Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Culture within our own country.

My diet is FINALLY over!

I have a confession, however.

Yesterday was meant to be soup day. Jake and I diligently made the soup the night before so that I could just wake up and have it all day. Well I woke up the next morning a total mess. I could barely sit up straight or walk around. I had zero energy. I have a history of hypoglycemia, so I knew it was only a matter of time until the diet completely disagreed with me. Luckily it happened on the very last day. 

So I stopped a day early. I had 5 students to teach yesterday, and had to pull myself together. Unfortunately I was so sick I had to reschedule all of them. But it's okay. I don't think I failed this diet by stopping a day early. I could have maybe lost a couple more pounds but no biggie. 

Many of you wonder: why did I do this diet? And you're probably totally sick of hearing about it. I know. I've been talking about it too much, but it's the only thing that's kept me accountable.

I did it to lose a little bit of weight, of course. But that's not really why. I did it because I wanted to give myself a real challenge of strict self-discipline. I think all of us need a reality check every once in a while. I wanted to see if I could do something hard without giving up, and I did it! I'm very proud of myself. 

Now that it's all over I will stop talking about it. :)



Day #20: A picture of somewhere you would love to travel.

There are SO many places I would love to go. I have narrowed it down to my top 5. They are in no particular order.

1. Boston



I was raised on hearing stories of the magnificence of Boston. My parents both love it. Well, Massachusetts more generally, I should say. Boston is the home of the Red Sox, a team I have loved for many years. Amherst is where Emily Dickinson was born and raised. It seems to have so much history and intrigue. I would just love to experience it.

2. England


Most specifically London, but I feel that the rest of the country is probably just as beautiful. When I was little I dreamed about going there. I really don't know why. Such a different culture than we have here in the states.

3 and 4: Ireland and Scotland




GREEN, GREEN, GREEN. These places both seem so raw and natural. My biggest draw to both of these places is their music. I've been playing Scottish and Irish fiddle tunes since I was 4 years old. I don't mean to group these two countries together, implying they are the same. I know they are not. But the music from these countries tie together in my mind. 

5. The entire United States


This is the main point I wanted to bring up in my blog today. I often think about why people are the way they are. Why mean people are mean, why nice people are nice, and why I feel the need to generalize people into these categories. Well I think that many of these answers can be found in people's upbringing, and their ancestors' upbringing. Within the United States we have many different lifestyles. We don't have to travel outside of our own country at all to find culture. I have spent all of my life on the west coast or very near the west coast. I have no idea what people are like in other parts of the country. If I had the time and the means, I would buy a mobile home with Jake, and we would take a couple of years to travel to all fifty states and learn about them. I would write a book about it. I figure that you would need 2 or 3 weeks in each state to soak up some culture. That's about 3 years. I love my country, but I wouldn't consider myself a patriot. If I could fully understand the country and each state, I would probably have a much bigger appreciation. In fact, maybe someday when Jake and I retire we can make this dream come true. Maybe we'd cut it down to a week in each state, to make it a year long trip instead. But it's an interesting thought, don't you think?










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