Top Ten Places We Went To

1. Rangitoto

2. Whaka Village
3. Blue Mountains
4. Great Barrier Reef
5. Opera House
6. Sydney Harbor Bridge
7. Market
8. Hanging out with friends at hotel and in cities
9. Artificial Beach
10. Ogoing

Day 10 Great Barrier Reef

Today we took a bus over to the harbor then after that we took a ship to the great barrier reef.  Once we got there we docked at a pontoon station where you could hangout feed the fish and go snorkeling off of.  Once you got your mask, flippers, and snorkel you could just hangout on the pontoon or swim.  We swam a lot and saw a lot of fish, a sea turtle and lots of coral.  The water was a little cold since it was winter there but it was a good time.  Once we were done we took the boat back home and on the way back there was a lot of people getting seasick so there was a good amount of throwing up.  Once we were back in the city we had another night to ourselves to visit the city and do whatever we wanted.  Our group ended up going to a pizza place then hanging out at the hotel. 

Day 9 Sydney to Cairns

Today we just flew from sydney to cairns, swam and hungout at the artificial beach in cairns and walked around through the city on our own.  We left for Cairns in the morning and sat in the plane for about 3 and a half hours.  Once we got there we took a coach bus to the rydges hotel, which was not very far away from the airport. There was nothing really planned for the day so we just checked into our rooms, put our bathing suits on and we all walked over to the artificial beach.  The first thing that I noticed in Cairns was that at low tide there was about all mud for 75 yards out into the ocean until it finally turned to water.  That was disappointing because it meant that we were going to spend the entire trip without staying at an actual beach.  But relaxing in the grass at the artificial beach was nice and it allowed us to stop and really take in the country at a slow pace instead of rushing through everything as we were doing before.  After that we were on our own to go eat dinner and do whatever we wanted for the rest of the night.  My group went to outback jacks and I had some kalamari for dinner.  Then afterwards we walked to the various shops and stores there until we finally headed back to the hotel.  

Day 8-Blue Mountains

Today we went on the excursion that we chose, I chose blue mountains, it was great minus the fact that it was raining the whole time.  By the end of it we were all drenched, muddy, and cold.  But I don't regret going on it for one second.

How would you be at traveling on your own?: I think that if I was forced to travel on my own I would be able to survive and get from place to place.  But I think that I've still got some problems that I would need to work out.  On this specific trip I've been able to to get from place to place easily when left alone but in those situations its on a small scale on we're told how to get there.  At the airports, I would be able to get through security and find my gate without help from somebody because I've done it so many times that its become pretty natural and easy.  I understand that you need to pick up your boarding ticket, check your bags if you aren't carrying on, go through security, and customs then find my gate.  The only thing that I would be bad at in my opinion, would be finding a place to stay in, using public transportation, and finding the specific destinations at the place I am traveling in.  For the most part I have never had to deal with any of those situations because for the most part the teachers/parents who I am traveling are in charge of that and I never have a chance to figure out how to do it on my own.

Day 7-Sydney

Today we went to visit an opal factory, went on a tour director-led sightseeing of sydney, took a cruise of sydney harbour and visited the sydney wildlife world. 

Traveling: After traveling for about a week now our group is starting to get more efficient at getting from on e place to another, however at the same time there are still some various aspects of traveling as a group that we could also improve on.  The things that we can improve on include walking on the left side of the path, walking continuously without stopping for pictures and making sure to not block other people that are trying to pass us.  Some things that we are doing good with is walking together as a group and not getting lost, adapting to changes that occur during traveling and lastly getting from one place to another in small unguided packs.  For things we could improve on the first thing is walking on the left side of the path.  Since we are all used to walking on the right side in America we have not fully adapted to the switch in this country.  When we are walking we just need to be aware of what side to walk on.  Another problem is needless stops we need to make sure that we continue to walk without stopping for pics.  There will be plenty of time for pictures once we're there.  The last problem is making sure we don't block people behind us.  Sometimes others want to pass us and we cant stop them from doing this and should be aware of whos behind us.  The things that we have been doing good as a group are walking together, adapting to changes such as weather or getting lost, and getting to certain places and eating without teacher supervision. 

Day 6 Aukland to Sydney

Today we flew in to Sydney from Auckland.  Once we got there we dropped off our bags and began to tour the city.  Today we visited the main park in the city, the Sydney tower, and went to the rocks to see the Sydney bridge, opera house, and a local market.

 Sydney Compared to other Cities:  After being in Sydney for a Day I have seen several differences between this city and other cities that I have been to in the US.  Sydney seems much more hilly and the roads seem more curvy.  The buildings are about the same style as most major cities, however there is a pretty clear difference between the old buildings there and the more modern ones that have been built.  This contrast I havn't seen in many other cities I've been to.  Also Sydney seems to have a few major tourist sites whereas chicago has multiple, small sites throughout the city.  Sydney is also more incorporated into the harbor, and its downtown is much closer to the water then chicago.  Chicago is also a much larger city and Sydney is significantly smaller but because it is smaller it appears more clean.  I might have seen one hobo while in Sydney when a lot of the time in Chicago you will see at least ten on a single trip.  If I was to choose a city that I would rather live in I would pick Sydney because of its beautiful location, its cleanliness, and it seems less chaotic and calm then many other cities in the US.   

Day 5 Rotorua Auckland

Hike and Rangitoto:  In the morning we took public transportation in order to get to the redwood forest.  By taking the bus it showed us how to take public transportation while traveling with a big group.  Once we got to the forest it was raining and we were all wet but we still made it fun and had a good time.  Even when someone was hurt and we had to seperate, we were able to continue to go on the hike and have fun.  Although we were all soaking wet and at the time we wanted nothing but to be inside and warm it was till a good experience and showed us the natural enviornment of new zealand.  Later on at Rangitoto college we got to meet some students from New Zealand who were our age.  At the dinner we got to talk to them about ours and their culture.  We got to find out how they go to school and how its different then us.  Although we're from different parts of the world and we have a lot of things that are not in common, in the end for the most part we are very similar. 

July 9th: Cultrual Experience Journal

During the second day we went on the duck tour and went to the whaka Maori village.  Both brought separate, however still important cultural experiences.  During the duck tour we got a more nature oriented experience and at the village we learned more about the actual Maori culture.  At the duck tour we drove to the lake and all the while we learned about various aspects of the birds and objects in rotorua.  We learned about the pookeycoos, saw the govt. gardens, among various other things.  Once we actually got to the lake it was mostly foggy and could barley see anything but we learned about how the lake was named after a necklace that was dropped and lost in it.  The Maoris don't believe that the necklace should be taken out.  We then learned about the green lake which the Maori use to bathe their dead.  It is for forbidden to go into the lake and there has been times where people that go on it have strange things happen to them.  Later we went to the Maori village and got to see how the Maori have lived for years before.  We say how they utilized the natural hot springs for their daily lives.  They use it to cook their food, bathe, and even use the mud to use as healing lotion for rheumatoid arthritis.  We also saw how the architecture of their main buildings  correspond with their culture and some history of their people. 

June 8th: First day at Aukland

Journal, First Impression, Cultural Shock, Most Excited: As I first arrived in new Zealand nothing seemed much different inside the airport since it was pretty westernized with McDonalds and KFC.  Once we walked outside though I started to actually feel like we were in a foreign country.  The different climate environment and overall look and feel seemed just completely different.  Once spending more time here I actually began to notice the different aspects of their culture and get the cultural shock.  The first cultural difference I noticed was the presence of the Maori culture.  It as present every where we went.  At the airport, the jade factory, and many other places.  Then there was how all the cars drove on the left side of the road instead of the right.  Driving like that seemed completely unnatural and I'm still having trouble getting used to it.  Lastly the terrible stench from the geothermal vents was the biggest shock because as we drove to rotarua the terrible rotten egg smell seemed absolutely disgusting and I had no idea on how the people could stand the smell.  The thing I'm looking forward to the most is white water rafting, I've always wanted to do this and it'll e a good chance to experience New Zealand's wilderness in a unique way.  It seems like such a good way to do this. 

June 7th: Traveling

Today my mom dropped me off at North for the first day of traveling.  Even until this day it didn't seem real.  I waited in the school until it was time to go.  We started by loading onto a hot bus on this warm summer day to begin our drive to ohare airport.  We then waited in line for about an hour because it took so long for them to process us since their computers were down.  We went through security just like any other airplane trip and eventually we landed in LAX at night.  I don't remember the time since it was so long ago.  We did not have much time to hang around because right after that we boarded our plane to go to Aukland.  This was the longest plane ive ever been in in my life and the trip lasted forever, i slept for most of the trip on the plane and as i was sleeping we passed the international date line and I lost a day. 

Rabbit Proof Fence Blog

What injustices did they face: They were often pushed out of their land by white people, they did not get the same judicial system as the white people and often were treated worse for the same offenses.  They also got less pay and less food for the same work compared to white people.  And lastly their children could be taken from their homes at any time.  These injustcies broke various rules in the unviersal decleration of human rights such as, the right to equality and freedom from discrimination. 

How might the "civilizing: of Australia mirror historical events in the United States: Just as some of the natives to australia were pushed out of their lands by the white people and treated unfairly, the native americans during the settling of america and the push west were often pushed out of their homelands and forced to relocate as well.  During the "civilizing" of Australia many aborigines did not have the same rights as white men and the same can be seen for the native americans during the push west.  The native americans were treated inhumanly as they would have to march for miles without proper food or water to reservation camps.  The plight of the aborigines and native americans were quite simmilar during both "civilizing" periods of the united states and australia. 

Were the actions of the govt. morally justified in relocating children of mixed descent:  I do not believe that the actions of the govt in relocating mixed descent children during this time period was morally justified.  By taking away these children to "civilize" them did much more wrong then it did good.  It tore families apart and often left the children physcologically hurt.  It broke many rights that every human should have. 

Coral Bleaching and why we should care about climate change/destrucition of coaral reefs

1. A polyp is what the coral larvae becomes once it finds a place to settle and grows.  Once tiny algae move into the polyp and the polyp multiplies it is considered coral.
2. Temperatur
3. When the temperature of the sea gets too high the tiny algae will move out and the coral will loose its color, becoming bleached.
4. Because of climate change, coral bleaching is happening much more
5. Turning off unused lights, avoiding unnecessary car trips, reusing, and recycling products whenever we can. 

Video 2

1. 1,500 species of fish, 360 hard coral, 1/3 of world soft coral, 22 species of sea birds, 32 species of shore birds
2. Climate change is responsible for warming our oceans
3. Increased flooding polllutes the reef, fish move to cooler off shore waters, means less food for sea birds
4. use less energy, take public transport, walk or cylce, buy environmentally safe products, open windows instead of using air conditioners, dry clothes on lines, donate things instead of throwing it out. 

Vidoes 3 and 4

1. Benefits: Cartoons easily understood by children, introduces them to world issues early in life.  Drawbacks: online videos may be unreliable, kids may have a hard time staying focused on the subject while watching these videos.
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6leHGHCKeSg
Although this video is to attract tourists to Australia, it shows various clips of differnet ecosystems, ennvironments, and landmarks of australia.  This could be beneficial for foreigners not from austraia since it introduces them to what they would see if they visited. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw_WjN-4n3U
This video gives information about the great barrier reef as well as interviews various australian.  This video would be beneficial to tourists visiting the great barrier reef because it shows what ways are the best for taking in and experienceing the great barrier reef. 

Great Barrier Reef Video

1. "living structure" on earth
2. calcium carbonate
3. They connect coral, shell, and sand together like "glue"
4. 1975
5. 33%
6. Current: 20,000 years old, Ancient: half a million years old

Apology Letter

1. The aborigines were completley isolated until 1788 when the english first arrived.  The english forced the aborigines to move and took much of their land.  Many got sick with pnemonia, small pox, measles and other diseases.  The english brought with them many foreign animals that destroyed the aborigines water holes.  In 1900 laws were created to protect the aborigines in every state.  Not until 1967 were they granted citizenship. 
2. The english forced many aborigines to move so they could take their land.  The english brought with them many sicknesses and dieases which many aborigines got sick by.  The english brought with them foreign animals which destroyed the aboriginies and chopped down many australian forests.  From 1910 to 1971 the australian govt. took about 100,000 aborigine children and gave them to white families in an effort to assimilate them into the english population. 
3. From 1910 to 1971 the english inhabitants of australia attempted to make the aborigine children more like them.  During this time they took about 100,000 children from the aborigines. During this period 1 in 10 aborigine children were taken and attempted to be assimilated into the white culture in Australia.  Many of the children taken were physically and sexually abused, as well as exploited for child labor in the black market. 
4. The physical and sexual abuse, exploitation, and dislocation which the children of the stolen generation went through has shown to lead to alcoholism, violence and early death.  Many of the children feel completley lost now since they are pushed out by both white and aborigine societies. 
5. The results of this stolen generation are sitll impacting australian society today.  A high proportion of people form the stolen gernerations are depressed, have feelings of anxiety, post traumatic stress and commit suicide.  Many have not found out their backgrounds untill later in life and when they go back they feel culturally alienated in that they are in a grey area in between both white and aborinal societys, not knowing where to go.  When those of the stolen generation have kids they often do no not know how to raise a child or parent and as a result their children are sometimes removed from them which just continues the cycle. 
6. Regarding why an official apology needs to be stated, many of the stolen generation have lost much of their lives and the potential of what they could have been to outdated racial and societal beliefs.  The stolen generation has gone through so much more then what should be expected from the average person.  They have put up with abuse, exploitation, and a complete loss of cultural identity.  They live lives of depression and anxiety, yet their struggle has not been compensated for or even recognized by the government.  If Australia is to exit this period of injustice and enter one of peace and happiness then the government needs to at least start with an apology. 

An Examination of Creation Stories

1. Human cultures create myths, in my opinion, in order to explain the unexplainable.  When they saw things like thunder, wind, volcanoes, and other acts of nature they would have to way to explain why or how these things were happening.  In order to explain them they created these myths that give reasons to why many of these natural occurrences happen.  These myths may not be as prominent in our culture today but are often used as stories to entertain our children and teach them morals.  And regarding myths that explain our creation, they too exist in our society in the form of religion which shows the origin of man in almost all cases.
2. By looking at the creation of stories of the aborigine as well as the Maori we are able to see what these cultures valued as well as other aspects of their culture.  Both stories rely on dominant male figures. In the Aborigine the father of all spirits directs the sun mother to awaken all the spirits and create life on earth.  Throughout the story the sun mother does all she can to make the father happy.  Then in the Maori story all of the spirits are men, except for the earth mother.  Men are created before women in this story as well.  The Maori story also justifies rebellion when under bad circumstances.  The Maori may have used this idea in their culture to justify rebellions.  Lastly, the Aborigine story glorifies nature and the spirits that make it up.  When it describes the animals it is almost always with positive and bright diction.  Thus the Aborigines most likely respected and live along side nature, instead of attempting to harness it.
3. Maori: gods, violent, all male, darkness in beginning, children want to seperate parents, underworld, no spirits. Aborigine: Light in beginning, female prescense, spirits sleeping, mother afraid of father, animals, spirits.  Both: Mother and father, nothing other then a head spirit in beginning, creations uncontrollable.  The differences and simmilarities in the myths may correspond to both simmilarities and differences between the cultures at the time when the myths were created.
4. Although certain aspects of nature which the myths explain have been proven wrong by modern science the myths are still able to show societal and personal struggles that exist in the world today.  Problems such as a wife being obediant to the father, children obeying their parents, rebellion, teamwork, and other isssues of todays society.
5. I think that we have evolved from other animals but there is a god.  I think that as long as we are good to others and are not harmful then we will somehow be rewarded.  Because of this I just try to do what I believe is right.

Blog 2

1.) I travel so I can be exposed to something different then what I see day to day.  I want to escape the day to day things that I do and expose myself to something different by witnessing different cultures and countries through traveling.  Much like Iyers quote, "we need sometimes, to escape into open solitudes, into aimlessness, into the moral holiday of running some pure hazard, in order to sharpen the edge of life, to taste hardship, and to be compelled to work desperately for a moment at not matter what."
2.) Iyer's quote about traveling in oder to see with new eyes explains that people travel not so they can just see the sights but to see the world through the eyes of someone living in the country that you are visiting.  So they can see how that country's culture and geography may change their outlook on life or certain aspects of life.  This may relate to me in that when I go to Australia I don't want to go and just see Australia's landmarks but take in the culture of the nation and witness life like the people who have lived there their entire lives.
3.) Iyer's quote, "What gives value to travel is fear." shows that the value of traveling is not to stay in a safety net and just watch the country you are visiting, but instead to put yourself out there and take risks so that you can really get the most out of your trip and so you can experience the challenge of trying to thrive in this new culture and environment that you have been placed in.   
4.)  I agree with Iyer's idea of a traveler being a carrier pigeon by bringing their culture to the place they are visiting as well as bringing the culture of the place they're visiting back with them and sharing it with the people of their home country.  By doing this it allows the two nations to form a bond.  It shows the people what others of a certain country are like and almost creates a sense of acceptance between the two opposite places.
5.) My favorite quote is, "We need sometimes, to escape into open solitudes, into aimlessness, into the moral holiday of running some pure hazard, in order to sharpen the edge of life, to taste hardship, and to be compelled to work desperately for a moment at no matter what."  I like this quote because this idea that you travel in order to escape ones day to day life and present challenges to overcome appeals to me in that it shows how by traveling you are putting yourself out there and hoping to bring adventure into your life.  To escape the day to day things you do in your life and try to overcome hardships you come to on your journey and enjoy yourself all the while.

Januray Class Blog 1

1.  Intro
Hey everyone, this is Mason.  I currently am a sophomore at grayslake central highschool.  I play lacrosse and made junior varsity last year.  On my free time I like to play video games and listen to music.  I have a dog named Finn and an olders sister that is a senior right now.  I have never been outside of the country before and I'm pretty excited to visit Austrailia.  My overall goal while there is to get some good facebook pics.

2.  Why did you sign up for this course?
I signed up for this class because I have always wanted to travel the world and this is the first opprotunity I've had to follow this dream.  Also, a lot of my friends signed up for it and I thought I would have a really fun time traveling with them.  In 4th grade a boy from austrailia named Ben moved into my neighborhood, after listening to his stories about austrailia it made me want to travel there even more.  After I met him I decided that when I got older that I would move to austrailia.  Although this is no longer my plan, I still have my heart set at, the very least, to visit and I look forward to witnessing their culture and seeing the sights while I am there.

3.  What specifically interests you in Australia or New Zealand?
The great barrier reef is widely known as one of the best places to scuba dive in the world and is one of the most interesting and diverse underwater habitats in the world.  I have been a licsensed scuba diver since 6th grade and this is the biggest thing that I am excited about on our trip.  As well as this  I can't wait to see the opera house in Sydney since its looks so cool.  I think the one thing that I have to see while in Australia is a kangaroo.  Its just a cool animal. 

4. Why do you think learning about where you are going before actually going can improve your traveling experience?
By learning about where one is going before hand I think can improve the actual traveling experience by letting that person link what they have learned with the places they are visiting, thus allowing them to get the most out of their trip.  They will see what various landmarks and locations have to do with the history of the country and see why they were built or why they look a certain way.  This way they do not just see the country for its sight but also to see the culture underlying the landmarks and places they visit.