Thursday, October 24, 2013

what makes my heart thump. (and skip and bounce and jump!)


The sun streaming past the horizon and behind the dome’s glow,
Tears wallow as I speed into the cold, piercing it with my tires
Squinting against the light, I greet the traffic, I greet the sun.

I am grateful for my body.

The legacy that binds and shapes the past, 
protrudes and marks the present
Layers revealed, inequality formed
a solid block, heavy and burdened
Push, pull and peel. Debris and confusion aside, the change makes way.
What decisions should I make? What actions lay ahead.
Tears pour as we strive, and I strive to better understand –
reveal, and work to provide.

I am grateful for my responsibilities.  


Monday, October 14, 2013

knowing 30

I wrote this in July 2012.
Before I knew I would leave the country for 7 months.
I left in February 2013.
I am 31 now, and
I don't know if I still know!

_______________________________

There’s a realization that hits the side of you face,
A realization mixed with so much clarity and confusion,

You turn your cheek, to be hit again – hopefully harder, sharper
so this time around there is less confusion.

You have come full circle.
When leaving feels like coming, and coming feels like going.
When places and spaces become options and choices,
Momentary feelings.
You opt out,
You choose ‘other’
You choose to go,
When leaving feels like a relief,
An adventure.

When you don’t remember the faces, but you remember the food.
When no country, no city, gives you that excitement and lingering curiosity.
But you remember that it used to.

You choose to stay.
When staying and saving, feels right.
When spending feels wrong, marvelous, frivolous, and painstakingly fun.
When the future includes mom and dad,
securing their comfort and safety, and nothing else.

iceland 9.7.2013

When you finally give yourself time to heal.
When you know exactly how to heal.
When you stop listening to others – and yourself.

When some say you are old,
And others say you are young.
When you’re annoyed to be carded
And surprised when you aren’t

When ‘5 years’ is for a minute
When a scenic drive feels like eternity.
When ailments and remedies are generously shared.
When you choose to live and celebrate life with and for others.
Birthdays. Weddings. Funerals. Births. Retirement parties.
When your shoulds’ become coulds.’

When mistakes don’t carry so much weight.
When mistakes, now – are a big fuckin deal.

When you have more patience for others,
But less for yourself.
When among life’s trials, aside from being present and aware,
You now know
There is not much you can do,
And there is not much left to say...

But maybe ask when and what else?

Saturday, June 29, 2013

time zones.

those zones, those zones,
that tell a tale of woulds and coulds
when the sun rises with the moon
and his sleep is her wake

when her words become stale,
sittin in his inbox, unchecked and unread
fretfully wonderin if he’s awake
and
his dreams seem incomplete, knowing she’s beginning
all the possibilities and tragedies that daylight brings.

South Kuta Bali Sea, Indonesia 
















as she waits and he waits for
his light to rise, and her light to set
they long for
the AM and PM to collide and comprise…
this invaluable, small space set in somebody else’s
time

the universe knows its not him
its not her
but
untold stories and unmet wishes and wants
lost among the zones, oh those many different zones.

the standard - the local – the pacific - the summer
the GMT, the EST, the EAT, the BST,
and of course, we become caught up in the PST
even the Irish have the IST
and the cricket players and ballers have their fans
who cheer through the AM as friends and family watch during the PM

oh those zones

Tbilisi Photo Festival 2013, Night of Photography













skype dates and fake playmates
your time and my time
whose time should we meet?
when your lunch is my midnight ice cream cone.
and then you say
Saturday is 2 mornings away
but then your Sunday is my workday.
let’s comprise
and fight the time

so they wait.
for their times to willfully collide.
when he can catch her right before her shut-eye.
when she can catch him before his flight

and he can find her at rest, on a bus, or just at best…
and she can find him glowing green on the internet screen.
longing and wishing and wanting and hoping

and waiting.
til she wakes
and he sleeps
so her daydreams become his sweetdreams
and her sunsets will become his sunrise.

yes, they will find the time to collide.

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

why and how.


I was having lunch with a seasoned expat when he asked me – why are you here? Can’t they do the things that you are doing? Don’t they have museum professionals too?

I had asked that question even before I set foot on the plane. Clearly it didn't prevent me from coming. I realized that it was because I was much more fascinated by the How. 

old city walls in TB - 5th century
I think the why-issues that can be discussed/addressed range from principles of community-based development and participatory action research, to even broader concepts in ethics and policy perspectives that shape international development. Yawn.

Therefore my answer is a simple one (don't laugh, I recognize that it is rather idealistic, but I'm confident e_p_  t_ y! is superior to all other qualities and factors of museum programs). Drumroll....

I’m here to help museum professionals develop and recognize empathy.

Yes, there are museum professionals and they can do the things that I am doing, I mean Gawd I hope so, its just joy we are talking about. I’m barely past 5 feet.
But similar to an educator realizing his/her own teaching philosophy, or the social significance that drives a statistician to value numbers, I have the privilege of developing and defining principles that shape my work. My approach is grounded in empathy and human-responsiveness - the belief that museum programs - and everything it encompasses, from the preservation of cultural heritage to a traveling exhibition - are for people and respond to the needs and interests of the public (yes, humans! me.you.we.us.)

So I think the most important question is not Why - rather, How? Especially in a post-soviet, post-war, transitional country…How do I provide opportunities for others to develop empathy? How do I help them ground their cool brainy ideas so that they can also serve others?

So now when I meet new people, as why-questions rise, guiding our preamble and dotting the heavy smoke in the air - ex: Why choose Georgia of all places? Why did you relocate your whole family? Why are you single?

I can't wait to cut through the smoke and begin to ask and answer with the....How?

Monday, March 18, 2013

tribute

to you who wrote, when you had no pen.
to sending inspiration through skies
in jars and handmade journals, too
yes, it's electric

monochromatic paintings we made
with prussian blue
it crashed, we laughed
lit cigarettes. 
yes, you brought the naples yellow hue.

to you, who walked with me when he left
you knew, and waited for me
to know too.
teach us to celebrate
deserving, without doubt

be brave you said.
we roamed. we explored.
you were still with me when I ran.
from them, from him. 
we ate, we drank. rejoice
yes, let's be powerful and beautiful together!

4 wonderful wheels, we were
we are
we made
         sunshine
4 floors up
ice cream sandwiches, 4 floors down
im laughing outloud again. 

to you, who showed me how
spanning over continents and years
shared couches and food, hearts open.
remember all that - we would ask?

Yes, to you, all of you
who left the nightlight on for me
           and
     let me
talk during the movie. 








Wednesday, March 6, 2013

the trivial.

When i forget my scarf and think of buying one on the way to work.
when im annoyed that i have to pay 5 lari for watery coffee.
when im cold.
when the driver is smoking in the marshutka at 7am.
when im bummed i haven't heard from him.

when i have to teach.
id rather be finishing the interactive gallery teaching tool.
or explaining audience-center exhibition design.

Then I start the lesson,
tell me about an enjoyable experience you had during childhood.
use past simple.
don't worry about mistakes.

The stories come. 
The memories of St. Petersburg
        i was four years old, and with my father
        he showed me everything.
        it was beautiful, the streets were old.
        it was cloudy.
        i want to go back and see again, now that i am old
        but they won't let us

The stories come.
That she grew up afraid
That he grew up angry. That they remember the loud sounds.

my neck doesn't seem so cold
my coffee isn't so bad.
and my heart a little less afraid, a little less in want.
and a lot more open.

Friday, March 1, 2013

so i run.



So they tell me I'm always running 
That I run to other countries. Far ones.
Away. 

In those countries I run too. Far and Away
And they usually don’t have abc.com and Cheetos.
I am okay.

But it is true that the feeling still permeates.
Abroad, I am caught off guard
and embarrassed

It Penetrates.

You know that it crosses borders.
he said. 
Stay focused, they say.

So I run.
And this time 
I’m swimming too.

Sunday, February 17, 2013

in spite of me..

In response to my fight against the 9-5, someone said to me:

Any mold of an activist should not, 

and probably cannot fit someone for too long. 
I'd say the privilege is being able to reconcile with the fact 
that at times life just happens to you in spite of yourself.

I didn't get it until now.
 

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

12.13.2013

It creeps up at different times. In different ways.
Sometimes it chokes you.
Sometimes it lingers, like an open wound.

You will cover it, ignore it, but it is aways painfully present.

Sometimes you thought you were over it, beyond it, stronger than it - above it.
And than it rushes out full force, breaking walls, opening doors and climbing over barriers - those that you thought were in place.

Unbreakable you said.
Contained. Controlled.
 

After it seeps and spills forth,
flooding your thoughts,
you let it.

words roll, actions take over
followed by pride
you let it.

then there is shame.
blame.

why did you say that?
why are you always thinking that

It isn’t important, everyone knows already.
why do you always make a big deal about it.
let it go.

Walls let loose
doors break open
Water settles in the cracks of the once broken
When I am more of me
and much willing to just be.

Monday, February 11, 2013

my response

http://www.peacecorps.gov/response/
      There’s this fine line between genuine service and the pursuit of the extraordinarily cool (i.e. dude, this homie i know started a Bengali-Nepalese-Peruvian-Tajik environmental-social entrepreneurship-exchange partnership program using locally-derived plant-based mineral tie-dying culturally-based textiles with indigenous prints to generate income for homeless youth). OH, and he fundraised$400,000 to travel to 63 different countries training community-based orgs on how to develop similar programing. Oh and he started a transnational hip-hop group that perform/built a sweet space in the Cape Flats.

My natural Response:
dude, Rad. i want to be that homie. (My second Response: is he single?! ;)
Peace Corps South Africa, 2006 - Getting ready to come home to the States


       I confess, It’s hard for me not to significantly value the ‘extraordinarily cool’ and to NOT measure my experiences and pursuits against it. So how do I prepare and develop my work/volunteer experiences and pursuits to be an honest reflection of genuine service? How do I apply and/or integrate it with my personal work values and ethics?

Here is my cry for a personal and open Response:

I will observe, listen, learn, and be patient.
I will remember to identify, focus on, and celebrate community and cultural assets.
I will cultivate awareness of community development in historical, cultural, and socio-cultural contexts.
I will discern the source my intention and practice - is it based on the needs/priorities directly expressed by individuals from the community?
I will ask, whose voices are heard, unheard?
I will be flexible, humble.
gracious. grateful.

Finally, I will ask - hey Homie,
Hold me accountable?