Old Football Memes

Is China Overpowering the World?

Is it true that China is one of the most powerful country in the world? Is it true that the Chinese population  reached about 1,368,510,000 in March 2015?  And that it takes up 18.9% of Earth's population? Yes, this is all true, but...is this bad news? In the contrary, for lot's of us, this is something we would like to hear, but of course, there are some pros, and cons...

We accuse China of :

• being an overpopulated country       
• being polluters 
• being snobs  
• being too smart. 

The truth is: 

• they live a hard life, and like any other human being, they want to be free
• lot's of countries want to sell their products to China
• lot's of teenagers and adults want to learn Chinese

And like any other country, China has it's beautiful landscapes, it's temples, it's mysteries... 

EXPLORING CHINA THE NON POLITICAL WAY: 

Fun Facts that you might want to know about China: 

• Fourth biggest country in the world: 9 598 095 km squared!

• The most expensive dog in the world is Chinese (Tibetan mastiff.) It was sold for 1.4 million euros:

• The Forbidden City of Beijing was home to 24 emperors and it has 9, 000 rooms.

• The Great Wall of China. It has a length of 20, 000 km, and it was built between the 3rd century and the 7th before Jesus Christ. 

CHINA: NOW AWAKE...

China is becoming the #1 world power in economics, and this is also good news, not only for the Chinese, but also for other countries. When Chinese become tourists, it means money. They are the #1 consumers in economy as well, and other countries dream of drawing the Chinese towards them.

MADE IN CHINA:

When you go to the store and buy something (other then food or clothes,) what is the probability that this object was made in China? I will say more than 50%. What will happen if China stopped making products? ...Well... we won't do to good. It is important that we stop accusing them of cheating, and copying on other country's.

POPULATION GROWTH:

We all know that China's enormous population is affecting their lives. Well, in 1979 when the Chinese population was growing way to fast, the government established the one child per family rule. Of course, this did stabilize the growing number, and they were able to keep the population count at a minimal level. But this rule does pose some problems...

1. There are too many old people, and less young ones. So this means that sooner or later, there will be less workers that are participating in the development of the country. A study shows that in 2050, 1/4 (which means 330 million people,)  of the population will be over the age of 65.
2. There is a big difference between the amount of boys to the amount of girls. We count about 120 boy births for every 100 girl births. Because of the one child rule, when a pregnant woman learns that she will give birth to a girl, she prefers to abort than to give birth. This is because they think that a boy is more useful than a girl.
3. When parents have only one child, (like in China,) they spoil this child too much, and this may pose lot's of problems later on.
4. 20 years ago, the Chinese authorities set another rule. A couple is allowed to have a 2nd child if:

• The first one was a girl
• Or if both the parents were a unique child as well.

In 2013, this rule improved:

• If one of the parents was a only child, than they are allowed to have a second child.

Therefore, there is only 1 Chinese family for every 3 Chinese families that have 2 children.

Source:

I got this information from a french magazine that I'm subscribed to: Geo Ado. For more information visit the page: http://www.geoado.com/

Relatable post of the day

Smart People (funny)

Top 5 YA Realistic Fiction Books

The Outsiders, by S.E Hinton

The outsiders is about a town divided into two sections, the rich South Zone, also called “The Socials,” or “The Socs,” and the poor North Zone nicknamed “The Greasers.” Ponyboy Curtis, and his friends are “Greasers,” who are not afraid of anything that comes in their way and they prefer to smoke, drink and fight. Then there’s Cherry Valance and his gang, who were born rich, and love to impress pretty girls, and make fun of their rival enemies, “The Greasers." Thus, the outsiders is about these two specific gangs that are struggling to like and understand each other. Overall, this novel was extremely entertaining, and well written. I enjoyed reading it a lot, and I have read it three times. I strongly recommend this young adult book to others.









Wonder, by R.J Palacio

 August Pullman is 10-year old boy born with an extreme case of facial disorder. Since an early age, August was home-schooled due to the numerous surgeries he had to overcome. But this year, when he is about to enter 5th grade, his parents decide it is time for him to attend a "normal," school. At first August protests, but then he realizes it might be a nice experience. The first day of school, all the other students notice August, and they immediately start mocking him. Wonder, is a novel about August trying to be a normal kid and blend in with the life of the other students at school. I loved this book very much, because it was funny, sad, exciting, and well written. I would definitely recommend this book.




Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher


One day when Clay returns from school, to find a anonymous package on his door steps. He picks it up and opens it, the box is full of old cassette tapes. It turns out that these belong to Hannah Baker, Clay's old classmate and crush, who committed suicide two weeks ago. The cassette tapes reveal the thirteen reasons why Hannah hated her life, and why she decided bring it  to an early end. It's an exciting story, that makes the reader not want to stop reading, and the author did a very good job writing it.













Oh boy!, by Marie-Aude Murail


This is book; originally written in French, is story that describes the life of three orphans, one boy who is precocious, and two girls, who are struggling to find adoptive parents, and a home. The three siblings want to stay together, as one family, which makes it more difficult for them and their lawyer, who's attempting to find them the right adoptive family. Along the way, the older boy get's cancer, and the two girls are suddenly separated. A wonderful, and heartwarming story, that I guarantee you will remember.

The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak 

The story takes place during the second world war in Germany, where a young girl, Liesel, her mother and her younger brother, are in train on the way to a city where Liesel and her brother would be obliged to leave behind their beloved mom. They are cold, frozen from head to toe, and sick. During the train ride, Liesel's brother doesn't manage to survive, and so Liesel is left alone with her new family. The book thief is about Liesel's struggle to find her place in her new home, new town, and new parents, and sooner or later the main character manages to find that place, because of someone special, a young Jewish man, hiding from the Nazis. This wonderfully written, full of emotion and life changing.  Markus Zusak is an amazing author, that will leave you breathless.

The Wonders of Alsace

On May 18th, the 7th graders (including me) attending the International School of Brussels (ISB,) set off for a five day field trip to the smallest region in France; Alsace. I thought that I should explain what we did there, so here it goes!!!!!

STRASBOURG:     
 


COLMAR: 


 

AND MANY MORE!!!!!

But let's start with what we normally start with, the region's flag....
 As you can see the colors of the flag stand out to be red and white, but what do they mean? Let's see... The yellow crowns on each side of the white (fat) stripe, represent the royal family of Habsbourg, who used to rule over central Europe. The color red is very commonly found in the two Alsatian coat of arms, and the white stripe represents the dukes of Werd, who ruled over the northern part of Alsace.

A BIT OF INFORMATION:

  Alsace is divided into two parts: the Haut Rhin and the Bas Rhin, as seen on the map. The capital of the Haut Rhin is Colmar, and the capital of the Bas Rhin is Strasbourg. In French: "haut"means "high"and "bas"means "low,"and the Rhin, is the stream that flows through this small french region.

Where Does the Name Alsace Come From?
Alsace come from the alsatian word Elsass, which means the "Land of the Ill." The Ill is large stream that flows through this region, and intersects with the Rhin. 

THE ALSATIAN LANGUAGE

The Alsatian language is based off German, and a little bit of French. Years ago, the Alsatians spoke French at work, and at home Alsatian. But today, this is rarely the case. Though, many schools in Alsace have now decided to teach the region's dialect, so that students could speak and grow with Alsatian. A study shows that among the dialects: tahitien, occitian, corse, basque, and catalan, alsatian is the one who has shown the most progress, in terms of the students understanding of it (if that made any sense!)

So in Alsace, there's really good food, so I decided I should copy and paste the link to the ABC'S of the Alsatian Gastronomy, so here it is!!!! Just in case you are really hungry, or if you will ever go to Alsace! By the way here's the link: http://www.otstrasbourg.fr/en/discover/gastronomy.html 

Anyway, now that you were able to explore the Alsatian gastronomy, we are going to move on to sight seeing.... Here is a list of places that I went to during my stay, and that might interest some of you. I also added a little comment about and from one to five how much I liked it.

1. Strasbourg Cathedral:  Beautiful, spectacular! Obviously, when visiting Alsace, you go to Strasbourg to visit this cathedral!!! (4.5)

  

      2. Botanical Gardens of Strasbourg: This botanical garden is unique in many ways. It's a conservation, and scientific research center filled with millions of rare and endangered plants! (4)

     3. Historic museum of Strasbourg: This is a great opportunity to expand the tourists learning of this magical city. (3.5)

     4. "La Petite France." Situated in Strasbourg "la petite France," so "the little France," is a beautiful and relaxing area, full of wonderful houses on water. (5)

      5.  The Vosges; They are chains of mountains and country side, full of wonderful animals! And by the way, the tallest mountain in Alsace (the Grand Ballon) is worth a try!! (4)

     6. Parc Alsace Aventure: A wonderful preserved park, where you climb trees, go hiking, bungee jumping, zip lining, and more! (5)

         

     7. Gingerbread Palace: Alsace is known for it's gingerbread, and so we wen to visit this magnificent gingerbread palace, that tells you everything you need to know about gingerbread. (3.5)

     8. Castle of Haut-Koenigsburg: Simply beautiful, and educational! But don't go on the tours, they are just too boring! (4)

     9. Centre de Réintroduction de la Cigogne Blanche: Technically, it means Conservation Center of the White Stork. The Alsace symbol is the white stork, and after it went almost extinct, the Alsatians decided to build this small but useful area, that will re-introduce the stork. (2.5) 

     10. Colmar: Capital of the Haut-Rhin, Colmar is a cute, and small city, that is worth spending a day or two visiting it. Simply loved it! (4.5)

Sources:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strasbourg_Cathedral
2. springinparis.wordpress.com
3. flyingthenest.tv
4. www.crwflags.com
5. reseau-atelierdubonheur.blogspot.com
6. http://www.otstrasbourg.fr/en/discover/gastronomy.html
7. www.alsace-balades.bseditions.fr
8. www.jds.fr
9. www.insolitissimo.com
10. www.lepalaisdupaindepices.com
11. www.survoldefrance.fr
12. www.tourisme-alsace.com