We are still waiting for my profile to be accepted, but I would like TODAY to take an online poll concerning your choices for continents and then countries.  Can you list first, your preference for a continent (on which to connect to classrooms of students in specific countries) and then we will narrow the search down to the countries themselves.  Thanks.

Italy, Europe

Thats me!

^^^^^ THATS ME

my fault guys china is in asia

i pick iceland instead

I wanted to do Brazil because it is a very diverse place. Some other reasons are because it's somewhere I've always wanted to go because the weather is really nice, and so is the beach.

I am choosing Norway

I wanted get in contact with a class from Japan I just put down some of the known history and some roles of men and women in olden times.

 

In 1603, a Tokugawa Shogunate (military dictatorship) started a long period of isolation from foreign influence in order to secure its power. For 250 years this policy enabled Japan to enjoy stability and a flowering of its indigenous culture. Japan attacked US forces in 1941 - triggering America's entry into World War II - and soon occupied much of East and Southeast Asia. After its defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to become an economic power and a staunch ally of the US.

 

Geisha ("person of the arts") are traditional Japanese artist-entertainers. The word Geiko is also used to describe such persons. Geisha were very common in the 18th and 19th centuries, and are still in existence today, although their numbers are dwindling. English pronunciation ("gee-sha") or the phrase "geisha girl," common during the American occupation of Japan, carry connotations of prostitution, as some young women, desperate for money and calling themselves "geisha," sold themselves to American troops.

 

Samurai is a common term for a warrior in pre-industrial Japan. A more appropriate term is bushi ("war-man") which came into use during the Edo period. However, the term samurai now usually refers to warrior nobility, not, for example, ashigaru or foot soldiers. The samurai with no attachment to a clan or daimyo was called a ronin ("wave-man"). During the era of the rule of the samurai, the earlier term yumitori (bowman) was also used as an honorary title of an accomplished warrior even when swordsmanship had become more important.

i decided to choose france due to the fact that it sounds very interesting and has alot of history such as going in the world war.And i think learning about the people and france it self will help me better understand france

Aspects of my own culture
1) Comic books are not a very popular medium in America.
2) Individualism is the core of our social interaction, encouraging people to act more like themselves.
3) The number of different cultures living in the United States is extremely diverse, with people of probably every single nation being represented in the population.
4) Owning your very own car is something that everyone wants to do. As a result, public transportation is only used by the few who can't afford (or simply refuse to own) a car.
5) Our government is a democracy, with strong emphasis being put on how we can initiate swift change in our government.
6) Our country is young, with few nationwide traditions that were exclusively ours at any point in time.
7) Hollywood rules the film market with foreign films being a niche market.
8) Christianity is the dominant religion in our country (though only in an unofficial capacity).
9) Competition is a large part of our culture. The American Dream tells us to strive to be at the top of our field no matter the cost.
10) The United States is a leader in international affairs and a military powerhouse.

Aspects of Japanese culture
1) Comic books are an extremely popular medium with a variety of weekly collaborative magazines targeting different age groups, from children to the elderly.
2) Being a part of the community is emphasized, with individualism being put on the backburner to avoid conflict.
3) Japan's population is almost completely homogenous with only small pockets of immigrants being spread throughout the country.
4) A small, concentrated population makes maintaining a cutting-edge public transportation system a necessity as not everyone needs to own a car.
5) The government is a constitutional monarchy. The imperial family has traditionally been looked at as descendants of the gods.
6) Japan is a long-standing entity with a long history and many traditions which still influence the culture to this day.
7) American-made films are a large part of the film industry in Japan, frequently outperforming even Japan's own films.
8) Bhuddism is the dominant religion, placing no large significance on any particular deity as a religious leader.
9) Competition is only encouraged to a certain extent. Instead, collaboration is encouraged so everyone can benefit from the results.
10) Japan is a geographically and culturally isolated nation, having a history of periods during which little exchange besides business was done with the outside world. Also, Japan (up until very recently) has been forbidden by the US government to have a formal military except in the form of self-defense (hence the Japanese Self-Defense Force) since the end of World War II.

Uh... Is that all I'm required to post? Two of the steps say to post ten aspects of the culture we've selected, but it seemed redundant to post another ten.

 1.Japan is a very technologycal place,
Today Japan is one of the world's leaders in the development of new environment-friendly technologies

Japan is one of the leading nations in the fields of scientific research, particularly technology, machinery and biomedical research. Nearly 700,000 researchers share a US$130 billion research and development budget, the third largest in the world.^[66] For instance some of Japan's more prominent technological contributions are found in the fields of electronics, automobiles, machinery, industrial robotics, optics, chemicals, semiconductors and metals

2.Japn is very overcrowed with alot of people that theres bearly any place for grave so they all get buried upside down


3.They are every well clutuled people, they still go by old terditions and new ones

4. they are very big sports fans
    - sumo
    - baseball
    - karate
     -soccer
5. They eat fresh food

6.Because only about 15% of Japan's land is suitable for cultivation,a system of terrace farming is used to build in small areas. This results in one of the world's highest levels of crop yields per unit area.

7. They are so advenced in technology that hond builed there own working robote
8. They are major in movies and comic books

9.Has 10 island and many more unknown

10. is Like newyork but better ^^
   

Lili =D wrote:

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yeah i think we love love japan ^_^ sweet hehe

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Hey, don't lump me in with you. I mean, don't get me wrong; Japan would be an interesting place to live. But I'm interested in traveling to a lot of countries some day to find inspiration for my writing.

 

STEP #4
Norway Culture 10 Points

1. Skiing and other sports play a major role in Norwegian life.
2. Seafood, especially fish is quite common in Norway cuisine
3. Literature and books are important in Norway
4. as well as films and plays.
5. Norway celebrates St. Luticas Day and Christmas.
6. Music is common in Norways culture especially black metal
7. Sports and outdoor activities such as skiing and hiking are common in Norway
8. All kinds of fish and seafood are abundant in Norway.
9. On special holidays Norwegians dress in costumes with bright colors.
10. Norwegian people like to eat different kinds of food. Norwegians like to eat a bread-like food called lefse. The main ingredients used in making lefse are potatoes and flour. People like to eat butter and sugar or fruit or jam on their lefse.

 

American Culture 10 Points

1. Americans have a love for sports. Baseball and Football are two of the most commonly played and watch sporting events in America.
2. Food is another important aspect of American life. Fast Food is a common aspect of any American daily life especially, Mc Donalds, Burger King, Taco Bell, and
   Sub Way
   .
3. Great literature is a part of Americas past, present, and future. This plays a very important role.
4. Television and Movies are Americas second favorite pastime and with obesity on the rise, it goes hand and hand with the dependency of fast food.
5. It is tradition in America to have many diverse traditions. Christmas can be celebrated in at least three different ways in America. Hanukah , Christmas, and Kwanza other holidays are common in America especially New Years and Halloween.
6. Music is very popular in America but it is very diverse. (Rock, rap/hiphop, country/ blue grass, punk, pop, metal, classical)
7. Sports in America include but not limited to, (baseball, soccer, football, basketball, golf, lacrosse, hockey, martial arts, and sailing)
8. Americas foods mainly include meat and fish especially, steak, hamburger, and chicken.
9. America celebrates its independence day on July 4^th,  this accompanies barbeques and fireworks.
10. American Culture is truly a combination of cultures from around the world brought together from immigrants from around the world. America actually is made completely of immigrants besides the Native Americans who actually immigrated form Asia (bearing strait land bridge)

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If America is not carful, Japan and China will surpass us in technology and in economical superiority( the latter, i believe has already happened or is very close to happening) :(

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              sry i forgot to write in my name.

Well, I hope I get an e-mail from one of the Taiwanese students. I can talk to them about Ang Lee (a Taiwanese director) and Takeshi Kaneshiro (an ethnically-Japanese Taiwanese-film actor; he was in "House of Flying Daggers" opposite Zhang Ziyi and Andy Lau).

grades updated 3-13-08