In this final blog I would like to talk about the comparisons and differences I saw in the cultures I have expereinced.
First, within the places I have been in the United States there are so many differences. In terms of work characteristics Hawaii had a very laid back attitude while Washington D.C. was always bustling with people. Alaska was also pretty relaxed.
Besides the language difference France has some differences from the United States that I think would be nice here. For instance stores and businesses close on Sundays and shops close pretty early in the evening. However, I do like how the states do not have as much cigarette smoke around and that there is a wide variety of food to eat. France had zero Mexican food.
Australia was kinda the same way but it was more Japanese, British, and seafood types of food.
Australia's payment for employees is better than here in America. There minimum wage is at least $14 and their guest worker programs seem to work better than the U.S.
Whatever the place though I encourage you to take the new experience. I know I loved being able to travel to the different cultures and learn more about the world.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Monday, December 1, 2008
Alaska; how to get there
I was in third grade when my family made a trip to Alaska. It is still one of my favorite trips though. In this blog I'm going to discuss how I actually got to Alaska. First, my family took a plane. Not directly to Alaska though. We instead flew to Bellingham, Washington to catch a ferry.
When we arrived in Bellingham we went to the grocery store because unlike a cruise ship you feed yourself on a ferry. So we loaded up on tons of food and then boarded the boat to find our cabin. Our cabin consisted of two sets of bunk beds. I don't recall the bathroom situation so either it was really bad and I've blocked it out or it wasn't worth remembering.
Anyway the rest of the ferry was quite fun. If you took the elevator all the way to the bottom there were tons of cars and storage items. On the front of the ferry was a large viewing room with huge windows so you were able to stay inside and be warm while still viewing the ocean. There was also a small game room for kids and places on the side of the ship where you could scout for whales.
The only thing I remember about scouting for whales on the ship is that my sister, my uncle, and I would get our rain gear on and sit outside for hours watching for whales. Then when we would finally spot one the captain would get on the loud speaker and say, "Humpback whale off the port side." And all of a sudden my great view of the whale on the empty deck became me being pushed by grown people back from the deck so they could see the whale. This always struck me as funny considering I was about four feet tall maybe and everyone towered over me.
My favorite part of the ship was the top deck. It had an amazing view... of tents! On our ferry you didn't have to rent a cabin. You could go the cheaper route and just put up a tent right there on the deck. There were so many of them it was unbelievable.
After traveling up the Alaskan Channel we finally reached Juneau, Alaska's capital. We didn't stay here even a day because we were flying from that airport to Anchorage. To get to the airport though was a feat within itself. We had originally booked a large safari van to get the six of us and our luggage to the airport. We had 22 pieces of luggage since we were going fishing and were staying about a month. This luggage included 6 huge fish boxes that would carry our fish home.
My uncle went to pick up our vehicle but when he returned in a bright red convertible we were a little suprised. The renting agency had forgotten to save us a van and this was all they had left. We made about 5 or 6 trips between the harbor and the airport before all of our luggage and all of us finally made it.
Then we flew with no problems to Anchorage. From there we rented a motorhome so we could travel from town to town for the next month.
When we arrived in Bellingham we went to the grocery store because unlike a cruise ship you feed yourself on a ferry. So we loaded up on tons of food and then boarded the boat to find our cabin. Our cabin consisted of two sets of bunk beds. I don't recall the bathroom situation so either it was really bad and I've blocked it out or it wasn't worth remembering.
Anyway the rest of the ferry was quite fun. If you took the elevator all the way to the bottom there were tons of cars and storage items. On the front of the ferry was a large viewing room with huge windows so you were able to stay inside and be warm while still viewing the ocean. There was also a small game room for kids and places on the side of the ship where you could scout for whales.
The only thing I remember about scouting for whales on the ship is that my sister, my uncle, and I would get our rain gear on and sit outside for hours watching for whales. Then when we would finally spot one the captain would get on the loud speaker and say, "Humpback whale off the port side." And all of a sudden my great view of the whale on the empty deck became me being pushed by grown people back from the deck so they could see the whale. This always struck me as funny considering I was about four feet tall maybe and everyone towered over me.
My favorite part of the ship was the top deck. It had an amazing view... of tents! On our ferry you didn't have to rent a cabin. You could go the cheaper route and just put up a tent right there on the deck. There were so many of them it was unbelievable.
After traveling up the Alaskan Channel we finally reached Juneau, Alaska's capital. We didn't stay here even a day because we were flying from that airport to Anchorage. To get to the airport though was a feat within itself. We had originally booked a large safari van to get the six of us and our luggage to the airport. We had 22 pieces of luggage since we were going fishing and were staying about a month. This luggage included 6 huge fish boxes that would carry our fish home.
My uncle went to pick up our vehicle but when he returned in a bright red convertible we were a little suprised. The renting agency had forgotten to save us a van and this was all they had left. We made about 5 or 6 trips between the harbor and the airport before all of our luggage and all of us finally made it.
Then we flew with no problems to Anchorage. From there we rented a motorhome so we could travel from town to town for the next month.
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