Activity 4

Taking that quiz was an extremely eye opening experience for me. I found as I continued on from question to question that I knew less and less. I could not believe how few people I could think of for each question and the ones I did think of were complete guesses. I feel that there is definitely a change that needs to be made on what I store up in my brain; if I cannot name one asian male or latino, or which ever the sex or race then, frankly that is pretty sad.:( I am not going to hold it against myself but I am going to make a change and start widening my daily learning.

The ethnic group that was easiest for me to think of names for, was white males. This is also sad to me that I was unable to think of much other names for males of different races. I believe it is so easy to think of people for white males because that is what we have been taught so much about all throughout high school, who discovered the united states, who was the first president, who invented the light bulb; all of these white males, and all linked with superiority.

Males were the easiest for me to come up with answers for because like I said before we have learned so much about all the powerful male figures in history, Martin Luther King, George Washington, Christopher Columbus, these were all easy ones for me to think of for white and black males. It was difficult to think of answers for all the female ones I thought of a few for white and I could not think of any for black except the ones that we all know about from pop culture. And I could not think of anything for latino, asian, middle eastern.

History talks about the powerful beings of the United States, the ones who made huge impacts on our country. Presidents, Leaders, policy makers, sports champions, heroes and anyone that has led some sort of impact or change in history.

You don't hear a whole lot about the groups of people in history that struggled but made it and were still powerful people some people made themselves known. It is sad to say this but it seems like there is not much said about the variety of different races. I do not remember ever learning about a famous latino american that did something great or asian , or middle eastern. I mostly remember learning about the power and superiority of white males and the struggles of the black males.

I have know clue why we haven't been taught about all these other races where there had to be come people that made an impact or had something great to say that we all could learn from. Maybe it is the way the government wants us to see the United States, maybe they want the U.S. to be about powerful whites and politics. I do not have the answers to the questions of the mysteries of the U.S. government.

question: Do you think that U.S. government has complete control over the history we learn about in high school and possibly doesn't include materials that wont promote the image that they want us to see the U.S. as?

Ethnic Background

I have little to no knowledge about my ethnic background so this activity was hard for me. After talking with my parents about where my ancestors came from they were very little help. My dad said "were caucasian." So that was useless and my mom did come to find out that some of our most recent ancestors came from Lithuania, so I am going to go with that for this activity.

I do not know much about this culture and what their customs are but I did some research to see if there was any common links between the culture of Lithuania and me and I could not find any common links. I do not listen to remotely the similar music or eat any of the same foods as they do. I enjoy their art though, I looked at some Lithuanian art and was very intrigued. I know many people from Russia were Jewish, so this fact someone has an influence on me although I am not sure if religion has much do with ethnicity but if it does than this is one thing that links us. I am half jewish, we do not do a whole lot with the religion unless my grandma is around but we do celebrate Hanukkah for a time to bring our family together. It is a really great time and I love that I have the opportunity to take part in it every year, as well as Christmas.

I think the variables that had a significant impact on the way I behave is my parents. I would hate to admit back when I lived with my parents but now that I have been away from home for a few years I have realized that I see so much of them in me as a person. The way that my parents raised me along with some bumps in the road I have over come have made me who I am today. They have always emphasized what good grades can do for me, so I have always done well in school, they also taught me how to be honest, being honest to them was the most important thing, no matter what I did wrong they would always appreciate my honesty and I would get in far less trouble then if I made up some long and elaborate white lie. They also taught me forgiveness, I am such a forgiving person I am never one to hold grudges against any one, I think this is because my parents were always so forgiving towards me. I was a trouble maker as a child and throughout high school no matter how much I disappointed them they were always still there for me. They also taught me how to love. I feel that I am such a big hearted person with so much love to give and I think that I owe it all to the way my parents raised me.

I do not think that people are aware of my ethnicity at all because I wasn't even aware of it until a couple days ago. I think that my religion is more something that people communicate different towards me once I reveal that I am half Jewish. I got made fun of for being jewish in junior high so I always hid it from people. Once I stopped caring I was proud of it and would tell people all the time that I am jewish, some of the Jewish jokes would stop and if someone said a jewish joke they would look at me weird and say sorry even though I could care less.

I would like to learn more about my ethnicity now that I have been reading some of your posts. I think I will be making a long distance call soon to chat with the grandparents:)

Question: Have you ever felt any sort of discrimination based on your ethnicity?

Activity 2

I chose to enter a place that I have only entered a few times in my life, church. My family did not bring me up to go to church because they have two very different religions. They raised us to be good people, with out going to church. I know there are very few people that don't go to church every weekend, so I hope I am not being judged:)

I entered the church not knowing what to expect because it had been so long since I have even stepped foot into a church. I sat on a bench and observed before the service and after the service to see how people act toward each other and how the priests are when they are not preaching.

I noticed that the church is a very social place. Every one is very friendly, even if you have never met the person before you are greeted with a hug or some sort of form of touch; a hand on the shoulder or on the back or stroke to the arm. Many different ways of showing friendliness were apparent. Everyone feels welcome here it seems like it is home to many different people. Children are running around playing with each other. Parents are chatting, the priest is running around meeting with each family. Even I who has barely ever been in a church, was being bombarded by many different people introducing themselves and trying to get to know me.

I noticed that the unwritten rules in the church, which are obvious, are no swearing( One teenage kid swore when he was talking and he was given a harsh look by a few people who happened to walk by at the right moment.) When the priest is talking during the service pay attention, all your attention should be on him. Cell Phones must be off or on silent. Know your prayers. Do not say God's name in vain, etc.

I felt a bit awkward at times because of a few different reasons. One being that every one in the place recited all these prayers in sync and with the priest and I had no clue what was going on so I mumbled so people wouldn't look at me weird. Another reason I felt awkward is because the priest came up to me and asked me a lot of questions about if I had let god into my heart and asked if he could help me let god into my heart, and of course I couldn't say no. This was all just a very new and different experience for me.

All in all it was a very uplifting place to be where affections goes around like a flu, and everyone is friendly and happy. The behaviors of each person were quite similar but you could tell instantly who were the ones that were being forced to be there. There were certain people that stood out from all the rest and these were the people that did not want to be there. They would not socialize with the rest of the jolly people, they kept to themselves, and sat quietly during the entire service. Everyone that was a regular church goer was getting into the things the priest was saying and was very energetic and lively when it came to the music and the prayers.

Question: These unwritten rules and behaviours are very obvious when attending a church, What do you suppose would occur if everyone in the church was not fallowing these unwritten rules, how would this effect the entire act of going to church and what people think of church?

Far and Away

Far and Away was a surprisingly amazing movie. At first i was completely dreading spending two and a half hours watching this movie but I ended up finding it extremely enjoyable. I even went out and bought it. Not only is the movie extremely eye opening but it is also very entertaining for all audiences. there was action, love, and suspense.

These two people were moving to America for two completely different reasons but at the same time for the same intent; to be free. Joseph was out with the intent to find land as his was taken away from him and his family after his father past away due to not paying the rent. They even burnt his house down.. Shannon was rich and escaping from the strict life she lived and for a modern new life.

There were many challenges that these two faced in there journey to America. For one it was hard for the to of them to get long at first because of their different backgrounds. Joseph came from a poor family who works hard labor for what they have and Shannon comes from a rich family where she has never even done laundry before. They each had their own struggles including being discriminated against, lack of money, shelter, and many dangers along the way.

Despite these challenges they stuck together through it all and worked as a team, protecting each other and being there for one another even though it was not what they had expected of America. Joseph used his talent of fighting to make him money, and Shannon stuck it out plucking chickens to get by. Joseph could have gone a long way with his fighting but he was more concerned about Shannon's safety than winning the fight. He was always looking out for her no matter what the costs.

In the end. the two prevailed, each getting exactly what they always dreamed of.

question: What do you think the two of them took out of this struggling yet amazing adventure in America?

Two Truths and a lie

1. I have been skydiving
2. My favorite color is pink
3. I have a bonsai tree named Morty Finkleton