Final Post - Reflection

English 15 was by far the best English class I’ve taken. Having spend all my life writing the standard 5 paragraph essay, this class allowed me to be more creative with my papers, and to have more fun writing them. I would say the most enjoyable paper to write was the reflection essay I wrote about PEDs in baseball. Looking back, I’m almost embarrassed to say that I used to think revising was pointless. This class has taught me the necessity of proper revision, as well as proper planning while writing. My essays had a drastic increase in effect and meaningfulness after revision compared to before. The biggest hump to get over for me was the thought that I might read over my essay and have everything wrong with it. This class showed me that even if that were the case, proper planning will allow you to fix all your mistakes with plenty of time. The purpose and ability to write paragraph transitions also became a lot more clear to me with the help of this class. When you start to think about how to really get your message across, it become a lot easier to write than when you’re just trying to write to match a certain criteria. That freedom that I never had before made this a really enjoyable class, and even though it was a “requirement” it was probably my favorite of the semester. I think my writing abilities have improved a lot throughout the semester, especially after learning how to approach writing a new way. 

Egyptian Revolution Part 4

After about a week, we finally got the notice that we were going to be evacuated. I remember my Dad taking pictures of everything we owned before leaving, in case looters broke in, or the building was destroyed for any reason. When we got to the airport it was absolute chaos. Lines stretched for what seemed like miles, as people desperately tried to get on flights going anywhere. Luckily the company we were with had a charter plane, but it was delayed by about 20 hours, so we spent the day at the airport talking to other families and napping. First we were taken to London, where it turned out I might have to finish off my senior year. My parents made the decision to head to Houston instead, because it was where my Dad was more needed at the time. We stayed there for about 2 weeks in a hotel. While the hotels were nice, it was the longest two weeks of my life. I spent the entire time glued to the TV, hoping that the revolution would end and I could return home. We started visiting schools in case I had to stay in Houston and graduate there instead. One morning I woke up and turned on the TV to see that Mubarak had finally decided to step down, meaning we could head back. When I got back my school was missing almost half the people due to evacuations, but classes proceeded anyway. Oddly, the rest of the school year carried on almost as if nothing had happened. Definitely the craziest three weeks of my life though.

Logical Fallacies

http://rightwingnews.com/democrats/those-wacky-extreme-ill-informed-violent-dishonest-democrat-politicians/

This blog post which was posted on the website RightWing News, is a clear cut example of Ad Hominem, and Generalization/Slippery Slope. Ad Hominem is a fallacy in which someone tries to make an argument, not based on examples, but rather by attacking a person or people instead. In this article, the author literally lists a negative aspect that someone can have, and then lists several "examples" of Democrats who supposedly have these views. The author in trying to claim that all Democrats are evil by listing these supposed examples, is also committing another fallacy, one of generalization/slippery slope. He claims that since these examples exist, and are in the Democratic party, that the entire party must have the same views. His claims of "racism" and prejudice by the Democratic members are also slippery slopes. For example, the author writes that in one speech, Obama revealed his true racism, since he said that his Grandmother was a "typical white person." In another example, he writes that Obama is a "monster" who enjoys the murder of innocents since he said he would not stop bombings in Afghanistan. The author claims that since he wouldn't stop, that he obviously wants these innocent people to die. 

Exploring Venues/Publications

I chose to analyze and compare two sports blogs, Yahoo Sports’ Shutdown Corner, and Sportsnation’s Black Shoe diaries. Both are about football, however Shudown Corner relates to the NFL in general, and Black Shoe Diaries relates to the Penn State NCAA football team, and touches slightly on other Penn State Sports as well. Both are internet blogs, updated more than daily. Looking at Shutdown Corner first, the layout consists of large headlines, followed by large pictures with the story underneath. Black Shoe Diaries takes a similar approach, but will occasionally not use any picture. The blogs seem to vary primarily in how they convey news to their readers, and the primary audience of their readers. Shutdown Corner, which covers the entire NFL, has to assume that their audience is likely not familiar with most players, since there are 32 teams in the league. Because of this they usually have to explain what position, team, and notable plays/stories they have been involved with before beginning the actual story itself. For example, one of the more recent stories on Shutdown Corner was about Jabar Gaffney. In the opening sentence, below the picture, it mentions a previous story about the player that occurred last season, which people might be familiar with. It also has to casually work in his position and team in the opening sentences as well. Black Shoe Diaries, on the other hand, can assume that its audience is familiar with Penn State football, and doesn’t have to go in depth about players when relating stories that involve them. It mentions players without giving any background, and readers are assumed to know who is being discussed immediately. Then there is the obvious difference in audience. Shutdown Corner is a blog that is supposed to appeal to a wide audience, so it also mixes in humor to keep readers interested in stories not about their team. Black Shoe Diaries on the other hand can simply dish out details and facts, without having to be humorous or to have to relate to pop culture in order to keep their audience entertained. 

Example of Excellent Writing

For my example of excellent writing I chose Shel Silverstein's poem Masks. It's very short, but it manages to create a nice little story with the few lines it has. It's both a clever poem for kids, and a somewhat moving message for adults, which I think makes it even better.

Egyptian Revolution Part 3

The next morning I was feeling a bit better, but I was still out of it. At some point in the afternoon I went to the roof of my building with my Dad, which was one of the tallest in the area and look around the city. There was sporadic gunfire and shouts all across town, but we couldn’t see anything. All we saw were empty streets, and wild roaming dogs, who could now wander freely. But something happened that I’ll never forget. On my own street, the one I’ve walked down thousands of times over my life, one I thought was just a boring, regular road, rolled a heavy duty tank. Even when the revolution was all over and I walked down that road again, I still can’t imagine a deadly tank rolling down it. By that night the looting had become a serious issue. Nobody worried about being attacked by police, or a rioter, they worried about a thug breaking into your house, or mugging you in the street. A group of men had tried breaking into my building, but were prevented from entering by the building’s hired guards. Vigilante crews began to form to keep looters off the street. They wore white armbands, and usually carried some rudimentary weapon like a cricket bat, or a kitchen knife tied to a broom.

There was a marine who lived across the hall from me, who I saw with two big duffel bags hugging his family and leaving to report to his base. Because he was with the government, SWAT-like troopers were posted outside my buildings. They carried huge automatic weapons, and wore night-vision goggles. They would stay up all night guarding the place, and their presence lightened the mood of everyone in the building. The residents would sometimes meet and talk about random things just to talk to other people. We were getting somewhat restless, hardly ever leaving out apartments, and only communicating through telephone.

            

Egyptian Revolution Part 2

On my second night back in Cairo, the chaos from downtown had spread to the “westernized” area of the city I lived in. It was exhilarating and horrifying both at the same time. It was an extremely surreal experience. For the lack of a better explanation, in the movie Black Hawk Down, there was sporadic gunfire off in the distance throughout most of the movie, this was a lot like that. It was made even more surreal by the terrible cold I was undergoing at the time. I would wake up in the middle of the night, wide awake, and try and watch tv shows to pass the time until I got tired. The gunfire would just continue back and forth while I watched Aqua Teen Hunger Force and ate Mac and Cheese. People were still clueless as to what was going to happen, but we we’re slowly starting to realize that it wasn’t going to blow over anytime soon. I remember calling my friend who lived near the center of downtown, and him telling me he had a rifle. His father and uncles had gone out to protect the street from looters, and he had been left behind to guard the house and the rest of his family. I thought it was crazy that just a week and a half ago we were just hanging out like normal high-schoolers, and now we were in this unbelievable situation, but I wasn’t freaked out, nobody seemed freaked out. I would occasionally go to my balcony and look into the street. I was on the second floor and I remember being a little frightened that a looter would see me looking around and try to rob my apartment for some reason. That second night seems to me now like one of the longest of my life. 

Egyptian Revolution Part 1

I was on a school trip when the Egyptian Revolution began. I remember talking to some friends while in the Hauge, where my trip was, and everything seeming normal. The day we were set to return, however, riots escalated and the police were forced off the street. We were forced to stay in an airport hotel, as the flight to Cairo was cancelled. The next day we returned  to an eerie sight. We were greeted at the airport by our vice-principal, who filled us in on what had been happening. The mobile phone service had been cut off, along with the internet. The streets were deserted, devoid of both police (which had been a permanent fixture on most street corners) and citizens. Riots had happened before, so nobody knew exactly what to expect, but most people assumed we would be back in school the next day. I was dropped off at school and walked the short two-block journey back to my apartment. I was literally the only person on those streets. When I got into my apartment my parents had fixed dinner, which I ate quickly and fell asleep. When I woke up it was night and I had a terrible headache brought on by a head cold. I remember not even being able to get off my bed because the pain was so overwhelming, and constantly having a bloody nose. School was indeed cancelled the next day, as the rioters downtown were still en masse, and accumulating more as the hours went by. The whole day consisted of phone calls to peoples houses, as everyone was either checking to see how their friends were, or simply bored from lack of cell phone service and internet. I spent the whole day sick, stuck on my couch watching movies and slipping in and out of sleep. That was the night when I started hearing gunfire.

The Keys to Travelling

Here are 8 tips I've picked up in my experiences travelling. 

1) Anger gets you nowhere

Whether you're at the airport or a hotel check-in desk, there's always something bound to go wrong. While it might seem like the perfect opportunity to let out all the stress of travelling on the receptionist, it won't get you anywhere. My brother used to work reception, and they always had ways of punishing unruly customers, and trust me, you're better off just working with them in a quiet and kind manner. Also everyone in the airport who walks by you and sees you yelling will automatically hate you.

2) Don't forget to sync up

Although it might seem obvious, unsynchronized timing while passing through time zones can spell disaster. I met up with a friend once in Germany for a few days and we crashed at an airport hotel the last night. The whole time his phone was still set to Egypt's time zone and missed his flight entirely. Also when travelling with family/friends syncing watches/phones is very important. If you're going to meet up at 1:15 by gate 36, you'd all better be on the same time.

3) Have a designated spot for everything

I have to admit I'm pretty terrible at this, and it comes back to bite me 9 times out of 10. This is especially important for your passport/ID and wallet. Just have a specific pocket to put them in and you should have no worries.

4) Relax

This is really important on long trips. If you have a long layover, take a stroll or grab a bite to eat with a book, anything to take your mind off the stress. It's probably important to have #3 locked down before so you don't accidentally lose anything while you're napping on the terminal seats. My personal favorite way to relax is to grab some McDonald's and chill by a window or somewhere with a nice view.

5) Bring Entertainment

Seriously. Don't think you'll nap through everything because you stayed up late the night before. Over-prepare if you have to but the worst thing in the world is being stuck wide awake in a cramped seat on an airplane while the guys next to you are asleep and you have no source of entertainment. 

6) Be Over-Cautious

Show up to the airport 2 hours in advance for International flights, and an hour and a half for domestic, on long layovers check every the boards every once in a while to see if the gate changed, etc. Better safe than sorry.

7) Have communication

It can be pretty daunting in a foreign country with no way to contact home in case of a missed flight or an emergency. Roaming plans can be pretty expensive but if you have a 3G iPad or Kindle it can be a nifty way of sending a quick e-mail. Don't panic if you don't have one of these, just go to a help desk and remember rule #1. It's also good to remember that although you might be stuck in an airport at the moment, you won't be trapped there your whole life, it'll all be sorted out. 

8) Have fun

I guess.

Introduction

   Hi, my name is Jake Marten, and I'm currently a Freshman at Penn State studying Geosciences. I was born in Houston Texas and lived there for 3 years before moving to Norway, where I lived for another three years. When I was six I moved back to Houston for a year, after which I moved to Cairo Egypt where I lived for 11 years. My life has taken me all around the world, and it's been pretty crazy. I have one brother and one sister, both of whom have graduated college. In High School I was pretty active in clubs and sports. I played four years of Varsity Baseball with one year as Captain, I joined the Model United Nations club and served as President of the Security Council, and also did one year of Wrestling and one year of Basketball. Living in Egypt gave me the opportunity to travel to tons of places and see incredible things. I've gotten the chance to build homes in the poorest regions of Ghana, and I've been able to witness a revolution from my balcony. I only hope that I can continue my experiences into my adult life. I think one of the most important things that a person can do is to explore the world and expose themselves to new cultures and strange places.

   I thought I would write a blog about my experiences overseas both good and bad, and how living in Cairo has compared to life in America. I thought it might also be cool to give advice that I've picked in my traveling, for those of you who might be going on a trip sometime in the near future. I'll try to include any pictures I can find and hopefully it'll be as enjoyable to read as it is to write.