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Immigrant interview assignment

For this assignment I decided to interview 19 year twin girls named Jessica and Justina who immigrated from Sierra Leone when they 15 years old. I considered these twins my best friends, I’ve known them for about 3 years. They’re parents made the decision to bring them to America so they can receive a better education and eventually make a life for themselves. They moved into their aunts house and still live there to this day whilst attending college, one studying to become a nurse and the other studying to become and architect. Of course moving to a new country they had to adjust to the bridges and barriers such as their strong accent and the difference in the education systems as well as meeting new people; getting to know their way of life.

When they arrived here , they noticed the difference in gender roles and the way children behaved. Back in their country men were the head of the house. They made all of the money and paid all of the bills while the women stayed home and tended to the house as well as the children whereas her in America, both men and women have jobs and make money to contribute to the house. They also noticed that kids in America had behavioral issues. They didn’t respect their elders and often have the freedom to do whatever they wanted while back where they are from, it was highly important to have respect for your elders/the ones who raised you. If you didn’t treat them with respect and honor them they would punish you.

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What’s shown here on my mothers side is her ex spouses and their children they created. My mother had my older sister with her ex boyfriend and then had me and my younger sister with our father (left side) who she is divorced to and now has two sons (my brothers) with her current husband. It also shows thats my mothers sister (my aunt) divorced her husband of which she had four kids with which are my cross cousins. On my fathers side it shows that he had a son (my brother) with his ex girlfriend. It also shows that his sister (my aunt) is married to my uncle and has two twin daughters and another daughter which are my parallel cousins.

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Chapter 7 concept map

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Cultural Adaptation

For this weeks fieldwork I decided that my topic would be contact lenses. Cultural adaptation trumps natural selection because it allows people who have sight problems to have crystal clear vision. People need to have clear eyesight so they can accomplish everyday things such as driving, completing assignments and cooking. Without clear vision people would hurt themselves attempting these everyday things such as getting into dangerous car accidents or accidentally cutting your fingers off while cooking. Now we all know that glasses were invented first but it has been proven that contact lenses may be the better pick for those with poor eyesight. Contacts were created as a more efficient and comfortable way to go about life as a visually Impaired human being.It’s been told that contact lenses are far more comfortable than eyeglasses because it’s as if they aren’t even in your eyes. Contact lenses are also better for people who are actively engaged on a day to day basis. If you play sports or like to workout or have any job that consists of quick movements, contacts are perfect for you. My boyfriend started wearing contacts around June of last summer and he told me that his sight has never been clearer. Glasses get dirty and fog up and slip and fall off your face quite often and it’s a hassle so it’s a fact that the invention of contact lenses hads definitely made the lives of those with vision problems much easier.

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Language and Gender in the Classroom

For this fieldwork assignment I decided to study my Media literacy class taught by Mr.Hamil Harris. This class has the most discussion compared to my other four classes so it was an easy pick. This class has about 13 girls and 9 boys. My teacher’s way of lecturing consists of questioning and answering whereas the teacher asks the questions and the students respond with an answer. Out of this entire 50 minute class only about 3 boys and 2 girls responded to the teacher and discussed about the topic the most which is quite shocking given the fact that most students seemed very interested in the topic. Also you’d think that females would be on their phones scrolling through Instagram or checking their faces in the camera and there were but I was shocked to discover that the majority of the students on their phones were boys. Some students were falling asleep while the professor was talking or whilst a video was playing while others were wide awake and focused. Body language between both genders were slightly different. Most females had their legs crossed and sat back comfortably in the desk while some males say straight up with their upper body stretched across the desk. Some of them all sat quite similar to each other. Besides the difference in the way each gender sat in their seats, their wasn’t much else different about them.

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Gender: “She’s falling but she doesn’t think he’ll catch her”

- Some women often go into relationships believing that men will ultimately let them down no matter what they’re feeling

Power: “He redifines in every way what love is”

- Some men have good intentions with a woman and have the ability to change their perspectives on love

Dialect: “Despite her past she can’t help the attraction”

- Although people try to avoid going through the same heartbreaking situations, they find it difficult to stay away from the startup of the problem (getting to know new people)because it’s just in our nature and it can be nice

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Mapping Assignment

For this particular assignment I observed the Auntie Anne’s located in the student center of Morgan State University. On a Tuesday afternoon.The smell of sweet pretzels permeated the air, you could smell it all throughout the entire building. A lot of the students that stopped by were normally in relatively large friend groups and they all took their time laughing and conversing whilst enjoying handmade pretzels. A popular item that was sold were the cinnamon sugar pretzels. They also happen to be my favorite to buy when I go there. Student after student would order this item and the person working in the back would have to make a new batch because they sold so quickly. Other students would stop by just to sit and utilize the seating areas to study, wait for their next class to begin or wait for other friends to arrive. The seating area was left a mess a few times with pretzel debris or used napkins and drink containers which one of the workers would occasionally come from behind the counters to clean up. Observing from the outside in, you may think that it’s an easy job but you have to put into consideration the fact that serving 100+ students a day could be a little stressful. I have never made pretzels from scratch but from the looks of it, it looks very difficult. Trying to make the right pretzel shape, mixing and kneading dough, trying not to overcook an entire batch.....I can only imagine the pressure. I revisited Auntie Anne’s the following night only to see almost exact same outcome from before. It was a little less packed because everyone was most likely in Rawling cafeteria because Wednesdays are fried chicken nights where it’s the most packed but there were still some students gathered around the seating areas conversing and consuming delicious pretzels as well as two employees making pretzels behind the counter and someone working the register. I feel as if it is probably the same system all throughout the week, the traffic flow just depends on the time of day and day if the week such as when classes begin and end or the lunch and dinner times in the canteen and in Rawlings. I chose this place because I genuinely enjoy Auntie Anne’s and I have been for many years. Actually , at the time I chose to observe this area, I was quite in the mood for a pretzel myself so I definitely killed toe birds with one tone. It was also interesting to see the way the team of employees move as well as the social aspect that this workplace encounters on a day to day basis. *note: please excuse my poor illustration lol. #AuntieAnnes #Fieldwork #duesunday #anthropology #mapping

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#Fieldwork #conceptmap #syphilisstudy #2/14/19

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#Fieldworkassignment #conceptmap #kpop

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THE CULTURE OF CONSUMERISM

After carefully analyzing my inventory I noticed that I have a lot of extra clothes that I don’t use and that I have over-bought a lot of the toiletries I own. I realized that when I’m out shopping, I disregard the items I already own. I completely forget that I have it at home already or I dont care that I already have a perfectly fine pair of pants or shirt to wear at a special event or party; if I have the money I’ll buy it anyways. In college I’ve learned to regret doing things like that because I’ll almost always end up needing the money I spent for something I didn’t need to buy things that I do such as books, laundry or medicine. Given the fact that as a college student, I don’t have a job or make $200 allowances like other people may, I do well for myself other than my ‘over-buying’ flaw. A lot of the things i own will most likely last me a long time which reduces the need to buy things.

#fieldwork #consumerism #sunday #anthropology

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Examples of a African American subculture

Values- our hair, food, family, rights

Beliefs- Christianity

Attitudes- work hard now to relax later, don’t give up, God put you in this earth for a reason so don’t lose sight on what’s important

Institutions- HBCU, any black owned businesses, a strong family household

#fieldwork #values #subculture #African-American

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THE HISTORY OF ALMOND MILK

What is the history of this item?

Almondmilk originated in the Middle Ages around Southern Europe. They were created as a substitute for cows milk originally to make certain delicacies more enjoyable due to cows milk being difficult to manipulate. Soon after, almondmilk became a drink that had wonderful benefits for people with poor health conditions. It’s also became a preferred beverage for families with wealth.

Where was almondmilk manufactured?

This item was originally manufactured in Southern Europe witch eventually traveled to other countries and settled in Northern America where companies such as Blue Diamond ‘Almond Breeze’ and White Wave Foods ‘Pure Almond’ began to pop up.

What impact does this item have on your life?

My mother one day decided that we needed to make drastic changes to our health so she cut out all dairy products from our diet. I never knew there was an alternative to milk until I was introduced to almondmilk one morning before school. I grew to enjoy it and preferred it over cows milk. I eventually learned the health benefits of almondmilk compared to cows milk and I realized that cows milk is very unhealthy for your body. I like to believe that my mothers decision to adjust my diet was ultimately the greatest decision she’s ever made for me. It has made me question all of the other things I put into my body and gives me reason to want to go on and continue to be the healthiest I can be.

Who is involved in the manufacturing of this item?

Europeans manufactured almondmilk because of the properties the nuts contained. It wasn’t a widely known product until two authors named William Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyagi mentioned it in their cookbook “The book of Miso for mankind”. They were ultimately a great attribution to why almondmilk got went so viral.

#fieldwork #duetoday #anthropolgy