Skateistan

I got to Kabul a few days ago. The kids here are really nice. It's so fun to travel, to do something to help the world to be a better place! When we got here, everyone seemed really depressed, but now that theirs hope, the kids are looking happier! Today we found the fountin. It is a nice fountain really, at least it must have been when it had water in it. The kids had the idea to skate in it. We were looking for places to skate and when we saw the fountin, the kids new it was the place right away. At first we didn't know about it, but now we are very glad the kids had the idea to skate in it. I am really exited, because im learning to skate with the kids. Today, when I first tryed to skate off the lip of the fountin, I was really scared. I had let another little girl use my helmet, so I was vulnerable. I finally tryed and it worked! That boosted my cofidence alot, and now I'm helping the bigger kids push the little kids and help them. Its cool because tommorow, were going to start building some more ramps. Then we'll be able to challeng ourselves. Also, this morning, we gave out de-worming medicine. Some of the kids didn't want to take it. That made me really sad. They probably will end up not as good in the long run because they didn't take it. But we can't force them I guess. Last night, we slept in one of the kids houses. It was the first time someone has really welcomed us to Kabul. Its hard to know who to trust becasue there's a war going on. But our story was good enough for them. For dinner, we had brown rice and chopped carrots with a tiny serving of chicken. They were one of the richer families. We lay on our mats on the floor at bed time. Kabul is great! In the morning, we thanked the family for their hospitality, and set off to build some ramps. This is a really fun experience for me. My cousin and uncle would be proud. ( They both really like to skate and are really good at it.)


View Kabul in a larger map

 Kabul, Skate, Kids

better off now

right to play

girls and boys

Kabul, Skate, Kids

Dragons Day 6

morning
cold
fog
bus
 long
sophie
bikes
music
homecoming
lines
posters
party
amazing
freezing
tired
home
good

In the morning, we got up early and made sandwiches. Then we did a big puja and a trash sweep. It was very cold and it looked like it might rain. No one had there rain gear because it was all packed away. Me and Sophie were sitting there freezing for like an hour before the buses came. It was so cold! Then we got on the buses. We rode on the buses for a while, then got off at the park. We got in our familys and rode a little ways. The whole school gathered in a parking lot and got in there lines. Then we rode into homecoming. It was so fun with all the sighns and banners and posters and the party! It was amazing. After a while, everyone started leaving. It had been a really amazing trip.

Dragons Day 5

last day
speed groups
lily
uphill
hot
hard
brian
music
funny
songs
downhill
lunch
winery
rocks
river
lily
shoes
clouds
happy
almost there
spit war
camp
showers
fire
ninth grade
ashes
bed

This was our last full day on the trip. We got in different speed groups though. This time I was with Brian the headmaster. My bike partner was Lily. In the beggining, it was a very steep ride. We had to stop alot and it was really hot. But Brian made it fun because whenever we stopped, he would take out his phone and play really wierd songs like Alvin and the Chipmunks or something. It was really funny. Finnally we got to the top of the hill. Then we started riding down. By then we were singing because we were so happy to be going downhill. After a while, we stopped for lunch at a winery place. That was pretty fun. Then we got back on our bikes and kept going. We went on like that for a while. Then we started going over all these rocks and sand and stuff. After a few minutes, we got to a small river. We got off our bikes, took off our shoes, and started wading. It was really mucky. Lily dropped her shoes in the water. David filmed the whole thing. On the other side, we put our shoes back on and started riding. It started getting windy and the clouds started rolling in. I hoped it would rain but it didn't. We rode for a little while longer until we were almost at camp. We stopped. Me and Lily put water in our mouths and started spitting it at each other. It was really fun! Then when we were riding into camp, we had to go down a steep grassy hill. I almost fell  but I didn't. We had finnally made it back into camp. It was the same camp as the night before. Me and Lily took showers in the non crouded bathroom again. After dinner, at the fire, the ninth graders did the ashes ceremony. It was a very long, very sad fire. Everyone was crying, including me. I was going to miss the ninth graders so much, especially Luisa. Then everyone went to bed.
View Untitled in a larger map

Dragons Day 4; Ballard Canyon

riding
bikes
handle bars
steep
not good
boring
not best day
astronomu
fire
my dad
stevo
bricks
jim
trailer park
showeres
lily
kelly
cara
fun



View day 4 in a larger map That morning, we woke up and got in our familys and started riding. We rode over the rolling hills. At one point, there was a very steep hill that we had to ride up. I was super tired that day, I don't know why. It wasn't one of my best days. I didnt make it all the way up the hill, I had to walk some of it. I think one of the more fun parts of the day was when our family stopped for lunch. Jim split the last cookie brick in pieces so we could all have a piece. It was fun at lunch because we talked about movies and shows and stuff. Finally, we got to camp. It wasn't an amazing camp ground, it had a bunch of trailers every where because it was a trailer park. When I went to take my shower, there was a very long line. It took about an hour until I got to the front. But then me and Lily heard that there was another showere without a line. We went and asked Daphne, one of the adults to take us there but then Cara said it wasn't allowed because it was too far away. We had to go back and stand at the end of the line again and wait a whole nother hour to get back to the front, but then Kelly P. saved our lives. She talked to Caroline and then she took us to the other shower. We were so grateful. That was our shower catastrophy! At the fire, Stevo came and talked and so did my dad. My dad did an astronomy show with his laser. It was pretty cool. Then we all went to bed.

Dragons Day 3; Los Olivos

beach
morning swim
no showers
sand
bus with amanda
makeup
speed groups
park lige'improv
john and jim
try to make me laugh
thunder chicks
jouhn
water
jmj and the thunder chicks
friends
down hill/ uphill
sugar breathing dragon is acoss the river bridge
bakery
chai vanilla latte
ices
cream puff with amanda
full
best bread and cheese in world
big hill
rode all the way up
random hose with dia
rode
its a hard knock life
apple farm
mud/ hose
apples
store
clapping game with lige
camp
stars
play
dragon

The third day was the best. We started our day with an early morning swim. It was so cold! We were gonna take showers but the teachers wouldn't let us, so I went and dunked my head under the faucet to get the sand and salt off. After that, we got onto the bus. I sat next to Amanda. It was fun. Finally, we got to the park and had our lunch. After that we sat in a circle and Lige helped people do improv. It was so funny. Then we played a game where people had to try to make other people laugh. John and Jim did it and it was hilarious! John started a water fight! Then we finally got in our bike groups. I had a bunch of  my friends in mine. John kept dumping water all over us and there were only two guys in our group, Jared and Marlin, and then of course John. So our group was called JMJ and the Thunder Chicks. We rode off. After a while, we were getting tired and bored so we asked John how much longer until we got to Solvang. He said, "The sugar breathing dragon is across the river bridge." After a few minutes we came to a river bridge! We were all really exited! From there we rode into Solvang. We all headed strait for the bakery. When we got there, we went inside. It smelled delicious. Amanda S. and I got a cream puff and shared it. She got kind of mad because when I was eating it, I squeezed it and a bunch of cream came out. I also got a vanilla chai latte. Everyone was done and we were getting ready to go when we found out that some people got some free bread and cheese from the bakery. We all wanted to try some, so we each got our own. It was the best bread and cheese I have ever had. Then we left. We had to go up a REALLY STEEP hill. It wasn't that long, it was just steep! I made a promise to myself that I would rid up the whole hill and not walk. I did. But when we got to the top, my bike partner, Amanda had to go in a van becasue it turned out she had bronchitis. Also, there was this house and some of us went up to the door and asked if we could use his hose to wash our faces. He said yes, so we sprayed each other and got soaking wet! It was really fun. Then we rode to the apple farm. The whole time I was riding, in my head I was singing "It's a Hard Knock Life" from the movie "Annie". When we got to the apple farm, we got to pick really good apples for only fifty cents a piece. We sprayed each other with hoses there too and our shoes got caked with mud. Then we rode again and got to the park where most of the other bike groups were. We went to the store and got chips and candy and then went back to the park where we hung out for a while. I played a game with Lige and some other kids where you make noises like clapping or something and then every one else just adds onto it. Then my bike group left. We got to our camp at Dunn School. We set up our tents and had dinner. Then Pam and Lige were looking for people to be in a play at the campfire. I said I would be in it. I was alot of characters but my biggest part was being the dragon. It was a really fun day.



View Larger Voices Calling: Dragons, Dreamers, and Doers Day 1- The Dragon Spine in a larger map

Dragons Day 2; Refugio

View Dragons Day 2; Refugio...El Capitan in a larger map second day
downhill
bikes
pleasant
beach
camp
pavement
breeze
jenny
jim
cookie bricks
brakes
hands tired
feel like your flying
finnally get to camp
showers
dragon tattoos

The second day was much better than the first. It wasn't as hot, and there was more shade. The whole day was downhill, so I thought it would be easy, but I thought wrong. My group went really slow down the hill so I had to hold my brakes almost the whole time! My hands hurt so badly! At one point, one of the people in my group had to stop because their brakes weren't working well. And that's not good if your going down a very long, very steep hill. Again, Jim got out the cookie bricks which gave us all energy. Sometimes, when we were going down the hills fast, it would feel like we were flying! Finnally we got to camp. We were all exausted from having to hold our brakes down all day. We all got to take showers, which was really nice. At dinner, we ate with our familys. After dinner, we all signed up for our speed groups. I was in the back of the line, so when I finnally got back to my family, they had all already put fake dragon tattoos on their arms. Thats where we got our family name, "The Dragon Tattoos"! I didn't have a dragon tattoo, but I was still part of the family. It was a pretty fun day.

Larger Voices Calling: Dragons, Dreamers, and Doers Day 1- The Dragon Spine

Hot
Sun
Jenny
Hard
scary downhill
loose rocks
dirt
uphill
first day
experimental
fun
want to get to camp
Jims group
lots of sun
experiences
adventures
bricks


That day was the first day of the trip. It was hard, it was hot, and it was tiring. Jenny was my bike partner. I didn't really know her before but now I do. It was fun making new friends. We were riding up Dragons Spine, on of the hardest rides, and it was only the first day! In the beginning, it was mostly downhill, which was really hard because it was all loose and rocky. It was scary and hard not to slip. After that, it turned into a really steep uphill! At one point, Jenny and I got so tired, we had to stop and fell way behind our group! We were kind of mad at Jim for not waiting for us. But then at one of our stops, Jim got out the cookie bricks that his wife had made. We weren't mad at him anymore after that. We wanted to get to camp so bad! Finally, we rode up the last hill to camp. We were like the fourth group to get there. Lily L., Layla, and I set up our tent, and then relaxed after the long day's ride. After fire that night, we were all ready for a good nights sleep.

View Larger Voices Calling: Dragons, Dreamers, and Doers Day 1- The Dragon Spine in a larger map