Bridge School

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Bridge School

Last weekend I went home to San Francisco, or more specifically, Hillsborough, California. I attended two out of three elementary schools, one being called “North School” while living in Hillsborough. At North, each student was required to help out in some sort of community activity such as helping out with the lower grades or working at the Bridge School. I was one of the very few in my class to choose the Bridge School.

The Bridge School was not something you’d find at an average elementary school. The definition provided on the website “a non-profit organization whose mission is to ensure that individuals with severe speech and physical impairments achieve full participation in their communities through the use of augmentative & alternative means of communication (AAC) and assistive technology (AT) applications and through the development, implementation and dissemination of innovative life-long educational strategies.” I have vivid memories of working with a girl who had a tube through her belly button so she could eat, and a boy who could not speak or walk. I worked mostly with the boy, hand feeding him, playing with him, and reading to him. I was ten, and he was thirteen, but I felt like we were on the same page. I’m not sure about what happened to him after I graduated, and I’m not sure if he’d remember me, but I do know that I’ll always remember him.

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Intelligence Guarantees Success?

vabenissimoLeave a comment

With an IQ 220, Kim Ung Yong from South Korea surprised the world. He spoke fluently by 6 months, read Japanese, Korean, German, and English by an age of 2, solved a calculus problem when he was just 4 years old, and divulged his talents in poetry and painting during his childhood. He even took College courses in Korea from 4 to 7.

His IQ is an equivalent of the one of Leonardo da Vinci. However, none of these fancy titles like a prodigy, Guinness recorder, and genius mattered to him. They rather reminded himself of a “monkey in a zoo.”

Voluntarily leaving from his work at NASA at an age of 14, he looked for “his” life in Korea. Due to an absence of his elementary, middle school, and high school diplomas, he began his education from the very basics.

When he chose to enter an infamous university located in rural region of Korea despite his high score on standardized tests, the world derided at his choice and called him as a failure.

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A Great Day in Football

therightliberal4 Comments

Today was a marvellous day for a soccer fan. Manchester United (the greatest team in the history of sports) finally got an away victory thanks to Chicharito, one of the new additions from the summer. He scored two goals, the first a wonderful header.

Javier Hernandez watches his header fly in

Another great team, Rangers, also won against the arch rivals Celtic.  The Rangers Celtic rivalry is far beyond that of any other rivalry in the world. This is because it is truly over religion, it is Protestants vs. Catholics. Many people have died due to the intense hatred between the two clubs.

Kenny Miller celebrates his first goal against Celtic

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R.I.P. Paul

smackyjackjack1 Comment

One of the world’s most beloved octopuses has died. Yes, Paul the World Cup predicting octopus  died today. Paul, of course, was the octopus that correctly predicted the outcome of eight of Germany‘s soccer matches. He also chose Spain as the winner of the World Cup. They too won. The choosing process was conducted by putting two tanks with clams inside and the countries colors on each tank inside his habitat. Whichever tank Paul opened and went inside was the winner. Paul died of natural causes at the age of 2 1/2.

Paul choosing Spain

Most expensive house in the world, owned by an Indian

delhigossipLeave a comment

The Ambanis are not just the richest people in India, but they seem to be sitting fourth in the list of the richest people in the world. After the separation of their wealth a few years ago, the two Ambani brothers, Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani seem to be doing very well in their petroleum businesses lately. However,  Mukesh Ambani’s new 27 floor house, is the hot topic of discussion these days around the world.

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Not Just For Practice

Paloma SpencerLeave a comment

On Sunday, October 10th, mef and OVS English teacher Brad Weidlich attended a tennis marathon at the local courts of Ojai’s beautiful Libbey Park. Playing 56 games in a matter of 4 hours deemed to be just as strenuous as it seems, but gave me an absolutely amazing Sunday morning. Competing with other players within my age range and skill level, I was able to enhance my tennis skills as well as make friendships in the process.

But these tennis matches were not just for practice.

OVYF, the Ojai Valley Youth Foundation, is a program designed to enhance the lives of Ojai Valley youths through recreational activities, mentor programs, and leadership events.

Every year, the OVYF holds a tennis marathon in which both adults and children gather to compete in over 5o games of doubles, no ad scoring tennis.

But these games aren’t the only thing that makes this day special.

Before playing tennis on that warm sunday afternoon, each youth player was required to raise a minimum amount of 150 dollars while the adults took on the even bigger challenge of raising a minimum of 350 dollars. With the help of relatives, friends, and the Ojai Valley School, Mr. Brad Weidlich and myself were able to raise a total amount of 650 dollars that directly benefit the youth of Ojai.

Mr. Brad Weidlich, a wonderful English teacher with a genuine desire to help the local Ojai community, inspired me to go out and make a difference. And just like that, we did.

A Tad Disappointing

theycallmedameLeave a comment

In a previous post I mentioned my love for The Lion King. I have seen it live once before when I was younger, but I do not remember much of it. Tonight I saw it again in Las Vegas, and too say the least, it was a little upsetting. The first act reined almost completely true to the actual script, and parts of it were extremely beautiful. However, it was the second act when it all spiraled downward.

Not only did it add and take out parts of the original script, but one of the most memorable parts (for me, anyways) was completely ruined. Scar was on stage with Zazu, who was locked in his cage of bones. In the movie, Zazu went from singing “Nobody Knows” to “It’s a Small World” to “I’ve Got A Lovely Bunch Of Coconuts.” It was all rather hilarious and it is one of my favorite parts of the entire movie.

Zazu

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Unrequited love, yes. Unrequited pain, no.

Paloma SpencerLeave a comment

When we were little kids, it seemed as though stories of love and happy endings charmed the fairytales we once couldn’t wait to read again. It wasn’t until a much older age that we discovered the hardship of a love that deemed to be unrequited. Forming sometimes from just a simple fascination, this experience of an intense, passionate longing for another has proven to be quite universal in our world today.

In February of 1993, a study conducted by psychologist Dr. Roy Baumeister of Case Western Reserve University, along with graduate student Sara Wotman, concluded that 98 percent of the 155 men and women that were tested admitted to having loved someone who did not return the same feelings. This finding, published in “The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,” has raised the unspoken question of whether the pursuer of this unrequited love was truly the only one who would imminently be hurt.

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WE ARE FAMILY

Paloma SpencerLeave a comment

On Friday, October 22, it seemed as though all the different cultures in our incredibly large world  joined together tightly into the incredibly small world of Ojai Valley School.

A “Parent’s Weekend,” as it is called at the OVS Upper Campus, brought more than just the student’s loved ones, but rather the true diversity that represents this campus.

With more than 50% of the students trekking from across the seas, our school has seem to be slightly dominated by the international students from China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Mexico, and even Russia.

As one student in my calculus said, “At OVS, it’s like the Americans are the international students.” A quote that can, with some honesty, be deemed true, is a quality of this school that I can, with all honesty, say I enjoy most.

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Time Difference

Paloma SpencerLeave a comment

More than just time. So much more.

While simply computing the difference in hours can perpetually confuse one, knowing that the people you love are on the other side of the country, or even on the other side of the world, wherever they are, is the hardest part.

I assume that I never realized the trouble with time zones until my parents. Yes, my parents. The utter adults I am supposed to hate with all my guts as a typical teenager, I can honestly say I love with all my heart.  Constantly traveling for business, I not only wish I was with them strolling through the streets of New York City or practicing my broken Chinese in the heart of Shanghai, but most of the time, I just wish I could call them whenever I wanted to.

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