sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted May 22, 2008, 2:53 am |
Hello! My name is Gentle Ben and I'm a friendly bear that wants to make smiles all over the world! I don't like seeing frowns and I'd love to learn more about the world. Like a few of my toyvoyager friends I was adopted at the Salvation Army and now it's my turn to see the world! I've seen my brothers updates and I'm quite excited. Sara says she already knows where she's sending me but she's not going to tell me as it should be a suprise!
Well I'm quite excited so I'm going to jump into my bag and get on my way! I hope the travel doesn't take too long! Take care mommy, I'll check in again soon! :-) |
JaymeC Posted Jun 4, 2008, 5:01 am |
Wow! My new host Jayme opened me up to tell me I was in Japan! How great, hopefully I can see some shrines and other neat things! She explained to me that she lives on a military base, so its mostly American on base.
Here's me coming out of the bag: When I arrived it was raining a LOT! Thankfully the bag kept Gracy and I dry, but not so for Jayme's children. They were careful to keep me dry, but wanted to show me how wet they got Apparently its typhoon season in Okinawa which means there could be a really big storm anytime! After we got out of the bag Jayme took us to visit with the other toys in her home. None of them are toy voyagers, as Gracy and I are the first toy voyagers to come visit, but they were all very friendly and liked talking! We'll have many more adventures to update about soon! |
JaymeC Posted Jun 6, 2008, 4:59 am |
Hello mommy,
Unfortunately we didn't get to go visit anywhere yesterday like our host planned. She got sick and had to spend most of the day in bed! But don't worry, she gave us lots of stuff to do and we still had fun. She said not to worry, that tv's couldn't get sick from what she had. So we had fun around her home. She said she didn't have any jeeps, but I found this and its kind of like a jeep right? I got to drive the dump truck too! After that I tried on the race car helmet, but my host said she thought it was a little too big for me Gracy and I also played some wii games and read a story Then we went down to get our hosts son at the bus stop. He only goes to school a few days a week, and school's almost out for the summer here! Someone had colored all over the bench area with sidewalk chalk, but I thought it was pretty. Our host says hopefully everyone will be well this weekend and if so we'll go to the largest park on the island at the very least! Maybe more. She said there's a rocky beach there as well. I hope I get to see it soon! Write more later, Gentle Ben |
JaymeC Posted Jun 8, 2008, 10:06 pm |
Wow what a day we had! Jayme woke us up and wasn't planning on much, but at the last minute we decided to go up to the Aquarium! At first since we didn't think we'd go up we headed towards an indoor play area for the kids to play. I got to run around in the tubes as well, and we had fun!
After that was the LONG drive up to the aquarium. Jayme said it was a good thing the kids got to play, because now they got to sleep before we got up there. I wasn't sure why she wanted them to sleep though... Gracy and I were too excited to sleep! Here's the entrance area we parked at, they had a cool dolphin statue that sprayed mist out to help people cool down. The funny part is no one really needed it today since it was overcast and rainy! And here's the main entrance to the Aquarium. Its such a big place! And finally we made it inside and got to look at lots of different fish tanks. Look at all these fishies! Jayme explained to me that these ones weren't just fishies, they were WHALE SHARKS! The aquarium they were in was huge! Okinawa's very proud of its whale sharks, and its the main attraction of the aquarium. There's even places to sit and just watch the whale sharks as long as you'd like. Once we were done inside, we headed out but we only got to see the manatees because Jayme wasn't feeling well so we headed home after that. It was a fun trip! I'll write more soon, Gentle Ben |
JaymeC Posted Jun 9, 2008, 8:22 am |
Dear Mommy,
Today we got to go to the largest park on Okinawa! Its called Comprehensive Park. It has something on it for everyone Jayme says. There's everything from tracks to tennis courts to playgrounds and even a water park! Of course since its so large we only went to one small part of it, but Jayme says its her favorite area. Its her favorite because its right next to the beach! Here's a walkway up above the beach. The tide was in, when its out you can walk out for about 100M. Here's some pretty flowers near the beach And here's me on the beach! Jayme's sons are afraid of the beach so we didn't stay too long. We tried to scare the water away by throwing some rocks at it! Once we were done at the beach we went to the nearby play area. I tried out the swing and slide I'll write more after our next adventure mommy! -Gentle Ben |
JaymeC Posted Jun 13, 2008, 8:47 am |
Jayme told us we were going somewhere special for a teddy bear rescue today! And we did! First we had to go through a different gate than all the others we'd been through. Jayme says the gates are there for a safety precaution for all the US Bases. When you go through they check your ID if you're affiliated wtih the military or they sign you in if you're not. Today we went to a base called "Camp Lester"
Once we were there Jayme showed us where we'd be going to rescue teddy bears at! The Naval Hospital. Its very pretty for a hospital, they just finished remodeling it a few months ago. We had to go up to the OB/GYN department and pick up the teddy's to take home. Here we are after we got home! We're excited to mail them onto the Teddy Bear Clinic We've been very busy helping Jayme pack the last few days. She says we're going to a cabin to go camping! She told me her laptop died, so she won't be able to really update while we're there, but she promises she'll write up a really nice update once we get back. She says the campsite is right next to the beach and we're hoping to go in a glass bottom boat! I hope we have fun and don't get rained out! I'll try to do one more update before we go mommy! Love, Gentle Ben |
JaymeC Posted Jun 15, 2008, 9:44 pm |
Dear Mommy,
Today we got to squeeze in one last adventure before we left to go camping! When we went to the store the firemen were out in front! They said they were doing a demonstration for carseat safety month (if your children don't have a carseat, be sure to get them one and install it properly everyone!) For the demonstration they cut open a car with the jaws of life. It was very neat. Here's the firetruck And here's the car they cut up Okay I'll write again soon! Love, Gentle Ben |
JaymeC Posted Jun 20, 2008, 9:24 pm |
Dear Mommy,
WOW! What a week we had! Jayme took us camping, or well her version of it. This is the cabin we stayed in all week. Its a good thing Gracy and I are small or we wouldn't have fit! The campsite had lots of fun things to do like playing sports. And because it was on a military base, I got to finally get my picture taken with the flags! At all the US bases here in Japan both the US and Japanese flag is flown. They sound colors in the morning and evening and all the military member stand at attention, looking at the flag. Its pretty funny to see the reaction when they have toddlers that don't understand what daddy is doing! This is the North beach at Okuma. Its very pretty While we were there we also took a trip to the national forest at the top of the island. Here I am at Cape Hedo, the Northern area of Okinawa! There was a neat statue there of a bird Here I am on some rocks along the nature trail. There were lots of them! There was a portion of the nature trail that was for wheelchairs and strollers. This section had umbrella stands throughout it in case someone got stuck in the rain. This is a very common practice in Okinawa since it rains so much! They also have vending machines for umbrellas for a few hundred yen each. Finally here I am our last night in front of the fire, but don't worry mommy, Jayme wouldn't let me get burnt! I'll update again soon! Love, Gentle Ben |
JaymeC Posted Jun 27, 2008, 11:35 am |
Mommy,
We had an exciting day today! Jayme said she felt bad we'd all had a boring week, but she was so busy studying for finals! Today she had her last final and was so excited. She went to take her final and we got to hang out at her friend's house with her sons (she said she wasn't allowed to take us into the exam room, she'd get in trouble if we made noise). From there she picked us up and we went to go play! We headed to Mona Kids, which is a HUGE indoor play area. It looks really neat from the outside, see! And here I am inside next to some of the play stuff! We ended up snacking here and I got my own rice ball, YUM! While we were playing and eating I got to practice my Japanese! I learned Konnichiwa for good afternoon, Domo arigato for thank you, and Hai for yes! From there we went ahead and headed home. Here I am outside Jayme's home. She was trying to take a picture of the Shisa in the background. That's that dog/lion creature on the building. Those are on most of the homes and businesses in Okinawa in pairs. She said there's a legend behind them, and they one with the open mouth lets the good spirits in while the one with the closed mouths chomps down on the bad spirits! Once we were home, I got to have a Japanese snack for desert, pocky! mm! Hopefully we'll have a fun weekend and write lots about it soon! Love, Gentle Ben |
JaymeC Posted Jun 30, 2008, 1:53 am |
Mommy,
Today was Gracy's last day with us, so we wanted to do something fun. First we had to go to the store to buy a few things, then we headed for the ferris wheel! The ferris wheel is in a part of town called "American Village". Its very funny, there's hardly any Americans there! Here's the ferris wheel And here I am inside! This is the view of the water from the ferris wheel when we were way high up! It was so neat! We headed home and said bye to Gracy. Jayme wouldn't tell us where she was headed, but she left with 3 bears I'm going to miss my traveling companion! Write more soon, Gentle Ben |
JaymeC Posted Jul 1, 2008, 3:02 am |
Dear Mommy,
Today was an exciting day! First we packed up and headed out and we had a teddy bear picnic lunch! It was a simple lunch, but it was nice to eat it outside even though it was very hot. After lunch, I got to go to work with my host's husband! She said she's kind of boring since she stays home all day, but he works on Camp Foster. He's been in the Marines for a long time, and his work is radio repair. He talked all the guys in his shop into take a picture with me! Don't worry, I know some of them look like they're frowning in the photo, but they're all a bunch of goofballs really. Jayme says she's almost ready to send me on my way, she just wants to wait til after the July 4th celebrations so I get to see the fireworks. I'm excited, I've never seen fireworks before! Write more soon, Gentle Ben |
JaymeC Posted Jul 3, 2008, 10:53 pm |
Hello Mommy,
What an exciting day we had yesterday! We were just going to one of the local beaches again, but Jayme spotted a sign for Zakimi Castle Ruins and we decided to take a detour! Here's a sign at the entrance, Zakimi Castle is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites! Jayme says its too bad she can't find a postcard of it, but maybe she can make one! Here are some shots of me inside the castle. Can you see me on the stairs? We go to go up to the top wall and look down. We were on one of the higher hills in Okinawa and could see the ocean easily in the distance from both sides. Once we were done at Zakimi we went home and had lunch then went for a long walk. On our walk we finally got to go see Futenma Shrine. Here I am looking at it, it was very pretty. Its one of 8 Shrines on Okinawa, but Jayme says she doesn't know where the rest are, but she knows this one because on New Year's many people come to go in here and ask for blessings. She saw the line one year and finally spotted the shrine hidden among the other buildings and a ways back from the street. Well that's all for today mommy! Tomorrow Jayme says we're going to celebrate July 4th! Some people have already started partying for it... it was loud at Jayme's apartment complex last night! Write more soon, Gentle Ben |
JaymeC Posted Jul 4, 2008, 3:50 am |
Mommy,
We're going to the festival tonight, but we decided to take a walk this morning before it got too hot (we still got really sweaty!) Here's a pretty area we found oddly in the parking lot We walked along the waterfront, it was very pretty. That's a windmill in the background! I thought these dolphins were very pretty. They were at one side of a bridge we walked over I got to see another beach! This one looks nice for swimming We thought this sign looked funny. It was warning not ot swim outside the nets because there are jellyfish out there We stopped at this neat playground area on the way home, it looks like a pirate ship! I'll write more after the festival tonight! Love, Gentle Ben |
JaymeC Posted Jul 4, 2008, 11:03 pm |
Mommy,
WOW! What fun we had on the 4th. Once everyone was up after nap we headed out and grabbed some fast food on the way. Before long we were up to Kadena Airbase where the Amerifest was being held! They parked us on the flight line and we walked to the festival. The first thing we saw were all the planes! This one is an AWAC: Most of the planes had signs like this one. They're a bit hard to climb up on though! They even had Japanese planes (though the American ones were open to walk up to, all the Japanese ones were roped off) They had helicopters as well! This one is a Super Stallion: How did this guy sneak in to the airshow?! He's still neat though. We think he's a rocket launcher. Once we were done looking at planes we went to the play area. They had at least 10 bouncy houses! I snuck into one even though it was no animals allowed: They had live music, and the lights came out at dusk: They also had food booths and some game booths, but it was too dark and crowded to take pictures. We also got to see neat fireworks, but they had the lights on too bright and we couldn't get any photos! But I'm sure you know what fireworks look like What a neat 4th of July! I'm glad I got to celebrate it here! Write more soon, Gentle Ben |
JaymeC Posted Jul 4, 2008, 11:07 pm |
Dear Mommy,
Jayme said its time to go to my next host, I wonder where that's going to be? She let me say goodbye to the boys. Jacob was already awake: But I had to sneak in very quietly and give Chris a quick kiss: They've been fun friends the last few weeks. I packed up an envelope with some things to send home to you And took one more look at Okinawa from Jayme's balcony Then I hopped into my envelope. Its been a great trip, but there's so much more to see! Goodbye Okinawa! Write to you when I get to my new host, Gentle Ben |
plueonigiri Posted Jul 19, 2008, 10:53 am |
Apa khabar?!
Mommy, I've arrived in Malaysia finally! It was so hot that I was sweating the moment I arrived! My host, Elaine, lives in a town called Klang in the state of Selangor, which is where the capital city of Malaysia is! Tomorrow she will be bringing me around Kuala Lumpur, the capital city! I've also learnt the phrase Apa khabar? which means "how are you" in Malay language. It's a bit difficult to say but I think I'm getting the hang of it! She's home for the weekend but on Sunday night I'll be going to university with her! I'm so excited to be allowed to go to a university. I wonder how it looks like! Elaine has told me that she's a Japanese linguistics major, which made me really happy because I just came from Okinawa. She will be going out for dinner later so she promised to show me some Malaysian food! I'm beginning to feel hungry just listening to the word "food"! I'll take some pictures to show you later, mummy! Salam mesra dari Malaysia (Warm greetings from Malaysia) |
plueonigiri Posted Jul 19, 2008, 6:07 pm |
Hi again Mommy! I went out for dinner with Elaine just now, and I took some pictures of myself!
There are lots of green plants in her house! This is called a "diamond flower" plant. As you can see, the flower is shaped somewhat like a diamond. I have no idea what this is called, but it's really cool because the branches grow in a funny way! It's all bendy and round. There are a lot of ants on this one though, so I don't like it! This is the evening scenery at her neighbourhood. I can barely see myself, and this picture was taken around 6 in the evening! We went to a nearby restaurant to have dinner, and we chose the traditional Chinese food, Bah Kut Teh. It's a really amazing dish! It's pork soup tonic, brewed with Chinese herbs and various ingredients for hours before being served! It's eaten from a clay pot and with rice. It's delicious, and Elaine brought her own tea leaves too. I had 2 cups of Chinese tea! The pot right behind me is the "soup" version, and the one further up is the "dry" version. The sky in Malaysia looks really different than the one back home! I'll be going to bed early tonight and get up early tomorrow morning to go to Kuala Lumpur. Good night, mommy! |
plueonigiri Posted Jul 20, 2008, 10:18 am |
Hi mommy! Wow, today I had a really fun time!
Today, Elaine had a meeting at the Japanese Language Society of Malaysia (JLSM), so she brought me along to have a look at Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia! This is me playing in her father car! I had another Malaysian dish today for lunch! It's some kind of noodles, cooked in Cantonese style with lots of gravy. The name of this dish is Watanhor in Cantonese dialect! Their highway looks really funny, mommy! It's really hot out there too! The Petronas Twin Towers! One of the highest buildings in the world, it is beautiful! It reminds me of two stalks of corn though. Isn't it beautiful? This is me in front of the information board that tells us some things about the Petronas Twin Towers. It has 88 floors and was completed in 1996! The buildings here are all very special! It's all so shiny! This is a newly built condominium apartment! Malaysia's national flower, the hibiscus. It's called bunga raya in Malay language. This is the Kuala Lumpur Tower from afar. There are lots of greenery, even in the city. I was so surprised, mommy! After that, I went to the JLSM with Elaine. There's a language centre there too! I also managed to visit a McDonald's outlet here in Malaysia! I wish I could jump into the pool of fries there! They even have porridge here! I wanted to try some but there wasn't enough time. I couldn't jump into the pool of fries, so Elaine bought some for me to eat. I sat in her bag while she went for her meeting. This is me at the Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square), where our first prime minister declared our country to be independant and free from Britain's rule. This is me at the building opposite the Independence Square. It's built in colonial style, and has been restored since the olden times. It was so fun, but a little too tiring for me. I'll be going back to Elaine's hostel tonight and she might not be able to update often since there's no internet connection and she's quite busy, but she promises to find some time to update! So if you don't see any new updates from us, don't be worried! Much love to you, mommy! |
plueonigiri Posted Jul 25, 2008, 4:17 pm |
Hi again mommy! It's been a long time since my last update. There was no internet connection at Elaine's hostel so she's only able to update now since she's home.
The night she went back to hostel, the whole family went out for a "steamboat" dinner! It's kind of like hotpot, with lots of yummy ingredients. It's buffet-style too (meaning all-you-can-eat), so we ate a lot, until we couldn't move! The next morning, I woke up early and followed her into university! This is how early it was! I must be getting really fat now with all the delicious Malaysian food! This is an Indian food called "roti canai"! It's usually eaten with curry or some other gravy, but since I don't like it much, we had it plain. This is me listening in on some of Elaine's Japanese classes! The headphones were too big for me though. I learnt some Japanese words! Kuma = bear Watashi wa Ben desu = I am Ben Yasashii = Gentle Okaachan = Mommy What other words should I learn, mommy? I was shocked to see that some cars had been clamped too! It seems that some students had parked in a staff-only parking spot! I listened to the Linguistics History lecture too! It was interesting at first but I eventually fell asleep! I'm having a lot of fun here in Malaysia, mommy! I wish you were here with me! Hugs and kisses for you till my next update ^w^ |
plueonigiri Posted Nov 11, 2008, 10:09 am |
Gentle Ben, where are you? Are you lost?
I'm so worried about you! |
eva Posted Dec 12, 2008, 2:31 pm |
i meet eva in east asian library in University Malaya. She introduce me to her friends. they all exited to know my stories. then we and her korean friends went to a Kota Bharu, Kelantan. this is 1 of the beach that we went,,, so beatifull, isn it? |