One Semester Down, Decompressing in Colorado

Final papers, hours and hours spent at the library, procrastinating and wasting time mindlessly browsing the internet, listening to music and trying to find anything to do but finish said final papers. That was pretty much the story of the last few weeks. It's now a few days before Christmas and I'm in Colorado, relieved to be done with my first semester of graduate school. I'm anxiously waiting to hear back on the grades for three out of my four classes as I sit here at my mom's house, exhausted. My friend Nik flew out to New York City and we drove to Colorado with my dogs. The trip went really well, car had no issues, dogs pretty much slept the whole time, and we only made one long stop, for a two hour nap at a rest stop. 34 hours or so to drive from NYC to Denver, pretty impressive if I do say so myself. Glad it's over though, my body hurts from being in a vehicle so long.

I'm looking forward to spending the next couple of weeks catching up and relaxing with family and friends, decompressing, and recharging before I head back to NYC in early January. It feels good to be home, now to see about relaxing. :)

Brooklyn

Here's a few pictures I took a couple of weeks ago in Brooklyn when I had some friends visiting from Colorado.

Trying not to lose my mind...

Aside from Phnom Penh, I've never lived in a large city before and certainly not one even close to being as large as NYC. This city has a lot of ups and downs but has really been wearing on me lately. The noise, the people, the general hustle and bustle, it's all been contributing to a stressful past few weeks. As the semester winds down, as I scramble to finish readings, study for quizzes and prepare final papers, I find myself very much looking forward to spending a couple of weeks in Colorado during the winter break. It will be nice to spend time with friends and family, to be near the mountains, to enjoy the fresh air and quiet, and to relax a bit before my second semester begins.

I've been meaning to write a longer blog post but I don't have much time. I need to get back to reading and studying.

Awesome Video - Genki Sudo + OWS

I posted this on Facebook so most of my friends and acquaintances will hopefully see it but I figured I'd share it on my blog as well. This is such an amazing video and song. :)


Also, just saw this video via a friend on Facebook and loved it, hahaha. Brilliant!

Photos - Occupy Wall Street, WTC Construction

Still working on getting my act together as far as blog posts go but thought I'd put up a few pics I took a couple of nights ago. After class a friend and I wandered down towards Ground Zero (if we can still call it that?) to take a few pictures. Of course we ended up at Zucotti Park as well and I took a couple of pictures while we walked by.

Occupy Wall Street, Worries, Fears - First Encounter Thoughts

I haven’t written on my blog in quite a while and I still need to get my final blog post up about the Kenya trip but I wanted to write about this particular topic while it’s ‘fresh’ in my mind and I suppose in the minds of anyone who pays attention to current events. The ‘Occupy Wall Street’ protests, or movement, began a few weeks back and being a current resident of New York City, I had to get down there to check things out. The protests had been going on for probably a week and a half or two weeks before we made it down so I’d had plenty of opportunities to read news articles, opinions on facebook, blog posts, and the media’s variety of coverage on OWS.

Last Friday I was in the downtown area to meet with my advisor and afterwards I wandered in the direction of the World Trade Center where I planned to wait for my girlfriend and a friend before we went in search of the protests. Being unfamiliar with the downtown area and not really knowing where I was going or where Wall Street was, I walked right into Zuccotti Park and the main group of protesters on accident. I had my headphones on but my attention was drawn to the loud beat of drums and I looked up to see a crowd formed around some musicians and a group of young men dancing. Admittedly, it took a few minutes to register that I had found the protesters. I started noticing signs, flags, a variety of political t-shirts, tarps, and as I began walking around more, laptops, cameras, tarps, tents, air mattresses, and enthusiastic people opening up to anyone willing to listen. I stood off to the side of the park for a while, taking things in and it wasn’t long before I was approached by a young man, maybe a few years younger than me, who asked if I’d sign a petition in support of a single payer healthcare system for New York. I’m cool with that so I signed his petition and chatted with him for a minute, and then wandered further up the sidewalk along the park. The further ‘up’ I went, the louder it got and the more signs I saw. I also started to notice a number of reporters and news vans around and even a lady who appeared to be ‘dressed up’ as Sarah Palin, interviewing protesters. I checked out some artwork on the corner and continued to people watch. I noticed economist Jeffrey Sachs standing a few feet away talking to some of the protesters and a couple of reporters. I had to do a double take but later confirmed that it was him. In my Global Civil Society course we’ve reviewed some articles by Sachs on development and aid and his work has come up in a couple of my other classes.

I eventually met up with Hanna and Erica at the other end of the park and we walked towards the center of the park where Sachs conversed with a number of protesters via the ‘human microphone’ method. We listened for a bit, took a few pictures, and wandered around some more. We didn’t spend much time there but I observed enough to know that sometime soon, I’d like to go back with my camera, take more pictures, and talk with some of the protesters (perhaps my first foray into journalism?). Here’s some of what I noticed and some of my thoughts on what I witnessed: A variety of flags, from pink and rainbow heart designs declaring love for all and peace to red flags with Che Guevara’s likeness, upside down American flags, flags with whatever message the creator was trying to portray. Signs, cardboard, poster board, notebook paper, posters, drawings, cartoons, caricatures, hastily scrawled messages of anger, frustration, calls for justice, demands for jobs, frustration with Obama and other elected officials, support for universal health care, ending the multiple wars we are currently engaged in, protecting the environment, ending global warming, and so on and so forth. I also saw a number of signs and t-shirts expressing support for presidential candidate Ron Paul, which I found rather interesting. I didn’t get a chance but the next time I certainly will, but I wanted to ask some of the Ron Paul supporters about their thoughts on other protestors’ calls for universal health care, free education, student loan debt relief, etc. A part of me wanted to laugh at the irony but my idealistic side found appreciation in the diversity of these protesters, in the fact that though many have called them disorganized, delusional, and misguided, there were a lot of different people from different ends of the political spectrum putting their differences aside to basically tell Wall Street and the world, they are pissed off with the way things are and they want change. Real change I’d imagine, not the bullshit many were sold on three years ago.

I admit I had my doubts and misgivings at a lot of what I witnessed, due to a lot of mixed messages, a number of messages that seemed rather foolish, and perhaps misguided anger. Quite a few people seemed to be there with what some would call rather generic messages of "end all wars", "save the planet" and I can understand some of the criticisms of the lack of coherence or direction. People in support of bigger government, mixed in with people in support of ending the fed, Ron Paul supporters, people with signs praising Obama, a lot of it threw me off and that's why I'd like to spend more time down there and ask questions, get a better feel for what people are thinking, etc.

As someone who’s had difficulty finding a job over the past few months, I can sympathize with those who are coming out of college or graduate school and are unable to find work. There are plenty of jobs available, argue some of my friends. There may be jobs available in a number of fields but some of us either just aren’t qualified for those jobs or we just aren’t getting hired. As someone who’s applied for hundreds of jobs over the past few months and only landed three interviews with no job offers, again I can sympathize. The same friends who argue about all these available jobs say that people shouldn’t go to school to get ‘worthless degrees’ or should go learn practical skills in order to get jobs in skilled labor. As someone who tries to remain realistic and firmly grounded, I can appreciate that more people need to be willing to go into blue collar jobs, skilled labor, and jobs that will help our infrastructure and economy to grow. I have applied for jobs in manual labor, jobs that have nothing to do with my education, entry level jobs in a variety of fields and done my best to express to potential employers that I am willing to do almost any type of work and that I am not ‘above’ or ‘too good’ for the jobs that some may turn their nose up at. I’ve considered pursuing a number or qualifications and skills in order to make my resume more practical and diverse all while trying to keep my goals and dreams in mind and focus on my studies. These cost money of course and given the cost of my current degree program, it might be best for me not to take on any more debt. People are quick to call the protesters lazy and tell them there are plenty of jobs available and it’s very easy to criticize when you have a job, when your industry hasn’t suffered as many cuts. Is the U.S.A. not supposed to be the land of opportunity? Why criticize and make fun of those who can’t find jobs in the fields they’ve put years of study and work into? I don’t appreciate free loaders or those who abuse the system but when qualified, educated people are unable to find work, why bash them?

Sure I’d be as cynical as anyone if I had a friend pursuing a higher education in underwater basket weaving but isn’t part of the American dream (if it still exists) being able to pursue your dreams, to do what makes you happy and make a living? I admit I was moved by Mike Rowe’s (host of Dirty Jobs) message on CNN i-report about how there are a few hundred thousand jobs in skilled labor that can’t be filled because there just aren’t people with those skills. Yes, we need people with more diverse and ‘practical’ skills but when millions of Americans are out of work and unable to find jobs, EVERYONE should be concerned. Whether you believe that unemployment is the often touted 9 percent or as high as 15-16 percent, American citizens should be concerned and more sympathetic.

When I sat at my cousin’s graduation earlier this year and watched hundreds of graduate students receiving their diplomas at the University of Denver, the majority of which were in International Studies, Psychology, Sociology, etc. the question ‘what the hell are these people going to do now?’ kept running through my head, a great thought given that I had just recently decided to pursue my M.S. in Global Affairs at New York University and would be starting in three months. My misgivings and second thoughts about whether this expensive degree program is a smart move have continued as I’ve applied for jobs and heard nothing back, as I’ve watched the progression of the angry, unemployed masses at Occupy Wall Street and as I’ve tried to picture the knowledge I’m currently acquiring evolving into a future career. I’ve considered looking into the possibility of pursuing a dual degree, pairing my MS with a Masters in Public Health (in hopes that the practicality and diversity will offset the costs in the long term), I’ve considered pursuing an EMT certification, trying to land a job with a construction company and pick up some more hands on skills, learn to use some different equipment, and even the possibility of going back into the military as an officer, though I have my misgivings and anticipate an ideological struggle in that option.

I have always been good at adapting and adjusting to changing conditions and I know I’ll figure things out eventually. While I will hold on to my cynicism, realism and my constant questioning, I will still have sympathy and concern for those who (provided they are putting forth the effort) are unable to find work or get by in these increasingly tough times.

As mentioned above, I hope to get down to the protests again soon and do some more ‘investigating'. In the meanwhile, here's a cartoon I borrowed from a friend on facebook that I found pretty relevant:

http://i.imgur.com/FIZuV.png

Thanks for reading, more to come!

Two Weeks in Kenya, Part 2

Ok I've procrastinated long enough on writing this blog post and seeing as how I started my first semester of graduate school this week, I figure I better get this done before I get too busy.

At Fisherman's Camp we were a hundred feet or so from Lake Naivasha, which was beautiful, and we were surrounded by massive trees, which were full of monkeys and large, rather evil looking birds. I wandered around the camp site a bit, took a lot of pictures, and enjoyed the view of the lake from the dock. We enjoyed a delicious and nutritious meal of tuna sandwiches, peanut butter and nutella sandwiches, and chips. In the evening we hung out at the camp bar/restaurant and enjoyed a few beers. As I was getting up to hit the bathroom, an Australian traveler pointed out to me that a hippo had come up from the lake. I probably did a quadruple take as I stared at the massive gray beast moving around near the electric fence. I quietly made my way closer to the tent and viewed the animal while slightly hidden behind a tree. I was standing fifteen feet or so from a hippopotamus in the wild. The only thing separating me from this small car sized animal was a thin electric fence, maybe four and a half feet high. I stood and watched the hippo as it walked up to the fence, tested it a little bit, and then lay down in the dirt. I tried to take pictures but it was too dark and I didn't want to freak the hippo out with my flash. After watching it for about 10 or 15 minutes, I made my way back to the bar with a huge smile on my face. I probably haven't mentioned this on my blog but hippos are one of my favorite animals. :)

After a night of cramped, uncomfortable attempts at sleeping, We woke up early the next day, took a boat ride out onto Lake Naivasha and saw a group of wild hippos relaxing in the water. We couldn't get too close but it was pretty cool seeing hippos again in the wild. After the boat ride, we rented bikes from the camp site and rode a couple of miles to Hell's Gate National Park. Previously I had seen CTG’s pictures from Hell’s Gate and it had looked impressive but biking into the park in person, seeing sheer rock walls climbing hundreds of feet, fields of zebras, and just a vast, rugged but beautiful stretch of land in front of me, it was breath taking. We followed the dirt road through the park and rode past herds of zebras, warthogs, and gazelles as we made our way to the spot we’d be camping at for the night. After enjoying the ride to the site, taking a few hundred pictures, scarfing down some pb and chocolate sandwiches, we hopped back on our bikes and made our way to the Hell’s Gate gorge. On the way down to the road we spotted a giraffe wandering around amongst the zebras, so naturally I rode closer to take some pictures. Jordan and CTG rode ahead and when I got on my bike to catch up to them, I had one of the most amazing experiences of my life. As I was quickly pedaling down the road, a couple of zebras were crossing into the road. As they saw/heard me coming near, they stopped in the middle of the road, when I was about 20-30 feet away, they trotted out of the way. As I started to pass them, they both went into a full sprint, running in the grass next to the road, maybe 10 feet away from me. I rode next to these galloping wild zebras for close to a hundred feet before they turned off into the field. I can’t really find the words to accurately describe the feeling but I know that I had the biggest smile on my face and it just felt so surreal. It was definitely one of the most memorable moments, not only of the entire trip, but of my life.

Moving on from my amazing zebra race, I caught up to CTG and Jordan and we eventually arrived at the gorge entrance. The site, which consisted of some picnic tables, bathrooms and a ranger building or two, was crawling with large baboons. Baboons were constantly coming up to where people were, trying to snag a snack, then the rangers would chase them away, only to have them reappear soon after, a little further away. We spent a few hours walking down through smooth rock walls, streams, water falls, pools of water, past large groups of Kenyan school children, and multiple hot sulfur water streams dripping down from the tops of the canyon walls. The gorge was really nice and in spite of getting stuck in the middle of a few groups of kids trying to climb down the steeper ledges, we had a good time exploring. We made our way back to the camp site, slept the night, and woke up to a gorgeous sunrise peaking around the hills into the entrance of the park (look at the pictures!). On the way out of the park we saw water buffalo, more zebras, and warthogs trotting around in the grass.

From Hell’s Gate, we made our way back to Fisherman’s Camp, returned our bikes, and then made it to the city of Nakuru, after one bus and one matatu ride. In Nakuru we sampled more Kenyan cuisine, which mostly consisted of fried chicken, brown rice, and little fried, triangle shaped dumplings called samosas. It was pretty good and at the little café/restaurants, you get a lot of food for very little money. Cold cokes or sprites were almost always the beverage of choice. We set up a safari tour of Lake Nakuru and spent the evening relaxing in the hotel room. Early in the morning our guide picked us up in a small jeep like vehicle that kinda looked like a Suzuki Samurai and we made the 15 minute or so drive out of the city, towards the park. I’ll try to finish the last blog post about the Kenya trip as soon as possible. In the meanwhile, here are a few pictures from Fisherman's Camp and Hell’s Gate and if you haven’t looked at the Kenya photo albums, be sure to take a look!

Also, I changed the layout and the main picture on the blog. The pic I took in Nakuru on the way back from the park. I switched it to sephia on the camera and I thought it came out pretty good. Let me know what you think, thanks!