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It’s strange that I have almost completed my first year of university without ever stepping foot on campus. I have enjoyed most of my first-year classes. I am Colombian but was raised in Vancouver. As a discipline Latin American studies interest me as it provides insight into a world that I feel both connected toContinue reading "LAST 201 Week 14: Conclusion" read full post >>

Well, this was a strange term, to say the least! Although this course occurred during a less than ideal time in human existence, I would say that it was still  really fun! Learning about Latin American history and popular culture in this class has truly helped calm some of that home sickness I feel for …

Continue reading "Reflections On One of the Weirdest Terms of My Life :)"

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I can’t express how relieved I am to finish this term. Not because of this particular class, but because this past year with online classes has been quite exhausting. In fact, I had my first zoom-teacher experience today as I was substituting a high school Swedish teacher. It was weird and so awkward since nobody […] read full post >>

So this is it, my final blog post! I guess this marks the end of not only this course, but also what has been quite an unusual year of learning. Despite only seeing and interacting with everyone over zoom, I actually found the opportunities we did have (break out rooms, in class discussions..) to be […] read full post >>

This semester was hard for everyone. Most of my days were surrounded by death, anxiety, fear, and profound sadness. Our LAST 201 classes allowed me to break this cycle of hopelessness and see the beauty and importance of the ordinary things in our daily lives. For instance, I never imagine food could make someone reflectContinuar lendo "Final Thoughts about LAST 201" read full post >>

I can’t believe that tomorrow is the last day of class, and that in a bit over 2 weeks I’ll be done with undergraduate school. I registered for this class wanting to learn more about Latin America popular culture since I’m from Mexico but have never gone to another Latin American country, and left MexicoContinue reading "Almost Over!" read full post >>

I would like to say that I cannot believe it is the end of term, better yet the end of my four years here at UBC but I am so happy. I have learned a lot about popular culture through this course and even some of my own heritage as well which I am grateful… read full post >>

I would like to say that I cannot believe it is the end of term, better yet the end of my four years here at UBC but I am so happy. I have learned a lot about popular culture through this course and even some of my own heritage as well which I am grateful… read full post >>

Wow! I can’t believe it has already been 14 weeks since we first got together (virtually) and talked about popular culture. I have learned so much from this course and I’m very excited to share my knowledge with others – especially if it means I can tell them about why Latin American stamps are moreContinue reading "Week 14: The Final Goodbye :'(" read full post >>

     I am so thankful for the things this class has taught me, for opening my eyes to the endogenous nature of culture. Although class breakout groups were my favorite part of this course, I thank these blog posts for giving me a space to fully flesh out my ideas and think through my stance before having discourse with my peers. I hope everyone reading this and writing their own can look at the work completed throughout the semester with pride. I came into this class disappointed that I wouldn't be able to take it in person, and leaving with a sense of completion and gratefulness for the work of my fellow classmates and professor. 

    Although I particularly enjoyed the weeks about comics, stamps, and religion, my favorite week was week 5 surrounding drug culture and the cultural life of coca. The display of the United States simultaneous reliance on Latin America for drugs and the heavy policing and criminalization of those drugs highlights the insidious scapegoating promoted in the United States. Learning more about how culture is created from multiple influences assists in seeing culture as a product of institutions. As someone who used to hear much negativity about happenings on the boarder, actually learning about the history of why things are the way they are makes me indignant that so many get painted in a negative light because western perceptions of "drugs". 

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