Anthologies Fall 2018 - English Language Institute - College of Staten Island

English Language Institute Reflections AN ANTHOLOGY

College of Staten Island Center for Global Engagement FALL 2018

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English Language Institute Reflections: An Anthology Reflections is a collection of writings by the students of The English Language Institute ELI Faculty Drew Bostinto David Bridston Gail Hernandez Thomas Speirs English Language Institute College of Staten Island City University of New York 2800 Victory Boulevard Building 2A, Room 206 Staten Island, New York, 10314 Email: elistudy@csi.cuny.edu Website: www csi.cuny.edu/international facebook.com/englishinnewyork

** Please note that these student writings do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of The English Language Institute and the College of Staten Island.

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INDEX Center for Global Engagement English Language Institute Introduction 1. My Trip to Georgia 2. The Japanese School System 3. My Life in the Hospital 4. My Parenting Experience in NYC 5. My Experience in New York 6. Jordan-Saudi Arabia 7. A Special Day 8. My Family’s Weekend Trips 9. My First Time in New York 10. My Experience Working in the Peruvian Jungle 11. My Experience in New York 12. Kobe: Tourist Sights and Festival 13. Birth of the Child Jesus 14. My First Day in Manhattan 15. Day of the Dead celebration 16. My experiences at CSI and in New York City 17. Television: Such a Bad Babysitter 18. A wonderful Christmas gift 19. Celebrating Culture Day at ELI 20. First Snow, First Storm 21. The First Snowfall 22. A rainy day 23. A Surprising Christmas Gift 24. First Snow 25. My birthday 26. New York Experience 27. The Billion Dollar Candy 28. Difficult Decision 29. The casting call…

30. It was a Wonderful Christmas 31. Pressures in life 32. First Experience in New York 33. My Life in New York 34. I enjoyed the best meal I had even eaten in my life…

35. Vacation in India 36. My experience in New York 37. America’s Snow

Page 5 6 7 8 10 12 13 15 17 19 20 21 22 24 26 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 36 38 39 41 43 44 46 48 49 51 54 57 59 60 62 63 65 67

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Center for Global Engagement The overarching thrust of the Center and its activities is to be the driving force behind infusing the campus with ideas and activities that support comprehensive internationalization. The broad goals set forth below are designed to enhance comprehensive internationalization on the campus: 

Offer unique programming for students, faculty, staff, and the local community that serves the diverse needs of the broad spectrum of constituencies interested in international education, ideas, themes, and activities.

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Expand the international outreach of the College including new opportunities for joint research and scholarship through cooperative partnerships and programming at home and abroad.

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Infuse the curriculum with global learning so that all students are presented with opportunities that promote global-mindedness, cultural diversity, and international understanding.

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Position the College of Staten Island as a premier destination for international students and scholars though rigorous academic offerings, innovative programming, and welcoming policies.

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Encourage the participation in international educational opportunities and intercultural programming woven throughout the curriculum.

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English Language Institute The English Language Institute (ELI) offers an exciting and innovative academic program for students learning English as a second language. Our course of study is designed to challenge and engage students. Students are immersed in the language, culture, and the ethnicity of New York City.

At the English Language Institute, we understand that learning English can be a difficult task. Our experienced and dedicated instructors prepare and guide students through an amazing journey. With patience and compassion, instructors encourage students to reach their goals and attain academic excellence.

Students in our program are entitled to use all the facilities available on campus such as the pool, tennis, basketball, racquetball courts, and fitness center. Students can also attend any lectures or workshops they feel would enhance their own learning experience.

The English Language Institute (ELI) at the College of Staten Island offers programs in English and cultural orientation to international students, professional and business people, visitors, and members of the local community.

ELI provides a supportive environment for language learning: small classes, individual attention, highly qualified faculty, and innovative teaching approaches help students acquire confidence and develop fluency and accuracy in English in an efficient and enjoyable way.

Through special focus classes, field trips, and visits to the unique cultural institutions of New York City, students receive an orientation to American culture and an introduction to the US system of higher education. Programs are offered at all levels of proficiency, from beginner to advanced. Courses are designed to address the needs of students who require English for academic, professional, or personal reasons.

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Introduction The following anthologies are entirely prepared by ELI students during the semester term they spend studying at the English Language Institute (ELI) at the College of Staten Island/CUNY. They prepare this academic work while having classes of grammar, reading and writing, communications, and TOEFL preparation workshops, with the supervision of their ELI teachers. Topics are chosen by ELI students and they reflect personal points of view of the topics selected and facts and information researched by them.

ELI students dedicate time to make the best articles and carefully prepare their essays in and outside class. All ELI students participate, from beginning to advanced level.

ELI wants to show their work considering their English level in order to become an academic tool for future English-learning students.

Most of all, ELI wants to show content related to topics students may have experienced while studying English in New York, an important topic in their home country, a current issue, or any other topic they decided to write about.

ELI is very proud of this academic work that represents the outcomes of each student, who not only learns English as a language but also is capable of expressing meaningful content-based language.

Enjoy reading the anthologies!

English Language Institute College of Staten Island

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ELI student: Abdel Rahman Jamal Jordan ELI teacher: Thomas Speirs My Family Trip to Georgia In 2017, my family and I went to Georgia. Not the Georgia in the United States, but the Georgia next to Russia. We departed from Dubai International Airport and arrived in Tbilisi, Georgia at 12 pm. We had arranged with some people to pick us up from the airport and take us to our hotel, but they never showed up. Even after we called them, they didn’t respond, so we felt stranded. As a result, my father got very angry, and we ended up taking a taxi to our hotel. Needless to say, our vacation got off to a bad start, but fortunately it got a lot better in the days to come.

When we arrived at the hotel, we checked in, and we all went to our rooms and rested a bit after a long trip. The following day, we got up at 10 am and went to breakfast. However, it was raining, and my father told us to wait until the rain stopped. The rain stopped at 4 pm, and then we went on a tour in Tbilisi, and while we were walking around the town, we met an Arabic family. They lived in Georgia, and they spoke Georgian. We invited them to dinner, and after we finished eating, they invited us to their farm, which was an hour drive from Tbilisi. After visiting their farm, we went back to our hotel at 9:00 at night and got ready for the trip for the next day.

We woke up at 9:00 in the morning, and our new friends met us at our hotel and took us to their farm. We arrived there at 11:00 and sat around their home and drank tea.

Afterwards, my father, brother and I went with our hosts to get some meat and chicken to roast. As my brother and I went into the woods to gather some firewood, we saw some reindeer only a few feet away from us. There were a lot of them. It was truly amazing! We then returned to the farm with our firewood and prepared our meal.

The weather was great for a barbeque. We lit the wood, spiced the chicken and the meat and put it all on the fire. We ate everything, and it was all delicious! Thanks to God! Then we made some shisha (hoka) and some tea. It was such a wonderful day. Afterwards, we returned to the hotel.

Even though our vacation started of badly, it ended up very well, and we stayed in Georgia for two weeks. Besides Tbilisi, we also went to several other cities in Georgia such as Batumi, Kutaisi, Gori, Burgumi and Zugdidi. They were all interesting. Of course there 8|Page English Language Institute – College of Staten Island

are many other cities in Georgia that we didn’t visit, so I will return one day and visit all of them because I LOVE Georgia. It’s a wonderful country.

World Atlas

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ELI student: Aiko Yamahana Japan ELI teacher: Thomas Speirs The Japanese School System In Japan, school starts in April and goes to March of the following calendar year. In addition, there are vacations three times a year, which last for several weeks. They are the summer vacation, from August to September, the winter vacation, from December to January, and the spring vacation from March to April. The summer vacation is the longest of the three. However, we have to do a lot of homework assignments during that time.

This is very hard because we don’t have much free time to enjoy ourselves. We often need to do a lot of reading and writing assignments, study our textbooks, do artwork, and so on.

In addition, elementary school students have free study, in which they find out what their interests are. I remember I was interested in learning about the cities of Japan. After doing some research on the topic, I made a presentation in my class.

We have a compulsory education, and students must stay in school until they are at least 15 years old. However, most students finish high school. Students normally start school at six years old, in which they begin primary school. We also have after school activities. After our classes during the day, we usually join a club like the swimming club, baseball club, music club and others. I was a member of the music club. I played the clarinet. My club practiced music every day except on Sunday, and we played at festivals in front of audiences. Practicing music every day was very hard, but after the festivals, I was always happy that I played.

Next, students stay together as a cohort in one classroom during the day; each cohort is composed of thirty to forty students. Their teachers from each subject will come to their class and then leave at the end of the period, and then the next teacher will enter. The normal subjects we take are Japanese, math, science, English, social studies, art and music.

We also take physical education, but in this case, we go to the gym or the sports field outside. I liked English and science when I was a student. My friends and I often got together and studied after class.

During lunchtime, we ate at the school’s cafeteria. We didn’t have to bring lunch to because the school provided our meals, so the students ate the same food. I remember that 10 | P a g e English Language Institute – College of Staten Island

there were always conflicts in the cafeteria when the popular food was served, so students would do rock-paper-scissors to see who would get the biggest portion. I liked the frozen orange and fried bun coated with roasted soybean powder. Then the cafeteria responsibilities of preparing the dining hall and cleaning up afterwards, called “kyushokugakari,” were assigned to each group of students. I didn’t really like being assigned to kyushoku-gakari very much, but I liked going to lunch every day because I could talk with my friends during our lunch break time.

All in all I enjoyed my school life, so I want to be an English teacher when I graduate.

Therefore, I will work hard everyday to improve my English.

Getty Images/urbancow

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ELI student: Basmah Abdulhamid Algabyali Yemen ELI teacher: Thomas Speirs

My Life in the Hospital I graduated from the College of Medicine in Yemen 2016. From this time my life in the hospital started.

Starting as a trained physician (Intern), I took responsibility for patients. I woke up early every morning to check on the condition of my patients, which I left the day before in the hope that their health had improved. I would come in the morning to see my patients and write details of their condition and then discuss those details with the specialist doctor. This was mostly my daily routine, and I saw some patients getting better and others not. I also saw patients who were suffering and others who were dying. It was always difficult to see suffering, but as a professional I had to deal with it for the sake of the patients.

During those days I lived in the hospital. I used to sleep on a chair instead of my warm bed at home. I replaced my mother's food with some biscuits and spent the night with the patients, or I might be in the operating room. I saw a lot of things that seemed strange to me; every day I would see new cases of illness and injury - including victims of accidents, psychiatric patients and addicts, and those who suffered with chronic diseases such as cancer patients, patients with kidney failure and patients with heart disease.

The year passed and everything seemed both sweet and painful as the science of life studies and medicine improved. However, I then decided to come to the United States to develop my career. I packed my bags, called my mother and friends to say goodbye and then came to New York.

This process hasn't been without its share of doubts and difficulties, but I feel that the benefits that I receive here will be worth it. I hope someday that I will be able to go back to my country and contribute to the health and social system there through the knowledge and experience that I've gained here.

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ELI student: Fangxin Li China ELI teacher: Thomas Speirs

My Parenting Experience in NYC Four years ago, my family came to NY. At that time, my daughter was only eight months old. Right now she is in Kindergarten. In the past four years, a lot of interesting things have happened. As a result, I have had an unforgettable parenting experience.

When I was in China, it seemed to me that both parents and kids are under very high pressure because of the educational system. For example, in order to get a child admitted to a good school, we have to buy an apartment in a good school zone. In Beijing, in the Haidian district, the price of those school zone apartments is around $2,3000 per square meter. A one-bedroom apartment is about $1,610,000. Most of my friends who have kids chose to buy such an apartment in a good school zone even before the birth of their baby.

When I came to NYC, I realized that there is also a school zone. My friend moved from NJ to uptown Manhattan, as she wanted her son to have the opportunity to apply to Hunter primary school. As my husband is a student, we only have his scholarship as income, so we cannot move to Manhattan. Therefore, of course my daughter doesn’t have the chance to apply to Hunter primary school; however, we chose a good school zone on Staten Island.

Now my daughter has a wonderful schooling experience.

On Staten Island, it was not easy to find playmates for my daughter in the beginning because people live far away from each other, and the wintertime is long, so having her get together with playmates year-round is difficult. Playing with similar aged kids is very important as kids can learn from peers during the playing process. This is also extremely useful for the language development and social skills development. Before my daughter went to school, it was not so easy to find playmates for her. However, now we can actively participate in all kinds of parent- kids activities. Fortunately, I have helped my daughter find several long-term friends.

Sometimes, I tell my daughter I didn’t get my education here, so we should work together on her schoolwork so that we can both benefit. One day she asked me to wear “star clothes” to school, so I prepared an outfit with stars on it. Finally, when I picked her up, I found out that it should have been Star WARS related clothes. I guess she didn’t know about Star Wars. So how to handle cultural differences is also part of my parenting experience.

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This is my parenting experience with pressure sometimes, but what I have most is happiness. I love growing together with my daughter in a new country. I hope we can do even better in the future.

NY Metro Parents

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ELI student: Erika Galindo Peru ELI teacher: Thomas Speirs

My experience in New York My first time in New York was as a tourist three years ago. I remember I was walking around Manhattan, and I took a city tour where I had the chance to see museums, a lot of buildings and people from everywhere. I noticed that New York was a very cosmopolitan city since people from all over the globe come just to see the city’s attractions, but I also noticed there were a lot of important companies where I could work. I told my husbanded that I wanted to live in this city because it was amazing and had a lot of work and study opportunities. And that’s how our adventure started in New York.

Now, I’m studying English at the English Language Institute of CSI. I like the classes because the teachers are friendly and helpful. Studying at the ELI has allowed me meet other people from several countries with different languages. My goal is to improve my English and apply for a master’s degree next year. I’m not good at languages, but I know that I need English as it is an important tool if I want to reach my personal, academic, and professional goals. I have seen a major improvement since I started my English classes. Now I understand more when people speak on the streets, when I listen to music, or when I watch a movie in English. I felt scared at the beginning, but then I saw that my classmates were on the same path.

Part of my experience in New York has been to observe the diverse cultures. I’m learning new things from my classmates who come from different countries and many types of cultures. I’m not used to being around friends from completely different cultures, but I have enjoyed learning from them. For example, I learned about the Ramadan from my Jordanian friends and a little of Portuguese from my Brazilian classmate. In addition to meeting people from different parts of the world, the architecture of New York is amazing, and I think that’s part of the New York-American culture of being huge. Things in America and New York are big. Seeing so many skyscrapers all clustered together has impressed me because in my country, there are none. No wonder New York is called “The Big Apple.”

Another experience I’ve had is with the food. I’m still trying to get used to the food here because it is not as tasty as the food in my country. I even have the same problem when I go to a Peruvian restaurant in New York. My food is very diverse, and we can have many 15 | P a g e English Language Institute – College of Staten Island

options for each meal, and there are many ingredients that I may not be able to find here.

Sometimes I don’t find fresh fish, and the taste is not pleasant for some Peruvian dishes. In Staten Island for example, there are only two Peruvian restaurants, and some dishes do not have the same taste as in Peru.

Altogether I’ve had a lot of good experiences and some not so good, but ultimately, I hope that by learning English here at the English Language Institute of the College of Staten Island, I may be able to have more and better experiences in order to find more opportunities in this country. I’m sure I will adapt myself by traveling and visiting tourist attractions, trying new food, studying for a master’s degree and enjoying my time here.

Finally, even though I will always miss my family and food, I know I will have a better life here.

Pixabay

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ELI student: Hamza Omar Haimour Jordan ELI teacher: Thomas Speirs Jordan-Saudi Arabia When I was 18 years old, I was living and going to school in Saudi Arabia. In my free time, I used to go into the desert with my friends. We were usually a group of 12 people. We used to go by car, and the drive into the desert could take up to three hours. When we reached our destination, we would collect firewood, make a fire and brew Arabica coffee and tea. After having refreshments, we would ride camels through the sand dunes and explore the surrounding area. The sand dunes went on forever and the sky was blue and gigantic, and during the daytime the desert would get very hot, but as the evening set in, the temperature cooled down considerably.

After returning to our campsite at the end of the day, we would sit down and talk and joke and laugh. Then we would cook our dinner – usually a meat dish called “kabsah” with rice and satisfy our hungry stomachs. When we finished eating we would clean up and sit around the fire telling stories or singing songs until at last we would fall asleep under the stars.

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ELI student: Hellen Joyce Moreira Lemos Boaventura de Miranda Brazil ELI teacher: Thomas Speirs

A Special Day I remember my wedding day; it was a very special day, and everything was beautiful.

We were married on July 2, 2018, in the city of Anapolis- Brazil. The church was crowded with more than 700 people, all standing and waiting for my entrance. When I entered, my husband started to cry. It was magic that moment.

We were so young and in love. We were waiting and arranging that moment for months, and thank God, it was all wonderful. Ah! It was not possible to contain the emotion and joy. When the pastor said you are now, married, it seemed like dream.

We have been married for seven years now and are so happy together. We live in very good times and have a special life. The secret is that we love and respect each other.

Blog Segundo Oficial de Registro de Imoveis de Ribeirao Preto

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ELI student: Homero Gomez Colombia ELI teacher: Thomas Speirs

My Family’s Weekend Trips When I was in Bogota, I found different places to spend time with my family on the weekend. We liked to visit natural parks and spend the day hiking along trails, going fishing and enjoying nature. I used to plan our trips in my office during the week, and after work on Friday, my family and I would drive about 3 hours and go to the park. The place we would mostly visit was a park called Jericho. While we were on the road, we used to play word games, and we would also practice nursery rhymes.

On Saturday morning we would go hiking along the trails and see different kinds of animals and plants such as birds, horses, cows, goats, beautiful flowers and fruit trees. Then we would often go fishing. Jerico had two small lakes where we would catch fish known as “Trucha Arcoiris.” After fishing, we would stop in a restaurant and have lunch. The fish that we caught, we would always carry to the restaurant where they would be cooked. After we ate our lunch, we would hike along other mountain trails again or ride horses up through the mountain. It was wonderful.

At the end of the day when sunset came, we would find some place to have dessert with a hot drink before beginning the three-hour trip back home and ending our wonderful weekend “getaway.”

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ELI student: Katia Morales Peru ELI teacher: Thomas Speirs

My First Time in New York It was February 11, 2014, and I had just arrived in New York for the first time! On that trip, I stayed here for 15 days. My childhood dreams of coming to New York had finally come true because when I was a child, I had always dreamed of visiting New York.

However, at that time it was almost impossible for my family, so I just had to wait. In the meantime, I watched many movies from here, and I said to myself that one day I would be here, walking in Manhattan, meeting different people, having new adventures and learning English.

Many years later, I made my dreams come true. I was able to get my visa here, and I could visit my cousin that I hadn't seen for 10 years. Finally, I arrived at JFK, in New York. It was winter, and it was the first time in my life that I had ever seen snow and different kinds of houses and buildings. New York was really a big city, with gigantic buildings – skyscrapers – and a lot of people walking in the street. Everything here was new. I had never even taken a subway ride because we don’t have subways in my country, Peru.

I visited many places with my beautiful and wonderful cousin. We went to Central Park and several museums and even took in a few shows. She gave me this opportunity of knowing New York, and while I was walking in Central Park one day, I thought that I would like to stay here and know the different kinds of people from around the world since in New York you can find people from all the different countries of the world. It’s really an amazing place. Unfortunately, however, at that time I could only stay for a few weeks because I had to go back to Peru and continue working.

However, when I left New York after that first trip here almost five years ago, I made a promise to myself that I would someday return and stay longer to study English. Now I’m fulfilling my promise to myself and studying here at the College of Staten Island. So far it has been a great experience, and I’m very happy.

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ELI student: Marcia Aguirre Peru ELI teacher: Thomas Speirs

My Experience Working in the Peruvian Jungle I remember when I was assigned to work in the Jungle in Peru. It was for a Hydroelectric Project that lasted six months, and in those six months we had to live in an indigenous community. This was very difficult for me as I had always worked in Lima (the capital of Peru) and had all the comforts of home.

Getting to the location was a long and difficult trip. It took one hour by flight, 6 hours on a road that was in poor condition, so it was very bumpy, and then 2 more hours by boat. I was exhausted when I arrived. I couldn’t sleep the first night, and I couldn’t eat either because I was afraid of getting sick.

The next day we all had to leave very early because the walk through the jungle was about 3 hours. The weather was extremely hot and humid, and the presence of unrelenting mosquitoes were only some challenging factors to contend with in the tropical rain forest.

On the way we saw different kinds of trees, plants and animals. I had told our guide that I was feeling lucky, and our group was going to see at least one of the majestic creatures that inhabited the area as there are over 1,800 species of birds, 500 mammals and 300 reptiles, plentiful amphibians and countless insects, including an estimated 450 species of colourful butterflies. However, the most dangerous species are the anacondas, jaguars and tigers. He chuckled and told me that in all his time working in the jungle, he had never seen any of these creatures. The interesting fact he told me was that sometimes even villagers of the área go a whole lifetime without seeing any of these creatures.

We worked from Monday to Saturday, and on Sunday, we used to go to a nearby place to relax and enjoy ourselves.

After spending six months in the jungle we were about to go back to Lima without seeing any of the "large and dangerous creatures" that live there. However, on the last day, as we were packing our bags to go home, a jaguar walked through our village, looked around and then headed back into the jungle. It was magical moment that I'll never forget.

Thinking back on my adventure, I’ve decided there are three things you have to come to terms with when living in the Jungle (aside from heat and humidity): 22 | P a g e English Language Institute – College of Staten Island

1. - Things are going to poke you.

2. - Things are going to bite you.

3. - Your feet will never ever be clean.

However, it’s all part of the experience I think that you get working outside of your natural environment, and that is a different perspective about life.

Promperu

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ELI student: Misbah Kousar Pakistan ELI teacher: Thomas Speirs

My Experience in New York Living in a place different than home can be difficult, and living in a different country, no matter for how long, is a completely new world. However, coming to a new country can be exciting and educational, and it can also provide many opportunities. I enjoyed my trip from Pakistan to the United States even though the flight was long. On the way coming to the US, we had a stop in Doha, Qatar, so I was able to see a new city, and at the end of my trip, I arrived in New York, USA. Here in New York, I have experienced new things and met new people from other cultures.

Now I am studying English at the College of Staten Island NY along with students from many different countries. It’s interesting talking with them and learning about their countries and cultures. I am enjoying the atmosphere of the college very much. I like meeting the people of this town and the students at the college. It’s a new experience for me to be able to interact with the people here such as saying “Hello” in the morning, the afternoon and the evening and smiling at them whether I know them or not. This is not common where I come from.

One of the funny things that happened to me was that on the first day of college, I got lost and it was all because the campus is large, and I didn’t know the right path to take to get to class. I ended up in the middle of nowhere asking students for directions to get to building 5S. Finally someone gave me the correct directions, and I was able to find my class.

One of the interesting experiences I have had was when I took the ferry ride with my classmates while we were on our field trip to the Museum of American Indians in Manhattan. On the way from Staten Island to Manhattan, they showed me the Statue of Liberty, which I had only seen in movies and pictures, and it was the first time I saw it up close, so I was so happy to see it. Then they showed me the bridges that connect some of the boroughs to each other like the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge. Then we arrived in Manhattan. After getting off the ferry I enjoyed exploring the city a lot. Some of the places we visited were the Museum of American Indians, Wall Street, The World Trade Center and Little Italy. It was also an amazing experience to travel in the subway. All of these 24 | P a g e English Language Institute – College of Staten Island

things that I enjoyed a lot may be very small and common events for New Yorkers, but for me this trip has had so much value.

Maybe the most important part of being in New York for me is the freedom that exists here. I am from a village where people spread bad rumors about the character of a girl if she goes out alone from home, even to go to work or study, or if a girl uses a laptop or a smartphone for her educational purpose. People talk about this and say that she is not a good girl, and something is wrong with her. In addition, people will also gossip about the parents if they are sending their girls to school for a good education and say they are unsuitable parents. It’s very difficult to live under these conditions. It’s such a relief to be here and not have to deal with these issues.

Finally, I hope all of my classmates will have new and useful experiences for themselves through their coming to the United States and receive the opportunities that they are looking for.

USA Today

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ELI student: Reo Miyaura Japan ELI teacher: Thomas Speirs

Kobe: Tourist Sights and Festival Kobe is a pretty town filled with a cosmopolitan atmosphere. Kobe is well known for its Kobe Beef, which is as famous as Back Angus and Filet Mignon and served in restaurants throughout the world.

Kobe is a great place for tourists to visit, if you go there, you can take a train at the Sannomiya Station and walk through Chinatown and visit its teahouses, restaurants and shops and then arrive at Motomachi where you can hop on the little sightseeing bus. You get off the bus at Kitano Jingai to see the old and well-preserved foreign consulate buildings or sit in one of the several cute cafés. You will see nice little souvenir shops and ethnic restaurants such as Italian and Brazilian. The view from the hilltop is also very nice. The little sightseeing bus will take you to all these places. The building of Kazamidori is a historic building in Kobe. It is a Western pavilion that was built as a German trader's house in 1904.

It has a brick-like appearance, and there is a Kazamidori – a weather vane - on the roof. The appearance incorporates Western style with traditional Japanese. However, there is ingenuity in the details of the hall depending on the climate and culture of Japan. For example, you can see windows like sliding doors that slide horizontally instead of back and forth. It is called the former Thomas House from the name of the original resident.

The Kobe Municipal Nunobiki Herb Garden is a botanical garden where you can enjoy the flowers and herbs of the four seasons. It is a garden in which you can really relax and ride the ropeway lift going up to the top of the mountain while being wrapped in the scent of herbs as you look over the cityscape of Kobe.

"Kobe Harbor Land" made the most of the goodness of the seaside town Kobe. It is a very popular area as a place where you can take pictures with the sea background and beautiful and stylish pictures with port towers and monuments as a background.

Kobe is blessed with mountains and the sea; you can see the night view shining like a jewel. Among them, the night views from Mt. Rokko and Maya are breathtaking beauties, and you can enjoy the light spreading in the curves and the silhouette of the bay. The night

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view of Kobe was certified as "Japan's New Three Major Night Scenes" in 2015 from its beauty.

Kobe is also famous for the Danjiri Festival. The duration of the festival changes depending on the area, but in Kobe it will be held for about a week. During the festival, we wear special costumes called happi coats. A happi coat is a traditional Japanese piece of clothing often worn during festivals. It's a loose fitting coat that is sometimes worn with an "obi" belt. Every year in May, the Danjiri of each district runs bravely through the streets as the city overflows with festival lovers. In the Kansai or West Japan, it is a festival in which people set up decorations on a wheeled cart. The decorations include models of people, plants, birds and beasts. It is drawn through the streets at the head of the parade. A Mikoshi - a portable shrine and “Carriage for the Gods,” - can also be found at this event. At festivals, Japanese people gather around the Mikoshi and carry it on their shoulders in order to worship the gods. In addition, it is a festival praying for infectious diseases not to be prevalent, and the richness and appreciation of the five grains of agriculture and fishery.

While carrying the Mikoshi, the carriers often yell "Wasshoi, Wasshoi."

With all of these wonderful sights and activities, Kobe is a great place for tourists to visit, so I welcome everyone to come to my hometown, Kobe, and enjoy a great holiday.

Azamara Club Cruises

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ELI student: Rocio Villalobos Guatemala ELI teacher: David Bridston

Birth of the Child Jesus When I was child in Guatemala my mother, my brothers and I used to take part in Christmas activities, which started during the second week of December. We reenacted the Birth of the Child Jesus by going from house to the house in my neighborhood and asking to share an inn with the Child Jesus.

In my hometown we all celebrated those 12 days until December 24, which is the birth of the Child Jesus, and we used to have a big party. We celebrated with piĂąatas, fruit punch, tamales and gifts to welcome the Child Jesus. We did this every year while I was living in Guatemala.

Today my children, friends and I continue this tradition of our culture here in New York.

I believe that no matter where you are the important thing is to always know where you come from, and what you can get when you have a lot of faith.

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ELI student: Carolina Hernandez Mexico ELI teacher: Drew Bostinto My First Day in Manhattan I remember when I arrived in New York City on the night of November 11. When I got home, I met my homestay and went to sleep early because the next day I had to go to CSI (The College of Staten Island).

On November 12, I had some activities at school that were a lot of fun, but I´ll never forget the first time that I went to Manhattan. This day, my friends and I took the bus to the St. George terminal. I was so excited because I´ve never traveled to the USA, especially New York City, so visiting Manhattan was a dream for me. I can’t believe that I was so close to experiencing the most iconic city, New York.

We took the ferry and I remembered my first impression of the station. It was so big and I’d never imagined it that way.

When we were on the ferry, my friends and I went outside on the deck. Although it was windy and cold, we took so many pictures.

My first view of Manhattan was beautiful. In front of me were high buildings and lots of people. We ran to the subway because we had already wanted to visit Times Square. We were crazy with emotion.

Everything was perfect.

We arrived at 42nd Street and we walked a little to arrive at Times Square. Everything was a dream come true. It was so amazing and I was surprised by the lights, the buildings and the publicity (I studied marketing and I love good publicity).

New York was an incomparable experience. I loved this trip and I would like to continue studying here, at CSI, the best College in New York City.

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ELI student: Estefany Balderas Nanco Mexico ELI teacher: Drew Bostinto Day of the Dead celebration Talking about death for some people may cause fear, but in Mexico we have a celebration in which we honor our dear relatives who have died. This celebration is called Day of the Dead. Although the great majority of Mexicans celebrate this tradition, not all of us do it in the same way.

In Chilchotla, a small town of which I am originally from, we start celebrating Day of the Dead a week before and go to the market to buy the things that we will use to make the altar such as baskets, a variety of fruit, candles and flowers like CempasĂşchil (marigold) and red velvet celosia seeds.

In my town, the celebration lasts 4 days starting on November 30th. This day is dedicated to children who have died without being baptized, and different types of toys are usually placed in the offering. On November 31st, this day is dedicated to people who died in an accident or in a tragic way. October 1st is dedicated to people who died of natural causes.

This is when my grandmother usually cooks mole with chicken and rice. We also cook tamales of different flavors and a hot atole, to put in the offering. We also put fruit like tangerines, bananas, oranges, apples and guavas.as well as bread of the dead and candles.

On October 2nd we collect the offering and take the flowers to the cemetery to decorate the tombs. The fruit and food that is placed on the altar is shared with all the relatives or the people who visit our house. It is a tradition that the children leave their house to go to other houses and sing typical songs and receive fruits, food or money.

This is a beautiful Mexican tradition in which we remember our relatives who have died.

We have the belief that they return to this world to be able to enjoy the foods they used to taste when they lived.

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ELI student: Maria del Mar Castillo Spain ELI teacher: Drew Bostinto

My experiences at CSI and in New York City My experiences at CSI and in New York City have been fantastic! I remember the first trip with my classmates when we went to Manhattan to visit the National Museum of the American Indian. After that, we went for lunch and visited other places in downtown Manhattan such as the September 11th Memorial and Trinity Church. My favorite moment, however, was when we went to a bar in Little Italy where everybody sang “Happy Birthday”. I was really happy this day, and I will never forget it. I have been learning more English now and I have a lot of friends from different places.

I like learning about differents cultures, trying

different foods and knowing different people with different ideas. I love my class and my new friends!

Smithsonian Institution

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ELI student: Alexander Rosado Dominican Republic ELI teacher: Drew Bostinto Television: Such a Bad Babysitter In our generation today, television makes an important impact on those who enjoy the wide variety of entertainment that it offers. And the fact is that we can find so many different options for pretty much every type of audience. Children are included among this group. As someone that grew up watching TV, I’m aware of the need of being very careful about the messages that our little ones are getting from it. That’s the reason why parents should supervise what their children watch on TV. It is well known that television exposes kids to violence, therefore even if they are living in a peaceful environment, they could still be learning unwanted behaviors. I remember when I was in 6th grade, I had a neighbor about my age that was fascinated with weapons. He sometimes would also get very violent with me and other friends. His parents got a lot of complaints from teachers and other parents that were concerned about the safety of their children when around this kid. And when he was taken to a therapist after hitting my next door neighbor with a stone, his mother was in shock to find out that her son’s behavior was indeed directly related to the unsupervised TV he used to watch.

Children also tend to imitate what they watch on television, like Gary Soto describes in his narrative story Looking for Work, ‘‘for weeks I had drunk Koo-Aid and watched morning reruns of Father Knows Best, whose family was so uncomplicated in its routine that I very much wanted to imitate it ‘’( Soto 22). By this time Gary was only nine years old, and he already wanted to imitate a fake family from a TV show he watched. Like my violent friend from childhood, Gary also didn’t have his parents monitoring and explaining to him the misinformation he was receiving, therefore he got so immersed into in that fake world that it affected his own reality.

It is very important to be aware of the type of programs that children watch on television when they are left alone. It only takes a few minutes to find out if a certain content is appropriate or not for a child. This way we would be ensuring that our kids are not being exposed to unwanted behaviors and wrong ways of learning.

References Soto, Gary. “looking for Work.” Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing.

Ed. Columbo, Cullen, & Lisle .10th ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2016. 19-24.

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ELI student: Alondra Lopez Mexico ELI teacher: Drew Bostinto A wonderful Christmas gift Last year when I was 18 years old, my family decide to do a Christmas exchange because we haven’t done one for a long time and we needed to spend more time together. So, two weeks before we met at dinner to know who we were going to give a gift and we made a dynamic with pieces of paper and each one took one. We agreed that it would be a secret the person to whom we would give the gift but over time we knew who would give us the gift, unfortunately that person for me was my 62-year-old grandma and since the moment I knew I was very nervous cause she is so bad giving presents and also she have always been terrible to know what the other ones like.

As the days passed I became increasingly anxious to know what she had decided to give me but I really tried to not to think about it.

And then the day arrived. I remember that we were all together in home eating tamales and hot chocolate enjoying and laughing and two hours ago we moved to the living room for the exchange. We were all sitting in the living room which was very warm and still smelled like chocolate, also we all wore our respective pajamas. Everyone got up to give themselves the gift and a hug, as a matter of fact I bought a book for my aunt and she was pretty happy with the election I made for her but then it was my turn to receive my present but in that moment I felt very nervous that I even felt my cheeks turn red. My grandma got up from that old chair and I remember her smile of satisfaction cause even than the bag was horrible she knew that I was really going to love her, and that’s how it was. When I opened that bag inside was the complete discography of my favorite band that I had been looking for at least four years. We were all surprised but especially me because no one expected that she would do that but anyway I was so happy. Since that day I decided to trust her every time because she gave me the best Christmas present.

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ELI student: Anoushka Sefu Pala Gabon ELI teacher: Drew Bostinto Celebrating Culture Day at ELI Culture Day Culture Day is a special day that the ELI language school dedicates to its students from around the world. Indeed, during this day, students must present their culture in to their classmates, faculty members, and some guests. Since the beginning of the semester, our teachers have informed us about this event. I immediately express the desire to present my culture to others through a traditional dance specific to my tribe. I was very excited to dance, especially since I thought that this ceremony would take place with people I was already used to. I was ready since dancing is one of my favorite hobbies. Once the day of the ceremony arrived, I was amazed by the eagerness and excitement that were on the faces of my classmates, such as Nicole that was wearing a typical Dominican outfit and could not stop dancing, or Ivan that who was so captivated by the scents coming from the different dishes could not stop looking behind him. The outfits were all bright and original but the dishes that were brought stole the show. That day I wore a traditional Gabonese outfit that I had to modify a bit due to weather conditions (it's November). I was dressed in green, yellow and blue, which are the colors of the Gabonese flag. My outfit was composed of a raffia skirt, a golden crown and a pair of wings made of colorful feathers. We had to go through the alphabetical order of our respective countries to start our presentation. I was among the first people to pass. I couldn't stop admiring my classmate Sahar who was dressed in a traditional Afghan outfit while counting the seconds that separated me from my turn when I heard Elisabeth my classmate announcing that I was going to go to the podium because the group of Colombian students were not ready therefore I had to perform now. It took me by surprise and it destabilized me ... I certainly did not let it show but I was terrified when I got into the podium; I had forgotten my choreography but once I heard the music I danced without thinking. I let myself carried away by the melody. Honestly, I have no memories of my dance steps. I remember I had fun and I received positive comments from my classmates. This day was special because I saw my classmates from another angle; indeed for 5 min, all were ambassadors of our countries, each in their own way made us travel through their presentations highlighted by pictures, traditional outfits or even music from their hometown. The best part was the meal full of exotic dishes such as knafett , basbousa 34 | P a g e English Language Institute – College of Staten Island

from Jordan, empanadas , African donuts and various different others dishes that we share together on the second floor.

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ELI student: Cesar Ricardo Angeles Castro Mexico ELI teacher: Drew Bostinto

First Snow, First Storm Coming to the United States I was nervous, but then my host family gave me a warm welcome when they picked me from the college. Everything was new for me during that first cold night. Even the weather was new for me because Mexico is not as frozen as here. I arrived to my host home and they treated me very well, they gave me a bedroom, some clothes for the cold and a delicious dinner. After a while, my host “brother” showed me the neighborhood and the local stores, during that I was freezing and I realized that I could get a cold, so we came back.

So, it was my first week in New York, the classes were going very pleasant, my new classmates were really kind and funny, I felt comfortable with my classroom. My first Thursday in New York I woke up early in the morning, I ate cereal, scrambled eggs, and drank hot tea. I was ready to go to college and my host “mom” stopped and said to me “It might snow, so you should wear boots not sneakers”. I wore sneakers anyway because I thought it wasn’t going to snow that bad and I would arrive early back home, I was surely mistaken.

I was in Drew’s class when it started to snow a little bit, everyone was talking about it since the morning because they watched it in the weather news, I didn’t watch them. I was excited, Nour was excited, Isabel was excited, Marc was excited, I mean the whole class was excited even if they had already seen snow once, because the snow is too astonishing, beautiful and pure, but cold.

We finished the classes and we went outside quickly, the snow was all over the college, it looked incredible. We started to take some photos and throw some snowballs, everyone was smiling and laughing, it seemed like a good day.

After that, we took the shuttle bus to the ferry, we were on the bus for almost 2 hours from the college to the ferry, and traffic was terrible. I wanted to go home, because I was tired and it was just too dark, but my friends wanted to go to buy a pair of snow boots, so I went with them, it was a bad idea now that I think of it.

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We took a train, but I didn’t even know where we were going, I was just following them.

We walked a few minutes and we found a T.J. Maxx and other stores, we bought some stuff but they didn’t have snow boots. We split up, a part went to look for a Priceless store and the other ones “went” to their houses. I was with the second part; it began to rain and snow a lot with breeze, I was freaking out, my feet were freezing and I started to feel a pain in my chest because of the cold, and the bus was not coming.

30 minutes later a person in the bus stop told us that they had canceled the bus service due to snow. We didn’t know what to do, we were anxious, but then a person heard us speaking Spanish and she offered to call a taxi for all of us, including her. She called the taxi and he picked us up and dropped us all at our houses, the service was really cheap by the way.

Finally, I came back to home, I get undressed and took a boiling shower, I was not feeling my feet. I went to bed and I just “died”.

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ELI student: Cinthia Itzel Pena Velazquez Mexico ELI teacher: Drew Bostinto The First Snowfall 12:50 pm. I was looking like my classmates through the classroom windows. Teacher Drew was talking, while most of us were desperate, shaking quickly our feet waiting to see the first snowflakes. 12:56 pm, my eyes shaped into two big bright circles when I saw small white stuff falling down from the sky. When the class finally finished I put my stuff in my backpack and put on my coat, scarf and gloves as fast as I could. After that, my two friends and I walked quickly out the classroom and when we opened the door out the building I felt the cold wind in my face, everything was white, the grass, trees, cars, benches, all I could see.

As I put my left foot down in the snow, my black sneakers filled with this white thing, so it began to get cold, and although I started to feel like little ants walking on my leg until I couldn’t feel it anymore, I walked through the snow as I could. My red scarf was getting white and frozen, I was feeling many cold drops sliding from my head to my face, and I was feeling chills under my blouse, however, I took out my cellphone and started to take pictures of the beautiful white view. Suddenly, something hit me very hard in my shoulder, I looked down and saw white particles in my black coat meanwhile I was feeling the coldness through my clothes. My eyes started to look for the responsible until they stopped in a boy who was staring at me, laughing, making a new snowball. I stared back at him, and I bent down to sink my numb fingers in the snow, my accelerated breathing was hurting my dry red nose but I didn’t care, I had to avenge. Then abruptly, a big white ball of snow hit him in the face.

Everyone turned to him and shaped their mouths in a large O, afterwards he cleaned his serious face and looked to everybody silently. After a few seconds he started to laugh loudly and so did the other guys, next to that, they began to throw snowballs to everyone. I only smiled and with my frozen snowball in hand, I finally decided to have fun and really enjoy the coldness of snow.

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ELI student: Eduardo De Jesus Carrillo Mexico ELI teacher: Drew Bostinto A rainy day Daniel, a 17-year-old kid from New York, woke up and went to the kitchen where his mother had already made him breakfast. The TV was on and his mother was watching the weather forecast. It was going to rain that day. She asked him to wear a good jacket, gloves, a hat, waterproof boots and to carry an umbrella so that he wouldn’t get wet or sick, but he didn’t pay attention to her.

Daniel left home without any of the things his mother asked him to carry and the day passed quickly. It was 3:00 pm, he was out of school and there was no sign that it was going to rain, so instead of going home, he decided to go to the comic book store so that he could buy the new Spiderman number. When Daniel got to the store, he lost track of time and suddenly it was 6:00 pm. He decided to leave the store but oh surprise… it started to rain!

In order to go home he had to take a 25-minute bus and then walk for around 5 minutes, so he went straight to the bus stop which was full of people. Daniel could barely stand in a small area but he couldn’t protect himself from the rain. His hair started to get wet, his jacket started ho get wet and because of his tiny shoes also his feet started to get wet. He was losing patience, so he checked his phone and he discovered the bad news… the bus wasn’t going to come for another hour.

So Daniel started to think, and since he knew a shortcut to his house he decided to walk home, if only he knew…

Daniel started to walk, and every minute the rain became more intense, even though it was cold and it was raining he started to sweat. Daniel’s shoes weren’t waterproof so by that time his feet were so wet they started to hurt. He was a mess and he was in pain but he decided to continue walking anyway.

30 minutes passed and he needed to get some rest. He tried to check his phone but because of the rain it was also wet and not working. Another 10 sad, hurtful and long minutes passed and he was just one block away from home, but another problem came up.

There was a lot of mud in his street. Daniel tried to find a way to get to his house without crossing the mud but there was no other way.

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He had to go through the mud and then his jeans, the only piece of clothing that had survived the trip, were also ruined. After what was probably one of the most irritating hours of his life, Daniel arrived home. He cleaned himself in the yard as best as he could but there was no way to save his clothes, they were a mess, so he took off his boots and his socks, lowered his head and trying not to make noise, Daniel went ashamed to his room.

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ELI student: Elisabeth Loua Guinea ELI teacher: Drew Bostinto A Surprising Christmas Gift At the advent of Christmas, everybody is usually preoccupied about the type of gift they would get and give. While this may be an exciting feeling mainly for children, it is a whole other kind of feeling for a young adult who, furthermore, did not grow up in a culture in which Christmas gifts are a big thing.

Christmas in my family was never only centered on exchanging gifts, instead we give special value about spending time with family around a big buffet that would have all sort of delicious food that we have been craving for. I remember that last year, when Christmas was right around the corner, I was still living in Morocco. On one of the weekends when I usually get to spend more time talking with my family, I was called on the phone by my parents to be asked about the gift I wanted for Christmas. As unusual as this question may sound, I recall being silent for a couple of seconds as I was astonished about what I had just heard. My heart was beating faster than normal and I can recall that a big smile spread over my face. With all kind of ideas that were suddenly coming to my mind, I couldn’t decide as I was facing a big dilemma. Because I did not want them to notice my sudden awkward behavior, I then decided to contain my excitement and tell my parents with a big smile: “I will tell you tomorrow the gift I want for Christmas this year”. To be honest, I went straight online to have more inspirations and after a few minutes of browsing, I finally came across the best and most appealing gift for me at that time: A digital camera. It turned out Canon had just released their latest product on the market, the EOS R. This camera is a technological revolution in the field of photography. It has a full format of about 30.3 million pixels which guarantee an outstanding level of sharpness and many more impressive settings to spice up an intense story telling through photography. I jumped out of the bed and called my parents: “I want a digital camera” I told them as soon as they picked up the phone. “But why?” Said my father. I replicated that it was for a professional purpose in order to create better digital content for my blog. “How much is it?” Asked my mother. I started to feel guilty for not having chosen a reasonable and modest gift. I was scratching my head, biting my fingernails and even losing some of my words as I got nervous mulling over their reaction when I would them the price of the gift I have chosen. However, with 41 | P a g e English Language Institute – College of Staten Island

hesitation in the tone of my voice I whispered that the camera costs 1.500 dollars. At that moment, I was one hundred percent sure that they would immediately hang up on me due to the expensive cost of the gift. Instead, they said that they were going to think about it but still told me that the gift was super expensive. A glimmer of hope could be read on my face.

I took a deep breath and a puff of air came out of my mouth as a sigh of relief. I hang up with them thanking God for what had just happened.

Finally came the Christmas day, I couldn’t help but always keep an eye on the door for the postman and keep my phone very close to me at a hand reach because I was expecting a call from my parents so they can tell me what my gift was. The longer the wait, the bigger my anxiety would get. I jumped out of the sofa because the doorbell had just rung and I realized that I fell asleep in the middle of the living room. I ran to open the door and finally put an end to this long wait. Unfortunately, the postman had left but a small box was at my door step. As I got closer, I already knew that something was wrong as I saw the size of the box in which the gift was enveloped in. Anyway, I was in a rush to open the box to see what I had received.

With reluctance I opened the box.

I could feel my heart in my throat as it was fiercely beating, and with my eyes widely open I discovered that in the box, there was a flight ticket to Guinea, my home country with my name written on it. I screamed so loud that I think my neighbor might have cursed me that day.

In fact, I had not been in my country for four years and had not seen my family for about three years. What else could have been better? This was the best gift ever. I rushed to call my parents to thank them for making my whole year in advance. I felt very ashamed of myself for not having thought about this gift before suggesting a camera that might not have given me the same feeling. On top of that I bought a smaller digital camera few months later. It was not as performant as the one I had asked for but my heart was so full with gratitude and happiness that there was no place for any complaint. Clearly, the year 2018 was really nice to me and I felt it while I was still in 2017. For all these, I am forever grateful for my family and give them thanks for caring so much about me.

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ELI student: Xueyan Mi China ELI teacher: Drew Bostinto First Snow Yesterday I recalled the first snow in New York. Before that day, I felt so excited because it would be the first time I saw snow in here. At that day, I got up and went to school early. But when I checked the weather forecast for that day, it said that it wouldn’t snow until twelve o’clock. I told myself to be patient. After the morning class, I had lunch in the cafeteria with Elisabeth. She asked me, ‘Why are you always looking outside? ’‘I really want to see the first snow. ’ I answered sincerely. After lunch, I went outside, sat on a bench on the campus and looked up the sky expectantly. I was waiting for snow. But it still didn’t come.

It was time to have our communication class. It was half past twelve, and the forecast said it would snow at one o’clock. ‘Good things are always worth the wait. ’ I told myself. I deliberately sat by the window in class. During class, I always looked out of the window from time to time, and finally, it snowed.

The snow swirled from the sky, danced all over the place, gently fell on the ground.

Later the snowflakes flew from sky and pretty soon the entire campus into a silver on the pure world. The ground turned into a white carpet, trees worn a white clothes, and a cotton covered with houses. The dense snow came down from heaven to kiss the earth and everything was all covered with white. I couldn’t wait to go outside and closed my eyes to feel the sound of snow falling.

Finally, class was over, and I rushed out of the classroom. I felt great dizzy when I stood in the heavy snow. It fell on everyone’s body and we all looked like snowmen. This year’s first snow made everyone crazy and the next step was undoubtedly a snowball fight. In the snowball fight, when I was stricken by the coming snowballs in the face and neck, I felt considerably thrilled, though I felt terribly cold at the same time. Later we also took a lot of fantastic photos and short videos in the snow. I liked snowball fights but l preferred to make footprints in the snow, because I loved walking on the creak of the snow. That sound made me cozy.

During that day, I was not wearing a hat, scarf and gloves, even the snow boot, it took me nearly five hours to get home, but the first snow brought me infinite happiness. I will never forget it.

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ELI student: Ivan Duque Colombia ELI teacher: Drew Bostinto My birthday September has always been my favorite month and there is a particular reason for that. In fact, it is my birthday month. Despite the fact that I always spend this day with my family and loved ones, there was a change in that routine this year.

I was very delighted when I knew that my birthday was just in a week. I remember looking at the previous pictures and videos that I took from my past birthday parties that my family had a great pleasure to send for me. During those birthday parties, I remember that my mom always wanted to do a party in home because she doesn’t like that I go out to club late at night.

This year, I was hundred miles away from my home country. I remember that I was a bit nervous and felt a little bit of sadness by thinking that I would celebrate my birthday with none of my family members. I suddenly started to feel homesick, and missing everything about Colombia. Although, I was in a wonderful city, a city that millions of people would like to get the opportunity to visit. All my heart could feel at that time was my city Medellin, a city that may not be fancy for some people but to me that was the place to be in order to feel good.

Fortunately, I had amazing friends who took care of me that day. Friends who knew exactly what it feels to be studying abroad far from family. I came to class that day to discover that they have bought a small doughnut for that occasion and even sang for me. I felt so special that my face became all red and I almost cried. My heart was filled with joy at the idea that people that I met few weeks ago could have made me feel this special and made me have this feeling.

In addition, we made a plan to go and eat out in what has become my favorite restaurant in the USA now: Chipotle. I really had fun that day. We ate, talked and laughed all evening with my new friends. It was the first time that Boyang, my friend from China, tried Mexican food and of course, like someone who had never tried hot sauce, he put a huge quantity of that in his bowl and of suddenly he started to scream and jump asking for a bottle of water. Nicole, my other friend from Dominican Republic, like always, was talking with her Caribbean accent and with all those particular expressions from her country. My 44 | P a g e English Language Institute – College of Staten Island

great friend from Africa, Elisabeth, was enjoying and talking about interesting things like how does it feel to turn twenty one and to celebrate a birthday far from home.

Today when I look back to that wonderful evening with friends. I think about it with a huge smile, I will keep that In my mind with a feeling of relax and energy. I feel nostalgic because I have to go back to Colombia. I will miss my friends with all my heart. I will still glad and happy to know that I spent my birthday with them because today I can confidently say every friend and teacher that I have met here are going to be in my heart for the rest of my life.

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ELI student: Wendy Lisbeth Catalan Corona Mexico ELI teacher: Drew Bostinto

New York Experience Thanks God I won a school exchange to study English for one month, and I’m almost in the middle of this experience, to be exact, sixteen days in this amazing city, New York!

I thought about what to write during this holiday and I want to start by saying that I used to live in the United States for almost 7 years, but in a different state, Texas, the state that saw me grow since I was 2 years. But of course, I can’t remember it so well and I wasn’t legal. This time, in New York, I didn’t imagine, how I was going to live. I was so nervous to come back to this country that I was scared of the immigration officer in the airport, and thanks to God I didn't have any problems. I still don’t believe I’m here!

The first day in Staten Island, my host explained to me how to go to school, but when I tried to go to my first day of school, I got lost! Yes, the first day, and I had my first adventure! Google maps has been my best friend to travel with, since it took me almost two hours to arrive to school. I love traveling all around the island on the bus, because it’s so different from Mexico, where I do the same time going to my school, but over there I don’t like going on the bus.

Lately I truly have been in a good mood going to school. I like how my teachers have patience when we don’t understand something, but I need to admit that when classes are done, I like going on the bus wherever I want, like to the ferry station. I just take the shuttle school bus and then go from the ferry to Manhattan and visit the tourist places, like Central Park, The Empire State Building, Times Square, Grand Central Terminal, the Museum of Natural History, or going to the Staten Island mall. I might take three buses or just two when it isn’t to cold.

And of course, my favorite tourist place, the 9/11 Memorial, is emotional for me because I remember that day to clearly. I was 5 years old, I was in an Elementary School but in Kindergarten grade and I remember when the principal came in the class room and turned on the TV so we could see the news. I remember that every one of us were sleeping, because it was our hour of break, and when I saw everything that was happening in Manhattan, every one of us started to cry. It was the saddest day in that year.

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Now that I returned I really wanted to cry all the memories came in to my mind I was thinking how the city could look like if nothing of that would happen. I started to walk around the fountains and I was remembering how I was watching the news, like when the airplanes crashed into the World Trade Center or in the two beautiful buildings and also how all the disaster was in that day.

The first time I went to Times Square it was awesome! I really enjoyed it, like I didn’t believe that I was there. I called my mom, my boyfriend and my three best friends. I really had feelings to cry, because when I was talking with my mom she said "you look very happy, your dream came true, I’m so proud of you" it made me feel that I was doing something good. I remember that I did a live video in Facebook, I was very happy and excited. Then I had enough time to take pictures and enjoy it all, but it was so cold, I was freezing! That day is going to be in my memories for the rest of my life.

Today, fifteen days later, I still don’t believe that this is true! My favorite things to do in New York are, like I said, going on the bus, subway and ferry, seeing the Statue of the Liberty, even if it’s from the ferry, going to Times Square, walking through the Brooklyn bridge, to be honest, I haven’t gone to all the places that I want, but I will.

I think that I’m in the city of my dreams but I wouldn't live here because of the cold weather. 5 years ago I had an accident and I have a piece of metal and eight screws in my left collarbone that’s why most of the time I feel tired, but I know that it’s because of it. I think that if I have the opportunity to work here I won’t get out of my house in winter. (I’m joking.)

Now that I can return to Mexico, I could do what I always wanted to do, by helping people with Parkinson’s, building something like a medical machine to help them. This adventure helps me to improve my English skills, and that’s how I’m going to make my dreams come true.

This experience has been the best one in all my life, including when I lived in Texas.

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ELI student: Marco Antonio Meneses Brito Mexico ELI teacher: Drew Bostinto

The Billion Dollar Candy Picture the scene, how majestic this beautiful moment would be, if the most beautiful femme would appear in front a crowd you could see her, wearing a mesmerizing haute couture gown, her neck dripping itself with jewels, the finest of them all. And there’s still something more, footwear it’s how they’re called, but they’re shoes, Oh!! And not any kind of shoes, made just for her, the highest heel and crystal strings you can observe, with just a glimpse we just can know, how intricate the handmade work allows this girl, who’s not a girl to look alike the heavens doors and make her fans reach out for more, maybe a smile maybe just look, and into them you can’t ignore the out loud voice of people begging “Please just a picture, Candy dear you’re sure such an inspo, Candy please “ It seems like yesterday that I could see me being married to a non-prince, he was my love, he seem so kind. I would’ve had stand with him, my whole life, but being betrayed just stopped that dream, and a simple hope became obscene. The reason he has a wife and heaven knows I’m not her wife, but more like a really good friend, the kind you spoiled and treat so well.

He used to call me his girlfriend, we spend some time as him and her. I lost the track of all that love the day I found him not alone.

He was with someone else, not just a friend, but her wife. I reach to him he was surprised he told me “Candy, she’s my wife the one and only, my one and only. We’ve talked about her in the past, she fills my days with loving arms; Let me introduce you to Isabelle” I played the act. I did it well, I stopped the tears and the outrage. But only while in front of her.

After that day I was alone, I felt so lost and couldn’t bare just thinking about being without him. I rushed time, went to the mall instead of candy I bought a new life.

In the form of a ticket, a lottery one, I was about just to become a billionaire, thank to that ticket and to that pain my life was starting, in the best way it could be.

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ELI student: Marcos Uriel Mendoza Palacios Mexico ELI teacher: Drew Bostinto

Difficult Decision It was the night before Christmas Day, in Rockefeller Center in New York, the place was being illuminated with beautiful Christmas lights and covered with a white snow. In front of the large and shiny Christmas tree located in the center of Rockefeller there was a young man named Arthur whose was sitting near it, very confused and undecided about what to do.

With a hand holding his head and staring a couple having a lovely moment he started to think with which woman he will stay his whole life, with his wife Anna a beautiful woman, not just outside even inside her whose always smiles with a big shiny smile to the good or bad moments, and then there was his lover Sahara, also a beautiful girl but shy and most of the time she was always blushing.

Both women were very much in love with him. Sahara and Anna were very worried because they knew about each one and also they knew that one day he would have to take a hard decision.

He started walking toward Anna’s house, he knew that she prepared many food for this Christmas Eve, meanwhile he was walking he started to think and finally he took a decision.

When he arrived Anna’s home, she started being very excited because she thought he would not come home. At the end of the dinner he told her that he wanted to talk with her about something important, she already knew what he wanted to tell her. She went to the kitchen and her mind started circling she was trying to find the reason why he wanted to break up with her. In her madness of love she took a knife furiously and yelled him “If you are not mine, you will not belong to anyone else” and she stuck the knife in him, she was scared about what she did so she started crying then she picked up some important things and she ran away from the house.

After a few days, Sahara has not heard about Arthur and worried about him she went to Anna’s house and when she saw the Arthur’s body on the floor she fell on her knees and she put on a scared face and started crying, angry about that she took the same knife with which one Arthur was killed and she went to find Anna, she spent not just hours even days trying to find her but she did not find her. When she finally found her Anna was dead, her body 49 | P a g e English Language Institute – College of Staten Island

was hanging from a bridge and the body had a sign and the sign said the name of a girl “Juliet” and she realized that there was another girl in the Arthur’s life.

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ELI student: Mariela Urzua Solano Mexico ELI teacher: Drew Bostinto

The casting call…

After following her friend for almost 5 blocks she finally reached her, she wanted to tell directly how she felt, after all, she wasn´t her friend at all. Lori was a nineteen year old girl that had just arrived to NYC, she was tall, skinny and had the most amazing curly hair.

She was renting a small apartment with other two girls. Lori was a dreamer, she wanted to be a Broadway performer but while auditioning she got a part time job at Sephora to pay the bills. Her parents were really big fans of her art so they were very supportive and sent her some extra money.

Lori met Sophie at a New Year’s Eve Party that a friend from Lori´s job had hosted, they were introduced to each other as their perfect soulmates and ever since then that´s what they became, or so...

A very long time had passed after they met, they were inseparable now and they both had the same dream of becoming a Broadway star. Nevertheless Sophie had had more luck and had been in a few plays and even a lead in an off-off Broadway production. She seemed like the perfect friend and role model for Lori and they got along so perfect so it seemed like the perfect friendship. Sophie also had a part time job, but she wasn´t really supported by her parents. Her mom had left her and her father when she was only six years old, apparently she was in love with a younger man so she left town. Her father ever since the unfortunate event became an alcoholic and barely sent Sophie to school. Although all of that she overcame everything and with some support from an aunt that worked for a congress man, she got a scholarship to study arts. After she graduated she moved to NYC and had been there ever since.

Sophie and Lori where planning on moving together, they had just been checking some cheap apartments. After the struggle of finding the right one they had a coffee and a muffin. --I can´t believe we just found it -- said Sophie --Yeah! You know, I feel lucky I think I am getting a role this week to that play I told you I had auditioned-- answered Lori -OMG! Yes! Girl I need you to meet this guy I met, he is a producer! He told me to find girls for him he is directing Burlesque or something like that! -- Really? Could you get me an audition? -- Lori asked-- Sure! I´m texting him right now-- After a few minutes Sophie gets a 51 | P a g e English Language Institute – College of Staten Island

text back. --Lori you would now believe this, I sent him your picture and he wants to meet you tonight!--.

Sophie had met the producer at a club, a week before. She didn’t know his name but she knew his last name was Wayne. He was also a businessman that owned a club and a casino in Nevada, near the Valle de Fuego. He only did that for the money because his real passion was the musical theater.

After that Lori was of course head over heels, she was going to audition for something big, she felt really special for having that opportunity. The room was dark and had a little table in the middle with a bottle of wine and some glasses. There where paintings that one would call “exotic” placed all over the walls some of them made her feel uncomfortable While she was waiting she rehearsed some of her best moves and prepared her voice. The producer finally got there, he was a really nice guy, around forty or fifty years old. He started to ask some questions to Lori but suddenly they turned a little bit wild. The tone and the way he was asking some pretty unpopular questions made Lori very uncomfortable. Suddenly he started approaching to her and by that point she was done. -What’s your deal sir? -- She asked mad. --Well if you want to be a star this is the price you have to pay-- he responded—Sophie didn’t tell me it was this kind of audition—she said confused--Sophie? She didn´t tell you? She does this every time! How do you think she gets her roles--he answered? Lori then felt really bad and got out of that place. She felt betrayed by her best friend, how could Sophie signed her up for something like that? She was ok if she did that but why wouldn´t she tell the truth?

Lori tried to reach her, she called Sophie but she wouldn´t answer the phone nor her text messages.

After almost a week, it was a rainy day in the city, Lori had just gotten out of work when she suddenly saw Sophie getting out of the public library. She followed her for five blocks and when she finally reached her she screamed --I don’t know how you could you do this to me Sophie-- Sophie went from a surprised but happy face to a confusing one-- What are you talking about? I´ve been trying to find you at your job, I lost my phone last week and I haven´t been able to buy a new one! -- Really? So you are telling me you didn´t set me up with that Burlesque guy that wanted to sleep with me? -- Lori asked furious -- No! How could you think that I didn´t know any of that! I´m so sorry Lori! I swear I didn´t know what had happened-- Sophie sadly replied-- Lori then sensed Sophie was telling the truth and

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felt terrible for believing what that guy had said. Lori hugged her friend, then they went to have a coffee and found out they had just lost the apartment they were going to rent...

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ELI student: Nicole Jiménez Dominican Republic ELI teacher: Drew Bostinto

It was a Wonderful Christmas “Dad, can you help me? Please. I’m doing a project for school, this one consists that each student asks their parent about one question that the teacher gave us”, she said to me.

She was p in front of me, looking at me directly to my eyes, when I looked at hers, she was transmitting all her frustrations to me. I didn’t have another alternative, “Sure my love, tell me the question”. She smiled at me like that was the most important moment in her life. She is just like her mother, her beautiful dark skin combines with her green eyes and her magnificent curly hair. She was just 13 years old, I thought this day would never come. Then I start to tell my wonderful and horrible past.

“That beautiful morning of December 25 was the most amazing day of my life, why, now I would tell....” my daughter looked at me and moved her hand saying to continue. “ I was feeling a soft touch on my chest going down and up in a constant movement, when I opened my eyes I saw Stephanie looking at me with her smile. I fell in love with that smile 4 years ago when I met her in that bar, we were young and adventurous. Well, she was next to me with that big smile of hers, her eyes were sparkling, and her chests were flushed.

That image was the one that I want to see all the mornings of my life. She was looking at me in those beautiful blues eyes of hers, “Baby what happens, why are you so happy about?”.

Stephanie didn’t say anything, she only passes me a small box. This box was blue with a small white ribbon adorning it. When I opened it there was a pregnancy test. “WOW, I WOULD BE A FATHER” I hold her in my arms, I was so happy about it. I have always wanted to be a father, now my dream is going to be true. Those months were a challenge for me in all ways possible. AMEN I had my mother and my cousin, this last one was the doctor that would help Stephanie to have our beautiful daughter. Yes, I would have a beautiful daughter, I’m so proud of myself and Stephanie.

Passed the most amazing and frustrating 9 months of my incredible wife’s pregnancy......

Now comes the moment we were waiting for. In that exact time, I was holding the left hand of Stephanie. She was squeezing my hand, it even hurt at one point, but none of that mattered. I only cared to see the beautiful girl with green eyes like mine and the beautiful 54 | P a g e English Language Institute – College of Staten Island

blonde hair of her mother. I heard the crying of the baby, I looked at my cousin and his expression changed immediately when he saw the baby. I was wondering why he dramatically changed his expression. He looked at me with an expression of sadness and anger, then I realized why. Meanwhile, my wife was happy to see the baby, I was in a quandary asking myself when she cheated on me. The baby girl has dark skin, brown eyes, and black hair. In that precise moment my life turned in an angle of 180 degrees. She always knew that that baby wasn’t mine at all. I felt all my body burning inside of me. In a slow motion, I turned around looking at her with all my intentions to kill her, but the only thing that got out of my mouth was “Who is the father?”

Stephanie looked at me with her expression: “I would explain you everything”, but the only thing I wanted to know was who and why. I asked her: “Stephanie talk to me!, RIGHT NOW !” My words came out like venom coming out of my mouth. She was scared, but I didn’t care at all “that thing is not mine, who is the father?, Talk to me”. I felt some arms holding me, when I looked behind me, my cousin was looking at me and whispering :“calm down Jack, everything will be ok. You can talk later when you calm yourself”, John said to me. His voice was warm and calm. I don’t know how he did that but at the end of that sentence I was calm. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes questioning God why me. I looked at Stephanie, and told her “You were never loyal to me, neither with yourself”. Then I took another deep breath, and asked her: “Now, please tell me who is the father of that child?”Stephanie started to cry so hard that in for a few second I felt sorry about her. She said “I was drunk that night...” she paused and then continued: “the baby’s father is Mike”. I felt my body burning in anger “ REALLY! YOUR GAY BBF IS THE FATHER OF THE BABY, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!. I turned around, looked at my cousin then turned around to see Stephanie. “You are always easygoing in every aspect of your life. You thought that I would never suspect that that baby isn’t my daughter. Look at her and look at me, even the skin color is different”. I took a really deep breath and stood in front of her to look at her, I hate her with all my heart.

“I want all your thing out of my apartment, Stephanie”. I came out of the room, took my things and ran out of that hospital. When I was getting close to the exit door of the hospital, Mike was coming in with his sarcastic and false smile as usual. He came near to me and said smiling: “Hey, how is the baby girl doing?” I looked at him, chocked him and pushed him to the wall and said to him “You new it, you were the father of that thing. One of these days, you and she will regret this. Also, good luck, because if she did that to me, she will do it to 55 | P a g e English Language Institute – College of Staten Island

you”. Then I ran out of the hospital. I felt a lot of emotion coming together. At that moment, I wanted to scream, cry and curse. Later, I felt tears coming out of my eyes, this caused my vision to become blurry. I didn’t notice until I fell on the ground. When I looked in front of me, I saw the most beautiful woman I had never seen in my life. She has a dark skin, amazing long curly hair, and the most beautiful thing was her eyes. Those beautiful things are hazel and in the middle, you can appreciate brown with honey and farther, a mix of gray, green, and blue. The only thing that came out of my mouth was: “Amazing”. In that instant, I forgot the horrible moment I had earlier. “Sorry”, she said with a really confused expression. “Sorry, I was not paying attention, I'm sorry for lying down,” I said really embarrassed by my action. I also stutter, that had never happened to me in my life. We got up, she asked me why I was so sad. I explained her everything while we were walking to the nearest Starbucks in the town. After 2 years we had an amazing gift for Christmas, that beautiful gift was you my darling. I love you”. When I finished, I started to think how lucky I’m to have these two incredible women in my life, I think I have to thank Stephanie.

“I love you too father, it’s so weird how mom and you met each other” She finished the sentence and started to laugh so loud at the end I enjoyed it.

The end

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ELI student: Noor Bilal Maali Jordan ELI teacher: Drew Bostinto

Pressures in life A person passes through life dealing with many life pressures that cause a negative impact on the individual psychologically, if the individual doesn’t learn the methods to accept and deal with the pressures of life. In some situations, the human must have conviction because sometimes there is no escape from overcoming some of the crises that confront us.

The acceptance of life pressures varies among people, depending on the individual’s way of thinking and circumstances. Some individuals may become sad and tense when they think about crucial decisions such as marriage, work and the constant stress. There are some people who believe that the exposure of human pressures from one period to another makes them more efficient to carry out tasks and complete them, making them daring to meet challenges and succeed in them, rewarding the individual with a positive feeling that follows this success.

There are many external factors that put pressure on the mental state of the individual to make people in a state of tension and cause a negative impact on their abilities to achieve integration and balance in their personality. The stress of these pressures in some situations must be faced even if the individual doesn’t have the capacity to meet them and exceeds their limit of ability. This is what happened with George Orwell “The people expected it of me and I had got to do it; I could feel their two thousand wills pressing me forward, irresistibly” (Orwell 17). As we see here, he feels the pressure because he was seen as somewhat of a hero to them, and the people in his town rely on him to do what they want even if he can’t do it.

Examples of psychological stress involve social factors such as deadlines, critical and professional interviews, exposure to financial problems, fear and tension when lecturing to the public or when a relative or close friend is missing. Behavioral symptoms, which appear in response to pressure are shaking legs, nibbling of nails and smoking. As for the characteristics of psychological stress, there are emotional symptoms of anger, anxiety and tension. This is what happened with Langston Hughes “Langston, why don’t you come?

Why don’t you come and be saved? Oh, lamb of God! Why don’t you come?” (Hughes 71).

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This quote shows how Langston Hughes was being influenced by the people in the church to get up and accept Jesus, meanwhile he did not feel, hear or see Jesus like he was told by his aunt. The pressure caused him to feel ashamed of himself when he said “I began to be ashamed of myself, holding everything up so long” (Hughes 71). This pressure resulted in his lack of belief when he stated “But I was really crying because I couldn’t bear to tell her that I had lied, that I had deceived everybody in the church, that I hadn’t seen Jesus, and that now I didn’t believe there was a Jesus anymore, since he didn’t come to help me” (Hughes 71).

Hughes’ struggle in wanting to believe in Jesus caused him a lot of pressure that is very similar to other daily pressures in life, such as the pressure that parents put on their kids when deciding on what career path they should pursue, even if it’s not what they want to do.

This can affect the person mentally and cause a great deal of stress that can possibly affect their mindset on school, resulting in a lack of focus in school and doing poorly. Another example is the pressure a single mom faces when taking care of a baby and having a job.

This is a lot of responsibility put on the mother when she has to care for her baby and at the same time her job because she has to support her baby’s future as well as hers. A lot of teenagers who don’t practice safe sex end up in these situations where they have to choose if they want to keep the baby or not. This can cause a lot of stress and pressure on a being. I remember my aunt had went through this when she was a teenager. She got married at a young age but wasn’t ready to have a baby while doing school. My aunt had gone through a great deal of stress not knowing if she should keep the baby or not. In the end she made the right decision and decided to keep it because of the support she got from her husband and family.

Life can teach you what’s worth stressing over and at times we deal with many hectic situations where we have to accept the pressure that life throws at us. The influence of others has a major role in affecting our choices in life. But, we can choose if we want it to affect us or not. Every situation has its positives and negatives and maybe we can learn from the negatives of the situation and gain from them. Our experiences can help us control the pressures in life and help us make official decisions. In the end it makes us work harder and feel proud.

References Hughes, Langston. “Salvation.” A Portable Anthology. Ed. Jane E. Aaron and Ellen Kuhl Repetto. 2th ed.

Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2013. 69 -71.

Orwell, George. “Shooting an Elephant”. A Portable Anthology. Ed. Jane E. Aaron and Ellen Kuhl Repetto. 2th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2013. 85-92.

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ELI student: Ornela Deshati Albania ELI teacher: Drew Bostinto

First Experience in New York Standing only at five feet high in New York City, the beautiful New York City in the summer time rises with an amazing sunrise. The rays of the sun mix with three different shades of bright and dark colors like red, orange, and yellow. The dark blue sky is still filled with lingering clouds that flee from the sun as it makes its assent. The skyline of New York City casts a gorgeous reflection onto the East River. New York is one of the best known cities in United States. The city is comprised of five boroughs and they are Manhattan, The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island.

The first time I stepped into New York, I was in total shock and awe. Buildings stretching across the horizon. Every taxi in New York blaring their horns at each other.

Everywhere you looked, you saw people dressed up in Disney character outfits, asking you for pictures, but also making you pay. Swings from every Broadway show, asking you to buy tickets (even though they are sold out for six months). At night, this gorgeous and miraculous part of New York City lights up in every color known to man. All the lights reflecting off the windows of buildings makes the “Square” sparkle even more.

Also, taxis coming and going and the roar of the subway beneath your feet. Everyone talking but still being able to hear your own conversation. Lights flashing brightly, babies crying, the homeless constantly asking for money. The smell of 1,000 vendors, many selling gyros. Broadway fans going insane when their favorite cast member walks out of the stage door. I saw people of every race, color, and religion.

Being in Times Square gives me goosebumps. It gives me a feeling I have never felt before and I only feel in Times Square. It’s like being four years old and having a birthday party. It’s truly magical. There is no way to accurately describe the jitters you get from the minute you step off the subway to the second you get back on. It is so surreal. New York is filled with such wonderful memories such as when I try to adapt to a new life, culture, new people, foods and learn how to speak English. A city of endless possibilities, high energy, and great diversity. New York City had always been on the top of my bucket list and I knew I would love NYC before I even visited it. I feel very thankful to God that I am here!

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ELI student: Ruperto Pani Ecuador ELI teacher: Drew Bostinto

My Life in New York I was very happy when I got my Green Card, but it was after a long time of faith, patience, hope, and sacrifice.

I arrived in New York in November of 1999. The city was welcoming with a very cold and strong windy. While I waited a taxi cab for half an hour, my hands were trembling because the cold and I didn’t have any gloves. Then I took the taxi to the city of Port Chester. My friend was very busy in the church doing weddings and confessions. His name is Fr. Timothy Ploch, who was a Pastor of one of the Catholic Churches in Por Chester. For me was easy to get the Tourist Visa because I had this friend who helped me with my application and was my sponsor. The main goal was to work and help him in his church for the Spanish congregation.

I stayed in his church for about five months before to change my immigration status of Tourist Visa to a Religious Worker Visa. So far so good because with a Religious Worker Visa, I can work legally in any churches. In July first of 2000 my friend received a letter from his superiors asking him to be a pastor for other church. It means my friend will not be any more my sponsor. I had the Religious Worker Visa, but it would expire in two years. That day I couldn’t sleep. I sat on the bed with my shoulders forward and my torso bent toward my knees. I was very sad in that eternal night of my life. In the bed I was awaked almost the entire night touching my face and my forehead with my both hands. And I prayed a lot.

My friend told me to get another sponsor. He gave me a good advice and phones numbers to call. So, I started immediately calling different churches. From four churches, one told me to go for an interview. It was the Saint Mary of the Assumption Church in Staten Island. It is in 2230 Richmond Terrace. Thanks God, the pastor said to me you are welcomed. I was very happy. I smiled a lot. I pray the “our father” again to God. I called my friend Timothy to told him that I have already another sponsor. And I hugged my friend and I invited him for a lunch.

I began working in Saint Mary of the Assumption Church on September first of 2000.It was a church of almost % 85 of Spanish speakers. My job position was as Pastoral Associate. My duties consisted of pastoral planning, religious formation and preparation of 60 | P a g e English Language Institute – College of Staten Island

liturgies. I didn’t need to speak English to work there because my job was with Spanish immigrants. I did a lot of workshops of liturgies such as training of lectors, acolytes and altar servers. After three years working in this church, I applied a petition for a permanent resident in others words for the Green Card.

Finally, I had another event in my journey to be a resident permanent. It was when the terrorists attacked the Twin Towers in Manhattan, in November eleventh of 2011. My church was full of people because they thought the world is coming to end. The capacity of the church is for 400 hundred but was almost 700 people on Sunday praying. After this tragedy, every immigrant was a suspicious for the security of the U.S. Many immigrants were afraid to be deported. The name of the agency which supervised and executed immigrant visas was called U.S. Department of Justice, but soon it created another agency with the name of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in response to the September 11 attacks.

It was formed on November 25 of 2002. With this new agency any petition was delayed in order to be tightly scrutinized before to be granted any document. For example, in my case, two immigration agents were to my church to see me and make an interview. It was on May 2003. My heart was pounding during the interview. I broke into a sweat. One question was.

Do you support any communist party? Are you a member of a gang? My lips were compressed to protect myself from them. After finishing the interview, both agents said to me: these are our cards if you need to contact us. It was two white cards with the DHS emblem. After that I had to wait without to know the date when DHS would grant me the green card. Thanks God, the date was December sixteenth of 2005. The letter that I received with the green card said: Congratulation! I was jumping for joy. I picked up the phone and I called my mom…

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ELI student: Rodrigo de Jesus Sanchez Alonso Mexico ELI teacher: Drew Bostinto

I Enjoyed The Best Meal I Had Even Eaten In My Life…

I am student in Mexico and I’ve been trying to go to different countries as a kind of scholarship. I never had the opportunity to go out my country however I’ve trying almost 2 years and I was tired to do this.

Finally in the next opportunity after 2 years I applied to come to New York in Staten Island for an English course and I got it, I was very impressed because I had to do an exam, a skill test so I was very excited.

I love the idea to travel but I have a little problem when I eat another type of food. I’m feel sadly when I don’t eat for a long time Mexican food cause as a Mexican, I love spicy food I like the sauce with another Mexican ingredient like meal or tortilla that is made with corn so normally other countries they don’t eat a sauce or don’t feel tasty for me.

When I arrived to Staten Island, the course was great and I meet many people all of them were a great persons. After my classes I went to the cafeteria and I ate a salad with chicken so it was tasty but after 4 months eating the same dish after that I felt very sad because I knew that in these time I’ve been needed a spicy food with a sauce everywhere. I was anxious that’s true to try to eat something spicy. I was looking for a restaurant but most of them was very expensive and they don’t make the same kind of food. A day because I was very tired looking the best meal I went to a meeting near to my house and I meet a French girl who had been in 20 different countries, I was trying to meet her and I did the question, Have you ever been in Mexico? I didn’t believe I was surprised because she told me that she knew all the regional food of them, all the countries, including Mexico I was very awesome.

She invited me to eat something the next weekend, I said yes of course it was an amazing combination of French food, a dish called the “Coq au vin” that is chicken wine, the next ingredient was maple sauce originally from Canada with chilaquiles obviously from Mexico the taste was a little bit strange because it taste like sweet, salty and bittersweet the truth I thought that she was a little crazy but out of respect I kept eating after a certain time I guess 5 minutes so after that I began to feel the changes of textures in the flavors, it began to be a show of flavor and in the end it remind me a lot my country.

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ELI student: Sahar Akbari Afghanistan ELI teacher: Drew Bostinto

Vacation in India In 2016, I went India for three weeks with my family for vacation. I was very excited because I have always watched Indian movies and television shows. In addition to that, this was my first time traveling by plane and I am so nerves when plane ready for fly I closed my eye and my heart is ponding but al so I enjoyed I liked when plane is flayed .

When I arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport, it was very beautiful and I liked it a lot. However, outside of the airport it was a totally different story. Hot weather, crowded streets, and noisy tok toks a took all the joy away. I was totally shocked so we took a taxi and went directly to the hotel. Hotel is very far not near to airports I was so tried that I took a shower, ate dinner and went straight to my bed.

On the second day, we woke up, I took a shower and got ready to go outside for breakfast.

We went to a restaurant and ordered eggs and Indian tee. It is very delicious and I liked a lot.

Every day I went to the same restaurant for breakfast.

Very day I went to different places, we went to the zoo. The India Zoo Names National zoological park Delhi. India zoo is very big you can’t see all of zoo by walk in the India zoo small cars. I took a trolley and step by step we saw a lot of different animal I thing 1,355 animal in this zoo. Like lion, leopard, bear, elephant, gazelle, tiger, and a lot of different braids etc.

Another day I went to the Hindi gates its very femes and historic place in India and I had been gone story about this place. And al so Hindi gates has a big park and close to the Indian president house, we are very enjoyed in this day with a lot of fun. I ate some cheerful and ice cream.

Another day: I went to the lal qalah (red Castle) is one of the largest tourist Center in the capital city of Delhi and al so it is historic qalah and its very big house of president of shah jahan, Parts of the red fort or Lal castle this building includes the parts and components that are most popular (Lahore Gate, Delhi gate, Elephant gate, chatta chowk).

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And all so I went to the Taj Mahal it’s outside of Delhi, Taj Mahal is one of the World’s most famous monuments and a magnificent tomb located near the city of Agra.

In this day all so very enjoyed when I see this place I am shocked because it is very beautiful place see the garden, pool and everything is beautiful like drams when you see this balding I do not believe that it is create human Taj Mahal is very beautiful I suggest you when you go to India visit there.

But whether is very hot and I am very tired.

Foods: Indian foods is different because everything is spicy but it is delicious and I liked Indian foods Indian like Gulgape, chicken biryani is rice whit chicken, dolmakni is slab etc.

And the deserts like qulfi, rasguli, rasmali, gulab jaman, ets.

Shopping in India a lot of place for shopping and everything is vary chip because every product is of themselves Indian clothes very beautiful and vary famous and I had a lot of shopping for my family friends.

I enjoyed for this vacation and I can’t remember the foods, tee, deserts, shopping all of them.

But India is not clean. For vacation is good but for living is not.

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ELI student: Sahiam Montiel Mexico ELI teacher: Drew Bostinto

My experience in New York I will never forget the first time that I visited New York, the city full of lights as sky full of stars, shining and beautiful stars, the city that never sleeps. It was an amazing experience to see for the first time the snow, so white and cold as an ice cream but at the same time delicate as a rose. That day was on November 15 I was attending my English class sitting on the chair not really caring about the activity that we were doing and when I saw through out the window that a strong wind mad started a little bit of snow at first then a lot. I was scared about the weather because I did not know if my green boots was appropriate for the occasion, and if the white and spongy jacket I was wearing good for the cold snow, but when I went outside and the snow really was so white and cold, the environment was painted white as a paper. Days ago someone told me that if I want to walk on snow I would have to take my snow boots with me because I cannot walk because of the temperature, being outside was different of the way I thought it would be, even if you have snow clothes you can feel the cold in every part of the body, arms, legs, fingers, head, etc.

That day was so special, everything around me was white, when I was inside the bus to the ferry, and was standing looking how all was still frozen, there were nobody walking and aby other kinds of life outside, no one wanted to get off their houses or buildings, no one wanted walk in the street and feel how their food get frozen faster.

At the end of the day I remembered that I was on the bus stop waiting for the bus to go home and remember that a girl was watching her phone shaking her hands because of the weather, wearing all kind of clothes and told my friends and I with an angry voice, “there are no more buses, come on see the web side off buses of New York” she was correct, there were no more buses tonight, I was just thinking, How I can go home if starts to rain and the temperature decreases? Well I started to felt scare because I saw how people went all over at the place walking with all that cold rain and only was on the bus stop me, my friends and the girl who was Puerto Rican told us about the bus being cancelled, she was a robust woman but with an excellent attitude for the occasion. I do not know how she had the number of so many taxis she called them “paisanos” and started to call one by one asking if they could 65 | P a g e English Language Institute – College of Staten Island

come us and let us on the ferry, but she was lying because we secretly wanted to be dropped of our houses, when the taxi arrived we walked into it and I was scared because I used to think that all taxis in New York was yellow not any kind of refusal, when I arrive on the principal street I started to walk with a friend to go home I was so cold that I couldn’t feel my feet, I had been waiting for a long time in the snow that I lost sensibility of my fingers and ankles that when I went home was in pain I felt like a lot of pinned needles were inside me, it was so terrible to get outside the taxi and to start walking that all that I wanted was a hot chocolate and a warm place to relax and take off the cold wet clothes I had on.

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ELI student: Victor Rafael Montiel Lopez Mexico ELI teacher: Drew Bostinto

America’s Snow My name is Victor Montiel and I’m from Mexico. I’ve been here in New York for three weeks. It’s been exciting to know one of the biggest cities in the world. Being here it’s a dream that has come true, but as all good stories, not all that has happened has been good.

I’ll tell you the first time I saw snow in my life.

Two weeks ago on Thursday, everybody was in Mr. Drew’s class, we were talking about grammar. It was almost 1:00 pm when the first snowflake fell from the cloudy sky, all my classmates that had never seen this, as me, were in shock, I remember that one the girls said: “Oh my gosh, this is so beautiful, I’m in love with NY!”, her face was so happy, she was smiling as I had never seen a person smile before. Another friend was taking photos, selfies and videos of every single moment. I think I’m in those photos because I was in front of the window where she was taking them.

To be honest, I was excited too because in my country there’s no snow in almost anywhere near I live. It had been a great experience until that moment. The class finished, everyone wanted to feel the snow in their faces. Actually, I have a video where Nicole was screaming: “Take me pictures, take me pictures!”, she was so happy and she was jumping and I think she was dancing or something like that, I mean everyone was like Nicole.

I walked around and I enjoyed a lot everything I could see, trees as in the most famous movies, the ground covered in white, people enjoying and laughing. I saw a couple of students making snowmen, one of them didn’t have a coat, he was just wearing a T-shirt and he seemed very normal, he was telling his friend that he needed more snow for the snowmen’s arm because it looked like it had gone to war, I know it was a really bad comment but in that moment was so funny and strange.

My nose was frozen as my fingers, I felt how the snow hit my jacket and I heard how the ground sounded every step I did. After being 20 minutes out, my friends and I decided to go to see how Manhattan looked like. We took the bus and it took us more than 1 hour to arrive there, on the way, we noticed that the city was stopped, there were many cars on the streets, people were running to their houses, they look very tired and angry, others were 67 | P a g e English Language Institute – College of Staten Island

throwing snowballs to the buses as if everywhere was a kind of a sandlot, they took the snow and threw it against the bus windshields.

When we were at the ferry station some friends decided not to go to Manhattan and they went to a mall, I stayed at the station with 2 friends because the weather didn’t look nice, we bought pizza and soda, and I need to say that it was delicious, it had Mexican ingredients such as chili, Mexican cheese, and some others that I already missed and now I’m sure that it gave strength to do what I did after.

While we were eating and having a really good time, we saw that people ran to take the buses, we noticed that something was wrong, so immediately we went to the bus stop and there was a line of almost 50 people waiting. I told my friends: “I don’t know if this is normal but people are telling bad words and walking out of the station”, one of my friends told me: “If we wait for the next bus we won’t take it because it’s going to be full with all people are before us” We tried to calm down and think clearer but nothing came to our minds, I looked at the face of one of my friends and he was very worried, his face was covered in snow, and he didn’t have a really big sweater. We waited for almost an hour, we were in the cold, the staff just said that for the weather the buses were stopped. I felt a kind of rain that was very very cold as I had never lived, my hands and my feet were frozen, I couldn’t move my body well, when it was almost 8:00 pm the personal gave us the same message about the busses.

We were very upset, my friends live near the station, so we decided to walk to our houses. They arrived quickly, in 15 minutes they were in their houses, but I didn’t have the same luck besides my cellphone’s battery had died. I’m living in 37 place, Manor Rd that’s located to 1 hour and 40 minutes walking from the station, and this how my first time in the snow was one of the worst days in my whole life. I walked by the streets with snow everywhere, if I said that my feet were frozen before that, I can’t describe the horrible feeling of that moment, I couldn’t feel my legs, my hands and my face, my nose hurt, my legs too, in the corners of the streets there was water and when I passed by my shoes got wet.

I had to walk next to Silver Lake and the wind was so cold, it was as a knife cutting me. I was just counting the bus stops that I had already learned in order to know if I was near of my house. At the end I arrived at 9:50 pm, my family was sleeping, they didn’t know my sad story until the next day and my host just told me: “It will be a great thing to say to your parents!”

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Now that I remember this strange adventure I’m proud of myself because now I think I’ll have a story for all my family meetings.

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