Assignment #7

Rock, paper, scissors. Most people and kids use this fun entertaining game to decide upon little things. Unlike them, my dad used this game to decide one of the most important decisions in his life. In South Africa, my dad grew up and went to medical school, but realized, that there wasn’t enough keeping him there. Also, he had to pay off his student loan from seven years of university. So, he decided that the best and quickest way to make money, was to either go to New Zealand or Canada. Him and his friend had the same dilemma, about where to. There was one job in New Zealand and one in Canada. They decided that the best way to solve their dilemma, was to play a career deciding game of rock, paper, scissors. Best of three and only three. No more, no less. Who ever won, went to Canada and the loser, went to New Zealand. Rock... paper... scissors! My dad shot out scissors, when his friend played paper. One nothing. Again, my dad played scissors, but this time his friend played rock. One all. Inside, they both wanted to go to Canada so bad. I bet the selling feature for them was the snow : ) One more time, they played their last move. Staring at each other, they counted, 3... 2... 1... My dad won, with his ever so trusty scissors. At that moment, he felt great about going to Canada, but didn’t quite realize how truly life changing the next part of his story would be.

Assignment #6

When you wake up early in the morning, not knowing what day of the week it is, and stepping outside into the fresh morning breeze, that’s the best part of summer. I love when you get up and go down stairs, and find tons of fruit all cut into different shapes, waiting on the table, along with some fresh blueberry pancakes. You walk outside and sit in the sun and enjoy not having to do anything. After breakfast, you finally decided that it would be best if you changed out of your pajamas, and throw on what ever you want, not trying to impress anyone but yourself. Then you have to make another decision, go swimming, or bike riding first. Lunch soon follows, and you make freshly squeezed lemonade, and  collect vegetables from your garden to make a refreshing salad. Once again, you sit outside listening to the birds and the sound of the wind running over the pool. The new trees and plants bare flowers and bright shades of green while reflecting in the rippling water. Later on in the day, cousins and aunts and uncles arrive from all over, to spend and few weeks with you. The rest of the day flies by, but you enjoy it all, playing outside, making dinner, watching a movie, it’s just perfect. Summer time is  all about having fun, relaxing, and enjoying family, and that’s just what I do. 

Assignment #5

     Over the past month, I’ve done a lot. In South Africa, there’s so

much to do. We’ve been to Cape Town, and went up the famous Table Mountain, been to tons of great beaches, eaten in a tree, swam with penguins, saw almost every wild African animal, went to the Fifa World Cup Stadium, rode on Segways, and spent a lot of time with Family. One of my favorite things we did, was going on safaris. We stayed is a little hut, with the wilderness surrounding us, with no fences to be protected by. We saw Lions, zebras, giraffes, monkeys, elephants, impalas, (similar to deer), and so many different kinds of interesting birds. We toured                                   around in open jeeps in the
middle of no where, metres away from animals. It was truly amazing. We use every moment of every day to fit everything in. One day in Natal, my family and my grandparents all went zip       lining. It was really cool. We flew over the trees tops and went down 24 stories. We also “para-zipped”. It was parachuting and zip-lining together. My grandma is now the oldest person in the entire “world” to ever do it! Every trip we take, and every thing we do on them, teaches me so much about the rest of the world. I love traveling, and exploring, which will be a part of me forever.

Assignment #4

     Olivia Ruddiman. My first name, to me, is really simple and quite easy to say. Although Olivia may be easy, Ruddiman is a different story. It originally meant the “man” who was in charge of the “rudder” on a boat. The rudder, is what you steer with, and it makes the boat turn. It’s actually quite a cool name because, we ended up sailing a boat for a year ourselves. Ruddiman has been pronounced Rudderman, Rudemin, Ridman, and a bunch of other weird names. As for Olivia, I’ve really only gotten strange nick names. Courtney has always given me nick names. Liv, Olive, Livi, Libia. One time, when Courtney had a friend over, she called me Olive, like she always did. It didn’t really bother me, until she decided to add onto it. Then, it suddenly became Olive Oil. The next day at school, her and her friend called me this in front of other people. It eventually just caught on. I swear, by the end of the year, half the people at school, knew me as “Olive Oil”. Even though my name is not always pronounced correctly,( or even my name at all), I love every part of it.

Assignment #3

     I push the button C2 on the side of the vending machine, in hopes of getting one packet of skittles. I watch the silver coil holding it back, begin to twirl around, releasing the skittles from it's place. Then the packet falls on the floor of the inside of the machine. As I go to pick it up, another pack falls next to my hand, with the coil still turning. Another one falls, and another. Before I can get all of the skittle packages out of the machine, all of them have fallen down from their secure spot up above. I look up to see if they was someone else's, but realised that the machine just didn't stop! Well, now I'm on the ground in a mall with candy surrounding me. I probably look really strange right now. As I think this in my head, I look up and see my refection in the glass of the machine. A person crouched on floor with a bunch of people staring at her, wanting one paid for pack of skittles, but ended up getting a handful of unexpected "gifts".Yeah, I definitely look weird, I think, laughing inside. I pick myself up off of the ground, along with my load of free candy, and walk out the door.

Assignment #2

Bubble Wrap
     Sometimes the excitement starts even before you find it. Usually bubble wrap comes inside the box of gifts and presents, new toys and other things, you cant wait to open. When you see the big brown cardboard box waiting at the front door, you just want to rip it open. After you discover what is inside the enclosed package, and have enjoyed it, you remember that there is still one more “surprise”.  You run back over to the box, reach down, and your fingers find the last gift, the bubble wrap. As you take it out, you can feel the tight little bubbles filled with air, trapped in between them. Then you drop it on the floor and dance all over it, popping every last bubble before someone else does. The whole time, you enjoy the simple pleasure of the bursts below your toes, and the flattening from your foot through to the ground. It’s the little things in life that make life so enjoyable and fun, that we have to remember to take it in and live.

Bye for now, Olivia

Assignment #1

Who I am
     I have a typical family, with one older sister, a mom and a dad. We live in Oliver B.C., where I was born, and where I am growing up. I was born on July 5, 1997, and I'm fourteen years old. My dad is Scottish and South African and my mom is Canadian. I have a pretty normal life, but a few things do stand out.

Last year in October 2010, we bought a boat in Florida and sailed it throughout the Bahamas. We saw so many beautiful islands, beaches, and met lots of great people, making it a wonderful year. During last year, I did my schooling  on the boat, which went successfully. I also learnt how to navigate a 40ft yacht, catch fish, scuba dive, break open coconuts (gathered right from the tree), and be independent for our energy and water. We have also travelled quite a bit in the past, to places like South Africa, Australia, and the Caribbean. All of our trips have been amazing and very inspiring. 
     Even though I like travelling, I also like playing basketball, piano, drawing, making jewelry, sailing, swimming, and other activities. 
     If I were to describe myself, I would probably say that I am kind, caring, resourceful, conscientious about the environment, artistic, and motivated. 
     My favourite classes are math, science, art, wood shop and P.E. When I graduate I want to go into architectural design or interior decorating.
     Well, that's pretty much all I have to say about myself, that I find interesting.
Bye for now, Olivia