Making crafts is so much fun,
The best part is to get it done.
Get your materials, get ready to go,
Put your focus into it and do what you know.
Try your best and do what you need,
Before you know you will be the best indeed!
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Fabulous India Trip - August 2011 - Part 6
Day 24 - The End of Trip
On Tuesday, all of us woke up early to get ready to see Sunidhi's school. Kaustubh's dad, Raju mama dropped Sunidhi and Kaustubh at their school. After we said bye to them, he brought us back. We then got ready to go to the planetarium and science museum. Kaustubh's grandma (Bhanu ammamma), ammamma, Pranav and I went in an auto to the museum. In the museum, there were cool games on science. There was one game where you press a button and put a ball in the tube. The ball starts flying because of the air that comes out of the tube. There is also this other game where you climb up the ladder and drop a ball off a ramp and the ball goes down in several loops without falling. There is also a set of 3 mirrors and you have to put your nose on the edge of one specific mirror and move your arms up and down like a bird and on the other mirrors it looks like you are flying. There are more such cool things to see and learn. We drank maaza and ate samosas. We then got tickets for the planetarium. In there, we saw a show on the moon, the earth, planets and stars. There was a lot of details and explanation about them. Then we went to the Birla Mandir too. It is a nice temple. We went to the top where we could see the whole city of Hyderabad. Then we came home and waited for Sunidhi to come home. We played in Kaustubh's house and after dinner we went to Sunidhi's house. We did something called "sand art" where there were a few stickers on a picture of an owl and we had to pour colored sand on the sticky part where we took the stickers off. Once it was complete, it looked very colorful. Then we slept.
On Wednesday, we played in Kaustubh's house until Sunidhi came home. In the evening, after Sunidhi came, we went to my mom's school playground. We all played there for some time. There was a gigantic slide which I loved. We ate dinner at Kaustubh's house and went to Sunidhi's house for a sleepover.
On Thursday, after lunch, daddy came and we took a train to Akash's house. Akash gave us candies. We took an auto to Pavan mama's parents' house. We thought of going to an exhibition but then it started raining. Daddy ordered pizza with panneer on it. We ate and slept over there.
On Friday, we went to Saranya's house. We went out to a restaurant called Hyderabad house and ate some good food. There were this flat skinny chapathis which were very good. When Saranya and Aishwarya akka came, we watched my dance program video. Then we ate spring rolls and soup for dinner. It was very yummy. We slept over there and the next day we went on a bus back to Kaustubh's house.
On Saturday, we were planning to go to Eat street. But daddy took us to another thathagaru's house. We ate pooris. We came back to Kaustubh's house.
On Sunday, we got a call from daddy saying that there was a big hurricane in Boston. So, we postponed our trip which was supposed to be on Monday to Wednesday. That day thathagaru came from PPalli. Sunidhi came over and we took 2 autos to go to Eat street. We rode in a train that goes round and round. We went on a carousal and some roller coasters. We saw bull fighting. After that, we got on a boat to go to Buddha statue. While we were on that island, thathagaru was getting popcorn for us and it started raining heavily. We rushed back to the boat which would take us to Eat street. We ate Raj kachori, pani puri, french fries, pizza, cotton candy and icecream with chocolate syrup. Our tummies were full. Sasmith mama came to pick us up in his car. There was not enough space, so Sunidhi sat in the trunk of the car. That was fun. We slept at Sunidhi's house.
On Monday, Sunidhi took a day off from school to go to the IMax theatre. We all went with ammamma and thathagaru. We played video games and then we went to NTR gardens. We walked along the trails and played in the park.
We came back home after that.
On Tuesday, we left for Abhilash's house in an auto. We were very sad to leave Kaustubh, Sunidhi, Sumedha and other cousins. We got there and ate dinner and slept.
On Wednesday, we left to the airport to take our flight back to Boston. When we got there, we came to know that we did not have confirmed seats. So, we had to reschedule our flight to the next day. We went back to Abhilash house. Daddy's grandma got sick and had to go to the hospital.
Thursday was Ganesh Chathurthi. Abhilash's daddy, Pranav and I went to the shop to buy colored Vinayaka statue, fruits, veggies and leaves for decoration. We came back and did the pooja. Later in the afternoon, we packed our suitcases to leave and went to the airport. That was our last day in India. We took the flight to Boston and reached home on Friday.
We miss all our cousins there. We had lots of fun during this trip to India. We would like to go back and play with our cousins again.
On Tuesday, all of us woke up early to get ready to see Sunidhi's school. Kaustubh's dad, Raju mama dropped Sunidhi and Kaustubh at their school. After we said bye to them, he brought us back. We then got ready to go to the planetarium and science museum. Kaustubh's grandma (Bhanu ammamma), ammamma, Pranav and I went in an auto to the museum. In the museum, there were cool games on science. There was one game where you press a button and put a ball in the tube. The ball starts flying because of the air that comes out of the tube. There is also this other game where you climb up the ladder and drop a ball off a ramp and the ball goes down in several loops without falling. There is also a set of 3 mirrors and you have to put your nose on the edge of one specific mirror and move your arms up and down like a bird and on the other mirrors it looks like you are flying. There are more such cool things to see and learn. We drank maaza and ate samosas. We then got tickets for the planetarium. In there, we saw a show on the moon, the earth, planets and stars. There was a lot of details and explanation about them. Then we went to the Birla Mandir too. It is a nice temple. We went to the top where we could see the whole city of Hyderabad. Then we came home and waited for Sunidhi to come home. We played in Kaustubh's house and after dinner we went to Sunidhi's house. We did something called "sand art" where there were a few stickers on a picture of an owl and we had to pour colored sand on the sticky part where we took the stickers off. Once it was complete, it looked very colorful. Then we slept.
On Wednesday, we played in Kaustubh's house until Sunidhi came home. In the evening, after Sunidhi came, we went to my mom's school playground. We all played there for some time. There was a gigantic slide which I loved. We ate dinner at Kaustubh's house and went to Sunidhi's house for a sleepover.
On Thursday, after lunch, daddy came and we took a train to Akash's house. Akash gave us candies. We took an auto to Pavan mama's parents' house. We thought of going to an exhibition but then it started raining. Daddy ordered pizza with panneer on it. We ate and slept over there.
On Friday, we went to Saranya's house. We went out to a restaurant called Hyderabad house and ate some good food. There were this flat skinny chapathis which were very good. When Saranya and Aishwarya akka came, we watched my dance program video. Then we ate spring rolls and soup for dinner. It was very yummy. We slept over there and the next day we went on a bus back to Kaustubh's house.
On Saturday, we were planning to go to Eat street. But daddy took us to another thathagaru's house. We ate pooris. We came back to Kaustubh's house.
On Sunday, we got a call from daddy saying that there was a big hurricane in Boston. So, we postponed our trip which was supposed to be on Monday to Wednesday. That day thathagaru came from PPalli. Sunidhi came over and we took 2 autos to go to Eat street. We rode in a train that goes round and round. We went on a carousal and some roller coasters. We saw bull fighting. After that, we got on a boat to go to Buddha statue. While we were on that island, thathagaru was getting popcorn for us and it started raining heavily. We rushed back to the boat which would take us to Eat street. We ate Raj kachori, pani puri, french fries, pizza, cotton candy and icecream with chocolate syrup. Our tummies were full. Sasmith mama came to pick us up in his car. There was not enough space, so Sunidhi sat in the trunk of the car. That was fun. We slept at Sunidhi's house.
On Monday, Sunidhi took a day off from school to go to the IMax theatre. We all went with ammamma and thathagaru. We played video games and then we went to NTR gardens. We walked along the trails and played in the park.
We came back home after that.
On Tuesday, we left for Abhilash's house in an auto. We were very sad to leave Kaustubh, Sunidhi, Sumedha and other cousins. We got there and ate dinner and slept.
On Wednesday, we left to the airport to take our flight back to Boston. When we got there, we came to know that we did not have confirmed seats. So, we had to reschedule our flight to the next day. We went back to Abhilash house. Daddy's grandma got sick and had to go to the hospital.
Thursday was Ganesh Chathurthi. Abhilash's daddy, Pranav and I went to the shop to buy colored Vinayaka statue, fruits, veggies and leaves for decoration. We came back and did the pooja. Later in the afternoon, we packed our suitcases to leave and went to the airport. That was our last day in India. We took the flight to Boston and reached home on Friday.
We miss all our cousins there. We had lots of fun during this trip to India. We would like to go back and play with our cousins again.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Fabulous India Trip - August 2011 - Part 5
Day 15 - Day 23
Sunday and Monday were lazy days. Monday, Aug 15th, was India Independence Day. On this day in 1947, India got freedom from the British. Since all the shops are closed, we just stayed home and played. It was so hot those days, so we stayed in the A/C rooms. On Tuesday, we went to a few shops and bought dresses for mom. We came back and ate dinner. On Wednesday, we just stayed home. On Thursday, Bharathi ammamma came to PPalli and we went to do some saree shopping. In the evening, a rikshaw came and took us for a ride. A rikshaw is like a tricycle which pulls people sitting on a wooden platform in the back. It felt bumpy. We had noodles for dinner and we were so tired, we went right to sleep. On Friday, we went to a picture printing shop. We also went to a shop where they sell steel vessels. We took a rikshaw to go to the shop to pick up the stitched dresses. We took an auto to go to an aunty's place. Thathagaru picked us up in his car and we went back to the shop to pick up some remaining dresses. While we were there it started raining. Then we went back home. The next day Pranav and I took pictures with ammamma and thathagaru all around the house. Bamma came from Ongole to go with us to Hyderabad. A car came to drive us to Hyderabad. The road was very bumpy and in one place, our luggage from the top of the car hit a sign near the railway tracks and the whole thing, including the rods attached to the car, fell down. It took one hour to fix it. We started again. I ate mangoes and pomegranate in the car. We passed and saw the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam. It was cool to see the dam. Right after we passed that, we went to a fancy restaurant. I ate Chinese pulao and Manchurian. It got dark by the time we reached Hyderabad. We slept in Abhilash's house. On Sunday morning, we started to go to Kaustubh's house for lunch. Halfway thru, we noticed that we forgot our passports. So, we went back to get them. And we finally reached Kaustubh's house. We did a puzzle and took a few pictures. We ate lunch and my mom had to take her flight back to Boston. Thathagaru and daddy dropped her off at the airport. While coming back, daddy got us burgers and while eating we watched the dance performance video.
We walked over to Sunidhi's house. We played duck, duck, goose. We slept over at Sunidhi's house. We woke up the next morning and by the time we woke up, ammamma went to Kaustubh's house to get all our clothes and stuff. We took bath. It was Krishna Ashtami that day. Sunidhi and Kaustubh did not have school. Sumedha's baby sitter made noodles for all of us. We ate and played a bit. We ate lunch and waited for Sumedha to sleep so we could go to Kaustubh's house. At one point, we thought she was sleeping and tried to get out. When we got out the door, we started dancing. But Sumedha saw us and came out to dance too. So that did not work. We tried another plan by putting the shoes at the back door and sneaking out from there. We walked back to Kautubh's house. I ate pomegranate. Pranav ate a banana. We played and slept there. Sunidhi went back to her house.
Sunday and Monday were lazy days. Monday, Aug 15th, was India Independence Day. On this day in 1947, India got freedom from the British. Since all the shops are closed, we just stayed home and played. It was so hot those days, so we stayed in the A/C rooms. On Tuesday, we went to a few shops and bought dresses for mom. We came back and ate dinner. On Wednesday, we just stayed home. On Thursday, Bharathi ammamma came to PPalli and we went to do some saree shopping. In the evening, a rikshaw came and took us for a ride. A rikshaw is like a tricycle which pulls people sitting on a wooden platform in the back. It felt bumpy. We had noodles for dinner and we were so tired, we went right to sleep. On Friday, we went to a picture printing shop. We also went to a shop where they sell steel vessels. We took a rikshaw to go to the shop to pick up the stitched dresses. We took an auto to go to an aunty's place. Thathagaru picked us up in his car and we went back to the shop to pick up some remaining dresses. While we were there it started raining. Then we went back home. The next day Pranav and I took pictures with ammamma and thathagaru all around the house. Bamma came from Ongole to go with us to Hyderabad. A car came to drive us to Hyderabad. The road was very bumpy and in one place, our luggage from the top of the car hit a sign near the railway tracks and the whole thing, including the rods attached to the car, fell down. It took one hour to fix it. We started again. I ate mangoes and pomegranate in the car. We passed and saw the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam. It was cool to see the dam. Right after we passed that, we went to a fancy restaurant. I ate Chinese pulao and Manchurian. It got dark by the time we reached Hyderabad. We slept in Abhilash's house. On Sunday morning, we started to go to Kaustubh's house for lunch. Halfway thru, we noticed that we forgot our passports. So, we went back to get them. And we finally reached Kaustubh's house. We did a puzzle and took a few pictures. We ate lunch and my mom had to take her flight back to Boston. Thathagaru and daddy dropped her off at the airport. While coming back, daddy got us burgers and while eating we watched the dance performance video.
We walked over to Sunidhi's house. We played duck, duck, goose. We slept over at Sunidhi's house. We woke up the next morning and by the time we woke up, ammamma went to Kaustubh's house to get all our clothes and stuff. We took bath. It was Krishna Ashtami that day. Sunidhi and Kaustubh did not have school. Sumedha's baby sitter made noodles for all of us. We ate and played a bit. We ate lunch and waited for Sumedha to sleep so we could go to Kaustubh's house. At one point, we thought she was sleeping and tried to get out. When we got out the door, we started dancing. But Sumedha saw us and came out to dance too. So that did not work. We tried another plan by putting the shoes at the back door and sneaking out from there. We walked back to Kautubh's house. I ate pomegranate. Pranav ate a banana. We played and slept there. Sunidhi went back to her house.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Fabulous India Trip - August 2011 - Part 4
Day 10 - Day 14
We woke up early in the morning and took a taxi to Tirumala. It was on a big hill. It is made up of 7 hills. The ride to the top was very quick. It looked like everything on the ground was getting smaller as we were going up. After we rested for a while, we went shopping. We stayed there overnight. The next morning we went to the temple. We saw Venkateshwara Swamy there. Then we went down the hill and went to a place called Kanipakam where there is Ganapathi. Then we went to another place called Sripuram where there is a Golden temple. It was covered in gold. It was beautiful. We then went back home. It was late in the night.
On Friday, it was Lakshmi Puja. It was very hot and there was no power. We were all sweating head to toe. We finished the puja, ate lunch and then went to Ongole. We went to my dad's house and Saketh's grandparent's house. That evening we went shopping. The next day I did a dance which was unexpected. We met another cousin, Pranav there. He is 8 years old. We named one as Pranav B and the other one as Pranav A. We went to a restaurant called "Ramya" for lunch. Pranav A and Pranav B played a lot and got along together. They became best friends. Pranav A showed Pranav B a car game on dad's phone. We went to another grandma's house and spent some time. She is Bharathi ammamma. We ate kaarappoosa. Daddy and bamma came over. And then we went to another grandma's house. That night we went back to ammamma's house.
We woke up early in the morning and took a taxi to Tirumala. It was on a big hill. It is made up of 7 hills. The ride to the top was very quick. It looked like everything on the ground was getting smaller as we were going up. After we rested for a while, we went shopping. We stayed there overnight. The next morning we went to the temple. We saw Venkateshwara Swamy there. Then we went down the hill and went to a place called Kanipakam where there is Ganapathi. Then we went to another place called Sripuram where there is a Golden temple. It was covered in gold. It was beautiful. We then went back home. It was late in the night.
On Friday, it was Lakshmi Puja. It was very hot and there was no power. We were all sweating head to toe. We finished the puja, ate lunch and then went to Ongole. We went to my dad's house and Saketh's grandparent's house. That evening we went shopping. The next day I did a dance which was unexpected. We met another cousin, Pranav there. He is 8 years old. We named one as Pranav B and the other one as Pranav A. We went to a restaurant called "Ramya" for lunch. Pranav A and Pranav B played a lot and got along together. They became best friends. Pranav A showed Pranav B a car game on dad's phone. We went to another grandma's house and spent some time. She is Bharathi ammamma. We ate kaarappoosa. Daddy and bamma came over. And then we went to another grandma's house. That night we went back to ammamma's house.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Fabulous India Trip - August 2011 - Part 3
Day 7 - Saturday
On Sunday evening we were going to have a get-together with all our cousins and some of my grandparents' friends. In preparation, we went to see the function hall. It was in a beach resort in Chirala on the coast of Bay of Bengal. It was very nice. It had a great dinner hall and it had a big spacious A/C auditorium. It was very hot that day. There was a humungous swimming pool in front of the hall. It was right on the beach and the view was awesome from the hall. There were tall trees all around. There were some cottages so people can stay there overnight. After checking the hall, we went back home.
Day 8 - Sunday
Today was going to be a big day as all our cousins are coming to my ammamma's place. They started arriving at around 8AM. As soon as Sunidhi, Sumedha and Kausthubh came, we all took bath and got ready to eat breakfast and play. We had 3 options for breakfast - idli, dosa and poori. I ate Poori because I liked the yellow curry with it. There were 3 little baby cats in the backyard. We all went to see them. Then we rode on the bicycle, which was my mom's, when she was little. We all took turns. Lots of grandmas and grandpas started arriving. Then my other cousins Ananya, who is 6 years old and Amay, who is 10 came. We all played games that I got from USA. We had lots of fun. We all ate lunch together as a group. Then it was time to get ready for the party. Ananya's mom and Sunidhi's mom painted our nails with nice pretty colors - purple, pink and silver. Amay put lipstick on his cheek and forehead, just for fun. We wore nice party dresses like Chudidhars, pavadas and evening gown. The boys wore sharvanis. We went in a lot of different cars to the function hall. I went with Sumedha, Ananya and their moms and Pranav came with us. During the car ride, we talked about our schools.
We all reached there on time. Some of our relatives helped set up the stage by putting up the flowers and a poster that had my pictures with dance poses. Ammamma designed this. It looked fantastic. I did some dances, sang songs and played on the recorder. Sunidhi and Sumedha sang some songs too. Kausthubh said slokas and Ananya did a dance. A couple of friends did some dances too. It was like a talent show. Thathagaru gave prizes to all of us. I got a cool barbie doll and a trophy too. Then we had dinner. I ate bondas for snack, fried rice, roti and curry and some sweet for dinner. There was icecream too, but I could not eat as I was full. We went up to the cottages to change into our pajamas. We were all so tired. We went right to sleep.
Day 9 - Monday
We woke up early to go to the beach. We changed into our swimming suits and put sunscreen on. We then walked over to the beach. We first went into the water and splashed around for a while. Then we played a hopping game. We then washed ourselves in the shower outside and went into the swimming pool. We swam and had a couple of races. Daddy helped Pranav swim. We then got out and dried ourselves. We then took bath. We all ate roti for breakfast. Sumedha ate a banana. Thathagaru came to pick us up and took us all back home. We all played tag and other games. We ate lunch and continued playing. Ananya and Amay left in the evening. Sunidhi and Sumedha left in the night. We watched TV for a while and slept.
I can never forget these 2 days. They were memorable. We had so much fun as a group. I wish I could have played with them longer. I bet they had fun with me too.
On Sunday evening we were going to have a get-together with all our cousins and some of my grandparents' friends. In preparation, we went to see the function hall. It was in a beach resort in Chirala on the coast of Bay of Bengal. It was very nice. It had a great dinner hall and it had a big spacious A/C auditorium. It was very hot that day. There was a humungous swimming pool in front of the hall. It was right on the beach and the view was awesome from the hall. There were tall trees all around. There were some cottages so people can stay there overnight. After checking the hall, we went back home.
Day 8 - Sunday
Today was going to be a big day as all our cousins are coming to my ammamma's place. They started arriving at around 8AM. As soon as Sunidhi, Sumedha and Kausthubh came, we all took bath and got ready to eat breakfast and play. We had 3 options for breakfast - idli, dosa and poori. I ate Poori because I liked the yellow curry with it. There were 3 little baby cats in the backyard. We all went to see them. Then we rode on the bicycle, which was my mom's, when she was little. We all took turns. Lots of grandmas and grandpas started arriving. Then my other cousins Ananya, who is 6 years old and Amay, who is 10 came. We all played games that I got from USA. We had lots of fun. We all ate lunch together as a group. Then it was time to get ready for the party. Ananya's mom and Sunidhi's mom painted our nails with nice pretty colors - purple, pink and silver. Amay put lipstick on his cheek and forehead, just for fun. We wore nice party dresses like Chudidhars, pavadas and evening gown. The boys wore sharvanis. We went in a lot of different cars to the function hall. I went with Sumedha, Ananya and their moms and Pranav came with us. During the car ride, we talked about our schools.
We all reached there on time. Some of our relatives helped set up the stage by putting up the flowers and a poster that had my pictures with dance poses. Ammamma designed this. It looked fantastic. I did some dances, sang songs and played on the recorder. Sunidhi and Sumedha sang some songs too. Kausthubh said slokas and Ananya did a dance. A couple of friends did some dances too. It was like a talent show. Thathagaru gave prizes to all of us. I got a cool barbie doll and a trophy too. Then we had dinner. I ate bondas for snack, fried rice, roti and curry and some sweet for dinner. There was icecream too, but I could not eat as I was full. We went up to the cottages to change into our pajamas. We were all so tired. We went right to sleep.
Day 9 - Monday
We woke up early to go to the beach. We changed into our swimming suits and put sunscreen on. We then walked over to the beach. We first went into the water and splashed around for a while. Then we played a hopping game. We then washed ourselves in the shower outside and went into the swimming pool. We swam and had a couple of races. Daddy helped Pranav swim. We then got out and dried ourselves. We then took bath. We all ate roti for breakfast. Sumedha ate a banana. Thathagaru came to pick us up and took us all back home. We all played tag and other games. We ate lunch and continued playing. Ananya and Amay left in the evening. Sunidhi and Sumedha left in the night. We watched TV for a while and slept.
I can never forget these 2 days. They were memorable. We had so much fun as a group. I wish I could have played with them longer. I bet they had fun with me too.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Fabulous India Trip - August 2011 - Part 2
Day 3 - Tuesday
Today we did more shopping. We also bought dance jewelry. We picked out more dresses and went to our cousins Sunidhi and Sumedha's place in a taxi. We played a lot of games. I tried to teach Connect Four to Sunidhi. We played a game where we all sat in a circle and one person ran around and dropped a cloth behind somebody. When the person said "look", we all looked behind and whoever had the cloth now tried to tag the person who put it. It was a nice game. We had dinner at their house. Madhura attha, who is Sunidhi's mom, made Pav Bhaji. It was delicious. Sasmith mama, who is Sunidhi's dad, gave us all a ride on his scooter. Sunidhi and I sat in the back, while Pranav and Sumedha stood in the front. It was fantastic. We took pictures while eating and playing. Then we went home in a taxi.
Day 4 - Wednesday
Today, we just took rest. From all the previous days, we did so much shopping that we were so tired. So, we stayed at Abhilash's house and played games. Later in the evening, we all went to Chennai shopping mall. It was gigantic. There were so many varieties of clothes. After Abhilash came home from school, I showed him my "Illusions" book. He liked it.
Day 5 - Thursday
Today, we went to 2 other places. First, we went to my dad's cousin sister's place. There was a 5 year old boy there with who we played outside. Then, we went to Aishwarya and Saranya akka's house. We ate yummy chinese food for dinner. Pranav fell asleep and did not eat much. It was a long drive back to Abhilash's house.
Day 6 - Friday
Today morning, we started our next leg of the journey. It was to my mom's place where ammamma and thathagaru live. First, it was a 6 hour journey to a place called Vijayawada where we went to see our apartment. It was on the 9th floor and the view from there was awesome with lot of fields around. Ammamma, thathagaru and Lalitha ammamma came to meet us there. They brought some snacks for us. We ate those snacks and then started another 2 hour journey to ammamma's place. On the way, we ate dinner at a restaurant and finally reached home. It was night time, so we all slept immediately.
Today we did more shopping. We also bought dance jewelry. We picked out more dresses and went to our cousins Sunidhi and Sumedha's place in a taxi. We played a lot of games. I tried to teach Connect Four to Sunidhi. We played a game where we all sat in a circle and one person ran around and dropped a cloth behind somebody. When the person said "look", we all looked behind and whoever had the cloth now tried to tag the person who put it. It was a nice game. We had dinner at their house. Madhura attha, who is Sunidhi's mom, made Pav Bhaji. It was delicious. Sasmith mama, who is Sunidhi's dad, gave us all a ride on his scooter. Sunidhi and I sat in the back, while Pranav and Sumedha stood in the front. It was fantastic. We took pictures while eating and playing. Then we went home in a taxi.
Day 4 - Wednesday
Today, we just took rest. From all the previous days, we did so much shopping that we were so tired. So, we stayed at Abhilash's house and played games. Later in the evening, we all went to Chennai shopping mall. It was gigantic. There were so many varieties of clothes. After Abhilash came home from school, I showed him my "Illusions" book. He liked it.
Day 5 - Thursday
Today, we went to 2 other places. First, we went to my dad's cousin sister's place. There was a 5 year old boy there with who we played outside. Then, we went to Aishwarya and Saranya akka's house. We ate yummy chinese food for dinner. Pranav fell asleep and did not eat much. It was a long drive back to Abhilash's house.
Day 6 - Friday
Today morning, we started our next leg of the journey. It was to my mom's place where ammamma and thathagaru live. First, it was a 6 hour journey to a place called Vijayawada where we went to see our apartment. It was on the 9th floor and the view from there was awesome with lot of fields around. Ammamma, thathagaru and Lalitha ammamma came to meet us there. They brought some snacks for us. We ate those snacks and then started another 2 hour journey to ammamma's place. On the way, we ate dinner at a restaurant and finally reached home. It was night time, so we all slept immediately.
Fabulous India Trip - August 2011 - Part 1
Day 1 - Sunday
Today, at 6AM, we landed in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. We took a taxi from the airport to my dad's uncle's place. I saw my cousin Abhilash there. I also saw my dad's grandparents. For lunch, we went to a restaurant called Tabla with my cousin. Tabla means an instrument which is like a drum. The sad part was I did not eat as I fell asleep. Afterwards, we went to buy a saree for my bharathanatyam dance dress. It was a pattu saree which we had to give for stitching the next day. I picked dry orange color with red border. Then we went home and took rest.
Day 2 - Monday
Today we went shopping for dresses for my mom and myself. We also went to the dance dress tailor for the measurements, so he can get that ready. We ate a late lunch at a Chinese fast food restaurant. Then we took an auto to go to our cousin's place. An auto is a motor vehicle with 3 wheels and open on the sides with no doors. It cannot carry much weight. Around 5 people can sit in this auto. I met several cousins there including Spoorthi akka, Kausthubh who is 6, Sunidhi who is 8 and Sumedha who is 2. Pranav slept on his way there. He woke up after some time and played a lot with Kausthubh with all his toy cars. Like Pranav, Kausthubh too loves cars. He has a big collection of several different types of small toy cars. We all went to a very nice restaurant called 1947. The food there was awesome. It rained heavily that day. After dinner, Sunidhi's dad dropped us at Abhilash's house.
Today, at 6AM, we landed in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. We took a taxi from the airport to my dad's uncle's place. I saw my cousin Abhilash there. I also saw my dad's grandparents. For lunch, we went to a restaurant called Tabla with my cousin. Tabla means an instrument which is like a drum. The sad part was I did not eat as I fell asleep. Afterwards, we went to buy a saree for my bharathanatyam dance dress. It was a pattu saree which we had to give for stitching the next day. I picked dry orange color with red border. Then we went home and took rest.
Day 2 - Monday
Today we went shopping for dresses for my mom and myself. We also went to the dance dress tailor for the measurements, so he can get that ready. We ate a late lunch at a Chinese fast food restaurant. Then we took an auto to go to our cousin's place. An auto is a motor vehicle with 3 wheels and open on the sides with no doors. It cannot carry much weight. Around 5 people can sit in this auto. I met several cousins there including Spoorthi akka, Kausthubh who is 6, Sunidhi who is 8 and Sumedha who is 2. Pranav slept on his way there. He woke up after some time and played a lot with Kausthubh with all his toy cars. Like Pranav, Kausthubh too loves cars. He has a big collection of several different types of small toy cars. We all went to a very nice restaurant called 1947. The food there was awesome. It rained heavily that day. After dinner, Sunidhi's dad dropped us at Abhilash's house.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
The Art Contest
Mary Colman is 8 years old. She lives in Canton, a Boston suburb, with her parents and 13 year old brother Michael. She goes to 3rd grade in her town school. Since she lives very close by, she usually walks to school, whenever the weather is good.
One day, as she reached school, she went to room 106 and her teacher, Ms. Drup said, “Hi Mary, do pages 64 and 65 in your math journal.” “OK. Thanks”, said Mary. She went over to her desk and took out her math journal. That day’s lesson was on multiplication. She is very good at math. All the problems seemed very easy. She finished all her work in 5 minutes. She then double checked and waited for the other kids to finish.
“Now kids,” Ms.Drup said. “Let’s correct the pages we did. Jessica, please tell me what 9x12 is.”
“Sure. It is 108,” said Jessica.
“Good work! Marcus, what is 10x10?” asked Ms. Drup.
“Um-Um...”
“Ring”
“Lunchtime!” yelled the kids.
At lunch, Mary sat next to her friends, Sabrina and Brianna. Her friend Olivia sat across from her. Mary’s mom packed her a cheese-burger, an apple, and a chocolate chip cookie. They all talked about what they were going to do for the weekend. After lunch, they went out to recess for 15 minutes and played on the swings. The 4 friends were swinging as high as the sky and they all loved that experience. The students then came back inside for their reading time. Ms.Drup read chapter 8 of Ramona’s World. When the children were going home, Mary saw a sign on the wall. It said:
Art Contest.
We accept any type of artwork.
Theme is NATURE.
Send in your artwork by March 27, 2011.
Mary was so excited! She loves art. This would be the first ever opportunity to show her art skills. She ran home and told her mom about it. Her mom asked her to think about what kind of paints and colors she wanted to use. Mary decided to use watercolors. She took out a 17inch x11inch sized paper. She started painting trees and leaves when her brother, Michael, asked her, “Hey Mary. What are you doing?”
“Just, trying to do something for the art show.”
“OK. See ya!” Michael left Mary alone so she could focus on her work.
Mary continued drawing grass, birds, flowers, rocks, mountains, hills and valleys.
She made a few attempts before she finalized what picture she wanted to submit for the contest. She showed her rough work to her mom, who suggested a few changes here and there. She then made a final copy and painted the picture with bright beautiful watercolors. The next morning, she gave the artwork to the principal, Mrs. Oster. “Thanks Mary. Bye!” she said.
Mary was very happy that she could submit a piece of her own for the art contest. The next day was the assembly to see who won the contest. Mrs. Oster got on stage. She cleared her throat and began, “Hello children! Our art contest is a big success. Several of you have participated and submitted excellent pieces of your imagination on nature. We had a panel of judges who went over each and every piece of art work. They had a tough time to choose the winners. In my opinion, each one of you is a winner. You took the time and effort to come up with such masterpieces. But we had to choose only 3 winners. And I will give out their names now. The Third place goes to Patrick Maguire. Please give a huge round of applause.” There was a lot of clapping from the audience.
“Now,” continued Mrs. Oster. “The Second place goes to Brandon Sico. Another round of applause, please.”
Again there was lot of clapping after which, the audience went silent to hear the first place winner. Mrs. Oster paused for a moment and announced, “The First place winner’s work was very neat, simple, and the illustration was very clear. All the elements of nature were excellently captured with the right colors. It was an awesome scenery to look at. And now…I present the first place winner…Mary Colman!!!”
There was a thunderous applause from the audience and Mary could not believe what she had just heard. She ran up to the stage to get her award. The panel of judges congratulated her. She thanked all of them and waved to the audience before getting down, to hug her family and friends. They were all very happy for her.
This was the best moment of her life! This day and event was a motivation and inspiration to do many more good pieces of art work. She would never ever forget that day. She wanted to be an artist in life and wanted to take more art classes to improve her skills.
Whenever she found some free time, she would just pick up a paper and think of something to draw.
One day, as she reached school, she went to room 106 and her teacher, Ms. Drup said, “Hi Mary, do pages 64 and 65 in your math journal.” “OK. Thanks”, said Mary. She went over to her desk and took out her math journal. That day’s lesson was on multiplication. She is very good at math. All the problems seemed very easy. She finished all her work in 5 minutes. She then double checked and waited for the other kids to finish.
“Now kids,” Ms.Drup said. “Let’s correct the pages we did. Jessica, please tell me what 9x12 is.”
“Sure. It is 108,” said Jessica.
“Good work! Marcus, what is 10x10?” asked Ms. Drup.
“Um-Um...”
“Ring”
“Lunchtime!” yelled the kids.
At lunch, Mary sat next to her friends, Sabrina and Brianna. Her friend Olivia sat across from her. Mary’s mom packed her a cheese-burger, an apple, and a chocolate chip cookie. They all talked about what they were going to do for the weekend. After lunch, they went out to recess for 15 minutes and played on the swings. The 4 friends were swinging as high as the sky and they all loved that experience. The students then came back inside for their reading time. Ms.Drup read chapter 8 of Ramona’s World. When the children were going home, Mary saw a sign on the wall. It said:
Art Contest.
We accept any type of artwork.
Theme is NATURE.
Send in your artwork by March 27, 2011.
Mary was so excited! She loves art. This would be the first ever opportunity to show her art skills. She ran home and told her mom about it. Her mom asked her to think about what kind of paints and colors she wanted to use. Mary decided to use watercolors. She took out a 17inch x11inch sized paper. She started painting trees and leaves when her brother, Michael, asked her, “Hey Mary. What are you doing?”
“Just, trying to do something for the art show.”
“OK. See ya!” Michael left Mary alone so she could focus on her work.
Mary continued drawing grass, birds, flowers, rocks, mountains, hills and valleys.
She made a few attempts before she finalized what picture she wanted to submit for the contest. She showed her rough work to her mom, who suggested a few changes here and there. She then made a final copy and painted the picture with bright beautiful watercolors. The next morning, she gave the artwork to the principal, Mrs. Oster. “Thanks Mary. Bye!” she said.
Mary was very happy that she could submit a piece of her own for the art contest. The next day was the assembly to see who won the contest. Mrs. Oster got on stage. She cleared her throat and began, “Hello children! Our art contest is a big success. Several of you have participated and submitted excellent pieces of your imagination on nature. We had a panel of judges who went over each and every piece of art work. They had a tough time to choose the winners. In my opinion, each one of you is a winner. You took the time and effort to come up with such masterpieces. But we had to choose only 3 winners. And I will give out their names now. The Third place goes to Patrick Maguire. Please give a huge round of applause.” There was a lot of clapping from the audience.
“Now,” continued Mrs. Oster. “The Second place goes to Brandon Sico. Another round of applause, please.”
Again there was lot of clapping after which, the audience went silent to hear the first place winner. Mrs. Oster paused for a moment and announced, “The First place winner’s work was very neat, simple, and the illustration was very clear. All the elements of nature were excellently captured with the right colors. It was an awesome scenery to look at. And now…I present the first place winner…Mary Colman!!!”
There was a thunderous applause from the audience and Mary could not believe what she had just heard. She ran up to the stage to get her award. The panel of judges congratulated her. She thanked all of them and waved to the audience before getting down, to hug her family and friends. They were all very happy for her.
This was the best moment of her life! This day and event was a motivation and inspiration to do many more good pieces of art work. She would never ever forget that day. She wanted to be an artist in life and wanted to take more art classes to improve her skills.
Whenever she found some free time, she would just pick up a paper and think of something to draw.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Fantastic Day
Last Saturday was BigHelp's republic day event. I spent most of the day participating in Spelling and Math Bee and I also did a dance called "Swagatham Krishna". Saketh also participated in the bees but in a lower level. One of our teammates could not make it to the event on time, so we had to do the dance without her. Then, when we were changing after the dance, we saw her. I felt bad that she had to miss it.
Lesson: Always be on time. Some of the moments are so precious that you don't want to miss them.
Lesson: Always be on time. Some of the moments are so precious that you don't want to miss them.
Summer Sights
Summer Sights are here,
There are many things to hear.
The birds are chirping,
The crowd is clapping.
The coldness went away,
The sun is shining today.
What could be so fun,
If we did not have a run.
On this beautiful day,
Oh, dont go away!
There are many things to hear.
The birds are chirping,
The crowd is clapping.
The coldness went away,
The sun is shining today.
What could be so fun,
If we did not have a run.
On this beautiful day,
Oh, dont go away!
School
School is a place,
Where students go,
To learn new things,
Or what they already know.
School is a place,
Where teachers work hard,
To teach all students,
No matter how tough they are.
Where students go,
To learn new things,
Or what they already know.
School is a place,
Where teachers work hard,
To teach all students,
No matter how tough they are.
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