Where I'm From

I am from the streets of Korea, where everyone is busy and traffic jams are normal

I am from the roof of my grandparents’ house

Painted all green, wide, the bright red color of the dried chili peppers.

I am from tall climbable trees,

Brown, insect-full and the smell of the rotten barks

I am from the bowls of traditional Korean seaweed soups,

Served on every birthdays and cooked from my mom and grandma with their expert cooking skills

I am from the bird decorations our family buys every time,

Cranes, chickens, owls, parrots and ostriches

Which are found flying all over my house

I am from my dad’s sayings about

“Life is unfair,” and

“Being taller than me doesn’t make you boss,”

I am a pure Korean from Seoul,

The spicy cooked fish meals that make you sweat and

The warm chicken soup that keeps you warmed even in winter times

I am from the suburbs of Anyang, Korea

Where my mom grew up as a child

The seashore of Incheon

Where my dad hanged out with his friends and caught fishes to be cooked at his house

I am from seven different places,

The Skytower of New Zealand,

The Sombreros from Mexico

But deep in my heart,

Only one nation.

I am from those moments,

My life is like a budding tree

Vulnerable at first

But stronger as I grow

With the experiences becoming the roots of the tree

Devastation in Japan

A crucial event occurred in March 11^th in Japan as devastating earthquakes and tsunamis hit the coastal areas of the north of Japan. Adept seismologists agreed that it was a tsunami of 8.9 in the Richter scale (later edited to 9.0). The fitful plates around 200 miles from the Japanese coasts collided abruptly, causing the earthquakes and tsunamis. The shaking buildings were audible, and lots of people inside were in a hurry to avoid injury. However, the disaster was inevitable.

The damages were severe: copious amounts of houses, cars, and boats were flooded. The streets were ruined and the farming fields were flooded as well. There were a lot of casualties, but the exact amount cannot be determined as the situation is not over yet.

People thought that the worst was over, and that the gruesome situation would decelerate. However, the situation did not get better as the nuclear power plants in Fukushima exploded. The dangers of radiation had increased. Experts analyze that this nuclear plant issue will not be like the Chernobyl accident, but the scientists haven’t been able to control the nuclear power plants. Three different emergency generators have been deployed to facilitate the control of the power plants, but all of them have failed.

Helpers from all over the world were deployed to Japan in order to rescue the victims of the earthquake. Every country gave unique aids to Japan, some of them including rescue dogs, nuclear experts, capacious planes and boats holding millions blankets, and debris-clearing machines. The rescuers will be grappling the debris and waters to be able to reach the trapped victims.

We all hope that Japan will be able to recover from the situation as quick as possible. It is truly a tragedy that nature struck the Japanese coasts, and countries should help rescuing the survivors by sending in aids and supplies.

Epileptic

Epileptic

By: David Beauchcard

As Jean-Christophe comes out of his room with a kitchen knife in his hands, David comes out, tackles him and intercepts the knife. David didn’t want anyone to get hurt. “What’s going on?” David’s dad shouts storming from his room. David does not tell him about the knife, to protect Jean-Christophe from getting sent to the hospital.

David Beauchard gives us a unique story of his life in Epileptic. Epileptic is a story about the author, David, living a hard life with his brother, who is diagnosed with epilepsy. Hence, the author titled the book Epileptic. David’s brother, Jean-Christophe, gets epileptic seizures three times a day, not being able to find a cure. The book is about the author and his family journeying to battle Jean-Christophe’s epilepsy.

The book starts from the author’s childhood. Told chronologically, the author becomes an adult at the end of the book. During the author’s childhood, he was the first person to find out about his brother’s epileptic disease. Almost three times per day, Jean-Christophe experiences epileptic seizures, unconsciously falling to the ground, drooling and whimpering. David makes several attempts until his adulthood to cure Jean-Christophe, but unfortunately fails every time.

From childhood to adulthood, the author realizes about a lot of things. First he was worried about his brother and hoped that a doctor will be able to cure him later on. But as several medical attempts fail, David loses hope and thinks about plans to kill him. His siter thought the same as David, and they both had the mutual feeling of pity and hatred towards Jean-Christophe. But when David reaches adulthood, he understands Jean-Christophe’s epilepsy and feels empathy for him.

There were no favorite lines I liked since the book was a graphic novel, but I still had a favorite graphic. It was in page 235, because I could really know how David felt with all the attention going to him and his brother. It was a picture of the crowd looking at his brother having a seizure. It described really well how David felt embarrassed of the crowd because of his brother.