New experiences

By Saori Kaita

I had a precious time and valuable experiences in Fort St. John, Canada.
First of all, I’ll tale about college life. I thought English grammar wasn’t difficult to study for me because I’ve been studying it hard before I came here but it wasn’t true. It was very difficult to learn it in English. For example, I can explain it in Japanese. On the other hand, I can’t do it in English. So I mean that it was hard to come up with English words.

Next, Michael and Pamela are good teachers. I learned many important things from them, especially in pronunciation. It is difficult to pronounce R and L for Japanese people. I practiced it very hard.

Then, I’ll talk about my host family. My host mother’s name is Misty and her daughter’s name is Brianna. They are always kind to me at any time. Misty really likes cooking and Bri really likes playing gymnastics. I think they are busy on weekdays because Misty leaves home at 7a.m. and comes back home at 4 or 5p.m. Bri plays gymnastics from after school to 8p.m. However, they always have a smile on their face when they are talking with me.

I enjoyed playing board games, sliding, watching TV and movies, going shopping and so on. And it was a great time for me on December 6th. My friends gave me a cake, birthday card and song. Also, my host family gave me another cake. They were hiding that. I was so happy, so I shed tears. It was the greatest birthday in my life. I deeply appreciate their kindness.

Finally, I’ll talk about Fort St. John, Canada. It was too cold for me. I had never experienced over -20 degrees before I came here. My hair and eyelashes were frozen. I was so surprised and I couldn’t believe it, but I think I could experience it fortunately because I can’t do it in Japan.

Let me add a few words in conclusion. I had many great experiences her, so I want to say “Thank you very much” to my host family, teachers, friends and parents. I’ll never forget it. Many thanks.

My Hometown

By Jin

My hometown name is WuYi Shan of FuJian, China. It is 2798 square kilometres. There are many small mountains. There are many interesting stories and historical facts, such as XiunGuang DaHongPao, the famous city XiaMen is south of my hometown and 500 kilometers from my hometown.

There are some colleges and universities in my hometown. There are many shops in the city. It's a World Cultural and Natural Heritage Site.

There are many interesting things to do and see, such as by the bamboo boat, climb mountains, Qinglong waterfall, nature park, and so on. The people of my hometown are all friendly. It is warm and humid and it seldom snows. Its average temperature is 17 degrees so it is very cool.

Book Review: The Nightmare Game

By Austin Au

I’m going to talk about a sad story, The Nightmare Game. This story talks about a sad time in Canada in 1970. In that year, the Quebec residents wanted to run their province themselves. They wanted to kick the other people out of the province. For a long time, the English Canadians ran Quebec. They ran many factories. They ran the banks. Some of the people in Quebec got angry. A few people in Quebec formed the FLQ. They wanted to make the government sit up and listen. The FLQ wanted to free Quebec.

On October 5, 1970, the FLQ kidnapped James Cross. James Cross was the British Trade Commissioner in Montreal. They demanded from the Government many things. They wanted the government to free 23 prisoners. They wanted a lot of money, and they wanted a plane to Cuba or Algeria. For sure, the government would not deal with them.

Then on October 10, Pierre Laporte was kidnapped. Pierre Laporte was a member of the Quebec government. The FLQ kidnappers made the government know again. The government might be ready to talk about freeing the 23 prisoners, but only if it was sure that James Cross and Pierre Laporte would be set free. Unfortunately, the talks broke down.

On October 16, the federal government put the Emergency War Measures Act into force. The police could now pick up anybody who might have had anything to do with the FLQ. It was the worst time for Canadians.

In the end, Pierre Laporte lost his life. James Cross lost his freedom, and the government lost a lot of support. Finally, the police closed in on the kidnappers. The FLQ knew they were cornered.

Everybody lost something in the Game. The FLQ got only one of their demands granted: the plane to Cuba.

Why did I choose this book? Because I don’t think in Canada, this peaceful place, also has some bad things that would happen at any time.