OMG I'm marrying a WHITE GUY!

I know the title is not very PC. Many people don't think about what happens if you marry an "outsider" I grew up very culturally diverse (I tried to be at least) and even though historically Hispanics are considered White, doesn't mean we are the same. There are two different cultures. Hispanic versus White. When you combine the two, its Magical.... lets hope! After I met my Will, I was so happy and in love then it HIT ME! OMG!! Our kids are going to be Half White and Half Mexican. I didn't think anything negative, but it was like a realization, they aren't going to be my entire ethnic composition. Please do not think this is a bad thing, because its not. It was just that reality set in. I guess I assumed, before my realization, that our kids would be brown, like me. Well they may end up being a lighter brown closer to White. Not only am I talking about our children's appearance, I am also talking about how we are going to raise them. Lets be honest Will and I were raised quite differently. When you raise children, you tend to incorporate some of what you were taught into raising them.

Chemistry-- Mixing two chemicals may lead to an EXPLOSION!!

I grew up fairly Americanized, aka White, and I didn't think much about Will's skin color when we met. But as we started to grow as a couple, I started to realize that our perspectives on things are very different. Even though I moved away from my family, I told Will I wanted to move closer to them. He kept telling me, well it all depends on where I get a job at. I was adamant about moving home. His view on family is that you leave them and do your own thing. My view is you stay close so you are able to be near them and visit. So that was an explosion. Over time I think he is starting to see where I am coming from. This was one of the most major explosions/realizations I've had about marrying a white guy. I'm sure there are more to come, but for now that's it.

Happy Tuesday!!

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Racism

Yesterday in class we had a group discussion, Public Conversation Project, on Racism. Let me give some background on my class. We all get a long very well. We all have class together though the entire week. The racial make up of my class is 8 Whites, 6 Blacks, 1 Hispanic (Thats ME!). Where I am located in South Georgia, there isn't much of a Hispanic influence. There are not many Hispanics here and I feel the only real exposure people have to Hispanic culture is when they visit their local Mexican or Cuban Restaurants. When I speak about Hispanic culture in class, I feel like I am teaching my classmates something they have never heard about before. Its a very interesting feeling. We were at the curious question portion of the project. My instructor asked me a curious question, she asked "Rosie, I remember when you were speaking you stated you were a Mexican and not a Mexican-American, why is that?"

My reply was, I feel that I have to say I'm a Mexican since the term Hispanic is an generalized term for, Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Colombians, Mexicans etc. and the term Mexican I use that to specify which subgroup I am under. The reason I don't say I'm Mexican-American because when you start to hyphenate things, people in your subgroup start to think you are turning into a "Gringa" and that you are straying away from your roots." I went on to say that the more generational American you are the more you start blending the two together.

I also discussed the funny looks my fiance (Who is White) and I will get from both Whites and Hispanics. I don't consider us a in interracial couple, but society may. Back in Texas seeing a White and a Hispanic person together is very common. Here in South Georgia, it is a different story.

Tell me what you think about my response? I'd like your opinion and if you have ever been in a situation where you had to be an "Expert" of your own ethnicity?

Thanks!!

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Different Color

Happy Monday!

I've lived in South Georgia for going on 4 years. I like it here. The pace of life is different, its more laid back and I LOVE COUNTRY FOOD! Its soo GOOD! But besides that there is something I have noticed since I've lived here. Its that there aren't many people that are the same color as me. Most that are the same color do not speak English. This has been interesting because most people who see me, start making assumptions especially about the language part of it. As stated earlier my Spanish is somewhat limited. When I go into stores, there have been times when the clerk has not said a word to me. However, once I open my mouth and say "Hello," they will start to converse with me, but its like I have to prove that I speak English first.


Not only has the language thing been an issue but also "what I am" has come into question. You are probably wondering "What?" Let me explain... When you first meet someone we automatically start putting people in categories like..


* Male/Female
* Heterosexual/Homosexual
* Race--- Which is funny because this sometimes is tricky.. Not everyone is Black or White, we do have some in-betweens, like Hispanics/Asians..




So when it comes to the Race part I confuse people, and people will go though great strides to FIGURE ME OUT! So great that they will just plain out ask you. I've been asked if I was Hawaiian and Native American. I quickly tell them "No I'm Mexican"


When I lived in Texas, this wasn't the case, I was never asked what I was, I mean SERIOUSLY! It annoys me that I have to explain who I am. Not only have I been asked but I get LOTS of stares. I will walk into a restaurant and my fiance is White and we get looks, as if we are some "Freak Show". That bothers me too. I hate being stared at. I realize I am Brown and am a little different but I am not much different from you. I may be Brown but I grew up as American as you can get, I love American Food, I listen to English Music--Pop, Rock, Top 40's, Christian etc.


I'm not sure if I am singling out myself on purpose or if there is genuinely an issue at hand.


Thoughts??


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Hermanas/Sisters

OH MY GOODNESS! Has this been a week! I posted earlier this week about having a stressful week and let me tell you it has been ROUGH! I moved 45 minutes away from school, so now I'm having to commute and I'm still trying to adjust having to leave 40 minutes earlier than I am used to. I lived 5 minutes from campus previously... The things we do for LOVE!My middle sister celebrated her birthday earlier this week ( LOVE YOU DREA!) and I called her to wish her a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I miss my sisters so much. She just turned 20 which means I'm turning 27 this year.. YIKES!!! My baby sister is just 15 years old.


After I called her I started thinking about sisterhood, sisters do not have to be blood relatives, they can also be best friends. I was taught growing up that your family is everything, you sacrifice everything for your family and I hold this to be true for my sisters. Since I am the oldest, I definitely feel this need to protect them. When I was younger, my mom was diagnosed with a Hyperactive Thyroid and so she would come home and just fall asleep. Since I was the oldest, became my duty to take charge and make sure that my sisters and brother were fed, bathed and ready for bed. My summers were dedicated to babysitting my siblings.


I adapted to this role, very easily considering the age difference between us. I did these tasks, with no argument, as I knew that I had to help my mom and so I did it because you do what you have to do to help your family. By my watching my younger siblings I would save my parents money so they didn't have to pay a babysitter. Sometimes it wasn't the most fun, because I would get invited to go with friends to the mall or the movies during the day and I couldn't go because I had to watch my siblings. Looking back at this time in my life I appreciate doing that for my family because it taught me responsibility and also I was able to develop a relationship with my them.


I went home this past Christmas Holiday and my baby sister and brother were home from school, and it was funny to see me jump back into the role of the "Older Sister". We were straightening up the house and I was dictating to them what to do and my brother told me "Why is it that you come home and start telling us what to do..." It was as if I just slipped back into my role as big sis!


I miss them soo much and am sooo thankful for my 2 sisters--Andrea and Adrianna and for my brother-- Anthony too!


Take Care and Until Next Time,

Craziness!

Hello! I haven't had a chance to post a new blog up I plan on posting one this evening. This has been a CRAZY week with school starting back up. I have a 45 minute drive home to think about what to post up!

Hope you are having a GREAT week!!

Spanglish

I grew up not speaking Spanish, I took it in Middle School, High School and College, and I am still not fluent, No Nintendo! I was born and raised in Texas and moved to Georgia 4 years ago. Since living in Georgia, I’ve been asked multiple times if I speak Spanish, not just by native speakers but by others. My usual response is “I am not fluent but I speak a little.” I guess I’d rather be asked then assumed that I do speak Spanish. I think I’ve become more sensitive about this topic since I’ve moved to Georgia. In my part of Texas(Central) , the culture is different. There are more people who are Hispanic and speak English only than there are who speak Spanish only in that area. Here in Georgia its feels as if it is almost assumed that because I am Hispanic I speak Spanish. In a sense here in Georgia I am more of a minority since I am not a first generation Hispanic and I don’t speak Spanish fluently. I wish I was fluent.

Not only am I stereotyped by some non-Hispanics, I am also stereotyped by some Hispanics! Today was spent traveling from Texas back to Georgia. We stopped in Mississippi and there were a group of Hispanic Men, and I was walking up to my fiance, who--is White, and I spoke in English and I felt their eyes on me. I wanted to tell them to STOP STARING, but I didn’t have the guts to do it. This event isn’t just a one time occurrence. A different time, was during our Christmas Break in Texas, my fiance and I went to Hispanic Food Store, called La Michoacana, to buy fajita meat for New Year’s( Since they have this AMAZING seasoned fajita meat!) I had to wait for my number to be called, once it was called I went up to the counter and placed my order in English. After I gave them the initial item I wanted the guy behind the counter started laughing with a co-worker and was looking at me. I felt so weird! I’m not sure if they were laughing at me and maybe I am being too sensitive about it.

This topic goes back to that quote from Selena, I quoted in my first blog post. “You have to be more Mexican than the Mexicans and More American than the Americans both at the same time.” Its hard having to balance between both of these cultures. If you assimilate too much then you are un blanca and if you are too Hispanic then you not an America. Is there a balance without losing too much of each part? I love being a Hispanic/Latina woman,and wouldn’t change it in the world, but at the same time I want to try to find a happy medium.

Hispanics on Television

I was watching Ellen yesterday and I saw that Rico Rodriguez was going to be on her show. Rico Rodriguez plays “Manny” on Modern Family. If you have not seen this show, it is a MUST SEE! It’s hilarious!! Rico is from my home town in Bryan,TX. His father owns a tire shop and it is still in operation. He said on Ellen’s show that he gets a $20.00 allowance a week. I think its awesome that the family is willing to try to keep their kids “grounded”.

I am writing about this not as an extension of what I wrote yesterday, but the number of Latino actors who are becoming more mainstream. Its amazing how far TV has come since the days of I Love Lucy. Its as if Hispanics are becoming more accepted into the world of entertainment. Its like Ricky Ricardo was a pioneer of Latino entertainment. George Lopez raised the acceptance level further; I would call him a modern day Bill Cosby. Its amazing. (I LOVED and still watch the George Lopez show)

Growing up I always wondered where the Latino shows were, besides on Univision or Telemundo. I didn’t speak fluent Spanish and if I tried to watch the Novellas on those channels, I wouldn’t understand what they were saying. It was like the total extreme. During my middle school days the movie Selena debuted. I watched that movie so many times in my freshman in high school Spanish class. Here was this woman who able to break though to Mainstream music. AMAZING!!! Not only that her movie really helped bridge two cultures together. She was able to balance both being Hispanic (Non-native speaking) and American.

Shows like George Lopez or Modern Family aren't so much about Hispanic families, as they are about families who happen to be Hispanic. This, in my opinion, can help increase the acceptance of Hispanics in the United States as well as give young Hispanics role models to look up too, who happen to look like them.

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