Canada Day was really busy, but tons of fun at the same time! I attended a citizenship ceremony at Assiniboine Park. I was there to help greet, and seat 30 soon to be Canadian Citizens. I met so many interesting and cool people! One couple came from Sudan, and guess how many children they had...15! They ranged from ages 1 to 17. I thought that having two little sisters was a lot, but imagine having 14 siblings! The new citizens came from twelve different countries, including Cuba, Germany, United States, England, Sudan, Vietnam, India, and more! They were all proud to be getting citizenship, and had worked hard for it.

 Getting ready to take the new Canadians over to their

                                                                                                                  seats with the citizenship judge!

 After the ceremony, there was an amazing performance by Walking Wolf singers and dancers. They did throat singing and hoop dancing. The dancing was so cool! The performer picked up several hoops, and made shapes of dragons and birds with them. It was awesome!

  A Hoop Dancer

To help celebrate the new cultures that the new Canadians were bringing to Canada, I chose to wear a traditional East Indian outfit, called a sari, it was red and white for Canada!

After the performance, I handed out little maple leaf tattoos to all the cute little kids at the park. Another great part of the day was how lots of people said 'Hey! I saw you in the newspaper! Congratulations!' Manitoba license plates are definitely correct when they say 'Friendly Manitoba'. Lots of people asked to take pictures with me, it was fun!

 Handing out tattoos and signing autographs for the kids!

After I left the park, my family and I headed over to my aunt's house for a BBQ with all my cousins. Good thing I changed out of the sari, because my cousins happened to find water balloons! We had a huge water fight. My cousins and sisters will deny this, but I definitely won!

Canada Day was lots of fun, and I can't wait until next year!

 Me on the front page of the

                                                                                                                                        Winnipeg Free Press

 Hey everyone, I have some exciting news for you! Earlier this week, I was in the Winnipeg Free Press. It was so cool! They wanted to do a story about me because I was on the front page of the Winnipeg Free Press when I was seven months old. I was at a citizenship ceremony with my mom on Canada Day. I was going to be attending another cermony this Canada Day as Miss Teen Winnipeg-World, and the people at the Free Press thought it would make a neat story. I was really surprised when my picture was on the front page of the paper! I didn't even know that I was on the cover until my aunt called and told me to look at the paper on Tuesday morning. It was a very nice surprise though.

To read the full article featured in the newspaper, please follow this link.

 The article written about me inside of the Free Press.

MTC-W Blog Assignment #1

I feel very fortunate to have been able to travel to so many different countries, and this is an experience that I'd like to share with other kids and teens. This is why my show would be called Worldwide Adventures with Anjali. In this series, I would travel to different countries across the world. Not only will people be able to join the adventure from the comfort of their own couches. But for each country one lucky viewer, who would not otherwise have a chance to travel to their dream location, will be chosen to go on the trip with me.  The show will focus cool places designed for teens to have fun, but we will also visit each country's classic landmarks. Some places that we will visit is the Time Elevator in Rome, the Prater Amusement park in Vienna, Wild Wadi Water Park in Dubai and Alton Towers in England. We will also have lots of fun adventures, such as swimming with humpback whales in Mozambique, discovering the lost city of Incas, surfing in Australia, and much more! 

The Lost City of Incas:

The Wild Wadi Water Park

Sponsors:

The sponsors I would choose for the show would be:

Faze Magazine: On plane rides, I and the viewer coming along for the trip will stay entertained by reading Faze Magazine. Not only will it keep us amused, but it will also keep us updated on everything from tips on doing great in school, to the latest fashion trends. It even has a section on travel!

Air Plus: While exploring a new country, it's important to be comfortable. That's why we'll wear Air Plus foot care products, so our feet won't get tired, and so that we can explore for longer.

Carry Clean: We will want to pack efficiently, and easily for our trips. That's why we won't leave home without our convenient travel toothbrushes, and accessories from Carry Clean. Not only will Carry Clean toothbrushes keep our teeth sparkling for the camera, but we won't have to worry about things like toothpaste exploding all over our luggage, because Carry Clean travel toothbrushes and toothpastes come in cute little travel cases.

Carry Clean Products

This show will be lots of fun to watch, and film. It will also be beneficial in the sense that kids and teens will be exposed to beautiful sights and gain a better understanding of our world, even if it's not possible for them to travel themselves.

Hey everyone! For the pageant, everyone chooses a platform, which is something they believe in deeply. I'd like to share my platform with you! It is promoting fair trade, and fair trade products. Just how education is crucial in stopping cycles of poverty, so is providing people with the means to earn a decent wage for their labour. In Canada, we are incredibly fortunate to have a minimum wage which is required to be paid to Canadian workers. This minimum wage varies between $8.00-$10.00 per hour, depending on the province/territory. But unfortunately other countries in the world do not have a minimum wage, or it is not enforced strongly enough. So workers in countries like India, China, Vietnam, Haiti, and many others are sometimes paid as little as $1 a day. This is hardly enough money to buy a meal! Let alone pay for necessary items such as a house, clothes, clean water, or school. Possibly the worst effect of this is the fact that because parents aren't earning enough to support their families, their children also need to work in order to put food on the table. In turn, these children are working, instead of receiving an education. Every child has the right to an education, and every worker has the right to earn enough to support themselves, and their family, and in some countries, this basic right is not being honoured! But don't worry, there is a way to stop this! Companies, such as Global Exchange, Dean's Beans, Nectar of Life, 10 000 Villages, and many more are fair trade companies. This means that they pay their workers a decent wage. These companies are providing us with a way to stop cycles of poverty, now it's up to US! By supporting fair trade companies, you can make a huge difference! So, the next time you are buying some chocolate, coffee, or even a gift for a loved one look into purchasing fair trade items! 

Hey everyone! I'd like to tell you about the official charity for the pageant. Giving back is very important! That's why the pageant's official charity is Free the Children. This charity is about kids helping kids. Infact, the charity was founded by a seventh grader from Toronto in 1995! Anyone can make a big difference, no matter how old, or young you are! This charity works to stop cycles of poverty by providing children in developing countries with the oppertunity to go to school and recieve an education. 'Free the Children' runs programs such as the 'Adopt a Village' program. Through this program, you can adopt a village in a country like China, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Ecuador, India and many others. By doing this, you help provide people in the village you've adopted to have access to things like health care, clean water/sanitation, education, and alternative income. I personally believe that education is the key to stopping cycles of poverty, so I am very happy to support Free the Children. Together, we can all make a big difference in making the world a better place for everyone! 

Hi, my name is Anjali Sandhu, and this is my first blog! Last month I participated in the Miss Teen Manitoba pageant. I placed 2nd runner up and was crowned Miss Teen Winnipeg. The pageant was a great experience, every minute was exciting and fun. The best part was getting to learn a dance to the song Vogue by Madonna. It was quite interesting, considering I can't dance...at all, but it was definately fun to learn! I also made lots of new friends, because everyone at the pageant was really cool, and friendly! Anyways, the most exciting thing of all is the fact that this July, I'll be heading off to Toronto to compete in the Miss Teen Canada-World pageant along with the other girls who placed in the top 4 at the MB pageant, and with other girls from all over Canada! It's going to be so much fun, and I can't wait! SOO I decided to make this blog, to keep everyone updated on what I'm doing as Miss Teen Winnipeg, and what I'm doing to get ready for the Miss Teen Canada-World pageant, so stay tuned!