meanderings

"I don’t expect gay people to prove to me, a straight person, that there’s actually homophobia. I..."

Mon, 13 May 2013 10:40:07 -0700

“I don’t expect gay people to prove to me, a straight person, that there’s actually homophobia. I don’t expect poor people to prove to me, a Harvard grad, that hunger and poverty are widespread problems. And if someone asked me, as an Asian person, to “prove” to them that racism exists, I would laugh all the way back to Chinatown. Marginalized groups are not responsible for explaining their marginalization to you. If you are actually concerned, you would take the initiative to do some research yourself instead of showing up at some oppressed group’s door step demanding a list of citations for things (racism, sexism, etc.) that are proven time and time again in the real world.”

- WORD (via notevenbovvered)

oh hell yeah.

(via randomberlinchick)

Amen!

(via soulquarius)

This. I owe no one an explanation of my oppression, nor do I have the responsibility to educate you. You feel me?

(via ladyatheist)

riding out the birthday happiness by re-reading this email from my dad over and over.

Sun, 05 May 2013 04:29:00 -0700

riding out the birthday happiness by re-reading this email from my dad over and over.

foamspoon: One of my very first memories happened 21 years ago...

Sat, 04 May 2013 07:22:43 -0700

foamspoon:

One of my very first memories happened 21 years ago today. I spent the night at my cousin’s house because my parents were busy giving birth to my sister. I still distinctly remember my aunt Cindy telling me it was a girl, and I remember two things that were going through my mind.

The first was that I knew it was a girl. All of the adults expected her to be a boy, but I acted like I knew it was a girl all along. I don’t know if I actually did, but I remember feeling very self-righteous, knowing that I was destined to have a sister.

I also remember thinking, “this is it. You’re a grown up now. Your a big sister, and that changes things.” I was 4 and a half years old, but this shows that I took things too seriously and was a bit dramatic - even then.

I’ve always taken being a big sister very seriously, maybe sometimes a little too seriously. Sometimes I wanted to control and parent her, which wasn’t good for either of us, but for the majority of my life, my little sister has been a huge source of giggles, motivation, and inspiration for me.

Every time we’re together, I’m amazed at how quickly we fall into our own little world of jokes & banter, no matter how much time has passed or how many grown up experiences we’ve had since we’ve seen each other. I’m also always amazed at how badass she is - she’s amazingly kind, wise, creative, and witty.

Today is her 21st birthday, which would be a bigger deal if she was here. But, she’s in France tallying up amazing life experiences and becoming an even more badass character. I can’t wait until she comes back so I can learn more about who she has become in her big adventure, and fall back into our little world of giggles.

Until then…. Happy Birthday Annie!!

I have the best big sister. I love you

Mon petit amour me manque

Wed, 01 May 2013 14:43:59 -0700

Mon petit amour me manque

My French Pink Eye Progression

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 03:40:00 -0700

hm, maybe I have pink eye.

woke up the next morning pretty Quasimodo

it was bad.

maybe recovery is posible.

look at me, pink eye almost gone, new haircut, happy.

Oh wait, nevermind, PINK EYES BACK.

I AM ALLERGIC TO SPRING IN FRANCE.

A friend tells me his life goal: “Once, in a dream, I saw a woman standing in a field, it...

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 18:20:00 -0700

A friend tells me his life goal:

“Once, in a dream, I saw a woman standing in a field, it must of been dusk, but that was it, no other details. There was this blanket feeling that everything about me was exposed and all perfectly understood. No explanation, just complete, wordless understanding.”

He explains:

“When I was little, I wanted to be a word. Everything that is you, so clear, so concise. Think of the word ‘grass,’ no ambiguity there, we know exactly what ‘grass’ is. Now, imagine someone saying your name, just saying it, and it carries the weight of you and there is no misunderstanding. Things unaware, things unclear, secret things, and in between things all come with it’s meaning. It’s just a simple word, and it’s just you. In the field, with this woman, between us, I am a word. I need to recreate that feeling.”

And then I said my life goal was to raise a puppy..

and it was hard but you were brave, you are splendid and we will...

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 17:56:58 -0700

and it was hard but you were brave, you are splendid
and we will never be alone in this world
no matter what they say
we're gonna be okay

we were safe inside
and our new son cried, "san bernadino welcomes you"

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/03/25/if-only-we-could-talk-about-abusing-women-like-we-do-abusing-cats/

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 13:44:00 -0700

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/03/25/if-only-we-could-talk-about-abusing-women-like-we-do-abusing-cats/:

important thing this article talks about:

-rape culture

-sympathy for abusers

-masculinity standards

-cats.

Rare Spring day in Strasbourg. 54 degrees and sunny! Too bad it doesn’t look like this weather...

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 05:29:15 -0700

Rare Spring day in Strasbourg. 54 degrees and sunny! Too bad it doesn’t look like this weather is going to last.

I’m sitting outside, drinking coffee, and planning my spring break: two weeks in the south, time with Sue and Nick, see a coastal city or two, meeting Malcolm’s grandparents at “La Grande Maison”. Spring break in three weeks, Berlin in five. Summer seems to be approaching quickly now, I only wish that Strasbourg would get the memo that this means warmer weather.

Six months in

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 07:24:18 -0800

Well, I remembered that I still have a blog where I can share things. I have now been in Strasbourg for over six months which is a crazy thought. I no longer wake up thinking about the fact that I am in France, nor do I have to practice every French sentence in my head beforehand. I am reading books in French, mostly without problem. However, I have yet to find a French author that really hooks me, so I’ve mostly been reading Murakami books. Since I have to read a translation of Murakami anyways, I feel okay about it. I did feel like a bit of a traitor today when I bought a book in English, but the cover was so pretty, and I’ve been itching to read it. Plus, I finally have the skills where I think taking a break to read in English won’t set me back.

When I think back to where my French was when I arrived, I am amazed by where it is now. I make mistakes in every conversation, sure, but I can finally get my personality across in French. That’s the important part, I think. Even when I was improving a lot, I didn’t quite feel like I could really be Annie in French, and in the recent weeks, I’ve noticed that I have been able to show a lot more of myself through speech. Learning a language, I’ve found, isn’t about just about the grammar and the vocabulary, because when you reflect on the way you speak in your native language, you realize you have so many you-isms: words or phrases you like to say a lot, tones, jokes, sassiness, and lots of other little things that there probably aren’t words for. These are things that are hard to find when learning another language, because we learn first by imitation, and it felt like the biggest success when I noticed that I started to have my own voice in French rather than just a mix of the people I’ve been encountering and imitating. I don’t quite have an Annie French voice yet, but I love watching it be built, and that’s where I have felt the most proud of my improvement in French.

"La compréhension n’est jamais que la somme des malentendus"

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 07:07:48 -0800

“La compréhension n’est jamais que la somme des malentendus”

- Les Amants du Spoutnik

Murakami

nothing more relavent

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 04:31:38 -0800

nothing more relavent

Photo

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 03:21:52 -0800

i learned things

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 13:18:01 -0800

i learned things

Photo

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 02:34:35 -0800

"Rien n’est plus contagieux que la sieste. Tout se passe comme si les plaisirs n’étaient..."

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 12:05:39 -0800

“Rien n’est plus contagieux que la sieste. Tout se passe comme si les plaisirs n’étaient que des maladies auxquelles on n’ose pase céder. On résiste, parce qu’on croit devoir résister; et puis, il suffit que quelqu’un se laisse aller et tout le monde suit. C’était donc si facile? Il suffisait de s’abandonner? Et quel mal y a-t-il, après, à dormir après un bon repas? On hésite, par fausse honte.”

- Pierre Bost, someone who really understands my love of napping, in Monsieur Ladmiral Va Bientôt Mourir.

From Malcolm to Procrastination.

Sat, 05 Jan 2013 07:30:45 -0800

Well, I haven’t done this in quite sometime. Since I last wrote, I finished my first semester, said goodbye to LC kids, Malcolm visited, the Schaums visited, and I spent the holidays in France.

Finals went pretty well, I don’t really want to write about them, because they were just tests and pretty boring. Plus, I still have a paper to write for my program, so thinking about school makes me stressed.

So, I’ll start with Malcolm’s visit. Seeing that nearly-falling-apart green jacket with the mountain patch on the back from afar in the train station was one of the highlights of being abroad. We were so happy, and we stayed so happy for the whole trip. I showed him my new little French life. We ate tartes and baguettes and saw the most perfect snowflakes. We cooked for, we were cooked for, and ate with all the people I love in Strasbourg. After a week and a half of being giggly in Strasbourg, we took off to Paris to be happy with our friends. And yes, Paris is really as romantic as they say it is when you have limited time with a really great person and you take a short weekend trip to Paris- it’s perfect. In Paris, we got rained on, ate crepes and falafel, drank wine in a fancy apartment, slept in a tiny apartment, walked along the river, went to a funny bar, and Malcolm got sick. But, it was still so good. Here are a few pictures from our time together!

The day Malcolm left, my family arrived! So much sad and so much happy in the same two hours! It was such a weird feeling saying goodbye to Malcolm on the train platform; saying goodbye to him for six months, but knowing my family who I hadn’t seen in months was waiting behind me, ready to have fun. Once we got settled into our new home for two weeks, the ham/baguette/apple tart eating, coke drinking, and bananagram playing began! It was the perfect balance between relaxing/doing, schaum bonding/schaum-witko bonding. It was so great to spend Christmas with all the Witkowskis-a first ever! Plus there was a surprise visit from Santa! We’re such a good little family, and saying goodbye to the my Schaums was hard, of course, but it didn’t really hit me ‘til that night when I thought, “OH NO, I’M ALONE.” I had a minor freak-out, but then I re-adjusted, and am so happy that I got to spend a whole month with Malcolm or my family by my side non-stop.

Some Schaum Stras photos:

So that brings me to now. Like I said, the first couple days after my family left was hard, and I was sick and just wanted my mom. Then I adjusted and started getting out of the apartment at Sue’s. I went to a party with Kelly on New Year’s Eve: human interaction is a good thing! I had a lot of fun, and it was really awesome to meet Kelly’s friends. I even got to dress like a ballerina.

Currently, I’m procrastinating writing an essay for my final project by blogging and planning a Central Europe Trip! Vienna-Prague-Krakow here I come in February (hopefully!). Why yes, I am choosing the coldest places to go in February.

Gros Bisous!

Happy Birthday, Sis!

Fri, 23 Nov 2012 04:13:58 -0800

First, I must start with HAPPY BIRTHDAY KILEY. Today is my sister’s 25th birthday, and I wish I could spend it with her so badly. Luckily, Sam is visiting her, and he’s almost as annoying as me, so he will be a decent replacement.

I haven’t blogged anything in quite some time, since my last entry, I’ve gone to Amsterdam and returned to my normal Strasbourg life. Amsterdam was awesome, such a beautiful city, and I was visiting such a beautiful friend, so beauty all around. I was still a bit sick and totally broke, but despite those things, it was a great trip; lots of roaming around the city, silly conversations, nostalgia, good food, art, learning how to ride with two people on one bike… Here’s a few pictures!

Above Lili is pictured with Elvis the cat, a very nice cat, at the cutest little café. There I had the best apple pie EVER. (Note: I know my mom’s apple pie is actually the best, but I’ve never tried it because I used to not like pie. This apple pie was the best that I have ever tried, I know my mom’s will soon take that role.) If you’re ever in Amsterdam, you gotta stop by and taste this delicious pie, I wish I remembered the name of the cafe…

Since Amsterdam, I’ve been living pretty mellow. Still feeding stray cats and tutoring a 12 year old boy in English. Yesterday, as all of you know, was Thanksgiving. It was such a weird feeling to hardly even acknowledge the holiday. I skyped into the family dinner, and boy, was it strange and made me pretty homesick. But, alas, my family will be here in a month! Though it wasn’t my typical Thanksgiving, I had a really nice one. I finally have money again! WOO toothpaste! (So many problems with Bank of America, I could write a whole post about just that, but that might get ugly) I went shopping. Then, I went to an art opening with my host mom; there is this huge art show in Strasbourg every year where galleries from all over Europe come and show off. We saw a lot of interesting art and drank good champagne. Dinner at a restaurant followed, the pizza was good, but the dessert was AWESOME. I ordered Fruits Melba: ice cream, tons of fruit, berry sauce, a massive amount of whipped cream, topped with cinnamon. I wanted to take a picture to show the Schaum’s because it was just so Annie, but I was too embarrassed.

It’s a really weird time here right now. Everyone from LC, except Ben and me, and leaving in just under a month, so their mindset is changing. Meanwhile, I’m only a third of the way done with my program. It’s makes me both homesick and stoked that I am here for the year at the same time and nothing in between. Being abroad is lots of emotions.

As far my French goes, I understand really well now, but I am still having a lot of trouble talking. My host mom was telling me that I need to talk more which I know, but I’m already shy enough in English! I don’t feel too discouraged though, talking is bound to follow comprehension at some point.

MALCOLM COMES IN A WEEK AND A HALF. I can’t wait! We’re going to Brussels, drink spiced wine, eat tartes, and everything good.

Time to get back to laziness and my book.

Gros Bisous!

lots of things

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 13:56:42 -0800

It’s about time I wrote a line or two.

First, how can I not say a little something about the elections! This morning, I went to a breakfast for Americans in Alsace. When we got there, it was already clear that Obama was the winner, so we were already in good spirits when we got there. The concession and acceptance speech were both projected on to giant screens. It was really incredible, it was the first time since living abroad that I really missed the USA, as a country. I always miss my people there, but hadn’t yet missed the country as a whole. But man oh man, Obama’s speech really got me, and I really wanted to be at home to feel that electric energy after an election, positive or negative, I really wanted to be in the middle of it. But at the same time, it was really awesome celebrating the US somewhere so far away, to feel the solidarity of a country outside of itself.

Something really amazing that I think this election showed up quite clearly is that the USA is changing into a country built for all of it’s people, not just privileged white men. We’re not close to there yet, but all the victories of women today, the Latino vote, and the new states that legalized gay marriage show that we’re getting there. It’s so easy to be cynical and callused, because there is still so many things to be cynical about, and it can be so hard to see the slow progress through the problems. Today, clear progress was made, and I feel so happy and hopeful. Obama and everyone newly elected might not be perfect, and I’m sure would criticize them to the ground, but it really seems that the American people are so much better represented than years past. Which is the point..kind of..

Enough of that…

On to my travels,

Last week we had a vacation for Toussaints, and I did some traveling. I went to Paris with the whole LCCF group, and it was awesome. I had been there when I was 12, but it was great to go back now that I can think and appreciate things more. Some of the notable things we did as a group or I did independently of the agenda were: Le Centre Pompidou, Le Musée d’Orsay, mounted L’Arc de Triomphe, Le Musée Rodin, Palais Garnier, and Sacré Coeur. The best part: All of those things were free! With my student ID card I could go to all of those places with paying, so awesome; really says something great about how France treats their citizens/students. So that I don’t go picture crazy, I’m only letting myself choose two photos from Paris:

After Paris, I was off to Barcelona! Lili and I planned this trip together, but unfortunately could only align one night together, so I did most the trip alone. My first time taking a trip alone. I was nervous and scared that I’d get lonely or bored or lost or worst. BUT I loved it and didn’t feel unsafe once. After doing tons of touristy things in Paris, I was content to just wonder around my neighborhood in Barcelona. I did see a few of the big Guadi sights, and the neighborhood was in was awesome, great food and people, and not that many tourists. Not know any Spanish was difficult, but everyone was really nice to me, and things went rather smoothly. My last day (until the very end) was just the greatest. I met up with my friend Haley who just graduated from LC, and she took me a coastal town. It was so warm, blue, and perfect. After lounging and laughing on the beach, I headed back to the city to see Lili, and that’s when something great happened…. We got Mexican food. I satisfied my tamale craving! However, I had been feeling a bit sick all day, and by this time it had gotten a lot worse, so Lili took me back to the hostel and tucked me in.

My two pictures from Barcelona:

The day I left Barcelona was a little sad. I was feeling so sick and had to wake up super early for my flight that was followed by a seven hour wait for my train to Strasbourg. Since, I wasn’t feeling well, I decided, hey, I’ll go see a movie. I went to a really pretty little theater in Paris and saw Amour. It was so, so good, but equally sad. I’m not sure if it was because I was alone, in Paris, sick, or just sick of traveling, but it made me ball. I sobbed the entire movie, and I’m almost certain I made a bit of scene. In hindsight, it’s really funny, but at that moment, it was so dramatic.

Alas, I made it back to Strasbourg safe and sound, and man did it feel good to be back…. But, I’m about to hit the road again. Now that I have successfully gone to the doctor and pharmacy in French, I am ready for my trip to Amsterdam. I’m taking the bus which should be interesting seeing as it is supposed to take 12 hours… But I get to hang out with Lili when I’m not running a fever! So excited to be with a dingle.

I’m sorry if there’s lots of typos. I’m notorious for typos, but I’m not going to edit. I took sleep medicine, and am fighting so hard to stay awake. Maybe I’ll try to edit tomorrow when I’m more coherent, but will probably forget.

Gros bisous!

HEY EVERYONE. Look at the hat Sara made me. Isn’t it the...

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 10:43:00 -0700

HEY EVERYONE. Look at the hat Sara made me. Isn’t it the best thing ever!? Isn’t she the best thing ever?! Such a good day. Last class canceled and a new hat to keep my bald little ears warm!

Looks like embroidery is on the agenda!