.... poverty

"Poverty doesn't exist, sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Poverty is simply the absence of justice. It is like evil, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create poverty. Poverty is the result of what happens when man does not have any love left in his heart for fellow human beings. It is like the cold that comes when there is no heat, or the darkness that comes when there is no light"  (Francis W. Mulwa 2008 Demystifying Participatory Community Development: 10)

When I first read this quote-LOVED IT! (I wish I heard more of it).  Instead I am surrounded by a sea of :
 
   "Well, we just don't have the time to do this or that...."

                                                                                            "Well, what about America?"         

              
                "Well, it's hard to get the funding....."                           

 The LDS Church loves saying "L-O-V-E is really spelled T-I-M-E" when talking about family... why should it be any different for our WORLD FAMILY?? Quite frankly, it shouldn't.  In Paul Collier's book I quote below, he said that the bottom billion people who are stuck in poverty-- not to be confused with the four billion developing and growing out of poverty-- lack attention because it's not "glamorous" or honestly, because the solutions seem "too hard".  Well...... how are we supposed to tell them that?  Oh, I got it: "So.... people of Chad, Laos, Burma, DRC, and many others..... We just don't think you can make it so..... good luck?" I don't know about you but somehow that doesn't quite sit right with me.

"Development is about giving hope to ordinary people that their children will live in a society that has caught up with the rest of the world. Take that hope away and the smart people will use their energies not to develop their society but to escape from it."   (Paul Collier 2006. The Bottom Billion: 12)

So let us take action!  Let us not take the easy road, isn't that what people encourage you to do? (after all, that Robert Frost poem is SO over-quoted and yet... are we taking his advice?). As I study more about development, as I study more about politics, as I spend more time in other countries, it becomes more and more clear to me that knowledge is the door leading people out  of poverty.  And if knowledge is the door, anthropology is the key. Because, quite frankly, studying development hasn't gotten us anywhere closer to helping the bottom billion out of poverty- we need a change.  That change will come from actually studying the real issues-- conflicts, ethnic identity versus national identity, poverty and its affects on people, distribution of power, and even something as simple as daily life, relationships to place, to people, to languages, etc.... 

So that is why I am applying for graduate schools right now.  My hope is to be able to study poverty and its causes..... NOT study development as a discipline but rather, study poverty as a discipline. (I will be going into Anthropology with an emphasis in Development.... just so you know the technical terms).  And what will I do with this knowledge?  Hopefully help policy makers make better policies......

"The US Department of Defense is not going to take advice from that country's Agency for International Development. The British Department of Trade and Industry is not going to listen to the Department for International Development.  To make development policy coherent will require what is termed a 'whole of government' approach. To get this degree of coordination requires heads of government to focus on the problem."  (Paul Collier 2006. The Bottom Billion: 13)

So, I should be able to get them to listen to me right?

..... but ultimately, I hope to help lift EVERYONE out of that poverty that is like the cold with no heat, the darkness without light.  

  

Anyone who wants to join me, feel free.  In fact, I encourage it.

... happiness

Life is good. I don't really have anything to complain about and the past couple of days, I've had this smile on my face that I can't seem to wipe off... Seriously though, I try to not smile and I feel a twitch on the right side of my mouth, just itching to curve upwards.

As I was at the temple this afternoon with my friend Nicole, I was thinking about this strange phenomenon that is going on.  WHY am I so happy?  I mean, like I said, I don't really have anything to complain about but... it just feels like more than that.  THEN, it hit me.... it him me big:

My happiness was contributed to the absence of things (like trials) from my life but rather the addition of a greater thing-- God and his Son, Jesus Christ.  Now, I've been Mormon my whole life, I've served a Mormon Mission, but since this summer, I have grown a lot spiritually (probably more than I ever have in my life)-- I actually read my scriptures every morning, I begin and end each day with a prayer, I go to the temple twice a week... I have brought these two incredible men into my life more than ever before-- and that is what makes me so happy.  I'm sure of it.

So immediately I thought of this song I heard on my mission and I will share it with you-- Truly, following the commandments of God, letting them into your life doesn't just make you happy during trials but it makes you so much happier even when life is going good.

So enjoy and BE HAPPY!

... homesickness....

People always ask me if I want to go back to Ghana. I always answer "Yes, the only question is when"

The summer months of 2011 will forever be known as a life-changing summer. I found a people, a place that seemed so familiar yet so foreign, so understanding yet confusing... and in that place, with those people, I found myself.

Okay, so you might be thinking, "really Corrine? that seems a little dramatic, don't you think?" Well, it may be but you know what? I've finally accepted (after repeated accusations from my sister) that I am a tad bit dramatic.... so, yes, that may be dramatic but it is how I felt.

Now, what do I mean by "I found myself?" Well, finally, the pieces of the puzzle entitled "what will Corrine do after graduation" finally came together. I grew closer to my Savior and my Heavenly Father than I ever have in normal, real life. I found a genre of food that I LOVE! (and most importantly, learned how to cook it). I found that I could be good at compromising, leading, following, and all those other traits that are desirable in a person... with some more tweaking to do, of course.

Michelle, one of my dear sisters that traveled with me, said on our last day in Ghana: "You know, traveling is good for the soul". And I must concur. Traveling was good for my soul, and yet sometimes, I feel like in three short months, Ghana became home-- a place I long to travel back to.

... africa

in less than ONE MONTH i will be stepping on a plane heading to ghana!!! AAAAHHHHH!!!!!! i thought i'd share with y'all some pictures of where i'll be going, and maybe a video or two of what i'll be seeing/researching. this is the road to my house i'll be staying at. (its the pink house on the right.... we'll be staying with a wonderful woman named ESTHER and her family) this is a TRO-TRO.... which is their version of a city bus. we'll be riding these all over the place (its a hu8ge van where they took out the original seats and added rows of boards to fit more poeple than they can possibly fit.... ) welcome to kumasi! it's the second largest city in ghana and where we'll go to get money from the banks, use the internet cafe, and to visit the largest outdoor market in west africa! the community set up for a funeral. apparently funerals happen quite often over there and it is a huge celbration filled with dancing, singing and honoring the deceased.

an example of the mosquito net i'll be sleeping in for three months... don't want to catch malaria (i've heard its a pain!)

an internet cafe! so when you read my blog updates.... or when i send you an email-- picture something like this! (and yes, it's called "rock of ages"-- they love naming their companies after biblical phrases!)

a classroom... i'm hoping to volunteer at the school while i'm there.

i couldnt NOT add this picture! aren't they soooo cute?!? yeah... i'll be looking at the for three months! :)

*ps. all these pictures are courtesy of my friend rachel who went to ghana last summer and lives below me.

for updates while i'm in ghana vists: ghanaorbust2011.blogspot.com

.... miracles

so my darling BEST FRIEND of ELEVEN YEARS, rachel elizabeth weatherspoon had her baby yesterday!!! AHHH!!!!!!! i cannot believe that the girl, who i've known for so long is finally a mommy! YAY!!!

this 'miracle of life' falls perfectly into the many other MIRACLES that have been happening in my life lately. this sudden influx of these tender mercies has caused me to question:

?what makes them happen? ?why don't we look for them more often?

?are they really happening more or was i just not looking hard enough?

?even if something doesn't work out, can it still count as a miracle?

?why have i been so blessed to have all these miracles?

so yeah, loads of questions. well, i'll start by telling you that i quickly learned on my mission that no miracle is too small! I started using my journal as a sort of "miracle journal" where every night before i turn off the light and curl up with my teddy bear, i write down all the miracles that happened that day (aka, all the times i saw god's hand that day). and you know what???? MIRACLES ARE HAPPENING EVERY MINUTE!! this has been such an uplifting experience in my life.

why do miracles happen? because of faith. plain and simple, but sometimes, it isn't my faith. so many times i write down things in my journal that were probably the result of someone else's prayer. and i was able to be that instrument in the lord's hand to help a miracle come about. and of course, there are then the miracles that happen because of my faith.

one of my favorite stories in the new testament comes when christ is healing the sick (i know, no shocker there) and a man comes to christ with his sick son. the man informs jesus that this boy is their only child and he wants his help. christ asks the man if he believes. the man replies 'ya lord'. jesus pauses, probably gives him a look that says 'are you sure?' and then the man replies: 'help thou my unbelief' WHOA! i've been saying that to the lord ALL SEMESTER! i don't know how some things will turn out but i turn to the lord and say 'help thou my unbelief because i really need these miracles'.

im grateful for a heavenly father who is constantly trying to find ways to bless me, and ive so grateful for a savior who makes those miracles possible (cause without him, there is not way i'd ever be worthy of them).

.... screaming!

so lots of screaming has been going on lately.. here's why:

1. my sister FINALLY got her mission call!!! AAAHHH!!!!! literally spent the first two minutes of our phone conversation SCREAMING because i was so excited for her! for those of you who don't know what i'm talking about.... my sister is going on a mormon mission (so she'll be gone for 18 months, both serving the people in the community she'll be in and sharing the gospel of jesus christ with those around her!) she'll be in ......... *cue the drumroll please*

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

needless to say i'm pretty excited for her. i just know how awesome of an experience it'll be and how awesome she'll be at it. my sister can love so many different types of people-- she's very good at accepting those around her who may believe differently than her. YET at the same time, she's very determined and solid in what she believes herself. she knows who she is and isn't afraid to show that to others..... one has to be real out there on a mission, they know if you're being fake. dont ask me how they know, they just always do!

2. i'm going to GHANA!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!! i now have officially told anyone and no one who reads this blog :) every new step that happens towards me actually getting there like getting a passport, talking with the travel agent, working on my project, etc....... it becomes that much more real, and that much more exciting!!!!! if you want to know what i'm doing there, check out my ghana blog (we had to set it up for the prep class):

ghanaorbust2011.blogspot.com

it'll give you all the information you need on my project and what i'll be studying while im there. why is there so much screaming revolving me spending three months in a tiny rural community in africa????? ONLY BECAUSE I'VE WANTED TO GO THERE FOR OVER 7 YEARS!!!!! i'm finally getting a dream come true.


do you know what it's like to have a dream come true? well, its an incredible experience. i hope everyone in life gets to experience that at least once in their life.... the magic that comes. its pure, unadulterated magic.

...mellow

so as i was sitting in my "free the slaves" meeting tonight (yes, byu has a club... and yes! you all should come if you live in provo!) and the girl sitting the next chair over asked me how i was.

"is your life mellow?" she asks me.
"no it's not", i say with an awkward chuckle. "well, actually, i guess it kind of is... if you discount all the homework i have, i guess it is pretty mellow".


mellow: –adjective

1. soft, sweet, and full-flavored from ripeness, as fruit.

2. well-matured, as wines.

3. soft and rich, as sound, tones, color, or light.

5. friable or loamy, as soil.

6. mildly and pleasantly intoxicated or high.

ya know what is interesting? none of those definitions fit the connotation of "sufer dude, going with the flow, lacking of excitment" that mellow has come to mean.

so.... is my life sweet? full-flavored? yes! i'm finally coming to the point in my life when my dreams are starting to come true! my life is ripe! ready to burst!

is my life well-matured? well... that's to be debated but us christison's aren't exactly known for our maturity :)

is my life soft and rich? rich, i would say definitely. not in the money sort of way, but in the fulfilling "i've got so much going on" sort of way. my life is full of friends, good books, good causes, and slim fast! that is about as rich as you can get i think!

is my life friable or loamy? well... i dont know....i dont think i quite know what those words mean (oh! don't you love it when you need to look up the words in the definition of a word you are looking to define? hehehe oh life!)

and last but not least, is my life mildly intoxicated? well..... some people will say i get a little loopy when im running off a lack of sleep. and in high school, i used to always say: "heck yes i'm high, high on LIFE!" clever i know!


so for the first time, in what is probably forever, i would say my life is mellow. and im quite content with that.

....kidding

okay so i wont be posting a video of it....... i havent quite become that techno savvy yet....



:)

.... a new year

HAPPY 2011!!!!

its only natural at the beginning of a new year to ponder on new years resolutions (or declarations as aaron pratt calls them).... well, i'm about to show you a video..... this is a video of me trying to break a board. hilarious? of course! but it taught me something very powerful.

me breaking the board was supposed to be symbolic of me facing my fears and breaking through them to reach my goals. well, i was afraid of breaking that board. i failed the first time and it HURT LIKE HECK! but i got it the second time with the help of MACY HALLADAY (who is incredible).

this exercise was so awesome i decided to do it with my new students in my TA class. this is what i noticed:

1. every student who looked directly at the board when trying to hit DID NOT BREAK the board. if we spend all our time looking at our fears, we wont be able to reach our goals because we dont know what they are-- we have lost sight of them.
2. its a feeling of satisfaction when you actually break the board, just like when you overcome one of your fears..... its a great feeling no? makes you want to break another one!
3. it hurts! even when you are successful at breaking the board, your hand might feel a little sting. in life, we cant get away free from scratches and bruises... even when we do things right, even when we accomplish something good.
4. sometimes all we need is a little encouragement. we need to know that someone else is on our side-- its a lot easier to face that HUGE list of fears when you feel like there are people behind you.... pushing you along.

well, enough of that analogy. i'm ready for the new year.....

i've broken a board so how hard can a couple of fears be? right?