A Place in my Heart"Ethnography"

                                                             A Place in My Heart

            People say that the strongest bond in the world is the ionic bond but I believe that there is an even stronger bond. When two people share an idea it establishes a connection between both ends of the parties. That bond/connection is called friendship. A friendship is developed through trust, respect, and love. Two minds sharing and expressing the same ideas, same views, and engage in the same activities. The reason I talk about friendship is because the place I choose for my "Ethnography" place is a very important and touching place I hold dearly in my heart. This is the place I am most at with my best’s friends. When I feel down or out of place the best option for me  is to make a few calls and drive to this place because I know for a fact this place does more than meets the eye. It takes me on a spiritual cleansing that would be the closes way to describe it in words. The place I am describing is called Stoney Point. Stoney point is located on Topanga Canyon between Chatsworth Street and the 118 freeway.

            When you arrive to Stoney Point, to many people I would just look like rocks. In the park you would be able a representation of nature and modern life mixed into one place. One of the things you'll acknowledge is that you see nothing but gravel on the floor but the same time you see grass and beautiful trees.  There are various paths that can be taken to different parts in the park. AS you walk around the park you encounter big rocks which are referred to as boulders by the rock climbing community. All these boulders are covered with white marks that are chalk. I personally think this is the most beautiful place I can think of. They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Many considered it as just rocks and dirt I see it as extravagant and jaw dropping.

          Stoney point harbors many people every day. These people come from different backgrounds, different social classes, and even different states. When people gather at Stoney point they all have a common goal and that goal is to pursue a good time. These people engage in hiking, jogging, and my favorite rock climbing. The reason I believe Stoney point is a representation of LA is because just by what I have described is seem as if Stoney point is a miniature version of LA. In LA there are a variety of people that come here from different place etc. and most important have one goal such as Stoney point. Many people see Stoney point as a community and not just a park just as we don't see LA as just a city more like a home.

          My goal for this project was to see a common place I go to and see it from a different perspective. The way I managed to do so is by showing up not ready to climb or hike. Climbing rocks at Stoney point is the usual thing I go to do there and that day I felt weird and out of place in a way. I did get something out of it though by me not climbing I paid more attention to my friends climb and saw the true beauty of this sport. Before I would see it as just climbing and working out but now I see all the techniques and true strength required to do such a thing. It was like a dance but on a rock.

  If one day you have the chance to go to Stoney point I would highly recommend you go. I can be 100% you'll fall in love with it. You meet new people and experience new things you can’t experience anywhere else but Stoney point. If you are ever in the area and choose to go down the hill make sure to say hi to me because I will most likely be there.

                                              

                                            me

                                                Chenoa's cute dog

                                                         what i do :) (rock climbing)

Very difficult climb 

      What Stoney point looks like :)                                             cool picture had to include it

#3 An empty Classroom, Lincohn Heights

 I was recently assigned to read an analyze a poem called An Empty Classroom, Lincoln Heights by William Archila. This poem was about a teacher paying close attention to details on his or her's students. The instructor examines minor details that consist of a child's form of writing on a chalk board and the way a student structures his words and makes an assumption from what he acknowledges. The title of the poem introduces the setting of where this scenario takes place. Lincoln Heights is know to harbor many underprivileged/minority students. The teacher beings to describe by the acts he sees in the students the possible jobs their parents might have like a construction worker and a women on a sewing machine.
    Due to the contents of the poem i understand that this poem was taken place in a place of poverty and low income society. I understand that the speaker of the poem is aware of his surroundings and makes assumption of what they can be because of their parents. At the end of the poem it describes the children curving into men and women in their chairs. I believe the teacher is excited by seeing the children so excited to read and how their eyes pause with every turn of the page. One question i would have about this poem is "What goals did the writer have by writing this poem?". Was is to inspire others to pursue a greater education or just simply write about his understandings.

sacred places blog entry- jonathan marquez

                 A sacred place can define in many ways. It all lies in the eyes of the beholder. A sacred place(space) can consist of many or be intereperted in many different ways. Many belive that in order for a place to be qualified as sacred must be abnormal. Others for example would say that a religious place is sacred. To me a sacred place cant really be defined be just words. According to the text a sacred place is defined as "... has a spiritual significance for a nation, a people, a community, or even an individual.". As you keep reading the text you'll find many articles within the text example of different sacred place people see. some examples that lie within the text are pictures and poems. We have " The way to rainy mountain" which describes a personal and informative narrative of a N. Scott Momaday about a mountian and nature. You'll also encounter a poem by Stephen Dunn about students and teachers understand their own sacred place. Last, we have two photographs one about to teenagers involved in activity which seem to be about smoking marijuana and other appears to be some teenagers resting by a beach area.
                   The photograph on page 322 with two males relaxing by the car caught my eye the most. in the photograph it appears to  be taken in a secluded place in nature because of its environment. Also there are two males relaxing in and out of a car. One of them appears to be laughing while to other seems to be taking a "hit"(drag) from a "joint"( marijuana cigarette). the other male seems to be holding a "blunt"(similar to a joint but contains more marijuana).
                  The reason this caught my eye the most was because of how time much a of a time difference there is between them and us. Judging by the car it seems to be in the time era of the 1985-1990. Today many teenagers take the same role in the activities being portrayed in this photograph of smoking marijuana. just as they are relaxing many teenagers in the 21st century do as well. The time gap doesnt seem to change how marijuana is being used, just to relax and socialize. From what i can tell from the photograph they are in a nature and very secluded. This can be  a sacred place to many people like them. They cant be bothered by the outside world and they are just having fun. The male laughing seems to not being wearing a shirt which indicates to me that he doesnt have a care in the world but just having a good time and enjoying life. This is why this photograph caught my eye the most.