Teddy Bears Around the World

Hi! It is Jose the Bear again. I am currently traveling in Dubai, UAE. If you are looking at a map, try to find the Persian Gulf and look south. Dubai is on the south shore of the Persian Gulf. It has both desert and beach so there is lots and lots of sand. It is already hot here, even in April. It is in the 90’s during the day. In the summer it will get up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. It is hot in Jacksonville, but not that hot. I have spent the day driving around trying to see as much as I could.

Let’s start with Dubai Creek. The Creek is a natural sea-water inlet which cuts through the center of the city. It is the historic focal point of life in Dubai. A stroll along its banks evokes the city’s centuries-old trading traditions. I was captivated by the color and bustle of the loading and unloading of dhows (these are the small boats in the picture) which still ply ancient trade routes to places as distant as India and East Africa.

Next we went to find the tallest building in the world.

Next we found the Burj Al Arab Hotel. I am not staying here but it is really fancy. They have a fleet of Rolls Royces that will pick you up at the airport. At night the lights on the outside of the hotel change color. It is amazing to watch.

Look close at the back ground of this next picture. It is the Mall of the Emerates. I thought a UFO had landed on the mall, but no, that is Ski Dubai! Can you imagine skiing in the middle of the dessert? It’s true. Look through the windows in the next picture. You can see the ski lift and the snow. Amazing! We had lunch in the mall and then continued our drive.

Then next picture shows how much construction is going on in Dubai. The city is booming. Every where you look there are new high rise buildings going up. I have never seen so many cranes in one place.

One of the biggest projects is the Palm Jumeirah. Have you heard of the islands that are being built in the shape of a palm tree? Those are here in Dubai! Here is a picture from outer space that shows what the islands look like.

I have really enjoyed my visit here in Dubai, but I am looking forward to coming home to SJEDS. I will fly from Dubai to New York; it is a 16 hour flight. From there I will continue on to Jacksonville. I send all my love to SJEDS! I miss you lots! Love, Jose

Eddies weekend with Rebecca Scott

Saturday 12th April 08

Hi everyone, on Saturday I went with Rebecca to her friend Jasmynes, we played and ate Pizza, we had a great time, Jasmynes really nice.

(pic 1)Me with Rebecca and Jasmyne

met Rebecca’s little brother Harvey, hes funny!

Sunday 13th April 08

On Sunday we went to a Majorette Competition hosted by The North Devon Silver Dolphins, Rebecca is a Majorette in this troupe.

Me and Rebecca

Me with a Baton and pompoms!

These Majorettes are very good

Taken lots of money on the cake stall

It was a long day but lots of fun.

Bye Bye for now x Eddie

Sam Bear went in the car to Lake Taupo with Caleb.

He went fishing in the lake.

He caught five huge trout.

He ate the trout for dinner.

Then he went to Rotorua.

Rotorua was smelly.

He saw lots of boiling, bubbling mud pools and lots of steam.

He also went Ten Pin Bowling.

It was great fun, but he thought the bowling balls were so huge!!

Sam bear went on a bus.

He went to Howick Historical Village. He learned how people lived in New Zealand 100 years ago.

He went in the teacher’s back pack.

He played with the hobby horse and the stilts.

He ate lunch with Caleb.

He visited the school room with his friends.

year 2 3

Eddy’s day out with William

Sam Bear went to Pippins with Grace. Grace was going to be invested - she was going to become a Pippin. (Pippins is the Junior Guides Group in New Zealand.)

He went on an Easter Egg hunt. He got two eggs.

On Friday night he went to the school disco. He danced with the children. It was lots of fun. The children put a glow stick on his foot.

Teddy Bears Around the World » England

7^th Febuary 2008 Eddy’s day out in Cookworthy

On Thursday we went to Cookworthy with Eddy our travelling teddy. First we went to the roundhouse and talked. Years 2 and 3 knew some stuff about the Celtics; I was in charge of Eddy.

Then we split up in to groups years two and three stayed in the round house and made name necklaces. While years 4 and 5 found animals foot prints, then we had lunch. After lunch our roundhouse teacher made us sweet potato and parsnips.

Next years 2 and 3 had to find animal foot prints we found lots of animal foot prints.

This is when the fun started, there were lots of pictures of taken of me and Eddy. I think Eddy had such a good time as he was so tired when we got back to school and I had a good time.

Sam Bear went for a bush walk in Murphy’s Bush.

He followed a sign to the bush path.He had a yummy picnic at a table.

He enjoyed climbing the trees.

He thought the New Zealand bush was very beautiful. Do you agree?

I am on deployment with one of SJEDS students’ father to Kuwait.

Do you know where Kuwait is?

We originally moved into tents for a couple of weeks. The tents had from 5 to 7 people in them. I actually didn’t mind living in the tents (except when the the wind and sandstorms kicked in). We have since moved into what are called pre-cast buildings (PCB’s). It is kind of like a big warehouse. These buildings hold 58 people and me. We use lockers and blankets for walls. The good thing about the PCB’s is that they have internet connections.

The weather is starting to warm up. However, it is also sandstorm season. We have had a few sandstorms so far. Below is a little idea what a sandstorm looks like. The pictures are of a ship in the port. One on a clear day and one during a sandstorm.

The most fun I had was when I went to work with Mr. C. a couple of weeks ago. I also get to hang out with Commander Thom. You can see him in the pictures with me below. We made rounds around the yards and made a few friends along the way.

I am so lucky!!! I got to go to New York this past week. My travel companions had to go to a conference… but I had fun roaming around in the big Apple!

I checked out Radio City Music Hall. It is a huge hall where New Yorkers go to see shows, concerts, watch movies and other kind of special events. From the outside the building does not look that big, but I felt very small once I was inside sitting on the red velvet cushy chairs. It was very comfortable though.

Although the weather was very cold (which I am not used to from my hometown in Florida) I wandered around the city, looked at the snowy Central Park and then ended up in Times Square.

The flashing lights around me were AMAZING. I saw so many commercials  for movies and TV shows playing on big screens that were hanging on all the buildings.

After a little while I felt that I was frozen onto the posts that I was sitting on. I wiggled myself free and went into a store nearby to warm up a little.

That store happened to be a store full of M&Ms! Chocolate candy everywhere. Can you believe it?? I made friends with a lot of different kinds of M&Ms. Big ones,little ones, yellow, green, blue, red… you name the color.  They were all over the place.

Although the cold was very hard for me to get used to, I had a great time in New York.