I have been so tired recently. Actually, I thought I could sleep though 12 hours. Skipping classes had become the common thing for us. We have permission to leave every day. When I took a look at the new absentee slip, I still couldn't believe the number next to my name, 21.

You might think I was crazy for skipping these classes, but it was really worth it. The moment we got the platinum medal, the honor washed away all the complaints and weariness. Some of the Japanese even burst in to tears. They said," These are the tears of joy." The wall between Japanese students and us seemed to disappear at the night party. Although we made every script and PowerPoint presentation together, we still didn't talk naturally.

Now, I think we all misunderstood each other at first sight. We were so impatient that we finished all the things and even rehearsed them so many times. We simply thought that when they arrived, we just had to improve our connection. When our partners came, their teacher said we have to change every thing we did that ate up all our school time. We had to start everything again. She even scolded us and told my friends and I to let her students made the decision alone, and that will save time. At first, we thought they were impolite. Even though she said sorry to us later, it still made us feel a little bit indignant. I think both of us were just too eager to get the first prize and so we couldn't agree.

Today my friend asked me on the art class," What is your motivation to study? " I don't mean it is a very difficult question, but I just could not get it at that time. I asked her, "Then what is your motivation," and she didn't know either. All members in our team couldn't answer it.

I think I should really find a goal that is higher than my goal now. Then I will try to reach it and. Now, my goal is tomorrow's test, but that doesn't make me feel energetic and want to suck me in.

We went to see the movie Harry Potter last weekend. The surround sounds are still bumping around in my head. We went there very late because Mom hadn't finished her work. It was almost 11:00, but the normal one was at 11:40. My eyes started to feel sore, so I didn't think I could wait till then. The worker asked us to try I-Max, the latest kind of technology. In the beginning, we felt that was a little expensive to pay about 400 each. But obviously it turnsed out that we didn't waste any money on it. The voices were just around you, and the characters were just in front of your eyes. After the movie started, I just felt all the tiredness disappear.

After entering these new surroundings in the school, this is the first time we went to the new laboratory. They had been fixing it until this week. It's a really modern building, especially compared to the others that Japanese built when they were here. When you step in, you can see a large hall surrounded by three minor buildings. It is little bit like the indoor plaza that we can discuss with each other. We go there to have chemistry class. We decomposed Oxygen and put Magnesium in to it. What a shinny white light that came out all of a sudden. We also filtered the Carbon from red sugar. The experimental clothes made me feel a lot more professional, and my friends felt the same way.

I burst this time. The numbers are so ugly that I wouldn't want to see them. The math test has all the difficult questions, and the Chinese one is also a big challenge. I need to finish an article and a three page test quickly. Both of my teachers didn't give back our test grades today because they want us to have fun on the holiday and relax for a short while.

I don't really like school English because they want us to study in detail, and so that seems like memorizing all the articles. Not all but almost. You have to read it carefully, so you won't miss any points that will been shown on the test.

Will North and South Korea start a war? This has been forgotten by people, and now it has became a popular topic again. I don't know, but there is one thing for sure. Our class didn't really feel sad about it because of the Taekwondo player. She obviously won the game, but just in the last minute, the other player said that she broke the rule because she wore the illegal palm size sensors attached to her heels. The video has shown that isn't true, but she still could not find her way back.

Sometimes we all feel helpless. Although we are pretty good at something and rise to the world stage, we can not honorably use our own nation's name and sing our national anthem.

It isn't just sad but also confusing.

The good thing is it gives us a different situation to think over, and every event makes us more united and gives us the energy for trying harder to let us win the recognition.

After a while we finished changing, and our teacher still hadn't come in. We used the time to draw on the blackboard to celebrate his birthday, and we thought that those boxes were cookies for us because of that. He said the cookies are for cheering for his class to help them get first place in the relay race, and he wanted to celebrate his birthday secretly. The price that he had to paid is that we all have the right to know which year he was born in.

How a surprising and impressive furor just happened in front of my eyes. In the period between PE class and math class we were changing back to our uniforms. We just stayed at our seats and it doesn't matter to us, after all, we are all girls. But there was crucial mistake we totally forgot to close the door. Suddenly, my male math teacher walked in naturally carrying boxes with mystery inside them. We all screamed and started to cover ourselves with clothes, and our poor teacher looked up in shock, like thinking , "What is wrong with all of you?" Suddenly his face turned red, and he ran out immediately.

School festival

Today is our school's 86th birthday, and I was so excited. We had a parade to go around the playground at the beginning. We are so glad that we got the most creative prize for the parade. It was weird to see all different kinds of flags bow. Our class flag and class board also helped us get 5th and 2nd, but we think we should get the first on the board competition, and we think the first place team took the idea from the history book.

We also felt disappointed at our relay race because we had one person who fell down.

Anyway, having fun is the most important thing. We did have a lot of fun playing the exciting truth and dare.

Our costume party theme is bears. We will have mother and father bears, baby bears, doctor bears, cook bears, and professional bears. Also, we will have pervert bears. I said that I want to be a hero bear. Actually it is just a joke I made because I was complaining. I had to complain because I couldn't spare one hand from the ACEP projects. I also can't wait to meet my students.

We are all so busy with the school birthday party. Some people are drawing the large class board. Some are rehearsing the Taiwanese style dance, a Girl's Generation song and their cute palm dance. Some are practicing for a three legged race and a relay race. All the people in class 117 will have at least one job. Our costume party theme is bears because bears have the same sound as the S from KGHS in Chinese. Hsiung Girl stands for KGHS, and that is the word we always call our school. Unlike others, we make our own costumes and tools by ourselves. Although it really takes time, everyone enjoys it. That is why I like this school so much. The students always try their best to do anything.

Have you ever heard about a math teacher that teaches Chinese in class? Luckily, we have a teacher like this. He is a good teacher and has many tips for us. When we are ahead, he says that we shall take a rest. We asked him to tell some jokes, and he said he would tell us a history story. Then we asked him to talk about his first love, and he said it was short and sweet. Curiously, we kept on asking," Please, the latest one!" He said that would be history. Later, he told us the story in his mp3 which he put a lot of stories in. Because the story was written in ancient Chinese, I couldn't understand it most of the time.

The thing I found out was that we join the class and feel more excited when we are having Math, Earth Science, and Social studies. Two of the class teachers are men. I thought there were two reasons. One is because the men in KGHS are one in a thousand, and the other is that men are not afraid to be silly, and that makes us feel good.

Every thing seemed to be just on track. It ought to be like this, but the typhoon came. Because of it, four of our schools that participate in our Korean teaching didn't come, neither did Betty nor Lynn. What is worst, our teacher's computer couldn't connect to the Internet at the final important minute, and there were some problems that made it, so we couldn't use our own computers. I think that our students were too nervous to speak, and forgot what to say. Instead, the Koreans showed they were well-prepared in their speaking. Finally, we stood around in front of teacher's laptop and introduced the things that should be said by our students.

This is a really big shock for me, even though I thought I was ready for it. In senior high, I have to study so much more than in the junior high. The things I have to memorize, like social studies is 3 times more than before. Math is harder, and there is also some time for clubs. That makes me study late, sometimes even until12:00. Before, I always took a rest at 10:00. Ninth grade was busy, but I never went to bed later than 12:00. I must find some way, like changing my study plan, and study the things in different times, instead of one time.

Beaty and Lynn

Lynn is my new student that exchanged with Jason. I taught them the story about a picnic today, and how to make a sandwich for dinner. Because I don't like the boring pictures, I want to change the lessons my teacher gives us to more attractive things.

They replied fervently and that makes me feel very happy. While I was talking, they would color the pictures or write down the Chinese to tell me that they understood.

I think the lessons are a little bit easy for them, so I teach them more about the pictures. I asked them if they would like me to speak English, and they said, "Yes!" However, I still put some Chinese between the sentences, and try to make every word clear and slow.

When I am talking to Tobey, I never need to think about this, and I am worried if they can understand me.

My teacher said that one of the girls is very good. If there are activities interview, she will be one of the members. She has her own story, and soon the teacher will share it with me.

Our school has become very famous around these few days. Everybody inside is very active in the reformation, since we want the school to loosen the sock rules. First we just told the principal about it at the weekly meeting, and then the students wrote some articles about this on blogs. I couldn't believe of how big this effect was! The reporter came and asked us some questions, and then they reported it, "Say no to the little zebra." The next day, KGHS really passed down the questionnaires to teachers, parents, and students. The inspector said that the news of this was on the first page of one of the newspapers, and page rank has gone to third.

I have finished Pope John. I can read at a very fast speed if it is a really interesting book, and it talks to my soul.

I feel a little disappointed because I don't like the ending. I know a lot of history of the dark ages in Europe, and also many things about the Bible, pagans, and God, even though I don't believe in them. I do not like how they treated the Saxons and that they said, "Girls intelligence is inversely proportional to the size of their wombs."

I am glad that I didn't live in the same age as them. They even believed that when they were sick because God was mad at them. The end of the book said that John may be a real person, but the data was changed or destroyed, so they can't be sure.

To my joy, I didn't get any call is because there are still three schools that didn't finish the test. Because of that, they couldn't be sure what each student's level is. Four students got the call, and got ready to meet their kids. Ema was so lucky as one of the students didn't come, so she could take her place.

I finally got in to the Give class, and so did Ema. We have to pick a time to volunteer. It will be our required class, and it matters to whether we can get the certificate from the government or not. Most of the people wanted to go on Thursday, but they only need 15 members. I really can't move the time because I have French class on that day.

We have to teach a boy or a girl who is now in elementary school English on the internet. There are four subjects, and I hope that I can get into this case.

Nine o' clock has already passed, but I still didn't get any message from the club. I felt pretty disappointed and nervous, but there was nothing I could do.

I hopelessly waited and studied, (sometimes I think I am busier than Jimmy) but still nothing happened.

In the library I met two friends from my class. They are friendly have a good sense of humor. They were waiting for their cram school's bus and I was waiting for Mom to take me home. We went up to the 2nd floor and thought that the library is so great.

The reason that I will stay in the library is because the bus is always too full, and I come home very late. Yesterday, I took the wrong bus, and it brought me to the different direction. When I finally came home it was 7:10. I was a little bit afraid of the dark, but I didn't want Mom to go that far. I said "Never mind," but Mom persisted.

I am really excited to be the part of this school. I am proud of myself, but in the other hand, it seems like everybody is so smart.
One of my classmates is really great, and some of my classmates maybe the first or the second in their junior high school. I think they all know the things in senior high school will be harder, but they still feel upset when they get one or two mistakes.
I told myself that we are the best in this city, and give myself an easy goal. Do my best and never be the last one! But it is still hard to say, when there is a first, their will also be a last . If I am that one, I am making someone happy, too. At least I will not grumble too much.

Our teacher teaches Chinese just like my junior high school one. One difference is that she doesn't come so often, and all day we stay with two big sisters.

There was a splendid show in the activity center, and also some introductions about the clubs. The principal said that people in this school can also play and study well together. If you see it, you will agree with him. Jenny and I can't pick any of the clubs, they are all absolutely excellent. Like pop music, ballroom dancing, Gives (a volunteer club), computer club, debate, show-cheerleading, gift making, swimming, sports, animal disecting and so on.

I passed up the popular one. It is the honor guard. Even though I think it is so cool when they are swinging the guns, sticks, and flags, but 165cm is to hard for me to reach.

Everything passed so fast. Our school started 3 days ago. I like it because my senior sisters are all so enthusiastic and friendly. All of us will have a big sister in 11th grade . She will come and teach us about the things we are curious about in the school. My big big sister came first, and give me a drink. I think she is busy. After all, she is in 12th grade. Then my sister came, too. Soon, I got two drinks, and they told me they will call me back to date me , and we will have a great family party together.

I wasn't in the same class with my friend on bus and also wasn't with Ema. Still, I wasn't as quiet as if it was my first time at school. I met a good friend who can talk to me about everything. Her name is Jenny, and she said she will be a dentist when she grows up. Everyone was asking if she and I are twins or saying that we seemed the same. The teacher also asked if we knew each other for a long time. The funny thing is that we both have the same last name.

Unfortunately, when I got home, I realized that one of my drinks leaked, and got my new book bag wet. I had no idea because my bookbag, hand bag, and two hands were all full with things, so I just can put it in to the bag.

I didn't like the bus at all because it came so slowly and there were too many people on it, so I needed to wait until the second bus came. I spent an hour and a half taking it home.

I haven't gone to any water land. I thought we were going to the hot spring today, but Mini really wanted to go to the water land. It is annoying if a house has four women and only one man. You need to pay attention to Little Miss Silly Red. I realized I was a little afraid. The slide is so tall and so fast. Mini just told me don't be afraid, and we played all of the difficult rides, except the tallest one. There were too many people, so we had to line up for a long time to get one chance to enjoy 5 minutes of excitement. In the summer, it kept me fresh, but don't go in the evening. It is so fresh that all my body started to shake.

It seems that shopping is a culture in Taipei. On the first day I went there, my aunt took me to 西門町, and Mini and Gina took me to the famous night market the third day. There was something really special and creative. We looked for bags, clothes, and sandals. I realized that Mini is really brave. She can wear anything, and it looks good on her. If that was me I would be shy. She kept trying new clothes on me and asked me if I like them. Then, she picked one dress with a beautiful calico pattern and lines on it for me. She also got one for her, but another color. It made me feel strange. It's like that I am 25 or older.

However, shopping must be a good exercise. After all, after doing it, my legs always felt so sore and tired.

I have passed through half of my summer vacation, and I can't feel how fast it is going. I graduated from my Spanish class, and Mini finished her big test finally. I still have enough time to go to Taipei. Benny didn't come with me. He wanted to go camping with my aunt, uncle, and his two cousins. I bet their tent will blow up soon. Jimmy went to stay with his pal. Father said he is going to China, and Mom said, "The world finally became peaceful." It means that she is free for a long time!

Benny, Father, and I went to Cool Mountain to go hiking. Actually, it is hiking through the water. We wore a life vest, long shirt, pants, nonslip gloves, galoshes, helmet and knee pads. I thought we took almost all the protecting things. The water was really cold and fresh. I enjoy stepping on the stones and letting the water go around my skin. Inside the water I wouldn't feel the heat of the day. Most of the time, we couldn't touch the bottom. After a long time we were getting closer to the end, it was like en extreme sport. We climbed a rope up the cliff and the small falls. Our destination is the biggest waterfalls inside, and I thought maybe it is 7 or 8 floors tall. You can swim into the other side, but it isn't like mountain climbing. It doesn't have many noticeable part. It was so glorious when we look out with goggles. Then the water spurted ruthlessly and too hard. That made me feel like I was going to fall down, so I gave up swimming to the other side, let go, and jumped down. I will never forget this experience.

Mi Rutina Diaria

Me llamo Amy. Soy esduiante del colegio. Me levanto a las 7:00 de la manana y mepeino todos los dias. Yo monto en bici y tomo clase de espanol por tarde. Regreso a mi casa a las 5:00 mas o mero y a veces uso la computadora. Yo casi nunca ceno fuera porque mi madre cocina. Yo tengo poco tiempo con mis hermanos de la noche antes descansar.

Guess what?
I am learning Spanish right now. It has a different way of speaking from English and Chinese. The letters are the same but their sounds aren't. Now when I am looking at vocabulary words, I like to try to read them in Spanish. It is not hard but fun, after all, I think most of them follow the rules. Maybe that is why Tobey always says English is crazy.
It is a little bit annoying to me. Like when you want to change "Esta casa es nueva" to "Estas casas son nuevas" (Singular to Plural,) you need to change all of the sentence. I always make mistakes like this. Just like I always forget the past tense.

I went to Yilin with Mom and Benny. Jimmy was still studying for his test. I felt so bad for him, but Mom said everybody has to walk this hard path. We went to Meen lake, and I put some pictures on my blog. This place must be heaven. It is so beautiful there. I remember that it was raining that day. After the rain, there was fog all around us, and it wrapped the place in mystery. I wish that I could live in this peaceful place and jump into the tree's embrace. A man was playing the clarinet to a swam, and it danced in reply. Someone asked him about his friend, and he said it has stayed with him for about 4 years. His friend has just lost her love.

I told my grandpa I wanted to learn how to play tennis. He brought me to the tennis court and I hit the wall with a ball to practice controlling it every afternoon. It made my arm really hurt at the beginning because it is very different from playing ping pong. I need to remember not to use my wrist, and then after a lot of practicing I can hit the wall 35 times! But my arm isn't so strong, so I can't hit backhand.

My uncle said that he wanted to give me a gift because I got good grades on my tests. I didn't have any slippers or sandals, so my aunt and I went to the department store. I chose a pair that I feel comfortable in and she said we should walk around to check if there is something I like better. We tried on many different kinds of shoes , like Roman sandals, a colorful pair, and a pair which has a lots of flowers. They are all beautiful, but I wanted the confortable ones. Then we still bought the one we picked first.

We went to My grandma's house, but my cousins haven't finished their tests. They are still studying, and so is Jimmy. That is why he didn't come with us. Benny came, but he went back early with Mom because there was a commencement ceremony, and he was awarded a prize.

In the morning, I hung out with my grandparents. My grandpa likes to watch costume dramas like Coa Lou Singer, the prime minister in the Song dynasty. I know that he is called a candle master and studied really hard, but it showed more about him. I also watched a movie called Sherlock Holmes. I think it is great because he can tell your past from small things.

He seems so dirty and silly, but everything he took was important like a mouse tail. Another thing is he forgot the gun on purpose to made Watson come. The part I like the most is when he played the violin and told Watson what happened. I was so excited to find out the guy who asked the men in the cart for money was him.

Grandpa is also good at playing tennis . He and grandma always wake up at 4:00, and go for a walk. Then after that he will play tennis with his friends. I only heard about this. I didn't see it myself because I slept until grandma woke me and told me it was the lunch time.

Do not misunderstand it. I am not lazy. I am just relaxing.

Now I don't need to have my eighth or ninth period classes, and our term is almost done. Every lesson has stopped and teachers don't teach new things. She said we can read any books but just be quiet. I write my story so much, and I am really satisfied. I think this must be the happiest time in my life to do what I want to do.

The school also sent us a graduation gift. It is a red Nike sport bag.

The bad thing is many cram classes call to ask me to have the first preview before classes start. Each day there will be four or five calls. It make me don't want to lie about who I am.

I was so excited when I knew that I don't need to take the test one more time. That means I will have so much extra time. My friends whose decision is the same as mine are renting many comic books and bringing them to school. They trade with other friends when they finish each set. I took some and read them the first week. I can read them quickly, but I don't like them very much because most of them are love stories, and I can predict what will happen. Later Jimmy's friend who lives in the 13F lent me some Kung Fu books and I quickly fell into them. They have half ancient Chinese words and half Chinese, so few people write them.

I have already read 8 books but there was a problem: At the same time I was still writing my story, and Jimmy said it seems that I am changing my writing style into theirs. I have already writen half, if I don't change then the story will be so strange.

I am really gambling now. Teacher and most of the people are all guessing that students took the test this time are much better than before, and even the usual data can't show perfectly what school we can get into right now.

I was sure I would have to take the second test, but I wasn't well prepared to face it. How would my heart obey me, and follow my teacher's wishes. I always tried to encourage my classmates not to be afraid, and they all said I always am so good and I don't have any pressure. Even I have it, I will still try to forget it. But now, no one can explain my mood besides myself.

There is one thing that I certainly understand. The thing that I try to hide.

I am standing at the edge of a cliff, and with a little carelessness I will fall in.

How time flies,

Through my blood.

Leaves a big hole in my mind; There's no scream, there's no fear.

An oppressive stone, and heavy breath,

My heart hurts, but who can explain?

Between my ears,

There's always a tick tock

Counting the time

Buring myself

Please, Amy

Change all the nervousness to bravery