Q2 Post7

Now the Endeavour and her crew have reached their important destination, an island the natives called Tahiti but the crew names it King George's Land. They need to set up a makeshift fort so they can take the readings of Venus which is why they are on this journey. While he is on the island, Nich meets a newa friend whose name is Tarhito, they have a lot of fun on the island together since Nich isn't that useful setting up all the astronomical equipment and doing all the skilled labor that only a few of the crew members have. The crew ends up staying on the island for several months due to the fact that they were a little early on their arrival to Tahiti. Since Tahiti is in the Pacific, their are very few maps about the layout of the ocean and so most of the crew has no idea where in the world they are. Kind of pitiful if you ask me. Especially since this is around the American Revolution time era.

Q2 Post6

After their disappointing visit to Rio de Janeiro, the Endeavour and her crew head south for Cape Horn (mind you this is 1768) where they will then turn north again and head directly for Tahiti, their final destination. It is said in the book that when you approach the Cape, you start getting blisters due to all the hard work necessary to keep the ship afloat. Therefore, you end up with a ton of blisters. Nich finds this idea very true and pays for not listening to the rest of his fellow crewmen's warnings. So far, Nich's journey is one that is filled with incredible luck and also been very lax. Once he leaves Tahiti however, many challenges will arise for the entire crew of Endeavour that will test them almost to all of their deaths.

Q2 Post5

By the time Endeavour reaches Rio de Janeiro to restock and put Nich off, problems between Portugal, Spain, and England have already reached South America. The Viceroy of Rio de Janeiro agrees to hear a statement that was prepared by the captain of Endeavour to "ask" for permission to buy supplies from Rio shops and stores. However, the Viceroy refuses to allow anyone but the captain and the Master on shore, and even they require an armed escort everywhere they go onshore. Guards are placed around the ship to prevent anyone from attempting to disembark to shore. This means that Endeavour will have to sail further south to resupply their food. Nich also cannot leave the ship, so this means that the crew of Endeavour will have to accept him until their return to England in the next few years. This is definitely a lucky break for Nich and also, a surprising assett to the entire crew since he is one of the few that safely makes it back to England in the end.

Q2 Post4

Nich and I are similar in some ways and also very different in other ways that define us individually. One similarity that we have is that we do not enjoy violence or harm done to us. One example from Nich are the beatings that he received during his time with the butcher. An example from my life would be getting my mouth washed out with soap or being smacked across the face if I did something really bad. One difference is that Nich runs away from his school after he gets scared from the Reverend of the school and refuses under all circumstances to learn the latin language. I don't like school all that much but I sure don't run away from the school during the middle of the day or refuse to take certain languages; I just try my best to reorganize my schedule to the my best liking. Another difference (and somewhat of a similarity) is that Nich runs away from home. I have done that before, but I was really young and I came home a few hours later. Nich stows himself aboard a ship in the British Navy and finds that he will be gone from England for about 3 years. That is a long time to be away from home.

Q2 Book Post3

Nich has revealed himself to the captain and has been subject to be put off in Rio de Janeiro. However, until then, Nich must be an active crew member helping with random chores that need doing and assissting officers or masters of the ship. On their way to Rio, they cross the equator, and the crew seems to know of a tradition where the rest of the crew puts one member (including animals that aren't used as a source of food) on a swing and dunks them into the ocean. Every crew member that has never been over the equator before is forced to do this (except for the officers that buy their way out with rum). Since Nicholas hasn't been over the equator, he goes in for a dunk and finds that it is quite refreshing instead of terrifying like the crew makes it sound. Soon however, Nich finds his place aboard Endeavour and finds that the crew accepts him with gratitude rather than the scorn he had been expecting. One man, an officer named Mr. Bootie, takes a great distaste to Nich and tries very hard to ruin Nich's life aboard Endeavour.

Q2 Book Post2

Nicholas has been onboard the HMS Endeavour for a few weeksnow and finds out that they are going to put to sea soon on an important mission in the year 1768. Turns out, this ship is on a mission to circumnavigate the globe and arrive at an island called Tahiti, which is called Clipperton Island today. The purpose of getting to this island is to measure astronomical readings from the planet Mars. Nich is surprised that he stowed away on such an important boat. In the book, they are to be the first people to completely sail around the world with the captain named James Cook (the book is historical fiction and only some the elements are true). Nich plans with his hiders to come out after they have been at sea for a few weeks after leaving the Azore Islands. He will then have to hope that he will not be put off in Rio de Janeiro.

Quarter2 Book Post1

The book that I am reading now is Stowaway by Karen Hesse. It is about a young 14-year old boy named Nicholas Young who leaves his father after refusing to learn his latin as is customary for boys his age growing up in 18th century England. After running away from his boarding school twice (and his teacher beats his own kids to assert his athority over the students), his father (he has no mother) sends him to work as a butcher's apprentice. The butcher is not a nice person either and beats Nicholas on more than one occasion. Nicholas eventually steals from the butcher and runs away from him as well. Since he has no home to go to, for his father would just ship him right back to the butcher who might very well kill him upon his return. Instead, he uses the money that he stole from the butcher to have three sailors hide him on board the ship HMS Endeavour. His life is very messed up and wishes he could just get away from his family and the butcher.