Thanksgiving Generosity

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The holiday season is typically a time focused on family and being thankful for the best things in your life. This is the most true around Thanksgiving. Now that the day is over and we’re well into black Friday, I thought I’d make mention of the generosity that I happened to see over the break. My mother belongs to a women’s club in my hometown. They do charity work in the area and for Thanksgiving they collect food for those who may not be able to afford a Thanksgiving dinner. This year they broke records thanks to one anonymous donor who sent a truck full of food to the donation drop off location.

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Just from personal experience, many of us know what it is like to feel the joy of giving a gift to another. In a New York Times article written by Tara Parker-Pope, gift giving is seen as one of the best things that can provide a psychological benefit this holiday season. In fact, she states that “Indeed, psychologists say it is often the giver, rather than the recipient, who reaps the biggest psychological gains from a gift.”  When it comes to the gift of food, I believe it may have even further beneficial results. Food is a great gift to an entire family, especially if they would have had trouble putting it on their tables otherwise. It provides everyone with a gift that they can enjoy and give them a great opportunity to get together and celebrate the holidays. I hope that this giving extends from Thanksgiving into other occasions this season. I encourage others to take the joy of giving material items such as toys and include the gift of food for those who need it. The smiles of those who receive food are brilliant and the community output which was shown in my own town was fantastic. This picture to the right was just half of the space that was given to collect donations. If you’re interested in reading the article on the psychology of gift giving, you can find it here. I enjoyed my holiday break and I hope you all did as well! 

Shannon


Sweet Potatoes.

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If theres one thing I look forward to on thanksgiving its my grandmas sweet potatoes. They aren’t just an ordinary sweet potatoes. The recipe has been passed down for many years. When it was my grandmas turn to make them, she didn’t let us down. They were just as amazing as they always have been. In the recipe, she uses two whole sticks of butter(which is a little crazy), brown sugar marshmallow fluff and regular mini marshmallows.  When it comes out of the oven the little marshmallows have a light brown coating on top and the smell of brown sugar fills the kitchen . Just thinking about them makes me mouth water. Since Iv been watching  and helping my grandma make them for years, when I have my own family I will make them for my thanksgiving and hopefully they enjoy them as much as I do.

Cliche Thanksgiving Dinner

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Yesterday was the best day of the year for me because it was the day where there is no shame in eating until you can’t eat anymore. Thanksgiving is about being thankful for what you have and just good times around family. It is different from Christmas because the holiday is not centered around gifts. Its just about family and coming together to give thanks for the life you are living. This is why I feel as though Thanksgiving is more about food than Christmas because people during Christmas just eat to get to the presents but most families on Thanksgiving just eat. With the focus on eating and not presents people pay more attention to their meals.

There is an array of food from the moment you walk into the Thanksgiving dinner. From a selection of appetizers, that is custom to your family. Then you have the main course which for most people is the same around the country, Turkey! Most people have the same side dishes as well to go along with the turkey. These side dishes include stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and cranberries. The side dishes may vary for each family and what they like best but most families do have similar side dishes no matter what culture background they come from.

My family being an Italian-American family has all the same side dishes that I listed but different appetizers to start out. At every holiday we always start with the cliché mozzarella, tomatoes, and roasted red peppers. We also have a variety of other things such as the cliché vegetables with the dip in the middle. We also have the assortment of cheese and crackers with pepperoni next to the cheeses. As you can see we have some Italian appetizers and some American appetizers and that’s what makes our appetizers different from most people. IMG_0471

Thanksgiving

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Thanksgiving is a very important holiday that my family celebrates because it is all about giving thanks and appreciating family. My moms side of the family comes over to my house and brings all different kinds of food to feast on. My family is so big, that my mom has to move furniture around and so many tables and chairs so we can all fit. We all sit together and talk making memories to remember. My mom and aunt love to cook so while everyone is gathered together, they are in the kitchen cooking. They make an abundance amount of food that we have leftovers for the rest of the week. My mom and aunt put together the turkey and make stuffing and yams and cranberry sauce and artichokes and so much more.

We all fill our plates and even grab a second plate for more food because it is that good. My whole family agrees to put our phones away so we share this moment and not miss one thing. Being able to have such a great family means a lot to me and I am so thankful for everyone in it. After we fill our stomaches with all that food, we play fun games such as heads up and LRC. We then prepare for dessert which is my favorite part. There was all sorts of desserts like pumpkin pie, apple pie, ice-cream, brownies, eggnog and chocolate chip cookies. We end the night with a cup of coffee or hot tea and relax as a family. At the end of the day I’m feeling so full that it feels like I never want to eat again. I really enjoy thanksgiving with my family because we all get along and It’s nice coming home from college and seeing everyone.

Thanksgiving has made me realize to cherish every moment I get with my family because you never know what could happen. My family means so much to me and I would do anything to stay with them longer but I must wait for the next holiday to see them which is Christmas. I am so thankful to have such amazing people in my life and getting to spend Thanksgiving with them makes me realize more how important they are to me.

Eating at Home vs. Eating in College

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A few days ago I was talking to my mom on the phone and asked her if she could make me grilled cheese and baked ziti when I got home. It is funny because I use to complain that all my mom ever made was pasta and grilled cheese. Now it is all I want.

I’ve noticed how differently I have eaten when I got to college. At home I ate a lot of frozen meals and apples. Now at college the dining hall has so much more variety. And I guess it was because of my pure laziness, but at home I never really cooked the meals that the dining hall offers. Now granted the meals at the dining hall are a little dodgy,they still have a few good dishes.

Another thing I have noticed is how conditioned my body became to meals. I never had breakfast when I was in high school. Now I have trouble at first eating in the morning. I would often feel lack of appetite or nausea before and after breakfast here. For lunch nothing changed. But after is where things I had the most struggles. After a day at high school I would come and immediately get a snack. It was something I did subconsciously. So even though my schedule is different, when I come back from class to my dorm room I always look for a snack. And when I ran out of food a few days ago I called my mom begging her to order me some snacks on Amazon. The same thing happens after dinner too. I ate dinner really late at night (at around 8-9) at home. So now that I eat at around 6 I always feel like I have to eat something at night.

In the end however, I am somewhat getting use to the new eating schedule. I stopped snacking just slightly and can now stomach breakfast. This may not seem significant but to me, the girl who was scared that I would never adjust to college life, I think of it as a small feat.

 

Thanksgiving – Glazed Over

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You guys are going to think I’m obsessed with Charlie Brown, since my last holiday post was about It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. Well last night my mom and I watched A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and it got me thinking. Yeah I don’t know why I’m having so many philosophical thoughts about Charlie Brown.

A good portion of A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving is the whole gang talking about the first Thanksgiving. I started thinking about how when I was younger I was told the whole history of Thanksgiving every year – or so I thought. We were all told about the Pilgrims and the Native Americans and how they “helped” each other and then they had a big feast  to give thanks to the good harvest they had that year. When I got to high school, they finally pulled the veil and told us the real history, about how many of the Native Americans were to die later from the Columbian Exchange, the Pilgrims stole their food, and made many of the Native Americans slaves.

Now Thanksgiving is a myth told again and again to children. They often have Thanksgiving pageants where the children tell the “story of Thanksgiving” in song and dance. There are decorations with happy Pilgrims and Native Americans, and of course happy looking Turkey often wearing Pilgrim hats.

The idea of Thanksgiving is a nice thought. It’s one of the most secular holidays, and it’s celebrated by all kinds of people in America. Maybe the idea of Thanksgiving could be rerouted to the celebration of friends and family and actually giving thanks to all the good in life, instead of the history of the first Thanksgiving.

Manipulation of Our Youth

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I recently came across a New York Times article titled “More Research Suggests Fast-Food Advertising Works on Children” by Dell’Antonia. One of the points made in this article is that when children watch more television and see more fast-food commercials, they are more likely to ask their parents to visit these fast-food chains such as Burger King and McDonald’s. Also, what makes it even worse is that the parents give into their kids and bring them to these fast-food chains. In a study conducted from 2009-2010, researchers found out that 79 percent of child-directed fast-food commercials were broadcasted on television channels such as Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and Disney (the intended audience of these channels are pre-school kids and pre-teens). Ninety-nine percent of those commercials were from Burger King and McDonald’s alone. From my own recollection of my childhood, I remember that on a commercial break, at least three fast-food ads were shown on each of these channels. In 2006, the Council of Better Business Bureaus began the voluntary Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI). This initiative asked these fast-food restaurants to take a pledge to only advertise more healthy items to children and to not advertise to children under 6 years old. Sadly, only Burger King promised to not advertise to young kids. In another study, researchers discovered that many children did not remember any of the healthy foods shown in the commercials by these fast-food chains. Also, the researchers discovered that 81 percent of the 99 three to seven-year-olds in the study remembered French fries in a Burger King commercial even though apple slices were shown and French fries were not. As of 2013, Burger King has reduced its advertising to children by 50 percent. Children are easy to influence and it is not right that these fast-food chains are manipulating these weak cognitive minds just to make money. As a country, we should try to figure out a way to protect our youth. If we do not, they will continue to want fast-food more often and many years from now these children will be at a higher risk of obesity.

Here is a link to the entire article:http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/30/more-research-suggests-fast-food-advertising-works-on-children/

 

Immigrating to the United States

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A few weeks ago in my history class, I read a section of the book “97 Orchard” by Jane Ziegelman. The section that I read about contained information about the Rogarshevsky family, who were a Russian-Jewish family. This section of the book talks about the family’s immigration story and life for them on the Lower East Side in New York. The Rogarshevsky family immigrated to the United States from Telsh, Lithuania. Abraham and Fannie Rogarshevsky, their five children, along with an orphaned infant niece, sailed from Hamburg and reached Ellis Island on July 19, 1901. The family moved to 97 Orchard St. around 1908. Abraham was a presser in a garment factory and he was paid by the piece. Sadly, Mr. Rogarshevsky was diagnosed with tuberculosis and died the next year. Fannie took in boarders to support the family after her husband died and became the building janitor. She was not paid, but she did not have to pay rent to live in the building. The pushcart markets were essential to the Rogarshevsky Family and many other families living on the Lower East Side.  Pushcarts allowed these families to buy a wide variety of familiar foods at the lowest possible prices and quantities they wanted. One of the main dishes that Jewish families (like the Rogarshevsky family) ate were vegetables in the form of soup. Some of these dishes included beet, cabbage, and carrot soups. Jewish families also used beans, onions, carrots, celery and barley to make a chewy soup known as krupnik. Life in the tenement houses could be hard for many immigrant families, but they also looked out for each other. Immigrants and their neighbors took the responsibility of feeding each other; immigrants gave gifts or food to families struck by tragedies such as death and sickness. There were many windows in these tenement apartments, so many of these families had no privacy. However, this made sure that many immigrant families watch out for the other families in the building and help those families that are in need.

After reading this section of “97 Orchard”, I was reminded about my grandmother’s immigration story to the United States. In 1948 she immigrated to the United States from Italy when she was 18 years old. I love my grandmother very much and reading about this immigrant family reminds me of what my grandmother went through when she came her. My grandmother did not have much money growing up in Italy and Italy was also a dangerous place to live in because of World War II. In hope of a better life (like the Rogarshevsky and many other immigrant families) my grandmother immigrated to the United States and she raised a family in Brooklyn, New York. My grandmother did not have a easy time in the United States; she had to work long hours in a sewing factory like Abraham Rogarshevsky and she was also paid by the piece. This reading gave me a newfound love and appreciation for these immigrants and even my own grandmother. This reading allowed me to show how strong and courageous these immigrants like my grandmother were. They came to this country in search of a new life and through hard work, many of them were able to achieve success, as well as bringing their cultures to the United States.

This is a family portrait of the Rogarshevsky family.

 

This is a picture of the Jewish dish known as krupnik.

 

Exploring Sunset Park

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This semester, me and two of my classmates ventured to Sunset Park, Brooklynn and we went there to explore the neighborhood and learn its history. One of the historical landmarks that we visited was Green-Wood Cemetery; it was established in 1838 and was one of the first cemeteries in the country to have a graveyard not located at a church. It also has a great view of the city and the harbor. The next place that we visited was Brooklynn’s proclaimed ”Chinatown”. Going down 8th Avenue, we were able to see a flux of people who were of Chinese descent. There were many restaurants and small shops that sold fish, fresh fruits, and vegetables. One of the restaurants that we went to was Kai Feng Fu Dumpling House. My teacher had recommended that we visit it, and sure enough his recommendation was not disappointing. I ordered shrimp and pork dumplings and I must say that they were absolutely delicious. Lets just say that I have been having a craving for dumplings ever since I ate them and I made sure my mom ordered me more dumplings to snack on almost every week since then. Even though my project on this neighborhood is complete, I will try to visit Sunset Park more often and I can’t wait to find out what other historical aspects of the neighborhood I will learn about.

This is the beautiful entrance to Green-Wood Cemetery established in 1838.

The Tragic Attack on Paris

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In my previous history class, Dr. Smith devoted the class to discussing the recent attack on Paris. Paris was recently attacked by a terrorist group called ISIS. ISIS managed to bomb small restaurants, cafes, etc., killing approximately 130 people in there mid 20’s and 30’s. These people were innocent and were just enjoying themselves on a Friday night and in a matter of seconds their world came crashing down on them. This attack has brought about a lot of questions and concerns about our safety and as to why this is all happening.

ISIS has brought a lot of panic all over the world. People are scared to leave their houses. Parents are scared to leave their kids alone due to all of these crazy things that go on in this world we live in today. Why should we be living in fear? Living in New York, i always believed I was safe but after these bombings and hearing how ordinary people like me got killed while innocently drinking coffee, seriously concerns me. It concerns me even more knowing that ISIS is now targeting us. We can not stop our lives because of what is happening, and I do not believe we can do anything because it’s in the hands of ISIS and our government. It is our governments job to protect us and keep us safe. There are some things that we can not stop because it is not in our hands, but I do believe we should be on high alert and have extra security until this issue is resolved. ISIS is succeeding in making us feel afraid and fear what’s to come with all the videos they are releasing throughout the media.

It deeply saddens me to know what our world has come down to. These attacks and bombs should not be okay. New York City has experienced a terrorist attack once before, the falling of the Twin Towers, and since that devastating day we have picked ourselves up and have become an even stronger nation. This Paris attack was a sign for us to be careful and take ISIS more seriously.