Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Trip to the Southeast

So, I'll soon be going on my trip to the Southeast. I know a bit about the region. In the region, there are the Appalachian Mountains, the Mississippi River, the Everglades, Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, barrier islands, Piedmont, the Costal Plains, agriculture, livestock, coal, oil, lumber, farming, farmers, miners, and rich soil. The Southeast is a little bit of every region, so this might be a cool one.
I want to know a lot of things about the Southeast. How tall are the Appalachian Mountains? How are the wetlands formed? In how many states do the Appalachians cross? What types of other natural resources can you find there? In how many states do peanuts grow in?
So, that is my 1st Southeast journal. Hope you liked it!

Going to the Northeast

So, soon I'm going to the Northeast! I know a bit about the Northeast. There are 11 states, including Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Delaware, New Jersey, and Connecticut. In New York, there is Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, that stands for freedom in our country. There are the Appalachian Mountains in part of the Northeast too. I just figured out that some tribes were the Nanticoke, Susquehannock and Powhatan. Very interesting things.
I have lots of questions. What are some other Native American tribes? Does the Statue of Liberty stand for more than just freedom? Is there any important history that happened commonly? Any other history I should know? That is my first Northeast journal. Hope you like it!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Slavery Day 3

I tried escaping. I really. did. Unfortunately, my master caught me and whipped me 40 times. That was a terrible mistake. Now, this makes my second attempt of escaping much more difficult. Though I keep thinking of the wonderful days of freedom I could have. It would be truly wonderful.
Though I heard that some of my friends escaped, but died. Some of them died of starvation. The only thing I can do to help is peek in the shed and see my friend dying. Or look deeply into the forest and seeing slaves getting caught and murdered by someone that is not my master.
Earlier, my master took his dogs out when a few slaves tried escaping, but later, I saw my master and his dogs with evil grins on their faces and death scents everywhere. There were multiple slaves that died. Most were because of being caught. But multiples made it! I can imagine them running in the grassy fields of the North, and me running alongside them. I hope that they can continue their journey safely. And make it. They still have a long journey ahead of them.
I hate life in this rotten place. They HAVE to make slaves do work for them. I wish they'd understand that WE think that if you want your own money, you got to make it yourself! If only they understood.
I really want to escape. Freedom sounds so wonderful. I can't take this rotten place anymore! I HAVE to escape, and I don't care the consequences. I only care about them 60%, but there's no difference. I'm thinking hard about my decision. But I might not make it. I keep fighting back Though I can't keep living like this! I have to escape. My final decision will be hard. Escape, or no? I don't want to stay here forever, but I don't want to die. I'm wondering. Risking my life might be a terrible mistake. Might. I actually might make it. Might. I hate the word "might". It makes life so much harder. Wouldn't life be easier if your only reply could be "yes" or "no"? Definitely in this case. I want a yes or no answer for if I will die. I hope my decision is the best, and I don't die if I do it.

I AM GOING TO

Slavery Day 2

My master has nearly killed me when I didn’t follow orders! He stabbed me in the stomach, but I’m so glad other slaves helped me in time. I feel nearly worse than before. I really don’t know what to do, but I’d better heal quickly before I’m back to work! I really want to escape, but I don’t want to get stabbed again. I do not want to SEE or HOLD my intestines again! I’m happy that I made it out there alive, but I really want my shirt back! I feel really bad as I heal, and I don’t want my master to do anything worse than what he did, but if I stay it could happen again, and if I escape and don’t make it, they might stab me harder and in more places! I don’t ever want to go to church and get hit with cowhide 20 times and shirt ripped off, beat by the barrel of a gun and shovel, or get a knife stabbed in my head and stomach ever again! I feel like this is the worst day of my life!
The other problems feel better than before, now that my roommates are helping me. I like their healing skills! I’m just going to hope that the master doesn’t force me to do things that are unnecessary. I wish I could do things under my free will. I’m wondering what I’ll do once I heal. I heard that some people escaped and made it. I hope that later on, I don’t see the master bringing in other innocent slaves and whip them. Life’s hard, especially when you get whipped and then your back hurts. It’s not so pleasant. You can get big wounds and I heard that things sometimes lay eggs in the wounds. Gross!

I WANT TO ESCAPE!

Slavery Day 1

I've got tons of horrible news. My master's children gave some of his plantations to his kids, and one place is where the overseer whips slaves or murders slaves if they disobey orders. The overseer (what I call, "The Torturer") will try sometimes hit a slave, torture, shoot, then bury him/her in the fields. If slaves try escaping, they are handcuffed, then brought back. Often, they are murdered. When sent to the plantation, you will most likely not make it out alive. It's like a death sentence.
After this happened, I was so scared. I want to get out! I don't want to get murdered, though. It's so hard to choose; escape and get killed, or stay and die. All I want to do is hope for the best. If I'm ever sent there, I'm dead. I want to make it out alive! I feel really scared and I want to run away and make it! I might make it if I stay, but I don't want to!
There are other problems other than those. They aren't THAT bad, though. I live in a really small place. I sleep in there on hay stuffed beds with 11 other people. It is really hard to live there. I feel really bad every day. I am a field slave. I work in the fields and always do all the work. Having only a 15 minute break is hard enough. 
It’s so hard living. I always feel like escaping, but there are others that tried escaping and had to be punished and whipped. I never wanted that to happen to me, so I never tried in my life. I try my hardest, but I always think to myself that this is my life. Life changes, but in my way, I have to make it, and it is the hardest anyone can imagine. Maybe other slaves feel the same way. I might as well stay and live with it. 
But this plantation that’s growing is telling me without words to get out of here before anything worse happens! Living here is really tough, but I have my family and friends and work. I wish I could be free and live a happy life. This life really bothers me. I just want to be dancing freely in the field, but that will never happen. I will never get another life, unless I try. I guess I should choose.


I AM GOING TO STAY!

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

During the Southwest Trip

So, I already been to my trip to the Southwest. While I was there, I went to a few places.
I first went to Grand Canyon National Park in northwestern Arizona, where I also saw the Colorado River. In the Grand Canyon, there were lots of interesting things. Grand Canyon National Park is one of the oldest national parks. The Grand Canyon is divided into 2 parts. The North Rim and the South Rim. The North Rim is over 8,000 and the South Rim is over 7,000 feet above sea level. It is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. There are lots of plateaus and rocky cliffs and mountains. The elevations are dangerous and strenuous, meaning a very vigorous and forceful effort to get up. The Grand Canyon is an outstanding place.
While I was there, as you heard, I also went to the Colorado River. In Mojave, it is 'Aha Kwahwat, and in Spanish it is Río Colorado. Meaning "colored red" the Colorado River is 1,450 miles long. It covers 7 states in the U.S. including California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, and Texas. It is famous for whitewater rafting too. I think the Colorado River is great.
I next went to Monument Valley Tribal Park in northeast Arizona. In Navajo, it is Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii, meaning "Valley of the Rocks". The entrance of the tribal park is in Utah. Also known as Navajo Tribal Park, the tribal park is where the Navajos have lived for a long time. There are lots of slitstone, buttes, and plateaus. The rocks got its color from iron oxide. The place is so cool! I learned a lot about the Navajos.
Next, I went to White Sands National Monument. White Sands is west of Alamogoro, New Mexico, which is in the southwestern part of New Mexico. There are lots of white sands and gypsum crystals. A cool thing is the wind piles the sand into one pile and the hill moves slowly to the side, and because of gravity, the hills get steep and continue moving. The vast desert and mountain ranges are unusual and magical.
Last, but not least, I went to Houston, Texas. Houston is the 4th populous city in the nation (after New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago) and the 5th largest metropolitan area in the United States. It leads in health care and oil and is good in energy, aeronautics, transportation, and manufacturing.
I had a great time in the Southwest. So, this was my 2nd journal. Hope you liked it!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Trip to the Southwest

So I'm going to the Southwest. I have a lot of background knowledge on the Southwest. The Southwest is known for its plateaus and canyons. There are four states, but the Southwest is actually pretty big. There were lots of Native Americans, and some cowboys too. I am so excited to go to the Southwest. I want to go to a lot of places, since I don't think I've been to the Southwest before. I want to go to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, Padre Island in Texas, Chickasaw National Recreation Area in Oklahoma, White Sands National Monument, and lots more! I just hope I get to wherever I want to go to and enjoy it. This is my first Southwest journal. Hope you liked it!