Family Celebration : Ramadhan

Family Celebration: Ramadhan

Today, I’m going to be talking about my family celebration. The celebration that I picked is Ramadhan.     Ramadhan is a muslim celebration that most muslims celebrate after they have finished fasting.  My family celebrates it every year, but there is one specific Ramadhan I’ll never forget.

Ramadhan/ Idul Fitri is very important, fun to my family and me. It’s because it means that we’ll get to have sleepovers, we can pray and cook together. We mainly do these things the night before the big celebration. Since my family is super religious, I never missed a day of Ramadhan and fasting month. Honestly I don’t mind because I love having Muslim celebrations. The Ramadhan that stood out as the most memorable was when I was 10 years old in 2013. It was August, I knew it was a great day. My family and me woke up at 5am. We were getting ready for Sholat Ied, or it could be Ied Pray. Ied is a pray where Muslims in one area gather and pray together to thank God for giving us another month of blessing (Ramadhan). My family and me went to a local mosque that fits about 600-1000 people. It was very crowded but it’s not humid. People are walking to find their spot. It was very crowded but I thank God that it’s crowded. That means people haven’t forgotten about Ied. After that, chaos, we sat down and listened to different people talking about their 30^th, 40^th even 1^st Ramadhan. It was touching because some talk about their last Ramadhan with their mom. When I came home I saw all my cousins, aunts, uncles & even my nieces home. I was shocked and very surprised. They came because it was out first Ramadhan without our grandma. My grandma passed away in the spring of 2012. It was very hard, that’s why we decided to get through it together. We sat down and talked about how our fasting has been. Usually my grandma cooks first Ramadhan but now it’s my aunt. Her cooking was just as good. Before we eat, we pray to our loved ones. The food is different every year but this year, we had fried chicken, lungs, soup, beef, corn and spicy dim sum. I ate it all. Usually after we eat, we all go to out gradparents and great grandparents grave yard. Its sad, very sad. We all pray to them and sat we miss them. We go back home and I remember my mom told me there will be a surprise. I asked her and she said we are going to Bali.

We went to Bali to go visit my mom’s step sister, that by then would be the age of 42. She passed away just a month after the last Ramadhan last year.Straight after we showered, we went to the airport. Our plane was boarding in the afternoon and we were going home at 10:00pm Bali time. Since after Ramadhan/Idul Fitru is all about grief, not visiting her is not an option. On the flight to Bali, I remember that me and my cousin played hide and seek. Our plane was dead empty even though it has a high season month. It was so fun. We even made one of my uncle’s played with us. We finally touched down in Bali. It was so bright and hot. We went and called out driver in Bali to pick us up. On the way to the graveyard, I kept thinking “why is there a rainbow when it hasn’t rained at all?” I was 10 so I didn’t understand. I thought it was a sign that my aunt was happy to see me. We finally arrived and saw her grave. It was so floral that we thought that someone has been here. Someone had, It was my step cousin. We went and prayed to her. We prayed to her saying that we ate at Nannys Pavillion. Its an amazing restaurant. We went and ate her favorite food ever, lasagna. Just after that, I remembered that Ramadhan was over. I’m glad that I have Ramadhan every year.

That’s my most memorable Ramadhan so far, it was a year full of sadness and tears but my family are the right people to talk with when I’m sad. For me, it was memorable because it’s the first Ramadhan without my grandma. It was very hard, but I got trough it. My family and me never experience a day of fasting or Ramadhan without my grandma. Even after that Ramadhan, my family and I had with her. That’s my most memorable celebration, thank you.

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DEBATE

Reflection- Debating

I think my group wasn’t too organized. I know that we actually did do some research but we didn’t actually do it so properly. We were organized but we weren’t too organized. I think, my argument was a pretty good one. I used PEEL and done a lot of research. Just how I delivered it, I didn’t do it good enough to prove that I actually have a good argument. I have the evidence and so many facts. I did the research pretty well and got so many facts that I did put the argument.

I definitely think that we could do it better. I personally think that I’m supposed to be the one that improve. I get distracted so fast that I could get the giggles anytime. I also am very nervous at that time so I just lost it. My group has really good arguments, except for the part that we just don’t deliver it good enough. We should improve the way we talk in front of people.

To be honest, some of us really did take the time to research. We all did, but sometimes we get distracted by each other or distracted by our laptops.

I think we didn’t really sort of persuade the audience. What we did though is use ethos and pathos. We did actually use emotion and I don’t think we have a monotone voice. I think the ANTI drug trafficking death penalty is really good.

They had really good arguments and have a lot of evidence. The rebuttal was good but overall they’re really good and deserve an 8. I think I deserve a 4. A lot of 4’s maybe I deserve a 17. I don’t think I did too well. I was just so nervous and just sort of lost it.

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THE REAL POLICE REPORT

Police Report Task

We arrived at the Volupides household at 2 am. We found Queenie Volupides’ husband (Arthur Volupides) laying on the floor in front of the stairs with his right foot on the third step and his left foot on the second step.  He was still holding his glass on his hands. Witness (Queenie Volupides) said that they had had a tiff. She tore out of the house and went to the country club where there was a party going on.  The autopsy found a wound on the back of his head, which was the cause his death. Queenie confessed that she invited her friends over for another drink then found Arthur dead. She said to her friend “Something terrible happened. Arthur slipped and fell on the stairs. He was coming down for another drink-he still had the glass on his hand and I think he’s dead. We collected evidence from the house . We found some pieces of evidence that disprove Queenie’s confession.

           Firstly, we noticed that Arthur was lying on his back. As a rule, people usually fall face-first if they fall or trip down the stairs. It is unusual to see Arthur lying on his back since Queenie claimed that he fell down the stairs to get another drink. Another thing is that we also noticed that Arthur’s right foot was on the third step and his left foot was on the second step. As a rule when people was walking up the stairs, one of their foot is usually one step higher than the other. This proves that he did not go down the stairs. It’s likely that Queenie was not telling the truth. It’s also likely that he was going up the stairs instead of going down the stairs.

Secondly, we noticed that everything on the stairs (including the carpet) is not misplaced and its very neat. As a rule, when people fell down, they usually grab on to things or try to steady/save themselves to prevent injury. Which would have to results to have things moved out of its place or it would move the carpet. On the scene, we noticed that everything on the stairs was very neat and it is unlikely to not wrinkle the carpet. Another thing was that we noticed that the Autopsy only shows that Arthur’s body was only injured on his head. As a rule when people fall down from the stairs, they would suffered more than 1 injury or more injuries to other parts of his body. This proves that Arthur was unlikely to fall down the stairs and it’s likely Queenie was not telling the truth.

Thirdly, we noticed that there was a frying pan cooking in 1am. As a rule, people don’t usually cook at 1am as it’s commonly a sleeping time. Another thing that we noticed was that the amount of smoke coming out of the frying pan. It was unlikely that a regular food will produced that much of smoke when it’s cooked. It can make that much smoke if there was a liquid in the bottom of the frying pan. Which will cause it to be very smokey. This proves that the frying pan contains liquid as it produced more smoke than it is supposed to be. This proves that it’s unlikely queenie was cooking because she’s hungry or that she was cooking for her friends since they were just going to her house for another drink.

In conclusion, we concluded that Queenie is proved that she had murdered her husband Arthur by using the frying pan. When Arthur went upstairs, Queenie took the frying pan and hit Arthur from the back. Arthur fell down and dead. It was believed that she hit Arthur because they had a tiff. She put the frying pan back on the stove before she dried up the blood and turn the stove on to pretend she was cooking and to remove the evidence of she hitting Arthur from the police. She framed her action by inviting friends over and pretending that she just knew that Arthur was dead.  

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My Very Cute Holiday Moment

On New Years Eve 2014, Me and my big family gathered in Manhattan Hotel. I was greeted by my favorite niece ever! Their name is D & D. They are a very special twin. They're too cute and can communicate in weird ways. plus, they're also really good at singing!

We went to the rooftop which was filled with balloons and food! We also found a stage. So, my niece chose to sing! It was a miracle, that they were still awake and hyper. It was the cutest thing ever! They were dancing and singing as the fireworks and coutdown begins!

I don't think they know too much about fireworks and New Years since they were still 3 and a half years old. Unfortunately, not long after that, they were so sleepy and went to bed before we ate the food. We celebrated it with a lots of food and basically catching up with my family members. The Gala Dinner was amazing!!

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Holes Part : 2

This is the continue of my blog post before, Holes Part 1. In this part I'll be telling you what happened to Stanley, Zero & they're trying to find. Their purpose of digging the holes.

After Mr. Pendaski teased Zero, he ran away. Stanley was really worried, he was always thinking about it. Stanley decided that, Stanley will go find him. Stanley was just thinking that if Zero can hopefully find refugee on God's thumb. Stanley was running and running. He realised when he was running he kept thinking "Empty, Empty, Empty". His canteen was empty.

He was very thirsty. Until he saw, a leg. A leg under-neath a boat. Its Zero. His face was pale and his lips are as white as snow. He crawled outside the boat & he was just thankful that zero is alive. He asked for Stanleys canteen, it was empty. They went under the boat and it was such a shield. Stanley remembered that his dad told him that his great-grandpa found refugee in God's Thumb. So, Stanley carried Zero up the mountain.

Stanley sang him a song, If Only. Stanley and Zero also played the game, spelling things and reading them. Stanley then found bugs, which means theres some kind of mud in there. Stanley and Zero found refugee! They found water & onions. Zero also told him a secret. He said that Stanley didn't stole the shoes, he did. They have been in the mountain for about a week now. The onion is limited and they stink. They decided to go to camp and dig one more hole. They're going to dig the hole that Stanley found the lipstick tube. They decided to go back to camp.

Stanley and Zero found a treasure. They found a treasure and a whole family of lizards. Even though the treasure had Stanley's name on it, The Warden is still willing to lie. She said that Stanley stole that treasure from her cabin. Since Stanley and Zero couldn't say anything because he's in a hole with a lot of lizards on top of him, crawling everywhere in his body.

At the end of the day, Stanley and Zero was taken from Stanley's Lawyer. The Warden is lying about that digging holes is to build character. Turns out, they dug the holes across the dried lake to find the treasure. Warden couldn't even take a look whats inside of the treasure. The day that they left, finally Camp Green Lake was closed.

Stanley, Zero & his family opened the treasure. There was 1,000,00 dollars or more worth of things in that. Zero also found his mother. It was a very happy ending..

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Holes Summary

This past week, we have read the book "Holes". We have read 30 chapters & I'm going to make a summary about it.

Stanley was just a regular kid walking down the streets. Suddenly, he got a hit by a flying pair of an expensive and famous shoe. There were polices everywhere & they assumed that Stanley stole the pair of shoes. He was brought to the judge & he was given 2 options. Either go to prison or go to Camp Green Lake (Camp for Bad Boys) for 18 months. He was brought by a school bus to the camp. He looked & looked to the new environment. He saw no lakes & its just like a plain desert with no "green" on it.

He made new friends mostly from the "D" tent & other tents. He was thought to dig holes everyday, that it will make you a good boy. He always thought the reason that he was in Camp Green Lake is because of his dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great grandfather. He believe that he was cursed& it goes down to his family as well.

Elya Yelnats, made a promise to Madame Zeroni. The deal was to bring her up the mountain, through a pig. He had broken the promise and was believed to be cursed by her. So the cursed pass down the Yelnats family.

110 years ago, before the Camp Green Lake actually existed, it was a town. Green Lake is a beautiful town with a real lake & with a lot of peach trees. There was a school, with a teacher named Katherine. She was a beautiful teacher. She fell in love with an onion-seller named Sam. In that time, there was a Law that a black man could not kissed a white women. They ignored the law. Trout Walker, The richest man in town fell in love with Katherine. After he knew that Sam kissed her, he attacked the school that Katherine teacher at & has attacked Sam as well. Katherine ran to find Sherrif for help.

After time goes by, Sherrif also tried to killed Sam. Katherine and Sam ran away with a boat but it was too late as the attackers still could reach them. They went and killed Sam. Meanwhile, Katherine has survived. After Sam's death, Katherine went crazy! She killed the Sherrif and became an outlaw named Kissin' Kate Barlow. After that incident, there was no rain. As the lake dries out as well.

Now, that she's an outlaw, she likes to rob people. One of the victims was Stanley Yelnats (Stanley's great grandpa). She stole his money and digged it in the ground. Charles Walker & his wife tried to find out from Kate Barlow hid it, it was too late. She passed away because she got bitten by a yellow-spotted lizard. Before she died she said "You and your children's & your great children will dig for the next 100 years and would NEVER find it". No one knew where she hid it.

Time to time, the town dried up. It was a dead town. Stanley finds it hard to dig because of the environment. It's very hot & humid. Stanley now has friends and now he is called "Caveman". His best friend was, Zero. His real name is Hector Zeroni. They made a deal. The deal was, since Zero is the fastest on digging holes, he would dig Stanley's holes & Stanley would teach him how to read. Since Zero doesn't know how to read, Stanley teach him how to read.

Mr. Pendanski which is one of the main person in-charge teased Zero. Saying that he was stupid & didn't know how to read. Zero became really mad & proofed him wrong while he threw a shovel at him. Zero went to Warden's office to explain why he did that because he was in big trouble. Then, Warden told the other kids to dig 7 holes a day from the other 6.

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My Favorite Things For Breakfast

As you all might've known, I'm not a really breakfast person. I do tough recommend to eat breakfast. I am a huge food junky so I may, know a lot of food! Sometimes, if I'm feeling productive and actually got enough sleep, I like to make some breakfast. Here are some options that I recommend for you to eat for breakfast!

Option 1: Cereal
I really recommend this because not only its easy and simple, its really delicious. There are lots of types of cereal. One of my favorite is the classic, KokoKrunch. It is really good but the chocolate isn't too overpowering. Milk is good for breakfast because it contains Calcium, Potassium and Protein. It will make you energise during the day!

Option 2: Yogurt w/ Granola and Fruits
This actually my favorite thing to eat in the morning. It is really tasty! Personally, I like my yogurt in a puree form. So I like to play with the layout/ appearance. The type of yogurt I use is Vanilla Yoghurt or Greek Yoghurt.  For Granola, I like my honey&nut granola that contains almond. For Fruits, I love to put banana, raspberries or strawberries in it. This is really good because Yogurt prevents you from osteoporosis, reduce high-blood pressure, and it makes you feel a lot more fuller. Honey&Nut + Almond is really good because it helps you control you cholesterol and its really healthy, especially because there's honey in it. For fruits, banana is good source of pottasium that helps you get a lot more energy during the day. Raspberries and Strawberries are good for you because they are full of antioxidant that can help cleans your body. It is also a really good source of Vitamin C.

Last Option, Option 3: Banana&Honey Toast
This is a very delicious, I eat this for breakfast a lot. I like to toast my bread, but if I'm having a whole wheat bread, I wouldn't toast it. I like to chop of some bananas and sprinkle a little bit of raw honey or capilano honey on it. It's really good and it makes you so energise during the day!

That is it for this breakfast options, hope you like it!

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