photo taken by dominic arizona : azfoto.com

• In the early 15th century, the Spanish took control of the island of Hispaniola for its gold, killing many of the indigenous peoples with disease.

• In the 16th century, Africans were brought to the island as slaves.

• Many French pirates made their homes on the western shores of Hispaniola.

• France eventually gained control over the western portion of the island, and many battles for independence were fought until 1804, when independence was won, and the nation was renamed to Haiti.

• In the 20th century, the United states occupied Haiti in an attempt to help stabilize their government. During this time, Haitian Creole was also accepted as an official language of Haiti, particularly in education.

• Throughout the turbulent years of Haiti’s past, many Haitians have left to try and make a better life for themselves in other parts of the Caribbean and North America.

Today, virtually all Haitians speak Haitian Creole while French is used predominately in business and education. A creole language is one that is made up of many other languages. Haitian Creole is the most stable and widely spoken creole language today. Which of the following answers helps to best explain why this is?

1. Haitian Creole has been accepted as an official creole language.
2. Haiti and its language has been influenced by many different foreign cultures throughout the years.
3. Haitians have spread out across the Caribbean and North America, helping to spread the creole language.
4. All of the above.
5. None of the above.

Creole languages sure are interesting! In fact, if you find yourself down in Florida, you can hear Haitian Creole in some places like Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach. The dialects of the south in general are so varied, and I bet it has something to do with the fact that a lot of immigrants come up from places like Haiti, Cuba, and other Caribbean islands.

Ok, so number one says that Haitian Creole has been accepted as an official creole language. Well that’s right for sure! The fifth bullet says that, “Haitian Creole was accepted as an official language of Haiti.” So it’s answer one, right? But I should probably look over the other answers just to be safe.

Number two also seems right. After all, there were originally the indigenous peoples who lived there, then the Spaniards came, then the Africans, then the French, plus pirates lived there and they’re from all over! Finally, the US occupied Haiti, and Haiti’s not even that far away from the United States, so that’s a lot of cultures and languages effecting one place… Hm, let’s keep going.

Number three is definitely right too. The last bullet says that the Haitians have moved to other parts of the Caribbean and North America, and that would definitely help to spread the language, just like how the British spread themselves around a lot too, and English is spoken just about everywhere I think! Though I don’t know if that’s ’cause of the British necessarily or ’cause everyone watches American TV nowadays… But anyway, that seems pretty darn correct.

So it must be number four, ’cause all the first ones were definitely right. And that means number five is definitely wrong. It’s a good thing I looked over the rest of the answers, or else if I were in a real testing situation, I might have just marked number one as correct, then gotten the question wrong. Always remember to read all the answers first so you don’t get tripped up by these kinds of questions.

Keep studying, and good luck!

For more information about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit the GED Academy at http://www.passGED.com

I hope you got some time to think about this GED question:

Which direction do you need to travel around the world to arrive on what seems to you is Tuesday, when everyone where you land thinks it’s Monday?

1. North

2. South

3. East

4. West

This is a GED question that makes you think about what you already know. And, you’ve got to visualize what’s going on. That means, like, picture it in your head. You’d be surprised how much, on GED questions, it helps to picture the problem in your head.

The good news is you can use another easy GED strategy, too… eliminating wrong answers. Answers 1 and 2 are north and south… going north and south doesn’t change the time zone you’re in, and you won’t go over the International Date Line. I mean, the sun is what causes the time change, since the sun’s in a different place in the sky, depending on where you are on Earth. But the sun doesn’t go north and south… so you can get rid of answers 1 and 2. You’ll be able to eliminate a lot of wrong choices on the GED.

So, the two choices are east or west. On the GED, that’s a fifty-fifty chance if you have to guess. But let’s figure it out. Which one will make you GAIN a day? Arrive on Tuesday, when everyone thinks it’s Monday? The sun goes from east to west… picture it in your head going across the Earth.

Now, think about traveling west. This is easy if you’re like me, and traveled a lot. If you start in California and go east to New York, are you going to gain time or lose time? You’re traveling in the opposite direction from the sun, so the sun gets closer and closer to you, or farther and farther behind you, as you travel. Like two trains going in opposite directions. You get closer to the sun faster than if you were standing still. So you lose time, like time is sped up. It SEEMS like the sun is moving faster, cuz you’re going toward it. Get it?

Or maybe it will help to think like this. It’s three hours ahead in New York, according to time zones. I don’t know how long it takes to travel to New York, but say it takes 8 hours in a plane. So, you have to set your watch ahead 3 hours… so your watch will say 11 hours. You’re LOSING time. It’s later than you thought, not earlier.

So the opposite is true going the other way. Think trains again. You and the sun are both moving… east to west… so it SEEMS like the sun is going slower, cuz you’re going westward with it.

Or same thing with the time change. If you go from New York to California, you set your watch BACK 3 hours. So if it takes 8 hours to travel, your watch will say it took 5 hours. So to everyone in California, it’s 3 hours EARLIER than it seems to you. Since Monday is earlier than Tuesday,we’ll looking for the answer where it seems earlier when you arrive than if you hadn’t changed your watch. So, traveling west is the answer…answer 4. Did that confuse you? It’s just about thinking it through, like a lot of stuff on the GED. Try going over it in your mind until you can get it straight. That helps me when I study for my GED. Let me know what you think…

To find out more about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit The GED Academy at passGED.com.

Here’s the GED social studies for the day… and I mean “day.” A “day” is the time the sun takes to travel around the world (or look like it is, cuz it’s really the Earth going around the sun)… so each part of the world is at a different time of the day. The sun is rising on one side of the world and setting on the other, all the time. At any moment, it’s some time of day at some place in the world. Someplace, it’s 3:00 a.m. right now, and across from that, it’s 3:00 p.m., so it’s like the time travels around the world. Weird, right?

If you go all around the world, you can gain a whole day or lose a whole day, depending on which way you’re going. That’s what used to be called the “circumnavigator’s paradox.” There’s a three-dollar word… circumnavigator. “Circum” is like “circumference” in geometry… around the outside of a circle. And “navigator” is like navigating the direction you’re going, so a “circumnavigator” is someone who goes around the globe… and loses or gains a day. It’s because you’re moving across the world faster than a day goes by. Do you see what I mean? Think about it… like traveling from one time zone to another, you could lose or gain an hour. Traveling through the whole world… you could lose or gain a day. This happens whether people have time zones in place or not!

So, here’s your GED question:

Which direction do you need to travel around the world to arrive on what seems to you is Tuesday, when everyone where you land thinks it’s Monday?

1. North

2. South

3. East

4. West

Okay… a lot of GED test questions don’t need any outside knowledge, but this one does. What do you already know? Why do you lose or gain time traveling around the world? Make a connection between the GED and your real life to answer this one…

To find out more about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit The GED Academy at passGED.com.

So, I thought… what kind of GED social studies thing can go with New Year’s? It’s about people, right? Celebrating the new year? So, I figured, there’s people all over the world celebrating this one moment in time… you know how the new year moves around the world, in different time zones. That’s the kind of thing that might really be on the GED test.

I started looking into it, and guess what? There’s a place in Fiji that’s exactly opposite Greenwich, England. Does that mean anything to you? Well, here’s a GED fact: Greenwich is where all time is measured from. In 1884, all the countries in the world got together for a conference so they could all measure time the same way. It’s called the International Meridian Conference, and here’s a link about it: http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/info/conference.htm

Well, 180 degrees around the Earth from Greenwich… that’s halfway around a circle, for everyone studying for GED math… is the International Date Line. On either side of the date line, it’s different days. Weird, huh?

The official International Date Line skips around so it doesn’t cross any land (since everyone’d be trying to extend their weekend by jumping over the International Date Line…) But the 180 degree mark passes right through an island in Fiji. So, it’s one day on one side and the next on the other side.

Take a look at these pictures: http://www.confluence.org/photo.php?visitid=6783&pic=ALL

And here’s a story about visiting the 180 degree longitude (that’s how east and west are measured…in longitude) in Fiji:

http://www.confluence.org/confluence.php?visitid=6783

Happy New Year! And happy GED! Next time, I’ll come up with a GED practice question about the International Date Line.

To find out more about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit The GED Academy at passGED.com.

Almost a year ago, I visited the community for the first time to examine the town’s potential water source. I explained to the residents that I could help them by providing a topographical study of the land and a design, proposal, and budget for a water system. Over the next few months, I began this process, which involved walking about 10 hours a day in mountainous terrain, looking for a semi-level route back to the houses. Sometimes I was terrified with the responsibility of designing this water system, as I am not an engineer. A nearby Peace Corps engineer helped me in the beginning of the process, but because of the timing and his other commitments, I ended up doing the survey without his presence, which was another mistake. I was mentally and physically exhausted, and I kept getting chiggers! For those of you unfamiliar with warm, moist woodsy environments, chiggers are minuscule red mites that dig into your skin and give you itchy red bumps.

GED Practice Question: Why was the writer looking for a semi-level route back to the houses?

A) She was looking for an easy route to walk through the mountains.

B) Water can only flow over level ground.

C) It’s easier to do a topographical study of level ground.

D) She was looking for a route to pump water through the mountains.

E) Chiggers don’t live in level ground.

What I like about this story is how you see how geography really matters to people. It’s not just a subject on the GED test. Like with water… people need clean water, and if you live in a town in the mountains, then you have to figure out a way to get water to your town. Because water is important to people, it’s important to social studies, and it’s the kind of thing they might ask GED test questions about.

So, why was she looking for a level route?

When you’re taking the GED test, you’ll have to think it through. The writer complains about how she walks for ten hours a day, and she’s looking for a route back to the houses. So, you might think she’s looking for a way to get home. But why’s she out there to begin with? I mean, what’s the main idea? That’s an important GED skill… figuring out the main idea. She’s looking to make a water system, right? That’s the whole point. So, the answer’s not A… you don’t go to the mountain just to find a way back.

When you’re taking the GED test, eliminate as many wrong answers as you can. What practice question answers can I get rid of? “C” says she’s looking for an easier place to do a topographical study… I looked that up. It means to map the ground… where there are mountains, where it goes up and down. But she needs to map all the area, not just a level part (even though that would be easier).

Can I get rid of more practice question answers? Answer E says she’s looking to avoid chiggers. Well, that’s got the same problem as answer A. She’s not out there to avoid the chiggers, even though I’m sure she wants to!

Now, I’ve got it down to two answers. On the GED test, I’d feel pretty good abou that. Answers B and D both talk about water. One says that water only flows over level ground… well, that’s not true, because it flows downhill, not over level ground. Answer D says she’s looking for a route to pump water. That one sounds more like it. I mean, that’s the main point, right? And if you didn’t have to pump the water, you wouldn’t need to go searching for a good route.

It’s a shame, though, that the people couldn’t work out how to cooperate better with their neighbors… they could have clean water for less money, it sounds like. I guess it’s easy for emotions to get in the way of things. Hope this helps with your GED preparation!

To find out more about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit The GED Academy at passGED.com.

So, here’s the story, “Chiggers and Other Challenges” by Joan Heberger. I thought it was real interesting. I know clean water is a problem all around the world… but you can’t help people if they can’t help themselves! Engineers can come up with great solutions to all sorts of problems, but if people don’t get educated and figure out how to work together… I was surprised the people in the town didn’t want to learn about how to get water. I mean, I guess learning math is pretty hard, cuz it’s hard to see how useful it is… but learning how to get clean water for your town seems pretty important. It’s hard to put myself in the people’s place, and I guess putting yourself in people’s place is part of what social studies is all about. What do you think? Could you put yourself in their place?

Anyway, I promised a practice question… here goes…

Almost a year ago, I visited the community for the first time to examine the town’s potential water source. I explained to the residents that I could help them by providing a topographical study of the land and a design, proposal, and budget for a water system. Over the next few months, I began this process, which involved walking about 10 hours a day in mountainous terrain, looking for a semi-level route back to the houses. Sometimes I was terrified with the responsibility of designing this water system, as I am not an engineer. A nearby Peace Corps engineer helped me in the beginning of the process, but because of the timing and his other commitments, I ended up doing the survey without his presence, which was another mistake. I was mentally and physically exhausted, and I kept getting chiggers! For those of you unfamiliar with warm, moist woodsy environments, chiggers are minuscule red mites that dig into your skin and give you itchy red bumps.

Here’s a geography GED question… Why was the writer looking for a semi-level route back to the houses?

A) She was looking for an easy route to walk through the mountains.

B) Water can only flow over level ground.

C) It’s easier to do a topographical study of level ground.

D) She was looking for a route to pump water through the mountains.

E) Chiggers don’t live in level ground.

So, what do you think?

This is the story of the Peace Corps volunteer, Joan Heberger, trying to get a plan together to get water to the village.

http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/stories/stories.cfm?psid=49&gid=3

Read the story, and I’ll have a GED practice question for it next week.