I will be creating a drawing of the border that separates North and South Korea. This will be a visual depicting how families were displaced after the Korean War.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvVT7M9bDdY

In the cartoon “Family Guy”, Brian was kicked out of the house and then he finds himself alone. This relates to displacement because Brian is used to living with his family but when he is kicked out of the house, he finds a new and unfamiliar place that he needs to adapt to by himself.

In a recently published article “Gentrification in a Brooklyn Neighborhood Forces Residents to Move On” states that the rise in gentrification is causing residents to be displaced. Crown Heights in Brooklyn is one of the most rapid gentrified neighborhoods in the city. In response to gentrification in the neighborhood, landlords are forcing their tenant to move out by not providing heat and hot water in the winter. Moreover, landlords are leaving their tenants infested with mold, flies, and rats in order to force them out so that they can raise their rent for new tenants. In other words, landlords are ignoring the problems of the low- income tenants as a form of tactic to force them out. They are left vulnerable from the rise in rents which forced many of them to move out and go to homeless shelters, or even fleeing back to their home country. Many of the tenants are immigrants looking for a better life but gentrification is leaving them with no hope for the American dream.

Questions:

1. Since gentrification leads to economic growth in a neighborhood, why are low income families displaced when a neighborhood is gentrified?
2. Poverty is one of the leading cause of high crime rates. Poor neighborhood needs renovation in streets and buildings. Is gentrification more of a positive than a negative aspect to a poor neighborhood?

Examples:

1. Sunset park was a poor neighborhood. Industry city is an example of gentrification in this neighborhood. Most of the buildings and streets in the waterfront was abandoned until it was gentrified. Amazon, Bed & Bath Beyond was some of the companies that gentrified the area. Given the economic growth, rents are increasing which negatively affects low income families.
2. Another example is Bay Ridge in Brooklyn. More and more stores are starting to open along 86th street which is an example of gentrification. The street is starting to look like a shopping center. Since more businesses are opening their stores, more job are generated which leads to economic growth, increase in population, and safer streets.

How hard is it to overcome a displacement? It is very hard or it can be very easy for some people. Well, it’s all part of human growth. It’s maturity. It’s the feeling of being uncomfortable. It’s all natural. It changes our perspective. We all experience these type of moments. You will be lost sometimes but it’s all part of your learning experience. Displacement is a force that will bring down your confidence. You will fall down. Now it’s your turn to deal with it. We all heard the phase “trust the process”. Success is all part of the process that you trust in the beginning. At the end of the day, success comes from being comfortable with being uncomfortable. The reason behind this is because if you are always in your comfort zone, you will never grow, never mature, and most importantly it’s a failure. You will not notice the potential you might have if you stay in your comfort zone. We all get bored of doing the same thing everyday. If you want something that you never had then you have to do something that you have never done before. Back in high school, I usually play games in my spare time. But I also wanted to buy a camera but I didn’t have money so I applied for an internship. I was accepted to intern at a hotel in the city. It was my first ever internship. I was displaced in my first week. I didn’t like working 6 hour a day and 5 days a week. However, I gradually adapted to being comfortable with being uncomfortable. After my internship was over, I was able to buy myself a camera. In addition, the camera introduced me to something new. I got into photography and film after I got my camera. The camera changed my perspective of the world. I was able to get out of my comfort zone and meet a lot of professional creators through social media and meetups. This goes back to displacement. If you want to overcome displacement, it’s all about your ability to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.

While I was reading this story, I found it to be pretty interesting especially the part when Mrs.Das told Mr.Kapasi about her affair with a friend of Mr.Das. At the beginning of the story, Mr.Kapasi was in love with Mrs.Das. However, shortly after she reveals her story and her affair with another man, Mr.Kapasi changes his perspective on Mrs.Das. He doesn’t like Mrs.Das anymore and he insults her that its more than her guilt about her affair that is causing her pain. It was kind of ironic that she told a person that Mr.Das hired as a tour guide about her affair and her relationship with her husband and her affair was a friend of Mr.Das. I was surprised that she didn’t tell her truth to her husband that she known since she was a child. I was able to see the connection of Mrs.Das and her son, Bobby. After, Mrs.Das reveals her affair and her relationship with her husband, her son was attacked by the monkeys. The monkeys was feeding off of the puffed rice that she dropped after she got off the car. I can see that her son being attacked by the monkeys was a direct consequence of her action and confession to Mr.Kapasi.

1. When I was six, I immigrated to United States from a small city in Brazil. I felt displaced living in an entirely new environment and culture.
2. I lived in the Bronx for most of my childhood. After moving to Brooklyn, I had to transfer school and adapt to a new place.
3.  A few years ago, I went to Covina, California during the Summer. The palm trees, the environment, and the tropical weather reminded me of my hometown in Brazil.

1. Andre Aciman describes how memorable Straus Park was from the beginning. How has the park changed since then?
2.  What memories does the park bring up for the narrator? Why is it so difficult for the narrator to adapt to the new environment?
3.  Why does the narrator call “New York is my home”? What is behind the title of the story?