Thursday, August 25, 2011

Houston















 
It has been a while since I have been regularly blogging so I am making up for that some now. August has been pretty packed with work, social gatherings and I finally got my background check back from the FBI. A week later I was in Houston.
 
I took off work on Monday and Saturday afternoon my family, Asuka and I were on the road to Houston. We arrived around 12 a.m. The next morning we went to the military base (Ellington Field) for a store run. While on base I saw one of NASA’s old planes and a jet with George Bush’s name on it. Afterward we visited a monument outside of NASA, but we did not go in—we didn’t have time or the money. Instead we grabbed a nearby geocache and finally headed down to Galveston for the beach and Joe’s Crab Shack. Asuka and I swam for an hour or so before we ate dinner. After dinner and a quick stop at Academy Sports (on the beach) I got to drive around just exploring and sight-seeing. I ended up taking the ferry back to the mainland which was free.

Most places you have to pay to go on dolphin/whale watching tours. We got out of the car once we had parked and stood at the front of the ferry. A large ship was on a collision course with us and we turned so that it could pass. As we got nearer to the ship we spotted dolphins jumping  in front of it. Later they appeared for a little while in front of ours. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get any great photos.
It turns out the ferry arrived at the mainland but at a point we couldn’t get back to the interstate. We ended up having to drive for about an hour by back roads to take another interstate. And then Monday came; the day I have been waiting for several months. Asuka and I went to the consulate when it opened at 9 a.m. There were two people ahead of me in line when I arrived. Two people came in later and broke in line. After I finally got to the window all went well. The person working the window estimated 2-3 weeks for my Visa to arrive so I am crossing my fingers.

Tuesday morning was the hardest part. I dropped Asuka off at the airport at 6:30 a.m. It is always hard to go different ways, but this time was even harder. I knew it could be up to a year or more before we see each other again. I want to visit in D.C. before I leave for Spain, but don’t know how that will work with time and money. She planned to study abroad next semester but we don’t know if that will work out or not yet. We won’t know until November.

Now it is only about five or six weeks before I leave for Spain. It is closer than ever.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Starving

In high school the BMI testing said I was at risk of being overweight. Now, I probably am. Too much food and not enough exercise. I have that luxury and I remember it every day at lunch.

I was going to write a long informative blog about hunger. But after this has set in my drafts folder for three weeks I have decided to make it a short, thoughtful entry. There are many people around the world who don’t have enough food to eat, enough water to drink, enough money to survive.

In recent news articles and blogs I read where parents in Africa are having to leave their children behind to die because there is not enough food. Another article talked about how at many refugee camps the food was taken back from the refugees after the journalists took photos. Much of the foreign relief aid was ending up on the market. These people don’t have enough food. Another article even more recently talked about hunger in the United States and how many children were going hungry. One child stated that the hardest time was when his mom wouldn’t eat so that he could.

Every morning on my way to work I have a package of poptarts and a soda. Then later in the afternoon I sit at my desk and eat lunch: A yogurt, sandwich, chips, crackers, cookies and drink. It is a little awkward because it reminds me of how lucky I am. I am interning at an organization whose mission is to end world hunger and poverty. At lunch I am eating more than some families get to eat in a week.

Keywords: Starving, World, Hunger, Relief, Aid, Death, Food, Nutrition