The Desire to Educate

     As Cooper communicates in his chapter “Teaching English”, English professors along the years have experienced a lot of issues. We, as Puerto Ricans, are very proud of our culture and language. Sometimes we might be a little rude or closed-minded due to historical experiences with foreign countries trying to take advantage of us. Island natives should continue evolving and start thinking that gaining foreign knowledge won’t take away who we are as Puerto Ricans. Being versatile in cultures and language is just a great advantage to a citizen.

It caught my attention when the author states that the professors were doing a great job, but merely as professors. The desire to educate the students was present, but the lack of education the instructors had was affecting their performance. Also we need to take in consideration the period were all of this took place. It was starting the foreign language education by obligation of the government in Puerto Rico. I do not believe this was a mistake because a vast majority of us are right now bilingual and have a lot of advantages in comparison to others. 

Right now the English education is a great one in both, public and private schools; all of this has happened thanks to the determination of people like Cooper, that didn’t give up on us. Nowadays there are less people who believe we are not capable of learning new things. Our culture has grown in various ways and we see how earlier generation have bigger aspirations. More and more citizens wish to not just expand their knowledge in English, but other languages. I believe and hope that in the future, my children and grandchildren will share my perspective about knowledge being our own development within society and not a direct relationship to the political status. 

The discussion is based on University of Puerto Rico - Mayagüez, exactly where this picture is from. The name of the building is in English, the language who the own professors didn't had the skill to teach. It was just a change that took place and there is proof of it. 

     

A Room with a View, 20th Century Romantic Movie

     A Room with a View (1985) is a film adaptation to E.M. Forster's novel from 1908. The movie is classified as a 20th century romantic movie as others, such as Titanic (1997). Titanic, being my favorite movie makes me make an immediate comparison in both late 20th century films. It is amazing how in both it's shown the power love had, and as we know still has. I believe that this set of movies was a step towards breaking the power society had over your personal love life. 

     The movies such as A Room with a View are the ones that show the real true love. Nowadays there are scarce the movies that show the love portrayed in this ones. There has been bad evolution of the romantic movies that made you believe that “love conquers all.” Are they gone? I know that the modern movies express a little closeness to reality, but I’m sure that some romantic fantasy won’t harm any romantic enthusiast like me. As there are a lot of movies that take the audience to believe the power a drug may have over a human being is positive, the “fantasy” behind the movies as A Room with a View and Titanic will still captivate the spectators.

“George had turned at the sound of her arrival. For a moment he contemplated her, as one who had fallen out of heaven. He saw radiant joy in her face, he saw the flowers beat against her dress in blue waves. The bushes above them closed. He stepped quickly forward and kissed her (6.39).”
-Quote from the book, A Room with a View

     As we saw in the movie, the book also describes detailed how their love is present. It is in this quote where we see how George acts as his heart dictates it and not by what society wants. There are moments like this that I miss in movies, moments when you feel the actors’ connection and makes you think if you’ve found that true love. Not the movies were love relies more on the circumstances that on the power of love. Every time I take some time to watch a movie like this, I’m reminded of what true love might be like.

        

Influence Of Your Vernacular Over Foreign Languages

Language is a cultural characteristic that binds and individual to their territory. Among the years there have been a big influence on English around the world. Depending islands usually show the biggest foreign language impact. During the conference held at the General Studies theatre it was examined the influence United State’s English has over Puerto Rico, as England’s has over Malta. Due to the geographic location of both islands and the variation in language of the bigger territories we should have thought that the English spoken in the islands would have had a great variation. Surprisingly, with deeper investigation it was discovered that the native languages give a certain characteristic to the English spoken in Puerto Rico and Malta.

Although the influences of English in Malta and Puerto Rico come from territories that show a notable difference, their native language bond their English accent.  Malta has Maltese language as their vernacular, while Puerto Rico has Spanish. Both local languages share a Latin background. The key on the similarities that Malta and Puerto Rico might share in their foreign English might be attributed to their Latin native dialect. During the conference it was explained such similarities between the English’s’ spoken; this led me to think into the fact that it doesn’t matter the extraterritorial influence each culture might have, the native aspects will show a greater control.

In conclusion, the similarity in languages shows how the cultures adapt the foreign languages while their vernacular is kept within their culture. Language, like traditions are altered, but never changed. The territory where a culture stands is a reminder of who they are and who they were. In Puerto Rico English has arose notoriously, but being in the island reminds me over and over again that Spanish and our native words are part of me. Being bilingual is an opportunity that can’t go to waste, but just remember that your vernacular will always rule over any other language spoken.

From Puerto Rico to Malta 

My Culture, My Island...

I’ve lived in Puerto Rico all my life and dealt with diverse Puerto Rican perspectives. Many families see Puerto Rico as a place that their children should run away from, but many others believe in staying united. Puerto Ricans show confidence about their culture anywhere they might settle in. We have strong traditions that nobody could change, but the ones that leave the island might adapt those traditions.  The worldwide perception due to my experience of Puerto Ricans is one that enhances our joy and intensity. Since I’ve only traveled to the United States, I could talk about how Americans show how much they enjoy our festivities and applauses as the airplane arrives.

It is important to know that Americans have a different culture and we have ours. There are things that attach each culture to their own territory. As in everything, there are exceptions to my observation of how Puerto Rico is seen by others; there are Americans that feel disgust and simply can’t stand us, the “Ugly Americans”. I believe that the perception varies from place to place. Sometimes the perception of Puerto Rico is altered by how we act or interact when we are outside our territory. Many Puerto Rican’s have an intense character that might be misunderstood by other cultures.

In general, Puerto Rico is seen as a beautiful island. The island’s women and athletes have shone worldwide, giving us a cultural standing. Not all Puerto Ricans share the same thinking or knowledge to interact with other cultures, such as the American. Due to political misunderstandings and issues, our culture may show antipathy towards the United States. Such behavior is one that it’s being modified as natives educate themselves. At this point is when the aspect of respect towards other cultures comes in. All cultures should be respected, and Puerto Ricans need to learn and understand this.

El Yunque National Forest - Rio Grande, PR

Living in Puerto Rico is like literally living in paradise. I love my island and feel free to visit any place around the world. The weather and internal tourism is exceptional, making me never want to leave. The opportunities I might have outside the island will always be taken in consideration. Making my knowledge grow outside the island is something I plan on doing, but being Puerto Rican will never change.  Everybody dreams on living somewhere else, I am no different. In the future, I would love to live for a while in New York. I’ve visited New York and love it there, but I know I would want to come back to Puerto Rico. My whole family lives here, and I would love to see my children grow up as I did. The connection to family is a trait Puerto Ricans have, maybe that’s just another characteristic that makes me even more proud of my culture. Every place around the world has its pros and cons, but my culture attaches me to my beautiful island of Puerto Rico.

Who You Are

Our identity is obtained mainly by our place of birth. It is our country what unifies everything that makes up a culture. Being part of a culture consists of explaining your beliefs and way of being. Culturally we are all divided in various groups that give us uniqueness. Within a culture are various aspects that serve as a barrier in cases where people are enclosed to only understand their ethnicity. Peter Roberts explains his view of a human’s identity in this writing were we can try to picture ourselves.

Throughout the first paragraph he explains the concept of language as a barrier between cultures. I agree with this point of view since living in an island and not having English as our first language has shown discrimination in many occasions. Being mainly Spanish speakers bonds us, but at the same time segregates us from those non-Spanish speakers. Being able to speak two languages is something not many share, but it’s a privilege since communication is the key in life. Knowing about other cultures do not change our identity, but only builds our understanding to others.

It is explained that the unknown appears to be abnormal. What’s different isn’t supposed to be judged, but understood and respected. The importance of a vast linguistic knowledge gives every human being the capability to understand the cultures around the world. It is very interesting to see how other communities act differently. The identity is given from your hometown and can’t be changed; it doesn’t matter where I go, I’ll always have my beliefs and customs as a true Puerto Rican. 

The othering made by other groups is an act of disrespect and lack of knowledge. As the essay states, only the direct contact with foreign cultures will build in you the understanding and knowledge needed to recognize that group’s own identity. All human beings are equal, but each has a set of characteristics given by their culture that makes him/her unique. Identity in general is built in an individual majorly by the culture of a certain group, but the experiences are what mainly make each of us a different person. The Caribbean has a vast diversity since different groups colonized in this area. Some islands are from France, others from Spain, but our identity as a whole is given due to our physical appearance. The geographical location is what makes the Caribbean a whole, while aspects as language make each island a unique entity.

A Puerto Rican In Washington D.C.

Tourists tend to find hard to adapt to other cultures, but it’s something that should be done due to respect.  While walking through the street in other countries, as a tourist you observe the vast differences you might have with the people that live there. As a Puerto Rican, I consider myself quite close to the Americans but the differences in culture are explicit. The perception of tourists might change from place to place; in Washington D.C. how the tourists are treated might be quite unpleasant.

The relationship between the people that live in D.C. and the tourists is one of antipathy. The taxi drivers who deal with tourists everyday do not show any interest in sharing a nice conversation with them. Myself, being a tourist felt discriminated. Taxi drivers left you waiting when called or simply said no when you waved your hand. They made questions in a rare way as if we were too different to them. I used family members to go on their own and evaluate how they were treated also. I concluded that they just didn’t enjoy tourists. There was one driver that focused on talking about the bad English accent that the Puerto Ricans have. It’s absurd that they complain about our English, when we are more versatile in languages than most of them.

White House - Washington, D.C

I continued to evaluate how we were treated or just how we were looked at. While riding the Metro I noticed how African American stared at my Puerto Rican friends and me; it made me feel quite uncomfortable. Usually our culture treats tourists different. I’ve had the opportunity of speaking with tourists here in Puerto Rico and they’ve explained how they love our charisma.

I believe that in the island we sometimes are nicer to foreigners than to other island civilians. Because of what I’ve seen my whole life I was quite shocked at Washington D.C. with this behavior. Soon after taking a look around I remembered the Ugly American. We talked in class about how this term refers to the Americans that visit and criticize every aspect of our culture. I noticed that it wasn’t just present when they visited, but also when we came to their place. The taxi driver that criticized our accent was just the best example I could find.  The discrimination just experiences I think was majorly by the othered African American cultures, because of the

How Your Identity Guides Your Observations

Everybody has an event or circumstance in their life that changes or gives them their identity. In my case, studying in an all girl school gave me a different perspective of life in many ways. Society is one that have discriminated woman, and since I was a little girl I was taught that women could be very powerful. Throughout the years this discrimination has decreased, but it is present in some cultures. Raised to believe that women can be anything they want to be makes it hard for me to see or accept those cultures where women are oppressed. All of these years believing this have made me watch carefully how men treat women around me. I can’t stand men who abuse women to feel more powerful. When coming to this subject I observe every detail and in my personal life I take in consideration every aspect I like or not. It’s not being a feminist, but just not approving of that discrimination towards women that was once present in our society.

Usually I pay close attention to couples and how they interact with each other. It’s not about being the best one, but to make each other happy. Due to the education and lifestyle I’ve had, I tend to expect a lot of men. Like I said, I pay close attention to the small details. Any woman would love to see how a true gentleman helps her with her heavy bags. I understand that in a relationship everything needs to go both ways, but there are things that I expect. My identity from the start was guided to look for a true gentleman; I believe that this aspect of my life was a fundamental one that would not change and guide a lot of decision I might be taking in the future.