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＞ＴＯＰ ＞ＵＷＰ ≫ ２００５春NEWS JOURNAL
２００５春NEWS JOURNAL
Vol. 2, No. 4, 05 Apr 2005
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New Britain, Connecticut, USA
Sereh Adegbenro, United Kingdom; Tomi Otudeko, Nigeria/United
Kingdom; Kara Claeys, Belgium; and Silvana Jud, Switzerland play in the snow in
New Britain, Connecticut
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Follow the Tour
North America
New Britain, Connecticut, USA
7 Mar 2005 - 13 Mar
2005
New Britain is located in central Connecticut, just southwest of
Hartford. This community started out as a farming community and eventually grew
into an industrial force in the region, attracting people from around the world.
Today it has a population of 70,000.
There are many museums, theaters, and professional musical ensembles in the
city. New Britain's business community is a rich mix of manufacturing, medical,
high-tech industry and small to mid-sized businesses. Central Connecticut State
University also has proved to be a good partner for business development and
support through their main campus and CCSU's Institute for Technology and
Business Development, located in the heart of downtown.
Click here to read more about the WorldSmart Crew's visit to
New Britain, Connecticut, USA.
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Joanna Nelson from the United States interacts
with the people at the YWCA
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Community Impact Day
Girl Power ... Or Is It?
By Meghan Lazier, USA
When preparing for the
Community Impact Day in New Britain, Connecticut, I volunteered to help lead the
girls' empowerment program at the local YWCA. As our WorldSmart crew began to
plan the activities, we quickly realized our cultural differences made the
project planning even more complicated. What started as a meeting to plan the
program agenda ended as a discussion as to whether girl power is a positive or
negative concept.
I have always identified part of my social identity with my gender. Since my
social identity revolves around this role, I perceive being identified as a
woman as a positive label. I believe that as a group, women are connected by
many of the shared experiences that are based on gender.
Women can benefit by sharing common experiences. When I suggested that we
discuss issues that many women can identify with, including body image,
friendships, and cliques, I was surprised that other females in the WorldSmart
crew did not approve. Some of the other WorldSmart women did not necessarily
identify these issues with membership as a woman. Some group members worried
that if we talked about these issues that it would be telling the girls that
they have problems. They feared that we would be communicating that they cannot
succeed on an equal playing field as men. Many of the other females felt that it
was inappropriate to even separate males and females in an after school program.
We began to debate whether it is more important to empower the individual or
a gender; and if it was possible to do both. As our meeting went on, we did not
plan any activities but did have a lengthy discussion about feminism and
empowerment.
I believe that the other members of the group have social identities that are
not as strongly tied to gender. They felt that women are no different than men
other than biological differences. However, they believed that these differences
did not lead to different life experiences. How strongly our perception of our
self-identity was tied to gender may have determined how much we identified with
that group.
In the end, we still had to plan activities for the girl's group, and so we
decided to foster conversations about women's issues and create empowering
activities. While the project was important to our experience, I felt that the
planning session was the most powerful on my cultural perceptions. I had no idea
that the concept of girl power could be interpreted so differently.
Experiencing cultural differences firsthand and then being able to reflect on
them through theory has made my experience more meaningful. I have learned that
almost any idea or concept can vary from culture to culture, but by working
towards mutual understanding can overcome any barriers.
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Regional Learning
Lessons from a Visit to the
Capitol in Hartford, Connecticut
By Mehmet Baha, Cyprus
Two years ago, if someone told me that I would
observe American politics in a local government, I would hardly believe that
person.
On March 8 many of us in the WorldSmart group had a guided tour in the
Connecticut Capitol, which is located in Hartford, Connecticut. This visit
taught me significant lessons about American politics and culture.
Surprisingly, at the entrance to the building there was almost no security
check, no detectors or equipment. The officer there later told me that the
Connecticut Capitol is the place of the public and it should be very easy for
people to access it, so the security checks people only by eye-contact, not by
any equipment.
Our first visit was to a legal office building, which is connected to the
Connecticut Capitol. We went inside the room where legal committees meet and
discuss relevant issues. The tour guide emphasized that in certain times
citizens in Connecticut can attend these committee meetings and have their
voices heard.
Some sections of the capitol are like a museum. For instance, we saw the
internal side of the dome of the building. The height and the design of the dome
with its fantastic handicraft are very amazing. Then we learned about the
history of a statue there. The statue is Nathan Hale, a influential person from
Connecticut who had devoted his life to educating people. He was famous for
saying, "I regret that I have but one life to give for my country." He was later
killed by the British in the Revolution War. The statue represents his heroism
and dedication to country and community. What is hard to understand for me is
that so many Americans were killed by the British during the Independence
struggle, and this did not cause hatred at large towards the British. Now the UK
is the very close ally of the United States. Is this not an interesting point?
Regarding the US politics, the system of checks and balances is strengthened
by the presence of Senate and the House of Representatives which form the
legislative branch. There, we had the chance to go inside the halls of the
Senate and the House of Representatives where democrats have more seats than
Republicans. Coming from a country which has significant problems about power
sharing, it was noteworthy to see how disparate groups (i.e. Black Americans,
Hispanics, so forth) are well represented in the Connecticut Capitol. This
diversity is seen as richness in the USA.
Coming to the Connecticut Capitol and not talking with Senators would be
disappointing for us. Despite their busy schedule, three Senators from
Connecticut spared some time for us. Unlike some cultures where members of
parliament or senators feel superior over others, these senators seemed very
friendly and open. One African American senator, seeming more like an artist
than a senator in his shiny, impressive clothes, said, "In politics, you can
never have permanent friends or permanent enemies." That is, one time that
person can support your policies and another time he/she may not.
One student asked about homeless people in Connecticut, who number about
33,000 out of a total population of around 3.5 million. The other two senators
talking to us stated that the state should provide more funds in fighting
against it. This implies more state intervention in the USA, the country known
as the most liberal (ideologically) in the world.
In addition to that, during his talk one of the senators mentioned "our
engagement in Iraq." It was quite interesting for me, because outside of the
United States, "US invasion" is the phrase that is mainly used.
This is part of the WorldSmart experience, to be exposed to different
perspectives and to come into contact with a wide variety of people from the
homeless to senators, and from teachers to business leaders.
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(L to R) Hugo Ariza, Mexico; Gizem Gurson, Turkey; Mehmet Baha,
Cyprus; Lin Wang, China; John Nguyen, Australia; and Katie Caylor from the
United States on the way to Goldman Sachs in New York
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Personal Development
Students View Trading Floor
At Goldman Sachs New York
By Lin Wang,
China
Five students -
Memet Baha, Cyprus; Gizem Gurson, Turkey; Katie Caylor,
United States; John Nguyen from Australia and I and two staff members,
Allison Myers from the United States and Hugo Ariza from Mexico,
visited Goldman Sachs' headquarters in New York on March 10. We visited two Up
with People alumni, Kevin Crist, who currently works with Goldman Sachs New
York, and John Fedynich, a successful movie location manager.
Kevin gave us a tour around Goldman Sachs. We had an opportunity to have a
look at the trading floor where the brokers work. "During the economic booms,
you actually hear people shout 'give me a four'! It seems everybody is a
millionaire," said Kevin. "Basically you can tell how the market is performing
from the condition of this room." The fiftieth floor also has a wonderful
bird's-eye view over the New York harbor, which is almost parallel to that of
the Empire State Building.
Kevin and John both talked about their current lives and how their Up with
People experience helped shape and develop their life and careers. They both
traveled with Up with People for six years. John was actually introduced into
the film industry by an alumni. They both acknowledged that this experience was
very influential in their lives, and the alumni are like a big family who they
might count on wherever they go and whatever they do. Their words set us
thinking; we felt that everyone is connected to this program in their unique
way, either physically or spiritually, but we have unity, and we are powerful.
Personally, I have long been interested in Goldman Sachs, and this was a
wonderful opportunity to see the company for myself and experience the working
atmosphere there. Both the staff and students found the trip really rewarding.
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The WorldSmart crew has fun at the bowling alley!
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Time Off for Fun
WorldSmart Bowling in the '50`s !!!
By Naina Goulart, Brazil
Only WorldSmart
participants can understand how the activities in the program can take our
energy away. Thinking of that, the staff arranged a special occasion for the
crew so we could socialize and enjoy each other's company outside our regular
activities. On March 10 in New Britain, Connecticut, we all dressed up in 1950`s
attire and went bowling as part of the 50s Bowling Night.
Most of the outfits were provided by the host families, either from their
personal clothes or from the Salvation Army, where everybody could get it really
cheap. When it finally came the time of everybody getting together wearing their
50`s clothes we could only hear laughs in the room. It was amazing to see how
people got into it.
When we finally got into the bowling alley, we were split into the teams that
were previously chosen by the crew, and the fun began! It was undeniable that
the group was attracting everybody's attention, whether for our fabulous outfits
or for the great time we were having.
Some people got many strikes, some people did not…some people did not drop a
pin at all (I assume I was one of them), but that was not what mattered at all.
The 50`s Bowling Night was indescribable; it was a great opportunity of doing a
regular activity in a different way, and most important of all, enjoy ourselves.
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Scarborough, Maine, USA |
Follow the Tour
North America
Scarborough, Maine, USA
14 Mar 2005 - 20 Mar 2005
Scarborough, Maine, located in southern Maine, was named for the same
town in England.
The settlement of Scarborough was one of the earliest made on the New England
coast. John Jocelyn, writer, botanist and English nobleman, came to Scarborough
in 1663 to visit his brother Henry Jocelyn, who had settled on Prout's Neck. His
visit lasted eight years. His writings offer the best history of that time. He
wrote that the province of Maine had plenty of magistrates, husbandmen and
planters, but very few skilled craftsmen.
The town incorporated in 1658, and today as a population of 17,000.
Scarborough's sandy beaches and the rocky coastline were made famous by a local
artist, Winslow Homer.
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