Riya's Ramblings

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 RiyaRamblings@gmail.com 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: RiyaRamblings@gmail.com 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 RiyaRamblings@gmail.com Emmaline and Whitney

We spent two really fun days in Busan during our week-long trip to South Korea. Listen to the previous episode about our stay in Seoul! Busan is on the southern coast of South Korea and is the country's 2nd largest city. To get there, we took a high-speed KTX train from Seoul to Busan (No, I did not watch the movie). The train was super nice with free wifi as well! Our hotel in Busan was also amazing! It was on the 15th floor overlooking the beach, which provided an awesome view. First, we went to the Gamcheon Culture Village, which is on top of a mountain. We drove to the top (using taxi) and walked our way around, This was a super fun place to walk around because there were many shops set up selling different things, but also there was a beautiful mountain view. One of my favorite things from the trip for sure. We then went to the beach near our hotel. It was the Sea of Japan, and and was super cold, but I LOVE THE WATER so I enjoyed splashing around it in. It was super pretty with the bridge and mountains and buildings in the background. The sunset was stunning! The backdrop of the city lights, the ocean and the mountains created one of the best sunsets I have seen. The next day before our train, we headed back to the beach, dipped our feet again, and then headed to Hwangnyeongsan mountain. We drove up to the observation area, and hiked a little farther up. The view was soooo pretty and our cameras did not do it justice. It was really quiet and peaceful. It was a quick trip but I am really glad we visited Busan. The train ride, the beach, the people, the markets - all memories I will remember forever! Email me at RiyaRamblings@gmail.com for a shoutout, just like Elizabeth and Amina this week! Thank you for listening and remember, listen, rate, and share!

This episode is about my recent vacation to... South Korea!We spent 4 days in Seoul and 2 in the city of Busan. The first couple of days we stayed in the Myeongdong area and visited a few very different places. We visited the Myeongdong palace, Bukchon Hanok village (a traditional Korean village) and the Namsam Tower.We then went to the Jogyesa Buddhist temple which has 3 very large Buddha statues. I loved watching the prayer service. They have a great set of activities for visitors and we enjoyed making paper lanterns that looked like the lotus flower.In the evening we went to the Namsam tower – hint: take the cable car up near sunset. Stunning views!(But watch out for the bugs)Fun fact: The light on the tower changes based on the air quality in the area. The next day, me and my mom went shopping. The most popular chain is Olive Young – a great place to buy cosmetics.We had an absolutely fantastic time walking through the market.We also walked a bit of the Cheonggyecheon stream that’s an amazing part of the city. It was so surprising to experience this in the middle of the city.We went back at night and walked around watching the dozens of food stalls selling some delicious food.We had the local dessert – Bingsu which is shaved ice covered with fruit and other toppingsThe next day we went to another Buddhist temple – Bongeunsa – and the Coex mall. That mall was impressive!Lots of people, lots of stores and lots of places to sit and just people watch!That evening we went to the Hangang River park and saw another pretty sunset.It was lovely to see so many people just hanging out and enjoying the evening. 7-11 is more than just a convenience store. It has sit-down tables where you can sit and have a quick snack.There’s one at almost every corner and it’s full of great snacks. Language can be a challenge – it really helps to know a few phrases for “thank you” and “hello”And you can use Google Translate to help. The subway system in Seoul is really good and as a bonus – has an underground mall! Shout-out to Ms. Deborah who wrote to me about the recent episode where I talked to Mr. Andre about his extreme marathon! And also to Taylor who told me how she loves listening to this podcast while working out! Anyone can get a shout-out if you email me at Riyaramblings@gmail.com about anything and everything for a shout-out! And remember, listen, rate, and share!

I really enjoyed talking to him about the the 24-hr race called “Death by 5K”. (It started on 8 AM Sat and he ran till 8 AM Sunday)You are supposed to complete a 5K race every 2.5 hrs for 24 hours!! If you finished sooner than 2.5hrs, you can rest, eat etc. till the next start.As if this wasn't tough enough, the entire race is on asphalt, so it got really hot during the day.Even though I did track in middle school and like to run outside of school, this is beyond what I can imagine! His goal is to qualify for the Boston marathon and he has promised me a follow-up interview when he qualifies.I wish him all the best and would love to learn about his Boston experience.His dream-team dinner guest list is:- Ariana Grande (big fan!)- President JFK (wants to ask questions about things only he knows)- Elon Musk/Jeff Bezos (wants to know what it feels like to run such an impressive company)What did you think? Would you run a race like this?Email me: RiyaRamblings@gmail.com

Recently, my brother graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, and I graduated from 8th grade. While the events were similar, they had their differences. The UPenn ceremonies were bigger and fancier but we had a really good ceremony in our school gym too. :) Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee spoke at my brother's commencement and my principal spoke at mine! Both speeches were awesome and very engaging. Here's to high school! (for me) And to a job (for my brother) Listen to the full episode for full details, and email me at Riyaramblings@gmail.com for a shout-out. (shout-out to Isabella and Kaitlyn). Remember, listen, rate, and share!

This is Teacher's Appreciation Week and I am really thankful to all my teachers! I have enjoyed learning about US history this year and this is an episode about one of my favorite topics - the Lewis & Clark expedition to explore the western parts of the US in the early 1800s. A big thanks to my history teacher - Mr. Matuska - for making history so interesting. Email me - RiyaRamblings@gmail.com - with your comments, feedback and ideas, for a shout out! Remember to listen, rate, and share!

This is part 3 of my 3-part series about my family’s visit to India! The finale!! (The first 2 parts were about Mumbai and Pune) This one is about Vadodara in Gujarat, where my mom grew up.   We took the train from Mumbai and had a great time on the train. I loved the long distance train travel in India, so comfy!   Our Vadodara trip was bitter-sweet because my grandfather (my mom’s father) had passed away 3 weeks before we got there. We stayed in their house – the house where my mom grew up. I felt privileged to be able to be a part of a religious ceremony where we immersed my grandfather’s ashes in a river, it was very peaceful. But we also spent some time at Surya Hotel – and the hotel breakfast there was epic! I mean, EPICC!   We also visited some local landmarks like the Lakshmi Vilas Palace – where the royal family of Vadodara lives. The royal family is symbolic now but the palace very cool. It’s 4 times the size of Buckingham Palace in London :O!!   We also visited Pavagadh – it’s a temple on top of a mountain about an hour from Vadodara. It was CRAZY crowded – super packed with so many people! What an experience! And we saw so many monkeys, who were just chilling. But we did look like TOTAL tourists at our excitement at seeing the monkeys.   We also went to Sayaji Baug – a beautiful park in the city. It’s a bit like NYC’s Central Park with lovely fountains, play areas and even a zoo! :)   We also visited my mom’s college – and her engineering buildings. It was fun to see that after visiting my dad’s college (my Mumbai episode has more details)!   And I loved going to D-Mart – a local grocery store. You might think, why? But it was so much fun to see the local products and walking to and back from the store. It honestly was one of my favorite parts!   We walked to a lot of places and took the auto-rickshaw for longer distances.   We had some great food including some street food which was absolutely delicious! Once again, the food was one of the best parts! :) :)   Vadodara is a super chill city compared to Mumbai and Pune, but it has an undeniable charm!   Shout out to Priyanka fai – for emailing me about my Mumbai episode – and to Natalie and Aimery for telling me how much they liked my travel episodes. Email me at RiyaRamblings@gmail.com with your comments and feedback, and you will get a shoutout. Remember, listen, rate, share!

In this episode, I ramble on and on about the solar eclipse!  I was in kindergarten in 2017 when we had a partial solar eclipse in our area. Today's was a total eclipse!   Since I was in the path of totality, it was a breathtaking, once in a lifetime experience. It was so pretty, and I just wanted to share my experience with it!   Remember, you can email me at RiyaRamblings@gmail.com about anything, and you will get a shoutout!    Thanks for listening and remember, listen, rate, and share! (Stay tuned for part 3 of 3 of my India travel series)

This is part 2 of my travel series about my recent trip to India with my family. (Part 1 was Mumbai).   My father’s younger brother (my “kaka” in Gujarati) lives in Pune, so that was our main reason to visit. Pune is about 4 hours by road from Mumbai. It’s higher in elevation and has a cooler climate than Mumbai. This was my first time visiting Pune and it was so fun! I loved the vibes of the city a lot! Throughout our visit, we enjoyed the food, the local attractions, and, more food! Pune is a very historical city so we did a heritage walk of many old sites in the center of Pune. It was tiring but very educational. We had an amazing guide from an organization called INTACH. Listen for more details about the tour! We also visited Aga Khan Palace – where Mahatma Gandhi was kept under house arrest during India’s war of independence. Super fun and educational!   Pune is also known for it's ancient temples, so we visited a ton! My favorite was Pataleshwar, an ancient temple, which is more than 1200 years old! That absolutely blew my mind!! Another fun activity we did was taking the stairs up a mountain called “Parvati”. There were so many super cute puppies on the way! There was a museum about the Peshawas on top. And also a temple, so that was fun. : It wasn’t a hard hike for me but I could see the adults in our group get tired. :)   The food was so good – different from Mumbai but still so so good! Puna missal – spicy bean curry + local bread (pav) Vada paav – fried potatoes + chutnies + local break (pav) Marathi thaali – multiple curries/subzis, daals and sweets. So filling! And super yummy! Listen for more things we did!   Overall the city felt a little more laid back than Mumbai, but there some similarities, like the street dogs. People were so mean to them! Shout outs to my fais (my dad’s cousin sisters) - Kinjal fai and Priyanka fai for emailing me about my Mumbai episode. And to Harper and Emerson from my soccer team! If you live in Pune or have visited Pune, email me and tell me what you thought of my experiences at RiyaRamblings@gmail.com! You will get a shout-out!

This episode is the first part of a series about my recent trip to India! This episode is about my experiences in Mumbai – the city that never sleeps 😊. My father grew up in Mumbai and my grandmother (‘dadi’ in Gujarati, my mother tongue) still lives there, whom we stayed with. I interviewed her in Episode 70. I was visiting after 8 years (yes, really!) and so didn’t have many memories of the place or my family members who live there, so this was very different and fun! It was wonderful to meet them all – uncles, aunts, cousins, grand-uncles, grand-aunts and more – and learn about my dad’s childhood from them. I loved how they meet regularly and celebrate all festivals and milestones together, seems very fun! We also visited a few notable places: 1.      VJTI – my father’s engineering college. It was sweet to see my dad get excited about labs and locations that he rememberedfrom his time there 2.      Gateway of India – this was built over a 100 years ago to commemorate the visit of the British king, and it was sooo majestic! We also enjoyed the local trains and rickshaws, something very different than back home! But one of the absolute best parts was the FOOD!  From home made delicacies to delicious party food in restaurants to McDonalds (yep!) – we had the Best. Time. Ever. with all the food options! I definitely wish we had more time in Mumbai – there’s still so much to see and do. And of course, eat!   Shout out to Priyanka fai (my dad’s cousin sister) and Rheana for emailing me about my podcast. Email me: RiyaRamblings@gmail.com, about anything anc everything for a shoutout! Have you been to Mumbai? Would like to go? Let me know! Ask questions, make suggestions. And as always, listen, rate, and share! 

  In this episode, I interviewed my soccer coach – Nic Heffernan. He started a soccer club in 2023 after moving to Texas and I joined in 2023 summer, after my previous team disbanded. He grew up in Brighton, UK (hence the name of our club – Brighton Soccer Club) and he was soccer-crazy as a kid, just like I am! He moved to the US as a D1 college player, and went to Montana. He was the captain, and he also learned a lot about coaching there. Did you know that Texas is the heart of youth soccer? Nic’s goal is to make a difference in how players play and improve in the game, as he elaborates on in the episode. You will also learn a lot about the behind-the-scenes in creating a soccer club! I loved hearing about his ultimate vision about the club, both on and off the field. His 3 dinner guests: Sir Alex Ferguson (I know who he is thanks to the Beckham Netflix documentary) Reese Witherspoon (because his fiancé really likes her – and not just because she would bring her own spoon 😊 – and she is a great role model)        His dad   I loved how he turned around the discussion to me and this podcast. Classic coach! Always trying to help me improve! :) After asking why I didn’t have a lot of confidence, he explained the beauty of soccer is that if you are an outfield player you can make a mistake and 9 times out of 10 it won’t result in a goal. And even at the highest of the highest levels, people make mistakes. A big tip he gave was to take a breath and focus on the basics. Listen for more advice on feeling confident!   Email me at RiyaRamblings@gmail.com for a shoutout, just like Aminah, Naomi, and Jackson for this episode! Also, to learn more about BSC (Brighton Soccer Club), visit bsctexas.com   And like always, listen, rate, and share!

I am learning about important figures in American history at school from the late 1700s, and the person talked about was my favorite! Lots of great men and women but one name stood out – James Otis. I loved his story, and you will to! Back in the mid-1700s, many US merchants were trading illegally to get around some trade laws. There was a lot of tension between the colonists and the British. The British introduced the writs of assistance – which allowed the British to search someone’s house with a warrant. James Otis and others were enraged because it violated people’s rights. Otis wanted to become Chief of Justice, but someone else was appointed and he resigned. He decided to go help Boston merchants instead. He gave a 5 hour long speech against the Writs of Assistance. 5 hours! Sadly he lost the case. But he did become well known among colonists. In 1764, he represented the colonies in a “no taxation without representation” case. With his speeches and work, he became popular but also annoyed the British. In 1769, at his peak, a British official pulled him out of a speech and beat him on the head with a cane. That made him mentally ill, and he is said to have roamed the Boston streets, aimlessly drifting. The saddest part was that we was quickly forgotten by the colonists. He dedicated his life to fighting for the folks of the colonies and then he gets struck in the head, ends up homeless and then he was struck by lightning. And he died. What?!? I am so mad! But we are learning about him – so he is not totally forgotten. I hope to visit his memorial when we visit Boston. Shoutout to Mr. Matuska – my history teacher. And shoutout to Disha and Mr. John B for writing to me about previous episodes. Have you heard of James Otis? What do you think of his story. Let me know. Email me: RiyaRamblings@gmail.com with your questions and comments. As always, listen, rate, and share1

I love soccer. I love playing it. I love watching it (go US Women’s Team!) and I love talking about it! I have been playing soccer for many years now. I have played on 3-4 different teams and finding the next team has always been simple. But this time was different. The team I was on for the past 5+ years disbanded over the summer. So, I started searching for s new team! This episode is my experience of how I thought I had found a great fit, but then how I found something even better.   Before we go into the details, a quick detour in the different leagues in youth soccer. The top leagues are called “Elite” leagues followed by the classic league and then the premier leagues. I played in the premier league on my last team and was really hoping to join one of the elite league teams.   I started researching teams while on vacation in Europe – thanks to our AirBNB hosts and their wifi 😊 I was really happy to see that the coaches were very responsive to my emails. The soccer season starts in Aug/Sep so the tryouts are typically in the May/June timeframe. I shortlisted about 6 teams to try out for – all well-known, large clubs.   I was SOOO nervous in my first tryout – the team I was trying out was for was so good. After practicing with the team that day, I was anxious to see what the coach said. But he basically asked me to come back for another session. I then realized that all teams typically have several practice/tryout sessions before they will make an offer. So I had to re-think my plan of trying out for many different teams. I shortlisted even more! I reached out to FC Dallas for trying out and surprisingly I wasn’t as nervous as before. It was a tough tryout and I was glad when the coach invited me back for another tryout session. I tried out a couple of more times and I was thrilled when the coach asked me to join the team. They play in the "elite" league and I had achieved my dream! But when my dad talked to the coach we found out that the team plays in regional games which means many out-of-town games. My parents thought that it would be too much with my other activities. I wasn’t happy about it. I was mad that I couldn’t join an elite team that had picked me. I then heard about a brand-new team that played in the premier league. I wasn’t keen to try out because I thought it didn’t make sense because I had already been picked for two teams in a more elite league. I tried out anyway and realized that I really liked the drills and the coaching. I was still really keen to join the more elite team. But my parents were clear that joining this team would be better for me – it would give me more opportunities to become a better player. I went to a couple more practices and liked the overall vibe. So I joined this brand-new team. I enjoyed our first tournament. After the tournament, to my surprise, this team got invited to play in the elite league. WHAAAT! That was so cool! That was totally unexpected and I am so glad I get to play in the elite league. I am excited to play this season – new team, new position, new league. Let’s go!   Shoutouts to Sanjay kaka and Vinti fai. And also Sunil kaka from Mumbai! And also to Tejal masi I love all their feedback and love that they listen to this podcast. Email me at Riyaramblings@gmail.com about anything for a shoutout! As always, listen, rate, and share!