My Learning Profiles kk/cc

This year my learning style has changed from 'L' I have now become both Profiles CC and KK. I have two because I feel that I use both sides of my brain left and right equally in and out of school. I think this year my learning profiles seem to suit me better as I feel I can relate more to the descriptions.

According to my learning profiles I learn best through movemnt, which I think is true, I like to be hands on and be interactive. My learning profile also states that I learn best by analyzing details and finding out what is emotionally relevant to me. And when learning I feel that I completely agree that I like to be taught in a very structual mannar, and I take in more when appropriate sequencing of the information is given to me. And even though I am a gestalt learner, my logical side allows me too easily follow step by step instructions even though I love to start imagining the finished project and doing tasks in the order I think is best.

My profile tells me I need to plan my 'movements' although I am usually spontanious and fluid, when under stress I need to take a step back and proceed with caution. Also my left eye scands from right to left, which seems a bit odd, since all the reading I've ever done has been left to right, I am not sure what this means but with it I can sometimes have difficulty concentrating on learning languages and I may reverse and jumble up all the letters in my head. I am not sure I totally agree with this, since I have never really expirienced it, but it sounds like something i might do under a great deal of stress.

Helping me with these challenges I have would be to do simple excersizes, for example Lazy Eights, Thinking Caps, This brain exercise increases blood flow to the brain. The extra blood flow, the extra water, switches the brain on. And to always keep me balanced I need to make sure I do both art based acitivities, and more logic based ones. For example, I few math excersizes, and a few minutes of free dance could be an easy routine to fit into my day.

I think my teachers should know I am the biggest procrastinator I know. It is extremely hard for me to stay concentrated on my work for long periods of time and especially when there is great amounts of work, I feel I get very stressed and I can't do it all. And more specifically on computers. I get side tracked with other websites and activities and it always takes me twice as long to get work done than it should. Finally the most important thing I want my teachers to understand is that I am very capable of using both my right and left side of my brain, and that I don't think I have a problem of reading languages, as the one I am taking now, French I enjoy very much and I have no serious problems with. I think i am well rounded with both sides of my brain I just need to keep it that way by balancing my activities on both sides.

Shutting Down Minds

Why would anyone have the right to close down a library, to close down a mind? To close down accessible knowledge to the public? To close down a paradise?

Governments right now in Britain have decided to shut the doors of many libraries around the nation. Through this act I feel almost disgusted that a council would consider this option whatever the circumstances. Yes, there might be an economy crisis but the last thing to resort to would be shutting down a place of free education to all. People all around the world rely on the access to a library, and access to internet. In the world of today internet access is immensely important to all, information is everywhere, jobs depend on the access of internet, and many people who do not have this luxury will not be able to exceed the expectations of our world today. So naturally people began to protest over this crime. But one anonymous person did so in such a way that not only shocked, but delighted most people.

This unknown artist has changed the form of protest and turned it into more of a silent cry for help. He or she has showed the importance of books through art. Which I think in most cases can create a much more meaningful message to all. I hope the government notices the artwork, and notices the importance of libraries to all.

Me in Three Objects (:

Me in Three Objects

Lots of my Old children’s books, Pictures of my old friends, a bulletin board with the things I want to have and accomplish, and my

ipod plugged into my stereo.

I am sure many people have heard and or know of this book. And to many people it is just another good book, but the reason I chose to bring it in as my “special object” for class, is because to me, this particular book brings back many memories with my two sisters. My sisters

would always read this book to me along with many others coming from a variety of children’s book authors. (Many from Dr. Seuss, Roald Dahl etc.) They read to me at night, in the morning, in the afternoon, whenever I pleaded them to. They always agreed because not only was this book one of my favorite ones, it was definitely one of theirs too. I remember sitting up in my bed with the dim light coming from my night ta

ble and hearing the many impressions and voices my sisters would make to make the story even more exciting and fun then it already was. And so, when my sisters moved back to Argentina for university I was obviously sad. But whenever I read this book it would not only remind me of when they read it to me but all the memories I have with them in general. Even to this day when I have nothing to read, or I have just finished a book, or just because, I pick up this book and it makes me smile not only because of the memories but because it is simply a very fun book.

The second object in my room that I feel that represents me are all my pictures of my old friends back in M.K.I.S. I went to M.K.I.S for seven years so I made many good friends, some that I watched leave and some I

saw come into the school as a new student. But two of my friends that have been with me the longest are my two best friends Ella and Juliana. I have a million memories with them, some bad but a lot more are great. We had sleepovers every weekend, we would always stick together at school, and I remember laughing every second of the day. And when I left all my friends, I was de

vastated, but since they both live only few minutes away I try to see them as much as I can. So these pictures are only a few of the many memories I have to remind me of us, the rest are either on my computer or in the scrapbooks we all made. I know i’ll never make as many as I used to, but a few more experiences are enough for me.

Third would be my bulletin board. It is located above my desk so I can always see it, the reason that this is shapes who I am is because it has hundreds of cutouts from magazines that represent what I my hopes and wishes are in life pinned up. For example I have an array of fruits pinned up and for me this represents health, I have a high heel and a few quotes on

it representing fashion because for now my ambition is to work in the fashion industry. I also added a quote I found in a magazine of a lady of 100 that is still doing sports such as track and field. I loved this, and I was so happy for her that I decided to pin it up on my bulletin because I definitely want to be in her shape at that age. Finally for fun and decoration I also put down things like puppies, a Lamborghini, hearts, candy, and dragonflies.

Sol, Simple Yet Different

My name is Sol. Simple, short, yet different. My name means Sun in Spanish, it has no meaning behind it like freedom, peace, love, or joy. It is just an exact translation. Yet to me it describes who and what I’d like to be. Strong, independent, important, likable, happy, fun and caring, really quite like the Sun itself in a way. I haven’t become this personality yet but I hope to mold into it.

My name is unusual out of Argentina it is much more “exotic.” But back home I am just another Sol walking on the streets, but there is one small difference, in Argentina Sol is a nickname for Mariasol or Soledad, but my name is just those three letters. I am so glad that my parents did not name me any of those horrible names because Mariasol is just ugly, typical, I hear it all the time like a number one hit record that is on the radio all the time, and Soledad means loneliness, it gives me the feeling of cold dark isolation, and who would ever want that.

If I had to describe my name I would say that my name is a warm comforting yellow orangish oozing gold. Or the sight you see and feel in the mountains on a warm summer day with the breeze playing with your hair. Even though I keep writing about all the wonderful things there are about my name, there are downsides.

My name is extremely short and straight forward. So you’d think that learning it would be extremely easy but for some reason when I was younger I would always write it backwards. I had a theory that I did this to make it look more interesting when I was younger. Perhaps it was because I was jealous of my sister Ileana, because while I had only three letters in my name she had six! So I would always complain about how “unfair” it was.

One last thing that still disappoints me today is when people pronounce my name incorrectly. I know some people really do try hard to say my name but somehow it never comes out right. When they try to say it and sounds so loud, abrupt and uncomfortable, maybe even a bit sharp. Sometimes it makes me jump in my chair when I am called on. You just cannot say it without having a Spanish tongue. But when you do it sounds so much more beautiful, a bit like the shortest song in the world. It is different when someone pronounces it properly, it transforms into a whole new name. My real name.

My name is extremely short and straight forward. So you’d think that learning it would be extremely easy but for some reason when I was younger I would always write it backwards. I had a theory that I did this to make it look more interesting when I was younger. Perhaps it was because I was jealous of my sister Ileana, because while I had only three letters in my name she had six! So I would always complain about how “unfair” it was.

All in all I think my name suits me like no other. It is the perfect name for me, a glove that fits as well as a second skin, because it is my name, Sol.

Why I Chose This Quote for My Title

Go as far as you can see and when you get there you will see farther.

In sixth grade the title of my blog was simply "Sol", it had no meaning it was just a name of reference, possibly to make it easier for my teacher when searching through the class. But that was just in sixth grade, now it needs to mean something. So I searched on Google, "quotes" and without doubt I knew that hundreds of sites popped up, so I scrolled down and picked out one in random. The site had many nice quotes that I liked but when I reached the end I found that one, I don't know whit is from the site did not clarify, but when I saw it it immediately stood out from the rest. I just really like how when most quotes and people say, reach your goal or always try the best and you'll get there. I liked how this quote pushed further, especially when it says when you get there you will see farther. This not only showed my that you can go above and beyond but when you get there you can try harder. I that's what I will try to achieve my whole life.

Greek Creation Myth

Goodbye 6th Grade :'(

Grade six has been a great year full of new experiences, but also full of work. Although most of the assignments were tough and challenging, when I had finished them I felt a sense of accomplishment. And throughout the whole year of humanities I feel that my greatest piece of work would have to be completing the Egyptian Diary. This assignment took a great amount of time, but looking back at it and seeing it finished I feel quite proud for just saying I did it. But not only for this reason. At the start of the year I think the most terrifying thing was to have to write an essay. It just sounded like the most horrible time consuming amount of work you would have to do. I had seen it in movies as a punishment and all throughout elementary I dreaded the day my teacher would say, "for homework a 500 word essay!" but now as I look back I've realized that I have not only completed an essay but many throughout the school year and some well over 500 words. I actually find it funny how now I think of this challenge as so small compared to what might be coming in the future and I hope that this is not the only work that is exaggerated.

Finally all this work in middle school has made me realize how I work in school. I think i've learned that during school hours I like to be a logical learner. I like to have things in order and wroking step by step neatly. But outside of school hours I think I am more of a gestalt learner. I like to see the big picture and I like to be very creative with what I do. Hopefully I will carry on to be both gestalt and logic depending on the situation since I take that as an atvantage, to be able to see both sides of the story.

When looking at the your learining you also have to evaluate the good sides and the bad sides of your learning aswell especially in specific areas. And the area that I have chosen is participation. I think that participating in class is an important factor when learning and that is why I think I should work harder to put more effort in to my activity. I hope for seventh grade and other years I will learn to ask questions more often if I do not understand or answer questions to get a better understanding so I can do well in class and have no doubts.

Based on my relfection as a learner throughout this school year I have come up with two main goals for seventh grade. The first to be more active in class and the second to embrace the work with orginization and a, as Mrs. Smith says a " can do game face :)"

As I said before I think being active in class is very important but so is being an Enthusiastic Learner. When I said I never thought I could write an essay I was letting myself down and not being possitive, I've decided for seventh grade to take work and try my best at it no matter what it is. And maybe this will improve my learning.

If I wanted my seventh grade teachers to know something about me or something related to the way I learn it would probably be to choose our own groups if nessceary. Not because I only want to work with my friends, but if I am to do a group project I would like to do it with people I know I'll work well with and get the job done well. Other than that I think I am fine with expiriencing new ways different teachers teach and new ways of learning. I hope that I will like all my teachers and they will like me! :)

Finally to end this blogpost I will give some advice to the newbies of middle school, and I only have one word, organization. This si the key to being succesful not only in sixth grade but all grades up to highschool. If you want to do something well and get a good grade on it there is no such thing as good last minute work. You need to plan out your work habbits and use your planner! Trust me it might seem like you can remeber a simple assignment or two but my planner has saved my from missing important dates numerous times. Another last thing I want to say to the fifth graders is to just have fun, it's your first year in middle school so enjoy it and don't worry too much about grades they only really start mattering in highschool, and if you ever get a really bad grade just learn form that mistake and use it as expirience and work harder next time. Trust me 6th grade will be a lot of fun if you play your cards right! :)

Dear Rosemary...

Dear Rosemary,

I have learned so much as the Receiver as I am sure you had too. I learned about things beyond our communities understanding, I learned about happiness, I learned about pain. I experienced and suffered all the memories passed down to me and I have held the heavy burden of this society. I have learned so much, as I know you had. But I have realized now how ignorant and selfish this community is. Keeping away the freedom of life from us, just to make life easier. I now fully understand why you would want to be released, although I do not have have this option I cannot fully escape the society so I am left with the only other option. Running away.

As we both know this community is strict on the laws of sameness, they know nothing about feelings and emotions, and nothing about the freedom of choice and it has been this way for very long. "Listen to me Jonas, they can't help it, they know nothing." (pg. 153)“There’s nothing we can do. It’s always been this way. Before me, before you, before the ones who came before you. Back and back and back.” (pg.154) I know you and I have learned about this society and their way of life compared to the one we could have have like in all the memories, despite the pain and suffering that comes with the happiness and joy of the past we both know that living with freedom of choice is the best way to live. With this we also know that changing our world would be impossible to negotiate, therefore I now know the real reason behind why you applied for release. Your father told me that the city went into panic after you had left, they could not manage all the pain and experience of all the memories at once, although I knew this was your plan and your only way of truly showing the community the freedom of choice, I am sorry to tell you it did not turn out as I know you might of planned. The community simply forgot about the "horrific" incident, forgot about the memories and forgot about you and this is exactly the reason that has persuaded me to leave.

Your father and I are convinced that the only way our community, our world will go back to the way it once was is if I run away, Elsewhere. Elsewhere, where there are colors, feelings freedom. When I do leave we both know that all the memories I have been given will spread into our city, leaving it's citizens to experience all the memories I have left good and bad. This will take them into asking help from your father, guidance, and that's where he will simply show them all that living in freedom is the only way to live. There the world will go on and our future generations will carry out this way of life for years and years to come. Although of coarse there is that chance of it turning out differently, there could be negatives, my trip away from my family and loved ones could just be in vain. But I will never know, I can only hope for the best.

Finally I end this letter with a thank you, for showing us, your father and I, that there is a way out of our pointless world and a way into freedom.

Thank You Rosemary,

Jonas.

The Giver Blogpost 4 ✎

" Gabriel's breathing was even and deep. Jonas liked having him there, though he felt guilty about the secret. Each night he gave memories to Gabriel: memories of boat rides and picnics in the sun; memories of soft rainfall against windowpanes; memories of dancing bare-footed on a damp lawn.

"Gabe?"

The new child stirred slightly in his sleep, Jonas looked over at him.

"There could be love" Jonas whispered.

The next morning, for the first time, Jonas did not take his pill. Something within him, something that had grown there through the memories, told him to throw the pill away"

I think these particular paragraphs explain a lot about the choice and freedom in Jonas' society though they are brief. First of all I want to point out that choice is a freedom. The act of decision making is what sets you apart from others and what lets you speak without hindrance or restraint.

When Jonas threw away his pill, he did it for one reason and one reason only, because he was selected as the receiver. If he had not been presented with all the knowledge that came with the memories, he would have not known that throwing away the pill was the right thing to do. He was able to use his free will to make the right choice. The power of knowledge can set you free. All his life Jonas had been presented with knowledge that came to a limit, the constraint of their society, the ignorance of the citizens around him. Elsewhere and the things in it where never spoken of, not even the color, or the items elsewhere were presented to the citizens of this society.

Another example of when Jonas made diffucult choice, was when he passed on the memories to Gabriel. He knew it was against the society's rules, he knew it was against even the instructions from the Giver. Yet using his knowledge from emotions and memories and his new found freedom he decided to. This is what I think sets Jonas apart from everyone else, the way Jonas decides, hte way he thinks the freedom he has.

Lit Circle Blogpost 2 ✏

Why does Jonas find the instruction about lying so disturbing?

I found this question very interesting when I read it out of the three, so I immediately chose it. I also thought this question made me think about the answer carefully.

As we have all repeated many times before, Jonas lives in a extremely controlled society, one that goes by the moral of "sameness" this means nothing and no one can be different, no one can be a "someone" In this controlled society there are obviously rules, and very strict ones at that. All his life Jonas has been raised to not only obey these rules, but live by them. And out of these millions of rules, (that seem to be able to fill large books) one of the very large one is to never lie.and this is exactly the rule that The Receiver is able to break. "He had never, within his memory, been temped to lie. Asher did not lie, Lily did not lie, his parents did not lie no one did..." (pg.71)

Now, Jonas was obviously surprised after reading this, and the question that I have to answer is why. This is what I think. As I wrote earlier Jonas has been raised to follow all rules in his community constantly to the extent that even without thinking he does so. For example when talking to the Giver he accidentally interrupted, without even thinking he apologized, only to again follow the rules as the was no apologizing in the Annex room. "I apologi- Jonas began, and then stopped, flustered, remembering there were to be no apologies." (pg. 91) I can understand why Jonas would be so surprised when a big change in his life is made and know this because I can definitely connect.

Very recently I joined touch as an afterschool activity, and on the first day were described the rules, and one of the most important was to always pass backwards. At first I thought this was going to be quite an easy rule to follow, but I was proved wrong. All my life I have been taught to pass forward to get closer to the goal and this seems logical. And at the time I guess this new rule could too. But when I got on the field I noticed this small change became big. I hadn’t noticed that I was passing forward that I did it automatically just as Jonas had apologized automatically as well. When I came home I noticed my connection and realized why it felt like such a change to Jonas and why he might of felt uncomfortable.

I hope to find little things like this that I can connect to later on.

The Giver, Blogpost ✎

How do you feel about the "standard practices" and "rituals" in the community?

The rituals in this community are extremely different to the rituals we practice. Almost everything in their way of living is different to the way we live ours. The way the choose their family, job, even their death date.

I find it very interesting when it comes to how they get their families. They way the are chosen for them is very different to they way we choose ours. First of all when finding a spouse they have to apply for one to the committee, then the elders take years to examine the individuals, and try to find couples that balance each other out, for example Jonas’ parents balance each other out with his mothers great intelligence and his fathers calm nature. Second part to getting a family that is different from our society is when the “family unit” receives a child. Again, the family unit has to apply for another member, then in December in the annual ceremony the families that applied for a child, are given one with the name already chosen.

Secondly, I come to the selecting job part of the community. I think this difference in the society is particularly interesting because it plays a big role in all the individuals lives. I find it very surprising that one of the biggest decisions in their lives are made for them, there future career. This decision happens like so, the elders are constantly watching every child from birth, they pay particular attention to there interests and skills to find out what job would suit them the most. Again this is also very different to our community.

Lastly I want to talk about the difference between our types of deaths, and their “release” dates. There are three different occasions in which you could be released, or “put to sleep”. The first is when you are already very old and your time has come, to say goodbye, this is when being released is celebrated, the second is when your are a new born and there might be some sort of problem you may be released, in this occasion the release is always sad. Finally the last occasion where you could be released is when you have broken a serious rule in the community, this is always frowned upon.

Now, again as I said all these “rituals” are very different to the way we do things in our world. And you might think this is all wrong, that their way of living shouldn’t be so controlled, that maybe they should be able to make their own choices, especially about their own futures, and I agree, but the thing is, they don’t know any better. They have never experienced anything different, they don’t know what’s good or bad, all they have is there controlled way of living.

Video Number Two (Original Version)

Sol and Natalie Ancient Egypt

The Egyptians where amazing, they were able to create the worlds most amazing monuments without the help from advanced technology. But why did they want to create all these amazing structures? Was there a point? Or was it for plain pleasure?Well I think the Egyptians were all about leaving a footprint in the world. They had their pharaohs mummified to last thousands of years, for people to find and remember, and I think this is the same reason why they made such wonderful things. I think they wanted to have the whole world remember them and think of them through their amazing structures.

This is the same reason I chose one of my similar monuments to be the twin towers. I think the Malaysian government made the Twin Towers to represent Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur. I think they wanted people to notice that they weren't just a third world country, that they were an advanced city and a powerful one, finally I think they wanted other people to think of them through the twin towers, as a strong and powerful nation just like the Egyptians. My next choice for a similar monument is the not exactly a specific monument, but in Spain there are many sculptures dedicated to the bull. I think this ties together with the Egyptians very well because they built the Sphinx which is a dedication to their love for cats. And in Spain the bull fight a lot of the time, so in honor of their sacrifice they make bulls their "logo" When I say this I mean, when you think of Australia you think of kangaroo or Koala, when you think of New Zealand you think of the Kiwi, when you think of Africa you might think, Giraffe. Just like these countries, when you think of Spain you now think of bull.

Google Docs is really helpful for group projects, especially if it is a large group. Because even if you live in completely different locations, you can still communicate and work on the project together. Although I say these things about how google docs can help with collaboration when your group is not around, it did not help me as much in this project. I say this because for this assignment, my friend Natalie and I worked together and we live in the same area. So whenever we needed to work I would or she would come over to each others houses to work on the project. So the only time we really needed google docs is when working on the research when we were not together. But I still think google docs is extremely useful. And I want to continue to use it for a long amount of time.

I think the school wide learning result for this particular project would definitely be Collaborate Constructively. This is because I think this project had everything to do with working together. From this project I learned that you needed to be very organized to be able to finish this whole project well and on time. First of all you needed to get all your information on your pharaoh in one or two days time, I thought this was the most challenging part of the whole project because I always struggle to gather a vast amount of information and write in your own words in a well written way. Second to you had to compile all this information in to a script for your imovie and have Mrs. Narsiman check it before you could start filming. (this took about one class) Lastly you had to start filming ( this took me a while to complete since my partner and I had to re film quite a lot of times to get it right and almost flawless) Looking back I am actually amazed at the amount of time it took for the whole class to complete this project, it was incredibly small! I think this just proves that if you concentrate and you are organized with help from a partner a project that could take someone two weeks could take you about less than only one!





link to blogger: https://docs.google.com/a/iskl.edu.my/Doc?docid=0Ab4PS4n7aSqTZGNxZGJtd3dfMzJjbWZtNDdoaA&hl=en



sources flickr.com and wapedia.mobi

My City Connection Reflection

     Making the city connection presentation was kind of fun, being able to listen about some countries that you've maybe never even heard of, and explore further in your own was interesting. Things about Singapore for example, and how there was a whole riot started over one little girl. On my presentation I liked the information about the spice trade that I included, because I found that other students who had done the same city did not mention this into much detail as I did. Finally I also thought I found good graphics to go with each slide on my presentation which I think is quite important because I always like to see visuals. Although these are all positive things on and about my presentation I know that I have space for improvement.

     I get nervous very easily, so when it came time for me to present my slide show, I could have done a lot better. I wasn't very loud so not everyone could hear. And when I talked I could of looked at the audience a bit more, I think I was reading and looking of the board a bit too much. Saying all of this, in the end I really just need to improve on my presentation skills. Talking in front of a crowd is not one of my strongest skills so practicing would really help me improve on my overall presentation.

     Lastly I think the preparation was very important, I learned that using key words when searching is really handy and when gathering all your information you should really try to keep every organized so it is very easy to put it all together in the final product.  I also learned things from other presentations as well.

     I saw how other people planed their information, for example instead of answering each question on a separate slide, some people  morphed the two or three together so it flowed smoothly. I also learned (like I said before) interesting facts about different cities in the world. Different facts I never knew and even cities themselves i'd never heard of.

So all in all I think the presentations were fun and I think I did quite well and so did everyone else.

(: ☆ My New Years Resolutions ☆ :)

Well to tell you the the truth I haven't made any new years resolutions yet so I guess this is a good time to start. It is quite hard coming with two resolutions because I am just so incredibly perfect, :P But really, one of my resolutions most probably, actually would definitely be to stop eating so much junk. My second would be to start dancing a lot more.

Let's face it most of the food in ISKL's canteen is very good, but definitely isn't the healthiest around... and almost everyday of the week we eat it all. Some of the favorites, "Rocky",deep fried chicken, plain rice, and popsicle's. I am not going to lie eat I eat these foods as well and I've noticed it's gotten really bad. Everyday I probably consume lots of fat, salt, and sugar. And I'm just guessing that these are not one of the top three things you want to let your body have everyday in fact these are definitely one of the three things you really want to avoid when trying to eat healthy. So that is why I am changing my diet to a more "sane" one. Im hoping all the "temptations" around me will not affect my resolution. Hopefully with effort I'll be able, and willing to complete my promise to myself, and this will be quite hard....

I love dancing, most probably because of the huge influence my sister had on me "Ileana"and when I say influence, I sort of mean she forced to dance my whole life which I am definitely not mad at, in fact I'm really grateful because some people say dance is the funnest and best way to exercise. And I just love doing it :) Besides practicing for the showcase I haven't really been dancing, and the reason I think this is such a big deal is just because of personal I really want to be a good dancer, (maybe to get into IASAS dance a little too) But really, I hope that Ile will be able to help me when I try to accomplish this new year resolution.

All in all I hope I achieve all my goals for 2011 and I hope that this will be a great yea for me and everyone else!

I spent my Christmas at the beach and I went to Bali and it was amazing. I will tell you about one of the sights that most impacted me on our visit.

First item on the agenda was the Uluwatu Temple. It was absolutely amazing! It was a temple perched on top of a high mountain surrounded by crashing waves about 250 feet below. It was breathtaking, literally, this is the trip when I found out I was afraid of extreme heights. I love looking down from towers and building maybe the same height but there was something about the atmosphere of the winds and sprinkles of sea water from below that just made my brain react much differently. Unfortunately for me, my family did not feel the same way. " Let's take a picture while i'm precariously perched on top of the railing!" I was freaking out I grabbed on to the nearest tree and din't let go, I shut my eyes tight and held my breath until everything was over I even startled when seeing other people just look down from the peak.

Monkeys getting a little too friendly!

Uluwatu Temple, Bali

Iva right after they took her earring!

Finally we went to sit down at a rather popular place, under a nice shady tree for monkeys! They started to draw attention when finally all the tourists had come over. We were all sitting there and watching their playful fights with one another when suddenly from behind I heard a yelp. "It's stolen my glasses, my glasses!"Everybody jumped up at the sound and turned to look at what had happened. The keepers of the Temple came rushing over with small plastic bags full of food. Amazingly, they used these bags to barter with the monkeys and managed to recover the glasses after a little negotiation. My sister turned and said to me, "this is a vicious cycle" - "what?" I replied. She explained to me that the monkey not only was never interested in the glasses but that he was smart enough to know that if he stole something from the tourists, they in turn would give him food to get the items back. Suddenly I heard another scream come from right next to me, it was my sister, Iva, clutching at her ear. A monkey had run up behind her and bit the earring right off her ear, all in a split second. The monkey played with the earring in its mouth for a good fifteen minutes, while my sister fretted about getting her favourite pearl back. Finally, another keeper came over and noticed the problem. He passed the monkey a hairnet and a fruit but apparently this was not enough to persuade him. Knowing the earrings were shiny and probably worth more than one single fruit, the monkey held onto the pearl which he had already placed inside the hairnet, as if negotiation for a little more. After tossing him another bag of fruit, the keeper finally managed to recover the earring and hand it back to my sister, covered in monkey saliva. Thus ended one of the more entertaining days in Bali.