Tuesday, February 25, 2014

100 Things About Me

Dear Readers (Who I'm pretty sure don't exist so if anyone actually reads my blog then please comment something on some post),

Once again, I haven't been on here for a while. My life has been it's usual craziness. I'm blogging today to work on something one of my friends inspired me to do: 100 Things About Myself. I started this on Christmas, December 25th 2013. I'm ending it whenever I actually publish this post. Enjoy!

1. When I was little, I used to absolutely hate piano. But now, I couldn't imagine my life without it.

2. I want to travel the world.

3. I tend to get along really well with people who are older than me, no matter how big the age difference.

4. I currently do International Extemporaneous Speaking for speech & debate. It's actually the event that I never wanted to do or thought I would. Now I can't imagine myself doing anything else.

5. I'm a vegetarian.

6. I love to write poetry. It used to be all deep and dark but now it's more 'hopeless romantic'.

7. With some people, I naturally and unintentionally flirt.

8. I believe that dreams are always nightmares, because they are always of unattainable wants.

9. Vienna is my favorite city

10. I currently am fluent in English and Hindi. I can understand and slightly speak Tamil. I am nearly fluent in French, and have just started learning Chinese. I really want to learn Arabic.

11. My greatest fear in the world is to lose the people I love, or to see them hurt.

12. I think the world is this amazing place that was created to be discovered.

13. Although I am South Indian, I talk, eat, dress, dance, sing, look, and act like a North Indian.

14. I associate people and memories with different songs.

15. My strong and sharp memory is both a blessing and a curse.

16. I am the youngest kid in my class, but I have really good grades and am in the highest classes for normal people.

17. Even though I do speech, I consider myself to be a debater.

18. I want to learn to be a Bollywood dancer but I have to time so I've started teaching myself. Well at least through music videos.

19. I am a hopeless romantic.

20. Fancy dresses, both American and Indian, make me feel like a princess, Especially when I'm dancing or around boys. Or both.

21. Unlike most people. I love school. I get too bored during break.

22. Most of the clothes I own are blue, green, purple and black. Indian clothes are nearly the total opposite- red, orange, pink and green.

23. I love snow, therefore I can't imagine myself living anywhere else than where I currently do.

24. Instead of paying attention to the actual movie, I usually pay more attention to the soundtrack, outfits, romantic acts and attractive male celebrities.

25. I love to make cookies. Everyone says they're amazing and they love them, but I don't like to eat them.

26. I have a wintertime obsession with peppermint.

27. My music taste of American music is very erratic. I usually like the tunes, words or people who tell me of the song, more than I like the actual song or artist themselves.

28. I write a lot of romantic poetry. Usually because romance is something that my life strongly lacks.

29. I am not socially awkward. I'm usually a very social person. In any school, music or debate context. Oh and at Indian parties.

30. I love the taste of coffee.

31. I am not someone who likes to take an out-of-the-blue initiative to go on roller coasters. They actually really scare me before hand. After being forced to sit down though, I usually have the time of my life, can't stop talking about it, and want to ride again.

32. I hang on to memories as if they were my lifeline.

33. I analyze every political happening around the world and I have a strong opinion on every one.

34. Not in the sense that I want to convert, but I have a strong fascination with the Muslim religion and culture. 50% from a political background and 50% from a social background.

35. My biggest pet peeve is when people judge me based on my age. For ANYTHING!

36. I never, EVER judge a guy on their looks. Only on their personalities. One, because guys are much better that way, and two because thats how I would like to be judged (on my personality).

37. I prefer big, lighted cities to small villages. I like suburbs for housing purposes, and I love looking at the countryside. But not for tour purposes.

38. I think that race and religion should be put aside in order to stop governmental conflict.

39. The lives of me, my arch nemesis, and my old crush are all freakishly intertwined.

40. I wear high heels and a pant suit to debate tournaments because they make me feel powerful and professional. And also to bridge a gap between how a normal girl would dress in a skirt suit versus how a guy would dress in a pant suit.

41. Nothing makes me happier than being able to help someone in any way.

42. I always appreciate what other people can do, but competition is always my biggest motivation to do better.

43. My name is pronounced just about exactly as it is spelled. American people say it differently than Indians do. After 14 years, now I just go along with the American pronunciation.

44. Most of the books I read and read over again (for pleasure) offer me some sort of insight at my life. These include 'The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks', 'A Mango Shaped Space', the Pretty Little Liars series, and most John Green books.

45. I am 99% sure that my best friend is a goddess. Only because she has done more good and bad things for me than any ordinary human could possibly do.

46. I believe that beauty is existent in every thing in the world, so it is truly in the eye of the beholder.

47. My past experiences have taught me to find happiness in every little possible thing, because you never know when you'll lose one of them.

48. I love the sound, smell, sight, and feel or airports, because they contain some of the greatest memories of my life.

49. I'm younger than just about all my friends; off the top of my head, I can only think of one who's younger than me and I'm only 4 months, even though 1 grade, older than him.

50. For the most part, when looking at guys, I really like smart guys who tease-ingly compete with me and are kind with a good sense of humor. For me, looks are ALWAYS a bonus.

51. I leave everything in a round. Let me elaborate. If somebody's the reason I don't do well in debate, I don't hold it against them in a personal way. For example, my serious debate rival, I don't really know him very well personally but I'd love to. He seems like a cool guy.

52. If someone wrongs me, I don't believe in getting revenge against them. I prefer to handle my own issues and not get others involved, unless it's needed for me to earn my lost things/people/values/reputation back. As long as I can retrieve what has been lost, I'm totally fine. But it's because if they do it again, someone else could get better revenge than I could.

53. I can remember a lot more about a moment through the associated song rather than through a picture.

54. My dream job is to be a US Ambassador to a foreign country, either French speaking or Austria. But I'm okay with being a doctor too.

55. Whenever I see romantic movies, places, songs, or acts, I always mentally replace the people with my crush and me.

56. A lot of people come to me to vent, get advice, or just need someone to listen to them. I'll never tell.

57. FFI Extemp Lab 2013 changed my life forever. A combination of the friendships made, adventures had and cherished, and the lessons learnt and never forgotten.

58. I don't fear getting judged, but I am always much more comfortable and social in a situation where I fit in, e.g. debate tournaments, music related places, school and Indian parties.

59. I've always wanted to be someone who's approachable and that people don't fear talking to. At the same time, I don't want people to take me for granted as always being there, even if I am.

60. My life is a crazy tangle of coincidences.

61. I can't do group projects. I don't work well in groups because I fear to depend on people and leave my future in their hands.

62. I cry pretty easily with movies, television shows, books, and even music.

63. I knit. but I don't have the patience to sit and do a longterm project, so there are a variety of purple dishrags around the house. I'm currently trying to make a scarf.

64. I don't make New Years' resolutions because I always feel like I'm changing things for the sake of it. I make vows to myself to try and do things differently. Long term with no initiative.

65. I'm very OCD about everything being perfectly in place.

66. My first true best friend was in 6th grade.

67. If you know me well, then I'm a slightly girly nerd. I usually flash my nerd side, but my girly side mostly around my friends or boys.

68. I'm a hardcore Pretty Little Liars fan. Watched every episode and read every page of every book.

69. There's something very enticing about the color purple. It's royal, majestic, beautiful, calming, etc. I also don't hear stereotypes about it. It's my favorite color.

70. I'm not a super religious Hindu, but I embrace my religious culture deeply.

71. I can do abstract art, but not real life drawings, paintings, etc.

72. My idea of a perfect rainy day is to be cuddled on my bed, reading & filing the news on my laptop, drinking something warm and sweet, and listening to music, while the window is behind me so I can see (and hear) Mother Nature's peaceful teardrops.

73. I don't have stage fright because I've been performing since I was four. I do, however, have a strange fear of getting test grades back.

74. Hindi is my native language but sometimes I can speak French better.

75. I love foreign and domestic policy. Mostly foreign. But I'd love to be president even though I'm not gonna run.

76. My room is a sanctuary. It really embodies me and my interests & likes, and I just love being in it. It's very stress relieving and calming.

77. Unlike how most people get super anxious at speech and debate tournaments, i feel right at home.

78. I believe that the first step to any goal is a positive attitude. Then comes hard work.

79. My name, Ananya, means 'unique' in Hindi. I hope I live up to it.

80. I always give people a second chance because if I were them, I'd want it too.

81. Sometimes I don't see the bad in people, which leads to me getting hurt.

82. I don't wear makeup, but my mom almost always asks me if I am. I'm not sure if she's trying to flatter me.

83. The feel of a piano under my fingertips makes me feel alive.

84. Although I have really high standards for myself, I acknowledge that others might not and I respect that. I want people to feel good about what they can do, and I want my friends to be like that too.

85. I follow basic debate principles in a lot of aspects of of my daily life, and I am still amazed at how my event has shaped me.

86. I don't actually believe in superstitions and lucky charms, but they all seem true when I desperately want something.

87. I don't feel comfortable talking about my achievements unless over text to 2 specific people.

88. I'm very nitpickily organized about my life.

89. I love those spring days when it's slightly darker than normal and is slightly cooler after raining.

90. I'm really good at multitasking. Like texting, watching television/listening to music, and doing homework at once.

91. My first celebrity crush was Avan Jogia, when he was in Victorious. I still love him but I have some other favorites too.

92. I have an obsession with my pencils being super pointy. Actually I just usually like using ballpoint pens. they don't smudge so they look pristine and clear.

93. I love my French class. All of my teachers think their subject is my favorite but French actually is.

94. I don't compose my own music very much, but I do arrange pieces I particularly like.

95. I'm learning to love myself, with all the strengths and imperfections, both physical and mental.

96. I don't have one favorite word, but rather quite a few, such as 'clam', 'eyebrows', 'nerd', and other random words with inside jokes. 

97. One of the things I hate is when two people don't like eachother and they spread the "don't be friends with them" rumor. Like no. That's between you guy, don't inflict it on me. Let me be friends with who I want.

98. I do go to an expensive really smart all-girls prep school, but don't judge me because of it!

99. I have mastered the art of "stalking" Lane Chesler. (This isn't actually true, it's 99% an inside joke)

100. I have a solid determination to do anything I put my mind to. So don't try stopping me because it ain't going away.

So I did this project because I saw my friend had done it, and I thought it was cool. It was fun, BUT IT WAS REALLY TROUBLING TOO. Whoever knows me knows that I love to talk, but I couldn't say 100 things about myself. I finally did end up getting help from my best friend. But this is a great self-realization project because you should PROBABLY know at least 100 things about you because nobody ever will if you don't.

Alright well I hope you enjoyed that, my non-existent readers haha. Comment anything (a.k.a. I'm gonna try and get more people to read this)

Ananya :)

Monday, April 8, 2013

March 2013: Germany & Austria Trip

Hi Everyone

 

***So I typed this post...and then it deleted due to various wifi malfunctions. Which I am attempting to fix, but aren't working. So, on this beautifully snowy day while I remember this amazing trip, I am retyping and reposting this whole thing. Yeah I know I should probably be doing something better with my life...but here goes nothing!

 

Over spring break of my 8th grade year, I took an amazing trip to Germany and Austria for 10 days. It was an extraordinary trip because we weren't just sightseeing, we were also performing the recorder. Just a bit of background information: Recorders are a medieval instrument, what made up orchestras before violins were invented. I think they are truly unique that they contain centuries of history. We took this trip to experience the music-infused culture of these cities in these two countries, and to get an opportunity to honor those composers by playing their music where it was composed. Throughout the trip, my best friend (Lane, you'll hear quite a bit about her here) and I kept journals so that we could remember small details that eventually we would forget. I'm adding a few little things, such as restaurant and food reviews, travelers advice, as well as distances that we walked (since most of the day, we are walking from place to place). This post is a compilation of most of my journal entries. But because my intention here isn't to ruin what could be a fabulous trip experience for you, I am just showing you a glimpse into my trip. Enjoy!

 

PS: This post contains many descriptions of beautiful landscapes, gorgeous music, amazing people, and delicious food. Beware.

 

 

Day 1: Friday, March 15 (Freitag, am 15. März)

 

Location: Combination of Cleveland, Philadelphia, and a boring US Airways plane ride.

 

3:16 p.m. (Cleveland Time)

I can't believe our journey has begun! We are at the airport right now, waiting to go to Philly. We're eating a ton of junk food, probably not the best choice. On the plane to Philly, I'm probably going to be sitting next to Kayla and Hanna, since the seats are alphabetical by last name. It's unfortunately a small plane, and the weather's not the greatest. The funniest thing ever happened today: My braid got caught in security. It was funnier when it was happening.

 

6:38 p.m. (Philadelphia Time)

 

Our flight from Cleveland got delayed by 1 ½ hours and we nearly missed our flight to Munich. The problem was that the next two days' flights to Munich (6:30 pm) were both full, so we would have to fly to Manchester and then Munich. Being the HB girls that we were, we sprinted through the airport and shuttle from Terminal F to A. We made the flight, so I am currently sitting with Margaret in the second to last row. Fortunately, with a window seat.

 

2:07 a.m. (Munich Time)

 

Since I was sitting at the end of the plane, by the time they came to me for dinner, they were out of pasta, which was their only vegetarian option. Stupid US Airways. I concluded that my dinner would be a luna bar, some of a brownie that Margaret very kindly gave me, some Reese's cups, and sprite. But one flight attemdant was very kind and he gave me the vegetarian portion of the non-veg meal. I'm going to attempt to sleep with my iPod now, because there is absolutely nothing else to do on this flight.

 

 

Day 2: Saturday, March 16 (Samstag, am 16. März)


Location: Downtown Munich Sightseeing


10:26 p.m. (*From now until further mentioned, everything is in local European time)


We started off a tiring day by doing passport checks and exchanging money. While Lane and I were waiting in line, we had a very cool conversation with a guy who was telling us about Istanbul and Japan. He had been to both places, I was very jealous. We met Gerrit, our tour guide, and Stephan, our bus driver. We bought breakfast snacks in the airport. I found the most magically amazing wildberry yogurt. I also learnt that our tour bus is a Mercedez. Irrelevant, but it makes my life all the more better. We started the day off at the Viktualienmarkt, where Lane, Ms Southard, Gerrit and I shared a box of really good rosemary olives. We saw mant things today, such as the BMW headquarters, and the Munich glockenspiel. WE ate lunch at the Hofbraühaus. I got the vegetarian spaetzel with cheese, apple strudel, onion soup, a pretzel and some sparkling water. We then went our and raised $40 by playing in Marienplatz for UNICEF. We got super cold outside, so we went into a cafe in the art museum and drank hot chocolate. They gave us the coolest blocks of chocolate on sticks, along with a glass of milk. It felt very modern and contemporary. We ate dinner at an Italian restaurant. (Lane, Gerrit, and I took a small side trip to the Swatch store here). We played cards and ate pizza while drinking NOT SPARKLING water out of beer-like bottles. I had the most amazing pesto ever! We're staying at the youth hostel right now. I am top bunk for what I believe to be the first time in my life. I'm in a 6 person room, and at the fact that we've been playing cards for the past 2 hours, I highly doubt I'm going to be able to sleep tonight.


Distance Walked: 5.5 Miles


Food and Restaurant Notes: I would recommend everything I had today. Italian food was at Berni's Nudelbrett in Munich, a few blocks away from Marienplatz. Note: SPARKLING WATER IS NOT ACTUALLY LIKE WATER. It has something in it, so it tastes totally like normal water. Ask them for flat water.


Travelers Notes: In the middle of March, it is unbelievably sunny and unbelievably cold. Pack accordingly for the weather. Also, there are tons of tourists out at this time on a Saturday, even though most schools in Europe aren't on Easter Break. Plan your destinations accordingly if you want to get good views and pictures.



Day 3: Sunday, March 17 (Sonntag, am 17. März)


Location: Berchtesgaden Salt Mine (Border of Germany and Austria) and Salzburg, Austria


9:18 p.m.


Today morning, we drove to Berchtesgaden Salt Mine. It was a spectacular drive through the Alps and across the open border of Germany and Austria. In the mine, we rode on carts through the mountains and took slides to get deeper underground. We also saw a very cool mirrored lights show on the lake while in a boat. After finishing our tour of the Salt Mine, we ate lunch around a fountain in the middle of the Alps. The view was spectacular. Although there was snow on all of the mountaintops around us, the sun was shining and it was quite warm. On the top of one of the mountains, there is a small chalet. It's nicknamed Hitler's Eagle Nest, because this is where Hitler would stay and command his troops in order to keep control over Austria. Rumor has it that almost all of Austria can be seen from up here. We then drove to Salzburg. I bought lots of things when we got down, including 2 magnets, a violinist figure, a music scarf, Mozartkugeln, and a heart necklace (from the Salt Mine). We then went to the Hohensalzburg fortress. We took personal tours with little audio system units. When we were on the tops of towers on top of the fortress which was on top of a mountain, the view was gorgeous. You can see all of Salzburg from up there, as well as fairly deep into the Alps. We then went to Mozart's Birth Häus and played Andante. I also had gelato for the first time ever. It was lemon flavored, and one of the best things I have ever tasted. For dinner, we went to a cool restaurant in which you see things in windows, point, pay and eat. I also had more kinder chocolate, in which there were toys. Mine was a mini seal. We are staying at the Hotel Goldenes Theatre in Salzburg for tonight and tomorrow night.


Distance Walked: 3.42 Miles


Food and Restaurant Notes: Everything was really good today. For the town at Berchtesgaden, many things aren't open on Sundays until 2-3 pm. However, note that it is very close to Salzburg so it isn't too difficult to drive there to get food. We ate dinner at Augustinerbräu. It is really cool to be able to see what you're ordering but I do advise you to have a dictionary or translating app with you as it gets really annoying sometimes when they can't understand what you're asking for. The food is delicious.


Travelers Notes: Hitler's Eagle Nest was not one of the places where we visited but it is possible to take a ski lift up to the chalet; I've heard the view is breathtaking. You must visit Salzburg. If you're a fan of Mozart or not, this is an amazing city. There are quite a few shops on the street where Mozart's Birth Häus is.



Day 4: Monday, March 18 (Montag, am 18. März)


Location: All around Salzburg (Sound of Music Tour)


10:58 p.m.


This morning, I nearly overslept. It was around 7:53 when I had a pleasant wake up call of Lane violently shaking me to wake me up. While we were eating breakfast, Hanna, Lane and I talked to an American lady about how smart we sound when we talk. She was very interesting. We went on the Sound of Music tour. The fun involved a funny tour guide, yodeling lessons, sing alongs, tree-climbing, and the most spectacular views in the world. I had a lot of fun eating Linzer torte cookies as well. In the afternoon, we had our first formal performance. On the way to the Orff Institut, Lane twirled, spun, and braided my hair into this epic twisty braid. The performance went really well and the kids were very cute. Since it was pouring, we went and got rain stuff. Lane and I then took off on her shopping spree. I saw some really cool things though, including musical pasta. After shopping, we ate dinner. More kaisespaetzel (cheesy spaetzel). However, we had a very cool drink called Spezi (which was basically Fanta and Coke mixed). Lastly, we had a dessert called Salzburger Nockerl (whipped fluffy eggs and cranberry jam). We are staying in the Hotel Goldenes Theatre again tonight. I am going to go attempt to tell Lane to stop playing Jiya Re at the TOP OF HER IPOD'S VOLUME. I TAUGHT HER THAT SONG AND NOW IT'S DRIVING ME INSANE!!!!


Distance Walked: 5.06 Miles


Food and Restaurant Notes: The place where we ate dinner, Bärenwirt, had literally NO VEGETARIAN OPTIONS. I am a strict vegetarian so this was an issue for me. But their Salzburger Nockerl merits the visit.


Travelers Notes: On the south side of the river (Danube), there are many cute shops where you can get food, souvenirs, one-of-a-kind clothes, beautiful jewelry, and just about anything else. I definitely recommend this. Also, if you are in a relationship, there is a bridge going across the river that lovers attach locks to. It is said to hold your relationship stable as long as it is up on the bridge. This might be something you enjoy.



Day 5: Tuesday, March 19 (Dienstag, am 19. März)


Location: Vienna (at last!)


10:45 p.m.


We started off an exciting and tiring day with a 3 ½ hour bus ride from Salzburg to Vienna. However, we had a lot of fun, including singing various a capella arrangements of different songs (all our own). After reaching Vienna, we ate lunch at the Esterhazy Keller. This time it was Greek food- spinach and feta cheese in phyllo dough, as well as creamed garlic soup. AND more apple strudel. However, I got to try a traditionall Viennese lemonade drink called Almdudler. We then played the Alma Mater. After this, we went to the Haus de Musik museum (For some strange reason, I wrote that sentence in French in my tour guide. I hope it was at least grammatically correct.) It was the coolest thing ever! Especially the sound physics floor- Trom even named me a resource here :) I bought Ms Ella a snow globe, a pen and musical paper clips. Their gift shop was quite extensive and I had some difficulty in choosing what to get. We went to the Manner wafer store and I got some original hazelnüsse wafers. We finally had rehearsal with the Musikschule. They have really nice sounding wood recorders, however, they call them flutes. This led to quite a bit of confusion amongst us 13 Americans. We then met our homestay families. Both Christian and Martin were very nice, as were Herr and Frau Schlatte. We had an amazing dinner of tomato soup, bread (with butter), various cheeses, and empanadas. For dessert, we had pudding with jam, as well as orange cake, followed with jasmine and fruit tea. We had a ton of fun. Guess what? Ms. Southard even accepted my request to play at the concert on Thursday night!


Distance Walked: 4.25 Miles


Food and Restaurant Notes: Esterhazy Keller has wonderful food. Manner wafer candy of all type is something you must try. However, the meal that I had for dinner was something that I dream of having again because it was so good. It was home made though, so I can't tell you where to get it, sorry.


Travelers Notes: Vienna is currently my favorite city in the world. I loved walking the streets there. It's very modern too. The Haus de Musik is a place that both music lovers and not will love equally. The Esterhazy Keller holds a lot of musical history as well, so it's worth a visit to just go down and see Haydn's composing "studio".



Day 6: Wednesday, March 20 (Mittwock, am 20. März)


Location: Vienna


11:08 p.m.


Today was a fairly boring day, however with some things that strongly popped out. Today morning, I had an absolutely freezing cold shower. The heating water system turned off by accident. Frau Schlatte was very upset because I didn't tell her. I was reminded of this throughout the day by Christian, Martin, and Lane. I finally got to try the Musikschule's piano. It's better than a Steinway! Seriously though, I was freaking out about playing it, and freaking out even more about playing it tomorrow night! We then went and saw the Lipizzaner Stallions practice. We saw all of Vienna from the top of a cool ferris wheel. After lunch (more spaetzel and amazing desserts), we went to the Sisi museum and Royal Apartments. It was quite interesting. Afterwards, we went to a park and just watched/took pictures of skateboarders. Finally, we went back to the school and rehearsed with the others some more. We also went on a tour of the Musikschule, a beautiful place. I got to try playing a harpsichord as well. Just like Ms Ella, Ms Southard, and Mrs Mietus had said, the black and white keys were switched, so it was very different to play. We went to Grinzing for dinner and had their traditional grape juice. After dinner, Herr Schlatte took Lane and I up the nearby mountain to show us Vienna at night. It was a breathtaking view! He also showed us these two fish that he adored as a child, which turned out to just be a fountain made of stone. We then went back to the flat and bonded with Christian and Martin, talking about common touristy perceptions to clothes to store brands. It was a great culturally enhancing experience.


Distance Walked: 5.61 Miles


Food and Restaurant Notes: Café Griestadl has very good kaisespaetzel. Beware of putting sugar on your food mistaking it for salt, it happened to us. However, it has amazing tortes. It was here that my life would change. I tried Esterhàzy torte. I have not stopped thinking about it since. Even Lane, who doesn't like desserts or chocolate, finally split the piece with me. I have since made the torte once, with a plan to make it again. I don't have the name of the Grinzing restaurant we ate dinner at, but it was the point-and-order type. Wasn't the greatest food though.


Travelers Notes: Go to see the Lipizzaner Stallions during their actual performance season. Their practices show off the horses, which are truly beautiful, but you really only see them trotting around everywhere. The Royal Apartments are really beautiful though, and are worth the visit.



Day 7: Thursday, March 21 (Donnerstag, am 21. März)


Location: Vienna


10:30 p.m.


Today, we went to a lot of artsy sites. We started at the Hundertwasserhaus, a house which has no straight lines because according to the artist Hundertwasser (100 Waters), "Straight Lines are the Devil's Tool." From there we went to the Art Museum. We saw many cool paintings and sculptures, many famous pieces of artwork as well. We basically stumbled from one room to another because we couldn't actually find our way around. Event wise, lunch was boring, but it was delicious- spinach dumplings with cheese, and potato salad. After lunch, we toured the Vienna opera house. It was a gorgeous, ornately decorated building. I thoroughly enjoyed it. We then went to a café close to Hotel Sacher and had Sachertorte. This chocolaty dessert is chocolate cake, apricot preserves, and chocolate with whipped cream on top. Afterwords, we had hot chocolate again but it was so perfectly sized that it was adorable. After that was the concert. All of our recorder pieces went very well. My piano solo went amazingly- we pulled the piano out and I played in the open atrium. We ditched the potluck, and instead, Lane, Christian and I went to a pizza place. It was a lot of fun to wait for the pizza because we sat and practiced doing accents for 20 minutes there.


Distance Walked: 6.47 Miles


Food and Restaurant Notes: Nothing too special. Sachertorte is something that many hotels do sell in the area, however the closer to Hotel Sacher that you can get, the better quality the torte is. The pizza place below 22 Silbergasse is fantastic.


Travelers Notes: The art in Vienna isn't quite as extraordinary as its music, but it is spectacular. I strongly recommend visiting the Hundertwasserhaus as well as the Art Museum.



Day 8: Friday, March 22 (Freitag, am 22. März)


Location: Mauthausen, Linz and Munich


11:06 p.m.


Today morning, we said our final goodbyes to the Schlattes. Lane and I were very sad and there were many hugs all around. After packing all of our stuff onto the bus, we headed to Mauthausen. The bus ride was about 2 hours long. Mauthausen is a concentration camp just outside of Vienna. It is built on top of a hill that overlooks a beautiful landscape and an adorable little village. Visiting it was an experience that my own words cannot describe. What I saw, what I heard, humans cannot comprehend. It took away my voice. To honor those who had died there, we played a short piece of music. It echoed, and although beautiful is not the word I wish to use here, hearing our music there was profound. After touring the camp and memorial center, we traveled to Linz, on the heart of the Danube. We ate Linzertorte (A fantastic torte of almond/hazelnut dough layed in a lattice over raspberry jam) at the ARS Electronica Center's Cafe. I really enjoyed the museum, especially the Deep Space exhibit and Piano Machine. After that, we boarded the long, 4 hour bus back to Munich. We played quite a few rounds of Truth or Dare on the bus. By the time we arrived in Munich, someone had named our noses, Lane was talking in Pig Latin, and I was marrying a male version of my nemesis instead of the Beethoven guy from the Vienna transit. Dinner was good. I had potato pancakes with apple sauce, and lemon sorbet. We are staying in the Youth Hostel again tonight.


Distance Walked: 2 Miles


Food and Restaurant Notes: Starnberger has quite yummy food. Linz is a gorgeous cities with quite a few cafes on the river, which looked like they would have been fun.


Travelers Notes: Caution with visiting Mauthausen. It is most definitely not a place for the weak stomached, and I would strongly advise having some background information on the Holocaust before going. Linz ARS Electronica Center is a fantastic family location.



Day 9: Saturday, March 23 (Samstag, am 23. März)


Location: Neuschwanstein Castle and Andechs


11:06 p.m.


Today night is our last night abroad, and I'm very sad. This morning, we celebrated Ms Southard's birthday. Everything that Lane and I planned finally fell into place, which was great. We did a singing procession holding candles, a banner and a linzertorte. The 5 of us then played recorder (I was thrilled to see my arrangement sounded really good together). The chaperones, Lane, and two other of my friends went down to a gorgeous lake next to the Youth Hostel. We then took a 1 ½ hour bus ride to Neuschwanstein castle. After getting there, we were sitting down to eat lunch and I sat in bird poop. It was hilarious and humiliating at the same time. We then went and took a tour of Neuschwanstein. It was truly amazing. After walking on the cliffs for a little while, we went shopping. We then went to Andechs. After seeing Carl Orff's tomb, we played Andante in the church. I nearly cried when I realised that it would be my last recorder performance, especially with that group. We ate near the monastery. I had my final kaisespaetzel, and we had choco-blueberry crepes with ice cream. We told riddles and anti-jokes through dinner and on the bus back home. We had changed bus drivers the previous day, but Stephan came to the hostel and surprised us all with brownies. We finally went to a room and played more cards and told jokes for a few hours. A trip tradition that I will never forget.


Distance Walked: ½ Mile


Food and Restaurant Notes: Whatever restaurant we went to for dinner was really amazing. I'll try to find the name and post it.


Travelers Notes: You HAVE to visit Neuschwanstein. Beware of the ducks, but you should also go and walk around the lake. Keep some spare change for restrooms there, which are 30¢ per visit. Andechs is a beautiful little town, but it isn't truly significant unless you know some of the background there.



Day 10: Sunday, March 24 (Sonntag, am 24. März)


Location: Airports, Planes, and the Earth's Atmosphere


9:28 p.m. (Cleveland Time)


Today was our travel day back home. I ate the most I could of my dear Rahmjogurt and Kinder Chocolate, as well as Manner Wafers. I watched a variety of movies, talked a lot, ate a lot of food in the airport (but again none on the plane), and played lots of cards. It was a sad day, yet a fun one. I will always remember everything I learnt on this trip, right down to the last rule of every card game. Good-Bye Recorder Tour, and Thank You for an Amazing Experience



However, unknown to me, this trip didn't stop when we got off the plane. Our various memories continued...


2nd Week of April: We made a Maibaum (Maypole) with Zunftzeichen (Emblems) of all of our favorite memories of the trip


3rd Week of April: Hanna Keyerleber and I did an interview on NPR with Dee Perry on their show Around Noon. (Link: http://www.ideastream.org/an/entry/53462)

 

Mid June: I made an Esterhàzy Torte of my own. Totally delicious. Took 14 Hours, but was totally worth it.


Early July: I gave a presentation to students in India about my trip

 

Then to the Present: I am in touch with my fabulous homestay family in Vienna, the Schlattes.

 

Every Day: I remember this amazing trip that would change my life forever.

Saturday, January 26, 2013

8th Grade

I haven't been on here for so long...I miss my blog with nobody reading it! Ok just wanna list a couple of things going on lately in life. I'm finally an 8th grader! I'm so excited....and this means almost high school! Yay! So...what's been going on?

1. 8th Grade Musical! We're doing The Little Mermaid, which happens to be the first Disney musical we've ever done, so this'll be exciting. I really hope I get a good part, but a couple of my friends think I have a good chance of getting Ursula, so that's good.

2. High School Anxiety. And I have to say all of these previews of high school haven't helped at all! We're just seeing more and more things that are making us more and more anxious for what awaits us next year...I'm so scared! I love being on top here in the Middle School, and once high school comes next year, I'm going to be the youngest High Schooler! Eeekk!

3. Super awesome BFFs. We've gotten so close back together these past few months, it's amazing. I love it so much, how I always have someone to talk to, give me advice, tease me, support me and make me laugh. It's just one of those little things in life that we take for granted, ones which make everyday a little bit sweeter.

4. Southard! I have to say I had a few doubts about how this would turn out...but it actually works out really nicely. We have the best advisor, and a great group who can work well together and get along great.

5. Iron Chef! We're on a winning streak right now....so hopefully we make it to the finals and win, even though that would mean going against my two best friends. But once again, we have a diverse, resourceful advisor group who wants to win super badly, so I think we'll go far.

6. Indian Stuff. I'm really getting in touch with my strong Indian side, learning some more Hindi, enjoying some gorgeous new clothes, listening to some new music, and dancing a lot! I'm even trying to influence my American friend with my culture...she's good with it. I think she's enjoying it :p

7. Piano! I'm working hard, putting in effort, and going strong with piano. I'm also trying to get back in with my community service stuff, bringing music to people and brightening their days!

8. Recorder Consort. Piano sort of leads me into recorder- once again, absolutely amazing with my close friendships. I love it and miss it so much now that the seasons done. But not quite yet...

9. Germany-Austria Tour! Yay I don't remember if I mentioned this last year but our consort's going to Germany! I can't wait...more music abroad, to a place so rich with musical history and culture...I THINK I'M GOING TO DIE!! It's all so magical...I can't wait for the trip!

10. Orchestra. I guess all the music stuff flows into this. Orchestra's going pretty well...our tour day this year included this indoor water-park called Splash Lagoon, which was a ton of fun! 8th grade got to play with the high school orchestra, which was totally nerve racking but really cool because they're all so professional. I'm kinda nervous about joining it next year...but it should be worth it because we're going to Hong Kong on tour!

11. iPod. I've put in sooooooo much investment into my iPod...and it's always with me. I'm always listening to something, at least once a day. It's my little sanctuary of weirdness and totally me. It's me-world hahaha.

12. Speech and Debate. I know, I'm only in Middle School but I'm enjoying going to the HS tournaments. I got to compete once last week, and again in like two weeks. I also shadowed today with a few different people, so that was pretty fun. And I was with my two little buddies from Kumon (uch) which is the only reason I somewhat still go to Kumon (Not that my mom gives me the choice...). And my crush was there....ahh it was just a great day overall.

13. General academics. My grades are so significantly higher this year, and I'm putting in such leisurely effort. 8th grade is so laid back, much nicer than seventh grade. I like it a lot. I have Geometry midterms on Monday, which once again I feel so prepared for that I'm almost confident that I'll do well. We're also in the middle of our science fair project...more to come. English is pretty good to...I love the book that we're reading, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks. It's so relatable...and I just really enjoyed the book. Some parts of it were just like my life, now giving me explanations to my life. The grammar lessons were great too, especially the ones on the neglected positive and the inpeas.

14. Science Fair. So I got a great group this year who's really dedicated to making our car a success. We're doing a recycling car, mixed in with elements of basketball to make it a game. We're doing really well right now- we have our stuff altogether and we finally got our car to turn, which is a really big deal. On the other hand, science fair is 10 days away!!!! AAAHHHHHH

15. Science Research (Yes, there's a difference). My science research project is going pretty well. I'm doing the only music related project, and it's going pretty well. I'm really nervous though...I want to qualify for Neosef really badly because I'll be in Germany at the time of the District competition.

16. Random ends of finally being a teenager. Yup, I finally turned 13 this past November! Yay! I also got the side effects that come along with it...being treated like an adult more and being expected to act more mature. I'm only one year older! I also got the good symptoms though...I thoroughly enjoy chick flicks and romance movies. I just can't contain my hopeless romantic self, who just keeps hoping that one day, that will be me. I've also started developing some crushes...but at the same time I've become strangely comfortable talking to boys. Maybe it's just that so many of my moms friends have boys and no girls, so I'm just accustomed to talking to the Indian Nerd Boys.

I think that's it right now...I'll probably come on here again after the cast list goes up for the musical! I'm so nervous and excited!

Peace and love to all of my friends,

Ananya :)

 

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Summer Hindi Movie Project

As a fun summer project, I decided to watch all my childhood (Ages 4-9) favourite movies. After each movie I see, I'm going to come here and update this post with a rating (out of 5 stars), comments, summary, and picture of the movie. I'm hoping I can watch around 5-7 movies during the summer, and finish the rest before winter break.

Movie #1- Kal Ho Naa Ho

Date Watched- June 23, 2012

Rating- 5/5

Comments- This has been my favorite movie since I was 4. But I never understood that there isn't too much of a story in it. It's a lot of fun, lots of songs, fun costumes, and laughs. But it also has a lot of tears. Half the movie I was sitting and crying. It's really a movie that could never happen, which is what makes it so much fun. I would definetly recommend it to anyone who likes a tear-jerker.

Summary- Naina Kapur is juggling a busy life in New York City. She's taking MBA classes with her best friend Rohit, and still tries to help out at home whenever she can. When Aman, a carefree guy comes to her neighborhood and falls in love with her, everything in Naina's life gets turned upside down. He is the solution to most of the problems in the Kapur house, leading Naina to fall in love with him. But he has a secret, that leads him to not be able to marry Naina, even though he loves her back. So he tries and sets her up with Rohit, who loves Naina as well. A whole story of ups and downs leads to many tears, but not without changing Naina Kapur's life forever.

Movie #2- Veer-Zaara

Date Watched- June 30, 2012

Rating- 5/5

Comments- This movie was a lot of fun. It was a flashback movie. There was some great music, and a nice happy ending. No tears, but a very cute love story. I would recommend this movie for anyone who likes a love story with a cute ending.

Summary- Squadron Leader Veer Pratap Singh has a job as a rescue pilot for the Indian air force. On one of his missions, he rescues a Pakistani girl, Zaara Hayaat Khan. He helps her to her destination to bury her Bebe's ashes in Kiratpur, India. When they both reach, he invites her to come to his house for a day, to celebrate the Lohri festival and meet his parents. He soon realises that he has fallen in love with him, but when he is about to tell her, Raza, Zaara's fiance shows up to take her back to Pakistan. He confesses his love for her, but never finds out about what she feels. Narrated by Prisoner 786 (Veer) in a prison in Lahore, to Saamiya Siddiqui, they both attempt to get Veer released from prison, reunited with Zaara (who thinks he was in a bus crash 22 years ago, while really Raza got him arrested), and back to India.

Movie #3- Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna

Date Watched: July 9, 2012

Rating: 5/5

Comments- This was definitely not a typical Bollywood film. It had an ending, but it wasn't happy, nor sad. It had some fun numbers and a lot of wise quotes, but it was completely different from any other Bollywood film.

Summary- Dev, a football player is married to Rhea, a fashion magazine editor. Maya, a kindergarten teacher, is married to Rishi, a childhood friend of hers. After meeting Maya at her wedding, Dev gives her advice about love, relationships, and marriage. However, luck has it in for the two couples, and they seem to keep bumping into eachother, soon becoming good friends. Soon after, Dev and Maya start to pick out the problems in their own marriages, and try to mend them. Love follows them though, and they soon start to develop feelings for eachother, wrecking their current relationships.

 

Friday, June 29, 2012

One Direction Jeopardy

So following on my One Direction Infection, I made a game. In school we play jeopardy a lot before tests, so I thought it would be cool to make a One Direction Jeopardy game. The link is below, but for it to work like real jeopardy, you have to open it in PowerPoint. To do so, click Download in the left hand column, and it will open in PowerPoint. It is a bit funky if you try to open it in Keynote, so email me and I can send you the Keynote Document. If you have any questions or corrections, email me. This is still a work in progress, so there are mistakes in it. There are also some typos, so include that too.

A few jeopardy guidelines (all for powerpoint):
-All hyperlinks only work in slideshow mode
-In the first slide, if you click on a number under a category, it will take you to that question. Click again and it will take you to the answer. The star will take you back to the first slide, or "home" so that you can choose another question.

PLEASE DO NOT STEAL!!! I'm sorry for being mean, but I took a lot of time on this, and it's really unfair if you take it from me and put it under your own name. Also I'm not sure if it is possible to steal it, but don't try!!

Have fun with the game, and here is the link: 1D Jeopardy



Saturday, May 26, 2012

The Fun Theory

The Fun Theory is an initiative by Volkswagen (Sweden) to change human behaviour for the better, by making it fun. They have taken many initiatives to make Earth a better place by changing its people.

Making people throw their trash away:

 

Take the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator (I wish my school had this one!)

 

Have kids and teens throw clean their rooms without moms having to countlessly tell them

 

 

Having people recycle their bottles

 

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Who I Am

So at lunch today, my friends and I were talking about why we're weird. Somewhere in there, we had some personality thoughts thrown out. I was kind of thinking, I haven't really told my readers, who I am. So, here you go. I'm that girl who'll smile at you, but won't say much. I'm the girl who doesn't really say what she's thinking, just out of fear that others will judge her in the wrong way. I'm the girl who can never really find a way to say what she wants, always just burrowing it in. I'm the girl who doesn't have one sole best friend, who has so many friends, she can't count them on her fingers, toes, and teeth. I'm the girl who is usually quiet, keeping her thoughts to herself. I'm the girl that so many people think they know, but yet when they're asked a simple question, struggle to answer. I'm the mystery, the one who nobody really knows what lies beneath the surface. I'm the musician, the girl pouring her hopes and dreams into songs. And maybe one day, that song will be heard.

 

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Top 50 Reasons to Love One Direction

So to all the directioners who will ever read this (its probably just you) this is my top 50 list on why we love One Direction (The UK band) :

1. They're extremely talented

2. They have the most meaningful and beautifully written songs in the world

3. They have British accents

4. They're hot

5. They have the best and cutest bromances ever

6. They have an amazayn clothing/fashion sense

7. They're happy when they're themselves, and that makes us fans happy

8. All their songs are different, no two have the same speed, or meaning

9. All their interviews, video diaries and random videos make me smile

10. Every time I see something, it always is One Direction related in some way

11. The Greater 1D Family

12. All the new words that have been added to my vocabulary: amazayn, phenominiall, fabulouis, extraordinharry, brilliam, 1derful

13. They are totally adorable when they dance and act

14. Extreme fangirling with friends instead of doing homework

15. New directioner friends

16. Inside 1D Jokes

17. All the broken records

18. Their Brit Award

19. All the pictures of them that make the popular page on Instagram

20. They enjoy what they do, which just makes us want to watch more

21. Directioners rule Twitter (Although I don't have one)

22. How much they tease and abuse each other so playfully and lovingly

23. They love animals (dogs, cats, turtles, pigeons)

24. Barry, Wayne, Hughy, Ian, and Kyle

25. How many r's are there? Just checking.

26. July 24, 2010. 8:22 PM.

27. No! Jimmy Protested!

28. Topped all Charts within 10 minutes of their album coming out on iTunes in the US

29. Carrots, Mirrors, Turtles, Pussy, Nandos

30. MSG Sold out in 30 seconds

31. Carlito, Miguelito, Pepito, Martito and Dick

32. Juan Direction

33. Liam is irrelevant

34. Zayn: Vas Happenin

35. Louis: I like girls who like carrots

36. The extreme love that parents just don't understand

37. When directionators are totally confused about things we directioners know

38. The hearts all over all of my stuff now, including the pictures of carrots and potatoes in my French Book

39. Me missing my parents dinner parties, and canceling them because One Direction's on TV tonight

40. Eating my ice cream and cereal with milk with a fork instead of a spoon

41. Going to concerts with friends and screaming my lungs out

42. All the things to laugh about because of the boys

43. Having extremely high expectations of boys

44. Staying Up All Night for concert tickets and song premieres

45. Laughing at everything someone says, and almost nobody understanding why

46. Trying 74 Times (Yes I counted) to get 2013 Concert Tickets before they sell out

47. Having random nicknames for your friends, that make you laugh every time

48. Going to West Side Market and staring for 15 minutes at the Irish Soda Bread, and then moving on to stare at the Shepards Pie with Potatoes and Carrots

49. Tuesday June 18, 2013. 7:30. Nationwide Arena, Columbus.

50. They're One Direction....what more reason do you need?

 

Thursday, March 29, 2012

One Direction Mandala

So most of you probably know that I love the British boy band One Direction. So since I was bored today, I made a zendoodle, then filled the hand with various One Direction stuff (pictures, symbols, words, songs). So I thought I'd put it up here and ask my readers for feedback!

Sunday, March 4, 2012

One Direction! :)

Ok, I have totally become a fan of the British boy band, One Direction. Composed of Harry Styles, 18, Cheshire, England; Louis Tomlinson, 20, Doncaster, England; Zayn Malik, 19, Bradford, England; Liam Payne, 18, Wolverhampton, England; and Niall Horan, 18, Mullingar, Ireland. They were on X-Factor, and their songs are awesome. They just came out with their debut album, Up All Night, in March. They have a concert in Columbus on Tuesday June 18, 2013, 19:30 (7:30 pm), Nationwide Arena, which I got tickets for an am going to next year :) Here's their Youtube channel:  http://www.youtube.com/user/onedirectionchannel?ob=0 , and here's their Vevo channel, for all their music videos: http://www.vevo.com/artist/one-direction


Sunday, February 19, 2012

The Loves of Life: Number 2: Music

As you all probably know, I am a huge music fan. I play piano and have some 1200 songs on my iPod. When I take a drive, you will either always hear the radio or something else playing. On the other hand, I'll be listening to something with my earbuds in. When I listen to music, I think of all sorts of things. Places, events, people. I create memories with my music. I live on music. Literally. So think about something next time you listen to your favorite song. Just sit back and dream. You'll be amazed.

The Loves of Life: Number 1: Nature

Have you ever noticed how beautiful nature can be when you're just out on a drive? I personally love when you are on a drive, and just sit and lean over the window and relax. It's almost like a different world. We get so involved in things like our iPods and iPads and Phones that we forget to put them down once in a while and enjoy the drive. Especially with the beautiful weather we're getting right now. So, my challenge to you is to put down your screens and look out the window once in a while. You'll be amazed.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Vignette 3: Uniqueness

Ananya. That's what I hear in my name. It's three nice, long, perfect syllables. A-nun-ya. Maybe it could be a nice, royal purple. Or a loving pink. In Hindi, it means unique. Special. Different. One of a kind. Just like the name itself. In another root, Sanskrit, it can mean endless. Going on and on. A nice calm blue, with some dignity in it. It could be a nice high flute. Or even a feisty fanfare on a trumpet. A sad tune of goodbye on a cello. It could have the anger and power of the sun, beating down. Or it could have the chill of the first snow. Almost like my birthday. November 24. In some parts of the world, it could hold the beauty of fruit. Guavas, Lychees, Mangos. Bright bursting colors, each with a unique flavor to it. In other places, the freedom of the wind, coming with the first snow. A rabbit on the Earth saw to this date. An archer in the sky to my name. The perfect, completely unique combination of numbers- 11/24. A beautiful, flaky snow saw to this birth of mine. And the stars will look upon it forever. The combination. Ananya born on November 24th. Forever unique.

 

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Vignette 2: Life Blossom

Stone

The stone paths lead onwards
Into a place of food and
Greenery
We stop to catch our breath for
We must keep going
Or else the power
The guard has over
Us
Might be
His food


People

The day goes onward
We go through the
Gate
The one which separates the
Good, Allowed People from the
Bad
No-Badge People
We are all people but
Who we really are is not
Our Substance but
Our Thoughts


Temple

We still walk yet forward
With the good, and the
Bad
The temple is
Quiet
Almost Deathly
But a small child can still
Give Hope
From the Childishness of
A Giggle


Spice

Hot, cool, flavors
Bright, Sunny, Yellow
Fiery, Hot Oranges
A Cool, Relaxing
Green

We must not
Speak
Only focus on what
Food we have
For
Someday we might be left
To make do with
What we don't have