Monday, March 08, 2010

 

Cyber-posts

Today is International Women's Day

Cyber-post 1

1. Reflect on the contributions of women to your life (3). Where would you be without them?

2. Half the Sky --profiles: microfinance
New Heroes video Maria Theresa Leal. Cyber response.


Cyber-Assignment 2

In a short essay response, (3 paragraphs) look at the stories (2) in Half the Sky of women who are entrepreneurs. Compare the case history from Half the Sky to the women in Brazil we meet in the New Heroes video.

What experiences do the entrepreneurs share? Where do their lives intersect, where do they differ? Think about rural communities vs. urban; look at the economic situations the women face; look at the community and family support: are the women mothers, if so, how does this affect what they do to change their situations? Could Tete or Maria Theresa Leal like Muhammad Yunus in Bangladesh?

Other issues are: violence, both in the community and in the home, like spousal abuse or rape; marriage or single-female headed households, law enforcement, gangs, drugs, safety, education, poverty, housing, environmental hazards, hygiene, medical care or access to treatment.

Visit http://www.pbs.org/opb/thenewheroes/meet/ for more information on Leal.

3. SPHE Pronoun Agreement quiz; Pronoun Case exercises

4. Field Trip (handout) posted below. Let me know if you can come and which days work for you and how many tickets you'd like. I will collect money on Wednesday, March 10, 2010.

5. Keep doing exercises in SPHE, keep reading Half the Sky.

Comments:
Tracey Lee
201B 23075
MW 1-2.50pm

In Half the Sky Goretti is from North Burundi, Africa. In her culture, women are expected to be docile; stay at home, cook and work in the fields with no freedom to socialize. Her life was completely changed when she schemed to obtain her husband’s permission to join CARE. Goretti took a loan of $2 to grow potatoes. The successful crop became the launching pad to respect from her husband, financial and socializing freedom. Her continued membership in CARE has given her self-esteem, literacy, and healthcare access.

In the New Heroes video Maria Teresa Leal is an educated woman from Rio de Janerio, Brazil. She is the founder of Coopa-Roca, a project that provided job opportunity for single mothers in the slump. Members worked communally in hand-made creative textile artwork pieces. Coopa-Roca was given recognition and business opportunity when their clothing was featured in a fashion show.

Although both Goretti and Maria are from different continents; poverty, illiteracy, violence, unemployment, healthcare, corruption and weak economy due to political instability are the issues crippling their respective countries. These women worked from home or near home in order to be able to take care of family needs. Despite the odds, these women have become role models who had fought against adversity to turn their lives around, creating a rippling effect to motivate others to do likewise. Surprisingly, communal bondage is better in urban Brazil than rural Burundi. Since the rural women are restricted from socializing by their husbands, fear of admonishment could hold them back to help others.
 
Thea Hernandez
Adilene Velazquez
De’Mel Bullock
Ms. Sabir
English 201 10-11:50am
08 March 2010


New Heroes Notes:

1/3 of the population lives in the slums

Most of the city is controlled by drug traffickers

High levels of unemployment is the reason for the drug trade being so popular

20% of the population is unemployed.

The women are talented w/handcrafts
Women make more money sewing than at the market

People are force to adapt to small wars and fighting, in order to get their personal goals accomplished and be successful.

Comparison:

Ruled by rape. Ch.4
Mukhtar’s school

Muuktar grew up in a peasant family in a village near meerwala in southern Punjab.

Maria Theresa Leal grew up in the middle class and never knew of slum and poverty until she began education and her interest grew.

Mukhter never attended school, there where no means of education for women and girls.

Mukhter invested the money to open a school that she had received as compensation for being abused.
 
Luis Arechiga

Professor Sabir

09 March 2010 1:00pm- 2:50pm

Reflect on the contributions of women to your life:


A certain woman by the name of Leticia, trully made a dramatic impact in my life. Leticia is my godmother, she's always given me advice, and directed me towards nothing but pure positive benefits. My god mother practically raised me since i was born.

My parents have been divorced since i was an infant. While my parents were going at eachothers throats, Leticia, raised me as one of her own, and gave me the care and loving whithin a family. Without her, I belive that I would not be the person I'am today. She's in prayers, for she was my gaurdian angel.



Brazil:
Tete, a entrepreneur of the brazilian slumps, trully made a difference in the society she resided in. Tete gave work to women with the talent of sewing hand made designer clothes. Many woman were benefiting from this because there was hardly any work in Rocinha.

Rocinha was home to over 200,000 poor migrants who came looking for work. Whithin the slumps there are open sweres, 20% unemployment, and drug traffickers.

Tete brought work to these woman who on average, were raising a big family with many mouths to feed. The woman would work at home, and not have to leave their children out of sight. Everything was more simpler, and these woman worked extremely hard.

Bangladesh:
Muhammad Yunus, is a special person who brought microfinance to his poor community. He began lending money to families, and eventually began his Banking business of giving out loans without collateral. This helped out many people. people were investing in their own business, making it grow towards the point the poor people would hire workers because they could not keep up with demand. Poor families were growing independently, and began to have food coming to the table. Muhammad Yunus, was like a catalyst to the peoples hopes and dreams.
 
Regina L, Cannon
English 201B 1:00-2:50
March 9, 2010



International Women Day

In my life my sister Marilyn Comer is a very important woman. She has always

Offered of encouragement when I was at my lowest point in my life, she would pray for

me and things would always turn out for the good in my life. Marilyn and I didn’t live

together in the same household growing up; our mother gave me to his sister at birth to

her sister in Berkeley California at the time. Marilyn and I have so many inborn traits

that are alike. We both like the same chicken parts, the same commercial on television,

we wanted to play the piano as children and we both had twins. Marilyn’s twins,

unfortunately didn’t survive. We both have had childbearing losses in our lives. It’s

crazy how similar and different we are. We really started to notice this since we reunited

in 2006 during our vacation to Southern California to visit our brother.

One day, I was looking for something and I came upon a letter that my sister

wrote in 1999. “Dear Regina, your life will get better you will be bless with everything

you need and all of your needs will be met in the name of Jesus. I am asking God to be a

blessing for my sister, Regina because I, Marilyn am worthy and it’s so.” When I read

the letter I started to cry and the rears were tears of joy. I looked back and I was amazed

that my life had turn around so much, I wanted to tell my sister that she was right. I had

lost touch with her and called another sibling for her number.

I told Marilyn about all of good things that has happened to me since you prayed

for me years ago. I had everything she said, I was living in a great city with my children,

and I found courage to leave a bad marriage. I was currently unemployed but I was

very happy living off a severance package from work. Marilyn and I keep in touch

everyday now, she lives in Michigan and my cell phone allows us to keep in touch,

she is my walking partner and keeps me motivated, she wakes me up at 5:00 a.m. to

walk. Marilyn has helped me achieve my dream to become a Preschool teacher and

receive my Associate in Arts in Behavioral Science and a certification of completion

as a Preschool teacher by editing my papers for me when I didn’t have a tutor for night

classes. Marilyn is a unique sister, she has made me believe that life is good. I love my

sister and I thank God for having a sister that I can share my adult life with.
 
Richard Myers
Professor Sabir
English 201B – 1 – 2:50pm
9 March 2010
Half the Sky and Maria Theresa Leal
In Half the Sky, most of Nick and Sheryl’s recollections are of individuals based in a rural setting. This somewhat contrasts with the report we watched on Maria Theresa Leal, although it seems there are more similarities than otherwise.
Take the case of Goretti for example. Goretti and her husband lived in rural northern Burundi. They grew their own food and lived with their six children. Goretti was beaten regularly and not allowed to leave their hut, for a woman’s place was in the home to cook, clean and work the fields but nothing else at all. Education was not even a thought in this environment. This however all changed once she got involved with CARE. This group associates the local women of villages like these and introduces education, loans between the women to empower self-reliance as well as health education and medicine. These are all basic necessities that we and many in growing countries take for granted. Oh, and by the way it no time at all Goretti became the household figure, not her husband.
Lets now shift to a slum area of Brazil known as Rocinha. This area, resembling that of a shanty-town located in the backdrop of Rio de Janeiro is similar and yet very different. Poverty is very similar, however there is in fact a modicum of minimal education in Rocinha. Children play just as they would anywhere, however in Rocinha their mother’s would often worry about a stray bullet or two from a drug traffickers gun. The natural beauty of both areas, Brazil with its bountiful beaches and Burundi with its rolling green pastures paints an ironic picture. However, there is a similar movement of empowerment in Rocinha driven by Maria Theresa Leal. With a well to do upbringing and a strong need to make a difference she started a seamstress cooperative for the women living in the favella’s of Rocinha by the name of Corpa Roca. The project has been ongoing since 1981 and now has even grown into some of the local fashion shows. It empowers the women of these areas to realize, there is more to life than squalor.
 
Richard Myers
Professor Sabir
English 201B 1 – 2:50pm
9 March 2010
Women in my life who have made a Difference
During my life there have been many women who have influenced me in a positive and moral way. However, one comes to mind not just for how she treated me but how she was the sort of glue of one side of my family. This would be my great grandmother Daisy. Daisy was unassuming, polite, very direct, and just kind of a no nonsense woman. She was an antiques dealer by trade and did pretty well at it. She was just the kind of caring, and sometimes doting grandmother that made you feel good, and well when we were kids could crack a whip when she needed to as well.
 
Sodchimeg Ulziiutas
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 201A, M,W 10:00-11:30
8 March 2010
International women’s Day
I believe my mom was most incredible, beautiful and loving woman, who teached me the most important thing in my life to be good wife and mom. I have a good husband and nice children. I am happy. My mom teached me, prepared me to be ready for any situations (best and worst) and moments (happy and sad) in life. I think I have enough strength to handle any of these.
The second woman, who had big reflection in my life, is my middle school teacher. She always told us, “Education is important, education is a tool to reach success, social status and independence (especially for woman).” Thanks to her I have a good education.
The third woman, who most inspired me, is Oprah. I like to read her magazine. She has advantage to meet a lot of people and to bring us a lot of success stories. Every single time, when read her magazine, I always get some good advice. I feel like she is counseling everyone, who wanted to be someone, to reach certain goal and to do something important in their life. I find new people, new success in her writing and it inspires me. This is the one reason that even I am not young; I am study in College, learning English and trying to reach my goal. If so many of people made more incredible things in their life, I think I can study again and can be someone too.
Comparison of New Hero video and Half the Sky book
We watched next video from the New Heroes series about heroes our days, who make big difference in women’s life of developing countries. The video was about women named Maria Teresa Leal. She is from Rio De Janerio, Brazil. She is a leader of local project of Coopa-Roca. The similarities of the women from video and Saima Muhammad form the Half the Sky book were both these women are unemployed and doing small business to take of their children and family. Their family income increases. They had became more self confident.
The differences are: the Brazilian women live in the big City. They joined together in community, where they discuss their concerns, problems and difficulties in family. Most of these women are single moms. As the big city, Rio de Janerio has good and bad sides: nice beaches, big brand shops in one side and unemployment, poor area, drug trade and gun shootings in other side. In the book Half the Sky our hero married, lives in the urban area in a small village, where not much problems as big city.
 
Rosecary Aguinaldo
Professor Sabir
English 201A M/W 10-11:50am
9 March 2010
Cyberposts

Cyber-Assignment #1

The most important woman in my life is my mother because she’s always there for me and my little sister. She had sacrifice many things for me and my little sister. For instance, rather than buying nice things for herself, she’d rather save up the money for our bank account or she’ll buy us nice things. My mother has given us so many things and sometimes I take it for granted. Now as I get older I realize that my mother is a very important aspect of my life and without her I wouldn’t be here and I thank God that he has given me a fun, caring, and loving mother and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Cyber-Assignment #2

In class we saw another video series of the New Heroes. The video we saw was about a woman named Maria Teresa Leal who resides from iRon de Janeiro, Brazil. She founded Coopa-oRca. Which is a sewing cooperative that is located in Rochina, which is also known as the largest slum. Maria developed this organization to provide women the opportunity to work.

Even though it was unusual for a woman like Maria, who had a college degree in social science to step foot in the slum. It didn’t stop her to visit and help the people especially the women. In which she saw that they had potential and were really skilled seamstresses but unfortunately they had no chance to show or use their skills to make money out of in. She then started to start her own co-operative, in which she would recycle pillows, fabrics, and such things. Through this women gradually gained experience and they developed skills that they can later on use in the future.

In Half the Sky, a woman named Siam Muhammad who is desperately poor and her slacker was unemployed. She was beaten by her husband out of frustration because they had no money. However, when Siam came across a solidarity group for women that is affiliated with micro-finance. She took out a loan of $65 and used the money to buy beads and cloth. In which she transformed it into embroidery to sell in the markets. Siam’s business was booming and she managed to earn a solid income to pay her husbands debt. Although Siam and Maria were successful into with their business. However, both are different somehow, while Siam was beating constantly by her husband because of money problems. She was then forced to work hard to support her family. While Maria is an educated woman who helps single mother to be recognize with their talent and their skills.
 
Rosecary Aguinaldo
Professor Sabir
English 201A M/W 10-11:50am
9 March 2010
Cyberposts

Cyber-Assignment #1

The most important woman in my life is my mother because she’s always there for me and my little sister. She had sacrifice many things for me and my little sister. For instance, rather than buying nice things for herself, she’d rather save up the money for our bank account or she’ll buy us nice things. My mother has given us so many things and sometimes I take it for granted. Now as I get older I realize that my mother is a very important aspect of my life and without her I wouldn’t be here and I thank God that he has given me a fun, caring, and loving mother and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Cyber-Assignment #2

In class we saw another video series of the New Heroes. The video we saw was about a woman named Maria Teresa Leal who resides from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She founded Coopa-Roca. Which is a sewing cooperative that is located in Rochina, which is also known as the largest slum. Maria developed this organization to provide women the opportunity to work.

Even though it was unusual for a woman like Maria, who had a college degree in social science to step foot in the slum. It didn’t stop her to visit and help the people especially the women. In which she saw that they had potential and were really skilled seamstresses but unfortunately they had no chance to show or use their skills to make money out of in. She then started to start her own co-operative, in which she would recycle pillows, fabrics, and such things. Through this women gradually gained experience and they developed skills that they can later on use in the future.

In Half the Sky, a woman named Saima Muhammad who is desperately poor and her slacker was unemployed. She was beaten by her husband out of frustration because they had no money. However, when Saima came across a solidarity group for women that is affiliated with micro-finance. She took out a loan of $65 and used the money to buy beads and cloth. In which she transformed it into embroidery to sell in the markets. Saima’s business was booming and she managed to earn a solid income to pay her husbands debt. Although Saima and Maria were successful into with their business. However, both are different somehow, while Saima was beating constantly by her husband because of money problems. She was then forced to work hard to support her family. While Maria is an educated woman who helps single mother to be recognize with their talent and their skills.
 
Sareth Chhoth
Professor Sabir
English 201A MW 10-12
9 March 2010

Cyber 1
The women that are the most important to me are my mother and my sister. They are the two ladies in my life. Without them I would be lost. My mother is someone that I love with all my heart. She is the one that gave birth to me and taught me right from wrong. My sister is someone that I can count on and she always looked after me. She is always there to make sure that I do not do anything to get me into trouble. Nobody can take the place of those two ladies in my life.

Cyber 2
The person that I chose to compare the video of Maria is Saima from Half the Sky. They both made their own business and helped out other people. Saima did embroidery while Maria made a sewing place for the women to work from Rio. Although they both had their own business, they also had differences. For example, the women in the video are from a city and Saima came from a village. Also the women in the video had no husband while Saima do have an abusive husband.
 
Shyann Kinzer
Professor Sabir
English 201B 10-1150
8 March 2010
Profiles
In the movie we watched about hero’s the woman Maria Teresa Leal was an inspiration. She was an educated woman from Brazil, and the owner of Coopa-Roca. Her business allowed woman who lived in poor favellas to hand make clothes. She gave the woman oppertunity to work and see their work pay off by their clothes being shown in a fashion show.
Another woman’s profile that I looked at was Goretti. She did not get to socialize at all just do a "females" job. She had to stay at home, with her only real freedom being outside in the fields. She eventually joined CARE. She grew potatoes, and with a good crop her husband started to gain a respect for her that she had never gotten before. Because he had started to respect her she also started to gain freedom socially and financially. Without CARE she would not have experienced any of her successes though.
Both profiles showed struggle in their communities. Both woman had to work to were they had ended up. Maria and Goretti experienced poverty and violence in their stories. Though Maria had the overall choice to be were she was, she still saw the poverty and violence in the favellas. On the other hand Goretti did not have a choice to be were she was, she saw the problems in her community and used it to push her to success.
 
Darrius Sutton
Professor Sabir
English 201A 1-3pm
10 March 2010

My girlfriend Christina Clark is one of the most influential women I know. She has been there for me for a very long time. In fact over three years now. I have been with her since I was sixteen years old, and now I'm about to turn twenty years old. We have had our trials and tribulations but in the end we both know that we could not cut each other out of our lives. She was the first girl i ever took seriously and she was my first girlfriend. Before i met her i was called king dar because of all the princesses I could pull. But she is the one who locked me down and made me see a whole new side of life and living. She has made me more happy then anyone I know. But she also makes me madder then anyone I know.
 
Melvin Herring
professor sabir
english 201b 10-11:50
10 march 2010

International Women Day
International Women Day is a great day, who dont like women? so women plus a holiday has be something good. women done alot for us all,and i'am sure the person reading this can co-sign to that statement i just made. we all came from a woman, got our name from a women, so why not show love to our women? women do alot for us like give us conversation when we in class, look next to you what do you see? i see two women who i have alot of respect for there both two very respectable smart young ladys.

today we watched the new heros video, it was about maria teresa who influcenced many womans lives, she helped provide many jobs for single mothers who need help.they also did a fashion show.

In Half the Sky saima and roshanen they were both very much alike and they both can be seen as respectable women and role models.
 
Bernardita Rappaport
English 201B
10:00 to 11:50
3-10

What does it mean to be an empowered women or a powerful women in the world of ‘’Half the sky’’?

In the book ‘’Half the sky’’ I read in chapter seven about Edna Adan`s case. This lady shocked everybody in her community because she went to school and she learned to read and write. She came from a very well educate family, and she also had her parents support with her ‘’unusual’’ lifestyle. When Edna was eight yeas old, her genitals were cut by her mother`s consent. After that, Edna felt that women should have the right to speak and do things for themselves.

In the fifties Edna finished elementary school, and she was able to work and drive. In the early eighties, Edna started building her own hospital in Somalia. Hear goal was to help women who didn’t have the money and support of their families. In my opinion, Edna has been a very brave and exceptional woman because she saves so many women life in her country.

Almost all the cases that I been reading in this book are very awful. Also, it is very unusual to be powerful women in all the cultures that this book talks about. In my opinion, women are almost equal than men. Because of that, women have the right to study, work, and also race a family.
 
Darrius Sutton
Professor Sabir
English 201 A 1-3pm
10 March 2010
Brazil
I chose the women in Brazil because I have my loving nephew, loving niece, and a disliked by marriage aunt. But I feel for the people over there in Brazil because they are real life third world. The women Tete, was a business women who ran a talented sewing/ handmade dresses store in Ronchina, Brazil. This of course was in one of the more dangerous Favella’s there was. There were gun shots as they were taping. But yet these courageous women just kept on working. Many of them were there to support their children, who they tried to keep in school and out of the deadly streets. The ghetto’s we have out here don’t even compare to some of the ghettos in third world countries like Brazil This was a community where people came looking for work. With this going on of course the unemployment would be high. It’s at twenty percent right now. They also have a major drug trafficking problem down there. This causes for most of the violence down there. Also with many crooked police officers there, it doesn’t make the problem any easier. But throughout all this the girls managed to go to the runway where their cloths were premiered at. This gave them extreme confidence and they even got to walk on stage after the performance.
In Half the Sky, there was a woman who was named Saima Muhammad. Well to describe this girl she is a pretty, young, and poverty stricken girl. Her husband constantly beat her because he was upset that they were poor. Is that a real reason to cause harm to someone. If anything, he needs to figure a way out of that instead of getting trapped in it. But she ends up making a life altering commitment to this all women’s micro finance group. So she decided to take out a small loan which is a lot to them, and buy some beads and cloths. She sold her goods in the market place. Her husband faced some financial problems that she used her money to help him out with. I wouldn’t give him anything if he was beating me. But she was still in the end a strong women who loved her family no matter what.
 
Khan Ly
Professor Sabir
English 201B-1:00-2:50p.m.
10 March 2010

Cyber-post #1:

The women that were important to me were my mom and my elder sister. To me, no one in the world can replace them because they are the one that make me who I am. My mom was the one who give me my life and work so hard to support my education. As for my sister, she was the one who love me most. She gives me whatever I want and teach me of many things. She also the one to whom I can talk to about my problem. If I do not have those two, my life will not be what it is now.

Cyber-post #2:

The video we saw today was about a woman named Maria Teresa Leal. She’s from iRon de Janeiro, Brazil. Maria is the founder of Coopa-oRca Corporation. This corporation is about sewing business. And through many hardships, Maria had developed an organization that created jobs for other women.

Saima Muhammad in Half the Sky was a poor woman. Her husband was unemployer and owns other a lot of debt. Because Saima did not give birth to a son, her husband and mother in law always put her in suffer. She offer get criticize by other of going outside the market to sell things and buy foods. Later Saima decide to loan $65 from a bank and buy materials back to make embroideries. Then she sells the embroideries to other. Saima keep doing the same thing and sooner her business expands. And she had money to pay all her husband debt and send her daughters to school. She also loan money to other in hope that well help them like she does. As the result of her hard work Saima had gain the respect from her husband family members.

In those two stories, both Maria and Saima had to go through hardships in order to become success. Maria had opened a sewing company to help other find work. And Saima get help from the bank and started to give loan to help the poor. Even through this two stories seem unrelated but those two women show us the idea that if a person willing to help a poor person. Then when the poor person become rich they will started to help other as well.
 
Mo Dabashi
Mon/ wed
10-12
March 8.2010
Free write: women in our life that is special.
If it wasn’t for women in the world, I don’t think there would be people in this world. Women do things no one could do. I think Women have a lot of power. The special woman in my life is my mom, she’s the one who raised me, comforted me, taught me as I was growing up. Thanks to my mom because the person I am now is from her doings. She helped me become a good young man.
 
Mo Dabashi
Mon/ wed
10-12
March 8.2010

2 stories in “Half The Sky” that are entrepreneurs, compare to women in Brazil: Maria Theresa

In New Heroes video lady named Maria from Brazil is a found of a corporation in a sewing business. She helped women get jobs to make clothes. She had a struggle to help women but she wanted to make a difference. Marie was well educated. that’s why she decided to have her own business going for women to work in it.

Saima wasn’t really educated at all, she was really poor and was married to someone who beaten her everyday and he’s unemployed and just increased debts. She didn’t know what else to do but join a group to help women. She took loans and started a bead and cloth business, she became really successful. Saima started to led money to other women to help the.

Another successful entrepreneur was Roshaneh Zafar from Pakistan. She is a wealthy women who is a banker, she was also well educated. Roshaneh wanted to save the world, she met with Muhammad Yunus and decided to study Grameen for 10 years, she helped women from the poverty they were in and gave loans to them.

Roshaneh Maria, and Saima were a great success, they opened up their own businesses and decided to help women by giving them loans. To help get them off their feet. They made a change for women.
 
Adilene Velazquez
Professor Sabir
English 201A MW10-12
8 March 2010

Women
Women are really important to my life because they are role models. Even if they are not the best examples,I can always learn something from them. If they do something that I consider wrong, I learn from their mistakes so that I won't do them as well. I believe that women do play huge role on everybody's life.

One woman in particular that is really important to me is my mother. She is a great example of what a strong woman is like. Although we have been through hard times, she never gave up and always found a way.She has tought me to be possitive, keep my chin up, and to persevere. Whenever I feel like I can't do something, she always tells me that there's nothing that I can't do, if someone else can do it. She's the reazon why I try my best in everything I do.
 
Nseke Ngilbus
Eng 1a
8-50

In Half the Sky I took particular interest to this women name Edna. She came from a middle class family; and did not have major hardship such as other girls in the book. Against all odds, she got an education and completed school. She then went on to become an entrepreneur, she found her own hospital. This hospital mostly help women that were in need and could not afford medical care.


In the New heroes video Maria Teresa Leal is an educated woman that is from Brazil. She is an entrepreneur; she is the founder of Coopa-Roca. Her company goal has been to give job opportunities to single mothers in poverty. People that are given jobs typically make clothes in a community. Leal company is expanding and helping more women.

I believe an empowered women is someone who have their lives change for the better in a sustainable way. This is typically represented in women who get the ability to provide for their family through business that they receive recently. An empower exhibit characteristic such pride, self confidence, self esteem. These are women who have been dealt bad cards and was able to change it, for the better
 
Thea Hernandez
Professor Sabir
English 201A
W&M 10:00 to 11:50am

Cyber Assignment #1
The Three Women in My Life

My Grandmother, My Aunt & My Mother

My grandmother will be eighty six years old next month, she is considered legally blind but that doesn’t stop her from gambling at the Casino two to three times a week. She had seven children but the eldest died of AIDS several years ago. My mother falls in the middle of the six children & in between the youngest sister & oldest. My youngest aunt is just five years older than I am. My grandparents were married for over sixty three years & my grandfather died two years ago.

I admire my grandmother; she had been a full time house wife all her life. She held the family together & she was the one that attended to the animals that needed to be feed on the small farm. She also helped my grandfather with the family business which was missionary, he did not read very well so my grandmother prepared his contracts & bids. The house that my grandmother lives in now was build by my grandfather & my uncles; it sits on three acres of land. Most of the family members would come over for dinner so my grandmother spent a lot of days in the kitchen. When I was ten years old I went to live with my grandparents for about a year. I learn a lot from my grandmother as far as cooking & cleaning & taking care of the animals on the farm. She never complained about having too much work or if she was in any physical pain, you would never know of it. I have always thought of her as being a very strong woman, very passionate for the family, and the Dr of everything! She was always there for me as a little girl, she had a lot of patience’s with me & I love my grandmother very much, she still is just a phone call away.

I also lived with mother oldest sister Christine for a short brief time; she was very loving & kind to me. She was a clothes designer & taught me how to sew & fix my hair. She is classy type of an women & I loved watching her get dressed up. She has played a huge role in my life & I can always count on her for anything I need to this day.

My mother was nineteen years old when I was born; she was a young mother & wife. I also have a sister she is four years young than I. I remember my mother being very adventurous in her thirties, investing her money in Real Estate, traveling, creative with sewing & making quilts & received her Master’s in the early 90’s. She now works at Kaiser in the Psychiatric Ward.

The question we were asked was “where would you be without them”?

They have a great influence on me in so many different ways, I believe that all three of them contributed to the women that I am today.
 
Post a Comment



<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?