My Vida in Santiago [ Installment Uno]

Hello Loved Ones,

After spilling my guts a bit I figured I needed to give you an actual update on what my life has been like for the last month all most. Well I will begin by saying that Santiago is a city rich in history and culture. The city has been on the rise from the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet for years now. It is interesting to walk around the city and see buildings laced with graffiti with political charged messages and such, something I have never experienced in the States. It is easy for one to confuse Santiago for a big American city because it is very Americanized with its KFC, Pizza Hut, McDonald's, and Burger King, but don't let this fool you! My experiences have been informed by the fact that I live in a very trendy part of the city near downtown. There are many parts of Santiago that are more rural, and what one might expect from a South American city. I love it all. I walk to school everyday and I tell you this has been an experience as I am starred at because I am black. And I mean starred at. Men, women, boys, and girls will stop in the middle of a conversation to stare at me. They whistle. They say whatever they want. Everything! I am really like a celebrity here but hey they don't really have any people here of African descent so I am a rare commodity. If only men in the US though this too lol....

Anywho what else... Our center is amazing! I am taking 4 classes this quarter ( Human Genetics: Diversity in Individuals and Populations, Artistic Expression in Latin America (taught in Spanish), Spanish 12S ( Spanish), and a Spanish tutorial. ) It is all pretty chill. I am learning so much. Although I have been a bit intimated by the Spanish language during my time here, I must say that I am getting more comfortable and learning to express myself better which is always a good thing.

I am making new friends! I am traveling all over Chile and Argentina. I have plans to go to Buenos Aires for my 21st birthday on Valentine's Day and then Brazil the first week of March so that should be totally awesome.

Ummmm... I don't know what else to say right now because I forget details easily but alls I know is that I am one blessed child of God and I have so many things to be happy about. I am learning more about myself and the things that are important to me and it is the best feeling that I have ever had. I do not plan for my life to ever be the same.

I hope you stay tuned for more!

Peace

It took me a while to decide upon an appropriate title for this post but I think I stumbled across the perfect word to describe how I am feeling at this moment. My time thus far in Santiago, Chile has been absolutely fantastic. Maybe I haven't gone out a much as I would like to, and maybe the food isn't the typical cuisine that I am used to, but I would be a fool to let any of those things keep me from taking full advantage of the magnificent opportunity my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has given me. As I sit here now and stress about the mid-terms that I have coming up, I just think about all the people around the world who lost a loved one today, or those people who lost their job, or their sanity. I think about poor brothers and sisters on every continent who struggle to muster the strength to get out of bed to face another day. With all of these thoughts in mind, it is hard not to be at peace with the many blessings that I have. I am a junior at Stanford University. I have a job lined up for the summer. I have a group of friends and family who love me unconditionally, I have a Heavenly Father who will never leave my side, and I have my sanity and peace of mind. What more can a gal ask for.


Yesterday, I was really stressed and feeling down about the plight of our planet. I shed tears for the indigenous communities that have had their land stolen from them and have been left to fend for themselves. I shook my head in anger at the fact that in a nation that just elected its first African-American president, there are 0 Black sitcoms on prime time television. I questioned my worth and asked myself why I hadn't ever tried to develop a music talent to take my mind to another place in difficult times. After all of this thinking, I almost settled for a journal entry until I decided that if I want to see any change in my life and the lives of those around me, I would have to do something about the things that bother me. So from this I decided that I am going to start a not for profit organization for indigenous peoples in the Americas. Or at least that is where I will start. The aim of this organization will be to teach financial literacy to indigenous communities and promote participation in regional economic systems. In my opinion education, financial literacy, and hope are the three main ingredients necessary to overcome oppression. I know I may be simplifying the matter a bit, but I just need to quantify things somehow so that I can have a more measured means by which to attack this problem that I can not bare to see any longer. In this same manner I decided that I would write to BET and other networks expressing my frustration with the job that they are doing portraying my people.Finally, I decided that I was going to teach myself how to play the guitar.

I know this is a lot of things I decided in one day but you know I am not getting any younger and I have a set amount of time to accomplish all of my goals. Why should I wait? I know that I was put on this earth to bring hope, love, and wisdom to those around me and that's what I intend to do in whatever way that I can for as long as I live.


I know this is a bit deep, but you know... I can't help it.


Peace, Love, and Obama.

2009 has arrived!

Praise be to the most high for this new year that is upon us all. I can say with conviction that I have been blessed beyond my wildest dreams in 2008 and I owe all praises to my heavenly father. I am really excited about the release that this blog is going to afford to me, and I can not wait to share my experiences abroad in Santiago, Chile with those who mean the most to me. I do hope that you would visit my blog occasionally and find yourself blessed by the things that I discuss, analyze, poke fun at, etc.

May God bless you and yours as we embark on a journey like no other!

Obama 2009... ready to make that change finally.

Peace, Love, and Happiness.