My Hockey Tournament!
I was having a hockey tournament in Philadelphia. My hockey team, the Palasades Predators had to win this hockey game and the next game to get to the finals. I stepped onto the ice as we warmed up and did laps. We did the regular “butterfly” warm up. The cold air rushed past my face. It was very normal to have that feeling at the start of the game during warm-ups. Buzz!!! The buzzer rang and we all skated to the bench. The coach told us the plan and we all lined up or sat on the bench. I got more and more tense and worried that we were going to lose. SHREAK!!! The ref blew the whistle. PLOP! The ref then dropped the puck. As the two centers fiercely battled for the puck, tension quickly started to build up in my mind. My heart started to pound. WHACK! My team’s center snatched the puck.
In the first and second period, we scored two goals and the other team only scored once. We were getting more relaxed and more confident that we were going to win.
When the second period ended, we were winning 2-1. We were excited that we were winning. In the middle of the third period, we were tied 2-2. I thought that we might have a chance to win when the other team had a breakaway. All of that tension and fear suddenly came back to me. We were all very tense and scared on the bench. SWISH!!! The opposing team had scored a goal. They were winning 3-2 now. My teammates came off whimpering. All of us on the bench were getting scared.
A few minutes later, after my shift, the other team scored another goal. It was now 4-2. The crowds cheers and shouts were so loud that it almost busting the roof off. On my last shift, my heart pounded every second. I become more aware that my toes were freezing and that we had no hope of winning with only 50 seconds left in the game. The buzzer rang and we all came off the ice sad and tired. We all started crying when we realized that we wouldn’t make it to the finals. The locker room filled with sobs when the coach came in. He said that hockey was a privilege. When we all went back to the hotel, dad explained to me about what coach means by privilege. He told me that the privilege was that we would get tougher after the torture of losing a game.
Why Roblox Is the Best Video Game
by Hattan Lu
Have you heard other people talking about a game called “Roblox”? Have you ever wondered what that game actually is? Well, I played a lot of games but Roblox is my favorite video game of all of them. I think Roblox is the best game because it is fun, clear, and not glitchy.
Roblox is the best video game because it is fun. There are a lot of different games on it. You can also play with your friends and interact with them. You can also make new friends and play with them in the game! One fun personal story was when I was teaching my friend how to play a game called “Mining Simulator 2.” He always taught me how to play fun games so I paid him back by teaching him a new game.
“I’m mining like a maniac!!!” I shouted in glee.
“How am I mining so slow?” my friend shouted back.
I told him that he needed to sell his blocks and get enough money to buy a new pic-ax. He mined desperately and sold his money.
“This is so fun!” my friend shouted. “I’m mining faster!”
“It's like Minecraft!” my friend exclaimed.
We played on and on. It was very fun and we couldn't stop.
My second reason why roblox is the best video game is that Roblox is very clear. It is not messy and not glitchy. For example, when I first downloaded the game this is what happened to me:
“Wow! This is so clear!” I told my friend Yanbo.
“All of the actions are so smooth!” Yanbo added on.
I immediately realized that the screen was not as blocky as Minecraft. When I wanted to try another game, I just left the game simply and played another game.
My third and final reason that Roblox is the best video game is that it has lots of games. You’ll never get bored of it. According to Google, Roblox currently has over 40 MILLION games!!! Some examples of the games are: Adopt Me, which is the most popular game currently, has more than 30 billion visits as of November,2022, according to the info blurb on google. Build A Boat For Treasure, Mining Simulator 2, and Smashing Simulator are just a few. Roblox is also very popular so that you will find lots of players to play with. According to the information blurb on Google, Roblox has more than 60 million people playing it every day! More than 150 million people play Roblox. Also, when you want to play another game, the game doesn't take long to load, unless you have terrible internet access. If you want to learn more about Roblox, click here 10 Roblox Facts You Didn't Know | Beano.com
Here are more links for additional information:
Top 10 Facts About Roblox - Fun Kids - the UK's children's radio station
16 Remarkable Roblox Facts.
If you want to choose your own fun fact website:https://www.google.com/search?
Create your own Roblox account! www.Roblox.com If you are reading this at school, don’t press. You might get in trouble for playing games in school.
As you can see, Roblox is a very fun game that is clear and a fit for lots of 10 year olds. I highly recommend this game to many children around the world. Roblox is the best video game in the world. If you hear anyone saying that Minecraft is the best video game, don’t listen to them. Don’t let something that another person says ruin your experience. Download Roblox now! (It's free!)
(Note: I'm in 7th grade now. This is a piece of writing I did back in 4th grade.)
Minecraft has 140 million users. In comparison, Roblox has more than 2 billion users!
Above is a picture of Minecraft. Below: a picture of Roblox.
This summer I went to the city of Wuhai in China. We went there to do some volunteer work and plant grass. I went along with some of my friends. My first friend was called Tony, which you might remember from last year at the summer camp with me. My second one was called William, and her little sister Margaret. And finally, a fourth friend named George.
“Yes!” I shouted. “We’ve finally arrived.”
“This is going to be great!” Said Tony excitedly.
We walked out of the small airport and we immediately felt the dry and hot air blow at our faces. This was of course normal, since we had just flown into the middle of a large desert in northern China. My dad who was going to be leading us in this activity led us to a car, where the people at the grass planting base were here to take us to their base. There were 2 cars, both large pickup trucks, that would take us to our destination about 50 kilometers away from Wuhai. On the car, I sat with Tony and Margaret. We chatted about what we did for the past year and how we were excited to experience volunteer work.
Our first stop was at a mall, where there was a shop that we could buy our basic lifestyle needs, like toothbrushes, towels, and buckets that we could use to put our clothes in when we needed to go shower. We also stopped at a place where we could buy some drinks, and the drinks were excellent!
Finally, after lots of chatting and waiting, we had arrived at the volunteer base. We were the only outsiders there so they prepared 3 dormitories for us. One for my parents, one for Margaret, and one for the boys. I was with Tony, Will, and George. Inside the room, there were 3 bunk beds, each with a lower bunk and a top bunk. Since there were 4 people and 3 beds, I had to sleep in the top bunk. The bed was very wobbly, and the guard rail on the top bunk was very low, so if I rolled around too much, I would fall off of the bed. Even though the conditions weren’t too good, but at least it was better than my summer camp, since we actually had 4 walls, a door and a roof along with a light. The room also had an electric fan on it, so that we could keep cool.
Overall, this trip was a great experience and I learned many important skills and why they were planting grass in the first place.
On our first day, we arrived at the base in the middle of a vast expanse of desert, and we arrived at our dormitories. The base was composed of many small houses, bound close together. They each had a flat roof on them, and had metal walls. (They were probably shipping containers.) we met all of the people at the base and then also met the animals there. There was a massive black dog, whose mother was a golden lab and father was a fierce black dog who also had a bad temper. There was also an adorable little black cat with sleek fur and white feet. Last but not least, there was a tiny yellow newborn kitten that was my favorite. We then ate, and they gave us some lamb meat from Inner Mongolia, but I thought it was beef!
The most important thing that happened that day was when we got to experience the harsh living conditions there, especially the dormitories. They were simple and only had the most simple lifestyle needs, like a bed, a table, a bathroom, and a shower. This made me better understand the dangers and the hardships of volunteering for doing a job to help the world to be a better place.
Over the course of the day, we did many things, and we learned a lot too, even though there wasn’t any important activities that day.
This day, we learned how to plant the Juncao grass. We first rode in the pickup trucks to the side of the Yellow River, where they planted the grass. When we arrived at a sandy opening, we got out of the car, and to my surprise, the big black dog from the base was already there.
“Why is the dog here?” I asked.
“He follows us whenever we go to work. He’s a member of the team too!” One of the volunteers responded.
Then, we walked around the field, and the team told us all about the technology.
“Now, since you know all about our technology and how to plant the grass, it’s time for you to try it!”
“Yay!” George exclaimed ecstatically.
“This is going to be amazing!” Margaret shouted.
We all sprinted excitedly to the pickup truck, where there were several rusty shovels stacked on top of each other.
“Grab a shovel and move the plants to the part with healthier soil!” Said the volunteer.
I grabbed one of the bigger shovels and I ran to a plant and started to dig as they instructed. I stuck the shovel hard into the ground about 5 inches from the plant. I used my foot to push the shovel further down, to make a small trench in the sand. I repeated this process several times until my trench had surrounded the plant, and I wedged my shovel under the plant’s roots and started to lift it up. I pulled the shovel out of the pile of wet sand, and I finally got the plant out of the ground. I lifted the plant up with my hands by its leaves and put it into a white box for storing the plants. Yes! I’ve finally succeeded in my first task! I thought. I felt very accomplished even though sweat had soaked my clothes just by moving one plant.
I continued on to remove 6 plants from the soil and put it all into the white box. I was completely exhausted and I thought I was going to collapse onto the ground at any moment. Beads of sweat were streaming down my forehead as I put the last plant into the box.
“Now, you have to plant the grass back into the soil in the nutrient rich part of the desert.” Instructed the volunteer.
“Noooo!” I exclaimed. “I’m about to die!”
“No you’re not!” Said the instructor jokingly. “If you were, you wouldn’t be talking right now!”
After a quick demonstration, we finally got to put the grass back into the soil. The second task was excruciating, and the sun’s rays were beating down on me. The air was scorching hot, and I wondered how these people survived after doing all of this every single day. I got back to the dormitory panting and sweating. Tony collapsed onto the bed next to me, and Will sat onto his bed trying hard to sit up straight. George also ended up soaking wet, with sweat flowing down the back of his neck.
“It was blazing hot outside!” Exclaimed Tony.
“I know!” I agreed hastily.
“I thought I was going to faint!” Complained George loudly so that everyone could hear him. “At least we did something right.”
Next, we had lunch, and took a nap. After that, they showed us a presentation to make us learn more about their technology and their daily life. The presentation part was boring for most of us, but I managed to pay attention to the end.
Tony ended up falling asleep after 5 minutes, and we had to continuously wake him up over and over again. Margaret didn’t listen and ate all of the grapes in the bowl during the presentation. George was slightly disruptive and could interrupt the presentation from time to time, until he also miraculously fell asleep for some reason as well. I was the only one who didn’t fall asleep, though I thought the presentation was boring.
The videos were fine, and I think the volunteers had a great skill of making videos.
What I learned the most that day was how to plant and move the Juncao grass, and how hard the volunteers had to work every day. I felt how big of a decision and commitment it was to choose to volunteer.
For dinner, we ate Chinese barbecue, which was amazing. The chicken kebabs made my mouth water, and I ate 2 of them. We drank a lot of beverages, and had a lot of fun stargazing. After the meal, it was time for us to take a shower. When we got into our dormitory, Tony and Will had started to joke with George.
“Hey!” George shouted after one of the jokes. “I’m not like that!”
As they kept on joking, George got angry and pushed Tony out of the room. He slammed the door shut and locked it. Tony banged on the door, and yelled at George to let him in. But George just pushed onto the door so that Tony couldn’t open it. Through the window, I could see Tony trying his best to get in, but he was shivering. It must be cold outside! I thought.
Me and Will tried to pull George away from the door, but his hands seemed to be glued to the door.
“I won’t let him in!” George yelled angrily. “Let him freeze outside!”
“At least open the door so that Will and I can take a shower!” I said.
“Get your stuff ready, and when I open the door, you run out and I will close the door as quickly as I can.” George said in a serious and urgent tone, as if he was in some sort of important mission.
“Bro thinks he’s the main character.” Said Tony in a joking tone.
After the shower, we tried to get into the dormitory, but George wouldn’t let us.
“I don’t trust you!” We heard him yell through the window. “I don’t trust anyone anymore!”
We left, frustrated and went into the volunteer’s dormitory next door. Tony was there too, and I noticed he had a scratch next to his eye.
“Hattan!” Tony said. “I had a fight with George during your shower. I went in to get my towel and he just grabbed my by my face and punched me.”
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“I am.” He replied. “After that, I kicked him several times really hard. He collapsed to the floor crying.”
“Well, serves him right.” Said Will. “I think he forgot to eat his ADHD medicine.”
After some chatting, the volunteers finally got George to calm down and sleep, and we quietly entered the room. We talked for a bit before we slept, and we eventually went to our beds. I felt a wave of tiredness sweep over me, and before I knew it, I was asleep.
This was our third and last day at the base, and we were going to harvest some of the Juncao grass and visit one of the farmers nearby. As the sun shone high in the sky, we set off towards where we had moved the Juncao grass to a new area.
“First, you want to grab some of the leaves together, and use the scythe to cut diagonally through the leaves. Continue the process and make sure you don’t get hurt!” Instructed one of the volunteers.
There were only 2 scythes, and 5 children. I got one of the scythes, and Will got the other one. Tony, Margaret, and George were supposed to collect the grass that we put onto the floor.
I grabbed the scythe and snatched a few leaves together. I put the scythe at a 45 degree angle to the grass and sliced diagonally through the leaves. The grass immediately separated from the main plant and fell onto the floor. George, who was waiting behind me at the time leaned forward and took the grass away and tossed it into a white bin. I repeated this process several times, and I ended up harvesting a whole bin of grass. Large beads of sweat were already slipping down my back as I dropped the scythe into the pickup truck. I felt like I had finally done something right for the world.
After we cut all of the grass, we loaded into the pickup truck and set off to our next destination; the farmer’s home. The dirt road was bumpy and uneven, and sometimes I thought the car would fly high into the air, soaring above the Yellow river, but luckily, that didn’t happen. As we zoomed along the desert landscape, a small house in the distance came into view. That must be the farmer’s house! I thought.
As we drove on, the house became bigger and bigger. At first, it was just a dot on the horizon. It gradually grew and size, and when I could see every detail, we had arrived.
“We’re here!” Said Tony.
“Wow!” I exclaimed. “It looks like it is about to fall into the river!”
“It used to be far from the river’s edge years ago. Now it is right next to the river since the river keeps on eroding the dirt away from the beach.” Explained the driver.
How is that possible? I never imagined that the river could erode the sand and dirt so fast! I thought silently to myself.
We exited the car and I immediately felt the hot and arid air blast at my face. It was even hotter than the day before, and I felt like I would be fried to a crisp. We walked into the house, and the farmer greeted us there.
“Welcome to my house!” He said in a warm tone.
The house was old and simple, as it only contained some seats, a bed and a kitchen. There was one simple and small light bulb on the ceiling, and a simple heater on a table. This made me feel how harsh the conditions were for the farmers here, and how they were planting food and selling it for survival.
I was amazed by the ways of life in the wild, and how this farmer was determined to keep farming and not give up.
Next, we went to see the farmer’s sheep. He had them in an area of dirt surrounded by a wooden fence. We were supposed to feed them with the Juncao grass we had just harvested. We took the two heavy white bins full of leaves out of the pickup truck and placed it on the ground next to the fence. The volunteers gave us a demonstration on how to feed the sheep, and we immediately ran to the bins and took out bunches of grass. I ripped the grass up into separate leaves, and used all of my force to toss it into the pen. The sheep scrambled towards the food, and pushed each other just for the little bit of food in front of them. I ran to the bin and ripped out another leaf and threw it in. The sheep must be having a feast! I thought happily, as I watched the sheep munch hungrily in the food that I tossed in.
After we had emptied out the entire bin, we went back to the base to eat lunch. The day had went by fast, and it seemed like it was an eternity, but it had also seemed like a blink of an eye. In the afternoon, it was our time to say goodbye to the base and most of the people in it. We took some quick photos and loaded our stuff onto the pickup trucks and set off. Two of the volunteers would come with us on the ride and take us to our next stop.
Our next stop was in the middle of the desert near Wuhai, where we could sled on the sand. It was basically sledding but the floor is not snow and ice, but sand. When we arrived, the sky was cloudy and it had started to rain. (For the second time in one day, and this is a desert.) Luckily, the rain wasn’t too heavy, so we could still continue on with our activities. We rented a few plastic sleds and pulled them up to the sand dunes. They were larger and expected, and they towered over us. All of them looked like huge mountains standing in front of us.
“Wow! I didn’t expect them to be that tall!” Gasped Will.
“Come on, let’s go on one of them and ride down.” I said.
We first went on a large sand dune and put our sleds on top of it. We leaned forward and we slowly started to accelerate. The rain hit my face hard, like bullets. I reached my peak speed as I neared the bottom of the sand dune, and I felt like I was going to fly into the sky. I felt a bump and I had reached the flat ground on the bottom of the sand dune.
“That was fun!” I exclaimed.
“I know.” Replied Tony. “Do you want to go on that massive sand dune over there?”
He pointed at a massive sand dune that was about 15 times taller than the one we had just went on, and the one we went on was already huge to me.
“Sure!” Said Will.
“Okay, I’ll try it out.” I said after hesitating for a while.
It took a while for us to walk there, and we dragged our sleds up to the front of the mountain of sand.
The sand dune had a very steep slope, and we had to climb the whole way up.
“I think we should climb diagonally, so we don’t have to face the steepness, and we can save some energy.” I suggested.
We started to climb up the slope, and I thought I was trying to climb up a massive wall. I dug my feet into the sand, and I tried to get a grip on it while dragging my plastic sled up the mountain. At one point, my sled almost fell from my hand. Though it was cold and rainy, I still felt sweat starting to stream down my neck and face as I climbed. The rain was still falling when I reached the halfway point. By that time, I could see the entire city of Wuhai from that vantage point, and a vast expanse of desert. Still half way more to go! I thought dreadfully.
The second half of the climb was even more excruciating, with the rain falling even harder and the sand getting less stable. With each step, I felt the sand falling down behind me and bringing me back half a step. Each step got harder, and I almost slipped and fell near the top. As we finally reached the top, I saw a large oasis behind the sand dune, with trees surrounding it. Past the oasis was an endless sea of sand, filled with huge sand dunes. All of the sand dunes were huge, but from our vantage point, they looked like tiny waves and patterns on the desert floor.
We took a short break at the top of the sand dune, and we got on the sleds and slid down. I was terrified, since the sand dune was probably around 300 meters tall, and I thought I would flip over while riding. I sat on the sled and hoped that I would be fine when I got to the bottom. My heart was beating out of my chest as I pushed myself forward. I quickly accelerated as I felt the cold wind blowing at my face. The sound of wind filled my ears as I slid quicker and quicker. I was zooming down the sand dune at an insane speed, and I felt myself getting faster and faster. The ride was about 30 seconds, or perhaps less. The moment felt like a year, but it ended fast too. Before I knew it, I was at the bottom of the mountain, and I was quickly slowing down. I stopped about 50 feet away from the bottom of the sand dune, and I rolled off of the sled. I looked back and Tony had also started his journey down. He was moving quickly, leaving a lot of sand and dust flying behind him. As Tony reached the bottom, I could hear him screaming. He finally came to a stop next to me, and Will also set off. He was heavier than me and Tony, so he ended up in front of us.
Overall, this day was a fun day and I experienced a lot of things. I got to see the inside of a farmers home and experience how they lived. I also had a lot of fun sledding on the sand, and would be telling this story for a long time.
On this day, we went to an amusement park in the wild. It was in the middle of the desert, about 30 miles away from our hotel. When we arrived, we got off the car to feel the blazing heat and dry air. I felt my lips instantly dry, and felt sweat soaking my hair. We walked to the entrance and bought the tickets. They were very expensive, at about 30 dollars each one. This park better be good, or else it won’t be worth it. I thought.
We boarded onto a vehicle that is similar to a golf cart, and we set off to the first attraction. The cart turned and sped across gravel pathways, and after a while, we had arrived to the first attraction. We were supposed to get on a car, with a professional driver. The driver would take us onto the sand dunes and loop us around a large circle, which had drops and hills.
“I’m excited!” I said.
“I’m nervous.” Said Tony anxiously.
We boarded onto the vehicle and the driver started it up. VROOM! It made a huge sound and the driver started to steer the car up a hill. It was steep, and for a second, I thought the car was going to slip off. We drove to the top of a hill, and I saw a vast expanse of desert in front of me. Then, I felt my entire body get lighter, and I felt like I was going to fly. We had arrived at a drop, and we quickly zoomed down it. Everybody screamed, and I was starting to worry that I wouldn’t make it back home. Hot wind blew at my face as we speeded down the hill, and the car sent clouds of dust flying behind us.
“Oh my god!” I screamed excitedly. “I hope we survive this!”
The car sped up another hill and went on a huge bump. I felt my entire body fly into the air, and slam back down on the seats.
“Woohoo!” Screamed Margaret. “This is the best ride I’ve ever been on!”
We went over the rough landscapes, and rose and fell. At last, we arrived at the end of the ride. I felt dizzy, but oddly awake. My ears were ringing from the loud engine sounds, but I knew I had survived the wild ride.
After we exited the car, I jumped down onto the ground, and my legs buckled underneath me. They were weak from the long ride, and I still felt like I was lurching up and down, as if I was still on the car.
Next, we went on a ride where we could drive small desert vehicles through the sand dunes by ourselves. I got on the car, and gripped the steering wheel. I can’t believe they let us drive this! I thought.
VRRR! The car had started up, and I stepped on the gas petal. The vehicle quickly accelerated, and I realized that I wasn’t supposed to step on it too hard. I followed Tony, and we started to go up the sand dunes by ourselves.
“Wow!” I exclaimed excitedly. “This is fun!”
“I know!” Tony shouted over the loud sounds of the engine.
We turned left and right, swerving in between the sand dunes. We then pressed the gas petal very hard, and we rushed up a sand dune. We got to the top, and we could see the whole amusement park from that point! I could see lakes, trees, and a racing track! Then, I pressed on the gas petal once more, and I sped down the side of the dune quickly. Tony was in front of me, and I had to slow down so we wouldn’t crash. We drove two entire laps around the track in the desert, and finally, I had reached the end. I was sweating, since the day was burning hot, and the sun beat down on us, making our clothes soaked with sweat.
I stepped off the car shakily, and my parents congratulated me since this was my first time driving a car. We headed towards the next ride, which in my opinion, was as driving a car in the desert. We went to the race track. I had seen it before, on the tops of several massive sand dunes, and it looked fun. It was Go Karting. My parents paid for 3 laps around the track for everybody, and the staff let us on. I pressed on the gas petal, and with a loud VROOM, I set off towards the first turn. I slowed down and took a tight turn. In front of me was a large stretch of straight track that I could speed up on. I pressed on the gas petal hard, and I quickly accelerated to about 35 miles an hour. Then, I arrived at a tight curve, but it was too late to slow down. I didn’t want to crash, so I turned the steering wheel as far right as I could. The car swerved, and I heard a loud screeching sound. I felt my body and the entire car swing to one side as I rounded the curve. I had drifted the car! That was so fun! I thought proudly. This is my first time drifting a go kart!
I quickly learned how to drift at every turn, and I was having a lot of fun! As I finished with my first lap, I caught up with Tony, who was a slow driver. He had started a bit before me, and I finally caught up. I rounded a curve and drifted, completely overtaking him in a fashionable way. I left him in the dust and started to chase George and Margaret. I pressed the gas petal again, and I accelerated after a turn. By the end of the second lap, I had overtook Margaret, and George was right in front of me. I zoomed up to his side, and slipped in front of him. I rounded a turn and drifted, leaving him behind too. Will was also right behind me, overtaking George and Margaret too. At the third lap, I was being chased by Will, and I overtook Tony again. When we got off of the cars, I finished first, and Will finished right behind me.
I stepped off of the car, and we set off to our next location. It was a pond, with a small island in the middle. There were boats that you could petal, and we boarded onto them. George and Margaret in one, and me, Will, and Tony in the other. We were peacefully pedaling through the water, when I saw a boat charging at us. Inside, Margaret and George were shouting.
“Crash into them!” They screamed.
“Oh no!” I exclaimed worriedly. “Run, run, run!”
We started to pedal quickly, and our boat sped off towards the other direction. But it was too late, and George’s boat crashed straight into the back of our boat. Bang! Our boat vibrated, and our boat started rocking back and forth wildly. I thought I would fall off over the edge for a second, and water splashed into our boat. I got mad and started to splash water into George’s boat.
“Hey!” George yelled. “Splash them back!”
Margaret immediately started to splash us and George steered the boat to crash into us one more time. We nimbly dodged their boat, and Tony and I splashed water at them. Will turned the boat, and we charged full speed towards their boat. BOOM! We collided in the middle of the lake, and I splashed water even harder. They splashed back, but since we had 2 people splashing and 1 person steering, and they had 1 person attacking with 1 person steering, we were winning.
“Retreat, retreat!” They yelled.
Will steered the boat towards them and gave chase. We quickly caught up, and slammed into their boat’s back. We started splashing water at them again, but they knew they had lost.
“You’re getting our clothes all wet!” Margaret complained.
“Well,” I replied. “Too bad. You two started it! Remember?”
“Hey!” Said George. “We don’t talk about that.”
After they lost the battle, we went to the dock and got out of our boats. After a long car drive, we ate lunch, and in the afternoon, we got to rest for a little bit. At night, we had to prepare for our presentations. At 5:45 pm, we had arrived at home, and we were to take a shower, then arrive at Tony and I’s room at about 6:30. Tony and I were just preparing to take a shower when George burst into the room and said that he was ready.
“We haven’t even took showers yet!” I yelled.
“I did.” He said. I looked at his shirt, but it was the same as before, so I knew he was lying.
“Get out of here! Wait until 6:30.” Tony shouted.
George quickly retreated out of the room and disappeared into the hallway. After our showers, we were ready. George burst in again, but it was around 6:15. We accepted him in, and Margaret and Will also came into the room. We got our iPads out and opened my presentation document.
Over the process, we did a lot of work, but I did most of it since they didn’t know how to make a presentation.
“Hey!” Tony yelled. “George, get off of my bed. You didn’t even shower. And you’re wearing your shoes.”
“I’m not getting off your bed.” Said George firmly.
“This is not your room.” Said Tony.
“This isn’t your room either.” Replied George.
“Well, my mom bought this room for me.” Said Tony. “You’re getting sand all over my bed and making it dirty. How would you feel if I stepped on your bed with my dirty shoes on?”
“I don’t care.” Yelled George.
“GET OUT!” Yelled Tony furiously. “I’M SICK OF YOU.”
After their argument, I had basically finished with the presentation. Tony grabbed his phone from his table and started to click on it. He must be playing games again. I thought. I didn’t care, since we had already done our work.
“How about I review the presentation and fix some things. I will also start to tell everyone what parts they get.” Offered Will.
“Thanks.” I replied gratefully. “You can do that while we deal with George and Tony.”
After about 5 minutes, I heard a knock on the door. I got anxious, and I wanted to know who was outside. I opened the door, and my dad burst inside.
“George, come with me. I heard you were messing around with the others.” My dad said seriously. “Did you even do any work?”
“Y-yes.” Replied George shakily.
My dad took George out of the room, and Tony explained that he reported George’s bad behavior to my dad on his phone.
“I thought you were playing games.” I said.
“I was reporting him.” Said Tony proudly.
After George left Will started to decide our parts, and we were ready for the presentation. At about 7:15 pm, my dad called us down to the meeting room where we were going to present our slide show on the Juncao technology.
“Come on, we have to do this. We only rented the room for a short amount of time.” Said dad.
I gathered up all of my confidence and bravery and started to talk shakily.
“Welcome!” I said. “This is our presentation about the Juncao technology. I hope you enjoy!”
After the presentation, it was time for the parents to give us a gift. First, we got the UN certificate, then, it was time for the real gift.
“Hattan, here is your gift.” My dad announced.
I walked over to him and he handed me a small bag. I looked inside, but there was just a box. After each person, the box looked more and more tempting to open up. Finally, when Tony, the last person received his gift, I could open the box. I snatched the box out of the bag and opened it up.
“Oh my god!” I screamed with excitement. “It’s a gaming console!”
I jumped around, as Tony also opened his. It was also a gaming console. Everyone got gaming consoles, and I was ecstatic.
“Yes!” Yelled George. “I finally got a gaming console! It was my dream to get one!”
“This is amazing!” Exclaimed Tony. “I love it!”
“This is the best day ever!” Said Will.
After the presentation, we went to go eat, and we went back to our rooms, still happy.
Today, we were going to leave Wuhai and go to Yinchuan. In the morning, we boarded onto 2 different cars that were headed for Yinchuan. I was on a car with Tony and Margaret, and Will had to sit with George. We sat on the car, and I had a last look at our hotel. I kept staring at it as it grew smaller and smaller, eventually disappearing through the thick canopy of trees. I would forever remember this journey and this taught me so many lessons. I had learned how to plant grass, and why it helps to stop erosion and desertification. I made friends with many people, and I learned many important lessons.
After about two hours, we had arrived at Yinchuan. We exited the car, and a wave of hot air blew at our faces. The air wasn’t as dry as the air that was in Wuhai, but it was still very dry. We raced to the massive building in front of us, which was a museum. When we entered, our tour guide welcomed us in, and I felt refreshed in the cool air. The guide took us upstairs, where there were different artifacts that were excavated in the State of Ningxia in China. The tour guide explained that these artifacts came out of caves where the ancient Chinese cavemen lived. We walked through the museum, and my father loved it. But for us children, it was different. I didn’t like it, and I hated all museums, since they were boring and way less interactive than going to an amusement park. Most of the time, I just listened, and I learned a lot too, but I sure didn’t enjoy it too much. After our visit to the museum, I thought I had been there for a year, and I felt drowsy and grumpy. I collapsed into the car seat and we set off for our new hotel.
When I opened my eyes, I was before two tall and magnificent towers. They were huge, and towered high into the sky.
“We’re here!” Said Tony. “Wake up.”
“Wow!” I exclaimed. “This hotel is amazing!”
I stared at the massive towers in awe as we stepped off the car and headed towards the building. The building towered over us, and its sleek design made it stand out from all of the other buildings near it. It was like a tree in a savanna, towering over the smaller buildings. I entered through the revolving door, dragging my heavy suitcase behind me. Inside, there was a huge shining chandelier, and comfy sofas. There was a sleek front desk, and there was also a cleaning robot. (It was my favorite part.)
“This place is so cool!” Exclaimed Will as we checked in.
When we received our keys, I found out that we were on the 46th floor. The view is going to be amazing! I thought excitedly. We all boarded onto the elevator, and it’s zoomed up into the sky. I felt myself get heavier, and we accelerated. Within 20 seconds, it had arrived at floor 46. Tony and I would be sleeping in one hotel room, and my parents on floor 41. As for the rest of the people, I don’t remember. Beep! I lightly tapped the lock with my keycard. The door opened, and as soon as we entered the room, the curtains at the massive window opened automatically.
“Wow!” Tony said. “Did you see that? The curtains just opened!”
As the curtains opened, they revealed a large and clean window, and we saw the entire city of Yinchuan under us. We had 2 large beds, and 2 seats next to a small table. There was a 65 inch TV, and when I opened another door, it led to a huge luxury bathroom with a view. There was a bathtub, a shower, 2 sinks, and a toilet. In front of the sinks were 2 massive mirrors. I was stunned at how good the hotel was, and it felt like I was dreaming. After we explored the hotel, we went swimming, then ate. After the meal we went to sleep.
On this day, we first went to a museum. The museum was boring as usual, but we were to watch a short movie about the museum and what it was going to have in it. I was tired, and I almost fell asleep during the movie, but it was too loud. We all thought the movie was very lame, and we didn’t pay too much attention to it. Then, we explored the museum with the tour guide. I didn’t really like the museum, and all I wanted to do is lie down on a comfy bed and sleep. I had not slept well the last night, and I stayed up late with Tony, chatting until midnight. I felt drained and sleepy, and I thought I was going to collapse onto the ground any second.
“Finally, we’re done!” Tony said drowsily.
We finished with the museum, but we didn’t talk much. The past few days were long and tiring, draining all of the remaining energy from us. We didn’t want to talk, and we wanted to save as much energy as possible. Finally, after several boring galleries, we went outside. We only stayed in the museum for about an hour and a half, but it felt like a whole lifetime. We boarded a tourist bus to the tomb of one of the kings from an ancient empire, and I almost fell asleep during the ride. When we arrived, I stood up shakily, and got off of the bus. The hot air awakened me, and I instantly felt less drowsy. I looked up, and there was a massive mound made of sandstone and dirt. This must be the tomb! I thought. It didn’t look as good as I thought it would, but at least it was better than the museum. Our tour guide explained that it used to be magnificent, and it looked like a temple, but the outer layers were made from wood, and when enemies came, they burned the wood. Then, we arrived at our last destination, a park next to a river. There were supposed to be drawings carved on rocks made by the ancient Chinese cavemen. As we arrived, I felt oddly awake, and I ran up to a rock, and pointed at a goofy looking carving.
“Look!” I yelled. “I found a carving.”
The others crowded up and to their surprise, there was a funny looking monkey face carved into the rock. After that, we crossed a river over a small bridge. The river was mostly dry, with very little water flowing down it.
“It hasn’t rained here for a while, but when it rains, the river swells up and there will be enough water to fill the entire riverbed.”
I also didn’t enjoy this activity, since it was very hot and we had to walk a lot. The only part I liked was that I could get some time to talk to my good friends.
After this activity, we were finished, and we drove to the airport. This was the end of our desert vacation, and it left many important messages and lessons in my memory. This was one of the best trips in my whole life, and I hope I can relive every moment of this journey. I made many new friends, and experienced new things. I will never forget this, and I hope I can come back again.
Wind brushed against my ears as I rushed down the snowy slope. Snow piled up at the edge of the trail from an earlier storm. The sun was shining through thin layers of clouds and a cool wind blew across the landscape. I was on a 7 day skiing trip in Killington.
The mountain was tall and snowy, with trails spiraling down. It seemed like the perfect vacation. I had just gotten off of the ski lift and was heading towards a big trail that went straight down the mountain. My friend’s little sister Yina was next to me since we were at the same skill level. We were already at the top of the trail, and looking down the gentle slope that led all the way to the bottom of the mountain. The snow was shining like a sheet of silver on the ground, and a relaxing feeling swept over me. The trees waved their bare branches and danced in the light breeze as we started down the trail. We rushed down the slope and enjoyed the beautiful scenery and weather.
In the middle of enjoyment, I suddenly felt a bump under my skis that sent me flying into the air. My heart started to beat rapidly, since I was always very scared of falling. My brain filled with a sense of doom as I soared higher into the air. I felt a sudden pain pierce through my body that almost numbed out all of my other senses. The cool wind on my face was no longer relaxing, but now it was a gust of strong, cold wind. It shrieked in my ears and stopped me from screaming. I felt a sudden blow to my stomach and I felt cold snow on my cheeks.
I opened my eyes and found myself face first, with my mouth into the snow. Now that I had calmed down, I could pinpoint the area where I was hurt. My left leg was sliced by the ski, though I couldn’t see the injury through my skiing gear. My skiing pants were sliced open, and an agonizing pain was spreading throughout my body.
“Help!” I screamed at the top of my lungs.
My skiing instructor stopped and started to trudge up the snowy slope. I was lying on the floor helplessly, unable to move due to pain and my heavy skis seemed to be stuck onto my feet. By the time my instructor had reached me, I was already covered in sweat and snow since I was making foolish and feeble attempts to get up or at least get my skis off.
“Don’t tire yourself out!” He instructed. “Can you get up?”
“No!”
“Are you hurt?”
“Yes, obviously!” I answered impatiently.
He carefully took off my skis and sat down next to me. Yina was also slowly walking up the mountain, as if my injury had also weighed her down. My instructor scooped his phone out of his pocket and started to dial a number. I guessed it probably was the ski patrol.
“Hello?” He said.
A voice replied, but it was a little static. I couldn't hear what the person was saying, but after a while, he responded.
“One of my students is hurt, so can you please take him to the clinic at the bottom of the mountain?”
The voice spoke again, this time more clear, and I could make out the word “Coming!”
We just waited in the cold snow, and the pain in my leg was still radiating across my entire body. Another cold wind blew past, whipping up snow into our faces. The mood of the trip quickly changed from happy and lighthearted to sad and painful.
A half hour passed, and I faintly saw an orange dot coming fast down the trail. A minute later, I saw him up close; he had brown hair, and was swiftly skiing down the trail. He stopped right next to me and sat down, just like everyone else next to me.
Another half hour passed, and I saw several orange dots coming with a larger orange dot in the middle coming down the trail. The clouds had spread across the sky and it had started to snow. Freezing gusts of wind blew across, and my hands felt like they were about to freeze off. After a while, I saw that the orange dots had come closer, and I realized that they must be the ski patrol. They were dragging a sled behind them. My instructor carefully got me up and put me onto the sled. I sat down again, once again feeling the pain in my leg. As soon as I got settled, they started skiing down the mountain, gaining speed quickly. I felt cool air blowing at my face as we speeded down the mountain. I almost forgot about the pain in my leg, as I enjoyed the ride.
The landscape moved past me quickly, with the tall pine trees quickly moving backward. I looked back ahead of me, and I realized that we were almost at the bottom of the mountain. A large building loomed in front of me, and I felt the sled slowly turning under me. We went under a small stone bridge, then I felt the sled quickly turn. My body was knocked sideways, and I felt more pain in my leg.
“Sorry!” I heard someone in the patrol say.
The sled slowly slowed down, and eventually stopped. They carried me off of the sled and helped me walk into the building. I soon found out that it was a clinic. The inside looked even more spacious than it was on the outside, and despite looking crummy and old on the outside, the inside looked new and modern. Cool and weird looking machines sat near beds, and shiny and sharp tools were placed carefully and neatly on small tables with cloth on them.
——————————————————————
We had reached a set of wooden stairs, and I struggled to get up them due to my injury. My leg felt lifeless, and the only feelings that came from it was pain. We then walked through a long and narrow hallway, and finally took a turn into a large room, full of white. The walls, bed, and all of the furniture were white, except for the tools that gleamed in the bright light.
They helped me onto the bed as a doctor slowly strode into the room. I tensed, since I was always afraid of doctors.
“First we’ll have to clean the wound with some water.” She said with a creepy smile.
I felt terrified, and I wanted to shrink back into one of the corners. But I knew that if I got over this quicker, I wouldn't have to experience that much pain. The doctor carefully grabbed my leg and put it into the sink. She turned on the sink and carefully put some water onto my wound. It was a deep wound, and it looked horrifying. I suddenly felt a jolt of pain as the water touched my skin. I bit down hard and tried hard not to scream. I squeezed my fists and pounded on the table in agony. After a while of suffering, the doctor finally turned off the tap and lifted my leg off the table.
The pain slowly died down again, as she helped me get onto the bed. A knock on the door came, and the nurse went over and opened it. It opened with a squeaking noise, suggesting that the door had not been replaced in a long time.
I looked at the door, and I saw that my dad came in! He came next to me, and sat on the bed.
“We will give him some stitches, but first we have to give him a few numbing shots.
My heart slowly beat faster and faster as my emotions spiraled into a giant tornado that tore in my mind. I didn’t want to get a numbing shot, but I couldn't do anything about it. At that moment, I felt helpless. I lay down on the bed, unable to run and paralyzed by fear. The doctor walked out of the room and closed the door. She must be going to get the numbing shots! I thought wildly. I closed my eyes and tried to get the terrifying thought that I would get the shots in minutes out of my head. Then, the nurse entered the room again, this time with a needle in her hands. She approached the bed and sat down.
“Don’t worry, you’re safe. Just don’t move.” She said.
she carefully took one of the needles and attached it to a tube. The tube had some liquid inside it, and I guessed that it was the numbing medicine. She leaned towards my leg and aimed the needle right next to my wound. I braced for the pain, and I saw her press the button on the top of the tube. I felt a piercing pain as the needle was pushed into my leg. Only 4 more to go! I thought positively.
she loaded in another needle into a different tube and once again put the needle on a different spot next to the wound. I shut my eyes and gripped the sheets on the bed as the piercing pain radiated through my leg for the second time. This one was even more painful than the last one, as I felt the pain coming in waves now, but it was slowly dying down. Three more to go now! I thought. I wondered why I was counting down until the last shot, but it was surely terrifying.
She was picking for another needle and another tube when I opened my eyes back up. She swiftly loaded the needle into the tube and leaned back to my leg. I saw the needle go down into my body and felt the familiar pain again. Time itself seemed to slow down as she pulled the needle out. I was in agony, and I wanted to pound on the bed and shout, but I was so tired that I was unable to even roll around in the bed.
The last two shots were the most painful of them all, since I was focusing way too much on them. The entire time my heart was pounding and I could hear it pumping blood in my ears.
Finally, she pulled the last needle out and the pain quickly died down. I have to admit, but this was one of the most relieving and comfortable feelings in my life. Then, she exited the room and after a while, I heard footsteps outside the door. I heard the sounds of wheels rolling across the wooden floor in the hallway. I then heard quick footsteps, clearly of many different people. The footsteps approached the door, and the door opened with a squeak. A group of doctors strode into the room with a lot of sharp tools. They also had a bunch of plastic string, which was for the stitches. They came next to the bed and began to work. My dad showed me some cartoons on his phone so that I wouldn't be bored or scared out of my mind when they were doing the operation. I couldn’t even feel any pain, and all I could feel was just a tingling sensation, even though I could clearly see that they were sewing the stitches onto my wound. I finally realized why they gave me such painful numbing shots; they were just trying to make the stitches to be less painful.
After a long time, they finally finished with the operation. The doctors helped me off the bed and led my dad and me to the front desk. She explained that I couldn't take a shower, so I had to wash myself with a warm, wet rag. I also couldn’t move around much, so I would spend the rest of the 5 days left of vacation sitting around the cabin playing Roblox.
This was an experience that shaped my life, and it made me stronger in many ways, and despite my injury, I would return to skiing the next winter. After all the suffering, I could come up with one life lesson: any challenge that you go through and survived will only make you stronger. At that time, I couldn’t imagine that in just 3 and a half years, I would be skiing down a double black trail. To this day, the scar that it left is still on my leg, but even more permanent was the scar it left in my memory.
Today I skied on a double black trail! My friend Kaden was with me to improve my skiing.
I arrived at the mountain and immediately saw Kaden!
“Kaden!!!” I screamed.
We shook hands and hugged. It was so exciting to be together! We walked to the mountain slowly and the closer we got to the snowy hill at the bottom of the mountain, the more excited I was. By the time we got to the top of the mountain, excitement completely flooded my mind and I quickly put on my skis. I started following Kaden onto a blue trail for a warmup. I confidently skied down to the slope. I could almost close my eyes of relaxation and confidence. I was so confident that I forgot that I was skiing.
CRASH! My skis got stuck on a hump of snow.
“Oh my god!!!” I yelled as I pulled my skis out of the snow. “There is so much snow here!”
After that trail, Kaden decided to take me on a black trail. I obviously was not too nervous, but I was still worried that I was going to fall. The trail was called Hellgate. When I got up to the trail, I instantly started to back up.
A very steep trail, and moguls? How am I supposed to do this? I thought.
“Come on! You can do this!” Kaden said encouragingly.
I finally got over it and I went down. Kaden also taught me a technique for going on moguls. He told me to do the “stab and turn” thing. I tried it out, and honestly, it’s not as bad as it sounds.
Then, on the second time I went on the trail, I followed Kaden to a larger mogul, and I started to accelerate and I suddenly went out of control.
BAM! I fell into a giant cloud of snow as I tumbled down the mountain. Pain was everywhere as I tumbled down the mountain. I suddenly stopped moving and got stuck in the snow. My pain came back to me and I felt snow in my jacket. The snow must’ve gotten in my jacket while I was rolling.
“Kaden!” I yelled as hard as I could.
He turned around and he noticed me lying in a pile of snow.
“Are you okay?” He yelled back.
“Yes”
I struggled to get up, and when I finally got up, I realized that that was just the easy part. My left ski had fallen off and was about 10 feet up the mountain. Both of my poles were scattered 5 feet apart and there was loads of snow in my jacket. It was freezing cold and wet. I kicked my right ski off and I slowly climbed up the hill to retrieve my skis and my poles.
After I retrieved it, I found out that the hill was way to steep to put on my skis, so Kaden had to make a flat area and help me put on my skis.
After I finally put on my skis, I was fine for the rest of the run. On the next run, Kaden told me he wanted me to go on a double black trail at the end of the day. I took my time to prepare for the last run.
I tried my best to work on and perfect my mogul technique because Kaden told me that there were a lot of moguls on the double black.
It was sunny, so there was a lot of slush in some areas of the trails. It became so hot that I started to sweat. I stared up into the sky and hoped that there were going to be clouds to block out the sun. On our fourth run, the sky grew dark and a line of menacing clouds marched at the mountain. As the clouds moved over us, we were sitting on the lift finally getting a relief from the burning sun. As we reached the top of the mountain, a light snow began to fall as a blast of wind brushed against my face. When we got off the lift, the wind had picked up to a gale and the snow was now falling hard.
Kaden was finally going to take me onto the double black trail! I looked down the mountain, but all I could see was mist and snow. I went down a trail called “cliff” and I finally arrived at the double black trail! The trail was so steep that I thought I was going to fall down and tumble all the way down the trail. Giant moguls covered the trail as I slowly edged down the trail. I tried my best to navigate the moguls, but I sometimes still got stuck. The trail was so scary that my heart was going to beat out of my chest.
When I finally finished the trail, I felt very accomplished and I thought I was so good at skiing! (I can finally brag in front of Yanbo that I am good at skiing)