Blast from the past

Remember Captain Planet? I named my pet cat after one of the characters when I was four. My memory of this cartoon is not very vivid, but apparently it took on some pretty heavy issues, in this case HIV/AIDS (to be followed by Parts 2 and 3). Impressive for an early 90s children's show.

Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore...

I really was never in Kansas, but I've recently seen Wisconsin, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and finally Georgia, marking the start of a new chapter. Despite the excitement of a new adventure, it is strange to not be in Morris anymore. I miss what's simple and familiar in a place where people are quirky and accepted for who they are and what they bring to the table. In this big, new place, "parallel" streets intersect, side roads are never through streets and cyclists take their lives in their hands going to the grocery store. In other words, I'm working on finding my way around this city without a car, and its certainly not the ideal situation I'd hoped for. I find myself longing for the days of a five minute walk to class and long bike rides where the only traffic is the occasional tractor or combine. Its also hot and sticky, so anywhere I go, I'm a guaranteed sweat hog upon arrival. They tell me it cools down eventually.

Despite some of the difficulties I've faced in my first couple weeks, I'm thrilled to be here.There is a really positive energy at Rollins, among faculty and students alike. I perceived this energy in my painfully brief visit in March, but it was so ostensible that it made other very impressive programs pale in comparison. The faculty are as student-oriented as those in Morris and are world-renowned public health practitioners. This fall, I will be receiving instruction from a faculty member who was part of the WHO's worldwide smallpox eradication team. The school's dean was one of the first to recognize and begin to investigate the AIDS epidemic as it emerged, and within the CDC fought the good fight to save lives despite a stubborn administration. The students are impressive too, coming from a diversity of backgrounds. Many have been in the work force for a few years already, others come from abroad, and others, like me, are fresh out of undergrad. One thing is certain: I am in good (and impressive!) company down here.

Let the adventure begin!

Swing Criollo

Of all the Latin dance rhythms there are, cumbia is far and away my favorite. What I've recently realized is how unique the Costa Rican style of cumbia (call the swing criollo) is. I have not found a soul stateside who has danced cumbia the way I learned it in Costa Rica. The Costa Rican style is so much fun. This guy thinks the swing criollo is emblematic of Tico culture and the national mantra of pura vida, and I would agree. Doesn't it look fun?

If you speak and/or understand Spanish (or can read Portuguese subtitles), this is a documentary made about the history of the swing criollo.

Beholden

Life is moving so quickly forward. The year 2011 (or the first six months of it) has been marked by so many good things. So many blessings. Since January I have been picking up momentum, preparing to move on, ready for new, grand adventures. Dwelling in the present has been a challenge. As plans for the next two years of my life have materialized out of (what seems to be) thin air, it is difficult to not get caught up in that excitement. But really, I wish I could dwell in these experiences for longer than the time allotted.

I am in Holden Village for five weeks this summer, but I feel like I could easily spend a year here. This place fosters good living. Based around three solid, but modest meals a day, I'm expected to work, but also to rest. I dwell in community and meet new people everyday, but also have time and space to seek solitude. I know this is pretty cushy compared to living in the real world, but it feels good to be earning my keep. I earn my meals and my bed, and I make the most of my leisure time.

I couldn't tell you what my expectations were for my partial summer here. I abstractly anticipated meeting new and interesting people, taking in the physical landscape and being able to spend plenty of time reading and reflecting both on what's behind me and before me. I cannot say that any of those expectations haven't been satisfied, but the experience as a whole is different than I imagined it.

Arriving in the Village as a stranger, my first week here was less comfortable than my first week abroad. When traveling abroad, my peers were all strangers but we all came in on a level playing field. All of us had little idea of what to expect from the experience and were diving headlong into a grand adventure together as peers. That experience is the closest likeness to what my arrival in the Village was like, but the discomfort was more extreme. Here, I entered a working system that the folks that greeted me off the bus all had a role in, socially and logistically. I was at a disadvantage having been new to the entire scenario, and getting settled here felt like a more daunting process than adjusting to the culture of a different country. Maybe that's a testament to the strength of Holden culture: how it changes people. Regardless, I become more comfortable with each passing day and after nine days, feel like I am beginning to thrive in my new environment.

Positivity

This video has been the mantra of our apartment the last couple days.


It's all about being optimistic.

Time in Morris is finite. I'll be out of here for the last time in just over a week.

Beginning of the End

I begin my final semester at UMM with a double dose of affirmation. I received notification that I've been accepted into Master of Public Health programs in Epidemiology at two schools: the University of Minnesota and Yale's Schools of Public Health. I still await notification from several other programs and schools, but its feels go to break the ice with positive feedback.

My last semester at UMM embodies liberal arts with courses in biology, history, art history and geography/computer application. Sadly it lacks a subject that has been a mainstay and favorite in my undergraduate education: Spanish. I hope to keep up with Spanish through extra-curricular means: reading independently in Spanish, conversation tables at TMC, teaching ESL to members of Morris' Mexican community, translating outreach and publicity materials for Morris Healthy Eating. The opportunities are many, thankfully. Regardless, I will miss learning and being taught in Spanish on a daily basis. In that respect, last semester was the tops.

So here it begins. Graduation or bust!

Hello December

A year ago today, I took off in a plane departing from a place I was not ready to leave. As the planes engines fired and the slow stroll down the runway turned into the lumbering pace that lifted us off the ground, I glimpsed the Costa Rican landscape for the last time, not knowing if I'd every see it again, and could not hold back my tears. This place represented an escape I desperately needed from my normal surroundings in which a pattern of self-sacrifice and personal isolation had taken a toll on my spirit. Everything in my life was so serious that I didn't remember what it meant to laugh or feel joy. Joy found me again there, thanks to some remarkable classmates and professors and the national mantra: pura vida. However, leaving as abruptly as circumstances required me to made it difficult for me to believe that that joy would come home with me. A year later, I marvel at how much I have been through and how my three months abroad remain so close to my heart. I have fought for that joy in the face of the trials that have riddled the last twelve months, and it has been worth the fight. I feel more resilient, as if I have recognized the importance of joy and laughter because I lost them at one time. All that I have been through in the last year, although not always fun, has burnished my character in a positive way. PTL.