Hi Students! Nice job getting your first blogs up! And I see that it is probably easier in the future to respond to someone's comment by just clicking "reply." (You can see my replies to each of you. In some cases there are some website links you might want to check out).
I see that some people still have not posted or have not responded. Remember, this is important writing practice for you, and it is part of your grade.
For Tuesday (9/4) please write about the following topic:
How has your life changed since you came to the United States? Once again, 200-350 words is a good length. Have fun!
Hello. I’ll introduce about my life in the United States. My life was changed greatly since I came to here. Above all, I became positive! When I was in Japan, I was negative, so if I faced some bad situations, I was always thinking negative. However now, I can think anything positive and I think I have to be positive in my mind. Besides this thing, I realized I love Japanese food, because I really want to eat it such as sushi, tempura, miso-soup, rice, and so on. I didn’t realize when I was in Japan. Moreover, I realized America is great place! I’d never been to America, so I couldn’t think how American life is. I thought America is dangerous. Of course it’s depends on place, but Missoula is safety and people are kind, helpful and friendly. I love here. And then I became active girl. I love playing sports, but in Japan, I didn’t have environment that I can play any sports. Nevertheless, Missoula has good environment to play sports such as tennis court, grasses, gym, mountain, river and so on. I can do anything in here so I’m in outside almost of everyday! My life is also changing now, sometimes be bad. However I don’t regret to stay here. I want to get used to new life early. Be positive! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI love that you feel so positive about your life these days. From my perspective, you are doing great! I can really imagine how you must miss Japanese food - I think that is one of the hardest things to get used to in a new place, don't you? Fall is a beautiful time in Missoula and a great time to be outdoors. Enjoy yourself!
DeleteHello. I will tell you about my life in United States. Before I came here, I thought there are many dangerous things in United States because it is legal to have a gun. However in United States, especially Missoula is not only safe but kind town. When I didn't know to get to Food Zoo, I asked a man about it. Then he led the way to Food Zoo. It might be a matter of course, but I was glad about it. My bad impression of United States has changed little by little. Moreover, I appreciate my family's cooperation and kindness. Study abroad took a great deal of money. I was sorry about that to my family. My mother said "Never mind. Enjoy your life in United States.". My family always assist the thing that I want to. My mother send me an e-mail everyday. I feel happy to read it. I miss my family since I came here. I had not realize importance of my family when I was in Japan because I lived together. I do appreciate my family from my heart. And I feel Japanese food is more dalicious than when I was in Japan. White rice in United States is littele different from Japanese white rice, I think. (Of course American food is so delicious.) I would like to eat Japanese food and I miss it too. During staying in Missoula, I will make positive efforts to act, study and communicate with many people. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI can really imagine that you must miss 'real' Japanese food. I am always trying to convince my students to open restaurants here in Missoula (ha ha!) It is hard to be far away from your family, isn't it? But it sounds like you have a great relationship with your parents, and I'm sure they are proud of you for embarking on the adventure of study abroad. It takes a lot of courage - and you are doing great!
DeleteHello. I would like to tell you about my life in the United States. A lot of things have been changing in my life since I came to the United States. Many things such as foods or life style are different from my country. All of these things are stimulus for me. Since I came to the United States, my life has become much more regular than when I was in Japan. As a matter of fact, I lead a loose life in Japan. I live in Tokyo alone so I always oversleep and don’t cook by myself and eat fast foods. But now I go to bed before 12 and wake up regularly. I send regular life now. In addition I try to a lot of new things in the United States. So for, I have not tried to what I‘m not good at playing. But now I try to do a lot of things what I’m not good at and I have never done. For example I played ultimate the day before yesterday for the first time. From now on I want to continue to lead regular life and try to do many things. Such a challenging may change my point of view and makes my personality more and more bigger than ever. I want to change and improve my life. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteMoving to a new country and starting a new semester in a new school is a wonderful catalyst for change. I'm glad to hear you feel good about some of the new behaviors you are adopting. Ultimate frisbee is a lot of fun - and I hope you are finding some basketball buddies too.
DeleteHello.I whould like to tell you about my life in United States. Before I came here, I lived with my family for 20years. My mother cooked breakfast, lunch, supper for me and washed my clothes every day. Here, I have to do everything by myself. So, I feel I become independent little by little. And my eating habits are changed. When I was in Japan, I ate white rice three times a day. In United States, it is difficult to eat white rice. I miss white rice. At Food Zoo, I always eat salad. Vegetables are so flesh! I eat that more then I was in Japan. Eating vegetables is healthy. I want to keep eating salad! At the end, the biggest change in my life is language. My mother tongue is Japanese, but I have to speak English. It is so hard. However, communicating with many people in English is very exciting and it is great experience. So I whould like to talk and study English more and more. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteYou have a great attitude about the changes you are going through! I know it is hard to be away from the food you are used to, but you have an open mind about trying new things. And I know it is hard to have to use English to communicate 24/7! But you know a lot of English already, and pretty soon speaking and hearing every day will feel more natural for you.
DeleteHello.I'd like to write lifestyle and communication.First,since I came to the United States,my lifestyles changed.Regarding food,When I lived in japan,I often ate noodles and japanese rice so I got carbohydrates too much.But in US I eat a lot of vegetable and fluit because I'm going to FOOD ZOO everyday.I think that FOOD ZOO makes me more healthy in US than in Japan.As for fashion,I put on clothes of GRIZZLES.Actually,my universtiy in Japan makes own clothes too but they don't penetrate students.Many students in UMT,on the other hand, wear GRIZZLES and I enjoy wearing it.My second change is how to communicate with people.When I went to Walmart in South of Missoula,I was very surprised that customers made eye contact when they passed each other.Some of them,moreover, smiled and said”Excuse me” or”Thank you”.Besides,in US,shop worker give me some words like “How's going” very naturally.That impressed me.It is different from japan and I can't imagine in Japan.In my opinion,Japanese don't try to communicate with stranger in supermarkets and shop staff greet somebady formally.I don't feel such wrong with staff in US due to short term of my living in US.Because I experienced those situations,I keep in mind that I should be positive about taking eye contact and talking with people.Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI am surpriced that American food makes you healthy! I eat salsd everyday, but I eat more humbergers, meat and cakes than it. So, American food makes me poewrful, but sometime too much for me. American people say "How`s it going" when meet someone, even if the someone are stranger. I was surprised too. Beacuse in Japan, talking to stranger is unusual. But, I think this culture is amazing. Therefore,American people prefer to talk with someone. Talking is most important tool when communicating with someone in United States. So, I whould like to say "How's it going" when meet someone, even if who is an stranger.
DeleteI really like your comments about making eye contact & talking with strangers. When I lived in Japan, I found that people were always so friendly and kind with me. However, in public places like busses and shops people did not talk or make as much eye contact with strangers as here. I felt that because Japan has many people in a small land area it was a way of respecting each others' privacy. What do you think? The western USA has not been settled for very long, historically - 100 years ago there were just not so many people out west, so people were very happy to see a stranger! Even now, people in the eastern US (which was settled earlier and is more crowded) are more reserved and maybe more unfriendly than in the west. Anyway, that's one theory...
DeleteHi everyone! I would like to talk about how has my life changed since I came here. Before I came here, I couldn’t decide to do anything without my parents’ minds. I depended on my parents too much. Therefore, it worried my parents that I go to the United States to study. And also, I expected, because there are different cultures in the United States, I might feel stress and might be homesickness. In fact, people in here are pretty nice and even I am a stranger, they speak to me friendly. Because of that, I became open-mindedness. To live in here, I should be an independent person. So, now, I became on my own a little. In addition to, I became an active person after I came here. I was in Japan, I was really shy. But now, I became able to speak to anyone without hesitation. It is a big change for me. Because of that, I can make many friends who are from not only same country but also from other countries. But, I still can’t speak to native English speakers without hesitation. The reason is that I don’t have confidence in my English skills. So, I want to keep studying hard to get confidence with my lovely classmates. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteIt is really a big adventure moving to a new country - you were very brave to come here and study with new people in a new school in a new language! I'm glad you are starting to feel more active. Your English is very easy to understand, and after a few months here, I think you will find you have more confidence to speak with native speakers. They will have no problem understanding you.
DeleteHello everyone, I want tell you about how my life changed since I came to the United States. One of the most important things is that I start to take choices by my own self of course I would ask my dad and my family about their opinion too, but I wouldn't let them tell me what I should do exactly, I'll just listen to them and think about it. Another thing is people say," Not all the people are sam" even that lots of them don't really understand it, and I was one of these people but after i lived here in The United States and met a lot of people I understood! It's so easy it's just that i grew up in different house, culture and with different people. I understood that if i came from different place it doesn't mean that I'm wired or they are weird no, we all human live in one earth eat the sam food but in diffrend way of cook,If everyone thinks in this way we will have more love, respect and understand bad to eat other, dont you think so?!
ReplyDeletei think these things are the most important things I learned from coming to The United States. I'm so happy and thankful to be here.I'll always try to do my best and be positive as always, I hope you will do too. Thanks!
I love your positive attitude and your beautiful smile, Ruba! And you are right - it is so easy to be afraid of things and people we don't know when they are far away. We watch the news or hear stories and think "Wow, people in that place are really different!" And of course there are a lot of differences in what we eat, how we talk, how we behave etc... But isn't it delightful to find that the same things make us smile and laugh?
DeleteHi everybody I would like to talk about how my life changed since I came to United States. My life did not change at all, because in my home country I lived in another city and my parents lived in another, and also I lived in Istanbul, Turkey for 6 months, so I was already independent. I had to do everything by myself at first it was difficult, but now it is not so difficult for me to live independently. I like Missoula because people here are kind and nature is very beautiful here. In my home country I had many friends, but here I don't have many friends yet, so it a little hard to live without best friends. But I have a very good classmates from other countries that help me to improve my English.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
You have already had a lot of experiences of living alone and living abroad. I'm glad you are enjoying Missoula. And I hope you will make friends with some of your classmates - there are some really nice people in our class this semester, aren't there?
DeleteHello! I'm going to tell you how my life has changed since I came to the United States. Many things have changed in Amrican life. For example, I had lived in Japan with my family for about 21 years.my mother cooked, washed, clean and so on. Of course, I helped her, but she did most things. since I came here, I have to do everything! It's so hard. But I think it's natural now. I felt I was really indulged. So it's a good experience for me! And, food habits have changedso much. I usually eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at Food Zoo, and I can eat so much. So I usually overeat, and it's not healthy for body. I have to eat less or exercise more. And, biggest change is that I am in Missoula, Montana,America! I mean that I'm in diffrent culture. It's so exciting and disturbing. I think I'm exciting now because I am usually with Japanese. It's not bad, but I want to study English and different culture. So I should be with American or other countries student. It's so hard because I can speak Enlish only a little and I can't make myself understood. I want to overcome linguistic and cultural barriers. Thank you for reading!
ReplyDeleteI agree your opinion. My mother did everything for me like cooked my meal and washed my clothes. If I have a problem, I always told it to my mother. But now, I have to solve a problem by myself. I think I relied heavily on my mother and family. I become indipendent littele by littele. And I have to loose weight because I eat a meal so much everyday. I should go to the gym when we have much time. Sometime I also worry that I am always with Japanese students. Talking with Japanese students makes me happy and exciting. But I worry about my English skill. We have to communicate with native speaker as well as Japanese students. In class, we must use English each other and study English hard every class. We can do it.
DeleteIt seems a lot of students have really changed their eating habits here. When I lived in Japan, sometimes I missed American food, but mostly I loved Japanese food (I gained 10 pounds in 18 months when I lived there - yum)! You might enjoy checking out the Campus Rec Center or the Grizzly Pool - those are great places to interact with Americans and speak English. There are a lot of classes you can take or intramural teams you can join at the Rec Center, and sometimes they offer special hiking or rafting trips to cool places.
DeleteHello! I'm going to tell you about my life in United States.Before I come here I never live by myself. It's a big challenge for me, and I just finished my high school.But when I come to Missoula, everything was changed, food, lifestyle, culture, and so on. But I can adapt it, I try to say"How's everything going?" I try my best, then I find It's not reslly diffcult. People in here are so nice, I didn't feel lonely,and I feel it's free! I didn't have homesick! I have learned many things from here, from my class, from my friends, I can improve my English, and also I changed myself!
ReplyDeleteGood for you, Yuanjing! Missoula is a long way away from home for someone who is just out of high school, but you are doing great. I'm glad you are not feeling too lonely, and you are taking such a positive attitude. Good luck!
DeleteHello Yuanjin, I think you are smart and really strong girl to be here in The United Stat. I respect you so much and I know that you always try your best, its nice to be your classmate you are so funny and positive almost all the time. I also like your character so much i believe that you know how to enjoy your life. I'm sure that soon you will have lots of friends here, hope you all the best!
DeleteHi guys, I won't lie and say that my life in U.S. has so many changes. But there is a few changes of course, so let me tell you about these changes. First, witch is very good change to me that I knew how to cook. Second, I'm riding bikes again. Third, I got to know a lot of new people almost everyday. Forth, I became a good rules follower. These changes above are good changes. And there are some bad changes too. Such as, I started to spent a lot of money because I'm not living with my parents. And I started to sleep a lot because it's cold in here. These are the good and the bad changes in my life since I came to U.S..
ReplyDeleteThank you,
Mofadal AlFadel
I think moving away from home - especially to another country - can really make a person learn to cook, don't you? After all, you don't want to be hungry all the time, right? Missoula is a great bike riding town. I love to ride home along the Riverfront Trail - it is so beautiful at this time of year. I'm sorry you are feeling cold, though, because this is only September and winter is coming..... Brrrrr!
DeleteRe: Genki's post
ReplyDeleteI would like to response Genki's post! I felt same thing with him. When I came to Missoula first day and went to a grocery store, A clerk said " Hi, how are you doing?" But I didn't hear that, so I asked him to repeat what he said once more. And then I had a mystified look on his face, so he also repeated in a wondering tone. I was embarrassed, but now I became used to it. It's really nice and I like American culture like this. I want to teach Japanese this culture!
Re:Firuz's post
ReplyDeleteHi everyone.I’m same situation like him.I had lived in Tokyo 4 years by myself and I also lived with my friends for 5 months before coming to Missoula.So I’m not worried that I live by myself.I understand that I have to do anything about me.I think,in contrast,I often meet some difficult situations now because of the change of living environment.For example,when I went to a laundry in my dorm first time,I didn’t know how to use washers made in US.I was so confused and I pushed buttons anyway.When I went to the laundry again 2 days ago,All of the same design washers which I used are in use.So I asked a student how to use other washers. That is good chance for me to speak in English
Re: Firuz’s post
ReplyDeleteYour life didn’t change at all?! I was surprised to hear that!! You are younger than me, but you are more independent than me!! Maybe, to live apart from your parents became helpful for you to be an independent person. Now, it difficult for me to live independently…. But, I have a roommate, so she always helps me. I wanna be independent. So, could you give me some advices to be a independent person ??
And I like Missoula, too. I like climbing the M mountain. Why don’t you climb the mountain with me? Do you miss your best friends in your home country? Then, we(Level 4b classmates) will be your best friends so that you will not feel lonely!! Thanks!
Re:Mina’s post
ReplyDeleteAt first I thought United States is little dangerous place too. But it is not true. Here is so good place. There are rich nature and time flows very slowly. So I like here very much. In addition I miss Japanese foods too. I want to eat sushi. I really miss Japanese sushi. I recognized that I can not live without eating sushi. Someday I want to go to Japanese restaurant and eat a lot of sushi. I really hope so. Thank you.
Re:Yuanjing's post
ReplyDeleteI think you are a challenger because you are just 18 now, I didn’t think to go study abroad when I graduated from high school. Besides, I was surprised that you haven’t been homesick! I became homesick soon when I started to live alone in my country. You are so cool! How’s American food for you? I want to eat my countries food everyday, but of course American food is good. I have learned a lot of things from here too! We have special friends such as classmates! If you have any problems, you can ask us or teacher because they alive longer than you. Thank you.
Hi guys, I would like to talk about the changes that happened to me. Actually when I came here I couldn't cook a lot of things, but now I have been a good cooker. My friends taught me a lot of things about cooking. I met a lot of people in America, I learned how to leave far away from my family and that's really hard thing.
ReplyDelete