amado's presidential commentary

So, many of you know that Amado is new to the tv watching world. We held out till he was 3 to let him see any TV/movies/film - I can share if you are interested why, though don't want to bore everyone here.

So, he has seen a couple Pocoyo videos (highly recommended to all you with and without kiddos) and a couple youtube things and that's pretty much it. Last week, he was playing while we watched the vp debates but mostly just played with Jason. Tonight, him and I were home alone, so I put on the presidental debate while we played. He was excited about seeing Obama, because he has been hearing alot and talking alot about him. He loves the "si se puede" obama video on youtube. When he watches it, he puts his little fist in the air and pipes up to participate in the the "si se puede" parts.

I thought I would share a couple choice moments from tonight.

After about 5 minutes in, Amado asked, "cuando van a cantar?" (I think he was thinking of the aforementioned video).

About 5 minutes after that, Amado asked, "cuando van a decir 'si se puede'?

Amado thought that this white guy with a mustache in the audience was funny-looking (not quite sure why). He laughed and tipped himself over as the camera passed by thus guy, and then popped up to point him out to me. The camera had moved on by that point, so Amado craned his neck, trying to peer through the upper corner of the TV, to see if he could see him still.

At one point, McCain said "Senator Obama". Amado said, "Oh, el habla espanol." I was like, um, I dont think so dude. And Amado said, "si, dijo 'cien obamas'. Que bueno! Cien Obamas! Cien Obamas! Queremos Cien Obamas!"

a balanced breakfast

We made pastelitos the other day with canned pumpkin, and had some left over, so last night we were discussing what we could do with it. I suggested we put it in his avena this morning, and we was thrilled by the idea. So this morning, it was the first thing on his mind.

I whipped it up real quick, set his avena in front of him and like I do every morning, went into the other room to start getting dressed. He called to me to come sit with him while he ate. He was really enjoying that pumpkin avena, and wanted to have some company. I told him that I needed to get myself together and then I would come sit with him. When I came to sit down, he said, "mami, tu no vas a comer?"

Now, I never eat breakfast with him. I usually grab a yogurt or an banana on the way out the door and eat when I get to work. But this morning, this struck him as particularly troublesome. "Mami, tu no vas a comer?"

I told him I would just grab an apple and eat it later.

"Oh, no, mami. Eso no es bastante. Tu necesitas comer algo con proteina. Algo como...avena....con calabasa....o....algo asi. Es muy importante, mami."

He popped another spoonful of his beloved avena in his mouth, and then slid the bowl across his little table to me. "Toma, mami. Este es para ti. Tiene proteina. Por favor, comelo".

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I need you to all check out www.antiracistparent.com. Right now. Recognize anyone?

and a flashback moment...

do you remember when he was this small? and this silly? well, he is still this silly...
this is his "si se puede" stance combined with his "monster face".

Gracias, Cocinero

If you have been to a restraunt with Amado, you have most likley seen his obligatory head-poke into the kitchen after the meal to thank the cocineros.

I am in the world of higher education on a couple fronts - as a student in a school of Education, as someone who works with underrepresented first generation college students as my job, as a researcher who is studying youth and student activists. Something you hear alot about is giving kids of color role models of successful people so that they can see themselves in these people and also aspire to great things, not feeling limited by what society tells them about who they are and what they can accomplish because of the color of their skin, their last names, their accents.

The subtext here, of course, is that these role models are doctors, lawyers, professors. People who are 'successful'. And I hear that. I can see why that is important to people. But there is something else I think we need to be just of mindful of, actually, more mindful of. And that is teaching our kids to thank those people who stay out of sight, who are literally and figuratively in the shadows, and who work hard to give us what we have.

Not just the cocineros, of course, but the people who picked the grapes for his fruit salad, the mamis who stooped over the chicharro plant so they could appear on his plate. When we drive through Downtown Oakland when its already dark outside, he sees the tall buildings completely illuminated inside. Without fail, he asks us, "porque las luzes estan prendidas? " We explain, long after people leave their jobs, they are home with their families and friends, relaxing, but the janitors have to stay and clean. They work hard and they don't get paid a lot. "Porque?" he asks, concerned. Some kinds of work are not valued as much as other kinds. Its not fair, its not the way things should be, we say. "Como la mama de Carlos," he says knowingly, rembering the little boy in the book "Si Se Puede" that he loves, about the Justice for Janitors Strike.

One of the things thats hard about raising a monolingual Spanish speaking kid who is VERY friendly is that he often is in situations where he really wants to communicate, and he is not understood. In the park, with a plane flying overhead, he says to another kid, "wow! mira el avion!" and only gets a blank look in reponse. Or sometimes the kid will look quizically at me, and say, "What did he say?"

But in the kitchen, with the cocineros, its all good. It doesn't matter if he just ate Pad See-Ew, Pupusas, or Pollo Asado. He is always understood in the kitchen. They are always Latino.

He admires the cocineros, he appreciates them. He knows what they do and he knows how important it is. He knows its hard work. He looks up to them. He is amazed by them, at what they are able to pull off. He appreciates them. And that's how it should be.

Amado and his good buddy Imani, protesting the Migra last Friday.
Protest sign made by Amado (did you check out the Spiderman and Dora stickers?)
Brown-Black unity has never looked so cute.

jumping the broom

We went to Malachi and Alicia's wedding this weekend and Amado had a blast. There was lots he really enjoyed about it, but his favorite part of the ceremony was when they jumped the broom. I was sitting next to him the whole time, translating into his ear - what was happening, how jumping the broom is a part of the African-American tradition, how it shows that they were jumping into a new life together as a family. He loved it - couldn't take his eyes off it. He loved watching it, loved clapping, loved the idea of it.

Today, I was on a field trip with his class. We went to Habitot, and then ate lunch in the park. After lunch, when the kids were playing in the park, Amado stood up on this cement block thing with two other kids. He yelled, "estamos en una boda!" I was like, okay, he has boda on his mind - that's cute. Then he says, "vamos a brincar la escoba!" as they jumped off the cement block together.