2013-09-02

        上个世纪八、九十年代我们这群走出国门勇闯北美并打出自己一片天地的年轻人中，绝大多数都有理科包括医学专业背景，正因为我们掌握了一门“科学”知识，才会学以致用，顺理成章地成为社会所需。可以说，当时广为流传的口号“学好数理化，走遍天下都不怕”在我们身上得到了极大程度的体现，而且恐怕空前绝后﹗ 

        如若追本求源，说起来我们从小并没有像下一代全方位接触“科学”熏陶，甚至从来没有什么机会进行“科学”实践，“

2013-09-01

        距离秋季开学还有最后一个周末，已经享受两个半月夏令生活的孩子们丝毫没有放缓脚步的念头，相反他们卯足力气，试图抓紧现有机会跟时间赛跑。虽说放假是玩，上学也是玩，但玩的范围受到极大限制，玩的级别亦从全职转向业余，心中难免有点失落，因此在迎接新学年到来之际，信步“三万里河东入海”，跋涉“五千仞岳上摩天”，游山玩水显得别有意义。

        闺蜜家蒙蒙和浩浩继续朝美国中西部红色州大齿杨山(Aspen Mtn, Colorado)腹内地进发,落

2013-08-24

        在美国，无论生活在城市化的加州，还是蜇居于乡村式的宾州，亲朋好友之间不仅欣赏身外世界的眼光雷同，向往广阔天地的心情相似，有时甚至连回归大自然的脚步几乎都保持一致。尤其每逢夏季学校放暑假，我们不约而同分头行动，要么把孩子送进各种娱乐夏令营疯闹疯玩，要么带孩子出国旅游饱览异乡风情，要么陪孩子奔赴明川大山探险猎奇，相信丰富多采的校外活动会为孩子们增长见识提供强有力的帮助。 

        眼下进入仲夏八月，暑

七夕节，2013-08-13

        我第一次听说荒漠中的“骊靬村”大概源于儿时阅读的香港武侠小说，偶与江湖结缘的热血少年独闯这个西汉时期大名鼎鼎的塞外名城，试图发掘两千多年前古罗马第一军团失踪之谜。据传公元前53年，与凯撒和庞培齐名的古罗马将军克拉苏(Crassus)为掠夺财富资源，曾经率领七个军团东征古波斯安息帝国(Parthian Empire)，最后以身殉职葬死卡莱战役。其长子率领第一军团成功突破重围，顺利逃至中国骊靬，从此在那里安家乐业，长久生活于远东地区。 

      &nb

2013-08-04

      特拉华(意指“好斗者”)州东临北大西洋，其海滨州立公园(Delaware Seashore State Park)像一条细长而坚实的石堤，沿海岸线将开阔河(Rehoboth)和印第安河两个内陆海湾包围得严严实实。北部的开阔湾是一个障壁坝型河口，附近源源不断的白橡溪、宝贝溪、鲱鱼溪和珠鸡溪等淡水河流顺势而下；而南边的印第安河湾则属于水淹河谷，海洋潮汐由这里缓缓传入湾区各处。 

      每逢夏季，当地人经常到海湾来大搞海上运动──扬风帆、玩滑翔、划皮艇、飙摩托、放风筝、挖蛤蛎、飞钓鱼、晒太

2013-08-03

【Aiden in English/红霞译文】

Mon. July 29, 2013

        Today was my first day of Lavner Video Game Design in Germantown Academy Summer Camp right after I had done Belfry Theater Camp in the past 5 weeks. But I was only able to catch up with it for a week. After this week, there were no more camps I planned to go to.

        In the beginning, we introduced ourselves to everyone else. There were 19 kids in total and 3 counselors

2013-07-31

      每年夏季这个时候，费城管弦乐团诚挚邀请世界各地新兴涌现的青年艺术家来曼恩艺术表演中心现场表演，像中国的朗朗、王羽佳等都曾因之而轰动一时。 

      毕业于费城柯蒂斯音乐学院的旅美钢琴新秀吴迪今天为庆祝《春之祭》百年诞辰晚会献上俄国裔美国籍作曲家谢尔盖·拉赫玛尼诺夫《帕格尼尼主题狂想曲·作品43》。七十多年前，自从拉赫玛尼诺夫本人亲自与费城管弦乐团合作第一次公演自己的新作以来，这首富有传统“俄罗斯忧郁”的A小调24段变奏曲一直成为费城管弦乐团

2013-07-27

       法国溪流州立公园位于宾夕法尼亚州(意指“山丘森林”)暗河高原(Schuylkill Highlands)，正好介于首都华盛顿(意指“睿智农场”)与纽约市沿线上森林覆盖面积最大的地段，植被茂密，湖泊纵横，湿地广袤，牧场辽阔，自然环境既非同寻常，生态系统又丰富多样，是一处远离都市喧嚣的世外桃源。

        六年前，当首次来访法国溪流州立公园时，我们一家老少很快就喜欢上这个几乎由栗树、橡树、枫树、杨树、胡桃树、榉树等高大乔木垄断的世界。漫步在密林深处，草木青

2013-07-26

【Aiden in English/红霞译文】

Mon. July 22, 2013

        Today it was the first rehearsal with MICs which made the voice a lot louder. So now, we sounded tiny, weak, and especially quiet. The people who wore MICs were Millie, Jimmy, Miss Dorothy, Trevor Graydon, Ching Ho, Bun Foo, Mrs. Meers, and Miss Flannery. They all looked very wacky to be wearing them. We were asked to be careful. If we touched the face, we might damage or break the MICs. I ju

2013-07-24

        费城管弦乐团已逾113年历史，素有“费城之声”美称。它与纽约爱乐乐团、波士顿交响乐团、芝加哥交响乐团、克里夫兰管弦乐团一道跻身美国五大交响乐团之列，因其芸集了众多一流演奏家，费城管弦乐团尤以精湛的表演技艺享誉世界乐坛。

        每年夏季七、八月间，费城管弦乐团分别在曼恩表演艺术中心、威廉·潘登陆景区、长木花园、费城海军基地等繁华商业中心举行大型户外演出，当地民众无须登入金梅尔表演艺术中心大雅之堂，同样可以欣赏到国际一流的

2013-07-21

      话说美东七月盛夏来临的时候，如若巧遇热浪侵袭，高温咄咄逼人，蒸笼般的暑燥气息扑面而来。别小瞧十天半月，真可谓“旱云飞火燎长空，白日浑如坐甑中”，犹如熏焖烘烤焙烧煎炸，浑身上下都不舒服。此时此刻，我们只有顺应形势，及时调整心态，最好整天囚居室内，绝不擅自外出，否则定会惨遭骄阳生吞活剥。

      惹不起热浪的人很快掀起一股躲避热浪的高潮。

      身边不少同事纷纷南下北卡罗来纳州，东渡大西洋外滩，一门心思地投奔鸟禽活跃植被繁茂生态和谐

2013-07-20

【Aiden in English/红霞译文】

Mon. July 15, 2013

        This morning, I tested my costume designed for a mugger. But it had nothing in common with what I thought of. It was selected from one of the many racks in the costume room. I expected it to be a plain shirt and pants with holes. What I didn't anticipate was the one like this. A pair of light-brown pants with a sky-colored shirt and a tan vest. It looked shocking. My mouth was open as if

2013-07-14

        座落在费城友善(Fairmount)公园内的开心触摸博物馆是全美第一家旨在启迪七岁以下婴幼年儿童心智的教育机构。亲临现场参加游戏的小朋友通过肢体直接与展品接触互动，在寓教于乐的过程中既了解新鲜常识，接受文化熏陶，又刺激自身智力发育。

        八年前，当我家童少首次涉猎开心触摸博物馆时几乎与我家公主现在的年龄差不多。旧日的开心触摸博物馆位于费城市中心21街，与雄伟气派的富兰克林科学博物馆翘首相望，其占地面积不大，展厅内人山人海，热闹得活像个农贸市场。2008

2013-07-13

【Aiden in English/红霞译文】

Mon. July 8, 2013

        We did our first run of the show Thoroughly Modern Millie Jr. on the first day of the week. Let's just say that the teachers didn't really accept it.

        First, Tommy almost lost his tap dance shoe when it flicked off his foot into the theater seats. Next, we had a counselor take his place while he was picking it up. Then, Raymond fell into the laundry basket wh

2013-07-07

        时代造英雄。十八世纪的费城因其地理上便利交通，一度跃居美利坚合众国的诞生地，不仅历史名人常常汇聚费城大展宏图，而且有志之士纷纷扎根费城尽施才能，胸怀抱负的得力助手之子‧自由地主(Benjamin Franklin)“因为善行而受景仰，因为才华而获崇拜，因为爱国而受尊敬，因为仁慈而得到爱戴”，就是其中最为突出的典范。

        富兰克林(意指“自由”)白手起家，将“诚实与勤勉”当成自己“永久的伴侣”，除了积极投身政治、活跃于外交舞台、协助起草

2013-07-06

【Aiden in English/红霞译文】

Mon. July 1, 2013

        For the kick-off, Gym, the music teacher, made us sing Thoroughly Modern Millie. I didn't do anything much other than half of the song. That's 'cause the youngest group in Junior Theater Camp didn't memorize the lyrics. Half of an hour later, we were assigned to memorize The Speed Test, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and Sweet Mystery of Life. Gym, the music teacher, must'v

美国独立节，2013-07-04

      “七‧四”独立节高温天气，生活在美国各地的亲朋好友无论多忙，几乎都会放下手头工作，要么携家带口独自出征，走海角闯天涯消暑度假﹔要么邻居街坊集体行动，去公园到海边野炊郊游一个星期，其热闹程度与中国黄金周相比，有过之而无不及。

       洛杉矶地区热爱运动的八年级蒙蒙和六年级浩浩是我家童少儿时的发小，过去大家喜欢飙车打斗，聚首时少不了谈笑风生。如今哥俩立足加州放眼世界，充分利用得天独厚的地理优势，无限感受大自然的惊艳和厚爱，

2013-06-30

      这年头，随着网络娱乐产业蓬勃发展，数字视频录像机、视频点播、游戏机、传媒服务、笔记本平板电脑以及智能手机(等多元化信息交流手段深入千家万户，我家童少对传统电视节目的需求越来越少，如果不是因为追踪体育比赛实况，电视机几乎处于休眠状态，即使家里不乏装备齐全的影院配置。

      当然，不看电视并非代表不看电影。相反，只要有最新发行的好莱坞派拉蒙迪士尼皮克思大片，我家童少绝对抢在第一时间实地拿下。如果说看电视讲究的是家庭和悦的温馨气息，那么看电影体验的

2013-06-29

【Aiden in English/红霞译文】

Mon. June 24, 2013

        Today was the first day of Belfry Theater Camp in Germantown Academy and I saw a ton of new faces. My mind just couldn't process all the names. One was Benjamin or Benjamin. It sounded kinda like a tomato and tomato.

        Like last year, 25 girls outnumbered 7 boys by 3.6 to 1. So if we wanted a revolution, it didn't sound good at odds. Unexp

2013-06-23

      位于新泽西(意指“新草”)州曲谷(Camden)的探险水族馆是附近规模最大的州级海洋博物馆，恰好座落在费城(希腊语“兄弟友爱”)对面。周末从城外我家出门，如果交通顺畅，我们驱车直入，通过自由地主(Franklin)大桥，穿越宾州─新州两州交界处的好战者河，不出个把钟头便可抵达这个倍受婴幼年儿童欢喜的地方。

      的确，无论从内景设计还是就活动空间来说，探险水族馆非常适宜婴幼年儿童智力发育，深受三、四岁以下孩子们的欢迎。再加上宾州冬季寒冷，岁月显得特别漫长，常常给户外活动带来极大

暑假第一天，2013-06-20

        每年农历夏至前后，北宾州学区中小学校方才宣告放假，正式开始长达近90天三个月的暑期生活。

        按照以往惯例，中日韩国的后裔往往借此机会远渡重洋，各自回到长辈们生活过的故乡探亲访友游山玩水，展开不同形式的寻根之旅。显然，年轻一代在学习祖先民族语言文化的同时，亲身接触到异地风土人情，不仅丰富了区域间地理上的社会阅历，而且还强化了对人文背景的认知。

        绝大多数留守故地

2013-06-18

        四月春雨带来五月初夏盛开的鲜花。习惯于蜇居简出的左邻右舍，此时纷纷敞开家门，“斗百草群芳各逞才”。

        今年端午节一过，我家童少便步入暑假前小学四年级结业的最后时刻。

        北宾州公立小学系统虽然采用一年春秋两学期制，但每学年学校却按照三学期制进行学期评估。但凡学期结束，班主任、数学课、艺术课、音乐课、体育课、智优班、管／弦乐班任课老师集体出动，分别对学生德智体表现统

国际儿童节，2013-06-01

        要不是周六参加本校四年级双胞胎Zach和Joshua的贺岁派对，我家童少无论如何也联想不到今天竟是普天同庆的日子──“六•一”国际儿童节。

        在美国，蜜罐里泡大的孩子物质上丰衣足食，课外几乎淹没在计算机、游戏机、智能机等现代高科技学习娱乐产品之中；精神上除了追踪身边看得见摸得着轶事趣闻之外，顶多再关注一下“两伊”战争动态，甚少怀揣其它远大抱负；生活上因无课业牵挂，每天放学归来，不是跟朋友扎堆

2013-05-08

        在美国，如果你家恰好有正在上小学的孩子，那么你一定不会对算术卡片游戏──算术24点游戏感到陌生。据说上世纪六十年代，该游戏最早流行于中国上海。

        24点游戏是一个最简单不过的口算心智游戏，卡片上四个数字都是由1到10的自然数随机组成，你只要按照加、减、乘、除四则运算法则，计算结果最终应该为24。 例如：卡片上出现的四个数字为6、5、3、8，其中一种解答方案便是3×8÷(6－5)＝24。 24点游戏套路很多，快速准确是这项

2013-05-05

        金色键盘音乐节是一个国际性非官方青少年儿童音乐盛典，旨在向年轻一代普及推广音乐教育，为喜爱传统表演艺术的各路闯将提供施展天赋的机会，以此激励更多的才子佳人投身到丰富多彩的文化领域中去，让经典音乐事业薪火相传，后继有人。

        自2002年创办以来，每年春季金色键盘音乐节分别在西班牙巴塞罗那、奥地利维也纳以及美国纽约等欧美三大音乐都会举行，前来参加钢琴、小提琴、大提琴、长笛、歌剧等古典作品表演的适龄学生堪称音乐领域吹拉弹唱各专业的“能手”甚至“

2013-04-14

【儿歌执笔(Aiden in Chinese)】

        小熊从睡梦中醒来，闻到一股香气，那是春天特有的味道，它知道春天来了。

        小熊爬出洞口向四周张望，只见一只小鸟从头上飞过。小鸟看见了小熊，好像多日不见的老朋友，赶忙落到地上跟小熊打招呼：“小熊，你好！”

      “你好，小鸟！”小熊礼貌地回答。

      “请问，”小熊好奇地看着小鸟，说：“为什么春天一来，你们小鸟就要飞到我们北方来了呢？”

      “因为我们喜欢到暖和的地方生儿育女

2013-04-06

【Aiden in English】

        Santa Cruz Island was the second-largest island in the Galapagos and home to Puerto Ayora, the largest town in the islands. In 1959, the Republic of Ecuador declared all the islands, except areas already colonized, as the Galapagos National Park. In the same year, the Charles Darwin Foundation was founded to promote scientific research and ensure the conservation of the Galapagos. Not until 1978, the Galapagos Isl

2013-04-05

【Aiden in English】

        In the northeast of San Cristobal Island, we lined up on the deck for a chance to see kicker Rock in an odd form. As a matter of fact, it was a remnant of a vertical tuff formation, abruptly rising almost 500 ft/152 meters from the Pacific Ocean.

        Kicker Rock looked sharp, huge, and nearly bare pieces of rocks protruded out of the ocean. Only the birds seemed to be able to scale the sides. Eve

2013-04-05 

【Aiden in English】

        San Cristobal Island was not only the easternmost island in the archipelago but also one of the oldest eroded volcanoes ascending to moist highlands nearly 2,400 feet/730 meters above sea level geologically. It was the very first island that Charles Darwin visited in the Galapagos in 1835. Several endemic species and subspecies of flora had evolved on San Cristobal, but the human impact had ruptured much of the i

2013-04-04

【Aiden in English】

        North Seymour Island was formed through a series of uplifts of lava that was originally erupted underwater because of the discovery of marine fossils on its plateau surrounded by low cliffs. These sporadic uplifts took more than a million years to bring the island to its present level. The island was now home to abundant and diverse wildlife.

        After lunch, we lined up for deep-sea snorkeling a

2013-04-04

【Aiden in English】

        Santa Cruz Island was the center of the Galapagos archipelago, where the volcanic activity had long ceased. It had the largest human population among any of the few islands that people inhabited.

        By 9:00 am, the sun was already steaming hot. We just began to walk along the northeast coast of Santa Cruz Island. There was a hideout where two US military barges for WWII broke their moorings and ran aground on the b

2013-04-03

【Aiden in English】

        Bartolome Island consisted of an extinct volcano that mixed its colorful with red, orange, green, and black volcanic rock formations like Mars. It was considered the most spectacular setting in the Galapagos. As one of the relatively younger islands, its volcanic origins were easy to be seen with an excellent example of volcanism.

        This afternoon, we took a short but steep hike on the slopes o

2013-04-03

【Aiden in English】

        Here we had the opportunity for a morning hike over a blackened landscape that was nothing less than a geologic wonderland in Sullivan Bay, the northeast of Santiago Island. At every step, we would see the hardened twists and turns of lava that flowed during a volcanic eruption in the 1900s.

        If you were talking about an "evil island", would it be jagged rocks, skeletons, scattered b

2013-04-02

【Aiden in English】

        My first statement after I went outside was: "It's foggy." And that was absolutely true. The fog wasn't the kind you saw every month in your front yard. It looked like a white pillow on top of everything in sight. Even in the old days, superstitious pirates would call the Galapagos Enchanted Islands because the islands would fade away into the mist and disappear for no reason.

2013-04-01

【Aiden in English】

        Mom and I had a quick lunch and then began to get ready for our afternoon activity. This time we visited another island called Rabida, an uninhabited island of red sand, rocks, and dirt made of lavas rich in iron.

        Rabida Island looked as if the top of an old volcanic cone bathed in crimson. The ground was hued brilliant red and sat amid coves and lagoons with clear blue wa

2013-04-01

【Aiden in English】

        The rocks crunched beneath our feet as we walked through tropical forests with singing mockingbirds and buzzing insects. This morning was our first shore excursion to take place on the west bank of Santiago Island in the center of the Galapagos archipelago.

        Puerto Egas was one of the most popular sites in James Bay of Santiago Island, where salt mining operated until the 1960s. After a wet la

Easter，2013-03-31

【Aiden in English】

        I yawned loudly as Mom and I entered our cabin of Celebrity Xpedition. For the whole morning, we were sitting on a seat of LAN Ecuador from Quito, the capital city to Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean after stopped over Guayaquil, the largest Ecuadorian city.

        Galapagos Islands were a volcanic archipelago about 500 miles/926 km west of mainland Ecuador and became a living museum o

2013-03-30

【Aiden in English】

        Pew! Pew! Pew! It went my 3DSXL as Mario got zapped by Bowser Junior's Wadoo magic for the fifth time. Mom and I were waiting for our tour guide for about 10 minutes now and we're getting awfully bored. We were going to cross the equator and heading the northern Sierra for Otavalo in a two-hour drive north of the bustling Quito to see the famous market, particularly on Saturday.

Good Friday，2013-03-29

【Aiden in English】

        Today was Holy Friday and we stayed in Quito, the capital city of Ecuador.

        At an elevation of 9,350 feet/2,800 meters above sea level with the latitude of 0^o15"S, Quito was the highest and only capital situated on the Equator in the world.

        After I put on a new set of clothes, Mom and I went down for breakfast

2013-03-28

【Aiden in English】

        Nothing was better to start my trip than waking up at the break of dawn and driving to the Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) at 4:000 am. On the road, I was extremely tired, sleepy, and stressed. By the time we arrived at PHL, my eyes felt as if they weighed over 100 pounds/45 kilograms.

        Just after I sat in our plane seat, I comfortably propped myself against mom and fell asleep. I was awok

2013-03-27

        每年三月底或四月初，适逢耶稣受难日─复活节宗教活动，我家童少所在的北宾州学区都要特别选定这个时段，停课休学放羊三天，从星期四至星期一囊括周末，春假满打满算少说足有大半个礼拜。

        坦率地讲，我做梦都没有想到，但凡适龄青少年儿童，都可以向春天讨价问假。在国内，我从未经历这般欢度春假的学生时代；来美后，虽然早有听说，南边墨西哥坎昆城可谓女生笑傲加勒比海的胜地，而东面佛罗里达州代托纳海滩(Daytona Beach)则是男生狂飙大西洋的

2013-01-11 International Parity at Work Day

【Aiden in English】

〖Prelude〗

        There was no place on Earth like Rio de Janeiro as the natives proudly said.

        Founded in the early 16^th century, Rio was once the capital of Brazil up to 1960. The city remained the nation's cultural and spiritual center with an amalgam of Latin and African heritage.  

        As Brazil's

2013-01-10

【Aiden in English】

        This summer, torrential rain was extremely unusual in Rio de Janeiro. We spent the whole morning watching the rain pour on and on. By noon, nothing was improving unless somebody called raindrops the size of bird pellets growing to the size of golf balls as "improving". When a streak of sunlight came through the clouds, mom took the chance and set up the tone that we should explore. At the back of my head, I t

2013-01-09

【Aiden in English】

        We missed the tour bus in the morning. So mom and I decided to set foot on our own and look around the Brazilian capital created ex nihilo in the center of the country in 1956. The glaring sunburned my neck as my mom and I walked around the Monumental Axis of Brasilia.

        Like the newly built Anzac Parade of Canberra in Australia we visited three years ago, the Monumental Axi

2013-01-08

【Aiden in English】

        To start the day off, mom and I were overwhelmed with a breakfast banquet in Brazilian style from ham to ice cream cake. It looked like quite a delightful cuisine as its neighbors like Chilean and Argentine in South America. I did not eat much but felt full already once I was floating in the food sea. Mom indulged herself with Brazilian fresh roasted coffee and couldn't even walk to our room.

2013-01-07

【Aiden in English】

        The cool wind blew in my face as a ferryboat zipped along with the docking of the water on the beach of San Martin Island. San Martin was a small lush island right in the center of Iguazu National Park in Argentina, which offered the closest views of the falls. The island was rough and strenuous to climb. The stairs never seemed to end! By the time mom and I arrived at the top, I felt as if my legs were made of jelly,

2013-01-06

【Aiden in English】

        One thing good about the plane flights was that I could sleep all the time as much as I wanted between takeoff and landing. I bonked my head against the seat in front, which disrupted my wonderful dream of dancing with bunnies.

        When the full blast of heat like a sauna from the outside started to melt me at Iguazu International Airport of Argentina  (IGR), mom quickly

2013-01-05

【Aiden in English】

        The wheels on the bus went round and round as the air filled with the sound of sunny morning chirps of the birds. Buenos Aires blew out "Good Airs" or "Fair Winds" and eclectically blended its contemporary vitality and old-world languor on the western bank of the estuary of the Rio de la Plata. When the bus stopped at the political and cultural heart- Plaza de Mayo (May Plaza), it was already bliste

2013-01-05

【To A Cat】

Jorge Luis Borges (1899—1986)

         Mirrors are not more silent

         nor the creeping dawn more secretive;

         in the moonlight, you are that panther

         we catch sight of from afar.

         By the inexplicable workings of divine law,

         we look for you in vain;

         More remote, e

2013-01-03

【Aiden in English】

        As I came to my senses from waking up out of deep sleep, the smell of muffins wafted toward me. With an unappetizing breakfast, I hurried down to meet our group and headed for Uruguay- the second smallest country in South America and its oldest town- the Historic Quarter of Colonia del Sacramento, which was declared a world heritage by UNESCO in 1995.

       We left the harbor, an oil

2013-01-02

【Aiden in English】

        Hooray! I was cruising at sea today.

        My whole morning was in tangles of dreams wrapped in a small cozy bed with a new punching bag, a teddy bear. I put the bear to sub-mission before falling into a deep sleep. And I'm pretty sure that the bear was having nightmares of me.  

        After lunch, I hurried to the Youth Center. As I entered th

New Year's Day，2013-01-01

【Aiden in English】

        Puerto Madryn, a Welsh town in the Atlantic Ocean was dominated by a huge smelter that produced aluminum from bauxite ore shipped in from Australia, Suriname, and other countries. The production of ceramic tiles made itself the biggest supplier in the nation. The fishing fleet moored in the harbor. Ironically, beef was the national dish of Argentina, and Argentines preferred beef to fish. A majority

New Year's Eve，2012-12-31

【Aiden in English】

        Today it's New Year's Eve and we were cruising at sea again.

        I yawned widely as I got up in the morning. As I checked the clock, I toppled out of bed. It was 10:30 am. I still was in pajamas and cuddling a teddy bear. For some reason, I actually grew fond of the bear because he was a nice replacement for my old punching bag. I was thinking of ha

2012-12-30

【Aiden in English】

        The islands we were bounding for had two different names in the Atlantic Ocean. It depended upon whom we spoke with and what we talked about. With respect to the Argentine, Islas Malvinas became national sovereignty. To the English, Falkland Islands are a British Overseas Territory. In history, there were French, British, Spanish, and Argentine settlements over time. Although the Falkland Islands were currently under B

2012-12-29

【Aiden in English】

        Cape Horn in Chile is located at the latitude 55 degrees 58 minutes 47 seconds south and the longitude 67 degrees 16 minutes 18 seconds west as the southernmost part of the world other than Antarctica. It covers the two largest bodies of water, i.e. the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean, and is known as a notorious graveyard for sailors.

        This morning, I awoke to the sound of

2012-12-28

【Aiden in English】

        By December, a hot summer came to the south atmosphere. However, the cold still numbed my teeth as we waited on the sun deck for the glaciers and sheer mountains to appear over the horizon in the Strait of Magellan between the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean. 

        Due to tidal constraints, we had to delay our arrival time by two hours in Ushuaia of Argentina this afternoo

2012-12-27

【Aiden in English】

        Antarctica is the Earth's southernmost continent, encapsulating the South Pole as described in the geographic textbook. It's the fifth-largest continent after Asia, Africa, North America, and South America. About 98% of Antarctica is covered by ice that averages at least 1 mile/1,600 meters in thickness. Its mountains cover such a significant area that it makes Antarctica on average the highest of the seven con

2012-12-26

【Aiden in English】

        So there I was with my mom standing on the balcony of Star Princess at the crack of dawn to see the Amalia Glacier in the central part of Chilean Southern Patagonian Ice Fields. The glacier descended from the Andes Mountains and sat like a frozen river above the sea. It had immense weight and the oxygen had been pressed out of the ice, presenting it a strikingly beautiful crystalline appearance and a strange blue glow

Christmas Day，2012-12-25

【Aiden in English】

        "Merry Christmas!" shouted the Princess Captain loud enough to be heard miles away in the morning. "Merry Christmas to All" I didn't think my mom set a wake-up call, but our captain did set the mood for the day. As I got dressed, he kept us in touch with the weather and talked for hours. The basic point was that there would be a chilly, breezy day ahead.  

  &nb