Merry Christmas

Well I hope everyone is having a lovely Christmas! I am sure my family in MN is having a lovely time with all their snow and wind and cold YUCK!!! haha But they do have the cutest little baby who gets to participate in Christmas for the first time ever, so that is quite a blessing!

We are watching Harry Potter 6 this afternoon taking a break from opening presents and eating. Nana and Papa will come back over in a bit to eat Prime Rib for dinner...YUMMY!!! It is really good to be home for Christmas! It was something I knew I would miss a lot being in Lebanon and am really fortunate to get to be here!

On Sunday I leave to Arizona with my best friends Emily and Sarah and my boyfriend Kael and their family (Kael and Emily are siblings and we are visiting their mom and her fiance for new year). I am really excited to get to be in 70 degree weather! YAY But it seems like my time here at home is coming to an end very soon. Guess we will have to use our time together wisely!

Speaking of using time wisely, better get back to writing my response paper that was sprung upon us a few days ago due next week...fun.

Much love,

Sasha

Home for the Holidays

Thats right!! I am HOME in WENATCHEE This week for Christmas!! My parents and I surprised my grandparents yesterday when I walked in the door for patio time and it was quite fun! I am only home for the week and then will be spending another week down in Arizona. I am so so so excited I get to be home for the holidays, which was something I was a little bit bummed about missing before. Altho, I do miss Lebanon and my family there, it was going to be my very first Christmas with them, but I promised them next year! Its been a lot of change for me this year so its nice to be able to come home.

Work is piling up though for me and I really need to start focusing, which is proving extremely difficult. Oh well! Tis the season to be Jolly not stressed! :)

Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

Much love,


Sasha

I am alive

My Econ exam is OVER and I lived to tell the tale! We will see how he grades it but when I entered the room early and chatted with my felllow students I felt far more prepared than any of them, and if that is the actual case it would be nice if he graded them compared to eachother! haha

So anywho, we'll see how it went in retrospect. As for now it is paper central. My mind is full of feminist theory information and domestic violence cases in Lebanon. I am starting to panic just a smidge with the knowledge that by feb 2nd I'll be expected to have written a total of 90 pages for my three papers!!! YIKES I have never done such a thing before!

Well I better get off to class! Will write soon!!

Much Love,

Sasha

Shutting Down...

The computer. I have decided that after I finish this blog post that I will be shutting off my computer and putting it in my closet where I must will myself to not get it out again until Wednesday. I have a big Econ midterm to study for and a lot of reading that will go along with it, plus reading for a presentation for my class that got moved from Friday to Tuesday. SO I decided to let my cousin Elie change my password on Facebook so I am not tempted with it and cannot access it and only check my email once a day (since I need to communicate with my classmates about study group and stuff). Just thought I would let you all know that I will only be accessible via email and phone and wont be blogging or chatting and what not. I am also taking Harry Potter 5 on tape off my iPod! haha it has been a source of procrastination this week also! :) SO much to do! BUT my last professor agreed on my proposal and likes my paper and in fact, said if its good enough when it is finished he will push to have it published!!! :) Incentive to work hard? I think so! He gave me names of feminist activists in Lebanon to call for information and possible interviews so I am excited! :) Anywho, I am going to go check my email and get to work shutting down! I guess my plan isnt totally full proof since I will still have my computer on for my phone but I will not be opening the internet I should say! haha Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Much love

Sash

Blogging the new columnists?

I have been reading online American news way more than I ever used to, since its the only way I can access it, whereas before I used to watch network news wayyy to much! haha I have noticed now that a lot of news cites have links to prominent bloggers and I realized today that being a good blogger is like being a really good columnist. As the newspaper industry is unfortunately dying out in the US it makes sense that columnists would need a new arena...blogging. I have mentioned to several family members and friends what a great job or side hobby at the very least being a columnist would be one day and decided that I better get a whole lot better at blogging first! haha Since they are becoming basically the same thing! :)

Thats all I had to say. Kind of a lame post, which is ironic since I just decided I should be a better blogger, BUT reading the news is my distraction from writing the last few corrections I made on my draft paper for class in an hour so I should probably not distract myself further by posting lengthy blog posts! Keeping it short and sweet today! haaha see, I can learn new things! ;)

Much love,
Sasha

Research

Well I am well on my way on researching for my three topics and am starting the writing process for one of my papers and still waiting on final approval of my other two topics! My three papers are:

Delaying Development: Analysis of Domestic Violence and Feminism in Lebanon (Development paper)

Educate to Empower: Increasing Women’s Access to Education in order to Increase Labor Force Participation in Lebanon (Econ Paper)

Constructing a Lebanese Feminist Movement: Discourse Analysis of Feminist Thought and Practice in Lebanon (Theory/civil society paper)

Yes I do like alliteration if you can't tell from the first two titles...I'm still not pleased with my last title and Im guessing its from the lack of alliteration! hahaha I am sure as I research and learn more about these topics I'll have more blog posts about those issues....which hopefully won't bore you! Speaking of my papers I should get back to this lit review, I am making little progress thus far and its due tomorrow.....I'd hate to stay up all night! The good news is that I am not finished with it because I spent most of the weekend, yesterday and this morning before class studying for my much dreaded economics exam next week, its the first exam I've studied this far in advance for!!!

Much love,

Sash

Buckle up...its going to be a bumpy ride...

The next two weeks are going to be a nightmare. Tuesday we have our review session for our Econ midterm the following Monday where we must ask all the questions in order to get answers (makes sense right?) haha It is nice because for the first time in my life I started studying over a week in advance for the exam! I also submitted my paper proposal for that class and am waiting to hear back from my professor. Wednesday I am presenting my literature review, introduction and research question to my development class for my paper due in Feb along with 3 article readings to present that are each over 20 pages!! Then Friday its my turn to present an article to the class for discussion, so I'll have that reading also. Then Monday afternoon is my econ class and next wednesday a small paper for development is due on the problems of development in the middle east. FUN!!! :)

BUT Then it is Christmas break and I will have no school until Jan 4th! :) BUT that doesn't mean I wont have homework...which is a first for me. Welcome to the semester system! I already miss the quarter system. It was always nice to have nothing to do school wise over Christmas break because finals were the week before break! Now I have 3 papers to work on! YIKES!!

I cannot believe how fast time goes by! It feels like I just got here yesterday and I've already been here for three months! WOW!! Its starting to get much colder and raining more and more...my feet are freezing right now actually! I am starting to miss insolation, BUT I am still holding my ground its not as bad as my dad had warned, YET! hehe

Well its bed time....long day tomorrow, no class, but LOTS of reading for my econ exam! :)

Much love,

Sasha

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Everywhere you go here you are starting to see Christmas trees, its nice! This must be what it feels to have Christmas in California or Florida or somewhere were there is no snow to indicate Christmas is coming! I get so excited every time I see a little Christmas tree because it makes it seem more real the Christmas is in fact on its way!! :)

We have our tree up and Nancy's family just put up theirs! I really need to go shopping! :)

Today is another lazy day. Another meaning it has been a holiday weekend here too so no one had school Friday, Saturday or Monday (yes we do have school on Saturdays...I dont but schools operate on Saturdays....weird right?) and today I don't have class because my usual Tuesday class was moved to Thursday. SO I am over at Nancy's right now, she has two exams to study for and I NEED to make progress on re writing my development paper proposal so I can make it more specific and have my prof approve it hopefully in class tomorrow so I know concretely what I am writing about. This process is getting on my nerves a bit! I am ready to just be writing!!!

I did decide to focus all my papers (except my econ one not as much, since thats going to be more about women labor and education) on feminism and whether there has been a feminist movement or not here in Lebanon and for my development paper specifically whether or not the lack of a feminist movement here in Lebanon contributes to the prevalence/acceptance of domestic violence and honor crimes against women in the country.

Well better shut down my internet and focus!!! It would be nice if I didnt need a few web pages for researching purposes so that I could disable the internet....its so distracting! haha Oh well...WILL POWER SASH! ;)

Much love,

Sash

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Well Americans, Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you are all planning on filling your bellies with delicious food and shopping excessively the day after (boost that economy people!!)! Obviously, we don't have Thanksgiving here seeing as tho it is a day to celebrate the coming of pilgrims to the US and the minor details of killing off thousands of Native Americans in the process (great holiday, we are so nice!). No, no, I like to think of the positives and forget history! It is a day to be thankful for the friends and family around you, for the food you get to eat and for anything else in life you appreciate! I will definitely be celebrating that part of Thanksgiving with good food I get every day thanks to my amazing aunt, I just won't be having the traditional food of turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing and more!! I will be having spagetti tho...I think thats what Siham is making today! :)

There is so much to be thankful for in my life, the list would go on and on. But a few things I am especially thankful for today are of course my amazing friends and family back home and the huge family network I have here in Lebanon. The support of my friends and family back home has given me strength to come all the way around the world to pursue something I have wanted for a really long time, and almost didn't do it out of fear. Getting to know my huge family here has been such a blessing that I am so thankful for. It is so different and wonderful to have a large family around you all the time (altho sometimes it gets a bit annoying, but thats neither here nor there). I am so thankful for my position in life and being given so many opportunities that I take for granted every day that so many women are not given around the world. This is something I am increasingly thankful for the more I read and here about the conditions of women and girls around the world. I am thankful that this experience here is giving me new goals and passions to drive me towards helping other people in whatever capacity I can.

I hope you all have lots to be thankful for today! If nothing else at least you people get turkey! ;) (which is something I know for sure my dear FATHER is taking for granted right now since he doesn't particularly like turkey...what a waste!! Maybe you guys can ship his slice to me?? hehe)

Much love,

Sasha

Independence Day, Halloween and Christmas...

Three holidays (in that order) that are back to back here, unlike the very spread timeline we have in the US. We just celebrated Independence day on Sunday, the only secular holiday in Lebanon I should point out, but not with fireworks or barbeques. Everyone put up Lebanese flags and called that good. Independence is an important historical date for this former French colony but since the civil war in the 1970s-1990s the very small country has been torn into so many different sects that it is hard to say exactly what they are independent from--aside from colonialism. The sights this weekend of Lebanese flags triumphing over the sectarian flags that symbol particular religious and therefore political beliefs (here your politics is your religion and your religion is your politics...) reminded me a lot of the weeks after Sept. 11, 2001 in the US when everyone had a US flag flying from their home, their car, their window, wherever. But is flying a flag just to fly it a show of national pride and independence? In the case of Lebanon, I would argue no. It is a fundamental problem here in Lebanon--the lack of national identity. The end of the civil war is only 10-15 years old and people still feel the sting of the open wound. Maybe with time it will heal and everyone can move on, but for now, "independence" can only speak of the break of Lebanon from colonial rule, but not of national celebration and pride.

Next up is Halloween which is next Friday, Dec. 4th!! Weird....I can't remember the story as to why it is in December but it has to do with one Saint or another...I guess big kids don't dress up much, maybe a mask or something. Mostly the tradition is for little kids, and they do a trick or treat sort of night as well, but these kids get money!!! Not a lot obviously but little coins! We'll see what is in store.

And finally, Christmas is just around the corner! We put up our Christmas tree last night, and if you are friends with me on Facebook you can see the pics (I'll work on getting pictures up on the blog soon). My aunt was saying this is the first year that Beirut decorated the malls and streets this early! We were visiting my cousin last week and the mall was all decorated like in the US, only they use purple and red for their colors. Everything was so pretty and festive!! I love Christmas!! I am excited to learn all of their traditions, I've never been here in the winter time before! Should be fun!!

In other news, I am working on finalizing my paper topic proposals with my teachers, a process that is taking a lot longer than I wanted because while they (profs) are encouraging us to get started we don't HAVE to have them done until like next week or the week after so when I present them things they are slightly nonchelant about them. I am trying to pin each of them down individually and get them to give me feed back on what they want and what aspects of what I'm proposing they like....its a difficult process! Never the less, I hope to have all my topics finalized and start some writing this weekend...Its a four day weekend for us from school so no class on Friday or Monday (even tho I never have class Mondays). I can't remember which one but it is a Muslim holiday this weekend! I kind of like the four day weekend the same week I normally get a four day weekend for Thanksgiving back home!!!

Well I better get back to work!

Much love,
Sash

A year in the life of a blog....already??!

This actually doesn't have to do with me....BUT....I was reading my cousin's blog today and he posted on it because (usually his wife does all the posting) it is the year anniversary of his wife creating it! For those of you who don't know, my cousin Jim and his wife Stacy in MN have been on an incredible roller coaster that turned into a true miracle this past year. A little over a year ago they came to WA and told us they were expecting their first child and we were all soooo ecstatic! He would be my grandparents first great grandchild and the first baby in the family! She started their blog a year ago to keep everyone posted on her pregnancy and their changing life. But life changed dramatically right after Christmas when Stacy went into early labor. It was SO scary for everyone in the family, especially the two of them, their parents and siblings. We were all on the edge of our seats if you will, I don't think I ever let go of my phone (which isnt really anything new I guess....haha) just in case Jim called me with updates. Finnegan, their son, was born January 6th weighing only 1lb and 15oz!! He stayed in the hospital for four months (right?? 3 or 4 months at any rate) in an incubator like crib getting nutrients he needed to continue to grow. He is now 10 months old and the cutest little guy you will ever meet!! I got to meet him in July and it was the best two weeks ever! Even though he was technically 6 months old, he couldn't support his own head and other things because physically he was just over 3 months old. He has been such a little gift to his family! It is so fun to watch him grow! He is sitting by himself now!! Its been months since I've seen him and he looks soooo different already!!

Thank you so much Jim and Stacy for keeping your blog! It lets all of us share in your family memories, which is especially meaningful for us (like me) who feel worlds away from you! Finn is so precious and I love being apart of his life through pictures and stories on your blog! After all, it is hard for "Besties" to be apart for too long! I love you both so much and love Finn even more!! ;) hhaha

Anyway.....reading my cousins post now brought back all those memories thinking about what they've been going through, i thought i'd share! Things here are pretty low key. I submitted 2 of my 3 paper proposals and am hoping my professor tomorrow will have time to discuss my paper with him after class. I just want to move past this phase and start writing!!!

This wkend my aunt, uncle and the boys and I are going to this dinner thing with a bunch of people from our village...Im still not sure what it is, something with the church, maybe for Independence Day, Im not sure! haha but its going to be quite fancy and we get to get all dressed up! SO Sunday I will definitely have stories!

For now, life is pretty normal, reading, hanging out with my family and sleeping is about all I do....OH well and Eat...but...we all know that! hahah

Much love,

Sash

2012--the movie

Let me just say that I was quite rattled by the movie. On a cinematic front it was the best special effects and action movie I have ever seen! It had you holding your breath, laughing out loud, screaming at the actors to run faster, crying when the US President stays behind to die with his people, it was beautiful.

On a "real life" front it does an amazing job at highlighting the great might and beauty that our world is. It also has kept me thinking for about 12 hours now about life and what I should do if the world is really going to end in a little over 2 years!! And of course, I have been making all sorts of conspiracy theories based on the plot of the movie that I find totally plausible!! haha For instance, in the movie they make these huge arcs and charge people who want to get on them 1 billion EUROS!!! SOO Heres my conspiracy theory: the economic crash this year- due to the fact that all the richest people in the world just pulled all their money from the market and put it into this arc making project to get a seat!! AND the national healthcare policy that congress is in such a rush to pass? A cover to spend millions and millions of dollars on the arc project with out people asking where the money has gone!!! Brilliant.

Haha I get WAY to into my movies!! :) It was a really good one! I am really excited to see if it grossed more than Titanic. Although, the 8 of us who went last night didn't contribute to the box office since we went for free!! :) hehehe It is a really good movie, even if you aren't as gulible as me and think the world is going to end as we know it in 2 years (actually the world doesn't end, its a massive plate techtonic shift that re aligns the poles as well changes the placement and the make up of the continents. Actually, Africa rises thousands of feet and the big mountain in South Africa becomes higher than Mt. Everest!! So its not like Earth gets destroyed, it just shifts, like when Pangea broke up!! ANYWAY!! haha aside from such nonsense it was a really intense movie with amazing picture, sound, graphics, everything! Oscars, get ready to be monopolized by 2012 and Michael Jackson's "This is It" (which was also a really beautiful movie! Sooo moving!!)

Much love,

Sasha

Thank you

How did I forget to put this in my last post?? Today is Veterans day in the US and I want to take a minute to say "thank you" to all those who have served or are serving in our armed forces. I have quite a few friends who have sacrificed their time and put their lives on the line serving in the military. I cannot express how much I admire and respect the guys and girls/men and women who are serving this country voluntarily, it is an amazing courage being willing to put your life on the line! The freedoms that those serving in our military are protecting are invaluable and we should never take any of them for granted! We can debate for hours over policies about war and conflict but when it comes down to it respect, no matter what you believe in, should be paid to people who are willing to go the extra mile we are not! Keep all of our soldiers in your thoughts and prayers today especially but really it is something that we should all be thankful for everyday!

Special thanks to my friends who are currently serving or have served abroad and at home! You are always in my thoughts and prayers!

Mallory Roelke- USArmy, currently serving in Iraq

Fabian Pulido- USMC, Iraq vet

Chris Mann- USMC, Afghanistan vet

Josh Diede- USArmy, Iraq vet

Mr. Pugsley- USArmy, Iraq vet

Michael Nadson- USArmy, Iraq and Afghanistan vet

Jesse Buffum- USMC

Ethan Smith- USAF

Julio Avila- USMC

Kelsie Roelke- USAF

Curtis Gilbert- USArmy

I feel like I am leaving people out!! Anyway, thank you!

Much love,

Sasha

Bad feedback yesterday, best in class today!

So, yesterday I gave a presentation about Iran and the effects UN/US Sanctions have had on its economy in the last five years that I worked really hard on and was really proud of. But, to my surprise, my professor still ripped on it like it was the worst thing he's seen in a long time, and trust me it wasnt, the two students before me were!! While I did raise the bar for students following me, I was a bit disappointed in his reaction. His points and critiques were very valid, but how much can one do in a 15 min presentation. It WAS as I hate to admit a really good learning experience for me and something that I will have to remember for when I write the paper for his class...which let me tell you how scared I am about that one!!! He is basically expecting us to write an economical analysis of whatever our topic is...something none of us have ever done and something that like an econ major who has 2-3 years worth of classes behind them does! SO its a huge challenge. AND I havent decided on my topic, since Im definitely not doing Sanctions again! haha

BUT Good news! Today we got our response papers back in my development class and I got THE HIGHEST GRADE!!!! which was an 88 but STILL HIGHEST!! Now, I am of course really excited but at the same time Im kind of like "well but what does that really mean? compared to the others of course I should have better writing skills this is there second, actually third for those who were French educated, it must be really hard for them!" But they all got 70s on theirs and I am sure its for more reasons than just technical language stuff! SOO I was excited! He even photocopied my paper and passed it around as an example of what to do, and pointed out my "FEW" errors as things that would have made it PERFECT! :) YAY ME!! haha I am really excited! As many of you know school, despite how hard I try (sometimes a little, sometimes embarrassingly a lot for the result) is not my strong suit, so for some friends or even family members, me deciding to do an MA was surprising, even for me actually. SO when I do well I get really excited! Because I know I am intelligent, but a lot of times it doesn't show academically!!

ANYWHO!! I should go Nancy will be done with class any minute (I am at university still waiting for her to get done and give me a ride home)

Much love,

Sasha

So much to do, so little time...story of my life

This is going to be a quick post, Im on my way to bed. I was reminded by my grandma I haven't posted in awhile! I will try to update you more tomorrow. I have a story about a presentation I gave today....FUN! Oh the woes of learning professors teaching styles!

I have got to get started on really looking into my final papers, making outlines, getting sources. They arent due until February but each of them are 30 pages!!!! Thats 90 pages to write from now till Feb all at the same time! I am not sure I've undertaken something like that before! YIKES!! Luckily, 2 of my papers I am pretty sure will be on Egypt, so maybe some things will overlap?....will I be so lucky??

Important news I haven't blogged about yet: My roomate and cousin Zouzou moved to Beirut for school on Sunday. He is my best friend here and I miss him so much, which seems odd cus he drove me crazy most of the time! haha Now my youngest cousin Elie is my roomate and I am getting used to his sleep schedule...in bed at 11pm up at 7am ...it is a FAR MORE PRODUCTIVE schedule by far! BUT its been a hard transition since Zouzou and I used to stay up watching Friends DVDs till 2-3am! haha This week I have been far more productive though for sure! Up between 7 or 730, drink my tea and eat my breakfast, do some yoga, get ready for school, at school by 10, study until lunch at 1, hang out with friends, class at 330! :) YAAY a ROUTINE!! Haha But I miss my best friend, thats for sure!

Gotta go to bed, its past my new bedtime! ;)

Much love,

Sasha

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Have an excellent day today! Hopefully mom figures out a good place to take you for lunch...I feel like I don't remember whats in Wenatchee besides McGlinns and the Wok About anymore! haha

I do not know what I am going to do about taking care of myself when I get home! haha I had this realization today when I came home and the electricity was out (meaning no microwave) and it appeared as tho know one was home, and I was STARVING having not eaten since breakfast. My first thought was "seriously? Know ones home? What am I going to eat!!?" As if I havent been on my own since I turned 18 and completely capable of making food! Ahh what it is like to be spoiled!!

Not too much to say today (wow what?? haha) Just relaxing now, maybe going to an old friends house for the evening. I have a presentations on UN/US sanctions on Iran on Tuesday which I was really pleased to get a lot of it done today! :) So that and some reading (always reading) are my two projects this weekend!! After this presentation its basically all reading and focusing on my papers! YIKES!! 3, 20-30 page papers all due in February! I am not sure I've ever written such long, detailed, research oriented papers all at once before...this should be fun! ;)

Take care!

Much love,

Sasha

Arianna At it Again

If you haven't noticed from all the links to articles I post here...Im a little addicted to the Huffington Post these days! And actually, I forgot to post it yesterday but our WA Senator Maria Cantwell had huge press on the Post yesterday! The big "front page" article and picture was of her! It was great! The electricity went out right as I was loading the video so I can't tell you what it was about but Sen. Cantwell has been criticizing Wall Street lately and getting lots of great press! Thanks for putting WA on the map Sen!! Keep up the hard work we love you!!

Anyway! Arianna Huffington herself (founder of Huffington Post) wrote an article today that I just LOVED! Its is about a new book called "The Audacity to Win" about the epic campaign that was the Obama campaign. It looks soooo good! And of course, I am going to need to read it one of these days for inspiration for my own campaign! Seeing as though if I want to run in 2024 its going to be a similar lead up (new in town, little experience type election) haha. ANYWAY! She asks the question "What would candidate Obama think of President Obama?" And uses sections from the book to highlight the historic awesomeness of the Obama campaign and what can be done now. I thought it was going to be a critique of the President's performance thus far, which it was, kind of, but rather it was almost a motivational piece where she argues Obama's admin needs to look back at what inspired their campaign and use that to fuel their decisions in the White House. It is quite good! Check it out:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/obama-one-year-later-the_b_343209.html

I find all the criticism about Obama very interesting, especially since I voted for him not only because I believed in him but really...because Hillary didnt win the nomination! Hehe :) Anywho, it is interesting to see people act as though they are shocked he didn't cure America in on year. I mean, that was my problem during the election...people vested EVERYTHING in him and acted as though he was Christ re-incarnated. On that front I feel kinda bad for him, because of course hes going to look like hes not doing enough, even though on the small battle front, hes won a lot of them. But on the flip side, I really think Arianna Huffington brings up good points about his timidness to govern. A lot of peoples critiscisms have been that once he has to step up to the plate and hit a home run, he strikes out and then blames the pitcher (aka Bush in this metaphore...I keep using baseball metaphors for things lately...huh). Anyway...I get tired of hearing him blaming Bush, whether they were his fault or not...just step up and hit the ball you are thrown. If something doesn't work the way you want, fix it and try again...anyway. Food for thought.

I am going to go play cards with Elie then finish writing my mini paper on development! I finally chose my final paper topics for my development class and for my econ class! I am SOOO happy!! Wanna know what they are?? OF course not but you're going to find out anyway! :) For my development class: “Obstacles for Development: Examining the relationship between the prevalence of sexual violence and current underdevelopment of Egypt”. And for my Econ class: “Punishing Government or Citizens? Analyzing the impact of UN sanctions on Iranian Women.” I am very excited for my research!!

Talk soon!

Much love,

Sasha

Watching lightning

The winter season is most definitely upon us here in Lebanon!! :) It is starting to get cold and I am loving it!! It rains off and on everyday now and there is LOTS of lightning!! It is my new favorite thing! Since we are right on the ocean you get a great view! The lightning lights up the whole sky like I have never seen it before! It is so beautiful!! Just thought I'd let you all know that!! :)

It started to thunder really loud tonight also! Haha good thing its not Halloween here otherwise I might have freaked out!! ;) Funny story...Halloween here is December 4th...interesting right? I can't remember the story right now, but when I learn it i'll tell you why...has to do with a saint. Anywho!!

Hope you all are enjoying your Halloween! And Carly and Sonia, I hope you enjoyed being me for Halloween this year...I am assuming that was the best suggestion you got from anyone! (they were in need of a costume idea....I thought it was a great one!) :)

Trick or Treat!!!!! (which by the way...should that be a question? hmm)

Sasha

Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick...

Teddy Roosevelt's famous quote "Speak softly and carry a big stick" still has a shocking amount of relevance to today's US foreign policy. And I do mean 'TODAY' not just the Bush Administration days. The more I see Afghanistan debated in the news I start to wonder, what would happen if we would have spoken a little louder and carried a smaller stick? We made a mistake in Afghanistan in the 1980s after the Soviets left Afghanistan and so did we...without aid to restructure, rebuild or develop the country. Instead we left it in dust and rubble for the future Taliban under Osama Bin Laden's "wisdom" to sweep it up and into a terrorist hotbed. Everyone is cognizant of this mistake, yet we never seem to learn.

An interview with Brian Williams on the Huffington Post website is quite telling about how we haven't learned our lesson. He describes Afghanistan as being "tighter and more militant and militarized"...this quote scares me. An unstable, under developed country, on the border of a country with nuclear capabilities, on the other border of a country trying to obtain nuclear capabilities and we just sent thousands more of our men and women in uniform into the middle of this hot bed along with millions of dollars of military machinery, all to try to 'stabilize' the country. Call me silly but what if the Obama administration had looked at our looming war debt, the mistakes we made in Iraq, the vow to fight the war on the "right" front and instead of creating a more militarized hotbed invested in infrastructure, education and government reform in Afghanistan instead? These are all the things we DIDN'T do in the 1980s so OF COURSE it makes sense not to do them now....right? Hmmm

I am obviously no expert and respect the experts who are making our decisions because they have intel and data we don't. BUT I would challenge (if the Obama Admin ever actually saw this) our administration to put downsize the big stick and use some of the money it'd save on helping to develop Afghanistan into a productive member of the global society. One that can defend its own borders, one that wouldn't be susceptible to terrorist control because it would have a healthy, educated population who can stand up and say no to the Islamic Fundamentalists who try to take control. This I think would make a much stronger region. Especially when you take into account the median and mean age of Afghanistan's population in men and women is a mere 17.5 years old!!!! 17 years old!!!!!!!!! That is a lot of young, uneducated people who are susceptible to any dictatorship that promises them a better life....

Read the interview yourself and see what you think:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/30/brian-williams-from-afgha_n_340059.html

In other news, its finally cool and rainy here! YAY! It practically flash flooded earlier!! I miss Bham! :) ANNDD Rumor has it, President Clinton is coming to my university!!! My professor just kind of dropped it into conversation during our class today! I forgot to ask him for details but you can bet if it is true I am demanding face time with our former President!! As one of the few American students I feel like I should get to meet him!! :) I'll keep you posted!

Much love,

Sasha

"Keeping up with the Joneses: the Re Development of the US"

First things first: FINALLY it is cooling down here!!! Apparently this heat is abnormal...but of course it would be the hottest fall people can remember when I come to town!! Last night we went to bed pleasantly with out neither a fan nor the AC!! YAAY! Now I am sitting outside on our balcony beginning my first response paper on what development is and about to create my very own definition....ahh the power....and I am not dying of heat! It is great!! Its sunny with a nice breeze! PERFECT!! Anywho, enough about the weather, I hate small talk!!

Remember a long long time ago when I blogged about the students attitudes about the West and how I said I just want to tell them to stop blaming the US and start improving their country from within? No? Its ok I remember. Anyway! I finally said something in class discussion yesterday!! It was SO fun for me! My professor got a kick out of it I think. There is a kid in my class who I think is a great person outside of class but is one of those guys who thinks he knows everything in class and has really radical views (anarchist, athiest, the works) and has to contradict everything anyone says....yea hes that guy. Anyway he was blaming really stupid things on the US and so I started off with asking, "and which country set up your government the way it is now? (he was complaining that its all a product of US imperialism)" and he of course said "the French" (cus they were the colonizing country here) and I said "right. So, why is it the US's fault your country is underdeveloped? wait, dont answer that yet, is it not at all possible for you and others in this country to use political participation to change things here? Is it not possible for you and other citizens to not demand the government build new roads and figure out the electricty problem here? Is that not at all possible? Is the US controlling your ability to speak? Get up and DO SOMETHING if you think your government isn't developing/improving Lebanon the way you think it should be!! It is NOT the US's fault you are underdeveloped! Even with all the sneaky politiking we do around the world, even if we did have a hand in the corruption of who is in power, THE PEOPLE HERE VOTED AND THE PEOPLE IN POWER WON!! Do like Palestine and hold elections w/o interference and elect the people you want! See, the elected "terrorists" by US definition! DO SOMETHING" Anywho, I got really worked up if you can tell by the caps lock! :) It was fun!! And he, sort of shut up after that...but of course not really! :)

I get really sick of the West being blamed for everything, but I know we have done alot in the world to get us that reputation. It just seems sometimes EVERYTHING is blamed on us. I guess that is why something my friend Emily in India said is so true. In regards to the question "what it means to be American" she answered that it means to have great responsibility. And I think that is so true. As a nation we have a great responsibility to lead by example and to do good in the world where we can and face critics humbly when we dont. As people we have a great responsibility of representing the good of our country and passing that along to people who don't see it, but also recognize where our country has failed both us as citizens and the world a the only remaining super power. And the latter is sometimes very hard to do...but I try.

Something actually that has really interested me since I have been here is the idea of the declining state of power the US is in now. And a topic that keeps coming into my head for a paper or an article or something (which of course i cant write for classes here cus we focus on the Middle East, but maybe one day) is "Keeping up with the Joneses: the Re Development of the United States." It seems that in the US we are recognizing that we have hit our peak and are declining in power in relation to the other rising actors such as China, Japan and the EU. But as I was thinking about my time on the HECB and all the reports we saw comparing us to the rest of the world in education, and as I was talking/arguing with Kael the other night about Socialized medicine and the current healthcare debate taking place in our country, I have decided that we try so hard to find the aspects in other countries that are working well for them and try to replicate it in the US but we don't want to restructure our system to be able to do it properly, which leaves us mimicking policies of the EU and others without the systematic backbone. Does that make sense? Let me flesh out my ideas. In education policy we are told that we are lacking, this I believe is very true, especially after seeing what my 15 year old cousin is expected to know at his grade level that we were no where close to learning until high school. BUT the way in which people prove this is actually somewhat deceiving. My auntie Lynn if she is reading this will remember a conversation she and a friend of hers and I had in MN about this. When we are compared to other countries standardized test scores it is somewhat misleading. For instance, the French system of education (which is the same/similar in all of its former colonies including Lebanon) is that students are tested in 9th grade and if they dont pass this test they dont go onto high school, and the ones who do are placed in the level of high school that they test into. SO when we see our test scores which is a number that includes ALL of our students compared to the test scores of the French lets say it is decieving because the French students test results are the results of the best of the best of their students who went to high school. Does that make sense? So unless we want to really re structure how we offer education (which I believe we should) its misleading to compare our standards with others in Europe. But something should be done in Education and we should have the guts to re wire the way we do things to make that happen. Actually I read an article where I think it was Zimbabwe I cant remember tho, during a major economic crisis (hmmm arent we in one of those now?) made a huge shift in investment into education and preventative healthcare because those are areas that will help re build economies within a generation (better education=more skilled workers, better health of its people = better life expectancy). NOW if Zimbabwe of all places can do that, why aren't we? I was on the HECB during the economic "crash" last year and we were cutting education spending like crazy, even WITH the stimulus bill. It doesn't make sense.

Lets try not to get me started on healthcare but another problem is that we are trying to create a socialized system for healthcare without the proper tax set up to fund it, just because other people/states are doing it.

We SHOULD be making these social changes, we SHOULD provide better healthcare for our citizens, we SHOULD have a better education system, we SHOULD prioritize these things before spending billions and billions on war and violence BUT we need to figure out a way to do these things in an American context that works within our system...we shouldn't just do it because the Joneses are doing it. Does that make sense? I really think there is a huge need in the US to "re-develop" if you will. We led the world in industry, agriculture, military for a very long time, and still do for the most part. But we began failing our citizens a long time ago. The amount of poverty in the US is scary. The amount of violence against women, children and the violence amongst gangs is rising. Sometimes in our development class, the terms that we all use to describe a "developed" country would not describe the US. We are vastly in debt. We have two major "conflicts" (apparently they are not "wars" they are conflicts, I learned from a military friend of mine...whatever) on our hands in the Middle East, and judging by what I read in the news, I wouldn't be surprised it if flows into Pakistan soon. There are a lot of things we need to change in the US. I think thats why a lot of people voted for Obama because the saw the word "change" in his campaign...but we really need to talk about what that change should look like. Because remember "change" is not synonymous with "development"...it does not indicate a forward movement. You can change in any direction. the US needs to move forward. We need to take a deep hard look at ourselves and make systematic changes that are going to be really hard to do but will be vital if we don't want to "change" in a backward motion and find ourselves "underdeveloped" very soon.

Ok, this is a really long post, sorry for rambling. I had to get my thoughts down and I am terrible at keeping a journal. I really think the US is in a fundamental state of emergency I guess you could say. We need to do something. We need to follow the example of countries that have risen up from nothing and are now huge power players, but not copy them, unless we want to re structure our system. We cannot institute copy cat policies anymore without the systematic backbone like a new income source to pay for this huge healthcare bill that is going through Congress for example. We need to invest in Education so our citizenry is educated and inventing and leading again. I am going to go work on my development papers now...and examine how the Middle East needs to develop. Hope I didn't bore you...

Much love,

Sash

Eventful uneventful day...

Today was pretty mellow...well except for all the stuff that happened! Let me tell you: The day started off pretty lax...Elie and I just ate some breakfast and woke up rather slowly, then studied a bit (arent we so studious). Hani brought home falafal (FINALLY!! I Love falafal) for lunch, which was the first time I've had it this trip. And it was delicious! This counts as one of the "events" of the day by the way! :) Then after lunch we watched the 2nd half of Harry Potter 5 which was SOO exciting that it was on tv! Its probably may favorite HP movie! :) THEN oh boy THEN I attempted to play soccer. This was fun. So, we worked on a little "technique" if you will for awhile, I wasn't THAT bad to be honest! :) But then we started to play a little 2 on 2 game and shortly into it, Zouzou, who is on my own team, I guess was attempting to pass the ball to me, I am not sure, and he kicked the ball full speed right into my left ovary! I swear! It was so painful! AND Funniest part is it all happened in slow motion! haha I like watched the ball and thought "if this was a movie it'd be in slow motion and I'd be saying 'NOOOO' in a really low slow voice.....huh. OUCH". BUT I did not take "recoup" time and just ran after him, this was another mistake that led me to rolling my ankle...nothing serious but slightly painful! haha Good times. Thats when I decided to come up stairs and leave soccer for another day.

Tonight was kids night out here. Hani and I (well and Zouzou technically since hes not a kid but still came along) took Nicole, Elie and one of their friends to Burger King for dinner. They were so excited it was so cute! We've had this planned for a week and like a little child Elie (who btw is 15...all of them are but we all say 'kid(s)' in regards to them) promptly reminded me this morning that "we're going to Burger King tonight!!" It was fun! Actually, funny story, if we Americans were looking to get fat faster, we should institute this policy in our McDonalds and Burger Kings...DELIVERY!! Thats right, McDonalds and Burger King deliver here! hahaha wow.

ANYWAY! The day of uneventful events continues....Hani and I are staying home tonight (sound uneventful? It is but knowing me and my fam something eventful will happen). Hope all is well back home!!

Much love,

Sasha

PS. Here is an article I found the other night after talking to my grandma that I thought was really touching and really made me think about all the women in my life and how much has changed for women in the last few decades and how much is still left to future generations to continue to work towards! Read it if you'd like, its a good one I think! http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/21/rollins.american.women/index.html

Interesting Articles

Please read these if you are bored and feel like catching up on some interesting news:

Why I love Joe Biden and always have...this is a great article by one of my favorite journalist (all be it sometimes over the top and has kind of an annoying voice, still a brilliant woman and a role model for the journalist that is still somewhere deep inside me):

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/why-joe-biden-should-resi_b_320929.html

For a great review of what everyone thinks about this Obama Nobel Peace Price issue go to this link, they interviewed a bunch of people from all over the world and on both sides of "the aisle" in the US, former Nobel winners and more...its really interesting to see what people thought in the hours after the decision to give President Obama the Nobel Peace Prize last week...a controversial decision at that....Well ok I can't find the link to what the Huffington Post had the first day, but here is the link to a ton of articles for and against his winning the big prize...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/obama-nobel-peace-prize

I don't mean for this to be a "Bash on Obama" post, I voted for him and believe in him too...I just LOVE HILLARY CLINTON...so I thought I'd post this article too! :)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/15/obama-now-more-polarizing_n_322159.html

Ok thats enough for today!! :)

Much Love,

Sasha

Another day

Hey!

Life over here is still trucking along! Tomorrow I have my Friday class on Democracy and Civil Society for the first time! I am excited since that is something Im definitely interested in! AND bonus, the kids in my classes that did their undergrads here say he's the best prof!! EXCITING!!!

The weather here is starting to change...slowly. It is still hot at night, but not AS hot. Its nice enough that you don't have to wake up TOO early to have cool weather or wait until THAT late for cool weather. I went running finally for the first time since I hurt my knee really bad this summer. It was so nice! The weather was just perfect for a run, not too hot not too cold! Whats definitely noticeable about the weather here though is the sky. Its not necessarily overcast with clouds, jut humidity. Its strange. Its not the bright blue like at summer. Guess thats their sign of fall. Now that I am definitely comforatable here at home, and now getting used to the routine at school I am making myself a get up/go to bed/work out routine to make sure I am fitting enough in my day...haha. I still have the tendency to sleep in a lot.....ie today I woke up on my own at 10:30 and I was impressed how early I was up...woops!

In other news! I went to the Embassy yesterday and registered to let them know I am here. The US Embassy is quite a place, we are quite an intimidating country. Like, even as a citizen, with no intentions of doing anything wrong, I was terrified and intimidated being in the complex. Although, when I am Secretary of State one day I'll own the place so I guess I should get used to American fortresses being scary for outsiders! Anywho did that, I was hoping (of course, its me) to get a peak at someone, anyone important but I just saw a lot of army guys...oh well. Then Hani and I made a quick stop at my dads sister who lives in Beirut then met with a friend of my dad's who works in politics here. He and my dad have been friends since they were kids, my dad likes to call him his "Carly" (Carly and I have been friends since my birth...yea literally and my dad likes to make comparisons to his friends based on how long i've known someone/how close I am with them...for instance someone he is still close to now but met them in school he says they are his "Mara" haha anyway). He works for the political party my dad belongs to and is good friends with the leader, Samir GeaGea. Dr. GeaGea's wife is one of the only 6 women in Parliament here and is going to MAYBE arrange a meeting for me with her to interview her for my thesis/or any paper I need to write in the next year! :) I am REALLY excited and hope it works out! She is really an incredible lady who kept her husband's party alive while he was jailed by the Syrians for like 10-15 years before being released int 2005. Anyway! I'd really actually like to meet with all 6 women, but thats a really high bar...but you know me, dream big or go home! One of the other women in power is the sister of the late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. And yes, I hope you have noticed a trend...its no coincidence...all 6 of the women in parliament here are the wives, sisters, cousins or mothers of powerful men who are in politics in a different sector or who have been assassinated and the women in their lives are carrying on their name.

This is actually an issue discussed a lot because while Lebanon is usually scene as more progressive than other countries in the Arab world, there are still only 6 women in Parliament and like I said they are all relatives of powerful men, so are they really independent. This may be one of my paper topics, or at least part of a case study...because I find it really interesting. Especially because I am really interested in the Security Council Resolution 1325 that calls for more participation of women at decision making levels.

Anywho enough about politics! :) All is well here! I am being eaten alive by mosquitos...still!!!!!! When will they realize I am not going anywhere??! I am the ONLY one who gets bit like this, its sick.

Hope all is well back home! Miss you all!

Much love,

Sash

Being the "Other"

Hey all!
So going to school in a foreign country is really interesting. I mean it is interesting doing a lot of things in a foreign country because when you become the "other" there is a lot to learn. Let me explain...in class yesterday we were obviously talking about development and we got into traditionalism and why the word "tradition" is typically synonymous with backward (in regard to Western standards) and the students in my class used "us" a lot in referring to the 3rd world and Lebanon and "them" in referring to the US and other "Western" nations. This I found really interesting, for one because all the sudden I was the sole Representative of the West in the room and also the representative of murder and impossible standards (in their eyes)...which isn't exactly the representation you want :). This is something that is so fun and interesting for me to be a part of because I get to see just how people view us here in the ME (for future reference I use ME for Middle East).

And there are also interesting contradictions...for instance they see the US as the most developed country, the most supreme la la la, but there are many people IN THE US who argue our status is falling, our declining economy and failure to keep up with education standards around the world are bringing our status down. Within our class for instance one of the girls listed what creditials she believed made a country truly developed and the US met none of those in reality, and I pointed this out to her saying "then the US isn't a developed country?" and she was like "no no the US is the most developed!" and I said, "yea in reality probably, but according to your standards its not at all...so which is it? Thats the question a lot of people are asking, if the US really is the most developed country and if it isnt, who is?". SO that is very interesting to me....the woes of being the most powerful country??

These debates make me appreciate our country a lot more. I am sure there would be a lot of people who would be in my shoes and would become anti American or realize how terrible we are. While I recognize our countries policy flaws, I still appreciate all that it has to offer us and to those around the world if they took responsibilities for their actions too. Which brings me to my next point...what is REALLY interesting is how the students blame the US a lot for "holding the 3rd world down" or making standards for the rest of the world that are purely "western" and what I had to say to that is "ok. you are right. We do sketchy things to remain in power" BUT when do you stop blaming the US and start taking accountability for your own leaders? For instance, here in Lebanon the roads are awful and the electricity goes out all the time...these are national matters that are keeping Lebanon in "3rd world status" (which I put in quotes because I HATE using the terminology 1st, 2nd and 3rd world since those are outdated terms used in the Cold War...but that is how they classify themselves so there you go)...anyway, these issues within Lebanons boarders are not the fault of the US. In fact the US gave Lebanon money to help rebuild after the war...so it is interesting. The other point when they discuss these standards the US imposes on the 3rd world about being backward if you will a lot of times are actually coming from the UN! WHICH countries of the 3rd world have to consent to by signing on to resolutions....so....are they really American ideals? No, they are standards for better living for everyone, agreed upon by the UN...such as the Millennium Development Goals to eradicate extreme poverty, achieve gender equality, improve education by ensuring all people get through basic primary education, things like that. Now, dont get me wrong, its not like all of the students here are Anti-American, and even of the 7 of us I would really only say the 1 guy is actually Anti-American, but the others I think just argue these points academically, which I respect.


I could go on and on for hours! :) I just think it is SOO interesting studying with people who see us so differently than we see ourselves. I think it is such a great opportunity for me to be critical of the country I love so much but also use that critique not to bash the US but rather develop goals and initiatives the US could have to achieve better standing in the world....then maybe one day when I am President I'll have the ability to lead the US with a better world view!! ;) BUT REALLY...I am shotting for a Nobel Peace Prize here...I mean Obama got one!! ;) OK LOW BLOW sorry! :) THAT my friends is a great debate! I wont get into it here!! haha I already started a ruckus on my facebook once!! :)


I should go eat then go to class! I will update again soon! I so admire my cousin Stacy's ability to update her blog everyday! Stacy, you are my hero!! :) I have been bad at updating!!!


Much love,


Sasha

Politics of Development in the Middle East

Well I survived my first two M.A. Classes and really enjoyed them!! FINALLY school that I am interested in because all the classes APPLY to what I want to do :)!! There of course is a lot of reading, duh, its an MA program, what did I expect? There are actually 2 things so far that I find really really interesting about going to school here:

1. How much the professors use UN documents and organizations for information! In all my Poli Sci classes at WWU NONE of my professors actually assigned UN docs for reading, ex: knowing the Millennium Development Goals, having a copy of the Arab Development Report from the UN Development Programme....things like that. But both of my classes, those are requirements! I LOVE IT

2. Its so fun to debate politics with Lebanese people! Its so interesting to see how they perceive the US and our policies...I had fun a few time stepping in being like "umm....actually...." :) And what is funny is that people argue in class like they do out at dinners or whatever. And for those of you who know a Lebanese person or has been around my dad and his friend Paul, you know what I am talking about. I had to really jump in to get an argument in edgewise! haha it was quite fun!

I am really excited for my class on Friday. The kids in my class yesterday said hes the best prof in the department and it'll be really interesting! There are only 6 kids in the program, 5 girls and 1 guy! :) They are all really nice and I've become legitimate friends with 2 of them (the two that have all 3 classes with me...since we've known eachother 'longer' haha)

Anyway, I really need to read! ugh!

Much love,

Sash

Lazy weekend, class tomorrow :)

Well this weekend has been very quiet! Friday night my cousin Nancy and our friends and I went to our fave Mexican restaurant for dinner which was nice to hang out with them. We were spending our days at the beach in attempts to get a last minute tan!...ya in OCTOBER I KNOW!!! Crazy! Its still pretty warm here so its nice! Yesterday I stayed in with my cousin Hani! It was so nice to hang out just the two of us, order in some sandwiches, chat and play cards! I was so proud of myself, I learned to play a game very similar to Crazy Eights and I actually liked playing it!!! For those of you who were never around me the few times I've visited ND and the times my Uncle and fam from ND came to see us in WA, I tend to not be a fan of card games like they are, and typically wine about it! Turns out, especially in the winter thats what everyone does here! So guess I'll have to get used to card games. I dont think my cousins Dave and Matt read this very often, but they would appreciate this story none the less...and maybe grandma and grandpa too...Im not sure! But anyway! A bunch of us were playing a friendly game of poker, a game my cousins Matt and Dave no longer play with me because of a cheating incident when we were young...sure enough I tried pulling a fast one on my cousins here and of course I got caught and everyone got pissed. I think its time I stop playing poker :)

School starts tomorrow and I am shockingly excited for it! The dean of my program wanted a CV from me so I updated mine this week and it is a whopping 3 pages long!! For those of you who are not familiar with the term "CV" it is a more detailed resume. Typically it is for academics, or people who are published and while I am not an academic by any means I am published! :) YAY! Anyway I got that done and was pretty excited! My friend Kristina, from MUN in college and who now lives in NYC...keep up I've talked about her before ;) , and I were chatting on gmail about my thesis and she gave me some great websites and ideas!! Yes I am already thinking of my thesis...they are long and so it'll take me awhile to write so Im trying to get a head start! I am thinking of course about focusing my paper on women, but more specifically possibly the implementation of Security Council Resolutions 1325, 1820, and 1888 (the most recent resolution on women from the SC) in the Middle East and Mediterranean regions....we'll see though! Kristina and I both LOVE spending hours talking about this topic so it'll probably change a few times before I start writing with different ideas we come up with! :) I will blog after class to let you all know how it goes!

I am really tired today because I got no sleep, and this is not because I stayed up too late like usual, I went to bed at a "decent" hour (actually early for the weekend....2am) but woke up ever hour through the morning...annoying. So I am just staying in all day, maybe I'll do some yoga....which I have done every day thus far! I am pretty happy about that! I LOVE yoga!

Ok, hope all is well with everyone! I miss home for sure but am having a great time here!

Much love,

Sash

White noise no more!

Well it is official!! Arabic is no longer white noise!!! This is a big deal to me because when I took Arabic classes formally at WWU I struggled a lot with listening exercises because I was so used to trips to Lebanon as a child where I would sit in a room with everyone speaking Arabic and not understanding a word of it. But now I am actually putting words together, understanding phrases and attempting to speak some myself! My cousins are much better on this trip in regards to speaking to me in Arabic always...if its something complicated they'll speak English but most of the time they say it in Arabic first!! Some of my French is coming back to me too! haha ppl tend to switch between Arabic, English and French in one sentance. And the woman who helps around the house at my uncle's place only speaks French so in order to talk to her i've been trying out my french! I am no longer taking a formal Arabic class at university so I will have to just sit down with my cousins and learn at home....wish me luck!!

So, it is October 1st, officially fall in my book and I went to the beach today!! YAY! I actually have had quite a productive day today! :) Shocking! So today I woke up and had my eggs and tea then went on the balcony to read this fabulous book I am reading by Ayaan Hirsi Ali called The Caged Virgin. If anyone is remotely interested in women and Islam this is a fabulous book! Anyway, I read for a bit while I finished my tea then during yoga for 40 minutes!! It felt great! I really need to do that EVERYDAY!! Then Nancy and I went to meet our friends at the beach! A good day I'd say!! Nancy and I are watching Bride Wars so thats all folks! have a good day!

Much Love,

Sasha

Registration frustrations

SO I am still not officially registered because the process at Balamand is super inefficient! I guess it doesn't help I am a new international student! haha good news is that I have my classes "ok'd" by the dean of my program, its just a matter of getting everything else in order. So, inshallah as they say here "God willing" i'll actually get to register tomorrow!! Man its just been a huge back and forth process thus far.

Yesterday we had a lovely day in my dad's village in the mountains. It is probably one of my favorite places in the entire world. It is indescribably beautiful up there. Its never been touched by war, the air is fresh, people are nice, buildings are old, and best part (in the summer) its cool there! :) I am having issues with my uploading capabilities but I promise I'll have pictures up soon...i think there are a random 5 up there already! Ugh me and technology!! :) Anyway! The boys I live with (my cousins Hani, Zouzou and Elie) and I went up with a family friend Joelle (and our neighbor), her husband and a friend of theirs. We had a nice big lunch at my dad's friend's restaurant and spent the evening at Joelle's grandparents house. The guys were all out shooting a shot gun at the mountain and I decided to give it a shot! I am a terrible shot! haha I think I was just too scared to aim it at anything other than the sky! Maybe next time I can be more purposeful with my shooting? haha I was just proud I didnt fall backwards or something silly!

I feel like I had a lot to say in this post but now that I am here I've got nothin! :) I was looking at my cousin Stacy's blog today and cannot believe how big their son Finnegan is getting!! Its so crazy how fast kids grow!! I miss them all so much!

I will try to have something more thought provoking to say next time I write! :) I am hoping that my blog will actually become interesting when I start my classes and I can use some of what I am reading and learning in my writing! :) for now my eyes are wide open and I am observing everything!!

Talk soon!

Much love,

Sash

PS Gma & Gpa I'll call this week! Love you!

Stephanie :)

Well the last two days I got to spend with my oldest cousin's first born daughter Stephanie! You may remember her from just before I left Lebanon in the spring but if you don't I'll post pictures tomorrow if I can! She is now 3 months and sooo cute! She is so full of life and smiles and laughs ALL the time! She cannot sit still either, unless she's with me of course! I have a way of putting her to sleep! hahaha She is about as big as my other cousin's son Finnegan (aka my Bestie) when I saw him for 2 weeks in July. She is the funniest little girl though (i specify girl there since Finn is the funniest little boy! of course) for instance this evening she was starting to fussy and mom was in the shower so I was holding her trying to put her to sleep (my specialty) and finally she was on the verge of all out tantrum and daddy took her when the doorbell rang and my cousin's aunt and uncle came in. Stephanie immediately lit up and was ooing and ahhing for her great aunt and uncle and laughing like crazy. It was the funniest thing I had ever seen!!! And as soon as they left she passed out! It was hillarious! She is too cute!

It was so much fun getting to play with her and get to know her a bit! She is so much bigger than when we left her, obviously since she was 3 days old!

Tomorrow Hani, Zouzou, Tony and Nancy and I are going to the village in the mountains where my grandpa used to take my aunts and uncle and dad to avoid the war. There is a hotel restaurant the family still gathers at a lot and the kids and I are going to have lunch there. It should be a nice time just us kids! Well I am going to go. I am excited that I finished my NMUN Background Guide last night but I need to finish the Annotated Bibliography...FUN!

Much Love,

Sash

PS I'll put pictures of Stephanie and lunch tomorrow or the next day!

Registration and Unpacking

Well I am really excited about school!! I am registered for 4 classes, 3 MA Poli Sci classes and one Arabic class!! I actually am really interested in all the classes offered in the program and to my surprise there is a Gender in Politics class and a class on Identity issues and one on Discrimination in Conflict!! All will be heavily focused on women which is great because that is what I am writing my big paper for NMUN on and I want to gear my thesis towards women also! And to my even bigger surprise my advisor and one of the professors told me he makes sure to include women in all the classes he teaches and was pleased to hear I will be focusing my thesis on women! I was shocked! :) The classes I am taking this quarter (because they were the only ones offered...)

Political Economy of the Mediterranean Basin

Democracy and Civil Society in the Mediterranean

Politics of Development in the Middle East

Arabic

Looks like the program will have to take 4 semesters, I was hoping to do it in 3. I have to take 3 semesters of coursework and one semester writing my thesis. If they would let me I would like to start my thesis earlier than recommended (end of second semester) but they want you to have taken classes. Wont stop me from thinking about it obviously. There was a lot to discuss since it was my first meeting with the dean, so I will work on it more. He did say depending on my performance in class maybe I could start the steps the end of the first semester. You have to have an advisor, thesis topic one semester, then do a presentation and get the idea approved (which usually requires a small sample paper anyway) then you write the last quarter. There also isnt any summer classes so looks like I will for sure be coming home in the summer. I had thought about trying to go to school thru the summer to finish early but that wont be possible I dont think. Maybe they'll let me work on my thesis? I danno.

Lots to learn!! I am going to go try to finish up my NMUN paper....

Much love

Sash

New trip, new attitude

Hey everyone!

I have made it to Lebanon! I was concerned I would get here and want to come home right away or regret the decision to leave my family and friends back home, but I got here and felt like I never left, which I think is a great sign! I already feel busy which is a new thing for me! :) Tomorrow I have to actually wake up (ugh) and go register for classes at the university then come home and get settled. I also have my big NMUN Background Guide final draft due by Oct. 3rd so I really need to sit down with that and make my final edits. Its so important to me because its really close to the topic I may write my thesis on and its published so its kind of a big deal to get it perfect! I have lots of stories about my last day in NYC...the General Assembly 64th session started this week and I was able to happily watch diplomats and heads of state arrive at the Millenium Hotel across from both Kristina's work and the UN! UGH I Was in Sasha heaven!! And Barack Obama was in the city also! EXCITING NEWS!!: My friend Kristina that I was staying with works for the NGO Working Group on Women (which is cool) and she and her boss were invited to the Security Council Meeting on Women on Wednesday next week and none other than THE HILLARY CLINTON is going also!! HOW EXCITING!! Congrats Kristina (im sure she'll read this eventually!) I was osooooo excited for her (and a wee bit jealous of course)! ;)

Lebanon is great and I am happy with my choice. I am sure I'll have rough days but overall I am pumped for this adventure. I am going to bed! I'll write about my classes tomorrow! Hope they have some good ones! I CANNOT BELIEVE I am about to start my MA! wow!

Much Love,

Sash

Addicted

So, I have to live in NYC. I realize I make new life plans about once every 2-3 weeks, but it is going to have to be a done deal! I love everything about NYC. So I have decided to focus on trying to live here after Lebanon just for a couple years to get started in a diplomatic career....UN?! We'll see I suppose....

We had a great staff training weekend. It was great to see old faces from last year again and also to meet new friends that I will be working with this year and I am sure in years to come. It is my first year at this level of staff where I am in charge of my committee--Commission on the Status of women so I call the shots so its a little nerve racking. BUT Training eased a lot of nerves that I had so thats great. Tomorrow Kristina, Sameer and I will be hanging out in Brooklyn (where she lives) and Manhattan doing random stuff. And I think I'll get to go see her work on Tuesday (which is where I'd like to work if I move out here) so we'll see!!
I leave Tuesday night for Lebanon so I am excited to have 2 whole days to hang out, its been awhile since I've had that, cus usually when I come to NY I am soooo busy. We are thinking about walking across the Brooklyn Bridge because I've never done that!! Well I gotta run!

Much Love,

Sasha

PS I have a temporary NYC number because my cell is shot it is: 1-347-497-1731 if you need me call me there!

First Step...

Well, I am in New York City with my friends Kristina and Sameer getting ready for our staff training for National Model United Nations. I am excited because this is the first time of all my trips to NYC since 8th grade I am here for a week but am not totally swamped with planned activities!! We have training stuff at the Marriot Marquis in Times Square (such a nice hotel, Times Square is annoying tho) Friday-Sunday but thats it!!! All day tomorrow the three of us are chillin in the City and at Kristina's place in Brooklyn and then Monday and Tuesday during the day we're hanging out!

I have a red eye flight out of JFK Tuesday night so I'll even have all day then! I am just soooo excited! It definitely hasnt hit me that I left home yet though. I am with one of my best friends from college, hanging out in my fave city (and hopefully my home for a year or two after my MA), going to see the UN again...definitely hasn't sunken in yet! Not to mention I was so stresesd before I left, could hardly get a tear out saying goodbye to the fam! When I left for 3 months I was water works at the airport!!

I am pretty excited to get back to Lebanon and back into school. (wow did I just say that?!) Kristina gave me all sorts of awesome materials on women, peace and security for my MUN background guide (aka a paper Im writing) but it also is going to help a TON with my MA Thesis! Kristina works for an NGO that works with the UN On trackign the Security Council and women's issues! SOOO COOL! So I was really excited about that (we're such nerds I KNOW) ;)

ANYWAY Time for bed!!

Much love,

Sash

Tickets have been bought...

It is official, last night dad bought my plane ticket to Beirut from NYC! So, September 16th I am going with Carly and Sonia to the Miley Cyrus concert in Seattle, then flying out to NYC for training the 17th-22nd and hanging out with my NMUN friends and celebrating Kristina's birthday a day early, then heading to Lebanon from NYC! I am pretty excited I finally made a concrete decision!

The Cities

Well...I am happy to report that despite an extremely busy Friday last week, I managed to FINISH my scrapbook by 2:50pm before the chaos preparations even began!! This was indeed a huge feet since we were worried I wouldn't finish at all! :)

The weekend was full of family, friends, baseball, baby shower, drinks and lots of food! It was an exceptional weekend I'd say! The Rox (John's baseball team) won both their games and are going to the big play offs this next weekend! I think they are in first even! I started to re read Harry Potter 3 in hopes to jog my memory and begin book 4 when I return home...however in the cities it has been difficult to schedule in Harry time...although maybe after tonight I canone speed read the rest...hmm.

We (Kelsie, John, Sonia, Lynn-and later after a baseball meeting Ron) came down to the Twin Cities Sunday after the ball game. On the way down we enjoyed the BEST burgers ever at a joint called "5 Guys" I am addicted. Since then we've had an exciting stay! Monday Sonia and I went to school with Kelsie (which doesn't sound exciting but it was a good thing we went)...I got a TON of research done for my Model UN topic outline that is due at 11pm tonight and printed some good sources. Then during her break we went to a great cheap store Plato's Closet and spent too much money, but got great deals on name brand clothes that would be triple the price in stores! And I got fall/winter stuff in preparation for Lebanon...it all worked out well! Then Kelsie scanned Sonia and my heart for practice, I admit it was pretty cool!

Yesterday (Tuesday) we spent the whole day at the amusement/waterpark ValleyFair!! It was SOO fun! Despite rumors about being Thunderstormed out, only one hit us and it lasted a mere 20 minutes! No big!! We did all the rides and some multiple times! We were there from 12:30pm-9:30pm so we got our moneys worth out of it for sure!!

I am up finishing my outline, well the annotated bibliography for it anyway and Kelsie is at school and John and Soni are sleeping. We are going to go hang out with Jim, Stacy and Lynn today! Should be fun!

Much love,

Sasha

Busy day ahead...

With Finn's baby shower quickly approaching and the family coming up from the cities this weekend, oh and 2 baseball games to attend! The weekend is not only just around the corner but we have TONS to do to prepare for the occasion!!

Lynn is doing a cool decoration for Finn's shower (shouldn't give it away in case Stacy reads this since Im not sure if its a surprise) that we need to take care of in the early morning. I need to finish my LONDON pictures (yes I have FINISHED my Lebanon part of my scrapbook and am on London!!) tomorrow so we can clean off the table tomorrow night before everyone arrives! We need to run Tiko to the kennel tomorrow afternoon, and strip, wash and replace the sheets in the beds before everyone needs to play musical beds and sleep Friday night!! whooo long day!!! I am doing some pre-tomorrow things as well as starting a little research for my National Model UN background guide right now, but am getting tired so probably will be asleep soon! Scrapbooking is tiring!!! I have seriously gotten into this thing!! haha I am planning on turning this scrapbook into my "summer adventures" scrapbook and will hopefully be able to scrap book last years 21st birthday extraveganza which includes a big trip to Vegas, Disneyland and Mexico before I head back to Lebanon this fall...we'll see. Since I also want to read Harry Potter books 3-7 before I go too!! hahaha How many weeks left?!!

Well I better get to bed!!

Much Love,

Sasha

Time flies when you are....

SCRAPBOOKING??!! Yes, Scrapbooking, I Sasha Sleiman am scrapbooking with my Auntie. AND BONUS I am enjoying it!! hahaha wow!!! (this is where you oo and ahh) I have 12 pages done already, which is exciting but I have SOOOO much more to go! I brought over 200 pictures from Lebanon and London (which was just a fraction of what I have on my computer!) So needless to say Auntie Lynn and I are VERY busy!! Just to give you an idea of our days here is what we've been up to:
Yesterday I woke up around 10, had a bagel and got right into my scrapbook. At 12 we went out to lunch with a friend of Lynns to a new cafe which was really delicious! We got so wrapped up in conversation we were there until 2pm! By 2:30 we were scrapbooking again (well Lynn is working on thank you cards and graduation cards, but shes near by for crisis and creative help). We took a grocery store then dinner/Harry Potter #1 watching break around 5:30. We got right back into scrapbooking again (any pattern here?) and by 9:50 pm we were off to pick up a girl from the neighborhood Amy and went to wait 2hrs for the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Half Blooded Prince!! It was SOOOO GOOD!!! (yes grandma she was fine and in fact it was Lynns idea!! We slept in though this morning to get energy back up). We are planning on seeing it with Kelsie and Soni either this weekend or early next week in the cities! Since Kels NEEDS to see it ASAP!
Then today, I slept till 12...shocking. After "breakfast" and dishes Lynn and I picked fresh rasberries (yuuummm) and as a reward for our work we had a bowl of ice cream with our rasberries!! Then...you guessed it...back to scrapbooking!! This is our first break since then and it is 5pm now. We're waiting for Ron to come home to bbq for us then Lynn is going to get Granny and go to a church thing. I think Ron and I will be watching a movie or two. And yes, I didnt just skip details or thing it was too much info to write it, its true, I haven't showered at all since the scrapbooking began. Discusting! Tonight before starting the movie I am vowing to myself I'll get in! :) hehehe I am sure I smell great!

Gotta get back to my scrapbook! Lots to go!

Much love,

Sasha

Minnesota

So I had thought I wouldn't write on my blog again now that I am stateside, but it dawned on me today, technically I am still traveling! :) I am Minneapolis this weekend and off to Ortonville this afternoon for a wk then back to Minneapolis next Monday! I am here visiting my mom's side of the fam this time! I have been with cousins Jim, Stacy, baby Finn and Kelsie. We have had a great weekend already!! I met Finn which I have been waiting 6 months to do and he is just the most precious child I have ever seen!! He has been such a good boy this weekend despite a recent stint of colic which has been tough on Jim and Stacy. He seemed to take a little break with it this weekend though. I have decided we are best friends now because we had a few good long holding moments and I even changed a diaper and put on his pjs once! I am not nearly as coordinated while holding him as his mommy so I mostly just sat with him unless he was squirmy and wanted to walk around...being the clutz that I am I didnt dare "multitask" with him, which I told Stacy I think is an art only known to parents!
Saturday was a lazy day turned epic. Kelsie and I got up early (despite our mind and bodies desires) to go shopping at a second hand store that only sells name brands. They had this $10 bag sale and anything you could fit into this small plastic bag you could buy for 10 dollars!! We did pretty good too, we both rolled our clothes up tightly and got a lot in there! Kels got 2 pairs a of jeans and like 4 or 5 shirts and I got a pair of American Eagle sweat pants and 6 shirts!! So basically everything I got was just over a dollar!! And I got a really great silk, nice shirt thats good for going out AND work! BONUS! and some wintery shirts that will be good for fall in Lebanon! YAY We were pretty tuckered out from our shopping trip and our Friday night drinks with Jim the night before so we came home and layed out in the sun trying to catch a tan then watched Enchanted (well "watched" is relative since we slept thru most of it). Before heading off to Jim and Stacy's place Kelsie cooked us a great dinner of grilled corn, pork chops and tator tots!! YUMMY! Stacy's sisters came over Saturday along with her mom and all of us and Kelsie and Jim went on a "walkabout" as they call it! It was really fun, walking from bar to bar for a few hours! We got to have a good "grown up" night while Jim's aunt and uncle Les and Deann baby sat Finn and Stacy's nephew Austin for the night! Sunday I spent the day with Jim, Stacy and Finn since John was still playing ball in Ortonville and Kelsie had to work. We had a bit of a lazy day watchin movies and hanging out with Finn. We took a nice long walk to calm Finn down and return our movie too! Finn LOVES walks outside! He is so precious!! Well, Kels just got home from school! Time to go to Ortonville!!

Much Love,

Sash

Home

Hello everyone! At the request of my grandma I just thought I'd let everyone know I've made it home safely and am glad to be here!! The summer is going to go by super quick! I am headed out on Friday to spend 2 weeks with my Auntie Lynn and Uncle Ron and my cousins John and his wife Kelsie and Jim and his wife Stacy and their beautiful baby boy Finn! I am really excited! Then its back to work for a month and a half then I am off to NYC for 3 days in September followed directly by Lebanon!

I am going to keep this website up and start a blog about living in Lebanon when I get there and start my M.A...so keep checking it starting in October!! Thanks for everyone's support!

Much love,

Sasha

Despite a previous post....

I am staying in Lebanon for two years as previously planned!! It has been nothing short of an emotional rollercoaster ride of life decision making. After making my first decision to back out of my M.A and come home I was really upset and regreted such decision. So after having a conversation with a friend of my dad and trying countless times to explain to family and friends why I wasn't coming back, which I couldn't quite do well, I decided I really wanted to stay. There are a lot of things that I struggle with here but I've decided instead of dwelling on them in boredom I would use them to become a stronger person. Learning Arabic as well as I hopefully will over the course of 2 years will be a huge lifetime benefit for me that is priceless. Also I have a lot to look forward to with my studies and hopefully the opportunity to meet politicians here through a family friend. I think I finally made the right decision, but as my best friend's older sister Natalie said, sometimes its just a relief to make a decision at all! :)

I will be home soon!! We land in Seattle July 2nd around 5pm! See you all very shortly! OH For those of my friends/family in WA, if you are able we need to get together before I leave Sept 16th. Email or call me if you're in the Wenatchee Valley or whatever!

Much Love,

Sash

Things I've Learned on my Journey....

Now that things are winding down on my stay here in Lebanon I have been thinking a lot about all the things I have learned during my stay. Now, there is a laundry list for sure. Some are silly, some are too personal to share but some are big/interesting so I thought I'd share them.

1. I DETEST Mosquitos. I seriously hate the little things. I mean do they serve a purpose? Besides causing itchiness and spreading disease...yuck.

2. I learned I have a deep passion for women's issues and that Feminism isn't just a crazy bunch of nonsense for women who hate all men. On that line I also learned I like to write and share both my experiences and experiences of others and that maybe I had it right with the first major I declared....Journalism....oops! :)

3. I've learned a bit about what it takes and what it means to be a good Lebanese woman...and that I don't quite fit that mold. The importance of hospitality and service. While I didnt end up learning how to cook, I learned the importance of food and the rituals of cooking. I learned how much labor it takes to keep a house clean when you dont have 'help'. That men are most of the time served first and if a man is at the table in a restaurant regardless of who is ready to order the waiter will look at him first. That Muslim women here "chose" to cover their heads, they are not forced by the government like in Saudi Arabia or Iran, and while many people do, many others dont. And of those who do 1/2 of them bedazzle their head scarves to make them fancy...

4. I learned what its like to have brothers...and have the bruises to show it

5. I learned the difference between Lebanon as a vacation spot and Lebanon as a place to live....thats a big one.

6. I learned the difference between the sounds of gunshots, bombs, thunder and fireworks (important)

7. The value and importance of family...and the drama that can ensue when you live to close together...

8. That Arabic is much more difficult than expected and you don't just "pick it up" around the house. The formal Arabic taught in classrooms and the spoken language are worlds apart...

9. Turns out I actually get homesick...this is something I did NOT expect

10. And most important, I learned that I am through and through an American! There are many many things I love about Lebanon but I learned that my home is in America and that I truly value the rights and freedoms we have in our country. Although to people here in Lebanon it seems like we have too many rules to abide by (aka laws....something that are just suggestsions here) they are in place to protect our way of life and our laws are nothing compared to the social laws they have to abide by here. Independence is something I have strived for since I left for college and that is exactly what being an American is about (well partly I mean). Independence is not something many women my age have here, and it is something I need to be happy.

All in all my two months here were an excellent experience. I truly learned a lot and thought long and hard about what I want out of life and who I am. I have realized I know neither, completely! :) Not in a bad way, but in a "I need time to grow up a bit" way. I am excited to come home to the States and work for my own money and live a life of appreciation for my country while maintaining a curiousity and a thirst for knowledge of how other people live in other countries. In the last couple of weeks I have changed my mind once again on the path that life is going to take me down and I will be coming home in July for "good". (I will never stop travelling so Im not sure what "for good" actually means!) While I wont pursue an MA in the states immediately after returning home due to deadlines of universities and such like I could if I were here in Lebanon, I am planning on working and saving money so that perhaps I can afford by this winter to take an unpaid internship in DC or NYC to get my foot in the door with the UN or the Federal Government. One important thing I learned is that I need to just be Sasha and I need to figure out just what being Sasha means before I throw myself into a culture that requires so much personal adaptation. :)

Thanks for reading my blog! If something exciting happens in the next week I'll report it. We are leaving Lebanon June 30th then spending a few days in London with Mara and we'll all be home July 2nd! I am looking forward to seeing everyone! I have missed home quite a lot! But what I am most excited for is my 2 week trip to Minnesota to see my moms side of the family and meet the newest addition to our family Finn who has become quite the blessing and the most important miracle our family has seen for sure!!

Much love,

Sash

New Pics...

Are up....comments to come soon, but it is bedtime now!! The pictures are from Mara's arrival and time at the beach, the Cedars of Lebanon, the snow pictures are from the top of the mountains above the Cedars and then of Baalbeck, which are ancient Roman (and others) ruins in East Lebanon very close to the Syrian border.

Much love,

Sasha