.Sharing ~ Learning ~ Growing ............................... The World Stories Project.

Stories from The United States of America
Lessons Learned from Mothers It’s amazing how many lessons we learn from the people in our lives, lessons that make us who we are. Tell about something you learned from your mother
Lessons Learned from Father Fathers may have a different approach to teaching their children. Tell about something important you learned from your father. How did he teach you this lesson?
Adventures. Unusual and exciting experiences. When was the last time you went on a daring or risky adventure. Tell the story
Holidays Sometimes holidays have a way of bringing people together. What is your favorite holiday and how does your family celebrate it?
Days Off Many people look forward to days off from school or work. How do you spend your days off? Do you spend time with family or friends? Tell about a recent day off.
Other Stories Other stories that help to express personal experiences or conveys a feel for culture.

Lessons Learned from Mothers

Dear Mom,

I wanted to thank you for the many lessons that you have taught me; how to look at the good in people, how to fight for what we believe in, and of course, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all! Over the past year and a half, you have taught me how to live life to its fullest because one can never predict what the next day will bring.

Over a year ago, you were diagnosed with terminal cancer. While this disease has taken away some of your best memories, it has brought some very special things into our lives. Your strength and will to fight has given us days together that no one thought would be possible. You were determined to be part of our Key West wedding and seeing you standing there in July was more than I could have ever asked for.

Mom, you continue to teach by example. By being such a caring and dedicated mother, you have taught me how to have that same relationship with my own daughters. You are teaching everyone that you touch in your life how to live with dignity. Your faith and love for life will be lessons that I never will forget.

Thank you for these valuable lessons and most of all, thank you for being my mom.

Patrice, Educational Consultant, Longwood, Florida, USA (submitted October 20, 2006)

Music From Mom ~ Skiing From Dad

Like my grandfather did for her, my mother helped me with the practice of my music lessons and sat beside me to count the time and do it over and over to get it right. When I was in elementary school, I took violin, then piano, and then clarinet lessons. In junior high I sang with the school chorus. At the present time I sing with a group called the Cantata Singers. Last December the group performed Renaissance Christmas . In February we did a musical Drama, King David. In May we performed the Bach Festival.

With my father's patience I learned to ski in our back yard. Back and forth down a slight
grade till I learned to be ready to give it a try at Greek Peak, NY, Denton Hill, Pennsylvania with
my family. When my brother Bill and his family lived in Rutland Vermont we had a chance to
ski at Killington.

Jane - Elmira, New York, USA (submitted July 28, 2006)



My Mother

My mother was a bright, intelligent, and very beautiful woman with a charismatic personality. She was born in an impoverished, poor and conquered country - Poland (at that time divided under Russian, Prussian, and Austrian rule) and people were told not to speak Polish. Children were to learn only Austrian in schools. How difficult was that? Despite little formal education and with the help of the peasant wages of her father who was a blacksmith, she was able to immigrate to America at age 17. She got a job as a domestic, saved money to go to night school, married, and had three children - girls - I was the third. She loved America and became a naturalized citizen. She liked to travel, read, study, and enjoy all the excitment of American life. Art and beauty were her joys and she quietly inspired and encouraged me especially in my artistic talents. She died at age 95 having given me encouragement, love, a good education, and a fine appreciation of the blessings of life everywhere.

Eleanor - Retired Teacher - New London, New Hampshire, USA (submitted July 27, 2006)



How far back in your life can you remember?

My first memory was filled with feelings of excitement, confusion, freedom, love and joy.

I was 4 years old. It was a clear, cold, windy day, December 13, 1927. Why was my happy aunt who was always laughing visiting us so early in the morning? She let me wear my soft velvet bonnet to run around outside and chase the wind. I really thought I could catch wind. But guess what? Inside the house my baby sister was being born. It never occurred to me to ask where this beautiful baby came from, because now we had to think of a name for her. My big sister was named Wacunia, and I was named Janina - two lovely Polish names my immigrant parents chose. Now, however, Mom had been in this country long enough to be well on the way to becoming American, and she wanted an American name for our new baby.

"How about Alice?" she asked us.

My father answered, "Ahleece."

Mom decided that pronounciation would not do. So we thought of more names.

Finally Mom said, "How about Eleanor?"

Father repeated it perfectly. So that was how Eleanor got her lovely name.

What joy to be Mom's helper taking care of baby Eleanor. We observed many Polish customs in our house, but our parents often repeated how they felt living in this, their new country: "First you are American, but always remember your Polish heritage."

Jennie - Retired Teacher - Basking Ridge, New Jersey USA (submitted July 24, 2006)



Jennie's mother and father





















Lessons Learned from Fathers

The First Time I Rode A Snowmobile (father)

The first time I rode a snowmobile I was kind of scared because I was only five years old. I have been riding snowmobiles for 7 years and I am very good at it. My dad was the person that taught me how to ride. My dad has been riding ever since he was a little kid too.

Last year my dad and I went up to Maine to a place called Northern Outdoors. Northern Outdoors is a hotel that people stay at when they are snowmobiling. Northern Outdoors has a trail that leads you directly to the main trail that is miles and miles long and the trails are as wide as a highway.

My dad and I stayed up there for a 4 days and had lots of fun. At Northern Outdoors they have two pools and a jacuzzi.

My dad and I both have the exact same snowmobiles. It is a 2002 Skidoo MXZ 800. My dad and I really enjoy snowmobiling together. It is our favorite hobby.

Matthew 13 years old, Manchester New Hampshire, USA (submitted September 29, 2006)


My Hero

My dad is my hero. He has always been there for me. My parents split up about three years ago, and my mom moved out. I have two older sisters, and a younger brother. My dad seemed to just step in and be there as both the mother and the father. Yeah, I still see my mom, but spending all my time with my dad, he kind of just takes both roles. When I wake up, he is there to say good morning. When I go to bed, he is there to say goodnight. My dad always thinks of others before himself. Especially his family. I can tell that his four kids are the most important thing to him. He goes to work each day to make sure we have food to eat and a roof over our heads. My dad has taught me that family is one of the most important things. He has been the best thing in my life, and I am so greatful to have him to take care of me. He always knows what to do, and helps me if I have a problem. He is understanding, and caring, and makes me realize how lucky I am to have such a good life.


My dad has taught me to never give up, and never leave the things that are most important in life. My dad knows what's most important, and I know he is never going to leave me. I can trust him, and I look up to him. My dad is the reason I am the person I am today. I want to be just like him, my dad is My Hero.

Kylie 13 Manchester New Hampshire, USA (submitted September 25, 2006)

My Father

My father was born in Poland in 1888, twenty years after our civil war! At that time, Poland was under forced occupation by three countries, Prussia, Austria, and Russia. My father's family was under Russian occupation in the beautiful town of Sandomierz, south of Warsaw. His father was a medic and was somewhat educated. The family was talented in many ways - musically, artistically, and my father was in an acting group. He also loved woodworking and helped with work on the new Catholic church. He also loved gardening, politics, and mathematics. He joined a rebellious group of young men who tried to resist the Russians, without success.

As a young man he immigrated to America with his mother and two sisters, his father and one sister remained behind. He met my mother (around 1917) they married and settled down. He tried several jobs, owned a butcher shop for awhile, but gave too much credit to customers. During the depression he was out of work for three years, would not accept relief, and built barns and did carpentry to support his wife and three daughters. Finally he got a a job on the New Jersey Central Railroad and worked there for thirty years until he was seventy. He got up at 5 am to go to work each day, and did heavy repair work on train engines - first steam, later diesal.

While my mother and father lived an estrange

ge degrees. I loved my father and admired his courage and industriousness, but find it painful to think his life was not better.

Eleanor - Retired Teacher - New London, New Hampshire, USA (submitted July 31, 2006)



A Time Past

When asked if I could give a story of my family's coming of age, I had to think about what impact that it had on my life. There were so many different stories I did not know where to begin. I asked for personal guidance from my brother and sister, so in a small way we share in this narrative. Let us begin from the beginning, my mother came from a large French Canadian family. She was number eighteen of twenty children. My grandparents raised fourteen of these children to maturity. My mother, as well as her two younger brothers, were born in the United States. When my grandparents came here their oldest daughter was married and wanted to stay in Canada with her family. When my mother was thirty years old and preganant with my brother, two ladies knocked on her front door. She did not know who these ladies were, or why they wanted to see my grandmother. After introductions were made and much to my mother's surprise, she for the first time met her oldest sister, Florida and her niece Marion. this in a small way shows how large the family was, as compared to today. But, I am getting ahead of myself and the story.

My grandparents came to the United States with a hope that life would be better for them and their family. The family dynamic did not change with the move. They were sponsored by my grandfather's brother, who had been here for several years. My great-uncle had gotten an apartment and a job ready for my grandfather. They arrived in Manchester, New Hampshire with what little they had to a new beginning. The apartment was on Manchester's west side. Around the early 1900's this area of town was called "Little Canada". Everyone on the west side spoke French, so communication was never a problem, as long as they stayed on the west side of the Merrimack. You could shop in any store and get what you waned by using French. The West Siders had difficulty getting loans to buy houses, so St. Mary's Bank was started by the French pastor of St. Marie's church. Now, West Side families could save money and get the homes on the West Side. My grandparents were no different. They worked hard and saved enough money to buy a three decker on Rimmon Street.

Grandfather joined the workforce in the mills and learned the English language. He was smart and went up in the ranks to become foreman in the Amoskeag Mills. My grandparents were proud of their heritage, and taught their children that with hard work you can be successful and better yourself. Grandfather worked an eight hour day five days a week. The Amoskeag Corporation would allow their workers to use lots (usually 50 by 50 foot lots) of land to grow vegetables. Grandfather was given permission to have two lots, because of the size of his family. One lot was on Youville Street (no house yet), and the second lot was what is now called Derryfield Park. After working all day he and the children would go and work on the gardens. They had no car so the only means of transportation was their feet. They walked everywhere and during harvesting time they used wagons to help carry their produce home. My grandmother would can the vegetables for the winter. They dried fruit on the shed roof for the winter. Wood was cut for fuel. Wood stoves were used for heat as well as for cooking. You might wonder who took care of the young children, it was the older children. As you see the family worked together. My grandparents had high expectations for their children. Their children, my mother included, would never have disappointed them.

As you can see, everybody had a stake in the family dynamics. They relied on each other, which made for a close relationship. They knew that the family grew, prospered, and cared for each other. The siblings always kept in contact and knew that they could rely on family. As one of sixty-seven grandchildren I have been nourished by these thoughts. We, the grandchildren, are all hard workers, but now in many different fields of study. Education was a priority to my parents. These were opportunities that made life easier for them, were lessons that showed us that work, caring and education go hand in hand. We look at life and try to carry on the torch that is our true heritage.

This is only one story, as they say, "there are many untold stories in the naked city?, that might be entertaining, but this is from the heart, where my parents and granparents will always have a special place. I will never forget the past, because in ensures my future.

Louise- Retired Teacher - Manchester, New Hampshire, USA (submitted July 26, 2006)

Reflecting on Dad

My father was a hardworking electrician. He worked with his father and brother to establish a small electric company. On call 24 hours a day, we heard him grumble when the phone rang at two in the morning on a cold winter night, but he went to resolve the problem. Dad was the caretaker of all of us. He knew that his paycheck was the sole support of his family and was proud to bring it home every week. He did most of the grocery shopping, especially meats. On weekends he would tend to the garden and mow the lawn. He fished on occasion and went hunting in late fall. But his main concern was taking care of the family. He taught me that hard work was never to be avoided...it strengthened the soul. Life was good and should be enjoyed to the fullest...laugh, play and have fun...after work was done. He was my symbol of greatness and as I pass through life, each success is a reflection of the values instilled in me by his actions.

Barbara - Retired Teacher/Administrator - Manchester, New Hampshire, USA (submitted July 15, 2006)

My First Bike Ride

It all started on one Saturday afternoon at about 2:30pm. I had just got my new bike for my birthday and I was really excited! It was after lunch so I was full and I kind of had a tummy ache. Me and my dad went to the street and that's where it all started.

My mom was in the house working with my brother on one of his projects. Megan my sister was in her crib doing whatever she was doing. And me, I was outside with my dad just learning how to ride my bike. Half of me was scared and the other half was excited. I was about 5 years old and I was excited more than anything.

So I got on my bike and my dad gave me a little push and I was off! My dad ran with me and there I was, gliding down street on my brand new bike. Then my dad told me to turn,and I looked at him like he was nuts! But I turned the wheel and BAM I fell. The bike was on top of me and I was about ready to cry but I held it in. It hurt a lot because my knee was scraped but it wasn't bleeding. I got back on my bike and started pedaling. This time my dad wasn't running with me."Hey dad I'm doing it, I am riding a bike". So that was it, I had done it, I rode my bike!!

Steven - Age 11 - Manchester, New Hampshire - USA (submitted May 15, 2006)



Living in Sudan


Living in Sudan is much different than living in America. The weather in Sudan is very hot and it rains a lot. We grow lots of fruit and vegetables: bananas, mango, water melon, corn, potatoes, and tomatoes for example. My house was made of dried mud and the roof was made of long bunches of leaves. I had many friends. We liked to play soccer, baseball, and basketball.

We traveled in trains and boats. I went to Khartoum on a train before coming to the United States. After I went to Khartoum I went to Egypt. I lived in Egypt for three years. I went to school in Sudan for kindergarten through third grade. In Egypt I went to third grade again and then fourth. I come to the United States and went to fifthgrade at Mc Donough.
In Sudan I spoke Arabic. I learned how to speak English in Egypt. I took classes to learn English. Now, I am learning my father' s language, Madi. I know how to say "bring water". It is hard to learn.

by Elizabeth - from Sudan, now living in Manchester, New Hampshire - USA (submitted May 15, 2006)

Baseball Is My Life

...The first thing my dad taught me how to do was to throw. It was a bright sunny day in my back yard. The clouds were as blue as crystal blue water. I was three years old. The next thing he taught me was how to field the ball. The last thing he taught me was how to hit the ball.
...As I got older I got better. My first year of baseball was when I was six. The league is called Youngsville. Then the next year I moved up to farm when I was seven years old.
...When I was eight that was when I decided that baseball was going to be my career. That was my first year in minors. It was also the first year I made All-Stars. Then when I made ten years old I was on that All-Star team too. Except that year we went to CoopersTown Youth Hall Fame. And my regular team won the championship. Last year my regular team went undefeated 17-0. That had not been done in forty-one years. And thats my life and dream about baseball.

Ryan - Age 11 - Manchester, New Hampshire - USA (submitted May 15, 2006)





Adventure

VACATION !

Every June my family goes on a big vacation. We can go anywhere we want to go for one whole week.
In the past years we have mainly gone to Disney world. One time we went to Universal Studios but did not have alot of fun. Disney World is mostly for teens and kids. Universal Studios is mostly for grown ups.

This year we are going on a cruise. We are taking my two cousins, two aunts, and my grandmother. We are going to Florida and taking the Carnival cruise ship. The ship goes to Jamaica, Mexico and The Cayman Islands. My sister is excited because her dad was born in Mexico. She canÌt wait to learn more about it.
On the ship we sail for two days straight. We will attend group activities assigned to our age group. One night during the week, we will dress up and dine with the captain.

My mother is excited because it is also her honeymoon. Therefore we will spend a lot of time with her. We have plans to go to the spa, swim with the dolphins, go to the swimming pool, and do many more activities. We will have so much fun!

The best part about it is that I get to miss a whole week of school! I will ask to get my make-up work and I will have to do it, but I will not have to go to school and sit there for six straight hours. I will be doing so much fun things while I am in the middle of the ocean. I cannot wait to go. I do have to admit that I will miss school,all my friends and family, and most of all my pets.

Mariah 13 years old, Manchester N.H. USA (Submitted September 29, 2006)

We're Going To Florida?

One day, when it was just a few days before Christmas, my parents woke me up at about four in the morning. They said that me, my two older sisters, and of course them, were all going to go to the airport to watch a meteor shower. I was seven, and of course I believed everything they said.
Next thing I know, we're in a cab on our way to the airport.

Once we get there we walked into to the airport, and my parents told us we were going on a plane to New Jersey to celebrate Christmas with my cousins. I believed them...again.

We were all starting to board the plane and then I got really nervous, because I had never been on a plane before in my life. I was really excited, but I was afraid of the worst possible things that could happen. When we landed, it had been about three hours...and I was wicked hyper from sitting still for the whole time.

Just a few minutes before we got off the plane my family decided to give me a heart-attack and tell me that we weere in Florida. Not even thinking about the fifty [or more] other people that were on the plane with us...I literally started screaming, WE'RE IN FLORIDA?!Ó That went on for about five or ten minutes.

We got off the plane and got in a car for another hour to get to the hotel. Oh boy, more time for me to sit stil. We got to the hotel, dropped all our things off and then we went to Disney! It was one of the most fun things I've ever done in my life. We went on tons of rides!

That night we went on the boardwalk and got dinner together and played a whole bunch of games that were along the harbor. Once we got back to the hotel we all went to the pool and hung out until like midnight. It was the best week ever!

Meghan 13 years old, Manchester, New Hampshire USA (submitted September 29, 2006)

My Big Trip To Greece

Hi my name is Chris. Last summer I went to Greece. It was the first time I have ever been there. I went to Greece because I have a lot of my family there. I met lots of new people. It was a lot different than the United States. I stayed in my uncle's house in a small village called Halledritsa . I met a lot of new kids there and played soccer with them.

After a couple of weeks, I went to another village called Fourka way up in the mountains where my grandparents were. This village was even smaller. There I met more of my relatives.

Next we visited Athens, the largest city and the capital of Greece. I stayed in a hotel there. While in Athens we visited the Parthenon and the Acropolis.

We then returned to my uncle's house in Hallendritsa to spend the rest of our vacation.

After a week, I had to go back home to the United States. We said good bye to everyone and boarded our plane for a long ride home.

Chris 13 years old, Manchester, New Hampshire (submitted Setember 29, 2006

The Star Blaster

The first time I went to Canobie Lake Park I was in summer camp. My councilor was walking around looking for a ride that my friend Nicole and I wanted to ride. When we got to the other side of the park we saw the Star Blaster and said to each other at the same time "Lets go on that ride!" and we were pointing at the Star Blaster. Then we both started to laugh at each other because we both said it at the same time. So we went in line to go on the ride.
My twin sister Amanda was too scared to go on the ride. We tried to get her to come but she wouldn't. It was sort of a good thing though because she is shorter than me and. I was just the right height and Nicole was too, so we were happy we were together.
Nicole and I went I went to a side that we could sit next to each other. Then the people who check to see if it is safe checked the seat belts to make sure no one was going to fall off of the ride.
The ride was about to start . Nicole and I were scared. When the ride started to lift up Nicole closed her mouth as tight as she could because if she screamed her mother would not let her go on any other rides like the one we were on. Then we quickly dropped. I screamed every time we dropped. Nicole was going to scream the next time we went up but we didn't go up again so we were happy. We wanted to go again but it was Amandas turn so we let Amanda choose a ride.

Samantha, 11 years old, Manchester, New Hampshire, USA (submitted September 28, 2006)

Scary Rides

In my summer vacation off I went to Canobie Lake Park with my friend and her family. One of the scariest rides is the Star Blaster. The Star Blaster is very tall. They give you a color like red, blue, green and yellow. Then you sit on a seat that they give you.Your legs are hanging down. When everybody is seated safely the Star Blaster begins. The ride begins to go really fast that you can see the whole part. And they go down really fast. I felt like that I was going to fall on the hard ground.
They do that about two more times, but after two more times the Star Blaster goes slower. When I got off I told my friend that I will never go on that ride again because it was too scary. My friend told me that it was kind of scary for her, too.
One of my favorite rides is the Water Roller Coaster. It was kind of scary. There was water on the ground. We sat on the seat and the ride began. The Water Roller Coaster goes up, up and up, then it goes all the way down, and in the cold and freezing water. It makes a big and huge splash. After that ride I was absolutely soaked, but the ride was fun.
After that ride we went to the big Pirate Ship. The big Pirate Ship was very,very scary. When everybody has sat down then the ride starts. The ship was going side to side, and I felt like I was going to fall down. I almost had a heart attack when the ride was over. After that day I will never forget how fun and scary all the rides was. That is the most fun I ever have.


Lieu - Age 11 -Manchester, New Hampshire USA (submitted September 27, 2006)

A Great Sea Creature

One day during the summer of 2005, I went kayaking in the waters off of the west coast of Florida. I had been out for about 20 minutes and had already seen some rays swimming around, some birds and a few colorful
fish. I was pretty far away from shore and the cottage where I was staying when I noticed my friends on shore signaling and waving at something in the water.

I headed over toward the direction they were pointing and saw a beautifulsight, a big beautiful manatee! I paddled over to the great creature and was so close that I could touch her. She began swimming under my kayak
and then back again. She would roll over as if to show me her belly and once it seemed as if we actually looked each other in the eyes! She did
some other somersaults and rolls and we stayed together for about 45 minutes. It was hard to say goodbye to my new and gentle friend, but I
was getting farther and farther from home and knew that I would have along paddle back. It was a memorable experience out on the ocean with such a glorious sea creature.

Barbara- Teacher, Merrimack, NH - USA (submitted September 21, 2006)


Danger in the Sea

My first trip to the Bahamas was an adventure I'll never forget. It all started the day we decided to go snorkeling in the crystal blue water. The sky was cloudless and the air warm as we boarded the boat which would take us out to sea.

When we were far from shore the captain anchored the boat and grabbed the microphone. He explained how to put on the masks, snorkels, and fins and the procedure for entering the water. "Important!" he said, "You must remove all gold jewelry. The barracudas are attracted to the glimmer of gold. They might attack."

"Ahh," I thought as I quickly removed my earrings, rings and watch. I didn't want to see the barracudas up close and personal.

As I entered the water I was amazed at all the colors. The fish were turquoise, yellow, pink, orange. Amazing! As I swam away from the boat I realized I had left on my gold necklace. I scrambled to throw it off as I swam back to the boat as fast as I could, sure that a barracuda was close at my fins.
I breathed a sigh of relief when I climbed onto the boat deck. That is till realized I had sacrificed to the ocean my beautiful gold charm necklace .

Sue- Teacher- Manchester, New Hampshire - USA (submitted September 18, 2006)



Crazy Coasters


This extremely, cool day at Canobie Lake Park is one that'll never be forgotten! I remember when I went there with my dad and it was the first time I ever went on a roller coaster. I can't remember what it was called but I do remember what it was like.
...There was no bottom and our feet were hanging off which I thought was too scary for a first roller coaster ride! He kept telling me it would be okay but of course I was scared! Then all of a sudden the coaster started moving and we were at the top. I looked over from the second seat and saw the really steep drop and just screamed! We went down really fast and all my dad could do was laugh at me screaming, but then he grabbed my hand really tight and right at that moment came a super big loop, then another, and another!
...We got off and I remember looking at him and there was about a two second silence. And right at the same time we said "Let's do it again!" But we didn't because we had to go home because my mom was freaking out more than I was on the coaster! It's like she had a heart attack or something! But I had a blast with my dad that day and I 'll never forget it! It is definately an ever lasting memory!

Sheila Age 13 - Manchester, New Hampshire - USA (submitted May 15, 2006)

The Other Side

It all started Easter Sunday with a visit to my Uncle David's. He lives in Troy, New Hampshire. It's mostly country area, woods, streams, etc. Well, it's not the nicest looking place. He lives in a small cramped trailer. The yard is a mess too, but its kinda bigger then the other yards in the trailer park. The good part to where my uncle lives is the nice forest behind his trailer, in which I 've explored a thousand times.
...After breakfast everyone was just watching T.V. My older brother E.J. and I were mad bored so we decided to go to the forest and explore some more, though it was kinda getting old. It was pretty gloomy outside but that did not make a difference to us at all. We started into the forest when our little brother Jared came to tag along. There was a new way to cross the river that day. I'm always finding a way to cross. This river is not, by far, clean. No fish live in the water because no fish can survive. The water has all kinds of pollutants and chemicals from the old Troy Mills factories dumping chemicals into the water. At some parts the water is red with iron. Anyway we crossed over some thin crickety boards that were about 6 feet long and crossed directly over the waterfall. My little brother was too scared to cross, so he stayed by the rocks and played his little recorder while he watched me and my brother climb up over a hill and follow the river under the old Troy Mills.
...It was dark like a cave under there, birds swooped down at us from panels along the top like bats. We could barely see anything so we felt around carefully, cause we both knew that if you follow the sidewalk under the mills long enough the boards break off and you'll fall into the polluted river in the darkness of the old rusty mill, and who knows what's in that water.
...When we reached the end of the side walk we looked around and saw a hole in the factory building leading up under an extremely dirty fence to our left, so we went over there and crawled through to "the other side". The other side was "the other side" of the factory we had never explored before. It looked so different but so much the same, creepy, cold, mysterious.
...We looked around there and saw a beaver. When we went close to the beaver he crawled into a hole and on the cold stone wall above the hole it read "50 c". That's where my brother and I got the idea to name him 50 cent.
...My brother and I explored much longer past a bridge, went through some forest following the rest of the river, climbed over the rocks next to another waterfall, continued on past another bridge, and finally reached a still pond. I guess that's where that part of the river comes from is that pond.
...My brother took a picture of me on the bridge in front of the pond from his cell phone and we started home. On the way back he also took a picture of 50 cent, the tall tower that read "Troy Mills Inc.", the dark cave like sidewalk walkway through the mills, the river, and some other stuff like that. We hadn't really noticed all the cuts on my legs until we got out of the forest and they started stinging really badly. My legs were so cut from all the thorn bushes in the forest and I was wearing Capri's. Oh well, I got over it.
...When we finally reached "home" we told our mom and that was pretty much it. Our other brother Jared had gone home a long time before and was watching T.V. without a care. This was a mysterious adventure we'll never forget. I still have cuts on my legs from it. Well that was my wonderful adventure of "The Other Side."


Starr - Age 12 -Manchester, New Hampshire USA (submitted May 15, 2006)

My First Roller Coaster Ride!

...When I was eight I went on my first ever roller coaster ride. I have never been too fond of heights. but I wanted to challenge myself with a new adventure. I went on it with my sister because my mom hates heights more than I do.
...We were at Six Flags Park on a nice breezy day. My sister and I had just gotten some new hats when I saw the roller coaster and wanted to go on it. My sister was excited and was ready to go on it even though she wasn't too good with heights either.
...We finally got on the roller coaster after an hour of waiting in line, that's when my nerves kicked in. The ride started and I was fine, screaming and laughing with my sister, when all of a sudden the ride went down really fast. It freaked me out and I was so scared I could barely move.
...Then my sister's hat flew off her head my hat close behind. When we got off the ride we were fine, but we decided that we wouldn't go on anymore roller coasters that day. That day was a scary new experience for me but I've been able to go on roller coasters ever since because I faced my fear and soon got over it. But we never saw our brand new hats again.

Paige - Age 12 - Manchester, New Hampshire - USA (submitted May 15, 2006)





Holidays

Christmas

Christmas is my favorite holiday because we get presents and get to drink egg nog. I love to watch Christmas shows . Three of my favorites are Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, Santa Clause is coming to town, and the movie Home Alone. I love to sing Christmas Carols, what can I say I love to sing, after all I am in chorus. I love to decorate the tree with stringed popcorn and make other decorations, too.

Every Christmas when I was a little girl I always wanted to go downstairs and see a little puppy under the tree, but it never did happen. I love Christmas, it is such a family holiday. We can spend time with our friends and family .

After we are done opening our presents in the morning , my bestfriend and I go outside and go sledding . Then we head on in for some hot chocolate with the little marshmallows, ummmm ummm GOOD.

Katlin, 13 years old, Manchester New Hampshire USA (submitted September 29, 2006)

The Best Holiday Ever!!!!!!!!

My favorite holiday is Christmas. My family is Polish so we always have perogie and many other kinds of Polish food for dinner on Christmas Eve. Perogies are like a bigger type of cheese and potato ravioli. The day before Christmas Eve, which would be December 23rd, is when we would start making the perogies. First you have to make the dough and there are many many other steps follow. It takes about ten people to do all the steps. It usually takes us from 7 am to 10 pm to finish. Sometimes we are so tired that we have to do even more the next day. We usually make up to 250 perogies! If we have any left overs we just freeze them and then cook them up later on in the week. It is a lot of fun to find out how to make these and have the wonderful tradition passed down to the younger kids in the family. Hopefully this tradition will last for many more years to come.

The next day is Christmas Eve, the day everyone looks forward to. That night we all eat dinner at my Aunt’s house which, you guessed it , we eat perogie. All the little kids try to find Santa on the Norad web site. They all get so excited when he gets closer to the U.S.A. Then its time to open presents. We all sit down under the Christmas tree and we exchange gifts. Hopefully everyone gets what they wanted. Then we have to go home and go right to bed so Santa can deliver even more presents to everyone. That
is is the best time of year.

Kathryn 13 years old Manchester, New Hampshire USA (submitted September 29, 2006)


CHRISTMAS

My favorite holiday is Christmas. Every Christmas Eve my family and I go to my parents friends house the Dunnís to hang out, open up some of our presents that they got us, make smores, itís just a really fun time whenever we go to their house.

On Christmas day my sister and I wake up really early, about 7 AM. My parents donít usually like that very much, but were just too excited to wait until later.

The best part about Christmas Eve and Christmas day is when it snows. Sometimes it doesnít snow on those two days, but I get over it pretty quickly knowing that I have a lot of presents to open.

Then on Christmas day all of my family goes to my aunt Cathy and uncle Markís house to celebrate Christmas. I love going to their house on Christmas because all of my cousins are there who I donít see a lot, like my cousin Ben. Plus we all have dinner at their house on Christmas they have so much good food to eat.

Sam, 13 years old, Manchester New Hampshire USA (submitted September 29, 2006)

Christmas with 30+ Family Members

My favorite holiday is Christmas Day, but also Christmas Eve, too. Christmas Eve, I normally spend it with my mom's side of the family, the YancoÌs. Almost every year, everyone in the family comes to my grandparents huggggge house in North Hampton, NH. Members of the Yancos includes 2 grandparents, 8 children (my mom's the youngest), 15 grandchildren (I am the 8th) , 2 great-grandchildren, and A LOT of in-laws.

All of us cook (my Aunt Beth owns her own deli), and since there are a lot of people, there are lots and lots of pies, salads, breads, meats, drinks, homemade ice cream, my favorite!, hot chocolate, and what's Christmas without cookies?

By 8 o'clock, we've started dinner. That dining room is GIANT and filled to capacity. We laugh so hard, you wouldn't believe it!

After dinner, we go into the biggest room in the house, the family room. We sit around in front of the fireplace talk and open presents.

I love those years when we get everyone there. But, even if we dont have everyone, it's still lots of fun and great memories are made.
On Christmas Day, pretty much the same thing happens, except a little smaller, 1 grandparent, 5 kids (my dad's in the middle), and 4 grandchildren, lots of in-laws. It's a big, Greek family, so the house is filled with smells of kourbeithas, pita, baklava, so basically lots of Greek food! Everything is cooked perfectly.VACATION !

Every June my family goes on a big vacation. We can go anywhere we want to go for one whole week.
In the past years we have mainly gone to Disney world. One time we went to Universal Studios but did not have alot of fun. Disney World is mostly for teens and kids. Universal Studios is mostly for grown ups.

This year we are going on a cruise. We are taking my two cousins, two aunts, and my grandmother. We are going to Florida and taking the Carnival cruise ship. The ship goes to Jamaica, Mexico and The Cayman Islands. My sister is excited because her dad was born in Mexico. She canÌt wait to learn more about it.
On the ship we sail for two days straight. We will attend group activities assigned to our age group. One night during the week, we will dress up and dine with the captain.

My mother is excited because it is also her honeymoon. Therefore we will spend a lot of time with her. We have plans to go to the spa, swim with the dolphins, go to the swimming pool, and do many more activities. We will have so much fun!

The best part about it is that I get to miss a whole week of school! I will ask to get my make-up work and I will have to do it, but I will not have to go to school and sit there for six straight hours. I will be doing so much fun things while I am in the middle of the ocean. I cannot wait to go. I do have to admit that I will miss school,all my friends and family, and most of all my pets.

Mariah 13 years old, Manchester N.H. USA


Christmas

I love Christmas there, especially because of all the scents. I don't know what it is, but it just smells good in the house! Probably all of the yummy deserts and food.
I really enjoy sitting around and just talking with everyone and seeing what's going on in everyon'Ìs lives. That's probably the best part.

My favorite part is being with everyone that I haven't seen for a while like my Aunt Sally, who lives in Arizona.
That also goes on in the Yanco side of the family, I have relatives in California, Texas, Massachusetts, Maine, but most of us live here, in New Hampshire.

I don't know about you, but that pie and ice cream on Christmas Eve sounds pretty good right now!

Emily 13 years old, Manchester, New Hampshire USA (Submitted September 29, 2006)

The Best Christmas Ever

Hi my name is Austin Carter. This story is about the best Christmas I ever had.
It all began on a freezing December morning. It must have been -5 degrees that morning. Or so it felt.
At first all I wanted to do was go outside and play in the snow.

The bad thing was it was only 6:14 A.M and my parents don't get up untill 10:00A.M. so I had to wait.
About 7:30 I remembered that it was Christmas and I ran to my parents room and yelled wake up it is Christmas. They jumped right out of bed. They were a little mad at me at first but they got over it.
We ran to the living room to open our presents. My very first gift was an X-box. After, I got a few games new bike and a lot of other stuff. Right after I went outside and had a snow ball fight with my parents and I won. That is my story of the best Christmas I ever had. Talk to you again in my next essay your friend Austin Carter.

Austin, 11 years old, Manchester, New Hampshire, USA (submitted September 29, 2006)

Family Tradition

My favorite holiday is Christmas because it is just so beautiful and relaxing. My family celebrates it by all of us going to my aunt's house and we all go out to eat. After that, we go back to my aunt's house and open presents and spend time together. When we are done everybody talks for a few hours and then we leave. The next day, we all spend the the whole day together and open even more presents . I go off and play with my little cousins and I play games with them like hide-and-seek, tag, and tickle. It is so much fun.

I go off and play with my other cousin Paige and we go places like the Mall, and get people gifts and then we all relax and just hang out. We also have a Christmas party.

I can't wait until next Christmas so we can do this family tradition again. Well that's what my family and I do on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day. I think that this family tradition is so much fun and the best one yet in my family.

Rachael, 12 years old, Manchester, New Hampshire, USA (submitted September 28, 2006)

A Freaky Halloween!

It was one day away from Halloween and it was really cool! I was going as a night stalking black vampire. This was going to be the best Halloween. It was getting better and better because of all the trick-or-treating we were going to do. But that was before we went to like a psychic place. The physhic said that a very bad thing was going to happen to my family . I was very nervous that the bad thing was going to happen to me. Like I might get hurt or something. I questioned in my head "Is this psychic right or wrong?"


We never knew until the next day. After that we still went trick-or-treating. I got in my snazzy vampire costume got blood caplets and we took off. I asked my mom "Do you think she was right?" Then she answered "NO"!!!!!!!!!!!! So I didn't think the psychic was right. We started trick-or-treating and it was really fun.
Then it happened. I bit my blood capsules and it went everywhere. Maybe that's what the psychic saw. I wasn't sure if she even saw anything. Finally we all went to my grandparents house and had the most tasty pot roast ever. My grandmother makes it every year, it's sort of a tradition thing.

Adam - Age 11 - Manchester, New Hampshire - USA (submitted September 27, 2006)

A Scary Christmas!

It was two years ago, we just moved to New Hampshire and it would be Christmas in a week. My mother said to me and my little sister, "You aren't getting any presents this year." My sister and I were so sad because under our tree were no presents at all.
...Christmas Eve my mother brought my sister and me into the living room, she said, "I have a surprise for you both." My sister and I were waiting patiently, she handed us both little toy airplanes, mine was red, my sisters blue. ...We asked, "What are these for?"
...My mother said to us, "It's a hint of your real presents, we're flying tomorrow morning to Florida" We got up jumping and screaming we were so excited."
...""We're going home for Christmas, we're going home for Christmas". All we have is that night to pack, so we get to it right away.
...The next morning we arrived at the airport I was nervous all over because this was the first time I flew in an airplane. We waited at least an hour for the plane, it was so busy at the airport people were coming and going trying to make their flights. Our plane was called and we walked down the aisle. We got on the plane and found our seats. We were ready to take off, I took in a deep breath and we were in the air.
...We finally reached our destination. We saw our Grandfather, who we hadn't seen him since we moved to New Hampshire. I was so happy.
...Arriving at the house we saw the beautiful palm trees outside and the sky was pink and blue. At around 7:00 o'clock we opened the door and saw all of our family there to welcome us home for Christmas. That was one of the best Christmas' I've ever had.

Lillian - Age 13 - Manchester, New Hampshire - USA (submitted May 15, 2006)





Days Off

Canobie Lake Park

Every year my family and I go to Canobie Lake Park on our summer vacation. The reason is because my mom, my dad, my grampa, and the rest of my dad's side of the family used to work there. It is in Salem, New Hampshire. My grandparents live in Salem.

Canobie is a fun place to have fun with your family and friends. My favorite rides there are The Yankee Cannon Ball, and the Corkscrew. I didn't used to like them but I went on them with my brother and now I like both rides. I also like the Starblaster.

One of the reasons I like Canobie is because the fried dough, it is the most scrumptious fried dough ever made, or at least I think so. The cotton candy is awesome almost all the food is awesome. If you go, make sure to try the food!

Going to Canobie is a cool thing to when you just want to chill out and have fun with your family. I choose to go with my family here because I like to have fun. If you like having fun, take a trip to Canobie.

Robert 13 years old, Manchester, New Hampshire USA (submitted September 29, 2006)

My Day Off From School

When school is out for the day I do so many things that I can't do when school is in session. Some of the many things I do are, sledding , snow boarding having snow ball fights, and building snow forts in the winter. I do all of these things with my friends.

In the summer, I go to Sam's house and jump on the trampoline. I also hang out with my friends, Riley, Sean, Sam, Ian, Santi, Jacob, Cam, Chris, and Miles.

When none of my friends are around I play my guitar and clarinet. I also try to spend sometime with my grandmother and my parents, but my favorite thing is just relaxing by going on the computer or watching TV or just laying on my bed.

A day off from school only happens every once in a while so I try to use it in the best ways possible. I think that days off from school every once in a while helps me control the stress from school. I love days off!!!


Matt 13 years old, Manchester New Hampshire USA (submitted September 29, 2006)

Snow Day

One day we had no school because of a snow day. It was awesome because the snow was at least a foot tall! After I ate my breakfast at about 11:00, I called my next door neighbor to see what he was doing. He said he didn't have any plans for today. So I asked him if he wanted to play football in the snow, he said sure.
When he came outside, we went down to our friend Blake's house to play some football. When Blake came outside we went to get everybody. Finally everybody came down and we started to pick teams. After we had our teams we started to play.
My team got the ball first and we scored on the first play of the game! After we played for a little while the score was finally tied. My defense got an interception, so now we had the ball on the fifty. The second play after we got the interception, we scored on a hail mary! It was awesome. After the game we all had lunch together and celebrated the win!!
When all of us finished lunch we decided to have another game of football in the snow. The second game was just as much fun as the first one. When finished that game Ian and I had to go home. That was one of the best days off of school!!

Codey, 13 years old, Manchester New Hampshire, USA (submitted September 29, 2006)

My Family


I have fun with my family. I went to a party with my family. My sisters and my brothers are so crazy. My older sister likes to eat.

One day we went to the pool. I was in the pool having fun with my family. After the pool closed we went to the park. After we played at the park we ate food. It was 6:00 so we went to the pool again with my family. We swam and we swam. After we swam it was 8:00 so the pool was closing. All the people went home. So we went home too.

After we got home we all slept. It was Sunday We were tired. We went to the church. After the church closed we went back to my house. We ate food with my family. After we ate food we went to my dad's and mom's friends house. We played games with the kids. We played and played and played. And I say that was my best day in my big, big, big world.


Justine 13 years old, Manchester New Hampshire, USA (submitted September 29, 2006)

My Camping Trip

One summer I went camping with my friend,Nate. We went to Hampton Beach. Before I left my mom gave me spending money. Every day we went to the beach. My friend and I played football, baseball, and went swimming every day on the beach. We also went walking on the board walk looking for games to play in arcades.The food on the boardwalk was really good, they had really good pizza.On the boardwalk there is a MacDonalds, ice cream, and fried dough. One day after hanging out on the beach, we saw huge water slides so we wanted to go on.The water slides were so much fun.


One time in an arcade there were these milk bottles and if you knock one down you get a prize. I knocked one down and won twenty dollars!

After every day after the beach we hung out at the camp sight. At the campsite I made a lot of friends and we played football at the campsite. After that we hung out on the beach with our new friends and at the beach we made more friends. We went swimming, played football and hung out on the boardwalk.

The next day we had to go home I was so sad.

Brent 13 years old, Manchester New Hampshire, USA (submitted September 29, 2006)

New York City

For April vacation last year, my brother Bill, my mom and I went to New York to visit my brother Neil. Neil had been living there for almost two years and we never visited him before. We thought it would be a good opportunity to see him since Bill and I had a week off from school.


Bill, my mom and I took the bus from Manchester NH, to the train station in Boston. We rode the train for over two hours until we got to New York. Then we walked for twenty minutes to find the hotel we were staying at. When we found it we checked in and then we called Neil. He was at work and so we hung out in our hotel room for a while until he found our hotel and then we left.


First we wandered around with Neil for a while, going into shops with expensive clothing and jewelry. After a while, we got hungry and he took us to a Vietnamese place in china town. I tried some weird food there. One thing I tried was some green vegetable wrapped in some clear noodle. I didn't really like that. Neil ordered some sort of steak thing with good dipping sauce. I liked that.


After that we wandered around China town for a while and Bill bought a Chinese Cap with a long black braid that comes down the back of your neck when you put it on. It looked pretty silly on Bill since he had shoulder length dirty blond hair at the time.


For dessert we walked to Little Italy. Neil took us to an Italian dessert shop where we all ordered gelato. Let me tell you I thought gelato was WAY better than ice cream. They had so many different flavors too.


After that we went to some more shops. At the end of the day, me and my mom and Bill went back to our hotel and Neil went back to his apartment.


The next day our sister, Aimee, took a train to spend the day with us in New York. That day we went to this really cool restaurant called Mars 2112. When we walked in there was this motion space ship. We walked into the fake spaceship and it was as if we were traveling to Mars. The whole thing shook and there was a screen in the front where there was a pilot narrating what was happening. When we got out on the other side, it was as if we were walking on Mars. There were people dressed as martians walking around. We ordered some ÏspaceÓ food and then we left. After that we walked around for a little bit longer and then me and my mom and Bill went back to our hotel.
The next day we took a train back to Manchester. It was a fun experience I will never forget. I hope to do it again some day.

Julie 13 years old, Manchester New Hampshire, USA (submitted September 28, 2006)

Snowmobiling

Hi, my name is Sean in my free time in the winter I love to snowmobile. This year I plan to go to Pittsburgh New Hampshire. There is usually a lot of snow there. This year my dad's friend got a house there so we will be going a lot. I have a 1996 Ski Doo 583 Formula z . It' s my own snowmobile too. I paid about half of the money for it and it was $2,000.
I have been snowmobiling for 5 years. I've been on one since I was on, and my dad has been riding forever.

Snowmobiling can be very dangerous though. About six or seven years ago my dad was riding at 2 o'clock in the morning. He was with three guys and he was going under a bridge . He looked back to see if everyone was still there and he hit a rock and flipped over the handle bars. He broke his leg. Now he has a steel rod in his leg because of it.

I plan to get a new snowmobile soon though, but they cost a lot of money.

Sean, age 13 Manchester New Hampshire, USA (submitted September 26, 2006)



The Amazing Goal


In the summer my sister and I went to The Boys and Girls Club only it's in Derry. My group played a game called Team Hand Ball. If you have the ball and someone from the other team tags you you can't move or throw it in the goal.

They have two goals. The small one is 1 point and the big one is 2 points. I had the ball and no one tagged me. I tried to make it in the 2 pointer. I thought I'd miss, but I didn't miss, I made it in!

It was amazing. That was the first goal I ever made it in, because no one ever pass the ball to me. Now my team was winning. We needed 1 more point to win because you need 3 points to win. We ended up winning.

Gaby Age 11 - Manchester, New Hampshire - USA (submitted September 27, 2006)


I Don't Get A Lot of Days Off

I work full time out of the home, and I care for 2 people with developmental disabilities in my home. So, basically I work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. So, when I do get a day off, it is something special!

A few days ago, I took two days off! On one day I spent the day at home, doing things for myself that I had not been able to do. I ironed a week or more of clothes, I weeded in my garden, I made pesto with herbs from my garden, I printed pictures and put together a whole bunch of photo cards to sell and I sat on my porch and had breakfast....ahhhhh. I am sure I did other things as well. The point is that what I did do was for me, and not for other people for a change!

On my second day off, I spent the day with a friend. That is something I almost never get to do. We went shopping in Portsmouth. I even bought myself a few things! After shopping for a few hours we went to a restaurant on a salt water creek. We ate outside and had lobster and steamers. Yum! We talked a lot about anything and everything. After lunch, we went to the beach and just sat there and talked for a few hours. It was sunny and warm. The surf was going out. It was a beautiful day. I can't believe that we had so much to talk about.

Then I drove home and cooked a birthday dinner for one of the women I live with. It was her 70th birthday. I made her some spaghetti with the pesto I had made the day before. I also surprised her with some lobster on her pesto spaghetti. My friend sent it home with me. What a wonderful surprise! Then we watched her open her presents and sang her happy birthday.

Later that night, I got to spend time with my partner in our living room. I felt grateful for my partner and for my life.

After my two days off, I felt replenished and connected. I felt I had more to give to others again. I feel grateful to my friend that I spent the day with, and I feel more grateful to my partner for making my days off happen!

Sherry - Manchester, New Hampshire, USA (submitted August 11, 2006)


I Love Playing Hooky

When my children were young, periodically I would declare a "hooky day." † Wednesdays are good hooky days because it is in the middle of the week, and the kids wouldn't be missing any quizzes or tests. † If I got behind at work, then I would have a couple of days to catch up.

Today, my children are grown, and have lives of their own, but they both tell me that they have their own "hooky days" every once in awhile. †

I am a school teacher, and my last "hooky day" was at the beginning of June. † I needed to use up my personal days, so I took a Wednesday off.

I wrote in my journal, worked in my garden, took a long walk with Bandit, my dog, and caught up on my reading. † I also took a two hour nap - a real luxury! † Sounds boring, doesn't it?

In today's society, people seem to be going the speed of light through their lives - I'm no exception. † At times I am going fast-forward for weeks! †† It is very hard to stop and just BE. †

When I take the time to be silent, I understand. † I understand Earth, the sky, and the pulse of my life - my existence. † I also understand the need to just play or do nothing. † I try to understand the people in my life, good or bad. † Everyone deserves to be loved and feel happiness. † I can take the time when I'm silent to wish loving kindness to every person in my life - especially the challenging ones!

So, my advice to all who read this is play hooky once in while - our souls crave it!

Valerie - Elementary Teacher - Middleton, New Hampshire, USA (submitted July 17, 2006)

My Day With Kenny Wallace

...I love race cars and watching Nascar. Kenny Wallace is one of my favorite race car drivers.
Last summer my dad, my brother Willy and I went to the NH Speedway Race Track to watch a Nascar race. We watched a few races and then at 8:30 pm I met Kenny Wallace.
...After the race, Kenny was signing autographs and I went to say hi. I got my picture taken with him. He gave me an autograph, a big hug and even told me he loved me!I was so excited.
...The next day, I went back to the track to watch another race. Kenny saw me in the audience and as he waved he said, " Hi Sarah!". I was so excited that he remembered my name. It was so exciting! I loved those two days!

Sarah Age 13 - Manchester, New Hampshire - USA (submitted May 15, 2006)







Other Culture Stories

When I Went Back to Poland

When I first went back to Poland it was about three years ago,(that means I was in fourth grade when my family and I went back to Poland for a vacation.)When we arrived it was about seven a.m. and we went to the airport at about 6:00 p.m. When we arrived we needed our bags but some were missing. So we asked the people and after about an hour or two we finally found them.

After waiting about half an hour later one of our cousins came to pick us up. I forgot which house we went to first, but I remember which one we went next. We went to our cousin that was getting married. (that's why we went there because we got invited to our cousin’s wedding.)They live in an apartment. When we got inside it started to snow. (We went during February vacation.) Their house was pretty big for an apartment. The place that I liked the most is when you go in the living room you take a left and there is a door and when you open it there is like a porch there. I just liked being there.

The next place I went is to my mom’s mom’s place. It was a farm and I liked it because they have three dogs. I really like pets. We stayed there for about a week. It was like you were on a miniature farm but without the crops because they had lots of animals.(One way they got their money is from their cows.)
After we stayed there we went to my mom’s sister's house. It was another apartment but this one was smaller. It only had a living room, two bed rooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom. We stayed there for about three days, then we left. My sisters and I liked it there because there were three kids. two girls and one boy.(We never really got to see their dad because he was always working.) After that we went to a few more cousins and then it was the wedding!

When we got there it was about five o’ clock p.m.The place that we went was like a restaurant. It was pretty big with lots of decorations. There were tables lined up, one line of tables on one side and another on the other. What we mostly did was dance. There were basically all Polish songs and barely any English.

We played a few games, they were really fun. One of them you had to have a boy and a girl. Then you put a blind fold on one of them then you put two seats together, after that you put either the boy or girl on the seats. Then you put the ring on the person on the chair. And the other person has to find it on them. After they got married and we ate the cake then we could pay two cents over here (but it costs more there) and we could dance with one of them. It ended at about three in the morning. We stayed there for a few more days and then we left to come back home.
Paulina, Age 12 Manchester, New Hampshire, USA (submitted October 24, 2006)

Don’t Judge a Book By Its Cover

One day when I was about 5 years old, I came home from school. I walked into my house with my sister, then I saw a really small dog! She was so cute, I asked my dad if we were keeping her and he said “Yes”. My sister and I were very happy ........ until our mother came home. When she walked through the door she said “AHHH WHAT IS THAT!?”. She was lookng at the dog, of course. My father replied to my mothers quiestion, he said “ This is our new dog, my brother didn’t want it so he gave her to us”.

My mother was not happy and she said “This dog is leaving tomorrow morning”. Of course my sister and I were crying and we just went straight to bed that day.

The next morning I woke up and I looked for the dog, I found her sleeping with my mother! I was so happy that she wasn’t gone. When my mother woke up I said “ Mom, please don't get rid of her!”
She then said “ Oh I would never! This dog is so adorable, I love her!!!”.
I was so happy and I ran into Cassandra’s room ( my sister) screaming “ We are keeping the dog!”. Boy was she happy. I said “Hmm what should we name her?”
Then my father said “ Well let’s name her Angel because thats what my brother was going to name her”. Everyone agreed.
A couple years later our porch door was opened late at night we couldnt find Angel at all so we went in our car and searched searched and searched. She was no where to be found. When we got home we called the animal place to ask if they had seen our dog outside anywhere, but they just said that if they see her they will call us back. All of us were very sad so we just went to bed.

The next morning the animal place called and said “We found your dog dead in the road, she had gotten ran over last night.” All of us cried for a very long time. My parents went to go pick her up and they buried her. I know that my dog Angel is in a very special place. We all miss her very much but we all know she is in a special place and that’s heaven!
Catrina, Age 12 Manchester, New Hampshire, USA (submitted October 24, 2006)

Living Abroad

When I was 16 years old and starting grade 11 in Baltimore, Maryland, my family moved to Calais, France for my father's job. I had taken French since the 8th grade, so my parents enrolled me in the local public school. I was taking courses such as French, Chemistry, and English. I found out very early on that all those years of French class didn't help me that much. Within the first week of school, all the other students wanted to know the latest slang and swear words in English; I had to learn all the French slang and swear words so the other students wouldn't fool me into saying inappropriate things. I lasted 6 weeks in the French-speaking school -- not really because I had no idea what was going on in Chemistry, which is a tough course in any language, but because my English teacher kept telling me I didn't know how to speak English. She would ask me to read aloud, and would correct me on every other word because I did not speak with a British accent! !

My parents decided to have me attend the International School of Brussels in Brussels, Belgium.
The first year I lived with a Belgian family who spoke French; the second year I lived with an American family. I occasionally went to Calais to visit my parents, but more often, they would pick me up for vacations to travel throughout Europe. I had wonderful experiences living in Belgium and making friends from all over the world who were also attending ISB. One of my favorite teachers was a British; he taught U. S. History among other classes. It was very interesting to hear how differently the American Revolution sounded from Mr. Goldthorpe than from my previous American teachers! We got to take wonderful field trips with the school, seeing Shakespeare plays that we were studying in English class as productions in London, and visiting places such as Normandy and Verdun when studying WW I and WWII.

In the summer, my sister, who was in college, came for the summer and we toured through all of Europe by ourselves, using our Eurorail passes. My mother would even send us on shopping trips - taking the overnight train to Copenhagen, Denmark to buy her craft supplies and Lego blocks for my very young brother. Sadly, today I can't imagine my own daughter living away from home in a foreign country and traveling around the way I was able to do years ago now that the world has changed so much. But she will go to Europe on a college trip this year.

I majored in French in college for my first 2 years, as I really looked forward to being able to return to Europe to live. Circumstances prevent me from doing that, but I have had the opportunity to visit and stay in touch with ISB and my high school friends thanks to the internet.

Jacquie, Special Education Teacher, Manchester New Hampshire, USA (submitted October 10, 2006)

School Flood

A year ago the showers in the locker rooms at Elm Street Middle School broke and we had the day off as a result of a flood.

I was about to leave for the bus and my friend Julia called. She told me they had a flood at the school. I didn’t believe her, thinking it was another lie to fool around with me, so I called school and Julia was right. So I changed back into my pajamas and waited till everyone got up to tell them to see what they thought. My older brother made me call the school again thinking I probably had a test. I picked on my two brothers because they had school and I didn’t.

Soon my friend Julia called me, she wanted me to go over to her house. Her mom was home for the day. We watched movies in our pajamas until everyone got home. My brothers were jealous. They knew tomorrow would be like today; no school. Too bad tomorrow was the last day before Christmas vacation and the school would repaired once we returned in January.

Aimee, 13 years old, Manchester, New Hampshire USA Submitted (September 29, 2006)


CTF
One time at my friend’s birthday party, a bunch of the kids decided to play Capture the Flag. Since there ís a big wooded area up near the cul-de-sac (which is a dead end that’s sort of a circular shape at the end of the street), we decided to play in the woods. It was a cool idea but risky because I had seen poison ivy in there before. I finally decided to just get on some long pants and a sweatshirt and get in there. We started playing. There was a clearing in between two heavily forested places, which we dubbed the neutral zone. Once you made it out of enemy territory (their side of the woods, I mean) and into the neutral zone with the enemy flag, you won, technically. So both teams hid their flags on their sides. If an enemy caught you in their territory, you had better make a run for it, because they can tag you and, if so, you have to go back to your base. After all the setting up, we started, and I immersed myself in the foliage. Pretty soon, enemies started coming into our territory. It was an awesome game, we played for a while before the other team found my team’s flag. Oh well. It was still fun.
We took a break from the woods and went into the friend who was having the birthday’s house. His name was Nik, by the way. Yes, it’s spelled with a K. After we ate some food, we found some camo gear in Nik’s basement. We all put some on, and went back out to play. The second game was pretty awesome, too. Actually, I forgot to mention something about the first game. While most of the other team was in our side of the woods, I snuck over to theirs and looked for their flag for, like, 20 minutes. I couldnít
find it, but I never did get caught. That was cool. It was even more fun with the camouflage because it makes you feel cooler or something. One time, Nik’s brother was in our woods. I was chasing him out, and he accidentally got stuck in some branches. It was pretty funny. Also, one of the other team had our flag and was about two inches from the neutral zone when he got tagged. That must have really stunk for him. Anyway, it was a really awesome experience and I would tota!lly do it again, even though I got minor poison ivy a few days later. It was totally worth it!!
Isaac, 12 years old Manchester, New Hampshire USA (submitted September 29, 2006)


My trip to Italy

Last year my family went to Italy. We toured from Tuscany to Venice. We went to some museums, as well as staying in a hostel. The hostel was placed on a 300 acre plot of land, and everything was grown at the hostel. We had some trouble getting there, though. We had a nonstop flight to Rome from Boston/Logan with Alitalia. We got bumped from our flight, and ended up taking Finnair from Boston, to Helsinki, to Stockholm, and then took Luftansa from Stockholm to Frankfurt, Germany. We finally got to Tuscany airport, but had to stay on the plane because the brakes overheated. We felt so relieved to see a driver with the name plate. The rest of the trip was extremely nice.

The first night was excellent! We had dinner with our aunt, and we caught up with my sister who now lives in Paris, France.

We went around in a tour van, and after 5 days we went to Venice. We stayed in a hotel called SantÌ Angelo. It was beautiful, but the food was.....interesting! You would have to be a hard core seafood lover- go figure, I hate seafood!-.

The hotel was right on the Grand Canal. So, as you can imagine, the Venetions either walk or ride a boat. Bridges make it nearly impossible for bikes or skateboards or anything with wheels.

We had a wonderful time, and our flight out of Venice was at 4:30 IN THE MORNING!!!!-Too early for me- was uneventful. But as Dorothy said, there's no place like home. I deeply encourage anyone to go, as Italy is beautiful!

Sam 13 years old, Manchester, New Hampshire USA (submitted September 30, 2006)


My Wonderful Family

Both of my sisters are married and I live with all guys, my two brothers and my dad. My mother died when I was just born in 1993 because she didn't have the right treatment that a normal woman would have after giving birth. A war was going on in Bosnia where I was born. I have always wondered what it would be like if I had a mother. Whenever I am with my friends, and they call out to their mother it always saddens me not having the chance to actually call someone mom.

If she was only here it would be very different because I would be able to share my secrets with her and tell her about how my day at school. I can't really tell all the stuff that I want to my dad because he is a guy and I just don't feel comfortable enough to share my stuff with him. He is not a female and I feel like he wouldn't understand. I always wonder how different my life would be if she was here with me.

I mostly spend my days in my room because I feel hopeless. Sometimes I get this thing in my head thinking that because my mom isn't here today that it is all my fault. My sisters always tell me that that's the way it just had to be and not to feel quilty. My sisters are so wonderful to me that I can't thank them enough. They're always there for me and support me through everything and all the decisions I make. My oldest sister, who is now 27, is like a mother figure to me, she gives me advice on everything when she thinks I am ready for it and how to act in my everyday life. I am very thankful to have the family that I have because they are the most wonderful people that I'll ever meet.

I also think that my dad is very brave and has done an excellent job raising us kids back then all by himself. Also, my sister's did a great job raising me all by themselves while my father was in the army and we were all under age. I am thankful everyday that I am here on Earth.

Aida, 13 years old, Living in Manchester New Hampshire, USA from Bosnia

Read This

This is a story about the family of the Becker's. The Becker's are very adventurous and prepared. They have gone a lot of places like France, Texas, Arizona, Florida, Canada, Spain, Alaska, and they are going to Italy. They are very sporty also, they play tennis, frisbee, baseball, football, and basketball as a family. They also enjoy camping and hiking. They have always made friends with everyone and volunteer for just about anything. They always have funny moments constantly and make good food. They always have family gatherings and the best holidays for them are Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter. The Becker's are one of a kind family and forever shall be.

The youngest of the family is always funny and thinks he's king of the house; which he is until the brother and sister come home. The sister 22, has graduated college and is at another college studying international law. The older brother is 19, in college studying a lot of stuff. The dad has a good job and has a lot of hobbies. The mom has a job and has the funniest stories to tell people. Overall the Becker family is a good and funny family for the world. Thank you for reading about the Becker's.

Matt Becker, 12, Manchester, New Hampshire U.S.A

Hunting for the Dog

My dog, Samson, was the perfect pet. He listened, was very calm, hardly barked, didn't bite.... The list goes on and on. He was perfect. The whole family loved him a lot. My dad wasn't crazy about him but we knew he cared about him too.


One day it was raining. It was raining hard. The basement was flooding, so my sister and I let our little dog Samson outside so he could go to the bathroom. Then, after about five minutes, we came back to let him in but he was gone.

So my sister and I went out in the rain and searched the whole neighborhood. We hopped fences, banged on doors, we did everything we could to try to get him back. So then, still without our pet, we searched the streets. Still no luck. After a while my dad came to get us and he brought us home. When we came in there was a tiny wet dog in the mud room staring up at us. We picked him up and hugged him. We were just so happy to see him. My dad walked away and said "Your're welcome."

It turns out, that my dog, Samson, was hiding under the deck because he didnÌt want to get wet. My dad was looking for him for a long time in the backyard. Thank you, Dad.

Kirsty 13 Manchester, New Hampshire USA (submitted September 28, 2006)

The First Day

In the first day of school I didn't know where to go. But then I met my homeroom teacher. He gave me my schedule. But I still didn't know where to go. Then he explained me how the schedule worked. He told me it was time for "Allied Arts". I went to my allied arts and met my teacher computer teacher. She taught me how to put my fingers in the keyboard of a computer. When it was time to go I looked at my schedule and it was time to go to math class. I went to math and met my math teacher. He started talking about the rules, what to bring and what not to do.

After class was over he told us it was time for Social Studies. My Social Studies room was in my homeroom. My Social Studies teacher told us that he doesn't like wise guys, babies, smarty pants and punks. He told us what we were gonna do like, vocab words and tests.
It was time to go and it was silent reading time. We had to take out a book to read. it only took 10 minutes. After we read we had to go to our lockers. After we had to put our stuff in our KL class.

Then all 6 - 1 had to go to lunch. At lunch I saw my friend Christian. He was in my fifth grade class at Beech St School.

After lunch it was time for Language Arts. I went to my kl class and met my Language Arts teacher. After all of my other classes and we had to get all of our stuff, to go home. We had to sit in our sits and wait until they call us down.

Hector - Age 11 - Manchester, New Hampshire - USA (submitted September 27, 2006)

World Stories Project

The World Stories Project is an opportunity for educators to share their community experiences with people from other cultures. Every day I work with students from all over the world representing many different cultures, races, countries, languages and religions. It is my job to teach the English language to children whose first language is the language of their country of origin. I have encountered many cultural challenges over the past few years. It is fascinating to me that many of my students come to America with little to no English language experience, yet, they are eager to learn and try very hard to do well in school. They ofthen are required to work harder than native English speakers but they never give up and I admire their determination.

I also have learned from my students many traditions and customs that I never knew existed. Working with children from all over the world has taught my community tolerance and acceptance. We now embrace the many different cultures represented in Manchester. I would not have had exposure to the beautiful traditions, foods, religions, music and languages represented by my students if I had chosen to teach a different subject. Not only are my students learning about American culture but I have been learning about my students' cultures.

My English Language Learner students and I have had a rare opportunity to share the unique gift of exchanging cultural information. I hope that my community will learn about Japanese culture and education through the World Stories Project and Japanese teachers and students will walk away with knowledge of American culture.

by Anne - English Language Learner Teacher, The Henry J. McLaughlin, Jr. Middle School, Manchester, New Hampshire, USA (submitted September 25, 2006

Courage From the Heart

Have you ever experienced a war in your life that nearly led to losing your own? My family's journey into the United States began with this experience.

On May 21, 1994 there were gun shots heard around the town. My family and others in town knew of what was going to happen. We began to pack our possessions to leave our town and get away from the danger ahead. We knew our properties were about to be stolen away without our consent. The Share Company was ordered by the Nigerian government to take our oil.

This army of people wanted the rich oil which our townspeople worked so hard to own. We also knew that the leader of my town would be tortured and killed if captured. We were directed by our leader to flee to the forest with our families and belongings. We were shivering with fear because of the confusion of not knowing what was going to happen to our lives.

The strongest people stayed behind while others found safety in the woods. Night after night men and women who stayed behind were captured, whipped, and thrown in jail. Those who ran to the forest helped to gather food to survive. The young and the weak were hidden under ground while the others fought against the army.

As my peole were captured many were burned alive, their hands were tied as hot fire was set to their bodies. Some were shot to death with their hands removed by bullets cutting through their skin. Young and old women were battered and dishonored by the soldiers. I saw and heard most of these evil things against my communities.

During these horrible attacks on my town all of our property was stolen and destroyed. Bombs were placed inside pipes that supplied oil and gas to our homes. This destroyed soil, vegetation, buildings, and power lines leaving us with nothing to survive.

Even though we were able to travel back to our community, so much had been destroyed. Life could not move forward to the way it once was. The United States of America knew all these awful thngs that were happening to the Nigerian people.

While we were in camp, stories of these attacks were told by the youth through acting. They used letters of the alphabet to represent all the unspeakable acts that had happened to their communities. This dramatic acting was done for the Americans so that they would understand what we lived through. Many kinds of emotions ran through all who watched the stories being told. It made our minds and bodies shiver with grief.

The American government was troubled and touched by these assaults toour community. Food and money were being provided by the United States. We believed that this was God's helping hand and things would get better than they had been since this tragedy happened. Because God would continue to help us, prayer and fasting, three hundred people were chosen to be settled in the United States. I was one of the chosen few.

It was my time to say good-bye to my country and family. The United States government was waiting to take me, my two brothers, one sister, and the rest of the people to America. I had only a few minutes to say good-bye to my father. This all seemed like a sad dream because I knew I wouldn't see him again for at least six to ten years. Looking into his eyes for the last time expressed what was in my heart and mind. I knew he was filled with sadness and pride because he knew I was going to have a better life.

My father's final words to me were, "Remember where you come from, know where you are going, and always place God first in your life."

By Giobari Age 17- from Nigeria, now living in Manchester, New Hampshire - USA (submitted September 25, 2006)

Volunteering With Refugees

When my mother asked me to help tutor African refugee students I had no idea what a meaningful experience it woul become helping twelve year olds learn English. My city, Manchester, was designated by the federal government to be a refugee relocation center. Anywhere in the world where there is civil war or strive, refugees from those countries are sent to the United States. The children from these relocated families are filtered into the public school system. They are frightened and often experience culture shock. They do not know our language and they do not understand our traditions and customs.

I had the opportunity to work with children from Somalia, the Sudan, the Congo, aNigeria, and Burundi. These students amazed me at their desire to want to learn and acclimate to our society. Many of them had never used electricity as they are plains people who farm the land in Africa. They are from a constant warm climate so snow and ice are foreign to them. They experience many emotions and their reactions to small details that we might take for granted are fascinating. On a snowy afternoon it is common to see them run to the classroom window and stare for several minutes at the falling snow.

This experience has been extremely important to me as I have grown to love these students. They make me laugh when I am sad. They never give up hope and they try until they understand the verbs and their tenses I try to teach them. I know when they are having a frustrating day because they ask me for candy. Candy is one of the American delicacies they have recently been introduced to and it bother me because they have beautiful teeth that have avoided sugar. Once in America they devour sugar and fat and their bodies and smiles change.

Working with African refugees has been a learning and growing experience I will always cherish. When I miss them I just think of what they say to me when I first walk into the classroom where I volunteer. "Oh good. Tall girl with yellow hair in building. You have candy?" they will ask. "Who studied their multiplication facts?" I ask in response as I hand out Star Bursts to three little boys and four little girls with broad perfect smiles.

>† Olivia- Age 16 years - Manchester, New Hampshire, USA (submitted September 25, 2006)

Phoenix

High up in a college dorm room in Manhattan, sirens were keeping me awake. This was nothing unordinary, as it was, after all, New York City and I did live next to Bellevue Hospital. Nor was it unordinary that I was in bed at 10:30 on a Tuesday morning; I had been out all night at a DJ Logic show and I didn't have class until 2. But when my phone rang, and I grudgingly decided to leave my restless slumber, I was soon to realize that 24 floors below, on the streets of the city, it was anything but ordinary.

"Jesse, thank God! You're alive! New York is under attack! Planes are flying into buildings!" said my mom, on the line into my groggy ears. "Let me call you back," I replied and stumbled towards the television. Peter Jennings filled me in, with video that left my jaw hanging inches from the floor. I stuck my head out the window, and saw the streets filled with people, running frantically in every direction. I had to see what was going on. When I emerged onto second avenue, I could see plumes of smoke emanating from the place that had once been my directional south pole, and a degree of reality, and horror, set in. I wandered through the bizarre streets, watching buses overflowing with people careen through streets where jaywalking laws had, apparently, been suspended. I approached Washington square, the locus of my educational career, and heard myriad preposterous stories "They Got the White House!" "They Got the Pentagon!" "They hit the S
ears tower!" "They have declared martial law in New York!" Fact and fiction blended in a terrified excitement that seemed to descend upon the city in tiny particles of pulverized glass and cement and steel; we just breathed it in, like the new reality that the strange air brought with it. This new reality, of a world tumultuously tipped into disarray, careening towards disaster, war, destruction, with soft distant hopes of peace and harmony, this new reality slowly set in as my friends and I huddled around a TV in a dormroom, drinking beer and cracking nervous jokes about missing class. On my way home from class in the weeks that followed, the changing signs that had inundated Union square told the story of the progression of New York's collective consciousness about that awful day. The "Have You Seen...?" mingled with the "In Loving Memory", all dotted with "Never Again Anywhere," and "Peace is the Answer" posters, surrounded all by the grief stricken and the outspoken, some crying for their loved ones, some shouting about the injustice of America, others crying for the blood of those who had done this. I would sit, listen, look at the sad signs and the beautiful monuments, improvised candlelight vigils, spray painted sidewalks, paper mache sculptures, all works of heart and soul, all praying for peace. I would follow the conversations of the people who knew so much more about the world than I, sometimes following them in to teach-ins, sponsored by professors and citizens, where I learned that although there could never be a justification for such heinous actions, there was indeed an explanation. I began to see that the pain and terror we felt in the city was in fact the same pain and terror that so many people had been made to feel, all the world over, at the hands of the American military and their proxies, fighting, killing, and maiming to make profits for corporate interests, the richest swine of the human race. I began to see the pain and horror I felt as the kick in the pants that I needed to work to build a new world, to fight the injustice caused in my name, as an American, to stop the Bush regime from doing to others what had been done so terribly in New York.

I marched on the streets, I organized in the parks, I wrote articles, and a spoke with friends and strangers. I fell in with a crowd of activists, some seasoned fighters for justice and some pushed in to the fray as I had been. As the smoke from that day began to finally lift from the city,two months on, it had left a burning climate of chaos and passion sweeping through the avenues, which sparked millions into action, to believe that another world was possible, and to make that world happen. But so much anger beleaguered the so many of the groups, so much frustration with a President, and a country, that had turned so quickly to war as a first option; with a history of such injustice yet given a historical opportunity to atone and make good on our promise of 'liberty and justice for all'.

The anger inside of me burned out; the beauty of a new world grew like wildfire. I met artists, musicians, filmmakers, dancers, creative types of all sorts in the streams of protest, and we banded together to bring beauty to the struggle for peace, justice, and harmony. I wrote rhymes with the emcees, laid beats with the DJs, danced with their music and carried flyers for our cause. We were the Movement in Motion. We played rallies of 40,000 and rooms of 4; we brought our messages of protest, and our calls for peace and change to coffee shops and clubs, streets and schools. All the while we organized artists to act out in civil disobedience, and in sending messages to people through their creativity. We threw amazing parties, where people of all races and backgrounds made music together, left the walls painted with intricate, beautiful, collaborative murals, and left each other's souls touched with the harmony of the world we were creating. The destruction that had hit New York on that unordinary day had scarred each of us, but in that smoke that arose grew a phoenix, rising from the ashes of injustice and burning beautifully into a crystal clear sky of hope; our job was to take that smoke and paint the skies in all colors of the rainbow, in all shapes and designs that ring true for peace, diversity, understanding, justice, and harmony to all people in all places for all times. Our job was to make that better world happen, one creation at a time.

Jesse- Human Services Trainer, Brooklyn, New York, USA (submitted September 8, 2006)


Passing Down Polish Heritage

Both of my parents, immigrated from Poland (1910-1912). They very much desired to become US citizens. They arrived separately and met in this country and married here. They were very family oriented and celebrated much the same holidays as in Europe-- Christmas, Easter with emphasis on Polish tradition of food-pierogi, kilbasi, chrustiki etc. They celebrated this county's Thanksgiving with all the trimmings and family gathering. Their son-in-law of Scottish descent, especially, learned my mother's cooking and we looked to him for advice in later years.

My mother had a strong desire to know and explore this new country. Working for the Jersey Central RR, my father was entitled to travel- passes and so as young children we got to travel by train to many places. We visited the capitol of the country, Washington, DC, New York City with it's Statue of Liberty, where from there we could see Ellis Island where our parents came through when entering this country, up the Empire State Bldg. the Aquarium at Battery Park, Bronx Zoo and of course Radio City. We also made a trip to Illinois to the Chicago's 1933 World's Fair to name a few places. To this day we have family members who love to travel to far away place to see the world.

My father was musical and had each of us take music lessons. He was eager and patient to help me with my piano practice and I can still hear him counting the time aloud as I did it over and over again. My sister Eleanor learned to play the clarinet and piano and my sister Jennie the violin. We each participated in band or orchestra during our high school years--a good and enjoyable activity

I am grateful for the good family gatherings, enjoying music, travel interest--plus more- from my parents.

Vi - Elmira, New York, USA (submitted July 28, 2006)

Growing Up In Manchester

I was born in the USA, a long time ago. I grew up on the eastside of Manchester, NH. I lived with my parents,wonderful grandfather and two brothers. We owned our own home, and didn't lack for anything. You see my Dad worked, three jobs, so we could get ahead. My Mom stayed home and took care of us. My grandfather was usually at home unless he was off working in his many gardens all over the place.

My grandfather was retired from the Public Service where he worked on the trolley cars. He drove them.

Our neighborhood had children that descended from people all over the globe. Mostly Irish, and French. I had a friend that was Jewish, also.
My parents were first generation Americans. My mothers family came from County Mayo, Ireland. My father's family came from Gutenberg. Sweden. Life was good. There were no computers or TV's when I was little, but we had plenty of time to play outside, and our neighborhood was a very safe place. All the parents watched over all the children.

Pat- Customer Relations, FEMA - Weare, New Hampshire, USA (submitted July 27, 2006)

Burundi

...When I lived in Burundi I played with my friends. We played hiding and we also went fishing. I went fishing in the river and I caught fish with something I made myself with a stick. I lived in a house made of brick. I lived with my mom and my five brothers and one sister and my father. I had a dog and sheep. I went to a small school. Boys and girls went to school together. I liked school. I played soccer with my friends there. My favorite class math.


Abednego - from Burundi, now living in Manchester, New Hampshire USA (submitted May 15, 2006)

Singing: A Culture Link

Singing links many cultures together through song. In chorus we learn how to sing songs from different parts of the world. Two of our songs are from Africa, " Huba na Huba" and "Siyahumba" they are difficult but fun to work with. We start every day with a warm- up practice. We do " see the swimmer swimming in the deep blue sea" and sighing. Every day our teacher Mrs. Grant teaches us a new piece of a song, and she always finds a fun way of doing it. I did hate school, but now I love it, singing made things fun again.

Chorus isn't all work and no play, we do pretty fun games like, "name the song", "word song", " pass it on", "charades", and on other days we draw and color. We get to go on fun field trips too. We get to go to plays, operas, musicals, operetta's, and Canobe Park at the end of the year, that is if we earn it.

Chorus can be fun and it's a way to connect with other places, people, and cultures. Once in a while we get to make-up songs, it's pretty fun. Every year we do at least one song that is from a different place, and we do them well. We work hard and long, and never quit! McLaughlin Middle School chorus is the best in the city no problem. The band and orchestra is with us too. We all work hard and play, or sing difficult songs, but that's what makes it fun.

Cassy - Age 12 - Manchester, New Hampshire USA (submitted May 15, 2006)

Living in Somalia

...When I lived in Shagala I lived in a house. The house was made of rock. I lived with my mom, my brother, and my sister. When I was nine years old my sister died. My grandmother lived in Africa too. I liked playing soccer there. I played soccer with my friend. Our school was a lot like my new school Mclaughlin.


Ali - Age 13 - from Somalia, now living in Manchester, New Hampshire USA (submitted May 15, 2006)



Living in Sudan

I lived in a city in El obeid. It was a small city.
When I was in third grade I moved to Egypt . They put me in first grade because I didnt have the right papers. I was in Egypt for two years. I made a lot of friends in Egypt.

I came to the United States when I was eleven. That was a year ago because now I 'm twelve.
.
I like going to school in the United States. It's different then going to school in Sudan because in Sudan they hit you if you did something wrong. In Sudan I had a donkey. We rode the donkey to get to stores. Other people had donkeys too. One day I fell from the donkey when it was running. It hurt.

Refaat - Age 12 - from Sudan, now living in Manchester, New Hampshire - USA (submitted May 15, 2006)