clam 1-5 reposted

CLAM 5

My family and I have hosted 4 different exchange student, all from different countries, all at different times, each with their own questions, and I still cannot answer for you what America’s/my own culture is.  Sure we each do things differently, have different manners, eat different foods, and most likely dress a little differently but there is so much more to culture then that! Our celebrations, customs (note I do know the list in the previous sentence is included in this, just let me finish), and traditions, I feel, have become lost in America. Sure we have Thanksgiving, The Fourth of July, and so on but those have been taken over by commercials and money and, while both of those are a huge part of the American culture, we have lost their original significance. On The Fourth we are suppose to, yes, celebrate our independence but also remember and commemorate those how died for it and the huge significance of what our, a few rag-tag colonists, beating the power house of the time meant to the rest of the world! But what do we do, get drunk and buy fireworks to shoot at our friends. Then for Thanksgiving, we are suppose to remember our red skinned friends and the time of thanks when they saved our butts that first winter (and my own family consequentially, we can trace back to the Mayflower, the Brewsters family, fun stuff) but what do we do? We stuff our faces with turkey and then watch a parade, football, and, in my case, a pumpkin chunk’in contest!

But our loss is even greater than of the failure of our own holidays. Try and sing for me right now one folk song? Something not from the radio. Come on, anything? How about something your Grandmother use to sing? Or try this, how about a dance or two? There has got to be something? An old gig or old tune just waiting to come out? Wrong. As Americans, we have lost so much of our traditional and folk past because we are so focused on the commercial, the newest and greatest things we just forget and push the past aside like it doesn’t even matter. I mean my little brother has 4 different kinds of iPods for PEATS SAKE and he is still begging for an IPhone! I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching in college (not spiritual stuff or religion stuff, just finding out about the greater world and how it pertains to me) and one thing I found, with help of my boyfriend John-Michael (aka he told me about it) this festival that takes place in Black Mountain, NC called L.E.A.F.(Lake Eden music and Arts Festival). It’s a music and arts festival for everyone (families and pot smokers) and they focus on preserving the folk heritage of American (other countries too). It’s a hippie fest to end all hippie fests, believe me, that has music, folk and not, and contra and swing dancing all day and well into the night (for those that don’t know, contra dancing is an American folk dance that is a lot like square dancing but much more lively and a ton of fun!!).

This is not a pitch for everyone to go to L.E.A.F., I just mentioned it because it has really helped me to discover about myself culturally. I live in Tennessee but my Grandparents (mom’s side) grew up less than an hour (and that’s in mountain time, anywhere else it would only be about 20 minutes but mountains roads are so winding and twisted) from where the festival is held its like I’m learning about them and their past, and thus about myself, every time I go. I know what you’re thinking, why don’t you just them to teach you themselves. Well heart breaker alert. My Grandmommie has Alzheimer’s disease and she can’t really talk about this stuff anymore but she does sit in her chair, sometimes, and sing old songs from when she was a girl and it’s like I can connect with her because I actually know the songs too Granddaddy is a different story, he is healthy but was in the military. A general and all that jazz, he doesn’t dance but he sings along too sometimes.

Sorry that this didn’t turn out how the assignment was supposed to turn out but would you want something that wasn’t the truth? This is my view on American culture; that we have lost that parts that really matter. 

here are some photos of LEAF so you can understand (all mine)

CLAM4_ out of all the lectures, videos, and links we had fo rthis assignment, these 3 images stuck with me.

Refuge Destination

Refuge Origin

International Immigration

it just blows my mind how the usa can have one of the largets international immigration population but have next to no refugees! are we not a land of prosperity, opportunity, and freedom?! what ever happend to “Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free;The wretchedrefuse of your teeming shore…” (The New Colossus). i mean its on the freaking Statue of Liberty! an iconic symbol for everything our country stands for and we don’t even abide by our own promises. the more time i spend abroad, the more i realize America needs a serious overhaul and in more ways in just this. but i will save that for another rant later. peace.

CLAM3_

CLAM2_YAY guess what, for assignment dos, I get to brag about my adventures in online communities and everyone get to see how much of a dork I am. Oh joy. Well, first of all, this is my first blog ever because I don’t believe in putting everything about me out there for everyone to read. It’s just not my style but this kind, just about my travels, is acceptable because it’s more of a record of my adventures and stories that I would otherwise forget. Personally, I prefer more anonymous forums such as 4chan (yes j-m I’ve spent time on there even though u warned me not to) and then other places where you can talk to friends or people with common interests. Discussion boards on redvsblue(the best internet show ever!) , facebook (obviously), and a couple others that really talk about random stuff are a few examples. I even dabble in a bit, or a lot, of online gaming and chat with my guildies (woot World of War Craft!). There are also some games like Mine Craft and ye olde RuneScape but they are all just hobbies. Call me crazy, but I do prefer HUMAN interaction. You just can’t properly express sarcasm via text; this post is a perfect example. So, in the immortal words of the internet, kay thx bye.  

CLAM1_Since this assignment is late anyway, I’ll make this post short and sweet. Well, maybe not so sweet because, to be completely honest, I believe this class is a complete joke. I mean, during the “tutorial” on blogging, which was horrible in its self, I seriously got RICK-ROLLED!  Don’t get me wrong, I know I appreciate this class because it keeps me responsible in recording our adventures, otherwise I would forget about “An Act of Desperation” or Lena’s and mine “Lemon Red Pepper Stir Fry”. I just wish they would cut out all of the fluff and stop trying to be hip on everything. In a perfect world, we would have freedom of our keyboard to write what we want and they would just keep us responsible and up to date, not make us blog about blogging (which is stupid and redundant). 

ps i am super excited about our final project! i already have my topic picked out and everything!!!