My summer

Hi its Virginia...

My summer was fun, but boring. Usually I go to Brazil over the summer, because that is where the rest of my family lives (my aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins), but this year because of various reasons we did not go. Instead...we stayed here in Austin for most of the summer. I went to a ballet Summer Intensive (its kind of like a camp, but all you do is dance from 9-5 every day) for 3 weeks. Then, I went to Cancun in Mexico for a week. Then finally I went to Belles camp. (Belles is our high schools Dance/Drill Team. We dance at pep rallys and competions, and we do high kick routines at half time of Anderson's Varsity Football games). This year the Belles are working as an addition to the Color Guard, so I also attended Band camp for a week. We (the Belles and the Color Guard) are carrying 7 foot tall "moon staffs'', twirling colorful flags, and dancing/twirling rifles while the marching band plays and marches! It looks VERY cool! Our first competition with the band is Saturday!

HI I AM BACK!!!

Hi everyone!!!

My name is Virginia Alves and I am in 10th grade at Anderson!

 I had Ms. Hollrah last year for world geography and had a blast making this blog! So this year I asked to join again...I am 15 and I was born in Brazil, and talking to people around the world from different cultures is something I enjoy very much! I love learning about new cultures and sharing my own culture!

As people know the USA is known as the "melting pot" of cultures, and I am an example! I since I was born in Brazil my culture is a different than other people you may know. I speak Portuguese at home, which means I already am bilingual, and I eat different foods that most Americans. Also the way I greet my family is mostly different. 

Thanks for reading my blog!

Virginia Alves

Hi everyone!

Finals are here!

Today i took my biology final. and it was hard! so now I'm going to study for all of my other ones!

-virginia-

Hey everyone!!!

Today in World Geography we had a Map test. I think (and hope) I got a good grade! I have really enjoyed World Geography this year, and I am so happy I had Ms. Hollrah as my teacher. Today after school I went to an awards cerimony where I won an Outstanding Student in World Geography Award!!!!!!!!! 

-Virginia-

This week in World Geography we did our East Asia Maps. Also we completed Guided Readings and Geo Alive packets. They were all due today. We also got our 3 readings for a socratic seminar we are going to have on the One-Child Policy in China. But this time our socratic seminar is going to be on the website, so its going to be different. I think it will be better though, because I really don't like talking in front of a lot of people, so by typing out my opinions I think I will be able to get my point across better. 

Over the summer I am not sure what I am going to do. My family and I goto Brazil every summer, but this year I have so much dance stuff, that we might just stick around here. I usually enjoy going to Brazil because it is a good way to escape the heat. (because the earth is tilted on its axis when its summer here it is winter there) I'm not sure but I think I am going to melt in the summer heat...

-Virginia-

Hello again!!!!

This week in World Geography we ended our unit on the Indian Subcontinent, and started the unit on South Eastern Asia. I got a 96 on the test so I'm happy. We also had a project due Wednesday. It was called the Map a Meal project, and it was kind of fun. I can't believe that the year is almost over! I'm going to have to start studying for finals soon. :-(

Ok so now I'm supposed to write about the place that we have studied this year that I would like to visit. That is hard, because I can't choose. Someday I want to take a year or two out of my life and just go EVERYWHERE! But if I really had to choose, then I would go to France, Portugal and Spain.  I would go to France because I am studying French and it would be a nice way to practice my french. Also I have some cousins who live there. I would go to Portugal because my grandmother is from Portugal and so all her side of the family lives there. Spain is right next to Portugal, and I've heard, and seen on TV thats its really pretty, so I want to go there. I would visit historical sites, parks, and would eat their traditional food.

-virginia-

Hi everyone!!!!

This week in World Geography we continued with our unit over The Indian subcontinent. We did some Guided Readings (which are like review handouts that actually make you read the textbook to find the answers) and started our review. We have a Unit test on Monday and I am going to study for it. 

Ms. Hollrah assigned us to write about what we want to be when we grow up, but I am not sure. I haven't really thought of a career I might be interested in. I definitely will continue dancing, but I know that dancing really isn't a career option. Usually the life of a dancer only goes until they are about 35, or 40 if they are really amazing. My ballet teacher when I was 6, 7 and 8 always told us that, and that she has a degree in Chemistry. I always thought that was really cool. 

YAY

We recieved the packeage that the Taiwanese students sent to us!!! Thank you! It is very inertesting. I really like all of it. My teacher, at the end of the year will draw names to see who will get something! I really hope that I am drawn to recieve something!
Thanks again,
Virginia

Hi everyone!!!!
This week in World Geography we started a new unit. We are learning about India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives and three other countries. This region has the Himalayan Mountains.\, which include the highest mountains of the world. We did a packet to learn more about Mt. Everst, and we are going to "climb Mt. Everst" on Monday.
This weekend was "Rewind" Anderson Trojan Belles Spring Show, in which I performed as a Newbie Belle. I had lots of fun and I cannot wait untill I am a Baby Belle next year! Also this weekend was my little sister's First Communion. The First Communion is one of the seven sacraments that we as Catholics recieve.

HI Everyone!
This week in world geography we had a Unit Test over Unit 7 which was Southwest Asia. I got 95 (out of 100) which is good. I am happy with my grade in World Geograhy. It is a very fun class. Also we got assigned maps for our next Unit which is about South Asia (India and that area). I need to get those started because they are due Wednesday! Also we are going to have a class debate type thing about whether arranged marrigages are good or bad. They assigned us how we would debate, and I am going to be for it. I still have mixed feelings about whether I am truely against it or not. There are so many aspects of it, and since it is not a common thing in my religion I guess that really shouldn't have say in it.

My week is going to so busy! The Trojan Belles are my school's dance team and since I am a Newbie (a fancy name for the girls who just made the team in March) I will perform one dance in their Spring Show. It is a show with many many dances of all types. Us Newbies will perform a jazz dance. Because of this on Monday I will have to stay after school to have a technical rehearsal, and on Wednesday I have to stay after school for a Dress rehearsal, and then on Thursday and Friday I will stay after school for the real show. There will also be a show on Saturday. I am really looking forward to performing!

Got to go do my Homework!
-Virginia-

Hey everyone!

This week in World Geography we learned about different religions. Christianity. Judaism, Budism, Hinduism, and Islam. My group had Judaism, and I learned a lot. We made posters, and a transperancy with how the religion was dispersed throughout the world.

This week I have just been doing the usual, school, dance, and homework. Tonight I am going to go to the movies with my brother, sister and mom, and some friends of the family. Well thats all for today!!!

-Virginia-

Hello!!!!

This week in World Geography we saw a movie about taboos of different cultures. It showed people in Louisiana who have cock fights (roosters fighting) for entertainment, and bull fights in Mexico, where the matador has to kill the bull, and a group of people in Bolivia that believe that human blood helps their crops grow, so they go to a city square and have fist fights until they bleed. To me this was very weird, but I know that in their cultures it is totally normal, and to them things that we do are weird. Also we started talking about oil and water problems in Iraq. On Monday we will have a discussion, where we will try to make a peace treaty between the three ethnic groups of Iraq. 

In my life right now I am very busy! I have rehearsals for the Belles Spring Show, and ballet class, where we are also working a piece for our end of the year recital. I love dance, and I am very happy with what I am doing. Yesterday night I went over to my friends house for a sleepover. She said that it was nothing special, and that she just decided to have a sleepover, but when I got there I had a HUGE surprise. My friend, who over the summer moved to Colorado was there! She was hiding in a closet, and when I went into the room she jumped out and scared me! I screamed very loudly, and everyone else was laughing! We had a very good time, but she is going back to Colorado tomorrow. I wish she could stay because I miss her! 

-Virginia-

HEY!!!!!!

Well in world geography this week we worked on maps of southwest Asia. We are doing both political and physical, but we got assigned one on Monday and the other on Tuesday (I think I might be wrong sorry). I do not remember which one was first so I can not tell you. We also had a project due on Thursday. It was an African Mask project, where we had to create our own mask, and a ritual to go along with it. I made an elephant that was used by the Bamileke people in Cameroon. It was used for a celebration of a new leader taking position. Mine was not the best but I think (well I really hope!) I got a grade. We presented them to the class. I really did not enjoy this part. I don't like to talk in front of crowds, even though the classroom only had about 30 people it was still scary.

I do not really know what else to write. Yesterday (Friday) I hurt my foot, a little above where your ankle is and so today in dance class I had to sit out. That was not very fun, but all this week was great.

Ok well talk to you all later!!!!!

Virginia

Hello!!!!

This week in World Geography we had a test. It was on Africa. I really hope I got a good grade. It had multiple choice, maps and essay questions. We also have a project. It is to create an African Mask. I am working on it right now. It seems like it is going to be fun! 

Last week was our Spring Break. We had no school for a week. My family and I went to the Nation's Capital. Washington DC. We stayed there the whole week. It was tons of fun. We went to different monuments, and museums. The Smithsonian Museums are amazing! They have so much to see. The Air and Space, Natural History, Holocaust, American Indian, those were some of the museums. Also I went to the National Zoo!! It was exciting. I saw PANDAS!! They were so cute. I'm going to put up some pictures.

See ya!

HI!!!!!

This week in World Geography we had a disscussion about the genocide in Rwanda. I think that it is a really sad subject. Also it is confusing. I did not get a very good grade because I do not like to talk in front of a lot of people, so I only spoke 2 times when each person was supposed to speak four times. But I have a chance to make it up this Friday with a disscusion on the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. Today we got assigned our African Mask Projects. They sound like a lot of fun, very time consuming. I am really exitced!!!

Ok! In my life today was a very stressing day. I woke up and went to a Dance Clinic at 7:15 in the morning. I went through school, then right after school I went to an audition for my schools dance team.  I got ready with make-up and hair and got dressed. At five or five thirty the real audition started. We (me and my other friends that tried out) stayed there untill about 8:10! I got home and at 9:00 I supposed to call a number to find out if I made or not. So I called it. And...I MADE IT!!!! I am excited, but it is a lot of work. And I know almost everyone that made it, and my friends Katelyn and Liz made it too. 

Hello again

Hi 

This week in World Geography we are studying Africa. We drew maps of the Political and Physical features of Africa, and they were fun! Today we continued to a documentary on the genocide in Rwanda. It is really sad that all of that happened. It is also kind of confusing. We are going to have a class discussion about this topic on Monday, so this will help, and we got three articles about it too. I will tell you how it went on Monday. We also have a student teacher in World Geography! His name is Mr. Mason, and he is nice. I think that we are really lucky to have Ms. Hollrah as a World Geography teacher, because we get to do this project communicating with you people from Taiwan and we get to have a student teacher.

Well, Austin is a really awesome city. It is known as the Live Music Capital of the World. Here their is a music festival called the Austin City Limits (or ACL). I have never gone to it so I cannot tell you very much about it. I like music, but I am more of a dance person. Here in Austin there is a ballet company and academy called Ballet Austin. It is the fourth largest ballet academy of the USA. I have taken class there since I was three, and it really is a lot of fun. Just last June they moved into a new building that is in downtown Austin, and really big. The Ballet Austin Company has various performances every "season" (which is usually September through May, or around there). These performances vary each year, but they always perform the Nutcracker, and in this performance they have the students of the academy perform on stage as different parts according to their age and level of knowledge (from little angels and mice to the main character Clara). The Nutcracker is a classic story of Christmas. It is about a girl named Clara who gets a toy nutcracker on Christmas. She then falls asleep, and dreams about him. Together with the Nutcracker, Clara fights rats and mice then watches performances of the residents of the Land of Sweets. I have performed in the Nutcracker with Ballet Austin 6 years in a row. Austin also has lots of other cool things. If you want to find out more you can go to www.austintexas.org that is the official site for the city.  

Well now I will go do more of my homework!!!!

-Virginia-

My Second Blog!!!!!!!!!

Hi

Its Virginia! Well in World Geography we are finishing up the unit on Russia and the Republics, and we have a test on Monday. I think that I am prepared for the test. I know my vocabulary pretty well, but I am still going to study very hard over the weekend. I got a 100 on the Map Test that we took on Russia and the Republics, so I know the countries. Well I am really looking forward to do this culture exchange project, it sounds like we are all going to have a lot of fun. 

Ok so someone asked me if which one i like better Brazil or Texas? and I respond to that question like this: I like them both. They are different and each of them has a place in my heart. I was born in Brazil so you can see why I like it there. Also my WHOLE family lives there. Everyone. My grandparents, uncle, aunts, cousins etc. I moved to Texas when I was 2 so I practically grew up here. All of friends are here and well I'm getting my education here. I go to Brazil every summer but sometimes I do wish that I lived there. I think that if I could i would split myself in 2 and live both places. I don't remember where I lived, and I never went to school in Brazil. 

This is a complicated subject, but, well what I am really trying to say is that I LOVE both places!!!

Well, now you obviously know that I am from Brazil, so heres some more about me. I am 14 and got to Anderson High School. I am in all Pre-AP class. Most people, when think USA they think TV and Hollywood and that type of thing. I am not like that. I rarely watch TV. But when I do I watch the Disney Channel. So I watch: Hannah Montana, the Suite Life Zack and Cody, Wizards of Waverly Place. Some of my favorite movies are Disney movies, like Beauty and the Beast, Peter Pan, Pocahontas, and High School Musical & High School Musical 2. Yes I like a lot of things that little kids like, but I'm just that type of person.

I also like things that normal USA teens like, such as texting on my cellphone, and listening to music.

Wow that was a long post.

Well see you all later!!!

virginia

My First Blog!!! YAY

Hi my name is Virginia. This is my first blog. 

In World geography we have been learning about Russia. We had to draw and color two maps. Now we are making posters about the different parts of the chapter, to then present to the class. We also have a project that is due next Wednesday. It is about political cartoons. I have fun in this class. 

I live in Austin, Texas. Austin is a good city to live in. I really like it here, but I have not lived here all my life. I was born in Brazil, then moved here when I was 2. Because of this I am bilingual (I speak Portuguese and English)

Well thats all I want to write....