Peng's Family
Naomi’s 2014 Newsletter
December 31st , 2014
Wow, once again another year has zoomed by so quickly! I am already 15 and a sophomore at Eastside High School. It may be scary to think about this but I even started driving in August with my permit. I ended 9th grade on a good note, spent basically the entire summer out of the house and traveling around the world, and then kicked off 10th grade with 5 AP classes. I still continue to dive and play the violin as well as participate in Alachua County Youth Orchestra (ACYO).
Naomi travelling around the world
Permit
Violin spring recital
Twisting through the air
Violin
As always, we had the Spring and Winter recitals with my teacher, Kim Chalmers, as well as the ACYO spring concert and winter Stop Children’s Cancer Concert. For the spring recital, I played The Bee by Schubert, a very fast and enjoyable piece. In the winter recital, I played Spring by Vivaldi alone with Kim since I am the most advanced student.
Winter rectial with Kim
ACYO Winter concert
Spring recital with Lucinda
Freshman Year
In the second half of the freshmen year, we had our major project: Greek Drama Fest. We were each assigned a group and had to create either a tragedy or comedy using certain characters from books we had read throughout the 1st half of the year. Our comedy ended up being really great and once we performed it in front of our class, we were chosen to act it out in front of the whole 9th-grade class in the final round. I was incredibly proud of our group for getting the 1st for the best comedy and best play. To finish the year we had our 9th-grade banquet to celebrate the end of the year and the end of AP testing.
Greek Drama Fest
9th Grade Banquet
Gator game
Mexico
For our spring break trip this year we decided to go to Mexico. We rented a house right off the beach and enjoyed the beautiful view of the bright, blue, and clear Gulf of Mexico. Besides the typical beach stay, we also went to a cenote called “Siete Bocas”. Cenotes are bodies of water underground that have been exposed from collapsed limestone. The one we went to had 7 openings (hence the name Siete Bocas (seven mouths)) and were all connected underground. However, when we were there the water level was particularly high and some parts were totally submerged with water and we were not able to swim through the entire cenote. The opening to number 5 was a very large hole and the water underneath was very deep. This led to the idea of jumping in, instead of taking the stairway. It was about a 5-meter drop, and all along the sides were rough rocks so we had to make sure to jump out far enough but not too far so that you would not hit the rocks from either side. Although it was a little scary at first, I quickly got over it and did not let fear ruin the fun. Lucinda, Dad, and I did this 3 times while my mom took pictures.
Floor
Jumping in
Swimming in the cenote
Opening number 5
We also went to Xcaret, an Eco-Amusement Park. Throughout the day, we mainly did water activities such as snorkeling and swimming in the underground river. During the night, we watched a performance called the Espectacular which journeys through the history of Mexico. To begin the show, they acted out a Mayan ball game that used to be played. The goal of the game was to try to get a ball through a hoop without using hands or feet. The winning team picked one person to be sacrificed to the Gods. It seems pretty easy but by watching it in person I realized that it was more than just a little "ball game".
I had a fabulous time in Mexico and it was interesting to spend a week in a place where we did not know how to speak the common language fluently. I am hoping that we will visit Mexico again in the near future.
Snorkling
Beach house
Espectacular show
Xcaret
I can fly!
Beach and resort day
Sports
I am so sad to say that I was only able to run two or three cross country races in the fall due to my knee pains. At the beginning of the school year, I ran a lot and even made the varsity team. However, as time went on, the pains in both my knees worsened. I wished they would just magically disappear so I pretended they weren’t there and ignored the pain. Once my knees hurt so badly that it was affecting how I walked and dove, I decided to stop running. I was very disappointed but I knew that it would be best in the long run. I definitely knew something was wrong but I refused to go to the doctor because I was afraid the doctor would pull me out of physical activity, which meant no diving. However, despite my knee injury, I was able to push through and ended up having a great dive season. I won all my high school dual meets except for one, where I placed 2nd. This really contributed points to the undefeated Eastside girls swim and dive team. I also placed 1st at the city meet, against all my fellow club divers. I am the district champion, region runner-up, and 9th in the state. Diving has taught me not only to never give up, but to push through my fears, never back down, and also to give it your all no matter where you are or who is watching. In spite of the change of coaches with different coaching styles and hurt knees, I am pretty satisfied with the outcomes of all the competitions. Now I started club diving, which means I am also learning dives off the 3-meter springboard and not just the 1-meter springboard.
Focused
Regional Champs
Cross-Country meet
Front twister at state meet
EHS Undefeated Girls
Summer
I started my summer off with a typical Florida beach trip to St. Augustine with one of my best friends, Emily. For the first couple of weeks of summer, I spent every day going out with friends because I knew I was going to be gone for the rest of the summer. I was so excited that I finally got to go to Camp Crystal with all my friends. Camp Crystal is a camp where you live in cabins off a lake and take classes throughout the day such as sailing, water skiing and archery, and have other exciting group activities in the night such as capture the flag. I knew almost everyone in my cabin, but half of them went to different schools and the last time I talked to them was in 5th grade. The other half of the cabin were friends that went to Eastside with me. Throughout these two weeks we bonded and by the end we had become one family. I really enjoyed this experience because at camp you can be completely yourself and everyone is having a great time with you. No cell phones or electronics are allowed which adds to the experience since a lot of teenager’s worlds revolve around technology. Once Camp Crystal ended, I had exactly one day to unpack, wash two weeks’ worth of clothes along with bedding, pack again, and head to the airport. I was off to Indiana University for the dive camp with my teammate Maddie.
With Emily at the beach
Kayaking with Lucinda
Sunrise on the beach
Archery
Wakeboarding
Friends at CCL
Indiana Dive Camp
At Indiana Dive Camp, I learned so many amazing things even though it was very exhausting. We practiced anywhere from 6.5 to 7 hours of diving every day. Within a span of 5 days, I learned 15 new dives. They consisted of dives that I had been working on back in Florida as well as completely new dives that I had never even thought about doing such as a piked armstand off the 7.5-meter platform. Trying all these new dives was obviously scary in the beginning but as the week progressed I became more and more comfortable with the campers as well as the coaches. My new mentality was "the worst thing that could happen is you smack". I learned that the water hurts especially badly when you don't try or give your best effort, so backing down was not an option. Not only was I able to learn so many dives I was also able to meet new people from all around the world. The two girls that roomed with me and Maddie were from Canada and there were even girls there from Great Britain and Australia. Indiana Dive Camp was a great way to push my limits, overcome fears, try new things, and meet new people. After camp, I came home and slept for an extremely long period of time because I was so worn out from back to back camps. Again, I had one day to unpack, wash clothes, and pack again before I was headed to Europe!!
Try, try, try again
IU Diving Camp with Maddie
Europe
For our big summer trip we decided to return to Europe. However instead of going to London again we decided to hit 4 other countries. We 1st traveled to Amsterdam, then Copenhagen, then Oslo and Bergen, and finally Paris. I will be writing about Paris and Bergen. To find out more about the other places please read Lucinda's letter.
Bergen
Bergen has been one of my most favorite places we've traveled so far, mainly due to the fact that it is very mountainous, outdoor, and nature-filled. While in Bergen, the main activity we did was hike. There was one major hiking trail that was very steep and rocky but the view at the top was incredible. The 1st time we went up the mountain I was only with Lucinda and Dad because Mom said she was very tired and didn't want to go with us so she spent the day wandering around gardens looking at the beautiful flowers. Meanwhile, we headed up the mountain. At first the climb was very smooth and the trail was completely paved. However when the paved road ended and we made a left turn, thousands of rocks lay in front of us, slanted upward. I didn't think much of it at first but that was only because I didn’t realize that the rest of the path was made up of large rocks on a steep slope. Near the top of the steep path the rocks were so slippery that they even built a railing for people to hold onto. My legs were slowly getting more and more worn out but since I am not afraid of heights I wasn't really nervous of falling or slipping. After about 50 min, we finally reached the top!
To the range
Climbing up
Descending the mountian
Living life to the fullest
Perfect reflections
Mountain top lakes
Overview of city of Bergen, Norway
The view from the top was absolutely breath-taking. You could see the entire city of Bergen in just one picture. As we started exploring the top of the mountain we realized that not only was there an AMAZING view, there were also small little lakes along with mountain goats and a small little farm. We were all fascinated by this but it was getting dark so we reluctantly had to start heading back. As we began to descend the mountain, my sister says "let's come back here again tomorrow." I obviously thought she was joking so I just laughed but my dad liked the idea and agreed to it and taking Mom up with us as well. I thought they were crazy! On the way down, my dad had to lead the way because we needed to know where to place our feet without the rocks crumbling underneath us or slipping. Lucinda thought going down was the difficult part and going up was easy. I felt the exact opposite way. Going up is the hard and strenuous part because it takes a lot of energy out of you and you never know exactly how long it will take till you reach the top so it seems 10 times longer. Going down is easy for me because you've already been on the path once and gravity isn't working against you. Once we got down, we met up with my mom again and convinced her to hike up with us in the morning. She thought we were crazy as well and I reminded her that it wasn't my idea.
Once we reached the top for the second time, we continued hiking towards the lakes. Since we went in the morning, the sun was at a perfect angle and the reflections on the lakes were gorgeous. The perfectly smooth water with blue sunny skies created a picture-perfect scene. As we were wandering around, Lucinda and I discovered a large boulder on the edge of the top of the mountain. Being dare devils, we quickly climbed on top of it and stood on the edge, overlooking the entire city of Bergen. We even decided to jump over it and my mom caught some pretty solid action shots. I loved every second of the thrill and exhilarating experience I had in Bergen, especially on this mountain.
Winding road
Waterfall
Fjosfossen Cruise View
Downtown Seward
Kjosfossen Cruise View
Kjosfossen Cruise View
Not only did we spend our time hiking, we also spent our time on the water, by taking a day cruise to the fjords. Since the fjords were not close, the trip getting there was sort of long but totally worth it. On the train, we were able to see some great views of mountains but the views became even better when we got on the bus. We started high up on the mountain and gradually descended since our destination was the water. On the bus, we passed multiple waterfalls and if you looked out the window, you could see the winding road lead all the way down to the valley. The fjords were so spectacular that when I showed people the pictures, they didn’t believe it was real. Once we departed the boat, we ate a nice lunch on the top of a trail before we headed back to Bergen. The views of the mountains and water put together all at once defined my version of perfect.
Mom really loved the beautiful flowers in the town square. We spent the day walking around and enjoying the city. In the night we ate at a very fancy restaurant that served delicious and authentic Norwegian seafood to celebrate Mom's birthday. To top off the evening we sat on the park bench and took in the wonderful fountain and city lights.
Fountain in the town square
Walking around the city on Mom's Birthday
Mom enjoying flowers while we were hiking
Mom's favorite flower
Mom's Birthday Dinner
Paris
The final city we went to has been a place where I've always wanted to go. Paris is very different from Bergen in that there is less of a nature side and more of an urban side. Many of the days we spent were in museums, mainly various art museums.
The Louvre
Being the biggest museum in the world, the Louvre was extremely crowded. The most memorable piece of art was, not surprisingly, the Mona Lisa. Imagine a large, square room with paintings along all four walls. But everyone is facing the same direction, looking at the wall that seems to have the least amount of paintings on it. The room is full of people with their arms extended up, camera in hand. Necks are craning, trying to catch a glimpse of what lies ahead. Security guards are lined around the entrance and exit and especially around the far end of the room. As you slowly inch closer, you finally see a small painting, with glass boxed around it. This painting portrays a young woman with a calm manner. Her name is Mona Lisa. I was very surprised by the size of the painting. It is truly amazing how just one painting can be so famous and attract millions of people from all over the world. Once I managed to squeeze to the front of the large mob of people, I quickly snapped a picture of it and hurried my way out. We continued working our way through the museum, admiring all the paintings and sculptures and appreciating how much work was put in for each one. Eventually we had to leave and move on because we had a lot more to see. There was no way we were going to finish walking through the Louvre in one visit because it is a total of 12 miles long!
Mom and Dad on top of the Orsay Museum
Orsay Museum (see the train station resemblance)
L'Orangerie
The next stop was the L'Orangerie. Along it displayed other artists' work, this museum really focused on Monet's art--one of my favorites. The last two rooms were ovular shaped that had all sides painted. These two rooms display Monet's eight water lily murals. In these paintings, Monet's use of cool colors and combining nature with water allows for a peaceful setting. To take on all this beautiful art work we sat in the middle of the room staring at the walls. As boring as that sounds, I was fascinated by the colors, the tranquility, and the creativity of Monet’s work.
Musee d'Orsay (Orsay Museum)
The next art museum was Musee d'orsay. This museum is unique because it was originally a train station. The shape of the museum still resembles a train station, except now it houses many pieces of art work, mainly impressionist and post-impressionist pieces done by painters such as VanGough, Monet, and Sisley. Besides paintings, we also saw many sculptures.
Musée Rodin
The Rodin Museum was built to dedicate the works of French sculptor Auguste Rodin. Famous sculptures such as The Thinker, The Kiss, and The Gates of Hell were places outside in the beautiful garden, giving it a nice nature background. I liked this museum more because it is different from the stereotype museum. It wasn't just a big building with multiple exhibits inside; it was half in a garden and half in a very old house. There was also a lake connected to the garden, which added to the nature effect.
Beginning of Champs-Elysees
Arc de Triomphe
Notre Dame
Eiffel Tower
I was very lucky to spend my birthday in Paris this year. To celebrate, we went up the Eiffel Tower Thursday night and stayed up there until midnight, so I actually turned 15 ON the Eiffel Tower. The Tower was very crowded but the incredible view of the city it provided made up for it. We were even lucky enough to catch the astonishing sunset. The sky lit up with beautiful colors and city lights slowly started to turn on. It first started with the car lights, then house lights, then street lights, and finally the lights that project onto buildings such as the Arc de Triumph. All around us was a bright, twinkling, awaking city. No wonder why Paris is called the City of Lights.
Strong Daddy!
Eiffel Tower light beam
Stairs on the Eiffel Tower
Naomi turned 15 on top of Eiffel Tower!
Beautiful Birthday Girl!
Versailles
The following day we went to Versailles, King Louis XIV palace. At Versailles not only did I get to tour around the palace, I also learned some very interesting things about Louis XIV. Louis was also known as the Sun King which is why his bed faced east so when he woke up the sun was rising in front of him. Rooms such as the Great Hall of Mirrors were used for parties, but they were mainly just extravagance used to show the mighty and absolute power he had. After touring through the palace, we still had the entire garden to visit.
Hall of Mirrors
Palace of Versailles
Gardens of Versailles
Versailles temple of love
Fountains at Versailles
Friends
Although I have been very busy with school due to my 5 AP classes this year, I am so lucky to have such great friends to help and support me along the way. One major thing that really helped relive the stress was going to a One Direction concert in Tampa! It was so exciting and I still can’t believe that all 5 of them were actually standing in the same stadium I was in. The concert was so loud yet thrilling and it is definitely something I want to experience again. I was also very grateful to spend homecoming with my close friends as well as go to various football games to cheer on our college team, the gators, and our high school teams, the Rams.
One Direction at Tampa
Go Gators
Homecoming with friends
EHS Football game
Homecoming with Emily
Yale Visit
As you all know, my sister is at Yale this year and I was lucky enough to visit her in October! The first thing Yale reminded me of when I got there was Hogwarts. I think all the old style buildings along with the different houses really triggered it, but in general, the campus was gorgeous, especially with the cool temperature and the fall foliage colors. I also was lucky enough to watch some of the Yale diving practice and talk with the coach! He was very kind and showed me the wonderful facilities the divers have access to such as the dry land room and the workout area for varsity sports only. He had a great personality, something that is essential for a coach who works with young divers. That night I was able to stay in my sister’s suite while my dad and mom went back to the hotel so I could experience a night on college campus. I loved it because there is so much freedom and everyone is so chill.
The next morning we met up with my patents again and we decided to leave Yale campus and take a hike on the Sleeping Giant. The weather was unbelievable and the best thing about it was the humidity in the air was very low. Throughout the entire hike, we were surrounded by beautiful reddish-orange leaves and a clear blue sky with sun rays shining through the tree tops. I was mainly so amazed by the leaves because here in a Florida it seems like 1 in every 100 trees changes color in the fall. Overall Yale left me the first great impression and I can't wait to hear more about it from Lucinda!
So happy to see Lucinda!
Yale Campus
Touring Yale with Lucinda
Hiking with the family
Fall leaves
Sleeping Giant trail
Winter Break
Once again, we spent Christmas with Anneliese and Emma’s family down by the lake house. After Christmas we decided to take a day and go to the La Chua Trail to enjoy the nature. Not only did we see many people we knew there, we also saw large alligators basking in the warm sun. Some of the alligators were across the lake but lots were also on the near side of the lake, very close to the trail—some even 3 feet away. We stayed quiet, quickly snapped a picture, and moved on before the gator got too upset. Slowly, the sun started setting, creating beautiful colors in the sky. The white puffy clouds slowly turned pink and stretched out to long wisps in the sky. The sun added a red-orange tint which contrasted to the dark blue sky, as night was upon us. Everything was picture-perfect and even the weather was cooperating.
Speaking of warm weather, it even got warm enough for us to take a day beach trip to St. Augustine. In the first half of the day, the visibility was around 50 meters because the fog was so dense. As the sun became stronger throughout the day the fog disappeared and left for a beautiful beach day. It was nice to spend one of the last days of 2014 on the beach—my favorite place—catching to Florida sun and swimming in the ocean.
Harmony!
Animals on La Chua Trial
Christmas at the lake
Flying on the beach
This year I was truly able to see how beautiful the world around us is and I appreciate everything and everyone who has taken part in my life. I have learned many things and I continue to look forward to learning more. So now it is time to say goodbye to 2014 and hello to 2015! Happy New Year!!
Beautiful leaps
Christmas on Florida Beach
Go Xi Fa Cai, 新年快乐!
Naomi Peng