Cultural Education & Study Abroad Readiness

Milwaukee Market

2007-07-09T13:36:11Z

Today was our first day meeting as a group since we returned from Mexico about a week ago. We went to the Milwaukee Market on Water Street. When we went to Mexico we went to a market called the People's Market. At the People's Market everything was open where the elements could get to them.

We compared the differences and similarities between the two markets. A similarity that the kids noticed of each of the markets was that they allowed you to try items before you bought them but as one student put it "I felt way safer try'n food at the Milwaukee Market than the People's Market."

In the Summer the CESAR project does not have Spanish classes, that is reserved for the school year. In the Summer we learn geography, cultural differences around the world, art projects, visit cultural festivals and many other activities. I hope you enjoy hearing about our many Summer adventures in the future.

Teneisha

Learning about Africa

2007-08-05T14:38:42Z

Counting Africa's countries

Saturday July 28th was a great activity. A friend of mine, Halanna, taught the kids about the continent of Africa. She lived 6 months in the Ivory Coast a few years ago, before the country broke out in Civil War and then she was moved to Ghana.

Halanna is deeply interested in the culture and economy of the entire continent. She taught the kids about the different regions, the traditional clothing and a multitude of music that is within Africa.

The boys were very curious and Halanna was very knowledgeable. If she did not know the answer to their questions she gave them great direction in the best places to look to find the answer.

Listening to Halanna's cooking instructions

We made a traditional dish called Peanut Chicken with rice. You should have seen the look on the boys faces when she said that it was made of peanuts and tomato sauce. Those skeptical looks changed the moment they tasted the finish product. I must admit that I was a little surprised myself. It was very good.

Good to the last drop

We also made a traditional drink called Bissap which is made with dried flowers. The boys said that it tasted just like koolaid. Everyone had a great time and I thank Halanna so much for taking the time out of her busy schedule to teach CESAR something new!

Teneisha

New Boys in CESAR!

2007-08-16T14:43:24Z

Hi Everyone,

I have some pretty exciting news. We have accepted three new boys to the CESAR program. Their names are Kendal, Darrell and Kentrell. This brings our total for the summer to 7 boys. All the boys seem pretty excited about the new additions. On Thursday we had an informal meal to let the boys introduce themselves to one another and the original boys talked about what they liked about CESAR, the rules of the program and what the new boys hope to get out of the program.

Friday we went to the Wisconsin State Fair, kind of a getting back to our roots activities. The theme for this activity is why I love Wisconsin. We have been learning about so many other people and places so I thought that it would be fun to get back to us as Wisconsinites. Coming soon will be the paragraphs from the boys on the 5 best things about Wisconsin which will be attached to the new pictures for this month. Stay tuned for more of the CESAR program! Next week we will be volunteering.

Teneisha

Irish Fest and KEEP GREATER MILWAUKEE BEAUTIFUL

2007-08-27T04:37:33Z

The boys posing with Emily Brown

This week the boys and I went to Irish Fest and we also worked with KEEP
GREATER MILWAUKEE BEAUTIFUL. The boys had a great time volunteering at the
GreenWish Village on the Summer Fest Grounds.

]]> CESAR volunteered on the games. Emily Brown, the Education Program Manager
for Keep Greater Milwaukee Beautiful, had nothing but complements about
the boys and how mature they seemed. The boys even worked in the rain!
They loved working with the games as well as playing a few of their own.
Emily taught the boys that you do not have to throw away all you garbage
you can have fun with it. After learning the rules of the games the boys
were all set to go to work.

On the golf course game the boys used old coffee cans to make optical
coursed for adults and kids and on the recycling pond players had to find
the metal in the pond.

The boys also got the chance to go around to the other gaming area
activities, two of their favorites were making a radio and lights work
just by pedaling a bicycle and guessing what items were recycled to make
what. They were surprised to learn that you could make a fleas sweat shirt
out of glass!

After we were finished volunteering for the day the boys got a chance to
listen to Irish music were they made their own beats to fit hip hop and we
watched a bag pipe performances. Which really shocked them a bit one boy
even said, "Look Teneisha they're wearing skirts!" I of course explained the
kilts to them before hand but it didn't stop them from saying, "It still
looks like a skirt to me."

We had a great time and Emily loved the boys and we have agreed to
volunteer with GreenWish again in the future.

Volunteering

An image of the golf course...

Bagpipe players

'Fishing' for metal

Listening to Irish music

The recycling pond...

Pizza concludes a full day!

September 2007 Calender

2007-09-12T04:09:25Z

Download file

Program development and the zoo!

2007-09-26T02:37:58Z

Hi everyone,

It has been a few weeks since our last CESAR update. No worries, we are
still going strong. :) For the last few weeks we have had Spanish classes
twice a week and an activity one day a week. I am still actively
recruiting other students for the program and hope to have a wide variety
of students apply! Further more, if any one has any fundraising ideas that
they wish to share please email me at teneisha@global-lab.org . The kids
are always asking what trip we have planned for next summer and we could
all do with a little (a lot) of funding.

]]> This month the kids and I have started a session on using our senses to
understand other people and places. The participants from this summer's
trip to Mexico were asked about sights, sounds and smells that were
distinctive to Mexico and how the senses brought back memories of their
time in Cuernavaca. It was very enjoyable and the kids never seem to
forget the best their "greatest achievement" in their opinion, ability
climbing a mountain.

We have gone to the domes and the zoo here in Milwaukee and the boys drew
pictures of the various plants and animals from different regions of the
world and answered questions on why they survive in their particular parts
of the world and what would be needed from these things to adapt to other
parts of the world. Just as people, what would they need to do to adapt to
other people and places?

We have one more week in September and it's going to be great! Come back
and see what we accomplish:)

Teneisha

Milwaukee Int'l Film Fest and Civic Discussion

2007-10-03T02:32:32Z

Hi Everyone

The group and I went to the Milwaukee International Film Festival's
movie, Viva Zapatero!. This movie was a documentary about a famous Italian
comedian, Sabina Guzzanti, who's show was canceled when she chose to make
fun of the Italian government and her quest to get media executives and
the government to honestly admit to why her show was axed. It touched on
censorship and democracy and was a funny take on citizen responsibility.
The boys and I had a discussion afterward about what they felt censorship
and democracy meant and if they believed that some things should be
censored.

They felt that since they were kids there was some things that they were
not allowed to see on t.v. because their parents did not think that it was
age appropriate. They joked about their parents censoring them as well as
school but I also mentioned that once they turned 18 they would be allowed
to make more decisions on what was appropriate but while they were kids,
sometimes adults did things because they felt that it was for their own
good, which led us into a discussion about human responsibility toward one
another. (In the future I plan to discuss the Declaration of Human Rights
with the kids later next month.)
Stay tuned for next week update!

Teneisha

Puerto Rican Birthday!

2007-10-22T04:08:45Z

THe kids and I went to a birthday party, Puerto Rican Style. A friend of
mine invited the kids and I to her son's birthday party. There were tons
of people there and even more food. There was also a pretty great DJ that
blasted Puerto Rican music. They had a great time. They asked me why there
were a lot of people who looked black but were from Puerto Rico. I
explained just like everywhere else, there are different shades of people
from every country. Sean said that "for a second there was one guy I asked
a question and I could have swarn he was black." There were a lot of kids
that they could play with. It took them a little time to warm up to
everyone but in the end it turned out great. I even helped in the kitchen
a little. My friend said that they had been cooking for 2 days working on
her 3 year old son's birthday party.

]]> We are also working on cultural cartoon comic strips. It took me a few
weeks to get some comics together that showed the kids the cultural
differences within the comic strips of our Milwaukee News paper. Quan said
that it probably took so long because really most cultural cartoons are
shown during a certain month, meaning only when that months cultural
events came around. Out of the twenty of so comics in our newspaper, two
depict an African American and hispanic cartoon. We decided to make our
own cultural comics which the boys are working on now and I hope to share
with you soon.

Cultural cartoons

Huge meal

Kids enjoying the party

The matriarch of the family

November Calender

2007-10-31T04:47:29Z

Download file

November 3, 2007: Program Update

2007-11-14T01:04:48Z

The kids and I went to a Native American dance and drum competition today.
I enjoyed the vibrant colors and bells of the costumes while the boys
enjoyed the drum beats more. There main point of the drumming music was,
"I can rap to this". What everyone does not know about the boys is that
they love to "free style", make up words on the spot to beats that they
hear. I can say they definedly tried. We also got a chance to try some
Native American food. They said it was good but they are used to eating
things with more flavor and hot, which is probably why they like Mexican
food sooo much.

November 10, 2007: Program Update

2007-11-14T01:05:31Z

Today the boys and I went to the Schultz Audubon Nature Center to
experience Sky Hunters. They boys got to see a Condor up close and to ask
all the questions that they wanted about nature and how the Condor lives.
Just to let you all know, this Condor was not captured, it was rescued
after being attacked by other birds and would not be able to survive in
the wild by its self.

They boys also got a chance to see nature up close when we went on an hour
hike. They were a little disappointed that they only got to see one deer
and a few ducks but the fact is no matter how many times I asked them to
walk silently and whisper when they talked, the noise seemed to get
louder. We did here animals running away from us though,or you could see
the grass move while animals were escaping us :). They really did enjoy
the walk and they asked if they could do it again sometime. It is starting
to get pretty cold here so it might be something that we plan for the
Spring.

November 17 Update

2007-12-27T22:05:51Z

Update November 17, 2007:
The boys and I went to the International Folk Fair today. It was very
exciting. There were over 50 different countries to chose from. It is fun
to learn about so many different places in one afternoon. Part of the day
we watched the different countries display their festive outfits and
dances and the other part of the day was spent trying different foods
around the world, learning about geography and history, and looking at the
many different items that were displayed around the fair. I wish there
were more activities like this in Milwaukee. As the weather gets colder
Wisconsinites tend to stay indoors and there are less outside activities
available to the kids but that is just another aspect to Wisconsin culture
and it will not stop CESAR from learning.

December Update

2007-12-27T22:07:52Z

Hi everyone

I want to thank you for reading the updates of CESAR's activities over the
last few months. As always we enjoy reading the great feedback about what
a positive program that you all believe CESAR is and can be. I am writing
to let you know the CESAR is going to be taking a little break for the
rest of December. We will begin again in January and I hope to see you all
right back here. Thank you so much again for everyone's support and
encouragement. Until 2008, Happy Holidays:)

Update from Teneisha

2008-02-04T03:53:38Z

Hey CESAR Blog Fans,

Thank you so much for your patience as we have begun 2008 with more new
students and activities. :) C.E.S.A.R. now has a central meeting place
thanks to Faith Temple Church in Milwaukee Wisconsin. Minister Ernest
Eubanks has graciously offered the use of their classroom so that I can teach
Spanish and programing with C.E.S.A.R.

I have been teaching Spanish for the last few weeks to over 15 people and
C.E.S.A.R. will do programming once a month and during Spanish classes. I
have been busy building lesson plans, homework etc. I have never met so
many people excited about homework before :)

If there is anyone interested in joining C.E.S.A.R. and our Spanish
classes which are FREE, please contact me, Teneisha Ellis, at
teneisha@global-lab.org. Global Learning Across Borders is comitted to
helping youth and minorities experience study abroad and cultural
education opportunities. Again, I want to remind everyone that a majority of the
C.E.S.A.R. student are 11-17 but everyone is welcome to the Spanish
classes.

Update from Teneisha

2008-03-03T22:49:24Z

Today we visited the Winter Pow Wow presentations at the State Fair
Grounds. Every year Native American communities from around the United
States Gather here each year compete with each other on Dance Styles,
Costume Decoration and Drumming. They also give the audience members a
chance to experience different dances which the kids enjoyed. They also
got the chance to see how Dream Catchers and Flutes were made and to ask
questions about the use of certain dances. They got to touch and taste
different aspects of Native American Culture and they had numberous
questions! I think that in the future we will need to seek out a person
willing to discuss Native American culture, which I am not an expert on,
:)with the kids. We always have an amazing time whereover and whatever
activities that I have planned. I have been very lucky to have core
students interested in everything and I want to take this time to thank
them for all of their feedback and things that they would like to do,
places they like to go and we have never stopped talking about our
experience in Mexico last summer. More updates coming soon!