Recently I was asked to make a guest appearance on a friend's blog and talk about some of the changes I have made in my life. Laying it all out and working through my emotions again was no easy undertaking. But I think in the end I was able to make some healthy realizations.
But let me back up a bit. I was introduced to Ashtanga Yoga through the passion of a colleague of mine; Craig. His life story is incredibly inspirational and the changes he has made is leading him to a career in Life Coaching. He is currently transitioning and next year will be his last year as an educator. In the mean time he is blogging and building a client base. The theme of all of this is "Change". Knowing that I have been through a lot of this lately, he asked me to write about them. If you would like, please give it a read. Here is the link to the post I wrote or I posted the text below:
http://www.craigmorton.org/your-change.html
I'd love to know your response. Feel free to let me know!
Change in her 20's
In the past two years I moved to the other side of the planet, started using my childhood name again, got a divorce, lost 15 pounds, changed all my daily habits, began and finished a masters degree, traveled in over 10 countries, started a new relationship, and committed to a daily practice of Ashtanga Yoga. I’ve had change and lots of it. I’m redefining who I am and my entire life in a drastic way. I don’t think I would even recognize myself two years ago.
Well maybe I didn’t so much as change myself as much as I did uncover who I was all along. The changes themselves were an inevitable result for me. That’s not to imply it was easy. Every single change I made was a conscious decision met with consequences on multiple levels. I’ve made lots of changes, but it doesn’t seem to get easier. It’s a hard, scary battle. Even lonely. Especially lonely. And I constantly doubt myself, ask myself why, and question if it’s worth it. I often feel overwhelmed with fear, guilt and sometimes selfishness. But the results have been incredible. Seriously, incredible. Worth every little bit of it.
I’ve choose to spend most of my life bending to the needs of others. Living in the shadow of their needs. Their support. Their interests. Their dreams. Consumed by guilt and inadequacy, I felt safe there and in many ways that is how I claimed my own type of worth. The hardest (and scariest) thing for me has been learning to value myself in my own life.
I can almost pinpoint the moment that began the revolution in my life. It was a location far from home; a small beach town in Nicaragua. I was on holiday with my mother and 2 of her sisters. I’d been on ‘vacation’ before, but this was an entirely different experience. There I was with 4 other middle-aged women, exploring off the beaten track. We spent a lot of our time afraid of being robbed, chatting to strange and interesting people, and doing everything on the spur of the moment. It was a blast! And very far out of my comfort zone. I had experiences I never thought I would have. I talked to people I was normally too intimidated to talk to. And I learned about ideas and interests from around the world.
While I was in Nicaragua, I became someone else entirely. I wasn’t worried about anyone but myself. I had time to just think, reflect and wonder. I was easy-going. I was trying new things. I was present and aware. And I liked this side of me. I was happy.
Returning from this experience I was able to acknowledge (out loud) that I wasn’t happy in my life. I wasn’t the person I wanted to be. In fact, I didn’t even know who that person was. This was the start for me. Accepting that I lost control of my life. Admitting that I had made a lot of bad decisions. Decisions that were not for me. And a realization of the type of person I wanted to be.
Even admitting this was excruciating. I felt like such a fake. A phony. A failure. My life seemed so meaningless. All the fronts I had up were bogus and now I knew it. I fell into depression. The despair and loneliness of depression was foreign to me and excruciating. I think it would have swallowed me entirely if I didn’t have such amazing support and love from my mother and my sister. They asked me all the tough questions I needed to ask myself. And they encouraged me to make the changes I needed in my life.
Realizing that you need to change and actually making changes are two very different things. The most difficult part was knowing that decisions I made would change relationships I had and hurt a lot of people. Especially those close to me. And very deeply. And this is exactly what happened. I have never been responsible for someone’s suffering so intimately as I did in that moment I asked for a divorce. It’s indescribable. I felt my body tie up in a million knots. My entire soul felt actually, physically crushed. It was like being run over by a truck. It was so traumatic for me that I’ve blocked out most of what happened after that initial moment. I can’t recall words that were said or feelings that passed. It just one big, empty expanse. And then a rush of guilt. A tsunami of guilt.
The guilt kept piling on as I lost a family, best friends, and the respect of most of the people in my life. Just one experience after another reminding me how selfish I was. How I had ruined everything. And what’s worse is that I felt like I deserved it. I welcomed every little bit of the judgment and hate I was getting. I made no attempt to defend myself, claim my own right to life. I just lived in that pain and guilt indefinitely, found some unhealthy ways to cope, and learned to survive.
A then one day I woke up, looked in the mirror, and felt just a little bit better about myself. I don’t know why. I guess I just had enough. I learned to tuck a little of the guilt away and make it a little smaller. I learned to let go of some of the things I couldn’t control. And the next day I did the same thing. In fact, it started to become a daily affirmation. It took a lot of effort, but I got up every morning and told myself I was worth it. Told myself time would pass and things would get better.
However, I must admit the guilt and pain are still always around. I carry it around with me like a stone in my pocket. It’s sting isn’t quite as bad now, but I always know it’s there. Every time I reach into my pocket, there I find it and I’m flooded again with emotions. It’s a little smaller now and smoother. And it doesn’t get caught in with everything else in my pocket as much as it used to. It’s manageable. I’ve gotten used to it’s presence and even kind of like it. Or at least learned to appreciate it.
I think many of our experiences in life are like this. At least the important ones. We carry them around with us in some form and their effects are never completely lost. Sometimes they influence us to change and sometimes they try to prevent us from it. But we ultimately get to decide what to make of them. Mine motivates me daily. It makes me grateful for my second chance and reminds me to make the most of it. Mine is a symbol of my internal strength and gives me the confidence I need to value myself, my convictions, and my place in this universe.
It is within the depths of despair and conflict that we are forced to face ourselves, own up, and be the change. My life is nowhere near perfect and I surmise it never will be. I will continue to make mistakes, harbor regrets, and battle my inner demons. But each choice, each change, gives me just a little bit more insight and strength. Walking my own path brings me peace and happiness. It makes me feel alive and connected with the world around me. This I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
“I challenge you to make your life a masterpiece. I challenge you to join the ranks of those people who live what they teach, who walk their talk.” Tony Robbins
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Blood Diamonds
Have I mentioned that I have amazing students?
Recently I assigned my students the task of actually taking action in a campaign important to them. Two of my students choose to raise awareness by writing a song and posting it to youtube. The topic was diamond mining in Africa and how by buying diamonds we are supporting war, corruption, oppression, and poverty. Although I would now suggest never, ever, ever buying diamonds again (which I won't), there are some measures you can take to attempt to assure your diamonds aren't from conflict areas.
This is what my students are singing about here. Pretty powerful stuff. Just ignore the "fart" sticker, lol. I don't think they put a thought into that one. The lyrics are below. And you can click on the video again to take you to the youtube page where you can leave a comment for them if you want!
From the writers: "An original Kenny and I co-wrote for an environmental science project. We wanted to raise awareness about the fact that diamonds aren't always legally excavated, and people still suffer from the production of them."
Go to http://www.diamondfacts.org
Lyrics:
You buy a diamond ring for that girl you love
But do you know what happened in the making of
That shiny piece of jewelry
Imagine if it were you or me
In the midst of civil war, people diggin' up these minerals
Associate with happiness, like Peter Pans and Tinkerbells
But bad things are hidden
Way out of view
Conflict Diamonds
(Every time you hit the jewelry store)
What are they
(You may hurt the problem more)
Gotta stop them
(The solution always starts with you)
So what can you do
You can ask your jeweler a question or two
These diamonds, can you tell me from where they were provided
Does your company have policy, on these conflict diamonds
And can you do something for me
Provide me with a written guarantee
If they can't do these things, then tell them you won't buy them
And we'll weed out companies with conflict diamonds
Without a profit in this, I swear they'll go out of business
Recently I assigned my students the task of actually taking action in a campaign important to them. Two of my students choose to raise awareness by writing a song and posting it to youtube. The topic was diamond mining in Africa and how by buying diamonds we are supporting war, corruption, oppression, and poverty. Although I would now suggest never, ever, ever buying diamonds again (which I won't), there are some measures you can take to attempt to assure your diamonds aren't from conflict areas.
This is what my students are singing about here. Pretty powerful stuff. Just ignore the "fart" sticker, lol. I don't think they put a thought into that one. The lyrics are below. And you can click on the video again to take you to the youtube page where you can leave a comment for them if you want!
From the writers: "An original Kenny and I co-wrote for an environmental science project. We wanted to raise awareness about the fact that diamonds aren't always legally excavated, and people still suffer from the production of them."
Go to http://www.diamondfacts.org
Lyrics:
You buy a diamond ring for that girl you love
But do you know what happened in the making of
That shiny piece of jewelry
Imagine if it were you or me
In the midst of civil war, people diggin' up these minerals
Associate with happiness, like Peter Pans and Tinkerbells
But bad things are hidden
Way out of view
Conflict Diamonds
(Every time you hit the jewelry store)
What are they
(You may hurt the problem more)
Gotta stop them
(The solution always starts with you)
So what can you do
You can ask your jeweler a question or two
These diamonds, can you tell me from where they were provided
Does your company have policy, on these conflict diamonds
And can you do something for me
Provide me with a written guarantee
If they can't do these things, then tell them you won't buy them
And we'll weed out companies with conflict diamonds
Without a profit in this, I swear they'll go out of business
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Why Do We Believe? (dare you to read this whole post!)
Preamble: I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately (re: my post about “Grey Area Solutions”). The more I learn about practically everything the more I realize how ignorant I am. The ideas I have held as ultimate “truths” in my life are fleeting and ever-changing. BUT, I do think our beliefs, if based in realms of knowledge, can help us to get closer to truths about ourselves and this world. I delve into this topic here using the theory of evolution to bring to life my point. I know this topic can be touchy, I just don’t think it should be. So I going to use it anyway. Deal with it :)
Life has evolved on Earth and continues to evolve today. This is the truth. Do you agree? Let’s say you don’t. Lets say you think that scientists have fabricated facts like fossils, etc. to trick us. Or maybe you don’t think scientists faked it. Maybe you think that the facts themselves point to another conclusion. Either way, am I going to be able to change your mind on this in my post? I’ll tell you right now, no matter how hard I try to argue my points, bring up fact after fact, or show you the logical connections, I’m NOT going to be able to change your mind. Why?
Because the theory of evolution has become something society tells you that you get to choose to “believe in” or “not believe in”. Like it’s part of your identity. Like both choices have equal merit and you get to choose. But they do not have equal merit. And that’s just a fact. Let me emphasize my point. Do you believe that the holocaust happened? I’m going to assume (and hope) that you said yes. Are there people that believe that the holocaust didn’t happen? That it’s a big hoax? Absolutely (dare you to google it). Now if you are a kid growing up and all you know is that some people believe the holocaust happened and some people don’t, you learn that it’s a choice people have made to “believe in” somewhere along the way. But this doesn’t accurately portray the event at all. Were this child to learn about the holocaust (from a neutral source), they would discover that the historical and living evidence of the holocaust is enormous. They would learn about the politics, social issues, and context of the holocaust. Were they then presented the “evidence” that the holocaust didn’t happen, they would find it completely unbelievable and lacking tangible supporting evidence. Both sides of the argument are NOT equal (and they rarely are). One has ridiculously more factual evidence than the other. BUT, for that child to really understand this for themselves, they had to learn a lot about the evidence for the holocaust.
Frankly, most people don’t make decisions this way. We don’t learn the facts first, objectively analyze, and then decide. We decide and then look for only the appropriate arguments that will support our decision.
So why do we make decisions before we know the facts? The answer is probably culture. It is something our parents believed. Or if not parents, then other influential individuals or groups in our life. Maybe we lack the motivation to learn and find things out for ourselves. Or maybe we don’t know how to educate ourselves or what the sources of information are. Or maybe we simply have too much trust. When defending our beliefs we copy ‘sound bites’ from someone else that shares the beliefs. We seem to avoid objectively analyzing. We trust this as ‘truth’ no matter what.
Now there is nothing wrong with this in many cases. I believe an incredible amount of the information my parents have told me over the years. And my other family members, friends, etc. In some cases I had to trust their expertise to survive. But it is in fact true (as most of us will admit) that once I started compiling my own experiences and increasing my exposure to other outside information, my perspectives and even core beliefs drastically changed. I realized that my parents aren’t always right. It was then I began to put my trust in university education. I figured just by sheer number of influences that the ‘truths’ they shared with me have to be much closer to the real ‘truths’ of life. I still believe this. Now not everyone is like me, putting trust in higher education. Some people put their trust in a political affiliation, a religious affiliation, a church group, or another community group. The scary part for all of us is that we actually STOP looking deeper. We take the ‘truths’ they give us instead of looking for the source of information ourselves.
I absolutely admit I do this. And you should too. We are biological creatures and not machines. We like the feeling of belonging. We need to identify ourselves with a body of beliefs. We need to construct meaning to our life. And we define ourselves by the information we decide to believe is true.
Now if you have been believing that something false is actually true for a long, long time, change is not going to come easy (if at all). This information is important to you. It is literally part of who you are. Study after study shows this characteristic of human beings. Even when presented with an insurmountable amount of evidence to the contrary, we stick to our original position. Changing wouldn’t be just admitting we were wrong. It would be self sacrifice at the basic level.
In fact this kind of change is more than that. It is one of the most scary, lonely, and alienating thing we can do. To show you what I mean, let’s go back to the evolution thing. Again, let’s say you don’t ‘believe’ in evolution. Let’s say you don’t believe this because instead you believe that God created every living thing in it’s current form, unchanged. How did you come to this belief? Because you are a Christian. You take the bible and Genesis in it’s most traditional and literal sense and therefore you deny a seemingly alternative version such as evolution. You have found deep connection throughout your life to your faith and a special trust in your chosen church and the spiritually enlightened people that attend there with you. You see these people at least weekly and the topic of evolution has come up before. You trust the information these people share to be fact. They haven’t disappointed you before. So when they tell you evolution is a debatable topic and they say it’s false, why wouldn’t you believe them? They probably have very compelling arguments to support their belief too. It makes perfect sense, so you have no reason to investigate it yourself. You have no reason to become an expert yourself. Or explore other bodies of information before making your decision. It’s a ‘pack mentality.’
So what if I did sit down with you; present all the information; take you around the world; show you the unbelievable amount of evidence in support or evolution? What if I found a way to PROVE to you evolution was true? Would your change you mind? Probably not. Because if you did, that would mean not only renouncing that belief, but renouncing your entire pack (church, religion, etc) and the trust you shared. Not believing in evolution is part of your belief SYSTEM. Admitting one part is wrong is like implying it is all wrong. Which of course I don’t actually believe is true. But that is our instinct.
Alright, finally back to the evolution argument. If you really, really, really don’t believe in the evolution of life on Earth, I just have one closing thought for you to consider. How educated are you on what the theory of evolution is? The concept is simple enough, but it is in no way easy to understand. Can you broadly name the vast amount of information supporting evolution? Do you know its source? Have you looked at the fossil record? Can you name trends in the geographic distribution of life on Earth? Do you know the anatomical consistencies and divergences among species? Do you understand how DNA and genes are inherited and how we can watch their evolution in real time? Do you know the geological history of Earth? How the landscape and climate of Earth has changed since it’s inception?
I could go on, but you must see my point by now. If you answered no to any of the above questions, how can you possibly claim you don’t believe evolution happened? You lack enough information to make your decision.
If you dare, consider for a moment your personal influences and how your beliefs have organically arisen. Question if you have all the facts. Ask yourself if you really want this level of ignorance. I’m telling you, it’s gonna be a scary process. A fitting quote I came across recently:
“Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain't goin' away.” - Elvis Presley
And You Thought You Knew Everything...
In the past year or so, I’ve almost completely abandoned reading fiction novels. Okay, not completely. I still love a good story and I won’t leave them behind forever (Just finished Water for Elephants, which is just fabulously entertaining), but my “real life” interests are just becoming so numerous that those dry, nonfiction books have taken over my world.
First there is my ashtanga yoga practice which draws me to books about the practice, the tradition, the people. I’ve been a sponge absorbing all I can. Yoga has done an entire reordering of my mind and body. And it just makes me feel great! (This is another post entirely, so more on that later).
Then I have my changing perspective on my role on this planet. I’ve been reading books such as “Field Notes from a Catastrophe,” “Silent Spring,” “The Story of Stuff,” even parts of Aldo Leopold’s “A Sand County Almanac.” For those Wisconsinites reading this post, it’s interesting to know Leopold was a professor at UW and was critical in the original development of environmental ethics. His book poetically describes the changing seasons in Sauk County, WI.
I’m still eating up the Biology books too. Especially those focusing on the evolution of life on Earth. I am continuously amazed by the creations that have lived on this planet and how they have been influenced by each other and the changing landscape. Inevitably that led to Richard Dawkins. Again, another story entirely.
So, finally that brings me to the point of this post. I am currently reading an incredible book called “The Elegant Universe” by Brian Greene (physicist from Columbia University). I must have walked past it a million times at the book store before I finally purchased it. And then it sat around quite a bit longer on my shelf before I eventually got around to opening it up. What inevitably motivated me to read it was a series of conversations (maybe debates is more appropriate) I’ve been having with Eric.
It started with black holes. We were basically arguing about whether or not it’s possible to enter a black hole and if it in fact will lead to another dimension or allow us to time travel. Since neither of us knew what we were talking about, it was more a regurgitation of “facts” we had seen in science fiction movies :). So before our next conversation, we both did some studying (since we like being knowledgable and right all the time :) ). And what I found out is... this stuff is cool! The answer to the first part of our debate is a resounding No. Humans cannot enter a black hole. Our bodies would be ripped apart due to the exponential increase in gravity as we approach the black hole. It’s called, quite appropriately, “spaghettification.” Well, I guess actually we could enter a black hole, but rather in pieces :)
But the answer to the second part of the question (other dimensions, time travel, etc.), I don’t think we can quite be sure. This intrigued me so much I found myself studying Einstein’s theory about how gravity warps space and time. I mean I guess I see how gravity warps “space” (I can see these effects), but I didn’t quite get the “time” thing (still don’t think I do). But the idea is this; Lets say it were possible and I could safely approach a black hole. Lets say I had a rope from a space craft and lowered myself as close as a could to a black hole and hung out there for a year or so. Then I climb back up my rope, get in the space craft, and head back to Earth (ignore the travel distance). What I would find is that while I only spent a year according to my watch hanging out by the black hole, maybe 60 years or so would have passed on Earth! My sister would now be 55 years my senior (sorry Lyffa :) )! Theoretically, this is the type of “time travel” Einstein says happens all the time, just on a scale way too incredibly small for us to notice.
AND, we have experimental evidence that repeatedly supports this idea!
Okay, if you don’t think this is cool, I don’t know what more I can do for you. This is incredible information about the universe we live in every day and don’t notice!
I am SOOOOO hooked. Which is why I finally started reading “The Elegant Universe.” All I knew what that this book is about ‘the string theory,’ physicsy stuff, but I had no clue what it was. Still don’t. But this makes it all the more intriguing. The book’s purpose is to make this idea of string theory, or ‘theory of everything’, at least somewhat understandable to the common man (or in this case, woman). I’m only in the first half of the book, and it has hardly even talked about string theory. At the beginning, the author Brian Greene is just laying down some foundation.
The idea is this; we have a bunch of ‘rules’ (laws of physics) that we can apply to very large things (the universe) and we have rules we can apply to very small things (atomic particles/quantum mechanics). The thing is, they don’t actually make any sense in light of each other. Shouldn’t we be able to come up with ‘rules’ that apply to all these physical phenomena? Physicists think so and even think they might have a solution: String Theory.
All very exciting, except I have no idea what they are talking about. What are the ‘rules’ we use for objects in the universe? What are the ‘rules’ we use for atomic particles? That’s exactly what Brian Greene is currently trying to teach me. I just finished the large-scale, universe stuff and it is all about Einstein and his theory on general and special relativity. Here are the the two most cool things I learned so far (sorry, brian, for stealing some of your descriptions):
1. The faster you travel, the slower your time passes compared to someone else at rest.
Yes, it’s true. The faster you go, the slower your clock ticks compared to someone else’s clock at rest. Since you are now moving through space, the increase in distance makes the time that paces look longer to someone observing you. Einstein explained this very easily using the ‘light clock’ analogy, which I won’t regurgitate here, but very interesting and easy to understand if you look it up!
What’s also interesting is that you don’t perceive yourself to be moving slower. Your time passes by just as it always does. Even more interesting is the fact that you only know you are in motion because you see objects zip by you as you move past. What if all the other objects are moving and you are in fact the thing at rest? This could actually be the case. Being at ‘rest’ or in ‘motion’ is completely relative to another object. So your observer may see you moving and see your clock ticking slower. But you may have the opposite perspective and think that you are at rest and your observer is in motion and their clock is ticking slower. Contradictory? Yes and no. If you read this book it will explain how both perspectives are in fact correct!!
Now why don’t we experience this motion and ‘time slowing’ in real life? Because we never travel fast enough for it to make even the tiniest of a noticeable difference. For this time difference to be significant to use we would have to be traveling at speeds near that of light (186,282 miles per second). Yeah, so really, really fast.
Now reading this, don’t you feel like you spent your life being tricked? We think we understand our physical reality so well and we have just simply no clue. For me, it is incredibly humbling. How tiny, insignificant we are and how truly warped our view or reality is. And if you think that is a crazy concept, it gets worse:
2. Everything is always traveling at the speed of light.
No, it’s not a typo. The idea is that literally everything is always traveling at 186,282 miles per second. You, sitting in that chair are currently traveling at light speed. That car zipping by is also traveling at light speed. The fly buzzing by, the jet plane, the sun, the entire Earth; all traveling at the speed of light. Always. Even if they seem to slow down or speed up in their travel through space.
Here’s why. We are thinking about speed only one-dimensionally. We think of the speed of something as how far it travels in a unit of time. For example, ‘the car traveled 10 meters from point A to point B in one second.’ But this example doesn’t consider that while the car is traveling through space from point A to point B, it is also traveling through time. So there is always at least four dimensions to your travel; three through space (right/left, forward/backward, up/down) and one through time. Together your speed is a combination of all four dimensions. So if you are currently sitting still, then you don’t have any speed through space and all you ‘travel’ is through time alone. Thus time seems to pass more quickly for you than moving objects around you. Now, if you start moving then some of your ‘travel’ is now through space. We have to subtract that from you ‘travel’ through time so that your total speed is always light speed. Thus, the faster and faster you travel through space, the slower you are traveling through time.
But what about a photon of light itself which is already traveling through space at light speed? Since all its speed of travel is through space, then the speed of travel through time is zero. Meaning, time does not pass for a photon of light! Light formed upon the origin of the universe still exists today in its original form. Theoretically this makes sense and has also been physically confirmed through astronomy.
Okay, I hope I didn’t bore you too much :). Thanks for reading this far! I get so pumped up by this stuff. If you’re interested at all, I highly suggest you pick up a copy of “The Elegant Universe” (or a kindle version and save the environment :)). I’m telling, very cool, incredible stuff. Is it too late to go back and get a degree in Physics?
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Inspiring Times
When asked to reflect upon our lives, most of us will define ourselves by a few key experiences or moments that stick out in our memory. Most events we just simply don't remember. The details fade into the background. I was talking with a friend recently about moments in our lives that have offered incredible inspiration. We reflected on how rare these events are and how hard they are to hold to.
Recently, on April 20th, I was blessed with one of these such experiences. On this day, an incredible man arrived on KIS campus to speak to our students and staff. Twesigye Jackson Kaguri grew up in rural Uganda and suffered the death of numerous family members to AIDS. Despite his influences, he always believed in the ability to improve his own life and the lives of his friends and families. Sneaking to school and studying by candlelight every night, he eventually became a college graduate and guest lecturer at Columbia University. This is all incredible in its own right, but what he went on to do is even more incredible.
Twesigye Jackson Kaguri is the founder and director of the Nyaka and Kutamba AIDS Orphans Schools in Uganda. First, background on AIDS in Uganda:
"The AIDS pandemic in Uganda has resulted in over 2.2 million orphaned children who have lost one or both parents. Due to limited government-subsidized education, extended families and orphanages face enormous obstacles in attempting to care for these children. In addition to the trauma of losing a parent, children orphaned by AIDS go without many of the basic human needs: food, shelter, clothing, health care, and education. With a parent’s death often come overwhelming responsibilities as well. Orphans are often forced to be responsible for income generation, food production, and the care of sick parents and/or siblings. They may be the first to be denied education when extended families cannot afford to educate all the children of the household. Children living with the disease may not be physically able to attend school (the trip to school can be miles away with no transportation readily available)."
"In 1996, Twesigye “Jackson” Kaguri’s life took an unexpected turn. He was living the American dream. He had an excellent education and was ready to explore opportunities, travel and have fun. Then Jackson came face-to-face with Uganda’s AIDS pandemic. His brother died of AIDS, leaving him to care for his three children. One year later, his sister died of AIDS, leaving behind a son who also went to the care of Jackson. It was through his own personal experience that Jackson, a native Ugandan, saw the plight of orphans in his village of Nyakagyezi. He knew he had to act. He took the $5,000 he had saved for a down payment on his own home and built the first Nyaka School."
The Nyaka school provides a high-quality, free education, both formal and informal, to children who have been orphaned due to HIV/AIDS and operates largely on donations and volunteers. That's right, I said FREE education. In fact, the school often supports these students on into college if they desire it. These orphans with provided with opportunity and hope.
Jackson wrote about his experiences in a book called, "The Price of Stones." I read this book and was deeply moved. But simply nothing can compare to talking to Jackson personally and shaking his hand. This man has a presence and it is powerful. He had the entire student body hanging on every word. He talked about the responsibility we all have to make this planet a better place. He made us realize how blessed we have been and how limitless our potential is. "I studied by candlelight and walked 7 miles to school and I've never failed a test in my life," he said. There are no excuses except for the ones we create. Set your mind on something worthwhile and don't let anyone tell you that you can't.
Being part of this initiative at KIS and meeting this man in person, is one of the most inspirational experiences in my life. The feeling of responsibility is overwhelming. What exactly am I doing? Where exactly am I going? One thing is obvious, I have no idea. My new mission; a clear, distinct and meaningful purpose.
Jackson Kaguri, on stage, speaking at KIS! He's holding a pencil. As a child, his father would literally break the pencil into five pieces that himself and his siblings had to share.
Students at the Nyaka AIDS Orphans School. SO cute! Love the purple theme :)
On the left is the amazing, the fabulous, Linda Park. This is the 8th grader (yes, I said 8th grader) that spearheaded KIS's fundraising for the Nyaka school. We raised $10,000 to build TWO classrooms! Incredible! On the left is one of our fundraisers, "Brick Sales". We have amazing students!
Recently, on April 20th, I was blessed with one of these such experiences. On this day, an incredible man arrived on KIS campus to speak to our students and staff. Twesigye Jackson Kaguri grew up in rural Uganda and suffered the death of numerous family members to AIDS. Despite his influences, he always believed in the ability to improve his own life and the lives of his friends and families. Sneaking to school and studying by candlelight every night, he eventually became a college graduate and guest lecturer at Columbia University. This is all incredible in its own right, but what he went on to do is even more incredible.
Twesigye Jackson Kaguri is the founder and director of the Nyaka and Kutamba AIDS Orphans Schools in Uganda. First, background on AIDS in Uganda:
"The AIDS pandemic in Uganda has resulted in over 2.2 million orphaned children who have lost one or both parents. Due to limited government-subsidized education, extended families and orphanages face enormous obstacles in attempting to care for these children. In addition to the trauma of losing a parent, children orphaned by AIDS go without many of the basic human needs: food, shelter, clothing, health care, and education. With a parent’s death often come overwhelming responsibilities as well. Orphans are often forced to be responsible for income generation, food production, and the care of sick parents and/or siblings. They may be the first to be denied education when extended families cannot afford to educate all the children of the household. Children living with the disease may not be physically able to attend school (the trip to school can be miles away with no transportation readily available)."
"In 1996, Twesigye “Jackson” Kaguri’s life took an unexpected turn. He was living the American dream. He had an excellent education and was ready to explore opportunities, travel and have fun. Then Jackson came face-to-face with Uganda’s AIDS pandemic. His brother died of AIDS, leaving him to care for his three children. One year later, his sister died of AIDS, leaving behind a son who also went to the care of Jackson. It was through his own personal experience that Jackson, a native Ugandan, saw the plight of orphans in his village of Nyakagyezi. He knew he had to act. He took the $5,000 he had saved for a down payment on his own home and built the first Nyaka School."
The Nyaka school provides a high-quality, free education, both formal and informal, to children who have been orphaned due to HIV/AIDS and operates largely on donations and volunteers. That's right, I said FREE education. In fact, the school often supports these students on into college if they desire it. These orphans with provided with opportunity and hope.
Jackson wrote about his experiences in a book called, "The Price of Stones." I read this book and was deeply moved. But simply nothing can compare to talking to Jackson personally and shaking his hand. This man has a presence and it is powerful. He had the entire student body hanging on every word. He talked about the responsibility we all have to make this planet a better place. He made us realize how blessed we have been and how limitless our potential is. "I studied by candlelight and walked 7 miles to school and I've never failed a test in my life," he said. There are no excuses except for the ones we create. Set your mind on something worthwhile and don't let anyone tell you that you can't.
Being part of this initiative at KIS and meeting this man in person, is one of the most inspirational experiences in my life. The feeling of responsibility is overwhelming. What exactly am I doing? Where exactly am I going? One thing is obvious, I have no idea. My new mission; a clear, distinct and meaningful purpose.
Jackson Kaguri, on stage, speaking at KIS! He's holding a pencil. As a child, his father would literally break the pencil into five pieces that himself and his siblings had to share.
Students at the Nyaka AIDS Orphans School. SO cute! Love the purple theme :)
On the left is the amazing, the fabulous, Linda Park. This is the 8th grader (yes, I said 8th grader) that spearheaded KIS's fundraising for the Nyaka school. We raised $10,000 to build TWO classrooms! Incredible! On the left is one of our fundraisers, "Brick Sales". We have amazing students!
Monday, May 9, 2011
The Mothers of my Mother
I am the daughter of Deborah, who is the daughter of Jeanette, who is the daughter of Frances, who is the daughter of Helen, who is the daughter of Josephine, who is the daughter of Elisabeth, who is the daughter of a woman I do not know but whom I honor. I am the 7th generation of women descended from Elisabeth Francois, who was born 200 years ago (1811) in France, and is buried just 10 miles from my childhood home in St. Bridget’s cemetery. I thank them for their fearlessness in migrating to new countries, raising families, entering the work force, fighting for women's suffrage and burning bras. I thank them for the customs, superstitions, beliefs - known and unknown - that were passed down from mother to daughter through the generations and have made me who I am today.
Thank you, Dorothy for your research into our genealogy and post which I stole most of :) . And Happy Mother's Day to all the amazing women who have influenced and shaped my life!!! Love you!
Thank you, Dorothy for your research into our genealogy and post which I stole most of :) . And Happy Mother's Day to all the amazing women who have influenced and shaped my life!!! Love you!
My mom Debbie and Aunt Denise (lol!)
My mom's mom, my Grandma Jeanette and great-aunt Ginny.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Moped Mayhem
Realized today how incredibly many thoughts can go through my head in a fraction of a second.
I was cruising on my bike home from school and going at a good clip trying to make the walk light up ahead. I had to turn right at a blind corner to get to the cross walk. As I came flying around, I came face-to-face with a moped delivery guy on the sidewalk barreling head first at me full speed. There must have been less than 5 feet between us. It was too late. There was nothing we could do. No reaction time. We were absolutely going to collide head on. My first thought was “Shit, this is going to hurt,” followed by a brief moment of indecision on whether not I should try to curve slightly left or right and what my on-comer might do. I must have had like a millionth of a second, but in that short time I decided to curve to the left, pull my right leg out of the way so it didn’t get crushed between my bike and his moped, and even reminded myself to make a rolling landing! It was incredible. We collided pretty hard. I did get my leg out of the way in time and he smashed the right side of my bike, sending me flying. I landed on my left hip, but lessened the impact by rolling a couple of times. I ended up about 20 feet from the bike and in complete shock. First I was surprised that I didn’t feel any extreme pain surging through my body. Then I was just overwhelmed at the intensity of what had just happened. I remained pretty calm although I was pretty shook up. The moped driver however was significantly less calm. He was rushy around me like a bee talking in Korean a million miles an hour. I assume he was wondering if I was okay and apologizing profusely, but I can’t be sure. Eventually I slowly raised myself off the ground and found that my legs and arms still seemed to work. The moped guy was still freaking out. I didn’t know what to do. This was going no where. We couldn’t communicate at all and he was so distraught I don’t think it would have even mattered. The funny part was, before I knew it I was comforting him! I was patting his shoulder and kept repeating “okay, okay” (which I’ve come to find is a pretty universal word).
He finally stopped talking so much and I turned my attention to my bike. Lovely. Completely ruined. The right pedal was bent up and around the gears which were themselves bent through the middle. I was still pretty shook up and just wanted to get home, so I picked up my back tire (because it wasn’t turning on its own) and pushed my bike along, leaving the moped guy where I left him.
I got back to my apartment eventually and found my friend Liz waiting for me. I guess the emotion had taken its toll because the second I saw her I burst in to tears. No real reason I can think of, just the release of the intensity of that moment. I can’t help but think how lucky I got. I definitely woke up with bruises, scratches and soreness, but it could have been so much worse. And I wasn’t even wearing a helmet! Ugh, it could have been bad....
So there you have it. My brush with death.
I was cruising on my bike home from school and going at a good clip trying to make the walk light up ahead. I had to turn right at a blind corner to get to the cross walk. As I came flying around, I came face-to-face with a moped delivery guy on the sidewalk barreling head first at me full speed. There must have been less than 5 feet between us. It was too late. There was nothing we could do. No reaction time. We were absolutely going to collide head on. My first thought was “Shit, this is going to hurt,” followed by a brief moment of indecision on whether not I should try to curve slightly left or right and what my on-comer might do. I must have had like a millionth of a second, but in that short time I decided to curve to the left, pull my right leg out of the way so it didn’t get crushed between my bike and his moped, and even reminded myself to make a rolling landing! It was incredible. We collided pretty hard. I did get my leg out of the way in time and he smashed the right side of my bike, sending me flying. I landed on my left hip, but lessened the impact by rolling a couple of times. I ended up about 20 feet from the bike and in complete shock. First I was surprised that I didn’t feel any extreme pain surging through my body. Then I was just overwhelmed at the intensity of what had just happened. I remained pretty calm although I was pretty shook up. The moped driver however was significantly less calm. He was rushy around me like a bee talking in Korean a million miles an hour. I assume he was wondering if I was okay and apologizing profusely, but I can’t be sure. Eventually I slowly raised myself off the ground and found that my legs and arms still seemed to work. The moped guy was still freaking out. I didn’t know what to do. This was going no where. We couldn’t communicate at all and he was so distraught I don’t think it would have even mattered. The funny part was, before I knew it I was comforting him! I was patting his shoulder and kept repeating “okay, okay” (which I’ve come to find is a pretty universal word).
He finally stopped talking so much and I turned my attention to my bike. Lovely. Completely ruined. The right pedal was bent up and around the gears which were themselves bent through the middle. I was still pretty shook up and just wanted to get home, so I picked up my back tire (because it wasn’t turning on its own) and pushed my bike along, leaving the moped guy where I left him.
I got back to my apartment eventually and found my friend Liz waiting for me. I guess the emotion had taken its toll because the second I saw her I burst in to tears. No real reason I can think of, just the release of the intensity of that moment. I can’t help but think how lucky I got. I definitely woke up with bruises, scratches and soreness, but it could have been so much worse. And I wasn’t even wearing a helmet! Ugh, it could have been bad....
So there you have it. My brush with death.
Grey Area Solutions
The single most frustrating thing I’ve found out about life so far is that there are no right answers. When it comes to the important decisions, everything is so incredibly, infuriatingly, grey. This of course directly contradicts all my hopes, my search for the ultimate ‘truths’ to my life and this world.
I have been focused on one of these in particular lately; evaluating my own environmental sustainability. I watch a documentary earlier this year, “No Impact Man”, in which a typical NYC family vows for one year to make no environmental impact. It’s a really engaging portrayal of their struggles giving up everything from electricity to toilet paper and the impact it had on their lives, health and relationships as a result. Inspired by this I got myself and my students on board to participate in the small-scale version of this; No Impact Week. It eventually spread to almost the entire school (so cool!) with a large group of students and staff vowing to participate. The objective was for everyone to choose some activities, products, and/or lifestyle choices that they would be willing to alter in favor of the environment for one week. The conclusion would be a reflection on how hard it was to make these changes and what changes are possible to stick with on a more permanent basis.
I choose to give up quite a bit actually. In stages throughout the week I created little to no trash, ate vegetarian and locally produced food, largely turned off my electricity, didn’t print or use napkins or anything disposable, cut down my shower time and water use, biked/walked everywhere and purchased no new items except food. I was pretty happy with my plan. I felt like this would be the beginning of my very own inspirational crusade to save the planet :) Everything on my list seemed so clearly the right thing to do. In reflection though, it seems to be a slightly different story.
I stopped using electricity in my apartment (except the fridge, my alarm clock and occasionally the stove). I lit 5 or 6 candles around the apartment in the evenings and got by without it. It was actually really fun and created a cool atmosphere in my apartment. But the reality is, I had to purchase candles to replace my electrical lighting. I had the darndest time finding candles here and ended up settling on some imported ones. So yeah, I used less electricity but I had to purchase candles manufactured in another country with resources from different locations across the globe and finally shipped to Korea. I haven’t worked out the math yet, but this may not be as environmentally friendly as I thought.
I also cut down on motorized transportation. Not too hard since I don’t have a car, but I do take the subway and bus often. To locations relatively close, I started biking or walking instead. Great, so I’m cutting down on fossil fuel use, right? Well... not really. Whether or not I was on it personally, the bus and subway still ran as scheduled. The energy was still expended. This even extended to the elevator at school. Every morning I would watch a few of my colleagues hop on the elevator up to their classroom while I took the stairs. Same case here; whether or not I was on it, the elevator was going up. Relatively the same amount of energy was used despite my efforts. (Although all of this is entirely more health-friendly for my body!)
The most difficult part of my No Impact Week was trying to eat only locally and sustainably. Determining what foods are made here in Korea at this time of the year and figuring out where to purchase them was indeed a challenge. This was also amplified by my non-existent Korean language skills. But with the help of my students, I came across this amazing organization called Heuk Salim. It is similar to a CSA in the US. Ultimately, I found out they sell variety boxes of organically locally grown produce and dairy and deliver it right to your door! For 50,000 won I could get the delivery twice a month with my first one happening during No Impact Week. I was so pumped up for this delivery, so I was extra disappointed when it finally arrived. It was literally packaged in two boxes, with an ice pack and all items individually wrapped (sometimes twice!) in plastic wrap. No very environmentally friendly at all. As far as content, there was only one type of fruit (these tiny orange-like things), one dairy (some eggs), one tofu and the rest was basically some version of green leaves. Not much I could put together to make an interesting meal at all. No potatoes, apples, or much of the other things I researched were currently in season. Bummer!
In fact, my entire lifestyle is a contradiction. Traveling itself consumes an enormous amount of energy. Considering how many miles I log throughout the year, this is a disappointing realization.
In the end, I was frustrated with how a lot of environmental decisions are not as beneficial as I would have thought. There are no black and white answers. There’s no list of activities you should or shouldn’t do. There’s rarely entirely environmentally friendly alternatives. Alternatives fall into that grey area and are sometimes at best only slightly better for the planet. But I think I was looking at it in the wrong light. An improvement is just that, an improvement. What I was able to do throughout the week was to be aware, help my students also be aware and be an advocate for an environmentally conscious way of thinking. This is a pretty awesome result. Even if our actions seem to be only helping a little bit, we are still part of the solution rather than part of the problem. We also can influence people around us with our actions and this can add up to something much bigger than what we previously thought.
My conviction was restored with the following thought; it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. I don’t have to be environmentally perfect, never use transportation, eat only local. What I can do is be more environmentally friendly, cut down on energy use, and eat locally more often. I think this is an inclusive attitude that will bring other people, organizations, and governments on board.
What am I going to keep from this week? I’m definitely going to continue to eat as locally and vegetarian as possible. Not restrictively so, but as a general rule. I’m going to continue bringing my own reusable bags and supplies everywhere I go. And of highest priority is to stop buying so much stuff! Do I really need a 6th pair of flip-flops? Another pair of yoga pants? More clothes, decorations, and gadgets? When I ask myself these questions I receive a resounding ‘No!’ in response. I can and will live within my environmental means and exploit those I only absolutely need. Above all, this experience has helped me become aware. I think about my habits and actions and question whether they are the best or not and how they can change. I think this is the ultimate message. Evaluate, reflect and become part of the solution.
P.S. Remember that cartoon, “Captain Planet.” Love that show.
I have been focused on one of these in particular lately; evaluating my own environmental sustainability. I watch a documentary earlier this year, “No Impact Man”, in which a typical NYC family vows for one year to make no environmental impact. It’s a really engaging portrayal of their struggles giving up everything from electricity to toilet paper and the impact it had on their lives, health and relationships as a result. Inspired by this I got myself and my students on board to participate in the small-scale version of this; No Impact Week. It eventually spread to almost the entire school (so cool!) with a large group of students and staff vowing to participate. The objective was for everyone to choose some activities, products, and/or lifestyle choices that they would be willing to alter in favor of the environment for one week. The conclusion would be a reflection on how hard it was to make these changes and what changes are possible to stick with on a more permanent basis.
I choose to give up quite a bit actually. In stages throughout the week I created little to no trash, ate vegetarian and locally produced food, largely turned off my electricity, didn’t print or use napkins or anything disposable, cut down my shower time and water use, biked/walked everywhere and purchased no new items except food. I was pretty happy with my plan. I felt like this would be the beginning of my very own inspirational crusade to save the planet :) Everything on my list seemed so clearly the right thing to do. In reflection though, it seems to be a slightly different story.
I stopped using electricity in my apartment (except the fridge, my alarm clock and occasionally the stove). I lit 5 or 6 candles around the apartment in the evenings and got by without it. It was actually really fun and created a cool atmosphere in my apartment. But the reality is, I had to purchase candles to replace my electrical lighting. I had the darndest time finding candles here and ended up settling on some imported ones. So yeah, I used less electricity but I had to purchase candles manufactured in another country with resources from different locations across the globe and finally shipped to Korea. I haven’t worked out the math yet, but this may not be as environmentally friendly as I thought.
I also cut down on motorized transportation. Not too hard since I don’t have a car, but I do take the subway and bus often. To locations relatively close, I started biking or walking instead. Great, so I’m cutting down on fossil fuel use, right? Well... not really. Whether or not I was on it personally, the bus and subway still ran as scheduled. The energy was still expended. This even extended to the elevator at school. Every morning I would watch a few of my colleagues hop on the elevator up to their classroom while I took the stairs. Same case here; whether or not I was on it, the elevator was going up. Relatively the same amount of energy was used despite my efforts. (Although all of this is entirely more health-friendly for my body!)
The most difficult part of my No Impact Week was trying to eat only locally and sustainably. Determining what foods are made here in Korea at this time of the year and figuring out where to purchase them was indeed a challenge. This was also amplified by my non-existent Korean language skills. But with the help of my students, I came across this amazing organization called Heuk Salim. It is similar to a CSA in the US. Ultimately, I found out they sell variety boxes of organically locally grown produce and dairy and deliver it right to your door! For 50,000 won I could get the delivery twice a month with my first one happening during No Impact Week. I was so pumped up for this delivery, so I was extra disappointed when it finally arrived. It was literally packaged in two boxes, with an ice pack and all items individually wrapped (sometimes twice!) in plastic wrap. No very environmentally friendly at all. As far as content, there was only one type of fruit (these tiny orange-like things), one dairy (some eggs), one tofu and the rest was basically some version of green leaves. Not much I could put together to make an interesting meal at all. No potatoes, apples, or much of the other things I researched were currently in season. Bummer!
In fact, my entire lifestyle is a contradiction. Traveling itself consumes an enormous amount of energy. Considering how many miles I log throughout the year, this is a disappointing realization.
In the end, I was frustrated with how a lot of environmental decisions are not as beneficial as I would have thought. There are no black and white answers. There’s no list of activities you should or shouldn’t do. There’s rarely entirely environmentally friendly alternatives. Alternatives fall into that grey area and are sometimes at best only slightly better for the planet. But I think I was looking at it in the wrong light. An improvement is just that, an improvement. What I was able to do throughout the week was to be aware, help my students also be aware and be an advocate for an environmentally conscious way of thinking. This is a pretty awesome result. Even if our actions seem to be only helping a little bit, we are still part of the solution rather than part of the problem. We also can influence people around us with our actions and this can add up to something much bigger than what we previously thought.
My conviction was restored with the following thought; it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. I don’t have to be environmentally perfect, never use transportation, eat only local. What I can do is be more environmentally friendly, cut down on energy use, and eat locally more often. I think this is an inclusive attitude that will bring other people, organizations, and governments on board.
What am I going to keep from this week? I’m definitely going to continue to eat as locally and vegetarian as possible. Not restrictively so, but as a general rule. I’m going to continue bringing my own reusable bags and supplies everywhere I go. And of highest priority is to stop buying so much stuff! Do I really need a 6th pair of flip-flops? Another pair of yoga pants? More clothes, decorations, and gadgets? When I ask myself these questions I receive a resounding ‘No!’ in response. I can and will live within my environmental means and exploit those I only absolutely need. Above all, this experience has helped me become aware. I think about my habits and actions and question whether they are the best or not and how they can change. I think this is the ultimate message. Evaluate, reflect and become part of the solution.
P.S. Remember that cartoon, “Captain Planet.” Love that show.
Brothers Always Drive Their Sisters Crazy
I’ve been priding myself lately on how “zen” I’ve become. I have my yoga practice. My meditation. Great conversations with my friends. I feel so much more peaceful and at ease. My emotions are more in check and I just have been feeling good all around. The arrival of my brother, Adam, to Korea a few weeks ago, made me realize I got it a little wrong. I didn’t so much learn to control my frustrations as I did take away all things that could possibly stimulate them. And the arrival of a family member certainly did just that.
Adam is 17 and I am 28. I certainly didn’t think we’d always see eye-to-eye on this vacation, but I guess I hadn’t prepared myself enough for what this would be like. Adam and I both came into the situation with vastly different expectations and we had a fight and breakdown by day number 3! I felt Adam was already trampling on my lifestyle and not respecting my opinions and he felt pressure to act differently and my constant questioning and pressure. We haven’t spent this much time alone together since he was in diapers and we didn’t know quite how to handle each other. Eventually it just got really emotional and we let it all fly.
After we unleashed on each other, we both felt a lot better actually. And it became incredibly more simple to see each other’s point of view. Adam was traveling out of the country for the first time ever, and to Asia no less. His head was spinning a million miles an hour. He threw himself into every situation taking advantage of things to do, people to talk to, experiences to have. I, on the other hand, live here and keep quite a regular schedule I realized. I’m in bed at and rise at almost the same time daily. I have the same bowl of oatmeal for breakfast every morning, practice yoga and read at the same time and hate to miss any of my hiking dates with the Toms. Adam messing with my space and lifestyle threw me for more of a loop than I realized.
In the end, something amazing happened. We both actively choose to change our approach to the situation and we ended up having an amazing time together! I reigned Adam in a little when he needed it and he helped me break out when I needed it. We traveled all over Seoul and spent a week on the beach in Boracay, Philippines. We had incredible experiences, tons of fun, delicious food, great conversations and made connections with some amazing people (mainly thanks to Adam). The highlights include:
Both of us sailing for the first time! This turned out to be way more exciting than I thought. We basically sat on what amounted to some cross beams, on one of the windiest days ever, clinging to the boat for dear life. It was so much fun! The expanse of the ocean. The waves crashing by. Adam almost getting knocked off and losing his glasses! Totally exhilarating.
Being a part of Adam’s first experience scuba diving. I tell you, there is nothing more surreal and incredible than joining the underwater water world as a living, breathing member. Adam ended up loving it just as much as I do. He was rather good at it and He couldn’t stop raving about it. It was just a great feeling to be there for that new experience.
Rock climbing in Seoul. This was another activity that Adam was instantly good at. A gracious colleague of mine took us out to a local climbing wall a few times during Adam’s stay. Phew, what a work out! But once you’re at the top... so cool! Great feeling of accomplishment (and a little scary being so high!)
Singing karokee. Playing 'where's waldo' in a local restaurant. Holding an aerobics class on the sidewalk. Taking video and pictures of hilarious deeds. And literally sprinting across neighborhoods! Our team won the first ever KIS scavenger hunt. What a blast!! Here is the winning team:
Meeting a pair of eccentric Portuguese travelers. After our departure flight from Boracay was canceled, we were forced to take a cramped little van to a nearby airport two+ hours away. But was started as an big inconvenience turned out to be a blast! Adam and I met these two brothers from Portugal and instantly had a sibling connection. They are middle-aged professors and an absolute riot! Laughing and storying-telling the whole way, the trip flew by. We even exchanged emails and tentative plans to meet up again one day in Europe or South America. Very cool connection.
The best part of all though, was just having Adam in my life in Korea. I really wish I could share my life more often with my family. It’s hard to really explain what it is like and to get the chance to show it to Adam was a really special experience. He understands more and can relate. He got to meet my friends and my students and experience how unique and also how ‘normal’ life abroad is for me. We developed a deeper connection and just got to know each other better. He’s graduating from high school, entering college and we both couldn’t help but feel the excitement of the world all around us. Sometimes there are experiences that can cause a shift in your life. This was one of them for both of us, I think. Adam’s exterior world and my interior one, blown open. Totally amazing visit. Thanks, Adam!
Video of Adam trying squid tentacles!
More highlights:
Jellyfish we caught! See it? (and Adam's enormous pecs, lol)
Sand creation number 1.
Night life on the beach.
Amazing physics book I'm reading. I have to tell you about it!
Adam at the fish market
Dinner at the fish market with some friends.
Adam is 17 and I am 28. I certainly didn’t think we’d always see eye-to-eye on this vacation, but I guess I hadn’t prepared myself enough for what this would be like. Adam and I both came into the situation with vastly different expectations and we had a fight and breakdown by day number 3! I felt Adam was already trampling on my lifestyle and not respecting my opinions and he felt pressure to act differently and my constant questioning and pressure. We haven’t spent this much time alone together since he was in diapers and we didn’t know quite how to handle each other. Eventually it just got really emotional and we let it all fly.
After we unleashed on each other, we both felt a lot better actually. And it became incredibly more simple to see each other’s point of view. Adam was traveling out of the country for the first time ever, and to Asia no less. His head was spinning a million miles an hour. He threw himself into every situation taking advantage of things to do, people to talk to, experiences to have. I, on the other hand, live here and keep quite a regular schedule I realized. I’m in bed at and rise at almost the same time daily. I have the same bowl of oatmeal for breakfast every morning, practice yoga and read at the same time and hate to miss any of my hiking dates with the Toms. Adam messing with my space and lifestyle threw me for more of a loop than I realized.
In the end, something amazing happened. We both actively choose to change our approach to the situation and we ended up having an amazing time together! I reigned Adam in a little when he needed it and he helped me break out when I needed it. We traveled all over Seoul and spent a week on the beach in Boracay, Philippines. We had incredible experiences, tons of fun, delicious food, great conversations and made connections with some amazing people (mainly thanks to Adam). The highlights include:
Both of us sailing for the first time! This turned out to be way more exciting than I thought. We basically sat on what amounted to some cross beams, on one of the windiest days ever, clinging to the boat for dear life. It was so much fun! The expanse of the ocean. The waves crashing by. Adam almost getting knocked off and losing his glasses! Totally exhilarating.
Being a part of Adam’s first experience scuba diving. I tell you, there is nothing more surreal and incredible than joining the underwater water world as a living, breathing member. Adam ended up loving it just as much as I do. He was rather good at it and He couldn’t stop raving about it. It was just a great feeling to be there for that new experience.
Rock climbing in Seoul. This was another activity that Adam was instantly good at. A gracious colleague of mine took us out to a local climbing wall a few times during Adam’s stay. Phew, what a work out! But once you’re at the top... so cool! Great feeling of accomplishment (and a little scary being so high!)
Singing karokee. Playing 'where's waldo' in a local restaurant. Holding an aerobics class on the sidewalk. Taking video and pictures of hilarious deeds. And literally sprinting across neighborhoods! Our team won the first ever KIS scavenger hunt. What a blast!! Here is the winning team:
Meeting a pair of eccentric Portuguese travelers. After our departure flight from Boracay was canceled, we were forced to take a cramped little van to a nearby airport two+ hours away. But was started as an big inconvenience turned out to be a blast! Adam and I met these two brothers from Portugal and instantly had a sibling connection. They are middle-aged professors and an absolute riot! Laughing and storying-telling the whole way, the trip flew by. We even exchanged emails and tentative plans to meet up again one day in Europe or South America. Very cool connection.
The best part of all though, was just having Adam in my life in Korea. I really wish I could share my life more often with my family. It’s hard to really explain what it is like and to get the chance to show it to Adam was a really special experience. He understands more and can relate. He got to meet my friends and my students and experience how unique and also how ‘normal’ life abroad is for me. We developed a deeper connection and just got to know each other better. He’s graduating from high school, entering college and we both couldn’t help but feel the excitement of the world all around us. Sometimes there are experiences that can cause a shift in your life. This was one of them for both of us, I think. Adam’s exterior world and my interior one, blown open. Totally amazing visit. Thanks, Adam!
Video of Adam trying squid tentacles!
More highlights:
Jellyfish we caught! See it? (and Adam's enormous pecs, lol)
Sand creation number 1.
Night life on the beach.
Amazing physics book I'm reading. I have to tell you about it!
Adam at the fish market
Dinner at the fish market with some friends.
Spring Break in Venezuela
Met the school, the people and the accommodations! Couldn’t be looking forward to it more!
On the balcony
The kitchen in the condos.
Balcony overlooking the bay
My pool :)
View of the city across the bay
Typical afternoon :)
On the balcony
The kitchen in the condos.
Balcony overlooking the bay
My pool :)
View of the city across the bay
Typical afternoon :)
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
No Impact Week
I know, I know. It's been a loooonnnggg time since my last post and I have a TON to write about! Namely: my trip to Venezuela, traveling with my brother in Korea and the Phillipines, thoughts I have on this mind-blowing book I'm reading as well as an amazing visitor we've been preparing for at KIS: Jackson Kaguri, author of "Price of Stones" is visiting KIS (today!) to speak about his efforts to provide education and hope to AIDS orphans in Uganda.
So, I promise more on all that very soon (and I do have stories to tell!). BUT, this week is also "No Impact Week" at KIS in honor of Earth Day this Friday. What started out as a small initiative with my students has spread pretty thoroughly throughout the school. Students and staff alike are making plans to cut back this week and writing or video blogging about their experiences. You can see mine and others on the wiki I made:
http://noimpactweek.phoenix.wikispaces.net
Lots more to come soon! Less than two months left in Korea!
So, I promise more on all that very soon (and I do have stories to tell!). BUT, this week is also "No Impact Week" at KIS in honor of Earth Day this Friday. What started out as a small initiative with my students has spread pretty thoroughly throughout the school. Students and staff alike are making plans to cut back this week and writing or video blogging about their experiences. You can see mine and others on the wiki I made:
http://noimpactweek.phoenix.wikispaces.net
Lots more to come soon! Less than two months left in Korea!
Monday, February 7, 2011
Sri Lanka HFH
My last Habitat for Humanity trip with KIS can be described in one word; Wet. Severe raining throughout the past couple of months has led to significant flooding in the northern and eastern regions of Sri Lanka. With many people displaced from their homes, crops ruined, elephants hanging from trees (see news story link below), and disease spreading, the trip itself nearly got cancelled.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12185011
Scheduled to fly into Colombo and spend the week building homes in Dambulla, we would luckily be circumventing the flood regions and thus we decided to proceed with the trip. This announcement literally brought cheering, hooting, and hollering from the 20 students (mostly seniors) signed up for the trip. These Habitat trips at KIS have gained a lot of notoriety over the years. It’s actually extremely unique that a single school goes on two International Habitat trips a year. And that school being a high school, it is very rare indeed. The program started with an ambitious teacher 7 years ago and has built up to a well established school club meeting weekly, fundraising constantly and taking about 30-40 students to volunteer internationally every year.
I must discuss our fundraising just a bit, because I find it to be relatively brilliant. Anyone that has been in fundraising for any nonprofit cause knows how difficult it can be to get any ‘bang for your buck’. Fundraisers notoriously flop, raising less money than a minimum wage worker would have earned for the time invested. And even if you have a huge population base to fundraise from (like I did back with UW Madison Habitat), coming up with sound ideas that will bring in money without a ridiculous amount of work is nearly impossible. That’s why I’m so proud of our KIS students who fundraising thousands of dollars yearly on a single, tiny high school campus. On of our brilliant fundraisers is “Habitat Helpers”. Any teacher or staff member can use Habitat student volunteers as hired help. They send our student leader an email for a requested day and time and are matched with a student willing to do their dirty work for them; cleaning classrooms, decorating bulletin boards, preparing lab materials, typing up documents, etc, etc, etc. The teachers love this as it saves them from hours of busy work. The donation money is nothing compared to what their time is worth and we have a steady supply of customers throughout the year adding to our pool of monetary donations.
I won’t discuss all our fundraising efforts, but I want to share just one more started this year by one of my motivated and created students: “Habitat Korean Lessons”. Obviously living full-time in another country necessitates the need for picking up some of the language. But learning Korean is an arduous task requiring a regular time commitment and likely regular lessons. And that’s just what our Habitat group now provides. Three days a week after school we have classes (of varying levels) available for anyone on campus to partake in. These lessons are completely student-planned and student-led. Not only are these lessons very popular, but they are actually quite an opportunity for building relationships between students and teachers. As the role reversal takes place, teachers and students learn to see each other in a different light and grow closer over their often one-on-one time together. And one of the best parts about it is how students build confidence as they design lessons and get up in front of a group of teachers to carry them out. Beyond anything we do in the classroom, I really think it’s experiences like this (along with the trips) that give students real-life practical skills and experiences. I am already dreading the end of the year when my time with KIS HFH will come to an end.
But I digress. Back to the Sri Lanka trip. So, we decided to go anyway, despite the rain. I had been communicating with Francis, the Habitat coordinator in the area and he assured me that the flooding had receded and we wouldn’t be working near it anyway. In fact Sri Lanka had received two straight weeks of blistering sun and he thought we had more to worry about with the heat at the worksite. So, last Saturday we loaded up 17 students (three parents pulled their students from the trip due to warnings about the flooding) and three chaperones: Jeong (chem teacher), Jenn (P.E. teacher) and myself.
To my great disappointment (and in contradiction to all the bragging I do about my students), the trip started out with a discipline problem. We were flying Singapore Airlines to Colombo, Sri Lanka with a layover in Singapore. If you’ve never flown Singapore Airlines, I highly recommend. It’s quite nice. With all the free movies, television shows, and drinks you can consume in one sitting. And there-in lies the problem. On the first leg of our flight one of our seniors too tempted by the beautiful drink menu, tried and succeeded in ordering an alcoholic drink (Singapore Sling, actually). By some miracle, Jenn happened to be paying attention and caught her. The remainder of our first day was filled with discussions on how to handle the situation and how to notify her family and school administration. Eventually we settled on restricting her to her own room away from friends and limiting her participation in some of our “fun activities”. Just a crappy way to start a vacation intended to be based on goodwill and altruism. Grrr. Clearly all teenagers make really stupid decisions at least some of the time.
We arrived at our hotel outside Dambulla at a ripe 4am on Sunday morning. And as luck would have it, we were met with... (you guessed it)... lots and lots of rain. We were still hopeful however and certainly weren’t going to allow a little rain to ruin the trip. We spent the afternoon in orientation learning about the families we would be working with and the type of work we would be doing. Monday morning we spilt up into three different groups and made our way to the worksites. My group was assigned the home of a couple with two children, one of which was only 10 months old. They were on their first Habitat loan and had already laid the foundation. Our first job was to carry bricks to the site so we could begin building the walls. We spent much of the morning doing this while other Sri Lankan workers mixed cement and started building the walls. I gotta say there is really nothing more satisfying in this kind of work than actually watch the walls go up. You could see the families excitement as they saw how quickly the work was proceeding. But, like every trip, working effectively with the local builders can be difficult. They look at our delicate, gloved hands and white skin and do a whole lot of judging on our abilities. It took most of the day, lots of miscommunication and pushy behavior before they really let the students get involved in the brick-laying and cementing. After they conceded, it was a rather wonderful experience. My students and myself working alongside the family and other Sri Lankan workers, speaking different languages but understanding and teaching each other all the same. All in all a spectacular first day.
End of Day 1
Days 2 and 3
Although not quite as good as India, the Sri Lankan food was still very good. Staples were rice and fried noodles with curries on the side. They curries are no where near as good and creative as Indian food. Much more simple, like ‘potato curry’ or ‘dhal curry’. There was always some sort of ‘deviled’ onion, coconut, vegetable mix too. Very spicy, meant to just mix a little with your rice. Jenn and I fell in love with the Mango Chutney. Yum!! It’s basically mango jam with spices and it goes with everything. Bread, rice, chips, potatoes, you name it. Got myself a jar to take home. Mmmmmm. The tea is also fabulous (Ceylon Tea, named for Sri Lanka’s old name). I probably had 3 glasses daily and also got some to take home. Prior to the British occupation, Sri Lanka used to produce a lot of coffee. Can’t say I’m disappointed with the change.
The buffet style food service is killer though. You want to try everything at breakfast, lunch and dinner. I don’t think I was actually hungry all week. And then when you’re at the worksite, the homeowners alway want to feed you more. Part of Sri Lankan hospitality is to offer plentiful food and tea. They would let us work a couple of hours maximum and then need to feed us again. These ‘tea times’ could be considered outright meals, serving rice, curries, spices, biscuits, cookies, bananas, other homemade goodies along side our tea. It seemed rude not to eat something, but we were all so full! In a country where they have so little, they seem to give and give and give.
A typical 'tea time'. Assortment of rice, spicy side dish, sugary rice cake and fruit.
The other two worksites involved plastering and hole-digging (the septic tank) and I got to experience those the proceeding days. But by the third day, the rain became overwhelming. The consistent drizzle morphed into an outright downpour all day. The students weren’t disheartened at all and bravely pleaded to work through the rain, but unfortunately it became impossible. The septic hole we were digging (now about 5 feet deep) completely filled with water and the surrounding mud became a landslide. We had to cover our partially completed brick walls at the other site with plastic tarp to avoid making the cement too runny and ruining the work we had done. And even the third site (where plastering was taking place indoors) was nearing completion and hardly needed any more work. By Wednesday afternoon we hung our heads in defeat and headed back to our hotel. There was nothing we could do but wait it out and hope that it would clear up for Thursday.
Cement mixing for the walls and digging a hole for the septic tank. (hard work!)
Flooding and the hole were were digging now filled!
Cement mixing for the walls and digging a hole for the septic tank. (hard work!)
Flooding and the hole were were digging now filled!
Pool at the bungalows in a rare moment of no rain.
The students had no problem entertaining themselves at the hotel. They spent the day splashing around in the pool and playing cards while I read the afternoon away on my huge, secluded porch. But by Thursday morning, some of the wind was taken from our sails. It was STILL raining. A lot. And it had been all night. The news playing during breakfast described bad flooding happening again in north and east and high risks for our area as well. In fact the weather program predicted a consistent onslaught of rain to carry on through MAY! It was hard to believe there was that much rain to be had. I had already seen more rain at once than I had ever seen in my life below. The Sri Lankans we were working with were so disheartened. Nothing like this has happened in Sri Lanka before. And after all the political unrest the country has seen with the Tamil Tigers and the devastations of the Tsunami in 2004, it is beyond tragic. The flooding is running people from their homes, running crops, turning away tourism and sending the country into even deeper poverty.
The flooding depressed me, but I guess didn’t really surprise me. Those doubters out there of climate change really need to take a look around. In this same season, Korea is experiencing record low temperatures and high snowfall. My midwest home had a crazy blizzard that sent kids home from school for days. And if you watch the news you’ll see flooding in Pakistan, Brazil, Sri Lanka. Earthquakes in Haiti. Birds dropping dead out of the sky in Arkansas, Louisiana, Europe. Fish floating ashore in Arkansas, Maryland, New Zealand. (check out these links: http://forums.gamersfirst.com/index.php?showtopic=113890). 2010 seems to be the year of natural disasters.
EARTHQUAKES: The January earthquake killed well more than 220,000 people in Haiti. In February, an earthquake that was more than 500 times stronger than the one that struck Haiti hit an area of Chile that was less populated. Deadly quakes also struck Chile, Turkey, China and Indonesia in one of the most active seismic years in decades.
FREAK WEATHER: In the summer, one weather system caused oppressive heat in Russia. That single heat-and-storm system killed almost 17,000 people, more people than all the worldwide airplane crashes in the past 15 years combined. Super Typhoon Megi with winds of more than 200 mph devastated the Philippines and parts of China. In a 24-hour period in October, Indonesia got the trifecta of terra terror: a deadly magnitude 7.7 earthquake, a tsunami that killed more than 500 people, and a volcano that caused more than 390,000 people to flee. A volcano in Iceland paralyzed air traffic for days in Europe. A nearly 2-pound hailstone that was 8 inches in diameter fell in South Dakota in July to set a U.S. record.
FLOODING: In summer, flooding in Pakistan that inundated 62,000 square miles, about the size of Wisconsin. Flooding alone this year killed more than 6,300 people in 59 nations through September In the United States, 30 people died in the Nashville, Tenn., region in flooding. Inundated countries include China, Italy, India, Colombia and Chad.
The one degree raise in global temperature has caused a shift. Whether you attribute it to human action or not, it is happening there’s no doubt about that. Nobody can really predict how climate will change, how fast it will change or for how long, but you can’t deny it’s happening. I guess we have two options: 1) Do Nothing, assume climate change has nothing to do with human action and that we can’t make a difference; or 2) Do Something just in case we can make a difference. Seems pretty obvious to me.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40739667/ns/us_news-2010_year_in_review/
But back to the story. So it rains hard all day Wednesday and Thursday and our workweek is basically ended. We got to see the families on the Thursday, celebrate what we were able to accomplish and say goodbye. The best part about these trips is these relationships we develop. Intimidated to even interact on the first day, it always ends with hugs and often even tears.
With two of the kids from the second work site.
At the 'hole-digging' site with the family behind us.
My yoga suffered significantly this week. I really have a hard time going a day without it now, so I packed my travel mat and intended to find a good place to practice. I was delighted when I arrived to find my own personal porch overlooking the lake and the jungle definitely large enough to lay out a yoga mat! How peaceful would it be to wake up in the morning and practice yoga on my porch with the sounds of nature all around? Well, as it turns out, not too much. My first attempt on day one turned out to be a disaster. I got up at 5am in time to practice before breakfast. It was dark, but the porch light proved plenty of light. I stood at the front of the mat and started my ujjayi breathing. Just as I was feeling very euphoric thinking about how cool it was to be doing yoga in the jungle of Sri Lanka, I felt something wiz past my head. I opened my eyes but didn’t see anything. Probably just a bird, I thought. I closed my eyes again and resumed breathing. Zoom! Another one! This time I was slightly more panicked searched the morning landscape thoroughly. I began noticing flying objects all around the porch, nearby trees, and lake. I thought that seemed odd behavior for birds at this time of the morning. I kept watching as another approached my porch light. That’s when I realized what it was; BATS!! Okay, yes I do love the outdoors, but there is something about bats that really creeps me out. Mammals with wings just doesn’t seem normal, I don’t care what nature has to say about it. The creepy bone structure, eerily similar to a human hand, bent at odd angles to create wings. Eck! So, what did I do? Scream of course and run back into my hotel room.
So no yoga day 1. I did brace the heat and bugs to practice later during the week, but my ‘zen’ moments were significantly decreased after that!
Ta Da! Look what I can do :)
Friday was Sri Lankan Independence Day (Feburary 4th, 1948, from Great Britain. Actually same year as South Korea’s actual independence day from Japanese occupation [the celebrated one is also a little off for political reasons]). No work this day either! And most of the businesses were closed. We were able to see the Dambulla Cave Temple. We climbed up the side of a foot hill and tucked away beneath the overhang of the mountain was four both natural and man-made caves carved underneath. Starting about 300-400 years ago these caves were given to the monks of the Buddhist Temple. Over the years they have ceremoniously decorated and adorned this caves with paintings, carvings and statues. It was quite a site to behold. The caves were much wider than they were tall and many of the large statues of Buddah were lain sideways with the head on a stone pillows. These statues were absolutely huge. (see pics below)
Climbing up to the cave temple
Example of what the caves were like inside.
After the caves we started to make our way back toward Colombo for our departing flight that evening. On the way we stop at the Elephant Orphanage. If you read my post about our ‘safari’ in India you’ll know I’m not much for caged animals. As impressive as it may be to see these amazing creatures up close (and surely we have a lot to learn from them), it’s all too depressing. The freedom and life seems to be just sucked out of them. Their life is perpetually and simply a display for human enjoyment and the instincts and amazing adaptations that keep them alive and thriving in the wild are unseen. Unfortunately this elephant orphanage was no exception. From the description it had seemed to be a program that rehabilitated elephants and returned them to the wild. But when we arrived to a field of literally hundreds of elephants wandering around in their own feces, this couldn’t possibly be true. I kid you not, it was very reminiscent of a pasture of grazing cows surrounded by a fence (except a lot more dung!). A handful of the elephants were forced to stay at the forefront of the viewing area so people could observe up close and take pictures. There was no fence between the elephants on display and the people observing. I’ll be honest, it was quite exhilarating to be that near such a large creature and I did myself partake in the picture-taking. And we found out they do in fact save some very debilitated elephants. One in the pictures below you will notice only has only three feet. One was blown off by a land mine. Another, depressingly on display was a blind elephant that obviously would never survive in the wild. By the end of the afternoon, we had all come to sort of a point of depression. Unique as though it was, it’s hard to take a lot of joy away from that experience.
Missing a foot due to a land mine.
Getting a little closer than comfort! (nervous laugh)
Ingenious environmental effort :)
Before making our final trek to the airport we stop in Negombo for a quick stroll on the beach and dinner (little did we know, it wouldn’t be so quick!). Again because it was Independence Day, not much was open. Francis was able to find us a place to have dinner at one of the beach hotels. The manager literally came running out and begged the 20 of us to dine at his restaurant. Thoroughly persuaded, and used to the hospitality that Sri Lanka has to offer, we took him up on his offer. Baaaaaad choice. We were on a time schedule and there was literally only one waiter (and it would appear, cook as well) to feed the 50-100 people dining there. Our waiter kept promising speedy service, but never actually gave it. He left us sit there for 20 minutes before our order was taken, another 25 minutes to even get us water, and about 2.5 hours before we finally got our food! Actually, we never even got all our food and it was cold and just really gross. Now I’m in Sri Lanka and not Seoul or Milwaukee, so I am being very understanding. But when we told him we need our bill and one of the students still needed the burger they ordered, he was gone again for 15-20 minutes. Plus, they were certainly charging us western prices. We were all SOOOO frustrated (and of course hungry and drained from a tough week). Definitely not in a state of mind to answer rude and horrible service. So Jeong decided we are NOT going to pay this guy full price. At least not the required 10% service charge. Jenn and I supported him, so Jeong goes up to the guy and tells him the situation, our disappointments and what we are willing to pay. The waiter flipped out. He said he was absolutely going to charge us full price for everything. He was busy, that’s the way it is. Jeong came back and told us this and we were fuming. Me being me, I decided I could go up there and logically and professionally handle the situation (lol). I smiled nice, explained that our Habitat coordinator would love to bring groups back here if they provided honest, good service and that we couldn’t possibly pay for food we didn’t get and service that didn’t happened. Lets just say it didn’t go as well as planned. He said he didn’t need to be fair because we were never going back to that restaurant again anyway. And he didn’t like my change in attitude so now he’s not going to lower the price. At this point, Jeong and Jenn are flanking me and the students are all looking on. Jeong pops in, lays money down on the counter, says ‘this is what we are going to pay and that’s that’. The manager started yelling, picked up his phone and threatened to call the cops! This went on for quite some time and we had made a big scene. Eventually we didn’t feel like getting arrested and had to catch a flight so we paid the stupid guy the money. In the end he did give us free water. Wow, is all I have to say. I would suggest avoiding the “White Rose Resort” in Negombo at all costs. This trip certainly started and ended with a bang.
But truth be told, all the rain and setbacks did not stop me from falling in LOVE with Sri Lanka. It is truly like a jungle paradise. Birds chirping, monkeys swinging and interesting wildlife and terrain to explore everywhere you look. Driving through the countryside you seen rice fields, pineapple trees and mountain peeks jutting up in the distance. And then of course there is the people. It seems everywhere you look people are just hanging out in their doorways, on their porches, in restaurants and shops just waiting to throw you a smile and even strike up a conversation. There is nothing strange, frightening or intimidating about the country and it put me completely at ease. After India’s congestion, smells, and sounds this Habitat trip brought me a great deal of peace.
Extra Random Pictures:
Left: mosquito net. learned quickly to use one of these!
Monk catching me snapping his photo (left) and what's my fascination with doors? I always seem to come back with quite a few pictures of them.
Monkeys at temple, high up! And identical outfits at the girl's home.
Girl's home at the nunnery.
Communicating with the families by drawing (left) and house warming ceremony by boiling coconut milk (right)
Jenn and I at the temple (right). Had to where the skirts or we wouldn't be allowed in!
See more pics from the trip at: http://api.flickr.com/services/feeds/photoset.gne?set=72157625876431137&nsid=53689178@N04&lang=en-us
Left: mosquito net. learned quickly to use one of these!
Monk catching me snapping his photo (left) and what's my fascination with doors? I always seem to come back with quite a few pictures of them.
Monkeys at temple, high up! And identical outfits at the girl's home.
Girl's home at the nunnery.
Communicating with the families by drawing (left) and house warming ceremony by boiling coconut milk (right)
Jenn and I at the temple (right). Had to where the skirts or we wouldn't be allowed in!
See more pics from the trip at: http://api.flickr.com/services/feeds/photoset.gne?set=72157625876431137&nsid=53689178@N04&lang=en-us
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