Emma's Travels

I am home!!!

2007-07-18T10:03:00.000-07:00

I am home!!! I got home on Thursday. I feel really weird because I am so happy to see everyone and to go to camp. The only problem with that is my parents are probably going to go back to working Mondays through Fridays and for 8-10 hours a day and I have to going to a new school which makes another point. Since I am going to a new school, I have mixed feelings because I am going to have to meet different people. It is a good thing because I am going to make new friends but I am going to miss my old friends which make me sad.

I loved traveling with my family even through the good and the bad days. The bad days I try to forget and I have forgotten them. The good days are still I my head and will always be there even though there are so many. I have had so much fun traveling with my parents and I don’t want that to end. But I am so excited to be back in real life it is soooo nice to see everyone.

Now that I am home I have different feelings about the trip. I loved it so much that sometimes I feel like I am still in Israel because I haven’t gotten used to the fact that my trip is over. Since I learned so much on the trip I feel like I should be learning day after day. My trip has made me think about how poor people can be and how little they have and how they are all still happy. While I was camp shopping yesterday I definitely WAS NOT thinking about that and I wanted everything that I liked. While we were in the car on the ride back I felt really bad because my mom talked to me about it, and I felt like I wanted to return everything I just bought. The kids in Tanzania were amused by a hair tie and I wanted to get a brush. If a Tanzanian kid got a brush they would be so happy it would be able to amuse them for 3 hours at the least. What I am saying is I think something could be the littlest thing in the world to me but that would make a kid with so little so happy. While I was camp shopping all I was thinking about was camp. I wasn’t thinking about how fortunate I was to have this big store with everything I need.

I hope I never forget how lucky I am and how little people need in order to be happy!!

Dead Sea

2007-07-18T10:02:00.000-07:00

The day that we went to Masada we also went to the Dead Sea. I didn’t know what to expect. I had heard all about it and I was so excited so I wanted my mom to change her mood so we could have a nice visit to the sea. When we got there I saw what it really looked like. Finally we got in and I just flung up!! My feet went up and I tried to get them down but it is really hard. It started to sting so I got out for a little bit to get the sting to go away. So I got out and then I went back in. My grandma decided to go in with her clothes so she came in and fell on the rock (and now has a broken toe). But anyways she popped up like all the rest of us and couldn’t get down well was struggling to. We were in there reading the news paper and having fun taking a billion pictures.

I finally got to go in the Dead Sea!!

Masada-Oh Man!

2007-07-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

We went to Masada on our first day in Ein Gedi. I was not looking forward to it because I knew I had to wake up at 6:00 and climb up. When we got to the parking lot my stomach started to hurt and I didn’t want to go. But I had to go. We bought the tickets and started going up. Since I wasn’t feeling well I started to whine and I just wanted to sit down. But I wanted to catch up to my family so I started walking a little faster but just a tiny bit. Finally my mom bent down to do something with her shoe (but she really wanted to wait for me) so I caught up to her and started to slow down again but she made me go faster. After that I started to whine A LOT and I would stop about every minute. Then my mom got so annoyed she kind of started to cry and started to yell at me and everyone who was going down started to stare and I got kind of embarrassed. Then she said calmly that I was ruining the day for everyone and I should get my act together. So I said to my self “Emma come on, you are ruining the day for everyone so pull your act together”. So I got up and said to my mom “come on lets have fun” and she said “good job Emma”. So I started going with a good attitude, but I just couldn’t do it. I sat down after about one minute and I just gave up so my parents yelled at me even more and wouldn’t stop so I started to cry and yell at my parents (not a good idea I AM WARNING YOU). So my dad picked me up and literally dragged me for about 30 seconds. Then he dropped me on one of the steps and told me “to get moving” so I started slowly. My mom tried to calm everyone down and walked with me but was mad at me the whole time until my dad came up to my stair and calmly talked to me about how I ruined the day and I felt really bad. My dad started taking a lot of brakes and we were up to the top in about 15 minutes. Finally we got to the top and I layed down on one of the benches and I wanted to fall a sleep. Finally when my grandma arrived from the cable car (lucky) we started to learn about it. Aloni knows everything about Masada and told us everything that interesting to know about Masada. We asked questions and received answers. He talked to us about it a lot and I learned a lot about it. I don’t know what I would have done if Aloni didn’t come.

Masada was definitely a day to remember. Even if it was half bad.

Lilmod Im Aloni (learning with Aloni)

2007-07-18T09:58:00.000-07:00

Aloni, who is my grandmas boyfriend, lives in Israel and knows everything about it so when you go places with him you learn a lot. We went to a simple tomb and I learned more than I would during one school day, because he knows everything about Israel.

We were on the roof of Samuels’s tomb with an amazing view of Jerusalem and he showed me every little detail and what every electricity tower was used for. It was just amazing, he knows EVERYTHING!!!! We also went to a cave with stalagmites and stalactites it was about an hour drive to the cave. When we got there we walked down about 150 steps and every few steps there would be a silly sign saying how many calories you burned. For example if we walked 30 steps we burned one bottle of coke and so on. The cave was amazing. We were very lucky to have gone on Friday because that is the only day you can take pictures. I don’t know what I would have done if we couldn’t have taken pictures, it is something you need a memory of.

We also went to Ashkelon, a very beautiful beach. We walked on the promenade and put our feet in the water for about 10 minutes, which was nice. That day we learned about Samson and Delilah and how the only reason Samson was so strong was because he never cut his hair, which was interesting. Another place we went was the Ramat Rachel Kibbutz to see the peace monument. It was in the middle of a very dry area. On the monument there was an olive tree because the olive branch means peace. One thing about the monument which made it even more touching was that it was in a very good place because it was on the border of an Arab village. Because the kibbutz had been destroyed by that Arab village before, it was definitely a good place for a peace monument.

I have gone to many places with Aloni and learned a lot at every one.

Ivrit (Hebrew) to the Extreme

2007-06-30T00:50:00.000-07:00

Since we have been in Israel for a month we decided to do an ulpan (a place to learn Hebrew) for a month!! Of course learning a new language is hard but this is…

The ulpan, called Ulpan Or, is not a traditional ulpan, which is usually about six months with a big group learning word after word (which I am guessing is much easier). Ulpan Or is one-on-one for an hour a day with at least five books (heavy). The first day I learned more than I expected which felt good!! I did not know how to read so that was a difficult thing and I thought it would take FOREVER. So, my teacher had to write my flash cards in transliteration and I felt bad because everyone in my family could read but me. My teacher made a deal with me. She said that if I don’t know how to read by the end of the week she would make me a chocolate cake. Of course that made me NOT want to learn to read but I had to! By the next day, I was kind of able to read but not well. So I have been practicing and I am still slow but I can get by (kind of)!! I am in the middle of reading The Little Prince in Hebrew for a half an hour a day to practice and get better. I am succeeding everyday a little more (yah)!!

Other than the reading, learning to speak is really hard! I am supposed to learn about 20 words a DAY. In September, I am going to Pressman, a Jewish day school where they have about three subjects in Hebrew when they don’t speak a word of English. I really don’t think I am at that stage just yet, but hopefully I will be soon. I feel pressured to learn Hebrew for Pressman, even though no one is pressuring me. I am really excited about Pressman but nervous at the same time!

Ok, now back to Ulpan. My teacher's name is Noga and she is a really good teacher. She only speaks to you in Hebrew so you either have to understand and reply in Hebrew… or you can make a face expressing that you have no clue what she is saying (that was used a lot on my face)!! She would say every thing in Hebrew and even if I didn’t understand what she said I wouldn’t feel embarrassed to make that face. All the teachers at the ulpan were so nice and they did not pressure you at all. Everyday I walked in and was excited to be at ulpan and to learn. It was really hard so I was longing for it to be a tinny bit shorter. But, I knew I had to learn.

Here is a list of a few words I know:

Shalom-hello
Ima-mom
Aba-dad
Toda (raba)-thank you (very much)
Slikha-ecxuse me

Those are a few basic words but don’t worry I know many more. I knew those words before I left.

Every day I got home and all I wanted to do was play but I always have to do homework first. If you didn’t know, I haven’t had to do homework for about six months other than writing and math and I didn’t have to do it every day. At Ulpan, I was getting homework every day and it took about an hour. It made me really mad and I got in trouble a lot for not doing it. But that is ok because it forced me to get it done and I ended up learning a lot.

I loved ulpan but it was hard!!

Eilat and Petra

2007-06-09T09:43:00.000-07:00

After the week with my grandparents we went to Eilat with our friend Scott. It was a four hour drive and we were going down to the desert so it was going to be very hot. Luckily, Eilat is on the Red Sea. The minute we started driving into Eilat we saw tacky hotel after tacky hotel. Finally we go to the center of town and started to drive in the direction of the hotel with the one line of directions the hotel gave us. We were driving around for about 5 minutes more than we should have been (it wasn’t fun). Our hotel room was VERY unusual. The ceilings were blue with clouds and it was kind of freaky to sleep under that. The next day we went to the ocean. The weather was brutal--it was about 100 degrees every day so the water felt really good. It was a coral beach so there was beautiful snorkeling. The only problem was the water was cold out deep. Other than that the water was really nice. Most of that day we stayed on the beach and relaxed and swam more. After that we went back to the hotel, and Maya and I went swimming in the pool which was also very nice.

The day after that we went to Petra, Jordan. It was unbelievable. I loved it. Petra was a city that was built, by the Nabateans in the 1st century, totally out of the mountainside with a temple an amphitheater and everything they had in the Roman times. The nice thing about was that there was a lot of shade because of the huge rock looking over you. Since the rocks were always right in front of you, you couldn’t see anything until you turned a different corner so the first time I saw the temple, my eyes widened. It was gorgeous.

Parts of it were unfinished, but I loved it. When you go inside you don’t see much, it is just the outside that is gorgeous. We finished walking around the city and started walking back. The rest of the day we relaxed and my dad took Maya and me out for pizza. The next day we went to climb to the top of the high places (800 steps oy vey), where the Nabateans did sacrifices. We climbed up and finally we got to the top. I was sooooo happy to have finally made it and the view was definitely worth it. We stayed up there for about 15-20 minutes just looking around. Finally we went down and walked around a bit more in the city then we had to go back to Israel. So we packed up our stuff and were on our way, Finally we got back to the border and went back to our hotel. The next day we were on our way back to Jerusalem. That was a very fun week.

Traveling With My Grandparents

2007-06-09T09:39:00.000-07:00

The day after the visit to Yad Vashem, our guide picked us up to take us up north. The first stop was Beit She’an which is a city built by the Romans, that was found 20 years ago. It was destroyed by an earth quake. It was beautiful. It was fascinating because this “city” got built over by other people from other cultures, so if they dug further the city might look so different because it was built by a different culture. After touring through the whole city we climbed up about 100 steps to get to the top of a mountain. At the top you could see the whole city (and a Mc.Donalds ewwwwwww). The only problem with that was it was a REALLY hot that day and I was sweating a lot.

After that we went to the Musa Al Ha Mayim springs to go swimming. First we had lunch then finally went swimming, the water felt amazing. When my mom came in she took us to the water fall (Maya doesn’t really like them any more but I don’t blame her☹ so she wasn’t as excited as I). When we got to the falls, I freaked because it was loud and high (but at least we weren’t at the top). Maya swam under the fall, then me and then my mom. That was very fun to swim in. The next day we went to Tzvat. All we saw were some Synagogues of famous Rabbis and did a little shopping for friends. After Tzvat we went to the Golan Heights, which was unbelievably beautiful. Then we went to the Banias but that was closing so we went to the water fall which was five minutes away. It was amazing it felt so nice for the mist to hit my face. That water fall was definitely worth the stairs back up. We also went to the battle fields where they fought the six day war. While the scenery was not special it felt very special because I know someone who fought in it. I imagined what it was like him for to fight in the war. The next day while we were on our way to Tel Aviv we stopped at a few other old roman cities but not many. Finally we got to the hotel and relaxed.

The next day we went to the Diaspora museum. There was one part that you could go to too find your ancestors and learn about where they were from. Maya and I got bored so my grandparents took us there to find out about that stuff. After that when my parents finished we went into town to get hair cuts. Maya and I both got our hair cut and I loved my hair do. After that we went back to the hotel to go swimming. I really didn’t want to get my hair wet but I did any way when I was swimming in the Mediterranean Sea. Then we had to say bye to our grandparents which was VERY sad because they were only here for a week☹.

The Start of Jerusalem

2007-06-09T09:36:00.000-07:00

Our first few days in Jerusalem were filled with fun. On our first day, after eating and napping, we met our friend Scott and he took us around a bit. Then he took us to the kotel (the western wall). It was really weird to finally be in Israel at the KOTEL!!!!! I had gotten to Israel about three hours ago and now I was at one of the holiest places for Jews. Scott took us around a little bit. Since it was the day before Yom Yerushalayim, the holiday celebrating the reunification of east and west Jerusalem, there were a lot of performances going on, like dancing and singing. For dinner, he took us to a restaurant with schwarma, which I had been wanting to try, and falafel (traditional Israeli food). The falafel was so much better in Israel than it was at home.

The next day we went to Abu Gosh, an Arab town, with our friend Rama, where we had lunch. They had the best humus I had ever tasted. It was warm and DELICOUS and it had garbanzo beans! I loved it! I definitely want to go back. After that delicious lunch we went back to the house and on the drive back it was pouring rain. Since it had been summer in all of the other places, I had not seen rain for a while. Now the streets of Jerusalem were flooded, so it was strange to see a layer of water on the streets.

A few days after that my grandparents arrived from Connecticut. So we went to the King David (the hotel they were staying at) to wait for them. Maya, my dad, and I decided to play cards but my dad got annoyed because we weren’t paying attention to the game because we kept looking out the door to see if they had arrived. Then I saw the suitcase that my grandpa always uses and I ran up to the door to give him a hug.

The day after they arrived, we went to Yad Vashem (the holocaust museum). It was by far one of the most depressing things I have ever seen. I was told it was going to be very depressing but I didn’t think I would cry. I wanted to stay with my grandma the whole time because I had missed her so much, but I also felt that needed to be with my parents because it was so sad. My mom and I were walking down an aisle and I saw a picture of a Jewish boy with his hands up about to be shot, I grabbed my mom and started crying even harder. My mom said we hadn’t even gotten to the bad parts yet. The worst thing is in the beginning there is a video of what Jewish life was like before the holocaust, and everyone looked so happy. Just walking around was depressing. Every so often there would be videos about people’s life and I just couldn’t believe how people had to grow up. I heard their life stories and I just pictured them and it made me cry. One of the stories I heard was about a girl who was around the age of ten during the holocaust. One day there was a knock on the door and it was the Nazis. Her mom told them to hide upstairs. The mom was told to go with the Nazis, so she asked the Nazi’s if she could get her coat so that she could secretly say goodbye to her kids for ever. That just broke my heart into a million pieces. Can you picture that happening to your family? I definitely can’t. Then we started getting rushed out because it was closing early that day because of Shavuot, so I didn’t get to see the end as much as I wanted to but that was ok, because I was already depressed enough. We finally got out of it and went back to the hotel to swim. That was a hard thing to see but I know it was a good experience and a good thing for me to see.

That night my family and I went to the Kotel at three in the morning for Shavuot to pray. It was an amazing experience but exhausting. After the sun rose, my dad took Maya and me to my grandparents’ hotel and let us sleep.

Shalom Israel

2007-05-21T21:50:00.000-07:00

We just arrived in Israel and I feel like I am at home. I feel like I am at home because a lot of things remind me of America. It is hard to describe why, it’s not the shops or the scenery, just the sense of it. It is also really weird to be in a country made up of Jews because I am so used to being in the minority. When we landed in Tel Aviv, Maya and I kept telling each other that everyone was Jewish; the taxi drivers, the janitors, the thieves are all Jewish. I also feel like I am seeing some of what life was like for Jews thousands of years back even though it is so modern here now. It was really special because the first day we went to one of the most holy places to Jews (the Wall).

It is really strange to be on the last stage of our trip. I feel like yesterday I was telling everyone that this is the beginning of a six month trip but now we are in Israel and we can’t say that anymore. Every second I am telling my parents that we are in Israel because four months ago I felt like I was never going to be here. Now I finally am. I know that we are going back soon and my parents are going to start working again and I am going to camp for a month. Then I will start school again. It will be tough because I am used to being with my family 24/7 and I really like it so being away from them for a long time is hard to think about. I know I will be happy to be home and to see my friends but I will also be sad because I will miss being with my family a lot.

Right now, though, I’m going to try to focus on learning Hebrew and enjoying Israel.

The Beautiful Bali

2007-05-14T02:26:00.000-07:00

After the busy Vietnam we went to the relaxing Bali!!! I had been so excited to go to Bali because my grandma Barbara was coming to visit us. I really missed her so I was REALLY happy to see her. The second I got off the plane I knew I would love it because everyone was so welcoming and it was beautiful. The person’s house that we were staying at arranged for her driver, named Nyoman, to pick us up and take us to the house. Before I feel asleep in the car, I saw a bit of Denpassar and it wasn’t that amazing because it was just really busy. When we arrived my parents told Maya and I how amazing the drive had been and I was annoyed that I didn’t stay up. The house was an adorable house in the middle of rice fields with one bed inside and one outside on the porch, where we also ate dinner. Maya and I slept on the outside bed, where the view was gorgeous. The town we are in is called Penestanan, which is right out of Ubud, about a 20 minute walk. I really like Ubud because it is not busy at all and it is beautiful. Ubud is a small city with cars and motor bikes but you don’t feel like you are in a city because everywhere you look you see beautiful designs even if you are walking into a small shop.

One cool thing about Bali I like is that every morning they make offerings to the Hindu gods, which are made out of palm leaves and flowers. They sort of sew palm leaves together to make a creative box and then they fill it with different flowers.

We had been told that there was a little street with many wholesale and retail shops, so we went to look. We finally arrived and we started walking down the street. We didn’t find any nice stores so we were planning to turn around, but then we found a mirror store named Menorah and my Grandma, Maya and I wanted to see it, but my mom didn’t. So my mom kept walking and found a fabric store. We had been looking for some fabric stores because I wanted to get a bedspread made in Bali. It was a very small fabric store so I was doubtful that we would find any thing, but… So we walked in and started looking; we found three types of fabric that we liked so we tried to put them together for my bed spread, but no matter how we put them together it was too busy. I was with my grandma which was a big bonus because she is an interior designer and she designs this type of stuff!!! So we kept looking; finally Maya came up with 2 pillow cases and put them together and it caught my eye completely. I just loved it!!!!!!! I loved it so much and I knew instantly that we had scored. We also designed a massive amount of pillows including one bolster. I am so excited. One of Maya’s Hanukah presents was a jewelry box from Bali. We had been looking everywhere for one but we couldn’t find any anywhere. My grandma being the clever person she is told Maya to make one with tiny little boxes put together in three layers with a pretty silk fabric on the top. We ended up getting a lot of things there and so far loved everything.

My grandma was with us for 9 days and every day was filled with fun. During 2 of those days, we went biking and river rafting. The first thing we did was the biking. I wasn’t very scared that I wasn’t going to be able to do it because it was all down hill and even if it was a little uphill I could hop off the bike and just start walking it (which I hade to do twice). I hadn’t ridden a bike for about 4 months but I got the hang of it really fast. So we started riding around and we fund our selves in the middle of a little garden, with pepper, coffee and more. After that we went to a town temple. Every house has its own temple and the whole town has one temple. There are three levels on the temple and they all mean something. The first layer is the feet and that is not holy at all, the second layer is the body and that is the second holiest and the third layer is the head which is the most holy and it is on the top of the temple. After our guide explained that, we hopped back on our bikes. The last stop was to visit a traditional Balinese house. In this case the head the body and the feet meant something different. The head was where the house temple is, the body is where the houses are and the foot is where the animals are. When we were there we saw one of the people who lived there putting out the offerings. Every time they put an offering out they pray to it and put holy water in it. That was very nice to know and I am happy I learned that. Since that was our last stop we headed toward lunch which was about an 8 kilometer ride. We finally got there and had a very good lunch!!

The next day it was time of white water rafting. I was really scared, because I didn’t like waterfalls any more and I was scared that we were going to go down one. After the first rapid our guide told us that there was a one meter dip ahead. We got closer and our guide told us to go in the boat so we wouldn’t fall out. We started paddling and our guide told us to stop. I could see the dip and I didn’t know how big a meter was so I got really scared. I started to scream and I felt a big rush of cool water go over my head and I was really happy. I got off of the floor and on to my seat and I just blurted out how fun that was and how I wanted to do it again. Then our guide told us that the next rapid was called ping pong and that sounded fun to me but I was freaked out during the rapid because we ping-ponged all around. Then we went down a few more rapids and then the guide said it was our last one and everyone started to tell each other that we wanted more. My grandma had said that she would take Maya, Kiki and me river rafting when we got home and that made me happy. We finally arrived at the end point and had almost the same lunch that we had yesterday because it was the same company. Finally we went back and hopped in the pool; that was a fun day!!!

One or two days after that, my grandma left and most of the days we just did homework so we decided to take a break and go up to east Bali to a place called Amed.

After a two-hour car drive down and around the mountains we finally got out of the car at a Feng Shui boutique hotel called the Dancing Dragon Hotel which is right on the beach. I was so happy to finally be out of the car because we were twisting and turning and going up and down. Out room was very spacious so we could each have our own bed (but my parents shared). When we finally arrived we put our bathing suits on and hit the pool and the ocean (it felt REALLY good). Most of the day we were just hanging out by the pool. The only problem with the ocean is that it is all coral so you have to be really careful not to touch it (because damaging the coral causes global warming). But the pool was nice so it was fine to hang around there. One day we went snorkeling around our hotel and it was beautiful. All of the fish were so colorful and have very cool designs, which were amazing. The next morning I woke up to see the sunrise; it was very cool because it looks like it had already risen because orange was peaking out. Finally the sun peaked out and started rising very fast. That day we went to the Japanese ship wreck for snorkeling. It was very cool because the ship was split in half and every where you looked there were pieces of boat scattered around. Not only was there a boat but there were beautiful fish scattered around and there were so many. I really liked that. Amed was a good vacation from our vacation from our vacation!!

Then we went back to Ubud and enjoyed our last few days there hanging around and shopping. Before we left, we did a couple of other cool things. First, we went to the Monkey Forest and saw many, many monkeys. The monkeys were really cute, especially the babies. We saw a few of the babies breastfeeding,which was really cute. I really enjoyed the Monkey Forest.

After the Monkey Forest we started walking down the street and someone told us that there was going to be a cremation festival. These are one of the most joyous festivals in Bali beacause they beileve in reincarnation. First we saw a big parade of people walking by with big floats with people stading on them. Then we went to the temple in the Monkey Forest to see them cremate the man. First, they put all of the offerings in with the man who was placed inside a huge paper and wood cow. Then they ignited the struture with gas and wood. The whole thing took a long time, but I was happy that I was able to see it.

It was then time for us to leave Bali. I was very sad to go because it was such a nice place. I tried to stay up on the car ride to the airport because my parents said it was really nice, but I couldn’t. I really miss Bali and I know I will go back!!!

Pushing and Pinching

2007-05-03T02:17:00.000-07:00

Being in a place were everyone either loves kids or just needs them out of their way, you have to be used to getting pushed out of the way or getting pinched. I hate it. Sometimes I am just walking down the street and someone is talking to her friend and comes up and pinches my cheek (it bugs me every time). Sometimes I just want to tell the person to stop but I know I can’t because that wouldn’t be polite. Sometimes I try to dodge it but I just can’t. When we were about to go to Vietnam my mom had been reading about Vietnam, and in the book there was a paragraph about how KIDS get pinched here and there and how it is just their culture. But it wasn’t just Vietnam. The first time I got pinched was when we arrived in Bangkok. I remember going down the escalator and then when I got off some lady came up to me and just pinched me. The pinching always bothered me. I always threw a fake smile at the person who pinched me (but sometimes they don’t see it because they are casually talking to their friends). In every Southeast Asia country I got pinched.

Another thing I really hated is when people shoved me to get me out of the way. Sometimes they made me bump into other people (which can be embarrassing). For example we were walking into a store and some lady that was outside the store shoved me away and casually started talking to her friend, as she was walking in the store (not caring at all about shoving me). All of that really bugs me but I can’t get away from it. I am in Bali and it still happens but not as much. (THANK GOD)!!!!!!!!

Vietnam

2007-05-01T05:59:00.000-07:00

Ho Chi Minh City/ Saigon

After Cambodia we went to Vietnam. In Vietnam we started in Ho Chi Minh City also known as Saigon. We stayed in a little hotel in the middle of town, called the Ha Hien. The day we got there we just walked around and went to a travel agent. We went to dinner at a restaurant that seems like the Vietnamese Subway. It is called Pho 24. Pho is a traditional noodle soup. When we were there we watched the way the locals eat it to see if we could do it the right way but it was no use because I am not good at using chopsticks!! I loved just walking around the city, except for crossing the streets!!!!!! The streets were really hard to cross because there were motor bikes every where and they didn’t stop at the lights unless they wanted to.

When we were in Saigon we did an excursion on the Mekong Delta. We went around on a boat. The first thing we did was go to the coconut candy factory. We got to see how they made the coconut candy. We got to try some and buy some. There are different flavors: chocolate, peanut, some type of leaf, and plain coconut (MMM my favorite). We got two packages, one was chocolate and one was plain. After the coconut candy factory we went to a little Island for lunch, which was very nice and pleasant. After that we went to another island to see singing and dancing and eat local fruit. It was really cool to see the locals dance. In Thailand the language depends on the tone, and it does in Vietnam too so the singing sounds flat to me, but it was nice to just listen. After the music, some of the locals took us on about a 5 minute boat trip, to the big boat. That was the last thing we did on the tour. I am really happy I went on this trip.

We also went on an excursion to the Cu Chi tunnels. This was my favorite! The Cu Chi tunnels are the tunnels that the Vietnamese hid in during the Vietnam War to get away from the Americans. The tunnels have three levels, so even if the Americans found the tunnels they would have to go really deep down to find the people. The tunnel entrances are really small because everyone in Vietnam is very skinny. The Vietnamese fit just fine and they don’t want to make the tunnel entrances so obvious to the Americans. They had to hide the tunnel entrances from the Americans so the covered them with leaves. The entrances had a little door covering them so when you go in you have to hold the door above your head and lower yourself in. We were also shown the traps that the Vietnamese made and put in the middle of nowhere to catch or hurt American soldiers. There were different types. The Vietnamese had to remember where they were so they wouldn’t fall in them. To get trapped in the traps you would walk and there would be a big ditch made with needles so if you fell you would bleed to death or get stuck. After seeing the Cu Chi tunnels, I understood why it was such a hard war for America. I feel like the war in Vietnam was a bad thing and there should not have been a war but I don’t understand most of it. I feel bad for all of the soldiers who got hurt and killed in the war on both sides.

I loved Saigon/Ho Chi Min City!!

Hoi An

After Saigon we went North to Hoi An. We stayed at a resort called the Hoi An Beach Resort. For some reasons it is really weird because you are surround by 2 bodies of water, the ocean on one side and the lake on the other. The resort was very nice and I really liked it. There were 2 pools, 1 for each side of the hotel. Since the hotel was a 2 mile walk to town we took a shuttle whenever we wanted to go to town. I really liked town because there were a lot of clothing shops. Hoi An is known for making clothes. When we were in town my mom, Maya and I all got dresses made. Maya and I got dresses for “white Shabbat” at camp. My mom got a black one with flowers embroidered on it. We were only in Hoi An for 2 nights so we did not get to see so much. I was scared to go in the ocean because the waves were really big. But I had to go in because it was an ocean that I hadn’t been in yet. It was the South China Sea. I begged my parents not to make me go in but they made me, and of course I had fun (but it was REALLY cold). I was also happy that I have another ocean to put on my list of oceans I have been in. I also liked Hoi An because it was small and not that many people were there (and it was easier to cross the streets!!). For some reason the food in Hoi An was delicious. We ate at a restaurant on the lake and I LOVED IT!! After dinner we went to a café called Banana Split, Maya and I shared a banana split, it was delicious. I loved that the town was small so we got to see more of it than just around where we were staying.

I really hope I go back to Hoi An because I loved it!!!!

Hue

From Hoi An we took a bus to Hue (hway). Hue is the ancient capital. It is very beautiful. We were staying close to the river called the Perfume River (but doesn’t smell like perfume. I thought it was a bummer that it didn’t smell good, but then again it didn’t smell bad.). Hue is a very beautiful city because of soooo many reasons. The river is beautiful because at night time a bridge lights up and makes the whole river light up. It is so beautiful to walk around because there is always something fun to do, even if it is just walking around!!! When we were there we went on a boat trip on the perfume river. On the boat ride we went to different temples and pagodas. I didn’t think it was that fun but… I read my book the whole time. When we were on the boat going from place to place I just read. The book was 300 pages and I started it the day before and I finished it on the boat trip. But I had to go in the pagodas, temples and 1 tomb (they couldn’t be more boring). I thought it was much better to walk around and see the city. Even though we didn’t go to many sights I felt like the city was such a beautiful city. One sight that we did go to is called the Citadel. The Citadel is the old city. I really liked the old city but it was very hot that day so we weren’t there for long. What we did see was cool and I got a small painting for my room. We saw the thrown the king sat on. I always wonder why thrones look so uncomfortable. If I was king I would want a big massage chair. The only thing about the chairs is they are gold and high up. Is that what makes them comfortable, to be beautiful? But what I really like was all the color. In Asia everything is so bright. You will se oranges, yellows, red, bright green, and blue painted on the strangest designs. I love the colors.

I really liked Hue and I hope I can see it again.

Hanoi

Hanoi was the last place we visited. It wasn’t my favorite place. Hanoi is the capital now. We arrived at 12:00 a.m. (midnight) we went to the hotel. We had told them we wanted to have an extra bed and it wasn’t there. We walked in and all the towels and sheets were dirty. Then Maya spotted a HUGE cock roach. Then the people from the desk came up and they told us “we got it” and then I saw it running around. Well that was an unpleasant night. Since the hotel was very dirty we decided to move. Every hotel we tried was booked, so the next morning we went to a travel agent. I am happy that we found a brand new hotel called the Anise. It is a cute little boutique hotel right outside of the old city. Maya and I shared a room.

Ok now let’s start talking about the city. The city is very big and busy and there are cars and motor bikes EVERYWHERE. But we are used to crossing the streets because we had been in Vietnam for a long time and it is like that everywhere. The first day we were there we walked around town a little bit and saw what was around us. The next day we went to a water puppet show, I loved it. The puppets were all in water and we got to see different activities that people do in daily life, like fishing gardening and stuff like that. Most of the days we just walked around and had fun. My mom had heard about a park that we might like. So we went and Maya and I loved it. The park was half amusement park and half grass and play structure. Maya and I mostly went on the play structure. If you have been to Virginia Park you would recognize this park, part of it looks exactly the same, and of course some of it looks different. Maya and I mostly went on one thing on the play structure. You sit down and spin yourself, the only problem is you can’t stop yourself, so if you are getting nauseous you can’t stop to get off (which happened to me a lot). Maya and I really like that park so we went again another day. The next day we went to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and the Ho Chi Minh Museum. The mausoleum was interesting. It was really weird to see a dead person. To tell you the truth he looked like a wax figure. It wasn’t that amazing. It was just an old man in a glass shielded coffin surrounded by many tourists. The Museum was really busy, it was about Ho Chi Minh. I never really understood who he was. Since the museum was so chaotic we left after ten minutes. I am happy we got to see that but it wasn’t that amazing.

I liked Hanoi but it was really busy and I liked the smaller cities.

Cambodia

2007-04-16T03:06:00.000-07:00

After Luang Prabang we went to Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, Cambodia. We arrived and our guide took us to our hotel. Our guide’s name was Sam. After we checked into the hotel we went to ANGKOR WAT!!!!! Angkor Wat is one of the 7 manmade wonders of the world. It is 900 years old. It is surrounded by a mote. Anchor Wat is built in honor of Mt. Meru. The Buddhists and Hindus believed that, this is where the Gods lived. To make it like Mt.Meru they made three levels. One level was the mote, one was the gate and one was the temple. There was a mote to keep the temple safe from wars, unfortunately the bullets still got to the other side of the mote. When you are walking around Angkor Wat you can see bullet holes all over the ground and inside too. It was good to have a guide because on the walls there were carvings of stories and without a guide I would have no clue what they meant.

It was so amazing to climb up the stairs to get to the top of the temple. The top was really high so we watched the sunset until we got kicked off. The hardest part was to climb down the stairs because the stairs were really steep. The builders made them steep so, you had to walk side ways so you were not pointing your feet at the gods. It was very scary. After we got off the temple we found a little edge to sit on to watch the rest of the sunset. While we were watching it we met some girls from Israel, and America. We talked to them for a little bit then we went back to the hotel. That was an amazing afternoon.

In Siem Reap we went to many other temples around Angkor. One was called Ta Prom. Ta Prom was a small temple in the forest. It is 800-900 years old. This was only a one story building. What made this temple really cool are the trees. Trees were coming out from the roof. On different sides of the temple you could see roots from ONE tree (and the temple wasn’t small). On one side I saw a big bunch of roots going into the roof, which was amazing.

Another temple we went to was called Angkor Thom. That was a big temple. On it there were many towers. On each tower there were 4 heads. Each heads eye’s was different from the others on the statue. They were either closed, open, looking down, or looking up. In the Angkor Thom area there was also a palace where the king lived. So we went to see that and we had to climb up what felt like a million steps. But it was worth it, especially the view.

One night we went to a temple called Pre Rub to see the sunset. While we were watching the sunset, I spotted a girl with a CAL shirt. Wahoo! We were leaving the temple and my mom said hello to her. She introduced us to about 8 of her friends who also went to CAL. Wahoo and GO BEARS!

The temples were amazing. It was definitely not what I expected. I didn’t think it would be so amazing.

After all the temples, we went to a floating village on the Tonle Sap River. You can’t imagine how poor it was. There were houses that were 6 feet by 6 feet and 6 people have to live there. When we entered the village, people came up to us with bananas and soda and begging for us to buy things.

We took a bus from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh and I hated it because there was nothing to do. When we got off the bus, people started running up to us and asking if we wanted a tuk tuk. It was very overwhelming. My dad found a car which was better because it could fit all of our luggage.

There are things about being in Cambodia that I don’t like very much. My cousin and my aunt are Cambodian, and look Cambodian. (My other cousin is also Cambodian, but he does not look Cambodian at all). So when I look around I will see people who remind me of them. The hardest part was to see people, who look like them in total poverty, and then I try to imagine my aunt living here and it makes me cry. It makes me miss them soo much because I feel like this is what their life could be like if my aunt didn’t escape from the war. It makes me happy to know that they are ok. It also makes me sad to see all this poverty. It is scary to walk down the street sometimes because little kids come up to you and beg for money. It makes me sad that they are poor and begging for money, but it is also a little scary. It is different from the homeless people at home because at home they don’t run up to you and touch you and ask you for money, and to buy stuff, but here they do.

Cambodia was not like I expected but I am glad I came.

Elephant Riding

2007-04-13T20:33:00.000-07:00

The morning that we were leaving Pai, we decided to go elephant riding. After breakfast we went for a little swim then we went to an elephant camp called Joy’s elephant camp. I went on an elephant with Wendy and Jessica Levine. We got the baby elephant. It was the CUTEST! To get on the elephant we had to climb up on a platform and step over a handle. This freaked me out because it was a really high platform and it was scary to have to get on the elephant from so high up. This even made it easy for me to get on the elephant (and you know I am short). The elephant took us on about a 20-minute walk to the river through the wilderness. Since Maya just had her accident she couldn’t get wet. We were told that we would be going into the river, but that we would only be splashing around a bit so we wouldn’t need to wear bathing suits. I wish we would have. What the elephants did was dive in the water and everyone fell of her back. When we got back on the elephant, she would go under water again and we would fall off. So it was definitely not just splashing around. The funniest part was that my elephant POOPED in the water, so I did not want to touch that. I felt really bad for my mom and my Maya because I had a blast, and I wish they could have done it. Jessica and I were jumping off the elephant’s back and the elephants pushed us off their backs. The only problem with the elephant is that it was really hairy and the hair was rough so it wasn’t so comfortable to sit on. On the way to the river I was sitting on their back bone and so when ever she moved the back bone would wobble, and it sort of hurt. But I got used to it. A good thing is that there was a blanket so we weren’t sitting right on his back except for when we were in the water. My favorite part was getting pushed of the elephants back. That was a great experience and I am glad I did it.

Note: This Is Out of Order. This should have been before Luang Prabang.

Luang Prabang, Louse

2007-04-12T20:30:00.000-07:00

After we were in Thailand we went to Luang Prabang, LAOS. I didn’t now how to spell it so I spelled it “Louse” and my grandma thought that was funny when I wrote it in an email. We arrived in the middle of the afternoon, so we walked around town a little bit. That night we went to Chabad for Shabbat, we met a lot of Jews but most of them were from Israel. We went to Chabad to see what it was like because we were going to go for Pesach, and we knew it would be different for Shabbat. One difference from what we do was when we walked in, there were men in front of a curtain and the women were behind. It was sort of weird not sitting with my dad. We got there in time to eat. So we sat down and ate. While we were eating we met a lot people that were going to be at Seder, which was good.

The Seder was a great experience. There was a lot of singing and dancing. It was so different from our Seder. At home we sit around 3 tables and have a Seder plate with all of the normal stuff. Here they had huge homemade Matzos that were too big for the plate. They also used potatoes instead of parsley. And instead of having one table with everything they served everything individually. Then we had time to sing and dance. When we sang we got to stand on the top of the chairs and that was really fun. I had an amazing time. We had a little table for all of the English speakers who didn’t speak Hebrew. I was definitely part of that!!

We went to a few temples, and saw other sights. We went to a cave, called the Pouk Ou Caves. We took a long boat to the caves that took about two hours. When we got there we climbed up a few stairs. When we got to the top we saw MANY Buddha’s that had all been discarded. They were from all different shrines (temples).

We went to a different temple to see the sunset. To get to the top we had to climb up 350 STAIRS, it was really tiring.

But when we got up we sat down for a few minutes to watch the sunset. Then we saw stairs leading somewhere so we followed it. We ended up finding a huge foot print, called the Buddha’s foot print. It was humongous. It was the size of an elephants foot print, maybe even bigger, actually much bigger. We went to a few other temples and that was a good thing to see, and do.

When we were there we also got foot massages. I really liked getting them, except for the fact that they tickled a lot. They scrubbed my feet with a brush and my feet were so dirty that when she was done, all of the water was brown. We also went to a ballet thing at the Palace about monkeys and devils and husbands and wives and losing arms and legs. I did not like it and thought it was boring and I had to sit there for one whole hour!

I really liked Luang Prabang and I want to go back some day.

WaterFALL

2007-03-31T07:13:00.000-07:00

In a little town called Pai we went to a waterfall. When we were at the waterfall, we were playing and jumping on the rocks and we were just climbing around!! Maya who loves climbing on the rocks was way in front of us. Jessica was catching up and asked Maya if she was scared, because she was on the top of a 30-foot waterfall. Maya responded and said no. Maya tried to get to the other side of the waterfall, which was about one foot wide. To get over she stepped on a wet rock. Then kaboosh I hear Maya screaming and then Jessica stared screaming. I asked her what had happened and she said Maya fell!!! I asked if she fell on purpose because on the way to the waterfall we were thinking the waterfall looked like a water slide. Jessica told me to get my mom and dad so I screamed for them because I realized it was an accident. Ed, Jessica’s dad, is a doctor so he got down quicker than anyone else did. He got Maya and took her to a rock to look at her. She had a huge cut over her eye. I was on the top of a rock crying it was sooooo scary. I really wanted Maya to be ok. When Maya got up I found out that she had to get stitches. I had to go to the rock where all of our stuff was to gather it up because my parents and Jessica’s parents were with Maya. Maya told me that it was the scariest thing that has ever happened to her!! We ended up having to go to the hospital so she could get 8 stitches, poor her. That day, also, my mom wasn’t feeling so well and she felt like she was going to faint which added more chaos. We went to the hospital and the doctors would only let the mom and the dad in the emergency room, so my dad said that Ed, the doctor, was the dad to make sure they were doing it right. Ed came out and said they did it very sterile, which is good!! After a “nice” visit at the hospital, Maya got to choose where to go for lunch, she said she wanted to have Mexican. We went to a Mexican restaurant and Maya had to ice her eye so that was hard to do while eating. That was the end of that waterfall!!!

Flat Oski-Thailand

2007-03-29T22:49:00.000-07:00

Using the Flat Oski Questions, I’m going to tell you a little about our times in Trang and Chiang Mai. Trang is in Southern Thailand and Chiang Mai is in Northern Thailand. We flew to both places.

What is the first thing that you noticed when you arrived?

When I arrived in Trang, I saw the CCS (CCS is the name of the volunteer program) house and I met all the people who worked there. The homebases for CCS Trang and CCS Tanzania were very different. CCS Trang was a two story building, with only four rooms with 6 beds in each. CCS Tanzania had 8 rooms with 4 beds in each. A good thing about the CCS Trang homebase is that it had AC!!

In Chiang Mai the first thing I saw was my hotel by the river. On the taxi ride there I saw a bit of Chiang Mai. Since our hotel was on the river, we drove parallel to the river so we saw what the riverside looked like.

What colors do you see?

A lot of the colors are very bright. The King and Queen wear bright red, orange and yellow, boy is that hot!!! Most of the statues you will see will be bright colors. I walked into the airport and I saw huge bright statues, of dragons made from red, orange and yellow. When we went to a temple there was a dragon of all different colors. At most temples that I have been to there are monks; monks normally wear any shade of orange. Most statues of Buddha’s are yellow with a yellow sarong.

What do you think of the music people listen to and play here?

Thai music is different from what we hear. In Thai language they have different tones. When they sing they might have to go from low tone to high tone, so they sometimes sound really flat to us!!

If you looked out the window in California you might someone walking a dog or cat prowling in the background, a squirrel in a tree, maybe an opossum lurking in the shrubs. If you look outside right now, what animals might you see?

I could look outside and see an elephant and birds fly bye. Sometimes we will see chickens “crossing the road”. We have also seen a lot of dogs and cats around.

What do you think is the most important household possession is for the people in this area?

Most Thai people have TV’s. Every house I have walked into there has been a TV. Most houses that I have seen also have pictures of the King; most people have the same picture.

What do people wear here? How does the style of dress in this area differ from how you and your friends dress? Has it been difficult to adopt to the style of dress here?

They seem to dress a lot like us, but they cover their shoulders and knees, and for special accessions they might were something traditional if they are religious enough to do that!!

What is the food like?

Thai people eat a lot of spicy food. They have a scale from 0-5. 5 is really spicy and 0 is not spicy at all. Most Thai people can eat about a 20. I tried a 0 spicy and it was too spicy for me. Every meal they have some type of curry and rice, except for breakfast. They also eat a lot of stir fry, but of coarse spicy stir fry. I also love Phad Thai; it is noodles with a variety of things in it. For dessert I love sticky rice with mango and coconut sauce. It is sooooo good.

They also eat in a different way. Sometimes they eat on the floor. When they eat they use a fork to push the food on the spoon and put the spoon in their mouth.

Has it been difficult to adapt to this new living situation? What is the hardest thing about living here? What is the coolest thing about living here?

The hardest thing in Thailand is the language because it is not the same alphabet and there are 5 tones. The tones are up tone down tone rising tone mid tone and falling tone. The coolest thing might be how nice all the people are and how helpful they are. They are also very welcoming, whenever we go to someone’s house they will not stop serving us food or asking us questions!!

Weekend Activities

2007-03-21T05:45:00.000-07:00

Every week we have three day weekends. The first weekend we went to an island off the coast of Trang called Kohai. The next weekend we went to see an area hit by the Tsunami.

Koh Hai

Koh Hai was so fun. We stayed at a hotel called the Fantasy resort. I really liked it. The island was really beautiful. The only part of the island that I saw was the side that I was staying on. I think the other side might have just been a huge cliff going into the water. The water was crystal clear. You could see right through it. It was sooo fun to go snorkeling. There were amazing colored fish. There was one fish that was every color you could imagine. There where also Angel fish and Nemo fish and many others. Koh Hai was so different from Zanzibar. In Zanzibar the tide came up super high and you would already be half way in the water when you were walking down the steps to get to the beach. In Koh Hai the water didn’t go up that far. Zanzibar was a lot bigger and there were cities on the island and lots of people living there. In Koh Hai, no one lives there and there are only a few small resorts.

Every day we would go to the beach and go swimming. The only problem is that there is plankton in the ocean. Plankton is a microscopic animal that lives in the water. When your skin rubs against the plankton you get this stingy feeling that feels like a shock, so sometimes I didn’t like to go in the ocean.

At the resort there was also a pool so I swam in that sometimes. At the pool, area we also played cards and just relaxed.

A few times we went out to dinner. We either went to a different resort or a little restaurant down the beach.

That was a very fun trip.

Visit to Town Hit by the Tsunami

The second weekend we went to the shore where the tsunami hit in 2004. We got to see a village called Ban Tale Nok that was destroyed by the tsunami. After the tsunami, the town was rebuilt 800 meters (about a 10 minute walk) further from where the old village was because the villagers were scared that another tsunami would hit and they did not want their new village destroyed. I learned while I was there that before the big wave happened, it seemed like the tide was going out really far. The water went back about a kilometer which is about ½ mile. When the water went back, a lot of people ran up to the where the water stopped to see what was happening. Then, when the big wave came, the people who were standing there died. 47 people died in that village from the tsunami. Some of them were fishing. There were 16 kids at the school who were right near the water, practicing for their annual New Years show. The tsunami hit and all of the kids plus the teacher died. Now, when you drive by where the school used to be, you can see fences and gates around a little hut that used to be the school. It is really sad.

To get to the area, it was a five hour drive so we decided not to do a homestay the first night, but I wish we would have. The first night we got there we went out to dinner and met the person who planned the trip. Her name is Kelley and she is British. She lived in Bangkok for six years and then she moved to the tsunami area to help. The next morning we had breakfast at a local market across the street from the hotel. There I got a “pancake” with strawberry and blueberry jam. The pancake was more like a crepe and it was soo good. Then we went to Ban Tale Nok to meet our host family. In the family, there was a dad, a mom, a daughter, son in law and a granddaughter. The grand daughter was so cute. She was 11 months old. Her name is Sophia. After we met the host family, we had a delicious lunch that they cooked for us. Since we were on the coast, there was a lot of fish. We had two different types. One was really salty, and the other just tasted like fish. What is really different about how they serve fish is they give you the whole body and it looks exactly like a fish in the water with the eyes and everything and you have to dissect it to eat it. After we had lunch, we got to do some batiking and make some soap mobiles. The batik was much different than what it was like in Tanzania. In Thailand, you use a wax pen and to make the color, you paint. But in Tanzania, you use a paintbrush to do the wax and you add the color by dying it in a big bucket of color.

The house wasn’t too different from an American house, but the toilet definitely was. The toilet was a HOLE you stand on. What you do is you stand on a little platform and squat to pee or the other thing. It is really hard and it smells really bad sometimes. The way you are supposed to flush is really different. There was a pool of water and a little plastic bowl. You take the bowl and fill it up with water and poor it down the “ toilet “ until your pee or the other thing goes down. The shower was also different. The way you shower is you take a tiny plastic bowl, like what you use in the toilet. Then you dip the small bowl in a bucket of water and poor it over your head. That is how you rinse off. I tried to do it and it wasn’t that bad. (But I am not sure that I was doing it right).

The village that we were staying at was Muslim so there were many rules of what to wear and what to do, as a woman. In Muslim culture the women have to cover their shoulders and cover their knees. You can’t eat pork nor can you gamble. The host family was really nice and very welcoming. Since they weren’t very strict Muslims, they did not pray five times a day.

That was an amazing weekend!!!

Work Placement

2007-03-21T05:43:00.000-07:00

In Trang, Thailand, I am working at a daycare center with Jessica and Corey Levine. The kids are really cute. The ages of the kids are 2-4. There are about 35 kids. There are 2 kids that I am in love with. Ones name is Byemone and ones name is Em. Byemone is probably 4 and Em is 2. I love holding all the kids and being around them. The kids have a daily schedule. The first thing they do is say the national anthem and play on the playground. Then they have to go inside and eat breakfast. Then we give them rubber balls and they throw them everywhere. Then they run around like crazy maniacs (but, shh, I do too)! Then we have lunch. Then the kids shower, brush their teeth, and put on baby powder, to get ready for their nap. Then they got their p. j. s on and it is so adorable to watch. The only problem with the daycare is that there isn’t so much to do. But I like playing with the kids and helping them eat and stuff like that. Today a new kid came. Her name is Ive. She might be the cutest thing on earths crust but that is hard to compare to Sharifa in Tanzania. She is one year old. I love her. I really like that placement and I love being with all of the kids.

Random Thoughts

2007-03-21T05:41:00.000-07:00

These are a few thoughts that we thought of when we were just hanging out. NOTE: this will be added to constantly. 2nd NOTE: these are all very random.

Ed Levine, a friend’s dad, gave Maya, Jessica, Corey, and me nicknames. Maya’s nickname is Tangerine, Jessica’s nickname is Valerie, Corey’s nickname is Rudimentary and my nick name is FLIP FLIP! Hahahaha.

There is a couple at CCS named Court and Amanda. They were on their bikes going to the pool and we think they were “looking for the love getaway”!!

Random sayings

Owwwwwwwww!!

Want a hot cold pack!

Shabalabadingdong!!

Ooh lala this is my lucky day!!

Shh-Tss !!

There looking for the love getaway !!

Are you looking for a somthin’-somthin’?

Drop Off Activity

2007-03-21T05:39:00.000-07:00

We are now at CCS Trang where we are volunteering in Thailand. Our friends from Connecticut met us in Thailand. Our friends are Jessica and Corey and Ed and Wendy. Jessica is my friend and she is 10 years old. I was sooooooo excited to see my friend Jessica because I only see her when I go to Connecticut and that isn’t very often. I was also excited because I haven’t been with anyone my age for a while. Trang is a medium sized city, sort of like Santa Monica. During orientation we did a drop off activity into Trang. We were supposed to go into town to do a scavenger hunt. Our group, which included me, Jessica, Ed and my mom had 4 different tasks. One was to go to the train station and find out information about the trains from Trang to Bangkok. We were supposed to figure out the times that the trains left for Bangkok and the prices for the different classes. Another task was to go to a shrine. We got there by using a tuk tuk. A tuk tuk is a 3 wheeled vehicle that had two rows of seats that face each other. I really like going in them because you are outside and you can see all the other cars and get a breeze. The shrine was really cool. When we walked in we got a package full of a few things: long sticks with candles, some paper and a bunch of incense. We had to light the candles and put each one in a flat platter with designs all around the rim with some gravel with a layer of liquid on top. The gravel and liquid were in the 4 corners of the shrine. Then we had to put incense in little pots with designs that were filled with sand around the shrine. We got about 24 incense sticks and we put 3 sticks in each pot. While we were there we saw people praying in front of the pots and other stuff in the shrine like Buddhas. Then the last thing we did was to take a jar of numbered sticks and shake them. While we were shaking them we made a wish and then the first stick to fall out of the jar had a number. We went up to the front desk, gave the person who worked there the stick with the number and got our fortune. After the shrine, we went to our next task was to go to the outdoor market and buy sticky rice with mango and coconut sauce for dessert. While we were walking down the road we saw a stand where there were people making the dessert and we bought one kilogram of mango, one kilogram of rice and little nuts and coconut sauce from them. Then we had to go and find a jasmine garland. That took a while. Then we finally found it in a little side street in something in between a store and a stand. I felt like I saw a lot that day and learned a few things about peoples’ life in Trang and I really enjoyed it.

Bangkok

2007-03-21T05:36:00.000-07:00

I was just in Bangkok for about a week and I loved it.

We were staying in a huge apartment it was gorgeous. It had five bedrooms each with either 1-3 beds. I felt very small because it was so big. It was so different from where we had been staying because before we were staying in a tiny room with bunkbeds. In this apartment, we could each have 2 beds to ourselves, and there were 4 people. Also in the apartment building there was a pool and a playground. There were 33 floors and we were on the 33rd. There were people on the 30th floor with kids who were 6, 8, 11 and 13. We went swimming with them and had dinner with them a few nights. The kids are half Thai and half Jewish which I think is a really funny combination. They did not seem Thai at all because they spoke perfect English and looked American. But they spoke Thai very fluently. I really liked being in a city for a change. I hadn’t been in city for about 7 weeks. It was so weird to see and hear cars every where.

We went to a lot of places around Bangkok. We went to the Grand Palace. The Grand Palace is where the King used to live. It was huge. There were about 20 outside palaces. Then we got to see the amazing Emerald Buddha. It was called the Emerald Buddha because a long time ago someone thought it was Emerald and then found out later that it was jade. The Buddhists would come and pray to the Buddha. We also got to look at all of the little castles around the Grand Palace. They were beautiful. The King had a huge palace and a huge “yard” where all of the other small palaces were. The palace was so admired by everyone who believed in Buddhism. Thai people care so much about the King and the Royal family. When you talk about the King you aren’t allowed to say any thing bad about him, but that wasn’t too hard. I wonder what it is like to be the King?

We walked around Bangkok a lot. We also used the train a lot, but we had to walk to the train station. I didn’t like walking around for too long because it got soooooooooo hot, but my parents made me do it, so I had to.

I also tried a lot of good food. It was a lot of dim sum, but it did not taste anything like I expected. I thought dim sum was only dumplings, but actually it is small bites of things. It was very different but I liked it a lot.

We went to two malls. It was so weird. When you walk in you see piles of yummy food and you don’t know what do choose. In one of the malls there was a movie theater. We saw “Music and Lyrics”. I really liked it. At the other mall we had lunch and that was really good. We also really liked the malls because it was so hot out and the malls were air conditioned.

I was really happy to leave Bangkok because I was so excited to see my friend Jessica in Trang.

Zanzibar

2007-03-01T08:58:00.000-08:00

I went to Zanzibar after being at CCS, we went to a hotel called the Maruhubi. I loved it. It was so beautiful and right on the beach.

Swimming
There was a pool over looking the water it was amazing, I loved it; you could be in the pool and if you looked over the ledge of the pool you could see the ocean right there. What was also really cool is the tide came in really high. You could walk down stairs (that led to the beach) and before you got to the last stair your body would already be in (well at least for me). I always loved swimming when the tide was high because I liked jumping right in and not having to feel of the bottom of the ocean, it grossed me out. I always love swimming in the pool and in the ocean.

Stone town
The hotel was right outside of a city called Stone Town. In the city, we ate at a few different restaurants. We went to one restaurant called Mercury’s one day. The name is Mercury’s because Freddy Mercury (from the band Queen) was born in Zanzibar and they named it after him. I thought that was really cool. I saw a shirt that said Mercury’s and I instantly knew that we had to get that for my Uncle Mark because he is in love with the band Queen. The only problem with Mercury’s is that it is really slow and it takes an hour to get your food. But it was really good when we actually got it. My sister and I shared a pizza. It was delicious. My parents got fish tacos, vegetable byriani, and fries on the side (but I ate all of there fries so they didn’t get any!!!). That was a good meal. We also ate at a restaurant called Archipelago for dinner another day. I liked it a lot. My mom and I shared, a vegetable curry and some shrimp. It was really good. My sister got a chicken sandwich and she was pretty much in heaven I think SHE LIKED IT!!! I think my dad got shrimp and I know he liked it! Thank god that was not slow or I would of gotten very grumpy( I get very grumpy when I am hungry). It was a lot faster than Mercury’s. When we were in Stone Town we also went into a few shops and looked around but we didn’t buy anything except a few post cards and a map. That was fun. Then we went to a few places to sight-see. We first went to a museum but I really have no clue what it was about but what I do know is that it was really boring (but I am 9 years old so I get bored by adult stuff). So then we went to a garden and it didn’t really look like a garden so then we decided to leave. Then we realized that it really came alive at night with all of these shops and food stands (that looked really good). I really liked the garden at night when I got to see it. It was beautiful but I was stuffed so I couldn’t eat any of it, it was all sea food and I wish I could have tried some of it. I loved Stone Town and I loved walking around town. I hope I get to see it again.

The Maruhubi
The Maruhubi is the hotel we stayed at. The mosquito nets were very nice and big. Our rooms were really nice and I think we might have gotten the family suite because we had 2 rooms right next to each other. And they were connected. I also loved the food. It was good and delicious but it also took a long time. At the hotel I liked the relaxation; it was never really loud (unless I was there!!).

Safari Blue
While I was in Zanzibar my family went on an underwater safari. There were a few different activities: one was snorkeling and another one was being on a sand bank and another activity was to have a boat ride on a traditional dhow. Dhow it is a type of boat the people of Zanzibar used many years ago. The first thing we did was go to the sand bank and snorkel that was amazing the fish were beautiful the ocean was clearer than ever. I loved the snorkeling. After I went snorkeling we sat at the sand bank and I tried coconut I loved it, the also served us pineapple and I love pineapple. After the sand bank we took the dhow around the water to look for dolphins. We saw them and they were beautiful. They were humpback dolphins and there were like 10-15 of them. So we were looking at the dolphins for a while and that was amazing we got to see them dive into the air and go back into the water. Then we had lunch it was amazing it was so good we had rice, bread, fish, chicken, beef, and crab it was soooo good. Then we hung out in the water and went swimming. I thought I would never say that the ocean water was HOT. It actually felt like a bath and I am not exaggerating at all. I met someone named Margarita she was from Italia but she knew English so I could talk to her which was really cool she was really nice. Then we went to a lagoon and we got to swim there it was like a pool but the water was hot. We swam in there for about ten minutes and that was nice and refreshing. Then we were on our way back to the beach where we set of from! During the ride I talked to a few people one of there names was Emma but I forget the boy’s name. We talked about the day and we both agreed and loved it. We talked about other things but I don’t remember what else. That was an amazing day but it was very tiring.

Zanzibar
I loved Zanzibar it was amazing!!!!!!!!!!!

Leaving Rau

2007-02-23T12:08:00.000-08:00

I just left CCS and it was really sad to leave all of the people I loved. I met a lot of people and I got really close to some of them. I met a girl named Kim who is from LA. She is 23 and she went to my camp when she was in high school. She has been volunteering in an orphanage called Matumaini and I loved to go there with her. She has been here a long time so she is really used to it. She also volunteers at a health clinic called Majengo. I am really happy that she lives in LA so I can see her again. I also met a girl named Jenny. She was from Massachusetts but lives in Montreal because she is in college. Jenny is 21 and she always was doing something fun with me when I was bored. I especially liked to play cards with Jenny and jump into her arms. I really hope I see Jenny again and even if my parents don’t want to fly to Montreal, I will fly out myself to see her! I also met a girl named Sarah.

Sarah is from around Washington DC area and I think she is 23. Sarah was one of the first people I met so I had the chance to get really close to her. I especially liked when she would just come up and hug me out of nowhere and when she taught me how to use her camera and let me use it. She taught me how to focus by pushing the picture button down half way and then pushing all the way to take the picture. She also taught me how to trash the bad pictures and how to use the arrows to find the pictures you wanted to see. I hope that Sarah comes to visit us when we are home. Andy, who left a week before us, is around 25 and lives in Berkeley, CA. He is a huge Cal fan, so I love him. He taught me how to play a game called Little Chester. It is sort of like spoons with some funky rules to it. I know I will see him again because we’re going to see a Cal game with him. Cal is going to beat USC.

Mattie lives in Denver, Colorado and I think she is 20 or around that age. At home Mattie works at a pre school and she is in college. She is an artist and her favorite type of art is painting. I love to paint with her. I have seen one of her paintings and I loved it. I saw the process of her painting and I thought it was really cool. She stopped a lot to take breaks and stare at her painting for about 20 minutes (or more). I went to her placement with her sometimes which was Step Up nursery school. She let me go with her and I thought it was cool because I saw what different placements were like and I liked being with Mattie. Because I went to three different schools, I got to see kids at three different levels of life. The first school was Ebeneezer and the kids were wealthier. The second school was Step Up and the kids were medium—they had enough to go to private school but not as much as the kids at Ebeneezer. The third school was Kigongoni. The kids at Kigongoni were really poor, they didn’t have anything. Their school was cement walls with a dirt floor.

When it was time for us to leave at CCS, it was really hard to leave all of them. As I was getting into the car I started to cry. I am really going to miss them. I hope that I see them again and I hope that I will stay in touch with them.

I also hope that the people at Matumaini Ophanage that I visited a lot miss me too. I hope that the orphanage continues to try to make kids’ lives better and happier. I loved playing with the kids there. There was one girl named Sharifia and she was the cutest girl on earth’s crust. I loved her and I wanted to take her home but my mom said I had to get her an American passport which I knew wouldn’t happen so I gave up. But I loved all of the kids and wish I could take them all home. I hope that everyone takes care of Matumaini and I also hope that all the kids grow up to be amazing people and to learn a lot and get a good education.

I also hope that CCS stays in good shape and they keep making it better. And I hope that everyone supports it because it is an amazing program and it could be even better if people try to make it better, which I know they are trying to do. I loved all the staff and all the people. I felt so safe. And of course everyone was so incredibly nice and welcoming. The staff is very friendly and all of the volunteers became good friends with them. When we got there I felt like I was definitely safe and I knew nothing could happen to me.

The Road to Kilimanjaro

2007-02-23T12:07:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I went to a lodge called the Kili lodge. It was on Mount Kilimanjaro. To get up we had to go on a really bumpy road. It was pouring rain so it was even worse. My sister and I thought we were going to die because we were slipping and sliding all over the place. When we got on the mountain there were cliffs so I got super scared. Then we slipped into the bush and then the driver kept trying to back out. I felt that we were about to fall of the cliff because he kept backing up so we were told to get out and walk. We were only 5 minutes away from the lodge but it was still pouring rain. Finally some kids brought each of us an umbrella. So that was good. Then we finally got to the lodge and a few dancers danced while we were entering the lodge. I thought the dancing was really cool. I also thought that it was sort of funny because one of the dancers was holding an umbrella, but only one of them. Finally we were settled and comfortable in our rooms.

The day we got there, some dancers did some traditional Chagga dances. The Chagga is a tribe that generally lives around Mt. Kilimanjaro. We thought that the dancing was really cool so we danced with them. My dad looked really weird. We got see about five dances. They described what the dances meant and so I felt that I got to really understand how they celebrate.

That night before dinner we went on a hike in the rain forest. We got to see many different kinds of plants and we go to see the Kilimanjaro National Park flower. The flower is yellow and in the middle there’s a light green color. I was also hoping that it would rain because in the rain forest there are blue monkeys that like to eat and play in the rain. That sounded really cool. I also found out on that hike that you could use that route to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in two days. But that route is not open.

The next day, we went on a hike to a waterfall in the mountain. It was a really long hike. The waterfall was beautiful but it was very hot. We were hiking for about an hour and a half to get to the waterfall. When we got to the waterfall, the spray from the waterfall felt really good, because I was really hot. My dad was really hot too. It looked like his shirt had just been in a pool because he was sweating so much. There were rocks at the waterfall, so we could sit down and take a break.

The walk home was brutally hot and steep and I was exhausted. We went a shortcut, because I wanted to get home sooner, but it was the worst thing in the world. It was straight up hill. I behaved really horribly and whined a lot. We took a lot of breaks. Our guide was really nice to me. When I ever I got suuuuuper tired, he put me on his shoulders and carried me for a few minutes.

We eventually made it to a little stand, that was selling sodas and my mom let me get a Fanta. Finally, I saw the sign to the lodge and I felt tears of joy. I was sooooooooooo happy! I felt really proud of myself when I got back to the lodge. I did not think that I would make it.

When it was time to go home, Maya and I got freaked out and we wanted to get air lifted home. But we had to take a car. So it was fine when we started but then it started to pour and then I got scared and tried to fall asleep but I couldn’t so I got more freaked out. Then my dad looked at my mom scared so I knew I had to be scared, Then my mom told my dad to stop making that face and she said that if it wasn’t safe then we wouldn’t be driving so my dad believed her, but he was still scared. Then it stopped raining and our driver said “we are safe now” then I got really freaked out because I thought that that meant we weren’t safe before. So I didn’t feel so good. But then I fell asleep. Then I opened my eyes for a second and I saw a store that was right across the street from our home base, I popped up and woke up immediately. And I said “I am so happy to be back in Rau.” Rau is the village I am staying in. We finally got back to the house and I ran out of the car I was so happy!!!!!

Some answers to questions in my Flat Oski Journal

2007-02-04T06:40:00.000-08:00

(Melissa: some wonderful people with whom I worked at USC law school created this fabulous journals for our trip which include information about the places we are visiting and some questions for us to answer. Emma has been answering some of the questions on her blog so she can share them).

These are some questions from my Flat Oski Journal:

What is the first thing you noticed when you arrived?

The first thing I noticed when I arrived was grassland. While we were on the plane, we could see Mount Kilimanjaro (“Kili”) which was unbelievable because we were so close to it and could see it so clearly. I also noticed a lot of safari jeeps. The people were very different because I had not seen African people before. I did not have any clue what they would look like. Some of them looked like African American men with jeans and a shirt. But most of the girls had beautiful gowns and wraps on their head. All of the designs on the dresses and wraps were so beautiful. I was so excited to get a dress made of the fabric that I saw.

Look outside. What colors do you see?

When I looked outside I saw green grass, green trees, red flowers and yellow ones too. We say orange giraffes and grey elephants and beautiful black and white striped zebras. Maya and I were joking around about whether a zebra was white with black stripes or black with white stripes. Maya said white with black stripes and she won.

What is the soil like here?

The soil is orangish brown. It is much different because where we live it is perfectly brown. When the soil gets wet is looks bright orange.

More answers to journal questions later.

Starting a new placement

2007-02-04T06:36:00.000-08:00

I had to move placements because my dad wanted to switch placements. I moved to Kigongoni with my sister and my mom. It is really hard because no one speaks English. The school is walking distance to our home base. The roads are not paved and are very bumpy. As we walk we are covered by a lot of trees. We walk on grass and dirt. While we are walking we see a lot of little kids going to school. When we pass the kids, they sometimes say “mambo” to us, which means “what’s up” so we say “poa” which means “everything is cool.” Sometimes we get really hot and sweaty because it is a long walk and it is really hot. We also sometimes get muddy because of rain and mud. I don’t really like walking to my placement because I get disgusting and hot, but we have to walk because my mom says it is good exercise.

The school is a big cement building with a dirt floor. There are supposed to be 50 kids but some people don’t come. The kids at the school vary from ages three to seven. There is only teacher so it’s really hard. We try to make it fun. So what we do is we take 10 kids at a time and teach them what they would be learning with their teachers, such as vowels and numbers up to ten in Swahili. The numbers in Swahili are:

One: Moja

Two: Mbili

Three: Tatu

Four: Nne

Five: Tano

Six: Sita

Seven: Saba

Eight: Nanne

Nine: Tisa

Ten: Kumi

Other things that we do are teach the kids colors and play games like “red light, green light”. In Swahili, that is “Nykundu” and “Kijani”.

I enjoy this placement more because I feel like I am helping out more.

Starting the Volunteering

2007-01-25T00:22:00.000-08:00

I just started the volunteering and I am loving it. I work at primary school (elementary school) called Ebenezer with my daddy. I get to be with the little kids. They are very cute. I help them with their math and sing songs with them. One song they sing is about “what you do in the morning.” I taught them “Head Shoulders Knees and Toes” and “Ring Around the Rosie.” They like me a lot and do them every morning. The kids run up to me and start holding my hand and start attacking me when they see me. It is really cute and I like it a lot It’s an English emersion school, so everything is in English. The kids really like being with me because it is so different to have an American kid at their school. The principal is called the headmaster. He loves me and my dad and he is very happy that we are helping out.

The home base is really nice—I did not picture it like this. I thought the rooms would be smaller. They are not small, but not big. We sleep in bunk beds. Maya and I are on the top bunks and mommy and daddy are on the bottom. We have to sleep in mosquito nets to keep from getting malaria. The food is deliciouso and the cooks are really nice to me. Whenever I need something, I ask and they give it to me. They made hamburgers and french fries one time (they call them “chips”) and I was REALLY happy to have American food. The people who work here are really nice. I especially like Sarah—she took me to her house and I got to see baby chicks. I also like Moses. His last name is Polepole—which means “slowly” in Swahili. So his name in English is “Moses Slowly”. I think that is funny.

We have had some Swahili lessons, but I am not good at it at all. It’s very hard. I know is that when someone says “Mambo” which means “What’s up,” you are supposed to say “Poa” which means “everything’s cool.”

I have made a lot of friends with everyone I have been having a lot of fun. They are adults—like camp counselors, but I have a million of them who play fun games with me all the time. The first time I met them I was sort of shy because I did not know what they were like, but when we started playing games together, I feel in love with them. I learned how to play poker and blackjack which daddy says is like homeschooling and math. I was really happy about that.

Hadzapi People

2007-01-20T20:46:00.000-08:00

During my safari I visited a tribe named the Hadzapi it was an amazing experience. When we got out of the car the people of the tribe introduced themselves. They also showed us how to make a fire. What they did is they took a stick and a block of wood. With the stick they rubbed it on the block of wood and it formed a fire. After they did that they went hunting. My family went hunting with them. They hunted with bow and arrow. In the beginning, they did not find anything. Then they found a DikDik, which is sort of like a small deer. First, they took the bow and arrow and shot the DikDik. Second, they hit it with a stick to make sure it was dead. Because of catching such a good animal, they thought I was good luck so they offered me the heart. After we walked back, they cooked parts of it and ate it immediately. They again offered the heart to me and I ran into the car. I was not going to eat that heart. After they finished eating, someone brought an instrument and they sang and danced to celebrate a successful hunt. The dancing sort of looked like the Horah which is a Jewish dance of celebration. It was really cool and really different. After the dance, they put out some beautiful jewelry. I loved it so my mom and dad let me buy a bracelet made of porcupine quills and beads. We also bought a bracelet for my sister and my grandma. It was a great morning.

Hakuna Matata

2007-01-20T20:45:00.000-08:00

I bet most of you have seen the Lion King. In the Lion King there is a song called Hakuna Matata. I have seen the Lion King so many times thinking Hakuna matata was a silly made up word, not knowing it is a real Swahili word. Swahili is the main language they speak in Tanzania. So then I sang the song to myself and I found the key the song goes, Hakuna Matata what a wonderful phrase Ha passing Hakuna Matata aint no passing days IT MEANS NO WORRIES for the rest of your days. So as you see that little section explains what Hakuna Matata means. In Tanzania a lot of people use it. I am so happy that my safari guide told me that.

As I begin the trip

2007-01-05T07:08:00.000-08:00

These are anwers to questions from a book made my people who my mom worked with at USC:

As you begin the trip, what are you most looking forward to?

I am looking forward to spending time with my family and learning with them and learning from them and teaching. I am looking forward to helping the people in need of help and doing what I can to help them. I am also excited to go on a safari because I am excited to see all of the live animals. I am also excited to learn different languages and different cultures.

What are you least looking forward to?

I am least looking forward to being away from my friends and other family members I am also going to miss school and my house and many more people and things.

What do you think your parents want you to learn from this trip?

I think they want me to learn to be the best person and always know what is happening around the world to be able to help people, and learn that there are still people who need help in their lives.

Are there any other things you hope to learn on this trip?

I hope to learn the things that my parents want me to learn. I once did a lemonade stand for the people in Darfur and everyone was supporting me to keep going and keep helping them.

Do you have any thoughts about what the people will be like in different places you will visit?

I think I will see a lot of poor people in Africa and I have heard that there will be a lot of budas in Thailand. That
is what I have heard from many other people.

About to Go On My Trip

2006-12-16T13:04:00.001-08:00

I'm about to go on my trip for six month and I really don't want to. This is my new blog. I hope that you will check it and write me many comments. I'll post pictures so you can see what's going on and what's happening. I hope we stay connected as much as possible. Because I will really miss you guys.