Teddy Bears Around the World

¡Hola from Jose the Bear! My buddies, Jesse & Jameson , wanted me to go on another adventure…to GUATEMALA.

I asked, “¿Dónde en el mundo está Guatemala?” (Where in the world is Guatemala?) They didn’t know either, so we found a little round globe & there it was~ in Central America~ you know, the strip of land that connects great big U.S.A. in North America to the great big continent below called South America? Traveling closer to the equator sounded warm & sunny so I replied, “¡Vamos!” (Let’s go!)

The family packed seis maletas (6 suitcases), but not me~ I am a free spirit when it comes to travel. Sí, mis amigos, Jose just takes Jose. Jesse told me we had to drive to Miami & fly to Guatemala on TACA airlines. I told him that I did not know TACOS could fly! (hee hee, just a little bear humor). I was kind of embarrassed going through airport security because everyone was looking at me. But it was clear that I was not sneaking anything on the plane since I was wearing solamente mi piel (only my fur) !

El nuevo avión (the new airplane) served la comida caliente deliciosa (a yummy, hot meal ) which made me take una siesta (a nap). When I awoke, I saw something that Florida bears don’t usually see: ¡montañas y volcánes! (mountains and volcanoes!) The Guatemalans built their villages on the flat part of the mountains and the farmers planted crops on the slanted sides of the mountains. ¿Cómo hacen eso? (How do they do that?) How do they keep el maíz (the corn) from rolling down the mountain side? They must be really smart.

We landed at the Guatemala City Airport which was very shiny & new. Then we found nuestras maletas (our suitcases) & walked to our bus. So many smiling, hardworking children tried to help us with our suitcases, or sell us toys, or shine our shoes. I asked, “¿Por qué? Why are these nice children not in school today?” Our bus driver explained that the children did not realize how very, very important school is. I, Jose the Bear, wanted all children to have a school as special as SJEDS so they would be able to grow & learn & help others one day.

The main reason Jesse and Jameson invited me to travel to Guatemala was to meet their sisters!!! We had a blast together. Here are some names we called the girls:

~las muñecas (the dolls)

~las princesas mayan (the Mayan princesses)

~muchachas preciosas (precious girls)

Jesse and Jameson are already the best big brothers and their family CAN’T WAIT to bring the girls to their Florida home!

One day, we met some new Guatemalan friends who were doctors. Se llaman la familia de Hernandez (They are called the Hernandez family). The Hernandez family loved Jesus so much that they saved their own money for 16 years so they could build a hospital for their community. Here I am in a hospital bed. ¿Usted sabe por qué? (Do you know why?) Because I was homesick for SJEDS and all of you! (Hee Hee…actuallly, I was just pretending. We bears can be very funny. Jameson told me he would have to operate, so I quickly jumped OFF the bed!) ¡Adiós Hernandezes! Dios te bendiga. (Goodbye & God bless you.)

One of my favorite trips was to Hotel Atitlan in Panajachel, about 3 hours from Guatemala City. Lake Atitlan may be the most beautiful blue lake in the world with a view of THREE volcanos!!! They are called: Atitlan, Toliman and San Pedro. If you want to read about this amazing hotel…and the volcanos… and the boat ride… and butterfly gardens… and zip lines (better than any ride at the fair!)… and monkeys… and crazy parrots…and banana plants you can touch…then visit this website to read all about it:

http://www.hotelatitlan.com/eng/index.html

At the end of our trip, the parents of Jesse and Jameson bought me this traditional Guatemalan outfit at an open street market in Panajachel. The happy lady behind me thought it was very, very funny to buy an outfit for un oso (a bear). She did not realize that I am not just ANY bear.

No, ¡Soy Jose, the travel bear, el Oso de SJEDS!

My name is Jose and I went to Lima, Peru during the school’s Christmas break.

Bianca from 2^nd grade took me with her.

In Peru I went to a farm outside of Lima where I saw a bunch of animals, but there were a few that I had never seen because they only live in South America such as llamas, alpacas and nandus.

I really liked Peru because I went during summer and I got to go to the pool and the beach. My favorite day was when Bianca took me to the Indian market to buy my Peruvian outfit so I could wear to SJEDS when I got back. All the merchants were very nice in helping me find the right size.

I would definitely go back to Peru again, but next time I would like to go to Cuzco in order to go see Machu Picchu which is one of the “New Seven Wonders of the World”.

Hi everyone,

I had the wonderful chance to go with Mrs. Freyer to Sweden over the Christmas holiday. I was lucky because it was snowing when I walked out of Arlanda airport in Stockholm! It felt funny actually having snow flakes fall on my fur. I was very thankful that I had fur, because I do not own a winter coat. Mrs. Freyer took pictures of me right after we got off the plane. The Swedish children, who were also on my plane, noticed me right away and kept tugging on their parent’s sleeves saying, “Titta pa bjornen!” Look at the bear! On the way from the airport, Mrs. Freyer’s cousin Charlotta took us on a tour of Djursholm, a suburb of Stockholm. We stopped at Mrs. Freyer’s uncle’s house and took pictures, because it looked so pretty in the snow. There was 4 inches of snow on the ground, and it was still snowing.

Mrs. Freyer’s cousin lives in an apartment right next to a national park. In Sweden, many people live in apartments that they own, sort of like our condominiums. Charlotta lives with her two daughters, Caroline and Jessica. Their apartment has 3 bedrooms, 1 and ½ bathrooms, a family room, and a kitchen. Did you know that mail trucks are yellow in Sweden? You can see one behind me in one of the pictures.

Through the front window of the apartment, I saw children sledding the in the snow. I was very excited to try sledding, but all I had was my furry bottom to slide on. Mrs. Freyer thought I should try it anyway, so I did. Boy, my bottom was icy afterwards, but it was a lot of fun. I also had fun exploring the playground and seeing if it was any different than our playground at San Jose Episcopal. There was a swing set, playhouse, and even a grill for outdoor picnics. With all the snow around I knew I had to build a snowman. The first one I built was my size, and I was very proud of it. I later found a large one that the children of the neighborhood had made. Can you see what the mouth is made of?

The second day in Sweden we went to a Swedish shopping mall called Taby Centrum. It is just like an American mall and has many shops. Mrs. Freyer had to buy snow boots since they are hard to find in Florida, so we went into many stores. We soon learned the Swedish word for sale is rea. All the stores had great after Christmas sales and soon Mrs. Freyer was able to find a good pair of snow boots.

The next day, I took a long walk in the national forest. The trees were beautiful, because they were covered with snow. I even found another snowman. The forest was very quiet, and the snow crunched under my feet as I walked. Do you know what they do with golf courses during the winter in Sweden? They cross country ski on them! Can you believe it?

One day, I went into downtown Stockholm. It was the day that the Swedish Junior National hockey team was playing Canada’s team for the world championships. (Canada won) I saw a big group of Canadian teenagers at the ice rink in the center of Stockholm. They were all wearing red hockey jerseys. During the winter in Sweden, it starts to get dark around 3:00. By 4:00 it is completely dark, but the Swedes keep their Christmas decorations up until January 13th so the landscape is not so dark. Next, I walked down the main shopping street which was lit by the many shops and the Christmas wreaths hanging above the walkway. By that time, the temperature had dropped to 28 degrees, and I was cold so we decided to go home. On the way to the car we passed an Audi car dealership. It fun to see that the car dealerships in down town Stockholm were inside an office building! The car in the front window was decorated for Christmas. Can you tell what they used to decorate the car?

On Sunday, we visited a Lutheran church near Charlotta’s house. It was 900 years old! That is older than our country. It was made of stone, and the inside was beautiful. The pews had doors on them, and the organ pipes were high up in the back of the church. The alter area was incredibly beautiful. The story goes that, at one time, all the walls were painted with pictures of biblical figures. About 400 years ago, these walls were all painted over with white paint when some church leaders felt that the paintings were too distracting. A few years ago, the walls needed to be repaired and the workman found the original paintings. Experts were brought in to restore some of the paintings. Can you see the original wall paintings?

Mrs. Freyer had a great time seeing all of her relatives on this visit and eating the wonderful food. The best meal we had was at a restaurant in downtown Stockholm. I had potatoes with salmon and a small green salad. It was yummy. I ate a lot of fresh salmon while I was there, as well as, Swedish meatballs and boiled red potatoes. At one family meal, we had an open faced sandwich with cheese, salmon, shrimp, and boiled eggs. At another, we had a potato casserole, cold sliced roast beef and ham, and fresh tomato and cucumber salad.

Finally, it was time for me to go home. We said goodbye to all of Mrs. Freyer’s relatives and flew to Chicago. Here is a picture of me waiting for my plane in the Chicago airport. It was very cold, but there was no snow. I think I will remember this special trip to Sweden for a very long time.

I have my own travel song!!!

Thank you to Mrs. Menger, a 6th grade teacher, who wrote a travel theme song for ME!!!! She wrote the words and composed the melody. Isn’t it great? I feel so honored that her 6th grade students recorded it for me.

Come along and sing along…

The Jose Travel Bear Song

Come along with me

Come along with me

There’s a great big wonderful world to see

Come along with me

Come along with me

We’ll travel over mountains, deserts, and seas

We’ll meet lots of friends and see lots of sights

Our big wonderful world is full of delights

We’ll see the Eiffel Tower and the Taj Mahal

The Great Pyramids and Angel Falls

The Colliseum and Big Ben

Macchu Pichu and the Grand Canyon

Come along with me

Come along with me

There’s a great big wonderful world to see

Come along with me

Come along with me

We’ll travel over mountains, deserts, and seas

We’ll learn lots of new ways to say hello

And taste exotic foods on every shore

New holidays to celebrate will be found

We might find the world is flat instead of round

Hello-Hallo-Hola-Ni Hao- Alo-Jambo, Al salaam a’alaykum

Come along with me

Come along with me

There’s a great big wonderful world to see

Come along with me

Come along with me

We’ll travel over mountains, deserts, and seas

I am so excited to have accompanied Louis, Janette and Joseph M. on a trip to the Holy Land in the summer of 2006. I got to visit some historical places like Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Jericho, Nazareth, the Jordan River and the Sea of Galilee.

In Bethlehem, I visited and the Church of the Nativity and had the opportunity to sit on the Alter above the Nativity place. In Jerusalem, I visited The Church of the Holy Sepulchre and had the opportunity to sit on the altar above tomb where Jesus was buried.