Race

I make friends with different races in America, which I learn to treat people equally without considering their colors.

Uncertainty

This summer vacation , I will go to Boston, and I hope I could get a new experience.

Unique

It is unique experience to study in America, which expands my mind.

Tolerance

American culture is tolerant, I still need to learn.

Diversity

American culture is diverse, I study with people around the world, which is fantastic.

Dead Poet's Society

Summary and Analysis

Welton Academy was a conservative prep school, and consisted of all boys. Mr. Keating who was a new English teacher taught the students poetry in a creative way. He inspired the students to think for themselves, and the students established the Dead Poet’s Society，in which they could write poetry without limitation. However, Neil had a conflict with his father about performing the plays. After he committed suicide, the school dismissed the Dead Poet’s Society, and fired Mr. Keating. But the students respected Mr. Keating in their ways.

I was impressed with this film, especially Mr. Keating. I could catch a glimpse of the American teaching style that is thinking for myself.

tempting

Definition:

Something or someone that is attractive

Sentence:

It is a tempting suggestion to visit the Egyptian pyramid.

principle

Definition: a fundamental or general truth or law

Sentence:

One economic principle is that when the supply of the good is over the demand, the price will fall.

severe

Definition: Serious in appearance or manner

Sentence: North Korea launched a testing missile, which intesified the severe situation.

accuse

Definition:

to charge persons with crime and offence.

Sentence:

The prosecutor accused the suspect of murder.

violation

Definition: to break , disregard and infringe a law or agreement, etc.

Sentence: If you violate the traffic rule, you would get the fine.

Strategy Session

If I have the same problem as Mei, I definitely would make an effort to improve my English first to show to my instructor that I am outstanding, and then I would take some time to communicate with my instrutor to ask help.

As my experience, the international students confront the same problem like Mei more or less, the linguistic and cultural barrier causes misunderstanding readily. However, being passive is not a good solution, which would harm oneself ultimately. In the extreme case like Mei, she even gives up studying. which seems to be impulsive.


As far as I am concerned, if I have the difficulty in English or something else, I prefer to slove it actively. Because in this process, I improve myself and expand my mind. And I also believe that we have the potential ability to overcome the difficulty if we are willing to do it .

Superficial

definition: concerned only with the obvious or apparent, or located near a surface.

sentence: their relationships is superficial, and cannot test by time.

Liberal

definition:Open-minded or not strict in the observance of traditional, or established forms.

sentence: He is liberal towards the homosex.

Diversity

definition: Composed of distinct or unlike elements or qualities.

sentence: The Chinese cuisine is famous for its diversity.

Empathy

definition: The action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts.

sentence: He showes great empathy towards the poor.

Ethnocentrism

definition: The attitude that one's own group is superior.

sentence: Ethnocentrism would prevent us to learn new thing.

Stereotype

definition: Something conforming to a fixed or general pattern

sentence: The stereotype of old fashion prevent us from renovation.

Optimistic

definition:An inclination to put the most favorable construction upon actions and events or to anticipate the best possible outcome.

sentence: He is optimistic about the recover of economy.

Barrier

definition: Something material that blocks or is intended to block passage

sentence: The cultural barrier is a problem for most of the international students.

Assimilated

definition: to take in or utilize as a part.

sentence: the immigrants was quickly assimilated into American culture.

Alienation

definition:
A withdrawing or separation of a person or a person's affections from an object or position former attachment.
sentence:
His intensive work causes his alienation from family.

Visitor

I think that the movie, Visitor, is really touching, and mak me deep contemplation.The main idea of the movie is that one professor, Walter, lost his passion to teach. When he attends a conference in Manhattan, he is surprised that two persons, Tareck and Zainab, had lived in his apartment, who was deceived by the agent, the professor allowed them to live with kindness, and was attracted by the African drum, Tareck teached Walter this instrument, and Walter resumed his spirits of life with the strong rhyme of drum. However, Tareck was arrested in the subway, and the policemen found his illegal status. Wlater tried his best to rescue Tareck, and during the time, Tareck' mother, Mouna comed to look for her son, and Wlater had a good time with Mouna . Finally, Tareck was deported to home , and Mouna was also back home.

From this movie I see the loneliness and alienation of urban people, like Walter, and the power of music cure the gap between different cultures and renew one's life. Wlater and Tareck become friend through the African drum , Walter is energetic again, he even has delicate feeling with Mouna, maybe Wlater's life has already changed when he decided to accommodate Tareck.

Culture Shock

It is still in my mind like happening in yesterday, how thrilling and exciting when I first arrived in LA, As I saw the brilliant illuminated city, I swore to myself, I will work hard with any price to excel in my study, because I know it is America, which deserves I do that .

However, America stuns me , especially the American people. In fact, before I went to America, I learn some knowledge about the country, I knew the climate in CA is warm all the year, I knew that American may be open-minded. Of course, I practiced English constantly for adjusting to study abroad. And I also imagined more than one time that how difficult alone for me , a international student to adapt to the new and strange environment.

Yet, life is full of amazing miracle. I used to think the Americans very selfish and arrogant. However, as I contact with more and more American people, I find that I am wrong. All of the faculty in woodbury and English program are very kindhearted, who are enthusiastic to help me. Like Rachel, Armen Corner, and Jocelyn, all of them give a great help not only in my study, but also in my life. I settled down in campus with the help of Corner, register with the help of jocelyn, overcome my study problems with the help of Rachel and Armen.It is hard to imagine that what it would be like in my American life without this help.

My opinion about the Americans

I posit that American people is individual and optimistic. First of all, they place a high value on individualism, which means every one is distinct from others, having their unique value. This idea seeps into every aspect of American normal life, especially in the educational field. For example, the instructors interact with the students closely, constantly questing them, on the other hand, the students tend to be more active, and even argue with the professors for the topics.

Another important part of Americans is optimistic. As I know, many Americans still stick to their hopes, even though the economic crisis hit the country intensively, and it seems that the new president ,Barack Obama, would usher the Americans to a new era.

My opinion about the American culture

First of all, I hold the opinion that American culture is a melting pot, America absorbed a wide variety of immigrants around the world, in the beginning , it was the Europeans settled down in this new continent, and they formed the dominant and traditional culture of the USA, however, with the dramatically increasing immigrants from Latin, Africa, and Asia, the minority enrich the mainstream of culture. For example,first, it is a normal phenomenon that one family speaks several languages, English, Chinese, and even Spanish, because more and more Americans accept the idea of being intermarried. Second, many of the school systems have developed bilingual programs and multicultural curriculum.

Another important aspect of American culture is its tolerance. Americans always take best advantage of other countries' merits, therefore, they could excel other nations in the world.It is not surprising that you can enjor the italian sculptures in American streets, or have the Chinese cuisine in almost every American restaurant. In conclusion, American culture is not abstract, I can perceive it in our normal life.

Hello

I am an international student from China.Now I study the English program in woodbury university, and later, will continue my MBA. The reason that I came to America i s simple, which I want to futher my development , and have a memorable life experience . I ensure that I could obtain it from study abroad. Of course, the study in USA is different from that in China, which the teachers always encourage students to give their perspectives in class, personally, I like this learning style, and I would like to participate in the class discussion.