Safe Zone

This week in cultural anthropology we broke off into small groups and met with safe zone. Safe zone is a group at UAB that is active in creating a safe place for all different kinds of people to feel comfortable being exactly who they are. When you join the group you agree to be supportive of cultural diversity and the needs of GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender). Although I have several friends who are gay, this experience with class taught me a lot. We got to meet with a student, Shibli, who is gay and a woman, Amy, who works in admissions who has been married to a woman for 9 years. Everyone was allowed to ask questions to the two panelists and they responded with what they thought. One question was about gay marriage and whether or not Amy and Shibli thought that the majority of Americans supported gay marriage and were just afraid to admit it openly. Amy and Shibli both agreed that they thought that this was true...it seems that when confronted, many Americans will say that they support gay marriage and even adoption by gay couples but then they will deny this to others. I learned also that some gay couples decide that instead of adoption they will use a surrogate to carry a baby for them. Amy said the only issue she sees with this is that only one person in the couple can have a biological connection to the child and this may bother some couples. Another question asked was how does being in the GLBT community affect your religion. Shibli explained that it has affected how he feels about his religion. He has not yet come out to his parents and is not sure how they will react. They are Muslim and he has felt disconnected with his religion since he figured out that he was gay. Amy said that it has had no affect on her spirituality. I know from having gone to many different churches that the GLBT is only accepted certain places. We learned in our sessions that statistically educated people re more tolerant of GLBT than uneducated people.
Another huge topic that we talked about was if we thought the gay rights movement now is equivalent to the civil rights movement of the 60's. I think that the two are very similar but at the same time they are very different. Obviously the civil rights movement was about race and the gay rights movement is about sexual preference. Another difference is the severity of physical abuse that the people of the civil rights movement went through was much worse than the violence toward GLBT today. However this is not to say that the GLBT does not have to face violence toward their community on a regular basis. Amy told us of several instances of violence against students at UAB. It is truly sad and appalling that one student would lash out on another student simply because they have a different sexual preference. Also another disturbing fact of intolerance toward GLBT are places called conversion camps. These conversion camps are set up to turn gay kids straight again. Obviously these people who created the camps and the parents who send their children to them do not understand that some people are just made different than others. Those people do not see that it is no big deal. They see embarrassment, shame, and confusion as to why their child is not like them.
What I hope for this world is tolerance among people. A person should not be defined by their sexual preference, their color, or anything like that. A person should be defined by their personality, the things they love, the things that make them who they are. Yes a persons sexual preference and also their color is a part of them too but someone should not be known as "Ted the gay guy". I hope that as students at UAB, the 3rd most diverse collage in the country, that we can set an example of tolerance and create a place where every person feels accepted.

Machu Picchu

No, not the place in Peru (I wish!). Machu Picchu is a traditional Peruvian Restaurant on Valley Avenue next to The Great Wall and Starz. I chose to go to a Peruvian restaurant because it was something completely different than anything I have ever had. I'm not sure really what I was expecting but I was definitely surprised by what I got. When my boyfriend, Ben, and I got there the place was virtually empty aside from the 2 or 3 Latin men in the back playing a game of pool. I heard the place actually turns into a Latin dance club at night so I guess that's when their busy time is. They had Latin music playing in the background and there were decorations on the walls made of llama hair. Also on the walls were pictures of Peru and a few flashy decorations. The 2 women who served us spoke decent English and I loved how excited they got when I used the tiny bit of Spanish that I know. First they bring out the best salsa I have ever had in a restaurant along with tortillas and banana chips (which were also awesome). For an appetizer Ben and I chose Cebiche de Comarones, which is shrimp in lemon and red chile. From what i understand about cibiche is that it is cooked by the marinade and not by heat. It was incredible. It was some of the best shrimp I have had in Birmingham. It was lite, fresh, and zesty. Then for our entrees, since I was doing this to try something new Ben decided he would try something new as well. I chose Cabrito ala Nortena, which is goat with rice and beans. I knew nothing about goat meat before so i was expecting a lighter colored meat with a lite taste. It was actually a very dark color with a very strong rich flavor. It was served over the rice and white beans. This was a mean that I saw was recommended in a review and was well worth trying. To be honest I don't think i will be a regular there but i definitely enjoyed trying something new. So, i can't leave out what Ben ate because I tried it too...Ben had something called Cau-Cau which is Tripe stewed with potatoes and vegetables in yellow sauce. Tripe is cow stomach. Haha yes, COW STOMACH!! I told Ben since I had to try soemthing new that it would be good for him to try something new and different also. Well, that was definitely interesting...I took one bite of this tripe that looked like chopped up bits of fat and I'm sorry to say that I could not even bring myself to swallow it, so I tried to discretely spit in into my napkin. Whats even more sad is that I thought it would actually taste good because the women serving us said they liked it! So basically it was very gelatinous, chewy on the outside and the inside tasted like chewing on a washcloth. Its bizarre taste is indescribable in a nice way. It just wasn't for me! But over all it was a great experience and everything but the tripe was great.

Side Note

On Friday, the Dalai Lama was given the Democarcy Service Award from the United States. He gave a speach from the library of congress in the white house and I thought his speach was fantastic. He addressed sevral issues and how Democracy is the best government to deal with those problems. He was also asked a few questions from the audience that he answered in the end. Dalai Lama for those of you who do not know is a spiritual leader and teacher in Tibette. "Dalai" means "ocean" in Mongolian and "Lama" is the Tibetan equivalent of the Sanskrit word "guru". So, he is the "Ocean Teacher" which means he is a techer who is spiritually as great as the ocean. So, anyway...He was speaking on what he thought democracy was about and he said it is important to listen and respect other people. He said individual freedom and equality is important. He explained that he thinks it is best in his ideal government to rely on the ancient texts of the masters. Also that buddhism teaches you to have respect for others, how to keep calm, to devote human strangth, and how to tell right from wrong. He was asked how he felt about China and he responded by saying that China does not care about Marxism. They are only concerned with money money money. He called China corrupt and said they are a communist body with no communist ideals. The Dalai Lama said he looks at things with a Holistic view to see if something can be done. Lastly he said "WE ALL HAVE SOME CAPACITY, SOME POTENTIAL, IT'S AL IN HOW WE DEDICATE OUR BODY, SPIRIT, AND MIND."