Cultural Artifacts

     I chose these books as cultural artifacts for my life because reading and being read to were a big part of my childhood. I have many fond memories of family members reading to me. It had a huge impact on shaping the person I am today. It is probably one of the reasons I decided to make Reading my major. When my nephews were younger, I read to them.  I made sure to spend lots of time with my children reading. Now that they are a little older, we still find books to read together. We take turns reading chapters or we still enjoy a picture book or two.

                In our family, whenever we get together in normal, everyday life, there is always tea, coffee, or hot chocolate involved.  We pour some coffee and sit around the table and just talk and spend time together. As soon as we know someone is coming over, we brew some coffee or boil some water for tea in preparation. We usually know how the person likes their coffee or tea and we may pour it into the mugs (also aware of what their favorite mug is) and prepare it with the amount of cream and sugar they prefer. There have been some tears and lots of laughter shared over a hot cup of coffee and tea.

      These seashells represent my time at the beach. Growing up in Florida we would always go spend Sunday at the beach. It was like our Sunday ritual. We would get up very early and drive about two hours to Bonita Beach. We had closer beaches, but we liked that one best. I did not mind, because even the car ride became a special part of the day. We would bring a cooler full of food, such as sandwiches, fruits, snacks, and juice. Our weekends there created many memories that have shaped the person I am today.

  My parents are from Brazil, so I grew up with these Brazilian chocolate bonbon treats. They are called Brigadeiros. They are made with condensed milk, cocoa powder, and butter. They are a treat that is usually made for celebrations, especially birthday parties. Every picture from my childhood birthday parties, you will see a plate of these in the background. I now make them for my children's birthday parties.

  Our Christmas celebrations were a little different than most of my friends growing up. We would celebrate on Christmas Eve. We would make lots of food and have family and friends over to spend time playing games, watching Christmas movies, and just hanging out. We then would open presents at midnight.  Christmas day we would make either a turkey or ham for a big lunch and just spend the day enjoying time together. This is another tradition I now practice with my children.