unrelated to project, spanish hw

PERSONAL
december 24th: el cumpleaños de mi hermano
february 27th: el cumpleaños de mi madre

INTERNATIONAL
december 25th: navidad
march 17th: Día de San Patricio
april 1st: día de los inocentes
march 23rd: pascua
may 5th: cinco de mayo
october 31st: día de las brujas

NATIONAL
last monday of may: día de la conmemoración
julio 4th: Día de la Independencia
first monday of september: día de trabajo
october 9th: día de Columbus
november 23rd: día de gracias
february 18th: día de los presidentes

plus des blogs

Vanessa's Blog
Vanessa's blog is more centered on the progress that her/my group is making, and less so on the actual information that she will be using for her project. However, she does make really good commentary on the sites which she does blog about, which provide good summaries about the research which she is doing.


Emlyn's Blog
Emlyn's blog is very entertainingly written, but is also has a lot of quality information posted onto it. His group ( i assume ) is researching border policy, which ties into our topic of the socioeconomic lives of migrant workers. Therefore, his information could prove to be valuable to our group, especially the data on the laws enforced upon illegal immigrants.


Alec's Blog
Alec is also in Emlyn's group, and his information also proves to be linked to our topic. He wrote a post which was a commentary on a post which Gino had made, which covered the issue of minimum wage, which is significant to our topic. The article which he wrote about was centered on how illegal immigrants affect the economy, and how they obstruct other people from other peoples' jobs.

http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/cacounts/CC_207GPCC.pdf

nicolette's blog

Nicolette's blog covers not only the progress of her (and my) group, but it also includes a lot of valuable information. By reading her blog, one can really track the progress that her group is making, and the direction in which it is taking its research. Since Nicolette is in my group, the information which she posted was not really new to me, as we have collaborated on the project already.

austin han's blog!

Austin Han's blog is pretty well organized, and is consistent as well. For every post, he comments on how the information is important for his project. Also, not only does he blog about information, but he mentions how he is feeling about the projects as well. Unfortunately, none of his information benefits me and my group's project, as his is about water quality, a topic completely different from the more humanities- oriented subject of socioeconomics.

really good information

this site has really good, albeit biased, information about our topic. luckily, it has the same bias that my group does...
(http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1482)
also, i used this for our script:
(http://www.iplexingtonplant.org/ip_sued_over_migrant_workers_wages.htm)

script ROUGH

(Narration) Most people have a pre-formulated concept about the lives of migrant workers and illegal immigrants in the United States.
(Mari) So, __________, what kind of lives do you think that illegal immigrants lead?
(Three peer interviewees) _______________________________

In reality, migrant workers have had, for hundreds of years, lead lives of discrimination and difficulty. Many people may think of migrant workers as being solely mexican, but in reality, the history of immigrant labors stretches to many countries. Some early workers, from the 1800s, had roots in China and Japan, coming to California for a better life, but being met with poor conditions, low pay, and racism. Filipino workers, who came to the states in the 1890s after the Spanish occupation, were bound by unfair, discriminating laws that kept them in isolated, destitute conditions.

Latin American workers, which will be the main focus of our segment, started coming to the states during the Great Depression. Due to the ruined financial state of the country, their wages were often extremely low, and the labor was time-intensive and rough. Conditions were unforgiving and workers were rarely able to better their lives, having to keep working to barely escape bankruptcy.

In the last decade, the issue of illegal immigration has become more and more pressing, and more awareness has arisen towards the problems that occur with the increasing presence of a migrant labor force. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's March 2005 Current Population Survey," the U.S. is home to between 11.5 million and 12 million illegal immigrants, up sharply from 8.4 million in 2000. Unauthorized migrants accounted for 30% of all foreign-born people in the U.S. as of 2005. Most unauthorized migrants -- 6.2 million, or 56% of the illegal population -- come from Mexico. About 2.5 million, or 22% of the total, come from the rest of Latin America." In the same study it was established, "Approximately 19% of illegal workers were employed in construction jobs, 15% in production, installation and repair, and 4% in farming. The Pew report also shows that illegal immigrants comprise 24% of all workers in farming, 17% in cleaning, 14% in construction and 12% in food preparation. Within those categories, unauthorized migrants tend to be concentrated in specific jobs: They represent 36% of all insulation workers, 29% of all roofers and drywall installers, and 27% of all butchers and other food-processing workers."

We at ___news organization___ are going to discuss the problems that specifically affect those workers, such as housing, wages, and health issues.

Migrant farm workers as a whole do not have adequate housing, and the issue is often glossed over by the government.
According to the National Center for Farmworker Health, "The only national data on hired farmworker housing show that in 1980, available units could only house about 30 percent of the migrant farmworkers in need of housing". They also report that "Although some hired farmworkers live in well-kept housing, much of the housing available for them is deficient, crowded, and unsanitary. In addition, they often lack safe drinking water, bathing or laundry facilities, and even adequate sanitation."

Migrant workers are often underpaid as well. One example occured on January 27, 2006 when Georgia Pacific, International Paper, and Champion were sued for paying their workers unfair wages. The lawsuit alleged that "The workers got $100 to $200 a week for 60 or 70 hours of work and had to use part of that for transportation, housing and work tools", according to Reuters news association.

Here, we interview ___person___ on the subject of migrant workers.
(interview questions here)

documentary

(http://www.homelands.org/series/border.html)
I found this website, which is a good resource for documentaries/streams about current border conditions, which is NEATO because it is pretty much in a format that translates well to film.

possible interview questions

:: How do the lives of Mexican migrant workers vary from the lives of workers from other countries?
:: What kind of issues do migrant workers face on a daily basis?
:: What is the typical income of a migrant worker?
:: What are the typical living situations of migrant workers?
:: Do migrant workers often have to support families/ How does that work out?
:: Are there any organizations dedicated towards helping out these workers?
:: Is there a lot of crime associated with migrant workers?
:: Is there a lot of violence directed towards migrant workers?
:: Are migrant workers often able to better their situations?
:: Are the families of migrant workers able to attain educations?
:: What kind of job opportunities do migrant workers have?
:: Due to increased awareness of immigration, are migrant workers having a harder time finding jobs?

atomic structure

(http://www.watertown.k12.wi.us/HS/Staff/Buescher/atomtime.php)

7. Neils Bohr: 1922
8. Schrodinger: 1930
9. Ernest O. Lawrence: 1929
10. Murray Gell-Mann and Kazuhiko Nishijima: 1961
11. Seaborg: 1941 - 51
12. 118 (Ununoctium)

lives of migrant workers

Farmworker Housing

Farmworkers need decent, affordable housing in order to make the journey to perform the seasonal work needed. Without their labor, growers cannot maintain current production levels, thus creating food shortages that ultimately affect consumers in the form of higher prices. The number of farmworkers in need of housing exceeds the number of available housing units. The only national data on hired farmworker housing show that in 1980, available units could only house about 30 percent of the migrant farmworkers in need of housing. Hired farmworkers, particularly migrants, also face barriers to obtaining housing in the local private housing markets. Small rural communities may not have enough rental units available, or they may be unavailable to migrant farmworkers because they cannot provide deposits, qualify in credit checks, or make long-term rental commitments.

Agricultural employers recognize that the lack of housing is a serious problem, but they face several disincentives to providing housing for migrant farmworkers. The need of the farmworker population to find temporary housing has traditionally been met by growers through the establishment of labor camps. But construction and maintenance of housing is expensive, especially if the housing will only be occupied during a short harvest season. Some employer-provided housing does exist, but ironically, attempts to enforce housing standards have created a trend toward agricultural employers' discontinuing the provision of housing. As a result, workers may share a small, grower-provided room with several other people. In the absence of housing, farmworkers may be forced to sleep in tents, cars, ditches, or open fields.

Private housing is not subject to federal regulation. The private housing that is available to migrant workers tends to be substandard and many times expensive. Although some hired farmworkers live in well-kept housing, much of the housing available for them is deficient, crowded, and unsanitary. In addition, they often lack safe drinking water, bathing or laundry facilities, and even adequate sanitation.

The migrant labor force is important to the agricultural sector, which in turn is an important part of the overall local economy. It is clear that steps should be taken to help migrant farmworkers find solutions to their housing needs. There has been some progress with regard to farmworker housing.

For instance, the state of Florida is among the more active states in providing assistance for the development of farmworker housing. Among its programs is the State Apartment Incentive Loan Program, which provides mortgages for the construction or substantial rehabilitation of rental housing which is affordable to very low-income tenants.

The state of California operates state housing centers for migrant farmworkers and their families, and provides effective model programs for farmworker housing enforcement and development.

Finally, in Texas, Proyecto Azteca is a non-profit organization affiliated with United Farm Workers. The project has started a program to improve farmworkers' living conditions in the unincorporated villages, or colonias, in the Rio Grande Valley.

A study in Virginia analyzed how economic conditions on Virginia's Eastern Shore would change if migrant farmworkers were no longer available to local agricultural producers. Among other findings, the study found that the number of wage and salaried employees would decrease, in turn reducing consumer spending and having a subsequent negative impact on the retail and wholesale sectors. Farmworkers' presence enhances local economies through tax revenues from retail sales and property taxes.

(http://www.ncfh.org/aaf_02.php)


a good resource page is:
(http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00000429.shtml)

gods

Bolontiju, Lords of the Night
Coatlicue "She of the Serpent Skirt," is the goddess of the earth and mother of the gods, half-life and half death.
Ixtab --Goddess of the noose and the gallows.
Akhushtal -- Goddess of childbirth.
Quetzalcóatl--the god of civilization, and connected to the planet Venus and the wind.

(the last couple blogs were from mayan-kids.com)


http://www2.truman.edu/~marc/webpages/nativesp99/maya/conquest.html

mayan monkey myth

he Myth:
Long ago, men were made of wood. The wood people were punished by being destroyed, and those few who managed to survive, became monkeys. The gods refused to give up and then created a man made of maize (corn) .
In one version of the Popol Vuh -- Hero Twins named Hunahpu and Xbalanque were the Hero Twins. These Hero Twins had an earlier set of brothers: a Howler Monkey and a Spider Monkey.

These older brothers were accomplished artists and dancers. But they were also envious of their younger brothers, for they knew that their younger brothers would become the Hero Twins.

One day the older brothers took their younger brothers to hunt for birds with the intention of harming them. The older brothers climbed a tree that (through magical powers) knew of the evil intentions, The tree began to grow taller and taller, lifting the older brothers closer to the heavens.

The tree grew so high up that the older brothers were unable to climb down again. They loosened their clothes and tried to climb down but their loincloths became tails and they were changed into monkeys. The younger set of brothers ran to their grandmother.

When they brought her back to the scene, the older brothers, now turned into a Howler Monkey and a Spider Monkey, began to shake the limbs of the tree violently.

When the Hero Twins began to play a flute and beat a drum that the monkeys calmed down and began to dance. They climbed down the tree and followed their younger brothers back home.
These dancing monkeys were so funny that the younger brothers and grandmother laughed. Their feelings hurt at being laughed at, the monkeys ran away to the forest to live high in the trees forever. Throughout Maya villages in the highlands (Chiapas, Tabasco and Guatemala) men dress up as monkeys to do funny dances and perform mischief.

Monkeys are often associated with the sacred and the divine. Monkeys are shown on pottery in scenes of the underworld .

Maya monkeys live high in the forest canopy, outside of Cancun and Cozumel, suspended between the earth and the heavens. They can easily come and go between the ground and the highest point of the rain forest.

In the Temple of the Inscriptions in Palenque, the Sarcophagus Cover shows Pacal descending into the Underworld. On his belt is an image of a monkey.

There are two kinds of monkeys common in the Mexico Maya area: spider and howler. The spider monkey, with wiry, long limbs is a joyous creature.

His face is capable of many expressions and his disposition is kind. The howler monkey has less of an expression and its howls sound like someone crying. One Spider Monkey may be associated more with laughter and pranks, life and joy, while the Howler Monkey may be associated more with seriousness and work and duty. Spider monkeys laugh. Howler monkeys cry.

more!

Almost all the urban centers were built in tropical rain forest. This is the probably the biggest reason why the Mayans never developed a fully urban culture. Topical rain forest is difficult to live in. and can only support small groups of humans.

While plant and animal growth seems almost out of control and the rains never stop, tropical rain forest makes very poor farming land. A greater amount of area is required to support each person—and people tend to spread out rather than form cities.

Priests and noblemen would willingly pierce body parts, usually their tongue, ears or lips and "give" blood to the gods.

The more important a person was in their society, the more blood they were expected to give to the Gods


The feathered serpent is the god of civilization, and connected to the planet Venus and the wind. He represented the forces of good against those of evil. According to one legend, Quetzalcoatl was driven from the city of Tula, the Toltec capital, and wandered for many years until he reached his homeland, the east coast of Mexico.

general information

They built elaborate pyramids and observatories, all without metal tools.

The Mayas, like others who cultivated tropical rain forest, practiced cut and burn agriculture. Because growth is so rapid in tropical rain forests, the nutrients provided by dead plants and animal droppings gets used up very quickly. Rain forest soil is not fertile ground for growing crops.

In slash and burn agriculture, the Mayans would cut down a patch of forest, burn the felled trees and plants for fertilizer, and then cultivate the plot.

Because the Mayans did not replenish the land, their soil would be too poor for growing food in two to four years. It takes a lot of land to support a family. Each five people probably needed at least 70 acres to grow their food.


The indigenous tacos are of Charales, maguey worms, sweet water shrimps, ant spawn or escamoles, and even chapulines (a kind of crickets).


The molcajete is a pestle and mortar used for grinding spices. The metate is a flat version with a pestle shaped more like a rolling pin, used for grinding


their ball game:

The game appears in various myths, sometimes as a struggle between day and night deities, or the battles between the gods in the sky and the lords of the underworld. The ball symbolized the sun, moon, or stars, and the rings stood for sunrise and sunset, or equinoxes.

The losing team was usually sacrificed




Men wore an ex which is a loincloth--a cloth that covers as much as a small bathing suit. . Women wore loose sack like dresses. The clothes of the priests and nobles were made with finer materials and had many shells and beads on them. For ceremonies they wore wonderful head-dresses.


Most Mayas could read some hieroglyphs. But priests and nobles were probably the only people who knew the whole language. The Maya carved these symbols into stone, and made books from tree bark, called codexes


The Maya have been making ceramics the same way for centuries. To produce a bowl the potter sits on the ground before a wooden board. Using her hands she forms the flat base of the bowl. Then she builds up the sides by placing ropes of clay, called gusanos (worms) on the base. Once the coils are tall enough, she then smoothes out the clay. The potters hands, fingertips and palms are her main tools, though she will use a piece of rubber and/or the flat of a knife to work the piece to a smoother finish. Then the bowl is is left to dry in the sun for several days. Potters were mostly women

iiiiinteresting

http://cedarmesa.blogspot.com/2005_03_01_archive.html

mayan music

The mayans made music with instruments like flutes, rattling cups and drums. There is no evidence of stringed instruments in the ancient mayan culture. Their flutes were primarily in the shapes of animals and were made of materials like clay or wood.

(http://www.mayankids.com/mmkpeople/mkmusic2.htm)

mayan maternity figure

(http://www.hurstgallery.com/exhibit/recent/PreHispanic/index.php)

mayan technology

The Mayans used blades carved out of stone for various activities, such as hunting and sacrificing.
Their diet primarily consisted of squash, beans, and corn, which were crops probably brought to the Guatamalan area from Mexico.
(http://worldmuseumofman.org/mayan1.htm)
Mayan Pottery
(http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/1072126/2/istockphoto_1072126_ancient_mayan_pot.jpg)

The Mayan Alphabet:


(http://www.omniglot.com/writing/mayan.htm)

mayanz holla

In the Mayan religion,

• Life is a series of cycles, and each cycle ends with destruction
• The next mass destruction is supposed to be in 2011/2012
• The earth is flat and each corner represents a color, as well as with the sky. The central color of both the earth and the sky is green.
• The sky, heaven, and hell all are composed of layers
• There are around 166 gods
• Priests were also in charge of timekeeping and astronomy
• Ritual ceremonies were performed to keep religious articles anointed with blood
• Human sacrifices were performed on people who were considered of lesser value
• Some lords were cremated or mummified

(http://www.civilization.ca/civil/maya/mmc03eng.html)
(http://www.religionfacts.com/mayan_religion/index.htm)

mayan pottery

for the indigenous peoples mini-project, i chose to research the pottery of the mayan people. i found a site with really good pictures of mayan pottery, which i definitely will be using for my visual aid.
(http://home.earthlink.net/~artemaya/id2.html)

immigrant workers

migrant worker news

Basically, I researched different policies on migrant workers to the United States, including Bush's policy
(http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/03/31/bush.cancun/index.html?iref=newssearch)
(http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/06/15/congress.immigration.bill/index.html?iref=newssearch)