Reflective Essay

§ December 19th, 2008 § Filed under Portfolio: Cultural Passport

New York City offers numerous forms of entertainment and cultural opportunities, which explains the flocks of tourists visiting annually.  Living here, studying here, and working here, I ashamedly admit that I seldom take advantage of these opportunities. Before this course allowed me to discover New York City further, I rarely looked up and was unaware of the splendor surrounding me. Reflecting back, I realize that throughout my journeys, I toured museums I often passed by but hardly glanced at. The Cultural Passport provided me with the perfect opportunity to explore what I had been missing for some time.
For the September and October Cultural Passports, I visited historical museums, which taught me about my neighborhood and this country. The King Manor Museum informed me about Jamaica, Queens while the National Museum of the American Indian provided me with information about America’s history. Whether it was shopping at Jamaica Avenue, seeing a movie, or borrowing books from the Central Library, I always passed by the King Manor Museum. Surrounded by King Park, it looks displaced among the shopping stores and small businesses of Jamaica Avenue due to its colonial style structure. Furthermore, Jamaica is notorious for its drugs, violence, and bootlegged products- a museum is very unexpected in this instance and aroused my curiosity.
The National Museum of the American Indian is located in a better region, Battery Park, where the ferries to Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty are available. Although the latter focus on immigrants, the Museum focuses on America’s indigenous people. While working in Battery Park during the summer, I would rush past the Museum to and from work. I was focused solely on being punctual or returning home, ignoring the tourists gawking at the Museum. One evening, some Native American elders, musicians and dancers were performing and blocked the route to the subway station. After failed attempts at pushing through the crowd, I decided to watch and see what the fuss was about. The show was absolutely spectacular and left me breathless. While the elders chanted and beat drums, dancers wearing colorful headdresses and costumes performed energetically. Although I became fascinated by Indian culture, I never got the opportunity to visit the Museum and explore my interest. Through using the Cultural Passport, I satisfied my curiosity about the National Museum of the American Indian and the King Manor Museum.
Although I had learned about Native Americans in school, reading about them and personally seeing their culture are very different things. In contrast, I never learned about Queens or its neighborhoods during school and was completely blind to the borough’s history. At the King Manor Museum, I discovered that Rufus King- New York’s first U.S. senator and a framer of the Constitution- had lived and worked there. This was mind-blowing because I never expected a prominent figure to have resided in Jamaica, which currently breeds drug dealers and gangsters. Furthermore, I discovered that Jamaica was formerly a village, with dirt roads, horses, and buggies, and present-day Jamaica Avenue was actually Fulton Street. It is still connected to Fulton Street, Manhattan today. My experiences at the King Manor Museum provided me with a positive perspective on Jamaica and I felt enriched learning about my neighborhood.
At the Museum of the American Indian, I enhanced my previous knowledge about Native American lifestyles by visiting two exhibitions- “Identity by Design” and “Beauty Surrounds Us.” Both exhibits were dedicated to preserving and celebrating Indian traditions. “Identity by Design” displayed women’s dresses, created with intricate patterns, beadwork, and unusual materials like elk teeth. “Beauty Surrounds Us” focused on different aspects of Indian culture, including recreation and pastimes, instruments and household tools. These exhibitions expressed Native Americans’ pride about their unique heritage and taught me more than any textbook previously had.
After visiting the King Manor Museum and the National Museum of the American Indian, I felt relieved having satisfied my curiosity. It was great slowing down and enjoying the cultural opportunities New York City offers. I could finally appreciate my surroundings, which I never a second thought before. My explorations taught me the importance of understanding the background of your nation and your own neighborhood. The people and their contributions may surprise and inspire you.

-Ramandeep Singh