Blog #15: 2nd Semester: Overcomming Odds

We are just about an year and a half away from the world cup. Remarkably, Angola got into the world cup. Angola is a country wracked by decades of conflict. Many teams are expected to go into the world cup, such as Argentina, Brazil, and Portugal. But, no one expected Angola to go through the final rounds of eliminations. It came as a shock to many soccer fans, but I believe that the Angolan people had faith and cheered their team on.

Blog #14: 2nd Semester: Love

From – Twenty Poems of Love

I can write the saddest lines tonight.

Write for example: ‘The night is fractured
and they shiver, blue, those stars, in the distance’

The night wind turns in the sky and sings.
I can write the saddest lines tonight.
I loved her, sometimes she loved me too.

On nights like these I held her in my arms.
I kissed her greatly under the infinite sky.

She loved me, sometimes I loved her too.
How could I not have loved her huge, still eyes.

I can write the saddest lines tonight.
To think I don’t have her, to feel I have lost her.

Hear the vast night, vaster without her.
Lines fall on the soul like dew on the grass.

What does it matter that I couldn’t keep her.
The night is fractured and she is not with me.

That is all. Someone sings far off. Far off,
my soul is not content to have lost her.

As though to reach her, my sight looks for her.
My heart looks for her: she is not with me


The same night whitens, in the same branches.
We, from that time, we are not the same.

I don’t love her, that’s certain, but how I loved her.
My voice tried to find the breeze to reach her.

Another’s kisses on her, like my kisses.
Her voice, her bright body, infinite eyes.

I don’t love her, that’s certain, but perhaps I love her.
Love is brief: forgetting lasts so long.

Since, on these nights, I held her in my arms,
my soul is not content to have lost her.

Though this is the last pain she will make me suffer,
and these are the last lines I will write for her.

Pablo Neruda

- This is one of my favorite poems by Pablo Neruda. I recently discovered Neruda's poetry in m Spanish class. I read a few of his poems like "Poem XX", "Poem XV", and a couple more, In this poem he talks about a girl who broke his heart. He says that he loves her and he doesn't love her, he dreams about having her in his arm while she try's to push away. There are many interpretation's for this poem.

Blog #13: 2nd Semester: War

For decades the Israelis and Palestinians have been at war. Well the Israeli-Palestinian war began over fifty years ago. Today, the two enemies are not even close to an agreement of any sort. They continue to fighting in which seems like an never ending. In Israel every young man and woman must participate in the army at least one time. The war that the United State's is apart of, and the war that the Israelis are apart of. It has become apart of the Israelis and Palestinians. As for us, We also have an ongoing battle here in the U.S. The incident of September 11th, 2001. Since the first day of the attack, President Bush sent troops to Iraq to fight. And still today, our troops are still fighting for our country.

Blog #12: 2nd Semester: Imperialism

I read an article about the New Imperialism in Europe. The New Imperialism was all about aggressive territorial pursuit to have colonies and/or to have racial superiority. Many countries in Europe. By the 20th century only Liberia and Ethiopia were still free. Also, the Imperialism consisted of taking over India. Britain took over India from the EITC (East Indian Trading Co). I believe that all these country's had the right to take over all these other countries. Although, sometimes it may be over territory, culture, or even just wanting to get a hold of that country, that when these big wars start between country's.

http://www.2worldwar2.com/infantry-weapons.htm

Body Paragraph #2: Effects on European Colonization

One of the first colonization of the Americas that was know to man, was around the time of 1492. The expedition that was lead by Christopher Columbus, was what sparked the European to go on expeditions and colonize rapidly. The Europeans first went thought the Caribbean, then Hispaniola, Cuba, then into the Americas. The Europeans enslaved the indigenous people in order to have a labor force. After spending several years with the indigenous people, the Europeans learned new and innovated ways to cultivate their crops. The Europeans also learned the language and the culture of the indigenous people. They learned that some of the indigenous, the Aztecs. They learned that in order to please their gods, they has ceremonies in which they did human sacrifices and ate the beating heart of the deceased person. The Europeans also had trouble understanding the language that the people spoke. Soon many of them were able to translate one language to another that made it easier for the Europeans to trade and easier for them to later conquer their land. The Europeans did not only get a new way to cultivate their crops, but they also got necessary resources needs to conquer and take land from the indigenous people.

Research Project Notes: Causes #1

<.http://cvc.cervantes.es/obref/aih/pdf/03/aih_03_1_013.pdf.>
<.http://www.histocat.cat/pdf/catalans_al_canada.pdf.>

- The arrival of Christopher Columbus and the settlement of the Spaniards


-They colonized most of the new land they had discovered which at first they thought it was Asia.
"...over three centuries the Spanish Empire expanded from early small settlements in the Caribbean to include Central America, most of South America, Mexico, what today is Southwestern United States, the Pacific and Caribbean coasts of North America, reaching Alaska."

Blog #11: 2nd Semester: Global Issues

One of the main global issues we have today is Food Crisis. Food prices has risen in price in the past years. But in other countries, this has caused riots and in some cases, like in Haiti, food has risen to 50-100%. Food such as corn, wheat, rice, and soya, have risen a lot in just one year. From 2007 to 2008, corn has gone up 31%, rice 74%, soya 87%, and wheat 130%. But this did not happen over night, it has been dramatically changing since 2000, but no one seemed to notice it that much. When their seems to be a food crisis, we seem to ignore it, but there will be a time when the staggering prices are so high, that people are going to start revolting and causing a lot of deaths.

- Global Issues- "Global Food Crisis 2008"

Blog #10: 2nd Semester: Religious Holidays

St. Patrick's is celebrated annually on March 17 in honor of Ireland's patron saint. His given name, Magonus Sucatus, was changed to Patricius (Patrick) either after his baptism or after he became a priest. At the age of 16, Patrick was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Ireland. He remained in captivity for six years while he worked as a shepherd and began to have religious visions. Patrick then returned back to Ireland where he succeeded in converting the Irish into Christianity. The first time in Boston where the St. Patrick's day parade was held, that's when people started celebrating it in the U.S. But in Ireland, it is celebrated as a religious holiday.


- St. Patrick's Day- KU Medical Center

Blog #9: 2nd Semester: Culture

Traditional Russian food is passed down from generation to generation. All the Russian cuisine in restaurants came from all around the Soviet Union. When you go to a Russian restaurants, the best part of the meal is the starters which consist of salads, fish, meat and pickled vegetables. Russian food is totally different than American food because it is so much harder to prepare. The women in Russia are the ones who prepare the food at home, and the people who own a house usually have a garden when they can grow their own fresh vegetables. Russian food has improved dramatically in that past few years. Now the people in Russia have many more products at their hands, but if they want Western products they have to pay a little more.

Blog #8: 2nd Semester: Bollywood

The movie Slumdog Millionair, recently won an award. It was a very succesful movie. But allt eh stress of the actors also cought up with the parents of some of the actors. The father of Azharuddin Mohammed, a 10 year old actor in the movie, was slapped and kicked by his father. Supposely all the stress that was with the little actor somehow cought uo with his father and he had to payt for that. Later onm the father appologized publicly and said, "I was so confused and stressed by my son’s homecoming that I did not know myself for a minute. I love my boy and I am very happy to have him home." (Ismail, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ Child Actor Kicked By Father in Broad Daylight). It must have been all the stress that the father had because of the part that his child had in the movie might of been to much for him and he finally burst but took it out on his child.