Kiev Airport

When you enter a country, when do you first feel that you have arrived? Some people get that excited feeling when the plane lands but I don’t. When the plane lands in the Kiev airport, we unbuckle our seat belts and slowly stand up. I open up the over head compartment in which my backpack is laying in. Snatching it, I remind my grandma to get her purse as well. Getting out of the plane, my grandparents and I walk in a line: my grandpa, my grandma, and I. We walk down the steps and circle up on the pavement. Buses drive over and we get on. I still don’t feel like I am Ukraine even though I am in Ukraine. 

We ride around the airport on the bus and then the bus drops us off at a white building. I step off the bus first and just stand there for a minute. “I’m almost here, almost here,” I keep repeating in my head. My grandparents get off a couple people after me and we begin to walk up the ramp. The clear sliding doors open in front of me. I step in and feel like I am home, in Ukraine. When the sliding doors open in front of me, I feel as if it is Ukraine that is allowing me to enter the country. I tear up and begin to cry from joy. Both my grandparents kiss me on the cheek. I always get emotional when I step in because I truly feel like I have arrived. Everyone is speaking in russian. Everyone looks russian. It is an amazing moment that I wait a whole year to experience. It is only one second long but when I step in I know that I arrived. 

There are fourteen lines to the left of me and i stand up on my toes to see which ones the shortest. There are nine lines for non ukrainian citizens to enter through and five for ukrainian citizens to enter through. I am younger than eighteen therefore I am allowed to enter with the ukrainian citizens since I entered the country with my grandparents. Walls, floors, and ceilings are all white and it feels clean. I hear babies crying from right and left due to the heat surrounding everyone. Its our turn to register in and I get even more excited. The man looks at my grandpa and then down at his passport and then does the same thing to my grandma. He stamps my grandparents passports and then he looks down at my passport and back up at me. He asks me where I will be living and I recite my grandparents address: Малиновский двадцать семь, двенадцать квартир. He stamps my passport and tells me to have a good time. He motions his door to the exit of the room and we have. 

We walk into the area where we have to get our luggage. When I was little it used to be my favorite part. I loved watching all the luggage spin around in circles on  the conveyer belt and I looked at it as a game when I had to find our luggage. We got our two suitcases and four duffle bags quickly. We walk right by and they do not ask to check our bags. Ahead of me are two sliding doors again and it is always my favorite part to walk out first being bold and strong. On the left and on the right are people right when the doors open, and I keep my head high. People are holding flowers, others are cheering but I just look ahead, take steady steps, and keep smiling.  

Word Count: 617

Baby Chickens

I wake up at 6:30 and take a deep breath. It is the first Sunday that I am in Ukraine but it feels like I have been here for a month already. I stretch and get out of bed and open the window to feel how hot it is outside. Looking at the thermometer, I realize that it is very hot because it is forty degrees Celsius, perfect weather to get baby chickens. 

My grandpa and I are about to step out the door but my grandma stops us to ask if we have our hats to protect our heads from the sun. We get our hats and go out the door. I have a thrill of energy going through my body while we walk to the bus stop. I ask my grandpa how many chicks we will get and he says seven because it has to be an odd number. He explains that it has to be an odd number because we don't want the chicks pairing up and isolating from the group. If they isolate themselves and another chick then if the other chick dies, the living chick wi be heartbroken and dies as well. When we get to the bus stop I remember that our bus to the bazaar is bus number sixteen which is the most common bus. After about three buses go by, our bus comes full of people and we don't know if there is enough room for us. The bus driver gets out of the bus and yells at the people to move into the middle of the bus. Getting on the bus, I can smell the nasty sweat and the heat surrounds me. I blow up air from my mouth to the rest of my face to get air circulating around my face. I am very squished and so is my grandpa but we are used to it since Sundays are when the animal bazaar is open so a lot of people go. 

When we get out of the bus, I do a quick stretch with my arms and wait for my grandpa to get off the bus. I give him my hand when he steps off the last step and I smiles.  We cross the wide street to get to the bazaar. Outside the gates people are selling fruits, vegetables, and car parts. Boxes are filled with:  peppers, apricots, cherries, tomatoes, and cucumbers. We have our own garden so we don't need any of it. We walk into the gate and on the left hand side are long rows full of meet. It is fresh meet, the animals were killed that morning and then cut up. I find it disgusting because they even lay out the heads of the pigs and cows that were killed. But on the right hand side, I see clothes and car parts. We don't need any of this either so we walk out of the gates but on the other side to get to the animals. I get over excited because these are chicks are going to be mine and mine only. I usually share them with my sister but she did not come this year so I have the chicks all to myself. People sit on little home made benches and welcome in customers. Many people have chicks, ducks and geese in boxes, but people also have piglets in their trunks, and puppies in baby cribs. 

We walk over to my neighbor from the farm because she has a lot of chicks. She has three boxes full of them and they are only three days old. They are adorable. I am scared that I will squish them since they are so small. The first one I spot is brown with a black strip down its back. The lady reaches down to pick up the chick and they all run to the opposite corner of the box. I pick out seven but then my grandpa finds three that he likes. I told him that we should just get ten but he says that it has to an odd number so we picked out one more and made it 11. She put them all into a little box and closed the top so that they won’t jump out. Little holes were made in the box so that they can breathe. They peep so loud but they are so cute. I can hear their little feet slide around the box because it is slippery for them. I hold the box in my hands and walk to the bus stop with my grandpa.

       The bus comes right away and we sit down quickly. I put the box in between my knees and everyone is looking at me because they are peeping. I feel proud holding the chicks because all the attention was on me. The lady next to me asked me what was in the box and I told her that they were chicks. We get off the bus and walk to the apartment. We have to keep the chicks at the apartment for the first two weeks because it will be cold for them outside, in the barn at the farm. We walk into the room and my grandma asks to see the chicks. My grandpa and I look at each other because we told my grandma originally that we were only going to get seven chicks. I place the box on the floor and open it and then laugh. My grandmas face was shocked and then she laughed and smiled. She told me that she knew that I would end up getting more chicks because I love animals. I got a bigger box for the chicks and put a towel in it for the chicks to live on. I put a dish of water and food in for the chicks. 
Word Count: 977

Open response on the Death of an Innocent

The most important factors in Chris’s death is that he was ill prepared and not enough knowledgeable. For instance, Chris went into the Alaskan Bush with only ten pounds of rice and only a little bit of gear. He should have been more prepared bringing more equipment and food with him and then maybe he would have survived. Also, Chris didn’t know anything about the Alaskan Bush nor did he know any survival skills. Chris should have learned how to live in the wild by himself and he should have planned out what he would do if he was in danger. Lack of wisdom and planning, led Chris to his death. 

The Death of an Innocent Approach Paper

Paula Reytblat

Mr. Bailey

Essay Writing 

May 30, 2012

The Death of an Innocent Approach Paper

The Death of an Innocent by Jon Krakauer is the story of a young man, Christopher McCandless, who goes off into the Alaskan Bush with only 10 pounds of rice. James Gallien tries to persuade McCandless  in not going but he doesn’t listen and goes any way. Once he reached the Bush, McCandless realizes that he won’t be able to survive and wants to head back home but the river is frozen so he cannot cross back over it. He finds roots and eats them even though they are poisonous. He gets sick from the berries and ends up dying from starvation. 

Alexander Supertramp: brave, independent, curious, calm

Christopher McCandless: intelligent, smart, nice

James Gallien: nice, helpful, caring, hopeless

Wanye Westerburg: committed, supportive, caring

1. Compare and contrast Christopher McCandless’ life before he went to the Bush and while he was living in the Bush.
2. What three things could McCandless have brought with him to the Bush that would have helped him survive? 
3. Discuss the reason why McCandless wanted to go to the bush.

From Page 1:

Christopher McCandless: “I’m absolutely possitive,” he assured Gallien, “I won’t run into anything I can’t deal with on my own.”

Christopher was sure in himself that he would survive his journey. He wanted no help and he didn’t let anyone persuade him in not going. He was determined in going on his journey and it was his final decision in going. If he decided to not go then he would have survived. When he said: “I won’t run into anything I can’t deal with on my own,” he thought that he was prepared and that it would be easy. 

By the Waters of Babylon

In By the Waters of Babylon by Stephen Vincent Benét, John, a son of a priest, goes on a journey to a forbidden land. His father told him not to go to any of the Dead Places but inside he knew that his son would go either way. John travels by himself in search of the land and while he is traveling he changes as an individual. By going on his journey to The Place of the Gods, John becomes more responsible, intelligent, and less afraid of the world around him. 

John becomes more responsible by going on his journey because he lived and traveled by himself. For instance, John’s father gave him the word to go and travel but as a young boy that John is, it is not that easy to be lonesome. John had to be prepared for the worst environment since he had no shelter in The Place of the Gods but he was confident enough that he could survive. Additionally, John had to be ready to fight for himself just incase he was attacked. Dogs started bombarding, “I had just found a doorI could open when the dogs decided to rush,” but John was ready to win against them, as he did. John matured on his trip to The Land of the Gods. 

On his journey, John becomes more intelligent. For example, John saw what a washing machine, “a washing-place but no water”, was on his journey. He also found out what a stove, “a cooking-place but no wood”, was. In John’s tribe they didn’t have neither washing machines nor stoves so he found out something new which made him know even more. Also, John learned just by traveling to a place that he hasn’t been to before. He saw new ways of life and when he came back home he was excited to share them. John became smarter through his journey because he learned new things everywhere he looked.  

John went to a place that was forbidden to go to, so when he accomplished his journey and returned home safety, he became was braver. For instance, John’s father told him not to go to The Place of the Gods but John did anyways. Since John was on his own it was harder and more stressful but he managed to over come his fears and accomplish his goal. Also, John thought that he was going to die when trying to cross the river. He said, “I said the sayings for the dead and painted my self for death.” Even though he was almost sure that he was going to die, he still took the risk to cross the river. By going on his journey, John became more courageous when he cross the river and then even entered the land of the dead. 

Intelligent and adventurous John, changes through out the short story. In the beginning, John was naive and obeyed all his fathers rules. When his father told him about the forbidden lands, John couldn’t get his mind off of wanting to go there. He is a young boy who wants to see the life outside his small little village. John faced many challenges though his journey but at the end he became more mature. By being a rebel and due to not listening to his father, John ends up learning about other peoples lives. He changes as an individual into an even better person than he was before.  

My Great Grandma Natasha

What was the life like in Ukraine back in the olden days? What if you were a hundred years old and still living? My great grandma has gone through a lot. She saw her parents, brother, sister, son, and grandchildren die yet she is still living. She moved many times throughout her life just to support her family. She is a strong and courageous woman who I have a lot of respect for. During my great grandma’s time she has seen the good and the bad in life. 

My great grandma, Natasha, grew up in a very hard environment. At the age of ten, her parents died, leaving her and her sister going to one foster home, and her two younger brothers going to a different foster home. She and her sister lost contact with her brothers but after twenty years they found one of the brothers. She never saw her other brother after her parents death. The kids never found a family to live with because back in the day the foster homes were more of adoption centers with fifty kids but no one would ever get adopted. In fact, there was no such thing as adoption so at the age of eighteen she and her sister went off living on their own. Natasha worked for a truck company and that is where she met her husband, Temafay.

Natasha and Temafay bought a little house on a farm. On the farm they had: cows, goats, pigs, chicken, dogs, cats and every vegetable you can think of. There first son died in a horrible condition. One day, he was crawling around a huge metal pot, fell in, and boiled to death. Natasha and Temafay were devastated but had to move on with their lives. There next son, Viktor and my grandpa, was born. He worked on the farm and was taught by his mother how to be a man. My grandpa also had three younger sisters that cooked, sowed, cleaned, and worked on the farm. Natasha was very strict when it came to raising her children. Temafay did not participate in raising the children because he worked for a tractor company so he was at work all day. 

My great grandma is currently a hundred years old. She still lives on the farm but in a different location than before. Her youngest daughter, Nada, lives with her because she can’t live by herself due to safety reasons. She has twenty four great grandchildren and she remembers everyone's name. She has a great memory and she remembers her childhood as if it were yesterday. My great grandma refuses to use a cell phone and computer because she never had that when she was growing up. She thinks that technology has ruined my generation. She has perfect vision, can hear well, and she doesn’t even use a cane. She has never gone to the doctors and always cures her sickness by herself. Over the summers of me visiting her, nothing changes except for her getting short and shorter. She still  cleans the house, works in the garden and she refuses to listen to anyone that says that she shouldn’t do work. 

My great grandma has gone through a lot and I look up to her for that. She is a brave women who still lives life like when she was little. She has seen horrible events that people should never have to face but it only made her a stronger person in the end. I admire her strength and I hope to be as strong as her when I grow up. I am very proud to say that I have a great grandma that is a hundred years old and on October 23rd she will be a hundred and one years old!

Word Count: 633

By The Waters of Babylon Open Response

In By The Waters of Babylon by Stephen Vincent Benét,  John's tribe, the hill people, reverted to a more primitive way of life because everything was destroyed in the city due to a war. For instance, when the fallen balls hit the city and leave nothing left, the people form tribes and live together. People join together in tribes so that it is easier to survive.  Also, after the war almost everyone was killed, so there wasn't anyone to tell people how to live more advance again. If people weren't killed in the war then they would know how to build up the city again and wouldn't live in tribes. John and the hill people were forced to live a simpler way of life which was harder for everyone but most people didn't complain because they didn't remember how their advanced living style was. Due to a horrible disaster, John and his tribe were forced to live primitively.