MLO 5: Cultural Praxis (Cultural Internalization and Language Immersion)
The student demonstrates that he or she has been actively immersed in and has internalized Hispanic culture.
There are three pathways by which this outcome can be fulfilled:
There are three pathways by which this outcome can be fulfilled:
- By participating in a study-abroad program in a Spanish-speaking country for at least one semester. WLC's Spanish program has exchange agreements with the University of Aguas Calientes and the University of Queretero in Mexico, and the University of Córdoba in Spain. In addition, through CSU International Programs, you can study at universities in Madrid or Granada, Spain or in Santiago, Chile.
- By living and working in a local heritage community over an extended period of time without interruption for at least two years.
- By participating in and/or completing 10 of the following cultural learning scenarios with accompanying documentation, in the target language:
- Participate in service learning within a local heritage community for a minimum of eight weeks beyond the actual service learning requirement.
- Make a minimum of three home-visits in the local heritage community to interact and communicate with members of the Hispanic culture regarding topics of personal interest, the community, culture and language.
- Attend or view via media a minimum of 10 cultural events and /or social activities of Hispanic culture.
- Actively participate and/or perform in a school or heritage community event or celebration.
- Participate in a heritage-community project (of some duration) that requires proficiency in Spanish and knowledge of Hispanic cultures.
- Conducting a one hour in-depth interview with a speaker of Spanish, eliciting, in a conversational manner, comments of a biographical nature, cultural and social observations and anecdotal reflections.
- View and comment on 10 movie-length films produced within and about Hispanic culture.
- Participate at least five times in organized sports or recreation activities of Hispanic culture.
- Demonstrate cultural skills by making hotel reservations, ordering meals and shopping in stores or markets in heritage settings where Spanish is spoken. This objective is assessed by faculty.
In the pursuit of a better life, people have sacrificed the most valuable things to them such as family. In order to improve their living situation and be able to provide a better life for themselves, their family, and even future generations Mexican citizens have chosen to leave their country with hopes of achieving the American dream. They often times sneak illegally into the United States. The price they pay for achieving the vision of success isn’t worth it. Once you lose what is most important to you, the meaning of life also loses its value. The two individuals I was able to interview allowed me to understand some of the challenges that not only they faced but also many others individuals may be able to relate. Leaving children, parents, and all other family members behind is a choice many face. For example, in Bajo La Misma Luna, a heart breaking movie, tells a story line which many are able to relate. Kate de Castillo plays the role of Rosario, a young single mother. With hope to create a more prosperous future for her son, she leaves him behind while she crosses the border to the United States. In the movie we can see the heartbreak that not only she experiences but also her son as he is unsure of how long it will be until he is reunited with his mother. In the song Solo deje a mi padre, by Montez de Durango a similar scenario is explained. A son leaves his older father behind to better himself and be able to give back to his father that is now too old to work, his father doesn’t believe leaving to the United States is the best option but his son has his mind made up. By the time son is able to return to Mexico his father is no longer alive. The man and woman I interviewed had similar stories that I was able to relate to the movie and song. Many times we live so carried away and don’t pay attention to the deep message media has and it is sometimes there to inform us of certain circumstances. Both Solo deje a mi padre y Bajo La Misma Luna tell a story for the people.
Mrs. Rodriguez, was a single mother when she was raising her two daughters. Her hope of being able to provide a better life for her daughters and be able to give them an education made her take a difficult decision; she would send her daughters away. Mrs. Rodriguez was not able to afford daycare, rent, and work full time while also going to school. After giving the problem much thought, she came to the conclusion that sending her daughters with their grandparents would be the best solution. For two years she had to be away, not only did it affect her but also her children who didn’t understand why their mother sending them away. She tried to explain, but how does a 5 year old understand the purpose of the pain created in her by being left behind by the only parent she knows? During the time she was away she was able to complete her school, obtain a better job, that lead to her to be able to provide a better quality of life and education for her daughters. In Bajo la Misma Luna, Rosario comes to the Unites States leaving her son with her mother. Rosario is employed as a housemaid making very little money. She sends as much as she can to Mexico. Rosarios mother passed away. This leaves her son alone and forcing him to begin the journey to Los Angeles in search for his mother. As a young boy, he faces many challenges and is placed in real life scenarios endangering him. His mother is unable to do anything other than wait to hear from him, at this point she realized how leaving her son behind only caused more damage than benefit and the idea of never being able to find him devastates her. She is angry at herself and at the poverty she was faced with that forced her to move away and put distance with her only son. I can relate the story of Mrs. Rodriguez with Rosario. This is a problem many face, not just Rosario or Mrs. Rodríguez, a problem like this can happen in real life and affect thousands of immigrants and their children. The most unfortunate part of the situation is that not in all cases do kids end up reunited with their parents. The journey across the desert is a dangerous one and many do not make due to various reasons. This is just the story of one mother that opened up to share her story with me, I know there is many more with similar stories to share.
Mr. Diaz the youngest son in a family of five he was the last one to leave home not because he wanted to leave his parents but because there was no work for him available in the village he was raised in. His parents older and his mother sick requiring expensive medication created great stress and frustration within him. Mr. Diaz wasn’t able to provide any income and/or support for them, his older siblings with families of their own did not have the resources to help, they also had economic struggles to face. He gave it much thought and finally he came to the conclusion that the only way he would be able to help his parents was to cross the border and work in agriculture. Many of his cousins had also migrated to the Unites States. He asked his parents for their blessing and with tears in their eyes they watched as their youngest son left with the vision of giving them a more comfortable life. His mother tried to hold him back and make him realize she didn’t have much time left; her diabetes was slowly consuming her. She knew she might not ever see her son again. He felt sure he would be able to come back and that with the money he would send she would have her medications available. He hoped that would expand her life. As an illegal worker he was not able to leave and come back as easily. He started to write less and focus in working to save and soon go back home to his parents. In the song, the young man goes to the United States in search of a better future and the illusion of a better future. His father begs him to not leave him behind because he is old. When he finally is able to come back might find him no longer alive. His son blinded by hope and ambition leaves and when he is able to come back his father is dead. He then realizes how the price wasn’t worth the sacrifice and staying to spend time with his father would have been more valuable because he will not able to buy back the time he was away from his father and the pain he caused him. Although Mr. Diaz did not lose his mother, she did unfortunately lose her eyesight. Mr. Diazis still hopeful that he will soon visit his mother.
As we can see, pursuing a better life doesn't always have the best outcome. More than often, family has to be sacrificed in order to get where they are going. Millions of Mexican immigrants have left their country trying to accomplish the American Dream. Do they ever really accomplish it? The pay a hard price for achieving success. They lose what is most sacred to them. I interview two individuals living in the city of Salinas. They shared their stories with me, which are a popular theme among migrating families. I was able to relate their stories to Bajo la misma luna and a song by Montez de Durango Solo deje yo a mi padre. I had been aware of stories like these but hearing it first hand from someone who lived it was a a completely different experience. The most important thing is that these people have given their everything to make the lives of their loved ones better.
*For the purposes of this essay the names of the two individuals were changed.
Mrs. Rodriguez, was a single mother when she was raising her two daughters. Her hope of being able to provide a better life for her daughters and be able to give them an education made her take a difficult decision; she would send her daughters away. Mrs. Rodriguez was not able to afford daycare, rent, and work full time while also going to school. After giving the problem much thought, she came to the conclusion that sending her daughters with their grandparents would be the best solution. For two years she had to be away, not only did it affect her but also her children who didn’t understand why their mother sending them away. She tried to explain, but how does a 5 year old understand the purpose of the pain created in her by being left behind by the only parent she knows? During the time she was away she was able to complete her school, obtain a better job, that lead to her to be able to provide a better quality of life and education for her daughters. In Bajo la Misma Luna, Rosario comes to the Unites States leaving her son with her mother. Rosario is employed as a housemaid making very little money. She sends as much as she can to Mexico. Rosarios mother passed away. This leaves her son alone and forcing him to begin the journey to Los Angeles in search for his mother. As a young boy, he faces many challenges and is placed in real life scenarios endangering him. His mother is unable to do anything other than wait to hear from him, at this point she realized how leaving her son behind only caused more damage than benefit and the idea of never being able to find him devastates her. She is angry at herself and at the poverty she was faced with that forced her to move away and put distance with her only son. I can relate the story of Mrs. Rodriguez with Rosario. This is a problem many face, not just Rosario or Mrs. Rodríguez, a problem like this can happen in real life and affect thousands of immigrants and their children. The most unfortunate part of the situation is that not in all cases do kids end up reunited with their parents. The journey across the desert is a dangerous one and many do not make due to various reasons. This is just the story of one mother that opened up to share her story with me, I know there is many more with similar stories to share.
Mr. Diaz the youngest son in a family of five he was the last one to leave home not because he wanted to leave his parents but because there was no work for him available in the village he was raised in. His parents older and his mother sick requiring expensive medication created great stress and frustration within him. Mr. Diaz wasn’t able to provide any income and/or support for them, his older siblings with families of their own did not have the resources to help, they also had economic struggles to face. He gave it much thought and finally he came to the conclusion that the only way he would be able to help his parents was to cross the border and work in agriculture. Many of his cousins had also migrated to the Unites States. He asked his parents for their blessing and with tears in their eyes they watched as their youngest son left with the vision of giving them a more comfortable life. His mother tried to hold him back and make him realize she didn’t have much time left; her diabetes was slowly consuming her. She knew she might not ever see her son again. He felt sure he would be able to come back and that with the money he would send she would have her medications available. He hoped that would expand her life. As an illegal worker he was not able to leave and come back as easily. He started to write less and focus in working to save and soon go back home to his parents. In the song, the young man goes to the United States in search of a better future and the illusion of a better future. His father begs him to not leave him behind because he is old. When he finally is able to come back might find him no longer alive. His son blinded by hope and ambition leaves and when he is able to come back his father is dead. He then realizes how the price wasn’t worth the sacrifice and staying to spend time with his father would have been more valuable because he will not able to buy back the time he was away from his father and the pain he caused him. Although Mr. Diaz did not lose his mother, she did unfortunately lose her eyesight. Mr. Diazis still hopeful that he will soon visit his mother.
As we can see, pursuing a better life doesn't always have the best outcome. More than often, family has to be sacrificed in order to get where they are going. Millions of Mexican immigrants have left their country trying to accomplish the American Dream. Do they ever really accomplish it? The pay a hard price for achieving success. They lose what is most sacred to them. I interview two individuals living in the city of Salinas. They shared their stories with me, which are a popular theme among migrating families. I was able to relate their stories to Bajo la misma luna and a song by Montez de Durango Solo deje yo a mi padre. I had been aware of stories like these but hearing it first hand from someone who lived it was a a completely different experience. The most important thing is that these people have given their everything to make the lives of their loved ones better.
*For the purposes of this essay the names of the two individuals were changed.