Chink, queen, ape, yankee, trash, banana, redneck, oreo — not words you typically see posted in a museum in Uptown Charlotte. But these and other nouns and adjectives are part of the Levine Museum’s Changing Places: From Black and White to Technicolor®, a year-long exhibit that explores cultural traditions and stereotypes.

At Changing Places, you are challenged to imagine changing places with someone different from you.  Written questions posed throughout the exhibit force you to consider how you see others and how others might see you: “Who judges you without knowing you?” “Who do you judge?”  “When does us and them begin?”

The exhibit is educational and interactive. Visitor's are invited to watch videos, record your own story, try on a saree and smell spices in an Indian makeshift kitchen, among other things.  What I like most about the exhibit is that is forces introspection. As an immigrant, I found myself emotional and nostalgic as I wandered through.

The Hindu altar with a colorful Ganesh Krishna, Parvati, prayer vessels and incense on display reminded me of the lavish altars my grandmother builds. I keep an altar in my home, although the deities are Catholic: La Virgen de San Juan de Los Lagos and La Virgen de Guadalupe.

Walking through the Mexican grocery store — another feature of the exhibit — with festive papel picado hanging from the ceiling, Norteño music blaring from speakers and a quinceañera cake displayed in the case really took me home. I’m from the northern part of Mexico and growing up, my siblings and I heard some Mexican pop and ballads but lots of Norteño. The cake reminded me of my oldest sister’s quinceañera , a celebration of a girl turning fifteen. Parents consider it an honor to be able to throw such a celebration.

And as I listened to an Indian girl in a video discuss her struggle with fitting in here in America , wondering if she’s  Indian or American, I also felt a connection.

I’m a Texan. I’m a Mexican. And I’m an American. But I’ve traveled a lot and each place I’ve visited has also shaped me. Interestingly, Mexicans often tell me I’m not Mexican because I grew up in the United States.  “You’re not really Mexican” or “You’re not Mexican anymore.”  At what point did I stop being Mexican?

We all judge. We all separate ourselves from others. Changing Places forces you to ask yourself just how often you do so.

Note: Changing Places will be on exhibit at the Levine Museum of the New South through Feb. 28, 2010.