Journal #15 Analyzing Arguments

Mansoor Ijaz(2008, October 31). The duty of American Muslims this election. Yahoo news.

Mansoor Ijaz is a New York financier. In this article, he claims that American Muslims' vote and voice are important. (par.2) Though the bipartisan Islamophobia in American politics has engulfed the 2008 presidential race, he encouraged American Muslims and Arab American to make it a constructive voice and think about how they can be catalysts for change. (par.3, 6) His argument that the next administration needs to open doors to qualified American Muslims (par. 7) is a claim of policy which appeals to emotion and reason as well. He says that two candidates will take seriously how important a part of American life we really are. (par.14)

Journal # 13 Summary/Paraphrase Practice

Wildfires force frantic evacuations near LA; 2 die

By SHAYA TAYEFE MOHAJE

Owing to Santa Ana winds, two fires broke out near Los Angeles on Monday. It caused destroy of houses and two deaths. Many fire officers did fight Marek fire at the northeast end of the San Fernando Valley and Sesnon fire in the Porter Ranch area at the west end. People in Porter Ranch’s communities were expected not to drive for emergency cars, and then they left cars and carried out whatever they could from their homes. According to Los Angeles County Fire Department Inspector Frank Garrido, one person was killed on the freeway in Porter Ranch. About 1,200 people evacuated from home to an evacuation center. Also, a motorist was killed on the freeway after vehicles turned around to avoid fire. Two fires caused bad air quality with flames, so people should avoid outdoor activities.

Associated Press writers Greg Risling, Thomas Watkins, Alicia Chang, Christina Hoag and John Rogers contributed to this report.



http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gwSSrT7-LciDlr1tYmyE9e19oX9QD93PT6BO1

Journal#11: Advice

I always seek advice. There are many people who can give me advice around me. I get advice from my friends and families. My friends are all good advisers. We usually share problems about relationship and our future. We have similar worries, so it's easy to open up to them. However, God is my best adviser. I can't hear directly from him, but I can feel what he says to me. When I'm in trouble, I always pray and follow his advice.

When I was thinking about studying in U.S., I was afraid of being away from my friends and families and living alone. I didn't know what to do, and I couldn't decide. Though my families encouraged me and helped me to come to U.S., the one who took care about everything was God. I couldn't see exactly, but I'm sure that he led my way. I'm here now, and he's still helping me and being with me. I have many problems about life, and sometimes I feel regret for studying here. However, he promised that he would show me a bigger dream than I expected, so I can get over all difficulties and keep my way to reach my dream.

People seek advice, and the advice makes them improve their lives. Following good advice is a way to make a right decision. If you guys need advice, come and ask me. I'm willing to be a adviser for you. :)

Muath and Candy

Journal #10 American Food

Wow, it's the most interesting one among topics Sean gave us!!! :-) I'm happy to talk about food :) I thought there would be a lot of so-called American foods, but I found out only a few original American foods. I just called food like pizza, spaghetti American food, but they actually came from Italy. That's what I didn't recognize that before. America is a big country, and it is called a melting pot, which means a place or situation in which varying beliefs, ideas, cultures, etc come together. Therefore, American food must be mixed with many other cultures and foods. That's why I'm confused what American food is.
One of the undoubted American foods is a sandwich. There are many sandwich stores in America more than in any other countries. Sandwich is from America, so there are various types of sandwich. It's the regular dish of parties. I have been eating many sandwiches since I came here. 'Subway,' which is the common sandwich store, was a big hit in Korea a couple of years ago. It was the brand-new store which Koreans had never seen before. Sandwiches taste good (Actually, Subways in Korea are better than here in some aspects like interior decoration and the taste of sandwich.), and it's convenient to eat. It is kind of fast food like a hamburger.
A hamburger is also one of the unquestionable American foods. I'm proud of In-n-out and McDonald's. McDonalds is a very popular fast food restaurant on earth. There are many branches all over the world. It is also popular in Korea. In-n-out is my favorite restaurant. Specially, a cheese burger tastes AWESOME! I always oder like this. "Can I get No.2 with grilled onion?" wow, that makes me feel hurgry.
As fall is coming, I look forward to the holiday, Thanksgiving. It's a custom to eat foods like turkey and cranberry on Thanksgiving. According to the Wikipedia, they are also from native American groups. I heard a craberry pie is great. I expect to eat them on my first Thanksgiving in America.
It is obvious that America is a powerful country. Though Korea has many kinds of traditional foods, it will take forever to globalize them. However, sandwiches and hamburgers are already international foods, and they gain many people's attractions. I also love them. But still, I'm a little bit confused that what I should eat except for the above foods when someone says, "Let's go eat American."

Jamie and Saud