Hayes, Rachel, Paloma and Anika explore the world
I love you so much.
I think you love me.
I hope that you see.
We are meant to be.
I wish you good luck on your journey ahead.
I’ll send you off with just grass and a bed.
I know you’ll find more friends.
Along your way.
But please in your heart.
Let me stay.
The Peacock sits so silently.
In the sun, clouds, and rain.
Feathers in a robe of many colors.
Trailing behind, making a lane.
Every jet of blue, green, and black, shoots behind in its wake.
And a beak of subtle yellow, pointing out its way.
When he needs to cool down, or wants to impress.
He spreads out his robe of glory, and up come the jets.
So many are here and there.
Only feet away.
This calm and caring creature.
Adoring its lovely bouquet.
When he walks down the aisle.
The crowd falls to a hush.
This birds glory never dies.
Not its beauty or smarts, all lush.
Everyone admires its robe of teal.
Green, blue, black, all four.
Everyone loves the way he makes you feel.
Happy, calm, and more.
Slimy. Icky. Between my toes.
Step. Step. The net is what I throw.
Big. Little. All around.
Pinch. Bite. Sting. You don’t hear a sound.
Birds. Fly. Don’t take my prize.
Shoo. Away. Go to the sky.
Boat. Paddle. My brother too.
These are the things we use.
Shallow. Deep. To my waist.
Swim. Walk. Throw the bait.
Crabs. Fish. Die right now.
Suffocate. Stab. Dinner. Wow.
Bait. Throw. Drop the trap.
Three. Four. Five crabs is what I get.
Sorry. Not sorry. What I do.
Keeps me alive. Eating this stew.
“Mommy, can I have a piece of chocolate?” asks a little boy.
“I’m making coconut rice. Go ask your mother,” she replies.
“Mommy, can I have a piece of chocolate?” asks the little boy.
“I’m fishing. Go ask your mother,” she exclaims cheerfully.
“Mommy, can I have a piece of chocolate?” asks the little boy.
“I’m cleaning the tools. Go ask your mother,” she says.
“Mommy, can I have a piece of chocolate?” asks the little boy.
“I’m watching T.V. Go ask your mother.” She replies.
“Mommy, can I have a piece of chocolate?” asks the little boy.
“Sleeping… Or trying to sleep. Go ask your mother.” She grunts groggily.
“Mommy, can I have a piece of chocolate?” asks the little boy.
“I’m swimming. Go ask your mother.” She replies.
“Mommy, can I have a piece of chocolate?” asks the little boy.
“I’m collecting the crab traps. Go ask your mother.” She says.
“Mommy, can I have a piece of chocolate?” asks the little boy
“Sure,” she replies, as she hands him a piece of chocolate off the shelf.
So the little boy runs off, all of his village mothers staring after him and the chocolate in his hand.
High.
Tall.
You’ve got it all.
Funny.
Weird.
Run as you cheer.
Hot.
Cold.
In Between the folds.
Bricks.
Rocks.
Let fly your locks.
Ground.
Air.
Just don’t care.
Egyptians.
Incas.
Don’t be a stinker.
Come.
Play.
Have fun today.
I run with a baby on my back.
I run with my old age and tact.
I run with veggies and rice.
I run with the fruit I diced.
I run with my daughter.
I run with a tub of water.
I run with potatoes.
I run with tomatoes.
I run with speed.
I run with heed.
I run with pace.
I don’t run with haste.
I run with wrinkles to show my age.
I run through my village, my spirit on stage.
It’s the little things, like when you lick my hand, that makes me feel closer to you.
It’s the little things, like when you pose for a picture, that tells me our love is true.
It’s the little things, like when you nuzzle up to me, that fills me with cheer.
It’s the little things, like when you nurse in front of me, that makes me lose all fear.
It’s the little things, like when you try to eat my hair, that connect our hearts.
It’s the little things, like when you jump up in the air, that tell me we’ll never part.
I love you, little one.
A Rice Krispies Poem.
On my tongue, you dance.
A little party, I’m in a trance.
You snap when I crunch.
Crackle when I pop.
You snap, crackle, pop.
I love you with milk.
But also on your own.
In my bowl.
You have a home.
My spoon goes down.
Up, up, down.
And you snap, crackle, pop.
You are so simple.
Yet yummy as well.
In my tummy
You pop and swell.
My spoon comes up.
Once again.
And you snap, crackle, pop.
Did you know why the roads in Cambridge are so crazy?
It’s because the cows made the roads! The carriages followed the cows. The cars followed the carriages. And then the cement roads were laid out in this cow made street.
Ying is Ying. Yang is yang. Ying is always with Yang. Yang is always with Ying.
Everybody knows that.
That is what Yin Yang looks like.
Everybody knows that.
noun, (used with a singular or plural verb)
1.
(in Chinese philosophy and religion) two principles, one negative, dark, and feminine (yin) and one positive, bright, and masculine (yang) whose interaction influences the destinies of creatures and things.
That is the definition of Yin Yang.
Everybody knows that.
What they don’t know is that there is another meaning. A meaning that comes in the form of a dog.
Yin is happy all the time.
She is never down.
Though only a month old.
Her story yet to be told, she prances all around.
And she never ever frowns.
She especially loves a game of race, even with her tiny legs.
She climbs step by step, for a puppy, the best.
And always wins some praise.
Now Yang is a different creature.
Sometimes surly, and cruel.
If she doesn’t like what you are doing.
She will simply wine and pout.
If she is very angry, it sometimes turns to a shout.
But in the end, she calms down.
And then her anger drowns.
Out steps a different kind of Yang, a mischievous one at that.
She steps into your room for a cuddle, the steals your hat.
This Yang also pees on the carpet.
And hides in your bag of clothes.
She eats your cake.
That your mom baked.
She blames it on the cat.
But the pink face gives it away at that!
Yin and Yang are so different you couldn’t tell them apart. If only they didn’t look so similar, we would think them separate dogs. Yin is always happy. Yang is always surly and mischievous. Yin Yang has two minds about him but is usually happy and playful. Anyone who has met him loves him, as do I. I love you, Yin. I love you, Yang.
I love you, Yin Yang.
Cappadocian animals are magical. There are sweet, cute, and loving. They live long and happy lives, always with their head held high and their tummies full. But as all Muslims believe, it is not the first life that counts, it’s the afterlife. For humans, the afterlife brings them all of their desires. Animals get to have massages all day, live in beautiful scenery, and have some of the most stunning views in Turkey. They become something much bigger than before. A rock. A hill. A mountain. Whatever you want to call it, it is still the same: an animal, their soul, and volcanic ashes. There are camels, dogs, sphinxes, eagles, seals, a monkey hand, and so many other animals, which mother nature created in rock. One of the Cappadocian animals’ name is Bob Ross.
Bob is a majestic camel, who has been put to rest. To rest in a rock. When Bob died, he was given a choice of position. Bob chose to sit, for then his legs would never get tired. Now, Bob has reached his 1023rd rockday and is celebrating with his closest rock-mate Erny the Eagle. Erny is only 26 feet away, so they can converse without being spotted by the many tourists passing by. For Bob’s rockday gift, Erny flew over in the dead of night and took away the poles and rope keeping Bob from being stepped on. When Bob woke up the next morning, he was getting the best back massage of his second life. Bob Ross can now say that his best rockday ever was his 1023rd.
Now that you have the information to have three great massages, sit with your fellow rock (or human) friends, and look up at the happy little clouds and be happy too.
MY WAY is ocean.
MY WAY is boat.
MY WAY is snorkeling.
MY WAY is luxury.
MY WAY is sun.
MY WAY is the roof.
MY WAY is delicious.
MY WAY is comfort.
MY WAY is clean.
MY WAY is efficient.
MY WAY is friendly people.
MY WAY is my way.
MY WAY is your way.
Jud = Judge
Que = Queen Victoria
Kin = King Edward
T#1 = Townsperson #1
T#2 = Townsperson #2
T#3 = Townsperson #3
Evr = Everyone
Scene: It is 1803, and the Queen of England is
passing her new favorite law.
Jud: And you would like to pass this law, my Queen?
Que: Yes.
Jud: Alright. By order of the queen, animals may not be used for work purposes.
[The small audience claps politely. The prince whistles.]
Jud: And why did you pass this law?
Que: Because the animals need help!
[The queen is overcome with emotion, and the king holds her hand.]
Jud: And what shall you name this act of generosity?
Que: “The Royal Animals.”
Que: Thank you. Thank you. May God be with us and all of the animals in which this act will be saving!
Scene: It is 1833, and Que is yet again in the courtroom,
with the same Judge sitting before her.
Jud: And you would like to pass this law, my Queen?
Que: Yes.
Jud: OooooK. By order of the queen, children may not be used for work purposes.
[The audience is more filled than ever before. They roar and clap at this statement.]
Jud: And why did you pass this law?
Que: Because the children of Great Britain need me.
[King Edward leans over to whisper to the Jud.]
Kin: [Aside to Jud] And the townspeople were pressing in, so she had no choice.
Jud: And what shall we name this law?
Que: Please give me one moment to think.
[She ponders this for about ten minutes, then looks to her husband.]
Jud: My highness, I am getting old here, and if you don’t hurry up, I’m going to waste away on this chair.
[Que is flustered. No one has ever talked to her like that before.]
Jud: How about The Royal Children?
Que: Oh no! That would take away the pride and glory from My Royal Animals!
Jud: Very understandable, my Queen. What shall it be called then?
[The people filling the courtroom shout out suggestions.]
T#1: The Children Of Britain!
T#2: Freedom For The Children!
T#3: Yes! Freedom For The Children!
Evr: Freedom For The Children! Freedom For The Children! Freedom For The Children!
Que: Well, in that case, Freedom For The Children will now be in action.
Beautiful. Pretty. Stunning.
Architecture. Stack. Artistic.
Colors. Stripes. Arcs.
Red. White. Contrast.
Marble. Stone. Smooth.
Chisel. Fists. Work.
Muscles. Lifting. Strength.
Old. Gold. Rich.
Christain. Jesus. Cathedral.
Muslim. Islamic. Mosk.
Tourist. Local. Sight.
Massive. Tall. Impressive.
Religous. Pray. God.
Kept. Preserved. On top.
Mezquita. Mezquita. Mezquita.
You have to stand on something up high.
To reach the animal that is high in the sky.
It has a pattern carefully etched into its skin.
From its toes all the way to its chin.
And when you finally reach its height.
Don’t get to close or you’ll give it a fright.
And if you give it a scare you’ll know what it’ll do.
It will swing its neck right at you.
It will knock you out for minutes or hours.
All the way to the top of the savannah Eiffel Tower.
Those are all the bad things about a Giraffe.
So come and hear the good ones that’ll be sure to make you laugh.
(Number one) They are vegetarians, so the animals won’t attack.
(Number two) They are pretty, and their color is yellow, not black.
(Number three) They have long necks, so they can welcome you without a fright.
(Number four) Their spirits are very, very light.
(Number five) They give wet, liking, warm, make-you-laugh, french kisses that make you jump up and say “hooray”.
(Number six) They love to always play!
So visit a giraffe, give it a kiss. Take a selfie with much bliss. Get a friend that you have so far missed. So twist around your head and plant one on the lips. And I promise you, the giraffe will love with zap zup zips!
I have ears that are definitely a lot bigger than yours.
I tower above you, for my mass is more.
I am dark grey in color.
And I don’t wear a collar.
I am wild.
And I have a child.
As well as a baby.
Who in comparison to me is tiny.
But a lot bigger than you.
My trunk is long too.
And my hide is stronger than super glue.
I have toes, not hooves.
They like to make moves.
And for me.
I like to eat the trees.
I am an African Elephant.
I stand proud on the ground.
With my trunk in the air.
Where my joy can be found.
The length of my neck will leave you in awe.
It is used to reach the leaves of the trees of which I gnaw.
I have spots from my hooves to my head.
I eat leaves and grass, not fish or bread.
I have very long legs.
And small, but great ears.
I am orange and yellow.
I have been for years.
I live among zebras and impalas.
Compared to them, I am much taller.
I tower above.
So guess: who am I, love?
I am a giraffe.
| 1. Warthog eats with its elbows on the table. | 1. Anika eats with her elbows on the table. |
| 2. Warthog has a tail. | 2. Anika has a ponytail. |
| 3. When warthog’s tail is up it is thinking. When it’s tail drops, it forgets. | 3. Anika has no tail. |
| 4. Warthog has fur. | 4. Anika hopes she will not ever have fur. |
| 5. Warthog can run 30 mph. | 5. Anika wishes she could run that fast. |
| 6. Warthog can live up to 15 years. | 6. Anika hopes she lives a lot longer than that. |
| 7. Warthog is a vegetarian. | 7. Anika loves meat too much to do that. |
| 8. Warthogs is one of the cutest animals on safari. (Disregarding the baby animals.) | 8. Anika is definitely not cute. |
| 9. Warthog loves warthog. | 9. Anika loves warthog. |
You are finally awake after all of my encouraging meowing.
You tell me to stop.
Fine.
You dress and I watch you.
You tell me to go away.
Fine.
You eat your breakfast while I meow for mine.
You tell me to wait.
NOT fine.
I meow until you finally get up from your tea and give me dry chickeny goodness.
After you’re done I meow for some more.
You tell me no, that I am fat enough.
Fine.
I am sunbathing in my pot.
You come over and ask me to pose.
Fine.
You run downstairs and come up with a string.
I tell myself not to go for it.
I do.
I chase the string down the stairs.
You tell me to “Turn that frown upside down.”
Fine.
I eat some more.
Better than fine.
I recline by the fire.
You tell me to “Stop being such a cat.”
Sorry, but that is.
Just not fine.
I look almost like a human, but a little bit smaller.
But I have four feet on the ground, as I wander.
I have fur on my back and a baby on my tummy.
And if I can get you to your food, note that bananas would be yummy.
I sleep in trees and would love to grab your phone.
So watch out or the baboon family will bring it back home!
I have four hooves, which I guide low on the ground.
And a fat belly, where mud can be found.
Don’t get too close to my babies, because if you do.
I will charge full speed at you!
I don’t mind people at all.
But if you trip on me, I guarantee that you’ll be the one to fall.
Overall I’m pretty friendly to animals around.
And by the way, I’m a warthog, not a hound!
The baboon is my cousin.
And don’t stop your buzzin’.
I’m much cooler than it.
Because I’m not always throwing a fit.
I am a little bit smaller as well.
But at least I don’t always smell.
And I am a lot cuter.
And I am a hooter!
I’ll wake you up in the night.
And you’ll get quite the fright!
Afterward, I will just laugh.
So hard that my monkey head will split in half!
I know, I am quite tiny.
But I also am very mighty!
Don’t you dare call me cute?
Or my family of fifty will steal all your fruit.
I am a stealthy ninja.
With a built-in mask – don’t cringe(a).
My twenty babies the size of a baby’s fist.
But they are quite competent, don’t doubt this!
Or you will hear something from a sis’.
The cape banded mongoose is really awesome.
More awesome than our cousin the possum!
I stand on two feet.
I am wearing Deet.
I don’t want to get malaria.
For it is in this area.
That’s why I’m taking pills.
They give me the chills.
Because they instantly taste bad.
Oh, I wish I was in Chad.
But no matter that, I’ve got my sunglasses and hat.
I can eat with a knife and fork.
My favorite meal is pork.
My favorite spice is Cumin.
For I am a human.
The animals of Zimbabwe are really very neat.
The way they defend the things they want to eat!
The sounds they make, the way they walk.
You want to cuddle them close as you talk.
The baboons that climb up into trees.
And the cute little monkeys.
The warthogs are very cool.
But they don’t come in a big pack, like the mongooses which love to fool.
This part of Africa is full of wildlife.
So do not destroy them with a gun or a knife.
Save the endangered species which disappear so fast.
For your chance to see them will quickly pass.
Save the animals that want to live like us.
Long lives that don’t pass by in a rush.
There is not a lot of places that you can find them.
So don’t be stupid, don’t be dumb.
Save their lives and be a friendly chum.
Arf! Bark! Yip! In human, that means Yes! People! Let’s Play!
I live in Dahab which is the best place for a dog to be. And even better, I get to go to the Blue Lagoon every year, and that is where I am now. We play in the lagoon all winter, but now there are so many tourists so my owner is selling barbecue. The only way I tolerate him not paying attention to me is because I get leftovers! Also, the tourists love me.
I am putting up a show by fishing in the lake. I have already caught two! I run into the lake once again, and when a little girl tries to pet me, I run farther in. She tells her dad to wait and runs after me. It is a game. I put up the show, and splash her with my paw. She squeals and sprints out of the water. She is wearing a bikini because this is the only place she can in all of Egypt. My owner calls it “libertee”. He also says that this place is called a “beech reesort”, but I know for a fact that is a hotel.
I catch a fish, but the little girl is gone. Oh well. I guess I will have to eat it myself!
In the deep, hot, sunny desert of Mars, there is nothing to be seen for miles except sand hills, sandstone mountains, and if you are lucky, a species you can find nowhere else. The Martians. They lurk where no one expects, in the shadows where it is dark. They come out of their hiding places with their friends only at night. In the morning, you find a trail of mouse skeletons left over. You do not know where the Martians got these small creatures, you just know that they are there. When they prance in the night, you do not hear them. They are sneaky, scary, stealthy. They are Martians.
Corruption is all over. In subscriptions. In websites. And especially in government. Cambodian government. Chinese government. Korean government. United States government. Egyptian government. Vietnamese government. Australian government. I do not know which. Maybe half of them. Maybe all.
South Africa. I do not know about the rest of the world, but corruption is what keeps our government going. The only way our politicians are working together is by stealing together. As a citizen, I have to pay taxes every month so my roads will be safe enough to drive on, and my sick child can have better medical care, and my house will be able to fit my family. But I along with everyone else am paying taxes, and Africa is not getting richer. Our no-good president and lousy vice president are. Our secretary who doesn’t care at all about the country is. Everyone tries to get our president kicked out, but he says no.
He got himself elected by paying people. Eighty dollars per person could be all it takes.
If you look it up online, you will see we have a 93% literacy rate. But I am literate and South African and I know that almost 2/3 of the population are not fully literate. Over 50% of young people are unemployed. Our president targeted those people to get to vote for him. Most of them voted for him because they needed the money that he gave, and the jobs and houses he promised to provide.
If you look up South Africa on the web, you will find facts. There is free medical care. There is free housing. Everyone who goes to school has successfully passed all of their grades. But if our world was held up by facts, we would have never had the invention of the lightbulb, or a toaster to make our sandwiches. We wouldn’t have even figured out the law of gravity. You have to be in South Africa or go a little bit deeper to see the true story.
Good medical care is difficult to come across. And I am not talking greedily, wanting specialty doctors. I just want a good enough one. There is a saying in South Africa. “Go to the hospital with a headache and they will amputate your leg.” We have to be extra careful to not get sick. The housing situation looks great from the outside. Perfect tiny little apartments. But that is the thing. They’re so tiny. In my house, there is one bathroom, two tiny bedrooms, and nothing else. They are basically a box with heat, beds and running water.
School seems to get worse with time here. My child pays very good attention in school, but he only has a good teacher for the first time in seventh grade. You may think that all of that is normal, but my son is the second best in his class, and he only got 64% on his school exams. He passed onto the next grade. None of his classmates’ stayed behind because the lowest kid missed it by a bit and got 32%. You only have to get 30% to go to the next grade. And if South African children do not learn, how are they supposed to get a job when they grow up? How are they supposed to learn to be doctors, so that South Africa has some good ones? The answer is no answer.
My countries president is not fully literate. He cannot read numbers. How is our country supposed to thrive if our president cannot make deals, write checks, or do the things any other president can do, I do not know. And worse yet, he is not only our head of government but also our chief of state. Too much power for too much bad.
All of our power is in the hands of thieves. All of our money is in the hands of thieves. All of our lives are in the hands of thieves.
What would South Africa have done seven years ago if we knew where our fates lay? What would South Africa have done if we had control over where our money went. I do not know. But I think that if South Africa had the chance to start over now, we would. We would redirect the taxes. We would make our houses larger. We would get ourselves better medical care. We would send our children to better schools, where they don’t pass their tests by guessing. We would not vote for Jacob Zuma. We would do anything and everything that we could to make our lives worth everything we have been through.
If we could have a better government, we would finally be one peaceful country.
Bigger better homes mean our children having more sleep. Having more sleep leads to paying attention in school. Paying attention in school means learning more. Learning more means getting better jobs they are good at when they are older. They can get a job as a doctor and South Africa will have good ones again. They can be a teacher so the next generation will learn. They could have any job they want. Being good at their job means they make more money. Having more money means being able to buy a big house so their children get more sleep and pay attention in school. If everyone made enough money, there wouldn’t be corruption in the government, because people wouldn’t be desperate enough to do it (be a part of it?). It is all one big chain. We just have to make one change in the government and it will change everything.
We can’t just keep on waiting.
For these two weeks of winter break, we have V.I.P. guests who have met us in no other place than Cambodia. The first week we spent in Siem Reap and had a lot of fun, and we are in Koh Rong enjoying a tropical beach vacation. And now there is nothing that can stop us from having the time of our lives.
Or so we thought. We knew that we were taking risks by coming here — for there is two mosquito carrying diseases, malaria, and dengue fever. But then there were other kinds of risks we didn’t expect. The rooms: there were cracks in the floor, and a half inch tall one separating the bedroom and the bathroom. The stains on the sheets and pillows are unmissable. They creeped me out a little bit, but what made my mom mad was the shower situation. By now I have figured out that the whole hotel shares the same water source, so the quality of your shower depends on if anyone else is taking one at that same time. If everyone in the hotel is taking a shower with hot water, then chances are, no hot water with come out for you. It is extremely hard to wash your hair because only a trickle comes out. And if you want something close to normal spray, then your shower will be freezing cold. The best way to wash your hair is to use the outdoor public showers. They are also freezing though, so you can not have a good situation, whichever way you go.
The restaurant is the only source of food that is safe for us to get to and eat for at least a mile. So when the manager wants your Mom to stop blabbering, he lets you dine freely for one night at their restaurant. My mom has complained less since we got that experience. Now, Matilda, my 10-year-old VIP guest has been taking every opportunity she gets to say, let’s tell the manager about this twerk and get free dinner again!
If there is one lesson I have learned from this experience it is that if you want something bad, you have to fight for it. Speak up! Shout it out for the world (or just the manager) to hear, and maybe, just maybe, you will land yourself a free dinner, and you can say, I earned it!
I don’t want to do it. But I was trained to. It is not that I hate them. I don’t. I think this is a big ridiculous mess. But the kids of Palestine are throwing rocks at the wall separating them from Israel, and soon their target will be me. They do this every Friday after prayers. They throw rocks, they try to climb the wall. I don’t like to hurt children. But this is my duty as an Israeli Watchguard. Don’t think about it. Just do it. Three, two, one, drop. Three, two, one, drop. Three, two, one, it’s over.
I open my eyes. There are children running around now, temporarily blind. They are running away from me now shooting, “كنت سجننا، لا تتوقع منا أن نكافح”, which means “You imprisoned us, do you not expect us to fight back?” and “الأمم، أسقط، ب، الجدران” which means “nations fall with walls”. I do expect them to fight back though. I would too. They are imprisoned by walls, and even if they do just the tiniest thing such as spit on the ground, they will never be able to get a visa to travel out of Palestine for their life. The children suffer. I would not want my children to be kept from the world like that.
“We have a case in section 1B!” I hear someone shout in my ear. I swivel around but see no one behind me. Then I remember the new technology. I press my finger against a button near my ear and say “I am on the move.” This is my least favorite part of my job, so I am glad I have to do it so rarely. Unfortunately, this is one of those days. I grab my long gun and slowly load in the bullets in while I slowly walk. I hope the person will run away from the wall they are climbing right now so I won’t have to shoot them. But of course, miracles rarely happen in this branch of work. I look through the screen and line up. I close my eyes and feel the trigger. I recenter and think this is for my country, and shoot.
The man is lying on the ground, a bruise covering his whole arm. I feel relief flood to my cheeks, glad that I did not hit him with the rubber bullet in the heart. I run back to my tower as people run to help the injured Palestinian. Then I sit down and think about how this came to be. The war for independence won by the Israelis. The Arabic countries attacking the next day. Attacks, attacks, attacks. The Israelis separating themselves from Palestinians. All of which led to the wall.
We were afraid of the Palestinians. So we closed them off. Part of the graffiti wall says, “being scared of others makes you build walls.” I believe that. I do not love war. I do not love the wall. I do not love the way we cope with the Palestinians. But I do love my country and I will stand by it with all I have left.
Ingredients
1 liter of goat milk
1 spoonful of yogurt
50 ml of 5% vinegar
1 teaspoon of salt
I am breathless. You ask me why, but I am too excited to tell you. You clap your hands in front of my face, but I won’t blink. You push me with all of your might, but I won’t move. Because standing in front of me is about twenty goat babies that are small enough to pick up.
I stick my hand in front of the first one I see and it rubs its head against my fist. I pet its back, and it steps closer to me. I gasp as it starts chewing on my hair, but I let it continue. It barely has teeth anyways. I stand up, but obviously, the goat doesn’t want me to leave, because it jumps up onto its hind legs and puts its front ones on mine. I almost shout out in glee but catch myself in time. I don’t want to leave, but I see more eager goat babies waiting, and I regretfully let go.
The first place that I go after that is the baby goat playground. It is made up of a wooden platform about five inches off the ground, two wheelbarrows which hold hay, a bucket full of hay, and an old desk. There are six more goats prancing or laying down on the playground, and I stand next to the one in the corner. I put out my finger and start petting it with my other hand. This one sucks my pointer finger in a soothing way, as it has no teeth. I start standing up but slip a little bit, and end up crouched on the floor. The baby goat jumps onto my back.
I screech. The goat releases its pressure and plops down on my back. Then I laugh. Two more goats come over and all three are now either gnawing on my phone pouch, pants, or shoelace. While my sister is getting this all on camera, I fight to catch my breath. Finally, I use all of my strength and stand up, my sweater covered in dirt and dust. I stick my finger out so they would suck on that, and so my pants would not end up in the kid’s stomachs, and I laugh at how the day is going so far.
As I brushed myself off, the farm worker asks my family if we want to see how the goats are milked. Everyone eagerly says yes. Everyone except for me. “I don’t want to leave the baby goats.” So everyone heads off in the other direction as I get back to becoming part of the dirt. There is a game the goats and I like to play. It doesn’t have a name. Instead, it has a feeling. Actually, a few. Joy, surprise, awe, and so many more. It goes like this: the goats start chewing up anything they can find on me. Every time I am overcome by cuteness. In about five minutes, I fear that my clothes will not be there anymore when we get back, so I pull away from the baby goats. They gallop over to me, and the goats try to pull me down so they can reach my ponytail. Most of the time, they don’t succeed. Sometimes they do. And other times, I plop down myself so one of them will lay on my back.
After we have played the game about five times, I get curious. I am a curious person. I wanted to see how they milked the mama goats, and if we could do it ourselves. So I brush myself off and start walking towards the milking station.
I don’t know exactly where I am going. I barely even know what I am looking for. All I can do is head in the direction that I saw my parents walking in. It doesn’t take long to find them though. They are not standing next to anything I would imagine. The thing they use to milk the goats is a machine and a big one. The farm worker sees me and smiles. As I near, she tells me how the mama goats came through a door in the morning, they got connected to suctions. The milk comes out with a gentle pull. I study it from all sides and then run back to the baby goats, as I figured that it couldn’t hurt to play a little more.
One of the amazing qualities of this goat farm is that they treat the goats better than commercial farms. They contribute to this cause by letting the babies and the mamas be together. he moms are in four separate big cages, broken up by age, and with more than enough space for all of them. The separation between the wood that holds it up is about one foot, large enough for the babies to go through, but not the moms. That way, the babies can roam wherever they want, and still be with their moms at any time.
I play with the kids some more, not knowing that in twenty minutes, I will get a surprise. And it comes in the form of a herd. Twenty minutes have now passed, and about five people have joined me to see the goats. Finally, the person who they were waiting for arrives. He is carrying a bucket full of something that looks like a mixture of corn, hay, and cat food. Every one of the goat’s perks their ears up, and at the same time, stampedes to the outer edge of their pen. That is when I put the puzzle pieces together: it’s food time.
A dog comes running in, obviously excited for the most eventful time of the day. All of the baby goats are either milking, playing with me, snuggling with their moms, or playing amongst themselves. More than half were outside the mama goat yard. The dog will soon change that. He starts running around the yard, nipping at the baby goats’ tails as they sprint to get to their mothers. After five minutes of this, there are only a few brave kids left. They are running around, either trying to find their mothers or maybe taunting the dog for not being able to catch them. I don’t know which. After all of the goats are finally in their pen, the guy with the bucket steps up and starts pouring the food into the trough. The goats are ready to eat. The grown-ups eat the whole variety, but the babies only eat the cat-food-like stuff, and the older ones can have the hay. I take a few pictures and run to show them to my family.
After I show them the pictures, I have to go back to my baby goats. They are still not fully recovered from the dog chasing them around, so they are not quite as playful as before. But one of them seems untouched and is the brave one who gallops over to me and starts rubbing her head against my knee. None of the others comes over, but I am perfectly content with just this one ball of cuteness. Then my sister steps in to play. Only that is not what she is here for.
“We have to leave,” she says.
I stop petting the kid, and my chin juts out.
“I don’t want to leave,” I exclaim.
“Well, mom and dad and I want to, so if you don’t want to come with us, that is alright, but you will have to catch a taxi back to our hotel.”
“Mom wouldn’t leave me.”
“But I would.”
“I am not coming.”
My sister rolls her eyes and starts walking towards the car and shouts one final thing.
“I am eating all of the goat milk butterscotch if you don’t come soon!”
I was in the car within the next five minutes.
I looked out my window and said goodbye to all of the goats that made me smile. I didn’t know I could, but I managed to smile at the ranch, and glare at my sister all in one look. I knew I would miss the ranch. Its people and goat cheese and animals. I knew it would be my favorite part of Israel. But you can’t come back if you never leave. So goodbye goat barn, until we meet again.
Wow, wow, look at this.
The Kangaroos, both Mr and Miss.
They are in their mob, with joeys too.
And relax in the shade, for they are kangaroos.
But don’t get too close.
For the small ones can hurt.
And the big ones that look like they have a shirt.
They can make you desert kill
Before you can run and hide in the mill.
Not meaning to give them a bad reputation though,
For they are also as sweet as can be.
Just don’t get too close or again,
You may never pee.
THE KANGAROO.
A little bit smaller, but still related.
And they have still happily mated.
So now they have a little hopper.
What a sight.
And make sure you don’t give them a fright.
For it’s easy to do,
And remember,
They do not live in a zoo.
They are not the most friendly.
And it’s not that they’re mean
They just run away.
And what a day it would be.
If you could see
THE WALLABY.
Echidna is quite the name.
To go with an animal with a bristly mane.
The echidna has spikes.
Like a porcupine.
Except cuter.
For she has her own cute squeaking line.
She loves to eat,
And dig in the ground.
But don’t doubt her,
For you don’t know what treasures she may have found.
She doesn’t grow too big.
Just about the size of a baby pig.
For she is the
THE ECHIDNA.
Now I couldn’t leave this little guy out.
For he is calm,
Don’t have your doubts.
He sits around
Roaming, drinking or eating grass.
For he walks slow, but runs super fast!
He is among the cutest of things.
Like a small bear,
But with a charge that stings.
There are lots of them to be found.
For he is
THE WOMBAT
And he’ll keep you feeling safe and sound.
Every animal would be great in a zoo.
But who needs a zoo,
Not me,
Not you!
For if you can spot these elsewhere
A wallaby, echidna, wombat or kangaroo,
You should feel very lucky.
Almost as much as the happy little duckies.
But try to go there and see them for yourself
Be a little bit fashionable,
find an AUSTRALIAN ANIMAL.
When they jump up into your arms…
You can’t help but feel their charm.
When you feel how light they are…
You feel so guilty for the lunch that they can’t afford to have and that you had in a polished and clean jar.
If they bonk their head with a soccer ball…
You high-five them and their spirits don’t fall.
Hold out your sanitized hands…
And they will high-five them, if not one kid, a whole band!
And what about jump rope, well isn’t that great…
Especially because it can fit eight!
If you want a multi purpose tool…
You can buy coconut bowls at the school.
And if you get something off of their shelf…
They use the money not for themselves!
If you want to know where the money goes…
This list on the wall definitely knows!
This school is not a fool…
Yes it is really cool…
It supplies the students with free tools…
Yes this is such a fantastic school!!!
I am new to this world. I am helpless and tiny. I am half the size of a newborn human baby. I am light brown. I have a little button nose. I have four siblings. I am the smallest of all.
When I first opened my eyes three days ago, I saw my mother, then a hut, then a lake. My home. I live among many other litters, but I am glad to be part of mine, right where I am. On a levee. With a family. In Cambodia.
I am a child of a loving mother. I am a sibling of loving sisters and brothers. I am a loving sister.
I squeal when I get taken from my mother. She runs at the feet of the human who took me. She doesn’t attack. She is tired. I look down at her, willing her to save me.
But now I am noticing this calm girl’s arms. I can sense her feelings. This girl loves me. I am being taken back to my mom. I am put down, back with her.
I see the girl walk away as sorrow creeps into her. I bark a little, and make her smile.
I am new to this world. I am helpless and tiny. I am the little thing that brings you a lot of joy. I am a puppy.
I stand on a chair.
And grab your hair.
I hop on your back.
And do not look back.
You panic a little.
And someone tickles your ready butt.
And you get ready to strut, strut, strut.
You walk around in a little circle.
And drink some water with a little gurgle.
So thank you water buffalo.
Thank you very much.
You gave my time in Vietnam.
A nice little touch.
If at first you are scared that’s okay.
You are swimming in the ocean, not the bay.
If you just want to look down.
Don’t frown.
You can swim out a little bit at first but get scared.
And swim back to the platform.
But don’t let your hope get teared.
Let someone tell you that moon jellyfish don’t sting.
And that baby turtles are one of the things you can see.
Gather up your courage and thrust your self out.
Away and away from the boat’s snout.
Look at the turtles and jellyfish and clams.
And think to yourself.
In the Great Barrier Reef,
I just swam.
Although many say they want to save the rainforest, do you want to help? Do you want to be able to say that you donated some of your money or time to help it? Do you want to save the plants in the rainforest or the furry faces that live on them? Do you want to save the rainforest for these heartfelt decisions, or other ones? Whichever one you decide to go with, you can help the rainforest. But what if we stopped helping — what would we lose? It turns out, a lot.
If we, as a species, destroy what many plants and animals call home, there may never again be those animals roaming this planet. About 48 full-size football fields of forest are taken out in… guess how much time. I bet you are thinking a year. Maybe a month. At least a week. How about a day. But no, planet Earth loses about that much of our rainforest every minute. And it is all one species’ fault: ours. You may say, “But it can’t be all our fault.” Or perhaps, “That is probably a made up number.” But it is all us. We did do all that. And it is happening now.
What if we stopped helping? What would we lose? It turns out, a lot.
People chopping down the trees in a forest is called deforestation.
It’s estimated that 46 to 58 million square miles of land are chopped down every year, an area equal to the size of Greece.
Our Rainforest Being Torn Down
We are losing 50,000 plants, animals, and insects each year, all from the rainforest.
Rainforests are home to almost 50% of the world’s species.
If we stopped helping, we would lose a lot of our oxygen. The forests in general take up about 31% of the world, and the Amazon rainforest alone only covers 2% of the world. But think about this — the Amazon generates 20% of our oxygen.
And, there are answers to a lot of our problems in the rainforest. For example, there are many medicines made from products of the rainforest, such as quinine, which is used to treat malaria, penicillins, and novocaine, which numbs your gums when you go to the dentist. In total, approximately 7,000 medical compounds prescribed by Western doctors are derived from plants.
Without the rainforest, we would lose chocolate. Cacao beans grow and thrive in the rainforest. Due to the weather, they can not naturally grow anywhere else. And without our cacao beans, we would lose one of humans’ most precious sweets. Can you imagine living without chocolate?
A Cacao Pod |
Our Beloved Chocolate |
If you want to help your health, help plants, keep animals alive, and save chocolate, you can help. There are some great organizations you can donate to like WWF and Greenpeace, which both help keep the rainforest and the animals in them alive. and are ones that I recommend. You can also do smaller things. If you want to help, you could plant a tree in your backyard, or a small one in the front. Trees are our main source of oxygen and you would be helping the world if you did. You could also start recycling and composting more at home. Pollution is killing the trees and composting helps them grow. Or perhaps just spreading the word would be something you would be more open to participating in. Either way, we need the rainforest, and at this point in time, it needs us. So use those five extra minutes you would be using to play video games or texting a friend to help our rainforest and fix the mistakes we made.
The moment I step into the house of Hannah, Debra, and Akihiro, I greet them with warm smiles and hugs. But then I notice something very eye-catching. A puppy stands in the corner, barking not so quietly at us. I lean down and pick her up, and she stops barking. Sitting down on the couch, I instantly sink in. Zoe starts to get up but then lays back down again. That is when I know that my stay at Hannah’s house will be better than I expect.
The next morning I wake up, open up my book and get caught up in an amazing story, After an hour, I finally stop. I stretch and get ready for the day, and instantly look for Zoe. I find her in Hannah’s lap and tell Hannah “That is one seriously cute puppy.” Hannah stares at me for ten seconds and then responds, “Zoe is nine.” I look back at her in surprise and then walk to have my breakfast. What makes her look like a puppy is simple. She has 1 1/2 inch long legs and is about 3/4 of a foot long. She has grey hair, yes, but it is accompanied by white and a little bit of golden-bronze. And to top it off, she has puppy eyes (mostly to get visitors to give her food).
I have waffles and sneak Zoe a bite. When I finish Debra walks in and says, “Does anyone want to take Zoe for a walk?” I practically shout yes, get one my sneakers, and walk around the park with Debra, my Dad and my Mom, and of course Zoe. She loves to run, however, she had a hurt paw that day, so she was limping. She has to get her exercise though, so I can not pick her up. She also loves to be in front so she has to keep a steady pace, for her legs are so short. But she makes it back to the house again, panting, and with what looked like a smile on her face.
One thing I eventually find out about Zoe is that she doesn’t like to be picked up. The first morning I do not notice. However, the second morning when I try, she runs away. When I finally get to pick her up and sit down on the couch, she tries to get off my lap. However, she was just fine with sitting next to me. On the third morning, I lured her with food, and she did not hesitate to run into my arms. And on the fourth morning, I couldn’t find her to pick her up. As I thought she was a puppy, she was very light and small and soothing to cuddle with. Picking her up to snuggle with her was one of my highlights for the four days.
I found out many things about Zoe over the four days we were there, including that she looks a lot younger than she is, she does not like to be picked up, and she loves her walks. All of her strengths and perks make me love to be around her, more for each one. After all, “A dog is a girl’s best friend.”
Can you imagine a world where cats were royalty, and superior to humans? And every product that had something to do with cats was special and expensive. That is not fully the case in Bali, Indonesia, but there is one product that costs more if cats add a bit of their nature to it. It’s cat poop coffee.
Normal coffee in Bali tastes very good, especially because it grows there. But if you want the expensive kind, you buy the coffee that has cat’s working the process of making it. But don’t worry, after the cats are done with their part, humans clean the poop before serving it to you. Here’s how they make it: the cats love the cherries on this type of coffee bean plant. The coffee bean inside of the cherry is “processed by the cat,” but they can’t digest it. So they poop it out whole. The coffee makers clean the beans by taking the beans out of the poop and then peeling the second bean peel off, leaving a clean bean underneath. Then, they roast, grind and brew the coffee as you would make regular coffee. Because cats are superior, their coffee-growing slaves can sell their coffee for a high price, or enjoy the delicacy as a reward for their hard work.
Fun fact: Cat poop coffee is some of the most expensive coffee in the world.
It’s a crazy year, as we are traveling around the world, and now we have landed in Sydney, Australia. We found ourselves a nice Airbnb, and have settled down as the house’s first non-permanent resident. We found out in this small sector of our journey that we were in for a lot less, and more than we were hoping for. So buckle your seatbelts, and get ready for the ride of envisioning itchiness.
We arrive at our rental home, and find it amazingly homely, comfy, and welcoming. What we didn’t know was that it wasn’t only welcoming us. We stroll into our rooms, which each have a king bed, and lay down on the comforting comforters. Me and my sister both get our own room, which makes it even better. There is a kitchen to cook in, two bathrooms, and a living room. I start thinking, this is too good to be true. We get to bake all day and be comfortable in the night. After the fun-filled day flew by, I stepped into bed thinking, how lucky can a girl be.
One day, two days, three days fly by, and I wake up at six thirty in the morning, spread out across the bed, with both of my legs sticking out of it. I soon become aware that my feet are almost moving involuntarily. They are stomping on each other. I look down and gasp. There are at least ten more bites on my right ankle, leg, and foot, and my left. They are also on my arms, back, and even two on my neck. I point this out to my Dad and say they itch like can’t get any worse, he states that my covers probably flew off me in the middle of the night, and they are from mosquitoes. Then my sister comes down and shows my Dad the same thing. He admits that he has a few too. So he goes to investigate.
While he was down there, my Mom came down. She sat down on the couch, happy as could be. I started baking, while still, my feet were moving like train engines. But then something unexpected happened. A flea jumped on my Mom’s face. She killed it and knew what it was right away. She called to my Dad, and he came running in saying he found bed bugs. That’s when I knew our Sydney experience wouldn’t be as I expected.
We got more and more every day and night, and when we left our house, we were glad. After all, who likes having extra itchy bites? We are now showering 1-2 times a day, and all of our things have been washed and dried three times, and we are planning to have them thrown in there once more. This part of the trip definitely wasn’t what I expected, but at least we learned a lesson. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
Relax, refresh, recharge. Those are the words of Anika & Co., and I thought that was just the phrase for my Mom and my spa day. This week we are staying in one place for the whole time. So my Mom and I decided to have a spa night. We had facials, massage, reflexology, and pedicures.
At first, we had our facials. They put some lotion on our faces, and we had “luxurious, relaxing and nicely satisfying experiences.” We were right next to the ocean, and we could hear it while enjoying our experiences. It just made it that much better. The hour that we spent in the spa room flashed by and in the end my Mom said that it was the best facial that she had ever had. It was my first facial, so I can’t compare. Being in Indonesia, I think it was worth its pricing.
Next I had a massage. I had been wanting one for about a week because my body was so cramped up. They did it from my toes to my scalp, and my body lost a lot of its tension. My mom got reflexology that day and did not enjoy it as much as the facial. I loved mine just as much but thought the quality was not as good. We figured that the person on the first day must have just been more experienced than the other one. I still loved my massage.
My decision was to get a pedicure. There was a tray of colored toenail polish to choose from —all of the colors of the rainbow were there and many more. I chose deep purple and sky blue. The woman from the day before did my pedicure. She was especially good at doing nails. She first gave me a foot bath in soothing water. Then she used a callus grater to make the bottom of my feet nice and smooth. I got to lay down on a bed and she cut, filed and shaped my nails. Then for the polish. The purple started on my big toes, then it skipped to blue and then back. She let them dry and then added a flower to each big toe. She added a shine coat and we let that dry, and I have beautiful nails now, and a great experience to remember.
After a facial, massage, and pedicure, I truly feel like the luckiest girl in the world. After all, sometimes you just have to Keep Calm And Spa On.
Happy Spa Night!
A long, long time ago
Think it was five minutes
I was sitting on the couch.
And all of a sudden I noticed
My feet were moving
Involuntarily.
And November didn’t make me shiver.
It’s actually quite hot.
And the bugs like to come out.
So you better watch out!
I can’t remember if I cried.
When I counted all of my bug bites.
Something jolted me deep inside.
The day the bugs made my heart die.
So…
Good, good, good, good night.
Don’t let the bedbugs bite.
And them don’t deserve blood whiskey for mite.
Because they hurt when they bite.
Did you hear about the fleas that jump?
And make your heart thump.
Runaway fast as you can.
Do you believe in beatles so big?
I don’t think you did.
By the way there three and a half inches long.
Now I know there are mosquitoes that itch.
And is it ok for me to call their species a beeeep. (It rhymes with itch. Just add a b.
Yes, they really bit.
I just want them to get hit or spliiiiit.
I am an annoyed girl with no pickup truck.
To hide inside of when the bees come out.
And I knew I was out of luck the day
The day the bugs made my heart die.
I started singing.
Bye bye the swarm of flies
And the bites from mosquitoes,
and the fight from the fleas that make you want to cry.
And the bed bugs that annoy you and me.
And the beatles that make you want to scream.
And hang up a screen
And the bed bugs that make you feel not lucky.
Ee.
Credits to Don McLean for his original song American Pie.
This week I trekked 52 km with my dad in the himalayas. We had a great time no backpack-backpacking, enjoying the views, and hanging out with our crazily cute and cool canine companions. We agreed it was super fun, and I would stretch to recommending it. However if you like to get dirty, have you whole body be sore, and take two showers when you get back, but still not smell quite right, then you may enjoy these four days like we did.
One thing that made this trek different from many others is that we did not have to carry our backpacks, or our tents, sleeping bags, or really anything we wanted to go on a horse. We had thirteen horses just to carry our stuff. The number of crew workers who were helping us was six, (including a boy who carried our lunch, snacks and tes and hiked with us.) We also had a number of yacks who were prepared to help us if it started snowing (which it didn’t.) I personally think that I would not have made it if I had to carry all of my stuff. Not having to carry our stuff was a big help to me.
The views were also spectacular. We got to see one of the tallest mountains in the world, and all of the ones surrounding it. In the four days the highest altitude we got to was 13845 feet. Where I live, we are 9 feet above sea level. Since we were so high, we saw amazing views. I saw the second highest peak in Bhutan. Actually, I just saw the bottom of it. The rest was covered in clouds. The sunsets in Bhutan where just as amazing as the mountains. They had mostly red, orange, and yellow in the morning, and those same colors, adding pink and purple in the evening. It was stunning, and on some mornings, I would wake up just to see it. With all of these amazing views, we had lots of places to take amazing, or what my mom calls it, (Instagram worthy) photos. I personally think that the sunset ones on the mountain where the prettiest. Also the ones we took using binoculars where “looking professional.” (For photos click here.) (Link) Overall, I thought that the views where one of the best things about Bhutan.
Another thing I loved about our trek was hanging out with our canine companions. For the first section of the hike, we had a doggy that was white and had black spot. This one we called the “the vaccinated one,” because he was vaccinated. That one brought us safely to our first destination. Then he ran back to his home. On the second hike, he stayed with us and a black and brown one joined us. We called that one the extra friendly doggy, because he was very friendly and loved to play. On the next hike, the white doggy left us but the second one stayed. At the next place we added the name “the polite one” to the black and white one because it would wait patiently outside the tent when we were eating and sleeping, even if the flap was open. On the fourth and final hike, the black and brown doggy was with us, and a black dog joined us. We called him the other polite doggy, because he gave us lots of space. At the end, we had trouble saying goodbye to the dogs because they brought us so much joy.
With not having to carry our back packs, the views, and our doggy dudes accompanying us, we had such a fun time, and would definitely recommend it. This backpacking trip was like surfing on a wave of joy. You might have to do a bit of work to stay on track, but its all worth it in the end.
We were recently at a place where we worked on a Me to We project. We helped build the foundation of a bathroom for a school that had previously had one hole in the ground for the whole school to use. We only used rocks, and cement. We didn’t have any gear except for gloves and trowels. But, we still got pretty far in the span of an hour.
The rocks we used had been found for us. The sat in a huge pile and we brought them over to the hole we were working in. We slathered cement over the rocks, then added them to the top of the foundation. Then we repeated. We would pour cement in the holes that were left in-between the rocks. Even though we were doing the same things for an hour, we didn’t get bored of it. In the end, we had made the foundation taller.
We had a lot of fun building the wall, and helping the kids at the school. If you travel through a place that has Me to We – or any organization – that you can help with, definitely give it a try. Helping these kids have a bathroom was a once in a lifetime experience. Even though this will probably be the only time I will touch cement in my life, it felt so good to help make these kids’ school better.
All the animals of India are well treated, but I thought it was interesting how they treat their sacred ones. The privileged ones are cows, and catfish and do some pretty extreme things for them.
The cows were a big part of India and its culture. Cows roam the streets, not a scare in their mind. Cows graze in fields, not worried of being shooed away. If you kill a cow on purpose, you get sent to jail. If you eat cow, on purpose or not, you are arrested. When cows stand in the road, the people have to swerve around them. It blows the flies off their backs, so they purposefully do it. Cows are treated better than some people in India.
Another animal that the Hindus love and respect is catfish. They have one spot in Kumbugar where you can feed the catfish treats. There are hundreds of them there, waiting to be fed. Because they get food so much, they are huge fat, and aggressive. Waiting to be the next one fed. The also hold their mouths up like basketball hoops, and those ones get the most food. The catfish had a whole temple built just for them, and are obviously the most sacred fish in India.
Do you have a puppy.
That has problems with containing its pee pee.
Well, worry no more,
cause your carpet is safe.
Just get your dog this xx large doggy litter box,
and it will be your pals best friend soon.
Second up to you of course.
Now keep your carpets clean,
and get this for your favorite doggy.
Da da da da!
(Credit to the Taj Mahal and their flower boxes.)
Running down a hill gives you lots of joy.
And who doesn’t like beaches with very little noise?
Even though the water already drained out.
The sand is still there to play in about.
You walk up the sand dunes,
Starting to get hot.
You finally decide to catch up with your lot.
Running now,
Not slowing down,
You come to a high peak,
Where the ocean was once less deep.
You nod to your sister,
And raise your head.
Running down the hill you think isn’t this the best.
Your feet dig into the sand,
And fall on your hands.
The sand sticks to your clothing,
while your rolling.
And you think to your self,
I didn’t think I would find this in Mongolia.
I am a four-year-old.
I love to scribble.
My five-year-old sister, who is in the same classroom.
At my school, we have six grades in one classroom.
The only other room in my school is the kitchen.
My classroom is the size of some kids’ bedrooms.
I don’t have a desk.
Two American girls gave me a drawing book and some colored pencils.
I smile a lot.
Who am I?
I am a kindergartener who met a girl named Anika the other day.
This year, you guys have tried something new and tried to homeschool me and Paloma. There are some great things about being homeschooled like you do less of it. But also a lot of difficult ones, such as we don’t have a schedule to follow, and it is sometimes hard to have a teacher who is your parent and pay all of your attention to school. It also takes time away from activities that we could do otherwise. So this is all of the reasons why it is difficult for me to be homeschooled.
Firs, I know you guys like it when there is a schedule to follow especially you mom. But with this homeschooling, we are turning school into a mess. We don’t know when classes are or what we are doing until the last minute. We also have a schedule to follow, which makes school a lot harder.
I love school, but really, can you pay full attention when your parent is teaching you? I don’t think so. If you don’t have the right environment and people to work with you, then you’re going to get distracted. And it makes it even harder when your sister is in the room saying “Finished. I’m done.”
Also when you’re mad at someone then you don’t do as well working with them, and you don’t work as hard.
Also, I’d like to make a point of taking other activities into mind. We’re traveling the world for a year and if we spend all of the precious time we could be spending skydiving, or go-cart riding, or even shopping, doing academics, then we could be missing out on what could be the highlight of our trip.
You have heard my reasons and I hope you take them into consideration and change homeschool to include these ideas.
Hugs and kisses,
(I’d like to say, I wrote this when I was mad at my parents.)
Can you picture a small girl of eight who never smiles unless she’s happy? Who expresses her feelings, whether it’s polite to or not. Who could have the biggest tantrum in the world, or the biggest smile. Well if you can, then lucky for you. If you can’t, then it’s worth coming to Mongolia just to see a little girl named A Miulder and her falcon.
Playing with her became the highlight of my trip to the Altai mountains. We played balloon animals: one man at our ger camp named Sanjay happened to have a whole lot of balloon animals in his pocket and gave us more than five to play with. He made a dog, a horse, and then let me make a camel as well. He also let my sister make a giraffe, and A Miulder make an animal of her own. We drew on them, chased each other around on them, and then just played with them as well. She smiled so much when playing with them.
She also had her frowny times though. When she first came everyone huddled around her and she didn’t seem so happy then. She just looked like she wanted to get away. Also, when she came to the golden eagle festival she was happy to watch, and would rather do that than sit there being entertainment, asking for money. Also when she had to pose for twenty photos, you could see in all of them she didn’t want to stand still, and would rather be running around.
Another thing I loved about this girl was how much she cared for all of the things and people she loved. Her uncle for example. When she came to our ger camp, (the place that we were staying,) her uncle came with her and whenever she felt uncomfortable, she looked for her uncle for help. And you could tell how much her uncle cared for her too. She also loved her falcon more than anything. When she came to our ger camp, she came with her baby falcon. When she was really smiling (most of the time), she was smiling with her falcon. You could really tell that Falcon was part of her heart.
Playing with balloon animals, and watching how kind the little girl was fun and touching, I would definitely love to go and see many girls like her around the world.
Dinosaurs lived millions of years ago before humans were walking on this planet. There are 700 subspecies of dinosaurs known to people, but there are still more to be discovered. They once walked on the very same land as you. They flew in the same sky that is outside your window. They lived in what is now the US, Brazil, and Canada. They also lived in Mongolia. The vast expanse of desert between Russia and China, Mongolia is nomadic land, and once home to dinosaurs. How do people know? The fossils are still there.
Out in the Gobi Desert, if you study the mountains, you will find millions of years of history right in front of you. These dinosaur bones and shells lived through the Holocaust, the Great Depression, droughts, floods, and so much more. They were once alive millions of years ago. Before there were humans. Before there were cats. Before there were mice. These bones, these shells, are some of the few ones that you can find while out on a hike today. If you look anywhere and everywhere in all of the USA, you will probably still not find one. But in Mongolia, thousands, millions, maybe billions can be found. Not only that but if you are a paleontologist, Mongolia is the place to look for fossils, as many species have been found there. Unfortunately, no one can take any shells home, but a picture of you and a dinosaur bone would be enough to impress anyone! So fly to Mongolia and dig up some bones from the dirt that was once home to many living creatures called Dinosaurs.
I just got blue tac the other day and then all of a sudden it was gone. I made this parody to You are my sunshine, to tell it to come back and be my putty again.
You are my blue tac,
My only blue tac.
You make me happy,
When I’m fidgety.
But unfortunately,
I left you on the,
Airport table,
Ooh ee.
You are my Blue tac,
My only blue tac.
You make me happy,
When I’m grumpy.
You’ll never know dear how much,
How much, I love you.
So please return my blue tac to me.
I was so tired,
That I forgot.
Your in the trash now,
With a stinky old lot.
But I will miss you,
Very dearly.
And now my heads down,
And I cry.
You are my stretchy,
Sticky thing.
And your so soft,
Ooh ee.
But now your sinking,
In the trash.
So just please,
Come back to me.
You are my Blue tac,
My only blue tac.
You make me happy,
When I’m fidgety.
You’ll never know dear,
How much I love you.
So bring my Blue tac back to me.
Our home today has three pet puppies, which are all very cute,
Lots of chickens,
And two pigs.
All of these animals, except for some of the chickens, give me great joy. However, the one that gives me the most joy and makes me laugh a lot is Tilly. She has the soul of a puppy mixed with a small child, even though she is a pig.
See, so cute. And if you bribe her with some treats she’ll do lots of things, from simply running towards you to spinning round and round.
The thing I love about this pig is her obedience. I’m really not the kind of person who likes everyone and everything up and in order. But this pig knows what and where the boundary lines are. If I have a treat for him, and then step over the suspended line that keeps the pigs out of the house, Tilly will wait for me. And if I am going to get him a treat, he will stay on the grass, with his cute snout eagerly sticking up in the air.
Tilly makes my time at this house better.
1. Get the proper equipment on.
(Such as a harness, a jumpsuit, and a nice and not hard helmet.)
2. Get paired up with someone who actually knows what they’re doing.
(An instructor.)
3. Board the tiniest plane you’ve ever seen.
(That works.)
4. Get 12,000 feet away from where you feel safe.
5. Watch your sister do what you’re dreading.
6. And then jump out of a plane.
And then finally, you’re experiencing what you’ve been waiting for. Your forty-five seconds of free fall.
“Hello and welcome to another round of Dream or Reality. Today we have Anika here, about to go on a plane with her sister and dad, to go three times as high as the mountains, and do her first ever skydiving free fall. Here is Anika before her once in a lifetime experience.”
Well, That’s Anika For You. Bye for today. Come back soon.
There are two pet lambs living in the backyard of the house. The girl is named Ada and the boy is called Bruce. There are many pleasures of caring for these three-week-old lambs. One of my favorites is feeding them. They are so cute when drinking out of their bottles, and we get to see their little tails wagging. Another one of my favorite things to do is watch the sheep play. They chase each other around and prance all over the place. But the best thing (in my opinion) is to snuggle them. They are very hesitant at first and you have to grab them. Once they are in your lap or arms, they are less squirmy. And once your body relaxes, the lamb relaxes too. Then they just stay with you until it starts raining or you want them to get off.
The farm has lots of pastures which hold newborn to 5-year-old sheep. Though the only ones I made contact with were the one-year-olds. Paloma and I had to hop on the back of two motorbikes and ride out to the middle of the farm. We herded over 100 sheep in the span of an hour. What was really hard about that part is that I had to hop off the motorbike a lot of times and walk up and down the hill. would have been fine but my legs were already super sore, which made it harder. But after successfully rounding up almost all of the sheep, we went back and relaxed in the house.
The people are very kind at school. The girls and boys are separated a lot more than at home, and they have a more competitive side. When you have the option of where to sit, the girls sit on one side of the classroom and the boys sit on the other. They all play together at break 1 & 2, (recess), lunch, and fitness (PE). There were about 18 girls and 18 boys, give or take, in S Block. All of whom were very kind and made my school day very enjoyable.
Fitness was probably one of my favorite times at school. During fitness, we ran some laps around the field, (I got back first) A game sort of like softball was chosen next. There was a home base and two chairs set up. There were people in the chairs and across the field. If you were not in the outfield, you would be in line. If you were at the start of the line, you would have one of the paddles and you would be tossed the ball. You would hit it and bring your paddle with you to first base. The rest is played like normal softball, except in the end if the person at the front of the line and they get a ball thrown at them then they are out. It is your job to get the paddle to your teammate.
Overall, the aspects of school were very enjoyable and they made me want to go back.
The inside of the house we were staying in had three bedrooms, a living room, a dining room, a kitchen, and a sitting room. I slept in one of the bedrooms with Paloma and my mom and dad slept in the other room. Each room has two twin beds in it. The only room that did not have two twins in it was Margie’s and Jim’s room, which had one queen bed. The sitting room had two couches and two couch chairs. It also had a piano, a fire, and a great view. The living room had two more couches, a card table, and a TV. The kitchen had all of the normal kitchen supplies, and the dining room had one huge table with chairs placed around it.
Overall the house was pretty big, and pretty stuffed with furniture.
I really enjoyed my time at the farm, and would definitely come back, any day of the week. The school, people, house, and sheep, all definitely got two thumbs up from me and made my experience in New Zealand a whole lot better.
Maybe I’ve forgotten to get on the plane to Hawaii
Could it be that I’ve forgotten my kindle in Oregon.
Perhaps I’ve forgotten my pencil sharpener at home.
And forgot my log pillow in a taxi car.
Is it that I forgot to make a seven year old a t-shirt, when I made her infant brother two onesies.
Possibly it’s my hat that I left in a restaurant.
Well, whatever it is, one thing is for sure. I’ll forget a whole lot more.
(By the way, I got everything back.)
Climbing down the thin, mossy steps wasn’t scary, just difficult. Almost slipping every other step, it didn’t take us the amount of time it usually does to climb stairs. It took a lot longer.
I cling on to anything I can. Then at a pace that was slow, but still faster than most people, I crawled over. I did this about five or six times.
“Come on. Just jump in,” Paloma exclaimes.
“It only goes up to your knees, and it’s below freezing.”
But I stick to balancing on the log any way. I quicken up my pace, as to keep up with Paloma’s swim-walk. After a few minutes, I give up.
“Okay, you win,” I say to Paloma. And I jump in.
“What do you mean this is below freezing,” I finally say a my senses return to me.
“You’ll get used to it.” Paloma answers. Then she runs ahead. And I run after her.
Finally my Dad, my Dad’s friend and one of his kids, Paloma and I get to what we are here for. The waterfall.
It was beautiful. Water rushing from the top and bouncing when it hit the water really reminded me how amazing nature can be.
Then I came to reality and jumped. The water was freezing and I was belly button deep in it. So was Paloma. We tried to smile for a couple of pictures, but they didn’t turn out too well. And then Paloma jumped in.
I couldn’t say any thing. It was too cold. I didn’t have to. My face told it all.
Overall it was cold, but great. I had so much fun and strongly recommend it to anyone who happens to be in Oregon.
It’s bright. Brighter than I’ve ever seen the sun before. So bright that you can’t look at the sun without protective glasses.
And then all of a sudden a bite is taken out of the sun. It’s a small bite, as if a young child is taking a bite out of the sun. Although it can’t have been made by teeth because soon the bite is making the sun look more and more like a crescent moon. Our glasses make it so all we can see is the sun and black surrounding it. Gazing up is the world around me, all looking at the same thing. The moon eating the sun.
It is now just sliver of the sun left to see. And then everything goes dark. We are now in total totality. The birds are all quiet. You can see a star in the sky, it’s that dark. We all take off our glasses and stare at the beauty of space and the universe around us. There is no sun visible. No moon. Just a blue sky and Venus.
After jumping up and down about a thousand times, the sun starts to creep back to its place and we one by one go inside, having seen a full solar eclipse.
Through out this trip I’ve had many treats. But only some of them made the top chart.(If any of them are tied, they will have the same number.)
From Friday to Tuesday I went to a Stanford soccer camp. There were a range of kids from nine to fifteen. The team names were based on countries, and I was in Mexico. We lost the first game, tied the second, and we won the last two. After the four games, Mexico got there’s place in the tournament, (there were a lot of teams. Like ten or something.) On Monday, we did a skit night with all of the teams including the older girls teams. Over all I had a great soccer camp.
There’s one awesome toy store in Piccadilly, which is where in staying, called Hamley’s. Hamley’s is a six story building. Every floor is different, and there is something there for every one. They also let you play with the toys as you go. The people who work there are really funny and demonstrate and then let you try. The three toys I wanted to get most there were a hover soccer ball, a bubble gun, and a plastic blow up bubble kit. In the end I got the blow up bubbles. (See below.)
Overall I want to go back every day and wish that we had one of these stores at home.
Today I had the time of my life at the Warner Brothers Studio tour. I got to see allot of the actual sets they used for the films and a bunch of the masks mask up and more. It was so amazing. Here are some pictures that are my favourites.
Pro: You could have a very good time running up and down the hills with your sister.
Con: Then you might get a cramp in your side and a pain in your left knee.
Pro: You get to spend time with your family.
Con: However you have to do that while swatting away bugs and wasps.
Pro: When you sprint down and up three hills you’re parents are very proud of you and may even suggest that you try out for cross-country.
Con: That statement doesn’t make you feel as good as it seems when you don’t want to do cross-country and just ran because you were being bombarded by bugs. (Have I mentioned that the bugs there particularly like me.)
Pro: You feel very good if you get a mile ahead of your parents.
Con: But then you don’t get so hyped if they catch up.
Pro: You may discover a secret shortcut.
Con: You may also find that it’s covered in pricks and that your sister doesn’t want to go, so you are forced not to discover the unknown.
Pro: You get to see many animals such as deer and wild turkeys.
Con: Have I mentioned that Mama turkeys don’t like people to mess with their babies.
Pro: You can share this experience with your friends.
Con: Well there really is no con for that.
Today I trecked through an endless dessert full of taking about one thousand pictures out of books just so we wouldn’t have to carry the copies of the paperback ones. The rest of the day i just relaxed and played on my phone.
After trying on almost too many backpacks I came up with a writing piece of how I spent most of my day.
“Come on Anika, the store opens in thirty minutes,” I hear my mom call.
“Okay, I’m coming,” I assure her. After sitting down on the scorching hot seat, I think otherwise. But my mom was already backing out of the drive way, so I had no choice.
Ten minutes later, we’re pulling up in front of REI. Without hesitation, I slip out of the car, and sprint to the front doors. In one motion, I pull open the front doors – or I imagine to at least. In reality, I just keep pulling, and pulling until I finally surrender and ask my mom, “What time is it?”
“10:45,” she replies. I groan, and wait in the 104 degree heat for fifteen more minutes. At 11:00 I push open the double doors I am overcome by relief. Cool air conditioning blows into my face, and I stroll right up to the air vent and stick my face in front of it.
A minute or two pass, and a kind man brings my mom and I to the back packs.
After trying on, looking through, and weighing down what seemed like a hundred back packs I finally decided on a big teal one. I ran it up and down the stairs, fit it to my back, and finally put it down. My back aching like crazy, I non regretfully put the backpack back in the cart. With an assortment of toiletry kits, money pouches, and other trinkets laying alongside my back pack, I leave the store, not planing to come back any time soon.
Welcome to Anika Around The World!
