As I lay there on the sand, resting, I think that I must have actually slept. I don't really remember anything until I felt water on my feet. That shocked me! I was sick of water! At that moment, I didn't care if I never swam again, or even sat in a bathtub for that matter. I scrambled further up the sand and decided that I had probably better stand up and start walking around. I did, and also began to look at what was around me. Behind me was a gigantic rock in the water that came up to a point. My brain was working enough to tell me that the tide was coming in and that was why the rock seemed to be separate from the land I was on at the moment. But wait, if the tide was coming in, I needed to move...somewhere. Where? There was a lot of sandy beach around me, and then a little rise that seemed to run the length of the beach. That seemed like a safer bet at the moment, and easy enough for me to manage in my tired state, so I headed there.
There was a lot of grass along the base of the little hill, and there were trees on the hill itself. I remember thinking that shade would be nice, because it was really sunny, hot and really, really humid. Oh, great; now I remembered how thirsty I was. Man. Where was my mom when I really needed her?
Even though I really just wanted to sit and cry for a while, something in me said that I had to get busy. I knew that I needed to eat, I needed shelter, and boy! did I need water!
I shaded my eyes and looked toward the rest of the island that I was on. I tried to remember as much as I could from my Survival class at school about how landforms can mean different things...did a plateau mean that there could be a lake up there? Maybe a river or creek or something? I saw that the hill that I was standing on when close to the edge of the water, and hoped that maybe there would be a stream there, or something. I tried to listen for the sound of water, but with the ocean around me, that was kind of all I could hear anyway.
I didn't have far to walk before I could tell that there was some kind of fresh water close by. It might sound weird, but it was almost like I could smell it. I kept moving and there was a small stream, flowing downhill and into the ocean through a channel in the sand. I ran to it and just put my face into that beautiful, cold water. I remembered my mom not letting our dogs drink too much when they were really hot, something about them getting sick, so I made myself stop. Sure enough, after a couple of minutes I threw up. EW! But I rested there, under the shade of a little tree( almost a big bush, really), and then drank a little to see if it would stay down. It did.
While I was resting and waiting, I looked closely at the stream. There were rocks and grass, and visible through the really clear water were little fish! I heard a noise and saw a frog on the back, watching me through little black eyes. It made me feel less alone to see other living things.
After I felt better, I looked around more at where I was. I didn't know what time it was, but it seemed like it would be dark soon. That seemed scary to me, so I wanted to find a place to sleep where I would feel safe...well, safer, at any rate.
There really was a lot to be said for where I was, as far as staying in a good place. There was water, it was close enough to the beach so that I could hopefully be visible while waving at the rescue plane that was going to come for me. It was! I couldn't think that it wouldn't. It had to make sense. They'd miss me soon, if not already, and have to go back to where they had last seen me - right? Of course they would! They, at least, should have a better idea of where I was. All I knew was that I was on an island in the ocean, somewhere around Singapore.
Anyway, I also had the bushy trees to huddle under, and I thought that maybe some of the grasses might make a kind of mat to lie on top of. For the first time, I thought about my clothes. Luckily I hadn't just worn a bathing suit out snorkeling, but a had worn a wetsuit over my leggings, socks and shirt. Whew! I also had a small pack that I had strapped around me with little bits of stuff in it. That meant I had underwear also! I don't know why that made me feel better, but it sure did.
I walked just down the small hill to get some of the grass on the beach and found that it didn't pull out of the ground very easily. Hmmm. This could be a problem, I remember thinking. I just didn't know if there was anything that would help from my pack, but I saw some shells lying on the beach and then I had an idea! I wondered if I could hack at the grasses with the shells and cut them down, since pulling them out wasn't going to work. I gave it a try, and even though it was hard, and took a long time, it did work. I carried the arm full of grass back to my "spot" and spread it out on the ground. I rolled up my wetsuit for a pillow and figured that would be good enough. It'd only be for one night, anyway, I was sure of that.
I was awfully hungry, but after some more water and shifting around, it was getting dark. I was really more tired than anything else. Time enough to find food in the morning, I thought. The dark just seemed to close in on me then. It was full of strange noises and smells. I think that there were bugs crawling over me, but then I spotted some little geckos darting around on the branches over my head. I love geckos, and I knew that there were a lot of them in the Singapore area, so I wasn't scared of them. Besides, I figured, they would eat the bugs around me. At least it was warm out.
I wished that I was home, with my cozy bed and my teddy bear. The stars were awfully pretty; it was a really clear night. I cried a little more, and then I closed my eyes and tried to sleep.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Saturday, January 31, 2009
"Sixteen Most Amazing Days Of My Life" - day 1
I live in Stanwood, Washington. I have just experienced the most amazing 16 days of my life.
It all started on November 19th when my friend, Nicole, told me that she and her family had been saving for a cruise to Singapore. Her sister wasn't able to go because of college exams so they had an extra ticket and they offered it to me! I was so excited! I could hardly stand it while the two moms talked about arrangements and plans, but when they were done, it was okay and I was going to Singapore!
Since I was leaving the next morning, Mom and I hurried and did shopping and packing to get ready. I didn't think that I would sleep at all, I was so excited, but I was also worn out from all of the preparations, so sleep did happen. Before I knew it, it was morning and time to get up and get moving!
My mom wasn't going to be able to go to the airport with us because she had to take care of my grandmother, but she did drive me south to Lake Stevens, where Nicole lives. After a lot of double-checking, and hugging, some crying and more hugging, I got into Nicole's family's van and we headed to Sea-Tac Airport.
After checking in for our flights to San Francisco and boarding the plane, I settled down and realized how long it was going to take to get us to the actual "cruise" part of this trip...about two days! We flew from Seattle to San Francisco, which took two hours, then had a seven hour layover waiting for the next leg of the journey. From San Francisco we went to Sydney, Australia, a 15-hour flight. After another two and a half hours, we boarded our last plane for that part of the trip and flew four hours to Darwin, Australia, where the ship was waiting. After 31 hours and 10,055 miles, my dream vacation was about to begin.
The ship set said the next morning. It was so cool watching it pull out of the harbor! I had never been on anything larger than one of our Washington Ferries, so this was pretty amazing. It was so big! I think that at least half of my town could have fit on this thing! There were lots of activities to keep us busy, shuffleboard, swimming, dance classes, movies and even a spa day.
When we started out on the ship, we were south of the equator, but as we sailed through, past and around all the hundreds of little islands, we crossed over to the Northern Hemisphere. It was kind of a big deal I guess, but I didn't really see any difference around me. The temperature seemed to be the same almost every day, and the sun was pretty much always shining.
We reached Singapore on the seventh day of the cruise, and spent most of a day ashore exploring the city. It was so different from any of the cities that I've ever been in. I was really glad that I wasn't alone and that Nicole's mom and dad were there! There were alot of monkey and birds and geckos. Geckos were everywhere! I guess they are good luck to the people. Good thing!
After passing on some really strange looking food and buying little doo-dads for my friends and family back home, it was time to board the ship again. I was really happy that there was pizza for dinner that night, because I was really hungry!
The ship left Singapore that night. It was pretty, looking at the city all lit up in the night. It was something that I will always remember.
The next day we had the opportunity to take a small boat out with a group to go snorkeling in some of the shallower waters around the islands. I had never been snorkeling, so I was really excited! I love to swim. After we got into the water and got our instructions, off I went. It was so amazing, looking at the fish and the turtles and the rocks and stuff. I think that I must have lost track of time and where I was, because when I got a little tired and looked up, I didn't know where I was. I couldn't see anybody else, I couldn't see the boat, I couldn't hear anything except the water and the birds and my heart thudding! I screamed and hollered, hoping that somebody would hear me, but nobody showed up or hollered back. Where was everyone??
I was getting really tired, so I looked around for a place to rest. There was a little island not too far off. I decided that with swimming and then floating on my back to rest that I could make it easily enough, so I started out. I don't know how long it took me to get there, but I was able to stand on the bottom of the water and walk onto shore. I dropped to the ground, wet, cold, hungry, and very, very tired. So there I was. Alone. Cold. Wet. Hungry. Tired. And apparently lost and stranded on an island in the middle of...where?
Would I ever be rescued?
It all started on November 19th when my friend, Nicole, told me that she and her family had been saving for a cruise to Singapore. Her sister wasn't able to go because of college exams so they had an extra ticket and they offered it to me! I was so excited! I could hardly stand it while the two moms talked about arrangements and plans, but when they were done, it was okay and I was going to Singapore!
Since I was leaving the next morning, Mom and I hurried and did shopping and packing to get ready. I didn't think that I would sleep at all, I was so excited, but I was also worn out from all of the preparations, so sleep did happen. Before I knew it, it was morning and time to get up and get moving!
My mom wasn't going to be able to go to the airport with us because she had to take care of my grandmother, but she did drive me south to Lake Stevens, where Nicole lives. After a lot of double-checking, and hugging, some crying and more hugging, I got into Nicole's family's van and we headed to Sea-Tac Airport.
After checking in for our flights to San Francisco and boarding the plane, I settled down and realized how long it was going to take to get us to the actual "cruise" part of this trip...about two days! We flew from Seattle to San Francisco, which took two hours, then had a seven hour layover waiting for the next leg of the journey. From San Francisco we went to Sydney, Australia, a 15-hour flight. After another two and a half hours, we boarded our last plane for that part of the trip and flew four hours to Darwin, Australia, where the ship was waiting. After 31 hours and 10,055 miles, my dream vacation was about to begin.
The ship set said the next morning. It was so cool watching it pull out of the harbor! I had never been on anything larger than one of our Washington Ferries, so this was pretty amazing. It was so big! I think that at least half of my town could have fit on this thing! There were lots of activities to keep us busy, shuffleboard, swimming, dance classes, movies and even a spa day.
When we started out on the ship, we were south of the equator, but as we sailed through, past and around all the hundreds of little islands, we crossed over to the Northern Hemisphere. It was kind of a big deal I guess, but I didn't really see any difference around me. The temperature seemed to be the same almost every day, and the sun was pretty much always shining.
We reached Singapore on the seventh day of the cruise, and spent most of a day ashore exploring the city. It was so different from any of the cities that I've ever been in. I was really glad that I wasn't alone and that Nicole's mom and dad were there! There were alot of monkey and birds and geckos. Geckos were everywhere! I guess they are good luck to the people. Good thing!
After passing on some really strange looking food and buying little doo-dads for my friends and family back home, it was time to board the ship again. I was really happy that there was pizza for dinner that night, because I was really hungry!
The ship left Singapore that night. It was pretty, looking at the city all lit up in the night. It was something that I will always remember.
The next day we had the opportunity to take a small boat out with a group to go snorkeling in some of the shallower waters around the islands. I had never been snorkeling, so I was really excited! I love to swim. After we got into the water and got our instructions, off I went. It was so amazing, looking at the fish and the turtles and the rocks and stuff. I think that I must have lost track of time and where I was, because when I got a little tired and looked up, I didn't know where I was. I couldn't see anybody else, I couldn't see the boat, I couldn't hear anything except the water and the birds and my heart thudding! I screamed and hollered, hoping that somebody would hear me, but nobody showed up or hollered back. Where was everyone??
I was getting really tired, so I looked around for a place to rest. There was a little island not too far off. I decided that with swimming and then floating on my back to rest that I could make it easily enough, so I started out. I don't know how long it took me to get there, but I was able to stand on the bottom of the water and walk onto shore. I dropped to the ground, wet, cold, hungry, and very, very tired. So there I was. Alone. Cold. Wet. Hungry. Tired. And apparently lost and stranded on an island in the middle of...where?
Would I ever be rescued?
Friday, January 30, 2009
The island
The island created is called "High Point Island". The EH country was Singapore, so the accurate geographic qualities of the island are patterned after those of Singapore City.
Singapore City is located at 1 degree N, 103 degree E of the equator. It's average elevation is 538 ft. The average yearly rainfall total is 141.70", with it's driest month averaging 5". Because of it's location so close to the equator, the temperature varies very little, with high temps hovering right around 85 F all year long and the lows rarely dipping below 73 F.
The interpretation is in the shape of The Beast from Disney's Beauty and the Beast. It is a profile shot of The Beast holding the Enchanted Rose in his hand/paw. The High Point, giving the island it's name, is a centrally located plateau. On the north and west sides of the island the elevation drops to sea level dramatically, but slopes more gradually down on the south end. There is a lake located on the plateau, which drops over falls and travels to the sea by way of 3 tributaries, all located on the south side. This graphing of elevation is very important, as in the class the students will need to be able to find water and travel a bit on the island, but in a realistic manner.
The size of the island is about 12 miles measuring W to E, and close to 20 miles N to S. The chosen flora are orchids, plush grass, rosemary pea, aloe, ru tree, and egyptian finger grass. There are alot more indigenous to Singapore, but the guidelines required the students to list no more than 6, so choices were made based on projected needs for survival, and for the travel portion. Chosen fauna are geckos, asian toads, octopus, damsel flies, starfish, flying lemurs and wild pigs. Yes, that's one more than should have been put, but she couldn't choose between pigs and lemurs! :D
That may seem confusing still, for which I apologize. It is difficult to explain the true face of the class without being in the midst of it. But you can see from this, hopefully, the hyper-tight continuity that is needed in order for this project to be successful. Add to that the fact that most of the planning is done without a clear picture of what will truly be needed, but after which no more editing can be done, and you can see the "survival" aspect come into view. No matter how badly you may want to go back and choose different flora and fauna, in order to better facilitate the need for shelter or food, you cannot. You also cannot "invent" tarps that are left, etc. The only supplies that you are allowed to have are those items that you were wearing the day that the list was made, and what was in your school backpack on that particular day. A note on that...there was absolutely no warning on which day this would be, nor was any advance notice of such a day given. There was no way to pre-plan for the list by stuffing your backpack! :D
If you end up shipwrecked, as you means of becoming stranded, the boat must sink at least 500 ft off shore and cannot be used for firewood or shelter. Whatever it is that helped you get to the island, mysteriously disappears when you step foot on shore.
3 items were gifted to the students. They each received a small flashlight, a pencil sharpener and a notepad. The notepad is important because they are supposed to be journaling their experiences. :D This is a language arts class above all, don't forget! :D
I think that's all of the criteria...it's all that I can remember at the moment at any rate. Now, onward to begin the journey.
Singapore City is located at 1 degree N, 103 degree E of the equator. It's average elevation is 538 ft. The average yearly rainfall total is 141.70", with it's driest month averaging 5". Because of it's location so close to the equator, the temperature varies very little, with high temps hovering right around 85 F all year long and the lows rarely dipping below 73 F.
The interpretation is in the shape of The Beast from Disney's Beauty and the Beast. It is a profile shot of The Beast holding the Enchanted Rose in his hand/paw. The High Point, giving the island it's name, is a centrally located plateau. On the north and west sides of the island the elevation drops to sea level dramatically, but slopes more gradually down on the south end. There is a lake located on the plateau, which drops over falls and travels to the sea by way of 3 tributaries, all located on the south side. This graphing of elevation is very important, as in the class the students will need to be able to find water and travel a bit on the island, but in a realistic manner.
The size of the island is about 12 miles measuring W to E, and close to 20 miles N to S. The chosen flora are orchids, plush grass, rosemary pea, aloe, ru tree, and egyptian finger grass. There are alot more indigenous to Singapore, but the guidelines required the students to list no more than 6, so choices were made based on projected needs for survival, and for the travel portion. Chosen fauna are geckos, asian toads, octopus, damsel flies, starfish, flying lemurs and wild pigs. Yes, that's one more than should have been put, but she couldn't choose between pigs and lemurs! :D
That may seem confusing still, for which I apologize. It is difficult to explain the true face of the class without being in the midst of it. But you can see from this, hopefully, the hyper-tight continuity that is needed in order for this project to be successful. Add to that the fact that most of the planning is done without a clear picture of what will truly be needed, but after which no more editing can be done, and you can see the "survival" aspect come into view. No matter how badly you may want to go back and choose different flora and fauna, in order to better facilitate the need for shelter or food, you cannot. You also cannot "invent" tarps that are left, etc. The only supplies that you are allowed to have are those items that you were wearing the day that the list was made, and what was in your school backpack on that particular day. A note on that...there was absolutely no warning on which day this would be, nor was any advance notice of such a day given. There was no way to pre-plan for the list by stuffing your backpack! :D
If you end up shipwrecked, as you means of becoming stranded, the boat must sink at least 500 ft off shore and cannot be used for firewood or shelter. Whatever it is that helped you get to the island, mysteriously disappears when you step foot on shore.
3 items were gifted to the students. They each received a small flashlight, a pencil sharpener and a notepad. The notepad is important because they are supposed to be journaling their experiences. :D This is a language arts class above all, don't forget! :D
I think that's all of the criteria...it's all that I can remember at the moment at any rate. Now, onward to begin the journey.
Survival 101
Hey!
So there's this class at my daughter's school (Homelink, parent/partnership program through Lake Stevens School District, thank you very much) called Survival. The basic premise of the class is to teach geography, social studies, and language arts all in one. The students choose an Eastern Hemisphere country and pattern a make-believe island after the capital city of that country. The island they design can be styled anyway they would like, as long as it is kind of realistic. It will be plopped down in the ocean on the same latitude/longitude lines as the city they have, and will also need to have elevation, flora and fauna maps made with the same accurate info. They are to graph by month the precipitation and temperatures, and use all of this information to create their creative "scenario" involving a surviving situation.
So there's this class at my daughter's school (Homelink, parent/partnership program through Lake Stevens School District, thank you very much) called Survival. The basic premise of the class is to teach geography, social studies, and language arts all in one. The students choose an Eastern Hemisphere country and pattern a make-believe island after the capital city of that country. The island they design can be styled anyway they would like, as long as it is kind of realistic. It will be plopped down in the ocean on the same latitude/longitude lines as the city they have, and will also need to have elevation, flora and fauna maps made with the same accurate info. They are to graph by month the precipitation and temperatures, and use all of this information to create their creative "scenario" involving a surviving situation.
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