Paper 2: Cultural Diversity Mind Map

Comic: Lonely is the World

From the poem "Poem on the Underground", by DJ Enright, I decided to make a comic. This comic is not meant to be a graphic version of the poem, but it's inspired in it.

Lonely is the World by anonymous

Song Commentary: Who says you can't go home?

                                  "Who Says You Can't Go Home", Bon Jovi

I spent 20 years trying to get out of this place
I was looking for something I couldn't replace
I was running away from the only thing I've ever known
Like a blind dog without a bone
I was a gypsy lost in the twilight zone
I hijacked a rainbow and crashed into a pot of gold
I been there, done that and I ain't lookin' back on the seeds I've sown,
Saving dimes, spending too much time on the telephone
Who says you can't go home

[Chorus]
Who says you can't go home
There's only one place they call me one of their own
Just a hometown boy, born a rolling stone, who says you can't go home
Who says you can't go back, been all around the world and as a matter of fact
There's only one place left I want to go, who says you can't go home
It's alright, it's alright, it's alright, it's alright, its alright

I went as far as I could, I tried to find a new face
There isn't one of these lines that I would erase
I lived a million miles of memories on that road
With every step I take I know that I'm not alone
You take the home from the boy, but not the boy from his home
These are my streets, the only life I've ever known,
who says you can't go home

[Chorus]

I been there, done that and I ain't looking that
It's been a long long road
Feels like I never left, that's how the story goes

It doesn't matter where you are, it doesn't matter where you go
If it's a million miles aways or just a mile up the road
Take it in, take it with you when you go,
who says you can't go home

[Chorus]

It's alright, it's alright, it's alright, it's alright, its alright
Who says you can't go home [x2]

As we've been studying the Third Culture Kids, I found a song by Bon Jovi that expresses, in some way, the importance of having a place you can call "home". The lyrics present a man who has been to many places, traveled many miles and had a lot of anecdotes, but he still wants to go back home. The commonly repeated sentence "Who says you can't go home" is very special, as it makes us understand that, apparently, their shouldn't be obstacles when we want to go back to what we call home. When we contrast this song with the Third Culture Kids, it might be awkward for them to analyze the lyrics, as many people don't have a "home". In this sense, I think that Bon Jovi reflected much of his musician life in this song, as he is on the road all the time. Therefore, the lyrics show us how important home is, and let us reflect about the sense of Homeless of third culture kids. In some way, the song gives the idea that it doesn't matter how many great places we visit, home will always be important in our lives, as it is where we've lived some of the most important experiences in our lives. 

The first part shows the experiences of a man who has been to many places searching for something special, but he always goes back to the importance of his home. He also mentions that, far from home, he feels lost "like a dog without a bone". 

The chorus is also very important, because in some way it summarises all the ideas presented in the song. "There's only one place they call me one of their own" must be highlighted, as it shows that he feels part of his home's community.

The next stanza goes deeper into the idea of being far from home, searching for something better. "I tried to find a new face" has a great significance, as it makes a reference to the different facial features of people from different cultures. The song also expresses the idea of feeling comfortable only at home, "These are my streets, the only life I've ever known."

The rest of the song repeats the ideas presented before, always emphasizing in the event of going back home one day.

Third Culture Kids: Where's Home?

In the last classes, we've been studying Third Culture Kids, which are persons who grow up between different cultures, due to a variety of reasons. As we watched a video, which I'll link in this post, I made a mind map to show my ideas around TCK.

So Where's Home? A Film About Third Culture Kid Identity

One concept that caught my attention was Rootless. This word created a feeling of loneliness when I first read it, as it means that you come from nowhere and that you belong to no particular culture or society. A very close example for me is my grandfather, who had the same name as me. He was born in Chile, but he grew between English people and he learnt to speak Spanish at the age of 20. My father has told me that he was a very peculiar person, because he never felt comfortable in Chile, as he was extremely different to the local people. However, he didn't felt british neither, as he always said he was chilean. In some sort of way, he forced himself to believe he was chilean, although he had all the characteristics of an English man. I think this situation represents the sense of rootless; when your life struggles between two cultures, but you don't feel at home in any of them.

Stereotypes Movie: "METALHEAD"

As we read a text about the stereotypes around punks, I found useful to share a movie related with Steryotypes. In is call "METALHEAD" and it deals with the social prejudices against heavy metal fans. The movie shows a very extreme case in Iceland, the homeland of some of the most extreme metal bands. I'll post the trailer here.

Personal Response: Surrogate mothers

“The Akanksha clinic is at the forefront of India’s booming trade in so-called reproductive tourism — foreigners coming to the country for infertility treatments such as in vitro fertilization. The clinic’s main draw, however, is its success using local women to have foreigners’ babies. Surrogacy costs about $12,000 in India, including all medical expenses and the surrogate’s fee. In the U.S., the same procedure can cost up to $70,000.”

In the last years we've seen how technology has opened new areas to the human behavior, which, of course, are firmly related with ethics. One of them is Surrogacy, in which someone with fertility problems rents a woman's body to develop an embryo. At first we could think that this practice is totally okay, as the person is paying for a service and, moreover, he is encouraging the development of life. However, when a person decides to have a child is because he thinks he we'll have some benefits from it, like happiness, companionship or the sense of being part of a family. Although one could say this represents a fair cause, at the same time we have to see the child's experience. When someone decides to have a son or daughter by surrogacy, he is also determining the life of the child. The boy will not have a mother, or at least a "real" one. Moreover, he'll probably share the phenotype of his indian mother, which is not his father's, but the child will never meet her. The question here is, at what extent can we control our children's lives? Is it correct to conceive a love from money, and not from love?

The Indian women case is also very peculiar, as they are using their body to earn money, just like prostitution. While they get some money, women are also renting the most important part of their bodies, and taking personal advantage of the sacred ability to reproduce.

Individual Oral: Mobile Robots

1. Description of the robot in a wild situation.

2. The benefits of being able to travel independently or controlled remotely:

3. Reaching places dangerous for humans.

4. Going to very far sites.

5. Moving through hazardous or violent territories.

6. The wide variety of activities developed by these robots:

7. Space Exploration (NASA's Mars Exploration Rover)

8. Landmine Detection or Bombs Analysis (The Falkland Islands issue)

9. Assistance of disabled people

10. Conclusion: Extension of Human capabilities and the future of Mobile Robots.

Click here to listen my presentation.