the world is my oyster

Happy humpday lovelies. Sorry for the delay... as I was doing the reading for my Intergroup Dialogue class this week I came upon a very interesting article about oppression. Just to clarify, those that would be considered oppressed will be found in minority groups based on gender, ethnicity, skin color, first language, age , ability status, religion, sexual orientation and economic class. Unless you're a white middle-aged able-bodied man, I'd say that you fall into at least one minority category, in the United States that is. "When groups begin to empower themselves--by learning more about each other, by unlearning old myths and stereotypes by challenging the status quo--we make the difficult decision to interrupt the cycle of socialization." What cycle you ask? It's not showing up unfortunately, but it went something like this:

• [CORE] Fear, Ignorance, Confusion, Insecurity
• 
  
• [The Beginning] Born into World with Mechanics in Place; No Blame, No Consciousness, No Guilt No Choice; Limited Information, Misinformation, No Information; Biases, Stereotypes, Prejudices, History, Habit, Traditions 
• -->
• [First Socialization] Taught on a Personal Level by Parents, Relatives, Teachers, People we Love and Trust: Shapers of Expectations, Norms, Values, Roles, Rules, Models of Ways to Be, Sources of Dreams
• -->
• [Institutional and Cultural Socialization] Reinforced/Bombarded with Messages from: Institutions, Culture, Churches, Practices, Schools, Song Lyrics, Television, Language, Legal System, Media, Mental Health, Patterns of Thought, Medicine Business (On Conscious and Unconscious Levels)
• -->
• [Enforcements] Sanctioned, Stigmatized, Rewards and Punishments, Privilege, Persecution, Discrimination, Empowerment
• -->
• [Results] Dissonance, Silence, Anger, Dehumanization, Guilt, Collusion, Ignorance, Self-Hatred, Stress, Lack of Reality, Horizontal Violence, Inconsistency, Violence, Crime, Internalization of Patterns of Power
• -->
• [Actions] Do Nothing, Don't Make Waves, Promote Status Quo
• -OR-
• [Directions for Change] Change, Raise Consciousness, Interrupt, Educate, Take a Stand, Question, Reframe

I hope you're able to understand it. I didn't bold [Action] but rather, [Change], because that is at the foundation of this blogging project. Hopefully I'll be able to achieve it to some extent.


In other news, I am currently working on a project for another diversity-related class, Race, Gender & the Media. We are creating a print publication on many of the topics we cover in class with inspiration from our own lives and growing up in or outside of the United States. Each of us are writing a feature article (about 1500-2000 words) about various aspects of diversity and the media. I'm focusing on SUabroad, seeing as I'm a bit familiar with it ;).  Are students who study abroad taking full advantage of their opportunity for cultural integration and self-exploration through their own efforts? Do students actually learn anything as far as a global and cultural perspective is concerned? Or is it simply a semester-long vacation? And, if so, once back in the United States how are their relations with international students in their own country?

three hundred and forty

Hello darlings, I apologize for keeping you waiting all day. (Btw, following me yet? Please do: http://twitter.com/Danielle052988). I hope it went well!

Anyway, here's the deal: my official blogiversary was April 8th, 2009. Yes, it completely passed us by, and quickly. I didn't realize that I had been blogging for a complete year until May, which I guess would mean that I'd been blogging for a 13 months :).

In order to make up for it I decided to wait until an equally as important day to celebrate my blog and my blog readers... and, well, that day has come my friends! This is officially my 340th post. It has been 560 days since I began my blog journey, 18 months since I began to incorporate my passions for food, nutrition, and health into the blog content, and a little over one year since I began traveling with the blog alongside me. How time flies!

Why does this mean so much to me? Because of y-o-u. Since the creation of Around the World in 340 Days I have received nothing but support, encouragement, and kind words from every one of my readers, both bloggers and non-bloggers alike. I've exchanged emails with a few of you who have had questions, words of wisdom, of even just thought pass along a friendly "hello." Whether you are a likeminded college student, a study abroad veteran, a bloggie friend, or my ever-silent boy, I beyond appreciate all of you and everything you've been to me.

The past two posts about what led me to study languages, and ultimately study abroad were both leading up to this: I knew before I left that it would be the "trip of a lifetime," an experience, or rather, a multitude of experiences that would change the way I felt about myself and viewed the world but I could have never foreseen the way it would change me.

I am thankful for every single one of you that have joined me in that process. We both know that for as many ups as I've been lucky enough to have had, there have also been a good deal of downs :). And yet it has truly been comforting to know that no matter how far from how I was, I was never really alone, never forgotten.

Although there is no way that I'll ever be able to summarize the past 560 days and 340 posts, there are a few posts and experiences that especially stand out to me, whether it is because of the impact they've had or the memories they entice. Celebrate... and enjoy...

1) I discovered an inner-strength and confidence, that now, I could not imagine not relying on.

2) I found a best friend in Chilean host mom...

3) ...and my French host mom.

4) I took a leap of faith, despite the complicated details, and allowed myself to fall in love.

5) I questioned my beliefs... when I saw flamingos in the desert and penguins and seals at the beach ;).

6) I got out of my own way to become a runner.

7) I learned that there's another way to enjoy seaweed--in a soup!

8) I handed in my absentee ballot and voted for change.

9) I found that there really was truth in the cliché "you can do anything you put your mind to," when I climbed an active volcano.

10) I hosted my parents in Santiago, Chile and the beauty that surrounds it.

11) I learned how to make my favorite Ecuadorian soup, Locro de Papas.

12) I brought my boy to Chilean cuisine last holiday season, while he treated me to Alsatian dining this summer.

13) I learned how to make vegan banana bread.

14) I came to terms with my body and how it important it is I nourish it.

15) I learned what it means to have beer appreciation at the Heineken factory, wine appreciation at multiple vineyards, and champagne appreciation, in particular, at Taittinger.

16) I reunited avec ma souer while taking a weekend getaway to rural Alsace.

17) I went back to grandfather's Irish roots.

18) I let go of the labels, the guilt, and the restrictions.

19) I had my first taste of Eastern Europe and the kindness of strangers.

20) I galavanted with my SU roommates around Londontown.

21) I landed two amazing internships (probably due, in part, to my writing practice here.)

22) I took my first few exotic steps into Asia.

23) I realized that memories are not forgotten nor can they ever be lost.

24) I had my first-time dinner with some of my favorite bloggers.

25) I survived reverse-culture shock.

26) I went to my first Foodbuzz event... and cannot wait for the next.

27) I found out the power of optimism and a sunny outlook :).

28) I rocked and ran a (hopeful) series of 5Ks.

29) I experimented with raw food and indulged in enjoyed vegan lasagna and ice cream...

30) ...and in doing so, met inspiring mentors.

31) I re-discovered my love for all things yoga.

32) I learned how to internationally eat well through my own experiences.

33) I realized that poetry can explain everything.

34) I celebrated my twenty-first birthday, gaining the privilege to drink one of my favorite beverages of all time, wine.

Cheers! And as a bonus, for good luck, I did it... of which directly translates to "we did it." Now, question: what do you possibly wish for when all the majority of your dreams come true? ;). Answer: perhaps give yourself a blog break, see you this weekend!

P.S. Photos are courtesy of my month in Ecuador, it is an ABC (absolutely beautiful country.)

modern foreign language, part ii

(A continuation of Part I)

... I wasn't convinced that I could do it. In theory it's easy to take chances, try new things, go beyond where most people have ever been before, and have it all be a solo experience, but in reality, it was terrifying, especially with the pressure I was putting on myself. Nonetheless, I didn't allow my fear to hold me back, I went for it, whether or not I knew I was capable of  succeeding.

Every time someone tells me that they admire me for what I've done, that I am somewhat of an inspiration, I really am surprised. I am no one too special, I didn't overcome anything too difficult, I simply put everything I had into achieving what it is that I set out to do... become trilingual and in doing so, grow as a global citizen. This alone is enough to be counteracted with countless "good for you" but the truth is, it shouldn't be a foreign aspiration.

"In the words of Senator Paul Simon, the United States is a 'linguistically malnourished' country compared with many other nations. Despite the large number of individuals from other language and cultural backgrounds who live in various communities throughout the United States, relatively few Americans can boast proficiency in a language other than English. While ample opportunities exist in many other countries to develop proficiency in a second language, exposure to foreign languages in the United States is far from adequate."

I wonder who could argue that foreign language proficiency is actually appreciated in this country. In my International Communications class, we had the opportunity to meet a translator. The first thing he told us was not to take for granted how lucky we are that English is our first language. Unfortunately, that same privilege is what holds us back. "The geographic isolation of the United States and the growing importance of English in the world have contributed to giving Americans a false sense of security vis a vis their need for foreign language competence."

If I have learned one thing over this past year and a half, it is that, "The ability to speak other countries' languages with an awareness and understanding of their cultures is obviously crucial to effective international communication." I don't know if I ever shared this with you all, but within a few days of living in Chile I learned the proper statement to say after finishing a meal, it was not that I was llena or full, but rather satisfecha. "I am satisfied." Genius.

There is an eternal landscape, a geography of the soul; we search for its outlines all our lives.  " (Josephine Hart)

Words by Danielle E. Alvarez. Photos by Kate O. 

*I took the plunge! Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Danielle052988