Challenge Week
I am very excited about next week because it is challenge week. I have enjoyed challenge week in the past, so I have reason to believe that this year will be a lot of fun. When I was in grade seven I was on the challenge week where we learned magic. It was a lot of fun because we were taught some amazing tricks, and we also got to see real magicians. At the end of the week we got to keep all of the materials needed for the tricks so we could perform them in the future for our friends and family. In grade eight, I was on a trip where we learnt how to make pottery. This trip was loads of fun because I learnt to do something that I would have never gotten into if it weren’t for challenge week. Each person in the group got to make about 5 or 6 pieces, paint them and then take them home. In my house now we have the plate, bowls and teapot I made on display. Last year was definitely my favorite challenge week. My group took the train to Montreal, and then biked 250 km over 4 days. It was such a great experience because I had never biked such a far distance before. After the trip all of us where in pain from biking all day, but it was a very rewarding feeling when we reached our final destination. This year I will be doing a challenge week called Toronto Helps. I am not quite sure what we will be building yet, but I’m almost positive we will all have a really great time.
Disaster at the Airport!
I have been going to Sarasota, Florida for March break for the past few years. This year my mom and I went to visit my grandmother. We left on the first Friday of March break, and we were supposed to leave ten days later, on Sunday evening. However, when we arrived at the airport we ran into trouble, and were not allowed to board the plane. The Sarasota airport is a tiny airport with one flight out to Toronto every night, which is considered an international flight. A rule that my mom and I were completely unaware of was that you had to arrive at the airport sixty minutes before takeoff, or else you cannot get your boarding pass and won’t be allowed on the plane. For years we have been showing up to the airport with about an hour to get through security and then wait at the specific gate to board the plane. This year however we were at the airport with about an hour and five minutes before takeoff. We went to the Air Canada check in counter, and it was a ghost town except for one lady working for Air Canada, who was bringing bags up to the gate. She told my mom and I that we were late and could not board the plane. She would not help us out in any way, and would not give us any numbers to contact the people working at the gate to ask them what we were supposed to do. A few minutes later, another couple arrived, and when they realized they were in the same boat as us, they were furious. My mom and the other couple spent forty-five minutes on the phone yelling about how this was not our fault, and how we were not late. They finally agreed to put the four of us on a flight to Toronto the next day. The following day we arrived at the airport with plenty of time, because we did not want to take any chances. As my mom and I were in the cab on the way to the airport, we joked about seeing the same lady that refused to help us yesterday at the check in counter. To our surprise, when we arrived at the airport, she was working the counter giving out boarding passes! My mom was extremely upset because she could have helped us yesterday but didn’t. We have now learned a very valuable lesson about traveling… make sure you show up with plenty of time!
Brace Face No More
Braces are every kid’s worst nightmare, but today I am getting my bottom braces off! About a month ago I walked into the orthodontist expecting to have a normal check up, and all of a sudden my orthodontist told me that I was ready to get my top braces off! I was so excited that I screamed and ran out of the dentist chair to go tell my mom. The whole experience of getting the braces ripped from your teeth is pretty uncomfortable, but in the end it’s totally worth it. So in about an hour I am going to get my bottom braces off! I am so excited to finally be fully brace less!
Going to the Circus…
Last Thursday night my grandparents and I went to the Cirque du Soleil that is playing in Toronto. The performance was called “Ovo” and it was truly outstanding. The show was made up of about 7 acts and then some clowns and other characters that were there for entertainment between each act, and while the performers were getting set up. The costumes that everyone was wearing were amazing – the theme I assume had something to do with bugs, because everyone was a different type of insect. There were spiders, grasshoppers, lady bugs, flies, cockroach’s, exterminators and many more characters. While each act was going on, the performers where wearing these outfits which probably made it much harder.
The acts that the performers put on must have taken hours of concentration and hard work to learn how to do. It is incredible to see how strong these people are, and how they make these hard acts look so easy. Some of the different acts included, trapezes, tight ropes, trampolines, flexibility, juggling and much more. The trapezes were probably one of my favourite acts. There were about 9 very big men up in the air flying between each other and catching each other on the other side. During the performance on the trapeze there was on guy who did not land properly so he fell. Fortunately there was a net underneath so he landed in the net and was not injured.
The juggling act was like nothing I’ve ever seen before. There were about 6 girls who were juggling large objects with their feet, and throwing them between each other. Eventually some of the girls being help up on the feet of another girl and then being thrown between each other. I was so amazed, and there was not one mistake throughout this performance.
My favourite act was the trampolines. This was not like normal trampoline where you bounce on one trampoline and do a couple flips. This was all included in it, but at the same time the performers were climbing up walls. There was a wall that looked like a walk climbing wall with rocks sticking out so that you can hold on – the performers would bounce from the trampolines back onto the walls. The whole time I was afraid that someone was going to fall and hurt themselves, but this never happened. It was all so crazy to watch because they made it look so easy but you could tell that it takes hours of practice to learn how to do this.
I would recommend that anyone go to see the Cirque Du Soleil because it is a truly incredible show, and it won’t be a waste of a night! It’s a great family outing because there is something for everyone no matter what your age!
My Ultimate Frisbee Experience
At the beginning of the school year I joined the ultimate Frisbee team. I did not particularly want to join, but some of my friends told me that I should come for the practices, and the coach also told me that I should try out. I began going to practices on Wednesday mornings all throughout September and October, and I still wasn’t that into the game. I knew that a tournament in Winnipeg was coming up in October, and the coach began taking down names for people who were interested in going on the trip. I decided to go on the trip because 1, I had never played a sport like this before, and 2, a lot of my friends were going, so I figured it would be a good experience.
On Friday October 17 I arrived at Pearson airport ready to board the airplane to Winnipeg. The older students on the trip, who had participated in the tournament before, began asking me questions about if I was nervous and if I had any questions about the game. I realized that I had never played a real game of ultimate Frisbee before, and this made me very nervous. Everyone who had played before told me not to worry, and that I would be fine.
On Saturday morning we arrived at the field around 8:30, and started getting organized and warming up for our first game. The first team we were playing was a team from Minneapolis called HURT. They had won this tournament for the past 3 years in a row, and everyone said they were incredible, and way above our skill level. When the coach told us that the line I was on was to play first, I suddenly got extremely nervous. Within the first minute or two, Hurt had already scored 2 points on us. I was very confused and didn’t really know what was going on. I was worried that every team we played would be this good. We ended up losing the game 14-0. I didn’t care that we lost because everyone on the other team was so nice. When on the field, when someone on our team would make a good pass or catch, some of the players on the other team would come up to you and say “great catch!” This made the whole experience a lot more fun, since everyone was so friendly and welcoming. We went on to play 3 more games that day, and by the end of the second game I loved ultimate Frisbee. In the third game we played I scored a point, which was so exciting for me because I didn’t think I was going to get any points the entire weekend. That day we won 2 games and lost 2. The next day we played 3 more games and won 1 of them and lost the other 2. On Sunday I also scored a point which was just as exciting as my first.
Overall I had an amazing weekend. Everyone on our team was so welcoming and helpful when I had questions, or didn’t know what was going on. I really like the sport because every team you play is so friendly, and always congratulating you on nice plays. I can’t wait until the spring when ultimate starts up again.
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