The influences of King and Queen

Tep Suwannathen

Cause & Effect

The influences of King and Queen

            In Thailand, the King and Queen are the highest position in the country, who are controlling the country and have power above the law. It’s important for the citizen to bow down to the royal family. Most of them look up to royal family base on daily basis to guide them to do the right thing as they say and learn to give back to the country and teach their kids to do the same.

            My grandmother, she used to work with the King as a chief for the hospital. She said it was such an honor for her to be working with the King, normally the people don’t have that opportunity to get to be near the royal family. My grandmother received special title for her name, Lady, or in Thailand we say (Khunying) as someone whom did work for the royal family. She always taught me to do better in school, grow up to be a doctor and give back to the country, unlike my mom who told me just to focus on school and just be a good person. I’d say King and Queen are really important to my grandmother, she opened bakery because of her experienced with the Kind, and that really have big influenced on the rest of the family because my mother have to take over the bakery since my grandmother getting old and the later family generation would know how it originally started. How the King have affect on my grandmother’s images and people would want to come visit, few TV show have come visited also.

            People have to give back to the country, no matter what. If you’re a guy, when you’re fifteen you have to take a military class in school to learn basic stuff about military and then when you’re eighteen you have to serve in military for years, everybody have to, it’s a law. As I went to school which in the palace of the royal family, it’s really all about King & Queen and how lucky I am to be able to go to that school because normal people don’t get to go without knowing someone there or have parents works there. People taught to be bow to the royal family from generation to generation so they wouldn’t get to choose to like them or not, if you’re against them then you would get in trouble. I think it’s unfair for people not having their freedom of speech, I think people deserve to say whatever they’d like. Everywhere you go you would see the pictures of King and Queen in a nice frame pin it on the wall, every house, every restaurant, even in a movie theater before the movie started it would be a short music video praising to the royal family. That is how important the royal family is to the people even some of them donate their money to the King even though he’s the richest men in the country. People don’t realize that they’re being brain washed and have no freedom to say even though you don’t agree with King and Queen control.

            The politic in Thailand is really critical, Corruption is the big deal. The new government trying to take over the King and Queen. Most people don’t realize its about the time that the new generation take over control, the older generation still stay with the King and Queen as of my grandmother, and my aunt who love the royal family and they would bake the cake for the royal family every new year and it would be on the news at night. My mom would told me to help her taking care of her business when I grow up so the business would keep going and it would represent my grandmother’s work to be all about royal family.

            I grew up looking up to the King, from my family telling me to, from what he have done to the people, how he have huge impact on my family. I didn’t care much as a little kid, but all I know was just to behave good for the royal family. As I grew up, I started to have my own thought and think that King and Queen are not that special but doesn’t mean I am against them. On my daily basis I’m just doing what is right for me and people around me. When I came to the United States, I realize that it’s not that critical here about the president. Everybody have freedom of speech of what to say, I learned that I could be anybody that I wanted to be, don’t have to care about the government, how everybody are open-minded to the country and around the world.

           

Confused in Future

 When people immigrate to another country, many of them deal with new stress and some anxiety, which is called "culture shock". It can be experienced in the area of religion, language, food and education. Education is the most significant part in most people’s lives. It is relatively easy to achieve the goal through education to be successful. However, for a Chinese student like me who has language and communication difficulties, education is the most challenging part to get used to. I became accustomed to the traditional Chinese education system for twenty years, which is unique because I just followed what the teachers wanted me to do. It has been hard to change my custom of education because education in the U.S differs in choosing courses and teachers, homework and grades.

Choosing courses and teachers has been hard for me to adapt to. When a student succeeds in registering, it doesn't mean that she could already have classes in school. The next step is choosing your courses and teachers. It is very important because it decides what I will learn during the whole semester, and the teachers will determine how much I will learn. For me, as a new immigrant, I had trouble in choosing courses and teachers. The first time I registered in Harold Washington College, I didn't know how to choose courses or teachers. There were many different courses and teachers I could select. I had three courses in my first semester. Writing and grammar was the regular course, but I had to choose two other courses, and unfortunately, I didn't even know how to pronounce them. Also the school just provided the names of courses and the names of teachers, so it confused me. I had no idea what courses and teachers could help me to improve my English. These drastic changes made me cherish my school life in China. In China, there was no pressure to go to a new college because the school provided students with a good education. As a leader of the students, the teacher had set each course for the students. The students just learned the courses that the teacher had picked for them. The students didn't need to worry about how to take the courses because a professional teacher already had selected the best standard of the course for the students.

In reality, the homework in Chicago perplexes me entirely. My first semester in Harold Washington College made me crazy because there was a lot of homework. Not only the homework took me a lot of time to finish but also there were many different kinds of homework to do. They included weekly video recording, interviews, field trip homework and group project. Some of the homework that I need to do was to go out to find the information. I still remember one of the homework assignments in my reading class. My teacher required the student in group to go to the cemetery to take some information and do the presentation in the class. But I had to go to work, so I didn't have time to get the information. Naturally I didn't finish the homework, and I didn't get a grade for the assignment. The homework was so complex and difficult that I couldn't handle some of it. Sometimes, the homework made me want to cry, so I thought if I were in China, I wouldn't need to do the terrible homework. When I studied in China, I also had a lot of homework. However, the homework I did in China didn't make me waste my time to go out for a field trip in order to finish the homework. The homework I did in China was not complicated, so I could finish it in the book. Therefore, if I didn't even grasp the basic point, how could I enrich the new knowledge.

In addition, grades are the most worrisome part of my school life in Chicago. There was too much homework I couldn't handle, so I didn't know how to do in the homework and the homework kept my grades low. Each homework assignment is equivalent to an exam. The grades that I got on the homework directly affect my final total grades. If my final grades are lower than 70%, it means I won’t pass the course, and I have to take the course again. If I don’t pass, my level will not go up to another high level, and I have to waste my time to retake the course until I pass it. It is quite a long way for me to get a diploma in the U.S. It reminds me of how happy my school life was in China. I didn't worry about my grades. In China, I was allowed to make mistakes on the homework and if I didn't do the homework, the teacher would figure out the questions in the class. All I needed to do was listen to the teacher and do well in the final exam. The grades in the homework didn't affect the final exam. As a result, I only needed to finish my homework, pass in the final exam and get a basic major’s certificate, which meant that I could graduate from college. It was easier to get a diploma in China than in the U.S, so I could go out to find a job early and economize my resources.

As I continue studying in U.S, the culture shock of education has made me yearn for my country. Although I am proud of being Chinese, someday I will adjust to the American culture, get a high diploma and speak English fluently. I may even sound like a native speaker one day. I hope I study hard and become successful in the future, and my best wish is that I will go back to China and make my contribution to the development of my country.

My American Life

Katie

My American Life

When my father was young, he moved out and earned money to support his family. Fortunately for him, he got a chance to come to the United States. When he arrived in the US, he found out the United States is a pretty country. It was something he had never seen in his life. Then he thought, “My children should be here because he wanted us to know about this country”. If he hadn’t come here, we never would realize why my father always said the US is a free and fabulous country. In addition, my father’s decision made my whole life change. However, the good things always come with a price. If you want something very much, you must pay the cost. The first thing I needed to do was deal with all the changes of living in a new country. For me, America is a fantastic country because of the changes I went through like gaining independence, dealing with loneliness, and planning my future.

The first thing I gained in the United States was independence. When I was in China, I never worked, and I didn’t care about my school tuition because I relied on my parents for most things. My parents paid for my expenses because they wanted my life to be easy. However, the most important thing for them was that I study hard, get in to a good university and get a good job. These things have changed since I moved to the United States. When I started working in a restaurant, I found out how hard my parents worked. Additionally, nobody could help me do everything, such as paying for my phone bill and electricity bill. When the electricity company sent me a statement that I had to pay the bill, I was shocked because I didn’t understand how to pay it, so I asked my friends. However, they said it was easy, yet they didn’t tell me how to pay it. Thus, I realized I relied on my parents a lot and there were too many things that I had to learn now. Finally, I learned that when I paid bills or did something on my own, I did not need anybody’s help.

The second change was I felt very lonely when I came to Chicago. In China, my friends and I had the same language, and it was easy to make friends. In China, I had a group of friends and we went out during our free time. Even though we have different majors in university, we promised each other we would be best friends forever. Now that I am in the United States, I thought I would have many friends around as me in China, and I wouldn’t need new friends. When school started, I saw many people talking loudly in the classroom, except me. Then I got home, I talked with my friends on QQ. Many weeks later, I found out my friends changed because we didn’t talk too much. Sometimes, we just looked at each other on face time, but didn’t say anything. Later on, my friends told me they had made new friends and talked a lot to their new friends and went shopping without me. I was very sad because they made new friends and took pictures with each other in different places, and I was not in the photo which made me realize this is a new start, and I cannot just live in the past. I should move on and make new friends. This is a beautiful world and people make new friends all the time. The first step I had to do was open my mouth, talk with people, and to find something in common. Next, I could get many things that I wanted. The big thing I learned is whenever I go out, and I had to make an effort to meet people.

 Perhaps the most important part of all theses change is how I will plan my future. In China, I didn’t think too much about my future because I thought my parents would plan it. In addition, in turn they would help me find a job, and they would help me do everything that I want. Also, I wouldn’t care about my rent if I had a house. When I moved here, I saw how pretty this country was and when my parents asked, “do you want to go back China”, I told them absolutely no because there is tiptop treatment in the United States. For example, in the US when a person can’t find a job, the government sometimes gives them money until they find one. Also, the education is very different between America and China. I found out that some American kids become independent early in their lives. Many pay their tuition by themselves, not by their parents’ money and have part time jobs for their rent. In contrast, Chinese kids always use their parents’ money do their own things and they never work. Finally, I changed because I want to have a different life in America. Therefore, I began to make a plan for my future and how to move on to the next step.

In conclusion, my personality and lifestyle have changed since I came to Chicago. For example, I have decreased my reliance on others, and thought about making a plan for my future. I have been the United States more than three years, and I have seen my father get older than before. I plan to work and make money just like my father did in order to support my family.

My Freedom Taken

Young suh Lim

My Freedom Taken

           

         

             People around the world have been changing their mind to take trains instead of driving to avoid traffic jams. I am also a part of this new trend taking of trains. Therefore, public transportation is better than taking a train because people can see how others live by observing each other on the train. Unlike a train, driving is private a place that people can only look at either ninety degrees or straight ahead. As the development of transportation technology, most trains have become more comfortable, convenient, faster and safer. However, Chicago Transit Authority (C.T.A) has not perfected its system compared to the system in Korea. Korea Railroad Corporation (Korail) has more developed aspects than the C.T.A because the trains are cleaner and faster. The undeveloped Chicago systems make me miss the comfortable transportation of my home country, Korea.

            The first reason that I miss the Korail trains is I could travel everywhere by train. However, it is really hard to travel by train in Chicago. When I was in Korea, I used to travel a lot of times by trains because it made me feel free, and while I was taking a train, there were always nice views where was out the window so that I could enjoy romantic views with my friends. However, the C.T.A routes seem desolate compared to those in Korea. There was nothing to see or enjoy on the C.T.A routes. Since I moved to Chicago, I tried to find places to travel by train. The first time, I took the red line to Skokie, but It was just a suburb. Yet, I did not give up and I kept trying other trains, such as brown, purple, blue, pink, orange, green and I even tried the buses. Those were worse than the redline. Some neighborhood looked destroyed. For example, Houses were very old. Therefore, some house looked like as if they might collapse, and there were not enough lights in the neighborhoods so people possibly get a gun shot without any witnesses. The blue line views were the most depressing landscape I had ever seen. I eventually gave up looking for places to enjoy. Additionally, there are only seven colors of trains in Chicago. Unlike Korail, which operates over twenty various colors of trains. For those reasons, I truly miss Korea for the many interesting ways to spend free time.

            The C.T.A is already disappointing me. However, there is another annoying aspect as well, which is the atmospheres. First, the C.T.A trains and buses are truly dirty. Seats are very uncomfortable and hard also usually cluttered due to food or urine. The smell is hard to take. It is like a garbage can. Moreover, The environment of stations makes me listless. Most light bulbs are yellow, so they made me more tired mentally and physically. On the other hand, it is hard to find any litter or something nasty in Korean transportation because cleaning technology cannot be compared with the C.T.A. Korail has cleaning robots that do the sweeping and mopping. Furthermore, they make the floor shiny. In addition, they use L.E.D light bulbs, which make me feel comfortable and safe. Since I live in Chicago, I have to take trains and buses, yet the above mentioned problems make me want to go back to Korea.

            The most significant reason that I miss Korea is that The C.T.A service quality is lower than Korail. Some people who live in Chicago do not recommend going outside around midnight. However, as I am Korean, I really enjoy drinking until midnight or coming back home with the morning sun, as I did when I was in Korea. The reason why I could stay out until morning was because railroad police officers were at every station in order to prevent crimes. They also woke people up who were sleeping on the train. The police either took their home or brought them the nearest police office and let them sleep. However, The C.T.A employees seem like they are not aware of crime because they do not move from their office, and if someone presses on assistant button, the C.T.A employees act as if they do not want to help. It is not all employees, but I have seen someone react like that. In Korea in contrast, Korail employees are very polite and friendly. Also, they are public servants, so they always try to offer good service doing their best and they have a mission statement that focuses on services, but the C.T.A employees seem like having low responsibility for their job compared to Korail.

            As a result, I felt I lost a big part of my life because I am not able to travel by train, which means I lost my favorite hobby. Also, I have to ride the depressing and smelly trains and buses. Furthermore, I feel I am exposed to crime. Compared to Korea, the C.T.A needs to accept new technologies and learn what service is from Korail. Even though I do not think that it could change in a few years, I wish the C.T.A would become better and better as time goes on, so all customers can be more comfortable and feel safer than now.

Gastronme-Jack

Gastronome

How to become a good gastronome? In my opinion, I think a gastronome should understand everything about food such as its ingredients, cuisine and culture. Each country and society has not only its own characteristic food, but also its particular food culture. China has a history longer than five thousand years, and it is one of the biggest countries in the world. Chinese food also has different cuisines such as Shandong Cuisine, Sichuan Cuisine, Guangdong Cuisine and Jiangsu Cuisine. Northern, southern, eastern Chinese cuisine all have has its own character and taste. In the same way, Chinese and American dining also have its character. They have difference in food ingredients and eating manner. However, Chinese food and culture have influenced me greatly, and their particular cuisine and taste are unable to forget.

       What kind of ingredient do you like? Chicken, beef, pork or shrimp? Those are too simple. There are a variety of food ingredients in Chinese food. Chinese food ingredients show great randomness. Many Americans may think some ingredients are not acceptable, but they are excellent raw material for Chinese cuisine in China. One of my hobbies is exploring food. When I go to American restaurants, I discovered that most of the ingredients are chicken breast, fillet and steak. In China, many dishes are cooked from some particular raw material such as pork intestine in dry hotpot and stir-fried kidney. When I was still in China, my friends and I always chose to eat American, Italian or French food but never Chinese food. However, after I came to the United States, I finally realized that Chinese food is my favorite. Its unique cooking style and ingredient make it hard for me to forget.

    In addition, eating manner is quite different between China and the United States. In China, in any feast, whatever the purpose is, there will be only one form, which is sitting around the round table. The dining room is bright. During any meal, people can see all dishes and have a pleasant conversation with each other. On the other hand, American eating manner is quite different from Chinese. Americans serve food individually. What’s more, some restaurants are very dark, so it may feel romantic to their customers. I clearly remember when I went to a famous American steak house. The dining room was very quiet and dark. I couldn’t even see the menu, so I had to turn on the light in my smartphone to help me see the menu. I am very curious why American like dining in a dark room, sometime they cannot even see the dish! I think having a dinner in a bright room is good to enjoy all the tasty food, but is quite difficult to find a place to have dinner like that in Chicago.

       What’s more, Cantonese soup is the most delicious soup in the world. There are more than a hundred varieties of Cantonese soup. Even though there are many styles soup around the globe, Cantonese soup is very unusual. Cantonese soup focuses on nutrition and medicinal value rather than taste. Many Cantonese people think a bowl of soup is better than medicine. In winter, my mother will cook Cantonese soup that has function of helping my body keep warm. Unfortunately, I cannot taste Cantonese soup in Chicago. Even when I go to some Chinese restaurants in Chinatown, they do not have Cantonese soup because it takes a long time to prepare and cook. There is no restaurant in Chicago willing to spend such a long time to make this soup. If I want to taste this soup, the only way is to go to my aunt’s home that takes almost one hour by car, but the soup attracts me all the time. 

      Food culture is very subjective, so I cannot say which one is better. However, I have lived in China for over twenty years, and Chinese food culture is already integrated to my body. Moreover, although it is very difficult to taste authentic Chinese food and Cantonese soup in Chicago, I am trying to become a good chef to make these by myself. I believe one day I can become a real gastronome and I can show my Chinese and American friends an authentic dining experience. 

Picky Eater

Cindy

Picky Eater

     In the early generation, Taiwan was called Formosa because of the impressive landscapes. In the recent years, food paradise becomes a new appellation for Taiwan because we have the best street food in the world. Dining is the most important part of life for the people of Taiwan, so Taiwanese have great passion for food. Even though people need to stand in a line for couple hours or drive 2-3 hours to the destination, many Taiwanese will still go for the food. Taiwanese food always remind people of homesickness while they are working or studying abroad. However, it is hard to copy the flavor of traditional Taiwanese food because of the different cooking styles, foods and habits. Since I moved to Chicago, I have had a hard time adopting to the difference dinning culture between the United States and Taiwan.

Street Food

     Taiwanese cooking is distinguished by the many seasonings in the meals. The seasonings are difficult to find in the United States, even in Chinatown. Some people think that Taiwanese food is equal to Chinese food because they only had the experience of eating Asia food in Chinatown. In fact, it is totally different. The street food is particular to Taiwanese culture. One particular ingredient is stewed shallot chefs use to enhance the aroma of street foods that you can’t eat this kind of flavor in any Chinese restaurant or Chinatown. Therefore, every time I go back to Taiwan, I always get several seasonings, such as, spice bag with herbs, a variety of spicy sauces, and the sauce to mix with noodles. When I got back to Chicago, the seasonings will enhance the taste of the Taiwanese foods that I cook, and this would make me feel that I am eating foods in my favorite restaurant in Taiwan. 

Traditional Market

     Furthermore, the kinds of fruit, vegetables, and seafood are quite different between Taiwan and the United States, especially seafood. Taiwan is a little island surrounded by ocean. We can eat many fresh seafood no matter which city we are. In Taiwan, people can buy seafood not only in the supermarket like the United States but also in the traditional market. In the traditional market, we can see the clam’s shucks are active, the shrimp is jumping and the fish is swimming. Differently, if I want to eat fresh seafood in the United States, I need to go to a city that near the ocean, like Boston. Chicago is surrounded by just a large lake, so everything is flown in. It’s hard to get fresh seafood or we have to pay more for eating. 

Neighborhood

     People in Taiwan can easily grab food in their neighborhood, but they usually consume at the store that sells it. Because the owner always remembers of our favorite flavor that we previously ordered. They always know that I like the over medium eggs, I don’t like many tomatoes on my burger or that my beverage needs to be hot. Moreover, the owner usually accompanies us from childhood to growing while a child be a girl and a woman. They always give us the warmest greeting every morning. What I have totally lost in America is human warmth. Maybe my communication is not good enough or I haven’t lived here that long so that I can’t feel this kind of human warmth in the United States.

     After these experiences, I had learned one thing from feeling lost in translation. In fact, I didn’t like seafood very much when I lived in Taiwan. Until I left my country, I now realized that fresh seafood isn’t easily captured in every country. I understand the importance of treasuring the thing that I already have. If we always focus on the loss, we’ll never allow in new experience. To accept or try the new things is a good way to renew oneself, then you will find the best way of your life. It’s like a picky eater who continuously digs for the new, and then finds the most delicious in his mind.