I decided to title this post in Spanish because today's a big work day and one of the things I need to do this summer is read Introducción a la literatura Latinoamericana (in addition to several other books). As a book-lover, I don't think of reading as an assignment but rather as an opportunity, so I'm excited, but I also need to prep for other classes that are a bit more daunting (AP Bio, cough cough). But that's okay! It's summer, right? And we have good music:
Birdy: "Wings"
Vampire Weekend: "Hannah Hunt"
Jack Garratt: "Worry"
Something else that I've been thinking about a lot lately is purpose/all that stuff. I have a stack of cards on my desk from Doctors Without Borders, and I was reading the first-person anecdotes of some of the volunteers, which are so incredibly moving and inspiring (even when they're tragic). One of the anecdotes was about the Ebola epidemic, and I wanted to share it here. It got me thinking a lot about the meaning of love, etc., and how, in the end, all that really matters is that we showed love for those around us and were positive. The material stuff is just material stuff in the end, and it's memories and moments that count. I know all this has been said before, but it helps to hear it again, I think...especially at the beginning of the week :).
"Another time, a 15-year-old girl was inside the isolation ward for over a week, along with her seven-year-old sister and her mother, who was very unwell at first. But then they all started to get better When, finally, the girl's Ebola test came back negative, she had a shower in chlorine to disinfect herself, changed into new clothes, and was discharged. That was a wonderful moment--to see that and to know her mother and sister would soon be well enough to join her." -MSF Doctor Hannah Spencer
Art has an amazing ability to bring a wide range of feelings and memories to the surface simply by sharing itself with you. Language, I've found, can have a similar effect. When I was little, my grandmother, who passed away a few years ago but continues to be a huge part of my life, bought the book First Thousand Words in Spanish. Flash forward a little over a decade later, and I've taken all the Spanish classes available at school and love practicing it. Am I fluent? Not at all! But I'm working on getting better, and I've even had bilingual dreams ("sueños"). Anyway, the reason I'm talking about Spanish and art is that this post is about Mexican folk art, which I find incredibly beautiful and colorful. It also always makes me think of Dia de los Muertos, which not only falls on my birthday but is also one of my favorite holidays because it is all about communicating with and celebrating (not mourning) dead loved ones.
