The Jasmine Teahouse

In the last couple of days, I have received several inquiries about the revolts that are happening in the Middle East. I am by no means an expert on the Middle East – those who know me well, know that I specialized on East Asia while I was in college. However, I still am an International Affairs professional, and as such I should be able to concisely, but analytically summarize what’s going on in the Middle East at the moment.

We shall start our journey in Tunisia. First of all, Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa and has a population of about 10 million people. It also happens to be the second richest country in Africa (the first being South Africa, in case you didn’t know.) Tunisia is a republic, meaning that there exists a separation of power between the executive and legislative branches of government, but until very recently, it was ruled by an authoritarian regime. President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali had been in power in Tunisia since 1987 – that’s 23 years! So, what happened? Despite the fact that Tunisia was doing relatively well economically compared to the rest of the African nations, it still had a lot of unemployment, food inflation, corruption, poor living conditions, and a lack of freedom of speech. The uprisings started sometime in mid-December of last year, but were exacerbated when Mohamed Bouazizi, protesting corruption and mistreatment by the police, set himself on fire on December 18, 2010. Mohamed Bouazizi was just your regular street vendor who had his goods confiscated by the police. In an act of solidarity towards Bouazizi, thousands of protesters gathered outside government buildings, but were “pacified” by the police. The revolts started growing and growing until Ben Ali, in order to appease the people, officially resigned on January 15, 2011. An interim government immediately took possession of power. It was comprised of 12 RCD (Constitutional Democratic Party, Ben Ali’s party) members, and a few others from 3 of the opposition parties. Free and transparent elections are to be held in Tunisia sometime in the next 6 months. However, Tunisians are not happy by the fact that the current government is made up of so many RCD members. Protests are still ongoing and the fate of the Tunisian government (and subsequently people) has yet to be decided. The Tunisian uprisings have also come to be known as the “the Jasmine Revolution” by the Western media.

The scent of the “Jasmine Revolution” has spread to other Arab countries, primarily Egypt and Yemen. Now, for those of you who don’t know, Egypt has been under a state of Emergency Law since 1967. Essentially, this means that police powers are extended, constitutional rights are suspended to a great degree, and censorship is legalized. Egypt’s President Mubarak has been in power since 1981, and was planning to run once again in the country’s upcoming elections. However, following Tunisia’s example, the citizens of Egypt decided to take a stand and started protesting on January 25, 2011. These are said to be the largest demonstrations in Egypt since 1977. As in Tunisia, Egyptians are protesting against: police brutality, the state of Emergency Law, lack of free speech, low minimum wages, high unemployment, corruption, etc. The city of Cairo is reported to be in complete chaos, despite policemen’s efforts to keep order and stability. A curfew has been set in place, and all those who are found to be in violation of it are threatened by gunshot. President Mubarak has not stepped down from his post, but he has dissolved his government and appointed new officials. Deaths in Egypt are reported to be well above the 150 mark.

The importance of the revolts in the Middle East transcends the peace and stability of the countries themselves. Out of the all the Arab states, only 3 are considered to be democratic: 1) Iraq – with its “democracy” being forced upon it by the United States; 2) Palestine – which is not even considered to be a sovereign nation-state under the watchful eyes of several other nations; 3) Lebanon – whose “democracy” is as stable as a pile of books resting on a single apple, and as transparent as mud. Also, President Mubarak is considered to be an essential figure in concreting and maintaining the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. As such, he is deemed to be a great ally of the West in their efforts to make a reality out of the Middle East peace efforts. You may ask yourselves, is the Arabs’ need for democracy finally awakening? Will all autocratic regimes in the regime start to topple one by one, as a domino effect? If they do, will the Arab nations see a return of the Islamic caliphate? These are all questions that are yet to be answered, but close monitoring of the situation in the Middle East is imperative in the days and months to come.

Bittersweet

Blessed be the emotions that once ran through my abandoned heart,
The very heart that was in deep slumber,
And had been in that state for what it seemed to be a thousand years.

But cursed be the pain,
The excruciating, life-sucking throbbing of the heart that took away my happiness, my hope, my soul…

Soul, which had grown accustomed to your poetry,
And had accepted the challenge of unraveling the great mystery that was you,
Willing to oversee your vices, your flaws, your sins…

But alas, soon I realized the path I was to embark upon.

I found myself alone, once again, utterly alone,
Without you by my side, without you to hypnotize me with your rhetoric…
A bittersweet anxiety overcame me,
Bitter, as is the longing of something that had once been close to being my own, but had slipped through my fingers, just as the smoothest silk slips through a child’s unlabored hand…
Sweet, as was the realization that I was free, that my soul belonged once again to me, and to me alone.

Dark Ages and Château Bandy... A glimpse into my life these days..

During the latter part of 2010, I went through a period that from now on will be called “The Dark Ages.” Actually, 2010 was a very emotional year in general. Lots of things happened, some good, some bad, but all very emotional, nonetheless.

A very brief synopsis of the history behind “The Dark Ages” would go something along these lines: girl meets boy → boy seems to be perfect for girl → boy and girl grow close → boy tells girl he has feelings for her although he already has someone else → girl resists giving in, but ends up developing feelings for boy → boy ends up breaking girl’s heart quite ruthlessly.

Heartbreak is hard on everyone, but in a matter of a few months, I lost not one, but two of my closest friends. Also, I was undergoing a very rough transition in my life. All in all, the whole situation hit me harder than I expected. To top it off, I blamed myself for the heartbreak and sadness that I felt. I couldn’t believe that I, Krizia Bandy, keeper of knowledge, capable of understanding the most complex of concepts, had let myself be fooled in this manner. How could I let something as banal and trivial as love get to me so much??? The point is, I was very hard on myself, making me go down a rabbit hole that only exacerbated the negativity. Honestly, it was very hard to wake up in the mornings and go to school. Last semester has been the one that I skipped the most classes in my entire undergraduate career. Luckily, school has always been easy for me, so I was still able to get A’s in all of my classes, but all other aspects of my life shattered to pieces. I didn’t take care about my health – I indulged in anything I wanted to indulge in: food, alcohol (I didn’t become an alcoholic by any means, but you know what I mean.) I just felt an overwhelming sadness that didn’t want to go away.

One day I woke up and I realized that I wasn’t as sad anymore. One of my closest friends told me that giving in to the sadness is a lot easier than working to feel better, and this just made me react. I tried to be a charming social butterfly again, and little by little, the pieces started coming back together. Then, I came home for the holidays and realized how much I missed the feeling of belonging to a family. I had been in the United States since 2004, and it had been ages since I felt that I belonged in my home. However, these holidays were simply wonderful. It felt great to be loved for just being who I am once again. Part of the solitude I generally felt when I’m in Miami subsided. This is part of the reason why I decided to stay in Honduras for a couple of months and take a “sabbatical.”

The most important reason has to do with the fact that I will most likely become a US resident shortly, and as such, my tuition at FIU, or any other university in Florida, will be reduced significantly. I was pursuing a third Bachelors in Economics, and planned to be finished with it by April 2011. However, due to the very limited Economics program at FIU, I was not able to register all of the classes I needed, and would need to take not one, but two additional semesters to be done with the program. As an international student, 2 semesters at FIU are about $15,000 – a LOT of money. I already have 2 Bachelors, so I don’t really NEED a third degree. After realizing that the third Bachelors would be more of a burden that I’d initially planned for it to be, I found the whole thing to be unnecessary. If I do decide to finish it in the future when I’m a resident, it’ll be much cheaper anyways. Also, I’ve already applied to Columbia University and NYU for my Masters, so I just need to wait for their answers to know what’ll become of me.

Yet another reason why I decided to stay home is the fact that I wanted to take care of my health. I’ve always been overweight, and it’s an issue that’s always affected my wellbeing, particularly mentally. I’ve always wanted to take time off from “life” to diet and exercise, without having any other distractions. I just felt like it was now or never. I’ve just started the journey, but I’m feeling confident. Some of you may consider this to be shallow, or whatnot, but the truth is that appearances do matter, and not only that, but I want to put an end to a “problem” that has plagued me since I was a child. Even if I don’t “put an end” to it, I want to make significant improvement in the way I feel about myself. Who knows? Maybe then I’ll have even more confidence to take on the world.

All this sounds fine and dandy, but there is one drawback – I have almost no social life here! I miss my friends from Miami terribly. I feel that this last semester I was really able to connect with most of them – my emotional instability surprisingly allowed me to open up to them, enabling us to become closer. I never really felt like I belonged in Honduras, and most of the close friends I had in high school are now out of the country. So, it’ll be difficult to try to reintegrate myself into Honduran society. I’ll keep you updated on how it goes.

2 days into my return to Honduras, I have to say that I’m feeling rather content. I’m keeping myself busy: going to the gym, watching movies every night, reading, studying my languages, etc. I’ve decided to take life one day at a time. I needed this break. My heart was broken to pieces – I felt that no light could penetrate it ever again. And now, little by little, I’m regaining the confidence and optimism. The sadness and bitterness are now gone. I still miss how that person would make me feel, but I know that the feeling will fade with time as well.

Truthfully, I kind of feel like one of those socialites or princesses who retires to her summer home when she needs a break from the big city. Château Bandy is being kind to me. :)

Goodbye.

My Dearest __ ,

It is with the greatest sorrow that I must inform you that the time has come... The point of no return is finally upon us. I must bid you adieu once and for all…

Truthfully, I am still confused at how it all came to this. Once upon a time, you were my one and only raison d'être. I was so foolish and naïve that at times I even thought I had dreamt you into existence; that you would be the one thing in my life that would go right. I had to feel you, hear you, breathe you – it was all you. And then, on that fateful day, it all changed forever. In my eyes, despite your million flaws, you were perfect and could do no wrong. You would light up my life by just looking my way, and with one of your smiles, you could take away my deepest sadness and perennial loneliness. You were my knight-in-shining-armor; all of the verses in the poetry that I had yet to write. My last hope, my one dream, the only friend that I could ever want…

But now, you’ve been reduced to nothing – a mere memory, just another page in a notebook. The illusion has been shattered and for a long time, I found myself in a desert of pain and agony that simply did not want to go away. And now, I’ve come to see that you were not that special… I was simply blinded by the magic that I thought was you. So, in an act of self-preservation, I say “goodbye" for now.... No, for always...

Sincerely,

__ .

Strike 2

You know, you're funny! You may think you're very clever and whatnot. You think it's cute to "sneak around." No, no, no, no, no. Trust: whatever you do, and whatever you've done, it's because I have planned for it to be that way. Actually, it's been quite easy to play this game. I'm surprised that you just fall into the trap every time. Sigh. Some people never learn. Word of advice, don't mess with an International Relations major, especially not a smart one. When certain behaviors become frequent, they become patterns; and patterns can be ascribed to personal traits. One good thing about not seeking to be the center of attention at all times: you get to observe people, analyze their behavior, and learn how to attribute certain patterns of behavior to their personalities. Get my drift? Probability not... Maybe I have turned a bit evil after all... You get an A for the effort you put in trying to outsmart. But, it's not gonna happen. It's just not. Face it. And now you're thinking to yourself, "Is this about me? Does she know?" Intriguing, eh? But guess what, that's one secret I'll never tell. XOXO.

Saikin ha...

Art Basel, 12/02/10

Art Basel was very enjoyable. My volunteering shift was from 9-11:45 and after spending 30 minutes driving around the craziness trying to find parking, I ended up just paying $20 to be able to park in a secure area. I walked up to the Sanrio Small Gift Shop, told them that I was a volunteer, and was let in immediately. (There was a huge line of people trying to get into the exhibition.) However, when I walked in, they told me that there really wasn't anything for me to do anymore, but that I was more than welcome to stay and enjoy all of the perks of the VIP party that was going on. (Which I did, obviously.) So, I walked around, looking at all of the Hello Kitty AWESOMENESS that was going on (and yes, there is no other word to describe it, AWESOMENESS!) I even found myself a Nihonjin (Japanese person, for those non-Japanese speakers) to practice Nihongo with. She ended up being a representative from the Tokyo branch of Sanrio (!!!) I guess she either liked me, or was impressed by my Japanese language skills because she gave me a Hello Kitty cell phone strap. I walked around for a bit more, and decided to leave after 45 minutes because there wasn't much for me to do anymore. Besides, I needed to wake up early the next day for my last day of school.

Merce Cunningham, 12/03/10

Last night was my first volunteer experience as an usher at the Adrienne Arsht Center. I will be going out of the country soon, and will be gone for quite for a few weeks, so I wanted to have at least some volunteer experience before I left. The performance that I was ushering for was Merce Cunningham Dance Company. It was... interesting. There were actually 3 different stages, and the dancers moves around between them. Also, the patrons were allowed to be on stage with the dancers, and were encouraged to move around. In that sense, I thought the performance was pretty cool - you could really see it from all possible angles. The choreography was an interpretative dance of sorts and the music was, well not really music; I'd describe it as just a conglomeration of different sounds. Either way, I had an opportunity to see something new and different (for free, hehe.)

Next week: FINALS

Following week: GRE and my trip!

Art Basel

At the very last minute I was able to secure a position volunteering at Art Basel Miami Beach with no other than... (drum roll, please) ... SANRIO! I'm so excited. Tonight is actually the opening of Art Basel, and for those of you who don't know, Art Basel Miami Beach is probably the most important art event of the year here in the US. Not only that, but I love Hello Kitty and all of the cuteness that has been developed by Sanrio. I'm actually doing a presentation for my Japanese class on かわいい文化 (kawaii bunka, or the culture of cute.) So, this is a great opportunity!