IF I WERE A BOY

If I were a boy just for a day,
I'd go out of the home whenever I am bored
And not get back until I want.

Hang around all day fecklessly
Swear or kick anybody whom I raged at
Because I wonder
'Whether it would work'
'How it could comfort a boy'

If I were a boy
I'd try to understand
Why a boy wants to domainate
Over everything
Especially over a girl
Cause I know how stupid it is
But I don't know how you can see yourself right
Because you are just a boy

If I were a boy
Even just for a day
I'd want to be a girl again
Because all those unjust discrimination
Doesn't mean much for me

If I were a boy
I'd respect a girl
Above all
So she could feel good


If I were a boy
I'd try to understand
Why a boy wants to domainate
Over everything
Especially over a girl
Cause I know how stupid it is
But I don't know how you can see yourself right
Because you are just a boy

It's too late to be regret,
To apoligize, to make up your faults
If you think I have to endure you forever
I should blind to your faults
No, you're mistaken.

But you're just a boy
I know you can't understand your faults
Until she leaves you.
But if you continue this way
You'll always lose.

VIDEO REFLECTION 2

      BEING THE ONLY CHILD OR HAVING A SISTER?

      In the world, the number of children in a family is decreasing day by day. There are many reasons for this. At the beginning of these reasons is monetary problems. Due to the high cost of living, having two or more children seems to be a problem. Moreover, busy job life is one of the problem causing this.  As women going into the business life, looking after children is getting difficult. Because men generally don’t concern their children or don’t help their wives.  As a natural consequence of all these, couples prefer to have one child today. But sometimes, this situation causes some problems.

      Firstly, it may cause to spoiltness. Not only parents but also the other family members are interested in only one child. They buy lots of presents to the child,. Because she is unique in the family, everyone dotes upon her. They accept her all wishes for her happiness. So, child starts to get spoiled. After a while, she gets accustomed to having and doing whatever she wants.

      Secondly, being the only child in a family may cause to selfishness. As far as I observe, tha children who haven’t got any sibling may be selfish or jealous a little bit. If you haven't got a sister or brother, you use all of your belongings on your own. However, the child who has a sibling or more is accostumed to share her dolls,foods,clothes, etc with her siblings. Thus, the child knows what sharing means.

      Finally, from time to time, it may cause to feel lonely.For instance if you have a sister, you can tell everything to her, share your secrets with her, support each other if you need. But children who haven't got any sibling can not do any of them. Also, if the child lose her parents at an accident or something else, she has to stand alone in life. But if she had a sibling, she would recover it more easily, she wouldn’t feel lonely herself, they would support and look after each other.

      To sum up, having at least one sister or brother is better than being the only child in a family. Because, in my opinion, no friend can be replaced by a sister. I have a sister and so I feel so lucky. She is my everything. We share whatever we have each other. We spend very enjoyable time together. Besides we share our problems and comfort one another. As long as she is in my life, I never feel alone. I can say that: Having a sister is never preferred to anything else. :))

 

REWRITTING OF PARAGRAPHS

      EXERCISE 1 (Original)

   Our beagle loves to hunt. Someone opens the back door for her. She barrels down porch steps into the yard. She runs back and forth across the lawn in ecstasy. Her nose cruises the wet grass for smells. These are smells of cats, rabbit smells, and other presences too subtle for human detection. She sniffs. She spins her tail in quick circles. It spins clockwise first. Then it spins counterclockwise. These two activities always occur together. They are sniffing and spinning. They seem to propel her along.
 
     REWRITTEN

   Our beagle likes hunting. She comes into the yard as soon as somebody opens the back door for her.She runs back and forth across the sward, excitedly. For scents, she scans the wet grass with her nose. Those are scents of cats, rabbits and other existing creatures which can not be awared by humans. She snuffs and spins her tail in fast circles. It spins clockwise initially. Then, it spins anticlockwise. These two activities always occur together: They are snuffing and spinning. They appear to propel her along.

    EXERCISE 2 (Original)
  
    The Government Printing Office in Washington D.C.  is a source of much useful information. Few people know about it. It is the official publishing house for the federal government. The GPO publishes pamphlets and books on a vast number of subjects. The subjects range from the dangers of x- rays from home TV sets to the identification of mushrooms. About 27 000 publications are offered through the superintendent of documents. Many of them are inexpensive. There is no charge at all for some of them.
 
     REWRITTEN
  
    The Government Printing Office in Washington D.C. is one of the resources of handy information. Not many people know about it.But,it is the official publishing house for the federal government. The GPO publishes leaflets and books on a vast number of issues. The issues vary from the dangers of x-rays from home TV sets to the evaluation of the mushrooms. Approximately 27 000 publications are offered by means of the superintendent of documents. Besides, lots of them are cheap. There is no charge at all for most  of them.


       EXERCISE 3 (Original)

    A man reaped America’s first fortune. He was John Jacob Astor. He was a German immigrant. He made his initial money trading Indian furs. He was lowborn, uneducated. Astor never learned to speak English properly. He carried on his business to the end in an accent. The accent was redolent of the Hamburg gutters.
 

       REWRITTEN

    There was a man who was called as  John Jacob Astor.He got America's first fortune. He was a German immigrant. He raised his first money by trading Indian furs though he was not high-born, educated . Astor could never achieve to speak English properly. He went on doing his business to the end in an accent. The accent was a reminder of the Hamburg gutters.

 

 

 

VIDEO REFLECTION 1

   
 
     The students in this video think that studying in the USA is quite beneficial for them. By this means they have got to know new cultures and new people. Also they have an opportunity to studying in more comfortable conditions while compared with their own countries'. So they are happy to be studying in the United States.
     
     Because in her own country she has to get very high scores for deparment which she is majoring now, the Chinese student decided to go to the USA for her education. Also she thinks that American schools offer more opportunity to practice. As for the Netherland student, she thinks that the American education system is based on creativity and team group. So she chose the United States for her education. And Japanese student says he was studying highschool in England and Canada so he got used to studying at foreign countries.
     
     According to this video, in China education system is mainly based on technical knowledge but in the United States the system pays more attention to practice that it is necessary for improve oneself.  When it comes to European education system it is too strict. However, in the USA education programs are more flexible. So the students prefer the USA. Also, you can do much more things besides what you are studying in USA but you can not in European countries. Finally, in Japan students have to take an entrance exam and after that they have to choose their department. But if they want to change, they can not change their department later in Japan. There isn't any disadventage like this in America.
     
     The amount of money that you have to pay for your education in the USA depends upon the many things such as department which you’re studying in, boarding or housing, meals. But it costs approximately 35 thousands of dollars. And according to the students this is moderate amount.
     
     All of them are coming from different cultures. There are some differences between their own cultures and American people’s. So they had some difficulties in getting used to the new place fort he first times.
     
     Certainly they experienced culture shock because each nation has their own culture and tradition. So if you go to any foreign country, you will experience culture shock fort he first times. They did surely, too. For instance, according to the students which are interviewed, it is something strange that the people in the United States wear thin and short dresses in winter. Another one is that Americans are more outgoing and sociable people while they are compared with the Japanese.
     
     I want to go abroad especially in my 3th grade. Yet the United States is not my first choice. I also want to see there. However, for my education I prefer to go to England. Because I like to speak British English so I think it will be more beneficial for me to go to England. I want to go to abroad not only for my education life but also my social life. I like to know new people and new culture, travel different places. In my opinion I’ll have some difficulties when I go to abroad. Because I’m not a native speaker so it may be difficult for me to get used to speak only English. But I know going to the country which you’re learning its  language is the best way to speak fluently that language. Also I will have learn many new things about foreign culture from their dishes to traditions if I go to the abroad. Besides the United States and England I want to see the Spain and Italy so much. Because I’m learning Italien now and want to learn Spanish in next year and I wonder their country and cultures, too. I hope I will make my desires come true. Going abroad is should be very beneficial and nice experiments that everybody should do at least one time in their lives.

      

Transitive&Intransitive Verbs/ Clauses&Phrases

Transitive: According to the instructions, we must leave the elevator in 5 minutes.
Intransitive: I had slept for 3 hours when my sister came.

Adjective Clause: There are several people who have car in Turkey.
Adverb Clause: I had to tell a lie to her so that I could give my surprise.
Noun Clause: I wonder why he told me lie about his job.

Gerund Phrase: Walking in the rain is a relaxing way for me, especially when I feel bad.
Noun Phrase: The barking dog is my friend's.
Infinitive Phrase: The best way to relax for girls is going shopping.
Participle Phrase: The mirror broken in the middle was an antique.
Verb Phrase: To understand a subject, you need to do some research about it.

BEING A STUDENT AT METU

          

      Being a Metu student was my goal in high school. Now I’m a METU student and so I’m happy. I’ve started a new life with METU: new city, new friends, new teachers… It is good that METU is a good beginning in many aspects. In this journal I want to write about the effects of  METU on me in psychological, social and academical aspects.

       First of all, I feel great especially psychological aspect. Because I’m at where I want to be. Also, fulfilling their goals is a very satisfying thing for everyone and I fulfilled my goal by coming to METU. This is a nice feeling. In addition to achieve my goal, I’m happy for that I made my family happy. I didn’t let them down. All these are positive effects of being a METU student on me. But unfortunately, there are some negative effects, too. For  instance, none of my close friends from highschool is in METU. I miss them so much and sometimes I feel as if I was alone. Surely, I know this is not directly bound up with METU. But I can’t help thinking of that if Iwas studying in İzmir, I wouldn’t feel so. Because all my close friends are in İzmir.

       When it comes to social life and physical conditions, surely METU has influenced my social life, too. I like meeting new people, making new friendships. Now, I have many new friends and in order to know each other well, we are doing something together. We’re going shopping, walking, hanging around, chatting. For example, in previous day I hang out with my friends and we went to Devrim. One of us played the guitar and we sang songs together. All of us enjoyed so much. In my opinions, like these ways we are getting know more about one another. Moreover; ther are many social clubs in METU. Thanks to these clubs we can not only become socialized but we can also improve ourselves or help people who need to help. However, like every part of the life there are some difficulties in METU, too. For instance, I think transportation is a problem in here. Buses come too late and ring services are also limited. Because METU is very large area, walking from somewhere to another or waiting is really hard especially in cold weather. But when they are compared with advantages, I think these are little problems.

      Lastly, my academical life is another issue which METU has influenced me. I think studying at METU means having many priorities. Because METU is really qualified university in Turkey, even in the world. So, being a METU student and graduating from here will provide some advantages as long as we improve ourselves. We may have some advantages in our job lives, especially in private sectors.

      Briefly, I’m happy for coming to METU. I’m new to METU but I can already advise here to everyone. I think being a student at METU is a great eligibility. I like this campus. So I’m saying that ‘‘Luckily I’m here’’.

                                                                                                 Zişan KÜL