Well it was a very eventful week. You can here about how we all reacted to our "winter" weather, a visit from the Irish Ambassador to Sister Mary, and a few dangerous situations from the week.
Sweet Obsession
As I ignore most of a January challenge about technology, I do take a minute to look at what living without the internet in my home has helped me realize about my relationship with the world wide web!
The Treasure
To begin our vacation, Susan and I took the night train to Bangkok. We had a wonderful experience and also spoke with a nice Englishman. The experience caused me to stop and reflect on our relationship.
I'm Back!
As you can see, I have returned from vacation with a renewed fire of productivity. Today, I have just shared an 18-minute TedTalks that I listened to on vacation along with the journal entry I wrote just after it. I thought I would just share another glimpse into how my mind works for those of you who are interested.
A Different Experience
Like it or not, our skin pigment has a significant effect on our daily interactions in America. I touched on the idea in Part2, but in part 3 I address a few common stereotypes that are thrown around, talk more about a few of my experiences with skin pigment differences, and begin to look forward to the future.
Vacation
I just wanted to let you all know that Susan and I are going on vacation for a week - an island vacation. I will be posting another blog today, but you may or may not see a post in the upcoming week. I am thinking about actively trying to not blog, but I might be more prolific than ever. If you saw my reading list you would know that it will be difficult for me to keep all my thoughts in my head!
I am considering changing my account setup to email you the day after I post a blog. I have been more prolific lately, and I know the idea of reading more than one of my posts at a time can be daunting. Send me an email or comment on this post if you have thoughts or concerns.
Thank you all for coming on this journey with me and giving your love and support in whatever form it takes. It is all helpful and appreciated.
Much Love,
John
Sam
Today I wanted to share the story of a man who has come to our care center since my arrival. The name is fictitious, but the story is not. I hope you get a small sense of who he is and why he is important.
Context
What It's Like
Today's post is not very long, but I think I have finally started to find a way to describe how poverty is affecting me here. I am surprised by how long and how much processing it has taken me to just take these first few steps. My hope is that like running a marathon maybe the first few steps are some of the hardest, and understanding will come a bit more easily from here on.