Friday, March 11, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Creativity- Writting a Cookbook
the CAS Recipe log is a combination of Secret Family Recipes from Thailand, a collection of my Grandmothers margin notes, Julia Child’s knowledge, the Sunday market, and my vegetable garden. Through learning how to cook, I also venture into the mysterious world of gardening vegetables and herbs…. I probably should learn how to do that as well…
Anyways, there are a few things i'll be trying out!
- Pad Thai
- Endeve Salad
- Macaroons
- Glass Noodle Salad
- Red Curry
- Fried Rice
- Noodle Soup
- :)
Friday, January 14, 2011
Action - Personal Fitnes Program
LA Fitnes Gym- Cycling, yoga-pillates, weight traing 7 HOURS (so far)
Weekly yoga at ISP
Weekly yoga at ISP
SUPERVISOR SIGN-OFF CAS FORMS
ALL SUPERVIZORS WERE TRAINERS AND INSTRUCTORS AT THE LA FITNES GYM
Friday, January 7, 2011
Creativity- Model United Nations
During our weekly MUN meetings, supervised by Mrs. Craig, we usually research countries views on legislations, learning about the facets about current issues, and debate matters ranging from women’s rights to superheroes best suited to lead the world towards world peace. By being a member of the Model United nations, we learn about current events and how different Nations respond to cultural differences.
The meetings last 2 hours, and take place every Wednesday at school
the PAMUN Confference not only was a fantastic opportunity to meet new people from different schools but also to improve public speaking and organization skills, which were my two main goals when I joined MUN. This year, the American School of Paris Hosted the PAMUN conference at the United Nations Headquarters near the Eiffel Tour. I represented Lesotho in the Human Rights committee and in our debates; we discussed women’s rights and religious freedom and successfully reached a resolution.
The meetings last 2 hours, and take place every Wednesday at school
the PAMUN Confference not only was a fantastic opportunity to meet new people from different schools but also to improve public speaking and organization skills, which were my two main goals when I joined MUN. This year, the American School of Paris Hosted the PAMUN conference at the United Nations Headquarters near the Eiffel Tour. I represented Lesotho in the Human Rights committee and in our debates; we discussed women’s rights and religious freedom and successfully reached a resolution.
Prior to the conference, seven PAMUN delegates and I researched and developed clauses together during school. For the grade 11’s these hours went towards our CAS logs, but for the younger students, PAMUN prepared them for future conferences later in the year. Other committees my PAMUN grade eleven’s took part in were, Defense (Lesotho, Jerome Bergeron), and Political (Lesotho, Simon Craig). The PAMUN conference was a great experience for all of us, especially since it was the first conference for majority of the ISP Model United Nations group.
=) my name tag!
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Rustic Pathways- About The Volunteer Projects
The Certificate
(If you need a copy of the certificate, send me an e-mail and I’ll gladly send you a copy of the original)
To enlarge the 'certificate' double click on the photograph
Two of the Service Projects indicated by Rustic Pathways above, were switched. This is because I chose to focus on two other projects which I found were most necessary in this community. Therefore, instead of, “Construction of new walls and cement floors” I repaired roads to ease trade and transportation, also, instead of “Administration of blood sugar, blood pressure and eye exams” I participated in the Veterinary assistance project because, there were too many dogs to care for, and not enough volunteers to give vaccinations.
Repairing Roads
SummaryJournal Entry for 26 of June 2010“Today, we rented three ‘tractor-trucks’ for 400 baht each and traveled to a nearby river with nothing but six shovels, breakfast, borrowed flip flops (for mine broke yesterday), and the secret plans of a water fight. We filled each ‘tractor-truck’ with rocks from the river bed, scooping them with shovels and bare hands. When the ‘tractor-truck’ was full, we’d drive it towards the village looking for the most difficult road to drive on, and working on it until perfection (three back-breaking hours of scooping and shoving rocks into place).”
1. Tractor picks us up from the base
2. We ride to the nearest river
3. We park the tractor in the river
4. We all get out and shove rocks from the river bed onto the tractor
5. We drive to a pothole/mud puddle
6. Shove rocks into pot hole covering it up until its full
7. Press rocks into mud
8. Repeat
How it helped the Community
The path leading to the little village just outside of Na Som is one of the longest and most dangerous roads I’ve been on. The only people who manage to maneuver vehicles between giant potholes, lakes of mud, and across rivers could only be a native Rustic Pathways Rusceteer (is that a word?).
By rebuilding roads and paths between villages and the city, we eased trade and transportation, boosting the village’s economy.
Hands in The Dirt- Planting Rice
Summary
THE ART OF RICE PLANTING
- grab 4 stems of rice
- protect the rice seeds with your thumb as you carefully drive it into the mud
- use your thumb as a pad to press the rice seeds gently into the mud
- loosen grip, if the rice stems stand upright, then you did it correctly
- if the rice shoots back up to the surface of the water… you did it wrong
- if so, collect floating rice, do it again, and again, and again until you get it right.
- Repeat until you finish your first section
- Take a break (look for your socks)
- Help thy neighbor finish his patch
- Start a mud fight
- Realize that the mud… isn’t really mud…
- Finish another section in the rice paddy
- Jump into the Mekong river
- Replace shoes
The trick is to never stand up straight, keep hunched over, it saves time.
How it helped the Community
This was fun! However, I’m afraid that the first half hour of planting wasn’t very successful, until I learned how to “properly” plant rice. Anyways, this made me realize how I take for granted how much time and manual labor is spent to put food on the table, I’ll never look at a bowl of rice in the same way after this experience. Also I learned about sustainable farming in South East Asia and its importance in rural society. By planting in rice paddies, my volunteer group worked together to assist farmers, which in turn strengthened our global ties and friendships with the local villagers.
Meals on Flip Flops- Cooking and Distributing food
Summary
1. In our kitchen, we gathered all the ingredients
2. Prepared south-east Asian traditional dishes
3. Bagged them and grouping food into packages to give out
4. We placed the packages of food into buckets and walked around the village to select houses with elderly women and young children
5. Handed out bags of food
How it helped the Community
This project was set out to improve local health by providing nutritious meals. We also learned how to cook local and South East Asian foods.
Teaching- English and Art
Summary
While in Lao, one of the most enjoyable service opportunities was teaching local children English and creating art with them. While teaching, I was able to use my Thai language skills to help communicate with the students and use Thai as bridge between Lao and our English speaking volunteers. To teach English, we used songs and games to help memorization and communication. While teaching, we gained as much as we gave; the teaching opportunity soon turned into a language exchange and brought the locals and volunteers closer.
How it helped the Community
Improved education, decreased language barrier and tightened bond between the local community and our company.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Rustic Pathways- Service & Action
CAS Category: SERVICE & ACTION
Name: Rustic Pathways Service Opportunities
Hours: (56 + 56)
Dates: June 24- July 22
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” – Mark Twain
This summer I decided to get a head start with my CAS hours.
I kept a journal throughout my travels in Asia during the summer of 2010, so that I could accurately record how I spent my time. I spent a week in a small Village near Na Som doing volunteer work to improve the health and well-being of the community, a week traveling with a photography class, and then two weeks doing more volunteer work and learning the languages and about the culture and religion of various countries. Within this time, I travelled to Myanmar (Burma), Lao, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam with a Company called Rustic Pathways.
In Lao and Cambodia especially, Rustic Pathways arranged Various Volunteer opportunities.
In Na Som, I took part in all the service projects I could, these included; the Veterinary assistance Project (Vaccinating dogs), “Meals on flip flops” (cooking local foods and distributing it to elderly and small children), Donations (school equipment and books), Teaching (and Learning), Working at Temples, and repairing roads (to ease transportation and trade). In Lao, I spent 40 hours in Service Projects. Each project took patience and we learned as much as we gave. What I took from the experience of volunteering in Lao, was a sense of accomplishment, Bug Bites, eight pairs of broken shoes, increased patience, and a deeper understanding of my ancestry and culture. By living in the accommodations alongside the villagers, I became aware of how fortunate I am not to wake up every morning by the sounds of pigs being slaughtered next door, if I had not experienced that, now, I would probably sleep in until my sweet little alarm clock is set to snooze for the third time.
AT THE NUNERY WHERE WE LEARNED ABOUT BUDDHISM
AT THE ORPHANAGE IN CAMBODIA
PAINTING TEMPLE WALLS IN LAO
In Cambodia, our volunteer projects consisted of working at orphanages and temples, along with many donations of toys, books, and cookies. The Rustic Pathways Websites indicates that I spent sixteen hours in service projects there.
Each day was packed with things to do and places to see, which I cherished every moment of with my peers. My favorite place was this hidden little Blue Lagoon in Lao where we would jump off waterfalls and swing into warm water filled with “massaging fish” which would tickle our feet if we stood still.
Traveling with Rustic Pathways improved my time-management, language skills, and the art of cooking.
Here are a few websites where you will find my itinerary some things have changed for the 2011 edition
At the bottom of this website, you will find an explanation of each service project i did in Lao:
SERVICE HOURS: 40
This was the first trip i went on in Lao, this is a good overview of how each day was made up.
SERVICE HOURS: 8
This website shows what my second trip was about, however, locations and dates have changed.
SERVICE HOURS: 8
This website shows the last trip i was on.... however it does not show a very accurate itinerary
“Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.” – Cesare Pavese
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)