Gingue Brothers Dairy

Yesterday we visited Gingue Brothers Dairy farm. First impression was bad, because it was so stinky there, but after 5-7 minutes I didn't feel the smell anymore.

The guy's name that gave us a tour was Dan. He was funny and interesting, he told us about all the process how cows are being milked and what happens if the cow has an injury.

Then we went through the farm and it seemed, that cows are happy. They have everything they need.

After the excursion we went to a river and had some kind of picnic. Our teacher brought strawberry cake, soda and water. Cake was awesome!

Then we went to refresh ourselves in river. Water was cold but refreshing. And river was beautiful and landscapes were awesome too.

After we went to our teacher's home and she introduced us to our family! 

We had a great time! Thank you, Christine!

5 interesting facts about Gingue Brothers Dairy, LLC

First of all, I like the idea of having a page on a facebook and updating it all the time!

Second, I like the idea, that they post some vocabulary words there and explain what does it mean, so when you go to the excursion, you are able to understand everything they say.
Gestation is a term in reference with reproduction, it is the amount of time from insemination/conception to birth.

Third, I learned, that each American consumes an average of 29 pounds of cheese each year!

Fourth, very funny term: "bunk face" . This is what they call the exposed section of the bunk.  They try to keep as little of the bunk exposed as they can so the feed stays fresh.

Fifth, and the last, that the average dairy farm in Vermont has 130 cows.  They have approximately 600 total in their herd!


I`m looking forward to visit the farm. I saw the pictures on facebook and it seems, that the place is beautiful and I could take a lot of nice pictures!

Thoughts about COTS

Today I've visited COTS shelter for homeless people in Burlington, VT.

Unfortunately, my post will be without pictures.

I would say, that people live there in normal conditions. Yes, there is not a lot of space, but still there is a bed, heating and air conditioning, shower and laundry. It doesn't stink there, it's not dirty there.

In my country (Latvia) shelters are disgusting. They have a lot of nasty smells there, everything is dirty etc.

Comparing conditions of living on campus in Ryan hall, I can say, that homeless people in shelter live the same, as we do.

Guide was very polite and talkative. She spoke clearly and I was able to understand everything she said. She answered to all the questions with pleasure and I received answers to all the questions I had before coming there.

Of course, shelter doesn't seem to be like a hotel, but still it's better than to sleep somewhere in the park, when it's cold outside.

COTS

I visited COTS web page and first question, that appeared in my mind was:

Why they have such a great web page, but the building, where people stay is kind of terrible? I mean, it's very expensive to have such web page.

Second question would be:

Why they offer people to call their office? I mean, homeless people doesn't have phones!

Last question:

Why they make a lot of activities, such as "30 for 30 COTS WALK PROMOTION"? They offer to win prizes there. Come on! You better spend this money to improve your shelter!

Lake Champlain Chocolates

Today I've visited Lake Champlain Chocolates factory and tasted chocolate, as well. 

Shop was good, there were a lot of tasty things to buy, but I didn't bought anything, because I'm not a big fan of chocolate. Then we sat down in auditory and girl were telling about history of factory; about the ingredients chocolate is made of; about the process how chocolate is made etc. She was speaking so quiet, that I had problems with understanding her (I was sitting in 3 row!).

The second thing I didn't like is that there's a big window near that auditory, and I feel sorry about people, who works on a factory, because every single working day from morning till evening somebody is always looking at them and taking photos (like I did).

But it was a great chance to get out from boring classroom and to discover Vermont, so I enjoyed the "excursion" and chocolate, as well! :)

Excursion on Thursday

We're going on excursion this Thursday, I'm so excited. Can't wait to start discovering Vermont. So far I saw Lake Champlain and shopping centers and I think it's definitely not enough to judge about Vermont and about life here.

I hope Christine won't be mad on me, that I posted it, but I thought it would be great to make this blog some kind of Twitter, where I could post my feelings about our class before events and after them. :)

Some information about me.

At first, I would like to show you my family.

This is my father. He's name is Aleksey (Alex), he's 40 years old. He's a surgeon by education, but now he has his own company, which produces packaging for metal.

This is my mother. Her name is Natalia. She is 38 years old and she is a dentist.

Also, I have a sister. Her name is Kate. She's 4 years old and I love her more than anybody else in the whole universe. Only she can make me happy, when I'm sad.

This is my girlfriend. Her name is Elina and she's 17 years old. She wants to be a lawyer.

Finally, it's me. I'm 17 years old. I do kickboxing for 9 years, swimming for 5 years. My dream is to study in MIT. I want to study technical engineering there, because I have to continue my fathers company. I spend my free time hanging out with friends and in the garage customizing my car (photo below).

That's it for today. Thank you for reading my post! :)

Hey there. Just started my new blog.
This text doesn`t have any information, it`s just for checking how it works :D