Family

Yesterday was my mom's birthday which was the 10/01/10. This was a cool year for her because the date is in a pattern, there won't be any date like this until 20100. My little brother sneaked in her room early in the morning before she woke up, and put his card on her bedside table, so when she woke up there would be a surprise awaiting. I gave her my decorated card after I was nicely cleaned up. She was really happy and appreciative when she received all our cards. As a birthday tradition, whoever is the birthday person gets a cake and a present. My dad went to Harvest and bought a chocolate cake that wrote "Happy Birthday Rose, 10/01/10. The cake was delicious! We went out to lunch at Penang Bistro which takes only 5 minutes from my house. My mom's hometown is near Penang. I ate Roti Canai Tissue, but it was such a large portion! That was delicious too. After we were done with our meal, we went back home and my mom opened her birthday gift, It was this really gorgeous, sparkling watch from Switzerland and she also got a casing for it. She was trying it on, admiring her gift. She got a banquet of roses, to match her name which is Roslina, and later on she displayed the flowers in a vase. She was supposed to get a spa treatment but unfortunately she had a tummy-ache. Poor her on her birthday. But then we played something to distract her from the pain.

We then played Congklak, a traditional Malaysian game where there are 10 holes with 5 shells in each and a home on a wooden bowl. You're supposed to move the shells in a strategic way, to get as many shells in your home hole. It's not as easy as it sounds, it's for people who like brain games, but sometimes it's luck. You also need patience. I was versing my mom, but in the end she lost. Then I versed my brother and he lost too. Everyone was trying to beat me, but the person who managed to was my older sister. They were happy that there was finaly a new champion! It was a really nice family day and I can't wait until my next family members' birthday which is in May.

Holiday entry 10

This is my last entry of my holidays. Today was actualy my mom's birthday and what was cool is her birthdate this year is 10/01/10. It's like a pattern. My brother woke up early and snuck in his card before my mom wakess up. I wanted to be clean when I presented my card so I gave it to her later on. She was really happy when she receied all of her cards. My dad bought a chocolate cake from Harvest, and she blew her candles. Her birthday present was this really gorgeous watch with a purse. She also got a banquet of roses. For lunch we went to Penang Bistro which is only 5 minutes away from where I live. I ate Roti Canai tissuewith Penang Rojak. The good times in Malaysia... We went to the grocery store to buy grocery for school which is tomorrow. I had a fantabulous holiday and it's back to school for me!

Holiday entry 9

I woke up in the morning by the sound of my little brother. He was saying that I better wake up because my whole family is swimming in the morning. This is exciting because usually my whole family doesn't swim, mostly the only one who swims sre my siblings and I. I got changed in my swimsuit and ran to my back yard. I saw my dad had already set the net up, above the swimming pool. We were going to play volleyball in the pool. My sister, brother and I were on one side, and my parents were on the other. I think that's really unfair because they have to adults and we're on the deep side so we sat on floaties. Obviously my parents won against us, and they did this cheer. So we wanted to show them they were wrong by trading sides. Now we don't need anymore floaties. They were struggling a lot. In the end my siblings and I won, and we did a cheer. The game was so long, but we prove them that we could do it. It was a really fun day and I hope we play pool volleyball again!

Holiday entry 8

Today I woke up early at about 7 o' clock because my siblings and I had a appointment with the dentist to check our teeth and maybe get it cleaned. We went to Medikaloka near my dad's office, so we used the same car. My big sister went first because she wanted to get it done and over with. I went next because my little brother wanted to go last. I don't know why but I'm not scared of the dentist, but I'm scared of  getting injections. Weird... The dentist was checking my teeth then he cleaned it. The only thing that was bothering me was that I had to keep my mouth open the whole time and I couldn't swallow. And also the nurse was poking my gum with a tool. The doctor told me something that I didn't see coming. I had my first cavity! They covered up the hole but it didn't hurt at all to me. After my turn was done I went to visit the ear doctor, because my hearing has gone worse because I keep asking my family to repeat lots of times. He checked my ear and throat to see if there's anything wrong. He said there was nothing wrong but he put it to the test. I was put in a trapped box-room and I had headphones on. If I hear a *beep*, I have to press this buzzer. It was different pitches and tones and different volumes. It was kind of wierd. It reminded me of playing play station. After the test was done, the doctor announced the results. He said I had good hearing, but the problem was I don't pay enough attention when I'm communicating. He gave me nasal spray to clear my inflammation.

When we were done at Medikaloka, we went to Pasar Festival. We went and ate at A&W. We went to kareoke at Vizta. My siblings and I mostly picked Michael Jackson songs because he's our favourite singer. We're obsessed with him, especialy my sister. She has magazines, newspaper articles, T-shirt, stickers, all the songs and videos in her Ipod, and seen this is it. We then cut our hair. I cut my hair shorter and layered. I look so wierd and different! I wonder what people might think and say about it. I'm not used to my new look yet. Oh well, you'll just have to see me at school!.....

Holiday entry 7

A few weeks ago, my family and I went to Pasar Festival to go bowling. I sometimes wonder why we have to wear special shoes. They're kind of big and remind me of clown shoes. We tried to find the lightest ball for my brother and I, that was yellow colour. My dad was first up, my brother second, me next, my sister, then my mom. We ordered drinks, french fries and fried chocolate-cheese fritters. I got gutter-balls in the beggining, but then I got the hang of it. I came in third place. My dad was obviously first place with a good high score, my mom following next, me, my sister, and then my little brother. That was an exhausting but fun game. We then headed to PIM for some shopping and dinner. They had a event where you go on a miniture train around the mall. The line was too long so we didn't go. There were pretend train tracks to guide the way. We ate dinner at the food court and shopped a for a while. I feel like going bowling again!

Holiday entry 6

On 31st December, it was our last day in Lombok. We woked up bright and early and headed across the street for breakfast at a restaurent called the Office. Most of us ordered the Breakfast Set. While we were waiting for our breakfast to get ready, my brother and I went to play billiard. They had a billiard set in the restaurent. It was hard to get the right aim and force release. There were 2 people who came and thought us the right way to play the game. We were getting better at playing the game. Just when I won the game, our breakfast was ready. I had fresh toast, sunny-side up egg and baked beans. We bought a t-shirt each for ourselves as a souvenier from Lomkbok. After we ate our breakfast, we went back to the hotel to check-out, but we're leaving our bags at the reception center because we're spending some time at the beach but the check-out time is 12 o'clock. We had to walk all the way to the other side of the beach to swim. We couldn't swim at our side of the beach becauseit was too deep, but the other side wasn't that deep. My brother and I built a sandcastle protected my a tall wall and towers. We swam for a while, but it was getting too dirty and sandy , so we decided to swim at the hotel's swimming pool. We washed ourselves off and went for a little swim. After we showered and got dressed, we took our bags and left the hotel. We took a cab to the airport. When we reached the airport, I could've sworn I saw Ms. Voss! I looked carefully, and I think it was her! That's really wierd because my friend said that she saw Mr. Hughes and I saw her teacher! Our flight was at 5 and we reaced back in Jakarta at about 6:30pm. I just want to wish everyone a happy new year! May all the happiness and peace be with you!

Holiday entry 5

On 30th December which is the second day in Lombok, we went to lots of places. We started the day of early in the morning to Sheraton because at our hotel, there isn't any tours and guides. We got a driver/tour guide who first took us to a pottery place. At the front of the building there was a shop of potteries the staff made, and at the back was where you made it. My brother and I tried doing one. I made a swan with my name on it and my brother made a spotty dinasaur with his name on it. We bought some potteries but we had to wrap it and keep it tight in a box, or else it will brake in the airplane. We had to put our handmade pottery somewhere hot to dry because it needs to harden.
After we visited this place, we went to the weaving house that was closeby. My brother and I tried weaving the traditional way. My mom bought a sarong from the shop that we later saw. After we had a few drinks at the shop we left the place and went to visit traditional Lombok houses which were called Rumah Sasak. An interesting fact is that the houses were made out of cow manure. Really wierd and unusual... We went in the house and it was small. Only 2 rooms in the whole house with no doors or window or light. That's why the house was really dark. My brother and I bought our own frog instruments from a nearby village. It was a wooden frog with a slot in it, and you rub a wooden stick on it's spike. It imitates a frog's noise. As we exited the village, my dad made a donation.
 Then we headed of to the gem pearl shop where my mom bought a pearl ring. The next stop we went to was similar to the gem pearl shop but it was the pearl shop. I saw so many buses of tourists going to this shop. Mostly all girls, that is. Lombok is mostly famous for their pearls. My mom loves jewelry that she bought 6 things! The rest of us were left waiting. When my mom finished satisfying herself, the driver dropped us at a restaurent where we had our lunch, and then we went back to our hotel. I was so tired I wanted to relax. The day finaly ended. This day I visited a lot of traditional things and learnt some new techniques and learnt more about their culture. There is only one day left in Lombok....

Holiday entry 4

On the 28th of December, it was my last day in Bali. I really like how Bali displays their tradition and I think it is a really exotic place. I heard it's one of the most famous tourist place. I agree. Everywhere I look I see tourists and foreigners like me. We packed our bags and checked out of the hotel. That hotel was a great place to stay and I miss it. We went to Bali Collection which is a huge outside mall withthings related to Bali or from Bali. We bought lots of food and other things too.

We left from Bali Collection to Pizza Hut near Kuta beach for lunch. We couldn't take too long because soon it was going to be our flight to Lombok. I'll be staying there for about 2 and a half days. Our flight time was about 5 o' clock. After the big meal we headed for the airport. We were surprised when we were in the plane. They served us a sweet and fruit tea, and after a few minutes it was time too land. That was way too short! It was only 15 minutes! My family and I was laughing. We set foot in Lombok when it was night time. We waited for our baggage then a taxi. He took us to our hotel that wasn't far away. It was called Puri Bunga and was also villas. It was such a long way up to the villas. We had to climb so many stairs until we reached it. My mom was puffed out. After we unpacked and settled in, we walked across the street to eat at a restaurent. It was called Lotus. When we finished eating, we went back to our hotel and slept.

Holiday entry 3

This is the second day in Bali which is the 28th of December. We woke up really early because we want to explore as many places as we can. We started the day off by eating a scrumptious breakfast at the hotel's restaurent. Then we headed to the beach booked for water sports in Benoa. You could pick so many water sports to do. You could go parasailing, banana boat, flying fish, scuba-diving, snorkeling and many more. I wanted to go parasailing but the instructor said the wind was too strong, it's too dangerous. So we wanted to do something that was safe and that everyone could do. We chosed to visit Turtle Island. We took a private boat to the island but before we reached there, we stopped a while because we were feeding the fishes bread. So that's what the bread was for! We couldn't really see the fishes because the water was too brown and dirty. After about 15 minutes we arrived at turtle island where there was our own tour guide waiting for us. Oh yeah, whenn we were going to turtle island we saw a funny but dangerous sight. This place was close to the airport so we saw someone high up in the air parasailing and a airplane almost touching it. That must've been scary! The tour guide welcomed us to the island and gave us a tour. 

First we saw different types of turtles. We saw baby turtles, huge turtles and green turtles. When I carried the adult turtle, it was so heavy. My fingers were hurting and was slipping! We moved on to a shallow pool, when you could swim with the turtles. It was kind of scary because I didn't know what was underneath me. We got to feed the turtles seaweed. I never knew what they ate. Next we saw iguanas. They were scary but my dad and I gave it a shot and stroked it. Then we saw an eagle. My dad, my brother and me were the only one who put the eagle on our shoulders because my mom and sister didn't want to. The claws were hurting my neck a little bit because it was trying to climb. The next animal was the fruit bat. Only my dad and me held it. You hold it upside down by it's leg and we tapped our arms to make the fruit bat open it's wings.It felt a bit gross because the legs were muscley. We saw the phyton but no way was my family or me going to hold it. It just gave us the creeps! The last animal was the toucan. The beak and eyelashes was so long! I didn't hold it though. After we saw all that we stopped for a coconut drink. We made a donation to the animals at the donation box and left the island. We took the boat back and reached back to Benoa.

We then went to Sukawati which took forever! It's another huge bazzar and shopping stalls. We bought bags of things. I bought another pair of slippers, a wooden toy calender, a traditional wooden cicak that you hang on your wall, broadshorts and a sundress. I'm not sure if I bought more but it's too much!! After many long minutes, we stopped at a restaurent called Rapuan Cilli. I ate seafood fettucini. Yum! We were supposed to got to white river rafting but it rained, unfortunately. That was the most exciting thing I was waiting for the whole day! Oh well, change of plans. Instead we went to Ubud. It was also one of those shopping stalls. We went there because my mom was looking for this special rock bracelet. Luckly there were lots or else we would be looking forever until we found it! We were puffed out but there was still one place to go which was the seafood restaurent for dinner. I was already sleeping in the car. The restaurent was next to the beach but we couldn't really see it because it was night time already. We were serenaded by this quartet and instruments. I think they should have their own record, because they sound so nice and soothing. Speaking of soothing, when we reached back to the hotel, my siblings put our swimsuits and rested in the bathtub. What a full-packed day it was!

Holiday entry 2

On the 27th of December my family and I went on a 2 and a half day trip to Bali. We woke up early in the morning about 7 o'clock and left at about 8 or 9. We packed a lot of beach clothes because we heard that Bali has lots of beaches and is hot. This is my second time going to Bali. I was so exited to go to Bali again! We reached at the airport and took off on the air! We got served bread, kit-kat and fruit salad. We finaly reached Bali in an hour. We had a driver/tour guide who took us to our hotell in Nusa Dua. Our hotel was called Sekar Dua Resorts. We got welcome things like cold frangipane-scented towels and guava juice. The place was really  nice with traditional flowers spread all over. It wasn't a building though, it was seperate villas. But at each villa, there are 2 rooms next to each other. Perfect! My parents were right next door to my brother, sister and me! We opened the door and it was beautiful! We saw our own private jacuzzi pool and outdoor chairs and tables. We open yet another door that revealed our bedroom. It was a bed with mosquito nets because this hotel is very natury and bugs could get through. There was another door to the balcony and another one for the bathroom. That was the deepest bath tub I ever saw! I didn't quite like the bathroom because there were shades to cover up, but at the corners you could see trees. Spooky!

After we unpacked and settled in, we went to eat lunch at Discovery Bali, a shopping mall. We looked for a while but then we walked to the bazars and shopping stalls. I bought sandals, a broadshort and a flower clip. We went to a minimart because we were going to get hungry at the hotel. We walked back to the Discovery Bali to our driver and went back to the hotel. We were really exhausted that we slept after we played UNO.

Holiday entry 1

This is my first entry of my winter holidays. It's a good thing we're on break because I think some of us need a break after our hardworking; for sudents because we've done so many projects and summative and formative tests, for teachers because they they have a lot to handle and because they're the ones who grade the projects and tests. The reason why I'm doing this is because my goal for english is to post 10 posts on my blog about my holiday, and also I have a passion for writing of any sort like narratives, stories, poetries, you name it! Well so far I haven't been anywhere else out of Jakarta, but today was my graduation day for S.B.M, (sekolah bimbingan Malaysia)-(guiding school of Malaysia.) Basicaly what this is a tutor school held in the Malaysian Embassy, (where my dad works), where wife's of the husband's who work in the embassy, volunteer to teach kindergarten, grades 1,2,3,4,5,6 and 7. The subjects are Bahasa Melayu, History/social studies of Malaysia and the religion of Muslims. My mom teaches history/social studies. My 3rd grade brother and me has been to it sice I was in 4th grade. This school holds every Saturday. I will stop going to the school, because today I graduated from it. Yay! It's hard for me because I've never been to a public school in my life, I've only been to international schools or french schools, so I haven't learn to speak the language properly or learn everything about Malaysia. This school has helped me for learning more and giving awareness to my country and relegion, and I thank them for that. I preformed choir songs which were our national anthem and our country's motto. There were lots more but I wasn't in it. They gave out prizes to everyone including the moms. I got a folder, keychain, cup and frame. When I was preforming I was scared because the embassy was watching us including the strict ambassador! Well I'm finish with the Saturday tutor school and I definitately learnt alot. That's it for now, see ya later!

My first break holiday

Wow am I tired! It's been 1 day after my family and I went to Bandung and Bogor. Speaking of Bogor, there was just an hurricane there. I am so thankful that I left after that happen or else, I don't know what. I'm actually scared living here. There are earthquakes, heavy rain that could cause flooding, fires and things. Now to focus on the good side, if you could see on the right, it's a picture of me in Bandung, Puncak. It was like 15 degrees or less! I was shivering so much, but I got a good view of the volcano crater. It was so amazing, I've never been that close to a volcano. Oh no it started to rain! Now it's even more colder! We rushed back in our car after we got pictures with the volcano. It took about 3 hours to get there or more.

After that we went strawberry picking. We collected 1 kilogram of strawberries. The experience there was different, because it was in pots, but when I was living in Switzerland we picked it in bushes or shrubs, like a big field. We also collected some blackberries.

We stayed at a hotel which was called G.H Universal. It was such a beautiful place. I loved the style of the place. I missed staying in hotels. Ever since the holiday started, I haven't been at my house. On Monday, I stayed at Shangri-La for three days. And I met Natasha, ( my friend who also goes to JIS) and we swam together with my brother. I just swam today with my brother again at my backyard pool. I feel so tired and dizzy since I've been staying up late every night. I won't be doing that anymore since school's coming. Ahh.. I'll miss the holidays, but school comes second. First is my family and religion.

The next day, we went to Bogor which took about 3hours because we took the volcano way. I felt so pukey and dizzy going around on the twisted road. We were going to Taman Safari, and I was so excited.There were so many stalls selling carrots and bananas to feed the animals but once you get there at the safari, you can't get out of your car or else the animals will attack you! It's set out in a forest, and there are different sections where the animals have their own habitat. You just drive on the safari track, passing animals. We bought 2 bundles of carrots and we fed some to the zebras, llamas, deers, giraffes and many more. The llamas were really annoying because they kept on begging near cars that passed for food. Do the zookeepers even feed them?

We saw so many animals like hippos, monkeys, peacocks, elephants, otters, oxens and-you get the point. If I named them all they would fill up the whole page. And also if I showed you all the pictures too. On the right is a picture of me feeding the zebra some carrots. I was scared at first, but then I got the hang of it. When we reached the lions, tigers and leopards, they told us to close our window, because you might get bitten. They were so amazing and pretty. But 1 tiger scratched the back tire of our car. Actually it wasn't our car, we rented it. Because my dad didn't want his Mercedes to be damaged or dirty, so we used the Toyota. The car got scratched several times. My the tiger, antlers of a ox and when we were going home, a silly taxi bumped into the back of the car. We have to pay a lot for the damages!

Well I had a fantastic break but it's off to school!