Reflective Essay: My Alaskan Experience

                                                                           November 1, 2007
     Dear Erica,                                                                
  It is with great pleasure that myself and the People to People Student Ambassador Programs invite you to travel with us to Alaska for two weeks. You will explore all " The Last Frontier" has to offer.
        Congratulations,
        Mary Jean Eisenhower
       President and CEO, People to People International
   
    This was how the letter began, giving me the opportunity to travel to Alaska. I remember showing the invation to my parents...my mom began to cry. She said "Barry we have to make it possible for  Erica to go, this is a once in a lifetime experience." With that invation I began my journey to Alaska.
    Every month beginning in April, I went to meetings preparing me for my adventure to Alaska. Not only was I taught about the history and different cultures but I was taught how to live on my own. Every meeting would target a different aspect of that I would need to be successful going on this adventure. One or two of the meetings were on the history, many tribes and cultures of Alaska. But, most of them were on packing, talking about what we would need to bring and how to present ourselves.
     The day of my deperature came... my parents dropped me off at Newark Liberty International Airport on the morning of July 21st. We said our good-byes and off I went on my journey to Alaska " The Last Frontier". The eight and a half hour plane ride seemed to take forever. The fact that the plane was so cramed did not help either. When the plane finally landed in Anchorage, Alaska it was a rainy and dreary day outside... but thankfully that changed. The weather for the trip was mostly beautiful except for a couple days here and there.
     Over a course of two weeks I participated in numerous activities and visited many towns and places too. I was introduced to Dog Sledding, White Water Rafting  and Hiking  which were all so much fun. But, I think one of my greatest accomplishments while in Alaska was hiking all the way to the tippy top of Flat Top Mountain in Anchorage. From atop the mountain the view was amazing.  In some ways I think climbing down the mountain was harder than climbing up because the side of the mountain was steep and winding, but climbing up was just hard on my legs. Another interesting aspect of this trip was talking to native Alaskans and hearing about their way of life.
     Finally, this fourteen day adventure came to end on August 3rd. I truly had the experience of a lifetime.  I was exposed to activities and a place that I had never been to nor ever experienced before. And while on this trip I made long lasting friends.
    By going on this trip with People to People Student Ambassadors not only did I learn about and experience differnent activities and a new culture, but I learned how to be more independent.
 
    

Bonus Blog

       In the movie and novella Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde women are portrayed differently throughout the story. In the novella women are hardly mentioned but in the movie women are metioned as entainers. The only time in the story when women are metioned is when Hyde ran into the little girl. But, in  the movie women are portrayed as entainers(in lack of a better term). In the movie the first women itroduces to us was Merial( Jekyll's fiance) but once Jekyll turns into Hyde  he ends up at a go-go bar and with this women( who I think might be a dancer) and ends up in her appartment killing her. I think Mamoulian was trying show women as nothing but entainers during this time because most of the scenes with women in them are showing women  singing at restaurents or being followed by men (Hyde).

The Prosecution of Mr. Hyde

       Mr. Hyde is being  prosecuted for alleged murder of Sir Danvers Carew a member of Parliment.  There is many sources for proof, let us begin with the maid who witnessed the murder. According to this source Mr. Hype clubbed(hit over the head many times.) Sir Danvers Carew mnay times until he was out and the other half of the stick Mr. Hyde used to murder Sir Danvers Carew was found behind Mr. Hydes door.  These are some other reason why Mr. Hyde should be prosecuted:
       Facts that can Lead to Mr. Hyde's Prosecution
    Mr. Hyde wears clothes that are much to big for him
    He is small and weird looking
    The other half of the stick that was used to murder Sir Danvers Carew was behind Mr. Hydes    door
   Mr. Hyde's and Dr. Jekyll's handwriting is almost identical
   Mr. Hyde drank a potion and became Dr.Jekyll
   Mr. Hyde murdered Dr. Jekyll


                 

Blog Post #3- The Character I am Most Drawn To

            In The Stranger Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, there are many intresting characters, but the character I am most drawn too is Dr. Jekyll. I think I am drawn to him the most because you never know what he is going to do next, and there is just something a little bit strange abou the way he  acts and presents himself. I feel Dr. Jekyll can be a little bit creepy at times. An example of this is when Mr. Guest was comparing the two notes and he realized that both notes were written in the same handwritting, In my opinion so far the theme of loyality in friendship is re-occuring. For instance, after Dr. Lanyon died Mr. Utterson found a note saying not to be read until Dr. Jekyll has died or has gone missing, Mr. Utterson fought his urges to open the letter because he wanted to be loyal to his decised friend.

" Story of the Door" Reaction

             During the novel The Stranger Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde  the reader experiences many weird actions. One being when Mr. Hyde ran into and knocked the little girl down he left her on the side walk screaming. In my opinion this shows that Mr. Hyde does not care at all about her. Also, I thought it was kind of mean that he ran inside his house, and came out with ten pounds of gold and gave the family a check. This gave me the impression that all Mr. Hyde cared about was keeping his reputation good and not about the girl he knocked down.
        The prereading articles connect to this novel because they say that people with mental illeness' remained untreated in their homes. I feel Mr. Hyde has some sort of mental illness because when he came out with the check, it did not have his name or signture but it did have Dr. Jekyll's name and signture. I think that onlya criminal ot mentally ill person would fordge and or steal someones signture and check.
       The overall theme of this novel so far is; during this time period your reputation decides who you are as a person in society.

Mental Illness in the 19th Century By Carrie Hughes

     In the article Mental Illness in the 19th Century by Carrie Hughes, the article talks about the causes  and ways of treatment for mental illness'. The firsts colonists blamed mental illness' on witchcraft and demonic possession (a term often used to describe the control over a human form by a demon). People who were mentally ill were sent to alms houses( chartible housing provided to enable people, typically elderly people who can no longer earn enough money to pay rent, to live in a particular community) or they remained untreated at a home. THe conditions in these p;aces were very poor and appaling. Beginning in the late eighteenth century "moral treatment " had become the most common way of treatment in the United States. "Moral Treatment" predicted that insanity was caused by brain damage. "Moral Treatment replaced the model of demonic possession.
    By the 1880sw people were turing against asylums because of the stories about their terrible conditions. Even though people were turning against Mental Asylums, the medical standards were inplemented. New theories/ treatments include "rest cures" and using static electricity. The central point of this article is explaining conditions of alms homes and moral treatment.
     My reaction to this article is that it is informative on the blames and treatments of mental illness'. I also find it discusting the way patients in the alms houses were treated.