In the beginning of November I had really been looking forward to the 10th grade trip to Sea Camp. Since our trip was four days, our break would be prolonged. Within the last two weeks of November we only had four days of school. The trip down to the keys took about eleven hours including stops for food. When we got there we got into our groups, had a tour of the place, and did an algae lab. This was the first impression I truly got of the trip, and it wasn't a good one.
The next morning for breakfast, there was an egg for each person. The table we chose to sit at that morning was the same one we would have for the rest of the trip. My decision turned out to be stupid. At my table were all guys: Mr. J, Jeung Hoon, Apurv, Robert, Jared, Leon, Lucas, and myself. The decision was only stupid because the amount of food they served us was minimal. For every meal, we got at least 3 refills for the platter.
The activities that morning were wading to an island, kayaking to an island, doing a squid lab, and snorkeling in a shark pond. The kayaking was a bit fun because we splashed each other and on the island we got to play tug-of-war. The bottom of the sea was pretty mucky and there were so many jellyfish, probably about 1 per square foot. I can't really say how the squid lab went considering I dozed off for most of it because it was a bit windy and warm outside, so it helped me to relax. From what I heard about the shark pond there weren't many sharks; only a couple people actually saw sharks. The water was also freezing so I didn't think it would be worth going in the shark pond to freeze and not see any sharks.
In the afternoon we went on a boat trip for about two hours. We were supposedly going to go to some beautiful reefs, but ended up going to a regular reef because there was not enough time. So I didn't find it especially exciting. The most interesting thing I saw was a barracuda. That evening was the most fun part of the trip: we went to Key West for about four hours. We ate dinner at a restaurant called "Sloppy Joe's Bar." There were two people playing guitar and singing some country. Before all this, I'd never considered there being a country Jew; surprisingly enough the diversity of the world proved me wrong: one of the guys was a country Jew from Cleveland, Ohio. The lyrics of their songs were hilarious and explicit.
After dinner we all split and walked around Key West. Many stores had shirts with some explicit drawings and words that were quite funny if you ask me. A shirt that had a big rooster on it and under it said "BIG" is one example of a not so explicit shirt. Another cool part about the stores was that many of the workers there were Israeli, which was interesting for me to see. At about nine we all met back at the bus and headed back to the 'real' part of the trip.
After this trip, I truly understand that what I read in a book called "Nineteen Minutes," by Jody Picoult, is true. In the book it said that happiness is measured by reality divided by expectations. If I hadn't had high expectations of this trip, I probably would have been more pleased with it.

My family has gone on ski trips every year, and each year we have visited different resorts. One of the best, in my opinion, was Whistler, Canada. Whistler is one of the top ski resorts in North America. It covers a great amount of area and has many slopes of all levels to ride on. I went to Whistler about three years ago, and it left me with some memorable experiences, good and bad. My brothers and I have been skiing for about eight to ten years. When we were younger we took lessons in order to obtain the fundamentals of skiing. We would have ski school until one o'clock or so then hit the slopes with our parents and other elders that would be with us. My dad has been skiing for a long time now, so he also helped us to learn. We also have a couple video shots from skiing, because my dad would bring a little backpack on him with a camcorder inside. He would go ahead of us then ski down the slope backwards and record us. My mom on the other hand is a little too timid/cautious with skiing.

On ski trips, each morning we would arise at about eight so we could hit the slopes early and get a good long day of skiing in, in order not to waste any time we had. The slopes, depending on the ski resort, usually close around five in the afternoon. Most resorts have restaurants on the slopes or at the bottom of the mountain where we would eat lunch. Some places had better food than others. Whistler's food is very unique. They have this special food called "beavertail". The name may be a misnomer to those who have never heard of it before, but do not be mislead by the name. Beavertail, in fact, is delicious. There are many different types of beavertail. Some of my favorites are chocolate hazelnut with sugar, maple and chocolate, and cinnamon and sugar. You can basically create your own beavertail, as long as the place has the ingredients you want.

My favorite thing about skiing is going on jumps or any moguls along the side of terrains, but no the moguls on black diamonds which are sometimes the whole slope. Sounds like the usual kid, the part about liking jumps. The last day of skiing in Whistler we (my dad, my brothers, and I) went through a terrain park, which many ski resorts have. My dad stayed behind us the whole time in case something was to happen. I began to ski down the slope approaching a good size jump. A few seconds later, when I went off the jump, I realized I had picked up too much speed when I was about ten feet in the air. I was fortunate enough to only break a thumb, rather than break an ankle, which would be quite hard to do in ski boots. That did not really teach me anything with speed and jumping though, because I continue to go off jumps.

Many people do not know how to respond when asked, "If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?" This question is hard to answer since there are so many exotic places in the world; many that people do not even know about. It would be nice to answer such a question...
I consider Hawaii, mainly the city of Honolulu, as one of those exotic places. Even the airports are unique to others because they are located outside, and they are surrounded by a Hawaiian aura. My first impression of going to Hawaii (at the end of 8th grade) was discombobulated when my seat on the airplane was right next to a guy who reeked of cigarettes. He seemed like the punk-surfer type smelling like smoke, having a gauged earlobe (I am not sure whether there is a specific name for an 'earring' like that), and then asking me whether I had surfed at Waikiki (famous beach in Honolulu).
I went with my grandparents for my Bar Mitzvah present, and we were going to be traveling with a tour group in Hawaii. We arrived in the morning and just settled in at a hotel in Honolulu that was adjacent to Waikiki Beach. In the afternoon I went to surf. It was probably the most crowded beach I have been to; all surfers.
The next morning we met the group we would be touring with. We took a tour of Oahu which has beautiful homes that, of course, all cost in the millions. We also stopped at this beach where a surf contest was occurring. The famous Hawaiian waves were around ten feet high. Later that night we went to a Hawaiian dinner show. It was good though I do not recall most of it because I was still adjusting to the six hour time change so I kept dozing off. They had some good food though.
The next day we visited the Pearl Harbor Memorial Museum. The USS Arizona Memorial was very well done, and truly was a nice memorial for those who fought. We also went to a spot that was well-known for snorkeling. That day did not seem as if it was even a good spot. It was pouring and windy so the snorkeling was a fail. The helicopter ride was something else. The ocean surrounding Hawaii is completely see through; it was as if we were looking at a terrain map of an ocean-we could see the difference in depths from up in the helicopter. In the helicopter, we traveled to some cliffs and saw some towns up on the cliffs. One of the cliffs is 3000 feet above the sea.
Maui was the most peaceful place. The views from the windows of our hotels were always beautiful and breathtaking. On the last day, we went to a luau, a traditional Hawaiian feast with hula dancers. While in Hawaii, I bought a couple of shirts and one says, "I got lei'd in Hawaii" (in case someone doesn't know, a lei is when they put a flower 'necklace' around your neck).
...I can truly answer this question: Hawaii.