JOURNAL SET 1

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE FUDGE?

As you know, chocolate is a very beneficial and tasty food. Almost everyone loves it and eats often. Therefore, I want to show you how to make a simply tasty sweet - chocolate fudge. I chose this video because there are just three ingredients in the receipe and the way is very simple. 

Firstly, start with getting your ingredients. All you need to have is 50 grams of unsalted butter, one can of sweet condensed milk and roughly 400 grams of chocolate bar. 

Now, get a bowl and put the unsalted butter. Then, pour the can of condensed milk. After that, put the mixture in microwave for just 2 minutes. When you take the mixture from the microwave, just give a little mix. Now, add the small pieces of chocolate. They can be milk chocolate or dark chocolate. It's up to you but with dark chocolate, the flavor is better. The mixture should be warm enough for chocolates to melt quickly. Mix again. Now, you have a mixture which looks like a chocolate puding. Then, get a baking tray and on it, put a baking paper so that the chocolate mixture can't stick to the tray. Now, pour your mixture onto the tray and smooth it down. Without waiting, put it in the fridge for 2-4 hours. After 2-4 hours, your mixture is ready to be cut. Start cutting it up in whatever size you would like to. 

Finally, your chocolate fudges are ready. You can leave them a bit more in the fridge or eat now. Yummy yummy!

JOURNAL SET 1

 THE SWEET SIDE OF CHOCOLATE 

    Chocolate is one of the most popular foods in the world. It is an undeniable fact that there is almost nobody who doesn't like chocolate. People often eat chocolate without considering its health effects but chocolate's benefits are too numerous to be counted.  

   First of all, it stimulates endorphin, the hormone of happiness, only with its incomparable smell. The antioxidants in chocolate help us to develop resistance to cancer. Also, chocolate is a rich source of calcium and this strengthens our bones considerably. There are many scientific findings reporting that chocolate is an alternative food to lower high blood pressure and balance out the pressure. Chocolate has an important positive effect which is that it reduces the risk of sudden heart attacks. Moreover, there are lots of iron and zinc, which are very essential elements for our immune system, in chocolate. Also, when we eat chocolate, we gain energy and become active both physically and psychologically. 

      As I said before, chocolate's benefits are countless. While we are eating chocolate with great pleasure, at the same time, we are contributing greatly to our health. What a wonderful thing! Then, what are you waiting for? Let's eat a chocolate. :)

JOURNAL ENTRY 6

THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION

Here is one of my favorite films: The Shawshank Redemption. To begin with, I want to talk about the film. Its story was written by Stephen King and it was directed by Frank Darabont. 

Andy Dufresne is a young and successful banker whose life changes drastically when he is convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife and her lover inspite of his innocence. He is very isolated and lonely at first, but over the time, he retains hope and eventually gains the respect of his fellow inmates, especially longtime convict "Red", a black markeeter. In time, he becomes so influential within the prison that he makes some duties like fixing tha library or handling tax issues of the warders, even if the venal warden. However, Andy accepts keeping records of the warden's bribes because he has a plan to escape from the prison, to which he doesn't belong. After 20 years, he makes all of his preparations and manages to escape. He goes to the seaside town of his dreams and calls for his best friend, Red, when he is released. Finally, Red retrieves his freedom and finds Andy fulfilling his dreams. 

Here is the trailer of the film. I chose this video because it outlines the film not only clearly but also effectively. Let me talk about why I like this film and chose for my entry.

The Shawshank Redemption is without a doubt one of the most brilliant movies I have ever seen. The film perfectly depicts the combination of hope, redemption and friendship. It clearly shows that fear can hold you prisoner and hope can set you free. I love especially this message because it gives me hope, an important thing in life. There is also an eternal friendship between Andy and Red that I like most in the film. Each learns from the other and helps one another fulfill his dreams. As for the reason why I chose this film for my entry, I strongly recommend you to watch. Maybe most of you have already watched but the ones that haven't should watch it. I hope you'll enjoy the film as much as I do. :) 

JOURNAL ENTRY 5

SUPERSTITIONS IN TURKISH CULTURE 

   Have you ever pulled your hair when you saw a black cat? If your answer is "No", then, unfortunately, you have ill fortune! Of course I'm kidding. It's just a superstition, the belief that particular events bring good or bad luck without a logical explanation. In Turkish culture, there are too many superstitions that are believed by many people. Surely, you know most of the well-known superstitions such as the ones about broken mirror, underside of a ladder, owl, amulets or the most famous one: there cannot be a wedding between two holidays. Now, I want to talk about the less-known ones in order to show you how silly superstitions there are.

   

For example, when a man goes out hunting, his wife is supposed to throw a broom behind him. At night, people shouldn't chew a gum because the gum that is chewed at night is a meat of dead. It is believed especially in rural areas that when a wolf howls, a food falls from the sky to its mouth so that it shouldn't eat the cows. A person who sits at the front of a door falls into obloquy. When a baby's diapers are hung on a wild tree, the baby becomes wild while growing up. When a married woman drinks a half cup of tea, she becomes widow and remains so forever. 

   Now, this is very ridiculous: If a girl walks under the rainbow, she turns into a boy and likewise, if a boy walks under the rainbow, he turns into a girl. So funny! :)

   I can't write all of the superstitions but these are the most absurd ones. I hope you have laughed like me while reading. :)

JOURNAL ENTRY 4

THE SLOGAN FOR METU

   I think the latest slogan of METU, "I brain ODTÜ", is not the best choice. I don't like it to some extent. Firstly, it is grammatically wrong. The word of "brain" is used as a verb in order to impress others but it is not appropriate for a university whose educational system is in English. Also, the Turkish use of ODTÜ is improper because METU is an international university; therefore, its slogan should attract not only Turkish students but foreigners also. Secondly, the meaning of the slogan can only be understood with its illustrative video. Although the slogan is grammatically wrong and not comprehensible, I must say that it is very effective. It seems that METU students like and adopt it because most of them have t-shirts or other objects of this slogan.

   I haven't thought of designing a slogan for METU  before. If I were to, I would choose "METU was designed for your future.". It is okay for me because it focuses on the future, which is the most important concept for a college student. It isn't the best choice for METU, either but it is at least better than "I brain ODTÜ", in my opininon. 

ERROR CORRECTION 2

   Because I come from Aydın and I am not used to this type of weather. But never mind I will get used to. I feel great especially psychological aspect. Because I'm at where I want to be. Today, there are lots of universities all around the world in my opinion, most of them aren't able to educate their students enough to find good solutions to the problems that they face.

   I come from Aydın; therefore, I am not used to such weather. I don't mind because I will get used to. I feel great especially psychologically because I'm at which I want to be. Today, there are lots of universities all around the world and in my opininon, most of them aren't able to educate their students well enough to find good solutions to the problems that they face.

ERROR CORRECTION 1

1. When ı first heard that ı had been accepted to Middle East Technical University, ı was disappointed. Because ı did not like Ankara as a city. But my opinions have changed over time dramatically. Because Middle East Technical University is really a different world in Ankara.

   When I first heard that I had been accepted to Middle East Technical University, I was disappointed because I did not like Ankara as a city. However, my opinions have changed over time dramatically because Middle East Technical University is really a different world in Ankara.

2. It has been only one month since I came here. But I got used to this environment. Because, first of all, people from all of ages in here respect to each other.

 

   It has been only one month since I came here but I got used to this environment because, first of all, people from all ages in here respect to each other.

3. I love Ankara, I love my dormitory, I love my friends, I love my department, I am content with everything which are belongs to METU.

   I love Ankara, my dormitory, my friends and my department, so I am content with everything which belongs to METU.

4. If someone wants to walk, he or she can go and walk. And it is nice place to go and meet with my friends.

   If someone wants to walk, he or she can go and walk. Moreover, it is nice place to go and meet with my friends.

5. We can easily see this by watching TV, surfing on the internet or maybe just looking around us. Because there are many people getting graduated from different kinds of universities but they're not even able to know what's going on around them or they don't even try to find good ways to improve the countries that they live in.

   We can easily see this by watching TV, surfing on the internet or maybe just looking around us because there are many people who graduated from different kinds of universities but they're not even able to know what's going on around them or they don't even try to find good ways to improve the countries in which they live.

JOURNAL 3

MY IDEAL UNIVERSITY

I think a university must have several features to be an ideal university for me. Firstly, the academic staff must be qualified and well-equipped. Also, the curriculum is very significant.In an ideal university's curriculum, there must be technical and practical courses, foreign language courses and opportunities to interact with foreigners because, in order to increase its students' chances to have good jobs, being active and known worldwide is very important for an ideal university. In addition, libraries and laboratories must be adequate and easy to access. Similarly, the internet connection must be satisfactory and accesible.

Secondly, there must be social clubs and entertainment opportunities. Students cannot always study, right? They need to relax and have fun when necessary. That's why the recreation atmosphere is also essential. Students should sport, swim, play several games such as football, basketball, volleyball, tenis or badminton at university. Moreover, all kind of student clubs must be active. Students can express their feelings and thoughts freely by means of these clubs. 

Thirdly, the structure of university must be well-organized and aesthetic. It is better to gather all departments, dormitories and social services in the same campus. Also the campus should be surrounded by nature; for example forests, groves, lakes or rivers.

When it comes to question that whether METU satisfies the criteria of my ideal university, my answer is certainly "yes,it does". Although it is a little bit expensive to live in here, METU has all of the features that I demand for an ideal university.

JOURNAL 2

BEING A METU STUDENT

This year is not my first year at METU because I studied at Department of Basic English last year. I am not going through an adaptation process this year but last year was not easy for me. Although I stayed in dormitory in high school for four years, it was still challenging for me to be far away from my family and old friends. But I didn't feel alone because I had some of my friends from high school in METU. They helped me a lot during my adaptation process. Moreover, my roommates were friendly, cheerful and positive people. I had so much fun with my friends last year. However, the immoderate climate of Ankara was a big challenge for me. The daytimes were very hot and the nights were so cold at the beginnings. Although it was difficult for me, I got used to the climate in time.

This year, I do not have problems about adjusting to METU at all. But as for courses, they are more difficult and intensive when compared to high school but they are very useful for us to develop ourselves in terms of writing, listening and speaking skills. Furthermore, we learn second language beside English. I learn German and it is very enjoyable for me.

In respect of campus, I think that METU has one of the best campuses in Turkey. All of its departments, dormitories, cafes and even markets are in the same campus and I think it is a big advantage for us in terms of transportation. The campus is highly huge but the transportation inside the campus is provided by ring services and minibuses easily.

There are a lot of student clubs and communities and also social services such as sport centers, tenis courts and swimming pool. We can develop ourselves socially thanks to these opportunities. To sum up, METU fulfilled my expectations and I am glad and proud of being a METU student. :)

JOURNAL 1

UNDERLYING TENSIONS IN TURKEY-SYRIA STAND-OFF

   
The last two days have witnessed (transitive verb) a dramatic escalation (direct object) in the tensions between Turkey and Syria.

   First, Turkey (proper noun) retaliated (action verb) to the shelling of the border town of Akçakale (proper noun) by firing at targets inside Syria (proper noun).

   And on Thursday (time adverb), the Turkish parliament approved (transitive verb) a motion allowing the government to take military action against Syria for the next year (time adverb).

   However, government sources (subject) stress that the motion is meant as "deterrence" against Damascus and that Turkey is not keen on a "unilateral (adjective) military operation".

   This (demonstrative pronoun) will come (intransitive verb) as a relief to the international community, as well as a considerable segment of Turkish citizens (plural noun). Public opinion in Turkey is (linking verb) strongly against any military escalation.

   

   Harsher Operations

   Hundreds, sometimes thousands of anti-war campaigners (plural noun) came out (intransitive verb) on the streets of major Turkish cities (place adverb) on Thursday to protest against the motion and the government's Syria policy.

   "Turkey has (state verb) no interest in starting a war (singular noun) with Syria." tweeted (action verb) İbrahim Kalın, who (interrogative pronoun) is a senior advisor to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. "But Turkey is (linking verb) capable of protecting (transitive verb) its borders and will retaliate when necessary."

   Many observers (plural nouns) say Turkey does not want to launch a large-scale (adjective) response to the assault on Akçakale (place adverb). Many Turkish observers (subject) too, believe Turkey does not intend to launch a military operation (direct object).

   Rather, the motion aims to prove Turkey's capacity to respond to a possible cross-border assault (singular noun), says foreign policy expert İlter Turan.

   "Turkey's message is clear (adjective): We (personal pronoun)  have responded to your Akçakale shelling, but if you (personal pronoun) continue, then we will be (linking verb) ready to give a harsher response (singular noun)." he (personal pronoun) says.

   Columnist Avni Özgürel (subject), who (interrogative pronoun) writes for the daily newspaper (common noun) Radikal, points to the apology that Syria has reportedly (adverb of manner) issued, saying : This (demonstrative pronoun) is a clear sign (common noun) that the vote in the Turkish parliament has reached (action verb) its goals.

   As part of Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu's long-planned but short-lived "zero-problem with neighbours (common noun)" policy, the two countries had mutually lifted visa restrictions and had signed free trade agreements (direct object).

   But since the uprising in Syria began back in March 2011 (dependent clause),  relations have turned upside down (independent clause).

a night in izmir