to socks

 "She was born a traveler, enduring several trips

up and down the coast,

sleeping in vans and crawling through hands.

she never bit a finger,

only pierced the souls of those she encountered.

she was sad she couldn't come to Europe,

but time apart only makes one stronger"

~photo & words by jack o.

i love it when people respond positively to my ideas

for research projects:

   "I totally love your topic and am equally interested in discovering different pedagogical approaches concerning multicultural education!"

"You guys have a really interesting topic.
Can I join in?
I would love to learn more about pedagogical approaches to the education system with diverse students."

this quarter is CRAY CRAY.

but i think i'm finally learning how to

balance things.

i miss this girl^^ so much.

she is one of the most real, honest,

warm & FUN people i know.

i associate her with

cold winter days in welly,

farmer's markets,

hot chocolate,

and te papa museum alarms.

i really miss being in new zealand.

 basically, i boarded a plane

to go live +7,000 miles away on an isolated

island in the south pacific.

the most adventurous, new, raw,

fresh, happy, and beautiful

7 months of my life.

~*~*~

taking KURA241 at victoria with joanna kidman

guided me to realize what i am most interested in/

might possibly pursue for grad school.

i didn't articulate into words until holly asked me today but basically...

i am getting more interested in looking at multi-cultural education and how the american ED system is responding/not responding to increasing diversity. and exploring how the curriculum can be improved in more creative and effective ways.

this is exciting :D

today was one of the best days of my life!

i...

*got an internship at an alternative elementary school

*hung out with 2 of my past ANTH TA grad students.

i chatted with them about:

marsh-landscapes, new zealand, mormonism,
tongan diasporas, epi-genetics, and
their constant hum of low-anxiety stress
and unhappiness, etc.

then when i told them i am
now an anthropology writing tutor they said:

"linda, i honestly can't imagine anyone
else who would be better at that than you"

and "i agree with heather,i can't think
of anyone else more perfect either."

then we talked about me going to
grad school for Education and they gave me
a tonnnn of ideas, suggestions
and trying to push me to do
Anthropology instead
but then they said
that if i cared about "happiness,
don't do it for anthropology,
definitely Education,
or combine them."

they also asked me for advice so i told
them my general philosophy for life:
that they had to try to be happy, healthy
and look at the overall picture.

*then at the backpacking club meeting,
i WON the rock-paper-scissors mega competition!
50 people were hysterically screaming and cheering my name~*~ 

cameron highlands; tanah rata

a walk through the woods

"...and hopefully we can catch up again

somewhere on this globe!

and you know my 'fale' is your fale :)

til next time.. fa soifua x"

-rachel

(she was my TA for PASI101:

 The Pacific Heritage)

in samoan, fale means home

& fa soifua means farewell.
--------

sometimes, i feel so overwhelmed at how

many wonderful, interesting and kind

people i have met since january.

o beautiful day.
first weekend back at school:

hike through pogonip to the garden of eden.

go forth.

lamb & eggplant are two of my favorite things.

today was so wonderful.

i bumped into my favorite

professor of all time, june,

while running to a meeting i was late for..

 she ran up to me, hugged me

and told me to come by her office

sometime. i can't wait to

tell her about my maori education

class in new zealand and

discuss "education for liberation"

(she knows a lot about this topic).

 my education classes seem so

fantastic, relevant and perfect.

the ED115 professor made a video of us

saying our names so he can

watch it over the weekend

and learn all our names.

i met with shelly and

next week, i get introduced to her

"Anthropology & Photography" class

as the writing tutor!

i had to be on campus all day
and have so many awkward long gaps
between classes,

so i sat outside on the knoll with

keevan and then we found jack

in the steve. cafe.
(jack just got back from sweden
but didn't get to eat too many
pastries because they were too $$)

then i joined the backpacking club

and 2 of my friends are the rec leaders!
about 100 of us played an intense
duck-duck-goose game
on the wet & dark east field.
then maryna and i drove home
through the fog & trees.

life is good 8)

i won the food systems raffle at fall festival!!

free ticket to hear Michael Pollan speak!

:D

Every Body Eats.

i will be employed for the rest of the year!

i'll have my own little office in the department

(with a key) that i share with the other 7 tutors.

apparently, it has 2 desks, paintings, a microwave,

and some sofas.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

kala brought me back some macarons

from her sister's wedding reception in sf.

her roommate, stephanie, also gave me

some hello kitty ones her aunt made.
i ate one of each and gave the other 2 to
my housemates.

while waiting at the social security office,

i read an article about food recall insurance

& another one about food preservation trucks.

then i came home and made myself

my first real lunch in my new apartment.

got some discount seeds at pro-build
& some for free at fall fest!

for some reason, james' kiwi accent

is even stronger on skype.

i had some trouble understanding him..
plus internet connectivity 7,000+ miles
apart is not so great.

testing oven 1 2 3

brown sugar cookies. tada!

kuala lumpur; malaysia

one of the most beautiful cities

i have ever been to. islamic architecture,

patterns, and designs are so intricate and unique.

we visited during ramadan so it was
extra interesting to be able to
hear all the prayer calls echo
throughout the entire city.

the professor that i am working for

told me that i seem

 "accomplished and adventurous."

she does anthropolgical & photographic field work
in oceania and south-east asia.
(how fortunate that i just went to these 2 places!)

(and that i wrote a 10-page research paper
on middle class emergence in papua new guinea
and took a course on art in the south pacific.)

nick and i met up with one of his friends

from high school who lives in singapore.

along the way, we walked through
this crazy subway station.

 then we went to the zoo and stayed
until 12:00am.

^first time i saw a sloth!

love sprouts?

make your own!

today, i got a plant & an

electro-man extension cord!

he has a light where his heart should be

& it lights up green when plugged in.

i've lived in 5 different places in the last 4 years.

here is the most recent place:

plants are up to something

in our little back yard.

"it is my observation, however,

that the more knowledge and interesting information

you know, the happier you are"

-heather o'neill 

author of lullabies for little criminals

故宫. 

 the kitchen with two refrigerators.

little india; singapore

on our last day in south-east asia, nick and i

went to little india. we saw some temples,

ate at hawker stalls, sipped mango lassis and

got hennas for 5 singaporean dollars.

the heat baked down on us as we

wandered around the streets. 

oh the colors!

i am going to be the writing tutor for

a course called "Anthropology & Photography"!

So before the school term begins,

I am going to the Professor's house

so we can bond, show each other

pictures and discuss things.

I am supposed to audit the class,

meet with & help students look over their papers,

give advice, work with the prof,

attend learning support services meetings, etc.

I also get paid!
(with money, credits, and experience~*).

i am also excited for my garden internship to start.

i think my housemate, maryna,

is one of the teachers :)

i love beijing in the autumn:
streaks of clouds, cool breezes.

it is the perfect time to visit

places like 天坛 (the temple of heaven).

my mom, sister and 80 year old grandma

had a jumping photoshoot in front of this

imperial sacrificial altar.

one day, i found myself in a garden in

the cameron highlands.

 butterflies, stick-bugs, snakes,

toads, turtles and various beetles inhabited this

humid paradise in the hills of tanah rata.

melaka, malaysia.