Extra Credit Blog

The books that were chosen for the Senior Capstone seemed to fit an interesting niche in regards to identity. As I have been reflecting on how these books are or are not linked I realized that it is all in how we decided to read and were directed to read these novels. I am excited to read more of the books by these authors ( I have already bought the other book by Junot Diaz, Geek Love, and ordered several others. I also had not watched “Smoke Signals” but I did have a chance to view that movie already. A link that I did notice about the books assigned for class was that the main characters surfaced from minority cultures. I think this is particularly important for me because I do not come from a minority group. Even though these books are fiction, it did bring a new way of thinking about how other cultures have to navigate ever so carefully through a white world in order to discover their own identities. I like the varied topics and cultures because if reflected each group’s unique challenges. My favorite reading was “If You are What You Eat Than What Am I” because it offered an intense look at how a culture relates to another culture. This was also a great way to start out the semester because it linked the different reading through food. I have never thought of food as being such a challenge regarding assimilation into a culture. I think that is because the United States is coined with having some many different types of cuisines available that the average citizens is calloused to the sense of foreign food. This class has brought to my attention that although a restaurant claims to be authentic it does not mean the food tastes the same. Every culture must eat so food is a universal agent that can be used to bring all cultures together through difference. I know I certainly have a new way of viewing food. I think I will have an even great understanding of this after this summer. I am traveling to Spain for two weeks and it will be interesting to see how it feels to be part of the minority. Everything will be foreign to me and I will have to navigate through. This class was a great last class to take before my trip, I feel a little more prepared, and I will be viewing and evaluating my experiences there a little differently now. It will be interesting to see how the Spanish culture accepts us a white tourists and how they will look at me when I stumble on my diminishing Spanish speaking skills. I am certain to arrive back to the United States with a new perspective on how immigrants navigate and assimilate into the culture of the United States. I would have a hard time picking a favorite book out of this class, but that is good because hopefully the other books by these authors will be just as good!