Racism on the Hardwood

For the last one hundred years, racism has been affecting the every day live's of Americans tragically. Even though people do not walk around constantly having racism on their mind, it still happens all around, and some of us do not recognize it. 

Last week in my physical education class, I had noticed that racism is still an issue. In PE classes I have always looked forward to playing a fun game of basketball or volleyball. As all of my peers began to separate ourselves into teams, I had noticed I was the only "white" person playing. For the first five minutes everything was going smoothly. It was finally my turn to serve and after three serves I had missed one. Just because I had made one mistake in the game, I had been kicked off the team by my other teammates.  This situation has made me feel as if I was only being picked on for my skin color. It is very sad to me how all misunderstanding incidents are related to skin color.

Because of the color of my skin, I am not allowed to participate with my peers in a simple game of PE volleyball. Without having to think twice it is obvious that racism is still an issue today.

-Saraha
 

A Little Taste of France

As I sat with my aunt outside of a small french cafe in Paris, France, I started to realize where I actually was. When I visit a foreign country, I sometimes feel as if I am on a whole different planet. From the ways of transportation to the fashion sense, Paris is nothing like America. As my aunt and I sat down to eat, we were watching all the people go by on the narrow side walks. While observing the scurrying pedestrians, I made a comment that it is very easy to identify people's social location. Just by identifying what people wore or how they walked, it was very easy to determine if they were American, French, or even Muslim. Culture is a beautiful thing.

Before I had taken a look at the menu from the cafe, I had never heard of this escargot before. Some people may ask, what even is it? The escargot is a cooked land snail, yes, snail! Escargot is a typical starter dish served in France, Spain, and Portugal. So, for my chance to "step out of the box", I wanted to try escargot for the first time. If you want to experiment with escargot and have a little sample of the french culture, here is a simple recipe. Enjoy!

Escargot, in the Shell with Herb Butter

Ingredients:

• 1 pound escargot, in the shell
• 1 stick of butter, room temperature
•  1 shallot, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons Italian parsley, minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• salt and pepper  

Directions:

• Rinse the escargot under warm water, pat shells dry with a paper towel, then set aside.
• In a small mixing bowl, combine the butter, shallots, garlic, parsley, and lemon juice. Mix all ingredients well with a small spoon. Lightly season butter with salt and pepper, until desired taste is achieved.
• When butter is at desired flavor, begin to scoop a small amount of herb butter in each shell of escargot. If there is extra butter left over after each shell has been filled, go back and continue the process, adding extra butter, until all the butter has been used.
• Put the stuffed shells into the fridge and allow to sit for about 20 minutes, giving the butter enough time to solidify in shells. While the shells are in the fridge, set the oven to 350 degrees F.
• When the butter is solid in the shells, remove from fridge and transfer shells into an oven-safe pan. If possible, avoid placing shells on a sheet tray, as we want the snails to cook in the butter as much as possible. Cook snails for 15 minutes, max.
• Serve snails, in shells, on top of toasted pieces of baguette, or in a fresh tomato-based sauce.

Who am I?

To many people, I am  just another ordinary girl in an ordinary society. I fall in the upper middle class, so I hold many of the same social factors as my classmates. In my opinion, if you do not "step outside of the box", you will not be heard. To be heard, I believe that traveling is a way to step from the original and sometimes boring people in my society. Every summer since the fifth grade, I have made it a goal of mine to travel far out of state, and to experience new adventures every summer. Since this promise I made to myself, I have visited Puerto Rico, Mexico, Jamaica, Washington, Arizona, Florida, London, and my favorite so far, Paris, France.

With the exciting experiences I have gathered from my travels, I have enjoyed tying them to food. Food is a way to be creative, and to express yourself in a very yummy way! Very often, I make new recipes tied to the places I have traveled too. When people try my recipes and dishes, it is a chance for them to learn about who I am, but in a unique way.

I am so grateful to have the opportunities to visit such exotic places, so my goals are too spread my experiences. I believe that many people forget about how beautiful and different our world is. Every culture comes together like the individual threads and patterns of a quilt. In a quilt, the different threads, patterns, and colors come together to hold the blanket together as one whole. Culture is just like a quilt, without all the pieces being tied together, it would not be able to stand and work together. "Sahara's Desserts" will be able to spread my experiences to food and how they are related to sociology.