Students at Embassy

From Veracruz to Seattle

Hello Readers (:

Today I want to talk about my home city in Mexico, and Seattle. My home in Mexico is Veracruz, in the south-east of the gulf of Mexico. Veracruz is one of the first International Harbors in all America and is still a harbor.

As you can imagine, I've lived with hot weather all my life. When I decided to come to the US, I wanted something different to what I am used to. Seattle is similar to my city because it's also a harbor and has beaches, BUT the differences are prominent.

First, Seattle is a BIG modern city compared to Veracruz. Second, the weather is the opposite: while a normal day in Veracruz is about 88 F (30 C), in Seattle a normal day can be 50 F (10 C). For me that's freezing!!.

The other difference that caught my attention is the beach. In Veracruz the beach is sandy but here it is rocky. I like both beaches - both are beautiful.

I'm really happy. Seattle is beautiful, modern, and there are a lot of fun things to do. If you are about to come, tell me and I will give you a tour ;) .

About Me :)

Here is a post from our newest blogger, Daniela Berestein. Daniela is a Mexican student who is currently studying at Embassy Seattle-Tacoma. Now she introduces herself.

Hello, I'm Daniela and I am an international student at Embassy Seattle-Tacoma. I'm from Mexico.

I've been here (Tacoma) for four months studying English. I've done a lot of fun things here but I'll tell you about that next time.  I'm gonna tell you more about me.

I am 19 years old, my birthday is on August 14th, I am staying here in Tacoma with a host family, they are so kind to me that I feel like they really are my American family.

Also, I enjoy meeting people from different parts of the world and learning about the different cultures, trying different types of food and TRAVEL, I love to travel!

My favorite color is purple and my favorite number is 28, actually I have a tattoo of that number in chinesse on my wrist, it's pretty cool.  I'm planning to get another one but I'm not sure if my parents would like it.

Thanks to those who read the blog, I hope you like it. You will know more about me next time.
I will upload a picture but not now because I don't have it here (:

 

Multicultural Festival

Yesterday I went to the Multicultural Festival at Roma Parkland with my friends. I found out about it from a newspaper advertisement that I saw, and then I searched for the website. Some friends who went there last year said it was a nice festival so you have to go there. So I went to the festival.

The festival was held at Roma Street Parkland on Sunday 17 October from 10 am to 5 pm. More than 94 cultures showcased their traditions with lively music, dance and acrobatic performances, and there were more than 100 food, craft and information stalls.

The festival's well-known cultural performers, like The View from Madeleine's Couch, The Twine, Blind Sight and Bollywood Dhamaka - alongside performers like the Ukranian Folkloric Ensemble and the Abyssinian Danve Group - made this one Sunday I will never forget.

My taste buds were spoilt for choice with diverse delicacies on offer incliding African donuts, savoury pancakes, samosas, rice dishes, curries, baklava, Hungarian fangos, haloumi cheese, Ethiopian flat bread and fritters.

I was impressed by Gereja Kristus Brisbane. It was a lively performance of traditional Indonesian dances  combined with an Angklung ensemble. Angklung music is made by playing a set of at least 14 hand-held bamboo instriments, each of which produces a particular note when shaken or 'trembled'.

Secondly, Bollywood Dhanaka was a combination of classical Indian dance, folk dancing such as Bhangra, and a bit of Arabic with western influences like hip hop, jazz and funk.

It was a fun, expressive way to see what the music means through graceful body movements.

I saw everything and then I came back home. Today I was very tired but it was interesting.

 

 

 

 

Brisbane City

Today I'm writing about Brisbane City. The main shopping street in the city is called Queen Street Mall. In the centre of in the city there is a Hungry Jack's. If you go up to the top of Queen st, you can see a library, casino and South Bank. In the centre of the city, you can see City Hall and, near the rive,r the Botanic gardens.

First, Town Hall which is in King George Square, Ann Street. You can find it very easily because the building has a large clock tower. It's a height of 92m. Sometimes, in front of City Hall there is a variety of events, exhibitions and concerts.

When you walk along Adelaide Street, you can see Anzac Square. It is similar to other cities in Australia. Anzac stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.

Every 25th of April a service and parade is held in the city. We call "Queen Street Mall" the centre of Brisbane. It has a big shopping mall and two department stores called Myer and David Johns. If you come to Brisbane, you have to go there.

Brisbane has two Botanic Gardens. One Botanic Gardens which is in the city and another at Mt. Coot-tha. The city Botanic Gardens has an esplanade. It is very comfortable and nice there.

If you walk from Queen St. Mall to the south, you can see Conrad Treasury Casino, which is before Victory Bridge, maybe you can find it. It is next to a museum and library. Along the river when you look to the other side you can see South Bank. When I walk along the river from the casino to South Bank across the bridge, it reminds me of Korea.

It is important to remember that it's more beautiful at night, with lighting. South Bank has a park, theatre, museum and artificial beach. Nowdays, during spring, you can find it easy to play on the beach. It looks like a real beach.

Also, walking in South Bank is right in the city. It seems confusing to have a beach there. It is a very nice and beautiful place. You have to go there. Another beautiful place is the parkland - also a must-go family picnic place. You have to remember that you can't drink alcohol. Moreover, you can ride a bicycle.

How was the introduction to Brisbane city? You don't need a car or a bus to see any of these places. Just good fitness and readiness to walk.

  South Bank

 

   Casino

  City Hall

Why Perth?

Once I had decided come to Australia to study English, I had to choose the city, and just when I came here, a lot of people asked me "Why did you choose Perth?". I didn´t know why at first, but now I'll tell you why I wouldn´t choose another city if I had the option.

The weather in Perth is the best weather in Australia, the sun shines every day, even in winter you can get some amazing sunny days, there are the most beautiful beaches just 20 minutes away from the CBD, and you don't need to have a car, the public transport system works pretty well. It's a clean city and has parks everywhere.

Perth is peaceful and quiet, people enjoy the city and you don't see people rushing in the streets like in the biggest cities of the world, what an amazing feeling! Once you come here you feel you can't stand living in a noisy and busy place. Shops are closed at 5 p.m. almost every day, but in the CBD you can enjoy yourself 7 days a week almost 24 hours a day.

Now we're in spring and I bought a bike, Perth has uncountable bike paths and with my bike I've discovered the most stunning views around the Swan river, and in my opinion spring is the best season of the year, nothing better than to have a BBQ with friend in the beach or a picnic in Kings Park. Who cares if Perth is the most isolated city in the world: with more than a million population, you do not need more.

Moreton island

I went to Moreton island between the 29th and 30th of September. I booked it through an agency. The agency just reserved accommodation and the return ferry for me.

We got up early, at 7am, and bought some fruit from the farmers, market, because it's held every Wednesday. Then we went to Tangalooma, by ferry from the wharf. The ferry departed at 10 am. It takes one hour and a half. I thought that as it was a weekday it wouldn't be so crowded. But the boat had a lot of people. My friend and I took pictures and ate some snacks without even realising we had arrived at Moreton Island.

At that time Brisbane was a little cold. So I worried about the weather. But on Moreton Island the weather on was gorgeous. We listened to the hotel guide and put our luggage in our room. We played on the beach, took pictures and reserved a safari tour and dolphin feeding.

I couldn't wait for the dolphin feeding and safari tour. So we did it the first evening! We went to the dolphin feeding place. First we had to listen to rules and disinfect our hands. I had a little fish. It was dolphin food. I saw a dolphin close up for the first time.  They are very mild and pretty. Feeding time was very short.

We ate dinner in a restaurant. We ordered a lot of food. We couldn't eat all the food.

Suddenly it was raining. I thought that it was a shower but I was wrong. In a moment, the road was covered by water: around 8 to 10 cm. Oh my god!

Maybe we wouldn't be able to go on the safari tour. Next day, my expection was right. We couldn't go on the safari tour. I was so disappointed.

Next day breakfast was a buffet. It was nice. We decided against playing on the beach again, and swam in the pool. We arrived back in the city at 6pm.

 

 

China Town

I had a holiday last week, because my Korean friend came here to Australia. She will be traveling in Australia - Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne - for 3 weeks. 

She arrived here on Tuesday. On the first day we went to China Town. Brisbane has a China Town like many other cities also and it is close to the city.

It takes 15 minutes to walk.  If you go to China Town, you have to get off after Roma Street station and Central Station and then you can walk from there to Brunswick street. You can see Wickham street in China Town.

Brisbane's China Town is smaller than in other cities. I heard that compared to other cities, it is very different. I don't know how different. But it has a big red gate at its entrance. One good piece of  information is that every Wednesday, you can eat steak for $5 - 9. The price is good and it tastes delicious.