Good morning, Internets. You may have forgotten that there are other authors for this SHC blog besides Meg (who I should add has done a fantastic job holding down the fort through the entire semester). It was an extremely busy semester for all of us here at Penn State, but we’ve made it to Winter Break.
Archive for the 'Politics' Category
So right now, I am laying in my cozy bed back at Kent, trying to recover from an annoying cold I picked up in Morocco. I just finished uploading all my trip pictures on Facebook, and now I feel sadly empty. I apologize if this blog post reads more like a diary entry. Here I go, reminiscing about everything that I saw over the past two and a half weeks.
On April 16, my friend Mike and I headed off on our grand adventure. Venice was the first place we went to, and it was absolutely gorgeous. We stayed at a cabin in a campsite located on the edge of the lagoon, and so we had to take a boat every day to reach the actual city of Venice. It was a lot of fun taking boats everywhere. Once we were in Venice, we took water buses (the V
enetian version of the Blue Loop) up and down the Grand Canal. It was rather surreal to see entire homes and buildings built on water. Even when we were walking on land, every few minutes or so, we would need to cross over another bridge. The water was a beautiful blue-green color. It was exciting to see so much commerce and traveling done by boat. One of the main attractions we explored the Doge’s Palace (the Doge was the Head of State back when Venice was a Republic). I did not realize how powerful Venice used to be. They had a strong navy (of course), and had control over many territories. Also, their control over trade with the Middle East and Asia made them fabulously wealthy. It was impossible to find a room in the Doge’s Palace that wasn’t dripping with gold, paintings, or exquisite glass work. Overall, Venice was an amazing city to visit. Their rich history, unique way of life, and beautiful crafts made Venice one of my favorite places I have visited so far.
After Venice (and a day trip to Verona, Italy), we headed onward to Barcelona. Barcelona was a cool city, with
lively nightlife and unique architecture. Our time in Barcelona was spent going to the beach, sampling the tapas menus around town (tapas are basically Spanish appetizers), and simply being witness to the busy and constantly in motion city life. When we were there, Barcelona was hosting the Barcelona-Manchester United football match, meaning that the city was flooded with the British. It was interesting to see the Brits outside of their own country, enjoying the power of their British pound. The Spanish were much more reserved compared to the unashamedly boisterous Brits.
After Barcelona, we took a grueling 9 hour train ride down to Granada, Spain. This was also one of my favorite places we visited. The scenery was breathtakingly gorgeous, as the snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountains surrounded this small Moorish city. The Moors were an Islamic people who once lived in Spain, until the Spanish monarchy kicked them out in the 15th and 16th centuries. Their influence on the architecture was quite apparent in Granada. Many windows were of the classic Islamic design, and one of the most awe-inspiring 
sights was the Alhambra, an old Moorish castle that sits on a hilltop looking over the city. We spend the day walking around the hilly streets and frequently stopping for tapas snacks. In the late afternoon, we hiked up the hills that lay directly outside of Granada. It was a hot day, and the climb was taxing. But once we reached the top of the hills, the view was unbelievable. Granada lay below us, spread out like a fairy-tale city. The Sierra Nevada mountains dominated the horizon. Gypsies have been in these hills for over 1,000 years, and they live in caves carved into the hills. We stopped at one cave where a gypsy man was selling mint tea. We sat on his makeshift benches, sipped our tea, and took in the quiet scenery. After a long while, we headed back down to Granada, back to the hustle and bustle of civilization.
Unfortunately, we had planned for only one day in Granada. Early the next morning, we headed to Algeciras to catch a ferry to Morocco. Morocco was the last leg of our journey, and it certainly was the strangest and most exotic place I went to. I cannot say whether or not I like Morocco or not. I am still recovering a little from the drastically different culture I experienced. All I can say is that my Moroccan experience changed me and made me question basic beliefs and values I thought that I had.
When we arrived off the ferry in Tangier, Morocco, we were immediately bombarded by men wanting to be our guide, or taxi drivers wanting to drive us around. We were quickly forced to accept the persistence of these people. As we were trying to find a hotel to stay at, multiple men simply started walking with us, providing us with information about the city, and wanting to take us to their “brother’s fine rug shop”. Of course, they all expect to be paid for this information, even though we never asked for it. We finally told one man to go away, and he immediately got angry and followed us, shouting at us that since we were the tourists, we should go away.
Morocco is officially a Muslim country, and the clothing of women is the most obvious indicator of this. The traditional dress of most women is a long, plain robe and a headscarf. To blend in, and hopefully not be hassled by any more “tour guides”, I put on a headscarf. I soon found that this was a mistake. As soon as I left the hotel, an old woman approached me, grabbed my arm, and started giving me a concerned lecture in Arabic. Of course, I have no idea what she said to me, but she must have assumed that I was another Moroccan girl. Perhaps she was wondering why I was in the company of a Westerner (Mike was still obviously a tourist, with his pale skin and blue eyes). But after that, I did not wear a headscarf.
After Tangier, we traveled to Fes, Meknes, and Marrakech. We explored the medinas of the city, which are 
ancient marketplaces where craftsmen make and sell their goods. The medina of Fes was like a maze, with over 15,000 streets. Everywhere we went, even small children would follow us and offer their guiding services. As a woman, sometimes I felt uncomfortable. Mike constantly had to be with me, otherwise, men would stare and ogle at me, a lone woman without a headscarf. Moroccan women have clear-cut roles. They are domestic housewives, and the women were noticeably paler than the men due to spending most of their time indoors. Sidewalk cafes lined the streets of every city, yet only the men were the ones who relaxed, sat down, and drank tea with their friends for hours. I was almost always the only woman at a cafe. One cafe didn’t even have a women’s bathroom. I was also treated differently. In restaurants, if Mike ordered something, the waiter sometimes did not take my order, but simply brought me whatever Mike had ordered. I was assumed to be his wife on many occasions, and was referred to as only “Madam”. Many times, the Moroccan assumption was that Mike made all the decisions and was the clear authority.
The most scary thing that happened for me was when I got sick the last two days in Morocco. It started out as a normal cold, but by the second day, my sore throat had gotten intolerably painful. We didn’t have ibuprofen, Advil, Tylenol, or anything like that. On our last day, we were in Marrakech. But I wasn’t even able to enjoy the wonders of the city as I wandered around in a daze, trying to ask various shopkeepers if they had pain medication. None did. All of the pharmacies were closed because it was a national holiday. It struck me that in the United States, even on Christmas, at least convenience stores would be open, and they all carry some form of medicine. I was stuck in an unfamiliar country, I didn’t know how to ask for pain medication in Arabic or French, shopkeepers had no idea what Tylenol even was (plus I didn’t know any brand names that would be familiar to Moroccans), and I had no idea of where to turn for help. So, I bought some Halls and dealt with it.
Morocco was a beautiful country, with amazing architecture and ancient cities. Many people were exceptionally friendly to us, and that helped us deal with the annoyance of the numerous and persistent “tour guides”. There were so many little things that were different from the US and other European countries, and many of the differences were not necessarily negative. A major reason I became an international politics major was that I strongly disagree with American ethnocentrism. I enjoy learning about and experiencing other cultures, and I do not believe that American culture or government is necessarily the best. However, after Morocco, my views are slightly altered. I used to heavily disagree with judging other cultures by Western standards. Now, I have the experience of being a Westerner in a completely non-Western country with strict codes of conduct, and I definitely appreciate the benefits of our modern, secular, liberal society. I think the blatant delegation of women as second-class citizens is very unfair. I enjoy having the freedom of choosing how I dress. I like knowing that if I walk around the streets of the US and England alone, this does not automatically mean that I am an object that men have the right to ogle at. I feel comforted knowing that if I eat food in a restaurant, there is a health code that helps to guarantee the safety of what I am eating. There are many other benefits of having an organized, advanced, liberal society, and I think that is what the US and England has achieved to some extent. I know that I am now evaluating a completely different culture by Western standards, a practice that I once completely disagreed with. But now I think that there are absolute standards of living in this world. Anywhere, no matter what the culture, I think that it is better to have the freedom to make one’s own decisions and have the benefits of a healthier life. Differences in culture and religion, of course, should always be appreciated and respected. But now I believe that there are and should be certain universal standards on how well a country and society functions in terms of how it provides for its citizens. Whew. That was my serious political and philosophical ramble. Back to our trip . . .
I was so happy to be back in England. I immediately went to the local Boots (an English pharmacy similar to a CVS) and bought ibuprofen and Sudafed (they had a whole wall of cold medicines!!). Going home, unpacking, and doing familiar routines again was really nice. Now, I enjoy reminiscing and looking back over the pictures from the comforts of my bed. Still, I think that this trip was valuable beyond measure. In total, I experienced 6 different languages, 9 different cities, 2 different continents, and 3 different governments and countries.
Now, one more month in England. Three finals, then I am outta here. I really do miss Penn State. I love England wholeheartedly, and this entire experience has been priceless. But now, it’s almost time to go home. I am strangely relieved. Well, thanks for reading (if you made it as far as this:)
Aloha from Honolulu! … oh, if only. Sadly, there was no island adventure in the plans for my spring break – just a return home to good ol’ suburban Philadelphia. I’ve actually been “on break” since Friday morning after getting the express bus home (and I mean express – about 2 hours and 50 minutes from the State College bus station to the park and ride lot in KoP), and have been meaning to write another blog post for several weeks now, but life continues to get in the way, just like in all of your lives. Then I saw this just now on my RSS feed reader…
…and I realized it was time for a brief update. (Thank you, Cheezburger?, for keeping me grounded.)
“One day you will also face history.”
-Paul Rusesabagina @ Penn State – 2/7/08
The SHC recently hosted Paul Rusesabagina, the hotelier-turned-humanitarian whose selfless leadership saved thousands during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Speaking to an packed auditorium Thursday night, Rusesabagina talked about genocide, his Hotel Rwanda fame and the necessity of intervention in Africa.
For me, Rusesabagina is more controversial than his amazing story would seem.
We are nearing the end of January, and today is only the 12th day of class this semester, but most students here at Penn State have already readjusted their schedules from winter break and are throwing themselves into their classes, extracurriculars, and homework. It has been an extremely busy past two and a half weeks for me, and it will likely only be getting busier. Full details after the jump.
ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) — What began as a routine training exercise almost ended in an embarrassing diplomatic incident after a company of Swiss soldiers got lost at night and marched into neighboring Liechtenstein.
Associated Press, “Swiss Accidentally Invade Liechtenstein,” 3/2/2007, The New York Times
i think that just about speaks for itself 
happy week-before-spring-break, all!
ah…washington – despised and exalted in various turns, home of the lobbyists, politicians, civil servants, and, of course, the demonstrators. but aside from the political significance, Washington is also the home of the state bureaucracy – the nameless civil servants and military officials that keep the nation running (moderately) smoothly. we often don’t see this side of the city; the scandals of the rich and influential overshadow the silent contributions of many federal workers. But they’re there, weathering all types of administrations and leaders. Yesterday, several SHC students (including yours truly) got the chance to see some of them, through a tour of the Pentagon arranged by Ms. Mary Beth Long, an SHC alum.
For me, the tour held special significance as my uncle is a JAG with the Navy (no it’s not at all like the TV show!). Because he and his family live quite close to the Pentagon, I spent the night with them before the tour (I even considering catching a ride into work with him, but, getting up at 5:45 seemed a little too early XP). that evening, as I watched him prepare his uniform for the next workday, I was struck by how different our worlds were. as PSU ROTC guys and gals know, everything in his uniform had to be exactly to standards. while no drill sergeant would be screaming about his unpolished shoes the next day, the indoctrinated habits of a military man still ruled the way he pinned and re-pinned his insignia till it was perfectly straight. For me, a lackadaisical college student with a uniform of jeans and a T-shirt, this concept was utterly foreign.
The feeling of being a stranger in a strange land was reinforced the next day on the pentagon tour. anytime we were in the building, we had to wear badges announcing our alien nature: “Vistor” they shouted against a bright yellow background “Escort required at all times.” And our guides were serious about their escort duties, even requiring us to be accompanied to buy food for lunch. While our escorts were good-natured and friendly, they were also deadly-serious about adhering to protocol.
Perhaps the highlight of our time at the pentagon was not necessarily the 45-minute tour (the Pentagon, after all, is essentially a glorified office building). Instead, the more interesting aspect was the panel discussion that Ms. Long coordinated. While the actual Q&A section was cut short (another group had booked the room), the biographies of the panelists were quite interesting, as was the brief discussion (lots of “I can neither confirm nor deny that statement.”) Ms. Long herself is quite a character: while a Penn State student, she spent a semester living independently in China, which at that time (80s) was still in the grips of violent “campaigns against spiritual pollution”. Serving as a translator for a nascent IBM, she also taught English classes to the Chinese cadre, teaching them basic phrases like “What’s your name? Where were you born? Etc?” At the time, her intentions were perfectly innocent; she was teacher helping her students. However, upon her return to the States, her detailed notes from her classes caught the attention of our big brother, the CIA. In essence, these notes provided perfect ground-level intel, and after dumping her data to the CIA, she took a job as professional spook. In that role, she traveled for quite a few years, living in various countries under the cover of a “State Department employee” (spy movie conventions sometimes *are* true). Later on, she went back to the states and through law school, etc, found her way to her current job as a policy analyst for the Department of Defense.
To me, Mary Beth’s story was personally intriguing: I plan to travel in China independently sometime during the next year, probably as an English teacher (wonder if the CIA is still looking at students). However, her story was also compelling in that it opened my eyes to the career path of a civil servant. As one of the panelists commented, “Almost every job in the civilian sector is mirrored in some position in the federal government.” To someone still trying to decide what to do with his life, the concept of civil service (especially as some kind of policy analyst) was appealing – you serve your country, not the bottom line, and deal with real issues, not just corporate struggles for hegemony. Other fields provide similar gratification (science – “serve the betterment of humankind”) but provide less direct influence over how your actions will affect others (nuclear physicists definitely didn’t intend for their basic research to enable the slaughter of civilians).
So, in the end, the pentagon visit opened my eyes to another career path (and to how cool it is to have alums in interesting places). I should also note that most of our group toured CSIS after the Pentagon visit. While I couldn’t make it for that tour, I’ve heard very good things about CSIS, including the fact that the SHC has several exclusive internships with them. 
Talk to DB for more info.
the endnote: Unfortunately, it was the Pentagon, and umm, I didn’t want to end up in jail, so there are no pictures. There will be some next time, promise.
- VOTE OR DIE?
- Damien Rice and my soundcard
As i was urinating this morning, i was reading the conveniently placed flyer on the wall of the stall (i’m a poet, i know it). It was about tomorrow’s election, and how young people don’t vote. This is all well and good, as the flyer made very good points (that i’ll paraphrase in the following)
- If college students ever organized, they would be the largest interest group out there aside from the AARP.
- a lot of the policies made in congress affect students more than anyone else
- congressmen tend not to listen to the concerns of young people because they don’t vote.
There were a few other points the flyer made, but then i was completely taken aback by the last line on the flyer “Vote tomorrow, even if you don’t know anything.”
I don’t know how other people feel about this, but to me, i’d rather have people making no decisions than making ignorant ones. Voting without knowing anything, or voting for someone just because your parents vote for them seems detrimental to the idea of democracy. Yes, voting is a right, but that doesn’t mean we are required to do it. Driving is a right, should we all drive even if we have no idea how to?
That’s just my opinion… what does everyone else think?
In other news… Damien Rice’s new album comes out next week after a very long 5 years since his remarkable last album (it’s on Napster… go listen!) Buttttt the soundcard on my computer doesn’t work, well actually the soundcard works, but when i go into the “sounds and audio devices” panel, i can’t choose an audio playback device… it’s just grey and unclickable
and then i found 10 dollars, and someone to help meeeeee.
Sadaam’s going to die! yayyyy
So, my RSS feed picked up a rather interesting story today. Apparently, there is a now a new fantasy sports league online. Rather than being centered on athletic events like football or baseball, however, this competition is dedicated to the one truly intense sport in America: politics. The rules work the same way as the normal league, only now instead of drafting bruisers like Barber or Polamalu, you can pick powerhouses like Casey or Santorum. The strategies aboud: do you tread the safe route of incumbancy or pick the rash young upstarts? Do you throw your votes to the independents (like possibly Lieberman!) or stick with the tried-and-true Rs and Ds?
Needless, to say, I signed up immediately. My friend, Matt P, has created a PSU league that you can join if you’d like. The password to sign up is joepaterno.
See you online!
PS. Oh…and if you need a primer on the races, check out Wiki’s take.
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