Before starting this course, I thought that I was a pretty culturally competent or at least accepting individual. I come from a very small town where there is not much cultural diversity of any kind, but since coming to UWM, I felt that I had thrived on the diversity on campus and in the city and that I had become culturally competent. I could not have been more wrong. Certainly, living in the city of Milwaukee and experiencing diversity that I had not before exposed me to different cultures and many different types of people, but I still carried many stereotypes and prejudic ...continued...

11 is a very important number in my life. Let me tell you why. I was born at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of the year, the 11th child of the 12 that my mother and father had in total. Of the 10 that had been born before me, only four were still living when I was born; four of the six who had died had not reached their first birthday. Of the four then alive, only two survive to this day. So out of 12 children, only the last four , including me, are,as at the time of starting writing this story in 2013, still living. And, as with most births at that time a ...continued...

The happiest times were always out at my great grannies . ...continued...

As a child, I lived in a poor neighborhood but I always wanted to help others even when I was unable to help myself. I grew up with an innate desire to one day to be able to help others to be all they could be in society. In the course of my teen years I made some mistakes that later I counts as blessings. I became a teenage mother who dropped out of school and married. My marriage was not successful so I got a divorce. I wind up working in textiles to support my children. One thing remained constant over the course of my life was the fact I never lost the desire to help others. To fast for ...continued...

In 1993, I thought of the next 5 years as being light years away. The only things I were planning was when and where I would meet for happy hour on Friday and what girl could I could meet while I was there. In 1998, that is exactly what I had become: happy hour and non committed relationships. I had received exactly what I had thought about over the previous 5 years. Nothing more. Nothing less. Thoughts Whatever you believe our creator to be, it has given to us the undeniable ability to choose our thoug ...continued...

I vividly remember writing a story about a Strawberry Queen, just before my 11+ exam (I had just read Alice in Wonderland). I was rather proud of my surreal composition but my headmistress, who for unkown reasons was taking our class, told me that if I wrote rubbish like that in the exam I didn't have a hope of passing. Beware of throwing me down a gauntlet! I was only one of two in my class who did pass the 11+. Not that it did me much good. With parents that never stayed in one place very long and this being during the period when w ...continued...

They're making people everyday, but they ain't makin' any more dirt. (Will Rogers) Trespassers will be shot or worse In July 2015 the United Nations estimated a global population of 7.349 billion people. Right now (2016) we are currently at 7.4 billion and increasing. In 1700, only 316 years ago, the human population of the entire planet was approximately 600 million. In what we now call the United States the population (Europeans) was approximately 250,000 people. The industrial revolution in Europe wouldn't begin for another 80 years ...continued...

Cultural competence is more than an understanding of different cultural groups. Post a reflection of the non-ethnic group prompt provided in the D2L Checklist. The reflection will focus on your broad definition of culture competence. Cultural competence is also vital to understanding effective interaction with people who have disabilities and people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender or transexual. My definition of cultural competence has broadened throughout this class and especially after this module 6 unit. I did not expect to include these populations of people ...continued...

Our 42 hour confinement to our tents was ended today as the storm eased up enough for us to continue north. Our drift over the storm took us further west than we wanted to the 129th Longitude. We ran into many open leads and had to wait until the ice moved back together allowing us to cross. It was incredible to witness and very scary to cross. We gained about 5 miles north today but our progress was halted by thin ice. We made camp and will wait till morning to try and cross. Needless to say that in the north polar icecap there is very little to smell. No plants and so few animals a person ...continued...

I have commitment and relationship problems because when I was little my parents would make fun of me for liking boys and say I was too young to like anyone. As I grew older the thoughts scarred my mind and now at 20 I have yet to have a boyfriend. My sister has a boyfriend of 2 years and every time I talk to a guy my parents tell me its a waste of time and that I don't need anyone... Now I'm stuck telling myself that. I don't even know what "love" feels like, or what being a girlfriend is like. I am just the lone runner trying to reach the goals of a champion, and ...continued...

Our blog is full of lots of posts about how Mark and I joke around to pass time on the dogsled. Not today. Today was brutal. Coldest day yet. It was at least minus 30 Fahrenheit and the wind was howling. There was very little talking other than to confirm that all of our fingers and toes were working. The ice was flat but if you rode the sled, you frooze. Our boots are rated to negative 145 degrees. It did not help. The cold brought a cease fire to the war for limited space on the sled because we had to take turns running next to the sled all day to stay warm. We covered 12 miles. It ...continued...

On a beutiful sunny day in March 1978, my husband, Charlie Gordon, left the RAF and we returned with two young daughters to his home town on the Northumberland coast, dominated by a large caravan site, local people so nice and friendly. The sun would soon go behind the gather storm clouds &nb ...continued...

My entire world changed, days before my eighth birthday. The years of pain and stress had taken its toll on my guardian angel. I awoke one morning to find her out of sorts. Something major was happening to her health. The last I remember of this time was trying to talk to her, but she had gone deaf. I watched her intently as she sat in front of her dressing table getting ready to go to the doctor. Little did I know that this would be the last time my guardian angel would be with me. My mother suffered a stroke, and was left paralysed the ...continued...

My dog, Shadow, knows it is me coming home when I am still a few blocks away. He’s got that pet ESP. Or maybe he recognizes the sound of my car. Regardless, when I walk in the door he’s in the backyard wagging his tail, whining in anticipation of an ear scratching and a pat on the head. When I open the sliding glass door he begins to do a little dance. This black Chow-Labrador mix 40-plus pound dog is just giddy at the sight of me. I am not sure why that is. I realize dogs are loyal. But even if I ignore him for a bit, usually because I&rsqu ...continued...

My mother said I was a wampus cat. What a wampus cat is exactly, I can't tell you, and I doubt if Mom could either, but there you have it. A wampus cat. It brings to mind some sort of wild animal, like a bobcat or panther maybe. A wild animal isn't me, though, but wampus sounds kind like whopper, and to my ears it also brings to mind big. Maybe that early conditioning is why I still fight the battle of the bulge today. After all, if I'm a wampus cat, I must be big. Nothing like starting on the old self concept a little young. Bu ...continued...