Just over a few weeks ago, Egypt stunned the world in its ability to come together via social media and protest, energize, reunite and bring down a leader that tormented so many of its country's citizens for years. Throughout the course of the 2-week span, I craved to be in the Middle East, as numerous Syrian, Lebanese and Egyptian friends posted facebook updates verbalizing their desire for freedom and cranked out political emails to their friends around the world, so people really understood what this fight was about. It was all beautifully executed and for the first time, potentially ever, voices were infectious and stories and information exchanged so that multiple perspectives were assessed, evaluated, contemplated and examined. As international bosses of internet workers, janitors and school teachers, received phone calls "I won't be at work today. I am protesting!" Brilliant! I feel like that we should all say that line like that to our bosses in our lives, to remind them and ourselves that we are living.
3 days ago, an earthquake 8.4 on the Richter scale rocked Japan, causing tidal waves to spread across the Pacific Ocean in many different directions. Meanwhile, I sat in a doctor's office for 2 hours as Spanish CNN covered the whole situation. Japan has leant its hand to help out countries around the world for as long as I can remember, and yet, the country is so isolated and independently quirky. It will be interesting to see whether the Japanese can bashfully take help from others when they have always been such a strong force internationally.
The question I ask myself and ask my readers, is where were you when this happened? And what was happening around you? What were you doing to help or hurt the world? Were you a part of history?
The more I live, the more I crave to be a part of the world's angst and passion, to be caught in these moments and reflect, help and dissect their meanings. And yet, here I am in Caracas and big dilemmas consist of challenging the Cada managers, deliberating over what fruteria to go to and trying to challenge people to think of how this country could explode magically. Perhaps, it comes across as threatening. By no means is this my intention, and I am so immune to attacks on the US now, I probably do it subconsciously. But, when it comes down to it, I like talking about what makes a country difficult or wonderful because if we don't then we will never be able to improve upon what we are. I mean I guess it goes back to the discussion I have had with so many friends about is the Western influence necessary, but I think if you have started developing as a country, it's hard to revert back to not developing. And for me Caracas, I am not sure what's happening here. There's a lot of running races. There's a lot of young people my age who are educated trying to leave the country. There's an opposition party to Chavez found on little less than the fact that they don't like Chavez.. There's some cool markets, bubble wars and excessive amounts of big boobs. There are some charming cabs sporting Virgin Mary stickers wallpapering the ceilings or Andy Warhol positive negative Jesus decals. There's some mountains that circle the city lined with colorful brick houses stacked on top of each other that seem to create an invisible blanket of energy warming the city. There are positives, there are negatives but for me it is so hard to live in a city that aches with potential and yet I am not really be able to fully articulate or exchange ideas with the locals at the level I desire to try and plant the seeds of transformative change. I don't think it needs to be more western, I just want to the people to have the same energy as the city that surrounds them and I want to feel magic and not feel like I am standing still.
I remember being in Madrid and wandering down the streets and people walking up to Kristen and I yelling, cheering, dancing around us, it was like we were drowning in people's energy that surrounded us. And here, you walk around at 9 o' clock at night and there's hardly anyone outside in particular parts of the city because it's rumored to be too dangerous...
Stand up, get out and live, damn it!
3 days ago, an earthquake 8.4 on the Richter scale rocked Japan, causing tidal waves to spread across the Pacific Ocean in many different directions. Meanwhile, I sat in a doctor's office for 2 hours as Spanish CNN covered the whole situation. Japan has leant its hand to help out countries around the world for as long as I can remember, and yet, the country is so isolated and independently quirky. It will be interesting to see whether the Japanese can bashfully take help from others when they have always been such a strong force internationally.
The question I ask myself and ask my readers, is where were you when this happened? And what was happening around you? What were you doing to help or hurt the world? Were you a part of history?
The more I live, the more I crave to be a part of the world's angst and passion, to be caught in these moments and reflect, help and dissect their meanings. And yet, here I am in Caracas and big dilemmas consist of challenging the Cada managers, deliberating over what fruteria to go to and trying to challenge people to think of how this country could explode magically. Perhaps, it comes across as threatening. By no means is this my intention, and I am so immune to attacks on the US now, I probably do it subconsciously. But, when it comes down to it, I like talking about what makes a country difficult or wonderful because if we don't then we will never be able to improve upon what we are. I mean I guess it goes back to the discussion I have had with so many friends about is the Western influence necessary, but I think if you have started developing as a country, it's hard to revert back to not developing. And for me Caracas, I am not sure what's happening here. There's a lot of running races. There's a lot of young people my age who are educated trying to leave the country. There's an opposition party to Chavez found on little less than the fact that they don't like Chavez.. There's some cool markets, bubble wars and excessive amounts of big boobs. There are some charming cabs sporting Virgin Mary stickers wallpapering the ceilings or Andy Warhol positive negative Jesus decals. There's some mountains that circle the city lined with colorful brick houses stacked on top of each other that seem to create an invisible blanket of energy warming the city. There are positives, there are negatives but for me it is so hard to live in a city that aches with potential and yet I am not really be able to fully articulate or exchange ideas with the locals at the level I desire to try and plant the seeds of transformative change. I don't think it needs to be more western, I just want to the people to have the same energy as the city that surrounds them and I want to feel magic and not feel like I am standing still.
I remember being in Madrid and wandering down the streets and people walking up to Kristen and I yelling, cheering, dancing around us, it was like we were drowning in people's energy that surrounded us. And here, you walk around at 9 o' clock at night and there's hardly anyone outside in particular parts of the city because it's rumored to be too dangerous...
Stand up, get out and live, damn it!
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