Archive for What Is In My Head

The End…

{ September 8, 2008 @ 10:58 am } · { What Is In My Head }
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Well this journey is coming to a close and I am in a whirlwind of emotions…yesterday I enjoyed a nice scrub down at the local himam and today I am taking my last shopping trip in the market. I am looking around me thinking to myself…I am really going to miss Africa. When I am in Newberg I don’t get to look out my window and see camels standing in the distance, or when Im driving I don’t have to slow down because there is a donkey cart in the road. When I go shopping at the mall I don’t barter with each clerk to see who will give me the best deal. Though some of those things are a bit annoying, they are what make this place that I have created a life in SO unique. I love who I am here…thinking, learning, growing, loving people, respecting cultures, creatively coming up with things to do.

Life is always changing. No matter how hard you try, what is your reality today, will not be the exact same reality tomorrow. I believe once we accept that concept and embrace it, we get to enjoy our experiences so much more and we learn from each one 100 times more than we would if we resisted the changes.

I am going home…and through these next few days I am going to reflect on not only what I have learned and experienced, but I am going to reflect on who I have become through it all. I am still crazy, emotional, a bit strange and nerdy, but I would also like to think I am a bit wiser, more controlled and a bit less complicated (One can only hope J ) because of this African Adventure.

Politics

{ August 10, 2008 @ 4:52 pm } · { What Is In My Head }
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Though my chosen profession is greatly affected by the policies and decisions that our government makes, I have not been one to be passionately involved in the political circle. RECENTLY however, due to a Coup De Ta I have become forced to care more about international policy, governmental systems and oppression and I have learned more about what OUR government issues are just by listening to the many heated debates that go on around me. From the Conservative guys in the Army to the Liberal humanitarian workers, everyone has an opinion and it is not to be taken lightly.

What I have learned so far…

I thought I was a full blown Obama supporter. He is an amazing man with a freshness and he approaches situations with creativity and passion. I agree with many of his positions such as creating change for the middle and lower classes in society. He is a man of the people. His love for diversity, but respect for keeping the sanctity of the American spirit is good and gives me confidence in his ability to understand the people of America as a whole.

HOWEVER…. He recently has let me down with his position on Fossil Fuels and a lack for the bigger picture. So I am confused.

I think that so often we become conflicted with the ideas of politics we (we meaning the middle class Americans to busy making money and living to be obsessed with the elections) just go with the candidate who we feel we don’t mind identifying with and vote for them. How much research do we do? How much actual caring does the average American do?

 

“International Women”

{ July 21, 2008 @ 6:26 pm } · { What Is In My Head }
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I have met the woman of my dreams …don’t worry, I mean I have met the person i have been praying and asking God to bring into my life to encourage me, to love me and to help me with my perspective on life. Tara arrived 3 days ago and is leaving in 2 days, but I have found that she came in a time where I need someone, who doesn’t know me, to tell it like it is. She is honest with me, encourages me to seek peace and God in that peace. We have SO much fun together and she has helped me see what an “International Women” really is. It is a beautiful thing to have a sense of independence from conformity and American life when you come to another world. There is an amazing sense of discovery, growth and peace that is to be found when You are completely out of your element, in a country where you don’t know the language…new customs, new ways of doing things….and then to be a WOMAN and enter this environment & world alone is next to greatness.

 

 

Though I still don’t know what life has in store…I DO know that I want to be ONLY what God wants me to be. Never have I felt so much clarity and at the same time been more passionate about anything. You can always find love…you can make friends anywhere…but how often do you find a purpose and satisfaction?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello world!

{ April 12, 2008 @ 5:54 pm } · { What Is In My Head }
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Through the last 4 months I have learned more than I think I had in the lifetime before I came to Africa. There are lessons to be learned every day, but I think that when You make yourself vulnerable, open your mind and create a world where you have no other option BUT to learn, there are things…unexplainable feelings that happen during that time that are invaluable and extremely motivating.

Through my time here not only have I gained a broader perspective on culture, tradition and life in another country, but I have learned what it means to respect in each culture I encounter, what it means to be a part of something, to feel included or rejected because of your race, beliefs or actions.

We as American’s are scared of a culture where men seem to dominate and control. A culture where in the name of a god we do not recognize these men make deadly rash actions that destroy life. Though there is no excuse for this…we lack the understanding of the culture as a whole…The intimate parts of Islam and the people, the innocent people, who are not SO different than us. We as Americans see one color, one belief and one outcome. Who are we to judge? just because we are protected and secure because we are one of the leading powers in this world does not give us the right to judge a culture of people who do not even KNOW much about this agressive group of people. It shocks me when I hear Americans who have settled in their way of thinking and who have adapted to the most narrow minded, naive way of thinking.

Where do we go from here? Is there any peace or resolution to this anger Americans feel towards the Arab people? Do we have to ship over Americans groups at a time for them to see how amazing, respectful, and loving this culture really is? Or is it too late and not even worth fighting back for the respect of a people who have more respect/more tradition/more love for family than any other culture I have seen?