3.15.

2011
11:25 am
Music: Javier Dunn, Animal (I should probably play another song)

Today as I entered Ms. Abigail Garcia's class, I was greeted with the students eyes committed to every
word she shared, the words of Ralph Ellison from his novel the Invisible Man. I was so moved that I
became committed to the words she shared like the other students in the classroom.

When Ms. Abigail closed the book she looked up at the sea of committed eyes and introduced me as
Ms. Johnson the graduate student from Pepperdine University. This was period four and I would be
conducting the 'One Day in the Life' orientation with them today. So, I took the 'podium' so-to-speak.
This time around, when I introduced the concept of the 'One Day in the Life'- activity, I compared it to
facebook, and how the status-updates in facebook are comparable to social commentaries, kind of like
blogging. At this point in the discussion, I introduced the importance of social-commentary, and
participating in a world dialogue. I shared with the students how the 'One Day in the Life'- project was
an activity that would allow them to join in a global discussion through their exchange of social
commentaries with the students in Uganda. They shared with me their encounters with citizens from
the continent of Africa, in particular Zimbabwe. We engaged in a discussion on Wael Ghonim, the
Egyptian Google executive, who was a leading figure in the recent Egyptian Revolution, which was
mobilized predominantly through social networking sites like Facebook. We discussed how the
nonviolent-protest tactics that were used during the Civil Rights movement by Martin Luther King
were exported into Egypt and employed by Dailia Ziada, an Egyptian social activist. We discussed how
Martin Luther King was influenced by Ghandi, from India, and his nonviolent philosophy which was
employed during the protest against the Jim Crow laws of the segregated south. We discussed the
global benefits of cross-cultural exchange. Our conversation soon moved toward the journals the
students would be maintaining, and their style of journaling. We discussed Dan Eldon, a journalist who
died during the Somalian war. I shared with them how Dan Eldon turned his journals into a collage of
art and social-commentaries, and our journaling style would reflect his approach. I encouraged the
students to familiarize themselves with Dan Eldon and his work.

Ms. Abigail then asked that we discuss:

1. The importance of being culturally sensitive during the Animo-students exchange with the students
in Uganda, in particular the importance of being culturally aware however also graceful in the curiosity
of culture.
2. The opportunity to dispel any myths or stereotypes, in addition to having a strong idea on our own
perspective and experiences.
3. Who are we as citizens? Are we truly free? What is our idea of freedom and our experiences as being
citizens of the world?

We encouraged them to gather all of these ideas and answers then take the opportunity to compare
these experiences with other individuals in another society, in our case this society would be Uganda.

I thought to myself 'what are some of the questions I would like to ask' if I were in their position. This
what I came up with:
4. What is like being a teenager in Uganda?
5. What are some the things you encounter as citizens?
6. What is your government like?
7. If there are things you could change in your society, what would they be?
8. Are teenagers safe in Uganda?- I've heard about the children and teenage soldiers, is that true?
9. Do all people have access to education?
10. Do all people live equally in Uganda? I ask this because I'm not sure if we all live here equally in
the United States.