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More from An Imaginary Trip Around the World

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Here’s another story from  An Imaginary Trip Around the World, the brand-new writing collection from the University Settlement Adult Literacy Program and the NYU Gallatin Writing Program. The following story, along with the other stories in the collection, comes from the Advanced Writing Class taught by Prof. June Foley of NYU Gallatin with the help of undergraduate student-teachers. Enjoy!

Wednesday

Alex Gheciu

This Wednesday, I was walking on the street with a friend of mine, then we went inside a coffee shop to get a warm drink. While we waited in line, a young lady, looking to me like 30 years old, started talking to us in a very positive manner. She said a couple of interesting things.

“Sleep when you’re tired, eat when you’re hungry, and try to walk or move as much as you can! That’s what my mom always said to me, and she asked me to spread this message to others any time I get the chance,” she said.

She asked us how old we thought she was, and we said, “Thirty-something?”

Wrong. She said she was 51 years old. Then she said, “You guys are like 26 years old, right?”

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Yes, she was right because my friend is turning 26 in two weeks, and I’m also young, 36 years old.

“Okay, then you definitely know some secrets too!” she said to me. We all started to laugh. It was a funny and pleasant moment at the same time.

I actually have my own explanation for those 10 “extra” years on my ID card. I think my youthfulness is how life pays me back for loving it so much. Or maybe that’s just God paying me back for all of those days (years) I was praying to him when I was a kid. Or maybe that’s how I look after shaving my beard and getting a nice haircut? Or maybe she couldn’t see my wrinkles? Or maybe that young lady just decided to make someone happy by saying that. Or maybe. . .

**********

One fact is clear to me—she tried to share her positive thoughts to others in a nice manner. Isn’t that a beautiful thing?

 

Click here to read more.

 

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An Imaginary Trip Around the World

US Adult LiteracyLeave a comment

Ladies and gentlemen, we proudly present to you  An Imaginary Trip Around the World, the brand-new writing collection from the University Settlement Adult Literacy Program and the NYU Gallatin Writing Program. The following story/poem, along with the other stories in the collection, comes from the Advanced Writing Class taught by Prof. June Foley of NYU Gallatin with the help of undergraduate student-teachers. Enjoy!

I Remember

Lisa Szeto

I remember when I was a child. My mom had five children, including me.

I remember my mom holding my hand. That was over 50 years ago.

I remember my parents smiling at us when we did better than before.

I remember my parents beating us when we did the wrong thing.

I remember when we turned on our first TV. It was black and white.

I remember the first time I noticed wrinkles on my mom’s face.

I remember when I first noticed the spots of brown on my father’s face.

I remember the day I came to New York. The city was heavy with rain.

I remember the first time I saw snow falling, and they were little flurries. I cried from excitement.

I remember when I first heard William call me “Mom.”

I remember all the good and the bad. I like to remember the good most of all.

 

Click here to read more.

 

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The New Literacy Review is Here

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The new Literacy Review is here, and this time five University Settlement Adult Literacy Program students have their writing published in it. The Literacy Review is an annual collection of writing by adult education students throughout New York City, and it is produced and published by the NYU Gallatin Writing Program, under the leadership of Professor June Foley.

Click here or on the picture above to read it online. Students, their story’s titles, and the page numbers are listed below:

“Bitter Coffee” by Jennifer Alonzo, page 44

“Love Conquers All” by Marilia Valengo, 46

“Paper Cranes” by Yuliia Semenova, page 63

“Father in My Heart” by Wei Wen Zeng, page 92

“Take(c)” by Fernanda Sequeira, page 104

And here’s a photo of Yuliia reading her story at NYU at the annual Literacy Review Gala and the University Settlement delegation which attended it:

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More Literacy Review

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Here are some more photos from the recent Literacy Review gala at NYU:

Student authors Lisa, Mahnaz, and Larysa
Larysa reading
University Settlement Adult Literacy Program students and staff
Larysa

The Literacy Review is an annual journal of writing from adult literacy programs throughout New York City. Edited by Gallatin students, the book is distributed at a celebration that includes readings by the newly published writers.

The faculty adviser for the Literacy Review is Professor June Foley.

To read the Literacy Review, click here.

 

 

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Unique and Incomparable

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unique-cover

The University Settlement Adult Literacy Program is pleased to announce the publication of its biennial collection of student writing in connection with the NYU Gallatin Writing Program. The latest collection is called Unique and Incomparable, and it has two years’ worth of excellent, entertaining writing by Adult Literacy Program students enrolled in the Advanced Creative Writing Class, taught by Professor June Foley. Read one story below and take the quiz to test your comprehension:

JAPAN’S GREAT EARTHQUAKES

Yuki Umeda

We are powerless in natural disasters like hurricanes, typhoons, heavy snow, and earthquakes, etc. I have experienced two great earthquakes.

My first experience of a great earthquake was the Hanshin Awagi Great Earthquake. It was an early morning on January 17, 1995. I was sleeping in my apartment, and suddenly I felt that something pushed up from under my bed. I didn’t understand what happened. I got under my blanket, scrunched my body, and waited for the bed to stop shaking. All my stuffed toys fell down from the closet.

Japan is a country with a lot of earthquakes. I had experienced many earthquakes, but this was the first time that I was really scared. After the earthquake, I went to work as usual. But a few hours later, I saw a tragic scene on TV. It was a massive fire and collapsed houses. More than 6,000 people died from this earthquake.

My second experience of a great earthquake was the Great East Japan Earthquake. It happened on March 11, 2011. At that time, I was on the porch on the second floor of my house. I felt the house shake from side to side. I went to the first floor, but it was still shaking, so I grabbed my purse and got out of my house. I saw our car and the utility pole were still shaking. I felt that this earthquake was not usual. It was huge. (This earthquake happened 200 kilometers away from our place, but it was so strong.)

I went to the elementary school to pick up my daughter. After that, the electricity in our area was cut off for one night, and the train stopped running. The next day, I saw a tragic scene again on TV. I also heard some very bad news about the nuclear power plant.

Because of the earthquake, a tsunami struck the Sanriku coast. This tsunami was awfully big. So many houses, cars, villages, towns, and people were swept away. Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant was also stuck by this tsunami. This nuclear power plant was broken and brought radioactive contamination. More than 18,000 people died or were missing during this great earthquake.

Now, we have to think about the impact of the radioactive contamination. This Fukushima accident destroyed the environment. We live in a convenient world. We use a lot of electricity. We made a nuclear power plant for our convenient lives. Is this a good way for our future? I had never thought about how to get electricity, and I had never worried about radioactive contamination before I experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake. But now, I know our future has many of problems. Our life became convenient at the sacrifice of something important.

We are attacked by natural disasters.

We defy nature.

We destroy nature.

Nature gets angry, and it will break our convenient lives.

Nature is great.

We have to learn from nature like our ancestors.

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To read more stories, click here.

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