Fernando+Arguello


 * Fernando,**

Welcome, TO MY SITE!
 * Childhood Memories That I Still Remember To This Day**

Fernando Arguello En 1313 Dr. Kalpana Iyengar Aug 25 2011 My Memory About 8 years ago, I felt I was a grown up boy. I wanted to go to San Juan Del Sur, a beach located in Nicaragua. I really wanted to go for the long weekend because the girl I used to like was going. All my friends were going as well. As usual my parents preferred to go to our beach house located in Pochomil about 7 hours away from San Juan Del Sur. All my family used to go, but just for this one time I wanted to go to San Juan with my friends. I asked her to let me go for about 5 weeks everyday until one day she said yes to me. She was not that happy about it but she agreed. She told me that she didn’t want me riding motorcycles without her supervision or any parents’ supervision. I agreed with her. The long weekend arrived. My friends and I were super excited. I said bye to my mom and promised to call her every day. We got to San Juan and it was really fun because all my friends were there. The first night we had a bonfire near the beach. The next day we were riding motorcycles all day back and forth along the coast. Then, we raced in the road and had fun like other kids do. I called my mom every night and I told her about my day and the motorcycles. She told me to please not ride them because she was not near if something happened and it was better if I didn’t. The next day we all woke up and went to the beach coast to ride motorcycles and we were jumping and doing stupid stunts. I was having fun and my friends were too. I decided to jump from the ramp were no one wanted to jump because it was too high and long but I decided to do it. I got ready and accelerated full throttle. It all happened too fast. The impact of the motorcycle coming down from the air made me loose balance and I fell down of the motorcycle and broke both of my wrists. My right hand was really bad. It was broken in 3 pieces the wrist, the middle bone and the elbow. My left hand it was just the wrist. When it all happen I did not feel that much pain. I was only in shock and I couldn’t get onto my feet even though I was trying really hard. My friends’ parents where I was staying their car and a couple of adults pulled me up in the car and then the drive to the hospital began. The main hospital was about 3 hours and a h alf from the beach because in Nicaragua there is only one good hospital in the country and the rest of them are public and they are really bad. We called my mom from the car and she said she was going to meet me there in the hospital. I heard her crying because when she was little she had an accident in motorcycle where she lost a brother about my same age. That’s why she didn’t liked me riding motorcycles. On my way to the hospital I felt my arms getting numb and more numb by every minute that was passing. I was counting the seconds to get to the hospital. Once I got there I saw my mom and I felt relieved because I was a little scared with everything that was happening. When I heard my moms voice and dads voice I felt so much better. I had surgery for about four hours and then I woke up with two casts on both my wrists. The next months were really hard and uncomfortable to me and my family and friends. This is something I will never forget in my entire life. It’s an experience that will not be erased that easy.



NAME GAME.

Fernando Arguello EN 1313 Prof. Kalpana Iyengar August 25 2011 Elvira Smolik I had the luck of interviewing an amazing woman named Elvira Smolik. When I got in touch with her, right away she was willing to help in every possible way. We talked for about a half an hour and we both learned a lot about both of our cultures and ways of living in our hometowns. Elvira Smolik was born in Mexico. Elvira was named different before she got married with her husband named Derek Vernon Smolik, born in Florida, USA. His family is from Poland. Elvira’s maiden name is: Elvira De Leon Gonzalez, but as we all know different cultures have different beliefs. The U.S Tradition is that once you marry your husband you start using his last name as yours. So that’s the reason Elvira uses the SMOLIK as her last name. I asked her if she liked her name and she right away said yes. She was happy and proud about her name because it was unique and special to her. There are other girls who have similar names, but she said hers was unique and she liked that about her name, I also had the chance to ask her if she had the opportunity to change her name, would she? She right away said: “I already had the chance to change my name when becoming a U.S citizen but, I am proud of my name and my backgrounds”. She received her name, Elvira, from her mother because she was named like that by her grandparents. Another interesting fact is that her mother, her daughter and she have the same name. Her daughter is the third generation of Elvira’s in her family. I had a really good time interviewing her and she was very helpful to me and to my assignment. That’s the story behind ELVIRA SMOLIK name!

Novel Summaries!

Introduction.

This is a story about an author asking for a taxi ride in new york Syracuse. The taxi pulls out to pick her up and then a men tries to get the taxi but that taxi went to pick her up and not him. So she gets into the taxi. He was really nice and trying to make her feel safe by asking her 3 times are you okay on the way to the airport. In that trip she finds out so many thinks she can learn in just one taxi drive. And that there are really nice and gentle taxi drivers, she felt safe riding with him.

Fabric Thrown over the city.

This is another scenario in which the author gets into a taxi because she has to go to her university, which is Columbia University. On the way she talks to the taxi driver and learns a lot of good things from him. She also realizes that there are a lot of people in the world that you can learn from them. The author is nervous about the meeting she has in the university but the taxi driver helps her get rid of those concerns by telling her that there are things unpredictable in life, but do your best and confront them and good things will come.

Way to go.

This is about peace pilgrim a woman who goes from city to city and from home to home. She is like a nomad going around the whole US finding her meaning to life and to her own mind and self. In my opinion is really hard to be someone like her because you don’t really get to be closed to anyone in life you just go around and meet new people, and maybe those people will help you in the future or maybe not. But in her opinion that’s how she likes to live so if she feels happy with herself and pleased that’s something good for her.

Shopping for Nothing.

When I read this story I felt really sad because there are some people that just buy and buy things and not find value to them. They just spend a lot of money without noticing how much poverty is in the world. The grandmother is a very different person but there is a lot of people like her they feel shy to meet new people or to talk to strangers so she ride buses because they don’t have to interact with anyone just pay the price of the bus and that’s it. The author has a really good time with her grandmother. And teaches her good lessons in life. Happiness is not having everything you want is having what you have and can have and find a value to the things and love.

Take Me With You.

In this chapter as in the past the author is emphasizing how important is to be happy with your self and how important is to know what you have and find a meaning to your life. The author tells her childhood stories about how she rode a bicycle with a kid and how she was involve in so many scenarios that she would never forget those are the things she really takes into consideration not the money or what you have instead the memories she has. You can have all the things in the world but maybe you will lack of happiness.

Dangerous Taxis.

This chapter to be honest was a little confusing to me because to many things and events were going on. She starts by saying all the accidents she has had and that her parents even ordered her no to be riding with unknown people in the cars. Because she could even get in an accident or something bad. Also the experiences she has had when asking for a ride they even tell her to take her clothe off. Is very dangerous to drive in a car where you don’t know the driver or if he or she is drinking because you could get into trouble or into an accident. Always be smart with who you ride or give a ride. And be careful of strangers.

Fernando Arguello En 1313 Prof. Iyengar September 21 2011 Writing Process

=
Sometimes is really hard for me to start writing a paper. I have to wait some minutes and even hours until the inspiration comes. Once I begin writing I don’t do any grammar corrections, at that moment. I just write and write on the Microsoft word document, and put all my ideas and opinions on paper. After having all my thoughts and ideas on the paper I use the Microsoft word auto correct program, which highlights all the misspell words and corrects them. After using the auto correct program I read it again because sometimes there are some mistakes that are not catch by the computer auto correction. I read my draft a couple of times and make the necessary corrections o make the paper better and have a better flow. When I am done with all the corrections and the flow of the paper, I start making it look better by using the APA format or MLA depending on the assignment. I don’t use desktop publishing when writing a paper or any kind of project because I am not familiar with that program. After writing my essay or paper and making all the final corrections, I read it one more time to make sure nothing was left behind and my ideas are coherent and correctly stated. After reading it for the last time I save the document in a school folder that I have arranged by class. To have everything more organized and easy to find. Everyone has their own way of writing their papers but this is the one that best works for me, and it has helped me for about 6 years already. I just have to maybe fix some steps and make them more sharp and faster but this is my writing process and I am happy with what I do.======

Brochure Project.

Nicaragua




A Class Divided.

Fernando Arguello Prof. Iyengar En 1313 November 8, 2011

Reflection

It is really sad some times to think of all the injustices that are being committed everyday, but it is even more sad to think of all the discrimination the African Americans have received. Before all the countries of the Americas get their independence Europeans where in charge of all this land. They did whatever they were pleased to do. They even bought slaves from Africa to work in the lands and harvest them. That is how a big part of the African American population came to the Americas.

Even though, we now live in a world of no racism. It is still a debatable topic because in some parts of the world and even parts in the united states of America we can see some type of discrimination against the blacks and against any other race than white.

As we could see in the, how the kids mind had been manipulated by their parents and the society they were raised in. To past generations discrimination and racism is a big thing for them, but for us the new generation of young people is something more common because we were raised in an environment were blacks and whites are equal and we have learned to live together, but past generations like the kids in the movie is different because they were raised in a time were racism was starting to be abolished and change is something that takes time for people to assimilated. I think that the video was something really strong and true. It has a very important point and the most important point is that discrimination can be abolished. And in order to be abolished we have to start from the root of our society, the next future presidents and business man or woman of the world.

MY NAME IS KHAN Fernando Arguello Prof. Iyengar EN 1313 November 16, 2011

Autism Autism is a disease that appears in the first 3 years of life. It is a disorder that develops in the brain and affects mostly the social and communication skills of the person. As we saw in the movie “My Name is Khan” is very sad to have that disorder because it just not affects you, but it affects your family and friends as well. It is very hard to deal with that disease because it stops you from communicating like normal people. Now in the world communication is something essential for surviving because if you want to get a job, buy food, buy a car, or do whatever you need the ability to be able to communicate with someone. In my entire life I have been in close contact with two kids with autism. My dad has two friends that both of their kids have autism. Its very sad to see the family trying to help those kids, but that doesn’t mean that they are bad or something it means that they need some extra help. When I saw this two kids I was impress because they are very intelligent. They can memorize a lot of numbers and a lot of things that is hard for normal people to do. Even though they are not normal like us they have some other better features than normal people. It is amazing how many of those kids find a way to survive in the world. As we know the world is becoming harder and harder to survive, competition is everywhere. I am really amazed of this kids and most important their family too. They are able to survive in this world with the helps of the family and friends because they help them to overcome some of the problems they cannot overcome in their own. This disease or disorder is something unpredictable, there are a lot of studies taken place to figure out why is this happening now a days even more than before. There are some explanations but none of them are strong enough. I think that in the near future their will be a better explanation of why is this happening to the children in the first 3 years of life. Many people are scared of this people, as we saw in the movie even the people in the airport though he was a terrorist or some kind of harm to the people. People have the stereotyping of thinking that when they see someone different to them they think is a weird person or a dangerous person that may be in drugs or something like that. That is not a good way of thinking because there is a lot of people in the world with disorders or problems and is already hard for them to survive and it is even harder for them to survive with hate from the people around them. I really liked this movie because it shows society that there are a lot of people in the world with bigger problems than the ones they have and they are still trying to help other people. It shows people that “weird” people is something not necessary bad is just that they have a disorder in their brain. They are good people like everyone else, they didn’t choose to be born like that is something unpredictable. And for that reason we should help people with disorders and try to make their lives easier, and some how to try to understand them.

Classification Essay. Fernando Arguello EN1313 Prof. Iyengar October 12, 2011

Methods of Studying for a Final Test No matter where you go or study you will always encounter finals week. Almost every high school and university in the world has finals week. Finals week is the last week of every semester course. You have to take a test and sometimes that test is the difference between passing or failing the class. For some people it is just easy to take finals, but for others it is really hard and stressing. Everyone has their own way of studying for finals, but some methods are more effective than others. Methods vary from person to person, but every time finals week arrive you can immediately feel a wave of worriedness, stresses, and at the same time happiness because some people are just a step away from finishing. When finals week arrive some people wait until the last minute to cram everything in one night with the hope of passing the test. When people try to do an “all-nighter” they stay up all night studying, and drinking a lot of coffee and energy drinks hoping that will help them study, but is the other way around. There are some other students that try to do the “all-nighters” but they fall sleep before completing the whole studies. There are some other people who read really fast and study really fast and they think they are ready for the test but at the end when the test arrives it’s not how they picture it. Not everyone leaves everything for the last day; there are some other students who study bit by bit until the test arrives. They start studying some weeks before the test and for some this is successful: they get a really good grade, but for some it is just okay. There are some other students, that by nature they just succeed and do really well on the tests. They barely study and once the test comes they get really good grades. That doesn’t actually work for everyone, studying a lot is something that some people need. There are some other people that really study and they feel they know everything, but once the test arrives they just don’t know what to do. They study and they think they are ready for the test but what happens is that they get nervous and don’t know how to control that nervousness. Tests are not for everyone, some by nature are not afraid of tests, but some are afraid of them. It takes time for a person to get used to having tests, for some people it just seems much more easier. Everyone is different in the world we all have a unique thing about our selfs. There is no correct way of studying. Everyone has his or her own way of studying. Some people have not found their ideal way of studying, but they will get it some day if they try to. Everyone finds their own way of solving problems and going over them. You learn by the mistakes you make. You learn from them and next time you know how to do things better. That is why everyone has a different way of studying and that way is the best way for him or her. The people who have not the found the right way for them, will some day find it and make it useful in their lives.

Fernando Arguello

Prof. Iyengar

EN1313

November 26 2011

Tolerating Intolerance

This paper begins by Introducing the professor and some of her students in the class. She is right away interested in a young guy named William. William was not like the others, he had a different way of being and acting. He looked normal at the beginning but then she realized he was filled with tattoos all over his body. After a while she began to notice he was somehow racist. The main problem of the story begins when she tells them to write about a topic of their interest. All of the students choose to talk about easy and non-controversial topics but William was different he wanted to talk about some religion and about racism. He thought whites were better and that the whites should be on top of all the others.

In that moment she begins to question herself on whether letting him write about what he wanted or forcing him to write about something else. She wanted to silence him, she began to felt some hate towards her student but she was worried because it shouldn’t be like that. She was also worried about how the other kids were going to react against his paper. She thought of everything, and she got to the conclusion to try to let him write at what he feels passionate about. It got the day when he had to present his paper in front of the class. He received a lot of critiques and he use those critiques to make his paper even better. The teacher did the right thing by letting him continue writing what he felt and wanted to write about. The student and the professor learned a lot from each other and learned about this experience and it will help them In the future.

Fernando Arguello Prof. Iyengar EN1313 November 26 2011 Reflection Tolerating Intolerance When I read this story right away I felt a connection with the professor and with the student. I felt the connection with the student because I am currently one and then with the professor because I understood why she was worried about the writing. We now lived in a society that bans racism and any type of discrimination. So I could imagine how weird the professor must have felt when reading something like that from one of her students. Right away it would be really hard for me to keep teaching him, but I am amazed on how the professor handle the situation and at the end it was a success. Both for her and the students, they all grew as a person and came to understand that not everyone is the same and everyone has different points of views but at then end we all live in the same society and we should all help one another. I enjoyed reading this story and at the end to top it all, I was impress on the students responses to the professor when she respectfully asked to use his paper on this story. He responded like a gentlemen eventhoug he was judge. It must be very hard for a professor to act like nothing is different from one student to the other but I guess that it happens and professors learn through the years that is better not to judge people by the cover and instead try to get to know them an try to understand them and help them become better persons. The professor did the right thing by letting him continue his workshop.

THE STORY OF STUFF. Fernando Arguello Prof. Iyengar EN1313

The Story Of Stuff

When we watch this movie I was quite impress, I never thought that all of that was ruining our society and our world. Companies are trying to get a better profit out of everything, in my opinion that is normal but they should also care about the earth. Most of the companies are destroying somehow and in someway the ecosystem and also our society. Companies want to pay lower wages because they want their revenue margin to be bigger. Paying less means less health care, less education, less food and less happiness for the families. Technology is also a big factor because so many people end up without jobs because of the new technologies created in the world and at the end they are not needed any more in the job. Government tries to make us think that they are helping us but that is not true they are helping their own selfs. Government is most of the times corrupt because they make their own deals under the table to benefit themselves. The worst part of this linear system is that all of us are destroying this beautiful planet that we live in. Companies should me more aware of those acts and try to help more. In this system rich people are getting richer and poor people are becoming even poorer. This has to end some how and make workers earn better wages and have more rights. There has to be somehow of balance in the wealth as well as the use of the planet in order for society and life to work well. This video I encouraged everyone to see it because that is the truth of the society we live now days.

Process Essay. Fernando Arguello EN 1313 Prof. Iyengar September 26, 2011

How to plan For A Vacation. Vacations happen very few times a year, but I enjoyed them every single time. It is a time to have fun with your family. Sometimes is even healthy to go on vacations because is a way of distracting yourself, from problems, if you have them. Sometimes it is good to be disconnected from the real world. Vacations help you do that. There are many ways to plan a vacation, but I will show you how my family plans for one. The first thing we do is, as a family, we choose the places we would like to go. We do that by sitting at the table during dinner some months before the trip and we all have turns to call out a place to go. After saying where we want to go, we make a list of the places we named and then vote on them. We have a backup place to go if the budget we have gets exceeded. The back up place is the place that ends up with the second majority of votes. My family is made up of my parents, my little sister and I. My job is to find the hotels, plane tickets, and the car if we rent one. I go online almost everyday to see if the plane tickets go down and sometimes I find good deals, and I book them. Once I know the dates and times of the arrival, I start to look for a hotel. All of this is taken into consideration the budget. Once I find the hotel where we are going to stay I have to research is a car if needed in the city we are going. If a car is needed, I rent one for the days we will be there. We also have to buy clothes sometimes depending o the weather conditions. On our last vacation we went to Alaska. We ordered some sweaters and jackets and pants for the cold online. So we have to find out if we need cloth for the trip or not. My mom is the one in charge of finding the clothes and the equipment necessary for the trip. My little sister researches places to go visit or attractions to have fun at our destination. Once all that is planned and ready we gather all together at dinner a week before the trip, and we go over our vacation plans. We go over security; if we get lost where to go what to do etc. We also go over the places we are going to visit to have an itinerary before going. We also try on the clothes, and decide if we need something else for the trip. If we need it, we go and buy it before the trip. One of the things we also have to do is explain the trip to my dad. Because he is busy with work it is hard for him to be planning for the trip. He always tells us that he doesn’t care where we go as long as we all go together. That is what matters to him, the family bond and togetherness. Some days before the trip we check the weather channel to be ready for all kinds of weather. Vacations are a good way of disconnecting from the real world. It is important to take some time off because it helps run your life more smoothly. I also like vacations because sometimes is really hard to have the family together. Vacations are a good to spend time with the people you love. This is how my family plans for a vacation.

MID TERM PART 1. Fernando Arguello Prof. Iyengar EN1313 October 15, 2011 Why I want a Wife (Judy Brady) In this essay of “Why I want a Wife” by Judy Brady, the author is trying to tell us that some men see woman as a machine to do all their hard work. In this essay is focus on how men see the ideal woman. Basically is like a robot without feelings and living to please the husband. In their figure of ideal woman, the woman does everything to make the husbands life much more easier without caring for her own feelings. Brady, right on the second paragraph she says “I want a wife who work and send me to school” Right away we picture in our thoughts what the author is trying to say, about how men want women. Brady lists all the task that a perfect wife will do for the husband for example: “I want a wife to keep track of the appointments, who washes the children clothe and keep it mended, makes sure that my children have adequate social life,…” All of this are examples of how men picture an ideal woman. And the author is clearly showing that in some way men are stupid that they don’t see and think outside the box. They just care about them being pleased, and they should also try to pleased their wives because they do everything they can to make them happy. The author also makes a good point when she says that wives should be there to pleased the sexual needs. In my opinion this is a really strong sentence because woman are picture as a toy and that is not how it is supposed to be. Woman are far more than just that.

MID TERM PART 2. Fernando Arguello EN 1313 Prof. Iyengar October 7, 2011 Why I Want a Wife. (Judy Brady) Judy Brady born in 1937, in San Francisco. She studied painting in the university of Iowa. She then published, “why I want a wife” in 1972. In my opinion Judy Brady wrote this essay to show the society that women’s play a big role in the society. Some people think that housewives don’t do anything, but that is not true. Some housewives work so hard everyday to keep the family running well and united. She writes this essay to show the world, that women play a big role in a family. They don’t necessary work outside of the house but she does so many things to have the family running well. For example they are the ones in charge of paying all the bills in the house, paying the credit cards, keeping your clothe clean, having food in the house when ever you get hungry, keeping the house clean, and many other activities that most of us don’t realize. Some people realize this, but sometimes it is too late. Wives play a really important role in a husband’s life, whenever he encounters with problems the wife is there to help him and cheer him up, and to not feel lonely. The wife will help the husband in everything she can. It will be really hard for a husband to work and then to have time to pay all the bills, to have the kids ready for school, to clean his own clothe and to do all the rest of the things. I really agree with the author because a wife is someone unique and special, in my case is my mom. My mom is very special to me, she does everything for my dad and my sister. I don’t know what would I do if I did not had her. She is very special in every aspect of my life. Not everyone realize how important a wife and a mother are, but let me tell you that they are the pillars and foundations of a family.

Fernando Arguello Prof. Iyengar EN1313

**Extra Credit Assignments.**

ENGLISH INTERVIEW.

We were asked to go to another English class, to get interview about our country and our experience in the US. They wanted to learn more about how it was to live in the US long from home. It was also a nice experience because I got to learn more about their experience here in St. Marys university and I made new friends. This also helped me to get rid of the shyness that I sometimes have.

HISTORIAS Y CUENTAS UC.

I was asked to read my story about my bike accident at the UC. I was really shy at the beginning because I was not used to read to a crowd and I felt I was going to do bad. But this experience help me to grow as a person and not be scared to talk to the crowd. It was a good experience that will help me in the future in my life. THANK YOU.

LIBRARY.

All the class went to the public library of San Antonio and we had to read our stories. I really liked going because I enjoy of all the children stories that I heard about their grandparents. Then I read my bike accident and it also helped me to get more confident when reaching the crowd.

Meetings at the UC.

I attended a few conferences in the UC of very controversial themes. They were really interesting and I also learned from other points of view about the war and the actual things that are going on in the world with the debt and the cost of the war. I learned a lot in those conferences.