Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Hi Kiera!
I wanted to let you know that I’ve been having a big adventure so far this year! I’ve been to a country called Cambodia. It’s really far away from Albuquerque. And it is really different too.

One of the cool things about Cambodia is that there are coconut trees everywhere! People climb the coconut trees to harvest the coconuts.
The people I stayed with while I was in Cambodia harvested coconuts when they wanted to cook with them. They made coconut smoothies and some yummy desserts with coconut in it.

One day, they wanted me and my team to try and climb the coconut tree. I felt like I was about to live out the story of “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom”–when the whole alphabet climbs to the top of the coconut tree. We had one of our hosts show us how to climb the tree. (It’s easiest to climb barefoot and you have to hug the tree as you climb.)
I watched as my teammates all tried climbing the tree. (Most of them didn’t get very far. At all. Maybe a few feet off the ground. But one of the girls made it about halfway.) I wish I could say I made it all the way to the top. But I am just not very good at climbing trees. I only made it about a foot off the ground.
And that’s okay. Because I at least tried.

So “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” ends with all the alphabet getting hurt, and then sneaking off late at night to climb the tree again.
No one who tried to climb the coconut tree got hurt. And I don’t think we’ll be sneaking off to climb it on our own anytime soon.

Kiera, I hope you are having a wonderful year in class.
I miss seeing your smiling face every day!
-Ms. Shearin