USA week 2

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Week 2:

During my second week here I was able to walk and do the chores that I was assigned. Another girl also arrived during this week, she is from Switzerland and is very nice. Thankfully we get along very well and this makes the work a lot more fun as well.

We went on some trail rides on horseback which was very cool because I used to ride horse before I went to Windesheim but had no more time to do so one my study started. We went through some mountains and it became dark quite quickly.



Also during my second week I managed to roll my other ankle quite badly and this made me wonder if this was the right place to stay. Within 24 hours of making the decision to leave the ranch, I found a new spot to stay. I moved from Winchester to Long Beach on Friday.

I think it was a great decision because I feel much more at home here.





SLB POP:

Strengths:

- I can have an everyday conversation with a native speaker.

- I can participate in a discussion and explain my views on the subject.

- I can convey degrees of emotion and highlight the personal significance of events and experiences



Weaknesses:

- I can understand in detail what is said to me in standard spoken language even in a noisy environment.

- I can have a formal conversation with native speakers

- I can learn about topics I did not know before explained to me by native speakers





My main/sub goals:

During my stay abroad I want to improve my vocabulary with 5/6 words per week. I will need this for writing papers as well because this was you can vary the words you use. I will do this by writing down words I do not know and asking the people around me what the word means. By having a bigger vocabulary, I make my knowledge of the English language bigger,



How am I going to achieve them:

I will write down every word I do not know and ask for an explanation to make the word clear. I will try to use it in a sentence so the meaning is explained. If I read the word somewhere I will look up the meaning and in what context the word is used.



With whom:

I will ask my host family to help me with this, if I do not know a word I will ask them for an explanation to make it clearer for myself. By having more conversations, I should be able to pick out some words I do not know.







CULT 5 Book discussion:

During the first 2 weeks in de US, I’ve read the book ‘The Rosie Project’ by Graeme Simsion.

Short synopsis by http://www.litlovers.com/reading-guides/13-fiction/9442-rosie-project-simsion



Meet Don Tillman, a brilliant yet socially challenged professor of genetics, who’s decided it’s time he found a wife. And so, in the orderly, evidence-based manner with which Don approaches all things, he designs the Wife Project to find his perfect partner: a sixteen-page, scientifically valid survey to filter out the drinkers, the smokers, the late arrivers.



Rosie Jarman is all these things. She also is strangely beguiling, fiery, and intelligent. And while Don quickly disqualifies her as a candidate for the Wife Project, as a DNA expert Don is particularly suited to help Rosie on her own quest: identifying her biological father.



When an unlikely relationship develops as they collaborate on the Father Project, Don is forced to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie—and the realization that, despite your best scientific efforts, you don’t find love, it finds you.



I really enjoyed reading the book and would recommend it to my peers because it’s a book that you start reading and do not want to put down.

One of the themes and also the main theme is Love which is something most people can relate to. This book on the other hand shows you a different kind of love which is refreshing from all the cheesy romantic novels. There is also a lot of humor in the book which is nice and also helps you with getting through the book easier.

The main character has Asperger which is a big part of the story and how that influences him.



The story sets in Australia and especially in Melbourne.

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