I could go back in time to see how my hometown of Calgary sprawled across the prairies, watch the course of rivers change, or observe with slight horror the rapid rate at which forestation was occurring around the world. When I was taking a look a Google Earth though, I naturally started taking a look at everything that there was to look at – and having the whole world at my fingertips, there was a lot to look at. Until I got there that is, at which point realized the family was nuts and then found myself using Google Earth to look back at my own home for any sense of comfort – I eventually got used to the family, overcame my homesickness, and look back in fondness. After all, what teenager wouldn’t want to see where on Middle Earth they would be? Lucky for me, my host family was located about a 30 minute drive from where scenes of The Shire were filmed, so I was happy as a clam. It was then that I was introduced to Google Earth, as I naturally wanted to see what I was in for and this tool allowed me to see what the lay of the land was. I didn’t have much of a choice on where I’d end up staying, but was given an address for the location of the family that was to be hosting me. During my second semester of grade 11, I had the opportunity to travel to New Zealand and finish off that semester of school there.
