James Cameron

1. Jim generates his house with a solar power system
2. He sells power back to the government
3. He makes his own goat milk
4. He does composting
5. He recycles properly
6. He drives hybrid cars
7. The parents of children need to be educated the most

Helene Schnieder

8. Helene Schneider rode her bike to earth day
9. She put in new energy saving technologies in her kitchen
10. She gets to work by the city bus

Dave Davis

11. His family is thinking about getting some chickens
12. CEC: Community Environmental Council

Grounded In Mumbai

Dear Journal,
Because of this volcanic eruption in Iceland I am unable to travel back home. The plane flight that I was going to go on took off in Mumbai, India. As I am in the Mumbai airport, surrounded by frustrated people because of the ash in the air, I start to get hungry. So when I walk outside into the streets of India I am overwhelmed by the smell from the food vendors. I ordered some curry, my favorite Indian dish. When I was watching this man prepare my meal, he gave me the recipe for his curry and told my to make it.

Spending a Week in Thailand

Day 1

Today I had a big adventure! I took a train from where I was in southern Thailand and chugged the rugged landscape up to northern Thailand. This is where the Thai people have elephant riding; a tourist activity where the Thai can make some money. I never knew how enormous elephants actually were! I awkwardly climbed and hoisted myself up on top of this gigantic mammal. I peered down once I got up on top of the elephant and said, “The people look like ants from here!” I soon realized that elephants stop frequently to eat and they also do the opposite of eating a lot, which I will not say!! Let’s just say it is not pleasant. As we trudged through the luscious jungle, the beauty of everything green and tropical surrounded me, and I was captured by its beauty. Ferns, banana palms, and monkeys were everywhere I looked. I thought that this tour was amazingly fun. Riding a monstrous animal through an interesting jungle was tiring, so I picked up the Thai newspaper and tried to pick out words that I knew. I recognized the word America, but that was the only one.

Day 2

One of the main objectives I wanted to accomplish with my travels to Thailand was go to a Muay Thai Temple. This is a temple where one learns Thai kick-boxing. A man who only spoke Thai soon greeted me at this spectacular site. This was my first challenge. Language barrier. I said “hello”. Stunned by what I said he replied back, “Hello.” After the awkward silence, my master taught me many different counter-attack moves and before I knew it, I was a natural at kick-boxing. I knew how to block a punch and how to use the force of the punch against my opponent. I thought that learning these ancient fighting techniques of the Thai people would be a great addition to my Thailand journey. After my lesson I felt protected on the streets of Thailand.

Day 3

Today I decided to snorkel with the sharks. I was very excited and nervous. The bus to take us to the tour station departed at seven o'clock a.m. So I woke up at about 6:15 and got ready. I didn't have any time for breakfast. When I finally arrived I smelled the fresh salty air and I knew it was going to be a good day. I got my gear on and got ready to plunge into the depths of the ocean (really it was just a snorkel, mask and some fins).

Off the side of the boat and into the water I jumped. In no time at all sharks were in sight. As I swam along with sharks it was just magical and suspenseful at the same time. Yet, I felt like there was a connection between this exciting creature and me; like somehow we were communicating. We sped through the water like torpedoes, but I knew I was growing short on breath. Suddenly, I couldn't hold my breath any longer. I shot up through the water and gasped for air. Filled with the beauty and exhilaration from my snorkeling experience and playing in foreign waters, my day felt compete. I soon realized from the s

un's angle that it was later in the day and my guide told me that my time with snorkeling time was up. So we went back to the station and went to a local restaurant. I had some spicy shrimp and curry. Yummy... After I gulped down my meal I walked across town to find many surprises; none were very too interesting though. So I decided to create my own fun and to sleep on the beach right by my hotel.

Day 4

Today I woke up and as I was starting to make breakfast, I decided that today would be the day to learn how to cook rice curry. So I asked my concierge for local chefs who might give some foreigners a cooking lesson. He gave me a name of a restaurant that gives lessons and off I went. As I arrived at the restaurant, the smell of spicy Thai f

ood overwhelmed my senses, and it didn't take long for me to realize that it was a good decision to come here. The first dish that my chef and I cooked was called nam phrik mamuang. This is a Thai dip that is made out of palm sugar, red chili, red shallots, dried shrimp, green mango with a little bit of shrimp paste in the middle. When I tried it, so many unusual flavors filled my mouth many that I had never tried before. They all came flooding into my mouth. It was delicious. Tonight I tried making a new dish for dinner. It was called Kahnom Luk Chub. This dish was a stretch for me because it was so colorful, with so many different ingredients (ginger, lemon grass, curry, etc.) to add... But in the end, I succeeded with a making a delicious meal!

Day 5

Today when I woke up I felt a little bit stressed because of work that I would have to make up once I get back to Santa Barbara. So I decided to relax and take a meditation class. Luckily there was one happening every three hours down in the lobby of my hotel. I scribbled my name up on a board, implying that I would take a class at 12:00 p.m. I strolled to the local breakfast joint and I ordered an unusual meal. It was called Kao Tom. I don’t know what was in it, but it was delicious. Time flew by, and it was already 11:30 a.m. So I sprinted back to the hotel and got ready for my meditation class. This type of meditation is sort of like the stereotype of all meditating. You take a deep breath, and when you release the air (and all of the stress) you say “Oooohhhhhhmmmm.” This meditation is believed to originate in the very first Indian civilization. Also great saints, sages, and fathers of every decade have accepted this concept as a way to relax and connect deeply with themselves. The mediation exercises really calmed me down, and I feltready to accomplish any task whether it is in Thailand or Santa Barbara.

Day 6

Today I decided to go kite flying. Did you know that the Thai people actually have a kite flying festival? In the early Siamese kingdom of Ayutthaya, kite-flying was so popular that it was prohibited to fly kites over the Royal Palace, as kites and kite string may have tangled, and then damaged the architectural spires. I felt peaceful and calm while I was flying the kite. It was a really fun experience, flying kites with people I didn’t know the names of, but somehow we seemed like friends. Playing can connect people in the best way. It was a lot of fun and a day of blue skies and beautiful kite-flying went by really fast.

Day 7

Today is the day that I have to leave for Santa Barbara. I definitely will miss it here in Thailand, but I still have a couple of hours to kill before my plane leaves, so I will visit the Enchanted Kingdom of Thailand. This ancient Mon kingdom, centered in the Mae Nam river, is in Ping Valley in northwestern Thailand. It was founded in the mid-7th century by a queen of Lopburi, the capital of the Mon Dvaravati kingdom to the south. I was awe-struck by this kingdom’s magnificent marble sculptures, and even the building itself was structurally beautifully. But I kept my eye on my watch and after a while I had to hitch a ride to the airport for my flight back home.

7 things to do in Thailand

1. Go Kite-Flying

2. Learn Muay Thai (Thai kick-boxing)

3. Find my inner being during meditation

4. Ride an Elephant in Northern Thailand

5. Learn how to cook with Thai recipes

6. Go snorkeling with the sharks

7. Visit the Enchanted Kingdom of Thailand

Money Exhcange from Thailand

$1 - 1.40 TD
$5 - 7.10 TD
$10 - 14.20 TD
$20 - 28.40 TD
$50 - 71.00 TD
$100 - 142.oo TD

Words and Phrases

Hello - สวัสดี
How are you doing - เป็นไงบ้าง
Bathroom - ห้องน้ำ
Goodbye - ลาก่อน
What is going on - สิ่งที่เกิดขึ้น
Bicycle - รถจักรยาน
Computer - คอมพิวเตอร์
Food - อาหาร
Number - หมายเลข
Reservation - จอง

Flight Itenerary for Thailand

$1042 Tax & Fees incl. Select

United Airlines

• SBA 9:09a - BKK 11:10p 2 stops 24h 1m
• BKK 6:50a - SBA 4:53p 2 stops 24h 3m