In Korea, people were poor.                                       In USA people are wealthier than in Korea.

In Korea, I wasn't allowed to do much anything.                  In USA there's more freedom to do stuff.

In Korean school, I didn't learn much anything.           In here, I'm learning much more useful things

In Korea, I had my family with me.                           Here, I don't have my family, but I have friends.

In Korea, I was sad and lonely.               In USA, I'm happier and I  can hangout with my friends.

A lot of words:


Melancholy: adjective
                     I felt melancholy after reading Mother's letter.
                     Sadness, depression

Imposing:  verb
                  I knew how Mother hated imposing on her children.
                  Rule,

Stroll:  noun
           I drew in a deep breath of the deliciously fragrant air, picturing my stroll along the stream with Sarah and Jimmy.
           Walk

Transformed:  verb
                       What a grand surprise to see our neglected greenhouse transformed into a lovely little garden.
                        Change
Greenhouse:   Noun
                        What a grand surprise to see our neglected greenhouse transformed into a lovely little garden.
                       Room or house where you grow plants        

Neglected: verb
                   What a grand surprise to see our neglected greenhouse transformed into a lovely little garden.
                   Not taken care of

Mixer:   Noun
            All the other girls in the dorm were still fast asleep, recovering from the excitement of the mixer the night before.
            Party

Invigorated:  verb
                     I was shocked to hear Marci say these things, but strangely invigorated.
                     Exited, energized

Oddball: noun
                I feel like an oddball wherever I am.
                 Different

Pretentious:  adjective
                     She had once told me she thought the dress code and the formality were "ridiculously pretentious" and a waste of time.
                      Useless

Fulfilling:  verb
                Ever since I was little, she has told me that she wants me to work alongside her, and lead a worthy and fulfilling life as she does.
                Satisfying

Rambled:  verb
                 It's so pretty," Ellen rambled, "and I want to show you off."
                  Say

Frankly:  adjective
               I think it is because your culture encourages people to speak openly and frankly." I looked at Ellen helplessly.
               Honestly

Horrified:  adjective
                I was horrified.
                Scared, worried

Demerit:  noun
               I had never gotten a single demerit before!
                Official note

Humility:  noun
                Here, they do not place so much emphasis on patience, humility, family harmony, and silence as we do in Korea.
                Humble

Harmony: noun
                 Here, they do not place so much emphasis on patience, humility, family harmony, and silence as we do in Korea.
                 Pleasing  agreement,

Ambassador:  noun
                       You have become quite an excellent ambassador for your country, and have made lots of friends, I hear."
                        Liked, popular

Farmhouse: noun
                    The next day, Ellen and I took the train to her parents' farmhouse in New Jersey.
                     House in a farm

Acres: noun
            We have sixteen acres here.
            Measurment of area

My experience on coming to USA was not really similar with Sookan. I wasn't worried like Sookan was. I didn't have troubles coming to this school from the airport. Also she had trouble speaking English, but for me it was easy right from the beginning. I think that Sookan was scared of going to that school and afraid that no one would like her, while I was more exited and not worried. But we also share some similarities with Sookan. Boht of us have a different main language than English. Neither of us are from USA or have lived here before.

Why did marci look so sad when sookan told her that she will go to a job placement office alone?

How did Marji and Sookan meet?

How did sookan feel when she received a letter from his mom?

Did Sookan feel homesick after reading the letter?

What's her daily life like after she signed up for the world literature class?

Gathering Of Pearls is a book written by a Korean woman. The book is based on a true story of the writer's life. It tells about the writers experience moving from Korea to United States.

Writing is hard

 
    I have always been bad at writing. It is really hard for me to write and try to come up with ideas for

writing. It has always been like that for me, and nothing has made it easier. I have been to a lot of

extra help but it hasn’t helped at all. Before I wanted to learn to write but since nothing has worked, I

have lost my interest in it. So therefore I don’t write a lot outside of school.

     One time when I had to write a memoir, it was really easy to write. I wrote about an important

situation that happened to me a little before I wrote the memoir. I think it was easy for me because I

wrote about my own feelings and facts so I didn’t have to come up with anything.

      I also don’t usually read a lot. Reading is easier for me than writing, but I still don’t like reading.

When I was younger I read more books by myself but now all the books I read are the books that I

have to read for school. I like to get smarter and learn about new things so other stuff that I read are

news and wikipedia. Other than that I don’t read voluntarily.

    My favourite book that I’ve read in English class is Persepolis. It is my favourite book because it

was much easier to read since it had pictures that made the plot easier to follow. But I liked it also

because it told about living in a communist country and how terrible it was.

    From all books that I have read, my favourite is this Finnish comedy book. It tells about this over

40 years old guy that lives in Helsinki and drinks a lot. I liked it because it was really funny and it

had a lot of stuff happening all the time, so it didn’t get boring at any point.

 
    I have always been bad at writing. It is really hard for me to write and try to come up with ideas for

writing. It has always been like that for me, and nothing has made it easier. I have been to a lot of

extra help but it hasn’t helped at all. Before I wanted to learn to write but since nothing has worked, I

have lost my interest in it. So therefore I don’t write a lot outside of school.

     One time when I had to write a memoir, it was really easy to write. I wrote about an important

situation that happened to me a little before I wrote the memoir. I think it was easy for me because I

wrote about my own feelings and facts so I didn’t have to come up with anything.

      I also don’t usually read a lot. Reading is easier for me than writing, but I still don’t like reading.

When I was younger I read more books by myself but now all the books I read are the books that I

have to read for school. I like to get smarter and learn about new things so other stuff that I read are

news and wikipedia. Other than that I don’t read voluntarily.

    My favourite book that I’ve read in English class is Persepolis. It is my favourite book because it

was much easier to read since it had pictures that made the plot easier to follow. But I liked it also

because it told about living in a communist country and how terrible it was.

    From all books that I have read, my favourite is this Finnish comedy book. It tells about this over

40 years old guy that lives in Helsinki and drinks a lot. I liked it because it was really funny and it

had a lot of stuff happening all the time, so it didn’t get boring at any point.