June 16

         Today we took a train to the town of Kuranda and their rainforest.  Both the rainforest and the city were beautiful.  We then took a gondola back down to Cairns where we went to an aboriginal place where they put on a show with digridoo's.  We also threw boomerangs and spears at this place.  After that we went back to the hotel and walked around the city and got dinner.  After this we went back to the hotel and all the teachers gave speeches about the trip in general. They asked us to create a top 10 for the trip so here mine is.  1-Rugby Match/Courthouse bar-I liked this alot because I appreciate sports and there is nothing like being right in the heart of it at a local bar. 2-Great Barrier Reef-I really enjoyed snorkling and seeing all the beautiful fish and coral.  It was surreal to see it in person. 3-Rangitoto College-It was fun learning the Haka from all those kids, and meeting students from New Zealand. 4-Whakarewarewa-seeing the Maori village and how they lived was awesome.  Also the heat and steam from the springs was really cool as well. 5-Sydney-Sydney was so sick, going to the Opera House and the tower.  Seeing such a magnificent city so close is truly astounding. 6-Pot Pies-I loved eating the different types of pot pies.  They were a nice break from cheeseburgers and hot dogs. 7-Blue Mountains-Even though it was foggy, the waterfalls were amazing and seeing a baby kangaroo in the wild. You cant beat that! 8-Alec (our tour guide)- he was so cool and easy to joke around with. He took us to a local place to watch a rugby match which was my number 1. No other tour guide would take us to a place where they were id-ing people to get in. 9-Roommates-I loved chillin with Zach and Jack they were so fun to just hang out with in the room. It was also fun to get to know Zach more and more as the trip went on. 10-Passport Jokes- I thought making jokes with Mrs. Titus about where my passport was was hilarious and always kept me on my toes.

June 15

          At the beginning of the day we took a coach to a wharf.  Then at the wharf we loaded on to our ship.  Then on the ship we took a hour tide to a island that we dropped some people off at.  After that I went out on the deck and looked at the scenery for another 40 minutes until we arrived at the reef.  After that we docked at the floating platform.  After 10 minutes of them cleaning up the platform we went on it.  Immediately after Jack and I threw on some snorkel equipment and jumped in.  Right away I was amazed by the fish and stunning colors of the reef.  I saw many types of bright colors of fish and many sizes of fish.  I did not only see just fish I saw many types of beautiful coral.  I snorkeled around for another 30-45 mins.  After the snorkel session of diving and observing coral we headed back on the boat, dried off and got some lunch. At lunch we looked at the the city of Cairns.  After eating lunch and sitting around for a little we decided to go back in the water and explored the beauty of the reef once more.  After more diving and etting up close and personal with the coral and fish for another 45 minutes we headed back to the platform for a rest and to warm up.  We then went on a boat tour with a glass bottom.  On that tour we saw a tortoise.  After the tour we learned that Schagrin lost his wedding ring so we went in and looked for it in the reef. We didnt find it but we did enjoy the reef. We then re-entered the boat and made our journey back to the city.  At the city our tour guide took us to an outdoor bar place called the Courthouse.  At the Courthouse we watched the State of Origin rugby match between Queensland and New South Wales.  He explained the rules to us while we cheered for New South Wales.  It was very fun and possibly my favorite part of Cairns.  After that we headed back to the hotel and watched the second half of the State of Origin and went to bed.

June 13

         Today we went to the Blue Mountains and saw beautiful waterfalls and mountains.  We went on long hikes through the rainforest while it was pouring rain.  Before we went to the mountains we stopped at the Sydney Olympic park, which was awesome.  After spending the whole day in the mountains we went to Sydney to see a light show on the Opera House.  I think I could travel on my own because I know how to get around.  Me and my sister have gone down to Chicago and Milwaukee many times just by ourselves without our parents.  When we go it is not that stressful either because we have a plan.  If you have a plan when you are traveling and you follow that plan everything will turn out alright.  Also you need to know the city.  If you don't know the city you will be walking around not knowing where to go or what to do.  If you do know the city you probably wont end up getting lost.  Also you need to know your limits. If you cant walk very far I wouldn't plan a hike or long walking tour.  I would strongly enjoy traveling by myself.  I plan one day to go backpacking to places I have never been.  I will probably come back to Australia/NZ one day.  I really want to go backpacking soon in a place like Wisconsin or Pennsylvania. Overall I think that traveling by myself is within my reach and that I could go on a trip and figure out good things to do while staying within my limits and having a good time.

June 12

         Today we went to various points of Sydney.  We went to a park that had a nice view of the Opera House.  Next we went to another park that had a bunch of bluffs.  After that we went to Bondi beach, which is the main surf beach of Sydney.  After that we went right up to the Opera House.  We then walked to a wharf and took a boat tour of the harbor that dropped us off at the Sydney wildlife center.  We then walked home after that.  The 1st reflection I have on my travels is how well I am dealing with the time change.  When i went to Europe I missed some of the first few days because I stayed up the whole plane ride to Ireland.  On this trip I planned when I should go to sleep so I could fully adapt to New Zealand time. My 2nd easiest thing that I have dealt with was adapting to hotel life and living out of a bag.  Ive traveled a lot so I am getting better a just using my bag.  Along with that I am not making much of a mess in the hotel room.  Before all my clothes were all over the place but now I am more compact and clean.  My 3rd easiest thing is dealing with the airport.  By airport I mean checking in, going through security, and going through customs.  Before this trip I never checked in and got my boarding pass by myself, my parents would always do it for me.  Security has never really been a problem for me but I am just polishing up my skills.  I also gained the skill of lying in customs, I told the man I didnt have food but I really did.  I would love to come back to Australia and New Zealand again and I would recommend this trip to anybody as long as they can take the plane ride here.

June 11

          Today in Sydney we tarted off by going to Hyde park and saw the large trees and a fountain.  The fountain had many sculptures in and on it.  After that we ate lunch at a large food court.  WE then crossed the street and went up the Sydney tower.  It was a large tower that looked very similar to the space needle in Seattle.  It had a very sweet 360 degree angle of Sydney.  It also had the highest working mailbox in the Southern Hemisphere.  After the tower we walked down the Rocks and had an amazing view of the bridge and the Opera house.  We then walked to a market that was only there on weekends and contained lots of stuff for girls like art and jewelery.  After that it started to rain and I walked back to the hotel.  We went to a place called Istanbul for dinner and it was pretty good.  Sydney is familiar to Chicago in that they both have large parks that people go to for recreation.  Both places have destinations that are for tourists and civilians.  Each city has places that hold different cultures.  Also each have a large park that holds various events.  Each city is big and awesome as well.

June 10

         Today started off a nice and early with our trip to the Redwood forest.  Right off the bat it started raining, and it didn't stop.  We took the bus to the forest then took a hike for about 45 minutes.  It was cool to see all the vegetation and silver ferns.  We got split up from the other group of students so we went to the parking lot and kicked around a soccer ball while we waited for the other group.  After about 30 minutes of waiting in the pouring rain the other group showed up and we took the bus back to the hotel.  We then cleaned up changed out of our wet clothes and got on the bus and headed for Rangitoto college.  After a 2.5 hour drive we arrived at the high school.  I was immediately amazed by all the sports fields they had, and the views from the college.  We walked into the meeting room and saw a bunch of kids to the Haka which is a Maori war dance.  It was really intense and cool. After that they let people out to start mingling.  We ate our food and stood around for a little thinking that this was going to be really awkward and not very fun.  But then we met some girls that were pretty cool.  We ended up hanging out with them and talking to them the whole night.  After talking for about 1.5 hours we walked around their campus.  They showed us all their sports fields and explained their school.  It was really cool to see a different type of school.  After the guys that did the Haka showed us how to do it and it was really fun.  I felt really bad ass when I was doing it.  This was probably my favorite part of New Zealand.  After saying goodbye to our new friends we went to our hotel in Auckland with a clear view of the harbor.  We then went to bed and prepared for our day of travel to Sydney.

June 9

          I woke up in the morning and headed outside to see on of the most majestic sunrises I have ever seen.  Directly after we took a tour of 3 different lakes in a WWII duck boat.  We couldnt go in the main lake because of a seaweed problem.  The duck tour provided a lot of info about the lakes.  After that the duck boat dropped us off at a current Maori village.  The name of the village was Whakarewarewa or Whaka for short.  The guide showed us the meeting room and explained in detail what the carvings meant what it is used for.  He then showed us the meeting room and explained in detail what the carvings meant and what the house is used for.  He then showed us the springs and mud pools.  He gave us a tour of the rest of the village, then I went and bought a pot pie made from the geothermal heat of the pools.  After that we headed over to the Agrodome where we pet sheep and watched on grody man shear sheep.  After the Agrodome we went outside and saw a border collie herd sheep.  After that we went ogoing, which is when you roll down a hill in a ball with a little water in it.  Most of my day had to do with Maori culture.  The village obviously was significant because the man showed us everything and explained it all in his village.  It was much more meaningful when we actually saw the Maori man and when he showed us his town because it was much more authentic compared to the duck boat.  The duck boat was cool but it wasnt as fun or cool as Whaka.  It was cool to finally see the culture of the Maori after studying it all winter.  The dinner with the Maori people at the hotel people wasn't that fun.  The food was god awful, and the guys probably werent Maori, just some dudes trying to make money.  It was even worse when they turned the lights off and the people were glowing in the dark.  Overall my day was awesome

June 8

          When I first got off the plane things were a little unreal to me so I couldn't take too much in.  But after traveling for so long things started to kick in.  As Alec's voice went on, I realized that I was in New Zealand and how awesome it was.  I started to view more of the scenery and I was getting more and more pumped.  As this happened I started waking up and making more Lord of the Rings jokes. To start off the day we went to a town and had our first taste of a pot pie.  After that we went to this mountain that you rode little cars down, they called this luging.  It was lots of fun, then we went back to the hotel and settled in. All in all my first day in New Zealand was awesome and I cannot wait for the next.  My biggest culture shock was the people.  I thought everyone disliked Americans.  But I started conversations today with 2 ladies that worked at a sports store.  We discussed New Zealand and United States sports.  She told us that the hardest things to sell in her store were the American footballs.  I also had a conversation with a lady that we asked about lunch, and a man on the airplane.  My 2nd biggest culture shock was how New Zealand people used their energy.  They have no nuclear plants which I believe is because they have so many earthquakes.  And in Rotorua they use the geothermal heat for a decent amount of energy.  You also gotta love that beautiful smell of the geothermal heat rising from the ground.  My 3rd culture shock is the geography of this country.  In Illinois we have many suburban areas, and a few amount of farms, but in New Zealand they have a ton of farmland and a bunch of big cities but no little cities.  What I am looking forward the most to tomorrow would easily be, hands down, the Agrodome.  We did our power point in class about it so it is gonna be really cool to actually see it in real life.  It will also be fun to go ogoing.  I am also looking forward to see how they shear sheep and what they use the wool for and how it benefits New Zealand.  All in all the show is gonna be a blast.

Rabbit-Proof Fence

          According to the story the aboriginies were not given equal law as the white people because the white peope would handle the situation differently if a aboriginie commited the crime compared to a white person.  This would be a violation to human right #7, saying that everone is just to fair law.  Another violation s when the people are pushed of their land.  This would violate number #17 right to own property.  Also then the aborigines are not allowed to practice their religon on the land that the white people took from then, thus violating rule #18, freedom of belief and religon.

          Civilizing of Australia is similar to the U.S. because we also pushed people who were native to the land out of their land just because we think because our skin is different we are better.  We also did not treat them with fair law because we would commit them of crimes that they did not know they committed because it is part of their culture.  Just like the men in the story who took the sheep from the man.  We also forced them into places that they did not want to be like settlements where they are not used to living and practicing their rituals on.

          I do not think that the relocating the children of mixed descent is right because it is not giving the children a choice.  Men would just take children from their families with no reason except for that it would mix the race of the people.  Plus taking away children from their families is awful.  They are going to grow up with the family that stole them from their family rather than growing up with their own family that would of taught the children about the past of their ancestors and the culture of her family.

Invasive Species

          Cane toads were brought to Australia in 1935 as an attempt to control the native cane beetle.  It then reproduced wildly and is now hurting Australian ecology.  It is primarily located in New South Wales, and the Northern Territory.  The introduction of the Cane toad has hurt the snake population because they are taking over the habitats of snakes.  People believe that a solution would be to let the adult Cane toads eat the baby Cane toads, because the adults will often mistake the baby toads for a insect.  Also you could use Australian Meat Ants to eat the Cane Toads. 

          An invasive species in America is the European wild boar.  European boars destroy lots of sugar cane, and many other habitats without regard to the species and plants that live there.  A solution to the wild boar would be to use cage traps, put up fences to keep them out of unwanted places, and  hunt them for sport/food. 

          Invasive species should be something to be concerned with because it is a threat to habitats of many kinds and they are ruining the culture of some people who respect animals greatly.  Our issues with invasive species are similar to the ones in Australia because in each case we have animals that are rapidly hurting our ecosystem and habitats of many species.

European Boar

Cane Toad

Great Barrier Reef Blog #2

Video 1
1. A Polyp is a coral larvae. A colony of them is a coral.
2. Coral cannot survive in cold water, that is why you dont see them anywhere near Illinois.
3. Coral bleaching occurs when the temperature of water is to high for the coral.
4. Scientists think it is happening more than often because of global warming and that warms up the water, therefore bleaching the coral.
5. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.  The classic 3 R's of helping the enviroment.

Video 2
1. There are 15,000 fish, 360 hard coral, 22 sea birds, 32 shore birds, and 400 species of coral living in the Great Barrier Reef.
2. Global warming is responsible for heating our oceans.
3. Because the flooding because it can move fish colonies, which would screw up the food source for the birds.  It also pollutes the reef.
4. People can reduce climate change by using the three R's of recycling,  being cautious of what you are throwing away,  and donate to foundations that help prevent destroying of the reefs.

Video 3/4
1. The video can grab the childrens attention by using the cartoons which is good, then shows them that if they keep up their bad habits they could kill their cartoon friends.  But will telling kids really help, the foundation that made the comercials should be targeting adults more than kids.  Kids could also care more about the hermit more than the whole reef itself.
2.  I think this video could focus on foreigners because it shows how the reef could disappear if our bad habits keep up in our country it could hurt the reef, because of global warming.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFKyHSZlJus.   I think this video could focus on adults from Australia because it shows them that not just the Great Barrier Reef is in trouble, that even though they should focus on fixing their problems the world also has problems. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCMmS6AUEDg. This could be used on tourists because it shows them that the fish are in danger and they should not try to touch or harm the fish or their habitats. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbN161yBBGA.

Great Barrier Reef Blog #1

1. The Great Barrier Reef is considered the largest living structure in the world.
2. Coral extracts calcium carbonate.
3. Red Algae is like glue for the parts of the coral, keeping it together.
4. It became a national park in 1975.
5. 33% of the reef is protected from fishing.
6. The reef today is roughly 20,000 years old, and scientists believe that there is a reef under that one that is nearly 500,000 years old.

Technology

          Elliot is concered about too much use of technology on a vacation.  He believes that it will ruin the trip because you will be focused too much on your smartphone not on your vacation.  He wants the reader to think about how too much technology can affect your vacation, and how a little technology can be good for your trip.  My original purpose of going to Australia was just to go to Australia, but now after going to 3 classes I have realized it is more about learning more about other cultures, and understanding our own culture by comparing it with Australias/New Zealand's.  I havent really though about what role technology will play because I thought the teachers would decide, but I think we should not be able to use anything besides our cameras because that is what I had when I went to Europe with my family and it was much better because I didnt have the urge to look at my cell phone.  Therefore I focused much more on the trip and not my life at home.  My thoughts after reading this article have not differed much because I already agreed with the points Elliot was making.  I believe that no technology is good for the trip.  Technology before the trip is great because you can figure out good things to do but if you want to change something on the trip, you should just explore because as Elliot said "vacation meant leaving the world you knew for a world you didnt".  I do not think teachers should set a strict boundry on technology for the trip.  I think they should leave it up for the student to decide what they want to do on the trip.  If the teachers were to set any boundry I believe it should be a very small amount of technology so that the students can focus on the trip itself.

Creation Stories

1.   I think that every culture has its own creation story/myth because they like to know where they came from.  If you didnt have a story of where you came from you would want to know where you actually came from or make up a story yourself to compensate for you lack of knowledge.  Humans attempt to explain their origins because it also helps create a sense of pride from where you came from, and that it will give you something to believe and know that is your own.  Myths still do have a place in our world today.  Depending on your beliefs you may or may not believe in Darwins Theory of Evolution.  With this pretty much proved, people still believe in their religous myths.  With proof that the religous creation stories are almost myths people still believe in them.

2.The Australian Aborigines most likely treat the animals with respect and love for them in their culture because the animals were a big part of their creation story.  "She called all her creatures to her and instructed them to enjoy the wealth of the earth and to live peacefully with one another".  It shows that the Australian Aborigines believe in setteling their problems with peace.  The New Zealand aborigines problably value family because the two main gods had lots of children.  They also believe that all things that happen on the Earth happen becuase a god made that happen so they are probably very religous.  The gods had "70 male children.  These offspring became the gods of the Maori."

3.Each story starts up with Gods having offspring.  And are focused mainly on conflict within the family.  This could show that though family is a good thing there are still negative things inside them that can split a family up or bring them together.  The Australian is more focused on animals probably because it has more of an active wildlife population then New Zealand.  The New Zealand version focuses on how the weather and other things are created.  This is probably because they have more of a swing of weather there.

4.Both stories show that there is always conflict between family.  That is almost unavoidable, but things can be resolved if there is a conflict.  The story also touches on what one person may think is right, the other person might see things differently and argue with you about what he thinks is right.  This also touches over to the problems these stories face in the world.  That the Maori will believe that their creation is true and that the theory of evolution is wrong.  Or they could believe in both like me, I am Lutheran and believe in God but I still also believe that the theory of evolution is true.

5. I believe that the world was created by the big bang and we evolved from small bacteria.  But I still believe that there is a god.  Sometimes it is hard to maintain faith and believe but I still do because it is what I believe to be true.  Does it matter if someone says its wrong? Not to me because just because an individual or group believes that it is right, I do not because I believe in what I think is true.  Even if Jesus or whomever isnt real he still has had much more of an impact to the world then me or you will ever have.  Being a Lutheran effects my beliefs becuase it effects what I do because Lutheranism focuses on salvation through faith.  So I try to have strong faith in god while still believing in scientific things that go against it.  It becomes a lense to me to view the world because when I see a member of a different religon.  I believe I am right, but who am I to tell that person that what he thinks is right to be wrong. I came to this conclusion because I went to sunday school the first half of my life so I was lead into thinking that Lutheranism is right.

Austalian Aborigine Hunter with Boomerang

Maori Person

Timeline

          The three countries Australia, New Zealand, and The United States are each similar in some ways and different in others.  Each country has their specific history that helped them create a sense of nationalism within, to help them create pride in their country. 

          New Zealand, Australia, and the United States were all part of Great Britan at one point in their past.  New Zealand, and the U.S has declared their independence from England.  Australia is still a part of England, but England has a nonexistant role in Australia today.  These countries all have a tint of British Culture within their own.  Each had their own aboriginal colony inside.  The US had the Native Americans,  New Zealand had the Maori, and Australia had around 600 types of aboriginies. And the Australian aboriginal population is only about 2% of australia today (www.infoplease.com/spot/aboriginal1.html).  With each country having tourism and the "hotspots for people to see"  the culture of the aboriginies may have been lost within people only focusing on the present rather than the past of the country. Also gold has been found in each of the countries.  With this new discovery people rush to each of the countries in hope to find wealth. "There is no doubt that the gold rushes had a huge effect on the Australian economy and our development as a nation. It is also true to say that those heady times had a profound impact on the national psyche" (http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/goldrush). A wide spread of people came to the land to each find their piece of wealth within the country.  The role of Britan in developing the countries and founding them was key to the start and success of each country.
          Though each country had its similarites they were also different in some areas.  Australia formally apologized to the aborigines while New Zealand has not and the US just recently did it last year with Barack Obama (www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113728438).  This does not mean much to me because does it really matter if you apologize hundreds or so years after it had happened.  All of the aborigines that were alive during the colonization of each country are dead now.  So does it matter? No not to me.  Each country also has a different sport that they enjoy.  Australian Rugby is a big part of many Australian lives.  While in New Zealand the all blacks are one of the best and most recognized parts of New Zealand.  In New Zealand there are 520 official clubs  (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RugbyunioninNewZealand).   That is not including all the other people that just play for fun.  Here in the US people have no idea what australian rugby is and many do not know the rules of rugby.  It seems weird to us though, thinking about a sport that the US does not have.  Something that we do not believe we are the best at.  Also Australia and New Zealand have big stretches of wilderness, US does not have much that is not polluted by humanity.  Aside from the huge time difference, US, Australia and New Zealand all are very different.

New Zealand Rugby

Red indicates gold deposits in Australia

Traveling

           I believe we travel to learn about ourselves our cultures and other cultures.  I also think we travel to see things that we would not see in our culture.  I agree with Picos reasons we travel.  To become young again and to learn about our and others cultures.

          It means that when we travel not to see the objects that we travel too.  But to become young again and learn new things.  It relates to me in that when I travel I will often just think about getting the bragging rights of going to places.  Now I will try to get the stories more than the pictures.

          We travel with fear to go out of our boundries and see new things.  This will relate to us because we are going halfway around the world.  I do not know too much about Australia.  I am afraid of going because I dont know what to expect from the trip.  But that is what makes it fun.  The fear of what will happen.

          I do not think that we have a responsibility to spread our culture because that would ruin the culture we travel too.  If everybody spread their culture everywhere would be the same.  There would be no value in traveling because we would know what to expect from our travel and not have the fear of new experinences in our travel.

          My favorite quote was "You can teach them what they have to celebrate as much as you celebrate what they have to teach."  It shows how cultures that are different have both positive and negative sides. And that we should explore both to learn what we need to do to our and their cultures to make a better world. 

Australia Passport

Blog 1/Me going to Australia

          My name is Erik S and I am an atheletic child.  Ive played baseball my whole life, and Ive very much enjoyed it.  I would like to go to MSU for college, and join some type of militaristic group such as the marines or navy.  My sister is a very talented artist.  I play intramural basketball and that is where its at. Ive traveled to Europe the past summer.  We went to London, Paris, and several places in Ireland.  It was a two weeek trip and I really enjoyed it.

          I signed up for this course because I believed it would be one of my only chances to travel to New Zealand and Australia.  I also thought it would be a good time for me and my buddies to go on a fun trip together. I am hoping to learn about the way of life in Australia and NZ, and see many cool things. Also to find out what type of person I am.

          I hope that I will discover the culture of Australia and NZ.  And what it is like to be in new places for extended periods of time.  I want to also learn about the wildlife that is all throughout each of the continents. I also want to learn from their culture to understand our culture. It will also be a good chance to get to know the people there and my friends that are going.

          Some of my specific intrestes in Australia and New Zealand would be the wildlife their.  People always think of Australia of having awesome wildlife and I hope to see some while I am there.  I am interested in the sports they play there as well.  Australian Football in Australia, and Rugby in New Zealend. I am also interested in the architecture of the opera house.  Boomerangs are really cool too, I plan on getting one while I am there. 

          I think we are learning about the places we are going before we go because it will help us better understand their culture and the places we intend on going.  If we have greater knowledge of where we are going it could make it more fun for us because we know where and how the things came to be.  Also I think if we know more about the place we will be more excited to go there and actually see what we have been learning about for so long.  All in all I am very excited to go and learn about Australia and New Zealand



      



Boomerangs are cool



Australian Football