Happy Unity Day

Picture of someone with an interesting outfit.

Russia

 

Happy Unity Day

Happy Unity Day

FOOD

Serbia- Gibanica (pita sa sirom) which is cheese pie

 

France- Quiche Lorraine

German- Flammanhuche

These two mean Quiche (egg, cheese, bread, dough, etc.)

“Happy Unity Day”

Happy Unity Day- Africa

Barka da Ranar Hadin Kay

 

International Unity Day

International Unity Day
I have been attending IUP for almost a full year now. Within this year I can honestly say that I do not realize such big things going on around me. I am so focused on what I am doing and being on time for my classes that I never stopped to look around and see other people.
As I walked into the International Day at IUP I thought to myself “wow.” There were so many people around that you couldn’t walk two feet without hitting into someone. Continuing to walk around the building I started to notice more and more different countries. Yes, I knew that there were many, but what I did not know what how many actually attending IUP as I do. They had different foods from every country; some that were similar to the food we eat here and some that weren’t so similar. Although the food was somewhat different, everyone was very friendly, patient, and polite.
I enjoyed trying the different foods, watching different people from different cultures all together in one building being themselves, and also just being around them.
I know that if I had that many people come up to me at one time I would go crazy. It was ridiculous with how often that happened.
This event showed me how everyone has their own background, but that does not make them different people all around. Many of us are into the same sports, music, food, etc. no matter where we are from. It also showed me that I have not been very aware of my surroundings and by just simply doing so I could learn so much more about myself and IUP/students. What was really surprising to me was that there were so many people taking pictures of the same ones as the last. The people from other cultures just simply took there and smiled for every single picture. They also took their time to explain to me about any and every question that I had to ask.

Homework 11

be who you are
i’m just a person
and i’m whirling around
spreading my cape
showing my colors
dancing in the light of day
unafraid to show who i am
to say how how i feel
to touch the world
with my own fingertips
and to breathe in the air
that brings me to life
that makes me live
to live a life in hiding
is not a life at all
to be dictated by the shame of others
is the only truly shameful act
to fly and not to soar
defeats the purpose of wings
they need to be spread out
so that they can rise high
to see all there is to see
in this wonderfully colorful world
to understand that everyone
comes at this world from a different place
and to respect those differences
and yes…even cherish our right to be different
is to gain a true higher understanding
and a long and lasting peace
i’m not you and you aren’t me
and i’m glad you aren’t me
because then you would lose
all those special and wonderful
things that make you you
and what would be the point of that?
one of me is quite enough anyway…
so please…the only thing i ask
is that you live your life
to the fullest extent
of the courage of your own convictions
and allow me to do the same
i do not judge you
i celebrate you!
i thank the goddess
every day
that we are not all the same
and that we all have limbs
that grow up to the sky
in their very own direction
that’s the color of life
the light the energy
the beauty
we don’t have to agree
we just have to bet the best people
that we know how to be
so be who you are, i say
and be blessed for it!

—-whispurr’s blog

I am my own individual. I believe that being your own person is very important and will help you be remembered. Growing up I would always be careful of what I did and what I wore around people because I cared too much about what others though of me. I tried to get out of the phase many times, but it was just a habit that I could not break. I thought that being popular and having a bunch of snobby friends is what mattered the most. As I grew older I realized that being who people want me to be is never going to work out.
Making myself happy is the most important thing. If I can not make myself happy and be who I want to be how could I possibly make someone else happy? If someone doesn’t like me for who I am then it is their loss, they are the ones missing out. If everyone acts the same what is the point on being your own person?
Have you ever walked past a group of girls who all try to act the same? Well I know I have and it was just simply annoying. Life would be too boring if everyone acted, ate, dressed, and talked the same way. It would be like looking in the mirror all day everyday. God made us who we are so that we could take advantage of it and show off our individuality. If someone does not like you the way you are then they are not worth wasting your time for. There are always going to be people in the world that would love to be the same was as you. They will love being around you. I have a few close friends whom are different than I am as people. We all have our own style of clothing, music, and interests, but we are still best friends. This just goes to show that people who are different than you are can be very helpful in the long run because of the fact that they will know ho to deal with certain things that you as a person have no clue about. The poem above does a great job explaining everything that I just did about being my own person.

Homework 10

A huge social interaction that I witness that exemplifies American culture is Football/Baseball. I go to home Pittsburgh games of each with my family and the amount of fans I see is just tremendous. These two sports are very popular and have been around for many years. Football season for America is very popular. Everyone watches the super bowl and bets on who is going to win. Not only is NFL teams big, but high school teams as well. I know that for the high school I went to football tends to bring everyone together. It is a huge social event.
Something that I am involved in personally that is unique would have to be the way we spend Christmas Eve. My family and I exchange one gift a for one another and then have “light up night.” That, for us, means we stand outside of our house and one of my little siblings push a button that turns every decorated light from the outside on. Once the lights are on we have a cheers and take a drink of wine. Personally I believe this is unique because I have never met any other family who also has that tradition.
Over the weekend me, my boyfriend, and two other couples that we are close to went out to eat and to see a movie since it was Easter weekend. We invited another couple, but they never really seem to want to do anything but spend time by themselves. This shows individuality because instead of getting out and being social with other people they decide to keep to themselves and be anti-social. They spend so much time together alone that the rest of us believe that it is going to cause conflicts in the future since they have no one else to talk to about their problems.

Homework #9

1. There are many topics that Americans talk about. Some of which are appropriate and some that are not. The top three in my opinion that are the most inappropriate would be body weight, finances, and peoples personal lives. Body weight is something that most people are rather sensitive with, mainly in women and sometimes men. People try to make themselves look perfect like the models on TV, but they still do not believe that they look good enough. Asking someone about their financial situation is rude because some people do not have money to talk about. It will just make their self-esteem drop. If you do not know someone they will most likely feel weird telling you about their personal life, because that is all about them and involves nothing but themselves and the ones they have shared it with.

2. The views of the elderly contrast greatly from America to Thailand. In America, the elderly are shoved off  and put into care home or looked after by a caregiver. Americans tend to have enough going on in their lives to where they just simply do not have the time to take care of the elderly. In Thailand it is totally different. They are there for each other no matter how much they have to worry about. The family is all there with open arms and hearts to help with what ever it is that they can. Their goal is to make them feel better and feel loved.

3. One event that I can think of that relates to American individuality would be commuting. Instead of moving out right away like others would do it Thailand, I attend school and live in the same house I have throughout all of my school years. This is different because when you reach college you are expected to be ready to go on your own and start your own life. I still baby sit my little siblings and return home after every class to do so. Another thing is that I have a his, hers, and our family. That means I have whole, half, and step siblings and family.

Homework 8

1. If an international student would come to America, the things that they would see would be different then what they would expect. I believe that because you never really see movies or shows about America that are located in smaller communities like Indiana. They would be looking to see big business buildings and others as such.  Also, they would expect to see many party going students in the campus area, which would not be what they would see. Parties do go on in Indiana, but not as much as what movie producers put in the movies.

2. Americans view time as being too involved with what time it is. Americans are always looking at the clock to see what time it is. I know from personal experience that clocks can be rather addicting to look at constantly. I check the time during classes all the time because I am anxious of getting out. Also, in the middle of the night I check the time at least every hour just to see how much longer I have to sleep. The pamphlet also says that Americans are obsessed at looking to see how much time they have left until it is time to do something else. Like if I procrastinate, I look to see how much time I have until I have to have it done.

3. Interruptions in America are said to be rude. We believe that if someone is talking, they are to be heard. It is only fair that everyone gets a chance to talk so that everyone can feel as if what they were saying was actually important and took into consideration. I tend to interrupt people that I have been around my whole like or the ones who I am close to now because it is just the normal thing to do around each other. Clubs and activities I participate in do not encourage interruption because we believe it is rude. We are trying to get things done and until everything is discussed nothing can get done.

4. The first sentence in the third paragraph of Status and Hierarchy. I believe this because everyone is supposed to be treated the same in the United States. I know that growing up I was always told to treat others the way that I wanted to be treated regardless or their color, size, etc. I also think it is interesting because I did not really believe that everyone was taught that because of all the types of “mean” people you come across in your lifetime.

Homework #7

Evaluating 1. The introduction of a money based economy distorted relationships between people because people became greedy and all they were worried about was money. It made it harder to deal with one another because they had to barter with each other in an unusual fashion, money. As said in the article “ the only thing they actually needed from outside the region was salt.” It made them dependent on things that were unknown to them before this time. For example: they were used to trading one item for another not money for an item.

Extending 2. Yes, I do believe that the Ladakhis’s were better off before the introduction of money. Workers are now paid to do labor for others. They are working as hard as they possibly can to get money to support their families and then you have the people paying the workers who are not paying as much as they should be so they can have more money to themselves. The biggest problem with this is that it ruins friendships. Money is so important to people today that they would do whatever they have to in order to have what they want and be able to afford it. Many people would choose money over anything else these days and it is just sickening.

1. The sentence that seemed to stand out the most to me that was also powerful would be “But America may still, if only symbolically, be a model for the world.” I like this sentence because America is a good example of what the world should be, if not as a symbol. Americans built this country on the views of freedom, glory, and the pride of the people. I believe that they world should be this way everywhere.

2. Two positives on the multi-cultural/ globalized world be: It brings many cultures together and it tries to make everyone realize that we shall treat one another with respect and equally. Two negatives would be: There are people in other cultures that do not like each other, Example: gangs. Also, people may start to become so into another cultural that they totally forget who they actually are and where they actually came from. Something that parents try to hard to make one remember and cherish.