Swimming to Tree Cutting

I don't understand how this semester has gone by so fast. I love life. But I can't wait for the rest of my life if it all goes by this fast. I feel like I can do/experience/explore/learn more.


Pink and Blue Projects, JeongMee Yoon. Seoul, South Korea

Exploring gendered consumerism around the world. YIIIIIKES.


Listened to this tonight and shuffle:

"You are a party, and I am school night/I'm looking for my door key, and you are my porch light" - Ani Difranco

School servers are down. How am I supposed to study?

two things i need more of in my life:

singing and dancing in my kitchen while making tea. no offense to my two roommates (i love you both if you're reading this) but they aren't the sing and dance and make tea kind of guys (i guess pat likes tea... but he doesn't put crazy amino acids and sweeteners in it). the reason i bring up the roommates, i feel it could be a great bonding experience. kitchen, tea, old sweatshirts, bad songs... yes. recipe for success in my book.

i have forgotten the second thing in my excitement about the first... it was obviously something super important...

cold season

if only the weather in tucson could coincide with anything that could be considered a cold season. the only thing that is correct here is that i have a sore throat.

in other news: i'm doing well in school (for all of my relatives who read this) and i'm out of super funk '08. i couldn't ask for things to fall together better for school (except for the silly little things).


i think i need more board games and funky music in my life. more times spent in different places. feeling a little cooped up. i need to stretch my legs, blow the stink off (this is where you come in, sis). possibly acquire a small obscure item or two. i think that would satisfy the consumer portion of my discomfort at the moment. also, get the photos i shot years ago printed, if the negatives haven't degraded.

also excited for this weekend. things should be great. get to see cassalyn for the first time since may when she helped me pack my life into a 55 liters (ok so more than that, if only i could have fit it into just 55). whelp. now my life covers most of a large bedroom (including the floor) and then an entire closet back home. time to purge... ok maybe not now, but soon.

so maybe these days it's closer to +15-10?15? pounds later. i'm not really sure. but cutting down on my nightly snacking after the hour of 10:30 or 11 has done miracles. so maybe all those calories i was eating right before snoozing WEREN'T necessary. or maybe they were since my body has resorted to devouring fat supplies.

a girl in my manhood and masculinity class brought the following quote in today: "rosa sat, so king could walk, so obama could run so our children could fly." gave me goosebumps. and then i sat down to type it to my sister and felt kinda corny. hrm. maybe the tubes just destroy everything that has good meaning. but i feel like people write some profound facebook statuses sometimes.

i've been hearing a lot of people talk about how people should stop complaining that they want change. that if they just ignored what newsweek was telling them to be angry about and sat back and realized how lucky almost every american is that we should just realize that we have nothing to complain about. and i can't think about how wrong that is. if we aren't complaining (i don't mean bitching and moaning) than what are we doing? we're not challenging ourselves, others, norms, stereotypes... blahbleehblah. whatever. and then i thought i was getting all too high and mighty with myself.

but still. those people should realize that everything is not ok. groups of people are still getting "minoritized"(surprised this is a word right now, mozilla isn't arguing) and stuff just isn't right. there are so many things that i/we/they have left to learn. i just can't fathom it. hell. i can't even fathom the fact that i am in school as a junior, studying physiology, women's studies, i went to africa, i'm currently unemployed, and apparently too busy to look for someone who feels the same way.

The System

I don't like the formula I'm supposed to be following right now. I don't like it one bit. I don't want to fit into that formula to get into med-school. I see all of the other people that are on my path, and I don't like it.

So now I guess instead of just hating that I have to come up with something productive and exciting that will be better than that system.

Ugh.

Finally decorating my little bedroom here. It's almost like I live here now, almost. haha.

If only the laundry machine wasn't coin operated.

Two Months Ago...

About two months ago I got back from Tanzania. The entire thing was an amazing experience, including the delicious food that I ate on the plane on the way back home. Thank you Air Emirates!

The last two months have been crazy months. Ups and downs. Ins and outs (yes, ate a lot of burgers). So much to take in... and a lot to get rid of too!

For now I'm still amazed by TV commercials, sauces/spices, and listening to people.

TV commercials: the High Fructose Corn Syrup commercial (as I will lovingly call it) scares me.

Sauces: each one is good. i don't care what you say. just put it all over my food. love it. because my milk still tastes like a cow to me.

The first thing I encountered in the culture of the good Ol' USofA was the new Katy Perry song "I kissed a girl" WHOA. I got in the car and turned on the trusty KISS fm to listen to the latest that pop-culture had to offer me. And that's what I encountered. I was shocked... my first thought was "Well... I guess this is what music is like now..." Going from a place where homosexuality is actually illegal (yes, against the law) to that song was interesting.

Now I'm loving internet news. My favorite at this point is the Gaurdian. They published this gem today: Rubber Dodo

Still adjusting.

so... yeah

so the internet is sometimes available when you least expect it.

my luck with my immune system has run out. i managed to get a head cold. but here they call it the flu. so i have the flu. but this just happened to be right whne i'm about to raft the nile. NOT DANK. but i don't care it's going to be awesome!

realizing that you only have about 6 days to change peoples lives. so intimidating.

realizing that you've had the time of your life and you'll never be the same - awesome.

wanting a hug really bad but knowing you won't get one as good as your mom and dad give for about three weeks - not dank.... but that will make the ones when i get off the plane even more dank! CANT WAIT!

scrambled eggs with onions and tomatoes with ugali - dank dank

finding an US weekly to read and enjoying it just enough - awesome

caramel flavored white chocolate for 10 cents - awesome

sitting in a smokey wooden room with your mama for three hours everynight making food - so cool

eating more than you ever thought possible - well it's painful

thinking that diet foods like protein shakes and salads sound like the most delicious things in the world - shocking

pineapple jam, "spanish omlettes" - delicious

little kids practicing their english on you - fun but depressing - just speak Masai it's prettier!

realizing that you just helped a woman decide how to approach her husband about using condoms - empowering

realizing that she might not get him to be faithful, get tested, or use condoms - depressing

showing a group of 45 year old + women a large dildo so you can show them how to use a condom - awkward

having them want to hold the dildo before they will listen - hilarious

listening to them chatter and giggle about the dildo - GREAT

(and yes aunties, uncles and parents - i'm walking around Africa with a large dildo in my backpack showing men, women, teens, and children how to put on a condom)

looking at some teenage guys and seeing the look in their eyes realizing that now they can protect themselves - priceless

coming to terms withthe fact that the reason you've been bloated for over a month is because of the milk you know and love - ahhhh shit... don't even care - still gonna drink it

watchng someone grab, kill, pluck, gut, etc. a chicken that you find later on your plate with french fries - i think i'll become a vegetarian when i leave my homestay.

getting in a crowded dalla dalla and having a conversation with a very old masai man half in swahili and half in english - FUN - finding out he went to UCLA - inspiring.

having a major water shortage in your village - troubling. the entire community is in shock.

listening to american rap from 5 years ago in the dalla dalla - awesome

watching the youth in your village gather for miltary training - scary - they try to get them young here too. some of them hid though....

seeing that their drill sargent was a woman - pretty cool

having a mama that everyone in the village will respect - bad ass

showing a little boy how to color - so much fun! givng him a water bottle and box to play with. awesome.

the half way point

so i only have 14 more days left in my village. i'll be home in i think around 25 or so - too lazy to count. and if i did count i'd have to call a meeting together of myclosest circle of friends and advisors. we'd thenhave to great each other and ask each other all about our families and homes and then procede tochat about the dust and weather that we talked about the day before. we could then procede to count the days left. but we'd get half way done and someone elsewould arrive. so we'd have to start from the intros andthen begin counting again. this might work for a while until someone gets bored. then we'd call it off and try again the next day.


i don't have any ideas right now.

ok. the hamburger stand here is really dank. i'm going to go get one now.

also the lack of formed lines - when you're ready to order or get something. you just walk up toa person working in anystore andjust get it. no matter who was there before you.

yeah.

a few minutes on the computer

dank again: those french fry omlettes - really it doesn't get any better.

not dank and creepy: people walking really close behind you for no reason. i think it's solely just to walk with a white person - or because they want to stare at us closely... but it's creepy having someone walk behind you for 45+ minutes just staring into the back of your head

dank: getting to just relax in meetings that would be intense and take 20 minutes in the states and takes about 3 hours here

getting your laundry done by your mama - DANK! i have clean jeans (that i can't wear in the village because they can't see i have two legs)

slamming lambs and goats in the back of vans (not dank) ANIMAL ABUSE!

little kids with funny names like sebastian, betty, lillian etc. - DANK

Dawa (medicine aka pot) EVERYWHERE - the dankest of dank.

witchcraft stories that are better than xfiles episodes or stephen king novels = dank!

charging my cell phone for free because my baba owns a duka - awesome

little kids thinking you are their bibi (grandma) - i can't decide if that is dank or not

mama dogs eating their puppies - not dank. someone needs to ship over some dog food here

eating everything with your hands including rice and beans... until one day you get a fork and your meal is entirely chips (french fries) - this isn't dank or not, it's just weird

milk straight from a cow - AMAZING - milk that kind tastes like beef - not amazing.

chaco tan lines - pretty funny, farmers tan on my arms - not as funny

lack of reheating things - this concept is foreign but i feel like it could make some of the bread 100 times better

donkeys that sound like they are dying - this is not dank, again horrible animal abuse and another reason i might become a vegetarian

beautiful birds everywhere - GREAT! DANK! BEAUTIFUL

Cholula on your ugali after not having anything that tastes like mexican food = priceless

shower water that might be dirtier than you are before you take your shower = an interesting situation it's hard to decide if you want to shower or not.

mistaking a cow's for a vibrating phone --- hilarious.

forgot my list

Awwwww. forgot my list of danks and not danks - so it will be appearing either on sunday or next weekend. Sorry for the delay. I know you're all upset.

ok.... so one last dank before the village

- french fry "omlette" called 'chips mayai' - DANK - so tasty

- wine called "the grapes of the grapes" - $1 - so DANK

- rats running accross your feet while brushing your teeth - not dank

- mouse crawling out of the pit toilet while peeing - not dank

- peeing in the shower instead of the pit toilet to avoid mice - dank

- fitting 7 people into a taxi that costs $3 = dank

- putting sugar on your plate before in your tea cup to remove the ants = dank

- loving hot powdered milk = dank

- getting your only dairy from hot powdered milk = not so dank

- having people steal your underwear from the clothes line = not dank

- packing tons of extra underwear just in case some get stolen = SO DANK (so glad i did that)

- freaking some locals out by wearing head lamps = just weird

- having old school razor blades fall out of your bunk bed = unsettling

- coming to the realization that maybe this trip is going to make you stink more than you thought... priceless?

Amani... yeah that's dank

Amani = peace and peace is DANK.

Rats running out of "toilets" when you've got your pants down and you're moving to squat over them = NOT dank

Rats running in the wall that is next to your bed = NOT dank

same food over and over for 7 days = NOT dank

rain every morning = SO DANK

mold = actually dank

marijuana plants growing everywhere all over a college campus, a catholic hostel's grounds, and around town = really dank (words for pot here: gang, jiwana, mwana) it also is refered to as medicine

"one last card" a fast paced, tanzanian uno-esque card game - SO DANK and also a big time waster

Efreum - a man that works for SIC as a health worker and counselor - SO DANK - bad ass man with a huge heart

Custard Creme cookies, "twix bars", cashews, peanut butter and "Salticrax" - snack foods of a lifetime - SOOOO GOOD - and sooo dank.

Jungle and Arusha Market = DANK

Arusha Market. Stinkiest place I've ever been in my life also the scariest. We had to walk through it to get the fabric for our skirts and it was amazing and horrible at the same time.

Jungle. So DANK. We went on an 8 hour hike today. Down and up the steepest hills I've ever seen. Possibly 80degree angles. Also the muddiest place I've ever been. Also the most beautiful. I stood behind the tallest waterfall I've ever seen. Beautiful plants, monkies and other cool things.

Catholic Hostel. Not dank. Very boring and quiet. But, we're moving to a place we have all to ourselves which will be exciting.

Cars. NOT DANK. They will RUN YOU OVER no questions asked.

BIKES also not dank. They will try to run you over.

Skirts. SO DANK - they're called congas and they cost about 5 dollars and they come in the most beautiful patterns I've ever seen.

ICTR - SO DANK. the trials for the Rwanda genocide are held here.

First Day HERE - Not so Dank

For now I'm just posting what I wrote in my email. I don't have too much time because I'm headed to the UN trials for the Ruwanda Genocide here in Arusha. Love everyone!

Hello Everyone! I can't tell you how excited and happy I am right now. Everything has gone really well. I'm not going to pretend being on the airplane and being in airports was fun, but it was all worth it. The flights were long, and the airplanes were all standard except for the Boeing 777 dreamliner. What a plane. Also Emirates air, great food. For all of you who know that I don't like fish, I've got a surprise. I ate fish twice on the plane. Smoked salmon and a tuna wrap. I've also eaten lamb, goat, sketchy chicken, and sketchy shrimp. Fun times abroad. No stomach complaints so far, I think that my tummy can handle it. I've purchased two bottles of water. The one in Dubai was a 1.5Liter Evian and it cost me about $10. The 1.5liter water I bought here was $1. Hmmmm exchange rates and airport markup are interesting. The land here is so beautiful, but it's very dark at night. Outside is not someplace I'd like to be on my own. The crazy drivers that everyone talks about exist, and we attrack crouds like no other. Arusha is an interesting town. I'm guessing a lot like many cities in foreign countries. It's pretty muggy today. It's been raining a lot. But I won't complain because it's contributing to some beautiful green plants everywhere. The hostel we are staying in is a lot nicer than I initially anticipated. Flushing toilets, HOT showers (when you turn the water down pretty low so we've all got low flow shower head hair, but it's fine with me). Even though I wouldn't drink it, I would (please don't hate me for this) place the water as more to my liking than Leipsic water. It smells much better - but again, is not drinkable. We also get breakfast everymorning. Three pieces of toast, butter, salt, a cup of tea, and one flat scrambled egg (which they call an omlete) we're going out today to find some hotsauce to spice up our mornings. I'll be staying here until Friday morning (it's Tuesday morning now) So far: Phoenix to New York - 5 hours, New York - 5 hour lay over, New York to Dubai - 13 hours, Dubai - 2 hour lay over, Dubai to Dar - 5 hours, Dar customs and lay over - 4 hours, Dar to Kili - 1 hour, Kili to Arusha (drive in an almost broken down SIC truck) - 1 hour. Lots of travel, now I'm relaxed. Got stopped by the security in Dubai. I think they just wanted to try to mess with me. The spoke to me in French at first which I understood, then they seemed to switch to Spanish and then to what I believe was Arabic. I think I handled it well though, I still have all my things, they just ran it through the Xray machine like ten times after I would take items out. Sorry this email is so jumbled, my mind is just a mess and this is all I can think of for now. We're off to get lunch and meet some of the other volunteers arriving today. So far there are 7 girls from UofA, 6 from Emory. We'll be meeting 3 boys from UA and more girls from Claremont and Emory this afternoon, tonight, and tomorrow. Love, kisses and missessar P.S. I will be getting my personal cell phone tomorrow (wednesday). I will give you the phone number. The plan is that I will text anyone who wants me to chat on the phone (notify me by email with your number). Then you need to call me back. Incoming calls are free for me, but expensive for you. You have two options: go to an Africa or Middle East specialty shop to find a calling card that works for Tanzania or add money to skype. International calls on skype at 2cents a minute. I would recommend googling calling cards for tanzania and finding a store that sells them if you want to go that route. I'm sure there are also universal international cards, but our coordinator didn't tell us about that. LOVE!

You might have asked yourself... why dank?

a friend of mine overheard two fraternity brothers talking about africa one day and the conversation might have gone as follows:

guy 1: dude... africa man...
guy 2: yeah man... africa is so dank
guy 1: SOOO dank man

i have decided the only way to find out what SOOO dank means is to go there myself and investigate. of course, i'm also going because inside i secretly hope to save the world.

sesame street

End of the Year

Packing, Finals, Packing, Finals, Goodbyes, Africa.

This weekend is the Hope in the Face of AIDs banquet in Phoenix. I'm going to be working and 'networking' to raise money for SIC so there will be programs in the future and the work I'm doing this summer will be sustained.

Packing is proving to be more difficult than I thought. It's kind of scary. I have two decent sized bags, so hopefully things will go well with everything I'm putting in them. I bought some books today from Bookmans to take with me, hopefully I can trade them with other volunteers so we'll all have something to read for the whole two months. On second thought... maybe I'll just leave all of my belongings behind and just buy everything there. That'd make everything so much easier.

Tests

Tests... they don't mean anything anymore. Today I have my OChem Lab Final. I studied hard, I worked all semester long, so today will be the last day I have to think about OChem in a scary way for the rest of the semester. Good thing I won't miss it for too long as I am GROing the lecture next fall.

What calmed me down for todays test was the 15 minutes I spent to help Brad with his English project. I "danced" for his class to a song he wrote about being home schooled. It was an interpretive piece to acoustic guitar and had lots of emotions in it.... NOT. But it was just the way to unwind before OChem. Now I'm eating and posting as to relax more.

I'm thinking I might be allergic to ginger lime rooibos tea I have sitting on my desk. But hopefully not, hopefully it's just some plant thats blooming outside my window.

People are crazy.