PARTY IN THE HOUSE NOW!!!!!!!!! DING DING DING DING DING DING!!!!!!

Jun1

All my Argentinian friends: LARA, EUGE, PAULINA, PEDNINA, MANUALA, MARTINA, MANOLA, etc… !!!!!!!! It has been great getting to meet such good friends from school! The best part has been the parties! Birthday parties AND pajama parties!

Me and the CANDY!

Me and girls having dinner!

Party # 1

In the car, I was ready to party with some of my new friends at the MAGIC PLACE OF OZ! When we arrived, the first thing I played on was the pinball bouncy castle. It’s like you are the ball and go through the game of pinball! Everyone ended up past the thing that bounces you back instead of falling. But everyone fell past it.

Euge and I playing at her party!

The next thing I did was go on a thing that spins with my best friend, Lara, the thing that spins has three round rings, the biggest one was the outside, the middle sized one was in the middle, and the small one was in the centre and had seats on it. I sat on one and Lara sat in the other. Two guys spun us and I got dizzy while my hair was swaying high in the air and I was also screaming! Then it FINALY came to a stop….

After, I went onto the pinball thing again. Then we played a game which is a cool mix of Soccer and Dodge Ball. Then we had hot dogs for dinner. After we did our makeup (I did the worst 🙁 ) Then it was time to leave. I said good-bye to ALL my friends and left……… In the end I was happy I was there. (:

“Everybody Dance Now”

Party # 2

On a nice fall morning at my house, my dad reminded me about the sleepover at Lara’s house for that night. And I WAS SO EXCITD. That night I found myself in a car driving to Lara’s house. When I arrived, my friends greeted me, and I was happy to be included with them!!!!!!!!! The girls were chatting the night away in Spanish, so there wasn’t much for me to do since I didn’t understand them!

So a million hours later we went to sleep. In the early morning. My friends and I got up to go eat breakfast. Breakfast was cake and hot chocolate. Mmmmm… A hour later I called my dad to go home. So I packed up and I was on my way home! I liked being with my girlfriends, but I wish I could have understood them more so that it was more fun for me.

Party # 3

In the cold afternoon wind, I was in a car driving to Manola’s sleepover! When I got there my friends greeted me. YAY! There was bracelet making, art, dress-up and LOTS MORE!!! I had a awesome time!

When it was time for bed. I slept in a sleeping bag on a matress. The next morning I did more art and more bracelet making! Finally, my dad came and brought me home. Overall, this was a fun party with the girls!

“Dancing with the People Now”

Party #4 Final one (so far)!

One day in school, I was in my classroom when Paulina (my friend) came and gave me a card. It was a invitation to her party! And the party was…. THAT SAME NIGHT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!!

I begged my mom to let me go, even though it was her birthday party and it was last minute! But I wanted to see my girlfriends! So my mom agreed and my family took me to the party!

That night, I found myself at Paulina’s house where we were throwing a ball at each other while trying to catch it. It was fun 🙂 . Then I did some bracelet making, and after I did art. Then I did some cloth-making thing. You have to use a template and make your cloth! Finally, I went to the sleeping room and watched some movies with all my friends and then I went to sleep. 🙂 The next morning we played hide and seek and then it was time to go home.:) 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

Being in Argentina has been such a partying time! Family parties every week! And girlfriends from time to time! I LOVE IT! 🙂 🙂 🙂

Gina In The House Now! :)

Jun1

Gina with Luca and me!

In late afternoon, the sky wasn’t dark yet, but it was quiet. Suddenly a sound of a car pulling up made us jump! My mom peaked through the window and screamed, “SHE IS HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” I looked out the window and saw………..GINA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She was coming out of a van with a man carrying out her luggage. We each gave her a big hug and let her inside our one storey house and offered her coffee. She got relaxed, ate some food. We went for a walk to the park and on a nearby slide, the biggest slide I know! It is 4 floors high with 5 large bumps you fly off of. IT WAS AWSOME!!! We even convinced my mom, dad and Gina to go on. Gina was screaming in the video. then went to bed like the rest of us; she was tired after her 30+ hour journey!

CLICK THIS TO SEE THE VIDEO OF GINA GOING DOWN THE SLIDE! FUNNY! DSCN6472

The next morning was sunny and warm with birds chirping happily outside. Today was Sunday; the day of the Sunday family BBQ! My Tio Alex , my cousins Franco and Eve, and my Abuela arrived first. My Abuelo came later. My Tio Alex cooked all the beef on the asado BBQ. Delicious! Gina had a BLAST of a time. We all had a wonderful time eating cooked beef and talking to family – it seems my mom and Gina really liked the Argentina wine too. After everyone left, my family went for a walk down the Costanera. As we walked down the coast, we saw mini stands of arts and crafts with people selling their stuff. There were clothing, kid toys, mugs, furniture and a lot more stuff. When we got home we had a late dinner and went to bed.

Yep – skeletons!

Me with my mom and the awesome Gina!

The next day the warm morning breeze hit my face as I got up to eat breakfast. When Luca and I finished our morning snack, my mom and dad got up to tell us we were going to see skeletons in an old church and a museum with lots of art. Gina got up after that. After my mom and dad were done getting ready, we went to the car to get there. We drove into the countryside and stopped at a restaurant that gives you 8 servings (including dessert) of fishy food. I was only able to eat two servings! But it was so great! After that lunch, we went on the road again. Finally, we arrived at the place called Santa Fe Viejo (which means old Santa Fe from the 1500s, before they moved the city to where we live now). There was a sign that said CAUTION SNAKES IN THE AREA!!! Now I was scared. First we went to see the skeletons. I was freaked out!!! Next we saw an old little house. Finally, we saw a museum with LOTS of art and artifacts.

Later after our two weeks of adventure together, my family, Gina, and I were in the bus station going on the midnight bus to Buenos Aires. We boarded the bus and fell asleep. The next morning, I woke up in the bus in… BUENOS AIRES!!!!!!! We arrived! I came out of the bus with happiness in my heart. We found our Hotel (which was a luxury one!!!) and got our room, and then after a little rest and breakfast, we went to see LA BOCA, which is a poor neighbourhood with lots of colour and art. It had tango dancing in the street, little shops and lots of art! We went to a restaurant that had tango dancing as entertainment! We went shopping too! Luca, my brother, got new but weird pants.

The gorgeous theatre-style bookstore!

The ceiling of this beautiful bookstore!

On our first evening after our La Boca adventure, we went to the bookstore, which use to be a BIG fancy theatre! Now the stage was a cafe! The ceiling was decorated with angels playing together (but they looked like a skeleton head, or so the rest of them thought – but I didn’t) and looked like God up there on the ceiling with all the paintings. After we walked and walked – mom wanted to take us to the famous cemetery there, but it started to rain. We went into a mall to find some dinner, and while I was waiting for the food I fell asleep on the table. My mom woke me up for a few bites, but then I fell back asleep. So we took a taxi back to the hotel and fell asleep in my super comfy bed!

I fell asleep waiting for dinner to arrive!

In the museum – what a tangled bench!

On the Saturday it was raining in Buenos Aires, so we went to a museum and we first saw big photos of naked people. Yep, NAKED PEOPLE! Next we saw lots of paintings, not of naked people, thank goodness. One of the paintings was an old town with people working hard, holding hungry babies and people holding buckets. It was very very old from the north of Argentina. Then we saw statues. Some of the statues were big Venus flytraps, and then we saw some more art and left. Afterwards we walked and walked through parks and saw beautiful Buenos Aires. Eventually, we found that terrifying cemetery my mom wanted to see. It was a big space filled with mini-houses that hold the coffins of dead people: tombs. It was so creepy! I looked in the windows and there were actually coffins! The worst ones were the ones where I saw baby coffins. It was so sad! But what was weird was that the place was also calm and beautiful. One funny thing was when we saw the satellite dish on a tomb. I was like, “why does a coffin need a TV”! There was actually a TV on, but it was in the janitor closet behind the tomb, not in the tomb! I thought it was funny because I believed somebody put TV into a tomb for a dead man! Weird! But anyways, after we left we went to a university and found a Starbucks! Yum, Yum, Yum!

Coffins in the tombs!

In the evening, after a little siesta, we went for the best dinner at a Spanish restaurant! There was so much food! I had gnocchi which is potato pasta with a delicious sauce, but there was way too much to eat. Mom and dad had steak kabobs and salad (and I stole some bites), and Gina had a fish dinner. For dessert I had this amazing chocolate volcano – a warm crusted cake on the outside with hot gooey chocolate lava inside that oozes out when you cut it and mixes with the cold vanilla ice cream! This was the best dessert E.V.E.R! After pigging out, we walked around the city that was bright with lights and ads everywhere! Eventually, we got back to our cozy beds.

Our final day in Buenos Aires was spent wandering the streets of a neighbourhood called San Telmo. This was a long cobblestone street with artisans everywhere! It was chaos, and I lost my umbrella! 🙁 Eventually we found the Casa Rosada, which means “Pink House”, like the American White House, which is the house of the President of Argentina, which is a woman! No wonder it is pink! Outside the pink house were tonnes of pigeons that I chased! Then we had to quickly make it back to the hotel to pack up to catch our bus home. We had to leave Gina behind because she had to take her plane back to Canada.

I felt so sad to leave our dear friend from Canada. I feel that Gina is such an awesome friend who worked so hard just to be with us! I think Gina enjoyed her wonderful trip here, escaping the cold in Canada for two weeks. Her favourite thing to do was sit in the sun and relax! She was warm, relaxed, and happy! I can’t wait to see her when I get back to Canada!

WE MISS YOU GINA!

A Second Start…

Mar16

Off to school! So exciting!

A second start to school in a year will feel pretty well… weird. In the morning at 6:30 I was dreaming of the next day being lazy at home playing my iPad when I was woken by my dad: “Get up!” He commanded to Luca and I, “Get in your uniforms!” Ohhhhhh yeah, I remembered school. I was half excited and half not. I was excited for new friends… But I was not excited for HOMEWORK. Getting up was robotic as if I were an action figure with only moving arms and moving legs, VERY hard when you just spent a month of summer. I managed to get up, brush my teeth, get dressed, and brush my hair. I ate my cereal then right away we set off to my new school with my new Mafalda backpack (a great comic here).

Kid chaos!

When we arrived at our new school, Universidad Nacional del Litoral Escuela Primario, a billion kids (big and small) were crowding the entrance. ”Oh god,” I whispered to myself. Pushing through the noisy crowd of kids, my family and I wiggled through the crowd to the office. After we were confirmed to stay in this school of noisy children, we walked to the courtyard. Again crowded with kids, but not AS crowded as the entrance. Luca met his teacher, which I don’t know the name of her yet. Then I met my teacher, a tall lean woman with dark smooth hair, named Valeria; I felt that I would have a good year with this teacher as she was very kind and held my hand! YAH!

My teacher, Valeria, holding my hand the first day! 😉

Soon a bell rang and a flag was raised as everyone sang a Spanish song. My dad told me it’s a song about the flag. When we finished the flag thingy thing, we went to a large open room that is our eating area and an indoor courtyard, and we sat down for assembly.

The happiest student – the stray dog who snuck in!

A stray dog managed to get in the school for some reason. But he was cute and he just wanted to be with the kids and go to school too. The Principal talked to the school and introduced Luca and I to everyone. When she called my name, I felt very very special. I got to go up to the front with my brother and I felt like a pop star! They even gave me a nice school baseball cap – I really love that cap! YAH!

After the assembly, we set off to our classrooms. Our teacher talked and made us write stuff which I didn’t understand (it was in Spanish writing) . Afterwards, it was break time. We used drink and food coupons for cookies and a juice box. YUMMY!!!!!!!

Our next class was music. We did Do Re Mi Fa So La songs then played a game called Snake. One person is the snake and he or she sleeps when a nice song is playing while all the other kids dance around. When the music stops, the kids freeze but the snake is still sleeping. Bad evil music means the snake is awake! When I wasn’t the snake, I was a pretty little girl just dancing in the field, until that poisonous scaly snake pops out and tried to attack me, but I felt awesome when I got to be the snake scaring everybody else!

My Mafalda backpack! Ready to go!

First day assembly!

Then it was break time again so I played outside with my new friends. I found making friends really easy because they thought it was cool that I was from a different continent. They asked me questions such as: did I like Justin Bieber, but I said not really because he was a pretty selfish guy, so then they asked if I like One Direction, and I love them! Then we played a game called Zapatos (which is shoes in Spanish). We gather in a circle with our shoes in a circle too. Somebody sings a Spanish songs (which I’ll never be able to do) while we tap our shoes to the beat. Whoever the person is landed on gets to choose a number from 4-10, and then they count to six and whomever the number lands on, loses. It is pretty fun.

Next class was a normal class, so we just did the same as the first class, which was to write a bunch of notes and listen to the teacher. Once again I was kinda bored because it was all talking and writing, and I didn’t understand anything again, but then I got really excited thinking about the break coming up. On this quick break there was no food, but we played so we danced. Then it was back to class with more writing and more Spanish talking.

I’m a Popstar! Oh, yah! We were introduced to the whole school!

At last, it was lunch. We ate delicious veal milanesa, an Argentinian breaded veal with mashed potatoes. Yummy! Dessert was a apple. After munching down my yummy food, my friends and I played in the courtyard where we played tag!

After lunch recess was English! At last! A teacher who knew English well taught us and I was a pop-star at it because I understood everything, and all the kids wanted my help. In English class, we made a calendar and learned words, which I knew, of course! English was all afternoon with a wee break to play in the middle. Afterwards it was home time where I packed up my backpack, and Ms. Meyer I was organized! Then my whole class went down the stairs to the crowed of kids, again! Again, like the morning, it was very noisy! We had to push through the crowd to find our mom and dad!

Us in front of the flag!

My new friend Eugenia! It was her awesome birthday party last night that I’ll write about next time!

At the end, I was happy for new friends and no homework, except I did have to sit with my dad while he translate all those notes I had to write in class, in Spanish! I love my new school! But I also miss my FFCA school, especially my teacher and my friends Gabby, Evan, Haley, Kinda, Megan, Kira, Avery (I now know how it feels to be the new kid), and everyone else in my class!

*Stay tuned for my next blog about the awesome birthday party I was invited to last night!

Two Fluttering Pretties

Mar4

Playing inside on a game,

Suddenly, I heard my dad calling my name.

“Look,” he said, “two gleaming butterflies.”

I could not believe my ears or eyes!

I was so excited, I was crawling out of my skin

As I spotted two fluttering butterflies dancing in the wind.

They looked like no other butterfly.

That moment I thought butterflies where suddenly modified!

These two were large, yellow and black,

With a small extra tail poking out of their wings at the back.

One looked like me and the other looked like my brother!

One working hard (my brother) and one disturbing the other! (me)

I’m happy this sight was seen by me!

I think it was meant to be.

It made me realize the beauty of my garden,

How special to see them eating and darting.

This has never happened before! Wow you might say!

Something sure special happened today 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 :).

They sucked nectar from a bush of white flowers.

Down their little bodies the nectar was devoured.

They would rest on green leaves

Full of all that nectar, what thieves!

One eating more than the other,

One eating less, preferring to be a bother.

They danced in the sky so very high,

Then fluttered in circles, then into dives!

Then they did the jiggy-doe dance moves!

As they would gather all of their food.

I felt SO lucky to see such dancing,

Drinking, resting and prancing!

I wish I could fly like those beautiful butterflies

Tulia the butterfly bothering Luca the butterfly, who is thinking “errrr”!

And drink the tasty, yellow nectar every flower hides.

I wish I could dance like those beautiful butterflies,

And dance the fluttery, happy moves into the bright blue skies.

Oh, how I wish I was a pretty little butterfly!

I think I’ll flit about following my brother and try!

Things I learned today about writing a poem:

1) I like how each line has a capital.

2) I like how I learned about rhyme scheme (AA, BB, CC, …)

3) I learned that I need to think hard to make my poem rhyme perfectly. 🙂 🙂

4) I learned that descriptive words helped me along the way to make a good poem that made me feel proud.

5) I learned how to organize my poem into stanzas, which are like paragraphs. Each of my stanzas needed to make sense.

6) I learned that each line can be finished in the next line, or later lines. My mom called it enjambment. But I could still start my sentences with a capital.

7) I feel that poem writing is more effort than a story, but I feel more proud at the end. So, if you want to be proud of yourself too, write a poem!

Our House in Argentina – Nuestra Casa

Mar2

Three Friendly Mutts.

Feb26

Before our walk! Right outside our house!

My family and I where strolling on the old broken sidewalk with palm leaves swaying above me in the wind. It was hot, but I was enjoying my time when suddenly a dog with no owner joined us on our walk. Two more came along too. One had long curly fur, another had short thin black fur and the last one had short blond fur, but all were large. At first I thought they would scratch and bite us, so I felt terrified because they were dirty street dogs.

The dirty street dogs! Curly is ahead, while Moe and Larry are across the street at the corner, after chasing cars.

When a car came by, they ran after it until the car was far from us and then the dogs came back and surrounded us, one even bit the rim of the tire while the car was moving! My dad said that all they wanted to do was protect us! They wanted to join our gang. Then I realized they were friendly! So they walked alongside us for about eight blocks. One stopped to cool off and take a bath and drink from the dirty water on the street. I thought it was gross, and I didn’t think he was getting very clean! Anyways, they were still cute. (We should have taken pictures of these moments, but my mom was in shock watching them!)

When we got to the main street, we went into an art store and after we were done buying paper and markers, the dogs – all three of them – were waiting for us outside! Then they followed us again.

Larry, Curly (up close), and Moe doing their business! P.U.!

The bad thing they did was they pee on the road and poo on the grass. P.U! I never want to see that ever again. They also kept chasing all the passing by cars and I was worried they would get run over. It was so dangerous!

The good things they did was entertain us and protect us.

I enjoyed having animal companions on that summer walk. Especially in February! We named them Larry, Curly, and Moe from TheThree Stooges show. And I thought the names Lola 1, Lola 2 and Lola 3 were good names too! P.S the dogs were all boys!

Oh how I loved Moe, Larry and Curly. They filled my heart with joy by just rolling and dancing around! They filled my world with love and faith like cooks filling crumpets with chocolate. Mmmmmmmmmm! Chocolate. (so random)

They followed us across streets, along buildings, across parks and towards a cab, my least favourite part of the story. We had to get into the cab and we left them while our cab drove away. So I felt a moral from this adventure. Sometimes you have to leave the ones you love behind. I also learned that you can love something that might be dirty and and dangerous!!! 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁

Flowers in February

Feb17

From red to blue to pink to yellow,flowers make our world shine! They hold the nectar bees need to make their sweet gooey treat. The flowers on the trees shine in colours of red and green. We have flowers in our yard, there are flowers in the gardens too, and it is February!!! They sway in the wind as if they were dancing. The sun is their food and water is their drink, and the ground is their shelter. In Argentina the colours of flowers are every colour you can imagine. Also, the flowers in our world also have a springy smell.

In my front yard I have a big tree with pink and yellow flowers, they welcomed me to my new house on my first day, which made me feel at home right away. How can flowers hang from a tree? Where do they get the nutrients from the ground when the tree is so big. Anyway, I am so glad that it’s there, in the front, outside the window of my bedroom.

Red flowers, pink flowers and blue flowers share happiness with me and you. 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 :). I like the flowers with the mixed colours most of all. Butterflies like the flowers with the most nectar… Obviously. Small flowers are cute and big flowers are cool. :0.Flowers are very delicate and graceful. I’m so glad that they are everywhere. They fill my heart with beauty! I can’t believe it’s February and I’m surrounded by their beauty every single day! My backyard is surrounded by beautiful trees, vines, and flowers too! These bring lots of birds, butterflies, and dragonflies to our gardens.

Some animals eat flowers and chew them. If you pick a flower from its bush it will die. 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 :(. R.I.P flowers. Poor poor flowers. Sometimes flowers fall from their thin long stem and lands into the cold water in my pool, in my back yard. Sometimes you can knock flowers off their branch accidentally with your arm, your hip, your leg, or your shoulder – so I am always careful near them. Any type of weed can kill a flower by using up all the water and dirt. So pick the weeds in your garden to keep your flowers living.

Flowers need petals because they need to not look bare like human skin. The petals on flowers make flowers look like they have a spring dress on.

So the flowers in our world our world look better than any other planet in the whole galaxy. I love that this year I’ll have gardens and flowers surrounding me all year!!!

A Splashing Good Time

Feb13

My pool in my backyard is awesome in 1,000,000 different ways. It has a deep end (which I could drown in) and the shallow end (which is easy to touch the ground with my hands when I bob down), so I spend most of my time in the shallow end and always watched over by my mom or dad.

When it is hot and steamy, I like to canon-ball into the cool water; it is a good way to feel better. It is lots of fun canon-balling in and splashing everybody. We have a game where whoever makes the biggest splash wins, of course, my dad always wins!

I love when my whole family comes over to play in the pool. In this photo my mom and Tia Eliana are playing with us doing a conga dance line. It is so much fun to bounce around and swim together!

My dad bought me a big bed floaty and a nice beach ball for the pool. I float on the floaty and feel very relaxed until my brother sprays me with the hose or tips me over. Then my floaty becomes a shield to protect me from my attacking brother. Errrr. My brother likes to throw the ball at me, but I prefer to annoy him and sit on it, which helps me float too. When we play pass, I will throw it back to him five times and then sit on it. I love to drive him crazy!

One time my brother, Luca, was standing at the edge of the pool in his swimming trunks and I pushed him in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HA HA!!!!!!!! I know we’re not supposed to push by the pool, but I loved that joke!

I have plenty of adventures in my big awesome pool. 🙂 🙂 :). Hee Hee Hee!

Hummy My Hummingbird. :)

Feb10

Hummy

I have a hummingbird living in my backyard! She ALWAYS visits me when I’m in the pool. I think she lives in the BIG palm tree that is in my backyard. I call her Hummy.

Palm tree in my backyard!

Hummy eats nectar from the colourful orange,red and yellow flowers that sway in the Argentinian wind, along the fence. Her flapping wings make my cheeks red and fill my world with happiness. She zips by as fast as lightning! Unlike the yellow parrots that quickly fly over my house, she hovers around dancing for guests and singing for me. Zigging around collecting nectar is a good way of entertaining me and my family.

I think Hummy is one of those hummingbirds in the movie EPIC. I never got a chance to look at her back to see if there was a saddle on her. Hmmmmm……… Maybe if there is one, I would shrink down to see a point of view high above Santa Fe, Argentina. Oh well.

If there is a happy Hummy, there is happy me. 🙂

All About Me

Sep1

10 Things About Tulia

1. I am a very good artist!

2. My favourite colour is PINK!

3. My birthday is coming up in October and I love having a Halloween Party for my birthday party!

4. My dream is to live in Candy Land, and my house would be made of gingerbread with pink icing covered in mints!

5. I wish I could fly to Disneyland!

6. When I grow up I want to be a chef!

7. I dream, someday, of going to China because it has a fascinating long wall, beautiful lands, and interesting legends – plus cuddly Panda bears!

8. I like to make people happy!

9. I love playing with my friends, namely Evan, Gabrielle, Caitlin, Aidan, Priya, Lauren, and Hailey, but my best friend is my brother – Luca!

10. I like to spend my time alone reading, playing with my dolls, playing with the ipad, and just thinking. With my family I like to play Apples to Apples, go biking, camping, and hiking in nature.

Write Away Tulia

Tulia's Learning & Travel Adventures