Edward Scissor-hand!

Edward Scissor-hand is a beautiful movie about one boy that has scissors instead of his hands. His father had a factory and he had a dream of making a real human from one of his robots, and that's what he did, he made Edward. They lived in  big  castle away from other human beings. One day his father died and he had to live alone in this big castle without any contact with other people.The story is about how he is dealing with meeting a new society and how challenging it was.

For me it was pretty similar when I came to Norway. It was a bit challenging in the beggining, but now I cant even imagine living in other country than Norway. Edward Scissor-hand is really a beautiful story about relations between people. It helps people understand that you don't have to be just like others to make them like you. If you see this movie you will also understand  the power of love. You are able to do anything for this special person you are in love with.

This scene is taken from the movie when Edward is giving a hug for the first time to Kim,the girl he is in love with...What a romantic moment.

Enough for this time.. It is only 6 days till Christmas Eve and I can't wait! 

I wish everybody a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Hey ho! 

- Ewa! 

From Norway to England!

It is only 1 week till Christmas Eve, so today I will write something about that topic, but also something about world war two.  Christmas is about spending time together and having a good time. Each year  Norway is giving away a Christmas tree to England  The tree is given as a gesture of friendship between the countries and gratitude for the help that the British gave to Norway during the Second World War.

In June 1940, ships of the  Royal Navy evacuated  King Haakon VII from Norway. They took  the King and the Norwegian government to London, where they stayed until May 1945.

The City of Oslo sends a very large Norway Spruce to the City of London every Christmas as a gesture of their gratitude for rescuing their King one step ahead of the Germans, and giving him and his government hospitality during their stay. Under world war two  around 10,000 Norwegian men and women died because of the war. Around 700 of these were Jews sent to concentration camps in Germany and Poland.



Trafalgar Square Christmas tree

Second part of homework

The story I read was about how it was to be a child under world war two.

It was a story about a boy  that was  evacuated to somewhere away from London but no-one, not even the parents knew where ! He could only take his gas mask,clothes and food.  He was ten and a half years old and without a brother or sister for comfort and support.... the oldest child taken with this train was about 14 and the youngest only 5, some were unaccompanied too ! Babies and pregnant mothers were mixed in this train and it was a non corridor train too!

The Evacuation was the greatest single movement of population in history, a decision taken only the day before in which ultimately 3,500,000 children would be taken away from their homes to avoid the  bombing and gas raids we had been told would come on the very first day.( German started with Poland, first of September 1939.)

All the children ended up at a little village in Somerset called Uphill. There they were taken to a large school recreation field, lined up  checked for head lice and after they got their foster parents . Just think about how awful it was. Meeting some strangers without your parents  and not knowing when u're going to meet them again.  The best and cleanest children were chosen first ! Some children didn't understand---they thought they’d been sent away because they have been naughty ! 

This boy was very lucky, his foster parents were a childless couple who treated him  wonderfully.  He was with this family for about 9 months and after this, he still had contact with this family,and now  his foster mother is 94.



-Ewa 

11th hour.

Today at class we saw a movie called 11th hour. I have actually seen this movie before, but it was nice to see it again. Before we started, our teacher divided us in two groups and said that we were supposed to write down some notes\ keywords from the movie. Some of us were supposed to use computer and the rest were supposed to write them down by hand and then switch after 20 minutes.  For me it was best to write them down by hand, because pc distracts me a bit. But back to movie. .. 

11 hour movie is documentary film, created, produced and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, on the state of the natural environment. Many politicians and scientists told us about in how bad condition our planet is, caused by human beings. I seldom think about what we, human beings are doing to our most important friend, nature. It is not like if we have technology and recourses that we are not addicted to nature any more. It is false. If we are not going to respect the nature, our planet might end up like Venus --> No humans. 

Technology won’t be able to do the things nature is doing for us, our problem is how we're thinking. For me it was a bit shocking that if we don't change the way we live, half of the variety on earth will be gone. It is not like that the earth is going to die; we are going to die if we don't save the environment humans can live in. We have to remember that nature is not our property, we have no rights for it, so we should treat it more gently. If our climate still changes we will end up with a lot of harm, many floods and acid rain and so on. We are in very unusual period for our planet where everything is based on economy and not nature. That’s why, we should slow a little bit down, and think more about our ``mother`` nature. 

This movie gave me lots of new topics that I probably will check out on the internet and I think everybody should take their time to see this movie because it might wake you up. 

-Do have any others thoughts abotu this movie?  

The Endublog Awards!

This year I would to nominate the following student blog in category : best student blog, and I would also like to nominate a blog in the category best teacher blog. I have chosen these blogs because I really liked  Amalies layout but also my teachers blog. Both of them are writing in interesting way, which makes you want to read more. Both of them have pictures on every post which makes it easier to read. (or more fun)

Amalie has a really good blog, she is 16 year old girl,  and she's writing about many interesting topics. I think that everybody should take some of their time to see her blog , because it's worth it.

 

Ann has many followers on every continent! She is a relly good teacher, and many of my teachers have this stupid way of thinking that u have to use books to learn the subject, but she's different. Im looking really forward to Tuesdays ( It is when we're having 4 hours with Ann) Everybody should chceck her blog out, no matter how old you are. There you can find topics all from Roald Dahl to history or current news.

You'll find the links below

 

 

 

 

Links

Amalies blog - http://amaliepaasandvika.blogspot.no/

 

Anns blog ( my teacher) - http://annmic.wordpress.com/

- Do you want me to read your blog?

Blog, Do you like it, or not ?

Our teacher gave us some questions that we were supposed to answer on our blogs. So here they are:

·        Do you think there is more pressure on how you perform/write when you use blogs instead of writing a paper for the teacher only?

Well, I think it’s better to have a blog because it gives me a motivation to write better, and I’m trying to find interesting topics and write about them. It’s also great that not only my teacher sees my work but also other people so they can help me, in many ways (my English, but also inspire me) .

·        Do you think the use of blogs reduces the difference between your work at school and your everyday life?

Well, I am not sure. I think it depends on how much effort you put in to your blog. Many people say that blog does not help you learning English, but I have learnt a lot and it gives me a motivation since many people read it ( not that many, but more than one person) It’s much better than boring classes like we had before. It’s a modern way of learning English which is brilliant and inspiring !

 

 

 

Alaska and Whales

On Tuesday we saw a movie called Big Miracle in class. The movie was about three whales trapped in the ice in Alaska. The main point was how much people are able to do when they stand together and are supporting each other. It was interesting to see that even huge animals such as whales can get in trouble and be in need of our help. I wanted to find more about whales, so I browsed the internet for information. I like whales because they are enormous and make cute noises.

So here are some facts about whales :

 * Whale is the common name for various marine mammals

 * The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins

 * Whales range in size from the blue whale, the largest animal known to have ever existed at 30 m (98 ft) and 180 tones!!!!

 * Whales collectively inhabit all the world's oceans and number in the millions, with annual population growth rate estimates for various species ranging from 3% to 13%

 * For centuries, whales have been hunted for meat and as a source of raw materials. By the middle of the 20th century, industrial whaling had left many species seriously endangered, leading to the end of whaling in all but a few countries.

 * Whales breathe air, are warm-blooded, nurse their young with milk from mammary glands, and have body hair.

 * Whales breathe via blowholes; baleen whales have two and toothed whales have one. These are located on the top of the head

Source: Wikipedia

And since these whales were trapped in Alaska, here are some facts about Alaska

* Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area

* It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with the international boundary with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait.

*Alaska was purchased from Russia on March 30, 1867, for $7.2 million (It’s about two cents per acre!! *really cheap)

*Alaska has a longer coastline than all the other U.S. states combined

* Alaska is divided in 6 regions

* Like all other U.S. states, Alaska is governed as a republic

I hope you liked my facts about whales and Alaska and I appreciate if you would leave a comment!


- Have you ever seen a whale before?

Assisted suicide

 

Informal and formal text.

Formal- Assisted suicide is way of helping people to end their suffering. Assistance (Assisted suicide) may mean providing one with drugs or equipment to end one’s life.

It is not equal to euthanasia, which is voluntary, non-voluntary, or involuntary way of end someone's painful existence .Voluntary euthanasia is legal in some countries and U.S. states. Non-voluntary euthanasia is illegal in all countries. Involuntary euthanasia is usually considered murder. In decades, people had a problem to find a balance between legal and moral conceptions of suicide and personal right to death.

In other words people feel that the concept of assisted suicide conflicts with their values.

Informal-

I think that it’s a good idea to help people end their painful lives in a human way instead of suffering till death. If I would be stuck in a bed for many months without hope of getting better again, I would maybe think about assisted suicide as an option. Of course I don't think anybody is able to put themselves in that kind of situation. Taking someone’s life is a serious thing.

That's why I think that it's a bit stupid that some church people have enough power to decide that it is not allowed to help someone ending their lives. I think doctors should have the last word, because what's the point of having a person in a bed for months suffering till death if we are actually able to help them?

Assisted-suicide is legal in several jurisdictions, including Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland and three American states (Oregon, Washington, and Montana).

 

 

 

Book burning

Books were one of the first casualties of the NAZI regime when Hitler seized power in 1933. The NAZIs organized mass burnings of books written by Jews. Virtually all books by Jewish authors were destroyed.  The book burnings were carefully prepared. It wasn’t only books written by Jews but also people from other countries. They also burned books written by people that had different ideologies to be sure that their ideology would be the ``biggest one``. It was such a big lost to Jewish people because so many books were burned.

 

"There where books are burned, in the end people too are burned." -- Heinrich Heine

Comparing three different newspapers, from three different countries

Jamaica Observer, New York Times and the Polish newspaper Wyborcza, are three different newspapers, from three different countries. All three papers are big newspapers in their countries, and they write a lot about foreign news, especially when it comes to the presidential election I the US. Wuborcza writes a lot about Syria, and writes about how the rebels are doing etc. The New York Times also writes about Syria, but they are quite obsessed about themselves in foreign news, and don’t have a neutral point of view.
The Jamaican observer however, doesn’t write anything about Syria or other conflicts. But they do write about more local foreign news, like criminals in New York, and sports. When it comes to local news, the polish newspaper writes a lot about the government, and the prime minister, while the Jamaican newspaper are more obsessed with local criminality and culture. The New York Times are more focused with (as mentioned) the presidential election, school police, the jobless rate, and local “drama” between lawyers and politicians etc.

We found out that the newspapers are quite different, especially when it comes to foreign news. And while Wyborcza looks to be the most neutral, and most informative newspaper. The New York Times are obsessed with US-related news, and Jamaican observer focuses more on Jamaican news, and foreign local news.

 

 

Here are the links to the newpapers we used :

-      The New York times –  www.nytimes.com

-      Jamaica observer   - www.jamaicaobserver.com

-      Polish – www.wyborcza.pl

 

- Have you ever seen these newpapers before?

- What kind of news are most important in your country?

-Ewa

 

Two Kinds - Amy Tan

Today we had to make a presentation about two short stories. The first one was written by Amy Tan and the second was written by Roald Dahl ( Lamb of the Slaughter) We had also to talk about both stories.

 I think I liked the one written by Amy Tan most, because it was really realistic story and since I'm from Poland I can imagine how hard it is to deal these big differences  between two cultures. To live in multicultural family can be really hard because each culture has different values.  The story is about a conflict between mother and daughter. Mother had a really tough past, she lost her house and family in China and she moved to America. She tries to do everything to make a big opportunity to her daughter to have a good future. But the daughter wants to find out it by herself, so they are in big conflict because her mother wants to make her famous and the daughter doesn't want to. In the end the mother dies but the daughter forgives her because she understood that mother wanted her best!

 Comparing of both stories:

( I didn’t read The Lamb of The Slaughter, but my friend www.englishkaroline.blogspot.com has written more about it, so check it out !)

Characters: Chinese family and crazy woman

Setting: In the family

Dialogue: Bad communication between people

Conflict:  As a result of poor communication

Point of view:  Main character Two kinds: Daughter , The Lamb of the Slaughter: Wife

Resolution: Killing and death as the solution

Theme: Love --> mother and daughter, wife and husband

I think it is really nice to read these kinds of stories in English because it's a good exercise without using a lot of time. I am sure I will read more of these, because I liked them really much.

Have you ever written Lamb of the Slaughter, or Two Kinds?

-Ewa

 

 

 

 

 

Unexpected ending, typical Roald Dahl

Today at class we were supposed to read a novel by Roald Dahl and I choose ``Landlady.``  

At the beginning I thought I was about to read about a young boy who tries to find a place to live in England, but afterwards I knew this novel is going to be about completely different topic.  This young man was supposed to find a place to live for a couple days, and he ended up with living with an old lady, who was a bit strange. At the beginning she was really nice, but after some time you understood that she was really creepy. This young man had to write in a guestbook, and there he saw to names that were familiar for him. He said the he had heard about these names before and that he was pretty sure that he had heard about them before. The lady said they didn’t leave her and that these boys still live at the third floor. He find that really strange. I saw the TV-version made by Hitchcock and there,  in the end of the episode he tried to  talk to these guys because he saw the old lady was walking up to the third floor, but when he tried to open up the doors, they were locked.  I think he understood that these boys were killed, but I am not sure. I think this novel was really strange and creepy and so the episode but I’m sure some of you liked it.

 

Have you ever read Land Lady, or have you ever read a book that Roald Dahl has written?

I can answer some of your questions if you haven’t read it and you want to find out more about it! 

- Ewa

Culture and Social values in USA.

This is written by me, but my friend Amalie www.amaliepaasandvika.blogspot.no has written more about Social values while I decided to write more about Culture.

Politics

 

Everybody wants to have a nation where everybody is able to be themselves and where there's no difference between black and white people. The best example of it, is that for the first time in history USA got a president that wasn't ``white``. People started to believe that everything’s possible.

Barack Obama is the president of the United States of America and he is from Democratic Party. As we all know USA has only 2 parties, democratic and republican.  Every fourth year we have president election. Barack Obama was chosen in 2008 which means that we are going to have new selection in November.  Barack Obama is up for election again but he can only be chosen twice. (The government decided to make a law that nobody is allowed to be up to election more than two times, after F. Roosevelt died in 1945, he was a president from 1933 to 1945) Mitt Romney is up for elections from republicans.

Religion

I think many of you know that religion is very important in USA. The largest religion in the US is Christianity, practiced by the majority of the population (76% in 2008). From those queried, roughly 51.3% of Americans are Protestants, 23.9% are Catholics. I found this information on Wikipedia, but I have some questions for you guys, and I will really appreciate if some of u is willing to answer.

Here, in Norway we have a subject called RLE. The subject is about Religion, Ethics and way of living (we have this subject in middle school) but I’m wondering, do you have any subjects like RLE in USA?

And the last question: Do you have any thoughts about the coming Election?