Greek Food Festival

Me and Wayne Keeton attended the 38th Annual Greek Food Festival. When we arrived we had to make a quick decision on what we should eat. I really wanted to try something different so I bought Souvlakia, which is marinated lamb skewered and grilled on an open fire that is served with rice pilaf, Greek salad and a roll. It was pretty good considering that I have never had lamb before. For dessert I had Loukoumathes, which is Greek donuts that are fried and dipped in warm honey sprinkled with cinnamon. They tasted good but definitely unique. I ended up spilling the honey down my pants! The food was not what I was expecting, I guess I was expecting something a little more foreign. We sat next to a stage where fast upbeat music was playing. The event was located in the parking lot underneath the Holy Trinity-Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Cathedral. I found it odd that wine and beer were being sold at a church. I guess that shows the difference in cultural norms.

Every Student Has A Role in the Fight Against Hunger

I attended, with classmate Wayne Keeton, David Beckmann's Every Student Has a Role in the Fight Against Hunger luncheon. When we first arrived, it was very empty and we were wandering if anyone was going to come. Ten minutes before David Beckmann started talking, people started pouring in. We ate a small lunch while listening to Mr. Beckmann talk about hunger, here in the U.S. and in other countries. In the U.S. one in four children live in a family that is struggling to provide food. He talked about the politics and how he and others have been advocates for people going hungry. I was surprised to learn that only 1% of our governments money is spent on helping to fight hunger in other countries. I learned that many foreign countries owe the U.S. high amounts of money. Mr. Beckmann talked about himself and others who petitioned to have the Africans debt removed if they promised to reinvest that money into their own economic system in areas such as education. In the past, Africans could only afford to send their eldest or smartest son to school. Now, after this petition passed, families can afford to send all of their children to school. With more educated people in the workforce their economy can only improve which will improve our economy as well.

Pho Que Huong

I took my mom out to eat at Pho Que Huong. Neither of us had ever had Vietnamese food  before. We didn't know what to expect, but we were hoping for some good food. When we walked in, we realized how Americanized the restaurant was. There was a flat screen TV with football on and the setting didn't feel ethnic at all. We sat down and our waiter handed us our menus. He placed a fork and a set of chopsticks on the table. It took us a while to find something that really appealed to us. The names of the dishes on the menu were so foreign I cant even imagine how to pronounce any of it.

I didn't write down the name of my dish but it was some kind of noodle bowl with shrimp, cilantro, carrots and potato roots. It was good, but the taste was very different. After eating American food, I tend to have the flavor of that food in my mouth for some time. The flavor of this Vietnamese dish did not last very long. The potato roots seemed to eliminate all the other flavors. I decided to add some of their hot sauce for flavor. It made the dish taste better, but it was too hot! I ate all of my food and successfully ate it all with chop sticks. However, I don't think I will be going back to eat Vietnamese food soon.

The food itself was very different from American food. The taste and the materials used were unique to me. Also, eating with chopsticks is not a common American tradition. The restaurant itself was very Americanized and I felt comfortable eating there. I learned that a large array of vegetables are used in almost every Vietnamese dish. I expected the restaurant to be really ethnic setting wise. The food is about what I expected. I think syncretism is a good term to apply to this blog. The Vietnamese restaurant has blended traits from their culture to fit inside of our culture.

Birmingham Museum of Art

I visited the Birmingham Museum of Art for they very first time, with classmate Wayne Keeton. We looked at many foreign exhibits. They had Japanese, Korean, Southeast Asian, Indian and African art. I decided to post pictures from the Japanese exhibit. I was amazed at how detailed their art work was. As I walked through each exhibit I noticed the years on the artwork got earlier and earlier. There were some pieces of artwork that amazed me simply because the artwork was so modernized for the time it was made in.

Wayne Keeton

Japanese Warrior Figurines

 To the left is a puzzle ball. To the right is the description of the puzzle ball.

A very beautifully sewn kimono 

 I think our culture, like others, have many definitions of art. Paintings, sculpture, clothes, figurines, drawings, weavings and basketry are some of the categories of art that I seen present in many cultural exhibits. I learned that each culture has their own definition of art which closely ties into their religion, beliefs, customs and heritage. I didn't have any preconceived notions that were dispelled. One thing I noticed in many of the exhibits were the tools that people in the past had made. Human beings are different from other animal species because we are prolific tool makers. No other species has ever created anything that has the sophistication of human tools or symbolic expression.

12.21.12: End of Days?

I attended Dr. Edwin Barnhart's lecture about the misunderstanding of the Mayan calendar.

His first slide began with the statement, "everybody loves an apocalypse."

He explained that every generation has predicted the coming of the end of the world. This tablet shows that the end was predicted in 2800 BC, but it still has not happened. So what would make 2012 the special year?

He debunked the common theories of how the earth is going to end. The most common theory I have heard, is the flipping of the magnetic poles that will cause the earth to flip upside down. Dr. Barnhart explained that the poles have switched before and will switch again, however, it does not flip the earth, only the magnetic fields. If the poles were going to switch it would be a gradual event. He also discussed solar flares. There has been proof that solar flares can affect our electronics. He discussed other various theories. He concluded by stating that everything would have to be just the right circumstances happening at all the same time to cause any real cataclysmic event.

Only one Mayan tablet even has the year 2012 in it. This tablet was written by a boy who was basically playing a numerical coincidence game. The tablet was corroded on the edges, so the only tablet that contains the year 2012 is illegible on some parts. In addition this tablet was sold from a museum to a private seller. No one knows who has the tablet or where it's at.

 The Mayan calendar cycles were really confusing. I learned that the Mayan people were great numerologists. They had cycles for the planets, the seasons, and other various things. I learned about bak'tuns, which is 400 years. Every 13 bak'tuns the Mayan calendar flips, and the Maya would move or disappear. The 13th bak'tun falls on 12/21/12. Many people have published books about the world ending on 12/21/12 without any scientific research. Archeologist's are not even sure the calendar flips at 13, it could possibly flip at 20, which would be many centuries from now.

There is no real proof that the end of the world is on 12/21/12.

I found it quite interesting that in the last couple of years attendance to this lecture has risen. Dr. Barnhart said that an average of 12 people would come to his lecture and in the past couple of years he has seen attendance reach well over a thousand people at some locations. I feel like the Mayan calendar systems are very different from our culture, but I feel that the idea of 12/21/12 being the end of the world is part of our culture as well. We've incorporated it into our movies, books and discussions. It is a topic that a lot of people are interested in, why? Perhaps everyone does love an apocalypse. I expected there to be a lot of evidence showing that there was in fact something happening on 12/21/12, but there wasn't. With everything that has been said and published, I thought for sure their work was based on some clear factual evidence. I believe the main anthropological idea I received from this lecture was that different cultures have different concepts of time. It's hard to imagine a culture that doesn't follow our calendar system, it's even more complicated to have ten or more regular calendars. Everyone and every culture is different in some way.

Tibetan Monks Create a Sand Mandala

I decided to go see Tibetan monks create a sand mandala. I have always been interested in monks and sand mandalas even though I didn't know that much about them. From things I had read before attending this event I thought I knew what sand mandalas were made and destroyed for. To show that life isn't permanent. Come to find out, the sand mandalas, mean much more than that. Since I was so interested I decided to go several different days to see how much the mandala changes over a period of time.


MONDAY:

When I arrived there was a monk giving an introductory speech. Then a group of monks came together, put on yellow hats, sang a song and played instruments. It was like nothing I had ever heard before. The voices of the monks hit each tone with lows and highs that flowed together with their random spouts of music. Their instruments were strange but made quite a fascinating noise. Later, after talking with a monk, I found out that it was in fact not a song but a praise or worship of sorts.

One monk used a sea shell to sprinkle rice and water in the air. I figure this ritual was to sanctify the making of a sand mandala and give each monk participating guidance and focus. Behind the monks were tables set with elaborate colors and ritualistic pictures and figurines.

After the monks were done with their worship, praise, and rituals, one monk announced that the monks would begin designing the mandala and then would start to add sand to the mandala in one hour. I was really surprised that so many people left after that. I decided to stay for three hours so I could watch the monks begin to make their mandala and so I could talk to a monk and ask him many, many questions.
This was some of their ritualistic materials.

I was surprised that when the monks began to sketch the basic outline for their mandala they used rulers, chalk, and regular carpenter tools. In fact, I was very surprised to learn that they even drew an outline for the mandala. For some reason, I always assumed they just free handed it all. I asked the monk many questions. I asked how they remembered how to draw such a complex picture. He responded by telling me that each monk memorizes a very thick book full of mandalas. They never forget their designs and they never look at a picture or a book for guidance.

Here the monks are designing their mandala. My camera is not dirty by the way, but, there are a lot of orbs in these two pictures. Some people believe orbs are spirits. I just thought it odd that they were only on these two pictures.

 

   The monks used white chalk and rulers to draw their design. It didn't look like much until they were done and wiped off all the chalk dust. The design was then clear and quite beautiful.

A while had passed before they were done drawing the mandala. I took a look and a feel of all the different colors of sand. One monk told me that the sand is powered marble, it was very soft to the touch. He explained that some monks have the special job of crushing the marble to make their sand.


A monk started to add sand right before I left. He used tools to sift the blue sand onto to the middle circle of the mandala. He then carefully outlined the circle in orange.

Tuesday:


I went back Tuesday to see how much they had gotten done. I was quite amazed! The graph they had drew was just lines, circles, and squares. Now, they had detailed pictures and symbols all elaborately colored. It was very beautiful.
 
















Thursday:

I was even more amazed when I went back on Thursday. They had completed so much.

Friday:

To the right is a picture of the finished mandala. Below, the monks performed the closing ceremony for their sand mandala.
 

After a sand mandala is finished, it is destroyed for different reasons. I believe the main reason is to symbolize that life isn't permanent. Life is constantly changing and there is no reason to get so attached to material things. One monk explained to me that each mandala is a symbol for something. This particular mandala symbolizes medical or health. He further explained that only a higher being, such as Buddha, can create a mandala. No new mandalas are ever created. I never imagined the process of destroying the mandala was so ritualistic. I just assumed they would just unceremoniously sweep the sand off, throw it away, and start over. However, the monks performed their ritual, took the sand and poured it into the Cahaba River for blessings and healing.

Overall, I learned many things that I described above. A mandala is created as a spiritual pathway for a monk to follow. A Tibetan monks life differs greatly from that of an American person. A monk will spend many years studying in a monastery. Their main focus is to clear their minds from the human emotions of worry, anger and sadness. I believe their main focus differs from Americans in that Americans main focus is money and we often let our emotions control us when monks study and meditate to remain calm. While talking with one of the monks, I constantly found myself thinking about using their ideals and some of their basic mindsets in our culture. When I looking for a term to relate to this blog, reflexivity stuck out to me. While I was learning about the monks and the way that they devote their life to controlling their minds, I was also studying how to incorporate that into my own life. I really enjoyed studying about Tibetan monks and I think I learned a lot.