msbaptiste

[msbaptiste]

Here’s to all the work to inspire voting after all the work that has been done across centuries to ensure the right! 

It’s essential to understand your voting rights and what to do if you are a first-time voter. Part of this is being aware of how voter suppression is currently affecting thousands of citizens who have the right to vote. The history of voter suppression in the United States is as old as the United States. 

To help spread understanding and prompt discussion, we paired with  Black Girls Vote (@blackgirlsvote) to help answer your questions. @blackgirlsvote is a nonprofit, grassroots organization focused on engaging, educating and empowering women of color to leverage their voting power to transform the democratic process. Their posts will be going live today, from 12 p.m. EST to 1 p.m. EST.

Check out all their answers right over here!

Nykidra “Nyki” Robinson is the founder and CEO of Black Girls Vote. Nyki’s life and work experience, combined with her interest in politics, was birthing ground for the delivery of her biggest project yet, Black Girls Vote, Inc. As the CEO, Nyki manages fundraising, numerous community and government initiatives, and events. Nyki graduated with a degree in business administration and a minor in leadership studies. 

Natasha Murphy is the Chief of Staff of Black Girls Vote. She assists the Founder and CEO with the organization’s strategic operations. Natasha earned her Master of Science in Public Health, a Health Policy degree at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and a Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences, magna cum laude from Howard University. 

Lauren Wyatt serves as Advocacy Lead for Black Girls Vote, Inc. By day, she is a corporate paralegal with a background in political science, legislative affairs, and compliance. Lauren holds a Bachelor of Art in Political Science from Delaware State University and is currently obtaining a dual Masters of Science in Negotiation and Conflict Management and Juris Doctorate from the University of Baltimore. 

Nia Duggins is part of the Black Girls Vote Advocacy Team. She is a policy expert, political strategist, and innovative thought leader with a broad range of experience working on many issues, including voting rights and election administration matters. Nia is a graduate of Bennett College and the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.

[msbaptiste]

Women’s History Month Spotlight: Miranda Barnes

Our Women’s History Month features continue! Meet photographer Miranda Barnes (@mirandabarnes ), a Caribbean-Anglo American photographer hailing from Brooklyn. Her unique style has been seen in major publications like The New York Times, NY Magazine, Vogue Magazine, Teen Vogue, and so many more. Now you get a chance to learn just what makes her tick. 

Your work in the West Indian Parade series, Skate Kitchen, and Sarae & Sarai is amazing. What motivates you to focus on telling the stories of Black women?

Thank you! It’s important because for so long our stories have largely been told from a white and male perspective and have been the only way our narratives have been told. For me, it’s important to break stereotypes that have been placed on us by photographing us living and working, even if it’s mundane.

What has been one of your biggest accomplishments as a photographer?

One of the biggest accomplishments thus far has been photographing historical and sensitive assignments. The biggest one, however, was my coverage of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 50th anniversary of his assassination for The New York Times. It made A1!

How can people continue to support more women of color photographers?

I think it is important to first acknowledge that womxn photographers have been, historically at a disadvantage. This is even more so for Black womxn photographers. However, it’s important to understand the idea behind reclaiming narratives and it’s very exciting to see this slow, but more awareness towards the inequality that has plagued industries for so long. Reclaiming narratives are crucial and I try to view my experiences as a Black woman as an advantage. Support can be as simple as sharing a website, but also buying prints or investing in a photographer.

Give yourself a little gift today and follow @mirandabarnes . Your dashboard will be better off for it.

[msbaptiste]

This is the first time a blog entry I’d like to read actually popped up on Tumblr! And I’d like to read the children’s book mentioned here too...

Klein, editorial director for Lee & Low books, was in need of an artist for the upcoming children’s book Under My Hijab in the summer of 2017. The story focuses on the different ways women wear the Islamic head covering, so Klein wanted to recruit a Muslim, hijab-wearing woman for the job.

When Klein saw Jaleel’s art on Tumblr, she was drawn to its “bright colors and emotional warmth.”

Representation matters. How lucky are we to have incredible artists on Tumblr like Aaliya Jaleel (@aaliyamj) to contribute something so positive to children’s literature? The answer is very.

[msbaptiste]

Dinner Tonight

I love fresh, local, seasonal food!! I feel so good when I eat delicious salads and vegetable dishes. I just have to take the time to make them.  Here are a few from the summer.  And now I’m inspired to go cook dinner…

[msbaptiste]

I love fresh, local, seasonal food!! I feel so good when I eat delicious salads and vegetable dishes. I just have to take the time to make them.  Here are a few from the summer.  And now I’m inspired to go cook dinner...

[msbaptiste]

The “Biometrics Boom” truly is one to watch closely. Are you wondering whether your iris has just been recorded as you and I keep vigilant watch on these corporate and government entities using our bio markers?  We observe their every move (no, wait, that’s what they do to us...).  We must seek to know their ultimate purpose and the end result.  

PS: Just as I tried to post this comment at Peet’s, my wifi connection was lost, and I had to use a personal hotspot. Queuing up my wifi drop down menu, I came across another locked wifi account available in the vicinity: “we’re watching you.” And just checked -- it’s gone now!

Biometrics, a tool or a weapon?

- “Four fingers of your right hand, Madame!”

- “Right thumb!”

- “The picture here”

- “Purpose of trip?”

This is the first conversation I had with an American, the Border Police officer of the United States of America had immediately collected information on me, so I could be register in the FBI’s database.

Information might be one of the most powerful tool in the world, and “technology also allows others to spy on us” (Dragnet Nation, Julia Angwin, Chapiter1, p19).

Due to terrorism, biometrics has rapidly taken a big place in our World to identify individuals by such unique and accurate patterns. To what extent is biometrics a tool? In my opinion this technology, as it is used today, has a lot of disadvantages and advantages and deals with fundamental rights, which makes it a controversial topic.

Although, biological characteristics such as one’s iris, fingerprints, voice, or the way you walk are part of our privacy, they could be strongly threatened by biometrics, because all the patterns can be stored in a database.

For example, China has the most sophisticated CCTV camera system in the World which identifies your age, gender and much more… As you can see in this video “China: The World’s Biggest Camera Surveillance Network" - BBC News .

There were two mains aims at this approach:

-      The first one was to prevent offenders from committing crimes or infractions by setting up an unfriendly climate for them and a safe atmosphere for the population;

-      The second one was to identify them and arrest them.

It seems that only police have access to this data for safety purposes in China, but is it the only purpose? It appears that it might have been a way to follow dissidents as well. People are put in boxes and this is just another way of doing it. In other words, a categorization of the population by the government could be perceived.

On top of that, the data collected could be sold for marketing purpose just like it is already the case with our internet data.

Points of views regarding security management depends on the country you are living in and its history and culture.

On one hand, it helps to find terrorist and track them all around the world, but on the other hand it helps to track all of us too. This is the main controversy and finding the right balance between freedom and safety is a major issue in Europe too.

Terrorism may be used to generate fear thus justify the use biometrics in European countries. I am wondering if this approach is legitimate because it looks more like a propaganda than a security matter. Legitimate or not, this technology keep on evolving constantly.

Have you heard about the microchip that you can put under your skin? This is the next step in biometrics! This chip gathers an incredible amount of data collected by the company and tracks all your moves. This technology, could be an offence to the liberty to move. Besides, this technology is not restrained by the law so far which makes it complicated to limit. We can wonder of the Governements and companies want this limitation at all as companies have so easily embraced biometrics and are already generating money by creating useful tools in objects that we already addicted to: our phone.

Have you ever unlocked your phone with your fingerprint? Of course! Companies in the technologic fields such as Samsung allows its customers to unlock their phones using their iris, or fingerprint which appear more convenient because you don’t need to remember any passwords and could strongly help in case of disabilities. The functionality is highlighted which encourage customers to use it. I strongly think that the purpose is the main key ad drive the way you use the technology. Some might say this is just the beginning of a slippery slope.

Inevitably, technology is moving forward so fast. Once people will become familiar with this kind of technology it will open the gate for other technologies unless we stop it. This lends me to a famous novel which deal with this topic. In his book 1984, Georges Orwell discusses a dystopia in which “Big Brother” is watching every move of the population to control their lives. How will 2030 look like?

All in all, the use of biological characteristics is an interesting idea as long as it is framed by specific law because it threatens different types of fundamental liberties (movement speech, etc).

Regarding business purposes, the storage of this information should be a major subject to find solution to make this technology safer.

A tool or a weapon? It depends on whose hands it ends up in.

Credit picture: Dracorubio, taken by Rodrique on May 21th, 2012

[msbaptiste]

Here’s to fostering true friendships--and all the complications, time, and compromises required to really be close to another human being through the good times and the bad!

Rent a friend? Make a friend!

Have you ever experienced loneliness? That must be a time when you need a friend but without one around. Wait, what if you can rent a friend?

Recently in Tokyo Japan, a new kind of service has appeared, which is called rent-a-friend. You can rent a temporary friend here for company or to help you out with any ceremony or celebration. But they are not prostitutes, they sell their time but not their body. Usually their job will be chatting and hanging out with people as a “friend”. Under specific cases, some are paid to “cry at funerals and swoon at weddings, lest there be shame over a paltry turnout”, according to You’ve got a rented friend by Chris Colin. As mentioned in the same article, the CEO of Client Partner, a company of this kind, Maki Abe said, the reason such a service would pop up is because “Japan is all about face…We can’t ask for help. So many people are alone with their problems” which explains why people need friends. As for the friends on virtual social media, Maki in the article said,” It isn’t real, that’s all”, which deny that virtual friends can take the place of friends in real world.

However, as far as I am concerned, such a service is leading an unhealthy trend that nibbles up people’s ability to maintain a friendship.

In most cases, “friendship” with rent-a-friend staff is not real. As a part of service, a staff member from rent-a-friend is trained to be a “perfect friend”. They are patient, willing to listen to you as long as you pay them. They are amiable, always ready to comfort. They are tight-lipped, which means you can criticize anyone to them without worrying about that they will tell someone. But what about friends in real life? Who would listen to an topic that they are not interested for an hour? Who would want his/her emotion to get as upset as yours by all your complaints? Who would want to do exactly as you say? No one. In other words, friends in real life are equal, but rented friends are not. Real friends have the right to refuse to do a favor for you, but the staff from rent-a-friend don’t. So what you feel with the staff from rent-a-friend is an illusion that matches your imagination of friendship, but not a real one. In the article of You’ve got a rented friend , the two rented friends of the author, Yumi and Yusuke either said “send the photo to me” or “we shall stay in touch” but actually they wouldn’t. Everything was just acting.

Although most of the friendship from rent-a-friend is not real, it is still sweet compared to the hardship to maintain a real friendship. With staff from rent-a-friend, you don’t have to weigh your words before you speak, you don’t have to apologize for your fault, you don’t have to give compliment when you would not, you don’t have to listen to all the complaints that you can’t bear. No, you don’t have to do anything except paying, and just enjoy cares and loves from your purchased friends. Since it brings joy without any charge for emotional efforts, people might always prefer a rent-a-friend to a real friend. And overexposure to such virtual sweet “friendship” will spoil us. If we count on rent-a-friend too much, we will gradually forget friendship is a give-and-take game but instead, we will just take, like what we do to a rented friend.

If we go a little further, when we couldn’t even communicate well with our friends, what would happen to other people we love? Our parents, siblings, lovers, children and so on? Will there be rent-a-parent, rent-a-sibling, rent-a-lover or rent-a-child? And will you pay for those services? It’s time to leave those purchased relationships behind and start to learn how to communicate better with real people, to understand someone else, to touch another independent soul, to gain a real friendship, the bond between two souls.

If one day, friendship can only be experienced with price tag, that will be a real tragedy for humanity.

Cite: Chris Colin, You’ve got a rented friend, THE WEEK July 1/July 8, 2016

Photo from: https://stylewhack.com/friendship-songs-hindi/

[msbaptiste]

May you continue to be a peacemaker.  We need you in this war-torn world!

BLOG4 | “Please Lay Down the Arms！”

“Although life is full of pain and sorrow, but each sadness can bring us the light of hope.”

   Have you ever heard or read a novel named The Kite Runner, which was famous for the 2013 bestseller？Its author, a talented writer, Khaled Hosseini, has created another heartbreaking story you would also get sunk into if you love The Kite Runner and the history of Afghanistan. The story named A Thousand Splendid Suns, set in the backdrop of Afghanistan from 1960s to 2003, tells a story of two women’s, critiquing the serious reality of male chauvinism in Afghanistan.

                                   Photo credit to: bookdepository

   It is universally acknowledged that Afghanistan has been tormented by war and political persecution for thirty years. Born in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, Hosseini was influenced by the social reality of his country, so he had an inch to voice it loudly and completely to the world. As Hosseini himself states in his 2007 interview, “The developing story captured me and enabled me to tune out the background noise.” Thus, the novel reveals serious social phenomenon: war scenes, religious clashes, male chauvinism and the deprivations of the women’s rights.

   The story happened in the 1960s, the age of turbulence in Afghanistan, narrated in a first person female voice. Part one is based on the first  protagonist Mariam, aiming at her tough childhood life. Mariam, born as an illegitimate of a rich merchant father Jalil and an embittered mother Nana in a poor village, was obliged to marry a brute shoemaker Rasheed when she was fifteen years old. She went through her mother’s suicide and her father’s indifference. Her tough life led her to become a traditional and subservient woman she was not supposed to be. On the contrast, part two is related to Laila, the second protagonist. It covered Laila’s happy childhood and a big turning point which made her life more complicated and tough. Laila was quite educated and independent, always having an inch to make a difference for her country. I truly appreciate her. In part three, the key part of the story, the destiny of two women came together: They become wives of a bad-tempered shoemaker Rasheed. At first, the two women detested each other. Receiving disrespect and frequent domestic violence, they find consolation in each other. Simultaneously, under Taliban’s rule over Afghanistan, there were gunfire and bombs everywhere, which made life more fragile than before. In addition, Due to protection of Lalia’s two children, Mariam did something unexpected to their husband. Part four tells the life of Laila and her missing lover, Tariq. With a new government arising, a new society in Afghanistan is coming soon.

                       Photo credit to: Ritu Akthar (pinterest.com)

   From my perspective, Hosseini has a gift for shaping characters and creating exquisite writing style by using graceful words and metaphor skill. For instance, he digs into character’s mood via smooth environment description, like

“each snowflake was a sigh heaved by an aggrieved women. That all the sighs drifted up to the sky，gathered into clouds，then broke into tiny pieces that fell silently on the people blow.” 

Having read this sentence, I just felt women’s hopelessness via the flying snowflakes in a cold winter.

   Today, although we firmly believe that there is no difference between men and women and everyone is created equal according to the Declaration of Independence, there still exist unfair status between men and women.  Afghanistan, a remote country far away from us, where women usually can’t go outside for a walk, let alone go shopping. Women can’t get a well-rounded education, sing, dance, or voice their rights which are supposed to belong to them. Worse, all they can do is to bear because they are women. They have to endure violence from their husbands, indifference from parents and unequal treatment from society.  In addition, their menial right to love is also buried in ruins because of the constraint of religion and traditional customs.  I can’t imagine how hard their life is.

   Today, although we mostly live in the peaceful world, there still exists turbulence in some areas where peace is a luxury only some people can enjoy. Admittedly, I have heard some political or military affairs about the War in Afghanistan from TV channels and newspapers. And in these media, the affairs are described as state affairs, seeming totally far away from us. However, under Hosseini’s words, I have experienced the true life of the average Afghans.  

   Personally, If I did not read A Thousand Splendid Suns, I would have never known deeply about the saddening history in Afghan, would have never realized how peaceful my country was, and would have never realized that there existed an area where war was endless and female rights couldn’t be protected. It is a great novel about an unforgiving war era, a heart-wrecking period, a steadfast love between an innocent young couple, and an impossible but miraculous friendship between two women. Thus, it’s such a worth reading book that I sincerely recommend it to you.

   21 guns, a song on anti-war theme from Green Day, is always whispering in my mind while I was reading this novel, as if it asked the world that：

“Do you know what’s worth fighting for

when it’s not worth dying for? 

Does it take your breath away

and you feel yourself suffocating? 

Does the pain weigh out the pride? 

And you look for a place to hide? *”

                               Video credit to: Green Day (YouTube)

    Indeed, the cruelty of war did make the world suffocate. The meanings of life and love far outweigh the honor of winning a war. War only frustrates the soldiers, breaks the happiness of thousands of families and collapses nations in ruins.

   A thousand splendid suns, a charming name filled with hope, will exist in every pacifists’ and feminists’ heart.   

   Please “Lay down your arms and Give up the fight *”. Keeping the world peaceful is what we truly pursue and cherish.

(* lyrics from 21 guns by Green Day)

[msbaptiste]

Excited to eat lunch between classes on the last day of summer session. So thankful for this whirlwind teaching experience, my students’ hard work, and their incredible final projects: digital stories in Writing for New Media and Berkeley local oral presentations in Listening & Speaking.  Looking forward to partying with colleagues and family this evening!

[msbaptiste]

I appreciate reading about my student’s cross-cultural observations--especially the color-coded seats on Chinese trains vs. the colorful lines no one here knows from the BART map...

My new life here

A few days ago I watched a film called “Lost in Translation” and discussed some issues about cross-cultural encounters with my classmates in class. This reminds me of my own experience here.

Since it’s my first time to travel abroad, everything seemed novel to me when I just arrived. But gradually, more and more details in my daily life, which are quite different from what I am used to, begin to attract my attention.

First, the public transportation. The different lines of Bart here share the same path, so you have to find out whether the coming Bart is to your destination before getting on. While in China, different lines of subways there have their own path and the chairs in them are painted to the corresponding color. So once you step in a station in China, you can distinguish which line you are going to take by the name of the station or the color of it. In this case, few people in China takes the wrong line in a station. While the colors of Bart are only used in maps, making it meaningless in practical. So I felt quite with confused when I first took the Bart. I got off at the wrong station and almost missed the right Bart.

And the bus system here is also a bit different. In China, drivers often play a video, which is recorded in advance, when approaching the stops to inform the passengers, and they are required by their company to stop at every stop. But the drivers here broadcast the stops by themselves and passengers here have to tell them or press the button at the backdoor to ask for a stop. I was told about this before I get here, otherwise I might fail to exit at the right place.

Apart from public transportation, I was also confused about the separation and recycling of waste. The bottles, cans and cardboard here need to be singled out and thrown into the specific rubbish bins, while we don’t do this in China. A few days after arriving, I had difficulty categorizing some kinds of rubbish, the plastic bottle used to contain ketchup for example. My roommates and I spent some time discussing the instructions the house owner gave us, and we also consulted our neighbor who is a Korean American. She taught us how to classify the rubbish and also told us some precautions. Till now I may still make some mistakes when making a classification, but it’s much better than the beginning.

Another thing that impressed me most was the enthusiasm of the people here. Last Friday, I went to San Francisco with my friends. When we were wandering in the road, a woman, who was waiting at the crossroads, suddenly shook down the window on her car. “Welcome to San Francisco”, she shouted to us with her hands waving when we were passing by. Wearing a big smile on her face, she seems quite hospitable. We were a bit surprised at first, but soon we realized that she was greeting us so we thanked her for her kindness. I felt surprised at the beginning because I can hardly imagine such kind of things happening in China. People in China are also friendly to foreigners, but Chinese are always thought to be more introverted and we may not greet strangers like that. But we felt cordial to be greeted by a stranger thousands miles away from our home.

Like other new comers, I am always considering how can so many differences exist between exist. Maybe it’s the different climates that determine different lifestyle, and thus determine their different habits and customs.

I have stayed here for about two weeks and I am gradually getting used to my new life. Some of the differences are great new experiences which enrich my life rather than difficulties I have to overcome. Now, I quite enjoy my new life here, right on the opposite side of the earth from my hometown.

[msbaptiste]

Jimmy, I hope to see the film that reminds me, in your review and rich reflection, of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth!

What Environment We Desire

As I first walked out of the Los Angels International Airport, I was deeply impressed by a blue sky which I seldom see while in big Chinese cities. What’s more, the blue sky and the clean water at Fisherman’s Wharf made me fully become intoxicated. The pigeons and pelicans waddled among visitors and strolled everywhere beside the sea. When I quietly walked closed to them, they just went another way and seemed not afraid of people, and this is not common to see in China.

During my short stay in America, what attracted me most is the environment and the co-existence between people and nature–totally unlike what I have seen in China. Rapid industrialization, population growth, and lax environmental oversight have caused many environmental issues and large-scale pollution (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environment_of_China). These huge changes have been happening in the last fifty years and the environment has become so different nowadays. Rapid industrialization and urbanization give us many skyscrapers to be proud of and enough infrastructure to help us improve our quality of life. Though economic changes brings us benefits, we have sacrificed our environment.

In 2014, Chai Jing undertook an independent investigation into China’s environmental problems, which culminated in a self-financed documentary called Under the Dome (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chai_Jing). The film has garnered over 150 million views in China, sparking widespread discussion about pollution and environmental policy in China and what was shown in this film shocked me. The film combines footage of a lecture with interviews and factory visits and the film openly criticizes country-owned energy companies, steel producers , coal factories and transport companies as well as showing the inability and the weakness of the Ministry of Environmental Protection to act against the big polluters. The film also gives examples of different environmental issues and their harm. In January 2013, fine airborne particulates that pose the largest health risks, rose as high as 993 micrograms per cubic meter in Beijing, compared with World Health Organization guidelines of no more than 25. The World Bank estimates that 16 of the world’s most-polluted cities are located in China.This pollution is not only seen in those big cities, but also everywhere in China and it is happening more and more often. In spite of the recognition of the authorities, the problems of air, water and land pollution are still severe.

    As documentaries like Under the Dome has appeared more and more often, the environmental consciousness of common people has been awakened. In addition, the film also shows that how officials from London and Los Angeles managed to deal with historic issues of pollution and this gives a good example that how the local government can protect the environment. The environmental issues in China are  necessary by-product of the economic development, for the development still stays at a low level. This director of this film appealed to the government for environmental protection and gave previous examples to the authorities. More and more people have been aware of the importance of the environment and have started to change their bad habit of damaging the environment. And the awareness is the first step to a better environement.

[msbaptiste]

I enjoy reading your vivid journey to independence, navigating the red tape of  modern bureaucratic society!

Blog 4: A Journey to “Find” My Credit Card

Every story that has happened to me is meaningful . Each of them gave me a reflection and a spiritual energy. I have a story about my credit card to share with you. In March, I got an announcement about the Berkeley Summer Sessions from the Student Department in our university. Having considered for a few days, I decided to apply for Berkeley Summer Sessions because I wanted to improve my English and enjoy American culture. My parents agreed with me. However, I had never gone abroad before. I didn’t have a passport. I didn’t have a credit card. I couldn’t even understand the questions on the application. It seemed that everything was strange and difficult .

I told my mom my worries about applying for the summer sessions. But my mom said, “You have already been an adult, not a little girl. You have to challenge yourself to touch the world. If you go through all these complicated steps, you will become independent and responsible.”

So I followed my mom’s words and started to do these things. I got my passport, sent my application and got my visa. However, there was one thing that troubled me a lot. It was difficult for me to get a credit card because I was just a college student without a job. My parents helped me ask the local bank in my hometown how to apply for a credit card. To their surprise, the office workers of the bank gave my parents different answers, which made them more confused.

So I had to ask banks in Beijing where I studied how to get a credit card by myself. It was very hot in summer and the glare of the sun made me uncomfortable. I took a bus and walked under the intense sun to find a bank. I asked the bank manager how to get a credit card under such conditions. However, the attitude of the manager made me really upset. Her unhappy expressions and impolite words made me almost cry because I was really exhausted and nauseous. At that time, I felt disappointed and helpless because of her indifference.

Then I took a bus to find another bank for help. Luckily, the manager told me how to get a credit card, that is, my parent had to come to Beijing and we should apply for the credit card together because the bank wanted to see our signatures. So my dad came to Beijing after three days. We finished our application process at the bank. The manager said we had to wait for one month and the card would be mailed to me. We felt relaxed and waited.

However, one month passed, no credit card was sent to me. I was nervous because there was only one month until I left for Berkeley. So I called the bank service by phone, but with no results. Disappointed, I went to the bank again to ask the manager what was wrong with my credit card. He said I had to wait for a few days. I said “OK”. But  two days later, I received a phone call from the bank. The manager told me that my credit card application was rejected. Because of the busy business in their bank, they didn’t tell me the result in time. When I heard this bad news, my eyes were filled with tears and I felt very upset. I couldn’t imagine that I had tried my best to do such a troublesome thing but got such an unlucky result. My mom told me that I should complain about their terrible service by a phone call to the bank. So I made a phone call and complained about their service unrelentingly. Fortunately, the next day, I got a phone call from the bank manager. He said the bank could help me get another kind of credit card in order to compensate me for my loss. So I went to the bank at once and got my credit card in the end.

That’s the whole story of my credit card. To be honest, it was really a hard journey to “find” such a card. During the journey, I met different kinds of people. I was angry because of the bank’s red tape. I complained about their service to protect my legal right. I achieved all these things on my own and with the help from my parents. In short, I harvested a new life experience from my story. Being exposed to such a complicated society and dealing with so many difficult situations, I have to be courageous and independent. That’s why I want to write down my story and share it with you.

The picture above comes from this website.

[msbaptiste]

Culture bridging - Difference between HK and America

Starting from the day I arrived in California, I found this place extraordinarily beautiful. The sunshine is always sufficient, and I never have to worry that I have not brought an umbrella. I love to stay on the street in the day time a lot as I can enjoy the sunshine without feeling wet. The weather here is simply amazing, and staying in northern California just for the sunshine could already be excited enough.

Yet, I am not here merely for the enjoyment. Rather, as I have always believed, figuring out cultural differences is always the best way to prove that you have really been somewhere. If you just sight-see, probably you would not get the chance to find this out, as I think culture shock is the most valuable lesson in every journey.

  So what is the cultural difference? Well, though I have not been staying in the US for too long, I figure out that people are less stressed here. I observed this when I was taking a Bart Train before. Taking a Bart Train is certainly not a particularly memorable thing, but being stuck in a Bart Train is what makes the story more interesting. The Bart Train did not only pause, but also had its electricity shut off. I was totally freaked out by this point, as I had never experienced this in HK before. Yet, it is not the most unusual thing that I have experienced that day.

. The most interesting thing was that I could not see any people complaining. People sat still, and waited for further announcement. Don’t you think that is so weird? In Hong Kong, even when the train is late or pauses for just 30 seconds, all the people will be complaining. Soon there will be someone complaining to the media, and next day the headline of the newspaper will read “Error happened for underground train, unbearable for the company”. The situation in US is totally different from Hong Kong, which I think is one of the biggest moments of culture shock I have experienced.

  Another cultural difference that I have experienced is that people are more tolerant here. I conclude this mostly because there are so many homeless people at the street yet no people are actually blaming or discriminating them. Sometimes, I could even see some homeless chatting with the pedestrians! This is something that I will not see in HK again. Homeless people in HK are treated badly by others. Even though the pedestrians do not look down on these people, the government and police do. The police will usually shout at homeless people if they sleep in the city, and the government will do everything to prevent the homeless from sleeping on the street because they are considered to be “distorting the image of HK”. They will spray some toxic detergent on the floor so that the homeless could not even place anything to sleep on the floor. They will also suddenly arrest the homeless at night. Compared to US, homeless people basically can sleep anywhere they like. They sleep at the park, and the garden, at the street, etc. They could be everywhere. This is something that I feel amazed about too.

No doubt, northern California is a really good place to live. But I think other than the stunning view, the cultural difference between Hong Kong and US is what makes the place and the journey more meaningful and fruitful, and makes the places more beautiful. Hopefully in the future I can explore more of the US, not only in Cal so that I can learn more about the cultural difference!

New words:

Extraordinarily (adv.) – stunning and amazing for the view

e.g. The sea view at Berkeley Marina is extraordinarily beautiful.

2.  Tolerant (adj.) – accepting

        e.g. Berkeley is famous for its tolerance to homeless people.

3.  Pedestrians (n.) – walker on the street

        e.g. Please do not block the Pedestrians road.