Passage #2

The second passage from Cosmopolitanism is 

"The conclusion is obvious enough: the points of entry to cross-cultural conversations are things that are shared by those who are in the conversation. They do not need to be universal; all they need to be is what these particular people have in common. Once we have found enough we share, there is the further possibility that we will be able to enjoy discovering things we do not yet share." (pg. 97)

This quote embodies what I feel is how people become friends- until you find a common ground with a stranger, it is kind of hard to become closer. Finding a similarity between two strangers creates a link, that two people can then build a relationship out of. It is a building block, if you will. As a freshman at UK I have found that the people that I can make an immediate connection with are the ones that I have become the closest to. However the people that I have found immediate common ground with are also very culturally different. I have met people who come from other states, divorced parents, married parents, gays, whoever, but since we made that first connection we have been able to explore our differences and have become closer friends for it. I feel like the quote above speaks for pretty much every person, not just freshmen, it is easier to become friends with someone once you find common ground then you begin to feel more comfortable and a level of trust is created, then you can discuss each other's differences with respect. 

Plus if everyone was the same that would be really lame and no one would really have anything good to talk about.  Then everyone would become "universal", which would be the worst thing to become, it would be like just having a bunch of little clones around with no personality! eww! But the world is not like that (thank god!), so people have plenty to talk about and discus.  

Talking to people from different cultures also makes you appreciate all the little things from home that aren't at college. For example: my family is pretty big and we are all really close, and we would pretty much have a family get together every month, and being away at school I miss the family interaction. I love it here, and I am so glad that I am here, but I do miss that great food, and of course the family! It is interesting to find out other people's family traditions.

SL Discovering

So the International Back Line is exploring the SL version of Amsterdam! It is a very exciting place to explore. There are several places to go and interesting people to meet.  We discovered how closely the real Amsterdam is to the SL Amsterdam, and I was slightly disappointed. Amsterdam is a very cultural place both in real life and in SL, but I thought that the SL version lacked key components that Real Amsterdam has. I personally was responsible for finding some general background information on the real Amsterdam, and contrary to stereotypes of it being an outgoing culture (which it is) they have much more to offer to tourists than just alcohol, sex and drugs. I personally was ignorant to real Amsterdam culture and I thought that everyone there and everyone that went there just went there to get high and drunk (I was ridiculously ignorant, and apologize). They have many festivals and coffee shops that draw a significant amount of people there. Their festivals cover several aspects too, they have ones for films, paintings, photography, music and I am sure they have more to offer. Now that I know what the real Amsterdam has to offer I would be very excited to maybe one day travel there. 

In SL Amsterdam, we found that most of the island revolved around the sexual (red light district) and the loose drug policies of their culture. There were coffee shops there and traces of what may become a festival, but that festival and coffee shop aspect was pretty much nonexistent. I found that unfortunate, but that is the beauty in having a person design the island, they focus on what they want to, that maybe the best aspect of Amsterdam in the eyes of the creator of SL Amsterdam. There is also one museum in Amsterdam, but you can only get into it at certain times. While we were investigating we did not really keep this in mind, but when we were exploring at a different time we found that it was open. So while exploring SL keep in mind the time difference, it probably would have helped us research that museum more. Overall, there are several things to do in SL and real Amsterdam.

Passage #1

The first passage that I chose was "The Shallow Pond" (pg.158-162).  This passage is relatable to life as a UK freshman. There are people here that will go well beyond out of there way to help you - but there are some people here that won't really give you the time of day.  Although the magnitude of the situation may be much less than the situations described in the book; the concept is still the same. For example Professors and TAs go the extra mile to help out students by having study sessions, and office hours. While this is much less of a "sacrifice" for the TAs and Professors, they are still spending their valuable time helping others out. What the TAs and Professors do seems to be more like an act of kindness in comparison to the intense example of "The Shallow Pond" passage.

This passage also mentions the point of helping others but not to the point where your assets become practically non-existent. The concept is that you need help others but only to the extent that you can give without putting yourself into a bad situation. The best friends that you make in college will do this for you, it is generally you scratch your back you scratch mine. However there are people here that will do anything for you, and they are your true friends, I think I have already made some true friends here. 

Social Interactions

So I interacted with a couple people in second life on my own, but several of my conversations were done during our meetings for the SL project. While I was interviewing I met a girl who provided me with a great deal of information not only about Amsterdam but also about other European counties. I learned about how popular SL is in Slovenia, and how cool it is that I live where I do.  When I first met her she even asked me about finding a job in Amsterdam, I got excited because I could answer her question, I knew exactly how she felt because I was lost and confused in SL just a couple weeks ago! Now I am some what SL savvy... barely.  But I was able to tell her where she could go because of our little group sessions, and exploring individually a little bit. We explored a lot as a group, and had a couple interviews as a group.  So I told her that she could just stand under some of the lamp posts, or at the end she could sit down in the box in Sin Alley. Then I realized that she could only stand under the post if she was in the VIP group, which I found very interesting. Amsterdam is a place full of individuals yet there is still unity on the island. This is really interesting to me because the people that I talked to didn't really no many other people on the island, yet everyone who makes money under the lamp post is automatically put into a group of people. 

The girl above was really helpful in our understanding of SL Amsterdam too because she told us about how she felt that SL Amsterdam was a poor representation of the real Amsterdam. She told us about how she liked the coffee shops, and how disappointed she was for their lack of them. However, like I said in an earlier post, the red light district is very popular and we talked to a couple of people who involved with those activities. There was a man that we talked to during one of our group meetings that was all about having intimate relations with a woman there (but he was talking to us while he was making money), and then one of my individual conversations was with a female dancer who was a little too friendly. She gave me a hug, and I accepted. She also asked if she could dance for me, and I politely said no thanks. So the aspects of the Red Light District are still very prevalent. 

The biggest reason why people go to SL Amsterdam is to make money to spend in SL. In SL Amsterdam, there are several ways to make money for basically doing nothing, and there are also several free things to get. For example you can stand under a lamppost and make money at a pretty respectable rate for just standing there, and you can also just sit down on a cardboard box and make money. There is a catch, to make money standing under the lampposts  you have to be a member in the VIP group.

No one in our entire group was able to find a person that was actually from Amsterdam. This was really odd to me, then I thought about it, if you were going to have the opportunity to go explore places all over the world and talk to people from all over the world why would you stay in your home country? Plus going to other unknown places is way more exciting and adventurous!

Cosmo Ch10

The concept of the "basic human rights" are clearly stated in the UN Declaration of Human Rights. The rights that I will discuss support very strongly the idea of "Cosmopolitanism". 

Cosmopolitanism begins at the start of the UN Declaration of Human Rights, in the Preamble." Preamble: Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations."* This is clear evidence that we need to work together to succeed in life. The way to create and keep relationships is to be open like a cosmopolitan.

"Article 1 All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."* A true cosmopolitan believes this, they believe that no one is above or below them- they are just accepted the way they are. 

"Article 2. Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty."* This correlates with the above statement, however a cosmopolitan would embrace the different cultural background and would want to explore it. They would be very interested in their origin.

"Article 29.(1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible."* Everyone has their own job to help the community grow and develop. This is also similar to the passage I pointed out in the Preamble. A cosmopolitan would explore the idea of what type of jobs  are being done, what is everyone's role in society? How much does each person contribute?

I feel like there are several people at UK who are cosmopolitans. There is a good mix, many people keep to them-self but there are plenty of people who are very willing to get to know you, and learn about you experiences in life. I feel like pretty much everyone in our class could be considered a cosmopolitan, everyone is open to hear everyone's opinions and most are willing to accept other's. I feel like everyone in class is very respectful.

*all quotes come from: http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html 

Cosmo continued...

1. A "counter- cosmopolitan" is someone who is a little hard to narrow to a single look. Generally the person is introverted, probably a loner. A person who keeps to themselves and rarely goes out of their way to meet new people. I don't think that they have a distinct look, other than their general personality.  I have met a couple people that were "counter- cosmopolitans" here, but they just acted that way for the most part because they were shy. To really experience UK I feel that you have no choice but to put yourself out there.  They are generally not as open to new experiences or personalities.

2. This idea that"the belief that [people] don't matter very much" (pg. 153) seems to me to be a complete contradiction to the essence of cosmopolitanism. I agree with the idea that people feel obligated to be kind to strangers, but to believe that they don't matter is a little harsh. Contrary to my previous statement, people tend to be careless, but I think that the idea is that people are just ignorant. Some people are just ignorant to how other people fit into society. I also agree with Appiah when he says that it is easier to think of an animal as something that doe not matter, rather than a human.

Appiah Blog

1. I agree with Appiah that we must make known of the "stranger". I feel like people are too afraid to step out of their comfort zone. Also I believe that the "imaginary stranger" makes it harder for shy people to approach strangers and try to find a common ground. The concept basically means that they have created a stereotype, and judged the stranger before they even met the stranger, which is terrible.  This is easier said than done though. It is hard to meet new people when you feel like you already know how they are going to act. Also when you meet a stranger and they look are have some of the same gestures of a person you have met in your past- then the stranger that you just met may already have a positive or negative vibe. I feel like you can't be afraid to go up to someone, who knows they may just turn out to be some one completely unexpected and wonderful, and if you could have missed out on their great qualities if you would have assumed that they were going to have a different personality.

2. My first day at UK was a little overwhelming. I came here not really knowing anyone, and was a little intimidated. So I just put myself out there an introduced myself to a random group of girls and they are now my best friends! I am so glad that I went up them because they are great people! I just kind of went up to the first group of people that I saw, and it worked out. I let my guard down, and made no judgements because I was a little desperate to make friends. I m glad that I did it! I think that to meet people you have to have a small sense of vulnerability, and a sense of openness. I feel that if I keep having an open mind, then I will make many friends at UK in the future. Also keeping an open mind will allow me to really get to know people and understand where they are coming from on different topics, so that I can become a more well rounded person.