Bliss English Club

My dear Blissers,

Do you know ocean garbage patches are vast and dispersed?

Can you do something with it?

This coming Saturday on July 20, 2019, our handsome and intelligent Blisser, Wen, is going to lead us to discuss the important issue with us.

Without further undo, welcome to join us and prepare the guided questions before the meeting.

Guided questions:

1.  Can you live in a world without plastic? Which parts is most difficult to you?

2.  What we can do in our regular live that can protect our earth from plastic pollution?

3.  What action you have take for plastic pollution?

4.  Do you know the organization "The Ocean Cleanup?

Agenda：

1.     Self-Introduction

2.     Plastic pollution and our regular live

3.     Single-use plastic and microplastic

4.     News from world wide plastic pollution

5..     "The Ocean Cleanup" Project update   

6..     Question and discussion

<Bliss Recap of “My Trip in America” by Aaron on July 13, 2019

Date: July 13, 2019

Host: Aaron

Topic: My Trip in America

Attendees: Annie, Aaron, Mike Young, Levina, Stephanie, Tony, Angel, Antonio, Winnie, Lynn

Meeting photo: https://photos.app.goo.gl/jBpXK3kNxrSp59po7

Meeting started….

In general speaking, it seemed that everyone got something to say on the topic for over ten people attended Aaron’s first meeting today!

Part I. L.A."Creative Capital of the World"

Los Angeles is known as the above because one in every six of its residents works in a creative industry and there are more artists, writers, filmmakers, actors, dancers and musicians living and working in Los Angeles than any other city.

Firstly, he warmed up by grouping us to discuss the following questions and asked us to present the answers accordingly.

(1)   If you go to other country, which one do you want to visit? City or country? Why?

(2)   Have you been to Los Angeles? If yes, do you like it? Why or why not? If no, do you want to go to L.A.?

(3)   The most progressive city in Taiwan is Taipei, do you like this city? Why or why not?

(4)   Discuss with your partner about 3 pros and 3cons of Taipei.

The questions are life-related so Blissers expressed their ideas comprehensively. Some people would like to choose Boston or L. A. as ideal places, others choose Japan! As for Q3, Taipei needs more improvements on construction and street regulation enforcement although it is acclaimed for the clean MRT and Barrier-free space.

Then he started talking about the geography of L.A.

The city of Los Angeles covers a total area of 1302 square meter, comprising 1214 square meter of land.  Los Angeles is both flat and hilly. The highest point in the city proper is Mount Lukens at 1,547 m, located at the northeastern end of the San Fernando Valley. The eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains stretches from Downtown to the Pacific Ocean and separates the Los Angeles Basin from the San Fernando Valley. Other hilly parts of Los Angeles include the Mt. Washington area north of Downtown, eastern parts such as Boyle Heights, the Crenshaw district around the Baldwin Hills, and the San Pedro district.

Surrounding the city are much higher mountains. Immediately to the north lie the San Gabriel Mountains, Its high point is Mount San Antonio, locally known as Mount Baldy, which reaches 3,068 m. 

Climate of L.A. :Mediterranean climate rainfall during winter

Los Angeles has plenty of sunshine throughout the year, with an average of only 35 days with measurable precipitation annually. The coastal region around Los Angeles has a climate comparable to coastal areas of southeastern Spain such as Alicante or Elche, in temperature range and variation, in sunshine hours and as well as annual precipitation levels.

Landmarks of L.A.

A.     LACMA short for Los Angeles County Museum of Art

He showed us the exhibitions as follows:

(1)   Urban Lights

Artist: Chris-Burden Year-2008; 202 street lamps with 309 bulbs

(2)   Rainroom Artist-Random International Year-2012 Walk in the rainfall without getting wet.

B.      Universal Studio

Other than movie scenes like “Jaws”, “Earthquake”, it adds the scenes of “Harry Potter” which attracts many thousands of children each year!

C.      Disneyland The most favorite for adults and children!

D.     Hollywood

The city's Hollywood neighborhood has become recognized as the center of the motion picture industry and the Los Angeles area is also associated as being the center of the television industry. The city is home to the major film studios as well as major record labels. Los Angeles plays host to the annual Academy Awards, the Primetime Emmy Awards, the Grammy Awards as well as many other entertainment industry awards shows.

E.      Griffith Observatory

The Griffith Observatory is a facility in Los Angeles, California, sitting on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in Los Angeles' Griffith Park. It commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin, including Downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. The observatory is a popular tourist attraction with a close view of the Hollywood Sign and an extensive array of space and science-related displays. Admission has been free since the observatory's opening in 1935.

Then, Host Aaron helps us interact with each other with the following questions:

(1)    Have you been to museum or art exhibition? Do you like it? Why or why not?

(2)    Share your experience to visit the museum with us.

(3)    Have you been to amusement park? Do you like it? Why or why not?

(4)    Which one do you like? Disneyland or Universal Studio? Why?

Part II. Las Vegas:“The Entertainment Capital of the World”

It is an internationally renowned major resort city, known primarily for its gambling, shopping, fine dining, entertainment, and nightlife. The Las Vegas Valley as a whole serves as the leading financial, commercial, and cultural center for Nevada.

The city is famous for its mega casino–hotels and associated activities. It is a top three destination in the United States for business conventions and a global leader in the hospitality industry, claiming more AAA Five Diamond hotels than any other city in the world. Today, Las Vegas annually ranks as one of the world's most visited tourist destinations. The city's tolerance for numerous forms of adult entertainment earned it the title of Sin City, and has made Las Vegas a popular setting for literature, films, television programs, and music videos.

Then Host Aaron introduced us the hotel he stayed and other impressive casino scenes around!

1. Seven Magic Mountains

Built as a public art exhibit by Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone, the 30-foot fluorescent “totems” stand like brightly colored beacons lighting up the desert sky. Rondinone used locally sourced boulders, and chose this location because it’s “physically and symbolically mid-way between the natural and the artificial.”

The Seven Magic Mountains are a temporary exhibit, and will be on display until May 2018.

2. The Cosmopolitan

The resort opened on December 15, 2010, and is located just south of the Bellagio on the west side of Las Vegas Boulevard.

It consists of two high-rise towers, the Boulevard Tower and the Chelsea Tower, both of which are 184 meters tall. The $3.9 billion project features 3,027 rooms, a 10,000 m2 casino, 28,000 m2 of retail and restaurant space, a 3,700 m2 spa and fitness facility, a 3,200-seat theater, and 14,000 m2 of meeting and convention space.

In 2013, the hotel was rated "The Best Hotel in the World" .In 2015, the resort was named to the Condé Nast Traveller Gold List as one of the "Top Hotels in the World“

3.Bellagio

4. Venetian (Venice)

5. The Wynn

Questions for Las Vegas

1. Have you been to casino? Which casino have you been?

(2)     Do you like gambling? Which gambling game you like the most?

Natural Beauty: Canyons

1. Horseshoe Bend

Horseshoe Bend is a horseshoe-shaped incised meander of the Colorado River located near the town of Page, Arizona, United States.

Horseshoe Bend is located 8.0 km downstream from the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell within Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, about 6.4 km southwest of Page.

It is accessible via hiking a 2.4 km round trip from a parking area just off U.S. Route 89 within southwestern Page. Horseshoe Bend can be viewed from the steep cliff above.

The overlook is 1,300 m above sea level, and the Colorado River is at 980 m above sea level, making it a 300 m drop.

2. Antelope Canyon

Antelope Canyon was formed by erosion of Navajo Sandstone, primarily due to flash flooding and secondarily due to other sub-aerial processes. Rainwater, especially during monsoon season, runs into the extensive basin above the slot canyon sections, picking up speed and sand as it rushes into the narrow passageways. Over time the passageways eroded away, making the corridors deeper and smoothing hard edges in such a way as to form characteristic "flowing" shapes in the rock.

Flooding in the canyon still occurs. A flood occurred on October 30, 2006, that lasted 36 hours, and caused the Tribal Park Authorities to close Lower Antelope Canyon for five months.

Questions for Canyons

(1) Which natural landscape do you like the most? Describe it with us!

(2) Which scenery do you like? Mountain or sea? Why? 

Traffic Rules which Host Aaron found different from Taiwan

1.Stop!

2.Pedestrian first!

3.You can turn right on red.

Questions for travelling experiences:

1. Have you been to any country with very different culture or traffic rule?
2. Which country do you want to visit next? Why?

Reflections:

Host Aaron brought us an informative and resourceful afternoon as he was well –prepared for the guided questions during each section, the arrangement of which trigged more interaction and feedback among the audience and made the discussion intriguing! He proceeded and organized the meeting very successfully as an experienced host! We appreciate his efforts together with all the participants’ inputs and look forward to his next meeting soon! Stay Tune!

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