26 August - Ice breaker - Icebreaker

The icebreaker activity was a very useful for a first class in which everybody wants to learn more about how other adults learn.  The idea was to say 3 facts about yourself, but one of them had to be false.  I believe that a lot of the information that I shared was a reflection of what I always think about--my identity.   Knowing about myself also says a lot of what I usually try to learn more about.

My three facts were:

1. I'm from Mexico.
2. I have a son.
3. I eat tacos everyday.

The first two are true. It is very apparent that I'm from Mexico and people may think that I eat tacos everyday.  That's why I chose to say that I eat tacos every day of the week. Stereotypes!   It was easy for my classmates to guess that I don't eat tacos.  It's almost impossible for a person to perform the same activity or to eat the same food--except for Elvis--365 days a year.  But something that defines you is there, like being Mexican, a mother, a spouse, or a perennial student/learner.  However, I'm also from new places and new theories. Aside from Mexico, I'm from Virginia, from Williamsburg, from Richmond, from the highway--where I spend a lot of time--, from digital media, from postmodernism, from postcolonialism, from...

My identity is associated with several places and activities, but eating tacos is not one of those activities.  I eat burritos, sandwiches, pizza, stir-fries, sushi, etc. I not only like to eat the food, I also like to learn how it's made and why it's made that way.  I eat food from different countries in one week.  If "you are what you eat" is true, then I'm from more places.

Having a teenager son means that I have to keep up with certain vocabulary and pop culture references.  That keeps me learning too.  From SpongeBob to Futurama and XBox to Scott Pilgrim, mom has to understand her little boy.

This activity also made me think about one of my concerns: I want to be a citizen of the world, not only a citizen of Mexico and the United States.  I want to be from everywhere, eat several types of food, and learn--or at least have an idea of--what my son is learning.