Everyone needs a vacation (假期). So does US President (总统) Barack Obama. Now, he is trying to share one of his experiences with us.

“My family traveled to Honolulu, Hawaii, in December last year for Christmas. Of course we went there by plane. We spent 17 days there. Hawaii is my hometown. We had a wonderful time there. It was one of the greatest vacations in my life.”

“My wife Michelle and I visited the US Marine Corps (海军陆战队) and their families in Hawaii on Christmas Day. I even held the eight-month-old baby of a captain (上校) in my arms.”

“I also spent part of Christmas Eve playing golf with my old friends from Hawaii and some White House workers.”

“I went to Hanauma Bay Nature Park with my two daughters. That’s our favourite place. We dived there, and set four sea turtles (龟) free. We all had a good time.”

In two days we will drive to Yellowstone National Park. Mom really wants to see it in winter. On snowshoes. Yay, nature.

If you don’t hear from me again, maybe that’s because I froze in the snow. They won’t find me until a bear digs (挖) me out next spring!

January 5th

It was dusk when we heard the first howl (嚎叫). I looked up and found a wolf above us on the hill to our north. He (She?) was black, so he really stood out against the snow.

Soon I found a group of wolves. That was cool enough, but then we heard another howl ... from the south.

We turned and saw a second group of wolves. The two groups howled across the hill for a long time.

The sound echoed (回响) in my head for hours. It still gives me chills — the good kind.

Thanks for coming to this meeting. I’d like to start by confirming that we will receive some money from the government for our school trip to Indonesia. We will receive about $1,300 per child, and it will help to reduce the overall cost to you.

Now that we are sure to get the money, it is time to do some serious planning. We are sure that the trip will be very exciting for the children, especially if they have not traveled abroad before. There are many advantages of having some experiences to different places and cultures.

Leanne is with us tonight. Leanne, where are you? Put up your hand so that the people can see who you are. Thank you. Leanne went on a trip there with some other students last year and will be happy to tell you of her experiences and answer any questions you might have. We will hear from her a bit later in the meeting.

We only have five months to organize the trip. From past experience I can tell you that this time will go very quickly! So we need to start organizing the trip.