Monday, May 24, 2004

Frustration

Ah!!!!!! I have to present a poet tomorrow. I originally had planned on doing it on Alice Walker. I have all the information I need and I even know which poems I want to bring to class. The issue actually is that I thought that I would maybe change my poet and talk about a Native American poet. Here's where my frustration begins. I can't find anything on any of the poets that I may want to discuss in class on the web,library, or bookstore. I have gone to only two stores yet I would think that there would be something! North America and Latin America were founded by indigenous people and they are a part of our history and culture. I myself am an 1/8th Huasteca(an indigenous tribe). There isn't much information on anyone really except for the more popular Native Americans such as Red Cloud,Sacajawea , andTecumseh. The other issue that comes up is how authentic are these books. It's so easy for me to get side tracked especially if I can't find what I'm looking for. Due to the tradition of oration it is actually difficult to know what was real and what was not. An example of this is Chief Seattle's famous speech. There are several versions of it and even an environmental version written by a guy named Ted that forever imprinted on the minds of those who read his virsion as the true words of Chief Seattle. Something else I found interesting was in looking at the history section of Borders there isn't anything on the history of Indigenous people anywhere. There are a number books on different cultures represented but not a thing on Native American history. Ok I could keep going but I'm going to go way out there and I began this because I cannot find any of the Native American poets that I want to discuss in class. I just needed to vent my frustration. Posted by Adriana Worley on 5/24/04; 1:47:13 PM from the dept. Discuss

Commentary on Kash's Opus Planning Document

I found your opus witty and in some places quite funny. The experience with your dad and your 4th grade project was sad yet that experience seemed to be an important lesson for you in that you learned that you cannot always win the approval of a parent no matter how hard you try or how good something may be. The comics experience is interesting and shows how you got interested in computers at such a young age. It shows where you've been but I would be interested in reading about where your interest in computers will take you or better yet where you want it to take you. Your doing great in math!!!! Posted by Adriana Worley on 5/24/04; 1:18:19 PM from the dept. Discuss

Response to Mark about maids

This is in response to the post about maid abuse that Mark posted. I kind of went on my own tangent as far as the whole issue of having maids is concerned. The abuse that poor woman endured was horrific to say the least. I wonder what the stats are for maid abuse. Do you know how common this is? In Latin America it is common to have maids as well. It is a part of the culture that I have a hard time with. I was raised here and have become somewhat Americanized. I am very independant yet I get so conflicted when my aunt's maid fixes my bed or washes my dishes etc. Everything is done for you. I'm not used to that and the pay that maids receive isn't very much. Just to put the pay issue into perspective Tonlla my aunt's maid, made a quarter of the money to get her mom a Christmas gift. Her other 3 sibilings pitched in to get this present for their mom. Guess what the present was... a front door to their mom's house. They live in the poverty belt. Whenever I leave a relatives home I always give the maids extra money because I know that they are very poor (usually maids are indigenous people that live in the poverty belt of Mexico). They are so appreciative of the money. My mom's sister is into "status" and my aunt's maid is below her in rank. Due to this the maid is not allowed to eat with the family and is kind of looked lowly upon even though she is the one that keeps the family running! Another one of my aunts treats her maids more like family. This is rare. The treatment of the maids in Latin America is not the same across the board and I highly doubt that there would be any common knowledge of maid abuse happening. I'm sure it does happen though. These people work long hours for little pay and hardly see their families. The working conditions are not great yet it is interesting in seeing how cultures are similar in some ways and different in others. Posted by Adriana Worley on 5/24/04; 12:47:25 PM from the dept. Discuss