Posting B (04/30/08) ENG
Personally I have thought that people in Cambodia resembles Korea peoples (I saw the pictures of narrator and her family and the friends) The history follows similar pattenrs also as in Korean history before it split in to two countreis, Norht and South Korea. I wonder ifthe traditional customs fr foods would be similar too. About the war: as a Korean born in 1991, I have never experienced a war. It was my grand parents who experienced the war as young children. I have no physical or emotional experience and I feel inexperienced and at the same time feels safe nad happy to be in the richest and the nicest country in the world, US. Reading all this war and violence I feel pity for the children in war. I want to volutnerr mysel fas a doctor (ER) in the war in Iraq if the war siltll goes in untill I become a doctor. I want to experinence such poverty, sickness, and war sot hat I can actually "sympathize" with them. I want to be helpful. Someday, after all of my experineces I would like to write abook about it. (like the book that I'm reading now except that I am not a victim but a protector)
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Posting A (04/30/08) ENG
Posting A (04/30/08) ENG
Cambodia's air pollution is very severe. As in China, it si normallly foggy of particles of dusts and many harmful gases are suspended in the sky and affects human's health negatively. The particulates trigger many respiratory inflamation responses, including bronchitis and asthma. There is one scene that narrator and her famil poasses the dirty children, probably orphans, and the cildren were playing in spellign palces that weref full of garbages. The hygiens of the country is very bad in general. While the narrator wakes up and waits for her mom who went to the market, (even though the narrator's family was wealthy- compared to others- they don't have a refrigerator so mom has to go out every dya to markets to buy the family's needs daily meat and the earlier she gets to the market, wshe would be able to get fresher foods. The country shows some symptoms of violence. THe newspaper and media, even though not advanced as much, report the murderous events by a group of pople and now the city grows in the fear of violence
Cambodia's air pollution is very severe. As in China, it si normallly foggy of particles of dusts and many harmful gases are suspended in the sky and affects human's health negatively. The particulates trigger many respiratory inflamation responses, including bronchitis and asthma. There is one scene that narrator and her famil poasses the dirty children, probably orphans, and the cildren were playing in spellign palces that weref full of garbages. The hygiens of the country is very bad in general. While the narrator wakes up and waits for her mom who went to the market, (even though the narrator's family was wealthy- compared to others- they don't have a refrigerator so mom has to go out every dya to markets to buy the family's needs daily meat and the earlier she gets to the market, wshe would be able to get fresher foods. The country shows some symptoms of violence. THe newspaper and media, even though not advanced as much, report the murderous events by a group of pople and now the city grows in the fear of violence
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Post B (04/23/08) ENG
Post B (04/23/08) ENG
Free Writing
I was very surprised how this time of the history in Vietnam was very similar to Korea few decades ago. I am pretty amazed at how their culture was similar to ours and their relations to the family and societies like business maket and attenting their everyday. I think that this book First They Killed My Father would talk first more about the background of the country for further description. This conditions, poor and devastating, is under no control and the mood and the air for the revolutionary get excited and arouse. Narrator's father, irionically at the sides of the defenses would be the first victim in her family in order to fit her to the title.
The father seemed to have more control over his family than mother did, in a way that this is not a maternal societal, but rather paternal. Societies in the old days varietly talks about rebuilding and revolting against the treaties and amenities that the new governments had build up and the struggles are still going on today.
The revolutions are terrible thing if there is violence involved in it. This country Cambodia is where the few wealthy people can handle refrigerators. Well I can't imagine the life without the refrigerator and also the life of misery to loose my father or mother in the revolution or war.
I think Mirabal sister's In th Time of the Butterflies are well written as well as this book which describes her experience in details in the essay.
Free Writing
I was very surprised how this time of the history in Vietnam was very similar to Korea few decades ago. I am pretty amazed at how their culture was similar to ours and their relations to the family and societies like business maket and attenting their everyday. I think that this book First They Killed My Father would talk first more about the background of the country for further description. This conditions, poor and devastating, is under no control and the mood and the air for the revolutionary get excited and arouse. Narrator's father, irionically at the sides of the defenses would be the first victim in her family in order to fit her to the title.
The father seemed to have more control over his family than mother did, in a way that this is not a maternal societal, but rather paternal. Societies in the old days varietly talks about rebuilding and revolting against the treaties and amenities that the new governments had build up and the struggles are still going on today.
The revolutions are terrible thing if there is violence involved in it. This country Cambodia is where the few wealthy people can handle refrigerators. Well I can't imagine the life without the refrigerator and also the life of misery to loose my father or mother in the revolution or war.
I think Mirabal sister's In th Time of the Butterflies are well written as well as this book which describes her experience in details in the essay.
Post A (04/23/08) ENG
Post A (04/23/08) ENG
Culture
Usually people have big families (the narrator's family is big; father, mother, three boys, and four girls)
The poorer the family, closer they live to the ground, or underground. Because the closer to the ground, there is more pollution and garbage, and harder for the people to live healthy.
More wealthier, more stairs you have in the house, meaning that you have more space and more rooms for children and parents.
There are books sold in languages of Chinese, Khmer, English, and French.
Many dried fruits and vegetables sold at the market. The weather is usually hot and the indoor is about ten degrees cooler.
Dragons are belived to see into the future. They are very powerful and wise.
The family, even they are from the same origin, might have different color for the skin.
Soldiers make a lot of money (compare to the business people) and the more stars you have the better your payments become.
Culture
Usually people have big families (the narrator's family is big; father, mother, three boys, and four girls)
The poorer the family, closer they live to the ground, or underground. Because the closer to the ground, there is more pollution and garbage, and harder for the people to live healthy.
More wealthier, more stairs you have in the house, meaning that you have more space and more rooms for children and parents.
There are books sold in languages of Chinese, Khmer, English, and French.
Many dried fruits and vegetables sold at the market. The weather is usually hot and the indoor is about ten degrees cooler.
Dragons are belived to see into the future. They are very powerful and wise.
The family, even they are from the same origin, might have different color for the skin.
Soldiers make a lot of money (compare to the business people) and the more stars you have the better your payments become.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Post B (04/16/08) ENG
Post B (04/16/08) ENG
Before reading: I was pretty excited about all the facts that this book deals about the genocide and it would be all actions and tears etc. But this book rather starts out with sweet, rather cheesy, style of writing that really bothered me. I don't know why, but the protagonist, the narrator is the little girl (maybe it starts as a little girl and soon grow up) who talks about her family and herself with a nice, but self-centered body image. I was pretty annoyed about the poor writing skill that shows no attraction for the readers to read more of it.
The descriptions are somewhat following the cultural guidelines, which is one of the reason that I partially want to finish the book, and I expect to learn more about Cambodia after I finish the book. I don't mind all the too-real-that-makes-one-grossed-out, but I can't stand a boring book. I hope that this book doesn't give me that kind of worrying. Plus, Since this book is little short for the requirement, I would want to try another short book, The House On the Mango Street, which is a short book written by Sandra Cisneros that is very famous to many people.
Before reading: I was pretty excited about all the facts that this book deals about the genocide and it would be all actions and tears etc. But this book rather starts out with sweet, rather cheesy, style of writing that really bothered me. I don't know why, but the protagonist, the narrator is the little girl (maybe it starts as a little girl and soon grow up) who talks about her family and herself with a nice, but self-centered body image. I was pretty annoyed about the poor writing skill that shows no attraction for the readers to read more of it.
The descriptions are somewhat following the cultural guidelines, which is one of the reason that I partially want to finish the book, and I expect to learn more about Cambodia after I finish the book. I don't mind all the too-real-that-makes-one-grossed-out, but I can't stand a boring book. I hope that this book doesn't give me that kind of worrying. Plus, Since this book is little short for the requirement, I would want to try another short book, The House On the Mango Street, which is a short book written by Sandra Cisneros that is very famous to many people.
Post A (04/16/08) ENG
Post A (04/16/08) ENG
Cultural Commentary
The country setting is in Cambodia, late 1900s that few are wealthy and the rest of the people are suffering from the poverty, disease, and lack of order in the government. The young girl is the protagonist for the book, who has many sisters and brothers. It is not abnormal to have a lot of sibilings, for most of those are probably not able to survive through their adulthood. Father is called Pa and the mother is called Ma, while the rest of them are called by their name (I am not sure if there was any change in names when the book was translated to Englsh...) From the title, "They First Killed My Fater" it gives readers a clue that it would be something like genocide where innocent people die out from one man or one government's misleading, and the narrator's father is one of many victims. The narrator's family is rather living as a wealthy family, where there are many other children who is suffereing from hunger and homlessness.
Cultural Commentary
The country setting is in Cambodia, late 1900s that few are wealthy and the rest of the people are suffering from the poverty, disease, and lack of order in the government. The young girl is the protagonist for the book, who has many sisters and brothers. It is not abnormal to have a lot of sibilings, for most of those are probably not able to survive through their adulthood. Father is called Pa and the mother is called Ma, while the rest of them are called by their name (I am not sure if there was any change in names when the book was translated to Englsh...) From the title, "They First Killed My Fater" it gives readers a clue that it would be something like genocide where innocent people die out from one man or one government's misleading, and the narrator's father is one of many victims. The narrator's family is rather living as a wealthy family, where there are many other children who is suffereing from hunger and homlessness.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Why I picked my book
I picked First they killed my father : a daughter of Cambodia remembers by Loung Ung because the title was very attractive to me. I know that Cambodia is one of the very suffering countries with corrupted governments and uneducated, violent people struggling for better lives without knowing what to do. Additionally, I wanted to know more about the country Cambodia. I believe that I can gain a lot of indirect experiences and learning of the cultures through the reading, and I hope that I can enjoy it as much as I gain knowledge. The cover is very interesting, too, with a picture of a girl who is dirty and looks lonely, maybe a orphan, but without any of her eyes showing. She must've been suffered and cried a lot, I thought, and I wondered if this was to be the real story. (Well... I'll figure it out as I go along with the book) This book comes from the list that Mrs. Burgess recommended and I think I can rely on the information for all the other books that went along had popular comments and recommendations when talked about in class.
In case that the book ended short, I want to try to read The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. It is a rather short book, very unexpected, and I was charmed by the length, but I knew that it wasn't proper for the requirements that were to be met for the guidelines to pick the right book for the fourth quarter. I hope these books can give me ideas and liberations in my life that I can be soon changed and learned by them!
In case that the book ended short, I want to try to read The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. It is a rather short book, very unexpected, and I was charmed by the length, but I knew that it wasn't proper for the requirements that were to be met for the guidelines to pick the right book for the fourth quarter. I hope these books can give me ideas and liberations in my life that I can be soon changed and learned by them!
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