camping

I went to the students’ voluntary service for rural communities during the summer vacation when I was in university. I helped farmers to work out in the fields and weed a rice paddy for three days. When my friend and I were working in a rice field, we got some problem with leeches. And the fierce sunshine tortured us. But we were having fun with working in a rural community, which we never had done before. And at night, we could see many stars in the sky, and we were having fun with a campfire. And we could talk to each other a lot, because the cell phone was not working so we had to spend our time with friends. It was a really good experience, because usually we spent our time with computer, MP3 player or sell phone. It made us closer than at any other moment. I recommend it for friendship.

holiday

In Korea, we celebrate the New Years Day; it is called ‘Sul’. Actually we have two New Years Days. One is according to the solar calendar system, and another is according to the lunar calendar system. Sul is the second one according to lunar calendar system. We can take three days off. During the Sul we usually visit our relatives and eat many delicious foods. The most important food that we have to eat is rice cake soup. A bowl soup means one year that we are getting new. And we play some traditional games. It helps the family reunion.

Camping in K.S.A.

In Saudi Arabia camping is very popular; a lot of people like it in Saudi Arabia. One time my family and I went to the desert and we camped there. That was amazing; we slept there about five days and we were planning to stay for ten days, but something happened. We were asleep and everything was ok until a huge storm hit us. Then it started to rain a very heavy rain; we woke up and we were very scared. We started to collect our important things, and then we made sure that all the children were with us. Then we got into our cars and we ran away, and we saw all people were going out of the desert; everybody was trying to run away from there. After one day we were watching the news and they said that there was one family stuck in the desert, and they were trying to help them and they were close to the place we were camping in.

My Unforgettable Memories With Scouting

While attending the elementary school, I used to volunteer in “Saudi Boy Scouts Association”, but I left it afterward, since I traveled to another city leaving my friends and all my memories with scouting. In addition, I have a lot of memory about this work, and I went through unbelievable experiences that I wouldn’t have learned if I weren’t a scout. First, now that we were living in a mountainous environment, we had had great chances to learn climbing. Honestly, I did try to climb once, and actually it was the last time. Moreover, we learned to make fire, pitch tents, make food, and do trips and to visit many places, even outside the country; we went for example, to Egypt, Jordan, and Dubai. Furthermore, we took many courses either were religious, educational, or even for entertainment. On the other hand, what we were missing was a beautiful all-green forests, since the natural landscape of Saudi Arabia is mostly desert. However, I believe from all my heart that my days with my other scouts won’t go away forever; it is definitely an unforgettable experience

What I would like to do in autumn

In Korea, there is a saying that “autumn is a season of reading.” That mean it is a kind of an educational movement in which the government encouraged people to lower the illiteracy rate through reading books. Also, this sentence has a connotative sense that autumn is one of the most appropriate seasons for reading. Some of my friends say, actually, that I am not only a great reader, but a voracious reader. When I usually stay home by myself, I am used to having a good time reading books, noon and night. I do not eat anything while I am reading books. My parents are really concerned about my reading style. It seems to me that it is like doing drugs. Whatever, I would read books even if someone introduces a girlfriend to me. Particularly, I would rather read books in autumn than in other season.

Camping

It was great days when I was on a camping vacation. Two weeks ago, I was camping with my husband and our friends, which was the first time in my life. I was interested on that trip because I found and I saw many new things. I did many things, which I had never done before. It was an exciting attempt. At first, I was worried about how I could live in the tent without technology; for example, television, phones, or microwave, and how we could entertainment ourselves without those. On the first day, I felt uncomfortable with insects, dirty places, and sleeping on the ground in the tent, which is, hurt my back. However, on the second day the birds’ song woke me up in the early morning at four thirty. I felt refreshed, not like regular days in my home. Then I sat in front of the lake to see the sunrise, which was an amazing view. After that, we made our breakfast to eat. Then we were boating on the lake and fishing. After that, we came back to make lunch. In the night, everything was dark, so we let a fire and sat around it. That was a great atmosphere for talking and joking. I will never forget those days, which are the best days in my life.

Camping

It was great days when I was on a camping vacation. Two weeks ago, I was camping with my husband and our friends, which was the first time in my life. I was interested on that trip because I found and I saw many new things. I did many things, which I had never done before. It was an exciting attempt. At first, I was worried about how I could live in the tent without technology; for example, television, phones, or microwave, and how we could entertainment ourselves without those. On the first day, I felt uncomfortable with insects, dirty places, and sleeping on the ground in the tent, which is, hurt my back. However, on the second day the birds’ song woke me up in the early morning at four thirty. I felt refreshed, not like regular days in my home. Then I sat in front of the lake to see the sunrise, which was an amazing view. After that, we made our breakfast to eat. Then we were boating on the lake and fishing. After that, we came back to make lunch. In the night, everything was dark, so we let a fire and sat around it. That was a great atmosphere for talking and joking. I will never forget those days, which are the best days in my life.

Camping

In my home country we have two different holidays. We have different ways to celebrate on these two days. I like to camp with my friends. We go to the sea and stay near the sea for three or more days. We go there with no electricity. We are just a group of males. We do everything by ourselves. We cook our food and clean our stuff, and we have a lot of fun. We wake up early in the morning and we play many different kinds of games like volleyball, and football. We really enjoy our time. We like this time because we have fun in that time and we learn many new things in that time.

Outdoors

First of all, camping is one of my favorite habits that I like to do when I have fun with my friends. In my hometown, Jeddah, I like to go camping every weekend. One day, my friends and I planned to go camping in the forest, so each one in the group was brought some food that he created at home. After that we went to the forest, and we started to put the food in the warm place in our cars, and then we started to pitch a tent cseh it up. Since we were pitching the tent my other friends decided to go swimming in the lake. At night, we started to barbeque the meat, and all my friends sat around and played cards. A while later we started to eat the food and it was very good. The most upsetting part of this camping trip was that we could not sleep at night because of the bugs. But over all we had fun in these experiences because we did have a lot of fun.

Camping

I like to travel somewhere because when I have traveling, it reduces my stress and makes me happy. I like camping with my friends. I tried to go camping when I arrived in Carbondale. I did not have a car, but now I have one it. So, if it is possible for us, we have a camp out every weekend. Last weekend, we went to a lake. We had swimming, playing catch ball, and taking pictures. We had already bought things such as tent, icebox, and fishing rod. I think a tent is more uncomfortable than a home. Sometimes, I could not sleep there because the ground was more solid. However, I like camping with my friends. It is very exciting.

Summer holiday

In my country, there is Children’s Day. On that day, parents give children gifts. If children want something, parents will do everything they want. When I was a little girl, my parents brought me to the park. Now, many parents bring their children to visit other cities or countries. Parents want their child to know many things that they cannot learn in school. So, parents with their child go to unusual places. Now parents are very busy because they have to work. On Children’s Day, families can stay together. Maybe this is one of the reasons children wait for that day.

Outdoors

The Chinese dragon boat festival is one of the popular summer holidays in Taiwan. The festival is derived from an ancient scholar and hero who was a high official of the Chu State. It illustrated that a patriotic poet, Chu Yuan, drowned in the Miluo River, because the master of the empire did not have the ability to organize the country. Chinese citizens wanted to rescue the scholar and protect him from evil or ghost, so they threw the bamboo leaves that were filled with cooked rice into the water. By the way, the marine creatures could eat these foods rather than the poet’s body. Nowadays, people employ three methods to celebrate the honored poet. Firstly, people will take part in the racing competition on the fifth day in May every year. There is a drummer to drum, and paddlers must synchronize to propel the boat. The dragon boat that can reach the end early is the winner. Furthermore, citizens will throw the pyramid shaped cooked rice into the water. People believe that these foods will invite fish to feed, so these nutritions can protect the body of the honored from being attacked. Finally, residents will go to the Chinese temple, and invoke the scholar to have a suitable life in another world. In summary, the Chinese dragon boat festival is not only a significant memorial day, but also an interesting activity during the summer in Taiwan.

Outdoors

First of all, if we want to talk about holidays in Saudi Arabia, we will talk about Ramadan. Ramadan is the big holidays in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East as well. What is Ramadan? Ramadan is religious holidays for all the Islamic counties. People celebrate this month by praying all the time, and relaxing. People fast all the day from sunset until sunrise. When the sun rise people can eat many different kinds of food like meat, soup, and desert. This holiday is very unique for Muslim people because it happens one a year. On the other hand, people usually spend time in Ramadan by visiting families and friends or camping. Many people come from different countries to spend this month in Saudi Arabia; they feel comfortable when they enjoy the holidays. Ramadan is the nicest traditional holiday in the Middle East.

Fluency Exercise#5

My country, South Korea, has one symbolic holiday which is Glorious Restoration Day. The date is August 15, and on that day there are many various events. Many people enjoy themselves and remember the end of the war. When the morning of glorious restoration day comes, people raise the national flag on the outside of their home. Also, there are many television programs which are about glorious restoration on that day; for example, a war movie, a documentary, animation, and events, etc. Otherwise, these days many people go somewhere or have leisure with their family or friends because the day is the end of the summer vacation season. So, people usually spend time with family or friends them. One symbolic celebration event is raising the national flag. -Moon-

Summer holidays in Korea

What summer holidays do you have in your country? How do you celebrate them?

In summer in Korea, we don’t have any specific holidays but based on the lunar calendar there are the three days which are the three ten-day periods of summer. In United States they are called the dog days. We call the three bok days, cho-bok, chung-bok, and mal-bok. Those days originate from an old custom that a long time ago, our ancestors decided on three days, which are the hottest days during the summer. When those days come, our ancestors would stop working and go on a picnic with delicious food and enjoy nature. Nowadays, those days are not public holidays but still people enjoy themselves during the day with some food, which makes people feel cool. Usually those days Koreans ate hot food because they thought fighting hot with hot is a good way to combat hot weather.

The Dramatic Weather in The U.S.

The most dramatic change in the weather I have ever seen is when I came to the United State of America. When I came here it was the summer season and everything was reasonable, until I heard about tornados and hurricanes. I was scared to death when people told me about them, and also when my teacher taught me about tornados. It was something amazing and very weird. I started to read about tornados and one of my friends suggested that I should watch one movie, and then I will learn a lot more than I thought. However, it is really good to know about the country you are travelling in, before you do so, you have a clear image about everything. And also, we almost had one in Carbondale, and I did what I was supposed to do. For example, you have to hide in the lowest place; you have or you near to, and do not go out of your home.

Outdoors

My favorite season is winter. The first reason is that I was born in winter. So winter has my birthday and I was always celebrated by other people. And the second reason is that I like Christmas especially; I love the Christmas atmosphere. I ate cake and went to church on Christmas. Also, many trees are decorated; these are so beautiful. The second reason is I like winter's clothes. In summer, I can wear and coordinate clothes in winter. So for those reasons, my favorite season is winter.

Winter, The Full Dormancy

According to some psychologists, the life of a person can be described as a tree during the four seasons. The tree represents the person and the four seasons represent his/her variable conditions or circumstances. Moreover, some psychologists claim also that each season represents a particular personality. For me, I would say that I tend indeed to prefer the winter, now that it nearly depicts my personality. Mystery, loneliness, and quietness, all these concepts, which we can clearly recognize in winter, are in fact applied to me. In addition, what make me prefer the winter rather than other seasons is the image of falling snow, since the snow is one of my favorite adjectives to describe something that is really white, such as the heart of a good person. Furthermore, poems and creative writers usually use the winter in their images, and to create their views, as it is their favorite time. On the other hand, many people blame me for my selection, and say that the winter represents sadness and misery. However, I constantly disagree with them and try to defend my point of view by saying that the beauty is in the winter, but not everyone is able to see it.

My Favorite Season

My favorite season is a summer. Summer has a vacation that makes feel free and relaxed. I usually go to the ocean at summer vacation. At this time, I enjoy sunny weather, fresh wind, and rough sand. Also, swimming gives me different feeling in the sea from an indoors pool. Probably, I wait for summer during the whole year. I search with a computer for my vacation plan and make a schedule to begin the year. In addition, my parents are going to visit me this week. Now, I have a vacation plan for my family in this summer. I expect to have my pleasure time with my parents this coming July.

Fluency Ex #4

My favorite season is winter because I like snow, cold weather, and winter sports. I like snow because after it snows the outside's landscape is very beautiful. Also, if I looking at the outside covered by snow. I can feel comfortable. And I usually prefer the cold weather over hot weather because I don't like to sweat and sit in the current of an air-conditioner. Moreover, one of my favorite sports is snowboarding, which is a winter sport. I've ridden a snowboard for abou 10 years, also i always go to a ski resort every winter season. My one biggest wish is to go to a big resort of the United States. For example, I've seen some ppeople ride a snowboard on top of a mountain on the movie. I really want to challenge it. If I have a chance go to on a snowboard trip on the break, I'll try it. -Moon-

Favorite Season

GilJae Yeo
EAP2-B WW
Fluency Exercise #4

My favorite season is summer because I like to travel with my family and friends. I was going to Florida in March because it has very hot weather, so we decided to go in March. When I arrived in Florida, their nature was very beautiful and there was nice weather. So, we are going to Universal and Disney World. It was very exciting. Also, I like summer vacation because summer vacation is a very long term. So, I can do many things, such as traveling, meeting friends, drinking, and taking a break. However, hot weather makes people feel angry because the temperature and the humidity index go up. When you are in summer, you should be careful of other people`s feeling. But, I like summer.

Summer Season

Every season in the year has something interesting. Actually I do not like winter, when people are happy with snow and skiing but I don’t feel comfortable with that season because usually people are sick and especially children. I have a son, so I worry about him. For that reason summer is my favorite season, because I feel comfortable and I love hot sunshin. In addition there are a lot of activities I am interested in, in this season, for example, going to the beach, playing volleyball, lying down, and swimming. It is so interesting because I love the sea, the sunrise and the sunset above the sea. Also, in the summer most people have a vacation of more than two months, which makes them relax after tired work, visit friends and travel to other places. Those are the most important reasons, which make me prefer the summer season.

What is your favorite season?

What is your favorite season? Why?

My favorite season is either spring or fall, due to the mild weather. Actually, I like neither hot nor cold weather, so I don’t like summer or winter. During summer in Korea, we have much more humid weather than in Carbondale. I don't like being sticky with my body and strong sunshine makes me very sweet. Also in winter, I don’t like heavy snowstorms or wind. When it becomes winter season, almost every day I stay at home because of the fact that I can’t face cold weather. Those are reasons why I hate summer and winter. I want it to be milder than wither season. In addition, in winter, I should wear heavy clothes.

fall

Of the four seasons, I really like fall. In fall, there is a beautiful scene. I can see beautiful maple trees. All of the world will be very colorful. It looks like a painting. I like the fall’s weather. I do not like it too hot or too cold. I like the feeling when the wind goes past me. The temperature is very suitable. In fall, I can do some outside activities without stress, such as playing volleyball, playing badminton, and going on excursions. It can make me spend a great time with my friends and family.

Beautiful winter

I like winter the most, because I like winter sports. In addition, I like Christmas very much. When I was in Korea I usually went snowboarding. Moreover I love skating; I have been skating since I was 8 years old. I know it is freezing outside in winter, but I wish it was winter now. I like Christmas, but bad things always happen to me on Christmas. I usually break up with my girlfriend on Christmas unfortunately. However, I always liked winter except when I was in the army. I do not know why it was so much colder there than in the other places. I wished I had been able to escape from there.

Fluency Ex #4

My Favorite season

Korea is a beautiful country that has the 4 seasons; especially, my favorite season is the fall because the weather begins to cool a little. The clear sky and multicolored leaves are beautiful. Autumn is the harvest season, so many kinds of people are busy harvesting. Autumn is the best season to make trips, and I also take great pleasure in traveling in autumn because a lot of the forests are a mass of color in autumn and the leaves are all off the trees. I think that autumn is pretty as a picture, because the mountain scenery was beautiful when we were there in the fall and the wide array of colors that cover the mountainside is a definite mark that autumn has arrived. I like autumn because I can play many kinds of outdoor sports with fine weather. I think that everybody has a good appetite in autumn because autumn has many kinds of fruits and seasonal foods.

Outdoors

Last weekend, I saw a very amazing sight. Throughout morning, it was a very lovely day and hot weather. So I went to the festival in Herrin and played with my friends outside. And after the festival finished, we went to one of my friends' home. Talking with my friends in the house, we heard news from the radio. So we turned on the television and checked what the problem is outside. It was a tornado warning. I was so surprised because it was my first time that I has experienced a tornado. So we went to the porch and I looked at the sky. Sky's color was so unique, it looked like mixing of dark green, black, and gray. And then, wee had to go down to the basement to avoid a dangerous situation. Furthermore, I couldn't imagine a tornado warning in the morning, So I can't forget that day's weather, because it was so dramatic!

To Change Weather in Korea

I like sunny days, which should be moderate temperature without too much hot or cool. I can experience the proper sunny day during spring or fall. At that time, I enjoy the weather, doing exercise, or going on a picnic. Moderate sunshine gives an energy and beautiful scenery to me. Spring or fall is nice weather for people’s activity. However, the season of spring or fall has vanished recently in Korea, so winter or summer is longer than before. This situation makes me uncomfortable, because I stay at home rather than go outdoors. Winter is so cold to me, and summer is too hot and humid. Changing weather is so unsatisfying to me. I have pleasurable memory about the nice weather but the next generation does not have the weather’s advantage.

Outdoors

In recent years, global warming has been the most dramatic change in the weather around the world. The natural crisis is caused by man-made activities, air pollution, industrialization, and so on. Human beings produce many chemical substances, spend many natural resources, and bruise many natural habitats. These pollutants make a dent in the Ozone, so our globe has continually became a greenhouse that raises the global temperature. Following the rising temperature, the rain forest, which is a fourth of natural resources on Earth, has continually shrunk. It has a serious effect on Earth, because these forests contain various species, abundant resources, and balanced functions. They play a crucial role to circulate the global ecosystem. With the global warming, finally, animals will have difficulty surviving. They are endangered. Their disappearance will be related with human beings’ life. In conclusion, people need to protect and manage these natural treasures right now before they disappear. The methods are to cherish our precious resources when we use them, and to reduce CO2 pollution. It is a very easy step to follow for everyone everyday.

Fluency Exercise #3

I’ve experienced SIU closing school for two days in last year’s winter because of snow and ice. When I recognized the notice of school at night, I couldn’t believe it, because I’ve never experienced the closing of school because of snow and ice. After checking the notice, I went outside to find out what was going on. But outside was covered about one foot of ice. The scene that I was shown was unbelievable. All places were covered with ice and lots of cars slid on the ice. Also, I couldn’t go outside and I needed more time than when I usually take time to walk somewhere. During those few days, I couldn’t do anything because of the covered ice. At that time, I had fun and had a good experience. Also, I skipped class two days; during those two days I had parties with friends. Maybe I’ll remember that time for a special memory. -Moon-