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!

Antartica- Skype #8

We have several different schools Skyping with us, as well as a researcher from Antarctica. It is currently -58 Fahrenheit outside with a wind chill of -88. We saw a peek outside the window to show the emptiness and vastness of Antarctica. We saw a slideshow about the South Pole, starting with how to get there. In order to do so, you take several flights, including a few special ones, and from there you can make your way to the South Pole. The station itself has 9300 feet in elevation, is 65,000 square feet, and uses 450k gallons of fuel. There are 42 people in the station this winter, and there are cafeterias with excellent food and bedrooms for each person. There are 3 generators in the station to utilize the fuel. For holidays, there's a gingerbread competition for Christmas, a feast followed by a day off after Thanksgiving, and in general they decorate the rooms for the holidays. The food comes to the South Pole through planes, and it is quite easy to obtain water; all they have to do is melt the ice around them. The coldest temperature in Antarctica is -107 Fahrenheit. To contrast, the warmest temperature is 8 Fahrenheit. In their free time, the scientists browse the web, watch movies, program, and play video games. Many scientists are homesick, especially during the holidays. The sun only sets and rises once every year, meaning Antarctica is fully light or dark 24/7, and the next time the sun will set is on March 21st. The scientists are researching IceCubes, which are Neutrinos, or particles which rarely interact with each other. For the researchers, they have to dress appropriately exploring the South Pole or risk getting frostbite. The researchers are running out of milk, eggs, and fresh fruit because they go bad faster than other foods.

Tokyo, Japan-Skype #9

We are talking to a kindergarten class in Tokyo, Japan. They are sooooo cute!!! They started by telling us all their names. It is Friday there and one of the little boy's mom's birthday!! We talked about our favorite colors, what we do in the summer, super heroes, and what they love about Japan. They really love sushi and ice cream! This school is at a military base, where most of them were born in America and have parents in the military. they were so fun!

New Zealand - Skype #7

New Zealand - Skype #7

We just started our 7th Skype and with four 7th grade boys that are so awesome! It is 5 o'clock in the evening here and 11 o'clock in the morning there. They are in New Zealand. They love their fast food. In New Zealand they have Taco Bell, but they said that they were sad that they didn't have In and Out.  They celebrate a lot of the holidays that we have here in America. The boys also love their Kiwi fruit. A popular tourist attraction is Cook mountain. Also, Hobbit the movie was filmed in New Zealand. The boys are trying to teach us their language. We'll see how that goes! One of the boys is very much an actor. Their favorite rugby team is the All Blacks. It's their national sport. They did the Haka for us! We are trying to teach them about American football. We could have just continued to visit! This was a fun group to talk to and learn about their culture!

Skype #6: Mystery!

Minas Gerais, Brazil - Mystery Skype #6

Our 4th Mystery Skype!

Using  Zoom, we talked to a class who was very excited when they spoke to us. We were in a speedy battle, trying to find out our country before we found theirs. We basically guessed the country at the same time! Although, we took different approaches on finding it. They went through things like how our flag looked and went to countries around us, but we asked questions about countries surrounding them. Soon, we started finding out our states. They started narrowing down our surrounding features like the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River. Also, while they were disscussing where we could be, they held up a little sign that said, "We are thinking. Please wait," with a little guy wearing a thinking cap. It was really cool how they all took a chance to answer a question and to ask a question.

We each got super close to guessing the state, but they finally guessed Texas first. According to them, we are the winners of the country guessing and they are the champions of the state. After we guessed their state, Minas Gerais, he told us a lot of really interesting items about the food and the amazing sites there. We had so much fun finding their country and state and I'm very sure that they did too.

The animals behind him are capybaras.

Joshua Tree National Park - Skype #5

Joshua Tree National Park - Skype #5

It is in California, and we are Skyping Teagan. There are over 100 rangers, there are two ecosystems in the park, both of which are deserts. It is larger than the states of Rhode Island. 80% of the park is established wilderness. There are only 100 miles of drivable road in the park. Joshua trees are a type of tree that have spikes. Some scientist classify the Joshua trees with Palm trees.  Joshua trees absorb water so if there is a drought the trees are fine. This is the only place on earth were the tress grow! Joshua trees have to be at a certain elevation, and have to have a certain amount of water. Joshua trees have flowers that cluster. Only one insect can drink from and pollinate the Joshua tree(the insect can only be found in the park). Over a billion animals and plants are protected in the park. Native American tribes pass through the park. They have hiking trails and camping grounds. The park was founded by Minerva Hoyt

Medina del Campo, Spain - Mystery Skype #4

Medina del Campo, Spain - Mystery Skype #4

Our Fourth Skype! A mystery Skype! 
    
    They're in the Northern Hemisphere. One of their names was what we thought to be a dead giveaway to their location, "Svetlana"! We're narrowing down their location somewhere in Europe while they're  guesses are pointing closer and closer to our location. Not France, not Germany... but Spain!! 

    Cutting off areas, we used the capital of Spain as point in the world to identify their city. With them guessing our city in our state that they found, Texas,  we are currently in a race of questions to beat each other to the punch. With new and more creative questions coming out of both sides, it's anyones game. Clues were given, questions were asked, and that's when we  nailed them down. Medina Del Campo. We won our friendly race, but they are still going at it. Meanwhile, we want information on their culture, weather, and just anything we can gather. 
    We gifted them answers to their selective questions, the languages we speak, the number of holidays we celebrate, and the sports we play. The questions have become severely more odd and arbitrary. We were loving every second of it. 
    Now for our friends on the other side of the screen, we already decided halfway through that they were an awesome and interesting group of people. They laughed when one asked weird questions and were honestly quite nice to us. Unfortunately, they ran out of time and we had to go. It was still a great time!

Elephant Sanctuary, Tennessee - Skype #3

Elephant Sanctuary, Tennessee - Skype #3

This was an Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. They showed us a lot of what the elephants do and how they live and what their life is like. They have no visitors and are "retired" with all the time to be free. All of the elephants are different in shape, size, color and more. They also come from different habitats. We learned a lot of cool facts about the elephants like they get mud on them selves to keep away bugs and to not get sunburns. They eat 200-300 lbs of plants everyday. Their oldest elephant is 71 years old. We learned a lot of cool facts about how they use their body parts and how they function daily.

Mexico City, Mexico - Mystery Skype #2

Mexico City, Mexico - Mystery Skype #2

We are on to our second Skype, and it's a mystery Skype. They are in the Northern hemisphere. They aren't in Central America, nor South America. They are in Mexico! After many attempts we finally figured out they are in Mexico. We are Skyping with elementary students from Mexico City, Mexico! They have tried to guess our state many times, but at the end, we ended up telling them we were from Texas. We found out it is a 5th grade class.

Berlin, Germany - Mystery Skype #1

 Berlin, Germany - Mystery Skype #1

This is our first Skype and it is a mystery Skype, we are so anxious and excited. We have no idea what to expect. Our first Skype is minutes away, and it is currently 11:55 AM.

It is 12:05 PM and the mystery Skype. Our first question was which hemisphere they are in. They were in the Northern-East hemisphere. We finally after questioning them figured out they were in Europe. We figured out they were in Germany but they are from the United States. Our next question was why are they in Berlin, Germany if they are from the U.S. Their response was that the dad works for a non-profit christian organization. Alex, one of the people who we were talking to said that the weather there is terrible and it is always raining. Alex said that one cultural difference is that in Germany, not everyone is as friendly as in the U.S. They are also very strict about recycling and they are also very healthy. We asked when they moved to Germany and they said that they moved to Germany 4 years ago. Instead of having elementary, middle, and high school in Germany they have elementary 1st grade to 6th grade, and they have high school 7th grade to 12th grade. One other difference is that in Germany they get paid in internships whereas you don't always get paid here in the U.S. In Berlin at age 16 you can drink but in the United States the age that it is legal to drink is 21. It is 12:26 and we have successfully finished our First Skype! Woo-Hoo!

Ready to Go!!!! #LMSWorldWide

We have the library with our stations ready to go! We have our schedule set! We have food! Skypeathon 2020 is about to take off! Only 30 minutes to go time!!!! #LMSWorldWide