1. Dropping Out (Hiep Nguyen L7)
Thanh Hoàng is a Vietnamese student in Theodore Roosevelt High School. He is a junior who quit school last month. Last Sunday he called me and talked about his problem. He said the reason why he dropped out is because he is not interested in studying, so he decided to go to work. Now he works in a factory sewing clothes by machines. His parents don't want him to go to work. They really want him to go back to school immediately and stop working.
When he called me he said, "I regret I dropped out. Now I want to go back to school to get a diploma to get a better job." The reason why he wants to go back to school is because his job is not so good.
So, school is very important for everybody in today's society. Today if we don't get a diploma, we'll have trouble. If we don't care about school, something will happen for the rest of our lives. We learn a lesson from Thanh Hoàng: dropping out is a pretty stupid way to think. In the U.S. everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed for those who want to succeed. So, we should stay in school, then we will get a good life.
2. Tªt Nguyên Ðán (Lê Thanh FV8N)
Tªt là mµt ngày l c± truy«n cüa ng߶i Vi®t Nam ðßþc truy«n t× ð¶i này sang ð¶i khác. Tªt là mµt ngày l cho t¤t cä m÷i tôn giáo và ðü m÷i mê tín d¸ ðoan. Trß¾c Tªt, ng߶i ng߶i t¤p n§p lo mua s¡m ð¬ trang hoàng nhà cØa, qu¥n áo m¾i, thÑc ån ð¬ chu¦n b¸ cho ba ngày Tªt vì ng߶i ta nghî r¢ng ð° m¾i s¨ ðem ðªn sñ thành công may m¡n cho nåm m¾i. Vào ðêm giao th×a và trong nhæng ngày Tªt, ng߶i ta ði chùa, nhà th¶ ð¬ c¥u xin sÑc khoë, s¯ng lâu, giàu có và hÕnh phúc. thông th߶ng, ng߶i có vai vª l¾n trong gia ðình h÷ tµc lì xì cho ng߶i nhö; ng߶i ta chúc nhau nhæng l¶i t¯t ð©p nh¤t trong nhæng ngày Tªt.
Ng߶i Vi®t Nam ta tin r¢ng nhæng gì xäy ra trong ngày ð¥u nåm s¨ tái din ho£c änh hß·ng ð¶i s¯ng h÷ su¯t nåm m¾i vì thª ng߶i ta tuy®t ð¯i tránh nói ho£c làm nhæng ði«u x¤u.
3. Vietnamese New Year (Thanh Le)
Tet is a Vietnamese traditional celebration which has been passed on down from generation to generation. Tet is colored by all sorts of religious and superstitious practices. Before Tet people begin to buy new clothes and food to prepare for Tet. They decorate their houses, polish altar brassware and clean up. On New Year's Eve and New Year's day, they go to temples or churches to pray for health, prosperity, longevity and happiness. Customarily, people of higher rank in the family give money gifts to those of lower rank. They wish each other good things appropriate for each individual person.
By doing so they think that it will bring them success and good luck for the new year.
The Vietnamese believe that whatever happens or is said on the first day of the year will repeat itself and influence their lives throughout the new year. Therefore, bad things should be strictly avoided.
4. How To Improve Your Grades (Dan Nguyen L8RW)
Improving grades is the wish of many students at Theodore Roosevelt High School. However, it depends on the effort and determination of the students.
There are many ways to improve grades that students can follow and do in the right way.
The first thing is they have to come to class regularly and on time. This is because they can get all the notes from their classes; and it also affects their grades for the whole semester. Secondly, students must pay attention in class in order to understand clearly about the lesson. By paying attention in class, it is easy for students to do their homework. After school they should spend as much time as they can to finish the homework. When they understand and deal with any homework problem, they can pass the exams easily. Besides that, if students don't understand how to do some difficult homework problem, they can go to the tutoring class in school when they need help. Moreover, the most important thing that I think affects a lot of their grades is organizing their time properly.
All the suggestions given above are ways that students can improve grades at T.R.H.S.
5. School Problems (HuyPhuc Pham L8RW)
There are many problems at T.R.H.S. which need to be improved. Some of them are truancy of students and the relationship between the students and the teachers.
Truancy is a big problem that happens all the time at T.R.H.S. Students usually cut classes to play around somewhere. In order to prevent this, the school should set strict rules. For example, if someone is absent for five days or more without any excuse, the teacher should punish him or her effectively.
The relationship between the students and the teachers is another big problem. I am a decent, respectful student, so I feel disappointed to see other students behave disrespectfully, especially toward the teachers. In my opinion, a student must be respectful toward teachers because they are helping them learn about the world. I think schools should have stronger penalties for students who misbehave and are disrespectful. The punishment must teach the students that they are in school to learn and the only way to get ahead is to always listen and follow the teacher's instruction.
6. Educational System Needs Repair (Quang-Hai Tran L7)
The education system in the city of New York is in need of repair, because a lot of students are dropping out of school. They drop out for many reasons such as family problems, hanging around on the street, peer pressure, pregnancy, boredom, or social and illegal activities.
The problem is one of the challenges for us. We need to alter it and change it around. We have to enhance the education system. The classroom size should be reduced; the time of graduation should be limited; school policies need to be more strict; public assistance should be cut for the students who don't come to school or those students who cut class; schools and families should cooperate and help students develop their potential, skill and talent.
If we can do these ideas above, the education of New Yorkers will be more successful and students will gain more achievement from studying.
7. Ma Vie (MinhChau Nguyen FF4)
Je m'appelle MinhChau Nguyen. Je suis dans la programme bilingue. Je recevrai mon diplome en Juin 1993. J'etudierai dans Fordham Universite l'automne de 1993-1994. Quand je pars Theodore Roosevelt mes professeurs me manqueront parce que mes professeurs sont tres sympathiques et merveilleux. Je les aime.
8. Quê Hß½ng (Tr¥n Minh Häi FV7)
"Quê Hß½ng" là gì hä m©?
Mà sao cô giáo b¡t phäi yêu ?
"Quê Hß½ng" là "Chùm khª ng÷t"
Cho con trèo hái m²i ngày.
"Quê Hß½ng" là "Ð߶ng ði h÷c"
Con v« rþp bß¾m vàng bay.
"Quê Hß½ng" là "Con di«u biªc"
Tu±i th½ con thä trên ð°ng.
Quê Hß½ng" là "Con ðò nhö"
Êm ð«m cüa nß¾c ven sông.
"Quê Hß½ng" m²i ng߶i chï mµt.
Nhß là chï mµt m© thôi.
"Quê Hß½ng" nªu ai không nh¾.
S¨ không l¾n n±i thành ng߶i.
M²i khi nh¡c ðªn hai chæ "Quê Hß½ng", ch¡c r¢ng m²i tâm h°n trong chúng ta cäm th¤y chua xót, thß½ng cäm và ðau lòng cho "Quê Hß½ng Фt M©". Уc bi®t riêng bän thân em, Quê Hß½ng mang mµt hình änh gì ðó r¤t linh thiêng. Quê Hß½ng ðã kh¡c ghi bao nhiêu kí Ñc v« tu±i th½ ¤u trong t¤m lòng em. chính mänh ð¤t Quê Hß½ng ðã nuôi em khôn l¾n, ðã hß¾ng dçn em t×ng bß½c vào ð¶i ...
Em yêu Quê Hß½ng, vì Quê Hß½ng ðã mang vác và chÑa ðñng nhæng hình änh cüa Dân Tµc Vi®t Nam qua bao nhiêu kÏ kháng chiªn ch¯ng ngoÕi xâm. Em yêu Quê Hß½ng vì nhæng cänh ð©p h°n nhiên cüa Sông Núi, Cö Cây; nhæng v¸ ng÷t bùi cüa quä cây hoa lá, nhæng xóm ngõ thân quen...Ôi! k¬ sao cho xiªt nhæng hß½ng v¸ ð§m ðà cüa Quê Hß½ng. H½n thª næa, nhæng di tích, chiªn công anh hùng l×ng lçy cüa ông cha ta; nhæng v¥n th½ hùng tráng và thi v¸ cüa Dân Tµc.
Ôi! Con yêu qúi và trân tr÷ng Quê Hß½ng Фt M©, Con hy v÷ng s¨ có ngày tr· v« Quê M© ð¬ sß·i ¤m và hß·ng thø nhß ng߶i con th½ ¤u sau bao ngày v¡ng bóng M© v§y !
9. My Life Was In Danger (Loan Chau L6)
I still remember what happened when I was young, how hard I faced life when I was just 6 years old.
It was 1979 and my family was living under communist government control, so my father decided to immigrate to the U.S. Well how could we immigrate to the U.S.? It was a pretty long story. I don't remember much how we got on the boat, but I remember that I was on the boat with all my family. The boat was crowded. I mean that people sat side by side, you couldn't sit anywhere. Nobody could sit or lay down to sleep.
The boat continued for 24 whole hours and stopped at the delta of the ocean of Vietnam. The boat wasn't moving anymore and we didn't know why. Day after day, week after week. Everybody was starting to get hungry. My family was the same as everybody else. There was no food, no water, no medecine, no bath. People were so hungry and dirty.
About three weeks later many people died because of illness and hunger. I was pretty sick and hungry. Everybody in my family thought that I would die because everybody was hungry, but they weren't sick. Luckily my father had brought a lot of medicine and I drank it every day, but it did'nt help me get better. My family had also brought some gold and my father exchanged the gold for food for me. From that day on I got a little better. After 40 days on the boat, the government pushed us back into Vietnam.
My family was so upset because we hoped that we would get a better life, but things were the opposite of what we thought. We weren't able to leave Vietnam again until later.
10. Ngày Ð¥u Trên Фt LÕ (Cao Yªn FV7N)
Trong lÑa tu±i h÷c trò cüa tôi, tôi có r¤t nhi«u kÖ ni®m ð©p, nhßng kÖ ni®m ð©p nh¤t và làm cho tôi nh¾ nhi«u nh¤t ðó là ngày ð¥u tiên khi tôi v×a ð£t chân ðªn ð¤t MÛ.
Ngày ð¥u tiên khi tôi v×a t¾i ð¤t MÛ, v×a bß¾c xu¯ng phi tr߶ng Kennedy tÕi New York, m÷i cänh v§t ð¯i v¾i tôi hoàn toàn m¾i lÕ, tôi ngh©n ngào và tüi thân l¡m, vì ðã biªt r¢ng tôi ðã vînh vin r¶i xa quê hß½ng Vi®t Nam r°i. Tr¶i ðã xª chi«u, không khí n½i ðây khác hÆn v¾i không khí cüa quê hß½ng. M÷i ng߶i thu d÷n hành lý r¤t nhµn nh¸p, riêng tôi th§t vui khi t¤t cä ðßþc ðªn n½i bình an, nhßng trong lòng lo l¡ng ðü chuy®n, tôi không biªt nhæng gì s¨ xäy ra v¾i cuµc s¯ng m¾i b¡t ð¥u. Trên ð߶ng lên xe v« nhà, cänh v§t hai bên ð߶ng r¤t ð©p, tôi lÕi say mê v¾i cänh tßþng hi®n tÕi mà vô tình không ð¬ ý ðªn chuy®n bu°n não næa.
Ðây là ðâu tôi tñ höi ? Ôi mµt cänh ê ch«, nhà thì lÕnh l¨o, cänh tßþng nhß im lìm ngü, không thân nhân, không bÕn bè, không ng߶i thân, nØa vui và nØa bu°n. Ðêm hôm ¤y tr¶i ðã v« khuya, cä gia ðình tôi ðã ngü say vì m®t möi, ng°i trong phòng tôi ghi lÕi nhæng gì ðã b¡t ð¥u ðªn v¾i tôi trên ð¤t MÛ. Sáng hôm sau, nh¶ có ng߶i cùng building ðã t§n tình giúp ðÞ tôi cách xØ døng lò ga cûng nhß ði®n nß¾c ho£c ði chþ v.v. Và ðã hß¾ng dçn tôi vi®c ðªn tr߶ng ð¬ nh§p h÷c. Th§t không sao mà quên ðßþc, ðó là mµt kÖ ni®m ð©p và cûng là mµt kÖ ni®m mà tôi nh¾ nh¤t.
11. Lost Love (Thong Nguyen L6)
This story happened in my country, two months before I left Vietnam.
Kim used to be my third girlfriend. She was in ninth grade and I was in tenth grade. We lived in a small town called Long Xuyen. There are not too many cars and because it's a tropical country people like to cruise around by bicycles or motorcycles.
I can remember, it was Friday afternoon when my friends and I were riding on a motorcycle to cross the bridge and there she was, black eyes, an attractive body and long black hair waving in the wind that made her more beautiful than ever. I couldn't take my eyes off her until my friend told me to watch out for the motorcylce in front of us.
After a short discussion I decided to talk to her. I am really bad at small talk. I asked her out. Even though I already had experience with love, she was the most beautiful girl I had ever met so I was kind of nervous.
Two days before I left my country I came to say good bye to her and that's all I could say. I looked at her eyes. They filled with tears. I guessed she was crying and after that moment I knew exactly that she was crying. I put my hand in my pocket to get my handkerchief to dry the tears on her eyes. Then she held me. I thought, "This is it, I have to go now or I will leave my family." I left her house, jumped on the motorcycle and rode fast like I've never done. I didn't even turn back to see if she was waving at me. I just kept riding and tried to escape from the thing that I didn't want to give away.
Now it's been three years but I still miss her. I am wondering if she misses me. Sometimes I want to write her a letter to try to get back our relationship and everything I had lost, but inside I feel guilty to force someone to wait for me to come back, and that it is not fair for her so I just let it go along with the past...
12. Giòng Máu (PhÕm QuÏnh Dung)
Tß khi tôi c¤t tiªng khóc chào ð¶i ðªn nay, dòng th¶i gian cÑ ch§m ch§m trôi qua theo mµt quÛ ðÕo xoay tròn, mà ng߶i ð¶i th߶ng g÷i là "quy lu§t thiên nhiên". Trong khoäng th¶i gian ðó, · gia ðình nói riêng và tr߶ng l¾p xã hµi nói chung, tôi ðã ðßþc h÷c, ðßþc ð÷c cûng nhß ðßþc th¤y bao nhiêu hình änh, bao nhiêu sñ vi®c có th¬ g÷i là nhæng t¤m gß½ng sáng chói ðáng ðßþc m÷i ng߶i noi theo. Thª nhßng, ð¯i v¾i tôi hình änh luôn th¥m g÷i và diù d¡t tôi m²i khi tôi v¤p ngã là Q.
Q. mµt c§u bé sinh ra và l¾n lên trong mµt gia ðình r¤t nghèo khó. M£c dù ðßþc cha m© cho ði ån h÷c, nhßng vì hoàn cänh gia ðình, nên Q. su¯t ngày chï cùng cha m© lo miªng ån manh áo qua ngày. Vi®c h÷c d· dang. Th¶i gian cÑ mãi trôi qua, Q. tu±i ngày mµt l¾n. V§y mà cÑ d§m chân tÕi ch² mãi ba nåm tr¶i trong mµt l¾p b¯n. Th¥y cô cûng nhß các bÕn khác trong tr߶ng chÆng ai vui vë gì m¤y ð¯i v¾i Q. CÑ m²i khi tr߶ng t± chÑc h÷p phø huynh, cha m© Q. ð«u nói, "xin cô th¥y thông cäm và kiên nhçn, th§t kiên nhçn vì con tôi dÕi l¡m". Thª là kªt quä cu¯i h÷c kÏ mµt nåm ðó lÕi ðªn v¾i Q. cùng v¾i s¯ ði¬m th§t th¤p kém.
Nhi«u l¥n Q. ðã xin phép cha m© cho nghï h÷c, nhßng trß¾c thái ðµ cß½ng quyªt ð¥y lòng tñ ái cüa cha m© và hoàn cänh gia ðình cùng v¾i ðàn em nhö th½ trë, Q. không tài nào nghï h÷c ðßþc. R°i th¶i gian trôi qua, lòng ng߶i lÕi thay ð±i, Q. quyªt tâm c¯ g¡ng h÷c hành trß¾c tiên là ð¬ noi gß½ng cho các em nhö, cu¯i cùng h¢ng mong có th¬ cÑu v¾t ðßþc ph¥n nào trong ð¶i s¯ng kinh tª gia ðình sau này.
Bao nhiêu sñ khó khån luôn ðªn cùng Q. Q. vçn không quän ngÕi vßþt qua và vßþt qua t¤t cä. Nhæng gì không hi¬u, Q. höi bÕn bè, nªu bÕn bè cûng không hi¬u, Q. nh¶ th¥y cô giäng lÕi.
Trß¾c n²i ni«m hång say cùng v¾i sñ thay ð±i l¾n lao cüa Q., n÷i ng߶i ai n¤y ð«u vui m×ng, nên sÇn lòng giúp Q. b¤t cÑ lúc nào Q. c¥n.
Ba nåm tr¶i kª tiªp trôi qua, Q. có ph¥n tiªn bµ v« m÷i m£t, báo hi®u mµt ni«m tin m¾i ðªn v¾i Q. Cu¯i h÷c kÏ mµt t¾p tám, Q. ðã tr· thành mµt h÷c sinh xu¤t s¡c cüa tr߶ng. Trên ðà ðó Q. cÑ tiªn tri¬n và phát huy mãi cho ðªn ngày t¯t nghi®p trung hoc. Q. thi ðõ vào tr߶ng ÐÕi H÷c Tài Chính Kª Toán tÕi Ðà NÇng. Sau b¯n nåm Q. ðßþc mµt c½ quan cüa nhà nß¾c nh§n vào làm vi®c. Hi®n nay Q. ðã có vþ cùng hai con s¯ng mµt cuµc s¯ng tß½ng ð¯i ±n ð¸nh và vui vë.
H½n bao gi¶ hªt, ngay lúc này ðây, hình änh cüa Q., t¤m gß½ng v« Q. luôn hi®n ra và nh¡c nh· tôi, m²i khi tôi cäm th¤y bu°n chán và th¤t v÷ng trên con ð߶ng h÷c v¤n cüa tôi. Tôi luôn tñ nhü, "Hãy c¯ g¡ng lên D. à, mi không th¬ d dàng th¤t v÷ng ho£c yªu ðu¯i nhß thª ðâu, b·i vì sñ ðang v¤p ngã cüa mi chßa b¢ng sñ v¤p ngã cüa Q. trß¾c kia c½ mà!
13. First Love (Hung Mai L6)
The first time I fell in love it felt wonderful. It feels like your heart has a drum beating inside. But yet there is a nervous feeling everytime I have a date with her, or when I am about to see her. Everytime she asks me for a date I am so scared and nervous. I was too shy to speak to her.
The first time I talked to her on the phone I was speechless and I stuttered. You know the first feeling of love is really hard to explain. When you love a person you feel foolish, and think how much you love her. You feel like you have just fallen from heaven. You fell light like a balloon's flying in the air. Love is sharing, love is caring, love is kissing.
The first time I met her I knew she was my dream. We kissed until we both fell deeper and deeper in love and felt the moment of kissing, the moment of action. I guess in order for you to really know how it feels you just have to fall in love yourself.
14. Tu±i 17 (Nguyn Vß½ng HÕnh FV8N)
Tu±i m߶i bäy, em b²ng yêu màu tím
Màu tím mµng m½ l¡ng ð÷ng trong tim
Ai có höi: vì sao yêu màu tím
Không sao trä l¶i nên chï biªt l£ng im.
Tu±i m߶i bäy, b²ng thèm ði dÕo ph¯
Nhæng bu±i chi«u ð߶ng v¡ng, mµt mình thôi!
Ng÷n gió nào "ng¦n ng½" trên ðÕi lµ
Gió qua r°i, còn ý nghî ð¥y v½i ...
Tu±i m߶i bäy, có còn gì ðâu næa!...
Nhæng ni«m vui tu±i m߶i sáu khi xßa
Và b²ng nhiên mang n²i bu°n ch¤t chÑa
Có gì ðâu, ð½n giän tÕi ... tr¶i mßa!
Tu±i m߶i bäy, em l½n r°i chßa nhï?
L¾n hÆn r°i sao vçn "nhóc" quá ði
Trong gi÷ng nói, trong cái nhìn ðôi m¡t
Trong nhæng l¥n b¯i r¯i ch¾p hàng mi ...
Tu±i m߶i bäy lÕ lùng nhß v§y ðó
Mang n²i bu°n mà chÆng hi¬u vì sao
Yêu màu tím yêu nhæng chi«u dÕo ph¯
Và dù bu°n, vçn thích nhæng c½n mßa!
Tu±i m߶i bäy ai qua r°i có th¤y
Nhæng lÕ lùng bí ¦n cüa ð±i thay
Ngây ngô l¡m, h°n nhiên th½ dÕi l¡m
D thß½ng mà nào ai biªt, ai hay ...
14. My Mother! (Quang Dang)
For me, my mom is one of the most important persons in my life. The person that I always respect most. When I think of my mom, I usually think of a gentle face radiant with mercy.
I would say that my mom is not like the other mothers that I know. She is brave and vibrant with emotions. To my father, she is a very faithful wife. My father is always proud of her, and so am I. When I was a little boy, a very significant event happened in my life: my dad was taken away and put into re-education camp for three years. During these three years, my mother had to work extremely hard to raise me and my sister. My family was very poor then, but my mother still did her best to raise us until my father was freed.
I'm very thankful to my mother, so I'm trying my best to be the most devoted son. I should always make my family, and especially my mom happy. If anybody asks me, "who is the person that you love most and respect most?'. My answere will undoubtedly be, "My mother!"