White Privilege and a lotta bit of BRUNCH

WOMANIST
 

White privilege. Every semester, I go back to Mason and speak to the Multicultural Counseling class in the Counseling Masters program. I love going back because it was my favorite class and the class I learned the most about myself in, aside from the group counseling class. I along with 2 others will speak and attempt to elicit convo from the class. Well this time I went back and the class was very White washed, moreso than any other class I've been to, or even my own from 2012. They were a smart bunch and I sat on the panel quiet, so quiet, one of the panelists asked "are you okay" and he didn't believe me because I usually talk a little more. At that point, I looked at the class and said "you all are talking a lot, and it appears as though you have a grasp of this race dialogue we're having, but then I realized you're simply intellectualizing it and nothing is being felt or coming from the heart when you speak". The other panelists left, I stayed, and somehow, someway they began to speak from the heart. Tears ran down the faces of the students. So when white privilege is discussed and others have difficulty with the topic, or even believing that it exists, just remember, white privilege is having the ability to deny that it exists and because of your denial people of color appear to be suffering paranoid schizophrenia. I will never forget learning that when a schizophrenia assessment is given to clients of color, the administrator has to be certain they take into account the fact that Black people scrore significantly higher on the paranoia subset. Meaning, Blacks are more likely to display paranoid characteristics, because it's become a surival skill to be watchful of microaggressions.

 

There was only one White guy in the class and a panelist asked him a VERY direct question that I couldn't even answer. So I kind of switched it to say "how do you feel being a White man, knowing that a Black woman fears you". He again had difficulty, but I simply empathized and reflected his behavior when asked "you look like you feel awkward...it's a difficult space to be in". With that, he began to feel what was being asked of him...He as a White man, is in a very powerful position and he had no clue until that class. What an awakening to have: to realize that you have power, then be told, but it's not a good power, and we (people of color) need you to be able to do something productive with that power.

 

 

 

DOMESTICATED

 

So my partner in crime, Justyn, and I went to Zengo for brunch. We LOVE Zengo. I took him there, against his will, on our first date, so it's always special to me. But this was our first time going for brunch and it truly did not disappoint. The way Zengo does their brunch is essentially a boughy buffet, meaning, it's all you can eat, but you place your order for items you want. It's $39/pp for endless small plates and all-you-can-drink mimosas. $39 is a bit pricey, but for the goodness that was served it was worth it and it's not even worth complaining about. I've def paid more for a meal with my secret dinner crew. My suggestion for Zengo would be to make their menus like sushi menus at restaurants, disposable paper cards that you check off each item you want and how many. Maybe I'm greedy? Quite possibly, but I wanted to be sure I tried every single thing I had my eyes  heart set on. With that being said, I instead located a pen (I didn't have a pencil, because I hate those childish things) and I put a small dot next to each item on the menu that we ordered. The menu can be found here.

 

 

Handi Pandan Waffles. They came out cold, so I can't even give it a proper review. The next item came out cold too, once I asked the waiter if that was intentional, he made sure everything else was nice and warm.

Peking Duck chilaquiles. Definitely NOT a fan. This was the other cold item, but I didn't like wudeva seasoning situation was on the nacho-esque corn tortillas.

Short Rib hash. Jesus probably died for my sins, just so I could eat this and...

THESE LOBSTER GRITS! Let me tell you how greedy I was...I wanted to crush this entire bowl, but knowing that grits stick to your ribs, I ate as much as I could without getting too satisfied, to save space for the other orders.

 Bacon and Scrambled Egg steamed bun. Not a fan. The eggs are clearly processed. I wanted to try the steamed bun because I see it on food network in Asian countries.

Bacon fried Rice. mediocre. I mean it's hard to mess up anything that has bread and bacon in it. I also didn't waste space in my stomach for this item, since it was so average.

Angry zengo roll. Usually I stay away from sushi that has avocado in it, although I like it avocado, but this was pretty darn good.

Achiote-Hoison Pork Arepas. You know how mothers have a fave child (although they'll lie and say they don't), this was definitely my favorite child. The arepa (the yellow bottom) was crispy and crunchy, while the pork was tangy, smoky, and sweet, mixed with the cream on top. My goodness. Next time we go, I'll def order 3 plates of these first (3 come on a plate) for Justyn and I to share. The saddest part was I barely had space in my tum for it.Cuz remember the whole time we're drinking passion fruit, guava, and and pomegranate mimosas.

Thai chicken empanadas. By this point, anything we ate was a blur. This was good but the fact that my tum was full, took away from the true experience of my taste buds.

Angus beef & pork meatballs. Well, you know we just had to try one last thing before "last call". Shameful.

So while we're drinking and eating our lives away. Our friends (meaning, Justyn's friends, but you know how when you've been together for so long, his friends become yours, and yours become his) were partaking in the mimosa march, so we linked up with them nearby. This...right...here...The Wobble came on. LOL! Justyn clearly loves the wobble CC: Bermuda cruise post.

LMAO!

Of course, it's night time now and we're a lil intoxicated. So we went to Shake Shack. Justyn and I split this meal. Major side eye to the both of us because we both wanted more. This mistake will never happen again.