Over the summer, my family and I travelled to Manila, the capital of the Philippines for three days. It was already 90 degrees and dreadfully humid once we arrived. My body started to sweat profusely, making me drink a gallon of water in less than a minute. Not only that, traffic was horrendous. Traffic lights were nonexistent, vendors were knocking on the windows trying to sell newspapers, and people in their jeepney were screaming, “Go! Go! Go!” All of this was not new to us, however. We lived here for two years, then moved to America when I was seven years old. Many view “vacation” as a time for relaxation and living the lavish life, but for me it was a realization of how I should be grateful for my life. Hours before the flight, I felt ecstatic. I was ready to spend my hard earned paychecks on new clothing and shoes. We arrived at five in the morning the following day and it took almost an hour to arrive at my relative’s house. My sister and I were surprised by the housing conditions. It reminded me of favelas in Brazil. Houses were cramped, the power kept on turning off and on, trash was everywhere, and roofs were leaking. We were terrified, wondering if this place was safe, but my parents did not care. They were too busy laughing and telling stories with one another. Early afternoon, I was excited to take a nap on a Tempur Pedic quality bed, but it was not what I expected. It felt as if I was sleeping on cardboard while sandpaper is rubbing Libed 2 against my back as
In the months, weeks, and eventually days leading up to my flight to Germany the panic was gnawing away at me. Despite the fact that this wasn’t the first time I was venturing out without my parents or even my first time on a plane, it was my first time for a myriad of other experiences in my life. My first international adventure, my first time living with a family that wasn’t my own, and my first time being surrounded by people speaking a different language; all of which began with a simple decision to cross the threshold between the jet bridge and the plane.
We arrived on a day where the sky was pale, and the people’s faces seemed very weary. I convinced myself that everything will be fine by repeating some positive thoughts in my head. The conflict in Iraq was pretty aroused most of the time, and even though my parents and I were Iraqis, people there still looked at us as foreigners, because we did not live in Iraq long enough. However, it was very hard to set an appointment for the passport process, so we waited about six days for it. It was not a pleasant waiting because there was no electricity, for we had to deal with the 120 Fahrenheit weather. My parents knew how difficult it was for me to stay there, even for a short period of time, but no solution they had. I have big dreams to achieve, I also have a big love for my family, and I was not ready to suffer if something would happen to them because of an explosion or a
I rushed over to check in and retrieve my boarding pass. Lately a lot of planes have been going missing, which is all I could think about the whole time. “Flight 23 is now boarding.” I carried my carry on baggage onto the plane. I looked down at my boarding pass and realized that I was already at my seat. There was a man sitting in my designated seat. I was too nervous about the flight to even question him. I sat down next to him. I looked out the window and noticed in the distance that dark cumulus clouds were being formed. There was a strong wind that hit my side of the plane, furiously shaking the whole aircraft. Having hope was the only thing that came to mind every time negative thoughts would
When the word “vacation” is mentioned, everyone instantly thinks of a great time. There are no classes, no work, no chores, and most importantly, no worries. However, this isn’t always the case, especially with my family. We decided to set out on an adventure to Virginia Beach this past April. The events that took place were benign but, the trip itself was a little bit of a struggle due to the chain of unpredictable events.
As soon as I stepped off the airplane all I could think was, “what on Earth did I get myself into?” This place was hotter than hell and full of people buzzing around speaking a language beyond foreign to me. It was absolutely nothing like what I was expecting to see. Everyday we had the same schedule; we would play basketball against the local teens and after the games we would give the
It didn’t hit me this whole experience was real until I crossed the threshold of the departure bridge into the cabin. I was scared and I was nervous. Moving to New Zealand was easy. I was three and there was still time to make friends. This time, however, I would be walking into a classroom of kids that already have their friend groups sorted. I would also say excited but the other two emotions definitely overpowered the excitement I was feeling. My only knowledge of the house we were moving into was about an hour’s worth of a camcorder walkthrough from some relatives. It looked nice enough on video, but I was apprehensive as to what it looked like in real life. I’m not sure if it was because I had just spent 24 hours in either an airport or an airplane, but when we pulled up to the house I was amazed. I looked better than what the video portrayed and any nervousness I felt earlier melted away. I was excited to start a new chapter of my
During the spring break of 2015, my brother who was 10 at the time of the traumatic event, had a grand mal seizure at 8:21 in the morning. When I saw him having the seizure I sat in the recliner and felt completely and utterly useless. As his older brother it was extremely traumatic for me because I couldn’t help him and I just sat there feeling as if it was my fault that this happened. All I could do was just watch him shake and writhe on the couch. We were staying at my grandparents’ house and my grandma had dealt with a child that had seizures. So my grandma told us we would wait fifteen minutes and if he didn’t come to his senses we would call the paramedics. Well low and behold he didn’t come out of it so we called 911 and we waited for
Getting on our plane was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to, especially since my dad couldn’t come with us that day. December 8, 2010 was the day my family decided that moving to America would give me and my brother many more opportunities, keep in mind my parents hadn’t told us that we were moving to the US. I remember I had been hugging my dad saying goodbye to him and my mom had to come and grab me away from him. His face was through the window was the last thing I remember seeing before buckling my seat belt and laying down on my mother’s shoulder. Once we had landed my mother woke me up and said to me that I should help out with the luggage and the other belongings we had to take. The night went by probably faster than
Imagine getting away from the monotony of your everyday life. You can lie on the beach sipping a cool drink miles away from your worries of getting a paper done or helping a customer at work. You can be on top of a mountain overlooking beautiful lands that are different from your own backyard. Half of the class has taken a vacation less than five times in their lifetimes, but let’s face that most of those probably included those little family vacations to Disneyland. But, all of you said that you planned to travel someday. So, why not do it sooner than later? One of the reasons for not traveling that many of you put is not having time because of school or work. Also, one of your major concerns is
Many people like to take a vacation each summer with their families, partner, or even just by themselves. It may be to the beach, an amusement park, or just a road trip to a place that they have planned on traveling to for months. However, many people choose to stay inside of the United States when going on their vacation. Traveling abroad, or outside of the country, is something that everyone should try at least once in their lifetime. Although any vacation can be thrilling, there is something special about visiting other countries and simply seeing the difference between the country where I visited and the country that I live in, and have lived in my entire life. One such event for me was visiting Montego Bay, Jamaica on a cruise I had
Trying to find memories is like looking for treasure. You look at the surface and see something mediocre, but you dig deep and find something cool, pretty, and meaningful. It took a while to think of a fond memory, but once I thought of some, it was hard to choose a favorite. Growing up I have had many great experiences in the form of vacations. Between going to Disney World, owning a vacation home, hanging out with my grandparents in Arizona, traveling to Canada and more. They all make amazing memories that I will forever cherish. The vacation spot we go to the most, though, is Wisconsin Dells. A few times I have been allowed to invite friends to come with. When I am allowed to bring friends, it is always a ginormous amount of fun. We goof off in the hotel room, play in the arcades, and swim in the water parks.
My vacation to Jamaica was one of the best weeks of my life so far. At first though, it was a bit hectic. It was June 24 and I was excited to go out of the country for the first time. I could already see myself soaking up the sun on the beach. We had arrived at the airport and we’re waiting in line to get our boarding passes. We had gotten there a little later than expected and the line took a year it felt like. When we got our passes, we rushed to our terminal. Running for our lives, we were hoping we weren’t too late. As soon as we arrived, our plane had stopped boarding. My family and I were devastated. But my father was looking forward as he got us another flight to Chicago later that night, another flight to Jamaica the next morning, and another day for us to spend at the resort. In the morning of June 25, we had arrived in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
We all know what it’s like to go on a vacation and have an amazing time, but do we know what it’s like to have a bad vacation. Last year for Labor Day Weekend we decided to got on a trip to Atlantis. Atlantis is a water park filled with greatness the most daring slides. I have been here before but I was younger so i couldn't go on the mouth dropping slides. We woke up at four o'clock in the morning and drove to the airport because me and my my love early flights. We love early flights because we can get there in time to see what we could do the next day and check out our room. When we got to the airport we went to our gate and sat down. We were hungry so after a while we got the amazing tasting, color rushing, and best looking dozen of donuts I have ever had. When we got back to our gate we were boarding. Finally we were on the plane. I have a brother but I always call window seat every time. I love window seat because I can see the beautiful lit up buildings and city. I can also see the amazing sunrise. I didn't need to use an I can electronic on the plane when I had window seat. It's like I can feel the sun's beauty. We were just about to take of when some lady fell. When she fell we all heard a crash. The lady had gotten stuck between the two seats and couldn't move. Everyone would leave the plane and they said she was fine but they had to cut the seats to get her out. So after that incident they decided to move us to a new gate and said your
My journey the day I left my home country in search of a better life was not as pleasurable or exciting as I expected. Although it was not a long flight, the accumulation of unexpected vicissitudes during the trip made my dream of traveling an absolute nightmare. Not only my sadness to be leaving my family behind, the uncertainty to fly alone and for the first time, or my inexperience with the procedures at the airport contributed to this calamity, but even my neighbor on the plane added his bit of sand in the affair. All this situation was such traumatic to me that I even considered never daring to fly again.
As soon as the door opened, the heat hit me. It was like putting a hot iron in front of my face. But it felt even worse as there was a slight wind which pushed the heat towards me. My body was surrounded in a blanket of heat and I even started to sweat slightly. My uncle told me to wait by the lift as he went to collect the car so I wouldn’t have to walk as far and drag my suitcase along. While I waited, I took time to look around at the surroundings. I could see mountains which stretched towards the clouds and the airport behind me. There were a vast number of people walking around from their flight looking drowsy and with no energy. The frequent red double-decker bus also came and a few planes flew above my head. I didn’t even have to look, but I could hear the planes departing and arriving. The planes all looked the same in the sky, big and white with some sort of logo. During the wait, I took a few steps to take away the cramp. Although I had trainers on, I could feel and see that the floor was new. The concrete looked