2a Sacramento Valley/Coloma

1. Contains a title using the format listed above .25 points

2a Sacramento Valley/Coloma

2. Contains the sources you used with links to these sources .25 points

-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacramento_Valley
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coloma,_California
-http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=484

3. Contains a brief paragraph how it connects to your study of humanities. 1 point

I chose the Sacramento Valley because it is where I spent two months this summer. I worked at an outdoor adventure camp called Rock-N-Water, where I was trained to guide on whitewater rafting trips, creek hikes, backpacking trips, and rock-climbing trips. Sacramento Valley, and Rock-N-Water specifically, relate to my study of Humanities in a few different ways. First of all, RNW is found in the very small, yet important, city of Coloma, CA. The city has very few citizens, but it has a very rich and extensive history. Another way that this city relates to Humanities is because of the unique population that lives in it. Because the South Fork of the American River runs right through Coloma, most of its inhabitants are rafters, especially in the summertime. There is a unique atmosphere and community in Coloma that could even be described as a rafting "culture."

4. Contains the following "analytical elements":
a. Observation: What did you choose? What do you see or hear or feel or think of in the choice you made? What is the subject of the work? If you chose a 'thing' what is the work made of and what techniques (colors, lines, shapes, textures)does the creator use? Be specific in your description. If you chose a place, be specific in your description of what you see or hear. Talk to your reader as though they cannot see the item but somehow must draw a painting of what you see or hear. 1 point

I chose the town of Coloma, California in the Sacramento Valley. Coloma is a very small town; it only takes a few minutes to drive from one side to the other. The two most significant aspects of Coloma are its history and the rafting. Coloma was the city where gold was first discovered in California by James W. Marshall. Near Coloma's downtown, you will find the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park, which is a popular tourist and field trip spot. Coloma's downtown consists of about 20 buildings, many of them abandoned. There still are a few shops open though, like The Argonaut, a old-fashioned shop that sells candy, soda and homemade ice cream. Coloma would probably be mostly a ghost town if it wasn't for the seasonal influx of rafters. Besides downtown Coloma, the rest of the town is mostly occupied by several rafting companies, stores that sell rafting gear, a few places to buy professional rafting pictures and various places to eat. Anywhere that you go in Coloma in the summer, most of the people will probably be wearing boardshorts and many of the vehicles driving will have rafts or kayaks on their roofs.

b. Interpretation: What is your choice about? Give specific examples to support this statement in 2 sentences; do so in a way that teaches us something about your choice. Make Paulo Freire proud! .75 point

As I said in the previous question, Coloma is mainly about history and rafting. Almost every person that you find in Coloma is probably either there either because they are going rafting or there to visit the Historic Park where gold was first discovered in California.

c. Judgment: What led you to your choice? What do you think or feel about this choice? Why do you feel this way? Support your thoughts with specific observations. .5 point

I made the choice that I did because it has been about six weeks since I've been at Rock-N-Water in Coloma and I've been missing the camp and the community very much since then. When I think of Coloma it is bittersweet because I absolutely love it there, but it's a little sad that I probably won't be there again until next summer. Mostly though, thinking of Coloma brings up good feelings because I love rafting and have countless memories there.

d. Questioning: What else would you like to know about this choice? When completing the question section, lead your audience into the question by stating a fact you do know, yet you still have the related question. This way, both your audience and you will have an educational experience. Example: I learned that John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath was based on his personal experience working with farm workers. I would like to know if the characters he used in that book are fictitious or are they people he met? .5 point

I know that Coloma was once a booming town and that the discovery of gold there was the main thing that sparked the exodus of so many people to the West. However, I'm curious to know how long the town of Coloma was a gold-mining hub and when the city was mostly abandoned.

5. Using your classmates work from last week, tell us one thing you learned from 1 student. Is this one thing some common experience you share or some experience that is completely different than what you experienced? Is this one thing related to our class theoretical foundation and if so, how? Is that one thing related to historical or cultural context of this country or a different one? Link that persons blog to this entry (eg cut paste that blog entry here) . .5 point

I chose to respond to Rachael's blog entry (http://rachaelcourt.blogspot.com/2008/09/assignment-1-c.html). From her blog I learned that Freire became the minister of education in San Paulo and also taught at Cambridge and Harvard. Rachael originally learned this information from Chris' blog. The fact that he was the minister of education and taught at Universities in the US is not necesarrily something that is different than what I learned in my own experience researching him, it was just another interesting fact that I seemed to have missed. It seems like the more I learn about Freire, the bigger I see that his scope of influence was.