High School in the USA – Part 2 – Prom

Ahhhh, to be young again…just thinking about what to write about high school puts me back so many years! I feel like a kid again just thinking about the fun times I had in high school. Some of the most memorial times I had were at prom! Prom is a big dance that usually occurs in the early spring. Every school does it a little differently, so let me explain how prom was at my school.

At my school the 11th graders (juniors) were the ones who raised the money to put on the prom for themselves and for the 12th graders (the graduating seniors). The juniors, not only raised the money for the event, but they decorated, chose the theme, and put it all together. Our proms consisted of a really nice sit-down meal with a dance afterwards. However, lots of proms in the United States only have a dance and the couples go out to eat before the actual proms.

The best part of prom for me was wearing a fancy gown. I remember when I was a senior in high school. I had a beautiful black and gold dress that was short and sassy. Oh and I was Prom Queen when I was a senior. During every prom, a King and a Queen are elected by all of the people who are at the prom. I was lucky enough to be chosen! I was so excited and kind of confused because I didn’t expect it at all.

The picture shown here was at my senior prom.  I

Did you have a really fancy dance like prom when you went to school? Leave a comment and let me know!

Happy Mother’s Day

In United States in Canada Mother’s Day falls on the 2nd Sunday of the month of May.  I actually was born on Mother’s Day many years ago, so it was always a special day for me and mother when I was growing up.  Very rarely my birthday falls on Mother’s Day and then it is just that much more special for me!

Other countries celebrate Mother’s Day on a different day.  For example, in France they celebrate it usually on the last Sunday of May, but this year it is on the first Sunday of June.

In the United States, the usual way to celebrate Mother’s Day is for the husband and children to make a special gift for mom or if she’s really lucky maybe she’ll get some nice jewelry.  Sometimes children like to make a special Mother’s Day breakfast and serve their mom in bed.  I hope I get “breakfast in bed” this year!! There is nothing like waking up to the smell of freshly cooked bacon! YUM!

Mother’s Day is a day to honor your mother, give her extra love and spend time with her.  I hope every mother out there has a wonderful Mother’s Day!

Life Growing Up in Texas

Many people think that if you live in Texas then you must be able to ride a horse! Well in my case it is true! Although it’s not true for every Texan. Funny though, I do fit most of the stereotypes about Texas. My family owed a ranch when I was growing up. We had some horses and cows.  Yes, I wore cowboy boots on occasion to school and around town.  I didn’t; however, own a cowboy hat.   But, people note that many people in Texas live in a big city and have no access to farms or ranches.

Life in Texas is big. I hate to say this because people from other states get annoyed, but “Everything is bigger in Texas”  The state is huge.  Driving from one city to another is a long way.  The margaritas a bigger (and better).  Everything is just bigger!

Another thing about Texas is that the people are extremely friendly.  For example, if you are driving on the road and you come up behind someone who is driving extremely slow, that person will move to the shoulder of the road and let you pass if you are only on a two lane road.  This doesn’t happen much (if ever) in other states that I’ve lived in.

Oh how I miss Texas!!!  There is one negative thing about Texas, in my opinion.  The heat. It is so blooming hot in the summer!  Though after living in the cold for the last 2 years, I’d gladly trade in my winter coat for a tall glass of lemonade sitting in the summer sun in Texas!

He’s Such a Player!

OMG, He’s such a player!

Slang of the day:  player (There are also many alternative spellings and pronunciation like playa or playah.)

Meaning:  This word usually refers to a male who dates more than one person at time.  Usually getting a little something something from everyone he dates.

Usage:  I saw him kissing Tiff yesterday.  I knew he was a player!

 

 

 

 

Dialog:

Claire – Hey Chloe, how are things going with you and Aidan?

Chloe – Really great!

Claire – Are you sure?  I saw him getting it on with Nicki in the parking lot  yesterday.

Chloe – Oh well that’s okay.

Claire – You’re okay that he’s a player?

Chloe – We have an open relationship.  I was hanging out with Pete last night.

Claire – Oh, so you’re a player too.

Chloe – Ha! I guess so!

Claire – Whatever floats your boat!

Cool Beans

Cool Beans!

Slang of the day:  Cool Beans!

Meaning:  This expression has nothing to do with beans.  It just means something is neat, awesome or cool.

Usage:  Cool Beans!

Dialog:

Xander – Guess what Claire!

Claire – What?

Xander – I made an A+ on my biology final exam.

Claire –  Wow, cool beans!

Xander – I know!!! Right!!

Claire – That’s so awesome! Let’s go celebrate with some pizza and root beer!

 

Five Random Things About Me!

Here are five random things about me that you might never have guessed:

1.  I like to crochet and make teddy bears. – I find it really relaxing to just sit back and do crafts with my hands.  I like to crochet while I’ll watching TV or just having a conversation with someone.  It’s very relaxing.

2.  I like to read sci-fi and horror books. – I love reading science fiction the best, but I sometimes like to read horror as well.  I love anything to do with zombies!  I don’t love zombies per se, but I love stories about them taking over the world.

3.  I love archery. – When I was younger I won many different awards in archery.  I had so much fun learning this sport.  This will come in handy in a zombie apocalypse.

4.  My favorite type of animals are horses. – I loved going horseback riding when I was younger.  If I had more time, I would go again, but alas when you are grown up there is not as much time to do fun things like this!

5.  I hate cooking.  – I’m not sure why, but I have never liked to cook – ever!  I’m okay with baking, but I really don’t enjoy cooking at all.

Please leave a comment about five random things about you!  I’d love to read them.

An Ongoing Dialog

Hi everyone!

In the past I’ve been making dialogs with random people’s names in order to show what different words or phrases meant.  I’ve decided to create a few characters that I will use over and over so that you can get to know these people and their personalities.  Let me introduce to you the people so far:

First we have Xander.  Xander is a sophomore in an American university.  He likes to watch football (American football) on TV on Monday nights.  He is in a fraternity and likes to drink beer with his friends.  He has an on again/off again girlfriend named Claire.  Xanders major in college is liberal Arts because he really doesn’t know what he wants out of life.  He just knows one thing right now, he is lovin’ college life!

Next, we have Claire.  As you read above, Clair is Xander’s girlfriend.  She is very attractive, but shy.  Even though she is shy, she is not bookish or too quiet.  Once you get to know her, she is quite bubbly.  Her major at the university is the MRS. degree.  Stay tuned to find out what an ‘MRS.’ degree is.

Xander – Come on sweet cakes, let’s get going!

Claire – Sure, where are we going tonight?

Xander – My frat. is having a party.  Let’s go!

Claire – I’d rather have some quiet time with you.

Xander – There will be time for that later.  Now, it’s time to get your groove on!

It’s All Good!

It’s all good!

Slang of the day:  It’s all good!

Meaning:  This means that you should not worry about things and that everything will be alright.

Usage:  It’s all good!

Dialog:

Brian – Oh I’m so sorry Yvonne!

Yvonne – What did you do this time?

Brian – I, um, accidentally deleted all of your files on your computer…

Yvonne – It’s all good! I have a backup drive with all of my files!

(Please note if this really happened in real life, I would not say “It’s all good!”  I would be annoyed if my husband really did delete all of my files.)

Bee’s Knees

Thanks for helping!  You’re the bee’s knees!

Slang of the day:  bee’s knees (There are also many alternative spellings like beez neez, etc.)

Meaning:  This saying means that you think someone or something is great or of high quality.

Usage:  Wow that restaurant we ate at last night was so yummy!  It surely was the bee’s knees!

Dialog:

Tia – I need some help with my homework.  Anyone willing to help?

Matt – Sure, I’ll help you!

Tia – Thanks Matt, you’re the bee’s knees!

Pros and Cons of Using Google Translate to Help you Learn a Language

So, you’re learning English and you found a good article on the internet to read.  It’s a little difficult for you to read so you open up google translate to let it do the work for you.  Is this bad? Is this good?  In this post I will try to go through the pros and cons of using Google Translate when you are learning a foreign language.

Pros –

1.  Quick – Google Translate is very quick and if you are in a rush and you need the information fast, then it might be what you need to do.

2.  Aid in learning – Maybe your foreign language skills aren’t perfect and you need help with a few of the words.  You might only use google translate as a dictionary or as a way to guide you in the right direction with your own mental translation.

3.  Opens up a whole new world to you – If you are just beginning to learn a foreign language, Google Translate will help you gain insight into the culture of the people you are studying.  Instead of you having to wait to be able to read articles about that country’s economy, history and current events, you can read them right when you start learning their language especially if you have Google Translate installed on your browser to automatically translate web sites that are not in your native language.

Cons –

1.  Using it as a crutch – Some people use Google Translate with the intention of just helping them a little while they have the intention of doing the bulk of the translation themselves.  But, over time, they just rely on Google Translate more and more until they don’t even try to translate the words themselves any more.

2.  Incorrect translations – Google Translate is only as smart as its code.  It cannot detect the nuances of a language and sometimes it’s just plain wrong!  But, for what it is, it is simply amazing, but it will never be as good as the human brain.  (I know, never say never.  But, this is just my opinion.)

It’s really up to you, what will you do the next time you want to read an article in your target language?