Level 4

My Amazing Mom

My mother, Nadezda, is the most interesting person to me. When my mom was a child, she changed her life. She lived in a very small village in the North of Russia. Her father loved her and dreamed about her education, but school was very far from their home, and it was 1941. The war began in May. Nadezda really wanted to study at school and started to go to school 9 miles away through the big forest, through snow and rain. Then she studied at a college, then at art university in Moscow. Nadezda became a wonderful teacher. She created a new education program. She combined drawing and music as one subject. Then she created a new school of drawing, music, and dancing. It was called School of Art. All the people in our town knew her as a wonderful teacher. My mom is 90 years old, but she continues to study. She can use her computer and studies online to make wool toys. My mother participates in the exhibitions and shows her beautiful wool toys to many people. It is very hard at 90! She is a very interesting person to me.

Written by: Elena Markova

My Fantastic Daughter

My daughter, Alisa, is the most interesting person I know. She has good intuition. She can voice events that will happen in the future, although she doesn't know about this. For example, she predicted her uncle’s surgery when she was 5. Incredible! She even showed the place on the leg where the surgeon would decide. The same thing happens with cooking. She cooks without a recipe. She has been making pancakes since she was 6 years old. From 7 she started making sushi, ice cream, and baking pies. She always throws in ingredients without measuring them in grams, milliliters. She just takes the ingredients and puts in as much as she thinks is enough. It should be noted that 90% of her dishes are very tasty. She also has her own approach to drawing. She draws unusual pictures. She draws faces of people, animals, and cartoon characters in animation style. I am amazed by her ability to display a wide range of emotion.

Written by: Liliia Bielousova 

Seattle

Seattle is a wonderful place to visit.  First, Seattle’s nature is amazing and varied.  There are green hills, cascading mountains, gorgeous bays, lakes, and rivers.  You can find many parks and spectacular places where you can enjoy fabulous views.  I like Seward Park  It has several zones: the forest, the garden, and the lake.  It’s a good place to spend time on the grass by the lake.  Second, Seattle has many interesting places, for example, the Space Needle (an observation tower), the oldest farmer’s market, the Gum Wall, and the first Starbucks store in the U.S.  Finally, you can take a boat trip on a ferry.  On the ferry, I admire the fantastic panorama of the city.  I see huge modern skyscrapers, lovely mountains, green parks.  I really like boat trips.  If you want to make many unforgettable positive memories, visit Seattle.

Written by: Olena Kogut 

A Beautiful Place: Portland

Portland is a beautiful place to visit and live.  Near Portland, there are many mountains, parks, gardens, lakes, rivers, and beaches.  People can do many outdoor activities.  First, in the winter, there are a lot of people in the Mt. Hood area.  They ski and snowboard.  It’s very exciting.  Second, starting from spring, there are beautiful and various kinds of flowers in these parks, gardens, and farms.  People go there to enjoy flowers and sunshine.  That’s wonderful.  Third, in the summer, there are a lot of outdoor adventures.  People go hiking, fishing, boating, and camping in these areas.  It’s very fun.  In addition, in the fall, most trees change their color.  There are so many golden leaves on trees in Portland.  You can see them in many neighborhoods, parks, and mountains.   They are so amazing.  I love Portland.  It’s my second hometown.

Written by: Shawn Tang 

Having a Dog

There are many bad things when you have a dog.  First, you have to take care of them.  Taking care involves many things.  For example, you have to walk it, wash it, and bring them to the vet.  Also, that implicates money, and not only you spend money on the vet, you have to buy food, shampoo, and other supplies the dogs need.  Another bad thing is that they damage your furniture.  They bite the couches, chairs, and lots of items that you might have in your house.  The dogs also smell.  For some people the smell from the dogs is very uncomfortable.  It is good to consider all these things before you buy or adopt a dog.

Written by: Nicole Gonzalez