USA Fire Station 1/Moorhead, MN

   

Today we went to visit the Moorhead Fire Station 1, after this trip I really feel pride of fire fighters.

    There are a lot differences between the fire station at Bonanzaville and the fire station you saw today. The fire station I saw today is full of modern high technologies, for example, the fire trucks have auto open-close doors, in inside of the truck, it even looks like an airplane seat. The ladder on the fire truck can automatical go up and down. Besides these differences, the fire fighters’ life are also different, the fire fighters can watch television, play games and sleep, but they have to live in the fire station no matter they are married or not. However, as for Bonanzaville fire station, there were not too many high technologies, they even use the carriages to be the fire cars.

    I would like to be a fire fighter, but I think I can not be a fire fighter. The first reason is that I am a girl. And girls can not be a fire fighter I think, because girls don't have the stamina as same as men. Girls can not do many things as man can. So that is the most important reason. The second reason is that I afraid of fire, I can’t stay very close with fire. Maybe it is my mental block. Although I can’t be a fire fighter, I really feel proud of the fire fighter. They may abandon their families, their children, spend every day on work. They deserve the respect from everyone.

BONANZAVILLE

 

  Today we went to visit the Bonanzaville, Bonanzaville is a pioneer village and museum located in West Fargo, ND with an extensive collection of over 400,000 artifacts. In this special museum, I learned that the life of Native American people, the food they ate; the cloths they wore; and even the house they lived. And I learned that the American people and Nazi army forced the Native American to accept their culture, join the army and accept their education and ideology. The Native American fought against with them and fought for their rights and free. At the same time, I learn that American had a very good life style. They had church, drug store, barber shop, police office and even fire engine which was a carriage. They had school, hotel, print shop and jail. And the most impressive thing is that I found every house of American had a piano. I thought that American love music form ancient times until now.

  I think Nazis were wrong in their ideologies towards book burning. They just chose a forced way to force people accept their thinking, it was totally wrong to use this kind of way to let people accept. This way not only can not let people accept, but also would let people fight against. Nobody likes being forced to think, there was no free of thinking.

  If I lived in Bonanzaville, I don’t think I would like and enjoy the life in Bonanzaville, because in that time, there were a lot of crimes, and I was really afraid of that thing. And I would live every day with struggle. And rich people can live well, I don’t think the poor could also live well, and be respect. So I don’t thing I would like the life in bonanziville. 

Thanksgiving~

I am thankful for the natural environment. Before coming here I have never seen so beautiful environment. The sky is blue and when I see the sky feeling it close to me and as if could easy touch the white cloud. Here far away from the city center and surrounded by trees so that the air is fresh and without pollution. Every breath is the biggest gift that from nature to me. When I am free I like lie on the grass, felling the warmth of sunshine, which same as the mom’s embrace. A lot of rabbits run everywhere in the woods I even could play with them, it’s amazing.

With the exchange of Chinese and western culture, more and more Western holidays are recognized and accepted by us. I think Thanksgiving is one of the most meaningful holidays. Chinese generally very shy so we are not good at express our affection for relatives and friends. On Thanksgiving i always loudly tell parents I love them, kiss them and give them a big hug. When in the school before the classes every student will stand up, bow to the teacher and say: thank you, teacher. For friends we will exchange gifts and give a hug to each other to express our thanks.   

Organic production

    Organic production is a production that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. Organic production is tested by the USDA National Organic Program. Organic production is not the food we call “green”, “natural”, “local” or “sustainable”. They are the food which from the ecological good organic agricultural production system. The organic food production is the food which produced without the use of chemical pesticides, chemical fertilizers, chemical preservatives and other synthetic substances, also need not genetically engineered organisms and their products. And they have high level nutrition and high safety quality. We care about the organic food because we need to eat safely and eat food with enough nutrition, and we need to eat much healthier. Eat organic food we can reduce the risk of prostate cancer, contracting cancer, and the organic food are no more likely or less likely to be a source of foodborne disease than vegetables grown on nonorganic farms.

     Last week, we went to the organic farm for visiting. And in the organic farm, I visited two greenhouses, and there were a lot of vegetables and fruits in the greenhouse, and there were some fans in the greenhouses to adjust the temperature. And I found a lot of tomatoes, chili and strawberries, although they are not mature yet. I was very enjoy that I can watch the little fruits and vegetables babies to grow up. And I can find that the little fruits and vegetables babies would become the most safely food for people one day.

Eventide Nursing Home

Today, we visited the nursing home in Moorhead. And this nursing home named ‘Eventide’, we went to eventide for visiting the old, playing with them and talking with them. Once we came there, I found the old were very friendly and replied us when we said hello to them. And there were another thing that I found was this nursing home that they are living was nice, it is suitable for old people to live and spend their time, there are garden, therapy center, dining room and coffee shop, even the gifts store. In my opinion, the old live in this place with perfect environment and serve is a really good choice. However, I found a problem as well, although the old live in this place with best serve and many friends, but they can’t see their children or they don't have children, so that in their deep heart, I thing they are lonely. Therefore, I tried my best to help these old people and talk with them like a grandchild as much as I can.

I met a lady, who is 104 years old and name Anne. When I talk with her, I found that she could not hear me clearly, and she even did not have a clearly logic, because she even did not know what she was talking about. And I remember she just asked me twice “where are you come from”, and every time I answered her, she would be very surprise, and she even asked me: can you flying? Even though she could not think clearly, but she cared about me, she always asked me to drink coffee and eat cake with her. She let me think of my grandparents. Sometimes, the old they can’t not express themselves anymore, but they will always worry and care about you.

I think I was her grandchild today, I helped her eat cake, drink water and play bingo. We talked, we smiled, we loved. And when we prepared to leave, Anne asked me: “Would you please come to see me again?” “Can you come to visit me next time?” that words I heard were hitting my heart, I can feel the old who living the nursing home were eager to see their families, their children. At that time, I really want to be her child and take care of her.

And now, I would like to participate in a skype chat with the residents, especially the old in the nursing home. I want to chat with them not only for practice my English, but most important is to talk with them, to be their child, to love them, care about them, and I really don't want them to feel lonely. I want them to be loved by their children, even though we have no blood relationship.

Today, I think I did not have a goal of practicing English to visit Eventide, I have the goal to be their child, to love them, be with them. 

Service and hospitality

  Today we learned about Habitat for Humanity. 

  Habitat for Humanity is an international organization now, and people in this organization are volunteer to help homeless or poor people to build a house for their own. This organization was started by Millard and Linda Fuller in 1976. Until 2008, Habitat for Humanity has already built more than 800,000. I think this organization is really incredible to built so many house for homeless and helped more than 4 million people to live in a real house. Habitat for Humanity is located in Lake Agassiz Habitat for Humanity,210 North 11th Street, Moorhead, MN 56560. However, now this organization grow to an international organization, and it located around all over the world, involved Latin America, Asia, Europe, Africa, US, Canada. 

  

    I learned their words, "let's not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions" (Jonh, 3.18). We should not to say help without actions, we should move and help with voice. Many people need our help, and we just need to spend some time or money or energy, it doesn't trouble us anyway, but we can gain a lot of happiness with help people. I also think about a lyric from a Chinese song "everyone just need to donate a part of love, the world will be very beautiful and tomorrow will be much peaceful". 

    I would like to choose to paint the wall of the new house that we help to build. I choose to paint because I want to paint something special on the wall which can show people live together and love, help each other. I want to paint a very nice house for that new host, I want to let them to feel that there is still hope here, every one can love and help them to overcome the bad situation. I also think I want to paint that house to look like a warm home, a light in the dark, and a hope never go away. We are the hope for the homeless people, and I believe we can help them with our energy, hands and love.

DOROTHY DAY

   

 




 
Yesterday, we went to visit to the Dorothy Day house and Dorothy Day food pantry. After I went through the food pantry, listened the teacher explain how the food pantry worked, and I even had a chance to pretend to be a homeless girl who go the food pantry to ask for help. Every stuff work in the Dorothy Day house and food pantry is volunteers. They work for nothing, just want to help people. After we volunteer to help stuffs to fill the shelves with foods, when I saw there were happiness and gratitude in their eyes, I thought I was just doing a best thing. And I really felt happy. I learned how to help people without money today, I think, when I come back to my country, I can select my old clothes and made some food to donate to homeless people or poor children in my country. I suppose that once I see they are happy, I would be happy.

At past, we always give money to homeless man or poor people. And we also always donate the money to the government, and the government can collect the money and again donated to the poor people and homeless people. Sometimes, government will start a donation activity, and people can come to donate some money, and then the money will be gave to poor people. However, in my country, there are some hospices which same as Dorothy Day house and help homeless people get food and sleep. And when I back home, I think I will go to learn further study of social welfare, and I would help homeless people as much as I can, because I really felt much happiness when I help the stuffs to doing their work. I can truly felt that when I finished that work, it means I have helped many homeless or poor family. That is a big pleasure to do good things. 

IDAY!!!!!

IDAY: INTERNATIONAL DAY!!! I like it, I really like it, I even did not know what IDAY is. We went to forest and many different kinds of villages came together and we played games, sang, danced, ate and communicated together. All of the square in that forest full of different languages, laughter and happiness. In my opinion, Iday for me is everyone come together, there are no sadness but only peace and happiness.

In IDAY, there is no sadness that is the thing I like most. People even cry but they cry for happiness. I like everyone have fun together, no matter they are what kind of color, no matter they speak what kind of language, no matter they come from which country. I like everyone can smile to each other, talk with each other, no hostility, no judgment and no greed.

I will talk a lot about this day to my friends and families. I will talk about how we have fun with other kids from different countries, and talk about how we danced, sang, played football together. However, I will focus on talking about everyone came together with peaceful and happiness, I prefer to sharing that peaceful situation we stayed, there was no war, no greed, everything was wonderful. I think that kind of happiness and peace are the most important things that I will share with my families and friends.

After joining IDAY, I think it changed me a lot, especially changed my view of think about the world. In past day, I thought that the world can not without wars, because of people are greedy. However, in IDAY, there was no greed around us, no wars, no sadness. Everything was perfect. Now, in my view, I can find that people can have fun together without fight and even they speak different language and came from different location of this world, so that I think people can live together with happiness and peace and I believe one day there is no wars any more but peace. 

PERSONAL VIEW OF RACISM

    After we watched the movie named ‘Crash’, I have thought a very long time. I thought about the applied ethics that I learned last semester, I learned that every person is equal. I think people live in the world are all deserved to be love, deserved be respected.

    In that film, the locksmith who is a black man, he is a really good person for doing his own duty, but his employer judged he was a cheater because of his black skin. For that story, I think it was as impactful as the one told in poem. The locksmith was kindness to suggestion his employer to change a new door, but the employer judged he was a cheater and harmed him with the bad words. It was same as the little black boy who was smile at the people with light skin, but was replied with bad words. It is all because he has the black skin.

     There was a scene that the police officer who forced the black couple’s car and asserted that this black couple must have something can be arrested. According to the movie that the police officer had deeply racism and this block couples was hurt by the racism. In my opinion that the racism should not be exist, and everyone live in the world is equal. Nobody is the low class and no one can be the high class. Everyone deserves to be respected and loved. The most important thing is that people can’t be suspected and insulted because of their color or wealth. 

I would like to take a journey on a ship across the world

    Today all of our Concordia summer program friends and teachers went to visit the Hjemkonst center, a historic museum. After I study about the histories and stories of the Viking people and Norway people, and learned the story about the Norwegian who made a ship and using that ship travel from Minnesota to their home land Norway, I thought I also would like to take a journey on a ship across the world.
    When talking about taking a journey on a ship across the world, I prefer to travel to Maldives. There are two reasons that I want to travel on a ship to Maldives. At first, the global warming is much more serious now, and I believe that Maldives would be gone in someday future, so I think I should visit there before she gone. And the second reason why I would like to take a journey on a ship to Maldives is that Maldives has the most pure sea there, and just imagine, when my ship come to Maldives, there would be a lot of fishes swim around my ship, that will be beautiful and gorgeous, how wonderful it is. Here these are my reasons for taking on a ship across to Maldives.

one thing I learned about at the museum today

Today in the Hjemkomst Center, I learned an important thing which was not about with the Hjemkomst and the ship or the travel.

 We talked to the Hjemkomst Center, a famous museum in Moorhead, Minnesota. There is a well-known river near the museum named The Red River. And when we got to the museum, we were taught the history of the Norway people come to Minnesota and how they lived here. The history and story that some Norwegian wanted to make a ship and traveled by that ship to back to Norway land. And when the class was over, students were allowed to take photos wherever they want. And when my friend Shirlen and I went to the church in the Hjemkonst center for taking photos, we find three of localisms were sitting on the grass and then we went to ask them to take photos with us. I thought the localisms were always very friendly, however, I found that I was wrong. These three men were rude to say some uncivilized words to us. Once we found that they were rude we got away from there to find our group. After we found our uncle Phil, and talked about the whole thing, he said there were a lot of people who were weird and he suggested us not to talk to strange men alone. Undergo this experience, I learned that don’t be silly to talk with anyone, there are bad man around us and try to protect myself as much as I can.