Weekends

My husband always complains about our messy home. He says "When I arrive home everyday it looks like an earthquake has just happened and you all have to escape!"

So last Sunday I decided to go out instead of cleaning up at home because I thought if we could take my son out then the house would be kept nice and tidy. Also we could use funday tickets to catch a ferry and have fun.

Sunday was a sunny day. We left home at 9:00am and arrived at Circular Quay after about half an hour. Then we met our friends Yan, her husband and son Tony on deck 5. We caught a ferry to Darling Harbour.

Tony and my son are in the same pre school. They are same age and same height. And also they are very good friends. We watched them laughing, talking and chasing each other in the sunshine in Darling Harbour and I felt I was going to be younger as well. We laughed, talked and ate snacks sitting on the lawn. After we had lunch we wanted to go to Parramatta by ferry but when we were on the ferry to back to Circular Quay, my son was asleep so we had to say goodbye to my friends and go back home.

I was very tired when we got home, but I was still very happy and we decided to go out again next weekend to keep my home clean!

Learning English tips

1. Learn English songs and sing them.
2. Practise English anytime and anywhere without fear.
3. Read kids books because there are more pictures in them and they are easy to understand.
4. Watch TV programs with subtitle if it is possible.
5. Record yourself and try to find any mistakes.
6. Use the Internet to learn English online (there are lots of free courses)
7. Try to use an English-English dictionary.
8. Play games with a partner to learn English.
9. Listen to native speakers as much as possible.
10. Study English at school such as TAFE.

Ga (Squeeze) Fairy

On annually April 14th of Chinese luna calendar, a lot of citizens of the cities and countries of Suzhou will flow inside the fairies' temples which are neighborhood of Xiatang Street in Laohemen to Ga Fairy. It is said that the day is the birthday of Lu Chunyang who was one of the Eight Fairies; he would change into the mendicant to arrive at the human life that day, help persons. Hence people all come here in this day, hope to meet the fairy, go to the diseases and prevent disasters; the lucky star is high to shine on. It is just a civil religious activity at first, changes into a grand temple fair once a year. Then, the small stands nearby of the fairy temple stand up like a forest, each kind of snacks, handicraft products, the flowers, birds, insects and fishes complete with everything. Currently, the Nanhao Street has become the very thick Suzhou's type ground with city's culture of Suzhou, there are the traditional taste snacks, special features food, civil handicraft products, small merchandise, flowers, birds, insects, fishes, curios and embroiders. It loads the folk tales and the history stories of Suzhou in the past and drew on numerous Chinese and Foreign visitors, is the new hot point of tour in Suzhou.

The best place in China

Hi, I'm Jessie. I come from China.

Well, if you want to ask me where the best place is in China, I'd like to tell you it is my hometown Suzhou.

Suzhou is a great tourist attraction. It is located in eastern China near the largest river, Changjiang, and a big lake Taihu. It is very cold in winter and very hot in summer so the best time to travel is during the spring and autumn seasons.

There are lots of beauitiful ancient stone bridges, pagodas and private gardens. Walking on the small bridges, looking at the flowing water and admiring the flowers, you may think that you are walking in a beauitful ancient picture. That's my hometown!

Also there is lots of delicious food to taste, such as white prawns, tiny silver fish and native vegetables... Please don't forget to spend an afternoon sitting in a tearoom in one of the private gardens or on a boat moored in the lake tasting our native green tea because in the olden days only the emperor had the chance to taste it.