Hi Best Friend

Hello Lukito!

I will be coming to visit America on 15 August and I will be home for one week. We will definitely have a dinner and a sleep over then a breakfast. You can invite your mom for one meal. The other will be just for you and me…best friends hanging out for a fun meal. 🙂

I will be moving back home to America at the end of October. I am sad to be leaving India but very glad to be moving back to be with all the people I love so much. The winter is the best weather of the year in India which is why I am sad to leave. I am not excited about snow and cold. 😦

Most days I work….I enjoy my work so it’s like playing for me. On the weekends I do some work at home and also ride my motorcycle around India. The traffic here is CRAZY!!! People don’t obey the traffic rules and many times drive the wrong way in my lane. I am very careful and normally ride slow to be safe.

I have not played cricket in a long time. I would rather watch my friends play. This weekend my friends are playing in a soccer tournament. I will go an watch them plan and take some pictures. Maybe I will try and coach them a little. They have a lot of fun playing but they don’t have your skills. Coach Eric at Schwaben is my friend. He is also a good coach. I am sure you will learn a lot from him and have a lot of fun. When you see him, tell him I said, “Hi”

I am sooo glad you are learning Spanish. When you know more than one language your brain grows in special ways allowing you to think better. This will definitely help you be a man of the world when you grow up. When you go to Panama make sure you practice your Spanish with the people there. I wish I could go to Panama with you.

In two or three years, I hope to move with Irene to Switzerland for work. That will put me very close to some of the greatest soccer teams in the world. It would be so exciting if you could come visit me and Irene and we could go see some matches together. I would love if we could take a train trip to Spain and watch Barcelona or Real Madrid play.

Switzerland is very close to Italy and Germany and France. Make sure you practice your German speaking so you can help me talk to the people.

Were you able to find Nepal and Kathmandu on a map? That was a very interesting trip for me. My next trip will be to a country called Sri Lanka. I will be going there for three days beginning 04 July. See if you can find it on a map.

Love you Best Friend!!!

Papa

Re: I’m In Nepal

Dear Papa,

I’m going to be moving to a different soccer team and is going to be Schwaben because it is way more closer and my dad coaches there. I am also probably going to be getting lots of playing time. My coach is going to be coach Eric. You know him I think from coaching from the same club. I am glad that I am out of school because I do not have to think and the whole year my brain was hurting.

We are going to go to Panama on July 25th. We are going there for two weeks. We are going to see lots and lots and lots of cool things like native Americans, we are going to go on the Panama Canal, we are going to do water sports like water rafting, snorkeling, and we are going to have lots of fun. We are going in the jungle to see some monkeys and sloths and maybe koalas. We are going to see parrots and parakeets and toucans. If we are really lucky we will see a quetzal. We are going to hike in the jungle, go to a coffee farm, stay in a hut with native Panama Indians.

This summer I am also going to be playing a lot with my friends and my family and I bet it is going to be humid a lot and hot a lot and rainy. I want to go to the park, sleep, and I am going to go to Great America with my soccer friend Aiden. I am doing gymnastics, swimming, singing lessons, piano lessons, and speed and agility camp. I have to do summer reading, and I have to exchange books with friends and how we do that is on certain days on our bookmarks we go to the park and exchange a book with someone else. I already read two books this summer: Mayor Hubble is in Trouble and The Report Card. My report card is awesome because on some stuff I was low and then I got high this time and I made it on to fourth grade!

When are you going to come back to America? Are you still playing cricket in India? Do you miss me a lot? What are you going to be doing in the next few days? I am also learning Spanish and I finished Spanish Product #3 today.

Love Lukito.

I’m In Nepal

Hola Nino,

I am currently in Nepal in a city called Kathmandu. Kathmandu is the biggest city in Nepal. It is very crowded and many of the streets can barely fit one car. They are very narrow. Mostly people walk in those streets. There are some motorcycles too that go buy sometimes too fast. The just beep their horns and go. The people know to get out of the way.

See if you can find Nepal and Kathmandu on the map. Hint: It’s close to India.

At one of the places I visited, Kathmandu Durbar Square, I saw the two guys in the pictures.

Priest

Priest

They ask for money when people take their pictures.

The next day I went to a Tibetan monastery named Kopan Monastery. That’s where people study to be Buddhist monks or Buddhist priests.  I’m not sure if they are the same or different. It was a quiet place high on a hill. It was very clean and pretty and quiet. Much of Kathmandu is not clean at all! And it’s very noisy!

A Tibetan monastery follows a man known as the Dalai Lama. See if you can find a picture of him on line.

There were kids younger than you at the monastery studying to become monks. I knew they were studying to become monks because they wore the traditional colors and clothing.

Kids in Monastery

Can you imagine a kid your age whose life is centered around becoming a monk?

Your school is almost over for the year. Are you excited?

Soccer is almost over for the summer too. Does that make you sad?

When are you going to Panama?

 

Love you best friend,

Papa

 

 

Poor People

Hi Luke,

So, you want to know about the poor people in India. There are many, many poor people living in India. Many people live in homes with no running water and no electricity. I have made friends with some poor kids who beg for money. Here is a picture of three of them:

Poor Kids

They beg for money. Many times the kids don’t get to keep the money because the gangs take it from them. So, I don’t give any money to them. I do sometimes give them some food which they eat right away. That way, the gangs can’t take it from them.

Panama sounds very exciting. I have never been to that part of the world. You might get to scuba dive? That is very exciting. I have gone scuba diving two times and really liked it. What tribe might you sleep with???

I am glad you are reading a lot of books. There is a saying that readers are leaders. With all the books you read, you are going to be a very smart leader one day. 🙂   When your gift card runs out let me know so I can send you a new one. Did you try and read the Dr Who book I gave you? If you liked it, I have a lot more to share with you.

Today I bought a traditional India article of clothing. It’s called a lungi. Here is a picture of me wearing it. Do you like it?

Papa Wearing A Lungi

Are you still having fun playing soccer?

What are you studying in school?

Love You Best Friend,

Papa

Re: Happy Happy BIrthday!

Dear Papa,

I am also sad you didn’t come to my birthday party. Well it wasn’t really my birthday party, I just went to Gameworks with Brian, my mom, and my dad. It was really fun because we played lots of games. After Gameworks we went to my game and Brian went too. We were versing the AAC Eagles. With my Amazon gift card I got lots of books. Since Christmas I got 16 books and I read almost all of them. Right now I am reading Fablehaven #3 from my school library. Fablehaven is about a secret preserve and that nobody knows about it except Seth and Kendra. They are both little kids and they go on dangerous missions. And there are also very scary monsters in the book. I like to read it very much because there is lots of action. I also read it when I wake up, when I’m waiting for my bus, and when I get home from school.

Today I am versing the AAC Eagles again. We lost to them before, so I hope we win today. I play at 4:30 at I have to get there 45 minutes early. That’s almost an hour. When we get there we go upstairs by the bar and we go into a little room that’s next to the bar and we talk about what positions we play and like how our formation is and stuff. Sometimes we watch videos. Then we go downstairs and warm up. This league is so hard because I’m versing the top division u10 teams.

This summer we are going to Panama in Central America. I feel happy because I’ve only gone on a plane once. I think I am going to go canoeing, we’re gonna go scuba diving, maybe I’m gonna sleep with a tribe.

Are there any poor people in India? Have you ever helped them out or gave them some food?

I love you.

Your best friend,

Lukito

Happy Happy Birthday!!!

Hello To My Bestest Friend!!!

It’s your birthday again! I wish I could be there to celebrate with you this year but it is just not possible and that makes me sad. 😦  I am planning on sending you a gift so talk to your mom and find something on Amazon and let me know. I will have it sent to your home.

I have been looking for you on Skype but I guess you have been really busy.

So, I thought I would post some of my favorite pictures of  you and me together and some of you.

Love You Best Friend!

Papa

Luke in Indian Clothing

Handsome Buddies

Fishing Buddies

Dudes in Red

At The Zoo

Great Face!

Thailand

Hi Best Friend,

I spent the last two days in Bangkok, Thailand. It is a very crowded city with a lot of traffic. I was glad my friend drove so I could be a passenger and see everything.

We visited a few temples honoring Buddha. He was a person that lived a long time ago. The temples were beautiful and one had a Buddha that was as big as a house. I wish you could have been here to see it with me. Ask your mom to show you some pictures on facebook.

Thailand food is awesome! It is some of the best I have ever eaten. I think you would like it too.

Did you have a nice Christmas?

Love,

Papa

Re: It’s Almost Christmas!

Dear Papa,

On my Ipod I for music I put Spanish songs, We Will Rock You, Dynamite, What Does the Fox Say, and Spanish learning books 1-16.

Yesterday I played a soccer game against FC Athletico on Field 2 and we won 11-1 and I scored one goal for my team. Here’s how I scored: I got switched from defense to forward, then my teammate Antonio passed it to me, then I was in front of the other players, then my first touch was forward and I got in the box and the goalie was coming out, and I toe poked it straight into the goal, and mommy almost missed my goal because she was talking with the other moms.

The reason why I got you that present was because you’re my best friend and because it was from the holiday shop and I wanted to get a present for you. The reason why I picked it was because to remind you of Jesus and when he died on the cross.

I liked when you came to my play when I was the wiseman with two other kids. I liked when you came because you showed full support for me. When I saw you in the audience I felt happy because it feels like I haven’t seen you in a long long time.

I found Thailand very easy because I am awesome at finding Thailand.

I am excited for Christmas because of all the presents I get, family members, clothes, just kidding, I’m not excited for clothes. And Christmas Eve is tomorrow!

Love,

Your best friend Luke.

It’s Almost Christmas

Hi There Best Friend!

Papa and the Wise Man

Thank you so much for the cross you got me as a gift. I put it next to my bed so I see it every night when I go to sleep and every morning when I wake up. It reminds me of how nice a boy you are growing up to be and how much I love you.

I was really glad to see you when I was home the past few weeks. The sleep over was my best night in the US. Breakfast at Ellie’s was so good. In India I don’t get Eggs and hashbrowns. I was very impressed at the polite way you ordered your food. You are growing up to be a very nice young man. We have to make sure we do that every time I come home for a visit. I hope to be there again at the beginning of summer but I’m not sure if it will happen.

What music did you put on your iPod? I got you the blue one cause you play for Sockers and they have blue jerseys. I am very sorry I did not see one of your games this time.

It was good to see you acting and singing because I know how much you love singing. Maybe some day you will be a rock and roll star or an actor. I loved your costume. 🙂

For Christmas I will be visiting some friends in Thailand. It is very warm there so I won’t have a white Christmas this year. I am flying on Christmas day. See if you can find Thailand on a map. Here’s a hint. It is East of India across the Bay of Bengal.

I will miss seeing everyone on Christmas day. Make sure you tell them Merry Christmas from Papa for me. Ok?

Love you always!

Papa

re: It’s October!

Dear Papa,

Soccer has been going very well for me and my games are really hard for me because I’m playing u10s. I had a game today that a kid pushed me and tackled me from behind a lot. I did the roll over move. When a kid was against the wall with the ball, I tackled him on the wall and tried to get the ball back. I got it back and I dribbled up the boards.

Do you know what happened in the Philippines? A huge tsunami crashed in a city and there were ten thousand people died. I feel very sad because people lost their homes, their food, their families some of them.

You can stay at my house after Lola leaves because she and Jimmy are staying for a few days, and then I will call you to tell you when you can come over. I am so excited that you are going to come to America because I miss you a lot and you are my best friend in the whole wide world. I hope when you get here we should have lots of fun anywhere we want to go, even to the movies. I want to go to the movies, we can both read together, we can have a sleepover, I also want to go out to breakfast.

Here’s what I want for Christmas: Ipod, Keva, and some stuff from a magazine. Here’s what kind of soccer jerseys I want: Arsenal, Chelsea, and Spurs.

I am reading lots of books. Some are long without pictures. And then my mom makes me write about it in my journal when I’m done. I feel sad because I do not like to write in journals. I am also practicing piano. My piano teacher is named Sam and he’s really nice. He gives me lots of homework and cool songs. I have two musicals coming up from school and church. It’s gonna be really fun because I’m gonna be acting in one and singing in one. Well I’m actually singing in both. I’m going to be acting as a wise man. In math I am on subtraction times tests and I have been passing every single level because I have been working hard on extra math at home.

I love you Papi!

Luke your best friend in the whole wide world.