RAFT Chile

A letter to Mr. Gabriele from me about lessons learned

Dear Mr. Gabriele,

As we read on in our current novel, The Motorcycle Diaries, I am learning a lot along with the characters of the story. I really did not know much at all about South America in the beginning but I am starting to realize what culture and life style is like or was like in Chile and Argentina during the 60s. Ernesto and Alberto are also learning a lot too. Ernesto seems to be getting a lot more involved and interested with the people as he moves on. He is living his life like the other people meaning that he is sort of 'slumming it'. Ernesto grew up in a wealthy family in a pretty decent area so for him to go through this is very different and he is gaining a lot of knowledge. I am excited to see how the story progresses and what else Ernesto and I will learn.

Sincerely,
Carl Krause

IR Blog Post 2- Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-mLuLnN2xw

This video is just like the book describes it. I feel that the movie did a great job because it is extremely similiar to the book. When they do ether the book describes how they couldn't walk or control themselves. If ether is really like this in real life then it is a crazy drug that only crazy people would do. It is very wild that any one would ever do such a thing, but at the same time I think is is extremely interesting that a substance could do this to peoples' brains and make them behave in such a way.

IR Blog Post 2- Summary

I have finished part one of the book. A lot of crazy things happened to the characters while they were in Las Vegas. They do many different types of drugs such as cocaine, mescaline, ether, etc. The craziest drug scene thus far in the novel was the ether trip. They end up going to a circus and uff ether before walking in. They could hardly walk because ether does not allow the brain to connect with the rest of the body. They did a great job in the movie to show what it would be like to walk around while tripping on ether. Once they go in the circus it is really crazy to read about what they experience and how they behave. I can't even imagine what they were thinking. After the circus they go back to their hotel room. The attorney takes a lot of acid and sits in the bath tub. He threatens to kill the narrator so the narrator locks him in the bath room to let him wear off his trip. When the narrator wakes up the bathroom is open and the attorney is gone. The narrator gets really paranoid so takes the car and drives out of Vegas eventually meeting the cop. Then he calls the attorney and the attorney tells him to go back to Vegas so he begins his route back to Vegas.

IR Blog Post 2- Quote

" I know, Im guilty. I understand that. I knew it was a crime, but I did it anyway." " Thats a strange attitude" he said.

I thought that this was a very interesting point in the story. This was when the narrator had been driving on his own ever since his attorney left. He was on the run without paying his hotel bill. He had a car full of drugs and was drunk and gets pulled over by a cop. I thought this was strange because right before he was pulled over he had extreme paranoia, but after he gets pulled over he seems to just not care, as the cop pulls up he just stand there leaning against the car with a beer. I don't know whether it was just the narrator just giving up and accepting jail or what hi thought process was. However in this situation, it seems to work because the cop gives him a break and lets him go.

RAFT Argentina

3643

Me writing a poem to the wild card(Che) about lessons learned.

Hello Che, how is your day.
Are you wonering what is coming your way?

How is La Ponderosa?
Since your out of school I guess you won't see a Dixon Ticonderoga

What is essential in life.
Being a doctor or learning whats right?
What is right is wrong
and what you don't know you have to learn

What will you learn on your great trip
will you become soft
maybe even hold a tighter grip

In a year will Alberto still be our friend
Will a time come for separations
When will Che and Alberto's friendship come to an end

I wonder who you will meet
How will you change the way you think
I know it is coming
i guess with all this travel you r going to stink

will that stink bring you wisdom
living as a traveler in the dirt
you will learn what south america is really like
rub off that blood on your shirt

Raft Introduction

Role: You
Audience: Classmates
Format: Tweet
Topic: What do you expect to study this M.P.

#Wissahickonclassmates we will learn all bout adventure N progression. How 2find urself and all dat good stuff. We b lernin bout dat dude dey call Che. Its like first he was Ernesto N den he Che! Whattup wit dat!

TMD Preview

1. I am very excited to read the motorcycle diaries. Since this is a travel diary I expect a lot of this book to be personal to Ernesto Che Guevarra. I am sure I will hear about all of his ideas and feelings and what he was thinking when he goes through different situations. I am thrilled to see how Ernesto turns into Che over time.

2. I am sure the characters in the story will have travel issues such as their bikes breaking down, because things always go wrong during long trips like this. I also expect it to be difficult for the characters to adapt to so many changing surroundings but they will learn how to cope with each area they travel to.

3. I feel that this will be much more realistic to me because I know that it is a true story. I am sure it will be very intense and intriguing just like the other books.

IR Blog Post 3- Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9Kx_t6ko1k

The movie is just like the book during this scene. The characters, especially the narrator, see ridiculous and insane things while they are on these drugs. The book does a great job to describe what the narrator is feeling and all the things he sees. I do not understand why any one would want to do any type of drug like this, especially if it does something like makes you imagine that every one in the room is a scary reptile, however it is interesting to know that these drugs can actually do that to your brain. I am excited to see what the narrator does next and what he sees as a result of it.

IR Blog Post 2- Summary

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is already very interesting. It is about two men, the narrator and his 'attorney'. These two men are extremely wild and unique characters. It seems that they are friends but they are mean to each other in some instances such as cursing at each other and putting guns in the others face. Maybe it is because they are tripping on crazy drugs the entire time. The book opens with them driving very fast in the desert on the way to Las Vegas. It describes that the narrator is a journalist and he has his attorney with him, if it is his real attorney. It describes that they have a suitcase full of wild and dangerous drugs such as Acid, Ether, Cocaine, Mescaline, etc. Not too much has happened in Vegas so far except the characters have successfully looked like fools in public. The book is very descriptive about what they are seeing and how they feel during their trips. I am excited to see what happens next and how the two will get themselves into trouble next.

IR Blog Post 1- Quote

"But when I woke up it was dawn and I was in downtown Vegas and for a minute, I didn't know what the hell i was doin here"

I thought that the story this man told was very intriguing. While a bunch of people were waiting at the bar during the motorcycle race this man comes up and screams to this whole crowd about what has happened to him the past 12 hours. He doesn't even seem to care who is listening but he tells every one that he had been traveling all night to come to Las Vegas. He says he was beat up by two men and that he felt he had to take a journey to Las Vegas to see the Mint 400 (the motorcycle race). This is great because this is a short descriptive story of a journey within the journey of the entire book about the main characters. This man needed to take a journey to feel better about himself and e thought it would make him feel better.

180' South Reflection

" The best journeys answer questions that in the beginning you didn't even think to answer."

I think that this was the most important and meaningful quote in the entire documentary. It says that journeys are supposed to open your mind and broaden your horizon in ways that you could never expect. If you expect things to happen before they do, then life is not as exciting as the unknown future. I think living life spontaneously is the best way to live. Planning your entire life and knowing what is going to happen is boring and that certainly is not how I would like to live. People go on journeys to find themselves and this quote greatly represents understanding new things that you never even thought of before. A journey does not even have to be a trip across the world, it is the realization of what you want to do and how you want to live your life in the best way possible.

"Fear of the unknown is the greatest fear of all."

This quote is closely related to the previous one. I believe that you are supposed to explore and understand as many different things that you can. People are afraid of things that they don't understand or are used to; you must explore and conquer these fears to live your life with many experiences. Doug and Yvon are very wise men in my opinion because they have gone through and experienced so many different things all over the world. I am sure they were full of fear and misunderstanding of things such as people, cultures, locations, etc. But because they went out and experienced so many different things and learned so much about the world as a whole, they understand much more and have accomplished and conquered many of the fears they would have had if they had never gone through these crazy experiences.

Theme #4 Reflection

1. I did terribly with this theme. I did not think this was going to be one of my best themes but I thought my grade would be little bit higher. I had good points and ideas to prove my thesis.

2. Although I had good ideas the theme reader did not think that I did too well with writing my ideas in a way that is easy to understand. She did not like my style or how I wrote.

3. Next time I should take more time to write. I should think of all the different ways I can write a sentence or a point to make sure I write in the best way possible.