Before I dissapear for a week or so, I wanted to share this website with everyone.
Archive for October, 2008
So it’s the beginning of a crazy few weeks for me.
On Friday I’m traveling with my supervisor out of Bobete, and stopping for a few days to see some other volunteers. After that I’m headed to Maseru, where I will spend the night to catch the [i]six am bus[/i] to Becky’s site. And I thought I had it bad with transportation. I will be in Nkau for a week, getting to know the staff down there, seeing how they work, and just generally goofing off. There is supposed to be some nice hiking, so I’ll try to get pictures up. Two weeks from today, while I am still in Nkau, is November 4. I hear there is something of some significance happening that night.
But before all that. I had some guests this weekend, Merrill and Karrin. We had a great time, and showing off Bobete to people is always fun. After awhile the roads around here become second nature, and it takes a visitor to remind you that they actually are terrifying.
We did a video the last night they were here. Enjoy:
A quick note:
I’m a little surprised at the direction this blog has taken. Rather than the more or less straightforward recording of events I had originally meant to write, it’s become a bit more introspective. I’m still not sure if this may be a bit too livejournalesq, but it is certainly different. Then again, this whole of the last few months has been more introspective than full of interesting daily events. As long as that’s the case, I figure I might as well embrace writing about myself. Besides, it’s a lot better on the ego that writing about work every day.
It is nice to have a chance to read and really think about everything. I’m not sure will agree with that in two years, but for now it’s good to ponder a single passage in a book for an afternoon after work. Reinhold Niebuhr has been a project of the last few weeks, based on a few articles I downloaded last spring, thinking they might become a paper. It’s not the same as having his actual books (hint to anyone thinking of sending reading material), but it does the trick.
Last week’s passage, what with Yom Kippur and just generally finding myself in a situation much larger than any individual effort:
Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime, therefore we must be saved by hope.
Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history, therefore we must be saved by faith.
Nothing we do, however virtuous, could be accomplished alone, therefore we must be saved by love.
No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our own standpoint, therefore we must be saved by the final form of love, which is forgiveness.
Niebuhr was writing (in “The Irony of American History”) to a Christian audience, but I think in a lot of ways the sentiment can be appreciated universally.
Niebuhr is fascinating to think about while here. His philosophy was based around the irony or paradox (Krista Tippett refers to these as his favorite words) between a kind of philosophic idealism in his belief in Christianity and the pragmatic view he took of world events. Reconciling idealism with pragmatism… sounds awfully familiar.
Oh, and off topic, a quick congratulations to Paul Krugman. He’s been fascinating reading through this whole economic mess we’re in, and well deserving of the Nobel. If you haven’t been reading him, now would be a good time to start.
And at long last, I’m back in my own house. Surrounded by pictures on the wall, a dresser, and a table and chairs. Life is good.
There was a fun moment when, about halfway through, the old roofer sat back and started laughing. After awhile he said “You know, this house [and roof] is older than I am. We’ll be back to replace the whole thing before too long.”
So for now the drama of the roof is over, but I’m guessing the studio is budgeting for a sequel.
Update: Looks like someone is coming to fix my roof tomorrow. Huzzah!
Given the events back home, I’m going to try my hand at political commentary. The debate season is upon us, and I’ve been lucky enough to see both the first presidential debate and the Biden/Palin debate yesterday. A few observations:
These were dramatically different debates. The styles of the four debaters are radically different from each other. While I am a huge Obama fan, I think Joe Biden’s job was the single best debate performance of this election cycle, from any candidate of any party. While Palin did avoid any Couric-esc meltdowns, her command of the issues and leadership were simply not on the same level as her opponent. Insofar as the Democrats’ job now is consolidating their gains, I cannot imagine a better job in either of the two debates so far.
At the risk of becoming part of the blogging echo chamber, I think it’s very telling that in snap polls released just after the debates, both Obama and Biden came out the winners by very similar margins (about 40/25, if I’m remembering right). This is a big coincidence, given the differences in the debates. Obama, while perhaps not as good a debater as Biden, was cool, collected, and very knowlegable. Biden, meanwhile, emotionally connected with the audience, and still demonstrated his strong command of the issues. The republicans also had huge differences—McCain and Palin could not be more different in their personalities or their strengths (McCain’s “What Sen. Obama doesn’t understand…” vs. Palin’s “So’s ya know”).
One hypothosis I’ve seen for the very similar polling after two different debates is that, for once, the public is not responding to persona but to policy. I thought it was telling that both Obama and Biden kept coming back to specific policies, making the case that they were better ideas, and genuinely important for people on an individual level. Could it be that the polling is reflecting that the Democrats this cycle simply have better ideas and are doing a better job explaining them? I had almost lost hope that such a thing is possible, but it seems to be the best explanation I’ve found.
I did vote last week, sent in my Federal Write In Ballot. I suppose I shouldn’t say who I voted for publicly, disclaimer blurb to the right notwithstanding. One month from now though is going to be a very, very interesting night.
