This year, a volcano which was last active in 1823 began to erupt again.  
1. LOCATION The volcano is located just off the coast of Ireland in Eyjafljallajokull.  Eyjafljallajokull is one of the smaller glaciers of Ireland and is located to the West of Mýrdalsjökull and to the North of Skógar. It's location at the SW side of Ireland places the volcano in close proximity to the United Kingdom, who consequently must also deal with the effects of the volcanic eruptions.  
2. PHYSICAL The volcano is hidden beneath the glaciers icecap and was most active in the last glacier period (1821-1823). Earthquakes and earth crust expansion were detected earlier this year, which signaled to geophysicists that magma was filling the magma chamber of Eyjafljallajokull.  Meltwater floods accompanied the first eruption.  They are termed a meltwater floods because during the eruption a large amount of glacial ice melts from the icecap and pours into the surrounding rivers.  
3. ECONOMICS The volcanic eruption which followed sent volcanic ash soaring into the sky, estimated to have traveled several kilometers.  This ash disrupted air travel for six days.  Six days of grounded airplanes meant a drastic loss in revenue for European flight companies.  "Airlines are said to be losing £1million an hour while planes remain on the ground and their trade bodies have criticised ministers for their 'blanket approach' to the crisis, claiming they have overreacted and been slow to assess the full situation." (Daily Mail)
4. MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE/TRANSPORTATION As discussed regarding the economy, the volcano has made a huge impact on the travel industry.  Transportation by air is very difficult for those living in or near Ireland.  It has also displaced many people.  For example, 800 people were displaced after the first eruption by the meltwater floods.
5. POLITICS Due to economic frustration of the airlines, the airlines are challenging how the government officials handled the situation.  They complain that the safety measures placed on Europe regarding air travel were too harsh and were placed too quickly without proper assessment of the situation.

Hong Kong International School is a school in Hong Kong that provides an american education for many students.

Their mission statement is the following:
*Dedicating Our Minds to INQUIRY, Our Hearts to COMPASSION, Our Lives to SERVICE, and GLOBAL UNDERSTANDING.

*An AMERICAN-STYLE EDUCATION, Grounded in the christian faith and RESPECTING the SPIRITUAL LIVES of all

The Hong Kong school has four divisions on two campuses.  The two primary schools are on one campus while the middle and high schools are on another.  The Hong Kong International School has extensive resources for their students including athletic playing fields and courts, swimming pools, dance studio, weight room, climbing walls and theatres.

Students must pay all of the following fees to attend:

• Application Fee
• Reservation Fee
• Entry Fees
• Annual Tuition Fee
• Annual Capital Levy

Here's what Annual Tuition Fees were for this year:

Grade	Annual Tuition Fee	Annual Capital Levy	Total Annual Fee Including once onlyEntry Fee of $15,000
R1 (Half Day)	$ 68,600	$ 7,500	$ 91,100
R1 (Long Day)	$ 137,000	$ 15,000	$ 167,000
R2 to G5	$ 137,000	$ 15,000	$ 167,000
G6 to G8	$ 142,300	$ 15,000	$ 172,300
G9 to G11	$ 158,600	$ 15,000	$ 188,600
G12	$ 159,100	$ 15,000	$ 189,100

As you can see this high quality education comes at a high price!!!

Opportunities for college graduates include jobs as teaching or support staff at the four schools. You can apply online at their website.

This school really shows globalization in action.   All these parents in China are willing to pay a huge amount of money for an "AMERICAN" education.  The same goes of American products.  People are willing to pay the money and American items and culture are sweeping across the globe.  Of course with their American education the students will be exposed to american products, customs, and culture, too.  The success of this school demonstrates how the world is "flattening" and becoming more and more interconnected each day.

Everytime I travel I usually end up trying something new.  New places, new activities, or new food.  I can't say I'm daring enough to try drinking fresh cow blood like Andrew Zimmerman, but I'm certainly willing to try new things (as long as it's not meatloaf or lasagna). 

Just this past spring break I went to Florida with my family.  We tried lots of new things like kayaking in the swampy blackwater rivers of the Florida panhandle.  Being in Florida we were really excited to try some sea food.  As you can imagine sea food in Iowa is not all that fresh and consequently not all that tasty either.  However, in Niceville Florida the sea food is fresh caught and tasty.  I tried many different fish and sea creatures I had not had before.  These included crab cakes, shrimp pasta, salmon, and trout.  Though weary at first of ordering them, I found that they tasted really good.  They didn't taste nearly as fishy as I had imagined.

My sister a few years ago traveled to Spain and found that the things they eat there are very, very different than the foods we eat here.  Especially in the way they are cooked.  Though we eat octopus here, it's called Calamari and is heavily breaded and dipped in different flavoring sauces.  At my sister's homestay house her mother cooked squid whole.  She plopped the big octopus right into the boiling pot of water and when it was done chopped the tentacles into bits, and that's what was for dinner.  My sister was also served partridge.  My sister said that the bird was cooked whole, complete with feet which are a delicacy.  The part of the bird everyone wants, sort of like the turkey drumstick, I suppose.

Culture is what determines the varied diets of different countries.  What a group eats and a group's cooking methods get passed on through generations and are shared with neighbors.  Overtime geographical areas develop their own particular "food culture".  Then we start associating certain foods with certain geographical places.  For example, we say "Let's go eat Mexican tonight."

Another reason for the varied diets is that different foods are more readily available in different places.  Like I said before if you're looking for sea food, Iowa is NOT the place to go! However, if you want fresh sweetcorn, there's no better place to visit than Iowa.  You see, just like all other resources, our economies and our plates are filled with the things that surround us, that are easily available and cheap.

All of the top 10 World's Richest People are over the age of 52.  They're over the hill.  They're old.    Of course it makes sense that the world's richest people are older, after all it takes awhile to accumulate billions of dollars.  The World's richest man is 70 years old and has 53.5 Billion dollars.  He's Carlos Slim Helu from Mexico.  At # 10 Karl Albrecht of Germany has a net worth of 23.5 Billion but he's 90 years old! (pictured at right, owner of Aldi grocery stores) It's not until #221 on the Forbes list (http://www.forbes.com) that we hit a billionaire in his 20s.  That's why Mark Zuckerberg gets so much attention.  He's young and he's loaded, and he's the World's youngest Billionaire.

Self-made Billionaire Mark Zuckerberg is from Palo Alto, California.  He's got a net worth of 4.0 Billion dollars, a fortune he earned as the owner and creator of Facebook and he's only 25 years old.  Zuckerberg started the social-networking site in his dorm room at Harvard University (he'd eventually drop out from Harvard) in 2004.  Since then the site has boomed.  It increased its user base by 130% in the last year to an astounding 400 Million.  That's greater than the population of the United States (309 Million)!  Oh, and ladies....he's single!

Above: Mark's facebook fan page.

Mark made his fortune thanks to the World Wide Web.  Internet is a major driving force behind globalization and it's part of the reason the world is become more and more interconnected each day.  The  map shows internet users worldwide.  You can see that the U.S. and Eastern Asia are the two places where internet use is the greatest.  Therefore it's no wonder we see Billionaires popping up in both places from the internet world.  The Forbes American 400 list is dominated by rich website owners like Google owners Larry Page (#11), and Sergey Brin (#11) and in general the top of the list contains many computer/technology related business owners. (i.e. Microsoft/Dell)

This video is found on National Geographic in the Adventure section. It's about their adventurer of the year, BASE jumper, Dean Potter.  I chose this video because I was amazed by it!  It makes me wonder why I'm sitting here at Concordia University writing a blog about Geography while Dean Potter is flying!!!!  Not to mention, this video has some stunning views of some amazing physical geography and Dean Potter saw it all as he jumped from tight ropes and rock ledges!

My guess is you'll be amazed as I was....

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Sampled some of the best seafood around today.  Crabcakes, shrimp, Mahi Mahi, trout, and salmon were all on the menu today.  I had to go on limb to try these, but I guess you can't go wrong when the seafood's fresh.  YUM YUM!!! :)
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Just back from a refreshing run on the beach, too bad Popeye didn't enjoy it as much as i did.  I felt like I was dragging him along the whole way! 
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Played some crazy croquet today.  The course is anti-official, the yard bumpy and sloped.  You hit it off the retaining wall- lose three strokes.  Hit a spectator- lose five.  If the dog moves your ball- well, hopefully they didn't take it too far....where it lands, there you play.  The game came complete with cheating accusations and fierce competition.  To say the least, I'm terrible.  So, during the second game my Uncle Steve and my Dad took turns knocking my cousin off course.  A good hour later I hit the ball through the last wicket my cousin still stalled by my loyal family!! 


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ORGANIC,ORGANIC, ORGANIC!!!!!  It's about day 4 of our trip and all my cousin's wife Jaylene cooks is organic.  Artichoke hearts, mushrooms, onions, pumpkin, if it's a vegetable I've eaten it!  Even the chocolate syrup is organic in this house.  The dog treats-yup, they are too.  She cooks buffalo instead of beef, because it's free range and wasn't fed corn that's not organic.  She's a naturalist to the extreme.  Good food for the most part, but man I couldn't eat like this all the time.  Up and out it's time for some family Cranium and Phase 10!
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I feel good today.  The kind of good one can only feel after lazily lounging on the beaches of Destin all day long, soaking up the sun.  That's been the plan for this vacation.  Sleep late, eat well, and catch a lot of sun.  Tomorrow we'll be hitting the Black Water River with my cousin and his family.  I can't wait, it'll be my first float trip via Kayak.







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I started our kayak trip heading backwards down the river.  (can you see where this kayak trip is headed?) After I got turned around, we settled in for our float down the river.  However, no kayak trip is complete without a mishap.  Of course, with my wrecklessness and clumsiness it had to be my fault.  As I floated with the current too far to the edge of the river, I began running into branches.  In attempt to protect my face from the low branches, I forgot to steer my kayak and found that I was headed straight for a large tree that had fallen in the water.  It appeared as though the kayak was going to drag me right into the sharp branches.  I muttered a four letter word which I won't mention here.  Needless to say, I got stuck.  My kayak was being pulled further into the tree by the current and I couldn't get out.  My cousin came over to free me and when I was almost there, my cousin told me to paddle the rest of the way out.  So, I stuck my paddle and pulled the water.  Still stuck in the tree, my kayak tipped towards the water and I fell out.  Of course, I fell out at the only point in the river that was deeper than one or two feet.  At that point in the river I couldn't touch.  No life jacket and bitter cold water I was lucky I could swim!!!  I made my way towards my dad's kayak and grabbed on.  As we floated down the river I took a log to the stomach (ouch!) then we hit another mess of trees and whatya know my dad's kayak flipped, too.   Now this was a sight.  Two kayaks, two swimmers, two lost paddles.  I chased after the paddles, my cousin and dad grabbed the kayaks, and we hauled it all ashore at the next sandbar.  Cool and collected we headed back down the river and found the place where my mother and Jaylene were waiting for us.  They weren't happy campers.  Apparently it had taken them 3 1/2 hours (the same time it took us for the float trip) to find the pick-up spot.  Unmarked roads and a decieving Tom-Tom had led them all over the area in search of the bridge.  By the time we got back to my cousin's house we were tired and in need of a long afternoon nap--after a shower of course. 
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The video above is a report about the fighting that is occurring in the occupied territory of Ghaza.  The fighting is between Palestinians and Israelites. This area of land has been controlled by both parties off and on over time. Each side claims that the land belongs to them and since no compromise has been made by either party, the violence and feud over the land continues.  The fighting was fueled when Israel declared their independence.  They had declared their independence in response to Palestine's refusal of the UN Resolution 181, so the day after Palestine attacked Israel.  


Israeli forces use missiles often and the shrapnel hurts many civilians in the area.  The Israeli forces claim the missiles are launched for security purposes.  The video shows and describes the many victims and their injuries. Many innocent lives have been lost.  Palestine suicide bombers enter the streets of Israel and kill many bystanders.  A security fence is now being constructed to divide territories and keep Palestinian bombers from entering Israel.   

Two common terms used in Geography and in common language are less developed countries (LDCs), and more developed countries (MDCs).  These two phrases we accept without asking any questions.  Questions such as, Who determines which countries are more developed than others?  What makes a country more developed than another?  What is it mean to be developed?  


One organization works to define Human Development (HD) and to quantify the HD of a country.  The United Nations has developed a Human Development Index. You can access the Human Development Index at http://hdr.undp.org/en/countries/ .


The index measures HD using a variety of different variables.  First of all, though, it's important to note that the Human Development does not mean the evaluation of the rise and fall of a nation's income.  Rather, the focus of the HD Index is on people.  Countries considered to have high Human Development have an environment in which people can lead productive lives that coincide with their needs and interests.  The environment gives citizens choice, so people can lead lives they value.  That's why we often connect money with development.  Money gives people opportunities, economic wealth expands choices.  


The UN believes that HD and human rights work together.  Generally speaking, people in MDCs have a sense of well-being and self-respect, have choices, lead valuable lives and maintain valuable relationships, and respect others.  In a sense HD can demonstrate how a population feels as a whole.  LDCs tend to struggle with issues of inequality and social injustice and with problems regarding human rights and freedom.   These issues prevent countries from developing as quickly as others.  


The HD Index concentrates on three main categories: health, education, and income.   However, the summary picture looks at multiple factors, which include a nation's life expectancy, level of poverty, level of income, literacy, and education.  Though this summary picture lacks many factors that contribute to a nation's development, those factors cannot be quantified.  However, the summary picture stills gives a good estimation of a country's development, and is used to produce a number.  


On the index the countries that consistently rank at the top include Norway, Austria, Iceland, Canada and at number thirteen, the United States.  All with established democracies and varying degrees of personal freedom.  Those that linger towards the bottom are almost all Sub-Saharan countries.  This could be for a number of different reasons, or more likely as a result of multiple factors working together.  One possibility is the impact of the AIDs epidemic which has dramatically decreased the life expectancy of many Sub-Saharan countries. (Notice Sub-Saharan Africa on AIDS map above!) The life expectancy is also related to the high infant mortality rate due to lack of adequate, affordable health care and the presence of many fatal diseases such as Malaria.  Many aids victims lose jobs and are unable to provide for their families, which has greatly impacted the poverty of these nations. Also, many Sub-Saharan countries have yet to develop stable democracies which promote personal freedom and in turn the promotion of valuable lives which allow people to make personal choices.  A third possible reason is that education is not as cheap and available in Sub-Saharan countries.  Lack of education prevents citizens from earning higher incomes, making appropriate health and life choices, and in developing a stronger political system.  The countries can become more developed by promoting cultural liberty and giving people tools to live lives they value.  Of course, these barriers to HD will need to be worked out before the countries can accomplish this task.  


The HD Index points out that the growing gap between MDCs and LDCs is a large problem.  Some speculate that the reason for this growing gap is globalization which adds efficiency to the world economy, yet simultaneously isolates the less developed countries as quickly as it connects with MDCs, helping them to thrive. Many political dynamics need to be worked out in order to lessen the gap between wealthier and poorer countries.  Which, in turn, will contribute to lessening the gap between more and less developed countries.

Resources
CNN: British Oil Rig Begins Drilling off Falklands
BBC:Argentina Claims Vast Ocean Area
BBC:Drilling Begins Off the Falklands

Take a look at your clothes, the items in your purse, or the items around your room.  I'd bet money, a lot of money, that there's at least one thing around you this minute that reads, "made in Hong Kong", or "made in China" or even "made in Taiwan".  It's true of so many things we own, so many things we, as Americans, purchase each and every day.  Let's face it, our economy relies heavily on imported goods and services from Eastern Asia. The same is true of the toy industry. The cartogram, above left, shows net toy exports worldwide through surface area. Who's number one?  You guessed it, Eastern Asia, with Hong Kong dominating the leader board. It is depicted in the map above as the large green mass that appears to be taking over Europe.

Hong Kong's net value of toy exports is 800 (in US$) compared to the number two exporter Malta, which follows with a value of only 91!  This large offset, is most likely due to the fact that in Eastern Asia, labor is abundant, and best of all, cheap.  It's for this same reason that many American companies are sending "back office jobs" overseas.  Other companies send manufacturing jobs overseas, such as textile companies, who increase profits by hiring low-wage, efficient laborers.  I say abundant, because Eastern Asia is highly populated and therefore has a large pool of workers from which companies can choose qualified laborers.  (Chinese laborers assemble dolls above)

Interestingly enough, when evaluating a map of net toy imports we see a dramatic, yet expected change.  (see right) Net toy imports are highest in Western Europe, North America, and the Asian Pacific.  It's easy to see from this simple toy distribution map, that where there are toys, there also is wealth.  High net toy imports are predominately found in the Northern Hemisphere, which is home to most of the More Developed Countries (MDCs).  Less Developed Countries (LDCs) such as those in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America barely make the map.  Toys are not a necessity for life, and therefore are imported in larger numbers in countries that can afford to purchase luxury items; places like our own country, the United States.

This toy distribution, however insignificant in the grand scheme of things, has the capability to give us insight into the various cultures of the world.  It helps to show the materialist focus of the western cultures of North America and Europe.  The idea that what you have determines how happy you are is a central belief of many Westerners.  This is quite contrary to the simple-living citizens of countries, such as those in Africa, where happiness is largely determined by human relationships, due in part to the lack of material wealth; another reason Africa appears so skinny on the cartogram.

The image to the right is a view of Patagonia located in the Southern part of Latin America.  It's on the very tip of South America and inhabits the countries of Argentina and Chile.

This image effectively shows the diversity of the terrain of Patagonia in comparison to other areas of Latin America, much of which is located in the Tropical Region.  Much of South America is covered by tropical rain forest and the landscape is dominated by the N-S Andes Mountains which dramatically affect the climate of the continent.  Patagonia is characterized by glaciers, which you can see clearly in the Google Earth image above.  The land of Patagonia is home to many sheep farmers, because large open areas of steppe can be used for grazing land (also clearly visible on the Eastern side of the region in the image above!).  Due to its remoteness and isolation (largely geographical) Patagonia is a huge attraction for recreation.  Many visitors come to enjoy hiking, kayaking, and skiing, along with countless other activities.

Incidentally, a large part of the reason this region's climate is so diverse in comparison to the rest of Latin America is because it is located so close to the continent of Antarctica.  Often when we think of South America, we think warm and tropical.  However, in actuality only  about half of the Latin American region is located in the tropical climate zone.  This zone starts at the tropic of Cancer at approximately 23 degrees N.  The tropical climate ends at the tropic of Capricorn at approximately 23 degrees S.  Therefore, it is easy to overlook the climate shift that changes the warm tropical weather of northern S.A. to the diverse climates of southern S.A. which includes areas of dry desert, snowy mountains, and wind-whipped terrain. This image (above) from Google Earth displays a unique perspective of South America that is contrary to the image we see when examining the common N-S, 2-D maps of the world.  Spatially, this image gives us a better look at how close the tip of South America is to Antarctica.  It also helps account for the change in climate, a climate that serves as a transitional zone between the tropics of Northern Latin American and the bitter cold climate of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Patagonia despite its remoteness is quickly becoming a global business investment.  National Geographic discussed globalization and it's affect on the region in a recent article, Land of the Living Wild.  Patagonia's economic focus is shifting away from the sheep farming that has fueled it for years.This is largely due to the fall in wool prices in recent years, and the extensive over-grazing of the land that has occurred.  Now, much of the Patagonia region has been sold to foreign investors.  "Nearly one-sixth of Argentine Patagonia now belongs to 350 foreign owners, many of them Americans." (National Geographic)  This globalization of Patagonia threatens the preservation of the native culture of Patagonia and as businesses develop previously desolate land, may clutter the beautiful unscathed landscapes of S. Argentina and Chile which draw so many visitors each year.




Below is a photograph from National Geographic's latest feature on Patagonia: Land of the Living Wild