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ESOL PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECT 2012-2013

TYRONE MIDDLE SCHOOL

“My Culture”

English for Speakers of Other Languages

Funded through Title III

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ESOL PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECT 2012-2013

TYRONE MIDDLE SCHOOL

“My Culture”

The purpose of the photography project at Tyrone Middle School was to get the English

Language Learner students engaged with some basic knowledge about photography, became

familiar with compositional rules of taking pictures such as, mergers, rule of thirds, balance,

lines, simplicity, framing, and repetition. But most of all, the purpose was for ELLs to build

background knowledge, gain new academic vocabulary, enhance their language skills through

oral presentation of their projects and their experiences, socialize with their peers and teachers in

school through engagement with organizing the presentation and voting for the best project,

along with advancing their writing skills through an experiential approach to essay writing using

their experiences from the project and utilizing the writing strategies which meet the criteria of

the Common Core State Standards.

The outcome of this project was compiled in this digital story book.

Hooray for our Digital Storytellers!

Please enjoy the journey!

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Students receiving the cameras

Field work

Curriculum Day

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

STUDENT STORIES AND PHOTOS

My Baby Brother by Abrew Naranjo, Yenifer .................................. 5

My Special Niece by Beganovic, Adallisa ........................................ 6

My Family by Borici, Rando............................................................. 7

My Traditional Clothing by Bounsanor, Thiphaphone .................... 8

My Cute Baby Sister by Chen, Ce .................................................... 9

My House by Chou, Soriya ............................................................. 10

Tamales by Crispin, Kevin ............................................................. 11

My Chickens by Dominguez, Anisley ............................................. 12

My Brother by Eguiguren, Karla Lucia ........................................... 13

My Favorite Food by Guilarte, Laura ............................................. 14

Buddhism by Hol, Lester V. .......................................................... 15

My Family by Kabamba, Beril........................................................ 16

Albania by Krasta, Elda ................................................................. 17

My Baby Sister by Mendez, Ronaldo ............................................. 18

The Mosque by Musa, Siham ........................................................ 19

My Mom and Baby Sister by Odalis Mayorga, Jennifer ................ 20

My Turtle on my Sister’s Shoe by Olivares, Damaris ..................... 21

Balancing by Padron, Suney ......................................................... 22

My Lovely Cousins by Rafa, Fariha ................................................ 23

My Lovely Aunt by Reyes, Christopher ......................................... 24

My Brother and Two Cousins by Suljic, Jennifer ........................... 25

Laotian New Year by Thongdara, Jeffry K. .................................... 26

My School by Montes-Troncoso, Rosa .......................................... 27

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My Baby Brother by Jennifer Abreu, 8th

grade

Hi! My name is Jennifer Abreu; I’m

13 years old and I from Cuba. I came

from Cuba almost three years ago; I

came with my mom and stepdad. I live

in St. Petersburg in an apartment full

of love. I’m short, funny, crazy, and

shy. My friends say that I look like

my mom, she is so pretty. I really

miss Cuba. I miss my Dad, my friends

and my family.

Every person has something that

makes us special or unique. My country makes me unique because of the culture. In Cuba, we

are always happy, helping people, making someone feel better. Cuba has a lot of wonderful

places. For example, Varadero is a beautiful beach; everybody goes there. The water is so clean

and transparent, that is only one of many places. Cubans love to spend time with their families

and parties all the time. The food in Cuba, I love it! It has a great flavor. Something that

represents my country is my baby brother; his name is Jason. He is handsome and always happy,

just like Cuba! My baby brother made my life so much harder. I have to change diapers, I have

to take care of him, but at the same time, he makes me really happy, especially when I saw his

little face for the first time and when he holds my finger. He makes me feel lovely when he calls

me “TATA” (is a Spanish world that means sister). I love him! And I love spending time with

Jason.

I will remain Cuban because I’m proud of my country. I’m really glad to be part of this

photography project, I’ve learn so much from this. I’m thankful that I had been chosen for this

project. I tried my best!

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My Special Niece by Adallisa Beganovic, 6th

grade

Zdravo, Guten Morgen! My name is Adallisa Beganovic. I

am 12 years old. On August 27, 2000 a new baby was born and

that was me. I was born in Mal, Germany. I’m proud to be

Bosnian and that is my native language. When I was only 6

months old I came to St. Petersburg, Florida. We did not know

ANY English but my family started to work and they learned

English. My sisters and brother went to school and me of

course I was stuck with a baby sitter. Now I am 12 years old

and I go to Tyrone Middle School. I have three siblings and

I’m the baby in the family. I have a big family. My older

sister’s name is Harisa, she’s 24 and she is a mother of two.

My second sister’s name is Jasminka and she is a mother of

only one. My only brother is 19 and I love him a lot. I have 16 cousins. My culture -I’m proud to

be Bosnian, German and American.

I’m going to introduce you to a photo that I chose to represent my culture I picked my niece.

She means a lot to me. She’s four years old she turned four on May 8, 2013.When I took this

photo I know she loves to pose and model so I told her “show me what you got” she went by the

door and BOOM she had a great pose I tried to get some good angles from her and it worked. I

hang out with her 24/7, we play and eat and do many stuff together we dance our tradition dance

from Bosnia and it’s called “kolo”. She is a fast learner and she has some of the moves coming

from her heart, when I teach her stuff I feel like a teacher. We don’t celebrate anything but I

went to my parents’ 25th

anniversary party and I danced and laughed my niece made my day.

All I can say about me is that I’m awesome and fun to be around with. I like to have fun with

my family and friends. I love to dance my tradition dance and that’s “kolo”. My favorite color is

blue, green and purple those colors are just amazing. Thank you for allowing me to be part of

this wonderful photography project. I really enjoyed it. I learned techniques during this project

that I did not know about. I promise I will try to remember them in the future using my camera

taking photos of my family, friends, and my special niece!

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My Family by Rando Borici, 7th

grade

Hey my name is Rando Borici and I from Albania. I have

one brother, his name is Shkelzen. I was born on March 9,

2000. My 2 cousins and my aunt came in Albania when I was

little. In 2009 my family and I were going to move to Florida

I was so happy to meet my aunt and my 2 cousins here in Saint

Petersburg, Florida. My family went and said goodbye to the

other family in Albania because we were about to move .When

we came to Florida I saw my cousins and my aunt at the

airport, and I was full of joy because I have not seen them for

years. Then we went to live in their house until we got situated

in the new country we to get our new house.

I like to take pictures. I really enjoyed photographing places and people and then posting them

on Facebook! So my friends and family in Albania can see my way of living here in Saint

Petersburg, Florida. I learned different techniques of taking photos with the Photography Project,

so I enjoyed even better the photography project!

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My Traditional Clothing by Thiphaphone Bounsanor, 6th

grade

“Sa bye dee” means hello in LAOS. My name

is FON and I am from Laos. I came to America

when I was 9 years old to live with my Dad that

came and lived here before us. In LAOS, my

culture revolves around Buddhism. We believe

in Buddha and monks. In Laos, we wear clothes

that are handmade from natural things. Woman

in Laos wear a dress or a skirt that we wear to

school and the temple. In Laos, the most

fabulous festival is NEW YEAR, which is occasioned between 13th

and 15th

of April each year.

NEW YEAR is when we go around and splash water on people and wish them good luck with

their lives. EVERY year my Mom and I always go to the temples to celebrate NEW YEAR we

get to see people that we haven’t seen for a long time. I asked my Mom about why we celebrate

it and what for. No one knows why because there are so many different stories about it, but one

thing my mom told me is that NEW YEAR means to forget the bad things in your life and let

good things come in. LAOS language is Lotion dialect, spoken by the ethnic minority group

living in LAOS. LAOS language is a very polite language such as ‘’jao and doi’’. Laos

interment is mostly make out of bamboo pipe. It’s also all made out of natural things around us.

The clothing we wear in LAOS for woman we have to wear properly such as silk skirts we wear

it to a ceremonies the upper part of the skirt is over the waist and the lower part of the skirt is

suitable. MEN in Laos wear traditionally simple pants, shirts and vests. The Chinese-style shirt

that has large sleeves brightly colored band or sash at the waist and it’s popular for both men and

women.

Now you know who I am and that I’m so proud of who I am and where I came from. I am so

happy to do this project because I get to show people about my culture and why I celebrate it. I

am also so happy to live in AMERICA. AMERICA is a great place to live because everyone

has their own rights and you can celebrate any culture!

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My Cute Baby Sister by Ce Chen, 8th

grade

Hi my name is Chen Ce. I’m fifteen years old and I from

China. I like to play basketball, games, and read books. I came

to United States almost four years ago. When I came to United

States, I had very opposite mixed feelings, I was scared and at

the same time I was excited. When I saw people walking in the

street and I heard that they did not talk Chinese but English, I

was not exited to communicate at all. When I came from

another country China to the United States I found out many

differences between my country and United States. I was very

nervous about people who were trying to talk to me, I tried to

be their friend but I was nervous to talk to them. My country

makes me unique; I speak two languages English and Chinese.

I like to play basketball because it is fun and it can help me get

more friends in the game, help me with team work and I can grow taller. Besides playing

basketball I like to read detective books, it is lots of fun to read detective books, I can sit in the

chair and read all day long, and every time when I see the detectives that they solved the case I

am very excited. When I grow up I want to be a detective in the police department. I like to

celebrate Chinese New Year, its fun for the children. My aunts, uncles always were giving me

new clothes and money. I remember when I was child my family was all coming to my home to

visit my grandmother and my mom and dad, we all were together sharing story about the

passing year. The most excited part is that students in China are in winter break for one month

for the New Year.

Let me tell you about my photo. I took photo of my cute sister because she is part of my life and

l like to take care of her. She is the second Chinese generation in my home .In my country when

the parents are busy with work the big brother or sister need to take care of the siblings; this is

part of my culture. Finally I am glad that I was chosen to be part of the Photography Storytelling

Project. I tried my best to win the reward. Right now I talk to everyone, I am not nervous about

talking to other people. I was trying to learn the English from my friends and my teachers, I am

second language learner so I need to learn English even better in order to communicate with

everyone.

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My House by Soriya Chou, 7th

grade

Hi my name is Scoria Chou and

I am 13 years old, my birthday is

on June 13. I live in the United

States with my family. My parents

came from Cambodia, I was from

Lowell. I have 2 brothers and 1

sister. I am the oldest child out of

my family.

The picture I had taken was in an

elevator on the parking lot. I was

curious if I was able to take a good

picture while the elevator was moving down. I was on my way to the beach with my aunt uncle

brother and my cousin. Every year we celebrate Cambodian New Year it lasts about 2-3 weeks.

Every year me and my family go to a hall and have a big New Year party there with lots of other

people and I also perform there with my dance class. There are 6 girls and 4 boys who all dance.

My family also goes to Jacksonville the next week for New Year. There is many food and

singing going on in Jacksonville. They have raffle tickets to win prizes like laptops, a mini IPod,

and even a flat screen TV.

In conclusion I would like to say that I love taking photography class! I got to learn on how to

take nice pictures and got to hang out with my friends in that class.

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Tamales by Kevin Crispin, 6th

grade

Hi, my name is Kevin I am from

Outumba, Mexico. My favorite food

is spaghetti and my favorite sports are

baseball and soccer. I like to draw and

sometimes read. My family is from

Mexico except for my brother; he is

from Georgia. My family and I came

to the USA because it was harsh in

Mexico. Where I am from, we

celebrate Day of the Donkey where we

dress donkeys up like people. We also

celebrate Day of the Dead; we celebrate all of the dead people.

Let me share a little bit about my photo: Tamales are a popular Mexican dish and it takes a while

to make them, like 1 or 2 hours. There are all sorts of tamales like pineapple. My family loves

tamales! It looks easy to make but it is a long process. They can have chicken, cheese, or be just

plain. My favorite is pink tamale. I forgot what is in it. I think it was candy. All of them are

delicious. Tamales are covered with something that looks like a leaf. The tamales are about 6 or

7 inches long I guess.

More about me: I like to go outside and play with my brother. I am good at games on I pads and

Wii. Some of the games I’ve played are WWE Wii sports and others. I also like to read. Some

of the books I’ve read are Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Harry Potter. I like to use computers and I

also like to go swimming with my Mom and brother. That is all about me.

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My Chickens by Anisley Dominguez, 7th

grade

Hello, my name is Anisley and I came

from a small island in the Pacific Ocean.

Do you know what that island is called?

Well it can possibly be one of the loudest

places you know because of how loud

everyone talks. Do you know yet? If you

said Cuba you are a smart person because

you are correct. Yes, I am from Cuba

which means I can be really loud and I

have a lot of energy especially when it

comes to dancing. I am a shy person so

it’s hard for me to dance in public but

after I start to dance I stop being too shy.

Cuba is the one island you can find the loudest people you can ever meet and everyone is really friendly

in fact, everyone knows each other. If you don’t know we are from Cuba you might think we are arguing

but we really aren’t. Every time I go on vacation, it can be Cuba or Miami I always wake up to the sound

of my family’s voice. I can speak 3 languages Spanish which of course is my first, English is my second

but when I can’t say the word or don’t know it but I know it in Spanish I say it in Spanish and continue

the sentence in Spanish and then go back to English my friends and I named it Spanglish, and finally sign

language but I’m not a pro at it, I’m still learning. Lots of people know what they want to be when they

are older but I’m not sure of what I want to be when I’m older but I got time to think about it. I like to

take pictures and draw; I also love to listen to music. I’ve tried writing music but I need to learn how to

play an instrument first so I can give it a beat. I’m learning how to play guitar so I’ll be writing music

soon.

Let me tell you about my photo. I have lots of pets but they are not normal everyday pets I don’t have a

cat or a dog I have chickens, parakeets, fish, and bunnies. My mom started the whole idea she said it

would keep us connected to Cuba since we lived on a farm. My mom is the one that mostly feeds them

but sometimes my brother Jatnier, my dad Javier, and I feed them. When we first got them they use to

wake us up really early and we got really mad but now we are used to it. I have lots of plants too; we have

tomatoes, avocados, mangos, and bananas. It’s fun to be able to connect to Cuba after all I haven’t been

living there for a long time. I came to the U.S.A when I was 5 years old. You should try to connect to

your culture sometimes too.

In conclusion, Cuba is a very loud place and fun because all the energy there is in everyone, but mostly

because of the danceable music. Lots of people have different cultures so tell us about yours, because

culture is a huge part of what makes you well, it makes you unique!

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My Brother by Karla Eguiguren, 7th

grade

Hi, my name is Karla Eguiguren.

Everyone has that one unique thing

and mine is my culture. I was born in

Florida but my family is from Cuba. I

am really thankful for what I have. In

the following paragraphs I will tell

you about my culture.

I have a really big family. I have lots

of cousins. We are always together. I

have an older sister and younger

brother. I love them both equally. My

little brother is so cute; he’s a piece of my world. We’re like peanut butter and jelly. That’s why

he’s been chosen to be on the picture. And my sister is the straw to my berry, we argue a lot but

yet we can’t be without each other.

At my house, my mom cooks every day; we are not like Americans who eat fast foods. Cubans

talk really loud, so sometimes people think we are arguing but that’s just the way Cubans are.

We are very fun and joyful people. Cubans love music and parties. We are very close to our

family. And we’re proud to be who we are. Hispanics don’t celebrate sweet sixteen’s. We

celebrate fifteens. This means you are now hitting a woman stage. Only girls who turn fifteen

celebrate this. This is a huge party involving a big dress. You take professional pictures and keep

them as memories. You dance, eat and have fun. In July we are celebrating my sister’s fifteenth.

For birthdays, we have big parties and big family dinners. We celebrate all holidays together.

New Year’s is the biggest party we have.

Well, now you know how I’m unique. I hoped you enjoyed reading about my culture. I am very

happy to be in this project. I learned lots of things about photography!

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My Favorite Food by Laura Guilarte, 8th

grade

Hello, my name is Laura Guilarte. I’m

from Cuba I am 14 years old. I came

from Cuba 2 to 3 years ago; I came with

my Mom and my little sister. I live in St.

Petersburg in an apartment full of love.

I’m short, funny, crazy and shy. My

friends say that I look like my sister; she

is so beautiful. I really miss my country- Cuba. I miss my family and my friends.

About my photo: On the day of my fifteenth birthday, I want to eat lobster and shrimp. It is a

very special dish in my culture. In Cuba, I eat a lot of seafood, especially fish and shrimp. But

apart from all that, it is my favorite dish because my grandmother made me shrimp and fish

when I lived in Cuba. Also, I want dessert and chocolate coconut cake. I can tell you that Cuban

food is so delicious.

I am very happy to be in this project. I learned a lot about taking photos and knowing how to use

them. What I like about my culture is the food because there are a lot of dishes unique to Cuba. I

tried my best in this project and gave my all!

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Buddhism by Lester Hol, 6th

grade

My name is Lester Hol I was

born in the United States. I speak

Cambodian and English. My mom

was born in Thailand but my dad

was born in United States, and he

speaks Cambodian; his Dad was

born in the Cambodia. My

Grandma and Grandpa were born

in Cambodia. My Mom came

down with my Grandma and

Grandpa to the United States to

live a better life because it was

hard in Cambodia. I’m Buddhist and every April 12th

, there and other places where Asian culture

exists, Cambodia celebrate their own New Year-its call Khmer. We go to a temple and pray for 1

or 2 hours. After the 1or 2 hours, we begin our New Year playing games and watching people

dancing to Cambodia songs. Let me introduce my photo: This is a photo of where my parents and I pray because this is an

important picture in our house. The picture of the young men is my Mom’s younger brother.

The old lady is my Grandma’s Mom. I, Lester, was chosen to do this project because I am a respectful student to the teacher or

whoever is talking. I wanted to do this project because I want more people to learn more about

me and Cambodian culture!

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My Family by Beril Cabamba, 6th

grade

Hi, my name is Beril Kabamba and

I am from Congo Democratic

Republic-Africa. My parents are from

Congo as well. I came to United States

two years ago. I like to live here but I

miss my country a lot. I have four

sisters, and one brother. I like to play

basketball and football. My favorite

sport is basketball, and I really like to

play with my brother Jordan.

Let me tell you a little bit about my

photo that I took with the camera. It was 6:30 in the morning and it was a perfect time to get a

picture of a few of my lovely family members, my father older brother and the sister. We are a

busy family, so I thought what a wonderful time to get a group photo of them, using my camera

flashlight! I took the photo in the front of our apartment in the way of my father going to work.

Thank you for choosing me to participate in this photography project. I learned a lot with Ms.

Shannon, I think I will enjoy continue taking pictures and improving my photography skills. I

hope I win.

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Albania by Elda Krasta 7th

grade

Hi, my name is Elda Krasta. I am

13 years old; my birthday is in June

26. I am from Albania, I have two

big sisters one is married she is 20

years old the other one is 17 years

old. I loved to cook with my aunts

and have so much fun in Albania. I

always danced with my sisters in my

grandmother house it was fun even

my uncle was dancing he was really

funny. Every time it is my birthday

or my cousins’ birthday we all go to

my grandmother house and do parties and open presents; we do everything in my grandmother

house because she has a bigger house. I like to go shopping with my sisters and go to the movies,

we laugh and we have a lot of fun everywhere. I always dream of going to places like Hawaii

with my family and we having fun. I like to travel everywhere and have fun in the airplane is so

nice it has TV and music you can listen to and you even sleep comfortable. When I was little I

always dream to go on an airplane and now my dream came true and I am so happy. Since I

came to America I started learning more English but one thing I didn’t forget is Albania

language.

I came here in America when I was 9 years old; I didn’t know English so I had to study English

with an ESOL teacher, she was really nice. She made me get to a better level of English .I love

America it is a nice place and you can have fun with friends at the beach, I even like all the

teachers here .I love to be a doctor or a layer when I grow up. In Albania we celebrate everything

on April 1 in our country April 1 is Full Day, and that’s my favorite day. In Albania we have

many mountains that I climb and can see everything from there.

I admire my picture because it reminds me of the outdoor activities that I participated in Albania.

I always had enjoyed and now I am enjoying going outside, I appreciate the Mother Nature. I

enjoy the views, everything that is pretty for my eyes. I still remember the good moments that I

had in Albania with my families and friends being outside. My favorite part in this project is that

the teachers taught me how to use a camera and how to take really good pictures; taking pictures

with my family and my friends!

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My Baby Sister by Ronaldo Mendez, 6th

grade

Hi, my name is Ronaldo and I’m

from Cuba. I moved to Florida about 3

years ago. I’m 12 years old and I live

with my Mom, Dad, and little baby

sister that is about 2 month olds. One

of our favorite types of food is

Caldosa. Caldosa is a type of soup that

you can add any type of meat that you

like. You can also add any veggies you

like. I like my Caldosa with some

spice. A type of music that a lot of

Cuban people like is Merengue and

Salsa. I also love my family that has taught me things that are important in the future. I also love

my baby sister that is about 3 months old. Sometimes, when my mom can’t feed her, I do it for

her until my sister falls asleep. My little sister’s name is Joselyn.

So, I hope you enjoy the parts of my life and my culture. If you want, you can look the foods

ingredients up if you want to try it at home. I also hope I win this project but if I don’t, I’ll

congratulate to whoever wins on May 30th

.

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The Mosque by Siham Musa, 7th

grade

Hi my name is Siham and I was

born in St.Petersburg Florida. Four

years ago we moved to Jordan. I

learned a lot about my culture. I have

a lot of relatives and made lots of

friends. I went to their school and I

learned how to write, read, and speak

in their language. The food is good

and healthy. I went to a lot of

weddings! Sometimes they have 3

weddings a day in summer.

The picture I chose is called the Mosque and it’s located in Pinellas Park in 9400/66 Street

North. We always go there in Friday’s and we always pray inside. There are 7 mosques in

Pinellas County. The oldest Mosque is in Clearwater on Fort Harrison Street and it’s called the

Albanian Mosque. The Muslim main prayer, the day is on Friday. Sometimes, my family and I

go there on Fridays. We just go gather around and talk and eat, have fun and pray, and it’s part of

our religion.

I LIKE GOING TO JORDAN! My relatives are there and I had made a lot of friends. I went to a

lot of beautiful places when I was there. I could visit my cousins there and I could see their

beautiful beaches.

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My Mom and Baby Sister by Jennifer Mayorga, 7th

grade

Hello everyone my name is Jennifer

Mayorga. I’m from Ecuador and I’m 13

years old. I’m really funny and loud!

When you begin to know me you’ll see

I’m really funny, nice and crazy. Well I’m

going to tell you more about my culture

and I hope you’ll like it. I grew up in my

beautiful country, Ecuador. Living there

was the best time ever! You can hear the

little kids laugh and talk everywhere.

Growing up there is the best thing that can

happen to you. Every time we celebrate El

5 de Mayo we make a lot food, music,

dance, etc. We invite people and neighbors to come over and celebrate with us. My family is very nice.

In my culture, when people are having a party they offer to bring something like food or stuff. My

favorite festival is Carnaval, the name is in Spanish but that’s my favorite. In my country, we celebrate

with water-they throw water balloons on you and they put paint on you! It is really fun.

My family is really big and we are a close family, but when we came to the United States, my family

wasn’t as close, but they are still close. By 4 or 5 years past my Mom got pregnant and had a baby girl.

The baby girl is my little sister and she’s the best thing that had happened to my hold family. My whole

family is happy and they can’t wait to see her so that they can hold her and kiss her. Soon, it is going to

be my baby sister’s first time going to Ecuador. My baby sister’s name is Jailinn and she’s about to turn

10 months old. She has 4 teeth in top and 4 at the bottom.

I am a playful girl and energetic! I love to play around with my friends and to laugh out loud. My parents

say that I’m really loud, funny and crazy; they say that I got it from my Aunt who lives in Spain. They

say that they hope that my baby sister is not loud as me, (LOL), put I tell them good look with that. My

baby sister, Jailinn, is really loud when she’s happy-she screams and smiles. And she laughs about

everything. When I start to scream, she screams louder than me. It’s funny how my parent used to think

that she was a quiet kid. My parents and I are happy that Jailinn was born because she is the best thing in

my life. My Mommy and Daddy love us and when my mom gets out of works she comes from work and

kisses and hugs her. I am really happy to have a wonderful family that loves and cares about us. I’m really

proud of my Mom because she didn’t know English at all, but now she knows how to communicate and

I’m really happy for her. I’m proud of my Dad because he has taught me how to be a better person and he

helps me with my homework and he explains how you do something and how to get the answer. One

time, my Mom told me that my Dad is really proud of me. I almost cried because that is the first time I

heard my Dad say that. That made me feel really happy he was proud of me because all this year I had

good grades. I’m also proud of myself because I have learned a lot…I’m happy to be myself!

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My Turtle on my Sister’s Shoe by Damaris Olivares, 7th

grade

Hi my name is Damaris. I’m

Mexican and half American. I have

four brothers and sister. I have two

brothers, and two sister. They were all

born here. I like to make people laugh;

I’m kind of shy, but not that much.

Let me explain how Mexican people

are. We speak Spanish; we aren’t that

loud we like to make people laugh. We

dance weird; we have different types

of music. About the music, there are

different kinds of beats. If you want to

learn more about me please keep reading. Ok first, we dance very fast, slow how you want to

dance. But it’s mostly how the song beats are. For a special dance the girls have to wear a long

skirt, but it has to be different kinds of colors so it can look pretty. For the guys they can just

wear a black simple suit. About the music like I told you earlier some songs are fast. How we

dance is like we are just swinging around, yeah I know it’s weird. Once I have dance in a party

with my friends. There were different kinds of colors for the long skirts. We make up the dance

to dance it for people. The main move you have to do is to swing your long skirt, mine was

yellow. Now I’m going to let you know about me and about my turtle that is in my picture, so

keep reading.

I have a little turtle she is so cute, well that’s what I think. My turtle is small and green; she likes

to get on things. So she was trying to get on my little sister’s shoe. I helped her to get on then and

then I took a photo of her. She acted that she owned that shoe, but no. That’s all I can say, and

thank you for choosing me to be a member of the Photography Project, I really enjoyed it!

22

Balancing by Suney Pardon, 7th

grade

Hi, my name is Suney Pardon and

I’m from Cuba. I came to the United

States when I was 6 years old and I

have been in the United States for 7

years. My mom’s side of the family is

in the United States; on my dad’s side,

all the family is in Cuba. I have a

bigger sister, Vivian. She is in High

School; she graduates this year to go to

College. I have 2 grandmas and 2

grandpas. I have 20 cousins in Cuba

and only 3 cousins in the United

States. I don’t see them very often. I always love going to Cuba to see my family and friends that

I left there. I get so happy when summer vacation comes because I always go to Cuba for a really

long time to have fun. I just went last year when we had 1 month of school it was so fun seeing

my family again. Now when I have vacation from school I’m not sure if I’m going to Cuba

because my dad said that my grandma is coming down to visit us and I can’t leave but if she

doesn’t come, I’m going to Cuba. I love Cuba; every time I go there I would never forget my

island and my culture in Cuba. I enjoy going to Cuba.

Taking this picture, I had a lot of fun taking it and there is no animation to this picture. My

family helps me to take pictures about what inspired me and what I wanted; that was beautiful

and unique for me. The two days that I spent with the project, I will never forget, I had a

wonderful time doing this project with the teachers and students that help others with the

pictures! We have learned a lot of stuff during these days how to take a picture in black and

white and how to properly take a nice shot. Many students the first day did not know what to do

with the camera but later they learned how to take good pictures.

Finally, the most important thing with this project was that I had fun with the camera taking

pictures! Doing this Photography Project I learned how to use a camera and how to take a

picture without me holding the camera, I learned that I can use the camera’s timer, set it up and

get in the picture.

23

My Lovely Cousins by Fariha Rafa, 8th

grade

My name is Fariha

Rafa. I was born in

Bangladesh June 17th

1998. I lived in

Khilgoan Chowdhary

Para, Dhaka. 2005 my

mom was trying to go to

the World of the famous

school “Viqarunnisa

Noon School”. I was so

happy. 2010 on

December 7th I was

here. When I came, I

was so sad because I

missed everyone. Then my father decided to let me attend the American School. 2011 on January 15th I was going

to my new school. My first school was “Tyrone Middle School”. After 1 week I was there then my school was

changed. 2011 on January 17th I was going to my second school. My second new school was “Azalea Middle

School”. I was in love with that school. I liked the classes and teachers. 2011 on June 8th I finished my school year.

I and Dad decided to visit my country Bangladesh. I was so happy. 2011 on June 17th was my birthday. My family

celebrated my birthday party. I invited my friends, we enjoyed it. I stayed in my country for 6 months. When I was

here again I was so sad again because I missed everyone.

Let me tell you about my photo. My cousins they are part of my life, because I love them a lot. The photo that I took

has three girls one is my cousin, and two girls my neighbors. I took this photo when I went to a party. We wear

different kind of Indian and Bangoli dress its call “slawer kamij”. “Slawer kamij” is made and comes from India,

when the dress is made then they send it to Bangladesh. This dress has so many designs. This dress has three parts 1.

Kamij 2. Slawer 3. Orna (Scarf) .Women and girls every day wear this dress. We have two more dresses they are

called “Saree and Lehenga”. Those dresses are so expensive in India and Bangladesh. I can’t wait to go to

Bangladesh and wear my pretty dresses. We have big holiday coming up, the holiday starts on July. We have

Ramadan full one month then we have Eid for one day when Ramadan finish. The Ramadan one month we cannot

eat food and water hole day, in the evening we can eat and drink. And then we eat at mid-night time 3:30 and then

whole day we don’t eat and drink again. It is hard but we really feel happy. Sometimes we feel tired but it’s ok.

When Ramadan comes we can buy some new dresses and the Eid day we take shower and then we wear new dress

doing some make up. We visit then our relatives’ houses .Everyone cook so many special and delicious food and

dishes. Eid day we can enjoy with family, cousins, friends whatever we want, no one can be angry on that day. The

Eid comes only one time for one year. That’s why we always enjoy the Eid day. I love my mom, my cousins and

my family , I miss them every time.

I enjoyed the Photography Project, and all I know is that I will carry my project very soon, next month June, to

Bangladesh to show it to my mom. She will be so proud of me!

24

My Lovely Aunt by Christopher Rays, 6th

grade

Hi my name is Christopher Reyes

and I like to play football. And some

of my friends are from Cuba. In my

culture and family, I like to dance a

lot; we dance many different ways we

tango and we like to dance merengue.

In my culture, I am Spanish, we wear

many wonderful clothes we wear

dress jeans and many other clothes.

What my mom wears is a dress and

sometimes black jeans and a nice

white and red shirt with flowers and

other beautiful designs.

Let me tell you about my photo the person in the photo is my lovely aunt. And she is a really big

part in my family she is so nice and very kind. She lives in Tampa she visits us, here at Saint

Petersburg, like eight times a month. Every time she visits my house we go out to eat at a

restaurant or just make a delicious meal at my house. My aunt is always happy and proud to be a

Cuban.

What I like to do is hangout with my friends. I always wanted to be in a football team. Because I

absolutely like to play tackle football flag football and two hand touch. I like different kind of

sports like football, soccer, baseball and basketball. I have one brother and two sisters one lives

in Cuba and one lives with my brother, my mom, my step dad, and me. The one that lives in

Cuba, I never saw her yet, but I’m going to see her in Cuba this summer when I go with my dad.

25

My Brother and Two Cousins by Jennifer Suljic, 6th

grade

Hi my name is Jennifer Suljic, I am 12 years old. I was born

in Kentucky, Bowling Green. I came to Florida when I was 2

years old and my brother was 9 months old. I am Bosnian and

my religion is Muslim. I speak two different languages, Bosnian

and English. In my religion when it’s Ramadan we are not

allowed to eat pork nor can’t the parents drink alcohol. I am in

6th

grade and I go to Tyrone Middle School. I am about to be in

7th

grade next year. I have to wear uniforms which I do not like

a lot. I have lots of friends and I have a cousin that goes to

Tyrone with me. He is in 6th

grade about to be in 7th

next year. I

have only one brother that is younger than me. I love my little

brother so much. I take care of him and treat him nicely. My

brother is 2 years younger than me. I was only 2 years old when my little brother was born. I was

so excited when I heard that I am going to be the big sister. I was excepting to have a little sister

but no, I got a brother. I was scared to come and see him in the hospital because I was scared of

the doctors. My parents decided to name him Donatello Sondro Suljic. He is now 10 years old

and he is in 4th

grade.

Let me tell you now about my picture that I choose. In the picture is my 11 year old cousin at the

left, my little 4 year old cousin in the middle, and my 10 year old brother at the right. We were at

the Freedom Lake Park. We were doing a cook out. They were sliding down from the slide at the

playground. I took a picture of them while they were sliding down. We had so much fun there.

That day I was at the fitness place and I got on this exercising machine and I got my foot stuck

under it. My uncle had to come and pick it up so I was able to get my foot out. My foot was all

swollen. I had to hold ice on my foot and I wasn’t able to walk. But still it was fun and relaxing

to be surrounded with by family and close relatives.

I enjoyed the photography project so much! Thank you for choosing me to be in it. It was really

fun with you guys and I learned so much about it! So now when I take pictures with the camera,

I know how to use different techniques that I learned during the Photography Project.

26

Laotian New Year by Jeffry Thongdara, 7th

grade

Hello my name is Jeffry. I live in

the U.S.A in Florida. My culture is

one of the things that make me special

and unique. My family came from

Laos from a small neighborhood, then

move to U.S.A where they had me.

How I learned Laos? My grandma has

taught me how to speak when I was

born.

Let me share a little bit about one of

my custom, holiday that we, people

from Laos celebrate. Laos New Year - people dancing, sharing, love and caring on that day.

Even we leave here, Saint Petersburg, Florida our Laos community gets to celebrate Laos New

Year. Where did we all gather to enjoy this year Laos New Year? This is my New Year party

Address: 4328 43rd Street North, West and East Lealman, Florida, United States. This is a place

where my family, friends and I went for the New Year, April 14 this 2013 year. We, the people

from Lao celebrate our New Year, Pii May (pronounced Pii-My) or Kut Songkaan according

to the ancient Hindu calendar, which falls around April 13, 14, or 15 in the Gregorian calendar.

The celebration is considered to be the most important and biggest traditional festival in the

country. The festival coincides with the end of the dry season and the start of the monsoon

season. It is seen as a day of rebirth and purification.

In conclusion, I enjoyed this photography class on taking photos of my culture and learning

something new about photography; how to fix the view of the camera so a pole can be between

my head. But I like to work on school work on other things like fixing computers and cooking.

27

My School by Rosa Montes, 8th

grade

I am Mexican. I love spicy Mexican

food. I love animals, especially cats.

I'm really excited because soon I'm

going to Mexico to celebrate my

fifteenth birthday and because I'm

going back to see my friends and my

family. I love my family and friends.

My best friends live in Mexico. I had

to come and live in Florida because my

dad had his work here. I like Florida

but I prefer Mexico. I have some

friends here and I have fun with them.

My photos are on a day in my school. I can see this view when I'm on the bus on the way to

school and when I go to my classes. I also have some pictures with my friends and my teachers.

At the end of the day, I go back to my house. My cover photo is the name of my school and has a

picture of an eagle. This school is important to me because it's where I'm learning English. I

have been here a year and four months at this school. This is my last year here because I am

going to finish the eighth grade.

I hope my work has pleased you; I worked very hard on this. Thanks to my teachers for believing

in me. I hope you like it!

28

This Photography Book was developed by

ESOL students with the support of ESOL

teachers at Tyrone Middle School and the

ESOL Department, Pinellas County

Schools.

Hooray for our

Digital Storytellers!

May, 2013