Today in class, we watched more of the movie. I am really enjoying it! I have to be honest, its a little intense, but that's why I love it! I can'r wait to watch the rest! Today we got to see Jamal and Salim grow up to young men.

Today in class we watched a movie based on Indian culture. This blog is about the differences between India and the US.

• India is very compact. India has one of the biggest populations in the world and their community in very tight and close together.
• India is very dirty. India is covered in trash- the streets and the water are piled up with trash. 
• In this area violence is seen everywhere. In india, attacks are common. 
• In general India is a very poor area. Children sell things the get money because of the poor area. 
• The police don't protect the people in India- they try to hurt them.

Today in class Mr. Schick was not there! Because of this, we had a sub- Mr. Schick (on his blog) told the class to work on the extra credit work.  At the moment I have an 89- but he hasn't put the grades in. If I am happy with my final grade I will not be doing the xtra credit. But if I'm not happy with my grade then I will continue to work on the xtra credit. No class tomorrow- unit Friday!

Here are the lyrics to the Chinese National Anthem!

起來！不願做奴隸的人們！
把我們的血肉，築成我們新的長城！
中華民族到了最危險的時候，
每個人被迫著發出最後的吼聲。
起來！起來！起來！
我們萬眾一心，
冒著敵人的炮火，前進！
冒著敵人的炮火，前進！
前進！前進！進！

English Translation:

Arise! All who refuse to be slaves!
Let our flesh and blood become our new Great Wall!
As the Chinese nation faces its greatest peril,
All forcefully expend their last cries.
Arise! Arise! Arise!
Our million hearts beat as one,
Brave the enemy's fire, March on!
Brave the enemy's fire, March on!
March on! March on! On!

China's National Anthem - I would say it is as if the people are angry and preparing for war. The beat is very strong and "harsh." The tone of the song- is military. "Brave the enemy's fire, March on!"

Today in class, we started a new section:

Cultural Geography

We spent to first 20 minutes of class talking about the Academic competition that was held this weekend. Our team made it to the play-offs and nailed it!

We also played a short "trivia" game show Mr. Schick could show us what kind of questions are asked- and the scores are kept.

Notes

• Culture characteristics are parts of a group everyday life. They are the ideas and themes which the group will teach to all members. These same characteristics can also link or divide a region. 
• Examples- language, religion, heritage. 

We had funny conversations about crabs, and fat pizza!

Until tomorrow!

Test Day

Today in class we took the test. I felt okay about it. Some of the questions stumped me a little bit. I'll admit- I didn't study as much as I should've. But, I am prepared to get the grade. We have class first thing on Monday- I wonder what Mr. Schick has in store for us...

Today in class,  Mr. Schick announced that we would not be taking the test. Everyone already knew this because he blogged about it. So instead of taking the test- the three groups who did not present- presented. Here are some notes from their power points.. ---

Russia

***We ended up stopping at some information about Vladmir Putin.

Prime Minister:

Dmitry Medvedev

• Previously served as a third president of Russia, from 2008 to 2012
• United Russia Party

Side Note -- This is the last year of Putin's term. In Mr. Schick's opinion, Putin will probably try to stay in office.

Legislative Branch

• the bicameral Federal Assembly of Russia, 450- member State Duma and 166- member Federation Council
• adopts federal law, declares war, approves treaties, has the power of the purse and the power of impeachment of the President. 

Executive Branch

• The president is the Commander in Chief

United Russia

• The main political party is called the United Russia

Brazil

Brazil has a federal republic government-

You don't vote for president- you vote for representative to vote. 

Brazil has a 4 year term.

Dilma Rousseff was elected as president in 2011, becoming the first female to lead again. She had a rival but pulled away with 51 percent of the votes. She was re-elected on October 27, 2014. This will be her last term for now, but can come back to run again. 

Back to the Past

When Dilma Rousseff was young- Brazil was almost like a military base. Everything was run by the military. Dilma protested--and gets arrested and spent three years in prison. She was tortured and now look... 

Mexico

Enrique Peña Nieto is the Governor

Most of Mexico's information was very similar to other countries. 

We learned about the drug-war even though it really had nothing to do with the project. 

Today in class we had a substitute. Mr. Gibbons! I know him very well- but he is very funny and friendly. In class, we were told to study the study guide he made for us. The study guide had all the information we needed to know for the test. It was very helpful! I downloaded the power point to my computer and my friends and I made flashcards and our own seperate study guides. I will be prepared for the test tomorrow.

Since I was not in class on Friday- I was not there to present with my partner. Now, I am here to take notes on some more of the classes presentations.

Syria

• Government- republic under an authoritarian regime. 

- This means that they harshly suppress the opposition and it also lacks human rights and free elections. 

President Early Life

Bashar al-Assad was born in Damascus on 11 September 1965. 

His father was born into a very poor family. 

Syria has had a republic under authoritian regime since 1941 (73 years)

• Assassination
• War
• Election

Votes are rigged for Bashar al-Assad

He has been in power since 1944, because the last leader was killed in an accident. 

In Sryria you have a 7 year term---

Germany

• Federal Republic- 

President and Chancellor

President Joachim Gauck and Angela Merkel

Both had were active religiously.  

Replacing Leaders

- Impeachment

- Election

Bundestag is an group of government people who are in charge of president elections and chancellor elections.  

UK

• Constitutional Monarchy- when king and queen acts as head of a state. 
• Commonwealth Realm- a sovereign state that's a member if the commonwealth of nations. 

The prime minister of the Uk has no term limits. He is appointed by the monarch and stays in office as long as he or she can keep the confidence of the House of Commons. 

Prime Minister

David Cameron- Born on October 9th 1966

- became prime minster on June 2nd, 2010

- leader of conservative party. 

• The prime minster oversees the operation of the Civil Service and government agencies. 
• Appoints members of the government

USA

Barack Obama is the present leader of the US.

America has a constitution based federal republic. 

- Obama will be in power for two more years. He won the 2008 election and the 2012 election. 

Russia

Type of Government- federation

- the formation of a political unity, with a central government, by a number of seperate states, each of which retains control of its own internal affairs. 

Leader

+ Vladmir Putin

• president since May 7, 2012
• previously served as president from 2000 to 2008
• His terms is over- but has changed the constitution so a leader can have a six year term rather then a 4 year term. 

Prime Minister_

This is all we got done today in class.

I was not in class on Friday- because of the play. I had performance all weekend and was very busy. I am prepared to make up any work I missed.

Today in class one group presented their power point. There project was based on France's government and I learned a lot of interesting facts like-

France

• France had a Republic government and a semi- presidential system. (Government with a president alongside a prime minister who are responsible to the legislature of a state.)
• President François and the Prime Minister Maneul are the leaders of France

• François is part of the Socialist party.
• In 2012, he ran for leader and won- on May 15, 2012 he got elected for a 5 year term.
• The Prime Minster is Maneul Valls was elected into office April 1, 2014. 
• He was born in Barcelona, Spain then obtained French nationality only at the age of 20.
• President François can be president until 2022- unless impeached or resigned. 

• In 2017 François will run again  for his final term. 
• He is up against --- Marine Le Pen, Nicolas Sarkozy, Alain Jupé, and many others. 

No class tomorrow and I will not be able to attend class on Friday... so until Monday Mod 1!

Today in Human Geo we decided to go down to the second floor the check out the cancer booths. Today was Cancer Awareness day here at John Carroll, and some people came in to show us different types of cancer- like breast cancer, skin cancer, and lung cancer. I learned about skin cancer and about my skin as well.  There was a machine at one of the booths that told you what your skin tissue was like. My skin is slightly dry around my nose and forehead and I have early signs of skin damage under my eyes. I'm glad I did this because now I know to use my SPF more often and to be more careful around the sun. There was another section wear they compared two lungs- a healthy lung and a lung that has been a victim to smoking. The unhealthy lung really grossed me out. I knew before that smoking was bad- but I had never seen what horrible effects it can have on your body. I had a great time in class today.

Today in Human Geo we first went over our pop quizzes we took last week. Like I said in my previous blog, I was a little surprised at my grade. Luckily, it did not effect my grade. Mr. Schick did say that we would definitely see the questions again either on a test or on the exam. He then asked the class if anyone was prepared to present there power point projects. My group was prepared but I wanted to make sure that I checked if we had enough information. Because no one was prepared he gave us today in class time to work on it. My group and I are basically finished- except for a few sentences. During class we noticed that the bells were going off at different times. Later we found out, that we are following the "Advisory Bell." Because of this our class ended 10 minutes early. This is why Gabby and I didn't completely finish. We will finish tonight and present tomorrow in class.