Book Review - Secret Daughter

By Pamela den Ouden


Secret Daughter, by Shilpi Somaya Gowda, is a story of a mother’s love, and her daughter’s struggle to find her place in her adoptive family. The main characters are Kavita and Jasu, and their daughter, Usha. They live in India in the 1960s. As the story opens, Kavita has just given birth to a baby girl. Her husband takes the baby away from her and has the baby killed because baby girls are not valued in Indian culture. Jasu longs for a boy, but when his wife becomes pregnant again and has another baby girl, Kavita and her sister take the baby to an orphanage in Mumbai, a large city nearby.

This thread of the story is interwoven with the lives of the two other main characters, Krishnan and Somer. They are both medical students when they first meet; he is a native of India, studying medicine in California. He becomes a neurosurgeon, and she has a family practice. They marry and subsequently, she has two miscarriages. They decide to adopt a baby from India, and this is where the two stories meet. They adopt Usha, whose name is changed to Asha.

The chapters of the book alternate between the two stories. Somer never really fits in with Krishnan’s family although she travels to India to arrange the adoption. When Asha is a teenager, she visits her grandparents in India and finds that she really feels at home there. This creates a tension between her and Somer, and finally Somer and Krishnan separate. In the meantime, Kavita and Jasu have had a boy, and everyone in both their families is very happy.

When Asha visits India, she goes to the orphanage where she was adopted from to try to find out about her birth mother. The records weren’t complete, but she does find some information.

Does she ever meet her birth parents? You’ll have to read the book to find out! This was a gripping story that pulled me in to the world of the characters immediately. The Indian world that is described is something that none of us know—the poverty, the prejudice, the gap between rich and poor, the disregard for human life. This book gave a look at that world.

This really is the story of two mothers: one who has children who are not wanted, and one who cannot have children of her own. Both situations are sad but common. Here, we would call what Jasu did to his first baby “murder,” but in India, it was commonplace to get rid of baby girls. The author weaves these two heart-breaking stories together in a book that will draw you in from the very first page.

Book Review - Ways Harsh and Wild

By Pamela den Ouden

Ways Harsh and Wild, by Doris Andersen, is a story of adventure and hardship in the Yukon and Alaska of the 1898 Gold Rush days. The main character is Bill, who is only 17 years old in 1900. He travels with a team of horses from Victoria to Lake Bennett in the Yukon. The story is told in the first-person, that is, the narrator refers to himself as “I.” His friend is an English gentleman with a great love of the outdoors. These two men have many adventures during the 18 years that they spend in the north. They hunt and trap. They mine for gold, hoping to strike it rich. At times they almost drown and sometimes, they almost starve, but they are very resourceful and help each other. In the north at that time, people had to depend on one another much more than they do nowadays. Sometimes, their lives depended on getting help from someone else.

Ted marries Bill’s sister, Maude, but Maude lives in the north only for a short time. She much prefers the society of Seattle. Finally, Bill marries Alice, a woman he meets when he goes out to visit friends and family in Victoria. She is much different from Maude, and she goes with her husband to the north country.

Although this book is supposed to be a novel, it reads more like a biography. There isn’t a plot in the conventional sense. The book is just a recounting of the life in Northern Canada and Alaska at a very exciting time. Neither Bill nor Ted ever became rich through their various enterprises, but they had good times together. In fact, the author was born in Alaska, and Ted, the character in the novel, is really her father. Bill was her uncle.

An interesting addition to the book is 16 pages of black and white photos in the centre of the book. Also, the endpapers have a hand-drawn map of Alaska and the Yukon, which was really helpful in following the story of the travels of Ted and Bill as they went north and moved from the Yukon to Alaska.

I would recommend this book to readers who want to find out what it was like living in the wilderness at the beginning of the 20th century. The harsh and frozen landscape, the hunting, fishing, trapping, trading, selling, and surviving make for an exciting and lively narrative.

Sushi and Diwali: The Internationalization of Fort St. John

By Pamela den Ouden

In the thirty-four years that I’ve lived in Fort St. John, I’ve seen many changes that have been caused by international immigration and culture. One area that has changed is the different types of restaurants that we have here. Now, there are several sushi restaurants. Sushi is Japanese, but in the last ten years, it has become very popular in North America, and now, people in my own community can enjoy it too and support these businesses started by new people in the community. Another change is in the places of worship. There is a Sikh temple on 100 Avenue, and the Presbyterian Church offers a Sunday afternoon service in Korean, the native language of the pastor. Finally the international program at Northern Lights College attracts foreign students from many places, including Japan, China, Korea, Macau, Colombia, Iran, Switzerland, Turkey, India, and Nigeria. These students share their culture with the rest of the community. For instance, the students had an opportunity to learn some traditional dances from the Indian students, who also introduced us to Diwali, the festival of lights. We share our Thanksgiving, Remembrance Day, and Christmas traditions with them. Fort St. John is becoming internationalized, and everyone benefits.

My Good Trip

By Hitomi

I had a very good time with Yuko, Mayu, Kazuna, and Yukari last week. We took the plane and went to Edmonton. We arrived at the hotel Tuesday evening and then we had dinner. After we took a shower, we went to bed.

The next day, after we had breakfast, we went to the West Edmonton Mall. It was very big, so we were excited. We walked there a lot, and we bought many souvenirs. We went to the Galaxy Land, and we rode a roller coaster. I don’t like it, but I rode it for memory. It was very scary, so I regretted riding it. We had dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory before we came back to the hotel. It was very good, so I like this restaurant. We took a shower as soon as we arrived at the hotel. We went to bed early because we were very tired.

We also went shopping at the West Edmonton Mall on the third day and fourth day. I bought two pieces of clothes for me and souvenirs for my Japanese friends. For four days, I laughed so much with my awesome friends! These are wonderful memories, so I want to go there with them again.

My Trip to Edmonton

By Yuko

Last week was a very good time for me. I went to Edmonton with my awesome friends. We spent time there from Tuesday to Friday and came back here on Saturday morning.

We spent time in the shopping mall almost all of our trip. There were many stores, and they were really attractive for me. We looked around them individually. All of us bought a lot of souvenirs for our Japanese family and friends. The things I bought were too heavy to carry. It was really hard for me.

Actually I also went downtown with Mayu. Our purpose was to purchase something at Louis Vuitton, and I got a wallet! It is a birthday present for me. It was the first time for me to buy such an expensive thing by myself. I had a good experience.

I got many memories there, but I can’t explain how they were good and funny. Anyway, the trip was really awesome! I won’t forget it.

Book Review - About a Boy

By Emika Uetake

This time, I read About a Boy. This book summarized the same movie. The main character is a single man named Will, who is rich because of his father’s huge heritage, handsome, and has never earned money by himself. Hugh Grant played him. A boy named Marcus is a strange 12-year-old elementary school student.

They met at a picnic that was held by an organization named SPAT. This organization is for single parents. Will doesn’t have any kids, but he pretended to be a single father who has a two-year-old kid to go out with a nice single mother. After the picnic, they and a woman named Suzie, who is a friend of Marcus’s mother name Fiona went to Marcus’s house. Fiona tried to kill herself. Will was so surprised, and he wanted to help Marcus. He has never felt like that, but Marcus has some problems which are that he is always bullied by some students, and he also suffers from his mother’s mental problems. Though Marcus is only twelve years old, he lives a very hard life. They were involved in some incidents, but they found their own way to live comfortably.

In the end of this story, Will and Marcus’s character and life changed to good. First, Marcus had suffered from bullying and his mother’s problems, but he found friends named Will and a girl named Ellie, who is fifteen years old and does love a singer. Marcus also became to think more what words are the best in several situation. In addition, his mother was also better than before.

Will wanted an easy life with no responsibilities and didn’t want to relate to a lot of people. However, now Will feels it is good to relate to people even when they are so strange. Will also found a good friend named Marcus, and a good girl friend named Raichel, who has a kid. Will learned about having responsibilities by taking care of Raichel’s kid and Marcus. However, Will is a little sad because Marcus became older and twelve-year-old Marcus doesn’t exist any more. Will sometimes thinks he want twelve-year-old Marcus to list to his stories and advise him.

I think this story is very funny and thoughtful. This story says it is hard to grow up to adulthood and to be mixed up with people who have mental problems. It is important to have something to do with people. I thought a lot about people.

This story was great. I really recommend this book to you and this movie.

How Can I Teach My Sons to Be Polite?

By Emika Uetake

Recently, some children’s manners are so bad. They don’t be quiet when they should be quiet like during classes. They can’t say “Thank you” or “Sorry.” In Japan, TV shows sometimes feature stories about classes that have “collapsed” because students bully a teacher. I think there are a lot of way of teaching my sons to be polite, but you should grasp these three points: greeting, teaching what not to do, and showing your behavior politely.

Do your sons say, “Good morning” every day? Greetings help us to make friends, to start a conversation calmly, and to make a good first impression. Even if they say just, “Hi,” it is good as the first step.

I have a brother. When I argue with my brother, and we say back words to each other, my mother used to say, “Don’t say things which you don’t want people to say.” This phrase can be said about behavior. For instance, when your older son hits your younger son, you shouldn’t say just “No.” Children react easily if adults scold them without letting the children explain. Children like asking, so they always ask, “Why can’t I do that? Why? Why?” Then this phrase is also useful to satisfy children.

When my mother started working at a suit shop near our house, I went there because I forgot to bring my house key. Then she was standing upright, talking with customers very politely. Basically, my mother doesn’t stand upright when informally talking with me and my brother or friend. I have never seen such a thing about my mother. I respected her again. Children grow up seeing parents’ behavior and like imitating them. Have you ever put your mother’s high heels on? Imitating your behavior is the same. It isn’t to imitate all your behavior, but you don’t forget what children are susceptible to.

I think your sons will be polite because you notice what children need

Internationalization: Changes in Osaka

By Ayu Shigi

I chose to write about Osaka today and in the past. I am from Osaka. In the past, there was not an international market and millions of foreign people, but today there are many stores and a lot of people. Recently, there are many opportunities to see foreign people in Osaka. We can see them especially in the city of Namba. Also many foreign people run their own stores. So we can eat their local foods, and we can make foreign friends easily. Also our college has many foreign teachers and study-abroad students.

There are “wrong English signs that can be seen in several places. It is mixed Japanese and English. It may not be understood if I use it. I want to correct it. For example, "rice of delicious," "brightly and happiness," and "we have only two empty stomach now."

Tips for Travelers

By Pamela den Ouden

If this is your first visit to Canada, I have some advice for you about politeness in North American culture. My most important tip concerns gift-giving customs when you visit a host’s home. If you’re invited for supper, it’s considered good manners to bring something for the host. Traditionally, people bring flowers, chocolates, or a small gift that they’ve brought from their own country. Next, it’s important to be on time. If you have a business meeting, show respect by arriving five to ten minutes early. Greet the receptionist and introduce yourself. This will help you make a good impression. For a dinner engagement at someone’s home, you should arrive 10-15 minutes before the stated time. For example, if the host tells you dinner is at 5:00 p.m., you should arrive between 4:45-4:50. If you are unavoidably detained, call your host and explain why you’re going to be late. Finally, if you eat out at a restaurant, you should leave a tip of 15-20%. This is a typical amount. This has not been added into the price shown on the menu. Following these simple suggestions will help you avoid awkward situations and will make your visit to Canada more enjoyable.

The Pros and Cons of Instant Food

Yuri Kubota

Pamela den Ouden

Writing 2

2011 November 16

Pros and Cons of Eating Instant Food

Nowadays, both women and men tend to work, so they do not have enough time to make meals at home. However, the more instant food has become popular, the easier it is for the people to get meals. Actually, there are some pros and cons of eating instant food.

One of the positive reasons of having instant food is you can eat anything, anytime when you get hungry. All you have to do is just pour some water or put the food in a microwave. When you feel lazy and do not want to cook, instant food is very convenient and it does not cost a lot. Moreover, when you get home late from work and you get very tired, instant food gratifies your hunger easily.

Another reason is instant food is very familiar to people from different age groups. For example, if both a mother and a father go out for work until late, their kids have to wait for them with hunger. Some parents do not want kids to cook by themselves because it can be dangerous. However, most instant food does not need to be cut or baked so it is very easy even for kids to prepare. Moreover, the directions for cooking are written quite simply so that everyone from kids to senior citizens can enjoy the food.

On the other hand, you need to keep in mind that instant food is not healthy - most instant food is very oily and high in calories. Recently, the more instant food is getting popular, the more people are getting fat. Many people tend to rely on instant food too much and forget to eat vegetables. You need to take balanced meals.

In conclusion, instant food has made people get meals easier; however, it does not mean instant food is good for our health. Now please think about the suppers that you usually have in your house. How many packages of instant food have you prepared this week? I recommend that you cut down on and consider how much oil and how many calories you consume.

Book Review – Rain Man

By Yuri Kubota

I read a book called Rain Man by Leonore Fleischer. I think you might have seen this movie before since it’s popular.

The main character is Charlie. He is 26 years old and his father dies one day. His father is rich so Charlie is supposed to get his money and house. But their relationship isn’t very good so his father doesn’t leave him any money. According to his will, the money goes to a man whom Charlie has never met before. Charlie doesn’t understand this situation so he decides to fight against this to get the money back.

One day, Charlie meets the man. His name is Raymond. Actually, Raymond is Charlie’s big brother who left home 20 years before. Raymond is not like other people. He panics when something changes around him, so he eats the same thing every day, does the same thing every day. First, Charlie thinks when he gets back the money, he can leave him. However, he comes to love him as a brother and understands him day by day. Charlie learns how to love someone.

I like this book because I can feel the importance of family love. In this story, Charlie learns how to love somebody from his brother. Before, I thought I’m the oldest sister in my family, so I’d never learn anything from my sisters because they are very young. But now I changed my mind. Your age doesn’t matter. Family is important for me and they make me what I am.

Book Review - The Lightning Thief

By Pamela den Ouden

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan is the first book in the series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians. It is a fantasy story in which the gods of Ancient Greece are mixed in with the modern world. For example, World War II is shown to be caused by a war between the gods.

The protagonist, Percy Jackson, lives with his mother, Sally Jackson and his stepfather, Gabe, in New York City. His real father left when he was a baby and he has only a very vague memory of him. Some strange things begin to happen at Yancy Academy, where Percy goes to school. He escapes to a place called Camp Half-Blood. A half-blood is a person one of whose parents is a mortal (an ordinary person) and the other is one of the ancient Greek gods. Percy’s father is Poseidon, the god of the sea. This gives Percy special superpowers in the water.

Percy has to go on a quest to recover the lightning bolt that was stolen from Zeus and the helm of darkness that was stolen from Hades, the ruler of the underworld. His quest takes him to Las Vegas and Los Angeles. He is also searching for his mother, who has disappeared. He seeks advice from the Oracle. He has many adventures on his quest. His friends, Annabeth, also a half-blood, and Grover, a satyr, which is a half-goat, half-human, go with him to help him. He even goes to Mount Olympus, which is located high above the Empire State Building in Manhattan.

I usually don’t like fantasy novels at all, but I read this novel because my 10-year-old grandson, Noah, has read the whole series of five books and now he’s reading the next series by Rick Riordan. I wanted to find out why he was so interested in these books. I think it’s because there is lots of action and many surprises in the book. I recommend this book if you want an easy and exciting way to learn a lot about Greek mythology.

Lady Gaga

By Emika Uetake

Almost all people know Lady Gaga. She is a very popular singer particularly among young people in the world. Of course her songs are so good as to have received a Grammy award. However, it isn’t the only reason she became famous.

First of all, her music is popular all over the world. Profound lyrics which she wrote struck a chord with a lot of people, especially women. Her big hit music named “Poker Face” established her status.

However, she isn’t just a famous singer. She is also famous as a fashion leader. If you know her songs, I think you know her name and her fashions. People have been surprised at her eccentric fashions which can use meat as clothes many times. Her fashion can't be imitated easily, and it isn’t too much to say that Lady Gaga has her own style called Lady Gaga. Each of the media, like magazines, can’t help picking her up and many audiences discovered and spread her fame in the world.

Her eccentric fashions and music with profound lyrics and individual promotion videos seem crazy, but her thought (especially for music) is always earnest. It gets her more famous, and many young people are impressed by that.

When I read a book about psychology, the book’s author said, "We are always looking for involuntary incentivism in our common society." I think that is why she became famous and popular. She is just different from commoners because she is a singer. Nobody puts on shoes in which the heels don’t touch the ground. Nobody meets Queen Elizabeth II of England wearing strange clothes. Nobody makes up like a crazy manga, but she does. These acts attract many people and the mass media whether people like it or not. She does many things which nobody has ever done before. I think she is going to entertain us.

Insomnia

By Emika Uetake

A lot of people suffer from insomnia. For instance, tjere are a number of companies called “black companies” in Japan. This kind of company is famous for bad working conditions, too long working time, hard work, and bad co-workers and bosses. Working at these companies makes stresses and strains, and many people are caused insomnia. I think insomnia is caused easily when stress builds up. However, there are some way to releive or solve insomnia.

When you were a child, have your parents ever said, “You can’t sleep? Why don’t you count sheep?” Counting sheep is a famous way of sleeping. You imagine there is a big, beautiful, and green field. Then, some sheep gaze at a fence, and they start running and jumping suddenly. You count it. One, two, three . . . Finally, you can sleep. When I was nervous because of tests or something, I used to do that. Counting is a simple action, and a sheep is a fluffy and cute animal. These are why we can sleep by just counting sheep.

When I am in Japan, I use a chaff pillow. This isn’t fluffy like a pillow I am using in Canada, but I have used the pillow for a very long time. I like this pillow’s particular sound and feel. I think finding favorite bedroom suites is a good way to solve insomnia. There are some shops which make your original pillow. They measure up customer’s length of neck, search how balance is the ben when the customer sleeps, and so on. This is expensive, but pillows ca be used for a long time. You can also have a pillow which is only on in the world.

I have heard just closing our eyes can restore seventy percent of our energy. Therefore, if you can’t sleep at night, closing your eyes is much better than getting up and doing something. This is a very easy way, and you can work or study with more focus the next day.

A lot of people who have insomnia tend to rely on taking pills. There is a huge number of sleeping pills in the world, and you can get those for cheap prices. I think those are much cheaper than making your own pillows or beds and much easier than countin gsheep or closing your eyes until sleeping comes. However, is the best way to take pills? I don’t think so. Many people “throw away” their life by chemical poisoning. If people with insomnia keep on relying on takin gpills, they will cause another problem like this. Therefore, I don’t recommend taking pills.

Sleeping is a very important routine in our entire life. Humans spend one-third of their lives sleeping. Everyone wants to spend time to sleep comfortably, but everyone doesn’t want to have insomnia. If you have insomnia, be careful you don’t go too far.

My Restaurant

By Shota Itagaki

Company name: Eldoon

Type: a restaurant

Product or service: provide many kinds of noodles

Main colors: red (looks delicious), white (clean)

I’m going to establish a restaurant. This restaurant provides many varieties of noodles. This restaurant’s name is Eldoon. You don’t know the meaning of “Eldoon,” but you can read it from the opposite side. I use red and white for the main colors because red represents energy and cheer, so red can encourage people. White represents cleanness and goodness. These colors affect people’s emotions.

Cake Shop - Smileat

By Hitomi

Company name: Smileat

Service: a cake shop; people will smile when they eat the cakes

Main colors: red, white, and pink

I'm going to use three colors as main colors. They are red, white, and pink. I'm going to use red because I imagined it as a strawberry. I'm going to use white because I imagined it as whipped cream. These colors can affect customers' feeling. They can imagine the delicious cake when they see these colors. It'm going to use pink because I mixed red and white. It can heal customers' feelings because this color is a mind color. It can make their emotions happy because it's a cute color.

New Business Proposal – “Sun”

By Kazuna

I’m going to open a children’s clothes shop. The name of the shop is “Sun.” I’d like to use red and yellow for a signboard and advertising. The reason why I choose these colors for the main colors is that they are bright, so I think that it’s easy for customers to remember my shop.

In addition to that, I’d like to use a variety of bright colors in the interior because they make people feel powerful, joyful and funny.
My shop is for children. I think that children like these colors. Also, children are powerful and funy, too, so these colors will match children very much. For that reason, I’m going to use them on the wall. Furthermore, the clothes that are sold in this shop are colorful.

I hope that this shop will be successful.

My Karaoke Shop

By Yukari

I’m going to establish my big karaoke shop, and the name will be “Cheerness.” This name is the combination of "Cheer" and "Happiness." Many songs often affect human emotion, and they always cheer us. Moreover, we’ll become happy when we sing our favorite songs. Songs are universal. My business could be a psychological service because my shop will be a good source of enjoyment for people.

The main interior colors are light orange and yellow. I’ll use light orange for the wall, and chairs will be yellow. Maybe I’ll use both colors as the base color for the advertising of my shop. Orange is my favorite color, and orange and yellow represent cheer, joy, fun, and pleasure. I want tpople to enjoy their life. Singing a song is so fun. In addition, orange and yellow will make my customers fuel more happy and joyful. Even if my customers wouldn’t be fine, these colors will help to heal the bad feeling. They’ll encourage people to be happy, and I want to make them be fine. I hope my customers feel good when they come to my karaoke shop.

My Flower Shop, "Green Field"

By Saki Sekioka

I will establish the shop. It's named "Green Field" which is a kind of flower shop. I use green and white on signboard. Green is a nature color and it affects us to be comfortable. White is my favirite flower’s color, so I use these colors. The shop’s wall color is brown because the color makes us calm down. We are unaware that the color is used in many places, so this is a good color. In my shop there are many flowers, so these have many colors! Then, I don’t need a bright color. If I use the loud color on the wall, flowers’ colors and the wall color will maybe clash, so the shop will not be neat.

My Own Coffee Shop

By Ayako Suzuki

I am going to establish my own coffee shop. My own coffee shop logo is this [a cup with the letter “C” on it]. This means that my own coffee shop’s name is going to be “Coffee and Comfy.” The type is going to be a specialty coffee shop. This means I’ll provide coffee beans from a lot of countries. I want to provide a lot of variety for customers. Service type is going to be a waitress brings coffee for customers.

I’ll ask an architect. He is very dependable because he has done 100 designs. The wall color is going to be dark brown. The floor color is going to be gray. The roof color is going to be light brown. The table color is going to be dark brown. The seats are going to be many kinds of seats. Why am I going to use many kinds of seats? There is a special Starbucks in my home town. There are many kinds of seats there. I can choose my favorite one by my mood. I want to provide a place where customers can feel good. I should consider customers’ feelings. An advertising of my own coffee shop is going to be “Which seat would you like?” This means “How is your present mood?”