Ubuntu

With almost another year under my belt since the last entry, I have gained quite a bit more life experience. I've changed far more than I ever would have expected. Realizations and new perspectives have drastically changed the course of my life, maybe not quite enough for others to discern easily, but to me, that change has made a world of difference. At the moment I am a single, diversion-seeking young woman looking forward to new experiences in life. I've cut many of the ties that I had in the past which kept me from moving towards the life I've envisaged for myself, now allowing me to be a lot more honest and true to myself.

Of course there are things which have not changed in this year, such as my love for traveling and culture. My year was marked by two incredible trips out of the US: one to Mexico in March and the other in May all the way to South Africa. Mexico opened my eyes to all the obvious things: their culture, history, etc. Yet past all that I learned a valuable lesson in friendship and in making friends. Coming back home I had new friends, all of whom brought something important to the table, something which helped open my mind and mold it to new outlooks. One person in particular played an even more essential role in changing my life, although indirectly and probably unknown to him. Getting to know this person showed me that I needed to look for more from a partner than what I was being offered from the relationship I was in at the time, and had been in for awhile. Progressively, I took actions to ameliorate my life by cutting out the bad influences, i.e. my ex-boyfriend. All this came at a crucial time, just before my departure for South Africa.

Being able to travel to Africa, an entirely new continent and culture to me, as a person focused solely on herself is a gift that I cannot thank God enough for. From the get-go I was able to seek out adventure and experiences I would otherwise have not been open to had I been weighted down by the thoughts of another person. Socially, I grew as a result of the trip, as well as self-conciously (in a good way). From a different aspect, my time in South Africa also awarded me the opportunity of learning a great deal about a country and a people that I knew little about to begin with. My eyes were opened to the realities of social and economic oppression, as well as the concept of race as a major social issue. From the first day, arriving in Johannesburg, the legacy of Apartheid became apparent. Although abolished for the majority of my lifetime, the consequences this method of governing had still linger around nearly every corner. I've been back to the US for a little over a month now yet have continued my studies on these realities in South African society. The situation intrigues me from a humanistic standpoint. Being an individual raised to view other human beings in the same light as myself, I find it hard that at one point in time the South African government made race a legal deciding factor in the lifestyles of every one of its citizens (and every person who fell under its jurisdiction, since the majority of the residents of SA during Apartheid were not considered legitimate citizens). Personally, I do not know what exactly I am seeking in studying the subject, other than a better understanding of the events that occurred and a stronger stance in opposition to any sort of unjust oppression.

Little by little, my mind is re-forming itself and becoming more aware of the world as an interconnected web of people rather than a world of individuals, distant from one another. In the fall, I hope to raise awareness in others as well through the medium of a radio show on my college station. The format will be to feature a certain type of music each show followed by a mix of songs from all over the world. The objective will be to raise awareness of humanity itself. If there's one thing that I've observed throughout my life in America, it is that many people in this country do not show a strong sense of unity with others. It's a more individualistic society, which does have its advantages at times, yet certainly comes with its own downfalls as well. I would like to change this, even if just one person at a time. In today's world where globalization is occurring rapidly, it is necessary for people to be able to view a person from the opposite side of the world, from a culture completely unlike their own, as a peer and an equal.
The African philosophy of ubuntu embodies the mindset which I yearn to understand and call my own someday.

Jumble of Words

My kind is few and far between. We're the Americans who, for one reason or another, are in love with the culture of a country other than our own. We feel pride in knowing we're American, and we look back kindly onto our childhoods full of American tradition. But it's that other culture that makes our hearts skip a beat or our stomachs do flips whenever we hear reference to it. Somehow this culture crossed pathes with us and since has been the passion of our lives. We work, study, and play tirelessly absorbing all we can about this foreign love. Vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation become a jumble of words in our heads while we try to catch up with the native five-year olds who already have the adavantage. We don fashions new and bold, eat exotic foods and observe customs unknown to us. All for the purpose of feeling that goofy smile creep up on our faces as we find ourselves in the culture of these people a world away.

Throughout my own life I have been exposed to so many different cultures, many of which have become my life's passion। My father has been in the U.S. Navy my entire life, to which I owe all thanks. I was born in Hawaii, beginning a succession of moves that has lasted my entire life. Moves to New Orleans, Louisiana, Jacksonville, Florida and Chicago, Illinois took me across the beautiful United States of America. But it was the move across the Atlantic when I was eleven that changed my life forever. The Navy had taken us to Sardegna, Italia. Once, years ago, I heard an Italian man state with passion and confidence that Sardegna was the last paradise, the queen of them all. His words come as close as can be to a place so wonderful that human linguistics can never describe perfectly. After Sardegna was London, England. True to her word, she still tugs on my heartstrings. After spending the majority of my adolescence in Europe my family and I moved back across the Atlantic during my sophomore year of high school. This time it was Norfolk, Virginia where I met a few people who opened my eyes to even more cultures. About a year after I moved to Virginia I met a Mexican boy. Although we are no longer friends it is still true that it was him who first introduced me to the Spanish language and the exotic culture of Mexico.

Ever since I was a little girl I've had a fascination with India. I believe it stems from watching The Little Princess and hearing the story of Ram, Sita, and Ravana। The beginning of my senior year, I met my very own Ram. We quickly fell head over heels for one another. Next week will be our two year anniversary. These two years have been a marvelous introduction to Indian and Hindu culture. Chalk full of saris, choriya, bhangra, roti, bollywood movies, and "mai tumse pyar karti hu"s.

Because of my experiences in life I am now a sophomore in college majoring in Spanish and French and studying Italian and Hindi. These languages are my passion and I hope to share them with the world someday.