Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Reflection

I was born in Glendora, California, and was raised here most of my life. Going through preschool all the way up to second grade, I was put through the American way of life. One day my dad surprises us with luggage and tells us were moving to where we are from, Palestine. At first, my brother sister and I were excited, however we didn’t know what was in store for us. It was weird that Palestine were we come from, yet we were not used to the way of life there. Everyone spoke mostly Arabic, whereas my siblings and I spoke very little of it. At school, different classes were taught like Arabic class and religion. Also the teacher was able to hit the student if they misbehaved, which was very unusual in our eyes. Everything was just so different there, the way people drove in the streets, the way people talked, school, clothes, and it was really hard to make friends with people who were so different from me. My sister and I were constantly getting in trouble with our Arabic teacher because we were one of the ones who just couldn’t get the alphabet or how to write in Arabic. For a year we struggled trying to get used to where we were and then came the war. It was hard watching planed above and hear the crashing noises everywhere and that’s when my dad decided we would move back to America. Finally we came back and I continued 4th grade in America. We visit Palestine every now and then, but we realized California was where we belong.

apathetic

Word: apathetic (adj)

Source/page: Funny in Farsi (118)

Contex clue: Before the word, Firoozeh describes the feeling.

Definition: having or showing little or no emotion

Original sentence: The apathetic girl did not care much for the sick dog.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

gendarmes

Word: Gendarmes (n)

Source/Page: Funny in Farsi/133

Contex clue: She mentions the gendarmes going through her luggage which indicates an officer.

Definition: A french Police Officer

Original sentence: In fFrance, the genderarmes are very strict when it comes to the street rules.

enviable

Word: enviable (adj)

Source/Page: Funny in Farsi/98

Contex clue: It is mentioned after the figs, pomegranates, sweet lemons and herbs.

Definition: Worhy of envy.

Original Senence: The enviable model had the perfect outfit on the runway.

Baklava

Word: Baklava (n)

Source/Page: Funny in Farsi (64)

Contex clue: when she mentios "flies to baklava" which hints its a type of food.

Definition: a Near Eastern pastry made of many layers of paper-thin dough with a filling of ground nuts, baked and then drenched in a syrup of honey and sometimes rosewater.

Original senetence: At the family gathering, my mother brought baklava, and we all ate it while sipping on tea.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Reflection

When it comes to reading, growing up, no one ever really ever brought it up to me. Going through school I would read here and there, however it was never a great hobby of mine. During fifth grade my teacher encouraged me to read, so I read a couple books, and eventually got tired of reading and took a long break. When in high school, I never read the books assigned, and just didn’t enjoy it at all. I remember I started the book “A child called it”, and I got really far, but never got to actually finishing it. The summer of 2009 is when I got very close to my friend named Hayley. I watched as she read really lengthy books, such as all the Harry Potter books, and the Twilight books. Watching her excitement and love for reading has really inspired me and now I am trying to get back on track and get into reading a lot more then I did in the past. Usually I never read the class books assigned, however I have been reading the class assigned book “Funny in Farsi”, and have really been enjoying it, seeing to as I can relate to the girl, Firoozeh, a lot. Also a lot of her family customs are very similar to mine, which makes me understand all the obstacles she goes through. Once I complete this book, I do intend on picking a book of my choice, and reading it. When it comes to reading, I think my best friend, Hayley, is to thank, for showing me all I have been missing out on.

Tutelage

Word: Tutelage (n)

Source/Page: Funny in Farsi (130)

Contex clue: Firoozeh uses under the tutelage and then mentions teacher, which reveal higher authority.

Definition: The act of guarding, protecting, or guiding.

Original sentence: Famous popstars usually feel safe under the tutelage of their body guards.

Frugal

Word: Frugal (adj)

Source/Page: Funny in Farsi (123)

Contex clues: She uses the word to describe families, and after she notes it made her angry.

Definition: not wasteful

Original Sentence: The frugal family saved every bit of food they had, and did not throw away anyleft overs.

Deranged

Word: Deranged (adj)

Source/page: Funny in Farsi (123)

Contex clues: Firoozeh uses king tut as an example.

Definition: Disordered; Disarranged

Original Sentence: The body was deranged after being ran over by the huge truck.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Reflection

Studying the vocabulary required for this class has had an impact on me in many various ways. Throughout life I have heard many words on the list from others, trying to act as if I knew what they meant, and now I look back and realize what was really being said. Also it has given me a wider range of words to use in my everyday language. Through our vocab I have not only memorized the meanings of the word, but I have actually began using them, making me seem more educated. Also it has helped me pass it on to others who do not understand the word nd ask me for its meaning, giving them another word to add in there speech. My favorite thing about the vocab chosen, is that most of the words give a hint of their meanings by the root word. Also a great way I have learned to find the meanings is by contex clues. Many have difficulty to remember the word, but looking at sentences with the vocab used helps significantly, and also creating original sentences helps one remember it. Whats great fun about the vocab is they are from things I have read, such as Funny in Farsi, which helps to understand the book more. It was also nice learning vocab from other countries such as baklava, the persian sweet. I am Palestinian, which is very close to Persian, so its very exciting to learn these type of words. Learning the vocab words has impacted my everyday life greatly.

Olfactory

Word: Olfactory (adj)

Source/Page: Funny in Farsi (97)

Contex Clue: The flowers described in the sentence and the word sense used after Olfactory.

Definition: Pertaining to the sense of smell

Original sentence: My olfactory sense led me to the conclusion my mother was making spaghetti.

Strewn

Word: Strewn (v)

Source/Page: Funny in Farsi (113)

Contex Clue: When it mentions the lawn and miniature Iranian flags, I used my logic to find it means spread out.

Definition: to spread widely

Original sentence: The little girls toys were strewn all over the room.

Permutation

Word: Permutation (n)

Source/Page: Funny in Farsi (66)

Contex Clue: I used my logic, " I am once again reminded that I am an immigrant with a foreign name"

Definition: Changing the order of elements

Original Sentence: The toddler would recited the abc's by starting off as acb which is a permutation.

Encapsulate

Word: encapsulate (v)

Source/Page number: Funny in Farsi, 34

Contex clues: Comparing the kind children to a pill as an example

Definition: To enclose in or as if in a capsule

Original sentence: After dropping the box of crickets, the man tried to encapsulate them back into the box.

Insatiable

Word: insatiable (adj)

Source/Page: Funny in Farsi (pg 27)

Context clue: logic- wondrous and marveling to show that insatiable is positive.

Def:incapable of being satisfied

Original sentence:Mark has an insatiable desire for snowboarding. His dad has to drag him off the mountain even after the lifts have closed.

Sensuous

Word: Sensuous (adj)

Source/Page: Funny in Farsi (pg 25)

Context Clue: The taste of the Persian food and smell and the experience of the taste.

Def:Highly susceptible to influence through the senses.

Original Sentence:The sensuous food hit my senses when i walked into the restaurant.

Solitude

The Word: Solitude (n)

The Source Sentence and (Page Number): Yellow Ribbon/ N/A

Context Clues: Iron bars are being used to interfere jail making soltitude to mean alone.

Definition: Being alone or remote from society.

Your Original Sentence: With her husband at work, and her kids at school, the mother was completely solitude and able to relax.