Get more familiar with your opposition I’ve grown up in the Bronx where there’s multiple personalities and certain cultures that I've gotten use to. The way a person dresses or just by the way he or she looks are so typical in my community because kids take trends to the next level and use the trends to define them as a person; so in my community I do not see unfamiliar too often. When I do I get overjoyed and want to learn a lot more about them and how he or she is, just because It excites me that they are different people out in the world and they have different unique styles of living. Where I come from, there is a lot of Hispanic faces, or African American faces. The group that I found interest in is the African culture. This group I found was so different and yet unique. As I was walking in the hallway on my way to grab a bite to eat, I saw a group of females. Two females were dressed in a colorful fabric down to their ankles, one with a scarf over her head, and another with a hat to match her silk beige dress. Another female with puffy hair, with a accent with high platform shoes. They were talking with a accent I didn't know nor could speak. Rare but yet very interesting.
I had a talk with one of them and she’s such a sweetheart. I thought she was just a Hispanic young lady; little did I know she was African also. Sarah came from a small town in Ethiopia. It’s the same but has its differences. Back at home for Sarah she has to come home to guarded gates, with security. Inside her big house, there’s a maid, Her Parents, and her two brothers. In Ethiopia, there eight hours ahead of New York! Sarah celebrates Christmas and Easter Regularly. But do not celebrate Halloween because of the beliefs of worshiping the Devil.
One thing I found so interesting was when she described new years in Ethiopia. On New Year’s we celebrate December 31st- January1st, well back at home for her, they celebrate New Years in September. Right now were in the year 2014, in Ethiopia its 2006 right now this year. Isn’t that a little bizarre? I've learned that a lot of Africans fast because it is what their culture is suppose to do. Sarah doesn’t fast all the time when she supposes to. But when she does, she doesn't eat Meat, Milk, anything that has blood or just animal products for 2 months before Easter. She just eats vegetables and healthy the fast ends on Easter day, then she goes back to eating meat and dairy.
On her free time she hangs out with her friends and go to parties, which are mainly clubs that are 18 and older. She can buy drinks and not get in trouble for it because she is over 18 years old. There are other parties but the other parties are for underage kids that can’t get into the clubs which is the house parties. Sarah went back home the past weekend and i asked if she could possibly bring back the type of food that are served there, and she generously gave me a plate of Generous portions of Alisha, Misir watt, Bakela,watt (spiced fava bean), Gomen (spiced collard greens), and spiced green beans. Served with Ethiopian salad. The taste was nothing I ever tasted. It was so favored and spicy but yet good and mouth watering; I couldn't help but to ask for another plate, it was so delicious I loved it!
I was also curious to ask about the weather in Ethiopia. Sarah described it as “niceeeeeeee”. It’s always hot every day and night, only two months out of year it rains, but lucky it doesn't rain heavily. The rain in Ethiopia is very light and durable which is nothing like New York, Well Plattsburgh to say. She also wears the famous cultural outfits, but only for holidays because of her religion and heritage. She showed me a lot of unique outfits that she made to look stylish and also outfits for strict reasoning’s. On a personal level I became really good friends with her in so little time.
She explained to me how she gotten her house and there was a plan on how they was going to build her house and still till this day, she has the portrait hanging up in her living room for history. Sarah has a very creative personality that makes her an unexampled person.
Citations
Fromm, Erich. "Having to Be in Daily Experience." To Have or to Be? London: Continumm, 1997. 24-34. Print
Parker, Thomas G. "Introducing First Aid." Healthguidance.org. Thomas G. Parker, 2014. Web.
“Infant choking: how to keep your baby safe." Mayo Clinic. 1998-2014 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 6 Jun. 2013 Web.
