Trip to New York City

I’ve been studying at Toronto since last week. Actually, I arrived here on Monday morning (21st May) and I went to NYC on my first weekend in the foreign country. I took a bus last Friday night with others students and we spent more than 10 hours inside of it. I slept during the trip, but the bus was not comfortable. Finally, we arrived in NYC on Saturday morning.

We walked a lot since I was there. At the first day I went to the Time Square, Broadway, 5th Avenue and Rockefeller Building. I loved the 5th Avenue, which has many famous stores. I’ve so excited to shopping there, that I’ve spent part of the day walking in the 5th Avenue.

After that, I’ve tried to buy tickets to Broadway’s Musical players. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the tickets to see any show. So, my friends and I came back to the Time Square to eat something and still shopping. When we were walking on Broadway Avenue, we saw two famous actors: Kevin Space and Hillary Swank. We just took pictures of Kevin Space.

In the second day, I woke up early to enjoy in Lower Manhattan. I went to the Wall Street, Ground Zero, SOHO, Chinatown, Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building. That day I also walked a lot. I went to the Statue of Liberty by boat, and after that, we’ve went shopping again.

At the end of the day, I went to the Empire Statue of Liberty and spent almost three hours there. After a long day, I came back to the Hotel so hungry and tired. Since I was there, I haven’t time to have lunch or have dinner. I’ve just took this opportunity to know more and more about this amazing city.

In the last day, I walked in Central Park and places around. I just loved NYC, the city has never stopped. I had never thought I’ve really enjoyed so much this city as well.

My short story

Actually, i have traveled just a few times in Korea for my life. because i do not have any siblings. so my parents do not allow me to travel without them. that is why this journal's topic is very tough for me. Anyway, now i am in here,Toronto! without them. it is very lucky. i can have my own free time in Toronto. so i am going to write my best experience in Toronto.

Two month ago, i went to Niagara falls with my boyfriend and other friends. we lent a car and we stayed hotel which is in front of falls. As soon as arrived, we went to close the falls. it was pretty big and very cool. we could feel a few water drops from falls. and we saw rainbow hanging middle of the falls. actually, i wanted take a ferry. but it wasn't working. so we just watch them and took some pictures.

Then. we went Sashimi restaurant near falls. the price wasn't so expensive. i think that's why the fish wasn't fresh. After lunchtime, we went to casino. it was my first time to go to casino. i played black jack with my boyfriend. this game was very simple but interesting. so i was getting addict this game.

so my boyfriend wanted go back to hotel. but i couldn't here anything except game even though lost lots of money. one hour later , we went back to our hotel. but i kept grumbling about lost money. so finally my boyfriend was angry at me. so we had small quarrel.
At night, there was a firework. so while we were watching firework, we talked to each other a lot. so we could recover. and then we drank wine with other friends and we had good time.

Next day, we went buffet in the casino. and i ate too much. and then we went back to Toronto early. It was not very long days. and i couldn't see anything special.
but i can get a good memory.

I LOVE NEW YORK

Two weeks ago, I went to New York city on a PGIC trip, so I tought only PGIC students were going to be there, but when I arrived at the meeting spot I was very surprised when I saw so many people I have never seen at school.

Anyway, there was only one single bus parked on the street so everyone of us put our luggage in the bus. Just a few minutes later, two more buses arrived to the meeting spot, as same as lots of people, after that one of the trip´s guide told us wich our bus was. My friend and I had to take off our luggage from the bus and put it in the last one.

When finally got on the bus, we traveled about one hour until we arrived to the border between USA and Canada, there were many buses so we stayed on the line almost an hour waiting for our turn to ask permission to get to USA.

When it was finally our turn, we had to stay two more hours waiting for everybody´s documents were checked.

After three long hours of waiting at the border, finally we departed to New York, and after fourteen hours of travel we finally arrived to New York. The bus driver dropped us off at Time Square, it was awesome, Time Square is full of huge screens with advertisements of the most popular and exclusive brands, and there was so many people of all kinds and ages. It was absolutely amazing. I have never seen something like that in my life.

After being at Time Square for three hours, we met with the rest of the group to go to the hotel, so we had to take a bus to get there, but our "guide" told us to get off of the bus on the wrong place, so we were lost a few minutes until we found the hotel. My first impression of the hotel was awful, it was not a very nice area, but when we got in it wasn´t so bad.

The next day we got up early in the morning to take breakfast and go to the Empire State Building. When we arrived there I was so excited to finally meet that famous building. We got on the elevator and we went 112 floors up, finally we got to the viewpoint, and the view of New York was awesome, there was a little bit of fog, but the view was beautiful anyway.

After that, the most horrible moment of my trip happened; we were supposed to be at a certain spot at 10:15 , but my two friends and I arrived to that point four minutes lates, and whilw we were waiting for the signal to cross the street, our bus passed in front of our eyes leaving us behind!

Very scared, my friends and I ran behind the bus trying to reach it and hopping for someone to tell the bus driver to stop and wait for us. That never happened, so we ran about 3 blocks but our efforts were useless.

Very dissapointed, we called our guide and told her where should we met with the group, and she told us to take a taxi to the Brooklyn Bridge, so we asked the taxi driver to drop us off at that spot, but unfortunately he dropped us on the opposite side we supposed to meet, so when we were walking through the Brooklyn Bridge, we found some partners from our bus that were coming from the opposite side of the bridge, so we lost the walking through the Brooklyn bridge; and of course after that happened, we were always on time everywhere.

After that unfortunately experience we went to Trinity church , wich is the oldest church in New York, we went to grand zero too, and it was very sad to see pictures of september eleventh and think about those people who died there.

After visiting those places, we went on a boat ride, where we were able to see New York from the sea, the weather wasn´t the best for that kind of activity because it was raining and it was very cold; anyway we enyoyed the view and saw the Statue of Liberty and took many photos.

On that day night we went to broadway and saw the Phanthom of the Opera, it was absolutely amazing, much more than I was expecting, finally that day we got to the hotel and slept.

The last day on New York, we went to the Natural Museum, it was a little boring, at least for me, because I´m not a huge fan of museums. After the museum we walked about an hour through Central Park, wich it´s a beautiful place to visit, and we took many photos there.

After walking threw Central Park, the bus dropped us off at little Italy where we ate lunch, and we also went to China town. After that we spent the rest of the night at Time Square buying some souvenirs.

The next day we woke up early because we wer coming back to Toronto, but in the way, we stopped at an outlet mall where we did some shopping. Finally and very tired, we arrived to Toronto at midnight. It was an awesome experience !

Travel to French Canada - finished version

After finishing my second session, during the long holiday, I traveled to French Canada by(on) school activity. I contacted with(x) China travel agency at first(first). They offered French Canada travel package at pretty cheap price, but I heard some bad rumors about China travel agency that they provided bad quality travel package. So, I chose school activity despite it was(Can't I use the clause after despite?) rather expensive.

We should have(had to) paid 299 dollars(?) exclude foods and some extra charges, but we didn’t need to make a plan and it was pretty easy way to travel to French Canada. What we had to do was just paying the money and following the tour guide. I didn’t have a enough time to make a travel plan, and I’m going to go to U.S.A in the middle of July by backpack trip, and I thought the self-making trip is enough for once – the U.S.A backpack travel. So, I decided to join the school activity French Canada trip finally.

On May 18th at 7 am, we met each other near York Mills station,(x) and set off to Ottawa at 7:30 AM. It took around 5 hours to reach Ottawa. In the bus, we were able to watch movies but there were just few tiny screens in the bus, so it was hard to watch the movies. Some people slept, since they had to wake up early in the morning. I saw the scenery out of the window. It was pretty beautiful. The weather was fairly nice,(x) and the clouds looked close to surface compared to Korea.

The bus run passing by a wilderness and it was also fresh(?). There is no wilderness in Korea. There are too many people in small area, so they have to live in apartments even to(?) small city. People live in everywhere, so there isn’t empty space. And(x) most of ground are composed of mountain, so I haven’t seen such a wide wilderness. It looked like just coming out of a picture. I had to stay in a bus for 5 hours, but I didn’t feel boring.

We arrived in Ottawa at 1:30PM. Ottawa was a beautiful city. It had a beautiful river in the middle of the city. We went to Ottawa Parliament. We would've like(liked) to enter the building, but there were so many people in a line in front of the building. We should’ve(had to) waited(wait) in a line about 30 minutes. We didn’t have a enough time, since we wanted to go to Tulip Festival, too. We were sightseeing the inside of the building very quickly. Even if it was a short time, we were able to see the whole scenery of Ottawa on the high floor of the building, and took some pictures.

Then, we had to run to the place we promised to meet with a tour guide. We had barely enough time to arrive in there on time. We had heard that Ottawa Tulip Festival is the biggest Tulip festival in the world. We expected to see a wide place with Tulips. But,(x) we couldn’t see. It was too far from our place. We should’ve taken a bus if we wanted to go to the biggest place. We didn’t have a enough time, so we just looked around a square near our place.

At 3:30 PM, we set off to Montreal and arrived in Montreal Hotel at 5:30 PM. We waited about 1 hours to check-in. I didn’t know the ins and outs of the situation, but probably there were some problems to make a reservation or something. I used same room with Ken and Jay. They’re both PGIC students. I recommended to go to the Crescent street for dinner by tour guide.

We went there. There were 3 Korean, 3 Japanese and 1 Chinese in our group. They were all PGIC students. Crescent street wasn't a street for dinner. It was a street for clubs or bars. It was somewhat expensive to have a dinner, but we'd have liked to enjoy the atmosphere of Montreal bar. It was a live music bar but it was too early to play a music, so we weren't able to see the live bands. But(?, I think, in this case, I should use 'but', because next sentence has a opposite context to the last sentence) we were able to have a dinner with nice atmosphere. We bought instant noodles for next day breakfast as came back to hotel. We should’ve had 11 meals during the whole travel, so we needed to save our money.

We were able go to nightclub or bar, if we want, at 10:45 PM. But we had already had a dinner in the bar, so we didn’t want to go that street again. We had a drinking party in our hotel room, instead. I had already knew 3 people in our group before I had joined the travel, but 3 people were new. It was a nice chance to meet new friends.

We wake up at 7:00 AM. next day. We had instant noodles. There were times for breakfast in our travel itinerary, and we were able to save times by having a breakfast by ourselves. Thanks to saving times, we were alble to go to Notledam Church meanwhile other people had a breakfast. I think Notledam Church is the one of a must-see place. I wasn't able to understand why there wasn’t a schedule in our itinerary for Notledame church. It was the most beautiful church, I’ve ever seen. Id have liked to stay in the church for a long time, but the schedule was quite tight, so I should’ve left church early. Then, we had a guided tour by bus. We looked around some place and had a lunch.

After lunch, we departed for Quebec city. I went to nightclub in Quebec at 11:00 PM. It was considerably nice club compared with a club in Korea. I had been to a hip-hop club once in a while in Korea, but it had been a small club. And I should’ve paid around 12 dollars for entrance fee, despite it had had just one floor with small space. The club in Quebec didn’t take a entrance fee and had three floors.

On the first floor, I was able to enjoy the live rock musics. They played famous musics like Ghost Basters and World Cup songs. I listened to the musics for a while and went to second floor. It was a place for dancing. I’m not good at dancing but I just enjoyed dancing. I’m interested in pop musics, so I was able to recognize some musics played in there. I didn’t go to a club for two and a half years, so it was fresh. The third floor was the place for watching people who were dancing on the second floor. I didn't stay in the club for a long time, but I was able to enjoy the atmosphere.

Next morning, we went to hotel buffet for breakfast. It was going to be free, but I should've paid for 10 dollars. Instead of free breakfast, we could get a chance for free riding of cruise in 1,000 islands. It was worth paying for 10 dollars. I was able to taste a variety of foods. I always had had cereals or breads for breakfast, since I came to Canada, so I had been somewhat fed up with cereals and breads. I enjoyed continental breakfast with omulet, bacon, salad, orange juice and so on.

After having a breakfast, we went to Chateau Frontenac. There was a Chateau Castle(It was a castle before, but now, it's just an expensive hotel) and beautiful streets. Honestly I had been a little bit disappointed of this travel until I came to Chateau Frontenac, because it had been just a little different from Toronto. There had been a beautiful scenery and building in Ottawa and Montreal, but it couldn't have met my expectation. As for Quebec, it was totally different from Toronto. It looked like a little Europe in Canada.

We had a free time in a treasure street after having a guided tour. The tour guide for Chateau Frontenac was really hilarious. He made us laugh with some jovial jokes. Everything was nice except weather. Frankly speaking, the weather was awfully foul. It rained heavily with strong wind. I didn't bring a umbrella and I used my friend's umbrella together. In the end of the free time, it was broken by strong wind, eventually. We were nothing but to be totally soaked walking the street.

I hanged around a treasure street. I found the church where the movie 'Catch me if you can' was filmed. The treasure street must be famous place, since it's so beautiful. I had a Quebec traditional meat for lunch. Actually it wasn't so good. It had too much seasoning. And I didn't hungry, as I had already had enough foods in the buffet for breakfast. But it was worth having a Quebc food, because probably it would be the last time to visit Quebec city for me. Anyway it was sort of stimulative.

After sightseeing the Chateau Frontenac, we went to Montmorency Falls. It was going to be a walking tour, but it rained so heavily, so we couldn't go there on foot. Some people didn't want to go out of the bus. They waited in the bus for the people who wanted to go to falls in spite of heavy rain. I'd have liked to go to falls and we used a cable car to get to the falls. Honestly, it was not so good. We dind't(didn't) have a enough time, since the people in the bus waited for us. And, above all, the Niagara Falls were much better than Montmorency Falls. What was worse, it was freezing cold. So, we stayed there for a short time.

We returned to the hotel. I was able to go to a club or a bar again, but I didn't want to go as long as it rained heavily. Instead of a club, we had a small drinking party in the room again. Next day, after checking out the hotel, we went to Montreal. We had a lunch in Montreal and had sightseeing the Montreal Observatory and the Olympic stadium for a while.

We went to kingston for 1,000 islands tour, then. There were so many islands in a small area. Some islands looked floating on the surface of the sea. We were able to ride a boat for free, since we should pay for buffet breakfast that was going to be free, before. In the boat, there were lots of Korean from Korea. They should've paid(had to pay) quite much money for short time travel(around 15 days). Compare with them, I was lucky. I paid just $299, since I set off the travel from Toronto. Staying in Toronto is a good chance to travel French Canada and Western America. We finished 1,000 Islands boat cruising in about 1 hour as a conclusion of the French Canada travel.

We came bak to Toronto around 10:00 PM. It was such a nice trip except weather. Probably I'm not able to go there again, since I want to go to many different places. It was my first long distance travel since I came to Toronto, and it gives me good experiences and memories. (In addition, pictures) I won't forget the memory of the French Canada travel.

Wonderful Vancouver!!

I have been to vancouver ten years ago with my brothers. As I was a middle school student, I thought it would be a good chance to me since the purpose of that trip was not only travel, but also study English. I stayed there just one month.

When I arrived vancouver, first program was a ski trip. I have been to skiing at Whistler Mountain. The place was really big and glorious, there had a lot of slopes and various.
I enjoyed skiing two days. And I went to the a lot of popular place. I remembered Stanly park that many sorts of plants,trees were there. I already heard it's really fantastic! There was very clean, peaceful and view was so nice. So the park made a impression to me. We had a tour in Vancouver continue. Even though we didn't know anything about the Vancouver, it was fun to get to know places one by one such as Stanly park, Gastown, Yaletown etc.

And also, I studied English at the University of British Columbia. The study was wonderful experience to me. Of course I didn't study hard. I just felt like I was out of place. At the same time, It was amazing to be tought by a foriegn teacher at the foreign university. I was proud of myself to get a sense of achievement as i accomplish the goal. I never forget anything.

That time was very important to my life until now. I love canada why i came here again. I wanted to have another experience, also wanted know about Toronto. So I choose the this city. I'm sososo happy now! Before I'll go back to korea, I'll visit vancouver again. And stay there about 5days. It was really great! That's the trip that I remember the best.

My Unforgettable Memories in Phillipines.

I went to the Philipines to study English two months ago. It was not only great memories but one of the most horrible memories. When I first went to the Philipines National Airport, I almost passed out because of the nasty weather. That place was too humid for me. It was hard to handle all of my luggage . My body sweated a lot, so I felt dizzy. Furthermore, there was nobody to help me and to give me a ride. I thought that somebody was supposed to come to take me to my school.

I had no idea what was going on. I didn't even know exactly where my school was located. Hence, I had to wait for someone who would help me. When the guide came to the airport, I had been waiting for him for three hours. Inspite of this unpredictable situation, I sincerely tried to perk myself up. I finally arrived at my school and made sure about my identity. After checking my identity, he took me to their dormitory. When I got in my room, I saw three cockroaches that look like lizard. The extreme case was that one of them flew into me. Oh my gosh! It wasn't comfortable me, but I could get used to living with those friends.

After a month , my roomie told me that he saw some kind of a ghost twice, but I couldn't believe him. My classmate told me..."Take what he said with a pinch of salt." However,
it was true. I saw a ghost who was sitting in a chair in front of a big mirror. The most frightening thing was that she had a burn an half of her face. I was so scared that I said her "Go away, don't come back.", but she ignored me.

Nevertheless, I turned on the light, she was still there. I thought, I'd better run away, so I did. I'm not sure if you guys believe me, but it's true.

The begining of my trip

I have been studying English in Toronto for a week. Since I arrived here, I saw many different things of Brazil, like transportation, food and sports. In transportation all here is organized, when you buy a ticket to use the bus or subway, they give to you a map of Toronto with all the itineraries, it helps a lot. In food, we have a big diversity, because here we can find a lot of foreigners, you can eat chinese, japanese or brazilian food in the same place. The most common sports here are baseball and football, and I don't Know how they work.

In my first day here, I was a little lost because I needed to go to my home stay but I did not ask anyone to pick me up. I was in the Lester Pearson Airport. It is almost 40 km! I only had a map printed from goggle. I started to ask for everybody if they knew Warden Avenue and how I did to go there. One guy told me the best option was to take downtown express and take off at Union station. I did it.I had just arrived when saw a subway, I entered and when I saw the station Warden, I thought that I was going to right way.

In the second station I perceived I was going to the wrong way. I took off the subway and took another to east, now I was in the right way. I have gotten to arrive at home, it lasted almost 3 hours. I knew my home stay mother and I liked her, I gave some gifts from Brazil and we talked a little while.

I have never traveled to another country where people speak a language so different than mine. I have just arrived and I have already known a lot of famous places here; the Woodbine beach, Victoria Park, Ontario lake, CN tower, Stadium, Hard Rock Cafe, Ontario Science Center, Toronto Island and some pubs.

The first places I have known were beach, Ontario Lake and Victoria Park. My home stay mother took me to know, I remembered in which day it was a little cold for me, and the people in beach dressed t-shirts, shorts and played volleyball. In Victoria Park some guys were making a barbecue there and they did not drink beer, only water, juices and coffee. Little while after, I discovered that in Canada is forbidden to drink alcohol out of places allowed to drink.

In CN Tower and stadium I did not enter, I only saw how they are outside. I liked so much Hard Rock Cafe. I asked a beer and the waitress asked my ID card, my friend started to laugh of me. In Friday, we went to a pub in Queens street and we asked a beer and the waiters asked the ID card, my friend started to laugh again of me and the waiters said:

I am not asking the ID card of him, I’m asking your ID card! It was so funny and in the other two pubs that we went in this night the waitress asked the ID card for both. I have learned in Canada, if I want to drink I beer, money it is not enough, I have to take with me my ID card. And this trip has just begun! I have more 7 weeks in Canada. I am going to enjoy more.

Scary Happening In My Travel

Experience is(→are) valuable things which we can’t buy with money. We can learn and experience through the travel. There are any people who don’t like travel. While(→when) I traveled somewhere, I feel and experience many things. Travel always doesn’t give us good memory. I’m going to tell you about one of my travel experience.

I had been to Europe two years ago. I went to Europe with 19 people for 25 days. We became close and we have kept in touch with each other since then. I visited 9 countries that I cwill never forget. Among that, the things that I can’t forget are(→were) experience in England. At the end of my trip, I went to England. England has been called ‘ A gentlemen’s country’. I think because of that, most people look like gentlemen. I saw the Tower Bridge, London Eye, and Big Ben. The Tower Bridge’s night view was fantastic and wonderful.

In England, there was one person whom I have known since I was young. He was studying English in England. I called him to meet. Next day, me and my friend met him downtown. He had lived there for 8 months so, he known there well. We went around downtown and he explained somewhere. To move, we rode a double-decker bus. It was a very interesting and unusual experience.

While we were walking around downtown, we could hear a siren and see gathering people in front of the TV. They were watching the news about an accident. A bomb was found out in bus downtown. In those days, because of terror, some countries were attacked frightened.

Some road and subway station were blocked up and several polices were patrolling the neighborhood. We were very scared and frightened of the terror attack. We decided to go back to our hotel. Unfortunately, the nearest subway station was blocked, so we couldn’t use it. He was led us to another subway station. If I didn’t meet him, I couldn’t know about it and couldn’t do anything.

After I got to my hotel, I saw on TV that they were reporting the news. Fortunately, nobody got injured. The news was being reported that terror continually until I left England. I hadn't known that I can experience terror event until that time. I couldn’t look at many things because of terror event, but I could experience special case.

During my travel, I saw famous places and ate each country’s traditional food. I can’t forget not only good memories but also this experience which experienced in England. If you have a chance for travel, I wish you should experience many things.

Algonquin Park

A month ago, I went to Algonquin Park with my friends by rental car. Algonquin Park is the largest park in Ontario and is located in north of Toronto. When we were planning to go Algonquin Park, someone who had been to there told us you'd better go there in summer or fall, because the weather was still cold. There were no green leaves in that season. But we didn't change our plan to go there.

On the date of depature, unfortunately, it was rainy. We were all depressed, but as the Algonquin Park was getting closer, the sun was setting. Highway #60 ran through the south Algonquin Park and it was only road to drive to Algonquin Park so that it was easy to drive and was convenient to find attractions, like a dams, beatiful lakes, campgrounds. It was the off season, highway #60 was almost empty. there was no car and no people, excepting for us. It was good for us. we took pictures on the road with various and funny poses.

On the way to our motel, some people gathered on the side of road. We wondered what happened. We pulled over and saw the sight of something. There was a moose eating grass. But we didn't know what it was at that time. We were so surprised that took many pictures in the distance.

On coming back to our motel, we took a bath and started to drink anchole which we bought in Totonto. While drinking, everything was so funny that we couldn't stop laughing. Actually our trip was farewell trip for one of my friends. He had only 5days to leave Toronto. The reason why we didn't change our plan was that, despite the bad weather.

Next day, The sunshine was more brighter. There was a small lake in front of our motel and there was also a rowboat. At the peril of drowning, we rode a rowboat without any lifesaving equipments. It was dangerous but became unforgettable experience. In a big park, there were only woods and us.

When we left Algonquin Park for Toronto, we didn't want to go. So we promised to go another trip next time. By August, we will have been to Stratford or Windsor.
Algonquin Park is very good place to go these days. Give it a try to go there. I assure it is really good.

Jay - My Japan trip

Last summer, I went to Japan with my friend. That was my second to Japan. Japan is made up of 4 islands. They are Honshu, Kushu, Hokkido and shikoku. I had been to Honshu on my frist trip to Japan. I had been to Kushu.


Last summer one day in the evening, we rode a ferry ship from Busan port. That's the cheapest way to travel to Japan. That's why we rode a ship! Suddenly, the ship rolled in the middle of sea. We wouldn't afraid of it. Because We were interested in Japan trip. We had earnd money to travel to Japan. That's pretty hard. As possible as we should earnd moeny. Anyway We arrived in Hakata port next morning. Finally, our trip started!


The first place of our trip to Japan is Fukuoka City tour! There were lots of shoping center. I was able to buy some souvenir for my family. And we had been to ramen shop which is the most popular ramen store in Kushu. But I'm not sure. The taste is a little bit strong. It depends on people's taste. At night we had been to Fukuoka tower where is the tallest tower in Fukuoka city. I was able to take a pretty good night view! I like taking a pictures!


On the second, we had been to Huis ten bosch in Nagasaki city. Huis ten bosch is looks like Dutch. There have a lot of fantastic scenery. Huge windmill, Nice ship which is looks like "Priate of Carribian's ship", Garden and other beautiful building. We could ride a small ship for browsing Huis ten bosch. At first we browsed Huis ten bosch. and We walked all of Huis ten bosh. That's pretty tired. But We felt pretty fun! I was able to take a picture and talk with my friend!


Third day. Actullay this day was last day. We had been to Betbu city. Betbu was all of spa city. As soon as arrived to Betbu, We felt hot air. Japanese called "Jigoku Onsen". Jigoku means hell. Onsen means spa. There were 8 spa. The name were Dasumaki, Umi, Bos, Yama, Gamado, Siraeke, Kinryu, Ohniyama and Chinoeke. Name means a little difficult. so I can't remember it. For example, Chinoeke means blood. Water color was red. That's why called by Chinoeke. Anyway I was able to relax in Spa. I love spa!


Return to Hotel.

We had a party why day was last day in Japan. We was able to drink Japan beer and sake which is Japan traditional Alcohol. My Japan trip was increadable!!

Near But Far Country Japan (Sarah)

It is very difficult life living as a high school student. Students spend all their all time on university. When I was a high school student, I heard that if I entered the university, I could do anything. However after being a university student, life was really different than I had thought. I needed something different..

At the end of the struggle, I reached a conclusion. That was to travel. As soon as the summer vacation started, I went to the Japan with my friends. The reason why I had chosen the Japan was close to Korea. My friends were so busy that we were not able to fit our schedules one other. We were not invest lots of time to travel. Anyway in our group, one had good at speaking Japanese, another gathered the information on Internet and in books, and the other took picture very well. What was my role? I could make pleasant and intimate. So when they felt tired, I tired to make them laughing.

Houses of Japan were small and elegant. They had the ancient shape. Roads were narrower and more winding. The reason was Japanese wanted to protect nature. On the other hand, Korean usually thinks that development is superior to nature. Roads in Korean are wide and straight. In other words, a large number of trees and mountain were killed for roads. We had been traveling with restless heart. The atmosphere of Japan was really different. I knew that I was just a little fish in a big pond. I had thought that Korea is the only country in my world.

However by that chance, I was able to change my mind. I went to many places like Tokyo, Kyoto and so on. During the travel, I felt sorry to my family because they couldn’t see those wonderful sceneries. I wanted to show those things that I felt and saw.

After came back to Korea, I got the part time job and started learning Japanese to give present to my mother. That present was Japan travel! As the winter came, then mother and I traveled Japan. Japan of winter was different with one of summer. I could felt another feelings. Especially, winter of Japan was known with spa, so we went to many famous spas. The best spa was outdoor spa. We were able to feel cold and hot in the same breathe.

Japan is near but far country. It means although the distance is close but the culture is really different. The more I know about Japan, the more I would fall in love with that. Traveling to Japan gave me a lot of things. So if you are in annoy, I will recommend you. “Go to the Japan! It is really good place!”

When I was young... (Lydia)

It's been a long time since I traveled abroad. Actually, I'm in Toronto now, not in my country. So living in Toronto can be considered traveling for me. It is exciting. One of my most interesting trips was visiting Versailles. I was ten years old. I remember what I did there. When we got there, I was so angry at my sister because she had kept bothering me by asking me to do this or do that. She'd been treating me as her servant.

When we arrived in the Versailles, she tried to take a picture with me but I didn't want to do that with her. So finally we took a picture separately. Now whenever I see some pictures that we took in the Versailles, I can't stop laughing. My face in those pictures makes me laugh. My face was just frowned, not like a happy traveler. When I took a picture in front of the very big fountain, my mom said to me, “Take a step backward, baby.". So I did and then I almost fell into that big fountain. I was so startled that I took a picture with almost crying face. That's just a kind of funny memory. I'll never forget the trip to the Versailles with my family. I was just a 10-year-old little girl.

After that, we went to the big department store 'Printemps'. There were so many people because it was Saturday. In the department store, unfortunately, I got lost. I wasn't able to see my mom, my dad and my sister at all! I started to cry. I couldn't find them anywhere. That kind of accident had never ever happened to me before. I was so scared. Suddenly a kind clerk found me crying and took me to the section for missing children in the department store. It was her who gave me some candies and made me calm. I still remember that. Few minutes later, I was able to see my mom and dad running to me! I started to cry again! What a touching scene! If they hadn't found me, I might have lived in France, maybe still now. But finally, I found my family back. After that, whenever I went to crowded places, I used to hold my mom's hand and never let it go.

The part of trip to France reminds me of many things. It is also a part of my experience and my life. Of course I'll never forget that. I've lived there for one year and half. Sometimes I miss the life in France. If I can, I'll go there again. And I won't get lost again!

My Last Trip (Rodrigo Callado)

Last weekend I went on a trip to New York City with some students from PGIC and some others from other English schools. I had a great time. The city is amazing.

We met on Friday at 6:45 am and we started putting the luggage on the bus. It was 7 am when we finally finished and got on the bus to drive to New York.
We spent about 11 hours to get to New York, which seems terrible but it wasn't. Actually, I spent most of the time sleeping since I hadn't slept the day before because of an adventure.

When we finally got to New York, at about 9:20pm, we went directly to Times Square. It is a very nice place. Everybody has to go there at least once before they die. In Times Square, I and my friends walked around for some time and then we stopped at an Italian restaurant to have a pizza.

Unfortunately, the weather sucked on the second day. It was not enough to make as give up of finding out more about New York. We went to the Empire State Building, which is also amazing, a boat stroll, Trinity Church, the oldest church in NYC and Ground Zero, a very sad place. Of course we watched a Broadway play as well. I watched The Phantom of The Opera, which is simply perfect! After the play, we took a bus and we got to the hotel by 2 am.

The third day of the trip was also spectacular. The first good thing is that the weather was very good. First we went to the Natural Museum of Art, which is humongous. There are a lot of interesting things to see. I saw skeletons of dinosaurs, animals from each part of the planet, pieces of equipment used in the cave age etc.

After that, I walked at the Central Park. It is a very nice and peaceful place. You feel better while you are walking there. I got lost there, but it was because I was listening to my friend’s directions. But it was not hard to ask someone for some orientations.

On this day I also went to Madam Trousseaus, where you can see a lot of celebrities made by wax. It can be the most interesting place, at least in my opinion. I saw Will Smith, Beyonce, Usher, Jennifer Aniston, Angelina Jolie, Madonna etc.

On the last day, we had to wake up early to take the bus back to Toronto. We took more than 11 hours coming back to Toronto because of the stopping at the Duty Free, the frontiers police and the traffic.

At midnight we finally arrived in Toronto after three exhausting days and I went to my bed!

Present Perfect

FORM

[has/have + past participle]

Examples:

• You have seen that movie many times.
  
• Have you seen that movie many times?
  
• You have not seen that movie many times.
  

Complete List of Present Perfect Forms

USE 1 Unspecified Time Before Now

 

We use the Present Perfect to say that an action happened at an unspecified time before now. The exact time is not important. You CANNOT use the Present Perfect with specific time expressions such as: yesterday, one year ago, last week, when I was a child, when I lived in Japan, at that moment, that day, one day, etc. We CAN use the Present Perfect with unspecific expressions such as: ever, never, once, many times, several times, before, so far, already, yet, etc.

Examples:

• I have seen that movie twenty times.
  
• I think I have met him once before.
  
• There have been many earthquakes in California.
  
• People have traveled to the Moon.
  
• People have not traveled to Mars.
  
• Have you read the book yet?
  
• Nobody has ever climbed that mountain.
  
• A: Has there ever been a war in the United States?
  
  B: Yes, there has been a war in the United States.
  

How Do You Actually Use the Present Perfect?

The concept of "unspecified time" can be very confusing to English learners. It is best to associate Present Perfect with the following topics:

TOPIC 1 Experience

You can use the Present Perfect to describe your experience. It is like saying, "I have the experience of..." You can also use this tense to say that you have never had a certain experience. The Present Perfect is NOT used to describe a specific event.

Examples:

• I have been to France.
  
  This sentence means that you have had the experience of being in France. Maybe you have been there once, or several times.
  
• I have been to France three times.
  
  You can add the number of times at the end of the sentence.
  
• I have never been to France.
  
  This sentence means that you have not had the experience of going to France.
  
• I think I have seen that movie before.
  
• He has never traveled by train.
  
• Joan has studied two foreign languages.
  
• A: Have you ever met him?
  
  B: No, I have not met him.
  

TOPIC 2 Change Over Time

We often use the Present Perfect to talk about change that has happened over a period of time.

Examples:

• You have grown since the last time I saw you.
  
• The government has become more interested in arts education.
  
• Japanese has become one of the most popular courses at the university since the Asian studies program was established.
  
• My English has really improved since I moved to Australia.
  

TOPIC 3 Accomplishments

We often use the Present Perfect to list the accomplishments of individuals and humanity. You cannot mention a specific time.

Examples:

• Man has walked on the Moon.
  
• Our son has learned how to read.
  
• Doctors have cured many deadly diseases.
  
• Scientists have split the atom.
  

TOPIC 4 An Uncompleted Action You Are Expecting

We often use the Present Perfect to say that an action which we expected has not happened. Using the Present Perfect suggests that we are still waiting for the action to happen.

Examples:

• James has not finished his homework yet.
  
• Susan hasn't mastered Japanese, but she can communicate.
  
• Bill has still not arrived.
  
• The rain hasn't stopped.
  

TOPIC 5 Multiple Actions at Different Times

We also use the Present Perfect to talk about several different actions which have occurred in the past at different times. Present Perfect suggests the process is not complete and more actions are possible.

Examples:

• The army has attacked that city five times.
  
• I have had four quizzes and five tests so far this semester.
  
• We have had many major problems while working on this project.
  
• She has talked to several specialists about her problem, but nobody knows why she is sick.
  

Time Expressions with Present Perfect

When we use the Present Perfect it means that something has happened at some point in our lives before now. Remember, the exact time the action happened is not important.

 

Sometimes, we want to limit the time we are looking in for an experience. We can do this with expressions such as: in the last week, in the last year, this week, this month, so far, up to now, etc.

 

Examples:

• Have you been to Mexico in the last year?
  
• I have seen that movie six times in the last month.
  
• They have had three tests in the last week.
  
• She graduated from university less than three years ago. She has worked for three different companies so far.
  
• My car has broken down three times this week.
  

NOTICE

"Last year" and "in the last year" are very different in meaning. "Last year" means the year before now, and it is considered a specific time which requires Simple Past. "In the last year" means from 365 days ago until now. It is not considered a specific time, so it requires Present Perfect.

Examples:

• I went to Mexico last year.
  
  I went to Mexico in the calendar year before this one.
  
• I have been to Mexico in the last year.
  
  I have been to Mexico at least once at some point between 365 days ago and now.
  

USE 2 Duration From the Past Until Now (Non-Continuous Verbs)

 

With Non-Continuous Verbs and non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, we use the Present Perfect to show that something started in the past and has continued up until now. "For five minutes," "for two weeks," and "since Tuesday" are all durations which can be used with the Present Perfect.

Examples:

• I have had a cold for two weeks.
  
• She has been in England for six months.
  
• Mary has loved chocolate since she was a little girl.
  

Although the above use of Present Perfect is normally limited to Non-Continuous Verbs and non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, the words "live," "work," "teach," and "study" are sometimes used in this way even though they are NOT Non-Continuous Verbs.

ADVERB PLACEMENT

The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.

Examples:

• You have only seen that movie one time.
  
• Have you only seen that movie one time?
  

ACTIVE / PASSIVE

Examples:

• Many tourists have visited that castle. Active
  
• That castle has been visited by many tourists. Passive
  

Simple Past or Present Perfect

PART A

   All of the following sentences should be completed using the Simple Past or the Present Perfect. You must use the words in the parentheses to fill in the blanks. Hint: remember Non-continuous Verbs cannot be used in any continuous form. If you are confused, go to the Simple Past Page or the Present Perfect Page.

EXAMPLE

A) I (visit) visited my grandmother yesterday.

B) Sandra (travel) has traveled abroad several times.

 

1. A: Did you like the movie "Star Wars"?

    B: I don't know. I (see, never)_____________________ that movie.

2.  Sam (arrive)___________________ in San Diego a week ago.

3. My best friend and I (know)_______________________ each other for over fifteen years.

4. Stinson is a fantastic writer. He (write)______________________ ten very creative short stories in the last year. One day, he'll be as famous as Hemingway.

5. I (have, not)_____________________ this much fun since I (be)_______________ a kid.

6.  Things (change)______________________ a great deal at Coltech, Inc. When we first (start)___________________ working here three years ago, the company (have, only)____________________ six employees. Since then, we (expand)____________________ to include more than 2000 full-time workers.

7. I (tell)_____________________ him to stay on the path while he was hiking, but he (wander)____________________ off into the forest and (bite)______________________ by a snake.

8. Listen Donna, I don't care if you (miss)____________________ the bus this morning. You (be)_____________________ late to work too many times. You are fired!

9. Sam is from Colorado, which is hundreds of miles from the coast, so he (see, never)__________________ the ocean. He should come with us to Miami.

10. How sad! George (dream)______________ of going to California before died, but he didn't make it. He (see, never)______________________ the ocean.

11. In the last hundred years, traveling (become)_______________________ much easier and very comfortable. In the 19th century, it (take) _________________________ two or three months to cross North America by covered wagon. The trip (be)________________________ very rough and often dangerous. Things (change)_________________________ a great deal in the last hundred and fifty years. Now you can fly from New York to Los Angeles in a matter of hours.

12. Jonny, I can't believe how much you (change)_______________________ since the last time I (see)___________________ you. You (grow)_______________________ at least a foot!

13. This tree (plant)___________________________ by the settlers who (found)_________________________ our city over four hundred years ago.

14. This mountain (climb, never)______________________________ by anyone. Several mountaineers (try)______________________ to reach the top, but nobody (succeed, ever)__________________________. The climb is extremely difficult and many people (die)__________________________ trying to reach the summit.

15. I (visit, never)___________________________ Africa, but I (travel)________________________ to South America several times. The last time I (go)____________________________ to South America, I (visit)______________________ Brazil and Peru. I (spend)___________________________ two weeks in the Amazon, (hike)___________________ for a week near Machu Picchu and (fly)___________________________ over the Nazca Lines.

 

Present Continuous

 
 

FORM

[am/is/are + present participle]

Examples:

• You are watching TV.
  
• Are you watching TV?
  
• You are not watching TV.
  

Complete List of Present Continuous Forms

USE 1 Now

 

Use the Present Continuous with Normal Verbs to express the idea that something is happening now, at this very moment. It can also be used to show that something is not happening now.

Examples:

• You are learning English now.
  
• You are not swimming now.
  
• Are you sleeping?
  
• I am sitting.
  
• I am not standing.
  
• Is he sitting or standing?
  
• They are reading their books.
  
• They are not watching television.
  
• What are you doing?
  
• Why aren't you doing your homework?
  

USE 2 Longer Actions in Progress Now

 

In English, "now" can mean: this second, today, this month, this year, this century, and so on. Sometimes, we use the Present Continuous to say that we are in the process of doing a longer action which is in progress; however, we might not be doing it at this exact second.

Examples: (All of these sentences can be said while eating dinner in a restaurant.)

• I am studying to become a doctor.
  
• I am not studying to become a dentist.
  
• I am reading the book Tom Sawyer.
  
• I am not reading any books right now.
  
• Are you working on any special projects at work?
  
• Aren't you teaching at the university now?
  

USE 3 Near Future

 

Sometimes, speakers use the Present Continuous to indicate that something will or will not happen in the near future.

Examples:

• I am meeting some friends after work.
  
• I am not going to the party tonight.
  
• Is he visiting his parents next weekend?
  
• Isn't he coming with us tonight?
  

USE 4 Repetition and Irritation with "Always"

 

The Present Continuous with words such as "always" or "constantly" expresses the idea that something irritating or shocking often happens. Notice that the meaning is like Simple Present, but with negative emotion. Remember to put the words "always" or "constantly" between "be" and "verb+ing."

Examples:

• She is always coming to class late.
  
• He is constantly talking. I wish he would shut up.
  
• I don't like them because they are always complaining.
  

REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs/ Mixed Verbs

It is important to remember that Non-Continuous Verbs cannot be used in any continuous tenses. Also, certain non-continuous meanings for Mixed Verbs cannot be used in continuous tenses. Instead of using Present Continuous with these verbs, you must use Simple Present.

Examples:

• She is loving this chocolate ice cream. Not Correct
  
• She loves this chocolate ice cream. Correct
  

ADVERB PLACEMENT

The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.

Examples:

• You are still watching TV.
  
• Are you still watching TV?
  

ACTIVE / PASSIVE

Examples:

• Right now, Tom is writing the letter. Active
  
• Right now, the letter is being written by Tom. Passive
  

Past Continuous

 

FORM

[was/were + present participle]

Examples:

• You were studying when she called.
  
• Were you studying when she called?
  
• You were not studying when she called.
  

Complete List of Past Continuous Forms

USE 1 Interrupted Action in the Past

 

Use the Past Continuous to indicate that a longer action in the past was interrupted. The interruption is usually a shorter action in the Simple Past. Remember this can be a real interruption or just an interruption in time.

Examples:

• I was watching TV when she called.
  
• When the phone rang, she was writing a letter.
  
• While we were having the picnic, it started to rain.
  
• What were you doing when the earthquake started?
  
• I was listening to my iPod, so I didn't hear the fire alarm.
  
• You were not listening to me when I told you to turn the oven off.
  
• While John was sleeping last night, someone stole his car.
  
• Sammy was waiting for us when we got off the plane.
  
• While I was writing the email, the computer suddenly went off.
  
• A: What were you doing when you broke your leg?
  
  B: I was snowboarding.
  

USE 2 Specific Time as an Interruption

 

In USE 1, described above, the Past Continuous is interrupted by a shorter action in the Simple Past. However, you can also use a specific time as an interruption.

Examples:

• Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner.
  
• At midnight, we were still driving through the desert.
  
• Yesterday at this time, I was sitting at my desk at work.
  

IMPORTANT

In the Simple Past, a specific time is used to show when an action began or finished. In the Past Continuous, a specific time only interrupts the action.

Examples:

• Last night at 6 PM, I ate dinner.
  
  I started eating at 6 PM.
  
• Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner.
  
  I started earlier; and at 6 PM, I was in the process of eating dinner.
  

USE 3 Parallel Actions

 

When you use the Past Continuous with two actions in the same sentence, it expresses the idea that both actions were happening at the same time. The actions are parallel.

Examples:

• I was studying while he was making dinner.
  
• While Ellen was reading, Tim was watching television.
  
• Were you listening while he was talking?
  
• I wasn't paying attention while I was writing the letter, so I made several mistakes.
  
• What were you doing while you were waiting?
  
• Thomas wasn't working, and I wasn't working either.
  
• They were eating dinner, discussing their plans, and having a good time.
  

USE 4 Atmosphere

In English, we often use a series of parallel actions to describe the atmosphere at a particular time in the past.

Example:

• When I walked into the office, several people were busily typing, some were talking on the phones, the boss was yelling directions, and customers were waiting to be helped. One customer was yelling at a secretary and waving his hands. Others were complaining to each other about the bad service.
  

USE 5 Repetition and Irritation with "Always"

 

The Past Continuous with words such as "always" or "constantly" expresses the idea that something irritating or shocking often happened in the past. The concept is very similar to the expression "used to" but with negative emotion. Remember to put the words "always" or "constantly" between "be" and "verb+ing."

Examples:

• She was always coming to class late.
  
• He was constantly talking. He annoyed everyone.
  
• I didn't like them because they were always complaining.
  

While vs. When

Clauses are groups of words which have meaning, but are often not complete sentences. Some clauses begin with the word "when" such as "when she called" or "when it bit me." Other clauses begin with "while" such as "while she was sleeping" and "while he was surfing." When you talk about things in the past, "when" is most often followed by the verb tense Simple Past, whereas "while" is usually followed by Past Continuous. "While" expresses the idea of "during that time." Study the examples below. They have similar meanings, but they emphasize different parts of the sentence.

Examples:

• I was studying when she called.
  
• While I was studying, she called.
  

REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs / Mixed Verbs

It is important to remember that Non-Continuous Verbs cannot be used in any continuous tenses. Also, certain non-continuous meanings for Mixed Verbs cannot be used in continuous tenses. Instead of using Past Continuous with these verbs, you must use Simple Past.

Examples:

• Jane was being at my house when you arrived. Not Correct
  
• Jane was at my house when you arrived. Correct
  

ADVERB PLACEMENT

The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.

Examples:

• You were just studying when she called.
  
• Were you just studying when she called?
  

ACTIVE / PASSIVE

Examples:

• The salesman was helping the customer when the thief came into the store. Active
  
• The customer was being helped by the salesman when the thief came into the store. Passive
  

Present Perfect Continuous

FORM
[has/have + been + present participle]

Examples:

• You have been waiting here for two hours.
  
• Have you been waiting here for two hours?
  
• You have not been waiting here for two hours.
  

Complete List of Present Perfect Continuous Forms

USE 1 Duration from the Past Until Now

We use the Present Perfect Continuous to show that something started in the past and has continued up until now. "For five minutes," "for two weeks," and "since Tuesday" are all durations which can be used with the Present Perfect Continuous.

Examples:

• They have been talking for the last hour.
  
• She has been working at that company for three years.
  
• What have you been doing for the last 30 minutes?
  
• James has been teaching at the university since June.
  
• We have been waiting here for over two hours!
  
• Why has Nancy not been taking her medicine for the last three days?
  

USE 2 Recently, Lately

You can also use the Present Perfect Continuous WITHOUT a duration such as "for two weeks." Without the duration, the tense has a more general meaning of "lately." We often use the words "lately" or "recently" to emphasize this meaning.

Examples:

• Recently, I have been feeling really tired.
  
• She has been watching too much television lately.
  
• Have you been exercising lately?
  
• Mary has been feeling a little depressed.
  
• Lisa has not been practicing her English.
  
• What have you been doing?
  

IMPORTANT

Remember that the Present Perfect Continuous has the meaning of "lately" or "recently." If you use the Present Perfect Continuous in a question such as "Have you been feeling alright?", it can suggest that the person looks sick or unhealthy. A question such as "Have you been smoking?" can suggest that you smell the smoke on the person. Using this tense in a question suggests you can see, smell, hear or feel the results of the action. It is possible to insult someone by using this tense incorrectly.

REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs/ Mixed Verbs

It is important to remember that Non-Continuous Verbs cannot be used in any continuous tenses. Also, certain non-continuous meanings for Mixed Verbs cannot be used in continuous tenses. Instead of using Present Perfect Continuous with these verbs, you must use Present Perfect.

Examples:

• Sam has been having his car for two years. Not Correct
  
• Sam has had his car for two years. Correct
  

ADVERB PLACEMENT

The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.

Examples:

• You have only been waiting here for one hour.
  
• Have you only been waiting here for one hour?
  

ACTIVE / PASSIVE

Examples:

• Recently, John has been doing the work. Active
  
• Recently, the work has been being done by John. Passive
  

NOTE: Present Perfect Continuous is less commonly used in its passive form.

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