Tuesday, November 04, 2008

"So today is Easter in America."
-Peter Dula, my Honors seminar professor

A refreshingly honest reminder that no presidential candidate can be the savior of this nation.

But still. I sure know what result I'd like to see.

Monday, September 01, 2008

It's been a while.

Obviously, I disappeared from the blog scene for quite some time. Those of you who used to check this faithfully may have given up on me by now. I thought I had given up on this myself, so I can't blame you. After I returned from the Middle East, I never fully intended to resume posting again. Somehow, my thoughts and feelings felt too overwhelming and all-encompassing to possibly consider writing about in this type of space (or at all, sometimes). But I'm willing to give it a try again.

Though I've now been back in the U.S. for longer than I was gone (really?) and spent the summer transitioning back into this culture, returning to EMU has brought on a fresh wave of longing for the Middle East. It seems like everything reminds me in some way of my experiences there. Sometimes, I struggle with living in the present and not constantly desiring to return to my time on cross-cultural. The challenge lies in figuring out how to integrate what I learned there into my life in this country...and how it affects what the future holds for me.

Friday, January 04, 2008

oh hello, 2008.

The new year snuck up on me in the midst of all the busyness of this break. So far, my 2008 has mostly consisted of shopping and packing for the Middle East, for which I leave in one week.

I am so excited and ready to go. I finally have most of what I need, though I have yet to figure out how to efficiently pack it all. Those concerns are far outweighed by the thrill of knowing that very soon I'll be seeing the pyramids, hiking Mt. Sinai, spending Easter in Israel, tracing parts of Paul's journey, and much more. This will be the biggest adventure of my life so far, and I simply can't wait.

I don't plan on blogging much, if at all, while I'm gone, so the only way you are likely to hear from me is if you are on my mass email list. If you haven't already asked me to include you on that list, please let me know soon!