Riya's Ramblings

Hi, this is part 2 of a series about my family's recent vacation to Italy.

Part one was about Florence, a fantastic experience.

This one is about the Amalfi region - near Naples, in the southwest part of Italy.

We took a train from Florence to Naples and enjoyed the experience. From Naples we took a taxi to the town of Praiano, about 90 min away. The drive was along the side of a mountain with the sea on the other side. Some really beautiful views.

We stayed at a family owned hotel called the Tramanto D'Oro with absolutely gorgeous view of the coast and the mountains.

We hiked up to a convent in the mountains and I am really glad we did that. The entire hike was beautiful and the views from the convent were worth the 1200 step hike.

And we met a group from Liechtenstein there!

We enjoyed delicious food and small, cute stores in the village.

I got to practice my Spanish a little because there was a sandwich place where the lady didn't speak English, we didn't speak Italian and so Spanish it was.

We took the taxi back to Naples and spent an afternoon there. Very different vibes than Florence and Praiano. We enjoyed a traditional Neapolitan pizza - very floppy but very good. Also tried a fried pizza and I must tell you - it was much better than I had expected.

Shoutout to Quinn who emailed me after hearing the Florence episode. She had visited there a couple of years back.

You can always email me at [email protected]

Like, subscribe and share this episode

Hey friends, I just got back from an amazing vacation to Italy.

Our first stop was in Florence. What an amazing place! Full of history and culture and art and natural beauty!

I enjoyed the food (pasta! gelato! panini!), the Tuscan countryside, the stunning art.

Here's my description of my amazing few days in Florence.

Have you been there? What do you think? Email me at [email protected]

A big thanks to Daisy from Florida who wrote to me about the previous episode.

Please listen, subscribe and share

And email me: [email protected]

I am a member of the Harvard Microbiological society and I recently wrote an article about vaccines fort their blog. In this episode, I read the article out loud!
You can also read the entire article titled "Vaccines - More Than Just a Needle" at 
https://medium.com/@harvardmicrosociety/vaccines-more-than-just-a-needle-b586b26c9a2d

Overall, I think vaccines is one the most interesting topics, because of all the history as well as how they work!

Email me at [email protected] with your feedback and suggestion for future episodes, or about anything else, and you will get a shout-out!

Thanks for listening, and as always listen, rate, and share!

I finished Freshman year of HS! It wasn’t exactly what I had expected but to be honest, But I am not exactly sure what I expected.

Here's my main tips: 

Be open – to people, to try new things, to new experiences

Be open to new friends and friendships

Be involved with school activities – sports, clubs etc. – which helps you meet different people.

I really enjoyed homecoming because it created so many classic high school memories. Another highlight was my AP Human Geography class. Though the class was stressful, I loved the teacher and met a lot of good friends!

Now that it's summer, I am picking up a couple of hobbies!!

I love crocheting – and I have made baby blankets, plushies etc.

I am also now learning to sew and to make a quilt

I started because I saw a documentary on Netflix called “Quilters” which is about a group of men in prison who are making quilts, and it looked so cool!

Also I am also co-hosting a local radio show. Can you believe it? Me on a radio show!

If you are in Dallas-Ft Worth, tune in to FM 104.1 on Sundays at 5 PM and call in!

Listen to the episode for more details and more about how I'm spending my summer!

What about you? How's your summer? Doing anything fun? Learning anything new? Seen any fun movies or shows?  

Email me at [email protected] with your questions, comments and a list of things you are doing this summer

And shoutouts to:

* my best friend, Sandhya

* my cousin, Shruti

* Dakota in Oklahoma – who emailed me about my Las Vegas episode

As always, listen, rate, and share!

Shout out to Ms. Daisy – I love how she tells everyone about my podcast. Thank you, Ms.Daisy!!

And shoutout to Emma from Ohio – who listened to the podcast episode of my mom discussing her composting and emailed me!!

In today's episode, I talked about my experience in speech and debate. My older brother did debate in HS and loved talking to me about his experiences.

When I was in middle school, I wasn’t planning to do debate – I thought it was for nerds. But, I joined it in 8th grade to pick an easy class.

Then, I took debate in 9th grade mostly because I was expected to by my parents and brother. I was planning to do the bare minimum in the class!

Then came my first debate tournament.

I chose to participate in extemporaneous speaking – where you have to prepare a 7-min speech within a 30-min of being given a topic. I also participated in “original oratory” – where I had to prepare a 10 min speech on a topic of my choice. I chose “Overthinking” as my topic.

I met an amazing group of sophomores at the tournament and I met other people from other schools and started to have a good time. I also ended up watching one of my friend's rounds and loved it! I ended up getting placed 3rd in the tournament for the extemporaneous speaking!!!

I then found out there was another tournament my birthday weekend in Amarillo and I asked my parents if I could go. I was so excited when they said ‘yes’

It was a really fun weekend and I had a great time with my friends. I did really well in my events and became super close with my team. This is when I truly understood debate culture – it is such a welcoming group of students and everyone’s watching out for each other.

I realized that I could be actually good at this debate thing, and that I really enjoyed it!

I made qualifying for the state tournament my goal.

So I decided to go to every tournament in my 2nd semester and I worked REALLY hard before all the competitions.

But I didn’t do as well as I had hoped for. It hurt so much – I was so bummed after every tournament. I have to give a heartfelt thank you top my coach- Mr.White, and my friends who always encouraged me to keep trying! I could not have enjoyed debate this year without them.

Unfortunately, I did not qualify for the state tournament which was frustrating.

But I then decided to focus on the district competition because they was a qualifying event for the national competition.

I then decided to switch topics in my original oratory – I switched from “Overthinking” to “emotional desensitization”

I worked so hard on editing and my delivery. I qualified for semi finals at the district competition (yay!) but I didn’t qualify for the national competition. It was hard and sad, but I'm so so proud of my friends who qualified.

I am also so so proud of myself and all that I achieved this year! :) I am so happy I proved myself wrong and found debate as something I truly belonged in.

So if there’s anything that you are hesitant about – just try it. You may just end up enjoying it.

I encourage you to try out for speech and debate. There are SO many events that I am sure you will find something that interests you.

Email me: [email protected] if you have questions about speech and debate or about anything else! You will get a shoutout!

As always, listen rate and share!

I learned so much in this chat with Coach Calie – about managing stress, my diet, about giving myself grace, about focusing on the full picture.

Let me know what you liked about this episode.

Here’s some highlights from our discussion:

- We have over complicated our lives.

And focusing on habits has a huge impact on our lives       

- Typically, when we think of health, we think "doctors". Doctors focus on specific areas and usually prescribe medicines. But health coaches focus on lifestyle and daily habits. They look beyond the symptoms and focus on root cause. They empower the patients to improve their own lives.

- The way we think of ourselves is a very important part of staying healthy.

- Teens are under a lot of pressure. Too much information from social media etc. Take time to think who you want to be.

- Focus on yourself and stop comparing yourself to other people.

- Stress can be different types – some of which can be reduced by looking at your routine.

Important actions:

- Never skip meals

- Eat well-rounded meals - Pick plants on your

plate at every meal. And make sure to eat fiber. 

The occasional bag of chips or Starbucks is OK –

but as long as your body has good nutrition first.

- Calm down before eating using simple box breathing

techniques

 Instagram: @CoachCalie

Website: CoachCalie.com

One course is free – for all girls and women

Other course is more detailed – geared for women over 35

 Interview with Nic (my soccer coach and Calie's fiance) was episode #75:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0LEv0yEPTXnmfADSGw0s2V

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riyas-ramblings-ep-75-a-chat-with-my-soccer-coach/id1503527022?i=1000644959750

Shoutout to Ms. Daisy (my mom's friend) and to Darshana, my friend. Email me at [email protected] for a shouout!

Remember, listen, rate, and share!

I got to see Lebron LIVE! O M G! So much awesomeness!

We went to a Dallas Mavericks – LA Lakers basketball game last week and it was SO MUCH fun!

Unfortunately, both Luka and Kyrie were injured. But we did get to see LeBron and Bronny play.

It was pretty cool to see Lebron dunk. That clip that went viral? I saw that in person!

And then Bronny came in for a few minutes too. How cool is that! To see both Lebron and Bronny play in the game! :)

I have been to NBA games, baseball games, MLS soccer games and have watched the US Women's Soccer team play.

I am hoping to go see the FIFA World Cup games in Dallas!!

Do you like watching sports? Who is your fav player? Have you seen them live?

Email me: [email protected] to tell what you think of this episode for a shoutout!!

Listen, Rate, and Share!

In this episode, I talk about my fun trip to Las Vegas, Nevada. I “ramble” a lot about food options, overall activities, and give my honest, non-biased opinion about the city.

For food, I think there are a lot of options, but make sure to make reservations beforehand to limit wait times. I personally loved Alexis, a yummy breakfast place!

For day-to-day activities, the main thing is visiting other resorts on the strip. We lived in the Bellagio, home of the best fountain show in the world! Would definitely recommend living on the strip as it is very convenient. We visited the Hoover Dam, pretty nice but a little overrated (a recurring pattern 🙂)

Favorite part was Mat Franco’s magic show by far! amazing showmanship and insane tricks!!  

My honest opinion, its great for a one time visit, but definitely a little overrated. Listen for more details!

Shoutout to Avery for emailing me about the podcast! Email me at [email protected] for a shoutout, and even possibly an interview!

Remember, listen, rate, and share!

In this episode, I talk to my mom's aunt - my grand aunt about her amazing experiences and life journey.

She is 83 years young and has been in the US for 53 years. Woah!!

She learned conversational American English by watching TV shows like "The Price is Right" (super cool), started work as a sales clerk in the department store and went to college in her 50s.

She is also a world traveler! Her favorite places are Western Canada and the southern island of New Zealand, both sound so pretty and I need to go soon!

I loved listening to her experiences. And I am sure you will too!

Email me: [email protected] to tell me what you think or about anything at all to get a shout out!

A shoutout to Bri, Taylor and Anya who told me that they like listening to me ramble. You guys made my day so thank you so much!

In this episode I talk about my trip to Chicago! This time, I went with my cousins, whom I interviewed in episode 49 about their dog treat business.

Here’s the highlights of my visit to Chicago:
Chicago’s trains are amazing, they are so convenient and easy to use.

Overall, a really good fun trip with my cousins!

Have you been to Chicago? What did I miss?
Email me at [email protected]
Emmaline and Whitney