This year in AP World History I leaned many valuable lessons, but the most important one is probably gaining the understanding that for every action there is a reaction; not just in a History aspect, but in my everyday life as well. Grades may fluctuate, new Presidents may take office, the pace by which we read a textbook might quicken, but these things all happen for a reason. I have read that "Change is the only constant," but there is always a reason behind change; whether it be a deadline coming sooner than you realized, the economy may be suffering, or latin America may have too many details in history for me to remember. I also have learned this year that most people have good intentions, but often make mistakes, and for every mistake there is a consequence. If I forget to study, my grade slips; if there is a bad leader, a revolt begins; if I make a mistake, I have to fix it. And the only way to get what you want is to go out there with a purpose and make it happen.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Virtual Memoir
After many computer malfunctions I have finally uploaded my virtual memoir! I decided to video my journey to buy feminine products for girls in Cuba. If anyone else would like to help the address is listed in the previous post from Yoani's translator. Thank you so much!
Friday, May 29, 2009
Quiz Waiting for Snow in Havana
3 conflicts:
1. One conflict in the book was the struggle between life in the United States and Cuba. In Cuba cars could drive on a road that is extremely dangerous and would never be allowed in the United States, but also Cuba has hardly any freedom, they have almost no rights.
2. Another Conflict is that they had to leave Cuba and come to the United States.
3. The conflict of being raised under communism and trying to live your life normally, while so much is going on around you that you might not even know.
3 motifs:
1. The Lizards: they represent the helplessness of the Cubans under dictatorship
2. The chimpanzee-Blackie : represents how the Cubans were trapped and they could try to do whatever they want to escape but it was rare and hard to do and often they were caught.
3. Peter Pan-he thought Peter pan was the worst tight-wearing hero ever, but ultimately he arrived on the Pedro Pan flights.
1 major 1 minor theme
1. Helplessness, under dictatorship their freedom was absolutely limited
2. The Unknown or naivety , they didn’t know what was going on outside of their own little bubble of childhood, they knew bits and pieces of what was going on, but never completely understood or even cared, they proceeded with their lives and games.
2 moments childhood unexpected but relate to the theme
1. There was a moment when he was saying how the sound of the bombs and the gunshots were soothing and he wished one was close to his home. This shows that he was somewhat naïve and just a child who didn’t really realize a bomb meant peoples’ lives were being taken from them, to him it was just a sound with no meaning.
2. When he thinks he will be shot for accidentally knocking over Batista’s sons popcorn. He is so unaware of the different levels of what is wrong and what is right.
Theme of forgiveness or humor
Humor was used in circumstances like his memories of getting drunk when he was so young. He was too young to even know that he was drunk or he drank alcohol, he just knew the world had become a better place when he drank the champagne.
1. One conflict in the book was the struggle between life in the United States and Cuba. In Cuba cars could drive on a road that is extremely dangerous and would never be allowed in the United States, but also Cuba has hardly any freedom, they have almost no rights.
2. Another Conflict is that they had to leave Cuba and come to the United States.
3. The conflict of being raised under communism and trying to live your life normally, while so much is going on around you that you might not even know.
3 motifs:
1. The Lizards: they represent the helplessness of the Cubans under dictatorship
2. The chimpanzee-Blackie : represents how the Cubans were trapped and they could try to do whatever they want to escape but it was rare and hard to do and often they were caught.
3. Peter Pan-he thought Peter pan was the worst tight-wearing hero ever, but ultimately he arrived on the Pedro Pan flights.
1 major 1 minor theme
1. Helplessness, under dictatorship their freedom was absolutely limited
2. The Unknown or naivety , they didn’t know what was going on outside of their own little bubble of childhood, they knew bits and pieces of what was going on, but never completely understood or even cared, they proceeded with their lives and games.
2 moments childhood unexpected but relate to the theme
1. There was a moment when he was saying how the sound of the bombs and the gunshots were soothing and he wished one was close to his home. This shows that he was somewhat naïve and just a child who didn’t really realize a bomb meant peoples’ lives were being taken from them, to him it was just a sound with no meaning.
2. When he thinks he will be shot for accidentally knocking over Batista’s sons popcorn. He is so unaware of the different levels of what is wrong and what is right.
Theme of forgiveness or humor
Humor was used in circumstances like his memories of getting drunk when he was so young. He was too young to even know that he was drunk or he drank alcohol, he just knew the world had become a better place when he drank the champagne.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Email Response
So I guess I sent my email to the wrong email address oops :) anyway, i got this response from the Yoani's translator and i thought it was very interesting, tell me what you think!
You have reached Yoani's English translator, not Yoani herself. Her email address is in the sidebar of her website and she does email people back but she doesn't speak English.
However, I do know one way you could help a great deal, particularly since you are a high school student and probably have both a ton of energy and a ton of friends.
Recently Yoani wrote about how difficult it is for women in Cuba to get supplies -- tampons and pads -- for use during their periods. A lot of teenage girls aren't able to go to school on those days because they don't have anything reliable to use.
So a lot of readers responded and said they would like to send "care packages" so I asked Yoani for an address. Below is the address of a woman in Pinar del Rio who could manage the distribution for tons of women and girls... if she got supplies. I think living in Miami you could probably find reliable ways to send supplies -- you could even start with the postal service though I don't know if that would work or not. How cool would it be if the girls in your high school helped out the girls your age in Pinar del Rio by sending a steady stream of supplies to them?! Your moms would probably be happy to help out as well. (And one good thing about tampons and pads is that they weigh almost nothing... and most packages are priced by weight.)
It's just one tangible way to really make a difference, so if you're interested, go for it. I suspect you could also begin corresponding with young women in Pinar del Rio and find out a lot about Cuba from their perspective. When I was there I saw that a lot of the young people are learning English now and they speak it very well.
Best of luck to you and let me know how it goes!
And thanks for your offer!!!
Maria
EMAIL FROM YOANI:
Querida María:
La dirección para enviar las almohadillas sanitarias es la siguiente:
Olga Lopéz Lazo
Calle Sol # 50F entre Recreo y Belascaviedes
Pinar del Río, Cuba
Ella es la persona que se encargará de la distribución.
Abrazos
Yoani
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Yoani Sanchez
I just emailed a well known Cuban blogger, Yoani Sanchez. Main point of my email, how can we help? What ideas do you have for helping out with Cuban immigrants in Miami who may need someone to get them on their feet in a new country where they have nothing?
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
This is Cuba
If you havent seen the movie, This is Cuba, then I highly reccomend you watch it! We watched it in History class and I was so shocked that Cuba is so close to us here in Miami, yet it's two completely different worlds. This movie really opened my eyes to what life in Cuba is like. After seeing this movie you can't help but to think how different Cuba would be without Castro, it would probably be a great weekend getaway for all of us here in Miami!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
My blog
Hi! My name is Margaux and I'm an AP world history student. I'm currently working on a project to go along with our study of Cuba and the book, Waiting for Snow in Havana. If anyone would like to share their memoirs with me or knows of any interesting organizations helping immigrants of Cuba please let me know! Check back whenever you can, I'll be sharing not only personal memoirs, but also any memoirs i receive! thanks!!
email: iceskater500@aol.com
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