Venezuela - Skype 24

Skype 24

    Here we are. The final Skype of Skypathon. On the final Skype, we are contacting Venezuela, one of the topmost South American countries. The Venezuelan party we are speaking with is talking inside what seems to be a classroom, chrome colored and different. They live on the beaches near Angel's Falls, Falcon Estate. 

    One holds a Ukulele and passes their hand over it in a manner that a peppy and lighthearted tune echos in the room. I must admit that their singing mixed into their music equals joyful expressions all around. The song they played was based off the Lara Estate. After, they performed more music that sounds more ominous than the last. 

    When the songs ended, we shifted the conversation to food. They said they eat the standard meal for them which includes a food in their toungue called "arepas". 

    When the questions are no longer thrown, the conversation has reached a plausible and satisfying conclusion, the call ceases, the moment of an ending dawns over us, we still had multitudes of enjoyment of this experience. 

    And that's all folks! Goodbye!

   

LISD Schools - Skype #23

We are with McKamy, Delay, and Huffiness middle schools. Each school is sharing their favorite Skype moment.  We all went to different places, experienced different things, but came away with a lifetime of memories!!!

Amsterdam, Netherlands - Skype #22

We are super tired but on our way to start our 22nd Skype. Right now we are Skyping a little girl named Ashlyn, she lives in the Netherlands. She is super nice and is really fun to talk to. Her culture is really interesting... like how she's talking about all the food they get (She says it taste horrible though). She is bilingual, she can speak Dutch fluently and translated the sentences from English to Dutch. At home she speaks English but at school and other places she speaks Dutch. She only has to spend 4 hours in school. She also does gymnastics where she speaks Dutch. It was fun learning from her and about her country. The climate there is windy and rainy, however she does still get out and bike around the city. The corona virus has effected the Netherlands a lot. The schools are debating whether or not they should shut down the schools because of the corona virus. There are two personalities of people there either nice and non-judge mental or your old and rude. The main mode of transportation was bicycle. They even have parking garages for bikes that are three stories tall and they get full!!! It was fun learning from her and about her country.

New Orleans WW2 Museum - Skype #21

We are doing a Skype on a WWII Museum in New Orleans. There is a section called STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) which is dedicated to adapting the weapons to war. The museum was originally just a D-Day museum. but has since then evolved into the largest WWII museum in the world. The museum is located in New Orleans because of a boat created there used to assist in the invasion of Europe. The boat is light, allows soldiers to exit quickly, and is made of wood. There is a machine called the LV2 that can act as both a tank and a boat, giving it the nickname   "The Amphibious Landing Craft." There is also an ambulance, shown by a Red Cross. The ambulance has many accessories, including a spare tire. The military had separate divisions, including White, Black, and Latino during WWII. An anti-aircraft device is there to detect airplanes from a long distance by turning the ear towards the plane. There is also a remain of the atomic bomb, which is harder to control than thought. Finally, there's a telephone, rewired so the message wouldn't be intercepted by the opponent. They also have a flashlight and other utilities to use. Of course, all artifacts are real!

Kenya, Africa - Skype 20

Skype 20

    In the lands of Kenya, Africa, we come in contact Naomi's Village. We take up a call with a man named Jack. He gives us a mini history lecture on Naomi's Village. This place was and still is an important children's school in Kenya. They rescue over 90 percent of children that were unfit to survive in their current life decisions. Ranging from abandoned babies, abused, AIDS, and orphans from terrorists attacks that kill their parents. 

    The idea that grew from the quote "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime." The hope at Naomi's Village is that children will receive the best education the can receive from teachers here and then pour back into their communities and country to help others. By teaching them and giving the students a chance to learn with a first class education, they can hopefully use those skills and management to help make a difference in Kenya for young kids.

Sao Goncalo, Brazil - Skype #19

We are doing a Skype in Brazil, in a city called Sao Goncalo. Brazilians are not very nice to each other, and do not feel safe due to high murder rates and fear of being robbed. Some popular attractions include the Sugar Loaf and Christ the Redeemer. One common misconception is that Brazilians take advantage of their fathers, which is not always true. A least favorite part of Brazil is the islands. If you were a tourist considering going to Brazil, it is recommended you go, but be cautious because of the crimes happening in the country. Only 3-5% of Brazilians speak English, and many of them don't speak Spanish, despite bordering many countries that do so. Brazil has many soap      operas, but not many TV shows in general. The name "Brazil" comes from a plant called Pao Brazil, discovered by the Portugueans after discovering the land one day. Tutu de Feaijo is a common dish made with beans, as is the Chimarillo made of water. Acai is another common food that can be used in many ways. Similarly, there is also the Guarana that is typically made into a drink.

Masiodi, Uganda - Skype #18

Masiodi, Uganda

We Skyped with Uganda! We asked a lot of questions and got a lot of cool facts. They like to play net ball and soccer. People come to visit to see the lake and mountains. They have lions and zebras. They most all where drinking this drink and we found that they had different types of soda. They had a few sodas that we knew like Fanta and Sprite, but their were some we had never heard of.  We showed them Dr. Pepper, Sprite and Sunkist. They asked questions about American schools and we heard about theirs. We talked about the differences in the roads here and there.    

Cannes, France - Mystery Skype #17

Cannes, France

We're starting our 17th Skype call! We are currently 17 hours in. Yay! We only have 8 and an 1/2 more hours to go. Right now we are a little bit tired, however, we are still going. We have found out that they are in Europe... but we don't know their country... we are super close to finding it though! We found it!... Turns out, it was France and they are in the city Cannes! They have a major film festival there.  Now they are trying to guess where we are. They guessed that we are in Texas!!! We are now discussing our cultures to each other other! We enjoyed Skyping with this class.  They were a class of fifth graders who were very nice and enjoyable to talk to!

Hungary - Mystery Skype #16

We are doing another Mystery Skype. They are in the Eastern and Northern Hemisphere, but not in Asia. The country is landlocked, or surrounded by land. The country is not east of Poland or in Southern Europe. The country is not big or Slovakia. The country is also not Austria. 

The country is Hungary! As of the writing of this blog, it is 10:00 in the morning in Hungary and 4:15 am here.  We asked about food. They like a kind of fried pasta and they looked to be in high school.

 

Yaroslavl, Russia: Mystery Skype #15

Yaroslavl, Russia

We are about to skype a class from Russia, although we don't know where. We are preparing everyone for a conversation that we will not forget. I am a blogger, so I am here to inform you about our journey through a strange and new place: Russia!

We have just connected with them, and they have informed us that they would NEVER stay at school for 24 hours like us humble people are doing! They each have different names, but in Russian. I wonder what it's like living there! They say that they are proud of their churches and their culture and their capital, which is Yaroslavl. The class does not seem like they're in middle school... maybe high school? During Maslenitsa, which is a holiday, all they eat are pancakes! They also have a festival called Jazz on the Volga, which sounds like they really like music!

Mostly they shared a google slide with a bunch of info on it, which was really good stuff for the scribe.

That's all I got, but if you want to learn more about what we do, keep scrolling!

Vietnam - Mystery Skype #14

Vietnam! 

We did a mystery Skype! After many tries in guessing where these people lived, we finally figured out they lived in Vietnam. We talked to a teacher and two students from Ho Chi Minh City. They haven't been to school since January 13th and don't plan to return for a while, this is just one of the many effects the coronavirus has caused for Vietnam. Hana and Angela, the students, say that they miss school, since they not been to school in a while. They do still continue to play their sports even though the schools are closed.  They had just moved into a new building for school and only got to go there for six days before they were closed due to the virus. 

We learned that the main language in Vietnam was Vietnamese and the most popular sport is football (soccer). Hana speaks fluent English because her mom really wanted her to be able to speak it, so she enrolled her in an international school.  They teach completely in English, so she had to pick up the language. 

Mexico - DEA Agent Skype 13

Skype 13    

We are meeting with a man who works with the DEA, Eric Donnelly. The man from our perspective,  is a determined, soul driven by his will, casing out the suspects in drug movements and assists in taking them into custody. He also gives off a calm, ringing vibe that whispers that he may be a little beaten down by the job's work, though still eager to share his life.

    Eric discusses his priorities at work, and he even gives us some insight into drug smuggling. Specifically, Opiod smugglers. He dreams of being a pilot but currently isn't an experienced pilot, so he stays here. Eric ensures us that he enjoys what he does. The workforce he takes to demands that he has to leave the country from time to time. Eric even regards memories of being shot at, but I guess that shouldn't be surprising given the law enforcement he's employed in. He even admits that the most disgusting part of his job is when they bust into homes where PARENTS are doing the drugs. In messing up their minds, they don't care about their child or they abuse them. Eric gifts us a quote that for some people, define his entire character. "When coming home after sometimes killing anyone, I don't really think about it. I just move on to the next day."

    Eric begins giving a short summary of what fighting in the war on drugs is like. On the field, law enforcement agents of the DEA are under orders to completely destroy the agenda of whatever enemy they point their guns at. Some criminals either don't want to be caught or fight to their last breath. No matter the reason, they almost always engage in a gunfight with the smugglers. Being targeted off the clock can happen too. It shouldn't be a shock because criminals would want to always hand the offensive move to the law. Seeing as the smugglers may be addicts to the drug itself, they can be unpredictable in their actions. At the end of the day, criminals die, agents die, but at least the agents died protecting, and the criminals died failing.

Workout Skype! Skype #12

Our next Skype is Derith Cass who is a fitness guru in Boston. Delay and McKamy are also on this call. We did jumping exercises, balancing exercises, and dancing. We exercised for an 40 minutes and had an absolute BLAST! We're not tired! We're going All Night and We're Having Fun!!!
Our Lamar Llama showed up to dance with us as well!

New Zealand & Mystery Skype 11

New Zealand & Mystery - Skype #11

We are currently talking to a group of kids in New Zealand and we will later be transferring to a mystery Skype. They are giving us some information about the area right now. The Aukland's sky tower is 328 meters tall. You can bungee jump and do a walk around connected to ropes. There is also an observation deck you can look over the city from. Mount Cook is the tallest mountain in New Zealand, and it is 3,724m tall; most of the time there is snow on the mountain.  The group is in Aukland, New Zealand. The Aukland Bridge was opened on May 30, 1959. More than 200,000 vehicles cross the bridge daily. Pavlova is a dish made from egg whites and sugar with whip cream on top, they also top it with Kiwi fruits! There are 5 cases of the Coronavirus in New Zealand. The school we are interviewing is an all boys school! They actually act relatively mature for their age...

We're now talking to a group trying to figure out where we are. Since we already know where they are, we are answering questions for them. It's kind of fun being on the side that knows the information already but the other group is figuring us out! they figured out we are in Dallas Texas!

Indonesia - Mystery Skype #10

Mystery Skype #10

It is 7:04 and we have started a mystery Skype. We know that they are in the Southeast hemisphere. This place is not landlocked and does indeed have a coastline. Yay! We figured out that he is in Indonesia. The man whom we talked to was a part of a non-profit organization. He lives in Bali and is a big fan of Bali. He helps with drug addiction and anti-human trafficking. They speak 100's of different languages. Wow! Half of the country's population live on the Java Island. Since they have 100's of languages it would be a problem just to say basic words to each other so they decided to create a language called old Malaysian language and it is what they refer to as trade language. Indonesia is known for spices and are down to use peppers in their food. Their currency is Indonesian Rupiah. 1 U.S. dollar is equal to 14,563 Rupiahs! On March 25 there is a holiday called Silent Day. Silent Day is where they make paper mâché dolls. One year they made a paper mâché Hillary Clinton. Silent day is a day for meditation, the whole island is shut-down and nobody can go out of their house and there are even guards patrolling streets of Bali. No flights come in or out on Silent Day. Bali is 13 hours ahead of us. That's crazy! Rainy season started a week ago. They had heavy rain and it did not stop raining for 3 days straight. It is 7:34 and we just finished another successful Skype. Woo-Hoo!