Riya's Ramblings

I recently visited Austin with my parents had a great time. We saw the Texas Capitol building, saw millions of bats and ate some really good food. The best part? I planned it all. My parents had asked me decide what we saw, where we ate and what we did during our stay in Austin. I used travel blogs to look at all the many different things to do and see in Austin and then picked a few for our trip....

It's been a few weeks since my last episode - and that's because I got really busy with school, soccer and other activities. This one is episode 50 - the big 5 0. Wow! Thanks for all your support and encouragement! Here's the deets: * 9 weeks over in middle school! Yay! * I think I like it. Figure I will stay for a couple of years. :) Ha! * We visited Austin for a couple of days. First time in hot...

This is Riya's Ramblings where I talk about what I am experiencing, my likes, and some advice.  In this episode I interviewed my cousins who own a dog treat business in Maryland as do I in Texas.  We talked about the benefits of owning a business, the challenges we faced, as well as some steps for owning a business at the end.  All of us started our businesses in the pandemic and we...

In this episode I speak with Ms. Brenne Gregory, a data analyst at the Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia. Here’s some of the really cool facts she shared that stuck out to me! - Radio telescopes listen to radio waves from the universe - Unlike optical telescopes that work best in the dark, radio telescopes can be used 24 hrs a day - Since it snows a lot in West Virginia, the satellite dishes...

The new school year has started!  Lots of new experiences!! Middle school!! I have done a few back to school episodes, and this one is about my start of middle school.   It's been different than elementary school in many ways. Here's what I talk about: I was really worried about getting lost going from class to class, but it wasn’t that bad I have been kinda bored about all the first few...

I have been participating in the science fair at school since kindergarten and have enjoyed learning lots of different things. My older brother is my inspiration - he even qualified for the International Science Fair in 2020!  Here's the projects that I worked on and what I learned over the years Kindergarten: What's the best way to clean pennies? I found that soap wasn't always the best. Can...

In this episode, I spoke with a very good friend - Shivani - who is a fantastic person and an accomplished Girl Scout! I was curious about Girl Scouts and her experience - so we chatted about what she learned and how being a Girl Scout has helped her. If you thought it was only about cookies, think again! She camped through a tornado warning and flooding! She is one tough cookie! And a true G.I.R....

My friend, Noelle, moved to Singapore a couple of years back. I have always wanted to know more about her life there. We talked about lots of different things - her school, her favorite foods, her life in Singapore and how the pandemic affected it. (She said she lives in a dot - because Singapore is just a tiny place on the map. :) I learned a lot! I am sure you will enjoy it too! Last episod...

On June 17 2021, US President Joe Biden signed a new law that declared Juneteenth as a US federal holiday. It is very important because we recognize the day enslaved people were freed in Texas. I had recorded an episode last year on this topic and I wanted to share that again. You can write to me at RiyaRamblings@gmail.com with your thoughts, ideas and suggestions Equal pay!

I am in the final 10 of a national speech contest on kindness. You can view and vote for my speech at http://chhaya.org/vote (It's an alias to https://thinkkindness.org/vote/?entry_id=195613688 ) In my speech, I talk about how all of us can make a difference by doing simple things. That's the way to create a new pandemic - of kindness. Thank you in advance for your vote.  Do you have ideas on...

I recently entered a "Kindness Speech" competition organized by the Think Kindness Foundation. I am in the top 10! WooHoo! The best part is that they paired me up with a speech coach to polish my speech. Mr. Chase Mielke, a high school teacher, instructional coach and motivational speaker from Michigan, is helping me for the final round. I interviewed him for this podcast and we talked about his t...

Previous riddle: I am tall when I am young and I am short when I am old. What am I? Answer: A candle! This episode's riddle: I am an odd number but if you take one letter off, I become even. What am I? Send me your answers by email: RiyaRamblings@gmail.com I have been doing school at home for the past year. I recently went back to school in person for the last nine weeks.  In this episode, I...

In this episode, I talk to Ms. Elisa Klein who is running for our city council. I am so glad that Ms. Klein took time out of her busy campaign schedule to talk to me about her background, what she loves about our city and what she plans to do as a member of the city council. We also talked about her favorite movies (we both love Marvel movies!) and her favorite foods. I am now curious to try pupus...

Here's the riddle of the week: I am tall when I am young and I am short when I am old. Previous riddle: What's a snowman's favorite drink? Iced-tea, of course! I went with my parents for their Covid-19 vaccination. It was quite an interesting experience!  It was a drive-through vaccination setup. Very creative! We didn't have to get out of the car at all! There are 3 vaccines approved in US -...

Riddle: What is a snowman’s favorite drink? Previous riddle: How do you fix a broken pizza?   (A) - With tomato paste! :) I have started putting my episode notes (which I use for recording) in the description.  Tell me what you think of it! I hope you have fun listening to the episode just as much I had fun recording!   If you want to introduce yourself, talk about a sibling, o...

I listened to Amanda Gorman, the US youth poet laureate, at the Biden-Harris inauguration and the SuperBowl and was super-impressed and inspired! So I wrote three poems for a prompt we had in school. Prompt - Home is Where the heart is And I wrote a 4th poem to mark the milestone of this podcast reaching a 1000 plays! Thank you all very much for the feedback and the support over the past 35 episod...

Riddle for today - How do hares travel? (The answer is a pun :) History has been made!! Kamala Harris becomes the first woman Vice President (VP) of the US on Wednesday! In this episode I talk about her past careers, education, family, etc. I wanted to learn more about this ground-breaking woman and share my knowledge with you. If you want to learn more about Vice President Kamala Harris and her l...

Riddle: What cereal do snowmen eat?  (it is a pun) Happy New Year everyone!  I hope you all have a wonderful 2021. I would love to hear from you about what you are looking forward to this year. Please write to me at RiyaRamblings@gmail.com  Email suggestions below!   In this episode, I chat with my cousin sister about middle school. I am excited to be a middle schooler in 2021...

I am sure you agree that 2020 was a pretty unique year - we experienced the world in new ways. My bedroom became my classroom and my family became my classmates.  This last episode of 2020 is about how the year went, the world news, and my events in 2020. This episode was especially fun to record - remembering all the highs and lows of the year - , and I hope you enjoy listening. What are you...

This week is the celebration of Thanksgiving in the US.  Have you ever wondered how Thanksgiving became a holiday? And why is it on the 4th Thursday of November? In this episode, I talk about the crazy controversial history of Thanksgiving. I discuss how it started, why it started, and all the problems that came along with it. I mention many important names and people, and how they contribute...

Have you ever read an awesome book? Well, I have read many! In this episode, I talk about one my favorite books “The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl” by Stacy McAnulty. I really liked the book (don't worry, no spoilers! :) and highly recommend it. This is a very unique story that I recommend listening about and then reading it. I found this book through the “Bluebonnet” book program here in Texa...

This episode is all about voting and the US elections. Here's the riddle for this episode: What has 4 eyes but cannot see? Have your parents voted yet?  If not, encourage them to!   In this episode, I share information about the voting process in the US. The current election is not only for the President but also for the House of Representatives and part of the Senate. I also mention a l...

Riddle-“A man was wiping the windows of a 25 story building, he fell of his ladder but was not hurt. How can this be?” Do you know the answer? Halloween is coming up and everyone has different ideas on how it should work. Well, in this episode I say how I think it should work. I believe that trick or treating should definitely stay on with all the precautions necessary. Halloween is the holiday wh...

Happy international podcast day!! Since it is a really relevant day today, I thought I could do an episode on the podcast. I share some background about how I started this podcast. And the riddle for this episode: I am white when I am dirty, and black when I am clean, what am I? Email me your answers: RiyaRamblings@gmail.com I have recorded 27 episodes so far. My favorite ones are: - the one where...

In this episode, I talk to my grandmother (mom’s mom) about her childhood in Africa. She was born in Nairobi, Kenya. Kenya is a country in east Africa. We talk about safaris, what it was like growing up there and her later years in India and now the US. I am fascinated how she has lived in three different continents. Couple of other cool things about this episode 1. There’s a riddle! “I go around...