Journal #4

So this past week I visited CESL, Center for English as a Second Language. This was a very cool experience for me, because I never get the chance to speak with foreign students, or foreign people for that matter. The person I talked to the most is named Saif, from Abu Dabi near Dubai. Supprisingly his life at home is not that much different from that which we have here in America. Back in his home country, he went to school, hung out with friends, played sports, watched movies, all the thigns you would expect an 18 year old kid to do. I asked him a bunch of questions about America, for example if he likes the people he has met here. He said that everyone is very kind, but that most of the Americans he met couldnt see his true self past his skin color and broken english. I took this to heart, explaining to him that some Americans can be ignorant, but that I always try never to judge at first sight. Saif is like any other kid I have met here at the University, he is just looking for a great education and maybe to have a little fun on the side. I think its really interesting that someone from half-way across the globe could have the same interests as me, but now I know its possible. I have learned a lot from Saif, and the most important I think, is that no matter what your skin color, religion, or language you possess, we are all people, and should be respected as such.

Journal #2

The text I have chosen for my first essay is my facebook page. I think that because i have been writing my ideas and feelings on my page for a while now, I will get a wide range of text to sample from when trying to identify my persona. I have decided that by looking at my pictures, statuses, comments, etc. over time relates to how my actual identity has changed with it. I can compare my text to Paticia Hampl's "Memory and Imagination" because my facebook is basically a memoir. My page contains memories and thoughts i had in the past. The only difference is that my page is not written in the past tence, for everything i wrote was how i felt at the time, where a memoir is written after the fact. Im actually really excited to look at how my facebook relates to my persona and how it truely does represent the real Drew Lichtblau.