Alter Your Politics

1/7/11

"[T]he only thing that you can legitimately volunteer for in Latin America might be voluntary powerlessness, voluntary presence as receivers, as such, as hopefully beloved or adopted ones without any way of returning the gift."

- Ivan Illich, 1968

Q: So, what are you doing that's actually biology?

A: Biology is the study of life, right? Life is neatly defined and pretty in a prepared slide under a microscope. But whether you like it or not, life is also incredibly messy and dirty. It involves politics and the economy and land disputes and sex and drugs and trash collection and hitchhiking and noisy street markets and boredom, disappointment, and anticipation.

So, I am in Peru, studying life, doing biology.

I have consumed more alcohol, formed more calluses, and muttered "oh my good lord in heaven" more in the past few days than in my whole life.

I have read 456 pages of Jane Eyre.

I have also read an article in Cosmo Magazine entitled,

"ARE YOU RUNNING OUT OF TIME TO HAVE A BABY?"

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1/15/11

I'm back. My sister ate my oatmeal.

I got into Home School while falling in the ocean. The packet came in the mail today and they are already offering me $$$. I wasn't hugely enthusiastic after interview day but should they give me more after financials are turned in, it will become likely that I'll be sticking around these parts. This all depends, of course, on what goes down on February 1st (fingers crossed), and to a lesser extent, what goes down in mid-March.

Summary: Things are happening, nothing is final, long process, yada yada yada.