Holiday part 2: Myanmar

Myanmar is a strongly Buddhist country (cultural lens). This is Shwedagon pagoda in the capital, Yangon. it contains massive quantities of gold, which of course originated as a mineral in the lithosphere.


In this photo we are standing on the exposed and dried bed of the Irrawaddy river (hydrosphere). The river was low at this time of year due to fluctuations in the amount of moisture in the atmosphere. The monsoons hadn't arrived yet. Where are the headwaters of the Irrawaddy river located? First one to respond with the answer gets a geo-blog bonus mark.

Holiday part 1: Macau

Geography is everywhere and I couldn't help seeing it in Macau. I felt it too! When I got off the plane in Guangzhou the temperature was about 18 degrees celsius. Quite a contrast from the below zero freezing temperature I had left behind in Dalian just hours earlier. How can we explain this difference? The first one to post the answer (by clicking on the comment button) gets a geoblog bonus mark!
I heard the difference as well. Cantonese sounds very different from Mandarin but somehow familiar to me because of Vancouver's large Cantonese population.

Here's a Geo-snapshot of Macau:

Theme of Place...

Cultural lens: The Legacy of Portuguese colonization is everywhere, in the well preserved old Portuguese buildings and churches, in street names, and most enjoyably in the Portuguese restaurants. The blending of Cantonese and Portuguese cooking has even got its own name: Macanese.

Today, with the increased influx (movement) of tourists from Mainland China (region) and other countries there is a growth in Macau that can be seen in the construction of new large hotels and casinos. The photo above shows the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino. Lisboa is the name of Portugal's capital city, called Lisbon in English and the unique architecture of the building reflects the Chinese culture. The building looks like a lotus flower, an important symbol of Buddhism (see http://www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/symbols/lotus.htm).

Economic lens:Gambling in casinos is perhaps the greatest attraction for tourists to Macau and it is the mainstay of the economy. Hotel rates double on Friday and Saturday night at thousands of Hong Kong residents descend on the city.

Political lens: Macau has been run as a Special Administrative Region (SAR), like Hong Kong since 1999 when it returned to China's jurisdiction. Therefore we can see it as following Deng Xiaoping's famous "One country, two system" doctrine.

Social lens: Perhaps my commentary here is superficial because I have only spent perhaps two weeks in total in Macau over the past 12 years but there seems to be a social equity here. I don't see many poor and the people seem well dressed, educated, and secure. Pointing to this is the rank of 28 on the UN Human Development Index (HDI) putting Macau on the same level as many European countries and places such as Singapore.
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Development_Index

Starting your Geo Blog

Why not get a head start on your blog over the holiday?

1. Email me at adrianconradi@gmail.com and then I will invite you to set up a gmail account. Then you can proceed to step 2.

2. To start your blog, go to https://www.blogger.com/start and follow the instructions.

Your page address should be your name + geography 12. For example, "http://angelgeography12.blogspot.com/"

3. Once you have set up your blog, go to my blog and click "follow this blog". Do the same to other classmate's blogs once they have been set up. This way we will create a network of geobloggers!

Why Start a Geography 12 Blog?

The Geo 12 blogs will replace our portfolios in Terms 3 and 4. We believe that the blogs have several advantages over our traditional portfolios:

1. The blog will help you manage your time (because we can see if you have actually created one post per week rather than saving all your work until the last few days)
2. We can give you feedback as you develop your portfolio/blog instead of creating it on your own.
3. You can benefit from seeing how other classmates are creating their portfolio/blogs and you can (and must!) comment on each others' blogs. This is a form of cooperative learning!
4. The Geo blogs should encourage 'first person' commentary, rather than 'cut and paste' research. No more plagiarism!

The Geo blogs will be marked according the portfolio rubric and will remain 10% of your total mark. You may wish to include your geo-dictionary words on your blog as well. Want 10/10? Here are the criteria:

10/10
-Blog is "exceptionally well done"
-Demonstrates awareness and deep understanding of geography
-Sources of items are varied
-Makes excellent connections to class content
-Superior identification of the themes/spheres/lenses of geography

Geo Blogs Xian Zai Kai Shi!