Where to go on Vacation? - "To be or not to be"

Every year my husband and I look for new places to vacation with our children. We love to be foreigners in new lands; exploring new adventures and tasting all kinds of new foods. We have been to many places in the Caribbean while on a cruise a few years ago. We have visited Honduras, Belize, Roatan, Cozumel, Dominican Republic and Riviera Maya, to name a few places. Last year my family and I went to visit my country El Salvador. It was the first time both of my children had been to El Salvador. I was anxious to show them my childhood home and the all girls Catholic school I attended, but most of all I was excited for them to meet the rest of our family. At least once every two years we try to vacation in a new country with amazing beaches. Having the ocean nearby is very important to us, so when we plan a vacation it must always have a beach for us relax on. We plan on going to a few more countries in the Caribbean before setting our sights across the Atlantic Ocean to visit Europe. My daughter is eagerly waiting the day we fly to Italy, tour the Coliseum, the Vatican and the rest of the beautiful country. Personally, I wish to visit France, especially Paris. I am not too sure when we will get to visit Europe, but we have been daydreaming about it for quite some time now. What exotic and beautiful countries have you visited?

Vocabulary List

Places: Specific area or region 
Foreigners: A person not that does not originally come from a particular location 
Kinds: Groups of things or people that have similar characteristics 
Cruise: A large ship used to sail to different vacation spots 
Country: A specific geographic region with it's own government
Attended: Past tense of attend (present at a particular place and time) 
Excited: Very eager and animated, usually about a particular thing/idea 
Beaches: Pebbly or sandy shore, usually where an ocean or body of water meets land 
Important: Significant 
Plan: Something decided or arranged in advance 
Sights: Pertaining to seeing and observing 
Eagerly: Wanting something or someone very much 
Visit: To go and see and spend time with someone, and/or in a particular place 
Especially: To show importance to something in particular 
Exotic: From a distant and largely unknown foreign country 

Vocabulary Exercise
Directions: Complete the sentences with the correct vocabulary word from the list above. 

1. There are many __________ countries I would like to ________ when I retire.
2. I think playing a sport is ______________. What ________ of sports do you like to play?
3. Brazil is an __________ place, with beautiful ___________ to explore.
4. In New York, there are many ___________ from countries all over the world. It's sometimes called the "melting pot" of nations.
5. Susan  was ________ to call her mother and tell her the news of her recent engagement to Brian.
6. My family and I __________ a family reunion that took years to ________.
7. When I go to the Museum of Natural History I like seeing all exhibits, but __________ the Hall of Mammals room.
8. Many people do not like to board a _______ ship because they are afraid of bad weather and rough seas. 
9. Since I was a little girl, I have set my _______ on getting a Chanel bag for my 30th birthday.
10. Last year when I visited El Salvador, my family ________ waited for me at the airport.

Grammar Point - The verb "to be"
The verb "to be" in English is a commonly used verb. It is an irregular verb because it has many different forms. It shows the state of being or characteristic of something or someone. 

When used with the present participle of other verbs it describes actions that are or were still continuing.

Grammar Point Exercise

Directions: Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb "to be".

Present Simple

1. Leila and Janine ______ very good swimmers.

2. The magazine ____ not cheap.

3. My friends and I _____ in high school, we finished middle school last year. 

Past Simple

1. We _____ very tired after a long day at the Bronx zoo.

2. He _____ not proud of the bad grades he got for his midterm exams.

3. You _____ watching us play softball. 

Present Perfect

1. Tony and Marie _____________ digging holes all day to plant the rose bushes.

2. My son and I ____________ waiting on line for a long time to ride the roller coaster.

3. She ___________ traveling across America for the past two years.

Past Perfect

1. We __________ frightened by all the people in costumes in the haunted house.

2. I ___________ anxiously waiting the results of my sonogram.

Present Continuos

1. I _________ silly right now. ____ it bothering you?

2. They __________ disrespectful to the substitute teacher all day.

Let's watch a YouTube video to help understand the verb "To be"!