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By Alejendro Gracia-Zhang
The Venerable Master Hua founded the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas (CTTB) and Instilling Goodness Schools. I like CTTB because it doesn't have a lot of cars or bad people; it is very safe. In CTTB, I can play outside and walk to school by myself. I think this is a very good place to live in. But if a lot of people come, and everyone has their own car, then I wouldn't want to live here that much.
I think Instilling Goodness Boys' School (IGBS) is different from other schools. In IGBS, people don't use bad words. One year, I went to a public school; a lot of students there used bad words whenever they spoke. Students there also ate meat at lunch everyday, and I didn't like the smell so when it wasn't raining, I would go to the tables that were outside to eat. In IGBS, people don't eat meat at lunch; I don't have to endure the smell of meat. Here, every class has fewer than 15 students, so you can ask a lot of questions and the teachers will usually answer. But in the public school there are 30 students in one class; the teachers there can't spend time in answering all your questions.
In IGBS, I learn a very important language—Chinese. China is not only a fast-developing country; it also has a lot of teachings from ancient sages such as Confucius. Analects is a book that has a lot of Confucius teachings and conversations between him and his students. The teachings tell how people should act and behave so Chinese people believe in filiality, respecting one's parents and teachers, and respecting everyone. My Chinese teacher uses a lot of different methods to teach me. I think learning another language is very important and useful. If you go to that country, you will know what they are doing and their culture. Learning how to write essays in Chinese will also help me to write essays in English.
By my school, there is a basketball court. There are always a few balls on the basketball court so you don't need to bring your own ball. After students finish playing, they leave the balls where they were found; they don't take them home. The students in my school like to play basketball a lot; a lot of times the basketballs are all taken. The only problem is that basketballs get flat and out of shape when left outside for some time. I like playing basketball but I like soccer a lot more. We also have a soccer field. Grape fields and tall redwood trees are by it so I feel calm and natural.
CTTB is a wonderful, calm place. Places like this aren't very common in this world, so if we want to live here we need to protect it and not let it disappear from our world. I've already lived here for more than five years. Even though at times some of the classes are boring, I like CTTB for I've learned to endure and I like the big environment. I need to thank a lot of people that have let me grow up and learn in this environment. I won't forget to thank CTTB's founder, the Venerable Master Hua.
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