Being raised in The Bronx is very close to growing up in a barred civilization. Marble Hill is where I was raised and where my mother, a couple months fresh from the Dominican Republic, had met my father. Both chained with the poverty of coming from a country where you quite literally fetch breakfast in the fields, they had never dared to imagine anything outside of the Bronx borough. My father was gone around the time I was in third grade, and my immediate family was reduced to my heroic mother and two sisters. By the time I was about thirteen we left our one bedroom apartment in Marble Hill for a coquettish two bedroom on the other side of the Bronx, and it was then when I had gotten my first taste of escape. I’ve been writing since I remember learning how to hold a pencil. It was my own personal form of getting out of the Bronx; getting away from the gunshots and machetes. However, I’ve realized that in my writing I always talk about an escape. I write about the sweet taste of cultural immersion. I romanticized my Spanish-Hispanic-Lebanese roots, and I aspired. I shot for the stars and reached NYU, but my plan has always been to reach farther. Florence is rich with the culture I am hungry for and I’m interested in it for the fall term because the experience of a new country is precisely what I need as a …show more content…
In the light of all the political chaos, I’d like to come back from the next two years and be able to say that a Dominican woman not only goes to New York University, but studied in four different countries and came back with the social capital and means to reach even farther. Traveling, to me, is its own form of success and I dream for
With living in Italy, I got the chance to live in Leece, a population of more than 200,000. Clearly as this was something I was not used to at all, I took a leap and began my journey. As I exited the plane my expectations were unclear. However, my goals were to be confident, gain independence and learn as much as possible about a new culture and country. Although the initial culture shock, going from the desert to a metropolis was expected, I recognized that I took something with me so invaluable. Leaving Coolidge gave me a drive to expand my small comfort zone and “spread my wings”. That desire I took with me helped overcome the struggles I faced in Italy. There was no one time that I did not stop exploring, or keep pushing myself, even after became used to living in the city. This thinking and mentality stuck with me no matter where I
Choosing an unfamiliar place within the small town of Athens, OH was a difficult task for someone with a diverse list of interests to do. Personally, I had to think about where I wanted to spend my time ‘culture watching’. There are many places that I have spent much of my time, like coffee shops, multiple basketball and football games freshman year, and three well known dining halls across campus. I had to think to myself where have I not spent time in Athens, and then it came to me, church. For the cultural immersion project, I spent three Sundays observing the Athens First United Methodist Church, each service being one hour long focusing on different areas each time. The location of the church is extremely familiar to me being that I live
The grand size of the city draws us in the most as it gives us the most intimacy. Intimacy, in being able to keep to ourselves and play a larger role in our own lives, makes the city worthwhile. However, it is exceedingly easy to lose touch with the historical aspects of the city. We love New York for the aesthetics, but continue to take the historical culture for granted. In the past three weeks, I learned to take a step back and keep note that each building, bridge, and infrastructure I encounter has been built and seen by someone before me. Perhaps the monumental building I pass everyday was built or seen by a classmate’s immigrant great ancestor. I have a deeper appreciation for the landmarks surrounding me. In summation, I take the opprotunity to recognize the same Ellis Island I pass on my way to St. John’s University is the same landmark, “an approximate twelve million immigrants,” (Staff) experienced as they made their way towards the mysterious yet promising land of the United States of America.
While reflecting on what culture to choose for my cultural immersion project, I thought about the many different areas we have reviewed in this course. There were several groups/areas that would not apply to me simply because of my own family and my gender. I thought about my own cultural background and belief system and which area I was the least culturally knowledgeable. I wanted to learn something new and grow during the immersion process. During the course of this paper, I will be looking at some stereotypes (both negative and positive) about this particular culture, language differences between homosexual populations and heterosexual populations, my observations of the group and my thoughts on the cultural immersion experience. I chose the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning (LGBTQ) community because, to the best of my knowledge, I do not have any family members of friends who identify with any of these categories. I have had coworkers or classmates that identify in this way, so I feel like I have always been tolerant, but I have never been close with anyone who is LGBTQ.
the purpose of this paper is to describe the author’s second encounter with cultural immersion within the community of older homeless individuals. This reflection paper outlines what occurred, the experience, challenges faced, and emotions and thoughts of what transpired. As this project coming to an end, the student expresses a deep level of understanding of the population presented.
College is a time for new opportunities, memorable experiences, and a time to explore things you’ve never encountered before. As a young adult, I realize the importance of studying abroad and how it will help me grow as a person. What could be better than traveling to Spain for ten days and learning a new culture, history, and a new perspective of how the business world is outside of America?
After my first cultural immersion experience interviewing Rabbi Tepper, I resolved to experience my second cultural immersion activity with the Jewish community. Ultimately, I wanted both of my encounters to be with one culture. I desired to achieve a deeper understanding of one culture, rather than gaining superficial understanding of two dissimilar cultures. Furthermore, I wanted my second immersion experience to consist of several activities. Rabbi Tepper was kind enough to invite me to attend Shabbat (Jewish Sabbath) and Torah study. These comprised a large portion of my overall experience. My hope was to include an activity that was more intimate as well, such as social time spent in the home or a shared meal. As luck would have it, I was able to share a meal with the congregation after Shabbat. This meal was a celebratory meal of the conversion of two individuals to Judaism. I was rather nervous leading up to attending the Shabbat service (my first activity), but I was also excited. The nervousness partially stemmed from not knowing what the proper etiquette for attending a Shabbat service and part of it was just a general anxiety about experiencing something new and different.
Imagine living in a small town of 813, which I’m sure we can all visualize very well. Imagine, one day getting the opportunity to fly 3,247 miles south to a city called Quito, in Ecuador. Excitingly, this is the exact contingency my fellow spanish classmates and I have for next summer on June 13th thru June 14th. I know as a student in high school, that sitting in a classroom for six hours a day isn’t very hands on. Sometimes high school education can be less than exciting. But next summer I get the privilege to take my education to whole new country for 13 days. Not only on this trip will I participate in meaningful service, be immersed into a whole new culture and develop leadership skills, but I will also be impacted personally and transformed.
The life experience during the kid’s time is one of most important time in the life. I have learned this by the hard way. When people looking for how should their kids to learn, I think people should pay more attention to what are their kids learning. Times are changing, the old thought of teaching might not fit in today anymore. I am always hoping one day today’s student could teach kids, because today’s student knows more about what kids like, what should kids know at this time of the day. SEU’s CCU class’s Cultural Engagement Assignment have given me a chance to see my childhood dream in life. I have decided to go one of the activity on Saturday. I have gone three times, first time I want is because I have to; the second time I want is because I like it and I want to do something I can to help the kids, also I want to know about the kids grow up in the family that not so good. Before I want the activity, my understanding of “Cultural Engagement,” is the connection between the people and the cultural, but after I want the activity, my understanding of “Cultural Engagement” has changed, it became what kind of culture for the kids have been growing up have affected to their dream and behavior. I will never forget a point that so many pastors have mentioned - Christians should never need to tell others that they are Christian but people should able to tell that we are Christian. As being Christian, we need to show the love to others and share the God’s words and
Many people can pinpoint the exact moment that influenced them to follow a certain life path. For me, becoming a photographer has been an innate part of my life. I have always been drawn to the camera. Capturing a moment that could otherwise be forgotten captivates me. I entered my first photography competition in the third grade and have been lusting over the big city longer than anyone can remember. Although I am unsure where this plan stemmed from, everything in my life has been geared towards this goal. I have been extremely honored to be chosen to enter the New York University community, and in addition to taking advantage of the multiple opportunities New York City has to offer, I plan to become one of NYU’s global citizens by studying abroad and learning more about the world through hands-on experiences.
Describe how land, law and language influence Indigenous identity and culture as discussed during the Indigenous cultural immersion program. Describe how the loss of these features through government policy and vested interests has contributed to the current health and equality gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
For my cultural experience assignment, I interviewed my good friend Chanell. Chanell is originally from Lanzhou, China, which is located in Northwest China. She came to the states around twelve years ago when we were both eight. Before moving to the states Chanell’s primary form of communication was her native tongue, Mandarin Chinese.
The decision that was made to include this day for the Cultural Immersion assignment and not for the Faith Immersion was that the Jewish community is viewed as a nationality/culture and not a religion alone. Therefore, the understanding of this population was that they are considered a people not simple a section of religion. Another interesting factor that lead to this decision was that they are of the Jewish faith, however, they believe that Jesus was the messiah and did come and die and rise again for the sins of man. Consequently, I remembered a co-worker from several years ago that through conversation mentioned that he (Jacob) was a member of a Messianic Jewish congregation called, Beth Messiah Synagogue. Through countless discussions
There are numerous diverse cultures that reside on this planet, each display their own uniqueness, and significance to this world we live in. The Philippines are a great illustration of how many individuals of different cultures work together to create an astounding community. Much like the United States we are comprised of all varieties of ethnicities, and this essay will describe what it is like to live in the Philippines, but also what it is like for them to come to America, from personal research. It is vital that we have contrastive cultures on this earth, there are various ideas, discoveries, and resourceful, sharp citizens, which come from each one of these cultures. It is important to be different, and every person, no matter what culture, brings something exceptional to nature 's table.
For the cultural immersion experience, I attended a Hawaiian and Pacific Islander luau. During the event I observed large extended families gathering. There were numerous hula groups dancing and musicians playing. There were a lot of children and it seemed that they were being cared for by their family, extended family, and other families. I did notice that some of the children seemed to be missing shoes or slippers. For instance, one child had one slipper on and one off and many children had no shoes or slippers on. However, in Hawaii people sometimes do not wear shoes or slippers outside, so it did not strike me as a concern. Everyone seemed to be relaxed and focused on sharing and creating together. For instance, five different large extended families had come together and prepared the food. Also, right before the meal