For this interview assignment, I had first chosen Brazil as my preferred country. Among all the Latin American countries, it is Brazil that I am more familiar and knowledgeable about for many reasons. I wanted to interview a Brazilian so that I could further expand my understanding of the country from a perspective of a native. But as several of my classmates had also picked Brazil as their favorite, it became difficult to find an interviewee for that many of us. As a result, I opted for another country, Peru. To me, Peru is a mysterious land. It is among the few American countries that I have only heard about. I hadn’t even known the capital until I researched online. Yet, I was still very excited to be exploring a nation that I am not aware of in anyway whatsoever. Through our teacher, we, Joshua and I, landed on a Peruvian who is ready to talk to us about her country. After exchanging few e-mails and messages, we decided to meet in a Gerlach Hall in the evening time. The interviewee, a female graduate student, was originally born in Peru and had immigrated to the United States of America at the age of two along with her family. Although she is an American citizen, she has constantly been in and out of the country and claims to have been an avid traveler.
The interview was held in a small conference room with just three of us. Prior to meeting her, we
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“I have learned many formal frameworks, strategic thinking, leaderships, etc. and I’ve had a lot of interactions with the people who shares different mindsets”, she responded. In addition to that, American diversity has also helped her to understand the importance and responsibilities of living in a community. “Here the next person you meet shares a completely different backgrounds and life experiences than you. So you have to be really delicate and kind in order to not hurt their feelings”, she
As a result, my thinking and perception was shaped and influenced by many of the negative stereotypes of African Americans that has been perpetuated in our society at large (this is where education can be a great liberator of falsehoods and misconceptions). I have come to appreciate Professor Marie’s Intercultural Communication course, for the class has broaden my critical thinking skills and stretched my thinking and understanding. Finally, how do I think this information will be of use to me? True understanding and teamwork will not begin to occur until individuals begin to speak up about address and embrace the controversial topics of race and culture. Setting aside the problem of racism and covering it up by saying that everyone is the same, does not eliminate the issue. Trying to patch up issues around the world dealing with culture and racism only provides a quick, short lasting solution, for when the temporary patch falls away, the problems will have grown twice as big. All it does is temporarily set aside what we know is still there.
Anna Quindlen focuses on how different our nation is. She talks about how big issues the United States used to face such as when the Irish and Italians of Boston feuded years ago. She also writes about current issues and groups that still don’t get along with each other, such as the “Cambodians and the Mexicans in California.”(Quilt pg.4) Anna Quindlen also focused on our Country’s diversity, and argues that our diversity is what
Kottak, Conrad Phillip and Kayhryn Kozaitis 2012 On Being Different, Diversity and Multiculturalism in the North American Mainstream, 4th edition, McGraw Hill Press, New York: Chapter 1.
Lessons in life are constantly learned in many ways. The things each individuals need to learn and give light towards are things they are doing to adapt within society. Due to the way that our society is always showing signs of changes, individuals need to figure out learn to identify and acknowledge diversity. By hearing Feezeela Raza in class shared her thoughts and experiences on diversity , I tend to picked up valuable insight into diversity , how they are being treated and also how to completely acknowledge all people dealing with diversity issues , in all situations.
The four individuals chosen for this interview included two latinas, a individual of African descent and an individual who is both Guyana and Venezuela but does not identify as Latina. Before conducting this interview I explained to the participant what the assignment consisted of and what would be asked of them for the interview portion. I told each participant that I would give them a phrase and that upon hearing the phrase, would be asked to give three words that come to mind when they hear that phrase. After the explanation I would ask if they understood and then asked if I had their consent to participate in this activity. Once they agreed to participate in this interview, I would go onto the interview. It is worth mentioning that all
I really enjoyed listening to Sarah Salguera’s talk about cultural diversity. She made various points throughout her talk, that greatly intrigued me. One being how we should not be blind to color. It is important that we recognize the differences among people and embrace them. We need to teach our children that it is ok to be different. We all have different cultural backgrounds that bring unique aspects to the table. It as also important to ask the question “what if?”. What if a person of a different cultural background did not feel included? If a person felt this way, they may not embrace the cultural they are in, or share their cultural differences.
Diversity plays an important role in education in this multicultural country. Professors from different countries with different cultures and with different experiences are important in this country’s education because they have many experiences and knowledge to share. The interaction between professors and students help students to understand and to be adapted to diversity in a faster way. As the book mentions, success stories are around us and within us (Bucher, 2015). If I were in Mary’s situation I would do almost the same thing she does. I would put more effort to understand the teacher and study the concepts that I do not understand during class at home. An individual with a diversity consciousness well developed, can be more successful academically (Bucher, 2015). I would view the class as a good scenario to develop my diversity skills and I would view the professor as an important source of knowledge.
1. In your opinion, is there still political uncertainty in Brazil? Political risks is defined as the unanticipated likelihood that foreign investment of business will be constraint by a host government policies (Luthans, 2014). However, when political parties of Brazil or any other nation change any rulings the risk increases.
The National Geographic Education website features a lesson for students on cultural diversity in the United States and Kenneth Prewitt, former director of the U.S. Census Bureau, is quoted as saying, “we’re on our way to becoming the first country in history that is literally made up of every part of the world” (Hunter 2012). This is a new climate for most of the U. S. population and there are often problems when cultural diversity is involved and people are not treated well. Respecting diversity begins with understanding it and many young people today do speak out when they see these problems . Lynch agrees that educating students about cultural diversity helps them to understand people of all cultures can have a positive influence on the world and deserve to be respected (Lynch
For my oral history project, I chose to interview my grandmother. My grandmother name is Rachel and we had our interview in my apartment at the kitchen table. The atmosphere was relaxed and quite since my roommates were out of our apartment at the time. I felt nervous before interviewing my grandmother because we do not get to talk to each other or see each other regularly since she normally lives in California, but she now is currently visiting my parents. I could sense a little bit of nervousness from her as well since I do not get the opportunity a talk regularly with her. Coming into this interview she did not know how much or how little information of her life she should tell me. I reminded her that she could she could talk as much or as little about her past within the hour timeframe.
While I often found myself being judgmental when I was of a young age, in regards to those who came from slightly different backgrounds or family situations than I did, I began to see how much of a role teaching students about diversity has on the upbringing of an individual. Because of my lack of knowledge behind diversity I was very closed minded and that it the opposite of how I would want my future students to
Other characteristics of a diversity mature individual include a person who challenges conventional wisdom, and engages in continuous learning. When a person challe...
“You are Peruvian. This is your culture. Why have you never been?” They’re talking about Machu Picchu. It’s never been that simple. My response always tended to be “I have all the time in the world! I will go eventually!” In reality, that’s not what I was thinking in my head. Even as a young teenager, I knew that life was short and I needed to take advantage of every opportunity presented to me so that I could enjoy life. It wasn’t until I was seventeen that I decided I will begin saving money and pay for my own ticket to go on a once in a lifetime experience, and in the end, it turned out to be one of the most amazing experiences of my life.
Living in a diverse world should be something a person should be proud of. Getting to know a person’s culture and their beliefs should be a wonderful ability. Respecting one another is important, even though a lot of people still disregard that, which should discontinue. We should all start to learn how to make this world a better place,
Now that we have explored my past, present, and future experiences with diversity, it is time to see how they are present within and effect each other. Firstly, let’s look into how my future is present in my past. The most obvious portion of my future that is in my past is my willingness and efforts to love and include everyone and to spread this world view. It took a fellow classmate of mine to demonstrate to my third grade self that we are all human beings and we all deserve to be treated as such. In my future, I aspire to demonstrate this world view to my students and inspire them to treat each other accordingly. This aspiration directly reflects my world view struggles I went through in third grade, for I want to help my students come to