Dear Blog,

Hello blogosphere!

Well, it’s been a while.  I’m assuming you noticed that I never wrote that third post in the whole immigration conference thing.  I really was passionate about it, I promise.  But I just got confused.  I kind of understand what he said but I don’t know what to think about it and now it’s been so long that I don’t even know what to write.  I’m sorry.

But hey, at least I’m saying “hi” again, right?  Here I am.  With nothing to write.  Just feeling the need to get back into it.  That’s all.

Sorry I just wasted all your time.  Are you even there?  helloo…..?  echo echo echo …. Well, if you’re not there then I guess I didn’t waste your time!

Till later.  Hopefully I’ll see you soon!

P.S.  I died….my hair.  HAHAHAHAH hahahaha…..Did I get you?  huh huh?  huh?  Do you want to see it?  Do you?  Do you?  No?  Me neither.  But here’s a picture anyways.

 

My Racial History

I was born into the culture of Northern British Columbia, Canada.  I lived in a small town crawling with white, Dutch, Christian Reformed people.  There is also quite a large population of First Nations people (the Vet’suwet’en, to be specific) that live in and around there.  When I was only three months old, however, my family moved to Papua New Guinea, a tropical island off the North shore of Australia.  These people’s skin ranged from a light coffee color to almost pitch black.  They had tribal wars and were somewhat pantheistic.  I remember drawing out and then coloring a Christmas tree on multiple large pieces of white paper because if we cut down a tree there would be an uprising in the surrounding community.  Growing up surrounded by native Papua New Guineans, I quickly became bilingual with pidgin English and the English I am now most familiar with.  My mom has said that when I was playing with my girlfriends (who had dark skin and did not always wear clothes), she could not tell my voice from theirs because my accent was so similar to theirs.  I do not remember ever noticing that I was significantly different from everyone around me.  There were some men that I was afraid of, but that was usually when they were in their traditional dress of a grass skirt and lots of face paint.

When I moved back to Northern British Columbia, I experienced culture shock.  Surrounding me were white people who spoke only English (and perhaps a little French).  There was a white, powdery substance covering the ground that was a cold I had only experienced from placing my hand in the freezer.  Students sat in classrooms all day long.  The First Nations people who lived nearby never made eye contact with us on the street.  Somehow I picked up from people around me that these people were dirty and drank a lot. The men had long hair and the women seemed to be heavier set.  I never had any personal experience with these mysterious people.

When I moved to Texas I became very aware that I was a minority (at least in number) surrounded by mostly black and Hispanic Americans or recent immigrants.  When I was 16 years old I got a job at Popeye’s Chicken and Biscuits.  My manager was Hispanic and all my coworkers (as well as the majority of the customers) were black.  While the job was very stressful (we were always understaffed), the people made the job fun.  One time an older black lady said to me, “You know you’re the only white person, right?”  Jokingly, I replied, “Wait, I’m not black?!”  I did not really give myself time to think of an appropriate response, so I am glad she had a good sense of humor.  Many times our most frustrating customers were middle-class white women.  They fussed the most about the quality of service and food.  Sometimes when my coworkers took off the headsets they would make fun of the white customers.  I did not take it personally, but it was interesting to note their views of “us.”

When I came to college and started dating, a relative emailed me to find out about this guy.  I mentioned to her that he was not black and that that was disappointing to me because I always wanted to marry a black person (mostly because I think that “mixed” babies are extremely precious).  She, in all seriousness I think, asked me if my parents would be okay with me dating a black male.  I was surprised by this question and asked my mom why she would ask that.  Apparently my mom dated a black guy in high school and she had to keep their relationship a secret because her parents would not approve.  I was somewhat surprised, but assured my aunt that my parents would not mind at all if I dated a man of color.

My most recent encounter with race (or more accurately, racism) has come from living in Texas.  My high school was predominantly white kids from upper class.  They were rich and had no desire (it seemed) or need to come in personal contact with a person of a different race (other than paying their maids).  I am still astounded by the number of racial slurs coming from not only the mouths of the students, but of the teachers as well.  The Mexicans were only good for mowing lawns and the black people were just really good at eating greasy chicken.  I regret how shy I was coming to a new school.  I like to use the excuse that I was new to the school to make up for the fact that I never stood up for any other race.  By letting this slander go I am just as guilty as my classmates.

This is the rough draft of a paper I did for Diversity in Education class.  What’s your Racial History?

 

Diversification and Microplurality

This is sort of a series, so please read the previous two before reading this post.

This presentation was done by professors Grey and Devlin from University of Northern Iowa.  Don’t worry, this post is shorter…but interesting nonetheless.

It is important to make a distinction between “rapid ethnic diversification” and “diversity.”  Diversity is usually based on a snapshot or point-in-time perspective.  When we say we value diversity, it is often a dodge to avoid talking about difficult issues like class and politics.  We say we want diversity, and we think we have diversity when we have 8 asian people in our community.  Diversification, however, is a process that places a community in a context, past and future.  It is the process of immigration and assimilation or differentiation.

Microplurality is the growth in the number of smaller ethnically and linguistically distinct groups in communities.

Grey and Devlin presented research on IA, but they said that the phenomenons here reflect phenomenons that are happening around the country.

The implications of microplurality are great!  In Storm Lake, I believe it is, there are 250 refugees from Somali and they speak 9 languages between all of them.  Microplurality means that there will be many smaller ethnic groups, rather than just a few larger ones in one community.  This creates many large needs such as cultural competency training, specialized translators (especially in rare languages), training for staff that uses translators, providing support in partnership with the newcomers, going to their workplace to provide services, recruiting and retaining staff from multiple ethnicities, changing hours of operation so that they can also benefit, keeping the cultural profile of a community updated almost weekly and providing orientation training and cultural competency programming for newcomers about Iowans.

A main point of this is that the “Is it right to hire or provide services for an illegal immigrant?” argument is not relevant.  These people are here with refugee status and have the same rights as we do.  We cannot use the excuse that they’re somehow breaking a rule and so we shouldn’t encourage them.  They are here legally, and need to be treated as the image of God.  How do we do that though?  How many people in Iowa speak an indigenous language of Somali?  Is it worth it, economically, to provide a service to a small group of people?  In reality, it really isn’t, so how do we still help them?  They often come unprepared and simply need some warm clothes.  But that is not enough.

On the other hand, lots of the people moving to Iowa have already lived somewhere else in the US but need to leave for various reasons.  So what do you think?  How do we deal with this rapid diversification and microplurality?

Here are some more details from Storm Lake, IA, a town that has great diversity.

 

Remember, Remember

If you have not read my previous post, please read it here before reading any further.

If you’re not good at reading, try just reading the last part.

Maria is a mother of three (her oldest is 18 years old) and an immigrant of 14 years.  She came here from Mexico 14 years ago to help support her mom after her father died.  She left her family, the climate, her food and her culture in hopes of finding a job here that would give her enough money to send home.  The most difficult thing for her was the language barrier; both the struggle to learn it and the struggle of not understanding anyone.  The church did not help at all, the government did not help at all…some people were helpful and helped her learn English, but most people were very hostile.  She still feels discrimination, sees families torn apart…her kids (who are American citizens) have less rights than their classmates who are also American citizens.  She says that we have “In Case of Emergency” plans for emergencies such as a fire or tornado.  Her kids and everyone like them also have an “In Case of Emergency” plan for if the government picks one of them up.  She pleads with us to be advocates for those who have no voice.  She also pleads with us to seek out the stories of immigrants and find the truth.

The Beginning

After we heard her story, Soctt Hoezee from Calvin Seminary gave a presentation called “For Remember.”  I will do my best to summarize, although there was a lot of good stuff said!  Hoezee spoke about times in the history of God’s people in which we were aliens, or foreigners in a strange land.  Abraham was at home, well-established and comfortable where he was…but God called him to drop everything and leave to go to Egypt, a place in the middle of a famine. He was then exiled from Egypt and was a stranger in a strange land once again.  Why did God do this?  To be strangers n a strange land runs deep in God’s people, it is part of our identity.  Later, Joseph was also a stranger in Egypt.

In Exodus we can read about how the people of God were slaves and treated like scum in the unfamiliar land of Egypt.  Again, why did God do this?  Maybe a more important question is, “With this experience, how could we do the same thing to others?  How could we treat others the way we were treated?”  Remember, remember, Abram and Egypt!

The Law

Deuteronomy 5 and Exodus both give a list of the ten commandments.  The only difference between the versions is that in Deuteronomy 5 is grounds the commandment to honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy in remembering slavery.

It says,”Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work,  but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do.  Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.”

They were to remember their collective past (their past as a people group) when they got to the land given to them by God.  They were taken out of horrible conditions of slavery and given this wonderful promised land.  In Leviticus they are told to not mistreat aliens, for they were once aliens in Egypt.  The benefits of the promised land were to be extended even to aliens.  This shows that God has the same desires for His “Chosen people” as the aliens in the land.  In God’s eyes, the Israelites are also aliens because of their sin.  There is no “us” and “you” because we are all aliens.

Ruth

Ruth is an example of what happens when God’s people do it right.  She was a stranger and a poor widow.  But Boaz heeded the commands of God and protected her.  He provided safety for her and eventually married her to protect her.  In doing this he became a key player and established the line of Jesus (Ruth and Boaz were great grandparents and David, who was also in the line of Jesus).  Without Boaz’s loving treatment of Ruth, the genealogy would be completely different and who knows when Jesus would have entered the picture?

Luke

In Luke we see that salvation seeks out the least likely.  In Luke 16 we find the parable of Lazarus.  This is the only parable in which the character has a name.  Lazarus was a sick, beggar but Jesus knew his name.  In Luke 10, an expert of the law asks Jesus what he must do to enter the kingdom of God.  Jesus replies that he must love God and love his neighbor.  The expert then asks him what the exact definition of neighbor is…Jesus’ answer is in the form of a parable.  This parable of the good Samaritan starts with “A man was going to Jerusalem.”  He might as well have said “Some guy.”  It could be anybody, it could be everyone.  Race, socioeconomic status, etc. does not matter.  We love because God loves us.

So…why did God bring salvation the way He did?  It teaches us 3 things:

1.  We must regard every person as a potential object of God’s love and therefore our love as well.  When we see strangers, we should think, “Jesus, is it you again?”  Our sin has made us strangers to God –> Salvation emerges from being a stranger.

2.  Reasonable laws.  Laws now do not equal laws in Bible times.  We can argue about immigrant policies, but we should all have similar desires –> to understand each person’s story, to make the immigration process less daunting for immigrants, to make “Gleaning laws,” to lend a hand and to make fair and even convenient structures…

3.  Real people have real names and stories.  We must move beyond stereotypes.  Every person has hopes and dreams and even our enemies are human.  We are also taught to guard and advance our neighbor’s good name.

Finally, Hebrews 11:11-16.

Sorry that was so long…I don’t have many of my own thoughts on this, but I did enjoy it immensely and hope you learned from it too.  I left some stuff out, but I hope it still made sense to you.

 

Immigrants, Not an Immigration Issue

I say that because when we talk about the “Immigration Issue,” it is vital to put a name and face to it.  We are dealing with real people with real struggles, not just hypothetical laws (and especially not just people who deserve to be punished).

Enrique from Honduras

Dordt College (which I attend) hosted an Immigration Conference today.  I feel like it’s important for me to get my thoughts written down, but even more importantly, you all need to hear what I heard today.  When I was in high school in Texas, I had a classmate who’s father was a lawyer.  When talking about immigrants, her very poignant view was that we need people standing on the border shooting all people who are trying to come over illegally.  At the time, I don’t think very many people agreed with her, but not a single person (including me) challenged her position.  Not one of us stood up for the oppressed, the alien, the precious image of God.

I feel like I have so much I want to say on this topic.  I’ve heard way too many Americans, almost all who also claim to be Christian, buy into the sweeping statements about immigrants.  We believe the propaganda.  We don’t take the time to hear their stories.  We don’t listen to their pleas for mercy.  We use Bible verses out of context so that we can be lazy and feel comfortable.

Just writing this, my heart is pounding!  There were many times during this conference where I felt uncomfortable, many times where I was placed at a disequilibrium.  Many times where I wanted to stand up and let the speaker know that I wholeheartedly agreed with him.

There were three main speakers.  Instead of blabbering on and on about how I feel, I am going to organize my thoughts and the information I have learned into three different blog posts, one for each of the presentations.  My hope is that you keep reading and learn along with me, challenge me, and disagree with me.

 

Feelings

Right now I feel like it’s Thursday.  Wanna know why?  Cause last Thursday (this won’t always be the case) I had class from 9:25-5:00 without any breaks.  Thursdays are synonymous with exhaustion.  But today is Wednesday.  And I only had class for 3 hours, with breaks between them.  I had lunch with my boyfriend.  I made supper and then I went to two meetings/socialized.  I should not be this tired.

I also feel emotionally drained.  I am reading “Uncommon Decency; Christian Civility in an Uncivil World” and it’s very thought-provoking…too though-provoking, actually.  I need alone time badly.  I need time away from my roommates and other people (including myself) who are, let’s face it, quite uncivil.

I feel unworthy.  I had a meeting that I just got back from that was for people who were chosen to be “Defender Ambassadors” to visiting students.   Someone saw leadership skills and a joy for life in me that they think would be good for prospective students to see.  I thought I was “in”…until I got there and they said they needed fifteen people…and there were about 60 of us.  59 of the others all knew each other and the people that will be going over our applications.  The people in charge already know they are friendly, outgoing, responsible, people.  I only know one of them…and that’s because I had a meeting with her when I had problems last year (let’s just say I had been emotionally drained for about a month before I saw her…not exactly a good impression).

But enough with feelings.  It is times like these when I am glad that I know in my head that God knit my in my mother’s womb and made me fearfully and wonderfully.  Even when I feel not good enough, I know that God has laid His hand on me.  He knows my anxious thoughts.  Tonight is a Psalm 139 sort of evening.  And when I wake up tomorrow it will still be a Psalm 139 sort of day because the Bible does not change and God will never leave me or forsake me.  It is a truth that I am extremely grateful for…when I’m drained, when I’m ecstatic and when I’m just plain blah.

 

All The Different Colors of Humankind

This last week of work I got the opportunity to meet several very unique individuals:

1.  Man came in and asked where the Birthday candles were.  I saw he got a 4 and a 9, but I just said, “Have a good night,” as normal.  He said, “Oh, I will!  I’m celebrating my 49th birthday tonight!”  And all I could think was, I hope that party is funner than it looks.  Really?  Buying candles for yourself?  I’m sorry.

2.  This is the second time this lady has come in.  Her van is covered in dog print stickers and dog bumper stickers.  She also has stuffed animal dogs in her dash board.  But it doesn’t stop there.  Her high white socks have dog bones printed on them.  Her purse has colorful dog prints all over it.  Finally, her shirt advertises Purina.  You can probably guess what she bought.

3.  There was a man that came into buy cigarettes.  He definitely wasn’t all with it…he walked halfway down the first aisle before remembering that all he came in to buy was some smokes.  Then he didn’t remember what kind he smoked.  Then, as I game him the cigarettes he started doing this ninja-esque fight with an invisible person/ninja.  Although it was entertaining, I hope for his sake he isn’t always this high!

4.   There was an older white man that came in.  The first thing I noticed, for some reason, was that he had a nice zebra tattoo on his arm.  Then I noticed that he had a zebra on his shirt.  Then I noticed that his cell phone holder was zebra print.  When I saw that he had stripes on his shoes I decided to stop looking for more oddities.

And that concludes my summer at Walgreens.  I shall see you at Christmas and then hopefully never again (as an employee, anyways).  Just watch…I’ll end up working there for like 10 years.

 

“Speculated Anatomy of a Homie”

For some reason I find this picture extremely funny.  Hope you do too

 

People Need Change

So since I gave myself a purpose for this blog I have forgotten to write about anything else.  I’ve gotten bored of writing about Walgreens because it all seems to be the same.  Customers get less and less interesting as you see more and more of them.  Which is really pathetic.  I mean, God is so creative and humorous.  And I think I’ve seen it all?  oh boy.

Well, I only have 7 days left of work at Walgreens and then I will be heading back to college.  This college student is definitely ready for a change of scenery and living with some awesome girls and seeing many more people she loves.  I’m also sure my brain will be stimulated immediately and I will have some [hopefully] thought-provoking subjects to write about.

Or maybe I’ll post a few pictures…haven’t done that in a while.  We’ll just have to wait (hopefully not too long) and see.

 

How Big are M&M’s?

1.  I felt bad because the other day a man and his daughter came in and they didn’t speak very much english at all.  They looked like they might be from Spain or something.  Anyways, the daughter was asking me (as best she could) if we had any “col-ono-sco-py boxes.”  I asked her to repeat it because to me it sounded like she was asking for a colonoscopy box.  I shudder at the thought.  I never did figure out what they needed.

2.  A man looked at my name on his way out and told me he liked it.  No flirting, on questions, just that he liked my name.  Sometimes I tell people I chose it myself, just in an attempt to be funny.

3.  A man came in and said, “I know this may be a strange question, but I hope it’s not” (like he didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of me).  “Do you know if you sell Dominoes?”  Well, we most certainly do, so I assured him that it was not a strange question and pointed him to aisle seven, just past the toys, on the bottom shelf.  I promise you we sell them, but after several minutes of searching he could not find them, so I guess we were out.  I’m not sure he believed that I knew what I was talking about.

4.  We have to put new coupon books, fliers, circulars, whatever you want to call them, out every week.  One morning I was opening so I removed all the old ones and on my way to putting the new ones up I tried to balance them on my head, just for entertainment’s sake.  About 10 minutes later a man was checking out and he said something along the lines of “Do they make you balance those very day?”  I was confused until I realized he must have seen me putting up the fliers.  hehe

5.  There was an asian man…the fact that he is asian is of no importance.  But there he was, on the candy aisle.  I was facing that aisle, so I decided to ask him if he was finding everything alright.  Pretty soon we were both standing there trying to feel the size of the M&M’s through the bags.  He wanted ones that were as big as the peanut-filled ones but had no peanuts in them.  Well, the normal M&M’s are much smaller, but he didn’t believe me, so since the customer is always right, I felt and read the label of every bag.  He ended up leaving without any candy because he couldn’t find the exact M&M’s…which I’m pretty sure do not even exist at this point in time.