Author Archives: Dan-chan
Peter and Miguel’s Nori Sandwich
No More Hurting Dogs
Miguel Johnson
I am the youngest of 4 kids in my family. We’re not your average family because I don’t think we fight much. We we’re all taught to love one another and love everyone we come across. When I was younger this seemed so strange and illogical.At the the time it seemed like a rule I wouldn’t see myself following. I thought that if someone hit you, you hit them harder. Of course I was only 4, so I definitely grew of of it. My household income is above the regular standard, so I never really had to work for what I wanted. I’d just ask and I’d receive. I’m always saying how I grow tired of it sometimes and people just look at me with the strangest glare. They say how they would switch with me in a heartbeat, I would probably let them to be honest. Don’t get me wrong, I love the family I was born into, but I’d like to know what it’s like to work and actually earn something for a change.
Peter “Titan Sun Bullet” Dang 檀陽太郎
My mother constantly reminded about how education in Vietnam was not free during her time and how she commuted two hours by foot everyday to attend class – from outside its windows. Raised by my immigrant family from Vietnam and inspired by my mother’s story, I decided that I want to work as an educator with people living in poverty, who may lack resources those with money have. As a first generation college student from the disenfranchised but culturally rich Bronx, I had the privilege of growing in a multicultural society where skin color and mother languages are not communication barricades, but hues and shades that form our identity. Through working in Vietnam and Asia, I want to bring the diversity that the Bronx gave me to Japan, a country with a strong desire for international exchange, but lack of resources to do so.
Having matriculated at Vassar College, located in Poughkeepsie just two hours north of the Bronx, I noticed how the town’s large immigrant population quite paralleled my own neighborhood. I continued to support what I believe in and decided to work for Urban Education Initiative, a group of Vassar programs that allowed me to actively help Poughkeepsie public schools. Through VAST, I created and managed the Yu-Gi-Oh Circle at Poughkeepsie Middle School, incorporating the trading card game as an afterschool activity for young gamers interested. I was also able to teach critical thinking through the mechanics of Yu-Gi-Oh, in addition to the importance of sportsmanship and fair play. Through VELLOP (Vassar English Language Learners Outreach Program), I worked as an assistant language teacher in classrooms with a high number of students learning English as a second language, focusing in freshman math classes. By using my own experience from bilingual community, I simplified complex problems into a tangible form, helping students solve problems through a logical approach.
My goal to become a better educator was cultivated even further through study abroad at Waseda University. Focusing on Japanese and English Phonetics and Phonology, I learned how to teach these languages to learners as a second language. Having taken many courses taught in Japanese, I encountered challenges international students feel when they study in the United States in a language besides their own. During my cultural practicum, I worked at Magokoro Net, a volunteer group located in Iwate whose mission is to reconstruct lives affected by the East Japan Earthquake. I worked in the heavily affected Rikuzen Takada, removing hardened debris that clogged up the town waterways; I also interacted with many survivors through chakai and matsuri, and though these conversations were in Japanese, my role as an international student allowed both sides to grow – conversations that working in education in Vietnam and Japan will allow me to continue engaging in.
During August, I organized and managed a camp with a fellow volunteer in Kita Senri called “Suimu Camp,” whose purpose was to give people from Fukishima psychologically affected by the disaster a chance to enjoy camping. As the only non-Japanese person, I was a window to the United States, a chance that they did not expect when they signed up for the camp. Through Magokoro Net and Suimu Camp, I showed many Japanese people that there are many people overseas with commitment to learning Japanese and its culture, while being able to show my own roots – that gaikoku is not scary at all. It is through working overseas in Vietnam and Japan that I will be able to continue working for an organization where my role as a foreigner is a cultural resource.
Following my passion to work in classrooms with students from multiethnic backgrounds, I will gain heavily through working in a foreign environment,, where adaptation to a multilingual environment is necessary. Having already started teaching at Vassar, I would like to someday attain special education certification at the graduate level, focusing on children with difficulties in language and reading development. It is through working overseas that I will reinforce the skills needed to value difference in others, using my language and culture abilities acquired through study abroad to continue contributing to Vietnam and Japan – countries that I continue to love so dearly.
Here is my website, the Shadow Nebula.
The Story of Peter Dang
Draft post.