Student writing

Aailya – My Poem
Every morning
Ring ring ring
“ello dis is your wake up call”
Enough with those dang wake up calls!
Enough with the walking!
Enough with the heat!
Every night
I feel totally beat
As if someone took their feet
And danced on my head
The throbbing headaches
Ugh I can’t stand them and now
The King of Pop is dead
Now what do we do?
Things I miss
Why? Why?
I wish I could test “LOL”
A smiley face
And a frowny face
I wish I could go outside
Without having to put on sunscreen
I mean how am I supposed to get a tan?
I mean the sightseeing
Is grand
But what I jst can’t stand is that we eat so much
Then we walk so much
Hello! Cramps!
China
Has changed me
And I’m sure it’s not done
Even though I complain
I wouldn’t trade this for the world
The people they stare
But we simply do not care
We wave and say “ni hao”
And they laugh
China
Thank you
And thank you to Morgan
My best friend until the end
Without you I wouldn’t be
Able to survive
The thrive towards
Things that could get me
In trouble
I love ;you
And I always will.


Jose – 1st Full Day in China
It is the first day of summer in China and already a humid climate was brought upon us. Comtemplating onChina’s rich sulture, I sat, silent on the richsaw that held us three; Ian, David, and I. As I held steadfast to the aluminmum structure that bestwed upon it the purple-red tarps, I gazed at the side of china that I would of never have thught of. Rows and rows of gray brick housed lined the sides of the narrow road. Mao uas emiinent in paitingins and pictures. The youth ruled this side and took control. The smell of wonton soup and stirfry filled my lungs from the outside air. Red lanterns swayed ont heir hooks outside of shops and restuarants. A slow moving river flowed to the right as obsedion bridges lay upon the banks. I could not believe that I was 5,000 miles away from home in this still thriving ancient country. It was the opposite of white and black photography. Color was everywhere to be found. The laughter of the Chinese people lingered in the air and their stares were on us, foreigners from the east side of the pacific.

Jesse– The Orphanage
Asylum like rooms
Dirty white floor
I look at the workers
They are on the edge
They can’t take much more
Children rolling
On the ground
Cryng their eyes out
They are not yet found
By the moms and dads
That want to make them their own
Hopefully it won’t be long
Before they are not alone
But some sadly
Won’t make it that far
Some look different
From outside, visible scars
But for now I hold this baby boy
Whose lip is cleft
But his eyes still filled
With wonder and joy
I hope a family can find him
And see what’s really inside him
I hope he can see past these
Asylum - like rooms.

Monica – Mao’s Body
Mao was a great man, but is also responsbile or millions of deaths – as Lisa told us afterwards. What really surprised everyone though was that his body was BRIGHT organbe. Like, seriously, BRIGHT. Not tinted – just BAM!!! I thought it would just be a touch organe, but NO WAY! Before we saw the body, we went through a room with a statue of Mao surrounded by flowers, trees, ferns, etc. Some people were putting bougets of white flowers in a box in front of him. No talking was allowed throughout the building.