Fall 2020

 Long ago in a quaint Alaskan village lived a little boy named Saysa. Saysa was the youngest of five boys and just wanted to grow up and be like them. Unfortunately, he was looked at as the runt of the group and much smaller than all his siblings. That never slowed him down much though, and he tried to do everything they did.  Now in the same village lived a little girl named Mira who also was the youngest with three older brothers. Her brothers were extremely protective of her and were always looking out for her. They already knew that no one would be good enough for their little sister. One day Saysa was out exploring and met Mira out in the woods. The two automatically became best friends. The two met up to play everyday for weeks and went on many adventures. While playing one day, Mira's brothers came back from hunting early and spotted the pair running through a field. They immediately went over to the pair and began scolding Saysa. "Who do you think you are playing with

 For the second half of the Alaskan Legends unit, I found a few stories that I thoroughly enjoyed. These stories reminded me of the trip I took to Alaska as a child and the new culture I was able to experience there. I found the story of The First Woman to be a cool way in which the different regions and groups of people from one side of Alaska differed from the other side. Alaska is such a large place it is unique to see the division of people due to the distances they are set apart. Yet, at the same time these different groups were seen to be united with their similarities. This second part also continued on in using animal characters which I really like. However, I think my favorite story would have to be The Boy in the Moon. This story was quite interesting because it was a somewhat forbidden love. The little girl floated away into the sky and the boy followed her there. Now being that the two were siblings, the story would be slightly off but it is a legend. The girl then became t

 Raven's Marriage All the stories contained in this unit carry with them animal characters with funny little personalities. My favorite story from Part A would have to be the Raven's Marriage. I am always drawn to the happy little love stories I find hidden in the different units. I really focused on the way that this unit used the animal characters. I want to incorporate that in one way or another into one of my storytelling blogs or even into one of the stories I can use for my portfolio project. I think that using animals as the characters helps to add an element to the stories in a way that human characters cannot. The way these stories used a raven as the main character and followed him from one event into the next was curious. Raven was a happy go lucky guy but at the same time is seen as a cry baby when he does not get his way. The other animals throughout the story like the geese and marmont are seen at times praising the raven for the things he does. Creating character

     Hundreds of years ago in Japan, a young Prince was wed an intelligent, beautiful and kind Princess. The couple lived a perfect life ruling their country together. Well, almost perfect. For the Princess was unable to bear a child to carry on their legacy.       The couple decided that the best thing they could do was take a trip to the temple of the Goddess Hase. Hase was known for her mercy and grace given to children. While the Prince and Princess were at the temple, they prayed ceaselessly for five days. The Goddess looked favorable upon this couple and granted them a child. To honor the Goddess and never forget what she had done for them, the couple named their baby girl Hase.      Soon after the birth of Hase, the Princess fell ill. Despite all the efforts from the kingdom’s physicians, the Princess passed away. But before she did she called Hase in and told her, “Do not be sad for my passing, for I will always be watching over you. Be a kind and studious girl and make your mo

  The Story of the Princess Hase is one that I plan to use in my Portfolio project. Due to this story being a fairy tale and including a princess, I feel like it will fit into my theme of beauty perfectly. The background story that is given here is really good and in only a few paragraphs sets up the scene for the entirety of it. When Princess Hase mother dies there is great sadness that enters the story. Not only does the Princess's mother die, but her new step mother is cruel and treats the Princess badly. This use of an antagonist helps to bring the reader to a place of empathy for the Princess. In terms of beauty, the Princess learned to play the harp and became so well versed in this practice.  There is a great twist in the story that gives the reader shock. For the evil stepmother tries to poison Princess Hase but mistakenly poisons her own son. The stepmother was then even more enraged with Hase and blamed her for her sons death. She went so far as to enlist a servant to ki

For this weeks reading I chose the Ozaki, also known as the Japanese Fairy Tales. Fairy Tales are my favorite types of stories that I have come upon so far in this course and also a big part of my Portfolio project. Therefore, I knew that this unit would help to give some ideas that I can use in my own project.  My favorite story in Part A was The Adventures of Kintaro, The Golden Boy . This tale was quite sweet and one that really had no prominent antagonist that needed to be overcome making it a happy-go-lucky easy read. I like how the story is told by an unknown narrator yet incorporates dialogue throughout.  This dialogue is definitely something that I need to refer back to and use in my own retelling of stories. The dialogue helps to give the story more depth and substance, as opposed to a singular voice in the narrator. The flow throughout the Adventures of Kintaro was also smooth and easy to read. It was a somewhat longer story but did not feel like it due to the way in which th

 I watched the video Life From Above, and Beyond with words from Alan Watts  . This video was very interesting and eye opening. This video was a compilation of narration and video that was calming and insightful. The images shown were beautiful and make me crave the abilty to get back to traveling.  (Traveling People from Pixist )