Funemployment Adventures

     Well I suppose I would like to think I am going on adventures, but alas, life has caught up with me and it is time to get back to business. There is really nothing too 'fun' about funemployment, now that my money has dwindled down to a few pennies and my travel days are over. However, I've chosen to use the word in order to make what is going to be inevitably painful less so.

     Well I suppose I would like to think I am going on adventures, but alas, life has caught up with me and it is time to get back to business. There is really nothing too 'fun' about funemployment, now that my money has dwindled down to a few pennies and my travel days are over. However, I've chosen to use the word in order to make what is going to be inevitably painful less so.

     Well I suppose I would like to think I am going on adventures, but alas, life has caught up with me and it is time to get back to business. There is really nothing too 'fun' about funemployment, now that my money has dwindled down to a few pennies and my travel days are over. However, I've chosen to use the word in order to make what is going to be inevitably painful less so.

     Well I suppose I would like to think I am going on adventures, but alas, life has caught up with me and it is time to get back to business. There is really nothing too 'fun' about funemployment, now that my money has dwindled down to a few pennies and my travel days are over. However, I've chosen to use the word in order to make what is going to be inevitably painful less so.

I dislike titles

     Well there are, as one could imagine, lots of things going on right now. The school year is winding down (finally...this one really felt long for some reason), It's a little more than 2 weeks before I leave, and then last night happened.

     My interest in global/cultural issues cannot help me from commenting on Osama's death. I, like most Americans alive today, know exactly where I was and what I was doing on the morning of 9/11. I watched the second plane smash into the towers live on TV...unable to really put any thoughts together. I remember watching 'ruin porn' (which, since then, I have actively avoided); I remember what it felt like to see riots of people burning my country's flag. I remember my dad coming home from work early. He was on the phone with someone who was in one of the towers. The phone cut out. He did not survive. It's one of those things I'll never forget. Everyone has a story about that day.

     America has been going through a rough patch. We needed some 'good' news. I struggle using the word 'good' because last night doesn't change anything. In fact, it's probably going to cause Pakistan a whole slew of problems that it doesn't need right now. Terror will still exist. Violence will still exist. All of the poverty that drives people to turn to such measures and keeps the vicious circle going, guess what? It still exists.

     However, at least the family and friends of those who lost someone because of Osama can finally feel some closure. I'm not just talking about Americans, he killed his own people and those from other countries as well. We are celebrating closure, in our own individual ways. To some that's prayer, to others that's thought, and to most college aged kids that's waving flags, chanting, screaming, and pounding Natty's (or substitute your cheap American beer of choice). That's what you see on the TV and whatever, they've got the right to do it. Although, it's funny how much this reminded me of my college campus the night Obama was elected, but that's besides the point.

     Hopefully, America isn't ignorant about what happened. Hopefully we tread carefully. I thought they had this one pretty well thought out. Ocean burial was done with the proper Islamic burial (it's pathetic I should have to even give this credit, but perhaps we are actually learning a bit about cultural sensitivity). Ocean insures no one will deface or idolize. It also puts a quick end to the 'show the body' debate. No other country was willing to take him. It was, in my opinion, a pretty neutral (and although we may never know what really happened) respectable way to dispose of the body. I kind of like the Islamic way of doing it; quick, easy, and no hassle. It leaves time for personal reflection instead of having it loom over your head.

     The almost overly-thought out procedure lead me to raise my eyebrow. I was also intrigued as to why we haven't heard about the raid, why Pakistan and much of the Islamic world seemed so quite. This lead me to believe that we weren't getting the whole story. Maybe he was dead days or even years ago, I'm not really interested in conspiracy theories in this situation. I am willing to admit that I inherently don't trust American media sources. So I did a little research and found this:


http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/5/2/worldupdates/2011-05-02T170009Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-567092-2&sec=Worldupdates

     It's long but it gives an interesting insight into what happened. It's a Malaysian (surprise!) newspaper printed in English. There was actually a military operation (battle just sounds weird) at the compound. A US chopper went down. So yes, it probably did actually happen. You can argue it was fake, but seriously guys? Don't be so paranoid.

    This post is becoming much longer than I had anticipated. I finished up my studio project this afternoon. Presentation is this Wednesday. Without boring you with programatic and design details and in fear that I'll turn this blog into a storage space for portfolio pieces; I'll just give a short blurb. The project is an Environmental Tourism Center for Colorado. These are a few of the more interesting drawings (pencil and paper woohoo!) from my presentation. PS...I was too lazy to touch them up so these are hot off the scanner.

I think it should go without saying, but this and anything else (posts, pictures, videos, some crazy thing that isn't even out yet, ect.) on this blog is intellectual property and cannot be reproduced without strict written consent by me. Give credit where credit is due my friends.

View from Speer Blvd

Amphitheater that opens up to the underground lecture hall. Or visa versa.

Green machine that cleans all the storm water runoff from the site.

I'll save my housing updates until I figure out where I am going to live.

-M

     Well there are, as one could imagine, lots of things going on right now. The school year is winding down (finally...this one really felt long for some reason), It's a little more than 2 weeks before I leave, and then last night happened.

     My interest in global/cultural issues cannot help me from commenting on Osama's death. I, like most Americans alive today, know exactly where I was and what I was doing on the morning of 9/11. I watched the second plane smash into the towers live on TV...unable to really put any thoughts together. I remember watching 'ruin porn' (which, since then, I have actively avoided); I remember what it felt like to see riots of people burning my country's flag. I remember my dad coming home from work early. He was on the phone with someone who was in one of the towers. The phone cut out. He did not survive. It's one of those things I'll never forget. Everyone has a story about that day.

     America has been going through a rough patch. We needed some 'good' news. I struggle using the word 'good' because last night doesn't change anything. In fact, it's probably going to cause Pakistan a whole slew of problems that it doesn't need right now. Terror will still exist. Violence will still exist. All of the poverty that drives people to turn to such measures and keeps the vicious circle going, guess what? It still exists.

     However, at least the family and friends of those who lost someone because of Osama can finally feel some closure. I'm not just talking about Americans, he killed his own people and those from other countries as well. We are celebrating closure, in our own individual ways. To some that's prayer, to others that's thought, and to most college aged kids that's waving flags, chanting, screaming, and pounding Natty's (or substitute your cheap American beer of choice). That's what you see on the TV and whatever, they've got the right to do it. Although, it's funny how much this reminded me of my college campus the night Obama was elected, but that's besides the point.

     Hopefully, America isn't ignorant about what happened. Hopefully we tread carefully. I thought they had this one pretty well thought out. Ocean burial was done with the proper Islamic burial (it's pathetic I should have to even give this credit, but perhaps we are actually learning a bit about cultural sensitivity). Ocean insures no one will deface or idolize. It also puts a quick end to the 'show the body' debate. No other country was willing to take him. It was, in my opinion, a pretty neutral (and although we may never know what really happened) respectable way to dispose of the body. I kind of like the Islamic way of doing it; quick, easy, and no hassle. It leaves time for personal reflection instead of having it loom over your head.

     The almost overly-thought out procedure lead me to raise my eyebrow. I was also intrigued as to why we haven't heard about the raid, why Pakistan and much of the Islamic world seemed so quite. This lead me to believe that we weren't getting the whole story. Maybe he was dead days or even years ago, I'm not really interested in conspiracy theories in this situation. I am willing to admit that I inherently don't trust American media sources. So I did a little research and found this:


http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/5/2/worldupdates/2011-05-02T170009Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-567092-2&sec=Worldupdates

     It's long but it gives an interesting insight into what happened. It's a Malaysian (surprise!) newspaper printed in English. There was actually a military operation (battle just sounds weird) at the compound. A US chopper went down. So yes, it probably did actually happen. You can argue it was fake, but seriously guys? Don't be so paranoid.

    This post is becoming much longer than I had anticipated. I finished up my studio project this afternoon. Presentation is this Wednesday. Without boring you with programatic and design details and in fear that I'll turn this blog into a storage space for portfolio pieces; I'll just give a short blurb. The project is an Environmental Tourism Center for Colorado. These are a few of the more interesting drawings (pencil and paper woohoo!) from my presentation. PS...I was too lazy to touch them up so these are hot off the scanner.

I think it should go without saying, but this and anything else (posts, pictures, videos, some crazy thing that isn't even out yet, ect.) on this blog is intellectual property and cannot be reproduced without strict written consent by me. Give credit where credit is due my friends.

View from Speer Blvd

Amphitheater that opens up to the underground lecture hall. Or visa versa.

Green machine that cleans all the storm water runoff from the site.

I'll save my housing updates until I figure out where I am going to live.

-M

     Well there are, as one could imagine, lots of things going on right now. The school year is winding down (finally...this one really felt long for some reason), It's a little more than 2 weeks before I leave, and then last night happened.

     My interest in global/cultural issues cannot help me from commenting on Osama's death. I, like most Americans alive today, know exactly where I was and what I was doing on the morning of 9/11. I watched the second plane smash into the towers live on TV...unable to really put any thoughts together. I remember watching 'ruin porn' (which, since then, I have actively avoided); I remember what it felt like to see riots of people burning my country's flag. I remember my dad coming home from work early. He was on the phone with someone who was in one of the towers. The phone cut out. He did not survive. It's one of those things I'll never forget. Everyone has a story about that day.

     America has been going through a rough patch. We needed some 'good' news. I struggle using the word 'good' because last night doesn't change anything. In fact, it's probably going to cause Pakistan a whole slew of problems that it doesn't need right now. Terror will still exist. Violence will still exist. All of the poverty that drives people to turn to such measures and keeps the vicious circle going, guess what? It still exists.

     However, at least the family and friends of those who lost someone because of Osama can finally feel some closure. I'm not just talking about Americans, he killed his own people and those from other countries as well. We are celebrating closure, in our own individual ways. To some that's prayer, to others that's thought, and to most college aged kids that's waving flags, chanting, screaming, and pounding Natty's (or substitute your cheap American beer of choice). That's what you see on the TV and whatever, they've got the right to do it. Although, it's funny how much this reminded me of my college campus the night Obama was elected, but that's besides the point.

     Hopefully, America isn't ignorant about what happened. Hopefully we tread carefully. I thought they had this one pretty well thought out. Ocean burial was done with the proper Islamic burial (it's pathetic I should have to even give this credit, but perhaps we are actually learning a bit about cultural sensitivity). Ocean insures no one will deface or idolize. It also puts a quick end to the 'show the body' debate. No other country was willing to take him. It was, in my opinion, a pretty neutral (and although we may never know what really happened) respectable way to dispose of the body. I kind of like the Islamic way of doing it; quick, easy, and no hassle. It leaves time for personal reflection instead of having it loom over your head.

     The almost overly-thought out procedure lead me to raise my eyebrow. I was also intrigued as to why we haven't heard about the raid, why Pakistan and much of the Islamic world seemed so quite. This lead me to believe that we weren't getting the whole story. Maybe he was dead days or even years ago, I'm not really interested in conspiracy theories in this situation. I am willing to admit that I inherently don't trust American media sources. So I did a little research and found this:


http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/5/2/worldupdates/2011-05-02T170009Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-567092-2&sec=Worldupdates

     It's long but it gives an interesting insight into what happened. It's a Malaysian (surprise!) newspaper printed in English. There was actually a military operation (battle just sounds weird) at the compound. A US chopper went down. So yes, it probably did actually happen. You can argue it was fake, but seriously guys? Don't be so paranoid.

    This post is becoming much longer than I had anticipated. I finished up my studio project this afternoon. Presentation is this Wednesday. Without boring you with programatic and design details and in fear that I'll turn this blog into a storage space for portfolio pieces; I'll just give a short blurb. The project is an Environmental Tourism Center for Colorado. These are a few of the more interesting drawings (pencil and paper woohoo!) from my presentation. PS...I was too lazy to touch them up so these are hot off the scanner.

I think it should go without saying, but this and anything else (posts, pictures, videos, some crazy thing that isn't even out yet, ect.) on this blog is intellectual property and cannot be reproduced without strict written consent by me. Give credit where credit is due my friends.

View from Speer Blvd

Amphitheater that opens up to the underground lecture hall. Or visa versa.

Green machine that cleans all the storm water runoff from the site.

I'll save my housing updates until I figure out where I am going to live.

-M

     Well there are, as one could imagine, lots of things going on right now. The school year is winding down (finally...this one really felt long for some reason), It's a little more than 2 weeks before I leave, and then last night happened.

     My interest in global/cultural issues cannot help me from commenting on Osama's death. I, like most Americans alive today, know exactly where I was and what I was doing on the morning of 9/11. I watched the second plane smash into the towers live on TV...unable to really put any thoughts together. I remember watching 'ruin porn' (which, since then, I have actively avoided); I remember what it felt like to see riots of people burning my country's flag. I remember my dad coming home from work early. He was on the phone with someone who was in one of the towers. The phone cut out. He did not survive. It's one of those things I'll never forget. Everyone has a story about that day.

     America has been going through a rough patch. We needed some 'good' news. I struggle using the word 'good' because last night doesn't change anything. In fact, it's probably going to cause Pakistan a whole slew of problems that it doesn't need right now. Terror will still exist. Violence will still exist. All of the poverty that drives people to turn to such measures and keeps the vicious circle going, guess what? It still exists.

     However, at least the family and friends of those who lost someone because of Osama can finally feel some closure. I'm not just talking about Americans, he killed his own people and those from other countries as well. We are celebrating closure, in our own individual ways. To some that's prayer, to others that's thought, and to most college aged kids that's waving flags, chanting, screaming, and pounding Natty's (or substitute your cheap American beer of choice). That's what you see on the TV and whatever, they've got the right to do it. Although, it's funny how much this reminded me of my college campus the night Obama was elected, but that's besides the point.

     Hopefully, America isn't ignorant about what happened. Hopefully we tread carefully. I thought they had this one pretty well thought out. Ocean burial was done with the proper Islamic burial (it's pathetic I should have to even give this credit, but perhaps we are actually learning a bit about cultural sensitivity). Ocean insures no one will deface or idolize. It also puts a quick end to the 'show the body' debate. No other country was willing to take him. It was, in my opinion, a pretty neutral (and although we may never know what really happened) respectable way to dispose of the body. I kind of like the Islamic way of doing it; quick, easy, and no hassle. It leaves time for personal reflection instead of having it loom over your head.

     The almost overly-thought out procedure lead me to raise my eyebrow. I was also intrigued as to why we haven't heard about the raid, why Pakistan and much of the Islamic world seemed so quite. This lead me to believe that we weren't getting the whole story. Maybe he was dead days or even years ago, I'm not really interested in conspiracy theories in this situation. I am willing to admit that I inherently don't trust American media sources. So I did a little research and found this:


http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/5/2/worldupdates/2011-05-02T170009Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-567092-2&sec=Worldupdates

     It's long but it gives an interesting insight into what happened. It's a Malaysian (surprise!) newspaper printed in English. There was actually a military operation (battle just sounds weird) at the compound. A US chopper went down. So yes, it probably did actually happen. You can argue it was fake, but seriously guys? Don't be so paranoid.

    This post is becoming much longer than I had anticipated. I finished up my studio project this afternoon. Presentation is this Wednesday. Without boring you with programatic and design details and in fear that I'll turn this blog into a storage space for portfolio pieces; I'll just give a short blurb. The project is an Environmental Tourism Center for Colorado. These are a few of the more interesting drawings (pencil and paper woohoo!) from my presentation. PS...I was too lazy to touch them up so these are hot off the scanner.

I think it should go without saying, but this and anything else (posts, pictures, videos, some crazy thing that isn't even out yet, ect.) on this blog is intellectual property and cannot be reproduced without strict written consent by me. Give credit where credit is due my friends.

View from Speer Blvd

Amphitheater that opens up to the underground lecture hall. Or visa versa.

Green machine that cleans all the storm water runoff from the site.

I'll save my housing updates until I figure out where I am going to live.

-M

Rant of the Day

     So instead of boring you with more tedious details of my planning escapades, I decided to focus on something else. In anticipation of my trip, as well as knowing very little about Muslim culture, I've been keeping up with world news (I am notoriously bad at this, not because I don't want to know what's going on in the world, but because I find the American news media so damn depressing). However, since shit is hitting the fan all over North Africa and the Middle East, I figured if I'm going to a Muslim country (not to mention my current studio project is working with a school in Saudi Arabia), I better know something about what is going on over there. Furthermore, I've been reading this book on eastern (particularly Malaysian...thus Chinese, Indian, and Malay) culture, belief systems, and customs. I'm beginning to form opinions about what is going on and why we can't just all get along (well, not quite yet anyway).

     I'd first like to start out with what prompted me to write this in the first place....WTF is America doing in Libya? First of all, you went in with just the FRENCH...the French. Now I don't have anything against the people of France, but the military?...come on I'm American (we just can't help ourselves). Second of all, WTF is America doing there? But wait, you say, America handed the duties over to NATO. Well who's really in charge of Nato? It isn't the Canadians I'll tell you that much (once again, it's this America thing). So, in order to mask direct involvement, America is currently hiding behind NATO. Technicalities aside, how can the American government bounce off into another armed conflict (which are never short endeavors), costing citizens more tax dollars, pilling it on top of a deficit so large it's comical, send human beings into violence so they can get involved in a conflict that they have no attachment to what-so-ever, just so they can live in fear constantly and fire mis-hits (adding to the fear and detachment) because of the lack of proper mapping in the region? Not to mention they are doing all of this while the economy is in such a poor state that hourly jobs are hard to come by even with a master's degree? Something is just plain wrong with this picture.

     Isn't Gadhafi evil and shouldn't we free the people? Didn't the rebels ask for our help? Well I've got news for the world, America shouldn't  (and quite honestly, can't) be the world's babysitter. Yes, before I get accused of being some type of dictator lover, it is obvious that Gadhafi is crazy. I mean bat shit insane. He's like Charlie Sheen but on a whole new level, he's openly been 'winning' his whole life (King of Africa?....Really dude?). He's done awful things, and the world is most likely much better off without him, but I have no doubt that if the people are that pissed off, he'll go without our help (I've always said that the best solutions are those that come from roots up approaches). Oh and yes, the rebels did ask for our help. But (allegedly) so did the Iraqis way back in '91. How did that turn out for us? Seriously, did we not JUST go through this? Has the American government really not learned that they are digging themselves large hole? Or are they really that greedy for oil, money, and power that they just don't care that they are screwing over Libya as well as their own people? I suspect oil is the reason, because well, if we love repeating our mistakes that much, that's the general belief as to why we bothered with Iraq. It's an obvious statement that the world's dependency on oil needs to end (read Collapse by Jared M. Diamond). However, I am not the one with the answer. It's there, but I don't know enough about economics to suggest anything that could begin to answer that question (I'll save cap and trade for another day).

     If we are there primarily for oil, we are going about getting it in the complete wrong way (military violence seems to create more problems than it solves). Here's the problem, whenever we go into a place (from a government standpoint) we assume that the native people want to be just like America. Well guess what? They don't. Now, this mistake is most likely an accident, because it is really hard to accept that there are other world views than your own. I'm not talking at a personal level, I'm talking about a deep cultural connectivity that makes us not just American, but Westerners as well. I would argue that other western cultures may be better at recognizing this than us, but that is simply a matter of how isolated we are relative to other western countries. Furthermore, we loudly, proudly, and ignorantly try to go impose our views and focusing on ourselves. This may be borderline acceptable to our other western counterparts, but in places like the Middle East, the Far East, and Africa, this can be extremely offensive to say the least. In other words, as an American, we tend to believe in certain core values that affect our everything from our everyday lives and behaviors to how we make choices and what our country (in theory) stands for. We were founded on a distrust of government, right to act as we please (within reason -and at our founding, 'we' meant white males), and the celebration of the individual. That is what we believe in and it has (for the most part) worked for us. A country under completely different circumstances containing cultures with completely different belief systems may have a different type of solution. In fact the cultural differences can be so great, that us westerners may not be able to even comprehend why a group would act a certain way. Our celebration of the individual is the complete opposite of many cultures, where decisions are made based upon group consensus. In fact, so much emphasis is placed on total group consensus that any act made outside of that consensus can be seen as betrayal (aka a serious offense). So if we go running in and set up a government as fast as we can (because our culture values efficiency) we may end up not only offending an entire group of people, but we may have made the wrong choices in the process. It is important to understand that just because one group of people does something in a way so foreign that it seems useless to us, that it isn't bad or wrong. It's just different. Do I believe that westerners or Americans in particular are especially bad at this? No, I believe that the world shrunk so fast that most of the world is unable to really wrap their heads around it. Westerners seem to travel and spread out more, so we are faced with dealing with these problems on foreign soil more often. I'm sure the business man from Japan who is used to going through a long process of consensus for big choices made by the company was most likely shocked to find out that he had no input on a move made from higher up.

     I can already hear the words 'well if you don't like it here and you think we are all ignorant then why don't you get out?' Well, luckily for you, those thoughts have crossed my mind and more frequently as I get older. However, I like being an American. I like American people (just not a huge fan of the government, but that's part of being American). Even if I did become a full-time expat I was born an American. That means I have certain cultural values and views that are so deeply entrenched in my brain that they won't simply leave. I would always be an outsider, no matter how hard I tried to understand another culture. I'm simply stating that if there is any hope for our generation to take a forward step in the opposite direction, being comfortable with differences beyond your understanding, keeping an open mind, and LISTENING instead of hearing we may be on the right track. Oh, and America, get the heck out of Libya and help your PEOPLE (not your wallet) you have been SWORN to PROTECT (that goes beyond military spending).

Phew. Glad that's over.

-M

     So instead of boring you with more tedious details of my planning escapades, I decided to focus on something else. In anticipation of my trip, as well as knowing very little about Muslim culture, I've been keeping up with world news (I am notoriously bad at this, not because I don't want to know what's going on in the world, but because I find the American news media so damn depressing). However, since shit is hitting the fan all over North Africa and the Middle East, I figured if I'm going to a Muslim country (not to mention my current studio project is working with a school in Saudi Arabia), I better know something about what is going on over there. Furthermore, I've been reading this book on eastern (particularly Malaysian...thus Chinese, Indian, and Malay) culture, belief systems, and customs. I'm beginning to form opinions about what is going on and why we can't just all get along (well, not quite yet anyway).

     I'd first like to start out with what prompted me to write this in the first place....WTF is America doing in Libya? First of all, you went in with just the FRENCH...the French. Now I don't have anything against the people of France, but the military?...come on I'm American (we just can't help ourselves). Second of all, WTF is America doing there? But wait, you say, America handed the duties over to NATO. Well who's really in charge of Nato? It isn't the Canadians I'll tell you that much (once again, it's this America thing). So, in order to mask direct involvement, America is currently hiding behind NATO. Technicalities aside, how can the American government bounce off into another armed conflict (which are never short endeavors), costing citizens more tax dollars, pilling it on top of a deficit so large it's comical, send human beings into violence so they can get involved in a conflict that they have no attachment to what-so-ever, just so they can live in fear constantly and fire mis-hits (adding to the fear and detachment) because of the lack of proper mapping in the region? Not to mention they are doing all of this while the economy is in such a poor state that hourly jobs are hard to come by even with a master's degree? Something is just plain wrong with this picture.

     Isn't Gadhafi evil and shouldn't we free the people? Didn't the rebels ask for our help? Well I've got news for the world, America shouldn't  (and quite honestly, can't) be the world's babysitter. Yes, before I get accused of being some type of dictator lover, it is obvious that Gadhafi is crazy. I mean bat shit insane. He's like Charlie Sheen but on a whole new level, he's openly been 'winning' his whole life (King of Africa?....Really dude?). He's done awful things, and the world is most likely much better off without him, but I have no doubt that if the people are that pissed off, he'll go without our help (I've always said that the best solutions are those that come from roots up approaches). Oh and yes, the rebels did ask for our help. But (allegedly) so did the Iraqis way back in '91. How did that turn out for us? Seriously, did we not JUST go through this? Has the American government really not learned that they are digging themselves large hole? Or are they really that greedy for oil, money, and power that they just don't care that they are screwing over Libya as well as their own people? I suspect oil is the reason, because well, if we love repeating our mistakes that much, that's the general belief as to why we bothered with Iraq. It's an obvious statement that the world's dependency on oil needs to end (read Collapse by Jared M. Diamond). However, I am not the one with the answer. It's there, but I don't know enough about economics to suggest anything that could begin to answer that question (I'll save cap and trade for another day).

     If we are there primarily for oil, we are going about getting it in the complete wrong way (military violence seems to create more problems than it solves). Here's the problem, whenever we go into a place (from a government standpoint) we assume that the native people want to be just like America. Well guess what? They don't. Now, this mistake is most likely an accident, because it is really hard to accept that there are other world views than your own. I'm not talking at a personal level, I'm talking about a deep cultural connectivity that makes us not just American, but Westerners as well. I would argue that other western cultures may be better at recognizing this than us, but that is simply a matter of how isolated we are relative to other western countries. Furthermore, we loudly, proudly, and ignorantly try to go impose our views and focusing on ourselves. This may be borderline acceptable to our other western counterparts, but in places like the Middle East, the Far East, and Africa, this can be extremely offensive to say the least. In other words, as an American, we tend to believe in certain core values that affect our everything from our everyday lives and behaviors to how we make choices and what our country (in theory) stands for. We were founded on a distrust of government, right to act as we please (within reason -and at our founding, 'we' meant white males), and the celebration of the individual. That is what we believe in and it has (for the most part) worked for us. A country under completely different circumstances containing cultures with completely different belief systems may have a different type of solution. In fact the cultural differences can be so great, that us westerners may not be able to even comprehend why a group would act a certain way. Our celebration of the individual is the complete opposite of many cultures, where decisions are made based upon group consensus. In fact, so much emphasis is placed on total group consensus that any act made outside of that consensus can be seen as betrayal (aka a serious offense). So if we go running in and set up a government as fast as we can (because our culture values efficiency) we may end up not only offending an entire group of people, but we may have made the wrong choices in the process. It is important to understand that just because one group of people does something in a way so foreign that it seems useless to us, that it isn't bad or wrong. It's just different. Do I believe that westerners or Americans in particular are especially bad at this? No, I believe that the world shrunk so fast that most of the world is unable to really wrap their heads around it. Westerners seem to travel and spread out more, so we are faced with dealing with these problems on foreign soil more often. I'm sure the business man from Japan who is used to going through a long process of consensus for big choices made by the company was most likely shocked to find out that he had no input on a move made from higher up.

     I can already hear the words 'well if you don't like it here and you think we are all ignorant then why don't you get out?' Well, luckily for you, those thoughts have crossed my mind and more frequently as I get older. However, I like being an American. I like American people (just not a huge fan of the government, but that's part of being American). Even if I did become a full-time expat I was born an American. That means I have certain cultural values and views that are so deeply entrenched in my brain that they won't simply leave. I would always be an outsider, no matter how hard I tried to understand another culture. I'm simply stating that if there is any hope for our generation to take a forward step in the opposite direction, being comfortable with differences beyond your understanding, keeping an open mind, and LISTENING instead of hearing we may be on the right track. Oh, and America, get the heck out of Libya and help your PEOPLE (not your wallet) you have been SWORN to PROTECT (that goes beyond military spending).

Phew. Glad that's over.

-M

     So instead of boring you with more tedious details of my planning escapades, I decided to focus on something else. In anticipation of my trip, as well as knowing very little about Muslim culture, I've been keeping up with world news (I am notoriously bad at this, not because I don't want to know what's going on in the world, but because I find the American news media so damn depressing). However, since shit is hitting the fan all over North Africa and the Middle East, I figured if I'm going to a Muslim country (not to mention my current studio project is working with a school in Saudi Arabia), I better know something about what is going on over there. Furthermore, I've been reading this book on eastern (particularly Malaysian...thus Chinese, Indian, and Malay) culture, belief systems, and customs. I'm beginning to form opinions about what is going on and why we can't just all get along (well, not quite yet anyway).

     I'd first like to start out with what prompted me to write this in the first place....WTF is America doing in Libya? First of all, you went in with just the FRENCH...the French. Now I don't have anything against the people of France, but the military?...come on I'm American (we just can't help ourselves). Second of all, WTF is America doing there? But wait, you say, America handed the duties over to NATO. Well who's really in charge of Nato? It isn't the Canadians I'll tell you that much (once again, it's this America thing). So, in order to mask direct involvement, America is currently hiding behind NATO. Technicalities aside, how can the American government bounce off into another armed conflict (which are never short endeavors), costing citizens more tax dollars, pilling it on top of a deficit so large it's comical, send human beings into violence so they can get involved in a conflict that they have no attachment to what-so-ever, just so they can live in fear constantly and fire mis-hits (adding to the fear and detachment) because of the lack of proper mapping in the region? Not to mention they are doing all of this while the economy is in such a poor state that hourly jobs are hard to come by even with a master's degree? Something is just plain wrong with this picture.

     Isn't Gadhafi evil and shouldn't we free the people? Didn't the rebels ask for our help? Well I've got news for the world, America shouldn't  (and quite honestly, can't) be the world's babysitter. Yes, before I get accused of being some type of dictator lover, it is obvious that Gadhafi is crazy. I mean bat shit insane. He's like Charlie Sheen but on a whole new level, he's openly been 'winning' his whole life (King of Africa?....Really dude?). He's done awful things, and the world is most likely much better off without him, but I have no doubt that if the people are that pissed off, he'll go without our help (I've always said that the best solutions are those that come from roots up approaches). Oh and yes, the rebels did ask for our help. But (allegedly) so did the Iraqis way back in '91. How did that turn out for us? Seriously, did we not JUST go through this? Has the American government really not learned that they are digging themselves large hole? Or are they really that greedy for oil, money, and power that they just don't care that they are screwing over Libya as well as their own people? I suspect oil is the reason, because well, if we love repeating our mistakes that much, that's the general belief as to why we bothered with Iraq. It's an obvious statement that the world's dependency on oil needs to end (read Collapse by Jared M. Diamond). However, I am not the one with the answer. It's there, but I don't know enough about economics to suggest anything that could begin to answer that question (I'll save cap and trade for another day).

     If we are there primarily for oil, we are going about getting it in the complete wrong way (military violence seems to create more problems than it solves). Here's the problem, whenever we go into a place (from a government standpoint) we assume that the native people want to be just like America. Well guess what? They don't. Now, this mistake is most likely an accident, because it is really hard to accept that there are other world views than your own. I'm not talking at a personal level, I'm talking about a deep cultural connectivity that makes us not just American, but Westerners as well. I would argue that other western cultures may be better at recognizing this than us, but that is simply a matter of how isolated we are relative to other western countries. Furthermore, we loudly, proudly, and ignorantly try to go impose our views and focusing on ourselves. This may be borderline acceptable to our other western counterparts, but in places like the Middle East, the Far East, and Africa, this can be extremely offensive to say the least. In other words, as an American, we tend to believe in certain core values that affect our everything from our everyday lives and behaviors to how we make choices and what our country (in theory) stands for. We were founded on a distrust of government, right to act as we please (within reason -and at our founding, 'we' meant white males), and the celebration of the individual. That is what we believe in and it has (for the most part) worked for us. A country under completely different circumstances containing cultures with completely different belief systems may have a different type of solution. In fact the cultural differences can be so great, that us westerners may not be able to even comprehend why a group would act a certain way. Our celebration of the individual is the complete opposite of many cultures, where decisions are made based upon group consensus. In fact, so much emphasis is placed on total group consensus that any act made outside of that consensus can be seen as betrayal (aka a serious offense). So if we go running in and set up a government as fast as we can (because our culture values efficiency) we may end up not only offending an entire group of people, but we may have made the wrong choices in the process. It is important to understand that just because one group of people does something in a way so foreign that it seems useless to us, that it isn't bad or wrong. It's just different. Do I believe that westerners or Americans in particular are especially bad at this? No, I believe that the world shrunk so fast that most of the world is unable to really wrap their heads around it. Westerners seem to travel and spread out more, so we are faced with dealing with these problems on foreign soil more often. I'm sure the business man from Japan who is used to going through a long process of consensus for big choices made by the company was most likely shocked to find out that he had no input on a move made from higher up.

     I can already hear the words 'well if you don't like it here and you think we are all ignorant then why don't you get out?' Well, luckily for you, those thoughts have crossed my mind and more frequently as I get older. However, I like being an American. I like American people (just not a huge fan of the government, but that's part of being American). Even if I did become a full-time expat I was born an American. That means I have certain cultural values and views that are so deeply entrenched in my brain that they won't simply leave. I would always be an outsider, no matter how hard I tried to understand another culture. I'm simply stating that if there is any hope for our generation to take a forward step in the opposite direction, being comfortable with differences beyond your understanding, keeping an open mind, and LISTENING instead of hearing we may be on the right track. Oh, and America, get the heck out of Libya and help your PEOPLE (not your wallet) you have been SWORN to PROTECT (that goes beyond military spending).

Phew. Glad that's over.

-M

     So instead of boring you with more tedious details of my planning escapades, I decided to focus on something else. In anticipation of my trip, as well as knowing very little about Muslim culture, I've been keeping up with world news (I am notoriously bad at this, not because I don't want to know what's going on in the world, but because I find the American news media so damn depressing). However, since shit is hitting the fan all over North Africa and the Middle East, I figured if I'm going to a Muslim country (not to mention my current studio project is working with a school in Saudi Arabia), I better know something about what is going on over there. Furthermore, I've been reading this book on eastern (particularly Malaysian...thus Chinese, Indian, and Malay) culture, belief systems, and customs. I'm beginning to form opinions about what is going on and why we can't just all get along (well, not quite yet anyway).

     I'd first like to start out with what prompted me to write this in the first place....WTF is America doing in Libya? First of all, you went in with just the FRENCH...the French. Now I don't have anything against the people of France, but the military?...come on I'm American (we just can't help ourselves). Second of all, WTF is America doing there? But wait, you say, America handed the duties over to NATO. Well who's really in charge of Nato? It isn't the Canadians I'll tell you that much (once again, it's this America thing). So, in order to mask direct involvement, America is currently hiding behind NATO. Technicalities aside, how can the American government bounce off into another armed conflict (which are never short endeavors), costing citizens more tax dollars, pilling it on top of a deficit so large it's comical, send human beings into violence so they can get involved in a conflict that they have no attachment to what-so-ever, just so they can live in fear constantly and fire mis-hits (adding to the fear and detachment) because of the lack of proper mapping in the region? Not to mention they are doing all of this while the economy is in such a poor state that hourly jobs are hard to come by even with a master's degree? Something is just plain wrong with this picture.

     Isn't Gadhafi evil and shouldn't we free the people? Didn't the rebels ask for our help? Well I've got news for the world, America shouldn't  (and quite honestly, can't) be the world's babysitter. Yes, before I get accused of being some type of dictator lover, it is obvious that Gadhafi is crazy. I mean bat shit insane. He's like Charlie Sheen but on a whole new level, he's openly been 'winning' his whole life (King of Africa?....Really dude?). He's done awful things, and the world is most likely much better off without him, but I have no doubt that if the people are that pissed off, he'll go without our help (I've always said that the best solutions are those that come from roots up approaches). Oh and yes, the rebels did ask for our help. But (allegedly) so did the Iraqis way back in '91. How did that turn out for us? Seriously, did we not JUST go through this? Has the American government really not learned that they are digging themselves large hole? Or are they really that greedy for oil, money, and power that they just don't care that they are screwing over Libya as well as their own people? I suspect oil is the reason, because well, if we love repeating our mistakes that much, that's the general belief as to why we bothered with Iraq. It's an obvious statement that the world's dependency on oil needs to end (read Collapse by Jared M. Diamond). However, I am not the one with the answer. It's there, but I don't know enough about economics to suggest anything that could begin to answer that question (I'll save cap and trade for another day).

     If we are there primarily for oil, we are going about getting it in the complete wrong way (military violence seems to create more problems than it solves). Here's the problem, whenever we go into a place (from a government standpoint) we assume that the native people want to be just like America. Well guess what? They don't. Now, this mistake is most likely an accident, because it is really hard to accept that there are other world views than your own. I'm not talking at a personal level, I'm talking about a deep cultural connectivity that makes us not just American, but Westerners as well. I would argue that other western cultures may be better at recognizing this than us, but that is simply a matter of how isolated we are relative to other western countries. Furthermore, we loudly, proudly, and ignorantly try to go impose our views and focusing on ourselves. This may be borderline acceptable to our other western counterparts, but in places like the Middle East, the Far East, and Africa, this can be extremely offensive to say the least. In other words, as an American, we tend to believe in certain core values that affect our everything from our everyday lives and behaviors to how we make choices and what our country (in theory) stands for. We were founded on a distrust of government, right to act as we please (within reason -and at our founding, 'we' meant white males), and the celebration of the individual. That is what we believe in and it has (for the most part) worked for us. A country under completely different circumstances containing cultures with completely different belief systems may have a different type of solution. In fact the cultural differences can be so great, that us westerners may not be able to even comprehend why a group would act a certain way. Our celebration of the individual is the complete opposite of many cultures, where decisions are made based upon group consensus. In fact, so much emphasis is placed on total group consensus that any act made outside of that consensus can be seen as betrayal (aka a serious offense). So if we go running in and set up a government as fast as we can (because our culture values efficiency) we may end up not only offending an entire group of people, but we may have made the wrong choices in the process. It is important to understand that just because one group of people does something in a way so foreign that it seems useless to us, that it isn't bad or wrong. It's just different. Do I believe that westerners or Americans in particular are especially bad at this? No, I believe that the world shrunk so fast that most of the world is unable to really wrap their heads around it. Westerners seem to travel and spread out more, so we are faced with dealing with these problems on foreign soil more often. I'm sure the business man from Japan who is used to going through a long process of consensus for big choices made by the company was most likely shocked to find out that he had no input on a move made from higher up.

     I can already hear the words 'well if you don't like it here and you think we are all ignorant then why don't you get out?' Well, luckily for you, those thoughts have crossed my mind and more frequently as I get older. However, I like being an American. I like American people (just not a huge fan of the government, but that's part of being American). Even if I did become a full-time expat I was born an American. That means I have certain cultural values and views that are so deeply entrenched in my brain that they won't simply leave. I would always be an outsider, no matter how hard I tried to understand another culture. I'm simply stating that if there is any hope for our generation to take a forward step in the opposite direction, being comfortable with differences beyond your understanding, keeping an open mind, and LISTENING instead of hearing we may be on the right track. Oh, and America, get the heck out of Libya and help your PEOPLE (not your wallet) you have been SWORN to PROTECT (that goes beyond military spending).

Phew. Glad that's over.

-M