The controversy astounds me. At first glance driving along the interstate my overwhelmed senses strain to take in all of the city -- the rich sense of culture found in the simplicity of a tall glass building situated just steps from a gothic stone cathedral whose mast stands high in the skyline leaves my mouth gaping. The mountain-top crowned with the name Napoleon's Nose for it's striking resemblance to a human nose (Napoleon's or not I couldn't say!) and the giant yellow cranes that hang triumphantly in the distance are only some of the distinguishing factors. Driving through the city on the freeway I'm reminded of how I once heard about a city under duress here. But like the international news in America, we are through the city and onto a new place before any of ... read more

I was standing between the climbing gear and the headlamps in the overwhelming REI store and I could feel the panic coat my stomach lining and the edge of my esophagus. I looked down at the cart full of great stuff that I would be able to use and enjoy many times over and I tried to keep the panic from coming out from my eyes. It wasn't just the money that was bothering me. My feet were killing me (my fault seeing as I tried walking around with a loaded pack in heels for longer than I should have) and I was anxious about a conversation I was supposed to have with a man I'd never met before. I tried to put a smile on my tired cheeks and lighten my eyes as well I ... read more

You are Karen people. You are the people of the mountains and the trees. What a beautiful scene. The destructive meaning of the word refugee for you need not be used again here. You are Karen people. You are a community. Sheer ignorance must be the cause of the aid workers looking down on you, because I admire you. They say that you are lazy and that you don't work, but I've seen the wrinkles on your hands. I know that you work. These people come in on their big clean white horses waving a flag of aid and survival. When they see that their way is not the only way the white tail waves violently as they gallop away. They don't understand your triumph. You were once a peaceful and communal people. Your kids went ... read more

Sitting at my desk. While I was out to lunch I realized that it was signficantly more comfortable outisde in the cool air sitting in the sun than sitting inside -- it's freezing in here! It's December already -- unbelievable. Actually, incredible when I think about how far I've come in the last 11 months. I started out in January last year (hm, can't seem to remember back to January). February I was dating a lazy-jerk-type (I only remember by the half-hearted flowers I got on Valentine's Day) and fortunately managed to wise-up by March and move on! April I celebrated my 22nd birthday (with friends and family) and reunited with a long lost love only to end that too a few months later. My first summer with a job seemed to go quicker than any ... read more