The word synchronize is relatively easy to identify and simply means to occur at the same time and operate in unison, much like the simultaneous movements of synchronized swimmers. Originally developed by Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung, OBG's WOW (Word of the Week) - synchronicity - is different in that it is described as the experience of two or more events that are causally unrelated occurring together in a meaningful manner. To count as synchronicity, the events should be unlikely to occur together by chance (i.e., a coincidence of events). By way of example, Wikipedia goes on to say that the French writer Émile Deschamps claims in his memoirs that in 1805, he was treated to some plum pudding by a stranger named Monsieur de Fontgibu. Ten years later, the writer encountered plum pudding on the menu of a Paris restaurant and wanted to order some, but the waiter told him that the last dish had already been served to another customer, who turned out to be de Fontgibu. Many years later, in 1832, Émile Deschamps was at a diner and was once again offered plum pudding. He recalled the earlier incident and told his friends that only de Fontgibu was missing to make the setting complete—and in the same instant, de Fontgibu entered the room. Coincidence?
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The word synchronize is relatively easy to identify and simply means to occur at the same time and operate in unison, much like the simultaneous movements of synchronized swimmers. Originally developed by Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung, OBG's WOW (Word of the Week) - synchronicity - is different in that it is described as the experience of two or more events that are causally unrelated occurring together in a meaningful manner. To count as synchronicity, the events should be unlikely to occur together by chance (i.e., a coincidence of events). By way of example, Wikipedia goes on to say that the French writer Émile Deschamps claims in his memoirs that in 1805, he was treated to some plum pudding by a stranger named Monsieur de Fontgibu. Ten years later, the writer encountered plum pudding on the menu of a Paris restaurant and wanted to order some, but the waiter told him that the last dish had already been served to another customer, who turned out to be de Fontgibu. Many years later, in 1832, Émile Deschamps was at a diner and was once again offered plum pudding. He recalled the earlier incident and told his friends that only de Fontgibu was missing to make the setting complete—and in the same instant, de Fontgibu entered the room. Coincidence?
(Above) Sculpture at an artist's studio in the Marais (Paris, France); Photo taken 26 September 2009 There is a myth that is alive and well about people of African descent and their alleged inability to swim. The root of this myth is likely established because of a 1969 book entitled The Negro and Learning to Swim: The Buoyancy Problem Related to Reported Biological Differences. Anthony W. Harding of South Africa sums up the report (on his Facebook page) as follows: The authors concluded, based on a survey of students at universities in the USA, that blacks couldn't swim, because (it was said) blacks have heavy bones (and other genetic and physical characteristics). Harding goes on to say: In a recent series of Survivor South Africa, the black contestants were shocked when they were challenged in the early moments of the reality competition as a weak link in a tribe on the assumption that they couldn't swim - which was later shown to be false, with black competitors showing overall prowess in relation to other contestants.
Likewise, in a recent Survivor: Samoa (on U.S. television), teams selected their strongest teammates to compete in a multi-course challenge and an African-American was selected (and won) the swimming leg. One of the contestants said he was surprised that an Afro-American could swim since they aren't known for that. (Egads.) Visiting the Caribbean alone would dispel that myth; not to mention the U.S., Africa, etc.
Can you swim? She can.
In many ways, Lou Jing is a typical young woman from Shanghai. Pretty and confident, she speaks Mandarin heavily accented with the lilting tones of the Shanghai dialect and browses the malls of this huge city for the latest fashions. But there is one thing that distinguishes this 20-year-old from her peers, something that has made her the unwitting focus of an intense public debate about what exactly it means to be Chinese: the color of her skin. Read the rest of this TIME article here.
Photo (above) courtesy of the LA Times The Costa Chica (short coast in Spanish) is one of two regions in Mexico with significant black communities, the other being the state of Veracruz on the Gulf coast. The Costa Chica is a 200-mile long coastal region beginning just southeast of Acapulco, Guerrero and ending at Huatulco in the state of Oaxaca. While the Costa Chica is home to many blacks, there are also many indigenous groups, as well. For more info, see Where Did Mexico's Blacks Go? ... Blacks in Mexico: A Forgotten Minority ... Afro-Mexicans: Discourse of Race and Identity on the African Diaspora
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Beautiful Mexican Brown Girls!
An overseas region of France, Martinique is a part of the European Union and its currency is the euro. The island enjoys a higher standard of living than most other Caribbean countries and its official language is French with a Martiniquan Creole being widely spoken. (My husband and I got into a little fender bender in a roundabout once and neither one of us understood the French creole being spoken even though our French language skills are fair enough. It was, as you can imagine, an animated exchange.) "Martinique's Creole is based on French and African languages with elements of English, Spanish, and Portuguese. It continues to be used in oral storytelling traditions and other forms of speech and to a lesser extent in writing. Its use is predominant among friends and close family. Though it is normally not used in professional situations, members of the media and politicians have begun to use it more frequently as a way to redeem national identity and prevent cultural assimilation by mainland France. For the most part, the local Creole is intelligible to speakers of Standard French, as it has lost some of its distinct dialectal qualities." (Yeah, you're telling me.) [Source: Wiki]
Now that I have successfully made myself ache for Martinique (without even saying that much), I'm going to go read a Martiniquan travel book or something and daydream about an upcoming trip my husband and I have planned. Might as well get ready. =)
Fun fact: Martinique is the main setting of the 1944 film To Have and Have Not starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, and although I doubt the movie had very many people of color traipsing about, I absolutely adore the vintage photo of Martiniquan Brown Girls above.
National Hispanic Heritage Month is the period from September 15 to October 15 that recognizes the contributions of Hispanic Americans to the United States and celebrates Hispanic heritage and culture. It's time to celebrate!!!!!September 15 was chosen as the starting point for the celebration because it is the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. They all declared independence in 1821. In addition, Mexico, Chile and Belize celebrate their independence days on September 16, September 18 and September 21, respectively.
Although there is clearly cause for celebration, the richness of Hispanic culture should continue to be celebrated every single day, whether it is officially Hispanic Heritage Month or not.
Stop Generalizing & Stereotyping.
"White people hate President Obama."
"Black people hate White people."
"Asian people hate Black people."
"Latin people all live together."
"Immigrants don't contribute."
You've probably heard these [ridiculous] statements and more. Of course it is true that some people hate other people, but these blanket statements simply aren't true. Maybe you even say them without giving it a second thought. Challenge yourself to consider thinking before you blurt out a generalization or a stereotype. Enough already.
OBG's WOW (Word of the Week) is the noun Wanderlust, another loanword from German to English (just like a previous week's WOW Schadenfreude). Wanderlust means an intense desire to travel and explore the world. A plain and simple example of the latest WOW being used in a sentence might be: Tracey has wanderlust. Etymology: The German word Wandern actually means to hike...or wander...and lust, of course, means desire.
As is the case for German nouns, Wanderlust is capitalized in German, but not capitalized in English. Interestingly, Germans don't use wanderlust to describe that longing to travel; instead, they use Fernweh, (which is strictly German and not a loanword) and literally means an ache for the distance. Do you ache for the distance?
The story about the idea behind OneBrownGirl.com® creator Tracey Friley's new learning adventure program for tween girls - Camp Caribe - can now be found on Oprah's Angel Network® (registration required) as well as another one of Friley's stories - Name Calling: Words Do Hurt - which is the preface to Friley's upcoming book: Talking White: 14 Ways to Cope with Thoughtless Remarks. Ain't life grand?!?!?
Here's a little excerpt from The Idea Behind CampCaribe: "I now understand how I fit in to the world. I understand what my value is, what I am meant to do and what makes me tick. A
nd while it might sound absurd to some, it’s all because of camp." Want to read more? Feel inspired to leave a comment? That would be great! Simply register here and type "OneBrownGirl" (no spaces) in the search box, and tell everyone what you think! (And thanks; it means alot.)
Registration is now open.
Put your feet up...and relax.
Stress has a funny way of creeping up on us when we least expect it. It can negatively affect our health and even the way we interact with the people around us. We owe it to ourselves (and the people we love) to take a little time for ourselves every now and then to unwind and re-energize -- even if it's just for a few minutes. So go ahead and relieve some of life's inevitable little stressors and give yourself permission to slow down for a moment. Find a quiet place away from any distractions (even if it's in the back of your closet, your car, or the lounge at work), put your feet up, take some deep breaths, and relax. You won't be sorry. Honest.
Sherrelle's Story: Green Eyed Brown Girl
I have a beautiful little brown girl with dark brown hair, a little pink bow of a mouth and the cutest button nose. She is smart, funny, a great artist and dancer and talks a blue-streak. But the first thing people notice about her is her green eyes.
On African American people, blue, green, gray or amber-colored eyes can be quite a conversation-starter, much to my daughter's embarrassment. Complete strangers are not really shy about inquiring into the genetic nature of her eye color, as she clearly didn't inherent them from my husband and I.
Read more here.
10 Questions with Brownbaby, Tiffany Rose...
Tiffany Rose is an artist, a business owner, a loving daughter & sister and a brownbaby. She lives in Brooklyn, NY where she loves to walk barefoot in the park, read scripts on the train and listen to soul music during yoga. She believes in working hard and consistently but taking ample time to breathe.
1. What are your cultural origins? My mother is white (of Czech & Polish ancestry) and my father is black (African American). 2. Name 5 beautiful things about your culture. The Food! Between my Grandma's mac n' cheese, collard greens and sweet potato pie and my mom's ham & cabbage stew and adding kielbasa to just about anything...yummy!! lol. The Story. Both sides of my family have some of the most amazing and inspiring stories of struggle, strength and perseverance. I'm so blessed to be made up of so much goodness & strength. Our Family Structure. One of the things my mother loved most about being introduced to African-American culture after marrying my father was being a part of such a large, loving family. Whether it was get-togethers, meals around the table, "spirited conversations" or laughing 'til you're crying; there was [always] a feeling of warmth. Tradition. My mom's Christmas eve ritual, the creative ways we share our time together, meals we eat, and the books we read that I know will be carried on to my children, nieces and nephews. This Latest Version of My Story. There is a new and unique brownbaby story that is being written that is personal to my family and our experiences but so many can relate. Each chance we have to share and create dialogue with each other, change happens...for the better and that is so beautiful. 3. What is your favorite food outside of your own culture? Mexican food is soooo good!!! 4. What language would you like to speak? Italian. It's such a beautiful language and I think it would be amazing to travel to Italy and speak it fluently. 5. What do you like the most about your appearance? I love that when I look closely at myself in the mirror I can see so many pieces of the people I love the most. I really love that I have my mother's smile. 6. Where is the most awe-inspiring place you have visited in the world? Whether it was Jamaica, Florida or on the West Coast...I'm always at my most content when near the ocean. A simple drive along the Pacific Coast Highway is a beautiful experience. 7. Which 3 living Brown Girls would you like to have tea with? Whoopi Goldberg, Rebecca Walker and Oprah Winfrey. 8. What is your favorite chocolate indiscretion? I love milk chocolate iced yellow cake cupcakes. Ferrero Rocher hazelnut chocolates are perfect! And this chocolate frosted donut at my neighborhood donut shop. 9. Currently, what is your favorite quote? When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me." -Erma Bombeck 10. Okay, brownbaby, how about another one? Most things I worry about never happen anyway. -Tom Petty
Dictionary.com defines OBG's Word of the Week (WOW) - hunger - as "a compelling need or desire for food" and "the painful sensation or state of weakness caused by the need of food." And since we've all been hungry at one time or another, we can all relate...on some level, anyway.According to Bread for the World, 1.02 billion people across the world are hungry and almost 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes every day. Hunger manifests itself in many ways other than starvation and famine. Most poor people who battle hunger deal with chronic undernourishment and vitamin or mineral deficiencies, which result in stunted growth, weakness and heightened susceptibility to illness.
So the next time you fulfill a hunger pang or are asked to contribute a can of food to a food drive or to volunteer at a soup kitchen, consider how fortunate you are to be able to provide food for your family and maybe give just a little more. You really might help save a life.
The Independent State of Samoa is located east of the international date line (the imaginary line on the surface of the Earth where the date changes as one travels east or west across it) and south of the equator, about halfway between Hawai‘i and New Zealand in the Polynesian region of the Pacific Ocean. According to the CIA World Factbook, Samoa has a population of 182,265 of which 92.6% are Samoans, 7% Euronesians (persons of European and Polynesian blood) and 0.4% are Europeans.
American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of The Independent State of Samoa.
Papua New Guinea is located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean in a region defined since the early 19th century as Melanesia. It is one of the most diverse countries on Earth, with over 850 indigenous languages and at least as many traditional societies, out of a population of just under 6 million. It is also one of the most rural, with only 18 percent of its people living in urban centres. The country is also one of the world's least explored, culturally and geographically, and many undiscovered species of plants and animals are thought to exist in the interior of Papua New Guinea.
There are hundreds of ethnic groups indigenous to Papua New Guinea, the majority being from the group known as Papuans, whose ancestors arrived in the New Guinea region tens of thousands of years ago. The others are Austronesians, their ancestors having arrived in the region less than four thousand years ago. There are also numerous people from other parts of the world now resident, including Chinese, Europeans, Australians, Filipinos, Polynesians and Micronesians.
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