Being the "other"

 For this experiment of being the other, I went to two different markets. I went to Rancho Markets and The Asian Market.

This was a weird experience for me. I felt really alone. There was music playing on a loud speaker but I didn't know what was being said. Most of the things at Rancho Market where labeled in spanish so I didn't know what exactly things where, luckily there were English subtitles to a lot of things. I felt alone and helpless. I could really sense that others were treating everybody like friends except for me. It took a lot of time for anybody to say anythings to me, finally a stock man smiled at me and gave me a nod, like how you doing. This made me feel better and more in place. There were a lot of hispanics that would just come and go, like I would at a normal supermarket, yet i didn't really know how to act, where to find things, and what to do.

At the Asian Market, things were really different, there weren't very many people there but, the employees would talk to me. Here there were a lot of different items, that aren't really at our regular supermarkets.

This experience reminded me a lot of the beginning of my mission. I didn't really know what to say and felt really antsy inside. Something that I helped open my eyes, is the fact that both of these markets where very small and I felt lost inside of them, I could only imagine how these cultures feel shopping in a Wal*Mart or Smith's.

As I didn't really know how to act and how to act, I could imagine a student that doesn't feel at home, in the classroom could have a hard time participating or contributing to the discussion, if he or she feels alone. This experience really opened my eyes.