Category: Anika’s animals

My Royal Children

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Dramatis Personae

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!

Thirty Years Later

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.

Give A Giraffe A Kiss

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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!

Who Am I

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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.

Who Am I

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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.

Warthog vs. Anika

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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.

Fine

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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.

The Fishing Doggy

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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!

The Martian

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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.

How To Make Goat Cheese

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Ingredients
1 liter of goat milk
1 spoonful of yogurt
50 ml of 5% vinegar
1 teaspoon of salt

  1.  Take 1 liter of 85-90 degree goat milk and put it into a bowl.

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.

  1. Add a spoonful of yogurt to the milk. Mix.

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.

  1. Add 50 ml of 5% vinegar to the mix. Let it sink.

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.

  1. Mix very gently pulling in to the middle until it is all one clump.

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.

  1. Drain out as much of the liquid left over as possible.

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.

  1. Add a teaspoon (or according to taste) of salt and very gently mix in again. Pour out the rest of the water.

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.

  1.  Add a teaspoon (or according to taste) of salt and very gently mix in again.

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.

  1. Pour out the rest of the water.

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.

  1. Put in a grid container, and keeping it in the container, place it in a Tupperware. (The Tupperware catches the excess liquid.)

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.

  1. Let it sit for one hour.

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.

  1.  Take the cheese out from its container, and lay it on a plate.

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.

  1. You are ready to eat.

The Animals Of Australia

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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.

I am a Puppy

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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.

The Water Buffalo

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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.

The Great Barrier Reef Poem

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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.

Zoe The Doggy

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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.”

Cat Poop Coffee

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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.

 

More Than We Were Ever Hoping For

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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.

American Pie: Bug Version

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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.

The Sacred Animals Of India

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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.

A Miulder

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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.

Mongolian Dinosaurs

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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.

 

Tilly And I

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Our home today has three pet puppies, which are all very cute,

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Lots of chickens,

And two pigs.

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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.

 

Living On A Sheep Farm

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The Sheep

The Pet Lambs                                         

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 Pastures

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.

School

The People

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

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 House

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.