The Washington D.C Newseum

On Sunday we went to the Newseum in Washington D.C. As you probably can tell, the Newseum is all about the news. That is the place to go to for news junkies who are always hungry for information. I went there with my Mom, brother, Tita Sienna and my cousin. (Tita means aunt in Filipino language.) It was really nice there. There were even newspapers dating back to the 15th century. There was an entire floor that talked about 9/11 tragedy. And there is also a "Be a reporter experience" where just for 5 dollars you can be a reporter. We did not get to do it though because we only had two hours to look around the whole museum. Last Sunday was the last day of the promo for the month of August that entitles free admission for all kids under 18.

We had to look for a parking first. We used our Garmin GPS to navigate ourselves around the busy streets of Washington D.C. and all the people. Then we found a suitable place for our car kind of near the Newseum. We also used the GPS to get to the Newseum. The Newseum is also known for having the highest hydraulic elevator in Washington. Hydraulic means it is powered by water. And that is the first thing we saw when we entered. So we bought our tickets and went to an orientation about the museum. The orientation suggested that we start the Newseum top down. So that is what we did. We went to the hydraulic elevators so we could go up. But my Tita Sienna saw an exhibit of parts of the Berlin wall behind it. There is really so much history behind that wall. And I literally mean behind it. Because behind that area is the whole history and videos about the wall. How and when it was erected, and the 1989 fall of the berlin wall. We stayed there for twenty minutes just reading.

The hydraulic elevator is so big and there was so much space it's like a big empty bedroom. Imagine how many people you could fit in it. There were three functioning elevators but they were only using one because there were not many people that day. When the museum is full they could use all three of those elevators. The elevator brought us up to the top floor with the best view of the Capitol.

Inside we saw current international news headlines, including my own, The Philippines. They change it everyday so you can read the top headlines of every country in the world.

The 4th floor was filled with newspapers dating back to the 15th century up to 2007. There were newspapers there about 9/11, the first man on the moon, World War 1 and 2, the civil war and all those stuff that happened in history. Pretty cool!!

The 3rd floor talked about the 9/11 disaster. There was even a part of the antenna of the north building of the World Trade Center. All rusty and broken. And attached to the walls were hundreds of newspapers talking about 9/11 from around the world. On the other side of the 3rd floor there were these small TVs that talked about front page news.

The 2nd floor was a newsroom that monitors the whole of the NEWSEUM. It's functional, you know how I know, because amongst the computers was a person sitting there checking his facebook account. Yeah, all the computers had news stuff in it and a computer had facebook. On the other side of the 2nd floor there was a souvenir shop where my brother bought a magnet for my cousin and a pin for himself. And a machine where you would have to flatten a penny with two quarters and make yourself a souvenir. On the opposite side of the room was the "Be a reporter" experience and lots of interactive computer games. We did not get to do the be a reporter experience because it was already closed by the time we got there. My brother wanted to do it though. So instead we played computer games. The games were good too.

The lowest level had the FBI exhibit. But it was almost closed by the time we got there.

If you like news and museums, then the Newseum is the place to go.

The Philippines what a wonderful place

I come from the Philippines. I am very proud to be a Filipino. It is a wonderful place to live in, filled with history, good food, nice white sand beaches, awesome mountains, many places to have fun. The Philippines has exactly 7107 islands. There are plenty of things to do and eat in the Philippines, and that is what this post is all about.

If you plan to go to the Philippines, I strongly suggest you eat the Philippine mango. As the Philippine's national fruit, the Philippine mango is the sweetest fruit in the world according to the Guinness Book of World Records. When you eat it I suggest you cut the mango in half, get a not so sharp knife and cut squares in the mango. it is very sweet when ripe but it is also good to try it when it is still green and sour. Just make sure you eat it with bagoong (fermented shrimp paste). I would've brought like 10 billion mangoes here with me to the States but it is not allowed for some reason. I love this fruit, it is my favorite.

When in the Philippines you should visit Bohol in the Visayas, famous for its Chocolate Hills. It is so called because during summer the grass becomes a brown chocolaty color. If you go at the right time, there are not that many people there. The Philippine tarsier is also found there. It is the world's second smallest primate. We have seen it and it is so small and cute. But the tail is almost as long as your forearm. Their eyes are so big not at all proportionate to their bodies. You should definitely go see it. But since they are endangered you should not take it home as pets. If you take it away from their habitat they will DIE.

Now if you want the beach then I suggest you go to Boracay. It is an island just south of Luzon. It is a very nice place to stay. All the beaches have very fine white sand. But they're so popular most of the beaches in Boracay are crowded. Still its worth all the trouble.

If you like shopping, try to go to The Greenhills shopping mall. The whole place is one big, big mall. Lots of bargain shopping from clothes, shoes, toys, gift items, jewelry and more. You can stay there the whole day and you will still not be able to go around the whole shopping center.

The Philippines is really a beautiful place to stay, with lots of things to do, good food to try. A place to relax and simply have fun.

The cool city lights and buildings of Hongkong

We spent summer vacation in the Philippines. While we were there we decided to visit Hongkong and stay there for a few days. It was a first time for me. My brother and I recommend that you go to Hongkong if you want a really nice vacation. We stayed in Island Shangri-la Hotel in Hongkong Island for 5 days. It is a very beautiful hotel that sits overlooking the Hongkong Harbour. An additional 200HK$ can get you the harbour view.(Not a cheap view) I really don't know how much the hotel cost but what I know is that it did not come cheap. But it was worth it.

They give you complimentary Hongkong tea when you enter the room and here's one of the best parts, everything is automated. With the touch of a button you can open the curtains of the big windows automatically. Hehe. In the morning when you wake up you can open the curtains using the remote control from the bed and say hello to the morning in the comfort of your own bed with a spectacular view of the harbour and the towering hotels. Another good thing about the hotel was the bathroom. Aside from the really big bathroom with two sinks, a really big bathtub and a big shower area, there was a television in the bathroom! So while you are taking a bath or cooling yourself down in the bathtub you can watch TV. Pretty cool hah!!!

And the airport is so nice, no wonder the Hongkong airport is believed to be the best airport in the world. The ceiling is so high and it is so clean. And it is so big but there are so many signs to help you not get lost (even in translation).

It is also like a shopping mall. Actually it is a big shopping mall with lots of expensive shops inside! Lots of them. The tiles are so shiny and there are so many lights. There is even a 4-D movie house inside!! Can you believe that!! But we were not able to watch anything because we were in a hurry. And then from the airport all you have to do is take the airport express. It is a bullet train that can take you from the airport all the way to Central station, the place where most of the hotels are. Then from the station you have to take a taxi to your hotel.

We also went to Ocean Park. We also enjoyed it but there was one problem, IT WAS TOO HOT. Do not go to Ocean Park if the weather is hot. There were so many people enjoying their summer vacation that's why a lot of people were queuing up for all the rides. It was really hot and tiring. But the part we really enjoyed was the cable cars. And because Ocean Park covers the highlands and the lowlands, you'll be able to see most of hongkong while sitting inside the cable car. We were in the highlands most of the time so we decided to go to the lowlands for a change. The lowlands were better for me even though it was for the little kids since there were less people. And it was also cooler because there were more trees and more rest areas. Kung Fu Panda, the movie, was the theme when we were there. Afterwards we took the cable cars back to the highlands and then went back to the hotel using Bus 629.

If you go to Hong Kong you shouldn't miss going to Mongkok. To experience real Hongkong that you see on TV. Chinese signs, restaurants, shops EVERYWHERE. Shopaholics will go crazy!!! My mom is a shopaholic. You should have seen her face when we got to Mongkok. Her face literally lit up! To go there you have to use the MTR and the fare is about 10HK$ per person. Which is also not cheap. And even though it was already nine in the evening there were still a lot of people sort of like New York. It is also a place that doesn't sleep.

Hongkong is a very modern city. The best place to shop and have a vacation.

A really, really, really big family

Imagine that every time you invite your family to eat dinner or go out, imagine that you can have a really big party when it is just your family you can invite. Imagine you can fill up one big house with one family. Impossible? Possible with our family. Because in my family my mom has 11 other siblings. Think that's plenty? Well imagine them having their own children and us having 18 cousins. That's a reality for us.
Most of my Aunts and Uncles have migrated to the USA but one of them is still in the Philippines and one of them is in Canada.
When my grandma invites the whole family to her house, (Even though her house has 5 bedrooms, a really big dining area, a living room, and a whole lot of basement room.) it is always full, always.
One time in school we had a game. It was called two truths and a lie. We had to write them on a piece of paper. Then my teacher would have to pick one piece of paper. One day he picked my paper. So I wrote two truths and a lie. My two truths were my brother's age was nine and my mom has 11 other siblings. My lie was my favorite food is hamburgers. (I like hot dogs)
Of course my classmates said that my mom having 11 other siblings was a lie. Well they were wrong. I won and they lost. Of course no one could believe it but I convinced them otherwise.
The current world record of a couple having the most children is 18. But that record has twins in them. My mom's family has no twins.
Lucky number 12 I should say.

Our first snow

We came from a very hot country and as you probably know, very hot countries have no snow. Most grown ups (my mom) don't like snow, or generally winter. One of the many reasons we like to come here to the USA was because of snow. This year though (unfortunate for us, good for the parents) it did not snow as much as it should have. But snow is very fun. One morning we woke up and everything around us white. Our first snow! Our car was frozen and we had to scrape the snow up. We almost got late for school.
Fortunate for us, school was delayed by two hours.
Is there any other negative side about snow aside from the after slush.

Star Wars the Clone Wars, what we think

Star Wars the Clone Wars was just a little below average for us. It was not as good as the other Star Wars movies because we expected more. But the animation and the CGI stuff were outstandingly good, and one of our main complaints was they did not mention Martin's favorite characters that much. (Yoda, Mace Windu, Cody, etc.) I thought that it was kind of unnecessary. But it was like a by-the-way movie. We were also wondering what happened to Anakin's Padawan.
But there were upsides to it. They tried to put a little humor into the movie also. Especially the dumb droids. And they introduced new places and characters.
Overall we give it a little just below average. But of course, the Star Wars saga is still the best.
The Star Wars the Clone Wars website was good too.