Torrance, CA

Torrance is in Southern California, and it is about 20 miles south of Downtown Los Angeles.  It has its own beach (Torrance Beach), and the Del Amo Mall used to be the longest mall in the United States (1982).  Every year in May, there is an Armed Forces Day parade that goes down Torrance Blvd, and in January, the city enters a float for the Rose Bowl parade that is seen all over the world!

Torrance's sister city is Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan, and each city sends high school and college students as exchange students.

Also, there is a wonderful community college called El Camino College.


Some famous people from Torrance are:
Michelle Kwan (Olympic figure skater)
Chuck Norris (martial artist and actor)
Quentin Tarantino (director of Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill)
Louis Zamperini (HERO)

Louis Zamperini went to Torrance High School in 1932.  He was a juvenile delinquent, so his older brother told him to join the track team to help him channel his energy into something positive instead of a detriment.  He was so good that he ran in the 1936 Berlin Olympics (even met Hitler since Hitler was astonished by Zamperini's quickness), and at the end of the Olympics, he climbed a flagpole and stole Hitler's personal flag. He facetiously said, "I am the leader of the world!" after stealing Hitler's flag.

He also fought during WWII, and his airplane was shot down into the ocean.  He floated in the ocean for 47 days, then, he was captured by the Japanese and held as a Prisoner of War for 2 years.  He was tortured and beaten, but he was able to survive until the end of the war.  His story was made into a movie directed by Angelina Jolie called Unbroken.  Sadly, Mr. Zamperini died on July 2, 2014 right before the movie was released.  He was 97 years old. He is the hero of Torrance, CA, and the Torrance High School football field and the Torrance airport are both named after him (Zamperini Field and Zamperini Airport).

Blog #1: Me, Myself, and I; Blog #2: My True Color and Career

For Blog #1, you will be talking about yourself.  Pick ONE topic from below:
1.  Your Hometown - talk about where you are from, what makes it special, any place that we should go to, and include pictures of your hometown.
2.  Your Family - talk about your family and something special about each member of your family.  Also include pictures of your family members.
3.  Your Talent - talk about your talent and what you do.  Include pictures showing your talent.

The blog has to be 200+ words.  Also, write in complete sentences using good grammar and spelling skills - it will be seen by many people, so you want to show your best work!  Most importantly, use 3 new vocabulary words that you've learned and highlight or bold the vocabulary words.

For Blog #2, you will be talking about your True Color and the career research that you have been doing.

Do not just copy and paste what you have found out on the Eureka website. Include your color, your career, and some interesting facts that you've uncovered while doing your research. 

• Also, include your counselor's name and how he/she helped you during the meeting. What information did they give you and was there something special about the counselor?  

• Next, talk about the person that you interviewed (name, position, place of employment), and share at least one thing that you learned from them that was totally different than what you found while doing your own research online.   

• Include at least 3 new vocabulary words that you have learned (highlight them). 

• The post must be at least 400 words and be grammatically correct. 
• Include a picture - extra points if you get a picture of the person that you interviewed and/or where they work (get their permission first before you take and upload their picture!).