It’s about time I give another update on my life, since my recent posts have been on more specific topics… On the academic front, I am slowly but surely narrowing down my list of possible classes, and I’ve also decided not to take the Grammar Block. It’s still a frustrating process, but the end is in sight! My advisor has been really great throughout, so I’m thankful for that.
In other news, I’ve been able to visit some neat places near Strasbourg...
The Sunday before last I went on a hike with a group called “Les amies de nature” – “the friends of nature” :) It was all older people (except for me and another BCA student), which made things a little awkward, but they were all very nice. We hiked through the forest which was really beautiful, and I took a ridiculous amount of pictures :)
This past Sunday BCA went on an excursion to la Foret Noire (Black Forest) …which is in Germany! Our destination was a carnival in a small town, which was a blast! Afterwards we went to a spa – I had never been to one before, and it was SO relaxing… :) The part we went in was outdoors, so we were completely submerged in hot, bubbling water while surrounded by trees and looking up at the stars!
The past few weeks I’ve been encouraged by some good conversations and time spent getting to know people – both American and French! :)
I’ve continued to go to the Bible study on Wednesday nights – the Bible study itself isn’t outstanding and I don’t always agree with their theology, but I really like the group of people. Two weeks ago it was a small group, but I enjoyed the discussion that we had. I had invited Seo Jin, this girl from my class who’s a Christian and studying poli sci, and she came, so that was cool. We’ve ran into eachother pretty often, and having been trying to figure out the IEP’s system together – a good bonding experience! Last week it was a much larger group, so I got to talk to a lot of new people.
I’ve also gotten to know some of the French people who live in the BCA building…
Last Friday one of them was having his 21st birthday party, so some of us went. It was pretty awkward in the beginning, but then I started talking to the sister of the guy whose birthday it was. It turns out that she’s studying at the IEP too, so we found plenty to talk about. I didn’t understand everything she said, but carried on a fairly good conversation.
This past Thursday I went to the community meal they have here every week. I didn’t really know what to do with myself in the beginning as people were mingling, but throughout the evening I met a lot of nice people, and had conversations with several of them. Although I was definitely out of my comfort zone, I’m really glad I went :)
After the meal there was a prayer/worship service at a local church. This week a group of Catholics had come to worship with the regular group of Protestants, and so on the walk over I talked to several of them. One, it turns out, is also studying at the IEP! It’ll be nice to see some familiar faces in the halls now :)
I’ve connected with the other BCA students through some good conversations…
Last Saturday my host family was away, so I had one friend, Charlie, over for dinner. It was a really nice evening – we made dinner together, and then just talked for a couple of hours! It was mostly her talking, but that was ok – she had experienced a lot of social drama last semester and needed to get it off her chest. I was happy to listen :) Although our personalities are very different (she’s much more extraverted than me) I think we’re going to be good friends.
Last Friday afternoon I watched Bush’s (last!!!) State of the Union address with my friend, Tim. After watching Bush speak (a painful experience, to be sure!) we had a long discussion about terrorism, which is where my last post came from. We also debated presidential politics – I’m for Hillary and he’s for Obama, so that’s always fun :) I think I would go crazy if he wasn’t here – he’s the only person here who is as passionate about politics as I am, and informed enough to carry on an intelligent conversation about it. Politics is so much in my blood that I think I’d explode if I didn’t have an outlet for it… We’ve had so many great discussions and debates, it’s awesome!
Last night was the most fun I’ve had in a while – Tim, Charlie, me, and two of our other friends went to the Democrats Abroad Global Presidential Primary! It was a whole evening of discussing and debating Democratic presidential politics and being surrounded by other Dems – I was in heaven! We also got to vote, which was really exciting – I proudly cast my ballot for Hillary! Afterwards we had a blast playing in a kids playground, then wandered around a bit, and ended up at BCA to chill and watch a good movie. It was such a great evening – we had so much fun, and no one was drunk!
So these are some things that have been encouraging to me, and I wanted to share them with you. Although logistics and stuff related to classes continue to be challenging, God has richly provided for my social needs. I should never doubt Him. Before I came I was so worried about making friends, but I am reminded that wherever life has taken me God has provided people to love and support me. He is awesome! I want to learn to trust Him more…
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Thoughts on Terrorism...
My friend Jane just posted a really good review of an article on terrorism on her blog http://evidence-not-seen.blogspot.com/ (the post titled “Enemies, Foreign and Domestic”). It’s funny because I was discussing this very topic with my friend Tim a few days ago after we watched the State of the Union. So with that fresh in my mind, here are my thoughts on terrorism and Bush’s “war on terror”.
One of the main things we were talking about was how “terrorism” is defined and who gets to define it. A state that holds power (i.e. the US) can use the tragedy of 9/11 to define “terrorism” in a way that serves its strategic interests – using it as a blanket term to target Arab “extremist” groups. Ironically, the term “terrorist” was first coined during the Reign of Terror that followed the French Revolution, and it was used to describe those in the government – not some extreme splinter groups. When the US does talk about terrorism in terms of governments, it is very selective – extending the term to Arab “state sponsors of terror” that are viewed as the “enemy”, while simultaneously funding the state terrorism of Israel and carrying out its own terrorist activities.
Bush talks about how imperative it is to steadfastly continue this fight against terror, but the truth is that as it stands now this is not a fight we can win. Our strategy has been and will continue to be a colossal failure unless we commit to address the root causes of terrorism. Simply trying to capture and kill individual terrorists won’t work because for each one we get there will be two more to take his place. This is not traditional warfare in which the troops are finite – unless we deal with the conditions that create terrorism we will never be able to win. One of the principle conditions is denial of basic rights. When a people group is oppressed and stripped of legitimate means of making its voice heard, it is perfectly rational for them to turn to illegitimate or violent means. But if given access to the political process, those violent methods hold less appeal, just as Roth said. Conditions of poverty, lack of hope for the future, and lack of opportunity are also key sources of terrorism that must be addressed. And of course our foreign policy… Osama bin Laden’s initial reasons for hating the US were based not on ideology or religion, but on our foreign policy – specifically, our stationing of troops in Saudi Arabia near the holy site of Mecca, and our support of the state of Israel which has mistreated the Palestinians for decades.
Our arrogant and unjust foreign policy must change, and deliberate efforts must be made to alleviate conditions of poverty and oppression if we ever hope to stop terrorism. Otherwise the cycle of violence will just continue… MLK (one of my heroes!) has an amazing quote that talks about that: "The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction.... The chain reaction of evil — hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars — must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation."
Jane talked about terrorism in the context of human rights, which is very appropriate. The hypocrisy of our government is infuriating – apparently, the US only advocates human rights when it suites our strategic interests. Our citizens must be protected at all costs, but we can do whatever we want with those “suspected” of terrorism. We can heed or ignore international law whenever it is convenient or expedient for us. People will always make the argument that if the terrorists are trying to kill us we must go to any lengths to protect ourselves. While it is an important function of government to protect its citizens, in doing so we must not lower ourselves to the level of the terrorists. When we do, we lose our moral high ground and are really no different from them. Killing and torture are evil and wrong, regardless of whether they are done in the name of “Allah” or in the name of “national security”. Human rights belong to ALL people – regardless of their skin color, accent, or country of origin. And it’s about time the US starts respecting that!
(As a side-note, I was shocked – although not surprised – to learn in Jane’s post that Bush un-signed the International Criminal Court in May 2002, which is “a forum for prosecuting future cases of genocide”. When I told my friend Tim this, he immediately asked, “What strategic advantage would this have for the US?” concluding that either the US was planning to commit genocide or one of its allies was – bingo, Israel. Scary…)
One of the main things we were talking about was how “terrorism” is defined and who gets to define it. A state that holds power (i.e. the US) can use the tragedy of 9/11 to define “terrorism” in a way that serves its strategic interests – using it as a blanket term to target Arab “extremist” groups. Ironically, the term “terrorist” was first coined during the Reign of Terror that followed the French Revolution, and it was used to describe those in the government – not some extreme splinter groups. When the US does talk about terrorism in terms of governments, it is very selective – extending the term to Arab “state sponsors of terror” that are viewed as the “enemy”, while simultaneously funding the state terrorism of Israel and carrying out its own terrorist activities.
Bush talks about how imperative it is to steadfastly continue this fight against terror, but the truth is that as it stands now this is not a fight we can win. Our strategy has been and will continue to be a colossal failure unless we commit to address the root causes of terrorism. Simply trying to capture and kill individual terrorists won’t work because for each one we get there will be two more to take his place. This is not traditional warfare in which the troops are finite – unless we deal with the conditions that create terrorism we will never be able to win. One of the principle conditions is denial of basic rights. When a people group is oppressed and stripped of legitimate means of making its voice heard, it is perfectly rational for them to turn to illegitimate or violent means. But if given access to the political process, those violent methods hold less appeal, just as Roth said. Conditions of poverty, lack of hope for the future, and lack of opportunity are also key sources of terrorism that must be addressed. And of course our foreign policy… Osama bin Laden’s initial reasons for hating the US were based not on ideology or religion, but on our foreign policy – specifically, our stationing of troops in Saudi Arabia near the holy site of Mecca, and our support of the state of Israel which has mistreated the Palestinians for decades.
Our arrogant and unjust foreign policy must change, and deliberate efforts must be made to alleviate conditions of poverty and oppression if we ever hope to stop terrorism. Otherwise the cycle of violence will just continue… MLK (one of my heroes!) has an amazing quote that talks about that: "The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction.... The chain reaction of evil — hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars — must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation."
Jane talked about terrorism in the context of human rights, which is very appropriate. The hypocrisy of our government is infuriating – apparently, the US only advocates human rights when it suites our strategic interests. Our citizens must be protected at all costs, but we can do whatever we want with those “suspected” of terrorism. We can heed or ignore international law whenever it is convenient or expedient for us. People will always make the argument that if the terrorists are trying to kill us we must go to any lengths to protect ourselves. While it is an important function of government to protect its citizens, in doing so we must not lower ourselves to the level of the terrorists. When we do, we lose our moral high ground and are really no different from them. Killing and torture are evil and wrong, regardless of whether they are done in the name of “Allah” or in the name of “national security”. Human rights belong to ALL people – regardless of their skin color, accent, or country of origin. And it’s about time the US starts respecting that!
(As a side-note, I was shocked – although not surprised – to learn in Jane’s post that Bush un-signed the International Criminal Court in May 2002, which is “a forum for prosecuting future cases of genocide”. When I told my friend Tim this, he immediately asked, “What strategic advantage would this have for the US?” concluding that either the US was planning to commit genocide or one of its allies was – bingo, Israel. Scary…)
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Mon 21 anniversaire
I am 21 now. Birthdays are odd things – one day you’re 20 and the next day when you wake up you’re 21. That’s the first thought I had when I woke up on Monday, and throughout the day it would repeat in my head – “I’m 21.” I didn’t feel any different, and yet here I was one year older.
Having a birthday here felt very strange – I was in a foreign country surrounded by people I had only met 3 weeks before. Since I didn’t know them very well I didn’t want to make a big deal about it – I’m not one to call attention to myself. I told some of the other BCA students and word traveled around, so most of them knew. I kind of wanted to have a little celebration with them, but didn’t want to spend the money to buy a cake. Plus it was on a Monday, so people were busy with classes and stuff. My one friend said something about making one, but that never happened. Secretly I wished that they would surprise me with a little party or something, but they really don’t know me very well so that’s too much to expect. Two of them gave me gifts, though, which made me feel special – a beautiful potted flower that’s purple (my favorite color!) and a bag of exquisite chocolates, both of which I’ve enjoyed :)
I didn’t tell my host family that it was my birthday – I don’t know them very well and I didn’t want them to feel like they had to do something for me… Plus Mondays are when their older son comes over for dinner, so they’re always excited to see him and talk up a storm. This Monday they talked even longer than normal at dinner and I felt kinda trapped, because I wanted to leave to go to BCA but I didn’t want to be rude. But eventually my host sister started clearing things away and I helped her, then made my exit.
But that’s not to say that my birthday was bad – there were plenty of little things that made it special. The weather was beautiful for a change, so I could enjoy meandering outside instead of shivering my way from one building to the next. I treated myself to a pastry, which I savored while sitting outside on a bench people-watching :) Spending time doing absolutely nothing except enjoying the day was nice after so much busyness. The best part of the birthday, though, was without a doubt all the e-mails and Facebook messages I got. Thank you! It was wonderful to feel the love from friends and family at home who remembered my special day :)
So turning 21 here wasn’t anything extraordinary, but it was a good day with simple pleasures. I didn’t have any desire to drink either – and even if I had wanted to it would’ve been anti-climatic because people here can drink at 18. It’s interesting how the meanings attached to birthdays are socially constructed – sweet 16 is special because that’s when you can drive, 18 is special because you can smoke and are legally considered an adult, and 21 is special because you can drink. If not for those socially derived meanings they would just be random numbers. That’s the sociologist in me talking :)
Having a birthday here felt very strange – I was in a foreign country surrounded by people I had only met 3 weeks before. Since I didn’t know them very well I didn’t want to make a big deal about it – I’m not one to call attention to myself. I told some of the other BCA students and word traveled around, so most of them knew. I kind of wanted to have a little celebration with them, but didn’t want to spend the money to buy a cake. Plus it was on a Monday, so people were busy with classes and stuff. My one friend said something about making one, but that never happened. Secretly I wished that they would surprise me with a little party or something, but they really don’t know me very well so that’s too much to expect. Two of them gave me gifts, though, which made me feel special – a beautiful potted flower that’s purple (my favorite color!) and a bag of exquisite chocolates, both of which I’ve enjoyed :)
I didn’t tell my host family that it was my birthday – I don’t know them very well and I didn’t want them to feel like they had to do something for me… Plus Mondays are when their older son comes over for dinner, so they’re always excited to see him and talk up a storm. This Monday they talked even longer than normal at dinner and I felt kinda trapped, because I wanted to leave to go to BCA but I didn’t want to be rude. But eventually my host sister started clearing things away and I helped her, then made my exit.
But that’s not to say that my birthday was bad – there were plenty of little things that made it special. The weather was beautiful for a change, so I could enjoy meandering outside instead of shivering my way from one building to the next. I treated myself to a pastry, which I savored while sitting outside on a bench people-watching :) Spending time doing absolutely nothing except enjoying the day was nice after so much busyness. The best part of the birthday, though, was without a doubt all the e-mails and Facebook messages I got. Thank you! It was wonderful to feel the love from friends and family at home who remembered my special day :)
So turning 21 here wasn’t anything extraordinary, but it was a good day with simple pleasures. I didn’t have any desire to drink either – and even if I had wanted to it would’ve been anti-climatic because people here can drink at 18. It’s interesting how the meanings attached to birthdays are socially constructed – sweet 16 is special because that’s when you can drive, 18 is special because you can smoke and are legally considered an adult, and 21 is special because you can drink. If not for those socially derived meanings they would just be random numbers. That’s the sociologist in me talking :)
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