Manzanar Visit

Four hours north of Pasadena lies a historical site of American history. There in the desert is the location of a World War II internment camp where the U.S. government wrongfully locked away American citizens of Japanese decent after Japan bombed the Hawaiian military base at Peral Harbor. Citizens loyal to the U.S. and the country's interests during this time of war were gathered and spent years locked in these camps watched by armed guards. Their lives were forever changed. Families may have been split apart. Businesses, property, homes, belongings all lost and stolen when they left them behind. Their stories are amazing.

 

You can read one young girl's story in the book, Farewell to Manzanar. Look for it at your local library or even buy it for a few dollar off of http://www.amazon.com/. There are many more autobiographies available. And people still living in the Pasadena area could even tell you about friends or family that lost so much during this time.

 

A memorial at the internment camp in Manzanar at the side of the highway.

Is that American or British?

I get a lot of questions in class like, "Is that only in American English or British, too." And sometimes I just don't know! I'm an American English speaker who does not have enough exposure to British English other than through the modern media and literature. It's a limited knowledge.

But, nonetheless, we know enough to be able to make fun of one another's accents. Here is a very comical video of a trailer (preview) for a fake movie that Saturday Nigh Live did. In the beginning we can understand what the characters are saying. But as soon as the villian threatens the lead man and holds up a picture of his daughter, they start speaking gibberish. They're not saying any intelligible words but nonetheless it sounds British! I got a good laugh out of it. See what you think.