Sunday, November 15, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Falling behind
Whoops - haven't posted in awhile. My bad. In my defense, it's been a busy couple of weeks.
Last Saturday I went home to get some stuff figured out, see family and friends, etc. It was a whirlwind trip - I left early Wednesday morning. But in that short period of time I: spent the afternoon with Dad and Celeste (we discovered that Revere beach is not a shit hole and had some amazing French Cambodian food), had ice cream with Alyssa, had several awesome conversations with Amie, bonded with Orie and Hakuna, spent an afternoon with my mom (I got us completely lost in the Fells - it was GREAT!), drank a beer and obsessed about school (among other things) with Naureen, went to the gym, went running twice, had a doctor's appointment, laid in the sun and finished Unaccustomed Earth, drank about 5 million bottles of seltzer, met with my professor, spent some lovely time with Jen after a year of not seeing her (and remembered how awesome it is to spend time with her) and enjoyed many many iced coffees. It was so short and so amazing. And amazingly hard to leave. Sigh. The weather was great and I could walk around without getting drenched in sweat. Ok...I need to stop thinking about this. Homesickness. Ugh.
I officially started my job as of 8/1, but then was away until 8/5, so I started 8/6. Today was my third day. I'm feeling a mixture of overwhelmed and frustrated. I need to read a lot and organize files, etc. But all of my like tasks (i.e. things with deadlines, actual products, etc.) are on hold except for one report that I'm editing. I hate waiting on other people, particularly when they are very busy. Oh well.
What else...um...well I decided to go hardcore on my diet/exercise routine. Very exciting - I know.
Oh super sadness - my cat, Harpo, is missing. He wasn't at home when my mom returned from her visit with me last Monday and he hasn't shown up since then. I still have hope - he is the coolest cat. He simply can't disappear. Send a little cat prayer out into the universe if you have the chance. Look how cute - this is him when he was just a teenager:
Last Saturday I went home to get some stuff figured out, see family and friends, etc. It was a whirlwind trip - I left early Wednesday morning. But in that short period of time I: spent the afternoon with Dad and Celeste (we discovered that Revere beach is not a shit hole and had some amazing French Cambodian food), had ice cream with Alyssa, had several awesome conversations with Amie, bonded with Orie and Hakuna, spent an afternoon with my mom (I got us completely lost in the Fells - it was GREAT!), drank a beer and obsessed about school (among other things) with Naureen, went to the gym, went running twice, had a doctor's appointment, laid in the sun and finished Unaccustomed Earth, drank about 5 million bottles of seltzer, met with my professor, spent some lovely time with Jen after a year of not seeing her (and remembered how awesome it is to spend time with her) and enjoyed many many iced coffees. It was so short and so amazing. And amazingly hard to leave. Sigh. The weather was great and I could walk around without getting drenched in sweat. Ok...I need to stop thinking about this. Homesickness. Ugh.
I officially started my job as of 8/1, but then was away until 8/5, so I started 8/6. Today was my third day. I'm feeling a mixture of overwhelmed and frustrated. I need to read a lot and organize files, etc. But all of my like tasks (i.e. things with deadlines, actual products, etc.) are on hold except for one report that I'm editing. I hate waiting on other people, particularly when they are very busy. Oh well.
What else...um...well I decided to go hardcore on my diet/exercise routine. Very exciting - I know.
Oh super sadness - my cat, Harpo, is missing. He wasn't at home when my mom returned from her visit with me last Monday and he hasn't shown up since then. I still have hope - he is the coolest cat. He simply can't disappear. Send a little cat prayer out into the universe if you have the chance. Look how cute - this is him when he was just a teenager:
Sunday, July 26, 2009
One more thing...
Another hilarious part of life right now is that there is a large tree outside my room that has these hard, round fruits. Well apparently it's that fruit's season because they are dropping like crazy. And there is a tin roof below. So I'll be sitting in my room reading and all of a sudden BOOOOOMMM. When it's raining, it's sounds like a war zone. The first time it happened, I was like what in the...??? Fun stuff.
the way out is through
This might be a long one. Apologies in advance...
I struggle with this in my journal as well - the pull to write about both the actual occurrences in my life and the things in my head. There's too much! I will try to mix it up.
I guess the main feeling I have in my life right now is that there is simply not enough time in the day. There never is and it's getting to me yet again. I'm trying to read, learn, and brainstorm as much as possible for work. I'm trying to read/take notes/do research for my thesis. I'm trying to learn Spanish. I'm exercising about an hour a day. Oh and I have a full time job. It's too much. I'm stressing out about the thesis in particular. I want to do the best job I can at INSTRAW. The more I learn about my responsibilities, the more excited I get. I was nervous at first about my abilities to handle this job. But I have the increasing feeling that I am going to do a fantastic job. My confidence in my abilities is increasing every day. Why? Because while I might not have as much of the content-related knowledge (I have not yet read every single publication on gender, peace and security or worked on these issues "in the field"), I have the passion, dedication, motivation, creativity, and discipline to get a lot accomplished; I have a fresh eye; I think strategically while also being detail-oriented. I'm sorry if this sounds like I'm selling myself to the people reading my blog. It's more for me, to be honest. And it's also because I am excited about this. Tremendously so. Nervous, yes, but excited definitely.
So I'm stressing about my thesis because I feel like I need to throw myself into this job headlong and just make as much of a mark/impact as I can in my short time. This will require a huge commitment and will not give me much thesis time. I recently reconceived my thesis topic - instead of widows and transitional justice, I want to look at the discourse of victimization in transitional justice through a gender lens. Basically, I want to look at how are "victims" defined in transitional justice both at the legal level (mandates, peace agreements, etc.) and then practically speaking (in the functioning of the transitional justice mechanisms). Then I want to look at the implications of these definitions. The legal and practical definitions of transitional justice mechanisms have tangible results on people's lives, for instance if someone receives reparations or not. But then there are also the implications for people's lives in terms of the stereotypes that surround victim discourse and the processes of self-identification as a victim. For instance, many anti-apartheid activists rejected the notion that they were victims even though they had experienced what the Truth and Reconciliation Commission had defined as "gross human rights violations" because they didn't "feel like victims." By using a gendered lens, I want to tease out how the traditional "women as victims" plays out in transitional justice. It would also be interesting to look at the people that TRCs deemed as male victims with an eye towards self-identification as a victim and the hierarchy of masculinities. And then there's the whole media attention given toward transitional justice - how conflicts are talked about, which people are picked out to be portrayed in media about conflict to emphasize the innocence of one party versus the evilness of the other. And finally, there's the dichotomization of victims versus perpetrators, which, in my view, could perpetuate existing societal divisions and be a hindrance to reconciliation. So yeah. That's what I want to do. I think it could be incredibly interesting, has the potential for some really in depth theoretical work, and would also allow me to really get to know the mandates and human rights violations in the different TJ mechanisms. If only I had an academic adviser who actually communicated with me and could give me feedback and tell me whether I'm completely whacked or if it is a valid research topic. Oh well.
But the other option is to make my thesis more in line with INSTRAW's work so that when I start working on my own working paper in November, I could be doing research and writing that could be included in my thesis. That would mean doing something (most likely) on security sector reform and transitional justice. This wouldn't be as interesting to me as my first topic, but this scenario could set me up for spring semester really well.
Advice anyone? I'm struggling!
I still owe Jen a post on my work (I think my work environment) and the wealth dichotomy in the DR. But instead, I will end with these two little living life down here tidbits; ok three actually. First, most of you know, but I want to record here as well - I found a cockroach on my toothbrush. I think I need therapy just for this event. Second, I was walking to work the other day and say a bunch of DR soldiers, one of whom was holding an alto saxophone. If I had the vocab, I would have asked if I could try it out. How surprised would he have been! Third, I have been eating so well down here. Lots of fruits (pineapple, tons of papaya, mango, starfruit(!!), bananas), vegetables (eggplants are my new fav), lots of salad, low fat granola and yogurt. It's nice. AND my fabulous venezuelan roommate (the plantain queen) occassionally cooks for us/me. Last Sunday she made me typical Venezuelan food which I don't remember the name, but was like corn patties with a tomato, onion, ketchup, mayonaise salad. The next night her husband made typical Spanish food, including my new favorite: gazpacho! It's amazing! It's salad, blended, that tastes creamy and rich, but is actually excellent for you! A dream come true really.
Ok this is ridiculously long. So, I will leave you with a picture of my favorite flowers (how can you not love periwinkle colored flowers?) and get my exercise on:
(i highly recommend clicking on the photo. look at those raindrops! what an awesome photographer! :)
I struggle with this in my journal as well - the pull to write about both the actual occurrences in my life and the things in my head. There's too much! I will try to mix it up.
I guess the main feeling I have in my life right now is that there is simply not enough time in the day. There never is and it's getting to me yet again. I'm trying to read, learn, and brainstorm as much as possible for work. I'm trying to read/take notes/do research for my thesis. I'm trying to learn Spanish. I'm exercising about an hour a day. Oh and I have a full time job. It's too much. I'm stressing out about the thesis in particular. I want to do the best job I can at INSTRAW. The more I learn about my responsibilities, the more excited I get. I was nervous at first about my abilities to handle this job. But I have the increasing feeling that I am going to do a fantastic job. My confidence in my abilities is increasing every day. Why? Because while I might not have as much of the content-related knowledge (I have not yet read every single publication on gender, peace and security or worked on these issues "in the field"), I have the passion, dedication, motivation, creativity, and discipline to get a lot accomplished; I have a fresh eye; I think strategically while also being detail-oriented. I'm sorry if this sounds like I'm selling myself to the people reading my blog. It's more for me, to be honest. And it's also because I am excited about this. Tremendously so. Nervous, yes, but excited definitely.
So I'm stressing about my thesis because I feel like I need to throw myself into this job headlong and just make as much of a mark/impact as I can in my short time. This will require a huge commitment and will not give me much thesis time. I recently reconceived my thesis topic - instead of widows and transitional justice, I want to look at the discourse of victimization in transitional justice through a gender lens. Basically, I want to look at how are "victims" defined in transitional justice both at the legal level (mandates, peace agreements, etc.) and then practically speaking (in the functioning of the transitional justice mechanisms). Then I want to look at the implications of these definitions. The legal and practical definitions of transitional justice mechanisms have tangible results on people's lives, for instance if someone receives reparations or not. But then there are also the implications for people's lives in terms of the stereotypes that surround victim discourse and the processes of self-identification as a victim. For instance, many anti-apartheid activists rejected the notion that they were victims even though they had experienced what the Truth and Reconciliation Commission had defined as "gross human rights violations" because they didn't "feel like victims." By using a gendered lens, I want to tease out how the traditional "women as victims" plays out in transitional justice. It would also be interesting to look at the people that TRCs deemed as male victims with an eye towards self-identification as a victim and the hierarchy of masculinities. And then there's the whole media attention given toward transitional justice - how conflicts are talked about, which people are picked out to be portrayed in media about conflict to emphasize the innocence of one party versus the evilness of the other. And finally, there's the dichotomization of victims versus perpetrators, which, in my view, could perpetuate existing societal divisions and be a hindrance to reconciliation. So yeah. That's what I want to do. I think it could be incredibly interesting, has the potential for some really in depth theoretical work, and would also allow me to really get to know the mandates and human rights violations in the different TJ mechanisms. If only I had an academic adviser who actually communicated with me and could give me feedback and tell me whether I'm completely whacked or if it is a valid research topic. Oh well.
But the other option is to make my thesis more in line with INSTRAW's work so that when I start working on my own working paper in November, I could be doing research and writing that could be included in my thesis. That would mean doing something (most likely) on security sector reform and transitional justice. This wouldn't be as interesting to me as my first topic, but this scenario could set me up for spring semester really well.
Advice anyone? I'm struggling!
I still owe Jen a post on my work (I think my work environment) and the wealth dichotomy in the DR. But instead, I will end with these two little living life down here tidbits; ok three actually. First, most of you know, but I want to record here as well - I found a cockroach on my toothbrush. I think I need therapy just for this event. Second, I was walking to work the other day and say a bunch of DR soldiers, one of whom was holding an alto saxophone. If I had the vocab, I would have asked if I could try it out. How surprised would he have been! Third, I have been eating so well down here. Lots of fruits (pineapple, tons of papaya, mango, starfruit(!!), bananas), vegetables (eggplants are my new fav), lots of salad, low fat granola and yogurt. It's nice. AND my fabulous venezuelan roommate (the plantain queen) occassionally cooks for us/me. Last Sunday she made me typical Venezuelan food which I don't remember the name, but was like corn patties with a tomato, onion, ketchup, mayonaise salad. The next night her husband made typical Spanish food, including my new favorite: gazpacho! It's amazing! It's salad, blended, that tastes creamy and rich, but is actually excellent for you! A dream come true really.
Ok this is ridiculously long. So, I will leave you with a picture of my favorite flowers (how can you not love periwinkle colored flowers?) and get my exercise on:
(i highly recommend clicking on the photo. look at those raindrops! what an awesome photographer! :)Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Oy vey what a day!
Not really. It was just long.
So the last two days we've had "project management training" which was really just like this woman telling me stuff I already knew, but in Spanish. There were a couple interesting moments, but really it was just a waste of time. And those were some damn long days. For example, for about four hours yesterday, we learned about the database that her branch of the UN uses to track projects, but it's a database that INSTRAW will never have the resources to purchase. Very helpful.
Today, I started my training for taking over my boss' job. Today I learned mostly about information management, which was mostly about the listserves she subscribes to, what she does with interesting and pertinent information, how she managers our own gender peace and security listserve, the newsletter that we publish monthly, the virtual discussions that have been held and how to hold a virtual discussion. I'm going to have a lot to do! I think it's going to be a good mix of administrative tasks and content-based stuff, which is perfect. During this and my last internship, I have found that I usually have a small number of tasks that are largely content-based. While, the content-basedness of it is really nice and I feel lucky that I have had internships that have provided me with such an amazing amount of time to learn, it's hard to do that all day and I feel like it's also unrealistic as most jobs are mixed between content and administrative. I'm sorry, but sometimes I need something mindless to do. Editing, reading, writing, thinking all day is exhausting. That may sound lazy, but that's just the way I am.
After work, I had a bit of an adventure. I had my first Spanish lesson! My teacher lives a bit far away - it takes about 25 minutes to get there from work. But I found my way and had a good lesson. It was hard to focus after 8 hours of learning new stuff at work, but I did it. The thing is, I can understand Spanish - when it's spoken "correctly." When people speak slowly and without slurring their words, dropping endings, etc., I can more or less understand. It's just that in the DR, and anywhere really, they talk super fast, drop endings, use a lot of idioms, and slur their words. It has made me more cognizant of how I speak English and I have been trying to speak better English around non-English speakers. But yeah, the lesson was good and I think it will be really helpful. Yay! I am totally going to learn Spanish.
And now...time for exercise and then thesising!
So the last two days we've had "project management training" which was really just like this woman telling me stuff I already knew, but in Spanish. There were a couple interesting moments, but really it was just a waste of time. And those were some damn long days. For example, for about four hours yesterday, we learned about the database that her branch of the UN uses to track projects, but it's a database that INSTRAW will never have the resources to purchase. Very helpful.
Today, I started my training for taking over my boss' job. Today I learned mostly about information management, which was mostly about the listserves she subscribes to, what she does with interesting and pertinent information, how she managers our own gender peace and security listserve, the newsletter that we publish monthly, the virtual discussions that have been held and how to hold a virtual discussion. I'm going to have a lot to do! I think it's going to be a good mix of administrative tasks and content-based stuff, which is perfect. During this and my last internship, I have found that I usually have a small number of tasks that are largely content-based. While, the content-basedness of it is really nice and I feel lucky that I have had internships that have provided me with such an amazing amount of time to learn, it's hard to do that all day and I feel like it's also unrealistic as most jobs are mixed between content and administrative. I'm sorry, but sometimes I need something mindless to do. Editing, reading, writing, thinking all day is exhausting. That may sound lazy, but that's just the way I am.
After work, I had a bit of an adventure. I had my first Spanish lesson! My teacher lives a bit far away - it takes about 25 minutes to get there from work. But I found my way and had a good lesson. It was hard to focus after 8 hours of learning new stuff at work, but I did it. The thing is, I can understand Spanish - when it's spoken "correctly." When people speak slowly and without slurring their words, dropping endings, etc., I can more or less understand. It's just that in the DR, and anywhere really, they talk super fast, drop endings, use a lot of idioms, and slur their words. It has made me more cognizant of how I speak English and I have been trying to speak better English around non-English speakers. But yeah, the lesson was good and I think it will be really helpful. Yay! I am totally going to learn Spanish.
And now...time for exercise and then thesising!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Fried plantains are like heaven
I have generally been trying to avoid fried food here (which basically means not eating out at all), but man oh man. My roommate makes the MEANEST fried plantains. I just fell over a couple times eating them. Wow.
Anyway...
I haven't written in awhile because my life has taken on the monotony that comes with becoming entrenched in a particular lifestyle. Right now, I am getting back into my working constantly mode. Get up go to work, work all day, come home, study spanish, work on thesis, exercise, go to bed (all interspersed with procrastinating on facebook, of course). I'm not complaining. I love working. But it's just not that interesting to write about. But then I realized. A number of things have changed, so I will write.
First, talked to the director today and she is almost positive that I will have a contract until December. Ah! So long! And we went over tasks that I will be involved in. I'm completely and utterly stoked. God I love being overworked. (This is not a sarcastic statement) Updating the website, making sure publications are completed, helping to plan a publication launch and a conference, working on my own publication. Sweet sweet gloriousness.
So, going home at the end of the month for a few days. I have already planned my meals. Well, no actually, I've planned my beverages: grapefruit seltzer, mango lassi, iced coffee from dunkin, pomegranate seltzer, iced soy latte from the danish pastry shop, repeat. And cats. And family. And friends. And books. And shopping. And not having to get up at 6am to go running. And the gym! And and and. Oh it's going to be good.
What else...my roommate moved out - he got his own place in la Zona, which is better for all of us. So the house is very quiet. Solo chicas! It's very different. What else...Ryan and I are officially broken up. Another life occurrence. What else...I started Jhumpa Lahiri's "The Unaccustomed Earth" - it's excellent so far.
Ok, I need to get back to work! How the hell is it 10:27??? There are never enough hours in the day. Never ever ever.
But first...an egg white mask with lime juice and oatmeal? Porque no?
Anyway...
I haven't written in awhile because my life has taken on the monotony that comes with becoming entrenched in a particular lifestyle. Right now, I am getting back into my working constantly mode. Get up go to work, work all day, come home, study spanish, work on thesis, exercise, go to bed (all interspersed with procrastinating on facebook, of course). I'm not complaining. I love working. But it's just not that interesting to write about. But then I realized. A number of things have changed, so I will write.
First, talked to the director today and she is almost positive that I will have a contract until December. Ah! So long! And we went over tasks that I will be involved in. I'm completely and utterly stoked. God I love being overworked. (This is not a sarcastic statement) Updating the website, making sure publications are completed, helping to plan a publication launch and a conference, working on my own publication. Sweet sweet gloriousness.
So, going home at the end of the month for a few days. I have already planned my meals. Well, no actually, I've planned my beverages: grapefruit seltzer, mango lassi, iced coffee from dunkin, pomegranate seltzer, iced soy latte from the danish pastry shop, repeat. And cats. And family. And friends. And books. And shopping. And not having to get up at 6am to go running. And the gym! And and and. Oh it's going to be good.
What else...my roommate moved out - he got his own place in la Zona, which is better for all of us. So the house is very quiet. Solo chicas! It's very different. What else...Ryan and I are officially broken up. Another life occurrence. What else...I started Jhumpa Lahiri's "The Unaccustomed Earth" - it's excellent so far.
Ok, I need to get back to work! How the hell is it 10:27??? There are never enough hours in the day. Never ever ever.
But first...an egg white mask with lime juice and oatmeal? Porque no?
Friday, July 10, 2009
Thank you Sarah Palin
I'm sorry to poach this photo from Neeraja's blog, but I just have to share. This photo was recently published in Runner's World. There's an entire slideshow on the website, but this photo is clearly the winner. She is looking way fit. And my favorite caption is:
"When I run, I'm totally incognito because I'm not wearing the trough full of makeup. I can go running through a mob of tourists and they don't recognize me."
A trough???
There are a lot of interesting items in the news right, particularly Aung Sang Suu Kyi's trial (ahem...bullshit), the Honduran mediation talks (not looking so good), and body dumping in Chicago (mass graves in the US!), among other items (particularly the G8 summit). BUT what is sooo fascinating to me right now is this: the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its final report last week and in it named President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as a war criminal and recommended barring her from office. WHOA! This was because of her connection and support of Charles Taylor's rebellion 20 years ago. She is the first elected black female head of state in the world and the first elected female head of state in Africa. Her agenda for the country has been extremely well-focused on gender issues, including passing an extensive National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security for the implementation of Resolution 1325. I honestly don't know how to feel about this and it will be interesting to see how it all pans out. I mean President Sirleaf herself established the Commission! So it would decrease its legitimacy if she doesn't follow its recommendations. On the other hand, if she is effective as a leader today, should she be barred from office for something she was involved in 20 years ago? I'm very conflicted...
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Now the bitching
And why are my posts out of order?!? I'm so confused. Jesus this day.
I'm on the phone with Jetblue to see if I can change my flight to BOS for August 1. There are so many details to this changing of schedule/taking time off from school thing. Yesterday I got good/bad news regarding my consultancy and bad news regarding my job at home. First regarding the consultancy: INSTRAW will be giving me a contract until October 31. Yay! Longer than expected. The complicated and potentially awesome part is that they might be extending my contract until December...which is awesome...but complicated if I can't find out about that until later in the year. What about my apartment? Planning is not possible. I guess I need to get used to this if I want to work with the UN or as a consultant with any other organizations. Drive me crazy.
The bad news regarding my job at home...I could tell the whole story and bitch and bitch and bitch, which is what I want to do, but I will just say this: I got screwed. I busted my butt for Tufts for a long time and that apparently does not result in professional or personal courtesy. I'm really really really pissed off about it. I know I tend to overreact in some situations, but this...it's just very upsetting. I am pissed off, hurt, upset in general. Ok.
Life in the apt is less than ideal right now. There is a constant influx of people, one of our roommates isn't cleaning up AT ALL, it's always loud (I've been kept awake three nights in a row now), and four of us just don't feel comfortable with what's going on. We've been trying to talk with the roommate in question, but he is avoiding us. It's a bad situation and it makes me feel yucky. We're adults! Let's sit down and talk!
My thesis is still up in the air, though I think I'm finally getting my ideas together and I think I like the direction I'm going better than the widow thing. It's too early to describe, but I will write when I can about it. I know I know...you're sitting on the edge of your seats. Calm yourselves! I will get back to you this weekend hopefully. Oh blogging. Navel gazing, self-importance inducing blogging.
I guess all of this is just to say that while I have been loving my life here, I feel very unsettled on various levels right now. And I haven't even gone into the interpersonal crap. Oy vey. My heart is palpitating like crazy. I just want things to settle themselves including what's going on in my head. Ha!
Enough bitching. I will leave you with a couple songs that have been making me tremendously happy tonight: "Ring my bell" by Anita Ward (brings me back to the end of college and ringing the bell after finishing my Div III), "Hold Tight London" by the Chemical Brothers (it kills me), and "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover" by Sophie B. Hawkins (which, as Ryan and I discovered last summer, is the best song to drive with. i would kill to drive right now on that note.)
good night all.
p.s. please write me comments. is anyone out there listening to my ramblings?
I'm on the phone with Jetblue to see if I can change my flight to BOS for August 1. There are so many details to this changing of schedule/taking time off from school thing. Yesterday I got good/bad news regarding my consultancy and bad news regarding my job at home. First regarding the consultancy: INSTRAW will be giving me a contract until October 31. Yay! Longer than expected. The complicated and potentially awesome part is that they might be extending my contract until December...which is awesome...but complicated if I can't find out about that until later in the year. What about my apartment? Planning is not possible. I guess I need to get used to this if I want to work with the UN or as a consultant with any other organizations. Drive me crazy.
The bad news regarding my job at home...I could tell the whole story and bitch and bitch and bitch, which is what I want to do, but I will just say this: I got screwed. I busted my butt for Tufts for a long time and that apparently does not result in professional or personal courtesy. I'm really really really pissed off about it. I know I tend to overreact in some situations, but this...it's just very upsetting. I am pissed off, hurt, upset in general. Ok.
Life in the apt is less than ideal right now. There is a constant influx of people, one of our roommates isn't cleaning up AT ALL, it's always loud (I've been kept awake three nights in a row now), and four of us just don't feel comfortable with what's going on. We've been trying to talk with the roommate in question, but he is avoiding us. It's a bad situation and it makes me feel yucky. We're adults! Let's sit down and talk!
My thesis is still up in the air, though I think I'm finally getting my ideas together and I think I like the direction I'm going better than the widow thing. It's too early to describe, but I will write when I can about it. I know I know...you're sitting on the edge of your seats. Calm yourselves! I will get back to you this weekend hopefully. Oh blogging. Navel gazing, self-importance inducing blogging.
I guess all of this is just to say that while I have been loving my life here, I feel very unsettled on various levels right now. And I haven't even gone into the interpersonal crap. Oy vey. My heart is palpitating like crazy. I just want things to settle themselves including what's going on in my head. Ha!
Enough bitching. I will leave you with a couple songs that have been making me tremendously happy tonight: "Ring my bell" by Anita Ward (brings me back to the end of college and ringing the bell after finishing my Div III), "Hold Tight London" by the Chemical Brothers (it kills me), and "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover" by Sophie B. Hawkins (which, as Ryan and I discovered last summer, is the best song to drive with. i would kill to drive right now on that note.)
good night all.
p.s. please write me comments. is anyone out there listening to my ramblings?
Hump day
It is now 4 pm and I JUST realized that I have been wearing my shirt inside out all day.
It's been one of those days.
Pictures and more bitching to follow.
It's been one of those days.
Pictures and more bitching to follow.
First the pics
Ok, these are very out of order, but representative of the trip...I would give comments, but...alas...I cannot do this picture thing...boo to me.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Jarabacoa!
I should be working on my report, but...I'm out of it and I just did another salt water flush, so instead...I will record the amazing weekend that I shared with my roommates!
We decided to go up to Jarabacoa for the weekend. It's in the Cordillera Central, i.e. the "Dominican Alps"...um...yeah. I don't know about that description, but it was sooo amazingly beautiful in so many ways. The town itself didn't have much to offer, besides amazing papaya juice and frappchinos. But we found a good, cheap hotel and the people there helped us find a cheap (and hot) guide to take us around to the waterfalls.
It was sooo nice to be out of the city. I mean it was still polluted and whatnot up there, but there was so much green lushness. It was wonderful. Our guide took us to the first waterfall and it was beautiful (pictures are in the next post since I'm retarded). Then he led us up a path. I didn't think we were going to be doing any hiking which I was a bit bummed about, but then...we HIKED! It was intense! This wasn't like my favorite trail at Middlesex Fells. This wasn't a place you could go trail running. This was like pulling yourself up on vines and preying to god you didn't lose your balance or else you'd fall I don't even know how far down. It was truly wonderful and convinced me that I need to do the three day hike out to Pico Duarte, the highest mountain in the country and I think in the Caribbean. And when we got to the waterfall...WOW. It's the waterfall that part of Jurassic Park was filmed by and it was gorgeous. Abosutely and completely gorgeous. There were only a handful of people there and barely any trash. We went swimming under the waterfall and I wish I could bottle the fun we had. I really enjoyed floating and looking up at the rock around the waterfall - it was covered in moss and crazy textures and it was simply exquisite. And then when you walked into the spray, it was so powerful that it almost knocked you backward. We were saying that we were getting a really cheap microderm abrasion treatment. And when you were in the spray you could see an almost complete rainbow. (I haven't recorded this anywhere - I saw a rainbow the first day I came to the DR. I knew it was going to be a special place for me.) We went to a third waterfall as well, but the second one beat out the others because of the work we had to do to get there.
Today, we didn't do much. We went out for a nice breakfast (more lechoza juice!) and then chilled and watched Michael Jackson videos and documentaries, wandered around for a bit, ate more, drank frappachinos, sat in a different parque Duarte, etc. It was truly an awesome awesome trip and I love my girl roommates. Pictures in the next post!
We decided to go up to Jarabacoa for the weekend. It's in the Cordillera Central, i.e. the "Dominican Alps"...um...yeah. I don't know about that description, but it was sooo amazingly beautiful in so many ways. The town itself didn't have much to offer, besides amazing papaya juice and frappchinos. But we found a good, cheap hotel and the people there helped us find a cheap (and hot) guide to take us around to the waterfalls.
It was sooo nice to be out of the city. I mean it was still polluted and whatnot up there, but there was so much green lushness. It was wonderful. Our guide took us to the first waterfall and it was beautiful (pictures are in the next post since I'm retarded). Then he led us up a path. I didn't think we were going to be doing any hiking which I was a bit bummed about, but then...we HIKED! It was intense! This wasn't like my favorite trail at Middlesex Fells. This wasn't a place you could go trail running. This was like pulling yourself up on vines and preying to god you didn't lose your balance or else you'd fall I don't even know how far down. It was truly wonderful and convinced me that I need to do the three day hike out to Pico Duarte, the highest mountain in the country and I think in the Caribbean. And when we got to the waterfall...WOW. It's the waterfall that part of Jurassic Park was filmed by and it was gorgeous. Abosutely and completely gorgeous. There were only a handful of people there and barely any trash. We went swimming under the waterfall and I wish I could bottle the fun we had. I really enjoyed floating and looking up at the rock around the waterfall - it was covered in moss and crazy textures and it was simply exquisite. And then when you walked into the spray, it was so powerful that it almost knocked you backward. We were saying that we were getting a really cheap microderm abrasion treatment. And when you were in the spray you could see an almost complete rainbow. (I haven't recorded this anywhere - I saw a rainbow the first day I came to the DR. I knew it was going to be a special place for me.) We went to a third waterfall as well, but the second one beat out the others because of the work we had to do to get there.
Today, we didn't do much. We went out for a nice breakfast (more lechoza juice!) and then chilled and watched Michael Jackson videos and documentaries, wandered around for a bit, ate more, drank frappachinos, sat in a different parque Duarte, etc. It was truly an awesome awesome trip and I love my girl roommates. Pictures in the next post!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
It's hot
People don't wear shorts down here. I've seen a few, but generally, not so much. Not many people wear sunglasses and sometimes sandals are looked down upon. For awhile there, I couldn't figure out why people were looking at my feet all the time (no, parents, I haven't wearing my really really crappy birks...they literally disintegrated off of my feet my first week here). My kind, gentlemanly roommate told me that it was because I have manly feet (!!!!), but I think it's actually just a more general not liking of the sandals. So sad! That's one of the best parts of summer!
I've gotten used to not paying attention to anyone when I walk down the street. It's very New England/New York of me. (Speaking of New England, and going back to the Moby interview, one of the things he said which I thought was hilarious was "I think there's something about New England that breeds some sort of contemplativeness and negative self-involvement." Hahahahahhaa!! Hence this blog...?) But when you walk down the street here the pssttinngg is constant. It's really obnoxious. I've gotten more used to it, but it still sometimes gets under my skin. This morning a guy did a more rhythmic pssting at me. Instead of the long psssstttt it was like pst psstt pst pst. Very creative, dude! Still not going to convince me that you're the man for me. Another unique one this morning was some kid grabbing his nostril and saying something I didn't understand - some sort of commentary on the nose ring, I presume. Is it time to let it go? Not just because of the kid...(Ryan is going "yes! take it out!") My first week here, I was walking around randomly and this guy pulled up and asked me if I knew where a hostel was. He was Dominican, but had lived in Chicago for a number of years, so his English was good. He asked me if I was a surfer because I had a nose ring. I love these associations people make with piercings. He then proceeded to tell me that he could take me surfing and be my tour guide and that we should exchange numbers and oh did I want a ride somewhere? Too much. (I didn't get his car, Mom. Don't worry.)
I'm in the process of redrafting a part for the first section of our best practices report on Resolution 1325. The publication will be building off of INSTRAW's "Securing Equality, Engendering Peace" report. The part I'm writing is a general piece about "Understanding Women, Peace and Security" including the legal framework and what Resolution 1325 and 1820 (on sexual violence) mean. It's a whole different style - writing a policy document versus an academic document. I have to keep shortening my sentences, taking out verbosity, not using words like verbosity, etc. I have kept in mind Professor Sommer's contradictory feedback on memo writing. Super helpful. I hadn't realized it, but it turns out there was quite the civil society movement prior to the passing of 1325, mainly through the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security. I mean, makes sense - I just didn't know. How cool are transnational civil society networks?
Ok, I should get to it...
I've gotten used to not paying attention to anyone when I walk down the street. It's very New England/New York of me. (Speaking of New England, and going back to the Moby interview, one of the things he said which I thought was hilarious was "I think there's something about New England that breeds some sort of contemplativeness and negative self-involvement." Hahahahahhaa!! Hence this blog...?) But when you walk down the street here the pssttinngg is constant. It's really obnoxious. I've gotten more used to it, but it still sometimes gets under my skin. This morning a guy did a more rhythmic pssting at me. Instead of the long psssstttt it was like pst psstt pst pst. Very creative, dude! Still not going to convince me that you're the man for me. Another unique one this morning was some kid grabbing his nostril and saying something I didn't understand - some sort of commentary on the nose ring, I presume. Is it time to let it go? Not just because of the kid...(Ryan is going "yes! take it out!") My first week here, I was walking around randomly and this guy pulled up and asked me if I knew where a hostel was. He was Dominican, but had lived in Chicago for a number of years, so his English was good. He asked me if I was a surfer because I had a nose ring. I love these associations people make with piercings. He then proceeded to tell me that he could take me surfing and be my tour guide and that we should exchange numbers and oh did I want a ride somewhere? Too much. (I didn't get his car, Mom. Don't worry.)
I'm in the process of redrafting a part for the first section of our best practices report on Resolution 1325. The publication will be building off of INSTRAW's "Securing Equality, Engendering Peace" report. The part I'm writing is a general piece about "Understanding Women, Peace and Security" including the legal framework and what Resolution 1325 and 1820 (on sexual violence) mean. It's a whole different style - writing a policy document versus an academic document. I have to keep shortening my sentences, taking out verbosity, not using words like verbosity, etc. I have kept in mind Professor Sommer's contradictory feedback on memo writing. Super helpful. I hadn't realized it, but it turns out there was quite the civil society movement prior to the passing of 1325, mainly through the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security. I mean, makes sense - I just didn't know. How cool are transnational civil society networks?
Ok, I should get to it...
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
This is going to be equally nerdy and petty
I realized yesterday that I haven't really recorded what it's like here...I'll put it on my to do list...it will be number #194,860,428. God I'm a psycho.
I just listened to an AWESOME interview with Moby on NPR. I think I'm in love. Well, re-in love. Remembering my in loveness. Whatever. He's so damn cool. He just released a new album "wait for me" and the clips they were playing were amazing. I can't wait to go home and give it a listen. And he did all the little cartoon drawings, too! So cute. AND he has a journal on his website. You all should give it a listen for sure - there are clips on his website. You won't regret it. jtlf particularly strikes me this afternoon.
Oh no...Alyssa, I'm sorry - I just used love three times in one paragraph...and yesterday was worse! Crap. Yell at me, please, if this becomes gross.
Moby was talking a bit about the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function. He was saying that there have been studies where music has been used to treat alzheimers and has actually halted the disease's progression. He also said something about people who were paralyzed being able to move around when certain music was played and when it stopped, they couldn't move their limbs again. Of course, the NIH doesn't recognize music therapy as a valid form of therapy. I mean, I guess I can understand it. It's been awhile since I've studied music therapy, but it seems like treatment would be so subjective and vary so much from person to person. Although I guess that's true with any form of therapy...hmm...
But it is incredible what an influence music can have even just on day to day tasks and moods. That's one of the things I miss about being at home - feeling comfortable enough to walk around with my Mp3 player on. It's like having a soundtrack to life and everything takes on different meanings and different energies. Sometimes I feel like I need to share a song or album with someone just so they can understand my mindset or mood at that time. Sometimes words don't do it or don't do it well enough.
I often play the "what if" game. Like what if I had gone to Clark U and studied psychology and followed the music therapy career path? Where would I be today? It's amazing how life can just twist and turn and throw curve balls. And then twist back again. I mean, much of my interest in post-conflict reconciliation is about the psychological aspects of it. What does it mean to reconcile? What does it mean to forgive? What is collective memory? How do practitioners in the field of transitional justice and post-conflict reconstruction take into account the variety of experiences that people have had, build on these experiences, and utilize the different skills, experiences, and memories that people have to work towards sustainable peace?
I love that I end all my posts with questions that I cannot answer. Oh god...is this another similarity with that blog which shall not be named??? Ack.
I just listened to an AWESOME interview with Moby on NPR. I think I'm in love. Well, re-in love. Remembering my in loveness. Whatever. He's so damn cool. He just released a new album "wait for me" and the clips they were playing were amazing. I can't wait to go home and give it a listen. And he did all the little cartoon drawings, too! So cute. AND he has a journal on his website. You all should give it a listen for sure - there are clips on his website. You won't regret it. jtlf particularly strikes me this afternoon.
Oh no...Alyssa, I'm sorry - I just used love three times in one paragraph...and yesterday was worse! Crap. Yell at me, please, if this becomes gross.
Moby was talking a bit about the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function. He was saying that there have been studies where music has been used to treat alzheimers and has actually halted the disease's progression. He also said something about people who were paralyzed being able to move around when certain music was played and when it stopped, they couldn't move their limbs again. Of course, the NIH doesn't recognize music therapy as a valid form of therapy. I mean, I guess I can understand it. It's been awhile since I've studied music therapy, but it seems like treatment would be so subjective and vary so much from person to person. Although I guess that's true with any form of therapy...hmm...
But it is incredible what an influence music can have even just on day to day tasks and moods. That's one of the things I miss about being at home - feeling comfortable enough to walk around with my Mp3 player on. It's like having a soundtrack to life and everything takes on different meanings and different energies. Sometimes I feel like I need to share a song or album with someone just so they can understand my mindset or mood at that time. Sometimes words don't do it or don't do it well enough.
I often play the "what if" game. Like what if I had gone to Clark U and studied psychology and followed the music therapy career path? Where would I be today? It's amazing how life can just twist and turn and throw curve balls. And then twist back again. I mean, much of my interest in post-conflict reconciliation is about the psychological aspects of it. What does it mean to reconcile? What does it mean to forgive? What is collective memory? How do practitioners in the field of transitional justice and post-conflict reconstruction take into account the variety of experiences that people have had, build on these experiences, and utilize the different skills, experiences, and memories that people have to work towards sustainable peace?
I love that I end all my posts with questions that I cannot answer. Oh god...is this another similarity with that blog which shall not be named??? Ack.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Drool
I love books. Love love love. And I have since...what age mom? Like 4? Who knows...For awhile I had aspects of my personality and behavior that I hid away out of embarrassment, thinking that people would think I was a nerd, dork, freak, loser, etc. Now, however, I do not care (for the most part) and I would be flattered if anyone called me those words (well...besides loser...).
To give you all an example of my dorkiness and absolute adoration of books, I have kept a journal of all the books I have read since fourth grade. I think I have lost portions of it - I kept it on my computer for awhile and then lost some files. But now, I keep a hard copy with title, author, page numbers, and dates I started and finished. I also write down any quotes that strike my fancy. I started doing this when I first moved to Walpole because I was determined to read every book in the Walpole Public Library's young adult section. That didn't last long. I went about it systematically and the first couple A-authored books sucked and I got discouraged. It's amazing - even today, I attack projects in a similar fashion and get peeved and ditch them. But anyway, books...
Last week my roommate took me to the Peace Corps office in Santo Domingo where they have a wall of discarded books from previous volunteers. Man oh man...I could have kissed him. It was like paradise! I had to physically restrain myself from taking too many and only brought three home - Jodi Picoult's Picture Perfect, Jhumpa Lahiri's Unaccustomed Earth (per Naureen's recommendation - can't wait!), and something about a goat that is a novel about the Trujillo regime. Very exciting.
But today...oh today I am drooling over a different kind of literature. My boss was at a conference in Chile last week and came back with the Geneva Centre for Democratic Control of Armed Forces' Women in an Insecure World: Violence against Women, Facts, Figures and Analysis. While it's a bit dated (2005), it is simply a beautiful publication - not the subject matter, clearly, but the actual book. The weight of it, the feel of the pages, the pictures. Wow. The smell leaves something to be desired, but we will leave that aside. It's one of those publications that you don't want to open all the way for fear of bending the cover. I want to make one.
Despite reneging on my commitment to widows for my thesis, I, of course, had to look at the "Women in Mourning" section. And it's these statistics that make me want to reconsider my decision to change topics: in Bosnia-Herzegovina 92% of persons missing in relation to the armed conflict are men; in relation to the armed conflict in Kosovo this figure it 90%. The majority of these missing men were not members of the armed forces or armed groups, but civilians. Imagine losing all the male members of your family between the ages of 15 and 65 years and having no idea what happened to them...
I fill my head with information like this all the time, but the reality is that I have no idea what it would be like to experience any of the things I read about. I can't imagine losing someone close to me at all, let alone in a situation in conflict. Hell, I can't imagine living in conflict situation. But then to lose someone, to not know what happened to them, to be alone, to be displaced, to be threatened by violence...It's unimaginable I suppose.
And sometimes I worry that my own lackof experience of these things, particularly just the experience of being in a conflict situation, hinders my ability to truly understand. I can read and read and read, but I really don't have any clue what it would mean to go through a trauma and then try to "reconcile" with whoever has killed or disappeared or raped or...any number of things...me, my family, my friends, my community, my country. I know I am very very very lucky in so many ways. And I certainly do not wish to experience conflict (well maybe a little...) or trauma, but I do wonder about my place as an "outsider" trying to understand and "help". I don't have any answers and I know that these are questions that many academics and practitioners grapple with on a daily basis.
Ok that's it for the rambling. Back to my secondhand information gathering and reading this beautiful publication...ahhhhhh....
To give you all an example of my dorkiness and absolute adoration of books, I have kept a journal of all the books I have read since fourth grade. I think I have lost portions of it - I kept it on my computer for awhile and then lost some files. But now, I keep a hard copy with title, author, page numbers, and dates I started and finished. I also write down any quotes that strike my fancy. I started doing this when I first moved to Walpole because I was determined to read every book in the Walpole Public Library's young adult section. That didn't last long. I went about it systematically and the first couple A-authored books sucked and I got discouraged. It's amazing - even today, I attack projects in a similar fashion and get peeved and ditch them. But anyway, books...
Last week my roommate took me to the Peace Corps office in Santo Domingo where they have a wall of discarded books from previous volunteers. Man oh man...I could have kissed him. It was like paradise! I had to physically restrain myself from taking too many and only brought three home - Jodi Picoult's Picture Perfect, Jhumpa Lahiri's Unaccustomed Earth (per Naureen's recommendation - can't wait!), and something about a goat that is a novel about the Trujillo regime. Very exciting.
But today...oh today I am drooling over a different kind of literature. My boss was at a conference in Chile last week and came back with the Geneva Centre for Democratic Control of Armed Forces' Women in an Insecure World: Violence against Women, Facts, Figures and Analysis. While it's a bit dated (2005), it is simply a beautiful publication - not the subject matter, clearly, but the actual book. The weight of it, the feel of the pages, the pictures. Wow. The smell leaves something to be desired, but we will leave that aside. It's one of those publications that you don't want to open all the way for fear of bending the cover. I want to make one.
Despite reneging on my commitment to widows for my thesis, I, of course, had to look at the "Women in Mourning" section. And it's these statistics that make me want to reconsider my decision to change topics: in Bosnia-Herzegovina 92% of persons missing in relation to the armed conflict are men; in relation to the armed conflict in Kosovo this figure it 90%. The majority of these missing men were not members of the armed forces or armed groups, but civilians. Imagine losing all the male members of your family between the ages of 15 and 65 years and having no idea what happened to them...
I fill my head with information like this all the time, but the reality is that I have no idea what it would be like to experience any of the things I read about. I can't imagine losing someone close to me at all, let alone in a situation in conflict. Hell, I can't imagine living in conflict situation. But then to lose someone, to not know what happened to them, to be alone, to be displaced, to be threatened by violence...It's unimaginable I suppose.
And sometimes I worry that my own lackof experience of these things, particularly just the experience of being in a conflict situation, hinders my ability to truly understand. I can read and read and read, but I really don't have any clue what it would mean to go through a trauma and then try to "reconcile" with whoever has killed or disappeared or raped or...any number of things...me, my family, my friends, my community, my country. I know I am very very very lucky in so many ways. And I certainly do not wish to experience conflict (well maybe a little...) or trauma, but I do wonder about my place as an "outsider" trying to understand and "help". I don't have any answers and I know that these are questions that many academics and practitioners grapple with on a daily basis.
Ok that's it for the rambling. Back to my secondhand information gathering and reading this beautiful publication...ahhhhhh....
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Suddenly I See
What a lovely day and weekend! Sometimes alone/quiet time is just so nice. I remember going bonkers at the nunnery in Geneva when I didn't feel like I was ever alone and then finding this place in Neuchatel on top of a roof of some building where I was completely alone for about 10 minutes and those 10 minutes were just heavenly. I love people, really, I do. But sometimes, it is oh so nice to be alone. Likewise, while I love the people that I have met here (for the most part), being mostly alone this weekend was a much much needed break. Jamming out to some Paul Simon and Ani and other random stuff. Singing my heart out when no one could hear...love it!
So today, after freaking out about my thesis for awhile (what's new?), my roommate, Sandra, and I went out to Santo Domingo's Botantical Garden. She is equally obsessed with orchids, so it was a good time. We took the train around to see various parts of the garden, stopping in the Japanese part for a bit. There was the most incredible tree there...it was kind of like that tree that was in the middle of Odysseus and Penelope's house in the TV version of the Odyssey, or that's the way I remember it anyway. I took about 100 pictures of orchids...I will refrain from posting them all...but my god. Life is so good when surrounded by orchids. And it was so nice too because there were tons of Dominican families out enjoying the gardens and children running around and whatnot. Lovely. Next post will have more pictures - I'm really struggling with the formatting of putting pics on the blog thing. Tips?
When I was going through my pics, I was thinking about how I tend to take the same shots. For comparison: Loving the fl
owers 2009 and then me with some trumpet vine flowers in Budapest in 2006. Hello flower obsession.
So today, after freaking out about my thesis for awhile (what's new?), my roommate, Sandra, and I went out to Santo Domingo's Botantical Garden. She is equally obsessed with orchids, so it was a good time. We took the train around to see various parts of the garden, stopping in the Japanese part for a bit. There was the most incredible tree there...it was kind of like that tree that was in the middle of Odysseus and Penelope's house in the TV version of the Odyssey, or that's the way I remember it anyway. I took about 100 pictures of orchids...I will refrain from posting them all...but my god. Life is so good when surrounded by orchids. And it was so nice too because there were tons of Dominican families out enjoying the gardens and children running around and whatnot. Lovely. Next post will have more pictures - I'm really struggling with the formatting of putting pics on the blog thing. Tips?
When I was going through my pics, I was thinking about how I tend to take the same shots. For comparison: Loving the fl
owers 2009 and then me with some trumpet vine flowers in Budapest in 2006. Hello flower obsession.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Pictures!
Top right: two of my roomies and me.Middle right: One of many incredibly crazy trees...I'm obsessed...
Bottom right another crazy tree growth thing.
Gotta love my follow through. I create a blog and three weeks later I'm ready to actually begin writing. Honestly, I have really strayed from myself in the last three weeks and lost sight of the things that matter to me. It's time to get back on track. I mean it's always fun to mix it up a little, but not when there are resulting negative consequences. Holy vagueness. Whatever. Moving on...
So yeah, these last three weeks have been crazy in a number of ways. I need to be better about recording the absurdities of trying to negotiate your way around a country where the language is still hazy. For instance, today, I have the house mostly to myself as everyone is at the beach celebrating our roommate's going away party. But the housekeeper is here. I already have a complex about having a housekeeper in the first place. It makes me feel like a spoiled child. Yes, let me sit here while you clean up after me and my other privileged roommates. I'll sit here and do "work" meaning reading and typing. It's just very strange to me. I think the housekeeper has taken a shine to me though, despite the fact that I have a very hard time understanding her. I think she might have asked me for money earlier today? And then she gestured to her arm - like for a shot? Heroin? I have no idea. So then she started gesturing to my hair and she asked if I had a boyfriend (not sure what that had to do with my hair...) and then she basically ripped my hair out of its ponytail and started twisting (pulling) it. I think then she was saying that people do that at Boca Chica and that I could pay her to do it or something. Who knows. Awkward me out forever! So I went back to my transitional justice article...ha.
It looks like instead of just being here until the end of July, I will actually be here until like mid-October. My boss is leaving at the end of July and the consultant who will be replacing her is coming October 1, so they need someone to cover the department and they offered me the job. I hope my jaw didn't physically hit the ground during the meeting where this happened, but that's how I still feel. I mean, I understand that it is largely the result of timing - I'm in the right place at the right time, but what an opportunity! I feel very lucky. So, I will have to take a semester off of school, but I think that this could be an amazing chance to widen my contacts, prove myself, and really open up some career opportunities. Also, I might be able to get published! Wow. I don't know if I take myself seriously enough to get published, but we'll see...when will I start thinking of myself as an adult, an intelligent adult who has things to contribute to the field I'm interested in? I maintain that I am still a teenager, my thoughts are still percolating, and I need to sit back and learn. Perhaps this experience will change that.
Even before I was offered this position, I started thinking that I should change my thesis topic. I've had misgivings for awhile now and it's just not changing. I was talking with my fabulous roommate about it and she was helping me brainstorm and think things through and she sees the disconnect in what I was doing as well. Widows and transitional justice - but why? How? It just doesn't fit. And my professors certainly aren't stepping up to help me out. I am going to try to formulate something about transitional justice and gender so that I can use my time at INSTRAW to work on my thesis. We'll see! That's what today is about - me time and thesis-ness. Getting my head back on my shoulders.
Ok, holy serious post. Jesus. This is not what I intended. I will post pictures now and hopefully get back to my lighthearted self in a couple days.
So yeah, these last three weeks have been crazy in a number of ways. I need to be better about recording the absurdities of trying to negotiate your way around a country where the language is still hazy. For instance, today, I have the house mostly to myself as everyone is at the beach celebrating our roommate's going away party. But the housekeeper is here. I already have a complex about having a housekeeper in the first place. It makes me feel like a spoiled child. Yes, let me sit here while you clean up after me and my other privileged roommates. I'll sit here and do "work" meaning reading and typing. It's just very strange to me. I think the housekeeper has taken a shine to me though, despite the fact that I have a very hard time understanding her. I think she might have asked me for money earlier today? And then she gestured to her arm - like for a shot? Heroin? I have no idea. So then she started gesturing to my hair and she asked if I had a boyfriend (not sure what that had to do with my hair...) and then she basically ripped my hair out of its ponytail and started twisting (pulling) it. I think then she was saying that people do that at Boca Chica and that I could pay her to do it or something. Who knows. Awkward me out forever! So I went back to my transitional justice article...ha.
It looks like instead of just being here until the end of July, I will actually be here until like mid-October. My boss is leaving at the end of July and the consultant who will be replacing her is coming October 1, so they need someone to cover the department and they offered me the job. I hope my jaw didn't physically hit the ground during the meeting where this happened, but that's how I still feel. I mean, I understand that it is largely the result of timing - I'm in the right place at the right time, but what an opportunity! I feel very lucky. So, I will have to take a semester off of school, but I think that this could be an amazing chance to widen my contacts, prove myself, and really open up some career opportunities. Also, I might be able to get published! Wow. I don't know if I take myself seriously enough to get published, but we'll see...when will I start thinking of myself as an adult, an intelligent adult who has things to contribute to the field I'm interested in? I maintain that I am still a teenager, my thoughts are still percolating, and I need to sit back and learn. Perhaps this experience will change that.
Even before I was offered this position, I started thinking that I should change my thesis topic. I've had misgivings for awhile now and it's just not changing. I was talking with my fabulous roommate about it and she was helping me brainstorm and think things through and she sees the disconnect in what I was doing as well. Widows and transitional justice - but why? How? It just doesn't fit. And my professors certainly aren't stepping up to help me out. I am going to try to formulate something about transitional justice and gender so that I can use my time at INSTRAW to work on my thesis. We'll see! That's what today is about - me time and thesis-ness. Getting my head back on my shoulders.
Ok, holy serious post. Jesus. This is not what I intended. I will post pictures now and hopefully get back to my lighthearted self in a couple days.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Inspired by some of my Fletcher peers and realizing that I write the same details in emails to different people on a regular basis, I have decided to start a blog to record my (brief) time in the Dominican Republic. I'm here for two months doing an internship with the UN International Research and Training Institute on the Advancement of Women (UN-INSTRAW). I'm working in the gender, peace security department, mainly looking at the implementation of UN Resolution 1325.
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