Cultural Reflection

The air was full of dust and it made my throat irritated. Amanda pointed up frantically with fear in her eyes. I looked up to see a huge cloud of black smoke. The streets filled with the sounds of sirens and horrifying screams. We had no idea what was going on but it felt like WW3 had begun. Other witnesses told us that a plane flew into one of the towers. I lived about 30 blocks away so my first reaction was to get to safety. We started sprinting down the sidewalk. We heard the engine of another plane because this

About an hour passed, and we were all woken up by the horrific shaking and explosions all

Culture plays a paramount role in our lives. “It is what shapes who we are and how we view the world” (Thorp & Sanchez, 1998,

April 19, 1995, 9:02 a.m: a bomb was set off beneath the Alfred P. Murrah Building. The bomb damaged the structural support beams and the Northern support columns. Half of the building collapsed. 168 people died (Cook 5). Eric McKisick, a district manager, recalls the incident, ¨I made an assumption that, hey, everybody is out, everybody is good, and I left at that point. It wasn't ´till much later that I saw the devastation and understood they didn't respond because they couldn't.” Not only were there a large number of casualties, 300 people were also injured, some of whom were physically impaired for the rest of their life. A child who was in the building at the time of the explosion states, “I have no recollection of that day, but I’m reminded everyday about it because of my breathing problems (Brandes, Heide, Schapiro).”

More than 200 homes were destroyed. 185 miles of roads and15 miles of railways were damaged. Ash clogged sewage systems, damaged cars and buildings, and temporarily shut down air traffic over the Northwest. According to YourkVid” “The Nurses were crying because immerse me in a tub of water and take sponges and scrape out my wounds. And when the doctor came in he said you did not do a good enough job. They had to take me back a second time, they had to put me on morphine at that point I was in such pain.

Cultural immersion is an essential part of the education experience. It has been used throughout time to allow people to understand those whose ideas and beliefs differ from their own. The experiences gained through immersing in an unfamiliar culture allow the mind to grow in ways that are beyond comprehension. Because our nation is advancing, and merging ides from other cultures, this process is more important than ever. Cynthia Kratzke and Melissa Bertolo (2013) state that if we only teach concepts and language from other cultures we are limiting the ability of future generations to be able to work with other cultures (p.1). Cultural immersion is a way for one to reach a new insight they may not have otherwise gained. Jesus Nieto (2006) says there are main goals to these experiences: 1) to interact with people of a different culture 2) to gain insight into aspects of others 3) to be of a minority group in a setting 4) to gain a new perspective on one’s own beliefs and values (p. 77).

By the end of the day that we mainly spent waiting inside Java Jolt for the police to tell us our building was out of danger, London had set up a meeting with her detective friend to met up at our house at around 6:30 tonight. But, by that time, we were just getting let back into the apartment, and we just didn’t have the time to clean up the broken plates caused by the vibrations of the explosion. Our energy had disappeared as we watched the death toll rise and rise to over 30- one of which was one of the guys on Austin and Reed's football team. The building was nothing more than a brick base and ash spread out for miles around the scene. The first responders are saying how lucky everybody is because it’s a miracle that so many people got out of the building in time. Suddenly, we heard a loud, hollow knock on the door that disrupted my

Cole Moore: I thought that Cole’s introduction was very professional and got straight to the point of what his group was discussing. The idea of combining the themes of the military, patriotism and one’s heritage was very impressive and caught my attention. Also, tying it to the themes of the red convertible was very interesting! While the presentation was amazing, I was confused as to what was the artifact. It seemed as if you talked more about general themes rather than close reading the design on the jacket. Nevertheless, you did an amazing job presenting.

The floor consists mostly of office cubicles with a small room in the back, labelled “Break Room”. Polo walks to a cubicle and starts to work. Around us, people are typing, walking around, or just having conversation. He only gets out of the chair for lunch, which is held in the break room, and heats something up in the microwave. When the timer on the side reaches one, a deafening explosion fills the room, and the next thing I know Polo and I are surrounded by smoke. Outside the room, we are greeted by more smoke and flames. Half of the floor is gone and there is a massive hole in one side of the building, like a very large, poorly cut window. On all fours, Polo crawls to the hole and looks down. The other building is untouched, but the hole in ours cuts into at least fifteen levels. With nowhere else to go, Polo remains there by the hole, listening to sirens of approaching emergency trucks. I hear distant shouts from the floors

“The dorm had just went into lockdown mode because the students had come from behind majorly in a football game and the students left the game early. Chaos erupted and we had to lockup the lounges. Fires were being set everywhere and I was working the front desk so I saw a lot of it. When we got the call to go into lockdown mode, I looked up, and there went a

Guests started heading for the only public exit from the Melody Lounge, which was a four-foot wide staircase that lead to the foyer on the first floor. Furnishings caught fire, and a wave of fire and toxic gases spread across the room heading toward the stairway. Panic came over the crowd and attempts to open the emergency door at the top of the stairs failed. The fire spread up the stairs and into the foyer area, which contained the coat rooms, restrooms, and the main entrance. The panic continued as cries of “FIRE! FIRE!” were shouted by patrons as the crowd raced toward the main entrance door. The first few were able to exit through the revolving door, but as the mass of patrons slammed into the exit the doors became jammed. People outside the building looked on as they watched their friends and relatives get crushed by the crowd surging against the jammed door.

We all ended up the night fine with sumptuous meals and some drinks before bedtime. Although we stood strong in our belief that something might have caused the explosion, I can’t help myself but think about the possible reason why it happened. I had a first theory of the weather, it was scorching hot that day and I thought that made the hot sauce hotter that it explodes. But, Tomas the owner of the Inn said it never happen before on the same weather so we run out of

In conclusion i feel that culture is important in our everyday live and make us who we are and the people we will become in the feature and influence the course of our lives

The cultural assignment allowed me to gain a new perspective on the differences of others. I have grown up in a household of dissimilar belief systems. My mom is a dedicated Christian while my dad is unassociated with any religious beliefs. Though, he grew up as a Jehovah’s Witness. There differing belief systems have been the cause of various conflicts within their relationship. I often wondered if people with contradicting beliefs could effectively and peacefully discuss their belief systems. This cultural experience showed me that a peaceful discussion is possible between individuals of dissimilar beliefs.

1. Culture is perceived as a way of thinking that influences the behaviors of a group of people.