today is one of those wonderful days where
everything in the world makes sense
and all the dots can be connected in a
satisfying inspiring way that makes me
feel so excited for not just the future, but for now!

most of this happy energy is coming from just
being in class, talking and connecting with
my professors today and the sunshine
that has finally arrived in wellington.

my PASI prof beamed when i was the only
person in class who knew what tabula rasa was
and explained it to everyone.
(this week's theme in pacific studies is: education!)

my ANTH professor was ecstatic when he
found out i was going to tonga in a few days.
he asked me to take pictures of EVERYTHING & show him,
not just look for "tradition" but to attend
a pentecostal service because these what are construct
the modern tongan identity today.

then he was even more ecstatic when he found out
i was born in utah and knew something about
tongan diasporas in relation to mormonism.

finally, he was beyond ecstatic when he
was discussing his admiration for his
friend/fellow colleague's work on
'multiple modern identities' and i said
"he's my art history professor!"
(because he is).

then as we were walking out, i asked him
about the relationship between
papua new guinea and indonesia;
one's muslim and the other increasingly christian.
how does that...play out especially amongst
other political/border tensions?
but he said they "actually get along quite well."
o__O?