Dear Journal,
Today is a very good day. Two weeks ago, I had a plan to go to travel in Central America. And also, my friend gave me a plane ticket for Mexico last week. He said the ticket is for today, and he doesn't want the ticket anymore. So I packed my packages last week, and I was waiting for the taxi driver from last week until this week. I have phoned the taxi driver today, but I forgot the day. So I didn't sleep these days. I sit on the sofa, waiting for the taxi, and I'm thinking about what have I prepared for the trip. I have taken lots of tools from my company. My companies sell tools for those tourists. My companies are throughout the world. I also took out a million dollars for the trip. Just as I was thinking, a strident sound stops my thinking. It was the taxi. I got on the taxi and got to the airport. I got on the plane and the plane took off. After the plane took off six hours, it suddenly exploded. I dropped down with my packages, and safely landed on a beach. I saw two little girls, and I asked them: "Where are we?" "In the Universe." They answered. "I mean what's this place?" I asked them again. "Earth. Welcome you, space man!" "I'm not a space man, " I said. "I'm asking you what's the country?" "Mexico." Mexico! I'm in Mexico now! I can't keep feeling happy about this. So I found a hotel and live in it, planning for tomorrow trip--Central America first day trip.
Saturday, April 10, 1999
Dear Journal,
Today I woke up and I knew I was
on the beaches of Mexico. A little boy told me the law of Mexico that the
Mexican votes a new president every six years. Many people participated
in the Mexico's politics, a tradition dating back to the end of the Mexican
Revolution. In 1917, Mexicans approved a constitution modeled on the United
States constitution. Before then, Mexico also had dictators ruling the
country. Dictators have been common in Middle America because of tradition,
bribery, and military power. After the boy had told me that, I had got
confused about the law of Mexico and the law in the U.S., there're lots
of differences. Just as I was thinking, a wave had swashed the shore. And
this made me think about the Middle America on the World Map. Middle America
is a tropical region washed by the seas of the Caribbean, the Atlantic
Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Pacific Ocean. I enclosed the map that
is in my mind, and I walked to the southern Mexico, I asked the people
there and I know I'm on the famous Yucatan Plain. The Yucatan Plain extends
from the edge of the Mexican Plateau south of the Bay of Campeche through
the Yucatan Peninsula and into Guatemala and Belize. Here the mainland
becomes lower and flatter. Oak and pine trees mingle with dry-weather plants
such as cacti. It's hot there, too. So I bought 20 ice cream, and I ate
them in 20 seconds. And that's why I got the name Baboo Shellie, just because
I eat things too fast. I walked to the southern Yucatan Plain. In there,
rain forests thrive in the hot and humid climate. Soon I discovered the
ground beneath the Yucatan Plain is limestone. Because limestone is porous
and lets rainwater seep through quickly, few rivers run through the Yucatan
Plain. After I traveled the Yucatan Plain, I lose my direction. So I went
back to Mexico City again. As fast as I can, I correct my direction. I
carried up my packages and stay on the way to Costa Rica.
Postcard
to my papa from Mexico
Hello! This place is excellent. I'm enjoying. You might conclude that Mexico is desert like, if you're in the northern part of Mexico, walk a few miles to south, and you might just as easily think that Mexico is mountainous. The Mexican Plateau dominates the landscape here. And also the people here are very kindly, they welcomed me in a strange way, but I know that are how they welcome people. See ya!
Yours,
Baboo Shellie
Monday,April12,1999
Dear Journal,
After two days' trip, I come to Costa Rica. First, I traveled their cities. The people in Costa Rica live together in peace. Costa Rica is a very small country. It's between Nicaragua and Panama. And it's also in the middle of the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. There're lots of dry plains and mountain rivers; they're all in the middle of Costa Rica. There're a lot of gold and coal in this country. So there're a lot of people who had gone to excavate gold are all millionaires now. I had gone to excavate gold, too. And I got nine hundred and ninety-nine pieces of gold! I'm a billionaire now! A d I may be the richest person in the world--Baboo Shellie! Any way, let's back to the topic. The people in Costa Rica are all speaking in Spanish. And also they use toon to play music, but the American doesn't use it. Costa Rica is so beautiful and lovely; it also got lots of disasters. One of those disasters happened in 1965, that was a big volcano erupting. Many people were wounded, and a few people died. And it happened on one of the side of Costa Rica. Another disaster happened in 1968, it's o the other side of Costa Rica. The disaster suddenly came to there. It was an earthquake! And this tremor continued erupts for 24 hours. After the earthquake, Costa Rica had changed to another wild world. And there're 78 people died in this earthquake, countless people are wounded. However, the people in Costa Rica are proud of their country. The farmers in Costa Rica harvest crops of beans, squash, corn, and chili peppers during the west season. And I also went to the south of Costa Rica; those farmers in there cultivate sugar and coffee. Those farmers are very kind, so they had sent me 20 pounds of sugar and coffee. Because there're so much for me to carry and it's impossible to keep on traveling with so many crops. "I can send it back to Papa Shellie and Mama Shellie!" I suddenly realized. So I went to the post-office and send all of them back to the U.S. After I had gone to the south of Costa Rica, I went to one of the forests in this country. In that forest, I saw Peccary, Armadillo, and Squirrel Monkey and so on. I had taken many pictures with those animals. So far, I had used 111 photographs, and I only visited two countries. I came back from the forest and went to Rio Claro. Rio Claro is a small town. Soccer is popular in such small towns as Rio Claro. Soon, I saw a group of people is playing soccer. I approached them and joined them, even it was raining at that whole time. My clothes, my hat was all wet. But in that match, I got 99 scores, and I'm the only one that got scores. Those people said I'm better than Peri, and I can go to the World Cup to win the champion. But I refused their good wishes. I said I'm not interested in the champion, and the World Cup is not my business either. After I had talked to those guys, I went to the capital of Costa Rica, San Jose by train. In San Jose, I saw the statue of a Spanish conqueror that is exactly the same as the one in my Social Studies book. After I traveled San Jose, I traveled a few more places, then I flew to Argentina.
Postcard to Papa from Costa Rica
I enjoyed Costa Rica very much. With seeing so many people doing funny things. There're lots of mountain, forests, and volcanoes. This place is hot, because it is in the tropical area. And I went to a volcano. The hot liquid came out from the stone crack; it nearly burned my leg!
Yours,
Dear son
Tuesday,April 13,1999
Just after a few hours, I'm in Argentina. I am in the capital of Argentina--Buenos Aires. That night, I went to live in a five-star hotel. In the hotel, I kept working on my Journal Entry and fall in a sleep.
The second day, I start my trip in Argentina. Argentina is the second largest country in South America, and its marketing economy is big, too. So I went to the market and bought a lot of things by my own. Those things include foods, machines, animals, and daily necessities.
After shopping, I went to a playground. The people there were playing Gaucho. Gaucho is the most interesting game in Argentina. I enjoyed the game a lot with looking at those people playing the game. After I had watched the game, I went to Patagonia. Patagonia's landscape is nearly a half of Argentina. I walked on the beaches of Argentina, and I saw a few Rhea. Rhea is a kind of bird of Argentina. Suddenly, I saw a boy is catching the birds. It seems that boy is the same as my age. I stopped him, taught him the thing that he has done wrong, and I gave him an amazing bird. When I was passing this gift to him, I tough him this in Spanish: "Here is a lovely free gift bird. You can do anything to it wherever you want when you get back to home, but don't catch those birds on the beaches."
Soon I left the beaches. I went to a glacier park that is in the south of Patagonia. As soon as I got in the park, I discovered a big Iceberg that covers a few square miles. And this made me remembered the iceberg that made the ship Titanic crashed.
After I came out form the Glacier Park, I went to fish and skate. In the evening, I have my dinner in a restaurant. And at night, I got back to Buenos Aires. I had a great time on the Tango Party. The people there have told me that I need to practice more in dancing. When I got back to the hotel, it was already 10:oo p.m. I wrote my Journal Entry, and had an excellent sleep.
The second day, I start walking to Peru.
Postcard
to Papa from Argentina
I was in Argentina. I had enjoyed the things here a lot. All things here are awesome!!! And I learned to dance Tango with learning from the people. I bought some dogs, cats, rabbits all kinds of cute animals. I can send some to you if you want to. See you next time.
Yours,
Dear son
Friday,May 1,1999
I walked in the Andes Mountains for 17 days, and finally, I was in Peru. Peru is a large, mountainous country on the pacific coast of South America. It has borders with Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile and the Pacific Ocean.
I put my packages into the hotel, then I walked up tot he street of Peru. I found an old farmer and asked him about Peru. The old farmer told me that the area of Peru is 1,285,216 sq. Km. (496, 225 sq. miles). The population is 23, 088,000. The Population Density is 18.0 per sq. Km. and Lima is the capital, its population is 6,414,500. Lima is an ancient Spanish city founded by Francisco Pizarro in 1535 and knows as the 'city of kings'. The city's splendid museums, galleries and monuments are juxtaposed with modern suburbs. Spanish is the official language of Peru. And the old man said there're three natural zones, running roughly north to south: Costa (Coast), Sierra (the Highlands) and Selva (Amazonian Jungle). The Costa Region, which contains Lima, is a narrow coastal plain consisting of large tracts of desert broken by fertile valleys. The cotton, sugar and rice plantations and most of the so far exploited oilfields lie in this area. The Sierra contains the Andes, with peaks of over 600 m, most of the country's mineral resources (silver, zinc, lead, copper and gold) and the greater part of its livestock. The Selva, an area of fertile, subtropical uplands, lies between the Andes and the jungles of eastern Peru. Sections of a proposed international highway are at present being built through it, with some sections already in use. The Amazonian jungle of eastern Peru has vast natural resources. The absence of land communications, however, left the area largely uncharted until full-scale oil exploration began in 1973. The population is largely Indian and Meztizos with a noticeable influence from European (mainly Spanish), Chinese and African settlers.
I copied all the things that he had spoken. And I traveled the places that he told me. At night, I took my packages and got on a tour car to Brazil.
I'm in Peru. I had given a present for your friend in your order. I went to the Capital City Lima. It is very big. There're a bunch of movies. OK! So long, I will phone you on Sunday! Bye pal
Greeting from your son
Sunday,May 3,1999
After two days, I was in Brazil. Brazil is the second largest country in Latin America. Its area is 3,300,170 sq. miles. The population is 157,079,573. The population density is 18.4 per sq. km. Brazil's capital is Brasilia, its population is 1,821,946. Brasilia is known for its futuristic architecture, most notably in the Praca dos Tres Poderes and The National Congress. In contrast, Rio de Janeiro is renowned for its excellent beaches, such as Copacbana and Ipanema, and of course for its world-famous carnival. The official language of Brazil is Portuguese. Spanish, English, Italian, French and German are also widely spoken, especially in tourist areas. After a few hours, our tour bus arrived in Brasilia. I got out of the bus and went into the National Zoo. In the zoo, I saw my friends: Baboo. They all stay in the cage. I decided to get them out of there. So I bought all of them, and sent them free back to the forests. Soon, I went tot he Geography Museum. I read a few pages of a book. And I copied them down. It says that up there Brazil covers almost half of the South American continent and it is bordered to the north, west and south by all South American countries except Chile and Ecuador; to the east is the Atlantic. The country is topography relatively flat and at no point do the highlands exceed 3000 m. Over 60% of the country is a plateau; the remainder consists of plains. The River Plate Basin (the confluence of the Parana and Uruguar rivers, both of which have their sources in Brazil) in the far south is more varied, higher and less heavily forested. North of the Amazon is the Guiana Highlands, partly forested, partly stony desert. The Brazilian Highlands of the interior, between the Amazon and the rivers of the South, from a vast tableland, the Mato Grosso, from which rise mountains in the southwest that form a steep protective barrier from coast called the Great Escarpment, breached by deeply cut river beds. The population is concentrated in the southeastern states of Minas Gerais, Sao Paulo and Parana. Sao Paulo has a population of over 9 million, while over 5.5 million people live in Rio de Janeiro. After I copied them down, I got on 747 airplane to Honduras.
I'm in Brazil. This is the country
that you want to come because of their soccer team. This country is too
big, and I hurt my back. And I saw the soccer team of Brazil. I took a
photo of them, too. I'll talk to you later.
See ya, Pa!
Yours,
Dear son
Monday,May 4,1999
The first thing I did when I got into Honduras was stay in the capital and had a drink. Because I was really thirsty after I traveled Brazil, there're too many desert in the country. I resumed my travel after I had a cup of lemonade.
Tegucigalpa, the capital, was originally founded as a mining camp in 1524. I visited the city's impressive Parks, particularly Concordia, where models of Copan's Mayan architecture are displayed. I walked up to the street after I put my packages into a 5 star hotel, and I heard two birds are talking on a tree. I stayed beside them and listen because I can understand birds' language. The two birds are talking about that they're proud of their country. They said their area is big, 43,433 sq. miles. The population of Honduras is 6,000,000 though the population density is 53.3 per sq. km. The official language of the Hondurans is Spanish. English is widely spoken by the West Indian settlers in the north and on the Bay Islands off the Caribbean Coast. And one of the birds said he flew a lot, so he is much known about the Geography of this country than the other one. He said to the other bird in a deeply voice: "Honduras shares borders in the southeast with Nicaragua, in the southeast with Guatemala, and in the southwest with El Salvador. To the north lies the Caribbean and to the south the Pacific Ocean. The interior of the country comprises a central mountain system running from the east to west, cut by rivers following into both the Caribbean and Pacific. The lowlands in the south from a plain along the Pacific coast. The Gulf of Fonseca in the Southwest contains many islands, which have volcanic peaks. The large fertile valleys of the northern Caribbean lowlands are cultivated with banana plantations. However, large areas of land in Honduras are unsuitable for cultivation, and communications tend to be difficult. The majority of the population lives in the western half of the country, while the second-largest concentration of people is in the Cortes area which extends northwards from Lake Yojoa towards the Caribbean." After I heard these talking, I realized that I can study things from a bird, too. I wore my sport shoes on and ran to the western part of this country. In there, I traveled lots of the sea beaches, and I did some fishing, too. What I pay for the fishing was an 88 ibs. codfish. The codfish made me remember the Captain Hook in the move Peter Pan. In the movie, Wendy and the boys are singing the song: "Hook is a codfish, Hook is a codfish..." Whatever, this codfish was my first prize after I came to Latin America. I got my fishing prize, my packages, and I flew to Panama.
Postcard
to Papa from Honduras
I'm in Honduras right now. I got your letter, thanks for your care. I bought some books and Parrot. There're good at make me laugh. Anyway, take care! Bye!
Cool boy,
Baboo
Tuesday, May 5, 1999
I got into Panama was in the early morning. I ate a Big Mac chicken hamburger, ten chicken nuggets and a cup of Lime Juice for my breakfast. I started travel after I finished breakfast. Soon I saw there're two dogs were running all the way down to the south. I followed them to traveled Panama. And I got a Geography map of Panama in my head. On the map, it shows Panama forms the land link between the north and South American continents. Panama borders Colombia to the east, Costa Rica tot he west, and the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean tot he North and South. The country forms an S-shaped isthmus which runs east-west over a total length of 772 km (480 miles) and is 60-177 km (37- 110 miles) wide. The landscape is mountainous with lowlands on both coastlines cut by streams, wooded slopes and a wide area of savannah-covered plains and rolling hills called El Interior between the Azuero peninsula and the Central Mountains. The Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean are linked by the man-made Panama Canal, cut into a gap between the Cordillera de Talamanca and the San Blas mountain range and streaming for over 40 miles. The length of the Canal is often referred to as 50 miles as this is the distance between deep-water points of entry. Only about a quarter of the country inhabited. The majority of the population live either around the Canal and main cities of Panama City and Colon or in the Pacific lowlands and the adjacent mountains (40% of the population are concentrated in the two cities which control the entrance and exit of the Canal).
My map shows every city and town, even the corners. I thank the two dogs with 2 bones for them. Then I bring my packages and got on a plane to Chile. Soon as I arrived in Chile, I spent two nights in a 5-star hotel. When I was spending my time in the hotel, I watched soccer by TV. Two days later, I began to travel Chile.
Hello! How are you? Did you get my postcard? I hope you did. I will be back soon after I travel three more countries! Please don't worry about me!
Baboo Shellie
Thursday, May 7, 1999
I was glad I went to Chile. Chile offers excellent accommodation. Several new luxury hotels have recently opened in Santiago and throughout the country. In all regions of Chile, whatever hotels lack in facilities is made up for by a comfortable homely atmosphere; Chile's famous hospitality is very apparent in provinces where it is common to see the owner or manager sit down to dinner with guests.
The one I went in was a 5-star hotel. It has luxurious rooms with air-conditioning, private bathroom and 24-hour room service, garden restaurants, bar, swimming pool, laundry services, shops, conference rooms, and recreational and medical facilities.
Chile is famous but not only in soccer and hotels. It's also famous in its Geography. After I traveled Chile, got more and more maps contain in my mind. Chile is situated in South America, bounded to the north by Peru, to the east by Bolivia and Argentina, to the west by the Pacific to the south by the Antarctic.
Chile is one of the most remarkable countries in the world; a ribbon of land, 4200 km (261 miles) long and nowhere more than 180 km (115 miles) wide. The Andes and a coastal highland range take up one-third of half of the width in parts, and run parallel with each other from north to south. The coastal range forms high, sloped cliffs into the sea from the northern to the central area.
I also felled strange with the government of Chile. In Chile, executive power is held by the president as head of the Government, elected for a 6-year term. The bicameral Congress is responsible for legislation and comprises a 47-member Senate and a 120member Chamber of Deputies, booth elected by universal suffrage.
At night the people of Chile invites me to have a drink with them. When I got there, all the people were drinking wine. One of them told me that Chile is famous for its wine, too. Pisco is a powerful liqueur distilled from grapes after wine pressing. Grapes are also used to make the sweet brown chicha as well as aguardiente, similar to brandy. Beer is drunk throughout the country. I can't drink wine and beer because I was not big enough, so I drunk some orange juice.
I joined their party and got back to the hotel. In the second day early morning at 5:30, I got on a plane and flew to Colombia.
I tried to get you on the phone, but every time nobody answers. Have you gone to fish again? I went to fish, too. I went to skate, and swim. But I was lonely, I hope you are here.
Good luck to you!
Best wishes,
Baboo
Thursday, May 13, 1999
I was in Colombia on May 13. But when I was in the Airport of Chile on May 7, the plane that I was going to board had late for 6 days. I was stopped in Chile. Six days later, I got on the right plane and flew to Colombia by using one day. And at that time, I was nearly out of cash.
As soon as I got to Colombia was got out of the plane and put my packages in the hotel. Then, I went to the city Bogot. Bogot, the capital and largest city, is situated almost in the country's center. The city blends Colombian tradition with Spanish colonial influences. Historical landmarks include the Capitol Municipal Palace and the Plaza Bolivar Cathedral.
The most scared thing was the population density of Colombia was 30.2 per sq. km, and that is the biggest number of Population Density that I had ever seen (except China's). In Colombia, 95% are Roman Catholic, small Protestant and Jewish minorities.
I rented a car for travel Colombia. Our car ran through Barranquilla, Medellin, Cali, Bogota and a few big cities. And I also created the Geography of Colombia: Colombia is situated in South America, bounded to the North by the Caribbean, to the Northwest by Panama, to the west by the Pacific Ocean, to the Southwest by Ecuador and Peru, to the northeast by Venezuela and to the southeast by Brazil. The Andes Mountains extend into the country in three ranges running south to north, dipping finally into the lowlands of the Caribbean coast. Along the southern part of the Pacific Coast run wide, marshy lowlands rising to a relatively low but rugged mountain chain. East of this range, the southwestern coastal lowlands extend in a low trough running from the port of Buenaventura on the pacific coast to the Caribbean. East of this, rise the slopes of the western Caribbean which, with the Central Cordillera range, runs north to the Caribbean lowlands from Ecuador, separated by a valley, filled in the south by volcanic ash to a height of 2500m (8202 ft). Further north lies the fertile Cauca Valley, which extends to Cartago where it becomes a deep gorge running between the Cordilleras to the Caribbean lowlands. The Eastern Cordillera, the longest range, rises north of the Ecuadorean border and runs north then northeast towards Venezuela. Flat grassy prairies in the east along with the jungles and towering rainforests of the Amazon make up over half the country's area. There are also two small islands, San Andes and Providencia, located 700 km (430 miles) north of the Colombia coast, that have belonged to Colombia since 1822.
I bought something for my Papa in the shopping center. Then, I took a plane and flew to my last travel stop Nicaragua.
Postcard to Papa from Colombia
Hello! How are you? I'm in Colombia. Colombia is different. It has too many things and foods in this country. There're too many laws here. People here crying for human rights, but no body give a chance to anybody. After all, take care.
Greeting from Colombia,
Baboo
Friday, May 14, 1999
A few hours later, I was in Nicaragua. Before I went to Nicaragua the only thing I knew about it was the Niagara Falls. But now I was in Nicaragua, I thought, I knew something new than I used to be.
For example, I knew more holidays. An old man told me all of the holidays are: Jan 1 '99, New Year's Day, Mar 31 Holy Wednesday. April 1 Maundy Thursday, Apr 2Good Friday, May 1 Labor Day, Jul 19 Liberation Day, Sep 14 Battle Of San Jacinto, Sep 15 Independence Day, Dec 8 Immaculate Conception, Dec 24-26 Christmas, Dec 31-Jan 2 '2000 New Year, Apr 19 Holy Wednesday, Apr 21 Good Friday, to name only a few.
I got all these holidays within my mind in ten seconds. Then, I traveled around. I went to the Lake Nicaragua and the Corn Islands. And I suddenly realized that the Niagara Falls are not in Nicaragua, there're all staying between Canada and the U.S.
I finished travel Nicaragua and that
is the end of my trip. I stepped out of the plane, when I got back to the
U.S. I took a look at it. There's only I cent left in there. I wondered
what's the total money that I had spent. So I used 1,000,000 dollars to
subtract 0,01. The answer was 999,999,99. That was it, I spent $999,999,99
in Central America and South America.
Postcard to Papa from Nicaragua
Hey, Dad. Glad to talk to you again. How are you? I'm doing fine in Nicaragua. I'm going home soon, and I also can show you my Journal Entry. Oh! You see. I traveled Lake Nicaragua today. And I fished 230 fishes. I will give you some when I'm back.
Have a nice day, Dad!
Baboo Shellie