Post A
In Botswana, the role of gender plays a much more significant role than in the lives of those who live in the United States. In the US there is a supposed equality between males and females, even though not everything is truly fair for the opposing sexes. We would be considered an advanced nation along the lines of sexual equality. In Botswana however, there is a blatant difference in the importance of women compared to men. Women are given away by their fathers, as in like a marriage, and are expected to do all the chores and housework. An example of this is that Mme Ramotswe is given away by her father. "I will speak to your father about this.," said Note. ""I hope he is not an old fashioned man who will want a lot of cattle for you (53)." They are treated like property. The people of Botswana seen to be okay with this inequality. In fact, they think that that is just how life is supposed to be, and if women were treated as equals, it would be a bad thing.
Post B
Precious is a very decisive, confident woman, which are the qualities necessary for being a good detective. She gets an idea, a hunch, and sticks with it. An example of that is when she is assigned a missing person case. She finds out this missing man was a very religious man. When she talks to the church, she discovered that he was getting baptised in a river and was swept away, and didn't know how to swim. The church had not reported the incident because they were worried about issues with the law. She traveled down the river to look for him, but could not find the body. When she was searching, she brought her neighbor's dog with her for protection. She tied him by the car, and when she went down to the river, she heard him growl and bark. When she went to check on him, she saw a crocodile. She shot it, and began to wonder what it was doing in this part of Africa, there is not enough food to sustain a crocodile's appetite. She cut open it's stomach, and found a watch and other items that belong to a human in it. When presented to his wife, she identified them as his.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
My research topic is the conflict between China and Tibet.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/04/22/china.protests/index.html
http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-sub-display?id=SMN0307H-0-5307&method=date&res=Y&ren=Y&gov=Y&lnk=N&ic=Y&keyno=0000004676&0000004676=Y&title=China%2C%20Foreign%20relations%2C%20Tibet&leadiss=Y&auth_checked=Y
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-olympics-torch.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=china+tibet&st=nyt&oref=slogin
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/04/22/china.protests/index.html
http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-sub-display?id=SMN0307H-0-5307&method=date&res=Y&ren=Y&gov=Y&lnk=N&ic=Y&keyno=0000004676&0000004676=Y&title=China%2C%20Foreign%20relations%2C%20Tibet&leadiss=Y&auth_checked=Y
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-olympics-torch.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=china+tibet&st=nyt&oref=slogin
Monday, April 21, 2008
Week 2 of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
Post A
There are several cultural difference shown in The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency so far. One is the respect toward parents. She loves her father who has recently passed away, leaving her the money to start her own store.
Fathers play an important role in Botswanian culture. She speaks of pleasing her father many times and writes his life story down so it will not be forgotten now that he has died. Also, one of her cases is to solve the mystery of whether or not a character's dad is truly her dad. Her father had left her as a child and then this man came to her years later and told her he was her father and that he was sorry he had left her. Although he didn't have much proof of his actually being her real dad, the woman let him stay with her because it was what she was supposed to do. As it turns out, he was an impostor, which Precious found out by tricking him into admitting he was not really the girls dad by telling him his daughter was gravely injured and would need his blood to save her.
Post B
Dear Precious,
I am sorry for you. You are a respectable woman, and you try to always do the right thing. It's a shame that you got involved with the musician Note. He was such a bad man. What I don't understand is why he married you. He didn't seem to want a wife, to be tied down to one person. And he didn't have to be, he was a free man, who had a good career, who liked living on his own. So why did he have to come into your life? Why did he propose if he wanted to be with other women? And why did you stay with him while he beat you? I understand that women believe they can change men, make them better, and that their man isn't so bad. They also like men who are new to them, like Note was because he was an experienced, well-traveled, talented musician. When he left you, I was very glad that such an evil man was out of your life.
There are several cultural difference shown in The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency so far. One is the respect toward parents. She loves her father who has recently passed away, leaving her the money to start her own store.
Fathers play an important role in Botswanian culture. She speaks of pleasing her father many times and writes his life story down so it will not be forgotten now that he has died. Also, one of her cases is to solve the mystery of whether or not a character's dad is truly her dad. Her father had left her as a child and then this man came to her years later and told her he was her father and that he was sorry he had left her. Although he didn't have much proof of his actually being her real dad, the woman let him stay with her because it was what she was supposed to do. As it turns out, he was an impostor, which Precious found out by tricking him into admitting he was not really the girls dad by telling him his daughter was gravely injured and would need his blood to save her.
Post B
Dear Precious,
I am sorry for you. You are a respectable woman, and you try to always do the right thing. It's a shame that you got involved with the musician Note. He was such a bad man. What I don't understand is why he married you. He didn't seem to want a wife, to be tied down to one person. And he didn't have to be, he was a free man, who had a good career, who liked living on his own. So why did he have to come into your life? Why did he propose if he wanted to be with other women? And why did you stay with him while he beat you? I understand that women believe they can change men, make them better, and that their man isn't so bad. They also like men who are new to them, like Note was because he was an experienced, well-traveled, talented musician. When he left you, I was very glad that such an evil man was out of your life.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Week 1 The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
Post A
My book is The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. It is about Precious Ramotswe. Precious has started her own private investigator business in Botswana. She is the only woman investigator in Botswana.
"She was a good detective, and a good woman. A good woman in a good country, one might say. She loved her country, Botswana, which is a place of peace, and she loved Africa, for all it's trials. I am not ashamed to be called an African patriot, said Mma Ramotswe. I love all the people whom God made, but I especially know how to love the people who live in this place. They are my people, my brothers and sisters. It is my duty to help them to solve the mysteries in their lives. That is what I am called to do (4)."
One cultural difference between Botswana and the United States is that the Botsawnians have a lot more pride in their culture and their country. Precious mentions several times this love of her country, it's soil, and it's people. That is much different than in the United States, where many people have no respect or pride for their own country. Perhaps this is because we do not share many common factors, such as race, religion, or customs. In Botswana, the people there are mostly black and can trace their family lineage back for generations, and all of them came from Botswana. They celebrate the same religion, and understand what is expected from them culturally.
Post B
Dear Mme Ramoswte,
you are a very kind woman. You treat every one of your clients with respect, and seem to actually care about their problems. I don't know if this is just the way of Botswana, that the people there have a greater respect toward others than in America, but I really respect the fact that you are so nice. Yet you still call other's out on their misdoings. You can see something bad occurring, and try to stop it, to help someone else. This happened when you were at Sunday school and your partner kept bringing out his "member" under the table. You told him what he was doing was wrong, and when he didn't stop, you told on him. You seem to have an innate sense of what is right or wrong, and this helps your skills as a detective.
My book is The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. It is about Precious Ramotswe. Precious has started her own private investigator business in Botswana. She is the only woman investigator in Botswana.
"She was a good detective, and a good woman. A good woman in a good country, one might say. She loved her country, Botswana, which is a place of peace, and she loved Africa, for all it's trials. I am not ashamed to be called an African patriot, said Mma Ramotswe. I love all the people whom God made, but I especially know how to love the people who live in this place. They are my people, my brothers and sisters. It is my duty to help them to solve the mysteries in their lives. That is what I am called to do (4)."
One cultural difference between Botswana and the United States is that the Botsawnians have a lot more pride in their culture and their country. Precious mentions several times this love of her country, it's soil, and it's people. That is much different than in the United States, where many people have no respect or pride for their own country. Perhaps this is because we do not share many common factors, such as race, religion, or customs. In Botswana, the people there are mostly black and can trace their family lineage back for generations, and all of them came from Botswana. They celebrate the same religion, and understand what is expected from them culturally.
Post B
Dear Mme Ramoswte,
you are a very kind woman. You treat every one of your clients with respect, and seem to actually care about their problems. I don't know if this is just the way of Botswana, that the people there have a greater respect toward others than in America, but I really respect the fact that you are so nice. Yet you still call other's out on their misdoings. You can see something bad occurring, and try to stop it, to help someone else. This happened when you were at Sunday school and your partner kept bringing out his "member" under the table. You told him what he was doing was wrong, and when he didn't stop, you told on him. You seem to have an innate sense of what is right or wrong, and this helps your skills as a detective.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Blog Numero Uno De The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
I chose this book bacause we have had this series sitting on a shelf in my house for six years now. My mom loves the series, has read every single one, and has always tried to get me to begin it. When I went camping three years ago with my dad, this book magically appeared in my pack along with the other books I had brought along. I purposely ignored this book as one of my rebellious acts against my mother. But when I saw it on the list of potential outside reading books, I decided to give it a try. I have come to appreaciate my mom's taste in literature, so hopefully the fact she loves these books so much means I will too.
I chose this book bacause we have had this series sitting on a shelf in my house for six years now. My mom loves the series, has read every single one, and has always tried to get me to begin it. When I went camping three years ago with my dad, this book magically appeared in my pack along with the other books I had brought along. I purposely ignored this book as one of my rebellious acts against my mother. But when I saw it on the list of potential outside reading books, I decided to give it a try. I have come to appreaciate my mom's taste in literature, so hopefully the fact she loves these books so much means I will too.
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