The last ...

EAP stands for English for Academic Purposes and we are done with that. It is now about 7 months that I personally started this program. Most of the student have the same condition while some started earlier and some starter from EAP 3. It does not matter when you start this program, the important issue is we finished it together now and that is the end of our story. I am very happy, not for finishing this program, but for meeting all of you guys. I now know many people from China (neehow!) and Korea (anion!). I know people from Russia and Ukraine (privet!). I know people from Algeria, Saudi Arabia and Syria (Asalamon Alaikom). I know people from Niger and Quebec (saloot). I know people from Netherlands (Hallo) and many other countries. I also found people from my own country (Salam) that I did not know before. This is an experience of a life time. We had many wonderful moments and lots of great memories. We had many wonderful teachers and we learnt a lot. Now, on this moment we have to choose our own way in life. This bridge, EAP is going to end. This chapter of our life finished and we need to pass it. I enjoyed being with you guys. I hope the best for all of you and hope to have all of you as my friends after this program. Take care. Khoodenakh, Poka, janjan, ma3al salam, khodahafez and goodbye.

How Much I Learnt in EAP Program

Maybe the most important question about EAP program is how much we have learnt. How different you think your level of English is since you started this program. For me that is a though question. For answering that question, first I better answer in each category separately. In the Listening and Speaking, for sure I am more fluent and my understanding improved but I do not know how much because I have nothing to compare now. The same thing is true about the Reading. I know more words and more important than that, I know more useful strategies now, unfortunately again nothing to compare with. In the writing, I have a lot to compare. Let me bring some evidence for you.
It is the introduction of my first essay in EAP 2.

There are many different things that a human looks for in life. Maybe one of the most important things is good living. With the purpose of having a good life, successful business could help a lot. A successful business in my opinion is a business that could survive in long term and turn a profit. In order to achieve this, the business needs many factors such as money, appropriate skills and a business plan.

This one is my introduction for the second term paper in EAP 3.

Air pollution, global warming, high price and decreasing reserves of fossil fuels, along with the world’s growing energy needs, have encouraged efforts to develop alternative energy sources. Due to these efforts, nowadays, many new energy sources are being used such as tidal power, hydroelectric power, pumped storage, and geothermal power. Although each of these new sources has its own strengths and benefits, none of them is capable of becoming the alternative energy source since they are hard to access and not efficient in comparison to fossil fuels. The most likely energy source that is capable of replacing society’s dependence on fossil fuels is solar power because of its prized advantages. Solar power is non-polluting, cost effective, and abundant. According to the Solar Energy Society of Canada “The Sun is a powerhouse, showering the earth every hour with more energy than the entire planet consumes in a year”. These points make solar power the energy of the future.

I guess my point is clear now. In the writing, considering the differences between my first essay and my last one, I can see how huge I changed my skills in English. I think if you have doubts about your improvment in English, you can compare like me, I am kind of sure you can see what I saw.

First Final

Hello everyone. Today we had our first final exam- writing. Before the exam, I was not stressful. However, after I received the questions, time passed extremely fast. I managed to write a 5 paragraphs essay but when I looked at my watch in the middle of exam I realized that I do not have enough time, so I combined my two last paragraphs into one. First I wanted to write about the entrepreneur topic, then I thought since I wrote my term paper about energy, I can write about energy stuff better. As a result, I changed my mind and wrote about least likely energy to replace fossil fuels, which in my opinion is wind power ( it is not cost effective and efficient). Unfortunately, I couldn’t find enough time to proof read my essay. I only could find some words’ spelling in dictionary. After all, how much I learnt is the main point, and I learnt a lot. I wish you good luck for your other exams (but as Murray said, you do not need it!). For me, being done with writing is a big relief. Have a nice weekend.

I do not know if you belived me or you think it is ... ;)

Today we had our second and last presentation for this semester. For the last recent days I thought with myself it is not a big deal, I can be very relax and natural. The audience are my friends and I know them for many months. Well, it is true, but today in the morning the exact opposite happened. I saw some friends of mine practicing their presentation in the library of education. The thing we did was giving our presentation to a small group of students. I did it twice and especially the first time was awful! I forgot what I wanted to say and my mind became out of words in some moments. The second practice was better but still not satisfactory for me. Anyway, we came to ST 141 and I did my presentation in front of all of you. The real presentations, of course, was not perfect or even anything near perfect but was satisfactory for myself. I believe the practice that we did really helped me today, otherwise I would probably give my awful first practice as the real one! :)
The Last but not the least, I would like to mention Jason’s presentation, I mean the last sentence!!!! It was the best moment of all the presentations- ever! Jason was there when we were practicing our presentations and he did not finish his presentation with “I do not know if you believed me or you think it is …” :D otherwise we could give him some recommendation, like I do not know if you believed me or not! Anyway, thank you Jason.

Calgary

Yesterday, we had Scott for the first time since he came back from his trip to New York. As you all know we discussed about his trip during yesterday’s grammar class. Well, we talked about ground zero, food, especially different kind of bread, and the appearance of the ESL teachers. All those topics were interesting for me, but we discussed something else as well that was the most attention grabbing part for me. Scott said in New York they do not even know that a place like Calgary exists, while in New York you feel you are in the middle of every thing. That is true, Calgary in not very famous. I personally never heard of it before my family decided to come here. However, I am kind of like that. Calgary is not very big, it is not well known, but still we have everything here (almost) and there is no pollution, it is safe and many other advantages of a city with this size. I lived most of my life in a city like Tehran, a really crowd and huge city so I am familiar with living in big cities. Living in big cities has its own advantageous. You have more facilities, there are more places to go and have fun, the city as alive day and night. Anyway, I am happy with situation of Calgary, it is a new experience and I like it.

Small/Big World

Have you ever heard that people say “it is a very small world?” they usually say that when something strange with a very low probability happens. Few days ago I was in service stop of our university. As you all know, you need to obtain a ticket before you can go in. I was sitting there waiting for my turn when I saw a very familiar face who was getting his ticket from that special device. I went closer and kind of stared at him! Then he saw me and I saw the surprise in his face and became sure. He was my friend in high school and I have not seen him for more than 5 or 6 years. Then suddenly we saw each other thousands of kilometers far from home in Calgary! It was really strange for me and I got to the point that it is a small world.
Another thing that I would like to talk about this time is, Calgary is a small place! It is very rare that you go out on Friday or Saturday and you do not see anyone that you know, especially if you use C-train. If you want to go out with someone secretly and no one see you, you better forget about most places in downtown. I will talk about this subject in future. For now, that’s all.

O & O

Oprah Winfrey’s support of Barak Obama in the next presidential election of the United States of America is a very attention grabbing issue. Oprah Invited Obama to her show to give him a chance of advertising for his campaign and also to show that she personally supports Obama. In that show Oprah has talked about Obama’s abilities and gave him a great deal of credit as a good leader. By that she tried to encourage people to vote for Obama in the election. Many people believe Oprah’s support is very essential for Obama and can help him to win over Hilary Clinton, the former first lady, inside democrat party’s election.

I personally believe both Oprah and Obama did many breakthroughs during their lives. Fpr example, about Oprah, “She was a poor black girl who came up from the very bottom and has led a good life and helped so many people.” In addition, about senator Obama, “Mr. Obama was a man who stood with clarity and conviction against the war in Iraq.” I knew that Oprah supports senator Obama in the presidential race of the Democrat Party but it seems it is a very important point for him. In fact, Oprah Winfrey is the only female in the United States more famous than Hillary Clinton -- and possibly the one woman with the power to stop the former first lady returning to the White House. It is interesting for me because she has no political power, but still she is able to affect something as important and critical as presidential election. I think it shows she has earned people’s trust by her great background.

Poker

Have you ever played Poker?!? Well, I know it is gambling and not a good thing to do but I really like it. Among card games it is my favourite game. In Iran, we usually play 5 cards draw, while in Canada people, mostly prefer Texas Holdem Poker. In Texas Holdem poker, each player receives 2 cards. Then they start to bet for the first time. After that, dealer shows 3 cards. The players bet again, of course some of them might fold. Then 1 card is showed again, another betting and finally the last card from dealer and final bets. I know it sound strange and complicated, but it is easier than it sound. I do know if you know the order of hand or not. In Texas Holdem it is like this: (from worst to best!)

- nothing!! It is none of the below so it is nothing. In this situation the high card wins.
- Pair. 2 from one thing, for example two 10 or two jacks.
- 2 pairs. Two set of pairs. For example two 5 and two kings.
- 3 of a kind. For example three 8 or three queens.
- Straight. For example 7,8,9,10 and jack.
- Flash. All from a same sign. For example all heart or spade.
- Full house. It is the combination of 3 of a kind and a pair. For example three 2 with two 7.
- 4 of a kind. For example four aces.
- Straight flash. Be straight and flush at a same time. For example 10,J,Q,K and Ace of Spade. ( this hand is the best hand, it is called royal flash)
I do not want to encourage anyone to gamble, but I think this game is really enjoyable. Anyway, cya.

Friendship

My computer clock shows it is 3:43 now. I just came back from one of my friends place and I am kind of drunk now. Guys, try goose berry, which is a nice kind of vodka!!!! Anyway, first, I thought I better sleep now, then I thought it is better to watch 1 or 2 episode of Friends show first and then sleep. I really like friends, as I think most of you know, and I strongly recommend it to watch. Anyway, I decided to write a blog, before watching Friends, and the reason is my previous blog. As you can see, my title is friendship. I am happy that we can choose our friends, and it is not like relatives, which is settled and there is no choice on that ;) there is a picture for this entry, which is taken on the last night before I left Iran. There are some of my best friends and that night was kind of my goodbye party. I really like spending time with my friends. I feel happy and secure when I am with my friends. I miss my friends back home, but I am also happy that I found new friends here, in Canada. It reminds me a part of Friends show (season 9), which a male nanny (manny) said what is the boat which never sank?!? The answer is FRIENDSHIP!!!!!

Blogging

I used to look at blogging as an assignment and also a way of communication with other students in EAP. Last semester the communication part was more interesting for me because we didn't know each other and blogging was a neat way of knowing each other. However I know you now, so this semester blogging did not interest me that much. However ( I know I used however earlier, but I need it again and that's a free writing and that's my blog, so I use it again!) after we went to lab and I read that article which Scott wrote, my point of view about blogging has changed completely. It seems it is more important and more effective that I assumed earlier. Therefore, I decided to write more blogs. I won't pay attention to every small detail and make perfect, but I will write more and more. I just want to make my thinking into written English. So (I know it's the beginning of a sentence but as I said it is free writing) I will only write and write. When ever I can find some time, I will write. Well, I have nothing more to say for now, so .... Take care, cya.

P.S: There is a video below. I really enjoyed it, hope you like it too.

The Bucket List

The Bucket List

“The Bucket List” is the name of a movie which I saw about 2 weeks ago. It is a new movie and I strongly recommend it to other people to watch. To briefly go through the story, there are two guys who understand they are going to die in about 6 months. One of them is a very rich man, with a special character. He is kind of selfish, picky and doesn’t care about other people. He is divorced and has a daughter that hasn’t seen for few years (Jack Nicholson). The other guy is a guy from a poor family. He has worked all of his life very hard to create a good life for his wife and children. He helps other people as much as he can and finally he loves history (Morgan Freeman). Generally, two guys with lots of differences. However, cancer and death kind of put them on a same boat. They meet in a hospital which belongs to the rich guy. Many things lead to another and finally they decide to a journey and fulfill the wishes they have before their death. That's the story of Bucket List. They write many different things in that list and plan to do the. For example, they want to go to Egypt to see the pyramids or China to see the great wall. In addition to that, they write some unusual task as well such as sky diving, driving a race care or a high speed motorcycle. Moreover, they decide to experience many different things like, laughing till it makes them cry or kiss the most beautiful girl in the world. Anyway, when they accomplish a task, they delete it from a list. I won't say the end of story, but it is not just doing the task and finish! Many different things happen during the movie. Although it is a funny movie, there are many nice messages carried by the movie. I think it is worth to watch.

J.K

A person can be creative in many different fields such as science, business, education and etcetera. In the same way, a person can be creative in writing. In fact, creativity is an important part of success in writing. We had many creative writers and novelist during history which I think J. K. Rowling -author of the Harry Potter series- is one of them; because her books have gained commercial success and world wide attention. J. K. Rowling’s books have gained commercial success. She is the 136th richest person in world, 13th richest woman in Britain. the total value of her books was estimated 4 billion dollars. She has a new record in book’s market. Her books were sold near 350 million copies. In fact, they are the fastest selling books in history. Additionally, J. K. Rowling’s books attracted attention all over the world. Her books has been translated into many different languages and were published in many different countries. Commercial success of J. K. Rowling’s books and the world wide attention that her books gained shows how much creative she is.

Exploring!

This week’s subject is exploring. Maybe the first thing that comes to our mind after hearing this word is people who explore the world like that guy who climbed Mount Everest. Despite of this fact, I would like to look at this subject from another point of view. For this, I better explain from a bit earlier.
Last week, after we got our grades for our first essay, I was upset. I expected a better mark than what I got and as a result I was thinking this semester I might not be able to achieve 85% that we need. Well, I was thinking with myself about this issue that night. Then, I got to this point that I want to live the rest of my life in this language. My ultimate goal is way beyond this 85%. I want to explore English and learn it not only for university but for living in this language. So, from that moment my perspective about the whole EAP program has been changed. Now, I am here to learn and enjoy and as long as I am learning I do not care about anything else. That is my point of view about exploring!!! ;) That would be nice to know about your opinion guys.

This is a funny video that I hope you enjoy,

How Long can you Hold your Breath?

Editing!

Editing is a very useful! It is good to edit and to be edited by others! I mean our writing not ourselves of course. However editing is not a good subject for writing blogs, therefore I am not going to write about that for the rest of this entry. I wish I could but I don’t want to!!! Friends show’s fans probably could remember that line from Phoebe. (Season 1, episode 1)
I would like to write about two new experiences that I had last week. Wednesday, after classes, I was going to Mc hall to work. I had like 30 minutes free time before I start my job so I decided to smoke before going to work. Okay, I know smoking is not a good thing to do but that’s not my point here! Sometimes when some people smoke outside a building in campus they make a conversation. In that day, I met a nice guy and we started to talk when we were smoking. After we finished our cigarettes he told me that he is hanging out with some friends and asked me to join them if I like. I had around 30 minutes and that was a good chance to see how Canadians hanging out, besides he seemed to be a nice guy so I accepted. Well, to cut to the chase we became friends and Thursday he invited me to Den, as he said for knowing Canadians better! I went to Den that night with Behzad and I really enjoyed. They were friendly, hospitable and kind but as Murray say speaking English after third beer is a hard thing to do! Maybe not third but after 6th or 7th it is hard, especially with that loud music. It was like one of the Murray’s exercises that we do during Listening classes when we all shout our sentences for our partners. Well, hanging out with Canadians was my first experience that I wanted to write about.
The second experience is about dreaming in English!! I finally dreamed in English and it happened Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights!!! I usually do not dream that frequently but maybe after language changing it started to happen more! :) It was kind of funny and weird but generally I like it.

LOVE 2008:

EAP 3

Well, well, well, finally EAP 3, and that’s it. Not bad, fair and square! I heard that expression but I do not know the exact meaning and if I used it in a correct place or not! Okay, about EAP3’s impression. Let’s begin with its blog! I prefer the way we used to write our blogs last semester. We could choose our own topic which makes our blogs more interesting to read. I can guess most of lecture 2 students for this EAP3 entry (which is chosen for us) probably complain about the bad schedule. Oh, that reminds me my first impression to EAP3! Anger! I was mad, really mad. It is the worst schedule EVER! Now after 2 weeks I somehow get used to it, but I still do not like it. About our teachers, they are good but I do not want to say more because its look like I wanna spoil my self for them which I hate about students who do that! Another thing about my blog, I may put some video at the end of each entry which probably have no relation with the entry, I hope you like them. Cya.

P.S: things I wanted to say are on the main part, but I still need 50 more words for this entry! Another thing that I do not like about this semester’s blogs is 250 words for each entry. 250 is way too much. It makes it harder to read for others but that’s the way it is.