The courtroom - update at the ICC

I have been going to the court hearings again now that I'm back in Holland. In the both Lubanga and Katanga's cases the prosecution has misused the laws. The prosecution has tried to hide behind a law that says that when you get info through confidentiality agreements, that info should be used for the sole purpose of generating new evidence. Also, info that has been received through these agreements is info that you are not aloud to share with any of the other parties. The prosecution is now trying to use all the info that they had gained under the confidentiality agreements in Court without letting the defense see it. In the U.S. this would be ok because we don’t have to give the defense evidence that will help to show there innocence, but at the ICC that is a rule that should not be broken. By breaking this law, the prosecution is making the trial an unfair trial. The bench in the Lubanga case has staid the trial because the prosecution is making the trial an unfair one. (To stay a trial, for those of you that don't know, is the same as halting the trial until the prosecution can get it together.) Upon a stay in a trial, the accused is supposed to be released until the trial is started again, but the prosecution is now trying to appeal the stay saying that the trial is still fair. Unfortunately, for the prosecution everyone thinks that the trial was not going to be fair. Because the prosecution appealed the accused or Lubanga is not let out until the appeal has been resolved, so Lubanga is "getting released" but we will see if it really happens.

Linkin Park - in Düsseldorf

So last Saturday I went to a Linkin Park concert in Düsseldorf. My aunt got the ticket for me as a surprise. I went with my Aunts friend (and my friend) Christian, my aunt bought the ticket for his birthday. Also, the nanny that works for him, and her friend drove to Düsseldorf with us so that they could see the city for the day. Elizabeth (the nanny) and her friend didn’t go to the concert, they just hung out in Düsseldorf. We drove to Düsseldorf because it is a lot faster then any other way. When we got there, we parked at the concert parking to make sure we got a good spot and then all went into Düsseldorf for a little but about an hour after we got in there Christian and I had to leave. We didn’t see that much in Düsseldorf but what we did see was nice. Getting into the concert was really easy so I bought my t-shirt first. Sadly, they didn’t have the posters so I didn’t get one of them. The new shirt is a Project Revolution one because the other one I have is the normal tour symbol and I thought it would be better to get a different front. The concert had four opening bands. I don’t remember the first one or the second one but I do know I liked one and thought the other one was ok but probably sounded better on a CD. The third one was a band called N.E.R.D. I didn’t really like them but Christian did so it all worked. The fourth one I thought was AMAZING and that band was H.I.M!!!!! After H.I.M was done, Linkin Park came on. This concert had a lot better songs then the last one I was at but they were both REALLY COOL. The drum solo this time was also a LOT better then the last one too. This concert didn’t have any moshpit’s which surprised me but the people that had to stand were split up by fences to keep the groups smaller so I would guess that was why. We didn’t leave the concert until at lest 12 but it was a lot of fun so it was worth it.

Amsterdam - Again

Last Sunday I went to Amsterdam with my aunt and her friend, Eleni. When we got to Schipole, we stopped and got Starbucks because my aunt and I love it. After that, we got back on the train and headed to Amsterdam. In Amsterdam, we walked around for a little just looking and then went on the shopping street we had been on last time because my aunt wanted to exchange a movie that the store had messed up last time when she bought it. Then we went onto the street that has the flower market so we could buy a new pot plant because the other one we got didn't grow much at all. After that, we walked over to Bagels & Beans for lunch. I got to have a ham and cheese bagel, which was extremely good. I didn’t get my normal hot chocolate and chocolate muffin because I had that at Starbucks so I was all chocolated out. From there we walked around in the Amsterdam mall and I ended up getting a new backpack in Timberland. It’s not a “backpack” backpack its more of a “side-pack” backpack. Then we went to find a boat ride tour around Amsterdam. I have been on two now and my favorite one was the one I went on this time because we went out of the canals and into the “ocean” then back into the canals. It was really nice to be out of the canals and see were the ships docked. After that ride we headed back to the train because everything was closing and it was getting late.

Christian Youth Gathering

Last Friday I went to a Christian youth gathering called EO-Jongerendag with my youth group here. The gathering was completely centered around teens so there were a lot of companies that related to teens. There were also a few rides outside the stadium. When we got inside, we had to walk around for a little to find seats because it was packed. Once we did, we were in the far back. The first thing that happened was that the EO-Jongerendag's band played for a little. I liked them but they were in Dutch so I didn't really understand the words. Then there was a speaker but he was speaking Dutch too so I didn't get what he said ether. Finally, a band called Starfield came on and played. They were from Canada so I finally understand what people were saying. I really really liked them. After they were done, it was intermission. During intermission, we walked around and got some food. After that, we went back in so we could get good seats. (We were going to drive to Germany for Starbucks but we didn’t want to miss Delirious the last band that was playing.) The seats we got were third row on the side of the stage. The band after the break called Spacefix was HORRIBLE. It was more like a circus act with music then a band. After that group the speaker came back on and talked some more. Once he was done, Delirious came on. Everyone in the stadium was really happy when they came on. They were my favorite with Starfeild in a very close second. Once they were done, EVERYONE in the whole place practically stampeded the door so leaving took a little. Once we were out the door, we headed home. I'm really glad that I found a good youth group in The Hague. It's great to be here and to hang with my aunt and her friends....but its also great to be able to hang out with some people my own age too.

(product) RED

This blog is about the Red Product....and it's about my shoes. I LOVE these shoes. I've recently developed a bit of a shoe....attachment. I've been buying a lot of them lately. And, finally I got so excited about shoes, that I thought I'd better design my own.

So I’m sure most of you have heard of the RED product. RED is a group that takes most of the profit from the things that they sell and uses it to help stop Aids in Africa. I found out a few months ago that you could go onto Convers.com and design your own RED shoes. I needed new shoes anyway (OK, let's be honest...I didn't need the shoes so much as I really wanted the shoes), so I made my own shoes. I found it really nice because it’s more your shoe if you design it, if that makes since, and you are helping a really good cause. If you want to do this too go to http://www.converse.com/index.aspx?mode=c1#profile or
http://www.joinred.com/products/converse/ if you want to read a little about it and see other people ideas. This is my shoe: If you are interested in helping out you can join RED by going to http://www.joinred.com/register/ and help stop Aids.

Amsterdam

Last weekend I went into Amsterdam with my aunt. It was the first time I had been into Amsterdam since I had been back in the Netherlands. On the way in we stopped at Schipole airport because we wanted Starbucks and that is the only place to get it in Den Haag. After our morning Starbucks break, we got back on the train and headed to Amsterdam Central Station. Once in Amsterdam we had to decide where to go first. I hadn’t been able to go to the Van Gogh museum last time I was living in The Netherlands because we somehow never made it to that museum, and I really wanted to so we walked over to it. I thought that the museum was really good, though I wished it had even more art from Van Gogh as he is a favorite artist of mine. It was really cool to see how he progressed in his art, till he killed himself because he felt his art was starting to be bad. I think his art was best in the end of the middle and then at the end. It’s a shame we couldn’t take pictures of some of them. After that we went to the Hard Rock café for lunch. It was really cool to be there and I even got 2 shot glasses from there, after having a Lemon Drop shot ;-). After a nice yummy lunch we went back to the flower market that we had walked by on the way to the Van Gogh museum and bought a pot plant. So, now I can officially say that I have grown pot. I haven’t yet smoked it, but I’m growing it….hmmmm…. Then on the way back home, we stopped again at the airport for more Starbucks. (ya we are a little weird…but you try being deprived of the things you love in a foreign country for a long time, and you might change your tune). When we got home, we immediately planted the seeds for the pot plant….I’ll keep you updated on its status.

Back in Europe

Well I've been back in Europe for a month now and have settled in. Not much has changed. I do miss home and friends but I talk to them a lot and it wont really be that long till I am back home. So far I have gone to Berlin and Florance and have truly enjoined them both. Most everyday has been very hot and sunny for Holland. We have enjoyed all the sun and have gone on a bike ride and might do it again this weekend. Although I have been having all this fun I have still been doing school work. I did go to a court hearing and learned that there was no change in what was happening when I had left last year. All together its nice to be back and i am truly enjoying it.

Third and Final Day in Florence

Today was our last day in Florence, and it was a blast. Instead of staying in the city, we decided to take a short train ride to the neighboring city of Pisa so that we could visit the leaning tower of Pisa. Once we got to Pisa we walked through the city to the tower and then sat on the grass in the sun for a little. Pisa was small but very nice and it seemed like all the people that lived in Pisa all knew each other. After buying the tickets to climb the Leaning Tower of Pisa we went and got a drink at a small restaurant while we waited to climb the tower. The tower was a lot of fun to be in. When you walk around in it you can tell what direction it is leaning all the time by how hard it is to walk up. The view from the first floor is nice but the view from the top is amazing you can see all over the place. The only things that were as tall as it was the church that was next to it. After all that we went back into Florence to find that it was raining really hard…like REALLY hard! We went into a gelato place to get out of the rain and get some gelato. We were getting late and needed to catch our flight as we were leaving that day so we gave up hiding from the rain and just walked back to the hotel in the pouring rain (pouring!!!) By the time we got back to the hotel we were wet to the bone, and my Aunt was getting hysterical that we were going to miss our flight. The hotel couldn’t find a taxi due to the rain and the situation was getting serious. Finally, we got a Taxi and went straight to the airport. Luckily we weren’t late for the flight so my Aunt calmed down and was not that cranky by the time we got home.

Day Two in Florence - the day of the museum

Today was my second full day in Florence. My Aunt's meetings ended yesterday so we had all day today to see Florence. This is also my first time in Italy. We started the day by going to a sculpture museum and saw The Beheading of John the Baptist along with some other really cool and very well done sculptures. There were sculptures done by Michelangelo and Rossetti and Brunachelli. All this was in the same museum where we accidentally set the alarm off yesterday because we didn't know the museum was closed and kept trying to open the door. When we got there the doors were shut so we walked all the way around it and ended up back were we started. So we tried to open the door when we heard an alarm sound inside and thought we should book it before we got in trouble so we left. Today we made it inside and it was very nice and open and the walls had different sculptures around them but my favorite one was The Beheading of John the Baptist. After walking around some more and looking at all the different sculptures we headed out. From there we headed to the major museum in Florence, Ufenzi. We had to wait in line almost 3 hours to get in. It was nice once we were in. After that we did a little shopping and i ended up getting the tie that I really liked from the day before.

Then, we headed to one more museum to finish out the day. This museum has Michelangelo's sculpture, David, in it. I have heard about the sculpture and seen photos of it, but I have to say that it is pretty amazing close up. His feet are as big as my head! It stuns me that someone could have had the kind of talent to actually sculpt like that. Even the veins on his arms and back were perfect. It was pretty amazing to see. Michelangelo's 4 dying slaves were also in this museum.

Then we went to the oldest bridge in Florence. The beach along the river reminded me of a beach board walk because it was packed and there were shops all over it and then you could see the water in the background. We didn't spend that much time there because we were hungry so we just walked over it and then back. When we found a place to eat I got really lucky and got to have steak. Apparently this is one of their specialties in Florence so my Aunt thought I should get to have one since I like steak so much. She is a vegetarian, so she just had a cheese pizza.

After that incredibly good dinner we started walking back to the hotel but on the way we went in to a "fancy" story that had lots of papers and calligraphy stuff and the wax ceals with peoples initials. It was really cool so i tried to get my aunt to get the ceal for me because it was really cool. After a little while of thinking about it she said yes so I got to get it. From there we went back to the hotel because it was getting late.

first day in florence

On Saturday, my first full day in Florence, my aunt had a work thing in the morning and then a big dinner thing for work at night so I spent the morning walking around the hotel looking at what there was to see. I didn’t want to go too far for fear of getting lost. (I had a map but I still didn’t trust myself.) After a nice long walk and getting to see St. Marks church (no I didn’t get any pictures of it sorry) and a few other cool things I went back to the hotel to wait for my aunt. After she got back we went out and started seeing the sights like the big Duomo. It really is beautiful. Inside it was huge and really just amazing to be in and see. Right when we exited we decided to climb the big campanile tower next to it. About 130 stairs later we got to the first of four levels. The view was nice from there but we knew that the view was even better further up so that is were we went. Another 95 stairs later we were at the next level which had an even nicer view but we weren’t even as high as the church we had just been in so we couldn’t see over it yet. After we climbed up the next 94 steps we reached the third floor we could see the top of the cathedral and found that the view was better then we (or at least I) thought it would be. The last 95 stairs weren’t that bad because we were so close to the top. It was nice to sit at the top for a few minutes just because the walk up was long. At the top we could see the end of the city in almost all directions. The decent from the top was fast and easy but once we were at the bottom we thought it would be a good time to get some gelato. I wasn't so sure that I would like it, but my aunt said I should at least try it, because she thought I would really like it. Gelato is a type of ice cream that is not made as much with milk as it is with ice. I found that I really liked it. I go the mint chip flavor, but my aunt got lemon, and after having a bite of hers....the lemon flavor is the best. I'm getting that one next time. After this we went to the Museum del Duomo and saw a lot of really cool Sculptures. My favorite was David and Goliath and Adam and Eve. I even got a picture with it. After we finished at the museum we walked around the streets of the town a little and I saw a tie I really liked but we didn’t get it. We had to head back shortly after because my aunt had to go to a dinner thing for work. After she left I ran out and got some pizza for dinner then went back into the hotel and ate and read because everything was closing.

I have traveled in Europe all by myself

So now I have traveled in Europe all by myself. My aunt went to Florence, Italy on Thursday for work and I was going to fly out to join her on Friday. So on Thursday morning my aunt headed out to the airport and Twiga and I stayed home. On Thursday I spent time doing home work and playing with Twiga. On Friday when I woke up I made Twiga her food and got every thing ready for Julianne, the girl who works at my aunt's court and who was watching Twiga while we were gone. Then at 3:30 on Friday afternoon I headed for the train and from there to Schipole airport in Amsterdam to catch my flight to Florence. When I got to Florence, I had to catch the bus to the main train station and from there take a cab to the hotel. I think my aunt was really nervous that something would go wrong....but it was all fine. By the time I got to the hotel I was tired and wanted to go to sleep. My aunt was at a dinner thing for work, but she had left me money at the front desk, in case I didn't have enough with me to pay for the taxi....but I did. The hotel is right in the middle of Florence so tomorrow while my aunt is working, I can explore a bit of Florence on my own.

The Beach

On Monday the Netherlands (or I guess most of Europe) celebrated a holiday....Whit Monday. I think it's some sort of religious holiday, but I actually don't know. What I do know is that Holland had the day off. Unfortunately for my aunt, who works for an international institution, she did not have the day off. However, all the kids in my youth group did, so I went to the beach to meet up with the church youth group I go to. The youth had a "Pasta feed" thing because the sun was out and it was hot and that is not common in Holland. I bussed over to the beach and then walked around for like an hour looking for the church group because it was so packed that it was almost impossible to find anyone without looking for about that long. Finally when I found them I hung out with my friends, Sinclaire and Timothy most of the time. We wanted to play Frisbee and stuff but there were WAY to many people so that idea was scratched. Although this is a beach it still doesn't seem like a real beach to me. The sand here has shells in it all over even in the parts the water is never at and they are so old that they are broken and sharp so when you step on them it really hurts. Other then that I had a lot of fun. I left earlier then most people but it was ok because I was getting a sun burn by then. All in all it was a lot of fun and I've decided that I wholly approve of Whit Monday....it rocks!

Cinco de Mayo en Ocho de Mayo

On the 8Th of may we celebrated Cinco de Mayo with a party at my aunts house. It wasn't a really crazy party it was more of a stand around talk and get drunk and eat snacks. We got a bunch of alcohol to make margaritas and then some beer. For food we got 3 bags of chips and then I made Quesadillas and we had bean dip and my aunt made her guacamole. Once most the people got there I stayed more to the kitchen to make the food because people were eating it so fast but when I was out with the people I talked to a few people. I thought it went well and I had a lot of fun cooking the Quesadillas, and eating some too, and helping where I could. I talked with Shamims intern the most though and she seemed really nice. I also thought my Aunt's friend Natasha was pretty funny....she seems like this really serious feminist lawyer, and so you would never expect that she is a MAJOR Nascar fan. Guess you really should never judge a book by its cover. It was also strange to see the crowd that is at a party organized by my Aunt....people from Africa and Australia and both North and South America and all over Europe....so many different people from different places....it's pretty cool to be in a group where everyone is so different.

Kuekenhof on Cinco de Mayo

So, on Cinco de Mayo it was my first day back in Holland. I know that it is a day of celebration in Mexico, but to celebrate in Holland, I went to Kuekenhof which is the very nice bulb plant garden. When I heard about it I just thought it would be like all the other bulbs i had seen where it was just like any other farm and the bulbs are planted in long lines and you would just walk up and down and see them all. But, my aunt was pretty insistent that we were going to go, and we were going to take Twiga. She goes every year, so I figured I was stuck going. Instead it was like one big garden with a bunch of little ones in it.

When we first got there we just looked around at the stuff in the front then realized we were hungry so we went back up to the front and got a map and I realized just how big Kuekenkof gardens really is. So we started the long walk all the way around the gardens to get some lunch. The walk was really fun because of all the flowers and just how everything looked. I ended up finding my favorite tulip which is some what like the "Queen of Night" but it has a bit of a fur like feel to it. When we got to the restaurant it took a little while to find a place to sit but when we did it was nice because we had Twiga with and she was really happy and wanted to sniff everything.

After lunch we kept walking and went into the Enlightenment area and it had these really comfy beanbags to sit in on the grass that just made you want to go to sleep. After sitting there for about half an hour we realized we had to get going. We also were shopping at all the stores in the park to find the perfect bulbs to send home to CA next year. We found the best package and bought them and then we finished walking through the gardens and on the way out got a picture of me with the Poffergy sign.

Then, we drove back to The Hague and to the beach where we went to a Dutch/Mexican restaurant for dinner. It was not the best mexican food I've ever had (but I think I liked it more than my Aunt). After celebrating cinco de mayo with a mexican dinner we went to my Aunt's friend, Josy's house to watch their favorite show - Grey's Anatomy. And, this was our Cinco de Mayo! (we've planned a cinco de mayo party...but later in the week).

The Last Day in Berlin

The last day in Berlin we got up really early and went to the town were Martin Luther lived and nailed up his theses on the church door. Since our family is Lutheran, it was really exciting to think we were going to go to the place where the Protestant movement started. Wittenburg is the tiny town where Martin Luther lived and protested the Catholic Church.

The ride there was really beautiful there were little towns and flower fields and forests all the way there. When we got there we sat down for breakfast to decide were we should go first because we had a limited time there so we picked the Luther house, the monestary of Martin Luther which now houses a museum with collections of all things Lutheran. The house was huge and took a long time but was really cool to see. It even had a lot of his original writings in it. It was so big that it took us longer then we planned but once we had finished looking we went straight to the church that he used to preach at and went in there for a little to look around. It was a very old looking church which was supposed to have Martin buried under it. From there we went to the church that the thesis’s were put on and just took a few picture of it but didn’t go in because we had no time. The drive back to Berlin was long because we didn’t really know how to get back. We were so late that when we got to a rest stop we got off to call Robert because we were supposed to meet up with him before we left. When we got off we realized it was a bad idea because there was a full blown biker convention going on there. It ended up taking like 20 min just to call and leave because it was so packed. Finally we got back to Berlin, had a quick lunch and met with Robert for a few. Then we went and picked up Eleni and headed back to Den Haag. We didn't leave Berlin until after 6pm, and we didn't get back to The Hague until 4am. I slept most of the time, but my Aunt had to drive and had to get up the next morning for work...so it wasn't so easy on her. But, it was worth it....it was a great trip!

Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp

We are still in Berlin, but today we got up early and headed out because we were going to Sachsenhausen concentration camp. This camp wasn't a death camp it was a work camp so although many people there died it was not even close to how many people died at the death camps. I knew that the camps were big but when i got there i found that it was bigger then i thought. It was also very interesting to see where the people slept every night and sad to see just how little space they had and to hear just how bad there life was. In school you learn about the Holocaust but it is very different to hear about it when you are at the camp and see the things that they had to do and where they had to sleep. I also learned things that you aren't taught in school like if you had a deformity they would kill you just to see what it was. An example of this is when a man with a crooked spine(my guess would be he had scoliosis) was killed and took out his spine and hung it in the courtyard just because they thought it looked weird. After we were done there we drove back and met up with Robert and his girlfriend and took a boat tour of Berlin. The tour was a lot of fun even though it rained a little on us. The tour took us through parts of Berlin that people don't usually see if they just walk the city. After the tour my aunt and I went to the Holocaust memorial which was really interesting because it is a bunch of rectangular slabs that make a maze like area. From there we went back to the hotel and rested for a few minutes before we went back out to meet up with everyone for dinner. (We were supposed to meet another one of Eleni's brothers and the roommate of the brother that lived there.) When we got to the restaurant everyone but Eleni's brother and the other brothers roommate was there. Right after we ordered they both walked in. It was nice to meet them and the dinner was a lot of fun. After diner we went straight back to the hotel and straight to bed because we were getting up early the next day.

Day Two in Berlin

The second day in Berlin we went to the zoo. When we got there the line was really long so we let Twiga stand in line with us till we were about to get the tickets then I put her back in the car. Right when we got in we started looking for Knut the Polar bear. (That was my aunt’s only real reason to go there) Knut is a very famous polar bear in Europe, though in the US we haven't really heard of him. He was born last year at the Berlin zoo and the whole continent went crazy over this cute polar bear. He is now a teen ager though.

I thought it was a nice Zoo, of course I still think the San Diego Zoo is better but that is because it is :P

Before we could find Knut we decided to get some lunch so we went to one of the food courts and I got a Bratwurst and fries and my aunt got what was supposed to be potato salad and a pretzel. I loved that lunch but my aunt thought the "potato salad" was not good. After that we kept looking for the bear but it was hard to find because the signs aren't really that helpful. While we were looking for Knut we saw some white wolfs and I thought that was really cool because I love wolfs. Shortly after the wolfs we found the famous polar bear. That was the most active and fun bear I have ever seen. It actually was amazing to see.

After we saw that we headed strait for the exit and back to Twiga. From there we went back to the shops we were at the day before and I got some cool stuff. On the way back to the hotel that night we stopped at the Brandenburg Gates and got a few pictures. My aunt is such a freak that everytime we passed the gates she would say, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall." She is very embarassing to hang out in public with.

That night we went to Eleni's brothers Opera at the Berlin Opera House. It was the first real Opera I had been to and it didn't seem to be the normal kind. It was...different. I could always tell where Eleni's brother was when he was on stage. The story of the Opera was Joan of Arc, but my Aunt and Eleni said it wasn't a classic opera but a modern one so there was a lot of weird stuff going on that I didn't quite get. But, it was still fun to be there and to see it all. After the show was over, we met Eleni's brother in the restaurant for the actors and musicians and we had dinner with them and then went back to the hotel and to sleep.

Back In Europe and off to Berlin

So I have been in Europe for a total of 7 days and yet I have been having a lot of fun. Right when I got here I met up with my aunt at the airport and we went back to the house to drop off my big bag and pick up Eleni then headed to Berlin. We ended up leaving late so we didn't get to Berlin till about 1 in the morning. I slept most of the ride there so it didn't bug me too much. The next day we meet up with my aunt’s friend Robert and his girlfriend for a little tour of the city. The city is so big and fun with a lot of cool things to see and do. We started the day off with a really good breakfast at the hotel then went over to Roberts house where we had another breakfast. I didn't really eat anything at their house because I had eaten so much at the hotel. After they were done eating we went to the train station by there house and went to the city center where we met up with Eleni for a little and walked around the city looking at shops. One of the shops was a shop that sold Ampelmann which are the old stop and go signals for the crosswalk. The shop had a lot of cool things like bags and balls, pins and pens, and even more. The first time I went in I only got a pin because I didn't really know what to get so my really cool aunt said that we would go back later and look again. Shortly after that shop Eleni had to go because her other brother was coming to stay with the brother that lived in Berlin. (Elaine was staying with the brother that lived in Berlin too.) After she left we continued looking around at the cool buildings. After a long time of looking at different buildings we got to Checkpoint Charlie. (The checkpoint got the name Charlie from the communication code "Alfa Bravo Charlie") Robert and Katharina were really great tourguides of their city. It was really cool to see the checkpoint but I think my aunts favorite part was when we got Starbucks right after. From there we all took the train back to Roberts house and then met up with Eleni for dinner...pizza.....yum!

Paintballing

Last weekend I went paintballing with my church youth group. We went to this place called American Canyon because one of the kids had been there before and said it was good. When we got there we thought it looked really cool and kind of like a forest. The main field is 65 acres and then there is Air Ball, Teepees, and Zulu Territory. The main field is just trees and then 4 forts but is a LOT of fun. The Air Ball part is just blow up obstacles that you can hide behind and attack your opponent. The Teepees are just like what they sound like, they are a bunch of teepees that you hide behind and attack your opponent. In the Zulu Territory there are no rules for the speed of the paintballs or anything like that. We started off in the main field but it closed for lunch right after our first game so we went to the Teepees and Air Ball area because they were still open. We hung out down there and just played games against each other for a long time. I was having sooo much fun--you really have no idea. Then we realised that we had been there longer then we had planned so we figured that we might as well stay till they closed. So we went back to the main field and played like 3 more games with everyone and then the park closed so we headed home. We spent the whole ride home talking about how much fun we had and hoping we could go again.

The Final Part of the Mexico Trip

The last day before the long and boring ride home we crossed the border and headed to the beach. San Diego beaches rock! This year we had more time at the beach then ever before and we were glad to have it. We got to spend like 4 hours at the beach running and getting sunburned. It was great--I love that beach. Then at 4 we packed up and headed over to the Fashion Valley mall to buy dinner and I got Chinese food. Just Chinese food because last year some idiot got caught stealing shoes at the mall so we weren't allowed to shop this year. Then we headed to the church that we stayed at on the way down and unpacked to go to sleep. That night we talked about how much we were looking forward to next year and how we wished we were still in Mexico. Shortly after that was lights out so we could get up early for the long drive back home. I'm already planning for next year's trip.

Day Three on the Site

Right when we got on the sight the morning of the third day, we started getting the roof boards up and the tar paper done on the walls. I was on the roof with Papa Sig (group leader) and Kyle Sig (Papa & Mama Sig's son). While we were putting on the roof boards the people we were building the house for asked if we could put in a sky light, so we thought about it for a little while and then said yes, because it hadn’t been done before and we wanted to make a new record. We had to put extra support where the sky light was, because otherwise it would have been a weak spot. We also had the problem of trying to get a hole in the board because we didn’t have a power saw. Then out of no where, the guy we were building it for brought out a power saw and cut the board for us. (The group next to ours was mad because we weren’t supposed to have power tools, but it wasn't our power tool. It was funny.) Shortly after we had the sky light in, Kyle had to leave to help Smit do the barbeque. After he left we started putting the tar paper on the roof and then the roofing tar. Then I had to tar the all the nails and stuff to make sure no water could get in. By the time I was done with that the rest of the people were basically done with the house, so we gave the new home owners the key to the house and took some pictures. The most important part of the whole trip is the end when the family finally has a good house. Then went back to camp for some AMAZING tri tip that Smit makes. For the last night in Mexico Patrick and I made a huge fire and we all sat around it and talked and sang till it was bed time.

Day Two on the Site

The second day was a lot more fun and productive all around. We started off by breaking people up into groups. Patrick and I were a group and then there were 3 other groups--all of us were making walls for the house. In all there are seven walls and two roof parts that make up the house. After Patrick and I were done we put up our wall because no one else could do much more then make the walls until it was up because it was the front. After it was up I went down and helped Kelsey’s group finish and bring up their wall. (They were down the hill a little bit and it is a steep climb.) Once all the walls were up I started working on the roof parts with Kelsey, Patrick, Mama Sig (adult leader) and Hanna. When that was finally done we had to bring it over to the house and put it on top of the house. After that one was on I got on the roof and started putting the bird blocks in. (yes they do just what they are called, they block the birds from going into the house) While two other people and I were doing that, the other wall was being made and at the end of the day it was finished and put on next to the first half. Then we headed back to the camp site, had a bonfire and dinner and went to bed--we were pretty tired.

First Day on the Work Site

So the first day on the work site we built the frame for the foundation, and two walls, and also poured the cement foundation. Right when we got to the site we started to make the frame for the foundation. After we had it all square and level (which didn’t take that long) we had to dig about 3 inches down around the edges to make sure the foundation doesn't move. My first job was to make sure all the dirt was loose enough for the people with shovels to get it out. That ended up only taking me like 5 minutes because I got to use a pick axe and when I have one of those I can dig through just about anything. Then we started making the cement and walls at the same time. This didn’t work as well as it has in the past two years because we had a bunch of people that didn’t really want to do any work. (If and when they did work they wanted their friends right next to them so they could talk the whole time.) The cement takes a long time to make and is really hard because we have to make it by hand. This year Patrick and I broke the record of most cement mixed at once. (We mixed 6 buckets and the record was 5 so we thought that was cool.) While we are down there we don't have any power tools because we don't want it to seem like we are better or have better things or anything like that. After all the cement was in we all helped put together the second wall then we had to go back to camp because there are gangs where we do work and we don’t want to have to deal with that. Back at camp we just hang out until dinner. After dinner we have small groups and big group worship then we go to bed.

My Mexico Mission Trip

On Easter I went down to Mexico with my church youth group to build houses for the week of spring break. We meet Sunday before church and check in so that we know that everyone is there. After checking in we go to church service. In the service there is a part where we have to go up front so the whole church can see us and wish us luck. (I hate that part). After the service we go out to the vans (for those of you that don't know, we drive down to Mexico) to load up and say goodbye to people. After saying bye to everyone we headed out. I really don't know what happened till our first rest stop because I slept on the ride down. At the first rest stop we ate our bag lunches and changed seats. We do a lottery to see where we sit and at each stop we change seats so people get to know more people--people riding with me know that I like to sleep. Then we got back in the vans and I went back to sleep till the second rest stop. That was fun because I got Taco Bell for dinner. The third rest stop was the coolest rest stop we had because we got there just in time to watch the sun set. I wish I could have taken a picture but I didn't have a camera. Once the sun had set we hung out for a few minutes, then finished up the drive to the church we were sleeping at. After all the people were there we unpacked the box truck so we had all our things. After that my Aunt and Bestemom showed up with some more Taco Bell and Easter candy for me (they spent Easter in San Diego). It was cool seeing my Aunt again since I haven't seen her in a few months. Once they left, we were up for a few more minutes but then it was time for bed. Last year we were there too and some of the adults slept outside so me and Patrick and Chris asked if we could sleep outside too. The adults said yes so we all set up outside on the grass and went to sleep. Then at about 2 AM the sprinklers went off...that was a very weird way to wake up. So this year we slept outside but this time we were on the cement.

The Linkin Park Concert

Last Monday I went to a Linkin Park concert. I had been wanting to go to it for a long time but I couldn't find a way to do it because t he tickets were really expensive and it was all the way in Sacramento. Then I got an email from Music For Relief asking for volunteers for the concerts so I jumped on the opportunity and emailed back saying I could. After I emailed saying I could I asked my Bestemom if I could do it (our family is big on volunteering so I thought she'd probably say yes) and she said that if they had me volunteer I could go. The next day I got the reply saying that I was one of the 6 volunteers. That all happened like 3 weeks before the concert. Then the day before the concert I got a phone call to confirm that I was still able to do it. So the next day I went to the ARCO arena in Sacramento where the concert was going to be. I had to be early because I had to help out with setup. I thought it was so cool to be there and I even got to go in through the security entrance. The setting up was easy. Once the doors were opened we would talk to people about what MFR is and how it works. It was created in 2000 when the tsunamis hit to help people with shelter and they continued it to help people in New Orleans and Florida. They started working with Habitat for Humanity and Plant a Tree after the wild fires in San Diego and they also want to inform people about global warming and help stop carbon emissions. We met the guy that does all the videos for Linkin Park (that was really cool) . After the first opening band, we set up a table for the band to sign posters for people. After they were done we got every thing packed up and then went to our seats because the show was starting. It was SO fun to help with all the things that we did. The concert was awesome, but at that point most the people were drunk so it was fun to watch them too. As a volunteer I was given a free ticket for the floor. I didn't really want to be on the floor because I knew that I wouldn't be able to get close enough to see, but that was what I had and I knew it was cool to have so I was going to try to get close to the front. (I have no idea how I really thought that I would get to the front). Luckily we were told that if we found a seat that was empty we could sit in it and use it as our seat. To make this long and lame story short I found a seat in the front right next to the stage. It was soooooooo cool to be that close to the stage at a concert. The only problem was that they didn't do my favorite song which is Bleed It Out. They ended the concert and people started to leave and then they came back out for an encore, did several more songs and finished with Bleed It Out. It was perfect. I really like Linkin Park and the concert was great. I really hope I can see them in concert again. They'll be in Europe this summer but the closest they'll be to The Netherlands is Germany. Maybe everyone could start a write in campaign to get them to add a concert in Amsterdam.

African drums

A few weeks ago I went to an African drum thing at my church. We had a guy that teaches people how to play different tunes that were done in Africa come to teach us how to play African drums. We started the day off by eating and playing games. The food theme was African American food such as "fried chicken, corn bread" and other things like that. I really liked the chicken that was there but people didn't bring much so we only got 1 piece each (3 people brought corn bread so we had an abundance of it--corn bread is okay, sort of, but the chicken was better). I think they needed more chicken but what ever. Then after eating we all picked out a drum and were told how to put it on (its not hard you just take the 3'' rope thing, cross it so it looks like an x then loop the bottom of it on the drum base and then put the rest of it over your neck, put your arms through the rope like thing and...shazzam...you have it on.) OK it is easier to do when you see it then it is to do when it is just written down. Then he had us do some easy stuff just to teach us the three different types of things that are used. Then he started having us do things that were pieces of songs and after we had them down he would break us up into groups and have us do the different parts so we ended up playing songs. It was really fun and cool. Then we moved on to a different song that was harder to play. The teacher asked if there were any people that knew how to play normal drums and every one that was there said that me Andrew and Mathew knew how, so he told us we were doing the hard part. He told everyone else how to do the other parts of the song and then told us how to do our part. We didn't think it was that hard but it was a lot of fun. After we did that song he headed out, and the fun night of drumming was over. I hope we do it again some time, but not until I get back from Europe since I'm going back to Europe in just a few weeks.

snowboarding

Two in a half weeks ago I went snowboarding for my birthday thing. (I would like to point out that my birthday was a month before that.) We had to get up really early like 6:30 early and leave by 7 because it was a three day weekend and we knew there would be traffic so the whole way up I slept. (I like to sleep) When we finally got there at like 10 we didn't even have to wait in a long line or anything we just walked up to the window and bought the tickets. It had been a year since I had been snowboarding so I thought that it would be hard to get used to again because that is how it was in the past, but right when I got up there I didn't have any problem doing it so after two times of going on the little hill I started going on the normal one. I like the big one most but I only went on that a few times this time for some reason but I really don't know why. I took my first fall (yes I do fall but not often :D ) after going off a jump and landing wrong and then almost running into someone that just turned in front of the jump but instead I fell...but not because I wanted to. My next fall was later in the day when I was going down the hill and a little boy cut me off and I clipped the end of his ski and went flying(I even did a flip) and the kid fell so I got up and checked on the kid who was just fine luckily cuz his dad was right behind us. After that I went in and had lunch. I got a chili-n-bread bowl. They are yummmmmmmmmy. After that I went back out and started using the box. (for the people that don't know what that is, it is a big mettle rectangle that is in the snow that you can do tricks as you ride over it. It is about 6 or 7 feet long and is raised about a foot or so out of the snow but the length and height dose vary.) Then I went down the hill a few more times and then we headed home so again I went to sleep. When I got home I hung out with my friends till 3:30 am.(when my parents called to see where I was and when I got home I got in trouble for being out that late but it all ended up being OK). And they all lived happily ever after. I hope....

My Appendix

So a few days ago I had my appendix taken out. Now I don't know how most people feel when their appendix hurts but I know mine was not a good feeling. My stomach started hurting at around noon on Monday and it kept getting worse and worse and finally about 9:30 we thought that it would be good to go and get it checked out. At that point we really didn't know what was wrong but my stomach hurt a LOT. Finally after a few hours of waiting in the hospital and tests, they came in and said that I had appendicitis and that it needed to be taken out. By then it was Tuesday. I don't really remember much about what else happened till I went into surgery but I do know that I wasn't allowed to eat and I didn't like that but w/e. Right before surgery I remember that I had an IV in me and that they said that I would be groggy after the first shot but that after the second one I would be knocked out in 10 sec. Right after the first shot I don't remember anything till I woke up about 6 hours later. I couldn't move at first but after a little I could move a bit and then I was brought my dinner. For the next two days I was in the hospital and gradually was able to move more and started walking on Wednesday. I could walk before that but it hurt a lot and I couldn't walk fully upright. The food in the hospital was OK. It really had its ups and downs, but if you asked for something that they had they would get it for you if they could. The entire time I was there I drank so much apple juice that they ran out of it on my floor and had to order more for me from the other floors. I really like the apple juice but it was in really small packs so each one was only really like a few sips so I'd drink four at at time. Finally on Thursday I was released from the hospital and got to go home.

Field of Ladybugs

Last Saturday I went on a hike with a guy from my church named Brian. (but you don't read this blog to find out about people I know, you want to know about me so I won't talk about him too much.) He goes to my church and is a very active person in the youth activities, he likes to hike and run so he sets up hikes for the youth monthly. We decided to go up to a rest spot called Deer Flat to eat lunch so we started up the hill. As we went up we started seeing what the recent weather had done to the devil mountain. (oh, by the way, I call Mount. Diablo devil mountain.) There were trees that had been pulled out of the ground by the wind in piles that the park rangers had moved up out of the way and even more that hadn't been moved. However the view was really cool when we got up to Deer Flat. By the time we reached it I felt very relaxed. I guess I just felt better then when I started. After a nice break/lunch we started up a trail that I don't remember the name of, where we could see even more and Brian took a few pics. I really liked the view from there. Like 20 feet after we had looked at the view we turned on the wrong trail called Eagle Peak but we got a cool pic of me that I will put up when I get it, so you can see my new hair cut. When we figured out we were going the wrong way we turned around and only had to walk about ten meters and we were at the right trail which was called Back Creek Trail. This trail was practically non-existent and looked like it was made by animals. If you don't like tight spaces don't go down that trail. Once we were close to the bottom we ended up by a creek so we got a pic of the creek. Close by the creak we found a big mob of ladybugs so naturally I got a pic. We finally got back to the car after the 5 hour hike and we were both tired. Right when I got home I went to sleep.

Glide Memorial

On Sunday I went to Glide Memorial in S.F. with my church to help make bag lunches for the homeless then go to the service. I didn’t really want to go at first because we had to meet at Good Shepard at 8 in the morning (Why did we have to meet that early???) but I ended up having fun. It really surprised me, when we started to make the lunches, that we could make around 200 lunches in 15 min when we only had 23 people all together. The lunches had one ham and one peanut butter sandwich, one mustard packet and one fruit snack pack. After making all that and putting it in the brown bags we would count out 50 and put them into big trash bags and tie them up. We ended up making 658 lunches in 1 hour and then sat around till the first service at Glide was over so we could go to the second one. It was half an hour before the service was over but there was a line started so we stood in line so we would get good seats. Right when the first service was out we were aloud in to sit. The service was really cool and very fun. Most of the service was singing which is why it was so fun. The band there was great and the drummer made me look like I don’t even have any idea about playing the drums. The sermon was hard to understand for me because most of it was the pastor yelling but I think the sermon was about treating people equally. All in all I had a lot of fun there and hope we do it again some time.

Homeless In The City

Last Friday night my church went into to city to help with night ministry work for our former pastor who now runs the San Francisco night ministry and helped hand out jackets, pants, food and most importantly socks. Night Ministry is a group of ministers and volunteer that help people between 10pm and 3am. Most of the people that they help are homeless or part time homeless but they also help people that just need someone to talk to. This is my 3rd year of doing this and I really enjoy it. That Friday was rainy so there weren't as many homeless people out as there were last year but we still gave out a lot o' stuff and helped 11 people.

Last year was a bit of a weird time because we went out and were giving out stuff to people and these two women started fighting over a jacket. They were swearing and hitting each other and accidentally ran into me and my friend Patrick and then they both stopped fighting and hitting each other looked at us and apologised very nicely the returned to fighting like nothing happened. Patrick and I thought that that was really funny because after they started fighting again someone else came and took the jacket and walked away.

This year that didn't even come close to happening. We walked around and saw people in only 1s and 2s but never more and always under an over hang. I had a lot of fun and am looking forward to doing it next year too.

My Birthday

I had my 17th birthday last weekend, and spent it with my family. It was actually a lot of fun. I got to sit at home all day after sleeping in and going to IHOP for breakfast. I had a really big ham and cheese omelet and 3 pancakes It was yummmmmmmy.

After sitting at home relaxing and reading all day, I had band practise at 5 so I went to that and ended up having a lot of fun drumming there. We usually do slower songs and this time we were doing a really fun faster song so that made me really happy. Then I went out for dinner with all but my Aunt because she sucks and is in Den Haag (when you read this Aunt Tudy this is for you ;p ) I was going to go to P.F.Chang for dinner with the family, but the wait was too long for me so we went to Yan Can for dinner instead. Dinner was a lot of fun and really good I got to have Kung Pow chicken. When we got home I finally got my gifts and ended getting everything I wanted to get. My grandparents got me a lot of sweaters and shirts that I had shopped for with them, and my Aunt got me a new pair of shoes, a new pair of pants and a new jacket. We went shopping at Christmas, so I had picked out all the clothes myself, but I didn't know that they had bought everything for me. So, that was pretty good. And I also got a $50 I-tunes gift card from my great Aunt that I look forward to using. After all the gift giving, I had cake and went to sleep so I could go to church the next morning and not be asleep during it. My Bestamom makes my cake every year and it is my favorite kind. Last year, I didn't get a cake from her, so I convinced her to make me two cakes this year I have to finish this one first, and then she said she'll make me another one. SUCKER!!!!! ;-)

My Aunt Left

Sadly my Aunt left yesterday so now I am stuck with my Bestemom till I go back to Europe. (I hope she'll be really nice to me...hint, hint). I helped my Aunt go to the airport yesterday because A) she had a lot of stuff in her bags so they were pretty heavy and B) because its my Aunt and she is so cool that I had to see her off.

When we got there my Aunt didn't have a ticket with her because she had switched flights so we had to stand in a lllllooooonnnnnggggg line and when we were close to the last turn we had to make it that line the stupid United Airline worker told us to go to the other side because it was "faster" but when we got to that side they had one person working it and like 20 people in line. I guarantee, it was NOT faster.

Half an hour after we had gotten in the second line we had barely moved at all but the guy that was behind us in the FIRST line was done and walking to the gate and then half an hour later we got to the counter. From there, they sent my Aunt to yet ANOTHER line and then finally, it took another 15 to 20 minutes to get all the stuff like the ticket and checking the bags.

By then we had been there for about two hours which was nice to spend with my Aunt but not great to spend in the lines at the airport. I definitely would have preferred a nice conversation over a mexi melt at Taco Bell.

Then we walked my Aunt to the gate and couldn't go any further so we said goodbye and then left.

This morning she called and said she was home but the airport had lost one of the bags that she was taking with her so it seems that her flight sucked. All in all Twiga is happy to see her but we miss her here.

CNN NEWS

I was watching CNN this morning and there were a lot of interesting news stories. Iran had boats attacking ours and the Supreme Court is debating the way that our country administers the death penalty. However, I was most interested by the stories and reporting on the upcoming democratic primary elections and who will win.

Although I can't vote yet nor will I be able to for this coming election, I have been watching the polls and the candidates Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton to see who I would vote for if I could. Fortunately and unfortunately I still haven't fully decided which of the two I would vote for because they both seem like they could do a good job. It would be good if Sen. Clinton won because 1) she is a women and I think it would be good to get a women president because of all the great things they can think of and she was a first lady so she is already used to how things work in the white house and 2) because she has some really good ideas that she would try to put in motion if she was the president. One of her very good ideas is a health care plan that will help all Americans and that is really needed.

On the other hand, I think it would be good if Sen. Obama won because he has a lot of good ideas and although he doesn't have the experience that Hillary Clinton does, he seems very good at what he does. One of his really good ideas also has to do with health care and seems like it could work too. Right now Obama is doing great on his campaign leading 39% to Sen. Clinton's 29%. All though they both seem good only one can be presedent but the quesion is which one will it be. I hope all of you that can vote will and if you want you can leave coments on your opinion for the Democratic nominee for President and why you think one candidate is better than the other.