Catalina
Oct 29, 2011
Undergraduate / 'An airbase in Madrid' perspective of 3 cultures will you contribute to life at Rice [2]
There I was in the middle of an airbase in Madrid, surrounded by millions of people, speaking Italian with Italians my friends and I had just met from Palmi, Rizicconi, Baria, Matera, Bergamo, all places in Italy that I had never heard of but with names that seemed to run off my tongue so easily. Let it be known that before that I had never spoken a single word of Italian. I used the English and Spanish that I know to try to understand the English and Italian that they knew. We were all in the same place for one reason: World Youth Day to have mass with the pope. That experience widened my broadened my perspective on faith as well as developed my perspective on culture.
I am a woman of three worlds. One world is the New Year nights surrounded by my Mexican family, eating bowls of Menudo from the giant pot on the stove. Another world is the one of Filipino parties with karaoke nights and a never-ending supply of Pancet, Lumpia, and other food that every Filipino is familiar with. The other world that I find myself in is the all-American nights of the whole family screaming at the TV when the Texas Rangers make a home run. I have been surrounded by so many cultures my whole life and all of my experiences have helped me to develop a perspective shaped by the values that distinguish what it means to be Mexican, Filipina and American.
Mexican culture is very centered on family, and respect is very important. I believe this is one of the hardest values to follow, but the most valuable. I have learned to have great respect for others, especially elders, and myself. Rice University is diverse culturally, religiously and academically. I have grown up with an appreciation for all cultures and religions. I have a culture and a religion of my own, and I have never let that stop me for respecting that of others. I will bring that perspective to Rice University .
If you have ever met a Filipino mom, then you know how they love to feed anybody and everybody that walks through their door. It is something that every Filipino mom passes down to her daughters. The Philippines is a beautiful country, but there is much poverty. No matter how poor or how well-off a family is, they will always feed any guest that comes to their house. I grew up with this sense of generosity. That no matter how much you have, you must share with those who go without. It is something that my mom has always taught me and that I hope to share with others as well. I hope to bring my generosity to Rice University and manifest it in service to the college and surrounding community.
The diversity of Rice abounds, however one of the most common culture similarities is that most are American. No matter major, race, religion, sexual orientation, what I have in common with many other Rice students is that I am American. The American culture is about working to achieve. I have worked hard my whole life and am so grateful that I have because my hard work has given me the opportunity to apply to Rice. I will bring this culture of appreciation for hard work to Rice. I know that every student that goes to Rice only got there through hard work. I am going to continue working hard to ensure that I can reach the goals I have set for myself.
Not many people get to experience the many cultures that I have grown up with. I can roll my Rs when I speak Spanish. I am not embarrassed to sing Karaoke, even though I have never had a voice lesson in my life. And I associate fall with the beginning of football season. Every trait is influenced by my cultures. Respect from my Mexican culture, generosity from my Filipina culture and hard work from my American culture, have all formed the perspective that I will bring to Rice University.
There I was in the middle of an airbase in Madrid, surrounded by millions of people, speaking Italian with Italians my friends and I had just met from Palmi, Rizicconi, Baria, Matera, Bergamo, all places in Italy that I had never heard of but with names that seemed to run off my tongue so easily. Let it be known that before that I had never spoken a single word of Italian. I used the English and Spanish that I know to try to understand the English and Italian that they knew. We were all in the same place for one reason: World Youth Day to have mass with the pope. That experience widened my broadened my perspective on faith as well as developed my perspective on culture.
I am a woman of three worlds. One world is the New Year nights surrounded by my Mexican family, eating bowls of Menudo from the giant pot on the stove. Another world is the one of Filipino parties with karaoke nights and a never-ending supply of Pancet, Lumpia, and other food that every Filipino is familiar with. The other world that I find myself in is the all-American nights of the whole family screaming at the TV when the Texas Rangers make a home run. I have been surrounded by so many cultures my whole life and all of my experiences have helped me to develop a perspective shaped by the values that distinguish what it means to be Mexican, Filipina and American.
Mexican culture is very centered on family, and respect is very important. I believe this is one of the hardest values to follow, but the most valuable. I have learned to have great respect for others, especially elders, and myself. Rice University is diverse culturally, religiously and academically. I have grown up with an appreciation for all cultures and religions. I have a culture and a religion of my own, and I have never let that stop me for respecting that of others. I will bring that perspective to Rice University .
If you have ever met a Filipino mom, then you know how they love to feed anybody and everybody that walks through their door. It is something that every Filipino mom passes down to her daughters. The Philippines is a beautiful country, but there is much poverty. No matter how poor or how well-off a family is, they will always feed any guest that comes to their house. I grew up with this sense of generosity. That no matter how much you have, you must share with those who go without. It is something that my mom has always taught me and that I hope to share with others as well. I hope to bring my generosity to Rice University and manifest it in service to the college and surrounding community.
The diversity of Rice abounds, however one of the most common culture similarities is that most are American. No matter major, race, religion, sexual orientation, what I have in common with many other Rice students is that I am American. The American culture is about working to achieve. I have worked hard my whole life and am so grateful that I have because my hard work has given me the opportunity to apply to Rice. I will bring this culture of appreciation for hard work to Rice. I know that every student that goes to Rice only got there through hard work. I am going to continue working hard to ensure that I can reach the goals I have set for myself.
Not many people get to experience the many cultures that I have grown up with. I can roll my Rs when I speak Spanish. I am not embarrassed to sing Karaoke, even though I have never had a voice lesson in my life. And I associate fall with the beginning of football season. Every trait is influenced by my cultures. Respect from my Mexican culture, generosity from my Filipina culture and hard work from my American culture, have all formed the perspective that I will bring to Rice University.