Tuesday we did an activity in a circle where some questions were asked in regards to looking into within.
These are some questions from the activity.
Where am I coming from today? What’s my physical / emotional status
-I am coming from a long day at work, catching two busses to get here from downtown, a fast paced day. I received some errors at work and my emotional status is distressed. My physical status is exited to be here and eager to learn
Now, What is important to me? How do I express what is important to me? How do others know what those things are?
-My family is important to me, my sisters and parents. My education and success is important to me. I express that my family is important to me by simply doing without saying. I help out all the times and make sure my loved ones know that I love them everyday. I express my education is important to me by dedicating time and effort to my work and striving to do the best I can with the resources and knowledge I have. Other people know that because I have continued working hard for my academics despite outside obstacles.
What is it like to not know where your neighbor is coming from?
It is kind of puzzling because you think you know so smuch from assumptions but you really dont. In terms of a living situation it could be extremely scary not to know where your neighbor came from because you fear automatically about things you arent familiar with. For instance that neighbor could be a sex offender or a serial killer or whatever thats mind boggling.
In the activity how did you find the answers to the previous questions about them while sitting in their chair being them or could you??
Its difficult because its hard knowing the answers wthout you being them. In all reality you can try to relate all you want but if you havent had these experiences first hand you could only scratch the surface.
I thought the discussion we had was interesting. Discussions on race always interest me because you get to see other peoples perspective based on their upbringing, life experiences, and culture. I feel like this class is a great way for people to be immersed in cultures of all sots because here we have people from all different backgrounds in our class. It was interesting how the topic was brought up on how how we create borders in our mind that can be dangerous. Border like stereotypes....I agree with how Aram said she feels bad for people who don't get to share the experiences of interculturalism, they are the ones missing out on the beauty and reality of the world.
Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica
In 2009 I went to Costa Rica with my class from the School of Environmental Studies(SES) at the Minnesota Zoo. This is a high school that is college preparatory for 11th and 12th grade students interested in a non traditional and laid back but also intense learning. With SES we went with a large group, we did Eco traveling wich is living in eco friendly locations where for instance the warm water is heated by the sun and all foods are freshly prepared and locally obtained. We also helped paint a school and did a lot of exploring and journaling, it was great. Above we are pictured with the students outside of the school we helped paint . The first picture is of us collecting organisms and studying them.
I am exited to start this class! This is an area that really interests me and that I have been immersed in since the 6th grade.
My partner was Bob and one thing that was really interesting about him was that his daughter is studying in Morocco, and she speaks 3 or more languages. I found this fascinating. In the future I would also like to learn French or Portuguese and travel more before my thirties.
I think this class is important to take, because of the growing hispanic population and to clarify any common misconceptions people may have.
For example in outr group we started to talk about things people "though about the culture" We got things like Hard Workers, alot of spicy foods"
I went on to explain that alot of people have the notion that most hispanics eat spicy foods because we are close to Mexico and in Mexico alot of people eat spicy food but from my experience going to Costa Rica, Panama, and Chile, I never ate anything spicy it wasnt the "Norm".
