Why, Hello Virginia.

I've taken some time way from blogging, but I'm going to pick it up again.  I'm starting a new adventure (let's call it "Internship") and I need somewhere to document it all.  

After a 3.2 day trek across the USA mom and I (and my bike) made it to Virginia.  My initial assessment of the state is positive.  It's very green, very humid, and there are loads of lovely bike trails.  One of my hopes in coming out here is that I will encounter more diversity.  I certainly found it in Walmart on my second day.  I don't think there were any employees there who weren't black.  I'm also told that one of my schools is 75% Hispanic (I knew I should have taken Spanish classes).  It's going to be fun!  I'm very excited to learn.  Here are a few things I have learned so far:

1. When merging on the freeway... you do not have the right-of-way.  It's the craziest thing.  I was under the impression that when you are driving along the freeway and someone is trying to merge on you either speed up or slow down so that they can come on.  Right?  Wrong!  When driving around D.C. it's the responsibility of the merger to figure out how to fit in.  No space?  No luck :P

2. Living in a hotel is fun.  I live in a hotel.  Really, it feels just like a hotel!  The only exception is there isn't someone to make may bed for me every day.  Other than that it's the same.  I'll probably write an entire post on what it's like to live here.  I love having access to a gym and pools!

3. Recycle.  I was chatting with some new friends here and telling them of my progress in getting moved in.  I said, "I've finished unpacking, I just have a few boxes to throw away."  I was very quickly corrected. "Oh, you mean you need to recycle the boxes?"  Point taken.  The boxes will be recycled.

More adventures to come...        

Measure of Success

My grandpa was a great man.  Today, at his funeral, all nine of his children spoke.  I learned some new things about grandpa.  I had never known he had over a hundred patents to his name, or that he was the dean of an electrical engineering department for 17 years, or that when he taught at the university he was simply captivating.  Grandpa was never one to brag.  He was considered a genius, yet considered himself a simple farm boy.
Grandpa made me feel like a million bucks.  When I was with him I always knew I was the prettiest, smartest, most talented girl in the world.  As I listened to his children speak today I realized that, somehow, grandpa made everyone feel that way.  How did he do it?  How did he make everyone feel so loved and so valued?  He, more than most men, had reason to be praised and admired.  But  when you were with grandpa it was never about him.  It was always about you.
As I listened to story after story about how grandpa had, in a very personal way, helped someone feel they were of worth, I realized something.  That's success.  That's real success.  The jobs you have, the clothes you wear, the books you publish, the cars you drive, the titles you receive, at the end of the day really don't matter.  After you're gone no one will care about that.  A better measure of success will be how you made others feel about themselves.  Grandpa changed my life because he was able to see potential in me and help me believe in myself.  I still feel his love and support, perhaps even stronger now than I did before.  Thank you grandpa.            
 

Family-less in Phily

I entered the elevator on the first floor and pressed number nine. The only other lite-up number was 22, which I assumed had been pressed by the weary-looking business man in the corner. I estimated that we would share this elevator ride for about 20 seconds. I wanted to say something, but knew our conversation would be brief:

"Wow, you're going to the top!" was the first thing that came to mind.

"It doesn't matter to me," He responded. "When you travel as often as I do it's not special."

"Oh, what do you do?"

"I'm a consultant. I travel all the time. Traveling is not glamorous. I have a wife and two kids at home." He looked sad. At this point the elevator door opened.

"I hope your trip goes well." I said, with a sympathetic smile while stepping off. He nodded, "Thanks" and the elevator door closed.

If our world were a village of 100 people...

If you visit the family care foundations website you'll find the following:

http://www.familycare.org/special-interest/if-the-world-were-a-village-of-100-people/

"If we could reduce the world's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all existing human ratios remaining the same, the demographics would look something like this:

The village would have 61 Asians, 13 Africans, 12 Europeans, 9 Latin Americans, and 5 from the USA and Canada

50 would be male, 50 would be female

75 would be non-white; 25 white

67 would be non-Christian; 33 would be Christian

80 would live in substandard housing

16 would be unable to read or write

50 would be malnourished and 1 dying of starvation

33 would be without access to a safe water supply

39 would lack access to improved sanitation

24 would not have any electricity (And of the 76 that do
have electricity, most would only use it for light at night.)

8 people would have access to the Internet

1 would have a college education

1 would have HIV

2 would be near birth; 1 near death

5 would control 32% of the entire world's wealth; all 5 would be US citizens

48 would live on less than US$ 2 a day

20 would live on less than US$ 1 a day"

One of my prized possessions is a globe/lamp that sits on my desk, right next to my bed. It's a touch lamp, so each time you touch it it gets brighter. If you've ever seen "While you were sleeping," it's kind of like the lamp that Lucy's mother gave to her father. Very romantic.

So, after I read through these statistics a couple of times, I sat staring at my lamp for a while, looking at the size of my home in relation to the other countries in the world and the thought struck me; I forget. I forget that most people in the world do not live the way I live. I've read these statistics before, I'm sure of it. But it is still so easy to forget... my lifestyle is unusual.

I am the 1 in the village with the college education. I wonder what it would feel like to stand with my fellow 99 other villagers knowing that I was the only one who had the choice to study whatever I wanted to study, and to become whatever I wanted to become. I am one of the 5 who will control 32% of the worlds wealth. Not sure what I did to deserve that one. I am one of the 32 villagers who can live on more than $2 a day. When I thought a bit about how I would survive on less than $2 a day, I felt hungry. If I ever feel malnourished it's because I have been too busy or lazy to make myself healthy food and have been frequenting Taco Bell a little to much.

As further example: Most people in the world don't wake up in the morning (at whatever time they choose) and try to decide how to fit in two social calls, one shopping trip, homework (that is actually super interesting), a party, and personal time for scripture study, blogging, and doing my hair. Yeah... my life is pretty... fun.

I am in a multiculturalism class right now that is really pushing me to change the way I think about my blessings (which is just one more privilege few have). We've talked about unearned privilege a lot and how we should not feel guilty because of our wealth... we just need to remember that most of our privileges are indeed unearned and that where much is given, much is required. I think that what is required of me is that I learn to not put myself above or below others. Next week as an assignment for this class I'll spend several hours at the homeless shelter doing one-on-one interviews with the homeless about their life experience. I hope that I'm not judgmental. I'm sure that I will be, but I'm going to try really hard not to assume that because I have an education, clean clothing, and peace, that I am in any way better then them. I want to learn to see all of the villagers in this global village the way God sees them.

We are not the 99%... we are the 1% (or the .01%)