3. Different Culture

As "Nectar In A Sieve" is written by an Indian woman and shows much of the Indian culture throughout the book, and because we are reading it in class, this is the perfect time to talk about the culture differences. For one, here, we usually don't pay dowry. One problem that arises during the story is the ability to afford a suitable dowry for the soon-to-be husband of the daughter. Another cultural difference is the fact that pretty much the one reason for having a wife, is to make children. This is shown when Ira is "returned" to her family. The only reason that she is is because she is infertile, and her family understands this. In my opinion, in America, people marry mostly for love. In India, the order is: get married, have kids, and THEN fall in love. Here, it is usually: fall in love, get married and THEN have kids. One other difference is that, in India, there was someone who chose who you were married to. In the end, there are ALOT of cultural differences between India and the United States.

2. Overcoming A Struggle

Yesterday, I was really in the mood for some Disney, so I got out some old tapes and watched Robin Hood. There are several characters attermpting to overcome struggles. Many instantly think of Robin Hood, who is constantly trying to help the poor in their hard time, there is also the poor themselves, who are trying to survive with hardly any money at all. But, there is one character who works tirelessly to overcome his battle with guilt. Prince John. As revealed in the movie, he came up with the idea for his right-hand man, Sir Hiss, to hypnotize his brother, the king. PJ wanted King Richard to go away, leaving the throne all to himself. On top of PJ feeling slightly guilty about that, througout the movie, Sir Hiss makes PJ feel very guilty, because PJ destroys many of his mother's old things. I believe that, because of the guilt he feels, PJdevelops a bad habit of sucking on his thumb. The guilt doesn't only do that, but it forces him to become obsessed with becoming a great king. He puts all his energy towards catching Robin Hood. Prince John never overcame his guilt, but it wasn't for lack of trying.

1. Natural Disasters

I learned, from a National Geographic article that on December 26, 2004 an enormous tsunami rolled across the Indian Ocean. In just 24 hours, more than 150,000 people were dead or missing. It also left millions of people from 11 different countries without homes. This seriously affected the way that millions of people lived their lives. For me, I would be very distraught with loosing my possesions. Pictures, letters, old projects. Those things help remind me of my history. Without them, it would feel as though a part of me was missing. I can't even begin to imagine what those people felt when they lost their homes, their families and their possesions. It would be interesting if people could go and visit the people that were involved with this terrible disaster, to see how they are now. Or maybe to ask them how the tsunami has affected their day-to-day lives. The hard thing to realize, is that people's lives change dramatically every day due to natural disasters.