Wednesday, July 2, 2008

3a - SAN DIEGO



San Diego is the second largest city in California and the eighth largest city in the United States by population. The population in 2006 was estimated to be 1,256,951. San Diego sits just north of the Mexican border and lies just below Orange County. It is home to miles of beaches, a mild climate, miltary facilities housing the US Navy, Coast Guard and Marines. San Diego's economy is largely composed of agriculture, biotechnology/biosciences, computer sciences, electronics manufacturing, defense-related manufacturing, financial and business services, ship-repair and construction, software development, telecommunications, and tourism.


What are some assumptions/stereotypes you think people have of each location:

If you compare Point Loma and San Diego proper, the majority of tourists and the newer population believe that Point Loma is basically military property. Point Loma is a large area that serves many purposes ranging from the US military, museums, monuments, civilian housing, shopping, etc. When people think of San Diego, what comes to mind would be the downtown area with hotels and restaurants. Also there are many beach areas to enjoy in Point Loma and San Diego proper. San Diego is such a large and diverse city, you will come across so many cultures and neighborhoods that pretty much cover all nationalities in the world. From having grown up in San Diego and lived primarily in military housing until I was 11 years old, I was able to enjoy a diverse childhood. Due to spending most of my time in military housing, the majority of my friends were from different cultures. I pretty much thought all my friend's parents were in the military. I realized in elementary school that there were other professions out there and not all of the San Diego or Point Loma population were in a branch of the military.


List 3 things that make each location similar:

I would say that the 3 things that make Point Loma and San Diego simliar is they are both on the water, being a part of San Diego Bay. They are very diverse areas as far as population goes, different cultures and military people all over the area. There are many museums, parks, beaches, and monuments in both areas of the city. For such a broad and culturally diverse area, there are so many sections of San Diego that cover the majority of the countries in the world.


List 3 things that make each location so different:

Generally, you will see more military personnel walking around in Point Loma than you would in downtown San Diego. The majority if not all of the military areas that are gated off are in Point Loma, not in downtown. You do feel as if you are in a separate area when you are in Point Loma, it just has as different feeling to it that seems like it is so far from the downtown area.


What else would you like to know about these places?

Ideally I would love to spend more time in Point Loma and San Diego proper, just because as a child I didn't get to do as much being I was too young. Also with the internet, I can do research and figure out what I would like to experience on my next visit to the area. I really love research and reading about places I haven't been yet, so that is exciting! I feel that as a child, I only did so much and kept going back to the kid friendly places (i.e. Zoo, Sea World, Point Loma, restaurants, etc). It would actually be nice to go back and experience some things I did as a child and see how differently it feels as an adult. Also, when you have experiences as an adult you take something greater from it and have a better understanding about people and their culture. It definitely gives you a greater resepct for humanity and the world we live in.


Using your classmates work from last week, tell us one thing you learned from 1 student. Is this one thing some common experience you share or some experience that is completely different than what you experienced? Is this one thing related to our class theoretical foundation and if so, how? Is that one thing related to historical or cultural context of this country or a different one?

I learned from Daniel that the seasons in Truckee vary so much compared to Sonoma County. We are approximately 3-4 hours away and their seasons are so different than ours. It is amazing to see and experience such a difference in weather patterns living that close. From my experience there is a big difference in lifestyle in comparing our areas.




Sources:

http://www.sandiego.gov/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego

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