Marco Polo had recently returned from the great land of Asia with untold riches. The Venetians were the main point between Asia and Europe with control over almost all trade. The desire for wealth and curiosity drove men to pilot their ships to and around the Cape of Good Hope. The trip there was long and hard, but the rewards were deemed worthy of the effort. One man, Christopher Columbus, decided that he would find an easier and more profitable way to Asia. He wanted to sail all the way around the world, by crossing the Atlantic. 

After years of negotiations, Columbus was sponsored by Spain to sail his famous voyage; with the ships the Pinta, Nina, and Santa Maria. Columbus obviously ran into the Americas, but he did not know that. Instead he thought he had reached Asia, and that the never before seen plants and animals of the Americas were just part of the Asian wonder. Needless to say, the new plants and animals were the beneficiary portion of the exchange. Unfortunately, there was also a negative effect: Diseases from Europe were brought to the Americas and proved devastating to the Native Americans, who had not evolved a general immunity. The Colombian Exchange changed the world forever, and while there were negative effects, they were balanced out in the end.

This Tuesday, the seventh grade of my school went to the Fresno Chaffee Zoo. We all went around to many stations, along with trying to find an animal we researched in a smaller group of three or four. My favorite station was the dinosaur station. At that station, the group was actually accomplishing something, instead of solving random math formulas for elephant weight. The dinosaur station involved trying to excavate a whole skeletal replica of a tyrannosaurus rex. The group made some progress, and we uncover some vertebrae, leg bones, and teeth.

Another interesting station which may have tied for favorite was the Sea Lion Cove station. At that station, we tried to determine which was more insulating: a plastic bag, fur in a plastic bag, or blubber in that same plastic bag. The insulators were tested against frigid ice water. The blubber insulated the best against the cold, but when coupled with the fur, it was even better. The whole point of that exercise was to demonstrate why sea mammals have blubber and fur.

The Incas and Aztecs had an end that was very much the same. First of all, they were both conquered by the Spanish. The Spanish captured the leaders of the civilizations to try and subdue the people both times. Both times they used some form of trickery to set up their attack, and their ultimate goal was gold and silver. In the actual battle, both the Aztecs and Incas were at a disadvantage to the guns and horses, and had been weakened by foreign diseases. This similarity most likely had to do with the similarity of their cultures.

The Aztecs and Incas both were ruled by a monarchy and had a well-defined high class. The Aztecs and Incas had a ruling royal, high priests, and professional warriors that were considered above the lower class of farmers and peasants, and of course, the slaves. The most prominent difference between the two cultures besides their location and language was the inclusion of merchants and traders in the Aztec culture. Unlike the Aztecs, the Incas had no trading system. Instead, they had a tax system of labor. The peasants paid a "labor tax" by farming, weaving, or manufacturing for the government. The goods were distributed all over the empire and the leftovers were added to an emergency stockpile. Both civilizations were remarkable, and alike in many ways, but they still fell to the same Spanish invasion methods.

Seventh grade at Computech was full of many great moments for me. Many of them were in extra-curricular activities. It was always fun to go up and do an improvisation activity in drama. Then later we all enjoyed the culminating point of our practice: a spoof on the classic Cinderella. Science Bowl was another great activity. From winning the regional competitions, to spending hours perfecting our car and designs and seeing them place first and third, respectively, in the nationals, Science Bowl was amazing. Other competitions, like Math Counts, Destination Imagination, and chess club only added to a great year. The water polo and swim team also was great. I even played in Computech's band and was first chair bassoon in the FMCMEA Intermediate Orchestra.

In addition to all of the enjoyable extra-curricular activities, classes were fun too. Group projects, class discussions, among other things, helped time pass and make everything more enjoyable. In addition to my electives French I and Advanced Band, I enjoyed my standard classes: Algebra I, Science, Computers, the English/History combo of CORE, and Aquatics PE. Everything about my year was enjoyable, especially the people (sorry, no names). Computech is amazing and I'm looking forward to eighth grade.

The main reason for the collapse of the Mayan Classic Age was over-farming. Over-farming is proven to weaken soil's ability to sustain crops, and it is even a problem today. Many farmers grow the same, favorite crops over and over again. The same crops take and the same types of nutrients to the soil. If the pattern continues, the soil soon becomes lacking in the nutrients necessary to grow the same crops, and an excess of the "waste nutrients" from the crops. The pattern can be avoided by rotating crops and adding a crop that thrives in "waste nutrient" rich soil and adds nutrients necessary for other crops. The Mayans most likely did not known this, and thus destroyed their soil's farming value.

The Mayan civilization was separated into a number of city-states, basically small countries. The city-states were always fighting each other, and Mayan warfare was excessively violent. When over-farming led to the start of a famine, the city-states fought even more for food. The violent nature of the warfare destroyed even more food and led to the crumble of the civilization. However, the Mayan people did not disappear with the loss of their Classic Age. Instead they lived separately and more primitively among themselves.