June 16- Top Ten

Top Ten-

1.) Great Barrier Reef- This is something I can and probably will never experience again. I loved it so much, its such a different experience being able to swim in the natural habitat of all those gorgeous fish and the coral. The fish were not even scared to be close to humans.

2.) Zorbing/Ogo - At first I thought I wasn't going to like this or want to try this but after I did it i fell in love, I absolutely loved it and I wish america had something like this because I had the time of my life. I dont think I have ever laughed so hard before doing this.

3.) Rangitoto College- This was awesome meeting new students, people my age. I liked learning about their culture and especially watching the kids perform the haka dance. The students were all so nice and were excited to learn things about America and they were thrilled to show us americans around their school. It was really nice of them to allow us to come to their school on a Friday night.
4.)Luge Track- Going down a mountain in a little go kart kind of thing did not seem to excite me at first, I was really timid about trying this for the first time especially by myself. But I do not regret trying it at all, it was definately something I would love to do again, I wish the states would get something like this.
5.) Bridge Climb- The bridge climb was by far one of the best things I have ever experienced. I keep thinking to myself I am a 17 year old teenager who climbed the bridge in sydney australia. I climbed one of the icons of Sydney. While on top of the bridge I took in everything, and I finally felt fufilled with my trip.
6.) The rocks- Not only did it have historical reference but it also was a shopping center. I liked seeing the different things that the rocks sold. some of the stuff was very entertaining to see. It was even a good place to people watch.
7.) The town of Whaka- I enjoyed seeing all the thermal vents, it was really cool to see how people still rely on them in order to cook food. I also liked trying the corn that they cooked in the thermal vents, it was delicous.
8.) Visiting the Sydney opera house- I liked this because its a monument and what sydney is known for. it was also cool to see the light show on the opera house.
9.) Walking around Cains- I liked being able to explore the area on my own time and experience the different things and get my own image of things rather then a tour guide telling me what to think of things.

10.) Kuranda Rainforest- I thought the gondala ride over the forest was amazing, I just would of liked to enjoy it more by exploring the rainforest and walking around it rather then taking a train and gondala ride.

June 15- Great Barrier Reef

     Today was the day that we experienced something amazing. We visited one of the places many people wish to visit. On our way out to the reef we took a boat and it was very choppy. There were a lot of people getting sick over the edge of the boat. If we were on that boat for another 15 minutes I would of been blowing chunks to. Once we reached the reef we grabbed our scubba gear and hopped in. Literally right off the diving platform there was a school of fish, I could stick my hand out and grab one if I wanted to. The water was kind of chilly at first but your body definately got adjusted to it. At first I thought the coral was going to bleached like it was when I went snokeling in Hawaii, but it was the complete opposite. I was literally swimming and the coral was right under my stomach, if I made one wrong move I could of gotten a pretty bad scrape on my legs. Some people had this happen to them, you would see people coming out of the ocean with blood running down their legs. I kind of got freaked out when I was swimming cause I was so close to the coral that I did not know what was hiding in it and I didnt want a fish to bite me or something. I was not worried at all about jelly fish or sharks, I was kind of hoping to see a shark swimming around. The teachers were making jokes about how a fish was going to come and eat my belly button ring, I found it very amusing. After I was in the reef for a bit I got out and had some lunch. The lunch was buffet style but It was not buffet food at all. The food was so good especially the fruit. I had basically a whole pineapple to myself.  It was really cold once you got out of the water because of the wind. After lunch a low tide came through and it was really strange because some of the coral I was swimming on top of was sticking out of the water.So I decided to tan next to Miss Tomasello. The sun in australia is really strong compared to the sun in Chicago. It felt so nice to just layout and relax after such a crazy week or so. I then went on a glass bottom boat tour. I was not really fond of the tour because I felt like I could see the fish and coral better when I was in the water rather then through a glass boat. I think the purpose of the boat is to allow people who don't like swimming to try and experience the same thing I was able to. Overall the great barrier reef is something in life that I would love to do again. It is beautiful and it needs to be preserved and taken care of.

June 13- Traveling alone

    To be able to travel alone takes a lot of experience and navigation skills. To be a good traveler one must understand the idea of not letting technology take over the experience. Allowing the body to embrace and take in the beauty is what creates a good memory. A picture just helps recreate the memory that was produced. True travelers explore areas that not many tourist would go to. In my opinion there is a difference between a vacation and traveling. A vacation is something you sit on a beach and tan, traveling is the thrill of learning new things about a country or area that you have never been to. I would not be able to travel to Australia and New Zealand on my own. It takes a person who has traveled out of the country more then once a person who understands how the country works. Teenagers have a harder time to travel and go site seeing because they plan on staying up late and waking up late. While in Australia and new Zealand if i were to stay up late i would be screwed in the morning because we were awake before the sun was in the sky on some days. The reason we were all capable of doing this is because we had a tour guide pushing us and telling us that we only had so many days to do everything we are planning on doing. Technology really changes the way a person travels, now that I look back on the trip I am glad I didn't have my phone because I might of missed out on something really cool. I had to rely on a watch to tell me what time it was rather then looking at my phone every five minutes. It was also cool cause to navigate my way around instead of using a GPS I had to either get a map or really pay attention to where I was going too.

Today we visited an opal factory, everything was gorgeous and I got my mom and me a necklace to share. Then we visited the wildlife centre. I had higher expectations for this zoo but it was not that bad.

June 12- Overall experience of the Trip

     Overall my opinion of this trip is I'm speechless, I can't even describe or even take in all the beauty of these past two countries have to offer. New Zealand is a country that is filled with a lot of greenery, cows and sheep. Also New Zealand has creative ways to have fun, for example ogo-ing and luging. Australia seems to be more of the city life. My favorite part about Australia is the shopping scene. I know it sounds cliche but I really enjoy observing the different styles they have there. It inspires me to bring back home new ideas. What they were wearing now is going to be our fashion for next winter. This idea of fashion is something I am taking home and I can definitely relate to it. Rather then taking pictures of the outfits I am taking mental pictures. Three things that I find most intriguing about both countries is the fat that they respect their environment . Every toilet  I have used supplies two buttons one for liquid and one for waste. This idea allows them to conserve water. Also both countries are into high end fashion. Walking through Sydney is like walking down a rich avenue on your right side you might find a gucci store but on the other you find a burberry store. The third thing i am amazed by is the architecture of the building. The designers took the time to create a building that not only catches the eye of a tourist but allows the building to be functional for the company that owns it. I think the United States should take note on the improvements these countries have not only are their streets clean but their pollution levels are low as well.

June 11- Compare Sydney to Chicago

     This was one of the earliest days I have had to wake up in a long time. I was up at 4:30 because we were flying to Sydney. Sydney has a two hour time zone difference. This two hour difference is going to affect us because were going to be hungry at 10am in Australia because our body thinks its around 12. Sydney reminds me a lot of Chicago. When walking around the town on each and every corner was a homeless person holding out a cup hoping for some spare change, and then up and down the streets was your popular shopping areas. Chicago has all of these same things. Also Sydney has a building like the sears tower where you can go to the top and look down at all of Sydney. In Sydney there is park that we walked through and inside the park were different forms of fountains and scenery like that. It was really interesting to look in the fountains and see different birds then what I am use to seeing in Chicago. Also Sydney has different groups performing on the side of the rode.One group was a jump rope group, they did not seem that good at all. But it was still cool cause chicago has things like that. When we went up into the sky tower in Sydney we saw the opera house and the bridge. When I was up there I was really getting nervous about climbing the bridge. Also, I sent my parents a postcard. I sent it from the highest working postal service in the southern hemisphere. I dont think my parents have got that postcard yet... but hopefully it comes soon!

June 10- Meeting the Students at Rangitoto

      This morning was really rough for me. It pushed my level of comfort. The first thing that really bothered me it was pouring rain and we were outside walking in it at 6:30 am. Second thing we had to take public transportation and we had no idea where to go to catch the bus. Third thing our group was split up into two groups because the bus was so small. On the bus I was talking to two students who were on their way to college. One of the kids was from finland. They kept asking us about the smell of Rotorua and what we thought about it.The plan for the morning was to go hiking in the red wood forest. The forest would of been much more gorgeous if I actually was able to enjoy it. I was not able to look around because I was so focused on slipping and falling in the mud. The forest was literally like a mud pool. After that we sat on a bus for a long time to go to Auckland, New Zealand. Once their we brought our bags to the hotel and began driving to the school called Rangitoto. When we first arrived they wern't ready for us so we hung out in the library with a couple of the students, after that we went into this big room and we had one of our students Steven give a welcoming speech to the kids. Then they had their students perform a dance known as the haka. The haka is a dance from the ancestors of the maori people, it is performed before any major event and its suppose to intimidate the opponent. After that we sang the national anthem for them.. It was god AWFUL.  None of us were prepared for that and we all suck at singing, it was so embarrassing. Then we ate dinner. The students grilled out for us and brought in salads and pastas. It was very delicious. I ate a lamb burger while I was there too. The students of Rangitoto were thrilled to meet all of us, and show us around their school. The main thing that was different is they walk to their classes outside. It's just like college. They tried our candy and really enjoyed it. Im really glad I had the opportunity to go to a different school out of the country to see what it was like.

Day 3&4 - Cultural differences

      Today was the second day for us exploreres to be pondering around the town of Rotorua. Rotorua is a geothermic town and has many geysures and steam holes. The air smells like sulfer and gets really foggy at times. On days when there are a lot of clouds in the sky the air tends to smell worse then usual. At first this smell made kids feel very nauseous. Some of the kids who were more immature liked to make jokes like "Who cut the cheese" or "Warn me next time before you let one go!". At first it was kind of funny but then it just became really obnoxtious. This morning I went to Mcdonalds to call my parents, it did not work for some reason. After we went on a duck tour. What was cool about the duck tour is the fact that we were actually able to go out onto the lakes. The bad part was it was especially foggy in the morning and it was freezing! The ducks are known for being used in WWII to transfer  war supplies, many were sunk because they do not operate at high intense levels of speed. After we froze the death on the duck tour we then went to a town called Whaka. That is the shortened name of the town. The real name has 36 letters in it, and the Maori language only has 14. What was ironic is the town was very small for having such a long name. One would think it would be the biggest town in all of New Zealand. The town was known for preserving the Maori way of life and using the steam vents in order to live. The vents and hot water pools were used for many different things.The main thing the vents were used for was cooking food. The Maori people would place wooden boxes over the vent and put their food inside of it. It took about 30 minutes for the food to cook depending on what it was. Also the steam is suposively healthy for your skin . The town has a geysure right in the middle of it, The geysure was pretty sweet. Also they cannot bury their people underground because their is to much volcanic activity. They also have hot pools. They use the pools as a way of bathing and sometimes cooking their food. To cook corn they just throw a sack into the boiling hot water and come get it in a half hour or so. They also have a hot mud pool. the mud is believed to help with cancer and artritus. The people of this town are very smart and use their surroundings to their best of ability. The people that live in this town are very passionate about their past and are more then willing to share their stories about their ancestors.

Day 1&2 - 3 cultural differences

      These past couple of days have been one of the most mixed emotion filled days. Between the laughter, the panic, the crankyness, the sweating and the smelling it has been a good and eventful time. The first flight was from chicago to LAX. Originally when we got to ohare it took 3 hours to get our tickets for the plane because the system kept rebooting. After that we were frantic and rushing to go board the plane. Right when it was our time to board the plane they made an announcement that they holders about everyones seats were to full and we did not have enough room to bring our luggage on board, so some students had to check their luggage.Luckily, I was one of the students that did not have to check my luggage. My friend Kelsy was someone who had to check her bags, and she was so panicked because this meant it was being checked internationally. We were boarding 2 different planes just to get to Auckland. When we first landed in Auckland the view was gorgeous. Every where I looked their were mountains. I was in awe. The first thing we did once we landed was visited a town called hobbiton. This town was where Lord Of The Rings was filmed. This is really sweet becase my dad and I use to was these movies together.We had lunch in this little town and I tried my first meal that was different. In New Zealand they eat alot of pies. I was in a little cafe, and I wanted to try a "pizza pie", The first bite I took I realized that this was not a pizza pie. Inside the crust was egg and ham. I was literally so confused. It was not terrible but deffinately not what I had expected. After this town we went to a place that had a gondala ride and that had a thing called luging. Luging is when you take a go-kart kind of thing down a massive track/hill.At first I thought this was going to scary but once I got to the top I new I had to try it.. I mean you only live once. I really wish America would invest in getting a luge track. After spending time up on the mountain we then took the gondala back down and hoped on our coach bus. We took the coach bus into a town called Rotorua. Rotorua is known for the hot springs all throughout the city. The air constantly smells like sulfer. We went to the jade factory in Rotorua and watched how the men made the jade go from a rock into a piece of jewelry. It was very facinating. This day was very long and tiring, the whole day I felt dirty because as soon as I got off a 18 hour flight I was going into the day of events our tour guide had planned.

Three major things different from America to New Zealand -

1.) Pedestrians have the right away in America, and in New Zealand it does not seem that way. A person could tell we were americans by the way we crossed the street.

2.) In  America we call lettuce, lettuce, and in New Zealand they say salad

3.)The toilets flush very differently in New Zealand rather then the water being sucked down and then more water coming in from around the upper part of the toilet, a big stream of water comes from the front half of the toilet. All the toilets also have the one flush two flush things to conserve water.

Food & Cuisine

1.) In New Zealand the people that reside in that country have different ideas of a barbeque. In the United States when one says barbeque the average american man thinks of hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, watermelon and so fourth. In New Zealand when one says barbeque they think crayfish, lamb, cervana and shell fish. In order to get the true experience of trying new zealand food, one might try the maori hangi. Hangi is cooked underground in a a hole lined with red-hot stones and covered with vegetation. Other vegetables are placed on top like, potatoes ,and kumara. In United States in order to have a real american taste, one might try a hamberger with cheese and some salty chips. The way new zealand differs from the United States is they prepare their meals in a hole in the ground. This is part of their culture, but by me being american it deffinately seems strange.

2.) When traveling I am most worried/excited about trying all the different kinds of fish, I have only tried salmon before and I was not a fan of it, at first it seemed good, and then it began tasting a bit fishy. My Goal is to atleast try eating some fish while im there, especially since its going to be very fresh.

Cane Toads Presence in Australia

    

     Cane toads are amphibians with dry warty skins, when moving they move in short rapid hops. Cane toads very in color, they can range from being grey, yellowish, olive-brown or reddish-brown. Their mating call is a long loud purring trill. Cane toads were introduced to Australia in 1935. They originally originated in Hawaii. They were brought to Australia to control scarap beetles that were pests of sugar cane. Primarily the cane toad can be found in the eastern and northern half of Queensland. They are also found in New South Wales, they occur on the coast as far south as Yamba. Cane toads are considered a pest in Australia because they poisen pets and ingure humans with their toxins, poisen many native animals whose diet includes frogs, tadpoles and frogs eggs, prey on native fauna, and may carry diseasses that can be transmitted to native frogs and fishes. In 2001 scientists began investigating gene technology as a mechanism of control. The main controls in southern Australoa are quarentine checks and public awareness and response.

     A Barbados gooseberry is located in Hawii, It is native to the west indies and the northern coast of south America. introduved intentionallt for horiculture (as an ornamental or for its fruit). This plant forms dense thorny thickets in low elevations not allowing other plants to grow. This plant is spread by birds and animals that eat the fruit. The unripe berries are very poisonous. In order to try and control the problem people have tried to cut down the plant and hope it doesn't reproduce.

Rabbit Proof Fence -The Decline of Aboriginal Society

  1.)   As the European settlers began to colonize the werstern coast of Australia the Aboriginals faced many hardships. Dehumanization is an issue that has been occuring for thousands of years across the world. The idea that a certain race, ethnicity or gender has greater power is what causes the dehumanization of humans. In chapter 3 the Aboriginals were faced with not being able to have freedon of belief and religon. The aboriginals were forced to move away from there sacred land, "they had to fight to find ways to return to their secret and sacred sites to perfom their dances and other ceremonies that were crucial to their culture and whole way of life" (16). This idea that there religion was of lower class then americans way of life was pushed forth onto the Aboriginals. As well the Aboriginals were looked as better workers then americans. The reason for this is "we can never afford to pay to pay English servants the high wages they expect besides feeding them so well. The black fellows receive little more than rice - their simple diet" (16). The universal declaration of Human rights explains that humans should have the freedom from slavery. The aboriginals were looked as only labourers. Children were taken away from families and transported down south. Every mother "was aware that their offspring could be taken from them at any time and they were powerless to stop the abductors" (40). The idea that children can be taken away from family goes against the idea of freedom from interference with privacy, family, home, and correspondence. The government should not be able to go and take children away just because of a racial issue.

2.)     The civilizing of Australia corresponds to the history of american because when European settlers arrived in the United States they had the idea of manifest destiny. Manifest Destiny is the idea that moving westward is the Europeans destiny. The Europeans went against their word and began to slowly push native americans out of their sacred land.  Soon that wasn't enough for the europeans, they began making deals with the Native Americans and suggested that they live on a reservation. The idea of reservations corresponds to the novel Rabbit Proof Fence when the children were taken away from family and moved into institutions like Carralup Settlement and Moore River Native Settlement. Europeans had the ideal image that they had higher power then the Native Americans.

3.)     The government was not just by taking control over the children of mixed descent. Any child deserves the chance to live with their born parents. To take a child away from their mother and father is taking a child away from a story. A chance to know their history and their past. A child needs that opportunity in life to grow from. Children taken away from parents do not get the opportunity to know certain family members like distant cousins, or aunts and uncles. Governement should not get involved in family situations unless a child is being brutally beat, or something along the lines of ruining a childs future.

The Marine Park Authority of the Australian Government - (video)

Video #1:
1.)  A polyp is what use to be a coral larvae, but when it begins growing it turns into what is called a polyp. When growing it looks like an upside down jelly fish. The polyp then absorbs algae inside. Once the algae is inside it begins converting sunlight into food. In order to be considered coral there must be multiple polyps growing in a colony.

2.) Coral is very sensitive to the temperature of the water. If the temperature of the water changes even the slightest bit then the coral can become stressed and the algae begin to move out causing the coral to turn white.

3.) Coral bleaching occurs when the coral begins to get stressed over a change within the water and the algae move out causing the coral to lose its color.

 4.)Scientists believe coral bleaching is occuring now more then ever because of climate change.
   
 5.) Ways that people can reduce their impact on climate changes is reducing energy (turning off unused lights or appliances), avoiding unnecesary car journeys, Reusing and recycling used products

Video #2:

1.) #'s of species of :
    Fish:
    Hard Coral: 360
    Soft Coral: 1/3 of the worlds soft coral
    Sea birds:22
    Shore Birds:32

2.)Climate change is warming our oceans.

3.) Increased flooding pollutes the reef, fish moves off to cooler off shore water, which means less food for sea birds.

4.)  Three ways to reduce climate change open windows, dry clothes on a line, donate things, inspire others to help

Video #3/4:
1.) two benefits by aiming these videos towards children is that, they are teaching children at a young age about global warming, and also relating to kids by using animations.Two possible drawbacks is these videos are aimed towards younger children rather than adults and there not getting there points across to the right crowd, as well as kids might be fearful of the sea animals life and begin to hate the world.

2.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liG_ZV289VM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw_WjN-4n3U&feature=related

Exploring Oceans: Great Barrier Reef (video)

1.) The Great Barrier Reef is considered one of the largest living structure on earth

2.) Coral extracts calcium carbonate from the surrounding water to make solid

3.) Red algae impacts the structure of a coral by acting like pink glue by coating it with sheets of calcium carbonate.

4.) The Great Barrier Reef was established a national park in 1975

5.) Over 33 percent of the Great Barrier Reef is protected from fishing.

6.) Many scientists believe the current reef is 20 thousand years old, and the ancient reef is half a million years old.

Apology to Aborigines

1. The English came into contact with the Aboriginals in 1788. While the English were colonizing, the westners tooks land from the aboriginals and forced them out of their homes.In many cases they were either beat or killed.

2. There was mass confusion when the british began settling in the city of sydney because there was no goverenment to run the town.They simply figured it was in there power to take land from the natives and foroce them to live somewhere else. In this time period the indigenous people began getting sick. They got diseases such as: small pox, measles and influenza. The Europeans brought non-native animals that destroyed the land.

3.The stolen generation movement began in 1909 which was run under the APB (Aboriginal Protection Board). The idea was to put all non full blooded aboriginals under white culture. The children were thought as slaves and servents in the future to work for the Britains, when in reality they were forced to be removed because aboriginals were thought as unfit parents.

4. The effects of what the Europeans did not only affected the people who were living during that time period, but also their children. The children began to learn about there history and where they came from. The children then became furious about some of the stories that were being told.Due to the frustration of their past and the abbuse that came with, many children led violent lives, which led to an early death.

5. To this day, many people are still currently trying to find missing children. Not just for the parents sake, these children have been through so much. Many of these children have hit rock bottom in adulthood because they are physically unstable. It's also hard to find the children because they have been mixed in with other races and it's hard to identify the children.

6. As an apology I would say to the prime minister, That the aboriginial culture has been around for thousands of years. Not only has the culture been around but so have the people. They know more about the land and the agriculture then the average australian culture. Another reason for the Stolen Generation was to eliminate the aboriginals because they were seen as inferior by the settlers. Anyone in australia will say that this is a horrible time period in history. By holding off a well deserved apology such as this makes the situation worse. All the aboriginals want/need is an apology that they deserve.

Savor the Trip, Don't Tweet it - Blog 5

       Elliots concern is people have the tendency to travel and not be able to get the full experience. Rather then viewing the world through their own two eyes people are caught up with looking through a camera lense or writing and bragging about it all over facebook. The role technology will have when I travel to australia and new zealand is hardly any. I do not want my experience to be taken up by being caught up with facebook. In my opinion, Facebook is used for people to be caught up in everyone else's drama rather then their own. On my trip I shouldn't have to worry about the lives of other people I should be embracing the beauty of the new countries that I'm visiting. A qoute that I think should get recognition is "Instead of having the experience, you are now observing yourself having the experience. It's a layer removed and just not as sensual". The main idea of this qoute it saying that people dont observe the trip for themseles they view it as something to brag about and post all over facebook. After reading this article I feel that Christopher Elliot has the right idea and image of traveling. In my eyes he is a real traveler and he travels for himself rather then for anyone else.  As a class I feel we should limit the use of technology, as a child I use to go outside and play and create my own fun, I didnt have to worry about grabbing a phone. All I worried about was getting a piece of chalk, or a jump rope. I feel kids are so tied down with tv's and computers that they dont know how to create their own fun. In australia and new zealand as a class I think we should only use technology when we are trying to communicate with our parents, or when were about to go to sleep (watch tv). We should be able to entertain ourselves without the use of technology. The trip should be about exploring.

Creation Stories

1. People have the fear of the unknown, I feel that since the natives of both countries did not know how "they" were created or formed, they feared it. In order to cope with this fear they began getting creative and made up myths or stories to pass down to their children. The idea of a myth helps tell the story of who they are and what there morals are. Even though scientists might have the answer to the myths, it’s easier for those people to keep retelling their children the myths that were once created. Children are to young to comprehend what the real scientific theory is, so parents tell them the bed time story of their myth.

2. Each story has their own values that are represented with different characters or symbols. The aborigines value animals and the wild life. They feel that the sun is the creation of life. The sun is the beauty that presents a happy life to them. On the other hand the Mauri natives calue overcoming conflicts. They feel that once you once come a conflict your life with be easier. Both stories are nature based and each value male dominance. This coincides with our economy today, many people feel that males dominate over woman. Love and companionship as well helped create what they now call New Zealand and Australia. In the Aborigine creation story the mother call to the creatures and tells them " enjoy the wealth of the earth and to live peacefully with one another." This proves that there creation story was made to provoke peace. This helps show the Australian morals when it comes to world peace.

3. Australian aborigine’s creation story discussed the world starting with light and they wanted to overcome fear. In the story the mother was afraid of the father which symbolizes male dominance. In both New Zealand stories they discuss how they want to overcome conflict which one can infer that there towns were suffering from conflict at the time. Each story was based on nature and the creation of the earth was from either the moon or sun. Which suggests they idolize the sun and moon as gods.

4. Each myth suggests that their is always conflict between families which is unavoidable. One can infer that the creation stories give the image of caring people, and if you care about the people in your life you can over come any difficult situation. Jealousy is also a present emotion in all the creation stories. This goes to show that jealousy is a common emotion that people feel, and its something you need to learn to control.

5.) I don't necessarily believe in a creation story. There is always the debate between the theory of evolution and the belief in a higher power. Personally I believe in evolution due to the fact that there is scientific evidence to evolution being a true statement. But on the other hand i think its intriging to look at it from the other perspective, science is sort of new to our world, and creation stories and a higher power has been around for longer then people can tell stories for. There are many more people who believe in a higher power rather then in the theory of evolution.Going with along what I said early, I think people have the fear of the unknown and death is unknown. People look to "god" for something to look forward too on the otherside when they pass away.

Timelines- Comparing the Countries.

America and Australia have histories that are alike due to Great Britain for establishing colonies in each country. During the late 1600’s the British were traveling to American shores, the 13 original colonies actually appalled the British towering over them. This also coincides when Australia was claimed by Britain in 1776 and six colonies were developed there. While the American Colonies were claimed earlier this allowed them to have more time to grow and industrialize and create a strong government. Unlike Australia, Australia was claimed later on by Britain which means it didn’t have as much time as the American colonies to industrialize. Australia and America both have similarities when it comes down to the gold rush. America’s gold rush began in 1848 while in the 1850’s the Australian gold rush began. A man by the name Edward Hargraves was unsuccessful in the gold rush in the Americas in California so he flew back to Sydney. This rush brought all sorts of people. (www.patricktaylor.com/australian-gold-rush)

New Zealand was discovered by a man named James Cook, his idea was to pave the way for more Europeans to make the journey to the newly discovered island. His journals inspired other Europeans to travel to this island. James Cook was like Christopher Columbus, many viewed him as a man who wanted what was best for the Native Americans that were present in The United States, but no one truly knew he was a devious man. James cook used his wits to trick the Maori tribes into signing a peace treaty with the Europeans in search of protection. In reality he just wanted to take the lands of the natives. Like America new Zealand had a battle between the natives and the immigrants over the land. The natives felt that they were being treated unfairly.  New Zealand can also be related back to America’s and Australia’s gold rush. New Zealand’s occurred later on, it happened in the 1860’s in a town called Tuepeka. (http://history-nz.org/)

            In the early twentieth century both countries were enthusiastic members of the British Empire, they had high nationalism. While both countries were dedicated to the British Empire both countries ended up sending soldiers into the Boer War, World War I and world war II. World War II was the turning point with both countries they realized that they couldn’t rely on Britain for protection. These ideas lead to both countries wanting to become closer with the united states of American. Both countries made a packed to defend one another if an enemy were to attack, this became known as the Anzus. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia_%E2%80%93_New_Zealand_relations)

            Each country has different similarities that all sort of correspond with one another. One of the major similarities is that all the countries had natives living there before it was “discovered”. In Australia there were the aborigines, in New Zealand there were the Maori and in America there were the Native Americans. In 1962 the Aborigines were recognized as citizens and were given the right to vote. In New Zealand in 1860 a decade of land wars broke out between the Maori and the British. ((http://www.backpack-newzealand.com/history.html). Each country faced there difficulties with the battles of natives verse immigrants.

"Why We travel"

1. The reason I travel is to explore the different cultures of the world and experience something astonishing that I may never experience again. For example seeing an artifact within another country that takes your breath away. I think my reasons for traveling now have grown to be the same reasons as Iyer's. When I was around the age of 12 I went to Hawaii with a school group called People to People, and when I traveled I traveled for the reasons to say I went there, rather then for a learning experience.

2. When Iyer says "the real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new places, but in seeing with new eyes" in my mind it means traveling is what you make it. You need to have an open mind and be optimistic about other countries monuments and culture in order to get the full experience out of it. Traveling can be an eye opening experience and change the way you view the world.

3.)When Iyer says " What gives value to travel is fear" hes saying that most people live in their own world and never experience something new, they hide behind their everyday habits. Many people travel not for answers but for better quesitons to be asked.I think ths relates to our trip because rather then living within our everyday life and our culture we have become accustomed to we can travel and explore everything the world has to offer.

4.) When Iyer says humans are like "carrier pigeons" I think he is right in all ways. Everyone deserves the chance to explore new cultures whether they travel to that country or not. Not everyone can afford flying to australia and learning about there culture while being there. So its our duty to bring back the information and share it with friends and family so they can experience everything I was fortunate enough to experience. Also sharing information about a traveling experience allows the American culture to grow as well, and maybe take up some of the ideas from another culture.

5.) My favorite quote is " and we travel to fill in the gaps left  by tomorrow's headlines.." The reason this is my favorite quote is because I can relate it back to a class I took last year with Mr. Schagrin. In this class we discussed current events that were occuring around the world, that I never knew were happening. I think what Iyer is trying to say is that people don't understand the issues other countries have beyond what the newspapers represent. Newspapers can't always be reliable either because they are bias.This qoute has multiple meanings behind it, but in my mind he is trying to say traveling helps give people the relization of the world.



I use this picture because Iyer says Humans are carrier pigeons.



I put this picture because I am really excited about learning more about this Opera House.

Blog 1- The Journey Begins

My name is Morgan; I am a junior at Grayslake North. I have been dancing since I was 6 years old. I am on the varsity poms team, and it takes over my life. In my spare time I try to find time to spend with my friends.  I am a very family oriented person, and I enjoy nature. As a child I use to go camping with my family about 3 times a year. Summer is by far my favorite season of the year; I never have a boring moment. I also work at the Round Lake Park District, I’m a lifeguard. Traveling to Australia with a group of individuals I have never been close with, really pushes my limits as a person. I want to step out of the box, and realize how many wonderful people this world has to offer.

1.) The reason I signed up for this class, is because I want to be able to study abroad, and get a better understanding for other countries culture. Learning about another countries culture can change a person’s way of thinking. I enjoy having moments take my breath away, because it's a memory I would never forget. I feel the only way to get the best out of traveling is to really embrace everything that country has to offer, and making the best out of every situation. Australia has many beautiful aspects that I cannot wait to explore.

2.) What I hope to get out of this class is an everlasting life changing experience. I want to be able to grow from the people around me, and learn not only about Australia's culture, but to also learn more about myself. I want to learn more about the history of Australia, because I have never learned much about it. I've realized that in history classes, they emphasize history in Europe and Italy and places like that, but I don't recall learning much about Australia. By me not knowing much about their culture and history, makes me want to go there and learn as much as possible.

3.)In Australia what I want to specifically learn about is the history, and what made that country the way it is today. Like I said before, I have never learned much about Australia. It's really intriguing to hear about the way the ancestors of people in Australia changed their culture and ways of life. When I went to Hawaii in 6th grade with a group called people to people, I didn't understand my reasons for traveling, and to be honest I didn't embrace the traveling experience to the fullest. I want to learn from that experience and allow myself to grow as a traveler, and really take in everything that I see and learn about Australia.

4.) In order to get the most out of traveling to another country would be learning about it's history and its present. I feel this way because as a traveler, you have so much to offer and grow upon. If a person traveled to Australia and had no intentions of learning about the certain structures their viewing  they will not be able to embrace the building or monuments full potential. If a traveler just decided to go visit another country and had no background knowledge, they can be referred to as a tourist. A tourist in my mind, is a type of person who travels to look at beautiful things, but doesn’t comprehend the reasoning behind this structure. When a person looks at something and knows  how the culture has grown just because of  a monument, the traveler can experience a life changing moment.

I put this picture because I am very excited to see a kangaroo, Its going to be sweet seeing an animal I have never seen in person before in its natural habitat.


I also put this picture because I am looking forward to seeing all the beautiful fish that the Barrier Reef has to offer.