I'm really glad to have discovered the magazine. Especially liked the review of Harold and Kumar, a movie that I never would have considered to have relevance to me or my students. Of course it is rated R, but I find the kids to get to see this stuff and it gives me a bit of a boost to at least be aware of the content. This sounds like something my underperforming Asian students would appreciate.

I was reading an article in the Los Angeles Times, California --Valley Editon section dated, Saturday, October 16, 2004 entitled, "Refugee in 4-week Holding Pattern" discussing the plight of one man who became stranded on September 20th, at LAX after arriving from Charlotte, N.C. He has been stranded for nearly a month and been taking care of by various airport/airline employees. Sort of like the movie "Terminal" only it's real. He has Visa problems and lost his identification papers from North Carolina. I think this is near the end of his ordeal, but I thought this was a very interesting story and would have been great if a University or support group would have gotten wind of the story to assist the man in returning home.

I checked out the website too and I especially enjoyed the section on the latest headlines about the US from Asia. It is very interesting to see what Asians view as news in the US. It also a good insight into Asian attitudes about the US.

Mystudent just wrote a narrative essay, This is the story she wrote:
The End of the Beginning
Based on a true stroy when I was 4 and how I got adopted, taking place in Bejiing, China.
This is the story of when I was adopted and decision I had to make that would decide what life I would have. This decision was big when I was four years old. I could have stayed in China, where I was born or go to a place where I didn't know a thing. And this is how it all started.
As I was laying there on top of a bench at the entrance of a subway station, staring at the gray ceiling thinking of what had happened to me that day. Mom and dad had gotten into this big fight this morning about how mean I was to my younger sibling, and the reason for all this happening to me. My mom had brought me to the subway station and left me there.As I lay there thinking for a few more minutes, I rmembered how confused and worried I was that I might never see my family again And how early that day I had started yelling for my mother, and asking people if they saw anyone who looked like her wlaking around. I had run up and down the block trying to see if I could see her past all the traffic. And how dark it had gotten before I gave up trying to find her. As I lay there I guessed that I had started to cry. A young woman with dark brown hair and two blues eyes was looking at me. "Are you lost little girl?" she asked. I junped up. At first I thought she must have been talking on the phone so I asked her if she was talking me me. She just nodded her head so I took that as a yes. Then as I felt my knees go weak with hunger, I took a deep breath and satback down. She looked through her bag and pulled out some rice which she handed to me.
When I didn't take it she said nicely, "Go on, take it, you must be hungry as I nodded with agreement. She sat down and held out the rice. "Thank you very much,"I said as I shoved it into my mouth. I had thought I would never be able to eat again.
With a smile she said: : You're welcome, i'm glad you like it so much. After talking to her for awhile, she got up and turned back to me and asked if she could take me to the police station where the people could help me find my parents and if they couldn't they would help me find a new loving home. As I sat there thinking about it all I realized that there was no other choice. A I slowly got up and said "OK." She took my hand and started walking while she told me a little about herself.
It took us only a few minutes to get to the police station on foot. As we entered the station, she told me to sit in one of the chairs while she went to tell the officers what had happened. I must have been thinking a lot because when the officer tapped me on the shouldder. I was so scared that I jumped straight out of the chair. I felt two hands on my shoulders pulling me. An officer said he was going to ask me a few questions then he stopped. They asked me if I had any place to say and the officer said he might be able to find a place for me. Then he left and walked through two huge doors.
As I lay there trying to sleep and ignore the officers that were leaving and coming in. I remembered that I thought that I was a prisoner myself and I would be stuck there forever and that I had made a bad choice afterall to come here.
The following morning, I realized that I had fallen asleep after all and that it was now 10:00 o'clock in the morning. Then as I started to get up, the same officer that helped me last night was now walking towards me with arice and a egg. And then he started asking me some eally random questions like "How old was I," "What did I like to do for fun," and some other things.
THe next morning they took me to an orphange . From that point on I really didn't talk to anyone. Then one morning they told me that my parents were here to get me, saying :" That I didn't have to go with them if I didn't want to." I saw my parents standing there and my first thought was that I was dreaming. Then as they tried to convince me to come back home, I realized I didn't want to go back after all. Very slowly I got up and said," I didn't wat to go, I want to stay here." Then they both looked at each other and then gave me a hug and walked out the door. And to this day sometimes I wish I could see them again.
So for the first few months they prepared me for my new family who was hoing to take me home. They sent me to this place that helped prepare you. The day my family arrived, as they walked in, I was hoping that this family would like me.
My new family loves me just the way I am. The lesson is you can't always tell what life has in store for you, but sometimes it is really rewarding. Once I learned this it changed my life. I got a new home and a new life. But sometimes I still think about what if I had gone home with my real parents? What would my life be like? But I will never know what it would have been like. And that is my story.
This story was written by Sara S, a sixth grader at my school. She also is missing half of one finger from something she said happened at her parent's home in China.