Saturday, October 5, 2013

yeonsoo seo / character sketch / Tuesday 1pm

I went to Puerto Escondido in Mexico with my friend during last summer vacation. The reason I chose this place was simple: my friend and I wanted to relax near the beach where it is less famous to tourists because we didn't want to be in the crowd. 'Puerto Escondido' means hidden port, and it is located in the far southern part of Mexico, which takes about 12 hours by bus from Mexico City. Since the weather was so scorching, as soon as I arrived at Puerto Escondido, I headed to the beach and sat on the sand under parasol.

Surprisingly, many Mexican boys were doing boogie board, and some guys were windsurfing. By then, I realized I came to the town well-known for surfing. Waves that lied before us were so high that it seemed to come close and swallow us. When we were thrown into that scenery, one Mexican boy came to us asking our name and nationality. He said his name is 'Arturo', and when we didn't pronounce his name very well, he scribbled his name on the sand with his fingers. He was small because his height almost looked similar to mine. He has straight black hair and his skin was dark-complexioned. He was wearing swimming shorts holding a boogie board on his right hand and flippers the other hand. Since he just came out of water doing boogie board, beads of water were standing on his hair and body. Because of the blazing sun, he was pulling a long face but his big bright eyes looked nice and warm. And then he suggested to us, saying "have you ever tried boogie board?" As we shook our heads, he said "first, I will show you how to do boogie board, and I will come back and teach you how to hold breath under waves and then let's do boogie board together."

He wore flippers, and strode ahead in shallow water. After that, he disappeared into water right before high waves stroke him, and only his boogie board could be seen with his one hand. Once high waves passed above his body, he appeared onto water leaning his body towards boogie board. He stuck his body to boogie board swinging his hands and feet with flippers to move forward. When he got into deep water, he was floating on waves like a duck with many other boys who were also doing boogie board. They were waiting for waves high enough to ride the waves. Arturo was turning his back on big waves that would come soon, and when high waves came, he rode the waves from the top to the bottom of waves keeping his upper body erect and fluttering his feet. Staring many boys including Arturo rode the waves was so amazing that I saw them wide-mouthed in astonishment. After riding the waves, Arturo brought his friends to us sitting on the beach. Since none of them couldn't speak English at all and I and my friend spoke Spanish a little bit, we communicated using body language and writing on the sand, which was funny in some ways.

Despite language barrier, we learned how to hold breath under big waves which was terrifying but exciting, and how to ride the waves on boogie board. Arturo and his friends were so friendly and welcoming. They also introduced us restaurants serving delicious tacos and cool beer, and took s to more beautiful beaches nearby. Since I had such a great time at that day thanks to Arturo, I decided to stay at Puerto Escondido for another two months during that vacation.

2 comments:

  1. 1. Write one sentence to sum up what this person is like.

    A small common mexican boy with his swimming pants and boogie board.


    2. List three details from essay that support your sentence in step1.

    (1) He was small because his height almost looked similar to mine.

    (2) He has straight black hair and his skin was dark-complexioned.

    (3) He was wearing swimming shorts holding a boogie board on his right hand and flippers the other hand.


    3. What the person looks like

    -He was small because his height almost looked similar to mine.


    What the person says

    -"first, I will show you how to do boogie board, and I will come back and teach you how to hold breath under waves and then let's do boogie board together."


    What the person does

    -when we didn't pronounce his name very well, he scribbled his name on the sand with his fingers.


    4. Were there any things in this essay that you did not understand? If so, what were they?

    Not really.


    5. Why do you think the writer chose to describe this particular person?

    Just by describing this person called 'Arturo', the writer can tell how good was that vacation.


    6. Write one or two questions about the person described in this essay that you would like the writer to answer in the next draft.

    Though It can be inferred from the text to some degree, but I want to know how old did Arturo look like.

    Lee Seung-Hwan

    ReplyDelete
  2. 1.What this person is like: Nice and warm, friendly and welcoming, good at doing boogie board,
    2.List three details: 1) He said:"First, I will show you how to do boogie board, and I will come back and teach you how to hold breath under waves…”
    2) When he got into deep water, he was floating on waves like a duck with many other boys who were also doing boogie board.
    3) They also introduced us restaurants serving delicious tacos and cool beer, and took us to more beautiful beaches nearby.

    3.What the person looks like: He has straight black hair and his skin was dark-complexioned.
    What the person says:"First, I will show you how to do boogie board…"
    What the person does: He wore flippers, and strode ahead in shallow water. After that, he disappeared into water right before high waves stroke him…
    4.There weren’t things in the essay that I didn’t understand.
    5.Why do you think the writer chose to describe this particular person?
    Because the writer had a great time in Mexico thanks to this person.
    6. Write one question about the person described in this essay: Do you still contact with this person now?

    Simmy (Su Xiao)

    ReplyDelete