Derive Reflections- Yasmine B.

As an avid traveler, I find the idea of taking derives very familiar. To me, when exploring a new country, it's best to do so without a map, but rather with an open schedule and an open mind. When my family traveled to India, my brothers and I passed up a tour of a famous museum to walk through the streets of an impoverished neighborhood nearby. I think its safe to say we learned a lot more about what it's like to live in India than he did.

So when presented with the assignment of deriving through providence, I was excited to leave my Brown bubble for a while and see what life outside our college community is like. We began our derive by wandering through the residential areas of Providence. As noted by a few people, I was surprised by how many colorful houses there were. You'd expect that in a mostly cold, northeastern city, most buildings would be brick (or maybe thats just what i expected, coming from new york). But there were purple, pink, blue and green houses. As a huge fan of colored houses, i thought this was a nice surprise.

As we continued on our derive, i noticed that we began to walk slower, observe more and appreciate what life was like in the city we live. It's easy to stay in the "Brown bubble" and lose sight of the bustling city right outside. 

Our derive showed me that, just as you can observe another people's culture, with enough determination, you can begin to observe your own culture too.