Spanish Club Personal Reflection

Planet Taco: A Global History of Mexican Food by Jeffery M. Pilcher, a Professor of History at the University of Minnesota, provides rather than a history of Mexican cuisine instead a changing of people’s culinary choices by investigating how people’s minds change over the course of decades in the presence of marketing strategies both domestic and international and changing consumer outlooks and tastes regarding foreign cuisine. Pilcher does this by using a seemingly

It is a known fact that every human being communicates through language, but perhaps a little known fact that we communicate even through the food we eat. We communicate through food all the meanings that we assign and attribute to our culture, and consequently to our identity as well. Food is not only nourishment for our bodies, but a symbol of where we come from. In order to understand the basic function of food as a necessity not only for our survival, we must look to politics, power, identity, and culture.

The reason I believe I am qualified to be a member of Spanish Honor Society is because of the extensive amount of experience I have in clubs and groups very similar to it. Some of these include but are not only student senate, key club, National Honor Society, and the honor roll. Through hard work and always putting academics first I have been able to do well in my classes and competitions like BPA, and I know that I can be a good role model for other students academically. With my involvement in student senate and different sports and clubs I also have a very good connection with the rest of my classmates and can act maturely. Lastly through my time in National Honor Society, Key Club, and going to Xavier I have had plenty of experience doing service. Lately I have also grown an interest in taking the time to learn the Spanish language, and not just study little sections I need to know for the certain tests. I believe that my experience and ability to serve as a role model in several different areas qualifies me to be a member of Spanish Honor Society, and I'm hoping that through it I can expand my Spanish knowledge and use it to help

During the last decades, Madrid has surfaced as the heartbeat of modern business, art, technology, and fashion. Traveling to Spain on a tourist travel will only show me a glimpse of what Spain’s history treasures are, but this program will unveil many aspects of the Spanish culture that are unique and exclusive to the country. In addition, it will be a great opportunity to learn about my own culture a little better. As we already know, Spain conquered a vast majority of what is now the American continent. While in Madrid, and since I will be only a few hours from Seville, Spain; I would love to be able to visit the General Archive of the Indies which holds the records and complete documentation of the historical administration and discoveries made by the Spaniards in the New World during its prominent years in exploration. As a native Guatemalan, it would be fascinating to learn about my own roots from the accounts of the Spaniards who set foot on my country and many of the other American countries that were conquered by Spain. Sometimes, we get a better appreciation of history when it is viewed from both perspectives. It’s not the same to learn history of a country based on the narratives of a textbook, than to be actually experience it from its culture and people. The study abroad program will consist of a total of ninety classroom hours of interaction with native Spanish students and professors. In addition, one of the courses will be taught fully in Spanish, which will benefit me greatly by strengthening my Spanish speaking, reading, and writing skills. While in Spain, I hope to be able to interact with Spaniards and exchange information in order to compare and contrast their culture from my own. I’d also like to explore the city of Madrid,

Through this university I have been able to become involved with various student organizations, including CEPA and the PILOT program. CEPA stands for the Club de Español Para Amigos. This club provides opportunities for its members to practice their Spanish speaking skills, meet and collaborate with organizations that support the Hispanic community, and volunteer in areas that support Spanish speaking community. This club has allowed me to combine my love for Hispanic language and culture, and do philanthropic work. As a Spanish major, it has provided me with the opportunity to network and practice the skills that I have learned in the classroom. Another organization I am affiliated with is the Pilot program. This is a leadership program on campus. As a member of this club I attend a variety of workshops in order to receive credit as a certified leader and then a master leader. These workshops cover topics including diversity, skill building, self- improvement, and leadership programs. This organization has allowed me to grow as a leader, and become a more well-rounded

In Jessica Harris’s “The Culinary Season of my Childhood” she peels away at the layers of how food and a food based atmosphere affected her life in a positive way. Food to her represented an extension of culture along with gatherings of family which built the basis for her cultural identity throughout her life. Harris shares various anecdotes that exemplify how certain memories regarding food as well as the varied characteristics of her cultures’ cuisine left a lasting imprint on how she began to view food and continued to proceeding forward. she stats “My family, like many others long separated from the south, raised me in ways that continued their eating traditions, so now I can head south and sop biscuits in gravy, suck chewy bits of fat from a pigs foot spattered with hot sauce, and yes’m and no’m with the best of ‘em,.” (Pg. 109 Para). Similarly, since I am Jamaican, food remains something that holds high importance in my life due to how my family prepared, flavored, and built a food-based atmosphere. They extended the same traditions from their country of origin within the new society they were thrusted into. The impact of food and how it has factors to comfort, heal, and bring people together holds high relevance in how my self-identity was shaped regarding food.

1. What personally connects you to this topic? – I took four years of Spanish in high school in which we learned about the culture in Mexico, and I always found it very interesting.

Being able to do this, brought me the feeling of joy of unity with my friends. It has become a tradition for my friends and I to bring authentic foods of our culture to share with the table. It is a joy to see their reactions of the pleasure to taste the new substances. I’ve had the opportunity to engage myself in intercultural pursuits as the Vice-President of SHS in order to influence underclassmen to continuing growing to be proud with where they came from; and for the seniors to carry on their culture to college, with the acknowledgment of being

With the signing of NAFTA in 1994, Mexico’s economy destabilized and shattered which caused increased dependence on foreign powers, like the USA, to invest in the economy. This put an emphasis on the globalization of the exchange of goods, services, and ideas. During my trip to Pilsen, I went to a bakery called “Xurro” and found that the whole place was a collection of products from Mexico, the USA, and other countries. They had not only traditional Mexican deserts like churros and Fresas con Crema, but also banana splits and Flaming hot Cheetos (a known American product very popular in Mexico). I also noticed they had an item on the menu called “Mocha Mezcla” which was Abuelita Mexican hot chocolate with a shot of expresso in it. These products are the physical representation of globalization through food; the mix and match of cultures introduces new combinations of goods to be sold and consumed. I observed that the menu was both in English and Spanish; the merging of two languages is indicative of the globalization of language as well as products. Also in the gift shop of the Art Museum, many products were made in China or other nations, although they were meant to represent Mexican heritage; this satisfies customer’s desire to be more “cultured” without being aware of the history and journey that the product has made. However, globalization is anything but a seamless process. Throughout the Museum, I perceived there were many images of American culture mixed with Mexican culture in a negative light. For example, there was a 3D sculpture of the famous Sun Maid Raisins, an American company, logo but the friendly girl on the box was replaced with a skeleton smiling with the words underneath, “SUN MAD Raisins: unnaturally grown with Insecticides, Miticides, Herbicides,

The culture I choose to explore is the Hispanic culture. I choose this culture because many of the people I work with and many of my friends identify with the Hispanic culture and I feel it would be interesting to know more about a culture that is so relevant to my life. A few of the big things in Hispanic culture that I found interesting are language, traditions and food. Hispanic refers to a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture.

Traveling to Spanish speaking countries and understanding the culture will make any trip the ultimate experience!

| The attitudes and customs of Hispanics have a major presence on music, food, holidays, dance, and arts here in the United States. The Hispanic families in the United States are traditionally close-knit groups, and Spanish speakers are quite formal toward each other when speaking.

Tradition has been said to mirror a way of life. Observation has concluded that participants in tradition “actively construct as well as reflect culture and community” (Sacks 275). For most people in the 21st century, tradition only reveals itself during special times or certain seasons. For others it is simply a way of life. The foodways of Mexicans and Native Americans are of particular interest in this study because of the food that grew from necessity and is maintained as sacred or reserved for only special occasions. The tamale is one such food. Significantly changed and altered throughout history it has remained a

In The Culinary Seasons of my Childhood, Jessica B. Harris- the author- attempts to help readers understand the relationship between food and identity. Harris gave a detailed, but relevant, description of how how food portrayed different cultures in her life and how it taught her many lessons about her family history and who she is; she also described how food brings people together as one and creates a connection that nothing else can. The author helps readers initially understand her ideas by showing examples of how food, even in the same culture, can reflect different social classes.“ Even though chitterlings might be on the menu, they could equally likely be accompanied by a mason jar of corn liquor or a crystal goblet of champagne”( Harris

This paper will discuss the multifaceted relationships among food, and culture. I will be looking at the relationships people have with food, and explore how this relationship reveals information about them. Their food choices of individuals and groups, can reveal their ideals, likes and dislikes. Food choices tell the stories of where people have travelled and who they have met along the way.