The First Step is The Hardest

The Problem We All Live In by Norman Rockwell is a painting from 1964 around the time when Negroes were segregated. The painting takes place in the southern part of the U.S. In the painting 6-years-old black girl, Ruby Bridges, is walking down the sidewalk on her way to the William Frantz School, the first school to accept both black and white students.

 In the picture, Ruby is walking in the middle of bodyguards that are all wearing grey uniforms while she is wearing a white dress showing how she is pure. The sidewalk wall has words written upon it like, “KKK” and “Nigger” and a tomato on the floor with its stain on the wall, but the girl just keeps on going showing her perseverance to finally make a change.

When people look at this painting they would probably think that change has finally come and they are going to be equal and they will be able to work together now. But when I looked at it more closely, I thought of how things can have different effects on different people and how in this case one little girl can make a big change or at least take the first step.

I think that the artist’s intention was to show how black and white can go together, he showed this with the little girl, who was black and wore a white dress. I think that he was also trying to show how things like that happen every day and so it doesn’t mean that we can’t make changes. The first step is always the hardest, but someone needs to take it to make a difference.

We Fligh Home

This morning we said goodbye to our grandparents and left for the airport. I really didn't want to get in the plane we I had no choice. We waited for our plane in the brussels launge because we were traveling in bussiness class. When the plane started bording we left the launge and got in the plane. I watched movies throughout the whole plane ride to Atlanta and didn't manage to sleep just a little. After 9 hours we got to Atlanta and we had to wait 3 more hours for our next plane to Panama city. The plane ride lasted 4 hours and I was really happy to finally land. A driver from my dad's office came and picked us up. When we got home all I wanted to do was fall right into my bed  and fall asleep but we first had to take out all the luguage from the car. I went upstairs with my stuff and got into bed.

It's good to be finally home. 

The Trip Back

Today we said our last goodbies to the whole family since we weren't going to see them until the summer holidays. We left at about 10:00am and the trip seemed to last forever. First there was so much traffic on the road and all we had to eat were sweets, coockied and chocolate bars and I couldn't stop being hungry. We once stopped at a fast food restaurant but there was a line that was really long even to go the bathrooms. When got home it was like 7:00pm and we were really happy to find out that my grandparents had prepared soup and lasagna. We went to bed almost emediatly because of how tired we all were.

Skiing Through the Snow

Day 18

Skiing at the beginning was a little hard because I hadn't skied in a year, but it soon came back to me. We skiied on one side of the mountain and then the other. At first we all skied together and then we decided to seperate because my three cousins that were my age wanted to go skiing on slopes that were a little harder. I wanted to follow and they didn't mind. It was fun the first five minutes but then they started speeding up and I had trouble to follow. At the end of each slope they stopped to wait for me, but when I got there they just continued, not letting me take a break.

Days 19, 20 & 21

The skiing lessons started on monday and I was kind of scared of being put with little kids because I usualy go skiing once every two years and everybody else always go skiing every year and so most of the kids in my group should have been smaller that me. Luckily, I met a girl that was exactly my age and we got along quite well. The first day was kind of tough because the weather wasn't so great but the next two days were fine and then of thursday the weaher was horribly. It was drizzling and snowing like crazy, there was alot of fog and the temperature was like -10 degrees celcius. I did the best I could following the group and honestly, I did better than almost the whole group.

Day 22

Today was the last day of skiing and the weather was a little better but just as cold. We also had to pass our skiing test today and I was kind o f nervous. There was so much snow! We went skiing on one side of the mountain where the snow reached my knees, litteraly. I fell down once when I was trying to stop and my ski fell off and I couldn't find it in all the snow. I had to dig a little to finally find it and put it back on. The rest of the day went fine and I passed the test. At the end of the day my knees hurt quite bad and my toes were frozen to the bone.

The Trip to the Mountains

December 30th

This morning we left really early from my grandparents' house so we wouldn't arrive too late at the hotel where we were going to stay that night before we went skiing. The trip was really long. After 7 hours of driving, we finally reach our destination. Once there, we waited for the rest of our family to arrive so we could check in. The hotel where we were staying was really nice and we all got set up for the night. For dinner we went to eat in a restaurant with the whole family. When everyone had finished eating, we headed back to the hotel.

December31st

Today we left the hotel not too late so we wouldn't have too much traffic on the road to Les Saisies (the place where we were going skiing). The ride didn't last too long until we got to the mountains and had to becareful because of all the snow. When we finally got to the appartment, our cousins, who had left earlier than us, had prepared a slide in the snow so we could slide down it with our sledges. That afternoon, we went to the ski rental place to rent our skis, sticks, boots and helmets. When we got back to the apartment, my grandparents told us that all the skiing teachers were doing this big thing for new year's eve. We went to go see them go down a slope with burning sticks. All we could see was the fire at the end of each stick because it was so dark and there was a litte fog. Next they lit up about a dozen other sticks that were placed in the snow in the shape of 2012. It was really cool. When it was over we went back and arrived at the appartment just in time to see all the fireworks light up the sky. That night everyone gathered in our appartment, because it was the biggest. When everyone was there we celebrated my dad's birthday, which is the 1st of January. We went to bed that night and to my dissapointment we weren't aloud to stay till midnight because ski classes started the next day and we had to be in a "good mood" for that.

At our Cousins' House

This morning, my sister and I woke up before my cousins and so we had to wait in bed for a while until one of them woke up. We ate breakfast and then went back upstairs to change into warm cloths. We played a few games and then we tried thinking of something to do that afternoon.

We decided to go to the movies. I didn’t really know what was out except for Alvin and the Chipmunks 3, so I asked if we could go watch that. My oldest cousin had already watched it, though, and wanted to go watch something else. Finally we decided to go watch Hugo Cabret and we left at 4:00pm. When we were almost there, we realized that we’d forgotten to bring 3D glasses since the movie was going to be in 3D. I didn’t see the problem until they explained that you had to by the glasses in Belgium and they were quite expensive, especially since we had to buy 6 pairs.

When the movie was over we went to a restaurant to eat dinner and we all ordered ribs and french fries. The day ended with us going home and getting into bed.

The Second Day of Christmas

We left my grandparents’ house at about 11:00am and we were the first ones to arrive at my other grandparents’ house to celebrate Christmas with my family on my dad’s side.

            We waited a little while for the others to arrive. In the meantime, we unpacked everything and my sister and I made our bags, because we were going to sleepover at my cousins’ house.

            When everyone had arrived we started off with the presents this time. I got two necklaces, three pairs of earrings and 100 euros (which is like $100). We ate lunch and then everyone started playing around with their presents. We left with our cousins, when everyone else started leaving, and told each other jokes on the way to their house. When we got there, we tried fixing up an old radio that my grandpa still had and gave my older cousin. We were all quite surprised when it started working.

The First Day of Christmas

“Are you awake?” The small voice woke me up this morning.

            “Yes.” Thibaud, my cousin replied.

            I heard footsteps in the corridor and then the creaking of the door as someone else entered the room. I tried keeping my eyes closed, but the sudden beam of light made me jump up in bed.

            “Why did you turn on the lights?!” I asked, as the anger rose up to my brain.

            “Sorry.” Pauline, who obviously was the one that turned on the lights, apologized.

            I got up and walked out the room. I ate breakfast and then went back upstairs to get dressed for Christmas.

            The rest of my family showed up about an hour later and we started off by eating lunch. We ate french-fries, chicken and peaches. Then, we all gathered around the Christmas tree to receive the presents. We decided to do it from smallest to oldest, which made me second to last. I got a kindle, two pairs of earrings and a little bag. We all played together for a long time, but we had to stop because we had to go to church. It didn’t last too long, luckily, and we got to go home and eat dinner all together.