A place near and dear to my heart

Studying becomes harder and harder and my life is more and more sophisticated as I grow older. Secondary school is far more different than primary school and kindergarten. Once in a while, I fell like going back to the good old kindergarten days again.

I have realized for a long time that changing is not a bad thing after all, which makes me not trying to avoid changes in my life. As I am growing up, I am usually happy with the new things that come into my life. The major changes in my life since I was a kid would be moving to a new school. Especially, when moving from my old primary school to a new junior high school. That was a very hectic time of my life, since I had to move from an outskirt home to a house in the heart of Bangkok near my new school. I also had to make new friends and studied a lot harder with tons of homework and many projects to do. That time of my life was when I missed my kindergarten school the most.

I never got a chance to go into my kindergarten school since I was in primary school but I go to the tennis court which is near to it on Sundays. The school does not change much except for the new building which was constructed. Every time my life has a problem, I always think of my good memories there. Pictures of many activities I have done come into my mind and cure my sadness. My kindergarten school was very near to my house in Phutthamonthon area (an outskirt of Bangkok), it was only a 10-minute drive from my home. Studying in kindergarten was one of the best time of my life, I went to school around 9 A.M. to play and learn easy subjects. I also got to take a nap at 1 P.M.-2 P.M. everyday before my mom picked me up at 3 P.M. Homework in kindergarten was very very easy and only needed to be done once a week.

After one semester in Mathayom 1, I started to got used to my new school, even though I was not very happy with it because of many reasons. Later on, I worked very hard to try to get into Triam Udomsuksa school which is the school I am studying in at the presence. After I moved to this new high school, I am very happy with it.

Anyway, my kindergarten school is always a place near and dear to my heart.

Peter's childhood Mecca

In 1965 - just as I remember

I grew up on a farm in Australia, about 700 kilometres north of Sydney. The Catholic primary school I went to is still there in the small town of Woodburn, which was about 5 kilometres from our home. But there was also a much larger town that served the local farming area. Lismore was about 30 kilometres away, and a trip there was a special outing, perhaps once a month, when we needed something not available in Woodburn, such as a trip to the doctor, or to order some machinery for the farm. I loved the visits to Lismore because, although the population was only about 20,000, it seemed enormous to me, with streets crowded with people busy visiting the many shops. A special treat for me and my sisters when we were in early primary school was a visit to the Mecca Cafe, to which I was drawn back when I was in Australia last year.

In 1937 - when my parents were
children taken by their parents

Although I go back to see my family and friends every year at Songkran, those annual visits are short and the days are filled with meals at family homes, or eating out with family and friends. I usually leave it to my brothers and sisters to plan what we do when I'm there, as long as we get a chance to catch up over some good food. But before I went back last year, I had seen an article in the local newspaper about the history of the Mecca Cafe. I shouldn't have been, but it surprised me to learn that the cafe had been there for more than 85 years, since 1932. That was back when my own parents were still not ten years old. I guess that when they took us there, they were repeating a ritual that their own parents, my grandparents, had begun back when most people still used horses to get around, and when a trip into town really was special for the local farmers, and a chance to catch up with friends not often met, just like a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca is a special trip for Muslims. I had never thought of it before, but that was the reason why a cafe in an Australian country town had been named after a city sacred to Islam. And of course, a special trip into the big city was also a time to enjoy a special treat, such as the milkshakes, the pies, and the wonderful cakes that the Mecca Cafe sold. Having been reminded of it, I put a visit to the old Mecca Cafe on my list of things to do.

A mecca at the heart of Lismore
Click here for Google Map
My brother's home is at the bottom.

There was no need to figure out how to get there. I knew exactly where the cafe was, or at least what street it was on. So one morning, after my sister Frances picked up me up at my brothers home on his nearby farm, we drove into Lismore to do some grocery shopping. This was another bit of nostalgia that I always enjoy. My mother, brothers and sisters still go to the same supermarkets that we used to go to when I was in high school in Lismore, but the supermarkets came later than my primary school days. I probably hadn't thought of or been to the Mecca Cafe for more than 40 years, not since I finished high school and left for university in Sydney. Downtown Lismore has changed a lot in the last half century. It's no longer mainly a country town serving a farming community, but is now the centre of a busy tourist area with a university and colleges that serve a much wider area. The streets are full of cafes and restaurants serving a wide range of modern, cosmopolitan foods, so most of the old shops I remember are no longer there. Before we could go to the Mecca, we had to call in for coffee at Henry's, a new cafe in a building that used to be something I don't remember: Menswear? A toy store? A stationery shop? Memory fails me. One of my nieces works there, and we popped in to say, "Hi," to her over an espresso and fruit tart. We didn't really need anything at the Mecca, but Frances understood my desire to to revisit, so we walked down the street a bit more and there it was, one of the few shops that is still what it was almost a century ago. It had been redecorated, I guess a couple of times, but the sign still said "Mecca Cafe," and although they were different to the Chelsea buns, cream horns, bears paws and other delicious cakes we used to love as children, the glass displays were still full of inviting sweets, savoury pies, and the promise of full steak and veggie meals.

I haven't had a desire for a milkshake for many years, so didn't check whether they were still available, although I'm sure they are. It looks more open and better lit than I remembered, but it was still full of rich smells and cheerful chatter. I was happy to be back in a place that brought back so many happy memories of my childhood. However, we didn't sit down then for a plain, traditional Aussie style lunch; that's something I might do when I go back next month: a steak and kidney pie, with mashed potato, mushy peas, carrots, and lots of gravy, but perhaps a large black coffee instead of  a sweet milkshake. And do they now offer the kangaroo steaks that have become popular in the last decade? Maybe my mum would like to join me for lunch there and to reminisce about her visits 80 and more years ago.

Nook's Favorite Bookstore in Childhood

I'm a person who really loves to read a book. A bookstore is my favorite place that I enjoy spending my time to look for some books. Every time that I read an old book of mine, I'll think about beautiful memory when I've got those books. There is a bookstore, which is my favorite bookstore in my childhood, and the name of that bookstore is Bookstation.

Bookstation was located in my hometown called Roi Et, a small province in the northeast of Thailand. It was located near my tutoring school since I was a high school student. Whenever I had a break or finished the class, I would go to Bookstation to relax. The smell of new books was a smell that I love. It can reduce stress, and Bookstation was a perfect place for me to have a short break after the class. I loved to walk around a bookstore and found some books I've never read before.

A picture of Bookstation

I returned home last month, and when I saw my old books on the shelf, I was drawn back to Bookstation. One question had popped up in my mind, would Bookstation still be the same? I decided to visit the bookstore. Because I still remembered the route, it was not difficult to find my favorite bookstore. However, it was the truth that everything would be changed through time passed by. Bookstation was no longer there. The bookstore was turned into a travel accessories store. There was nothing the same, the logo's shop, the owner, and the book advertisement papers on the door, everything was disappeared. I felt unfamiliar and disappointed, so I didn't go inside the shop. I texted to one of my friends and asked her about Bookstation, she told me that the bookstore was closed since the late of 2018.

Although Bookstation has no longer existed, the wonderful memory still is existed in my mind. I remember which books I bought from the store. Every time I read all those old books of mine, I'll think about my childhood and Bookstation.

Teeter totter

It was my father’s birthday when I tried to get something for dinner. I decided to go for some places new. At first, I was lost in the middle of the way. I walked down the alley and then suddenly realized that it was the same direction that I used to take to go to my primary school. There were so many changes. The piano school with cozy-looking cafe in the front had disappeared. Instead, there were construction site, which seemed like it was going to be replaced by condominium. I finally got something for dinner from the street market nearby. After I finished buying food, I was drawn back to my primary school. Therefore, I started walking along the alley and then stopped in front of the school.

When I got in, there were so many unbelievable changes. My childhood school had became so much attractive. It was decorated with light-colored Christmas light all around, making it Christmas vibe. As I walked in, one thing that strike me the most was the nostalgic playground that I used to play when I was a kid. It was in the middle of the school. There were so many colorful playthings, such as bright red slider and cute little orange teeter totter. All the things there looked so much smaller. I felt like I was a giant who was as tall as the slider.

After I got out from the school, I returned home and all the nostalgias hit me so bad. I used to play with my friends in that playground. Consequently, I texted my childhood friends that I hadn’t talked for ages on Facebook and we started talking. I thought it was going to be hard for me to talk with them, because it had been a long time since we last talked. Surprisingly, our talk ran smoothly and we couldn’t stop. As a result, we managed to see each other at our old school. And I bet that it’s going to be great.

The old kindergarten school in Paeng's memory.

One place that always reminds me of my young age is my old kindergarten school. I learnt there since  I was 3 years old until 5 years old. Even it was a short period of time but my memory about that time is still clear.

The school is near my home. It take only 10-15 minutes to reach there but I remember that I was always late for school everyday. The school is in a middle size, which has nursery, kindergarten and elementary level. The memory that I like the most about this school is when all the student must took daytime sleepiness and I was kind of kid that don't like to sleep. I did like to tell a ghost story with my friend then we ends up being scolded by teachers. Moreover, the school contains a lot of memory of my childhood, both good and bad, happy and sad. I got my first close friend here. I also learnt from this school that not all teachers would be a kind person. I had one teacher who often rapped me about my hand writing. I never understand until today that what was she expect from 4-year-old girl's hand writing. 

All of this memories stay in my head even after the time had past for 17 years. I just didn't think of them much until one day I went out to bought roast duck with my dad and we eventually passed by the school. I suddenly realized that I strongly miss there although, I remember myself felt very happy when knew that I must moved to study in elementary level in another school. All the memories about there popped out in my mind like it just happens yesterday not 17 years ago. However, I still not get a chance to visit my old kindergarten school even I pass there very often. The reason is it is a long time since I study there. Teachers that use to teach me may already move to another place, also I don't keep in touch with any friends from my young age. I don't want to walk lonely into the school gate just to found that there have no one I know here. 

Anyway, I like the feeling of the past that come into my mind anytime I pass by the school or see the students in their uniform. The school reminds me of my young self, which I like the most from all of my age.

The park that I have never forgotten

Last two years, I was drawn back to a park that I often went when I was young, where there were a lot of my memories. It was a park near my old house before I moved to another place, which is located under the Rama IX bridge, and next to the Chaophraya River, which is the most beautiful river in Bangkok. It was Chaaloem Phrakiat Park.

One day, I had to meet one of my friend in a restaurant near that park. After the meal, while I was getting to my car, the park’s image in my memory had shown up in my mind. Then I suddenly made my decision to go straight to the park that I had never been there for a long time and I know I missed it. That time, the park had not been changed much since I was young, which I can remember that when I was around 13-14 years olds, I went there almost every day after school with my aunties, who brought me to know this place. Because the park is almost same as before, my entire memories about this place continuously came up to my head like my own film.

There are many facilities that people could get benefits from such as a library, small gym, Chaophraya viewpoint, and garden with many kinds of flowers. When I went inside that park, first thing that I saw was the bus library which is the library located in a bus with one big room, and small tables and chairs; it could contain around 6-7 people at the same time including librarian. This library was especially built for children, which we could see from colors and designs inside. I loved that place so much. Afterward, I walked along the way passed the garden to the gym, which was also the place that my aunties used to do yoga. which apparently looked very old. Inside the gym, I can see treadmills, dumbbell and many exercise equipments. After that, I walked out and went directly to the Chaophraya viewpoint, and took a deep breath along the trail; it was fresh and lively. Then I stopped at the viewpoint and sat there for maybe 30 minutes to take a good rest, and I also saw people do aerobics next to the river with the happy face and enthusiastic sound. It seems like I relieved all stress I had got previously and recharged myself for the next day before I went home.

After that time, I didn’t have any opportunity to go there again. However, based on this assignment, I have searched for the name of this place, which I forgot it at the first time, and unexpectedly found that this park was removed since there are another project of building another bridge on this area. I was really sad to hear this news. However, I hope that, after the building had finished, the government will bring the park back to Bangkok people.

Ploy's childhood memory

When I was a child, I have go to many places but the one place that still my mind is amusement park named Dream World. My family bring me to this place for twice a time, me and younger sisters had to take pictures together and when I see all photographs it reminds me about that day in the past. So, in last year I was drawn back to amusement park again after many years that I visited in the first time with my friends. This place was changed in many photo spot areas such as seven wonders of the world and the area which settings of fantasy movies and fairy tales. At first, I went to the giant's house where is everything around me is bigger than myself and there is still interested me since I was a child. But I went to the new area in this place for get new photos too. Moreover, when I saw the Cinderella's pumpkin car I was thought of my younger sisters that we were a princess are sitting in the pumpkin car and I also wasn't miss to take a photo. And the sword, which I have to try to pull the sword with my sister despite I already known it can't to do that. However, in the future I want to go there again with my younger sisters for being like a child, eliminate stress for a while and make our memories happen again in adult life.

What Sha sha reads

I like to read comic books and novel. My favorite novel is "Murder on the Orient Express". It is about in the Orient express it has murder at night and detectives in there must to find the killer because it might has new murder.

 

What Int reads

When I have free time I usually spend my time with books. I like to read novel and my favorite one is "the 39 steps". I first read this book when I was in year 10.

" The 39 steps " is a story about a man in London who is trying to help the secret agent but after the agent is killed, this man need to stop other spy which is trying to steal top secret information. So this story write about what this man need to faced with from trying to stop them and he also need to protect himself.

What Mind reads

Yesterday, I read a news about Venezuala's economic problems. Currently, the Venezuala faces a big problem about their recession and inflation. Many people throw the money away because their money has no value. The news shows that this problem was from the politic in this country. They manage the country in the wrong way, and even they changed many political leaders, it still not help but rather gain a lot more problems.

Since in the beginning of this month, this country don't have any electricity or water supply, which causes many people die. This is a really big problem for this country, which we cannot forget that this country used to be a flourish country. Moreover, this would happen on any countries that have leaders that is not good enough to drive the country. 

What Lily Reads

The Promised Neverland is a Japanese comic book that I've been reading. It has a very interesting plot. To begin with, there were children who lived in an orphanage with a babysitter called 'Mama'. Emily, a cheerful girl, lived in this place helping Mama to deal with the children. Everyone loved her. Along with the two boys, who were Emily's best friends, Norman and Ray, they were both very clever or you can say that they're the top of this orphanage.

However, there were something peculiar in this orphanage, Every month, one child had to be sent to live with the family who adopted them. Therefore, one night, Emily's curiosity startle her to follow Mama and the child who had to be sent in that day. soon after she caught those two, her heart was beating so faster. That child who should be sent that day became a disgusting-looking corpse.

What Keng reads

Reading books is one of my favorite hobbies. I loved reading cartoons when I was young. When I grow up, I read many different kinds of books. Apart from school books, there are hundreds of books on my shelves. However, I love historical books the most.

I love to read books about important events in the past such as World War II and also books about famous people's biography such as Steve Jobs. Reading about events in the past allows me to learn about interesting facts which took place in the world before I was born, it was very fun to do so. Reading about famous people is also very interesting, I learn a lot from doing that and I can apply the knowledge I get into my daily life.

What Paeng reads

One of my favorite book is The Lord of the Rings. It's kind of famous literature that became popular after Hollywood make it a movies. Anyway, it'n not everyone that are fan of The Lord of the Rings movies will have a chance to read books, because the book is, in my opinion, difficult to read.

The story in the book has something different from the movies, also has some more detail that they can't tell in the movies. I think even the book is so long and must take time to read but it's better to know original version of this epic story.

What Champ reads

I like reading comics and novels. My favorite book is "Ready Player One"; It is story about the future world that everyone go to school online at "Oasis" and you can play games at Oasis too. One day, the creator of Oasis died and he wanted to give Oasis to the one who can finds all of easter eggs that he hidden them in Oasis. So, many people are hunting for easter eggs but no one find it. Then, the story about easter eggs becomes joke and many people stop finding them until there is the first person who can find the bronze key which is one of the easter eggs. 

Now, this book is translated into Thai, English and so on. There is a movie that the story based on this book too, it also called "Ready Player One". In the movie, there are many easter eggs for example, some characters from other movies, some from video games.

What New reads

I always reads games manual of Dragonball Dokkan Battle after I have done my homework. The book is about how to be a professional player in this game. It describes every functions in the game and let you know a main idea of game play.

First of all, I have to go to a content and choose one that I would like to know: character lists, all special skills and data base of support items. Then I can go to a specific page that the index tell and start to read the information. The book also give me tips to be a pro-players such as how to arrange my team.

This is my favorite book because it make me easier to play without stress. Do you want to try this once? 

What Nook reads

What people do on their free time? Some people like to listen to music, while some like to watch movies. For me, I enjoy read a lot of books on my free time, for example, novels, fantasy fictions, and comics. Japanese comics, which is called manga, are the kind of books that I read the most.

I start to read manga since I was a kid. My favorite Japanese comics are Detective Conan, Haikyuu, and Kuroko no Basket. It provides more than funny and excited stories to me because it give me story about friendship and endeavor. If you wonder what books you should read on your free time, Japanese comics are good choice for you.

What Ploy reads

I've read about aircraft crash which it was a boeing 737 max 8 plane in Ethiopia. This is a worse situation that killed all passengers and crews. It makes an awareness to Thai lion airline which also have the same boeing that crashed in Ethiopia, so CEOs decided to cancel boeing 737 max for flying in every flights in Thailand because they concern about safety.

What Peter reads

Since I was in primary school, I've read a lot, although unlike then, I rarely read on paper these days. Almost everything I read today is online or on my Kindle app, which are far more convenient than paper for most things.

However, the material I read hasn't changed so much. Actually, now that I think about it, there have been some significant changes to the type of material, if not the quantity. When I was in high school and at university, I read a lot of fiction and science. These days i still read the fiction, although not so much recently, but my non-fiction reading is broader than before. I browse at least three newspapers every day, usually with my morning coffee, when I read the BBC News, the Bangkok Post, The New York Times, and usually also Australia's Sydney Morning Herald. Obviously I don't read every story in these publications. I quickly look at the front page, which usually has one or two stories I do want to read, and then I go to the sections that interest me, usually local politics, but also science, technology, and opinions.

Books? The most recent books I've read were not very serious: a John Grisham legal thriller, and the book versions of the NetFlix series Dexter, which was fun. In non-fiction, I've recently read the excellent series of three books by historian Yuval Noah Harari, who takes from 13.5 billion years ago into the possible futures of our likely short-lived species. And right now I'm reading a recent work on the weirdness of quantum mechanics.

Before reading "Invasive species you should know": (SkR&W3, p48)

Before we read

Click image
to enlarge

Before we read "Invasive Species You Should Know," the first reading in unit 5 of Skillful RW3, Bixby and Scanlon have a question to respond to.

___________________________________ 

Bixby and Scanlon's question

Discuss this question in a comment below.

• What insects to you have in your area? What problems can they cause?

You have ten minutes to respond in a comment. I suggest you brainstorm on a scrap of paper for two minutes before writing for about eight minutes.

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Reference

• Bixby, J. & Scanlon, J. (2013). Skillful reading & writing: Student's book 3. Oxford: Macmillan Education 

Getting into Unit 5 = Movement (SkR&W3, p47, Discussion point)

Click to view full size

What we read

Bixby and Scanlon introduce each unit with a discussion activity, that is, an opportunity for us to share our ideas on the topic of the unit in a way that relates it to our own lives, ideas and experiences. Unit 5 of book 3 (Bixby & Scanlon [=B&S3], 2013, p.47) does this.

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My response 

The research solidly shows that brainstorming or discussion activities for groups are more effective if participants start by working individually (O'Connell, 2010; Markman, 2017). In fact, experts at Harvard University's School of Management and elsewhere are sure that this can be very effectively done using online tools (Chamorro-Premuzic, 2015). Blogging is one effective way to do this, which is the reason I've turned Bixby and Scanlon's discussion exercise into a quick blogging discussion.

___________________________________ 

Bixby and Scanlon's questions 

Discuss these questions in a comment.  

• Why do some birds migrate?
   
• What other animals migrate? 
• What animals migrate to or from your country?
   
• What human activities can disrupt of interfere with animal movement? 

For all of these, you should write full sentences. You will also need to write a few sentences for each of your ideas, giving explanation, examples and other details to clarify and develop your ideas. 

You can address the questions in any order. You can write one comment, or if you prefer, two comments, but not three. So that you don't worry about Bixby and Scanlon's numbers too much, I replaced them with bullets. We do not care about the numbers that Bixby and Scanlon gave their questions. 

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Useful tip 1

Jim: "Because it's hot." 

I expect that you have a problem with Jim's answer above. He assumes that we know what he's talking about, and this easily causes problems for readers and listeners. When you write your comments below, just as when we are talking in class, it is a useful communication strategy to imagine that your readers have not heard or read the question you are responding to. You need to write enough so that your comment makes sense for readers who have not read the above questions. 

Useful tip 2

You are not writing an academic essay here. This is a fluency activity where your aim is to communicate a series of ideas quickly. It's OK if you go off topic a bit, or even a lot. And unlike in academic work, you don't have to give solid support for everything you say, although it is still a good idea to give some supporting details, examples and explanation to help readers follow your ideas. Just turn your first idea into a sentence or a few, and then do the same for your next idea, and then the next one. And keep going. 

Now, open a new comment box and start writing. In your nine minutes, aim to write three paragraphs, that is, one paragraph for each of Bixby and Scanlon's main questions.  

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References

• Bixby, J. & Scanlon, J. (2013). Skillful Reading & Writing: Student's Book 3. Oxford: Macmillan Education
    
• Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2015, April 2). Why brainstorming works better online. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2015/04/why-brainstorming-works-better-online
   
• Markman, A. (2017, May 18). Your team is brainstorming all wrong. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2017/05/your-team-is-brainstorming-all-wrong
   
• O'Connell, A. (2010, February 4). Sometimes, it’s better to brainstorm alone. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2010/02/when-its-better-to-brainstorm 

Welcome to RW2b and to our class blog

What I read

Although I've read a lot in preparation for it, this post has a different purpose than summarizing and responding to something I've read. I want to welcome you to your EAP class on Saturday mornings.

So, welcome.

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My response 

Thank you for joining our Saturday class in Reading and Writing for academic purposes. I hope you find the next six weeks useful, productive, also challenging, and perhaps even fun. 

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My question

As you can see, online discussion makes an appearance early on in Unit 1 of Skillful (Bixby & Scanlon, 2013, p. 9) and there is a more extensive coverage of this common part of modern university courses on page 66. 

Click on them to
see images full size.

Also, in her foreword to students on page 4 (or perhaps page 6 if you have a later print than mine), the series editor, Dorothy E. Zemach, gives some strategies for successful learning, one of which is to "be an independent learner" (in Bixby & Scanlon, 2013). This class blog is one way for us to do this. As Zemach suggests in her comment, it is one way for you to "find and then share information about ... different topics." Some of the topics you will write about here are the unit topics, but I also Zemach's suggestion that "reading for pleasure and using the Internet in English" are important, so your writing here will not be limited to the topics of the units that we study over the next six weeks. 

• Do you agree with Zemach and the authors of our book and myself? Is a class blog a useful addition to our class this term? (This is two sentences, but it's only one question for you to respond to.) 

You can respond as soon as you accept the invitation I will soon send you to join this blog. 

Writing tip

When you write your comment, imagine that readers have not seen the question you are answering. This forces you to make your work an independent piece of writing, one that makes sense by itself. 

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Reference

• Bixby, J. & Scanlon, J. (2013). Skillful Reading & Writing, Student's Book 3. Oxford: Macmillan Education