I am definitely not dressed for this weather. The Mexican sun beats down on my head and the sweat starts to build up on my back and my long sleeved shirt sticks to it. We get into the cab and I watch Dad put the luggage into the trunk. Mom sits next to me. Her stomach is getting bigger as the months go by. This is our last vacation as a family of three. I am so excited and I have a strong feeling it is going to be a girl.
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As we drive toward the hotel the cool passing breeze blows against my overheated face. I watch the scenes outside speed by as the car drives faster and faster. I see buildings and people that are different from the ones in New Jersey. The houses have red wavy looking roofs. Finally the car starts to slow down and my hair is tamed. The building in front of me is a huge hotel with people in white uniforms waiting to take our bags.
After we check in, the first thing I want to do is go to the pool. Being four years old, I always want to go to the pool instead of going to the beach or doing anything else.
When we finally get there, my dad holds me up in the sideways position and I start to kick. As soon as my dad lets go, I can’t swim by myself because I keep thinking I will drown. I look behind me and realize that I splashed water into another girl’s face. Embarrassed, I shuffle away and go into the hot tub. A girl with long blonde hair, who is about my age sits next to me. She turns, “Hi, I’m Rachel. What’s your name?”

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“So both of you can swim?” I ask pointing at Rachel and her little brother Adam.
“Yeah, I can help you do it too,” Rachel says. Rachel and I move over to the big pool and she tells me it is okay to be scared.
That evening, our families go to the hotel restaurant. As I walk in, loud music and a hundred delicious smells fill the room. Outside, there are stands for balloon making, bracelet making, and so much more. Rachel and I get money from our parents and go to the bracelet making station.
“What colors would you like?”
“Purple….” Rachel starts,
“.... and pink,” I say. We bring our matching bracelets over to our families and show them. The colors are different but they go well together, just like me and Rachel. Later, Rachel and I go outside again and get balloon swords. The breeze lightly blows our swords away like tumbleweeds and that soon becomes our favorite game. On the count of three, we let go of one of our balloon swords and chase it down the pool deck. The breeze becomes stronger and my light blue balloon gets carried away and lands in the pool.
“Mom! Mom! Lia’s balloon went into that pool!” Rachel says pointing to the pool across the deck.
“Oh no, that’s the private pool, kids aren’t allowed in there,” says Rachel’s mom.
I know my balloon sword is gone forever and I wave goodbye to it as it drifts away. A moment later, however, I feel a tap on my shoulder and Rachel hands me her balloon sword.
“Here, I feel bad about your balloon, so you should have mine.” I stand there holding her pink balloon and I realize that Rachel is the big sister and role model I want to be. Rachel treats everyone with the same kindness and always smiles. She treats me like we’ve known each other for all our lives even though we only met a few days ago. Rachel doesn’t worry too much about the little things like getting her clothes dirty and she is fearless when it comes to trying new things like swimming. She thinks big, and tells me I can swim in the deep end even though I don’t know how.
We walk over to the balloon station, and get many more balloons to chase. One little toddler doesn’t have a balloon, so I bend down and give her one of mine.
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Rachel and I snuggle in our jammies and watch Mary Poppins in my hotel room. It is my first sleepover ever. Somewhere when the penguins begin coming out, we start to get tired and decide to go to sleep. The more I think about being a big sister just like Rachel, the more I can’t wait. I am obsessed with the name Alexandra and start to call my mom’s stomach Alexandra. My new sister’s name would be Lena Alexandra Kim.

I begin to imagine watching Mary Poppins with my little sister, and staying up way too late. I picture us playing in hotel pools together and running around at fairs spending money on silly bracelets.

As we are saying goodbye to Rachel’s family at the end of our trip, I realize that this is the first vacation where I have ever made a new friend.
The next year, we come back, but with my new baby sister. We go to the same restaurant with the same fiesta outside and the same bracelet making station. I get Lena a bracelet and she chooses the same colors: purple and pink. I am ready to chase balloons down the pool deck at dinner and stay up late to watch a movie, maybe even Mary Poppins.