I'll Miss 8th Grade.

My time in middle school as a senior is coming to an end. All those hard work, tests, projects, struggles has finally paid. The grade is out and summer’s coming. In 1 more day I’ll officially be a high schooler. That was fast. I never though High School would come by in a flash! Before I know it, I’ll graduate from high school then I’ll go to college, and who knows what I’ll do next. So it’s true; adults told us that being a kid is the best, but we didn’t trust them and wanted to grow up faster. Well now I’ve learned an important lesson, enjoy everyday of life. Even though I’ll look back at the past sometimes and miss those unforgettable moments, but I would still try to make the best out of everyday. I still remember the first day I was in middle school; I was really proud of myself that I finished elementary school. I’ve met many new friends, good and bad, learned about a variety of things these past 3 years, and tried my best everyday. Even though some friends are leaving us next year and we’ll definitely miss them, we have to keep moving on. I felt a wide variety of emotions these past few days. I felt sadness, happiness, anxious, wistfulness, camaraderie, and many more. Despite all of those emotions, I know we are ready to venture into high school, together. See you next year! :)

The Napoleon Theme Park

If I were one of the creators of the Napoleon Theme Park, I would create another attraction called “ The Guns at Vendemiaire.” This roller coaster ride would be a small water ride. It would be a roller coaster ride that goes through a small city, Paris, in the old days. Then, there would be canons around the ride that shoots water. But, it’s not going to be one big splash; it will be little water shots at us. Plus, there will be water balloons provided for people who are watching to throw at the riders. After the riders are wet, they would go up a steep hill and do a free fall. After that, they would go through a 360° loop and come to a stop. Because of the free fall, and the 360° loop, people should dry off a little. This would be a really exhilarating ride to have in the Napoleon Theme Park. 

Here is the link the a BBC article on the Napoleon Theme Park: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17397172 

Courage can be Develop throughout Life

       I believe that courage is not something you have to be born with, but you can develop it throughout your life. As you learn and grow, you gain more experience that helps you become courageous. Everyone has courage, and it will be revealed at a different time for different people. Some would show courage at a young age, while others will show it when they are older. For instance, Justin Bieber showed social courage by becoming a star even though he knew there were going to be some criticism. He showed courage at a young age, whilst my grandma showed intellectual and social courage when she was sixty. My grandma studied at Mahidol University to get her master degrees in public health when she was sixty years old. Grandma was the oldest among other students, but she was still willing to learn even though she risked social embarrassment. Everybody has courage within themselves. When the time is right, that quality will shine.  

We were Caring Citizens!

            Last Friday, my school had an advisement trip to Pattaya, a city next to the beach in the gulf of Thailand; it took us 2 hours to get there. At Pattaya our grade was divided to go do different community service, some went to the school for blinds, some went to a daycare center, and others went to Father Ray’s Children Village. I went to Father Ray’s Children Village, we were able to choose what we wanted to do there, farming or painting the playground. I’ve always wanted to try farming, and my idea of farming was to plant rice in a muddy field with buffalos. But, it turned out that we were gardening instead. We had to pull out morning glory, and also pull out other weeds in the cabbage field. Father Ray’s Children Village has their own garden to use for their meals. While gardening, a little brown puppy came running into the field, she was so cute! Later on, I found out that she’s a stray dog, and her mother left her behind. Father Ray found her at the side of the street, so he adopted her as their school’s dog. The puppy is named “Julie” because Father Ray wanted her to have an American name. From gardening at Father Ray’s Children Village, I’ve learned to be more appreciative of my vegetables.

After 2 whole hours of gardening in the scorching sun, we finally head to lunch. We went to eat at a bayside seafood restaurant named “Moom Aroi.” In Thai, that word means delicious corner. Whenever I go to Pattaya, I usually go there with my parents too. I really like the restaurant because the seafood is fresh, and the scenery is also pleasant. After eating, my friends and I sat on the raised platform, watching the ocean waves and took tons of photos. During my ride back to school, all my energy is drained out from squatting for 2 hours while pulling out the morning glory, so I slept the whole way.

From this advisement fieldtrip to Pattaya, I was a caring citizen, one of the six ESLRs. I was a caring citizen because I did some community service; I helped others by gardening for them, and pulled out fresh morning glory for their meal. By helping Father Ray’s Children Village farm, I learned how hard it is for other people to have a meal. They have to grow the vegetables themselves, and every meal takes hard work. After the field trip, I’m now more appreciative of my meals, especially my vegetables. I now know how it actually feels to work as a farmer; it is extremely tiring, even though I’ve done it for only 2 hours. But after doing the community work, I felt happy because I was not only helping others but I was having fun doing it too. Being a caring citizen is fun!

Here are some pictures of me and my friends at the restaurant:

I Believe Colonists are Patriots

In Social Studies class, we are studying about American Revolution. Ms. Torie asked us to describe our thoughts about the colonists, and whether they are patriots or terrorists. First of all, we have to understand the different definition between the patriots and the terrorists. Terrorists are organizations that create fear among people in a certain nationality they don’t like, usually by bombing. But, patriots are people who love their country, and fights for their own country. So, I personally think that the colonists are patriots because they’re just fighting for America’s independence. The colonists had to boycott the British goods, start the Stamp Act Congress, created the Boston Tea Party because they were treated poorly. In the Boston Massacre, the colonists hurt some soldiers, but the soldiers killed 5 colonists.  Britain was suffocating the colonists with their new taxes and laws, which caused them to rebel, like the colonists said, “Taxation without Representation.” This historic event is similar to the Libyan civil war in 2011. The Libyan people were divided into two groups, based on their like or dislike of their leader, Muammar Gaddafi. Some Libyans couldn’t tolerate this dictator anymore, so they fought for their right to have a new government by using violence and protesting. That was just like how the colonists were fighting with the British for independence. Unlike the Libyans, colonists used actions as their weapon. To conclude, colonists are patriots because they are fighting for their country’s independence. They just wanted more freedom and more rights, so they can have a better life.  

A Little Preview

Hi everyone! My name is Meg, AKA Methira Chaijaroenpat. I’m 13 years old and I LOVE JUSTIN BIEBER!!! I really love his songs and especially him. I’m waiting for his Christmas album to come to Thailand; my favorite song in that album is “Mistletoe.” Talking about Christmas, what are you guys doing for this Christmas? Even though Thai people don’t usually celebrate Christmas, I do it almost every year. However, this year I will be going to Tokyo, Japan with my family for our Christmas break! I feel very exhilarated. We will be snow boarding and eating sushi everyday! Do you guys often ski or snowboard? I just love the snow! As a result of being located near the equator, Thailand never snow. So for the past 3 years, I’ve been going to Japan every Christmas break to snowboard.

       Oops, I forgot to introduce my family. Well, I’m a family of 4 with 4 Bull Terrier dogs. It’s kind of our inside-joke that each dog symbolizes one of us. My family includes my parents, my sister, and I. Our dogs also include, a dad, a mom, and 2 sisters. When our dogs were puppies they were so cute!  But now, they’ve grown pretty big. Regardless, I still love them. I don’t really know if it’s a coincidence, but my sister, my dad and I are all born on January and our names all start with “M.” Even though my mom is named “Sioux,” and she’s born on August 6^th, we changed her name to “Mommy,” so she can be part of the gang. My birthday is coming up next month, January 13^th, and I’m extremely excited because I have plans for my birthday. On that day, we will all go to the temple in the morning, around 6:30 (it’s kind of our tradition to go to the Temple on our birthday). Then later, we will go out to eat lunch, maybe even a buffet. Afterwards, we might go shopping or watch a movie. For dinner, my dad will cook steak for all of us, and my mom will be baking brownies. My dad only cooks steaks on special occasion, such as the King’s birthday. So as you can see, I also love eating, it’s one of my hobbies. I live to eat! I also love playing volleyball; it’s my most favorite sport in the world! Right now there’s soccer season going on, so I have to wait for about another 10 weeks until volleyball season starts. Earlier this year, I was in JV Volleyball (Junior Varsity), but then due to the flood, we were not able to make it to the championship tournament. What kind of sports do you guys like to play?       

       So, now that you know more about me, I would like to know more about you guys too! I really like this idea of quad blogging because it connects people from different parts of the world together. I will be able to know about the current events from first person point of view, which I think is sometimes more reliable than the newspaper. If you guys every wonder about Thailand or have any questions, you can always ask me. Happy Holidays!

Here are some pictures of my doggies: 

This is a picture of when they were still young:

They've all grown so fast! 

Thai People are so Creative!

The flood has stirred up a lot of problems in Thailand. People are starving, they are stuck in their home, and health conditions are poor. But, for some people they look at the glass half full. Some make a good use out of the flood; they create new inventions to help them adjust to the new environment. They created lifejackets for their dogs using bottles, or jet skis out of bottles and tubes. Nonetheless, my favorite invention was the elevated tricycles. It was my favorite invention because they adapt to their environment using what they had. It was creative and unique. Instead of just abandoning the tricycle, they raised it using scraps and pieces and turned it into something useful again.

A creation I would make to help with the flood issue is a floating shower with filtered water. There will be showering room that is on top of a sturdy raft. The water would come from the floodwater, and it will be filtered before entering a bucket. When a person wants to shower, they will turn on the filter and clean water will be filling up the bucket. People will be able to shower by using a small plastic bowl, cupping the water up and just shower. It was how Thai people usually shower in the past. Since we don’t want to pollute the water, people will shower inside a tub, which will be filtered again before going back into the floodwater. This creation will be named “The Portable & Floatable Flood Shower Room,” or the PFFSR. The PFFSR will help with the hygiene problems and showering issue for those who are troubled by the flood.

Many things inspire all of these creations.  I think that those innovation and resourcefulness comes from our environment, such as TV, Internet, books, movies, pictures, and many more. Maybe some people know how to build and create things; using their skills, they create new inventions to help with the flood problem. These qualities are very important because it helps people to live an easier and simpler life than before. For example, some people can build rafts that would be able to provide them shelter temporarily.  These qualities could help people survive during times in need. So as you can see, these qualities are very important and helpful at times.

Here is a picture of my favorite creation:

http://media.thestate.com/smedia/2011/10/28/11/09/502-iOCmv.Em.55.jpg