Climate Change is Reality

I went to a talk at The Climate Reality Project today and we discussed the dangers of the Earth's drastically changing climate. Climate Change is a buzzword not taken seriously by many Americans, and viewed as taboo. But through my studies in D.C. and in Costa Rica, it is a phenomena I now believe in, because of factual data that most people choose not to see. Here is a basic video Climate Reality Project sponsored, and it is a great explanation of what is happening. I encourage you to watch it, and think twice about the significant rains and higher temperatures we've experienced this year alone.

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas!

Union Station

We took some time after our internships to explore the Christmas decorations around Washington, D.C. Union Station was the most beautiful: light up wreaths on the outside of the building that could be seen several blocks away and garland lining the stairs inside. There was even a model train track!

A California Dream Come True

jumping into a huge pile of leaves!

california girls 

a real fall, with colorful leaves and bare trees

America the Beautiful

"American history is longer, larger, more various, more beautiful, and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it." -James Baldwin

"I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually." -James Baldwin

These quotes were given to me at a good time, having just finished a project researching the complex issues of gentrification and segregation affecting D.C. I have seen the beauty of my capital city and the terrible failures of my capital city during my four months here. I realize now, more than before, how lucky and privileged I am to have grown up in Orange County, with a supportive family, attending private school and university. And I have come to truly appreciate being an American by fully recognizing the rights I am entitled to, not only feeling guilty by my status or by my nation's violent history. 

I believe America has a beautiful and terrible history marked by patriotism, democracy, oppression, and inequality. We are the first to defend human rights abroad, but ignore injustice in our own country. We offer opportunity, but only if you look a certain way. We rejoice in our powerful army, and forget to use our words to solve problems. And I believe that too often America gets painted only as "the land of the free" and is regarded as the most beautiful country without acknowledging the terrible.

I voted for the first time this year. It was the first time I knew not only the names of the major candidates, but could discuss their political stances. I watched all of the nomination speeches and debates. And I streamed anything available to watch the results of election night in Costa Rica. I actually felt powerful as a voter, because I was able to vote for a man who would protect the rights of the most vulnerable in my country and in the developing countries of the world. It was exciting to listen to the excitement of my international classmates cheer for Obama's re-election. I find that I feel overwhelmingly proud or overwhelmingly guilty by my American nationality. I am in an extremely important position to create change in the world, but who am I to be born in the United States?

Really, I feel that America has the potential to be truly beautiful, if it didn't perpetuate terrible actions, beliefs, oppressions, and hypocrisy. I believe it is the most influential country in the world, but it needs to take responsibility for its influence and create positive change in the world without worrying about image or allies or saving face. I'm waiting, America.

New York Thanksgiving

The perfect way to start the holiday season

cinnamon apple cider in Bryant Park

photos in the middle of the street in times square!

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas!

i've decided i must begin every christmas season in new york.

What I Learned in Costa Rica (alternate blog post)

I chose the Environment & Development program at Washington Semester mostly because of the travel to Costa Rica. I'd take any chance possible to get back to Central America. And while I was passionate about studying international development, I had limited knowledge of environmental issues. It was the trip to Costa Rica that taught me most about the environment, even if I didn't always understand what I was seeing. 

In Costa Rica we visited countless reserves - rainforests, cloudforests, butterfly reserves, national parks, lakes, beaches, volcanoes, wind turbines, and eco-friendly hotels. I didn't always share the initial excitement of a new forest or a new bird sighting, mostly because I didn't understand the significance, but our nature guides and my classmates taught me so much. I learned not only about beautiful animals, but how all creatures affect the eco-system. And that saving animals can be just as important as saving people. Bats no longer scare me! I learned about the positives of alternative wind and/or water energy, and how the benefits are worth the costs. I appreciate the wind turbines that I see along California! I  learned how negatively human beings impact the environment, sickening animals and damaging natural resources. And, I am convinced that climate change is a real problem.

Most importantly, I learned how extremely connected environmental issues are to developmental issues. It seems so obvious. And yet none of my previous classes ever demonstrated that to me. In Erasmus, I could note how lack of available resources, or poor farming possibilities, forced women and children into sex slavery but it was never so defined for me until this class. And I learned it visually as well, traveling through Costa Rica and Nicaragua. 

Here are some of the organizations we worked with:

Santa Rosa National Park

Kids Saving the Rainforest

Monte Verde Institute
Tio Antonio
Si Como No

My Costa Rica Experience (alternate blog post)

To describe Costa Rica, I must first start with the country's slogan pura vida. pure life. It is a greeting, a response, a compliment, an expression, and an attitude. The ticos (Costa Ricans) were savvy about tourism and rainforest conservation. The entire country, from citizens to NGO employees to government officials to foreign investors were all committed to protecting the environment. It was an attitude very different from wasteful Americans or poverty-burdened Salvadorans. (much of our visit included speculating how the conservation was a priority throughout all of Costa Rica.)

Costa Rica is rightfully called one of the most beautiful places in Latin America. The whole country is beautiful - mostly because there are so many trees, and so many birds and animals around {I sight I have missed back in D.C.} Exotic flowers and tall trees grow in the rainforest preservations, large rolling fields of green line the highways, and beaches back up to forests. But the country seems exceptionally beautiful because there are limited views of poverty and human suffering. Costa Rica has officially been classified as a "developed" country, with the majority of the population earning $10/day. Not many people greet you on the sidewalk, dirty and asking for money. There is not a lot of trash on the ground. Buses are clean and sleek. It were these missing views that threw me off the most, having traveled to Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. In general, the ticos were friendly, but they were also very arrogant. I had heard this complaint from my Salvadoran friends, that Costa Ricans are arrogant, and look down upon other Latinos. Costa Rica is a developed country, with lots of foreign support and no need for an army, with sanitation plans and environmental conservation programs. Costa Rica is miles ahead of all other Central American countries, and the ticos are very proud. Our Costa Rican tour guide, Giuliano, was very nice, very invested in our education, and very passionate about all things of nature. He showed us many good things about Costa Rica, and encouraged my Spanish. One of the best things about heading back to Central America, in addition to beans and rice (pinto gallo) was speaking and hearing Spanish. Speaking the language of the country I'm visiting makes the whole experience more enriching - feeling comfortable communicating, impressing the locals, bartering for jewelry, and having the opportunity to ask questions and start discussions. Ticos are very used to American tourists, but it is more fulfilling to speak to the taxi driver, the nature guide, and the speaker. 

We also spent three days in Granada, Nicaragua, which was starkly different from developed Costa Rica. I felt both more comfortable and less comfortable. Much of the views - of the countryside, of people in their fincas, of poor people on the streets - reminded of El Salvador. These views reminded me of El Salvador, a place I love and miss. These views were what I was used to when traveling (social justice trips), but it doesn't make them acceptable. One of the worst things I witnessed in Granada was a street fight among street kids high on glue. I was so helpless, so unable to act. So not American. I don't ever feel voiceless in the United States, but there was nothing I could do or say for those two minutes in Nicaragua. But also in Granada was a café run by deaf and mute citizens, who also went to school and made hammocks to sell. There is a lot of good in Nicaragua, but an outdated negative opinion disguises it.

         

more photos around DC

sunshine at mount vernon

class visit to the zoo

outside malia & sasha obama's school

famous ben's chili bowl

ben's chili bowl - i ate what the president ate!

different views of the washington monument

east coast sunrise (view from my dorm room)

Gender affecting Education

This news brief popped up on my gmail today, and I found it worth sharing

Malala galvanizes Pakistan, world to fight for education for girls

Efforts to improve education for girls throughout the developing world now have "an icon for a global movement" in Malala Yousafzai, the 14-year-old Pakistani girl seriously wounded last week by Taliban gunmen who viewed her advocacy for girls' education as "promoting Western culture." Yousafzai "is being adopted as every child's sister and every parent's daughter," writes Gordon Brown, former prime minister of Britain, where she was flown over the weekend for medical treatment. Tens of thousands of people rallied in her support Sunday in the Pakistani capital, Karachi.

CNN

Any people anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up, and shake off the existing government, and form a new one that suits them better. This is a most valuable - a most sacred right - a right, which we hope and believe, is to liberate the world.

-Abraham Lincoln

I am a huge fan of Abraham Lincoln as a man, a president, and an emancipator. I believe his quote above represents the foundation upon which the United States of America was founded, as well as the sense of duty we have felt to liberate struggling countries. I must say that I agree with Lincoln’s quote, as I believe each individual has a right to life, including the right to choose how he/she should be governed. I understand the reasons for which rules and government were founded, but sometimes it seems power and government do more bad than good in the world.

It is a globally known fact that Americans have very low voter turnout. Americans have the “the power, the right to . . . shake off the existing government” by voting for the candidate they like the most. Yet it seems as if our right to vote is something we take for granted. Or perhaps the majority of Americans just don’t care enough. Another question Lincoln’s quote raises during this election time is, what if neither candidate represents fully enough a new government that suits us better?

In my Environment and Development class, we frequently discuss the idea of the U.S. contributing to foreign aid – what are the benefits, and why do Americans generally not support it? Personally I am pro-U.S. foreign aid, especially because today, many international organizations are requiring governments to create and enforce laws for gender equality and water sanitation before receiving aid. So by voting for an American president that suits the Free World, should we also consider the significance of voting for a president that supports foreign aid that can ultimately “liberate the world”?

What I've Seen in D.C.

first glimpses of fall

top-secret motorcade crossing

U.S. Department of State

                      Lincoln featured at the Portrait Gallery

                 A Day at the World Bank!

Old Ebbit Grill, classy restaurant across from the National Treasury, full of senators

    touring the Capitol building

and most importantly

"It's October 3rd"

HAPPY MEAN GIRLS DAY!

[[what an appropriate day to begin presidential debates]]

A No Brainer

President Obama Speaks Out against Human Trafficking

I was able to listen to a live-stream of this speech while answering emails at my internship

At the Clinton Global Initiative yesterday, President Obama spoke out against the "debasement of our common humanity" - modern day slavery. As an abolitionist, it is encouraging to hear the President of the Free World speak out so firmly against the harsh realities of human trafficking. He noted strategies to abolish modern day slavery, including steps to be taken by the United States as well as foreign countries. 

Iwas happy to hear the President state that traffickers are to be held accountable, and that the U.S. will be tracking corporate practices and supply chains. Additionally, it is so important that the United States will now be listed on the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report as a country with an issue of human trafficking, because as a developed nation we think we are immune. But our nation is an unfortunate participant in modern day slavery. 

"American tax dollars must never, ever be used to support the trafficking of human beings."

 Thank you, President Obama. But it is a lot to live up to. The speech seemed extremely optimistic - which is to be expected at such a conference - but I know I am interested to witness, and be a part of, U.S. abolition efforts. 

"Our people, and our children, are NOT FOR SALE."

Slavery Footprint

finding comfort

Today I interviewed Abby, the head of development and engagement at Atlas Corps for a class assignment. Abby is an Atlas Corps Fellow alum who is passionate about Latin America and fun to talk to about traveling and Latin food. She is immediately friendly, outgoing and passionate, always greeting me with a smile. Abby also attends networking events and hosts information sessions for visitor, and she is a great person to represent the Atlas Corps organization. I do not work directly with Abby, but she makes me feel like part of the team and is very encouraging at staff meetings.

Atlas Corps is a very small non-profit: four people work in my office, I bring my own laptop to work on, and calls are overheard by everyone on the floor. The organization shares offices with many people from other organizations, and we are in the process of organizing and cleaning as a new non-profit will be sharing our offices with us starting Friday. I have never worked in such cramped corners, but I do not mind the situation. Everyone is available and easy to reach, we are all friendly and naturally forced into conversation, and co-workers bring pie to share. Another great thing about working in a small office is the sense of community and small shared victories. Last week Atlas Corps celebrated two major funding approvals with champagne and group congratulations recognizing a “team” effort.  Even the interns were invited to celebrate and thanked for their hard work so far. What has impressed me the most while interning at Atlas Corps is that everyone is genuinely interested in their work, constantly engaged, and truly passionate.

Colombia Heights, Washington, D.C.

This is a picture I took while visiting Colombia Heights for authentic, delicious pupusas with a friend I met in El Salvador. Colombia Heights is a predominantly Latino community in Washington D.C., where conversations are conducted in Spanish, English lessons are offered at community centers, and women push fruit carts on the sidewalk. Colombia Heights is one of my favorite places to go. My friend and I were sitting on the steps surrounding this fountain, sharing pan dulce, and watching the young girl on the bike run in and out of the water. My friend commented that he felt so comfortable in this Latino setting, like he was home. And his thoughts reflect mine. I knew that transitioning from community living in El Salvador to internships and seminars in D.C. would be a challenge for me. But exploring Colombia Heights has eased my transition.  gracias a dios.