A New Theory

Last time I visited Salem, I noticed that there were a lot of new homes being built. Salem is growing as a town a little bit, but not enough to necessitate the huge numbers of new homes and it was very confusing to me. I think I might have an idea about it now. Today I was listening to NPR and they were talking about how divorce is negatively affecting the earth. When people get divorced they split a household in half, and therefore use twice as much electricity, gas, and other utilities, thus hurting the environment. So, it could be that we need so many more homes because so many families are splitting up the homes they were living in. Sad, but true.
On a slightly unrelated note, the Southern Baptist Convention this week acknowledged that global warming is real and that they have an obligation to fight against it. I can't wait to tell my students - most of whom think it's a conspiracy by Al Gore (what exactly the conspiracy is trying to get them to do is not clear).

Green Lights

Did you ever have a perfect traffic day? Yes this seems a little shallow and unimportant, but really, doesn't it make you feel a little better if you arrive at your destination without feeling hassled and rushed from hitting every red light, waiting for 2 trains to pass by, and being stuck behind the elderly lady who can't see over the steering wheel? On Monday, Jordan and I headed to my school to meet with our South Korea team. On the way there, I was amazed to discover that we had not hit a single red light. I informed Jordan and then we kept track, every light turned green before we had to stop until we hit the three lights before the freeway and then we got them all red. Then, on the way home, we hit it again - no red lights at all until the very final turn to get on the street of our apartment complex. In a world of stress and rush and frustration, it's nice to have something little to smile about!

Nelson who?

My students made me very sad today. I had them read some sample speeches, and one was Bill Clinton presenting the Congressional Gold Medal to Nelson Mandela and another was Nelson Mandela accepting the medal. Someone in one of my classes asked me, "Who's Nelson Mandela." I looked at them disbelievingly and asked if they were serious. Several other students spoke up and said they didn't know who he was either. Seriously, one of the greatest men of the last 50 years and less than half of my class recognized the name or had any idea of who he was. I went on to explain who he was and his contribution to society and his winning the Nobel Peace Prize. They scoffed the peace prize (because if Al Gore could win it, then it has apparently lost all importance). Then they said that his fight had nothing to do with them, so why should they care. I sputtered a bit, unsure of what to say - the man who endured years of imprisonment and was instrumental to ending the systematic racist regime of his country being described as not applicable to their lives? For the first time in my life, I felt some fear for our future...