Stories from Our Lives LWTech English Language Students in Words and Images, Volume 1

This project is a collaboration between students from the English Language Learners and Art programs at Lake Washington Institute of Technology. As a librarian, I tried to increase our collection of readers for the adult population of English language learners. Much of the easy reading books available have content more suitable for children. They also tend not to represent the diverse populations on our campus. After hearing stories from English learners in Talk Time discussions on campus, I decided to attempt to create books from local talent. I was able to convince David Fox, an English Language Learner instructor, to gather student stories from his classes, with their permission. Realizing that illustrations are helpful for easy readers, I contacted an art instructor, Jason Sobottka, in search of visual content to accompany the stories. This is the story of this publication. Student work was produced between 2019 and Spring Quarter of 2021. The physical book will be found in the LWTech library, while the ebook version is available to anyone as an open source publication. I envision this as the first version, as I hope to continue this as a new tradition on our campus.
Sue Wozniak, Librarian

Do you have a nostalgic place where you dream of returning for a visit? For me, that place is the Pacific Ocean because my hometown in Japan is close by there. When I see the blue sky, blue ocean and whitecaps, I feel so relaxed that I prefer to stay there all day long. I especially like to hear the sound of the waves because it is like my mother’s voice to me. When I get angry, the sound calmly soothes me, and when I feel sad, the sound gently comforts me. Standing on the shore, I enjoy the sensation of rippling sand under my feet. I can stand there for hours. When I take a rest in my beach chair, the hot sand warms my cold feet. I soon sense the smell of grilled clams coming from the stalls, and the smell makes my stomach growl. When I go to my hometown, I am so overjoyed that I realize I should take my whole family there with me next time. By Mie Ohno

Life becomes so exciting when you live in a neighborhood that you like.

I have been living in Redmond since 2015, and I like it very much. There are two reasons why. The first is because of its great location. My daughter’s school bus stops in front of my building, my husband’s office is not very far, and it’s very close to the highway. Also, there are lot of stores and good restaurants nearby, so it is a very convenient place to live.

The second reason is because I have a great community there. I have many close friends living in my neighborhood. We organize potlucks, movie outings, and get-togethers to make it a more interesting and fun place to live. There is one small problem: the traffic is very heavy during morning and evenings. It takes a long time to commute anywhere. I wish there were alternative routes with less traffic. Overall though, I am very happy in my neighborhood and am having a great time there. By Sasmita Nanda