I Survived.

November 23, 2010 was forcasted to be one of the worst storms we've had in Utah for years. It was supposed to hit anywhere from 3-5pm and be the coldest, worst blizzard we've ever had. Of course, it has to be the week of Thanksgiving when everyone is traveling home for the holiday. Everything was closing early and everyone was scrambling to run to the store to get the necessities and rushing to get home before the storm hit. Well 3 o'clock came and went along with 4 o'clock. Finally by around 5:30pm or so, it started to snow. Well they were correct about the storm but the estimation of the amount and severity was a little off. The amount of snow was that impressive and it wasn't any different from any storm I've ever seen. Was I disappointed? A little, but not really. I was just looking forward to the biggest, worst storm ever cause apparently I've never seen one. But, I guess I'll just have to wait another 21 years to hopefully see the biggest, worst storm ever. But, at least I can now say, I've survived the blizzard of 2010.

Ah! The Fresh Smell of Winter

The weather was absolutely fabulous today. I'm not usually one for cold weather but today for some reason I just loved being outside. Taking a breath and having my insides freeze. Going out of my way to step on an extra crunchy leaf. The sky may be cloudy and gray but honestly, I love it. I love the gray sky with the snow covered mountains and the red, orange and yellow leaves in the distance. I really want to go for a drive and just take it all in. I want to snuggle up and watch a movie. I just want to sit and enjoy the environment around me. I want time to do the things I want to do. But alas, who has the time. I usually hate walking to school and to classes but today, it was great. Those few precious minutes are really the only time that I have to enjoy nature and everyday it's getting more and more beautiful. I don't think there could be a more beautiful back drop. This is why I love Utah. You get it all. Yeah the weather is crazy and we get the extremes but honestly, I love everything about it. I love the hot summer sun and the cold winter moon. I love the changes. I love seeing snow on the top of the mountains and like I already said, the colorful leaves falling and being crushed under my feet.

Also this time of year makes me think of how grateful I am and how much more grateful I should be. I'm so grateful for everything I have. I got to work today and was talking to a coworker, complaining how I didn't want to be at work. He then said, "I love our job! We have probably the best job on campus! There are way worse jobs that we could have and we get to have this one!" Ok, then came the guilt. I should be way more grateful. I don't think I realize the many blessings I do have and that I take for granted everyday. I just spend my days complaining about everything I don't have and wish I did. Think how much happier I'd be everyday if I always remembered the blessings I have.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

And no, I do not mean Christmas. It's Halloween! Seriously this is my most favorite time of year. It's starting to get colder, the leaves start to fall and it's a time of good treats and lots to eat! It's going to be a great season!

I woke up this morning convinced that I shouldn't go to school today. But after the long and treacherous battle in my head, logic held out and won. So here I am am, 8:58 am, in the library, already done with one class for the day. My 10 o'clock class got cancelled so I decided to use that time to come to the library, a rare occurrence. I don't know why but the library seriously gives me anxiety or something. I can't concentrate here. So much to look at and so many people to watch. Why can't I be dedicated like the 15 people around me and actually do something productive for once? The only people that are in the library at 9:01am are the ones that are seriously dedicated to school. Then there's little me just blogging. Oh goodness. I decided like a month ago that I was going to forget about trying to have a life and seriously be dedicated to school. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be possible for me. Dedication to school just isn't something that I can make myself do. It's the lame pre-requisite and general classes that kill me. Why can't I just be in my major? I say that now, but I don't think school is going to get any easier once I get in the program. In fact, life is just going to get busier. That's for sure one thing that I've learned. Life isn't going to get better once I finish this semester, or it's not going to get easier once I graduate. Life is always going to have challenges. That's why I'm here. I'm in a test. In fact, I'm close to the end of my test, I just need to hold out for the last few problems. I've made it this far, why give up now?

I don't know why, probably because it's almost Halloween and the Holidays but I have this odd obsession with candy. I've never been a huge candy fan; much rather have baked goods. But lately, I've been like overly obsessed with eating candy. All candy, I don't care what kind. My roommate posted an article on my other roommate's facebook about candy. It talked about how candy has a bad reputation for having lots of sugar when really, cookies and juice have just as much sugar as candy. Candy just gets a bad rep. One statistic that surprised me was that only 6% of sugar consumption comes from candy where about 46% of it comes from juice. See? candy isn't that bad. It's probably because we all grow up learning that candy is bad and so we're all brainwashed and grow up drinking lots of juice when really, they're both loaded with sugar. So, let's use that excuse and just eat candy.

I've decided that I live in a bubble. I don't know anything about the world around me. I watched part of the news this morning but I didn't have time to watch anything more than the weather. But I'm going to try harder. I feel so out of it when things are going on in the world and I don't find out about them until weeks later. How am I supposed to help the cause if I don't even know the issues that I can help with. I want to become aware and then help others to become aware so that together we can do something about it.

Where is the Love?

With all of the contentions going on right now, it makes me think of the Black Eyed Peas song "Where Is the Love?" I hate when something like this happens when groups of people disagree with something that was said by another group. I hate how some people can't accept another person's opinion. That's one thing each of us is entitled to and has the right to occupy, an opinion. We don't have to agree on everything but we do have to respect that each and every one of us has the right to our own opinions and belief. That is the beauty of the agency that we have.

In this song some lyrics are: "But if you only have love for your own race, then you only leave space to discriminate and to discriminate only generates hate." Dorky, I know but there is some truth in this. When we have a one track mind and don't appreciate differences in others, it only leaves room for us to disrespect others. It's our differences that make us each who we are. So I say it once and I'll say it again, "Where is the love?"

Festival of Colors

This past weekend, I had the awesome opportunity to go participate in the Festival of Colors. Festival of Colors is a celebration of Spring in India. The tradition is to throw colored powder at each other in the celebration of love and spring. If you love someone, you smear the powder in their face, rather than throwing it. There is a Indian temple in Spanish Fork, Utah where this event happened. Before the festival started, we were able to walk through the temple and hear people singing and see them dancing. It was so cool to see other cultures and their customs. In their temple, they have many paintings and sculptures of their God and their prayers. One prayer that was said many times and what the crowd said before we threw the color was the Hare Krishna Chant. It goes:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
We said this chant over and over many times throughout the festival. We also said Shanti which means peace many times. It was just a celebration of Happiness and love for each other. One thing they emphasized was the love of variety and differences. Even though everyone there wasn't the same religion, race, age or anything, we could all come together to celebrate just that, or differences. It was amazing how many people came and participated. They have so many come that they have two different celebrations so they can accommodate more people. I thought it was interesting that most of the people that were running the event weren't Indian. It just showed that it didn't matter your background, you could still participate. They also had different groups doing Indian Dancing and we listened to a lot of Indian music. I've been doing a lot of research lately about India and they have really cool ceremonies and celebrations for many different things. My roommate's grandpa is from India and I had the opportunity to meet him yesterday. He showed us pictures of him at the Festival of Colors in India. It was cool to think that we were able to celebrate the same thing here in Utah. This was a really fun experience that I hope I can be a part of again. Not just because you get thrown with dyed powder and get to be colorful, but the experience of witnessing another culture and how differences don't matter.

Waiting

Refugees in this picture are in line waiting to receive mail from family members or friends that stayed behind.  The mail was delivered once a week and the International Committee of the Red Cross delivered the mail.  It would be very difficult to wait in crowded, long lines like this picture shows.  They wait in line and they probably all didn't get mail every week.  They probably never knew when mail from their loved ones would come, or if it even would.  Families would get separated because sometimes they didn't have enough money to send their whole family to be sent to camps or places that were safer or often, they would wait for other family members to join.  Often times when they would separate, they would most likely never see each other again.  Writing letters were their only form of communication and they were lucky if the were able to do that much.

In this particular camp, it was common for the refugees to help each other out.  One particular family came to this camp with basically nothing.  They didn't have much food for all 8 members and other refugees in the camp came to help them out (CET).  Without this help, the family would've died.  I think it's so great that even in the worst conditions, people are still willing to help out with what little they had.  It just shows how much people really do care and how much their help is appreciated.  I'm sure helping that family in need when they themselves had next to nothing was hard, but they did it anyway because it was the right thing to do.

Salgado, Sebastiao.  Photograph.  "Migrations: Humanity in Transition [Children Today:Men and Women of the New Century]." Legends Online.  PDN & Kodak Professional, n.d.  Web.  17 March 2010. 

CET. "Krajina Serbs Remember Operation Storm, Ten Years On."  Worldnews.  Euronews.  Web.  17 March 2010 

Left with Practically Nothing

This is a picture of a boy that is in the Natinga School camp which provides a place for displaced people of Sudan, mostly boys ages 8-18.  They are taught just like in normal schools but this school is a little different.  This school doesn't have a roof so when it's raining, school is cancelled.  When it's not raining, they learn to write by using sticks to write on the mud floor because it's hard to find paper and pencils for all the students (Walgren).  Food is also scarce and breakfast is just a half a cup of grain, barely anything to fill anyone.  There also isn't hardly any water which makes it difficult to have enough for drinking and for cleaning all the boys (Walgren).  To make matters worse, they have to grow up with usually no parents or family and this school is basically all they have (Walgren).  Living at this camp and school is the best option that most of these boys have and I'm sure life isn't easy for them.  Having all this happen to them at such a young age would be so hard and something that most people wouldn't want for themselves or their children.

Salgado, Sebastiao.  Photograph.  "Migrations: Humanit in Transition [Children Today: Men & Women of the New Century]."  Legends Online.  PDN & Kodak Professional, n.d.  Web.  10 Mar. 2010.

Walgren, Judy.  "The Lost Boys of Natinga: A School For Sudan's Young Refugees."  All Business A D&B Comapny.  Kirkus Reviews, 1 Aug. 1998.  Web.  10 Mar. 2010.

Left not Knowing

Salgado, Sebastiao.  Photograph.  "Migrations: Humanity in Transistion [The Human Family Around the World].  Legends Online.  PDN & Kodak Professional.  n.d.  Web.  4 Mar. 2010.

  This picture is of some women left in Iraqi Kurdistan villages not knowing where their husbands, fathers, or brothers were safe or even alive.  On July 31, 1983, some of Saddam Hussein's soldiers came into many villages and took away all of the men.  Also, all the population was forced to move villages like Beharke near the city Erbil (Chess).  This all happened for no apparent reason.  I can't imagine having my dad or brothers taken away for no apparent reason and then years later not knowing if they were still living.  All of this happening for no apparent reason would make it even harder for the families that were left behind.  Living in a village with no men would be really weird too.  It would make life much harder without the men to help out.  My dad does so much for our family and I don't want to know what it would be like without him in my family's life.  It wouldn't be a life I would want to live.  Unfortunately, these women had no choice.

Kyranlucien. "Sebastiao Salgado, Photographer of the worldfull of ashes and gray sadness...."Chess Blogs. N.p. 01/23/2010. Web. 4 Mar. 2010

Appreciate the Little Things

When in refugee camps, the water supply is far away and the people there had to walk long distances just to get water for their families.  Some camps distributed the water in trucks but the lines were often long and many people would wait for hours to get very little water.  Sometimes the water they were fortunate enough to get would be contaminated and some would get sick and others would die of bacteria in the water (UNCR).  This specific photograph is of a Camp in Zaire which is in Africa.  This camp is one of many that were used in the Rwandan Holocaust in 1994.  Conditions for them were terrible.  No shelters to live in, hardly any food or water, and many died in the camp because of the terrible conditions.  The people that were in the camp were mainly Hutus who were trying to escape the terrible fighting and wanted to a start of a new life.

It's hard to imagine a life like that.  I've never had to do anything but turn on the tap for water or go to the store for food.  I can't imagine not having that luxury in my life.  Not only that, but to have no food and to be living under a tarp or sheet in a camp.  To some people, this is just everyday life.  These people were able to appreciate the more important things in life like family and friends and striving to better themselves.  It's too bad that today we have so many things that get in the way of things that are really important.

Salgado, Sebastiao.  Photograph.  "Migrations: Humanity in Transition [The Human Family in the World]."  Legends Online.  PDN & Kodak Professional.  n.d. Web.  24 Feb. 2010

UNCR.  "Access to Water in Refugee Situations: Survival, Health and Dignity for Refugees."  Technical Support Section Division of Operational Support.  n.d. Web.  24 Feb. 2010.

Faith and Forgiveness

We just read this book in my English class about the Rwandan Holocaust.  I wrote a review for it on barnesandnoble.com.  If you would like to read my review and others click here.

Still able to have Fun

 This photograph is of the Camp of Benako located near the Tanzania border in Africa.  These children are playing on a pile of dirt that was dug for the latrines.  In the camp, the piles of dirt were where all the kids played for fun.  This camp is one of the places that those affected by the Rwandan slaughter in 1994 went to for safety and protection.  There were around 500,000 people in the camp who were of the Tutsi tribe, fleeing from all the killings (Thomas).  This massacre was brought about all because of discrimination of people being part of different tribes.  While there were a lot of people in the camp, there were many sicknesses that were spread throughout the camp especially between the children (Thomas).  They had very little food and the people running the Refugee Camp just would tell the Refugees to hold out until more help could come.  There wasn't any good shelters to protect anyone from the elements of weather, just fabric tents.  

I think that it's really cool that amidst all the hardship that families went through, these children are able to find ways to have fun and enjoy themselves regardless of how bad their conditions were.  There isn't much information about the camp today but I think it still probably has people living there today in the same harsh living conditions.

 Salgado, Sebastiao.  Migrations: Humanity in Transition.  New York: Aperture, 2000.  Print.

---.  Pamphlet.  Migrations: Humanity in Transition.  New York, Aperture. 2000.  271.  Print.

Thomas, Annie.  500,000 find Refuge at Camp.  The Independent: World.  Web.  17 Feb. 2010.

Abandoned

Photograph: Salgado, Sebastiao.  Photograph.  "Migrations: Humanity in Transition [Leaving the Land for the Cities]." Legends Online.  PDN and Kodak Professional, n.d.  Web. 10 Feb. 2010. 

These babies are left, playing on the roof of FEBEM (a foundation for child welfare).  About 450 lived there and about 35% of those that live there, were abandoned, left on streets, or their parents dropped them off because they could no longer take care of them.  This foundation is located in Sao Paulo, Brazil.  Recently, the FEBEM is now a place that houses juvenile boys and girls.  Some define it as a "child concentration camp."  There are about 900 adolescents which is very overcrowded for the location of the foundation(Lakatos).  I'm sure the kids staying there aren't treated very well.  There isn't much information about this foundation and an article said that no one really knows what goes on in there.

One part of the article about Brazil's child torture centers, including FEBEM, talked about some of their torture methods.  The most common was locking the kids in a closet for hours only in their underwear.  Another is suffocation because it doesn't leave marks.  I can't imagine living in a place, abandoned, and being tortured when half the time, it's not the kid's fault for being there in that situation.  Unfortunately, it would take a lot of money to even start trying to fix this problem. 

Lakatos, Suzana.  Brazil's Torture Centers for Kids.  Brazzil.  September 2003.  10 Feb. 2010. 

Salgado, Sebastiao.  Photograph.  "Migrations: Humanity in Transition [Leaving the Land for the Cities]." Legends Online.  PDN and Kodak Professional, n.d.  Web. 10 Feb. 2010. 

Stuck Away from Home

Photograph: Salgado, Sebastiao.  Photograph.  "Migrations: Humanity in Transition [The Human Family Around the World]." Legends Online.  PDN and Kodak Professional, n.d.  Web. 3 Feb. 2010. 

The United Nations ran camps in Kenya in which youth was separated from their families and sent to the refugee camps.  They went to these camps to avoid fighting in a civil war.  I can't imagine having to do that.  It basically was a lose, lose situation for them because fighting in a war isn't any better than having to stay in a refugee camp.  I'm sure none of them wanted to be there and were counting down they days to when they could be reunited with their families.

There are currently refugee camps still in Kenya.  The Huffington Post, an online newspaper, said, "[the camps] currently play host to at least 320,000 refugees, from Kakuma camp in the drought-prone northwest to the massively overcrowded Dadaab camp in the east.  Men, women, and children all try to go about their daily lives, coping with cramped living conditions, water shortages and the grinding drudgery of having your independence taken away."  Later in the article, it says that the camps were actually made for only 90,000.  That means that there are currently more than 3 times as many refugees there.  I'm sure, it's a lot more cramped than we can probably imagine.  Then, adding shortages of water makes life a lot harder than any of us could even imagine.  These camps run by the UK "estimate that it will need around $91 million this year to improve conditions for existing refugees"(Offer). 

Salgado, Sebastiao.  Photograph.  "Migrations: Humanity in Transition [The Human Family Around the World]." Legends Online.  PDN and Kodak Professional n.d.  Web.  3 Feb. 2010. 

Offer, Joanne.  "Looking Beyond Somalia's Pirates and into Kenya's Refugee Camps."  The Huffington Post.  International Rescue Committee/Huffpost Contributor.  1 April, 2009.  Web.  3 Feb. 2010. 

Losing Everything

 I wonder what kind of person I'd be if I had something life changing happen to me.  What would I be like if everything that I held close to me was gone in an instant?  In 1994, around 25,000 refugees were transported at the refugee camp of Turanj.  They were in an abandoned town where they had sheets covering the windows and had to struggle through a very cold winter.  This "city" they were living is heavily mined and many people, mostly children, were severely injured due to the mines exploding.  This would be really hard because these people had no control over the mining yet they were the ones that were strongly affected by the explosion.

Everyone in the world is greatly effected by things every day that they have no control over, yet they have to suffer the consequences.  Whether it be from war, natural disasters, or just something simple like a car accident, the consequences can change anyone's way of life.  Since we've all been effected by them in one way or another, we should feel obligated to help.  We are so blessed that we haven't had anything major happen in this area for quite a while.  We should share all we've been blessed with to help those that need help.  Yesterday, I was doing homework and there was a knock on our door.  It was some people that were going around finding ways to serve.  They were willing to do anything.  It felt so good to know that someone cared and was willing to help.  Are you?

Photograph: Photograph: Salgado, Sebastiao. Migrations: Humanity in Transition.  New York: Aperture, 2000.

Photo District News. "Migrations: Humanity in Transition." Web. 1999

Running for Freedom

Here is a photo from Salgado's book Migrations.  It's of the border between the United States and Tijuana.  This wall goes for about 2,000 miles hoping to keep immigrants out.  Occasionally, some people are able to climb over the wall and are usually caught by border patrol.  In this picture, you can see a person laying on the ground like they are so tired.  They have probably been waiting so long to be able to climb over the wall and be free.  I can't imagine the fear that they would have.  Fear of getting caught and possibly put in jail.  They risk everything just for the slight possibility of not getting caught and having a chance to start their life over.  It's estimated that over one million migrants, that are undocumented, slip over the wall and it's also estimated that 1 in 4 immigrants are caught by border control (Global Security).  It makes me sad to think that it's gotten to the point that we have to build a wall to keep illegal immigrants out.  I can't imagine always having that small string of hope that one day, if I could just get over that wall, my life would be better.  They are willing to risk everything that they have and about 25% of the migrants, get caught (global security).  I think that this photo shows the emotions that they have.  I don't know details about this man, or his circumstances but it looks like he's probably lost all hope.  I wonder what I would do in his situation.  I don't know if I'd be willing to risk everything I have.  I'm so lucky that I don't have to because of all I'm blessed with.  Everyday we all take for granted the little things in our life and many people all over the world will never have.  It makes you think twice about complaining about your apartment being too messy or cold.  At least I have an apartment and I'm so fortunate to have the life I have.  Putting myself in their situation has made me think twice about my life and the things that I have the most people probably only dream about.  With the recent events in Haiti, I've thought more about my life and how I can help people that are less fortunate than me.  I don't have much to give but I know that the little opportunities that I do have to help, I should take advantage of.  I'm so blessed and I should share all I'm blessed with, with everyone that I possibly can. 

Photograph: Salgado, Sebastiao. Migrations: Humanity in Transition.  New York: Aperture, 2000.

"US-Mexico Border Fence/The Great Wall of Mexico."  Global Security.  global security.org.  2006.

Migrations-Sabastiao Salgado Photographs

This blog will be a place that I post about photographs taken by Sebastiao Salgado and a little about each picture. 

Sebastiao Salgado is from Brazil and is a social documentary photographer and photojournalist.  He went on a mission to Africa for the International Coffee Organization and this is where he began to start taking photographs.  He first starting taking pictures for news assignments and then started to do more documentary type photographs.  He has many books of his work and the one that I’m going to be talking about in this blog is his book Migrations.  Salgado said, "I hope that the person who visits my exhibitions, and the person who comes out, are not quite the same.  I believe that the average person can help a lot, not by giving material goods but by participating, by being part of the discussion, by being truly concerned about what is going on in the world"  Salgado didn't take the pictures because he thought they looked good or it was a good shot.  He took the pictures for everyone else to make them aware of the circumstances of people that aren't in our communities, in our neighborhoods, in our every day lives.  He wanted us to realize that there are people that are less fortunate than me and you and there are things that we can and need to do to help them.  They say a pictures is worth a thousand words, and they are right.

This picture is a orthopedic clinic in Kabul, Afghanistan.  When I look at it, I have many different thoughts going through my head.  As I look at the women helping the young child, I can help but notice and feel the care that she has for this child and that she's helping them do something that they can't do for themselves.  I don't know the relation of the women to the child, but no matter what it is, you can tell that she genuinely cares and wants to help the child. 

Salgado, Sebastiao. Migrations. AMAZONAS Images.  Paris. 2000. photograph 78.

www.unicef.org/salgado/bio.htm

Summertime Family

3 of my Favorites:

I love my family and spending time with them.  

Bear Lake is my most favorite place on earth.  

Boating is the best summertime activity.