This page is dedicated to all my reflections on certain assignments whether that be readings, Ted talks, or in class discussions.

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Adichie – The Danger of a Single Story

After listening to Adichie’s Ted Talk on single stories I realized that in order to know the truth about someone or understand one’s culture you have to look at things from their perspectives. A single persons life doesn’t speak for everyone else so in order to truly understand them you must look at them with an open mind to learn about their individuals experiences. I find Adichie’s advice crucial for my understanding of Social sciences in this semester as I must be open to doing more research and having more information on a person, topic, culture etc. to create an outstanding research paper.

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Tan & Lee

Throughout the readings the audience can see subcultures such as writing and being novelist as Amy Tan and Chang-Rae Lee both take up writing as a career and share Asian heritage. Both Tan and Lee have an outsider perspective of what their mothers are experiencing as their mothers struggle too speak fluent English and have to deal with those who do that treat them differently than others. When going over my Transcultural interview I shall approach it more in a way where I am not trying to just get my interviewee to ramble about a topic but enlighten me and others on the conflicts going on in his country and how this affects him and his family.

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Field Observation – The Botanical Gardens in Brooklyn

My field observation at the botanical gardens in Brooklyn was quite the experience. It was very pleasant to be in place with little to no noise. In the gardens I learned some stuff about field working. The first thing is just observing, a lot of being a field worker is just taking the time to notice the environment you’re in. As a field worker you want to record everything, even the little details because you never know what you may have missed, it is so significant that it is probably the answer to a question you may have had. Another thing is having patience when doing research such as field work. You want to take your time and go slow. It’s never a race to get an answer but how much insight you can get. This helps you build concrete answers and claims that can be proven through a series of experiences. Doing field work in the gardens taught me a few things about myself also. I learned that as a field worker the most significant sense is my eyesight and ability to see. At the gardens people didn’t talk as much mainly because of the sight before them in the gardens. But that’s the thing I only needed my eyesight to tell reactions and emotions, that mainly be because actions speak louder than words. I could see the enjoyment of others on their faces in the gardens as they stroll through tall bushes and flowers with grace.

Mama Day – Gloria Naylor

The excerpt Mama Day by Gloria Naylor was quite a difficult text for me to read. It felt as if there were very long run offs that made me forget what I was reading. Also the dialect was even more challenging as it is still English but has this southern feel to it which I am not quite used to reading. What I found interesting about this excerpt that is reminds me of the book The Color Purple by Alice Walker. The books have different stories of different experiences but it shares the idea of two colored women growing up in the south facing adversity with discrimination upon their level of intellect. Now to clarify again the excerpt by Naylor was a little hard for me to understand but I was able to understand that Georgia and South Carolina wanted to make money off of Willow Springs due to its land and people. What truly stood out to me is how both states declined to help Willow Springs in need of help to rebuild infrastructure but wanted them to make deals with each other. This was just a moment of realization how people are willing to use each other but never help. This also plays a part in what I learned about culture. Traditions and heritage are foundations of who we are and we should never sell ourselves short. The theme is to know your worth.

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Wehle – We Kissed the tomato and Then the Sky

 When reading Wehle – We Kissed the Tomato and Then the Sky I noticed she uses a lot of tracking her positions. The author is able to present her relationship with her mother through the personal moments she had with her mother such as meditation practices to portray her understanding of being grateful for the time she was given with her mother. This use of gratefulness ties into the fact that her story is arranged in a time frame of where her mind is opened up more about her mothers experiences fighting death.My field observation is mainly about parenting and what are good parenting practices. The theme of time portrays how life is so short and it’s the small moments in life that matters. I feel like this strategy wouldn’t be useful in my field observation as my emotions and input isn’t necessarily what I am going to incorporate a lot. On the other hand the use of time would play a part in observing how families develop connection from a young age to hold a certain respect and attitude towards adults.