Autumn

Autumn leaves . . .

Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival !

Today, the Chinese eat the moon cake at night with the full moon in the sky to celebrate the abundance of the summer's harvest.

Summer

Summer is great, summer is fun.

What about you in the bright sun?

Water splashes on your face

having fun in a race.

A cool ice pop would be great

better eat it before it's late!

Hi, everyone. I'm back from vacation. I had a good time. What about you?

Traveling

Traveling is a happy thing in life. Traveling can relax you, traveling can help you learn lots of things.
If you can travel anywhere in the world, where would it (they) be? I would go to England, France, Italy, Egypt, and of course China.
Where would you like to go?


I'm going to take a vacation, I'll be back soon.
Hope everyone has a great summer.

Niagara Falls

Long time ago, every year I would go to visit my relatives in Toronto, Canada. They bring me sightseeing around the city, such as, CN Tower, Goat Island, Ontario Parliament Building, University of Toronto, City Hall, Sky-Dome Sports Complex, and Niagara Falls, etc. Everywhere we went we left our footprints.

But, Niagara Falls made me impression depth. The waterfalls are 120 kilometres from Toronto, Canada. They comprises three separate waterfalls: The Canadian Horseshoe Falls, The American Falls, and the smaller, Adjacent Bridal Veil Falls.

They are grand waterfalls. We don't see them yet but we can heard the sound first. Lots of seagulls fly over the waterfalls. They are making a beautiful picture with tourists and the waterfalls.

When we go through the Rainbow Bridge to the State Park in New York of America, We see the waterfalls there in another view.

The waterfalls are very wide. They are shared between Canada and the United States. Signify for two countries friendship and I hope the friendship lasts forever.

Who will you choose?

I heard a story about two men. One man was really poor. He only has a hundred dollars, he gives you ninety-nine dollars out of the hundred dollars he has. There is another man that has a hundred thousand dollars, he gives you one thousand dollars. Who do you think is the better person? Who will you choose?

Real Happiness

What is real happiness? It is a simple question, but different people have different answers.

I had a classmate. He always talked about money in the classroom. Our teacher said:" stop complaining, I don't have money, but I am happy. Every day, when I get up I see the sun, I am happy. I have family, friends, I am happy. . ."

Money doesn't make you happy. If you don't have money, you are unhappy. If you have money, but not enough buy a house, you still unhappy.

Real happiness is helping others. . .

What is your happiness?

Colors

Colors are beautiful. The Earth is mostly made out of one color or another. If the world was without color, it will be hard to tell the difference in things and it will be boring.

Mother's Day

Live every moment.
Laugh every day.
The love can not be
explained beyond words.
I am thankful for you, Mom.
Happy Mother's Day!

Smart Fish and a Not So Smart Fisherwoman

Sometimes I go fishing, but I never catch any fish.
I don't really know how to handle the fishing pole, instead the fish end up eating the bait.
The fish are so smart, they welcome me to go fishing, because they always get a good meal from me.

Even though I don't have any harvests, but when I'm sitting on the beach and see the ocean, a beautiful picture comes right before my eyes, the horizon looks very beautiful. It looks like the sky and the endless blue sea are touching, and the gentle breeze blows against my face, I feel calm and happy.

Bald Eagles

Bald eagles look bald from a distance, but they have white feathers on their head.
The bald eagle is our state bird.
Bald eagles have very good eyesight, they can see small things in grasslands while soring in the sky.
Their wingspan is about 3 to 6 feet long.
Bald eagles are interesting animals.

Bald eagles are carefree and easy while in the sky, they can see the whole, beautiful view of the world.
If people could fly like eagles, it would be a blessing.

If I could be any animal . . .

If I could be any animal, I would like to be a bee.
Bees are not handsome or beautiful, but they are helpful.
Bees are nothing compared to eagles that can sore in the sky or lions, kings of the jungle.
Bees collect pollen form flowers, if they didn't spread the pollen, the flowers won't be as beautiful as they are now.
We eat honey once in a while, some people can't believe something so sweet came from something so small.
Bees work hard for people not for themselves.
If I could be a bee, I would . . .

Books

Good books are the treasure, one of the richest in the world.

A Little Girl's Mind that Never Grows Up

When I was a little girl, I liked to playing with toy dolls.
When I was a little girl, I liked to sitting on my parent's thighs for stories.
When I was a little girl, my parents always woke me up early to exercise before school . . .
Now, I'm still a little girl, because I'm still have a lot of things I don't know.

(Stop my bad English writing here.)

When I was a little girl, my parents taught me a lot, how to treat people in a nice way, how to become a nice person, how to study hard to get good grades for building a better future, etc. Now, I'm still a little girl in my parent's mind even though I'm not too young, ( I look like I'm very old, but I'm only 18 years old ) because I'm still hugging my parent's necks for some advice for my life.

My Second Language

My second language is English. Someone said, my writing is like a three year old. Yes, my English is very poor, especially the grammar, not as good as my Chinese. What is a good way to study English? Once, I went to a book fair, the bookseller told me, don't use Chinese thinking to study English, Chinese thinking translated to English equals Chinese English.

Raw Food

Once, I went to farmers market at Civic Center. I saw a vegetable like a small ball and it has nice color, I asked that farmer what the name was and how to cooked it, he told me, this vegetable called radish and you eat it raw. Yes, raw food are healthy. But usually Chinese people like to cook any vegetable. Cooked food will loose lots of vitamins.

American people think about how to eat the food to be healthly.
Chinese people think about how to cook the food to taste good.

What do you think?

Tax Day

Today is Tax Day in America.
Paying taxes are everybody's right and duty.
A country's rich and mighty power depends on people.
Our benefits are from the government.
Remember, Tax Day Today !

Easter Day

Happy Easter Day !

The World of Green

Coming of spring,
Nature wakes up,
Dressing the world in green,
All are new, clean and fresh,
The world is covered in green.

Stars in the Night Sky

Stars twinkling in the night sky.
Shining up so high.
We live under the stars every night.
They twinkle with every sight.
They are special with their light.

A Healthy Lifestyle

Fruits, vegetables, and exercises are very important to us. We should have at least 5 servings of fruits and least 7 servings of vegetables each day. 20 minutes of exercise is a great substitute for 3 cups of coffee. A healthy lifestyle equals a healthy heart.

Daylight Saving Time

Daylight Saving Time begins today.
At 2 a.m. we will turn our clocks forward one hour, making the beginning of Daylight Saving Time.

SAVING TIME !
SAVING ENERGY !

Sunshine Beach

The sun glistened in the morning sky.
The water rushes up and goes back down.
It makes a sound like the heartbeat of the land.
The sand as soft as cotten.
Heat traps in the sand and it burns like fire nearing your feet.
The water as cold as ice or as warm as boiled water.
Whatever there is on the beach it sure is a special place to visit.

Happy Fishermen

Many people like to go fishing or go catching crabs. Fishing can exert a favourable influence on a person's character. I think catching crabs are the same.
People go to the piers or wharfs in San Francisco and drop in the water round nets with a piece of meat in the middle that is stuck in the net. After a few minutes, they pull them up fast and catch a few crabs. They throw the small ones back and take the big ones home to eat.
The fishermen really enjoy that, they are happy for their harvests.

Happy Lantern Festival

Today is the Lantern Festival day. In China, families walk on the streets carrying lighted lanterns to celebrate the festival. In San Francisco, we have a parade and a street fair to celebrate the festival.
Below is a short video for the parade in this year. Enjoy !

A Big Change in Lifestyle

America is the land of freedom. Every year, lots of people immigrate to the United States to live freely.
There is a big change in their lives when they come here. Some people have good jobs in their native country, but when they come here, they take low-paying and hard jobs to survive. Their English are not so good, they need to go to school and don't have free time to do many things or don't have a night life that before they had, they think that life is not exciting and they need to make a fresh start.
I think taking the first step is the hardest, so I believe that after they adapt to their new surroundings and work hard, they will have a wonderful future.

The Misty Memory

Many years ago, I went traveling to Vietnam. It is a beautiful country but I couldn't remember the names of the cities that I visited. I just remembered I went through a small town in China called " Dong Qing " to get to Vietnam. In Vietnam, some people spoke in Mandarin or in Cantonese. At that time, not too many people were rich. Now, Vietnam is a developing country, I think everybody already has a good life.
I hope I can visit Vietnam again if I have a chance.

My Backyard

I live in a not so beautiful but a little big house with my parents in San Francisco.
My house has a big yard, I like it. I planted some roses, some vegetables, and lots of fruit trees, such as, an apple tree, a fig tree, a lemon tree, and many more.
In spring, fruit trees are sprouting, birds are chirping in the trees, they are making a beautiful picture for nature.
I like my backyard.

The Street Fairs of the Chinese in San Francisco

China has a history going back 5,000 years with a rich cultural heritage, many customs and traditions. For example, the Chinese calendar is older than the western calendar. The year is divided into 24 divisions and there are 12 animals for the zodiac.
Lots of Chinese live in San Francisco. They have a rich cultural heritage. They have street fairs to celebrate festivals two or three times a year in Chinatown. At the street fairs, they have lion dances, firecrackers, costumes, music, entertainment, foods, and many more.
I hope the cultural heritage of Chinese in San Francisco is fostered and enhanced forever.

2007 Chinese New Year Spectacular Highlights Video

Enjoy !

Happy Chinese New Year

Happy Chinese New Year !
May all go well with you !

Culture and Customs of Chinese New Year. Click here.

Happy Chinese New Year of the Pig Video

Happy New Year for all of you !

Happy New Year Video

Happy Pig Family ! Enjoy !

Dragon and Lion Dance Video

Happy Valentine's Day

History of Valentine's Day. Click here.

History of Valentine's Day Video

Rain Water

Rain water flows in the mountain creek,
Rain water brightens plants,
Rain water cleans everything outside like a cleaner.

Fireworks Video

Happy New Year for all viewers !

Chinese New Year

Happy New Year !
Gung Hay Fat Choy !
I want to extend greetings and well wishes to all of you.

Travel in China Video

Enjoy your travel !

Year of the Pig

Happy Chinese New Year !
This year is the year of the pig.

Animals Video

Do you like animals ? Enjoy !

Spring

Birds chirping everywhere,
Beautiful flowers bloom right before your eyes,
You can hardly turn away from the sight,
Spring is a beautiful time of the year.

Special Customs of Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is a special holiday for Chinese people. It is celebrated by getting together and having a big feast. We also visit our families, relatives, and friends.
We have special customs for celebrating new year. Usually, we have parades and street fairs around new years. The lion and dragon dances are very special. They are traditional Chinese customs.
We clean the house before new year. It is to change the old things for new I think, we put out decorations and put red or gold paper signs on the doors, put plum blossoms, quince blossoms or a baby tangerine tree in the house, attach the red envelopes to the branches, put a plate of tangerines with leaves, a pomelo and a dish with special treats on the table. We cook a whole chicken, make some new year's cakes (neen go), and fry special pastries like" geen deui", and " gok ji", you can buy these things at Chinese stores. Married people give red envelopes with lucky money to their relatives and friends's kids.
Chinese celebrating new year may have a few superstitions. There are many things that are just symbolism. Maybe, in old China, they didn't have enough food to eat, so they depended on new year to eat a little more. Anyway, during new year, Chinese people just wish for a good life in the future.

My Second Hometown

My second hometown is a beautiful city by the bay. It is San Francisco.
I have been living here for a few years. It has nice weather, mild winters, and lots of sunshine.
The public transportation is very convenient, and it is extremely easy to get around the city.
There are very good continuing education programs and classes. There are many communities in the city for different immigrants of diverse populations, and there are lots of job opportunities in the city.
There are lots of great stores to shop in, and lots of places to go, such as, Fisherman's Wharf, The Golden Gate Bridge,Golden Gate Park, museums, movie theaters, Chinatown, Japan town, etc.
But this city has lots of rain in the winter, lots of fog, and some air pollution. Rent is very expensive, and houses are too expensive. There are many homeless, I hope the government helps the homeless, let this city become one of the best cities in America.
However, I really enjoy living here---- my second hometown.

My Native Country

My native country is China, it has a history going back 5,000 years
with a rich cultural heritage.
It is a big country in the world, it has 3,704,427 square mile,
we have about 13 hundred millions people live in,
our capital is Beijing, it is a
beautiful city,
it has lots of classical builds,
many tourists like to visit there,
such as, The Great Wall,
The Imperial Palace,
and The Summer Palace, etc.
The largest city is Shanghai, it is a developing city,
many tall buildings there are growing up,
it is a nice place to visit too.
I miss you, my native country.

My Favorite Food

My favorite food is seafood.
I like to eat fish, shrimp, crab, and shellfish.
You can eat seafood at any Chinese restaurant in San Francisco,
or you can buy them in Chinatown and cook them
by yourself. I enjoy them very much.

My Dream House

Do you see a beautiful house in the picture? That's my dream, I hope I have a big and beautiful house near a beach in San Francisco.

Today

Today is a nice day.
Today is a lovely day.
Everything is beautiful today.

My Life

Hi, my name is Betty, I came from south of China. Now, I live in San Francisco, it is a beautiful city, I really like living here.