Shadow by Michael Morpurgo is (tbd). The book tells the touching, heartfelt story of a boy called Aman and his mother who lived in Afghanistan and tells the reader the struggles they went through to get to England. On the way to England, they are accompanied by a courageous friend, who is an English Springer spaniel. Just as they make it into England, they are taken to prison, where they will be sent back to Afghanistan.
Will they be saved? Will Aman and his mother be forced back to Afghanistan, or will they find a way to get back to England? Read the book to find out!
I would rate Shadow a 7 out of 10. I would rate it a 7 because it was a sad, heart-wrenching story that was perfectly written. My only complaint is that it could have been clearer with some of the terms. I thought it was a great book and highly suggest reading Shadow!
Our grandfather had wanted us to get a more rural view of Sri Lanka, so we stayed at Minnehaha for the last couple days of our trip. Minnehaha was a house or bungalow, like an Airbnb, just off Dedduwa Lake, near a town called Benthota, about an hour drive south of Colombo. Our grandfather had booked all the rooms in the bungalow, which had been converted to be a guest house. Our grandparents stayed in one room, our parents stayed in another, and Kiran, Svara, and I shared a room together! The rooms had air-conditioning, and the bungalow had an outdoor pool, a great view of the lake, and, most importantly, free wifi!
On a walk! (Image by the Jayasinghe family)
Enjoying the pool! (Image by the Jayasinghe family)
We relaxed, away from all civilization, for the next three days. We played in the pool, played cards, and went on walks with our grandfather. The most exciting part was the food! All of the meals were delicious and were served to us by the guest house staff. It felt very fancy, and the food was plentiful. After a relaxing few days, we packed up and spent one night at our grandfather’s house. Then, we mentally prepared for the long and tiring flight home, before boarding our plane home! After our layover in Korea, where we freshened up and prepared for the next thirteen hours of death. We landed at L.A.X. on the second of January, thankful to be home! As much as I loved the trip, a 24 hour flight was not my idea of paradise!
Our speedo pose in Sri Lanka! (Image by the Jayasinghe family)
Click here to visit Minnehaha’s website to find out more, or book a room!
Have you ever wondered what DNA is? I was watching an episode of NOVA Wonders called “Can We Make Life?” that got me thinking about DNA. Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is a molecule that contains our genetic code. The genetic code is what makes living things have certain characteristics. For an example, my skin is brown because my genetic code has instructions to make a chemical called Melanin that makes my skin brown. DNA exists in every living thing. In humans, DNA is located in the nucleus. The structure of DNA is called a double-helix that has two DNA strands that are twisted around each other. You can think of this like a twisted ladder. Each DNA strand is a row of four different chemicals called Adenine (A), Thymine (T), Cytosine (C), and Guanine (G). These chemicals are called nucleotides. The nucleotide “A” pairs with “T” and “C” pairs with “G”. This pattern is always the same, and does not vary. DNA is inherited by children from their parents. This is why children share traits or features, like hair color, eye color, and skin color, with their parents.
If you want to know more about DNA, you should watch the episode of NOVA Wonders: “Can We Make Life?” at:
The Hilton in Colombo! (image by the Jayasinghe family)
We relocated to the Hilton on the 25th. The Hilton was less ‘grand’ than the Cinnamon Grand, but the hotel was still great. The service was also exceptional. We had dinner through room service, and since it was Christmas, it came with bonbons, which was a nice touch.
Our food plus the bonbons from the Hilton (image by the Jayasinghe family)
On the 26th we visited the Old Dutch Hospital, which was a hospital built by the Dutch in 1681, that was recently converted into a mall. We enjoyed some chocolate biscuit pudding and shopped for souvenirs. Simran was still sick, so our grandfather took her to the hospital where he worked, to get a blood test done to make sure she didn’t have any serious virus, like Dengue fever or malaria. On the 27th, it was finally our birthday. Unfortunately, it was also finally my turn to get sick. I had such good luck! Right on my birthday, too. We lounged in bed for most of the day in hopes that we would feel better, but eventually we had to get up to go celebrate with family friends.
Several platters of finger foods! (image by the Jayasinghe family)
Our parents had made plans to celebrate with high tea at the Gallface hotel. The hotel had set up a table for about 30, overlooking the beach. They served us several platters of sandwiches and cakes, and of course, Ceylon tea. Everything looked delicious!
Us, our family and friends, and two delicious cakes (image by the Jayasinghe family)
The table set for 30 (image by the Jayasinghe family)
Afterwards, they brought out two chocolate birthday cakes with a giant sparking candle for each of us.
Two delicious cakes plus two giant sparklers (image by the Jayasinghe family)
The view from our table (image by the Jayasinghe family)
Although I didn’t enjoy the high tea because I was sick, it was a great experience. On the 28th we checked out of the hotel and took a three-hour drive to Minnehaha, where we would be staying for the next three days. We got there in time for dinner, picked our rooms, and had a relaxing night for once.
At the Cinnamon Grand! (Image by the Jayasinghe family)
Dinner at the Kingsbury Hotel!
(Image by the Jayasinghe family)
Dinner with relatives!
(Image by the Jayasinghe family)
Days 4-6 of our Sri Lanka Trip (December 22-24th) were spent at the Cinnamon Grande Colombo. Unfortunately, our family got sick during this time. Our dad got sick around Day 4, and then Svara, and then, our mother, and finally, me. Whenever someone in our family gets sick, it triggers a sort of chain effect and then, we are done for! We all had high fevers and just wanted to sleep! We spent those days meeting most of our relatives that lived in Sri Lanka. Our mom organized a dinner at the buffet in the Kingsbury hotel, where we met a lot of our relatives. Meeting all our relatives was interesting, and the food was delicious. We also ran some errands, and visited places that our parents remembered from when they were children. Kiran, Svara, and I also made sure that we had at least one day to just relax and play in the pool. I was still sick at the time, however, so Kiran and Svara got to play in the pool and I relaxed on a chair listening to music and pitying myself. We ordered food from the poolside cafe and relaxed.
Fun in the pool!
(Image by the Jayasinghe family)
Food by the pool!
(Image by the Jayasinghe family)
