Latin American Project

I interviewed my roommate Indira. We originally had a superficial sort of friendship and were more acquaintances than friends. This interview definitely allowed me to get to know about her cultural background and it has set the foundation of our growing friendship. We have become much closer in comparison to how we were before the interview. I am very inspired by Indira and everything she has gone through. I am very interested by her point of view in terms of social, political, and cultural statuses.

My name is Indira Costamente. I was born December 12th of 1995 in Venezuela in this place called Valencia; it’s spelled like Valencia College. Venezuela. My family came from Venezuela. 8 years ago I came here. My parents come from Venezuela and I think my mom’s grandma is from Colombia, and I think one of my grandmothers is from Lebanon. I think the one from Lebanon is my dad’s grandmother and she escaped Lebanon and went to Venezuela. And then my mom’s grandma, she came from Columbia to this little city that’s like in-between…it’s like right on the frontier between Columbia and Venezuela. She lived close by either way so it was like a jump from one place to the next. But I don't know too much about that.

We came here because of the political state that Venezuela’s in because my parents don’t really agree with the…well, the president then was Hugo Chavez. Um, they thought of him as a tyrant and ever since he became the president he was basically getting reelected even though he wasn’t supposed to. He was there for like 6…like 14 years or so. More maybe. Yes, until, like, he died. He went into presidency in like 1998 and then he died, like, a couple years ago. um. But basically the country was going down the drain and everything was deteriorating. Like, um, there’s like a lot of crime. Now there’s like famine and like craziness everywhere. So yes, that’s why we came here, to like escape all of that and because they thought that, you know, in this place, like, my sister and I would actually be able to have a future and grow and work and actually be able to get things and not like work a lot to not really have anything and just barely survive. 

We originally moved to Merimar; it’s near Miami, like 40 minutes away. We moved there because my uncle lived there so we had some family connections. We just speaker Spanish and my dad has had a tough time learning but my mom has had a better time. My dad can still communicate with people though. 

I lived through these experiences. My mom usually doesn’t let my dad tel us some of his crazy stories. The story they told me about my great-grandmother, is that she was like poor and I think her mom died and she used to live with an aunt. She lived with her aunt and it was alright but I was kind of a sucky life and they didn't have much money. They left there and she went to haciendas which is like a ranch and they mostly had vegetables and horses there but it wasn’t quite a farm. She started working there kind of as a maid. Then the owners son and her  got together and had like a bunch h of children. He did marry her so one day she kind of like just left; she took her children an left. In total she had like 6 kids. Three from the first guy and 3 from the second guy. Later the guy's brother contacted her and offered her their last name but she said no becomes family is very prideful and it weird because the guy’s brother was one of the presidents of Venezuela but my grandma never took advantage of that. The guy’s second wife wanted to take my mom over to the U.S. when she was 14 but my grandma said no because she didn’t quite trust the situation. She’s a non-risk taker. That was it. 

 I like Day of the Dead and I just turn on a little candle for the dead but it’s more of a Mexican tradition. We make tamales with like stuff in it. You put like dough, meat, olives, peppers, onions, garbanzo beans and other ingredients wrapped in a  plantain leaf. We have ensiled galena and we put peas and i think it also has mayo and stuff like a potato salad along with chopped salad. What’s different about us is that we kind of just sleep on Christmas Day and for New Years, we do this this where we take tangerines, or mandarins, mandarinas, and on the 32nd countdown your supposed to count how may seeds you have and its supposed to bring you goo luck or something. And you also take out a dollar and exchange it with somebody before the following year. You also take a bag out and symbolize good traveling and stuff. 

We usually speak Spanish and English at home. When I was growing up, we lived in these townhouses kind of but they were connected to each other and they were really big. Like they were back to back but the houses were kind of like a mirror of each other. All the houses were pretty much the same and all the neighbors knew each other and all the kids would like hangout or play together and eat together, We would go to each others houses and like have coffee or have tea or we would pass by. We all knew each other and it would be better when it was holidays and they would put out the grill in the middle of all the houses. The birthday parties had so much food too and that’s another thing that is different. Like they would have a  main theme with the goodie bags, the cake, the flan, hotdogs, burgers, chips, and candy everywhere. The pinatas were also part of the theme and they are’t like the target pinatas and they aren't small, like its a real life sized thing. You're like so tired by the end of the party that you go home and sleep. The cups, plates, tablecloths are all the same. They would go all out. 

Yes there’s been a change. I mean I’ve been gone for like 8 years but I mean, people were leaving before anyway and nobody really stayed there because it was kind of isolated and away from the city.

Well, I speak Spanish but I remember when I was like younger and stuff and I couldn’t speak English at all and they kind of just threw me in with the other kids and I couldn’t understand anything. The teacher tried to hold me back a grade but my parents refused and spoke with another administrator and then after awhile, like, they put me in an ESOL kind of program.

Sometime people assume that if you're Spanish then you speak some kind of Spanish. But I feel that Hispanic people are very discriminatory. I personally don’t like speaking Spanish. I like reading it and writing it but since I don't know the slang I don't really like it. When I speak Spanish to other people they kind of just look at me like where are you from? I’m kind of just here like, Im Venezuelan. Like my family and just who I am are part of me.

Friendship in the Good Life

People tend to live in a social environment. We have become so advanced in technology that we use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and all of this social media to "stay connected". People base their social status on how many friends or followers they have or how many likes they get. Is this really an intimate friendship?

Now, this generation does seem to be spending a lot of time socializing but the most common activity during the time they get together is to use their phones. Although sometimes, it is to play games, most of the time, people are on their phones talking to other friends and socializing with others. How is it that you are going to make plans with one friend, only to pull out your phone and text another friend or snapchat someone else. Shouldn't we want to spend time with the people we are currently with? 

Is it possible that although social media has made it easier to connect with people, they have also made is harder to find genuine friends? Innumerable superficial friendships can be made using Facebook and other social media. It's the easiest thing to make a friend on snapchat without having to actually be friends with that person.  

Such superficial friendship have also been leading to easier ways to bully and harass. Social media has made it so easy to communicate with friends that even people with malicious intent can take advantage of this. Beforehand, we just had bullies; now, we have cyberbullies. Also, hackers seem to have more fun breaking into social media acconts than anything. They share all the things that were meant to be private and hidden behind the thin veil of secrecy that the internet has.

Personally, in terms of the good life, I would support the claim that friends are a good advantage in the good life. Although social media can lead to some new great friends, it has a relatively equal amount of disadvantages as well. I would encourage the use of social media because of its evolvement but I would not recommend basing your entire social life on social media. I feel that it is easier to make a superficial friendship via social media but creating a true lifelong friendship on social media is harder to come by. Not only should people focus on more intimate relationships but they should also properly use the tools given to them to allow their friendships to grow.

Politics in the Good Life

Personally, I have never been a fan of politics. I find the idea of needing to classify oneself as a Republican or Democrat ridiculous so I identify as Independent; I am the neutral party. Politics is almost always about conflict. There is always 50% who are happy while the other 50% are dissatisfied. More and more, politics is becoming about pride and popularity. In order to be elected for anything, you must have a balance of insults to your competition, offers for the people, and charm. 

Based on the recent Republican debates, our charming Donald Trump is a professional, when it comes to insults or "throwing shade". He is constantly judging his competitors appearances other unique qualities about them. I find this an obvious sign of immaturity. If the only way you can get votes is to bully others, you don't belong in office. Although it is alright to be truthful in politics, there is a fine line between exposing their political flaws and just being rude. 

Along with this, as a politician you should at least tell people what you are planning to do for them. We are electing these people to serve us, not the other way around. These politicians feel like they own whoever is in the sam party as them. Even people who have chosen a certain political group seem to limit themselves to the only people in the same political group. Acting in such a way is childish. That's basically saying, "Those people disagree with me on the group I choose  so I don't want to hear what they have to say." This elementary way of thinking closes people off to many ideas that could actually be useful. Limiting oneself in this way is a primitive way of thinking that just gives politicians more power over the people than they deserve. 

Another part of politics is charm. There is no way one can be elected for anything unless they have some sort of charm. Even Donald Trump is able to charm his audience because of his witty comments. Politicians usually need charm so when people are watching them in debates or looking at their previous political actions, they aren’t completely dulled. Everyone wants to vote for a people pleaser. 

Personally, I feel that sometimes, politics can help people achieve a good life. Politics effect everything people do and therefore it is important to stay updated but I don’t believe people should be so closed-minded. It prevents innumerable relationship from being created between political activists and it also increases the lack of understanding between both political parties.  I feel like one can still achieve a good life with politics if they maintain an open mind. 

Happily Ever After

In the movie Cinderella, the original version from Walt Disney, everyone is invited to a ball by the King who is making a desperate attempt to find a wife for the Prince. The Prince is not very enthusiastic but agrees to the ball. As everyone knows, the ball is where the Prince meets Cinderella and they immediately fall in love with each other. Would you say they were soulmates? Does everyone have a soulmate?

According to Merriam-Webster.com a soulmate is defined as “a person who is perfectly suited to another in temperament". Another description of the word soulmate by Merriam-Webster.com is “a close- friend who completely understands you”. Most people tend to have several close friends. Let’s say the average person has about 3-6 close friends. Of those close friends 2-3 are of the opposite gender. Logically speaking, this means that people have more than one soulmate. For the people who don’t really have any close friends, do they have a soulmate? Aren’t people supposed to marry their soulmate? 

There are people who prefer solitude and there are also priests and nuns. These people have committed to a life without a husband or wife either because they would rather not be in a relationship or for religious purposes. When it comes to soulmates, does this mean that these people have met their soulmate but rejected an intimate relationship with this person or have they just kept their relationship on the friends level. As soulmates they should be close friends and understand each other really well but do people who become nuns and priests still end up loving their soulmate? As soulmates, do both people have to love each other romantically? 

Personally, I believe people choose their own soulmates. Just because you get along with someone doe not mean you and them are destined soulmates. It just means you have found a good friend to be with. Although, I do believe Cinderella and the Prince have set standards for what a soulmate must be. People in this generation think that anyone who they get along with or have intimate feelings for must be their soulmate. Everyone has one soulmate. Whoever you marry must be that one someone. I disagree. I feel that everyone has several people who they are compatible with but sometimes you may not recognize this based on certain circumstances. I feel that although people should marry their soulmates, it doesn’t always happen that way. This doesn’t mean they are preventing themselves from having a good life, it just means that they are able to adapt to other people and therefore are able to become soulmates. In relationships, people change and grow together. Through the trials, they learn new thing about each other and base future actions on what they have observed.  I believe people who are nuns or priests have adapted to a life without a soul mate by focusing all their emotions to a supernatural being. Whoever was supposed to be the nun or priest’s soulmate before they devoted themselves, surely has more that one “soulmate”.  

Honestly, I don't think people should base their happiness on one person and wait for their happily ever after. Make it happen yourself. Whether you have a soulmate or not doesn’t mean you'll be forever alone and wont be happy. You may end up marrying someone else and you will grow together with that person and be happier. Even if you don't end up being married, you still have friends who are there to support you. Happiness can come in all different forms and usually comes through unexpected ways. 

Adi Alsaid: “I urge you to please notice when you are happy.”

Father Business and Mother Nature

On November 12th, my Intro to Humanities class took a field trip to the Harn museum. On display were innumerable pieces of art, each individual piece was completely unique but they all seemed to belong together. It seemed as if each piece was a part of a body, the body being the museum. Although I really enjoyed looking at many pieces, several pieces stood out to me.  There were two particular pieces of art that seemed to interact. 

The two pieces that interact are "M is for Mao" and “Scene on Snake Key, Gulf Coast”. Although they seem to interact with each other they seem to be yelling at each other. They have a love hate relationship in my opinion. 

The piece “M is for Mao” puts emphasis on China, Mao Zedong and McDonalds. The art piece uses the colors red and yellow. According to www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html, the color red symbolizes “strength, power, and determination”. Yellow is usually an “attention getter” and is often used by food industries. Together, red and yellow have been shown to cause people to become more hungry. McDonalds uses both red and yellow to their advantage by using this color scheme throughout their restaurant. This business strategy increases their consumer spending thus giving McDonalds more power in the fast food industry. 

The colors red and yellow are both found on the Chinese flag. China itself is a communist country. They seem to be building up more power each day and have become extremely military defense. This power hungry country was once ruled by Mao Zedong. He started off wanting to change China for the better. As he began to gain more and more power, he was increasing education, promoting women’s rights, and making positive changes in healthcare. Despite these improvements, he faced problems and rashly began putting his opposers in prison. He showed his fear of losing power because of his reaction to this opposition. 

In the art piece “Scene on Snake Key, Gulf Coast”, the piece is focused on nature. The art work uses the largeness of nature and compares it to the minuscule strength of humans. Within the picture the artist uses a man walking with his dog to show off the greatness of nature. They are surrounded by large trees and a vast sky. Within this picture, the sky seems to be grey and symbolize a storm. Is the storm coming? The storm symbolizes the dark future mother nature faces. 

In today’s age, businesses are constantly trying to expand. In order to expand, they destroy beautiful nature sites such as Snake Key, Gulf Coast. These business do this in order to gain more power within their industry. They fail to realize the true power of nature and forget how powerful storms can be. Once in awhile, mother nature strikes back taking businesses down through hurricanes and other occurrences we call natural disasters. 

Comparing the two pictures, there is a tension between business and nature. Businesses are extremely power hungry whereas nature is just trying to protect what it has left. Is power really what can give us a good life? Based on “Scene on Snake Key, Gulf Coast”, the grey clouds show that there will be another power shift. We just have to wait and see if the businesses or mother nature will win the next battle.

Traditions

As many of you know, Halloween just recently passed. Most college kinds students tend to stay at home whereas younger kids go out trick-or-treating. Of course, I went trick-or-treating because I really enjoy getting candy. But as my friends and I were walking up to a house, we were all really excited because of how much candy we had been getting. As the woman opened the door, she said "Aren't you all too old to be trick-or-treating? Next time I won't give you any candy?" At first I presumed she was joking but the more it replayed in my head I realized she was sort of rude about it. My friends and I started talking about what age people stop trick-or-treating at. Technically speaking Halloween is a tradition for all ages. There are no rules saying you must be under a certain age in order to go trick-or-treating. Why is it so wrong for a college student to want free candy?

Halloween is a tradition for all people to participate in. Children are able to both go trick-or-treating and give out candy yet adults are limited to giving out candy because they are “too old”. Although Halloween can be associated with different religions, unlike Bat Mitzvah’s and other traditions, Halloween has no specific age or clothing requirements. People should not be judging college students for taking advantage of this wonderful tradition of collecting free candy. 

Where did Halloween come from? I’m sure Halloween didn’t originally start off as a holiday for people to get candy. Some people view it as the Devil’s Night whereas others view Halloween as a fun made-up holiday for children who want candy. 

Why do people have traditions in general? most people celebrate certain holidays because of religions. Others prefer the more secular aspects of holidays. For example, Christmas is  a holiday that was supposed to be the day to remember Jesus Christ’s supposed day of birth. Today, atheists, Muslims, and a variety of religious people celebrate Christmas because they like the idea of giving and (moreso) receiving. This tradition has been so watered down that even some Christians have forgotten the purpose of the tradition because they get so caught up in the presents or the food or the music or just being with family.

Personally, I am satisfied with the traditions we have today. I know the origins of the holidays I celebrate and so far I have not forgotten the reason why we celebrate most traditions. For example, Halloween was originally a tradition to celebrate dead saints and send away the devil. Christmas is a holiday to celebrate the birth of Christ and act as the wise men who brought gifts for the new born king. Although, these traditions have been extremely watered down, I feel that I have done my part and learned why we even celebrate to begin with. 

Ghost and Entities

According to the story “Ghosts and Entities” by Lauren Groff, she begins by telling the reader how she vents. Throughout the story, she explains everything she observes. She never quite gives any details of the exact sights she sees while she is out venting. The imagery she creates in the readers mind is created out of general terms. 

Referring to the beginning of the story, Groff portrays the narrator as the main character who tends to go on runs to vent. Is venting a good thing? In a way, isn’t it like running away from problems? For example, when she came home and found her husband satisfying his sexual desires, she went on a run. Nowhere in the story, does she confront her problems. She continues to go on runs. Perhaps, she felt the need to remove herself from situations so she could think rationally an avoid making the problem worse. 

I believe, part of the reason she covers up the problem because of society. Her neighborhood, is covered by a happy go lucky exterior. Although the houses are superficially happy, when she runs, she observes more of the hidden flaws of the perfect neighborhood. She sees a fat boy running on a treadmill, a couple arguing, and an elderly woman walking a dog. During the day, all of the houses give off a perfect image and keep their problems hidden in the night. It’s possible that she was able to see these people as possibilities for herself. The fat boy running on treadmill with the sad expression on his face could be representative of how she continues to vent on a constant basis and continues to run away from her problems, but just like the fat boy, she is stagnant and her situation is not changing. Additionally, the couple arguing is her viewing a consequence of addressing the situation with her husband. A confrontation such as this would lead her to nights of arguing with her husband. The elderly woman can be interpreted as a result of the confrontation. She may never be married again but she won’t need to be tied in this relationship.

Additionally, Groff refers swans and nuns. She is symbolizing the swans and nuns as contrasting points. Swans are often used to represent love and companionship. The nuns are included to symbolize independence, purity, and love for the church. Each symbol, faces the same type of end. The swans and nuns, both face death. In a way, this could be her way of realizing no matter how she lives, she will still face the same end. One way she will die with her husband, the other way she will die by herself.

Focusing in on the author, the story itself was extremely vague. I would describe it as a descriptively vague story. Although she does include that it was based on the Duckpond of Gainesville. Similarly to one of my previous blogs, the author adds to the idea that each house and each family has its own history. No story is exactly the same. Although both the swans and nuns faced death, they lived completely different lifestyle. One was more animalistic, whereas the other was more based on human community. Both had different identities and therefor different lives. In the same way, the narrator, had an opportunity to take actions that would alter her lifestyle. 

In conclusion, no matter what lifestyle you choose, we all face the same end. Death is inevitable and people are free to do as they please. Before taking action, one should still consider the possible results of their actions.