Guns for Safety?

        Owning a gun here in America is not illegal as in many other countries. Back in my hometown Malaysia, guns are only allowed for police forcers and armies, not for civilians. Due to the fact that almost anyone in the United States can own a gun, Americans do not find guns as surprising. If I am not mistaken, the legal age to own a gun is 21, wheras the legal age to own a rifle is 18. From talking to Americans, almost off of them have or had guns in their homes, primarily owned by their parents. On top of that, most of them knew how to use a gun. Having said that, gun usage in America among Americans is not that abnormal. Americans see guns as a means to protect themselves and others from danger. If the same gun policy in United States was implemented back in Malaysia, it would be chaotic. The average Malaysians are not used to seeing and handling guns, what more owning one. Guns are a big part of the American culture. Many movies depict that guns were part of the values in America in the past where cowboys were famous. The wild wild west era was filled with gunfights. In Malaysia however, guns would not be such a good idea because we lack the proper system that tracks gun registry and usage. Misuse of guns would be higher than it already is. Given that reason, I would not have a gun in my home simply because it is not allowed back in Malaysia. On top of that, I would not want to provide any opportunity for accidents to happen. Having no experience using a gun, I may mishandle it and who knows, I may end up a murderer with intentions of only protecting my loved ones.

Sliding Down the Snow With Skis

        Coming to Eau Claire and seeing snow was indeed the first time for me. Not only did I experience seeing snow, I can now say that I have gone skiing as well. When I first found out about going cross country skiing with my classmates, I looked forward to it but at the same time felt that it was going to be exhausting. However, that thought turned around after that Sunday. Putting on those skis for the first time made my legs feel as if they were paralyzed. I could hardly move properly. I took slow slides as instructed and sooner or later, I got the hang of fitting my feet into those skis. There were so many aspects to learn before one can actually ski. The methods involved when going downhill, sliding your skis on flat grounds and climbing uphill. I learned that it was not an easy thing but at the same time, it was not so hard as well. My classmates and I managed to pick up skiing in that one day. We were not professionals, but we definitely knew how to stand on our skis without falling. I saw many of my classmates smiling away as they went downhill. They enjoyed skiing as much as I did. Only one of my classmate, Abba has ever had experience skiing. It was the first for the rest of us. There were many others who went skiing on that Sunday as well. Most of them were elderly people. I saw many of them skiing with their friends or spouses. They were fit! I was actually shocked that they could still ski at that age. It took me by surprise. From what I see, skiing is a big thing here in Eau Claire. This is mainly due to the fact that it snows a lot here during the winter season. I bet that if I did a survey, almost every one who lives in Wisconsin had gone skiing. All in all, I had a great time, a great weekend.

This is probably my favorite photo of all, mainly due to the fact that Harith's face got censored!