Video, too!

Can you see the vido just to the right of the blog?

What do you think about it?

Please leave comments.

The Music Player is Up

Your comments are needed!

Tell me which of these songs is your favorite. Also, please suggest songs that you would like me to post on the blog.

Thanks,
Richard and the lovely Miss Xica

Picnic Photos

Click for photos of the 2nd Annual Jean Mulligan Neighborhood Centers Picnic at Redwood Regional Park.



All the photos were taken by our phtographer extraordinaire, Kai Yan Lok.

Information about Oakland Schools

WHO AM I

I am a famous figure who has white hair and a white beard. I always wear a red suit .Adults and children all like me .I take a long trip in a special night every year. Itravel with a magic sleigh .It doesn't have wings or an engine. It is pulled by eight reindeer thought the night sky. I fly all over the world to vist the houses where children live. I know if children have been good or bad during the year. I bring candy and toys to the good children and pieces of coal to bad children. you gauss who am I

Remenbering a good friend

When I was younger I liked to ride my bicycle in my free time. I usually went out with my friends on weekends to ride the bicycle around the park and the streets of the city.

One day, I went out with my friend. She always takes a lot of risks. We were riding when we went down a very steep street She was going very fast when she ran into a rock, flew into the air and struck the ground.

I got off my bicycle, and ran to help her. She was lying down. Her head was cut because she hadn’t been wearing a bicycle helmet, and her head began to bleed a lot.

I was very scared. There wasn’t anybody to help me. She got up but immediately fell down again. I was shouted for help. I was worried because I had never seen before so much blood coming from a head wound. Fortunately a man appeared and helped me to take her to the hospital.

Happily, the doctor said that she only had a big cut on her head and that she would be fine.

A story

This is an allegory.

A long time ago, an old man lived in a small house. There was a big mountain in front of the door of his house. If he wanted to go anywhere, he had to go around the mountain so he decided to remove the mountain. Every day he dug the mountain.

One day, a person was passing by and he saw the old man digging the mountain.

He asked the old man, "What are you doing ?"

The old man answered, "I am removing the mountain because it is blocking my way."

That person said, "That is impossible! When will you ever finish?"

The old man said proudly, "It will be done. I will work without stopping. If I can't finish it in my lifetime, my son will continue. It will be finished!"

Some may think this old man is stupid, but others will think that this is a good allegory. It tells us –“You can get it if you really want, but you must try, try and try. You’ll succeed at last!”

A Mistake and a Lesson

A Mistake

An elderly woman was walking slowly in a park when she saw a paper on the ground in front of her. She thought it was paper money so she bent down to pick it up. It was only a receipt, so she threw it away.

A park security guard was walking nearby and saw her action. He fined her $50. She tried to explain her action but he didn’t forgive her.

The woman called her daughter. Her daughter arrived the park post haste. The daughter tried to explain her mother’s action, too. However, the guard decided insisted that the old woman pay $50. He said, “If you picked it up, you should have put it in the trash can. If you picked it up and then you threw it back on the ground, you made a mistake.”

The old woman paid the fine.

The guard put the $50 in his pocket. He said, “If you had found a $50 bill, you would not have thrown it back on the ground. You would have put it in your pocket. I hope you have learned from my example.”

Father's Day

Father’s Day

On Father’s Day was a bad day for my father-in-law. A few days before Father’s Day, his wife and he went to San Diego to visit their daughter’s family. They drove back to their house on Father’s Day. On the way, my mother-in-law wanted to stop in Santa Ana because she wanted to buy some Vietnamese food. But, my father-in-law didn’t want to. He wanted to get home quickly, so he didn’t stop. They arrived home at 2 pm. He dropped his wife at the front door to their house. Then, he drove away. He went to an apartment building that he owned. He fixed some things inside one of the apartments. After 20 minutes, he went outside to pick get some tools from his car, but he didn’t see his car. Somebody had stolen his car. He called the police immediately.

Now, Father’s Day is not my father-in-laws favorite holiday.

My first day in United States

September 30, 2006, was my first day in the United States. It was an unforgettable day.

As soon as I walked outside from the waiting room of the airport, I saw my parents. They were waving their hands to me, and I saw a little red in their eyes, and we exchanged a big hug. We were very excited, because we have not seen each other for 3 years.

My cousin drove us from airport in his car. My cousin said, “I’ll take you to buy a lottery ticket and a bottle of wine."

"Why?" I asked.

He said, "You arrived here and that means that you are lucky, so you should buy a lottery ticket. You should buy a bottle of wine to celebrate!"

I smiled and said, “Ok,no problem!"

Then he took me to buy a lottery ticket and a bottle wine. After we got to my parent’s house, we had a big dinner and drank the wine with my family and we chatted until midnight.

Although I didn't win the lottery, I felt lucky!

Machupicchu the new marvel of the world

Do you know Cameron Diaz?, The beautiful actress is now visiting Peru, and she is walking by the streets of Cusco, then she will make a trip to Machu Picchu and, later, she will enjoy the festivities of the Inti Raymi.

Machupicchu, is one of de marvels of my country Peru, everyone who likes to do tourism dreams some day to know Machupicchu.

Machupicchu is surrounded by an immense jungle of impressive mountains. Located in Urubamba's, province to Cuzco, this sanctuary Inca is one of the most important archaeological remains of the world.

Machupicchu's value, for the Incas, had been religious, magic, and had a special fascination: the hills, mountains, forests. They shaped in Machupicchu a singular landscape, because the landscape was for the Incas, part of their religion.

Machupicchu is one of the archaeological remains that wakes a particular interest in the entire world and is, without doubts, the best expression that demostrates the capacity of the Andean man.

These days Machupicchu is taking part to be chosen among 7 marvels of the world, and is between the last 21 finalistas, between The Great Wall of China, The Christ Redeemer of Brazil, The Effiel Tower of France, The Estatue of Liberty of USA, and others.
You can visit this sight: www.new7wonders.com , and of course vote for Machupicchu or for any of the new marvels of the world.

My Fear

My Fear

Last Tuesday, there is a black man followed me when I walked on the International Street after school. I went step by step, the man went step by step, too. But I strode fast, the man strode the same. I really scare but I kept calm. Suddenly, the man went up in front of me, turned back and talked too much. But I didn’t understand.
There is police car drove pass, the police man saw the black man. He stopped and said,
“Do you know him?”
“No, I don’t”, I answered
“What did he say to you?”, he asked
“I didn’t understand”, I replied
“OK’’, the police man said
The police man asked the black man some questions. Then, the black man went another way and the police man drove away.
If anyone asks me, “What thing do you want this year?’’. I will answer, “A car”.

My Happy Day

My Happy Day

by Dao Juan

My happy day was in May last year. One day, I received an advertisement book from Macy’s and I put it on the table. That day, I was sitting and watching TV with my husband on the sofa. My son was playing in front of us. While I was enjoying the TV, my son brought the advertisement Macy’s book and pointed to a necklace.

He looked at me and said carefully, “Mom, it’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

I was curious and answered him, “Yes, it is. Would you like one?”

“No, I don’t want it. I want to buy one for you for a Mother’s Day gift.”

I was very surprised that he thought it that way. I answered him, “Thank you, but it is very expensive, and how could you buy it?”

He said that he had red envelopes and he would ask his father for help. I saw his earnest face and almost laughed, but I didn’t want to break his dream. I thanked him and told him that he could give me this gift when he could buy it by himself. He thought a little bit and promised me he would buy it when he got his first job. When I heard that I felt very happy. I felt very happy because I had a filial son.

Dao Juan's Story

My Happy Day

by Dao Juan

My happy day was in May last year. One day, I received an advertisement book from Macy’s and I put it on the table. That day, I was sitting and watching TV with my husband on the sofa. My son was playing in front of us. While I was enjoying the TV, my son brought the advertisement Macy’s book and pointed to a necklace.

He looked at me and said carefully, “Mom, it’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

I was curious and answered him, “Yes, it is. Would you like one?”

“No, I don’t want it. I want to buy one for you for a Mother’s Day gift.”

I was very surprised that he thought it that way. I answered him, “Thank you, but it is very expensive, and how could you buy it?”

He said that he had red envelopes and he would ask his father for help. I saw his earnest face and almost laughed, but I didn’t want to break his dream. I thanked him and told him that he could give me this gift when he could buy it by himself. He thought a little bit and promised me he would buy it when he got his first job. When I heard that I felt very happy. I felt very happy because I had a filial son.

Mr.Yie likes dragon

Mr. Yie likes Dragon

I’m going to tell you a legend, It’s not true, but it’s funny.

Hearsay that long time ago, A man , He name is Yie, he very liked dragon, He engraved dragon on the post, the table, the chair, and the bed etc. Wherever of the house, He hung up a lot of picture about the dragon. Every day he drew picture only about the dragon.

Dragon was liveing on the top of the sky, It heard about Mr.Yie that he like it so much. The dragon think that is it’s honour, It want to meet Mr. Yie.

One day ,The dragon flew into Mr. Yie’s house from the sky. and it stayed near by Mr.Yie, Mr. Yie was scare, He never saw a dragon can move. He was dizzy and fall down. The dragon is disappointingly and flew away.

The Lucky dog and the unlucky men


Last weekend was a hot weather; I went to my uncle house to fix his house
I helped him fix the roof, but it was a hard work, because the sun was very strong
I felt very hot, then I wanted to leave roof to drank some water, but my uncle his big dog
Lucky, he hit the stair fall down. So I couldn’t leave the roof I talked to my uncle the
Stair fall down, my uncle said what the stair fell down how could we go down?. Oh man,
I said let me try to went down, I tried to climb down but the house too height, I couldn’t
Climb down, I said we can call some people help us, did you bring your phone uncle,
He said no I put my phone at the living room, then I said we can loudly call your
neighborhood for help, but his neighborhood weren’t at home, so we stayed at the roof
for three hours , then my aunt came home, she see us sit on the roof , she said you’re so
work hard , I said help! Aunt my stair fell down on the ground helped me put it up, then
we went down to the ground and went in to the house ,I saw lucky at the living room ,
I said; no more hot dog and no more ham.

A STORY

After work, a woman ran into a stranger as he passed by.

“Oh excuse me please,” the woman said.

The man replied, “Please excuse me, too. I wasn’t watching for you.”

They continued on their way together. They talked, laughed and, finally, said “Goodbye” to each other. They were very polite.

Later, at the woman’s house, she was cooking dinner. Her son was standing beside her and he asked her something. She turned and nearly knocked him down.

“Move out of the way,” she said with a frown. The boy walked away with his eyes full of tears.

At midnight, the woman woke up and went to the kitchen. She saw some flowers on the kitchen counter. She quietly went to her son’s room. She said,

“Wake up, honey, wake up”.

The boy opened his eyes and looked her surprisingly.

The woman said, “Are these the flowers you picked for me?”

“Yes, I picked them up because they’re beautiful like you” he replied

“I’m sorry for the way I acted today. I love you.” She said

He said, “Oh, mom it’s okay. I love you any way”.

The woman hugged her son and smiled.

Do you think about the story?. We are always polite with a stranger but we are rude with our love ones. This story that I want to share with everybody

Now I understand!

Just Joking!

I read these jokes in the newspaper. I am going to write on the blog to share them with my classmates.

One day a man went to casino for fun, but he lost all his money. The next day a neighbor asked the gambler’s wife. “Did your husband win money yesterday?”

“He went to casino in a car that cost twenty thousand dollars ,and then he returned home in a car was that was even more expensive. Now what do you think, did he win or lose?” the gambler’s wife answered.

“Of course, he won money,”the neighbor answered quickly.

The gambler’s wife shook her head and answered sadly, “No, he lost all his money

“How could that be?” the neighbor asked:

“Because when he went to casino ,he drove his own car. When he came back home, he took the bus. Do you understand now?”.

“Oh my god,” said the neighbor. He understood immediately.

Mangos in Fish Sauce

My Trip to San Jose

Last weekend I went to the flea market in San Jose. I bought some cleaning supplies. I bought a screwdriver. I walked around. I looked at the vegetables. I looked for green mangos then I saw some big green mangos. I bought them and I took them home with me.

I made a fish sauce and put in some sugar. I peeled the mangos and put them in the sauce.

It was delicious!

By Anh Thi Pham

Arequipa's Earthquake

Arequipa’s Earthquake

It was a quiet and beautiful Saturday when an earthquake happened in my city, Arequipa, six years ago. The seismographer said that it was 6 on the Merchalli scale.

On the Merchalli scale a six means that the earthquake was strong. It was felt by everyone. Many people were frightened and ran outdoors. Windows, dishes, glassware were broken. Books fell off shelves. Some heavy furniture moved or overturned. Damage was slight.

That day I went with some friends to the International Club to celebrate the anniversary of my work. We had a lot of fun. First, we played some games and then we had a barbecue.

We were dancing when the earth began to move. The trees shook a lot. All my friends were shouting and crying, and some of them ran to their houses. They were very worried about their families.

I was frightened, when I saw how the earth came down in a landslide. I started to cry.

Then, on the way to my house, I saw people running on the street. Some ancient walls had fallen down and in one store I could see broken bottles scattered on the floor. It was incredible.

When I got home, I could finally breath. All in my family were well, even my nephew, who was playing in the park. We only have had a big scare.