A Vacation...But Smaller

Thinking of what to do this summer? Bored of everything around you? Want to experience something new and exciting, but can’t go back-pack around Europe….yet? Well, why not take a day trip! 

Although Seattle is great, it could be fun to take a trip- you know, for bragging rights- just don’t tell anyone it was only a car or bus ride away!

For those of you with only access to public transportation - you’re not at a loss!:

      Experience True Seattle: Take the bus to downtown, go to Pike Place Market, see the
        first Starbucks, go see the Space Needle, EMP, Monorail, take the Underground Tour of
        Seattle, the Aquarium, the Waterfront, etc. 

       

        Go be a tourist for the day! You might see some new in the old!

        Fremont: Legendary for its summer solstice fair, Fremont is an exciting place to visit. Lots of cool shops and restaurants and city-life await!

Now if you do have a car - take a trip and get out of our fine city:

 Leavenworth (http://www.leavenworth.org/modules/pages/?pageid=9&path=9)- A Bavarian town. Super cute small town with lots of outdoorsy activities, shops and food.

Mt. Rainier: We all can see it above the skyline driving into Seattle- why not go see it up close? Pack a picnic, go for a hike, perhaps a cute day-date?

        Snoqualmie Falls (http://www.snoqualmiefalls.com/): Again with the picnic idea, this is a great place for one. See the beautiful falls- it’s a site to not be missed! At the top you can see them, and then hike all the way down to where you can feel the intense mist! Make sure to guard your sandwich- no one like ‘em soggy!

 Now even COOLER- take a Ferry- getting there is half the fun!:

  

        Friday Harbor (http://www.fridayharbor.com/index.cfm): Just a ferry ride away to this San Juan Island. Shops, the best ice cream, seasonal whale watching, museums, parks, of course beaches (summer= you HAVE to go to the beach!), and much more!

        Bremerton (http://www.ci.bremerton.wa.us/display.php?id=4):  Go see their Harborside Fountain Park, walk on the board walk, shop, and eat.

  To plan whatever “trip” look up:

·         Bus schedules here (http://metro.kingcounty.gov/tops/bus/neighborhoods/downtown_seattle.html)

·         Ferry information to get to wherever (http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/schedule/)

So…Pack a picnic, grab some friends, 
and go explore this summer! We definitely will! 
After being stuck here for 10 months in school, 
we've gotta get out, even if only for a day….

Love, Teenlink

Random Fun Facts and a few other things

This is very interesting! Impress your friends with Radical/Random facts and maybe even enjoy a chuckle or two.

In 1400 England there was a law that a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have "the rule of thumb"

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Many years ago in Scotland , a new game was invented. It was ruled "Gentlemen Only..Ladies Forbidden"....and thus the word GOLF entered into the English language.
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The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV were Fred and Wilma Flintstone.

Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the U.S . Treasury.

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Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.

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The State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work:

Alaska
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The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28% (now get this...)

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The percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%

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 The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $16,400

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The average number of people airborne over the U.S. in any given hour:
61,000

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Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.

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The first novel ever written on a typewriter: Tom Sawyer.

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The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.

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Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history:

Spades - King David


Hearts - Charlemagne


Clubs -Alexander, the Great


Diamonds - Julius Caesar

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111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

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If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

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Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.

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Q. Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what?


A. Their birthplace

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Q. Most boat owners name their boats. What is the most popular boat name requested?


A. Obsession

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Q. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter "A"?


A. One thousand

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Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers all have in common?


A. All were invented by women.

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Q. What is the only food that doesn't spoil?


A. Honey

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Q. Which day are there more collect calls than any other day of the year?


A. Father's Day

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In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes.


When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase.......... "goodnight, sleep tight."

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It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon.

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In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts... So in old England , when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them "Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down."


It's where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's"

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Many years ago in England , pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. "Wet your whistle" is the phrase inspired by this practice.

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Don't delete this just because it looks weird. Believe it or not, you can read it.

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?

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YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2010 when...

1. You accidentally enter your PIN on the microwave.

2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.

3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of three.

4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.

6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.

7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen

8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't even have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.

10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.

11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )

12.. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.

13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.

14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.

15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list.

Flash Mob/Spontaneous Art?

A flash mob is a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual action for a brief time, then quickly disperse. The term flash mob is generally applied only to gatherings organized via telecommunications, social media, or viral emails. The term is generally not applied to events organized by public relations firms or as publicity stunts.

Flash mobs, like this pillow fight flash mob in downtown Toronto, are designed to surprise passers-by.

How it gets started...

"Hundreds of people hopped aboard the No Pants! train Sunday afternoon, showing off their skivvies to some startled Link Light Rail passengers."

Promotion stunt for a Belgian television program, where they are looking for someone to play the leading role, in the musical of "The Sound of Music".

On Wednesday 14th March, 2007 around 50 people attempted a mass freeze frame in a Manchester supermarket lasting four minutes. Five cameras captured the event.

100 Single Ladies stop traffic with Beyonce's famous leggy dance in Piccadilly Circus.

Flash Mobs can be highly choreographed...

Or completely silly and chaotic in nature, like this "spontaneous" pillowfight...

Some are done in the form of a tribute...

And of course when something "viral" gets really popular, the commercial world jumps on it:

And on TV (not exactly a flash mob, but kinda close - no one expected it...)

Interested in participating? Check out the Urban Prankster Network at: http://improveverywhere.ning.com/ where you can watch more videos, get tips on starting your own group or get connected to other groups all over the world who are creating these spontaneous acts of fun and confusion in very public places.

Wanna take a trip?

Interested in broadening your horizons, challenging yourself, and growing as a person? One great way is to see different horizons, aka TRAVEL!!!

Click on the YouTube links below to watch video captured from the YMCA Global Teens program "which offers teens the opportunity to engage in the powerful journey of global discovery." Hear from the youth who participated talk about what made their experiences so powerful in their own words.

"In Their Own Words" - YMCA Global Teens:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WT4BsFycfOU

Kids give back, have eyes opened:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKjHW3SYo2U

One of the best ways to experience another culture is through it’s food, and no, Taco Bell doesn’t count. Neither does Olive Garden, Panda Express, or any other restaurant experience you have in your own neightborhood. It's better than nothing, but the epitome of food experience is eating the food in the land in which it originated, surrounded by the people of the culture and the culture itself. So, take a chance and get out of your comfort zone!

New York City teens eat a frog in Thailand - YMCA NYC:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHZiBjheqdA

"Imagine being 16 years old and arriving in Paris for the first time on a hot June morning. Your host family for the next month is waiting to take you by train to a small village called Oradour-sur-Glane. It is in the heart of France, where there are green hills and shimmering lakes, porcelain is made, and the villagers are some of the friendliest in the world.

This is the new trend for high school students--spending their summers traveling, learning, sightseeing, and experiencing cultures overseas. These students take their once idle summers and turn them into the adventure of a lifetime..." Opportunities Abound for High School Students By Vanessa Relli-Moreau

Sounds pretty glamorous doesn't it? But is it as easy as just hopping on a plane?

There seems to be no shortage of programs available for youth who want to travel (try Googling "Teen Travel" and see how many sites pop up!), and the costs can range from upwards of $10,000 to FREE or doing community service work in exchange. Where would you want to go? For how long? Do you want to focus on sight-seeing or staying with a host family? Go solo or with a group? The questions can get overwhelming pretty quickly so CLICK HERE to read the rest of the article above that might be helpful in narrowing the search for what will fit you best.

Many high schools and religious organizations have travel programs usually based around study and/or service work, so check at your school and any religious groups you have connection with as well.

Additional Exchange Programs and Resources

Online International Education and Travel Databases:

GoAbroad.com; www.highschoolprogramsabroad.com
StudyAbroad.com; www.highschool.studyabroad.com

WorldWide Classroom, www.worldwide.edu, an international consortium of schools that offers intercultural and educational programs.

Long-Term Youth Exchange Programs

Generally youth exchange programs are geared for students 13-18 years of age. Program requirements vary, so check to make sure that you meet the application requirements.

The following is a sampling:

AFS-USA, www.usa.afs.org
AYUSA International, www.ayusa.org
Nacel Open Door, nacelopendoor.org
Rotary Youth Exchange, www.rotary.org
Youth For Understanding, www.yfu-usa.org

Day of Thanks

Considering that Teen Link loves food, here is a little insight into the day of feasting!

THE REAL THANKSGIVING

Many people believe what they learned in elementary school about Thanksgiving Day. Basically, the Pilgrims and the Indians shared a big feast with all the food we eat on Thanksgiving. According to the journal of Plymouth Colony's governor, Edward Winslow, the colonists met with Chief Massasoit and 90 of his men for a feast that lasted four days. So there was a feast, but what was on their menu? In this journal the only items mentioned are venison and wild fowl.

Yum! It is never unlikely, according to historians and archeologists, that the meal was prepared with all of the foods we eat today. Another idea is that the Pilgrims and the Indians sat down and prayed and passed the food around. Since the feast was four days long this is not what happened at all. It was not a ceremonious feast and people would just go eat when they were hungry. Plates and utensils were not used. They all ate with their hands with an occasional napkin. The clothing is very mythical too. Pilgrims did not wear black and white on the first Thanksgiving.

They wore brown, green, black, white, and beige. The Indians were fully clothed because it was November in Massachusetts. Although Thanksgiving is full of myths the value of generosity and being thankful has been kept alive.

MACY'S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE

Everyone loves the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. How did it all start? Well, it started in 1924 by the employees of Macy’s. These employees were the first-generation immigrants and they wanted to celebrate their new American pride through a traditional European festival. The first parade started with the employees marching from 145^th street to 34^th street dressed as clowns, sheiks, cowboys, and knights. There were also 25 live animals from the Central Park Zoo, floats, and professional bands.

The first balloons appeared in 1927 with Felix the Cat:

One of the old traditions was that after the parade they would release the balloons and whoever found and caught it got a prize. Although in the 1930’s the Great Depression occurred, the parade grew and grew. The parade however stopped in the early 1940’s during WWII when there appeared to be nothing to celebrate. In 1945, the parade started up again, was televised, and the route that is used today started that year as well. This Thanksgiving tradition is nationwide and will be around for years to come.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Love,

Teen Link

Children of the Pumpkins…er…uh…Corn.

Halloween’s not over just yet, so if you’re looking for something to do to get your last kicks in besides the…





traditional costume party...

a haunted house...

or trick or treating…

Consider a Corn or Pumpkin Maze!

Most cost less than or about the same as going to the movies, have just as much junk food available (kettle corn, hot cider, hot dogs - but fresher and you can almost convince yourself it’s healthy since it came from a farm ;-) The mazes and the farms that typically house them are pretty popular events for little kids, BUT later on in the afternoon and early evening they’re tons of fun for young adults, especially in big groups.

Check ‘em out. Here are a few in the Greater Seattle area:
U-Pick Pumpkin Patch
Sunrise Hill Farms
City of Snohomish Festival of the Pumpkins
Gordon Skagit Farms