Heritage in Liberty City

My experience in Liberty City was also a life experience, I know it sound cheese and professor Reisner you are welcome to yuck, but I stand by what I said.

When I went to LC by the first time I was so lost that I could believe that after almost six years of living here in Miami, I didn’t know were this city was. Now, I can say that I move around better than before, maybe not ready yet to help with directions but definitively more confident and secure.

Picking a place were I didn’t feel safe was an amazing experience. It made me get out of my bubble and get a taste of what is outside. It is good to be push to what we fear or what we think we fear. If I have to pick something that I learned of this class, is that fear will always be there with us but once we face it, we will discover something new about ourselves. Fear is there until we feel safe. It is important to not let stereotypes dictaminate our actions and ask what we don’ t know, that is our best sword, when we ask we learn and therefore we feel secure.

I think that been different is a plus, is what makes us unique but at the same time we want to be treat equally, we want to have the same benefits and we get offended if we feel that we are getting less than the rest.

During Multi-Ethic class, I experienced how important is for most of us, the concept of identity. In my case, I don’t have a cosmopolitan mixture as other classmates who were born here but their parents are from other countries, or the ones who had moved from city to city. I am Colombian, born and raise. I lived in Colombia until I was 19 years old, I was a grown up already and we moved because we have to, no because we wanted, but that is another story.

Going back to identities, it was shocking for me to see how passionate we are when we have to defend our culture or explain a stereotype. During class, one of the most “informative” answers and the one I think I remember the most, is the one that explained how African American people feel about black people from the Caribbean and vice versa. My classmate who is from Jamaica said that African Americans think of blacks from the Caribbean that they didn’t suffer as much as they did during slavery and blacks from the Caribbean think of African Americans that they haven’t let go the time of slavery and racial segregation and that is time for them to move on.

I am a person who doesn’t really care about the color of the skin; in Colombia I didn’t see many cases of racism or discrimination. When I started to take classes here in the US and I learned about the times of segregation I couldn’t believe how people could be so cruel. It was hard for me to understand that people with black skin had to use different buses of even have to use different restrooms. I really admire the people who fought for their rights and the ones who sacrifice their life.

In Colombia, I think that we don’t care as much as here about the blacks or whites, off course there are some cases but we care more about the social status and the region of the country were we are from. For example, people who live in an island call San Andres feel that they are not part of Colombia; they even have another language, a Creole language that combines English with French. They also prefer the Baptist church rather than the Catholic Church, which is the one that most of Colombians follow. Another example is the rivality between regions, as the Coast and the interior and also the coffee zone. Inside Colombia the culture of the regions it is very different, some are more conservative and others are more open, but once we are in another country, we are one, and we defend our country from the typical idea that people have about Colombia. We hate when people just talk about drugs and violence, Colombia is so much more that is painful to hear that we are drug dealers and hores.

Multi-Ethnic it’s what we are, and its good to talk about it, is good to ask and to clarify concepts. I think that is important to stop for a second and hear the other person, understand why he or she is saying something that for us could not have any importance or be the most painful thing we have ever heard. Most of the times we don’t agree with others but at least should respect and hear them.

Google maps application in my phone, checked. Camera and notepad checked. Wiliness and high expectations also checked.

Getting to Liberty City it’s not that complicated, but as soon as I took the exit I found out that I was not in My Miami anymore, and I said this because for me, Miami is a beautiful and very stylish city. I have to admit that I don’t move around that much, but it is not because I don’t want to it is because I don’t have to. I just drive where I have to go, and I always use the same routes, because I get lost very easily and I prefer to follow the same roads.

As I was saying before, Liberty City was not part of my idea of Miami, the business, the buildings, everything looked different. Something that I noticed was that almost none of the business didn’t have big signs, most of them were painted with vivid colors. The buildings which by the way, doesn’t have a creative design, are simple and boring cubes that do not provide a nice stimulation to the eye.

The main streets are very busy. I saw traffic all the time and the public transportation seemed to work pretty well. Something that I really loved was the numerous restaurants around the city, they are everywhere, and the food is super cheap, perfect for my budget. In Liberty city you can have a full meal for less than $4.00 the only thing that I recommend is having cash to pay because not all the business have credit card machines.

One of the places that I visited was Jumbo’s located at 7501 NW 7th Ave. Here you can get fried shrimp, fried chicken in all their forms or you can pick soothing else from their extensive menu.

Other places to go and find food are the BBQ restaurants, I had seen a lot but I haven’t had the chance to try them, I think that I will do it next time.

Being able to go to different places, and get to know special people are two of the reasons that made me chose journalism as a career, but usually, when you picture your dream you pick the place, the time and the characters.

If I have to confess, Liberty City was not on my list of places to go and find a great story, but it didn’t hurt at all and I got a surprising result. I consider myself, a person who it’s very flexible and easy to adapt. I love new things and I hate routine and that it’s why I always try to shake my world to see if I get something new.

When I registered for this class, I already knew that I would have to pick a place where I felt “uncomfortable.” In my case I thought that I didn’t have a problem, as I said before that it’s what I prefer, well not “uncomfortable” moments but new and exiting things.

Anyway, after two classes and some place restrictions, I pitched for a place in Liberty cit that I had already picked. The selection was accepted and I had to start my blog.