CULTURAL ENCOUNTERS BLOG REFLECTION

1. What was one thing you learned from the simulations we played in class? How did this help you understand the essential questions better?
One thing that I learnt in class during the simulations was that people have to work hard to earn food and buy land and get a shelter. During the first winter people found it hard to live and grow food but if you keep trying eventually you will grow enough food to keep your self healthy.

2. Reading was a part of Cultural Encounters. When you read the books you were asked to think about your reading. What did you learn about your reading while doing this?
I learnt that farmers learnt from the Native Americans how to grow corn and different types of fruits and vegetables. I also learnt that farmers grew a lot of tobacco.


3. Did the journal entries help you to better understand your character? Why or why not? Explain in detail.
The journal entries did help me under stand my character more because I wrote about how she worked in the fields and how she grew tobacco and picked wheat. I also understood my character more because I wrote about trying to grow fruits and vegetables but failing until we met the Native Americans who taught us easier ways to grow them.

4. What was the best part of your presentation? How could it have been improved?
The best part of our presentation was how everyone did something or at least spoke one sentence. I also think when everyone said their hopes and dreams it made our presentation more realistic. We could have worked on how everyone got an equal part, because one person would speak the whole time while one person said one word which seemed very unfair to me.

5. What was the biggest learning you gained from this unit? Explain with details.
The biggest piece of learning I got was that the May flower came to the New World and they lost many people because of the cold winter and how nobody could grow enough food to feed everybody.

I stood there waiting to board the boat while my sister leaned on a pole behind me. I was praying that I wouldn't get sick on the boat and I was praying that it was a good idea to explore a new life, it has to be better than here in Europe struggling with all the problems, trying weave my way out of them. While we stood there a man came up to me and started blabbering a foreign language which sounded like Chinese.

When the boat finally did arrive it was packed with people from all over the world. I had to ask how long this boat ride would take. My ears started popping like mad after he told me how long this would take 2 months. I ran back to my sister and started yelling like a crazy maniac everybody's heads turned and stared at me. My sister, Penelope pulled me aside and whisper yelled at me.

"Calm down!!"she yelled to me

"But it's a two month boat ride" I whined

"Who cares" She replied. So I boarded the boat and hoped that this was the best choice.

People tried to get us food they tried but all the food was rotting out. Penelope constantly kept getting sick. People complained to the captin but all the captin did was save the good food for himself. Life on the sea was rotten just as I told Penelope I always reminded her how she said "We're just going on a little boat ride don't worry." She ought to read about books about going across the sea.

The ship was getting better, the captin finally gave us decent food and I ate like a stray dog who had just tasted food once again every one turned to face me and finally my sister came up to me and dragged me away

"You're suppose to be acting like a lady not like stray dog!!!" She exclaimed

"I'm trying!!" I hissed back at her.

Just as I was walking back down to my hammock the boat lurched up and I couldn't hold my stomach so I ran back up to the poop deck and puked down into the sea. I immediately ran back down to my sister who was curled up on the floor and I thought of her being quite silly but I doubted that when the boat started rocking again. The sea never calmed down for 2 days that means we didn't eat or sleep. I began to miss my parents who decided life was better in England than in a bunch of tree's they used to tell me as I tried persuade them to come.

"The new land has to be better than this." I whispered to my Penelope

"It will be." She replied after another lurch from the sea.

The cool autumn wind blew in my face while the ship docked and we landed in a lovely breezy forest and before I could admire it any more a crazy man took an axe and chopped down a tree. I walked deeply in to the forest and followed the rest the of the colony and while I was walking I heard a faint drumming noise from behind a bush and saw smoke coming out of the top I was about to peek through the book but my sister pulled me aside.

The 2 months on that ship made me think if we'd ever get to land or the New World. I'm A bit fearful of the Native Americans I've heard the terrible stories of them jumping out and capturing people.

"I think we're walking into the Native Americans land." I whispered to Penelope who was looking around the beautiful color changing tree's.

"Are you crazy!!!" She said and walked away from me like I was mad, but still admiring the brightly colored forest.

The colony's going good while people started constructing the houses and I started growing wheat and tobacco while my sister is working hard to make us clothes. The houses haven't been made so we I am now regretting coming from England because a lot of food is running out and I'm still wondering where that drumming noise is coming from. I have been complaining to the men who are building the houses and all they say is

"Leave us to our work lady"

I have started working as a farmer. I'm the only girl farmer, which makes it hard for me to work all I do is pick wheat and I never get my hands dirty so that means I get paid very little.

The colony is making progress and my sister and I bought a small house with three rooms, the bathroom, the sleeping chamber and the kitchen. I've complained to the farmers about not letting me work with the tobacco or the corn and now they gave me a bigger job..........

milking cows. Also to cheer me up the farmers are paying me with food corn, bread,milk and butter. People are now forcing more people like tailors, shoemakers and black smiths to work as farmers. So now I have Penelope working beside me trying to milk a cow, she's obviously only used to a needle and a thread.

The town hall meeting left me shaking around while I tried to plow the fields

"Whats wrong" Penelope asked

"The town hall meeting scared me." I replied as my goose bumps grew.

"You mean about be-heading us if we didn't get enough food in time?" she asked

"I didn't know that!" I shrieked at her

"Opps" she said cheekily "So, what are you afraid of?"

"The Natives, about them attacking us" I said while a prickling feeling ran down my back.

"You're afraid about that?!?" She asked looking at me like a little child even though I'm older "Don't be afraid about them because if you haven't noticed we live around a Fort."

That sentence gave me some courage but not that much.

I

While walking out of the village to collect some water I heard the faint drumming noise again. I couldn't help my self as I laid down the bucket and carefully took off my boots and slipped on my silent slippers. I crept up behind the same bush and I laid eyes on a village Of native Americans sharpening their bows. Will the native Americans attack us? I wondered. I stood their watching them get ready to leave while they had baskets full of meat. I ran back to the village and saw them approach they really did nothing except offer us the meat that were in their baskets then they turned and left.

"See they weren't gonna attack us like you thought." Penelope said carrying one of the woven baskets to our cabin.

The colony is fine and in the past months the Natives have almost gained our trust. We teach them our words while they teach us theirs. My occupation as a farmer has gone well and Penelope got her tailor job back and is creating softer clothes for people so with all the silver coins she's earned we bought a new horse. I always invite the native children to come and play with the other children who live here in the colony. The colony wants more people to farm again so that they can give the natives the payment to the food they gave us.

I like living here more than in England because the daily life is normal not like in England with the noises of the horses annoying me at 5 am in the morning. I really love living here and hope to stay here for eternity.

A New Kind of Freedom

What convinced Johann to go to America?
The 450 acres of land and for his religious freedom he also wanted to see the new world.
How did he feel about the decision later?
He felt proud and happy because strangers looked surprised to see that he owned the lake. He also enjoyed going to Pennsylvania on market days to see the houses and go through the cobble stone streets. He loved sitting in his wagon watching the different nationalities of people talking French,German and Italian. The decision he made now gave him ideas of how to make more crops or more varities of fruit and vegetables.

Molly's dream

What dream does Molly have?
Molly's dream is to live in a small house at the edge of a village with a pond, ducks and geese.
She also plans to be a seamstress and wants to run a buisness like Mrs.Simmons.
What will Molly need to make her dream come true?
She will have to finish her contract with Mrs.Simmons, earn enough money to buy a store and continue to learn to sew and weave.

Immigration

Many people move because of immigration. America was built up by immigration. Immigrants are people who settle in a place they don't come from or weren't born in. Some of the immigrants came form countries like Europe. Most people are Native in America. When people from other countries came to America there were African slaves they only became free after the civil war. Some people came to America because they were poor and were interested in the new land. When people got to America they realized they had more freedom than in their own countries. Over the next few hundred years more immigrants go t atracted to America and made teir families grow larger and larger. Illegal immigrants have become a large deal, people visit countries or move their have to be able to get an immigration before entering the country if they do not get their immigration it would become a LARGE problem. People in America say that everyone should build up their citizenship there. I think this is why people move.

Backround Information

Why do people move?
I think people move because their families get job opportunities, or they might have got kicked out of the country they live in. People sometimes move because they can't adjust to the place they live in or people get into large fights which causes people to leave their country. I think that it is more common for people to move because of their promotions in their life or fighting. People may move to other places in a city because the place they used to live in was to expensive so they moved to another neighborhood which was a bit cheaper. Back long ago in America some people lived in little pieces of land and they moved very frequently. I think these are some reasons for people to move but I know that there are so many more.