Welcome to the class blog!

This blog belongs to the students of ESL-Level 6 at Harold Washington College in Chicago. This blog is a place for students to share their writing and comment on their classmates' work as well.

Dining out or Cooking at Home?

Having both a busy schedule and a tight budget can create a dilemma when it comes to eating right: do I go out to eat or cook at home? As I started to make a comparison between dining in and dining out, I compared the time, cost, and effort needed to eat right and stay healthy. Having to hop on the train and head to work after class as part of a daily routine can prevent you from taking care of basic needs such as cooking, which might take you from 90 to 120 minutes everyday. Plus you'll be stuck for another 30 minutes doing the hardest part: washing the dishes. If you don't have the time, then you might want to try dining out. Finding restaurants along your daily route can be practical and save time. You won't have to go back home to eat, and you can use your cooking time as study time. One thing you won't save, however, is money. Cooking at home is definitely cheaper since you don't have to tip yourself and you're not paying a cook. Dining out can be quite expensive and even more if you do it everyday. You find yourself in certain moods for certain foods, but those milkshakes add up. On the other hand, when cooking at home you have to plan what you want to cook and shop to fit your mood. You have to put forth a lot more effort to go to the grocery store, plan ahead, predict your moods, cook, and clean up whereas if you dine out you have the choice of many different types of food. Then you can put all your effort into interacting with different people instead of staying home alone scrubbing your plates.
Rafael Garcia

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Domestic Violence

What can we do to prevent domestic violence? There are many ways to prevent domestic violence. Many women suffer in silence and others are afraid to talk. Some can’t talk because it’s too late. They are dead. Don’t let anyone to put you down, insult you, tell you are not worthy, or hit you because that person doesn’t care about you. Men think they can do whatever they want because they are “machos” and nobody can tell them what to do and what not to do because they are always right. When your husband or boyfriend hits you the first time, it means he will continue hurting you whenever he feels like it. When a man is an abuser, he always will be one. They’ll find any reason to argue. For example, if they find a toothpick on the floor, they’ll start screaming at you saying that you are lazy that you don’t clean the house even though the house is pretty clean. That’s why women should try to prevent violence before it happens. Here are some of the things that you can do to stop domestic violence. First, if your partner hits you, call the police and ask for a police report. Second, if he continues abusing you emotionally or verbally, get an order of protection. With this document, the aggressor can’t hurt you. Finally, escape from an abusive relationship and try to be happy. Nobody has the right to mistreat you. Take advantage of the help that this country offers you. This country has many organizations that can help women that go through domestic violence. You don’t have to suffer silence anymore. Please look for help.
Maria Ofelia Duarte

Single Parents Working Hard

In this world, we have many problems that we have to deal with. Sometimes we make the problems or they happen anytime or everywhere. One of the issues we have to deal with is the difficulties of being a single parent. It can create problems between the parent and the kid. There are several examples of difficulties for single parents. One reason is their economic future. If you become a single parent one day, you have to work double than you usually work. Otherwise, you won’t earn much money. Of course, the government gives some extra money, but if you have lots kid, the money is not enough to support the family. You have to pay the bills, car insurance, electricity, and gas. Another reason that it is difficult is maintaining a household. If you have children, it means you have to a lot clean, especially if you have a little kid. You clean and next time you turn around, they have made a mess again. They like to be dirty. Several months ago, I saw an advertisement for babies. One baby talked to another baby. The advertisement was about baby body soap. One of babies told the other baby the how to get dirty, so that they could wash everyday. It was cute. Finally, education is a problem for single parents. When kids are grown up and ready to go to school, you have to help them get ready to get to school on time, so you have to do everything yourself. When kids are done with school, you have to pick them up on time, so that they don’t get into trouble. I would like to applaud all single parents in the U.S and around the world. I am proud of them because they have a difficult job more than any other job.
Jun Sang Yoo

How to Survive in a Foreign Country

When a new immigrant arrives in a foreign country and he is going to migrate to that new country for acquiring as job or some other reasons, he/she needs to follow some basic knowledge of that new country and its culture. The foremost important thing is to learn to speak and write the national language of the country. For instance, in some countries like India, there are more than twenty-two different languages, but the national language is Hindi. Before a person decides to migrate to that country, he/she must devote some time to studying the basic language of that country. For example, if someone wants to migrate to the U.S., the person has to spend some time learning English, so he can communicate and find a job for his survival in that new country. That is the most important step for a newcomer to begin in a new country. The new immigrants who are migrating to a new country for immigration purposes or political asylum, have to try to learn about the culture of that country so they can effectively meet people in the community and make good social relationships in the community in which they are living. There are many different countries in the world that are democratic, communist, and other totalitarian regimes, and each country has different rules. The newcomers need to learn the basic infrastructure of the government and political system, so they can survive effectively in that new country. The new migrants should have the basic knowledge of the food and other consumer markets, servicing the community, so they can buy food and other necessities everyday. Every immigrant should know the foreign embassy of their own country, which can offer them the needed help in case of any legal issues regarding immigration arise. Is Human migration governed by the law of the survival of the fittest? In this vast natural ecosystem, millions of seeds grow and among them, may be thousands or even hundreds of seeds that grow and multiply. Humans are the most intelligent species in the animal kingdom, so they need more wisdom and understanding of the ecosystem they live in. Therefore, nature provides all the abilities and by nurturing it develops its full growth. Consequently, they achieve a maximum harmony with their habitat and ecosystems they live in.
Andrews Paul

Week 12 Newspaper Assignment

Now that you have discussed the article you chose, please write a short description of it. Include the main points mentioned in the article. In addition, at the end of your summary, write a few sentences that discuss your thoughts and ideas about the article.