16-Destination Alaska

This summer I will going to Alaska. I am looking forward to a twelve day cruise on both land and sea. My family will be going to Ketchikan, Seward, Skagway, Sitka, and Juneau. We will be doing a variety of activities such as guided tours, glacier excursions, and dog sledding. Alaska is home to the Iditarod, so my family is going to a mushers camp in which we will learn how to drive the sled. I can't wait to see the glaciers and hopefully get to see one break apart. I am looking forward to the cold weather and the scenery. I have never been to Alaska so I am looking forward to my first visit.

15-Public Profiler

I found this site to be very fun. It is interesting to see where all the Kutschkau's live. Most of the people with my last name live in Germany. There are several in the United States. I have several relatives who live in Nebraska. I also have a couple relatives who live in Wasington, New York, and Utah. I found it funny that they had my family listed on the website in St. Charles/St.Peters. My moms side of the family, Loebs, comes from Germany and France. There are Loebs' who live in Alaska.

13-Strange Delicacies

The strangiest food I have ever eaten was lamb fries. My family went on a trip to Oklahoma and we went to a restraunt in which the waiter asked if we wanted lamb fries. I looked at my dad and he said they were really good. I decided why not they cannot be that bad. The waiter brought them out and I had a couple and I thought they were really good. My dad then asked me if I knew what part of the lamb the fries came from. I said probably someplace I don't want to know. He asked the waiter and the waiter told us they came from the male part of a lamb. I said I didn't care because they were good. This was the strangest food I have ever eaten. I think with the way society is today, there will be a bigger variety of food to choose from. There are so many more animals and parts that people eat now-a-days.

12-G-20

The G-20 is made up of the finance ministers and central bank governors of 19 countries:
Argentina
Australia
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Indonesia
Italy
Japan
Mexico
Russia
Saudi Arabia
South Africa
South Korea
Turkey
United Kingdom
United States of America

11-A Unique Perspective

This image of the World does a good job of showing that the continents are so close to each other that they almost connect. Australia and Southern Asia are just about touching through the use of all the islands that surround them. It is so interesting to see that two different cultures with two completely different types of people can just about come together. The phrase so close and yet so far can be applied to this situation. We are live in one World, but are separate continents.

10-Slumdog Millionaire

I am so glad I went to see this movie. It was very interesting to see how the people living in the slums of Mumbai survive. The movie started off showing Jamal and how he was placed on the show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." He was falsely accused to cheating and was getting flogged and forced to tell how he knew the answers to the questions. Throughout the questions Jamal would experience flashbacks into his past when he was living in the slums. The flashbacks started off showing him as a kid and trying to survive with his brother. Later on the flashbacks show him and his brother older and trying to earn money working the rails and giving tours. When the questions got harder, Jamal would become older in his flashbacks and his brother turned to a gang to help solve his problems. When Jamal is finally cleared of cheating he is placed back on the show. He ends up guessing the last question right and he becomes a millionaire.

This movie really did a good job of showing life in the slums. There is a ongoing battle between the Muslims and the Hindu's. The children were forced to work and earn money. The geography changed from place to place. What started off as the slums eventually turned into a thriving city. The city had a lot of problems, but the people living there were wealthy.

9-Meet Me in St.Louie

Over spring break I went to my house back in St.Peters, Missouri. It is located about half an hour away from St. Louis. During spring break I visited my Grandparents who live in St. Louis. We went to the St. Louis Zoo for a day. I would highly reccommend going to the St. Louis Zoo if you have never been there. It is free and there is so much to see and do. In fact it was rated the number one Zoo in America. Also during spring break I did a lot of shopping with my mom. We like to spent time with each other whenever we get the chance. Altogether I did not do a whole lot over spring break, but it is nice to just go home. Sometimes the greatest place to visit is your home.

8-Foreign Aid or foreign trade

I feel that the aiding to other countries is not the wisiest thing we have done as a country. The fact that the money aided is invested outside of the country, stolen by corrupt leaders, and spent on ill-advised programs makes the foreign aid worthless in itself. If the money was giving to more meaningful causes I would say that the foreign aid would be a good thing to continue. I feel that the U.S should focus on trade, industry, and infrastructure with the other countries. I also feel that the U.S should provide health benefits and other social services to foreign countries.

7-HDI

HDI is determined by the literacy, wealth, and life expectancy. HDI stands for the Human Development Index and it goes beyond just the income of people. The countries that are more developed have higher human development. The medium developed countries are smaller, but are still developed. Most of the countries located in Sub-Sahara Africa are the lowest human development. Sub-Sahara Africa is still in the process of developing. It has a lot of areas that are not close to being fully occupied. Here are a couple of examples of the Sub-Sahara countries with low HDI.

The HDI for Uganda is 0.493, which gives the country a rank of 156th out of 179 countries with data.
The HDI for Rwanda is 0.435, which gives the country a rank of 165th out of 179 countries with data.
The HDI for Ethiopia is 0.389, which gives the country a rank of 169th out of 179 countries with data.

6-An Orcan Adventure

I have always been an animal lover, but during one of my favorite vacations I came across a pod of Orca whales. My family has a tradition of going on a vacation every year and when I was nine years old we went to Washington. My Aunt and Uncle booked a whale watching tour during one of the days we were there. We left early in the morning and headed out to the Puget Sound. When we had departed and reached a good whale viewing spot, what we saw was amazing. A pod of Orca were right next to our boat. Over the course of half a hour the whales were so close to our book that you could actually feel the spray hit you on the face. They were so close that you could almost reach out and touch them. They seem so gently for being known as Killer Whales. There movements in the water are so graceful and they can get some pretty good height in their jumps. My family left in awe of how awesome these Killers' can be. If you ever get a chance to go to Washington I would highly recommend Whale Watching on the Puget Sound. This photograph was taken by Gerard Lacz of Animals Animals-Earth Scenes.

5-47 years of Travel Banning

Cuba is a communist ruled country in which the United States has had no ties with for 47 years. With a new President in power, Barack Obama is trying to break the ban and allow us to have ties with Cuba. With the already illegal Cuban cigars, should we be allowed to travel to this Communist run country? I feel that since Gauntanamo Bay has been shut down the travel ban should still be in effect. We still have communication to allow for ties to be made with Cuba. Since most of the prisoners will be set free it is hard to determine weither or not they will be planning future attacks. It is best if the citizens are kept safe until things are completely under control in Cuba. Later on if problems are not happening, then traveling should be allowed to Cuba. For right now though, I feel that we should stay away from Cuba and hopefully within time God will provide a stronger, less Communist government to rule Cuba.

4-Latin America Current Event

While I was searching for a current event I ran into a very interesting article. This article can be found on the following site, http://xrl.us/beg3c6. I found this article interesting, because it deals with the drug usage that is occurring all over Latin America. In this article, Bolivia and Peru are defending their use of the coca plants, which are a source for cocaine. Since, cocaine gets distributed to the U.S; these coca plants serve multiple purposes. The people of Peru and Bolivia use the coca plants for both medical and religious reasons. The coca plants supposedly prevent hunger and tiredness, which is why the people take this plant seriously. The plants were first used by Indigenous people and are still being used by these people today. The main situation regarding this plant is that the UN has listed the coca plant as a dangerous controlled substance as well as the cocaine that comes from it. One interesting fact I found, was that Peru and Bolivia are the second highest producers of cocaine after Columbia.

3-Species At Risk

The worldmapper map I chose shows where there are species at risk. I chose this map, because it has meaning to me. I have been a member of the St.Louis Zoo family club for several years and its purpose is to protect species that are endanged and threatened. I feel that animals should be allowed a certain amount of territory to live and thrive in. One thing I find interesting is that the United States has one of the highest counts of species at risk. With all the destruction of forests and countryside many of the creatures are having a hard time finding a place to live. With all the construction of houses and restaraunts several species homes are destroyed on a daily basis. Next time a new building is proposed we as a nation should consider the lives of all the other creatures we share our country with. They should have a right too.

2-LDC versus MDC

Uganda, a poorly developed country dealing with starvation and mistreated children. Most of the children suffer from HIV/AIDS. Uganda is considered to be one of the most known carrier countries of these viruses. That is probably one of the main reasons why the population is much higher on the bottom of the pyramid than it is on the top. Children hardly have time to live after having the virus for so long. Even despite all thing, Uganda stills is showing a growing population. In fact, Uganda's population growth is threatening poverty reduction. So many people in one place can cause a whole lot of problems when it comes to poverty. Even though Uganda is an LDC, there are still hope for it in the future.

On the opposite end of the scale, there is Russia. Russia has pretty sufficiant resources and a large territory. Russia has been averaging a growth rate of 7% annually since its great financial crisis of '98. That means that Russia is growing and as you can see it has a large group of people living well into their sixties and seventies. Russia is home to many men, women, and children who have been abused in their lifetimes. In fact, Russia is known as a place of safety for these people. That is also a factor for why Russia has had a growth spurt over the past 10 years.

1-What is the most fascinating place in North America?

Two years ago I went on a trip to Hawaii! I went with my extended family which included my grandparents, my aunt and uncle, and my two cousins. It was a tropical paradise and I loved every minute of the time I spent there. Several places caught my interest while I was there. There were lush tropical rainforests, volcanoes that were spewing hot lava, and several plantations that grew a variety of crops. I also got to go snorkeling and saw some of the most colorful fish I had ever seen. I also went to a sea life park and did a swim with the dolphins type of activity. It was something I wanted to do for a long time, so I was very excited that I had the opportunity to do it. Half the time I was in Hawaii I was on a cruise ship and some beautiful coastline were some of the views seen from the boat. I wish I could go back and spend some more time exploring the rest of Hawaii. These are the reasons why I feel that Hawaii was the most fascinating and exciting place I have been to in North America.

Who Am I?

My name is Sarah and I am a freshman. I have a brother and a dog named Snuggles. My major is elementary education. I have a deep love for working with kids. My summer job consists of me working at a day care center. One of my favorite hobbies is traveling. I have been to 37 of the 50 states and 4 different countries. My favorite vacation was two years ago when I went to Ireland, England, and Wales. Another hobby of mine is playing the piano. I have been involved with piano for 6 years and I enjoy it a lot. In my spare time I do a lot of reading. Over the past summer I read the Twilight series and it is one of my favorites. Well that was just a little information about who I am and what I enjoy doing.