Train go Sorry - Leah Hager Cohen

I am a hearing student (or deaf student) assigned the book Train Go Sorry in my Introduction to Humanities Class. Other readings assigned in this class include several essays from the book My California. In both books and film, we examined the cultures of California that form a microcosm of the U.S.; and the U.S. forms a microcosm of the world.

The book we read, Train Go Sorry, is a book set in the Lexington School for the Deaf, located in Queens, New York The Author, Leah Hager Cohen, tells of her life, how she was a part of the school, how life was like growing up where she was the outsider, a person with the ability to hear, she was the different one. Her parents have, for as long as she knows, worked at the school, her father Oscar being Superintendent and the family also making residence at the school. Her family has been involved with the Lexington School for the Deaf since nearly the beginning, when her Grandfather, Sam Cohen, was a student as well. The Cohen family had came from Russia in the early part of the 20th century, and while at Ellis Island, his family was able to hide the fact that he was Deaf (if found, authorities could have sent them back to Russia). Her Grandmother was also Deaf, and had met Sam after graduation on a boardwalk where it was common for deaf groups to get together. Leah is very fluent in ASL, American Sign Language, and as she tells us throughout the book, she is of the hearing world.

I had never heard of the term "Train Go Sorry". It was something new to me, it didn't even make sense at first. When I first got the book, it didn't catch me to look on the back, which had the definition, which meant "missing the boat". It was still hard for me to get, until reading further into the book. James Taylor, also a student at Lexington, gives us good examples, sadly, of the term "Train Go Sorry". From the situations with his brother in jail, not being able to talk to him again, because of court, to a situation in the train station when a man approached him and asked about a train, only for James to just stare at him, not knowing how to react. It is not his fault though, he has a handicap, it is still something that occurs to him periodically. Another of the main characters in the story is Sofia "Sofa" Normotov. As far as her situation, I think she had one of the biggest moments overcoming "Train Go Sorry", by having her Bat Mitzvah, something that she did not want at first. Being Deaf, and raised in a Communist country, she was not able to practice her faith at her school, not learn about it until she came to Lexington. She overcame her fears, and showed the strength it took to make a decision like that, and seemed to have fun at it.

Leah Hager Cohen, Author, Student, wants to be part of this world. The book is seen through her view, but at some points to tells it in the "Shoes" of other students. She was born hearing. Both her parents were born hearing. It seemed throughout the entire story though, she did not belong in that world, she wanted to be a member of the Deaf world, she wants to belong to a group. But later on in life she does find herself, entering NYU at the age of 16. She later worked as a Sign Interpreter for 2 years, before becoming a writer.

One of the main things that stood out to me happened near the end of chapter 7, when James has a chance meeting with another young individual. The young man asks "The uptown number one?" James has no answer for this, he cannot understand the man. The man may think bad of him, maybe thinking he is ignoring him, but James doesn't know what to do. This is something that I had seen far too often at my old job. They had employed Deaf people before, and i had come to communicate with them whenever I had the opportunity. I do not sign, do not know how, but there are ways without having to speak. Whenever a customer would approach the man that I would communicate with, he would point to his ears. People wouldn't understand why a place would employ him, but I never thought twice about it. He was one of the best at the job, always came into work, never late. It's something that none of us really could understand, I guess the closest would be going to a country not knowing anything, the language, the customs, but still, that is a very rough comparison.

I learned so much about the Deaf community in this book, much that can be useful info for others. The first thing i learned was that there was a difference between American Sign Language and other countries. I guess it was ignorance on my part, but I thought if it was Sign Language, it was universal. Be it British, Spanish, Russian, something that I learned. I did not know that before, when schools were taught, teachers were not allowed to sign. I can't comprehend this. Does the teacher just expect the students too sit all day, and learn nothing. They can communicate too. Learning about the Cochlear implants was interesting, after reading about it, how James had one, I had to get more info on it. As most websites call it, "A bionic Ear". An implant to help Deaf people hear, sending a sensation. I learned about the Deaf struggles in the early part of the 20th century, something that many groups had to go through, but I did not think that those with handicaps would have too. And finally, I learned about the Lexington School for the Deaf itself. A wonderful place, it gives hope to people who otherwise might not feel comfortable in other situations. I looked at the website for the real school, its great that it is still open, the staff has changed, the students change, but the message stays the same.

Deaf West Theatre

This clip is about the Big River play, a Huckleberry Finn story, and there singing portion of the song. Some of the song is hard to understand, I know they are trying there best, and I think it is cool that they are also signing along with the song, helping me learn a few motions.

Marlee Matlin Dancing with the Stars

This video was about Marlee Matlin, the actress, and her performance on Dancing with the Stars. It showed that she, even though Deaf, can do anything as long as she puts her mind to it. And the best part was she did not just show up and get eliminated, she lasted 6 weeks into the show, proving doubters wrong, and opening the door for possibly others in similar situations.

Indiana Visual Arts Day

This seemed like a great day for the Deaf community of Indiana. There was painting, dancing, theater plays, clay molding, so many things going on. It seems that when events come together, It usually leaves certain groups out, but with this, it wouldn't matter if you were from the hearing world or the Deaf world, you could appreciate what was happening.

Waiting for the World to Change

This is a great music video, one that I had never heard of. It gives a great message about the Deaf community, there contributions to society, where they are and where they are headed. Some of the things to talk about, the rake incident. I remember this story, hearing about it on 20/20. It was horrific then, and it still makes me cringe when I hear about it. The police mishandling at its worst. The other that really stood out was the part where the judge was screaming at the man. I couldn't believe it. And watching the video, seeing the Deaf man motion, I can't believe that. The judge had to know that he was Deaf, but it just amazes me that it happened.

The final thoughts of mine on this assignment was that it was my favorite assignment of the semester. We are all human beings, but all of us have our differences. You can be from the hearing world, deaf world, blind, young, old, it doesn't matter. We can appreciate the fact that we all have our differences, and acknowledge our different cultures. The Deaf world can do just about whatever we can do, in some cases do it better, and not have to hide the fact that they are Deaf anymore. Reading this book, I didn't think I would like this. I thought that "My California" was going to be better. I was wrong. My California was good for what it was, but it was really about one thing, one place. California. Train Go Sorry was something that everyone can relate too. Everyone has at least been around, or knows a Deaf person. Not everyone has been to California, not everyone can relate to Cal trans and Seal Beach.

Week 5 Due 7/16 Thurs

The first area featured in the reading was actually many, and they were all attributed to the workers of Caltrans. Hector Tobar wrote of the vast freeway system he experienced growing up in Southern California, and his writing was an "ode" to them, something that stayed with him for his entire life, and shaped him.

Caltrans was formed in 1895 in Sacramemto, California. The building of the Pasadena Freeway was the first freeway west of the Mississippi River, and Caltrans was also the first to build a four level interchange. Most all of the structures that Tobar mentions, from the Santa Ana Freeway to the Hollywood boulevard onramp can be attributed to Caltrans.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Department_of_Transportation

http://www.dot.ca.gov/

Seal Beach was the place that Edward Humes wrote of in "My California". There was no town in America left like it, the last of its kind in his eyes. Humes makes people from outside the area who read his excerpt want to visit the small orange county town. He had many vivid memories of the area, and was able to express his feelings through his writings of the beach town.

The town was originally known as "Anaheim Landing", because of its close proximity with Anaheim, and it being where boats would land. In the early part of the 20th century, it was called Bay City, but finally on October 25, 1915, it was officially named Seal Beach. The census from the year 2000 put the population at 24,157. It is located in Orange County, next to Long Beach and San Pedro Bay. It is home to the 2nd largest wooden pier in California, and was built in 1935. Many famous surf spots are in Seal Beach, including the Pier and Stingray Bay. American Pie 2, tv series Greek and the Wonder Years, as well as the 1923 version of The 10 commandments all had film locations in Seal Beach.

I found this video, its like a promotional package for seal beach, people deciding on where to go to and getting info from different things to do in the town.

http://www.visitusa.com/california/beaches/orange-county/seal-beach.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal_Beach,_California

http://www.ci.seal-beach.ca.us/

Matt Warshaw's "Surfacing" was a vivid description of the surf culture around Northern California, specifically surf city Santa Cruz. It was the only story that our group read that was not about Southern California, and it was a welcome writing, seeing that most of us can relate better to the areas described, Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz, San Francisco. This was my favorite story, it had a great story to it and great background info.

Santa Cruz is located in Santa Cruz County, and is south of San Francisco. The population as of the 2000 census was 54,778. Before becoming a California city, it was an area populated by the Ohlone Native American tribe. It was also the place for the famous Mission Santa Cruz, the place the Spanish used to convert the Natives early on. It became a California town in 1866. It took some damage during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, damaging railways, and other structures, but not until 1989 when Santa Cruz would be hit by the near bye Loma Prieta earthquake would the old structures be destroyed.

Warshaw references Surf City, which has to be true for mainland U.S.A. The first surfing in any city in California took place in 1885 when 3 princes from Hawaii surfed the San Lorenzo River. Many of the premier surfing competitions are still held here, including O'Neill Cold Water Classic and the International Long board Association contest.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Cruz,_Californi

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_Santa_Cruz

Thomas Steinbeck, son of one of the greatest writers of the 2oth century, John Steinbeck, who's writings include The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men, was born in Manhattan, but after reading his entry in "My California", you know that his home, forever and always, is California. He references the origins of the name for the state, how the Spanish at first thought it to be the location of the mythical city of gold, or a western version of "Atlantis". He writes of his Grandmother, Olive Steinbeck, who shaped his views of the myths of California.

Sasquatch was something that he wrote that the locales had great respect for. Researching this item, it is hard to get information for the area that Steinbeck talked about, Big Sur being the only home of Sasquatch. Looking on the Internet, it seems farther North to be the alleged home of the giant man like monster.

Steinbeck also referenced a phenomenon called the Dark Watchers, something that I had never heard of. But looking into it, his Dad also wrote about these strange beings in one of his poems, "Flight". The Dark Watchers are said to be giant phantoms who are only seen at twilight, and usually do not attack people, just stand staring at the sunset. No one seems to know what they are staring at, but few people have been able to view them.

http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=179

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Steinbeck

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Steinbeck

10 things learned about from Classmates

1. Tarissa - I like how you wrote about the bad drivers, because when I had gone to Texas in April, I noticed the same thing. There good would definitely be "our" bad.

2. Danelle - Made me realize I had missed something in my readings about Steinbeck: "Steinbeck tells a story about a man named Montalvo". I guess I missed that part, I thought Montalvo was a city.

3. Katherine - Where there were once multiple fig orchards, there are now Wal-marts and McDonald's. This is so true, and not just for the Fresno area, but everywhere.

4. Aloma - I also had not heard of the Lower Owens River, but did a quick wikipedia search, seems like a great place to get to see.

5. Marylou - I did not know the exact area of the Dark Watchers, Santa Lucia Mountains. Thank you.

6. Brian - "His first wave, the one that broke his board was on the cover of Surfer and the front section of the New York Times Magazine and was called the "worst wipe out or at least the worst looking wipe out, in surfing history." Making the New York Times, especially as a surfer from a small Northern California town, that is a big deal.

7. Nicole - Had a great quote about Southern California driving, and I have to say I completely agree. I can remember being down in Orange County going from Anaheim, to Westminster, to Long Beach, wherever we went, and never remembering, or never knowing when a new city started, where one ended, i couldn't remember there being any signs. "I take the 101 30 miles from Cloverdale to Santa Rosa (and back) for school every day, and going down to SoCal makes that feel like a piece of cake; a walk in the park compared to the hours I would spend in the car if I had to commute the 60 miles a day in Southern California."

8. Torri - I have been to Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, all those up scale areas of Southern California. I remember my friend telling me, this was a place where "look to your left, you see a Ferrari, look to your right, you'll see a Lamborghini". I was still appalled by the comments by the locals toward the new family: "people thought his family to be the landscapers, and when he said he didn’t speak Spanish, the neighbor was surprised! He lived there in the community, and people still thought they were “workers”.

9. Lemlem - My favorite format for this project. I read through every area covered twice. Thank you for the info on Playland, sounds like it was a good place for the youth in the early 20th century.

10. Preston - I found out through him that Beverly Hills does not have dumps, cemeteries, or even a hospital. I guess they want to keep the area as upscale as possible.

Week 4 due 7/9 Group 2

Ode to Caltrans - By Hector Tobar

When I first opened the book to read the title, I thought it would be about Caltrans and its employees, but it is in fact about the freeway system that they are responsible for in Southern California, and how all these roads helped shape Hector Tobar's dreams about traveling in his youth and early adulthood. He references much of Southern California, from Los Angeles to South Whittier, Santa Monica boulevard, to Grant Elementary School, where Tobar had attended as a youth. One of the things that caught my eye in the story was when he had talked about his parents, and how they were immigrants coming from Guatemala. During the early years of their arrival, his mother was pregnant with him, but had no form of transportation, did not believe that the bus system would let a woman in labor on. A helpful neighbor ended up driving his parents to the hospital, and that is how he came to be. Reading that part of the story reminded me of my mothers parents, coming from Colombia, to a new place, strange environment, having to come upon a steady living situation, transportation, it makes me appreciate what I have now.
My favorite quote was on page 54: The Car twisted in the air like a gyroscope before landing right side up, its driver staring out at me, his eyes empty in shock. I mouthed the words "Are you okay?"
One of the things I learned about this was when he referenced the dead Caltrans workers, and how there were so many signs for them that they had to start being taken down. It must have been a very dangerous job, then and even now still.


Montalvo, myths and dreams of home - By Thomas Steinbeck

Steinbeck wrote about California, and it's origins, starting in Spain, the early visions of it being the western world's equivalent of "Atlantis". In the beginning, he had written about California, and I especially liked how he said he had not wrote of it prior because he had been lazy, but because he didn't want to share the wonders of California with outsiders. My favorite part was near the end, when he brought up the myths of California, the Sasquatch, and the Dark Watchers. It makes me think of stuff you hear about on television, or in science fiction, or from crazy neighbors you might have growing up. As we progress, these become more and more dismissed as false, but if so many people write of them in the past, can they really be so fake?
My favorite quote in this story was on page 67: "The high mountains, for instance, are the solitary habitat of the great Sasquatch, a giant man-like creature well known and respected by numberless generations of native peoples."
I never knew about the Spanish connection between California and its name. Maybe it was just something I never thought to research, or something that was taught to me, but lost over time.


The last little beach town - Edward Humes

This story tells us of Seal Beach, a very small, tight knit community in Southern California, near the city of Long Beach. He makes the town come to life with a vibrant description, making it sound like the ideal town to get away from the stresses of big city life in Southern California, i mean, he makes me want to go down and take a visit. It really does have that small town, everyone knows each other, grow up together, help each other out feeling. One of the story's that stood out to me was when the Meters were to be put up on Main Street, and how the town people were so against it, they protested, and city council decided against the idea. How many places can we think of that don't have Meters? None come to my mind. But his description does remind me of a town in Northern California, Bolinas. A very small town, if you hadn't been there, its easy to live your whole life around here and never know it exists. I had visited many times when I was younger, back then there was no fast food, there were 2 restaurants in the town, but the area was beautiful, and it was a very small, tight knit community. This place immediately came to my mind when reading.
My favorite quote, on page 70, from this reading, was based on the fact that he mentioned my workplace, Starbucks, and he is right, where is there not a Starbucks: "We leave our cars at home and stroll to the not-Starbucks coffee shop, amble to the Gap-less and Banana Republic-free Main Street, walk our kids to school or simply put one foot in front of the other until we reach the beach or market or the playground."
What I learned through this reading was about Seal Beach itself. I had never heard of the area, a couple years ago I had spent 3 weeks in Southern California, I was within 10 minutes of this area, and never knew it was there. Sounds like a great place to stop on another trip.


Surfacing - Matt Warshaw

The story starts with what appears to be a tragedy, the death of a very young Northern California surfer by the name of Jay Moriarity. But he surfaced, surviving for over 20 seconds under the water, which is how the title came about. The Surf Culture in Northern California is depicted greatly in this story, and hot spots in the sport are mentioned including Santa Cruz, Half Moon Bay, and San Francisco. He also writes of the history of Half Moon Bay, from when it was a hot spot for whalers in the early 20th century, to how it was a popular bootleggers spot during the prohibition era of the United States. I thougth of all the readings, this was my favorite. For one it talks about many areas of Northern California which I have been able to visit, so I can relate to it more then the others. Also, for the surfing culture, my father was into that scene, and pushed me into by the age of 13. I had lost interest quickly, but I found it always great to spectate.
This quote was chosen from page 83, because I have friends from Hawaii who will disagree with the sentence forever: Santa Cruz, meanwhile, fifty-eight miles south of Half Moon Bay, had a strong claim as the world's greatest surf city."
I learned in this article that many of the greatest athletes in the sports heyday did in fact all live in Northern California, and were regulars in the waters up here. Not many other sports stars in this area still live and play here.


The Similarities are all very easy to see, and not so easy to see. California, the obvious. All of there experiences growing up and living in this great state. But that is where the similarities of all these stories end. One writes of freeways, almost as an escape from the life he had. Another writes of a town he had lived in, his paradise, where he had wanted nothing to change. Thomas Steinback wrote of Spain, and the early foundations of California, and the final was about the surf culture in Northern California. Some in my opinion are more interesting then others, but reading them gives you more of a perspective on where we live, where it was, and where it is going.

10 items from students:

1. Danelle - She stated that she had trouble finding similarities between Freire and the movie, and I had just as much trouble.

2. Marylou - wrote of how the story can be felt no matter where you are, and I could not agree more, love will find a way. All have had some kind of feeling of love.

3. Nikki - I like how you wrote about communication between the 2: ". If Fermina and Florentino had used dialogue to express their feelings they may have had clearer views of what they truly wanted earlier on in their lives."

4. Tarissa - " You must always follow your heart and pursue happiness." The risk is always worth it for the reward of love, I agree with this statement.

5. Katherine - Great line about connecting Freire and the story: "In Love in the Time of Cholera, the differences between upper, middle, and lower classes are prevalent throughout the entire story. Freire longed for a world that transcended the boundaries of class, where all are equal and have the same opportunities.

6. Hilary - I like how she wrote that the doctor would never have loved Fermina like Florentino did and showed by cheating for 3 months.

7. Chris - ” It reminds us that other problems manifest in our lives because of our unfulfilled ambitions: “ Great line about Florentino and the book itself.

8. Vanessa - "“Love in the Time of Cholera is a novel by Nobel Prize winning Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez that was first published in Spanish in 1985". Yes, love this fact. I'm Colombian, so I have tool.

9. Kimmie - "it’s undeniable that they both dedicated their lives to being devoted to what they loved, Freire with his love of education, and Florentinothe with his love for Fermina." Very good point brought up, I did not think of this aspect.

10. Aloma - "How many people could love and wait for this person for over fifty plus years?" That's what I'm wondering, if I have to wait longer then 30 min for someone to get ready, I've already lost interest.

Week 3

LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA:

This movie is based off the novel by the great Colombian Author and Nobel prize winner in Literature, Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It was released in 1985, and the movie was filmed in 2007. It is set in a Caribbean city, in the early part of the 20th century. The main plot, in my very short summary, the movie is about, what some might call obsession, others might call love, of the male character Florentino for Fermina. She feels that by 21 she should be married, which is common practice in Colombia, all of my female cousins were married there by the age of 20. She meets a Doctor, and decides he is the one that can take care of her, he can support her. Over a long period of time, meeting women, hooking up, but being pushed away again and again, he still feels as strong for her as he had when he had first met her. After years of being apart, only being able to communicate through letters,being rejected, he finally gets to meet her one last time. They are much older, but it seems there bond is much stronger at that age, both realizing what they had wanted all of there lives. The movie isn't too long, I was able to get it on my Netflix account fairly quick, I would not have necessarily chosen this, but it was good, the story was good.

This story transcends borders, because love transcends borders. People can understand and relate to wanting to love someone, something, but being rejected. It doesn't have to be over long periods of time, we've all had our hearts broken at least once, wanted someone that we just couldn't have. But with this, Florentino never gave up. His entire life was spent loving her from a far, sending letters, waiting for the moment to show her that he is the one. Paulo Freire never gave up on people, the sugarcane workers, they were poor, they were under his status in society, he could have given up on them. He taught them to read and write, he inspired people all over the globe. This is somewhat dealing with what is going on, when a situation seems impossible, there is always a way to rise above it. Paulo did not give up on his people, and Florentino did not give up on his love.




10 Student Ideas from week 2:

1. Tarissa: Wrote that he was a theorist of pedagogy, which is the practice of helping students to achieve critical consciousness. It was developed by Friere himself.

2. Marylou: stated in 1962 Friere, when he was the head of a literacy program, taught 300 sugarcane workers to read and write in only 45 days. This gave these people the right to vote because law in Brazil says if you cannot read or write you can't vote. In my opinion this has to be something that all nations do, probably does happen. People not being informed, there is always the possibility of corruption. This lets them have a bigger say, and I like the fact that he helped the less fortunate.

3. Danelle: Wrote that he "formed his beliefs from the classical views of Plato, but also modern Marxist ideas as well as anti colonist thinkers. Freire studied Law at a University, but focused his attention on philosophy, more specifically phenomenology, and the psychology of language".
He had a wide variety of influences, and this is what led to his views and his studies on people.

4. Nicole: Said that Freire’s educational model more closely resembled a democracy, as opposed to a dictatorship, where children were “active learners”. He always wanted what was best for the learner, and he thought that both the teacher and learner were learning from each other.

5. Rachel Hansen: Told us that he experienced a time of poverty himself during the Great Depression, Freire developed a concern for the poor, and was motivated to work to improve their prospects through education. He knew what it was like to be poor, and so he wanted to help as many as possible avoid that fate.

6. Katherine: Stated Freire was against the “banking concept of education” where a student is forced to receive, memorize, and repeat what they learn. This is how, for me, how I learn somethings even today. If I want to get better at free throws in basketball, though he was against this banking, I would learn how to do it, memorize my patterns of success, and repeat. Easy as that.

7. Chris Wagner: Had a very great line when I read his; "I believe that anyone could be the next Einstein, Alexander the Great, or Barack Obama. Genetically, some family lines are predisposed to brilliant off-spring and some of those do rise to the top of society, but sometimes a little extra background radiation at conception, pure determination, and a good teacher can do more than just a bank account with a few extra zeroes". I have to agree fully with his statement, different factors do come into play for sure, socio-economic status, your development, many other factors.

8. Hilary: Said that "From Freire's efforts Brazil approved the creation of cultural circles across the country, but they were soon after dismissed and Freire was imprisoned for 70 days". He was considered great from the people, but it just goes to show how some in power wouldn't want more and more voices to be able to speak up.

9. Aloma: Pointed out what one of the workers told Freire when spoken with: "You talk from a background of food, comfort, and rest. The reality is that we have one room, no food, and have to make love in front of the children." I couldn't imagine what these people were going through, what that feeling would be like. My family is from South America, I have family very close to where Freire taught the workers.

10. Marissa: Said one of the most important things was how Freire lived, very simple. This was so important, because, if your trying to do something, you have to be able to relate it to something, as do the people, if they are living in huts, and he is living in a mansion, that is not necessarily going to be a good comparison for those workers.