en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2455637 Comments by efares http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/21/would-you-help-out-or-turn-away-immigrants-in-the-poor-situations-we-saw-them-in-and-why-119-blog/#IDComment145281894 About fifteen years ago my family and I moved to the United States. We were probably one of five Egyptian families to have moved to the small Pennsylvania town. In order to come to the untied stated, once accepted by the lottery system, you need someone to accept to take care of you in case something happens. This person was a guy in Virginia that devoted his spear time in helping all those coming to the United States. His actions and the following situation helped change the views of my parents. Two weeks later in Pennsylvania, my parents needed groceries. However, we moved in the 1995-1996 blizzard. They needed to walk by foot to buy food. They still didn’t have a car, no one to really help them, and the guy from Virginia didn’t have enough time to spend with us, he did as much as he could. My parents decided to walk by foot, in the snow. Then a random car pulled over an offered them a lift. My dad refused because he wasn’t about to get in the car with a random stranger, however my mom was in so much pain from the cold and carrying the food that she forced my dad to accept. These Americans even said themselves that they don’t just stop for people but something about this time that made them want to help. They took my parents home. These two people ended up being a minister and his wife. They saw that we didn’t even have furniture yet, and no one to really help with anything. They left, 2 hours later. They come back with their whole congregation with furniture, toys; you name it they brought for my family. They helped us get to school and showed us the ropes. Its funny because these random people took us under their arms, yet the other surrounding Egyptian families didn’t. Still to this day, it’s hard to see other immigrant Egyptians helping their fellow new comers. However, it was that hardship that my parents endured that led them to open up their homes their after to every incoming Egyptian family. I would say that this places a soft spot for me in my heart because it’s scary to move to new country and just start fresh. It’s even sadder to know people understand that and yet refuse to help. I always find it curious that people don’t want to help. I never understood why. Many immigrants I feel within their communities don’t like to see others succeed. I feel its because they felt that they worked hard to learn the ropes that maybe, if they tell someone new right away that they will have it easy and succeed while they had to work so hard to accomplish that on their own. Sat, 23 Apr 2011 03:19:44 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/21/would-you-help-out-or-turn-away-immigrants-in-the-poor-situations-we-saw-them-in-and-why-119-blog/#IDComment145281894 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/14/what-does-it-say-about-our-society-if-schools-are-more-segregated-now-than-in-the-1970s-119-blog/#IDComment143286314 I can have noticed for a while that there was segregation in schools for a long time. To know that this is happening makes it really hard to believe that this can happen now a days. It doesn’t however surprise me. I feel that the more mixed we become, in other words, that more diverse we are, the more segregated we become. When people come from another country they tend to stick to their own kind. They are fresh from that country and don’t know English too well, so they only hang out with their people so that they get by and feel at home. That is one of the main reasons people tend to seem segregated. Just going to this campus, as I walk through the hub, on each side there are different groups all around me. At first you would say, wow what a diverse campus. However the more closely you pay attention you notice that there is no mingling between races. The second main reason I think people tend to stick to their own kind is the feeling of fitting in. It is much harder to fit in with people that are not of your own kind. Others my not understand where you come from or what you may be referring to as opposed to someone that does and kind of thinks the same way as people from your country would. As an Egyptian I can say on comment and an Egyptian would automatically understand what im saying. However, when I have made that same comment to an American for instance, I get a confused reaction. So I would need to take time to explain what and where im coming from. So it makes it harder to connect. Overall I can see why there is so much segregation happing. However I don’t know if I consider this a bad thing because I can’t help but understand where it might coming from. However, segregation leads to so many problems that I don’t like. This segregation that is happening is only setting us back. People are becoming more afraid to talk to others. Currently I have been meeting with non middle eastern students and I have gotten the chance to ask them what is it that makes it hard for them to talk to middle easterns. The common response is that they feel that middle easterns come off as un approachable. However, once they start to talk to them, they say I didn’t realize it was that easy to get to know you guys. I feel that schools should include more interactive activities for students to interact. The fact that schools are more segregated now then before really sits uneasy for me. I feel that it is only setting us back as a country then moving us forward. Sat, 16 Apr 2011 03:00:15 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/14/what-does-it-say-about-our-society-if-schools-are-more-segregated-now-than-in-the-1970s-119-blog/#IDComment143286314 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/did-putting-yourself-in-the-shoes-of-the-middle-easterners-change-your-views-on-the-war-in-iraq-119-blog/#IDComment141119720 Putting myself in the middle eastern’s shoes definitely changed my perspective on the whole thing. I was well aware that we were at war mainly due to the oil they have. I knew that this is why we continued to be there, and that this is why we have been there for so long and still will be. We are not quite ready to just give it all up and have oil prices sky rocket. We lead lives much better than the rest of the world, and many of us have never really been outside the united states to even see how the rest of the world lives. Not only have most of use been outside the country, most of use have a bias opinion on what we think of the middle east. When we think middle east we think war with iraq and terrorism comes from the middle east. However, we never really think about what we are doing and our actions toward those countries. Even though I was aware of why we were there, this class session actually made me take the time to actually really think about what it would be like to be in that other persons place. I actually came out kind of mad at the whole situation and mad for them. To have another country come in and take their stuff when they are themselves poor, really made me mad for the Iraqi people. What angered me more, is that because we have a bias view on the middle east, and the mentality that we are better, people feel that they can take advantage. That video of the persons car being smashed but the solders hit me hard. That was someone’s only way of providing for themselves. That was crushed in seconds because someone stole wood. How does someone stealing wood have any importance to what is supposed to be the reason we are there. Then crushing that car, the soldiers treated that like it was a toy, and to them it was nothing. They just took away some poor man’s lively hood and their only way of income. We are supposed to be the good guys, however what we are doing is the exact opposite For years we have been at war. However, even when I ask people how do you think about the war, or do you even know why we are at war? The common response that I have gotten is that im not really sure. No one really understands why we are there for such a long time, however the oil reason has been passed around from time to time. Oil, is the main reason we are still there, but we are doing it at the expense of others. Putting myself in their place made me really think about what it feels like to be in their shoes. Fri, 8 Apr 2011 23:56:32 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/did-putting-yourself-in-the-shoes-of-the-middle-easterners-change-your-views-on-the-war-in-iraq-119-blog/#IDComment141119720 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/did-putting-yourself-in-the-shoes-of-the-middle-easterners-change-your-views-on-the-war-in-iraq-119-blog/#IDComment141117791 Putting myself in the middle eastern’s shoes definitely changed my perspective on the whole thing. I was well aware that we were at war mainly due to the oil they have. I knew that this is why we continued to be there, and that this is why we have been there for so long and still will be. We are not quite ready to just give it all up and have oil prices sky rocket. We lead lives much better than the rest of the world, and many of us have never really been outside the united states to even see how the rest of the world lives. Not only have most of use been outside the country, most of use have a bias opinion on what we think of the middle east. When we think middle east we think war with iraq and terrorism comes from the middle east. However, we never really think about what we are doing and our actions toward those countries. Even though I was aware of why we were there, this class session actually made me take the time to actually really think about what it would be like to be in that other persons place. I actually came out kind of mad at the whole situation and mad for them. To have another country come in and take their stuff when they are themselves poor, really made me mad for the Iraqi people. What angered me more, is that because we have a bias view on the middle east, and the mentality that we are better, people feel that they can take advantage. That video of the persons car being smashed but the solders hit me hard. That was someone’s only way of providing for themselves. That was crushed in seconds because someone stole wood. How does someone stealing wood have any importance to what is supposed to be the reason we are there. Then crushing that car, the soldiers treated that like it was a toy, and to them it was nothing. They just took away some poor man’s lively hood and their only way of income. We are supposed to be the good guys, however what we are doing is the exact opposite For years we have been at war. However, even when I ask people how do you think about the war, or do you even know why we are at war? The common response that I have gotten is that im not really sure. No one really understands why we are there for such a long time, however the oil reason has been passed around from time to time. Oil, is the main reason we are still there, but we are doing it at the expense of others. Putting myself in their place made me really think about what it feels like to be in their shoes. Fri, 8 Apr 2011 23:45:14 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/did-putting-yourself-in-the-shoes-of-the-middle-easterners-change-your-views-on-the-war-in-iraq-119-blog/#IDComment141117791 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/did-putting-yourself-in-the-shoes-of-the-middle-easterners-change-your-views-on-the-war-in-iraq-119-blog/#IDComment141117131 Putting myself in the middle eastern’s shoes definitely changed my perspective on the whole thing. I was well aware that we were at war mainly due to the oil they have. I knew that this is why we continued to be there, and that this is why we have been there for so long and still will be. We are not quite ready to just give it all up and have oil prices sky rocket. We lead lives much better than the rest of the world, and many of us have never really been outside the united states to even see how the rest of the world lives. Not only have most of use been outside the country, most of use have a bias opinion on what we think of the middle east. When we think middle east we think war with iraq and terrorism comes from the middle east. However, we never really think about what we are doing and our actions toward those countries. Even though I was aware of why we were there, this class session actually made me take the time to actually really think about what it would be like to be in that other persons place. I actually came out kind of mad at the whole situation and mad for them. To have another country come in and take their stuff when they are themselves poor, really made me mad for the Iraqi people. What angered me more, is that because we have a bias view on the middle east, and the mentality that we are better, people feel that they can take advantage. That video of the persons car being smashed but the solders hit me hard. That was someone’s only way of providing for themselves. That was crushed in seconds because someone stole wood. How does someone stealing wood have any importance to what is supposed to be the reason we are there. Then crushing that car, the soldiers treated that like it was a toy, and to them it was nothing. They just took away some poor man’s lively hood and their only way of income. We are supposed to be the good guys, however what we are doing is the exact opposite For years we have been at war. However, even when I ask people how do you think about the war, or do you even know why we are at war? The common response that I have gotten is that im not really sure. No one really understands why we are there for such a long time, however the oil reason has been passed around from time to time. Oil, is the main reason we are still there, but we are doing it at the expense of others. Putting myself in their place made me really think about what it feels like to be in their shoes. Fri, 8 Apr 2011 23:41:06 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/did-putting-yourself-in-the-shoes-of-the-middle-easterners-change-your-views-on-the-war-in-iraq-119-blog/#IDComment141117131 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/did-putting-yourself-in-the-shoes-of-the-middle-easterners-change-your-views-on-the-war-in-iraq-119-blog/#IDComment141116634 Putting myself in the middle eastern’s shoes definitely changed my perspective on the whole thing. I was well aware that we were at war mainly due to the oil they have. I knew that this is why we continued to be there, and that this is why we have been there for so long and still will be. We are not quite ready to just give it all up and have oil prices sky rocket. We lead lives much better than the rest of the world, and many of us have never really been outside the united states to even see how the rest of the world lives. Not only have most of use been outside the country, most of use have a bias opinion on what we think of the middle east. When we think middle east we think war with iraq and terrorism comes from the middle east. However, we never really think about what we are doing and our actions toward those countries. Fri, 8 Apr 2011 23:38:13 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/did-putting-yourself-in-the-shoes-of-the-middle-easterners-change-your-views-on-the-war-in-iraq-119-blog/#IDComment141116634 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/did-putting-yourself-in-the-shoes-of-the-middle-easterners-change-your-views-on-the-war-in-iraq-119-blog/#IDComment141116282 Putting myself in the middle eastern’s shoes definitely changed my perspective on the whole thing. I was well aware that we were at war mainly due to the oil they have. I knew that this is why we continued to be there, and that this is why we have been there for so long and still will be. We are not quite ready to just give it all up and have oil prices sky rocket. We lead lives much better than the rest of the world, and many of us have never really been outside the united states to even see how the rest of the world lives. Not only have most of use been outside the country, most of use have a bias opinion on what we think of the middle east. When we think middle east we think war with iraq and terrorism comes from the middle east. However, we never really think about what we are doing and our actions toward those countries. Even though I was aware of why we were there, this class session actually made me take the time to actually really think about what it would be like to be in that other persons place. I actually came out kind of mad at the whole situation and mad for them. To have another country come in and take their stuff when they are themselves poor, really made me mad for the Iraqi people. What angered me more, is that because we have a bias view on the middle east, and the mentality that we are better, people feel that they can take advantage. That video of the persons car being smashed but the solders hit me hard. That was someone’s only way of providing for themselves. That was crushed in seconds because someone stole wood. How does someone stealing wood have any importance to what is supposed to be the reason we are there. Then crushing that car, the soldiers treated that like it was a toy, and to them it was nothing. They just took away some poor man’s lively hood and their only way of income. We are supposed to be the good guys, however what we are doing is the exact opposite For years we have been at war. However, even when I ask people how do you think about the war, or do you even know why we are at war? The common response that I have gotten is that im not really sure. No one really understands why we are there for such a long time, however the oil reason has been passed around from time to time. Oil, is the main reason we are still there, but we are doing it at the expense of others. Putting myself in their place made me really think about what it feels like to be in their shoes. Fri, 8 Apr 2011 23:35:51 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/did-putting-yourself-in-the-shoes-of-the-middle-easterners-change-your-views-on-the-war-in-iraq-119-blog/#IDComment141116282 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/did-putting-yourself-in-the-shoes-of-the-middle-easterners-change-your-views-on-the-war-in-iraq-119-blog/#IDComment141116186 Putting myself in the middle eastern’s shoes definitely changed my perspective on the whole thing. I was well aware that we were at war mainly due to the oil they have. I knew that this is why we continued to be there, and that this is why we have been there for so long and still will be. We are not quite ready to just give it all up and have oil prices sky rocket. We lead lives much better than the rest of the world, and many of us have never really been outside the united states to even see how the rest of the world lives. Not only have most of use been outside the country, most of use have a bias opinion on what we think of the middle east. When we think middle east we think war with iraq and terrorism comes from the middle east. However, we never really think about what we are doing and our actions toward those countries. Fri, 8 Apr 2011 23:35:17 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/did-putting-yourself-in-the-shoes-of-the-middle-easterners-change-your-views-on-the-war-in-iraq-119-blog/#IDComment141116186 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/29/do-you-ever-feel-uncomfortable-around-two-or-more-people-speaking-another-language-119-blog/#IDComment140505531 I have always thought about that question. I am bilingual and can speak Arabic very will, and with friends and family, especially my sisters, we tend to speak in Arabic in public. So, that question always came across my mind in the terms of how others feel about those themselves. The problem is, ive encountered that too myself, and it is uncomfortable. You have no idea what people are saying, if they are talking about you, or in general if they are trying to say something not necessarily about you, but something they don’t want you to know. The main reasons that I tend to switch over to my first language tend to be when I don’t’ want anyone else around me to know about the subject or situation I want to share with just that close friend or sibling. Also if I want to tell a funny joke, or make a comment that may be inappropriate in a certain situation and/or subject. In a sense, if no one can understand than its just made for me and that other person, like an inside joke. I guess to put it in another way, like when your on the bus and you hear that one person talking on the phone, and the bus is in complete silence, the whole bus would have known in 5 min about that person’s situation, problem, or life because it is automatically registered and understood. So without even trying to ease drop or be nosey, you can’t help it. But if that person was speaking the whole time in another language and people would probably think, that’s so cool to hear, but automatically tune them out because they can’t understand it. So, sometimes it’s just easier to speak in another language in those situations. But, for me to answer that question more, I definitely do find it uncomfortable in certain situations, because if we are having a conversation in English where we all are interacting, and all of a sudden two people switch into another language, then its hard not to think they may be talking about you. However, there are some situations that you walk by a group that has been already speaking in their language, and you still get the feeling that you may be talked about. But in all honesty the second situation can happen with same speakers, people behaviors tend to not vary much from cultures, the sense of being talked about is the same in all. So overall, being a bilingual person, and knowing the reasons why I switch to the other language, I feel should make me, and sometimes it does even more at times, feel uncomfortable. That is one of the main reasons, when friends are around who can’t speak my language too, I avoid as much as possible in doing that to them because I know the feeling. But I can say, there have been times when you are in the middle of the crowd and what to tell your friend something about something crazy that’s happening around you, everyone of us probably thought at one point, man I wish we both knew a different language right now…so in a sense, we shouldn’t be so uncomfortable, because when you get the opportunity to travel where no one else can understand you. Wed, 6 Apr 2011 15:56:15 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/29/do-you-ever-feel-uncomfortable-around-two-or-more-people-speaking-another-language-119-blog/#IDComment140505531 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/24/how-have-you-acted-when-involved-in-racist-or-discriminating-events-119-blog/#IDComment137598689 This is a difficult question to answer because it really gets you to have to think how you would really act in a situation. Personally I was in that category of witnessing a racist act. However, the racist act had actually happened to my family. The second day after moving to our new house, this elderly lady, about sixty years old, knocked on our door. We welcomed her, and invited her in, she came to visit her new next door neighbors. However she heard my parents had an accent and then continued to say to us “me and my family don’t like foreigners, no me, my husband, nor my kids, we have never liked them.” My parents were taken back and hesitant to respond to that. I was about 11 when this happened, and in my head, I couldn’t help and wonder first off, that she actually said that, and secondly I wonder why she thinks like that or has that view. Who gave her such a bad idea about foreigners or immigrants? Luckily my mother had a very good response for her, she said we are not people to hate or not like, and hopefully we can be a representation that foreigners are not bad. I was surprised how calmly my mother answered her, and even more surprisingly how much she actually wanted to prove to this lady that foreigners are not bad. Making me think, would I have responded that calmly? If it was up to me I would have been insulted and thought how closed minded do you have to be to say something as blunt and closed minded as that. But thinking more about what happened, I feel I would respond differently, now I would ask why and what gave you the impression that foreigners are bad, and like my mother did I would want to show and prove to that person that foreigners or immigrants are not bad. Needless to say, we had spent over five years with out neighbor before she moved out. She came over about twice a week to chat and figure us out. She started to love us and right before she moved out after her husband died, she came over and said , you guys had changed my whole opinion and view about foreigners. That of course made my parents happened, and now when I see people realize that we are not too different from them, I have that same happy feeling. Ive never had straight racist acts, but I have seen how people treat foreigners, especially when we moved here, and to this day it angers me how people say things to make others inferior. Unless someone is sincerely interested in learning and doing it to intentionally upset the other, my blood does boil and it’s a shame to still see things like that. Sat, 26 Mar 2011 00:07:30 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/24/how-have-you-acted-when-involved-in-racist-or-discriminating-events-119-blog/#IDComment137598689 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/18/what-do-you-think-of-the-diversity-at-penn-state-119-blog/#IDComment135950784 When I first came to Penn State I thought that it would take long for me to make great friends at Penn State but by the end of my second year I had enough friends from many different places, and if that wasn’t even enough of an ego boost by the end of my junior year I had enough friends equivalent to the UN than ever before. I loved meeting new people, and even more getting to be part of their lives. I’m one of those people that loves to meet new people because people give you the opportunity too get to know all types of people as well as where they come from. I got to become good friends of many Asian, Middle Eastern people as well as from many other places that I never thought in a million years I would get to know. At first other people gave me the idea that it was hard to get to know people of other cultures, but as the time went on, I realized that it was not as hard as people thought it was and it took time to get to know people. In all honesty, everyone of any kind just wants to feel appreciated, and categorizing him or her makes it harder to connect to them, so just taking the time makes a huge difference. I stared to make it important to get to know people of many different places and backgrounds. Once I had the ability to do that I was able to get to become different friends of English, Australian, French, Russian, Moroccan, Palestinian, and many more different places. Getting to know people of many places, and races was not as hard as I assumed would be. Because I gave it the opportunity it wasn’t as bad as I assumed. Getting to know different places and discussing how in common we are gave us the opportunity to realize we were not that different. Once that was realized it was so much easier to connect to the other race. Io can easily say and take pride in saying that I had the opportunity to get to know and become good friends of people that I never could say I would be able to become friends with. Also, in all honesty I would say it was easily due to the college atmosphere and also due to younger generation’s openness to get to know others. Overall in saying how easy is it to know the different diversities in Penn State campus it would be easy to say that it easy. It only requires you to be interested to know others and where you come form. Once that is pertained, it is possible to get to know everyone of many different background and diversities. Sat, 19 Mar 2011 01:19:10 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/18/what-do-you-think-of-the-diversity-at-penn-state-119-blog/#IDComment135950784 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/how-conscious-are-you-of-your-seat-in-class-before-and-after-todays-lecture-119-blog/#IDComment134024538 part 4 . What was surprising is that it was the white people I asked that seemed less helpful and kind of would just brush people off. I found that really strange. Maybe because it is the immigrants that are friendlier because they want to be accepted and liked that made them that way, but they all were more than willing to help and lead me and my friends in the right direction. Maybe it was just those few white that were like, oh no tourist again, and didn’t want to deal with them that’s why they acted the way they did, im not sure. However, I still want to stick to the fact that it still didn’t matter the race, even though I do agree Asians do seem safe, that I tent to base it more, who comes off most friendly. Fri, 11 Mar 2011 02:42:32 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/how-conscious-are-you-of-your-seat-in-class-before-and-after-todays-lecture-119-blog/#IDComment134024538 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/how-conscious-are-you-of-your-seat-in-class-before-and-after-todays-lecture-119-blog/#IDComment134024485 part 3 I tended to go to them not because they seemed safe but also they were the most willing to help. However I definitely was thinking twice before asking certain people questions on how to get around. I looked for who seemed safe to ask. Also, for who seemed friendly, but depending on where I was and the time of day it was, I was more cautious of who was around me. I hated to feel that way, because I always thought of myself that I wouldn’t be that person, but I hated that that feeling crossed my mind. Therefore, I made it my mission to test it out, and ask different races for help, and actually everyone was just as friendly and willing to help if they could. Fri, 11 Mar 2011 02:42:11 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/how-conscious-are-you-of-your-seat-in-class-before-and-after-todays-lecture-119-blog/#IDComment134024485 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/how-conscious-are-you-of-your-seat-in-class-before-and-after-todays-lecture-119-blog/#IDComment134024201 part 2 This weekend I went to New York City to visit a friend, but she couldn’t come pick me up, so I relied on my own skills to be able to take the subway and get around by myself. However, that city is still huge and the subway was way more confusing at first then I had imagined, so I put down my pride and started to ask people how to get a round to where I wanted to go. This question definitely came across my mind as I waited for the train to come. I went to who seemed the nicest, who seemed not as confused as I was, and who seemed would know English (not to sound mean). But I found myself asking Asians the most. I found this kind of money because in class three of the four girls when to the Asian. They were labeled as the safe race. Its was funny I tended to Fri, 11 Mar 2011 02:40:44 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/how-conscious-are-you-of-your-seat-in-class-before-and-after-todays-lecture-119-blog/#IDComment134024201 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/how-conscious-are-you-of-your-seat-in-class-before-and-after-todays-lecture-119-blog/#IDComment134024128 part 1 It is kind of funny that this subject came up in class. Before I always thought I just would sit wherever, or where is closest to the door so that I can leave the fastest, but now it takes come thought to realized if I was subconsciously choosing certain seats based on who I wanted to sit next to. After some thought, I came to the conclusion that I chose who just seemed the nicest. I never really tied it to race. Fri, 11 Mar 2011 02:40:22 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/how-conscious-are-you-of-your-seat-in-class-before-and-after-todays-lecture-119-blog/#IDComment134024128 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/is-it-selfish-for-people-in-poverty-to-have-more-kids-because-of-their-lower-income-119-blog/#IDComment130734641 I’ve always wondered about that question, whether having more kids help poor people or if it only makes things worse. Older times it was always known that people always had bigger families. To say that I come from a family of more than 6 was normal, but to say that today it a little strange. The average family seems to range from 4-6. However, before people used to have a lot of kids was meant to actually help the family. At first the parents provide for their kids, but once they grow up a little they then are able to help around the house, farm, and eventually could potentially have enough working children to provide for themselves as well as help bring in a bigger family income. Now days it seems like a different story. I personally do not find it selfish to have a lot of kids even if they are poor only unless they are willing to have them motivated to go out and work and overall help the family go from poor to better. However, most people don’t have that mindset. They will have kids and remain poor without trying; this doesn’t go to the ones that actually are hard workers, to bring themselves to a better place. I feel with enough hard work it is possible to get yourself out of the poor situation if one is motivated and determined. However it is hard to say that if they are poor and show no sign of motivation to better themselves, having more children will only make the kids have many problems. The kids are automatically born in a bad environment in which the parents are stressed, making a living and usually with the mindset of not really taking the time to look out for their children and raise them right. The kids will be poor as well and will always be reminded they are poor because of where they live and constantly felt inferior. Some take that to make them better themselves to get out of that, but most tend to be affected by their situation and they themselves will have a not so positive outlook on life, and therefore continuing the cycle. So I guess in the end it comes to who is having the children. It is hard to tell people they are not allowed to not have as many children as they want, but it is hard to also see the parents and children being in that environment because more children require more time and money in which poor people are already struggle to already make ends meat. Therefore in the end some children really suffer. But by no means does that mean that all poor people will not take care and love their kids just as much as anyone else, so again it depends on whom wants to have more children. Sat, 26 Feb 2011 00:59:45 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/is-it-selfish-for-people-in-poverty-to-have-more-kids-because-of-their-lower-income-119-blog/#IDComment130734641 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-do-you-feel-about-the-way-people-live-in-america-compared-to-other-places-around-the-world-119-blog/#IDComment129010587 Living in the United States we are definitely more privileged more than the rest of the world. Just looking around today, you see kids in elementary schools carrying cell phones. When I was younger and didn’t drive, when I needed to be picked up there was always a land line in every school activity or in that fact in every place you were at, to call the parents. Other countries are so poor they barely have money to eat and even have money to buy clothes. If you think about it, even when we are broke because all the money we make goes to the bills for the things we like to use. We pay for cell phones, car payments, insurance for those cars, housing, food, and so on, and this is just the minimum, then we consider ourselves broke because we don’t have much spending money for us to enjoy the fun things we like to do. The money we make here in a week, some people in the world use that to help them survive for months. Just thinking about all the things we purchase daily, makes us seem so wasteful. I’ve noticed we tend to buy most things not for the need to survive everyday, but for wanting those items to satisfy us. Ive had the chance to travel outside the country and ive definitely noticed that we take things for advantage here in the untied states. We have the chance to buy things just like that with out thinking twice that on other countries they will never be able to buy all that we get to buy there whole lives, that we purchase in a day. I feel even if there are people in the poor category, the government has the ability to put you on welfare and provide them food, housing, and still put them at a higher living standard than most of the world. Also one more thing ive noticed living in the United States is that because we have the ability to live better than most of the world, we realize that many other countries are at a much lower living standards, but we tend to not care. We are only focused on ourselves and making out living better to meet our standards that we never look to see how others living in poorer countries deal with their problems, how having nothing makes them who they are. Ive meet immigrants that move to the United States and came from nothing, here, they have a great drive to better them selves and they will never forget where they came from because it makes them who they are. It is actually quite an experience to go to a third world country and see how they value and cherish everything they were able to afford and to us its nothing because its easily obtainable for us. Sat, 19 Feb 2011 03:16:56 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-do-you-feel-about-the-way-people-live-in-america-compared-to-other-places-around-the-world-119-blog/#IDComment129010587 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/08/how-have-the-choices-youve-made-and-determinism-affected-your-life-119-blog/#IDComment127458418 I feel I have a lot of things that effected how I am where I am now at Penn State. I feel to determinism had a good part of where I am now. Both my parents went to college, graduated and had great jobs. However they both graduated and worked in Egypt as my dad a lawyer and mom a biology/English teacher. So if I was to be raised in Egypt, I feel I would have gone to college still and had same goals. However, moving to the United States, now there were expectations on me now being a minority in a mainly white school. All through out my late elementary/middle/high school I had to prove myself that I was able to be at the level of everyone else. Being a minority I was expected to not succeed and always dismissed easily. When I moved to the US I was in third grade, coming I was a year a head of everyone my age. However they instantly after finishing my fourth grade, the school decided to make me retake it, and their reasoning was to have me at the same age with everyone else. Even though that angered me at the time, that initial expectation from the beginning had me forever having to prove that I was at the same level as everyone else. After that I worked ten times harder and by middle school I was entered in all honors classes, still in order to be in those classes I had to over ride my 6th grade teachers’ decision to put me in college prep. Seventh grade I aced all my classes. However still moving from middle school to high school again, same happened and again I had to prove a gain that I deserved to be at the level I wanted to be at. School was not the only place I experienced this, people from work would assume before talking to me that since im an immigrant I would just maybe graduate high school but not until they would talk to me would they realize how determined I was. Therefore determinism played a big part. The fact that both my parents graduated, they always pushed me and my sisters to aim for the best and work hard to achieve what we wanted. Their motivation for us played a big part on my life. It only allows me to push even harder to prove myself again and again. So even though I was one of the few minorities in my high school, I feel against those odds, it helped make me more determined with the motivation of my parents. However I feel determinisms plays a big part of peoples lives, but it’s up to the individual to choose how they take the cards and hardships. Sat, 12 Feb 2011 02:35:17 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/08/how-have-the-choices-youve-made-and-determinism-affected-your-life-119-blog/#IDComment127458418 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/01/do-you-describe-yourself-differently-in-other-countries/#IDComment126040477 I was born and raised in Egypt until I was 9, then I moved to the United Stated and have been here for the rest of my life. I definitely find it hard as to what I should refer myself as when I leave the United States. In the United States I definitely, when asked what ethnicity I am, I always say Egyptian because I wasn’t born in this country. However a few years ago, I got to travel to both Egypt a few times as well as Italy. When I was in Egypt I was definitely always referred to as American. I would walk down the street and people thought I wouldn’t be able to understand them. I have been told by many that I don’t look like the typical Egyptian because I have lighter skin and colored eyes, and even other Arabs can never classify me when I say im Middle Eastern, this all in the United States. Also, I found it strange when my cousins would introduce me as “this is my American cousin” to their friends. It was in a more show off way because they had a cousin from America. However, the pride part of being Egyptian made me kind of sad and angry that I was the “American” in my own country. However, when asked what I was in Egypt I answered Egyptian. When I had the chance to go to Italy and asked what I was, this is where I was confused to say what I was. My main answer was that im originally Egyptian but I live in the United States. However, for some reason that answer took hesitation, one reason mainly to just simplify not having to explain, and the other is that being American is easily know. Overall, as odd as it may seem, when I was in Italy I wasn’t asked where I was from, until they realized I couldn’t speak Italian, as opposed to as when I was in Egypt just walking down the street wearing the same clothes as they did, people always assumed I was foreign. That I found really surprising I was considered more Italian than Egyptian. I also find it surprising that even here, people assume im American and not foreign until once in a while my accent comes out or I tell them. There have been people that have known me for months, and not until I say something, or they hear me talk to my family on the phone will they notice im not American. But the minute in stepped into Egypt was I treated different and people somehow knew I had not spent my whole life here and it was there that I felt less Egyptian by others than I consider myself. Sat, 5 Feb 2011 00:59:15 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/01/do-you-describe-yourself-differently-in-other-countries/#IDComment126040477