Assignment 4: Pocahontas - fiction and reality

Due to the fact that I am a huge Disney fan, I always like to do research on the story behind the movies, because sometimes it turns out to be really interesting! This time I want to present you - in connection with American history - the story, fiction and reality, of Pocahontas!
I think almost everyone of you has seen the Disney movie Pocahontas, the lovely told story based on the folktales around the Native American woman who fell in love with the Enlgish settler John Smith in the 17th century. I don't know anyone who wasn't enchanted after seeing the movie, who wasn't amazed by her beauty and intelligence.
But how much of this film is actually true? I tried to find out.

The true parts about the movie are that Pocahontas was the favourite and beloved daughter of the chief of the Powhatan tribe in Jamestown, Virginia. Her nature was playful, curious and non-judgemental. She may not have been that beautiful as the film shows (neither was John), on the contrary, she was described as rather stocky and short, which was typical for the Powhatan tribe. Also, she was only 11-13 years old when the events happened, but the movie made her look like 17-20.
The sad truth for Disney movie lovers like me is that John Smith and Pocahontas never fell in love or had some sort of romance, she actually married John Rolfe who arrived together with John Smith 1607 in Jamestown (in the movie, he doesn't appear until the second movie)
In the movie, John Smith was shot by the bad guy, the governor, but in reality, there was no governor at that time.
The ture story is that John Smith's crew experienced a very cold and harsh winter. Running out of supplies, they started searching for food. One day in 1608, John smith and some of his crewmembers were captured by the Native Americans. His men were killed immediately and he was brought to Chief Powhatan who ordered to kill him as well. In the last second, little Pocahontas, not more than 13 years old, asked her father to spare Smith's life. So he did. That's where fiction and realty match.

I hope you enjoyed reading my post and now know a little bit more about the mysterious Native American woman! :)

Assignent 1: My roadtrip through Ireland

Since the fourteen days in Dublin in 7th grade were some of the best days I've ever had abroad, it didn't take me a long time to choose my holiday destination for Easter Break. It was a pleasure to visit such a vivid and compact city like Dublin, where every place was frought with music and vitality. But if you take a closer look, you will see that Ireland has far more to offer than just a vivid nightlife and bars on every corner. This time, the aim of my trip will be Ireland's beautiful green landscape.
I clearly remember the one day we went to the coast of Howth when I was looking down the cliffs, watching the waves collide with the huge walls of stone. I breathed in the salty sea air, the wind blew through my hair, no annoying crowds of tourists, no noise but the waves and the seagulls, just nature and me. I'm longing for a moment like this.

I know that ten days are a short period of time, but I don't want to stay at one place. Why staying in one city or town when so many others are waiting for you, maybe even more beautiful than the last one? I only want to avoid popular tourist spots and rather stay off the beaten track, getting in touch with the locals and so on. My plan is to fly to Dublin, spend some time there to revive old memories and afterwards rent a car and drive through Ireland. Without a certain destination, just a list full of bulletpoints with nice places to see. Of course I'm not in a hurry, I will stay as long at a place as I want to, you never know what can happen. I'm a very spontaneaous human being, even the idea of having a final and unchangeable plan makes me shiver. Maybe there is time for two cities, maybe for ten. The nights I will spend in hostels because I can't afford sleeping every night in an expensive hotel. I'm also thinking of taking a friend with me, this would be much more fun than travelling alone.
I already started writing the list:

• Cliffs of Moher
• Glendalough
• Howth
• The Giant's Causeway
• Aran Islands
• Glenveagh National Park
• Connemara National Park
• the Burren
• Cooley Peninsula
• Belfast
• Galway
• Cork 

Can't wait for the Easter Break!! :)

Homework correction: The most fascinating aspect of Irish culture

The most fascinating aspect of Irish culture that I learned about by watching the Story of Ireland was the fact that the famous rebel Michael Collins was able to negotiate a settlement with Great Britain, the Anglo- Irish Treaty, after a long war. Although this treaty seemed for many Irish people like a defeat against the British Empire, they had far more won than lost. In exchange for the six mainly Protestant counties in the North, the southern part of Ireland, 26 counties, became the Irish Free State. This state now had the opportunity to separate from the Britsh and had the freedom to achieve freedom. Beside the fact that they were able to set up their own government, they also were not confronted with religious discrimination anymore. On the other hand, the treaty also caused severe struggles on the Irish side, which finally led to a ruthless and cruel Civil War between the ones who approved, and the ones who opposed the treaty. In brief, the Anglo- Irish Treaty has both a positive and a negative side: It gave Ireland - in the longer term - the independence it always wanted but also turned comrades into bitter enemies.