Down Write Brilliant

A Magazine By People With Down Syndrome, For People With Down Syndrome.

Andrew's Adventures

The Travels of Andrew Oswin

Down Write Brilliant Andrew on the bridge in front of the river Danube in Budapest

I have had a very adventurous and luxurious holiday with my parents for four and a half weeks. We started in Singapore and we got to go on the Singapore flyer, went to the Gardens by the Bay, and had a gondola ride and two luge rides in Sentosa Island. I also went on a night safari tram ride looking at the wildlife animals. After that we flew to Amsterdam and stayed one night at the Hotel Aitana Room Mate. Then the next day we went on board the Avalon Expression, our home for the next fifteen days. During the river cruise I did some fitness in the gym, as the food at every meal was absolutely amazing, and went on excursion activities with the other passengers. We had lots of entertainment in the evening. Some of the cities I visited were Cologne, Würzburg, Bamberg, Linz, Vienna and Bratislava. I also visited Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, and I got to go to a concert by the Hungarian Folk Ensemble and Orchestra. During the day I went out for lunch to have pizza and pancakes, stayed one night at the Starlight Suiten Hotel and completed my fifteen-day river cruise along the Rhine, Main and Danube rivers. I had such a lovely experience in Verona, the city of Romeo and Juliette. I got to see two beautiful operas and they were called ‘Aida’ and ‘Carmen’. The operas were held in the huge outdoor amphitheatre. There were thousands of people attending both operas and it was very special for me. I got to catch up with my uncle and his partner from Perth who are both New Zealanders. We got to meet up with them at the apartment. I also got to share this part of the holiday with my sister and her boyfriend. After leaving Verona we went on the train to Lake Como. It is very famous for its attractions, visitors and film sets. I wrote a journal of my overseas holiday so that I can remember what I did. The last train ride of my holiday was to Milan where I got to visit a beautifully painted church which used to be a convent for nuns’. The final stage of my overseas holiday was going back to Singapore to attend the operatic lights at the Gardens by the Bay. The highlights of the holiday for me were experiencing the Singapore culture, the river cruise, and attending the operas ‘Aida’ and ‘Carmen’. I hope this will truly inspire many readers who will read this article and be encouraged to take their children with Down syndrome travelling overseas with them.

‘This was a trip of a lifetime’. Andrew Oswin

At the last STRIVE Funshop we went to the Government house. There I met the Governor General and a few lucky people got National Achievement Awards for being valuable members of the community. Meeting the Governor General By Edward Borkin Everyone clapped and I shook the hands of the people who won awards. We also talked about how to interview people. This is because STRIVE members are going to be interviewing people with Down syndrome. The research will be looking at friendships relating to people with Down syndrome. I enjoyed interviewing people and I learned how to get people’s attention when interviewing. I look forward to seeing the results of the research from the interviews. Edward Borkin is a member of STRIVE

I would like to share with you all my experience as one of the speakers at the World Down Syndrome Conference in Glasgow. It was a great experience for being a participant and to meet wonderful people. I felt privileged to meet the Lord Provost of Glasgow, she was lovely, we talked a little and then she asked me if I was enjoying the congress. I met Andy and Sara Merriman from London at the congress and then we shared the table at the Family Scottish Night. Andy is a full-time author and scriptwriter for television and radio. He works with his daughter Sara, they both are a great team. We met also Adam Sloan from Glasgow, a Contemporary Dance Artist, my parents and I shared a table with him and his mum at the Gala dinner. At lunch time I met three lovely Brazilian ladies and with them I had the opportunity to practice my Portuguese. We had a great time attending together some presentations. There were some Spanish speakers as well and it was great to interact with them in Spanish. I also met some Kiwi friends whom were speakers too, Katrina, Adam, Erin and of course Zandra was there on behalf of NZDSA. Shéri Brynard from South Africa was the speaker before my presentation. Her presentation was very interesting, then between our presentations there was a workshop. The organisers did some questions related to Human Rights and while I was waiting I was feeling a little nervous. Then the big moment arrived. I was calm standing while I speak. I used body language to emphasise my words. I felt so proud when I finished it. I just had an amazing week visiting tourist places and attending every presentation that I could at the congress. I was very lucky to be part of such a wonderful event, having the opportunity to taste the famous Haggis, experiencing, dancing the Scottish music, making new friends, speaking in front of lots of beautiful people about my achievements. Hanging around with my parents and taking many photographs.

This is part of my speech which I would like to share with Chat 21. I am sure that for many of you my story would be familiar. “Down Syndrome is not a disability, disability is not to try”. I am an international champion swimmer, awarded photographer, polytechnic graduate, traveller, loving brother, caring son and I have Down Syndrome.

Carlos Biggeman with DS advocate Sheri Brynard from South Africa.

Over the last 27 years of my life it seems that the odds have been against me from the beginning, however I’ve grown accustomed to a good challenge, in fact, there’s nothing I like more. By nature I am an underdog but not in spirit. From a very young age, doctors, teachers, peers and a large number of the society around me has undermined me and every time I have proved them wrong. “He won’t learn to speak and you’ll be lucky if he lives past the age of five”, that’s what the doctors told my parents. Well, look at me now. I speak five languages and I’ve lived five times my life expectancy. This is only one of the many barriers I’ve broken, only one of the many expectations I have exceeded. What I am here for is to tell you my special secret, although it should be no secret at all. I am here to tell you that the old saying of “you can do it if you put your mind to it” applies to absolutely everybody. My achievements, and I’ll try to be humble, are extensive. None of them came for free, like everything in life, there needs to be great effort and great passion. I have both of these elements in buckets. I am lucky enough to see what is in front of me and to grab every opportunity that comes my way, because the way I see it what I was born with is not a disability. Nowadays some people who are my age, they waste their time playing Xbox or Play Station and watching TV for hours, doing absolutely nothing. They don’t appreciate their opportunities and that’s what I call disability. I face the challenge, I work hard and my aim is to achieve high. Hard work and determination is what we need to achieve anything in life. Believe in yourself, believe in us.

I did some exercise like running, crawling and climbing in the mud in the Tough Guy and Gal competition. We got our numbers that went on our shirts. We started running, got our clothes dirty I actually felt happy. I climbed onto the sheep bales, walked on the beach, went through the little bit cold water, climbed over the trees, climbed under the wires and I got zapped on my bottom only once. Having fun running to the finish line, I got dressed in warm clothes and got some sport prizes at the end. Oh, and I fell asleep in the van on the way back home.

Kathryn is a second year student studying the NZ Certificate in Skills for Living, and Skills for Work, at EIT in Hawkes Bay. She competed with some mates in the Tough Guy and Gal at Clifton Station for the second time.

Kathryn competing in the Tough Gal competition

Bella at the Pink concert in Dunedin

Partying at Pink

By Bella Lammers

We drove to Dunedin to see Pink. We stopped in Ashburton to have hot chocolate for morning tea. Pink is my favourite CD in the car and “So What” is awesome. We went to the hotel and unpacked my bag. We got a Pink t-shirt and went to the stadium with Mum and Dad. Pink had a sparkly black dress on stage. My two favourite songs were “So What” and “Just Like Fire”. In the car on the way back I ate chocolate and told Mum and Dad that now I want to see Miley Cyrus.