namaste!  i am writing from mumbai, india.  we have a little break so i thought i would write a thing or two to let everyone know what is happening across the world.  there is so much i could say that i dont have time for, but i will write more later when i am home.

i spent all of last week in sri lanka.  it was one of the most beautiful places ive ever seen, even with the destruction that is still left from the tsunami.  there is so much work to be done there.  we worked for one week and hopefully did a lot of good, but i just wasnt ready to leave.  i feel like there is so much more we could do.  we visited several of the camps that the refugees are staying in until their homes can be rebuilt.  the conditions they are living in are beyond what i had imagined.  however, to the people here it is not terrible.  they seem very happy despite what we would consider great loss.  i talked to several children who lost their families in the tsunami (the language barrier made it really difficult, but we managed).  as soon as i come home and develope some photos, i will post them so you all will see what i am talking about. 

last friday we finished our day's work at about 5 in the evening, so cliff, dustin, and i had the bright idea to play in the indian ocean.  it was the most fun ive ever had in an ocean.  the waves were 10-15 feet high and we went pretty far out.  the natives kept telling us it was dangerous but we were having too much fun to listen (dumb idea).  since the monsoon is still here, it was raining off and on, and as soon as it started storming we decided to go inside. 

the next morning at about 3 AM i woke up puking (gross, i know).  i was sick for the next two days, as well as the other two who played in the ocean.  so now i havent eaten in three days and i look like the starving children here.  we got an ameba i think.  we got some kind of virus anyway.  the ocean was dirty and our bodies arent immune to the germs.  we are all almost better now and it did slow us down a little bit, but we'll be doing some work this afternoon.  anyway, my point is, dont ever swim in the indian ocean.  its a whole lot of fun, with a heavy price to pay. (:

i have so much i would like to say about india and sri lanka, but like i said, my time is limited.  so i will write later.

keep us in your prayers!!!  i love you all (:

hi (:  i'm home for spring break, so i'm going to write a little, or a lot, i dont know yet...

there is NO feeling like coming home...amen?  there were all kinds of cool things goin on for spring break, but i couldnt resist the idea of getting to hang out for a week with my three fav people in the world that i never see (aka my dad mom and little bro)...so here i am, and happier than ever

im a philosophy major (w/an art minor) and so im taking all of these classes that are making me think about things ive never thought about before (at least not in depth) and things i already have thought about before are different now...people keep asking me what im going to do w/a degree in philosophy and i never know what to tell them.  I want to do everything.  im eventually going to grad school to get my masters in creative writing...i want to write.  i never want to write about anything that i dont understand first hand.  i want to travel all over the world and learn about every kind of person, every emotion, experience, every place and every culture...everything.  one of my friends says thats ignorant, and i know its selfish, but i dont want to be selfish, i just want to know how to take care of people.  i dont know what the point of living is if you cant be passionate about something and if we dont contribute something, we'll just be here, being here, and that's it...im really rambling...but its what i do (:

i was thinking about "linguistic relativity".  the Whorf-Sapir hyposthesis states that "The assertion that the concepts and structure of languages profoundly shape the perception and world view of speakers. Rather than just being a means of expressing thought, language is claimed to form thought. Thus, people of different language communities will see and understand in different ways."

in other words, and very simply put, it is possible that the language we speak determines the way we live our lives, and even possibly the feelings we are able to experience.  is it possible that b/c we dont have a certain word in the english language to describe a specific emotion, that we will never allow ourselves to feel that emotion?  obviously we have emotions that are not able to be put into words, but is it still possible that we are bound by the language we speak?

the portuguese language has thirty-something words for the english word "love".  english speaking people "love" hamburgers and "love" their mothers.  latin cultures place a different level of importance on "love" than asian cultures do. 

there is a portuguese word (not sure what it is off the top of my head) that describes a feeling similar to, but much stronger than, what we call "missing" someone.  i say "i miss you" and that is the way i describe the way i feel when someone or something i care about is away from me/out of physical or emotional reach.  is the way that i view this experience affected by the few words that i know of for how to describe it? 

just a thought.

i really think that emotions are universal.  every person in every culture knows what it is like to love, for example.  but perhaps our language affects our worldview (the most basic understanding or realization of the answer to the question "why?"....by the way, thats my definition of worldview, not a professional's)

Currently Playing Band of Gypsys By Jimi Hendrix see related

hello xanga...i didnt think that i would ever write to you again, but something compelled me to update the internet world on what is going on in my petty little life (that I love so much)...

Im home!  i wasnt planning on coming back to dallas until thanksgiving (and i wasnt even sure if i would be back then), but a friend of mine was driving to dallas this weekend to see his fiance and asked me if i would like a ride...i couldnt resist.

i love henderson, tennessee, but i just needed to be comforted with the fact that there is still a busy outside world with lots of busy people and tons of traffic...so i took andrew up on his offer and made the 10 hour trip.

college is wonderful.  i go to freed-hardeman university, in case i hadnt told some of you that before.  its in a small town in tennessee, and it is absolutely one of the most beautiful places in america; especially at this time of year, when all the leaves have changed to every color you can imagine.  it is breath-taking.  its a small school, but i like that.  the teacher-student relationships are great.  the campus is so friendly.  if you were to visit freed, without knowing anyone, you couldnt get across campus w/o recieving several smiles, hellos, introductions, etc.

im still deciding on a major...its just hard b/c picking a major means narrowing it down...meaning i cant do everything...whatever my major ends up being, im minoring in missions; that i know for sure.  ive clepped out of pretty much all of my gen ed classes and right now all the classes im taking are in the visual art/theatre and journalism/communications/broadcast areas...and of course my missions classes.

im leaving may 11 for europe!!!  im so excited i dont know what to do w/myself.  im only staying until june 1.  im going to belgium, paris, some random parts of europe, milan, rome, and venice.  to me that seems like a lot of ground to cover in just 3 short weeks, but the more i see, the better.  i had planned on studying abroad for a semester, but im not sure of that yet.  im sure this trip will decide. 

while im there, im taking a photography course (main reason for going), and doing an independant study in philosophy.   

the plan for july is to be in india for the entire month.  this is still up in the air, but i should know for sure in a couple of weeks.  india is where i want to be a missionary.  or japan.  or thailand.  or china.  one of those places for sure, and in that order. 

ok, more school stuff, and then ill stop boring you...if you've even made it this far...i do the entertainment part of the news on thursdays in henderson.  its a lot of fun.  i think its more fun to film, edit and write the stories than to read from the telepromptor, but i get to do both, so its great experience.

im in the homecoming play...its "Pride and Prejudice"...i play the part of Miss Bingley...i love it...

im also involved in a million other things that are of little importance or excitement to any of you, so im gonna leave it at this for now.

i hope everyone is doing well.  read Romans 6!!!  give me an eProp(:  go see Napolean Dynamite!  See ya round like a donut...

Currently Playing The Ultimate Blue Train By John Coltrane see related

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One week from today, I'll be gone for a long time.  It's starting to become a strange feeling now.  Ben Folds: "everybody knows it sucks to grow up..."

However...I cannot imagine staying in the same place I've been for a long time.  Some of you will do that, and it doesn't bother you one bit.  I think that's great if it makes you happy.  Personally, I have too much to see and do to remain idle.

But I will miss so much.

PS- the last entry was from a story...just bits and pieces

Currently Playing Poses [Bonus Track] By Rufus Wainwright see related

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"Do you know how much I love you?  I think of you often in the morning, always in the evening.  You make me look forward to you.  Maybe tonight?"

"I read clips and pieces of sentences written on the wall in front of me.  I guess I don't want to know all of it.  I love listening to Rufus.  I know I should write these thank you notes, but how can I help but wonder about the skinny guy with all that dark hair, making my coffee, and never even glancing my way.  He looks the classic coffee-maker-guy-stereo-type, but he is very beautiful.  If I lived in a loft with a boy like him, I wouldn't have a cieling.  Just like here.  Just pipes and studio lights.  Yes, how can I write when I love every person I see, so much?  My heart goes out to them all.  I love this song."

"That girl smiled so big and said she didn't want a bit of attention.  She started to stare in the shop, and disappeared in thoughts to another place and time.  That girl never lived in High School World.  She floated and played personalities with daisies and orchids, and people who were flat."

"I was naked in the shower when I noticed my painted toe nails for the first time; and that's when I thought of you again.  It happens at the strangest times, and it never makes sense.  But neither does this story."