JK! being the retard that I am, I forgot to bring the cord that connects my camera to the computer... For BOTH my cameras... But my kind mother is sending those soon! I have been trying to figure out how to describe what my experience here is like but have decided that it is impossible without pictures. So the is to be continued... Just thought I'd let everyone know that I am doing great and I am still alive and well! Hopefully I can put some pictures up soon so that my blog is a bit more interesting.
Love you all. Miss you all, especially Penelope!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
fhauiehauifbao9df
Yup. That is about all my brain could come up with to name this entry. I leave for my epic journey in T-minus 15 hours!!! So, as you could assume, my brain is quite... scattered.
Am I ready to go? Yeahhh right! For anyone that knows me, they'd be confident in saying I leave EVERYTHING to the very last minute I possibly can. I must admit, I am quite proud that at least I have everything I plan to take in One Giant Pile! (thanks Mom for putting up with my countless piles scattered throughout your usually spotless house this past week!)Should I be concerned that I have devoted more room in my suitcases to candy, books, and stuff for the kids than for my stuff? Well... I am not... but my Mom sure is!
I can NOT believe that I am finally going! It is here! I don't think I can thank my parents enough for helping me sooooooo much with getting to this point. They honestly are the BEST in the world. I have never been more excited for anything in my life! My only worry is that I will not be able to handle being apart for Penelope for sooooo long:( Oh and thank you Heather for taking care of my fish while I am gone.
So... Let me do one last run-through of what I need to take:
Backpack: Check
Clothing (including underwear which I ALWAYS forget to pack): Check and Check
Bug Repellent and Bug Net: Check
Sanitizing Water Bottle: Check
Passport: Check
Malaria Pills: Check
Glasses: Check
First Aid Kit: Check
Sheets For my Cot: Check
Spending Money: ..... OH SHIT! Luckily, everything in Africa is dirt cheap and thanks to adderall I know I can go up to 4 days without eating... Oh and I mustn't forget to thank those of you who were able to help me out a little with this one! :)
Am I ready to go? Yeahhh right! For anyone that knows me, they'd be confident in saying I leave EVERYTHING to the very last minute I possibly can. I must admit, I am quite proud that at least I have everything I plan to take in One Giant Pile! (thanks Mom for putting up with my countless piles scattered throughout your usually spotless house this past week!)Should I be concerned that I have devoted more room in my suitcases to candy, books, and stuff for the kids than for my stuff? Well... I am not... but my Mom sure is!
I can NOT believe that I am finally going! It is here! I don't think I can thank my parents enough for helping me sooooooo much with getting to this point. They honestly are the BEST in the world. I have never been more excited for anything in my life! My only worry is that I will not be able to handle being apart for Penelope for sooooo long:( Oh and thank you Heather for taking care of my fish while I am gone.
So... Let me do one last run-through of what I need to take:
Backpack: Check
Clothing (including underwear which I ALWAYS forget to pack): Check and Check
Bug Repellent and Bug Net: Check
Sanitizing Water Bottle: Check
Passport: Check
Malaria Pills: Check
Glasses: Check
First Aid Kit: Check
Sheets For my Cot: Check
Spending Money: ..... OH SHIT! Luckily, everything in Africa is dirt cheap and thanks to adderall I know I can go up to 4 days without eating... Oh and I mustn't forget to thank those of you who were able to help me out a little with this one! :)
Monday, May 3, 2010
Why?
Who would have thought that a basic three-letter word with such a simple meaning could be so significant? Surprising as it may be, the usual response from other people when told of my upcoming trip to Africa is, "Why?". Like reallllly? How is it so hard for people to wrap their head aroung the concept of doing something for others just because you can... So, my typical response to their question, which I thought would suffice, was "To help the people that live there".
As I got closer to my date of departure and the reality had set in that I am actually going!!!, I found myself asking myself the same question of WHY? I mean, I've been telling myself since high school that I was going to do this... But WHY? Why this? Why now? Was this an attempt to make myself known for something? Was it a way of making myself feel good, boost my morale? Was it an impetuous attempt at wooing a girl? Was it a way for me to escape from MY reality? Having pondered these questions for a bit, I realized my true answer to the question, "WHY?"
Having been born into a family that actively practiced the Mormon religion,(which I migh add is a religion that HIGHLY revolves around service), I was intensely taught from birht to 'Love One Another'. It was also engrained in me to view each and every person, no matter who they are, or how, when or where they lived, as my brother and/or sister. These teachings, along with seeing constant examples of them through my family and community, predisposed me to have a compassionate and empathetic persona. Being subpar at almost anything I attempted as a child (school, sports, socializing), I discovered one thing that I was good at... and that was helping others with their happiness. I remember, as a child I constantly found myself worried, disgruntled, and/or distressed with the problems of others, even if it was somebody whom had no relation or significance to me. A few examples I remember: Worrying that the fat girl 3 grades my junior is happy and has friends; stressing over my friend that lives in a condo and has no father (yes, at that age I viewed living in a condo to be substandard); worrying about the well-being of the new girl who constantly falls asleep in class and lives with her aunt. Interest in the well-being of others has always been a major influence to my thoughts and actions.
At a young age, I was very interested in animals, in fact, I loved them, I LIVED for them. So, for obvious reasons, Africa was somewhere I found particularly interesting. I mean, for my entire 6th grade year I was adamant that everyone refer to me as Tarzan. It was in elementary that I first noted the differences in the lifestyles of the African people and myself. My school was raising money for an African tribe and many in-school activities were centered around this fundraiser. We learned a lot about the tribe and I remember finding it fascinating that people lived so differently than I did and things that I had believed to be standard elements of life (parents, food, housing, clothes, toys) weren't so standard for these people. At the time, I wanted to go over there and do anything I could to help, but did not even consider it as a possibility. For the remainder of my childhood, I remember taking particular interest in any stories that involved people living in Africa. I have since come to the realization that Africa has been the "forgotten continent". It appears that, throughout history, Africa has been a constant shitting ground for the world. It's natives treated like animals, viewed as "property" and unintelligent, there to serve other humans. It's resources were anybody's for the taking. The natural cultures and methods of living ignored with the attempted colonization of the continent, only to later be abandoned to figure it out for themselves.
It was not until High School, at a time when I was questioning everything about myself, that I first considered the idea of going to Africa. With the impending question of whether or not to serve a mission for the Mormon church upon me, I began to thoroughly evaluate my beliefs and weigh the infinite directions my life could take. I knew that a mission was something my family found to be extremely important, not only because it was something the church strongly suggested but because they thought it was an invaluable experience in self-growth, discipline, and generosity. This kind of experience was something I desired as well, but the idea of a mission was hard for me because I couldn't justify paying all this money and time to go "Preach the Word of God" when I could use those same resources to do something more meaningful for humanity. I mean, don't you find priority in helping people that have difficulties just living their current lives over trying to prevent possible complications with their after-life? It was then that the idea of going on a humanitarian trip to Africa, to help people like the ones I've been learning about all my life, crossed my mind as a legitimate possibility and became a preferred alternative to serving a mission. The start of college kind of put my plan to go to African on the back-burner, but my desire to lend a hand was manifested through many essays written that revolve around some problem that some people in Africa face, such as the AIDs epidemic or conflict diamonds. So... When I realized that I had no obligations this summer and accepted that it may be the last summer that I have the availability, I jumped on my dream of a humanitarian expedition in Africa.
So there. That is WHY.
As I got closer to my date of departure and the reality had set in that I am actually going!!!, I found myself asking myself the same question of WHY? I mean, I've been telling myself since high school that I was going to do this... But WHY? Why this? Why now? Was this an attempt to make myself known for something? Was it a way of making myself feel good, boost my morale? Was it an impetuous attempt at wooing a girl? Was it a way for me to escape from MY reality? Having pondered these questions for a bit, I realized my true answer to the question, "WHY?"
Having been born into a family that actively practiced the Mormon religion,(which I migh add is a religion that HIGHLY revolves around service), I was intensely taught from birht to 'Love One Another'. It was also engrained in me to view each and every person, no matter who they are, or how, when or where they lived, as my brother and/or sister. These teachings, along with seeing constant examples of them through my family and community, predisposed me to have a compassionate and empathetic persona. Being subpar at almost anything I attempted as a child (school, sports, socializing), I discovered one thing that I was good at... and that was helping others with their happiness. I remember, as a child I constantly found myself worried, disgruntled, and/or distressed with the problems of others, even if it was somebody whom had no relation or significance to me. A few examples I remember: Worrying that the fat girl 3 grades my junior is happy and has friends; stressing over my friend that lives in a condo and has no father (yes, at that age I viewed living in a condo to be substandard); worrying about the well-being of the new girl who constantly falls asleep in class and lives with her aunt. Interest in the well-being of others has always been a major influence to my thoughts and actions.
At a young age, I was very interested in animals, in fact, I loved them, I LIVED for them. So, for obvious reasons, Africa was somewhere I found particularly interesting. I mean, for my entire 6th grade year I was adamant that everyone refer to me as Tarzan. It was in elementary that I first noted the differences in the lifestyles of the African people and myself. My school was raising money for an African tribe and many in-school activities were centered around this fundraiser. We learned a lot about the tribe and I remember finding it fascinating that people lived so differently than I did and things that I had believed to be standard elements of life (parents, food, housing, clothes, toys) weren't so standard for these people. At the time, I wanted to go over there and do anything I could to help, but did not even consider it as a possibility. For the remainder of my childhood, I remember taking particular interest in any stories that involved people living in Africa. I have since come to the realization that Africa has been the "forgotten continent". It appears that, throughout history, Africa has been a constant shitting ground for the world. It's natives treated like animals, viewed as "property" and unintelligent, there to serve other humans. It's resources were anybody's for the taking. The natural cultures and methods of living ignored with the attempted colonization of the continent, only to later be abandoned to figure it out for themselves.
It was not until High School, at a time when I was questioning everything about myself, that I first considered the idea of going to Africa. With the impending question of whether or not to serve a mission for the Mormon church upon me, I began to thoroughly evaluate my beliefs and weigh the infinite directions my life could take. I knew that a mission was something my family found to be extremely important, not only because it was something the church strongly suggested but because they thought it was an invaluable experience in self-growth, discipline, and generosity. This kind of experience was something I desired as well, but the idea of a mission was hard for me because I couldn't justify paying all this money and time to go "Preach the Word of God" when I could use those same resources to do something more meaningful for humanity. I mean, don't you find priority in helping people that have difficulties just living their current lives over trying to prevent possible complications with their after-life? It was then that the idea of going on a humanitarian trip to Africa, to help people like the ones I've been learning about all my life, crossed my mind as a legitimate possibility and became a preferred alternative to serving a mission. The start of college kind of put my plan to go to African on the back-burner, but my desire to lend a hand was manifested through many essays written that revolve around some problem that some people in Africa face, such as the AIDs epidemic or conflict diamonds. So... When I realized that I had no obligations this summer and accepted that it may be the last summer that I have the availability, I jumped on my dream of a humanitarian expedition in Africa.
So there. That is WHY.
Let's Start Things Off.
I find a person's blog to be the most effective way, provided on the internet, to get inside their head. It reflects their interests, worries, thoughts, and values, even if unintentional. I hope the same applies to mine. I am initially making this blog as a public journal for my upcoming trip to Africa. I hope that I can adequately express my experience there, through this blog. As it being my first time blogging and my first time living on a foreign continent for a period longer than a few weeks, I ask that you bare with me. I am not promising anything interesting, entertaining, or unusual, as in, anything worth reading. I do, however, promise to provide my raw, uncensored, personal view of my world.
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