Banana Party

A painted tin box with hair.
A (not from China) hat made out of woven hair.
Attempted straightened curly hair.
A sleeping Socrates left on my new sleeping pad some cat hair.

OK Sarah, I will update.
I like my new major, but it's also rapidly reshaping my worldview. Not surprising. Few people think before adopting certain beliefs about the world. I expected to be behind in my classes, since I have little knowledge of how things really are, but it hasn't been the case. If anything, one thing I've realized that nothing is simple. How to eradicate racism? We learned that race is a social construction - biology has nothing to do with it. True knowledge, who knows it? How to fix the education system? You cannot achieve anything you put your mind to, that is the White idea of meritocracy. If you are Black in America, the cards are stacked against you. That I was one of the few students "chosen" to succeed in the educational system exposes a hidden privilege I've enjoyed all my life. I don't pretend to know what it's like on the other end ... Even though I'm not White, the stereoype of Asian Americans being the "model minority" has padded me from any real threat of failure. Why do human beings place so much significance on phenotypical traits?

It weirds me out a bit to talk about societal problems, when we ourselves are the problem. Does it not make Whites uncomfortable to talk about racism and discrimination? Sure it does. But I guess awkwardness is a small price to pay for improvement.

A few days ago I got a position at KAB as an the Environmental Education Intern. KAB stands for Keep Austin Beautiful, a non-profit organization in Austin that focuses on cleanup, beautification and education. It's the perfect job for me, as I am new to the whole networking/professionalism thing, and for the interview, I walked into a small office with papers everywhere, spoke less than five sentences and secured the position. It shouldn't be too difficult putting together a booklet for kids with facts about litter and fun activities. I am looking forward to getting an idea of what it's like to work as a professional advocate.. need overwhelms our world.

I love me a Japanese clown! No, I don't. Ethnocentrism is annoying isn't it? Who decided that eating large insects, kittens and chicken feet were gross? Oh, well, if America deems it uncivilized and nasty, then without a doubt it most certainly is. Please, let's learn how to understand each other. And, it really makes one wonder how long it will be before the US is stripped of its superpower status.

For a homework assignment in Intro, I gotta violate a social norm and then write a paper on it. Even if this doesn't shock or disturb too many Austinites, I would like to eat a meal of noodles (or soup!) with my hands. I bet hands really work better than stiff utensils anyway. And if I had an iron, I'd walk around campus carrying it in my arms. Did you know that in Europe, pelting each other with dog feces used to be considered festive, not rude?