Another one crossed off "The List"
I tried eating six saltines in under a minute over Christmas Break.
I was not successful in doing it under a minute but I did do it in over a minute.
I also witnessed two people do it in under a minute so it is most definitely possible.
Onto the next thing on the list.
Showing posts with label The List. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The List. Show all posts
January 07, 2011
September 28, 2010
Tuesday | The List | 01 | Culture
On Tuesday nights I go tutor Somalians. I do it through an organization called SALT. I think it stands for Somali Adult Literacy Training. I'm doing it through my Cultural Communication class. Well, we're required to do it for class. By the end of the semester I will have over twenty-four hours under my belt so, technically speaking, I will have spent one day with a person from another culture.
If you want to get technical, we spend every day with a person from another culture. At least this is what I learned in my class and have observed since then. For example, go to taco night and see who orders a hard shell and who orders a soft shell. I grew up always having soft shell while my roommate grew up always having hard shell. Cultural/Experiential difference. Another example, have macaroni and cheese and ask people what they usually put on their "mac & cheese." I grew up always having ketchup available. I found out early in my college career that this is super weird. Others think putting ketchup on eggs is normal while I think it is disgusting (sorry mom). Others think putting ham in their "mac & cheese" is weird. Again, cultural differences.
So to get more technical I am revising "The List." I am changing it from "spend an entire day with a person from another culture" to "spend an entire day with a person from a different ethnicity."
Now, you could probably get technical about that one too but let's just pretend we won't. I blame on my technicality on my other class, which is Media Law. Hooray for "legal-eeze" language!
Now, I've only been there once, and tonight will be my second time, so I cannot give a huge amount of detail on how things work. So, I will just share my experience from my first time there.
The first fifteen to twenty minutes was "training" and welcoming. I met some regulars who were my age, and cool. There was Amanda, who knits, and Sarah, who lives in the inner-city for outreach and missions. There were more but these two seemed like the regulars.
I mostly stood by them, because I was nervous and didn't know what else to do. The Somalians were already having class but for break they came in and had tea. The regulars sat and talked with them while I just kind of stood there, not knowing what to do. Sarah introduced me to some of them and I shook one of their hands. I was told not to initiate a handshake unless they initiate it first. So I just smiled and stood there.
There are three levels of tutoring. I was with the middle group, where they know basic sentences and that is about it.
Right as I was about to follow Amanda and help her tutor the middle group it was sunset. Because the majority of the Somalians are Muslim they pray five times a day and sunset is one of those times. So a little fifteen minute break and then the tutoring got started.
I helped Amanda teach three men about maps and directions. I taught left, right, and straight. I'm not sure they caught on but I tried. We worked on spelling and pronunciation also. About five minutes in I was so grateful I learned English. English is such a hard language! I was trying to make the sounds for the word "bus" and he kept spelling it "bas." It was probably because I kept going, "Ba, Ba, Ba" for the letter "B" and then "Uh, Uh Uh" for "U." No matter how I tried it kept coming off like it should be spelled "Bas." So, I'm sure I'll get better at it. Don't even get me started on the word, "avenue."
Overall, it was a good experience. Uplifting. Enlightening. Encouraging. Beautiful. I felt that I wasn't doing it out of pity, out of my class requirement, but because I sincerely wanted to help, to serve, someone who wanted it.
I'm sure I'll post more on this later. The stories will surely come up, not that I'm expecting anything.
If you want to get technical, we spend every day with a person from another culture. At least this is what I learned in my class and have observed since then. For example, go to taco night and see who orders a hard shell and who orders a soft shell. I grew up always having soft shell while my roommate grew up always having hard shell. Cultural/Experiential difference. Another example, have macaroni and cheese and ask people what they usually put on their "mac & cheese." I grew up always having ketchup available. I found out early in my college career that this is super weird. Others think putting ketchup on eggs is normal while I think it is disgusting (sorry mom). Others think putting ham in their "mac & cheese" is weird. Again, cultural differences.
So to get more technical I am revising "The List." I am changing it from "spend an entire day with a person from another culture" to "spend an entire day with a person from a different ethnicity."
Now, you could probably get technical about that one too but let's just pretend we won't. I blame on my technicality on my other class, which is Media Law. Hooray for "legal-eeze" language!
Now, I've only been there once, and tonight will be my second time, so I cannot give a huge amount of detail on how things work. So, I will just share my experience from my first time there.
The first fifteen to twenty minutes was "training" and welcoming. I met some regulars who were my age, and cool. There was Amanda, who knits, and Sarah, who lives in the inner-city for outreach and missions. There were more but these two seemed like the regulars.
I mostly stood by them, because I was nervous and didn't know what else to do. The Somalians were already having class but for break they came in and had tea. The regulars sat and talked with them while I just kind of stood there, not knowing what to do. Sarah introduced me to some of them and I shook one of their hands. I was told not to initiate a handshake unless they initiate it first. So I just smiled and stood there.
There are three levels of tutoring. I was with the middle group, where they know basic sentences and that is about it.
Right as I was about to follow Amanda and help her tutor the middle group it was sunset. Because the majority of the Somalians are Muslim they pray five times a day and sunset is one of those times. So a little fifteen minute break and then the tutoring got started.
I helped Amanda teach three men about maps and directions. I taught left, right, and straight. I'm not sure they caught on but I tried. We worked on spelling and pronunciation also. About five minutes in I was so grateful I learned English. English is such a hard language! I was trying to make the sounds for the word "bus" and he kept spelling it "bas." It was probably because I kept going, "Ba, Ba, Ba" for the letter "B" and then "Uh, Uh Uh" for "U." No matter how I tried it kept coming off like it should be spelled "Bas." So, I'm sure I'll get better at it. Don't even get me started on the word, "avenue."
Overall, it was a good experience. Uplifting. Enlightening. Encouraging. Beautiful. I felt that I wasn't doing it out of pity, out of my class requirement, but because I sincerely wanted to help, to serve, someone who wanted it.
I'm sure I'll post more on this later. The stories will surely come up, not that I'm expecting anything.
March 29, 2010
The List
My friend made me a list of things I should do with my life and because my new found hobby is adventure and living a better story I agreed to do my best to complete this list. Let it be known I have every intention of completing this list.
Now, my friend made me a list that she knows I can accomplish but will require me to escape my comfort zone. She said I just have to cross them off as I go about life and that I can do them in what order I want. I will blog about something on the list when I complete one of them.
Here is the list that my friend wrote:
1. Spend a day with someone else from an entirely different culture.
2. Spend one night homeless.
3. Find a place that you can call your own that allows you to think by yourself and relax (preferably with an excellent view).
4. Take a girl that you are interested in out on a casual date, just to take that first step to get to know her (and be honest about your intentions and what you are doing).
5. Sing karaoke at a public place.
6. Go swing dancing (or try a style of dancing that interests you).
7. (While we're on the topic of jazz) Visit the Jazz club in St. Paul, it's off Wabasha and it's underground!
8. Write five encouraging notes to five people you don't know.
9. Try to eat 6 saltine crackers in under a minute (It's impossible).
10. See how many licks it takes to get to the middle of a lollipop.
11. Memorize 3 quotes that inspire you and are totally different from each other (this one's kinda lame I know).
12. Try a new class like Yoga, Kick Boxing, Pilates etc. just once.
13. Create a raft or flotation device and test it out on some sort of body of water... there's at least 1000 of them, you should have no problem with that.
14. Go to a book store and make a list of ten books that describe who you are or who you want to become and why.
15. Watch a sunrise from a top a building (so much cooler than on the ground).
16. Watch a chick flick you swore you'd never watch.
17. Catch up with a friend from high school that you never talked to much in high school.
This is the list. Have a different idea or a suggestion? Leave a comment below!
Now, my friend made me a list that she knows I can accomplish but will require me to escape my comfort zone. She said I just have to cross them off as I go about life and that I can do them in what order I want. I will blog about something on the list when I complete one of them.
Here is the list that my friend wrote:
1. Spend a day with someone else from an entirely different culture.
2. Spend one night homeless.
3. Find a place that you can call your own that allows you to think by yourself and relax (preferably with an excellent view).
4. Take a girl that you are interested in out on a casual date, just to take that first step to get to know her (and be honest about your intentions and what you are doing).
5. Sing karaoke at a public place.
6. Go swing dancing (or try a style of dancing that interests you).
7. (While we're on the topic of jazz) Visit the Jazz club in St. Paul, it's off Wabasha and it's underground!
8. Write five encouraging notes to five people you don't know.
9. Try to eat 6 saltine crackers in under a minute (It's impossible).
10. See how many licks it takes to get to the middle of a lollipop.
11. Memorize 3 quotes that inspire you and are totally different from each other (this one's kinda lame I know).
12. Try a new class like Yoga, Kick Boxing, Pilates etc. just once.
13. Create a raft or flotation device and test it out on some sort of body of water... there's at least 1000 of them, you should have no problem with that.
14. Go to a book store and make a list of ten books that describe who you are or who you want to become and why.
15. Watch a sunrise from a top a building (so much cooler than on the ground).
16. Watch a chick flick you swore you'd never watch.
17. Catch up with a friend from high school that you never talked to much in high school.
This is the list. Have a different idea or a suggestion? Leave a comment below!
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