Thanksgiving at the Taylor's -- Extra Credit Blog [Post #3]

Then, the children proceeded to burst out into song. No one expected these powerful voices singing a difficult opera song to come from my two, little cousins.

It was the Thanksgiving of 2001. This was the first year that my cousins from Smyrna, Georgia had come to Thanksgiving which was held every year at our house. My Smyrna cousins consisted of two adults and their two children. These two children were somewhat out of the ordinary.

When they arrived, their five year-old daughter was dressed in a plaid, formal dress. It had "poofs" everywhere. She was a little over-dressed for the occasion. Her little three or four year-old brother was as well. He was dressed just like a little man in his three-piece suit. This was surprising to find a little boy dressed much more formally than any of the other men at our house.

As the day went on, my little brother and I became friends with our cousins who were close to our ages at the time. We even got to sit together at the same table in the kitchen where we all shared jokes and funny stories during dinner.

When dinner came to a close, somehow, the majority of the family who had come to our Thanksgiving feast was congregated in the family room downstairs. One of my cousins, who was also the grandmother of the Smyrna children, asked them to sing a song. I am still not quite sure whether she was saying this in a joking tone or asking them seriously. However, the children took her seriously and gathered together. All of us were expecting a cute, brother-sister duet of a childish Christmas carol. What came out of their mouths was shocking.

The little girl and boy began harmonizing in a spectacular opera song. They sang high and low, proving to us that they were definitely part of an elite children's choir or something similar. Everyone in the room was in complete shock, mouths gaping open. Their mouths remained open, even after the children completed their song. Applause and "whoo's" rang through the household. The children bowed for us and performed another song.

At the end of the Thanksgiving celebration with the Taylor family, everyone was sad to see the singing cousins go. Needless to say, I have never had another Thanksgiving experience quite like this one.

Movie Review #1 -- Raiders of the Lost Ark [Post #2]

*Warning: This review contains spoilers!*

Car chases, snakes, blood, deaths, fighting, and many more intense actions are involved in the movie, Indiana Jones; Raiders of the Lost Ark, and sadly, I cannot stand any of this. Since I am a complete wimp, this movie did not appeal to me whatsoever. First of all, at the beginning, Indiana Jones finds a golden head which is instantly taken away by a man who you later find out is a notorious, French architect who is one of Jones' enemies. This completely confused me in the beginning, and truly, I believe the movie could have gone on without this scene. The movie did not revolve around a golden head. It revolved around Indiana Jones and his quest to find the arcane Ark of the Covenant which is said to be the box containing the original Ten Commandments. Throughout the movie, there is loads of action-packed adventures. Anyone who is fascinated by action and fighting and much more would love this movie. However, I have a predilection for romantic-comedies and sweet, touching films. At the end of the movie, there is the very important scene where the Ark is opened, and everything crazy breaks loose. That scene was well-done, but I did not find this scene amusing or interesting. It was creepy in my perspective. To conclude, I recommend this film to anyone who has a penchant for action-packed, bloody, insane movies.

Freshman Trip Journal [Post #1]

No "call of adventure" for me. Before going on this trip to the Nantahala River, I have to be honest, I wasn't excited at all. First off, school had just started, and summer had just ended, so I really didn't have much time to get excited. Usually for trips, I will pack my bag a couple days before because I am excited to go. However, this was not the case. I packed an hour before I went to bed the night before. I ended up having fun on our trip. I was the worst kayaker though. I think I ran into everyone at least five times. I could not steer that kayak if my life depended on it. So I don't think I will be kayaking much in the future. It was a been there, done that kind of thing.
This trip doesn't complement anything I have learned in school. I wrote that on my second entry. It was an honest comment though. In school, we don't learn to kayak. We learned English, Math, and other subjects that don't have to do with a little boat that is nearly impossible to steer. I must have made these quotes in my journal because I was bitter about my  kayaking skills.