Cultural Diversity

I have two names - my school name and my home name. kuh-NEE-kuh is my school name and KUH-nee-kuh is my home name (both spelled Kanika). With each name is a different identity.

Have you ever looked in the mirror and thought " I wonder what I would look like as a different race". I always considered myself to be a person who appreciates the differences in cultures but seeing yourself as a different race really shows you that we really are more similar than we think.

My AP Psych teacher Mrs. Nelsen showed us a video called "A girl like me" which is a short documentary that delves into the lives of African American girls and their self perception. I go to a school that is predominantly White and after the movie many of my White classmates were touched by the documentary and its candidness about Black issues such as skin tone and hair.

One thing that I've noticed about African Americans is that on the whole, we don't see ourselves as African. Of course we recognize our African ancestry but do we really identify ourselves as Africans in America? I remember as a kid, being called African was an insult! " You African booty scratcher" they would say. So, how proud are we really of being African?

In the midst of the air I always hear two or more people verbally going at each others’ throat. Bitter bickering never ceases, it has plagued us all since the beginning of man. Hardly anyone tries to find middle ground between each other. Once someone disagrees they begin to throw a tantrum.

I just started my second year of living and working in Japan. I came here in March, 2007, without knowing any Japanese. It has been an interesting journey of classes and learning, and I really should be studying harder to get the language down.

Alright, where to begin?

A little background on the community in which I work: it is comprised mainly of hispanic immigrants from Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Peru, and Columbia. I work in an elementary school where about 90% of the parents are Spanish speaking only. When conversating with many of these parents, it has come to my attention that they desperately need/want to learn the English language.