Best of Both Worlds Uptown & Downtown

Amanda Miller  Eng 112.                                                                      9/1/17

Best of Both Worlds Uptown & Downtown in NYC

I am from New York City! When you are from New York City, you often hear it's nickname " the city that never sleeps" "if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere". New York City is made up of five boroughs, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island, and the Bronx. Every borough is diverse, and consist of many different races and ethnicities. New York City is the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Everyone in New York City is working toward a goal, making their dreams come true, counting on the opportunities we offer. We have a lot of freedom, and the right to make positive or negative decisions toward our own individual lives. You can be from any of the five boroughs in New York City, and any race or religion and still obtain self actualization, which is your fullest level of potential.

I live in Uptown New York City, which is considered the Bronx, New York. The everyday commute for a uptown New Yorker would be using mass transit such as, the MTA bus, Subway and railroad New York City transit systems, if you don't have a car. When traveling to Brooklyn or Manhattan, noone likes to drive because of the traffic and limited parking options, we are lucky to have the the transit system to get us downtown or uptown faster.

When communting, you become a tourist in your own city here, aside from all the other ongoing distractions of everyday life. You realize the Bronx is not as maintained as Manhattan. You see the struggles of those who live uptown New York City as oppose to those living downtown New York City. The Bronx has a lot of poor communities, shelters, and ghomeless. "The poorest neighborhoods in the Bronx, New York are also the cities poorest." Some parts of Brooklyn has poor communities that are looked down upon as well. As you travel downtown Manhattan, you start to see more caucasion people as oppose to African Americans and Latinos, in my opinion. Do you ever wonder, why is that ? Have you ever wondered why the subway is rushed with caucasion folks at like 116th or 110th street? Let's be real, is it because they'd rather live downtown, or is it because they can afford to ? Ignorant people think their supposed to. There is also the gentrified parts of Brooklyn, which is middle class mixed with low income. Regardless of the class, everyone is doing something to survive in New York City.

Here in New York City, lower income neighborhoods have advantages such as government assistance, for those who chose to take that route. There are also colleges in all five boroughs for pursuing careers in all fields, and businesses for those that are unemployed. As a New Yorker, I know that government assistance is a choice not an accomplishment. You can decide which route you want to take. There are two sides to being in New York City, Poverty and Wealth. Once you see New York as that, you can then decide which life you want to live, and what you'll do to pursue it.

Education is very important in all 5 boroughs of New York City. It is the only key to success all races have here. The more you know, you can accomplish. Through education government assistance is not necessary. Today in low income communities in New York City we are educating and encouraging our youth, to educate themselves as much as possible, and to stay in school and attend college. We are not dwelling as New Yorkers, on the negatives of the city and of the world, but we are turning negatives into positives.  No one individual in New York City is faced with an obstacle he or she can't overcome.  Living in New York it's not about the negative outlook on race, and class, especially when we have to first want to get out of the low income neighborhoods we live in. New York City has always been about being educated in all aspects. Some of us are given options, and others are not aware of the options they have. If you live uptown or downtown, the one option we all have here in New York is our education. Success has no race, and it is not race which separates us, but our level of education.




Work Cited
http://mycrains.crainsnewyork.com/stats-and-the-city/2013/bronx/bronxs-poorest-neighborhoods

The same look!!

As I grow older I came to recognize more how every culture has a subculture. I personally say that a culture is created by the collection of dominants traditions. As a child my parents taught me how every time before going to bed we must given thanks for the day we just had. 
With the past of the years, as I attend to school in New York.  I came to notice differences in the clothing of some girls. It was eye catching to look at a girl in my school wearing a skirt when everyone else used pants.
The days passed as my curiosity became bigger. I began to ask to my friends. Why is she the only one in skirt and why it is to long?. Some of them found it strange that I didn't know it was related to a religious tradition.
Later on I got the pleasure to meet her. Was in that instant where I got the chance to ask her personally about my concern. Her precise words where "My family taught me that every girl in the family must wear a skirt and never cut our hair." 
There are many reason for which women wear a skirt in this particular religion. Christian believe that a woman should never wear a clothes designated for man (pants) and man should never wear skirts or dresses. Deuteronomy 22:5 (Gibson). 
I personally believe that our appearance are base on our everyday look. We have to respect everyone belief and never hurt their feelings. I am the type of person that like to play with my hair to created fresh look. I don't think that it is difficult to this people to have the same long hair and to never change the skirt, since they are a costume from their childhood. 
I admired this women for having such a simplicity in their styles, where there are a huge amount of choices to make everyday in others girls closets.

WORK CITED
Gibson, Lois. "The United Pentecostal Church." Www.Inplatesite.org. ND. Web Accessed 31 August. 2017

Daniel Guzman
8/31/2017
English 112

Capoeira

All my friends come from different backgrounds, Dominican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Mexican, Columbian, Venezuelan, Haitian, Jamaican, Caucasian, Etc. However one of my closer friends is Brazilian and I was always intrigued about his commitment with Capoeira but never seeked more information about it or gotten into depth about it with him. I knew that it was some sort of a dance but at the same time it's also a Martial art. I've seen him always training and going to his Capoeira class every night for years it was like a religion to him. So one night I decided to go with him and observe the dance and their moves, and man you have to be lean, flexible, strong, and focus to be able to execute the kicks, flips and the rest of the moves they do. I was very impressed with Capoeira but still didn't know the history behind it. 

"It is generally agreed that the seeds of Capoeira were sown by the African slaves taken from the region of Angola. The original movements were based on a courtship dance called “The Zebra Dance,” in which men would engage in mock fights for the right to marry." Later on in time Brazilians blended self defense moves into Capoeira, they added head butts, sweeps, and kicks from a handstand position. The dance steps and acrobatics were added in to camouflage their self defense moves from the Portuguese slave owners.


It blows my mind that Capoeira has so much history behind it and at the same time not a lot people know the extend behind it. Capoeira was born as a simple method of survival. It was a tool with which an escaped slave could use to survive in the wild. "Capoeira developed as a result of the institution of slavery, and those who practice it today are aware of its history of oppression. A federal statute even prohibited the practice of Capoeira until 1890."


Capoeira started to flourish in New York and San Francisco during the 1970's. Capoeira nowadays is not only a martial art, but an active exporter of Brazilian culture all over the world. Even though Capoeira is not as popular as Karate, or jiu jitsu it definitely has a extraordinary proud history. Now I really understand why my friend is so committed and proud of practicing Capoeira everyday.

Work Cited

"Capoeira History" http://brazilianarts.org/classes-programs/capoeira-luanda-houston/capoeira-history/

 2017 Copyright Brazilian Arts Foundation. Web 31 August 2017

"Shoes off"

   New York City is a place where everybody seems to like or do the same things. Some attend theaters, others go out to restaurants and some go to sporting events. It doesn't matter where your'e from or how you dress, we all seem to like the same activities. Even language doesn't seem to be a barrier for someone to have a good time, in the city that never sleeps.

   A few years ago, i had the opportunity to work at a residential building. My job was as a handyman, which means i had to go inside every apartment to fix things. One of the reasons why i enjoyed working there, is that i got the opportunity to see how people with different nationalities and different cultures lived. But the one encounter that stuck with me the most, was the one i had with a family from India, who always made me take off my shoes before entering their home.

   I didn't know exactly why they always required this from me, but i always did it without questioning. I have to admit that it was very uncomfortable every time i had to do a job inside their home wearing just socks, specially if i ended up with my feet all wet from unclogging a bathtub. One day i decided to ask them what was the reason behind it, and their answer was that it wasn't anything personal, but that shoes were considered impure in their culture. According to the Hindu way of life, In the Hindu culture you never wear shoes or sandals inside a temple, or inside your home, and even touching another person with your shoe is consider and insult. I was relieve to know that it had nothing to do with me, but only with my shoes in this case, and it also made me more curious about other cultures besides my own.


WORK CITED

"Hindu way of life"
 mailerindia.com
 8/31/2017

Godless in a religious world

I was born and raised a christian, however I have never been a person to accept anything at face value.  So I always questioned the thought process and questioned the logic behind religion.

I've encountered lots of people of many religions and I see the conviction and the zeal with which they follow it and I ask myself how anyone can so willingly subjugate themselves.  Organized religion has been the motivating force and justification behind some of the most heinous acts in history.

I see religion as a means of control "An Opiate For The Masses".  Frankly, I have nothing but disdain for religion and It annoys me that I have to watch people be strung along and controlled and invite me to be a sheep along with them.

As a courtesy I can tolerate people's religion and I will ask questions just to see a persons mindset and what good they see in it but, it's just morbid curiosity to me at this point.  I've enjoyed some of these interactions but for the most part I've gained nothing from them.

Why the Hijab?

I’m a kind of person who admires a world assembled by different cultures, for this reason living in New York city for two years has been a fascinating experience for me. Because here I had the opportunity to appreciate and sometimes meet with most of them.

Certainly, one of the better places to enjoy the encounter of the different culture is when you are on the train or subway. However, the people that had been attracting my attention is the females with something like a scarf that covers her head, and nobody can see her hair and sometimes even their faces. I always have the same question in my head, why they use that? And why even the girls who are very young have to use it? I also have seen from different nationalities like North Africans and Middle Eastern wearing this same type of garment.

One day I was sitting on the train next to a woman with a head cover. I felt this was my right time to less my curiosity for her culture; then I looked at her and smiled. Right way I let her know how interesting I was in part of her clothes, but especially her head cover, at the same time, I asked about it. I realize this has a name: ''hijab'' which in most cases used for religious beliefs like Muslim, where the name comes. For those women to wear hijab, means modesty, to attract a little attention and identity as a Muslim woman.

There is innumerable of reasons why, but the main answer is because they believe God has made it as an obligation for decency. The Quran tells them that men and females have to dress modestly. God specifically addressed women when say not to show off their embellishment except when they are with their family or relatives. (Quran 24:30-31).

I also talked with this woman about many different kinds of hijab and different colors and texture as well. Niqab, chador, and burqa are others kind of veil, each one has different characteristic, but at the end of the day, the religious meaning and interpretation are the same for everybody. They want to obey the Quran.

By the time she finally gets to her train stop I was amazed at everything that I was listening, and I finished our delightful conversation with a big smile, I never asked for her name, and she didn't ask for mines either. It was a pleasant experience and a piece of knowledge that I will keep with me forever.

WORK CITED

Arabs in America, “What is the Hijab and Why Do Women Wear it?”, arabsinamerica.unc.edu. ND. Web 27 Aug 2017.

 

Happy Birthday to us!!

 As a child I never knew I was poor because my mother always made every memory for my siblings and I something straight out of a fairy tale. The tooth fairy left us money under our pillows, Santa came while we were asleep, and the Easter bunny pooped rainbow candy filled eggs in our living room while we were at church. I never had a birthday party or fancy birthday vacations but one thing my mother always made sure was to make my birthday, my special day.

 Now as an adult and a mom myself I keep the tradition alive. At work when it is someone's birthday my employers give us a check, a card, and a cake. I’ve spent 22 years of my life believing everyone celebrated birthdays like me. One year at work it was a coworker’s birthday, a card was going around the office for the staff to sign, I handed it to another coworker to my surprise she said “No, I don’t celebrate birthdays, I am Jehovah Witness”. It was such a shock to me. Uneducated about her religion, I found myself thinking, how can someone not celebrate another year of life? If it is because a religion, shouldn’t we thank God for allowing us to celebrate another year?

As the years went by, I watched my coworkers pass around the card for people to sign and we would skip her. We would serve cake to everyone and she wouldn’t look its way. Every year you would hear someone say, “How can she not celebrate birthdays?”

Jehovah Witness don’t celebrate birthdays because they believe it displeases god. (Jw.org) Although people who do not practice Jehovah Witness believe another birthday is a blessing from God, Jehovah Witness believe you are putting your body vulnerable to evil spirits and influences to attack your body (jw.org)

My mom had the hardest job of all. Raising 5 children, keeping up with every holiday tradition and birthdays but I now can’t help but wonder, how would she have been able to make our childhood seem like a fairy tale without holidays and birthdays?

             Work Cited

"Why Don't Jehovah's Witnesses Celebrate Birthdays?". JW.org. ND. Watch Tower Bible and Tract

     Society of Pennsylvania. Web. 08 Aug 2017

Karina Castillo
Eng112
09/01/17

The most popular city in the United States

New York City is the place where i live. New York City is a big place where we can feel free. We have a lot of public transportation like busses and trains that makes you move easily to your destination. Public transportation can be a better choice than having a car because of the bad traffic in the city.

Here in New York City you can also find different malls where they have different kind of fashion. Morgan Peterson says " New York is all about attitude. You have to wear outfit with confidence. The New York pavement is your catwalk, so let your clothes speak for themselves.''

However, Here we have friendly people from different places that speaks different languages. I feel happy interacting around people, and by that way I can learn about their different culture. New York City also have different places that you can visit like museum, park and entertainments.

when it comes to education it is amazing because the government supports the student with there tuition and also they provide good programs like taking care of the baby of the students when they are at class, they also have summer programs opportunities for those parents that can't take care of their child so they can go to work without worrying.

New York City has medicaid for those who has low income, medicare for senior citizen and Obama care for those who has high income. Most of the insurance covers clinic and medication.

In this city, we have different kinds of weather, in summer its hot and nice to be out of the house, when its fall, the weather is nice because its not too cold and not too hot. In winter, it is very cold and it snows a lot, during the spring the weather can be mixed even cold or hot.

There is a lot of church that practice different religions that give you the chance to be congregate with a freedom to choose.

Although New York City has a lot of sources to get jobs by the government, agencies and online.

I recommend to everyone to come visit New York City to experience all the good things that we have in big apple.

Work Cited
Morgan, Peterson. How to effectively dressed like a New Yorker
http://www.harpersbazaar.com

Awake New York

Awake New York

Every morning on my way to high school on the lower east side of Manhattan, I would walk past a housing facility that was specifically designed for Chinese residents.

I can recall when the building was being constructed and how beautiful the place had been transformed. The trees gave off a serene feel and the black and red signs which I couldn’t read (smile) along with the art around the facility was nice to look at.  

However, what caught my eye as I looked to my left and what drew my curiosity every time I passed by was that there was the cutest group of Chinese men and women, mostly elderly,  in their yard practicing Tai Chi. I couldn’t help but to stare at them and watch their movements as they moved their legs sometimes in ways I couldn’t (laugh) and stretching out their arms in harmony like birds, turning left and right as if pushing the waves in then pushing them out  and circling in the wind with their hands that displayed the strength in their physique. The looks on their face were very calm and serene as some meditated and some of them were humorous depending on the moves they’d make.

Tai chi is a form of martial arts that the Chinese practice. There are several types of Tai Chi such as the Sun, Wu, Hao and Chen styles (Lam) which consists of extreme strengths and stances that are lower Sun or higher Chen movements that work best for people with various physical demands (Lam). They practice this because it is a spiritual and physically therapeutic form of tapping into their “ying, yang” nature in order to bring balance to their everyday lives.

Many times as I’ve passed by with my coffee in hand, I’ve glanced over and find myself smiling and admiring their positive energy and feel good over all.

Work Cited

Lam, Paul MD

“History of Tai Chi.”taichiforhealthinstitute.org.ND

Tai Chi Productions 2007.Web 26 Aug 2017

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