U.S. Immigration Policy

Let me begin by stating: Immigration & the whole system behind it is completely foreign to me. Fortunately, all of my family is here in the United States, and my heart breaks for the families that are separated by borders. I found a really great website that gave some insight of how the U.S. immigration system practices, and to my belief it’s a lot more complicated than I thought it was. There are six different categories people can fall under.

1-      Family Based Immigration- This allows U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents bring certain family members to the United States. Unfortunately you must be an immediate family member, and there are different requirements the person in the United States must uphold. One thing I found interesting is that you must be 21 or older to petition for a parent to come to the U.S. What happens if the child came over legally, but the parents had to stay in their home country? That child is without parents until their 21^st birthday. That is a ton of milestones missed out on.

2-      Employment-Based Immigration- These types of visas are temporary, allowed for people to come to the U.S. on employment. There are various types of these employment-based visas, ranging from visas for athletes, to diplomatic employees to migrant workers. There are only 140,000 visas per year, and they are divided into five categories depended on the job you are providing. I thought it was weird that there is a cap on how many people can come into the country. I didn’t know that before, and I still find it odd.

3-      Refugees and Asylees- I thought this category was thought provoking. This allows legal admission for people who are fleeing persecution or are unable to return to their homeland due to life threatening conditions. The different ways you can define those conditions are persecution due to race, membership in a social group, political opinion, religion, or national origin. Each year, the president determines how many refugee admissions they will allow. It has seemed in the last 3 years refugees admitted in the U.S. have fallen dramatically.

4-      The Diversity Visa Program- This was created in 1990 by the Immigration Act which was a channel for immigrants from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. I found the way they choose who comes over with a diversity visa a bit strange; you must have a high school diploma or have a minimum of 2 years working in a profession requiring at least 2 years of training or experience. Then a computer generated random lottery drawing chooses selectees for the visas. They are split up into six geographic areas with a greater number of visas going to regions with lower rates of immigration.

5-      Other forms of Humanitarian Relief- Temporary protected status is granted to people who are in the United States, but cannot return to their home because of a natural disaster, extraordinary temporary conditions, or ongoing armed conflict. The visa is granted to a country for six, 12 or 18 months and has the ability to be extended.

6-      U.S. Citizenship- I think this is by far the hardest to get. You must be 18 years old, demonstrate continuous residency, demonstrate “good moral character”, pass English and U.S. history and civics exams, and pay an application fee, among other requirements. I don’t even think I would be able to pass a history exam, let alone display good moral character. (just joking, I’m a pretty good person)

 

Overall, I think the immigration policy is confusing, However, I see that it is necessary to have in this country. I can’t wait to dive deeper into this subject in class, and learn more about the people this effects all around the world.

Crossing the Wire

Crossing The Wire

            I learned an immense amount of knowledge from this novel. Growing up in Washington State I have had experience with individuals who have relatives who have similar stories to that of Victor. Although I have heard stories, I never really gained as much insight as when I read this book. Following the struggles of Victor truly shows the type of childhood many young men in his culture have to encounter. I enjoyed seeing the perspective of individuals risking their lives to come to America from the point of view of the crosser rather than the media.

            Victor has to enter into adulthood way earlier than the majority of children in my culture, so this opened my eyes to something I was unfamiliar with. I was aware of individuals sneaking across the boarder, but I was unaware of how young individuals are when they risk their lives. Victor had to leave his childhood behind to be the ‘man of the house’ and support his family. I learned that children around the world have more to worry about than just receiving their number one most wanted toy for Christmas. Many have more responsibilities at such a young age than I ever will experience. Victor being a fifteen-year-old risking his life to raise money for his family is a concept that I find heart breaking, but informative. I feel that Victor’s story made me more aware of various lifestyles of children and the struggles they live with.

            The media plays such a huge role in our understanding of boarder issues. I can safely say that I am no expert when it comes to these issues, but I am aware of them. I loved that this book provided insight from the other side of the issue, the individuals crossing the boarders themselves. We rarely see that perspective in the news and reading the text in this novel grabbed my attention and made me think twice about the issues at hand. I have a grandfather that lives in Arizona who goes on and on about these boarders issues. Many people say that it is a generational thing with the elderly being so bitter towards different races and cultures, but to me I feel that seeing the side of the boarder crossers is valuable. This is why I feel that this book provided me with a new perspective and ideas on this issue and opened my eyes to the lives of children dealing with this boarder issue.

Sold

I have mentioned before, I live a sheltered life. I had some idea of human trafficking, just not to the extent we looked at while reading Patrica McCormick’s Sold. Knowing the pain this little girl went through just to provide for her family tore me apart. This book was 100% foreign to me; because of this I learned something new about this culture, family, and courage on every page. The fact that Lakshimi’s teenage life is on the complete other side of the spectrum of the majority of teen lives I have lived and encountered was a challenge to overcome. Too many times I was shouting in mind for Lakshimi to not put up with Mumtaz’s beatings, being taken advantage of by the various men’s sexual encounters, or being cheated in earning money for her family and freedom. Of course this is better said than done, Lakshimi fights for her family and tries to live her life the best she can. For me, this aspect of family was difficult for me to understand. At thirteen years old Lakshimi is responsible for providing for her family. Lakshimi’s Ama loves her and wants to protect her, but ultimately lets her venture to the city with the idea that she will be hired as a maid. Her stepfather sells her into sex slavery with no regret and Lakshimi is forced into this lifestyle all to fend for her family. The fact that a father figure would even consider doing this to a thirteen-year-old girl is way over my head.

 Lakshimi’s extreme amount of courage to encounter the situations she has to deal with all for her family created the greatest change in my perception of her life. The hardship Lakshimi dealt with showcases her courage to remove herself from a situation that she knows is harmful. She decides to push the rumors and ideas of others about Americans out because she trusts them, and it is implied that everything works out well. She takes a leap of faith to leave this house in hopes of going to a safe place. This courage sets her apart and makes me understand her situation a little better. I get a feeling of why she made this journey and the many discoveries she makes about herself. I feel that this experience for Lakshimi showcases the lives of many real women in that culture and their bravery to escape the harmful lifestyle they have been put in. The hardship Lakshimi dealt with showcases her courage to remove herself from a situation that she knows is harmful. She decides to push the rumors and ideas of others about Americans out because she trusts them, and it is implied that everything works out well. She takes a leap of faith to leave this house in hopes of going to a safe place. This courage sets her apart and makes me understand her situation a little better. I get a feeling of why she made this journey and the many discoveries she makes about herself. I feel that this experience for Lakshimi showcases the lives of many real women in that culture and their bravery to escape the harmful lifestyle they have been put in.

 The biggest take away from this book I found was not to take for granted the innocence of children. All she really wanted to do was provide for her family as a maid, and unbeknownst to her that was not what she was getting in to. I broke down the different prices for her throughout the book and converted them to US dollars,

            Sold from her Step-Father to “Auntie” – He wanted 1000.00 rupees = $16.60
                        He negotiated until the final price of 800.00 rupees = $13.28
                        The Step-Father received half then, and would have gotten the rest “later” = $6.24
                        She gets sold to Mumtaz in India for 10,000 Rupees = $166.03

There is no possible way I would ever find this a deeming price for a human being. The fact that I can go and get most of my groceries for way less than a woman in India makes me sick to my stomach. I enjoyed Sold, it really opened my eyes to one of the many problems the world faces today.

Nepal and India

Quick Facts about Nepal-

-Official Language: Nepali
-Capital: Kathmandu
-Population: 26,494,594

Nepal is a country located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People’s Republic of China, and to the south, east and west by the Republic of India. Something interesting Nepal holds is the eighth tallest mountain, Mount Everest. Hinduism is practiced in the country of Nepal, with 83% of Nepali’s in practice. There are other religions, such as Buddhism, Kirat, Islam and Christianity. Many Hindus travel all the way to Nepal for the famous Pashupatinath Temple for pilgrimage. What I was surprised about was the differences between Hindus and Buddhists are very minimal in Nepal because of the cultural and historical intermingling of each other’s’ beliefs. I also looked into the culture of Nepal, which looks into folklore. Traditional stories are passed down from generation to generation, retold by mostly dancing and music. I was really surprised to learn they celebrated their new year in mid-April. They have 12-months and Saturday is the official weekly holiday. Most houses in Nepal are made of light bamboo and walls of mud and cow-dung mix. I would seriously hate to live in those conditions, and I do not understand how they can live like that! Something out of the ordinary I found was the national flag isn’t in a rectangular shape and it’s considered to be the most mathematical in the world! Education in Nepal has increased its enrollment rate in the primary grades, yet they find it more challenging to increase access to secondary education.  I find this really upsetting, since people can’t try and make something of themselves and have to struggle to support their families.

Quick Facts about India-

-Official Language: Hindi/English
-Capital: New Delhi
-Population: 1,210,193,422

India is a country located in South Asia. Surprisingly, it is the second most populated country. It shares land boarders with Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Burma and Bangladesh.  I found out that the Indian economy is on the top twenty list for their GDP, which was pretty interesting to find out. With all of that information, they still face poverty, corruption, malnutrition, inadequate public healthcare and terrorism. They have very diverse religious beliefs around the country, with Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam, Christianity, and Jainism among the nation’s major religions. According to the website GNU.org, the country of India is split up into 28 States and 7 Union Territories. The government used to let the states control the schooling and what they wanted done, but it became a part of the national level. Now there is a level system broken into 4 levels. The school system in India has four levels: lower primary (age 6 to 10), upper primary (11 and 12), high (13 to 15) and higher secondary (17 and 18). The lower primary school is divided into five “standards”, upper primary school into two, high school into three and higher secondary into two. Students have to learn a common curriculum largely, except for regional changes till the end of high school. There is some amount of specialization possible at the higher secondary level. Students throughout the country have to learn three languages (namely, English, Hindi and their mother tongue). I try to focus more on the educational aspect, seeing as this is an education class and most of the students in the classroom are becoming teachers, so it’s interesting to look at different educational cultures around the world.

Museum Display

-Disney Movies-

The culture of Make Believe and a Child’s Sense of Mind

Ever since I could remember, I have known all the words to “Beauty and The Beast” and “The Little Mermaid”. These VHS (now upgraded to DVD and Blu-Ray) have ran though my family’s VCR over and over again, whether it was to keep me entertained or to cheer me up when I was down. The blame for my addiction to television can stem all the way back to these movies, but I wouldn’t change this for the world. My creativity and whimsicality clearly comes from watching things that could never happen, yet in my mind I can figure out a way to make it slightly come true. I can only assume this small portion of my culture has shaped the fact that I am almost graduated with my degree in Children’s Studies. I will forever cherish Disney movies, and I can’t wait to show them to my children in the distant future.

Fun Fact- I call my father “Papa” just like Belle does in “Beauty and the Beast” which made many people think that he was my grandfather. It wasn’t until later in life when I realized all the frustration from correcting people was because that calling your father “Papa” is unheard of to do in this part of the world.  

-Job Badges-

The Culture of Hard Work

Since I was 16 years old, I have had a job. First, it was Best Buy as a cashier. They only needed me for seasonal work during the winter holidays so once that was decided, I was hired as a courtesy clerk at Yoke’s Fresh Market. I became very well known in the store and was promoted to barista after a short period of time. As I was starting community college in 2009, they were just unable to work with my schedule, so I was hired at Kadlec Regional Medical Center as a barista there. If a 30 hour a week job and part time school wasn’t enough, I picked up a nannying position for two twin boys that I was able to do from their birth till they were three years old. Once I left for college, what was the first thing I did? Find a job on campus in the coffee shops here at Eastern Washington University. I have always considered myself a hard worker, and I know if I put my mind to it, I can achieve it. My parents have both exhibited this quality, and their parents before them. My father is into his late 60’s and still is working as hard as he did when he left that Navy boat in the 1970’s. I know the meaning of hard work, and that ultimately it will pay off if you work for it. My parents have both told this to me numerous times and I am proud to say I listened.

Fun Fact- I met my husband at Yoke’s Fresh Market where we were both employees of the store. We had a Yoke’s themed engagement photo shoot.

 

 

-Clarinet-

The Culture of Music

Beginning of 6th grade, I was introduced to band. Since my Mother, Father, and Sisters all played in band, it was finally my turn to learn. I was to play the clarinet and I was lucky that I didn’t have to rent an instrument since my mother had one that she and my sister both played. I have been playing ever since that moment and have never regretted picking up that black and silver instrument. I may have been bullied since I was in band and that was “uncool”, but I stuck it out all the way until 12thgrade. I feel as if music runs through the veins of my family, since we have all played at least one instrument, if not more. They weren’t the parents to force me to do anything I didn’t want to, and they taught me at an early age that I was only as good as I practiced to be. That little piece of information is something I will never forget.

Fun Fact: In high school, I bounced back and forth from the clarinet to the contrabass clarinet, which is actually taller than me!

I-phone, laptop, picture of niece 

The Culture of Technology

I could possibly say my whole day revolves around technology. I wake up, from an alarm on my cell phone, listen to music on a stereo while getting ready, use a computer to take notes in class, manage my homework on my tablet, and relieve stress by surfing various social media sites. This is just scraping the surface on how often I interact with technology on a daily basis. Going away to school can be extremely tough for someone who has never left the house, but luckily technology has made the transition so much easier. I am able to FaceTime with family during holidays I am unable to attend (like the picture shown of my niece Kloee, when I missed her Halloween party), shoot them a text message to let them know how much I miss them, or receive e-mails of pictures of my dogs from my father to show he is thinking of me. Technology is ever changing and is increasing the way we can live in the world. My culture has revolved around technology as long as I can remember, and its increased use is only showing me that it isn’t stopping, and I’m okay with that.

Fun Fact: <italic> I learned how to code using HTML from Myspace! I still remember how to do a little, especially turning different fonts <font color=440099> pink! </font color></italic>

 

Football Items

The Culture of Football

Believe it or not, I was a Seahawks fan before they entered Giant’s Stadium on February 2nd, 2014, though that is a date I will never forget. My love of football started way back, when my first word was “touchdown!” I held onto the team as they suffered through Hassleback’s worst season, and when they lost to the Steelers in the 2006 Superbowl. Football is the only sport my family can all agree on, though we don’t all agree on a team, which is perfectly fine, since that’s what makes us different. Sundays, Monday nights and sometimes Thursdays from September-February are very sacred in my house, and they revolve around the CBS, FOX, and ESPN schedule. Not only do we watch NFL, we are able to support my two nephews in grid kid football in Tri-Cities. They have been playing for about 4 years now and absolutely love it. It’s great that we are able to see them in action. They have gained the nicknames “Eli & Peyton”, from the great Manning brothers. I thoroughly enjoy football season, and see it as a bonding experience for my family.  

Fun Fact: Though the Dickson Family looks sweet and innocent, we can be very aggressive with our smack talk. My smack talk has gotten me in a few bets, which I have all won.

Kampung Boy

First off, I have never really picked up a graphic novel to read before. I’m more into the traditional chapter books obviously without pictures. As I was reading, I was surprised at how entertained I was thinking of the black and white illustrations coming to life in my head. I really enjoyed the fact that these illustrations were mostly of what the Kampung boy thought of, like the monster of a tin factory on page 65. “Then we passed through a dredging area. It was the first time I saw a tin dredge up close. I told the boys that when I was younger I was scared of the dredge because I thought it was a monster. The fellows laughed.”

Before reading this text, I was pretty unaware of how families in Malaysia functioned, especially with the way they raise their children. I would never think of a little boy getting circumcised anywhere the age he was. In my way of thinking, that really opened my eyes into knowing how sheltered my life had been! There are various culture differences that were hit on in this book that I kind of just thought were very different from the culture I was raised in. I knew that countries still participated in and had a functional payment process, but I thought it was just for marriage, not for actually having children. Also, the giving of food to the grandparents as a formality was something I thought was unique as well. And let me just add, if I ever have a child and that man isn’t in the room with me and just waits till it’s all over, we’re going to have problems. Of course I am joking, but it truly makes me think about different cultures and how they deal with different scenarios. Another thing I could think of from this story is the wedding. I thought it was really out of the ordinary for just the man to be needed for the ceremony, and the woman doesn’t even need to show up until the reception. I got married a year and a half ago, and I think that’s the way to go. I would have loved to just show up for the party and not had to deal with the “boring” stuff! (Once again, I am joking…sort of.)

I could really appreciate the way that the father raised his children, and wanted them to value education higher than anything else. I believe no matter what country you are in, education is important and having access to learning is rather a huge deal, especially in impoverished countries. What I was confused about was did the father in the story sell the land to help the family get a house closer to him and to get to the boarding school? I know the mother speaks of the house in Ipoh they would be able to purchase if the land was bought, but then Kampung boy would not have any land to come home to after his education. This may be the last thing this family is worried about, but it just gives insight of the way I think of things. Incentives are a great deal of how I live and I’m not embarrassed to say so. I was really delighted to see that his father was able to ride the bus into Ipoh with him seeing as I don’t think a child would have the mental capacity to leave every single one of his family members to go off to boarding school.

Overall, this story opened my eyes to what different cultures value, and how they practice different monumental moments in each other’s lives. This was a very great starting point for opening my eyes to different areas of the world and I am bracing myself, because I know this is just the beginning of what is to come for this quarter.

Malaysia

When I hear about the country of Malaysia, one thing comes to mind.

Zoolander.

In the 2001 comedy starring Ben Stiller and Will Ferrell, Derrick Zoolander, an extremely famous male model was brainwashed to kill the prime minister of Malaysia in the name of child labor issues. I know this is completely showing everyone how illiterate I am, but honestly pop culture and media shapes the way you think of things in the world and I think it’s important to be able to connect fictional knowledge to actual facts.

The basics of Malaysia I have found are:
-13 States
-3 Federal territories
-Total landmass of 329,847 square kilometers
-Population 30,018,242 people

After doing some research I have found out a lot of different interesting things, including where it actually is. Malaysia shares borders with Thailand, Indonesia, and Brunei. They have a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multilingual society, which makes me think of the United States. The structure of the cultures are Chinese and Indian, while also grabbing from Persian, Arabic and British areas. They have a country motto which is, “Unity is Strength”. I think that is extremely powerful, seeing the circumstances they are currently in with the airline mishap. I am really interested in other countries government, and Malaysia has a Parliament type government with an upper house “Dewan Negara” and a lower house “Dewan Rakyat”. They were able to become independent from the United Kingdom on August 31^st, 1957 and became the federation of Malaysia.  Since becoming independent, Malaysia has one of the best economic records in Asia, which is extremely impressive. It has a GDP growing an average of 6.5% for about 50 years now. The resources it provides is not just natural resources, but it has expanded in sciences, tourism, commerce and medical tourism which is when people travel to other countries for the purpose of getting medical treatment. Usually it happens when impoverished countries don’t have the medical resources to take care of some procedures, so they send the patient to higher developed countries.

I thought it would be interesting to look into the educational system, seeing as I am in my last days of completing my education. They start off with preschool, beginning at ages 3 and can go up to 6. Children typically spend about 2 years in preschool, before they can reach primary school, which is like our elementary school. Primary school is broken up into three levels. Something that I found extremely interesting is that Malaysian students are promoted to the next year regardless of their academic performance. Another fact I found is that English is a compulsory subject in school.

Overall, beginning this research, I didn’t really know much about the country of Malaysia, but after looking into it, I feel as if I have found out a lot, yet just scratched the surface. Finding out more about various countries and becoming more culturally aware is something that I look forward to be doing in this upcoming quarter.