The Story of the Weeping Camel

This movie was about all of the culture in Mongolia. It showed how important the camels were in the Mongolians every-day life. The mother camel was in birth for two days straight, and rejected her son at birth by not giving it milk. The only thing left to do was to summon a musician to come and perform a ceremony on the mother camel. As soon as the ceremony was complete, the camel accepted her son and let him drink her milk.

I loved watching this movie because it showed me all the culture in Mongolia.

The Parakeet by Victor Erofeyev

This story is Russian, and we were told to try to figure out what the grandfather's name was. I came to the conclusion that the word Vich, means "son of."

The son is Yermola Siridonovich
The father is Spiridon Yermolaevich
so, therefore,
the grandfather is Yermola.

Osama

This was a movie we watched in class called "Osama." It was the first movie filmed after the fall of the Taliban, but took place when they were still around. The mother's husband and brother both died. Women can't be in public, unless escorted by men, and they aren't allowed to work. In order to survive, the woman dresses her daughter up as a boy and has her get a job. After a while, the girl is discovered and is married off as punishment.

This movie reminded me of the book, "The Kite Runner", because it had the same setting and time period. They were both about the Taliban too. It showed me how bad things really are over there, and it's not their fault. Sometimes people in America are so focused on their own lives, that they can't stop and see all the bad around us. I think this movie shows us how bad things really are overseas.

The Child Who Raised Poisonous Snakes by Can Xue

This story was about a boy who enjoyed playing with snakes. His parents didn't agree with the things he loved to do, so they sent him to a psychologist because he was a little strange. I think the narrator of this story is the psychologist. By the end, the boy isn't even noticed, the parents gave up, and now their hair is turning gray due to stress.

A Riddle by Antonio Tabucchi

This story is Italian and takes place in Italy. In the story, they mention the Gothic cathedrals of Normandy. To the right is the Coustances Cathedral. It's an example of the Gothic style of Normandy, which consists of many long, straight lines.


Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coutances_Cathedral

Reflecting an Honest Image: Portraits of Lesbian and Bisexual Women

Our class went to a gallery with photographs taken by Alyssa Jones, and she wanted to capture the image of these women in whichever way they wanted. It was up to the person in the photo, rather than the photographer, to decide where the picture was being taken and what was going to happen in it.


A few photographs that really jumped out at me were the ones of Steff, the girl with the dog, Hanna, the girl in the hall with magazines, and Elisa, the girl that was fly-fishing.

Steff was playing with her dog and looked as normal as anybody. I think Jones was trying to show that dogs don't discriminate, and neither should people. It was a great portrayal of someone just being happy and confident.

Hanna was sitting in a hall with a dress on, and magazines were covering the floor such as "Vogue." This is showing that even lesbians and bisexuals can be girly, and that they shouldn't always be judged.

Elisa was fly-fishing, showing that even women can do things that most men enjoy. She's happy who she is and what she's doing, and no one can tell her otherwise.

The Way Home

I am but seventy five years old and a mute, at that. My only daugher is thirty-two years old and she has a son, Sangwoo, who is only seven. She came to visit today.
“Mom, I need you to do me a favor. Can you watch Sangwoo for a while? It’s just everything that’s happened with his father, and… I just need need your help,” she said.
Being her mother, I couldn’t decline.
“Thank you so much. I shouldn’t be too long.”
Then she left and it was just me and Sangwoo. He started calling me a retard and making fun of me. I wanted to say something, but I can’t. I’m just too old to even let those things bother me anymore.

It’s already been a week. I help the boy when I can. He wanted something from the top shelf, so I helped him get it down. He never says please or thank you. He wanted batteries, and I’m not familiar with these things, so I couldn’t help him with that. He got mad at me and started making fun of me. When I help him, he hates me, and when I can’t help him, he still hates me. However, I am his grandmother, and I will always love him no matter what.

Sangwoo wanted something called Kentucky chicken. I went to the market and bought the chicken. I walked all the way there and back in the rain. I cooked the chicken and fed the boy. He yelled at me and threw the food, saying that’s not what he wanted. I’m so confused. I just tried to help. The next morning I woke up with a fever and he made me breakfast. Even though he doesn’t show it all the time, I know he still cares about me, because of times like these.

We’ve been going to the market lately, taking the bus. I sell bundles of thread for money there. I saved up enough, and Sangwoo and I went to a restaurant. All of the money I earn goes right to him, because I love him, but he never says thank you. Sometimes it upsets me. I didn’t have enough money to take the bus, so I lied and told him he could get on the bus, and I would take a later one. When I got back, I was tired from all of the walking, and Sangwoo just yelled at me and asked what took me so long.

Sangwoo wanted a haircut, so I gave him one. He looked at it when it was finished and immediately yelled at me because it was too short. I did my best, but nothing is good enough for him. I still love him though. He tried to teach me how to write because I couldn’t call. I’m having a tough time learning it because I’m just too old. He started getting upset and gave me a hug. It’s times like these that I know he still cares.

His mother finally came today. It’s been a month and now she’s leaving. She told me to take care of myself and gave me a hug goodbye. I wanted to hug Sangwoo but he didn’t even look at me. When he got on the bus, he ran to the back of it and looked at me. He gave me the sign language sign for “sorry” and waved goodbye. I am his grandmother, and I will always love him no matter what.