International

There are so many places I want to travel in the world, it is hard for me to decide where to start my travels. A wise man once said, "The world is a book, and those who do not travel only read a page."- St. Augustine. Many times I have often thought of how I want to go about deciding where to travel. Next summer I want to study abroad, but I have too many options to choose from. India has really fascinated me. I just finished a book called The Age of Kali, by William Dalymphre. William lived and traveled in the Indian subcontinent for more than ten years trying to find the Age of Kali. The Age of Kali is also referred to as Kali Yug, an epoch of ancient Hindu cosmology. Kali Yug is the lowest epoch and the worst. At times in the book it seems as if this Age of Darkness is really upon the earth. The book is full of sad accounts of murder, rape, violence, child marriage, caste wars, and other unfortunate circumstances that are very eye opening to anyone who is interested in learning more about Indian Subcontinent. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in India, but who is willing to realize the reality of the darkness that takes place in India. This book is not an easy quick read. Don't say I didn't warn you! At the U they do a semester study abroad program, but it takes place in the spring. Since I am the president of Tau, I won't be able to go this year :( . My heart goes out to India and the darkness that goes on there. I think sometimes we get so caught up in our own little bubble that we don't realize what harsh realities the world is facing. I wish people would take the time to learn about different cultures and to expand their horizon. Utah is just one little dot on a very large map. Anyway I got really off topic. Back to the original decision.. where to go next summer? Italy, Africa, Greece, Spain, Australia, South America, France, China? There world is beautiful and I love it.

See you next summer

Summer is coming to a close and I cannot believe how fast it went by. As I reflect on my summer I think about the things that I did, and the things that I didn't do. Some highlights of my summer are:

• Visiting Ireland and London
• Taking summer classes at the University of Utah (12 more credits out of the way!!)
• Lake Powell
• Reading, reading, and more reading
• Hanging out with the bestie and bleeburt
• Seeing 500 days of summer 3 times in theaters and listening to the soundtrack nonstop
• Getting the Student Assistant position at work ( and a $2 pay increase :) )
• Shopping for fun things for my apartment with mi madre
• Running and biking
• Crazy dance parties in Kirst's kitchen
• Sleeping under the stars
• Party Pirate Picnics in the Park
• the movie 5o0 days of summer and star trek :)
• pool parties
• my tau girls
• hanging out in slc
• my new macbook
• playing with my cousins
• Froyo (thanks to Rachel...now I am addicted)