Napoleon...the theme park

Napoleon...the theme park

Above is an amusing article about the future” Napoleon Theme Park” in France. After reading, I am very excited about the new theme park that planned to be open in 2014. If I have the chance to visit France again, I would like to take a tour in the park. Reasons are that, first of all, I just love the design of the park! I really like its layout that includes many geographical and historical locations, includes Russia, Corsica, and St. Helena Island. The layout shows the lands Napoleon’s footstep printed on throughout his life, including his birthplace, battlefields and death place. The organized park layout is a remarkable biography of Napoleon, and it will help the tourists learn about the saga of France’s national hero. If finish establishing, the entire park will be colorful, new and appealing to all age groups, especially the younger generation. The brightness will lead us to discover more about a nation’s history. Through this way, we will learn more about Napoleon Bonaparte—not only his glorious battles, but other trivial facts as well. Lastly, I want to visit to the park because I think it will be an amusing, memorable experience that I will never forget!

Courage: born to obtain or learn to obtain?

When we were infants sleeping in our warm cradle, or toddlers trotting in cute small sneakers, do we obtain courage? To me, the answer is negative. Courage is not a certain aptitude to be born with; it is an ability that needs various experiences in life to learn and master. Perhaps you are visualizing “courageous” images of little kids playing with fire, running around roads with heavy traffic, or even teenagers riding motorcycles in a speed of wind—but no, that is not courage. That is called mischief and ignorance. Risking of your life is not more than making dangerous jokes and being irresponsible to yourself. If so, what is courage? Courage is a broad, complex concept. It includes of fortitude, consideration, patience, love, care, empathy, and taking actions. Such positive qualities cannot be obtained without time and experiences; therefore, the thinking of being courageous since birth is an unrealistic idea.

If courage is not something you can be born with, then can you develop it? Definitely. Ignorance is the first barrier toward a state of courage. However, as we grow up, we learn variety of knowledge that influences our decisions and choices. Gradually, we obtain the power of challenging ourselves through the process of learning and experience. That is how we develop our courage. Helen Keller is an example that developed intellectual, emotional and physical courage throughout her life. When Helen was younger, she was not a courageous girl. Because Helen faced deafness, blindness and the inability to talk, she was having a difficult life, along with her bad temper and negative attitude. Later in life, she met her teacher Miss. Sullivan. The teacher not only taught her how to read and write, she also guided the handicapped girl to feel and love the world. I think learning and being positive toward life is the first step in developing courage; without learning and being happy, Helen Keller would never have the courage to make her accomplishments. As you can see from many real life examples, courage doesn’t come with birth; it needs to be developed through your life.

             

Community service: A day in blind school

On Friday’s field trip, we went to Father Ray Blind School in Pattaya. In that school set up for blind kids, we played games and do many activities with the blind children. First of all, we shared our information and thoughts with each other through asking each other’s names. Next, we built teamwork by singing songs and dancing in circles. Finally, some of our classmates blindfolded their eyes and played ball with the kids in the school. However, compare to those trained blind kids that can sense slight sounds, our classmates always threw the ball in slanted directions or miss catching the ball, because they’re not used to the situation of not seeing anything. On conclusion, we have a fun time with the blind school kids.

During the activities, we needed to talk to the blind kids. My Thai languages still needs improvements, so sometimes I could not understand the directions. I tried my best though, to catch up with the Thai phrases and translate them to some of my friends. I participated in the activities of singing and dancing, and I frequently talked to the kids in blind school. However, I think I could be more engaging and active when playing with the kid. Instead, I was a little unnatural and shy, and sometimes I have no clues what to do. On general, I placed efforts on this community service, but I think I can do even better if we go again next time.

 Our trip to the Father Ray Blind School was a new and unique experience. We communicated with children of the same ages and learnt about their life—which is totally different from ours with healthy eyes. I had thoughts that we’re very fortunate kids compare to the kids in blind school, and we should appreciate that instead of being dissatisfied and complain about our life. I was also inspired by how good the kids are at playing ball, even though they couldn’t see anything. Now I understand how efforts make differences, and anyone can become successful by trying their best. Overall, I had a great time in Father Ray Blind School, and I hope that we could do more community services in the future. I believe we can make the world a better place just by extending our hands to anyone, like a cold stranger, or a blind child with a bright, sunny smile.

American Revolution: Patriots = terrorists?

Boston Tea Party of 1774

In Social Studies class, we are now learning about the American Revolution. Today, we discussed about the Boston Tea Party that happened in December 1774. To protest against the taxation on tea, the patriots, or supporters of American independence, sneaked onto British ships and threw all the tea into the cold water of Boston Harbor. Were the patriots terrorists? From this questions asked in class, we discussed and made some connections to the modern world on the topic.

Terrorism, accord to the dictionary, refers to “the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims.” In my opinions, toward the British government of the colonial times, the patriots were terrorists threatening the English rule on their colonies. This was revealed through the Boston Massacre three years before the Boston Tea Party. Accord to historical records, in 1770, the patriots armed themselves with clubs and other weapons to protest against the British army. I considered the act violence. Even in the Boston Tea Party, the patriots hurt those folks who tried to gain the tea. By reading, I can see that the patriots are angry people who can do anything for their political aim—gain independence from Great Britain, and this was an illegal act under the British rule. That is why to the British government, the patriots are terrorists.

The “terrorism” of the patriots reminded me of the Southern Thailand Insurgency. In some provinces of Southern Thailand, insurgent groups against Thai government performed many cases of violent terrorist acts, and that resulted in many deaths. The terrorism threated the Thai government and local public safety. The purpose of those insurgent groups is to change the political systems; they’re aiming for their political objectives. From connecting the term from what we learn in social studies to current events, I discovered that political protests happened all the times in history, because a government system is impossible to satisfy all people. Since some people are angry about the political situation, revolutions were launched, often through violence. In this case, the American Revolution we learnt about is a good example of insurgency, or “rising in active revolt.”

Quad Blogging

Welcome to this blog! I am Sally from 8th grade in Ruamrudee International School in Bangkok, Thailand. This blog "Tranquility of this DeepSeaBlue" is for the learning of Languages Arts and Social Studies, and I am posting some school works and homework here. Please feel free to comment on any of my blog posts. I like to read comments and also enjoy commenting on other's blog and even my own. ><

This is an introduction to my blog. I think of the name of the blog in a plain, quiet day while falling into blurry blue reveries. Such type of name isn't common among blogs, but I had a deep feeling for it. Plus, mild, melancholy blue is one of my favorite color, although I also like warm sweet peach or sweet magenta. My header...well, it is not tranquil or deep like the name of its title, it is just a piece of my amateur digital drawing. I love drawing but sketch mostly by hand, so I am very clumsy over controlling the mouse in Photoshop (I need a tablet!! T.T).  Nevertheless, I still managed to finish my header. The lines are rough, and I didn't show any concepts of art (light, shadow, those sophisticated stuffs) through this...incompetent doodle. The header showed that my friends and family are very important for me, they help and support me through my life. The colorful (messy?) rainbows symbolized sweet friendships and amicable family relationships. For the background, the credit is to Kagaya, a Japanese digital artist. The name of this artwork is "Tranquility."It is peaceful, dreamy and calm, and it is matching to my title as well as my style. I put some efforts in designing the header and choosing my background, and I hope you like the design of my blog. :D

For the blog contents, I try my best to be both informative and decorative. However, there are still many noticeable flaws, such as grammar mistakes, confusing organizations and more problems I need to work on with more efforts. I hope my posts are useful and knowledgeable and you can learn something from it. Again, please feel free to give me comments and correct my mistakes! It is okay if you criticize my post because it help me improve instead of lowering my self-esteem, which will not happen at all. Thank you to all of you that commented or will comment on my blog! >U<Up to today, I have a blog post on metacognition, which is a useful skill we learned in class. I also shared the YouTube link of my personal video "Who I am." I posted my reading journals and book summary, and I placed my personal experiences and interpretation on the Thai flood. I will updated my blog constantly, so please look forward to it!

By the way, one of my friend Hannah made a header for me, it is a lot better than my "Cloud-and-rainbow, friends-and-family doodle," but I want to keep both! (the unskilled digital drawing took me a long time><). I tried a few time to use the neat, sweet header as a bottom-er...well, in a proper saying, the decoration in the bottom of my blog, but I failed all three attempts. Nevertheless, I want to share Hannah's drawing because she put a lot of efforts and talents in it, and it looks really neat, nice and cute! The drawing is attached below. :3

And...I really think I should get a tablet if I don't want my drawings to be like scrabble doodles . :P

I post some pictures below about my interests and likes, just to provide some information about me.


P.S: If you notice any grammar mistakes, feel free to point it out for me. Perhaps you already realized that I still need many improvements on English grammar (Chinese grammar too T.T). However, from this point on, I will look after my writing more strictly, and I hope I can improve my grammar skills by being more scrupulous and diligent in writing. Thank you to all of you!! ^u^

Thank you Hannah!! ><

I love cats! (Including nyan cat the Internet meme :P) Cats are carefree messengers of happiness,  they brought away all sadness and loneliness in life with their energetic leaps and runs. Black cats are mysterious witch with emotion-curing magic power, striped cats are weaponless warriors with only passion for faithful protections and peace, and white cats are defined nobles drinking tea and sharing the silent afternoon with their owners.

Cute Panda Cakes: I love cakes! They can be so sweet and cute, or so dreamy and beautiful. They can be traditional and serious, or fashionable and energetic...
I love all types of cakes: cupcakes are impish adorable little angels, wedding cakes are elegant and pure white-cladded brides, and sun-cake and moon-cake are defined old-fashioned and down-to-earth Oriental sisters displaying themselves in Chinese and Taiwanese pastry shops...

Edelweiss: I love flowers and plants, as well as the delicious fruits of many plants :D. I like to study more about them. Edelweiss is one of my favorite flowers, for they're like puny yet strong fairies dancing in the coldness of the snowy mountains, displaying their white skirts and fortitudes to the long, chilly winter of Switzerland. (Now I miss the trip to Switzerland two years ago!!...Even though I didn't see any real edelweiss T.T but only fake flowers on souvenirs and cards )

History and Social Studies: Social studies is my favorite subjects, and I love especially history. I and fond of the Victorian Era of England mainly for its gorgeous fashion that inspired my imagination and intrigued my interest in learning. ^^ I also like Gothic Lolita fashion, which is based on the Victorian fashion.

Thank you for reading this introductory post and I hope you like my blog!! :D

Article interpretation

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2011/1103/Thailand-floods-floating-toilets-makeshift-jet-skis-and-doggie-lifejackets

Above is an article on the severe flood of Thailand, after reading the article; I was impressed by the creativity and optimism of the people. The calm and sophisticated attitude toward the misfortunes in life is not falling down and crying out, it is standing up and face it bravely. A merit is that the people adapted the life on water quickly and jokingly calling themselves “amphibians.” The even more creative spirit is that even in this natural disaster, which disrupted the normal life of Thai folks, the people still look at life in a cheerful way by inventing useful contraptions that can help themselves during the flood using minimal resources.

All the ideas of contraptions are creative and precious in current situation of flooding. One of my favorite inventions is the flood alarm invented by the technology students in Mongkhut University. Using small and cheap objects like Ping-Pong balls and piping, the students put their efforts to help the country and the people. Children are the next generation and the future of a country. If the students can gain and understand different knowledge of the flood during the process of thinking and experiences, they will be better at predicting, preventing and dealing flood in the future; this will result in less damage and death.

Another things that I like are the flood videos on YouTube and TV, to help themselves and others, Thais posted helpful and informative cartoons through media, this will pass the knowledge of the flood on and tell the people what to do. One example is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8zAAEDGQPM&feature=related

Facing the flood, I believe Thailand will become a stronger country, not only in technology from the inventions, but as well as the admirable spirits of the people, for they’re working together to make their country a better place for themselves and for others!

The flood journal

It all began in that afternoon, a few days after the closure of our school, that my father told us a bad news. Dirty water slowly rose from underground in Ban Bua Thong, the industrial park of Bangkok and where his factory is in. At that time, I think nonchalantly that the water will subside in a short moment for flood is a rather mild natural disaster. However, It is obvious now that my guess was wrong.

Among only a few days, the floodwater in Ban Bua Thong increased to the level of the knees, and more water kept flowing into the Industrial park. At this rapid rate, floodwater will enter the factory in anytime and damage the expensive machines. The situation got more severe. In those days, my father went to his factory in early morning, and returned at late night. Then, with an anxious brain full of worry and complex thoughts, he watched updated news while talking to clerks in phones and managed the flood prevention works, mainly on protection of the machines. I know it took my father more than twenty years of efforts to establish his company and factory, and it must be very stressful for him, so I tried my best to be a good girl and help on family chores. Soon, my father brought a boat, for the floodwater inclined to a dangerous level up to one meter—and then to over two meters. Dirty water entered the factory and already damaged many small machines, as well as swallowed up our products. The goal became to protect the two huge blow-molding machines, for they’re the most valuable things in the whole factory. To help process the work, my father brought two more big boats. Many stores and shops were running out of water and food, so my mother and me went to a shop where things are more expensive to buy things. We brought at less 30 packages of instant noodles and over 20 boxes of biscuits for the workers trapped in Ban Bua Thong. Meanwhile, My cousin’s family, who worked and lived in Ban Bua Thong could not stay there anymore. My cousin stayed to manage the work, and my cousin-in-law and one-year old niece evacuated to live with us in Minburi.

 Even though we insisted to stay and help, my father and cousin repeated persistently that we should evacuate. In October 27, my mum, brother, cousin-in-law, little niece and me packed up and descended the airplane fly to China. In Shenzhen, where I lived, I had a lot of difficulties to do my homework. My Mac had problems access to the Internet, so I have to use the PC in my house. Blogger, Facebook and Youtube are banned in China, so I missed a lot of homework that I will have to make up in a short time now. Compare to my father’s problems, the inconveniences are small trivia, so I learned to get used to problems in life better. In November 5, my father returned to do business in China, but two days later, we received the news that school will reopen in the 10^th, so we returned to Thailand in a rush. For almost the first time in my life, I longed for school so much, and I learned that education is so important to us that I can become something we want. My father returned with us before he was done with any business, because he was worried about us in the current situation, and I was really grateful to him, my papa.

When we drive on the path leading toward our house, our car is swimming in floodwater up to ankles. Since I never experience this, I was a little scared, but my father was used to more severe situation in Ban Bua Thong, so he was calm and slowly drive through the dirty water. When we returned to our house, I gasped for I see nothing but stacks of mess. It doesn’t look like a home but a blank shack. The bed is at one side of the living room. The dining table, piano, tables and other smaller objects are stacking on the hard bed. Fortunately, the items on second floor were not being stack up by my father and the workers before he left, so we can still live in Minburi, even though there are convenience when eating (we cannot use our dining table), we are still fortunate because the water doesn’t enter our house for now, and I hope it will never do in the future.

Reading the story above, you might think that flood only cause us troubles. Still, everything has its advantages and disadvantages, with an optimistic attitude; you can always see the good side even though it is an unwelcoming natural disaster. The flood brought up many rare fish from deep river water that usually cannot be seen in any markets. During the flood, my father brought a Mekong giant catfish up to 1 meter long and about 20 kilograms. That night, everyone get to eat the delicious wild fish. That is a sweet happiness in this severe situation, but without the flood, we can never enjoy the fresh fleshes. Yesterday was the Loi Krathong festival. Most people are worrying about the water and forget the celebration, but still, some optimistic folks are celebrating with fireworks, Krathong and lanterns. I believe even in this situation, people still have their hopes and wishes, and the silent Loi Krathong festival is prove. Yesterday we drove around Minburi, and saw the water was slowly ebbing away. I believe the flood will end, the water in Ban Bua Thong will decline and be gone, school will resume, and everything will turn out all right.