External Journey: A way to explore our culture

"We travel, some of us forever, to seek other states, other lives, other souls" 
-Anais Nin, The Diary of Anais Nin 

     In our English class named "Journey in Literature" we focused on the journey we take during our lives. Our journey can be divided into two categories: Internal and external journey. The internal Journey help one to discover our personality, what Identifies us as a person; Our external journey helped us to find what identifies us as a culture.

     With the help of the blog, we made our external journey. Creating a blog was a new task for me, and a felt a tittle lost at the beginning, but it was a very effective method to analyze our lectures. During the semester, we analyze different novels and stories that we can relate to our society. One of the novels, Jim Cooper's novel called "Down on the Island", was a novel that showed us the educational system during the 50's. I really loved this novel because it showed us the things that we need to improve to be a better society.

     What I really loved most about this blog was that I learned that we are tourists of our own country. The activity titled "A day as a tourist" gave me an oportunity to explore the Island's content. It was a great experience for me.

     Finally, we, as locals, do not appreciate the beauty of the Island. We need to promote internal tourism to know our island's history and heritage. I started with the blog, I was really a tourist, but now that I Know more about the culture of Puerto Rico, I really feel more as a traveler in my own home, and it is because now I am beggining to appreciate the Island. I am looking foward to keep discovering the beauty of Puerto Rico, which is the main objective of my external journey.  

   
     

Inner Journey

"There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that is your own self"

 -Aldous Huxley

      One day, I woke up in the morning and the first thought that came to my mind was: Am I really doing the right thing? These and other reflective questions crosses our mind very frequently, questions that need answers preety soon. We tried to look for solutions: talk to a friend about the issue, read motivational videos, but, for people like me, it is not a really effective method.

     In my English class, it was assigned a Journal for 8 weeks, which I will write 5 reflexions a week about the first thoughts that we found in our heads, and they need to get out; Second, 3 compasses a week, analyzing my internal journey. At first, I found this as a project, but throughout the course, it was more than just a project. 

     The English Journal helped me to find my internal journey, answering most of the questions in my mind. It was a way to express my feelings or thoughts. It is not so easy for me to talk about the real Giovanni, and at the beginning, it was a little hard to express myself on a paper, but with dedication, it became more fluent to write about my ideas and concerns. The journal also helped me to improve my english writing , especially improving my english grammar. I was not a good english writer when I wrote my first 10 reflexions. 

     Two of the reflexion's rule was: First, do not get logical; Second, do not worry about spelling and punctuation. It was not wasy to put all my thoughts in a 10 minute writing exercise without checking my spelling and I tried to get logical so many times that it really wasted significant amount of  writing time. 

     Througout the semester, I became more confortable with the journal, and it became an everyday hobby. At the end of the exercise,I was more relaxed or happier. I talk to my friends about this creative task, and how good it was to have one from now on.

     Finally, the journal, along with the compass, helped me to evaluate myself and try to correct what I was doing wrong. With the help of the journal, I am looking foward to keep discovering the journey of life, ready for the challenges that I found during my trip, and willing to explore more about the world that makes our internal journey more interesting.

   

Panel "Immigration and Puerto Rico today"

Last wednesday, College of General Studies of the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus presented an English Conference titled: "Students Interventions in General Studies: Interdisiplinary projects and creative initiatives". The activity consisted of several group of students from different english courses presenting their research writing.

One of the panels presented that day was one named: "Immigration and Puerto Rico today". Two girls presented thir research about the topic, but they also shared their personal experience about being an immigrant, and how difficult it is to be accepted and respected in a country which Xenophobia is a very serious issue.

Even that they are from an intensive english course, and they are not so fluent with english, it was the best panel of the Activity that day. They presented how Xenophobia is present in Puerto Rico, as Well in Dominican Republic. Even that the issue affect them, they were in favor of immigration. Also, they also offered real solutions to the social issue.

This kind of problems are happening constantly, and it is unfair to judge people according to they nationality. Personally, I loved what they did. It vas a brave action from them to challenge their limits and talked about their personal experiences in front of an audience.

Panel Titled: "Mini Sagas: My creative Process"

Last tuesday, the College of General Studies of the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus presented an English Conference titled: "Students Interventions in General Studies: Interdisiplinary projects and creative initiatives". The activity consisted of several group of students from different english courses presenting their research writing.

One of the panels presented last tuesday was titled: "Mini sagas: My creative process", by a group of students fromthe professor Mildred Lockwood. 

The Minisaga was like a poem, and it had to be exactly 50 words. It is not an easy project, but the students presented their respective mini sagas with enthusiasm and charisma. Some of them talked about appearances, love, and Identity. It was a very creative writing, well elaborated. 

Personally, I like each of the minisagas presented, I am looking foward to read more Mini Sagas in a future.

Puerto Rican culture, according to "The Rum Diary"

"I tend to avoid alcohol"
(Pause)
"[Takes a bottle of alcohol], When I can." -Paul Kemp

     American Actor Johnny Depp protagonizes a movie called "The Rum Diary", which is based on American Writer Hunter Thompson's Novel. In the movie, Paul Kemp (Johnny Depp) has not been a successful writer and Journalist in the United States. Besides, he is a heavy drinker which it can be influenced by his unsucessful journey. Instead, he takes an offer as an writer for a newspaper in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The newspaer business which Johnny Depp applied to work was going to close soon.

     The movie takes place during the 1960's. Like many other foreigns, Kemp came for the first time to the island without any knowledge about the actual status of Puerto Rico, its culture, the lifestyle of Puerto Ricans, etc. He just came to Puerto Rico to take advantage of the oppotunity that it was presented, just thinking about the job and he did not wanted to relate with the local environment, as well as the tourists that were intervewed in the Bowling. What Kemp did not expected was that here in the island is where his journey just began to start. 

    Kemp was assigned to write about horoscopes, but when he begins to relate with Sala, he begins to see the reality that locals face everyday. He can analyse how poor are puerto rican society. He really want to wants to talk about the economical status of Puerto Rico, but his boss does not, becuse it will affect Puerto Rico's tourism. Besides, he also tells that puerto rico's society is not an interest for tourists: they just visit the island because of the beautiful beaches, partying, and the local Rum. Kemp also sees the tourist perspective when he meets Sanderson, a realtor who, with other people, want to beging working on some prime real state.

     As the movie goes on, Kemp gets more involved in Island issues, and he want to work with the sitation. At the beginning of the movie, Kemp was a tourist who was not interested in Puerto Rican Culture, but as the action progresses, he contemplates and is awared of the poverty in Puerto Rico. We can see the transition from tourist to traveler.

   At the end of the movie, Kemp goes back to the United States, and he became a very successful writer.This movie can be compared with Jamaica Kinkaid's novel "A small island". The movie, as well as the novel, shows us the mentality of tourists when they vacation somewhere, just caring about the hotel and entertaintment, avoiding the real issue that is affecting the local people, struggling to progress as a nation.

Internal Tourism in Fajardo, Puerto Rico

     Bright Sun, clear water, hot sand...These are the three things that I enjoy when I visit a Beach somewhere in the Island. Saturday was my lucky day: I was looking for a place that I have never been to. A couple of friends helped me to find that place, and after a hour long reunion, we finally had our destination. We went to a beach in Fajardo called Seven Seas. A couple of friends and I started our Journey, with a BBQ and a refrigerator with beverages.

     We arrived to the beach, and the place was not full as expected. It was nice and the water was warm. While my friends were playing volleyball and swimming, I was analyzing the environment, which it was very calm and clean. 

     Later, a local person talk with us about and mentioned a little beach called Playa Escondida, which it was very close to Seven Seas. We were very interested and excited to go there. After walking 20 minutes from Seven Seas to Playa Escondida, we finally arrived.

     Playa Escondida is one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever been to. The water was magical and very clear, and with a sunny weather, we had an amazing time as a group. This experience was awesome and made me realize that sometimes, as locals, we do not appreciate the places that makes Puerto Rico unique, and we need to act as tourists/travelers to enjoy it. 

Something more than just a love story.

Sometimes, when we are in another place vacationing, we feel like we are in a dream place, like something special can happen in that country. In the movie "A Room with a view" presents a love story between Lucy Honeychurch, a woman who comes from a wealthy family, and George Emerson, a lower class person who really loves Lucy. The novel not only just showed us what true love it is really aboout, it is a movie that shows us more than a love story.

It all starts when Lucy and her older cousin Charlotte Bartlett travel to Florence, Italy as tourists. Lucy and her cousin complains because they did not have a room with a view, because they were staying in rooms with no view. Later, traveler Mr. Emerson and his son George offer their rooms with views for Lucy and Charlotte. We can see the Kindness from the travelers. Like Me. Emerson said: "I don't care what I see outside. My vision is within! Here is where the birds sing! Here is where the Sky is blue."

The resident's kindness can vary, depending on which country you come from, and which social class are you related. From the beginning, the residents (Italians) tried to be kind with the tourists, and they showed to the tourists that the want everyone to know about their history, but the tourists were not fully interested. Some tourists just do not appreciate the things that makes the place unique. Like Eleanor Lavish said to Charlotte: "Every city has its own smell." We can compare this movie with Jamaica Kinkaid's novel "A small place". We can see in both stories how tourists did not care about the residents and the island history, they just cared about the beauty of the country/island. It is a very ignorant thought coming from the tourists.

In contrast, the Emersons were really travelers, because they were very interested in Italian Culture, they respected the residents.

Also, on this movie we can see the difference between social classes. This is how identity is established in every person of the movie. By the standards of Lucy's social circle, George is clearly an unacceptable match for Lucy, even that he is clearly the perfect match in all other ways. He really values Lucy for herself, and he wants her independent and free, but lucy gets engaged with Cecl, an upper social class mas who is very dislikeable and disrespected everyone that, according to him, was lower than him. He sets a dominant and arrogant posture. He even said: " I have no profession. My Attitude is that as long as I am no trouble to anyone, I have the right to do as I like." 

Even that he is a wealthy man, Lucy stays with George, proving that real love does not have a social class. The movie it is very entertaining and original. I recommend it.

The thin line between helping and cheating.

"When Students cheat on exams it's because our School system values grades more than students value learning" -Neil deGrasse Tyson

      Like Jim Cooper wrote, Puerto Ricans are the most hospitable people in the world: they really love to help everyone that needs it, especially their friends. It is fine to help people you really care about, but what happens when you help a person in a situation that you are not supposed or allowed to do it? The very-interesting chapter eight of the novel "Down on the island" by Jim Cooper talks about how students helped each other during tests. This is known as cheating, and college students know that this attitude has so many negative consecuences. The great problem is that, students did not realize that they were doing something wrong. When Cooper asked them why are they looking at other student's papers, they honestly said that they really needed  the answer to get a better grade.

    Also, Students really think that if they don't have a good grade at the end of the semester, it is because the proffesor never liked them. Professors want you earn that good grade. Most students do not want to study english because they do not dominate the class, or they care more about the grade that they want to obtain, but in an easy way. The real problem is that school system makes them to think that way. Cooper writes that even teachers promote the cheating attitude.

     This problem is still affect people, including myself. Sometimes we just want to help people, but we dont realize when we are helping in a in a bad way. We just have to make a balance between these two problems. We have to promote active learning (Cooperative works really improves the student's intelectual status. Every problem has a solution, we just need to work on it.

Puerto Rican Educational system in the 50's, by Jim Cooper

     Jim Cooper presents in chapter 7 on his story "Down on the Island", how political and economical changes in the island affected the educational system, especially with English language. English was primarily the main language, but since the drastic changes affected the island in the 1950's decade, it became a second language, and most people didn't want to learn english well, or teach it well. The goverment changed the educational system now. Like Jim Cooper wrote: "The Emphasis is on learning to speak the language by imitating the native speaker model. Quite Obviously, If the teacher cannot speak the language, then the system cannot work".

     Jim Cooper experiences how students did not care about english class. The majority did not wanted to learn because they did not know english very well. On the other hand, they were not fully motivated to learn english, especially from local teachers (known as native speaker model). They gave their class to their students in an incorrect method. For example, the person assigned gave the class in a way that they think that they were following the system: obligating the students to pronunctuate  many times the same sentence, without knowing the true meaning of it.  They did not care if the student was really learning, they just wanted to follow the system.

    Cooper experienced this conflict in the 1950's, we are in 2014 and there are still teachers that they don't really teach very well english, and the most sad part is that they know it. These social problem keed growing, but there are real solutions, we just have to look for them. Like Cooper, there are other professors who really want to motivate their students and teach the way that they can improve and become better intelectual people. Like Brad Henry said: "A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instill a love of learning."

A small place called Home

"Antigua is a small place. Antigua is a very small place. In antigua, not only is the event turned into everyday, but the everyday is turned into an event" 

Sometimes, when we are on vacation in a different place away from home and all the work that we have to deal with every day in our respective lives, we find that place a dreamland, like we are locked out of heaven. For the people that lives in that place, reality is different, and cruel.

Jamaica Kinkaid, author of the novel "A small place", talks about the reality that Antiguans face every day in a small island in the caribbean called Antigua, still dealing with social, cultural, and political issues from the past. Antigua wan an English colony, and in november 1st 1981, Antigua obtained independence. Unfortunately, Antigua never progressed as an independent island, and poverty and corruption took over the island.

Antigua, a beautiful and sunny island (as described in the novel), is often visited by different tourists coming from different countries. According to the novel, tourists don't really know what it is happening on Antigua. According to Kinkaid, they care more about the sunny weather, be relaxed in the beach, eat "Local seafood". For Kinkaid, tourists are morally ugly that usually travels  to escape the boredom of ordinary life." They want to see new thing and people, see the beauty of Antigua; they do not understand the corruption and social deterioration that the island is going through. That is why Antiguan people hate tourists, as well they envy their lifestyle, gesture, etc.

According to Kinkaid, corruption is related to colonization in that it is a continuation of the oppression of colonialism. Antigua was never able to recover to become what it used to be when they were Great Britain's colony. Kinkaid tells that Antigua is not the same island as it was when she was young. For example, the library was damaged a long time ago, and has not yet been repaired. It has only a sign that says "to be repaired soon". The people from Antigua never taught how to be ordinary people, especially in a beautiful island they call home.

These two major problems that Kinkaid presents in her Short novel, also occurs in different places around the world, especially in Puerto Rico. Poverty and Corruprion is also an everyday's issue that affects all social classes of puerto rican society. This social disease is growing every day and it will guide us to cultural deterioration.

One quality that caracterizes puerto ricans are their hospitality, but throughout the years this has been changing. I remember that I was in Old San Juan and a few people were making jokes about the tourists because they were lost in the city. They were joking instead of helpig them. Also, like Antigua, Puerto Rican economyhas been deteriorating because of the politicians that has been controlling our island. Also, people really want to "earn" their money in an easy way, like corruption, drug dealing, etc. These issues don't bother tourists, because they come to Puerto Rico only to enjoy the hot weather and drink piña coladas.

Kinkaid's short novel made me think about my actions, not only as a tourist, also as a local. If we want to progress as a country we need to educate society and promote values. We have the tools to rescue our island, but without the help and dedication of all habitants of the country, it will not be possible, and it will affect our little place called home.

NY 2012

Who am I?

Hello! First of all, My name is Giovanni Rivera, I am a ninteen year old sophomore student, coming from Colegio Nuestra Señora del Pilar in Canóvanas, Puerto Rico. My major is Biology and my main goal is to finish my undergraduate studies, and become a Doctor. I love sports, especially martial arts, and Basketball. My family is very important for me, as well as my friends. 
Someday I would like to travel around the world, especially Europe. However, I had the oportunity to travel around the caribbean and United States. I have been to many places like:

1. Aruba
2. Curacao
3. Cozumel
4. Orlando, Florida
5. Atlanta, Geogia
6. Brooklyn, New York
7. New Jersey
8. Culebra, Puerto Rico
9. Vieques, Puerto Rico
10. Rincón, Puerto Rico

Of all the places I have visited, New York is my favorite place. I had a great time there: Walking into the streets of New York City, celebrating New Year's Eve in Times Square.  I really enjoyed New York, hope to go there again pretty soon.