Thank You

Thinking about leaving a place that you have been in 1/3 of a day, 5 days a week for the past 8 years is kind of a sad thing to think about. But time changes, so do my responsibilities. From being an ICS students, now it is time for me to step out of my comfort zone and reach out for my own future.

The memories that I made here are so much that I won’t be able to tell you every single one of them. But the bonds that were made within those memories are truly precious and invaluable to me. Being so lucky to have friends that accept me for who I am just like my family, and having a place where I can meet them, the school is what keeps me going through the numerous hardships that I have encountered throughout my past eight years.

I have never imagined that the second thing that I would miss about ICS after my friends are my favorite teachers. Mr. Mark, Mr. Bryan, Mr. Darryl, Mr. Tim, and all the teachers that taught me. The words coming from their hearts, their wisdom and their knowledge, those things have shaped and molded me into who I am right now. Without those words, I wouldn’t be so sure that I will still be the exact same person, who is currently writing this farewell blog.

There is nothing more to say than “Thank You” to My Beloved Friends & Teachers

 

To Rebuild and Amend

The most significant external conflict in the book can’t be anything other than environmental destruction. This is because this topic is reminded by Paton, personally, numerous times throughout the stories. It topic even has its own pages. The way that Paton stresses about the issue is shown through paragraphs of illusory descriptive words about Africa’s geographic and its landscape. To the end, the answer is not clear on how we should solve this issue, but I can guess that Paton, himself, wants people like Napoleon to to be the one that rebuild the continent. Not the wealthy people, not the politicians, not the famous black men, but a man with integrity and passion that is not corrupted by power.

For internal conflict, it might be to overcome the problems that are given to you. It emphasizes on how you can forgive the do-ers. To be able to forgive your enemies might be the hardest thing you can do in your life. But it is this, according to Paton, that will make the world a better place. Paton has given us a good example, James Jarvis. James loves his son, but he was killed. To move on and follow his son’s dream, he is able to forgive Kumalo and his son. In addition, he also helps Kumalo rebuild his village without wanting anything in return. This is what kindness and forgiving look like. Paton is trying to suggest that love and forgiving are the key to end suffering and injustice.

It will be too naive to apply all these solutions to our real world because in the end, our rotten human nature will still overcome the ideas of kindness and forgiving. But it is still possible to apply little by little. We can start with loving one and another. By doing this, we will be able to accept those who are different than us. This is what I think is the most important solution to work on for the humanity to be able to take another step.

Otherness

“The idea of ‘otherness’ is central to sociological analyses of how majority and minority identities are constructed. The representation of different groups within any given society is controlled by groups that have greater political power. ” ( Zevallos 1)

 

Sometimes, the act of “otherness” isn’t that uncommon or strange for us. It appears everywhere in our daily life. Sadly, it’s just that these events are so common that they eventually become one of the norms in our life. School is one of the place that we really won’t notice about the idea of “otherness” happening, but it actually is. According to Dr. Zevallos, the act of “otherness” doesn’t need to involve any violence or injustice. It just means that one group, sometimes with more influence-greater power/wealth, is affecting another group in a negative or neutral way. It is an act that separates those groups and the people within the group. It’s the identity, specific trait, of that specific group that makes us separate from other people.

Just like in the book that Kumalo’s brother mentions about himself being black, and he even says that he knows he is not free living in Johannesburg. (P.67) It’s not him that labeled himself as a black man, but it’s the white man group, the group that has opposite trait from him, and the black/African group, the group that has similar trait like him, that have labeled and given him a “stigma” – being black.

According to my experience in 3 different schools, students can be separated into two major groups, popular kids and unpopular kids. It’s obvious which group has greater power or influence. Important decisions and idea that are made in each grade, I guarantee you that it’s probably suggested by someone from the group of popular kids. I have seen this happening most of the time. Why does this happen? It happens because people are willing to listen to a person that they think have more “voice”. Voice in this case can be popularity, intelligent, amount of credibility, and even amount of friends. For Kumalo, it might be the skin color and the political power.

It is just sad to think that the act of “otherness” is happening everywhere, but we need to keep in mind that this has been happening since the past. We will always find someone that we are similar with to find the sense of ; this is essential for our primitive survival. It can’t be changed, but at least you can manage the degree of the “act”.

How to Write Thailand

Never forget to mention about ladyboy in your story.  Ladyboys are indeed everywhere, no matter where you go, you will definitely be able to identify them. All tall, white, slender beautiful women you notice in the street are indeed ladyboy, there is no way that those women are real females. Make sure you also add some comparison of the difference between a woman and a ladyboy, it will help those who are coming new to Thailand, in case they want to use some secret “service” in this country’s city called Pattaya—a city that is known as the city of “prostitution”. I wonder what kind of secret service are people using in that city? Oh, and about prostitution, don’t forget to use the title “ the city of prostitution” as it is a good way to attract more tourists and to increase the number of STD-infected people in that country 🙂 What a good way to live your life right?

About lifestyle in Thailand, “Jai Yen” is the slogan here. Everything is chill here in Thailand, so it’s “TOTALLY” good for you to be late to your job :). The more late you are, the better it is. Don’t forget to mention how everyone is so lazy here. Thai people don’t work as hard as other people because they are lazy. All they want to do it sleep and do nothing!

About corruption, it is totally true. Don’t trust anyone here, go find some statistics about how ALL government officials in Thailand are corrupted! Don’t forget to add how all they care about is “money”. Money rules everything here. You can’t forget to add some lists of things you can do with a million baht. Not just objects, be sure to add the average amount of money you can use to bail yourself out of jail too! You can get all these small facts from the locals 🙂 Just pay them a few bucks, and they will tell you anything. Money is everything here.

 

Here comes what Thailand is most known for “ The Land of Smiles’. In this section,  we need to add some pictures beggars and people in the slum. This is to show all the people around the world that although many Thais are facing hardship, they are still happy and smiling. Don’t forget to include the fact that Thailand is not a democratic country anymore, and people don’t have any freedom at all. So they are asking the “great” U.S. for help to free the locals from this government’s oppression.

Challenge for Those with Privileges

The challenge that Che gave out when he said  “Go there and find out what diseases they have”, is a very challenging for most of the people. This is because we are selfish, and many of us ( middle-upper class) won’t probably want to go out there and experience what those in lower class are experiencing. This is why he is addressing the real problem of poverty and oppression. He is doubting our ( middle class and upper class) ability to make change because we don’t even know what is the real problem. Without experiencing first, how do we know that our solutions are the right way to solve a certain problem like how to escape from poverty.

 

Che also mentions about how we shouldn’t give charity because it’s not really the solution that will eradicate the root of the problem. Charity is only meant for covering up the problem like an elegant, beautiful gift wrapper, trying to cover up a dangerous object.

Finding out the realities will open up our mind and broaden up our perspective for those who are less fortunate than us. But in order to find out, we first need to experience and live like them. This will make us discover the concrete problem that they are experiencing. We will be able to begin questioning about the inequality just like how Che felt when he was unable to save an old grandmother who had an asthma.

But with humans nature coming to play, it is quite impossible for people to voluntarily accept and complete Che’s challenge. We all want comfort, and that is the undeniable truth. Only those who truly give themselves up for the majority with their collectivism ideal just like Che will be able to accept this challenge.

Sadly, it’s only a few of us..

Tourism & Traveling

 

When in Rome, do as the Romans” – This is what it is supposed to happen when we visit other people’s countries. But this isn’t all it is to be considered as a responsible tourist or the most dignified way to travel to a foreign place. Respecting the locals and understanding the reasons behind all of their cultures including their weird norms that you considered as illogical are what we need to be called a responsible tourist. Most of us probably had looked down at some countries weird cultures and norms before. Some of us might even judge those as unethical or uncivilized without even know the reasons behind those norms and weird traditions.

Why would you waste a chance to widen your mindsets and open your eyes to something new? This is what traveling is supposed to give you, not only the entertainment you get from all the attractions’ visitations you have. Entertainments can get you entertained, but learning a new aspect of how to view your life would be more life-changing.. Don’t you think?

The only thing that you shouldn’t do when traveling is destroying or damaging nations’ properties. Picking up rocks, shells, or anything that is not yours is also unforgivable. No matter how valuable or useless it’s, those things are not yours to begin with. Just be happy with what you have because you already have more* than what the majority of people in this world could have asked for, being able to travel for entertainment and for fun.

Chicago: The Two-In-One City

Chicago is a beautiful city that is called “The Windy City”. With its unmatched weather and attractions such as: the Willis Tower, Cloud Gate, Navy Pier, Shedd Aquarium, and numerous Museum, this is why over 50 million people visit Chicago annually. They happily picked Chicago City as their first choice to visit in U.S..It is also very developed city that is recognized as a leader in reforming public schools, enhancing public safety, and environmental sustainability. (CityofChicago 1). Hearing these amazing facts will surely make anyone think that it’s one of the perfect city in U.S..

The Willis Tower and The Cloud Gate

Shedd Aquarium

Unfortunately, there will always be a dark side to a good side. “The Most Dangerous City” is also another name for Chicago City ( Newsweek 1). In 2017, Chicago is nationally known for having the “highest number of homicides in the United Sates” (Newsweek 1). There are more than 400 killings up until august 2017, and there were 781 homicides in 2016.  Gun’s policy and gun violence were seen as the biggest cause of this huge homicide number. Since January 2017, more than 2100 people in the city have been shot and over 3,000 shooting incidents have been tracked.

Chicago City is the first city I visited when I had arrived to the U.S.. I have a ton of good experience here with the help of my mother’s colleague. I have visited nearly all of the main attractions here, and because of that, I was blinded by them. I always thought that this city is a perfect city for me to come back again. But the truth is a bit hard to accept. This taught me an important lesson: Never let the exterior blinds you to make a blind judgement because the interior might not be what you expected it to be.

 

https://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/about.html

http://www.newsweek.com/chicago-homicide-shooting-crime-rate-644460

 

The Delits & The Poor

Ceremonial- Paan Supari

• A food that combines betel leaf with betel nut (Supari or areca nut).
• It is chewed for its stimulant and psychoactive effects.
• It is a tradition to offer paan to guests after tea or meals.

 

Shira and Puris

• Shira – sweet made in India. It is served with green chili or raw mango pickle

Housing for the untouchables

• It is considered unacceptable for people in upper class of the caste system to see those that are below them to own a better housing than them. This is not just an insult but also a violation to the law in the caste system.
• Dalits are still denied for an access to land even with the Civil Rights Act of 1955 and the Scheduled Castes and Tribes Act of 1989.

• Then, write 1-2 paragraphs about the way that the caste system and the plights of the Dalits (untouchables) are portrayed.  Try to connect to our unit theme and consider what makes this issue facing Indian society particularly complicated or difficult to address.  This section should be comprised of your own original thoughts, and you don’t need to worry about writing a summary of the story or anything like that.

Dalits are portrayed as the untouchables, the broken people. It is the position that no one dream to be in because Dalits live in the bottom of India’s social order known as the caste system. It is also impossible to escape because it is determined by birth. Karma and beliefs also come into play because they belief that a person’s position in life is based upon their good deeds and sins in their past life.

As you can see in the story, Dalits are looked down upon and even discriminated against. Dalits is also not included in the caste system since this “fifth group” was created to perform tasks considered “too menial or degrading” to be performed by other caste members. This is also why they are sometimes called the “outcastes”.

It is also very funny how much I can relate this with Boonma’s family in No Way Out. To me, they are all the same. They face the same problem, stuck in a position, and they don’t have any solution to get out of that position. For Boonma, it’s not being able to escape from the poverty, and in Bayaji’s case, it’s not being able to escape from the cruel system his family and himself are stuck in. Poverty and Dalits have the similar structure. Both are given to people by birth, and it is usually impossible to escape. Either it is because of the wide gap between the rich and the poor, or because of the unspoken rules of the caste system. No matter how hard Bayaji and Boonma try, it seems that their efforts always go to ruin. But, for wherever there is darkness, there will always be light, in this case, the solution. It is unfortunate that poverty can’t be easily escaped, but escaping from Dalits class is possible. In the present, there are laws that are deintensifying the amount of discrimination being given to the Delits.

In my opinion, it will still take a long time to change the way people think. We can’t ignore the fact that this unique culture and tradition of “caste system” was molded for more than 1000+ years. We, the foreigners, can’t really force Indian people to change what they believe in a short period of time. We might view this system as unethical or dehumanizing, but for Indian people, just like viewing those who are in poverty, they might think that those in that class, the dalits, actually deserve their positions.

It is sad, but “This Is Life”…. unfortunately….

US vs THEM

The thing that I have noticed and caught on upon reading this book is the gap between the rich and the poor. The gap is just not a small gap that you can just fix it easily. It is something I think can’t be completely filled, but with everyone’s help, it can be shortened.

In the story, we all catch on the living condition of Boon ma’s family. Being happy with just 100 baht in his hand and taking more than 2 years to pay his big loan of about 3000 baht, it’s something my friends and I couldn’t imagine. We pay the school about 2000 baht each day to attend ICS. I will wait for you to input that fact into our brains. By just one and a half day, we could pay off Boonma’s loan. This shows the unimaginable gap between the wealth and the poor.

I became even more depressed the more chapters I finished. “How Miserable” – These two words keep popping out. It is funny how the word “unfair” didn’t even come out of my mind. Ignorance is a part that keep me from facing reality, and that is the main social issues. By just shoving all these problems (moral responsibility) aside, it makes us feel better.

But even giving money won’t help, in my opinion. Opportunity is the solution. An opportunity to start something, to learn something, or to create something are the essentials. Even a security that I interviewed about her life for Sociology project wanted an opportunity to change their life -“An Opportunity for a better Education”. This is what we need and what we need to give. It is the only way for us to shorten the gap between “US” and “THEM”.

 

Truth behind the System of Karma

 

“Tum Boon yer yer na” is the phrase that I have been hearing since I was still a child. My family members are all buddhists. The difference between one and another is strictness. Looking back, Buddhism was not taught by my parents but my grand father. Weird right? Everything that is about Buddhism and its teaching were all embedded into my brain by my grandfather. Every Saturday morning, I would always wake up at 4 am to go “Tum boon” with my grandfather. This was the time that I have learned the most about Buddhism. Karma was always the main topic.

My grandfather views the system of Karma as a type of scale, where you need to keep balance. You earn good Karma either by good deeds or performing religious rituals. This is to balance out the bad karma that you have received during this life and your previous life. The more good Karma you have, the less you will suffer and the less time you will spend in hell.

There are lots of contradiction regarding this viewpoint. How do we weigh each good deeds we do for the unknown amount of good karma we will get. Like how “good” does the deed needs to be each time to consider that we have “a lot of Boon”.

Boon = Good Karma

It is just filled with contradiction that makes me think of my own ” Karma system that makes sense”. As I grew up and experienced my life more, I started to lose faith in the system of Karma. Maybe it was because I am fortunate enough to not think of this.The fact that I have never experienced any life events even closed to as “traumatic” as  those that are truly suffering. But is this because I have a good Karma or done a lot of good deeds in the previous life? Who knows? I’m just lucky enough to be born in a upper-middle class family.

Empathy and my caring heart are what drive me to still doing good deeds, even if that means helping old people carrying stuff. A lot of people might think that Buddhists display act of kindness because they want to have good Karma. Those Buddhists are usually blinded by the Karma system and usually use the system to hide from their unfortunate reality. In reality, the feeling of being able to help other people that you know are truly experiencing the hardship is what many people long for.