My Travel Journal

September 13

I arrived in New York two weeks ago. I am writing this journal for one of my classes. My teacher says it is a good way for me to practice writing in English and to write about my experiences here in the United States. So far, I like New York and my school. I have three classes a day. Most of my classmates come from Japan, Korea, Spain, Germany, and Brazil.

There aren’t many Vietnamese students, so I have to use English most of the time. I am learning a lot! I am living in student housing, and I have my own comfortable room.

October 20

My English is hopeless! I was on the bus this morning and a man spoke to me, but I hardly understood him. I was so embarased. Why is my English improving so slowly? I want to make lots of American friends, but this isn’t happening so easily. I feel shy, and it is hard for me to talk to some people, even my classmates! I like them, but sometimes I can’t understand them very well. I think I’m feeling homesick. I miss my friends and family.

October 27

I went to a school party last Friday and it was awesome. I talked with a Japanese man named Kenji, and an Italian woman named Carla. We talked about our countries’ customs and our experiences in the States so far. We are going to walk around the city together this weekend. Also, Kenji wants me to write for the student newspaper here at school. Maybe things are getting better!

As children grow, they will do jobs of all kinds, and will also face challenges (挑战). Teaching children to work together in teams is important in today’s world.

It is good for children to work as a team. Teaching children teamwork can help them to enjoy spending time with other people, work together, and solve different problems in school and in their lives.

When children take part in team sports and help with household chores, they can develop (发展) teamwork skills. Even simply being in a family means working in a team! In all these activities, teamwork can teach leadership and working together.

It is not easy for children to share work. There should be different ways to teach children to like teamwork.

Good family communication is the key point (要点). All ideas are important. Parents should tell their children they will always value and think about their children’s ideas. Household chores are a good way to work as a team, especially when several brothers or sisters live together in the same house. Parents can also use physical competitions to help their children understand working as a team can be fun!

Parents should teach their children to trust (信任) both the group and themselves. For more shy (害羞的) children, tell them they are as important as any other member of the group. For more outspoken children, tell them a good team needs all the people within it to be working at their best, in order to achieve (实现) the goals of the group.