CMUN 217 Final

A little stressful, but the most fun I´ve had for a final. It was a great experience to be able to attempt a broadcast news piece. It was also wonderful to be able to use and learn about the newsroom Loyola has. Without this final I probably wouldn´t have been able to use this room or work in it with such confidence. Thanks Professor Lamberti.

May 7th; Landed in Peru

My flight to Peru was smooth and pretty uneventful, except for what  I believe to be cabin pressure affecting my sinuses. That was pretty bad. My right ear finally unclogged itself today. I went through customs and got my luggage all under 20 mintues, I want to say. That never happened to me, but I am glad it did cause I got to see my babe sooner.

It was aamazing to see Eduardo again. He yelled out my name and we embraced. For a few seconds in the airport,  we did the typical lovely dovey stuff, but it was beautiful to me. It was so wonderful to feel his love again. He is at work now, but when he comes home I can feel the love all over again.

While he was at work we went to his grandmother´s house to celebrate Mother´s Day. That was a pleasant experience for the most part and of course I would have preferred if Eduardo was there. Regardless, it was nice to be there and reconnect with his family I have not seen in a long time either. I also met one of his uncles (in some sense of the word) who spoke English. He was very nice with me and tried to encourage me to speak Spanish. I said a few things and we had a nice conversation otherwise, but I still need more mentoring from Eduardo. I just don´t have the vocabulary to say what I want, even the simple things. That is a problem, but with Eduardo´s help , my friends´ help, and the Spanish I course I am taking next semester things are looking better.

Osama is Dead

But does that mean we should celebrate his death? I find it very unsettling that people are grinning ear to ear, smiling, and cheering in large crowds because of the news. They look like heartless monsters themselves. To make matters worse, Miley Cyrus's song Party in the USA has become the theme song for celebrating Osama's death and 'America's victory'.

From my perspective, there are many things wrong with this. This nationalist approach of celebrating Osama's death, once again rienforces the 'Us vs Them' ideology. This mindset does not help intercultural communication and understanding and thus contributes to misunderstandings and major world problems. How simple-minded and selfish to assume that only Americans have been the victims of fundamental Islam and Osama's teachings, and that we only have a stake in such matters.

Also,  I feel celebrating his death makes that person similarly just as bad and twisted. I understand feeling at peace or relieved when a person who commits haneous crimes is gone from this world. In the end, it is important to be the bigger person, accept what has happened, take it for what it is, and find a more meaningful and positive way to move on. I think it is better to celebrate a person's life and honor their memory when they pass away. If there is nothing worth celebrating about that person's life in your eyes then move on. As the old saying goes, 'two wrongs don't make a right.'

Leaving for Peru

In less than a week I will be heading down to Lima, Peru. WHEE! I am very happy to be able to see my partner Eduardo again, I miss him terribly! It is so hard to be away from him so long.

Starting today, I am going to use this blog to talk about long distance relationships, my personal relationship, advice, daily things going on with me, and Peruvian topics/issues, and other things that could possibly spring up that I didn't think of now.

I want to try to blog frequently while I am there. Eduardo will be working during the day, so I need to be creative with what to do with my time. Also, on another social media website I met another woman who has a similar relationship story to mine. It will be cool to met up with her and her boyfriend in Lima for some outings. Life is exciting.