On April 20, 2007, my school had a sustainability fair. At this fair, different people from around the island came to our school to talk about building a more sustainable future.There were three topics that I found especially interesting.
I learned about something called Indian Blue Worms. The difference between these worms and regular worms are that they will eat pretty much any type of organic material. Organic materials are materials that have Carbon. Even though they are red worms, they have a blue ring around their heads, which is how they got their name. So, if people started to use these worms, we wouldn't have to throw away as much of our trash. These worms could use it for food.
We also have a recycling water plant on our island. The water here is not used for drinking. It is sewer water that has been treated so it can be used for irrigation and industrial purposes. Irrigation purposes include the watering of golf courses. Since we are using recycled water, we don't have to waste our precious clean water supply. Industrial purposes include using the recycled water for steam. This is a great way to build a sustainable future for our islands. I also learned that purple is the universal color for non drinking water. So, if you see a purple pipe, don't drink the water from it!
I learned about Xeriscape. Xeriscape saves water in landscape areas by using drought tolerant plants. A lot of the times, we use native plants, which is good for two reasons because it saves water, and increases the native plant population. Xeriscape also uses drip irrigation instead of sprinklers because it directs the water to the plant instead of watering everything around it, which is not necessary. It also uses mulching, which holds in water for longer periods of time.
From the sustainability fair, I learned a ton about building a sustainable future for the coming generations. The people that came to talk were very nice people and easy to talk to and ask questions. Besides learning about the things we are doing to build a sustainable future, I learned some very interesting facts. For example, 84% of all household waste can be recycled. You throw away 41 pounds of garbage a day. That means, you can recycle about 35 pounds of garbage a day. I don't think that anyone recycles that much. I really hope that my school has another sustainability fair next year, because this was really fun. Did I mention, I also won a mug because of this fair. It's pretty cool.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Monday, March 12, 2007
Shaman Lit Circle Post
For the chapter, Shaman, in The Woman Warrior, my job is the moderator, which is the person that brings questions for the group.
Maxine said early in the chapter that Brave Orchid and her husband had two children, a boy and a girl, before they had Maxine. How do you think they died and why did Maxine introduce them into the story?
Brave Orchid wanted to do something with her life after her two children died. Why did she choose to be a doctor?
When Maxine is looking at pictures of her mother at school, she is trying to figure out how she feels. Why does Maxine want to know her mother's feelings back then?
In China, it seems that they believe in ghosts. Why do the Chinese culture believe in ghosts, but not the present day American culture? There are ghost stories in our culture, but I don't think we take ghosts as seriously as the people in this book. What is the difference between these two cultures?
Brave Orchid said that it costed 200 dollars to pay for Maxine's birth, and people in China were giving away girls for free. What is Brave Orchid trying to tell Maxine by saying this?
Why do you think that Brave Orchid was willing to move to America when she was having such a great life in China? She was a respected doctor, and then threw it all away to come to America. Would you make the same decision?
How come Brave Orchid and Maxine considers everyone in America ghosts?
What are the similarities between Brave Orchid and Fa Mu Lan?
Between pages 88-91, Maxine talks about how all heroes love food and eat a lot. What does this mean?
Maxine's grandfather and father married multiple women. Why is this accepted?
Maxine said early in the chapter that Brave Orchid and her husband had two children, a boy and a girl, before they had Maxine. How do you think they died and why did Maxine introduce them into the story?
Brave Orchid wanted to do something with her life after her two children died. Why did she choose to be a doctor?
When Maxine is looking at pictures of her mother at school, she is trying to figure out how she feels. Why does Maxine want to know her mother's feelings back then?
In China, it seems that they believe in ghosts. Why do the Chinese culture believe in ghosts, but not the present day American culture? There are ghost stories in our culture, but I don't think we take ghosts as seriously as the people in this book. What is the difference between these two cultures?
Brave Orchid said that it costed 200 dollars to pay for Maxine's birth, and people in China were giving away girls for free. What is Brave Orchid trying to tell Maxine by saying this?
Why do you think that Brave Orchid was willing to move to America when she was having such a great life in China? She was a respected doctor, and then threw it all away to come to America. Would you make the same decision?
How come Brave Orchid and Maxine considers everyone in America ghosts?
What are the similarities between Brave Orchid and Fa Mu Lan?
Between pages 88-91, Maxine talks about how all heroes love food and eat a lot. What does this mean?
Maxine's grandfather and father married multiple women. Why is this accepted?
Charley, The Hickam Air Force Base Ghost
This assignment is about finding a Hawaiian ghost story. I picked this ghost story because my dad used to work at Hickam. I wonder if he ever saw this ghost? Here's some background information about Charley.
At Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, “Charley” has haunted the halls of the Pacific Air Forces headquarters building since the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. Known as Hale Makai, Hawaiian for “house by the sea,” it was once the largest building in the U.S. military. In 1941 it was a 3,200-man dormitory on that day of infamy. More than 60 Soldiers — most eating breakfast — died in the building during the attack. Today, it’s still an ominous place.
And here is a story about someone that might have heard Charley at night.
Hello I'm a thirteen year old boy whom my father is in the Air Force. My dad was stationed at Hickam Air force Base and worked at a rather large building that had been there even before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Now it is the Pacific Air Forces Headquarters building. Although during the war it was a 3000 man dormitory. The shape of the building from the air is like a Number sign, #.
Now in the military when an object or enemy is not known they are given the alias "charley". During the war the dorm was bombed and the bomb went right through the roof of the mess hall. This wing or area is called the " L wing" It looks like an L from the air or the top right
corner of the number sign.
It was said to be that at the time that the bomb fell through the roof and exploded a man unknown man that was mopping the floor of the mess hall. Of course he was killed. For some unknown reason the ghost of this man is said to haunt the L wing on the third floor which is the top floor.
My friend and I got a hold of this information through our fathers who work there. So we figured that it would be fun to spend Halloween night in the building.
We had heard a couple of stories of other people encountering the ghost. The best story involved the security police who reside in the L wing on the floor. They were running a training drill where there was a criminal loose in the building so they had all the lights on and all the
exits sealed off. A young airman was running down a fully lit hall when he ran into what felt like a person. He looked up to see nothing but he did hear heavy footsteps running in the opposite direction.
This young airman who had his little experience told me this first hand as well as my dad. He said that the security police are so scared from that incident that they no longer patrol the third floor of the L wing. He said what really scares him are the moans that he hears when he is
Patrolling the second floor coming from the third floor. He can also hear footsteps through the paper thin ceilings.
The night that my father, my friend, his father, and me decided to stay in the building we really wanted to come in contact with Charlie in some order. As freaked out as we were we went up to the third floor and walked around. Our dads weren't quite as afraid as us so they teased us
by tapping us and yelling out the ghost's name. Shortly after we heard moaning and we stopped dead in our tracks. the moans seemed to be getting closer then the moans were soon accompanied by footsteps, running footsteps. So as a natural reaction we sprinted to the stairs
and ran all the way to the first floor where we were bunking. We were quite shaken up and tried to forget it. We then went up to the second floor stair landing to listen for moans and footsteps. Sure enough we did and ran back to the first floor. We went to sleep and
tried to forget about it all but how can you forget something this nerve rattling?
At Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, “Charley” has haunted the halls of the Pacific Air Forces headquarters building since the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. Known as Hale Makai, Hawaiian for “house by the sea,” it was once the largest building in the U.S. military. In 1941 it was a 3,200-man dormitory on that day of infamy. More than 60 Soldiers — most eating breakfast — died in the building during the attack. Today, it’s still an ominous place.
And here is a story about someone that might have heard Charley at night.
Hello I'm a thirteen year old boy whom my father is in the Air Force. My dad was stationed at Hickam Air force Base and worked at a rather large building that had been there even before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Now it is the Pacific Air Forces Headquarters building. Although during the war it was a 3000 man dormitory. The shape of the building from the air is like a Number sign, #.
Now in the military when an object or enemy is not known they are given the alias "charley". During the war the dorm was bombed and the bomb went right through the roof of the mess hall. This wing or area is called the " L wing" It looks like an L from the air or the top right
corner of the number sign.
It was said to be that at the time that the bomb fell through the roof and exploded a man unknown man that was mopping the floor of the mess hall. Of course he was killed. For some unknown reason the ghost of this man is said to haunt the L wing on the third floor which is the top floor.
My friend and I got a hold of this information through our fathers who work there. So we figured that it would be fun to spend Halloween night in the building.
We had heard a couple of stories of other people encountering the ghost. The best story involved the security police who reside in the L wing on the floor. They were running a training drill where there was a criminal loose in the building so they had all the lights on and all the
exits sealed off. A young airman was running down a fully lit hall when he ran into what felt like a person. He looked up to see nothing but he did hear heavy footsteps running in the opposite direction.
This young airman who had his little experience told me this first hand as well as my dad. He said that the security police are so scared from that incident that they no longer patrol the third floor of the L wing. He said what really scares him are the moans that he hears when he is
Patrolling the second floor coming from the third floor. He can also hear footsteps through the paper thin ceilings.
The night that my father, my friend, his father, and me decided to stay in the building we really wanted to come in contact with Charlie in some order. As freaked out as we were we went up to the third floor and walked around. Our dads weren't quite as afraid as us so they teased us
by tapping us and yelling out the ghost's name. Shortly after we heard moaning and we stopped dead in our tracks. the moans seemed to be getting closer then the moans were soon accompanied by footsteps, running footsteps. So as a natural reaction we sprinted to the stairs
and ran all the way to the first floor where we were bunking. We were quite shaken up and tried to forget it. We then went up to the second floor stair landing to listen for moans and footsteps. Sure enough we did and ran back to the first floor. We went to sleep and
tried to forget about it all but how can you forget something this nerve rattling?
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
White Tigers Lit Circle Post 2
This is my second Lit Circle post for White Tigers. I'm still the Philosopher King, so what I did was look for the themes as I read the chapter. I noticed that there was pretty much only one theme at the end of this Chapter. It was Sexism. Maxine suffered from many sexist remarks and events while she was growing up. Back in her time, people didn't respect woman. Even though Maxine got straight A's, her parents didn't care because she was a girl. She wasn't going to become a doctor or a businessman, so they didn't care how Maxine did in school. There was only one expectation of women back in her time. It was to become a wife or slave. Many people said that it was a waste of time to put any time into a girl. Someone in the book said, "Better to raise geese than girls (46)." As she grew up and went to college, Maxine learned that sexism isn't the only bad thing that existed all around the world. So does racism. All of the bosses she worked for are very racist. One uses the term, "nigger yellow" frequently. Another fires Maxine because she refuses to type invitations to a restaurant that is being picketed by groups that push racial equality. When she gets fired, she wants to kill him, like what Fa Mu Lan would do. I guess the what the end of this chapter is trying to say is that in Maxine's life, there are many bad people, like in the Fa Mu Lan story. She has to find a way to defeat them. But, instead of killing them, she has to beat them by using her words.
Friday, March 2, 2007
White Tigers Lit Circle Post
Yesterday in class, we started to talk about the chapter, White Tigers in The Woman Warrior. We mainly talked about how Fa Mu Lan is a woman and the disadvantages she as because she is one. She is different from the other soldiers since she's a woman. She had to train differently because of that. She was also the hero of her village. The village imputed the title of hero to her name because everyone gave her their sons so she would have an army to fight with. The village believed she was the one that will keep the village safe by going out and fighting the bad guys. We also talked about the rabbit that jumped into her fire so she could eat. I explained in my other post that the rabbit allowed her to eat because she didn't have food. We said in class that this is an example of Fa Mu Lan tapping into the nature to help her on her journeys.
I started to read on, and saw more and more themes in the chapter. One theme is love. Fa Mu Lan finally meets her husband. Fa Mu Lan says that this is the first time in her life that she has a partner. Later, she becomes pregnant. She still fights, wearing her armor differently to hide her pregnant belly. After she gives birth, she fights with her baby in a sling under her armor. She loves her baby so much, that she takes him with her into battle so she always knows where he is. It may seem dangerous to take a baby into battle, but Fa Mu Lan always needs to know where her son is.
Another theme is feminism. Fa Mu Lan is proving to the world that a woman can be a great warrior. She killed so many men on her missions. I guess what the author is trying to say is it doesn't matter what gender you are, if a woman works hard, she can be just as good as a man. Fa Mu Lan is also not the only woman warrior. Fa Mu Lan arrives to the village of the baron that drafted her brother. She learns the baron is a very contumacious man, saying that he hasn't done anything wrong and made all of his wealth by himself. She slaughters the baron, and in his house, finds a bunch of women locked in a room. She sets them free, and later, they would become a army of woman warriors that kill men and boys. What this chapter is saying about feminism is that in old China, women could become warriors be something other than slaves and wives. But, as the chapter goes on, we learn that women don't have the same freedom in present day China.
I started to read on, and saw more and more themes in the chapter. One theme is love. Fa Mu Lan finally meets her husband. Fa Mu Lan says that this is the first time in her life that she has a partner. Later, she becomes pregnant. She still fights, wearing her armor differently to hide her pregnant belly. After she gives birth, she fights with her baby in a sling under her armor. She loves her baby so much, that she takes him with her into battle so she always knows where he is. It may seem dangerous to take a baby into battle, but Fa Mu Lan always needs to know where her son is.
Another theme is feminism. Fa Mu Lan is proving to the world that a woman can be a great warrior. She killed so many men on her missions. I guess what the author is trying to say is it doesn't matter what gender you are, if a woman works hard, she can be just as good as a man. Fa Mu Lan is also not the only woman warrior. Fa Mu Lan arrives to the village of the baron that drafted her brother. She learns the baron is a very contumacious man, saying that he hasn't done anything wrong and made all of his wealth by himself. She slaughters the baron, and in his house, finds a bunch of women locked in a room. She sets them free, and later, they would become a army of woman warriors that kill men and boys. What this chapter is saying about feminism is that in old China, women could become warriors be something other than slaves and wives. But, as the chapter goes on, we learn that women don't have the same freedom in present day China.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Philosopher King Post 1 in White Tigers
Our class does Literature Circles for the books we read. My job for the Chapter, White Tigers, is the Philosopher King. As the Philosopher King, I am supposed to look for the different themes in the chapter. In the first 16 pages of White Tigers in The Woman Warrior, there were many themes introduced. I am going to talk about four of them.
1. Learning/Training: In the beginning of the chapter, Maxine is telling the story of Fa Mu Lan. She is imagining that she is Fa Mu Lan. An elderly couple asks Fa Mu Lan if she wants to become a warrior to protect her town. She agrees, and goes into training with the couple for 15 years. She learns many things from the couple, such as being very quiet around animals and learning to control her body. She becomes so strong, that she is able to control when her irises dilate.
2. Discipline: When Fa Mu Lan turns 14, the elderly couple takes her blindfolded into the mountain of white tigers. They give her no food and no assistance on how to get back to their home. Fa Mu Lan has to figure out how to survive on very little food and water. She doesn’t take a bite of food until day 10 in the mountains. She gets water by melting snow. An interesting part of this chapter is when a rabbit comes by her while she is near a fire. The rabbit actually jumps into the fire, sacrificing itself, so Fa Mu Lan can eat.
3. Revenge: This is not only an important theme because Fa Mu Lan has this word carved onto her back by her parents, but it is the reason why she started training to become a warrior. She became a warrior because she wanted to protect her village from people that steal from them. She also wanted to get revenge for the people that came to the village and raided them.
4. Pain: Fa Mu Lan suffers through a lot of pain in this chapter. She suffers physical pain. Getting that word carved into your back with a knife doesn’t exactly feel like a massage, does it? She also suffers emotional pain. All she can do is watch while her husband and brother go to war and fight.
1. Learning/Training: In the beginning of the chapter, Maxine is telling the story of Fa Mu Lan. She is imagining that she is Fa Mu Lan. An elderly couple asks Fa Mu Lan if she wants to become a warrior to protect her town. She agrees, and goes into training with the couple for 15 years. She learns many things from the couple, such as being very quiet around animals and learning to control her body. She becomes so strong, that she is able to control when her irises dilate.
2. Discipline: When Fa Mu Lan turns 14, the elderly couple takes her blindfolded into the mountain of white tigers. They give her no food and no assistance on how to get back to their home. Fa Mu Lan has to figure out how to survive on very little food and water. She doesn’t take a bite of food until day 10 in the mountains. She gets water by melting snow. An interesting part of this chapter is when a rabbit comes by her while she is near a fire. The rabbit actually jumps into the fire, sacrificing itself, so Fa Mu Lan can eat.
3. Revenge: This is not only an important theme because Fa Mu Lan has this word carved onto her back by her parents, but it is the reason why she started training to become a warrior. She became a warrior because she wanted to protect her village from people that steal from them. She also wanted to get revenge for the people that came to the village and raided them.
4. Pain: Fa Mu Lan suffers through a lot of pain in this chapter. She suffers physical pain. Getting that word carved into your back with a knife doesn’t exactly feel like a massage, does it? She also suffers emotional pain. All she can do is watch while her husband and brother go to war and fight.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Draft of Story
This is the beginning of my story for the writing project.
A magazine. A stupid magazine got me into so much trouble. You see, one day, I was in my sister's store. She was about to pick up her paycheck, when the new issue of Sports Illustrated caught my eye. It had my favorite baseball team on the cover, The New York Yankees. "Can the Yankees make another title run?" was the headline. I wanted it so badly. Even though it should come in the mail in a couple days, I needed to read it. I stuck my hand into my pocket, and took out some money. Then, I thought to myself, wouldn't it be thrilling to steal the thing? I mean, what an adrenaline rush. So, I turned my head back and forth over and over again, making sure there was no one watching me, and I snatched the magazine and tucked it under my shirt. I sauntered towards the door. I was a few steps away from the door, about to reach freedom, when a security guard said, "Hey kid, come with me." Oh Oh. Busted. The security guard took me into a tiny room, and asked, "Did you take anything from here" I decided to lie. "Uh… no sir, I didn't take anything." He knew I was lying. "Well then, I guess you wouldn't mind if I check under your clothes, then." "Okay, I'm sorry, I took this magazine." He thought for a second, and said, "Well, since you're Karen's brother, I won't take you down to the station. But, you do have to pay for the magazine. I'm also going to tell your parents."
As soon as my parents heard the news, they exploded. They were so mad, that they decided to send me off to the Big Island to help my uncle Kealoha out in the coffee fields for three days.
I just arrived at the Big Island, searching for my uncle. When I first set my eyes on him I am stunned. He is a humongous Hawaiian man. How can I be related to him? My family is full of short, scrawny Asians, and this man is at least six feet, 250 pounds! He has a tattoo that runs down his face. I really hope that I never will get this guy pissed, because he could probably snap every bone in my body in half with his iron-like arms.
"OK, Kenny. Wat you goin' do is pick da coffee beans off da trees. You have to pick each bean, one by one. Only take da red ones. No take da green ones. No stay ripe yet, das why. It's real humbug. But it help you learn wat hard work is. O yeah, call me Kea. Kealoaha is too long. OK, I see you in about five hours to feed you dinner. Work hard, ah?" Kea's pidgin accent is very difficult to understand. It is almost as if we spoke two different languages. And then, I see the field. The coffee trees seem to go on for miles. There is no way I'll get halfway done after three days picking the beans by hand. Oh well, I might as well get started.
"Ho, Kenny, it's 5 o'clock, you done for da day. Wat you like eat?" My body is in so much pain. Kea didn't tell me to wear a hat. I really didn't know the sun was going to be that hot. I am burnt to a crisp. I am so red, that if you put me on a dinner plate with a bowl of butter, I look like lobster dinner fit for a king.
"That's okay Kea, I'm not really hungry. I think I'm just going to go sleep."
"Ok den. I give you one good breakfast tomorrow den. Whoa, braddah. You look like one cherry. I better give you one hat tomorrow. And wear some sunscreen, too."
As soon as a lay down on my bed, I feel like a thousand wasps landed on my body and stung me over and over again. The sunburn hurts so badly, I just want to die. Maybe if I get a good night sleep, I will feel better in the morning.
A magazine. A stupid magazine got me into so much trouble. You see, one day, I was in my sister's store. She was about to pick up her paycheck, when the new issue of Sports Illustrated caught my eye. It had my favorite baseball team on the cover, The New York Yankees. "Can the Yankees make another title run?" was the headline. I wanted it so badly. Even though it should come in the mail in a couple days, I needed to read it. I stuck my hand into my pocket, and took out some money. Then, I thought to myself, wouldn't it be thrilling to steal the thing? I mean, what an adrenaline rush. So, I turned my head back and forth over and over again, making sure there was no one watching me, and I snatched the magazine and tucked it under my shirt. I sauntered towards the door. I was a few steps away from the door, about to reach freedom, when a security guard said, "Hey kid, come with me." Oh Oh. Busted. The security guard took me into a tiny room, and asked, "Did you take anything from here" I decided to lie. "Uh… no sir, I didn't take anything." He knew I was lying. "Well then, I guess you wouldn't mind if I check under your clothes, then." "Okay, I'm sorry, I took this magazine." He thought for a second, and said, "Well, since you're Karen's brother, I won't take you down to the station. But, you do have to pay for the magazine. I'm also going to tell your parents."
As soon as my parents heard the news, they exploded. They were so mad, that they decided to send me off to the Big Island to help my uncle Kealoha out in the coffee fields for three days.
I just arrived at the Big Island, searching for my uncle. When I first set my eyes on him I am stunned. He is a humongous Hawaiian man. How can I be related to him? My family is full of short, scrawny Asians, and this man is at least six feet, 250 pounds! He has a tattoo that runs down his face. I really hope that I never will get this guy pissed, because he could probably snap every bone in my body in half with his iron-like arms.
"OK, Kenny. Wat you goin' do is pick da coffee beans off da trees. You have to pick each bean, one by one. Only take da red ones. No take da green ones. No stay ripe yet, das why. It's real humbug. But it help you learn wat hard work is. O yeah, call me Kea. Kealoaha is too long. OK, I see you in about five hours to feed you dinner. Work hard, ah?" Kea's pidgin accent is very difficult to understand. It is almost as if we spoke two different languages. And then, I see the field. The coffee trees seem to go on for miles. There is no way I'll get halfway done after three days picking the beans by hand. Oh well, I might as well get started.
"Ho, Kenny, it's 5 o'clock, you done for da day. Wat you like eat?" My body is in so much pain. Kea didn't tell me to wear a hat. I really didn't know the sun was going to be that hot. I am burnt to a crisp. I am so red, that if you put me on a dinner plate with a bowl of butter, I look like lobster dinner fit for a king.
"That's okay Kea, I'm not really hungry. I think I'm just going to go sleep."
"Ok den. I give you one good breakfast tomorrow den. Whoa, braddah. You look like one cherry. I better give you one hat tomorrow. And wear some sunscreen, too."
As soon as a lay down on my bed, I feel like a thousand wasps landed on my body and stung me over and over again. The sunburn hurts so badly, I just want to die. Maybe if I get a good night sleep, I will feel better in the morning.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)