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DINNER WITH A THAI FAMILY

I thought I understood their customs but I was completely wrong. the Changs, who lived in Thailad, sent me an email with an invitation to have dinner with them. i was nervous because I had never had dinner with anyone from Thailand, so I bought them a gift.

Then I went to their house. I must admit that I breathed a sigh of relief when I walike in because they were just an ordinary family. I gave the gift to Mrs Chang and i went to the kitchen to greet Mr Chang. He looked uncomfortable because I didn't know that, in Thailand, if you come into a house, you must take off your shoes. When he told me this, I immediately took off my shoes and placed them near the door.

After this strange moment, the dinner began. It was delicious but I didnt know that you should leave a small amount of food and try all the dishes to show respect to your host. Finally, to top it all, I began the conversation talking about the king, which is not polite.

They will never forget that day and I'm not going to have dinner in any other Thai home ever again. When i came back to Spain, I told the story to my family and they made fun of me for what I had done.

By Marcos Zamora.

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I thought I understood their customs but I was completely wrong. One day a family from the USA moved to China. The older sister, Fiona, was in secondary school, and she was really nervous for her first day at school.

Next day she went to school and she made a new friend. Her new friend, called Wendy, was very kind. so she invited Fiona, the girl from the USA, to have dinner with them on Friday.

it was Friday and Fiona's mum wanted to bring a gift for their hostess. She didn't know what she could bring so she went out to the supermarket and bought some chocolate.

When they arrived at Wendy's huse, they were very nervous.Then the misunderstanding occured. Wendy's mum told them what was wrong. She told them that in China, you don't need to bring a gift. You only need to invite the other people to your house. So after this tip, you won't do it again.

By Martina Solis

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I thought I understood their customs but I was completely wrong. I was at school and a new student came. Her name was Tanvi and she was from Indonesia. Tanvi had emigrated to the USA because of political reasons. We became very good friends and one day her family invited mine to have a dinner together.

When my family and I arrived at her home, we were nervous. We were bringing a small gift to try to be polite. As they opened the door, we saw that they were wearing a typical Indonesian attire called Batiki.

Then, we started to have dinner. There were big platters in the middle of the table. My mother told me to pass her the rice, so I gave it to her. Tanvi's family stared at me. I thought there was a misunderstanding. We continued dining. Suddenly, Tanvi stood up and she approached me. She told me that it was impolite to pass food with your left hand. I understood what i had done wrong. After that, we returned to the table and I said sorry to Tanvi's family.

At the end of the day, everything went well. Now I understand what I have to do when I visit an Indonesian home.

By Daniel Cerrato.

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Dear Neth,

I am Aimara, and I think it is unfair what the president of Angola has done against you. He speaks and he sometimes even criticizes other polititians in order to win the elections. If it were a crime to speak, he would alredy be sentenced to at least ten years. We all have the right to speak and you as a person spoke.

I am sure that all your family is supporting you right now. As soon you get out, your children will give you big hug and they will love you like they have never loved you before. I support you and I hope when you get out you will continue talking and fighting for your rights.

I hope you get out very soon and live your life to the fullest.

By Aimara

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This year has been crazy. At the beginning, I was mean with my classmates, I was disrespectful with them because I felt isolated as nobody wanted to sit next to me. But then Jeff appeared. He wanted to be my friend, I was so glad that someone wanted to be with me.

Later, Carla came to school. Firstly, I didn't want to go with her, but then I understood she would help me with my problems. Unfortunately, she had to go because the parents didn't want her to be with their kids.

After reading this book, I have learnt that not everything is what it seems. Even if a person looks mean, there can be a great person inside of them.

I have never felt like Bradley, but I know that there are people who might be passing through this situation. If someone is feeling like Bradley at the beginning of the book , I would say them that they need to be more confident with themselves and not hide their feelings.

This story teaches us that yesterday from others is not good for us, it can make use real worse. But there is time for changing you can be a good person if you want to.

I am so grateful that Jeff and Carla helped me during this year. They have been a source of hope. I have learned that the people you love are going to be with you whenever you need it.

Now, I'm a kind person. Thanks to Carla I have made new friends, and I also do my homework.

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Wow, a lot has happened, I didn't think
I could change but now I know that
I can. I used to feel alone all the
time, now it is different.

Thank you for everything you taught me to do and to Jeff I would say: "I’m glad you sat next to me that day, that you took the dollar and that we’re friends now!"

I think this book shows that people can change for the better or the worse , but they can change. It also shows that you have to let people help you, not just drown all your feelings inside.

I’ve never felt like Bradley, but it looks hard to live with everyone hating you without even talking to you.

In conclusion, I would say that with
kindness you can have a second chance.

Notice that in the first chapters Bradley was disrespectful, but when he changed,
he started to have more chances.

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I have been thinking about last month, how much I have changed since Carla came.

Firstly, no one wanted to sit with me, but then Jeff came. After that, I met Carla.

She opened my eyes and showed me I was a monster only because i wanted to.

This made me think why and it was because I didn't care. Jeff left me and I thought I was a monster again but I am not.

It is all subjective. If you want to convince people you are not bad, first you have to convince yourself.

Now I have friends and most people like me. I've learned to never give up, to believe in the ones you love, to ask for help when you need and to not be scared of everything. I have also learned how powerful friendship can be.

If I saw Carla gain, I would say to her "Thank you for everything you taught me to do" and to Jeff I would say: "I'm glad you sat next to me that day, that you took the dollar and that we are friends now".

I think this book shows me that people can change for the better or the worse, but htey can change. It also shows that you have to let people help you not just drown all your feelings in inside.

I've never felt like Bradley, but it looks hard, to live with everyone hating you, without even talking to you.

My advice is to take it slowly, and try to do things right. Just try. No one is perfect. My conclusion is that you need to let people help you and that changes are not from one day to another. You have to take things easy. If you can't handle yourself, let someone help you.