Meditation

As finals time approaches for my teacher and student friends alike, I must pause to offer some advice - take time to meditate.

It is my understanding that meditation might be defined as "clearing the mind and body of worry and stress."  In the interest of creating a better environment for you and your loved ones, I offer my (limited) knowledge of how this kind of clarity and peace might be achieved.

1.  Sit still in a comfortable place and close your eyes.  Breathe deeply and try to imagine your mind as a giant chalkboard.  Visualize all of your stresses by writing simple sentences on the chalkboard.  When they are all listed, begin to slowly erase them, line by line until the chalkboard of your mind is clean.

2.  Sit comfortably in a favorite spot and pick an object of beauty on which to concentrate.  Breathe deeply and let your mind wander as you focus on the object.  Notice its size, shape, texture, color.  Imagine what it would be like to touch, smell or taste it.  By the time you have fully engaged with the object, your mind should be free (or at least distracted) from worry!

3.  Take a nice long run (away from traffic) and let your mind wonder.  As you're running, imagine wrapping up a worry, tying a bow around the box, and then chucking the box out beside or behind you.  By the time you are through, all your worries should be safely left behind.  You will be ready to start your day.

Many studies show that stress can be a major contributor to illness.  It has even been linked to an increased breast cancer risk for women.  So, whether these strategies work for you or not, take time in your day to relax.  Let go.  Feel better.

-B.C.

Where All are Welcome

I spent last Saturday night in Dodgertown - where more than one sign informed me that "All are Welcome."  As I looked around at the extremely diverse crowd I was reminded again how much sports can unite people.  

As a born and bred Phoenician I have loyalty issues rooting for the Lakers (Go SUNS Go!), but I went away to college long before the DiamondBacks were established, so I have no qualms about rooting for my new hometown team.

When traveling, I highly recommend discovering the local favorite team and stopping in a neighborhood bar for some friendly chit chat about the players, the history of the franchise, even the game itself.  It worked wonders for me in New Zealand and allowed conversations with craggy old beer drinkers who were more than happy to discuss the finer points of their country's rugby rules.

While religion and politics can often divide people, sports talk - even the most heated rivalries - give people a chance to approach strangers and bond over something that, for me, is much less superficial than smog, traffic or the weather.  

When you're a sports fan, you wear your team, and to an extent, your heart on your sleeve.  Everyone knows when you're going to be up (big victory!  buzzer beater!) or down (slump, the Rival emerges Victorious).  I guess the point for me has always been that you are daring to stand up and root for something, along with thousands of strangers and friends all over the world.  

Hope to see you in Dodgertown soon...

B.C.

An unexpected key

During the MesoAmerican conference last weekend, I learned that MesoAmerican societies put a premium on literacy.

The Mayans had such complex syllabic glyphs that it has taken linguist experts over 100 years to crack the code.  For further information on this quest, there is an amazing documentary called "Breaking the Maya Code" which is available through Night Fire Films.

After the Spanish arrived, all of the MesoAmerican scribes were forced by the Catholic church to give up their old glyphic writing in favor of the English Roman alphabet - which they did, just using more recognizable letters to continue writing in their own language.

What does all this ancient history have to do with today?  Many times I hear ESL teachers in public high schools complaining that Hispanic students seem to suffer from not growing up in an environment which values learning, specifically literacy.  However, it is culturally untrue!  If the same tough kids who are painting their Low Riders with Mayan temple depictions are reminded that their ancestors were not just fearless warriors, but also literate artists and thinkers, it might make a real difference in their attitude.

It is the Spanish Conquistadores and Friars who, sadly, burned MesoAmerican books in an attempt to crush the "devil worship".  They had every reason to keep the Native peoples illiterate and powerless against Spanish government and rule.  

Perhaps with more emphasis placed on the scholarly aspect of their ancestors, urban Chicano students might take reading, and school, more seriously.  They might begin to realize that acquiring knowledge in and of itself is an act of rebellion.  

2009 Conference on Mesoamerica

This weekend, something very exciting is happening in East L.A.  Experts from Canada, Australia, Ukraine, Germany, the United States and Mexico are gathering on the campus of CSULA to discuss this year's research findings and resulting dissertations concerning the history of MesoAmerica.

Events like this one are usually free (or requested donation) and are invaluable ways to gain knowledge of the history, culture and language of civilizations past.  As one introducer aptly put yesterday, "This is your chance to meet the author's of the textbooks, to ask questions and hear the information firsthand so that you can decide what to believe."

The events yesterday were so good that I am returning again today for another dose of ancient, but relevant, history.  Some of the topics analyzed are a Valley Zapotec text from 1614 and the information it tells us, the Mesoamerican Ballgame Ulama, Literature and History, Beliefs, Myths and filmic representation in Chicano literature.  These presentations are either given in English or Spanish.  For a bilingual geek like myself this is a great way to hear elevated, higher-level academic vocabulary in both languages, and did I mention, this is FREE?

So, if you have nothing else going on today - or even if you already have plans, I encourage you to amend them to make a stop in at this amazing conference.  The program ends at 8 pm on Saturday and you can receive the bulk of information you need by checking in at the CSULA information desk in the Student Union.

-B.C.

Sin Nombre

Hola Chicos y Chicas,

     I am writing to tell you of an amazing film called "Sin Nombre."  Written and directed by Cary Fukunaga, at it's heart, it is a love story between two teenagers on a road trip.  The catch is that both of them are immigrants trying to get through Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico to cross the border, without papers, and they are hitching on top of a train.  To further complicate matters, the main male character is wanted by a hardcore international streetgang, who have taken out a hit on him!  

     Despite the extenuating circumstances being rather extreme, the film does an excellent job of making each character empathetic, and never overwrought.  "Sin Nombre" is one of the most unique portrayals of gang life that I have seen on screen to date, because it does not just abjectly vilify anyone - rather, each member is there for a reason, and each has his own morale code.  

     I am recommending this film to you all because it is a fair and even portrayal of life in poorer nations, and it does a good job of presenting the limited options that these otherwise recognizable teenagers have.  It is also a film that very realistically depicts gang life and the inability to ever truly escape one's barrio - no matter how many miles away.  

     The movie is in slangy, Honduran Spanish, but subtitled in English.  For all you Spanish aficionados, check out the extensive use of  "vos" and the unique street names of each gang member.

      One more thing, the movie does have a bit of on-screen violence, but it is never gratuitous or sensationalized.  Please let me know what you think of this film, and feel free to post other movie reviews with sociological relevance.

      Paz en la calle! (Peace in the streets!)

      -B.C.

     

An introduction

Saludos a todos and thank you for visiting my blog!

     I am using this technology to share my findings as I turn over the cultural rocks of this beautiful, linda city of Los Angeles and more largely, the USA and the world in search of cultural underpinnings.  I seek the seedy, but also the vulnerable.  The lesser-known, the unvoiced, the viewpoints which are rarely uttered out loud.  I want to understand the opinions un-presented by the media and rarely found outside a single neighborhood or an insular worldview.  

     I hope that in sharing my findings I might inspire in you a similar journey, encouraging an adventure you would not normally have dared to undertake, allowing yourselves to revel in a little social discomfort and in doing so foster an empathy for the Other, and facilitate global thinking and universal understanding.  Be a minority, infiltrate and begin to learn about another class, another race, another religion.  Find the wisdom in opinions that are different from your own.  Be a world citizen!  That has long been my mission, and I hope you will enjoy my viewpoints from the road.

Your global hitchhiking amigita,

-BlancaChicana (B.C.)