WWII

We spent today going to some of the historical sites including the WII memorials around Okinawa which was the biggest priority I had coming here... Japanese history does not interest me except when it comes to WWII, I am fascinated by the war in the Pacific (if you have not watched the HBO mini series the Pacific , it is better than Band of Brothers).

We rented a taxi for six hours and went to Shuri Castle, Himeyuri Monument, and the Okinawa peace museum. The Himeyuri Monument and museum was by far the most interesting and sobering. The quick story is when Japan began WII the militarized most of the schools in Okinawa to train the students and teachers to support the Japanese imperial goal and aid in combat if needed. When the U.S. attacked Okinawa in the last battle before the A-Bombs , students at the All girls Himeyuri school were called on to help the Japanese soldiers in battle. All 296 students were forced into caves and in combat. After a couple hours a demobilization was called by the Japanese and they forced the students out of the caves into the front lines with out protection. The students, helpless against the U.S air and ground raids were mostly killed. Those who were not killed by fire, committed suicide by jumping of cliffs and blowing themselves up with live grenades.

Unfortunately these were not the only civilians who were killed in the battle of Okinawa, in total 190,000 Okinawan’s were killed. Both the American and Japanese soldiers were responsible for their death. They were used as human shields by the Japanese and killed by U.S. crossfire.

The theme of both museums was peace , not just for Okinawa but for the world. Because of their experience with WWII , the people of Okinawa took a pledge against war and weapons. I can understand why the 13 MILITARY BASES on this Island bother most of the people living here...

Scuba Steve...Close encounters of the Reef Kind

OKINAWA O-KI-NA-WA Day dos

The best part of a beach day is 5 pm, after soaking up a full day of sun, embracing waves, reading a book, catching a cat nap, you feel such calmness, most people have left, the sun begins to set, maybe you crack open that last corona and enjoy the changing of the sky from blue to orange...

I have that feeling now, no beach today, but as I sit on our deck, looking over the ocean, I feel serene and mellow

Clark Griswold aka my father woke me up at 6 am today, although I went to bed last night at 1030, I still would of appreciated at least an hour more of sleep. You see back in Akita I don't sleep for various reasons, and I have about 127 days of sleep to catch up on, but hell whats another day. My dad had stretched , did laps, and showered all by the time I finally rolled out of bed, we had an 8 am cab to catch so this gave me an hour for breakfast.

Buffets are usually for extremely large people, the elderly, people that have large appetites either naturally or chemically induced and nascar fans...I don't go to the Sizzler unless my grandparents drag me there. However the breakfast buffet at the Grand Mer was well...Grand. A fine concoction of Japanese breakfast and American breakfast!

Headed down to go scuba diving at 815, with some misdirection by the cab driver we just barely made it there by 9, this scuba shop looked like Jimmy Buffett had worked there before Margariataville changed his life...It was a dive shop in both senses of the word and extremely cool. We were met by Toyo who told us “lets dive” I have never been scuba diving and might of snorkeled in the kiddie pool when I was five. My dad had been scuba diving when he was 16 which basically means he had never been scuba diving either.

We were the only two in the intro group and the advanced group was filled with marines and ex military. (There are a lot of bases in Okinawa, ill refrain from saying much more).

Here was our intro class....Toyo says “ok you breath through this , don't stop breathing underwater, when your ears pop , hold your nose, if your not ok go like this...(he waves his hand). Ok thats it, lets dive)”

Uh ok...I mean maybe this was easier than I thought, seemed like the intro class would be more...Introduction, the ins and outs of putting on a wetsuit, how the tank works, what to expect, am I going to die type questions...

So here was my feeling going into scuba diving, it will be cool something to tell the grand kids about, will my heart explode?, how far will we go down... i hope way far, my dad doesn't seem nervous, i should of taken a Xanax

I ve paraglided in the Keys, bungee jumped into the Nile and now scuba dived in Okinawa, and this was by far the coolest fucking experience ever. I cant put it into words and did not have a water proof camera... But if you have been to an aquarium think of the coolest exhibit there then imagine diving 29 feet below the ocean and witnessing that exhibit yourself, swimming with the fish amongst the coral reef. We were down for half an hour and I could of spent another four , I am addicted never thought of scuba diving as an interest, but when I live near an ocean, I am becoming certified, when I come here next summer, I am visiting Toyo and going for seconds. Big shout out to Reef Encounters!

Merry xmas pops hope you enjoyed your scuba present

The Grand Mer

Waiting for the sun to rise on my first full day in Okinawa, heading to go scuba diving soon...

Arrived yesterday evening to the Tokyo Dai-Ichi Grand Mer Hotel, its the highest pt in Okinawa City and our room overlooks the city and the ocean. My dad was waiting for me anxiously, haven’t seen him in five months! When I walked into the hotel 30 kindergartners from a local elementary school were singing christmas tunes, I dont think their is a cuter child than a japanese child.

Dad and I hugged it out, it was really good to see family. My dad had already made friends , as usual , with the hotel staff. One lady in particular, Kay, who is Okinawan, has a son who lives in Glendale , Az, which is where I live...small world. Kay made us reservations at a sushi restaurant and Dad and I headed over there. We had a table which overlooked the ocean and ordered four plates of sashimi and fresh sushi. We added four beers and a bottle and a half of sake and I think we both were feeling fine by the time we left. The menu was in all hiragana and katakana (japanese symbols) but I managed to order without problem. For a night cap we had a beer on our deck and watched the city fall asleep

Never Again

“Never Again”

These words were famously spoken by Elie Wiesel, a man who has come to symbolize the Holocaust. Mr. Wiesel has been an adamant speaker for genocide prevention and human rights, his call to “never again” allow a genocide to occur has unfortunately been ignored by the rest of the world.

The term genocide is a 20th century term, it was first used during the Nuremberg trials after WWII. “The term "genocide" did not exist before 1944. It is a very specific term, referring to violent crimes committed against groups with the intent to destroy the existence of the group (ushmm.org). In 1944, a Polish-Jewish lawyer named Raphael Lemkin sought to describe Nazi policies of systematic murder, including the destruction of the European Jews. He formed the word "genocide" by combining geno-, from the Greek word for race or tribe, with -cide, from the Latin word for killing (ushmm.org).

The invention of the term however does not mean the invention of genocide as an act. The Holocaust I would argue was not the first genocide of the twentieth century, Armenia which hasn’t been officially recognized as a genocide suffered massive killings by the Turks during WWI. Although the U.S. and other western countries refuse to use the term genocide to describe this catastrophe , many scholars have written and talked about it in terms of a genocide (http://www.armenian-genocide.org/).

With the creation of the ICC , the term genocide has been a touchy subject for the international community. When and where to use the term has troubled politicians and been a source of controversy for world leaders. During the Rwandan genocide the United States under Bill Clinton refused to use the word at first when describing the mass killings of the Tutsi’s by the Hutu’s. Instead Clinton’s administration chose to ignore these events and allow the murder of 800,000 Rwandans in 100 days (http://www.rwanda-genocide.org/).

For an event to be called a genocide it must meet certain criteria as outlined by the United Nations after WWII. It defines genocide as

[G]enocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

Since WWII and the words “never again,” 5 genocides have taken place. Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda, Sudan, and the Congo. Except for the case of Bosnia, the international community has chosen to ignore these catastrophes and allow genocide to take place. Today in Darfur a genocide continues to happen under the eye of many Western countries (http://www.savedarfur.org/pages/background).

Sudan is one of the most volatile countries in the world. It is run by a man who has sponsored the killing of his own people, who has sponsored islamic terrorist groups including Osama Bin Laden, who has funneled billions of government dollars into his own pocket, and who is wanted by the ICC for crimes against humanity. Since independence Sudan has been in a state of chaos. After independence a Civil War broke out between the north and the south that continued on and off until 2005. This war claimed the lives of millions of people and divided the country into the Islamic north which runs the country and the christian south which has been yearning for independence. The country is also home to Darfur , the first genocide of the 21st century and has been involved in numerous conflicts and wars including the Congo Civil War, the Chad conflict, and the LRA massacres (http://www.enoughproject.org/).

In three short weeks Sudan has the potential to explode into an even bigger disaster , a Second Civil War. It was agreed upon in the peace deal in 2005 that Southern Sudan would be given the chance to vote for independence on January 9th, 2011. For the last year Southern Sudan has been preparing for the this vote that will most certainly allow independence if everything goes according to plan. However this is Sudan and nothing has went according to plan. The South have what the north wants, oil, the hold almost 80 percent of Sudan’s oil fields which allow Bashir and the Sudanese government to make massive amounts of money. The sell this oil to the French, Chinese, and Russians all who indirectly fund the Darfur genocide. Although I could explain this in much more detail , here is the quick version...

Sudan sells oil to Russia , France, and China...This money goes into the pocket of Bashir, with this money he buys weapons from these same countries. He uses these weapons to fund the Janjaweed (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3613953.stm), who go into Darfur’s villages and rape, kill, and burn their people.

Without these oil fields the government in Khartoum will get significantly weaker. The concern with many human rights activists and government officials is that the vote will either be compromised through violence and intimidation by the north or if the South do indeed get a fair election and vote for independence a war will break out between the north and the south over control of those oil fields. The U.S. has been trying to be proactive , even offering to take Bashir off the state sponsored terrorism list if he allows Souther Sudan’s independence. However nothing will be certain until January 9th and I believe there is little in the way of stopping Bashir from unleashing another attack on the South. So how we (human kind) prevent another genocide and actually allow “Never Again” to come to fruition. John Prendergrast and Jeff Millington have outlined a detailed plan on how to prevent another Civil War (http://www.enoughproject.org/publications/lessons-past-reflections-us-efforts-bring-peace-sudan).

Its unfortunate but I don’t believe the world is taking these warnings seriously, they have a tendency to ignore what is happening in Africa, Rwanda and The Congo being to prime examples. So we wait till January 9th and instead of being pro active the world will allow violence and mass killings to occur before they say Never Again.

Okinawa here I come....

Okinawa Time,

Before I left for Japan, I made a list of places I wanted to visit and Okinawa was at the top of that list, with Cambodia second. Both these places I will be visiting this year...

I leave for Okinawa in less than a week, my pops is meeting me over here from the states and we have a 14 day excursion planned , well I planned it, he is along for the ride.

I booked my flight in September on a whim , thinking worse possible scenario I travel alone, which I actually like doing. I got a round trip ticket for 800 dollars which is not to bad for travel in Japan.

So here is the quick rundown. We are staying in 5 different places in fourteen days, which includes visits to three islands. The weather outcast is not great but anything beats cold , gray, and dark skis that blanket Omagari right now.

First three days we are in Okinawa City, Okinawa on the main island, staying at a luxurious hotel The Grand Mer, this is packed with a spa, a fitness center, and a rooftop bar, the three things I look for when staying in a Hotel.

The first day we have a half day scuba course that is going to allow us to both scuba dive for the first time...its my fathers xmas present, I am such a good son. He is a better father though and deserves more than a scuba trip, we are going to spend Xmas day visiting the WII memorials in Naha , the capital of Okinawa

We then get RUGGED as my friend would say and travel for two days to the Kerama Islands, these are a set of beautiful island s about an hour from the main Island. We are taking a ferry over to Tokashiki Island the day after xmas and stayin in a rustic scuba shack called Marine House Ahern which overlooks the beach, we plan on snorkeling, sea kayaking, drinking , and relaxing,

We travel by ferry for another two days to the Island of Zamami which is again going to be spent in rustic quarters at the Nakayamagwa Guest house. Depending on the weather we hope to visit the famous Furuzamami Beach and frequent the numerous bars and dive spots on the island.

Then its back to the main island for New Years in the northern part of the Island , Nago, which is the resort area of Okinawa. We are staying in the Marriot and going to class it up for a few days, New Years is the big holiday in japan so if I know my dad we are going to have a great time...

For the last leg of the trip we head down to Naha to check out the famous Kokusai Street in Naha, filled with bars and shops owned by locals and foreigners alike. My father leave the 4th and I have one night by myself which I ll spend in the quaint Little Asia Hostel and back to Akita.....

random thoughts from tonight

random thoughts from tonight....

I really wish I spoke japanese

Why do teachers who speak english at my school never talk to me

The English teachers at Omagari love me(not cocky...they do)

My best bud at Omagari is lonely

I love walking at night in the winter

I get embarrassed easily

I am currently conflicted

Shane is the worst actor on Weeds

Nancy is a close second (she is actually just annoying)

I love Japanese beer when its served in a small glass

There is no munchie food here...I mean like the equivalent of chips, I just want some Doritos

I am always looking for the next opportunity

I know where my heart lies, I know where my soul lies....two different places

Wino Wednesdays: a jazz filled night of laughs, conversations and sleep deprivation

Wino Wednesdays

Most Wednesdays for the past couple of months a few of us ALT’s from Omagari get together at one of our houses for a little wine, food , and conversation. It goes a little something like this....

Meet at about 730 each of us bring a bottle of wine and a side dish. The person hosting is the cook and the food ranges from authentic italian pizza, fried chicken breast, to pasta and shrimp. Always delicious and fulfilling. We crack open a bottle of wine and let the good times be had, by nine thirty our candle is pretty well lit, we are almost finished with bottle number four and each of us is clawing at the last remaining pieces of desert (something chocolate). Its around nine thirty that we realize four bottle s of wine was not enough for four people...especially with Katelynn around! So we end up going to the convenience store and picking up some more....Now you would think we would learn our lesson and buy more the next time. No such luck, we all pretend that we are going to take it easy and go home early. So we usually pick up another bottle or two, maybe we decide to go with beers instead, and one fateful night we decided to buy Jim Beam! Yikes...its safe to say the next morning was not pleasant after that decision.

No matter the hangover or the lack of sleep that is a result of Wino Wednesdays it is always good for the soul. The conversation always makes us laugh (teasing alex), angry (talking politics), and confused (bec brain). It feels good, especially in the winter to be sharing a laugh during the week with friends.

The winter here (yes its winter for an Arizonian) can get you down. I can already tell its going to be a long four months of cold, snow, early days, and long nights. I look forward to many more Wino Wednesdays! Lets enjoy Wino Wednesdays together (Japanese people love saying this phrase in English, it always makes me laugh).

Education in America: A response to my solution by Alex Morse

I am going to go point by point and discuss my opinion about the policies you have proposed.
1) School classrooms are not private domains in any way. Remember the public pays your salary and trusts you with their most important commodity. They have every right to view your public classroom and see the quality of work they are paying for. Cameras are an effective way to make sure teachers are doing what they need to in the classroom every day. Not just the days the observers come and teachers put on a new face.
2) The model you propose outside the classroom mimics the Japanese one. In this model teachers are expected to be like parents outside of school hours. I see how teachers are a valuable part of the community but I in no way can comprehend that it is one of the requirements to keep your job. Families and friends make up this community and to force teachers to forgo a significant portion of their life is absurd. They would be treated no less than criminal if they were forced to do community service like this.
3) This next point is a highly controversial one. I do see how teaching how to take tests dumbs down our learning environments. But at the same time tests have their own purposes. They are successful motivators for children to learn. People in general are goal oriented and setting a goal for students is very important. This is their goal, and it is both the family and teacher’s job to make sure that goal is important to each child.
In my opinion I believe the most important thing you get out of school has nothing to do with acquiring knowledge. School gives us the basic tools to be able to maximize our ability to cope within the environment. And if tests get anything out of us it is to put in hard work, improve memory, and develop strategies. This is all while repeatedly pounding in information that has been deemed important.
4) On the topic of teachers not getting paid enough to justify their education…I agree. Their pay compared to their education is extremely low. But if you compare them to a social worker; teachers work considerable less (hours and vacation time), have undergone less schooling (grad school required) and get paid roughly the same amount. And in contrast being a teacher is a much more desirable job then being a being a social worker. This remark is justified at the large quantity of teachers that are finding it difficult to become employed.
5) Now the next point is that you stated raises should be based on performance because there is no incentive to be a teacher. The incentive to be an amazing teacher has to come from within the individual and not from the system. The truth is good teachers are just the dedicated, energetic and kind type of people. They value what their work do. I have seen quality teacher in both the young and old. The only quality that they all possess is that they care about how good of a teacher they are. As long as the demand for teachers is so high and the job has security; both good and bad teachers will be flocking into the field. This is in order from where you posted it. Point number 7 will contain more on the topic.
6) This topic concerns your idea that the school pays for furthering teacher’s education. I personally think that teachers should have the basic information that is required of them before even applying to the job. They have experienced the education they are teaching (although out dated) and they have gone to 4 more years of schooling. Teachers should know the subject manner that they have focused on and decided to teach. Don’t think I expect you to know everything about history or government but you should know the curriculum well enough to teach it. What I do recommend though is that teachers are supported for schooling in order to become better teachers and creating learning environments. But isn’t this what is suppose to be taught to everyone in the first place? I also feel like the teachers that are good already have these qualities and the ones that are bad are direly set in their ways.
7) Tenure is a tricky topic. You were talking about incentive earlier and how it is important to get teacher to want to be good. While tenure can be ridiculous and keep bad teachers in the system it also causes good teaching prospects to join the career. What is teaching if it doesn’t give you job security. There is always going to be a younger better teacher out there and teachers shouldn’t have to worry about getting replaced every year. High paying jobs such as professional athletes get perks because their job is always on the line. They can always get replaced but they make enough money to justify entering the career even if it is just for a couple of years. In order to lure in good teachers you have to show them that it is a safe job.

And last but not least. Your form of incentives.
1. involvement in the school community (forced community service in order to keep your job.)
2. ability to develop curriculum and dynamic lessons ( agreed upon but there needs to be a justifiable way to grade peoples curriculum and lesson planning’s. I don’t see their being a quantifyable way of doing this and it would make the job much much more stressful.
3. observations ( I think the cameras are a good idea. Even with unannounced observations the teacher puts in even more effort than usual.
4. test scores (getting paid more for test score could increase cheating, make teachers hate slower students, and can possible be out of the control of the teachers themselves.)
5. work outside the classroom. You cant judge someone on the amount of work they put in when they are not suppose to be paid. Kind of the same thing as number one. Besides teachers who have been doing it for a long time generally have to prepare less, even if they are changing and perfecting the lesson each year.
6. professional development. How do you quantify this?
7. further education. you should get more for what you put into it but does it make you a better teacher to be in the system longer?

Education in America

Since GWB’s brilliant move (sarcasm) to enact No Child Left Behind (Ted Kennedy had a big part of the law to!) there has been a huge federal and state push to reform education. From tying test scores to teacher performance to removing tenure these reforms have been proposed and sometimes enacted in school systems across the United States. Mostly these proposals and opinions from the people trying to reform our schools are just plain asinine. It seems like the people who run the education system have never been or forgot what it is like to be a teacher. People like Arne Duncan , Michelle Rhees, and Tom Horne may have the best intentions but their ideas in my opinion are not conducive to reforming education. Recently Mr. Bill Gates, who is a great philanthropist, activist, and leader has funded a program that would install video cameras into teachers classrooms to further evaluate their performance. Not only is this a huge invasion of privacy but again does not solve the problem of reforming education (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/04/education/04teacher.html?ref=education).

The problem with some of the reforms like videotaping classes and having test scores factor into teachers evaluations is that they only measure a small part of the role of a teacher. There is more to teaching than what happens in the classroom. In fact I find what happens outside the classroom to be far more important that what happens inside the classroom. The role of a teacher is a leader, a role model, a support system, counselor, ally, and innovator. They should not only encourage critical thinking and analysis in the classroom but should be someone the students turn to outside the classroom. Test scores don’t measure critical thinking skills and videotaping inside a classroom doesn’t show how involved the teacher is outside the classroom. Is it more important to have a student answer a multiple choice question correctly or have them learn how to solve problems and issues that arise both in and outside the classroom. I know many teachers that work tiredly at their job. They are at school an hour before the day begins and at school two hours after the day ends. They are there for students wanting extra help. They stay after for clubs, grading, and advice. Sometimes they just stay because they love the students. They attend sports events, even the less glamourous sports. They attend sparsely attended student art shows and performances. They give up their weekend to volunteer at a club activity or school event. Many people will say that this is the job of a teacher and I agree, however this effort beyond the classroom should be recognized and rewarded. Teachers can not and should not be judged by test scores or video cameras. So how do we fix the education system in the United States. I find it to be a simple solution and if a peon like myself can propose such a simple idea I don’t see why these Princeton educated morons who are trying to reform education can’t figure this out.

First of all please get rid of No Child Left Behind, it has put way to push pressure on school systems across the United States to “teach to the test”. We have gotten away from critical thinking skills and analysis because we as teachers and administrators are too worried about our students failing a state wide mandated test. These test scores show us very little about student and teacher performance. These tests have dumbed down curriculum and watered down higher level thinking skills amongst students. When I have a week and a half to teach my students about Rome and Greece, the students are forced to memorize rather than absorb and analyze about one of the most important civilizations.

Second raise the pay of teachers. Its criminal that I get paid 33,000 dollars a year with an advanced degree and four years of experience. Its more than criminal that my pay has actually decreased in the four years I have been a teacher rather than increase. Its beyond criminal that I get paid less than some old curmudgeon of a teacher that plays videos and flicks his boogers in class all day rather than teach. I know the critics say teachers only work 3/4ths of a year and they only work 6 hours a day. But the teachers day does not end at 230, if your a good teacher your day ends many hours beyond that. I think we should weigh a job on how hard someone works not how many hours. An office turd may work year round from nine to five, but he stares at a computer most of the time and goes on illegal websites when he should be working.

Third not only should you raise the pay of teachers significantly but you should have raises and pay increases that are based on teachers performance. There is no incentive for teachers to do their job well. This encourages many good teachers to leave the job or become lazy. As a teacher I not only do a fantastic job in the classroom developing dynamic lessons and encouraging higher level thinking but I do one better outside the classroom. I sponsor two clubs, stay after school one a week for extra help, stay after frequently to be a counselor for my students, I attend sporting and arts events. I support my school at functions and in the community. Does this affect my pay, not in the slightest. I would get paid the same for playing sudoko at my desk all day while my students text on their cell phones. One must really love their job to be a good teacher because that is the only incentive. Its saddening to see teachers who work so hard have to get second and third jobs to support their family, to have to leave the profession because the pay is too little. Not only do you lose good teachers because of this but you don’t attract good teachers. The best business students at colleges are destined for high paying jobs in business, the best science students desire jobs in large labs, the best math students want to be engineers. They don’t want to become teachers. Why? because their is no incentive for good performance. To add to this schools should develop and help fund teachers who desire to further their education. As I history teacher I know very little about history that I did not focus on in college. I learn what I teach from the book and if I have the time outside sources. This is no way to further my knowledge as a teacher. I would love to take more classes on the Renaissance, Modern Middle East , Communism etc. But the cost to go back to school is an entire years salary. Now I dont think school systems should foot the bill for a college education but they should make it easier and encourage teachers to further their education.

Fourth: REMOVE TEACHER TENURE. This idea is ridiculous and its actually something that Michelle Rhees and I have in common. The idea that after I teach for a couple years by job is safe for the next thirty years is beyond dumb. If a teacher has tenure it is very difficult for them to be fired. It doesn’t matter if they receive poor evaluations, fall asleep during class, fail to manage their classroom, show up late, leave early. They will be reprimanded but not fired. Again this leads to lazy and bad teaching. Beyond a teacher committing a crime their job is safe. I am a good teacher and I am not worried about being fired or let go, only bad teachers are. Which leads me to my last reform...

Fifth: Remove seniority laws. The way it works is if a school has to make cuts the young teachers or teachers with the least amount of experience are the first to go, no matter how good of a job they do. So again some old curmudgeon gets to keep his job while a young motivated teacher is let go. When a school makes cuts it should be about performance not age/years.

So how do we measure teacher performance, well I don’t have a good answer yet. What I do have is an idea of how to remove bad teachers from the system and encourage goods ones to stay. Teacher performance whatever the correct formula is should measure a variety of factors including but not limited to

1. involvement in the school community
2. ability to develop curriculum and dynamic lessons
3. observations
4. test scores
5. work outside the classroom
6. professional development
7. further education

Best Weekend Ever...

An itinerary of a prefect weekend...

I wrote a few weeks ago how each weekend in Japan gets better and better, well that remains true. This past weekend is what we called “the best weekend in Japan” and it may hold that title for sometime. It was a weekend filled with friends, laughter, fabulous weather, exercise, discovery, relaxation, culture, and good beer (most important). So this blog is like a picture of a sunset, it may give you an idea of how beautiful it was, but you will not be able to understand its true beauty without having experienced it...

Oga Bike and Onsen Weekend 2010

Friday 430 pm: Rush home from work and try to finish my list of “before weekend errands” This includes post office, dry cleaning, haircut, workout, pack

Friday 730 pm: Get “most” of the errands done, except for pack my bags and bike (this would later be the bane of my existence)

Friday 745 pm: Meet my dear friends Alex and Katelynn for dinner. They are always a good time especially when we gang up on Alex...right Nancy! We have beers, pizza, horse sashimi, chicken, fun, and laughter

Friday 930 pm: Go home with a full belly and a big smile to finish packing

Friday 10 pm: Realize that the bike bag I brought is way to FUCKING small for my bike (in Japan you need a special bike bag to bring your bike on the train, I was taking the train)

Friday 1030 pm: its starts to dawn on me that I might not make this bike trip (we had been planning this for a month) Call Maggie and give her the bad news

Friday 10 33 pm: Our conversation did not go as planned , therefore this part of the story will be omitted

Friday 10 45 pm: Call Rye Bailey, an Akita Bike Club member and let him know my problem. Much more comforting talking to him. He encourages me to keep trying and to call our fearless bike leader

Friday 11 pm: I woke up Sammler, our bike leader, and tell him I am having some trouble

Friday 11 15 pm: After talking with Mike I try the bike bag again

Friday 11 20 pm: I want to kill someone, I want to bash my bike with a baseball bat, I want to take a golf club to a car, I want to kick every door and window in my house (The bike bag is not fitting)

Friday 1130 pm: Call Maggie again and again..Yikes..again this part of the story is omitted

Sat 1200am: get the bike bag half way over my bike, say fuck it, i am bringing it on the train anyway, watch Entourage and go to bed

Sat between 1am and 430 am: have a dream that i cant get on the train (what would my father say about that)

Sat 5 30 am: Walk 1/2 hour to the Train station carrying this heavy ass bag and bike, kung fu gripping this thing so it wont slip out

Sat 653 am: Get on the train without issue, as William Shakespeare wrote... Much Ado About Nothing

Sat 800 am: Meet Rye on the train, we are both hurting. I am running on no coffee and three hours of sleep, he ate bad Mexican the night before

Sat 900am: Arrive in Oga, our destination, a beautiful port town in northern Japan

The weather is beautiful sunny, crisp, and blue skies

Sat 10 am: Start our 60 kilometer bike ride with smiles on our faces

Sat 10am-330pm: We take one of the best bike rides ever. We could not have had a more perfect ride, group, or weather. The entire ride was a long the coast, the ocean was calm and relaxing. The ride strenuous yet satisfying, the people encouraging and together. (Pictures on Facebook)

Sat 4pm: Maggie and I “lived it large” . We get a hotel and onsen (hot springs) on the water which includes dinner and breakfast. We spent quite a few “yen” on this excursion. It was worth every penny and more

Sat 5pm: Have a rough start but a relaxing and chill ride to the Hotel. We stop at a park for the sunset and take pictures (barf nation moment 1)

Sat 6pm: Arrive at the Hotel. Darren lost our 100 dollar coupon and validation that we paid a deposit for the Hotel. He internally freaks out, Maggie says lets go inside and see what happens

Sat 615pm: without problem we are shown our room at the hotel, told dinner is served at 7.

Sat 620-7pm: After a long and strenuous bike ride, we each take a bath in the hot sulfur induced hot springs at the hotel. I am all alone and sit for a solid 1/2 hour soaking and relaxing my muscles. We follow that up with a beer and a massage

Sat 7pm-9pm: We are served dinner or should I say multiple dinners. We honestly ate more in this meal than all of the food we have eaten in Japan combined. We had fresh seafood including sashimi, crab, fish, we had fresh vegetables, we ate things I had no idea what they were. We must of been served 7 courses and it was delectable. We accompanied our fine meal with some great beer (tasted like american amber ale) and cold sake

Sat 9pm-11PM: Get politely told that the restaurant is closing. With full stomaches we return to our room and digest our fantastic meal. We grab a few Oga micro brewed beers and head back to the massage chairs. We get a foot and full body massage. I drink three beers while Maggie passes out in the chair.

Sat/Sunday 12 am - 730 am: We both don't sleep well, the only hiccup in an otherwise fantastic weekacation

Sunday 8am: We return to the onsen and take a quick soak before breakfast. We return to the restaurant and eat a delicious japanese breakfast (breakfast in japan is everything you dont eat in the states...fish, vegetable, soup, rice, etc)

Sunday 930 am-100pm: leave our hotel, head to the Oga aquarium: The best aquarium i have ever been to. We see polar bears, seals, sea lions, penguins,and some of the most stunning fish I have ever seen.

Sunday 130pm-3pm: Drive along the coast , have a makeshift lunch of ritz, calorie mate, sour punch and water. Head to the train station to see me off

Sunday 640 pm: Arrive back home, stop at the grocery store pick up beer and dinner. Get home unpack , make dinner, have a stout with my dinner and cherry beer with my dessert.....

Sunday 900 pm: Bed time...I hope...Life is so far so good!

? Late at night

I feel complete,

I feel free from the thoughts that have weighed down my mind

I am only moving forward and not thinking backward

The only growth I need is intellectual,

I don't need anyone in my life

I want someone in my life

I am worried about a broken heart, but not enough to keep me from opening mine

Happiness is only real when shared, more and more I think so

I relate to Into the Wild in a much different way

I never truly missed my family and friends until now

I feel that Rumi's words could be mine...

An Ode to Whiskey and Coke

An Ode to Whiskey and Coke

Whiskey and Coke you set me free,

You make me happy, funny, but mostly me

Nothing but good comes from your drink

Its time to pay you an honor, so let us think

Of the good times, the rough times, the times in between

So my fellow readers can know what I mean

About your wonderful taste, your encouraging ways

About why I am so fucking hungover on most weekend days

It all started when I went to visit Mr. JD

On a trip with a friend to Lynchburg, Tennessee

Your smell was intoxicating, your taste first-class

From the minute you hit my lips, I was addicted at last

Since that fateful trip many years ago,

It is your strength and encouragement I have gotten to know

You have given me courage I might not have had

You have turned me from good to very very bad

We have stayed up late and danced with the best

We have woke up hungover , wishing for rest

You ve allowed friends to bond in original ways

You ve promoted the Chocolate Thunder Kiss and the streaking ways

Because of you, I ll never look at an ice machine again, in quite the same way

But that ice machine memory is one of my favorite days

random thoughts from a random mind...

For the last few weeks I have been compiling a list of random thoughts that pass through my mind through out the day... This will be an ongoing compilation, so here is the first installment

Sometimes I think my life plays like a Lucinda Williams song

I wish my life played like a....Brett Dennen Song

i want a yuengling for breakfast

if i could commit a crime...i would want to rob a bank

for all the times I have loved...only once has it been true

love is such an overused word, but when its used right, nothing is more beautiful

i want there to be an off button for my mind

coffee without cream sucks

douchebag is my favorite word

I used to like Howard Dean but now I think he is a douchebag

I m pretty happy being me...sometimes I wouldn’t mind being Johnny Depp

Everyone has a dude crush...mine is Jason Statham

the only time i pray is when i am on an airplane

I think we need to revise the constitution for the 21st century

I don’t believe in the death penalty unless something happened to my family

A dinner for Five: Gandhi, My grandfather, Kim Kardashian, Chris McCandless, and Rumi

“Lovers don't finally meet somewhere, they're in each other all along.”

The only thing I am jealous of is really intelligent people

If I could win one sporting event, it would be the tour de france

I wish I had no prejudice towards people, but sometimes I do...

happiness is only real when shared...I go back and fourth on this one

I wonder what one hit wonders do with the rest of their lives?

Universal Guitar Face

Universal Guitar Face.....

My first truly “japanese moment” just occurred. The type of moment where you undoubtedly feel like your living in another country. 700 high school students and I packed a concert hall to be entertained by a true Japanese icon...Teddy and the Blue Jeans, yep that is really the name of the band. They looked like a japanese version of the beach boys, with their matching Hawaiian shirts, white khaki s, and advanced age. It was ridiculously funny to watch these middle aged men jam out on their guitars, keyboards, and drums. I think the keyboardist in any band is such an awkward part of the band. You can not look cool playing a keyboard, even Vince Neil could not pull of that feat. Plus when the guy looks like an Asian dentist it is even more hilarious. In fact their were two keyboardist, the dentist and the a guy who looked like Journey’s new singer. I couldn’t understand a word they were saying, but I was nonetheless entertained.

Midway through their “set” an attractive much younger Japanese female made a guest appearance to sing with the Blue Jeans, the students went bananas.... I asked the nearby students who she was? They had no idea, I think they were just glad to have some energy pumped into this show. Towards the end of the show Teddy and his mates went nuts, in typical concert fashion, Teddy allowed each of his musicians to “jam” to show off their skills and delight the crowd. Well Japanese guitar face is hysterically funny. This guitarist looked like an asian version of Stuey from Family guy, and he is rocking out on his guitar, wearing his Hawaiian and stone wash pants! I think there should be a website called universal guitarface.com and it should have photos of peoples faces while playing the guitar, i find them to be quite comical.

I got to give Teddy credit, he could put on a show. For a sixty five year old man to keep 700 high schoolers entertained for two hours is no small feet...

Dear Chokai, (A love letter to a mt)

“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.”

Dear Mt Chokai,

Although I thoroughly enjoyed our hike (sarcasm), I have to take issue with a few “problems” I encountered while trying to conqueror your summit. First I find fault with myself for going out on Friday and staying up till 130 am. However I could not and would not go to bed any earlier, there are certain social scenes I must attend and the “North Block” pot luck was one of them. I know what your thinking...I am not in the North Block, you have no friends in the north block...why would you need to attend.

Well Mt. Chokai, this is precisely why I must attend to meet people and be plugged in to the social pipeline. So the two hours of sleep is my fault... I take full responsibility.

So as I lay awake at 330 am on Saturday, I thought to myself, there is no fucking way I am going to hike today. I wanted to lay in bed, sleep all day, watch tv, relax, have some wine and gourmet food. But... I thought I cant miss this trip, we have been planning it for weeks, months even. What would my friends say if I pussed out, I would never be invited on another excursion again. And I thought “this hike wont be so hard”, I have met the physically inept people that have hiked you before, if they can do it, i can no problem.

Well Chokai how wrong I was, how utterly wrong I was.... You were one bitch of a mt, a complete ass kicking of a summit, if you were a women you would be ann coulter. It was all fun and games before I started to climb, a great car ride, beautiful landscapes, the crisp cool air that awoken your senses, the camaraderie we shared before we made our journey up. From the minute I set foot on your wretched path, I knew this was going to be no stroll in the park. A hike is supposed to be exhilarating and strenuous while still relaxing and fun. You were none of the ladder, a hike is supposed to give you periodic reprieve from its elements... you did not. You went straight up for 5 solid hours. You did not offer a dirt path which was easy on the feet. You instead bestowed upon us a jagged , rocky path which I could feel with each step I took. My heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest, my legs felt as if I had been doing wall squats for 10 hours, my body was hot, achy , and hating life...But I marched on, why you may ask? Well Chokai, there are a few reasons, the first with each switch back and turn I thought this has to get easier, the end has to be near.. but you were like a high school tease. Only giving me enough to keep going but never allowing me the satisfaction of making it all the way... The second reason I trudged on, the numerous 80 year old japanese women that were gingerly walking up you like they were floating on air. They are soooo cute... these little japanese women with there perfect hiking gear, their brand new wind resistant north face, their hip to the scene 2011 hiking pants, the bear bells they wear to alert the non existent mammal of their presence. How in the fucking world do these women do it, i dont know nor do i want to know. I think I am in decent shape, but you chokai humbled my manly existence. You showed me the true definition of strength... .japanese grandmas.

Well Chokai, as you know i made it to your summit 5 long and grueling hours later. I was too tired to be joyous and to angry to enjoy the scenery. So how do you repay me for making it to the top, with an even tougher descent. Going downhill is supposed to be the easy part, this was not so. I descended with much reluctance knowing how you beat me to a pulp on the way up. You did not disappoint, you made my knees buckle, my back twist, my head ache, my legs cry. I cursed you on the way down, I wished you dead, I wanted to never see you again.... But when I made it to the end, I have never felt... WORSE. I wanted to fucking die, there was no joy or feeling of accomplishment. I felt like the gang from Goodfellas had just beaten me with a bat, in fact I much rather of preferred that.

Well Chokai, we will meet again in the spring and I am going to kick your ass!

“If you carry your childhood with you, you never become older.”

“The things which the child loves remain in the domain of the heart until old age. The most beautiful thing in life is that our souls remaining over the places where we once enjoyed ourselves"

Memories of a childhood...

Bedtime stories: There are certain children’s books that I have clear memory of from my childhood, my mother would read to my sister and I a lot when we were growing up. My favorite books... One Kitten for Kim, Where the Wild Things , Goodnight Moon, and Tikki Tikki Tembo (my dad used to read me this one). I wonder if parents still take the time to read to their children. It seems like too often it is easier to turn on the tv, computer, or video game and allow a child to zone out rather than take the time to read and encourage creative thinking in a young child’s mind...I have to assume that my love for reading and writing partly spawned from my parents reading to me at night and discouraging television and video games.

Playing outside: Again something I don’t see many children or teenagers doing a lot of today. As a young kid growing up on East Tall Timbers and Greentree Drive, I was always outside, exploring the woods, playing sports, building forts. When I lived on East Tall Timbers , we were one of the first houses to be built on the street, so the whole neighborhood was mostly forest. There was also a small pond where cattails and pussy willows grew. I would constantly be outside playing near the pond, embarking on a journey into the woods, building lean to’s. When I was really young, my dad would put me on his back and take me cross country skiing into these woods. Nature at its purest... a fresh blanket of snow covering a New England forest, the only sounds one hears is the snow slowly falling onto the ground, my dad would be slowly prodding through the woods on his skis. I have seen pictures of this in our old family photo albums, its the type of picture that makes me want children, to have those special moments with.

Even in high middle school and high school I was outside, in our families second house there was miles of trails in our neighborhood that my friends and I would hike. We always discovered something new, a hidden cave or crevice, a small creek or pond, once we discovered these orange and green rocks which were in perfect triangles buried into the ground. We thought we had discovered gold. Many times we would sleep outside in a tree house or makeshift cabin, scaring ourselves with stories and eerie sounds.

Family Vacations: Despite being very dysfunctional at times, our family took a family vacation once or twice every year. I was lucky as a kid to see so much of the U.S.... North Captiva, the Blue Ridge Mts, the Outer Banks, Grand Tetons, Quiche Gorge, Kennebunkport are just a few of my favorite childhood vacation spots. We would fill a week or two with tennis, golf, basketball, sailing, hiking, or boating. My family was always outdoor and exercise oriented. I call my dad Clark Griswold, because like my favorite vacation character, he always wanted to make the most of the day/vacation. Up and adam early in the morning, fit as much activity into the day as possible, get a good nights rest. My dad and I still take a vacation every year in March and its much of the same thing... I want to lay on the beach, read, and relax. My dad wants to do his version of a triathlon... bike, tennis , golf, or swim. At night however he is ready to paint the town, go out, stay up late, while I am the one who doesn’t mind going to bed early. My father though has become my best friend because of these vacations, and i am forever grateful.

I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright.

"Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair."

The reason I love living in Arizona the most...the ability to be outdoors 365 days a year. I love the smell of fresh air, the glory of the sun, the strength of the mountains, the beauty of the landscape where the desert meets the pine trees. When it gets to hot in the valley, another world awaits you a couple hours to the north. Flagstaff is filled with pine and hundreds of miles of Mt. bike trails, payson has the majestic Mogollon Rim which is home to my favorite spot in az, Bear Lake, and way up north you can discover pinetop and the surrounding peaks and valleys , which is home to the White Mts, Los Burros Trail, and Sunrise ski and mt bike resort. I think there are only a few places I could live in the U.S besides Az... Oregon, Colorado, and Montana (and newport, ri)

When I first discovered i would be in Akita, I was happy to see that Akita has an abundance of nature and outdoor activities. Since I have been here, I have been itching to discover these places, Lake Tazawa, Oga Peninsula, Mt Chokai. Without a car, this adventure has been postponed until this past weekend. I call the past few days, my week of nature and happiness.

Last thursday I had the chance to go kayaking up north with some friends, the day was cold, rainy and gray, and I couldn't have been happier to be in the ocean on a kayak. The landscape looked like a Bob Ross painting , a cloudy mist hungover the lush green hills. The color of the ocean was a mix between turquoise and dark blue. The contrasting colors between the ocean, trees, and clouds was magnificent. There was about eight of us, in full wetsuits , kayaking together in perfect harmony. Kayaking is one of my favorite activities at home... I have three distinct memories of kayaking

In Maine: Ocean kayaking to a deserted island with wild buffalo, camping for the night and sleeping under the stars

In Newport: Ocean kayaking/surfing with Monge riding the waves into Baileys Beach

In Akita: Ocean kayaking to a small rocky beach, jumping of rocks into the ocean.

Now it was a cold , cold, day and after an hour or two in the ocean, we followed it up with an onsen. An onsen is a public bath/hot spring which rejuvenates the body, mind, and soul. This was my first time at an onsen and the setting could not have been more perfect.

Over the weekend, I went to Lake Tazawa for a camping trip with the other ALT s in Akita. Now when I camp, I have to camp right! Good food, great beer, even better people. We picked up some becks beer, jack daniels, brats, kettle cooked chips, and veggies. My town has a foreign foods store, so the comforts of home are not too far away. Luckily i also had my warm clothes, because it is starting to get real cold, real fast. The camping crowd was good, drinks were flowing, smiles were abundant, we were getting rugged baby! There was even a late night jam session with Paul and Joni Mitchell and an even later night swim in the ice cold lake! Cant be near water without going in... Except for the early birds waking me up at 6am and Bens alarm from hell waking me up again at 8am it was a fabulous night. Sunday, I got to hike up a nearby mt, make new friends , and prep myself for my hike up Chokai in a week. I had never quite hiked in a setting like the one Sunday, there is so much green here, I am mesmerized each time i look at it. This hike might crack the top three hikes I ve taken all time...

Appalachian Trail (my favorite)

Escualido mt

Spur Cross trail

And what better way to end a rugged outdoor weekend....Mexican food in Japan! Chips, guac, and burritos

"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul. "

Places I will travel to before I....

places to visit...

The Magic Bus

Blue Nile Falls

Machu Pichhu

Galapagos Islands

Rome

Patagonia

Pnom Penh

Auschwitz

Napa Valley

Fiji

Ireland

Great Yukon Territory

Denali National Park

Appalachian Trail (whole thing)

Pacific Crest Trail

San Francisco

Zanzibar

Things I rather be doing instead of working...

1. packing my beach bag with Jimmy Buffet’s A Pirate Looks at Forty, getting to 2nd beach at sunrise on a monday morning, staying till sunset...
2. reading the NY times with a cup of coffee and an egg sandwich on a rainy morning in Newport, nursing a hangover
3. eating pizza, having a few bud lights, watching football with John David on a big screen on a lazy Sunday...knowing I have Monday off
4. going for a bike ride on a fall New England day in Kent, Ct with mom and dad , follow it up with a visit to the local library book sale, and grabbing a few glasses of wine at the Fife and Drum
5. snuggling all day....listening to the perfect genius playlist
6. going with the MRHS crew for a 5 am mt bike ride on the FINS trail in Az
7. stopping at Total Wine, getting a dogfish IPA, watching a good movie with an even better soundtrack by myself on a friday night
8. sitting at the patio at Eli Cannon’s in Middletown, trying new beers, catching up with old friends.
9. bodysurfing with the boys, especially Mark in Nantucket, i ll always get the better wave Snorky!
10. Gbury Reunion at the Kenyons, Harry s pizza, Jills appetizers, Harpoon Ipa, watching Samantha, talking Sox, Huskies, and politics
11. Beer Olympic s reunion at Matt and Sams, then singing Karaoke at Tailgaters with Matt, Sam, Nick, Jesse, and Kristy

Everyone should wake up and live...

the three best feelings in the world...the obvious, a long pee, and karaoke. Karaoke must be my new funtivity of choice. Its pure liberation to be singing at the top of your lungs with friends, drunk, without a care in the world. Ive sang karaoke here about five times and each time gets better and better. I am not afraid to admit that i sing the cheesiest , most cliche Karaoke songs ever.... Journey, Neil Diamond, Billy Joel, Vanilla Ice , i refuse to sing much else, although I am still trying to find Tom Petty s Free fallin! This past friday our Japanese Language teacher invited us to a new bar to drink for free. Well drink for free is all he had to say, about six of us went to this seedy little establishment and shared drinks all night, while belting out about 100 karaoke tunes. Our Japanese language teacher joined us as well, it was a riot. I woke up with the worst hangover I ve had here on Saturday, which was unfortunate because I really wanted to seize my day, go for a bike ride, go to the park, workout etc. I dragged my worthless ass out of bed around 12 and went straight for the hangover food. There is this little burger place in my town, it shares a building with the grocery store i frequent. It is delicious, the In and Out of Omagari, let me tell you what kills a hangover... A burger, fries, unlimited ice coffee and an ice cream cone, the breakfast of a true champion. I decided since i was feeling so good, to go to the park read, get some sun, and relax. I had a blanket, pillow , reading material, water, i pod I was set. I should of known it was going to be a good day , when I plugged in my ipod i was greeted with what i call the best playlist ever, it started with the Arcade Fires “wake up” blending into some MGMT, Postal Service, Death Cab... pure ecstasy. I think riding your bike on a sunny saturday, listening to tunes on the way to the park, must be good feeling number four. I felt like a little kid, so happy to be doing something so simple. I got to the park, laid down my blanket and pillow, and just started at the clouds and felt total happiness. If it wasnt for these annoying caterpillar , I could of stayed there for the whole day. But i was bound and determined to go on a bike ride, i bought this wonderful bike that i havent taken full advantage of since my weekends are filled with debauchery and booze. I decided i would ride at least two hours and just follow the path along the river, I turned on a little Edward Sharpe and rode...it felt good to be on the bike again. I don’t think i ve had a happier day in Japan than saturday, i feel like i have been dreamin for the last sixty days, no one better pinch me, i swear i ll go crazy.

“In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.The minute I heard my first love story, I started looking for you, not knowing how blind that was. Lovers don't finally meet somewhere, they're in each other all along.”-Rumi

Who is to blame?

Who is to blame:

When it comes to studying the problems in Africa since independence my prevailing theory has always been that the conflicts in modern Africa have a direct link to European Imperialism. Belgium, Britain, France etc are responsible for some heinous crimes against humanity in Africa , they also are responsible for leaving a continent oppressed, vulnerable and without structure. The last European country left Africa some 40 years ago. Since then the continent has seen three genocides, multiple civil wars, and the worlds “unknown war” the deadliest conflict since WW2. But how long does the blame lay on the past generations of European rulers before it switces to the people of this distressed continent. I am beginning to see that part of the problem is the ease some leaders have to blame others, to not accept responsibility for their countries problems. People like Mugabe in Zimbabwe lay the blame on colonial rulers but it is clearly obvious that he has destroyed that country far more than Britain ever did. There is a clear link between European Imperialism and modern African problems, but there is an equally strong link between the current and former leaders of Africa and the issues that plague it. Immediately following independence , many African countries were turned over to the hands of brutal dictators and ineffective leaders. The trend continues today with Bashir, Mugabe, and Museveni , leaders who allow their citizens to be malnourished, raped, and murdered. In turn these people are destined to lead a destitute life of poverty and despair. However, I think the citizens are also to partly to blame, I think their is an over-reliance on foreign aid amongst many people in Africa. I believe it is the role of humanity to protect and help the vulnerable, but I also believe that people have to be resilient to their circumstances and become leaders within their community. There are to few stories of Africans helping other Africans, of potential leaders being sworn into office and actually bettering their country. Even in Rwanda “a western love affair” of how Africa can rebound, there is still corruption. Mr. Kagame has done a miraculous job helping Rwanda recover from genocide. However it is a leadership still marked by corruption and accusations of retaliatory genocide (http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/sep/3/un-report-on-congo-genocide-strengthened/)

I think forgein aid can play a key role in helping Africa further develop but I also think that the citizens and leaders need to take responsibility for themselves and their actions. Their needs to be empowerment amongst the people to unchain themselves for continued oppression. As Mandela says “For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

Things to study...with all my free time

I feel a little one dimensional in my studies, this is a list of topics which I understand the basics but want to be an expert in (like Colonial African History)

History of Arab/Israeli Conflict

Reason for the conflict:

At the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a dispute over land and borders. The geography of the conflict revolves around the three territorial units of Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, defined by armistice lines drawn after a war in the region in 1948. Since then, military action, settlement and population growth have also shaped the situation on the ground.

Israel background and creation

Political zionism took shape in the late-19th century under theodore herzl and the Balfour Declaration of 1917 formalized British policy preferring the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people. Following World War I, the League of Nations granted Great Britain the Mandate for Palestine, which included responsibility for securing "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.” The United Nations General Assembly decided in 1947 on the partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem to be an international city. The plan, which was rejected by the native Arabs, was never implemented. Partition was accepted by Zionist leaders but rejected by Arab leaders, leading to civil war. After the Nazi Holocaust, pressure grew for the international recognition of a Jewish state, and in 1948 Israel came into being. Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948 and neighboring Arab states attacked the next day.

War of 1948

The war commenced upon the termination of the British Mandate of Palestine in mid-May 1948, following a period of civil war in 1947–1948. After the Arab rejection of the 1947 UN General Assembly Resolution 181 that would have created an Arab state and a Jewish state side by side, five Arab states - Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria - attacked Israel, which had declared its independence on the eve of final British withdrawal. The fighting took place mostly on the former territory of the British Mandate and for a short time also in the Sinai Peninsula and southern Lebanon.The war concluded with the 1949 Armistice Agreements.

1949 Armistice Agreements:

The West Bank and the Gaza Strip became distinct geographical units as a result of the 1949 armistice that divided the new Jewish state of Israel from other parts of Mandate Palestine. From 1948 to 1967, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, was ruled by Jordan. During this period, the Gaza Strip was under Egyptian military administration.

In the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Israel took control of the western part of Jerusalem, while Jordan took the eastern part, including the old walled city containing important Jewish, Muslim and Christian religious site

Suez Canal Crisis

Israeli troops captured Egypt's Sinai peninsula during the 1956 British, French and Israeli military campaign in response to the nationalization of the Suez Canal. The Israelis subsequently withdrew and were replaced with a UN force. In 1967, Egypt ordered the UN troops out and blocked Israeli shipping routes - adding to already high levels of tension between Israel and its neighbors.

Six Day War

In a pre-emptive attack on Egypt that drew Syria and Jordan into a regional war in 1967, Israel made massive territorial gains capturing the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights and the Sinai Peninsula (recaptured) up to the Suez Canal. The principle of land-for-peace that has formed the basis of Arab-Israeli negotiations is based on Israel giving up land won in the 1967 war in return for peace deals recognizing Israeli borders and its right to security.

Jerusalem after 1967

Israel's occupation of East Jerusalem considered illegal under international law. Israel is determined that Jerusalem be its undivided capital, while Palestinians are seeking to establish their capital in East Jerusalem.

Yom Kippur War

In October 1973 on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, Egypt and Syria launched surprise attacks on Israel to recover land lost in the "Six Day War" of 1967. After two weeks, most hostilities ended. Egypt and Syria fail to retake the Golan Heights seized during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. A 1974 peace agreement gave Egypt control of the Suez Canal while Syria regained some of its pre-1967 territory. A 1979 peace agreement restored the Sinai to Egypt in return for recognizing the state of Israel.

1974 Agreement

Syria and Israel sign a disengagement agreement in which Israel partially withdraws from the Golan Heights, creating a demilitarized zone patrolled by UN peacekeeping forces.

Golan Heights

Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in the closing stages of the 1967 Six-Day War. Most of the Syrian Arab inhabitants fled the area during the conflict.An armistice line was established and the region came under Israeli military control. Almost immediately Israel began to settle the Golan. Syria tried to retake the Golan Heights during the 1973 Middle East war. Despite inflicting heavy losses on Israeli forces, the surprise assault was thwarted. Both countries signed an armistice in 1974 and a UN observer force has been in place on the ceasefire line since 1974. Israel unilaterally annexed the Golan Heights in 1981. The move was not recognized internationally.

There are more than 30 Jewish settlements on the heights, with an estimated 20,000 settlers. There are some 20,000 Syrians in the area, most of them members of the Druze sect.

1979 Agreement (Camp David Accords)

Under the accords, Israel agreed to withdraw troops from the Sinai Peninsula in return for Egypt's recognition of the state of Israel. Palestinians were also granted the right to some self-determination.The other agreement created a framework for a broader peace in the region that included a plan for Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The latter provisions were not implemented immediately.

Annexation of the Golan Heights 1981

When Israel passed the Golan Heights Law, which extended Israeli law and administration throughout the territory.This move was condemned by the United Nations Security Council which called the Israeli decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration in the Golan Heights "null and void and without international legal effect." Israel, however, asserts its right to retain the area, citing the text of UN Resolution 242, adopted after the Six-Day War, which calls for "safe and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force".

Palestinian Intifada- (rebellion or uprising)

In late 1987, a spontaneous yet well-organized uprising - the "Intifada" - began in Gaza and spread like a fire across the West Bank and into Jerusalem itself. Daily strikes and demonstrations, with Palestinian youths hurling stones and petrol bombs, kept the Israeli occupation army at full stretch for nearly three years. The Intifada drew world attention not only to Israel's 20 or so years of illegal military occupation of the territories and East Jerusalem, but also to the brutal measures Israel was using to put down the uprising. Although the PLO was not the author of the uprising, it quickly added its organizational weight and approval, and took or tried to take much of the credit for it.

By engaging the Israelis directly, rather than relying on the authority or the assistance of neighboring Arab states, the Palestinians were able to globally cement their identity as a separate nation worthy of self-determination. The Israeli countermeasures (particularly during the earlier years of the Intifada) resulted in international attention to the Palestinians' cause.

The Oslo Peace Process (Netanyahu is again leader of Israel)

The 1994 Oslo Accord between Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin created a framework in which Israel would trade land for peace and negotiate a final "divorce." Israelis' would progressively transfer portions of the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip to the control of an interim body called the Palestinian Authority, the elections for which would include Arafat's previously banned Palestine Liberation Organization. The Palestinian Authority would guarantee Israel's security by clamping down on terrorism, as both sides prepared their people for a final agreement involving a mutual recognition of each other's claims to Mideast land that would once have been unthinkable. Over the five years during which the "land for peace" transfers were expected to build mutual trust and confidence, the two sides would proceed with negotiations on the "final status" issues left unresolved at Oslo. These included some of the thorniest issues dividing the two sides:

But the Oslo process had enemies on both sides: Israeli right-wingers led by Netanyahu opposed the very principle of trading land for peace and vowed to resist the surrender of any territory over which the Israeli flag flew; Islamic fundamentalist Palestinians rallied around the Hamas movement to denounce a peace agreement that would involve Palestinian and Arab acceptance of Israel's right to exist on what was once Palestinian land. And on both sides, naysayers were prepared to resort to violence. In February 1994, an Israeli settler, Baruch Goldstein, massacred 29 Palestinians inside a religious site at Hebron, and then in November 1995 a young religious conservative, Yigal Amir, assassinated Rabin. Then in February and March of 1996, Hamas launched its deadliest assault yet on the peace process, killing 57 Israelis in a series of suicide bombings that prompted acting prime minister Shimon Peres to break off peace talks.

Two months later, Benjamin Netanyahu narrowly defeated Peres and jammed the brakes on the peace process. Soon after taking office he lifted a four-year freeze on building new settlements in the West Bank, and then authorized the opening of a tunnel at an Islamic holy site in Jerusalem that provoked an outbreak of violence in which 61 Palestinians and 15 Israelis died. Netanyahu complied with Israel's commitment to turn over 80 percent of the town of Hebron to Palestinian control in January 1997, but that was the last land transfer until the October 1998 Wye River accord, where the U.S. pushed Israel into handing over a few extra parcels. Far from having built up the mutual trust and confidence to resolve the difficult obstacles to long-term peace, Oslo's five-year deadline passed without "final status" talks even getting under way.

Oslo II and the assassination of Rabin

The agreement divided the West Bank into three zones:

Zone A comprised 7% of the territory (the main Palestinian towns excluding Hebron and East Jerusalem) going to full Palestinian control;

Zone B comprised 21% of the territory under joint Israeli-Palestinian control;

Zone C stayed in Israeli hands. Israel was also to release Palestinian prisoners. Further handovers followed.

Oslo II was greeted with little enthusiasm by Palestinians, while Israel's religious right was furious at the "surrender of Jewish land". Amid an incitement campaign against Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, a Jewish religious extremist assassinated him on November 4th, sending shock waves around the world. The dovish Shimon Peres, architect of the faltering peace process, became prime minister.

Second intifada

The second Palestinian intifada or uprising broke out at the end of September 2000 and is named after the Jerusalem mosque complex where the violence began.

Frustrations that years of the negotiation had failed to deliver a Palestinian state were intensified by the collapse of the Camp David summit in July 2000.

Ariel Sharon, then the leader of Israel's opposition, paid a visit to the site in East Jerusalem known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif, and to Jews as Temple Mount, which houses the al-Aqsa mosque - and frustration boiled over into violence.

West Bank re-occupied

Palestinian militants carried out an intense campaign of attacks in the first three months of the year, including a hotel bombing which killed 29 on the eve of the Jewish Passover holiday. In response, Israel besieged Yasser Arafat in his Ramallah compound for five weeks and sent tanks and thousands of troops to re-occupy almost all of the West Bank. Months of curfews and closures followed as Israel carried out operations it said were aimed at destroying the Palestinian terrorist infrastructure.

Controversy raged as Israeli forces entered and captured the West Bank city of Jenin in April. Israel began building a barrier in the West Bank, which it said was to prevent attacks inside Israel, although Palestinians feared an attempt to annex land.

West Bank: Palestinian-controlled areas

Since the 1993 Declaration of Principles resulting from the Oslo peace process, there have been several handovers of land to differing degrees of Palestinian control. Currently 59% of the West Bank is officially under Israeli civil and security control. Another 23% of it is under Palestinian civil control, but Israeli security control. The remainder of the territory is governed by the Palestinian National Authority - although such areas have been subject to Israeli incursions during the recent intifada.

West Bank: Israeli settlements

Since 1967, Israel has pursued a policy of building settlements on the West Bank. These cover about 2% of the area of the West Bank and are linked by Israeli-controlled roads. There are also large tracts of Israeli-controlled land designated as military areas or nature reserves.

West Bank: Israeli checkpoints

Military checkpoints on West Bank roads allow Israel to monitor and control travel in much of the West Bank. During the recent Palestinian intifada, Israeli troops have also encircled and staged incursions into population centres and severely restricted the movement of Palestinian civilians. In 2002, Israel began building a security barrier near the north-western edge of the West Bank.

Gaza Pullout

Mahmoud Abbas was elected president of the Palestinian Authority after a landslide victory in January elections. But post-election attacks by Palestinian militants immediately threatened to derail hopes for renewed peace talks. However, Mr Abbas deployed Palestinian police in northern Gaza and by February had persuaded Hamas and Islamic Jihad to begin a temporary, unofficial cessation of violence.Mr Abbas and Mr Sharon went on to announce a mutual ceasefire at a summit in Egypt, although the militant groups stopped short of making their fragile – and far from watertight - truce official. Preparations for – and controversy over – Ariel Sharon's planned pullout from the Gaza Strip continued, with the Israeli Prime Minister securing cabinet backing and fending off calls for a referendum from opponents. Despite widespread protests by settlers, the withdrawal went ahead in late August and early September, with emotional scenes as Israeli troops removed some settlers by force.

Gaza Strip: Population

Gaza, one of the most densely populated tracts of land in the world, is home to about 1.3m Palestinians, about 33% of whom live in United Nations-funded refugee camps. About 8,000 Jewish settlers also lived in the Gaza Strip until September 2005 when they and the troops that protected them were withdrawn. Before the withdrawal, travel in and out of Gaza was severely restricted for long periods.

Gaza Strip: Access and security

Israel controls Gaza's airspace, coast and most of its borders. In November 2005 Israel agreed to allow the Palestinians and Egypt to control the Rafah crossing point (with video surveillance by an EU-Palestinian team), and to increase traffic through Erez and Karni crossing points. The construction of a sea port was also given the go-ahead. The future of Gaza's destroyed airport is yet to be agreed.

Who Controls Gaza:

In June 2007, the Islamist militant group Hamas took over the strip, ousting the forces of Fatah, the faction led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and effectively splitting Gaza from the West Bank in terms of its administration. Hamas had won legislative elections in January 2006.

Current Situation (great link)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11138790

U.S support of South American Dictators (Pinochet)

Afghan/Soviet War

Sierra Leone Civil War

Reformation (King Henry/Queen Elizabeth)

WWII Pacific Campaign

Ituri Conflict