Day 10 June 17th 2011

This was our last traveling day of the trip so I was happy about that. We had to take three connecting flights from Cairns to Sydney, Sydney to LAX, and LAX to Chicago. Finally home! The plane rides were not bad but they were not fun. They took forever and I was super tired when I got home so I went right to bed as soon as I got home.

What I did as soon as I got home

What we had to sit on for over 20 hours...

Day 9 June 16th 2011 Last Non-Traveling Day

Prompt: End of the Trip: Top Ten

Summary: Today we visited the rainforest and went to the town of Kuranda and got to explore around and eat at some cool places. We took a gondola ride over the rainforest which was awesome and also took the train out to the rainforest.

My top two are tied for the top 10

1. Alec taking us to watch the Rugby game. Alec took us to a palce to watch the state of origin Rugby game so we got to see what it was really like when Australian's watched Rugby and how they treated it within their culture.
2. Rangitoto College- It was so much fun to make friends with New Zealanders and see how much different they are from us in many ways.
3. Maori Village- In New Zealand we saw an awesome Maori village and saw what life was like for the natives and had an awesome tour guide to show us around.
4. Sydney- This city was a spectacular city and I fell in love as soon as I got there. Sydney made me think that maybe when I'm older it would be awesome to live here or anywhere else in Aussie.
5. Cairns- The city of Cairns was awesome and also inspired me to live here because it was so chill and the restaurant Outback Jack's was great which we went to two nights in a row.
6. Great Barrier Reef- The GBR was very cool obviously and is only far down on the list because there were so many other amazing things that we experienced on this trip so it was hard to make a list of everything.
7. Blue Mountains- Even though it was wet and foggy,  it was still awesome to see all the waterfalls and different hiking trails, but unfortunately not the views.
8. Rotorua- Despite the smell, it was a cool town and it was nice to see the sulfur lake which was right outside of our hotel.
9. Ogoing- Ogoing was awesome and was unique because it originated in New Zealand. Rolling down a hill in a ball full of hot water with my friend Erik definitely deserves a spot on my top 10.
10. Pot Pies- Eating the delicious meat pies throughout the trip was awesome and they were delicious. It was nice because they had these pies at basically every cafe we went to.

Sydney: One of the Coolest Cities Ever

Rugby game we watched in Aussie

Day 8 June 15th 2011

Prompt: Summarize your day at the Great Barrier Reef

Going in today, I did not know what to expect. There are so many cool pictures and talk about the Great Barrier Reef so I had high expectations. I was very antsy on the boat ride out because I couldn't believe I was actually doing this and I just wanted to get into the water. As soon as I saw the reef and all the clear blue water, I was just in awe. I thought it was so cool to see this huge reef in the middle of the ocean just sitting there. The GBR is so popular and talked about a lot so I was so excited to be in the middle of it. I was one of the first ones to get into the reef and I was amazed once I got in. When I got in, I didn't care about the temperature of the water, I only cared about all the fish and coral I saw. As soon as i dove into the water there were some awesome blue fish with yellow tails and they were basically surrounding me. I then explored around in most of the shallow coral and was barely floating above it. On most of the oral beds, it was so shallow that I had to hover my body above the coral so I wouldn't knock into it or get any scrapes. It took a little bit to get used to breathing through the tube but after swimming around for a while I strapped my life jacket on to one of the rest stations and I started diving around and getting closer to the reef. There were a lot of cool rainbow colored fish that live within the coral and there were also these cool fish with basically needles on their foreheads. Once my life jacket was off, I dove to the bottom and touched the sand but it hurt my ears a tremendous amount. Even though it hurt and i got a mouthful of saltwater, it was very cool to be so close to the coral and all the other animals down there. It was such a surreal experience and it is hard to explain the beauty of the Great Barrier Reef. The only bad part about swimming around in the reef was that every once in a while I got a mouthful of saltwater, but I wasn't very worried about that. It was so cool how they had a roped off area for everyone so I knew exactly where to explore. I was hoping to see some sort of shark or turtle but i only saw a turtle when I was on the glass bottom boat tour. Mr. Schagrin and Mr. Ewen saw a shark so after that I wanted to find it so Caleb, Mason, Erik and I went in to find it but we didn't have any luck. After getting out for the final time we had the opportunity to feed the fish which was awesome. Overall, the GBR was quite the experience and is something I'll most likely never do again so I can cross that one off the bucket list.

Fish hidden in the coral

Great Barrier Reef and a Sea Turtle

Day 7 June 14th 2011

Prompt: No Journal.

Summary of the Day:

          This was the first day that we arrived in Cairns and we were all so excited to be there because it was the warmest part of the trip. It was nice to be out of the rain and in some nice 80 degree weather and sun. We were driven to the hotel and afterwards we went to some kind of pool/beach and got to chill out and get some lunch with our friends. It was a very chill day and later that day we were aloud to walk around and get dinner wherever we wanted which was fun. We went to a place which was called Outback Jack's which was really good and afterwards we all got some good sleep that night so we were all well rested and ready to go for the Great Barrier Reef the next day.

Restaurant we ate at

Beautiful Cairns

Day 6 June 13th 2011

Today was a long day, we visited the Sydney Tower, we went to the Opal store, we then took a tour of Sydney and also went on a harbor cruise. We ended the day by going to the wildlife center and then eating.

Prompt: Could I do this trip alone and what are my strengths as a traveler

This trip is very long and requires a lot of traveling so I don't believe I could do this alone, definitely not at my age. I think that if i was above eighteen and had everything planned out, I would be able to do it. I think they key to successful traveling is being organized and knowing exactly where to go. I am a well organized person but i think I would get lost because I have never been to these countries and I am still very young. As a traveler, I am very organized and never lose any of my belongings. I am also a very experienced traveler within the states and also internationally. Because of this, I feel like once I am a legal adult, I will be able to travel on trips like this alone or with some of my friends. However, I feel that now if I went somewhere in a different country, I would not know what to see but on this trip now we have Alec who is awesome to show us all the best places and that is a real help. Once iI am more educated and older I will be very interested in traveling to many different parts of the world either alone, with friends, or with family. I love traveling and meeting new people so I think if I traveled alone it would not be a problem as long as i went to the right places where I could meet new people. TRaveling with a tour group is always good but I feel that if I am not clearly dressed as a tourist I would be able to meet some new people and explore on my own. My main strengths as a traveler are mostly that I am very outgoing, organized, and love to explore different places.

Traveling the globe

Traveling alone, having the opportunity to explore 

Day 5 June 12th 2011

Today Alec took us to some more view points and we also got a walking tour of the rocks. It was a cool place to be and there were so many spectacular views.

Prompt: Reflect on overall travel experience

Coming into this trip, I knew there was going to be a lot of traveling but I knew what was coming because I would say that I am an experienced traveler. There were many things that were easy for me while traveling but it can be narrowed down to 3. One easy thing that I got used to was passing through customs. Customs is not very hard if you know what to say which I do because I have traveled internationally before. Another thing that was easy for me was checking in and getting my boarding pass. I am an organized person so it was easy to check in because I knew where everything I needed was so I was quick and efficient. The easiest thing for me was passing through security which is always significantly easy. Having traveled multiple times with my family, I have learned the ways of traveling so going through security is a breeze. However, over the course of this trip I believe I have grown as a person because my mindset has changed. Seeing how simple traveling can be if one is organized, I now feel like it would be awesome to come back to Australia later in life with friends or family while it is summer time there. I also feel like later in life somewhere down the road, I will want to move somewhere out of the U.S.A., possibly somewhere in Europe, but especially Australia/New Zealand because this trip has been awesome.

Airport Security, easy

Airplane, how we mostly traveled

Day 4 June 11th 2011

Today we arrived in Sydney and it was amazing. It was such a big clean city and we were taken to so many cool spots where we could see the Opera House and the bridge. We also went to one of the markets in Sydney.

Prompt: Sydney compared to other major cities

For expectations of Sydney, I knew that it was going to be a big city but I didn't know what it would be like in comparison to other cities such as Chicago and New York City. Because we live near Chicago, most cities seem like nothing because we always see Chicago which is one of the biggest cities in the world. Sydney is a very big city and is unique in its own ways compared to other cities. Sydney has a lot of unique buildings and structures that other cities do not have. However, in comparison to other cities such as Chicago and New York, they also have unique buildings such as the Sears Tower and the Empire State building and also the Opera house and that Sydney Bridge for Sydney. When we went to the top of the Sydney tower I was amazed at the view from all the way up there. It was very cool to be able to see all the different buildings of Sydney at once and we could also see the suburbs of Sydney. Walking around the city was quite the adventure because  we were exposed to a lot of the town and got to see one of the parks which had a really cool fountain in the middle. Everything in Sydney is just so much bigger and it is much like any other big city in America because there is a lot of traffic, people, and places to see and visit such as different unique structures and buildings. It is also a lot different because I feel like it is much cleaner than the US and the people are nicer. Compared to New York City, Sydney is a lot smaller suburb wise and in general because NYC has more parts where there are suburbs and also has more sky scrapers. Sydney does have suburbs and buildings but just not as much. Sydney is a very big city and has so much to offer just like any big cities in America.

Sydney Bridge

Opera House

Day 3 June 10th 2011

Prompt: Reflect on our day and the forest walk and also when we met the New Zealand students at Rangitoto

In the morning we woke up and we were all pretty tired. We were surprised by the rain and were all pretty upset that we had to deal with the rain. IT took a while but we eventually found the bus stop we had to go to and we took the bus to the only redwood forest in New Zealand. Walking around the forest, it was all wet and muddy but we toughed it out. Our group was sort of split up so it was kinda of a mess. The whole time we were walking rhe rain was coming down very hard. After the walk when we got back, all of our clothes were soaked but looking back on it I am glad that I went out in the rain because you only live once and I really experienced what difficult traveling like. Later in the evening, we got to visit a New Zealand school which was my my favorite part of the trip. I felt as though the trip to the school was very personal because I really connected and talked personally with a select few students and made great friendships with some kids such as a girl named Nicole (she told me to include her in the blog). Even though the visit was not very long, I miss the friends I made because they were so nice and informative. The people we talked to were very easy to make a conversation with which was awesome. I definitely want to stay in touch with the friends I made because they were so welcoming to me and taught me so much about their school, sports, social life, and anything else I asked about.

Awesome school we visited in Auckland

New Zealand Redwoods

Day 2 June 9th 2011

Prompt: What we experienced and learned about the Maori culture throughout the day

In the morning we visited a native Maori village which was very cool and gave us a great, thorough representation of their culture. We got to see exactly where the Maori people live and how they still represent their culture today. This village is exactly how they lived ages ago for the most part so it was cool to see. We received a very informative hands on tour and got to know more about the village from a man who lived there. Our tour guide was the coolest guy ever and we eventually got a picture with him doing the battle face. It was very nice meeting the tour guide because i felt as if i connected more with the culture and understood it better. Everything that the Maori did was so much different than us and it was so cool. Some examples were how they used the hot springs for so many things such as cooking most of their food and also bathing. The Maori are very resourceful with everything nature has to offer and we learned that during our tour. In the evening we visited the Agrodome and went Ogoing but that was not very cultural. Later in the evening we experienced a native Maori performance and got a full representation of their culture through song dance, and food. While eating the food we were allowed to get involved in the dance which was much more personal because we were learning a part of their culture. Today was a very culture filled day and we learned so much about the MAori tribe and received a better understanding of their culture.

Hot springs that our tour guide showed us

The face the Maori make while doing the Haka

Day 1 June 8th 2011

First day we walked around Rotorua and went out to lunch. We were told some of the main things about the city and we also checked into our hotel and went to dinner at burger fuel.

Prompt: First Impressions of New Zealand and three culture shocks I experienced and also what I am excited for tomorrow

          When we first started driving after we got out of customs, I just thought, there is so much green everywhere I look. At first, the country reminded me of Ireland because of all the different shades of green. My first impression was that everything was very spread out and nothing was cramped, it was more laid-back. I was also under the impression that things here are so much different such as how the energy is used in Rotorua. My first culture shock was that the people are very open and friendly and are willing to make conversation. One example was when I went into a shop and the owners started a conversation with us for about 15 minutes. Another major culture shock was driving on the left side of the road. I was so used to driving on the right side that it just didn't seem right to me. It will probably take a while to get used to, but it will happen eventually. My last culture shock was obviously getting used to the different currency. At some places I went to, I had to have the cashier help me pick of the right coins because New Zealand has coins for so many more amounts. Another thing that surprised me was the amount of diversity within the towns. There were people from all ethnicities in the towns and that was one thing I was unaware of. For tomorrow, I am very excited to explore more around Rotorua and have a full energy filled day of exploring. Specifically, I am excited for Ogoing because that is something that originated in NZ and is hard to find in America. I am also anxious to learn more fun facts about New Zealand culture and learn how everything we do ties in to what we learned in class.

New Zealand

New Zealand currency

Food and Cuisine

1. From what we made in class today, there is a clear difference between the two countries cuisine's although many would think they would be very similar. Many of the New Zealand food we made was very sweet and contained more sweet ingredients such as butter, sugar, and other things such as chocolate chops, coconut, and vanilla. The Australian dishes were much more focused on other ingredients. Both the recipes included potatoes in the recipe, a vegetable, which is different from the New Zealand food which had no vegetables. The Australian food also called for more spices and seasoning.
2. I am excited and also nervous about trying new foods. I am nervous because if there is a restaurant we go to where they serve mostly native food that I have never tried, I will be nervous and not know what to get because when I order something that I don't know, I usually am nervous to eat it. However, I am also excited because I believe that these countries both have great food that I have never tried and I am excited to be exposed to this food and have an understanding of it.

Rabbit Proof Fence

1. The Aboriginal people faced many injustices when the European's arrived and had no rights. These Aboriginal people were often pushed off their land and were not paid as much as the Europen white settlers were paid. This violates human rights because they are clearly doing the same work and are not being treated equally before the law, right #7. They also were treated poorly and threatened with guns for doing absolutely nothing wrong which also violates human rights because they were always in the face of danger for nothing. This violates #3 because they did not have the personal security they are granted. Also, these people had the risk of being taken from their homes at any times. This is a major violation because they own the right to these houses and the Europeans were not following the Aboriginal laws which was unfair.This is a violation of right #17, right to own property.

2. The civilization of Australia during this time is very similar to how the Native Americans were "civilized" in the United States. Just as the Aboriginal people were pushed out of their land and stripped of their property, the Native Americans were also forced to relocate during the settlement of America. We did not treat the Native Americans well, which is similar to how the Aboriginal people were treated. We would mistreat these Native Americans and convict them of crimes they did not commit. Also we forced them on to land that they did not want to be on such as reserves or settlements where they could not hold rituals as they could on their native land.

3. I do not believe the relocating of the Aboriginal people was fair and I do not believe it was for their own betterment. These actions were not justified because I personally believe that children should not be removed from their homes because it is a violation of their rights. Just think, if today children were to be taken from their homes and relocated, no one would have it and everyone would oppose it. That is exactly what it was like for the Aboriginal people, they had the same feelings as parents today and felt like they were being stripped of something great in their life, their children. It is not morally right to interfere with a family and change the path that they are on, one should be allowed to live their own free life without living in fear of being taken from their home.

Invasive Species in Australia and America

Zebra Mussels-Invasive Species in America

Cane Toad- Invasive Species in Australia

          Cane Toads are invasive species in Australia along with rabbits, foxes, and cats. There were introduced to Australia in 1935 from Hawaii. They bred immediately and in a couple months there were over 100 toads. Since their release, they have bred so much that there are over 200 million of these cane toads in Australia. They were brought into Australia in an attempt to control the native cane beetle and were brought from Hawaii. They have expanded through Queensland, and reached the borders of New South Whales and the Northern Territory. The long-term effects of these toads are difficult to determine, however there are multiple reports in declines of the snake population after the toads were introduced. These toads are invading many habitats such as Varanus panoptes, which is a snake. A solution to the cane toad is to let them eat eachother, because many of these toads wiggle their toes and other toads mistake them for an insect and eat them.
          An invasive species in America is the Zebra Mussel. These filter feeders affect native mussels in America by interfeering with feeding, growth, movement, respiration, and reproduction. These mussels starve the native population.. Once these zebra mussels are established in a body of water, there is little to do to get them out, so it is crucial to prevent them from being introduced in the first place. Boaters can take precautions by making sure their motors are free of zebra mussels.
          Invasive species are something we should be worried about because they could affect animals that we eat or our pets that we have. They could eventually become invasive to us. We can relate our issues to those in Australia because they are basically the same thing except with different animals, and overall it is somehow effecting our ecosystem.

Great Barrier Reef-Blog 2

VIDEO 1
1. A polyp looks like an upside down jelly fish and is formed after coral larvae attract algae. The polyp then multiplies, forming coral.
2. Coral are sensitive to temperature change.
3. The coral becomes stressed due to temperature change and the coral loses its main source of food and color. It can happen when the sea stays warm for too long.
4. It's happening more and more often due to climate change.
5. We reduce our impact by saving energy, avoiding emissions, and reusing and recycling.
VIDEO 2
1. Home to 1500 species of fish, 360 species of hard coral, 1/3 of the worlds soft corals, 22 species of sea birds, and 32 species of shore birds.
2. Climate change is warming our oceans.
3. It pollutes the reef. Fish move to cooler, off-shore waters. This causes less food for sea birds.
4. To reduce climate change we can use public transportation/walk, buy environmentally friendly products, open windows instead of using A/C.
VIDEO 3/4
1. Benefits of using this way to teach this information is that it is very simple and teaches people about the coral and what they need. It gives good information and is very simple for younger viewers. However, this type of teaching may be too childish for an older crowd and they may find it hard to watch. Although it gives good information, it may be too childish and older people might not believe it.
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4R0FqkywxE&feature=related
  This video gives much more useful information and is not childish so it appeals to an older crowd.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4C08q-wKcs
 This video shows what is happening to our oceans all over the world because of climate change so it also appeals to foreigners and their oceans and what they can do to help.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5VBc5ZE_dg&feature=related
 This video shows what is happening because of coral bleaching so it shows the tourists that the reef may not be here for much longer so then they can take it all in and enjoy their experience while it's here.

Great Barrier Reef-Blog 1

1. The Great Barrier Reef is considered the largest living structure in the world.
2. Calcium Carbonate
3. The red algae acts like glue, combining fragments of shell, sand, and coral with calcium carbonate.
4. It became a national park in 1975.
5. 33% is protected from fishing.
6. Current Reef appears 20,000 years old, Ancient Reef 500,000 years.

Letter to Prime Minister

1. Australian Aborogines have lived in Australia for 35,000-70,000 years. Back then the sea water level was 50 meters lower so the Aborogines had to go through less water while traveling to Australia. They were totally isolated until 1788 when the English arrived. There were over 300,000 Aborogines in Australia by the time the Sydney Cove was settled.
2. The aborogines did not have a form of government and no permanent ownership so the British made them move. Because of this many Aborogines suffered from small pox, measels, influenza, etc. The British cut down forests and brought in over 20 milliojn sheep into Australia. The cattle and these sheep destroyed the watering holes of the Aboroginal people. These white settlers were at war with the Aborogines for water and land.
3. During the time when many white settlers had arrived, 1 in 10 Aboroginal children were taken out of their homes by these settlers in an effort to "civilize them". They suffered from abuse and lost identity. There are over 100,000 people living today who are a part of Australias "Lost Generation, all the children who were taken from their homes.
4. These people who lived in the "stolen generation" suffered from abuse and lost identity in their lifetime and have to deal with knowing that they went through that for the rest of their lives. This leaves an uncomfortable development for many Australians especially when people are happy and enjoying the olympics in Australia.
5. Ever since there was negative treatment of these Aboriginal people, there have been many things the people have done in an attempt to reconcile the Aborogines with the people of Australia. In the year 2000, about 200,000 people marched across the bridge in Sydney in an attempt to reconcile the Aborogines with everyone else in Australia. This impacted the prime minister to make a wise decision.
6. The Prime Minister should apologize to these people because they are the natives of this country and deserve respect for how far they have come and what they have accomplished. They are a large part of the popluation of Australia and were treated bad for doing nothing wrong so they deserve a formal apology because they are native and were hurt, which is not fair.

Savor the Trip

The author of this essay is concerned with the fact that people tend to get too engaged in technology while on a trip which takes away from the trip. He wants the reader to think about how much technology we should actually be using while traveling. My purpose for going to Australia and New Zealand is to open myself up to different cultures and explore outside of my country and I also really enjoy traveling. I think that technology will only have a small role in my travels. I believe that I will only use it to take pictures and talk to my parents because I want to be able to share with them what I am experiencing in Australia and I am sure they want to know and also ensure that I am safe and want to check in on me. After reading this article I understand how technology could take away from a trip so I believe people should set their own personal boundaries on technology if they would like to. I agree with Elliot when he states, "The solution? Set boundaries on technology. If work requires you to check in, limit yourself to a half-hour in the morning and answer only the most urgent messages". I agree with him because if a person decides to limit them self they wouldn't feel as restricted as a person would be if someone did not allow them to use technology. This leads in to the next question, Should we set technology boundaries as a class? I believe we should be able to set our own boundaries which would cause us to question ourselves as to whether we should be using this technology or not. I believe if we were aloud to set our own boundaries many students would only bring items such as computers or cell phones in order to communicate with siblings or parents via skype, e-mail, or through talking on the phone.

Myths of Cultures

1.I think every culture creates some sort of myth or story so that they can have history and stories from when they were living to pass down to the next generation. Stories of ancestors and ancient people are always entertaining and people also want to have evidence that they were alive during this time period. This reveals that humans are always pushing to explain everything that they have accomplished and always looking for some kind of information and are wiling to pass it down. Humans attempt to explain there origins because they know that people out there are always looking for the truth and always want to know where they come from. These myths still exist everywhere today in the world, in the form of people simply telling others about there lives and things they can pass on.
2. The two stories differ as one is clearly lighter than the other. The Australian Aborigine was focused on the sun and mother nature, and were most likely focused around nature. Opposite to that, the Maori were based on darkness in the tone of death, and they focused more on the word of others. They both value gods and offspring as it stated in both stories, but are clearly different based on what I stated earlier. Australian Aborigine are light, Maori are dark.
3. These civilizations are similar in the fact that they both worship gods. They also both are for offspring and separation of parents. They believe that humans are superior and highly believe in large families. However, the Aborigine are focused around the sun and animals, also known as mother nature. They believe that the gods abandoned them and also the parents separate by choice. For the Maori, there civilization is darker in the tone of death, and the humans try to split gods. They are much darker compared to the Aborigine.
4. The main message that these stories are trying to send is simply that we must respect mother nature, as one today would say, "go green". The aborigine think that we should focus on the earth and mother nature as a whole to keep it going, as do the Maori. That is the main message the stories are creating and the most important one.
5. Although I may not be the most religious person out there, and I may not go to church every sunday, my "creation" story still derives from what I have learned from my religion. After going through religious education classes I received a perspective from the church on how we were created and it has simply stuck with me throughout my life. No one can do anything to alter that opinion, even if it is proven scientifically through evolution, because it is what I have grown up believing.

Native Maori people of New Zealand

One of the main things the Aborigine were focused on, the sun

Timelines

         The fact that Australia was declared a colony is similar to the United States, because were are also a colony of Britain in the 1770's. British did have control of the American Colonies, but were slowly losing them, while Australia on the other hand was becoming part of the British Colonies (Wikipedia). New Zealand and Australia also are similar, due to the fact they both had gold rushes but came at different times. The Victorian Gold Rush in Australia came in the 1850's and had made an impact on the economy without a doubt. Edward Hargraves was the first one to discover gold in this area of Australia. In New Zealand on the other hand, Gold was discover in 1861 on May 25th by Gabriel Read in the town of Lawrence Tuapeka (www.lawrence.co.nz).
          In 1901, the commonwealth of Australia was created when all the colonies joined together to become one nation. They created a democracy and were under the rule of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain (www.eoas.com). The United States also have a democracy which shows that the governing of Australia is similar to that of ours. Switching over to New Zealand's government, they are also similar to Australia and the United States because they have a self-governing form of government that was established in 1907. Prior to this government being established, there were many wars taking place between the Maori (the natives of NZ) and the European settlers. Many Europeans were looking to discover New Zealand due to recent voyages, and the Maori were not in favor of this. Following this, they created a self-governing dominion.
          In 1962, the native Aborigines of Australia were given the right to vote. In the U.S., people are allowed to vote as well, which shows a clear similarity, that everyone can vote, besides women. These two countries differ from New Zealand because they were the first country to give the vote to women in 1893. Referring back to the Natives of Australia, there was an act passed in 1976 giving Aborigines the ability to claim their native land. This is similar to the United States, giving Native American's reserves. Eventually for both Australia and New Zealand, the natives are finally content. In 2008, the Australian Parliament apologized for any past actions that were wrong committed against the Aborigines. As for New Zealand, it was a struggle but they finally achieved independence through many revolutions and through much time. Independence day is officially celebrated on the 6th of February for New Zealand and is a very special holiday for many citizens (www.123independenceday.com).

The Independent country of New Zealand

The native Aborigine people of Australia

Blog 2- Why do we Travel?

          I travel to see the way other people live and how their societies differ from ours. It is a good experience to be exposed to different ways of life and do not forget, it is also extremely fun to travel. I agree with Iyer on the fact that we travel to carry our values and beliefs to the places we may go. I believe that where ever we go, we are not only learning the culture of others, but extending our culture to them. I also believe that we travel to see things that not many hear about in the news or on the internet often. This goes along with Iyer's essay because he talks about how traveling shows us sights and values and issues that we commonly ignore. One of the main reasons I travel though, is to have fun and enjoy myself with whoever I may be with.
          Iyer's quote "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new places, but in seeing with new eyes", means that when we experience these new sights in front of us, we view them with an open mind, and are not judgmental towards the ways of others. This can relate to me because in this class, I am learning a lot of new things about Australia/NZ, and I am being given information that alters my opinion, thus creating me to see everything I see with new eyes.
          In the essay, Iyer stated, "What gives value to travel is fear". This quote can be viewed in many ways, but when I read it, I think that travel may instill fear in people, but they learn to overcome this fear and overcome themselves, which gives travel a great value, because travel ultimately can teach you a lesson. This relates to our journey because some people may be scared to be halfway across the world for 12 days, but will realize that it is not all that bad, because we will all have bonded by then and everything we see will be amazing.
          In response to a traveler being a "carrier pigeon", I don't believe that a person has the responsibility to share their knowledge, but rather that it happens naturally without the traveler necessarily knowing. When people travel, they are exposed to many people and engage with many people and share their knowledge automatically, a "carrier pigeon" without trying to be one.
          "And we travel to fill in the gaps left by tomorrow's headlines". When i read this quote, it struck me as one of my favorite quotes of the essay because of the fact it is so true. There are so many things that we see everyday on the news that we only hear a little bit about, and never the rest. By traveling, we can go to these places and experience these things in full depth and get a true understanding of what goes on.

Airplane

Australia, where we are traveling

Blog 1-The Beginning of a Great Trip

          My name is Jack Y and I am a sophomore at GCHS. All of my life I have always wanted to go to UW- Madison and I love to watch the badgers play football and basketball. I used to play baseball and tried football but that didn't really work out. Intramural basketball is where my heart is set. I have traveled to Ireland and many places around our country and enjoyed every single one of those trips. 

          I signed up for this trip first of all because when someone hears that they have a possibility to travel to Australia, it sounds like the coolest thing in the world. Going to Australia/New Zealand is not something that everyone does in their life time. It is a good opportunity for myself and everyone else on the trip to experience a culture that not many people hear about. I will also have the opportunity to meet many new people and also spend time with some of my close friends.

          One of the main things I would like to learn from this trip is how others live half way across the world and how the Australian/NZ society differs from ours. I also want to experience what is like to be so far away from home for such a long time to prepare me for any situations later in life where I may be away from home for a long time. I want to be exposed to the type of foods they eat and basically everything that the people do in Australia/NZ that is different from what I do in my every day life.

          Something that really interests me about Australia/NZ is the wildlife all around the country and different types of animals they have both on the land and in the water. One of the experiences I will have with the wildlife is going to the Great Barrier Reef which I am very excited for. Besides that, I don't have much knowledge about the two countries so I plan on going into the trip with an open mind and I will be ready to explore many new things in these countries.

          The fact that we learn about these countries before we travel to it helps us have a better understanding of what we see when we are there so we are not left clueless while traveling to many different places. It is also good to learn about things such as food and maybe the way they talk so we do not have a judgemental attitude towards the people of Australia/New Zealand. It will be good to know everything about these countries because I will have a good attitude and will not be completely lost as I said earlier.

Kangaroo, one of the many animals I hope to see in Australia

Sydney Opera House