tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84320041580877260622024-02-20T00:33:30.534-08:00wonderings while wanderingKaitlin McGarveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17040686723058308568noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8432004158087726062.post-33705445281687624322013-11-13T09:39:00.003-08:002013-11-13T09:40:49.632-08:00In the Aftermath<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As the world knows, last Friday a super typhoon devastated several
communities through the Visayan islands of the Philippines. The media has been
covering a variety of stories ranging from the i<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/13/typhoon-babies_n_4265337.html?utm_hp_ref=world">nfants who have been born in post-Yolanda rubble and are in desperate need of attention</a> to <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2013/11/philippine-typhoon-relief-hampered-delays-2013111213472868401.html">the slow delivery of aid</a>. The numbers of those who have lost their lives is debatable, and the numbers of people who will continue to lost their lives in the coming days is equally debatable as many regions have yet to be reached. <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-24899001">Images</a> of the destruction are paralyzing, and leave many of us with feelings of hopelessness. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A few days before Haiyan/Yolanda made landfall I was skyping with a friend who is in the middle of making a decision about living and working in a developing country for two years. He asked me some questions no one else has asked me, questions I don't think I've even asked myself since being back from the Philippines. He asked me how I handle knowing I just got on a plane one day and left my community behind. He asked me if I struggle with guilt on a regular basis for living the life I'm now living after living such a different life just a year ago. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I think the answers to these questions are complicated, and I think they depend on my mood and the worldview I may possess on any given day, but largely I would say, "Yes. it is hard to know how easy it was to get on a plane to leave a life I had shared with such amazing people for two years. It is hard to know how easy it was for me to adapt back to life hear. It is hard to have moments of guilt and to wonder where they come from, then think back to the Philippines and know how much I could be doing for people there with the money I spend here on a dinner." </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Now, these statements are even more true. I wish i was there to help. To burry bodies, unblock roads, search for water for mothers who have just given birth...to do anything that needs to be done. But, I am here, and from here I will do what I can with your help. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My island was not affected in the super typhoon last week, but I spent some time in Tacloban and Baybay, two of the friendliest places I had been during my time in the Philippines. Several families took me in and treated me as a one of themselves. They were comfortable people to be with and refreshed me during a time when I needed to be re-inspired and reenergized. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The islands that were hit by Yolanda were home to several PCV's. Some I knew, and many I've never met. Several volunteers were on Leyte and Samar when Haiyan/Yolanda hit. All of the PCVs that were serving in the affected areas have now been evacuated, though it wasn't until after the storm. They were consolidated in a hotel in Tacloban, the largest of the devastated cities, and when they emerged from the hotel after the storm passed, they realized that not much more than their hotel was left standing. They were lucky. They were especially lucky in that the US State Department had already mobilized to come rescue them. One of the PCVs reported this: </span></div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">"We were airlifted today by the Philippines military on a C-130, the planes they transport tanks in, herded like cattle with little children, packed to capacity, from Cebu City then to Manila, where I am now. We walked for three hours to the airport, starting at 4 a.m., in darkness, in a group of PCVs, Filipino rescue workers, foreign touri</span><span class="" style="display: inline; line-height: 18px;">sts, and families with children, in a city without power, lighting our way by our cell phones. Dead, black and bloated bodies lined our route, and we tried to avert our eyes while the news people took photos. Somehow we survived the typhoon in our concrete, mostly windowless hotel, just by accident. When we emerged, the devastation was complete and chilling -- no power, no food, no water, no contact with any type of rescue. A poor young woman lay dead right outside of our hotel -- the streets were flooded, houses floated down the street, lines were down everywhere, and cars were overturned in heaps; we did our best to figure out what we should do..." </span></span></i><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="" style="display: inline; line-height: 18px;">The PCV who wrote that above statement was on the same plane as the news crews from CNN, BBC, etc. and those reporters told him that they'd covered Haiti, Katrina, and a variety of other horrendous natural disasters, but that they had never seen anything like this. They were having a hard time finding the words they would use to report the story. Many of the videos the news outlets gathered had to be censored because they were too graphic to air. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="" style="display: inline; line-height: 18px;">The volunteers and tourists that were air-lifted are the lucky ones. It's those who were left behind that we all should worry about. The estimates of over 10,000 dead are still just an estimate, but that number can be lower if aid can reach those who survived the initial storm before they die from lack of food, clean water and medicine. As often happens in disasters like this, the aid arrives at the nearest airport, desperate people are already lined up at the airport, and by the time all of those people receive aid, there is none left to spread out beyond the airport or city limits. Some of the hardest hit municipalities are far from the city - in fact, one report said that the 3.5mi road from Tacloban to one of the municipalities is taking rescue workers more than 6 hours to traverse because of downed trees and power lines. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="" style="display: inline; line-height: 18px;">While I'm fortunate to not directly know of anyone who was k</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">illed, is missing, or was rendered homeless by the storm, many of my PCV friends lived in and served those very communities that have now been flattened. They have yet to be able to make contact with their host families, colleagues and friends. They don't even know if their loved ones are alive. One friend said she was online chatting with friends in her community on Friday night, before the storm hit and they said they had gathered everyone to the school gym so that they would be safer than in their homes. She hasn't heard from them since that night, and when she saw aerial footage of the</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> town, she saw that the gym was flattened. It's a horrible feeling being so far away and not being able to help. </span></span><br />
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<span class="" style="display: inline; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">While other volunteers have been helping <a href="http://m.nextgov.com/cloud-computing/2013/11/how-online-mapmakers-are-helping-red-cross-save-lives-philippines/73637/">map</a> the affected areas in order to facilitate aid delivery, we've been working together to make contact with people who are in a position to get aid directly into those remote communities that have yet to receive any aid. We're working with the mayor and local officials from one of the remote municipalities who were able to evacuate before the storm. Some of those more connected and powerful friends have arranged convoys and are packing up supply trucks to drive from Manila. We are waiting to hear back that they are able to make the trip successfully without being ambushed and looted before reaching their destination. If they are able to successfully reach those remote areas, some of our funding will be directed toward their efforts. If not, we will donate the ongoing funds to the agencies who are proving to be the most effective at distributing aid and helping to rebuild. </span></span></div>
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<span class="" style="display: inline; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="" style="display: inline; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This is not a hopeless situation. It is incomprehensible, and it is horrific, and it is beyond devastating, and it is going to be a long and hard road to recovery, but it isn't hopeless. The sooner aid can reach the people in remote places that have been isolated until this point, the better their chances at survival are. Filipinos are resilient and industrious. They will overcome this, but your help is needed. </span></span></div>
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<span class="" style="display: inline; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="" style="display: inline; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Please consider donating. If you are interested in giving directly to the communities where PCVs lived and served please let me know. You can email me at kait.mcgarvey@gmail.com and I will put you in contact with some Returned Peace Corps Volunteers who are collecting donations to send to their municipalities, host families, and colleagues. I highly recommend doing this as it is the only way to ensure money reaches many of the people who have yet to see aid. </span></span></div>
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<span class="" style="display: inline; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you are more comfortable donating to large charities here is a <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/11/09/haiyan-how-you-can-help/3484467/">list</a> of various organizations that are actively working on the ground and are expanding their service day by day. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Thank you for taking the time to read this and for supporting the people of the Philippines. </span></div>
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Kaitlin McGarveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17040686723058308568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8432004158087726062.post-86476716548424677862013-10-27T16:05:00.005-07:002013-10-27T16:05:55.587-07:00life outside the glass<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I was reading a friend’s blog the other day. He’s spent the
last year and a half or so travelling throughout Asia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s currently in India and has been writing
a lot about the intensity of India. I find these posts somehow reassuring and
comforting. I went to India four years ago. It’s been a while. Yet, my time in
India is still impacting and influencing me. I still spend a lot of time trying
to sort out my experiences in India and what they mean about me and about
humanity as a whole. My time there was a bit of a whirlwind. It’s a massive
country and far too complex for anyone to put into words. I had good
experiences. I had bad experiences. I had frightening experiences. And I had
serene experiences filled with great peace. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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This is one of my stories from India, a story a few people
know but many don’t. A story that will only show one small part of India, but a
part that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get out of my mind. <o:p></o:p></div>
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There’s not really a lot to say about this moment. It
happened so fast. She was there, then she was gone. My friend and I took the
same route everyday after our internship back to our apartments. We passed the
same people who made their homes on the street everyday. Babies were born on
the streets, and the old died on the streets. People made their beds, their
bathrooms, their kitchens on the street and others walked over them, and around
them, and sometimes, it seemed, through them. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I know that there are people without homes in the U.S. and
just about every other country in the world. I have seen poverty before. I have
seen kids living their lives underneath bridges and billboards. It’s different
in India though. There are just so many people on the streets. It’s
overwhelming. You don’t know how to help. You don’t want to invade their family
spaces, but you also need to walk down the street. You don’t want to feel pity
cause pity is one of the worst things you could feel for another human being,
but sometimes you know that that one child or that one mother caught a brief glance
of pity from your face. You don’t want to be overcome by great sorrow, you want
to talk about your day and laugh together as you walk, but sometimes it’s too
much. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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We walked the same route everyday. One day as we were
approaching a home furnishing store we saw a giant dump truck blocking the
road. We watched a few police officers get out of the truck, walk over to a
homeless lady, prod her a bit, then scoop her up with a shovel, dump her in the
back of the truck, and drive away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just
like that she was gone. Her tattered blankets remained on the sidewalk, under
the awning of the home furnishings store. Shoppers went in and out as if
nothing had just happened. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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A lady invisible to the world had died without anyone to
mourn for the life she has left or to celebrate the life she will go next,
without anyone to give her a proper funeral, without anyone to cry her name,
without anyone to take the time to check her pulse or hold her hand. She was
there and then she was gone. Dumped in the back of a truck that was going to
pick up other people who had become one with the streets—people who lived their
entire lives, from birth to death, through monsoons and droughts, on the other
side of the glass. <o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
Kaitlin McGarveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17040686723058308568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8432004158087726062.post-71807463429436173242013-09-24T00:18:00.002-07:002013-09-24T00:18:30.738-07:0011 Weeks!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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In 11 weeks I’m moving back to the U.S. To say I’m excited
would be an understatement. Anytime I think about it I get an overwhelming
feeling of rightness. Not that there is ever one right or one wrong decision,
rather I can just feel that I’m ready to be back for a while. I’m ready to be
close to the people I love whose lives I’ve missed these last couple years. I’m
ready to be in the California sun. I’m ready for the diversity of the U.S. I’m
ready for the mountains and the beach and the city. I’m ready for all that I
will learn by moving back. I’m ready.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Just over a year ago I got back from the Peace Corps. I
don’t think I would have been ready a year ago. I think I would have questioned
if I was making the right choice. This year I know I’m making the right choice.
Scotland hasn’t been what I anticipated it to be, but it has shown me that I’m
ready to go back to California and that I wont have any regrets or questions
asking “what if” when I go back this December. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This December it will have been 4 years since I graduated
from college. In that time I have travelled the world and fulfilled life long
dreams. I have met people that have helped me grow and have shown me the wisdom
of the world. I have travelled to places I never before thought of visiting. I
have learned to have faith in myself and have learned to trust other people. I
have discovered what I hope to be and what is important to me. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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When I think about these last four years and everything that
has gotten me to this point I’m in awe of the world and the people in my life.
So many good and patient and understanding and supportive people. So many
unimaginable events that revealed things I never expected about myself. What a
journey these last couple years have been. What a journey is waiting for me
beginning in December. One journey preparing me for the other, and as I sit
here right now thinking about all that has happened these last few years and
all that I’m unsure about for these next couple years I feel absolute peace.
That’s not always the case, but it is right now. Right now all is right. <o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
Kaitlin McGarveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17040686723058308568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8432004158087726062.post-83479919472787441912013-09-24T00:17:00.003-07:002013-09-24T00:17:50.731-07:00goodbye uganda<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
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Tomorrow I leave Uganda. As cliché as it is, time has flow.
I was only here for 10 weeks, but 10 weeks in Scotland go by pretty slowly, so
I thought 10 weeks here might go by a little slower than they have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t believe my time has come to an end
already. It has been such a positive experience. Everything about it worked
out. It was easy and comfortable and I learned what I hoped to learn and I met
good people I feel connected to. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maybe this is because Africa really is a place I feel at
home, a place that has cradled so much of who I am and has inspired so many of
my dreams. Maybe this is because the more I travel the easier it gets. Maybe
this is because I was here long enough to feel comfortable and get to know
people, but not long enough to get frustrated with the many things I’m sure
would frustrate me over a longer period of time. Maybe this is because I’m
working for a great organization with great co-workers and don’t have to
struggle with so many of the hurdles that I would have to face if I was working
in a different environment. Maybe this is just because the universe knew I
needed this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m so relieved these weeks went as they did. I was afraid
the Peace Corps had ruined me so to say—making me a jaded person who was overly
critical and bitter about the problems of the world. I think part of that was
the Philippines and part of that was Peace Corps. I’ve met several volunteers
here and while they aren’t as depressed and worn out as many of the volunteers
I served with, they still have their complaints and frustrations and
hardships.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, I am not trying to
belittle their experiences or exaggerate mine, but a lot of the stories that
were so common within PC Philippines are absent here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s something different about Uganda that
makes it a lot easier of a place for me than the Philippines was.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is not to say that Uganda doesn’t have its problems. It
certainly does. In fact, as with every place, there are many problems:
widespread corruption, a president who refuses to leave office, unsustainable
population growth, malnutrition even though Uganda is a rich and fertile land
with excellent agricultural production (many reasons for this), poverty with
the average family earning just $400 a year, HIV/AIDS which some say is on the
decline while others say is on the rise with increasing prostitution, domestic
abuse, the commonality of rape, a lack of natural resources, dwindling water
supplies, widespread human rights abuses especially towards anyone who is
homosexual, a lack of education and the world’s youngest population, which
could be a great asset but it’s currently a problem for the development of
Uganda, just to mention a few. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am not saying Uganda is a Utopia. But, I am saying Uganda
has been very good to and for me. I saw people who listened to and respected
each other. I saw people loan each other money and food when needed. I saw
people in the upper class of Ugandan society take time to say thank you to
cleaning staff and the staff providing tea. I listened to people discuss religion
and politics and society while doing their everyday tasks. I heard people
question the way things are and I heard people disagree and argue about the way
things should be. I saw people pet stray dogs and tell me not to fear the stray
dogs because dogs are human friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’ve even seen people feed stray dogs. I’ve seen people wrestle with the
problems facing their communities, and attempt to put together solutions. I’ve
been free to speak my mind and be myself without judgment. I’ve become a friend
opposed to just a foreigner temporarily visiting. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve also met some great people who are living and
travelling through Uganda. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some of the people living here who I am very grateful for
are:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Everyone who works at the hostel—<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Benjamin is the manager/receptionist. Since day
one he has helped fill me in on life in Entebbe and has helped me countless
times with basic things. We’ve also gotten to talk a bit about Ugandan politics
and the future of the country. Always friendly and smiling, and always very
patient with me and the many other mzungus.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Kevin is one of the ladies who works at the
hostel. I think she’s the person I was closest to. We spent a lot of time doing
laundry or just hanging out when there wasn’t much work to do talking about
life and our pasts and our goals. She said many foreigners make fun of her name
since it’s a “guys” name. Leave it to foreigners to determine what names are
right or not for people. She has a large family with many siblings. She is the
only “independent” one. Every month she takes part of her earnings and buys
sugar, soap and other household goods to send back to her village. She said if
she doesn’t buy the items then the money is wasted on alcohol etc. She loves
dancing but doesn’t go to clubs. Just dances by herself in her apartment. She
also doesn’t want to get married or have kids anytime soon and her favorite
movie, which she let me borrow but I couldn’t watch due to no cd drive on my
computer, is “Think Like a Man.” She’s strong and determined and hard-working,
and very much able to laugh and find joy in everything she does.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Phyllis is another lady who works at the hostel.
She usually works in the kitchen. She’s hilarious and has a strong
personality/attitude. When people complain she just rolls her eyes. Whenever
there is a strange person (her and I usually think the same people are strange)
she looks at me, we both roll our eyes, and we both laugh. She loves watching
soap operas and dresses with as much attitude as she has. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Brenda is Kevin’s pal. She’s classy and more reserved
than the other ladies. She’s got a warmth and softness about her. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Kanan is a guy who works in the hostel. Since
I’ve met him he’s been smiling no matter what else is happening in the hostel.
He is sweet and nervous. Sometimes I have to switch rooms and without fail when
I get home from work he has moved all my stuff for me and organized my room
just how he knows I do it. He thinks I should already have a few children, but
not too many because people need to stop having 20+ kids (he has 22 siblings). He
thinks it’s funny that I’m so good at hand-washing my clothes. I appreciate
that he thinks I’m good at hand-washing my clothes (other than my host family
many Filipinos told me I had a very strange and not good method of
hand-washing). He also tells me I should be fatter because men like fatter
ladies. Oh beautiful Uganda.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->The guard, whose name I still don’t know, has a
love hate relationship with me I’m sure. Every time I ask him to help me he
begrudgingly helps me while usually mumbling under his breath. He is the one
who helped me at 4:30 am the first night I arrived with nowhere to go. I
thought he always hated me cause he always had to stop what he was doing to let
me in the gate or help me with the internet (he also is the internet man), but
when I came back from Rwanda at 2 am he was at the gate waiting for me and told
me they had missed me. He said that he was worried cause he knew my plane was
supposed to arrive at 10pm (we were delayed cause the plane was “broken” and
couldn’t fly). That’s why I think he secretly loves me even if I’m a hassle. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The guys I work with. I’m not sure they would like being on
this blog, so I wont put their descriptions here. But they’re great and have
taught me a lot. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Gertrude, who I already wrote about.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The kids who live in one of the areas I pass to get home
from work everyday. Very few people can say my name. Most people call me
Katrin, but these kids call me Klane…like plane. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Brenda is a teenage girl who works at the Ugandan version of
a sari-sari down the street from my hostel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I met her right after I arrived. She saw me walking and asked if we
could be friends. Every time I pass the shop, which is at least once a day, we
talk. She wants to be a journalist and she had her first prom this year. She is
the oldest of at least 6 kids. She’s very curious and asks a lot of questions.
A very good skill for a journalist. Also, her English is better than mine. I
hope she’s able to achieve everything she wants. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As far as travellers go, I’ve met my fair share over the
last few months. Most I only see or talk to for a night, but there are a few
who have stayed longer and I’ve gotten to know better. Then there are also
those who I only knew for a night, yet it feels like we knew each other much
longer. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond;">Dientje</span> is a woman from the Netherlands, originally from the
Caribbean, who was stranded in Entebbe for a few days in the middle of an East
African trip. She used to be a VSO volunteer in Tanzania and is absolutely in
love with East Africa. She is fluent in Kiswahili (although it isn’t spoken
here) and seems completely assimilated into East African culture and society.
She lives back in the Netherlands now, but misses East Africa so much that she
became a tour guide during her summers, leading safaris throughout the area.
She is full of respect and graciousness which she extends to everyone she
meets. To her the world and everyone in it is divine and good. She is divine
and good. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Helen is a British lady who is living in South Sudan. She
spent a few nights here in Entebbe while waiting for her friend to visit and
while visiting her boyfriend whose family is here in Entebbe. She is one of the
most open-minded and pure people I have ever met. She doesn’t see bad in anyone
or anything. She loves dancing and adventure and the spirit of Africa. She has
no regard for people who try to tell her what to do and sees everyone equally.
One of my favorite stories is she dated a homeless heroin addict—not that I
like that he was a heroin addict, but it shows she sees the value and
importance of every person and doesn’t pass anyone by. It’s evident that she is
loyal to the people in her life and she has an underlying feistiness about her,
which made for good stories as she’s a missionary for a pretty conservative
sounding organization.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Sofie and Gyanesh are a couple I met on my Nile rafting
trip. They’re great people, both individually and together. Gyanesh is from
Nepal and Sofie is from Norway. They met on a biking trip in Japan. The world
works in pretty great ways. Gyanesh is already a doctor and Sofie is in
med-school doing an internship here at the largest government hospital in
Kampala, Mulago Hospital. They were great people for me cause they were laid
back and struggled with a lot of things that I did associated with the rafting
trip, the place we stayed, and the relationship between the tourism industry
and the local communities. Sofie thought about the world in a similar way to
me. It was refreshing to have some of the conversations we had about
dependency, aid, and development. Both were interested in water issues, which I
enjoyed talking about as well. While they were in a group of ten they spent the
night after rafting with me and the group of guys I hung out with at the hostel
(more on them later) and then when their friends went biking the next day they
went into town with me. It was a nice two days with them. It’s always
refreshing to be around kindred spirits. One of my favorite things about them
though was that they were as amused by the next set of guys as I was. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I spent two nights and three days in Jinja for my rafting
trip. The first night I got there I obviously didn’t know anyone. The main room
was an open-air room that overlooked the Nile. Absolutely gorgeous, and very
cliché-backpackers hostel type of place. Lots of couches and lots of beer and
lots of people just hanging out. I sat alone and was soon called over by this
group of kayaking guys. They had all just met at the hostel, but for my time
there they were always together and they soon adopted me into their group. Let
me just say these guys were something. Each of them had very strong
personalities and then the way they interacted with each other was thoroughly
entertaining. I think I was so amused by these guys cause they reminded me a
bit of older versions of my neighborhood growing up. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I shared a room with the two American guys of this group.
When I first went in to put my stuff down there was a guy in bed. It was the
middle of they day. He said he was very ill. He had a giant bucket beside his
bed. This guy, Andy, was sick for the entire three days I was there. He seemed
to be a trooper though. He was on a white water kayak trip with his friend,
Ted. They had kayaked the Zambezi and then come to kayak the Nile.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Ted’s an energetic guy. Loves kayaking. Seems to love life
in general. I guess people who take time to go on kayak, or similar types of,
trips typically do enjoy life. Everything excited Ted, but I don’t think he was
very aware of a lot of things. For instance one night he was talking about
kayaking to a village a ways down the Nile. He met a 19 year old guy there who
was telling him about the circumcision ritual that takes place when guys in the
village are 18. This blew Ted’s mind. Everything about the ritual and practice.
He was so animated in telling the story about this guy and in telling his own
thoughts on all of this. He also really wanted to eat food that wasn’t prepared
at the hostel. So one night he went out to the street to eat some stew from one
of the nearby food stalls. You would have thought this event of getting stew
was better than striking gold. Ted made it sound like the greatest event of his
life. Ted took everything with stride and seemed open to things and curious,
but didn’t hesitate giving his opinion, which was often very loud and very
American, on things. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Then there was Pierre. His father’s French, but he grew up
and still lives in London. He’s an orthopedic surgeon and was treating Andy.
This guy was something. He’s the one who first brought me into this motley
crew. Pierre was vulgar and shallow and almost impossibly superficial. He had
no care about being culturally sensitive or respectful. He was the ring leader
of the group, uniting guides and guys rafting/kayaking the Nile for the first
time. I think he was also a really good person though. I think a lot of his
image was a front. He told me he wants to retire soon and do something that
lets him spend more time in nature skiing and kayaking. He likes politics and
international relations and is beyond opinionated when it comes to social
issues. Most of the time he would mock various women for being fat or obnoxious
or stupid or dull. This included his girlfriend who he referred to as “boring.”
But, when the issue of circumcision came up he went on a giant rant about how
terrible female genital mutilation is. And when no one was looking he’d be
playing with the local kids and petting stray dogs. <o:p></o:p></div>
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There were also a few raft and kayak guides. These guys are
everything you imagine raft/kayak guides to be. They were from Canada and the
U.S. They loved adrenaline, beer and were tired of drunk girls puking all over
the place after the hostel’s famous booze cruises. These guys, along with Ted,
Andy, and Pierre loved recounting their most epic rapids. They’d been
everywhere in the world rafting and kayaking and working in hostels. Living the
life. There was also an Australian guy who wasn’t a kayaker or rafter. Just
hanging out. He seemed in awe of everything the kayakers were talking about. He
was more reserved and mostly just looked as stunned as I felt by some of the
conversations.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My two nights with these guys made me feel at home. I was so
entertained by the way they all interacted with each other and the way they all
approached their time in Jinja. I felt like I was back in Erie on a summer
night for a bit. While many of the things these guys were saying and the way
they were talking about various issues was offensive and upsetting, there was
something comfortable and inviting about them. I felt like I had known them my
entire life and was glad they let me crash their club for a couple nights. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The last set of foreigners I met who were particularly
significant to me are two stranger ladies whose names I never learned. We only
had one night together in Entebbe, but I think they shared a bit of my soul, or
at least they are on similar journeys to the one I’m on right now. I had a
mini-life break down unsure of what I’m going to do in L.A. or where I will
live or how I will adjust to being back in the states again after being away
for so long. And they were great. They had similar breakdowns at the same
point. After that we spent a lot of time talking about how lucky we are to have
such patient people in our lives who support our wanderings and encourage us to
keep doing these things that we do and who are able to calm us down and handle
our constant rollercoasters of emotions and new ideas and uncertainties. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The one girl is a PhD student from Davis. She is studying
something about agriculture and is specifically looking at bean seed storage in
a region of Uganda. Her research is so specific and seemed really complicated
to me, someone who knows nothing about bean seed storage. It was impressive
though and she was so passionate about bean seeds. She loves Uganda and loves
beans and seeds. She spent three years before this in South Africa studying
some sort of agriculture. She is going back to the states for a few months then
will come back to Uganda for two’ish years for 6 months at a time to finish her
research. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The other girl is a PCV who is about to COS and head back to
the states. I think every PCV ends up going back to the states significantly
stranger than when they left. I also think every PCV changes pretty
drastically, so the process of getting back into your old lifestyle is quite
the process. You have changed, but you don’t know exactly how. And so many of
the people you go home to haven’t changed. They are still doing the same things
in the same way with the same friends. They believe the same things they did
when you left and still think in the same way. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Meanwhile you’re no longer really American or
the nationality of your host country. You’ve adopted this third nationality
sort of attitude and persona. So, she was preparing for that transition as well
as trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It was the perfect night for me to meet both of them. Just
what I needed. People who understood my anxiety and concern, while also sharing
the sheer excitement and joy of moving back to the U.S. to be close to people
we miss and love. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s amazing how people come and go from our lives. Each
person leaving their mark on us. I was talking to a friend who has spent the
last two years travelling and working odd jobs wherever he finds himself. We
were talking about this idea that who we are is really just a series of
different people we’ve met throughout our lives. The more people you meet, and
the more people you let affect you, the more you simultaneously lose who you
are while also building and gaining parts of yourself. When we meet people we
shed a lot of the preconceived notions we have of ourselves, and we take bits
of with us. We do this by learning from them and trying to carry their stories
with us. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It often makes me wonder who
I’d be and what I’d be like if I haven’t met all the people I have over the
last 25 years. I’m grateful I’ve crossed paths with so many good people who
have challenged me to live freely and fully. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Kaitlin McGarveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17040686723058308568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8432004158087726062.post-78224501851420317712013-08-12T00:36:00.001-07:002013-08-12T00:36:17.164-07:00People Talking<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
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I’ve now been living in a hostel for a month, and I love it.
I think it helps I have my own room to escape to when I need to do work or just
need some space, but as a whole I love living in a place with so many people
always passing through. I’ve realized I really love people. Not that I ever
thought I didn’t like people, but I could sit and listen to people talk all
day. So many fascinating stories and perspectives and histories. I love hearing
and seeing how people respond differently to the same things. I love hearing
and seeing what different things cause people to respond in the same way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love hearing and seeing what’s important to
one person versus another. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It amazes me how two people can see the same thing, and have
such a different vision, interpretation and understanding of what they’re
looking at. There are so many examples of this everyday, no matter where in the
world you are, but it’s easy to tell here just because so many people have done
the same things and gone to the same places. I have done none of these things
and gone to none of these places, so I have no idea what they are really like
as everyone has different opinions on them. Some people hate the things other
people love. Some people love things other people hate. This amazes me, and
always makes me wonder how we can form cooperation and understanding on some of
the more controversial subjects facing our world. <o:p></o:p></div>
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You also learn a lot about yourself based on who talks to
you and what their first impressions of you are—or at least you learn what
people think of you. I’ve learned I look like someone who loves beer and pot.
I’ve also learned that no one thinks I’m American, and I apparently have a
different accent. Even Americans have told me this. I’m going to start counting
how often I hear this. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I’ve also learned some pretty cool things though that I hope
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attract people who are respectful and understanding and have a deep love for
life. People talk to me who are trying to figure out how to tackle the world’s
problems, but don’t want to overstep cultural boundaries or force their
“western” ways on anyone else. People ask to eat with me who have a love and
affinity for the people they meet and the places they travel. I hope that I can
remember these people and emulate them throughout my own journeys. <o:p></o:p></div>
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There have been a few people I’ve met at breakfast, then
spent all day talking and exploring with to realize we never exchanged names,
or if we did, we exchanged them at the end of the night. Sometimes when you
click with someone, and you start sharing life stories, and then creating your
own stories together, you forget that you don’t know that person’s name. You
feel as if you’ve known them your whole life. I like that—I like knowing people
from different backgrounds can connect so quickly, yet so genuinely. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Maybe someday I’ll run a hostel and spend all day everyday
talking to different people. <o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
Kaitlin McGarveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17040686723058308568noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8432004158087726062.post-69489339005337206322013-07-28T07:07:00.004-07:002013-07-28T07:07:53.859-07:00Gertrude<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I have an immense amount of respect for Gertrude. She is the
proud mother of four, and a gifted artist/craftswoman. She makes baskets, balls,
wallets, and purses out of banana leaf fibers. Her designs are exquisite, and
unique to anything in the tourist craft shops. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Every night she goes to the hotel next to my hostel to sell
her products and then comes here and sits outside the main room showing off her
work, hoping for customers. Every night she is in high spirits. Every night we
discuss our days, how we’re feeling, and who we suspect might be the buying
type. And then Gertrude walks to the people we think might buy from her and she
politely taps them on the shoulder and asks them to look at her crafts. She is
never pushy and never in anyone’s face, but still people get irritated she is
interrupting their conversations or tv watching and sometimes brush her off.
Not everyone of course, and I’m sure I’ve been that tired traveller who has no
desire to look at any more products for sale plenty of times, but it happens.
When it happens Gertrude, with grace and without taking offense, walks to
someone else to sell her art. I am always in awe of her as she does this cause
I know I would feel defeated after the first rejection or eye roll.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Gertrude makes her living by selling these products, and
these products have supported four children through school. Pretty amazing.
Gertrude now has two sons working in Dubai and then a son and a daughter still
here in Uganda working on their degrees. Her persistence and hard work laid the
foundation for these lives. For years this has been her routine, and it has
been a routine that has given her children the chance to pursue their
educations and their careers. Because of her determination her children will be
able to give their children a chance at even better lives. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Knowing her and spending my nights with her, sometimes
trying to assist in a sale or two (when someone seems on the verge of buying
something I just so happen to walk buy with my purse and thank her again for
what a beautiful, durable, bag it is and what a wise purchase it was), will,
hopefully, make me more patient with other people who are selling products to
tourists.<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
Kaitlin McGarveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17040686723058308568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8432004158087726062.post-10711585419750499672013-07-24T06:50:00.001-07:002013-07-24T10:46:50.669-07:00Everyday Adventures<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;">Living in a hostel leads you to many interesting
conversations with people from quite the range of backgrounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People who have travelled the world for
months or a year at a time, people who have left their families and moved from
their villages to wash sheets for a hostel, people who are having their first
backpacking experience, people who are on a short-term missions trip, people
who are young, people who are old, people who are doing research and studying
issues like mountain gorilla preservation or gender based violence, people who
are serious, people who talk a lot, people who keep to themselves, people who
like to drink, people who are free-spirited, people who are the life of any and
every party, people who are cautious, people who act as if they don’t have a
care in the world, and so many more. Every night these people gather in the
same room or two and digest their days, swapping stories of life, love, loss
and adventure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #d5a6bd; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">I read an article a while ago about a French journalist who was
kidnapped by the Taliban and kept prisoner for several months. He eventually lost
enough weight to slip out of his shackles and escape through a window.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had one piece of
paper and a pen. On the paper he wrote everything that he was
looking forward to doing once he was free.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #d5a6bd; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">Here is his list:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;">After This, Ever Day of Your Life is Bonus:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="WordSection2">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;">Health Forget Walking Conversation Brothers</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;">Cities Scuba Dive Hugs Jokes Wine</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;">Ukelele Outside Bike Ski Lay Quiet</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;">Beauty Sky Concerts Stay Shoes</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;">Heat Green Freedom Sister Company</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;">Music Happiness Cuddle Shower No More Chains </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;">Create Bath Rest Grandma Forgive Be Wrong Swim Change Talk Laugh</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;">Passion Mom and Dad Wonder A Good Movie Live</span></div>
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<div class="WordSection3">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;">Run Move Kiss Someone Cook Books Wake Up</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;">Girls Light Seaside Doors A Glass of Water</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;">Home Electricity Friends Sit Outside See the World</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;">Peace Suffer Clothes Play Good Smell</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;">Sex Fall Family Boobs Come Back</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;">Food Bed Joy Kids Be Stupid</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;">Family Cars and Trains Free Hands Faith? Tender</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;">Love Be by Yourself Shave Sun Tired</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;">Pain Debate T.V. Be Free Clean hair</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;">Call Knowing Travel Stay Home Porn</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;">Windows Photos Rock N’ Roll! Rich or Poor Win and Lose</span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #d5a6bd; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">When I first read this list I was struck by how similar his list
was to a list I made while in the Philippines. I spent a lot of time thinking
about my goals and the things I wanted to spend my life doing. When I
thought I had figured it out I wrote it down. I am not trying to compare the
Peace Corps with Taliban imprisonment. However, I do think it is important for
people to slow down a bit and spend time with themselves, and only themselves, in order to reflect on
their lives and what is truly important to them. Hopefully it doesn’t take
being kidnapped in Pakistan for this to happen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #d5a6bd; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">The point is, simple things like shaving and eating and looking
out windows are on his list, but a career, a house, and a great number of material things aren't mentioned. With the exception
of porn, boobs, and girls, my list was almost identical to his list. I had
lived my whole life thinking my list would be filled with country names (there is another list for this) and job
accomplishments and degrees, but in reality, when i got to the core of what I wanted, my list looks a lot like this one.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #d5a6bd; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">During my hostel conversations, and any conversation I’ve had
with someone who is, or just returned from, travelling, I’ve noticed that
anyone can live an adventurous, exciting life when they relocate themselves to
a new environment. This process takes adjustment and learning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Simple things like getting food or getting from
point A to point B become adventures. When you are in these new environments
you are aware of every sight, sound, smell and taste--and it's exciting. It keeps you on your toes, alert and curious. But, when we are in a
place we are familiar with, a place we have spent years growing and living in,
it is difficult for us to find excitement and a sense of adventure and awe. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #d5a6bd; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">I want to be able to find fulfillment and adventure regardless
of where I am or how long I have been in that place. I want a walk around the
block of a neighborhood that I know like the back of my hand to be as
meaningful as a Safari trek through a new land. I want to be able to make discoveries in the little things I overlook everyday,
like a view from my window, and I want to be in awe of those discoveries. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #d5a6bd; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">People wear their travel stories like badges of honor. Nightly
recounts of the days happenings are told as if there is a competition to see
who is the best traveller—a title that is awarded to the person who has seen or
done the craziest thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People,
including me, always talk about everything we take for granted back in the States.
It’s true that we take a lot of things like running water, good food, medical
care etc. But, we also take our ability to see the adventure all
around us for granted, and this is something no one ever talks about. When we take this for granted we forget how to see the
beauty and excitement of the lives we live, and we stop appreciating the small
things like music and the sky.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #d5a6bd; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">This definitely does not mean that I want to stop travelling. I
hope that I am always able to travel because I do think that travelling
provides unique experiences and facilitates the formation of strong relationships between people that
are sometimes hard to find in other circumstance. I think the best way to learn
about the world is through travelling and talking with people along your
journey. And, sometimes, we just need to get a change of scenery to regain our
perspective. It does not mean I want to stop traveling. But, it means I want to be more conscious of where I am when I am
there. I want to find joy in and through all that I’m surrounded by. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d5a6bd;">Recently, a few people have asked me what I want to be
remembered for and what my life goals are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What I want to achieve, what I think my greatest goal is, and what I hope
my greatest goal continues to be, is that I'm present in my life and the lives
of the people I care about in a way that brings happiness and encouragement. I want
to be able to find fulfillment and adventure in a trip to get ice cream. I want
to be able to find significance regardless of where I am, and I don't want to
lose track of it—I don't want to take any moment or thing or person for
granted. I want to remember that the simple things are the things that matter,
and the simple things are the things that sustain life. Those are my goals, and
while I’m working to achieve them I remain thoroughly entertained, and
sometimes embarrassed, by the nightly travel stories I hear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
Kaitlin McGarveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17040686723058308568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8432004158087726062.post-48320054788388053572013-07-22T09:00:00.001-07:002013-07-22T09:09:16.266-07:00love for my main man <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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My lovable, dramatic, brave, trusting, strange beyond all
measures, intuitive, trooper of a babe died the other day. I, and so many other
people, were greatly blessed to share a part of our lives with Todd. I might be
biased, but he was one of the best dogs I have ever met. He helped me through a
lot over our two years in the Philippines, and brought joy to both the people
of Anda, those he met on his journey to the U.S. and all those who loved him in
Erie. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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At first I wrote an 8 page single-spaced blog about my main
man, but figured that might be a bit much. All that to say the little man had
quite the adventurous life full of spunk, a love and curiosity for all living
things, and lots of holding and ear massages with the occasional episode of
shrill screaming at the top of his lungs if he felt like he wasn’t a part of a
conversation.<br />
<br />
Many people loved Todd deeply, and Todd loved many people. Kids that used to be terrified of dogs grew to love Todd and bought him toys with left over lunch money. When I left the Philippines he got as many remberences as I did. Before coming to the U.S. I told people that he was a special dog, but I'm not sure people really believed me until they met the little guy. He managed to win over just as many, if not more, hearts in the U.S. as he had in the Philippines. He shared a lot of love and joy with the world. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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And now, after a life much longer than I ever expected him
to survive (he really had quite a few close calls), he is reunited with his original
barkada: Blackie, the other Blackie, Princess and Tim Tim. I imagine they are
living in a land of plentiful food, no disease, more stuffed animals and toilet
paper rolls than they know what to do with, jungle forests to roam, chickens to
chase, couches to sleep on, and lots of holding. And, I have no doubt they are causing havoc in that land while charming all those they encounter.<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
Kaitlin McGarveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17040686723058308568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8432004158087726062.post-18493777646906914362013-07-18T23:10:00.001-07:002013-07-19T12:19:32.030-07:00the beauty of travel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ead1dc;">I’ve now been in Uganda for a few days, and have come to
realize my memory is great. Maybe no so great at remembering names and dates,
but great at remembering my experiences and the interactions I’ve had with
people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ead1dc;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ead1dc;">I was nervous before coming to Uganda because I was afraid I
had romanticized my memories of Sub-Saharan Africa. The last African county I
spent time in was South Africa in 2008 (?). Before that I had spent a little
time in the Republic of Congo, Burkina Faso and Uganda. I fell in love with each
of those countries and have carried that love with me everywhere else I have
travelled. I always think, “this is nice, but it’s not Africa.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ead1dc;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ead1dc;">After spending two roller-coaster filled years in the
Philippines, I began to wonder if my memories of Africa were wrong. Maybe the
people weren’t as warm and friendly and real and joy-filled and compassionate
and kind and thoughtful as I had remembered. Luckily, my memory hadn’t
romanticized anything and the people of Uganda are just as wonderful as I have
remembered. Even though I have yet to see much of Uganda, or experience much
beyond the market, my hostel, and the office, I can feel the power of Africa
that first made me fall in love with it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ead1dc;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ead1dc;">I also just love travelling. I love moving. I love new
places. I love the challenge of going into a new place, that seems completely
foreign and unknown, and finding a way to be comfortable in it while learning
as much as you can about life there.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ead1dc;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ead1dc;">Yesterday I was writing to JT that <span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">without fail people take care of me when I’m
abroad whether it’s when I’m stranded at 4 am or when I don’t know how to get
someplace or how to do something. The world is pretty amazing like that. It’s
one of the things I love about being in other places. You need to rely on other
people a lot more than we recognize in the U.S. It's not that we don't need to rely
on people when we are home, but it's harder to see how we depend <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(not be completely dependent, but able to
accept help) on people. In the U.S. it’s hard to see that it's okay to accept
help from other people. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are taught to
do everything on our own and we are told if we aren’t capable of doing
something we are unsuccessful and/or weak. But, when you are abroad you have to
rely on other people to help you through things and help you figure life out.
And, sometimes, yes, you are completely dependent on people for a while to do
the most basic tasks (i.e. learning how and where to get water or how to speak
the language). And that’s not a bad thing. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ead1dc;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #ead1dc; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">One of the best things I learned in the Philippines is that it's
important to accept what people give you and what people want to give you even
if you don't think you need it or you don't want it or you feel bad taking it
cause it's a lot. But, all of those things are good and make people feel good about
being able to give. It's like being here and taking help from people. People
just open their homes when I need a place to stay. They aren't necessarily doing
that to give me something, rather it’s just what you do when you're in other
places. It's significant to me though, and I'm still very grateful for it
because rarely do we stumble upon strangers in the U.S. who are willing to
trust a stranger with their families and homes. That is the greatest gift a
person can give. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ead1dc;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #ead1dc; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">I think just as traveling exposes me to the worst parts of
humanity it also introduces me to the best parts and gives me a lot of hope for
the world. I say it shows me the worst parts, but I know that I can see those
things in the U.S. too. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's just
magnified when you are traveling cause you see things you aren't as familiar
with, so they stand out more. I don’t think that’s a good thing cause I think
it leaves us disconnected from our closest neighbors and the injustices we walk
beside each day, but I think it’s too often the reality, at least for me. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, sometimes the suffering can just be
overwhelming in certain countries whether the pain stems from corruption,
HIV/AIDS, the effects of war, poverty or any other tragedy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ead1dc;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #ead1dc; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">However, you also meet the most incredible people who are and do
so much more than you ever knew a person was capable of being or doing. I’m
always in awe when people, often strangers or long lost acquaintances/friends
or friends of friends, go out of their way to help you as if it's no big deal
at all. I love that and I think it's my favorite part of traveling. Needing
people to help you, being able to let them help you, what you discover through
those moments, and what develops between you and the people who help you during
those times.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ead1dc;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #ead1dc; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">It’s also one of my favorite parts of Africa as a whole. Every
country I have been to in Africa I have seen women help each other when someone
is struggling. I have seen people take care of kids that aren’t biologically
theirs. I have seen people give the little they have to another in need. I know
that’s not universal and that there are still people who don’t do those things
(it is a giant continent after all), but it seems to be the norm. It’s a norm
that many other parts of the world don’t have, and it is refreshing to be
surrounded by again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ead1dc;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ead1dc;">On a less serious note, I love public transportation in other
countries. I’ve missed riding on the back of motorcycles. I really hope someone
gets a motorcycle so they can drive me around. I’ve tried driving one for
myself and it was disastrous, so I’m counting on someone else to</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"> help me out
with this dream.</span> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
Kaitlin McGarveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17040686723058308568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8432004158087726062.post-32700931782614140972013-07-15T11:34:00.000-07:002013-07-15T11:50:52.021-07:00Small World<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
I spent my last night in Scotland in the Marriot. A
cloud-like bed, more pillows than even I knew what to do with, and a fantastic
bathtub. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today I moved into my new home
for the next two and a half months. A hostel in Entebbe. A little different
than the Marriot, but just as comfortable and just as perfect for me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I looked into renting my own apt or staying in a guesthouse,
but everything I found was too expensive and I didn’t really want to be alone.
I contemplated staying with a host family, but wanted the freedom of living on
my own. I also wasn’t sure if I had the energy to become a part of another
family and leave only a few weeks later. Finally, I knew I would be working a
lot on my school papers and research projects for my internship, so I didn’t
want to be locked in my room on my computer the entire time I would be in a
familiy’s house. So, a hostel it was. And what a good decision that was.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I currently have my own bedroom at the hostel and just share
the bathrooms. It’s perfect. When I need to work, I go in my room. When I want
to be around people, I go to the main room and have plenty of people to spend
time with. The staff is amazing. So friendly and warm, and so far I haven’t encountered
any atrocious travellers who feel entitled to do whatever they want however
they want. There is also a lady, Gertrude, who comes at to sell her banana leaf
products. I’m hoping she’ll eventually be willing to teach me how to make
something. You may all be getting banana leaf wallets and placemats when I
return. Just what you wanted I’m sure. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Today was a good day. I didn’t start my internship today
because of the luggage hassle and my move to the hostel. I will start tomorrow.
But, today I got to explore a bit more and I had eaten and slept and it hit me
that I was in Uganda. It was perfect. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I was walking back to the hostel I met a lady on the
street who said she had seen me at the hostel earlier. She asked me if I wanted
to go to dinner. I said sure. She is from L.A. She is also Filipina. i know
it’s cliché, but, it’s such a small world. This lady was born and raised in
Dinaluphian (sp?). Dinaluphian is a
very small town in the middle of Bataan. Many Filipinos don't even know where it is. It is also the town my host mom during
training grew up in. One weekend we went there for some relatives birthday
celebrations. I learned how to ride a water buffalo in Dinaluphian. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This woman worked as a nurse for UNHCR with Vietnamese
refugees. Her family needed help with money, so she moved to L.A. to be a nurse
19 years ago. Since then all the relatives she was supporting have since gone
on to finish school, freeing her up from her job in L.A. She now hopes to go
back to UNHCR. She said she’s burnt out of life in L.A. and complained
extensively of the traffic. She came here to volunteer at an orphanage for a
month. This woman is one of the most genuine, insightful, compassionate and
smart ladies I’ve ever met. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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She told me several stories from the orphanage. As with far
too many organizations, there was immense corruption within the orphanage.
Apparently the founder isn’t the nicest guy and all the kids are terrified of
him. For example, the teenage girls don’t have any sanitary products for their
periods. Past volunteers said they would donate some, but the girls haven’t
received them. As is a problem in far too much of the world, girls can’t go to
school when they are on their periods due to a lack of sanitary products. This
woman did something that a lot of organizations are starting to do (I’m hoping
to spend some time with <a href="http://afripads.com/">Afripads</a> later in August to learn more about all of
this) and helped the girls sew their own reusable pads. Pretty great, right? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Well, the girls didn’t want the founder to find out cause
they said he would take them away. They said he wants everything that comes to
the orphanage to go through him. Staff and students alike complained to her
about the founder taking things and the students never receiving what people
have told them they donated. The girls didn’t want this to happen with their
new products, but they were also terrified he would find out what they were
doing and punish them. So, in the middle of the night, in secret, this lady and
the girls sewed their pads. She said the girls were shaking and sweating the
entire time until they were finished. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She also said that she brought medical supplies and saw the
nurse selling them to people in the community instead of giving them to the
children. Same with the porridge. She saw that the porridge was mostly water.
One morning she went to the kitchen to watch the staff prepare it and saw them
giving two giant containers of mill away to some man she had never seen at the
orphanage before. It’s a tough place to be. What do you do? Maybe the money
they got from selling it is going to supplies for the kids? As a foreigner who
is only in town for a couple weeks, when do you speak up and when do you let
people carry on as usual?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We talked a lot about corruption both in the Philippines and
here within schools and NGO’s. Everyone is aware and upset about corruption at
the political level, but most people like to trust NGO’s and schools. I know
I’ve written about this a lot before, so I won’t start ranting again, but it’s
really upsetting. One of the best books I’ve ever read is called “Behind the
Beautiful Forevers” by Katerine Boo (I think that was the author…). She wrote
it over a four year time period that she spent living in a Mumbai slum. She has
some great insights into corruption at all levels. It’s a very real book that
demonstrates the lack of black and white lines when discussing and responding
to corruption. I can’t do her book justice, so if you have time on your hands
and are looking for something to read check it out. It’s beautiful and
convicting and powerful and raw.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tomorrow I start my internship. I’ll write more about it
once I know what I’m doing. What I know right now is I’m in way over my head.
I’ll be working with <a href="http://www.gwp.org/">Global Water Partnership</a> alongside the <a href="http://www.nilebasin.org/newsite/">Nile Basin Initiative</a>. Both are doing, from my perspective, some pretty amazing, and
challenging, work. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Okay, that’s enough rambling for today. <o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
Kaitlin McGarveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17040686723058308568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8432004158087726062.post-35148800229080313102013-07-14T07:44:00.001-07:002013-07-14T07:44:04.228-07:00first moments in uganda<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m in Uganda! I’ve been waiting a while to say that. I’ve
been here for 2.5 hours and it’s been an experience already. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m currently homeless and stranded. My taxi driver opened
the door and urged me out of the taxi at the closed doorstep of where I was
supposed to be staying. The guard let me into the reception area and informed
me I couldn’t stay here till Monday night. But he said it’s too early and too
dark to safely walk to find a new hotel for today/tonight so I’m stealing wifi
and waiting for the sun to come up (so different than Scotland by the way. It’s
almost 7 and the sun is just starting to appear).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also don’t have my luggage. Luckily I was
prepared with all my necessities, including a headlamp, but not any work
clothes for tomorrow. It looks like I’ll be starting work a day later. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anyways, I’m back in Sub-Saharan Africa. That’s something
I’ve wanted for a long time. It’s sort of surreal. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think this experience is going to be vastly different than
any I’ve had before. I don’t quite know how yet, other then I have changed a
lot over the last three years. This has changed the way I perceive the things
happening around me, and has changed the expectations I have for my time
abroad. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I always thought I knew that I knew very little, but the
more time that passes, and the more places I travel, the more I realize I know
even less than I ever imagined before. Knowing that I’ll learn new things and
make new discoveries about myself and the world we live is exciting, but it’s
also daunting and a little exhausting to know that I’m going to, yet again,
start at the beginning and have to reconstruct what I know and understand. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I love change and travelling and culture. I love the people
I meet along the way who have helped me gain a more whole understanding of
where I am, what it means to be a part of this world, and the value of
relationships. I love that anything can happen at any time, and the challenge
of adapting to the unexpected. I love witnessing, and learning, the beauty of
diversity. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But, I also know that traveling and living abroad isn’t
entirely romantic. There are a lot of negative things that go along with it,
whether that’s something as small as getting a parasite or being sick on a 12
hour bus ride, or something bigger like the number of funerals you go to for
people in your community, dealing with the uphill battle against corruption and
inequality, or dealing with all that goes along with being a woman travelling
alone in male-dominated countries. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think over the last few years the hard things have worn me
out. No, they absolutely do not overshadow all the positive, but they make me
more cautious as I start this time in Uganda than I was five years ago when I
first came to Uganda.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That caution does
not diminish my excitement to be back in Sub-Saharan Africa, but it has
reminded me that life is infinitely more complex than I can imagine and I need
to be prepared for anything. Not just prepared for any thing that could happen,
but be prepared to deal with myself in those situations. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I was in the Philippines I had to deal with myself a
lot. When you are living on a small, quiet, island for two years you spend far
too much time thinking and being alone (although you are never actually alone,
which is just as difficult as isolation). You spend far too much time
processing the world with only yourself and anything you feel or experience is
yours alone. I was surrounded by other people and living with a great family,
but my perception of things was vastly different than anyone else’s on my
island simply because I was raised in a different culture. So when things were
hard for me to understand or deal with, they were internalized and thought
about again and again. Through this I started to realize I wasn’t exactly who I
had hoped I would grow to be. That’s a hard thing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All that to say, I’m now cautious about the way I respond
internally to what I experience externally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And, all that to say, I’m excited to be in Uganda. I have no
idea what these next few weeks have in store. In fact, I’m sure anything I
could anticipate will be different than the reality of what’s going to happen.
I’m looking forward to seeing how things unfold and where I end-up throughout
all of this. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve only been here a few hours (I'm writing this a while after I wrote the first part), but here are some of my
initial thoughts:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->I’m still in shock by how many people have
imperialistic mindsets and view Africa in the way that they do. It really blows
my mind, especially when those beliefs come from people who have spent
significant time here. With that being said, it also boggles my mind how many
people spend in isolated tourist and/or ex-pat communities when abroad. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->I love the sun. I’m so glad to be back in some
warm weather for a while. Scottish weather was getting to me. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->I love the red soil of Africa<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->I love, for now, the pace of life in Uganda. I’m
sure this might be frustrating once I start working, but for now it’s nice to
be back on a slower pace where conversations are more important than getting
things done<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->I’m really grateful for the nice guard who
helped me out in the middle of the night, even if he was annoyed about helping
me<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->The Philippines taught me how to bargain well. Sadly,
though, whining “sige na po” like a 5 year old kid throwing a tantrum doesn’t
help <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->It is a little surprising how familiar things about
the Philippines came while I was there. I don’t think I realized it when I was
living there cause you get accustomed to things gradually, but not knowing what
to say to have the guard open the gate for me here or not knowing what matatu
to take to get to town or nto knowing the prices of load or even what load is
called here show me how natural things became in the Philippines. Everything became
second nature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, not everything. But
the basics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">8)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->I love walking around new streets<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">9)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->The Zimmerman case is allover the news here. So discouraging.
So tragic. So upsetting. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">10)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->I’m again sleeping under a mosquito net, taking
cold bucket showers, and sucking the last bits of meat off bones like a pro. As
much as I love long hot showers and baths and as tired as I get of mystery
meat, it’s nice to have all of these things again for a while. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">11)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Scotland
I only interact with people in grad school. No kids or old people. I’ve missed
that. Here I’m around everyone again. I’m gad for that <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">12)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On my
flight here they served dinner at two different times to respect those fasting.
Pretty wonderful. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">13)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve got
some great, very patient, very understanding, people in my life. I feel very
lucky about that. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Kaitlin McGarveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17040686723058308568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8432004158087726062.post-68155356424209795252013-04-16T17:27:00.002-07:002013-04-16T17:47:33.274-07:00sadness, faith and good people<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
About an hour before hearing about the Boston bombing I read this horrific article about the hunger strikers of Guantanamo Bay: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/15/opinion/hunger-striking-at-guantanamo-bay.html?adxnnl=1&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1366038066-mCEjtGQRo5PhTdbBv7CDWw&_r=0">Gitmo is Killing Me</a> (<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/16/guantanamo-bay-hunger-str_n_3094782.html">more information</a>). It was so horrific that I needed to read it in three segments because I couldn't stomach it all at once. From there I went on to read this article about a girl who recently committed suicide after news of her rape was spread over the Internet: <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/04/09/1840501/rehtaeh-parsons-rape-culture/?upw">Rape Culture Claims Another Victim</a>. From there I read an article about 30 civilians killed at an Afghan wedding when a U.S. bomb missed its target: <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-125820/US-bomb-kills-30-Afghan-wedding.html">U.S. Bomb Kills 30</a>. And, then, I signed on to Facebook and see statuses of friends saying they are okay, or saying they are terrified, or saying they just barely missed the blast. I quickly went online to see what was going on in Boston and discovered 3 people died, many others were injured, even more were terrified, and countless people were working to help the victims.<br />
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I quickly became overwhelmed by humanity. I have such a love/hate relationship with humanity, this beautiful, powerful, organism I'm a part of. Yes, it is wonderful that people are helping in Boston. Yes, it is amazing that people tore down the fences and ran to the aid of the victims without worrying about other potential blasts. Yes, it's wonderful that the world is mourning in solidarity for those who were affected by the bombs. </div>
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But that doesn't settle me. These things should not be happening. </div>
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The Boston bombing is on the front page of international news sources while it is difficult to find information about the 30 civilians who lost their lives at a wedding on the same day. I'm not saying that the Boston bombing is less significant than the one in Afghanistan, but it does trouble me that the world comes to a halt when a bombing goes off in one part of the world and not another. </div>
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A few days ago I watched this short documentary about Syria: <a href="http://www.upworthy.com/this-filmmaker-could-have-been-killed-at-any-moment-but-he-kept-the-camera-rolli?c=upw1">Everyday Syria</a>. What is most devastating about this film are the reactions of families who are so familiar with bombs falling that as they are trying to evacuate they are looking for mismatched shoes and taking moments to light cigarettes if their community had not just been turned to rubble. Kids seemed unfazed by what was happening around them. Mothers were trying to get their belongings gathered, and get all the kids out the door. Yes, there was panic and yes, the mothers whose children were trapped or dying were mourning, but the ease at which the community moved into crisis mode is unnatural. Whereas lines of ambulances immediately made their way to the Boston Marathon, there were few trucks and vans that were able to squish people in to take them to the hospital in Syria. Whereas the FBI and the police were mobilized in Boston, the Syrian community in this film had no assistance and didn't even have proper tools to dig people out of the rubble they were slowly being crushed beneath. People are too familiar with violence and instability and death. </div>
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Beyond these acts of violence, people are fighting wars each day. Wars against hunger, malaria, and dehydration. The UN reports that every year 2.6 million children under the age of 5 day as a result of hunger. 760, 000 children under 5 die each year to Diarrhea. 660, 000 people will die each year to Malaria. These numbers are too high to absorb. </div>
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And still, this doesn't touch so many other issues like slavery and abuse, or the catastrophes caused by climate change and a lack of natural resources. The world is struggling. It's hard to know where to begin or what to do. </div>
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I have a few friends who have strong faith in God. A God who is all powerful and all knowing and all good. A God that I tend to get very angry at whenever I begin to think about the problem of suffering. </div>
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My mind can't conceptualize how and why these things happen daily, and have been happening daily since the beginning of humanity. People say the human mind isn't capable of understanding the magnitude of God or the expanse of time. They say that we need to trust and have faith that God is bigger than all of this and that God will take care of it in the end. They say that the suffering of this world is so small in the scope of eternity and all that is, as if that makes it any better. They say there is a reason and we have free will and this is our doing.</div>
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None of that is enough for me. I may have a very immature concept of faith and God and goodness, but none of this settles well with me. It just makes me mad. This doesn't mean that I don't believe in God, but it does mean I struggle with God and I struggle with the traditional Christian concept of God. I want God to intervene because people certainly haven't figured out the solutions, and it doesn't look like we are going to anytime soon as we watch these things happen each day, some of which we choose to respond to and some we prefer to remain ignorant about. I don't understand the point of suffering or why it needs to go on for so long or why certain people seem to face more traumatizing suffering than others, often based on where one is born. </div>
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I get so angry and so overwhelmed. I hear these stories about the world and I don't understand how I got to be where I am while others are where they are. I wish so badly I could take the place of a prisoner in Guantanamo or a mother in Syria. These feelings make me even more sad and angry than I was in the first place. It isn't fair and it isn't right that I sit where I sit and have the freedom to do what I do, while so many others don't. </div>
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I have no answers, but I have amazing people in my life, and they come at the perfect time. </div>
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When I was at APU I struggled a lot with the problem of suffering. I can remember a few particularly powerful conversations I had about this with friends. Johnny, the male version of me according to a bunch of weird psychology tests, and I took several religion classes together. He often questioned the same things I questioned and he was often as frustrated as I was. He would calm down much quicker than I would and often had a lot more wisdom than I did, but he understood my struggles. I haven't heard from him in a long time, and then the other day he sent me an email that had been in his drafts for the past two years. It came at the perfect time. It was about his understanding of faith and suffering and God. It was reassuring and calming. It soothed my anger and sorrow. He is an example of a good person who makes a conscious effort to give back to the world. He strives to experience the world to the fullest and through this he lets the world transform him. He is in dialogue with what he believes and what he does. When there is tension within him, he takes the initiative to give up what he is familiar with and push himself to new places of growth and understanding. During this time, he reminds me that it's okay to question and wrestle and at the end of the day trusting in something good and strong and beautiful allows us to live more rightly. </div>
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Rebekah has one of the strongest faiths I've ever seen. It's uninhibited and passionate. Every interaction she has with people is a demonstration of pure love. She doesn't see societal restrictions and she lives without caution, which is the only way to change so many of the injustices that surround us. She always puts herself second to the needs of another, regardless of how well she knows someone, or if she knows them at all. She is a reminder that everyday people are changing the world in a positive way. These changes come from relationships and validation, the recognition of another's humanity. If we can all live as Rebekah lives, the world will be filled with less fear, judgment and aggression. During this time she gives me hope that people do have the power and wisdom to take care of each other. </div>
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Leah is bold and feisty. Like Rebekah she is fearless, and she doesn't back down. She is just and pure, and fights for what is right. She reminds me that every person has a story and every person has feelings, feelings that are their truth, feelings that deserve time and attention. She has a way of connecting to people that comes from a genuine interest in each person regardless of his/her background and/or beliefs. She is daring and does things most of us just talk about doing. She challenges me to listen and to act. She holds me accountable to who I say I want to be. She always has the courage to keep her faith amidst hardship or times of questioning. During this time I think about her living out her dream in Tanzania, living life with people she has a deep love for, striving to understand as much as she can about the people she interacts with every day. I wonder what the world would be like if we each invested so fully into the lives of the people who surround us just as Leah does. </div>
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These are not the only people who give me hope for the world, but they are three of the people who, through their beings, make me feel like everything will be okay. They make me feel like the problems of the world are manageable, that people are good and care, that it's okay to question and get mad, and that faith is quite the ride. It is through people like them, people we all know, people we all are, that fear and the violent consequences of fear can be overcome. </div>
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Kaitlin McGarveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17040686723058308568noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8432004158087726062.post-65603140420600381132013-03-29T11:56:00.001-07:002013-03-29T11:56:53.932-07:00Wishing on Stars<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="userContent" style="color: white;">I had the honor of being asked to write the forward to this powerful book of Poetry for Marco de Onis. Check out his words, be inspired, and have a beautiful day!</span><br />
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<span class="userContent"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">FROM MARCH 27, 2013 - APRIL 30 100% of royalties will be donated to give more than 5,000 youth in the Philippines acce</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">ss to computers!!!! (Find out more about the project at<a href="http://goo.gl/D36LN" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://goo.gl/D36LN</a>)<br /><br />***This is an ebook sold on Amazon.com. It can be enjoyed on any smart phone, tablet, or computer with the Kindle app (free).</span><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C371OOY/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C371OOY/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk</a></span></span></div>
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Wishing On Stars</div>
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FROM MARCH 27, 2013 - APRIL 30: 100% of royalties will be donated to empower Filipino youth through computer technology. (Find out more about the project at http://goo.gl/D36LN)The poems of Marco de Onís are raw in their emotion, conviction, and internal struggle. His poems express the desir...</div>
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Kaitlin McGarveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17040686723058308568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8432004158087726062.post-29616104966646794862013-03-20T09:16:00.003-07:002013-03-20T09:46:19.491-07:00Rape Culture<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After a day and a half of being able to think about
little more than the Steubenville rape case, I thought it was time to write.
Nothing I say here will be new or add any sort of insight/perspective to
what happened in Ohio, but I need to write for my sake. I need to write because
I'm angry, and I'm sad, and I'm disappointed and I'm disgusted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Less than six months ago the world rallied and
mourned together over the death of a 23 year old Indian woman who was brutally
gang raped and killed. Americans were outraged. How could such a terrible thing
happen "over there?" For many people "Congo" and "rape" have become synonymous. How come in "certain parts of the world"
women still need to live in fear of rape and sexual violence? Then, when
a woman is raped in the U.S. we (not everyone, but an alarming amount of the
country, including CNN) sympathize with the rapists.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I didn't know this happened or that this case was
going on until yesterday afternoon. Within minutes of reading my first facebook
post about it, it started to be all I saw. I began to read about it on numerous
blogs and news sites. The more I read and the more I saw, the more my mind was
blown and the more I began to feel physically sick.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rape Culture in the United States has been a particularly
hot topic since the attention placed on Delhi. I don't think it's shocking that
I'm appalled by the gender stereotypes the U.S. struggles with, or the
sexism engrained in our social, political and economic structures too few
Americans recognize. But, a couple months ago I wasn't prepared to say there is
a strong rape culture in the U.S. Maybe I didn't want to admit this.
Maybe I was in denial and didn't want to think that my brothers, my friends,
and my friend's son were developing their identities, or being raised, in
such a society. Maybe I didn't want to believe that every woman, myself
included, had been raised in a society that places the responsibility of rape
on the victim. Maybe I wanted to believe we, as a society, have moved beyond this point. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, after months of further contemplation, and, finally, the response
to the rape in Steubenville, I can't deny that there is a strong rape culture
not only in other parts of the world, but in the United States as well. In the
United States it's so engrained in our system that sometimes it's hard to
recognize, or, in my case, hard to admit, but it's there and it affects all of
us. While the statistic that 1 in 3 women will
experience some form of sexual assault in their lifetime is commonly known, I
don't think many people understand what this looks like for those women who
make up that 1 in 3. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The boys who raped the girl in Ohio have been
raised in a society that they felt would find amusement in their 12 minute clip
mocking this "dead," "dry," girl (<a href="http://jezebel.com/5972553/anonymous-leaks-horrifying-video-of-steubenville-high-schoolers-joking-about-raping-a-teenager-deader-than-trayvon-martin"><span style="color: #0025e5;">video clip of boys joking about the girl</span></a>).
While it is clear that most people are outraged by what they did, it is also
clear that there isn't enough pressure being put on men to prevent rape.
It is clear that there is a problem with our country when a female news
reporter can sympathize so openly with two rapists (<a href="http://www.upworthy.com/cnn-pays-touching-tribute-to-the-rapists-who-attacked-a-16-year-old-girl?c=fea"><span style="color: #0025e5;">CNN Clip</span></a>). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I was in the Philippines some of my students
had to suffer through rape and other forms of sexual harassment. This was
the first time that I was in a position to teach youth about rape and sexual
harassment. It was the first time I heard adults try to teach youth about these
two significant things (I don't remember ever learning about rape in middle
school or high school). I couldn't believe the things being said during "the
rape talk" at my school in the Philippines. Some of the highlights are 1)
if a girl doesn't want to get raped she should dress more conservatively, 2) if
a girl is raped then it is part of God's plan for her life and she should learn
from it, 3) if a girl is raped she should not talk about it because it will
bring her family many problems and it will alienate her from her community,
often leading to more harassment and ridicule, and 4) men have no control over themselves if they see the slightest bit of skin on a woman. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I first heard these things I was so angry that
I interjected even though it wasn't my time to speak. I told the students I
didn't agree with any of these things and that I would be more than willing to
meet with them for one on one meetings about any sort of abuse or harassment
they have experienced. That's all I had time to say before I was ushered away
from the podium. I realize that wasn't the most culturally sensitive way to
handle the situation, but I couldn't sit still and let my kids hear these
things. I couldn't let girls who have gone through one of the most traumatic
things a person can experience in his/her life be criminalized for the violations against them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In each of my classes for the rest of the week we
talked about rape, sexual harassment and sexism. We talked about the negative
effects of putting the blame on the victim for both men and women. Students
asked questions and I answered as best as I could. During my private meetings
with students I learned just how many of them suffered from some degree of
abuse, which for most of the girls took on the form of sexual abuse. I couldn't
believe how rampant this was, and even more astounding was that my boys were
going to grow up to be the fathers, uncles and neighbors that could one day be
capable of inflicting so much pain on a young girl or woman. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With this recognition some of our sessions were
divided by sex so that the boys could have a different session than the girls.
I was amazed to hear some of the thoughts the boys had about rape and sexual
harassment. I was equally amazed by their desire to better understand the
dangers of these things. They had thought sexual violence was "bad" because
it were "dirty," but initially not many seemed to think there were problems with entitlement, objectification, morality or abuse. They said men
would never boast about doing any of these things, but that it was common
knowledge that many men did them. They also said the men weren't responsible for their
actions because it happened after drinking alcohol or when the girl was bad or
when the girl was being too seductive (i.e. wearing too little clothing).
How do you combat such a mentality? How do you change something that has
been engrained in a person's mind by their female teachers and their mothers?
How do you demonstrate that the hardcore, very violent, porn (one of the
regulars that played on the bus between Anda and Alaminos was of a girl being
unwillingly gang raped and then buried in the dirt to be trampled on by horses)
they see on a bus isn't funny or acceptable treatment for
another human being?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All of this made me think a lot about my own
life--my own experiences, my own education, my own culture. I went to a
university that handed out rape whistles to women and invited women to attend a
self defense class to protect us from rape. Great, protections. But, what
about the men? Were they being taught not to hurt women, not to objectify
women? When a boyfriend got too angry, or when "good Christian
men" took advantage of a lady who got "too drunk" what resources
were available for the women to help them recover? Where
could someone get help when her boyfriend was too forceful and wouldn't listen
to her when she said no? When a lady did go for help, what happened to the guy who
violated her in some way? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While I've heard a lot of stories from a lot of
different women, I can't say for sure what APU had in place for these
situations. Therefore, I can't legitimately criticize them. However, I
can criticize the fact that women didn't feel they would have a voice, or be
validated and supported, if they did seek help from the school. This is a common problem across the U.S. Women, just like my students in the Philippines, fear if they bring awareness to he violence they experience then they will be stigmatized or ridiculed. They fear, like in the Ohio case, people will react against them. They fear what people will think of them. They fear fear, and sometimes think it is better to blame themselves for what has happened to them than to bare the idea that some people do unspeakable things to other people without reason, and sometimes we don't have control over the actions of other people.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I read today that the victim in the Steubenville rape case has not forgiven the boys who raped her. This was a bit stunning and the first thing I've read directly about her (a lot of feminist bloggers and writers outraged by CNN have written about the overall situation and how there should be more emphasis put on her, but I've heard very little specifically about how she is right now). I know that forgiveness is a powerful thing and has the ability to help a person heal through the traumas they have endured. I know that it is a freeing experience and one that allows you to experience a lot of joy, but is anyone surprised she hasn't forgiven these boys at this point in time? </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They violated her personhood. They, and everyone who continues to criticize her, have jeopardized her trust in people, particularly in men. While being the victim of rape is not her entire identity, it will forever be with her and something she may see when she looks in the mirror--an identity she didn't choose. It will be a reminder of weakness and vulnerability. It is something many of us will forget once this news story blows over, but something she will relive countless times. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a culture, we need to change this. We need to create a world that is safe for women. A world that supports, loves, and strengthens a 16 year old girl who was brutally treated. A world that teaches responsibility, compassion and empathy. A world that, instead of creating fear out of our most vulnerable moments, is safe and stable and allows us to create our own identities free of abuse. </span></div>
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Kaitlin McGarveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17040686723058308568noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8432004158087726062.post-2633769420624619852013-02-13T11:38:00.000-08:002013-02-13T11:41:09.109-08:00Computers for Schools<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As many of you know I spent the last two years working at a school on a small island, Anda, of the Philippines. I'm currently talking to Leah about the experience and some of the activities I did with my students over those two years. While many parts of the Peace Corps were very hard I don't regret any of it because I got to spend two years with some amazing and beautiful youth. Young people that are truly capable of changing the course of their country's history.<br />
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I never had any desire to teach, let alone to teach English during my Peace Corps service. I had romanticized visions of the Peace Corps before leaving. I imagined myself in the middle of the African desert in a village where I would spend the morning working on maternal health projects, the afternoons making chapati with my neighbors, and nights watching the stars as my fire burnt out. I was going to have braided hair and wear vibrant fabrics. I was going to, finally, master the djembe and, finally, learn to dance. I was going to learn ancient wisdoms and experience villages raising children.<br />
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Then, D.C. spoke and told me I would be teaching English. I packed my bags and off I went. To teach. English. To say I was hesitant would be an understatement.<br />
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I got to my school and met 570+ incredible students. At first they weren't so sure about me. Luckily I grew on them. They began to share their lives with me and began to make me a part of their lives. It was an amazing privilege. They taught me so much about the world. Ancient wisdom was within each of them. For two years we wrote together and read together and played endless English games together and watched movies together and listened to music together. For two years I worked as hard as I could to figure out what it would take to get them to believe in their abilities as students and as people. For two years I struggled with classroom management, many days left without a clue on how to help students work through the issues they were facing that they carried with them to the classroom. For two years they helped me understand their lives, what they needed, what they wanted, and what I could do.<br />
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The students of ANHS are filled with so much joy and laughter. Their minds are able to conceptualize ideas mine could never create on its own. They are creative and lively; feisty and intelligent; determined and full of personality. The students of ANHS are ambitious and, like the rest of us, have great dreams for the future. Dreams of writing novels, going to medical school, starting businesses, and helping their community.<br />
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They are aware of the struggles they face. While many adults tell them that they, as the sons and daughters of fisherfolk and rice farmers, have little to look forward to in the future, they know that they are capable of defying the odds society has given them. They see the problems both their local community and country face, but they also see the solutions. And, I have seen their ability to turn ideas into reality, thoughts into action. I have seen their resilience and their persistence. I have seen them improve beyond what their teachers thought they were capable of. I have seen them take responsibility for their families and community, and I have seen them develop aspirations they hope to attain.<br />
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I, along with four other Peace Corps volunteers, are continuing to raise more money for computers for our students. ANHS had no textbooks let alone computers when I first arrived. We were able to accumulate enough written resources for the school, but ANHS still needs a few more computers in order to meet he needs of their students. These computers will be used to equip the students with necessary IT skills for college. A few more computers would allow all the students instead of just the top sections to take IT classes. Most of the world has access to computers. It is difficult for students to achieve their goals in todays world without IT knowledge. It's not impossible for them, but it's more difficult than it is for their peers. These computers will contribute to long-lasting academic and technical development for the students of Anda National High School.<br />
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Many of you have already donated to one or many of the projects I worked on in the Philippines. If you have, please please don't donate again. For those of you who haven't already donated and are interested in helping this computer project you can visit this website to donate: https://donate.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=492-407<br />
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You can also join our fb group at: https://www.facebook.com/events/202616856545786/<br />
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Thank you for your time, attention and continuous support.<br />
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P.S. I'm not sure why you can't click on the links, but you can copy and paste them in your browser if you're interested</div>
Kaitlin McGarveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17040686723058308568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8432004158087726062.post-63926939761064489602013-02-03T14:05:00.005-08:002013-02-04T04:17:32.076-08:00a birthday celebration<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today, February 3rd, Super Bowl Day 2013, is Erica's 35th birthday. A day that should be filled with balloons, cake, joy, pizza, beer, raw smoothies, rugby, beards, jeepney top riding through the mountains of Sagada, hot baths, friends, laughter, lots of love and family. Today is a day to celebrate Erica and all that she has fought through, all that she has created, and all that she has shared with the world.<br />
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For those of you who don't know Erica she has just finished her last chemo treatment. Over the last few months she has met cancer with grace and strength, refusing to let cancer define her or dictate her outlook on life. Throughout this battle Erica has radiated with positivity, acting as an inspiration and encouragement to those who know her.<br />
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This isn't shocking though because that's who Erica is. She is fun and kind and full of life and positive and passionate and strong. She is stubborn. No one will tell her cancer will have the best of her just as no one will tell her she can't work with a rice farmers cooperative in the mountains. She is understanding but fierce and unwavering. She is true to herself and what she believes. Always searching for answers and more understanding.<br />
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I met Erica more than two years ago. We both had the AWESOME opportunity to spend three months living in Olongapo aka the city known for "Shit River," countless floods, prostitution and creepy-old-white-men. During those three months I didn't know Erica very well, but that changed and I'm very glad it did.<br />
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After training we were sent to two towns about 14 hours apart. Somehow the distance didn't keep us from connecting.Through PC events and other activities we were able to get to know each other better and spend more time talking, processing and just trying to make the most of our experiences.<br />
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One highlight of my time in the Philippines was an Easter trip to the mountains of Sagada. Erica loves Sagada. You can read her blog to hear more about this magical, mountainous, oasis. A land of culture, kind people, yogurt, community, history, and peace. I will never forget riding on top of jeepneys for hours through sprawling rice terraces, rocky cliffs, and refreshingly cold clouds. We spent hours in silence just taking in the fresh air and the freedom that comes with top riding. We spent hours talking to the farmers sharing the roof with us. We laughed as we shared our stories from site.<br />
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Erica was in her element on the roof of the jeep. She laughed and joked with the farmers. She was at ease as the jeep struggled to stay on the road. She sat tall and content as we wove our way through mountain passes.<br />
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We stopped in Banuae and Erica took us to her friend's hotel so we could shed a few bags before our hike in Batad. When we were at the jeep terminal Erica saw a couple people she knew. She greeted her Ate's and Kuyas with love and familiarity. It was evident that Erica brought each of these people joy. They had become a part of each other's lives. She knew about their families and she cared to hear more about their families. Everyone Erica meets is important to her and she puts effort into knowing people, no matter how long or short she has known someone.<br />
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The same happened in Sagada and Batad. In Sagada we ate at her friend's restaurant. Erica was of course warmly welcomed back and treated like family. In Batad Erica asked about a boy named Rambo she had met months before. Everyone knew him, and through him knew Erica. Because of Erica's warmth we were welcomed and given the chance to also become a part of these people's lives for the few days we spent in the mountains.<br />
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As we hiked through the terraces Erica asked questions about the history of the terraces, about our guides' family, about the giant earthworms that were wrecking the stability of the terraces, about the recent collapses, about the future of the terraces, about the daily lives of the people who lived in Batad. She was curious because she has a passion for people and a passion for culture. She wants to understand what she can to help protect livelihoods and histories. Her questions were filled with compassion and empathy.<br />
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But, Erica is also feisty and she stands firmly for what she believes. One of my favorite conversations with Erica happened in her kitchen. It was a conversation my soul needed. We secretly lit two cloves and sat on plastic stools in her kitchen so no one could see us smoking (girls don't smoke after all, especially not Peace Corps girls). She understood me and I understood her. We were able to share our frustrations, sadness, and desires. We discussed our fears and our pessimism. We offset those fears and pessimism with stories of rebirth and hope. Anger at the injustices around us fueled the conversation long past the time our cloves fizzled out. Whereas I am often weak and unsure how to respond to what i feel is wrong, Erica is strong and stands firm against what she knows is wrong. She is honest regardless of whether or not her words will please those she is speaking to. From there we talked about solutions, solutions neither of us were sure would work. It hurt Erica to think about the problems of the world. She carries the burdens of those around her. She is convicted by what is right and good. She is human and gets discouraged. But she is also human in that she wakes up the next morning with optimism and determination. The world needs all of this. It needs people to hurt for it, it needs people to feel, it needs people to contemplate solutions, it needs people to be unsure, it needs people to know what is right and good and stand unwavering in support of those things. It needs people who care and are willing to fight for change however they are able and know how.<br />
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Erica is fun. Rum and cokes on beaches, sneaking into music festivals because we literally had no money for anything including food (good old empty atm's), dancing to great and terrible music alike, hanging out at artist parties, eating cheese whiz and sky flakes, playing african drums in the Philippines...living life to the fullest. She doesn't let money or preconceived notions of societal success stand in her way. Nothing slows her down or gets her down.Erica lives life and Erica shares life with all those she interacts with.<br />
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For her birthday we can commit to caring for all of those she cares about, and decide to stand against the hate and the wrong that inhibits empowerment and equality. On this day we celebrate Erica and all that she is. All she symbolizes and all that she inspires within us.<br />
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p.s. check out erica's blog: http://ezimmer78.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/on-monday-my-mom-and-i-got-into-my.html</div>
Kaitlin McGarveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17040686723058308568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8432004158087726062.post-10410424304406164952013-02-01T08:06:00.001-08:002013-02-01T08:10:15.579-08:00it's been a few months.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I have been back from the Philippines for five full months now. Time goes fast when you're not on island time. Since being back I've seen three seasons come and go. That's something I didn't see for two years. It's amazing how much the seasons contribute to your emotional concept of time and place.<br />
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Since leaving the Peace Corps I have been able to spend significant time with friends and family. You have no idea how significant a conversation is with someone who has seen all of you, someone who knows the best and worst parts of you, someone you can be honest with, someone you can trust completely, someone who knows your history and the reasons you are who you are today until you have lived a life that isn't your own. A life where you are constantly on guard of what you say, when you say something, and how you say it. A life where no one has any idea, and where most people have no desire to know, why you are the way you are. What events formed you, hardened you and softened you. A life where you can't express your true beliefs or defend what you are passionate about. A life where you can tell people about your history, but when you do you are considered a liar because you aren't describing the latest episode of The Kardashians, Gossip Girl, or America's Next Top Model.<br />
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Since being back I have rediscovered the significance of affirmation and physical contact. For two years the only physical contact I had with anyone, other than my dog who I could hold and pet, was negative. If someone wasn't lifting up my shirt to grab my fat in front of all the teachers in the canteen or grabbing me as I was trying to find a trike, I didn't have physical contact with anyone. Maybe a high five or two, but no hugs or hand holding. My students were amazing when it came to affirmation. They were amazing when it came to anything and everything. I dearly miss each of them, each for their own reasons. And, there were a few people I worked with who were encouraging and supportive, but contestant criticism from most of the adults I was surrounded by wore me down. It wasn't only criticism. There were times when I was yelled at quite aggressively in front of other staff and students. There were meetings held without me to complain about the projects I was doing with and for the students. There were rumors started and conflicts started without my knowing. You come to realize that if you hear something enough you start to believe it regardless of how true it is. Whether or not it is actual truth it becomes truth in your mind and truth in the minds of the people around you. I've found that I get slightly upset when people now compliment me in any capacity because i "know" that those things aren't true and it frustrates me when people say things for the sake of saying them instead of saying truth. This is something a few of you have had to patiently work through with me (shout out to Rebekah). All this to say, it feels amazing to feel the warmth of another person picking you up from the airport or giving you a hug on his/her way to work or even to be adoringly pinched on the face and slammed into the wall (another shout out to Rebekah).<br />
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A significant thing I have come to slowly accept and know, is that men are good. I don't think I have ever hid the fact that I'm slightly sexist. I know it's not good. I'm not trying to justify it. But, over the last ten years I have had numerous negative experiences with men. Some of you have had to hear and rehear these stories more than you wanted as I try to process them and accept them and allow myself to heal from them. The Philippines didn't help my sexism. If anything it made it worse. Severely worse. Details are not important, and I know not all Pinoy men are bad. I even know the men I struggled with are not bad. But sometimes it's hard to match what we know with how we feel when you have no space. Now that I have space, now that I am separated from those moments, I can see that men are good. I have amazing men in my life in the states who I am very very grateful for. All of whom have helped me in different ways at different times, all who have faith in me, and all who show me goodness in their own ways. I have recently moved to Scotland for my masters. I am in a program that is predominantly male. I have met countless men over the last few weeks all from different countries and backgrounds, and each one has restored my faith in the world without knowing that's what they were doing.<br />
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SInce being back I have seen young people give up their seats on buses and trains for the elderly, seen strangers hold doors open for one another, I have watched countless people drop money in red buckets for the needy, I have had taxi drivers help me carry my suitcases rom the train station to a hotel instead of picking up passengers, I have had countless people offer me directions, I have talked to shoppers at the mall about their lost love ones during the holidays, I have seen people stop what they are doing to help someone carry something. I have seen compassion and consideration. All of these things have rejuvenated me and have restored me motivation.<br />
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By no means do I mean to criticize the Philippines or Anda. But, my two years in the Peace Corps definitely brought their struggles. To be sent off to an island that rarely sees a foreigner as a single, young, white, american girl includes a few challenges. To learn to work within a system you are morally opposed to for countless reasons takes time to adjust to. To adapt to a lifestyle that isn't your own, and one that has no privacy for you to make it your own, is exhausting. To forget who you are and what it is about the world that makes you passionate is frightening. To deal with the worst parts of yourself alone is frustrating. To see how weak you are and how much of the world you can't affect is disheartening. To watch terrible things happen to people you care about, and to hear students be told that they aren't capable of achieving what you know they are beyond capable of achieving, is angering. To hear and watch people deliberately hurt one another and refuse to support those who need help leaves you jaded and hopeless.<br />
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I am very grateful, especially to my host family and my students, for giving me so much life and love and joy while I was in Anda. I am so blessed that all of these people have allowed me into their lives and offered to share their lives with me. I will always be grateful for them, and love them, and appreciate them beyond comprehension. I will always hope for the best for my students and try to help them however I can. However, I am glad for all that I am learning about the world since leaving the Peace Corps. I'm glad that my vision is being restored and that I'm slowly rediscovering myself.<br />
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**This post didn't mention the amazing volunteers who kept me sane during my time in the Philippines, and continue to inspire me. That post is coming soon</div>
Kaitlin McGarveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17040686723058308568noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8432004158087726062.post-18016597235075139612012-08-02T07:52:00.000-07:002012-08-02T07:52:00.606-07:00i once saw a tattoo<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I knocked on a door that had taken in many women before me. It
was a welcoming and safe door. A door that offers second chances—a walking
stick for support when the path becomes muddy. Through that door the stars
realign themselves to form new constellations, giving us second births and new
destinies to seek.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I laid my compass on the table. I explained the arrow was
broken. I lost my way North. I had travelled the world with different comrades
here and there. I had met kind faces and violent fists alike. I had shivered in
lonely tundra and sweat in temples filled for communal prayer. My feet were
torn and my heart tired. I had seen it all, but my place was still unknown. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The woman before me picked up the compass. She studied it
closely before brushing off some dirt with the hem of her rainbow skirt. She offered me a place at the table and told
me I would always be welcome. She told me I should listen to the beat of my
compass, as not every soul was meant for Sirius. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As she walked away, with her skirt flowing behind her like a
banner of freedom waving with grace and pride, I noticed she had a woman
tattooed on her back. A woman unlike any I had ever seen. “Wait, who is the woman on your back?” “Every
woman who ever has been or ever will be. You are in her, and she is in you. She
is a reflection of what we could be if we stood together,” then she continued
to float on.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This home felt other-worldly with no two women alike, but
each woman honored for her being. It was a home where all were welcome no matter how many
times we abandoned our sisters, or found ourselves on the wrong train west. A
home of color and tears and life and laughter and beauty and truth. A home of
healing. A temporary home for those passing from one world to another. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Shamans, gangsters, the homeless, and men in suits came to
this home seeking remedies and healing for wounds inflicted by a cruel world. Visitors shared stories of heartbreak,
turmoil, love and jubilee. They spent hours at the table soaking in the peace
the women possessed. Through their visitors the women gained strength and
perspective, realizing they were gifted and needed, capable and good. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I wanted to be a part of this house, but I felt inadequate.
These women knew the language of our ancestors, they communed with spirits I
had never felt, and they made music with every step they took. Each had her own
color, her own story, her own style of connecting to the world. They said they
were lost, but I dreamt of being as sure as they. I asked them to draw me maps of the lands they
had journeyed. <o:p></o:p></div>
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They simply laughed and told me we were all on the same
journey and had seen the same lands. We had shared the same laughs and cried
the same tears. We had carried the same shovels to burry our loves, and we had
drummed the same rhythms before war. We had raised the same white flags of
surrender and danced to the same songs of hope. We had birthed the same dreams
and grown the same futures. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I looked at my hands, soft and sensitive, not a callous to
be found. Only chaotic noise flowed from the Djembe with fists of anger and
confusion. My feet could not dance the steps of a chief calling for rain. Like
a water color dropped in a puddle my dreams were a blur. My compass was damaged, my future unsure. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The days went on and the present became real to me. No
longer living in the past and future, I was living each breath as it came. Every
moment embraced with my dreams and reality becoming one. Each sun rise was a
new beginning, and each sun set a reminder that I still had a long way to go. A
mess of possibility surrounded me like the ever changing images of a
kaleidoscope. A mess I was prepared to jump into head first for all flowers
take root in dirt kneaded by worms. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The woman with the tattoo came to me one day. She gave me a
glass bottle. The glass was every color I had ever seen, more than any Crayola
crayon box could contain. “I feel you will be leaving us soon. Keep this
always. It is filled with drops of water from every river, lake and ocean.
There are grains of soil and sand from every country. Let it symbolize unity
and diversity. Inside is a sketch of my tattoo. Let it act as your mirror.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I have never seen a woman like the one on your back.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“But you see her every day, all around you. Her features are
a physical representation of a global woman who calls each continent her home.
Her jewelry, make-up, feathers, and dress are inspired by world cultures that
have celebrated women. In her you can see your history and the future of your
daughters. Women of different colors, tongues, and prayers together and strong
so the world can be healed after the many scars it has endured.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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With that she got up, turned her back to me and walked
through the door to the street. As the door closed behind her I saw my
reflection calling me to face the call of the wind and the demands of the
road. I grabbed my compass and bottle,
ready for all that I would experience and feel and see and think and hear and
wonder, for the souls of those who stood before me were guiding me with grace
and wisdom, and the lives of those yet to come would keep me grounded and
focused, determined to love and embrace, fight and dream.<o:p></o:p></div>
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</div>Kaitlin McGarveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17040686723058308568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8432004158087726062.post-66809417669403346842012-07-09T18:57:00.003-07:002012-07-09T18:57:28.367-07:00Voices of Women<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">my friend Britt and I are starting a blog/group dedicated<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 13.333333969116211px;"> to highlighting the stories of women all over the world. we just started it a few days ago so it's not really how we envision the final product, but it's a work in progress. we wanted to make it because we are both in the Philippines where women don't support each other a whole lot and they are often critical of each other. we talked a lot about this and realized that this is also the case in the u.s. and many other places, but it takes different forms. we decided we would create a blog that highlights and encourages different women and brings women together to celebrate each other for no reason other than they are women and through that they are exceptional people living remarkable lives that should be honored. eventually we are going to put together our own articles featuring different women as well as video interviews with women, but right now we are just posting articles and information we get from other sources. we hope that through this women can join together to help each other in whatever ways they see fit, as well as just have a space for community and connection.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 13.333333969116211px;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 13.333333969116211px;">so if you're interested please follow our blog: </span></span><a forcediv="true" forceinline="true" href="http://voicesofwomen.tumblr.com/" original_target="http://voicesofwomen.tumblr.com/" rel="nofollow nofollow" saprocessedanchor="true" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 13.333333969116211px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" verdict_1d6abe5="UNKNOWN">http://voicesofwomen.tumblr.com/</a><br />
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</div>Kaitlin McGarveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17040686723058308568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8432004158087726062.post-73702384480410429552012-05-29T21:09:00.002-07:002012-05-29T21:09:16.330-07:00back to africa<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="" name="_GoBack"></a>I’m going back to Africa. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have been waiting years to say that.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Like most of my better decisions in life, it was a
spontaneous decision. And like most of my better decisions in life, I chose to
go back to Africa in the middle of the night.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think we, as humans, are more honest with ourselves at
night. I think we have a clarity at nightthat escapes us during the day as we
busy ourselves with work and errands and meetings and people and so many other
things. But, at night we can choose to pause all those things and spend time
with ourselves. The parts of ourselves that we are sometimes scared to dialogue
with because who knows if one night that part of ourselves will tell us to go
back to Africa or to sell the house or to quit your job or take a risk on love.
When we are left with nothing but our hearts we are able to see the truths our
souls are searching for, but more often than not these truths leave us
vulnerable. Vulnerability is a strange thing. It’s such a powerful and
beautiful thing, but many people today seem to avoid vulnerability because they
are scared of the outcomes. What happens if I get malaria or I won’t have a
place to live or I won’t be able to find a new job or my heart will be
broken? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I know I’m young, but I’ve found that the times in my life
where I allow myself to be the most vulnerable I discover great things about
other people, the world and myself. During those times you are reliant on the
goodness of other people and strength of yourself. You aren’t held back by fears
and doubts, so you allow yourself to walk new roads filled with revelation,
companionship and adventure. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve thought about going back to Africa for years, but I
always found reasons not to go back. Last year I thought about taking my peace
corps money and spending it to go to Africa, but the rational side of my brain,
no matter how small that side is, convinced me it was better to go to Southeast
Asia since I’m already over here and it would be pretty cheap. I convinced
myself to wait for Africa till after grad school. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you know me you know Africa has significantly impacted my
identity. It has given me passion, shown me grace and offered me wisdom. It has
given me hope and strength and a reason for living. This will sound cliché, but
I have literally dreamt of Africa since I was a little girl. I have always
understood Africa to be God’s gift to keep me going. For many years my dreams
of Africa were the only things I had.
Life used to be a lot for me to handle. On my worst nights though I
would feel a comforting presence as I fell asleep to beautiful smiles and an
overwhelming sense of freedom and peace and hope and the vivid colors of a
marketplace and the powerful sounds of drums. I would wake up and continue on. Africa
understood me. It cradled me and strengthened me. It gave me an identity and a
purpose. I knew I would one day go to
Africa and I knew the embraces from my dreams would again be felt. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have been blessed with a couple opportunities to spend
time in Sub-Saharan Africa. One of my greatest pet peeves is when people refer
to any one country in Africa as “Africa.” It is such a massive continent filled
with diversity of language, ethnicity, religion, art, music and history. But,
no matter where I have been in Africa, whether West Africa, East Africa,
Central Africa, or South Africa I have been welcomed by the same red soil and
the same sense of belonging. No matter where I have been in Africa it has felt
like home…the place that has given me so much and taught me the value of life.
So, until I find this statement to be untrue, Africa, the whole continent, is a
place of significance for me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Africa is this continent of majestic power. It is a complex
place filled with mystery and clarity. It is a real place, and the moment you
come in contact with African soil you know you have met all that ever has been
or all that ever will be. When you close your eyes you can see thousands of
years all right where you are standing. You open your eyes and can see the way
all those years have changed you and illuminated the histories that have formed
your being. Ancient truths are realized,
while each step presents a new discovery. Africa teaches that each moment and
each breath is a true gift. It is something that can be taken at any moment, so
you must learn to celebrate each breath and mourn each passing. It is a place
where there is always time for another person. Food is shared as are laughs and
tears. Time is measured in the songs of children, blessings of rain, and the
passing antelope. Time is found in relationships rather than a watch. Africa
teaches that enlightenment and peace can only be attained when we see who we
are through the lives of other people and we see the lives of other people in
ourselves. We are all connected, and that connection is what gives Africa its
power. It is a place where the
supernatural and the ordinary are one.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For a long time I didn’t know if I had an identity other
than Africa. I was that girl who wanted to be a doctor in Africa. That’s all
there really was to me. That’s what people knew about me. I feared I would lose
Africa. I feared I wouldn’t end up living in Africa. I feared that if my path
changed I would be nothing. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In time I learned that Africa wasn’t my identity. It isn’t
who I am. At least not entirely. It is a
part of me as it is a part of any person. It is a place that has encouraged me
and has gotten me to this point in my life. It helped me get through many hard
things and I will forever be connected to the people I have both dreamt of,
have met, and will see in the future. It will continue to inspire me and sing
me to sleep, but I have realized it is not all I am. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think I was afraid to go back to Africa because I fear I
have romanticized it. What happens if the colors are different than I remember
and the songs are sung to different tunes? What happens if I don’t feel the
connection? What happens if I never leave? What happens if my feelings of
helplessness become too much? What happens if I realize I will never live there
or I realize it is the place I will die or I realize I no longer have
realizations while I’m there? What
happens if God no longer speaks to me in Africa?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have let go of those fears with the knowledge that whatever
happens will happen, and whatever is felt will be felt. Whatever I see I will
see, and whatever I hear I will hear. Africa and I have an ancient
relationship. One that was formed before I was born, and I trust that that no
matter where life takes me, or how the universe directs me, Africa will always
be with me, and in my times of need it will remind me to stand with faith. I’m
excited to see what she says to me this time. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of my favorite books is “African Nights” by
KukiGallmann. She is an eloquent writer and her words bring to life my
experiences with Africa. Enjoy:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Africa is a continent of extremes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are droughts and there are floods. There is an Africa
of tragedy and famine, of corruption and war, of blood and hunger and tears, of
incurable disease and tribal clashes and misery and violence and political
unrest. It is the Africa we read about today in every paper, the one we see
daily in biased cable television reports. It is an Africa captive to and
dependent on the blackmail of foreign aid constantly judged, constantly
criticized and never understood. Here the rich West has imprinted its competitive,
frantic image, created alien needs, imposed alien philosophies and financed
impossible schemes, unsuited to the potential and true spirit of this troubled
and fantastic continent, all too ready to take back that help and sit in
judgment of yet another failure.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I do not sing that Africa. There is no need for another
negative reportage, which will leave a bitter taste and serve no purpose. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is a different side of this ancient land. It is the
Africa that, since the beginning of time, has evoked travelers a deep recognition,
an inexplicable yearning to return. The place that still has what most of the
world has lost.Space.Roots.Traditions.Stunning beauty.True wilderness.Rare
animals.Extraordinary people.the land that will always attract those who can
still dream…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This maternal, primordial Africa taught me acceptance,
endurance and survival. I recognized it as a place to find wisdom. A place to
end this journey and begin a new one.A place of renewal and rebirth. A good
place to die…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Walking alone through the pervading magic of untouched
African landscapes, open to growth as one is when at the bottom of pain, I felt
quintessentially part of the whole. One evening, looking down at the
breathtaking depths of the Mukutan Gorge in the Great Rift Valley, in this
living cathedral of the spirit I discovered my crusade and found peace…I was in
Africa, and this was my cure…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mine are love stories about Kenya, my Africa. it is the
Africa of sunshine and endless vistas, or roaming herds on the plains of red
dust and galloping giraffe, of forests and snow and prehistoric lakes, of
gentle, handsome, intelligent people who protect the young and respect the old,
care for the sick and feed the hungry, even if it means sharing the little they
have; generous people, ready to smile and to forgive; people with a song in
their heart and a dance in their step; enduring, compassionate and infinitely
patient. The people of Kenya, whose ancient, proven wisdom I respect. I salute
them and thank them for having allowed me to live amongst them, to bury my men
in the soil of my garden as Africans do, and for allowing me the honor and the
choice of becoming a Kenyan like them…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Magic, and the unexplainable, still touch our lives. This is
the lyrical, therapeutic Africa that I describe, the one I live every day of my
life, the one that is my life aim to preserve.”</div>
</div>Kaitlin McGarveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17040686723058308568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8432004158087726062.post-31312618305541041852012-02-13T17:50:00.000-08:002012-02-13T17:50:15.016-08:00scholarships, birthdays and prayer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">Most of the time I wonder what it’s all for. I wonder if I’m doing any good here. I wonder if it matters that I’m here. I wonder if I will change or benefit anyone or anything while I’m here. Most of the time I wonder because most of the time I see no difference.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I have finally seen a difference. A small difference, but nonetheless a difference. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I can’t take much credit for this difference, but I know that if I weren’t here it wouldn’t have happened. That’s an exciting feeling. That’s a good feeling.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The Peace Corps Alumni Foundation has a scholarship program, and earlier this year I helped a handful of students who qualified fill out their applications. My role was miniscule. All I did was introduce the scholarship, edit and type the essays, and pay the small fees needed for the parents of each candidate to travel to Alaminos and get their tax exemption forms. All the work was done by the students. They are the ones who have worked endlessly for the last four years despite numerous physical and emotional setbacks, and they are the ones who wrote essays that moved the scholarship board to grant two of my students the scholarship.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The scholarship will cover tuition, books and course material costs for four years, pay for housing and food, and then offer an additional sum for fieldtrips and any other school related events. This is huge, and when I found out that two of my students were awarded the scholarship I was thrilled. Thrilled might be an understatement. I felt like a proud mama. People say your wedding day is the happiest day of your life, or the day your first child is born, or the day you graduate med-school, but for me the day I found out Reynaldo and Ericka were receiving the scholarship was the happiest day of my life, and I think few things will top it.</div><div class="MsoNormal">This gives two students the ability to go to college. It gives them the opportunity to further their education and hopefully will equip them with everything they need to find a job. If they are able to find jobs in their respective fields they will be able to support their families and move their families out of such extreme poverty. Not all of their problems will be solved, but they will have a chance very few people here have to fight the cycle of poverty. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I think too often middle and upper class Americans take higher education for granted. I think too often middle and upper class Americans often take food and other basic commodities for granted. A very small percentage of students from my school will go on to college, and an even smaller percentage will graduate and an even smaller percentage will find jobs due to a series of circumstances I often compare to predestination or the caste system in India.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> Being able to tell Ericka and Reynaldo that they received the scholarship was a powerful experience. Neither students ever expected to receive the scholarships and both looked at me with a dazed expression before they erupted with joy to the point where they couldn’t sit still. Then, being able to meet with Ericka’s mom so she could sign the scholarship forms was a humbling experience. This is a woman whose husband was murdered when Ericka was only six and her sister was two. This is a woman who has worked endlessly to save enough pesos to keep Ericka in school this long. This is a woman who has been homeless, has found herself living with a drug addict in manila to stay dry amidst Filipino rains, and has been remarried all for the benefit of Ericka and her sister. This woman is a survivor and has passed on her skills to her daughters. Ericka was in and out of school depending on her families’ financial situation. She worked in grade school washing dishes to help her mom make money and she took care of her sister while her mom was off seeking a better life. Ericka never stopped studying and never stopped hoping. I knew though that when I talked to Ericka about the terms and conditions of the scholarship that neither her nor her mother ever expected such a miracle. I could see that Ericka was grateful but cautious. She knows that she needs to succeed in order to relieve her mother of all of her struggles. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Everyone knows education is valuable and that an education has the potential to change a persons’ life, but until I saw two students who one day had no thoughts of being able to pursue a degree, and then the next day the opportunity to choose to study any course at any school in the Philippines I never realized the power an education had to completely transform a families’ life. One day you are preparing your kids to work in the fields for the rest of their life and the next that child is opening a bank account and is on his/her way to a life with a salary enough to buy food and medicine. Hungry nights no longer await your children, and they won’t be passed on to your children’s children. Something so simple and so cheap can change the future.</div><div class="MsoNormal">In the Philippines an average college educations costs 3,000 Php a semester. That is about $75. It is not expensive yet it is enough money to determine the fate of millions of people here. My happiness for Ericka and Reynaldo can’t be accurately expressed, but when I look at the rest of their class I wonder why the world is so unfair. I am grateful for the scholarship money. Eternally grateful, but there are 100 other graduating seniors from my school this year and many of them will not be going to college despite their amazing minds and the abilities they have to create, think and question. And my school is just one of several on my one little island. Imagine what the world would be like if every child was fed enough food, given enough sleep, and had access to medicines when he/she was sick. Imagine how many bright minds there would be sitting in our classrooms absorbing knowledge and gaining the ability to critically assess and analyze the world. Imagine if all of those minds were given the change to grow to an even greater level at college. The world would be exponentially better. So many more ideas and creations.So many more able minds and hands working to solve the world’s problems. If that were the case entire generations wouldn’t be born into poverty. If that were the case dreams would be dreamt and people would strive for things they have never seen before. I wish there was a way I could help every student here go to college. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It is interesting to observe the optimism that has spread amongst the fourth year population here. Before the results of the alumni scholarship were announced I offered all the students who qualified a copy of another scholarship they could complete. Only three students took it. After it was announced that Reynaldo and Ericka received the alumni scholarship all the students who qualified for the other scholarship came to me to ask for a copy so they could apply. I ask them why now and not before. Without fail they all said they never thought that students from Anda would win a scholarship, but now they see that it is possible. Ericka and Reynaldo have set a momentum here and I can only wait to see what good they do with their degrees and the opportunities they have awaiting them. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.5pt; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in;"> <div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;">My host sister and I built a compost pile everyone should be jealous of. It’s massive and composting at the speed of light (that’s maybe a slight exaggeration, but really, this things on steroids). I’m pretty excited about it.</div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I have had the opportunity to talk to Leah quite a bit lately and I’m very grateful for that. Leah, if you don’t know her, offers a lot of peace, strength, understanding and perspective. She is someone who I have an immense amount of respect for and who often offers me a lot of spiritual guidance. </div><div class="MsoNormal">She was recently talking about prayer and how she thinks that you can feel the prayer other people offer you. I think this is true. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I don’t know what I think of the traditionally Christian concept of God. I have a hard time believing God is all knowing, all powerful and all good. I don’t know what I think about prayer. I don’t know if I think there is some sort of supernatural being who listens to our prayers and answers them and makes those things happen. I think if that were the case a lot of suffering would be eliminated. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I do think though that people are deeply connected to each other and all life forms on earth and beyond. I think we are all a part of something big and grand, and I think we have lost a lot of our abilities to communicate on a spiritual level. For me prayer is the same as offering feelings of love, positive vibes, or good thoughts to other people. I don’t know how it works but I know that these things really have the power to bring security, hope and strength to people who need it. It sounds like I’m a naively optimistic hippie when I say this but I think if we open our hearts (I think this is something that happens on both a metaphysical and physical level) we are able to release some sort of current or transmission that is able to be received by other people. I do believe in miracles and I like to think that some prayers are answered but it makes me sort of upset to think about because I don’t know how God would pick and choose certain prayers to respond to while not responding to other, so for me prayer is the process I described above where we exchange our humanity, our souls, our love with other people who we may know or who may be strangers from a distant place. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After this Leah and I started to talk about miracles and spiritual experiences. I have seen miracles happen and have great faith that the impossible can happen if you choose to believe it and see it and let it happen. I don’t know how that all works, but it does. When we were talking about spiritual experiences the issue psychology and expectations came up. A devout Christian who walks into a church and expects to feel or see the Holy Spirit may very well have an experience where he/she sees the Holy Spirit. Some people say this is like the placebo effect where your mind is able to create these events to give you the sort of faith and encouragement you may need at a particular time in life. Spiritual experiences have been said to happen among people of all religions and even among non-religious people. Whether or not God, or whatever you want to call the supernatural, really does make himself/herself/itself present in different ways to different people during these religious experiences is of little significance to me. Whether these experiences are all in a person’s mind or are tangible and “real” (however you want to try to define real) doesn’t matter to me. If they are real, then great.If they are made up in our heads, well great. I don’t think such an experience can be belittled if it simply some reaction of the brain. To me that demonstrates the complexity and the miracle of brain composition. It makes me think that whatever divine being was around during creation was pretty amazing to be able to wire our minds in a way that we can perceive such vivid images and experiences. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Another thing Leah and I were talking about recently was violence and the role of violence in changing the world. She said that she is reading a book about the preacher who went to Sudan and Uganda and fought with a machine gun killing anyone who tried to hurt the community he was trying to protect. Is this amount of violence necessary to create the change he wanted? </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Nelson Mandela, a man who is known for ending Apartheid, a man who won the Nobel Peace Prize, and a man typically seen as a role model of peace came to the conclusion that an institution as violent as Apartheid could only be ended with violence. He said you can only change things if you speak the language of the oppressors. If you don’t speak their language they will not hear you and will not respond.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Martin Luther King Jr. is typically seen as another role model for peace. People say his peaceful techniques are what led to the downfall of segregation in the U.S. and the Jim Crow Laws. But, I wonder if his peaceful techniques would have been heard if Malcolm X and the Black Panthers weren’t promoting violence. Is it possible that the white government responded to the demands of Martin Luther King Jr. because they would rather work with him than with a violent African American population? If there wasn’t a violent counterpart to his work, how much longer, if it would take longer, would it take for anything to change? If the peaceful protesters weren’t violated, beat and sent to prison would the general population respond to their cries? Even if MLK never used violence himself, he was assassinated and violence was used against him making him a martyr and giving his cause even more strength and momentum. Is violence necessary to create change?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">And then you have Jesus. Jesus was a peaceful guy. He walked and healed and prayed and loved, but ultimately he was crucified and it was only because of this violent death that he was able to resurrect. While he did have followers before the resurrection, it is the story of the resurrection that is so often shared with people and so often used to spread Christianity. It is how people really knew Jesus was the son of God. </div><div class="MsoNormal">I met a man in India who had been having a conversation with two missionaries who were trying to “save” him. They were talking about how Jesus was a sacrifice and shed his blood because he loved Ram, the man who I talked to. Ram asked why he would want to believe in a god that could only change the world by killing his own son. It’s a good question. If God is all-knowing then he would know that Jesus would be crucified. Why was this the only way? Couldn’t God have used a completely peaceful way of spreading his/her love? Why is violence always involved, and why do people only seem to respond when there is violence? </div><div style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.5pt; border: none; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"> <div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;">It makes you wonder about justified violence. Is there such a thing and if so who determines what’s justified and what’s not and where are the lines drawn?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><br />
</div></div><div class="MsoNormal">My birthday here was good. My students, teachers and host family gave me a wonderful day full of thought and care. My counterpart wrote and read a beautiful poem, my advisory students performed several dances and wrote me a song, some fourth year students gave me several pieces of shell art while others made me one of the best desserts of my life, and the teachers threw me a party where they gave me a massive basket of fruit. Then my host family had a feast to celebrate the joint birthday of both my host mom and I<a href="" name="_GoBack"></a>. it was perfect. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It got me thinking about my most memorable birthdays. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">One of these was a surprise weekend at Peak n Peak with Katie, Abbe, Elissa, Nick and Nathan. We had been at a show at the <i>Hang Out </i>in Edinboro just like every weekend back then. Afterwards Katie, Abbe and Elissa were supposed to sleep over at my house but instead my dad drove us to the Peak. We spent the weekend snowboarding and hanging out in the condo. Everything about it was perfect.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Another great birthday was when my friends transformed Katie’s house into Africa complete with trees, snakes in the trees, lion king music and “African” food (I remember there were carrot sticks and I think worms in dirt). Again, everything about it was perfect.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Then there was my birthday in South Africa with my host family. It was mine and Heather’s last night with them and they bought a feast worth of food. KFC chicken, multiple watermelons, chocolate and anything else imaginable. That night we had to say goodbye to them and stay at Cornerstone College before leaving early the next morning for our journey to Petermeritzburg. I think we were three hours late at getting to the school, but it was wonderful to spend that last night with them. The entire family came with us to the school to say goodbye. Again, everything was perfect.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">And, finally, there was my birthday Junior year of college. My first and last birthday in California. In the morning I went to the temple with Matt and Audie to meditate, I came home and took a nap and then my roommates were throwing me a “surprise” party I got the invitation to. It was a wonderful party. So many amazing people and so much good food. It was my 21’st birthday but knowing my dislike of alcohol everyone brought sparkling juices and pop instead. The best part was a book they made filled with comments from my friends in both California and Pennsylvania. We then went to Kristi’s apartment and had a dance party. It was perfect. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I’m blessed to have such incredible people in my life all around the world. </div></div>Kaitlin McGarveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17040686723058308568noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8432004158087726062.post-67663306766102034212012-01-19T20:32:00.001-08:002012-01-19T21:03:02.721-08:00Nightmares and Such<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.5pt; border: none; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;">If a country refuses to respect the humanity of its’ population, it has no future in the world of development.<br />
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</div></div><div class="MsoNormal">I struggle with photography. There is so much I want to document. So much beauty, so much suffering, so much magic, so much that is ordinary. I want to document all these things with my camera so stories can be shared and the gaps between lives lived can be lessened, but I struggle. The camera is such an invasive piece of equipment. It separates the photographer from the experiences around him/her. It turns people, plants, and animals into objects of entertainment. Sometimes untrue stories are told through the lens of a camera. Someone is made to believe an elderly woman with no teeth is poor and destitute when in reality she is proud and healthy matriarch. But, without a camera parts of the world would not know the others. Pictures inspire action against that which is wrong. They unite us and bring us together. They show that there is magic in the simplest of things and plainness in the most spectacular glitz. They slow us down and give us time to appreciate that which we have and that which we do not. They introduce us to those we share this earth with. But I often worry that the camera is just another means of brushing over the depth of each object we photograph.</div><div class="MsoNormal">_____________________________________________________________________________________</div><div style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.5pt; border: none; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;">I’ve been thinking a lot about people who are corrupt, bitter, degrading towards others, angry and abusive of their powers. How do people become like this? What were they like as children? Is it an event that makes someone like this, or is it a part of who they are naturally? Why do some people in positions of power do good while others do bad? Why do some people in positions of power possess an air of entitlement while others remain humble? What do people think and feel about themselves when they abuse their power and the people around them? Why live a life that makes those around you miserable as well as yourself? How long does it take for a person to transform into this sort of person? Am I capable of growing into one of these people? I hope life and the people around me keep me in check so I don’t become one of those people.<br />
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</div></div><div class="MsoNormal">So I’m back. I’ve got many months behind me and have just under that many ahead of me. What a strange place to be. Not necessarily a physical place, but an emotional, mental and spiritual place. </div><div class="MsoNormal">As I’ve told a few people it’s always really hard for me to say goodbye to people in the states who I love and don’t want to be away from. It’s really hard. Don’t get me wrong. I couldn’t be more grateful for the experiences and opportunities life has graced me with, but it does take a toll on me. I often wonder why I have such a restless soul. I wonder what it is I’m constantly in search of. I wonder why I have the pressing desire to pick up and move to places where I know no one in order to struggle and work to get to know people who I can work to help in one way or another when there are so many people who are already in my life in the U.S. I wish I could be with and help through this chaotic journey we call life. I wonder if this will be my whole life, or if my heart will change directions. And as I wonder I move from one plane to the next, one bus to the next, and return to Anda. I return to a small island most of the world has never heard of to be welcomed “home” by my neighbors, students and co-workers. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">_____________________________________________________________________________________</div><div class="MsoNormal">The UN warns that “65 percent of humankind will be living in water-stressed and water-scarce countries by 2025”—International Herald</div><div style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.5pt; border: none; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;">“215 million women around the world do not have access to contraception.”—International Herald</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;">_____________________________________________________________________________________</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;">I heard a group of 14 year old boys talking about hand jobs today. That’s an awkward conversation to overhear. Especially when the realized I was within earshot and they started laughing in the way kids do when they know that a teacher overheard them say something inappropriate. I probably should have said something to them, but instead I thought it was funny and just laughed a little bit. I think the one I overheard was nervous or embarrassed as I was laughing because he twisted his pen until it split open. Ink sprayed all over his hands and face. I thought the whole scenario was comedic.<br />
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</div></div><div class="MsoNormal">I have been having a lot of nightmares lately. They started just before I went back to the states, and picked up speed in Erie. I have brought them back with me to the Philippines, and every night I try to dialogue with them as silently as possible so I can learn what they are trying to show me. </div><div class="MsoNormal">I’ve always had vivid dreams. My dreams direct me. They tell me where I will be going next and let me know when I’m in the right place. They give me guidance and strength, inspiration and vision. I have also always had nightmares. When I was little they used to scare me. I used to wake up before they had finished thinking once I opened my eyes they would disappear, but that was never the case. They would come back again and again until, like all things, it was their time to go. </div><div class="MsoNormal">It didn’t take long for me to learn that my nightmares were as valuable as my good dreams. My nightmares also gave me guidance and strength, inspiration and vision--if I gave them time to unravel themselves and respected them by contemplating the value of their images. I would see great suffering and abuse. People tormented not in their sleep, but when their eyes were open. People deliberately, sometimes strategically and sometimes chaotically, instilling pain in others. Some of these people took delight in their actions while others felt remorse but didn’t have the ability to stop. These dreams always left me exhausted and sad when I woke up, but they gave me a great gift. They minimized my fear, increased my empathy towards those suffering as well as those who were instilling the pain, and gave me places to go. They gave me something to work towards and made my good dreams great blessings. </div><div class="MsoNormal">Sometimes these nightmares were about friends and family members. These dreams were symbolic and were more difficult to decipher, but after too much practice interpreting their meanings they became easy to understand. In the past these were the dreams I could more easily respond to because I was closer to these people than to the people in my other nightmares. But, now, it’s different, and these are the dreams that are the hardest to handle due to the width of the oceans.</div><div style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.5pt; border: none; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;">Lately, the nightmares have come back. And while they do not scare me, they worry me. I wish there was something I could do. I need to remember that their attempts to haunt me bring me insights and wisdom and new visions for the future, and for this I am grateful.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=8432004158087726062&postID=6766330676610203421" name="_GoBack"></a></div></div></div>Kaitlin McGarveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17040686723058308568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8432004158087726062.post-83253349519307664022011-12-02T19:26:00.000-08:002011-12-02T19:26:10.826-08:00good people<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="" name="_GoBack"></a>I haven’t written in a while. I’m not sure why. I just haven’t felt like it. But, something in the last two days has made me want to write again. I don’t have anything specific that inspired this nor do I have anything in particular to write, but I do have a few reflections that were inspired after reading another pcv’s most recent blog. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I’ve now been in the Philippines for a while. I’ve still got a while to go, so my perceptions of the Philippines may change drastically in that time. With that in mind I’m going to start a thought and we’ll see where it takes me. I may or may not talk about the Philippines, but if this post finds itself there then just keep in mind I have no idea what I’m really talking about.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I was reading Rechael’s blog and realized something I rarely think about. I think a lot here, and for a while I thought my mind had flirted with every issue out there. Luckily, Rachael’s words hit me with a topic I don’t think much about, which is strange because it’s something significant and something that seems obvious.</div><div class="MsoNormal">She recently went back to the U.S. and spent a day talking to high school students about her time here. She said in that moment she realized that she had taken for granted the fact that not everyone does the Peace Corps. My life here has become my life. Often the days seem mundane and predictable. The food here has become normal, the weather has become normal, the languages have become normal, my work has become normal, cultural differences have become normal…things that may seem exciting to someone who isn’t here have become normal to me, which makes me forget not everyone knows about life here and not everyone gets the chance to live in another country for two years. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">By no means has this been an easy time or a time that has left me completely happy or with feelings of fulfillment, but it is a time I am very grateful for. It is a time I have been taken into a stranger’s home and have been made family. It is a time I have learned to depend on myself, forgive myself, and realize I don’t want to be by myself throughout future journeys. It is a time God and I have been in tension, a time when I have found peace with the universe, and a time I have felt both completely hopeless and ecstatic for the future and the good humanity can do for each other. It is a time I have had to learn to show respect and hold my tongue, as well as a time I have learned it’s important not to compromise myself and continue to fight for what is right. It is a time I have tried to help. A time I have tried to listen and learn and love. It has been a time filled with a lifetime of experiences. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I will introduce you to a few of my favorite over these past several months.</div><div class="MsoNormal">First, my host family. Something was looking out for me when they brought me to this family. I don’t know how to describe them in a way that would do them justice. I will start with my host sisters. Rachel is shy when you first meet her, but once she warms up to you you see her personality is filled with strength, love, beauty and humor. She is one of the funniest people I have ever met. She is humble and smart. No matter how bad my day was or how frustrated I am about something, when I talk to her or when she smiles I feel so much better. It’s as if the day was looking out for me and knew I needed something bright. As I said she is very smart as well as incredibly artistic, however she doesn’t see these things about herself. She loves ghost stories and adventure movies. She likes to read and when she reads she takes notes about everything she has read. She just finished reading a book on how to become successful. One of the steps said to smile when you wake up, so now she smiles every morning when she wakes up. I hope success finds her. She is a great cook and dreams of opening a restaurant. She is full of dreams and holds onto those dreams. Currently she runs a little store that sells school supplies and spends her Sunday mornings teaching Sunday school. She is open minded and progressive and keeps me from being lonely. We can talk about anything without judgment, and while we might be different we understand each other without any effort. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Marife, or Ping, is full of life and energy. She is currently at college studying elementary education, and I have no doubt she will make an incredible teacher. She is creative and patient. She is always willing to try something new and embraces life without fear. She hears of something and she tries it and she does it. Things come natural for her, but she is a perfectionist and never underappreciates the time and work someone has put into something. She loves telling jokes, and always has very animated stories to share. She is eager to learn anything and everything she can. She listens closely and puts a lot of consideration into what others have told her. She enjoys plants vs zombies and swimming. She is resourceful and can make art out of anything. She will be able to achieve anything she tries, and luckily has many interests so will try many things. She is also very open minded and responds to me without critique.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My host mom, Gine, is very kinds and very loving. I remember one Saturday afternoon both my host sisters were doing something else so it was just my host parents and I. I told my host mom a story about something that happened to me and she started to cry and just told me she was so sorry that that thing happened. I knew in that moment that she looked at me as if I were her own daughter. She is hard working and loves her daughters. She likes to laugh at her daughters and is the reason her daughters don’t judge. My host mom doesn’t participate in the typical chika, rather she listens to all sides of any story and only takes something seriously if it comes from a credible source (I write this because it is rare here). She accepts my oddities, and seems to even find them entertaining. She helps anyone and everyone she can with anything they need. She laughs and talks a lot, and finds great joy in her flowers. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My host dad, Pio, is a very good person to be a part of my life here. Many of my interactions with men here are less than positive, but my host dad is one of the greatest men I have ever met. He loves his family dearly, and treats his wife and daughters with great respect. He is always working and making improvements to the house, trike, or fields. He is more quiet than my host mom, but he is sarcastic which is a rare joy here. Despite not finishing high school he is very very intelligent and teaches me something new daily. He, as with the rest of my host family, has great patience with me. He is always looking out for me and ensures that I am okay. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">One girl who has shared many moments of laughter with me is a five year old girl in town. I don’t know her real name because every time I see her she tells me her name is something like “chocotops” (a popular snack here) or “skittles.” Whenever I see her she sings the Scooby doo song in tagalog, searches my purse for gum, takes pictures with my camera. She cracks me up and no one ever seems to be worried that she’s alone in the town plaza. I haven’t ever met any of her family members, but she is a spunky little girl. I once saw her punch some boy about two times her size in the nose. I gave her another piece of gum.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My host mom’s grandma just recently turned 88. She’s the closest thing to an angel I’ve ever met. She’s forgetful these days, but she never forgets me or my dog. Her English is impeccable. She has shared stories with me about the occupation of the Japanese and the horrors she and her family endured. Looking at her you would never know the pain she suffered. She is always smiling. She is loved by everyone and possesses elegance only someone who gives that much love could have. She admired a bracelet I was given in Jordan, so I gave it to her on her birthday. She was astounded and told me she would wear it then walk up and down the street saying “see this? This is from the American Kaitlin. Do you know America?” Then she laughed and said people would think she was crazy but she didn’t care cause she had a bracelet. She told me this maybe 20 + times and is now a joke among the entire family. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I love my students. All of them. They have opened up to me and accepted me and shared their lives with me. I’m hoping to make a documentary about them because there is no way I could do them justice with my words. You need to see them and hear their words. We have been able to challenge each other and help each other grow. I hope that they are all able to achieve the lives they currently dream of.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My counterpart, Maryann, has been a blessing. Without her most of my work would never happen. She loves her students and really cares about their personal lives and how they are doing. She is a strong woman who has endured a lot. The strength of her faith is astounding to me considering some of the things that are a part of her life. She is forgiving and always willing to love. She has given me the chance to get to know her beautiful daughters.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">There are two boys who live on the street in alaminos (the city where I get internet). I once gave the apples and now every time they see me they ask me for apples instead of money. The oldest is 8 and the younger one is 4. They are adorable and always laugh. They really like when they ask me for apples but instead I give them chocolate snacks. When I’m at the ATM they pretend to be my bodyguards. They think it’s hilarious. I think they just like the fact that when the guards yell at them to move away from the ATM I say it’s okay. It’s probably the only time they get to defy authority. Even if I have no food to give them they will still run over to me just to talk and tell me a story. I wish I could adopt them. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Ma’am Emelda is my host dad’s sister. She is the pastor’s wife of the church my host family goes to. She symbolizes grace. She is thoughtful and is always willing to give her time to others. She takes anyone in no matter who they are or where they come from. She once brought me an orchid out of the blue just to say thank you for teaching her son and living here. She also shows great gratitude and really appreciates anything someone gives her no matter how small it may seem. She listens to people and wants to help everyone she can. She is the only Filipina I’ve met who has adopted a child. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Ma’am Jaina has invited me into her home numerous times and has allowed me to get close to her family. She is the leader of the women who work for Beads For A Cause. I met her through her daughter who is one of my students, and since then we have been working together to sell her products. She is innovative, creative, and dedicated. Nothing stops her or gets in her way, which is proof of the love she has for her family. She wants her children to be healthy and have opportunities, and she is willing to work to ensure that happens no matter what that means. She is always happy. She is honest and she loves God. She has faith that God will provide for her family, but she understands that for the manifestation of that provision she needs to be proactive. She is a leader. She is humble. She is giving many people hope. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p>i'm grateful for good people</o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div></div>Kaitlin McGarveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17040686723058308568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8432004158087726062.post-42616873138804775692011-11-12T17:59:00.000-08:002011-11-12T17:59:30.827-08:00Paulo's magic words<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There is a woman visiting Anda right now. She is the daughter of the woman whose house I stayed in for my first three months here. She works for the Red Cross and has been on missions all over the world including Pakistan and Sudan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This woman, Gema, is a breath of fresh and someone I’m grateful to have met.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She brought a couple books with her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Three of which are written by Paulo Coelho, who is an author I greatly admire. I don’t know if the mechanics of his writing are anything profound, although this may be that I’m only reading the English translations of his work, but his stories, characters and remarks on spiritualty, religion, magic, the unknown, wisdom, love, and knowledge are all things I greatly admire and find refreshing, just like Gema’s visit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I know it’s sort of trendy to read Coelho these days, but this week as I read two of his books for the first time and re-read the Alchemist it felt like he was writing me personal letters as his words are words my soul had been trying to hear through dialogue with forces that have left me feeling alone. That probably sounds cliché after hearing that I’ve read Coehlo, but Im okay with that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here are some of my favorite parts of my time with Coehlo this week:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><u>The Author’s Note in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept</i></u><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">:</i><u></u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“A Spanish missionary was visiting an island when he came across three Aztecpriests.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>‘How do you pray?’ the missionary asked.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>‘We have only one prayer.’ Answered one of the Aztecs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>‘We say, God , you are three, we are three. Have pity on us.’</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>‘A beautiful prayer,’ said the missionary. ‘But it is not exactly the one that God heeds. I’m going to teacher you one that’s much better.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The priest taught them a Catholic prayer and then continued on his path of evangelism. Years later, when he was returning to Spain, his ship stopped again at the island.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From the deck, the missionary saw the three priests on the shore and waved to them.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Just then, the three men began to walk across the water toward him.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>‘Padre! Padre!” one of them called, approaching the ship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>‘Teach us again that prayer that God heeds. We’ve forgotten how it goes.’</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>‘It doesn’t matter,’ responded the missionary, witnessing the miracle and promptly asked God’s forgiveness for failing to recognize that He speaks all languages.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This story illustrates just what this book is about. Rarely dowe realize that we are in the midst of the extraordinary. Miracles occur all around us, signs from God show us the way, angels plead to be heard, but we pay little attention to them because we have been taught that we must follow certain formulas and rules if we want to find God. We do not recognize that God is wherever we allow Him/Her to enter.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Traditional religious practices are important: they allow us to share withothers the communal experience of adoration and prayer. But we must never forget that spiritual experience is above all a practical experience of love. and with love, there are no rules.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some may try to control their emotions and develop strategies for their beahvoir; others may turn to reading books for advice from ‘experts’ on relationships—but this is all folly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The heart decides and what it decides is all that really matters…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>For in every love lies the seed of our growth. The more we love, the closer we come to spiritual experience. Those who are truly enlightened, those whose souls are illuminated by love, have been able to overcome all inhibitions and preconceptions of their era.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have been able to sing, to laugh, and to pray out loud; hey have danced and shared what Saint Paul called ‘the madness of saintliness.’ They have been joyful—because those who love conquer the world and have no dear of loss. True love is an act of total surrender… sooner or later, we have to overcome our fears, because the spiritual path can only be traveled through the daily experience of love.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Thomas Merton once said that the spiritual life is essentially to love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One doesn’t love in order to do what is good or to help r to protect someone. If we act that way, we are perceiving the other as a simple object, and we are seeing ourselves as wise and generous persons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This has nothing to do with our love. to love is to be in communion with the other and to discover in that other the spark of God…”—Paulo Coehlo</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Sometimes an uncontrollable feeling of sadness grips us, he said. We recognize that the magic of the moment of the day has passed and that we’ve done nothing about it. Life begins to conceal its magic and its art.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We have to listen to the child we once were, the child who still exists inside us. That child understands magic moments. We can stifle its cries, but we cannot silence its voice…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If we are not reborn—if we cannot learn to look at lie with the innocence and enthusiasm of childhood—it makes no sense to go on living…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We must allow this child to take the reins of our lives. The child knows that each day is different from every other day…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Remember the human wisdom is madness in the eyes of God. But if we listen to the child who lives in our soul, our eyes will grow bright. If we do not lose contact with that child, we will not lose contact with life.”--<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept<u></u></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“ ‘You had that wrong’ he said. ‘A person who goes in search of God is wasting his time. He can walk a thousand roads and join many religions and sects—but he’ll never find god that way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>God is right here, right now, at our side. We can see Him in this mist, in the ground we’re walking on, even in my shoes. His angels keep watch while we sleep and help us in our work. In order to find God, you have only to look around.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But meeting Him is not easy. The more God asks us to participate in His mysteries, the more disoriented we become because He asks us constantly to follow our dreams and our hearts. And that’s difficult to do when we’re used to living in a different way.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Finally we discover, to our surprise, that God wants us to be happy, because He is the father..and the mother’ “--<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept<u></u></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“ ‘I just want t say one thing to you,’ she said. ‘Don’t bother trying to explain your emotions. Live everything as intensely as you can and keep whatever you felt as a gift from God. If you think that you won’t be able to stand a world in which living is more important than understanding, then give up magic now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The best way to destroy the bridge between the visible and the invisible is by trying to explain your emotions.’ “—<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Brida</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“‘But the path of magic—like the path of life—is and always will be the path of Mystery. Learning something means coming into contact with a world of which you know nothing. In order to learn, you must be humbles.’”—<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Brida</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></i>“’Right now, while we’re here eating, ninety-nince percent of the people in this planet are, in their own way, struggling with that very questions. Why are wee here? Many think they’ve found the answer in religion or in materialism. Other despair and spend their lives and their money trying to grasp the meaning of it all. a few let the question go unanswered and live for the moment, regardless<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of the results or the consequences.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Only the brave and those who understand the Traditions of the Sun and the Moon are aware that the only possible answer to the question is I DON’T KNOW.’” –<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Brida</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“’ We don’t look for an answer, we accept, and then life becomes much more intense, much more brilliant, becase we understand that each minute, each step that we take, has a meaning that goes far beyond us as individuals. We realize that somewhere in time and space this question does have an answer. We realize that there is a reason for us being here, and for us, that is enough…and we surrender ourselves full to each moment, knowing that there is always a hand to guide us, and whether we accept it or not is entirely up to us.’”—<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Brida</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“So, why is it so important to live our personal calling if we are only going to suffer more than other people?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Because, once we have overcome the defeats—and we always do—we are filled by a graet sense of euphoria and confidence. In the silence of our hearts, we know that we are proving ourselves worthy of the miracle of life. Each day, each hour, is part of the good fight. We start to live with enthusiasm and pleasure. “—Coelho</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“’Dreams are the language of God. When he speaks in our language, I can interpret what he has said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But if he speaks in the language of the soul, it is only you who can understand.’”—<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Alchemist</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“’It’s [Personal Legend] what you have always wanted to accomplish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone, when they are young, knows what their Personal Legend is.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>At that point in their lives, everything is clear and everything is possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are not afraid to dream, and to yearn for everything they would like to see happen to them in their lives. But, as time passes, a mysterious force begins to convince them tht it will be impossible for them to realize their Personal Legend.’”--<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Alchemist</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“’There is one great truth on this planet: whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when you really want something, it’s because that desire originated in the soul of the universe. It’s your mission on earth.”--<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Alchemist</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></i>“’To realize a one’s destiny is a person’s only real obligation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All things are one.”--<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Alchemist</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></i>“’Everything on earth is being continuously transformed, because the earth is alive…and it has a soul. We are part of that soul, so we rarely recognize that it is working for us. “--<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Alchemist</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></i>“’The secret is here in the present. If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it. And, if you improve on the present, what comes later will also be better. Forget about the future, and live each day according to the teachings, confident that God loves his children. Each day, in itself, brings with it an eternity.’”--<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Alchemist</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“’You must understand that love never keeps a man from pursuing his Personal legend. If he abandons that pursuit, it’s because it wasn’t true love…the love that speaks the Language of the World.’”--<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Alchemist</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“’Wherever your heart is, that is where you’ll find your treasure.’”--<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Alchemist</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></i>“’Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search si a second’s encounter with God and with eternity.’”--<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Alchemist</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“’It [The Soul of the World] said that all people who are happy have God within them. And that happiness could be found in a grain of sand from the desert, as the alchemist had said. Because a gain of sand is a moment of creation, and the universe has taken millions of years to create it.’”--<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Alchemist</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></i>“The boy reached through to the Soul of the World, and saw that it was a part of the Soul of God. And he saw that the Soul of God was his own soul. And that he, a boy, could perform miracles.”--<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Alchemist</i></span><a href="" name="_GoBack"></a></div></div>Kaitlin McGarveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17040686723058308568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8432004158087726062.post-20441484263013231242011-10-06T23:58:00.001-07:002011-10-07T00:00:23.605-07:00but i couldn't turn my back<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">i can't stop listening to this song:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoRNfpvWhwQ&NR=1</div><br />
actually i don't know how to post it, but look it up on youtube. it's called "Blackberry Stone" by Laura Marling<br />
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</div>Kaitlin McGarveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17040686723058308568noreply@blogger.com0