Dad's Decision

Dad’s Decision

(Deng Xiaoping)

A right choice is a half of success. There was a great leader called Deng Xiaoping, and in1979, he proposed the Economic Opening Policy in the “Pearl River Delta Economic Zone”.  The Economic Opening Policy is planning to improve the export trade and import business. This policy not only helped the Chinese improve their economy, but also let people have more chances to know the world. This policy has pushed my dad to explore for a new life, and his choice changed my family.

My father told me that our family had a very hard time in 1980s. At that time, it was very hard to buy food no matter how rich you were. The reason is that, in order to reach the goal of communism, the government gave out the food tickets to people which were required when people paid for the food. That means a person can only get limit amount of food each month. Therefore, it was really hard for people to have a good meal at that time. After the Economic Opening policy was proposed, the government didn’t limit the purchase of food anymore. The government supported people to work and plant crops so that people can get more and more food.  The people in country side received a lot of benefit from the Communist Party of China. In addition, the Party offered work chance to each family. My dad has three brothers and sisters, and each of them got had a job. Because of the hard work, they received decent pay and harvest. My family’s life made a great improvement.  Since the factory that my dad worked in was built by the government, people there were from different cities. They told him about the life and new things in city. From then on, my dad made up his mind to get out of the town and lead a better life in a city.

Since the Economic Opening policy was mainly proposed in the “Pearl River Delta Economic Zone” which including Shenzhen, my father grabbed the opportunity to go to Shenzhen.  When my family became better than before, my dad left his hometown and he went to Shenzhen with great ambition. My dad told me that he had only twenty yuan with him when he first arrived in Shenzhen alone. In order to save money, he found a cheap rental house to settle down. In a new city, he knew he had to find a job as soon as possible. He walked along the street and seeks for job every day. Half a month later, he didn’t found any job but almost ran out of money. My dad told me that he despaired. He said,   “You can’t image how hard it was for a person in a new city with no money and friends to survive.” One day, a man came to the rental house to find my dad when my dad was give up looking for job and ready to go back home. The man was from an electronic factory, and he came to rent house. By chatting with my dad, he knew that my dad was from a village and wanted a job. Luckily, his partner gave up his job so that he could offer my dad a job. At the moment, my dad started his career in Shenzhen.

Through hard work, my dad adapted to the environment quickly. Because the factory which he worked in was focus on export business, he learned more about export business. During the time when he was working in the factory, he rent the cheapest house and ate the cheapest food so that he could save money. A few years past, he knew enough knowledge and saved enough money to invest in an export business. He cooperated with his friends to invest in an export item. Since the technology and medium were not as advanced as now, they collected information from radio and newspaper as much as they could.  They prepared a lot for this business. It was a changing point of my dad’s life. The item which he was invested in gained a big achievement, which helped him to earn a large amount of money. Because of the experience and the increasing of the housing price, he didn't use that money to do other business, but bought a flat. Though he earned some money which could make his life more comfortable, he kept on working hard and saving money. Step by step, he started to own his flat, car and business.

Today, my family is leading a good life. I know all of this has come from my dad’s hard-work. No matter how hard the life was, he didn’t give in the poor condition. It was brave for him to make such a big decision to explore an unknown world, however, he said that the best choice he made was getting out of his hometown and leading his own life in Shenzhen. I thank for my dad and his choice, which changed our lives and future, and brought our family a happy and nice environment.

 

War and Generations

 

War and Generations

My grandfather’s generation had worked like slaves who couldn’t stop working in order to rebuild the devastated land in South Korea in the 1950’s by Korean War. My grandfather suffered from the Korean War as a solider, which was a war between South Korea and North Korea. It was primarily the result of the political division of Korea. As a result of this cruel war, uncountable young children became orphans, and most people lost their homes and family. At that time, most people suffered from starvation because there was a lack of food to eat, so people struggled to find enough food and worked so hard to survive. My grandfather was one of those people who struggled not to be hungry. In addition, he injured his left leg during the war, so he had difficulty to walk without stick. Unfortunately, his leg injury prevented him from getting a good job which can earn much money, and it affected his entire life and my family throughout the generations.

At the beginning, my grandfather had a little opportunity to get a good job because of his injured leg. After the war ended, Korea needed a lot of physical laborers to rebuild the country. My grandfather faced many disadvantages to choose a fine job even though he had diligent attitude and a brilliant brain. Before the war began, my grandfather was the most likely student to succeed, and he had a big dream about his future life. He tried hard to find a good job, but he was always rejected due to his handicap. Thus, he chose to be farmer, making his living by milking cows and raising vegetables. This job was not necessarily satisfying for him because he had a dream to be an educator. Due to his disappointment, my grandfather wished that his son get a good job and be a successful man. Thus, my grandfather generously supported my father to get into a good college even though there were not enough moneys in his pocket. He sold his cows, which he raised, and land to support my father’s school tuition.

In addition, my father had a hard time during his childhood due to a lack of money. In Korea, there is common phrase that is hungry spirit. It means that someone who gets success in his life has an experience a poor environment in his childhood. My father said that when he was a student, he studied in a dark room just depending on candle light in order to save electricity. In spite of his poor environment, he studied so well, and finally got into a good college that my grandfather wanted. My father always emphasized to me that I should challenge big things and keep a hungry spirit in my mind. I also agree with him, but my generation’s environment is different. Compared with my father generation, our generation doesn’t worry about hunger too much.

Finally, our generation has suffered a lot of pressure from our parents about getting into prestigious college and finding a good job. When I was a student in South Korea, I had a lot of stress due to my father’s expectation. Like my grandfather, my father also expected me to be a successful man. My father and I have a very similar character, but we also have a very different attitude. My father has focused on how much money he can earn. He doesn’t care about what I want to do. Thus, my father and I have had many arguments regarding my dreams and his conflicting expectations for me. He tried to force to me to get a stable job, so that I won’t worry about money in my life. However, money is not my first priority in my life. My first option is pursuing my dream.

Today, we are slaves of history. We are affected by many historical accidents. My grand father was affected by the Korean War, and it also affected my father and me. Although I didn’t experience the Korean War at that time, it has had a strong influence on me. I sometimes imagine that if the war had not happened in my country, how our country would have changed to good way in the future. The Young generation mutters about why their parents don’t understand them, but we have to try to understand and respect their lives and thoughts, because we were not there at that time.

Destiny

Zhenzhen Kuang (Abby)

ESL 100

March28, 2014

  

Destiny

I believe that even a small event can change people’s destiny. People choose diverse ways to get to the different destinations. Before I was eighteen years old, I never thought that my destiny would change so quickly. My father’s boiler company had failures in investments, and the company eventually went bankrupt. My family went from well-off to having nothing at all. From the bankruptcy, I learned how to appreciate what I had. I also became a much more independent woman, and stopped being a lazy person who found it hard to study. The bankruptcy changed my destiny and almost changed everything in my life.

            My family’s economy almost all came from my father’s company, so when my father’s company went bankrupt, I no longer had any financial support from my family.  When I was a child, I didn’t know how to appreciate my things. For example, if I felt that my clothes or my shoes were a little bit old, I would ask my mother to buy some new clothes or shoes to replace the old ones. However, changing out all the old clothes and shoes required more money; so, when my father’s company went bankrupt my family didn’t have any source of income. Therefore, I had to learn how to appreciate my things, and I took care of my shoes and clothes. I began to using my things until they were no longer good enough to be used at all.  

       

            Furthermore, I learned how to be independent after the bankruptcy. When I was young, I used to be very dependent on my parents. They arranged everything for me. They bought everything I liked and did everything I wanted. Nevertheless, when my father’s company went bankrupt, I realized I needed to find a part-time job to support my family because I wanted to share responsibility for the house work. I found a part-time job as a tour guide that suited my school schedule. I worked on weekends, so I was able to support my family’s utilities and expenses. My parents went to work full time jobs every day, and they were not at home. Therefore, I wanted to share the house work with my parents. Through all these changes, I became more and more independent in my life.

            Moreover, the bankruptcy affected my study habits. Before the bankruptcy, I didn’t like studying at all because I thought my family had enough money to satisfy everything I needed. Even after my high school graduation, I assumed I would go to work at my father’s company. However, when my father’s company went bankrupt, I lost my future job because I had intended to set a job at his business. So I knew I had to study hard in order to change my family’s financial condition. For example, if I studied hard I could go to an elite school, and I would be able to find a good job after my college graduation. Thus, I could earn more money for my family.

            The bankruptcy changed my family and then changed my destiny. However, it taught me how to appreciate what I already had, and it made me be an independent woman. In addition, the bankruptcy also affected my study habits and made me study hard.  Without the bankruptcy, I might still be a dependent girl who didn’t know how to appreciate anything. However, I believe that life does not control my destiny; rather I control my destiny.

Time Effect

The Cultural Revolution that happened from 1966 to 1976 in China is the most memorable part of modern history for me. The Cultural Revolution, which is also called “ Ten years of upheaval.” started after the civil war between two political parties, the Nationalist Party and the Communist Party. China’s economy and society declined, but also a Cultural Revolution started. In addition, many people were killed by the Communist Party even though there was no justified reason for their death. Moreover, the economy did not increase as well as the communists had promised, so many people could not get enough food to eat. Therefore, people who lived during the ten years of upheaval suffered through many difficulties and were poor. My grandparents were very poor, but they still got through the hardest time of their lives. Their early life has always had a deep influence on me because it reminds me of my roots, it brought my family together, and it has encouraged me to be proud of my current life in America.

Because of the Cultural Revolution, my grandparents could not be good parents for their children. In that period, my grandparents lived in a small village in Guangdong province in southern China. They had to work with all the villagers together because there was no private land for families. All the people had to farm together the a whole day to get some food, but they did not earn too much money. For example, they had to farm from six o’clock at the morning to eight o’clock at night every day. During this time, they would have a two hour break. In addition, the place they worked was a little bit far from their home. Therefore, they had no time to take good care of their children or family. Furthermore, they could not bring home enough food even though they worked very hard. In that period of the Cultural Revolution, all the land was communal property and all the grain was handed over to the Communist Party center in the village. In addition, each village had a government center that distributed the food and each family could get ten pounds for each family member in a month. Their family has six people including my great-grandfather. It meant they could get sixty pounds grain for each month. However, each person needed more food to get enough energy and nutrition for their body. According to my grandfather, they needed at least 120 pounds grain in a month.

Moreover, my father had a difficult childhood during the Cultural Revolution. He started to take care of his family when he was ten years old, because he was the oldest brother in their family and my grandparent had no enough time to take care of them. He started to catch fish in the river and sell them out in order to get a little bit money. He did all the housework after school and took care of his younger sister. He always had to wash clothes, clean up the house, and cook meals for the family. Sometimes he would go to do farm work with my grandparents. Furthermore, my father had not finished his studies because my grandparents were poor and had no skills to earn more money for my father’s education. Therefore, my father stopped going to school and stayed home to help the family even though he was very young. In that period, many children who lived in the village could not finish their studies even though they really wanted to.

Finally, when I listen to my grandparents or father talk about their early life, I realize that living in a foreign country is a great challenge and not just a trouble for me. In fact, it is not easy to live in a foreign country as an immigrant. Learning a different language is a huge problem for immigrants. In addition, cultural differences make it hard for immigrants to socialize with Americans. For example, my cousin Andy was born in the Unites States and he does not speak much Chinese, my English is not as good as his, so it is hard for me to communicate with him. However, when I compare my life with my grandparents early life in the Cultural Revolution, I feel lucky. I have a good chance to learn more than my grandparents have learned and I have a good chance to pursue a higher education. At this moment, I am not afraid of my foreign life in the U.S. despite what I am facing or how hard it is to live here sometimes.

Today, when I watch a movie about this period, I think about my grandparents’ early life and how it affected my grandparents, father and me. Currently, my grandparents do not work anymore. They are not as poor as they were in their early life, but they still remember what happened to them. When my grandfather chats with me, he always tells me not to be afraid of my life. He reminds me not to waste my time and to cherish everything I have. He always says that everything that happens in my life is my own treasure. Maybe if my grandfather said that to me before I came to America, I would have not listened to him, but now, I will. I believe that everything that happens in my life is my own treasure even though some things ever are painful.

Fatherland

Fatherland

“Fatherland, socialism or death! We shall prevail!” This is a slogan that feels like a slap on the face, which makes people feel panic and the worst, a slogan which divided a country into two. In 1999, Hugo Chávez was elected as the president of Venezuela. People believed in change, or I should say, some of them. Before this election, Venezuela had been having economic and insecurity problems. In 2000, after Chávez changed the constitution, the price of the oil reached the highest level in Venezuelan history. The Venezuelan economy stopped, and a lot of Venezuelans were asking for Chávez’s renouncement in 2002. Almost all Venezuelan people were demanding for answers and solutions because there was a huge income but there were no changes in living standards, no improvement. The insecurity was increasing and people started to segregate according to different ideas, Chávez supporters and opponents. Because of this, the Venezuelan people were tired and started to make decisions: stay and fight, or go away and find a new life. Some people could not believe that an ideology could divide a country into two, increase the insecurity and dismantle the economy of our country.

"With the Bolivarian Revolution, Venezuela took the needed impulse"

Due to this change of political ideology, the Venezuelan people have separated into two groups: Chávez supporters and the opposition. Moreover, people have become intolerant of those who think differently. If someone is pro-government, he or she does not tolerate another one who is against the government and vice versa. Families who have members who think differently have had problems because of what I call, Ideology Virus. Until 2002, my uncle had supported the Chavez government. In every single family meeting, we disputed about our differences of political opinion. Also, in other families, the situation has been different, sometimes more extremist. Some family’s members have stopped talking, have fought and even some marriages have broken up because of differences of political opinion. Moreover, only those that support the president can find work in government jobs. Those companies will ask for a PSUV card (which in English means, United Socialist Party of Venezuela) or any other proof that one is in favor of the government. Furthermore, if you are working for some of those companies, you will have to do some proselytizing. My aunt works in one of those companies, and she is constantly the victim of verbal attacks just because her co-workers know that she does not support the regime.

"There are our brothers for the progress"
"There are enemies to the war"

One thing is certain: the level of insecurity has changed. No doubt about it. Life is worse than before Chávez. People who voted for Chávez thought that he would be disciplined and that he would put Venezuela in order, just because he was in the army. However, the opposite has occurred. There is more corruption, more criminality and more deaths. When people do not have trust in the system, they feel unsafe in any situation. I do not know if I have more fear of robber than a policeman. Several times when I was in Venezuela I was pulled over and asked for my papers, ID, driver license and car documents. A few minutes later an officer said “these documents are fakes. I cannot read the serial of the car” so he had to take my car to the office and then he said to me that if I helped him with something to eat, he would let me go. That is bribery. That is corruption. That is insecurity. Furthermore, going outside is more dangerous every day. When I used my phone on the street, on a bus or in subway, I could be assaulted. Actually it has happened to me already. Express kidnapping is something that Venezuelan people have unfortunately been hearing more frequently. Sadly this has happened to a few friends of mine. The worst thing is that in any of those situations that I have described, one could die. In fact, every year more Venezuelan people die at the hands of criminals than by natural causes.

Accumulated killings. Official government records

Even though since 2000 Venezuelan oil has reached the highest price in the country’s history, Venezuela still has an unstable economy, and the insecurity in the country, in every single branch, is still growing. Because of the oil price and its revenue, Venezuela produces almost nothing. In Venezuela almost everything is imported, and this always has been in this way. Nevertheless, this situation has increased more with this government and they even are not doing it well. When I was a child, I remember my mother asking me to go to the store to buy milk and I always answered her “which brand and what kind?” Nowadays this has changed. Now people buy whatever milk they find in the supermarket. They cannot choose. When people finally find milk in some store, they cannot buy the amount of milk they want; usually there is a maximum of a bottle per person. Besides that, there are not enough imported goods. Now Venezuela produces less. Before the Chavez regime in a supermarket, people could find for example, Venezuelan tomatoes and imported tomatoes, Venezuelan lettuce and imported lettuce. Now only imported products are available. The government has not invested money to increase the Venezuelan economy.

“Fatherland, socialism or death! We shall prevail!” Now Venezuelan people totally understand it. It means that some people have lost their fatherland because have had to move to another country, like my family. It means that if someone does not agree with socialism, that one has to pay the consequences. Death however, was the most obvious and least expected. Death means death. It is impossible to calculate with precision the amount of Venezuelans who have died since 1999, and sometimes I think I do not want to know the truth. Since Chávez was in power, and now with Nicolás Maduro as president, Venezuela has experienced division and segregation. This brand of socialism has divided families, bringing fights and migration to other countries. The government’s decision to maintain a policy of only importing goods and not investing in domestic production has caused nationwide shortages. Besides the lack of prevention and safety programs make Venezuela an unsafe and dangerous place. I hope one day, sooner than later, all these changes and all Venezuelans around the world can come back to Venezuela to rebuild our country, our fatherland, because “We shall prevail”.

"I'm not scared of you anymore"

nathan second essay

Name: Nathan Cho

Class: ESL 100

Date: 03-13-14

Final draft

Let Bygones be Bygones

         The International Monetary Fund is an organization made up of 188 countries and it its main purpose is to secure financial stability around the world. If one country can not pay its debt exchange, the organization can help that country.  In 1997, the I.M.F was active in Korea because of lack of foreign exchange. At the time, the Korean economy had fallen and many Koreans lost a lot of money, jobs and family. Also there was a lot of corruption, suicide and accusations. That is to say, there was a huge economic crisis. Of course, my family also lived in Korea, so it affected them. We lost many things such as money, prestige and friends.  My father is a pastor who works in the church, and my mother is a missionary. This crisis happened when I was six years old, so I could not understand why my parents were accused by the other people for mismanagement of funds. I had seen that many people respected my parents before the I.M.F crisis, but after the event, my family experienced three effects or lessons: when money speaks, the truth keeps silent, doubting is safer than being secure, and forgiveness is better than revenge.

           The first lesson was that when money speaks, the truth keeps silent. In 1997, my mother was preparing for a mission to evangelize in Kenya. In 1997 when the I.M.F’s programs came to Korea. During this time, my mother was accused by two people who had donated money for mission. Their reason was very simple. They lost a lot of money at that time, so they wanted to get the money back which they donated to my mother. They did whatever they could to get the money. One day, when my parents were not at home, people who accused my mother came to our home and yelled to me and my younger brother. They ordered us to persuade my mother to get money which they donated my mother. We were afraid, and they made us feel uncomfortable. After they visited, I thought that money was like the devil because money first looks like happiness. However, it finally created a corrupt society and degradation of character.

The second lesson was that doubting is safer than being secure. My family did not believe other people anymore after the crisis. Of course, it is not that we did not have friendships or relationships. We just had to put distance between people regarding money. When my mother was accused by people, my brother and I did not understand why they accused her because they had been friends with my mother for ten years, and they sometimes gave me some gifts, food, or money. I did not believe that they accused mother. However, now I understand them because the I.M.F policies made them lose money and prestige. One woman even got divorced from her husband because of I.M.F policies. So they needed people to whom to pass the buck and they found my mother. Finally, our belief was broken by them and we realized we had been naive.

 The final lesson was that forgiveness is better than revenge, which is now my strong belief. My mother did not want to have a battle in court, so she sold our home in order to pay them. When my parents gave them the money, I was angry and I resolved I will get revenge one day. However, my mother told my brother and me not to think about revenge. She said that Jesus taught forgiveness, so you also have to forgive them. Two years ago, some people who accused my mother came to her to get forgiveness, and she forgave them. Now my mother has a good friendship with them. Sometimes they ask me that if I still want to get revenge and I say “I already forgave to you”.

Many Koreans have made great efforts to forget the I.M.F program. We want to let bygones be bygones. However, many people could not and will not forget those terrible years. My family also does not forget this memory, but it is not a terrible memory. Rather, my family thinks we got good three lessons and we sometimes remind each other of these. Actually, my parents feel sorry for me and my younger brother because they think that it was hard for us to have this experience. Although we had a hard time during the I.M.F period, we learned important lessons earlier than other people who are the same age, and it still helps me to live contently.  

Late Effect

I never thought there was a disease, like a disaster, that could harm people’s health and kill many people. Because of advanced medical science, I thought deadly pestilence was only a plot that happened in TV dramas. In 2003, there was a horrible outbreak called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome that started in Guangdong province, Hong Kong and spread as far as Southeast Asia. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome is also know as SARS, and it caused widespread social panic. In fact, many patients and some medical personnel died. SARS was a life long miserable memory. For me, it changed the way my mother behaved at home, what we ate, and how I behaved in public. This terrible disease not only influenced my family, but changed my outlook on life.

Due to the SARS outbreak, it caused widespread panic. The government did not release the information, so people had no idea how to prevent the disease. My mother heard from someone that herb tea could increase our immune system, and vinegar could kill bacteria, so she bought a lot of everyday essentials to keep our family in healthy. Because of the panic, the prices of a bottle vinegar and herb tea were several times than usual. Even though the prices of vinegar and herb tea were unreasonable, my mother boiled vinegar and spread it all over our house everyday. In addition, my parents wouldn’t allow my brother or me to go to another city --Guangzhou that had more SARS patients. Unfortunately, my uncle had to be in quarantine because he came from Guangzhou that had more SARS patients. Although no one died from SARS in my city –Taishan, it still struck people’s fear of death.

The second effect was my family’s lifestyle changed after SARS. The source of the SARS virus was the wild animal -- Paguma Larvata. When the SARS outbreak started, my family stopped eating any wild animal any more. Even today, our main diet only consists of chicken, beef, fish, and duck. We used to go drink wild animal soups in the winter, but that stopped after SARS. In addition, my mother was very careful with public health, and I changed my public health habits. I would wear a guaze mask when I was sick or when I went to public places. I used to hate wearing guaze mask because I felt very ugly. However, I understood the importance of public health, so I used hand sanitizer frequently before eating.

Finally, the most important effect on me was my realization of the fragility of life. There were about three hundreds SARS patients that died. That meant about three hundred families were broken. It made me realize that life was fragile, and I understood that living was a kind of happiness. Also, I paid close attention to the SARS news. The new SARS patients and death rates increased every day. All the news made me understand the SARS was so dreadful, and I should take good care of myself even though I was still young. I should always respect life and make my life wonderful. On the other hand, I felt the relationship between people became closer. I was touched by a news report that showed some strangers were holding supportive worlds signs to thank and encourage the medical personnel and patients who were quarantined. I learned that people could care more about each other even though they are just strangers.

 A tiny SARS germ caused a fearful pestilence, and it was the special experience in my life. Although SARS was so harmful, my family and I were able to learn how to energetically face the difficulty. I learned not to be panic when a disease outbreak and to be calm to face the hardship in life. I understand why my mother always says that health is the most important thing. Now, the H5N9 germ has spread all over the world, but my mother knows how to effectively prevent us from the germ.