In twelve days I will begin the journey into adulthood.
Sort of.
I'm setting out for an (approx.) 20 hour drive to work as a camp counselor. I'm getting rid of nearly everything and essentially "starting over." My bed, desk, over half of my clothing, any candles, picture frames, my printer, all of it. Gone. Adios.
I'll spend two months working with horses and children. One of which I have a lot of experience doing, and the other I do not.
I've never been to Texas before (unless you count the four hours spent in the Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport, then I've been there once), but it's something I am incredibly excited about. I've always wanted to go to Texas, but I'm not sure why. Maybe it's the heat and the horses and the beautiful pictures I drool over, but I feel like there is something there for me.
Last night I was spending some time with friends, listening to all their stories of how they envision Texas. This "Texas" most people envision involves extensive cowboy boots, spurs, fake animals heads, cowboy hats, and stuffed animals stapled haphazardly on the walls, and anywhere they will fit.
I never pictured it that way. I just get a mental image of large, old gnarly trees along a river bank. I also feel like the people are going to be more cordial. But that is about it.
I'm more excited to reinvent myself. I did it went to Evansville for my first year of college. I became more outgoing and personable and created a social aspect of my life I had never really had before.
Whatever happens, it will be good, and a much needed change.
I have grown to really appreciate the city I live in and the people here, but it's the weather I am most looking forward to escaping. I need more sunshine in my life than I get in the Midwest. And warmth.
I will absolutely miss Mae, and my friends, and family. I feel incredibly guilty leaving when my dad is so sick, but I'm not leaving forever, and if necessary I can try and find a job in the area come August. I can always come back, but this job opportunity is not going to come around again.
Selfish, I know, but I never claimed to be perfect.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Burma
"Finding George Orwell in Burma" by Emma Larkin is one of my favorite books.
If you have any interest in George Orwell, or his works, you should read it. It is the story of a journalist (Emma Larkin is a pseudonym) who travels to Burma in order to understand more about Orwell, why he wrote about Burma, and to learn about his experiences there. He spent five years in the colonial army serving in Burma, and officially wrote one book, "Burmese Days" about Burma, but many (especially Burmese) feel "1984" and "Animal Farm" are as well, and in Burma he is often referred to as The Prophet.
I hope I can travel to Burma one day, and I have a secret wish to live there for a while. But mores than that, I just feel some sort of connection. Perhaps the connection is really just due to a well written book. But the more I research the struggles of Burma, the more my heart breaks, and the more I want to be a part of it.
For example, in the book Ms. Larkin discusses the fall of the education system. When Burma was a colony, it had an extremely high rate of literacy, and the majority of the education was done in monasteries. However, when Burma was granted independence and the Military Regime took over, the education system fell apart. In the book one of the reasons is the ability for educated people to fight back. The lower the literacy rate and the less intelligent a people are, the less likely they will be in understanding their oppression. It also makes it easier to isolate the people in Burma from outside media sources. I want to do something about it.
One way Burma has accomplished the destruction of the education system is by requiring the citizens to pay for, build, and staffing of their schools. A third is by requiring all education to be done in the language of Burmese. Although this does not seem to be an issue, Burma is populated by many different ethnicity's and has one of the richest and most diverse collection of people. Forcing everyone to speak Burmese is an effort by the Junta to give an advantage to the Burman ethnic group, and essentially "tax" other ethnicity's.
And Burma is home to Aung San Suu Kyi, my absolute hero.
If you have any interest in George Orwell, or his works, you should read it. It is the story of a journalist (Emma Larkin is a pseudonym) who travels to Burma in order to understand more about Orwell, why he wrote about Burma, and to learn about his experiences there. He spent five years in the colonial army serving in Burma, and officially wrote one book, "Burmese Days" about Burma, but many (especially Burmese) feel "1984" and "Animal Farm" are as well, and in Burma he is often referred to as The Prophet.
I hope I can travel to Burma one day, and I have a secret wish to live there for a while. But mores than that, I just feel some sort of connection. Perhaps the connection is really just due to a well written book. But the more I research the struggles of Burma, the more my heart breaks, and the more I want to be a part of it.
For example, in the book Ms. Larkin discusses the fall of the education system. When Burma was a colony, it had an extremely high rate of literacy, and the majority of the education was done in monasteries. However, when Burma was granted independence and the Military Regime took over, the education system fell apart. In the book one of the reasons is the ability for educated people to fight back. The lower the literacy rate and the less intelligent a people are, the less likely they will be in understanding their oppression. It also makes it easier to isolate the people in Burma from outside media sources. I want to do something about it.
One way Burma has accomplished the destruction of the education system is by requiring the citizens to pay for, build, and staffing of their schools. A third is by requiring all education to be done in the language of Burmese. Although this does not seem to be an issue, Burma is populated by many different ethnicity's and has one of the richest and most diverse collection of people. Forcing everyone to speak Burmese is an effort by the Junta to give an advantage to the Burman ethnic group, and essentially "tax" other ethnicity's.
And Burma is home to Aung San Suu Kyi, my absolute hero.
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