T-day

Sister and I made a thanksgiving feast for la familia. We shut it down. Everyone rubbed their newfound buddha-bellies and sipped brandy after the meal. Pics to come. Sister and I decided to make this a tradition- she cooks half and I cook half. On the menu- squash, spinach salad,dinner rolls, cranberry sauce, cornbread stuffing, turkey stuffing, turkey gravy, vegetarian gravy, tofurkey, real mcoy turkey, green bean casserole, killer mac'n'cheese, mashed potatos, 3 pumpkin pies, pumpkin roll (thanks djk), and pecan pie with vanilla ice cream.--The holiday break was so relaxing and fun. Didn't sleep much but had a blast with sister-in-law and close friend both visiting from the left coast. The week has begun and I am jumping with adrenaline thinking of all I would like to accomplish in the next five days. Hmm, time to get back to what I am supposed to be doing.

Interviews

I was nervous to interview this person because as soon as I saw her I knew that she was a live wire. While interesting, this makes writing and observing simultaneously challenging. Writing from a journalist's perspective is challenging for me because, like a ticker tape running through my mind, I think about how else to see, hear, question any given situation. If I was writing about her from a creative perspective I would've walked into the room and observed her very closely and my agenda in the conversation would have been more of a character sketch. Because I was not writing entirely creatively, I went a bit early so I could watch her during the event and get a feel for her person. Then, during the interview, I focused more on information at first. Once I loosened up, I asked questions that moved the conversation into her personal experiences. During the interview her friend and friend's son serendiptiously stopped by to chat with her. They ended up staying and engaged in full fledged conversation. Their conversation stayed on my topic which gave me a chance to write as they spoke to each other. I could get away with chiming in or redirecting the conversation with questions. I know that I am new to this, but I definitely feel that I need to practice more. Today was an easy day, because the topic is about a subcultural group in this town, but if the topic was more pressing my nerves would've been an issue.I do love the whole process of research, interviews, and putting everything together. I like not really knowing what the day's conversations will be. I like speaking to people who I have nothing in common with other than being human. While change is always welcome and always temporarily distressing, this path is also comfortable in some way.

More

This morning, the french ambassador to the U.S., Jean-David Levitte, spoke at the CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) forum aired on C-SPAN 2. American media coverage portrayed the events that occurred in Parisian suburbs as a rupture in an already contentious relationship between French government and France-based people of Islamic faith. Levitte emphatically stated that the unrest was not related to Islam and that the violence was not a riot. His reasons were that the group was not organized, no indirect or direct link to al-Qaida, and not only Muslims were a part of the violence. He also stated that the second largest city in France also has the highest Muslim population and no violence took place there. He seemed to believe that the reason for the chaos was a class issue and that the struggle is about those who want to be accepted as full French citizens "fighting for more liberty, equality, and fraternity." He went on to layout a plan to address this population's concerns. In light of his perspective, more than ever, I am at loss as to why the peaceful protests in Argentina and Venezuela and Venezuela's President Chavez's statements did not gain a larger spotlight in american coverage. In these South American countries the fundamental principles of capitalist democratic ideology are in question, U.S. practice is being challenged. I think this is huge news with potentially profound implications for the U.S. and its citizens. So was there less coverage because the pictures did not protray dissent as barbarism?--I focus on America because most American media sources follow the White House. White House makes an announcement to a press corp and then the news is reported, details are explored or spun or hushed. Journalist and assistant secretary of state for public affairs during the Carter administration, Hodding Carter said "If given three days without serious challenge, the government will have set the context for an event and can control public perception of that event." Although I understand that info may be witheld for national security, I am still unnerved by the possibility.

Chemical weapons and dissent

A friend sent me this link from BBC News. More on this later. Also has anyone notice the lack of coverage by American news sources of protests in Argentina and Venezuela as compared to coverage of riots in France? More on this later too.

the memsahib

Watched a movie last night that was runnning as part of the Three Rivers Film festival. The director of the festival remarked on the big crowd for a Monday night and the second commercial viewing of this film. My cousin leaned toward me and said, "that's what happens when an Indian does something." :) Without ever having asked, you'll definitely know how you did, what you did, and how you could have done it better.

The movie was beautiful to watch- the colors were vivid and the musical score was compelling to listen to. The story left much to be desired. The characters were 2-D and so much was alluded to that would have made the film more interesting if those isues had been explored rather than sidebar. I thought the movie had potential to really examine colonial india and put a face to the players and begin a different narrative of that story. The writer/director focused on love only, love without context. The director/ writer had the tools and context to really examine the nuances of colonial India but the focus was destiny and (as my cousin pointed out) not about life.

3 weeks to go

To say goodbye to some folks that I really enjoyed working with brought home the realization that I am leaving home. I am not at all nervous or rattled that I am leaving my home-nation rather that my internal life will change over the next year. A new person will be home. I keep thinking that from this point forward we make decisions about life with the other in mind.

Le Petit Prince

Is it a hat? Since I first read this story, I have kept the memory of this bit of its text with me.