R.I.P American Dream

The American Dream has passed away. It was killed on 9/11 and buried under the Twin Towers. A dream full of progressive ideas from millions of citizens all over the world, who saw United States as a country full of opportunities, equality, and specially, a place where efforts and hard work could really be acknowledged and dignified, a dream of rewarding satisfaction for future generations. 

But even when United States is not as safe as it used to be, Mexicans continue to use coyotes to cross the border, Cubans still hide in boats, and people marry strangers just to become an American citizen. What are they not seeing? US is a lost country, full of debts and bad decisions. But maybe, it is better than their own country, so much better they are willing to risk their lives just to get there, just to live the "American Dream".

This is not the future our grandparents imagined for us, this is not the kind of success they pictured. But new generations are learning to handle this, to adapt. We are evolving, and the American Dream has evolved with us.

Coca Cola and Santa Claus

In this class we talked about big companies and their influence in America. Big companies shape the economy of a country and also, its culture. I found very interesting the fact that Coca Cola helped to picture what Santa Clause looks like.

In the beginning, Santa was a saint, Saint Nicholas to be exact, and he loose like the other saints, thin, with a bear an almost bald. But this began to change from culture to culture. He got fatter, older and jollier. An artist, Haddon Sundblom painted the famous Santa Claus for one of Coca-Cola’s marketing campaign. It is not true that Santa wears red due to this brand; in fact, he was drawn in a red suit before Sundblom drew him.

Many people became very attached to Coca-Cola Santa and started collecting images of him. They even wrote letters to the company when something in a picture looked weirs, like the fact that in one, he was not wearing a wedding ring and thousands of letter were received asking what had happened to Ms. Claus.

Big companies have an extremely important role in American life. It nourishes a country’s economy, and customs, it creates a way of life and a culture.

American Cuisine

What? Americans have culinary culture? Well, of course! It’s not only hamburgers and fries. United States, like I mentioned before in this blog, is a land of multiculturalism. People from all around the world settle down there and of course, they bring their cooking along.

For example, burritos and tacos are from Mexico, pizza, pasta and subway sandwiches come from Italy. Other examples are the England chowder, a vegetable or seafood, like clam, stew thicken with milk or cream, chili soup, made out of beef, beans and tomato juice, or apple cobbler, a fruit dessert.

There is also the popular “fast food”, such as KFC, MC Donald’s, Wendy’s or Taco Bell.

So, after all, United States is not only the food they eat in movies or what is popular in OUR countries. Each part of the US has its different culinary customs depending on what they grow in each area, like corn, maple syrup or potatoes. Like anywhere else, food begins to change when it arrives to another place, ingredients start being replaced with something grown in that region, and the taste changes as well. Pizza in New York cannot be compares with Pizza in Italy, but this, by any reason means that one is better than the other.

WAR IN NUMBERS

War: (n) a. A state of open, armed, often prolonged conflict carried on between nations, states, or parties.

Yes, we could define war like this… but really, what does it mean?

It means 62.5 million children NOT receiving low-income healthcare for one year, or 15.5 millions of students not going to college for not receiving a scholarship of one year. It could also mean more than 7,000 soldiers losing their lives in battle.

War is an expensive issue, especially if it lasts 10 years. The ratio of offensive weapon acquired by the US, compared to defensive weapons is 12 to 1. About 1.26 TRILLION dollars have been spent in the wars of Afghanistan and Iraq. To know exactly how much is the United States government spending in war click here.

War not only means fighting for your country, defending it from nuclear or terrorists attacks, or proving your dominance. It is also about losses. Loss of lives of those who fought against enemies and loss of opportunities for those who are the future of a country. United States has a long history when it comes to wars, but maybe it could be a good idea to consider spending the money in a better way.

VIOLENCE 101

As we know, education in the US is one of the best in the world, with excellent infrastructure and easy access for everyone through scholarships. However, we have to admit that violence is a subject that has become more and more important. Schools have now metal detectors and security officers in every door and cases of attacks and killing among students in schools have increased.

A widely known case is the Columbine High School Massacre. This happened in year 1999 in Colorado and 12 people were killed by two senior students who then committed suicide. This event opened up the discussion of gun possession laws, violence in movies and songs, videogames, bullying and antidepressants.

It is a shame that this catastrophe had to happen in order for the government to make the due investigations about violence in school and how the violent culture they were surrounded with affected young people all throughout America. This is not the only killing that has happened to a school, here is a list of some other attacks that have occurred in the United States: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_attacks_related_to_secondary_schools

Here is a list of some scary facts I found:

1. Thirty seven percent {37%} of American students report the presence of gang in their schools.
2. In 2000, the number of crimes at school in which students ages 12 through 18 were the victims is 2.5 million. About 186,000 of those were serious violent crimes {including rape, sexual assault, robbery and aggravated assault}.
3.  In 2000, about 29% of students in grades 9 through 12 reported that someone had offered, sold or given them an illegal drug on school property.
4. Teenagers are two times more likely than others to be victims of violent crimes
5. An average of one homicide event occurs every seven school days. School related Homicides increase at the beginning of the school year and after winter breaks.

6. The number of high school age boys who took a weapon to school 2000 is one out     every five.
7. The number of students in the United States who carry a gun to school, on any given day is 200,000.
8. The number separate of acts of violence reported in schools in 2002 is 10,951.
9. Violence remains the second leading cause of death for Americans aged 15 to24.
10. The number of thefts that occurred at schools in 2000 is 1.2 million. Students are more likely to be victims of theft at school than away from school. 

Of course, the education system is not the only one to blame. Violence can come from home, the streets or other friends, but it is in school were young Americans spend most of their time, and it is there where they learn about the basic principles of living in society, such as tolerance, respect and responsibility. School is not just for learning math or science, it is about creating bonds and gaining confidence in yourself and in the one’s around you, but how can you trust in your friends if you fear they can kill you?

Class 4

Today we learned about economy and transportation. It was very interesting. I preferred the transportation topic since I’ve had the opportunity to try it… I mean, of course economy too, since I’ve worked there, but I think transport caused a lot more impact in me.

Airports in America are very busy, they are like miniature worlds; you can see people from all around the world in the same place. It´s awesome. I stayed a few hours in Miami International airport and in the JFK airport in New York. They are very organized and clean, especially JFK.

After arriving to NY, I took the Air Train, which is a kind of small train that moves through a rail held up in the air, roller-coaster-like, and it takes you from the airport to different

To go from New York to Vermont I took the Greyhound bus. Another option was the Amtrak, but it took longer, not that much longer, maybe a difference of an hour of two, I can’t remember that well. I think the best way to travel in the US, when you are just visiting, is by bus. You get to see different cities, people, sights and landscapes. While I stayed in Vermont, I became a frequent Greyhound traveler, I used it every weekend to visit my friends around Vermont.

Also, each city has its small bus line. One was named The MOOver… and it had cow spots, and the other one was named the BEEline, and it had flowers and bees.

Public transport is very fun to ride. The schedule is printed in the different bus stops and you have to be at that time sharp, or else, you have to wait a while to catch the next bus. Timing is very exact, one bus will arrive at 8:47 and the next one at 8:54 exactly. Subway Stations in the city directly.

In NY I used the subway. Many friends told me to be careful since I could get lost because of the large number of routes with different letters, numbers and colors, but luckily, I found them easy to use. There are subway stations everywhere in NY and to be able to move around you have to get a MetroCard, like the Metropolitano here in Lima.

I found a video on YouTube about air traffic in the United States. I was shocked! United States is the country with the most flights and the most airlines in the world; it also has the busiest airports. I thought of sharing this video. Please click here to watch the video. I hope you enjoy it and find it as interesting as I did.

Class 3

This class we learned about the U.S Government system. How everything is organized and how the system is divided. Besides of what I learned in class I decided to search a little bit more about the political parties. The most known are the Republican Party and the Democratic Party, but there are several more that are not well known. I’ll just describe each one very shortly.

The American Independent Party www.aipca.org: this Party believes in liberty and justice. There are very religious. Their priorities are to protect de right of life and family values, secure the border and enforce immigration laws and to promote the Declaration of Independence principles.

The Democratic Party http://www.cadem.org/: they believe that the government should provide quality education for all, protect citizens’ rights and ensure a stable country with strong and expanding economy. Their priorities are to give more jobs, improve affordable healthcare and end wars in Irak and Afganistan.

The Green Party http://www.cagreens.org/: they stand for peace, social and economic justice, nonviolence, respect for

diversity and protection of the environment. Their priorities are to provide a clean energy and environment, protect the planet, its people and promote peace.

The Libertarian Party http://www.ca.lp.org/: this is a socially tolerant and fiscally responsible Party. Their priorities are to increase individual liberty and responsibility, reduce taxes and shrink the government.

The Peace and Freedom Party http://www.peaceandfreedom.org/: they stand for equal rights and good life standard for citizens and protect the earth. Their priorities are to end war, provide good jobs with higher pay and more taxes for wealthy people for healthcare, housing and education for everyone.

The Republican Party http://www.cagop.org/: this party aims to improving quality of life by creating jobs, and improving education, healthcare and environment. Their top priorities are to promote an economy t

hat creates new jobs, to reform education and pension systems and to protect taxpayers-force government to be accountable.

Of course there are many many other Parties. Some are very serious and others, well... not that much. Many states have their own political Parties as well. If you want more information about all these Parties and their description, click here.

Fun fact: the Republicans and the Democrats are the most important Parties and they are represented by an elephant and a donkey. Why? Long story short: During Democrat Andrew Jackson’s presidential campaign (1828) his opponents used to call him a jackass (donkey). He decided to represent his Party using the image of this animal describing themselves as humble, strong-willed and brave. A cartoonist, Thomas Nast, made this symbol famous by using it in newspaper cartoons.

He also made famous the elephant symbol for the Republicans when he drew the donkey dressed as a lion scaring all the animals in a zoo. The elephant was labeled "the Republican vote" and now they use it to represent their strength and dignity and intelligence.

Class 2

This class was exciting. We had our first presentation today, and I was the first one. I talked about immigration and its history. I think I did pretty well :)

United States is a country of immigrants. Yes, that's a known fact but many of them are illegal.. ok, I suppose that's known too. But, how hard can it be to become a legal citizen in the U.S? Let's see this easy chart I found on the Internet. (Click here to see it bigger!)

Yup... It can take almost 30 years in the worst case scenario to became a legal citizen, that is, to get yourself a green card... if your lucky. That explains why many people try to enter the U.S and stay there permanently.

On the other hand, 7 amnesties have already been passed in the U.S. I can imagine a lot of illegal immmigrants just waiting for an amnisty to happen but, along with the amnisty, there are a lot of other deported illegan immigrants that just don't apply to the amnisty.

If you want to become a legal citizen, with green card and everything, you can wait a lifetime, marry someone, find a close relative living legally there or get a nice job... and of course... enter ilegally and hope for an amnisty.

Still, you can always stay in your own country, live happily and help in your own country's development, and that is my personal choice.

Class 1

So... I study Translation... I'm almost done. This semester, one of the classes I have to take is US Panorama. We had our first class, it was fun. We are going to learn about things like America's Political parties, economy, art, history, etc. We will also watch a movie, Fahrenheit 9/11. I already saw it, but it was so interesting I don't mind watching it again. For this class we have to read a lot... and write a lot I guess. Ok... now... What we talked about was if United States was a melting pot or a salad bowl. I think it's more like a salad bowl, 'cause the people who move to US, who immigrate, don't change they're lifestyle (well... maybe a little) but they keep their beliefs without any changes... just like a salad, where you can tell which is lettuce or tomato or... avocado. The difference is there, in plain sight and I suppose that those differences are what make it such a special country.

I can imagine why people decide to move to the US... I mean, everything seems easy, getting a job, earning money (of course more than in your own country). Everything looks so organized, clean, safe... maybe that's the image they want to create through movies and TV. But just like any other country, the US has its problems... and I may write about them in my coming posts.