Visit to Logos Hope

DAY – 1 (18.12.2013) 

A picture taken from our window on the day it arrived in Maldives. 

Every morning the first thing my children would do as they wake up is open the windows and let the morning sunshine fill up our room. On 18^th December, my daughter was very excited when she saw a huge ship. We wondered what it was as it was harboured so close by. There were flags of so many different countries. A few months ago, a floating military hospital visited Male’, so we concluded that it must an important ship.

By mid-day, we learned that it was a floating book fair! How exciting! So in the afternoon we visited the ship as soon as my husband came home. We had to go through the MPA entrance and walk for a little bit. As we entered there were so many staff waiting around with big smiles on their faces.  

We sat on the red wooden bench and a staff explained how the price of the books were units and how it was converted to\ MVR. We were on fourth deck and this deck had books displayed in one area and as we proceed from this area, we enter another lovely display of a story where a guide explained the story. The story is about good choices and bad choices. As the story comes to an end, we enter a little play room and the international cafeteria. From there we further move along towards the exit.

    

We briefly browsed through the books. Mummu got cranky after about fifteen minutes because he wanted to run and Maly was running up down unable to choose a book to buy. When we went to the other side, Mummu actually started bawling when he saw the balls. We took 2 balls for him and Maly, but unfortunately he wanted all the balls. So we had to quickly pay for the items and move on.

My husband rushed off as Mummu wouldn’t calm down, so Maly and I followed the guide listening to the story. We took some picture and went into the play area to find my son all calm and happy playing with toys. Maly joined her little brother and played for a while. 

Next, we went to the International Cafe. Unfortunately all the snacks were sold out so we just bought some snacks and were enjoying our coffees and ice creams when we met Milena Kronmuller. Maly made a new friend and she was so excited she nearly told her everything within just five minutes. We took more pictures before we came home! Maly loved the huge suite case! 

I came home determined to go back and have a proper look at the books available. 

What I know about Logos Hope 

Logos Hope is actually a charity organization that travels around the world visiting countries to bring hope and spread knowledge. From what I learned from the video clips and the crew, their staff are from 60 different nationalities. How interesting and fun it would be to live in such a multi-diverse community. There are more than 400 staff working on board and they come from all walks of life. They learn new skills as they work in the ship. 

I also heard an elderly staff telling a group of visitors that they were really happy that so many visitors are visiting. They were not expecting such a crowd. Apparently Logos Hope requested to visit Maldives in 1979 and in the late 1980's but their request was rejected for some reason. 

A map of the ship! 

The collection of books on for sale very rich. There were really good children's books. In addition to children's books, there were so many other titles and different genres too. And the price range was quite reasonable as well. 

The volunteers who work in this ship visit orphanages and slums and help people in need. But I don;t think that they visited Kudakudhinge Hiyaa in Villingili. The children would have loved the staff of Logos Hope. I wish that they had. 

Among the volunteers include children as well. Actually their parents volunteer and they join Logos Hope as a family, which is really nice. They have a school in the boat so they wouldn't be missing much education and I believe what they learn from traveling would something that we cannot deliver in a classroom. So these children are very lucky indeed.  

Guessing game...to which country do they belong to? 

DAY - 2 (20.12.2013) 

Waiting in the queue

We went back on Friday and I was actually sad that I didn't come back on 19th! When I came on 18th, there was no queue and we just went visited the ship. However, on Friday there was a long queu and as we queued up, more people kept on coming! Maly and I had to wait for about 30 minutes in the long queue but the visit to the ship was worth it as it was the last day the ship would remain in Maldives. 

  

 

The ship was so crowded that Maly and I could hardly get close to most of the bookshelves. We bought just one book and off we went to the International Cafe. There was such a long queue there as well. So I let Maly play in the corner and waited for the queue to get a bit short when we suddenly heard the announcement that the cultural show was about to start! By then Maly was standing in a queue to get a ballon! Yes, there was a queue every where but she also wanted to see the show as badly as I did so we headed towards the amphitheater. Of course, I had to promised her that once the show was over, I would come and get her a balloon! 

The show was awesome! So I would write about the show under a different sub-heading! So keep on reading. 

Once we came out, the guy giving out balloons must have taken off, we couldn't find him. Maly was heart broken. 

She started crying and kept on telling me, "Mom you promised...you promised!" 

"I'm sorry darling, I didn't know that they would leave, perhaps they've run out of balloons", I told her feeling rather bad. 

In the end, she cheered up a little bit when I told her that we were going to buy ice cream and chocolate chip cookies being sold in the Cafe. Oh yes! We had to join the queue and it took us another 30 minutes before we could order anything. 

As I stood in the queue, I looked around and saw that there were many foreigners besides us Maldivians visiting the ship that day. Since it was Friday it was not something to be surprised of, isn't it? And the next thing I noticed besides everyone taking pictures of everything (including me) was that everyone was engrossed in an animated discussion or a conversation with the staff while they had their beverages in the cafe. When I visited on 18th even I noticed this. 

The staff were really friendly and there were squeals of sheer surprise and happiness expressed both from visitors and staff when they came upon second time visitors..."Hey...you came back...so nice to see you". I thought if Milena but I couldn't see her. 

As promised, I bought her ice cream and chocolate chip cookies and we stood around waiting for a table. I met my friend Sheeneez and we shared a table. I remember quite clearly the first day I bought ice coffee for MVR 11 and on Friday it was for MVR 15. I suppose everywhere it's the same. The prices go up when the demand is high.

By the time we finished our snacks, the balloon guy has turned up. Maly was so pleased and there were a group of younger staff doing face paint and all. Maly got a heart on her hand and then we headed towards the balloon queue. Luckily, this time we didn't have to wait in the queue for a long time and she got a blue balloon (her favourite colour). 

We took some more pictures and were about to leave when we heard the announcement again. Yes, the second show for the evening was about to start. Yes, Maly and I ran to get into the amphitheater! We had a great time watching the second show...Yes, yes! Just browse through the pictures below and you can read all about the show! 

The Cultural Show 

First Show 

The show is presented by Peter. He is from France and he works as a fireman. I must say that he and the rest of the performers were very talented indeed. I bet Peter would win several Oscar Awards if he stared in a movie or something. 

Captain and Betsy

In the show, Peter is play the part of the captain who travels from one country to the other. His ship is called Betsy, names after his wife as he misses her dearly during his long voyage. He gets sea sick quite easily and keeps on throwing up! Maly laughed really hard whenever he threw up! 

Nepali song 

Scottish dance, there's the little girl I told you about. 

In the first show, he first goes to Nepal, where two singers come and sing a very slow but beautiful song. The The second country he visits is Scotland. You should have been there, men in real Kilts! And their dance was really nice. There was a little girl among the dancers too. Maly met the girl after the show n our way out and told her that she was awesome. Finally, the captain goes to Philippines. Their dance item was also very nice. I loved the way they hopped and danced away on the bamboo sticks. You see, four dancers were there, but two were holding the long bamboo sticks and moving them to and fro and the other two dances hopped and danced rhythmically. Nope, they didn't trip and fall, which was the most amazing part! 

Captain in Philippines right before their dance started...see the bamboo sticks on the floor! 

   Second Show

 

  

In the second show as well the captain does pretty much the same thing though his dialogue differs. However, this time he goes to Mexico first. Maly knew about Mexico because she has studies about this country in school and she even wore a Mexican dress for a dance as well. 

American dance

Next he visits America and he described America as melting pot because people from all over the world migrated to America after Columbus discovered this magnificent country. The dancers were from different ethnic backgrounds too and boy, they could dance well. 

Finally he goes to China and he said that the Chinese dance was his favourite and indeed it was really nice. There's a non Chinese dancer among the dancers. She has brown hair and I think she's from a European country, but you can hardly tell. I think in all the dances, the crew would just dress up dance though the staff who belong to that certain country lead the dance. 

Maly with the captain

I also had to join and take a picture! 

After the show we took a photo with great captain and went back to the cafe to buy some water and were quite disappointing to see  that there still was a long queue. As we were about to leave we met Julia (another friend from the previous visit) and she told us that Milena was not around. Since Maly was really thirsty she kept on asking and seeing the long queue, Julia got us some water. It was awfully nice of her and we left a note for Milena and came home. 

Finally disembarked the ship 

Finally Maly also wanted to go home. It was about 9 o' clock by then. These guys below were playing music near the exit. Of course Maly wanted to watch so I had to wait for around fifteen minutes.

Guys playing music near the exit

Logos hope with all the lights lit up!

One last photo

The ship visited Maldives in a very appropriate time I would say. Well, it's the end of the year holiday for us. Kids are bored at home and its like the circus in town all of a sudden.

Both Maly and I loved the cultural show most because it was performed by the natives and the show was quite educational as well. Maly really liked Logos Hope experience and was asking me whether she could visit again. When I told her that the ship was leaving the next day, she really looked sad!

Goodbye Logos Hope 

The next day Maly, Mummu and I watched Logos Hope leave Maldives. We can see it from our window. As the crew who gathered outside waved, Maly thought they were waving at her and waved at them frantically.

As the ship sailed away, Maly kept on waving and shouted, "I will miss you forever!"

And then she looked at the ship thoughtfully and asked me, "Mom would captain Peter be feeling sea sick and vomiting right now?"

Logos Hope sailing away! 

I hope that Logos Hope would visit us again...SOON! 

The Perfect Bride for the Perfect Prince

Once upon a time, there lived handsome prince who was very picky and choosy. When he was little, he always wanted to be fed by his ma all the time. When he was old enough to hunt, he only used bow and arrows made by a certain specific carpenter who lived far away. He ate apples freshly plucked from the tree before he ate and always preferred the best of everything. 

The King and Queen were worried as he grew up and was old enough to get married. The Prince was their only son and as  they grew old, they wanted him to get married and have children. however, the Prince remained a bachelor and didn't show any interest in any girl at all. 

So the King and the Queen threw a ball where all the beautiful maidens of the kingdom were invited. The Prince met with the maidens and politely spoke to them but he doesn't seem to fall for the even the fairest and the prettiest of them. He didn't look happy as time passed and he just mingled among the crowd. 

"Whats the matter son?", asked the King as his son didn't look happy and looked as if he was about to leave. 

"I'm tired father, I'd like to retire to my chamber now", the Prince replied. 

"You seem to be sad son, isn't there a girl among the crowd you like", asked the Queen. 

"I'm afraid not, I can't seem to find the perfect girl for me among the crowd dear mother, forgive me," said the Prince apologetically. 

The Prince left the ball and the king and queen entertained their guest until everybody left. That night the King and Queen could not sleep. They were awake all night thinking and thinking of what they would do and towards morning, the Queen had a great idea. 

The next morning, over breakfast the queen informed the prince about her plan to get him the perfect bride and to her joy, he agreed and he thought that she was a genius! 

And so the messengers started their journey to deliver the invitation cards to a grand ball that would be held in a months time in their kingdom. A princess from each kingdom was invited and they were suppose to present themselves in the ball and a small performance was also expected from them to show their talents as well. They were also told that the winner of this competition would be the princess to me married to the prince. 

As the day neared of the grand ball, princesses from different kingdoms arrived and were given chambers from the castle. The prince kept to himself and didn't meet any of the princess taking part in the competition. Beautiful princess belonging to different kingdoms roamed around the castle in their fancy gowns. They were rather curious about this prince who wanted the perfect bride. This made all the princess excited about the competition and they all wanted to do their best. 

Finally the day that they have all been waiting for arrived. The Prince emerged from his chamber and entered the grand hall decorated for the ball. The princesses nearly fainted when they saw how handsome he was. The King, Queen and the Prince sat at the front row and the princess introduced themselves one by one. 

Next they were given the opportunity to perform any item that they wanted to show their talents. Some princesses performed a dance, while the others sang beautiful songs. Some of them even narrated a beautiful story where the whole audience was mesmerized. Some of them did magic tricks while others showed their skill of archery. 

After this performance, the best ten princesses were chosen and they were asked a question by the judging panel. the King, Queen and the Prince. Finally the princesses were asked to help themselves to the banquet while the results were finalized. 

They all waited nervously ignoring the rich banquet especially prepared for them. Finally the King addressed the gathering. He thanked all the princess for accepting the invitation and attending the grand ball. He also said that if he had to choose a bride from such a beautiful and talented crowd, he would have gone mad, but his son has made up his mind and he would be making the announcement!. 

As the Prince took his place next to his father in the limelight, for a minute, all the princesses held their breath and waited. They could hardly contain themselves. Everyone wanted to be his wife because he was so handsome and was so perfect in every way. The way he walked, the way he ate, looked and smiles was just perfect. They didn't see any flaw in him. 

"All the princesses here are beautiful, it's a pity I have to choose one", said the Prince with a smile on his face. 

"I'm not just looking for a beautiful bride, but I'm looking for someone smart, talented and a companion who would keep me happy for the rest of my life", he further explained. 

To this, all the princess in the crowd nodded like puppets! 

"So I have chosen the princess from China because I fell in love with her beauty and her beautiful character as well. I'm not denying that she has the most gorgeous complexion or the silkiest hair of all. He graceful dance enthralled me like no other girl could! She kind, compassionate and funny too! I can't find a better life partner than the Princess from China. 

To this, the whole crowd agreed. All the princesses have spent about a week together in the castle because they arrived early to be briefed about the competition and they have spent a considerable amount of time together getting to know each other too. They all knew that the Princess from China was beautiful and she always went out of her way to help others. 

Indeed the perfect Prince has chosen the perfect Princess as his bride! The King and Queen were overjoyed. The whole kingdom celebrated and the perfect couple were married as soon as the King and Queen of China arrived. 

So the very first beauty pageant was held a long time ago by the perfect Prince to find the perfect bride for him. Of course, they lived happily ever after!

~ The End ~

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DHONTHI

Today is Mariyam Suha's (my little sister) birthday and she is not in Male'. Maly has been begging me to call her but she's far away and I don't think she's is up either. She has made a card and present too! This shows how fond she is of her aunt Dhonthi.

Birthday card made by Maly

This is the card she made for her. The girl wearing blue is Maleesha (my daughter) and her Dhonthi is wearing red. Mummu (my son, Mishaal) is wearing green and he is crawling. She says she drew a purple cake and a purple crayon because Dhonthi likes purple colour. She also said she would have drawn a purple flame but purple flames is not real and then she laughed! Oh and there are helium balloons too floating in the air...see the strings aren't tied to anything.

The birthday present! 

Now this really shows how much Maly loves her aunt! The fact that Maly cannot give a prsent today did not keep her from getting her one. She kept on telling me that she wanted to give a present today and I kept on explaining that it would be impossible to send one instantly to Dhonthi today. So she finally drew this soft toy and says this is her present, tell her that the tag is also visible and upload this on Facebook so that Dhonthi would see it.

This is Maly playing baseball. 

Finally, this is the last drawing that she wanted to show Dhonthi. Maly can now hit a ball with her bat. She likes to play baseball and I have to be the pitcher all the time! I actually can't wait for her to come home, so that Dhonthi and Maly can enjoy playing together!

The best grandfather in the world.

My grandfather (Hussain Naseer), My little sister (Aminath Shifa) and Beebi (Ibrahim Kashif Naseer) 

When I think about my childhood now, I have a lot of memories of happy, unforgettable incidents. Some very fond memories of my grandfather Hussain Naseer would be among the best of all.

We use to live with my mothers extended family. I was an only child at home for many years before my little sister (Aminath Shifa) and Beebi arrived. We had a beautiful garden in our house. Yes, I'm talking about Male'! I use to play all by myself most of the time. My cousins would visit during the weekend and my mom would take me to visit grandma every now and then. During my childhood, besides my parents, the next person with whom I used to hangout most was my grandfather.

He use to tell me stories all the time and I believed every single word until later when I grew old enough to understand that most of them were fabricated and was the work of great story teller. Anyway, I was enchanted and perhaps its because of him that I actually got interested in story writing. There was no internet or cable TV, but I can assure you all that time spent with my grandfather was more educational and I learned so much from him.

Every evening my mom would bath me and dress me up. I would look like a princess in my best clothes and shoes. I would run around in the garden and play. I also wait quite eagerly for grandfather to come out of his room too. You see, every day I miss Mr Moll and the Barbapapa passing our house. My grandfather would shout when I reach the other side of the garden that they are coming. I would run with all my might and as I reach the door, panting like anything, he would just say...they just turned the corner and are not visible anymore! And I believed him every day! I was preschool back then!

We also had a secret that I never told anyone. Well until last year anyway! My mom would not allow me to eat custard or sweets after 5 in the afternoon because it would spoil my dinner. Custard was one of my favourites and my grandpa used to smuggle treats into his room and I would enjoy custard (most of the time) while we watched cartoon. I told my mother only this year and she sure was surprised!

My grandfather was a very famous singer in his day. Even now some of the radio stations would play his songs and it's really nice to hear his voice every now and then. Most of the time I stop whatever I'm doing and its like I'm travelling back in time...I'm a little girl and my grandfather is standing in front of me.

This is my favourite song by my grandfather:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Kv65s09N6U&noredirect=1

I worked as a temporary teacher for one year and when I gave a present to grandfather from what I earned. The happiness that radiated from his face something I would always cherish in heart. Later he told my mum that I was the first grandchild to give him a present from what I have earned.

As we grew up he grew old and he was very sick for a long time. The memories of him in ICU and hospital still saddens me. When he was admitted in ICU, we use to visit him and sit outside taking turn one by one going in to see him. When we went in, he would hold out hand and talk. One night, a nurse came out looking rather worried. I quickly went towards the door thinking something must have gone wrong. She asked me to follow her and she led me to his bed. I was relieved to see that he was alright and wondered why the nurse looked so worried. Well, I soon found out! He had been asking for a mango juice and the nurse didn't understand. He was quite exasperated!

He loved mangoes and he ate cornflakes out straight out of the box like we eat thelli banbukeyo! When he was ill, one day I gave him a box of cornflakes and he finished it on the spot. During the few days with us, he use to eat a lot of oranges too. My mum made sure that we had oranges at home all the time. He loved perfume and he was always nicely groomed and dressed. 

I still miss my Kaafa (grandfather in Dhivehi) and will miss him as long as I live. I wish that he lived long enough to see me graduate, get married and have children. He would have been so proud. When I received my Diploma, he watched me on TV. H would have adored my children and spoiled them rotten and Maly and Mummu would definitely wait for their favourite cartoon characters to walk by our house too! He was the best grandpa in the whole world.