Still a Gypsy

We are discussing race and ethnicity in Anth 110 thess days. There was a viewing of a film, actually it was a show called WideAngle, in which people of Brazil instituted a quota system in order to get more minorities into their prestegious college in Brazilia. There was a girl on this show that definitely considered herself black, and she was against this whole idea of quotas, as it really puts the focus on racial diffrences, and not on exam scores. The problem with going strictly be exam scores was that the poorest neighborhoods didn't get a fair share of test prep, while the middle and upper class people got to learn in a clean and quiet environment. The poor school was very distracting, and teachers had to work very hard to teach over the roar of the crowds of studentsin the hallway.

The slum, located on the outskirts of Brazilia were substandard, often put together with sheet metal and other found objects, while the middle and upper classes were often seen living in nice homes, driving cars, and otherwise living like a common American. These children did not even know that there was a poverty issue in Brazilia, because they never saw the shanties just outside of town.

I can remember my ex sister-in-law telling me about the projects when I was visiting quincy. This is before they started allowing people to put flowers in their yards, and generally fix themup how they saw fit. I looked at  this place, and thought it looked rather creepy. The buildings looked rather drab. Your basic red brick buildings. I was eighteen when I moved in to these apartments. I was young and rather stupid, but therewere things I needed to learn. I made quite a few friends living there,  and eventually my Dad came to live there, and still does. The place doesn't look near as creepy as it did those daysas I passed by on the outside.

Here's the funny part. The apartments in the projects in Quincy are now much nicer than what some college students live in just off campus at Western Illinois University. Believe me. I lived in one of those apartments too. They really couldn't even be justified as apartments, not mine anyway. It was in a large building, and the apartment basically consisted of one big room, with a little cubbyhole for a computer area, and a small athroom, no bigger than a walk-in closet. The stove, sink and fridge were all put in this large room, maybe a 10X10 footer. I then decided that I was living just as well in a trailer so I moved into a trailer on the East side. I immediately felt saferin that trailer park, rather than on the side of town closest to the university. funny huh?

I got further away from the university when I was a student here befre. I lived in a unit ownedbyDick Hattwick. Hewas a nice man, and he took reallygoodcare of his places. Themaintenance men were also retty decent. The apartment had wood flooring, and the bathroom hadone of those oldclawfoot tubs. That was one of my better rental experiences while a student here. Right now, I own a trailer,  and I live on the shopping district. I'm looking to move back onto campus for my last semester of school. This would mean that I'll be able to go to shool exclusively and not worry about working a job to pay the bills, because they will be paid in one fell swoop. I'm looking forwardto the freedom of being able to go home on breaks from school. After that, I dontknow what will happen. We'll see.