Please post a draft of your cultural bricolage by Sunday, March 13, 5pm. Click on the pencil at bottom of this entry to post your blog.
Here are some guidelines:
You should write your blog first in Microsoft word so that you have a copy to work on and expand into an essay. We will read your blog versions in class on Monday and make suggestions.
Ideas and structure for your cultural bricolage: (also review cultural bricolage assignment in coursepak).
1. An opening paragraph introducing yourself and your culture: where are you from? what is important to you about your culture? what aspects of your culture do you value, cherish? what ideas do you disavow (no longer agree with)?
2. a specific moment that was important to you growing up, a moment when you learned something about your identity--this could be a moment of stereotyping or cultural change (even collision) if you came to the United States as a young adult. It could also be a moment of insight--something you learned about yourself (like Sherman Alexie's "Superman and Me").
3. Tell us something about your dreams or goals and how they relate to your identity. What image represents you best? What does it say about you
Review the four autobiographical pieces for more ideas. Think about how each of the writers we have read focus their stories about learning and growth experiences.
Your blog should be at least two paragraphs. Bring a photo or other image or object to class that is important to you or represents you in some way. (Think about how Alexie explains that the Spokane Native Americans are the salmon tribe: persistent and mysterious.)
A regular day in Brooklyn is like a party. 10 am you look outside and people are already starting to crowd the neighborhood corner store and post up in front of buildings. I was raised in a beautiful brownstone home four stories tall in the dead center of the block. I grew up on Double Dutch and drawing numbers on the floor to play hopscotch.
ReplyDeleteIn my neighborhood everyone was so close that it was like a family. If I scraped my knee I didn’t have to wait for my mother to come running up the block. One of my neighbors was in close range ready and willing to give me the help and attention I needed. I stayed outside all day and when the street lights came on I had to come back to the front of my house, but it was okay because my friends were allowed to sit on the steps. The way I looked never defined me in my neighborhood filled with people of different backgrounds and colors. I was always polite and well spoken so I was a neighborhood favorite.
Jessica Hill
Hey Jessica...I love what you wrote. that sounds like bk life 100 %.....chilling on the stoop, everyone out jus chilling. Anyways u cool people see u on monday
Deletethankyou :) i have to add more details but its a start.
Deletesounds interesting，I think that is a good place to go
DeleteI know it's not in the same formate but it's my 1st draft
ReplyDelete"A race of people is like an individual man: until it uses it own talent, takes pride in its own history, expresses it's own culture, affirms it's own selfhood, it can never fulfill itself"
-Malcolm X
I am everything you may think I am but I am also everything you think I'm not. I am educated and articulate or so I will be. That's what I wanted to say to the clerk following me around the store. Purchasing my 1st of what some of my people may call it "slave to the industry" or in layman terms making "the man" rich. Yes my 1st pair if Gucci sneakers. They were a soft pink and cream with GG signs all over them. I just knew I would of been a icon around my peers. I saved up my Christmas money, giving to me by a few of my aunts, uncles and grandparents. It was so many of us. My grandparents on my mom side whom moved up from the south had 7 children of their own, 16 grandchildren and endless great grands. Somewhat of the same for my dad side except my grandparents had 10 kids and they were originated from the Caribbean's. I remember I use to get so excited to open up the Xmas card from my uncle john whom was always traveling back and forth from the states to st.Vincent he use to give me new fresh $100 bills and in every card he would say "next time I go down there I'm taking you with me". I had enough money to buy me a whole new closet but yet her eyes followed me as thou my character was the most interesting out the room. It couldn't have been that I was the only young girl there but that I was the only young girl with oil spill in the store. I move to the next aisle to make sure it wasn't just mad thoughts flowing around my head but what I was actually experiencing was happening. And there she was like a lion watching its prey, every move I made she was one step behind me like a mosquito at a family barbecue. No customer treatment not one word only an awkward look and smile presented on her face. Knowing that this was the same look she gives to many presuming to be thieves with the same look as mines. Not one of a young girl who likes high fashion but one the color of a coffee stain. "This in a size 40 pls" were the only words ever spoken
I believe I am an Indian American Muslim. If that's even a real term. I'd like to think it is at least, since we live in such a big world with so many different kinds of people. That's by chronological order. I was born in India and my family migrated to America in the late 1980's where as I was only 6 months old. If you ask me I would have to say that I am an American Indian Muslim, American first. Between the two there doesn't seem to be much of a difference, but believe me the difference is "apples and oranges", very big difference. I am a cultural fusion and I'm proud of it. I love being both American and Indian. I lived 99% of my life in New York though, A big so called "melting pot" so I don't know much about Indians other than what I see and learn from my parents. what I see is totally what I am not. My dreams of being successful, my desire and passion to be someone important are mixed in with both American and Indian culture but my aspirations and my goals aren't coherent of the goals of a typical Indian Muslim. That's where I was born and that's where the problem begins...
ReplyDeleteI love pizza, I loving wearing polo. I love to explore different cultures. I one day wanna marry a woman of my choice and not the choice within my Indian culture that my family chooses. I go to the gym, I party on the weekends and I love getting tattoos. My religion forbids drinking and tattoos, so I try to keep it to a bare minimum. I want to date, I love my beef, organic of course, and I love my democratic government. These things are so far from being Indian and Muslim that sometimes I feel like I'm lying to people when they ask me where you from and I have to say "I'm originally from India" because I feel like a full pledged American. Thus I believe in Indian philosophy about non violence and my religion values but not to radical extremes. I really do differentiate from my typical Indian comrades, but I do adapt to make my family proud and let them know I'm stabilized and neutral between both. In the end I am who am because I have the best of all three cultures. And I am here to explore as many different cultures as I can.
Hi Ali, you have very interesting story I really enjoy reading it. we have some similarity about marriage :-) Because my country too most of the time (a specially girls) get marry choice of their parents, not their own, and it lets them having divorce.
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DeleteDo your parents follow Indian traditions? And have ever been to India since you moved here?
Deletehow many languages do u speak
DeleteI am from Uzbekistan, Which located in central Asia, and also great place to visit. I love my country, from its rich history to the magnificent people. I lived in a country side, where all the people know each other. I always encountered people from all over the world. Because a lot of tourists visit my country every year.Uzbekistan culture is very colorful and distinctive. It has been formed over millenniums and has taken in traditions and customs of various nations settled on the territory of today Uzbekistan. It is very safe place to live. However, I believe a person’s identity is grows by many different ways. Family, culture, friends, personal interests and surrounding environments. Seeing the tourists often in my country taught me a lot of things such as to do new and great things in my life and in the future. Because I often find myself different as being or living in between space. I struggled with the idea of having a dual identity. It wasn’t easy growing up as one of the religion girl in my town, let alone with others. I do believe in god, but in my own way, because i am not someone who thinks i need to do things because i had told to. In my country most of the people think girls are one step down than boys, and girls have to wear long dresses and cover themselves, which i never agree with. Girls even bother themselves to get educated after the high school they just choose being housewife. I wasn’t one of them I loved to playing sports, dancing, swimming, i loved to wear jeans. I always wanted to explore as many different things as i can.
ReplyDeleteSo now i am living in USA and I really enjoying being with other foreigners the one who looks different, who talks different and who really doesn't understand what's going on around them. That's very tough things to experiences for me but, it was very very powerful and i don't think i could have ever learned just living at my country. It was hard to be learned alone, it was hard to be apart but every time I learn something new built my confidence. Nowadays my favorite quote is “ If you no longer accepting the things that you can not change. You have to change things that you can not accept”.
Hi Husniobod,
Deletehow did your classmates and family react that you were refusing to be as everyone?
hi...i just wanted to say i hope your papers going well. see you wednesday.
DeleteSince childhood I lived with dream-statement that I would move to another country. Probably it was based on watching Brazilian soap operas, which used to be very popular in Russia. They attracted me with different culture, different people, different architecture, everything was so different and so inviting for me.
ReplyDeleteWhen it came time to choose university and major after graduating high school, my decision was linguistics-interpretation, as there I could learn foreign languages, English and French. And it was very helpful for me on the way to my dream.
Seven years ago I had a chance to come to USA for the first time as "work & travel" program. I fell in love with this country. Unlike in my culture, where it is uncommon to smile and say "Hi, how are you?" to people whom you even don't know, here it's normal. In Russia if you ask somebody in the street to help you, like asking direction, probably only 1 of 10 people will stop to talk to you. Everyone is grumpy, concentrated on his own business. It took me time to get used to open people here, that somebody can just start conversation with me in a store or subway or say "Hi" while I walking down the street. Now I can do the same and nobody will look at me like "Are you crazy?”. Once I was in a club here and met a guy who lived in NYC all his life. When he figured out that I was Russian, he was so surprised, as he thought that all Russians were extremely mean and I was friendly with him.
A year ago I went to Moscow to visit my parents after 5 years of absence. When I got off the plane and saw sad faces of airport workers, I was about to cry. Again those unhappy faces. Again nobody will hold a door for you, nobody greet you, nobody will help you if you ask for assistance. During that visit once I and my sister went to a store and got yelled twice by saleswoman. First time as we were not allowed to try shoes without wearing socks and there are none of them in the store. And second time when it took too long time, in their opinion, for us to be in a fitting room. Instead of asking us for something politely, they yelled at us, which is completely inappropriate here.
Sometimes my friends who live in Russia wonder why I like USA, why I don't miss my native country and don't want to come back. The answer is I like the atmosphere in which I live, I like the people here, the way they feel. They are free. It is okay when somebody wears pajama while walking the dog out or going to do laundry. In my country if you go outside just to take the garbage out girls do make up, hairdo and wear nice clothes, may be even high heels.
I live here for 6 years already. For this period my personality, habits and life view have changed and probably still are changing. I am more free from prejudges, don't depend on opinion of other people as I do what I want to do and what makes me happy not others.
hi...i hope your papers going well...when your done you can help me with mine. haha just kidding. i just wanted to say hi and thanks for replying to me. i never went to india. and my parents were traditional, now there getting very updated. see you wednesday.
Deletewow this is so good !
ReplyDeleteAs a Chinese girl, I spent all my childhood in China. Around 10 years old, I came out a dream. Because Japanese culture affects me and I always watch Japanese drama, even now, so I want to go to Japan and want to live there. Unfortunately, when I was 15 years old I got a phone call at night from my father who had been live in New York City for 9 years. He told me that he wanted me to come as an immigrant. My family was so happy at that time. They thought my life would be different and I would have I good future. However I started crying. I thought If I come to the U.S., I would not have chance to go to Japan. Also I didn't want to leave my mother and my friends. The most difficulty was I had not been meet my father for long time. I worried about our relationship.
ReplyDeleteAfter I came to the U.S., everything change in my life. I should speak English, and do all the things by myself. Even though I lived with my father that time. I must do everything independently. I feel I grow up, I can cook, I do part time job. Actually my life really change. If now I was in China, I think I was still like kids and rely on my mother.
The finishing product of this story is going to be GREAT!
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ReplyDeleteI am from South Korea in Asia. Korea is the small country where is located between China and Japan.Many people think that Korea culture is similar to either Japan or China, or both. However, my country has a long history of 5000 years. Moreover, Korean culture is very distinctive and unique in many ways such as traditional clothes and own speech 한글. Most Korean people are important the social group and family than the individual. We value relationships. I also think that it is important to maintain a good interpersonal relationship with others and I try to keep the relationships. Such the relationships affected to find my identity. My father is a stage designer and my mother is a painter in my country. While growing up, I had been seen,felt and learned about various art work though my parents. Because, there were always various art supplies in my home. It was like my toy. Therefore,
ReplyDeleteI was interested about painting and drawing when I was young. Two years age, my friend who is potter recommended studying abroad to me. She said that she had learned not only art but also culture living in New York. I decided to go to New York in order to study art and various culture.
Nowadays, I live in here. I had my first exhibition in New Jersey and I do group art activities with other college people. I learn about various cultures , race and art etc. Especially, I am more free and independent than live in Korea. I will continue to study and to try in order to self-improvement.
I wish people in the U.S. valued social relationships like they do where your from.
DeleteThe issue with society today is how quick we can judge an individual. We can judge them based on their appearance, how they speak, and definitely their actions. I know I was judged before and to be specific, I was judge based on my hair. From an afro, to a ponytail, to a bun, to different styles of cornrows, some people compliment me and others criticize me. Being a male with long hair can be challenging.
ReplyDeleteOne day after school, I remember going into a store to get something to drink. I'm at the cash register ready to check out and I hear two men whispering to each other. When I got done checking out, I had said "Thank You" to the cashier and walked out. As I was walking out the door, one of the two men stopped me and said "I didn't know you were a dude until i heard your voice." "What makes you think I'm not a boy?", I asked. He responded,"Because of your hair, why is it like that?". My hair was tied up in a bun. I then responded "Because my hair is long to be out". "Maybe you should cut all of that off", he considered.
Hi Ray--Hair is a vivid place to start your story and I love your bit of dialogue. Now think about where to go from here. Sounds like you were pretty independent and didn't let people get to you with their opinions. What else can you share?
DeleteI grew up listening to rock music. I was absorbed by the sound of distorted guitars and banging drums. I enjoyed melodic aspect of it. When I would hear rap music I would quickly get bored. How could someone like something so repetitive? I couldn’t even understand what they were saying. It was almost as if I was hearing a different language. There were too many words for me to process. Scarcely would a rap song catch my ear and if it did I would only liked it for the beat. Who knew that as I got older I would delve deep into the art form itself?
ReplyDeleteMusic has been a part of my whole life. I was introduced to piano at the tender age of 4. During my early years I found no enjoyment in what I was playing. I hated it so much that I refused to be aware of the composer of the piece of music I was playing. At the time, my home had dialup Internet connection so to even get on to the web would be a huge stress. Also my mom would constantly turn the cable television off in order to encourage me to read instead of watch TV. The only other music I was exposed to was the music blasting from people’s cars.
A few years later into my childhood, a friend of mine showed me Weird Al. I was intrigued by how he was able to swap the words of a popular song and make his own funny version out of it. With his influence, I began to re write lyrics to songs as a joke. At the time I didn’t know but I was actually writing songs in the form a rap.
When I was 13 I began to develop a sudden urge to write songs again. By age 14, I decided that I was going to make music. I told my mom that I was going to require a new computer for high school. I ended up getting a mac and I started recording the lyrics I wrote and making arrangements otherwise known as beats using garage band. I would spend hours at the computer learning the program before I could get my ideas into it. With a lot of trial and error I finally began to feel comfortable with it.
Your journey around and into music is so exciting--I'm trying to think about how you can share a little more of your creative process and discovery--can you include some lyrics and tell us more about what gave you the urge to write songs again?
DeleteMy name is Elon I'm the youngest of five girls, though I've been told I sound like I'm from California, the reality is that I've lived in Harlem my entire life. You could say I have seen the neighborhoods ups and downs. My family has a mixed background my father is an African American man that hails from Houston, Texas. He grew up during the Jim Crow era, which happened to be a very embarrassing period in our recent history. My mother on the other hand is a Venezuelan woman who was born in Trinidad and lived there with her family for her first thirteen years. Surprisingly you would think that my life is very cultured and eccentric but it's really not. I lived the typical upper west side lifestyle, been in private institutions since the age of two, would go to birthday parties at Chelsea piers, you know the works. The funny part is my mother is the more conservative one out of my parents, my father is a pretty liberal guy, I feel like I take after him more. Something that I disavow from my fathers culture is the amount of barbecue we had to consume growing up, he grilled all year round even in the snow. After a while the smell of being woken up to hickory wood burning got sickening. My moms side is pretty Americanized but I consider that for the fact that she lived here almost all of her life. The stereotype I faced a lot in my life even up until last year was being told that 'I spoke well' or was a 'very articulate girl'. I assumed they would say that was because I was one of the only other people in the school that was of color besides my siblings. I wouldn't get offended but I always thought to myself how ignorant and narrow minded those many people I encountered were that made the remark. I was raised well enough by my parents to basically laugh those people off. I have a dream of becoming a occupational therapist, it was an interest of mine for a very long time. My father advised us about choosing jobs in the medical field because by the time we're his age a lot of jobs would be replaced by machines. Two of my older sisters are nurses and my dad happens to be a radiation oncologist which is a cancer Doctor.
ReplyDeleteHi Elon--first question for me is did your father ever talk to you about the Jim Crow era? Sounds like you have been close and he is giving you good advice about career. Definitely hear the stereotyping in comments about your intelligence--don't know if you want to explore that--how did you feel about choice of schools? Think about how to dramatize a moment or two?
DeleteIn Germany girls get taught to be independent, to earn their own money to stand on their own feet.
ReplyDeleteI was raised that way too. Probably even more strongly through the circumstances in my early childhood. My dad died when I was 7 and my mother had to raise three girls by herself. At that time unemployed she was struggling to make it. But she did all in her power to keep a normal routine , put food on the table and keep our house. I remember like it was yesterday, she luckily got an offer to start working in the same company as my father did. Of course I was happy about that until I found out that her first day working was my birthday. I was devastated, and I knew from now on there would be more moments like this to come.
Somehow it taught me not to be dependent on someone ,of fear being left alone with all the responsibilities. I made the choice to take responsibilities and to also carry them by myself.
Even though we got indoctrinated to do everything in our power to get the best education, write the best grades and strive for the best jobs there is a paradox in our society.
One day at the dinner table my mum asked me when we (my sisters and me ) are planing to have children even though all of us were still in education.
So for what sake I got all this education?
I was not the only one which parents out of no where decided that it is suddenly important to start a family rather than pursuing a carrier.
And I was asking myself if it is still common in our society after all the work I have done as an independent human being, that I as a women will be still evaluated by my ability to establish a family and to raise children.
Wow--your mom sounds like she was a powerful model for you and helped make you believe in your strengths--wonder if you could dramatize that first paragraph with an example. Then in your second paragraph it seems like there is a contradiction in your mind--she taught you to be strong but then wants you to be more traditional? Can you explore your feelings or maybe even the conversation--?
DeleteHello everyone. I'm from Slovak republic (former Czechoslovakia). The Slovakian culture is a mix of various folk traditions, because of its position in the Central Europe, it is also influenced by Austrian, German, Hungarian and Slavic cultures. Many Slovaks and most non-Slovaks know two to three languages. Besides Magyar (spoken by Hungarians) and Rusyn (spoken by Rusyns in eastern Slovakia), German, English, Russian, French, Czech, Polish are used. I find our culture very rich, especially with unique elements of Slovak folk architecture include the old wooden historical churches, as well as museums and castles showing the history of our country.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in a big mud-brick house with a garden. Gardening is very popular and important in our culture, people prefer to be self-sustainable, and mostly to stay connected with the mother Earth, it's said that many disease can be cured by earthing, walking barefoot on the ground.
Camping, skiing, going to the nature for a hike, kayaking or swimming in the lakes, are very popular way of living, because the nature plays a big part in our lives, people are active and spend lot of time outdoors. This plays a big role in my life as well.
People enjoy their lives, have plenty of vacation to relax and spend time with the families, eating home cooked family dinners and sharing stories of our long days is very common.
I miss the way people spend time having their lunches, they tend to be lengthy with several courses served because the noon meal is the main meal of the day. They are not rushed. I try to keep the same habits when I can. During a visit to a home, food and drink are immediately placed on the table. Refreshments are supposed to be accepted graciously, and emptied plates and glasses are refilled promptly. It is customary to bring flowers, food (cakes), or a beverage when visiting people's homes.
I keep the same tradition, it's important to me and close to my heart, it reminds me of my time spent growing up, this was a traditional pattern that my parents practiced and most families as well, it's the same way till today. The same goes for hand-painted ceramics on my kitchen walls, this part reminds me of my grandparents, and I can't miss not to have crystal, famous Bohemian crystals, which Czech Republic is famous for.
I love every part of my culture, it means a lot to me. I love the folk music, when I gather with my friends, we sing and dance on traditional folk music, this part brings so much joy and happiness to my life. I'm very grateful to be born there, and still enjoy and share my culture in NYC.
I came to NYC by myself when I was 19 years old. My big dream was to visit NYC plus the beaches of California, and to learn English. All of my dreams came true. I didn't speak any English when I first arrived. I made so much effort by studying from my self-learner books, followed with an ESL semester at the University.
My beloved mom was my big role model and my bestfriend, I always believed in myself, I knew with determination and passion I could become who Im today, I could have never done it without a support of my family spending hours talking on the phone, and my friends who became like my family. I keep filling my heart by helping people in need, I can't stress enough about the importance of prevention. My mission here on this beautiful planet is to educate people about holistic nutrition as the whole, to find a job we love in the order to eliminate the stress, to love ourselves, to find a passion to fill our hearts, so when we eat food we are happy and the energy of our bodies are healing naturally. I love NYC because I met fantastic new friends from all over the world. I learned a lot about other people's cultures, ate food from so many different countries. If I'd never took that trip 19 years ago, I would have missed on all these new amazing life experiences.
This is beautifulMarta--love the image of walking barefoot on the ground--literally being grounded! And that image goes with all the ways you describe your family get togethers and how you are grounded by your culture of origin and continue to hold its patterns close. This is almost done. The only suggestion I have is perhaps to strengthen the connections to your theme of living healthily and well--it is present in so many examples!
DeleteMy Cultural Bricolage:
ReplyDeleteBeing born in a small country and raised up there until I turned twenty. I have spent most of my life in Bangladesh with it’s significant cultural differences. Bangladesh is a small country, but it has massive collection of cultural bricolage. In my country people love to celebrate Bangla new year
(Noboborsho) which is very famous festival. In my country people love to wear different kinds of dresses usually more covered than western. Women love to wear Share and men wear Lungi. I feel proud of being a part of my culture.
Hi Sadik--Tell us more about the significant cultural differences (examples) and see if you can bring us into your world through a memory of a specific moment--then tell us how you came here and how the changes in culture affected you!
ReplyDeleteLife is simple. Just believe what you trust in and follow your dream, that’s the best in the
ReplyDeleteworld. My mane is Ytharma Smith. I’m from Haiti and come from a big family with 6
children, 3 boys, and 3 girls. I’m the youngest. We grew up in a small village in the south of
the Caribbean call les cayes. Our culture includes festivities and bright colored clothing and
also we love to dance. I can say we’ve got the best ambience in the Caribbean, and our
culture in Haiti is an eclectic mix of African, with European elements due to the French
colonization of Haiti, as is evidenced in the Haitian language, music, and religion. I was born
to a religious middle class family and am lucky enough to have a parent who can provide for us
educationally and financially. After the earthquakes in 2010, my mother did not want my sister
and I to be out of school for a full year since most of the schools were destroyed. My sister and I
were lucky enough to find a scholarship in Saint Francis in Haiti that allowed us to study in the
United States and so we moved here to further our education and to provide a better life for our
family after school.
In my country we believe strongly in education and status. Social status is well marked at all
levels of society by the degree of French words and phrases used in speech, it is also marked by
who one knows. Haiti is mostly Christian, the three major religions are Protestantism
,Catholicism and voodoo. Family values are most important in Haiti and most Haitians place
great importance on family life, no matter what class they belong to. Middle and
upper-class Haitians often live in urban environments and celebrate formal marriages and
have family values similar to modern American values. The lower socioeconomic class
families often have plasaj (in which a man lives with and raises children with a concubine
who he is not legally married to) or common-law marriages and live in more informal,
extended-family environments. Family comes first, above work or other responsibilities
hello my name is Juanisha I come from a background of immigrants from Jamaica to Panama & hard workers who made life even better for me to live in. I'm from the Bronx but lives in the wild wild west of Harlem. Harlem wasn't just a typical modern area but a war zone. Every other day I went to school or came from school I seen news reporters broadcasting crimes that took place moments before I appeared in the neighborhood. Growing up in Harlem was some what of a challenge mainly dealing with transgressing from what I felt like home to a area where I didn't know anybody not even the mail man, I would express to my mom I didn't want to make friends even at the time of age I was at least about 14 I was such a social butterfly that I was out of my comfort zone to even speak to the other children in the area. New girl on the block I got home sick during the weekends cause that's the time I could be with my friends until the street lights come on but what the boys saw was fresh meat to pick at. I remained anti social until I reach my late teens where I met people in weird situations where they ended up leading to becoming my associates. From there on then they wasn't so bad but actually they were pretty cool. Being around these individuals I realized that the older I got what type of person was evolving into. There were times where I seen myself in situations I hade to make a decision but not to look good but to know right from wrong. To be honest it took me some time to process the maturity cause I was what a middle school teacher would call a misbehaving student a '' bad apple ''. Don't get me wrong I had a awesome support system but I was just a stubborn teenager that needed to understand things at a different level. I remember my grandmother telling me before she passed away - '' As a black girl growing into a black women you have to realize the system of the USA does not support us so in order to achieve your dreams goals whatever you want do you have to work twice as hard & stop the bull s**t .The power of a education can do a lot so always keep your head in a book & understand how the government functions cause things aren't always what they seem to be '' -- Anna Sayles . During this present time I see how I became a better person, it made me see the difference in things even to come to an understanding that the system for our country isn't in it for us but for themselves. Me as a human being I feel myself changing everyday taking in new information to use at my own advantages. Out there is where things are real where you have two choices either eat with them or become the prey well in my case I want to be the one catching the prey & feeding those who cant fen for themselves.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteMy name is Nan Yan. I come from Harbin which is a beautiful city located at the
north part of China. My favorite hobby is traveling. I always make plans to go traveling
to get relaxed. I have ever been to Korea,Thai,United Kingdom,United States and many
cities in China like Xiamen,Beijing,Lijiang,Chengdu etc.My previous major in China was
nursing and I have worked in the emergency room in Shanghai for two years. I felt
depressed at that time when I was working in ER because I met some of urgent patients
passed away when I was on my duty. Thus, I quit my job and decided to study further in the US.
I have been studying in New York for two years.The moment I arrived in New
York, I felt a little bit disappointed on New York. Even though New York and Shanghai
are both metropolitans, the public transportation in Shanghai is much cleaner and
efficient than New York. There are around 500,000 passengers which the amount of
passengers are the same as NYC to take the subway every day. The coaches of Shanghai
subway are tidy and clean;however, MTA are not. There are countless garbage on the
tracks. The worst thing is, there are also some dirty mice running on the platform when
we are waiting for the train.In addition,there are a lot of trains delay in NYC because of
train traffic which I have never heard about in Shanghai. All trains are running on time in
Shanghai.
I was not adapted at the first month.I came to the US by myself and lived alone. I
missed my parents. I missed my friends. Also,Everything around me is quite different
from China such as the language, food and things like that. I started forcing myself to get
involved in the new life and joined some local clubs and made new friends. I became adapted to New York gradually. I am also surprised to find that people in the US are willingly to express their own ideas, however , Chinese people prefer to keep our ideas. Because we are taught to be humble when we are young,our parents always tell us to speak less. Sometimes talking too much is regarded as showing off which will cause some judgment in China. But now I become more active to express my ideas to others since I made a lot of new friends. Thanks to my experiences in the US, I become much more independent. Thanks to my friends in New York, I became much more active to express my own opinion.