Why the Blog?

These days everyone wants to travel the world. As kids and teens we dream about it. As adults we might often think about it, but never find the time. We dream, but few of us ever reach our goal. I am one of those few.
Soon, starting September 4 , my dad and I are going overseas to three places-Israel, Thailand and Prague, Czech Republic. Well, those are where our homes are going to be, but we will be traveling in Egypt, Sweden, and other places. We will stay in each place for about three months.
I am an eleven-year-old girl named Rachael. My father is Philip and my mother(who is not coming for the whole trip but is visiting) is Margie. In this blog I will keep you posted about events. Let me know what you think. Thanks!

Monday, May 6, 2013

Update!

Hello, all.

Can you believe it's been almost six years since my dad and I set out for Israel? I can't, either!
The reason I am updating this blog after so long is that I am embarking on a brand-new adventure. I am currently in my Junior year of high school. My school has some interesting opportunities available for Juniors and Seniors in the last month of school. One of those opportunities is the chance to go on a trip to Mexico! Over the next three weeks, ten students, three staff, and I are going to be traveling in Mexico, mostly in the Oaxaca area. We are going to have a travel blog, and I wanted to let all of my old followers know about it. If you would like to check it out, the link is below. It might be a little while before it is formatted and it has been posted on, but when it gets started it should be good!

http://sfsoaxacatrip2013.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!
Rachael

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Last post

Hi! I'm back from Uncle Harry and Aunt Barbera's house! I had such a good time. Uncle Harry picked us up at the L.I.R.R (Long Island Rail Road) station and drove us to their house. It was so fun hanging out with Uncle Harry, Aunt Barbera, and Cousin Jessica- not to mention Cousin Douglas's dog Max!

Well, tomorrow is when I leave for Iowa, so this is my last post. I would like to thank all my readers and all the comments, and i would especially like to thank my dad, without him there would not be this blog or this trip.

Goodbye, everyone!

Rachael

Friday, May 30, 2008

Update

Hi! Just a quick update today, Dad talked to Uncle Harry and it seems that we will not be going to his place today, but we will tomorrow. So, today for me is a day of fun doing whatever and for Dad a day of work, poor Dad.

Well, that's about it for now, I'll try to post as soon as I can about tomorrow, but it might have to wait until we get back from Uncle Harry's on Saturday, OK? Bye!

Ireland and New York

Hey, all! I'm in New York! I'm sooo happy. Well, here's what happened in Ireland!

Ireland was, all in all, pretty boring. Dad and I were really sick, so we mostly stayed in the hotel room for the whole time there. I am getting better now, but Dad isn't.

New York is awesome! Today we went to the Strand, one of the two biggest and best bookstores in the US (the other one's in Portland, Oregon) and I bought three books including the one I've been looking for for forever and I'm soooooo happy!

Tomorrow Dad and I are planning to go to Uncle Harry's house, I'm really excited! See you then!

P.S. For those of you who are wondering, I am planning to end this blog a day before I leave for Iowa, June 1st. Thank you everyone!

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Lots and lots of stuff

Hey! Sorry I haven't written in so long, but I was busy. I have a lot of stuff for you guys, so enjoy! Also, Sheila and I got a cold sometime in this time period. Dad got it too on Sunday.

The day after Sheila, her class, and I went on a hike Sheila, Dad, Emma, and I went to Stockholm (Oh, sorry, I forgot to tell you this before: Sheila and Emma live in Uppsala which is north of Stockholm, the capitol of Sweden) for the day. It was awesome! To get to Stockholm we had to take a bus to the train station, and then there was a 40 minute train ride.

Stockholm was big! The first place we went to was the castle. It was really cool, and we also got to see the changing of the guards. The guards were all in uniform and walked with their legs all straight and their arms swinging! It was comical, and Sheila and i had fun imitating them. We walked all around the castle district and saw some really cool stuff. I also got this book that I have been wanting for a while now, and I'm so happy!

After the castle we went to the huge museum which had all these themes: space, old-fashioned stuff, optical illusions.... the list could go on forever! We all had a fun time looking at everything.

On Saturday, Dad, Will and I went to a dance show that Sheila was in! There were all these songs with all these cool dances ranging from little kids to high school people. Sheila was in the 9-11 age group, with one of the two hip-hop songs. She was awesome! There was this one song that i got unfortunately stuck in my head. It was inappropriate for some of the kids there!

After the show, Sheila and I went to Will's house to spend the night. We watched a Eurovision thing where all the European (including Israel!!!!) countries picked an artist to make a song and ten sing it on TV, and after all the songs were sung people got to call in and vote. Sweden didn't get a lot of votes, but it was a great song! Wah. Russia won, and I think their song stunk. Sheila and I didn't get to sleep until after midnight!

On Sunday, Sheila preformed again, but only Emma went to watch her, so after dropping off Sheila Will drove me to Emma's house. There was no-one there since Dad went to Stockholm again and Emma was at work, so I entertained myself until Sheila came back. After Sheila and Emma got back, we decided to go to a pool! Sheila and I would swim, and Emma would sit somewhere and study for a test that's coming up. Did you know that Emma is studying to become a vet? I want to be a vet, too!

The pool was awesome! Actually, there were three pools! One where there were all these water slides and fun stuff, that's where the kids mostly went. Another was where the diving boards and the lap lanes were. Yet another was outside, but there was no-one there, it was too cold so Sheila and I didn't go in that one for too long. We stayed in the pool for three hours! It was so fun!
When we got back to the house Dad and I started packing since we were leaving on Monday.

On Monday we left Sweden! Nooooo! I really miss Emma, Sheila, Will, and all the pets! I soooooo hope that I will see them again not too far in the future.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

SWEDEN!

I'm in Sweden! It's so fun here. I'm not sure if I explained this before, but Dad and I are staying in my friend Sheila's house (she grew up with me in Iowa) with her mom Emma and her hamster and four cats!!!!!! It's really nice to see Sheila again, I haven't seen her for almost 3 years and Dad 8!

The first day here was OK. Emma and Sheila picked Dad and I up at the airport after our two-hour plane ride and drove us to their two-bedroom apartment. Sheila and I hung out for the rest of the night.

The next morning Sheila and I woke up at 7 am and went to Sheila's school. There I was introduced to her friends and spent the day with them. Her teacher was really nice, and i learned how to crochet! It was cool how at the beginning and end of school the class sat in a circle on the floor and knitted, crocheted, and did a lot of other projects. In that one day I crocheted three necklace/bracelet things! That night I slept over with Sheila at Sheila's dad Will's house (her parents are divorced) and i met Sheila's rabbit Nibbles. Will works at Sheila's school and lives on campus.

Today I spent the morning at Will's house and at lunchtime Sheila got me to eat lunch with her and afterwards went on a hike with her class. I enjoyed myself a lot. I am SO happy to be here in Sweden with our friends!

I'll try to blog again soon, OK? TTYL!

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Holocaust Museum

Hi! On Wednesday (I know, I know, I forgot to blog this until now when I found the pictures, I'm sorry) Dad and I went to the Holocaust Museum that's in Budapest. It was...... deep. I learned a lot, and saw a lot, too. It was sad, there were films of what the Holocaust was like and they showed dying people.

But the cool thing was that they had a Synagogue there, connected to the museum. You could take pictures there, too, which was nice! But what really touched me was that they had glass benches and there were the names, pictures and cause of death of all the people that belonged to the synagogue and died in the Holocaust. The saddest one was of a little girl that died when she was only three. The thought alone makes me tear up! I mourn for all those deaths.

I'm actually glad that we went to the museum, for although it was horrible seeing the films of all those starving and dying people I learned a lot and achieved some release. You know, on this trip I have learned a lot about the Holocaust and I think I have started to come to terms with it.

"... Real hunger is to look at another man as something to eat. I know what real hunger is." ~Primo Levi

Boat trip and Szentendre

Hi! Guess what Dad and I did today? We went on a boat up the Danube to a town called Szentendre! (pronounced Sen-tend-ray) The boat ride was fun, around an hour and ten minutes. The breeze was awesome!

Szentendre is a small artist's colony by the Danube. It's really pretty, with cobblestone streets (not many cars, either, which is nice) and lots of church tower spires! I really like the buildings there, it's sorta like Eger where there are short small buildings painted in bright colors. It has a cheery atmospheres, and I really liked it!

One of the really cool places we went to was the Pozarevacka Church. Even though it was small, it was great with absolutely beautiful paintings and eighteenth-century style furnishings. It was cool in the stone room and we stayed there for a while.

After that we walked around for a while, visited another church (this one didn't allow pictures) and went on the train home, since we have to pack for Sweden!

And that's our trip to Szentendre! I liked it a lot.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

News

Hi! My cold is almost better now! My headache is only mild and my sore throat gone, but my stomach is going wacko. Oh, well!

Guess what? Dylan stopped by on Monday! Unfortunately, he only stayed for one day, and then set off again. I miss him, he's good company. I think that we will not see him again for a while, at least not while we're here. Poo.

Something funny happened the other day! I was in this bookstore, and I was looking around when I saw my favorite series by Robert Jordan in Hungarian!!! It was so funny!

Only five more days until we leave for Sweden! Wow, time has flied, hasn't it? I almost wish it would slow down a bit, but then again it's getting a bit boring here :)

Um... that's it! See you later!