California, Texas and Arizona

This week we worked on comparing and contrasting the different states the students have visited this semester. This is what we discovered:

Compare and Contrast essay:
California and Texas

There’s a lot to be said in comparison with California and Texas. First of all, they’re both legendary states that have abundant and rich histories that date back to the early 1800s. It was interesting to learn that California’s name came from the Spanish folktale of the Amazonian Queen, Califia. Texas does not have as quirky of a history but it does have character.

Both states have amazing sports teams - football and basketball. I’m proud to say that I am a loyal fan of the Houston Rockets and the Dallas Cowboys. California is a liberal state which means they’re more relaxed about certain laws and rights to the people; Texas on the other hand is ultra conservative and has a strict government with bans on gay marriage. I love both states dearly, but, I wish my group had come for a visit in the summer months simply because of the fact that both states had bitter cold spells which made it very uncomfortable for me and my group.

Being a Georgia native did not make it any easier; I have grown accustomed to warm weather practically year around. Visiting both states has, however, shown me how the other side lives and how some people can be almost immune to the cold. The media seems to portray Las Angeles to be half glamour and half ghetto; I myself have seen in movies and on TV how it is assumed that a person could get shot just walking down the street in East LA. If that were true, wouldn’t all the citizens and tourists be dead or in critical condition? It’s up to one’s judgment to decide how they act on these assumptions and where “They” will go from there.

Even so, California is not my number one choice of residence simply from my own personal experience; the populace seems to have a smug air about it. I have always tried to avoid people who have an unwarranted godly persona - it just doesn’t make me like you as a person.
Even though they are both diverse in many ways, both California and Texas have one thing in common: mixed population. California has the highest minority rate in the entire U.S.! They have some 550,000 Jews living in or outside of the LA area! For the third largest U.S. state, that’s really impressive. Both states are all for equal opportunity and people’s rights but show it in different ways.

In conclusion, Texas and California were great states to visit, I feel as if I would not be able to find a place to rest in either of those places. Atlanta is, and always will be my home. Eventually, I’ll move to another state. Perhaps when the time for college is evident I’ll find Florida or maybe even Arizona calling my name. Until that time arrives, nothing will ever come to having as much of an impact on me as my home city.

By EJ Kornhauser

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California and Arizona – comparing activities

Out of the many places we’ve visited Arizona and California are the most noticeably different. The way I will compare and contrast the two states will be based upon the enjoyment level of the activities.
Arizona was a very important expedition in my opinion because it was the first of the semester.In Arizona we did a few fun things such as going through the Vegas Strip. We even went rock climbing and I even climbed to the top. We also saw Havasu Falls which was spectacular.

Even though there were positives the negatives for me were a greater impact on my enjoyment.A good example would be the 16 mile round trip backpacking hike we took to Havasupai. Another negative would be when we went to the Grand Canyon and the weather was wet and cold, and there was snow everywhere.

On the other hand, California was the most highly anticipated expedition of the group. We took part in a lot of fun activities like riding a ferry to the Channel Islands. One of the cool things about the ferry ride was the boat sold snacks onboard and Beth and Kenji let the group buy some. The day after we arrived at the islands we went sea kayaking. During the awesome sea kayaking session we had the chance to see a good amount of marine wild life.

Another activity we did was swimming and surfing. Though it was technically a surf day I had a great time napping. One of the other great things about California was the gorgeous scenery. The most remarkable time we had to drink in the beauty were when we drove along the coastline for six hours. We also visited the Lake Shrine and a Redwood park.

Overall, California was exponentially better than Arizona. California was more enjoyable and it was less tiring mentally and physically.

Spencer

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Arizona and California


There are various similarities and differences between California and Arizona.
California has twice the population than Texas. Also, Arizona is drier than Texas.
Northern California is generally cooler than Texas. California has the famous Hollywood and infamous beaches. California also has better surfing waves. In certain rural areas of California, all you can see on one side of the road is desert and then on the other, houses are lined up neatly like toy soldiers.

Both states have famous things in their states. Arizona has the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon is famous because of how it was formed by the earth. California has Yosemite and the Golden Gate Bridge. The bridge was handmade back in the 1920’s. The other famous thing in California is the Hippie Trait in San Francisco, where the Hippies would come and gather to protest back in the cold war.

California has been my favorite expedition simply because I’m a relaxed person in nature and I like being around people who make me feel good about myself.

by A.C. Berry
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California and Texas

I will be comparing the activities and weather in California and Texas. I like California because you can go surfing and lay on the beaches. I think California is better than Texas because you can go surfing in California. You can go bouldering in both California and Texas.

I went surfing in California during my last expedition and it was my first time going surfing. It was so fun to go surfing. My favorite activities in California were surfing and sea kayaking. My favorite things that I did in Texas were bouldering and hiking through some parks and hiking up to the highest point of Texas - Guadalupe Mountain.

When we were in Texas it was windy and raining and I wish that we had more time on our backpacking trip. When we went sea kayaking in California and we got to go into some cool caves. In Texas we went to a star party that taught about the stars and space.

I like California better than Texas because in California there are a lot of beaches and you can go swimming in the ocean and you can see different animals on the beach. I didn’t like Texas as much as it’s too dry there for my tastes. If it gets too hot and dry in California you can jump into the ocean. You can look for sea shells on the beaches California and not in Texas.




By Mitchell Wilkinson -Harrison