Culture--Our Human Experience by CCAC Learning Commons

Congolese/American

2013-10-21 01:55:52 UTC

I am half American and half Congolese. I'm proud of being both American and Congolese because it gives me a perspective that I don't think I could have ever had if I were just one or the other. Especially since I was so influenced by both cultures growing up. My love for dancing, for example, I believe comes from the Congo. I had a Rwandese friend once tell me that Congolese were the best dancers. Though that might be a bit of an exaggeration, I can never remember dancing or being surrounded by Congolese music not being a part of me growing up in Kinshasa. Dance is a part of my culture, therefore a part of me. On my America side, I've gotten a very inclusive view on the world. Though it was mostly through watching American television shows/movies, I always viewed the US as accepting of everyone, no matter who they were or the country's past. Though that view of America has changed since I've been here, that quality of always wanting to include anyone and their culture into my life is something I'm very proud of. I'd say I've had the best of both worlds because I've gotten more than one perspective of the world. It makes me extremely proud to say that.

Mary Cassidy/Irish Inside

mkcassy — 2013-11-14 16:49:01 UTC

I was born in America and so were my immediate family but if you trace the blood line back, not to far, my family came from Ireland. From a very young age I was exposed to Irish culture. I was an Irish step dancer for twelve years, starting when I was seven years old. I am extremely proud to be Irish because it means that family is everything. I am the only girl of seven male cousins and growing up right down the street made them more like brothers. I have always been tought that you do anything for family. I believe this is because of our Irish heritage. I also love being Irish because we have the tendency to say exactly what we're thinking and not hold back our opinion. I love being an American because it is my home but if you ask what nationality I am most proud of it would be Irish.

Terrence M/ Afro-American/Cuban/Korean

2013-12-05 15:12:05 UTC

I am Black, Cuban, and Korean. In seems like a really hard mix when you try to put them together, but I am the product of that. As a kid I didn't know much about my other races, I was always told I was black. When I was 14 my dad took me to a park to have a one on one conversation with him. It was there that he told me his mom came to the USA on a boat and that his dad was a refugee from south korea. He told me all kinds of stories about my grandma but he was unable to tell me much about my grandfather because he died when my dad was just a kid. I wish I could know more about my korean heritage.

Sara L/Libyan/Romanian

2013-12-05 15:15:12 UTC

I was born in American but my mother was born in Romania, and my father was born in Libya. I love the North African/European mix that I have in my family and I would not trade it for anything. Even though I love both places, me and my siblings were raised more with the Libyan culture rather then Romania just because all my Romania family is back in Romania, and I have yet to meet them. Some of my favorite things in the Libyan culture are the Libyan cusines, and the music. Libyan dishes consist of mainly ingredients such as onions, tomatoes, meat, chicken (or lamb) chillies, cayenne pepper, saffron, chickpeas, mint, cilantro, and parsley. I always love to make Libyan dishes to share with non-libyans, because everytime I do, they can not get over how good it tastes! I also love the music in the Arabic-Libyan culture. Instruments such as the zokra (a bagpipe), flute, tambourine, darbuka (a goblet drum held sideways and payed with the fingers and clapping, are very common in Libyan folk music. Whenever me and my family hold gatherings at our house we play this music and belly dance, when you hear it, you will not be able to stay still! My dream is to visit Romania next and learn more about my mothers culture, because although I can research and learn about the culture online, It is not the same as actually living and practicing the culture and traditions.

Natalya Mishkova/Russian

2013-12-05 17:42:17 UTC

What makes me proud of Russia is the honesty of the people. I love that the Russian people will be straight up with you and just tell it like it is; no sugar coating, or beating around the bush. If they don't like you, you will know it and if they love you; you will also know it. Alot of people say that Russians don't smile alot and that if they see you randomly smiling at everyone that they will either think you're either crazy or untrustworthy. I think that perception has a lot to do with Russia's cold, dark, sometimes evil history. The history is definitely not jovial or something to smile about. But once Russians get to know you, they are the warmest, most down to earth people.

I love the hardiness of Russians; they will do whatever it takes to bring home the bacon and take care of their loved one - either that be traveling more than 500 miles to work in harsh conditions or selling flowers in the market. The Russians also love to sing; I love listening Russian songs, hymns and growing up I loved listening to my mom and dad sing Christian songs. And the food - Russian food is bomb! It's similar to Polish/Ukrainian food - lots of potatoes, meats and soups. Russian ladies at my church also made the best cakes of all time; Neapolitan style cakes, layered cakes, wafer cakes.... many caked have layers- layers of soft sponge cake with different fillings - dulche de leche cream, berries, jams, whipped cream... So good! The pelmeni and pierogies are always delicious and the borsht my mom and I make is out of this world. It's very hardy, filling food and it's definitely not the best if you plan on going on a "diet".

Melissa McAndrew/ Irish and Italian

2013-12-10 20:29:18 UTC

My mom is 100% Italian, and my father is 100% Irish. It is interesting on holidays the tradition is different on both sides. Focusing on just my Italian side they are big on food! Food in our family on the holidays is everything. Just about everything has garlic in it. Since Christmas is coming up one tradition i am proud of is the Christmas eve Dinner. Which includes 7 fishes. We cook all day 7 different types of fish one thing is pasta with clams in it, and it is very delicious. My grandmother is all i have left in the generation that keeps tradition alive in my family. She would feed the world if she could. Most Italians are catholic and this would be the religion i was raised in. Most of my Italian family drinks wine on the holidays, i drink wine more then just holidays. However in my Irish family they drink beer and whiskey during holidays. Some families don't carry on traditions. My dad is A very hard worker he always had 2 jobs and was very crafty with his hands. He could build a house from ground up. When It comes to Irish and Italians they came from their home countries being treated as dirty lazy people. My gram told me my Great pap changed his last name from Dellisandro to Alexander just so he could get a job in America. With an Italian last name he was not able to find a good paying job, or a job at all. They barley had money and could not afford to attend school because they had to work.

My great gram on my Italian family, Her parents would provide housing to the workers for extra money. My great gram came to America when she was 4. Well one of the workers assaulted my great grandmother and she got pregnant. At the time she was also taking care of her siblings because her mother was very sick. She was 13 and while she was pregnant the guy who rapped her tried to rape her again.. well she ended up killing him and going to jail until they ruled that she killed him in self defense. She later gave that baby up for adoption which got adopted from a family out west to prob work in the farms. One year later she ended up marrying my soon to be Great Pap and she had 10 kids with him, one of them to be my grandmother. You can look up the case on the internet at http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1144&dat=19101005&id=fS4bAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1kgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3613,1013549 and in other articles if correctly looked up. It's amazing to know i come from strong individuals who fought for their freedom and also their lives. So i am proud of the culture i come from, and from the people i come from, and the courage they had.

Taylor Z/Slovak/Italian

2013-12-13 00:24:18 UTC

Although I am far more Italian that I am Slovak, all of my Italian family on my mom's side was deceased before I was even born. Therefore, I grew up celebrating a lot of Holidays with some Slovak traditions. My great grandparents on my dad's side came straight from Slovakia. They speak both fluent Slovak and English. Our family is not really together anymore, but some of the memories will last forever, even if they were confusing traditions. Each Christmas Eve, one tradition that we always did was we each got a peace of blessed bread, I think. I'm not even sure what it was called. But we would go around the room taking a piece of each family members bread and wishing them a Merry Christmas. The older members in the family knew a Christmas song in Slovak and it would be sung every single holiday. The lyrics were confusing and I never actually picked up on it, but it was pretty cool. I was fortunate enough to take a trip over to Slovakia to visit family when I was 12. Their culture today is similar in many ways, but also very different. It's more common over there to live in an apartment rather than a home. You could see literally apartments for miles. Since we were visiting family, we spent one day going from house to house (apartment to apartment) and we probably hit about 10 different homes. It is a tradition over there to treat your guests to sandwiches and a shot of alcohol, even the kids. I was 12 years old and to say that least it was quite an interesting experience. I wish I would've been able to experience some Italian tradition as well since my Mom is 100%, but my Slovak side has been pretty interesting.

Chris J/African American/Italian/Native American/Irish

2013-12-13 18:20:09 UTC

The Italian and Native American is only from my mom's side and the Irish is only from my dad's side. However, I have African American on both sides. My great grandmother on my mom's side was full Italian and She Married an African American. My great grandmother on My dad's side was Red haired Irish and She also married an African American. I am fascinated by the different cultures I'm associated with. Growing up, My mom and my Nana would always teach me about other cultures' music and art; even others that weren't tied to our family. During one Thanksgiving, we sat and learned about my family ties in Italy. My Aunt went to Naples, Italy(Napoli) to visit our cousins that past summer and she got to experience the culture and learn more about who we were connected with. It was interesting to learn that both of my Grandfathers, on either side, fought in World War ll. My heritage especially comes through in the kitchen. Our meals were heavily Italian inspired since my mom often cooked. My dad cooks a lot as well. My dad is mostly inspired by the African American Flavor of Cuisine. I don't really know too much about the Native American or the Irish lineage in our family, even though I am Black by race, I know I do have some red hair. Although I'm still not sure what my African Culture traces back to, My love of music is immensely influenced by African music and tribal beats.