Southern Illinois University Carbondale

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CESL TODAY

Vol. 981 No. 1

Contributors

My First Day In the U.S.A.
By Peter Chang
I arrived in Carbondale on 3rd Jan. 1998. My friend, David a graduate student at SIU, picked me up in the Marian airport at 9:30 p.m.
We were laughing and talking about his school life. As we were driving at a high speed near a cross road, I saw a sports car pass through the stop sign without stopping. We almost hit the car. Fortunately, David spotted it in time. However, we were too scared to speak a word, frozen on the spot. What a terrible scene it was!
Now, I sit in front of the computer typing my homework. If you ask me "what were your impressions about the first day in U.S.A.?" The answer is horrible.

A Traveling Experience
By Peter Chang
As a Chinese proverb says, "Traveling thousands of miles is better than reading thousands of books." Although we can obtain knowledge from textbooks, magazines, or periodicals, it is either too limited or sometimes inapplicable to our real world.
Sad to say, I had never been far away from home. If I had a chance, I would like to go to Hong Kong. The H.K., a pretty tiny island, has a lot of delicious food. Even though H.K. is a small island, the traffic condition is better than Taiwan. As far as I know the H.K. is famous for H.K. Ocean Park. In the park are whales, dolphins, and sea lions. All of the animals can display gorgeous shows.
Moreover, horse racing is a tradition in the culture in H.K. Each year the stakes are too difficult to count. According to underground information, the stakes of horse racing are around seventy million H.K. dollars. However, in 1997 Hong Kong had been handed over to Mainland China and a number of tourists decreased. In short, if it is possible to visit H.K., I would like stay there for a long time.

Peter Chang comes from Taiwan which is a small tropical island. He has been living in Forest Hall just three weeks. Everything to him is new. After finishing the CESL program, he will study at SIU.

My First Day in the United States
By Yu-cheng Chien
        I have been living in America for six months. This is my first time to come to America. I am interested in everything in America and I will never forget the experience when I arrived in the America Mainland.
        Last June 26, I arrived at O'hare Airport in Chicago. My brother's friends Mary and Stephen met me at 5 o'clock that morning. We never were acquainted with each other. I just remembered their faces from a photo, when I walked to them and asked using my bad English,
        "Are you Mary and Stephen?"
        "Yes. Are you Robin Chien?" asked Mary.
        I told them I am Chien. Then they brought me to their car, we told lots of things about my brother on the way home, and we ate a delicious breakfast at their home.
        This feels is very comfortable in my mind. I will never forget this experience and Stephen's treating me so kind in America.

Jhoe-Phen
By Yu-Cheng Chien
        Jhoe-Phen is a one of the ancient-history cities in Taiwan. It is one of the favorite places I like to travel to. It has its own cultural background and regional literature. It has a small harbor and coal field, and it is located in the northern part of Taiwan. It takes one- and-a-half hours by car from Taipei to Jhoe-Phen.
        Jhoe-Phen is the mountain city of the mountain, the roads are curvy like a snake, so the view is various and beautiful. In the morning, while the sun rises from the east sea, the sun shines brightly the sea like diamonds spread over the water. The grass is rolling like the waves moved up and down by the wind.
         In the evening, when fishing boats come into the harbor, I always go to the store which is near the seashore and enjoy the fresh seafood.
        Then I drive my beloved car along the seashore freeway as the wind blows from the sea on my way to home.
        Jhoe-Phen is a small town, it has lots of stories and is filled with festivals and laughing. Someday if you come into this small town, you will get many happy memories from this wonderful place.

Yu-cheng Chien is from Taipei, Taiwan. He has been a CESL student since July, 1997. His major is hotel and restaurant management.

My First Day in the United States
By Seung Hyun Hwang
        I came to the United States in August, 1997. I stopped at Detroit to transfer airplanes. And then I arrived at Saint Louis. After I was in the airport, my father's friend brought me to his home which is located in Carbondale. I stayed at his house for three days and then I moved into a dormitory. That was summer, so very hot. When I was in Korea, I thought that I liked American food, but it is not true. I only ate McDonald's hamburgers for about five days but that's not bad. But when my dormitory's cafeteria started to serve meals, I couldn't eat anything. I still don't like American food, especially dormitory food.
        I tried to speak in English with my roommate who is studying management. But it's not easy because I was too shy. He didn't understand me a lot. My first day in the United States made me so nervous.

The Niagara Falls in Winter
By Seung Hyun Hwang
        I traveled to Niagara Falls last December 29 to 31. I really wanted to go there before I came to the U.S. Those days were very cold and with lots of snow. We who were staying in a dormitory during Christmas vacation decided to go to Niagara Falls. We started around 9 o'clock in the morning from Carbondale. It's a really long drive. I have never driven such a long time. We arrived at Niagara Falls about 1 o'clock a.m. Eastern time. We couldn't see anything the first day because we arrived so late. So we slept in a motel which is near the falls. Next morning, we were surprised and discouraged because there was really a lot of snow outside. It seemed we could not drive but we wanted to see the real falls. After breakfast, we were headed to the falls.
        The view really impressed me. It's huge. First we saw American Falls for about three hours and then we went to Canada. We could see the whole falls on the Skylon Tower. And we waited to see night scenery at Niagara Falls.
        After watching night view, we left there to go Michigan. We arrived Michigan around 5:30 AM. We dropped by a friend's home and drank tea for 30 minutes.
        We started to Carbondale at 6 o'clock. While we were coming to Carbondale, I was only the person who could drive. How terrible! After we arrived in Carbondale, I was really exhausted.
        Niagara Falls in winter is nice. I recommend you go to Niagara Falls in winter, especially while it's snowing. I can guarantee you will have a good time. I'll never forget such excellent scenery.

      Seung Hyun Hwang is from Seoul Korea. He has been a student in CESL since August, 1997. He wants to learn English in America. After CESL, he'll go back to Korea and then he'll graduate his university in Korea. His major is accounting but he doesn't like his major. And he also wants to learn Japanese in the U.S. His hobbies are playing all kind of sports, especially bowling, and watching movies.

My life in the U.S.A.
By Kumi Ishihara
I am from Japan. My hometown is near Kyoto. It's a very nice place. I am proud of it. I was studying English there. I thought I wanted to feel more of America. Therefore, I decided to go to America.
I came to Carbondale in last year. Therefore, I have been here for eight months. It is first time. I was nervous when I came here. I did not know everything. However, I tried to enjoy it.
I did not like American food. However, I changed my mined when I went to Florida. Then I ate a lot of seafood. It was great. Therefore, I do not like all American food. However, I like some American food.

Nice Place
By Kumi Ishihara
During Spring vacation, I went to New Orleans with my brother and friends. It was the first time.
We went to farmer's market. And then, we went to restaurant cafe for dinner. There was a jazz band in the restaurant cafe. They were cool. And I felt good. After that, I went to the bar. The man sang much pop music there. His voice was strong. Everybody was dancing and singing. A woman was dancing next me who was cool. She sang on the stage. She sang a song by Madonna. And then I took a picture with her.
It was a nice trip, so I love New Orleans. I also went to Florida with my friend. I went to Cocoa Beach and Daytona Beach. Everybody was brown skin. It was cool. We surfed there. We woke up at 6:00 am. And then, we surfed until we feel tired. It was a poor trip because we did not enough money, so we did not eat much breakfast and lunch. We ate great meals only at dinner. They were Japanese food or Italian. There was a lot of sea food. It was so great. We had a good time.
I also went to Chicago. Then I visited my friend's house. Her house is near Chinatown. And then I went to a Mexican restaurant. I ate sea food soup. It was delicious!! I felt happy.

Kumi Ishihara came from Japan. Her hometown is near Kyoto. Its name is Shiga. There is the biggest lake, Lake Biwa in Japan. She and her family have been there for 15 years. Her family is 5 people who are her father, mother and 2 brothers.
She really likes Japanese food. She specially likes Sushi, Sashimi, Okomomiyaki and Sake. They do not tire her. She ate a lot of Sushi and Sashimi and drank a lot of Sake in New years Day. She had a great time.
She will be 20 years old in this year. Therefore, she had a special cerebration on January 15, the day of adults. Then she wore the Kimono.

Going Shopping in Hawaii
By Mieko Kaburaya
        I went to Hawaii in December. It was a warm and comfortable place. Hawaii consists of eight islands. The capital city is Honolulu on Oahu Island. It is famous as a winter resort. It has beautiful beaches and shopping centers, so many Japanese like it.
        Hawaii has a lot of shopping centers. There are Duty Free Shoppers, Alamoana shopping center, Hawaiian shopping center, and so on. They have a big space and a lot of goods. Japanese girls like to go to shopping. This is why they want to take a trip to Hawaii.
        It is possible to buy tax-free at Duty Free Shoppers. There are many goods which are famous for good design in the world. Alamoana shopping center has many kinds of shops. There are clothes shops, food stores and restaurants. It is located near the downtown. It is convenient to go by bus. Hawaiian shopping center is on Kalakaua Avenue. It has Hawaiian jewelry shops. Hawaiian jewelry is a handmade craftwork. It is beautiful. I ordered my initials and name sculptured on a necklace, bangle and ring.
        There are abc-stores in Hawaii, that is, a kind of convenience store like 7-11 corporation. I found them everywhere. It is open from early morning till late at night. I can buy daily food and necessities. They are sold cheap at the abc-store.

        Mieko Kaburaya is from Tokyo, Japan, and came to CESL this semester. She is planning to study accounting. She likes to watch sports, especially basketball.

My First Day in the United States
By Mieko Kaburaya

        I came from Japan. It is smaller than the United States. There is the time difference in the United States.
        When I came to SIU, I was surprised at the size of it. There was a lot of halls like the Faner Hall and dormitories. The road in front of SIU was wide. Big cars passed on the road. Houses in Carbondale were bigger than in Japan.
        When I came here, I went to the McDonald's. I bought a No. 2 meal including one hamburger, one M-sized drink and one M-sized french fry. There is a difference in the quantity between Japan and the United States. I think M-size in the United States is equal to L-size in Japan.
        There is a Wal-Mart in Carbondale. It is open 24 hours. (I haven't been to a large 24- hour market in Japan.) It has a large floor and a high ceiling. Goods are piled up to it. I can't look around it. I think everything is too big in the U.S.A.

The Meal in an Airplane
By Nana Kikuchi
        Have you ever thought there are some differences in a meal among airlines?
        I have gotten on some airplanes, United Airline, Northwest, two Japanese Airlines, Quanta's And Continental Micronesia Airline. I can tell you which airline has the best of meals.
        First, one of the Japanese airlines, named Japan Airlines (JAL), has a their own unique beverage made from lemon and lime. It's really good for refreshing yourself on an airplane because it's not so sweet, but has a light taste. And meals are pretty good. Main dishes are fish and meat that are the same style as Western. Sometimes, JAL serves Japanese food, such as sushi soba. It makes Japanese people who stayed in foreign countries for a few years because of study or business able to feel Japan. But it's just for Japanese.
        I think United, Northwest and Micronesia Airlines are similar to each other. They have same kind of menus. Main dishes are fish and meat, but breakfast is better than JAL's.
        The airline that I recommend in my experience is Quanta's. The meals they serve are very nice, especially snacks. They serve Japanese snacks for us even though they are an Australian airline. And delicious! If you are a foreigner to them, they'll serve your own country's food. I like the service like that.

My First Day In The U.S.A.
By Nana Kikuchi
        When I came to the U.S. the first time, I could not order anything in a restaurant even McDonald's. So I was hungry every time.
        Because I have an older brother in Carbondale, he picked me up at the St. Louis airport with his friend.
        When we tried to go to Carbondale, his car was broken! So, he called........(actually, I don't know where he did call) somewhere to bring us to Carbondale with the car that was broken. Finally, we got here. It took three hours, though.

     Nana Kikuchi is from Yokohama, Japan. She has been in the U.S. for seven months. She is getting used to staying in the U.S. step by step, but she misses her dog in Japan!

First trip in the U.S.A
By Ji-Hun Kim
Chicago is a famous city in the U.S.A. Before I left my country many people who had visited Chicago said to me, "Chicago has a very nice view and lots of sightseeing places."
When I came to Carbondale I thought that if I have chance to travel, I really want to go to Chicago.
Last September I visited John Hancock, Sears Tower, Korea town and Field Museum. A night view of Chicago is wonderful!!! Especially if you visit the John Hancock, and Sears Tower, you will see the night view of Chicago is wonderful.
Field Museum created a great impression on me. It has three floors.
The ground floor is composed of the James Simpson Theater, exhibits of Ancient Egypt and Sea Mammals.
The first floor is composed of Mexico and Central America, South America, Plains Indians and Indians before Columbus, Indians of the Woodlands and Prairies Pawnee Earth Lodge and About Animals (Reptiles, Amphibians, Mammals).
The second floor is composed of Earth Science, Traveling the Pacific, Plants of the World, and Dinosaur Hall. If you visit the Field Museum, you will get a great impression. If you plan to go to the Field Museum, you must check the opening and closing times. It's open from 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. If you want to enter the Chicago museum, you have to arrive by 4:00 P.M. at least. Going through the museum takes a long time. I think more than two hours.

The first three days in Carbondale
By Ji-Hun Kim
I came to the United States five months ago. Now, I'm studying in CESL to learn English.

Before I came here, I expected the United States to have lots of things, for example many people, cars, stores and so on. But Carbondale is a small town, and here fewer people, cars, and stores than my hometown. Frankly, my first impression was disappointment in Carbondale.
Before coming here, I worried about my English. At that time most people didn't understand my English. I was worried about
that. Now I'm just a little worried about that.
I live in a dorm. I eat dorm cafeteria food. America food is too fatty. The first week probably my weight gain was more than 5 pounds. Anyway, my first few days of life in Carbondale were so terrible. But now I like America more than any other country. Most people are kind and friendly.

MY FIRST DAY IN THE U.S.A.
By Min Hwan Kim
        I arrived at the St. Louis airport on Jan. 5th. I traveled abroad for the first time, everything was strange to me. I didn't take the pick-up service, so I had to go alone to Carbondale. I didn't know how to get to Carbondale. Also asking was not too easy, because my English is not good. And so I went to the information center and asked them. They introduced me to the BART service. I arrived at Carbondale at 5 p.m. It was too late to get into my dormitory, and I had to sleep in a motel. I had a good impression of Carbondale. I felt that it is very calm and peaceful. I thought it had many rainy days, because it rained for one week after I arrived. My first day in the United States had many problems. I realized that my English is very challenged and so I think that I must study English very hard.

I won't forget the Sam-Chuk
By Min Hwan Kim
        I finished my army service in Sam-Chuk. But I had never seen beautiful scenery in Sam-Chuk, because we didn't go out of the Army area, I always thought that I would visit this place again after I finished my army service. So before 2 months ago, I visited in Sam-Chuk with my mother again.
        Geographically, it is located on the seaside, and it takes five hours from Seoul by car. Our ancestor said that it is one of eight beautiful places in the East. And it really has much beautiful scenery.

        The first day, we climbed up to Moo-Rung Valley. It was very hard, but we didn't mind it. Because, when the whole valley changed red, it caught our minds. After one hour, we could see two red waterfalls. The waterfalls had many red leaves in them. So it looked red. We knew that people called it Sang Waterfall.
        There are also many traditional restaurants. We could eat many kinds of typical Korean food in there.
        The second day, we got up very early in the morning. because we wanted to see a sunrise in Sam-Chuk. We went to Chu-Am at 5:00 am. It is a kind of rock, and it stands at the sea. We could see a great sunrise in Chu-Am. It is like a red apple. As I saw this sunrise, I prayed for my family's happiness.
        Sam-Chuk is also famous for raw fish, so we went to a raw-fish restaurant. It was very fresh, Soju (Korean alcohol) made it more delicious.
        This travel was very short, but I got a good feeling about Sam-Chuk's charm. I won't forget Sam-Chuk.

        Min Hwan Kim is from Korea and has been a student in CESL since January, 1998. He came here just two weeks ago to study English. His major was education in Korea. He lives in University Hall and has met many friends there. His most favorite hobby is watching the NBA on TV.

My Trip to Australia
By Kenji Ogawa
        I have been to Australia so I will tell you about my experience and where you should go in Australia.
        I went to Australia when I was a college student in Japan. I was 21 years old. It was a very reckless plan, even though there was my father's friend named Andy in Australia to help me, because I could not speak English at all and Andy had to go to work, so I had to travel alone in Australia after the weekend.
        I looked around famous places in Sydney such as the opera house with Andy. After I separated from Andy, I decided to go to Airs Rock, the biggest monolith, for 10 days because I had seen it before in a textbook of geography and I thought it very beautiful.
        Fortunately, I got a friend who was from Japan on the way to Airs Rock. She could speak English a little so she sometimes helped me. I had borrowed a sleeping bag from Andy so I sometimes went camping. It was very hot in the day time but it was cool at night.
        There were many problems, for example, my English, and lack of taking a bath, and also it was very hard to get the top of Airs Rock but the biggest problem was too many flies and mosquitoes. I was bitten many places, then they became so itchy that I could not sleep at night.
        However I forgot everything when I saw the view from the top of Airs Rock. It was amazing, so beautiful. I could see a 360-degree view on the top. I thought I could see Japan from there. So I really recommend going to Airs Rock if you want to save your money and experience wild life.

        Kenji Ogawa is from Toyama, Japan, and has been in the United States for eight months and in CESL since January, 1998. He is planning to study in the MBA program at SIU. Watching movies is one of his hobbies.

My First Day in the United States
By Kenji Ogawa
        I had been in Indiana for eight months before I came to Carbondale, Illinois. It was my first time to come to the United States. I could not speak English at all when I came the first time.
        In the day, I went to Daily Queen to eat ice cream with my friend and I tried to order.
        "Orange sherbet, please?" I said, but a clerk asked me back like "banana tip chocolate?" I could not believe that and was really shocked because of my poor English.
        I still sometimes have this kind of problems in a restaurant or any place I go. However recently I am trying to think that the problem is not my pronunciation's fault. It's because of their bad listening.
        I have hated American food since the second day I arrived in the United States. A meal I ate the first time in the United States was a hamburger at Burger King. I thought how big it was. The hamburgers are much bigger than those in Japan. Especially hamburgers at Burger King which are really big and also cheap. I really loved it for a few days.
        Now I sometimes cook Japanese food with my friends so I feel better now.

NIAGARA FALLS
By Ji-Sung Park
        Three months ago, I went to Niagara Falls and Toronto on Friday through Sunday.
        We started at 7 p.m. on Friday. It took about 12 hours from Champaign to Niagara Falls. We arrived there at 6 a.m. on Saturday.
        We didn't sleep because we each had to drive and the seats were uncomfortable for sleeping.
        While we were driving to Niagara Falls, it was raining. Because it was raining, driving was difficult.
        On Saturday morning we watched the Niagara Falls. The weather was cloudy, so we didn't feel fantastic. We just took pictures and then we went aboard the ship. This boat went too close to falls.
        When it approached the falls, my clothes got wet because the water from the falls splashed the boat.
        After we saw Niagara Falls, we went to Toronto. It took about two hours to drive from Niagara Falls to Toronto.
        I noticed two differences between the U.S.A. and Canada.
        One was the shapes of the houses and the other was the pronunciation of the English language.
        After we arrived in Toronto, we walked around downtown and then we went back to Niagara Falls.
        We decided on a motel to stay in. We checked into our room and fell into a deep sleep.
        On Sunday morning we started the drive back home. We finished our trip successfully. We did many things during three days.

        Ji-Sung Park is from Korea. He came here to learn English.      When he was in Korea, his major was civil engineering. Before arriving in Carbondale, he stayed at Champaign.

MY FIRST DAY IN U.S.A.
By Ji-Sung Park
        When I was in Korea I had a dream. The dream is to speak English very well.
        I arrived in the U.S.A. on August 24, 1997.
        When I arrived here, my feeling was curiosity and anxiety.
        First, I went to Champaign. The first night, I didn't sleep because I worried about something. Frankly, I didn't know what to say, how to live, where to live, etc.
        Now, I can't remember that time.
        Anyway that time, it was so painful.

The First Step
By Il-whan "Camel" Song
Destination Carbondale! On June 27, 1997. It was a bright summer day like my future.
Everything is quite different from my hometown, Seoul. Traffic signals, gas stations which sell groceries and fast food, various ethnic people. The only thing making me comfortable is the sunshine. Extremely clear day! I hesitated to put on sporty short pants or formal long pants for awhile. I thought there is still racial-segregation conflict in America including Carbondale. I wanted to hide my skin color beneath clothing.
I asked CESL to pick me up, then while I was waiting in the front of Best Inn, I imagined talking with an American guy that would pick me up. White? Black? Hispanic? From a long distance, one lady in a car waved a white hand to me. I held my luggage up after waving my hands. She stepped out of the car and said, "I'm sorry." Maybe she was late to pick me up, I thought, even though her statements didn't match the situation. What a kind person! But she rushed into the front desk of the inn like a wild pig.
While I was confused about what to do, a Caucasian guy get out of the car and asked me, "Are you waiting for somebody?" This made me disappointed. That man was not the man picking me up. I was such a moron. I only understood she had left something important in the inn because my listening skill was terrified and I was too nervous at that time. It made me hotter than the sun did, and then he left.
A few minutes later, I've got the right car, and I had been keeping my mouth shut so as not to be looked at like an animal. It quite worked. However, somebody says that failure is a mother of success. Now, I'm not discouraged to talk and make mistakes!
VIVA Camel!

Feeling Good
By Il-whan "Camel" Song
"Let's go hiking!"
"Wadaya thinking? In winter? No way!"
Since winter started, it has hardly been possible to feel warm sunshine like mama's hugging. Especially even on weekends, weather rarely fits people's feelings; it makes people gloomy, bored, totally blue. People are not under the weather, but people just need a rest. Fresh air, clean water, dormant trees, small wild animals, migratory birds! Those make for feeling good. So why not go hiking! You can count on me!
Murphysboro Lake is located on Lake Access off Highway 149. Follow west 13, past Murphysboro. You can't miss Highway 149; Highway 149 connects at the end of west 13. From Carbondale, it takes 15 minutes to get there by car. If you find Lake Access Road, follow the direction by the road to find Murphysboro Lake. As soon as you pass the Lake Access, you will already be in pure nature park.
In the park, there are three wild lakes: Murphysboro Lake, Little Lake, and Kinkaid Lake.
Little Lake is small and disappointing, but Murphys-boro Lake is big enough to find a good place for taking a good rest. Each camping place is close to the lake shore and has grills for BBQ .
In winter, few people visit because of cold weather. Only wild animals and birds hang around Murphysboro Lake. If you just need to take a rest, winter is the right time.
Ready to go hiking? Refresh mind and body through the untamed nature. Breathe deeply, and think about life replete with joy and smiles. Let's transcend everyday life.