Tag: Rainforest

Kiss of life

brachiosaurus15Leave a comment

The fiery kiss of life

has been kissed, blessed, given to the earth since the beginning of time

every seed was kissed to grow, every drop kissed into the mighty river, every muscle kissed into movement

but humans

although kissed into the same existence come with a new fire

lit deep in their hearts that pours out their eyes into the world

is the fire of distraction

the fire of greed

their fire burns slow and hot

flames devour the creations so humbly kissed into this world

green Amazonian cities of sky-scraping trees are at war with blackened cities of humans

life is in a panic

as the humans see nothing in this world as anything more than a means for their own personal gain

a once tender and loving kiss, that once had no obligations to kiss anything into existence because life was thriving perfectly on its own,

has turned into a panic of passionate lips trying to save what has been damaged

life is hopelessly trying to combat human decimation

kiss their shackled creatures into freedom, their cut and fallen cities into existence once more, kiss their oceans clean and air fresh


Pollution and over using natural resources will be our downfall. The kiss of life will keep creatures walking their earth, but will we completely destroy it before it is reborn.

Photo credit: Pinterest

My Trip to Belize

Daphne PsaledakisLeave a comment

In sixth grade, my school led a trip with a handful of students to Belize. We were to spend the first week of our trip building a cafeteria for a school, and the second week touring the beautiful country. Before leaving, I was very nervous. I was traveling to a different country without my parents. Not only was that scary, but the thought of building a cafeteria was daunting as well. The trip turned out to be amazing.

We all met at the airport and did the usual, going through security, catching our plane, and flying to Belize. The minute we stepped off the plane, I was hit by the humidity. It was so hot. Nonetheless, we collected our bags and got on the bus to where we were staying.

The first week, we mainly focused our energy on building the cafeteria. We worked in shifts – half of us would build while the other half spent time with the kids from the school, either in classrooms or on the playground (which was really more of a field of dry dirt).

The builders mixed cement and set the cinderblocks to make up the foundation of the cafeteria. It was grueling work, especially in the heat of the day. The group that was resting and spending time with the students from the school would get a chance to know an amazing group of kids, until it was again their turn to start building.

Despite the hardship and poverty that the students at the school lived in, they were happy. They had fun learning how to do handsprings across the field of dirt, or just sitting and talking with us.  They were unbelievably appreciative of what we were doing for them. It’s not as if we were building a state-of-the-art cafeteria. It was made up of three foot walls of cinderblock and poles that held a rood up above it. But to them, it was beautiful. I have never met anyone as appreciative as they were, especially at their age.

The second week was spent touring the country. We first drove up to a small lodge up in the mountains, and spent a couple days exploring the rainforest and caves around us. We then drove down to the coast and took a boat to a tiny island, where we explored and went on prolonged snorkeling excursions.

After the amazing couple of days we spent at the island, we packed up our bags – for good this time – and headed back to the airport. The trip was amazing. It was fun, educational, and rewarding all at once. The experience will remain with me for a long, long time.

Costa Rica

kirbyfullyloadedLeave a comment

One thing everyone in my family can agree on is that we love the tropics.  However, I’m pretty sure that I love them more than everyone else.  Whenever someone suggests something like, “Our next trip should be to Italy” or “Let’s go see the Louvre,” or even, “I think Spain sounds fun,”  I say, “Nah…I’d rather go swimming.”  Clear warm waters and tropical plants are unmatched by anything society has to offer.

We took a trip to Costa Rica in 2005.  Our flight was altered due to fog covering the runway in San José, so we headed south to Panama City.  The airline booked us into the Continental Hotel at around 11:30 p.m.  It was a smoking hotel and I found myself hacking every few minutes.

The next day we flew back into San José and took a private bus to the coastal town of Manuel Antonio.  Our bus driver, Jerry, was very tolerant of the 5 noisy kids in his vehicle and even let us eat lychee fruits in the back seats.  As I recall, we sang at a deafening volume for close to 5 hours.

The house we stayed in was in the jungle, but just a short 4 minute walk to the beach.  When I stepped outside it was foggy and cool but the sky was beautiful, serene.