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

Culture Shock

June 1st 2016

Day 8:

                Nothing too exciting has happened the past few days, but I am taking advantage of the few extra days for some sight-seeing since the trail got cut short. I've been staying with Nat for 3 days now and it's actually been much of a culture shock.  I didn't realize how Indonesian her family actually was.  Her grandmother had moved here from Indonesia to start her own business.  They even sometimes speak a different language in the house! It's actually cool because I've never experienced anything like this before. Staying in this neighborhood makes me feel like a minority, though, and I'm not used to it.  In their backyard there is a lemon, orange and avocado tree! It's the coolest thing ever.  Nat is definitely culturing me a bit.  She took me to a Korean barbecue place the first night, where I couldn't even barely read what was on the menu, let alone understand the waitress.  I ordered the first thing I recognized, teriyaki chicken. It came with a whole fish and this tofu soup.

The tofu was disgusting, but the fish was good! She also took me to try this thing called boba from a place called snow monster.  It was unlike anything I've ever had before.  Apparently, its a west coast thing, but it is slowly making it's way to the east coast.  Boba are actually tapioca balls that are on the bottom of the drink that you suck up through your straw. I had thai tea flavor, but they come in all different kinds of milk teas. 

Another night we also tried the west coasts' famous In & Out burger. It definitely was not better than McDonald's or Wendy's, but I really

hate most fast food anyways, so there's that. Natalie took me to both Laguna and Huntington beach, which were both amazing.  Her mom works right next to Laguna, so we just rode with her to work one day and hung out at the beach all day. The cliffs on the beach were so incredibly gorgeous. Another day she took us to Huntington beach, which is where the US surf championships take place and I could see why once I saw the waves. MASSIVE!!! However, the pacific ocean is absolutely freezing! Extremely too cold for me, but I did get in. Oh and Disneyland is right behind her house, so we get to watch the fireworks outside almost every night.  Her family is so welcoming, and I'm thankful their letting me stay with them for a fewer extra days than planned.

-Grimmzlybear