JIANG YIN ------MY HOMETOWN

JIANG YIN is my hometown. I was born and brought up there.

JIANG YIN, ofen called YU YU, the town has a leave shape. It is the largest harbour in China. It is located 30 km south west of FU QING, FU JIANG, CHINA, opposite Taiwan. The Taiwan Strait is between JIANG YIN and Taiwan. There are ferries from JIANG YIN to TAI WAN, which take a whole week to get there. The main industry in JIANG YIN is transport.

JIANG YIN is wet for most of the year. There is more rain in SPRING and SUMMER. MAY and JUNE are the hottest. Temperature ranges from below 1.2 Centigrade to 38.7 Centigrade during the whole year. In SUMMER is hot during the day and night. In winter the wind is very strong.

Every year the 15Th day after the Spring Festival is the festival of YUANXIAO. JIANG YIN's people eat sticky rice balls and other delicious food. There is a worship show. People go out to celebrate the day, but we can't turn on the lights after 9:00pm until next morning. It's spectacular. The people of JIANG YIN are kind and friendly. Welcome to my hometown.

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THE DUST STORM DAY

I saw the sky was red, I thought it was the sun, so I took my clothes outside, I wanted to put them under the sun, then I ate my breakfast, my husband found the wind was strong, he advised me to take my clothes inside, I didn't have enough time to do that, so my husband helped me at last!

I went to the train station to take the train to school at 8:25, my husband sent me out the door, then we saw the car parked in front of the house was covered in dust, then we thought it may be a dust storm, I hurried up to school, we didn't talk about it much.

On the way to the school, I used a handkerchief to cover my nose, then I remembered my sister-in-law helped me closed my room's window the night before, so my room didn't get dirty, but my brother-in-law wasn't as lucky as me, he forgot to close his room's window.

Someone said there will be another dust storm in few days. people said the dust storm brew from Melbourne. I didn't try to find some news about it! I am so lazy! ^_^!

Technology & ESOL

As everybody knows, society develops very fast. There are more and more new technologies whcih are baneficial for learning English, such as computers, the Internet, smartboards and so on. These new technologies are very useful for English as a Second Language (ESL) learners.

First, English learners can learn many things using technology, not only just from books. They can learn new words, they can read and write emails, they can find websites with pictures and voice at the same time, because they can learn things through looking at videos or pictures on the computer, which could help people remember it more easily. Nice voices and colour pictures make learning more interesting.

Secondly, English learners can learn English through the things which just happened in the world, because on the internet people publish news as quickly as possible. It is quicker than the printed press. They can search things on the internet which is quicker than looking up books. You can just use a word to search what you want, even if you don't konw what you want exactly. Then you can learn English at achieve many kinds of knowledge.

Finally, English learners can learn online. They can learn during their free time, they don't have to worry about time. Maybe they can't attend an English class which takes place at a normal time, but they can learn at other times. They can study with more people which are not just their classmates and teachers. They can attend an English cource which is offered on the internet. They can also use many resources for English reading, speaking, writing and listening. They don't need to study face by face, they may be worried about their faults when they stay in the public or contract with others face to face, online they don't worry about mistakes, they may try to talk with others without being shy, because they don't knowe each other. As they try again and again, on day they'll be able to talk with other people in the public or face to face.

All of the esamples above, the development of the technology, easy to access news, online ways to study English, allow ESL learners to learn more things more quickly! To sum up learning English using new technologies is useful and also fun.

Yesterday we were working on two short reports on tigers and lions. I've checked up our doubts: How long do they live? Are they good climbers? Can they swim? Do they hunt at night?

I found that wild tigers can live 20 years, Tigers rarely climb trees...but can and will do it occasionally. They are strong and willing swimmers and will chase deer into water, they hunts mainly between dusk and dawn, usually alone.


Lions live for about 15 years in the wild, and about 24 years in captivity. Lions are not particularly adept climbers. They are quite capable swimmers. They tend to hunt mostly at night or in the early mornings, and for much of the rest of the time are very lazy. However, being opportunists they'll hunt whenever the chance arises and that could be the middle of the hottest day.

I couldn't understand the article about the building with my poor English and my lack of interest. I like the photos of the building but not the design, the design of the building is hard to understand. But then I tried to read the Heritage Office information, I looked at the photos at same time which made me understand the information more easily.
The building style is Federation Romanesque and it is an educational building, the first technical college in Australia. The building was built at 1891 by W E Kemp. They used materials such as brick, slate, sandstone, tile, trachyte. The building has a slate hipped and gabled roof and is three storeys high. I like the arched window's shape best. The building is bright under the sun , I like bright things, I think it is full of hope. It was originally built as a tecnical school and offices in the past and now it is also a school and offices.
Maybe I will visit Ultimo TAFE college one day, I will use my eyes to find beautiful things.

My First Day In Australia

My first day in Australia was both a surprise and an amazing experience. I arrived at 11:35 27Th,June. My ears were ringing all the time while the plane was landing. My father-in-law,mother-in-law and my niece came to meet my husband and me.It was the first time I saw my father-in-law, I was felling so strange. After a long fly, I felt thirsty. Under the sun, I felt terrible. It only took us 15min to arrive to our house.
I phoned my grandfather-in-law and grandmother at first, I told them I had arrived safely. My sister-in-law helped me to coordinate my baggage, my aunt tidied a bed for me. I was too confused to sleep. I tried to have a rest but couldn't fall asleep. Then we went out for dinner. My parents invited many of their friends. We had a good time.
I realised my life was different, I believed it'd get better in the future. Then I fell asleep and had a good dream, that was my first nice dream in Australia.

The Love Mandarin

I and my husband had our marriage registration on 08/08/08. The meaning of the number is luck. The form of the number is interesting. It was The OLYMPICS GAME OPENING DAY IN CHINA.Yesterday was 09/09/09 whose form is also interesting. Maybe it is important to somebody, as our dear Rosa! Happy birthday to our dear Rosa!
There was also an important thing for me, it was really a little thing, but it made me feel warm. The wind became fresh at 5:00pm yesterday. When I got home, I felt bad, I had a headache. I didn't want to eat anything. My husband came back at 7:30pm and saw how I was feeling. He remembered I like eating fruit, so he peeled a mandarin for me. Maybe it was the rest I had, maybe the headache was not serious, maybe it was just my husband's loving action, but I felt better very soon. I said thank you to my husband in my heart, I looked at the mandarin and smiled, then I fell asleep and had a sweet dream. So I called the mandarin the love mandarin.

Our weekend

Last Tuesday class, we were talking about different wedding customs in different places, even though they may be in the same country. It was interesting.

In my hometown, FuQing (FuJian,China), the week before the wedding is a very busy time. They prepare the bridal chamber and the bride's wedding dresses, which sometimes are three different dresses. The colour of Red is jubilant, black and white are tabu. The number of things in a bridal chamber is an even number, or the number 3 (the pronunciation has good meanings in my hometown). In the past, the bridegroom and bride couldn't see each other, but now it doesn't matter. They may come together to buy something which they will need for the wedding.

The fortnight before the wedding is important and busy. There will be some Buddhist rituals, which will last 3-4 hours. It is the blessing of the young people who will get married the next day. The day of the wedding is such an important day! There is a party at the bride parents' home before another one at the bridegroom' home. It is believed that certain hours of the day are lucky hours. For example from 12 to 1 pm. So the lucky time is not long enough and the groom and his friends, the groomsmen, have to collect the bride during that hour.

The groomsmen follow the bridegroom to the bride's house, because when the bridegroom takes the bride away, the bridesmaids will ask some questions to the bridegroom and the groomsmen will try their best to help him answer the questions, otherwise they can't take the bride away. It is amusing, but sometimes it becomes a problem, so usually there is a person to control it. When the bridegroom takes the bride away, there is a simple ceremony, the bride's parents will cry, their friends will cry when they remember the good times they had together in the past and now they think they maybe not see their friends easily. The controller will stop it, because a wedding is a happy thing and they should finnish before 1 pm, which is the end of the lucky hour. As they leave the bride's home, her parents will pour a jug of water behind the bride and groom, which means that the married daughter is thrown out of the water and hope their girl will have a happy life. Then the bridegroom's home's feast will begin.

When the bridegroom takes the bride to his home, there is also a simple ceremony, some people in bridal chamber ask for lots of sweets and cigarettes, or money. The bridegroom and bride have to stay in their bridal chamber, so they have to accept their request. Sometimes it becomes a problem when they require too much. But at last it will be solved, the bridegroom and bride come into their new room. Then the feast in the bridegroom's home begins. During the feast the bridegroom and the bride will drink a toast to the guests who come to their wedding, and all of the guests drink a toast to the bridegroom and the bride. When the feast is over, the newlyweds' best friends will have some games. It is a happy day, they will have different games from other days.

Before the feast starts, people who are invited, will give the newly Wed's parents money or give presents to the bride (like some jewellery). When the feast is over, both in the bride's parents home and bridegroom's home, they will give their wedding guests some presents, like sweets, delicious cakes, meat and noodles. Sometimes they give back the money that the guests had given to the bride and groom. If their parents are rich and they are happy when their children get married, they give the money back to everyone; sometimes only to some of guests if they may be an important person or an older person.

The next two days of the wedding are important. The first day the newlyweds will come to the bride parents' home to greet them. It means that the son-in-law will protect his wife and there will have a simple feast for their kin. On the secondly day, the bride's brother and uncle will visit them. There will also have a simple feast, it means that the elders hope their new son-in -law will look after their daughter and their daughter will help her husband. And all of it means that they hope they love each other for ever and help each other for ever.

Have a good day , everyone! Thank you for reading it in your valuable time! I hope you can tell me the wedding customs in your hometown one day!^_^!