Imperialism

I read a poem written on imperialism. It talked about some of the major reasons for imperialism. It said that natural resources and economic factors were the biggest reasons for imperialism. It also talked about how the people didn't necessarily want to be colonized. Another thing that the poem expressed was that even if the people who were colonizing thought it was a good thing it didn't necessarily mean that the people living there felt the same way. The poem also questioned why other countries didn't help prevent smaller countries from being colonized.

Global Issue

I read an article on global warming. The article was published by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The article talked about some of the causes of global warming. It said that the average temperature has increased by one degree. Also, some other effects will be that the sea level rises because the glaciers are melting, and that ecological systems may suffer. Though scientists do not know exactly what will happen, they believe that it won't overall be good. One positive effect that was noted was that places that are too cold to currently grow crops may have the chance to in the future.

Holidays

I read a poem about how someone perceives the holidays. It talked about the excitements and the events and adventures that he and his family go on each year. The author talks about how this situation is his holiday (for all we know, his holiday might just be a summer trip to a beach house).

I love the cheery bustle
Of children round the house,
The tidy maids a-hustle,
The chatter of my spouse;
The laughter and the singing,
The joy on every face:
With frequent laughter ringing,
O, Home's a happy place!

I really liked this stanza from the poem. I think that it is really descriptive and that it shows that the holidays don't have to be "perfect" to be perfect.

I think that the poem shows that holidays mean different things to different people. It is important to remember that the world is cultural diverse and that everyone has different views on holidays.

Bollywood

I found a webpage that talked about Bollywood. It described what it was, including songs and dances, cultural traditions, and the actors and actresses. The article talked about how they preform many songs and dances throughout the movie. Also it addresses the fact that the movies are very cheesey and unrealistic. It reminded me of the movie we watched in class, Bride and Prejudic. The movie had many, if not all of these qualities. Also the movie has to be filmed in Mumbai.

Culture

I read an article from the Star Tribune about a woman was arrested in Iran. She was a journalist from the United States that was in Iran for a story. She was arrested for alleged illegal activities. The Iran officials are saying that she was arrested because her press card, which allows her to report on what is going on over there, was revoked but that she continued to report. Her father said that after she was detained, she called him saying that she was arrested for buying alcohol. It is believed that she was told to tell people that she was arrested for buying alcohol because it is against their culture. I think that this is probably true- she was probably told to tell people that that's why she was arrested because they don't want the real reason to get out.

Change

I read an article in the Us Weekly Magazine about Nadya Suleman, the mother of 14 and the recently born octuplets. The article talked about how her life was going to change drastically once the, eight premature, babies come home. It also talked about how her six other children, all under the age of seven, don't yet realize how different their lives are going to be. Suleman's story is similar, yet very different from Nectar in a Sieve. It is similar in the way that Ira get's harassed for having an albino baby. Suleman is getting harassed for having the octuplets when she doesn't have a job and already had six children at home. It is different in the way that Ira only has one child. She was impregnated through prostitution. Suleman now has fourteen children. She was impregnated through in vitro fertilization.

Hope

I found a poem on hope. The poem talks about all the ways that hope can be viewed or seen. I thought it was a really creative way to portray what hope was/meant to people. The poem can be connected to Nectar and a Sieve because in the book, there are multiple different ways hope is portrayed, like in the poem. The last line of the poem is "hope is the last thing ever lost..." I feel like this is basically what the book is trying to say. Throughout the book you see hope in so many different ways, and as long as the characters had hope, they were able to survive, even if it was through harsh and dangerous situations.