snow freezes due to low temperatures during the night, and there is often big traffic accidents caused by sliding on the road. And there is piled snow on both sides of the road. Sometimes, a cold wave approaches like mountains of clouds and it drops plenty of snow, so some schools close temporarily because students can’t go to school because of so much. Whereas it makes some people happy who like winter sports such as skiing or snowboarding, it inconveniences many others.
The Korean peninsula has good fortune to experience all four seasons.
The Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival
The Chinese Festival that has made a special impression on me is the Mid- Autumn Festival, which is on August fifteenth every year. Accompanying the celebration there are additional cultural or regional customs, such as the Myth of the Mid-Autumn Festival, which was sponsored by our ancestors, and also that families must be together and eat moon-cake.
The first reason that I feel interested in the Mid-Autumn Festival is that the Mid- Autumn Festival was sponsored by our ancestors who transmitted myth stories of the Mid- Autumn Festival to each of the younger generations. The myth story always involves Chang’e, who flew to the moon and became the Goddess of the Palace of Great Cold, and this myth has become famous and has attracted people’s attention to this festival. Children look up at the silver face of the moon and imagine all kinds of moon creatures until they fall asleep as day turns into night. Furthermore, in the 14th century, mooncakes were used to tell people the time and place for the revolution against the foreign Mongols.
I want to join in the Mid-Autumn Festival not only because of the interesting myths, but also because of the activities or customs that help my family become closer to each other. During the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, if my brothers or I have left our homtown or have gone to work in other cities, we must to go back to our home to meet together. We talk about interesting, sad, and angry things or news that happened to each family member during the year. In addition, I see many of my neighbors who like to sit outside to admire the bright Mid-Autumn harvest moon from their yards. The moon must be absolutely bigger, brighter, and closer to earth at this time of year than at any other on this day . The special and important food that I need to eat during the Mid-Autumn Festival is moon-cake. For traditional moon-cake, the whole egg yolk is in the center to represent the moon, and the reason why we put the egg yolk in the moon-cake is that the egg yolk’s shape symbolizes the moon. It also represents each family member’s relationship like a circle, which describes our family relationship which always connected together and in harmony.
In conclusion, we have some signficant myth stories and customs in the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival from our ancestors. Although we currently have changed to different flavors of mooncake on the Mid-Autumn Festival, the mooncake is on sale in August of each year in Chinese communities everywhere. Moreover, having various editions of myths are fun to increase the mystery of the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. My family and I still emphasize eating the traditional mooncake and have fun joining the crowd by buying mooncakes of many different flavors on the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The first reason that I feel interested in the Mid-Autumn Festival is that the Mid- Autumn Festival was sponsored by our ancestors who transmitted myth stories of the Mid- Autumn Festival to each of the younger generations. The myth story always involves Chang’e, who flew to the moon and became the Goddess of the Palace of Great Cold, and this myth has become famous and has attracted people’s attention to this festival. Children look up at the silver face of the moon and imagine all kinds of moon creatures until they fall asleep as day turns into night. Furthermore, in the 14th century, mooncakes were used to tell people the time and place for the revolution against the foreign Mongols.
I want to join in the Mid-Autumn Festival not only because of the interesting myths, but also because of the activities or customs that help my family become closer to each other. During the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, if my brothers or I have left our homtown or have gone to work in other cities, we must to go back to our home to meet together. We talk about interesting, sad, and angry things or news that happened to each family member during the year. In addition, I see many of my neighbors who like to sit outside to admire the bright Mid-Autumn harvest moon from their yards. The moon must be absolutely bigger, brighter, and closer to earth at this time of year than at any other on this day . The special and important food that I need to eat during the Mid-Autumn Festival is moon-cake. For traditional moon-cake, the whole egg yolk is in the center to represent the moon, and the reason why we put the egg yolk in the moon-cake is that the egg yolk’s shape symbolizes the moon. It also represents each family member’s relationship like a circle, which describes our family relationship which always connected together and in harmony.
In conclusion, we have some signficant myth stories and customs in the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival from our ancestors. Although we currently have changed to different flavors of mooncake on the Mid-Autumn Festival, the mooncake is on sale in August of each year in Chinese communities everywhere. Moreover, having various editions of myths are fun to increase the mystery of the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. My family and I still emphasize eating the traditional mooncake and have fun joining the crowd by buying mooncakes of many different flavors on the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Fantasy or Reality
A couple that I know went out with each other for seven years. The man had a successful job in his business career and the woman, who was my senior, had a stable educational job and a pretty figure. According to everyone's expectations, they got married one year ago. Of course, they looked like a perfect couple and made others envious, but they divorced by mutual agreement after three months. After I saw this case, I found that in Korea young people’s expectations for marriage and the reality of married life differ in terms of loneliness, money, and love.
First, people's expectations for marriage and the reality of married life differ in terms of loneliness. Many singles, who suffer lonesomeness, expect that there won’t be any loneliness after their wedding. They also hope to have fun things in their life because they watched a lot of dramas and movies that told them a marriage has only a good side. On the other hand, people who are married still feel lonely. Some spouses are always busy working until midnight and have to go to work even on weekends. In addition, 34.1% of Korean married men and 19.9% of Korean married women have cheated according to Asia Times. This shows that cheating on spouse can make married people feel lonelier.
Second, young people’s expectations for marriage and the reality of married life are different in regard to money. Young people expect to save a lot of money with their marriage. The reason is that they’ll share their house and furniture when they are married. Young people also hope to meet rich spouses. In contrast to their expectations, they will have to pay high living expenses like cost of a bigger house, children’s educational fees. In Korea, people have to pay expensive tuition starting with preschool. Besides, they have to spend unexpected money on the homes of their spouse’s parents and family events.
Last, young people’s expectations for marriage and the reality of married life differ in terms of love. Some people who are not married think that love is the only standard to choose a spouse. Even though their boyfriends don’t have a job and any social positions, or their parents oppose their future spouse, they expect their marriage to be successful. However, there are many other standards of maintaining a marriage such as a financial ability, similar view of life, personality, taste and family background. In Korea, daughter-in-law and mother-in-law conflicts are serious and can be a big social issue. These factors weaken the power of love.
I mentioned about differences between expectations for marriage and reality of married life in terms of three factors; loneliness, money and love. Even with these differences, many people rush into marriages. If you think it is worth it, you had better know the differences between expectation and reality for marriage and then minimize differences. Then, you will be able to choose if you are going to marry or not and your suitable partner.
First, people's expectations for marriage and the reality of married life differ in terms of loneliness. Many singles, who suffer lonesomeness, expect that there won’t be any loneliness after their wedding. They also hope to have fun things in their life because they watched a lot of dramas and movies that told them a marriage has only a good side. On the other hand, people who are married still feel lonely. Some spouses are always busy working until midnight and have to go to work even on weekends. In addition, 34.1% of Korean married men and 19.9% of Korean married women have cheated according to Asia Times. This shows that cheating on spouse can make married people feel lonelier.
Second, young people’s expectations for marriage and the reality of married life are different in regard to money. Young people expect to save a lot of money with their marriage. The reason is that they’ll share their house and furniture when they are married. Young people also hope to meet rich spouses. In contrast to their expectations, they will have to pay high living expenses like cost of a bigger house, children’s educational fees. In Korea, people have to pay expensive tuition starting with preschool. Besides, they have to spend unexpected money on the homes of their spouse’s parents and family events.
Last, young people’s expectations for marriage and the reality of married life differ in terms of love. Some people who are not married think that love is the only standard to choose a spouse. Even though their boyfriends don’t have a job and any social positions, or their parents oppose their future spouse, they expect their marriage to be successful. However, there are many other standards of maintaining a marriage such as a financial ability, similar view of life, personality, taste and family background. In Korea, daughter-in-law and mother-in-law conflicts are serious and can be a big social issue. These factors weaken the power of love.
I mentioned about differences between expectations for marriage and reality of married life in terms of three factors; loneliness, money and love. Even with these differences, many people rush into marriages. If you think it is worth it, you had better know the differences between expectation and reality for marriage and then minimize differences. Then, you will be able to choose if you are going to marry or not and your suitable partner.
The celebration of special birthdays
People for the every birthday in Korea are congratulated especially on three birthdays such as the First, the 21st, and the 60th Birthday.
First of all, the first birthday is a very special celebration for Koreans. When a baby is born in the world a year later, we have celebrated the first birthday which is called 'Doljanchi'. This ceremony blesses the baby with a prosperous future, and it is a very significant traditional event in Korea. People bring gifts such as golden rings, clothing, or money and are served lots of food like rice cake of rainbow layers, fruits, and roast beef which is called 'Neubiani'. The highlight of the event is "Doljabi" which means that the baby picks up one thing such as a book, a bundle of bills, arrow or bow, and a ball of string. For example, if the baby picks up the book, the baby will become a scholar or if the baby chooses money, he or she will be affluent. Recently, some parents put computer mice, microphones, or basketballs on the table.
Another significant ceremony is the 21st birthday for Koreans. We congratulate the babies for becoming adults after the babies grow up and are a-twenty one-year-old. The age twenty one which is named 'Yakkwan' can be given certain privileges like active duty for the military and voting for the president and representatives of government. His or her friends give them birthday gifts such as roses and perfumes. Sometimes these new adults are given a little gold by their parents as well as currently, parents give them some money too. There are no particular events, but people simplify party with parents or friends. For instance, at home, we hold a simple party, cut the cake, and pray for the person with folded hands. After this birthday, they also can do another thing like buying alcohol or going to nightclubs by themselves.
Not only the first birthday and the 21st birthday but also another crucial birthday is the 60th birthday in Korea. People have a celebration on the 60th birthday which is called Hwangab. The number 60 means accomplishing one big circle and starting another life. The celebration party is also a hope for a prosperous life. The 60th birthday is the most important birthday in our life; therefore, only important people attend the party on this birthday. Family and relatives prepare a big party in a huge hall with lots of food. For example, the ceremony is usually held in buffet restaurants or wedding halls with lots of food and fruits. After the party is over, many of the Koreans who are 60 years old take trips with their family or relatives to celebrate the 60th birthday.
We celebrate not only the first birthday, the 21st birthday, and the 60th birthday
but also annually our birthday by family, friends, and relatives. Besides, these events are the tradition and should be continued ceremonies throughout our life.
First of all, the first birthday is a very special celebration for Koreans. When a baby is born in the world a year later, we have celebrated the first birthday which is called 'Doljanchi'. This ceremony blesses the baby with a prosperous future, and it is a very significant traditional event in Korea. People bring gifts such as golden rings, clothing, or money and are served lots of food like rice cake of rainbow layers, fruits, and roast beef which is called 'Neubiani'. The highlight of the event is "Doljabi" which means that the baby picks up one thing such as a book, a bundle of bills, arrow or bow, and a ball of string. For example, if the baby picks up the book, the baby will become a scholar or if the baby chooses money, he or she will be affluent. Recently, some parents put computer mice, microphones, or basketballs on the table.
Another significant ceremony is the 21st birthday for Koreans. We congratulate the babies for becoming adults after the babies grow up and are a-twenty one-year-old. The age twenty one which is named 'Yakkwan' can be given certain privileges like active duty for the military and voting for the president and representatives of government. His or her friends give them birthday gifts such as roses and perfumes. Sometimes these new adults are given a little gold by their parents as well as currently, parents give them some money too. There are no particular events, but people simplify party with parents or friends. For instance, at home, we hold a simple party, cut the cake, and pray for the person with folded hands. After this birthday, they also can do another thing like buying alcohol or going to nightclubs by themselves.
Not only the first birthday and the 21st birthday but also another crucial birthday is the 60th birthday in Korea. People have a celebration on the 60th birthday which is called Hwangab. The number 60 means accomplishing one big circle and starting another life. The celebration party is also a hope for a prosperous life. The 60th birthday is the most important birthday in our life; therefore, only important people attend the party on this birthday. Family and relatives prepare a big party in a huge hall with lots of food. For example, the ceremony is usually held in buffet restaurants or wedding halls with lots of food and fruits. After the party is over, many of the Koreans who are 60 years old take trips with their family or relatives to celebrate the 60th birthday.
We celebrate not only the first birthday, the 21st birthday, and the 60th birthday
but also annually our birthday by family, friends, and relatives. Besides, these events are the tradition and should be continued ceremonies throughout our life.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
There are two different generations’ of women around me who are my grandma and my mom. My grandma was born in the1930s in Beijing; it was a very hard and poor era. Almost everyone worried about food and clothes. My mom was born in 1960 in Beijing; although not as good as nowadays, it was much better than thirty years ago. My grandma’s generation and my mom’s generation differ in terms of the time, the society and the culture. I will compare four aspects about their live: number of children, work and income, life and leisure time and education.
In my grandma’s era, every family had at least four children because they thought more children could help their family more. My family is similar to most Chinese family, she has five children, three of them are girls and two of them are boys. My grandma and my grandpa had a little Chinese traditional restaurant. For their family, they had to work hard. My grandma woke up at 4:30am to make breakfast and go to at sleep 12:00am every day. Although she did very well, her income was not very much. For raising every family member, she saved 90% of her income. I think she has a habit, so it continues now even though she has enough income every month. She arranged her restaurant next to her house, because that was easier to her to take care of her children. She devoted much of her time to her family, so she had less time to have a rest. She spent her time either on work outside or work inside. Unlike us, my grandma reads very poorly. She can recognize only a few words in Chinese. Because her family was very poor when she was a young girl, her parents could not afford to her to study in school. So for having a good life, my grandma just could know few words which she studied by herself. When I watch TV with her, she often asks to me how to read Chinese characters. Her spirit of studying influences me deeply.
It changed a lot in the1960s the era in which my mom lived in. While in that time, because of my country’s new law, every family just could have only one child, so my mom just has me although she wanted to have more children. My mom had worked in many different places; she is running her own cement and concrete business with my father now. Her business is not bad; it can give us a comfortable life. My mom’s life is more varied and graceful than my grandma. Shopping is my mom’s favorite activity no matter whether she buys anything. She differs from my grandma in many ways; she spends more money than saved-part of her income. She always says, “Money is to spend. You need to spend it so that you understand its true value. Then you can earn more.”(Translated from Chinese) That means the way to get real value from money is to spend it. It has no value just sitting in the bank. I can remember very clearly, when I was a baby, my mom often worked outside and went to another place to work; so she did not have enough time to look after me. That was the reason I always live with my babysitter at that time. But I feel better, because nowadays my mom has time to do her hobbies with me. She has more leisure time than before. In the same way, my mom likes study. While she was young, she knew knowledge was an important thing in one’s life. Although her mother did not have enough money for her tuition, she persisted to finish her high school degree. But after that, my mom did not stop to study; she studied more at other places depends on her low income at that poor time. That is a same point with my grandma and my mom, I am proud of them.
Whether it’s work or leisure, my grandma and my mom have many distinct aspects in their life. In short, they represent two distinct generations. In my opinion, their diverse ideas and attitudes are a result of on the difference in that their eras which have very big disparity. Social environment will influence people. All in all, in our modern society with its never-ending changes and improvement; I believe women’ life are happier and more relaxed.
In my grandma’s era, every family had at least four children because they thought more children could help their family more. My family is similar to most Chinese family, she has five children, three of them are girls and two of them are boys. My grandma and my grandpa had a little Chinese traditional restaurant. For their family, they had to work hard. My grandma woke up at 4:30am to make breakfast and go to at sleep 12:00am every day. Although she did very well, her income was not very much. For raising every family member, she saved 90% of her income. I think she has a habit, so it continues now even though she has enough income every month. She arranged her restaurant next to her house, because that was easier to her to take care of her children. She devoted much of her time to her family, so she had less time to have a rest. She spent her time either on work outside or work inside. Unlike us, my grandma reads very poorly. She can recognize only a few words in Chinese. Because her family was very poor when she was a young girl, her parents could not afford to her to study in school. So for having a good life, my grandma just could know few words which she studied by herself. When I watch TV with her, she often asks to me how to read Chinese characters. Her spirit of studying influences me deeply.
It changed a lot in the1960s the era in which my mom lived in. While in that time, because of my country’s new law, every family just could have only one child, so my mom just has me although she wanted to have more children. My mom had worked in many different places; she is running her own cement and concrete business with my father now. Her business is not bad; it can give us a comfortable life. My mom’s life is more varied and graceful than my grandma. Shopping is my mom’s favorite activity no matter whether she buys anything. She differs from my grandma in many ways; she spends more money than saved-part of her income. She always says, “Money is to spend. You need to spend it so that you understand its true value. Then you can earn more.”(Translated from Chinese) That means the way to get real value from money is to spend it. It has no value just sitting in the bank. I can remember very clearly, when I was a baby, my mom often worked outside and went to another place to work; so she did not have enough time to look after me. That was the reason I always live with my babysitter at that time. But I feel better, because nowadays my mom has time to do her hobbies with me. She has more leisure time than before. In the same way, my mom likes study. While she was young, she knew knowledge was an important thing in one’s life. Although her mother did not have enough money for her tuition, she persisted to finish her high school degree. But after that, my mom did not stop to study; she studied more at other places depends on her low income at that poor time. That is a same point with my grandma and my mom, I am proud of them.
Whether it’s work or leisure, my grandma and my mom have many distinct aspects in their life. In short, they represent two distinct generations. In my opinion, their diverse ideas and attitudes are a result of on the difference in that their eras which have very big disparity. Social environment will influence people. All in all, in our modern society with its never-ending changes and improvement; I believe women’ life are happier and more relaxed.
Women’s Roles in Two Generations
There are two different generations’ of women around me who are my grandma and my mom. My grandma was born in the1930s in Beijing; it was a very hard and poor era. Almost everyone worried about food and clothes. My mom was born in 1960 in Beijing; although not as good as nowadays, it was much better than thirty years ago. My grandma’s generation and my mom’s generation differ in terms of the time, the society and the culture. I will compare four aspects about their live: number of children, work and income, life and leisure time and education.
In my grandma’s era, every family had at least four children because they thought more children could help their family more. My family is similar to most Chinese family, she has five children, three of them are girls and two of them are boys. My grandma and my grandpa had a little Chinese traditional restaurant. For their family, they had to work hard. My grandma woke up at 4:30am to make breakfast and go to at sleep 12:00am every day. Although she did very well, her income was not very much. For raising every family member, she saved 90% of her income. I think she has a habit, so it continues now even though she has enough income every month. She arranged her restaurant next to her house, because that was easier to her to take care of her children. She devoted much of her time to her family, so she had less time to have a rest. She spent her time either on work outside or work inside. Unlike us, my grandma reads very poorly. She can recognize only a few words in Chinese. Because her family was very poor when she was a young girl, her parents could not afford to her to study in school. So for having a good life, my grandma just could know few words which she studied by herself. When I watch TV with her, she often asks to me how to read Chinese characters. Her spirit of studying influences me deeply.
It changed a lot in the1960s the era in which my mom lived in. While in that time, because of my country’s new law, every family just could have only one child, so my mom just has me although she wanted to have more children. My mom had worked in many different places; she is running her own cement and concrete business with my father now. Her business is not bad; it can give us a comfortable life. My mom’s life is more varied and graceful than my grandma. Shopping is my mom’s favorite activity no matter whether she buys anything. She differs from my grandma in many ways; she spends more money than saved-part of her income. She always says, “Money is to spend. You need to spend it so that you understand its true value. Then you can earn more.”(Translated from Chinese) That means the way to get real value from money is to spend it. It has no value just sitting in the bank. I can remember very clearly, when I was a baby, my mom often worked outside and went to another place to work; so she did not have enough time to look after me. That was the reason I always live with my babysitter at that time. But I feel better, because nowadays my mom has time to do her hobbies with me. She has more leisure time than before. In the same way, my mom likes study. While she was young, she knew knowledge was an important thing in one’s life. Although her mother did not have enough money for her tuition, she persisted to finish her high school degree. But after that, my mom did not stop to study; she studied more at other places depends on her low income at that poor time. That is a same point with my grandma and my mom, I am proud of them.
Whether it’s work or leisure, my grandma and my mom have many distinct aspects in their life. In short, they represent two distinct generations. In my opinion, their diverse ideas and attitudes are a result of on the difference in that their eras which have very big disparity. Social environment will influence people. All in all, in our modern society with its never-ending changes and improvement; I believe women’ life are happier and more relaxed.
In my grandma’s era, every family had at least four children because they thought more children could help their family more. My family is similar to most Chinese family, she has five children, three of them are girls and two of them are boys. My grandma and my grandpa had a little Chinese traditional restaurant. For their family, they had to work hard. My grandma woke up at 4:30am to make breakfast and go to at sleep 12:00am every day. Although she did very well, her income was not very much. For raising every family member, she saved 90% of her income. I think she has a habit, so it continues now even though she has enough income every month. She arranged her restaurant next to her house, because that was easier to her to take care of her children. She devoted much of her time to her family, so she had less time to have a rest. She spent her time either on work outside or work inside. Unlike us, my grandma reads very poorly. She can recognize only a few words in Chinese. Because her family was very poor when she was a young girl, her parents could not afford to her to study in school. So for having a good life, my grandma just could know few words which she studied by herself. When I watch TV with her, she often asks to me how to read Chinese characters. Her spirit of studying influences me deeply.
It changed a lot in the1960s the era in which my mom lived in. While in that time, because of my country’s new law, every family just could have only one child, so my mom just has me although she wanted to have more children. My mom had worked in many different places; she is running her own cement and concrete business with my father now. Her business is not bad; it can give us a comfortable life. My mom’s life is more varied and graceful than my grandma. Shopping is my mom’s favorite activity no matter whether she buys anything. She differs from my grandma in many ways; she spends more money than saved-part of her income. She always says, “Money is to spend. You need to spend it so that you understand its true value. Then you can earn more.”(Translated from Chinese) That means the way to get real value from money is to spend it. It has no value just sitting in the bank. I can remember very clearly, when I was a baby, my mom often worked outside and went to another place to work; so she did not have enough time to look after me. That was the reason I always live with my babysitter at that time. But I feel better, because nowadays my mom has time to do her hobbies with me. She has more leisure time than before. In the same way, my mom likes study. While she was young, she knew knowledge was an important thing in one’s life. Although her mother did not have enough money for her tuition, she persisted to finish her high school degree. But after that, my mom did not stop to study; she studied more at other places depends on her low income at that poor time. That is a same point with my grandma and my mom, I am proud of them.
Whether it’s work or leisure, my grandma and my mom have many distinct aspects in their life. In short, they represent two distinct generations. In my opinion, their diverse ideas and attitudes are a result of on the difference in that their eras which have very big disparity. Social environment will influence people. All in all, in our modern society with its never-ending changes and improvement; I believe women’ life are happier and more relaxed.
Courtship in My Parent’s Time and My Time
Find your own true love is one of the important things during the whole life. Everyone has different experiences of love, and courtship is a necessary process of love. In different period, the forms of courtship are different, too. Just like the world is changing all the time; the courtship between my parents’ time and now is quite different in three major aspects: who is the active person, the way of the courtship, and how to get a commitment.
First of all, the active person in courtship has changed. Chinese girls were shy before, and mostly men were the active persons in my parents’ time. If a girl said that she loved a boy boldly, other would think that she was not like a girl because the girls must be reserved at that time. Sometimes they didn’t even chose who they wanted and just married the person who was introduced by their parents, whereas now both girls and boys can be active person, everyone has the right to pursue love. It’s fine for girls to confess their love to boys although the boys don’t love them.
Moreover, because of the change of active person, the way of the courtship is more and more varied now. In the past, the courtship was kind of simple like sent a love letter. Most boys were clumsy and didn’t know how to express their love, just as my father rode a bicycle for 2 hour to see my mother’s university and could only stay there for a little time while he didn't say too much and just brought some food fruit for my mother. On the other hand we have a lot of different way to court such as give roses to girls, ask for a date, watch movie, and so on. Young people always want something new; they want some surprises. So, sending some little presents for anniversary is a really good way for courtship. People are getting more and more open now.
In addition, after courtship how to reply for the courtship in different time is different, too. In my parents’ time, although a girl and boy loved each other, girls were always euphemistic to the boys’ love. Not only the girls were too shy to respond, but also the boys were. It would take them a long time to go steady. By comparison we are all more direct, and most of the time we just tell others if we receive their love or not. People can just refuse when they face a person whom they don't love. Of course people will feel sorry for that person, but if they don't tell him the truth, it will bring much more hurt.
The courtship has changed greatly and obviously in these three aspects: which person pursues the other, courtship process, and how they reply for the courtship; therefore, keep up with the time, the change of courtship is still going on. Maybe all the things are changing in courtship now while the heart of looking for true love will not change, and what we do is to just show others our love.
First of all, the active person in courtship has changed. Chinese girls were shy before, and mostly men were the active persons in my parents’ time. If a girl said that she loved a boy boldly, other would think that she was not like a girl because the girls must be reserved at that time. Sometimes they didn’t even chose who they wanted and just married the person who was introduced by their parents, whereas now both girls and boys can be active person, everyone has the right to pursue love. It’s fine for girls to confess their love to boys although the boys don’t love them.
Moreover, because of the change of active person, the way of the courtship is more and more varied now. In the past, the courtship was kind of simple like sent a love letter. Most boys were clumsy and didn’t know how to express their love, just as my father rode a bicycle for 2 hour to see my mother’s university and could only stay there for a little time while he didn't say too much and just brought some food fruit for my mother. On the other hand we have a lot of different way to court such as give roses to girls, ask for a date, watch movie, and so on. Young people always want something new; they want some surprises. So, sending some little presents for anniversary is a really good way for courtship. People are getting more and more open now.
In addition, after courtship how to reply for the courtship in different time is different, too. In my parents’ time, although a girl and boy loved each other, girls were always euphemistic to the boys’ love. Not only the girls were too shy to respond, but also the boys were. It would take them a long time to go steady. By comparison we are all more direct, and most of the time we just tell others if we receive their love or not. People can just refuse when they face a person whom they don't love. Of course people will feel sorry for that person, but if they don't tell him the truth, it will bring much more hurt.
The courtship has changed greatly and obviously in these three aspects: which person pursues the other, courtship process, and how they reply for the courtship; therefore, keep up with the time, the change of courtship is still going on. Maybe all the things are changing in courtship now while the heart of looking for true love will not change, and what we do is to just show others our love.
Spring Dragon Festival
The dragon is China’s most famous mythical creature. The most famous story about dragon is Dragon Boat Festival, but now I want to introduce a less-known one, Spring Dragon Festival. Spring Dragon Festival on February 2nd on lunar calendar is a traditional festival in Northern China. The Spring Dragon Festival’s development has three stages: the legends of it, the ancient Chinese celebration, and the customs now.
There was a legend that when the Emperor Wu Zetian became an emperor, the Heaven God ordered the dragon to stop raining for three years, for Wu was a woman. Soon after this, the dragon king, who was in charge of the heaven river, heard the bitter cries from the people. He went against the Heaven God's order and gave a heavy rain. Because of this, the dragon king, was thrown to Earth and pressed under a large mountain. The Heaven God claimed that only when the gold beans were in blossom could the Dragon King return to the heaven palace. Then the folk hurried to look for gold beans everywhere in order to save the dragon king. On the 2nd day of the 2nd lunar month the next year, when people were drying the corn seeds in the sun, they thought of the corn seeds as gold beans because when they were roasted, they would pop in blossom like gold beans. The dragon king was then saved. Since then, people celebrate it every year as the Spring Dragon Festival.
In ancient China, people still believed that the dragon could control the rain. It is said that dragon would raise its head and bring rain in spring on that day. To thank the dragon for the rain which brought them harvest they decided to celebrate it every year. People always danced the Dragon Dance, a really traditional dance in China. There were more than 10 or more people; one person controlled the head of dragon, and others followed the leader. At the same time, there would be a deafening sound of gongs and drums. People were all cheering; the spectacle was very busy and spectacular! The family members were happy to be together, laughing and chatting. They wished that they would have a favorable weather and everything would go well in this year.
Now, we still celebrate it with some traditional customs which are all about dragons. On Spring Dragon Festival we eat special noodles called “Dragon Beard Noodles” which are very thin and long like the dragon’s beard, dumplings which look like dragon’s ears, and spring pancakes which look like dragon scale. And parents take their children to the barbershop to cut their hair. We call that “Cut Dragon’s Hair”. They wish their children to be like a dragon in the future. As you know, the dragon is a symbol of power, abilities, and so on. Although people don’t pray for rain in spring as before, they still wish that they will be like a dragon in the future and the dragon will bring them good luck in spring even in the whole year. But something interesting for me after that day is to see so many classmates’ new hairstyles at the same time. Of course, it’s quite expensive to cut hair on that day. It is such meaningful festival to us!
The Spring Dragon Festival has a long history and important meaning: the legend of it and celebration in ancient times and now. I hope that when we celebrate the Spring Dragon Festival we never forget the longstanding history and culture.
There was a legend that when the Emperor Wu Zetian became an emperor, the Heaven God ordered the dragon to stop raining for three years, for Wu was a woman. Soon after this, the dragon king, who was in charge of the heaven river, heard the bitter cries from the people. He went against the Heaven God's order and gave a heavy rain. Because of this, the dragon king, was thrown to Earth and pressed under a large mountain. The Heaven God claimed that only when the gold beans were in blossom could the Dragon King return to the heaven palace. Then the folk hurried to look for gold beans everywhere in order to save the dragon king. On the 2nd day of the 2nd lunar month the next year, when people were drying the corn seeds in the sun, they thought of the corn seeds as gold beans because when they were roasted, they would pop in blossom like gold beans. The dragon king was then saved. Since then, people celebrate it every year as the Spring Dragon Festival.
In ancient China, people still believed that the dragon could control the rain. It is said that dragon would raise its head and bring rain in spring on that day. To thank the dragon for the rain which brought them harvest they decided to celebrate it every year. People always danced the Dragon Dance, a really traditional dance in China. There were more than 10 or more people; one person controlled the head of dragon, and others followed the leader. At the same time, there would be a deafening sound of gongs and drums. People were all cheering; the spectacle was very busy and spectacular! The family members were happy to be together, laughing and chatting. They wished that they would have a favorable weather and everything would go well in this year.
Now, we still celebrate it with some traditional customs which are all about dragons. On Spring Dragon Festival we eat special noodles called “Dragon Beard Noodles” which are very thin and long like the dragon’s beard, dumplings which look like dragon’s ears, and spring pancakes which look like dragon scale. And parents take their children to the barbershop to cut their hair. We call that “Cut Dragon’s Hair”. They wish their children to be like a dragon in the future. As you know, the dragon is a symbol of power, abilities, and so on. Although people don’t pray for rain in spring as before, they still wish that they will be like a dragon in the future and the dragon will bring them good luck in spring even in the whole year. But something interesting for me after that day is to see so many classmates’ new hairstyles at the same time. Of course, it’s quite expensive to cut hair on that day. It is such meaningful festival to us!
The Spring Dragon Festival has a long history and important meaning: the legend of it and celebration in ancient times and now. I hope that when we celebrate the Spring Dragon Festival we never forget the longstanding history and culture.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Being Single vs. Being Married
When my cousin was single, he thought that married life was quite similar to single life. He imagined that marriage would not change his life much. However, after he got married last year he realized that he was totally naïve before. The single life and the married life differ in terms of how people use money, how free they are to set their daily schedule, and what roles people play in their life.
One of the differences between the single life and the married life is the way of using money. A single man can enjoy his money without any effort. He can spend money to buy what he desires or use his money frugally. The point is that no one will interrupt him or tell him how to use his money. On the other hand, a man, who is married, does not have this much freedom for using his money. Even though he works as hard as the single man does, he cannot purchase anything he wants without his spouse’s advice or decision. For example, my cousin, who is an architect, got married last year. Before he married, every month he bought a gift or had a wonderful meal as a reward to himself for his hard-work on his job. Once, he even bought a new fabulous Honda Accord and a new 65-inch PDP TV to enjoy his life. Since he has been married, he has to save his salary as a family foundation for his family. Now, he is not allowed to use his money like before.
Second, the way of scheduling the free time in the single life and the married life is different. The single life has much more flexibility in daily schedules. For example, a single man can go to a party, hang out with friends after work and go home casually late as long as it doesn’t bother his job. In the weekend, he can stay home whole days doing nothing or go traveling easily. Unlike the single life, the married life has less flexibility in daily schedules because of more responsibilities that spouses need to have to each other. For instance, a married man has to obtain a “dinner-out permit”, which is not easy to get from his wife, if he wants to have dinner with his coworkers or friends after work, not to mention the small chance of going to party or hanging out. Also on weekends, he is supposed to stay at home with his family and cannot have an occasional activity, such as doing exercise or traveling like what he used to do.
In addition to the way of using money and the scheduling of free time, the single life and the married life differ in terms of what roles people play in their life. Single people are receivers, while married people are providers. People that are not married usually are self-centered, and most of time they focus on what and how many benefits they can derive from the society. They know what sacrifice is, but they would rather trade what they have to others than give without being repaid. In contrast, people that are married no longer can just think about themselves. They must be willing to sacrifice their time, money, and even their hobbies to support their spouses and children. They tend to spend a whole weekend to take their children to the Disneyland for giving them a happy childhood instead of seeing their old buddies.
To sum up, the single life and the married life are totally different in three aspects: the way of using money, the freedom of scheduling free time, and the roles that they play in their lives. These days, more and more people decide not to marry just because they do not want to lose their freedom nor sacrifice what they love. I think, marriage is one of the important stages of the life that brings maturity and responsibility to every people. Everyone should go through this challenge to experience the love and the trust of being a part of a family.
One of the differences between the single life and the married life is the way of using money. A single man can enjoy his money without any effort. He can spend money to buy what he desires or use his money frugally. The point is that no one will interrupt him or tell him how to use his money. On the other hand, a man, who is married, does not have this much freedom for using his money. Even though he works as hard as the single man does, he cannot purchase anything he wants without his spouse’s advice or decision. For example, my cousin, who is an architect, got married last year. Before he married, every month he bought a gift or had a wonderful meal as a reward to himself for his hard-work on his job. Once, he even bought a new fabulous Honda Accord and a new 65-inch PDP TV to enjoy his life. Since he has been married, he has to save his salary as a family foundation for his family. Now, he is not allowed to use his money like before.
Second, the way of scheduling the free time in the single life and the married life is different. The single life has much more flexibility in daily schedules. For example, a single man can go to a party, hang out with friends after work and go home casually late as long as it doesn’t bother his job. In the weekend, he can stay home whole days doing nothing or go traveling easily. Unlike the single life, the married life has less flexibility in daily schedules because of more responsibilities that spouses need to have to each other. For instance, a married man has to obtain a “dinner-out permit”, which is not easy to get from his wife, if he wants to have dinner with his coworkers or friends after work, not to mention the small chance of going to party or hanging out. Also on weekends, he is supposed to stay at home with his family and cannot have an occasional activity, such as doing exercise or traveling like what he used to do.
In addition to the way of using money and the scheduling of free time, the single life and the married life differ in terms of what roles people play in their life. Single people are receivers, while married people are providers. People that are not married usually are self-centered, and most of time they focus on what and how many benefits they can derive from the society. They know what sacrifice is, but they would rather trade what they have to others than give without being repaid. In contrast, people that are married no longer can just think about themselves. They must be willing to sacrifice their time, money, and even their hobbies to support their spouses and children. They tend to spend a whole weekend to take their children to the Disneyland for giving them a happy childhood instead of seeing their old buddies.
To sum up, the single life and the married life are totally different in three aspects: the way of using money, the freedom of scheduling free time, and the roles that they play in their lives. These days, more and more people decide not to marry just because they do not want to lose their freedom nor sacrifice what they love. I think, marriage is one of the important stages of the life that brings maturity and responsibility to every people. Everyone should go through this challenge to experience the love and the trust of being a part of a family.
The Dragon Boat Festival
In Taiwan, the Dragon Boat Festival, which is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month according to the Chinese lunar calendar, can be separated into two parts: the time of preparation and of celebration.
Before the Dragon Boat Festival comes Taiwanese families get together and prepare a special dish, called rice dumpling─a mixture of glutinous rice, beans, chestnuts, pork fat, and an egg yolk, wrapped in a bamboo leaf and steamed for hours. People go to markets to buy the ingredients for rice dumpling, and elderly members in a family teach others how to make a rice dumpling. Originally, eating rice dumpling let people to commemorate Chu Yuan, an ancient Chinese patriot, but these days, this special dish tends to be a significant and symbolic snack of the Dragon Boat Festival.
In addition to making rice dumpling at the preparation time, Taiwanese people also practice Chinese customs to avoid bad things. Since the Dragon Boat Festival is typically celebrated in June, when insects thrive and diseases spread easily, this festival began as an important occasion to Taiwanese people for driving off evil spirits, sickness and finding peace in people's lives. Most of the families would hang the picture of Zhong Kui, a ghost breaker against evil spirits, to exorcise any evil spirits. Likewise, hanging a bunch of plants, such as calamus and moxa, above the door during the Dragon Boat Festival was believed to have powers for preventing illness and strengthening health. Parents would give their children fragrant sachets to wear on their necks. According to an article from Taiwan Official Tourism, “A fragrant sachet is a small bag, which is made from colored silk material and filled with aromatic flowers and herbs”(Fragrant Sachets). It's believed that carrying the small spice bag throughout the festival not only drives away evil spirits but also brings fortune and happiness to those who wear it.
The other period of the Dragon Boat Festival is the celebration itself. The best known activity is the dragon boat competition. On that day, thousands of people go to the shore of the river to see dragon boat races. The boats used in the game are long and thin with dragon heads on the bow of the ships. As the game starts, a drummer sits at the front of a boat keeping a rhythmic beat and tens of rowers follow the drumbeats paddling fast and regularly to drive the boat forward. People sit on the shore, watch the game, and enjoy the rice dumplings. In addition, at noon, there is another activity; people tries to stand a raw egg on its end. And if someone can successfully stand an egg on its end exactly at 12:00 noon, then the coming year will be a lucky one.
In conclusion, the Dragon Boat Festival is one of the biggest festivals in Taiwan. People prepare food and traditional decorations at the preparation period and do varied activities at the celebration period.
Before the Dragon Boat Festival comes Taiwanese families get together and prepare a special dish, called rice dumpling─a mixture of glutinous rice, beans, chestnuts, pork fat, and an egg yolk, wrapped in a bamboo leaf and steamed for hours. People go to markets to buy the ingredients for rice dumpling, and elderly members in a family teach others how to make a rice dumpling. Originally, eating rice dumpling let people to commemorate Chu Yuan, an ancient Chinese patriot, but these days, this special dish tends to be a significant and symbolic snack of the Dragon Boat Festival.
In addition to making rice dumpling at the preparation time, Taiwanese people also practice Chinese customs to avoid bad things. Since the Dragon Boat Festival is typically celebrated in June, when insects thrive and diseases spread easily, this festival began as an important occasion to Taiwanese people for driving off evil spirits, sickness and finding peace in people's lives. Most of the families would hang the picture of Zhong Kui, a ghost breaker against evil spirits, to exorcise any evil spirits. Likewise, hanging a bunch of plants, such as calamus and moxa, above the door during the Dragon Boat Festival was believed to have powers for preventing illness and strengthening health. Parents would give their children fragrant sachets to wear on their necks. According to an article from Taiwan Official Tourism, “A fragrant sachet is a small bag, which is made from colored silk material and filled with aromatic flowers and herbs”(Fragrant Sachets). It's believed that carrying the small spice bag throughout the festival not only drives away evil spirits but also brings fortune and happiness to those who wear it.
The other period of the Dragon Boat Festival is the celebration itself. The best known activity is the dragon boat competition. On that day, thousands of people go to the shore of the river to see dragon boat races. The boats used in the game are long and thin with dragon heads on the bow of the ships. As the game starts, a drummer sits at the front of a boat keeping a rhythmic beat and tens of rowers follow the drumbeats paddling fast and regularly to drive the boat forward. People sit on the shore, watch the game, and enjoy the rice dumplings. In addition, at noon, there is another activity; people tries to stand a raw egg on its end. And if someone can successfully stand an egg on its end exactly at 12:00 noon, then the coming year will be a lucky one.
In conclusion, the Dragon Boat Festival is one of the biggest festivals in Taiwan. People prepare food and traditional decorations at the preparation period and do varied activities at the celebration period.
Compare Single Life and Married Life
Whenever I played soccer with my uncle who is older than me by four years, he used to buy some foods for all soccer teammates after working out, so my members of soccer team loved him so much; however, after he got married with his girl friend, he started to attend the soccer meeting just once a month. We were getting disappointed with him. After he explained about his married life in detail, we finally could understand the difference between single life and married life. Today, when we compare single life with married life, these two lives differ in terms of a solution for loneliness, privacy, and economic life.
First, one of the differences between single life and married life is how they solve a problem like loneliness or isolation. In single women’s case, they are likely to talk to a lot of friends, just as they are free to spend money that they have saved by going shopping. These things are a wonderful antidote to stress. Similarly, in single men’s case, they can attend some groups such as skiing club, swimming club, and meeting for making ceramic art to solve feelings of isolation and loneliness; however, married people already have fellowship with their spouses almost anytime they want it. For example, if one of spouse has some problems from outside, his partner can be useful as an advisor by suggesting something that will be beneficial. Another example is if married people have newborn children, their stress from their work place can be removed by seeing cute babies.
Another difference between single and married life is how they protect privacy. In Korea, single people have chance to live alone after getting a job, just as they are free to do everything in their own space. For example, they can bring friends to their home even though the time is too late, just as they can take naps and play games by eating some food any time they want it because they don’t need to have interference from anyone; in contrast, in Korea, married people used to live with parents in the same house, so they couldn’t enjoy the privacy of their own home. Unlike formers years, these days married people live in their own house without parents, but they still have an insufficiency to protect privacy because of sharing their house. For instance, whenever they have spare time they help each other with cooking, cleaning and taking care of children.
One Final difference is how they arrange their economic life. Not only are single people likely to spend money on something relating to friends but single people also tend to buy everything within unlimited pocket money. For example, if a single person happens to watch some commercials about brand-new auto, they might buy that car within unrestricted spending money because their plans for the future seem to be changeable until they succeed in finding their true love; On the other hand, not only are married people more careful economically and socially than singles, but married people can also face future realities. For instance, although one spouse wants to buy something that he has considered for long time, he can’t get it by himself because married people tend to share household expenses and save money to plan for upcoming retirement, childcare, and so on.
As you can see the differences between single and married life are in terms of how they solve problems like solitude or aloneness, and how they keep their privacy, and how they plan their financial life for the future. In my opinion, I believe that both lives have respective advantages, but I feel married life is better. In married life, you can have double incomes, a home and a future to share with your partner, just as you can go out with kids to the picnic and have fun together that is really exciting. In conclusion, if you have no family, no kids, no companion, and nobody to take good care of you, your future might be awful.
First, one of the differences between single life and married life is how they solve a problem like loneliness or isolation. In single women’s case, they are likely to talk to a lot of friends, just as they are free to spend money that they have saved by going shopping. These things are a wonderful antidote to stress. Similarly, in single men’s case, they can attend some groups such as skiing club, swimming club, and meeting for making ceramic art to solve feelings of isolation and loneliness; however, married people already have fellowship with their spouses almost anytime they want it. For example, if one of spouse has some problems from outside, his partner can be useful as an advisor by suggesting something that will be beneficial. Another example is if married people have newborn children, their stress from their work place can be removed by seeing cute babies.
Another difference between single and married life is how they protect privacy. In Korea, single people have chance to live alone after getting a job, just as they are free to do everything in their own space. For example, they can bring friends to their home even though the time is too late, just as they can take naps and play games by eating some food any time they want it because they don’t need to have interference from anyone; in contrast, in Korea, married people used to live with parents in the same house, so they couldn’t enjoy the privacy of their own home. Unlike formers years, these days married people live in their own house without parents, but they still have an insufficiency to protect privacy because of sharing their house. For instance, whenever they have spare time they help each other with cooking, cleaning and taking care of children.
One Final difference is how they arrange their economic life. Not only are single people likely to spend money on something relating to friends but single people also tend to buy everything within unlimited pocket money. For example, if a single person happens to watch some commercials about brand-new auto, they might buy that car within unrestricted spending money because their plans for the future seem to be changeable until they succeed in finding their true love; On the other hand, not only are married people more careful economically and socially than singles, but married people can also face future realities. For instance, although one spouse wants to buy something that he has considered for long time, he can’t get it by himself because married people tend to share household expenses and save money to plan for upcoming retirement, childcare, and so on.
As you can see the differences between single and married life are in terms of how they solve problems like solitude or aloneness, and how they keep their privacy, and how they plan their financial life for the future. In my opinion, I believe that both lives have respective advantages, but I feel married life is better. In married life, you can have double incomes, a home and a future to share with your partner, just as you can go out with kids to the picnic and have fun together that is really exciting. In conclusion, if you have no family, no kids, no companion, and nobody to take good care of you, your future might be awful.
Korean New Year’s Day
New Year’s Day, which is a family-oriented holiday in Korea, has three distinguishing features: the longest holiday for enough rest, a variety of events and games, many foods in home.
First, the longest holiday give a feeling of Korean customs and provide enough rest. Whenever New Year Day is coming, employers normally consider about some advantages, which are incentives and bonus, for their employees. Korean has a New Year Day, which is the last week of February, because Korea was affected by China, so we use a lunar calendar. At that time, however, we might have some trouble like traffic jam on freeway because most relatives, who have been suffering from the workplace in Korea, live in other cities, which are quite far from hometown, so they need enough time to go to hometown that’s why New Year’s Day is quite longer than other holiday. Although we have some complicated problem like traffic jams, a given long holiday is enough time for every Korean to take a rest.
Second, we have not only some events, but also many games such as Korean poker, Sae-Bae, and so on. Korean poker can make relatives get mad because of losing money; however, there is no serious game. Another event is the Sae-Bae, which is a wonderful chance for children to get some money from older adults. The Sae-Bae means that children traditionally wish their parents a happy new year by making a deep bow, which expresses many blessings. Parents normally reward their gesture by giving their some money. Today, custom of the Sae-Bae is quite different between previous tradition and today’s usage. Now, it allows that an older person, who did not get married yet, can do the Sae-Bae, making a deep traditional bow, to get some money from their senior because these days we do not have enough youth to make a deep bow for senior, who got married. Except for some events, many traditional games are associated with the Korean New Year. The traditional game, which is called “A game of Yut”, looks like a board game, but we need two Korean dice, which seems like long dice fit well only in a game of Yut. And men traditionally fly kites and play the Jegichagy, a light object, wrapped in the cloth. On the other hand, Korean women traditionally play the Nulddigy, a kind of jumping on a seesaw.
Finally, many relatives arrive at home early to carry their gift or help prepare a lot of foods for ceremony about respecting ancestor. Traditionally, we used to get together at grandfather’s house, but if we do not have grandfather, instead we get together in the oldest relative’s house. We prepare a lot of different kinds of foods for our ancestors. By an old saying, if we do not prepare to serve a lot of foods to ancestors, our ancestry will be so mad that our families can experience disasters and imprecation before upcoming next year’s day; therefore, relatives should help each other prepare some meals, which includes DDuck-Guk and a lot of foods for ceremony. These foods are just for ceremony, but after finishing ceremony, we can eat everything. Among many foods, eating DDuk-Guk means that we can be more healthful than before.
The evidence suggests that Korean New Year Day is the longest holiday and has many events, games, and foods. During New Year Day, people can put their heart and soul into New years day and pray for family’s health and good fortune by respecting elders, by doing ancestral rite, and by enjoying many events or foods.
First, the longest holiday give a feeling of Korean customs and provide enough rest. Whenever New Year Day is coming, employers normally consider about some advantages, which are incentives and bonus, for their employees. Korean has a New Year Day, which is the last week of February, because Korea was affected by China, so we use a lunar calendar. At that time, however, we might have some trouble like traffic jam on freeway because most relatives, who have been suffering from the workplace in Korea, live in other cities, which are quite far from hometown, so they need enough time to go to hometown that’s why New Year’s Day is quite longer than other holiday. Although we have some complicated problem like traffic jams, a given long holiday is enough time for every Korean to take a rest.
Second, we have not only some events, but also many games such as Korean poker, Sae-Bae, and so on. Korean poker can make relatives get mad because of losing money; however, there is no serious game. Another event is the Sae-Bae, which is a wonderful chance for children to get some money from older adults. The Sae-Bae means that children traditionally wish their parents a happy new year by making a deep bow, which expresses many blessings. Parents normally reward their gesture by giving their some money. Today, custom of the Sae-Bae is quite different between previous tradition and today’s usage. Now, it allows that an older person, who did not get married yet, can do the Sae-Bae, making a deep traditional bow, to get some money from their senior because these days we do not have enough youth to make a deep bow for senior, who got married. Except for some events, many traditional games are associated with the Korean New Year. The traditional game, which is called “A game of Yut”, looks like a board game, but we need two Korean dice, which seems like long dice fit well only in a game of Yut. And men traditionally fly kites and play the Jegichagy, a light object, wrapped in the cloth. On the other hand, Korean women traditionally play the Nulddigy, a kind of jumping on a seesaw.
Finally, many relatives arrive at home early to carry their gift or help prepare a lot of foods for ceremony about respecting ancestor. Traditionally, we used to get together at grandfather’s house, but if we do not have grandfather, instead we get together in the oldest relative’s house. We prepare a lot of different kinds of foods for our ancestors. By an old saying, if we do not prepare to serve a lot of foods to ancestors, our ancestry will be so mad that our families can experience disasters and imprecation before upcoming next year’s day; therefore, relatives should help each other prepare some meals, which includes DDuck-Guk and a lot of foods for ceremony. These foods are just for ceremony, but after finishing ceremony, we can eat everything. Among many foods, eating DDuk-Guk means that we can be more healthful than before.
The evidence suggests that Korean New Year Day is the longest holiday and has many events, games, and foods. During New Year Day, people can put their heart and soul into New years day and pray for family’s health and good fortune by respecting elders, by doing ancestral rite, and by enjoying many events or foods.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Changes of Korea’s Holiday Chu-Seok
Korea’s biggest traditional holiday, “Chu-Seok” is the fifteenth of August in lunar calendar. In Chu-Seok, which is similar to thanksgiving in American, Koreans give thanks to their paternal ancestors about good harvest for a year. Chu-Seok has evolved over three distinct periods : the ancient age, the middle age, and the present.
In 32 B.C, Chu-Seok was started by King Yuri who was the sixth king of the Silla kingdom. King Yuri made two princesses lead each team of women in weaving races from the sixteenth of July to the fifteenth of August in lunar calendar. Chu-Seok was also called Ga-Bea and Han-Ga-Wi at that time that had similar pronunciations to ‘weaving’ in Korean. After competition during a month, losers had to offer lots of foods and drinks to winners and then they enjoyed a festival together with dancing and singing under big full moon. That festival was the origin of Chu-Seok.
In middle age in Korea, there were a lot of customs and folk games to celebrate Chu-Seok. The most significant ceremony, Cha-Rea, was for ancestors to appreciate, successful harvest by serving an abundant meal with new crops and fruits in the morning of Chu-Seok. For the ceremony, people used to prepare for new annual clothes and bow politely to paternal side ancestor’s tablets. People also visited their ancestral graves to remember in order to pay paternal ancestors respects. At night, watching a big full moon, people made their wishes. Especially young women played Gang-Gang-Sulae, which was a folk dance made a big circle by hand in hand and went around with singing, under the moon. In addition, farmers enjoyed a lot of outdoor folk games together to congratulate a good harvest. For example, all generation of people enjoyed a bull fight, which was a contest of strength between bulls, a tug of war and a folk music performance.
Nowadays, Chu-Seok is a major national holiday in Korea that remains some customs. Cha-Rea still survives through hundreds of years, so people wear a traditional costume, Han-Bok, and give thanks to their ancestors. Though many folk games have disappeared or are maintained only in the countryside, some folk games are performed at home such as Yut game, which is a traditional board game using four wooden sticks. A distinguishing Chu-Seok food is Song-Pyeon, a half moon – shaped rice cake that has honey, sesame seeds, or minced beans inside. According to a popular tradition, young woman who can make a pretty and delicious looking Song-Pyeon will also get married well. In modern times, family members are smaller than middle age’s, so Chu-Seok is an unusual chance of gathering whole family members who live apart. During three days as a national holiday, most people spend good time with family but some people just rest from their work.
For a long time, some features of Korean holiday Chu-Seok have been changed and some have been remained. In ancient times, Chu-Seok began in relation to ‘weaving’ and then almost customs of Chu-Seok were added in the middle ages. Now although some customs have disappeared, Chu-Seok still exists as a major holiday in Korea.
In 32 B.C, Chu-Seok was started by King Yuri who was the sixth king of the Silla kingdom. King Yuri made two princesses lead each team of women in weaving races from the sixteenth of July to the fifteenth of August in lunar calendar. Chu-Seok was also called Ga-Bea and Han-Ga-Wi at that time that had similar pronunciations to ‘weaving’ in Korean. After competition during a month, losers had to offer lots of foods and drinks to winners and then they enjoyed a festival together with dancing and singing under big full moon. That festival was the origin of Chu-Seok.
In middle age in Korea, there were a lot of customs and folk games to celebrate Chu-Seok. The most significant ceremony, Cha-Rea, was for ancestors to appreciate, successful harvest by serving an abundant meal with new crops and fruits in the morning of Chu-Seok. For the ceremony, people used to prepare for new annual clothes and bow politely to paternal side ancestor’s tablets. People also visited their ancestral graves to remember in order to pay paternal ancestors respects. At night, watching a big full moon, people made their wishes. Especially young women played Gang-Gang-Sulae, which was a folk dance made a big circle by hand in hand and went around with singing, under the moon. In addition, farmers enjoyed a lot of outdoor folk games together to congratulate a good harvest. For example, all generation of people enjoyed a bull fight, which was a contest of strength between bulls, a tug of war and a folk music performance.
Nowadays, Chu-Seok is a major national holiday in Korea that remains some customs. Cha-Rea still survives through hundreds of years, so people wear a traditional costume, Han-Bok, and give thanks to their ancestors. Though many folk games have disappeared or are maintained only in the countryside, some folk games are performed at home such as Yut game, which is a traditional board game using four wooden sticks. A distinguishing Chu-Seok food is Song-Pyeon, a half moon – shaped rice cake that has honey, sesame seeds, or minced beans inside. According to a popular tradition, young woman who can make a pretty and delicious looking Song-Pyeon will also get married well. In modern times, family members are smaller than middle age’s, so Chu-Seok is an unusual chance of gathering whole family members who live apart. During three days as a national holiday, most people spend good time with family but some people just rest from their work.
For a long time, some features of Korean holiday Chu-Seok have been changed and some have been remained. In ancient times, Chu-Seok began in relation to ‘weaving’ and then almost customs of Chu-Seok were added in the middle ages. Now although some customs have disappeared, Chu-Seok still exists as a major holiday in Korea.
Monday, March 1, 2010
strategy
When I study for a difficult examination, two things are strategically important tips. I always prepare for an examination a few weeks in advance and make a schedule. First of all, I study the subject repeatedly a whole week so that I can explain it naturally. For example, I wrote a summary several times to memorize it and put the stars on the main point. I also read the summary loudly again and again while I stay at home or go to the restroom; furthermore, I read the summary of definitions and discipline quietly on the way to school in the bus or after CORE2 class in the library. After I make a list of expected questions. I write everything regarding the questions with details and examples. Secondly, I review the subject with friends. For instance, I give friends a briefing about the subject, and explain the subject as exact as possible. In addition, drawing a map about the subject is the most important because it is easy to understand the subject and memorize it. After that, my friends and I check the reports each other as well as discuss the key points. Briefing and discussion are not only efficient tactics both my friends and I, but also stimulate us to study hard. Moreover this activities help us support each other. Thus, I would like to recommend these two useful strategies that are the repeat and review.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
My Most Memorable Teacher, Ms. Xue by Adele
The most memorable teacher I had in my junior high school will always remain in my mind. She was my math and homeroom teacher. Because she inspired students and modeled self-discipline herself, I want to explain how nice and special she was. First, when I started to study in junior high school, I did not know how to study my subject. As a result, I did not have good scores like my other classmates. My teacher was disappointed in me at the beginning of the semester on the first midterm examination. She told me to come to her office, and she gave me a free mathematical reference to help me do more practices in order to understand the processes of mathematics. Furthermore, when my class got a “Clean Class” award or discipline award, she bought free beverages as awards for all of students, and this idea was very attractive for students because we had more choices of flavors than buying at the student’s center. Second, she modeled self-discipline herself, for instance, she was never late for my mathematical class and never missed any students’ activities so that my classmates and I had good organization and teamwork to win many competitions. Also, she dramatically recited beautiful Chinese poems once a week, while we stood on the playground in the morning. This memorable teacher who inspired me and modeled self-discipline has stayed in my mind forever. It is a very important role of a teacher because teachers affect students’ studying conditions and future success. My most memorable teacher has given me a superb model, and I have learned a correct attitude from her. Consequently, I really appreciate Ms. Xue and will never forget her.
PEPERO DAY in Korea
‘PEPERO DAY’ which is a celebration like ‘Valentine’s Day’ only in Korea is one of the most popular celebrations even though this day is neither a traditional celebration nor a public holiday. Moreover there are very distinctive origins, features and arguments about an impure motive of companies which made PEPERO.
First of all, there are two major opinions about PEPERO DAY’s origin. The first one is that PEPERO DAY which is on November eleventh is a shape of the date in origin. November eleventh is ‘11/11’, that is, the date is included four numbers ‘1’, so it seems like that there are four sticks and PEPERO which is bar-shaped snack in Korea also looks like a stick as the date does. Therefore November eleventh became PEPERO DAY because of this similarity of the shape. The second one is that LOTTE, a Korean company which makes PEPERO, creates the date to promote their product. This opinion blames the company and date, but it is just one of the ideas about PEPERO DAY’s origin. Although there are also some other opinions about the origin, it is not clear that when the date became PEPERO DAY and who made the date. According to research released by K-Research, which is one of the Korean research centers, over ninety five percent of people participated in the survey answered that they know and enjoy PEPERO DAY, but all of the people did not know about the origin. In this manner, PEPERO DAY is one of the famous celebrations in Korea despite uncertainty about origin.
There are distinctive features in PEPERO DAY compared to other celebrations. For one thing, PEPERO DAY is not a holiday and celebration assigned by government or traditional culture such as Halloween, President’s Day or Thanksgiving. There are not general forms to enjoy the date as people go to party in Halloween. People are able to enjoy without considerations for the date because they do not have to prepare for a special plan, for instance a party, dating and event. Another one is that even though PEPERO DAY means a celebration for couples like Valentine Day, many people give and take PEPERO from each other as just an expression of friendship. Therefore PEPERO DAY is able to become more widely practiced to people in Korea because the date is free and general without a special custom.
PEPERO DAY has been the subject of some debate about whether the celebration is exploitive or not because of the following reason. Some people insist that the company misleads consumers with a sales gimmick to promote its products since PEPERO made by LOTTE which is the biggest confectionery company in Korea. When PEPERO DAY is coming, most kinds of snack include PEPERO increase in price and the company’s income soars. According to the research released by K-Research, PEPERO’s price on PEPERO DAY is more expensive about ten percent than ordinary days and about thirty percent of the company’s annual incomes is from sales of PEPERO on the date. Moreover the debate surrounding PEPERO DAY’s impure motive of companies is being more and more serious because many kinds of PEPERO are made at a very high price by the other confectionery companies.
There are many holidays and celebrations in Korea and especially PEPERO DAY is one of the most well-known celebrations although the date has no exact origin and is not assigned by government. Additionally, PEPERO DAY spread to every generation without a general form for celebrating the date. If Just people consider the argument about PEPERO DAY’s commercial potential carefully, PEPERO DAY is able to be a representative celebration of Korea.
First of all, there are two major opinions about PEPERO DAY’s origin. The first one is that PEPERO DAY which is on November eleventh is a shape of the date in origin. November eleventh is ‘11/11’, that is, the date is included four numbers ‘1’, so it seems like that there are four sticks and PEPERO which is bar-shaped snack in Korea also looks like a stick as the date does. Therefore November eleventh became PEPERO DAY because of this similarity of the shape. The second one is that LOTTE, a Korean company which makes PEPERO, creates the date to promote their product. This opinion blames the company and date, but it is just one of the ideas about PEPERO DAY’s origin. Although there are also some other opinions about the origin, it is not clear that when the date became PEPERO DAY and who made the date. According to research released by K-Research, which is one of the Korean research centers, over ninety five percent of people participated in the survey answered that they know and enjoy PEPERO DAY, but all of the people did not know about the origin. In this manner, PEPERO DAY is one of the famous celebrations in Korea despite uncertainty about origin.
There are distinctive features in PEPERO DAY compared to other celebrations. For one thing, PEPERO DAY is not a holiday and celebration assigned by government or traditional culture such as Halloween, President’s Day or Thanksgiving. There are not general forms to enjoy the date as people go to party in Halloween. People are able to enjoy without considerations for the date because they do not have to prepare for a special plan, for instance a party, dating and event. Another one is that even though PEPERO DAY means a celebration for couples like Valentine Day, many people give and take PEPERO from each other as just an expression of friendship. Therefore PEPERO DAY is able to become more widely practiced to people in Korea because the date is free and general without a special custom.
PEPERO DAY has been the subject of some debate about whether the celebration is exploitive or not because of the following reason. Some people insist that the company misleads consumers with a sales gimmick to promote its products since PEPERO made by LOTTE which is the biggest confectionery company in Korea. When PEPERO DAY is coming, most kinds of snack include PEPERO increase in price and the company’s income soars. According to the research released by K-Research, PEPERO’s price on PEPERO DAY is more expensive about ten percent than ordinary days and about thirty percent of the company’s annual incomes is from sales of PEPERO on the date. Moreover the debate surrounding PEPERO DAY’s impure motive of companies is being more and more serious because many kinds of PEPERO are made at a very high price by the other confectionery companies.
There are many holidays and celebrations in Korea and especially PEPERO DAY is one of the most well-known celebrations although the date has no exact origin and is not assigned by government. Additionally, PEPERO DAY spread to every generation without a general form for celebrating the date. If Just people consider the argument about PEPERO DAY’s commercial potential carefully, PEPERO DAY is able to be a representative celebration of Korea.
MY OPINION ABOUT EXPERIENTIAL AND ROTE LEARNING
There is an argument about whether experiential learning is more beneficial than rote learning or not. Regarding the issue, some people insist that it is more effective for students to understand their subject by doing activities. However I disagree with such a view for the following reasons. First of all, it takes much more time to do experiential learning in school since there are more materials, places and plans needed for the practical class than a routine class. Spending a lot of time for a class means that the school has to extend school hours and has potential problems. For example, when I was in high school, the principle tried to make all classes include activities or experiences, but the principle’s strategy caused students to miss classes necessary for entrance to college. So the principle had to extend school hours about twelve hours a week which burdened students. In this regard, I think that rote learning, which does not require a lot of preparation time, is more efficient in school. The second reason is financial. Because teaching students through experience or activities requires more teachers, materials and places, the school has to spend a lot of money. According to a report released by Edu.com that is one of the Korean research centers, experiential or active classes require about twice the financial expenses than a normal class. Moreover, the report found that most schools which tried to change normal classes to experiential classes finally gave up their decision because of financial difficulties. For schools to make the practical class successful without any financial problems, they would have to request students to share the financial responsibility for experiential learning. To conclude, I firmly disagree that learning by doing is more beneficial than a traditional class in school. The efforts for the practical class are not efficient if schools consider an aspect of time and finance. Time and money saved by doing a traditional class would give schools more chances to try a lot of new methods for students. Therefore, rote class is better than experiential class in school.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
My People, the Indigenous Taiwanese - by Peggy Wang
Taiwan is an island live with many different races of people. There are Taiwanese, Chinese, Hakka, and aborigine. The Taiwanese, Chinese, and Hakka were originally from Mainland China, only the aborigine was really indigenous to Taiwan. There are thirteen officially recognized peoples of Taiwanese aborigine; one of them is called Amis which is where my father came from. In this essay, I am going to talk about three aspects of Amis: history, ceremony, and social structure.
Amis, who is a largest group of Taiwanese aborigine, has 160,000 of the population. And most of them live in the Pacific coastal plain eastern; therefore, we eat a lot of sea food such as fish, spiral shells, and seaweed, etc. But we also have a special recipe for pork; it is marinate the raw pork with a lot of salt which you only can have in our ceremony.
Talk about our ceremony, every year we have a very important traditional ceremony in July which is called Harvest Festival. However, the marinated pork is that we eat most during the festival. Usually the ceremony would continue for 3 days, and we sing and dance all day long to show the people’s thanks and appreciation to the Gods and to pray for harvest in the next coming year. So, no matter where we are, we always go back to our village to celebrate it.
Another aspect of Amis is about our social structure. Amis is a matriarchal society; therefore, the family affairs are decided by the woman or the eldest daughter, and also they take the responsibility of family. But the guys take care of rest of the stuff such as hunting or fishing. In our society, when people get married, the man would become a son-in-law and lives in the wife’s home. But the time has changed and it doesn’t happen now.
So, this is my ethnic identity. Even though I am only have half blood relationship of Amis and didn’t grow up in the village, I am still learning about our traditional cultures, and I am very proud of my heritage.
Amis, who is a largest group of Taiwanese aborigine, has 160,000 of the population. And most of them live in the Pacific coastal plain eastern; therefore, we eat a lot of sea food such as fish, spiral shells, and seaweed, etc. But we also have a special recipe for pork; it is marinate the raw pork with a lot of salt which you only can have in our ceremony.
Talk about our ceremony, every year we have a very important traditional ceremony in July which is called Harvest Festival. However, the marinated pork is that we eat most during the festival. Usually the ceremony would continue for 3 days, and we sing and dance all day long to show the people’s thanks and appreciation to the Gods and to pray for harvest in the next coming year. So, no matter where we are, we always go back to our village to celebrate it.
Another aspect of Amis is about our social structure. Amis is a matriarchal society; therefore, the family affairs are decided by the woman or the eldest daughter, and also they take the responsibility of family. But the guys take care of rest of the stuff such as hunting or fishing. In our society, when people get married, the man would become a son-in-law and lives in the wife’s home. But the time has changed and it doesn’t happen now.
So, this is my ethnic identity. Even though I am only have half blood relationship of Amis and didn’t grow up in the village, I am still learning about our traditional cultures, and I am very proud of my heritage.
An Impressive School Teacher
The most impressive teacher I have ever had was Ahn, Hyang-Ki, who was my middle school moral education teacher. I thought that he was quite different from other teachers. First, he was so short that most students ignored him at first. Although he had a short man’s complex like a physical weakness, he had a surprising sense of humorous that in the class had some positive effects on students. Second, he always tried to reduce the generation gap between a teacher and students; however, he also warned us to be cautious. He sometimes said, “When we are getting familiar with each other, we should be more careful not to hurt each other.” For instance, one day, when someone tried to interfere with him, Ahn got so mad that he hit that student a lot. Although severe punishment is not good, I completely agreed with him because what the student did was so bad that he deceived it. Finally, he didn’t have a biased mine about most students. He took good care of students who were calm in his class room; however, normally, most teachers prefer the best students to the weaker ones. For example, I was so surprised to see that Ahn tried to elect someone who was just popular with most students because most teachers just preferred to elect someone, who was good at study as a monitor such as a class president or a class leader, to avoid some trouble. There can be no doubt that he was quite different from the average teacher. These things inspired me to treat all people equally. Whenever I consider my moral values, Ahn reminds me of what the most helpful is.
A Memorable Teacher
When I was in middle school, I started to learn English. My teacher, Miss Liu, had a lasting influence on my love of English education. First, she tried her best to make learning English easy and interesting. The second language was too hard for us, because of the boring grammar and the strange pronunciation. She always made a song or interesting story with the learned vocabulary to help us remember and pronounce them as well as cut some square cards with vocabulary words on them and then put them on the objects in the classroom. For example she put the card “blackboard” on the real blackboard, so when we passed and cleaned the blackboard, we could see and recite it. It was good for our memories. For the grammar, she used games to help us master the grammar, such as simple present, present perfect, present progressive. She made sentences with these grammar lessons and separated class two groups. The winner group was that could answer the question accuratelyand quickly. They could win the game and get the prize, which maybe were candy or pencils. From it, we got much fun and learnt more. Second my teacher also had a strict side. Everyday she gave us phrases and vocabulary to recite. On the second day she would ask us them. If someone couldn’t answer her correctly, he had to stand up at his desk until class was over. Moreover, she corrected homework carefully. If we wrote a sentence with a wrong tense, we had to write five new sentences with correct tense by ourselves to understand more about the mistake. The last memorable aspect of her, was that she took care of us outside class, because she believed that if we had a strong body and comfortable feeling, and then we could study 100% at class as well as be a eager student. For example, when we went to dining room and met her, she always bought chicken legs or vegetable for us and said, “Eat more, grow more, and learn more.”. She was my most memorable teacher, because she made me really love English.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Lunar New Year and Spring Holiday
There are three important festivals in Taiwan, and the most important one is lunar New Year’s Eve which is also called Spring Holiday and different from New Year that people yell for final countdown in New York. We usually have five days in the holiday vacation which is like Christmas in Western culture. During the first two days and the day before it, we have to clean house, welcome New Years with celebrations, and go back to mothers’ old homes.
The day before New Year is usually the busiest day in the year; we have many things to do: cleaning, special dinner, and fireworks for celebration. First, people clean their houses completely which means they send old things and the year away and welcome the new one, and we wear new clothing which used to be red. Second, for the celebration, we always have a plentiful dinner at home, and closer family will gather and have fun. In my family, my parents prepare dinner with my grandmother; the process can improve the relationship between families, and there is a tradition: hand-made meat balls and big hotpot which means “together”. After the dinner, family talk to each other and care about how’s their life going? Finally, the thing that all children look forward for entire year is coming- the red packet (envelope) which adults usually put cash inside and means "money warding off evil spirits". Children put them under their pillows while they sleep on New Years’ Eve, but some of them won’t sleep just pull all nighters playing games and fireworks used to scare away “Monster Nian,” which is a made up creature.
In order to welcome New Years’ Day, whole family members usually wake up early, go to worship ancestors, and visit other relatives with New Year’s gifts that mean: “Congratulations! You will be safe and well this new year.” People have a great lunch with the items after worship which means “peaceful and fine”.
According traditions, all married women then go back to their parents’ home on the second day of New Years, so that their parents can know that their daughters are fine and good wives in husbands’ homes and treat daughters and their husbands meals.
These traditional celebrations show Spring Vacation is a meaningful family holiday and gives us a good reason for having a break to release the whole year’s stress and fatigue.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
My Third Grade Teacher
My third grade teacher was a passionate person who I will never forget. First, she encouraged me to participate in class. For instance, she praised me whenever I answered in class, regardless if it was good or not. She gave me a “grape” when I got the correct answer, cleaned the class room, or did a good job on my homework. The grapes were not real; they were drawn on a pretty piece of paper which encouraged me to participate in class because if I filled up the “basket” with grapes, I got a reward. Second, she made me have pride in myself. For example, she praised my drawing, and, as a result, my classmates followed my advice in team projects and extra class after school. Also, she gave me a chance to act for a school video which we filmed to use as teaching material in another city. The chance helped me to get more pride in myself because I was chosen out of many school mates. It made me think of myself as a special person. Now, when I am depressed, I remind myself of her lesson: keep pride in yourself and engage in life.
Monday, February 15, 2010
My Politics Teacher
Three characteristic make Mr. Qiao become the teacher who most profound impact teacher my life. He is my high school politics teacher, and the first time I saw him, he looked very strict, but in fact, he was very kind. He thought about us all the time. Once, one of my classmates was hurted on the website, and Mr. Qiao helped her to find some information on the internet to protect her. If someone broke school rules, he didn’t punish them like other teachers. He used appropriate ways to solve problems. For example, one day, one of my classmates was absent without permission. Then next day, Mr. Qiao just talked to him very friendly, and told the advantages and disadvantages, after that, the boy never did same mistake. Secondly, he was very patient. He never gives up any student, even if the student didn’t like to study. For example, if a student did not understand a question, he would explain details again and again until the student figured out the problem. I liked to listen in his class, because he was a humorous man. He found something interesting and would share it with the class. He didn’t just ask you to remember the textbook. He always combined it with news. How amazing it was to find that every piece of news was related with the text perfectly. Evert time I went to his class, I felt excited. Other students envy us. On our school’s blog, we established a poster about my politics teacher, and most students wanted to become his student. Mr. Qiao is such a kind, patient, and humorous teacher that I miss him very much.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
The Strategies of Preparing Exams
There are three useful strategies that have helped me prepare for exams. One of the strategies is to take notes, which I write down as clearly as possible. Usually, those definitions and examples that instructors mention in class are the most important information that could be asked in the exam, so making notes about what they say can help me find the main points quickly. Also, while taking notes, I keep thinking and memorizing the instructors’ words; thus, it saves me more time for remembering the main points when I prepare for the exams. In addition, understanding where one can learn efficiently is another practical strategy before starting to study. For example, some students would rather study in the library than at home because it is easy to lose their focus in their houses. Like me, I might leave my seat a couple times for drinking water or cleaning my room if I study at home; but in a library, I can really concentrate on what I am studying. On the other hand, Some people might prefer to join in a study group for preparing exams. Such as my friend Jim who thinks that joining in a study group is an easy way to prepare for exams since he can borrow other members’ class notes. If there is something he does not understand in the textbook, he will discuss it with them. The other strategic method for preparing exams is to let your physical condition be ready for taking exam. Many studies show that having a crammed study in only a short period of time does not help our brains memorize information into the long-term memory. That means, after staying up last night, you may forget most of what you studied next day. In conclusion, accurate note taking, studying at library, and having a good rest before an exam are three strategic rules that I always follow for preparing exams.
My Most Memorable Teacher
Mr. Liu is the most memorable teacher in my life. He was my after school science tutor who I found through my best friend. He taught me well for 3 years, so I learn a lot. Mr.liu impressed me due to several reasons. First, he was really skillful man in science. Every time I gave him my science questions, which even my science teacher had to think about for a very long time, he just read it once and figured it out immediately like he had already seen them many times before. The other thing I was very surprised about was that he was an "all-rounder", he was well rounded in science and math. It seemed to me that he was expert in math, physics, chemistry and biology. So I often praised him for his talent, but he said he is not a smart person, just hardworking. Secondly, he had a really clear thinking and nothing confused him. For instance, I often had class with my friend while we had different problems. So every time during class, she asked math or biology and I asked physics or chemistry questions. I always felt confused that we asked different questions during one class. However, he was never confused and managed everything well. Third, he was a disinterested man. He also gave me some helpful and useful materials of the methods of solving the science problems, which he had painstakingly developed during his holidays. Actually, he did’t need do that because he was just an outside school tutor, but he said he teach us not for money but just to teach. For him,teaching was not a job: it was an avocation. What's more, every time he explained something to me, he was not only just explaining it like other teachers, but also emphasized the main point to make me focused. Finally, he was really special in how he treated students. He had a very kind attitude and he has never angry with my faults and patiently taught me even when I was confused. He even cooked for me and gave me snacks as bonus that made me want to learn more and never felt boring. I much appreciated him taught me how he taught me well and made me interested in studying. I’m very proud of being his student and I really respect him. I enjoyed every class with him. Thank you Mr.Liu. You are the most excellent and special teacher in my whole memory!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
The Memorable Teacher Who has Great Styles
My most memorable teacher had three great teaching methods which were suitable to me. When I was a middle school student, she was my homeroom teacher. First, her teaching style in lecture was very helpful to me. She used to tell her story or made which included mathematical formulas so that we could memorize what we learned. Second, the ways she handled students was decent. She treated us strictly, but she didn’t punish us with a rod. When we broke the rules, we could choose our punishment like review, voluntary presentation, summary for class mates…etc. Getting punishment makes me study, and that was even helpful. Third, she was a great counselor whenever we had a problem because she was a pretty good listener and adviser. When I disappointed myself after a test, she encouraged and counseled me not to give up. I could feel better, so I could do my best for the next test. She was my best teacher because of her wonderful teaching styles, so I still remember and respect her.
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