Hey folks,
I’d like to
share with you a little bit about myself.
I’m married
and have three children – two daughters and a son. The oldest daughter is nineteen
and my youngest is eight, while my son is twelve years old. My children were
born in Massachusetts.
I have a
technical background and work as a test engineer. I’m pursuing an M.Ed in
Education, Curriculum and Instruction – Mathematics.
Since we’ll
be discussing and learning about diversity and ethnicity in our classrooms
and neighborhoods, I will classify myself as a first generation American of
Pakistani heritage and Persian roots. My wife is from Pakistan as well and we
had an arranged marriage. I immigrated to Massachusetts twenty one years ago – I
had family ties here from my mother’s side of the family.
Living in
the United States, we try to balance our traditional and cultural beliefs with
the values and norms of our adopted country and we cherish the diversity that America
has to offer.
I find your comments about your roots and family history quite interesting, Adel. I'd like to hear more about it sometime. Particularly interesting is your mention of the arranged marriage. As you probably know, that is a concept quite foreign to many Americans, and I know people who frown upon it. However, I know two couples who are together from an arranged marriage and it has worked out wonderfully for both - so who is anyone to judge? It shows that all of us can fall prey to xenophobia about other cultures and traditions sometimes, but we need only look in the mirror to find that our backgrounds and traditions could easily appear strange to people of other cultures. But I like that so many cultures have such varied beliefs and traditions. Indeed, I think that the diversity of the human family is one of its most valuable traits.
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