I'm back! It's been so long since I've blogged that I'm in one of those "is it even worth writing anything?" moods. But, I'll fight through it. So much has happened in the last five months worth recording and sharing, and though it will most assuredly be out of order, it will be good to write down memories from my time at camp this summer, Europe, and thoughts from the present craziness in the world and my life.
In a somewhat turbulent time of elections and significant trouble for America, and many big (but less noticed because of our own issues at home) international happenings, I keep wondering what I will remember about 2008. My big 401K obliteration? I think I'll be able to buy some saltines when I retire. That'll be nice. The amazingly interesting and questionable turn of events in the Presidential Race the past few months and the sad but unfortunately imminent questions of how some of our country will deal with a President who is a minority (yes, I'm calling it. deal.)? Or, will I be self-centered enough to remember only that 2008 has been the most random, exciting, busy and growth-inducing year of my life thus far? Admittedly, I am old enough now that forgetting any of it should not be permissible.
I watched Charlie Wilson's War with my parents last week, and while my mom and dad couldn't look beyond the nudity and profanity to admit that it was a good movie, I really enjoyed it. Without forging into a full-on review, I'll say this rather ashamedly: I had no idea that the events portrayed in the movie (the US involvement in Afghanistan in the late 80s-90s) had occurred. Granted, I was in preschool when it all began, but I am still surprised that we did not study that relationship and how it deeply effects the history of the past eight years in high school, especially because September 11, 2001 was the second week of my senior year. This realization is also timely because I am now a graduate student again, this time to obtain my master's in teaching, and I keep thinking about the school's responsibility to arm students with the knowledge and understanding of past and present. History and politics were always difficult but interesting subjects to me - how can students realize that understanding their world is so crucial? I was hit with this again just recently when I visited two formerly communist-controlled cities: Berlin and Prague. I learned quite a bit about their history and have a thirst to understand it more fully. Would American students take more interest in and ownership of their education if their country's history was staring them in the face daily in the form of patched up buildings, memorials, political graffiti, and other reminders of what their families have endured in the last few decades?
In one of my classes this quarter, we talk about teaching styles, philosophies and theories. I know I won't fully develop mine until I am in the classroom and have some experience, but the passions I brought in for teaching have only become more strong, even as I realize how difficult it will be to feel I have creative freedom while being told exactly what to do by the district, board and parents. My biggest hope is that I can present science in a way that students will be able to make connections to the world around them, figure out things for themselves, ask questions and realize that learning is the key.
This presidential race has been quite a rollercoaster and promises to deliver surprises in the last week. Oh, how I long for next Tuesday to be over and for our country to start moving in a new direction - united, I hope! One thing is for sure, I would not take that job for anything. I admire and appreciate that there are individuals who are actually willing to take the helm in one of the least desirable times in recent history.
Change is afoot. They think so in Britain, at least.
(I took this photo in a tube station in London in September...this was everywhere!)
On the other side of the world, a cyclone hit Myanmar (Burma) with a force I still cannot fathom. Yesterday they estimated 22,500 dead and 41,000 missing. Two Million people are displaced. Today, sources say they believe the death toll will reach 100,000. One Hundred Thousand Human Beings. God cares about them and loves them just as much as you and me.
I think we, as Americans, who are still shaken by Hurricane Katrina (which killed 1,900 people), cannot begin to understand the horror of this situation. I am deeply saddened, but I know I'm nowhere near being able to grasp the suffering that is occuring and will continue to go on until Myanmar's government fully accepts international aid and the whole world comes together in this time of unbeliveable tragedy.
A few organizations to choose from: 
The global slave trade is an issue that is now receiving more attention than it has in the past, which is encouraging. Yet, very few can actually grasp how horrible things are in all parts of the world - the US included. This is a huge issue that I can't even begin to explain on my blog, but it is well worth your time to do some research and figure out how you can help the thousands of innocents daily forced to provide goods, sex, labor, et cetera to a world that simply turns its head and fails to acknowledge how evil these deeds are.