Slavery

In the late 1800's, slavery played a big role in North America's economics. One of North America's well known economic was cotton. Slaves worked as directed by their masters. They worked in the cotton fields in order to make profits for the masters. On the other hand, the master did not have to pay them. Most white people in the South buy slaves because of their wish to live in a comfortable lives. Slaves did most of their master's tasks without receiving any benefits, for the most part. However, the saddest part was that, most of the slaves were treated badly by their master. Children of slaves, when born, would become slaves. They did not have the privilege to be under their parents' shoulders.

St.Olaf

What is so unique about the place at this hill that makes students all over the world to come to gather in a small stone building compare to the size of this earth? St.Olaf's mission is to bring the life of each individual student to explore his or her potential and to express the inner feeling imagination. Regardless of background, St.Olaf welcome each of us because each of us has different purpose and background to contribute to the Ole community.

A Response to the DECLARATION of INDEPENDANCE

The Declaration of Independence is very specific about what it states in the document. The phrase “all men are created equal” seems to be a very strong phrase. However, it does not include the women. All the words in the Declaration of Independence are very thought through.

My List

In my little sleep room in Hoyme, I have these things:

• window seat
• books
• toothpastes
• toothbrushes
• a comfort chair
• 3 night lights
• 2 winter coats
• a macbook os laptop with a mouse and a keyboard
• one rice cooker
• two bowls, two plates, two spoons, two forks
• school supplies

Something About Pocahontas

The story of Pocahontas was a touching story. This weekend, my brother-in-law and I were discussed about how strong women were in the past and now. Pocahontas came to my mind the way how she left her family behind and married to a stranger from another continent. We were wondered why love has such influence towards women. We can't believe that women are that strong, leaving their families behind and starting a new life.

     A Tour of Anne Hutchinson’s Life

     It is cold for the 13 of you girls from California to tour downtown Boston this morning. Unlike California, the temperature today is below zero. The wind is blowing hard to your face. You could feel the cold deep into your bones. However, the high school educational trip this morning would be a worthwhile experience in your life because you are going to see a statue that you would never forget for the rest of your life. As many of you girls would probably heard about Anne Hutchinson, you must know why this statue played a big role in the women society, and as a tour guide, I have noticed that this statue has been one of many people’s favorite spots. As we approaching the State House, you would see a big black statue of Anne Hutchinson holding a little girl under her shoulder.  The little girl was her daughter, Susanna. Because of her religious views and her criticism of the teachings of the Puritan ministers, the magistrates found Anne Hutchinson to be a direct threat to the whole community in Massachusetts Bay Colony.

     The Anne Hutchinson Memorial was built in 1922 in honor of her devotion to civil liberty and religious toleration. Anne Hutchinson was born in Lincolnshire, England. She immigrated to Massachusetts Bay with her husband and family in 1634, and she was initially highly regarded in the community because of her intelligence and caring nature (United States History). She was “deeply fascinated by intricate theological issues and held weekly discussion groups in her home following Sunday services” (Mass Moment). She believed that God revealed himself to individuals without the aid of clergy. John Winthrop, a governor in Massachusetts Bay, was suspicious of Hutchinson’s views and “cautioned that women could do irreparable damage to their brains by pondering deep theological matters” (United States History). Therefore, Winthrop and John Cotton, a leader among of the first-generation of Puritan divines in Massachusetts, led the opposition to Hutchinson. They charged that Hutchinson and her followers were guilty of the “antinomian heresy,” or against God’s moral law (United States History).

     Thus, Anne Hutchinson was brought to trial before the General Court in 1637, found guilty and banished from the Bay Colony. The magistrates believed it highly inappropriate for Hutchinson to instruct men, especially in religious matters (Westerkamp, EBSCO). The magistrates expelled her out of Massachusetts Bay Colony. She, then, moved to Rhode Island and later to New York, where she perished in an Indian raid. Her daughter, Susanna, was the only sole survivor of the attack by Siwanoy Native Americans in 1643. Susanna was spared because of her red hair, which the Siwanoy had never seen (United States History, Mass Moment).

     Indeed, Hutchinson was a brilliant woman. She was brave enough to defend herself in the court intelligently against the magistrates in a society where women were not allowed to have public voice. Her religious views were a threat not only to the Puritan clergy, but also to the civil authorities of Massachusetts. Anne Hutchinson’s statue reminded us of her advocacy to freedom of religion and her advocacy to women’s rights.

Sources: 
1. “Anne Hutchinson.” United States History. Oct. 3, 2010. < http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h577.html>. Mar. 3, 2005. Oct. 3, 2010.
2. “Anne Hutchinson Banished.” Mass Moments. Mar. 3, 2005. Oct. 3, 2010. < http://massmoments.org/moment.cfm?mid=88>.
3. Westerkamp, Marilyn J. “Anne Hutchinson, Sectarian Mysticism, and the Puritan Order.” EBSCO. 1990. Oct. 3, 2010.
<http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/resultsadvanced?vid=2&hid=8&sid=a07a6b40-7e90-
41ceb008b0063058c3a5%40sessionmgr14&bquery=(Anne+AND+Hutchinson%2c+AND+Sectarian+AND+Mysticism%2c+AND+the+AND+Puritan+AND+Order)&bdata=JmRiPXJmaCZ0eXBlPTEmc2l0ZT1laG9zdC1saXZl>.

A Land of Mine?

                                                                                                                           Wat Thamkrabok

     You are in front of a small Hmong village, Wat Thamkrabok, in the middle of nowhere in Thailand. The minute you step off the car, you see Thai soldiers with M16A1 rifles wearing the Thai version of Woodland BDUs everywhere by the main gate. Their eyes were as fierce as if they were going into a war with the Hmong villagers. Outside of the gate, there is a long line of villagers who are waiting to enter the village. Some of them are sleeping under the trees, exhausted from work. Babies are crying everywhere. Inside of the gate, there is also a long line of villagers who are waiting to get out of the village to go to work too. Each one of them is holding an identification card to show to the soldiers. To the far left side of the gate, you see an endless wall of barbed wire. On the right side of the gate, you notice another wall of barbed wire that stretches all the way up to the mountains. These barbed wire walls are meant to protect the outsiders from entering the village, and they are meant to prevent the Hmong villagers from escaping. These Hmong villagers are waiting to be repatriated back to Laos because they are illegal immigrants who escaped the “secret war” in Laos during the Vietnam War.

      When you walk past the main gate, you see that there is a huge burning trash heap on the left side of the road, where children with bare feet and seniors are digging plastic bottles and metals out of the trash to sell. Human waste and dead bodies of animals are everywhere. After a careful observation, you see thousands of flies flying on top of the dead animals, and thousands of maggots are eating the animals’ flesh. The wind brings the smell of charred trash and animals through your mouth and exits through your nose. If this were your first time to inhale the smell, you would be sick for a few days.

     When you walk further into the village, you see, standing on top of a large mass of cement, a huge statue of the current Thai king facing the Hmong village. Looking at the head of the statue, it is wearing a pair of huge glasses with a broken right lens. One of my friends broke the lens accidently with a slingshot when he missed shooting a bird that stood on top of the statue’s head.  This statue is very sacred for the Thai people. Thai monks and people believe that the statue helps to bring a long life for the king.  

Children and young adults are playing soccer beside and behind the statue. Suddenly, at 6:00 p.m., you hear three “bee” sounds and then a song is played.  Everyone in the village, including the soldiers, stands still until the Thai national anthem ends. Those who don’t stop and stand still when the Thai national anthem is being playing face consequences to do push ups and picking up trash for a few days.

      When the song has ended, people continue with their tasks.  This is what you see everyday in the refugee camp.  This is where you lived for 14 years. To the Thai soldiers and government, you are like the burning dead animals in the trash heap. Everywhere you look, you feel like you are in the trash heap and the maggots are eating you alive. This is a place where you call prison when you realize how much opportunity and freedom you have in America.

    

The Inner Feeling

     It has been six years since I arrived to the United States. I could not even believe that I have been here this long. The time has gone by so fast that I did not even realized the things that I had done. Thinking about the old days, back in the refugee camp in the middle of nowhere in Thailand, the place where most Thai people were afraid to enter because of the rumors about HIV, and realizing how much I have learned throughout these years in the United States, I could not believe that I am in college now, at St.Olaf. When I was a little kid, my parents could not afford to send my two older sisters and I to a good school. In fact, I did not even go to school. My family and other Hmong people in the refugee camp were illegal immigrants who escaped the "Secret War" in Laos during the Vietnam War. My father and grandfather were the "old" CIA recruited soldiers.

     Because we were not Thai citizens, education was limited to the Hmong people. The highest level of education for the Hmong refugees was only 6th grade. "What can you do with this education?" I asked myself. Today, I cannot even find an appropriate answer for this question. And, I don't know. I only knew that I worked as a labor for the Thai people at the age of 8 in their cornfields. The conditions were horrible because you had to work under the sun from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. This was how my family and other Hmong families made their living.

     When I grew older, at the age of 14 in the refugee camp, I saw that my opportunity was limited because I did not have any basic education. I did not know any basic math and basic reading skills. I was illiterate. My life was getting harder and harder. When I grew older and older, I started to think more wider and broader. My needs were unlimited. I had seen many Hmong people died because they could not afford to go to the hospital. I had seen people starving to death. I had seen people killing each other for food. And, finally, I cried because I could not do anything to help. I could not even help myself. Sometimes, my family went days without any food on the table.

     Today, I live in America. I have realized how much opportunity that I have right now. I will turn my impossible dream back in the refugee camp into reality someday in my life. This is the "immigrants' dreams" when they come to the United States. Freedom from want!
   

Learning to Love St.Olaf

because it is in the middle of nowhere

because windmill hypnotizes you walking to Hoyme

because the fragrance of malt-o-meal fills the air

and because the hill is more dynamic than a field

because we say “Um ya ya!”

because we live in a dorm

we have eaten locally

and because the cold starts in September,

because I’ve started adjusting an inner warmth

my skin is chilled

my homesickness near the pit of my stomach

because I must wear shoes all the time now

because I have taken a risk with friends

because each one is welcoming

because I’ve seen them in the same place I am

because they relate to me too

because I have found a new community

because they will all support me

because we all chose the same place to be

because changing your mind is not an option

because it is time.

First Post

Today is September 14, 2010. This is the first post for my blog. It is very important that I keep track of what I have posted. Thank you for visiting my blog. Please feel free to comment and give me suggestions throughout the year!