I Don't Want It To End

This is one of the saddest weeks in my life.

“The final writing exam on Friday is over, but there are still two more days to go, with the reading, listening, and speaking final exams still to come. Oh no, just two! I want more classes, more exams. More, please!”

This is what I’ve been thinking about all this week, and I’ve tried hard to stay optimistic. It seems that there are so many reasons to be happy: the EAP 3 course is almost over, sleepless nights are behind me, and there is no more daily competition. But why do I feel like I don’t want all this to come to the end?

Maybe because everyone in EAP 3 became like a family to me, well… maybe not quite everyone. But still, the feeling of being one of the EAP 3 family is an exceptional feeling that I've experienced. Now, The Prairie Chicken makes more sense to me. The University is truly a place where together with other “baby chicks” like me, it made me feel comfortable, and gave me more confidence and strength to “fly into the world”.

Maybe it’s because of the wonderful teachers I have had, Murray, Scott, and Ilana, who’ve been teaching me “how to fly by myself”. I might be scared of not being able to fly without “their supporting wing”, and to fail one day. But I know I will always remember their helpful advice on how to survive, though.

I still can’t believe it's over. No more rush to be on time, no more talks about icebergs and "little EAP 3 penguins", no more "discussions" about how dogs are fluffy, friendly and cute, and no more "John loves Mary because..."

I should be happy, because I have found friends for life, and have gained an invaluable knowledge of thinking like a Canadian, and talking, listening, and speaking like one as well. What’s more, now I can write down my thoughts, in an academic and well-organized way, in English.

My goal in EAP 3 is reached. I should be happy, and ready for more challenges ahead of me...

Vivid Dreams

Many people, if not most, do not believe in dreams. They see dreams as "just what your brain processes during the night". I can't disagree more.

Lately, I have been experiencing very unusual dreams. They are more vivid, and more realistic. In one of my dreams, I saw green-green grass, and the sky was as sunny as during the warmest day in July. It was early afternoon, and I was walking back home through the park with my bare feet on the grass. I could feel the grass stems pinching my feet, and the grass was so fresh and fragrant it was hard not to remember. I remember I felt so happy, like I was almost flying. I heard birds singing, like real birds sing early in a summer morning.

I walked and walked, but suddenly, I realized I couldn't find my way back home. So I began asking people around me if they knew where I lived, and where did my house disappear to? No one would talk to me. Everyone looked very sad, so I kept walking on the grass and looking for my home...

When I woke up next morning, I tried to forget about the dream. But it seemed so real, that my feet were so sore and red, almost like from me walking on the freshly-cut grass all night. I wish I didn't have to wake up to go to the University, otherwise I could find out what happened to me and my house.

I tried to explain to myself how I could remember colors and senses from my dream so well. Maybe it's because I started paying more attention to my dreams than before, or maybe because it was just an unusual dream !?

The Shopping Explorer

Although I cannot call myself an explorer, today I was one. I went shopping.

It may seem ironical, but I was trying to find out how to save as much money as possible, while shopping for groceries and other goods in some department and grocery stores in Calgary.

I began my adventure with grocery stores. I knew that the health food and specialty stores are generally more expensive than Co-op or Safeway; they are also much more pricier than the Real Canadian Superstore or Costco wholesale. However, I made a short list of groceries I usually buy every once in a while, and went to search for the truth.

I compared prices for such groceries as milk, bread, vegetables, fish, and orange juice. On average, prices at the Superstore were 5-10 % lower than in any other store. However the choice was limited and the quality of those items was a bit lower than at Co-op. For example, the only choice of fish in the Superstore was halibut (maybe only on that day), but because I had had a bad experience with Superstore fish before, I did not want to take a chance again, which is a story for another blog.

I also compared prices for toothpaste, shower gel, and some cosmetics such as Olay face moisturizers, at Zellers, the Bay and Sears. I was impressed by the difference in prices. The same merchandise at the Bay and Sears were up to 45% more expensive than at Zellers. Wow! I asked myself why I had never considered Zellers to be a good and savvy store.

By the end of the day, I came back home exhausted but happy that I had found the answer on how to save money. I knew that if I wanted to purchase some quality foods, I would go to Co-op or to the Community Health Food store (I would not want to save on my health). But if I would run out of my favorite face moisturizer, I would go directly to Zellers.

Thank You But No, Thank You!

I feel strongly that editing is a useful tool in learning to write academically.

I remember the day when we were asked to hand in a draft of our essay for someone else in our class to edit. "Sounds good", I thought at that moment. "My editor will help me to correct the mistakes that may not be noticeable to me, and will assess my work objectively, giving me two stars and a wish."

I enjoyed editing a classmate’s draft essay as well. With pleasure, I shared my knowledge from previous writing classes, and gave some useful tips to the essay’s author. It was good practice for me to try to recognize some of the inaccuracies in the essay, and to make a few helpful suggestions.

However, after reading some of my classmates’ blogs about their thoughts of editing, I had the impression that not everyone considered editing to be a "good exercise", especially when it involved the editing of their work by others.

"But why", I asked myself. "Since when does someone learning to write not need an extra help?" It was kind of like, "thank you but no, thank you!"

After reading my own edited essay draft, I was glad to acknowledge and consider all of my editor’s notes and corrections. In fact, I rewrote my whole essay taking advantage of almost all of the editor’s helpful suggestions.

The only thing that remains a secret is, what does our dear writing instructor think about her "amateur editors"?