Seven Pieces
In this portfolio, you will find seven pieces of writing that I composed during the Information in Narrative & Argument course taught by Dr. David Kaufer in Spring 2010.
Revolving around the idea that writing is essentially designing an experience for the reader, these pieces involve various representational elements that must be carefully balanced to achieve the desired effect on the reader. Having three years of experience as the editor-in-chief of two university newspapers, I considered myself to “know how to write.” However, this course was a turning point in my career as a writer, teaching me a more structured, thought-out design process for composing text. What is quite amazing, however, is the fact that once I learned those techniques, they seemed perfectly natural and indispensible to the specific compositions.
The Other Side
January 26, 2010
On January 10, 2009, I was at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, standing in the immigration line again. Except this time was different. I had a fever close to 40°C, my whole body ached and I was on antibiotics for angina, a nasty disease that produces severe chest pain because the heart is not getting enough oxygen. I was freezing one minute, sweating the other, having coughing spasms in between.
Close to 200 non-U.S. citizens, or aliens, as we are called by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, were waiting in front of me, including almost everyone from my flight. I urgently had to go to the bathroom right when I got off the plane, because I listened to my grandma’s advice and drank tea as much as I could. Now everyone was in front of me.
I quickly eyed the people in the winding line, who were as anxious to get to the other side as I was. All I could think about was my queen-sized bed at home. My eight pillows and my level 6 IKEA down comforter. “Once I get there, everything will be fine,” I thought, as I mustered all of my strength to keep standing.
Eager to make my stop at the immigration booth as short as possible...
Dominik
February 10, 2010
“Dominik!” my mother calls for my brother from the living room. “Can you come here for a minute?”
“Why?” he shouts back over the thunderous sounds coming from his room.
“I want to show you something.”
“Yeah, wait a minute,” he shouts back.
Ten minutes later, my brother is still sitting in his tall, black, reclining office chair in front of the 21.5-inch widescreen monitor in his room. He is playing the World of Warcraft Online, a.k.a. WoW, a massive multi-player online role playing game (or MMORPG). The surface of the desk around his keyboard is damaged by the constant “engraving” done by my brother’s pen, waiting for the game to load. Individual orange pills, receipts, papers and pens, which he had taken apart, are scattered across the entire desk. His computer is hooked up to a 5.1 stereo system with a powerful subwoofer, amplifying the sounds of the battle he is currently fighting, which is why he can’t leave. “It’s real time. You can’t pause it,” he always says.
His bedroom is awkwardly stuck in time. Some of my possessions remain scattered around the room even five years after I moved out...
509 Café
February 19, 2010
It’s a sunny Thursday afternoon, but business is slow for the 509 Café on Greenfield Avenue. The sidewalk in front resembles a narrow trench of melting snow and ice. Kids with colorful backpacks walk by, returning home from the nearby school.
All five black tables in the dining area are empty; the Heinz ketchup, salt and pepper shakers, Cholula sauce, and black container with the usual assortment of colorful sugar packets are precisely positioned in the middle of the tables, waiting to be used. The black metal chairs are neatly tucked in as if nobody used them today.
A six-foot tall blackboard announcing in pink chalk “The 509 Café has bread, milk and eggs!” stands in the corner next to a large display cooler since there is no room on the sidewalk. Behind the cooler that contains randomly scattered meat and cheese is a sliding-door refrigerator filled with breakfast and sandwich ingredients. The beige wall above is bare; the only things left are little pieces of white sticky foam squares that once held the menu posters. The laminated menu now sits on the black-and-white checkered windowsill, hoping to attract the occasional pedestrians.
Life in South Bohemia
March 15, 2010
Jiřina was born in 1927 in a small South Bohemian village in the former Czechoslovakia. Bohemia has referred to the Czech lands since the ancient times, but in the late 19th century, the term came to be more associated with artists and their unconventional lifestyle. Becoming known as “bohemians,” many of them passed through Bohemia on their way to major European cities.
Dotted by countless castles and chateaus hidden in deep forests, Bohemia had strong ties to the neighboring Austria, a political reminder of the Habsburg Empire. Jiřina’s village Červená Lhota was no exception with its pale pink Renaissance chateau, a country retreat for the Austrian Schönburg-Hartenstein aristocracy.
Jiřina spent much of her childhood in close proximity to the chateau. Standing high on a rugged rock formation surrounded by a small lake, the only connection to the mainland was a two-arch stone bridge. Jiřina’s family lived in a wood ranger’s lodge tucked away in the woods behind the chateau, close to the winding dirt road leading to a nearby village. The bright white facade of the lodge contrasted with the green leaves of the majestic oaks surrounding the house. Working as the wood ranger for the Schönburgs for 120 crowns ($6) a month...
Bastet & Sekhmet
March 21, 2010
While many of you have heard of Ancient Egypt, only a few of you are fascinated enough to learn the entire list of pharaohs by heart or attempt to teach yourself to read and write hieroglyphs. I did both of those things, after I got interested in the civilization in 7th grade by reading a historical fiction novel Pharaoh by Boleslaw Prus. I drew the hieroglyphic alphabet and basic words on flashcards to learn them faster. I even coded a website in Notepad listing all the pharaohs and major monuments. Finally, I should mention that I also painted rows of white five-pointed stars on the ceiling of my old bedroom to imitate the tomb of Queen Nefertari, wife of Ramses II.
However, I am most intrigued by Ancient Egyptian religion. Not only is it one of the most intricate, it has also survived for over 5,000 years. Icons such as ankh, symbol of eternal life, or the eye of Horus, royal symbol of protection, are popular pendants worn to this day.
Ancient Egyptian religion is polytheistic, featuring hundreds of gods and goddesses. Having deified many aspects of nature and everyday life, the mythology of Ancient Egypt includes many legends explaining the roles of many deities.
Restoring Old Photos
April 6, 2010
Two years ago, during one of our family reunions, my grandmother's cousin brought an old photo of her family in front of our summer house from the 1930's. My mother, wanting to share this family treasure with me, as I wasn't able to attend the reunion, photographed it and e-mailed it to me. Taking a photography restoration class at the time, I couldn't have gotten a better photo to work with.
So if you have an old family photo that you would like to restore, this tutorial is for you. Depending on the state of the old photo, you will need 2-5 hours to complete the tutorial, assuming you have a very basic familiarity with Photoshop.
What You Need
Study Abroad Programs
April 28, 2010
The importance of foreign language education is well understood in Europe. For example, in the Czech Republic, the Ministry of Education mandates that every school start teaching the first foreign language in 3rd grade three times a week, with the second foreign language starting in 7th grade. English is usually the first foreign language of choice; German, French and Spanish are popular choices for the second. However, if you believe that learning foreign language at school is not enough, you are right. With 20-30 other students in class for two hours a week, how can your child ever achieve fluency?
You can, like many other parents, send your children to private tutors. Holding a Master's degree in English Linguistics, my mother was one of those private tutors. When I was five, she assembled a group of my friends and started teaching us twice a week. Private tutors like my mother will be able to give the individualized attention and teach speaking and listening skills as well, as the groups are usually not larger than six students. However, even with private tutors, your child may never be able to fully grasp the language. So what can you do to help your child become fluent? Send them abroad.
First, let me explain what study abroad is. Study abroad programs are educational opportunities where a student travels to a foreign country...