My Holiday Plan

A very beautiful holiday is coming! so exciting. When I heard that a holiday would come in those years I was in school, I always excited. Now, I am still exciting. Very happy!
What will I do? Thinking..., Maybe I will go to fishing  on the ice and in the snowing, it is a very beautiful thing for me, as it is pretty cold, I need to prepare a tent, a fish finder, a warmer heater and many tools for fishing. But whether it is implemented depend on my wife's mood. I can't make decision right now.
And maybe I will go to skiing with my families. I never went to skiing in Canada, it is a exciting thing too.
And maybe I will go shopping with my families. It will be implemented on most probability.

Donut Selfie

Concert trip & TTC

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Tuesday's Speaking Assignment

How do we talk about a field trip? What things are worth telling? What are not? What vocabulary do you need? What tense to use?

No refunds, you Christmas carollers!

Here are your tasks:

1. Read the first five paragraphs of this news article.
1. Find at least five new words to learn their meaning and pronunciation.
2. Locate the names of stations on the subway map, and trace your journey to the concert.
3. Compare your results with a partner's. You may need to interview a partner if you didn't go.
2. Rate how you and others did on the following concert rules of etiquette (Good/Could be better/Atrocious); then compare your rating with a partner:
1. The concert begins at noon, lasting approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour. 
2. When you arrive, please check in with an usher. The ushers will seat your group. 
3. Please arrange to have lunch prior to arrival or after departure. Please note that food, beverages and gum are not permitted in Roy Thomson Hall. 
4. Concert etiquette serves to provide the best possible listening environment for you, your fellow audience members and the performers on stage. Your group’s consideration for fellow patrons and performers will ensure everyone’s full enjoyment of the live performance. Please observe proper concert etiquette throughout. Patrons may be asked to leave the auditorium if they are disturbing others. 
5. Cameras, cell phones and video games are not permitted in the auditorium.
3. Note down briefly what you liked the most and the least and what surprised you.
4. Organize your thoughts, and record a 2-minute report of yesterday's field trip on Youtube.com, Audioboom.com, or Chirbit.com.
5. Guess what to do next after publishing the audio on your e-portfolio.

hanukkah

http://www.eslholidaylessons.com/12/hanukkah.html

Hanukkah is one of the most important celebrations in the Jewish calendar. It means the Festival of Lights. It is an eight-day holiday that takes place each year in November or December. The festival is to celebrate a miracle that happened in the Second Temple in Jerusalem. A Syrian king took the temple from the Jews. In 164BC, a small group of people called the Maccabees revolted against the king and took back their temple. Their leader Judah Maccabee decided to cleanse the altar by burning olive oil in a special candle holder called a Menorah. They only had enough to burn for one day, yet miraculously, it burned for eight days and nights. Jewish elders declared an eight-day holiday to commemorate this miracle.

Today the festival is observed by lighting the lights of the family Menorah. One light is lit on each night of the holiday until there are eight lights on the final night. Families also say prayers throughout the festival, especially after meals. In Israel, schools close for a week to celebrate Hanukkah. Families exchange gifts and eat festive food. Potato pancakes and fruit-filled doughnuts are the most traditional food, but there is also a custom of frying or baking food in olive oil. Hanukkah is also a time for singing and playing games. There are more songs for Hanukkah than for any other Jewish celebration. The most traditional game is played using a four-sided spinning top, called a dreidel, and coins or tokens.

Sources: http://www.wikipedia.org/ and assorted sites.

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KWANZAA-What's KWANZAA

http://www.eslholidaylessons.com/12/kwanzaa.html

Kwanzaa is a week-long holiday that is celebrated around the world. It takes place between December the 26th and January the 1st every year. The holiday celebrates African culture and history. Kwanzaa started in 1966 in the U.S.A. It was the first holiday just for African Americans. Ron Karenga, an African-American civil rights campaigner, created the seven-day holiday. He said it was to give Americans of African descent an opportunity to celebrate their unique heritage. He wanted a holiday that did not “simply imitate the practice of the dominant [white] society”. The name Kwanzaa comes from the Swahili language and means “first fruits”. Many Americans celebrate Kwanzaa alongside other holidays that take place at the same time. Ron Karenga said: “All people can share in the celebration of our common humanity.”

Kwanzaa celebrates Nguzu Saba, which means "The Seven Principles of Blackness". Each of the seven days represents a different principle. The principles are unity, self-determination, working together, cooperating in business, building the nation, creativity, and faith. People who celebrate Kwanzaa light candles in a special candle holder called a kinara. People decorate their homes in African colours and put up pieces of African art. Some people attend a Kwanzaa ceremony that has African drumming and music. One of the most important parts of Kwanzaa is a special feast called a karamu. Family and friends get together and celebrate who they are. If you go to a karamu, you should say “Habari gani,” which is Swahili for “What’s news?”

Sources: http://www.wikipedia.org/ and assorted sites.

The Recording of 'Driver and Police' 2016-12-7

http://vocaroo.com/i/s1quxUPsSDqN

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Tuesday, December 6, 2016
Here are your tasks:

1. Watch this video from 1:46 - 2:34 without CC.
1. Check off the words you hear: donut, friends, Joe, moo, pollis, selling, tennis, women. 
2. Check your findings with 2 partners.
2. In no more than 50 words, write on how families, society, and the police respond to domestic or gendered violence in another country as compared to Canada. Then write a sentence on how you feel as a newcomer to Canada.

I come from China. This country has a long-standing history, but most of them belong to feudal socity, in this period, the governor ruled that men enjoy higher status than women,  woman has a lower level in family and socity, so there were many family violence. Now, the law keep the women rights, but due to the reason of history, some gendered violence happen often. How to respond this, I think the goverment should assume more duty responsibilities to guarantee the rights of women.

I just know a little about gendered violence in Canada. In my opinion, Canada is a legal institution and democratic socity, family violence would less much  than other countries.

I am a newcomer, I came this country because she is a legal and democratic country and I can enjoy the clean air, water, foods and so on.