Street Fair

For my last cultural event I attended the International Street Fair. For the event, they shut down all of Court Street and they filled it with booths of different countries. The part that really struck my eye was all of the traditional clothing that students wore representing the different cultures from Ohio University. My favorite part was all of the jewelry that was for sale. There were a lot of pretty bracelets and earrings that embracing traditions and cultures. My second favorite thing about the street fair was all the different foods. I was so excited to be able to try all of the different foods and the smells were amazing! I was excited that I chose to go to this event because I was able to learn about several different cultures rather than one!

Things Fall Apart Book Reflection

While reading the book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, I was impacted by the differences in our cultures. My vision of Africa was changed greatly by reading this book. I never realized how many traditions and ceremonies that took place within African culture.

            The book is about a man named Okonkwo from Nigeria. His main goal in life was to be better than his father because he viewed him as a weak man, which is something very negative in their culture. He did not think his father amounted to anything and he even feared being a weak person. In Okonkwo’s tribe, polygamy was part of their traditions and he had three different wives and sets of children. This is very different from American culture because we do not promote a polygamous lifestyle and the majority of families are happily monogamous. Domestic abuse was also common throughout the book. It was hard to read about the violence toward loved ones and I do not think I will ever believe it is okay to act that way to anyone. I think he was violent in order to counteract his fear of weakness.

            The majority of the book discusses how white men came and took over Okonkwo’s land. This book showed how Africa was changed by white people and different cultures. The Christian’s came to Okonkwo’s village and tell them their God is wrong and that they must believe in Christianity. This part was very upsetting to me because we should be accepting of all people’s cultures and religions. Because of the Christian missionaries there was lots of confusion within the village and resistant efforts began to build. I believe it is never okay to force your beliefs on someone else.

            The book ends with Okonkwo killing himself because he murdered someone from the religions clan. The people of Okonkwo’s tribe thought he was evil because it is a sin to commit suicide according to their religion. Because of his suicide it symbolizes how assimilation can cause great turmoil within a group of people. It was unfair of the Christian’s to change Okonkwo’s tribe’s traditions and beliefs. As a teacher this makes me realize that it would be wrong to try to change a students culture. I must be accepting of every student’s culture and special traditions. I hope that I can incorporate each student’s culture within my classroom and maybe even have a cultural week.

            As a teacher, I could not imagine teaching in a place. I obviously disagree with most behaviors that Okonkwo displays towards his children and family but their ceremonies and customs should be appreciated. Things Fall Apart was an eye-opening experience to the cultural difference between Africa and America and I have learned a lot from reading this book.

Factory Girls Book Reflection

The book Factory Girls by Leslie T. Chang gave me insights about China that I have never known before. After reading this book, I was shocked to find out the conditions of the factories and workers. The girls that work in these factories have fourteen or fifteen hours a day and have poor meals and living conditions. Pride is also another important topic within this book. The girls move to the cities to make money for their family and do well for their family name.

            My favorite part of the book was the personal diary entries of both of the girls. It was an eye-opening experience to have tangible evidence of the horrible conditions these girls have to work in. If the experiences were made up or fabricated, they might not have had the same impact on me as a reader. I was surprised to find out how much the girls switched factories. They knew that if they kept jumping from job to job they might be able to find something that is manageable. Also, I was sad to hear about the girls having no real friends to talk to or depend on while working in the factories. I would feel so alone in the world if I did not have anyone to lean on.

            One of the most surprising topics the book discussed was the fact that men were expected to stay at home and women were expected to go find work in the city. This is completely opposite than most western cultures, especially the United States. Also their standard workdays are nearly fifteen hours, whereas a long week to someone in our culture would be a 60 hour work week. I feel terrible for the girls because they have no free time to themselves. In the book one of the girls talked about having free time but it was only an hour or two. In college, I have felt like I have less free time to myself than I did in high school but compared to their life I have all the time in the world.

            In our class discussion last week we discussed how Min lost her cell phone and lost all contact with all of her friends and family. Because of this discussion it made me realize how dependent we are on technology to keep us connected with the world. It does make me feel better about western society, because we are not the only people who are so heavily dependent on technology. We also discussed the value of the items that they make in the factory. One of the girls explained that if they met their quota for the day they were sometimes allowed to take items off the line. In the United States we pay hundreds of dollars for a small Coach purse that she just gave away for free.

            Overall, I really enjoyed reading Factory Girls. I was glad that the author used real girls stories because it was easier to relate to them and go through their life stories. I was disheartened to know the working conditions for these girls to make items that we buy. I hope that because of this book people are trying to make a difference for these girls.

Journal 10

This week we did not have class because of Memorial Day so I wanted to take a minute to reflect upon the class as a whole! I really enjoyed this class because it opened my eyes to different cultural perspectives. I thought we would be learning more about other cultures education systems but I was surprised to find that that was a small portion of our class. I grew a new appreciate for exchange students and their struggles and difficulties coming to America and learning. I also learned a lot about Africa and the hardships that people, especially women and children face in their everyday lives. I am very thankful for the life I have here and I have a new appreciation for foreign cultures.

Journal 9

This week I was unable to make it to class due to work :(

Journal 8

Today in class we watched two different videos. The first one was about a few boys who went to Africa determined to document their trip and hopefully spread the horrors of the Sudan to the world. As a member of Ginghamsburg Church in Tipp City, OH we have learned a lot about the Sudan and made many of our offerings towards the Sudanese. Although dangerous, we have made several mission trips to the Sudan in order to build schools and help them have clean water by building water towers. It is heartbreaking to see the horrible treatment of children and how so many young kids are forced to kill and steal.
The second video was about Mexican immigrants and the hardships they have faced while trying to live in America. I was interested to hear their side of the story because we have such prejudice against illegal immigrants/immigrants in our country.
In the book, Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo was banished from his tribe for shooting someone. There was a very long section about his journey back to his mothers original clan. It was interesting that they tribe punished him through exile rather than having some sort of prison system or other form of punishment. Still a little hard to follow the characters even after reading it already but I'm trying!

Journal 7

This week in class we watched a film called Invisible Children. This movie was really touching and made me want to do something for the children. I cannot believe that children have to go through such hardships and are treated so poorly. Watching this movie was very hard to accept that kids are really treated this way.
I also have been enjoying reading the book Things Fall Apart. I had to read it for my anthropology class last quarter and I really enjoyed learning about their culture. It was hard to keep the families straight when I read it at first, and luckily my teacher helped sort them out the first time around so it is easier now! I am excited to discuss it more in class!