Blog 12

I have learned a lot through my time in Latin American Civilization. I honestly don't even know where to start with this. I think what I most benefitted from learning was the more recent stuff about the countries in Latin America. personally, i dont pay close attention to the news, and I really have no clue what is going on in other countries aside from the United States. but through this course, I was able to learn the history of Latin America and what many countries have done to get to where they are now. I also have a better knowledge of what is going on in those countries currently, not only how it affects the people and politics in those counties, but sometimes even how it affects the United States and why I should pay closer attention to the happenings in other countries aside from my own. it has really given me a greater desire to pay closer attention to problems (or good things, for lack of a better word), whether it affects me or not, in order to gain a greater knowledge of what is happening in the world. i think i have also learned a lot about myself and what I need to do in order to succeed in college, like managing my time and such. I really thank professor Stark and professor Serrata for that.

Blog (I think) 11

I thought the trip this saturday to chicago was very interesting and fun, especially our walk through the old Puerto Rican neighborhood and the stories our guide told us. What I thought was most interesting was when our guide told us the difference between the gang he was involved in in the past and the gangs nowadays. When I think of a gang, I think of the gangs around detroit and such, who are involved in drugs and shootings and such. But the gang that our guide was involved in would try and help out the people of the neighborhood, not go around looking for drugs and other stuff. It really makes me think how low our society has sunk, where many people do not care about helping out their people. they care more about material things and about themselves, rather than other people. it just kind of makes me feel bad for our generation almost...

Blog 10 part 1

This isn't going to be my only blog that we have to do for this upcoming week, just a heads up. Today when we were discussing how the military would run the factories in Cuba, it made me think of how, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the Death Eaters, who were kind of like the military of Voldemort, ran the ministry of magic, and it brought to mind a specific scene from the movie when Harry is exploring Umbridge's office and there is a sort of factory producing brochures near her office. It makes me wonder if the role of the military in Cuba in factories was the same as the Death Eaters at the ministry. For example, were they feared in factories? or were they normal around the workplace? or did they like have their own factories, specifically for the military? were they like advisors around the factories? like in Harry Potter?

Blog 9

The ending to the short story we read this week, Balthazar's Marvelous Afternoon, was very surprising. I did not expect the story to end like that honestly. I was expecting something much better, like he was seen as a saint to the people for granting Pepe's wish for a cage and giving it to the rich at no price, or like the doctor came back and bought something and him and Ursula became rich, but not that he was found in the street without any shoes and that's just the ending. It just seems like the ending could have been a little more epic, it was almost like a let down. I also would have wished there would have been another one of those "dream"-like ending, where Balthazar was just a homeless man who dreamed of making a beautiful cage and getting all this praise for it but, nearing the end, reality starts creeping into his dream, eventually leading to where he really is in his life.

Blog 8

Re-reading the story The South was helpful in many ways, mainly because it helped me think of more meanings that Jose Luis Borges might have had in writing it. Initially, I believed that the story after Dahlmann was in the sanitarium was all imagined. I thought it was supposed to be like Dahlmann either died or was still asleep at the sanitarium and he was just imagining everything that happened. But after rereading it, it was brought to my attention about all the things that were in Dahlmann's past, like the cat, the shopkeeper that looked like the nurse, all the billboards and such, and him returning to his ranch. After noticing those objects and events, I began to believe that the meaning was supposed to be that the past has a way of coming back into your life, like the phrase "history repeats itself". This also just seemed to me that the whole story is just a major case of deja vu for Dahlmann. Now, after seeing all these similarities between before and after the sanitarium in the story, I wondered if all this is supposed to be Dahlmann's life flash before his eyes, like he is going to die during surgery at the sanitarium. As if this event that occurred during his trip to his ranch all happened in the past, and, because this is the event that comes to mind before he died, is the event in which he wished to die in, so that he would die a heroic death instead of during surgery at a sanitarium because of an injury he got after banging his head. I would also very much appreciate it if Jorge Luis Borges would have finished this story because, while the open ending leads to alternative endings, I would like to know what Borges would have happen to Dahlmann at the end and whether or not my beliefs on the meaning of the story are true.

Blog 4

For anyone who knows me, they know I love The Great Gatsby. first off I think the book is very good and I think the movie is even better. anywho, with that in mind, while I was reading the part in Cecilia Valdes about the party hosted by Mercedes, I found a lot of similarities between that party and the party that Gatsby hosts in F. Scott Fitzgeralds book. First off, I found similarities between the party guests. In the Great Gatsby, the guests are all kinds of people, different people from everywhere. some are poor and some are rich; some are famous, others are school boys. However, no one has an invitation. Nick Carroway seems to be the only one who received an invite and no one really seems to care whether or not people had been invited. In Cecilia Valdes, the only people invited seem to be the band, Cecilia and her friend, Leonardo, and Cantalapiedra. aside from that, people just start showing up. Similar to the Great Gatsby, the people who show up are from all different classes. there are whites and mulattos and blacks all there and, though they don't really seem to interact, they are still all in the same place and for the same reason.

Another similarity, I found, is between Cecilia and Daisy. Daisy is described as admired by all, and Gatsby specifically has these parties hoping that, someday, she will show up. Daisy is told to be a very beautiful woman who, upon arriving, is basically the center of the party. she is always accompanied by someone, whether it be Tom Buchanon, Gatsby, or Nick. She has boys falling for her left and right, though she is married to Tome Buchanon. Cecilia is very similar. She is very beautiful and dressed very well when she shows up to Mercedes Party. She is also always next to someone, this person being Nemesia at Mercedes party. She has boys falling all over her, particularly Pimienta and Leonardo. Whatever she does, everyone else wants to do. if she is dancing, everyone follows, when she sits down, everyone assumes that its time to eat and sits with her. she didn't want to leave the dancing early because she didn't want people to assume that she got tired and had to sit down, because that obviously is very terrible to do and you mustn't do that at a party (sorry guys, that was my touch of sarcasm for the blog).

However, with this comparison in mind, I found a lot of differences. The overall messages of the books are completely different. In Gatsby, I find the overall message to be not to live in the past, you have to get past the past (I'm funny sometimes) and move on. But in Cecilia Valdes, the purpose of the story to show the differences between the social classes in Cuba and how they interact. In Gatsby, Jay Gatsby throws all these parties in the hopes that Daisy may arrive some day so they can fall in love. in Cecilia Valdes, it is Mercedes "saint's day" or birthday, so that is the purpose of her party. Also, in the Great Gatsby, almost everyone was not invited to his party. In Cecilia Valdes, it was split mostly in half between those who were invited and those who were not.

Overall, when I was reading chapters 4-6, I was reminded greatly of the Great Gatsby. But I am not saying they are the exact same thing. I just thought the similarities were pretty cool and interesting how really the definition of a "party" and "the popular kids" is not really different over the years.

Blog 3

I just want to touch on how sarcastic Echeverria was in his story of the Slaughter House. I just thought it was interesting how he was talking about the people who were seen as the "civilized" ones: he talked about them in a somewhat normal but demeaning manner. It's so sarcastic you almost can't pick it up, and that was my problem when I first read it. It took me about close to the end to realize that Echeverria was a Unitarian and was completely making fun of the Federalists and degrading them throughout his story. I thought it was also incredible funny. I'm a strong believer in sarcasm and I love that Echeverria was so into it that readers(including myself) had to look over it and double check what he said to see if he was being sarcastic or not. I simply loved it. Sorry this is so short. I really just wanted to state the fact that he was so sarcastic and sarcasm is basically my life. Also, there really needs to be a snow day tomorrow. I will be really sad if there isn't. Actually, I wouldn't be completely sad. Just a little hurt.

Gabbie

Blog 2

I apologize so much for getting this blog up late. I'm not very good with computers and such. this past week I really liked the connection that some people made between nations wanting to design themselves off of Europe and disney songs. I thought it was a really good analogy and clever. it was really interesting to me also how nations would even want to have a foundation in European modern customs and traditions after they tried so hard to try to get rid of the European influence on them. I mean, all the places we have talked about had become independent of Spain or Portugal because they felt that there was too much power over them and then many individual problems. And then right after they declared independence, it seemed like they just didn't know what to do with themselves, so they looked towards Europe to help them out. Okay, so I understand why they declared independence and all that but I have just one question: why would they try to model themselves off of the nations that they tried so hard to become independent of? I mean, I'm not saying it was a bad idea. They needed something as a foundation to become a thriving nation. It just confuses me how some countries could fight so hard and shed so much blood over independence and then just kinda go right on back to being like them. They should definitely have some kind of idea of how they need to become a nation and what they have to do, but isn't the whole purpose of being independent is to be your own country? To be individual and different?

Gabbie Redpath

Blog 1

Hi! I'm a Biomedical Science Major with an emphasis in Pre-Physical Therapy. I love helping people out and I know that Physical Therapy is a great way to help others and help them work through an injury. I decided to take Latin American Civilization because of my trip to Mexico. Last spring break, I went on a service trip to Mexico and experienced the culture there. I saw some historical parts of Mexico City and served the poor in Mexico, a few days at a dump where people lived, one day at a poor community north of Mexico City, and another day at an orphanage. However, since we were doing service and not really being tourists, I wanted to learn so much more about Mexico's history and culture, and the history and culture of other places in Latin America. I saw the option to take Latin American Civilization on the list of sequences for the Honors College and thought that would be perfect. I find history much more interesting when it has to do with places that we are not familiar with, like Latin America. You are viewing most of what you learn from a much more unbiased point of view and, because you have never learned it before, it’s completely new and fresh in your mind. I’m very happy with my decision to take Latin American Civilization.

 

~Gabbie Redpath