What Can Remind You of the States?-Kaylee

What would you think of when you hear the word “The United States?” It would be different depending on a person, but there are common things. Here they are!

[George Washington]
He was the first president of the United Sates of America. After he died, his picture was drawn on the one dollar bill. You can see him easily.

[Statue Of Liberty in Newyork]
Maybe everyone would know this statue. It”s not just a symbol of New York but it”s a symbol of U.S.A.
Actually, in 1886 the France presented The Statue Of Liberty to U.S.A to celebrate its centennial and it represents the friendship between two countries established during the American Revolution. I think every Koreans knows The Statue Of Liberty, but we don”t know what that is for.

[Flag of the United States]
The flag of the United States consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of two colors; red and white. The number of Stripes means the number of original colonies. And with blue rectangle and there are 50 stars in that. The stars mean the States of U.S.A.

[Abraham Lincoln]
He was the 16th President of the United States. And he is well known to us as a honorable president who ended slavery.

[Liberty Bell]
Koreans don’t know about this, the Liberty Bell, well. It’s in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. And it is one of the most famous symbols of the American Revolutionary War. It’s a familliar smbol of independence within the United States and has been described as an icon of liberty and justice.

[Bald Eagle]
Bald Eagle is not common in Korea. It is a bird of prey found in North America and it is national bird and symbol of the United States of America. Now, it’s endagered and threatened.

[July 4th]
In July 4 1776, the Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. and the date, July 4th, is celebrated as America’s Independence Day annually now.

[Declaration of Independence]
As we know, it announced that the thirteen American colonines then at war with Great Britain were now independent states, and thus no longer a part of the British Empire. It was primarily written by Thomas Jefferson.

[Washington Monument]

It was constructed to remember the first U.S. president, Goerge Washington. It’s the tallest structure in Washington D.C.. It officially open October 9, 1888. In that time, it became the tallest structure in the world.

[Lingcoln Monument]

It is located on the National Mall in Washington D.C. and was dedicated on May 30, 1922. The building contains a large seated sculpture of Abraham Lincoln and inscriptions of two well known speeches by Lincoln. and The memorial has been the site of many famous speeches, including Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

[Pledge to the flag]

We also have pledge to the flag in Korea. In any events, we always have it. But it depednds on school in U.S.A.

[American National Anthem]

American Anthem’s words are really different from ours.

O say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light,

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,

Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,

O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?

And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;

O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

http://video.naver.com/2009050417115646151

American national anthem      sing by Demi Lovato

I think the lyrics of the national anthem shows the specific national personality. And Korean anthem’s words and American anthem’s words are somewhat different. American anthem is about their victory and glory in fighting. But Korean anthem is telling to protect our nation forever and our beautiful nature. I can say it shows  their national feature characteristic somewhat.

[Baseball]

As you know, Americans really like baseball. In first weekends in Portland, I just watched baseball game on TV with my hostfamily though I don’t know how to play it.

Baseball was brought by British and Irish immigrants to North America. And United States of America developed the modern version of baseball. It is regarded as the national sport in United Sates.

The lists look similiar to Korean symbol in some points; the president of the country, big incidents, the memorial thing for people, structures and people. For example, Korean national flag, Gyeongbokgung, Seoul, 2002 Worldcup.

I’m really excited to know the American symbols and I hope you do so.

Thank you!