Thursday, January 22, 2009

When the red man can get ahead, man

Though I'm probably not the biggest fan of public prayer, per se, I did enjoy Rev. Lowery's benediction prayer. And, of course, many right-wing *enter your choice of adjectives* have jumped on this and claimed it was racist. Really? I mean, where is the racism?? I thought the ending of the prayer was sweet and timely, adding a bit of humor to a serious issue.

"Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around ... when yellow will be mellow ... when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. That all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen."

Come on, give me a break. Race isn't the bohemoth it used to be, to be certain, but it is definitely still an issue. And I think you can only truly appreciate that if you're not white. Sorry, am I being racist? Or just honest? "When white will embrace what is right." Not every white person is racist, not every black person has been a victim of overt racism. But there are undercurrents to the words and actions of people in this country. Let's not fool ourselves. How can we continue to make progress if we don't acknowledge the problems?

I was particulary glad that native americans, indians, the red man were mentioned. Native Americans have gotten the short end of the stick, so to speak, continually and without fail. To this day, conditions on many reservations are dismal. I think it a great tragedy that fairly nothing is being done to remedy certain issues that are relevant to native americans.

So, people, let's keep an open mind. Let's acknowledge, and then move on. I've had enough apathy from people to last me a million lifetimes.

Graduation is on the way!

So, my last semester of undergraduate work has officially started and is off with a bang. I'm actually really excited, which probably has to do with the fact that as soon as I finish these classes, I'm outta here! (hopefully!) Still haven't heard a decision from my grad school, but I'm mostly really hopeful about that.
I'll be doing tons of reading and writing this semester, which is a big difference from the past two or three semesters. Intro to Lit: Novels will keep me in a couple of books, and an anthro class, Origins of Human Diversity, has lots of reading, too; I'm really looking forward to both of them.

I've fallen victim to some horrible cold virus (the blasted undead of the mircroorganism world). I toughed it out during my one class yesterday, thankfully. Because that class is very important. Why, you may ask? Because of a certain gorgeous tadpole (hottie younger than me by a few years...) that sits by me. Yes, I've lured him in throughout the semesters, posing as a friend but in truth, all I contribute to the relationship is a bit (ok, a lot) of staring into gorgeous, blue eyes... *sigh* Trust me, everyone needs a bit of eye-candy and harmless flirting in their lives. And what does my significant-for-the-moment other (let's call him SO) think of this? Nothing, because, sometimes, harmless omission, not honesty, is the best policy.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

.....

Barack Obama is our president. It's a beautiful day today.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Guatemala Stories - Part 1

Story Time, Pal!

So here begin my stories of Guatemala. I have so many of them crowding my mind, but I know that the memories will fade with time, if not the feeling and utter magic that I found. So every week or so, I'm putting my fingers to the keyboard, committing the journey and all that it entailed to the vast world of cyber-ness. I'm hoping to keep my memories fresh, or at least as fresh as time allows me. I'm also hoping that someone, somewhere, might be moved to....I don't know, get out there, anywhere, expand yourself, test yourself, find your joy! If you think I'm being melodramatic, go here for a little inspiration. I guarantee, you'll have ants in your travel pants before you can say, "What's the next flight outta here?!?!".


Why I Decided to Go to Guatemala and My Perpetual Earliness


I decided to spend a month in Guatemala back in February or March of last year. Once I decided on Guatemala, I was on the moon. Planning, packing, vaccinations - I was on it! I've been drawn to Latin America since, well, forever really. It's been an intangible something; call it a past life, call it what you will, it was there, inside me and I felt it. Guatemala was my choice mainly by chance. Central America, especially, has always appealed to me, not only because it seemed extravagantly exotic, but because the history there called to me like a siren. The suffering, the dictators and civil wars, the oppression, and the U.S' role in all of that drew me. Maybe it was guilt, more likely it was a sense of needing to be there and witness, experience it for myself. Regardless, or rather, because of, all of that, I set my sights on Guatemala. My excitement was unbounded, not in the least because I'd only been out of the country once before that, the summer before when I stayed in Dominica for a month.



After a tad of research, I'd decided on going to the Peten department, the northernmost part of Guatemala. I'd fly into Guat City, then take a bus to Flores, and on to San Andres, home to Volunteer Peten where I'd be volunteering and staying with a house family. Even thinking about it in the abstract was exhilirating and terrifying, and throw on top of that the fact that my Spanish was beyond dismal - was actually non-existant - well, good luck, gal!



I left my home in the beginning of June, 2008, my youngest son stowed safely with my grandparents and my oldest on the way to my mom's. I was flying out of Houston (G. W. Bush International actually, kinda makes you a bit gladder to leave, eh?) for the 2 1/2 hour flight into Guatemala City. Now, let me add here that I am a perpetually early person. It's kind of a sickness, but I live with it, however much it drives me insane. So here I am at the Houston airport, sitting, walking waiting, for around 2 hours. Bleh! Can't I just be there already? I'm reading crappy, overpriced magazines, and looking at the peole who are going to Guatemala City with me. Some Hispanic looking people, some white people, Spanish being thrown around. Crap! Really, why didn't I put more effort into learning this language?? Why didn't the half of my family that can speak Spanish teach me?? At this point, I'm a little disgusted with myself. I will not be one of THOSE Americans. Ugh......

Finally, after years of painful waiting, we all board the plane. The whole flight, all I can think about is Guatemala, that still-fuzzy vision in my head. My hopes and expectations are completely sky-high, and yet, I somehow know that it will be even better than I expect. Just another one of those feelings. And then, finally, our plane is descending...

Coming up next time: Love at First Sight, and Why I Was Still Cursing My Sorry Spanish (hint: a few awkward moments.....)

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Nobody likes a quitter...soooo.....why am I doing this, again?

Nicotene, we have a problem.

Quitting smoking, that is.

Actually, I'm kidding. I'm loving my smoke-free life, truly (all 7 days of it!).There are just those moments, here and there, that make me wonder if I've really and truly lost my blasted marbles. Example: yesterday at the evilness that is wal-mart (I refuse to capitalize such a monstrosity!). Grouchy check-out bitch, unhelpful and uncaring in-charge-of-something dude, and 10 minutes of voracious arguments coming together to leave me in angry tears in the parking lot. The encounter left me sobbing for a good 15 minutes, for no real reason that I could see other than sheer frustration. And I've been exceptionally moody this past week. Could it be the lack of ciggy's? Possibly. Although a good friend pointed out that women really only have one good week out of the month, mostly free from tear-inducing hormones. I'd agree of disagree, depending on the day.

I need a new hobby

What is it about bad reality t.v. that sucks me in? When I say bad, I mean really, really bad. Bad as in all that is wrong with this society staring at me from my little black box. Case in point: I've now watched two episodes each (avidly, no less) of The Bachelor and True Beauty. Ech! God help me, I can't tear myself away once I start. Maybe it's because I love to judge to the poor bastards on these shows who just can't seem to act like decent human beings. Wait....does that lessen my decency? Very probably.

I'm thinking that instead of watching this mush, I'll start knitting. Sounds like a good hobby, and who doesn't love scarves??

Monday, January 12, 2009

Israel, Stop The Madness!

For the past week or so, I've been wondering why it is that a group of people who have been persecuted in the past find it necessary to terrorize others. Along those lines, I've been wondering why it is that Israel gets a free rein when it comes to dealing with their Palestinian neighbors. The fact that most politicians in this country (including Barack Obama) condone Israel basically 100% of the time is outrageous to me. Is it true now that just because a group of people has been horribly mistreated in the past (in this case, Israel's Jewish people), it's 'politically incorrect' to admonish their behavior? Give me a break!

Even discounting the history of the state of Israel - because what country has an entirely rosy history? - this current situation is wildly out of control. When such a large percentage of the people being murdered are not only civilians but children, well, you would think people would step back and take a second look. So imagine my amazement when the mayor of New York city publicly announced how wonderful he thought Israel was right in the midst of all this chaos. And imagine my further amazement when mainstream nightly media reports profile "heroes of Israel".

Don't misunderstand me. The Palestinians and, more notably, Hamas, are not free from guilt here. The history in this region is bloody, messy, and wide-ranging. However, there are very few, if any, people profiling their heroics on U.S. television.

Everyone should be accountable for their actions. There are no good guys vs. bad guys here. Just people.