"in America, perhaps more than any other place, and in the South, perhaps more than any other region, we go back to our homes in dreams and memories, hoping it remains what it was on a lazy, still summer's day twenty years ago."

-Willie Morris, North Towards Home

last night, i listed my home and family on a list of my top 5 most favorite things. maybe because they were fresh in my mind from spending several weeks in louisville this summer, but i know i'd include them any time of the year. as noted mississippi author willie morris recalled in the above quote, we really do like to think that all of those former memories still exist and that a town is as unchanged as ever. as i rode down the streets of my childhood, i remembered many things that were once common. and yet, things were changing all around me. we don't think of change in our small towns as an ever-present force. we like to think that things move at a slow pace and under a watchful, guarding eye. however, our small towns are changing rapidly; they have given way to modernization and globalization just like our large cities and our nation. the main street and downtown area of my hometown has had to gain its footing as wal-mart and many other chain businesses move to another, more busy, area of town. this leaves behind ugly, ill-maintained (if maintained at all) buildings that are an eyesore. are schools are failing our children as well, leaving them with the urge to get away as soon as they are handed a diploma.

are we willing to accept this as a by-product of the changing times? are we going to look up one day and see a ghost town for a main street and dwindling numbers as our population? our small towns have just as large of a part in the workings of our nation. a strong and committed local government is crucial to the thriving of our towns. don't abandon the places we love, the places that hold our memories and hearts, because it may require a little work. and don't shut your eyes to the transformations around you. because one day you may return, be it twenty years or twenty days later, and you will see a changed town just as i did. i didn't include my hometown on that list because my family lives there, or because its where i return every few months. i wrote it down because i love all that it was and is and that it can be. and because i have a passion for it. one day i will be back, for as willie morris stated in his book, "i would never wander very far away."

this blog is going political

i have thus far refrained from using my blog as a political soapbox. when i tell people i blog, most assume that it is about all things politics, due to my interest in politics and to the fact that blogs are most often associated with political issues. i originally wanted mine to be different. however, as the olympics near, i cannot help but express my outrage and feelings over the chinese and their callous and systematic, and also rather ignorant, way of hosting the olympic games. i have just read the latest story in a string of them: that the chinese government has denied a visa to a winter games athlete wanting to enter the country to cheer on fellow members of "team darfur," a group of athletes who also happen to be activists against the sudanese government's genocide in darfur. the sudanese government is heavily supported economically by the chinese government, thus their reasoning in denying this athlete a visa. i also read today of how the chinese pull children out of their villages to rigorously train for the olympic games under the close eye of a propaganda minister (really??) and a coach. their every word is scrutinized by these officials, and when interviewed by reporters, all answers relay back to their sport; their is no diversion. china, i promise we won't think less of your athletes' abilities if they just happen to have other hobbies than ping pong. china has also torn down homes and businesses in order to beautify the path to the games and of the torch. they have also told their citizens how to behave around foreigners, with some of the most ludicrous rules including to not wear more than three colors at a time and to wear dark, not white, socks. they are so taking it overboard. what they should be doing instead is improving the things about which the world does care, like the elimination of the genocide in darfur and the suppression of the tibetans. many have railed against the committee who chose china to host the games, saying that it should not be held in a communist country. well, sorry, but the soviet union and even hitler's germany hosted the games. in my opinion, this is the best thing that could have happened for for those wanting to shed light on the situation in their country. while china may think that we are checking out their crumbling structures and socks, our eyes are set on their failure to put humans at the top of their priority list.

A Review of my Experiences in Korea, as part of an assignment for my professor (after all, this was a class... and for a grade)

The scene in Incheon Airport on July 28, the final day of our exchange, was a perfect depiction of the experiences of the past month. As I waited in line to check in to my flight, I knew that the next few moments were going to be extremely hard. A lump started growing in my throat as I handed my passport to the Korean Airlines employee, in reluctant anticipation of saying goodbye to the eight remaining Korean students, now my close friends, who were standing behind me. After checking my luggage and not being able to postpone the moment anymore, we began saying our goodbyes. Of course, the tears were flowing; but we also had genuine smiles on our faces. A few of us were even able to laugh through our tears. These emotions we had come to see daily for the past month.
Before meeting the Korean students, I was a bit reluctant about many aspects of the trip and about the culture into which we would be living. I am sure I had a lump in my throat and a similair feeling of unwanted change as I said goodbye to my mother and sister in Memphis. However, that first night, with my roommate Yi Soo, I discovered one of the wittiest and kindest persons I will ever know. She immediately made me feel at home, in my own country of all places. The rooming assignments of a Korean student and an American student unquestionably helped the understanding between the two groups.
It is extremely hard to name the best and worst parts of the program. Since being home, I have said that the American students received the “best of both worlds” while on the exchange. In America, we had the privilege of meeting with many business and political leaders whose advice will be beneficial and influential to our futures. We also seemed to bypass a lot of the “tourist-y” things that many had already visited, yet we still seemed to gain a great understanding of the places we visited. I also appreciated the free time we had every few days, which afforded time for the occasional recuperative nap and personal sightseeing. While in Korea, we were able to visit many landmarks, which could be deemed “tourist-y”; yet, they were enthralling to all students. We were taxingly busy, but most of us wanted to optimize our time anyway. I can say now that I was able to visit and see all that I had hoped to witness.
More than anything that I learned on a tour or a museum, I learned so much about the Korean culture and the students’ perspectives from the Korean students individually and as a group. Thankfully, they were not afraid to share or illustrate, to enquire or second guess. I feel that I gained a new picture of their culture, one that I would not have had the privilege of seeing had I been an average tourist in their country. I feel that I have been able to break stereotypes and see past race or skin color.
As they introduced themselves in Memphis, the Koreans’ names baffled me. I said I did not think that I would be able to master them. Yet, in the airport exactly four weeks later, I was able to call each one by name, knowing more than their faces, but their characters and personalities as well. This exchange allowed me the unique opportunity to learn about Korea through its people, and that has made all of the difference in the lessons that I have brought home.