Pick a president

On november 8, the USA could get its first female president ever with Hillary Clinton! I'm crossing my fingers that she will win the elections, because as many others, I have not much faith in her opponent from the Republican party, Donald Trump. Some even take it that far as to say that he will cause the country's economy to collaps! 

George Washington, the very first president, gave the capital its name.

Well, they have had controversial presidents before. Like George W. Bush, who read from a children's book while his country was under attack. Really, he was holding a reading session for a class when he got the news about the Twin towers and he just kept on reading! Bill Clinton, husband of you know who, had a love affair and after months of denying it, he finally admitted to it and apologized to the nation in public. Nixon was involved in the Watergate Scandal and had to resign. Obama was accused of not having the Amerian nationality. And there are probably many more skeletons in the closet!

John F Kennedy mintues before he was shot. First lady Jackie survived.

I think it's exciting to follow the elections, but I'm aware that it's a tough campaign in which the candidates dig up dirt on each other. Who do you think/hope is going to become the 45th president? Write about a president in week 13! Comment the ongoing elections or browse through this list of the 44 previous presidents and see what surprising facts you can ome up with. 

All men are created equal

What if you had to enter Coop through the backdoor just because you have green eyes? What if you were denied bathing at Koksvikstranda because you have small feet? Or imagine that you had to stand all dag long at school instead of sitting at a desk, just because you have more freckles than the other pupils! Not possible, you might think. But only 50 years ago, America's black population experienced this kind of discrimination on a daily basis. And that solely because of the colour of their skin.

There were benches for white people only, seperate toilets in public buildings, no service in diners, no voting rights etc.etc. The list over mistreatment is a long one. Would you have the courage to stand up for your rights, like Martin Luther King or the students at the Greensboro sit in? Would you risk being arrested like Rosa Parks did? I'm not sure I would. I truly admire these people who fought for equal civil rights. Without their devotion, marches, speeches and actions, black people would not have the freedom they have today. 

Your task for week 11 is to do some research on slavery, segregation or discrimination and post what you find out. Good reading and good luck.

Please not Alaska!

In previous years I have introduced several states on my teacher's blog. I've included North California, where the 2012 film Hunger Games was filmed, Montana and its national parks, Tennessee, the birthplace of country music and Hawaii, the newest of them all. This year the honour goes to Iowa which gets its name from the Ioway tribe.

Why Iowa? Not because there is a town called Norway, not because of the 100 000 farms or the fact that it's as flat as Danmark. It's the home of my favourite author, Bill Bryson, and the to you probably more known actor Ashton Kutcher. More importantly though, it's the current residence of my daughter, Wietske!

Wietske hugging her baby sister
 goodbye at the airport last August.

She is spending this school year as an exchange student in the south-eastern part of Iowa, a region called Quad Cities. A great opportunity for her and at the same time a source of information for me! It's real interesting to follow her daily activities in the home of an actual American family. She has swum in the Mississippi, been shopping at Wal-Mart, taken cover from a tornado in the basement and experienced a lockdown due to a school shooting incident. All typical American things ;) 

When she enlisted the program, she didn't get to choose a state and for a while she was truly worried that they'd ship her off to Alaska. Luckily she ended up in a more central location. If you could live a year in the USA, where would you like to settle down? Your task for week 10 is to write about your favourite state and reason for your choice. Try to use American sources like www.infoplease.com or awesomeamerica.com, and steer away from Wikipedia. 

A memorable trip

The summer of 2014 is not one that I will forget easily. In the company of 4 dear friends I visited the state and city of New York. Once called New Amsterdam, the city made a huge impression on me! Here some snapshots from my time in the Big Apple.

On top of the Empire State Building 

A lot of posing going on 

In Central Park you can see the Belvedere Castle from the Smurf film!

the American dream ;) 

One World Trade Center replaces the twin towers.
It is 1776 ft tall (ring a bell?)

Broadway selfie!