Reflection on My Goals

     Remember that my second post was my goals for thirty days in GLPS camp? Well, believe it or not, it is the last week of GLPS camp. I cannot believe that I have to leave my new friends I made here and the new teachers. Now, I will have to reflect back on my goals and think about if I have achieved my goals or not.

     My first goal was to learn to play golf and learn kendo. I played golf for two classes every week, and I think I learned a lot. I learned the basic things of golf-such as position and how to swing. Additionally, I learned kendo at the first week of GLPS. I learned positions, the names for each position, and also the order of them. The major achievement was that everyone gathered in teams and made their own arrangement (to stand in what shape). I think I have achieved this goal and I hope to learn more about golf and kendo after GLPS. :P
   
     My second goal was to become more self-confident in expressing my thoughts and in presentations. I also think that I achieved this goal. I am really quiet in my class at school I usually go to, but in GLPS, I became very outgoing. This helped me make more friends and to communicate easily. I learned that being self-confident helps you in many ways. One of them is that you can be better because you are believing in yourself. Also, expressing your thoughts sometimes look like that you are being aggressive, but I learned that you can say your thoughts about situations without making the other person think of you as being rude. Along with expressing my thoughts, I have made a goal to be confident in presentations. I have improved a lot in history presentations. I feel more free to talk to a huge crowd of people. This goal was the most helpful for me and will be further on with my life, such as being chosen for the class representative for speech contest.

     My third goal was that I will develop my teamwork skills. This goal was pretty well achieved. I learned to get along with a variety of people. Everyone thinks that working as a team is hard and sometimes that is because that we usually work as individuals in our usual classes at school. However, in GLPS, especially debate, you always have to work as a team. Sometimes, I was in a team with my friends whose thoughts really matched with me, or sometimes I was in a team with friends who had just the opposite thoughts than me. But as I worked more times as a team, I attained a skill to persuade the other person or to sometimes to yield. I also think that our whole class improved on teamwork skills. On our first debate, we had some collisions in debate, but as time passed by, there were fewer and fewer collisions.

     I feel really splendid that I achieved my goals. Even though I will have to work more to make myself a better person, I have taken small steps already. I plan to make new goals for my life, and keep taking small steps toward my new goals I would make.

Diamante Poems

     This week's new post is writing diamante poems. Allow me to explain to you a little bit about diamante poems. A diamante poem is a diamond shaped poem.

Noun

Adjective, Adjective

Verb, Verb, Verb

Noun, Noun, Noun, Noun

Verb, Verb, Verb

Adjective, Adjective

Noun

     In the previous writing class, we brainstormed our topic, and which words we will use for our two diamante poems. There is a synonym diamante poem and an antonym diamante poem. We will write both kinds poems.

Synonym Diamante Poem: 

                                                               Fan

Pleasant, Fabulous

Spinning, Cooling, Rotating

Paper, Plastic, Wood, Steel

Breezing, Turning, Whirling

Cold, Frigid

Ice

(Just in case, the nouns I used in this poem- paper, plastic, wood, and steel-are materials that a fan is made of)

Antonym Diamante Poem:

Summer

Hot, Sunny

Sizzling, boiling, scorching

Season, Ice-Cream, Beach, Watermelon

Snow-Fighting, Skiing, Snowing

Icy, Teeth-Cattery

Winter

     Writing a diamante poem is reminded me of this picture. 

If you see closely, you can see that the picture is made of thousands of words. In fact, these words are from the original book of Alice in Wonderland. Diamante poem made me recall this picture and I could think about the connection between the words and pictures- how words can become pictures. I hope to have a chance to write another diamante poem in the future.

Photo Essay

     As I experience GLPS camp at KMLA, I took pictures so I can remember the good memories. I tried to catch the natural moments of my life here and hope it can help me recall the time here later.



 Picture of our break time.

    This is a picture of break time between yoga classes. Even though our body were not flexible and it hurt to stretch our bodies as far as we could, we tried our best. The most fascinating moment in yoga class was the energy class. We breathed in and out with our noses and imagined our breaths being collected in the palms of our hands. We could really feel something on our hands.







Picture of Minjok Building

  This building is where we learn writing, Minjok Building. Here, we write our first drafts of  our new posts and learn new styles of writing, and we then go to the English Building to  post them on our blogs. Writing class helps us interact with each other by commenting on each other's blogs.


Picture of the sky and the ceiling of Dasan Building






    In Dasan Building, us, Class 16, learn math and debate. It is also where we have our advisory class the first thing in the morning. The reason I took a photo of this building is that it is where we start our day, by going to advisory class. It might be difficult to go down the small "mountain" we go up and down every day, it is still and exercise.

A Picture of sign-up sheet.

On Saturday, when our parents come to see us show what we have been doing, we have to sign up our family for lunch. This is a picture of that sign-up sheet. This sign up sheet have  been up on the white board of Ms.Hughey, our adviser teacher's class for two days and we have to sign up.

Picture of Dasan and Choong-Mu building from the gym.

     To go to the gym, we have to go a long way. There is a small "mountain", as I said before, and we have to "hike" over it to get to the gym. As I was "hiking" up the "mountain",  saw the Choong-Mu and the Dasan Building next to each other like brothers and sisters. Thus, I took a picture of it.I like how the color of the sky and the color of the two buildings match each other. 

Picture of our vending machine at Dasan Building.







Since we have seven periods every day, we become hungry. Therefore, KMLA has a vending machine in every building for students to buy drinks. Thanks to this vending machine, we can overcome some hungriness.




     I have tried to take the most natural things from KMLA, short for Korean Minjok Leadership Academy. Most of them, I took while break time, when every one are so playful. I hope these pictures help the readers to realize the life here at GLPS camp.

A Never Ending Day of Problems.

     This week, my class is writing a creative story we made up by ourselves using our own imagination.

     Chris, Tom, Elaine, and Renee are very close friends. The four go to the same school, are in the same class, and all of them live next to each other.
     On one typical school day, a voice was broadcasted to the whole school.
"Chris Pendragon, please come to the Principal's office right now." Elaine, Tom, and Renee-who were Chris' friends- exchanged surprised looks. Just then, Chris came back, looking depressed.
     "What happened?" Tom asked.
     "My grandfather is lost," Chris replied.
     "Is your grandfather the famous professor? The one that is always on a science program?"
     "Yes, but it looks like no one knows where he is right now. The principal asked me if I know where my grandfather is, but I don't know either."

     After school, Chris ran to his house where only his grandfather and he lives. Chris' parents both died in a plane crash. Renee, Elaine, and Tom always dreaded to go to Chris' house because it is humongous and full of servants, but always feels empty. However, today, they all hurriedly followed Chris to his house. When they arrived, there was a short note on his desk.

                           'Dear my loving grandson Chris,
You might have been surprised that I am not in the house. But I hope to go on a world trip for a few weeks, so don't be so frightened. I will come back few weeks later with many pictures of my trip!
                                                                                         June 4th, 20OO
                                                                                         From,
                                                                                         Your Grandpa'
     A huge sigh of relief came out of Chris.
     "It's no big deal. He just went on a trip," exclaimed Tom.
     "Wait... That's not the only note I see. Here's another one," Elaine replied.

                  'Chris, I need your help. I am kidnapped! I can't tell you where I am, but you can find out. Please solve the code that will be given to you carefully. If your answer is correct, you will eventually be able to find out where I am. Hurry!
                                                  From, your grandpa....'

   As Chris read the note, his voice trailed off, being replaced by tears. No one spoke for a long time and huge silence hung in the air.

     "But where's the code?" Elaine whispered.
     Just then, words appeared on the screen of the computer on the desk.
Tom started to read,

'There is an old woman living on the 15th floor. No matter the weather, she always takes a walk in the morning, even if it is raining or snowing. When she comes back, she always takes the elevator to the 11th floor and arrive at the 15th floor by stairs. However, on a rainy day, she took the elevator all the way up to the 15th floor. How?
Wait, they call this not a code, it is a word problem!"

     "Stay calm, Tom," Elaine shouted. While they were fighting over why they should solve the problem, Renee seemed to be concentrated on something. Her eyes were focused on the side of the table and she seemed like she couldn't hear any of the chaos Elaine and Tom were making.
     Suddenly, Renee whispered,
     "I think I got the answer. The major hint of this problem is that it was on a rainy day. You carry an umbrella with you on a rainy day, don't you? So, she could reach the 15th button in the elevator. Do you get it?"
     On that instant, the floor opened up below them and they fell into a dark, frightening hole. Then, they arrived at a yellow room so yellow that their eyes hurt.

     "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen. I am the Kidnapper that kidnapped Chris' grandfather. You just fell into Shanghai, China. Now, I will give you the second code," a voice rang out in the room. All of a sudden, words appeared on the wall of the room.

'There is a horse and a car completely dark. The room's walls and the floor are completely dark, too. However, when they entered the room, the car just stopped right in front of the horse. The car was fine and there were no lights in the car. How did the car know the horse was approaching?'

     "That's harder than the first one," whispered Chris. With everyone so quiet trying to find out the answer, nervous breaths of the four were able to be heard.
     "Oh, so that's how you solve it! Elaine, Chris, Renee, listen! The answer is simple. If you read the problem again, you can see that there are no mention about the ceiling, so the answer is that it was daytime. The ceiling must be open, which allows the Sun's rays to reach into the room. Do you get it?" Tom shouted.
     "I didn't think that you four were going to be able to solve this one, maybe I was mistaken," the Kidnapper's voice rang out. Just then, a door appeared on the left wall and the four astonished children walked out. They arrived at another place they have never been before.
     "Now, this is New York," the voice rang out again. "Which is the place where I will give you the last problem. Depending on whether you solve it or not, you will be able to save your grandfather, or not."
    "How I hate him!" Chris shouted. Just then, they were trapped in a green room with 100 doors and huge crowd of numbers on one wall.

'You can only open one door. If your answer is correct, there will be Chris' grandfather on behind it.
1~26
24-15-21-18/ 7-18-1-14-4-6-1-20-8-5-18/ 9-19/ 2-5-8-9-14-4/ 20-8-5/ 27th/ 4-15-15-18.'

     "That's just a group of numbers," said Tom. "And random ones that is." Elaine replied as if she doesn't want to see the numbers ever again in her life.
     "Think for a moment, I think I know something. Doesn't the number 26 remind you of something?" Elaine asked.
     "Isn't it the number of alphabets there are?" answered Chris. "Wait, that is the answer! If you change the number into the alphabet that the number represents, you will be able to solve this code! For example, number 1 represents alphabet 'a'. Therefore, the code changes to Y-O-U-R/ G-R-A-N-D-F-A-T-H-E-R/ I-S/ B-E-H-I-N-D/ T-H-E/ 27th/ D-O-O-R! We solved it!" They all hurriedly ran to the 27th door and opened it.

Click here for ending 1
Click here for ending 2
Click here for ending 3

Movie Review-Princess Bride

     Last week, I watched a movie called "The Princess Bride." It was produced in 1987 by Rob Reiner. It's genre is Romance Fantasy.

     The movie starts out with a sick grandson and his grandfather reading him a book. The book's story is the movie's plot. It's about Buttercup and Westley's true love, so the grandson didn’t like it in the beginning. However, as the book was read on, he started to like it and even asked his grandfather to read it again the next day.

Westley and Buttercup used to live in the same village. When Westley left, Buttercup realized that she loved him. But Prince Humperdink wanted her as his bride. He wanted to kill Buttercup and make an excuse to start a war. Then, Westley went to her rescue. At the Cliff of Insanity, Westley defeated the Spaniard and a giant called Fezzik. Since they were just fighting with him because they were told to by Prince Humperdink, Spaniard, Fezzik, and Westley became friends after Westley won.

     When Westley went to Prince Humperdink's castle to save Buttercup, he was tortured at the Pit of despair. Prince Humperdink used a very vicious machine to torture Westley almost to death.

When Spaniard and Fezzik arrived, they saved Westley from Prince Humperdink, and brought him to Miracle Max, who then brought Westely back to life. Then Spaniard and Fezzik carried Westley to the castle. There, Buttercup and Westley reunited and Spaniard could kill Count Rugen as a revenge because Count Rugen killed his dad. Before the Spaniard killed Prince Humperdink, he was shouting, “You killed my father, prepare to die.” He said it over and over, which made the audience laugh.

     This movie was really interesting. At first, I thought it would be a boring movie, because of the title, "The Princess Bride." But the movie surprised me. It was really interesting. I especially liked the part where grandson asked his grandfather to read it again the next day. He said it like he was sorry that he thought it would be boring. He was really cute. I also liked the part where Fezzik squashed Westley between him and a humongous rock. Everyone laughed. Because the movie was interesting to me after I watched it, I learned not to "judge a book by its cover."

     I also learned one leadership skill. If Westley didn't believe in himself that he can save Buttercup, he wouldn't have been able to go through the torture Prince Humperdink gave him. He also wouldn’t have been able to defeat Fezzik and Spaniard. Moreover, he wouldn’t have been able to save Buttercup. From Westley, I could learn that if you believe in yourself, anything is possible.

     I strongly recommend this movie because it was humorous and adventurous at the same time. No matter you are a girl or a boy, young or old, you can all enjoy this movie. If I go home, I want to recommend my family to watch this movie. I think they will enjoy it.

    

Goals

     Since I am at GLPS camp, I hope to achieve a few things.
     First, I want to learn to play golf and kendo. In order to achieve this goal, I will have to    attend all classes. In class, I will listen to the teacher's instructions carefully and practice hard.
     My second goal is to become more self-confident at expressing my thoughts and in presentations. When expressing my thoughts, I will have to not be shy and speak confidently, not speaking so quiet that people can't  hear me. When presenting a presentation, I will have to practice speaking in front of a crowd because I will get nervous when I do.    
     My third goal is to develop my teamwork skills. In order to achieve this goal, I will have to remember what a good teammate is, and try to be a good teammate myself. This will include listening to everyone's ideas and making the best decision-as a team.
     If I achieve these goals, I think I attained the whole purpose of GLPS camp-developing leadership , especially the second and the third goal. I hope to go home and proudly tell my parents that I learned a lot from this camp.

Self-Introduction

     Hi, my name is In-Kyung Bae. I am fourteen years old, a seventh grader. I might seem like an ordinary middle school student, but there are three things unique about me.
     First, I have a terrible eyesight, but I can't wear glasses. The doctor said glasses will not help me. But because I don't wear glasses, people think I have a good eyesight. One of the questions I get asked the most is, "but how come you don't wear any glasses?"
     Second unique thing about me is that I love to draw cartoons, but never finished any stories with cartoons. I love to draw out my stories with special characters, but get bored of drawing the same characters many times.
     Third, what do you think when you hear Shanghai and Taipei together? A lot of people don't see any connection between them. But there is a special connection between them-just for my family. I lived in both countries, for two years each. If I didn't live in Shanghai and Taipei, I wouldn't be In-Kyung as I am right now. Living in Shanghai and Taipei really helped me to think outside the box.
     These were three interesting things about me. As my first post, I hope you got to know a little bit about me.