"The Puerto Ricans helping method"

In this chapter Cooper talks about a “controversial” kind of helping method that most of the Puerto Rican students tend to use. Method, that for now I’m going to call the “Puerto Rican helping method; but, is this cheating or it’s just part of our culture as Puerto Ricans? The truth is that my personal experience reflects that Puerto Ricans are really helpful and always tend to help each other in “everything”. Thing that it’s not that different in school or academically works; and that’s where the author takes place to write about the line between helping and cheating.

Through the chapter he mentioned how students tend to do home works in-group without realizing that this action could be cheating. As a college student and Puerto Rican I’ve experienced this all the time, from a home test through professional works. Some people just explain to others when they have doubts but there are times when we/they only five the answer to the whole group to try to save time. This comes with many consequences that in the future will be harmful to the person who is getting help. It’s all about perspective but seeing Cooper’s point of view make us see as a cheaters.

For me this method is part of what we are and what we’ve been learning through all the years. And it’s difficult not to use it when everyone is so familiarized and okay with it.  It should be noted that I’m not saying that I’m one hundred percent in favor of this but it’s just so “normal” that I can’t argue about it.

"A source of Communication"

In a world divided by race and culture, language is one of the sources we have to communicate to each other, but not just as a source of communication, language cant tend to be seeing as a political thing. Point of view that most of Puerto Ricans have since the 40’s when the United States of America took possession of our island. Back there the American culture was introduced to Puerto Rico and with them, their main language, English. Language that most of the people took as a political symbol and many of then can’t seem to let go the idea that English is a bad thing, or the representation of the bad guy (the Americans).

Right now English is named as our second official language and it’s teached in every Puerto Ricans school but in a really poor way if we refer to the public education system.  But is Puerto Rico the only place where language is seeing as a political symbol? No, this is a situation that is happening all around the world and one example is the United States, where recently Coca-Cola took a song called America, the Beautiful for a commercial and sang it in different languages, thin that most of the US citizens took as an offensive thing just because they think that if you’re in “America” you have to speak English.

Now, back to our situation in Puerto Rico my point of view or personal opinion is that having the opportunity to learn another language is a privilege, specially English, since it is known as the Universal language or the dominant language of international business and global communications.

          

DIVERSITY

"The concept of diversity encompasses acceptance and respect. It means understanding that each individual is unique, and recognizing our individual differences.  These can be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies.  It is the exploration of these differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment. It is about understanding each other and moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each individual." (Gladstone,University of Oregon)

        

Behind the "Paradise"

In this book  “A Small Place” by Jamaica Kincaid, we can experience different point of view of the island Antigua located at the Caribbean. This story is about the history, social status and the reality that lies in there. Once you’re reading the first chapter you can see the point of view of Jamaica as a tourist and how the people from the outside perceive the island. It describes how beautiful Antigua is, the side of the perfect place to vacation in the middle of the Caribbean sea but ignoring the reality of those who lives in there.

 Everyone (including myself) plan their vacations without caring about the place that we are about to choose. We try to pick that perfect place, with an awesome view, beautiful beaches and also that immaculate hotel where everything you want to experience is going to spend the whole days resting to trying to escape from our  life routine. But there’s a big difference from perceiving a place from the eyes of a tourist as being an insider. We know that those who comes to Puerto Rico and stay at the expensive hotels doesn’t know what it’s really on the inside, our culture or what we really are. Tourists just see what they want; that image that they create based on the magazines or perfect images that they have seen. But there’s so much more inside of our island. That “much more” is the point that Jamaica Kincaid wants to remark on us. There’s a culture behind those magnificent hotels, there is people who work as hard as you can’t imagine giving a good impression. Also everything that we see it’s just for our convenience because the reality is far from what we receive from them.

Once you get through that tourist experience you get to the second chapter where Jamaica wants to give the perspective of Antigua as a colonial island. The truth behind that Paradise, their roots, the things that they have to get through to be what they really are right now. A cruel reality for an island full of “black” people, or the majority were subordinated by the minority, the white people who came from England and those White people are the  ones that has been preparing that “fake” Paradise or trying to make every part of that island a part of England, their roots, to make a Paradise for their own, invading the peace and lives of others.

 Finally, by reading this all I can think is our situation or I can say I dare to compare the reality of Puerto Rico with Antigua. For me every island on the Caribbean has some similarities on their realities or history, they seem to be the perfect getaway, the perfect Paradise to spend a vacation but they have been through the same oppression or same margination of black people, the natural habitats of that “paradise”.  Reality that Jamaica Kincaid wants to make sure we see, and maybe take conscience that, our perfect getaway has another reality, a hard one for the people who lives there.

"The First Chapter"

           Talking about myself can turn as one of the most difficult things for me since you can’t always find the right word to describe yourself. Right now I’m going to start talking about who I am by saying my name, Luis Ricardo Guzmán Rivera, name that I only use for professional or educational purposes I prefer to be called as Ricardo.  I was born in spring, March 10, 1993 in San Juan, but I’ve lived all my life in Toa Baja. Right now I am 20 years old and doing my third year of college in the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras campus. My faculty is Natural Sciences and I’m in the Natural Sciences Interdisciplinary Program with the goal of become a pediatrician. Even though I am not a “reader” I love everything about science fiction and mystery and I’d say that I like politics, communications and education. If I weren’t in natural sciences I would be studying in one of these faculties.

1. Chicago, IL

2. Orlando, FL(Disney World three times)

3. New York City

4. Rochester, NY

5. Barranquitas, PR

6. Culebra, PR

7. Buffalo, NY

8. Rincón, PR

9. Miami, FL

10. Key West, FL

            I haven’t travelled a lot, but there are certainly some places that left a mark on me when I visited them. The first one is right here in Puerto Rico and it's called Barranquitas, located in the center of the island this place is where the roots of my family is, where my parents born and where my years of childhood and memories take place. Then is the beautiful and magnificent Niagara Falls by the American side in Buffalo New York. For me this place is the most impressive thing that I have ever seen, is where you can see nature doing all the work, expressing herself. The sound of the water falling down, breathing the fresh air, the cold air, the cold water, the sun shining and making this rainbow all over the fall, it was the most amazing experience in all my life.  I surely want to go back there, but this time by the Canadian site in Ontario.

"Every second is a highlight."