Leaning Into the Wind Response

The reading was very long. It talked so much about the weather. The weather is usually the first thing someone mentions when trying to start a conversation. I don't like to talk about the weather when trying to start a conversation. It just isn't my style. But i do like to talk about the weather sometimes.
I only talk about the weather when i cannot think of anything else to talk about. After reading "Leaning Into the Wind," i began to think about the weather. The weather I'm thinking of is the clear blue skies. It looked so peaceful. Not only is it peaceful but it's also breath-taking. I can already imagine it. I'm somewhere high in the skies and it is very cold. Also, breathing is very hard too. Suddenly, I'm accelerating towards the Earth on a crash collision. Who knew thinking about the clear skies is wonderful.
Not only did I thought of the clear skies, but i also thought about the raining weathers. Raining weathers are my favorite weather. I like raining weathers because they are very rare weathers. Also, raining weather symbolizes forgiveness and a fresh start. The rain washes away the evil past. Then it leaves a fresh trail for everyone to begin on.

Final Memoir Response

Overall, i enjoyed the memoir i read. It is a fascinating memoir describing the author's experiences in the 2004 south Asia tsunami, the Middle East, Niger, and Hurricane Katrina. I liked the memoir because it captures the moment of intensity. Rarely, do you ever experience intensity in its most intense form. The intensities range from self-reliance to death.
The intensity ranging from self-reliance to death portrayed to me how different the world beyond Minnesota is. There are assassins in Bosnia, deaths in Niger, oblivion in Hurricane Katrina, and loss of loved ones in south Asia. I am very lucky that I'm living in such a safe place away from those dangers of the world. But sometimes it is not even safe in Minnesota. There are kidnappings and murders everyday in Minnesota. It's the same around the world. How lucky am I to still be living?
I think i should travel around the world someday. I want to travel around the world to see if what the author said is true. Also, I want to experience the intensity that the author experienced. But, I am not going to go to a place where people assassin each other such as Bosnia. Or a place where death is everywhere and diseases spread around quickly. It is direct suicide.

Memoir Response 4

The author reports about his experiences in Hurricane Katrina. The most dangerous thing about a hurricane is not the power of the hurricane, but the effects of the hurricane. He then goes on to talking about how politicians are thanking each other and the people for their efforts. But in reality, their not doing anything much. The author was very disappointed with the politicians and the people. There are dead bodies on the streets and on one's doing anything about it.
I enjoyed this episode about Hurricane Katrina. It portrayed to me something i haven't thought of before. Is our society really unwillingly to help each other. The politicians are not much help to the people except make laws and speeches. They're at the top living a luxurious life and the people are the ones suffering, maybe that's how it is.
Another thing that I liked was when the author said that Hurricane Katrina was a test. Hurricane Katrina was a test to test the resilience of the American people. Pretty much, the American society has failed that test. What should happen if a nuclear missile hit a U.S. territory. Are those people in that society doomed to suffer the same fate as those in Hurricane Katrina.

Memoir Response 3

In the third section of the book, the author talks about his experiences in Niger and Somalia. Thousands of children were starving in Niger. One out of four Nigerians child dies after birth. In Niger, the mothers constantly take their children to a ward care. The ward care only cares for malnutrition children. There were so many people that it is very difficult for one mother to get assistance for her child. In Somalia, warlords fights for control of the country.
After reading the third section, I felt shocked. People are dying in Niger and Somalia. No one is dooing anything much about it. I learned from this book that the less political something is, the less likely it will receive help. Also, there were so many deaths in Niger. Most of them died from starvation and warfare. How terrible!
The UN begs for help and aids from other nations. Most of the workers are volunteers. But it is so obvious. Generally, no one does anything for free. I learned that if you want something to be done, you have to do it yourself.

Response to Dead and The Bicycle

1) The author use characterization to showed how disrupted the character in "Dead" is. In "The Bicycle," the author used characterization to conveyed the mom's resilience.

2) The question i have for "Dead" is: is it Hitler that has killed the narrator? The question I have for "The Bicycle" is : did the author's mother ever let go of the bicycle?

3) For "Dead," I liked the passage "Leave Me alone. Don't bother me." I liked the passage because it relates to individuals. I am also an individual. Also, when I'm doing something interested or just doing something, I don't like to be disturbed. For "The Bicycle," I liked the passage "Matter involving race and identity she ignored." I liked the line because the other's a neutral person. She didn't pay any attention to the life she was living in. She ignored the fact that she was a white woman living in a black community.

4) In Dead," the passage that made me think was the passage where the narrator said he doesn't want anything to do with his family. In "The Bicycle," the passage that made me think was "matters involving race and identity she ignored."

5) I don't have any questions from the chapters.

Response to "How to tell a war story"

The author writes about truth as though truth has no moral. The truth also has no virtue, proper human behavior, or opinion. The author said that truth should be above love and memory. It should also be about sorrow. Also, the truth should be associated with sister who never write back and people who never listen.
In general, i believed that the author's opinion abourt truth cannot be applied to stories. I believed that truth should alos have morals, opinions, and virtues too. Stories are just like our lives too. There are truth and lies in the world. We also have opinions and morals towards truth too. If we didn't have opinions or morals about truth and lies in the world, there would be no point in reality. Also, the author have morals and opinions too. This story is written from the author's point of view, so it has opinions too.
I enjoyed the story. I enjoy the story because it used uncommon words such as fuckin, which is a word prohibited with most people. Also, the story was very depth in details such as describing the sound and noises in the mountain. Another intriguing element of the story is suffering. The men patrolled a place in the mountain. As they remained there, they began to suffer. Their suffering came from the noises and sounds of the jungle. The story also relates to the life-threating situation of a warfare. It also portrayed the author's mood when he lost one of his comrade.

Response to my Mother's Blue Bowl

I didn't enjoy My Mother's Blue Bowl very much. I didn't enjoy it because it didn't have intense conflicts. The story was very descriptive about the blue bowl. The author associates her mother with the blue bowl. It symbolizes so much memories for the author.
In the memoir, I like the line "letting go of possessions." The line reminds me of Buddhism I learned in tenth grade. The mother letting go of her possessions portrayed that she has lived a full life. It is like she has cut off all her attachments. Because she has broke off her attachment, she no longer suffers in her life.

Memoir Response 1

I enjoyed the first part of the book i read. The book is called "Dispatches From the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters, and Survival." In the introduction, he described himself a little. His father died when he was ten years old. Then afterward, his family feel disrupted. Their life changed forever.
The author also gave information about his life as a reporter. He could never remain still. He feels that he has to keep moving around and reporting news. or he just wants to feel the intensity of conflicts surrounding the world. Whenever he finishes a report, he dives back into another report. He spent so much time reporting and editing. The first report he wrote in the book is about the Tsunami in Asia.
The Tsunami in Asia was horrifying. He reported on the place Sri Lankan. It was amazing. The whole place is flooded. People have drowned and there are rescuers everywhere. Mud and water is everywhere. You can also smell blood everywhere. There are bulldozers digging holes and bulldozers moving people into the holes. There was a massive burial. The dead didn't get a proper burial. It is so remorse.
The Tsunami brought a horrible catastrophic and everyone suffered. Some rescuers were laughing because the Tsunami didn't affect them. The Tsunami showed how selfish people can be. In times of other people's need, some people don't really care at all. What a nightmare!

Memoir Response Two

The author talks about his experiences in Sarajevo, Bosnia. It was a chaotic place. In Sarajevo, Serbs constantly lobbed shells into the city. It broke the marketplace, where old men tried to hold their dignity. When a shell fired, blood splattered the street. Also, the Serbs from the mountain used snipers to kill people. This description surprised me. It showed me how luck I am to be living in a place where there is no homicides everyday. One time, the author was reporting news, and a bullet almost him. He was lucky.
I would not go to a place like Sarajevo. It is suicide. You go in there and don't know what the situation is in. The next thing you noticed is that someone is dead. You could be next. I have to admit that the author is insanely crazy but the experience in Sarajevo is worth it.
The author also said that the news also have to report something intense in the media. Sometimes they would wait until intense story occurred, then they will report it. I don't think I can trust the news anymore. What the heck, I barely watched the news! I guess what you believe and don't believe is due to yourself.

Childhood Place Part 2

We still go to my uncle's house in Wisconsin. I still enjoyed our stay at his house. But it was a very long trip to his house. The trip takes four hours to get there.
He has moved to a new house, but the events remain the same. I still enjoyed times with him and he stills enjoys time with me too. We usually talk about his his life and my life. Also, i enjoyed the the night. We ate roasted ducks with rice. The roasted ducks were roasted outside on charcoal and it tasted wonderful. We always had a full dinner with every smile. Even though many years has passed, we still shared the same feelings.
When I was young, we went for a walk around the neighborhood. Even now, we still walk around the neighborhood. I always enjoyed this activity with him. He always asked me what I have done this year and I would asked him the same question too.

childhood Place

When I was a kid, my family went to my uncle's home in Wisconsin. It was a fun time. I did story telling with his son and daughter. The stories we told were ghost stories. The stories were scary and I usually ended up being scared. I could not sleep at night. Also, at night, I slept in a room with glow-in-the dark stars that were posted everywhere in the room. It felt like sleeping outside. Also, the windows were open so there were cool winds flowing by.
We did not went there to visit but also to travel and sight see as well. I remembered we once went walking around the neighborhood. There were cool winds blowing by and the temperature was perfect. It was also a safe trip because there were not many people outside. It was one of the most wonderful event in my life.

Childhood in the park

When i was a child, my family often went to the park. Usually, i ran around the park and played soccer. It was a serene scene. I felt free like i could go anywhere. The weather was sunny and warm. I remembered details from the park such as a soccer ball, the sunset, the cool winds, the evening moon, and the chilling nights.
Every time we went tot the park, my father played soccer with his brothers. They played for a pretty long time each time we went to the park. Their soccer games usually lasts about three hours. We went to the park at about five o' clock P.M. Then we came home at night about nine o' clock P.M. Sometimes they stayed even longer. My mom was always furious with with the delay.
Also, at the park, i learned to enjoy the night. The night was beautiful with the cool winds. It was also the time when people are going home. Most of the time, the night was the time when people went to bed. The night time was the calm time of the day. You don't hear very much noises during the night. It is as though the world was asleep. I learned about the night when I was a kid.

Reading Response to Excerpt from The Names

i liked the line "They call themselves Kwuda, "coming out." i liked this line because it shows how the Kiowas are self-accepting people. they came into the world through a hollow log. then suddenly, one woman was stuck in the hollow log. that's how they halted coming into the world. the fact that they accepted the fact that the Kiowas has a small population proves that they are self-accepting people.
Also, i liked the line "A day, two days before, they go." The line reminds of preparing for a rip that will take days. you have one or two days o prepare for a rip. it just reminds me of the past.