February 7, 2006
Stockholm, Sweden


Goddag! (Good day in Swedish)

Stanley and I are in Stockholm. Stockholm is the capital of the country of Sweden. Sweden is in the northern part of Europe, which is across the Atlantic Ocean from you. Here is a map. As you can see, Sweden is about the same size as California, but California has almost 4 times as many people.

Sweden is part of the European Union. This is a partnership between many of the countries of Europe. They all trade with each other. They also have a form of government and many use the same currency--the Euro. Sweden has not yet changed over to the Euro. They use the Kroner. See the pictures below. These pictures may look familiar because I sent you some of these in your package.

Even they are part of the European Union, also known as the EU, they still have their own flag. Here it is:

The people here speak Swedish. It is a really interesting language. It sounds kind of like German, but is different. They use an alphabet similar to ours but have these extra letters: Å, Ä, Ö.

Stanley has really had an overhaul since coming to Sweden. To fit in, he has dyed his hair blonde and gone to H&M for a new wardrobe. H&M is a popular Swedish department store. It is now so popular in Europe that they have started to open stores in the US. There is even one by you in New Jersey!

Here are some other Swedish exports that you may recognize:

Sweden is really cold right now. There is a lot of snow. Here is the temperature difference of Sweden to Delaware:

Remember, when I told you about how it gets dark early in the winter and late in the summer in Moscow, well it is the same in Sweden. It is getting better though. When I was here last time, it got dark at 2 p.m. Today it didn’t get dark until about 4 p.m. When my friends were here in the summer, they said it didn’t get dark until midnight!

The Swedes are very organized, educated and healthy. Sweden has one of the highest literacy (this means how many people can read) rates in the world. They also have one of the longest life expectancies. The people walk everywhere. Even McDonald’s is healthier! While they still have fries and burgers. Most people get sparkling water (it has bubbles like soda) and carrots instead of soda and fries. The hamburger buns are whole wheat also. See the McDonald's add below:

The people of Sweden are also concerned about the environment. Everyone recycles. In fact, at the supermarket you have to bring your own bags otherwise you have to pay for them and some don’t even have them. Here is an ad that was on the front page of the McDonald’s website. It is talking about the new recyclable coffee cups at McDonalds.

One of the cool things about Sweden is that they still have a King. King Carl XVI Gustaf and his wife, Queen Silvia are still the “Head of State;” however, they don’t really have that much power. Sweden has a parliament (this is similar to our Congress) and a prime minister (similar to our president). One of the weird things about this though is that the King of Sweden does not have the follow the laws in Sweden. According to the Swedish Constitution, the King is not subject to penal law. This means that he can’t go to jail, even if he does something really bad! Isn’t that so weird!! Here is a picture of King Carl and Queen Silvia. When they die, their daughter, the Crown Princess Victoria will rule Sweden.

I will attach pictures from my last trip to Sweden. Unfortunately, I forgot my cord, so I can’t download my new pictures until I get home.

I hope all is well with you guys!!
Amanda

  ¶ 8:18 AM 0 comments

  Christmas Break--
San Felipe, Mexico

Dear friends,
For Christmas break, Stanley accompanied me, my husband and some friends and family to San Felipe, Mexico. As you may know, Mexico borders the US on the southern border. In Mexico they speak Spanish. Here is the Mexican flag:

The money used in Mexico is called pesos. Here are some pictures of pesos.

Here is a map of the location of San Felipe. It is located in Baja California (It is the name of the state. Kind of like how you live in Delaware.) right on the Bay of California, which is known as the Sea of Cortez in Mexico.

It was quite a long drive from Santa Barbara to San Felipe. It took all day. It was a neat drive though. There was a really neat desert and a lot of mountains. Here are some pictures from the drive. As you can tell from the pictures, life in Mexico is much different than life in the US.

We had a great time in San Felipe. Our condo was right on the beach. We went swimming. Here is a picture of the beach from our condo.

We went out to eat. It is really cheap in Mexico. Our lunch for five people cost only $20, and we had a lot of food. Here is a picture of us at our favorite restaurant.

We also went shopping a lot. Here are pictures of some of the shops.

Here are some other pictures from our time in Mexico:

Well, I hope that you like these adventures.

Adios!

Amanda

  ¶ 1:06 PM 0 comments

  Irvine, CA
Greetings again! Stanley and I have been in Irvine, California a bunch. California is a neat place. You may already know this but is all the way on the other side of the country from Delaware. We border the Pacific Ocean. Also, California has a governer that you may know. I will attach a picture below:


To get to Irvine, Stanley and I drive through a lot of very famous places including Los Angeles, Hollywood and Beverly Hills. Irvine is in Orange County (or the "OC" as it is known.). Here is a map:

Irvine is a bit odd. The whole town is owned by one company-- The Irvine Company. It also has some very different features than you will find in Delaware. First of all, it has a really neat mall called the Spectrum. At the Spectrum, all of the stores are outside. There are lots of palms trees and pretty flowers AND they have a ferris wheel in the middle of the mall. I will attach a picture below:

In California, we have a much different climate than in Delaware. It never really gets hot or cold. It stays about 70 degrees year round. Also, the trees don't lose their leaves and it is green even in the winter. There is not a lot of difference between the seasons. The only difference is that it never rains in the summer and will rain every once in a while in the winter. Here is a chart showing the climate differences between Delaware and California.

Unlike, the different countries that I visit, California has the same money and same language as Delaware... well, for the most part. California borders Mexico. Many people speak Spanish in California. Also, California has a large problem with Mexicans coming into California illegally. Along the highway you will see signs like this:

This sign means that you should watch out for illegal immigrants on the highway. Sometimes, they will run across the highway trying to get into the US and it can be very dangerous.

Here are other pictures of Irvine:

I hope all is well with you!

Sincerely,

Amanda

  ¶ 12:22 PM 0 comments

  December 19, 2005
Greenland

Stanley and I flew over Greenland. It was really neat so we took some pictures. At the right, you will see Stanley at the monitor.

Greenland had tons of snow and ice. It is in the Artic. I looked up some interesting facts on Greenland. First of all, it is the largest island in the world. There is an ice sheet that covers 85% of the country. This is so much ice that it is believed to be 10% of the world's fresh water reserves. Greenland is really ancient. Some of the oldest rocks in the world were found on Greenland. They were dated to 4060 MILLION years ago.

The people in Greenland speak Greenlandic. This is an eskimo language and is very similar to the eskimo (Inuit) languages spoken in Alaska, Canada and Russia. The main industry is fishing. Greenland has a lot of different animals including large whales, seals, walruses, musk oxen, reindeers and polar bears. Stanley and I looked really hard to see a polar bear, but they were hard to pick out at 30,000 feet.

Here is the flag of Greenland:

Greenland's currency is called the Kroner. See pictures below. It was adopted from the Danish (Denmark) system. Greenland was once a colony of Denmark and still mantains close relations. Greenland is now a member of the European Union.

Here are the pictures of Greenland that I took:

I hope you are having a great school year. I'm sorry I have been so slow in posting.

Best wishes!!

Amanda

  ¶ 11:23 AM 0 comments

 
December 18, 2005
Moscow, Russia
Dear Chris and Friends,
Stanley and I are currently in Moscow. Moscow is located in the Russian Federation. As you may know, Russia used to be part of the the Soviet Union or USSR. This was a communist country. Communism is a system of government where the government plans and controls the economy. In communism, no one owns anything. Everyone shares everything. Often this doesn't work out well though.

For a long time the USSR and the US did not get along very well. This time was called the "Cold War." This was not a war like in Iraq. There were no troops, and they did not shoot at each other. Both countries built up large stores of weapons in case they went to war. Also, both countries spied on one another a lot. Because of the spying and everyone being afraid of one another, it was very hard to go to visit the Soviet Union. Today, Russia is capitalist like the US. This means that now people can own things and start businesses. Also, the government is no longer controlled by one party as much. They even have a new flag now. This is the new flag:

This was the old flag:

Russia is much different than the USA. First of all, they speak a different language--Russian, and the written language is different as well. It is called Cyrillic. Chris, your name would be written like this "Кристофр Муди" in Cyrillic. There are very few people in Russia that speak English well; therefore, it is very difficult to go to Russia if you don't speak Russian. I do speak Russian, so it is much easier for me.

Another thing that is different about Russia is the weather. Moscow only has two seasons, winter and summer. The summer is very short and is very similar to summer in Delaware. It is much colder than Delaware in the winter and it snows almost all of the time.

A third difference is the presence of the mafia. In Russia, there is a large mafia (or organized crime). This causes a lot of problems and Russia can be very dangerous at times. Partly because of the mafia, there is a really big difference between the rich and the poor in Russia. This means that the rich people are really rich and the poor people are really poor. The majority of people are very, very poor in Russia and life is very hard for them.

Another big difference is the amount of daylight. Because Russia is so far north, the amount of daylight depends on the season. The days are very long in the summer. The sun did not set until 10:30 p.m. when I was in Moscow in August. The days are very short in the winter. When I was there this time, the sun did not come up until about 9 a.m. and set around 3:30 p.m.

Moscow is a very expensive city to visit. In Russia, the money is called rubles. Approximately 28 rubles equal one US dollar. My hotel bill was 17,000 rubles for two nights. This is about $600 in US money. And, I was not staying in a fancy hotel. You may recognize the hotel. It was called the Holiday Inn. I will attach a picture of Stanley in front of the Holiday Inn sign. I will also attach a picture of some ruble money.

Moscow is a very large city. It is the capital city of Russia. Over 13 million people live in the city. The city dates back to 1000 years ago. The first notes in history about Moscow are from the 1100's. Moscow has had a very hard past. The city has been invaded many times and has had many large fires.

Moscow has many interesting places to visit. One of the most recognized is St. Basil’s cathedral. I will attach a picture that I took in August.


Many people confuse St. Basils and the Kremlin. The Kremlin is the place where the government meets. There are also many churches and a palace. The Kremlin is the place where Moscow first started. Here is a picture of me in front of the Kremlin in August:

The main religion of Russia is now Russian Orthodox. This is a Christian religion and is similar to Catholism. In the Soviet days, religion was illegal. I will attach a picture of the largest church in Moscow. In the Soviet era, it was torn down and replaced by a swimming pool. All of the treasures inside (the marble, gold and jewels) were used to make the beautiful subway stations. It was later rebuilt to resemble the original church.

I took some pictures on Stanley on the plane as we were leaving Russia.

I also keep all of the Stanley pictures on my photo album at: http://community.webshots.com/user/asarnoci You can also find many more pictures of Moscow.

I hope you are having a wonderful school year!

Sincerely,

Amanda

  ¶ 10:41 AM 0 comments