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Secondary Bilingual Orientation Center
Seattle Public Schools 		 
   301  21st. Avenue E.
   Seattle, WA 98112
   206-252-2200
 
 
 
 
 
Student Voices

Jinyanzi

A Cake’s Life

       My life is a delicious chocolate cake—dark and sweet. The sweet is inside the dark. The dark is like bad things that make me feel scared, something I don’t like to do……. The sweet is like when I finished these dark things, I can see my every sweet. For example, when I came to USA the first day I felt scared and timid about all the new things around me. After 10 or 11 days I was “ok”. I know those dark parts should be in my life. Everybody has some dark in their life. My sweets are my happiness, family, and friends.

I can find my sweets when I feel sad.
I can find my sweet when I feel happy.
I can find my sweet when I feel scared.

       In my native—born China, I had a sweet life. Every week, I went to school to study, and play…… except holidays. The environment of my school was so-so. Students only had very old wood chairs and tables. Every two teachers only had a small office. Every class had a long, old and broken blackboard, and the erasers were getting ready to die. But every year, our books were new, and that was the only thing good for us. The hygiene of my school was so bad. Every morning the gate of my school was having a “garbage party” I couldn’t go through that “huge messy river.” In my school, the very hard things were the tests and homework. They were so hard to do.
       I had a happy family. I only had grandparents and my mom. I didn’t have a dad when I was born. That was all right. I didn’t even want to have one. My grandparents’ jobs were teacher and doctor. My mom’s job was a secretary. They always came home as I got home, so I didn’t have time to copy homework from my friend’s paper. My mom always watched me write my work. She taught me lot of math. But I liked to ask questions to my grandfather because he was nicer than anyone, when he was teaching me. My mom liked to use computer. My grandpa liked to play video games. My grandma liked to dance in the park of my city. They were great cooks. I could eat many tasty foods. We liked to sit together to watch TV every night. They loved me a lot. We had a cheerful time in there.
       My best friends were my neighbors’ kids. We were friends for 4 years. We had about 18 to 20 kids who were my friends. Our watchword was “ICE AND FIRE”. We were the biggest and strongest kid group of my city. Every afternoon, we all got out our house and met in front of my house to play. We liked to play “hide-and-seek” in my basement, because it was very dark and big. There was a lot of stuff in there. Right now, I still miss them.

China is my native—born country.
China had many cheerful times.
China had everything I loved.

       July 28, 2006 was a special day for me, because I was leaving the China to US. Before I was leaving, I heard I have to go to the US soon from my grandma’s mouth on February 11, 2006. I felt so sad about it. I told my friends and classmates. They were envious of me. But nobody could understand what I was feeling. In that time, I always thought about my future for the rest of my time. After some days, I was “ok”. I thought: whatever, I don’t care, just follow my destiny.” So for the rest my time in China, I just did everything, like I do everyday before I knew I had to leave.
       One day, I asked my mom:” Why we have to go US?” Mom gave a bad answer:” Your new father is over there.” I was so upset when I hear that. Sometimes I wanted to tell mom about “ I didn’t want to have one’ But I didn’t do that. I thought mom might love the father a lot. That made me so confused.
       The rest time, I got a classmates record book to my classmates. I couldn’t give some to my friends, because I felt shy to them. I tried to get more times with them. I was cherishing the time what I did with my friends. For example, the captain of my kids group was mad at a little girl, because we were just lost a game. That was volleyball. If we won, the volleyball court was ours. If they won, was opposite of that. The girl didn’t block the ball at the last second of the game. And we lost it. She sat in the corner and was crying. After that, most kids of my group were afraid of the captain. We lost lots of respect for him.
          When I left at the airport, I saw some of my friend came to see me.  That made me feel sad.  I could feel some” water” came out from my eyes. I said Good-bye to everything I had in China, except my family.  When I was coming to US, it was about 12hours for the airplane. I saw lots of new thing in there. “look, the seats, the door, the window......OH my……”
          When I used my right foot to touch the American ground, I was so…… (I can’t describe what I was feeling.) Then, I got a taxi with my family. I saw the houses and buildings were different than China, They were more colorful and different kinds. After about 20 minutes, I saw a cute, blue and big house in front of my eyes. And that was my new house. I ran very fast into the house. I saw a whit wall in the living room. A comfortable sofa with a blue armchair was across from the big TV. The brown bookcase was in the corner, next to the window. There was also a small and red fireplace on the wall. A tall lamp was next to the sofa. The pretty rug was on the floor, in the center of this room……
          The next day, I got out with my family and drove to Chinatown off Seattle. I was thinking about my friends when I saw the Chinese words in the car. I felt sad and upset, but that was not a big problem for me. During a week, we cleaned our stuff. That was from China, and got ready for a new life. On October 1, 2007, it was my first day of American school. I was shy and excited. But soon I got a new friend in school. Her name is XiaoXin. She was also from China. She’s a funny and friendly girl. She’s my best friend fight now. Then day by day, I started to like this friendly place. Everything is the opposite of what I thought. I’m trying to cherish this sweet time.
          So now, you know why my life is like a chocolate cake. In China, I had a sweet time. When I knew I had to go to the US. I got a hard time. But now in US, I’m having a sweet time again. Is that almost a repeating life? Yes, that’s why I’m worrying about if I’m going to have a hard time again. No Way! I’m got going to let is come, Never, Never. I’m trying to keep this sweet time forever, forever.
    

 

 

Henok Bekele

Happy, fun, sad, and joyful
Son of Yenenesh Tefera
Who loves happy people, fun, and religion
Who speak Amharic and English
Who feels happy, sad, and grateful
Who needs money, happiness and bravery
Who fears gangsters, god, and ghosts
Who gives funny, laughs, and good behavior
Who wants to see zoo
Happy, thoughtful, grateful, and friendly
Henok Bekele

 

Ali Mahamoud

My Life is like Ship

          My life is like an old ship in a dangerous ocean and it cannot be safe by it self. The only way the ship can be safe is to think and figure out their ideas. I always try to do all the best of my life and get ready to be successful future. My father always advises me to make good future in my life. Sometimes I worried because I don’t know what will happen at the end of my life .But Allah knows because Allah made us from the beginning to the end of my life.

          Before, I was living in the city of Jowhar. Jowhar is north of the capital of Somalia. Jowhar is small city that has a river and many fields. I had one brother and tow sisters, and I had a lot of cousins that helped each other. All my family lived together in a small hut made of grass and wood. That hut had a green door. My father owned a big field that grew corn, grain, beans, and sesames. All my family and my cousins worked in the fields. At that time in Somalia, there was a civil war beginning. The civil war started and Somalia fought each other. And my father went to the country called Masar. After my father went to Maser, the rest of my family and I moved to Nairobi to get help from the U.N.C. At that time the UNC was helping many people. After that, we came to the United States.

          When I came to the United States, I took an airplane. The kind of airplane was blue and grey together. Some of my cousins said to me,” bye Ali. Other said,” Don’t forget us.” My aunt said to me, “I wish you to be safe in the airplane and to arrive safely and god bless.” First When I was in the airplane, I was feeling happy and excited , but when the airplane started to fly, I felt very sad and bad because  I thought I couldn’t see anymore my cousins. I was going to another country for away from, my country.

          My life is good in the USA. I live with my family and my father buys anything I want because he is responsible for me. I am happy living with my family. When I left my country, I felt happy because I wanted to see my dad. When I came to the USA, I didn’t know any English, how to write and how to read, but today I speak much better English then When I arrived. When I was in the airplane, the pilot announced but I couldn’t understand what he said. There were a lot of Americans who spoke English. They said to me, “hi”but I didn’t reply to them.

          My life is like an old ship in a dangerous ocean that needs help to be safe. I need to learn English fast and get ready to be successful both for the future and in the present. I want to support my self until I die. I want to provide for my dad and my mom who gave me food when I was young until I grew up. I appreciate everyone who helps me and all the support my brother and my sisters give me. 

 

 

 

Lucia Reyes

My Life is a Flower

            My life is a flower because the flower has roots, and I have roots, my grandparents.  The flower has stem, and I have stem, my patents.  The flower has leaves, and I have leaves, my brothers and sisters.  The flower need, water and air for life, and I need my family together, happy and a good friends like you for life.
           
            My life in my country was beautiful because in my country I was free because each and ate candies and potato chips.  My life in my country really was beautiful because in my country I had all my family together.  Sometimes my family and I go home of my grandparents and all the family ate together.  In the afternoon we go to the park and in the night we did a   fire place outside of the home of my grandparents.  Rarely when my parents did not work, we go to park and do a picnic and sometimes go to downtown all the family together.

            I came to U.S.A the last week on February, 2008.  I stayed sad because I liked my life in my country, but my mom said to me, we didn’t have a lot of money. I didn’t want to come to U.S.A, because my life in my country was fun and complete.  I miss my country and my friends, but in here I have a good friends and all my family together.  I like a little U.S.A, because in here I have all my family and a good friend like you.

            My first day in the U.S.A, I was confused because when I came I spoke little English and now I speak little more.  One month later, I came to S.B.O.C. and my first class here name, but I know he is a good friend, and I think what he knows.  My life in the United States is a little same, but never was the same.  I feel something happy because I have my family together and a really good friend like you.  Thank you, my friend.

            My life is like a flower because the flower grows, lives, and dies, and I  grow whit my brother, sisters, my parents, and all my family together and  happy When I was 15  years old, I lived in Mexico Distrito Federal, but now  I’m 16 years old and I lived in Seattle, Washington. I go to Bilingual Orientation School because I don’t speak 100% at English.  Now I feel sometimes sad because U.S.A.  Is not the same as Mexico?  A country is never the same, I think so.  Really my life is like a flower.