.::My First Regatta::.

This Sunday I woke up, ate breakfast, got a bath, and got dressed. I prepared my sailing equipment, packed them in a bag, and told my brother to take me to the Club Naval. There, I prepared an optimist, as usual, I made sure the sail was working, all the lines were tied, and the boat was secure. Then, my partners told me that today we had a regatta (a sailing race). At the beggining I thought I was not prepared, but later I realized that I could do well. Then, I got ready to sail, I got some french fries and a soda and a bottle of water. I put my sailing gloves on and took the boat to the water.

I got inside the boat, and started practicing for the regatta. Fifteen minutes later, our teacher told us that the first regatta was going to start in five minutes. Five, four, three, two, one, start! The race started, and we were four who raced. I was in third place, the race had just started. When we were about to finish the first race, out of four, and I passed a boy who was in front of me, I stayed second. I was happy, it was my first regatta and I stayed second, but three more races were coming. In the second race, I started really bad, and I stayed third. The same in the third regatta. The last regatta was very cool. We were all tied, sometimes I was first, and sometimes last. This race lasted for about 16 minutes. When the race was about to be over, I was in the last place. I wanted to be third, so I did everything I had to do to sail very well. After some minutes of trying, I finally had come to a third place, useful for me. The teacher told us that I stayed second in general, I was very happy with the results of my first regatta.

Your Worst Enemy... Yourself

The story Monsters are Due on Maple Street by Rod Serling has a clear message at its end. Two figures from outer space destroy the residents of Maple Street, and not with bombs or weapons, the residents destroyed themselves. The figures had turned off everything, and the people who lived in Maple Street blamed everyone because they did not know who could do this. The message of the story is that your worst enemy is yourself. If something bad happens to people, and they don't know really what happen, the first thing they do is find a scapegoat. Everyone starts blaming each other; the result will be a world without friendship, only with prejudices and suspicion. People don't search the really guilty people; they search the first men they can blame.

Even though this message was written back in the 1960's, it still has very significant words. Today, we are in a world full of prejudices and suspicion, everyone searches for a scapegoat. I think that this message is important because we could work together instead of fighting for no reason. It is true that your worst enemy is yourself because when you eat bad things, blame other people, and say lies, you hurt your self, physically and mentally. If people like Hitler and Osama Bin Laden would have in mind this message, many people would not have died, and prejudices would not be existing. This message would be really useful if something bad happens like what happened in the Twin Towers, or any other terrorist attack.

If the story “Monsters are Due on Maple Street” was written today, some little details would have changed. If the blackout would occur these days, some things that would be damaged could be mp3's, cars, lights, portable video games, digital clocks, computers, cell phones, and air conditioners. Some changes for the story to be more adaptable to today's audience would be that instead of the ham radio, they could use an iPod. The writer could write in the story that the aliens come from another galaxy or specifically from a planet in our solar system, for example, Jupiter's moon may have aliens. Today, the place where something like this happened would not be as horrified as in the story, they would be more prepared and instead of blaming themselves they would blame the local electricity factory.

CAMUN

Last year, my cousins told me they were going to the annual JMUN (Junior Model United Nations) in the school. I didn't know what it was about so I ask them about JMUN. They told me that it was a conference that simulated a United Nations conference. They also told me that JMUN was not so important, they told me that CAMUN (Cartagena Model United Nations) was more important because people from different countries come to the conference. I liked all that stuff about discussing and defending your point of opinion, so I told them if I could participate, and my cousins told me that I sure could. A week before the conference I started getting ready, I rented a full dress, I wrote a speech that everyone had to write, and I studied the point of opinion of the country I chose. I chose Ukraine, and I was partner with Luis Carlos because he also chose Ukraine. The day before the conference we went to a coctel that marked the beginning of CAMUN in the Castillo de San Felipe. There, Luis and I found out that Roberto and Augusto where participating in the conference, we thought it was cool.

Finally, the conference starting day was up. I woke up, ate breakfast, got a bath, and got dressed up. My dad took me to Hotel Caribe, the place where the conference occurred. Luis, Roberto, Augusto and I where very nervous, we did not know what to do or to say. After the first day of the conference, we had only said a few words. the next day, we talked a lot, and we discussed a lot. The conference ended on a Sunday, and we where happy because we had been in the CAMUN conference.

This year I will participate in JMUN and CAMUN, but this time I will arrive much more prepared because I am in the MUN elective where I have learned a lot about this conferences. JMUN will be in November 28 or 29, I don't remember. I hope I’ll do well.

Rough Draft of a Short Story

"Hey, that building, the Space Needle, is really high and very thin, I really love skyscrapers," said Jamal, "I like vertigo." Seattle's most popular attraction, the Space Needle, was crowded of people, especially from a Colombian group of people who went to visit. Jamal, Andrea, and Carla were some of these Colombians, but they were special. They had come to a conference about cakes at the center of the city, they thought it was boring so they ran away and went to the thin but tall tower. They bought their tickets, and then waited in line to go in the elevator that took people to the main room. Andrea, who was always negative, thought that it was to dangerous to go so high, something bad could happen. Carla, who was her best friend tried to convince her to go up the building. Dinnng, the elevator rang, the Colombians went into the elevator.

"Nothing bad will happen, lets go up," said Carla.

"No, it is too scary," responded Andrea.

Then Jamal said, "Ok, let’s let her stay here."

Andrea, who did not want to stay alone, finally accepted to go to the highest part of the Space Needle, “OK, I’ll go.”The three of them went up on the elevator; it took them about two minutes and a half. The room they were in was colorful, well decorated, and had a lot of large screen plasma TVs. Carla and Jamal went to the balcony, and looked at the beautiful city of Seattle.

"What a beautiful city this is, don't you think so," asked Carla.

"Yes, much beautiful than that city in Colombia we visited last year," responded Jamal.

Andrea went to balcony with her friends, but she did not dare to look outside. "I'm not going further, it's too high," said Andrea frightened while looking at Jamal who was doing bad faces to her.

“Ha ha ha ha! The poor baby is too frightened, ha ha ha ha!" said Jamal.

"Stop it!" replied Andrea with an angry and frightened face. Jamal wanted to show Andrea that it was safe, so he did something that no one would do even with a harness, he took a strap, he hold it in his hands, and he was about to jump out of the building.

"I'm going to jump," said Jamal.

"No!" yelled Andrea who came running to stop him from jumping.

"Ha ha, you finally came over here, I was not going to jump, I did this to frighten y..." Suddenly Jamal tripped over a bag and fell out of the building. "Help!! Help me!" yelled Jamal who was holding from the strap he holds. Everyone who stood close to Jamal started to stand apart and to go away, nobody was close to save him.

"I told you something bad would happen, now Jamal will die!" yelled Andrea to Carla.

"Nothing bad will happen, calm down, and pray on your knees!" replied Carla.

Suddenly a poor resident of Seattle came to save Jamal. His name was John, he was a strong and intelligent, and he really wanted to save Jamal. John saw the strap that the poor Jamal hold for about six minutes. John realizes that if he takes the strap and takes Jamal the strap may break and he may die. After some minutes, the strap started to brake apart, and Jamal was about to let go, and he had the idea to tie himself to the strap, so he did not get tired. John called 911 and asked for the fire fighters, but all of them were saving a burning forest. The strap continues to brake apart, very slowly, but breaking, in any moment Jamal could fall.

"Help, the strap is about to brake!" said Jamal.

"The fire fighters are not in the city and if I take the strap it will break," said Andrea and John while looking at Jamal.

"Do you see that little balcony over there?" asked John. "You can try to jump over there and there is an opportunity to save yourself," said John.

"I'll jump," said Jamal. Then, he moves the strap back and forward, and he jumped to the little balcony. He did not stood in the little place, he was now holding it with his hands and he was about to fall. "I will only hold it for a minute or two, fast help me," said Jamal with his last forces. Jamal started trying to get on the balcony and he did what he wanted to. Now, someone had to save him, and John had gotten a harness and went in search of Jamal's life. John hold him in his hands, and when they were going up, the harness felt off John's body, so they had to hold the harness' string with their hands.

"Oh, no, who will help us?" yelled Jamal and John together.

"We will save you," said Andrea.

Everyone who was in the top part of the building gathered up and started pulling the string to save them. "Pull!" yelled everyone together, "pull, pull!" Everyone pulled the string for about forty-five seconds, until they finally saved Jamal.

"Finally, we're saved," said John

"Thank you a lot for what you did, you saved my life, what can I do for you?" replied Jamal.

John started thinking, and finally he said, "You could give me a burger."

"I'll buy all the burgers you want, but first I must go to the hospital because my toe hurts a lot, hope didn't break it." said Jamal with his last forces.

Andrea and Carla came back to Colombia after what happened in Seattle. John and Jamal became really good friends, so Jamal stayed living in Seattle, they worked together in the Space Needle, and their work was to make sure that no one fell, so that no one experienced what Jamal experienced.

Halloween is Coming Up

Lost in a Comic World

Imagine a normal summer day while playing in your background with your family and friends. You decide to play soccer, so you go inside your house to search for the ball in your room. Suddenly, you see a strange shadow below the ball, you sit on your knees and you touch the shadow. Suddenly, strong pulls of a strange gell pull you inside the shadow, leaving you asleep. Three hours or more later, you wake up and see a strange, very different world of that in which you have lived many years. Your first thought is that you are in a dream, but you realize that you are awake.

The world that you are now on is similar to the world in comics. The people that you see do not look real, you are somehow trapped in a comic book. Everyone looks at you with a daring sight, and you get really scared. Suddenly, a good and nice boy touches you at your arm and asks you to come to his house. You accept, and you you go to the boy's house. The house is a two-story red house with a very big backyard, it has at least 8 windows and you seem to like it. You start liking this world, even more than human world! You now live with the boy's family, by the way his name is Timmy. Timmy and you go to a public school together, and what you learn in school is how to be a super heroe. You have already lived 2 years in this world and you start getting bored. You are very sad and you miss your family a lot. You tell Timmy to help you get out of his world, and he agrees to help you. While searching a way out, Timmy tells you that he saw a green, two-story high portal that probably will take you with your family or to another world. You enter the portal, luckily you get back home, and you figure out that only 3 minutes have passed after you left the world. This would be very strange.

If this would happen to me, I would feel very happy but strange. Going to another world is something that you would never forget, it would be an amazing experience. I would never tell someone about this because people would say that it is very stupid and unbelievable. I would try to find a way inside the comic world to thank Timmy everything he did for me. Although this will never happen, a way inside a comic world, obviously, is reading comics such as Hulk, Spiderman, and Superman.

.::Awful Holidays!::.

Have you ever imagined how could your worst holiday be? I would imagine 1)
going to a scary hotel, doing nothing in my house, or going to a very boring farm while it's raining.The worst of these, would be going to a scary hotel. Not a scary hotel like in comics, but a hotel that has no food, a bad tv, and an ugly bed. I would not like a hotel without 2) breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Something that I would never like to have in a hotel is 3) an ugly, fat, and hairy room cleaner, horrible! 4)He cleans, he serves food, he does room service. Imagine that you are 5) right to a smelly gargabe, and suddenly you see your room cleaner! 6)While walking to your room, you meet a very nice girl. 7) Yes, this does not sound scary, but five minutes later the room cleaner told you she was dead a week a go! I would tell my parents inmediately to take me home or to the beach, cool! 8) Whenever I am in a very boring vacation, I tell my parents to go back home, that is what I would do in this freaky holiday. How would your worst vacation be, scary or boring, please write a comment about it.


1) Series of phrases.
2) Series of objects.
3) Series of modifiers.
4) Independent clauses.
5) Prepositional phrases.
6) Participial phrases.
7) Introductory yes, no, or interjection.
8) Adverb clause.

Google

Google, one of the most visited sites in the world, is really critiziced and congratulated. Usually, google is the first webpage students visit to search for information. Google makes it really easy for you to find very good information for your topic, you only need to type your topic, click enter, and choose the best site you see. Encyclopedia books can sometimes be better than google because google does not check their information, so you can have false information. Google is not only the page you usually type (www.google.com), google also has a program called Google Earth, it is free and you can see all the world, special places and even restaurants in cities. Google has a book search engine, you can search very good books, and even read some pages. I think that one of the things that makes google very good is it's domain over many languages and specialization in countries. For example, in the Colombian google, you can search for sites only found in Colombia, and that is very good. Some of google's enemies are Yahoo!, Go, and www.com. Hotmail, is also an enemy of google's www.gmail.com which is an e-mail "machine", it works like hotmail, but some people say it's better.

I think that google is the best site in the world. I like it so much because it can help you like an encycopedia by giving you information. Also, you can find very cool sites, like online games, sites were you can buy stuff, and many more things. Google has an extended menu on sites and programs. My favorite one is Google Earth (click here to download) I can see many new cities, the best thing I've seen on it are the palmlike islands in Dubai, you should look for them in this program. One thing I don't like about google is that it shows many offensive things to people, specially to Bush. You should look for information on Google, I recommend you.

.::Problems in My Life::.

Have you ever had problems that you don't know how to solve? Everyone does, and when it happens to me I take a few easy steps to solve them. First, I would apologize with the person I hurt. Then, I would try to solve the problem, for example, if I broke something I would buy another thing or try to fix it. Finally, I would try to make the person I hurt happier by buying a gift for that person. If I am under pressure, I would get very mad but try to clam down and apologize, but if I'm not under pressure I would use the easy steps I told you (use them, they are free! He). Sometimes when I do a mistake and people yell at me I get really angry, and if the other people are still yelling at me, I get even angrier. If a person kicks me or something like that I would do what they did to me, if I am angry enough. I know that I should never be angry because it is bad for your health, but it's hard to stop.

One time I made a mistake that hurt a person was about five or six years ago. I was in my cousin's house and we were happy playing soccer in his backyard. I was about to score, but suddenly, my cousin pushed to the ground to make sure I did not score. I did score, but I got so angry that I kicked him and I threw his soccer ball to a car that was going fast, and the ball exploded! Then, I realized that we were playing soccer, and it was a simple penalty, so I felt sorry. My cousin was crying, I brought him some water, told him that I apologize, and promised him I was going to buy him the best Nike ball I could find. One or two weeks later, I gave him a brand new soccer ball, and he accepted my apology. We played soccer, and he pushed me to the ground, but this time instead of fighting, I took the ball, I put in the ground, I kicked it and scored the best "fair play" goal of my life. That day I saw my cousin very happy with his soccer ball, so I returned home very happy, I had done something very good.

I recommend you that every time you have a problem, try to solve it for yourself first, if you could not solve it, ask an adult for help. Try not to get in problems!