This is my understanding of the riots.
I recently saw a video of a guy named Jody McIntyre being dragged mercilessly by a cop from his wheelchair during the student protests. McIntyre has cerebral palsy. He supposedly threw something at the police, though it wasn't proven. Regardless, even if he had, the consensus is the cop should never have dragged him so violently out of his chair.
This experience brings up a very important point: what happens when a cop clearly abuses his power? Do we cut him slack and use circumstantial logic to justify his actions i.e. "it was a stressful evening, so many students protesting, we thought we saw him throw something. I just flipped my lid." the end. In that case, is the cop excused? Does he have to defend his actions in court? Not necessarily.
There is a committee called the IPCC that deals with complaints of an abuse of power. McIntyre brought his claim to the committee only to have it thrown out. They dismissed it as an attempt to avoid his own contribution to the event. Needless to say, this brought into question the credibility of the IPCC. Who do they support: the police or the prosecutor?
It is apparent after watching McIntyre's video "Bars of Change" that there are many, many stories just like McIntyre's. There is a police force that is not willing to admit that they cross the line. In a society that is hellbent on fairness and justice, this infraction seems to undermine the entire system.
Story after story talks of black and arab men needlessly searched by cops routinely, so much so that it has become a part of their life. In one summer, an interviewed arab man said he had been stopped by the cops 35 times--and he was only 14.
Some don't have any problem with this. They think its important in order to maintain a civil society. Yet, this is condemning and typecasting groups of people without any chance of breaking their defined stereotype. As a white person, I can say that we cannot understand this treatment. We don't understand the discomfort it must cause to be relentlessly searched day in and day out without an apparent cause. We can't understand what it must be like to know that a brother or uncle was shot needlessly by a cop because they thought he had a gun in his hand when it only was a lighter. We won't understand what it is like to grow up in this environment and to see the blatant hypocrisy in the police and government system. This is why we struggle so much when we try to understand why there is so much anger towards the government. We think they are angry at authority figures because they have an inherent repulsion for authority that is replaced with an inherent sense of rebellion. We psychoanalyze them and give them a narrative that always ends with "if they try hard enough they would get out of this situation."
Narratives like these are the ones that blind outsiders to see the visible symptoms that something is very off. People had been complaining, protesting, demanding answers for people murdered without any probable cause only to be ignored. They don't feel safe anymore when the people who supposedly keeping the peace are the ones who are killing people. This point cannot go ignored. You cannot overlook this. It is so important to understand.
When Mark Duggan was murdered without any cause it lit the city on fire--literally. So many of the people who live with this daily prejudice erupted in unison; it was their time to speak up for all the injustice that had been ignored. And to get their voices heard, they acted radically.
Fire became both their siren and their weapon. It spoke clearly that they are serious and this issue is real. No longer will they kindly sit back and watch this problem exacerbate. In doing so, it riled up thousands of people. Some took advantage of the high that comes with the power of being heard and did what they pleased. Their perception had become reoriented where places that had been off limits in the past now were free to access. It's as if they stepped into an alternative reality where older people, people they trust, condoned their behavior, and said you can have whatever you want, you're doing this for a cause.
From the outside, this mix of self-indulgence and political insurrection seemed mindless and barbaric. Innocent people, shop owners, clerks, residents--people who have nothing to do with the 'system'--are the victims. They have become the scapegoat for the 'rioters' problems. The tables have turned. The 'rioters' are often the scapegoats of everything that is wrong in the world and are pushed down as a result. Now, the 'rioters' are responding back, through their main weapon, physical force, in order to be heard. It makes for a very confusing situation, where emotions are flying wildly. It doesn't help that the 'rioters' mismanage their anger, forcefully lashing out on those who are vulnerable. These are the moments that undermine the cause and conflate it into a picture of mindless thuggery.
The problem with the argument of "they should have known better" is that the people who enforce that attitude, the members of authority on their own community, condoned the political insurrection. They gave freedom for the youth to act how they please. They shift into a mentality where they are told you don't have to worry about your consequences, just act. And act they did, with pure abandonment, releasing their own personal rage and taking whatever they want. If anyone has been caught up in the moment and saw later what they did hadn't the foresight they wished then they should relate to this situation. It is further amplified because the political framework legitimately defends the protest. There is a need to separate the actions that are sheer rage and actions that are righteous anger. Leaders of this event should have stepped up and advised the youth they way they should handle it. Although, I suspect the energy was uncontainable; the youth were going to act as they please. At that point they have to take responsibility that they chose to continue to engage in the overt rebellion that satisfied a self-indulgent behavior (a lot like the bankers and journalists of the world.)
It's just sad that the ramifications of this event are going to cause an even greater fracture between both social groups, rioters and non rioters. It will cause the 'rich' to look down upon the 'poor' even more. It's just a sad day for sociality.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Monday, October 4, 2010
More settling
I am continuing to settle in and in such a quick way that I already feel at home. I still am about a week away from having a routine, so there are still plenty of days that are either too busy or not busy at all (today is the latter). I'm realizing the first week from a big move is almost always going to be annoying; life is inefficient and it takes mistakes to learn how to make it more efficient.
Transportation is currently the biggest inefficiency, mostly due to my unfamiliarity to the know the best ways to get from here to there and the fact that things take long to get to. I live in a neighborhood, outside of the city, and as a result, it takes me forty five minutes to an hour to go anywhere in the city. I honestly don't mind the trip, but what I do mind is when I mess up a time, or a bus stop location, or some little screw up happens in my trip that makes it take longer. More than simply learning the routes, which I am doing OK at (but an iphone would seriously help speed this learning process up), I need to better know the times at which my way(s) of getting home (buses, trains, tube) come and go because that will obviate the wasted time of waiting around. All of this though will come in due course because I realize my stupid mistakes are giving me better traveller's instincts to learn the system better. For instance, when I couldn't find my bus stop was last night, I chased my 24 bus for three blocks, which I later discovered was a giant circle, in order to find the next bus stop that was 100 feet from where I originally was standing. Or I realized I left my umbrella and recently purchased London map on the top deck of the bus the second I got off the bus because I was too preoccupied with worrying about the right stop to get off, and had to run to the next stop, wait there for ten minutes, in the rain, worrying that I'm going to miss my train, because the bus will not open its doors, even though it was stuck in traffic, unless at a stop.
Traveling this week was humbling. I messed up in ways that were preventable that annoy my compulsive self but I am learning how to roll with it. Other things I'm also learning how to roll with and chalk up to the inefficiencies of the first week are: buying things for my room, getting groceries, signing up for classes, fighting jet lag, deciding if its worth it to buy an iphone, finding a transformer so I can finally shave, getting a library card, discovering the library is closed on sundays, withdrawing money, opening a bank account, etc.
This update became a rant at some point. I didn't realize the pent up frustration I had towards my first week, nor did I realize how OCD I am to want everything to work out perfectly. haha oh well.
In other, less uptight news, school is going well. I start (ah!) my first class tomorrow at 10am. I'm excited for it, I think. I believe there will be quite a bit of reading to do as a way to compensate for the lack of busy work they assign, which I'm ok with. I just better not procrastinate!
OK--I've had enough with this entry, I'm going to eat, at 215pm, for the first time today.
Transportation is currently the biggest inefficiency, mostly due to my unfamiliarity to the know the best ways to get from here to there and the fact that things take long to get to. I live in a neighborhood, outside of the city, and as a result, it takes me forty five minutes to an hour to go anywhere in the city. I honestly don't mind the trip, but what I do mind is when I mess up a time, or a bus stop location, or some little screw up happens in my trip that makes it take longer. More than simply learning the routes, which I am doing OK at (but an iphone would seriously help speed this learning process up), I need to better know the times at which my way(s) of getting home (buses, trains, tube) come and go because that will obviate the wasted time of waiting around. All of this though will come in due course because I realize my stupid mistakes are giving me better traveller's instincts to learn the system better. For instance, when I couldn't find my bus stop was last night, I chased my 24 bus for three blocks, which I later discovered was a giant circle, in order to find the next bus stop that was 100 feet from where I originally was standing. Or I realized I left my umbrella and recently purchased London map on the top deck of the bus the second I got off the bus because I was too preoccupied with worrying about the right stop to get off, and had to run to the next stop, wait there for ten minutes, in the rain, worrying that I'm going to miss my train, because the bus will not open its doors, even though it was stuck in traffic, unless at a stop.
Traveling this week was humbling. I messed up in ways that were preventable that annoy my compulsive self but I am learning how to roll with it. Other things I'm also learning how to roll with and chalk up to the inefficiencies of the first week are: buying things for my room, getting groceries, signing up for classes, fighting jet lag, deciding if its worth it to buy an iphone, finding a transformer so I can finally shave, getting a library card, discovering the library is closed on sundays, withdrawing money, opening a bank account, etc.
This update became a rant at some point. I didn't realize the pent up frustration I had towards my first week, nor did I realize how OCD I am to want everything to work out perfectly. haha oh well.
In other, less uptight news, school is going well. I start (ah!) my first class tomorrow at 10am. I'm excited for it, I think. I believe there will be quite a bit of reading to do as a way to compensate for the lack of busy work they assign, which I'm ok with. I just better not procrastinate!
OK--I've had enough with this entry, I'm going to eat, at 215pm, for the first time today.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
London Update 1
My first week is consisting mostly of settling and exploring.
I am settling in well in a beautiful 'colonial' house with a South African Christian family. I have my own room, larger than my own at home, painted blue, with two large windows overlooking a lush backyard. This morning I was pleasantly greeted with blue skies for my first time this week from my bed. I can't say enough good things about the house, my neighborhood, and most of all my new 'family'.
I keep slipping, already, in conversation, while referring to my host parents, as my father or mother. I almost prefer to do so rather than attach host in front of the title each time I refer to them, as long as they don't mind, which from the conversations I've gathered, they don't. They are, from what I can tell, very family oriented people. The father, Attilio, who was born outside of Naples, not too far from Capua where Nana was born, told me that he feels to do his best to represent himself as a father to those who are living far from their own fathers. And it is something he does very well. They both are very sweet; I feel very lucky to be with this family.
The neighborhood is turning out to be fitting as well. I live about thirty minutes outside of central London, southeast, by train, (45 min away from Emma's apartment). We are sandwiched between two train stations, Brockley and St. John, and both are about a ten minute walk. I am realizing that I will be walking a lot during my time in London. My college, Goldsmiths, is right up the road, on Lewisham, pronounced Lew-uh-shum, not Lewis-ham, as the way a proper American would think it would be said. It's only a fifteen minute trip to school by walk and bus.
My first 'real' day of school is tomorrow, and it's not even that 'real.' It is an program specific orientation. I believe I will meet my professors and classmates, which are both groups of people I'm anxious to meet. I think we will also talk about our program and what we will be studying this year, which I'm also anxious to discuss.
In terms of exploration, most of my trips have included either Emma or Allison. Emma's apartment is in Bloomsbury, just north of Russell Square, in a beautiful part of the city. We found a quick route for me to visit that avoids the tube. I simply take the train to Charing Cross, then the 91 bus to her apartment. Buses are making life for me very convenient. Emma and I have eaten dinner a few times together, although we plan to see each other most of this weekend. We are learning how to unite our schedules together, which mine in its feeble state is fairly easy to do so, but her's is far more busy.
Allison has a much freer schedule and as a result, we have seen each other a quite a bit this week. We met at Trafalgar, explored the latest exhibit at the Portrait Gallery, then wondered to Covent Garden, all of which was so refreshing to see again. Those walks make me so appreciative that I am here again and also that I have already been here. I most noticed the refreshing nature of seeing something for the second time today in Greenwich. Allison and I explored Queen Anne's, the Laban Dance theater, the Maritime Museum, and what is currently being used a filmset to the next Pirates movie (the fourth one, which God only knows why they are still keeping this series alive, oh wait $$$$$) the Naval Academy. We stalked out alongside a tattered chainlink fence along with a British family to see if we could catch a glimpse of Jack Sparrow himself. We convinced ourselves we did, or Allison did, and I am too cynical to believe that we did. Nonetheless, it was an entertaining detour to our historical visit.
All in all, I'm very happy to be in this wonderfully gray country once again, and do believe that I will have an amazing time during my stay here. I hope the months go slow so I can savor each day I'm here.
I am settling in well in a beautiful 'colonial' house with a South African Christian family. I have my own room, larger than my own at home, painted blue, with two large windows overlooking a lush backyard. This morning I was pleasantly greeted with blue skies for my first time this week from my bed. I can't say enough good things about the house, my neighborhood, and most of all my new 'family'.
I keep slipping, already, in conversation, while referring to my host parents, as my father or mother. I almost prefer to do so rather than attach host in front of the title each time I refer to them, as long as they don't mind, which from the conversations I've gathered, they don't. They are, from what I can tell, very family oriented people. The father, Attilio, who was born outside of Naples, not too far from Capua where Nana was born, told me that he feels to do his best to represent himself as a father to those who are living far from their own fathers. And it is something he does very well. They both are very sweet; I feel very lucky to be with this family.
The neighborhood is turning out to be fitting as well. I live about thirty minutes outside of central London, southeast, by train, (45 min away from Emma's apartment). We are sandwiched between two train stations, Brockley and St. John, and both are about a ten minute walk. I am realizing that I will be walking a lot during my time in London. My college, Goldsmiths, is right up the road, on Lewisham, pronounced Lew-uh-shum, not Lewis-ham, as the way a proper American would think it would be said. It's only a fifteen minute trip to school by walk and bus.
My first 'real' day of school is tomorrow, and it's not even that 'real.' It is an program specific orientation. I believe I will meet my professors and classmates, which are both groups of people I'm anxious to meet. I think we will also talk about our program and what we will be studying this year, which I'm also anxious to discuss.
In terms of exploration, most of my trips have included either Emma or Allison. Emma's apartment is in Bloomsbury, just north of Russell Square, in a beautiful part of the city. We found a quick route for me to visit that avoids the tube. I simply take the train to Charing Cross, then the 91 bus to her apartment. Buses are making life for me very convenient. Emma and I have eaten dinner a few times together, although we plan to see each other most of this weekend. We are learning how to unite our schedules together, which mine in its feeble state is fairly easy to do so, but her's is far more busy.
Allison has a much freer schedule and as a result, we have seen each other a quite a bit this week. We met at Trafalgar, explored the latest exhibit at the Portrait Gallery, then wondered to Covent Garden, all of which was so refreshing to see again. Those walks make me so appreciative that I am here again and also that I have already been here. I most noticed the refreshing nature of seeing something for the second time today in Greenwich. Allison and I explored Queen Anne's, the Laban Dance theater, the Maritime Museum, and what is currently being used a filmset to the next Pirates movie (the fourth one, which God only knows why they are still keeping this series alive, oh wait $$$$$) the Naval Academy. We stalked out alongside a tattered chainlink fence along with a British family to see if we could catch a glimpse of Jack Sparrow himself. We convinced ourselves we did, or Allison did, and I am too cynical to believe that we did. Nonetheless, it was an entertaining detour to our historical visit.
All in all, I'm very happy to be in this wonderfully gray country once again, and do believe that I will have an amazing time during my stay here. I hope the months go slow so I can savor each day I'm here.
Monday, September 20, 2010
visa dilemma
so i'm missed my flight this morning. i can't help but feel jaded by this because this last reason to why this fell through simply was due to miscommunication.
basically, my visa got help up the mail. It something so preventable which makes it that much more aggravating. I should (better!!!!) receive it today. I haven't heard any news about it so far. This whole process has been a nightmare, which I think makes this sting even more.
I was rejected my first application due to two reasons: 1) my money was in the form of stocks 2) when liquidated to cash, it wasn't on formal enough paper (which it actually was but it just didn't look like it because they probably aren't used to seeing print outs directly from a stock broker).
I found this out (the formal reason) on labor day weekend. I contacted a visa expedite agency who, in hindsight, were very helpful. They answered all my questions in a timely manner and caught a mistake that would pop up in my next application. My next steps after talking them was to reapply under the auspice of a dependent rather than a dependent and use my father's bank account to prove my funds. Besides needing to get a birth certificate, this wasn't too difficult to do. It just weighed on me for the last few weeks mentally.
I got all my stuff together to mail to them last friday, which took me a while to make sure that everything was organized (I must have read the UK Visa website a hundred times), and confidently mailed it to the agency to be received for 10am on Monday morning. I left a two-day airbill in the package because I thought I had plenty of time to be mailed back my visa according to their two-day expedition policy. They got it monday, but processed it tuesday, called me to inform me of a mistake, we overnighted a new bank statement, they received it wednesday, processed everything thursday, including going to the consulate, supposedly mailed my newly approved visa thursday night, never got it friday, freaked out friday night, waited around saturday (well my dad graciously did), realized that my airbill was never used therefore speculated a new airbill was used, hoped and hoped and hoped Tim, my very nice correspondent, made it a saturday two-day airbill, waited on my parents stoop until 530pm, cried when no one showed, cried again when i saw it cost $1500 to change my monday morning flight to the evening, cried even more to see the cheapest option isn't until sunday night still costing $300, relished in a dinner in which my grandmother consoled me, cried more and more and more (and when I say cry i mean figuratively; no tears were shed unfortunately), and now i am praying that it is not lost in the mail.
i want this to evil process to END! wahhhhhh wahhhhhhh.
I've been a big of a mope the past day and a half. I just reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally wanted to go this week. I was so excited to be in London without anything to do and just get to roam around, see my neighborhood, hang out in the city. But, sigh, it will have to wait until next week.
The good news is that when I planned this, I gave myself a two-week cushion before school starts, so thankfully I will not miss anything important, and I still will have plenty of free time next week. I also am glad that I have a week to do nothing in town. Last week was very rushed, especially after going to DC, so I feel better that I can have a really slow pace before I leave.
I think I'm fine now; I just really don't want to have to deal with a potentially lost visa. That will make me cry, maybe even with real tears. I'm not emotionally prepared to have that happen.
basically, my visa got help up the mail. It something so preventable which makes it that much more aggravating. I should (better!!!!) receive it today. I haven't heard any news about it so far. This whole process has been a nightmare, which I think makes this sting even more.
I was rejected my first application due to two reasons: 1) my money was in the form of stocks 2) when liquidated to cash, it wasn't on formal enough paper (which it actually was but it just didn't look like it because they probably aren't used to seeing print outs directly from a stock broker).
I found this out (the formal reason) on labor day weekend. I contacted a visa expedite agency who, in hindsight, were very helpful. They answered all my questions in a timely manner and caught a mistake that would pop up in my next application. My next steps after talking them was to reapply under the auspice of a dependent rather than a dependent and use my father's bank account to prove my funds. Besides needing to get a birth certificate, this wasn't too difficult to do. It just weighed on me for the last few weeks mentally.
I got all my stuff together to mail to them last friday, which took me a while to make sure that everything was organized (I must have read the UK Visa website a hundred times), and confidently mailed it to the agency to be received for 10am on Monday morning. I left a two-day airbill in the package because I thought I had plenty of time to be mailed back my visa according to their two-day expedition policy. They got it monday, but processed it tuesday, called me to inform me of a mistake, we overnighted a new bank statement, they received it wednesday, processed everything thursday, including going to the consulate, supposedly mailed my newly approved visa thursday night, never got it friday, freaked out friday night, waited around saturday (well my dad graciously did), realized that my airbill was never used therefore speculated a new airbill was used, hoped and hoped and hoped Tim, my very nice correspondent, made it a saturday two-day airbill, waited on my parents stoop until 530pm, cried when no one showed, cried again when i saw it cost $1500 to change my monday morning flight to the evening, cried even more to see the cheapest option isn't until sunday night still costing $300, relished in a dinner in which my grandmother consoled me, cried more and more and more (and when I say cry i mean figuratively; no tears were shed unfortunately), and now i am praying that it is not lost in the mail.
i want this to evil process to END! wahhhhhh wahhhhhhh.
I've been a big of a mope the past day and a half. I just reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally wanted to go this week. I was so excited to be in London without anything to do and just get to roam around, see my neighborhood, hang out in the city. But, sigh, it will have to wait until next week.
The good news is that when I planned this, I gave myself a two-week cushion before school starts, so thankfully I will not miss anything important, and I still will have plenty of free time next week. I also am glad that I have a week to do nothing in town. Last week was very rushed, especially after going to DC, so I feel better that I can have a really slow pace before I leave.
I think I'm fine now; I just really don't want to have to deal with a potentially lost visa. That will make me cry, maybe even with real tears. I'm not emotionally prepared to have that happen.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
aaaahhhhhhh
i'm goooooooiiiiiingggggggggg tooooo annndorraaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!
AND
i fffffouuuuuunnnnnddddddd aaaa plaaaaceeee toooo liveeeeeeeeeeeee!!!
AND
i fffffouuuuuunnnnnddddddd aaaa plaaaaceeee toooo liveeeeeeeeeeeee!!!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
getting ready to move
i'm a week and a half away from moving back to england and i thought i'd revisit this blog after seeing a few others do the same.
so, a week and half, and i feel like it's still a year a way. i can't believe i'll be in class in three weeks, more like four, but still, it's drawing nearer and nearer. I feel like I still have so much to do at home. I feel like I also just started summer vacation, at the perfect time too--weather has been so great these past three days. Today was the first day where I had nothing to do. I loved it. I could use about a week or two of a maine-like schedule.
I have a few kinks to work out before I leave. I need to go through the visa process again after I was denied over a technicality. I'm fairly certain I will be fine this time, not without a hefty price though. I also think my housing search has come to an end. Emma will visit one tomorrow morning, 8am, (she's a saint I know), and after I hear her opinions, I'll make my decision. It's between living with a family in south london in a big, old, nice house, which sounds a lot of fun, but will be far (about an hour) away from downtown OR living closer to downtown, in a smaller apartment with three older guys, in a cool neighborhood. I'm up in the air. Living with a family sounds so great. I'd love to have a british, south african step-family. It's also close to school.
And school! School is something I'm very excited about. I'm almost disappointed I'll only be there a year because the classes seem so interesting. I feel like I've been always been destined to be a sociologist and was too afraid of the structure of the profession, because of the lack thereof. I will only take two classes this semester, which I don't know if that means I will need all my free time to do the work because its so intensive or that it might be a light course work, either of which I'll be ok with.
I'm hoping that I will get to travel a bunch. I already have two trips in the works. Emma and I going to Venice in November. And Allison and I are going to Andorra in October. Venice is definite, andorra is still a maybe. I hope to add a bunch more to this list.
I can't wait to have a routine there and be able to explore the city. I really hope to know the city well. In fact, I thought about looking into being a tour guide for a part time job. I think I'd love it. There is actually a tour guide school I could attend to get certified, which I think I might do. It also might give me more incentive to brush up on my spanish because the best candidates speak two languages. That'd be quite the challenge to give a tour in spanish; I'd be nervous enough to give it in english. Anyway, I hope to have some time to follow through with this.
My last hurrah in the states includes a trip to DC to see Jordan from Chile. I'm looking forward to seeing him. I also am going to visit the Gate which I haven't been to since last winter. It'll be a fun weekend.
Keep posted for more updates. I hopefully will fix my camera so I will have a place to post pictures of my trip. I still am meaning to post my pictures of Maine and Portland/Seattle.
so, a week and half, and i feel like it's still a year a way. i can't believe i'll be in class in three weeks, more like four, but still, it's drawing nearer and nearer. I feel like I still have so much to do at home. I feel like I also just started summer vacation, at the perfect time too--weather has been so great these past three days. Today was the first day where I had nothing to do. I loved it. I could use about a week or two of a maine-like schedule.
I have a few kinks to work out before I leave. I need to go through the visa process again after I was denied over a technicality. I'm fairly certain I will be fine this time, not without a hefty price though. I also think my housing search has come to an end. Emma will visit one tomorrow morning, 8am, (she's a saint I know), and after I hear her opinions, I'll make my decision. It's between living with a family in south london in a big, old, nice house, which sounds a lot of fun, but will be far (about an hour) away from downtown OR living closer to downtown, in a smaller apartment with three older guys, in a cool neighborhood. I'm up in the air. Living with a family sounds so great. I'd love to have a british, south african step-family. It's also close to school.
And school! School is something I'm very excited about. I'm almost disappointed I'll only be there a year because the classes seem so interesting. I feel like I've been always been destined to be a sociologist and was too afraid of the structure of the profession, because of the lack thereof. I will only take two classes this semester, which I don't know if that means I will need all my free time to do the work because its so intensive or that it might be a light course work, either of which I'll be ok with.
I'm hoping that I will get to travel a bunch. I already have two trips in the works. Emma and I going to Venice in November. And Allison and I are going to Andorra in October. Venice is definite, andorra is still a maybe. I hope to add a bunch more to this list.
I can't wait to have a routine there and be able to explore the city. I really hope to know the city well. In fact, I thought about looking into being a tour guide for a part time job. I think I'd love it. There is actually a tour guide school I could attend to get certified, which I think I might do. It also might give me more incentive to brush up on my spanish because the best candidates speak two languages. That'd be quite the challenge to give a tour in spanish; I'd be nervous enough to give it in english. Anyway, I hope to have some time to follow through with this.
My last hurrah in the states includes a trip to DC to see Jordan from Chile. I'm looking forward to seeing him. I also am going to visit the Gate which I haven't been to since last winter. It'll be a fun weekend.
Keep posted for more updates. I hopefully will fix my camera so I will have a place to post pictures of my trip. I still am meaning to post my pictures of Maine and Portland/Seattle.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Life without Internet in the countryside
Its been a week since I have updated! Unfortunately that is not because we have been ridiculously busy because life is quite slow in the countryside but simply because we do not have internet! What we are gathering is that since Kiplin Hall is located in such a remote location that we are too far away to get good internet service. A neighbor poked her head in the other day and debunked the myth that the reason we didn't have internet was because our landlord didn't pay the bill (which is what he explained to us). After she explained that it took her five years to get adequate internet, our hopes are starting to dry up to believe that we will have internet in the house. Do not worry though! It is a good thing, I think. We are already learning how to live without having the internet, which is turning out to be quite nice. We have to be a little more creative with how we use our free time instead of spending so much of it online. We are spending more time outside, going for walks, riding bikes, playing soccer-er-football. In fact, everyone is getting soccer. We are all about to buy cleats and shin guards. DuPuy is the ref. There are four guys and four guys which makes it fairly easy to make even teams. We keep varying them up to figure the best match up. Today it will be me, chris, emma and sarah vs. justin, jesse, jenny and zach. Keep posted for the results.
Life without the internet is posing to be a difficult academically. We cannot use google for anything. That means no google maps, no random searches, no ways to procrastinate. We actually have to do all of our work without distractions! Kidding aside, it is annoying to know that if you did not save a google maps pdf properly that you might not be able to do work the whole day (since we are doing site analysis). It is also difficult to do precedent analysis. We are dependent on the random books that people brought, all of which are extremely contemporary which will be interesting to see how their influence will manifest in our contextually traditional projects. LTL, Think/Make, and Diller Scofidio at the moment are our urban precedents, interesting. We now add precedent analysis to our list of things to do behind checking email and facebook when we have about an hour or two of internet use. Studio without internet will be an interesting variation to add to our already mutated version of our 'international' studio. Hopefully, the results will still show magnificent work as DuPuy repeatedly states that we will all produce. God willing.
Anyway, I don't really want to write a daily journal of our adventures because it will probably bore you. I mean it is exciting for us but reading about what we ate for dinner and what game we played at night becomes cumbersome to read. I will try to highlight the more exciting things that happen rather than a play by play, which will hopefully make this a little more enjoyable to read!
Next blog I'll post a little more about what we are doing in studio. It is an interesting project that will hopefully produce interesting results.
Life without the internet is posing to be a difficult academically. We cannot use google for anything. That means no google maps, no random searches, no ways to procrastinate. We actually have to do all of our work without distractions! Kidding aside, it is annoying to know that if you did not save a google maps pdf properly that you might not be able to do work the whole day (since we are doing site analysis). It is also difficult to do precedent analysis. We are dependent on the random books that people brought, all of which are extremely contemporary which will be interesting to see how their influence will manifest in our contextually traditional projects. LTL, Think/Make, and Diller Scofidio at the moment are our urban precedents, interesting. We now add precedent analysis to our list of things to do behind checking email and facebook when we have about an hour or two of internet use. Studio without internet will be an interesting variation to add to our already mutated version of our 'international' studio. Hopefully, the results will still show magnificent work as DuPuy repeatedly states that we will all produce. God willing.
Anyway, I don't really want to write a daily journal of our adventures because it will probably bore you. I mean it is exciting for us but reading about what we ate for dinner and what game we played at night becomes cumbersome to read. I will try to highlight the more exciting things that happen rather than a play by play, which will hopefully make this a little more enjoyable to read!
Next blog I'll post a little more about what we are doing in studio. It is an interesting project that will hopefully produce interesting results.
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