Reading Log : Desert Flower by Waris Dirie

How does the text relate to the theme of a journey?

• Living in the Somali Desert, Waris and her family had no fixed home and were constantly moving in search of water and food for themselves and their animals. This relates to the theme of a journey - the search for survival.
• There was also a journey in search for independence. Brought up in an environment influenced by traditional African culture, as a daughter, her life was determined by her parents. When she escaped from home, refusing to marry the man her father chose for her, it was the beginning of her journey, traveling from Somalia to London, and many other places thereafter. She achieved her independence as a successful model and later, a UN Ambassador.
• “A Healing Journey” – the award-winning segment made about Waris’ story of surviving female circumcision. This itself is a revelation about how Waris survives through female circumcision. Her journey of meeting new people, placing her trust in people and helping the people around her is in itself a journey to heal her, mentally and physically so that she is able to live in liberty from the darkness of her childhood.

What is the main issue in the text?

• The daily lives of the traditional Somalian nomads. They live without facilities and have to survive with whatever nature provides them with. Despite their harsh life in the desert, Waris and her family survive and make best of what they have.
• Gender discrimination among the nomad society in Somalia. Daughters are sold off in exchange for camels and have to obey the men. All daughters are circumcised, having to suffer in order remain virgins for the men who will marry them later on. This gender mutilation puts many girls at risk, causing genital diseases and even death. The operation itself is done without anesthetic, medical instruments or a proper procedure.
• A black woman from Africa fighting for survival in a world of discrimination. It was difficult for Waris because as a poor Somalian with no proper education, she was looked down by society. The book is written to show the minority that anything is possible, as long as you put your heart into it.

What quality do you admire or dislike in a character?

• Her resourcefulness. She tackled her problem intelligently and came up with brilliant plans and ideas. Her brilliant mind rescued her from being raped and ensured her survival in London. The lack of official documents did not dampen her spirits to travel. Instead, she devised ways to obtain the needed documents.
• Her courage at tackling new things in life. She was not afraid of standing up and protecting her dignity. To escape the fate of being a man’s property for life, she ran away from the only place she calls “home” and dared to venture out into the unknown world on her own. Although she had to live in an alien country where the people did not even speak her language, she was not afraid and dared to test her skills and survived solely on her daring and brave personality.
• Waris is a person who was very grateful of what she had. Although she had such a harsh childhood, she is still very of her African heritage. Her life in the desert taught her to appreciate the nature. Despite her father’s treatment, Waris still loves him and never blamed him for what he did. She is very grateful for everything her mother had done for her, and loves her very much.

How does the text develop your understanding of the world?

• I finally realize that nature is one of the most important aspects of the world. For without nature, we humans will be unable to survive. Waris and her family were very dependent on nature, always searching for water in the Somali desert. They rejoiced when the rain fell, for with it came the richness of nature – the growth of plants and food for themselves and their animals.
• I understand now why some things do not go as planned. Our lives are sometimes in the hands of fate and destiny; our path of life already determined. Sometimes, there is nothing much that we can do about it. Waris believed that she survived because of God’s will,that she was saved from the lion because she was meant to survive. Although some parts of her tough life did not go the way she wanted it, she believed that it was because she was meant for greater things, planned for her by God.
• My childish imagination of the world being a wonderful place was due to the fact that I was brought up in the comfortable environment of my home. However, this book portrays that in reality, the world is a very harsh place to live in. Danger is everywhere, and I must be diligent, alert, quick-minded and courageous to be able to protect myself and survive the hardships. Waris possessed a brilliant mind and a brave personality. She endured many hardships as a child- working hard in the desert, female circumcision and gender discrimination. This did not stop Waris from striving hard to gain independence and success. There were many dangers when she escaped from Africa. Nevertheless, she managed to leap over the obstacles, becoming what she is today.

POV: Third person

It was 11am and Nikita Razali was snoozing on her bed, wavering between her sweet dream and her reality. She was aware of the time, but simply too lazy to get up. She remained curled up on the bed, squeezing her eyes shut from the sunlight blaring in to put up a pretence to trick her mother. However, unlike fathers, mothers are never fooled. Her mother's piercing voice harshly brought her back to reality. Grumbling to herself, she reluctantly dragged herself out of the bed to crawl towards the bathroom.

After a light brunch of half-boiled eggs and cheese toast, her daily routine on sunny Saturdays began. She cleared the dishes, hung the washed clothes and folded the dry ones while laughing herself silly over the movie "Alvin and the Chipmunks." Her parents arrived back home with a small surprise - McDonald's take-away. It was her favourite - the double-cheese burger. All thoughts of her 2010 resolution to lose weight conveniently crumbled to dust as she gobbled up and savoured each bite.

Her Saturdays were normally time spent on college homework and assignments as well as spending time with her family, whom she saw only twice a week. However, this particular Saturday turned her life upside down. As day gradually turned into night, doom arrived. Her RM4000 pink Sony VAIO Laptop, the laptop she had only purchased ten months ago, turned "bonkers", giving out nerve-wrecking sounds of groaning and crackling. The fact that she needed the laptop for her next two assignments did not help. She remained sullen and cursed her brother, who, naturally, rubbed it in.

Her entire Saturday was ruined. After staying up till 2am to back up her files to prepare for the laptop service, she slipped into a dreadful slumber, and longed for her mother's piercing voice to snatch her away from the nightmare.

Classifying Thinkers

We don't really know how to define intelligence. However, this does not discourage some people from categorizing others according to their intelligence or lack of it. In his essay, "Thinking as a hobby," author William S. Golding does exactly this. Golding divides people into three categories: grade-three thinkers, grade-two thinkers, and grade-one thinkers.

According to Golding, 90 percent of the population represents the largest category, called grade-three thinkers. These people are docile. They follow orders and they obey other people's wishes. They never learn to think for themselves and cannot distinguish truth from lies. A dictator could take control of them and make them do whatever he wanted, as if they were sheep. The resulting mob would be brutal and ugly.

Grade-two thinkers, Golding's second category, are less likely to be influenced by a dictator. These grade-two thinkers, who make up 9 percent of the population, see corruption in the world. For example, grade-two thinkers may question the honesty of religion or political institutions,but they fail to find new ideals to believe in.

The remaining 1 percent of the population are what Golding calls grade-one thinkers. They not only see corruption, but they also know how to seek truth. Their lives are defined by beauty, wisdom and knowledge. Such thinkers are creative and imaginative geniuses, like Mozart, Michelangelo, and Einstein, who opened new worlds in music, art and science.

One wonders in which category Golding would place himself. Surely not among the "sheep"! Golding may prefer to believe that intelligence prevents people in the top tenth percentile of the population from following political dictators, but the number of doctors, teachers, lawyers, and writers in many countries who were willing supporters of Hitler, Stalin, and Mao shows that this belief is incorrect. In fact, sometimes the common sense and compassion of the ordinary man is all that stands between civilization and barbarism. As one of the so-called sheep, I say bah to Mr. Golding!

1. (Thesis statement highlighted in green)
Golding classifies thinkers into three grades which are grade-three thinkers, grade-two thinkers and grade-one thinkers.

2. (Topic Sentences are underlined)

3. The 90 percent of the population is described as docile, willing to succumb to orders without thinking or analysing the situation first. They are known as grade-three thinkers. The 9 percent of people are less docile and question the authority, analysing but fail to bring in new ideals to believe in. The 1 percent of the population are grade-one thinkers. They question, analyse and seek the truth behind the corruption. They live by beauty, wisdom and knowledge.

4. (Examples underlined)

5. The writer thinks that Golding's statement about the grade-one thinkers being free of corruption is assumed and cannot be proven for there are many examples of intelligent individuals involved in corruption. The writer scoffs at Golding's assumption that intelligence marks the difference between civilisation and barbarism. He contradicts it, arguing that human common sense and compassion are the factors that really play a role in distinguishing the difference between humanity and barbarism. This is proven in the last paragraph.

6. To support her argument against Golding's point of view, the writer uses examples of intelligent professionals, such as doctors, teachers, lawyers and authors who have supported political corruption.

Structured Writing

Loving today

We study the past, the present and the future. We analyze it, we research about it and we interpret it - simply for the purpose of improving the quality of human life. However, each of us are different of opinion when it comes to "living the moment." Some of us would give anything to be in the past, while others drool at the prospects of the future, seduced by the famous saying - " the future is in our hands." Personally, I believe that yesterday, today and tomorrow have their attracting factors. Nevertheless, the present time, the moment that I am living in now, is the one and only time that I believe is worth living for - for it is only today that I have the opportunity to appreciate my family, to determine my future and to achieve my dreams while I am able to.

The present offers what would probably be absent in the future - my family. My family plays the backbone of my life for without them, I would have crumbled and ceased to exist in this world. Spending my 18 years with them has taught me about certain values of life which cannot be picked out from physical materials. The amount of support, love and time that they have given me has developed a feeling of appreciation and love that can never be replaced. Hence, being able to love them, to cherish them and to care for them is something I would never give up. The present allows me to do so, because as time goes by, things will always change and I may lose them. Being there for them now is never too late.

Perhaps the other reason why I love the time I am living in now is that I am able to make changes and in a way, prepare for the future. Although I am aware that the future is mysterious and things may not go as planned, I personally believe that a little hard work today to shape my tomorrow would not hurt. Unlike the past, where everything is fixed and has happened, the present time allows me to make appropriate changes where needed. I am able to prepare and plan while being aware of the consequences because I live in today's time and have a basic understanding of the modern world today.

Lastly, the present time is when I am living healthily and, in some ways, luxuriously and able to devote my full attention to my academic needs - the road in pursuit of my dreams. The prime age of 18 to 19 is, as I sometimes categorise it as - not too old, not too young. I am able to chase my dreams, being too old to be controlled by my family, and being too young to be given absolute freedom of living without family protection. Devoid of the responsibility of earning money and supporting myself, I can my full concentration in my studies, which is one of the most important aspects to survive today's competitive world.

Therefore, as proven by the points above, for me, the present time is the best moment to live in. Living with my beloved family, shaping my future and having the opportunity to pursue my dreams while I am young and able to, has developed my love for today. If ever given a choice between a time machine and a clock, I would chose the latter any day, for with it, I can learn to appreciate every second and minute that passes by as I live and savour the moment.

The Thesis Statement: Creating Unity

3. Yes

4. No
Explanation: no reasons given

5. Yes

6. No
Explanation: no facts or reasons given.

7. No
Explanation: Does not give an overall idea; more like an argument than a heading.

Topic Sentences
(based on Thesis Statement No 3 from above)

Body para 1
Future technological advancement and progress will make changes to our world and way of thinking.

Body para 2
The wide-spread use of democracy in our society will be one of the factors guaranteeing a better life than today.

Body para 3
Tomorrow will see a different world and way of thinking, due to development and discoveries in the medical field.

Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal verb

verb + preposition/s
eg. : run down
run out of
run into

(NB: Answers are highlighted in green.)

1. Guess who I ran into at the club!
2.She's always running into her husband.
3.I need to go to the market.I've run out of oil,meat and rice.

Put in a suitable preposition in each space.

1. Hundreds of people turned up in the rain to see the celebrity.
2.Most of my time is taken up with answering the phone.
3.Don't be put off by the price,a cool $ 20,000.
4.Something funny is going on.
5.I think she made up the whole story!
6.Not many people turned up for the last lecture.
7.Don't worry,you can count on me.

Word Collocation

Which word completes each set of collocations or fixed phrases?

a) an instrument _panel_______
a panel of experts
a control panel
a wooden panel

(NB: Answers are highlighted in green.)

b) a_secret_ballot
a_secret_agent
keep it a_secret_
meet in _secret_
the_secret_of success

c) take _control_ of the situation
it's out of _control_
the _control_ exchange
the _control_ market


d) a _time_ sheet
a _time_ zone
only _time_ will tell
long _time_ no see
for the _time_ being


e) a _child_ minder
_child_ abuse
_child_ care facilities
a _child_ prodigy
behaving like a _child_

Working Retired

Answers:

1. At the age of 18, you are eligible to vote. Later at age 21, you are allowed to consume alcoholic drinks. The age 35 allows an individual to campaign as a political leader and 65 is the retirement age.

2. Some are doing so because they have to in order to support themselves in a world where living costs are increasing day by day, especially health care costs and security payments. Some are still working because they enjoy their job so much that they are not willing to leave the working world. They are constantly filled with new ideas and inspirations for their job.

3. The phrase implies that Mr Burson is constantly thinking and inventing new approaches to his work. He is clearly not bored with his work and loves it so much to the extent he still wants to donate ideas that may improve his work.

4. Despite the fact that Americans have the right of 13 vacation days, they allow more than twice as many to go unused. Statistics in 2006 have shown that 23% of the Americans surveyed checked their email and voice mail while away from work, compared to the 16% in 2005.

5. The author says it in a matter-of-fact tone, in a tone to emphasize the incredulity of the matter.

6. When someone calls their 70-year-old parents, they find that their parents are too busy in the office to look after their grandchildren.

7. This means that the idea of "retirement" is no longer practised in the modern society. The image itself - a painted picture of what retirement would be like - should prepare itself for its own "retirement", for it will soon disappear.