Peng's Family
Lucinda Peng
January 2, 2010
Hello Everyone!
We’ve had a busy year, full of excitement, fun, and happy times. I’m in 8th grade at Lincoln Middle School. I still play violin with my teacher Kim Chalmers, and this year I got into the Alachua County Youth Orchestra. In the past year, we went to China, Hong Kong, and the Florida beaches. I got a very exciting, wonderful visit from one of my best friends in Wisconsin, Aleksandra, in the spring. Over the summer I went to Camp Crystal for a week. There were lots of places traveled to, many people I got to see, and all that made it a great year. Just this past week, before the end of the year, my family and some friends went skiing together mainly because I hadn’t seen snow in two years and missed it terribly. On the way home, we spent a night in Atlanta, GA.
In China, we went to many different places; Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Zheng Zhou, Xi Xia, and Beijing. We traveled to various places, visited lots of friends of my parents, and stayed with relatives. We had tons of fun.
Family Reunion
At Tian-An-Men Square
Hong Kong
This summer we went to China, and visited Hong Kong because my dad had a meeting there. We toured the IFC (the tallest building in Hong Kong), went to the Peak (the tallest observatory in Hong Kong), watched a laser light show, and did shopping at various malls in Hong Kong. My mom, Naomi, and I had more free time than my dad, so when he was occupied in meetings, we usually took that time to shop since my dad doesn’t like shopping.
We arrived at Hong Kong late in the night, feeling hungry. Right after we checked in the hotel, Naomi, my dad, and I went to one of the small street shops for dinner (we had dinner on the airplane, but it was nasty, and we didn’t really eat much of it). It was almost midnight, but there were still a lot of stores open and good number of people eating. I had beef noodles, Naomi had boiled dumplings noodles (I’m not sure if that’s a good translation), and Dad had pig liver noodles. Even though the meal was simple, it was too good for words. From the start, I thought that Hong Kong was a good place with excellent food for good prices. It’s a sleepless city for sure.
Beautiful Interior Decorations in the Mall
Yummy Food
The next day, Mom, Naomi and I went to IFC - a really fancy mall. We didn’t buy anything there, because you could find things of the same kind, and maybe better quality, for a better price here in the USA. We heard someone else talking about going to another shopping mall by subway (aka the tram, which was right under the mall) to Wang Jiao. When we got there, we found this cool shoe store. When we were converting the price from Hong Kong dollars to US dollars, we left off the zero at the end to make it easier. After calculating the exchange rate, we forgot to add back the zero. So we thought it was $8, and we bought two pairs of shoes. During lunch, my mom was like, that’s not right, Dad gave us 2000 Hong Kong dollars, and now we don’t have much left. We looked at the receipt again, and that was when we saw the extra zero at the end, and so it actually was $80, not $8. What a lesson!
We also went to Kowlong to watch the laser light show in Hong Kong, but we had to be on Kowlong Island to see the lights. We took the ferry to Kowlong about 1-2 hours early, so we decided to walk around. It was like what I’ve heard about New York City, but I had never imagined any other places like that crowded.
Spectacular Symphony of Lights
Tall Buildings Everywhere
We went to the riverside to settle down before the show started. The main thing that was visible were the illuminated signs advertising lots of large companies, like Toshiba, Camry, other technical companies, and banks that exist only in China. Once it was about 15 minutes until the show started, some of the buildings participating in the light show started to test the lights, they were so colorful, and bright! It was fantastic when the show actually started, except for having to listen to every single sponsoring company’s name. There were so many, that it probably took me at least an hour to type all those company’s names. I loved how some of the lights traced the clouds, making a silver lining around it, with an awe-inspiring effect. There were green lights, as well as white lights that shot upward, right into the sky. The colors of the rainbow were displayed spectacularly on the buildings (not in the air). Accompanying each light was marvelous music. It was a night that I will never ever forget.
Shenzhen
In Shenzhen, we met some of my relatives on my dad’s side. There was my grandma, my aunt, and my cousin (Xiao Lei). We went to a few really cool places with them, like Huan Le Gu, an amusement park, and Jing Xiu Zhong Hua, a park filled with replica of famous places in China.
In the morning, we went to Huan Le Gu, an amusement park that’s like Disney. We rode a lot of rides there, but when we got there in the morning, there weren’t a lot of rides open, because the rides didn’t all open at the same time as the park, and some rides only opened in the afternoon or morning. This is totally different from Disney where all the rides are open at the same time as the park is open. The rides close before the park did. We went on a really fun ride, Snow Mountain (translated), but Naomi was too short for it. She’s almost 1.3 meters, but you need to be exactly 1.3 meters or taller. She had to sit out for some rides, the others we just passed by because she got really upset and felt left out. There was another ride that was extremely fun, Naomi could go on this one, it was called UFO, and you spun around and around, going back and forth on this U-shaped track. Another one that Naomi couldn’t go on, but was very cool was a ride like splash mountain, and you get splashed by a huge wave, and we got soaking wet (they sold rain jackets at the entrance, but we didn’t think that you really needed it, so we didn’t buy any), but that was a huge mistake. When we got off, the sun had stopped shining, and it started to rain, so we couldn’t let the hot sun dry our clothes. We went on a few more rides in the kids’ area, like this one ride similar to the Double Shot at Wild Adventures, where you go up and down, and up and down rapidly and suddenly. We were all really hot and tired, but there was one place left that would cool us down, the water park!
Grandma, Aunt, Naomi, Lucinda, and Xiao Lei at Water park
Naomi, Xiao Lei, and Lucinda on stilts
We went on the baby slides first, just to get wet. While playing around in that area, we found a slide that was for taller people, and they weren’t even scary, but they said Naomi was too short to go on them! In America, if they had that slide, anyone over 3 feet would’ve been able to ride it. This is because in China, very few people know how to swim. They needed the park to be safe, so they raised the height restrictions. There was one ride that Xiao Lei couldn’t even go on, you had to be at least 1.45 meters tall. That ride was fun, but I think if it was here, they might’ve let even Naomi on that. The water park provided the needed relief from the hot weather.
The next day we went to Jing Xiu Zhong Hua, a theme park, which has mini replicas of famous places in China. Because of this, I like to call it “mini China”. We saw a miniature of the Great Wall of China, that wasn’t really that small, most of the replicas were still pretty big; they just were smaller than the huge real versions. There were many other villages of the minority groups in various parts of China, the villages weren’t really big, just big enough for a house that they would typically use in that part of China, and a clearing for shows and other things that were unique to that group. There was a village representing each group. We watched the shows for some of the villages. They dressed the way the people in that group would usually dress, and danced traditional dances. I thought it was really educational. At one place we got to try on short stilts. It was so fun to walk with the stilts. Naomi, Xiao Lei, and I had races to see who could go the farthest without falling. After going into the store to buy these really pretty fans, we were headed on our way to the next village, when we saw people going down a long zip line.
Lucinda at Jing Xiu Zhong Hua, Zipline
Lucinda at a “mini China”
The zip line looked enjoyable as they sped from the top of the boulder over the river to where we were standing. Naomi and I begged my mom to let us go. After a lot of pleading and cajoling, my mom took me, Xiao Lei, and Naomi to the start. As usual, Naomi was too short, but Xiao Lei and I got to go up and we slid down one after another. It was so exhilarating to feel the wind in my face and hair. I looked down and could see the river, and everything in the park. All too soon, I came to the end. That was the most thrilling experience.
Zheng Zhou
In Zheng Zhou, we met my relatives on my mom’s side. We learned a dance, hung out with our big family, and went shopping a lot. We first met my Aunt Ning and cousin (Feng Jie) at the airport. Feng Jie had just come back a few days ago from Australia, where she went to college and is now working. We went to a restaurant to meet up with the rest of my family: Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Dong, Jiu Jiu (my uncle), Uncle Ding, Aunt Zen, Han Ge and Ming Ge (my cousins), and a special visitor, Ge Ge (Feng Jie’s boyfriend). I was really excited to see them after about one and a half years. Everyone on my mom’s side of the family was there to see us. I was happy that they took the time to come and see us, especially since they were all so busy. We made our own soups for dinner. The restaurant had pots of boiling water next to each seat. On the spinning table there were various meats and vegetables for us to put into the soup. We talked a lot, about school and work. It was a happy time for the whole family to get together and just have dinner.
After dinner we went to Aunt Ning’s apartment to go to bed. Every time we went to China, we always went to Aunt Ning’s place to stay, so I was really familiar with it. Jimmy, their dog, always greeted us joyfully as we walked through the door. If it wasn’t too late, Butterfly, their bird, welcomed us with a loud “Welcome” in Chinese. It could speak, and learn different sayings, if you taught it enough times. Feng Jie made tea with her special tea set every night. Usually Naomi and I were able to stay up and listen to the adults talk, and watch TV, but that night we got back from the restaurant at midnight, so we had to go straight to bed. Naomi and I either slept with my mom or Feng Jie. That night, Naomi and I both wanted to sleep with Feng Jie, so my mom had the guest room bed to herself, while Naomi and I squished together with Feng Jie. Ironically, Uncle Ding wasn’t home, so Aunt Ning got her bed to herself too, while Naomi, Feng Jie, and I were squished together.
Best Wishes to Grandparents
Playing with Grandparents
The next morning, after cooking an excellent breakfast for us, Aunt Ning left for work, so Feng Jie took Naomi, my mom, and me to Aunt Dong’s apartment. Aunt Dong was at work too, but my grandma and grandpa were at her place, so we were going to spend some time with them. Almost every morning we went to Aunt Dong’s place to hang out with my grandparents. I liked spending time with my big family. It’s so interesting, with my grandparents I can teach them card games, we play Chinese Checkers, and just talk about stuff. This time since Aunt Dong had just moved into her new apartment, there were new rooms to explore, and new things to see outside. There was a nature trail and little pond right in her backyard, it was so pretty! In China, it is really hot in the summer, so we couldn’t go out and walk, but we could enjoy the view from inside. Besides staring out the window, we played Chinese Checkers and Naomi and I taught them how to play Apple and Speed (card games). After lunch, my grandparents always have an after-lunch nap. During this time, Naomi and I either watched Xi Yang Yang (a TV show like Tom and Jerry, but with sheep and a wolf, in Chinese), or played some other game between the two of us (my mom usually took this time to go to sleep too). Sometimes Aunt Dong would come home for lunch, and we would have something succulent prepared by her. Other times she would buy something on the street for us on the way home. Either way, the food was delicious. My days spent at Aunt Dong’s were really peaceful, with nothing much to do, Naomi and I would often practice our dance that we were learning during some afternoons or mornings that we didn’t spend at Aunt Dong’s.
Some nights we went to Aunt Dong’s with Aunt Ning to chat with our grandparents. Han Ge was always there. He is a lot older than me and Naomi; he’s 29. As a matter of fact, Ming Ge is 28, and Feng Jie is 27. Naomi and I are a lot younger than all of them. Ming Ge was sometimes there too. We talked, played cards, and Naomi and I sometimes preformed our dance to them. Han Ge is really cool and nice. He bought Naomi 2 sets of Xi Yang Yang after seeing how much she liked it, and he bought me a set of DVD’s on the history of China.
Naomi and I were learning a traditional Chinese dance from the dance school that Feng Jie used to go to. We only had four lessons, but we learned a lot. Our dance is from one of the minority groups in northern China.
Xi Xia
We went to Xi Xia to go white water rafting and see the dragon eggs. Aunt Ning took the head people from her company with her, including Han Ge. Feng Jie came too since she didn’t want to miss out on all the excitement and enjoyment. It took about seven hours to drive from Zheng Zhou to our hotel in the mountains. That’s because there were so many mountains that we had to go up and down, and since we were in a small bus we had to be extra careful on all the sharp turns and sudden ups and downs of the mountain. On our bus, there was a cute three year old boy sitting in front of Naomi and me. We played with him, keeping all three of us entertained, and helping out his mom a bit. Naomi and I called him “Di Di” meaning little brother in Chinese. We talked to him, and he had good Chinese, probably as good as my speaking. His mom made him memorize famous poems everyone is supposed to know in China. We listened to him recite poems that we didn’t even know with a little help from his mom.
As we got to the hotel, we saw all the cabins, and they reminded me of the Girl Scout camping trips we used to take. Naomi and I really wanted to stay in one of the cabins, and we ended up doing so! They were so cool. It had an upstairs, and an awesome Japanese style floor bed. The air was fresh and crisp outside. Away from the city and hot weather, I felt carefree and cheerful. The fresh, cool air was like a refreshing breeze coming from the ocean when it is really hot, it feels very pleasant and energizing. Mom, Naomi, and I had a cabin to ourselves. It was wonderful.
The Summer Resort on top of the Mountain
Our Summer Resort Cabins
That night for dinner we had some rare and exotic, but extremely mouthwatering food. We had turtle soup, wild bird (I have no idea what kind), and various other things. Everyone also got kiwi juice. The kiwi juice was really good. It’s a bit sour (according to my mom), but still sweet. After I tried the kiwi juice, I think that it’s one of my favorite drinks.
Two days after leaving the cabin hotel, we went to the park of dinosaurs. The replicas of dinosaurs weren’t the main attraction though as they are there for little kids, the best part was the fossilized dinosaur eggs. There was a tunnel dug out so you could touch and look at the dinosaur eggs. They had a museum that showed different dinosaur bones and eggs. It was truly amazing.
The Dinosaur Park
Dinosaur Eggs
We went to the Dan Jiang Reservoir. It is part of a huge project, Nan Shui Bei Diao, going on in China, moving water from the south to the north. The two main cities that will benefit the most from this project are Beijing and Tianjin, the two most populous cities in the north. There is not enough precipitation in the north, so they have been taking water from the underground water table. There isn’t enough water to replenish it, so now the water table is much lower than a decade ago. This is bad for the environment and long term sustainability. This project is trying to help alleviate the problem.
The reservoir is the water source of this project. There will be a man-made channel that starts at the reservoir and goes north. The reservoir is on a mountain, so the water will go down, gaining momentum to reach the destination. Before the project began, there was a natural reservoir there, so by enhancing the dam, they made the reservoir big enough for the project.
Dan Jiang Shui Ku (Reservoir)
Sisters at the Sisters Tree
Lucinda on the boat
The reservoir is beautiful and clean. We got to go on a tour on a boat just for us. On the boat, we got to see picturesque hills and valleys. We even got to drink the water directly from the reservoir; it was supposedly clean, but I thought that the water tasted funny. All around us was nature, the clear water splashed my face and the wind blew at my hair. Surrounding the reservoir are many temples and lovely landscape, like trees, flowers, and waterfalls. The area around the reservoir is part of a summer resort that we were staying at. The summer resort was not open to public yet, but we were fortunate enough to get to stay there first.
Naomi and Lucinda at Beijing Art Museum
Ching and Ning, Sisters
Reservoir Temple
Since the reservoir has many freshwater fish, every night for dinner we had wonderful, delicious, juicy fish dishes. It was freshly caught from the reservoir, and skillfully and meticulously prepared. I do not think that any other place has fish as good as there.
Beijing
At Beijing we went to the Olympic Village, Tian An Men Square, National Theatre, and the Beijing Zoo. We first went to the Olympic Village, the place where the Olympics took place in summer 2008. There we saw the Water Cube, which is the place for swimming competition, and the Bird’s Nest, which is where the opening and closing ceremony took place. We didn’t get to go in the Water Cube, but we did go in the Bird’s Nest. In the Bird’s Nest, there were about 81,000 seats. There aren’t many things that it is being used for now, it is just a tourist attraction. It is sort of like the Great Wall, it once was actually used, but now it is just purely for tourism. They had concession stands, gift shops, and a post office. At the post office we bought a lot of postcards showing the Olympic Village, Bird’s Nest, and Water Cube. It was awesomely cool to be able to see in person the place where the 2008 Olympics took place.
Lucinda and Naomi at Bird’s Nest
Grand National Theatre of China, Beijing
We went to a unique Xin Jiang restaurant right before we left. Xin Jiang is a place in western China, and they are famous for their lamb. The food was authentic and extremely tasty. That was the last place we ate in China.
Naomi and Lucinda at Beijing Airport
St. Augustine
In the fall, the 8th grade lyceum at Lincoln Middle School went to St. Augustine for a day trip. St. Augustine is a historical site in Florida. It was the first settlement founded in Florida. We left school at 7, and came home at 6. We first went to the History Museum there. We were split into 4 groups, I was in group B. We visited all the sections of the museum, the Native American part, the Spanish part, and then we went on the trolley around St. Augustine. After eating lunch in the nearby park, we went to St. George’s Street, where we got to roam around, free from adult supervision for a few hours. We got to go to the candy shops, eat ice cream, fudge, and other yummy sweets. There were a lot of art stores.
Aleksandra’s Visit
This past spring, one of my best friends, Aleksandra came to visit me for the weekend. We went to St. Augustine beach; I took her to school with me, and we talked a lot, catching up on what was going on in Wisconsin. I was especially glad that Aleksandra came since we have been friend ever since from the UWM Daycare. I knew that even just seeing her would make me so extraordinarily happy. When we went to the beach Alicia and her mom came with us.
Lucinda and Naomi with Jungle Book characters
Having fun at Swan and Dolphin pool
St. Augustine Beach
Lake Alice Bat House
At the beach we swam, boogie boarded, and played games. The water was warm, and when there was a cool breeze, it felt really nice. We spent almost two whole days at the beach. We had lots of fun jumping waves and then later going to the mall. Our hotel had a moldy bathtub, and Naomi, Alicia, Aleksandra, and I didn’t even think of taking a shower in it. Instead, after going to the beach, we went back to our room and took the shampoo, conditioner, and soap to the outside shower place where you are supposed to rinse out the salt water. We took showers there, laughing at what people must have been thinking about us.
Lucinda and Aleksandra at Fort
St. Augustine Fort
When we went to this really nice hotel that my mom and Alicia’s mom went to for meetings we got to watch Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. It felt right to watch it with Aleksandra, because she took me to see Night at the Museum, and now I was taking her to the sequel. I used to go to the movies with her a lot, and it felt just like another movie night together, except this time we were in Florida, and it was during the afternoon.
Back at my house, we were up late sharing secrets, and enjoying each others’ company. I wanted to know how things were in Wisconsin, and she wanted to know how I was settling down here. We talked for at least an hour, and finally, exhausted, we fell asleep. I think that that visit was the best ever. It makes me happy yet sad when I think about it. They make me happy because they were good times, times full of laughter, and carefree joy. Yet at the same time I feel sad that those times are now over. I am here in Florida, and she was only visiting for a brief time. When I need a happy memory, I know that I will always be able to think of this time.
Maggie Valley, NC
On December 27, my family went skiing in the Smokey Mountains at Cataloochee Ski Resort in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. We went with my friend, Alicia’s family. It takes eight to nine hours to drive from Gainesville, FL to Maggie Valley, NC. During that long car ride, I slept (because I had woken up at 6:45 that morning), read, and called people. During the car ride, I got quite excited to see all the snow on the ground. I begged my mom and dad to stop the car so I could play, but they said no. The minute we got to our hotel, I ran out to the snowdrifts around the parking lot. We got to our hotel at 4:00 PM, so after checking in, Alicia, Naomi, and I went outside to play in the snow. Around our hotel there was some snow, but it was old and the weather was warm enough so it had turned into mainly all ice. We still had much fun, having a snowball fight, exploring behind the hotel, making snow angels, and attempting to sled down the hill without sleds. When we finally got to the bottom of the hill, Kevin (Alicia’s older brother that goes to Harvard) yelled for us to come inside.
We went to J Arthur’s for dinner. It had a huge Christmas tree and wreath, and almost everywhere around us there were other Christmas decorations. We were there early for dinner, so we got the early bird special. The food was amazing and filling. The meals included a drink, salad, side, and dessert.
Having Dinner at J Aurther’s
Family on the Ski Trip
The next morning, we quickly ate breakfast downstairs and set off for Cataloochee. It took an amazingly long time to get the lift tickets because there were so many people there, and as soon as we got them, my dad, Naomi, and I started skiing. We began with the easy slope because it had been two years since we last skied. By noon, we were on the big slopes, and by the end of the day, I had gone on the black diamond slope two times. I love skiing, because it’s awesome to go downhill at super high speeds (at least compared to running), feeling the wind as I rush downwards. On the lift for the bigger slopes, there is a clearing in the trees, and through that clearing, you can see the Smokey Mountains clearly. From that height, it is absolutely gorgeous. We were getting close to the time that we had to go back to the hotel when Stephanie saw me. She and her sister, Elizabeth, had just finished their private lesson (although they are so good, they don’t need it). I was ecstatic to see my friend there. Naomi and I went on the blue square slope with them, and then joined Alicia on the green slope.
During dinner that night, Kevin complained about how he fell down on his butt from the snowboarding so many times, and how he was sore all over. Alicia didn’t really enjoy learning how to ski either, so their family decided to drive around and go tubing the next day.
Naomi and I chose to learn how to snowboard the next day. So we did not ski on the black diamond slopes, instead, we spent time learning how to turn and stop the snowboard. It’s a lot harder to do than it looks. Snowboarding is enjoyable, but it is not as fun as skiing. I guess that’s because I can go on the big slopes when I ski, but not when I snowboard. I did try the easy slope at the end of the day. I only went on the lift once because the line was so long, but the only time I went on the lift, I fell getting off. Instead of waiting in line, I walked up the hill and then snowboarded down. I could go down the hill three times in the time it took to go from the back of the line to the top of the hill.
Yes! Lucinda got on the snowboard
Naomi got on the snowboard too!
Naomi and I decided to ski on the last day because we wanted to end our trip going to the black diamond slopes. Alicia’s family went skiing too, so Kevin went with us on the big slopes almost all day. We had a lot of fun going on the black diamond hills. Once on the lift, my ski came off, so I had to take off my other ski and run down the hill to meet Kevin when he got my ski for me. I fell once because I was running too fast and it was getting icy, and that happened to be right when my dad passed overhead on the lift. My dad asked if I was okay, even though I couldn’t hear him. The odd thing was, running down the hill was practically as delightful as skiing down it. We also got Alicia to come out to ski instead of staying inside to copy my history notes that she missed while in Ireland. Naomi, Kevin, and I caught up with Stephanie, Elizabeth, and their private teacher, Josh, on the slope that went three fourths of the way up, but since they have a private lesson, they got to cut the line, so we lost them when we got done with that run.
Right before we left, one of my skis had gotten loose, and it no longer fit my ski shoe anymore, so I couldn’t go on the black diamond hill all the way from the top one last time. I let Naomi and Kevin go ahead without me. It was too late to do anything about my ski, so I went back to our meeting place, and found my mom talking with Stephanie’s mom. I dropped my skis off, and they told me that Stephanie, Elizabeth, and Alicia were going on the easy slope, so I ran off to join them. I found them in the line, and told them what happened. I decided to walk up the hill, and meet them at the top, and then run down next to them. They got to the top after me, just as we had predicted since the line was so long and slow. It was a good way to end the day, running next to my friends going down the small hill. I thoroughly enjoyed my last day skiing, because not only did I go on the black diamond slopes with Naomi and Kevin practically the whole day, but I also got to hang out with Stephanie, Elizabeth, and Alicia. When we reached the bottom of the hill, Stephanie told me that she was going to Atlanta with me and Alicia. We were all driving to Atlanta together, with them following our car because my family had a GPS.
Atlanta, Georgia
After our skiing trip, Alicia’s family, Stephanie’s family, and my family went to Atlanta, GA. We went to an extremely good Chinese restaurant, the Aquarium, Coco-cola world, and Ann’s Snack Bar. It was really exciting and surprising.
We went to the Chinese restaurant upon recommendation from my dad’s friend that lives in Atlanta. It was an authentic Chinese restaurant, not one of those fake Chinese-American restaurants with sweet and sour chicken. We had eleven dishes, including squid, crab legs, mushrooms, soup, etc. Our parents ordered so much food that we (the kids) were absolutely stuffed when we were done. For dessert, we had sweet papaya soup.
We got to the hotel at around 10:30ish in the evening, and decided to go to the Aquarium at 8:30 AM the next day. Stephanie’s family didn’t go with Alicia and me. At the Aquarium, we saw hundreds of fish and other undersea creatures. There were different exhibits for all the different habitats, like the Ocean Voyager featured sharks, rays, and fish. There was a tunnel through the enormous tank for all the creatures. We saw giant manta rays, four gigantic whale sharks, and thousands of other sea creatures. There we saw the whale sharks and various fish being fed. In the Tropical Diver there were tropical fish, poison dart frogs, and various other creatures from the Amazon. They were all so colorful and lively. We got to see weird creatures like garden eels, which are animals that rarely move out of their spot in the ocean floor, yet from the middle up, they move around pretty freely. In River Scout, there are animals from many different rivers, like alligators, sea otters, fish, and hundreds more. We got to see a sea otter being trained and fed, piranhas, and electric eels and fish. In the Georgia Explorer, we got to touch stingrays, shrimp, horseshoe crabs, starfish, and sharks. We saw lionfish, turtles, and much more. In my favorite exhibit, the Cold Water Quest, we got to touch sea anemones. The sea anemones attempt to sting your hand, but it is not strong enough to pierce the skin. You can feel it stinging you, instead you feel like it’s sticking to you. In the exhibit, there are three types of jellyfish, colorful coral and sea anemones, sea dragons, and a ton more. I really liked the sea dragons, because they are like sea horses, but have these weird leaf-like things sticking out of them, but their fins are tiny, so to move they rapidly flap their fins. There were also some sleepy penguins next to the Cold Water Quest. They didn’t do much, and Kevin said he knew what they felt like, because every morning at 7, the Harvard tour guide shows the tourists where the freshmen sleep, and people start taking pictures of his room and that wakes him up. We next went to Coco-cola World, which is right next to the Aquarium.
Lucinda at the touch aquarium
Lucinda with Manta Ray
Coco-Cola World is an enormous place showing the history of Coco-Cola, how Coco-Cola is made, and letting you taste some of the millions of products that Coco-Cola makes. There are a lot of really cool ads that are on TV for Coco-Cola, but no matter which ad it is, it always symbolizes happiness that Coco-Cola brings you. Right now, their saying is “live on the coke side of life”. I don’t really like Coke, or any dark soda for that matter, but the Coco-Cola Company has so many other good sodas I really like that company. Coco-Cola now will always remind me of happiness, because even though it’s not healthy, it sends a positive image to my mind. The tasting room was really cool, because they had sodas from all over the world. I really like Japan’s sodas, they aren’t too fizzy, and they taste delicious. Bibo from South Africa was pretty good too. I decided that I still liked the kiwi juice that I tasted in Xi Xia the best. The kiwi juice was not carbonated and it had a sour tinge to it. There were about 60 different kinds of sodas in the tasting room. Some of them tasted awesome, but some were really bad, like Beverly from Italy. I had a really good time at the Coco-Cola World. When we left we got a free coke in the glass bottle, I will keep mine forever as a remembrance.
Lucinda and Alicia at Coca-Cola World
Kevin at "The Best Burger Place in the USA"
As a final stop in Atlanta, Kevin said we should go to Ann’s Snack Shop, because he saw an article in the Wall Street Journal. It said that this place had the best hamburger in the USA. Since we were already in Atlanta, we decided to go check it out. I was expecting a nice, big, fancy place, so when we pulled into the parking lot, I was shocked. It was the shabbiest restaurant I have ever seen. You can’t even see the Ann’s Snack Bar sign. Inside, there are only eight chairs for people to sit. We asked Kevin if this was the right place. He said that in the article it mentioned it wasn’t in great condition, but he never told this to us. We weren’t allowed inside until there was enough space to sit, and the person in front of us said they had been there for half an hour already. We didn’t have enough time, so we left. I don’t know or care how good this burger is, but I was not going to put up with that. If the owner was going to treat people that way, she’s not going to get much business.
Other Activities
This year I got to host the Chinese New Year Show for Chinese School. It was really nerve-wracking because I had to speak in Chinese in front of so many people, but my Chinese has been getting better. I attribute most of this to Chinese School and speaking at home, but some of the improvement has come from speaking Chinese with my dad's students at parties and on trips, like when we went tubing on the Itchetucknee River and When we went to Crescent Beach in St. Augustine with them.
Lucinda Hosting Chinese New Year Show
Lucinda's Chinese Dance
Tubing on the Itchetucknee River
Crescent Beach
Lucinda’s Birthday Party
To Sum It All Up
Violin Winter Recital
I had an exceedingly pleasant year, filled with friends, family, and joyfulness. Aside from traveling all over the place, I had an especially good year playing violin. I am progressing quickly through the Suzuki books. I am running long distance at school again. My history teacher is in charge of running club for 8th graders. I can run faster than most of the boys, let along the girls. We practiced on Tuesdays and Thursdays every week. I take tennis lessons on Fridays with my friends Shaleen, Sona, Sarah, and Julie. On Saturdays I still have Chinese School, and I take dance as an after-class activity. I also go to ACYO (Alachua County Youth Orchestra) practice on Sunday evenings. I am extremely busy every week but I feel happy to do the things I love to do.
I am very fortunate to be able to travel and see my big family so often, especially considering they are so far away. Getting to travel and explore has always made me happy; I enjoy the airplane rides, the long journey, and the discovery of all the wonders in the world. Not everyone has that luxury. I am grateful for having traveled the world countless times, and I am looking forward to what the next year has waiting for me. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everybody!