Population Pyramid

Pyramid shaped = developing
Shaped like a woman = developed

Development

Hands

Climate Graphs - Texas

Compare the following climate graphs of Texas.
Climate graphs are based on Temperature and Precipitation. There is usually a key. Do you notice any patterns based on location? Where would you prefer to live based on the data?

Source: U.S. Climate Data

Source: U.S. Climate Data

Source: U.S. Climate Data

Source: U.S. Climate Data

Source: U.S. Climate Data

Source: U.S. Climate Data

Source: U.S. Climate Data

Source: U.S. Climate Data

South Asia

We are studying South Asia now and unfortunately I haven't had the opportunity to travel there either. A friend of mine from New Delhi invited me to travel there with her once, but I wasn't able to go. Hopefully, before I die, I'll get to visit India. I hope to go to see the Ganges River, Taj Mahal, and many other beautiful sites on the subcontinent.









The same friend/teacher generously was a guest speaker in my classroom a couple of years ago. She dressed in a traditional beautiful sari and brought authentic Indian food for my students. She told the students of her arranged marriage which evolved into love and of many other cultural aspects of her country.
Houston is a very multi-cultural city and has a large population of South Asians, so it is not unusual for us to be in close contact with this culture.
The major religion of India is Hinduism and in my class, we do a cursory study of this monotheistic religion.
Most people consider Hinduism to be polytheistic, but Hindus believe that Brahman is their one God and all the rest come from him. This is similar to the Christian trinity. If Christians believe in the father, son & holy spirit consider themselves monotheistic, then can't the Hindus who believe in the God Brahman and the other gods that come from him be considered monotheistic as well? This topic is a point of contention for some, but really if Hindus think they are monotheistic it shouldn't matter what others say.
Other aspects of Hinduism & Indian culture that we study are reincarnation and the caste system. Many students will say "that's weird" or "that's wrong" when encountering beliefs contrary to their own. I try to emphasize that just because things that are different doesn't mean they're necessarily weird or wrong.
We do a caste system/reincarnation simulation where the students draw their social roles. The slip of paper tells them which caste they were born into and gives them instructions on how to behave according to their caste. The Untouchables have to pick up trash (I throw crumpled paper as the fake trash) and sit on the floor in the back of the room. There is usually only 1 or 2 Brahmans who sit in the front chair & are instructed not to talk to anyone of a lower caste. I'm including a diagram to illustrate the pyramid structure of the caste system.

The order of the Hindu caste system is a sort of hierarchy, with Brahmins at the top & Sudras at the bottom. Untouchables, aka Harijans or Dalits, fall outside of the system altogether.

Middle East experience

Again, I haven't been to the Middle East either, but in keeping w/ the purpose of the blog, I need to post something...When I was in high school, early 80's, so much was going on & I guess it still is, but one event sticks out in my mind:
The Iranian Hostage Crisis ~50 Americans were taken hostage by Iranian "students" at the US Embassy in Tehran.












This was after the Shah had been deposed by the Ayatollah Khomeni. The Shah was in the United States undergoing medical treatment and the students wanted us to send him back over there so they could put him on trial or something. Well, of course we didn't. Some hostages were released early on b/c they had medical conditions, but the rest were held for 444 days! Ironically, they were released after the Democratic President Jimmy Carter lost the election to the Republican party's Ronald Reagan. But, it wasn't ironic. Whoever had the hostages did not want Jimmy Carter to be reelected. Had the hostages been released toward the end of Jimmy Carter's 4 year term, there is no doubt that he would've been reelected.
When I first heard this conclusion, it made sense to me. I then researched it and found that it is accepted as fact by many sources.

Haiti Earthquake 2010

This disaster is so devastating on so many levels. The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere gets hit with hurricanes and has a corrupt government. Now they are worse off than before.

When it first happened and I heard about all the aid that was being sent over, I felt positive that perhaps the rebuilding of the country would eventually bring them up to a better quality of life than they had before. Of course, to the people who lost their lives or loved ones, nothing can replace that.

I wish I could go help, but I am barely surviving in my life, as it is. If I had the luxury to go help, I wouldn't hesitate, as I know many of my students, friends and family would as well.

I do know someone who is able to help and is making his 2nd trip to help the people of Haiti and I am so proud of him. He has been telling me what he has encountered and of the devastation he has seen.
Please pay attention to this issue and comment. I will update soon with more details from the person I know who is over there right now.

My version of Ramadan

Since my African boyfriend was Muslim, he practiced Ramadan, the month long fast that Muslims do every year. I was very interested in this and I decided to celebrate Ramadan, too. I wasn't doing it as a Muslim, just with them He didn't even know I was going to do it. But, when he found out, he taught me how to do it correctly. You couldn't eat or drink anything from sunrise to sunset. You are not even supposed to brush your teeth, take an aspirin, or anything. We did brush our teeth but did not drink water afterwards. The reason for fasting is to get in touch with God, or Allah. Supposedly, you think about God more when you are hungry and voluntarily fasting...everytime you think about eating, you think about why you chose to fast, thus God crosses your mind more than a normal day. Keep in mind, my explanations are my interpretations of what was explained to me, what I read, and what I also believe. My interpretations probably do not correlate with everything Islam actually teaches.
When I heard that Muslims fasted for a month, I always thought they didn't eat anything at all for a whole month & I probably thought they could have liquids. To be honest, I really never gave it much thought. They can eat after sunset and before sunrise, but it is not like they gorge themselves or anything. My beau said that if you break your fast with water, the next day, you'll be thirsty. So, we usually broke our fast with OG minestrone soup and salad. Then we'd eat a regular dinner later in the evening. You are supposed to wake before sunrise to eat I think and pray of course, but I usually woke up after sunrise, so I couldn't eat until the evening. Not being Muslim, I didn't pray 5X a day toward Mecca which they are supposed to do everyday. My Muslim boyfriend did the praying in the morning and evening, but he didn't do the middle of the day ones - that is why I say he wasn't strict. Another thing you are not supposed to do during the day is curse, have sex, take medicine...Let me tell you that I never thought about God so much in my life as that month. It made me think of people who didn't have the choice to fast or not and were really hungry. It made me want to help them. Charity is another of the requirements of Islam and Ramadan reinforces this for them and it did for me, too. Smelling food cooking or seeing people eat, when you "can't" is a very spiritual and humbling experience. Oftentimes I felt weak from lack of food and water during the day, but most of the time, I felt fine and even had more energy than normal. Prior to participating in Ramadan, I thought you'd lose weight, but you don't b/c you eat at night only. Here comes the touchy subject...women and that time of the month. I wouldn't think it would make a difference, but there are rules in the Koran about fasting while menstruating. You are not supposed to fast while menstruating. I didn't go for that. I thought that women could never do the whole month then and that wasn't fair. My friend didn't approve of that, but I reminded him that I wasn't fasting as a Muslim just with them, so it was okay.
Just to review the important points...There are five Pillars of Islam or things they believe they must do to be a Good Muslim.
1. Statement of Faith that there is no God but Allah or Iman
2. Pray 5 times a day in the direction of Mecca, their Holy City. AKA Salah
3. Ramadan - fast for one month or Sawm
4. Charity or Zakah
5. Haaj - pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lives

♥ My African Experience ♥

Now we are studying Africa. I haven't been there yet, but have loved Africa and wanted to go there since I can remember. I used to watch the show "Born Free" when I was young and when I discovered the book, I read that as well.
I have known several people from Africa and will tell you what I learned from them.
From 1995-96, I had a Moroccan boyfriend. He taught me a lot about his country, language, customs, etc. He was a Muslim, but not a very strict one. His Moroccan language is Arabic, but mixed with Berber, the indigenous people of the region. He also spoke fluent French as it was a French colony. Oddly, although Morocco is closer to Spain geographically than France, he didn't speak Spanish. However, he picked it up very rapidly. When someone is mulitlingual it is supposed to be easy for them to pick up new languages and he proved this to be true.

We met when we were both working as waiters in Olive Garden. I was going back to school to get my Masters in Education and teaching certificate and waiting tables gave me the flexibility to do that. He had come to the U.S. as a tourist, gotten married in N.Y. to someone "for the papers", and then moved to Houston. I never knew his true immigration story and have lost touch with him. I do remember he had to go to New York and communicate with that woman regarding their marriage. It seemed like a reasonable story and I didn't question it.
When he arrived in Houston, at Hobby airport, he found an apartment not far from the airport. He took the bus everyday to Olive Garden near the Galleria from the Hobby Airport area. His apt. had very little furniture and he slept on the floor on a mat. His roommate was Moroccan as well.