iNdiA!! :))

Hi everyone!

This time, I’m writing about our trip to India. It was really cool! I loved it! The only thing I was sad with, was that we were just more a less a week with our family. But I learnt a lot of things about India that I had never thought about and also I think that India has changed a lot of things. Learning with Arge was really fun (:

The first place we visited in India was Bombay. There we went on a local tour. We saw: Gate of India, the Taj Hotel, Nehru Park and many other places. I think that Bombay, is like any other metropolitan city but it also has its dark part like the slums. I hope that someday, everyone can live comfortably. In Bombay, appa had a pleasant surprise as he saw an old friend of his, in the bus of our local tour. At first, he hadn’t noticed his friend but then, they were talking and talking the whole day. The only thing I didn’t like in Bombay was the weather as it was raining and raining all the time. We stayed in Bombay for just 2 days.

Then we went to Chennai in a train called Kongan Railways. This train is famous as it passes through the ocean for more than an hour, but we couldn’t see the scenery as when it passed that way it was midnight and we were all sleeping.

In Chennai train station, Shankar chithappa and Janani akka came to receive us. Then we went to chitappa’s house. There achi, thatha, varshini, Santhi athai and Mini chiti were waiting for us. I was realy glad and sooo happy to see them all after soooo much time.

We just stayed a day there and then we went to Delhi in a super fast train :) Well, actually I didn’t feel it soo fast but at least we reached Delhi in a day and half. Delhi is really a beautiful city just that I hated the climate. It made Arge and me feel that Torreon’s heat was far better.

In Delhi we visited the Qutub Minar, Lotus Temple (Arge and me were dying there, as we had to walk barefoot like200 mts. But the problem was that the heat was unbearable and we had to run real fast to get into to the temple), the Red Fort and other local things :)

From Delhi we went to visit Jaipur. This city is also called the Pink City, because in the olden times most of the buildings were in that color.

I really liked the architecture and everything in Jaipur; it was like in the Aladdin’s story. Here for the first time we saw a cobra dance. Well, actually it wasn’t like in the movies but the snake was trying to do dance. We also went in an elephant ride, it felt really cool, and it was real fun. We also visited real beautiful palaces there. It looked really amazing.

From Jaipur we went to Agra. There we visited the Taj Mahal. It was really cool as when I saw it for the first time I was still really small and I didn’t actually remember well. I still remember a funny thing that happened here, while appa’s was taking the photos, he stepped wrongly and was about to fall down.

Another places, we went to; were Varanasi and Bodgaya. These two are religious places. The first one is supposed to be the holy city for the Hindus and the second one is the place were Buda is said to have received the enlightment. In Varanasi, I was a bit disappointed, because even being the holy place it was really dirty. I think they should take more care for that city.

After visiting those cities, we went to a place called Bhubaneshwar. There we visited a place called Konark Temple. It is called the Sun Temple. It is supposed to have had the tallest tower than any other temple in its period. There I climbed a tree into a branch and after I was down appa and Arge told me that a big lizard was just aside me and I hadn’t even noticed it!

After visiting all these places in Northeast India, we returned to Chennai. In Chennai, we stayed for some time with Balu thatha, Gomathi achi, Janani akka, Varshini, Shankar chithappa, Mini chitti, Santhi athai, Ganapathy mama, Mishal and everyone. We saw movies, went shopping and did a lot of things. The sad part was that we just stayed there for 3 days :(.

After Chennai, we went to our house in Coimbatore. Achi and thatha also came with us. Here we saw Aparna, Devi athai, Soori mama, Lalitha achi, Samy thatha, Mani mama, and Perrito! In Coimbatore we also did many things. Mani mama took Aparna, Arge, Varshini (a weekend she, Shankar chithappa, Mishal and Mini chitti came) and me to an ice cream parlor called Boomerang. I liked the way they sell you the ice cream because you could choose different types of ice cream and they’ll mix all that up with chocolate, cookies, wafers, etc. Meanwhile we were staying here; we went to a falls called Kovai Kutrallam. Kovai is the short form of Coimbatore. We also went to Kanyakumari. In this part of India, 3 seas get together (the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal and the Arabic sea). Here we saw PTR mama and Salom aunty & her family. But before going there first we went to Madurai were we went to a temple and then to Sivakasi. Sivakasi is appa’s hometown. It‘s called as Little Japan, as it is one of the most famous fireworks places in India. Here we visited the school where appa had studied his whole primary studies. From there, we went to Tiruchendur, there appa offered his hair to Murugan (a Hindu god). Amma also offered her long long hair before appa, but in Tiruapdi. In Kanyakumari we visited a monument and a prayer centre. After finishing this part of our trip, we returned to Coimbatore. Amma didn’t accompany us as she had her laser operation in Coimbatore.

In Coimbatore, we visited Lalitha achi’s and Devi athai’s house, and we also went to Marudamalai (it’s a temple in the top of a hill) and many shops.

After a week, the time had come. We had to return to Torreon and continue the routine. It was sad to leave them all, but I’m sure we’ll see them soon! (: We flew from Coimbatore to Bombay and from there to London. In London, appamma and I changed airports while Arge and Dra. stayed there. From there we flew to Orlando, meanwhile they were going to Mexico City. Arge and Dra. arrived Torreon before us, as we lost our flight to Mexico City in Orlando, and we had to stay overnight and take a flight to Dallas and then to Torreon.

Well, now in Torreon we’re again in the same work and everything again!

It's really funny now, because when our friends see amma, they get really shocked, as they didn't expect to see her like that, with the hair really really short. :)

That's just me!

Just posting a drawing I made for a homework.

We had to draw something that expresed how we are, our personality and character.

I chose a tiger cause I think that I'm really intense, temperamental (ask my parents and friends :P). I also think that a tiger has a friendly side and also a dark side (meaning getting angry easily, not having patience, and so on).

I think that I'm that kind of person. The thing, I guess that I would like to change is the bad characters in me. But most importantly I should keep on going with the good things I know and learn :)

Hope you liked the drawing!

Just 2 days from now!!

Hi all!!

This is a really short blog before going to India. :D
I’m really excited as we’ll be flying to India in 2 days from now. This time Arge and Dra. Lilia will also come with us. We’re going in an India wide trip (: we’ll just visit the most important places there as we won’t be staying longer than 40 days. Achi and thatha are a bit sad as we won’t be staying the whole trip with them. I am happy that I'll learn about India with Arge in this tour as I and Arge don’t really know much about it.

I hope and think that this visit to India will be really great.

Well, I’ll write about the trip when we return from there.

Copa Confederaciones

Hi everyone!
Today Brazil won the Confederations Cup against USA. The match was really interesting as in the first half USA was winning with a 2-0, but in the second half Brazil woke up and showed its magic and made 3 goals. The American goalkeeper (Tim Howard) made a difference as he saved many shots.
Dempsey made the first goal of the final at just 10 minutes. Then Landon Donovan made a goal in a kickback. Brazil started playing their game in the second half. Without even a minute of the 2nd half Luis Fabiano put the ball in the net. He again headed the ball into the net for the draw in a wonderful play of Kaka. Lucio, the Brazilian captain made the goal of the victory again with a heading. This was just 6 minutes before going to extra time. So the match was really exciting as both teams played well, one in the first half and the other in the second.
Kaka won the golden ball as the best player of this tournament.
Before all this, in the semifinals, I was totally surprised when USA won against Spain as it was my favorite for winning the Cup. Then in the 2nd semifinal: Brazil vs. South Africa, I thought that Brazil would easily win but the match was really tough. Brazil passed to the final with a last minute goal of Dany Alves in a direct free kick.
Well, now let’s wait for South Africa 2010. 346 days for the World Cup to start.
Spain is my favorite team to win the World Cup but let’s see what happens.

Changes

Hi everyone!!
Here everyone is really happy as we’re about to start holidays. This first year in junior high school was different. There were so many changes!! Still it was really nice.
I made new very good friends, and also got attached very much with some I knew since before. Just now a week before starting summer holidays, I started to remember all the things that happened this year and see the photos. We all have changed a lot!! I can’t believe it,, we’re all so different!!
So many unusual things happened.
First of all, people I never thought I’ll get along with them became some of my closest friends. Then our class which we never thought like one is now so united.
Then, the -Influenza Break- struck me hard as just 1 week before we had returned to school from Easter holidays. At first, it was ok to relax but after 3 days I was counting the days to return school.
Yesterday, a phrase that our Biology miss told us, kept me thinking. “Change is the only constant thing in life”. I remembered that I had often heard that phrase before but never thought about it until now. I liked it very very much. I think that it very real
Even though we don’t like the changes most of the time they’re for our good. So, what’s left is to over face and get over them.
At this moment, I’m really excited and happy because Arge’s coming and we’re going to India, but at the same time I’m feeling a bit sad as some of my closest friends aren’t going to be at the school next year. So, now just wishing the friday not to be the last day we ever meet. Hope all this new tech help us to keep in touch.

Go Green!

Bonjour!!
Well, right now for me it’s so boring…we’re in this kind of Influenza Break (swine flu break). It’s been nearly a week without classes and we’re supposed to enter again on Wednesday. I just hope that they don’t postpone it also. I think it’s quite right to do this for the health of everyone but now I question myself that how are we going to recover all the things we were supposed to see last week...

In this little “holidays” we saw 2 movies: Minority Report and Artificial Intelligence A.I. Both of them are science-fiction. They show the way they think that we'll be and things we'll create in the future, in order to create new technologies and make the life easier. In Minority Report they create a precrime system. They have 3 precogs who can see the murders so by that way they avoid the death of many people. Here the problem was that in some cases there was a minority report so not always the vision was true. In A.I. they create robots who'll be able to love, this is kind of strange because the robots also have the same feelings as us. The problem was that they didn't know if humans would be able to give back they love they received.

Right now, I think first about the planet. That all this global warming thing is going to affect and change the world totally in some years…so what’s about to happen, is something that I can’t imagine. There are so many things happening these days.
We have to try to make our best because the earth is the only place till now, where we can live. We’ve got to help, by recycling, using energy-savers appliances, and going green!

Shantaram

Hi all!!
This time I’m writing about a book called Shantaram. It’s written by an Australian who after escaping from the prison, where he was sentenced for robbery and heroin addiction, comes to India. Most of the book is non-fiction but there is also fiction.
Gregory David Roberts gets a false New Zealand passport with the name of Lindsay Ford. After arriving Bombay, he gets a guide called Prabu (Prabaker), who later becomes his friend. Prabu takes him to the slums and the black markets in the city. He also goes to Leopold’s, where he meets Karla (a swiss-american woman, of whom Lin fell in love from the first time he met her), Didier, Modena, Ulla, Maurizio, Letita, Kavita, Vikram and many others. Lin and Karla have a close relationship. One day, Prabu invited Lin to go for vacations to his native village (Sunder village). They stayed there for nearly six months. Lin learned a lot about Indian culture there, and also learned Hindi and Marathi. He became like a brother to Prabu and part of their family. Prabu’s parents called him Shantaram Kishan Kharre. Shantaram meant man of peace, or man of god’s peace. Lin went to live in the slums. He worked as a doctor. He met new people as Johnny Cigar, Raju, Mr. Qasim Ali Hussein, Anand, Rafiq, Jeetendra, Radha, Abdullah Taheri, etc. One day, Abdullah took him with Abdel Khader Khan (Khaderbhai), Nazeer, and others and they talked about philosophical things. Once, while he was attending some people, Karla passed by to visit him. He was very shamed to be seen by Karla in that condition. After finishing, Lin invited her to join him to eat at the Village in the Sky. There he hears about the Sapna killers. They were supposed to be a gang that killed the rich people to give it to the poor ones. With Khaderbhai too he talked about them. One day, Karla asked him to help her get her friend, Lisa out of Madame Zhou place. Karla arranged everything and Madame Zhou accepted to leave Lisa, but with the condition that if Lisa returned she would never be able to go out. Lisa joined them and they three left that horrible place.
Lin also took care of Khaderbhai’s nephew Tariq. He had to teach English and his culture. He looked after Tariq for 3 months. During that period, Tariq and Lin became close friends.
Lin also met a Nigerian called Hassan Obikwa.
A hard cholera fever occurred in the slums. Radha, Parvati, and many others fell sick. Karla also helped him to attend people. Lin did all he could, but still when the epidemic finished, 6 people died.
One day, Ulla told Lin to meet her outside Leopold’s at 1:00 at night. When Lin arrived there, some people took him to the police station.
Lin found out that he was there as someone discovered that he had escaped from the Australian jail. He was sent to the Arthur Road Prison, where he tried to get stronger and remembered his Australian life. Four months passed, Lin was told that a man had come to release him; Vikram, Khaderbhai had sent him. When Lin was out, he also paid for a man called Raheem to be released. Vikram told Lin that Karla had left the city. Khaderbhai asked Lin to work for him, so he joined the Bombay mafia.
Lin started his instruction with Khaled Ansari, to learn the black-market money trade, and then he learnt the gold-smuggling trade with Madjid. Finally, he was about to start the passport business with Ghani.
Ulla came and told him that she’ll tell him where to find Karla if he helped her. Ulla was in some trouble along with Modena and Maurizio and she needed money. Karla had written a letter to her from Goa somewhere near Masupa. After searching Karla the whole day, he sits by the beach. Just then, Karla appears. They start talking and spent a week visiting the shores. When Lin was about to go, Karla told him not to return to Bombay. She told him that if he went away it was all over between them. Lin left her. In Bombay, Ghani told Lin that the Sapna guys had killed Madjid, and then he presented Krishna and Villu. They were experts in the counterfeiting arts. Krishna was a light-box man, he could duplicate the effects of any passport and Villu was a stamp man. He could make any stamp. They became good friends. Lin went with them everyday.
Prabaker gave him the news that he and Johnny were going to get married.
3 African men wanted to kill him and Obikwa told them that they were tourists and when they found where those men were staying, Abdullah, Lin and others went to fight against them. At last, Abdullah forced them to tell who arranged it, finally they told that it was Maurizio Belcane.
The next day, Johnny told him that Anand Rao had killed Rasheed. It was the first murder in the slum, so everyone was really worried. Anand had done the wrong thing for a good reason. Rasheed sold the kidneys of his wife and sister and in the end he ran away. In the hospital they were claimed dead but half an hour later they were alive. Lin told Kavita to make an article about Anand and his case. Sometime later, the story became famous. The women were called “The blue sisters” and as people visited them as a miracle they became famous.
Lin helped people with illegal passports get into other countries by a system called double-shuffle. He also worked with Lisa in film industries contracting foreign stunts.
Some days later, Lisa killed Maurizio as he was disturbing her and Ulla. Lin arranged Obikwa to take the body away and clean the place. Modena was injured so Lin took him to the hospital. He told Ulla to return to Germany.
The ambience at Leopold’s had changed, new people came. Vikram and Lettie had got married. Johnny’s and Prabaker’s weeding was a very happy one. Lin gave Prabu a taxi as his wedding present and 5 thousand American dollars for Johnny.
One day, when Lin was returning from the film set, Khaled told him that the cops thought Abdullah was the Sapna guy and had killed him. In Leopold’s, Johnny told him that Prabaker had had an accident. Prabaker was in the hospital, he was really bad. The doctors told them that he’ll die and indeed some time later, it happened. Lin was really upset. Khaderbhai, Khaled and the others had disappeared and Lin felt alone. His closest friends had died and Khaderbhai wasn’t there and all together he felt terrible.
3 months passed. Everyday Lin smoked heroin, he was really weak. One day, Nazeer came and took him away. When he woke up, he saw Karla. He asked her how she found him; she replied that Khaderbhai had sent her. Half an hour later, he woke up beside Khaderbhai. He said that he had a work for Lin. He told Lin that in 3 or 4 months he would be ready. Lin had lesson of riding horses with Nazeer and their friendship grew. Khaderbhai told him that they were going to go to the war in Afghanistan, and that Lin will come as an American.
Time passed and they prepared to leave to Afghanistan. They flew from Bombay to Karachi, Pakistan. Lin used 4 passports in Karachi. He met a lot of new people; Lin had met them all before...the first time he met Khaderbhai. He then realized that Khaderbhai had included him since the first time. There were many people from different parts of the world. Khaderbhai explained about the war. Sometime later, the Pakistani police searched the hotel where they stayed. They knew that someone close to them had betrayed them so they needed to be careful. Lin remembered read a note from Didier, which said that the woman that had betrayed him was Madame Zhou. Many crazy things happened in Afghanistan. Lin learned a lot of things about Khaderbhai and Karla, about how he went to the jail, between many other things. One day, he got really angry at Khaderbhai and he refused to go with Khaderbhai. That had saved his life, cause after days that Nazeer, Khaderbhai and others left, Nazeer returned with Khaderbhai’s dead body. Lin and everyone became really depressed but the named the oldest man as their guide. Most of the men who started the journey started to die one by one. At the end, just Nazeer, Lin, a boy called Ala-ud-Din and Mahmoud survived.
When they returned to India, some people didn’t know that Khaderbhai had died. Some time after he left Ghani, Nazeer and his men killed him. He was the one that had betrayed them in Pakistan. Krishna and Villu were freed. New followers came to Khaderbhai’s gang. Now they were a different kind of people, so many things had changed. One day, Lin saw Abdullah, he thought that he was going crazy, but then Abdullah told him that in the attack he was taken to New Delhi and there he had recovered himself. They had new types of tasks and all. One day, Lin met with Modena in Leopold’s; he said that he was waiting to Ulla’s return. So many things had happened since he had come to Bombay. At the end, he has 2 options to go to the war in Sri Lanka or go with Karla. After leaving Karla, he went to the slum. Prabu’s parents were there, they were really happy to him, and Parvati gave birth to a boy whom they named Prabaker.
Lin had changed completely since he stepped Bombay for the first time. A new life was ahead of him.
I liked a lot this book. I think it shows a part of India, well exactly about the life in the Bombay slums. It’s really good.