Dear Diary

Today was finally the day that we escaped Cuba. The water was rough. I was thinking “what if the boat flips over?” There were many possibilities for the future. Dad held my hand tightly guiding me towards a lower wooden dock where a motor boat was stationed at the end. My heart raced rapidly. The sky darkened from clouds filled with rain, slowly covering the sun’s blinding rays. Finally reaching the boat, we stepped into it. The stench of different people disgusted me. The last passengers were boarded. In the distance the steel gates collapsed, sending in swarms of people. The motors of the vessel roared to life, slowly pushing the boat away. The crowd reached the edge of the concrete loading dock, most of them stopping in their tracks, disappointed. Others to the wooden port attempting to jump into the boat, only to be washed away by waves. The journey was rough, all I remembered was my father’s body keeping me warm from the harsh cold. 

The next thing I knew, my dad was carrying me on his back, trying to find a place where we could stay. I think we searched around for the entire afternoon. Fresh pastries were stationed inside bakeries as we passed, the scent made my stomach growl. 

After a long walk around the city, we settled outside an alleyway on the sidewalk, the foul odour of the bins invaded my nose while we were resting. A couple of minutes later, we walked near a park, I glanced at my father giving him a small smile. He led me onto a porch of a building, kneeling down, he took off his yellow scarf and wrapped it around my neck. I looked up, seeing his saddened face. “What’s happening Dad?” I asked him. He wrapped his arms around me giving me a hug. Standing up he took a step back, giving me one last glance before taking off leaving me on the porch of “Miss Elem’s Home For Children.”

Snowflakes fall from the sky. I joyfully skip through the snow covered town, jumping from sidewalk to sidewalk, flakes crushing under my feet. I balance myself near the edge of the sidewalk, running against the wall of houses, going past posters I couldn’t make out. Jumping off the sidewalk I skid across the icy ground, my shoes stopping me in front of a blackboard. I walk towards the blackboard inspecting the names layered over one another.

Picking up a piece of chalk on the ledge of the board, I locate a vacant spot exactly my height. I let out a small smile, placing the chalk on the blackboard, writing my name on it. Walking back slightly, I look at my wonderful name chalked on the wall. Suddenly mechanical gears sound behind me. Dropping the chalk in the snow, my expression changes. Turning around, I try to locate the source. My eyes lock onto a doll hiding behind a foggy glass panel.

I approach the panels, raising my hand, wiping away the fog from the glass. I get most of it off, gaining a clearer view of the doll. The doll stands still on a wooden mechanical podium. My mind finally starts running again, I look at the doll then down at my clothes, realising the doll matches my appearance. Looking back up, the doll disappears from my line of sight. I look through the glass attempting to find the doll. Going towards the wooden glass door, I again locate the doll standing in the middle of the room on top of a table. Excitement fills my body, I yank on the door handle, trying to open it. The door doesn’t even budge, I become irritated from my failure. I cross my arms, looking down, I lower myself, forming a snowball in between my mittens. Standing up I fix my grip on the snowball, throwing it at the window of the door and storm off in anger.

A couple feet away from the door, I hear it creak slightly open. Once again excitement fills my body. I turn around approaching the door with great speed. I push the door open, the bell chiming as I enter the room. It’s massive, so many dolls on shelves, I can’t even count them all. My eyes linger around the room, amazed by the wooden dolls. Finally I focus again on the doll, in the middle of the room. Approaching the doll, I hardly focus on the closing door. My hand just inches away from the doll, suddenly my leg strikes a doll on a tricycle, knocked over, pedalling furiously. I bend down, pick the doll up, placing it up right. The doll pedals towards the door, ramming into it multiple times. I let out a smile, turning back around to the doll. Once again it disappears from my line of sight.

My eyes linger around the room, trying to find the doll once again. It’s hard to find a doll in a room filled with them, I feel like someone’s taking glances at me. I finally lay my eyes on the doll, all the way up on the top shelf, between other dolls. Thinking of a way to get near the doll, I glance at a vintage light olive velvety couch. I use the couch like a stepping stool brushing past two twin dolls. Slowly getting up I grip my right mitten in my mouth, reaching out my arm. My hand nudges the doll. I suddenly get transported into an unknown dark place, seeing dolls in a spiral pattern. My vision is blurry, I can’t move any of my limbs, they feel extremely stiff. Finally my view clears up, I seem to be looking through a fisheye lens. Am I the doll? My mind panics trying to find answers, my eyes randomly clicking everytime I turn them. How did this happen?  

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.  All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them.  I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

-John 10:7

Room 8’s Sailing Journey

March 12, 2024

A once in a lifetime experience for me at the Akarana Yacht Club which is in Okahu Bay! Excitement fills me as I take one step onto the pavement. I looked around and saw tons and tons of boats. It seemed impossible to count since I didn’t have a clear view of them all. 

We waited in the sidelines until Kim, from New Navigators, approached us and took us to our classroom for the day. We went through briefings on safety and clothing until it was time for the fun part. 

Down at the water’s edge we grabbed small trailers that carried the Quest boats with our coaches Nico and Lola. We had 4 coaches to be exact, their names were Nico, Hattie, Jake and Lola. Continuing where we were; we pulled our boats down the ramps, placing them close to the water and sliding them into the water. We hopped onto the Quests which felt slippery at first but it was slowly easier to manoeuvre around in.

Our coach Nico sailed us away from the dock slowly moving us away from the shore, until showing us a Xshot water gun underneath a small black tarp. I filled it up while Nico sailed us closer to another Quest boat which had I think handheld water cannons which were small like a tube but had great fire power not as strong as a real one tho. We clashed for four or five rounds until we went towards the Optimist dinghies, there were three of them but they barely had anything to fight us so we went for tons and tons of runs until our time was up and we had to switch with their boats. It was difficult to control it at first but it was getting easier by the second with the help of teamwork, a few minutes or maybe fifteen or ten we were told to hook onto the speedboat which had Hattie manning it. We gathered the other two dinghies and hooked onto each other using ropes until we sped around the quests which had the other group in each of them, we passed around and around making many rounds. After that we stopped and straightened up but suddenly the optimist tilted from the weight being shifted, which caused the boat to take on a bunch of water. It was really cold to be honest, I was freezing as soon as I made contact with the water. After all that fun we went back to shore and relaxed.

What does Lent mean to me? The image I have presented down below shows a night sky with hands holding a rosary with the text “Can’t Sleep?”  “Talk To Me” and was quoted by God in the bottom left corner. Lent to me is about bringing ourselves closer to God’s loving arms with his beloved son Jesus Christ, who died on the cross to save us from original sin.

Yet another once in a lifetime experience, this time it’s a “Stations Of The Cross” reenactment with us seniors as the actors of the performance to assist the younger audience understand what Jesus has done for us. I was really nervous, since I was thinking about me making a blunder and messing the whole thing up with a single mistake.

It was nerve wracking going through each and every station. It was saddening to see what Jesus went through. Everytime He fell I felt bits of his sorrow and pain as he carried the cross towards the skull-shaped hill also known as Golgotha. It felt like I was carrying the cross instead of the actor or Jesus.

But as soon as I started to hammer the cross my hand abruptly cramped. I managed to keep my calm. As we finished I heard a beautiful voice singing ‘Were you There’ (When they crucified my Lord). This was an emotional end leaving a silence amongst the audience. 

                                                                                                          Zoo

                                                                                            By Anthony Browne

                                                                                      A story we studied for English.

    What is the role of a zoo? And what is the relationship between man and animals? Below is a recreation of an                              orangutan enclosure and a diary entry from the POV of an Orangutan entering it for the first time.

A large steel gate creaks open. I peer up ahead seeing a blinding light with a wonderful view coming into vision. I carefully step foot out of the container, my long hair dragging along the metallic floor onto the grassy plain. The sounds of chirping surround me. I haven’t listened to this noise for a while. A gust of wind brings a satisfying aroma into my nostrils, giving me a sense of joy. I lay under a tree, I feel like I’m in heaven.

Choie Sew Hoy was a Chinese Merchant who was born in Guangdong province in China during 1838. Choie Sew Hoy accomplished to open a store in Dunedin which gave him great success. 

Choie Sew Hoy was buried then dug back up before being placed into the Ventor to be sailed back to China. He left us a story of determination which inspired many songs, poems, documentaries and even an opera in memory of him.