All Caught Up, and Things are Going to Happen!

It's an exciting day for me, as I realize that third quarter has come to a close and I am now all caught up on work that I've missed because of my Acdec trip. This means that things are really going to get going in terms of my project! Research and drafts are in the works. In the mean time, some fun facts about Egyptians!

Did you know that, according to Egyptian religion, only the ocean existed at first, until Ra, the sun God, rose out of an egg which appeared on the surface of the water?

He was also depicted with the head of a hawk, because of its quick flight across the sky.

The more you know.

So, Some Big Stuff Happened this Week

Instead of working on my project like a diligent student, I instead, competed in the Academic Decathlon State Competition! With little to report in terms of myths, here's how we did: 3rd in Super Quiz Relay, 1st in our Division, 3rd in the State! Morgan won six medals (excluding the ones we all won as a team), Rhianna won two, and so did Rachel. All in all a very good turnout. Not to mention the fact that we, as a team, have been asked to participate in Nationals online! This means that I will STILL be putting a little less work into everything than I should, but it's worth it. Any worthwhile mythy information will be unlikely to be coming very soon. So I guess that's the update.

You'll never guess what I've got!

(Aside from rage against Scott Walker)

Here it is, my first myth! Fully translated into English for your reading pleasure:

Many years ago, before light reached the Earth, both people and gods lived as best as they could in the darkness. One day, the gods realized that a light source could change the lives of everyone. So, they decided that with their combined godly powers they could take a mortal human being and transform him into the light source of the whole world.

In order to find the human with the strongest prospects to be the world’s light source, they decided to hold a competition to find the strongest and smartest man. To attract men from all over the world, they offered the hand of the most beautiful goddess alive to the winner of the day’s events.

There were three tests, one of strength, one of cunning, and one of endurance. A thousand men from around the world gathered in the coliseum to compete for the hand of the beautiful goddess, Celina. They started fires and lit candles to illuminate the arena for all to see, and then, the tests began. The first test required the men to lift enormous boulders, twice their size and carry them to a finishing line twenty meters away. During the course of this rigorous test, many men were killed or simply couldn’t do it. After this test, only 500 men remained.

The second test put the remaining men in a massive maze, with little light to guide them. This test was designed to demonstrate the men’s wit and ability to reason. In the maze there was a pattern of obstacles, requiring keen observation and quick wit. There were trap doors, man-eating tigers and dangerous flames; to find their way through these obstacles, the men needed to find a pattern with which the obstacles occurred and avoid them as they attempted their escape. It soon became apparent by the end of the string of deadly obstacles that only two men remained.

The gods announced that the final test would occur after a period of rest. The two remaining competitors, Sergio and Ignacio decided to use their time of rest to visit Celina. First, Ignacio; he was overbearing and cruel to her. She was next visited by Sergio, who was kind and told her “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, I would be lucky to win your hand in marriage.” She was so touched be his kindness and humility that she fell madly in love with him. To ensure that he won the final test, she gave him a special gift before he left to compete. A pair of shoes, crafted for him from the finest leather, which helped him run longer than most men.

When the race began, Ignacio vowed that he would defeat Sergio no matter the cost. He tried pushing him into the bushes and tripping him, but no matter how he tried, Sergio still pressed on and easily outran him. As they reached the finish line, many kilometers later, the gods marveled at the ease with which Sergio completed the test.

They looked him up and down and noticed the finely crafted leather shoes he wore. Upon looking at them, they realized that the shoes contained the magic of Celina and that the two of them had cheated. They were outraged, and decided that Sergio would not only take the place as the sun, but that he would also be unable to ever come near Celina again. To do this, they cast Sergio into the sky and he became the sun. By the end of the day, Sergio would come down to the earth and rest, but as he did, Celina would be forced into the sky as the moon.

The only time they could see each other would be through opposite sides of the sky. However, one god felt guilty for separating the lovers, and took mercy on them. He decided they could meet once a year on what is now called an eclipse. To this day, the two lovers still carry out their punishment, but always looking forward to the one day they can be together every year.

Turns out, I lied. I will not be posting my myth in English tonight

Unfortunately, it turns out that the English version of my first myth is at school right now. So it looks like I'll be posting it tomorrow instead of today. Sorry to disappoint all two of you. However, if you use Google Chrome, there is an option to have the page translated to English for you, and you can get the idea of what my myth is like that way. Such a solution should tide over all of you eager readers. In the mean time, some fun facts, I guess.

Did you know that the butterfly was a symbol of rebirth to the Mayan people?

They also had a pretty hardcore relationship with chocolate. In early years, the Maya worshiped cacao (the bean that makes chocolate) as an idol. They believed it would bring them wisdom and power. In fact, the name of the cocoa tree in Central America, Theobroma Cacao, translates to "food of the gods". That is definitely something about the Mayans that I can relate to.

With luck, I'll have my myth to you all tomorrow, thanks for reading.

Here you are, my first myth! :D

     Hace muchos años, antes del luz llegó al mundo, la gente y los dioses vivían lo mejor que podían en oscuridad. Un día, los dioses comprendieron que un fuente de luz podría cambiar las vidas de todos. Decidieron que con la combinación de los poderes de los dioses podrían tomar un ser humano mortal y lo transformar al fuente de luz para todo el mundo.

     A encontrar un humano con los prospectos más fuertes a ser la fuente de luz para el mundo, decidieron a tener un concurso a encontrar el hombre más fuerte e inteligente. A atraer hombres de todo el mundo, ofrecieron la mano de la diosa más linda vivió al ganador de los eventos del día.

     Había tres pruebas, una de fuerza, una de astuto, y una de resistencia. Un mil hombres de todo el mundo congregaron en el coliseo a participar para ganar la mano de la bella diosa, Celina. Prendieron fuegos y velas a iluminar la arena para que todos vean y despues, las pruebas empezaron. La primera prueba requerió los hombres a levantar pedruscos enormes, dobles su peso y llevarlos a una línea de meta doce metros opuestos. En la coursa de esa prueba rigurosa, muchos hombres se mataron o simplemente no podrían hacerla. Despues de esta prueba, solo quinientos hombres quedaron.

      La segunda prueba puso los hombres restantes en un laberinto enorme con poca luz a guiarlos. Esta prueba era diseñó a demonstrar la inteligencia y lógica de los hombres. En el

laberinto había un patrón de obstáculos, requería observación afilado. Estos obstáculos eran trampillas, tigres que comer hombres y llamas peligrosos; a buscaron el camino por estos obstáculos, los hombres necesitaron encontrar un patrón con los obstáculos ocurrieron y los evitó durante de la escapa. Cuándo la prueba terminó solo dos hombres quedaron.

     Los dioses anuncieron que la prueba final vio ocurrir después de un período de descanso. Los dos participantes, Sergio y Ignacio decidieron usar el tiempo a visitar a Celina. Primero, Ignacio la visitó; era imperioso y cruel. Después, Sergio la visitó y dijo “Tú eres la mujer más bella que veía en mi vida, tendría mucha suerte ganar tu mano en matrimonio.” Ella era tan conmovidó con su amabilidad e humilidad que ella se enamaró con él. A asegurar él ganar, ella le dio un regalo especial antes de él salió a competir. Lo da un par de zapatos, hecho de cuero excelente, y iría a ayudar a correr por más tiempo de hombres típicos.

     Cuándo la carrera empezó, Ignacio prometió a derrotar Sergio y no importa los costos. Ignacio intentó a empujarlo en los arbustos y lo hacía zancadilla, pero no importa los acciones de Ignacio, Sergio corrió más rápido. A alcanzar la línea de meta muchos kilometros despues, los dioses maravillaron a la facilidad con que Sergio completó la prueba de velocidad y resistencia.

     Los dioses veían arriba y abajo y vieron los zapatos buen hecho de cuero en los pies. Cuándo los vieron, comprendieron que los contenieron la mágica de Celina y que los dos estafaron. Estuvieron colérico y decidieron que Sergio no solo sería el sol, pero no pudo estar cerca de Celina otra vez. A hacerlo, los arrojaron Sergio en el cielo y él transformó en el sol. Cuándo el día terminó, Sergio descendía a la tierra y descansó, pero, cuándo lo hacía, Celina estaba forzado en el cielo en la luna.

     El tiempo solo que los dos veían el uno al otro era en lados opuestos del cielo. Pero, un dios se sintió culpable para separar los amantes y tuvo misericordia en los dos. Decidió que los dos podían estar juntos una vez en un año en el eclipse. A este día, los dos amantes todavía llevan sus castigos, pero siempre tienen muchas ganas de un día que los dos pueden estar juntos cada año.

So. This is my first blog ever.

I would just like to welcome you (I am currently referring to no one, but hope and assume that someone will read this eventually) and myself to my new blog. As you've probably read in the banner up top, I'm going to be posting myths that I've written in the styles of myths from around the world, and some interesting information I find along the way. I just so happen to have completed my first myth, in the South/Meso-American style and I will post it in Spanish shortly, then translated into English tomorrow night.