The Similarities seen in the Religion Field Trip

After the field trip, I feel this field trip has changed my view of the similarities of Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism. Now I feel these three religions are actually quite similar after the field trip. Now the quote "All religions have a common meaning " from my Grade 5 teacher Mrs. Williams makes sense. In the field trip, we visited an Indian temple, and a Chinese temple, but sadly not the mosque as it was closed when we arrived.



The Indian temple we visited was amazing! I saw an amazing amount of different colors on almost everything there, and beautiful symbols such as the lotus flowers. I also noticed there was a variety of Hinduism gods such as Brahma, and Ganesh. I also witnessed some Hindu worshippers praying, and a worker bathing a precious god. The last thing I saw was the Hindu writings on the walls which was very linked to Islam. In grade 5, we visited a mosque, and I remembered seeing some Islamic writings on the walls. I also smelt some fragrant incense, and smell of the lotus flowers. I also heard some beautiful Hindi music, and a priest reciting the Rig Veda. In the end I felt privileged to come here, and I hope the Chinese temple, and the mosque had a welcoming atmosphere just like the Indian temple.



Next we visited the Chinese temple, and I was surprised with a few things. Although I have visited a Chinese temple many times before, I noticed quite a few number of new things. In the temple, I saw dragons, lanterns, many different types of gods like Guan Yin, rings, joysticks, a chimney, and some people selling fortune notes. The colors of the temple to be honest was expected. It was red, and yellow. I barely heard anything at the temple except for the prayers of some worshippers. I also smelt fragrant incense. After visiting the temple I came up with some links with Hinduism, and Islam. All their worshippers come to pray quite often, and they all have things no other place has. An example is the Hindu temple has a lot of colors on everything, while the mosque has geometrical shapes. Also the Chinese temple is the only type of place where the main color is red, and yellow. I also made links with Hinduism which is they both have gods in the temple. The atmosphere of this temple was very cold as no one welcomed us, and I felt lost at times.



After lunch we tried to visit the mosque. When we reached the gate, I was shocked. It was closed. So we sat beside the river and viewed the mosque. From my view, I spotted a dome, two minarets, no gods, people praying, dull colors, geometric shapes which had very intricate designs. I also realized the mosque was almost symmetrical. I also heard very loud speeches from the Imam telling people to come pray. I didn't smell things, but from the pictures of the other groups, I can tell that in the mosque, there was no smell. The atmosphere of the mosque was very serious especially during prayer time. The only new connection with the Hindu temple, and the Chinese temple is the worshippers definitely take their prayers seriously.



After the trips I realized that although all religions are far from each other, the religions all have some similarities. Some important similarities is their worshippers take praying seriously, have colors for purpose, and they all have symbols. This is what the similarities are. As you can see, we human beings have a similar thinking, no matter where we come from!

My Life in a Day

Cool name, not related to math.

HOMEWORK , my biggest nightmare, so tiring.

Calculator keeps me being very "mathematical."

Toy Cars fun to play with.

Maps just too fun to read.

Television kills a lot of boredom.

Without Laptop time goes too slowly.

Reading makes life much more enjoyable.

Never ate anything except Roti Canai.

Too much paper to print home.

Common Elements in Creation Myths

The early thoughts of Inca, Mayan, and Chinese myths were that unanswerable question were answered by their gods. "These were the early dreams of mankind."

Themes of power, gods, and explanations forming earth, and humans are at the centre of many creation myths, which is weird because people couldn't travel so they never would have communicated with each other.

A common element in many myths is the gods had absolute power. In the Mayan myth nobody challenged Tepeu or Gucumatz, and they could destroy or create anything that they envisioned. In the Inca myth Pachacamac was also unchallenged, and he could command his children to obey his orders or he could construct anything he craved. The Chinese myth said that Phan Ku was never confronted, and could erect anything he pleased.

In many myths they contain gods. The Inca god was Pachacamac who created humans, and sent his son, and daughter to educate the humans how to survive. The Mayan god was Gucumatz, and Tepeu who crafted animals, and humans so they could be praise, and the Chinese god was Pan Ku whose remains became parts of the earth.

Many myths have explanations of the creation of earth, and the creation of humans. The Mayan myth said humans were constructed out of corn, and the earth was fashioned when the gods imagined the characteristics of the earth. The Inca myth said that humans were created from rock that came from an enormous mountain of rock, and the earth was crafted when he produced the earth. The Chinese myth said the world was created from Pan Ku's death, while his fleas were the humans.

Even today humans sight, and understanding of the world is not perfect. This is what the Mayan, Inca, and Chinese myths have in common according to which was by Fiona Passantino. It also tells us that we think similarly.





From left Tepeu, and Gucumatz

Sources from http://mayazteca.blogspot.com/

My Bag

My objects from the top left to top right are my Romance of The Three Kingdoms 11 video game, my Resident Evil 4 video game, my Fifa 10 video game, my Almanac 2008 book, and my Horrible Science book.

My objects from the bottom left to bottom right, are my Snakes, and Ladders board game, my F1 toy car, my calculator, my bookmark, and my Atlas

If I had to put 10 things in my bag it would be those objects that were on the picture. I would put them because they all have a meaningful purpose. Also I chose them because some of them have been time savers when it comes to homework. Later in my essay I will tell you why each object is useful.

My most favorite object is my Romance of The Three Kingdoms 11 video game. I put this game in my bag because I am a big fan of strategy games. It is a hard game to complete so it keeps me playing forever just to try to complete a scenario which keeps me from being bored during the holidays.

The second object I love is Resident Evil 4 video game. I put this game in my bag because I am also a big fan of action games. Also I like to fight monsters, and zombies. The game is also very addictive as for every round completed you get new, and better weapons.

The next object I like is Fifa 10 video game. I put this game into my bag because I am a big fan of soccer. It is so addictive that I can play it for 24 hours without playing another game. I also chose this game because there are so many things you could do in the game like play manager mode, edit players, create players, be a pro, and of course the tournament mode.

The next object was a must to put in as I really like to read books that contain a lot of information of just about anything. Also I chose this book ahead of other books because this book never really had a really boring part which even great books have. This is why I chose my Almanac 2008. If I had newer versions I would have put that in my bag, but since I can't seem to find them, this version will have to do.

The fifth object is my Horrible Science book. I chose it because it is a really funny book which I liked. Also I chose it because it contains a lot of information, and some comics which is unique for a informational book.

The next object is my Snakes, and Ladders board game. This object was quite hard to choose when it came to whether to choose it or not as I also liked another video game called Thrillville. After about ten minutes I decided to add the board game because I already had three video games, and adding another would just tell the reader that I only liked video games which is not entirely true. I chose it as I love to play boardgames that only require luck, but not skill.

The seventh object is my F1 toy car. This object was definitely a must as I have been a fan of F1 races since 2004, and I am still attracted to the sport although these days I don't watch every race, but if I have time I will watch it. I also chose it because Ferrari F1 toy car was the team I supported.

The next object is my calculator which has been a time saver when it comes to doing homework. It has been a Time saver as when I was allowed to use the calculator for homework, I always save precious time, and managed to finish my homework faster.

The penultimate object is my bookmark. I chose the bookmark as whenever I don't use it, I always lose track of what page I was at without a bookmark. With a bookmark I save a lot of time as I don't have to keep searching for the page.

The last object in my bag is my Atlas. I chose the Atlas because I love to read maps, and look where a country is located during my spare time. Also I don't need to use the computer to find it.

After you have read my writing, you will now have realized that these ten objects in my bag are meaningful to me as they are either fun or can save a lot of time. They all also tell how I value fun, and saving time. Also I hope you can know what kind of person I am after you have seen what objects I like.

My Name

"Good men must die, but death cannot kill their names." This quote just demonstrates how important names actually are. My name is Ivan. In the next paragraphs I will inform you all about my name, and surname. I will also inform you the origin of my names, history of my names, the story of my first name, why my parents prefer my first name than any other, how my name affects me, my opinion of my first name, and lastly what name would I rather be called if given an alternative.

My name Ivan is a short crisp name that flows well that originates from Hebrew according to babynamesworld.com. The history behind my first name is the first person to possess my name in recorded history was Ivan I of Russia according to wikipedia.

My surname Loh is a short legendary name which originates from china, and knits perfectly well with my first name. Although I boast no symbols of real diamonds currently in my surname, it originally did according to yutopian.com. The history of my surname is that I am the descendants of the ancient king Yan Di who ruled in the 500's A.D . The surname was founded because his grandson Xi made a magnificent contribution to reestablishing the kingdom of Qi Heng Gong so he was allowed to change his surname to Lu. Over a passage of time some changed to my surname.

The story of my name according to my parents is I am the gift of god. The reason why my parents decided on my name is when my parents were seeking to unearth a name that was related to my dad's name John, they stumbled over the name Ivan. When they saw the meaning Ivan was related to my dad's name, they selected it.

My name Ivan has a bittersweet impact ripped to shreds by Ivan the Terrible, and fixed back by its wonderful meaning. Every time I mention my name is Ivan, people tend to joke to me about Ivan The Terrible which is annoying. Also some people can't pronounce my name. Even though my name has a few negative impacts, it has a decent meaning so I am still keen to keep my name as it means god is gracious according to babiesnamesworld.com. However it doesn't really suit me because I have no religion. If I had a choice to change my name, I would prefer being called Ryan because it means little king as babiesnamesworld.com said that it means little king.

After you have examined my blog, I anticipate you will understand where my name, and surname came from, the history of my names, the story of my names, how my parents opted for my name, how my name affects me, what is my opinion on my first name, and what name I would rather have if given a choice. As you can see my names clicks well with its preferred person.

Sources from http://www.makara.us/04mdr/01writing/03tg/bios/Ivan.htm The person in the picture is Ivan The Terrible