Some of the Teen Press (Lili, Maisie, and myself) at 4:30 in the morning about to interview some volunteers for the census questionnaire.
After an exiting and interesting interview with Michael Pollan (author of Food Rules, In Defense of Food, The Omnivore's Dilemma, and many more) three weeks ago, Sophie and I both say at the same time "I think we should do a segment on the homeless." And that is when it started. Those ten words have completely changed my life, for the better. It was just forty-five minutes ago that Maisie asked a homeless person "What gives you hope?" The man who has been homeless for only four weeks replies back "Jesus." Now I'm not a very religious person but that word really spoke to me. I think the reason why this simple two-syllable word spoke to me in such a loud voice was that no matter how far off the track this man has gone, he still has something to rely on, religion. Today was such a meaningful day for me that I actually decided to do something that I normally don't like to do, write. But, hearing a tall homeless man, who looks like he could really need some help, sing in spanish about love and life in a booming opera voice made me want to dig deeper and really find out what happens "Behind the Scenes" of a homeless life. And as I type I am informed that the eighth homeless person died this year, which keeps the average going of one death per week. As sad as this is, the city of Santa Barbara is doing everything in their power to reduce the number of homeless deaths. Survival Santa Barbara is a great, new organization that takes in homeless people on cold, and rainy nights (these conditions are the ones where most people lose their life to). Another organization that does a great deal of helping is Casa Esperanza this is where I was today, interviewing people ranging from the nurse that helps the people with physical and mental health issues to the people who actually have these issues. And as always, who is right beside me helping me on my journey? You would think I would say my mom or my dad but no, my old Social Studies teacher John Seigel Boetenner. I have a feeling that this isn't going to be just another segment for the SBMS Teen Press.
Day 1 Right as I set my feet down off the plane and smell the fresh, earthy smell of springtime, I knew I wanted to start my Canadian excursion off with a big BANG! I decided to go and experience what is called Zorbing. Zorbing is where you roll down a hill tucked inside a life-sized "Hamster Ball!!" The adrenaline rush is amazing, your mind is spinning, your heart is racing, and you can't help yourself from saying "Yahoo!" Following my adventure, I quickly made a new friend, for I had done sphereing with my new friend, which is a version of Zorbing, but with two people inside the ball. We were both California boys, and had gone to Canada for some adrenaline-pumping action. It turns out that we were staying in the same hotel so we started to spend some time and really got to know each other.
Day 2 My friend, Zac, and I decided to keep the adrenaline pump primed and go to Whistler, the epic Downhill mountain-biking capital of the world. At Whistler mountain we sped through a course called Crank it Up (see the bottom for video) Everywhere ride you are on this fast-paced, rugged journey where there are jumps, gaps, berms, and wall-rides. On our fully-equipped Kona mountain bikes we jammed. We loved every minute of it! I would say that we biked through the cool forest and tall trees of Whistler mountain for about five or six hours straight. My favorite part was when I dropped down a 20-foot hill and hit a jump at the bottom. I also loved the GLC Drop. It felt like my stomach sailed up into my chest when I did the drop. Anyway, it was a fun day at Whistler mountain, and I had a great time with my friend, Zac. A hot shower felt good that day.
Day 3 It was hard to beat what I had already done these past few days in beautiful Canada, but I wanted to at least try to do something active. So I decided on a zip lining adventure, and of course, I had a blast! On one of the lines I was twenty feet above white-water rapids, and I made the mistake of looking down and gazed upon a forest of evergreen trees. Beautiful and majestic, yes, scary and petrifying, exactly! I was screaming like a little girl when she sees a creepy, crawly, spider. Very embarrassing!! Another eccentric zip line expirience was over 2,000 feet long! That's more than seven football fields, or 440 Dylan Carmody's lying toe to toe down on the ground. I loved every thrill of the zip line adventure.
Day 4 Today I wanted to see something that would make me want to jump with fear, so I took an excursion to the Narcisse Snake Dens located in Narcisse, Manitoba. It was amazing how many snakes there were slithering all over each other hissing like Medusa's head. It looked like a plate of black spaghetti. These snake pits have the largest number of snakes in the world (of this particular type of snake.) I personally adore snakes (Zac, on the other hand does not.) I was able to have a snake slither around my arm, neck, and all around my body. These slick reptiles' population around Narcisse was roughly 70,000 snakes, (AACK!!!!) until terrible weather in 1999 killed tens of thousands of these Garter snakes before they could reach their winter dens. So now there are about 45-50,000 Garter snakes in the Narcisse dens. Even though the Garter snake can't smell, you can smell this nasty creature. Although it wasn't at all like the GLC Drop, I still had a lot of fun.
Day 5 After all of the adventures Zac and I have had, we decided to lay low and hang out by Whistler Lake. It was a beautiful sight, with the crystal blue lake water reflecting off of the spring mountain snow. When we finally dipped our feet into the water, it felt just like a SBMS sunrise swim in the middle of the day! But I clenched my jaw and dove right in. (I have had almost 9 months of experience jumping into icy cold waters, so I was more prepared then Zac.) Later in the day, Zac and I made up a contest challenging each other to be the first to catch a fish first with our bare hands. The loser had to buy the winner a Coke. Both of us are pretty competitive so we started playfully pushing each other around in the cold mountain lake. We were especially frisky when one of us were about to grab a fish. It took about an hour of staying still so that the fish would come close to me and then I would dive and try to catch them until I finally caught a slippery little four-inch fish. I was proud, also I got a free Coke. I think that today was my favorite day because I got to hang out with a friend, play in the water, and fall asleep by a mountain.
Day 6 Today I decided to go out out and really show Canada what I am made of. No sissy whale-watching for me! I kayaked through the turquoise-blue Pacific Ocean and met up with the Orcas. These are the black and white beasts of the Pacific Ocean. I am surprised by their nickname; killer-whales, because they were so friendly. I was even able to touch one of their rubbery black backs. That was so cool! Kayaking with the Orcas is an experience I won't forget! Once I paddled back on shore and had some lunch (what else, other than fish and chips), I traveled to the Fraser River to feed the sea lions in their aquatic arena. I was going for an all-day sealife, seafood, seaside day adventure! The people who worked at the aquatic park gave me small fish to feed these graceful sea mammals. One of them popped their head up and barked at me for a fish. I threw it up in the air and the sea lion caught the fish right in its mouth! I took a bus ride back to the hotel with my arms aching from all of that paddling. I fell right to sleep right as I flopped onto my bed in the hotel room. That night I dreamed of enormous black and white fish swimming circles around me while I paddled frantically in my kayak to getaway. Weird travel dreams!
Day 7 Today I planned to just take a mellow day and catch my red-eye flight back home. But, that plan didn't work out that way. I am OK traveling with unexpected delays or detours. Usually that is when the fun happens. And that is what happened this time too. My flight took me all the way across British Columbia to Alberta because all flights going into the U.S. were canceled. What a treasure I discovered! Lake Louise was spectacular....I decided to hike part way around Lake Louise to see what there was to explore in this area. The icy-blue, glacial-fed water seemed that it would freeze your feet off if you jumped in. Apparently, Lake Louise is the hiking capital of Canada. I saw everything from mountainous glaciers, to beautiful water falls. In the background of my hiking the Fairmont Chateau's (nicest hotel that I have ever seen) British architecture caught my eye. Sadly, never enough time when traveling, but I will make a note to visit the Banff National Park when I return to Canada.
Hello - Bonjour How are you doing? - Comment faites-vous ? What are you doing? - Que faites-vous ? Water - Eau Food - Nourriture Clothing - Vêtement Building - Bâtiment How is it going? - Comment va-t-il ? Restaurant - Restaurant Goodbye - Au revoir
