Thursday, September 30, 2010

Mexico

-Why are you interested in this country and its relationship to the U.S?

I chose Mexico, because it is a country that has so much history, it is also part of me, part of my life.
I'm interested in learning more about it, i know some history but not as much as i wish.
A country that had to fight for its independence, (as some others), including the United States of America.
Mexico is a country that has so much to do with the U.S. and its history. For example, when Texas achieved its independence from Mexico, to form its own government, but later on, the U.S. annexed it, including some other states like California, and New Mexico, so I would like to cover that time in my essay, and also the current time, because of the economy, how do both countries affect each other (positively/negatively).


-How do you think people from this country and the U.S come into contact with each other: through immigration, migration, war, cultural exchange, economic exchange, or something else?

 I think Mexicans have come into contact with Americans, because both countries are close to each other.
They also came into contact during the Mexican-American war, and it was for the territory that the U.S annexed (as i mentioned before).
Also, there exist a international border between them and it is the most frequently crossed in the world according to -"Borders and Law Enforcement". U.S. Embassy Mexico. -
Mexico is also home of the largest number of U.S. citizens abroad. The U.S. is also home of many Mexicans, that come here to get and give a better life, and i think immigration is a great topic that MUST be included in my essay, because it surely affects both. 






-Talk about what you noticed in your wikipedia entry.....?
....and also what source might be useful form the notes to your wikipedia  entry?

I think Wikipedia is helpful to start, because it gives you the "basic" information, or sometimes very detailed,
but always you can keep looking through it, and find what are you looking for. Wikipedia gives you sources that shows you where the information comes from (to make it more accurate).
I found this link http://www.gob.mx/wb/egobierno/egob_General_Information     that can be really helpful for my research paper about mexico, because it is the official site of the Government of Mexico, that has statistics and facts about mexico and its govenrment .

Thursday, September 23, 2010

A SMALL PLACE :}



Jamaica Kincaid, is a native Antiguan  girl, who describes her feelings towards tourism/tourists, in her book called "A small place".  In it talks about tourism and its consequences that affect her country, such as the economy, culture, government, etc.
The way she expresses about tourists, is obvious that she does NOT like them, well, in general she does NOT agree with tourism; and it is totally comprehensible because i have prior experiences coming to Manhattan when I take the Staten Island Ferry.




opportunities and trade. 



Kincaid mentioned about the airport that has the name of Antigua's  prime minister, and she asks herself , the why? of not putting HIS name  on a school or a hospital?
so she answers to her own question, and it is because the schools are nothing else but (literally) "basic schools", and hospitals? well, they are not in their best condition either.
So that is why the prime minister prefers to put his "venerable" name on an airport that probably is more "presentable" than any other state property.
But, why spending a big amount of money in airport(s) and not in schools and hospitals?
probably because the airport is the place where tourists arrive, and it is the first thing they are going to see once they are on the ground, so Antigua has to give the best "first impression" to their guests.


Tourists may travel to a foreign country to see new things, to have new experiences. They want to meet different people to the ones they are used to see everyday; perhaps be in a place where they may see themselves different to the rest of their ordinary life.

Certainly, they try to avoid any stress that may be caused by the life they have in their "own" habitat.
Tourists get motivated by the place they are going to visit, and because it is also a way of relaxing after long months, weeks, days, and hours of work, it may also be a great opportunity to spend time with their loved ones.

Apparently, tourists seem like to observe very carefully every single detail around them, but are they really?
In my opinion, they just see what they want to see, nothing else further. As Kincaid mentioned in her book,
-""you see a beautiful boy skimming the water, godlike on a windsurfer.You see an incredibly unattractive, fat, pastrylike fleshed man; you see the pleasure they're taking in their surroundings"-  but were they seeing her? were tourists really seeing the things around them? the people around them? as she said, the just see themselves, and all the "beauty", the "exterior" but they never see what may be "inside", inside of the country, inside of the governmet, inside of every individual,
They do not realize that while they are enjoyin a beautiful view some of us have to go to places for example our work, school, social gatherings etc.
As we know, tourism affects "our" economy in many aspects, some of them for good, some not so good. Sometimes the places visited by tourists are benefited or harmed. For example they bring money to the city so we can have magnificent parks, schools, hopitals and everything the city needs for its public places, but it does the contrary for us the residents, who have to slow down to their pace, for example while they stand around admiring I have to wait until they are done to get through, which annoys me because the simple fact that they delay the ferry and/or other ways of transportation for a couple of minutes.
It also has a huge impact in culture, for example in Mexico, they do not celebrate Halloween, well, at least they did not celebrate it during that time, Mexicans have something called "dia de muertos" that is when they celebrate the death, they did not use customs, but now? they do not celebrate it as before, now people care more about customs than anything else, they do not care about cooking for their loved ones that passed away.
Another example is that children never asked for gifts to "Santa Claus",  now that is what Christmas
 means for kids, and  those are traditions that were brought from the U.S., and other foreign countries.

Sometimes, I just ask myself, if tourists feel the same way, when we go and "invade" their territory?
Kincaid argued in a passage that traveling is a privilege for "the rich to enjoy" but if you think about it, is not about how much money you have, because you do not need an extreme amount of money only affordable to the rich, middle class and even lower class can afford a vacation but it only takes them more time and effort to reach their goal


Tourism has become one of the world’s largest industries. The industry has gone some way to addressing 

some environmental concerns but is not eager to address the social, cultural and economic issues, particularly

 in relation to developing countries in order to protect its commercial interest.

The reason for travelling has changed more into leisure and relaxation instead of exploring new business 

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Just like many of us....


Lucy is about a young girl that came to the united states thinking and hoping that her life here was going to be better than the life she had in her native country, but once she "stepped on the ground" she noticed that nothing was just like "people" said.
Lucy came during winter, (for most of the people is really depressing seeing "dead" trees, days that the sun does not come out, or even if the sun is present we still can feel the coldness of the wind.) she was used to live in a warm/hot place, where probably the sun was there everyday, or at least most of the time.
Her life became a routine.
She had to lie to her family, about how nice and beautiful everything was, how comfortable she was.



Lucy's story is similar to many others, including mine. For some people this decision of moving far, far away from their country may be the best decision. In my case, I'm still regretting the  day i decided to come to the united states, even though i was born here, i live most of my life in Mexico, with my grandparents, i think i didn't need anything, not even my parents, i just came here because my parents told me that i had to learn the language, and to have a "better education", but they never thought about what i really wanted.
Thankfully, i found amazing people that make me feel better, and for them is that i try to enjoy the time I'm here, and i just hope one day I'll be where i belong...  :]










        [Television, internet, and people sometimes make you believe that life in the United States is "PERFECT" ,
that you can have anything you may want, everything you wish to have. Some people think that money "grows on trees"... and most of the time that is the reason people decide to come.]