Amerika - Sarah Zdrodowski

Hallo! Mijn naam is Sarah en ik ben negentien jaar oud. Dit is mijn eerste jaar aan de Universiteit van Michigan en ik ben in het College van Literatuur, Wetenschap en de Kunsten.  Ik komme uit Cadillac, Michigan, en klein stad noord van Ann Arbor.  Ik houd van zwemmen en fietsen.

Dit is mijn vriend, mijn beste vriend en haar vriend op prom. Ik ben in de groene jurk.

Zwarte Piet:

While I understand the difficulty of moving away from beloved traditions, I believe it is important for the Netherlands to move away from Zwarte Piet.  It is racist and offensive, especially to black people.  In America dressing up with blackface is likely to get one beat up because it is found so offensive.  Some people would like to say the Zwarte Piet is only zwarte because he came down a chimney, but his clothes aren’t dirty, and he also has large red lips and tribal earrings.  I think it is good that the Netherlands is making attempts to make the tradition less offensive, and I think toning down the makeup and costume and integrating Piets of all races would help.  Here is an interesting article I found on the activism towards tradition.

What do you all think of the American traditions surrounding Christmas?

America: Anya Vaporciyan

Hi! My name is Anya Vaporciyan. I'm a freshman at the University of Michigan, but I'm from Houston, Texas (and I actually lived in Amsterdam for 3 years when I was younger). I am thinking of majoring in something in Math and Science, although I'm not completely sure. I like to hike and do outdoor activities. And of course, I love to watch Netflix and eat!

This is me at a crawfish boil: basically a huge outdoor party featuring these yummy guys (crawfish are shellfish, kind of like a small lobster, and a typical spicy Cajun food) 

This are my friends and I (3rd from right with the giraffe) at Homecoming, a school dance, with mums (a tradition item for this dance in the south) 

This is a coral snake (super poisonous) in my backyard by my pool because I live by a bayou (small, dirty river)

What are some traditional food festivals you have? Do you enjoy your type of food or food from other cultures (and what do you think about American food)?

Growing up as a young child in Holland, I did not see a problem with Zwarte Piet. He was just a helper to Sinterklaas, and I saw them as no different than elves (Santa's helpers). However, when I returned to America at the age of 8, I slowly realized just how racist this tradition really was. Painting your face black is one thing, but adding the full lips, hoop earrings, and afro hair takes it to another level. They are also portrayed as fun and goofy but also somewhat stupid. As a child, this is fun. But seen from a different perspective, this is incredibly demeaning and rude. African Americans should not be portrayed in this way. 

This article discusses the effects of Zwarte Piet and how some people are trying to change this tradition.

America - Ben Woodruff

Hallo, ik ben Ben Woodruff! Ik ben achttien jaar oud en ik kom uit Jackson, Michigan. Ik woon in Ann Arbor een ik studeren politieke wetenschappen aan de Universiteit van Michigan. Ik houd van football en lopend. Ik ben lid van de hardloopclub van de Universiteit van Michigan. Ik ben de eerste persoon in mijn familie te leren nederlands een ik vind it geweldig.

Dit is mijn familie.

dit is mijn basketbalteam van de middelbare school.

Dit ben ik het spelen voetbal

Zwarte Piet:
Though this tradition seems appalling to most people in the United States, they tend to forget some of the traditions we have used in the past. It is not my position to tell another group of people their culture and traditions are morally wrong, but I will question the motives behind the practice as it is seen as offensive to many people. It seems this was an older tradition based on traditional values and as the time progressed the people changed the reasoning behind it to keep the practice alive. I would encourage people in the Netherlands to look at Zwarte Piet from the perspective of those who feel it is a racist and offensive tradition and determine whether they feel it should be changed or continue. I believe they could continue this with simple changes such as rainbow colored faces. Regardless, this is a culture completely different from our own and people should understand this before they make judgments on how they live.

My vraag is waarom doen de Nederlanders drinkt zo veel koffie?

America - Ethan Jannott

Hallo! Mijn naam is Ethan Jannott en ik ben een tweedejaars aan University of Michigan. Ik kom uit Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, maar ik geboren in Chicago, Illinois. Mijn verjaardag is 19 maart 1995, zo ik ben negentien jaar oud. Ik studeer informatica, en ik werk ook bij de bibliotheek. We hebben over 36,000 films waar ik werk, dus er is veel uit te kiezen. Mijn favoriete film is Inception. Ik hou ook van auto's en het rijden mijn skateboard. Mijn favoriete automerk is Lamborghini. Ik wil een motorfiets deze zomer krijgen. Mijn Twitter en Instagram namen zijn @edog51 als je me wilt volgen!

Ik en mijn auto in Detroit, Michigan

Mijn neven en opa en ik bij een honkbalwedstrijd

Ik en mijn moeder

When I discovered what Zwarte Piet was, I was surprised at first, but then I began to understand why it is still a tradition today even though it is very offensive. It is something that has been a tradition for so long that it just seems normal at this point. I don't think the way that Netherlanders celebrate Christmas should be changed, with Sinterklaas arriving on the boat and all of that, but I do think that the Zwarte Piet characters need to be changed. Saying that they are covered in the ash from the chimney just seems like a cover up for an obviously racist tradition. I think that it's good that this year will be the first that the Zwarte Piets will be fading away. I think that painting the Piets in a rainbow color scheme is a good transition because nobody can be offended by that. Having them be a multitude of colors will actually make them appear to be more diverse, which would actually have the opposite affect of what they're doing now. Changing the color of Zwarte Piet is a step in the right direction for the Netherlands, if you ask me.

Mijn vragen u:
Wat is je favoriete autobedrijf?
Wat is je favoriete soort fiets?
Wat doe je voor het plezier?

America: Afina

Hallo! Ik heet Afina. Ik kom uit Portland, Oregon en ik ben vierentwintig jaar oud. Ik ben een PhD natuurkunde student aan UM, waar ik lesgeef en onderzoek doen.

Ik was geboren in Amerika, maar mijn moeder komt uit Amsterdam. Haar familie verhuisd naar Amerika toen zij was een kleine kind, en nog kan zij Nederlands spreken. Mijn oma en opa ook nog hier wonen. Ik wil Nederlands leren, omdat spreken met mij zal hun blij maken. Het is een kerstcadeau.

In Ann Arbor, woon ik met een vriend en een katje in een appartement. De katje heet Bo en zij is heel leuk. Ik heb heel veel foto's van haar. Je kunt haar hier zien.

Maar nu moet ik schrijf over Zwarte Piet. Ik heb een unieke gezichtpunt op Piet. Toen ik was een kind, mijn familie vierden niet met Santa Claus, maar met Sinter Klaas. Daar zijn pepernoten, en mijn zusje en ik zongen "Sinter Klaas kapoentje," en zo voort.

Maar wij nooit Zwarte Piet zien.* In Amerika, het is heel slecht. Piet lijkt hij stapt uit een historie boek, uit een hoofdstuk over racisme in de jaren vijftig, of iets.

*Dit is niet helemaal waar; daar was een vrouw die in de Nederlandse winkel in Portland werkte, en zij was Zwarte Piet soms. Maar ik wil niet dat mijn vrienden dat kennen, en ik wil liever niet naar de winkel gaan in november en december.

Daar zijn veel racistische mensen in Amerika nu ook, maar het is anders dan in Nederland. Hier, meestal, wij praten veel over ras, en het is belangrijk. De meeste Afro-Amerikaanse zijn niet immigranten-- hun voorouders waren slaven. In Amerika wij hebben zo veel racistische geweld in onze historie, wij kunnen niet zien een persoon met een geschilderd, zwarte gezicht en rode lippen, zonder denken op ras.

In mijn leef, heb ik heel leuk viering gedaan zonder Zwarte Piet. Jullie kunnen ook!

America - Zach Vance

Hey guys, 

My name is Zach Vance, I'm 18, and I'm from Chicago, Illinois. I am freshman at the University of Michigan. I love playing soccer and I have played viola since I was little. I'm involved in a student organization on campus called MUSIC Matters. Over the past 3 years, we've brought J. Cole, Ben Folds, and 2Chainz to perform on campus.

This was gameday August 30, the first football game of the year against Appalachian State University!

I understand Zwarte Piet is engrained in Dutch culture, but in America blackface is extremely racist in any form. If you wear it you are instantly alienated. I believe that over time the tradition of Zwarte Piet can be transformed into a holiday that is less racially inclined, like the black face could turn into smudges that are from going down all of those chimneys. 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/11/13/why-the-dutch-tradition-of-blackface-at-christmas-wont-go-away/

This is an article from an American newspaper explaining how Zwarte Piet won't go away, it is biased to the American view that blackface in any form is never acceptable.

I've been wondering, how is it not being able to drive until you're 18? Do you just use bikes or walk everywhere?

America AJ Ferzo

Hello Dutch friends.

My name is AJ Ferzo, I am from a small time town in Michigan called Corunna. I am an Engineering student at The University of Michigan, and I plan on going into Biomedical Engineering. My hobbies include woodworking , playing video games and listening to hip hop. My favorite video game is Portal 2 and my favorite artist is Kanye West. Also here is picture from Prom my Senior year of High School with my group of friends

I am second from the right, next to the red jacket.

My perspective on Zwarte Piet tradition is under embarrassment that in a modern tolerant country there is the display of white people in black face and absurd red lipstick to portray "helpers" of Saint Nicolas. Despite the tradition behind it, it is blatant racism and is highly offensive. The fact that it is still "for the children" makes it that much worse as racism taught/learned not a genetic trait, so when you portray the "helpers" as stupid, highly stereotypical looking black people, you are innately teaching them that all black people are stupid and that they are all slaves. A solution to this would be to follow one of the ways to tell the story that the helpers are simply dirty from the chimney and to do that you would not fully paint the face but make it look like the blackness came from chimney ash.

Here is an article I found about Zwarte Piet, do you support the attempt to stop Zwarte Piet or to keep the tradition?

My question is what is your perception of America and what type of music do you like?