Blog Topic #12

The volcanic eruption currently taking place near Eyjafjallajokull, Iceland provides a perfect opportunity to apply geography. To fully understand this event and its global implications one must pull together information from a variety of sources and disciplines. This is the hallmark of geography - thinking spatially while piecing together the necessary information/facts to understand a specific event or phenomena.

In this blog I want you to read about and research this event and comment on the connections to and/or impacts on each of the following:

1) Location of volcano
2) Economics
3) Physical Geography/Geology
4) Politics
5) Movement of People/Transportation

Blog Topic #11

As I mentioned in class last week - The opportunities in East Asia (especially China) for people your age are endless. Whether it's teaching English, serving as a short or long-term missionary, teaching full-time, or working for a multinational business, there are a multitude of options.

In this blog I want you to choose one of the following to explore more in-depth. Visit the links I provide and also explore related websites on your own and then blog about what the agency/organization does, the opportunities available for college grads, and how it all relates to our flattening (globalizing) world.

1. Hong Kong International School
http://www.hkis.edu.hk/home_index.php

2. Lutheran Church Missouri Synod International Work
http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=4861

3. Concordia International School Shanghai
http://www.ciss.com.cn/

4. Language Corps
http://www.languagecorps.com/?gclid=CIr384vKk6ECFR9lswodoS48OQ

5. Jobs in China
http://www.chinajob.com/
http://www.newchinacareer.com/index.html

Blog Topic #10

One of my favorite shows is Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. Shown on the Travel Channel, it combines two of my favorite things: food and geography.

One of the best parts of traveling is sampling local foods, which in this show can be very exotic and oftentimes downright disgusting to us Americans. But, as I always say, it is not taste that determines what we like to eat, but culture. We learn what is good or not good to eat. So while we turn up our noses at drinking fresh cow blood, it is a delicacy to the Maasai of Tanzania.

Go to the Bizarre Foods website (http://alturl.com/amtz) and watch some of the shows video clips or go to YouTube and search "Bizarre Foods." Blog about the strangest thing you have eaten, or seen someone else eat during your travels. Or, just write about why you think people around the world have such a varied diet. How will continued globalization impact what people will or will not eat in the future? Thoughts?

Blog Topic #9

Forbes recently published its list of the world's billionaires. Interestingly, Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim Helu eclipsed Bill Gates as the richest person in the world. His networth of $53.5 billion edges out Bill Gates' paltry $53 billion. Nebraskan Warren Buffet, aka the Oracle of Omaha, is third with an estimated net worth of $47 billion.

As with most things, you can think spatially about where billionaires are found and how they amassed their fortunes. For example, Russia has 62 billionaires, with Moscow ranking only behind New York City in cities with the most billionaires. Meanwhile, Finland and Pakistan have their first billionaires while China, with 89, now has the most outside the U.S.

Go to http://bit.ly/cge0mu and read and learn about the latest list of the world's richest people. Make sure to examine the breakdown of billionaires by region and peruse all the other interesing information on the site.

Assignment: Be creative and blog about the Forbes list. You can select one person or region on the list to write about or write about the list in general. Jazz up your post with videos, article links, or pictures.

Think spatially.

Blog Topic #8

A great way to teach and learn about the world is through online video clips. National Geographic maintains a vast collection of video clips organized by region, country, and topic.

Go to http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/ and search the database to find a video that interests you. Be sure to expand the categories to see the types and categories of videos available. Select and embed one of these videos in your blog and describe why you selected it.