How do you feel after hearing Attila’s presentation (anything you find interesting, unusual, or inspiring? Did you make any connections? Did you wonder about anything that he said?
How did this presentation “change” you?
How could this presentation affect your future?
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January 7th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
After seeing some of Attila’s cool photos, it made me think about being a photographer when I grow up. I think that it would be fun to travel around the world and take pictures of things. I think that the colors in Attila’s pictures were really nice. They showed all of the cool things that he got to see and take pictures of. I also thought that it was cool how he got to go into the caves and places that we can’t go to now.
When Attila told us the story about how the boy asked him if his blood was red, it made me sad. All humans have the same color blood. Just because they are a different race does not mean that they are below you. That’s like how Hitler thought that the Jews were below the Germans. It also shows how easy it is to brainwash kids into thinking something that’s not true.
January 7th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Even though I’ve always wanted to, I never really experienced traveling to 37 countries just like Attila the Hun did. Attila, I loved the way you showed us your trips throughout the world and the beautiful pictures you took. We really got to know you better. It inspired me very much because would love to experience trips like that through my lifetime. I also wanted to see more of the world and many cultures since I was 4, and I especially wanted to go to Asia or Japan. Things like traveling to other countries and meeting other cultures is an essential way to have fun, educate and learn about your world.
While I was watching all of your trips, I had this exciting feeling, that if I explore these kinds of things, I won’t have a boring life, and I’ll be able to go on all these wonderful trips that you had. Instead of seeing and reading things in a textbook, I really want to find out these places with my own eyes, which would make me have a view of the world we don’t fully know about.
Like I said, how I’ve wanted to see the world since I was 4, I still want to. Sure, Hawaii has nice beaches, lots of tropical rain forests, beautiful valleys, great temperature, but isn’t there more to culture than this? If you stay in one place, you won’t know the world around you. You wouldn’t have the real thing unless you see the real thing. No picture is worth knowing, but every picture is worth finding and seeing. I thank you, Attila for making us remember that the simple things in the world are free for us to explore and your seeing your pictures made us want to jump on an airplane or boat that instant.
January 7th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
When Attila talked about when he was a kid, I was sad. His Romanian classmate told him (when Attila fell down playing soccer) that he thought that Attila had green blood because the boy’s father told him that Hungarians had green blood and that they were not human. I thought that was weird that a grown man would be brainwashing his kid. I can connect his experience with myself because I was brainwashed by some of my teachers.
This presentation changed me by seeing how Attila grew up and all the troubles he went through when he was a kid. I learned that people have different opinions about each other. Like war, it is not the people, it is the government that starts the wars.
January 7th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Hungary’s Amazing Risk Taker
Attila had a really tough childhood due to the hatred between the Romanians and the Hungarians. When he was just 13 years old, he had to move to a new school. But that was a Romanian class and he was Hungarian. Everyday in class, he would get beaten up by his classmates. When he mentioned that he visited 37 countries, I was amazed. He inspired me to travel more and admire other cultures and religions. I felt that he was very adventurous just like my brother. After he explained about the soccer incident, I felt that some people aren’t human because of the way we think and are taught. That really changes our paradigms.
Attila’s presentation changed my life in many ways. He gave me a message that said I have to take risks and take chances to make a full life. I am grateful that I have food and shelter unlike the Tibetans. I will try not to waste my food; I know that some have to beg for it. This changed my life because my paradigm shifted. I believe that money doesn’t matter even if you only have the bare necessities in front of you.
This presentation could affect my future because of how it’s changed me. Maybe I would want to become green and help with global warming. That might help the poor people in the world. I may even be smarter because of how much I might travel. His presentation changed my hobbies such as me traveling and learning about caves. That might change my interest in a my future job. I might be a photographer and take beautiful pictures as I travel around the world. I learned a lot of lessons from Attila and what he went through in his life. I can take what he learned and stuff it into my life. Attila said all you need is your feet, bare necessities, and fun to have a great life!
January 7th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
As I sat bolted tight to the floor listening and observing the pictures of various countries lined up in front of me, I thought how I would one day travel to countries I have never known, people I have never observed. One day I will soon know just like the person who took these pictures. His name is Attila. “Money is yet just an object” someone once said and those words yet inspire many in our wondrous world. From his pictures he looked as an adventurer out of a novel but he is a true adventurer. From being smuggled into Tibet to washing dishes in America, he experienced a lot in his lifetime. I hope one day I would like to be a lot like him. I wonder how long the rivalry between Romania and Hungary has lasted. Years? Decades ? Maybe even Centuries? Hungarians in the past fought bravely to protect their lone country of Hungary for their freedom . In America, the land of the free ,we fought for our dear freedom just like the Hungarians. His trips to various countries were unique because he explored countries that people thought were dangerous but in real life were not really that dangerous. He explored many different people of different ethnicities from all around the world. I think the point that he was trying to tell us was “The best things in life are free.” For example, during his time in America he hitchhiked to see various landmarks such as the Grand Canyon. How could Attila face the cruelty of his Romanian classmates being teased for being a Hungarian! The outrage , the deception and of course, the cruelty, but that’s what it was like back then. From blizzards to boiling water to shoes being stuck together by ice. he did it all . No matter what the consequences, he did it because he enjoys the world, nature and of course, his life!!!!
January 7th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
Attila showed us pictures from some of his many travels. Did you know that he has visited a little more than 36 countries. After seeing pictures of his travels, he made me want to one day explore the the world and see some of the places that he has gone to, even though I may not be able to see some of sights that he has seen even if we tried.
Some of Attila’s pictures even reminded me of some of my own travels. The picture of a waterfall reminded me of the time I went to Western Samoa and drove past a enormus waterfall. The water was so clear that you could see right though to the muddy bottom. Another one of his pictures that really made me want to go to China to see it for myself was the picture of the giant
panda.
It seemed that Attila’s life was filled to the brim with adventure but as a child growing up, he had a tough time. This was all because during World War I, the Hungarians were on the German’s side. Because of that, lots of Hungarian land was given to the Romanians. That is why Attila beaten up at school becasuse he was a Hungarian in a Romanian school.
One day I hope to hop on a plane to explore the world. If you could, where would you go?
January 7th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
After the presentation from our guest speaker Attila, I felt a connection with how he likes to go on adventures because I like to go on adventures too. I like to go camping, so when Attila talked about camping in Iceland, it reminded me of my camp out at Peacock Flats because it was an adventure for me.
Another thing that inspired me was that he wanted to travel the world. He was in Iraq and Turkey, he visited Asia and places in Europe too. I also traveled the world like Japan, Taiwan, and places on the Mainland. I was interested in his stories because it made me want to see more places in the world.
When Attila spoke about taking his classes on field trips to amazing places like the caves in Hungary, it made me feel so jealous. That’s definitely something we could not do even though it sounds like so much fun. The story about crossing the snow bridge and that it could collapse made me so excited! I can’t believe that the school he works for allows those kind of field trips. School here in the U.S. are way more concerned with safety and that means kids like us aren’t able to have adventures like that. This presentation changed me because I learned a lot about Iceland, which was interesting. It made me want to try other things too. I would like to climb those stairs on the side of the Ko‘olau mountains next to H3. I would like to see the Great Wall of China. That would be so cool. Maybe I could tell kids in schools about my adventures!
January 7th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
After I heard Attila’s presentation, I felt kind of sad because it was hard for Attila when he was growing up. I wonder where he learned to speak English and what other dreams he had.
I think this presentation changed me by showing me the world with different peoples in their communities.
I think it could affect my future because it is showing me how the earth is special and that exploring can be fun.
January 7th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
A brave man walked through the icy cold snow in Iceland. In a deep dark cave, (with BATS!) he got stuck! A nice man snuck him into Tibet. A blizzard cold enough to freeze your shoes and socks together! Coming across bear tracks! A Tern (a type of bird) attacked him. A man who met Bosnian people with guns! He saw things that we’ll probably never see even if we tried! A man that lives on $400 a month! Who is this brave, nature man? Attila, our guest speaker! This man is not only a traveler, but also a picture taker, and surprisingly a teacher and dishwasher too! On some of these trips, he brought his students with him! He’s a Hungarian cave explorer so one of the trips he took them on was through the cave with bats and freezing water. Sometimes they even had to sleep in the caves! (I wouldn’t). Well, I can tell you more later, let’s get more background on this brave, nature man that we call Attila…Attila was born in Romania. He is Hungarian so he had a poor education until he was at the age of 13. That is when his parents decided to send him to a Romanian school for a better education. Romanian kids beat up Attila everyday just because he was a Hungarian at a Romanian school. In fact, once when Attila was playing soccer, he fell and was bleeding. So a Romanian kid came up to him and said, “You have red blood?” And of course, Attila said, “Yes!” But this was surprising to the kid. His dad always told him that Hungarians were not human, that they have GREEN blood! Americans could relate to this by our history with black and white people. We had lots of different types of segregation, but most people know about this one. We have a lower class and a higher class that is divided unfairly. We all are the same in some ways but different in others. But I know one thing that we all have in common, we are all humans. We all have hands, arms, feet, legs, hair, a face and organs.
Attila supposedly went to about 37 countries! He walked for 43 days east to west across Iceland! He takes beautiful and amazing pictures. He faced death a couple of times but he is still here today. Man, this guy has some luck!
After all of this, I thought about doing some of the things he did. I wish I could have seen the places he went to. But I’m not a fan of the bats, dirt, and death. But I still would like to travel to other places other than California. I have always wanted to go to Japan or China because that is where my ancestors or where the rest of my family tree is. Well, back to the main subject. During this presentation, I learned about different countries, their religions, and learned much more. This presentation with the wonderful pictures inspired me to jump aboard a plane that is headed to all the countries in the world. (Well maybe not all).
January 7th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
After hearing Attila’s presentation, I felt like I had been taken on a field trip around the world. I think that I found it interesting when he told everybody the story about how his Romanian classmate came up to him and asked him if he had red blood. To hear another human being talk about another human being like that just isn’t right.
I think it changed me because it showed me places that I have heard of but never actually knew about. I didn’t know that in Tibet you would have all of your animals on a leash. I’ve never really seen a cat on a leash before. In another place, if you stole something, you would get your hands chopped off.
The presentation could have affected my future because I might go a place where they might ask me if I was American. I now know not to say yes or I could end up being killed. Also, being more informed about what some people do in their culture will help me understand the world better.
January 7th, 2009 at 5:15 pm
Attila’s Inspirational Adventures
I feel like I want to travel and go on adventures like Attila. I also feel like I want to go on field trips like the ones he takes his kids on, like climbing into caves.
I wonder if he is sometimes scared to travel. His bravery inspired me to face challenges no one else will, like how he traveled to Iran and people told him that he might be kidnapped. His pictures inspired me to also take pictures and to travel to the unique places he has explored.
This presentation changed me because I learned about how he had a lot of trouble growing up and it made me feel thankful that most people get along here in Hawai‘i.
This presentation could affect my future because I will probably want to travel more and I will be thankful for what I have. I learned that Attila is able to survive in his country with a salary of $400 a month. The cost of living in his country is higher than Hawai‘i. I think he is able to survive because he doesn’t need any of those fancy merchandise. I think that it is a good thing he enjoys the things that are free like nature.
January 7th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
I felt moved when Attila told us about a time when he was young. One day he was playing a game of soccer, or as he calls it football, and he fell down and started bleeding. One of the Romanian kids who he was playing with said, “do you have red blood because my dad said Hungarians have green blood.” I think the boy also said Hungarians were bad and probably said they weren’t human, but that’s just me guessing.
When he came, I thought he was just like me and you. He taught me that Hungary is the birthplace of Dracula. Attila showed us so many pictures of caves and people in the caves. It looked so cool climbing in the caves. I can’t believe he let kids in the caves. That looked so dangerous but looked so much fun!
January 7th, 2009 at 5:36 pm
Attila’s stories of his childhood reminded me of Hitler convincing the Germans that the Jewish people were less than humans and that they were closer to cockroaches. I felt sorry for the Hungarians at that time because most of them probably had a very hard life.
I think this presentation could affect my future by teaching me that there are things more important than me.
January 7th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
Smuggled into Tibet. How Crazy! His name is Attila and he was born in Hungary. He has traveled around the world to 37 countries and to very exotic places. All of the crazy and bad things that happened to him still hasn’t stopped him from exploring beautiful scenery by foot and staying in a tent. He has done things from crossing Iceland by foot or traveling to Tibet by being smuggled in a bus for 36 whole hours. He has gotten stuck in caves and stuck in snowstorms.
Attila is sort of like my grandpa. My Grandpa is always the first person to greet and meet everyone and what’s around. He never stays in the hotel or motel we go to. He is the opposite of me. If I went somewhere high, I would get spooked out and want to go down.
He changed me a little and now I want to hop on a plane anywhere in the world and take some money with me and a camera. I want to explore more of the world and see more than the pictures in books. By going somewhere new, you talk to the people, feel the nature, and experience different kinds of weather.
This presentation may change my future by the things I want to do for my career. I might choose a job like Attila’s and travel the world on my break. His ways are a little to crazy for me to even try. Crossing a country almost covered in snow by foot is one thing I won’t do anytime soon.
I think that Attila’s braveness is too much because in many situations he could have of died exploring. The pictures he took were lovely, inspiring me to step out of my house and explore. You don’t have to journey far to find lovely places. Their might be one right down the street or around the corner. You can find a waterfall or a cool unknown pond to explore.
January 7th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
Ata’s Best
Have you ever heard of Attila (Attila the Hun)? We meet Attila, Attila, the guest speaker! He made an awesome presentation. I thought it was so cool to learn about all the places he traveled to, the risks he took and the places he was born and raised (Romania and Hungary).
I think it is unfair that kids that have Hungarian blood are considered not fully human by the Romanians. That reminds me of the Aboriginal people of Australia. The white men did not consider them fully human just because they would pretend to act like Australian animals. One time when Attila was a kid, he fell and his knee bled. A Romanian kid ran up to him and asked if he had green blood. Attila asked why he asked that and the other kid said his father had told him that Hungarians have green blood. How weird is that?
I am aware that other places in the world have the same problems as we do here in America. We have White people discriminating against Black people just as they have Romanians against Hungarians.
Now I know of places around the world (from Attila showing us pictures and telling us of when he traveled there). I want to travel to all of them. I especially want to go to Asia to see those cute panda bears. I want to see new people and places (and not just other Hawaiian islands or Disneyland). Attila saw so many different places like pandas in China, the poor people of Tibet, many caves, and much more. Now, I want to travel around the world!
January 7th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
After hearing about Attila’s life, I was shocked at how much he went through. I mean he said he got beat up every day just because he was Hungarian. That is so that racist. Today when I saw all of his photos, I was amazed at where he went and how much he saw and experienced, like when he saw the Kurds and they invited him for tea. They all had guns with them. Isn’t that a little scary? But the coolest thing is how he takes his students on crazy field trips like into caves where you have to stay overnight or climbing mountains. I would love that if they did those things here.
I think that it would be amazing if I got to go on trips around the world. It could change me by my learning how hateful we are and that we all have problems.
January 7th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
Attila the Hun…garian was an awesome teacher and showed us the GREATEST pictures I have ever seen. His pictures even came with stories. I’ll share some with you. They were all great although what interested me the most was the fact that he took his students to many caves. I would love to do that even if I had to raise my own money!
Another thing that was pretty cool was the way that Attila got into Tibet. One day Attila was in Asia trying to get permission from the government to get into Tibet. He was denied permission to Tibet and found himself looking at a man who had seen their dilemma and offered to get them into Tibet even though they had no permission. Here’s how they did it, Attila and his friends got onto a bus and paid a little extra money for them to sneak him in. When they got in, they had to be covered with sheets and were sat on by two men also on their way to Tibet. So do you think it worked, well it did☺!! GOOD JOB, ATILLA☺☺!!
Blizzards, boiling springs, and a guy named stinky Bob, another one of Attila the Hun…garians stories. This is one of my favorite stories. Attila was trekking through Iceland with nothing but friends, his feet, and a good camera. When stinky Bob and his “lucky” socks fell into a crevice, he somehow held himself up with a ski pole and got back up☺!! They kept walking and soon decided to turn in for the night. The next day Attila woke up to find frozen shoes! Most likely from uncontrollable blizzards and cold weather. Before Attila could travel on, he had to defrost his shoes! Next Attila found a boiling spring. Too bad it wasn’t cool enough to swim in, so they traveled their path and got some beautiful pictures anyways.
January 7th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
When Attila talked about his childhood and told us that the Hungarians and Romanians hate each other for no reason, I actually learned more from him this time than last time! I learned that almost every country in the world at least hates one or two different countries and are at war or had a war with them. Attila’s story and presentation changed my point of view on the world.
Attila’s pictures made me want to go travel when I grow up. His presentation could affect my future by reminding me always to be thankful and also that not all our dreams will come true. Sometimes we have to give up our dreams for something that will help others and it might turn into a good thing.
January 7th, 2009 at 6:06 pm
After hearing Attila’s presentation, I felt sad because his childhood was so hard and he got beat up at his Romanian school every day. I also felt really jealous of him and his class because they get to climb in caves and he gets to travel to a lot of places. I can connect to Attila’s experience when he fell down while he was playing soccer and one of his classmates asked him if he had red blood because his parents told him that Hungarians were not human and they had green blood. The kid’s parents brainwashed him into thinking that Hungarians had green blood. Some of my other teachers have brainwashed me too! Like some of them told me that Columbus was a great and wonderful man, but he’s not! When Attila told us about Hungary being on the losing side in a war, I wonder why they just gave the land away to other countries.
It changed me because I got to see what other parts of the world looked like. It was like I went on a field trip around the world. This presentation could affect my future because I learned in Tibet all animals have to be on a leash or they can be taken, or in some countries if you steal, you get your hand cut off.
January 7th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
Haaaa…poor Attila, what hardships he went through. Can you imagine being Hungarian and only having Hungarian friends and having an enemy which is Romanian as a child. It’s kind of like the Hawaiians and the White settlers. As a kid, Attila was beaten up by Romanian kids. The Romanian kids and people thought of Hungarians as less than humans, and some even said they had green blood.
Although Attila had some hard times, that didn’t dare stop him he traveled the world, from scary Kurdish men with guns in Bosnia, to being smuggled into Tibet by Asians, and bear tracks in Europe, these were just a couple of the amazing, educational, and exciting trips Attila went on that edged me closer into getting a one way trip to other amazing parts of the world.
I believe that Attila’s Paradigm could help you to have a happy life because he doesn’t use his money to buy fancy clothes, expensive materials or luxurious dinners. He uses it to buy things that you couldn’t put a price on which is joy, fun, and exciting adventures.
January 7th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
Hungarian’s against Romanians, ancient temples and boiling hot caves, and even snow blizzard mountains. This amazing guest speaker was also a great storyteller. Attila made me feel like I could change the way I think about different people and get to know them better.
He overflowed my mind with connections I could make from the past and he inspired me with the risks he took. For example, he got smuggled onto a bus to take him to Tibet and he built stone rocks around tents at one in the morning to make sure the tents weren’t covered in snow. While he scrolled through his entire picture collection, I made connections like when he saw the bear paw tracks. I would have sprinted straight back to camp but instead he took me by surprise and said we would have to scream and shout in that situation. I was like, what?! He explained why they would yell, to scare the bear. This made me feel like I was a little old scary cat.
Attila’s presentation changed me by letting the pictures tell me how someone will do something so big just to receive something so little. Like the Tibetans, they ran a hotel all day making you pay 1 dollar a night. It told me to be grateful for what I have and never to regret or waste something.
The talk really made a big impact on my future by making me think more about looking at different people and different places in a different way. His pictures took me through stories of a lifetime that will never be forgotten.
January 7th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
Have you ever traveled the world like our guest speaker?
Attila, our guest speaker traveled to thirty-seven countries! Attila was born in Hungary but now lives in Romania as a teacher of arts and geology. He was born in Transylvania. He is also a great photographer. I felt interested in where Attila and his students could go on field trips. I felt interested because in Hawaii we don’t have caves. I also felt sad for Attila because he was beaten up at school only because he was an Hungarian.
This presentation changed the way I think about life. Sometimes you got to take risks to survive in life. That’s what Attila does everyday. One time, he got smuggled into Tibet by two nice guys. He also met Kurdish men who also had guns with them. HOLY SMOKES!!! The Kurdish men are in war with Turkish people, so they probably killed some Turkish men. The presentation also changed me to know how beautiful our world is. We are also very lucky because Attila said, back in his country, the things we have are cheaper than the things they have.
This presentation affected my future by making me want to explore the world and seek the unknown. It makes me want to hop on a plane, a bike, or walk to a new place never seen before. But you don’t have to journey far to a place to get pictures. All you have to do is just look around you. Everything around you is as beautiful as it can get!
January 7th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
What I thought was interesting or unusual was when Attila told that he was bleeding and a Romanian boy came and asked if he actually had red blood. The reason that the boy said that was because his father told him that Hungarians weren’t really human so he said that they had green blood. Now you might be thinking why a father would say that Hungarians have green blood. That is because the Hungarians don’t like the Romanians and the other way around. I still don’t know why.
This presentation changed me by waking me up that we also have to think about what’s happening around the world, instead of being mean and teasing each other.
January 7th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
Attila the Hungarian
I felt amazed after Attila’s presentation because he had gone to so many places. Attila has gone to 37 countries and taken so many pictures, it makes my head spin! Attila has been smuggled into Tibet and trekked across Iceland with his friends. Both of those activities were very dangerous but Attila did not quit or turn around because of that fact. I was amazed by how Attila was brought up in Transylvania and how brutally he was treated because he was Hungarian. The Romanians wanted all minority groups to disappear and make Romanians the ruling race. Romanians taught their children lies about the Hungarians and treated them like outsiders. One Romanian child even asked Attila if he had green blood because that was what the child had learned from his elders. When Attila transferred to a Romanian school, he was beaten up every single day just because he was Hungarian. The way Attila was treated reminded me about the way the white people treated the Native Americans, the Aborigines, and the Early Hawaiians. The whites thought the other races were less than human, and told lies about those people.
Attila’s presentation changed me in a way that I never thought was possible. I never knew how much information was withheld from the world. I never thought that Tibet was restricted to the public and that they were so poor that a hotel’s price for every night was $1. The fact that there are Kurdish people fighting exceptionally hard to free themselves from Turkish rule was unknown to my class. I wonder why the government wouldn’t tell this to the common people. Maybe they don’t care about those people. I don’t think that they will ever mention this topic in D.C.
Now, when I get older, I think that I will start traveling the world and seeing with my own eyes how different each country is from another. I want to help the countries that are fighting super hard for their freedom. You never know how much help you can give by just donating a few dollars to a small poor country fighting for their independence.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Attila, Our Guest Speaker
Today we learned about the life of a Hungarian man named Attila. Attila, a Hungarian was amazingly courageous and was born in Transylvania, Romania, the legendary home of the vampires!
Hungarians and the Romanians were born enemies and fought each other naturally. Attila was beaten up many times a day for speaking in his first natural tongue, Hungarian, and for being a Hungarian in a Romanian school. When he was 15, his mom sent him to a Romanian school to learn their language.
This presentation made me feel surprised and touched that he turned all of his strength into willpower, the will to adventure and travel.
He inspired me with these words. “Money isn’t really important. When I need it, I get a job. But all I really need to travel is a camera, food and shoes.” Those inspirational words were all I needed to know that he was strong, both physically and spiritually.
He changed me in a way that opened my mind to the wild, open world. Also, he in a way, taught me a bit about survival in the wild.
He could have changed my future in the way that made me think differently, and made me want to travel and adventure more in my early years.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
On Jan.7, we had outstanding guest speaker come in and share his mana‘o with us. His name was Attila and he was born in Romania. He lived there until he was 15, then moved to Hungary were his ethnicity lies. He explained to us how the Romanians took 2/3 of Hungary’s land for themselves. He is also a teacher and teaches at a Hungarian school. After the whole presentation, I thought about how it was like to be Hungarian and live in Romania. He told us a story about how one day he was playing soccer at school when he fell down and scrapped his knee. One of his Romanian classmates asked, “Is you red blood?” Atilla answered, “Yes it is.” The boy said that his father said that Hungarian people had green blood. That story totally made me mad because Attila is a regular human being, and human beings should not be treated like that. It was interesting but it was just plain stupid because we all know that everybody’s blood is red.
When Attila was talking it changed me in that I now want to explore the world and see all the beautiful places that there is to see. He’s been to 37 different countries. He’s been to China and Tibet. He actually got smuggled into Tibet which I thought was interesting. He’s been to Iran and also went back to Romania. I made a lot of connections so I’m only going to say one. I once went to Japan. No, I didn’t get smuggled in and no, I didn’t go into caves but I did learn a lot of other things.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
What if you got the chance to be smuggled into Tibet? On January, 7, 2009, we got to see a man named Attila who was born in Romania (the part that was taken from Hungary after WW I) and who had visited 37 countries.
After the presentation I felt inspired by him because he takes his classes to explore caves and actually interacts with his class. I also thought for a man who lives on $400 a month, he takes care of himself very well. I also started to see that he really did not care what people thought of him and even if he didn’t dress all nice, his clothes are ironed and he did not care.
I think that this presentation changed me because I realized how lucky we are not to have to be beaten up every day just because you are a different type of person or blood. I also think it made me realize that instead of sitting around watching T.V., I could be outside exploring new things.
This presentation could affect my future because maybe one day I might want to go visit Romania and see how different it is from us and how I or others could help.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
What I thought was interesting was when Attila told us that he was injured. A Romanian boy came up to him and asked him if his blood was red. Attila’s blood was red and the boy told him that he thought Hungarians had green-colored blood. The boy was brainwashed by his dad into thinking that Hungarians were not human.
This presentation changed me because it reminded me of how easy it is to be brainwashed and that people around the world are being taught things that really aren’t true. When they grow up it will be hard for them to take in the truth because they spent all their life believing in something that isn’t true. This presentation taught me not to judge people so fast and let things flow into the right place.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:54 pm
I feel that to learn geography you should travel because you can go see how people are and what the place really looks like. Traveling can also help your art because you can draw and see how things really look. I think that it was unusual that the Romanian kid said that his father told him Hungarians have green blood because they weren’t human. I can connect to how Attila was treated because some kids tease me and say I’m dumb because of my eyebrows.
This presentation changed me because Attila talked about people from around the world and how some of them are nice if you are the right ethnicity. Some of the people are nice and some of them are different. Some people have paradigms that Jesus is real and some don’t think he’s real.
This presentation can change my future because now I know not to judge people and that we should accept others who have different paradigms and that it’s okay.
January 7th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
When Attila told us about his stories when he was younger and how he got beat up, it made an impression on me because I knew from Mr. Chung that parents and even teachers taught kids of different races to hate each other in the past in some places in the world. But, I never thought kids would take it that seriously at such a young age. It also changed me because before he told me this, I did not know Romanians and Hungarians had any history together. I thought the two countries had nothing to do with each other.
Attila’s presentation can affect me in my future because if I travel to places like he did later on in my life, I won’t just have the American perspective of the place that was taught to me, but I will have the perspective of someone who has actually been to those places and have actually interacted with the common people of the place.
January 7th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
What I thought was interesting was that Attila got beat up everyday at his new school in the first months or so because he was Hungarian. The Hungarians and the Romanians hate each other because the ruler of Romania wanted only Romanians in Romania because he wanted to have a pure race. But a lot of Hungarians still lived in Romania because before WW I, Hungary used to be 2/3 bigger but the Romanians took 2/3 of their land away because Hungary was on Germany’s side of the war. And that’s why the Romanians and the Hungarians hate each other.
This presentation changed me by helping me realize it shouldn’t matter what race we are because we are all human and we all have red blood.
January 7th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
What I realized unusual is that Romanians treat Hungarians about the same way Germans treated Jews. For example, “When Attila (The Hungarian) was a child, he fell down in a soccer game. He was bleeding. A Romanian kid came up and asked him, “Do you have red blood?” The Romanian kid said that his father said that Hungarians weren’t human and were not as good as the Romanians. The Germans call the Jews inhuman, savages, cockroaches, and other things that made them seem less human also.
Another thing Attila said that I found interesting is that Hungary is the birthplace of Dracula. When Attila showed us his teeth, they kind of looked like fangs. Not every country has a demon or myth.
Some connections I made from Attila the Hun is the relationships of the Hungarians and the Romanians, the Jews and the Nazis, and also the Israelis and the Palestinians. One thing about the relationship of all of these races is common. They do not like each other. The Romanians are calling the Hungarians inhuman; the Nazis tried to wipe out the Jews, but failed. And now, the Palestinians want the Israelis out of their land so they’re firing rockets at Israel and now, Israel is killing over hundreds of people and rockets in the Gaza Strip and they call it self-defense.
What I’m wondering about is would you call the people in the caves with guns freedom fighters or terrorists? I was just wondering about your opinion.
I think this presentation changed me in a way to realize that if we start another world war, this time we’ll have so many nuclear weapons, we’ll destroy the world. Einstein didn’t know what weapons will be used in WW III but he knew what weapons would be used in WW IV, sticks and stones. WW III will destroy all of our weapons AND our civilization and then we’ll have nothing to fight with. We’ll just fight with what we have as natural resources lying around such as sticks and stones.
This presentation could affect my future by giving me knowledge of war and that we have enough weapons to blow the world up. I have the knowledge and with a little research, I could plan to help prevent wars in the future.
January 7th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
His presentation changed me by seeing how Americans are hated by a lot of people around the world. It makes me feel ashamed because we are part of the United States and we didn’t do anything to hurt anyone because we are so far away from the other 49 states. If we went to Iran, then we would probably get killed because of how they feel about Americans. It also changed my perspective of things when Attila told us the story about how a Romanian thought that Attila had green blood because he was Hungarian. The Romanian person got brainwashed by his parents. It changed my perspective because I learned how parents brainwash their kids and that everyone is the same all over the world.
This presentation can affect my future because now I can see how other people think of us Americans and I can be careful of where I travel. Also, I learned not to judge people before you get to know them because they might not be so bad.
January 7th, 2009 at 8:38 pm
As soon as Attila was done with his presentation I thought that it was very interesting because when he was a young child, he played soccer and one time, he fell and cut his knee. Then, a Romanian child came and asked him, “You have red blood.” Attila replied and said “Yes of course, I do.” The Romanian said that because his dad told him that Hungarians have green blood and that they were not human. I don’t blame the child. I blame the parents for teaching the child to have hatred towards other races.
Attila’s presentation changed me because it is very easy to brainwash people into thinking that your own race is better then someone else’s. Now, I know how to deal with people who have different paradigms. But as they start to get older, they will not understand other people if they have different paradigms. The reason why is because there were taught the wrong truth. I can totally relate this to when Mr. Chung taught us about propaganda.
January 7th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
After Attila’s presentation I was very surprised that there are so many different places in the world. I noticed that each place has its own wonders and beauties. For example, he showed us an awesome picture of the Antelope Canyon in Arizona, an adorable panda in China, and some mysterious looking caves in Hungary!
This presentation made me realize that some countries in the world are still fighting for their independence and are very poor. Attila showed us a picture of some Tibetans walking on a path. By just glancing at them you would know they did not have a lot. The Kurdish people are another people trying to fight for their independence. Attila showed a picture of Kurdish men drinking tea. They had their guns with them so they had probably killed some Turkish people.
This presentation could affect my future by making me jump onto a plane and go around the world looking for adventure! As they say, pictures tell a thousand words and his pictures told me to hop on a plane and start traveling!
About Attila:
Attila is a Hungarian man who was born in Romania in Transylvania. He is a third grade teacher at a Hungarian school and teaches art and geography. Right now, he is visiting a friend in Honolulu and travels around the world. He has visited 37 countries so far. He is a great photographer and his pictures are spectacular! To see some of his photos go on voice thread, browse, and type in Ata’s finest.
January 7th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
When Attila did his presentation, I felt surprised that he took so many pictures and could remember what had happened during that time he took them. Now I want to travel to those cool places such as the Grand Canyon, the Hungarian caves, and Iceland. I made connections because when my family and I travel, we always go to the most famous landmarks in the area. I wonder why the Romanians were so hateful to the other races that also lived in Romania. His presentation can affect my future because it changed the way I thought about other continents and the small countries within. I realize that people in other countries live very different lives from us in America.
January 7th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
I agree with Pomai. I might want to take pictures of stuff when I’m old for postcards and other things. His pictures were really cool.
I really want to go into those caves.
One thing that impacted me was when he told us about when he was a kid and fell down while playing soccer. One Romanian kid asked if he had red blood. Attila said, ‘Of course!.’ The kid said his father told him Hungarians weren’t human so they had green blood.
This reminded me how little kids believe anything that are taught them, and how these thoughts start wars (just like how Hitler told people Jews were less than human). Propaganda is strong if the children see and hear it. They will grow up their whole life believing it. 
Another thing that shocked me is the time he went to go drink tea with Kurdish people in Turkey. They asked him if he was American, Israeli, or Turkish. If he said yes to any of those questions, he probably would’ve gotten killed.
Also, people said he was crazy to go to Iraq and he’d get killed. But, the people there were one of the nicest people he met.
This can help me in life because I realize how bad propaganda is. Propaganda can start wars, genocide, and slavery.
Einstein said that he doesn’t know what weapons would be used WW III will be, but he knew in WW IV, we would be using sticks and stones because we would destroy the earth if we have another world war.
January 7th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
After hearing about Attila’s life, it sounded really cool, like how he got travel the world and how he took so many pictures. After showing us his caving pictures, it made me want to explore a cave. But Attila’s life wasn’t all dandy and good.
When he was little, he went through a lot. The Romanians disliked Hungarians but his parents wanted him to be a knowledgeable man so he transfered schools and had to learn Romanian language.
Once Attila was playing soccer with his Romanian classmates, he got hurt and was bleeding on his knee. One of his classmates asked, “You have red blood?!” The Romanian’s father told him that Hungarians were not human and have green blood! That made me feel like the Romanians were similar to Hitler saying the Jewish were cockroaches. I now know that it is not the people’s fault for disliking the Hungarians, it is the people before them who told stories about Hungarians not being human and having green blood.
This presentation has changed me by telling me not to believe everything I hear. If one person’s culture has a bad reputation from a long time ago, it does not mean the person is bad because it is not their fault. They are only believing what their families told and taught them. Also I have learned that we are all humans, no matter what color skin, culture, and differences.
This presentation will affect my future because I will never judge a book by its cover.
January 7th, 2009 at 9:22 pm
After hearing Attila’s presentation, I wondered why after World War I that the Allied forces took so much land from Hungary instead of Germany. I also wondered if the Kurdish freedom fighters would like us if we told them we were Hawaiians and not Americans. One reason they wouldn’t like us is because Hawaii is part of America. The presentation changed me by realizing how many things are happening around the world that doesn’t involve America, and how many people hate or despise America. This presentation could change my future by changing the way I think about the world and its problems. It could also change my future by making me think of what I want to do as an adult. One connection I made is when Attila said that to the Kurds think they are freedom fighters but to the Turks they are terrorists. Just the day before, Mr.Chung said to us “ONE MAN’S TERRORIST IS ANOTHER MAN’S FREEDOM FIGHTER.”
January 8th, 2009 at 6:54 am
What was really interesting about Attila’s performance was that he showed us pictures of Romania, Iran and pictures of some of his students going in caves. Another thing that was interesting about his performance was that he told us a story about going to a tea party, and the people asked if he was American, Israeli or Turkish. His life could have been in danger because those men were carrying guns. I wondered how he could take all those trips when he is a teacher. I don’t think they can leave school for that long. I also wonder if he will continue traveling at an old age.
This presentation changed me because now I want to go all over to those places that Attila went to. Attila’s presentation changed me by me now wanting to go to all of these countries all over the world. This presentation will change my future by now knowing what that there are beautiful and fun places in the world!
January 8th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
Would you travel through the deepest caves in Hungary, be sat on by people you don’t know to be smuggled into Tibet, have tea with a couple of Bosnian men carrying a bunch of guns, or even trudging over a glacier in Iceland? Well, a man named Attila experienced all those risky adventures. Attila shared his awesome photos from some of his journeys. I thought Attila was crazy to do all those things. He also had some very awkward moments during his trips. What was inspirational was Attila’s photography because he took amazing images of nature from different parts of the world that he has been to. I now see the world in a different perspective.
Attila’s presentation changed me because we were shown pictures of Attila’s students and they don’t look any different from us. We got to see pictures of the Tibetan people from his trip to Tibet, too.
Atilla sharing his information and photos could change my future because maybe one day I could be on my way to a foreign country to learn about the unique culture. Atilla is an excellent photographer so he took great images which made the stories that Atilla shared from his trips more interesting.
January 9th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
What I felt after the presentation was respect for Attila. He is a very knowledgeable person. Attila has been almost all around the world like Iceland and China. He is also strong inside because in high school he got beat up every day just because he was Hungarian. I was inspired by him to go all around the world.
The presentation changed me because now I am more aware of the world. For instance, you need permission in China to go to Tibet. Another thing is the Turkish are fighting against the Kurds. I also know now that Hungarians are kind of poor. Attila as a teacher only gets around $400 a month.
This presentation can affect my future by inspiring me to go around the world and when I can, I want to go to the Middle East. I also want to go to Africa after college. I want to be a wildlife photographer so if I do become one I will probably remember Attila and what he showed us this week.
January 10th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
What I thought was really interesting about Attila’s performance was that he had been to so many places. The coolest thing that I think that Attila did was when he went to Tibet. It was also pretty cool that he was a stowaway into Tibet. I’m kind of shocked that they didn’t catch them, just imagine where Attila would be now if he was caught. It was also pretty cool that he got to go into the church Mohammed’s daughter was in.
After the presentation, I realized that I have such a good life and that some people’s lives are so bad they have to carry a gun around all the time. This presentation is going to make me more open-minded to go to other places because Attila said that the people in Iraq are nice. I might go to more places around the world but I am not going to Iraq until the war is over.
January 10th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
If I told you that one man traveled across Greenland on foot, or slept overnight in a cave filled with BATS, would you believe me? Well, there is such a man, and his name is Attila. Atilla was born in Romania but is Hungarian because after war, two thirds of Hungary was taken by Romania. Unfortunately for Attila, Romanians and Hungarians were taught to hate each other so Attila was only allowed to make Hungarian friends. Even though life was very rough for Attila, he still never lost hope that one day he would be an explorer and get to learn about different cultures. After long hard years of teasing and cruelty, Attila started learning about different locations and how they lived. When he came to the U.S., he worked as a dishwasher in Colorado and made all of $400 in a month! Could you imagine making so little money? But Attila didn’t care about the money, he just wanted to enjoy life and learn about different areas of the world. Once when Attila was asking for permission to go to Tibet, an Asian man came up to him and asked him if he would like to be smuggled into Tibet and Attila said sure since the government of China said no. Well, every so often on your way to Tibet, there were checkpoints to see if any passengers who didn’t get permission to travel in that area were trying to sneak in. Because Attila didn’t have permission, he was very worried with what would happen next. Of course the Asian guys knew this, so he let 2 Tibetans into their van and they sat on Attila and his friend so that it appeared that it was only them in the backseat. How smart! If I were Attila, I would’ve been scared out of my pants! Maybe one day I’ll be an explorer and get to learn about different cultures just like Atilla!
January 16th, 2009 at 10:23 am
Attila’s pictures were so realistic and so beautiful, like the one when he was in a cave and the sun was peeking in the cave. Since he showed us his pictures, I now want to take pictures of nature for my hobby when I grow up.
February 4th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
I personally think Attila is inspiring because he has been around the world and knows much more about the Arabs and Europe and probably all around in Asia. If I could I would like to go to Hungary’s mountain caves and explore for a while, but only when I grow up of course! Atta’s pictures were so cool and HD I could imagine I’m there just by looking at it, especially the picture with the sun peeking into the cave. If you look by the sun then you’ll see a eroded rock with the different layers of minerals with light coming through!!!
This presentation has changed me by giving me another place I may want to go to. Also his presentation has given me a little more of a background about Hungary’s history with World War II and Romania. One time he told a story about his childhood in Romania, he was playing soccer with a Romanian and then Attila fell down and got cut and started bleeding then the Romanian came over to him and said “Do you have blood?” What kind of a question is that!??!!!? But you can’t blame the Romanian kid because he said his father told him Hungarians do not have red blood but green blood! That makes Hungarians lesser than humans.
This presentation will affect my future by letting me know the elders are the ones that start all of the religion and not everyone’s paradigm is correct and some start massacres and that’s what started the Ism’s. That is how I will use this in my future.