INTERCULTURAL RELATIONSHIP

When you meet someone from another culture it's a small problem at the first time because he or she has many things totally different from your culture. And now, marrying someone from another culture could be a disaster. Why? Because she or he has a different culture and, of course, a different lifestyle, a way to express their ideas, the clothes that that people use, the idea that they have about personal space, the places that that person would like to visit, the concepts of time, religion, food preferences, and more items that make them different. So when you decide to marry someone from another culture you should be considered and try to understand and try to mix both cultures to be comfortable with that person without discussions. 

COSTEÑOL

How have either a sport, hobby, or music shaped your own personal culture?

Well, I'm not so good at sport, so because of that I prefer listening to music.

I think music is the perfect way to express your feelings and your ideas. When I'm listening to music I feel free of worries, relaxed and comfortable. I don't have a "favorite" style of music, i like almost everything, but some of them more than the others. 

My favorite singer is Andres Cepeda. He plays romantic music. I love the lyrics of his songs. I think he is one of the most talented musicians here in Colombia. I love almost all of his songs!

I also like to listen to music in English, for example I like Bruno Mars, Jason Mraz, Maroon 5, Beyonce, and others.

Economic Empowerment For Women

If I had the opportunity, I think I would lend money to Martha, because I consider she is trying to do her best to earn money for her and also to support her family. 

I consider Kiva as a good company which help women to improve their lives. I would like to help those women because I think we are good enough to support our families without a man who gives us everything. We can create a business and support our families by ourselves.

KENYAN MATATU DRIVERS

1. How are Matatu drivers treated in his experience with the BBC? 

I think the producers were so interested in the Matatu drivers's life. The drivers were treated well for the producers, but not for the rest of the people. Even though they were working and doing things well, the police officers extorted them just because they wanted to. I think they had been trying as poor and uneducated people in the society just because being a taxi driver is not a dream job. Maybe the society is underestimating the Matatu drivers who are normal people trying to earn money to support their families in a correct way. In my opinion, the treated is not the correct one; they have to be respected by the society in general because they have their values and rights too. 

2. Do Barranquilleros have the same negative opinion of mototaxistas as the Kenyans have of matatu drivers?

Well, i think the problem in Barranquilla is different. Here we actually don't know who is mototaxista or who is a delinquent. Usually, the criminals use a motorcycle as a transport medium to  commit crimes, so because of that we think that a mototaxista could be a criminal and we avoid them. In my personal experience, i was robbed by a mototaxista, so for me a person in a motocycle is a person whom i cannot trust. 

FAVORITE CARNIVAL MOMENTS

As you know, I'm from Santa Marta, so my favorite carnival moment was when I went home. In Santa Marta we celebrate carnival too, but the celebration is not as big as Barranquilla's celebration. In my carnival vacations I had the opportunity to spend time with my family and friends. It was amazing for me because in Barranquilla I'm living on a pension, so at that time I could go home and enjoy the delicious food that my family prepares and share some experiences with my old friends. I enjoyed the carnival, but also I spent time studying for my tests and taking a rest. 

Tinariwen

Tinariwen

 www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5P0oO8nphMY 

QUESTIONS

1. What do we learn about Tuareg culture from this video? 

2. Keeping in mind what you learned from this interview, how does seeing the visuals within the video and knowing the meaning of the lyrics give us a deeper understanding of Tuareg culture?

ANSWERS

1. I think Tuareg is a culture which is nomad and have a lot of rituals and traditions. In the video, we can see that they have a pacific life, full of peace and tranquility. They are in contact with the nature, so they should take all the resources that the nature gives them to survive. In the video, they talk about a pain that is burdened, so we can think they are a marginalized group in the society.  

2. The video and the lyrics are so related because in the lyrics they are expressing how they are feeling about the life, and the video show us the peaceful life that they have. It's like a way to show us that even they have a lot of problems as other groups, they still being together and conserving their traditions and rituals.