Sistories is a brand new podcast about travel hosted by two sisters–Maryam and Nour! https://stonesoup.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Sistories-1.m4a Welcome to our new podcast, Sistories! My sister and I love to travel, and we want to inspire you to travel too. My name is Nour, and I’m one of your hosts, along with my sister Maryam. I am ten years old, and I love to travel. My family has been to many places near and far. We have a mini Goldendoodle named Lulu who sometimes gets to go with us on trips. My name is Maryam the Magnificent. I am eight and a half. I love to travel, and I also like sports like swimming and soccer. One of my favorite spots to travel is Grenada. I was born in Houston, but my family was from Grenada and Egypt. I have lots of family there. Today’s topic is why you should travel. Why? My sister and I will both talk about some reason we love to travel. Nour is up first! Here are my two top reasons to try out traveling. Reason 1: you should travel a lot so you can see the lifestyles of locals and notice how they may do things differently than we do in the United States. One year my family visited St. Maarten, a beautiful island in the Caribbean. When you’re driving there the sides of the road that you drive on can change. Why? Because one side of the island is Dutch and the other side is French. You have to drive on the opposite side of the road depending on which part of the island you’re on. Another year, my family traveled to Grenada where my dad is from. We went to a restaurant that was right on the beach. When the server came she told us if you’re hungry in Grenada, you shouldn’t come to a restaurant. It took a really long time for our food to arrive because all of the ingredients are fresh and prepared right then. Reason 2: You can explore new places and try new things. Like when we went to Mexico City and walked to the city square. We saw smoke and wondered what it was. My dad’s uncle explained to us that they were using incense to cleanse you. The incense is supposed to make you feel better. My dad’s uncle said it made him feel like he could fly. We ended up trying it, and it was great! Another place our family went was Egypt. When we were there we got to snorkel in the Red Sea, which is very clear. As I was watching my dad scuba dive, I jumped off the dock; I could see my dad below me with all the beautiful fish. We also got to visit the pyramids on horses and camels. It was a bumpy ride, but I recommend you try it. Now it’s my turn. I have 2 more amazing reasons you should travel. Reason 1: you should travel so that you can be amazed. One time my family and I were in Boston. We went on a boat ride with my cousin. It was a big boat. We were going whale watching. When we were far from land, we saw a whale wagging its tail in the ocean and slapping the water. It was giving itself a high five! Then we saw 4 whales swimming together, and they blew out water. Next, a gigantic whale jumped out of the water and twirled in the air. It was pretty and cool because the water droplets were surrounding it. I wanted to see it again, but it was time to go back. Reason 2: You should travel to take a break from your stressful life! Kids who have to deal with school, activities, homework, impatient and annoying friends, and your chores. When you travel you can go to places like Grenada and put all of it behind you. Grenada is my favorite place because it has a magical beach that can change your life. And you can also pick off mango from the trees, and you can walk on the beach all around. It’s just one of my favorite places. Thank you so much for listening to our podcast, Sistories! Come back again to listen to our new podcast topic: how to pack for an awesome trip. Have a great trip!
travel
A Very Special Beach
Like all other beaches, Omaha Beach had sand, rocks, and water. But this beach was different. This one had a history. Last summer I went to Paris, France for a seven-day trip with my whole family, and we experienced all of the traditional tourist sites of Paris. Some of my favorites were the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, and the Arc De Triomphe, but the part I was most excited for was our day trip to a region 2 hours outside of Paris, called Normandy. Visiting Normandy allowed me to learn about World War II and America’s opposition to the Nazis. When Adolf Hitler was the leader of the Nazis in the 1930’s and 1940’s, his aim was to conquer all of Europe. At the same time, the Nazis also led an effort to kill millions of European Jews in the Holocaust. The German military began conquering different parts of Europe, including France, and they built bunkers and army bases to defend their territory. In 1944, England and the US joined together to try to free the French from German control. With help from other allies like Canada and England, the U.S. devised a plan called Operation Overlord in which they aimed to attack Nazi armies in France. Once Germany successfully took over France, they used the bunkers to store ammunition. Our family toured one bunker into which a Nazi soldier carelessly loaded ammo, setting off a bomb in the bunker and destroying it. The importance of Omaha Beach is that it was the destination of England and the US when they were attacking Germany. They put out misleading signals to make the Germans think that an attack was going to happen elsewhere in France. But really, on June 6, 1944, more than 150,000 soldiers landed on the beach, and caught the Nazis by surprise. They had to confront seasickness and overcome wind and poor weather conditions to make it onto the shore and then had to run onto the beach to fight the German soldiers. The bravery they had to show will always stick with me, and I am grateful for all that they did for our country. Though many died that day, it was a turning point in the war. As President Barack Obama said, “So much of the progress that would define the 20th century, on both sides of the Atlantic, came down to the battle for a slice of beach only six miles long and two miles wide.” Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, is a popular tourist destination because of its extensive history. While we were there we saw many plaques, memorials, cannons, and even toured a cemetery where many of the soldiers who were killed are buried. But for me, the time I spent on the beach in Normandy will be an experience I will always remember.
The Thief, a comic personal narrative by Mihika, 12
Mihika Sarkar Omachi, 12 (San Francisco, CA) The Thief Mihika Sarkar Omachi, 12
