EUROPEAN RENAISSANCE SAFARI

     I woke up on my bed holding a ticket for a safari. It was for the European Renaissance. I went to Florence, Italy and began the safari. There was this nice man there ready to start the safari. He said that the safari was going to last hours, so he let me ride one of his horses. I always gave the horse water when he was starting to get wobbly and slow down.

   

     The first place we visited was the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (Florence Cathedral). It was built by the most famous architect in Italy. It's dome was built by Filippo Brunelleschi and some helpers.

     After we saw the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, we went to see Cosimo de Medici in his older days. Cosimo de Medici was the ruler of Florence, Italy in his older days.

                                                                        The next place we went to visit was the statue of David. The statue 

of David was created by Michelangelo. 

Later we went to see Lorenzo de Medici's Tomb which was also created by Michelangelo under Pope Leo X. Pope Leo X made Michelangelo create tombs for every Medici.

 After we saw the Medici tombs, we went to see the Sistine                                                                                                                Chapel. This was also created by Michelangelo along with Sandro    Botticelli, Pietro Perugino and Pinturicchio. It was patronized under Pope Julius II. 

After our short but long safari, we went back and I kept exploring Italy.

M10: SAMURAI

     I woke up this morning and saw the rest of my rice on the floor. I walked closer to it and saw that they formed letters. As I got closer, I read what the rice was formed into. It said, "GO TO JAPAN". I didn't know what I was supposed to do in Japan, so I looked for more clues. I found a key on the table and saw a huge wooden chest. I browsed the key and the lock on the chest. It looked like a perfect match. I put the key in the key hole and twisted the key. I opened the chest and found a lot of armor. There was a mask, armor and a lot of clothes. Way in the bottom were two swords. I need to train to be a samurai. I went to my jet and left all the way to the year 1138.
     I got out of my jet after I landed on the year 1138. There was so many things to see, but I had to get to my assigned master. My master was known as a shogun. My master let me have land to live and stay. He told me to meditate but I didn't know how to. He told me to write, but I didn't know how to. I couldn't do any of the things I was supposed to know how to do. I had to find a way to be able to do every thing a samurai could do.    This is a major problem. If I bring shame to my master, I would have to commit seppuku.
     I went to a temple to see if a samurai could help me reach his level of knowledge. I found this one guy who says he's an expert being samurai. I told him that he can't call himself an expert unless he taught someone else. He said he was an expert and he'll prove it by teaching me the way of the samurai. I started off by putting on my armor. he said that the first thing I should always do is put my armor on. After I put my armor on he took me to this small doorway.
     The doorway was so small, so I had to crawl through it. When i got out, I saw this plain room with my master in it. The only thing I saw was a painting scroll. I was surprised because I thought I was going into a colorful room.  I sat on the ground and patiently watched my master make some tea. He boiled the water and then poured it into a bowl with green tea powder. I took three sips, cleaned the rim of the plate with a cloth and  passed it back to him so he can make more. I then wrote a haiku. In times of war, when I lose but I'm not dead, I would have to commit seppuku. I would have to cut open my stomach with my sword. I'm glad I will be leaving soon. When I was focused on something else, my master would whack me with a stick. He did this until I learned to dodge the stick without looking. This was called the sixth sense. I went into a zen garden and meditated. The zen garden was just a lot of sand and rocks. The sand stood for water and the rocks stood for islands.
     I learned other things to, such as women samurai were not as important or rewarded as much as men samurai. I took some green tea with me home when I left. I went straight to my bed and was pending for my next mission to be assigned.

M9: to:JAPAN from:KOREA

     I feel great. My new travel portal is almost done getting built, and I am going to JAPAN!!!!! There's something about Japan that gets me excited. I feel bad about the flood. Maybe things happen for a reason and the Apocalypse might happen in 2012. But anyways, I got assigned to visit Japan. I will meet Prince Shotoku. I was told that he had a favor he wanted me to do. Being the good person that I am. I will accept whatever favor he wants me to do. I got into my Jet and left for medieval Japan.

     As I walked to Prince Shotokus castle, I looked at the homes and designs they used to make them. Once I got in, the prince welcomed me into his castle. He was very generous. He offered me some rice and tea. I didn't want to be rude so I told him that I would love some.

"So, what do you want me to do?" I asked. I thought he was going to yell at me because I asked him pretty straight forward.

"I would like you to go to china." I answered.

"China? I just got here and you want me to go to China?" I asked sarcastically. "What for?" I asked.

"You see, Japan has it's own language, but we don't have a way to write. So I thought that if we have a way to write, that we could send messages instead of having to walk to the people far away and tell them things. So will you do what I want from you, or will you leave?" he asked.

"I will accept." I answered. I don't know what he said next, but he was talking to his guards. After he talked to them he left to the kitchen and his guards took me to a boat.

     "Where are we going?" I asked the guards. They didn't answer. I think I know were we're going. They put me on a boat with other people and they started rowing to China. As we got closer I started seeing temples. The only problem we had was crossing the Great Wall. It was used for protection of the empire during these years. It is about 3,000-4,000 miles long. It was about 16 feet tall so it was hard for us to get to China. I jumped up and was able to get over the wall. I am a high jumper. I then pulled out a rope from my pocket and helped the others over. We started walking towards a school. We found some scholars, but they told us that Korea would help us. We went to Korea and talked to scholars. Some anonymous people gave us a key that would help us understand Chinese writing a lot more.
     It took about five days for them to explain to us how to write in Chinese. When we got back to the prince's castle, I explained everything to him. Later on, scholars tweaked the writing a little. They used Chinese characters called Kanji for Japanese syllables. This style of writing was called Kana. It is know known as Japanese. The prince thanked me and gave me a whole bunch of rice to take home. I said goodbye and went back to the present time.
     When I got home I cooked some of the rice that the prince gave to me. It was so good, so I scrimped the rice for other meals. I went to the living room and started watching the black and white episodes of mickey mouse.
      

M8: Tenochtitlan

     I have just bought a really fast jet. It has Jets written on it and it has a jet outside of the letters. I also bought Lambeau  Field. I am the new owner of the Green Bay Packers and the Sponsor for the New York Jets. The teams are still the same. Buying these items will help me find a new way to travel back in time. The reason I did this is because my old travel portal broke. Luckily I bought a fast jet, so I can travel at 100 trillion miles per hour and land at the year that I'm supposed to go to. My new mission is to go to the city of Tenochtitlan. There,  I will explore some of the jobs that were part of their daily life. "VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM" That was the sound of 999,999,999,999 miles per hour of jet fuel.
"YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH" I yelled out. It didn't last long. It only lasted about 10 seconds, but it was a really fun experience.
     I will know entreat some questions to people about what their job is. I feel like an interrogator asking people questions about what they do for a living. I have done this before but it never turned out the way I  planned it. Oh, there's a nice looking woman. I should ask her first.
"Excuse me, but what do you do for a living?" I asked.
"Well you should know. You've lived here all your life. NOW GET BACK TO WORK!!!!" she yelled at me.
"Geez. you don't have to be so rude. I was just asking a simple question." I said.
"WELL WHY DID YOU ASK ME A RHETORICAL QUESTION!?" yelled out the woman. Again.
"HOW IS IT A RHETORICAL QUESTION IF I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO IT!!?" I yelled back.
"I DO NOT NEED TO TAKE THIS. MY MAN HAS THREE JOBS." yelled out the woman.
"What are those jobs?" I asked.
"HE FARMS, BUILDS BUILDINGS AND HE IS A SOLDIER IN TIME OF WAR!!!!!" She yelled.
"STOP YELLING, YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE ME DEAF!!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed.
"I'm sorry, It's Just I'm so mad. My daughter will not help me make tamales for a big feast." said the woman.
"I'm no woman, but maybe she's in the middle of her time of the month. How old is she?" I asked
"Not a day older than 12." she answered.
"And has she been yelling in a mad tone?" I asked.
"All day." she answered.
"Yep, she's going through an emotional change." I said.
"Oh." said the woman.
"I'll help you." I said. She said yes but there was only one problem. There wasn't any corn maize.
     I grabbed a hoe and started working. I planted corn stalks and watered them 24/7. It took at least a month for them to grow. While I was farming, she was at home cleaning the house and knitting cloth. She took care of her daughter and the turkey. She told me that her husband was in a war. That got me motivated to work harder. Her family was planning to have a big feast for when he came back.
    It is now near the end of the month and the corn is almost done growing. The next day I went out to continue farming. I found that the corn had grew the ultimate size. I grabbed about 89 pounds of corn and brought to the woman. She made corn tamales. They were ready just in time, because her husband had just arrived. He thanked me. She let me take 10 tamales. I ran back to the jet and went back to present time.
     It feels so good to help people. I learned that helping people that isn't even your family or friends, can reward you. I grew corn crops for a month and got rewarded with 10 tamales. I was so tired when I got home, so I went straight to bed.

M7: MISTAKES ARE GOOD

     I'm so exhausted. I'v only been asleep for about an hour and a half. I just can't believe how hot it is in Botswana. I even think I have a tan. In front of me was a hologram.

"Mr. Mask!" yelled out Signor Volpe.

"What is it?" I asked. Signor Volpe is the CEO of T.T.I. He's always grumpy. I even saw a trophy he had that said "Grumpiest CEO."

"You will need to go to any country of your choice, but it must be in Africa." he responded.

"What for?" I asked

"I need you to do some research for my Africa Journal. It could be on any country like I said before." responded Signor Volpe. 

"Okay I go as soon as I change." 

"No need for that. It's already tooken care of." said Signor Volpe. I look down and see a sleeveless shirt, some  basketball shorts, and some casual shoes. 

"What's that smell?' I asked 

"That is the smell of my new invention. It's a bug repellent, anti venom, antivirus, anti HIV/AIDS, sun screen lotion." responded  Signor Volpe. 

"Is it safe?" I asked.

"Of course it's safe. I wouldn't risk the lives of my employees." Responded Signor Volpe.

"How did you put the clothes on me?" I asked. But right after I finished asking my question, he was gone. I ignored the strangeness and ran straight into my portal going back to Botswana.
     As I was walking to the Okavango River Delta to get some samples of plant life, I was jumped by some citizens of Botswana. They were performers in a story that griots told. They covered my head with a cloth bag.
"You will need to tell a story of our culture and history my dear griot." said one of the performers.
"What? I'm not a griot." I responded
"Shyness will not let you escape from your job. You have so much potential to do anything you want, but your destiny and your job is to tell stories." answered the performer.
     I don't understand why they think I'm a griot. I'm not even dressed in traditional clothes. I don't even know any stories about the history and culture of Africa. What if they find out I'm not a griot and they get mad at me? What if they decide to kill me? what if they think that I brought shame to their people. How could I possibly learn a story about the history and culture of Africa without any books about them? I'm doomed. I'm going to die full of shame.
     The Lion King. The movie is based on an African story. It's about the rising of the kingdom of Mali. I'm going to tell this story, but I need to remember how it goes. These stories are like short anecdotes of the past.
"We will now begin our story of The Lion King." I yelled out. As soon as I began telling the story, there was a smooth rhythm and people dancing all around. They were acting out everything I said.
"There once was a king who was married to a woman. The king of Mali wanted to become the most powerful king, so he sacrificed a red bull. Later he met an ugly women that would make him the best king in the world. The wife got jealous of this new woman because she wanted her son to be the next king. Soon a big fight went on between the king of Mali and a witch. The King won the battle by shooting the witch with a feathered arrow. The king of Mali was known as the Lion King. This was the rise of the kingdom of Mali." I finished.  
     I left Botswana after I finished telling my story. I learned that being a griot is a fun job. It's kind of like being a director of a short movie.

      

M6: Safari In Botswana

     Such a horrible day in New York. I just got off tour and it's raining like crazy. I haven't been able to get out of my hotel room because of screaming fans. My hotel room is on the last floor and it's more than 2,500 feet above the ground. Despite all of the yelling it's freezing inside my room, until I get a hologram message from Signor Volpe. Luckily the screen heated up when it was on, so it was starting to become nice and toasty in my room. It appears that signor Volpe has assigned me a country inside of the African continent. Guess what my country is. Botswana. He even gave me a ticket to go into a safari. I put on a good disguise and jumped out the window. I ran from on top of roofs for about 5 hours before I got to my real home. I ran straight to the portal and arrived in Botswana.
     WOW!! It's so sunny and bright here. It's some much better than New York. The only sound you can here is the sound of birds and lions. I have to be careful though, because I don't want to get bit by a venomous snake or spider.
"Welcome sir to our beautiful safari. " yelled out a man.
"Thank you my kind sir." I yelled back. I'm actually kind of scared about all this. If I die, no one would be able to take all of my riches. I am especially scared of hippos. One of my friends got eaten by a hippo in a zoo. I think of hippos as sharks. I think of sharks as fish. My mind is different from others so I could do smart things and stupid things. I just really don't want to go to a safari right now.
     There is no way I'm going to a safari with hippos. Wait a minute. I have an idea. I will go on a safari. I just need to get some things first. I grabbed some barbed wire and pieces of a turned on electric fence. I started to walk after I finished wrapping myself up.
"OOWWW!!!!" I yelled out. I got shocked really bad. It felt like it was about 2000 watts flowing through my body. It was much worse than getting shocked by lightning when I was 2. It inflicted so much pain on me.
     That's it I can't take this any more. I have to man up. I ran straight to the jeep and the safari trip has started. The driver took me to the Okavango River Delta. There river flows into Botswana from Namibia. There was so much water. Plants and parts of the land were inside the river. I pulled out a plant and it was so sodden. I saw a hippo. We drove by further into the Kalahari Desert. There was so little water there and a family of lions. Botswana is located in the southern hemisphere. The hottest month of the year is January, and since it's January, I feel like I'm frying. The safari is over. It took about 12 hours.
     Now that I was able to see a hippo and not be afraid, I wasn't scared of anything. I learned one thing from my experience. Animals are only scary when you harm them. I'm in a rented apartment in the city of Gaborone. Gaborone is the capitol city of Botswana. Luckily, I packed an air conditioner, I feel fresh. I kind of feel bad about it because some people have to live in cities with extreme temperatures. Any way, I'm about to go to sleep so I can get a new mission when I wake up.
    
      

M5: Jew Love Me

     I woke up really early this morning for two reasons. I had to pee, and I had a new mission. The CEO of the T.T.I. wants me to go to the Holy Land. I didn't know why, but I had a bad feeling about this mission. After my bathroom break, I gathered all of my thing and headed towards my portal. I was walking and then I thought of something. What if I get sick again. I decided to not bring some medicine and risk my life. It doesn't sound that dangerous. I was only going to a Holy Land. So I said what the hey. I ran to my portal and left for the Holy Land.
     I met up with some Jewish friends from last year and had dinner with them in their home at the Holy Land. We were eating chicken soup and it was cold outside. The soup was nice and warm and we started talking about what we've been doing. I was just about to tell them about my powers until the crusaders broke into their home. One of my friends had a family back at his house, which was right next door to where we were at. The crusaders held them and put them face down on the table. They started inflicting them with pain from punches and kicks. My friends looked at me as if they were telling me to help them. I couldn't because three of the crusaders were holding me. My friend turned to the window and saw his family get killed. They knocked out both of my friends and soon began taking everything they had. They took them out of the city and began burning down the town.
     The crusaders took me with them and used me as a slave. I stayed there for a week until they went to terrorize a different city. I sneaked onto a horse and followed them. While they were terrorizing the city, I was looking for my friends. There was no sign of them, so I went back. to were they had me, because if I didn't, they would look for me and burn down every city in Europe.     
     The crusaders went city to city and I always followed them in hopes to see my friends. The wait was started to dishearten me because i kept thinking that they were dead. I was searching until I found a cave. I went in and found both of my friends. I saw them and got them outside. I took them to the city where the crusaders live and helped them get their stuff back. Since they had no home, I too them back to the present day world.
     I gave them a mansion and helped them with everything once we got home. They were surprised with the changes and foods and candies. They kept chewing bubblegum because they loved blowing bubbles. This experience helped me figure out that even though it's past Christmas, it's better to give than to get.