Travel Day 2

Our Amazing trip is finally over and we have to go back home. I thought I would be home sick right now but I'm actually sad that were leaving Australia. I don't think anyone is looking forward tomorrow. Were going to be traveling for over 25 hours and we have to wake up at 3am. We took a flight from Cairns to Sydney. I was trying to stay up the whole time so i can sleep perfectly on our way from Sydney to LA but i crashed and slept the whole time. When we got off at Sydney i wasn't tired at all and that was a problem on the 15 our flight. I think i watched about 4 movies on that flight and listened to my iPod the rest of it. It was the longest flight I've ever been on at one time. As soon as i got home it finally hit me and i fell asleep and didn't wake up for at least 14 hours.

Travel Day 1

Today was the start to a great journey. We left to go to the airport on a hot bus with clothes that we have to wear a few times which sucks. By the time we got to the airport the computer for checking in stopped working and crashed, we waited there 90 minutes. After that everything worked out and we got on our flight to Los Angeles. On the flight i learned how to solve a Rubik's cube. I finally solved one after 2 hours of trying. It was probably the most productive flight I've ever been on. On the second flight i was sitting by a bunch of college students from Colorado who have never traveled out of the country before so i found it sort of funny that i had to help them.

Top 10

1. Rangitoto College:Going to Rangitoto was probably the best because I met new friends and really nice people. Its really cool having some friends in different countries. It was also cool exchanging terms for for words like how we say hoodie and they say jumper.
2. Great Barrier Reef: Going to the Great Barrier Reef was amazing. I always thought about going there and I finally going gave me one of the best feelings ever. Its one of those things that you don't realize how cool it is until later.
3. Bridge Walk: The Sydney Harbor Bridge walk was also really cool. Its something that so many people including celebrities have done.
4. Maori Village. The Maori village was so cool even though the smell of sulfur was really bad and made everyone nauseous. A lot of people wanted to use the mud bath but we didn't have time.
5. Rain Forest: Even though we didn't get much time at the rain forest it was still good. Its the first rain forest I've ever been to. Some of the trees were huge and there were snake nests. I also got to see a huge spider.
6. Markets: Australia has many road side markets that sell so many things that you cant even think of. its like a little mall and there are many goods. We couldn't go to the famous Rusty's Market but the one we went to was cool to.
7. Opal store: It was interesting seeing how opals are made. Before that i didn't know anything about them.
8. Sydney Tower: On our first day in Sydney we walked around the whole city and went up the sky tower. It reminded me a lot of the Sears tower but this felt even higher. The sky tower had the best view of a city I've ever seen.
9. Boat ride: Going on the boat was a lot of fun. We got to see the skyline of the city through the Harbor.
10. Opera House/Light show: We didn't get to go inside but we got to see it and it is really nice inside. When the light show started it was a really cool experience. They project a bunch of different colored lights on the opera house and animations.

Great Barrier Reef

Today we went to see the Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef is the home to over 2 thousand species of fish and millions of species of coral. It is over 12 hundred miles and can be seen through outer space. Ive always heard about it and thought about how cool it would be to go there. Now that I actually got the experience swimming in it i think i can do a lot more and stretched my comfort zone. I usually don't like swimming and I've never swam in an ocean before. When I got there i knew i was going to swim but i wast sure how deep i would go. When i went in i decided i might as well go see the coral so i did. The first thing i saw when i jumped in were fish, hundreds and hundreds of fish. When people were throwing fish food the fish would go crazy and swarm the food. This is the best day so far. Almost everyone has been looking forward to this day and it was absolutely amazing.

Could I Travel Alone?

      I probably could travel alone but i wouldn't want to. I would get really bored and it wouldn't be as fun without my friends or family. My opinion will probably change later on because when i go to college ill have to make a new life for myself and make new friends. Its comparable to traveling because you have to adapt to the area and make your own friends and family there. I think i would be a good traveler because i have a lot of experience traveling. Initially when you go to a new place it feels really different and you don't know what to do because of the culture shock but things get easier as life moves on. In a year or two when i pick up an accent and learn the way of life i would start to feel less of a tourist and would feel as if i belong there. Imagine if you travel with a friend, it would completely change your experience. When i travel with friends it is really cool because you really get to see who everyone really is and their skills start to show. It also helps you learn faster because you usually have fun with your friends and your always learning when your out of your comfort zone. Eventually your comfort zone just stretches and you make new friends and learn something new about yourself.

The trip so far

So far the trip has been great. Some difficulties would probably have to be the bus and plane rides because i absolutely hate sitting down for long periods if time and it gets boring. Each day is getting better and unpredictable. The  weather started off a little cold and got a little better but now its raining which isn't much fun. The rain ruins everything. It really ruined it when we were walking through the red wood forests. It made everything muddy and slippery and people kept slipping. Today we decided to go to the wildlife center and it was one of the best things so far. There were so many animals Ive never even heard of or seen before it was really interesting. I feel as if tomorrow will be better because we get to do our excursions like whale watching and bridge climbing.

Sydney, Australia

I think Sydney is a lot like I thought it would be. I thought it would be very city like and it is. The part i like the most would probably be the opera house and the bridge. We went to the tower the first day and it was really cool. Sydney is very similar to NYC because you can walk everywhere  but Sydney is just a little smaller. So far wherever we've visited its been more centralized than the U.S.; when we stopped for lunch at a mall we saw a few street acts like you would normally see in a city but they were really talented. One of the acts were 3 Japanese kids trying to get back home to japan so they jump rope and break dance while playing basket ball. That's something you don't always see. Even though i just got to Sydney, i think i got a good feeling on how people live their and how things work.

California Red Wood and Rangitoto College

Today started of being ok and it ended great. We went to the nature preserve for the California Red Wood trees. They were imported from California and brought to New Zealand. They actually grow faster in NZ for some reason. It was going great until it started to rain and even when it rained, we tried to make the best of it. Even though we started to slip and fall we were all having fun and we got to see something really cool. There were some of the biggest trees I've seen in my life. Later on after we got a chance to clean up, we headed over to Rangitoto College. Many people were bringing gift for the kids and when we got there the dean gave us a quick introduction for what she had planned. They said that the Maori students will be performing the Hakka for us and bringing both schools together and in return we had to sing a song to them. When we saw them doing the Hakka it was not anything like i expected. there were around 6 boys jumping and making scary faces at us. Most of us were scared. Later we sang our national anthem to them and we ate dinner and made friends with each other. It was the best day so far.

Maori Village

When we went to the Maori village it was really cool to see the geysers. Their village keeps a tradition where the hosts have to do a tour for the visitors. It was cool the way he introduced us to his culture. Their way of living is so much cooler than the way they live. They use all the natural resources they can find. The way of life there is really efficient, even thought there's the smell of sulfur that smells really bad and is very strong. Their cooking methods are also interesting. In Rotorua, they use Geo-thermal heat for energy so they have like a mini oven in their backyard and when they defrost their chicken in the hot geyser they then put it in the oven and they have food in 20 minutes. When we were their i felt very welcome in their village.

First Impression

      When I reached New Zealand it wasn't really what i expected. I thought it would be more tropical. There were many hills, sheep and cattle, and it was very green. There is so much nature around and everything is so open. Its not as similar to the U.S. as I thought it would be. Its sort of a culture shock. None of us really got used to the smell of sulfur or liked it so it was a little hard to get used to it. And we also got confused on the sides of the roads because they drive on the left side and the steering wheel is on the right side. New Zealand is very close to their Maori roots unlike the U.S. and the Native Americans. The All Blacks rugby team does the Hakka dance before their games. Its like an intimidation technique. Here we don't even acknowledge it. They even have a choice of learning Maori as a second language. I'm really excited to go to Rangitoto tomorrow because i cant wait to talk to the kiwi kids and make new friends.

Australian Food lab

Since Australia and New Zealand were British colonies, a lot of their customs have British influence. Many of the people in Australia besides the natives came from Great Britain so they kept their traditions and their food is very similar. In the United States, people come from all over the world and not just Europe. When America got its freedom from Britain, they didn't really want too keep their customs because they didn't like being under rule and they preferred to just do their own thing. A lot of food is similar between the U.S. and Australia. Australian food is a mix of the food the natives ate and what they ate under British rule. When I go to Australia and New Zealand, i cant wait to try their BBQ's because i heard there's a huge difference between theirs and what we do. I also cant wait to get a chance to have Kangaroo, I've already tried Kangaroo meat and it would be cool to have experience while everyone else is not sure about it.

Rabbit Proof Fence

      The European settlers started to take their land and take away their rights. They controlled what they ate where they lived, where they hunted, if the could hunt, and where they could go. They had punishments such as being sent away for imprisonment and death threats. This broke almost all of the laws especially the laws that states 'right to equality" (1) and "Freedom from Torture and Degrading Treatment" (5).
      Ways this could relate to historical events in the U.S. is how the European settlers kicked the native Americans out of their land and tortured them and their families and later on in the late 1800's and early 1900's there was a lot of slavery down south. People took other people from Africa and brought them to the U.S. and turned them into slaves which took away every single one of their rights and they also sold slaves and had owns. These slaves were often tortured and had to do a lot of hard work and labor.
      Some people thought that the relocation was a good thing so that they wouldn't loose their aboriginal population. They didn't think that the kids of mixed decent were good enough. Many mothers would give birth at home instead of the hospital so it would be in the records and so the government wouldn't come and take away their child as soon as they normally would. Full blood Aboriginal populations were decreasing. they thought that the more intelligent they were, the better they would be as domestic servants and laborers. these actions were and are still not justified because wheat they did was terrible and inhumane. They had no right to come to another country and take away the peoples rights and torture them, especially when its the government. Its not right to take young kids away from their families and to torture them. The Aboriginals tried to fight back but against a whole government, its not easy and just kept on pushing further punishment and cruelty.

Cane Toad: An Invasive Spicies.

The Cane Toad is a large neotropical toad mainly located in South America and the Caribbean. Cane Toads came to Australia through Hawaii. Over the years the toads have multiplied rapidly spreading many diseases.
The cane toad is adapting to a wider environmental range and may in the future be spreading into habitats currently not available.Attempts have been made to make use of dead cane toads, which can number in the thousands and cause hygiene problems. Their skin can be made into leather, and novelty cane-toad purses made of the fore-body and abdomen are sometimes seen .Cane toads have also been known to be a significant source of food for humans in their native environment; cane toads are cooked by skinning them and removing the internal organs (including the poisonous glands), then roasting them. It has been said they are like chicken except with a drier taste.In Australian states where the cane toad is common, some 'sports' have developed, such as cane toad golf and cane toad cricket, where cane toads are used as balls. Australia has created many interesting and creative ways to try to get rid of the Cane Toad. Invasive species in the US are wasps and honey bee's. They kill many humans by multiple stings and they produce so fast that we cant get rid of them. we need them to nurture our plants. Another are mosquito's because they always bite multiple times and cause many life threatening diseases. We are creating new medicines and vaccines to get rid of these diseases and we are also inventing new insect repellents but many mosquito's are becoming immune and can resist the repellents.

The Great Barrier Reef

1. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living organism on earth.
2.Coral extract calcium from the ocean.
3. Red algae bulks up the coral and adds to it.
4. The Great Barrier Reef became a national park in 1975
5. 1/3 of the Great Barrier Reef is protected from fishing.
6. Scientists think that the reef is 500,000 years old and the ancient reef may be up to 2 million years old.
1. A polyp is a tiny animal that lives in the sand that later grows and looks like an upside down jelly fish. In order for a polyp to become a coral there must be many of them and there must be a colony.
2. Corals are very sensitive to change in temperature.
3. Coral beaching occurs when it looses its color and doesn't get food. This can happen from warm temperatures.
4. Scientist think that coral bleaching is occurring more now than ever because of climate change.
5. Some ways to reduce coral bleaching are to save energy by turning of electricity when not in use, use your car as less as possible, and recycle.

1.There are 1500 species of fish, 350 species of hard coral, 1/3 of the worlds soft coral, 22 species of sea birds, and 32 species of shore birds.
2. The cause of warming our oceans are climate change which bleaches our coral.
3. Increased flooding pollutes the reefs which kills fish and then there' less food for many birds.
4. ways to stop this are to save energy, open a window instead of using A.C., donate instead of throwing away, and recycle.

video 3 and 4 is unavailable.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UgVN6OjFOA&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCQ2IwFuwxE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQp19u_MH-Q

Australian Government

Dear Prime Minister,
      The Aboriginal people have been living in Australia for at least 50,000 years before the Europeans came. The Aboriginals came from South-East Asia and lived on the land making it their home and used the natural resources without ruining nature. They learned how to live in the harshest of conditions and saw the land for what it really is. The Europeans just came and took away everything they had. Just because they didnt have their own government or a set of rules, the British made them move. They cut down their forests, and brought foreign animals to Australia. The British took away the Aboriginals right to own land, they controlled where they could live and whom they could marry.
     In the early 1900's the British took away many of the Aboriginal children away from their families to make them "civilized" and assimilate them to the European ways. Today 1 out of 10 Aboriginals is part of the "Stolen Generation". The Stolen Generation lost their identity and were abused. Many of the people now who were part of this generation still probably dont know where they belong and could possibly be scarred for life. Its one of the worst parts of Australian history.
      While the country is preparing for the olympics, there are scars that need to be healed within the country. The Aboriginals are the heart of the country and Australia wouldn't be what it is today without them. Without addressing past issues and suffering Australia cannot heal. So an apology is the least the government can give them even if the present government is not responsible for the actions that took place in the early 1900's.
      I hope that my research has informed you of the importance of an apology to the Aboriginals.

                                                                                 Yours sincerely.
                                                                                                 Nishant