Same-Sex Marriage Becomes Legal in Washington

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/us/04marriage.html?hp

 Quistions 

1.     Do you agree with the same-sex marriage? Why do you think so?

2.     Should same-sex marriage be legalized in all states? Why gay marriage should be legal or not?

3.     Should homosexual couples be allowed to adopt/have children?

4.     Does same sex marriage affect other people (the whole country)? How it affects?

New Vocabulary

Drizzle: to rain gently and steadily in fine drops.

Milestone: a significant event or stage in the life, progress, development, or the like of a person, nation, etc.

Vow: a solemn promise, pledge, or personal commitment.

Foster: to bring up, raise, or rear, as a foster child. (to care for)

Implication: something implied or suggested as naturally to be inferred or understood.

Legislative: having the function of making laws.

Attorney: a lawyer.

Giddy: affected with vertigo, dizzy.

Spouse: either member of a married pair in relation to the other.

Revenue: the income of a government from taxation, excise duties, customs, or other sources, appropriated to the payment of the public expenses.

 Today(3/1) after the speaking class, I met my friend’s boyfriend, Daniel. We went to Cary Street Gym together, and we talked about illegal immigrants in the U.S. which is my topic for the debate. It was first time to meet him, but I explained that I wanted to talk with him about this topic. Because in Korea, we don’t have many immigrants, illegal immigration is not an issue. Therefore, I had no idea about the illegal immigration in America, and I wanted to know more about that. So he explained it, and also gave his opinion about that. He said that it is kind of a social problem in the U.S. He thinks that illegal immigrants cannot be comfortable with Americans if they are illegal, and some people can be supicious about immigrants. But he said it is more of a legal problem. He added because the illegal immigrants want to get jobs and medicine in America, but if they do that without a visa, it’s like stealing. Also, some companies take advantage of those illegal immigrants and use them as cheap labor. He thought that the biggest problem is when the illegal immigrants try to take benefits that are only for citizens or for people here with correct visas. We talked about this issue for about 30 minutes, but it was hard to find a good solution for that. However, it was helpful for me to understand more about our debate topic, and also I could know other people’s opinion about it. Also, it was good to meet a new friend.

Illegal Immigrants Numbers Rise in Southeast

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/02/23/us/AP-US-Illegal-Immigration-Shift.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=illegal%20immigration&st=cse

Questions

1. Do you think illegal immigrants have positive or negative effects to America?

2. What’s the solution to illegal immigration in the U.S?

3. Do you think the government should deport the illegal immigran

vocabulary

Demography: Demography is the study of the changes in numbers of births, deaths, marriages, and cases of disease in a community over a period of time.

Abundance: An abundance of something is a large quantity of it.

Recession: A recession is a period when the economy of a country is doing badly, for example because industry is producing less and more people are becoming unemployed.

Eligible: Someone who is eligible to do something is qualified or able to do it, for example because they are old enough.

Coincide: If one event coincides with another, they happen at the same time.

Downturn: If there is a downturn in the economy or in a company or industry, it becomes worse or less successful than it had been.

Hostile: If you are hostile to another person or an idea, you disagree with them or disapprove of them, often showing this in your behavior.

 On Saturday(2/20) morning, I met Abigail at the Starbucks, and we talked about lots of interesting issues. The most interest thing that I remember is about civil war in the U.S. She said many people in the southern region of America still feel that history in them, and they still kind of fight about the war. She explained me about the history. I could know that the North and the South were two different cultures, and the Civil War happened, partly, because they were so different. She said that even today they keep their culture alive, and it’s different than the North. For example, although it’s not so much in young people today, but there is a kind of behavior that Southern groups tend to be polite, and Northerners tend to be busy and outspoken. She said Richmond is in the South, some Southerners say not, though. She said some Southerners still argue about the war, and they believe their culture is best, and many don’t like the Northern traditions. They hate that the North won the war, and after the war, the North did bad things to the South, which was called “Reconstruction.” She explained that they took away the land and made people starve, so Southerners still hate about that. She emphasized that not all of them, but some still do. It was interesting because in Korea, we had Korean War, and as a result, we are still living as a different country. I also told her about our history, and it was a really good time to understand each country’s history. We decided to visit the Civil War center in Richmond later to understand more about America history. I thought that it was really good to share our historical events and understand it. Also, I decided to study more about Korean history to tell out history correctly to foreigners.   

BBC Host Admits Killing Ailing Partner

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/18/world/europe/18britain.html

Questions

1. What do you think about “assisted suicide”? Do you think the people who help their family or friends to suicide should be punished or not?

2. Do you agree with euthanasia? Why do you agree or not?

3. If your family member is in terrible pain, and there’s nothing more to treat him/her. Then what are you going to decide for them? and why? 

New Vocabulary

Ailing: sickly, unwell

Slip out: to be said or revealed inadvertently

Stricken: If a person or place is stricken by something such as an unpleasant feeling, an illness, or a natural disaster, they are severely affected by it.

Smother: to stifle or suffocate, as by smoke or other means of preventing free breathing.

Furious: full of fury, violent passion, or rage; extremely angry

Euthanasia: Also called mercy killing. the act of putting to death painlessly or allowing to die, as by withholding extreme medical measures, a person or animal suffering from an incurable, esp. a painful, disease or condition.

Bluff: good-naturedly direct, blunt, or frank; heartily outspoken

Ambiguity: doubtfulness or uncertainty of meaning or intention

Interim: Interim is used to describe something that is intended to be used until something permanent is done or established.

Lawsuit: A lawsuit is a case in a court of law which concerns a dispute between two people or organizations.

Acquitted: If someone is acquitted of a crime in a court of law, they are formally declared not to have committed the crime.

Yearned: If someone yearns for something that they are unlikely to get, they want it very much.

Prosecution: It is the action of charging someone with a crime and putting them on trial.

Verdict: In a court of law, the verdict is the decision that is given by the jury or judge at the end of a trial.

 On Monday(2/15), after finishing the speaking class, I met my friend, Abigail at the Commons. When we talked about “gun” last week, I was surprised that every state has some different laws, so we decided to talk about different laws in states in America. I didn’t have knowledge about the politics in America, so she explained easily to me. She explained that in America, government is a mix of two ideas; Democracy, where everyone votes and Republic, where a few people represent a lot of people. I was curious about the main differences between Democracy and Republic. She told me that in a real democracy, everyone votes about everything - really, everyone makes the law. And in a Republic, a few people make the law; they say they are acting for the people.

 She said that every state has different ideas, and that is where America is like a democracy. I thought every state has different ideas, so they make their laws what people who live the state want to make. She also gave me an example. She told me that only professional people can do fireworks. So we thought a lot of people in Virginia think that fireworks are not safe, so their leaders, who represent people, made a law that people cannot shoot fireworks in the yards. However, she said that South Carolina is different. I thought people there think that fireworks are okay because she said anyone can sell them or shoot them there. And she said their leaders say it is legal to do that - they chose not to pass the law. We also thought other examples. We thought that probably some of the main differences between state laws are about gambling. When I went to Las Vegas before, and I felt that the state allows to gamble more than others. She told me it’s true that some states allow more than other states, and she applied that on issues that are more personal, maybe, like driving or gambling or getting married, there are some laws about them, but they are different in every state, perhaps.

 She thought that the states have different laws because of the way the people think. Also because they pick who will be leaders, the leaders have to agree with what the people want, so their choices influence the state. I understood what she said and I agreed with her. To me, it was really interesting that every state can decide to make a different law in a same country. In Korea every city has same law, but America has much bigger society, so I thought that it’s good that every state has different laws, because they have their own standards. Also, I thought there are lots of people who have different ideas and opinions, so it’s good idea that they can make a rule which is suit for people who live the state. Because of the conversation with her, I could know many information about America, and I thought, I should learn much more about America.

Facebook pulls prisoner pages over taunts

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/ptech/02/11/facebook.prisoners/index.html

Questions

1. Do you think was it a good decision to delete prisoners’ pages on Facebook? Why do you think so?

2. Do you think should we criminalize the act of smuggling cell phones into prison?

How can we prevent it?

3. Do you think prisoners should be given access the internet under censorship? and why? If we allow them to do that, how can we censor it?

Vocabulary

taunt: to reproach in a sarcastic, insulting, or jeering manner; mock.

amid: in the middle of; surrounded by; among.

contraband: anything prohibited by law from being imported or exported.

decency: conformity to the recognized standard of propriety, good taste, modesty, etc.

deplorable: causing or being a subject for grief or regret.

publicize: to give publicity to; bring to public notice; advertise.

harass: to disturb persistently; torment, as with troubles or cares; bother continually; pester; persecute.

intimidate: to make timid; fill with fear.

smuggle: to import or export (goods) secretly, in violation of the law, esp. without payment of legal duty.

parole:the conditional release of a person from prison prior to the end of the maximum sentence imposed.

  Today(Tuesday,2/09) afternoon, I met Abigail at the commons. I met her at Coffee Hour last year, and we have kept in touch for over six months. We talked about the right to have a gun in America. Koreans cannot have a gun except policemen and soldiers, so we don’t know much about that. Actually many Koreans have some misconceptions about guns in America, and before I came to America, my friends told me “be careful with guns!” as a joke. Therefore I was curious about using a gun in America, so we talked about that. When I told her that Koreans don’t have a right to have a gun, she was surprised and she said she didn’t know that. Her opinion is that tha gun is not dangerous. She thought that it is how people use it. She told me a joke Americans have-“If guns kill people, do pencils misspell words?”

She said that the gun is just an object, and it can either be used well or used badly. So I asked her that people should have the right to have guns. She thought we should have the right for it because if dangerous people have guns, and we don’t, then they have the “upper hand.” However, in my opinion, I thought that If nobody has a gun, then anybody can use the gun, so we don’t have to worry about that. She said that it could work, but the problem is always break the law. 

She thought there will always be someone with a gun, so she thought that we should have the right to have a gun to protect ourselves. Then we talked about some accidents because of guns. We agreed with that a lot of people can have guns, and so lots of them abuse the guns. We thought that one bad problem we have is with people who are sick in the mind. However she said that if the law was that no one could have guns, then criminals would get guns in the illegal market, and no one would have defense. Therefore, she thought it would be harder to stop the criminals. We also talked about how to solve the problems because of guns. I suggested that if people want to get a license, they should take lessons how to use it wisely. She told me an interesting news that some gun dealers had new requirements. She explained that they do a background check, to sell the guns more safely, so anyone with a crimian record, or with a history of mind sickness, can be found more easily. Thought it was still under discussion, I thought it was really good idea. It was really interesting to talk with her, I felt more comfortable than before to talk with her because she respected my opinion. and I could learn many things from her. I recognized that I had some prejudice about America, and I could learn more about America.

ashort:

How did you meet Albert?

heayoon:

 On Tuesday afternoon, I met Albert who is a friend of my friend at the library. We spoke about partying in the U.S. and South Korea. First, we found some similarities and differences between our cultures. In Korea, some college students force drinking alcohol to freshmen students. Koreans place a lot of importance on age, so it is a common event that freshmen should drink alcohol when they drink with seniors even if they do not want to drink. In America, hazing sometimes occurs, usually about alcohol when college students want to join a fraternity. Also, in Korea, people drink for the social experience because they can make a social relationship when they drink together. In contrast, Americans can have social life without drinking. Albert said that they drink to just have fun and to have a good time. Lastly, I learned that Americans cannot have open bottles and drink in public. Also, they have to hide the label of bottles. It was surprised to me because we don’t mind about that much. There were much more different aspects than I realized. It was a really good chance to talk about different drinking cultures of America and South Korea. There were many different cultures about drinking alcohol between Korea and America, but I thought that we should respect each other’s cultures though they are different.

 I talked to my Korean friend that I didn’t have an Amreican friend to talk. Then, she introduced Albert, who was her friend, to me, so I could meet him and talk.

billyglass:

heayoon:

melanieli:

heayoon:

On Tuesday afternoon, I met Albert who is a friend of my friend at the library. We spoke about partying in the U.S. and South Korea. First, we found some similarities and differences between our cultures. In Korea, some college students force drinking alcohol to freshmen students. Koreans place a lot of importance on age, so it is a common event that freshmen should drink alcohol when they drink with seniors even if they do not want to drink. In America, hazing sometimes occurs, usually about alcohol when college students want to join a fraternity. Also, in Korea, people drink for the social experience because they can make a social relationship when they drink together. In contrast, Americans can have social life without drinking. Albert said that they drink to just have fun and to have a good time. Lastly, I learned that Americans cannot have open bottles and drink in public. Also, they have to hide the label of bottles. It was surprised to me because we don’t mind about that much. There were much more different aspects than I realized. It was a really good chance to talk about different drinking cultures of America and South Korea. There were many different cultures about drinking alcohol between Korea and America, but I thought that we should respect each other’s cultures though they are different.

Do you think Korea’s drinking laws should be as strict as America’s? What is the drinking age in Korea?

-The legal drinking age in Korea is eighteen , and I think Korea’s drinking laws don’t have to be as strict as America’s. The accidents because of drinking sometimes occur, but I think it is not enough to worry about. I think many people who enjoy drinking are all adults, so they have to assume a self-responsibility for their behaviors. (not by laws)

I like that you can respect another person’s culture and understand that what is socially acceptable in one area may be different to another. As far as the strict rules in the United States, I believe that the age should actually be lowered to an age like that of Korea. From my experience with college drinking, young college students are away from adult supervision for probably the first time in their lives and many, not all, make poor choices. If the age were lowered to an age where they still home then it could be possible that they will learn to drink responsibly at a younger age. However, not everyone agrees with this ideology. What do you think? Should America follow the lead of other countries like that of Korea and lower the age?

 I think it should depend on the culture and society of each country. In Korea, We attatch importance to courtesy, so the drinking manner is very important. Korean think we should learn drinking manners from the adults. Though we should never overlook that problems may happen, students might can learn to drink responsibly from the parents when they live with their family, so I think it is not a bad idea that lower the age in America. However, societies of America and Korea are different, so I can not say America should lower the age following other countries.