Fish out of Water Broadcast

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93m6C9ruo2A&feature=youtu.be

Fish Out of Water

I attended a service at a Pentecostal Church with a friend and her family.

I was raised Catholic and had no idea what to expect at a church of another religion.

It was a Sunday evening and we walked into the huge church, full of people.

The church had a larger altar and there were more people on the altar than I was used to in a Catholic church.

We sat in the back because my friend knew I was reluctant on being there and wanted to observe what was going on.

She told me that people can be very physical and hug you throughout the service and it was better for us to stay in the back so I didn’t feel obligated.

The room was full of young adults, adults, and elderly folks.

There were no kids and it was because the kids go to a separate youth group type class while the older crowd attended the larger service.

Almost everyone was bent over with his or her heads down, repeating what the pastor was saying.

The people were very active in participating in the service, saying the prayers out loud, hands in the air, and they have live music which made the people get even more into the service.

We stood in back and I just watched all the people as they made their way up to the altar and crying while either sitting or lying on the steps.

There were some people who had a number of people surround them and lay their hands on them, which was usually a healing prayer.

The women wore no make up, had long hair, and were wearing long skirts and the men dressed in dress pants and button down shirts.

This church service was so different than what I was used to at a Catholic church.

Catholic masses are very structured and organized and at the Pentecostal service it was very open.

Towards the end of the service I became more comfortable but I still not understand the craziness that was going on at the altar and when people would give healing prayers to one another.

Japanese Internment Camp

Japanese internment was relocation of 110,000 Japanese Americans in 1942, soon after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, ordered by the United States Government.

This attacked sparked immense paranoia and worry for the U.S government, fearing that someone within the country would make a deal with those from Japan.

Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Executive Order 9066, which ordered Japanese Americans into one of the 10 internment camps located in California, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and Arkansas.

The Executive Order 9066 was to protect against the chance of domestic espionage and sabotage and was considered a “military necessity”.

Japanese Americans were forced from their homes with only 48 hours to evacuate, taking little to no personal possessions with them.

The people had to suddenly uproot from their homes and businesses and enter these horrific internment camps.

The conditions of the camp were very poor and overcrowded.

The camps had no plumbing or cooking facilities of any kind and the people were forced to sleep under tarpaper-covered frames.

Thousands of people were fed in mess halls with limited allotments of food.

Some internees died from lack of medical health care and the high level of stress they faced while living in these camps.

There were internees of all ages at the camps and conditionally it was worst for the older generations and the younger generations.

Half of the camp’s population was made up of children.

Some internees were confined to the walls of the internment camps for up to four years.

In 1944 President Roosevelt rescinded the Executive Order 9066, closing the ten internment camps.

The end of 1945 closed the last internment camp.

It was not until 1968 that the government began to consider and fix the damages done to Japanese Americans for the property they had lost.

U.S Congress passed legislation in 1988, which provided formal payments of $20,000 to each of the surviving internees, which were 60,000 people.

Fish Out of Water

Canal Street New York City, talk about feeling like a fish out of water.

We walked down about five blocks of Canal Street where there were countless vendors, both with shops or just a table set up on the sidewalk.

 Numerous men were selling illegal purses such as Coach, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci, and more, would approach us, trying to convince us to buy these knockoff purses.

Here we are, two California girls, walking the streets of New York and being a minority in this area, also known as Chinatown.

 There is nothing like this in San Jose, let me tell you!

We stood on the corner of the street, waiting to cross, and you see a woman pick out a purse on a small laminated booklet, the man runs across the street and back with a black plastic bag and they do the quick exchange.

This was just crazy to watch but it even gets worse.

We went back a few days later to do some last minute souvenir shopping and all the men who were selling purses just had them all out on a blanket on the sidewalk.

 Now how do they get away with that!

 We became curious and stood around the crowds for a while and with one blow of a whistle a dozen men wrapped up the blankets and took off.

We just stood there in awe trying to figure out what just happened.

This may not be a political or religious fish out of water experience but this was definitely a new experience for us where I felt so out of place.

Word of the Week #10

Word: Flouting

Where I Heard it: My boss said it yesterday at work

Original Sentence: “ The clients are just flouting at the counselors who are trying to help them.”

Dictionary Definition: (Verb) To treat with disdain, scorn, or contempt; scoff at; mock.

 

Use of Word in a New Sentence: Girls in high school enjoyed flouting those who were considered geeks.

Tommie Smith and John Carlos

San Jose State University has honored two San Jose State student athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who are also Olympic winners from the 1968 Summer Olympics who stood for justice, dignity, equality and peace.

It was on October 16^th, 1968 when Smith set the world record for the 200-meter race, winning the gold medal and John Carlos followed behind in third, winning the bronze medal.

Smith and Carlos went to claim their prize while barefoot, representing black poverty, and Olympic Project for Human Rights badges.

Smith wore a black scarf around his neck to represent black pride and Carlos wore beads, which represented those who were wrongfully killed without a prayer or honor.

The statue is located on the north side of campus between Clark Hall and Dwight Bentel Hall.

Tommie Smith and John Carlos stand about 15 feet tall on a three-foot podium.

Approaching the statue, the hexagon, blue, ceramic, mosaic tiles makes up most of the status with the occasional rectangular and square tiles while their heads and arms are made out of bronze.

The arms and feet felt and sounded more solid than the shoes that sat on the podium, which seemed to be just hallow metal.

The statue has used the image of the athletes with their fists in the air, which represents a human rights salutes, not a black power salute as many people assumed.

Each athlete is only wearing one glove in the statue because Carlos had forgotten his black gloves, so they split the gloves and each wore one.

Last but not least, the second place podium stays empty, however it says, “ Fellow athletes, Australian Peter Norman stood here in solidarity. Take a stand.”

Now, go over to the statue, take position on the second place podium and take a stand for human rights.

Word of the Week #9

Word: Fetter

Where I heard it: My cousin who is a sheriff for Monterey County said it in a text. 

Original Sentence: “ We have had to restrain an inmate with hand cuffs and fetters.”

Dictionary Definition: (Noun) A chain or shackle placed on the feet.

Use of Word in a New Sentence: I was watching a police television show where the man who was arrested was not cooperating and had to be cuffed to a chair and put fetters on him too.