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Reasons for understanding cultural differences
Reasons for understanding cultural differences
Understanding cultural differences
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Little did I know.
On a January day, 2 years ago my mother came home with a bunch of information about this summer camp in the Pocono Mountains. Both me and my mother glanced through some of the information and talked about what a great opportunity this could be for me.
Although I do admit being a little scared not because I was afraid of being away from home for 21 days but because it was something new with a different culture and a different religion that from what I grew up.
The days came closer for me to go and the more excited yet hesitant I was about leaving for this camp. Although the shopping for new clothes and labeling my name on everything was fun to do I had no idea what it would actually be like to go to camp. Everyday I would ask myself, will I be the only non-Jewish kid there? How are the kids over there? Are they accepting? Caring? What will we be doing at camp? The more we got ready for the day to come the faster the year went by which meant the closer camp was about to start.
I never stayed away for 21 days in a state I have never been to with people I've never s...
My book The Devil's Arithmetic By Jane Yolen is about a girl named Hannah stern who is a young Jewish girl living in New Rochelle, NY. She and her family, including her parents and younger brother Aaron are to in a Seder at her grandparent's home. Hannah does not want to be at the seder. She is tired of hearing about the past and is uncomfortable listening to her Grandpa Will talk about his experiences in the concentration camp."
I remember the anxiety and excitement that I felt as I exited the plane with twenty other high school students, embarking on my summer teaching experience, wondering if I was fully prepared. The moment the busloads of children arrived, I attached myself to a group of kids and started singing and dancing with them. Despite my initial fears, we began to form a bond. My role changed from that of a teenager to that of a responsible counselor. Not only was I here to teach them about Judaism through classes and activities, but more importantly I was acting as a role model. For the majority of Ukrainian children, we were the first Americans they had ever met and, therefore, were watched vigilantly and constantly emulated. This humbling realization made me feel rather self-conscious at first. However, their desire to imitate also heightened the impact of that which we taught them. They wanted to learn. Although an immense language barrier lay between the campers and me, we managed to communicate through translators, hand signals, songs, and broken English and Russian.
After making the difficult decision of moving out from a school I called home and attended since Kindergarten, my freshman year in a new environment made for a rocky start. I fell into the wrong crowd, tried getting out, but kept making bad decisions, which eventually led to a deep depression. My dreams I had as a child were fading before my eyes, and negative thoughts consumed my mind. I started to believe that I had no purpose and could never amount to anything, but the four days at Camp Barnabas in Missouri changed the course of my entire life. This experience was important to me and helped sculpt me into the person I am today.
In 2009, my parents and I decided to travel to San Antonio, Texas for vacation. My parents and I have traveled there before, but we enjoyed it so much that we decided to go back. With many places to see and do; my parents thought that we should go to Six Flags Fiesta Texas. It was at this theme park, where something happened that I would never forget.
I never wanted to leave. I truly thought my life was ending on that August day in 2010 as the Peter Pan bus pulled off the dirt bumpy road in New Hampshire on its trek back to the Bloomingdales parking lot in Connecticut. The night before, I stood on the shore of New Found Lake looking out at the horizon on my last night, arm and arm with my sisters, tears streaming down our faces as our beloved director quoted, "You never really leave a place you love; part of it you take with you, leaving a part of yourself behind." Throughout the years, I have taken so much of what I learned those seven summers with me. I can undoubtedly say that Camp Wicosuta is the happiest place on earth; my second and most memorable home. Camp was more than just fun even as I smile recalling every campfire, color-war competition, and bunk bonding activity I participated in. It was an opportunity to learn, be independent, apart of an integral community, and thrive in a new and safe environment. I recognize that camp played an essential role in who I am today.
I had stopped working after our daughter was born to be a full time stay at home mom, so it was just going to be me and her 24/7 for the next two weeks. For weeks leading up to his trip it was all I could think about and it kept me up at night. My husband had been in the Navy for almost 8 years at this point and had been on two Middle East deployments in our marriage so I was no stranger to being alone, but this time was different, this time I had another tiny human being that I loved more than anything in this world to keep
As a kid going to southern Indiana for my family's weekend reunion in the middle of July seemed to be a stress-free heaven. Talking with family while eating all of the great food everyone made, and awesome fishing in the glistening pond served as a retreat from the textbooks, homework, and tests in school. Although I never did any reading, writing, or math at the reunion, I learned some of the most valuable lessons at that 50-acre property in the dog days of summer. My great uncle, who owned the pond, taught me the best fishing spots, my dad taught me how to set up a tent, and my uncle Vance taught me the great values of our family between old folk songs. It was from these stories that I developed a great sense of pride in my family.
exciting and thought of it like more of an adventure as it was a new
It was a bright and shining morning in Yosemite. I woke to up the sound of my parents yelling about whose fault it was for not bringing the blue bag packed with our sunscreen and hats; I vaguely remember my father reminding me to
Getting prepared and ready to explore something new is just minor compared to the actual adventure for a senior anticipating the departure of their school trip. I was a member along with 30 other classmates of the co-curricular group called Business Professionals of America, a club organized through our school. Our teachers, club officers, and all of the members had been planning and fundraising for our trip to New York City for months. The excitement grew more and more as each day got closer to take off. All of us were anixious to see The Empire State Building, "Ground Zero," a Broadway play, and the spectacular views of gorgeous ocean sunsets. We had all been told and were aware of the different surroundings of the environment, or culture we would be experiencing when we arrived. Different cultures are common throughout the world, even in different places around the United States. Going on a trip to explore New York City really made the differences in cultures aware to me.
When I was a kid, there were few things I looked forward to more than summer vacation. I couldn’t wait to laze around in the sun, sleep in and play all day. I got to spend time with my friends and my cousins at our family’s lake cabin up north. I had the opportunity to attend a Christian summer camp one year. I spent a week at Flaming Pine Youth Camp where we were not allowed to wear shorts, sleeveless shirts or walk to the beach without a cover up.
I felt I should visit. The first thing I noticed when arriving at the entrance of the concentration camp was the immense black Iron Gate. In the gate was the common Nazi phrase used at concentration camps, “Arbeit macht frei” meaning “work makes you free” in German. This powerful phrase set the tone for the rest of the visit from the moment
My camp was the thing I looked forward to be at all the time when I was younger. I have most of my best childhood memories there. For example, the most memorable thing I did there was almost run a lawn mower into a creek. All my older companions would drive it around the land and I was envious so I decided I was going to ride it with permission or not. I did not know how to steer well, but thankfully I kept it going in a straight line and it headed towards a small drop off with a
Many years ago when I was a freshman in high school, an event happened to me that changed my life for the better. My friend invited me to go hiking with him and his sister. He was going to go hiking in Yosemite. The following day I prepared myself mentally and physically in order to accomplish this hike.
I was able to spend a lot of time with my family, our friends, and play all sorts of games. This experience made me start to like traveling. Every time I would get the chance to travel, I will take that chance. We were able to go to a theme park, eat many delicious foods, and play many video