Author: Coral H (Page 4 of 5)

Reading this text I learned many people are part of different communities, and that these communities form powerful bonds and give people strong connections to each other. While reading “Hers” by Klass, I learned of a new community within the medical field which is a community that uses special language and terms. The writer explained that being a part of this community makes her feel included in her new profession. Being part of that community helps bring people in the medical field to feel closer to each other when under lots of stress as well. This special medical language community also allows doctors to maintain distance from their patients. Communities clearly make a big difference in the lives of people and bring those people a sense of belonging and peace.

Some communities I am a part of are the hispanic, academic, art, and sport community. I consider these to be communities I am a part of because they are part of my identity and they are also what I take interest in. Similar to Klass, being a part of these communities have influenced my learning and social connections. For instance, to engage in most hispanic communities I’ve had to learn spanish and speak it my whole life. I learned Spanish at a young age from my family teaching me and also speaking it frequently. The people around me mostly speak proper Spanish but knowing Spanish slang has also helped me communicate and understand other hispanic people. Knowing Spanish has also connected me closer to my culture and closer to my family outside of the United States, as well as giving me a sense of inclusivity. Being part of the hispanic community and knowing spanish has also made me appreciate and take more pride in my identity. Participating in academic, art, and sport communities have also shaped me as a person by allowing me to find new hobbies and express myself. 

Annotations:

The special medical language used caught my eye.

Learning new abbreviations was interesting.

These special languages contribute to a sense of closeness and professional spirit among people who are under a great amount of stress.

This language helps doctors maintain some distance from their patients. 

This language helps reduce patients’ emotional impact, which I understand.

At first while reading this text I had to reread it a couple of times. In the beginning, I had difficulty understanding what the author’s purpose was because it seemed he wrote the text as if the reader had previous knowledge. However, the further I read the more context I received since the writer then explained the history and origin of the curse. The first sentence of the text which had confused me is “They say it came first from Africa, carried in the screams of the enslaved; that it was the death bane of the Tainos, uttered just as one world perished and another began.” I was confused at this part because I did not know what the writer was referring to but the more I read, the more I understood the author’s point. I believe the author formed the text this way to create suspense and mystery, as well as keep the reader’s attention. Another point in the text where I was confused was when the writer stated “and what about Kennedy?” I was confused at this point because I didn’t realize the connection between Kennedy and the curse. This confusion was cleared up to me when the writer explained how the curse related to JFK since JFK was the one who led the assisantion of the Dominican Republic’s dictator (which also relates to the origin of the curse). I believe the author included JFK as an example to prove how the curse has impacted many people. To add onto this point, the author was also stating many people and communities of people including himself have had stories to tell about this curse. By the end of the text, I was very understanding of the author’s writing style and was able to fully comprehend when the author introduced a counterspell to the curse. 

Annotations:

The writer brings up a “fuku curse”

The writer goes into the history of the Dominican republic

The writer talks about the curse and its connection to JFK

Writer states many people including himself have a story about the curse 

The writer explains a counterspell to the curse called zafa