Actions Speak Louder than Words

There is an English expression that says, “Actions speak louder than words.” This means that what a person does is more important than what he or she says. I think this is a true statement, and can sometimes be a difficult standard to live by. As a parent, I need to teach my children important values. For example, if I tell them not to lie, I need to tell the truth at all times. This weekend I had a chance to reinforce this lesson with my son when we went shopping at Walmart. After I parked my van, I opened my driver's side door. Just then, a gust of wind caught my door and caused it to open faster than I had intended. As a result, my door hit the truck next to me and left a mark on it. The owner of the truck was not there, and if I chose to not admit my mistake, I wouldn't have had to pay for any consequences. However, that would not have been truthful. So, I wrote a note explaining what had happened and included my name and phone number. I put the note under the windshield wiper of the truck. My son and I talked about how it was important that I told the truth about what had happened. Later, the owner of the truck called me and said she appreciated my being honest. This was a chance to let my actions speak—and maybe my son will remember what I did. I don’t always succeed in matching my actions to what I say to my kids, but I try.

A Dream for the Future

I don’t often dream about my future because I feel so busy in my present, but someday I would like to travel with my family. There are many places I want to travel to—Greece, Turkey, Egypt, just to name three. I also would like to travel to countries where my students come from so that I can understand a little more about their cultures. :) I would like my children to be able to experience differences from what they are accustomed to. It is so amazing to see the common bond all people share no matter their cultural background or race—and by travelling abroad, my children would be able to see that. I think I have learned more about myself and my own heritage when I have travelled—and I think that would be a good lesson for my children as well. To make my dream come true, I will have to wait until my children are older and I save a lot of money!

Thanksgiving Holiday

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite American holidays. The first Thanksgiving meal occurred when early European settlers, called Pilgrims, and Native Americans ate together to celebrate a harvest. The Pilgrims and the Native Americans shared their traditional foods. One reason why I like Thanksgiving is that it is a family holiday. Most Americans get together with their extended families—aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. Some Americans get together with close friends if they can’t visit their families. I love getting together with my extended family. Traditionally, we eat a lot of good food, play games, and watch football on TV. Another reason I like Thanksgiving is that it is a time to reflect on the good things in my life. Sometimes I hurry around and forget to appreciate the blessings in my life. I am thankful for my husband, my children, and many more things that I don’t have room to list. The last reason I like Thanksgiving is that it is not a “commercial” holiday. Unlike Christmas or Easter or Halloween, stores aren’t filled with all kinds of things to buy to celebrate the holiday. Thanksgiving is based on food and thankfulness, which are simple pleasures. In conclusion, Thanksgiving for me is a wonderful holiday.

Home is where your heart is

I might be a little boring, but my favorite place in the Iowa City area is my home. :) I like my home because that is where I spend most of my time with my family. I like to paint the walls and decorate my house. I have a lot of ideas for my house, but my time and money are limited for what I can do. I also like my neighborhood. We moved into our house in 2000, and our house was the only one finished on our street. In a short time, however, many more houses were built and more families moved in. My kids have a lot of friends to play with. Also, many of my neighbors are from around the world—China, Russia, Korea, India, and Nigeria. I think I live in a great place!

Fall in Iowa City--Blog Assignment #8

What I have learned from my dad

My father is a good decision-maker and an optimist. He has taught me these qualities through his example as well as his words. Through the years, I have seen my dad have to make difficult decisions, and I have often asked for his help when I have a tough decision to make. One strategy he has taught me is to write down a list of the pros (benefits or advantages) and cons (drawbacks or disadvantages) of each outcome of my decision. Often, seeing the options in writing helps me make my decision. Then, after I make my decision, as my father has advised, I focus on those pros and move forward with my decision. I think being able to not second-guess or not regret my decision ties into being an optimist. By focusing on the benefits, I look at the “bright side.” Being an optimist also is helpful when I have a bad day. My dad has encouraged me to focus on something good that happened that day instead of the bad things that could get me down. Some good things I like to remember on bad days are to notice when the weather is beautiful, to be grateful for a good parking spot, or to be thankful for my family and my health. When I think about these good things, I don’t feel so down about the bad things. My dad is a great teacher, and in these two points—decision-making and optimism—he has greatly impacted my life.

Two Are Better Than One

When people move to another place, it can be a stressful time, even if they move within the same country. I have moved several times in my life, but the last time was 9 years ago when I moved to Iowa City. I felt lonely, I didn’t know my way around, and I didn’t know important information like what doctors my children should go to. The solution to my problem was to make friends with people who had lived in Iowa City for a long time. First, my friends encouraged me when I felt lonely and missed my former home. Second, my friends helped me with directions around town so I didn’t get lost. Finally, my friends were a wealth of information, offering suggestions for doctors, shopping, and entertainment. In conclusion, my advice to people who move to Iowa City is to get involved in an organization or club so they can make new friends.

My Favorite Movie Genre

My favorite movie genre is Romantic. One reason is that I like to see how a romance develops between characters. Another reason is that I like to guess who will fall in love with whom, and then see if I am right. I prefer Romantic movies that have a happy ending. I also think it is fun to laugh in Romantic Comedies. I enjoy newer movies (like “The Lake House”) and older movies (like “Roman Holiday”—even though the ending isn’t so happy). My favorite Romantic movie of all time is “Pride and Prejudice,” both the 1995 version and the 2005 version. Even though I have seen both movies LOTS of times, I still enjoy the thrill of figuring out when Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy actually fall in love, and whether or not they will get together in the end. Other Romantic movies I like are “Persuasion,” “Sense and Sensibility,” “Emma,” “You’ve Got Mail,” “Ever After,” and “The Princess Bride.”

Trains, Museums, and Losing Daddy

I enjoy Chicago and have been there several times. One particular Chicago memory I have is from two years ago. My husband and I decided to take a one-day vacation in Chicago with our three kids, who were 6, 7 and 9 at the time.

When we got downtown, we wanted to go to the Museum of Science and Industry. On our map, we saw that we could take a train from downtown to the museum. So, we went looking for the train station. It took us a long time to find the station. Finally, after asking several people for help, we found out that the station was actually underground. We had to go into a building and down some stairs to get to the station. We were so happy to find the right train and get on it! We enjoyed our ride to our stop.

When we got off the train, there were a lot of people, and I was worried about keeping my kids with me. On the platform, I was happy to see my three kids. However, my daughter said, “Dad didn’t get off!” I said, “Of course he did!” and looked around. He was nowhere to be seen. He really hadn’t gotten off the train before the doors closed! Unfortunately, he also didn’t have a cell phone with him. I quickly thought that he would be okay—he was a smart man after all—and that the kids and I should walk the few blocks to the museum and wait for him there. I even thought it was quite funny that he had gotten left on the train.

My kids, however, saw no humor in the situation, and my youngest daughter sobbed, “We’ll never see Daddy again!” I had to carry her, hold on to my other kids’ hands, and try to console all of the kids with the fact that yes, we would see Daddy again. It took about a half hour, but we finally saw my husband running up to the museum entrance. We were all happy to see each other again--and we enjoyed the museum.

Even now, if you ask my children about that trip, they will say that they had fun but we almost lost Daddy!

Different Ways to Get Around Town

I think the many types of transportation available in different countries are fun and intriguing. In Iowa, I almost always drive my minivan where ever I need to go. With the cost of gasoline, I have been trying to limit the number of trips I take, but I enjoy the freedom I have with my own car. When I was in the Philippines (many years ago), I used very different types of transportation on a daily basis. The first kind was called a “jeepney.” It was a fancy, colorful, decked-out kind of mini-bus that had a few rows of seats. Jeepneys held about 10-15 passengers. Instead of pulling a chord to indicate where I wanted to get off (like on an Iowa City bus), I would hit a coin on a metal part of the seat in front of me. The driver (amazingly!) would hear that sound and stop for me. The second kind of transportation I often took was called a “tricycle.” There is nothing like this in Iowa City. A tricycle was a small motorbike with a covered side car on it. The side car could hold one or two people. I could hire one to take me wherever I wanted to go. While these two types of transportation were really fun, I am glad to have my own vehicle here.

Mistaken Identity

Whenever I have traveled to another country, I have encountered funny experiences. One such experience happened in Germany. I couldn’t speak German, but I tried to learn helpful words like “please” and “thank you” from a German-English dictionary. I also tried to learn German words from my experiences. One time I went to a McDonalds and I wanted to order an ice cream cone. The cashier told me I couldn’t have one because the machine was “kaput.” Now, I had heard that word in English, but I hadn’t realized that it was a German word that meant “broken.” Later that day, I was at a train station and needed to make a phone call. One of the public phones was broken. After I figured that out, I saw another woman try to use the phone. I tried to be helpful and told her, “Kaput.” She looked at me and started talking to me in German. After a little while, I finally had to tell her that I couldn’t speak German; I only spoke English. She stopped and said, “Oh, I am from California!” It turned out she was a bilingual American and she had thought I could speak German.

A Little Bit About Me

I would like to tell you a few things about me so that you can get to know me better. First, I am married and have three children. My husband’s name is Kurt, and he works at a bank. I have three children, who range in age from 8 to 11. My family is very important to me. Second, I have lived in Iowa most of my life. I was actually born in Iowa City while my father worked on his PhD in Engineering, but I grew up in a town an hour east of here. Finally, although I have lived in Iowa most of my life, I have traveled to many countries. I have been to Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Spain, Switzerland, and Venezuela. In conclusion, I think I am a typical Iowan, but my life experiences have stretched beyond Iowa’s borders.

Welcome

Welcome to Level E2 Writing! Throughout this sememster, we will do lots of activities to practice and improve your writing.

Creating and posting to your own blog is one way to practice. :)

I look forward to blogging with you!