I'm very glad that Winter Break is here. It's where everyone gets together, sleeps in, and has fun for the holidays. There are two things that I am excited to do during Winter Break. The first thing is that all my cousins, and siblings are going to get together at someone's house, and are going to have a giant sleep over that will last about the whole weekend! I am very excited for us getting together, because we all play video games, joke around, and play game shows, and just plain have fun!
     The second thing I am excited for is the fact of Christmas coming closer. The reason that I am most excited is because in my family, we do a secret Santa gift exchange. The best thing about that is we all put what we want for Christmas on a slip of paper, and we pull each other's name out, but of course, don't tell anyone who we have. This year, the rule was that we had to at least put 5 things we wanted for Christmas. I cheated a little this year, since I put the same thing for all 5 things. But, there was no obligation stated against putting the same thing on our list, so I was fine. After we buy the presents, on Christmas night, we all get together again for a Christmas dinner. After we all eat, there is a time where we exchange the gifts, but we don't just write the name on the tag, and have someone pass it out. We like to do things in a very fun way, so we find a really creative way to present who we have for the secret Santa exchange. I am so excited and can't wait to have an amazing winter break!

     Japan mostly borrowed things from China, and one of the rulers admired China so much, he sent some travelers there to go see how they do things, and act. This ruler wanted Japan to be just like the unified, and powerful China. One of the things they got from them was religion, the most important thing in my opinion. But what is this religion that was borrowed from China? Was it even originally Chinese? Why did the Japanese admire it so much.
     This religion is Buddhism. This was not originally from China, but from India. Buddhism traveled through India, to Nepal, to Afghanistan, and then China. Why this language was so popular is because it helps people achieve peace, and get away from the war-like things in life. Buddhism was very popular in China, and Japan received the religion after the travelers came back from China. They went straight to the ruler, and taught him about Buddhism, and brought the religion to life in Japan. It became very popular there. It got so popular, that the rich would want to do special rituals for the religion. The people who did not have the time and money stayed away from these types of things. This made both religions clash with each other, and there were two forms of Buddhism. The fancy one was called, "Zen Buddhism." The other, which was the original was called, "Pure Land Buddhism." The reason that this is the most important thing that Japan borrowed from China, is because it gives people a new faith, and something to believe in.

     I was working in the farm, plucking some wheat, and then I heard it. The sound of horses' footsteps were closing in. Could it be? Was the army coming in? No. It was the dreaded, and scary Mongols. I looked and saw them slaughtering animals, and I screamed a loud, and high-pitched cry. "Aaaaahhhh!!!" I yelled. Then, the sound of a horn blew out, and I saw the Chinese army rushing towards the Mongols. How can I save myself? My family? And then it hits me. I will pretend to be a nomad, and take the ship away to Japan with my family, since we did not live far from the coastline. I run in my house to find my family huddled together, and scared. "I have an idea to keep us safe!" I said, and then told them my plan.
     My family agreed, and then we heard the Mongols coming even closer, killing some of the army. I rush away with my family, and then I see the boat coming. We may not make it after all! We ran and ran, and then saw a few Mongols rushing our way. We finally got to the docks, and jumped inside. The Mongols, however, jumped on to the dock, ready to hop onto the ship. Luckily, the ship left barely, and those few Mongols fell down in the water, never to be seen. As  we boated to Japan, I was sad that we would be leaving home, but glad that we were safe together, as a family.