Book Review: STORMBREAKER (ALEX RIDER) by Anthony Horowitz

“Stormbreaker (Alex Rider)” is a fiction book about a 14-year old boy named Alex, an ordinary British schoolboy. He lives with his uncle, Ian Rider, who is a banker. At least, that what he thought. But when Ian mysteriously dies, Alex realizes that his uncle is an agent of MI6, and he must take Ian’s place. He embarks on a dangerous mission that could save the world.

I liked the characters, especially Alex, because he is a resourceful and well-trained spy, even if he is only 14. This book is exceptional in the sense that it is the first book I read about a young boy becoming a spy and exposed to the various dangers of evil. I would recommend it to children 12 years old and above because while it is very entertaining, there is a little shooting and combat violence. Nevertheless, it is an excellent book that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Teacher For A Day

Last Friday, February 10, 2012, the Ateneo Grade School community had the Student-Teachers Day. On this day, class officers and student volunteers get to be teachers of various subjects in different grade levels. I was assigned to teach Music in Grade 2. At first, I had hoped (I was going) to be assigned to teach Science or Math. However, I realized it was a nice subject to teach. I handled 5 classes that day with my friend and teaching partner, Nico. The children were all a bit noisy, but every time we wanted them to be quiet, we would offer them candy, and all of them would suddenly be quiet. We went through a few music drills with flashcards and a PowerPoint Presentation, and even our students had fun. At the end each class, we would throw candy in the air and the little kids would race each other for it. It was really fun and I hope that I can do this again next year.

Back To The Past

          Last October 28, 2011, my family and I went on a vacation in Bataan. But first, we went to San Marcelino, Zambales to celebrate SuperLolo’s 99^th birthday.

           

            It was a long trip, starting when we left the house at 5:30 AM. It took a few hours to get there, and by the time we arrived at SuperLolo’s house, it was already late morning (around 10:00). We were greeted by Lola and Lola Alice. They even served us lemonade, which really quenched our thirst. We spent most of the time talking or watching TV. However, we weren’t able to stay long and had to leave early in the afternoon, since we still had to drive to Bataan. Before we left though, Lola Alice gave us some chocolates she brought from the US. After our good-byes, we hit the road once again.

               After a while, we got to Bataan. Our first stop was the Pawikan Conservation Center. There, we were able to see and take pictures with the pawikans they had.

            From there, we headed to the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, but we were not allowed to go in because there was nobody who could tour us. So we proceeded to our destination, Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar.

            This wasn’t like any other resort I’ve been to. They used old houses from the Spanish era and used them as hotel rooms. Once we were checked in, we went to our hotel room. Our room had a clean bed, a shining bathroom and a loft with a second bed.

Then, we went swimming in the pool that looked like a stream, complete with rocks of various sizes. 

When it got late, we dressed up and had dinner in their restaurant, where we were able to watch some performers dance to and sing Philippine music. After we had filled ourselves with adobo and leche flan, we went back to our room and slept.

            The next day, we had breakfast in Casa Unisan, their breakfast and lunch restaurant. 

Then we went on a tour of the resort and got to know each house’s history and origin.  

During the tour, we saw many different houses. Each house was named after its original location. We saw the Casa Unisan (which was also the restaurant), the Casa Hidalgo (which was the first campus of the UP School of Fine Arts) and the Casa Cagayan which was the simplest of the houses there. My favorite was the Casa Luna because instead of simply roaming around, we passed through the corridors used by the “alipin sagigilid”.

            After the tour around Las Casas, we went to Dambana ng Kagitingan, where we were able to go to the top of the cross. It was so high up because it was a 100-meter tall building on top of Mt. Samat. 

We also saw World War II weapons and battle maps of Bataan battles in the museum. 

Then we went back and just played ping-pong for a couple of minutes to unwind and relax, because we were busy the whole morning (not that I’m complaining). We also played at the beach, and we made an awesome sand wall and castle. 

When we got tired, we went to our room to clean up and refresh, then we ate dinner early because we had to leave early the following day. I felt sad at this because I really liked our hotel. However, I know that we will be able to come back someday. Maybe, it might even be more fun.

My Great Baguio Adventure Part II

The next day, we ate breakfast at the Le Chef buffet. The food there was so delicious! I had peaches, cereal, bananas, baked potatoes and omelet. After eating, we headed out to La Trinidad Valley to see the Strawberry Fields. The fields were so big! There were also many strawberry vendors. Their products came straight from the farm. After we bought some strawberries and souvenirs, we went back to Baguio and visited the Easter Weaving School.
There, we saw many intricate creations. We also got a chance to watch them weave. Their work looked so complex, but they did it with ease. Trixi wasn't feeling well so we skipped Burnham Park.

We then had lunch in SM City Baguio. The first thing I noticed was that there was no airconditioning. They had open areas that let in the cold air. After filling ourselves, we went back to our hotel. When we got back, I was surprised to see a kid from my school. He was my batchmate Gio and he invited me to join their Nerf war. Trixi joined too and we had so much fun.
After playing, we went to Mario's for dinner. The manager there was Mama's friend from high school, Tita Dol. The food there was excellent. But the dessert was the best! We had the banana jubilee which was prepared beside our table. It was cool to see the fire coming out of the pan. It was delicious!
The following day, we went home already. I was sad to leave Baguio. But at least I enjoyed our stay there. Hopefully I will be able to come back there soon.

My Great Baguio Adventure

Last March 22, my family and I went to Baguio. It was a very long car ride, around 6 hours long. But when we got there, it was worth the wait. The first thing we saw was a giant lion's head. This marked the entrance to Baguio. It looked amazing!
Then we drove to Little John's restaurant inside Camp John Hay for lunch. The food there was delicious! And the banana jubilee was very good. It had warm bananas and vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup on it. We really enjoyed it.
After that, we dropped off our things at our room at the Manor and went mini-golfing. It was a lot of fun. I even got a hole-in-one!
Next, we went to the picnic area. It was unique because there were so many pine trees. Papa, Trixi and I played with our Nerf guns. It was really awesome! But it was quite tiring as well.
We then headed to Chocolate de Batirol for dinner. I thought their caldereta was scrumptious!
After dinner, we had dessert at Strawberries and Ice Cream. There, I ordered a chocolate parfait. It was super delicious! It had 3 scoops of ice cream, bananas and chocolate syrup.
After that, we drove back to the hotel. The first thing I noted was that there was no aircon in the room. The wind was so cold that they didn't need airconditioning. Tired from our first day, we went to bed early. I felt excited for our next adventure the following day.

Difficult Times

Last weekend, there was a storm while we were in school for the salu-salo. It rained really hard, which ruined our chances of going on the fair rides. Papa, Mama, Trixi and I hoped that the rain would stop. But it didn't. Some of my classmates and their families tried to go home, but the rain had caused a large flood, so some people came back. I was worried. If the flood entered our house, a lot will be lost. The TV, Wii and refrigerator would be destroyed. And my school stuff would get soaked. We prayed that the house would be safe. Eventually, we were able to leave. But we couldn't go home because of the floods and all the hotels were full! So we went to Tito John and Tita Tintin's condo. They kept us safe and cozy for three days. When we went back home, we were so happy. The house was dry and safe! We were really grateful to God for keeping us and our house safe through the storm.

An Imagination Stretcher

Last month, my godsister Karina gave me a book called "Thumb Doodles", where you can put fingerprints and draw on them to make them something creative. It is so cool! There are instructions on how to draw different figures. There are many different themes, like underwater and wrestling. I liked the "Intergalactic Thumb Aliens" page. I made a UFO and a 3-headed, 8-armed alien. I really enjoyed doing this activity. I would recommend it for kids with a big imagination. I had so much fun!