This week in global we read more of “The Chile Reader” and “Threads of Protest,” from Arpilleras “Tapestries of Defamation. I found this second reading very informative especially because in class we are beginning a project to make our own arpilleras. Arpilleras have a very important history in Chile. While contemporary arpilleras are made for gift shop consumers and stick to a few common themes, during Pinochet’s reign arpilleras acted as craft testimonies. They told a story of a country in crisis. They also provided many women with varying seamstress skills a steady income and opportunity to meet together. They created this contradictions, in that the arpilleras were marketable objects…
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Global Week Four
This week in Global we read more of “The Chile Reader” and the poems “Chile Stadium,” “September 11,” “The City,” and “Victor Jara.” The topics we read in “The Chile Reader” included the election of Salvador Allende, the Chilean revolution in one year, and the Pinochet dictatorship. It was very different to read about the U.S government’s intervention from the point of view of Chile. I’d heard of it vaguely before in classes, but it is different when I’m actively reading and learning about Chile and know that I’m going to travel to this country in a few weeks. Reading about the Chilean revolution was also more emotional now that…
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Global Week Three
This week in global we poems from Neruda’s “A Lamp on Earth” and several of Mistral’s poems, like “The Other,” and “The Ballerina.” We also read some of “The Chile Reader” which provided more historical information on Chile and its history of socialism, capitalism and communism. I found the poems by Neruda and Mistral to be very emotive, and it was a glimpse into life in Chile, and its history. “The Chile Reader” provided a lot of context for some of the themes in the poems, like invasion and colonialism. Learning about Allende and Frei was very interesting, and made me question my beliefs about socialism. Reading about the United…
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Global Week Two
This week in Global we read “A Small Place,” by Jamaica Kincaid and “To Hell With Good Intentions,” by Ivan Illich. “To Hell With Good Intentions” was a shorter but still powerful piece. In Illich’s speech he basically tells every volunteer and would be “helper” to stay home and not go. He tells them that they are unwelcome, and will never reach the audiences they dream of. He thinks programs that try to “better” developing countries are counterproductive and are only for people with a savior-complex. It was a very emotional piece that made me never want to travel again. However the line, “-come to study. But do not come…
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Global Week One
This week in Global we read “Oyinbo” by Sarah Manyika. “Oyinbo” was a very thought provoking piece that summarized Manyika’s life and own struggle with her identity growing up. Manyika was born to a white mother and a black father, and her mixed heritage was a heavy factor in her identity. Throughout her story I began to see that identity is not strict, or rigid, and definitely not unchanging. Due to my American upbringing, I always unconsciously assumed from the way that people around me and in my country acted, that race was most important to a person’s identity. America has a long past with slavery and its effects are…
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Chile: Brazo de Reina
Background This delightful dessert has gone by many names in many different cultures, such as Jelly Cake, Roll Jelly Cake, Swiss Roll, Jelly Roll and Rolled Jelly Cake. This particular version looks pretty similar to what the English call a jellyroll or a Swissroll, and that’s because it’s the Swissroll’s Chilean cousin, the “brazo de reina.” Brazo de reina roughly translates to “the Queen’s arm,” and it’s a traditional treat in Chile that is often served in the afternoon. In this tasty version however, the brazo de reina is most often filled with manjar, which is a caramelized condensed milk that is very common in many Chilean desserts, and covered in coconut…
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My Leadership
When I hear the word leader, my mind automatically conjures up the image of a tall white man in a suit. Whether that is from the influence of social media or advertising, it is what I have instinctively come to associate with the word “leader.” However, that image has slowly begun to change in my mind as I experience leadership in different ways in my life. I have excelled under leaders that strove to actively support me. I have also struggled under poor leaders and took away important lessons as to how I could be a better leader and about the value of teamwork. There are some subtler leadership qualities…
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Five Strengths
I am a futuristic person who is always looking to what could be, frequently caught up in new and exciting ideas with a craving to know more, and constantly thinking and talking about new ways to get to that future. Because I have so many ideas and aspirations I’ve had to come up with as many plans and methods for dealing with hurdles. Strategy has played a big part in my life, whether it’s writing detailed planners to bring organization and order to the sometimes overwhelming nature of my life, or even taking a very unique road through high school. At the end of my freshman year of high school…
