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Dear Audience, I enjoyed writing my snapshots. Choosing my topic and writing the snapshots were fairly easy to me.

I decided to write about how I learned literacies through traveling. The snapshots are about my most significant vacations Ive taken throughout my life. The only major problem I had writing my draft was trying to remember minute details in my snapshots. My snapshots were vague at times. After my peer workshop I had to add details to some of my snapshots that I left out. I would like to keep my cruise snapshot. I highlighted that it was a first for me in multiple aspects. It was my first cruise trip and it was my first time riding ATVs. During my ATV ride, in Mexico, I learned about Mexican history. I would like to revise my field trip to

Washington, DC snapshot. I did not give enough details in this snapshot. I was vague when I explained where I went and what I saw. I just need to go more in depth about my journey through Washington, DC. For my peer group, how did you like my snapshot? Did you find them interesting and does it make you want to travel more often?

Terrence Thompson

I The first time I took a major vacation I was two months old. My mother, father, and I took a vacation to Canada where we visited the Niagara Falls. I do not remember much of anything about the trip because I was so young. Instead of flying, my family decided to drive to Canada. It took eleven hours and I was restless. When we arrived at the Niagara Falls there is a pier where you can look down at the waterfall. But when I was there, I had an opportunity to go into a tunnel inside the waterfall. The first thing I noticed was the high noise level. The water was roaring and my ears were taking a beating. The force of the water was so loud I had to cover my ears most of the time that was there. I also noticed the size the Niagara Fall. It felt like the whole world was surrounded by water. The largest body of water I had ever seen at that age was the pool in my neighborhood (which is only fifteen feet wide and seven feet deep). I was first intimidated but I knew that I had my parents there to protect me. The scenery was the best part of the trip. The Niagara Falls was such a breath-taking monument with an astounding view that could only be comprehended if seen in person. Being that this was my first major vacation, it opened my eyes to something that most people my age will never be able to experience. I knew that there would be many more opportunities like this presented in front of me. I just had to take advantage of them. II

In the fifth grade my elementary school took an end-of year trip to Washington, DC. It was the last memory some of my classmates and I would spend with each other. This was the first time I traveled to DC and I was excited. It was a Friday morning when the Activity bus arrived at the school. It was so early that I wanted so badly to fall asleep. On the bus I was sitting next to my best friend and we were playing our Gameboy Advance. We played the Gameboy until we convinced each other that we really needed to take a nap because we had long day ahead of us. When I woke up, I was in Washington DC and I was thrilled. When I got off the bus, I started to take a tour of the different monuments. I visited the US Capital, Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and my favorite The Smithsonian Museum. The Smithsonian Museum is multiple museums that have different areas of focus. The Smithsonian Museum had many different exhibits such American History, African Art, Air and Space, and Anacostia Community Museum. The Air and space exhibit peaked my interest because I wanted to become an astronaut when I was younger. It also caught my attention because of the planes and the astronauts hanging from the ceiling. It made me feel like I was on another planet. While at the exhibit I learned that the Wright Brothers were the first people to fly a plane. It stuck to me because they were from North Carolina and there was a connection between us. I also saw a life size replica of the plane the Wright Brothers flew. III On the way home we pasted the White House and I wondered what it would be like to tour inside. Four years later I had the opportunity to take a tour of the White House. This was an opportunity of a life time. While there I took a tour of the West Wing. The White House is the most elegant house my eyes have ever been experienced. I got a chance to see the Garden and

South lawn, James S. Brady Press Briefing Room, and the infamous Oval Office. All of these places I have either seen on TV or in movies and to get a chance to view it with my own eyes was simply amazing. IV When I was nine years old my family and I decided to take a cross-country vacation to California. This was during the school year I was able to miss a whole week of school. Instead of taking a plane and getting there in four hours, we decided to take a five day car ride that would let us explore the numerous states we would cross. As a kid I thought that the can ride took forever. I became restless which meant we had to make a lot of unnecessary pit stops. Not knowing this at the time, this made the car ride even longer. On the trip I kept a journal where I logged my everyday activities on the trip. I also listed all the states that we passed through and something interesting about them. I passed through six different states. The state that I remember the most is Arizona. Arizona is the most humid and hot state Ive ever visited. Compared to North Carolina, Arizona is like a sauna. I visited the Grand Canyon and it kind of reminded me of the Niagara Falls, only instead of water, it was surrounded by mountains. The view of the mountains were so breath-taking, I gazed at them for more than fifteen minutes. I also had a chance to walk through the Arizona Desert Museum. I saw live cactuses and all of the wild animals (Coyotes, Diamondback Rattlesnakes, etc.). I was terrified when I saw the animals because they were unfamiliar and I thought they would attack me. When we finally got to California, my parents to my brother and me to Disneyland. This was an

awesome experience as a kid. I got on roller coasters and met Mickey and Minnie Mouse. My favorite part of Disneyland was the fireworks show at night. The fireworks were loud, but they looked beautiful in the sky. Also in California I had a chance to spend time with family. I had family living in California and they were throwing birthday party for my aunt. There was good music and food; and it felt good to be close to family that Im not accustom being around.

V My sophomore year of high school my family moved to Alpharetta, Georgia for year. My fathers job relocated him for senior executive rotational assignment. I was a little apprehensive at first because I had so many roots in North Carolina (friends, school, etc.). The first couple of weeks of living in a new state were tough. There was a major culture shock and I had trouble adjusting. I struggled academically because the scheduling and the number of classes were different from what I was used to. In Durham, I was on a block schedule where we had four classes a semester and the classes were an hour and thirty minutes long. In Alpharetta we had seven classes that lasted a whole school year which were fifty minutes long. The workload was heavier in Alpharetta and it made it harder to keep up. I then started to get involved in athletics and joined study groups. This provided with a support group that I could lean on for help. I also met a lot of people that I hope to maintain a lifelong relationship with. By the time I left, it felt like I had been living in Alpharetta for most of my life. VI

Last summer my family went on vacation where we took a cruise to Belize City and Cozumel, Mexico. This was my first cruise trip and I was nervous to say the least. The only connection that I had with cruise ships was the movie Titanic. When we arrived at Cozumel, Mexico, I was given the opportunity to go on an excursion. I had a choice of going scuba diving, hiking, or riding ATVs in the jungle. I chose to ride the ATV because its sounded like a lot of fun and I had never ridden an ATV before. This would be a new experience that I probably would not have the opportunity to try back home. I was placed in a group of about ten people where we had an instructor named Gio. We had to take a five minute bus ride to the jungle where they had the ATVs. When we arrived at the jungle, we were given white bandanas so we could protect our faces from the dirt. When I got on the ATV, my heart started pounding at what seemed like100 beats per minute and my adrenaline sky rocketed. A rush went through my body and suddenly I was ready. I pressed the gas pedal and I didnt let up. I reach at least sixty mph and I felt the wind and dirt hitting my face. Periodically we would take water breaks. During the breaks our instructor, Gio, taught us about Mexican culture and their history. He talked about the roles of the people in the area and how religion played a huge role in their lives. When we finally finished the course I felt like a more enlightened person because I learned about Mexican history while experiencing riding ATVs for the first time.

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