I don't usually read forwarded emails...

but I'm glad I read this one. Just thought I'd pass it on a little more:

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: "NEVER UNDERESTIMATE YOUR POWER TO CHANGE YOURSELF...AND, NEVER 0VERESTIMATE YOUR POWER TO CHANGE OTHERS."
The Japanese monkey, Macaca Fuscata, has been observed in the wild for over 40 years. In 1952, on the island of Koshima, scientists started feeding the monkeys by dropping sweet potatoes in the sand. While the monkeys liked the taste of the potatoes, they didn't like the
sand.
An 18-month-old female named Imo found she could solve the problem by washing the potatoes in a nearby stream. She taught this trick to her mother and to her playmates, who also taught their mothers. Over a period of several years, all the young monkeys on the island learned to wash the sandy sweet potatoes to make them more palatable.
But only the adults who imitated the children learned this trick. Other adults kept eating the sandy sweet potatoes. Then something startling took place. In the autumn of 1958, a certain number of Koshima monkeys were washing their sweet potatoes-nobody knows how many. For the sake of the story, let's suppose that when the sun rose one morning there were 99 monkeys on Koshima Island who had learned to wash their sweet potatoes. Let's further suppose that later that morning, a hundredth monkey learned to wash the potatoes.
That's when it happened. The additional energy of this hundredth monkey seemed to create an ideological breakthrough for the entire species. By that evening, nearly every monkey in the tribe was washing their sweet potatoes before eating them. But that's not all. The most surprising thing observed by the scientists was that the habit of washing sweet potatoes somehow jumped overseas. Soon colonies of monkeys on other islands, and the mainland troop of monkeys at Takasakiyama were also washing their sweet potatoes!
Although the exact number may vary, the "Hundredth Monkey Phenomenon" means that when a limited group has a certain realization, it remains the conscious property of that few. But, at a certain point of "critical mass", when just one more mind tunes-in to the new idea, the field is exponentially strengthened, and the awareness is picked up by almost everyone.

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." -Mahatma Ghandi

change of plans

Right. Well, I found out this weekend that it's not as affordable for my family to send me abroad as I thought. And my dad realized (for the millionth time) that I only need three more classes to graduate. So I'm not going to Ireland next year. I'll be in Columbia, graduate in December, and hopefully move to Germany for the remainder of the year and be able to travel around.

I'm kinda bummed right now. Yesterday I was excited about it. Either way, it takes a lot of stress out of the next month. Only problem is I need a place to live. So if you know anyone who's got something small from August to December, hook me up, please? I think I could live in Preston as long as I tell them by Friday, but I'd really like my own space that I can kick everyone else out of.
No, I'm really really bummed out about this. I've been planning for Ireland for the last two years! Dad keeps saying it's feasible, we can totally make this happen, I can go, but it really is a pain to do it. There's tons of paperwork and I'd be afraid things wouldn't come back for graduation... I know that I'm making the right decision, but...

I started running away from all these unknowns where I couldn't make decisions because I was waiting on someone else to make them for me, and now I have to make tons of big decisions ultra fast and not when everyone else is making similar ones... ::pout::

So, things are really moving on the trip to Africa. We've applied for visas. I'm getting the paperwork for the course finished this week. I've asked to have the last 3o hours rule waved, and it's been approved by several important people. Good things.
I got an email the yesterday from Limerick, too. I haven't officially been accepted, but it looks good. Any thing's better than nothing.

I guess I've been feeling like this blog should be a space for my travel plans only, but I guess that's unrealistic. Once I'm in Ireland there won't be much to say. Maybe it's time to start really blogging. So... here goes?

First, welcome to my friends from Columbia Quaker meeting... if you're out there...
One of the things I've been struggling with in general but particularly in the last few weeks has been the concept of idealism. My friend David is a self-defined pragmatist, and while he shares a lot of my core values, doesn't share my vision of what the world ought to be by the time we leave it. He's a "small government libertarian." He believes in the American Dream. He doesn't understand my persistent hope that socialism could work. He doesn't care to wonder if people are inherently good.
I used to think I was brave for believing in things others thought impossible. Now I wonder if I'm not just hiding behind that facade. I admit it. I am incapable of living out the life I'd hope for. Or maybe I'm just unwilling to live it. Are my trips to Africa and Mexico, my work in community service, my talk of social justice really nothing more than overcompensation?
David and I ask different questions, I guess. But, all the same, I realize that I have a need for that idealistic vision. Maybe this is why going to Meeting has been such a comfort to me. A lot of churches talk a big game about how we ought to act, but they're so afraid of politics (and, I think, justly so) that they don't actually take action as a group. Meeting is a place where we share information about political rallies, peace walks, and attempts to take humanitarian aid to Cuba. What is it about that space that is different? What allows for that idealism? Or rather, what necessitates it?

I'm still processing the events at Virginia Tech this week. I'd like to write about it, but I'm not ready. Maybe a little later?
Tired now...

approved!

I found out yesterday that I will receive $1,600 of funding from the Dobson program! YAY!

I stole the ITN's heart!

I went to the health department this morning to get my immunizations. You can tell how excited I was about it.

I discovered a couple things. One is that it must be very dangerous to visit the rest of the world, because they make you get a LOT of shots. Okay, I already knew that part. But it makes me wonder what people have to get shots for to come here from Africa. It seems to me that most of the things we worry about aren't really the kinds of things you can get shots for, like the common cold? And I'm sure we haven't tamed the new world so much that there aren't dangerous things about our landscape... hmm... kinda makes me wish i were a true public health person... Not really, though. I'd probably be scared all the time.

Another thing is that it must be very lonely to work in the health department. No one there seemed very friendly, but if you mentioned something you had even slightly in common with the nurses, they couldn't stop gushing. The international travel nurse told me I stole her heart when I said I was from Clemson. I didn't even say I was a tigers fan! (and don't get any ideas. I am not a tigers fan.) Most of the people there this morning were there to see the international travel nurse (let's call her ITN from now on--that's a long name!), but a few came in asking questions about general immunizations. About half of them, I inferred from their questions about forms, couldn't read. They looked exhausted. And it seems to me that if you worked in that office, your job would never end. There are always sick people, always people looking for help. The ITN said she never gets to go anywhere strange for vacation because she doesn't have time (and also grandchildren, but that's another story). She was so content about it, though. She said it wouldn't do any good for her to go try to do that work in Africa, but if she could make sure I wouldn't get sick while I was there, she was doing her part, and she felt like she got to go everywhere, just by listening to peoples' stories... huh... Food for Thought. I don't have the patience to do that, though. Not yet, maybe?

The Richland County Health Department (I cannot speak to other areas because I have no experience) is also very, very, very hard to find, even though it is only 1.6 miles from my dormitory door, according to mapquest. There is a complex of three buildings, which hold countless county offices, and you can't walk through any of the offices or buildings to get to the other ones. You have to walk all the way around to the other side. Which is really fun when it's 9:15, your appointment was at 9, you left at 8 (to be sure you had enough time--which, by the way, meant waking up at seven, a very unfriendly hour to college students), and it's pouring down rain. It wasn't my mistake, either. I even called the office to ask them where to go when I got lost, and I parked in the exact spot they told me to. I even asked to make sure once I finally found the office, and they said, "Yep, you parked in our visitor's spots!" You would think they could at least put up a sign with an arrow or something.

I hope I don't sound grumpy. But I am very tired and my shoulders are sore from--I think she said--Yellow Fever, HepA, and HepB shots (plus more I can't remember) and then getting punched in the shoulder by people who didn't know. Why is it that people always seem to punch you on the one day in the last seven years when you got a shot or four or seven?

Dobson Update

I still cannot believe the incredible outpouring of support I've been receiving. Thank you so much.

I met with the Dobson Volunteer program on Thursday to give them a better idea of what we'll be doing in Magoye, and beg them to please give me money. I think it went well. Several people told me they wished they could come along, which makes me feel like I made it seem like the interesting and well-planned trip that it is. I should find out next week whether I got the funding or not. Wish me luck.

I also turned in my official application to study abroad on Friday. They said I shouldn't have a problem getting in, but I am a little nervous about getting accepted as a special student at Limerick. But also very, very excited. I got to my appointment early, and just sat around reading a travel book while I waited. There are so many cool things to see and so little time to see them in.

I've been a little sad lately that these are my last few months with my friends at Carolina, but they're being really good at keeping me in the moment. I got some unexpected good news last week, though: I will have visitors over Christmas break! My friends Sarah and Jay are planning a Great Britain and Ireland tour, and asked if I would show them around western Ireland. I told them, "only if you show me around London." (I had been dreading trying to navigate London alone or with relative strangers) Hopefully they'll come at a good time so I can spend lots and lots of time with them.

THANK YOU

I got a phone call from Pastor Chris today, saying he has already received a lot of checks with my name on them for our trip so I absolutely can go. YAY! I hope that also means that someone's out there checking my blog (yeah, I know I haven't posted much exciting stuff yet, but I'm trying...), even though I haven't heard anything from you guys. Please, feel free to leave comments, even if you don't have an account. Actually, more than "feel free." I'd love to hear from you, to know that you're keeping up with me. I'm pretty sure you can leave them as "anonymous" and sign your name at the bottom so I know who to reply to.

I turned in my application for Dobson Funding. I still can't figure out if this is a USC-only thing or not, but either way, they give a matching grant for USC students participating in longer-term community service projects. Dobson is one of the few places that actually encourages working with faith-based initiatives and organizations. So we'll see how that goes. It'd be nice to get half the money right-off like that. It'll make going to Ireland much easier.

I also got an appointment to get my immunizations. So be thinking of me on 21 February. My arm will be sore, but I'll be hyped.

Well, responsibilities call--got lots of homework to get done this weekend.