Spring break

This spring break I am going on a training camp to Kehei, Maui, HI! This is a training camp for swimming. We are gone for around 2 weeks practicing twice a day. 6:00 to 8:00am swimming and 8:00 to 9:00am dry-land and back in the water from 6:00 to 8:00pm. I thought coming to Maui for this camp was a terrific learning and training opportunity, to enhance my swimming abilities. I am definitely looking forward to experiencing the topical island culture and hot weather! I know when I get there I will want to get back home though.
I chose this photo because it is the view from my room we are staying at. The picture is of palm trees and an ocean. Hawaii is surrounded by the ocean and has many trees.
On this trip we went whale watching and we got what the locals called 'mugged' by several humpback whales and their baby calf. They were so close to our boat that we had to put the engines in neutral and could not move. I could literally almost touch them!
On our break between practices we went to the local and extravagant beaches of Maui. All the beaches were different, some had stores you could buy things in and one beach even had cliffs we could jump off of. Someday the waves were so big that they flipped us over and smashed us onto shore, filling our bathing suits with sand!
The main reason to come was to train. We were tortured by our two coaches day after day after day after day after day, until we couldn't feel our muscles any more. Many people threw up and some even cried! Some nights we were so tired after practice we didn't even unpack our equipment bags. Although the training camp was hard it was an amazing experience and helped me grow at an athlete! I wouldn't trade it for the world!

What do you like most about your novel so far?  Perhaps it is the style of writing the author uses, or the way he describes a character or scene.  Write one paragraph regarding your favorite aspect of your novel.

My favourite part about my novel so far is the very beginning. In fact, I think my favourite part in every book is the beginning. It is my favourite part because the start of the book reveals a lot about the characters and you get to know them. Usually you learn about their beliefs, value, and characteristics, physical appearance, and background of their past. After getting to know your main characters you can see how they can change throughout the book. The start of “Of Mice and Men” starts off as the two men step out onto the cleared area in the forest by the road. While they set up camp George and Lennie laugh with each other and talk about their dream. It creates a warm cozy feeling and you get a sense a strong bond between the two, of friendship. 

Text to self connection!

For today's literacy blog, you will make a connection between something in your novel and yourself. This could be a character, a plot event or a theme or idea that reminds your of something in your own life!

My connection to my book is when George and Lennie are talking about their dream ("American dream") of living on their own farm/ranch with not a boss in sight or even boss present. Where the two boys can raise their own bunnies that Lennie can tend to and pet, grow strawberries and live without any rules and restrictions to follow.
I'm one hundred percent sure that everyone has thought of their future before. And most people have multiple dreams and goals they want to accomplish within their lifetime. Whether its buying your first house or someday being able to stand on the podium at the Olympics with a gold metal hanging fom your neck. Everyone wants to achieve something.
I have many in my life some for right now and some for later in my life. An example would be to finish this blog with over two hundred fifty words and publish it before tomorrow morning.
Some of my bigger goals are someday getting a full scholarship to a university in the states with a swim team, large campus and hopefully somewhere warm and by the ocean! I would be ecstatic! Even further into my life I hope to find a job that I like and love! A career that involves colour, art, and houses, creativity! Maybe interior design? My job would pay enough so that I could buy my own land and build my own house, a house that would be created to fully suit me! Then when I'm ready start a family and watch them grow up.
As you can see this may be way more detailed and compact then George and Lennie's dream. But it shows what I said earlier that everyone has dreams and goals even fictional characters!

PART TWO
3) Outline the setting of your novel. Where does it take place? Remember time, place and circumstance. What does this setting remind you of? May be a place, another movie, a family vacation, ect.

The setting of “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck takes place in the 1930’s. Coincidentally at the same time the author was living, the time of the Great Depression, where many people were out of work within California and though out the United States. Millions of people were looking for jobs and many worked on farms/ranches just like George Milton and Lennie Small. The setting is of great importance to the plot of the book. The main setting is on a ranch south of Soledad, California. Where there are bunk houses, stables, and a main barn.  In the beginning it starts off when George and Lennie step out into a clearing into the woods by a stream close to the Salinas River. It’s during this time we get to know about the history of George and Lennie‘s friend ship and about their personal lives. In the morning the two men arrive at the ranch that they will be working on for the time being.  The bunk house is where all workers live and sleep. The walls of the bunk house were described to be whitewashed and the floors unpainted, the wall beside each bunk, were shelves for personal belongings (if you had them) and there was also baby powder, razors, magazines. The stable is occupied by a horse and Crooks (the stable buck). Crooks is separated from the other male workers because he is black. The setting very much reminds me of  The Walking Dead TV series settings because both places seem lonely and kind of have an empty fill. When I picture the setting of the book I think of dull colours not vibrant ones because the Great Depression wasn't a happy time. Usually bright colours are shown to represent a good time in this case it was not.

PART TWO

2) A character sketch of the protagonist of your novel. Discuss who they are. What do they look like physically? What do they behave like? What kind of person are they?
Include a photo of what you feel they might look like if they were played by a famous actor

Andrew Lincoln

          In the book "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck, George Milton plays a vital part in the book and is the protagonist. While George is extremely kindhearted he is also short-tempered and at times can be a bit tough on people. George has an unusual relationship with Lennie as he travels with Lennie always from ranch to ranch during the Great Depression. He is the protector of Lennie and feels that he is held responsible for him. George has a brotherly love towards him. He is the companion and best friend of Lennie Small. George used to be real harsh on Lennie and said things like “I can live so much easier without you.”, until he almost accidentally drowned him. George is described in the book as small, dark of face, and has restless eyes and sharp strong features. With these descriptions I can see George to be somewhat fit and potentially not fed well, dark of face could represent that he is not properly cleaned, tired and a good worker. His restless eyes are aware and could be frightened. George can also be portrayed as confident and handsome from having sharp strong features. Milton continuously shows the reader that he can clearly think and plan things out, from getting the job on the new ranch to planning out how they will achieve their American dream (can fully sustain themselves on their own). If George Milton was a real person I would think of him to be quite similar to Andrew Lincoln (see picture above).

PART TWO

1) Summary of your novel's plot written in your own words. Do not copy and paste this from the internet. It must be your own ideas and words.

Include a picture of the novel's cover.

 The book I am reading is called "Of mice and Men" by John Steinbeck. The book was published in 1937 and tells a traumatic story of two men called George Milton and Lennie Small who also live during the time of the 1930’s. These two men travel around working on different ranches around Salinas, California during the period of the Great Depression. They both have the American dream of someday, being able to fully sustain themselves, live on a farm, and raise animals. At the beginning of the book George and Lennie are in the process of moving to a different farm after being forced to hit the road after Lennie was accused at attempted rape in Weed, California. The two men had gotten their work card for entry into the next ranch but then decided just to camp out in the forest for a night and cook a can of beans. In this section of the book we get to know all lot more about the two main characters. George, is a small man skinny while Lennie is quite the opposite large, and with a shapeless face. George although in the beginning of their friend ship always used to trick Lennie into doing things because she is quite childish and would not know the outcome, he is very loving towards Lennie is a little brother kind of way and somehow feels responsible for him. Lennie is clumsy, gentle and curios about the world. In the morning the workers arrive at the destination of the ranch in Soledad, California where George and Lennie are shown their bunk house to where they shall live for the time that they work there. They are welcomed by the residents already living there Candy (“swamper”), Slim and crooks. They also met the new boss his son Curley who also works there at the ranch as well as Curley’s wife.