My Christmas

I wish my Christmas will be the best
Chocolats and cookies and all the rest
I'll sit under the Christmas tree
Waiting for Christmas to come close to me.

I wish the Lord will shine on me
And everyone will see miracles in me
And I'll say a pray for everybody
So all their wishes may be granted.

I wish I had a cat

I wish I had a cat
and I would name it Pat
It would have a hat
and sit on a lovely blue mat
and say, "I am a lovely cat".

I would give it a doll
and it would take it to a ball
and hid it in Pat's shawl
and say there's nothing at all.

October 15, 2009

Mater Dei is a hundred years old

Mater Dei is a school in Saligao, Bardez, Goa. It's an English medium school, and today they are celebrating its 100th year (anniversary).

The school is a very old school. There are two principals who run it, and their names are Cleta Lobo and Edna Lobo. The school was set up by their father.

The school is quite a nice school, and they have really cool text books. Because they learn all fun activities. In their textbooks, they learn really fast.

Today, they're celebrating the centenary and they have a small Mass in the Mae De Deus Church at Saligao.

My brother likes his school very much. He's going to blog about it; he doesn't like to talk so much, and tell everybody as much as I do. But he has made a lot of friends in his school, including Raj (his best friend), Duniya, Maria and some others from Standard I.

His class teacher is very nice, he says. Her name is Abinia. Aren has a lot of fun in his school, and he likes it.

When I go to pick him up, he's smiles a lot. The smaller classes always come out last. There's this girl, who just comes up to my father and asks him, "Do you know me Uncle?" and starts talking to me and my father about millipedes and centipedes. One day, she heard my brother talking about millipedes, and that's how she started talking about it.

No to TV

My father doesn't let me watch TV because he thinks it's bad for me. I like watching TV. He never lets me watch TV especially when there's my programme.

In some way it's good, but I feel he should let me watch TV.

When I watch TV, I feel happy and I like watching TV because I think it's fun.

Sometimes it's bad for me, because I get distracted, and I don't concentrate on my studies and stuff. But in some way, it's also good. Like, when I watch National Geographic and Disney Channel. In National Geographic, I watch the way animals live in the wild. And on Disney Channel, I watch Hannah Montana and Zac and Cody. There's nothing educational about it, but it's just fun.

I watch for one hour a day, because I'm allowed to. On Sundays I watch two hours. My brother watches TV for at least two hours because he's very addicted to it, and my father always blames me for Aren watching TV.

Wilson's art class

I love art. I find it a lot of fun. I like trying out new things in art, such as special designs and new techniques.

Wilson's art class is in Bal Bhavan. Bal Bhavan is this place in Campal, Panjim where there are all these activities for kids. There are many activities like drawing, cricket, musical instruments, clay modelling, and many others.

My brother and me are going to join art class. My brother's going to join the juniors' art class in Bal Bhavan, one of the senior art classes for bigger children.

My brother Aren is really interested in art. If you want to see his drawings and stuff, you can go to his blog. It's http://arengoa.blogspot.com

Bal Bhavan has an art class called an advanced art course for students aged 9 to 16 years. We're going to learn about fundamentals of art, study of lines, pencil, 2D and 3D design, creativity, basics of design, water colour painting, sketching and drawing, portraiture, human figure drawing and study, calligraphy handwriting, oil painting, still-life, nature, object drawing, creative drawing, fabric painting, history of art, print making, 3D scupture, and related activities.

Students' fees are between Rs 200 to 300 per month, depending on whether you go for class once, twice or thrice a week.

I'm really looking forward to going to this art class. I hope you come for it also.

Do mermaids really exist?

Isabel's drawing of a mermaid.

I just keep wondering all the time if mermaids and fairies, and elves and pixies really exist.

I wish I had a friend like a mermaid or a fairy. A fairy that would grant me how many wishes I wanted. And a mermaid who would always keep me company and play with me; and I would share all my feelings and thoughts with her.

She would also take me under-water, and we would play in her house.

And I wish she would also get her own legs, when she comes out of the water and comes to my house. When nobody was looking, I could go under the water, and we could both sit on rocks and comb her hair.

Me and my best friend Isabelle wish that we had a fairly friend.

If there were two of them (fairies) and we could name them whatever we wanted to. They would give us wishes. They would be tiny, dainty, and pretty-looking and very kind to us.

When I go to Isabel's house, we talk about fairies and mermaids. And we wish we could go underwater and really meet them one fine day if they really do exist.

The dhabha at Moradabad

A dhabha is a place where you sit out (in the open air) and eat parathas and stuff. Parathas are a kind of chappatis (Indian bread). You get many types of parathas -- for example, aloo parathas and gobi parathas, made of potato and cauliflower respectively.

On my trip to Delhi and nearby, we also went to Moradabad. It is a place in Uttaranchal. We were there during lunch-time, so we went to this dhabha and ate parathas and stuff.

We had a lot of fun in the dhabha, because we could out in the open air and play. Moradabad was quite nice, it was not too cold or too warm. It was just nice.

We sat on the table. There was a small boy who came to take the orders. He must have been 13 or 14, and his name was Sonu. It was so funny as he would tell us all things which were not available, and we would order them, but they were not available! So then we finally ordered parathas and daal makhani (brownish daal, with fresh butter and it tastes really nice).

My brother (5) calls it "Piggy Flue"

My brother thinks that Swine Flue is called "Piggy Flue". He says that you shouldn't eat pork all the time, because you'll get "piggy flue".

My brother also thinks that sausage and salami are not pork, because it comes from a factory -- well packed. Aren also thinks that every person who gets swine flue dies.

During these days, my brother had got high fever. It kept increasing and decreasing. And he was very hot, so I thought that he had swine flue! So my parents took him to the doctor, and she (Dr Lilly) said that he had very high fever and no other problem, because he had bad tonsils.

My brother could not have cold water or any cold drinks, and pineapple juice -- which he really loves. But he got well soon, and now he's alright.

I think Swine Flue spreads around because of viruses through the air, and I think that every case of Swine Flue, people don't die. So, to avoid Swine Flue, you should not have a cold, wash your hands, and be hygienic and all that rubbish.



SOURCE: http://cyanatrendland.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/fashion-swine-flue-mask.jpg

The Football Academy of Saligao

My grandfather (second from left) has trained some boys and girls to play football. We have matches and games. Football is a lot of fun. Specially when many children are there.

The members of the Football Academy of Saligao are: Elvis, Vishesh, Avaristo (who plays for Goa), Francisco, Abraham, Muskan, Seby, Anushka, Alister, Kevin, me, Aren and many others.

There are 20 of us in the football academy, but in the holidays nobody comes because they go for holidays (out of Goa). In the rain, we also don't play because we have to give the field back to the farmers to plant their crops.

We only play football during school days, in the evenings at 5.30 pm to 6.30 pm. I like playing football because it's a lot of fun. Sometimes I get to be the captain, and sometimes I don't.

In football, there's a goalie, a forward, etcetra.

The Secret Seven

My father had gone to Pune, and when he came back, he bought me some books.

The best book he bought me was about a mystery gang called The Secret Seven. It is written by Enid Blyton.

I like the book a lot.

The story is about six children and a dog. The children's names are Pam, Colin, Peter, Janet, etcetra. And the dog's name is Scamper.

This group, they meet up and discuss about their mysteries in a small shed where Janet and Peter live. But one day they decide that they need a better and a secret place.

So Colin has an idea, and he tells them, "We can have our meetings on a tree-house." They go to the misty woods, and try to find a proper tree, which is big enough for six of the children to fit.

Then, they find a tree, but Scamper cannot climb the tree. So, they give Scamper a small, little kennel down, and they all go up. Then they discuss what they need -- things like rope, wooden planks (for the steps), biscuits, orange-aide and lemon-aide and cushions.

So each one says what they're going to get.

But they suddenly find out that somebody else has been using their tree house....

That's how much I've read of the story.

Going back to school

My school reopens on June 6, 2009, at the start of the monsoon (rainy) season. Now I'm going to the sixth standard, VI C. There are ten standards before completing high school (Std X) in Goa. Sixth standard is in middle school.

I actually don't know where my classroom will be located, because the previous sixth standard student were only in VIA and VIB. This year we have VIC too.

I wish my class teacher is Sr Flory, or Miss Mary. Because she is very kind to me, and I like her very much. Miss Mary also is very kind.

When we go back to school, I want to meet all my friends in school. After a long holiday, we want to get together and meet each other. I am looking forward to meeting Melissia, Varuna, Rebecca and many others.

Lourdes Convent is in Saligao, and it's very close to my house. It's just a two-minute walk. I like my school very much and I'm happy to be there.

Agra fort

Agra Fort is a UNESCO World Heritage site located in Agra, India. The fort is also known as Lal Qila, Fort Rouge and Red Fort of Agra. It is about 2.5 km northwest of its much more famous sister monument, the Taj Mahal. The fort can be more accurately described as a walled palatial city.

It is the most important fort in India. The great Mughals Babur, Humayun, Akbar, Jehangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb lived here, and the country was governed from here. It contained the largest state treasury and mint. It was visited by foreign ambassadors, travellers and the highest dignitaries who participated in the making of history in India.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agra_Fort

Agra fort

Panch Mahal

Panch Mahal: A five-storied palatial structure. The bottom floor has 176 intricately carved columns.

Panch Mahal is a five-storey palace in Fatehpur Sikri, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Also known as "Badgir", which means windcatcher/tower. Panch Mahal stands close to the Zeenana quarters or Harem and that supports the fact that it acted as a pleasure palace. This is an extraordinary structure, entirely columnar, consisting of four storeys of decreasing size disposed asymmetrically upon a ground floor, which contains 84 columns. The pillars that originally had Jaalis between them support the whole structure.Once these screens provided purdah (cover) to queens and princess on the top terraces enjoying the cool breezes and watching splendid views of Sikri fortifications and the town nestling at the foot of the ridge.

The pavilion gives a majestic view of the fort that lays on its left. It is built by Akbar and only took 10 years to build the whole city.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panch_Mahal_Fatehpur_Sikri

Fatehpur Sikri...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatehpur_Sikri
Fatehpur Sikri (Hindi: फतेहपूर सिकरी, Urdu: فتحپور سیکری) is a city and a municipal board in Agra district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. The historical city was constructed by Mughal emperor Akbar beginning in 1570 and served as the empire's capital from 1571 until 1585, when it was abandoned for reasons that remain unclear. The surviving palace and mosque are a tourist attraction and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Ghaznin gate...

Agra fort... for sure!

The magnificient Taj Mahal

Agra fort...

Buland Darwaza at Fatehpur Sikri

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buland_Darwaza
Buland Darwaza (Hindi: बुलंद दरवाज़ा) meaning 'high' or 'great' gate in Persian, is the largest of gateways in the world. It is located in Fatehpur Sikri which is located 43 km away from Agra, India. It is also known as the "Gate of Magnificence".

A visit to the Taj

Everybody knows that the Taj Mahal is in Agra, and the Taj Mahal is very beautiful. The carvings in the Taj Mahal look so beautiful -- they are shaped into beautiful flowers.

During my summer vacations, we went to Delhi, Uttaranchal and Agra.

Outside the Taj Mahal, there were many shops. Selling different items like the Taj Mahal (minature) made out of marble, small boxes to keep ear-rings and stuff with semi-precious stones in them.

My brother brought a magnet of the Taj Mahal for the fridge, and I bought a small marble box with semi-precious stones in, and it looks very pretty.

When we went to the Taj Mahal, we were shocked to see it. It looks very pretty, and we were very happy to see it. Our hotel was not very far from the Taj. It was just a five minute's walk.

From our hotel, we could see the tip of the Taj Mahal.

People there were very nice. They were kind and they talked very politely. After seeing the Taj Mahal, we left our hotels and went to see Agra Fort. Agra Fort was amazingly huge and very pretty.

We did not finish the full fort, because on that same day we had to leave back for Delhi by car.

[PHOTO: Wikipedia http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a7/Taj_08.jpg]

My best friend comes to Goa

My best friend's name is Isabel and she stays in Bangalore. For her summer vacations, she comes to Goa. She arrived on April 4, one day before I was supposed to leave for Delhi.

I told her I would come back soon to play with her, and that we could all meet up.

When I came back from Delhi, we met up together quite often and had a lot of fun. We got to the pool together, and she comes over and I also go there (to her house at Porvorim). She's a very nice girl, and never is bad to me.

I think she's nice because she thinks wisely, is very polite, and her nature is very nice. She's also a very smart girl, and reads a lot. She loves reading; her hobbies are reading and swimming.

My whole gang -- includes Abigail, Gabbi, Heidi and me (besides Isabel) -- everybody likes Isabel because she's very polite and smart. Although she doesn't live in our village, we all meet up quite often.

We're planning to start a girl's band, but we have to think a bit more about it. Because of the meeting-up thing, we could end up with one person less.

Lassie comes home

On December 6, 2008, my school held a 100-metres run for all age groups at the Saligao Seminary (on the hill, where they have a big playground). I too went for the race. My mother took me for it.

When the race was over, I saw this lady carrying four cute little puppies in her hand, with the Seminary boys also holding the pups. I said the pups were so cute. She asked me, "Would you like one?"

I had been waiting for a pup for a long time, so I asked my mother if I could have one. My mother said I could; so I told her yes.

She asked me if I would want a girl pup or boy pup. I told her I wanted a girl, since I'm more found of girl pups. I'm a girl, so I like a girl pup and all that.

Then I brought Lassie home and gave her a nice cosy basked from London. The basket was too big, and she didn't like it. So we put her into a small shoe box where she could fit.

When she grew bigger, she used to sleep in the basket and she used to like it very much. But now she likes sleeping in her little rug.

She's a very friendly dog. She jumps on everybody and starts licking them, and she's made friends with most of the dogs in the street -- Blackie (her best friend), and Kelly, and Smokie, and Dino. But she doesn't like Digby because he bit her.

She met with two accidents so far, that's because she just runs across the road without looking. But now she's trained, and when a motorbike comes, she goes to the side of the road.

Me, with a jackfruit ("the largest tree-borne fruit in the world")

FROM WIKIPEDIA: The jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) is a species of tree of the mulberry family (Moraceae) native to parts of South and Southeast Asia. It is well suited to tropical lowlands. Its fruit is the largest tree borne fruit in the world^[1], seldom less than about 25 cm (10 in) in diameter. Even a relatively thin tree, around 10 cm (4 in) diameter, can bear large fruit. The fruits can reach 36 kg (80 lbs) in weight and up to 90 cm (36 in) long and 50 cm (20 in) in diameter. The jackfruit is something of an acquired taste, but it is very popular in many parts of the world. The sweet yellow sheaths around the seeds are about 3–5 mm thick and have a taste similar to that of pineapple, but milder and less juicy.

My trip to Delhi

In my summer vacations, I went to Delhi with my mother and my brother.

First we went to Uttaranchal, and stayed in four places, for a week. Then, after that, we came back to Delhi.

In Delhi, we saw the Red Fort, and outside Delhi we saw Fatehpur Sikri, the Taj Mahal, Agra fort ...

The weather in Delhi was 41 deg Celsius, and it was very hot there. But I was not sweating, because the heat was dry heat. Delhi is a crowded place, but we had a lot of fun there. In Uttaranchal, we went to Corbett, and saw the Jim Corbett National Park. In Corbett, the weather was very nice and cool. The second place we went to was Mukteshwar. It was 10 degrees Celsius, but later it became just 5 deg C. We were shivering. There was also a hail-storm there. A hail-storm is when it rains and ice falls from the sky.



Where we stayed, in Naukuchiatal. Photo: http://www.holidayiq.com/destinations/Naukuchiatal-Overview.html

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We also went to Naukuchiatal, and the weather was a little cold but nice. We went by a shinkara boat, for a ride. We also went for horse-rides. After that, we went to Nainital, and there was this huge road called the Mall Road. It's not actually malls, but a lot of shops. There too we drove a horse. The horse's name was Gulfan. We met a dog called Lali, in Nainital. And in Naukuchiatal, we met a dog called, strangely, "Panther".

Then we came back to Delhi.