REVISED JOURNAL 2: GUERRILLA MARKETING

   This video is about a campaign of UNICEF. I have found it appropriate to reflecting because it is a perfect example of guerrilla marketing.
   This video tells us the story of UNICEF Dirty Water Vending Machine. Aim of that machine is attracting attention that millions of people around the world cannot access to clean water resources. At the beginning of the video, people fill the bottles with water. However, the water is dirty unlike the water that we drink every day. Afterwards, they offer the water it on the streets of New York.  Everybody looks at the water in disgust, and nobody wants to drink dirty water. Later, people learn that every dollar which is donated to will provide safe drinking water to 40 children for a day and so everyone donates. 

   In my opinion, this campaign includes all the characteristics of guerrilla marketing. Namely, it is creative and unexpected. Also, it is low-budget. UNICEF has made quite triumphant work with a small amount of money. Furthermore, this campaign implements the most important part of the guerrilla marketing. The men in charge haven’t had to advertise on television. However, all newspapers have written about them. All TV channels have made the news of them.

    As a consequence, I like the way UNICEF advertise since it is shocking and effective.

REVISED JOURNAL 1: I SURF, THEREFORE I AM

     The article “I Surf, Therefore I Am” states ideas of a teacher about the use of Internet on homework. I have chosen it because almost all of the students use Internet while they are studying.

     Judith Levine says that her students only surf. They don’t read or research. They read neither scholarly articles which are reliable nor books that tell a story and sustain on argument. Levine gives some examples. For instance, she says that one of her students submits homework about tobacco companies. However, he even doesn’t know what he is talking about. He just copies and pastes.  Levine gives other examples like this one.

   I agree with the writer on the point that Internet has some negative effects on the student’s homework paper because of two main reasons. Firstly, Internet is reliable to some extent. Information given in articles, books, or journals may be out of date. Namely, the facts that we are sure about their accuracy have been changing day by day ,so these sources can misdirect the student. Secondly, the Internet cause students to be lazy since students find the information immediately without making too much effort. Rather than going to libraries they use Internet as the only source for research. This causes students to have limited point of view.         In my opinion, despite negative effects of it, Internet has also positive effects on homework if students know how to use it. First of all, Internet is the most comprehensive library. Students can reach unlimited number of books, newspapers, articles, and journals in online. Moreover, students can find current information from the Web easily. 

  As a consequence, Internet is both beneficial and harmful according to student’s use. Students must do research from trustworthy sites, and take into consideration of source’s validity in order to use Internet correctly. Furthermore, they should not restrict themselves only to the Internet. They must go to libraries, read different sources, and develop their thinking abilities. I have found the article quite successful. Levine’s ideas are logical. Also, examples, which are given by her, make the article interesting.

COMMENTS :D

I have commented on Ebru's and Elif's journal entries. The links :

• http://rue-sama.blogspot.com/2013/04/reflection-journal-4-smoking.html
• http://elifglsen.blogspot.com/2013/06/free-writing-3.html

I have commented on Özlem's and Mizgin's multi-media entries. The links :

• http://ozlemdogann.blogspot.com/2013/04/multi-media-entry-4-uniform-vs-free.html
• http://yektaduhan.blogspot.com/2013/04/blog-post.html

MULTI-MEDIA ENTRY 5: THE HUNGER GAMES

    This video is the official trailer of The Hunger Games. I have chosen this video because it was from film adaption from the novel which is written by Suzanna Collins.

    The film is a 2012 American science fiction adventure film. It stars Jenifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen and Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark. At the beginning of the video, we can see Katniss’ daily life. She hunts with Gale to provide money for her sister and mother. On the next scene, Primrose Everdeen is chosen for The Hunger Games and her sister, Katniss, volunteers to take her younger sister’s place in the games. Katniss and Peeta travel to Capitol, and they were trained by Haymitch Abernathy who is victor of the 50^th Hunger Games.

    When I compared the film with the book, there are a few differences. In the book, feelings are reflected more successfully. Also, the book is more comprehensive than movie. However, this is normal because it is impossible to describing the entire book in two hours. In spite of a few things, the film is quite triumphant. I like both its messages and themes. Jenifer Lawrence is a perfect choice for Katniss. However, another actor could have been chosen for Peeta. Music used during movie is nice.

JOURNAL ENTRY 4: THE HUNGER GAMES

    The Hunger Games is a science fiction roman series written by American writer Suzanna Collins. It was first published on September 14, 2008. Since its release, it has sold 1.000.000 copies. Moreover, the book has been translated into 26 languages. I have chosen this topic because it is one of my favourite series. I have read this series twice. This series consists of three books: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mocking Jay.

    Suzanna Collins states that her inspiration came from on television. On one channel, she saw people competing on a reality show. After, on another show she saw the invasion of Iraq, and idea for the book formed.

    The Hunger Games take place in a nation known as Panem. Panem consists of Capitol and twelve districts. While Capitol is quite wealthy, districts have difficulty in living because of poor living conditions. Long time ago, 13^th distinct rebelled against the Capitol, and it was destroyed. As a punishment of this rebellion, one boy and one girl who are between the ages of 12 and 18 from each distinct are chosen by a lottery. Afterwards, selected children have to participate in Hunger Games. In this game participants have to fight to the death. The book tells us the story of Katniss Everdeen who is a girl from Distinct 12. Katniss and Peeta Mellark who is a schoolmate of Katniss compete for Distinct 12. Hatmitch, victor of 50^th Hunger Games, instructs them. During games, Peeta appears to join another distinct. However, he protects Katniss from others. Everyone believes that Katniss and Peeta have a love affair. Normally, just one person wins Hunger Games. Nevertheless, a rule change, which allows two people from the same distinct to win, is announced. After this event, Katniss and Peeta fight together and win. However, game makers want one winner to kill other one. As a result of this, Katniss and Peeta decide commit suicide, but game makers announce that both Katniss and Peeta as winners.

    The book is quite successful. Lots of famous writers including Stephen King and Stephenie Meyer have made positive comments for it. In my opinion, everyone who read this series will like it.

               

ARTICLE ENTRY: 3 I SURF, THEREFORE I AM

   The article “I Surf, Therefore I Am” states ideas of a teacher about the use of Internet on homework. I have chosen it because almost all of the students use Internet while they are studying.

   Judith Levine says that her students only surf. They don’t read or research. They read neither scholarly articles which are reliable nor books that tell a story and sustain argument. Levine gives some examples. For instance, she says that one of her students submits homework about tobacco companies. However, he even doesn’t know what he is talking about. He just copies and pastes.  Levine gives other examples like this one.

   I agree with the writer on the point that Internet has some negative effects on the student’s homework paper because of two main reasons. Firstly, Internet is reliable to some extent. Information given in articles, books, or journals may be out of date. Namely, the facts that we are sure about their accuracy have been changing day by day. So these sources can misdirect the student. Secondly, the Internet cause students to be lazy since students find the information immediately without making too much effort. Rather than going to libraries they use Internet as the only source for research. This causes students to have limited point of view.          In my opinion, despite negative effects of it, Internet has also positive effects on homework if students know how to use it. First of all, Internet is the most comprehensive library. Students can reach unlimited books, newspapers, articles, and journals in online. Moreover, students can find current information from the Web easily. 

  As a consequence, Internet is both beneficial and harmful according to student’s use. Students must research from trustworthy sites, and take into consideration of source’s validity in order to use Internet correctly. Furthermore, they should not restrict themselves only to the Internet. They must go to libraries, read different sources, and develop their thinking abilities. I have found the article quite successful. Levine’s ideas are logical. Also, examples, which are given by her, make the article interesting.

MULTI-MEDIA ENTRY: 4 E MAIL

   This video is a part of a research. I have found it appropriate to reflecting on because it shows the majority of people are addicted to e mail and texting.

   At the beginning of the video, it is   stated that e mail and texting attract the young. However, plenty of people are addicted to them. Later, a reporter asks people to their ideas about addiction of e mail and texting. Finally, doctor Ronald Davis of the American Medical Association points out that excessive text messaging, e-mailing, and Internet gaming can be considered addictions and classified as compulsive impulsive mental disorder. 

  In my opinion, this is a quite informative video although it is not given detailed information. I agree with the Ronald Davis on the point that e mail and text messaging are addiction. I often see these addictions around me, and I am one of the addicted people. Answers of people are both interesting and worrying. For instance, blond girl in the video says that she cannot stop sending text messages from morning till night. She sends about three to five thousand messages in a month. Another salient example is about a teenager who uses both hands to send message while she is behind the wheel. As a consequence, I have liked the video. 

JOURNAL ENTRY 3: E MAIL

   Electronic mail is a method used for exchanging digital messages from one person to the other one. I have found this topic worth reflecting on because e mail is one of the most important technological developments in our daily lives.

   Sending electronic messages date back to mid-1800s and popularity of e mail has been increasing day by day. In my opinion, e mail affects the quality of our life both negatively and positively. E mail makes people’s life easier in many ways. To begin with, using e mail is beneficial for social life. Communicating with the world gets easy because of e mail. People can contact a lot of people at once. They can correspond with their friends or relatives who live far away. Also, people can create online friendships with chatting. Secondly, using e mail is beneficial for effective use of time since it is quite quick to send or reply to a message. Moreover, People can do their work whenever and wherever they want. For instance, they can even work in travelling. Also, people can reach unlimited documents with a click of a button.

   Despite pros of it, using e mail can make people’s life difficult. Firstly, it can be harmful for people’s social life. If they become addicted to e mail, they can isolate from the real world. Namely, they can prefer chatting to spending their time with their friends or family. Researches indicate that there are more than 11 million people addicted to e mail. They check their e mail more than once an hour. They look at every message which comes in and need to reply the messages instantly. Furthermore, online friendships can be fake ,and so people can be disappointed. Secondly, using email can be harmful to people’s health. For example, doctors say that if people spend too long on their computer, this is bad for their eyes.

   Consequently; e mail is as a tool which has positive and negative effects on people’s life. Unfortunately, like the majority of society, I am addicted to e mail. I check my e mail account more often than I should. I must break this habit.

 

MULTI- MEDIA ENTRY 3: SHOW ME THE WAY TO GO HOME

  

   

   The video is a trailer of “How to Live with Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life)”.   It is an American TV- Serial. It is about the life of Polly (Sarah Chalke) who is a single and divorced mother. Because of economic downturn, she finds herself moving back to her families’ house for a little help.

   At the beginning, she tells herself it is temporary, yet the truth is far from that. Although 6 months has been passed, she still lives with her family. In the video, Polly talks to her mother and stepfather. She wants them to take care of her daughter while she is at dinner and she gives a list of what they must do. 

   I have chosen this trailer because it is an appropriate example of unexpected increase in numbers  of young adults who are living with their families in America. In my opinion, this trailer shows perfectly why people choose to live with their family. Polly goes back to home because it is advantageous in terms of economic issues and emotional issues. She doesn’t have to spend money for food, bill and rents. She doesn’t have to deal with house works on her own since her mother helps her. Moreover, she doesn’t feel lonely and so she is satisfied emotionally.

    I have never watched this TV serial,but it looks fun. I will watch one episode. I hope it will be worth spending time.

ARTICLE ENTRY 2 : SHOW ME THE WAY TO GO HOME

 

   “Show Me the Way to Go Home” is an article about unexpected increase in numbers of young adults who are living with their families in America. I have found this topic interesting to reflecting on because I have learned a new thing thanks to it. Beforehand I had believed that the majority of American adults leaved home when they were 18. However, now I noticed that the truth is far from that. 

   In the article, the writer states that adults prefer living with their families. High divorce rate, declining marriage rate and economic issues are prominent reasons for this situation. Moreover, the writer gives detailed examples. For instance, s/he mentions about the life story of Lucille Carlini. S/he says that Lucille returned home with her two daughters after divorce. Although 20 years have passed since then, she still lives with her family. 

   In my opinion, 18 is to earlier to leave from the house. So I prefer living with my family. Living with family is both advantageous and disadvantageous. Firstly, Living with family is disadvantageous in terms of freedom and social relationships. Namely, people living independently from their family make their own decisions and feel the freedom. Also, they meet more people and improve themselves socially. However, if they share the same house with their family, they have to obey rules of their parents and restrict themselves socially. Secondly, living with family is advantageous for some reasons. These are comfortable living, economical issues and emotional issues. People living with their family don’t have to deal with household chores on their own. Their parents deal with cleaning, cooking, ironing etc. Furthermore, adults sharing the same house with their family live without economic pressure. They don’t spend money for rent, food and bills. Lastly, if people live with their family, they become happier since they feel support of their parents. When they have a problem, family members give advice and help them. Also, they don’t feel homesickness. 

   I think, the article is quite triumphant. It is quite informative and interesting. The examples make it enjoyable.

MULTI- MEDIA ENTRY 2: GUERRILLA MARKETING

   This video is about a campaign of UNICEF. I have found it appropriate to reflecting because it is a perfect example of guerrilla marketing.
   This video tells us the story of UNICEF Dirty Water Vending Machine. Aim of that machine is attracting attention that millions of people around the world cannot access to clean water resources. At the beginning of the video, people fill the bottles with water. However, the water is dirty unlike the water that we drink every day. Afterwards, they offer the water it on the streets of New York.  Everybody looks the water in disgust, and nobody wants to drink dirty water. Later, people learn that every dollar which is donated to will provide safe drinking water to 40 children for a day and so everyone donates. 

   In my opinion, this campaign includes all characteristics of guerrilla marketing. Namely, it is creative and unexpected. Also, it is low-budget. UNICEF has made quite triumphant work with a small amount of money. Furthermore, this campaign implements the most important part of the guerrilla marketing. The men in charge haven’t had to advertise on television. However, all newspapers have written about them. All TV channels have made the news of them.

    As a consequence, I like the way UNICEF advertising since it is shocking and effective.

JOURNAL ENTRY 2: GUERRILLA MARKETING

    Recently, I have shown an interesting video which is about guerrilla marketing on Internet. It has attracted my attention, and I have decided that this topic is worth reflecting on it. Guerrilla marketing is a marketing strategy that is based on nontraditional methods and low budget. Guerilla marketing takes its name from guerrilla because both guerrilla marketing and guerrilla use nonconventional methods. They are both sudden and unexpected.     

   In my opinion, Guerrilla marketing is one of the best marketing practices because of four main reasons. Firstly, it uses the power of creativity. We see hundreds of advertising every day on TV, but we notice few of them since the majority are ordinary. However, if we saw a guerrilla marketing example, we immediately realize it, and we never forget. Secondly, it is unexpected. We can see it anywhere. For instance, in Thailand Colgate made a deal with a local ice cream company. That firm shaped their ice cream sticks like toothbrush. When people finished their ice cream they were shocked because their sticks had Colgate’s logo and a reminder that states “Don’t Forget: Colgate”. When I saw the picture of this guerrilla marketing example, I thought that some people were actually genius. Thirdly, Guerrilla marketing is low-budget. We can make a great work with a small amount of money. Lastly, people learn guerrilla marketing from each other. I think, this is the best part of it since we don’t have to advertise on television. We just need to have a clever idea. If people like it, people all the over world will hear about it via Internet. However, there is one point about guerrilla marketing that I cannot understand. Why do big companies use that strategy? If they were unknown, this would be logical since they guerrilla marketing was a great way to get noticed and gain reputation. However, they are quite famous, and they already make a significant pile of money. For example, why McDonalds need needs advertising? Unfortunately, I don’t know the answer of this question, yet I should admit McDonalds is certainly good at marketing.     

   All in all, I find guerrilla marketing ingenious, effective and funny. I think you should look at some examples of it. I am sure that you will like it.   

  

MULTI- MEDIA ENTRY 1 : RAPPORT-TALK AND REPORT-TALK

  This video is about a new study which was published in the journal of Neuroscience. This study gives us evidence which can support the idea that women talk more than women. I have chosen this video because, unlike Deborah Tannen, researchers of this study think that talkativeness is related to gender and this confused my mind a little. Man that is at the beginning of the video informs us about results of the research. He reports that the average woman speaks about 20000 words a day while the overage man speaks about 7000. Moreover, women usually speak faster and develop more brain power to speak. Later, he explains that women have higher brain levels of language protein, which is called as FOXP2, and this is cause of women’s ability to language. However, the other man says that the research may not be very reliable. I totally agree with that man because it is a research which is coming from just one school. Also, my ideas about talking are almost the same with Tannen. Namely, in my opinion, talking depends on lots of different condition and we must take into account time and place while we are talking about who talks more. As a consequence, it is quite informative despite the fact that I disagree with the information given in the video. You can like it if you share the same ideas with the researchers.

THE ARTICLE ENTRY 1: RAPPORT-TALK AND REPORT-TALK

    “Who talks more: Men or Women?” This question has become one of the most controversial topics throughout history. Deborah Tannen, writer of the article, approaches this question from a different perspective and so I have chosen this article.

   Deborah Tannen says that answer of the question changes from case to case. Namely, women talk more about individual cases while men talk more about communal contexts and she calls these terms as rapport talking and report talking.

   For me, the article is the most rational of writings which I have ever read about tentativeness because fields of interests of women and men are different from each other. We can observe it in our daily lives. Suppose that there is a couple. Woman asks to man how his day is. The man will probably say that“Fine or like any other day” like any other man because majority of the men don’t like talking about this stuff. However, when the man asks the same question to the woman, the result will be much different. The woman most likely will tell everything which has happened during the day to the finest detail. The man even might regret asking such a thing.  :) The woman’s talkativeness results from her tendency to rapport talking. This may explain why people generally think that women are more talkative than men. Let’s think about another situation. In this scenario, when the couple goes to parent- teacher conference, the man will be more willing to speak since he prefers report taking. These stories can be the example for that men use talking to obtain information while women use talking to interaction.          

   In my opinion, the article is both interesting and informative. The writer explains what the rapport talking and report talking are and gives quite vivid examples. Furthermore, she prefers a different way to give information. She mentions about three cartoons and one letter which are about the topic. This makes the article intriguing. As a consequence, Deborah Tannen deserves lots of congratulations. 

JOURNAL ENTRY 1: THE DREAM OF A BUTTERFLY

       Hi everybody :) Today, I will talk about The Dream of a Butterfly. I watched this movie at cinema two weeks ago. It affected me deeply and so I chose this topic.

   The Dream of a Butterfly is a 2013 Turkish drama film based  on biographies of Muzaffer Tayyip Uslu and Rüştü Onur. The film was directed by Yılmaz Erdoğan and starred Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ and Mert Fırat. Events took place in Zonguldak .The film tells the story of two young tuberculous poets.  Muzaffer and Rüştü are two fiends trying to survive by publishing their poems under difficult conditions of Second World War. 

    I have to admit that the film can’t appeal to everyone because it doesn’t have enough action or events are progressing slowly. However, in my opinion, it is an accomplished film in all respects. Firstly, cast of the movie is well-chosen. Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ , Mert Fırat and Farah Zeynep Abdullah are so successful at acting that you can feel their happiness, sadness or physical pain. Belçim Bilgin is the only actor I don’t like in the movie since she is not appropriate for the role of a high school student. I think younger actor should have been chosen for the role of Suzan. Secondly, it reflects the time of events perfectly. Namely, you can feel the atmosphere of the forties. People’s life styles, clothes, speeches and places are appropriate. For instance, there are scenes about mine workers at the beginning of the film. While I was watching the movie, I was surprised how realistic they were. Moreover, physical appearances of actors are quite convincing. For example, Muzaffer and Rüştü are thin and tired because they have suffered from tuberculosis. Also, I want to draw attention to the point of how emaciated Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ is. According to news I have read, Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ lost 13 weights for Kuzey Güney and seven weights for The Dream of a Butterfly  in one year. This shows us that Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ  gives importance to his occupation. Lastly, visual effects, music and poems are perfect. Poem and love are in the middle of everything in that movie. Yılmaz Erdoğan shows us this by saying “Love is the pretext for poetry”. ”Öldükten Sonra” is my favorite poem in the movie ,and I am sure that all of you will find at least one poem which appeals to you. Also, you must know that IMDb rating of The Dream of a Butterfly is 8.2.  As a consequence, The film is worth watching. If you like poetry, you must certainly watch it :)

COMMENTS :)

I have commented on Ebru's and Özlem's journal entries. The links :

• http://rue-sama.blogspot.com/2012/12/journal-set-2-body-size-diversity.html
• http://ozlemdogann.blogspot.com/2012/12/journal-set-2-facebook.html

I have commented on Elif's and Nur's multi-media entries. The links :

• http://elifglsen.blogspot.com/2013/01/set-3.html
• http://gokdemirsddkanur.blogspot.com/2013/01/journal-set-3_20.html

REVISED JOURNAL 4 : PASSION OF SHOPPING

   Generally  people like shopping .Men are reluctant and wait until they need something, but it is a passion for women.It is a form of social interaction.It is about freedom, self confidence.
   Women always have reasons for going shopping.They want to feel relaxed or reward themselves.It is the most suitable activity when they have free time and it is a therapy for them.Also, there are a lot of special days when they need buy gifts like Valiente's Day,anniversary of marriage,birthdays...
   One of the reasons the passion of shopping is shopping centers that we see everywhere. People can buy clothes, jewellery and other things at a discount at these shopping centers. Moreover, they get people encourage for shopping with a lot of advertisement, and so they can extract money from people's pocket.
   Because of these reasons, specially women buy a lot of unnecessary things.Most women  have many hangbags, shoes that they don't wear in their wardrobes. They understand that they needen't  buy so much things.However, they can't help going shopping. They walk into a store without any real purpose or they are in there with the intention of buying one or two items. Furthermore if they haven't enough time to go shopping, they do online shopping.
   Women must take precautions for unnecessary shopping. They should focus on what will really benefit.They should control themselves and get organised. They must do shopping list. If they enter a shop with a list, they will only buy what is on the list. Besides, before they buy anything, they must slow down and think, and they must memorize people who even can't buy necessary things for subsisting.

  

REVISED JOURNAL 3: TRADITIONS

 Tradition is a set of customs and beliefs which have been passed from one generation to next generation over a long period of time. Every community has its own traditions and social rules. For instance, a young in Turkey kisses the right-hand of an older person. After s/he raises the hand of the older person, touches it to his/her forehead. This is the traditional way to demonstrate respect.

 Traditions determine the community’s social relationship and the behavior pattern of people. People know how to behave in daily life with the help of traditions. Traditions develop relationships between people. They are also means of conveying cultural values. Thanks to traditions, national items are transmitted to next generations and unity is provided between old and next generations

While traditions are important in many societies, not all traditions are good ones. Some traditions may be wrong or they may give harm to community if people believe traditions blindly. Namely, people believing traditions blindly cannot think independently. They do not accept the new ideas so they get out of date.

   As a consequence, people must not follow traditions blindly. They must find out reasons or meaning of traditions by questioning. After, they must form their own opinions and act accordingly.

REVISED JOURNAL 2 : AN IDEAL UNIVERSITY

   Universities which are dreamt are different from one another for everyone. For me, an ideal university provides a good education at the highest level. However it doesn't just focus on education of its students. It prepares them to real life too. It helps students develop abilities in different areas like communication, problem solving.

   It is a place where students can think, speak, and investigate freely. In other words; students are allowed to do what they want without being stopped to some extent. It helps students be aware of social problems and tries to find solutions for the problems. It teaches the value of honesty, loyalty etc. Culture and heritage are preserved and developed.

   An ideal university has teachers who are knowledgeable about their subject, concerned about the welfare of students, and supportive. Also, such kinds of teachers really know how to teach. They help students learn content.

   An ideal university must provide a lot of opportunities. It should have comfortable and modern dormitories and provide scholarship for the students that need financial support. Students shouldn't face any transportation problems. Also, there must be social activities at an ideal university.

   METU fits all criteria that I have set for an ideal university. It is one of the most prestigious universities of Turkey. It focuses on the needs and expectations of students. It is a place of interaction.

   There are 18 modern dormitories within the campus. Tv rooms, computer laboratories, and kitchens are available at these dormitories. With ego buses, minibuses, taxis, and ring buses which operate between dormitories and departments, transportation is very easy. The campus is away from traffic jam.

   Cultural, arts, sports events like concerts and conferences are organized for students. Also there are many student groups and societies in METU.

   METU is an ideal university for me. Moreover, it is beyond my wildest dream.

REVISED JOURNAL 1: BEING A STUDENT AT METU

                                 

    Being a student at METU was my goal in high school. Although I have fulfilled my dream, I have some adaptation problems now.

    Firstly; because all my close friends are at a different section, I am so sad. I have difficulty in developing new relationships and adapting to an unfamiliar environment. Living with people who I don't know so much about is a hard condition.

   Secondly, the campus is too complicated and broad. On account of the distance between faculties and dormitories, it takes so much time to go to anywhere.

   Lastly English is the language of instruction at METU.As a consequence of this; I find it difficult to understand my teachers clearly. Moreover, university lessons are more difficult than high school lessons. While I spend less time in class, I study hard at my free time. Also, I need to balance work and social life.

   To cope with the challenges that I am facing, I am trying to get along with my new friends. I communicate my expectations respectfully for avoiding conflict with my roommates. By using maps, I learn where faculties and other buildings are. When I don't understand what teachers are talking about, I ask for help. Also, I attend class regularly and take notes in order to improve my success.

   Despite its hardships, METU provides a lot of opportunities for students. They can find whatever they want or need at shopping centers. Also, there are a wide range of places like cafes, library, post office, health center etc. Besides, there are many social clubs.

   METU gives me the freedom I need. This is one of the advantages of METU for me.

  Consequently, I am happy about being at METU. Despite difficulties, being a student at METU is privilege.

A DEVICE TO PROMOTE LEARNING ENGLISH

 Learning a new foreign language can be compelling for many people. While people try to learn a new language, some problems appear. I think; most probable one is memorizing words since there are a lot of words which should be memorized. However, of course memorizing all of them is impossible. So people need a device or program that will solve these problems.

     On the market there are lots of online programs which translate words; but they aren't useful for us. As programs don't have ability of comment; when we want to translate a sentence or a figurative word, they can't translate words or they translate words absurdly. So I designed a program to solve this problem.

     This program can be used by people of all ages wanting to learn a new language. As I said before it will be an online program. By using this program, we will translate sentences or figurative words properly, beause; when we write the word which will be translated, it will be translated by people who were chosen especially for this job. When we write the sentences or words on computer or mobile phones via this online program, they will translate them immediately and tell us. In other words, we will hear pronunciations of the words from people working at translation centres.These are advantages of the program.

     Although the program is very useful, there may be some disadvantages of it. To illustrate, when there are plenty of people using this program at the same time, it takes some time learning the translation of word. However, this problem can be solved by increasing the number of the people working at translation centres.Firstly, translation centers should be established and people should be employed especially for this job to using this program effectively. As we need manpower for it, using this program will be costly.

     To sum up, learning a new language will be so easy due to this program. It is useful for people from every age. I recommend you to use it.  :)

JOURNAL SET 3 : MULTI-MEDIA ENTRY

     This video is about culture shock. It exemplifies process of adaptation to a new culture and informs us about phases of culture shock.

      At the beginning of the video we see a man in the honeymoon phase. This phase is fun time. This man is so excited and happy since he is in New York that he says a lot of irrelevant things to people walking on the New York Streets. After, we see scenes about crisis phase when people notice even slight differences and don’t like host country. There are three examples of this phase in the video. Firstly, we see four men who come from a tropical country to a cold country. These men are shocked when they feel freezing weather. Secondly, we see a man having difficulty in speaking foreign language. He misunderstands the other man. He thinks that the other man is talking about singing. However the other man is trying to say that he is sinking. Lastly we see people eating insects. The women can’t stand them and faints. Later we see scenes about reintegration phase. In this phase, people feel more confident and relaxed. Most probably, these scenes are the funniest part of the video.

     I think, it is an interesting video and it is highly triumphant. I believe that you will like it. :)

JOURNAL SET 3 :CULTURE SHOCK

  Culture shock is a condition that affects people who go to abroad. Namely, people travelling to a different country have difficulty in adapting to changes and feel confused.

  People going abroad may have problems emotionally. They may feel anxious, angry, frustrated, sad or lonely. For instance, they feel alone since they don’t have any friends with whom they can share their ideas or feelings or they may miss their families, relatives and friends. Moreover they may have problems socially. For example, they do not know what to say what to say when they meet someone new or how to refuse/accept an invitation. They may have problems with language. Also they may find food of host country strange. To illustrate, a person going to China may find people who eat insects disgusting.

   Although these difficulties, culture shock is a temporary situation because the more people learn about host country, the more they adjust the new culture. They learn how to behave in daily life. They know how to react to some incidences. Also, they develop their foreign language abilities and they learn some idioms and metaphors. These make communication easy. Furthermore, they socialize since they make new friends.

    At the end of the process, they combine culture of host country and their own culture .They fell more confident and comfortable. 

JOURNAL SET 2: MULTI-MEDIA ENTRY

      This video is the fragment of a movie which is called as The Invention of Lying. I chose this video because it attracted my attention while I was looking for a video that is about lying.
       The Invention of Lie is a romantic comedy film which is written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson. Ricky Gervais stars as Mark Gervais and Jennifer garner stars as Anna McDoogles. At the beginning of this fragment, there is information about plot of movie. It is stated that people live a world where everyone only can tell truth and no one has ever lies. There are no big lies and not even white lies in this world. After, Mark Bellison is introduced. He goes out on a date with Anna McDoogles who is a beautiful and wealthy woman. However she says that she is not attracted to him because of his looks and financial situation. On the next scene, Mark goes to the bank to close his account because his landlord evicts him for not paying his rent. The officer says that the computers are down and asks him to how much money he has in account. While Mark is about to tell her, a strance reaction occurs in his brain and he tells the world’s first lie. So he takes $ 800 although he has $ 300 in his account. Then Mark starts to lie in a variety of other circumstances. For instance, he gets money from a gambling casino with the help of his lies.

      In my opinion, it is an intriguing video. I am looking forward to watching the entire movie and I recommend you to watch it.  :)

JOURNAL SET 2: WHY DO PEOPLE TELL LIE?

 

    Lying is one of the most common behaviors in society. There are a lot of reasons behind the lies.  

    Firstly, people lie to hide information. In society, people are expected to in a certain manners and when people don’t act like that they can fell disappointed and isolated. However, lying help them to avoid conflict. Lying is easier than meeting expectations of people. Secondly, people lie to gain attention, respect, power etc. Namely, when people create a new truth, it becomes more effective. Thirdly, people tell lie to escape from punishment because they are scared of the consequences of their lies. To illustrate, if a child knows that he has done something wrong and is afraid of being punished by parents, he tends to lie not to be punished. However, many times that just makes it worse because they have to keep on lying. Lastly, people tell lies to deceive other people. For instance, in online world people may hide their own identity and deceive others by giving false information about themselves. Probably, this is the most harmful type of lying because this is like taking other’s belongings or life.

    Despite bad sides of lying, people seem to feel lying in some circumstances is acceptable. For instance, sometimes we can be obliged to say white lies. Howbeit, we must avoid lying.