Tag: summer

  • Monthly Mythology

    Monthly Mythology

    Amaterasu 

    The sun is a universal symbol of life, happiness, and energy. Due to its distance yet illuminating light, it often is associated with a celestial body and divine powers. In Japanese myth, Amaterasu-Ōmikami (天照大御神, 天照大神) is the celestial body that takes care of the sun and keeps its course in the sky. She was believed to live in a sacred cave and was one of the “three precious children” of the Japanese creator god (named Izanagi). She would spend most of her days weaving cloaks for the gods to wear, and the color of the cloaks would relate to the weather of the day: bright-colored clothes were associated with a sunny day, and dark-colored clothes were associated with a cloudy day. 

    Izangi declared that because Amaterasu was the brightest and the oldest, she would be in command. Eventually, her two other brothers would both leave heaven (that they remained on), while Amasteru would stay. Her younger brother, Susanoo, was furious: he tormented her, destroyed her fields, defecated in her palace, and flayed her prize horse. But it was when Susanoo killed one of the servants that Amasteru became consumed by sadness and secluded herself in a cave. Since Amaterasu was not there to bring daylight, the world was left in disarray and darkness. She would eventually step out when the gods lured her with a mirror (knowing that she would be enchanted by her beauty), making her inclined to step out of darkness and bring light back to the world. 

     

    Ra

    The sun is worshipped as a symbol of life because it has the power to ripen crops. Ra is known as the creator and king of all deities, patron of the sun. Ra was considered the King of Gods in Egypt, where pharaohs were considered as the sons of the sun god. According to Egyptian myth, darkness covered the waters of Nun before creation. The sun god is said to have risen from these waters as a benben stone or obelisk-like pillar, willing himself into existence. Ra then created the first gods: Shu, the god of dryness and air and the goddess of humidity, and Tefnut, who created other gods to complete the universe. Humans are said to be born of Ra’s tears and while polishing his creations, humanity rebelled against him. To stop the rebellion, Ra decided to exterminate humanity, where he sent his tear-giving eye to finish the task. The eye transformed herself into a fierce lioness to massacre the humans, but Ra stopped her when he witnessed the chaos. 

    After stopping the massacre, Ra went on a journey to the Otherworld. The world became illuminated when Ra sailed by the sky from the Eastern horizon to the West, which created 12 hours of the day with light. When he reached the Western horizon, he sailed the Underworld, leaving Earth in darkness for 12 hours. During this time, Ra associates with Osiris, the god of resurrection and the Underworld, in order to regenerate. Ra is able to combine with different deities: when he is associated with a creator deity known as Amun, Ra represents the universal, raw power of the sun. At dawn, Ra appears in the form of a falcon on the Eastern horizon, where he is known as Hor-akhty or Horus of the Horizon. He is also represented as a scarab beetle called Kheper, meaning “the one that comes into being.” Ra regained his form of Ra at midday and is currently represented by the sun disk. At sunset, he became Atum, an old man who was ready to vanish and be reborn for a new day.

  • Summer Bummer

    Most people have a favorite season, especially when choosing between the polar opposites summer and winter. A good majority of students prefer the sunny, school-free former over the cold, depressing latter.

    But as for me, well… I just do not know. I am not the type of person to be going out everyday, but at the same time I can relate to the feeling of being over school just as much as the next person.

    However, I have now gotten to the point where I’m not completely sure I agree with the majority, because like many people I know, without school my weekdays are pretty bare of plans.

    I am Mexican, so that means I am going to be getting up just to clean and turn on my loud banda songs and after that, I’ll only be sitting on the couch eating – which is not good because of the huge amount of weight I will inevitably gain.

    On the bright side, my stress levels will experience a plummet that mirrors the Xcelerator ride at Knotts, and my sleep habits will return to normal, aka hibernation. So, I guess summer shouldn’t be too bad.

  • Language Students Travel Abroad

    During the summer, Poly students traveled abroad to visit places like Japan and Spain to overcome cultural boundaries and further improve their foreign language skill.

    Four students traveled to Japan along with Watson Sensei as ambassadors for the Tomodachi Initiative. The program focuses on bringing together American and Japanese students together through a cultural exchange program that was set up after the Great East Japan Earthquake.

    “The purpose of the trip was to allow the students to see the devastation in Japan firsthand and to bond with their home-stay family. They will share their experiences of their Japan trip with the other language students,” said Japanese 5-6, 7-8, and AP teacher Susan Watson.

    The students stayed with their host families and toured the entire island of Honshu. They also participated in the relief efforts of Japan by cleaning up the beaches and to learn more about the impact that it had on Japan.

    “My favorite part of the trip was the home-stay. I got to be part of a Japanese family for a little while and it was eye opening. It really showed me that although there are so many cultural differences, we are all just the same. I still stay in touch with my host sisters and will keep them in my life for years and years to come,” said senior Milada Cook.

    Two students from the Spanish language program also visited Spain for a month long stay, specifically in the city of Salamanca, using this summer as a chance to further their Spanish language skills and to learn about Spanish culture. The trip was planned by the Magellan Study Abroad program, and scholarships were offered. The groups of students were selected from all around the United States, stayed with their host families for three weeks, and traveled to cities around Spain during the final week.

    They attended language school for four hours a day—speaking entirely in Spanish—and went out on excursions during the weekends, visiting various natural and cultural landmarks in Spain.  The students also attended ceramics class, flamenco, and salsa classes as well as a cooking class.

    “It was very enlightening trip. It made me realize how important it is to learn a foreign language,” said senior Meghan Boterenbrood.

  • Cuba Welcomes Poly Jackrabbits

    Daniel Adler and students from his AP Economics class journeyed abroad to the forbidden country of Cuba from June 18 to June 26. The group of 30 spent six days in Havana and two days in Trinidad.

    The trip was planned by Distant Horizons, a travel company that has been located in Long Beach since 1985. Since direct air flight from the US to Cuba is not allowed, the group landed at Mexico City as their intermediary destination to and back.

    From roaming author Ernest Hemingway’s house to swimming in the Bay of Pigs, students had the chance to visit Cuba’s many historic sites including a memorial commemorating the 1953 Cuban Revolution, which brought rise to Dictator Fidel Castro.  They also spent much time interacting with the locals and learning Cuban culture.

    “The most fun part was playing baseball with the high school students in Cuba,” said Mr. Adler.

    Students attended seminars at the University of Havana and listened to speakers discuss the situation of their country and the problems they face. Some speakers were United States expatriates and defectors.

    “One would talk about how the United States needs change, and then another would say that it’s Cuba that needs to change,” said AP US History teacher Patrick Gillogly, who joined Mr. Adler on the trip. “It was an interesting mix of tradition and change.”

    Hiding behind the beautiful beaches and breathtaking scenery of Cuba reveal a country in distress and a firsthand lesson in economics. A victim of a U.S. financial and commercial embargo since 1960, Cuba has suffered in respect to their economy. Tourism remains the country’s most important revenue stream.

    “Our tour guide who lives there [in Cuba] talked about ration cards and how what the government handouts are not nearly enough to survive, let alone live comfortably,” said senior Aida Ylanan.

    The country is still recovering from the Special Period, a severe economic depression after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The Soviet Union accounted for a large majority Cuba’s imports and exports, leaving it extremely vulnerable after their fall. Although Cuba is still a communist country, a large portion of the population is pushing for progressive measures and reform. Some private businesses have even received government permission to open.

    “I wanted my students to see an alternative economic system and judge for themselves how well it worked,” said Mr. Adler. “Regardless, the people are the same as us.”