Em's Blog

If you were a traveler on ancient the Silk Road, why would I want to stop in your city?

You would want to stop at Samarkand, because, like Alexander The Great said “I heard that the city was beautiful but never thought that it could be so beautiful and majestic”. Also, because it is in the middle of the silk road, connecting the east side of the world, and the west side the world, so it would be interesting to see perhaps a mix of east and west design.

What was the most interesting thing you learned about your city?

Alexander the great conquered Samarkand in 329 BC. Also that it connects the west and the east, and had the first paper mill, so paper spread to the rest of the world. As well that the Samarkand people taught the chinese how to breed horses, making it easier to travel, and they also taught the skill as a caravaneer, so it shows that they aren’t greedy, they’re nice.

Would you want to visit your city today (in 2011?)  Why or why not?

I would, because I heard it’s a beautiful country with many legends, and with interesting history. From the pictures, I can tell it is one of the old parts of the world that doesn’t have many modern buildings, just very old and beautiful ones. Also the art, is really beautiful, and I would really like to see them.

How does the physical geography of your place affect the culture of the people who lived in your city?

I think because Samarkand, being in the middle of the silk road, they learnt to care for thepeople who were going along the silk road. Also, they lived next to a river, and since lots of things need food, they probably had some way to get the water. Also, near the mountains, they had trees, and trees can produce fruits, giving things to cook with for any religious days.

How do you think your research of your city can help answer the question, “What Happens When East Meets West?”

Well, Samarkand basically connected the east and the west. So I think that Samarkand was with a mix of people, west and east, and I think it showed that people from different countries can mix up, they don’t have to fight. And, the people in Samarkand have different religions, but they didn’t fight.

Explain what happened in the String Silk Road

I was with Kate on Kocha, around the middle of the silk road. We had a lot of trading routes, because we were in the  middle, and we traded a lot with Lhasa, because we had the gold, copper, tin, and jade, so and they needed that for armor, and weapons. But places like Wutai Mt. didn’t get a lot of trade because for example, they made wine, but they already had grapes there, so they didn’t need to trade with anybody.

How did the String Silk road game help answer the question, what happens when East Meets West?

It helped me think about things I didn’t think about before, like war. Lets say, one place need a lot of gold, but the marchent didn’t have any gold, nor did any other ones from that place, they might want to have war on them. But also with truces, like Kocha (aka Kate and I) made a truce Sogdiana (Neil, Jake, and Iruka) because we were close to each other, and since Sogdiana had a lot of valuable things, they needed armor to protect them, but if they didn’t have us, they wouldn’t have any armor. We also made a truce with Lhasa because they needed our goods to make armor, and weapons.

Many thanks to:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/xiamara_ugajin/2789617190/

Samarkand Alpha’s Alts

People love the beach...and I love the city

Why is culture so important?

Culture is important because it shapes up people. You learn from cultures, like respect to the elderly. If people didn’t have culture they would’ve never learnt different things that other cultures have today. For example different cultures might have different types of food, and perhaps somebody else might like that food, and cook it themselves.

What did you learn about 6C’s different culture?

I learnt that many people are Christian, and they always celebrate holidays. Many people spoke English (I knew that) and Japanese (I knew that as well) and that they enjoyed the beaches. Many people always took of their shoes when they entered a house-even if it’s not like Japan’s houses, where you have places to put the shoes.

Describe your culture in 1-2 sentences.

My culture is very international, because I always take of my shoes when I enter a house, even in Belgium where you just wear them, and also I talk and laugh a lot, even though back in the day of China, you wouldn’t be allowed to talk at dinner if you were a child. I like the countryside in mountains, as long if I’m just there for holiday, and also with beaches, but I love living in the cities, most of all Yokohama.

Used with permission from Creative Commons: Reflection For The Day By: Dene’ (Seattle) Miles

In humanities we have been learning about four ancient civilizations, Mesopotamia, Nile River, Indus River, and Yellow River.

Q.1 What similiarities did you find among the civilizations you studied?  Why do you think civilizations share these things in common?

A.1 I found that all of these civilizations ave the same way of keeping the society organized, because there were plenty of jobs for people. Also many of the jobs had farming. I think they have these similarities because it’s easy like that and it just comes naturally. I think there was a lot of farming because people back then needed crops to survive, so they could get food like that.

Q.2 What differences did you find between the civilizations?  Why would these civilizations evolve differently?

A.2 Well, since these are all different civilizations there are many differences. Such as writing, and the Beliefs/religions.  I think they would evolve differently because they are different people, and the way they do things-what they were allowed to do and not allowed to do-changed them to be they way they are. For example China. People got to jail for trying to tell the truth about the chinese government.

Q.3 Why do you think humans needed civilizations?  Why did they need community?

A.3 I think people needed civilizations because people needed people to survive. To pass down the generation. To help them. To think of more ideas. Humans need community to solve bad problems, and to help the next generation.

Q.4 If you could have lived in any of the civilizations which one would you live in and why?

A.4 I would have lived in Mesopotamia because they had democracy, and I think that’s really fair, and also they were the first to make laws. Also, since there are a lot of jobs, it could be easy to find a job, settle down, build a family, pass down the generations. Also if I lost my job it would be easy to get another job.

My trip to Okinawa, was in club med and I had been there with my mum, and my mum’s friends. In my opinion club med is one of the best hotels ever.  I played mostly with Nova. We played in the swimming pool, and we snorkeled together too. I was a communicator, because I talked sooo much! I played ping pong (aka table tennis) and I failed. I did archery, which I absolutely love <3 I went in a boat to go snorkel and I saw many fishes

I love Okinawa and I want to go there again!

Em