The last overseas trip happened in 2007, Mum and por por took me to Hong Kong.
This was my second trip. Mum saw an offer of 'buy one air ticket, kids under 12 flew free offer'
Very Long flight
The flight hours was awefully long, we left home at 4am in the morning on 22nd June, 4 hours flight to Sydney. Then another 12 hours flight to San Francisco. It was 10.30am, 22nd June at SF but 1am already on 23rd June in Perth. We met auntie Agnes and her family at the SF airport and boarded another 2 hour flight to Seattle.
Flight
Flight
The first leg of the flight was good and fun but the second one started to drag on and on and both mum and I did not sleep and got restless and when we got hungry and asked for food, all we got were two freezing cold apples ! Which airline? Have a guess ! We need to stock some cup noodles on the way back.
In the afternoon, after we had lunch, I was dying for Aussie meat pies but so far we had not come across any. In the Crossroads Mall, we found something a bit similar but it is a Russian style. It was made of puff pastry with minced chicken and mushroom and rice together. It tasted very delicious. Due to the cosmopolitan nature in the States, they tend to get more variety of food that we had not experienced in Perth yet.
We then went to a ceramic painting studio where we could pick ceramic items. I chose a horse and Tiffany chose a flower pot for her first cactus. Next we painted the ceramic item we purchased with at least three layers of paint and the studio would dry it for us and dip the item into a clear solution to give the shinning coating. I painted the horse with brown, black, red, pick and yellow. My mym however spoiled part of the horse as she used a wrong paint.
Photos of the trip : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YDHEmIVea4
Arriving at San Francisco
Immigration
On the plane when mum spoke to the girl sitting next to her regarding the online VISA and mum realised after she made the applications, but there were no confirmation and no number issued to her. She did raise the issue with Dad but she was so stressed and busy before she left work and she just did not have any time to follow up. The USA immigration apparently did not really care for that online VISA thing as the officer told mum it was only on trial and she could do it when she was in the States. This did not sound very logic. Apart from american citizens, visitors over 14 are all required to have thier finger prints printed for both hands and a photo was taken on the spot. Wonder if the terrorists would recruit younger candidates??
Written on July 2009
On the plane when mum spoke to the girl sitting next to her regarding the online VISA and mum realised after she made the applications, but there were no confirmation and no number issued to her. She did raise the issue with Dad but she was so stressed and busy before she left work and she just did not have any time to follow up. The USA immigration apparently did not really care for that online VISA thing as the officer told mum it was only on trial and she could do it when she was in the States. This did not sound very logic. Apart from american citizens, visitors over 14 are all required to have thier finger prints printed for both hands and a photo was taken on the spot. Wonder if the terrorists would recruit younger candidates??
Written on July 2009
Customs
Boarding the international flight from Sydney to SF became an issue as mum did not put the toiletries and my medication into CLEAR plastic bag and the security ended up searching all the luggage. It was stressful and embarassing. I hope mum would manage better next time.
Boarding the internal flight from SF to Seattle however posed even more security check, mum was searched as she did not take the jacket off. We were supposed to remove shoes, belts, any accessories on the body apart from the basic clothing to walk past the security gate. This time, the checking of toiletries and medicaton seemed not bothering them.
Tiffany's family
I met Tiffany, my new friend at the airport of San Francisco, she is 8. She can speak Cantonese like people in Hong Kong. In no time, we have started to play and talked to each other, not in cantonese though. The two hours flight from SF to Seattle, we virtually had not stopped talking.
and uncle Henry.
Uncle Joe's family We went to uncle Joe and auntie's Katy home for dinner. Uncle Joe is the brother of auntie Agnes. There is auntie Katy and two cousins of Tiffany, Sheila and Jamie. The dinner was delicious.I had three helpings to the potato salad, normally, when mum made potato salad, I did not want to eat it. Mum really had to work harder with her cooking. They also had some fresh sole and grouper which uncle caught with his friend 'Ryan' the day before from Puget Sound.
On the very first night, Tiffany and I stayed together. This lasted for a week, the novelty worn out and Tiffany wanted to stay with her mum and dad and I wanted my mummy.
Boarding the international flight from Sydney to SF became an issue as mum did not put the toiletries and my medication into CLEAR plastic bag and the security ended up searching all the luggage. It was stressful and embarassing. I hope mum would manage better next time.
Boarding the internal flight from SF to Seattle however posed even more security check, mum was searched as she did not take the jacket off. We were supposed to remove shoes, belts, any accessories on the body apart from the basic clothing to walk past the security gate. This time, the checking of toiletries and medicaton seemed not bothering them.
Tiffany's family
I met Tiffany, my new friend at the airport of San Francisco, she is 8. She can speak Cantonese like people in Hong Kong. In no time, we have started to play and talked to each other, not in cantonese though. The two hours flight from SF to Seattle, we virtually had not stopped talking.
Of course this was also the the first time I met auntie Agnes and Tiffy (the dog)
and uncle Henry.Uncle Joe's family We went to uncle Joe and auntie's Katy home for dinner. Uncle Joe is the brother of auntie Agnes. There is auntie Katy and two cousins of Tiffany, Sheila and Jamie. The dinner was delicious.I had three helpings to the potato salad, normally, when mum made potato salad, I did not want to eat it. Mum really had to work harder with her cooking. They also had some fresh sole and grouper which uncle caught with his friend 'Ryan' the day before from Puget Sound.
On the very first night, Tiffany and I stayed together. This lasted for a week, the novelty worn out and Tiffany wanted to stay with her mum and dad and I wanted my mummy.Jetlag
Mum's experience
Mum mentioned her jetlag for a number of days, she was always the first one to get up. She said the day time here in Seattle was normally the night time back in Perth. She stayed awake because her body clock was still tuning to the Perth time even physically she is in Seattle. This has lasted for quite a few days.
We did not do much in the first couple of days as we felt that our bodies required some rests.
My experience
My appepitite seemed not fitting in with the norm, in the morning I did not feel hungry at all. With day progresses along, I felt more and more hungry. I ended up having supper most of the nights.
Staying up late
We normally did not go to bed until 11:30pm and mum had started to worry of how I would be able to adjust when I got back to Perth
Boating
Mum mentioned her jetlag for a number of days, she was always the first one to get up. She said the day time here in Seattle was normally the night time back in Perth. She stayed awake because her body clock was still tuning to the Perth time even physically she is in Seattle. This has lasted for quite a few days.
We did not do much in the first couple of days as we felt that our bodies required some rests.
My experience
My appepitite seemed not fitting in with the norm, in the morning I did not feel hungry at all. With day progresses along, I felt more and more hungry. I ended up having supper most of the nights.
Staying up late
We normally did not go to bed until 11:30pm and mum had started to worry of how I would be able to adjust when I got back to Perth
Boating
One afternoon, we went boating and fishing. So far my memory of boating was not that pleasant. The boating pen here was under cover which was very good for the boats' maintenance. We had a little bit of hiccup when we first started, as the inside cabin was flooded with water eventually we realised it was overflown from the toilet, YUK!!
We got to the open sea, the wind was strong and it was very choppy, uncle Joe send us back to the pier and did some fishing and we caught crab too!
Uncle Joe and another uncle 'Ryan' decided to go back to the open sea for their luck. After one and a half hour, they managed to catch another 'sole'. Uncle Ryan's wife, auntie Anita, stayed with these two crazy guys on the open sea even she got sea sick, a true sign of her LOVE to him !
Emergency Trip to hospital
We got to the open sea, the wind was strong and it was very choppy, uncle Joe send us back to the pier and did some fishing and we caught crab too!
Uncle Joe and another uncle 'Ryan' decided to go back to the open sea for their luck. After one and a half hour, they managed to catch another 'sole'. Uncle Ryan's wife, auntie Anita, stayed with these two crazy guys on the open sea even she got sea sick, a true sign of her LOVE to him !
Emergency Trip to hospitalOn the very night after boating, I had a bath with Tiffany, but after that I suddently started to have itchy throat. Mum was quite used to this itchy throat stuff so asked me to drink some water but very soon I started to feel itchy on my body. I was given some antihistime but after 5 minutes, mum heard me wheezing even from a distance She thought I would be alright but another 10 minutes later, my symptoms did not go and I complained that I could not breathe. So I should see a doctor. In the mid-night just past 12 o'clock, the only option was at the hospital.
We were there for a couple of hours and I was given some puffs to ease off my whizzing and some benadryl, another antihistime. It was only after continuous prompting by the nurse at the hospital, auntie Agnes realised if the panfrying of walnut in the kitchen had triggered this attack. As the pan frying of walnut has produced fumes of walnut oil into the kitchen of which I was ibviously allergic to.
We were there for a couple of hours and I was given some puffs to ease off my whizzing and some benadryl, another antihistime. It was only after continuous prompting by the nurse at the hospital, auntie Agnes realised if the panfrying of walnut in the kitchen had triggered this attack. As the pan frying of walnut has produced fumes of walnut oil into the kitchen of which I was ibviously allergic to.
Tiffany birthday
Mum knew about Tiffany's birthday so before she left Perth, she had been asking around to see what children's literature was suitable for her. She has chosen Snugglepot and Cuddlepie. She also bought a cdrom with most of the favourite Australian songs including 'Waltzing Matilda'.
Indeed, the day after Tiffany's birthday it was her Dad's birthday. Mum did not prepare any gifts for him but knowing that he liked very salty things, a packet of 'vegemite and biscuits' was given to him. Vegemite, a very typical australian spread of which contains milk, wheat and barley with high salt content and was used as spread. Apparently it was not really that well received.
As Tiffany's granddad just passed away in early June, to follow the Chinese tradition, when there was a death in the family, there should not be celebration in the first month, so for both birthdays, even we did eat out but the dinner only limited to the very close family members and friends. Tiffany had to wait for another year for her 9th birthday to have a birthday party.
Indeed, the day after Tiffany's birthday it was her Dad's birthday. Mum did not prepare any gifts for him but knowing that he liked very salty things, a packet of 'vegemite and biscuits' was given to him. Vegemite, a very typical australian spread of which contains milk, wheat and barley with high salt content and was used as spread. Apparently it was not really that well received.
As Tiffany's granddad just passed away in early June, to follow the Chinese tradition, when there was a death in the family, there should not be celebration in the first month, so for both birthdays, even we did eat out but the dinner only limited to the very close family members and friends. Tiffany had to wait for another year for her 9th birthday to have a birthday party.
Cooking Class
Tiffany and I attended a couple of cooking classes at the Cookalicious Club. The first day we learnt how to make star shaped cookies and rice crispy stars as to celebrate the America's Independence Day.
The second day we learned how to bake cuban baked fish, which involved cutting lots of ingredients such as olive, onions, tomatoes, parsley etc. On the very night, both Tiffany and I managed to bake one for dinner.
The second day we learned how to bake cuban baked fish, which involved cutting lots of ingredients such as olive, onions, tomatoes, parsley etc. On the very night, both Tiffany and I managed to bake one for dinner.
Farmers Market
On a very mild day, we set off to the Farmers' market where only organic fruit and vegetables were sold. I was standing in front of the fresh rasberries and blueberries stall. The raspberries tasted very sweet.
It was also the first time we saw a new type of cherries known as rainier.
'The Rainier cherry is the sweetest, prettiest and most pampered of cherries, as delicate as it is lucrative. But it takes an orchardist who likes to gamble to coax the flavor, color and size from a Rainier.' copied and pasted from Rainer Cheeries. Tiffany bought two tomatoes plants and also a cactus for her garden. Look we had planted them in the garden.
'The Rainier cherry is the sweetest, prettiest and most pampered of cherries, as delicate as it is lucrative. But it takes an orchardist who likes to gamble to coax the flavor, color and size from a Rainier.' copied and pasted from Rainer Cheeries. Tiffany bought two tomatoes plants and also a cactus for her garden. Look we had planted them in the garden.
In the afternoon, after we had lunch, I was dying for Aussie meat pies but so far we had not come across any. In the Crossroads Mall, we found something a bit similar but it is a Russian style. It was made of puff pastry with minced chicken and mushroom and rice together. It tasted very delicious. Due to the cosmopolitan nature in the States, they tend to get more variety of food that we had not experienced in Perth yet.
We then went to a ceramic painting studio where we could pick ceramic items. I chose a horse and Tiffany chose a flower pot for her first cactus. Next we painted the ceramic item we purchased with at least three layers of paint and the studio would dry it for us and dip the item into a clear solution to give the shinning coating. I painted the horse with brown, black, red, pick and yellow. My mym however spoiled part of the horse as she used a wrong paint.
Vancouver - Cananda
We went to Vancouver in Canada for a day and I had a very brief gathering with my uncle John and auntie Helena in a shopping centre.
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We went swimming at Renton Beach Park (they called it beach but it is alongside of Lake and not ocean.)
We went to Museum of Flight and Seattle Aquarium
I had done so much with Tiffany.
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We went swimming at Renton Beach Park (they called it beach but it is alongside of Lake and not ocean.)
We went to Museum of Flight and Seattle Aquarium
I had done so much with Tiffany.
Final Day
We also spent a day at San Francisco and we met another uncle (Tom)and also cousin of Tiffany (Brian)who are also from Auntie Agnes' family.
It was also the first time I met some of my relatives, they are por por (my por por's sister in law and auntie Eva.
This is kung kung (my por por's 7th brother and auntie Eva), we had lunch the Johnny Rocket, I liked the mini hot dogs and also I loved the country music there.
This is uncle Guy, he was teaching me how to use chopsticks
It was also the first time I met some of my relatives, they are por por (my por por's sister in law and auntie Eva.
This is kung kung (my por por's 7th brother and auntie Eva), we had lunch the Johnny Rocket, I liked the mini hot dogs and also I loved the country music there.
This is uncle Guy, he was teaching me how to use chopsticks
I had an excellent holiday and I should head home to start school and go back to my normal rountine.Look at the luggage we had.
I also have to thank mum to schedule the holiday for me.
Thank dad for letting us go on a holiday without him.
I also have to thank mum to schedule the holiday for me.
Thank dad for letting us go on a holiday without him.
Differences of USA from Australia
Temperature
The weather when we were at Seattle were generally very mild, it always started off with a cool morning and then got warm or hotter in the afternoon with sunshine and got cool again around 8pm. During June and July when we were there, daylight stayed until 9pm. There was no need for referendum on daylight saving as in Western Australia. Friends in Perth knew how much day light saving meant for me, unfortunately, it was voted 'No'.
The American uses Ferenherit versus from celsius as in Australia, mum had diffculty to know how cold and hot the place was. She managed to copy down a few key conversions for her own reference. If over 80, it was warm (26.6), 70 was nice (21) and 90 would mean hot (32).
Measurement
The American continues to use the imperial whereas Australian uses metric sytem to measure distance and length. Mum was brought up with imperial but started to get used to use metric, particularly with car speed. Driving across from USA to Canada, reflected the change of this system.
Pronunciation
American and Australian have got different pronunciation for different words, Tiffany and I now understand we pronounce 'tomato';'dance' differently.
Spelling
Mummy in Australia is spelt as mommy in the States.
Friendliness
One thing which I noticed was the americans were not as friendly as australians. People in the States seemed to be very serious and reserve and they didn't tend to strike a chat with me as often as the australian did.
Police Presence
I definitely see more police presence in USA then in Perth, Australia. This is a concern of security or an issue related to crime rates or budget, too hard for me to tell.
The weather when we were at Seattle were generally very mild, it always started off with a cool morning and then got warm or hotter in the afternoon with sunshine and got cool again around 8pm. During June and July when we were there, daylight stayed until 9pm. There was no need for referendum on daylight saving as in Western Australia. Friends in Perth knew how much day light saving meant for me, unfortunately, it was voted 'No'.
The American uses Ferenherit versus from celsius as in Australia, mum had diffculty to know how cold and hot the place was. She managed to copy down a few key conversions for her own reference. If over 80, it was warm (26.6), 70 was nice (21) and 90 would mean hot (32).
Measurement
The American continues to use the imperial whereas Australian uses metric sytem to measure distance and length. Mum was brought up with imperial but started to get used to use metric, particularly with car speed. Driving across from USA to Canada, reflected the change of this system.
Pronunciation
American and Australian have got different pronunciation for different words, Tiffany and I now understand we pronounce 'tomato';'dance' differently.
Spelling
Mummy in Australia is spelt as mommy in the States.
Friendliness
One thing which I noticed was the americans were not as friendly as australians. People in the States seemed to be very serious and reserve and they didn't tend to strike a chat with me as often as the australian did.
Police Presence
I definitely see more police presence in USA then in Perth, Australia. This is a concern of security or an issue related to crime rates or budget, too hard for me to tell.