Today in class l did my CIA facts. I'm really upset because my grade now is a c. If only l did the blogs when l was supposed to. l   should've done studied more and payed attention because grades matter a lot. Next quarter l will do all my blogs and study really hard for my quizzes and tests. l will also start taking very good notes. My grades really matter to me and l don’t want them to affect my future classes and scores. Therefore I will try as hard as possible to keep an positive attitude towards school.

he United States population is 3^rdin the world. This is interesting to me because I would assume that the United States would have a lot more people. But it’s also interesting because The United States is way smaller than say Russia, but Russia is the 9^thmost populated. So, I would assume since Russia is bigger it would have more people but that’s not the case.

The United States do not have an official language. Although they do not have an official language 79% of the country speaks English. English has acquired 32 of the 50 states. This interests me because even though America does not have an official language most of the country speaks English.

The median age for male is 36 and for female its 39. This is interesting because compared to countries like Monaco and Japan the age is around 47-53. It is good that our median age is around 37 therefore we have more people able to work and produce in our country. 

Life expectancy in the United States is 80 years. For males its 77 and female its 82. It makes me wonder why women’s life expectancy is higher than males. Did the males do something to increase their chances of death? Or did the females do something to decrease the chances?

The obesity rate for our country is the top 12. This is not surprising to me based on all the fast food and unhealthy stuff we eat. I am a little surprised that it is not higher than top 12. I can’t help to think about the united states compared to the top country obesity rate is Nauru. There population can’t be high considering a lot of people are probably dying from obesity.

today in class we went onto the official CIA website and found information on different countries. what blows my mind is that certain countries population can be under 100 when ours is over 300 million. l  also find it sad that the website now has a tab for terrorism. It makes me sad because our world is a scary place. And now they know which countries have certain terrorist groups. What surprised me the most is the amount of information they have on each country. It amazes me how they find such information based on how many countries there are in the world. This website really helps me because it gives me more information on different countries. Information that l  wouldn't know without it.

Today in class we talked about migration and population. There are so many people in the world its crazy! and to think some travel so far just to be somewhere they can be happy and have more opportunities. l can't imagine the hardworking and dedication it takes for one to come all the way to a different country and establish a new job and home. If my ancestors never came here l  dont know how my life would be. Im so glad my ancestors decided to deal with the hard travel over to America. Seeing how some countries live makes me forever happy that my great grandparents were brave enough.

today l  was absent from class because l  had a tennis match.

Today in class we learned about the over populated earth. In a couple years our world will be over 9 billion people. This is a major problem because resources such as food and purified water will be scarce. I hope that our generation can fix this problem. This makes me nervous because if we don’t fix it our world will fall apart.  To fix this problem, china tried to make a law where families can only have one to two children. Instead of 5 or 6. This made a little impact, although it’s taking away citizens right to freedom. Thank fully in the united states we don’t have this rule. Although as American’s, we think this law is strange, it’s just our culture. In china there rules aren’t as free as America’s. I personally think our generation needs to start working on fixing our populated earth and its problems. Rather than just working for money.

Today in class we took a test. i  feel like l  studied enough to ace it. It was so easy. Although l  think l  got one or two wrong the rest was easy. Now i'm waiting for the test back and its giving me anxiety. Im so nervous and everyone is walking so slow. i  just got my test and it was an 80% l  was so nervous because at first it said 24 and then 80 and l  thought it was a 24/100. l  almost cried but its okay because it was an 80 percent. l  feel very confident because my quiz score was a 40 percent so now l  doubled what my quiz score was. l  feel as if the next test will be even better.

Today in class we reviewed for Fridays test. l  need to study hard for the test in the next two nights in order to pass. We mostly reviewed time zones. At first l  was a little hesitent on the time zones but now l  feel like l  got a good grip on it. This test l  really need to get a good grade because l  have an 82 in this class and l  dont want to have a c. l  have been taking really good notes and l  think that im ready for the test. l  have to remember where the international date line is and cartography and things like that. The one thing im worried about is the 4 types of distortion. l  will study them tonight in order to get a good grade.

Today in class we talked more about culture. We also touched on the topic of how customs and culture were changed after certain events. For example 9/11 has not only impacted my family but also me. Even though I wasn’t alive I still was affected. Since my family grew up in New York after 9/11, once they had me we moved to Maryland. All because of 9/11. This just shows how one major event can affect everyone personally, and for years to come.9/11 has also affected everyone in the world. Due to the airport security that is now in affect, ever since 2001. Culture also can mean the traditions and customs you have with one another. For example a tradition The United States has is 4^thof July, memorial day, presidents day, etc. This shows that culture is everywhere and everyone has a form of tradition or culture anywhere you go.

Ancient cartography. We all know Eratosthenes made a map of the entire world. Name three other things he is known for.

• 1.  He invented an easy method for finding out prime numbers. 
• 2.  First to calculate the tilt of the Earth's axis
• 3. First to calculate circumference of the earth.

Time zones. If it is 10:00 am in Bel Air, what time is it in…

• 4.  Portland, Oregon - 7:00 am
• 5.  Greenwich, England - 3:00 pm
• 6.  Toronto, Ontario - 10:00 am
• 7.  The South Pole- 3:00 am

Locations and place names.

• 8.  List five toponyms that are named after physical features. 
• England, Wales, Scotland, Isle of man, Ireland
• 9.  List five toponyms that are named after Native American places. 
• Philadelphia, Sante Fe, Providence, Chicago, New York City
• 10.  List five toponyms that are named after a person of prominence. 
• Cambodia, Columbia, Israel, Marshall Islands, Europe.
• 11.  List five toponyms that have some religious affiliation.
• San Juan, Sante Fe, San Jose, St. Charles, Bethlehem.

Latitude and Longitude. Give the latitude and longitude for the following cities.

• 12.  Baltimore, Maryland- 39.2904° N, 76.6122° W
• 13.  Quito, Ecuador- 0.1807° S, 78.4678° W
• 14.  Taveuni, an island in Fiji- 16.8414° S, 179.9813° W
• 15.  Christchurch, New Zealand- 43.5321° S, 172.6362° E
• 16.  Juneau, Alaska- 58.3019° N, 134.4197° W

Antipodes. (Don’t worry, this won’t be on the test. But it’s still cool.)

• 17.  Give the definition of Geographic Antipode; 
• Any spot on Earth is the point on Earth's surface diametrically opposite to it.

Find the antipode for the following locations. I suggest www.antipodesmap.com.

• 18.  Beijing, China- Departamento Conesa, RN, Argentina
• -39.905963, -63.608752 (39° 54' 21.5" S, 63° 36' 31.5" W)
• 19.  Bermuda- -32.301822, 115.239642 (32° 18' 6.6" S, 115° 14' 22.7" E) JUST WATER
• 20.  Your house-  -39.539227, 103.666763 (39° 32' 21.2" S, 103° 40' 0.3" E)  JUST WATER

l was not in school today because l was sick with a stomach bug.

Today in class we learned about culture. Culture means to care for/ about. Today’s class I realized that a lot of people’s culture affects how they live and where. For instance, how I lived in New York, after 9/11 our lives were changed. Even though I was not alive when this event occurred, it had a great significance on my life. If 9/11 didn’t happen I would still live in New York. It changes a lot for you too, even if you had no to significance of 9/11. Airports and other securities were changed ever since. These are just some examples on how one person’s culture can affect everyone.  Everyone’s culture is different bur over all we all are affected. One person is affected more than the other, but it still has a dent in all. It doesn’t have to be 9/11, it can be a tradition, or even a protest a state has, they all affect the nation all over.

Today in class we had a pop quiz. I’m really worried about my grade. I have an 82 and the pop quiz is going to make it go down even more. My goal is to have straight A’s by the end of the semester. Now that I know we have pop quizzes, I will study my notes every day and continue to take really good notes. In class we also talked about how different words in English are really hard to learn for people that don’t speak English. Different to, two, and too must be really hard and I’m so glad that I speak English from the start. I can’t imagine coming to a different country and learning the language. I have crazy respect for people who come to another country and learn all their different traditions. I learned today in class that I will be trying harder to get a better grade in my classes, and hopefully keep straight A’s.

Today in class we learned about how different people have different accents. My cousins from New York think Maryland people have a southern accent. It’s crazy how 4 hours away we can all talk different. I personally find it crazy that all over the country we have different accents based off the state you live in. How is it that states all talk the same but other people speak differently? I also learned that in china you can tell what town they’re from. Which makes me wonder does anyone not have an accent? In this world we all haven’t different accents. Language changes all the time and we don’t even notice because we evolve into the accent. Just like how new words like bet, facts, aight, gonna. They all are new and people use them each and everyday and they don’t even notice.  Accents and the way people talk is crazy that it can all be different!

Today we went over the test and I was happy with my grade. I already mentioned that it was a little hard for me to take in my blog. I was just a little confused today because in class you said that “This is the grade you get when you talk in the back of the class.” But Mia got an 86, it just takes me longer to process information. You also said how a C is average and not bad. I feel that my grade can get better but in my defense that was the first high school test I’ve taken, it gets harder when you go from middle school to high school. I won’t let this grade affect the rest of the class because I have all a’s other than this class. I am willing to get that grade up. I feel a little ashamed now about my grade because I feel now as if my grade was bad. But as a person who has a lot of trouble learning new things a 76 is just a start.

Today in class we talked about the government listening and watching us.

This scared me because I realized anything we do they can track us. I also think that people should be more cautious and read the terms that we accept to. We are signing away stuff we have no clue about. I’m sure that if we knew what we accept to we would be more cautious. Amazons Alexa is just a way for the government to listen to us. Although it makes our life easier it also makes it scarier. People can hack the system and get a lot of information off of us. That’s another thing, our iPhone. Whenever I talk about a certain product it then pops up as an ad on my social media. Which makes me wonder, what else are they listening to? I personally think the government should admit to doing this so it’s not as scary and unknown what they really are doing.