I'm Back...

So this internship-finding website told me to start a blog. I told the screen I already had one. And the screen said nothing. And then I thought to myself, I could do with a wee entry right about now. Exciting things have happened, are happening, and will happen in the months surrounding now (and now, for that matter).

To begin with a boom, I got back from my spring break (Easter break, to all my non-yank friends), which was pretty much my Walkabout. This ceremonial coming-of-age journey, conveniently timed one week after my 18th birthday, consisted of travels to Stockholm, Berlin, Prague, a brief jaunt in Amsterdam, and, of course, Paris. It was... well... It was a pretty fantastic-unbelievable-beautiful experience. I was accompanied by Peter, my dear partner in crime, who I now hail as one who can get me to food before my transformation into an awesome and terrible beast of myth. He also just happens to be one of the best travel buddies.

Berlin was the favorite destination by far. It was a proper city. The place had trains, grit, bagels, and people of all shapes, sizes, and shades. Diversity was probably the most refreshing aspect of the trip as a whole (St Andrews isn't the most populated or colorful town), but my other city cravings really came out in Berlin. It was smart, and it had soul. I'm writing in complete intangibles, but city people will get me, I think.

Since my glorious return to this town by the sea, I've been mobbed by a host of tasks. I'm currently working on two essays, one for each of my courses; maintaining the radio show I started on STAR (St Andrews Radio); polishing my resume and applying for internships in Los Angeles; and reestablishing the writing habit on my book about my time in Kenya. I also feel the need to reboot the blog for personal reasons (my addiction to self-imposed responsibility, it's really unhealthy).

So there it be, the recent news. As for the coming week, I'll be mainly focusing on my essay for Anthropology of Migration. Dr. Fumanti, my awesome professor, let us choose our own essay topics, with no constraints except that it somehow relate to concepts discussed in class. This is a mixed blessing, but I chose to run along with it and write my essay on Los Angeles. And now that I've dug through material, the specific topic will have to do with environmental racism, urban development, and how these impacted on the formation of "Chicano identity." (Quotations allow for the stretch that any group can have a collective identity. HAH.)

This topic has led me through loads of literature on Los Angeles, and despite it all being about white racists and how the construction of Dodger Stadium displaced dozens of Mexican-American families with almost no compensation, it's really making me miss my city. More will be coming about the awful, amazing, wonderland that is Los Angeles, CA.

Until then, ta ta. :)