How to Get a Seat on the School Bus

How to Get a Seat on the School Bus

   It will be easier to obtain a seat on the school bus if you follow my advice.
   First of all, wait for an empty bus to come. If the bus that you were trying to board was already full, wait for a few minutes and the next bus will come.
   Another method is to come to school early (or late). I guess the peak of the number of passengers starts form about eight o' clock, and ends at eight fifteen. So, if you really want a seat try to come before that time (or after, but you will be late for class so I wouldn't recommend that).
   A third way is to move quickly and without hesitation when boarding the bus. Practically start running towards the seats the moment the door opens.
   Lastly, as a final option, be rude and cunning. Cut the waiting line for the bus, pretend that you're not feeling well, make a friend save a seat for you, push through the other boarding passengers while getting on the bus... there are plenty of alternatives. But do not try to put these ideas into action unless you really REALLY want a seat. It's very risky, and rude.
   So now that you know these methods, you will be able to get a seat on the school bus easier than before. Good luck!

Traveling Guide

      Today I’m going to introduce a small town in Texas, also known as the lone star state. The town is called McAllen and I lived there for five and a half years. McAllen is very close to Mexico, and the borderline exists just beside this town. Now you might think that a minor small town like this won’t have lots of places to see and go to. Actually, McAllen is one of the largest and growing cities in Texas, and is famous for its beautiful landscapes, culture, and traditions.

First of all, I’m going to introduce the food that’s eaten in McAllen. I have told you earlier that McAllen is a town near Mexico. So naturally, of all the McAllen citizens, Hispanics take up some of the population. That is why Mexican food is so popular in this region. It even turned up regularly in my school’s lunch menu.

Second of all, I’m going to tell you about the places that you can go to when you visit this town. There are movie theaters, malls, bookstores, parks, skating rinks, golf courses, museums, and many other places. Of all these places, first of all I want to introduce you to an interesting place called “All Valley Limousine”. It is a place where you can rent limousines for a short period of time. You can use this service for parties or maybe just for enjoyment. I have ridden on these limos several times at my friend’s birthday parties and had a very nice experience. So if you have extra time (especially at night) and have money to spare, go and have a try. Another place I want to introduce you to is a world birding center called " Quinta Mazatlan". McAllen is positioned in the migratory path between North America and South America. Big flocks of birds and butterflies are seen frequently at a particular time of year. It is kind of peculiar to see such a large number of the same species flying simultaneously in the air. Anyways, over 160 different species of birds and many butterflies are inhabitants of Quinta Mazatlan's gardens. Tourists can watch and observe these animals that are in their natural habitat. I was very surprised when I once saw a wild boar during a visit here.
      Finally I’m going to talk about people called “Winter Texans”. These Winter Texans spend the fall and winter in parts of south Texas to escape the harsh weather conditions in their home states, such as Nebraska, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. These part-time residents enjoy the tropical warm climate, Mexican culture, golf courses, square dancing, and just being outdoors. McAllen’s population nearly doubles each year from October through March, as these Winter Texans descend upon this area from the north. Most of them live in mobile-home parks and RV campgrounds, although a growing number of people have set up permanent residence. Sometimes when the Winter Texans like this area, they stay here for the whole year.

So now that you know a little bit about McAllen, you can visit here someday when you come over to Texas and learn more about this town. Its Mexican culture, history, traditions and places to go would surely entertain and interest you very much!

How would our lives be different without the Internet?

How would our lives be different without the Internet?

   Life without the internet would be very difficult for people nowadays. I, for example use the internet at least once a day. I sometimes check the time tables of trains in the morning, listen to music on YouTube, do some research for homework, log-on to Facebook after school, e-mail my friends in America and so on, all using the internet. I really can't imagine life without my computer, so I guess I'm quite addicted to it already.
   Since I use a lot of internet, I can think up of many advantages it has.
   First of all, you can get loads of information. Daily news such as the weather forecast, the hit music charts of different countries, what your friends have been up to, and so many other things. What's even greater about the internet is that it can also show information from the past and opinions from other people.
   Second of all, it is easier to do business by using the internet. There are a lot of people nowadays who use the Internet as means of transaction and dealings. You can book tickets for movies, and auctioning sites such as E-bay, Amazon, and Yahoo Auction make it easy to sell things that are no longer needed at home.
   Finally, another advantage of using the internet can just be for entertainment. Downloading games or surfing the net is one way of spending your free time. Other sites such as YouTube allow you to see and share many music videos for free. I myself use the internet sometimes during my spare time.
   Now I'm going to talk about the disadvantages, which is a hard thing for me because I have never really thought about the negative side of using the net.
   First of all, there might be bad usage of personal information. Using the internet for online banking, social networking sites and other services might require inputting your name, address, phone number credit card number,etc. If this information finds its way into the wrong hands, it could be used for criminal purposes without the person knowing it. For example, my mother's credit card number was once used by an unknown Chinese to buy expensive things.
   Second of all, using the internet can take time away from talking and being with your family and friends. More and more people are getting engulfed and addicted into the virtual world. Even children prefer playing games online than playing with their friends outside.
   Finally, there are possibilities of virus attacks when using the internet. Clicking on seemingly harmless links might lead to your computer crashing or paying a lot of money. We must watch out for these links because kids our age are likely to become one of those victims.
   In conclusion, there are many pros and cons in using the internet. It can make your life more convenient, but there are many dangers lurking beneath. It made me understand that the choices we make are important while using the internet services. I end my essay by saying that by using it wisely, internet can make your life more simple and entertaining.

What are the striking differences between your school experiences abroad and in Japan?

1. Introduction
2. At least 3 paragraphs
3. Conclusion
4. Writing
5. Check for errors

   I was attending a school called St. Paul Lutheran Church while living in Texas for about five and a half years. As you can see from the name of the school, the school I attended was a Christian school(although I'm not christian). So I think my kind of school has even more differences to Japanese schools than regular schools with no religion. In this essay, I'm going to compare St. Paul to the elementary school I went to before coming to SFC.
   The biggest difference between the school I go to now and then, is that the school in Texas had a church and the school in Japan that I attended did not. St. Paul Lutheran Church had chapels at the church there every Friday of the week, and we had to bring offerings every time it was held. I don't know about the Christian schools in Japan, but as far as I know, the school I attended didn't have this kind of ceremony every week so it gave me quite a surprise.
   Another difference between the school in America and the school in Japan, is that American schools use mostly white boards while Japanese schools use mostly blackboards. I don't really know why Japanese schools use these black boards because the chalk makes your hands dirty and the dust makes you cough.
   Finally, the last difference I'm going to write about is that in America, students didn't have to clean their classrooms but in Japan, students had to participate in cleaning their school. At St. Paul, there were always middle aged women cleaning the classrooms for the students after school. Whereas in Japan, we students had to brush and wipe the floors of our classrooms after eating lunch every day. Right now at SFC, there are people hired for cleaning after school so we don't have to do much of the cleaning, but I still think cleaning your own classroom is one of the good customs in Japan.
    It was exciting to learn and experience the two different types of school life in such a short period of time. I think that there are a lot of more differences that I didn't  mention in this essay, but my conclusion is that each school has its own unique set of rules and customs. I like both schools and I hope that this experience would come into use later on in life.