June 4th 2016
             This morning I received a devastating call from my mother, informing me that my great uncle had passed after a long battle of cancer.  Although a great uncle, he was very close to my family, especially my father.  He was a very popular man in Connellsville, even having a pizza named after him at the local Bud Murphy's (The Tzan Pizza).  I hated to hear the news, but knew that he would no longer be suffering.  Also, it was very unfortunate that it happened while I was all the way across the country, but I knew that he'd be happy that I was getting to travel. He will be missed greatly.

               On another note, I move in with the host family tomorrow and begin the second half of my project, which I am very excited about! Today Nat took me to an amusement park called Knott's Berry Farm, which was similar to Kennywood. For dinner, I had the chance to meet almost her whole family and we went to a Thai Restaurant.  Very different from what I am used to yet again! The food was served family style, which was cool because, yet again I had no idea how to order.  The soup was extremely hot, but Natalie and her dad seemed to have no trouble finishing it.  Meanwhile, I needed like 2 glasses of water after the first sip!  They also ordered catfish, but informed me that it was hotter than the soup, so I decided to take a pass on that.  All the other food I enjoyed, especially the coconut ice cream :)! Another previous night she took me to try Vietnamese with her family as well, which I also enjoyed. We had something known as Pho (pronounced pha) and it was just kind of like noodles.  I just had chicken flavor and it tasted like chicken noodle soup.  Her father ordered this frozen drink and let me have a sip.  It was terrible! It tasted like frozen eggs or something and I hate eggs, but I got to drink another Thai tea, so I was happy. Overall, Natalie's family was a blast.  Her younger brother is also a child prodigy, which I think I forgot to mention.  He's only 4 and can read and knows all the states and capitols by heart.  I'll miss their hospitality, but am looking forward to my next destination! Tomorrow she is taking me to the train station to catch a train into downtown LA and then Uber to my next Airbnb family!

-Grimmzlybear