First Snow (and snow storm)

Oh Winter!

It had to happen eventually and last night was the lucky night...snow fall! It was beautiful to watch! Over night all of the ugly gray tree limbs were dipped in white. The landscape has been decorated anew.

Welcome winter, snow, ice, cold, and slush. This is a love affair I will not enjoy for long, but while it's good I will bask! If you promise to try and be gentle with my knees I will promise to stare out of every window at your beauty (especially during class and group projects). Avoid falling out of the trees onto my head. I don't like that. If you wait I promise to throw you at my roommates as we walk to school.

We shall see if you are worth the trouble. Either way my dear sweet Florida is always waiting for me...and I shall gladly return!

One Down

I am finished! Well, with one class. My first module class is complete...no more Gender and Development. I have one class under my belt, which also meets one of my required courses for graduation.

It's a little funny: just 7 weeks of class and I am finished with a course before midterms have taken place for others!

Cleaning Up The Past

Land Mines that were planted more than 30 years ago in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa are being removed by the international organization HUMAID. These mines hindered farm land from being cultivated in a predominately agriculture based community. While the clearing of land and safety of the population is important, I think the mental freedom of not living around land mines is so amazing. The liberation of not being surrounded by fear is priceless.

All Africa article: Mine-free farms

The organization hopes to be finished clearing away the existing lannd mines by 2011. So far they have removed 21 mines.

Pictures...finally!

So here are the much anticipated first photos of my trip. There are 2 different albums:

1. My first 24 hours in Boston, which includes moving from Ft Lauderdale and exploring Boston
2. My new home in Waltham

Hope you enjoy and thanks for following me on this adventure.

The Goodbye List

It's finally here. My departure day. Time to pick up and head out...another adventure. This one seems bittersweet. I'm not as excited to leave and am actually more nervous moving to a new city and state than I was when I moved to West Africa. Weird, huh?

So here is my list of things I leave behind and the counter list of things to look forward to:

THINGS I LEAVE BEHIND:
1. My friends - the people I choose to make my family. You guys are weird, wild, crazy, over the top and full of life (you know who you are) and I love having you in my life! Thanks for all the memories and stories that make me eager to return to South Florida every break!

2. Florida - your warm, sometimes extreme, heat and humidity make it wonderfully easy to declare any day a beach day. You give us an excuse to be half naked most of the year and a reason to exercise (or at least eat a little healthier). I will truly miss you when my tushy is freezing and the thrill of snow wears thin.

3. Driving - goodbye traffic, congestion, car accidents, and the fear that I will run out of gas before I get to a station. Car, you are fired!

4. Publix - thanks for all the yummy, fresh produce and excellent song selection. You truly make shopping a pleasure! Who knows what they call produce that far North??!!

THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO:
1. Everything is new - this is slightly bittersweet since the unknown can at times be scary. But I look forward to new roommates, a newly remodeled house, a new school, a new city to explore, and new friends who will slowly understand and eventually love me.

2. New England weather - I will finally be able to say I have experienced a New England winter. Although I have lived in winter weather before, I know that you are "supposedly" different and I will soon see how.

3. Hello subways, trains, walking, and morning commuters - I shall finally live somewhere where public transportation actually works.

4. Independence! - after surviving 9 months at home with my parents I am finally (FINALLY) on my own again and free to not hear my mom's every "suggestion". Thanks 'rents for taking me in and thanks even more for letting me go!

So goodbye Florida and everything I love. Hello Massachusetts. Another adventure awaits!

Boston Here I Come!

It is official. I am moving to Boston. Not only is it official but it is sealed with a bought and paid for ticket. I will be moving to Boston on July 30! I actually booked a ticket.

It feels so strange to think that in less than one month I will be living in a new state. Massachusetts will be home for a while and I will be a temporary New Englander. It is hard to believe that I will say goodbye to my beloved Florida and all the people I love who live there.

My entire world is here in South Florida. People are constantly asking me if I'm getting excited and, as of now, the answer is no. I can not really picture living somewhere so cold, far away from what currently makes my world home. I can not imagine wearing snow gear and sloshing my way to class. It is hard to get excited about something you can not mentally envision. But I know that it is happening, it has to happen. I know that time will fly by quickly because it always does. I know that I will miss being here and will truly miss my friends. But I will make some new ones and will enjoy where I am for its season. That has been my motto for every adventure and will remain for this one. Because home is truly where the heart is and my heart along with the rest of me is moving to Boston!

America, Venezuela & Honduras: One Happy Family

I read this quote earlier today and had to laugh at the insanity our world (or, scary thought, its leaders) continue to roll in:

Meanwhile, Mr. Chávez’s threats of belligerence in Central America led one opposition party here, Acción Democrática, to issue a statement on Monday that was full of irony:
“Hugo Chávez has become the George Bush of Latin America.”

Taken from the NY Times Article "Obama's Stance Deflects Chávez's Finger-Pointing"

Sandcastle Disco

The other day I was told by a self-titled feminist that we women can not seem vulnerable now that men are just starting to recognize us as equals. She was referring to a conversation re: guys who disappear (the ones who do not return phone calls) and how disappointing that is after you get your hopes up. I won't now go into that conversation but I will post a simple reply of my thoughts.

It actually made me sad to think I am not "allowed" to show emotions, especially to show that I am vulnerable and can be hurt. It's the truth whether or not I am suppose to show it to the opposite sex. I am fragile, I can be hurt.

If I deny my feelings I deny what makes me Shayla. If I deny a part of myself then I risk loosing myself, slowly. Because the hurt lets me know I am still feeling, I am still human. I don't want to ever get to the point when I don't feel. I have no desire to become a human robot. It makes me think of this song Sandcastle Disco by Solange Knowles (the younger sister of Beyonce and in my opinion the more talented singer):

I play tough as nails
With my heart on my sleeve
I'm nothing but a sandcastle
Baby don't blow me away away...

...I know you do this to all the girls
But Baby I'm fragile...
...Don't blow me away

I live everyday with passion. I am truly a passionate person and will remain vulnerable.

Life in the Middle

I love this middle stage that I am in. Sometimes my life, really it's the people in my life, just make me laugh. It is so random and filled with so many people experiencing complete opposites.

I have friends subleasing apartments and others buying their first home.

Friends stressed over finals week and others stressed that it's the beginning of the work week.

I can look at one friends profile pictures and see how wild their weekend was and then look at another profile and read her tips learned for breastfeeding her newborn son!

I have friends who seem a million miles from ever settling down and getting married (no I do not consider myself in this group) and friends who I can not believe have been married for a few years.

I guess it will be a few more years before we hit the just about everyone is married and having babies age. For now I will keep trying to balance between the two extremes.

Judgement At Last

After way to much anxiety this process is almost over! I have been insanely checking my email inbox and my mailbox everyday, sometimes twice or three times a day, since I knew all my graduate schools would be sending out there decisions. Of course my mailbox has been overflowing with junk mail now that I just want letters or very thick packages from multiple universities. And checking my email has resulted in such stomach cramps it could induce ulcers. Yet I have survived judgement and can report:

I have officially been accepted at both Brandeis University in Boston and Tulane University in New Orleans! Yeah, I am extremely excited since these were my first two choices.

I now get the overwhelming task of trying to figure out which one is the right school for me. There are so many factors weighing in that I may just have to write my pros and cons list for each school or play eenie meenie miney moe (is that really the spelling?). I was not expecting this option and have no idea how people make the choice of where to move, which school is right and who to lay the potential of their future and career on. I even posted this announcement of facebook and asked my friends to weigh in with their opinions since I am at such a loss. Here are a few responses I've received thus far:

*Boston - you've spent you whole life in sunshine and heat - mix it up a bit! Plus I am close! :-)

*Both places have annoying local accents...But Boston can't touch New Orleans southern hospitality plus you can help rebuild nola right!!!

*Go to Boston so I can visit :)

With all this wonderful advice I am still at square one! We shall see.

Little Travel Buddies

I had one of the most "interesting" flights home on Tuesday. Having a number of friends who have small children and knowing that it must be extremely difficult to travel, let alone fly, with them, I always try to be nice to families on a plane. I give them a nice smile when waiting at the gate or boarding the plane and I resist the urge to turn around and stare when their kid is screaming at the top of its lungs. My ears hurt from the pressure change sometimes and I get antsy sitting for hours in that tiny seat too. So I can only imagine what these kids are enduring, especially the small babies who have no idea what's happening.

This last flight however completely tested my will to be nice or understanding. It even tested my restraint from trying to squeeze myself out of my window. There was not one baby on my flight, not even two, but three babies and two toddlers on this flight! It was insanity 50,000 feet in the air. I knew it would be a rough flight as I watched one toddler completely dominate his parents outside of the gate. These people had no control and that kid was a little ball of destruction. I just knew keeping him in his seat would be an interesting task to watch. What I was not prepared for was the baby who was hollering as we boarded the plane. It's one thing to scream as we take of and land or even to get fussy mid-flight. But this baby was hollering in all known vocal ranges before half the plane was filled.

I was then blessed with the presence of the third baby directly behind me! Luckily the airline made sure to spread each family throughout the plane. So this little guy and his dad sat behind me while mom was further back on the plane. It became very obvious who normally watched junior as dad had no idea what he was doing. I resisted the urge to offer to help even though I watched a flight attendant hold and slightly calm screaming baby # 1 in the front of the plane, while she poured drinks one handed!

Miraculously, we all survived the flight and surprisingly everyone kept calm even though there were times of quiet murmuring. I think headphones were the most appreciated item on that flight. And as I de-boarded the plane with a small migraine I was grateful that I do not have to worry about traveling with my own children for quite some time. I will just sympathize with all the parents out their.

An End To The Silence

So after 2 months of having nothing to post I finally have a lot to write about. I took a much needed mental break after finishing all of my applications and am happy to report an update at last.

First, I was accepted to Nova Southeastern's International Business School Masters program. This is a nice comfort after enduring the world's longest silent treatment from every school. I also received an email from another school asking for a phone interview. Since I was neglecting my email I only had a day to mentally prepare for the interview but it went great. At the end I was asked to fly to Boston for a face to face interview! While I am over the moon about this sudden change from silence and my mind is racing with all the "what ifs" I also had to take a very harsh dent to the wallet to pay for this very quick, very sudden trip to New England.

So I am off to Boston April 5-7th for my interview on April 6th. I am giving myself time to not be travel tired the day before and to explore Boston and potential neighborhoods the day after. So wish me luck and pray that if this goes well my letter of interest in a few fellowships go well also. Hopefully this is the beginning of some very positive posts to come!

The Collateral Damage of War

Attached is an article that I ran across while browsing cnn.com. It is about how schools reopened in Gaza after a cease-fire was established between Israeli forces and Hamas rulers. Now I am not mentioning this to open a battle about who is right and wrong in the violence overseas.

I am just saddened that the education of thousands of children is hindered because of the violence of the adults around them. It speaks volumes about what our world has become and where priorities lie. And if this is what is being taught through everyday life it makes one doubt whether things will be able to change for the next generation.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090124/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_palestinians

Applications 101

Yeah!! Graduate school applications have been going out...finally! Seriously, these things are like full time jobs: write this, apply for this, have someone else fill this out, these are the following qualifications, blah!

So I am quite happy that three of my six applications are complete. The next three will hopefully be complete in a week and a half. There is a lot of research that has to happen long before a school can be added to the "apply to" list. What is the program specifically? What do the faculty specialize in? Finances coming into the school and out to the students. What city is the school in or near? What do friends, family members and former students think of the school?

There is one person I can point to who is specifically slowing me down as I try to reach the finish line. That person is my mother. With every school that is checked off of my list another is added. You see, she has this way of asking a question, that is really a demand disguised as a suggestion (every mom does it). She has recently used this maneuver multiple times to get me to adjust my school list. Originally my list included four schools, all with excellent Master's programs in my field. Then my mother got involved.

For the last month she has been pressing me about one school in particular because it is close to home. After ignoring her for a month I finally went on the school's website to do my research on the programs offered. Although the school does not offer what I am looking for they do have an international business school, so they were added to the list. Next came two entire states that my mom thought would be nice to live in (seriously, this is what I am dealing with). So I began a search for graduate schools in each state and then a specific program search. This resulted in another school being added to my list after passing all of my requirements.

So now I am up to six schools and have another three schools to research. Yet if it means applying to the right program I can not complain. And after much wailing and gnashing of teeth (on my part) my mom is finally satisfied as well. As she says, she is just looking out for what is best for me.

QUOTE: Dr Martin Luther King Jr.

While searching for a quote to use in my personal statement I came across this:



Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
-Martin Luther King Jr.


I like how it refers to that silent connection we humans share and so often forget about. Let us not forget that we are connected and no matter how different our lives may be we make up mankind.

I Miss Africa

I miss Africa. I speak of the general continent and not a specific country because in my moments of reminiscents I miss default things found throughout Africa. I think I took a lot of these things for granted while I was there. I know that somethings even annoyed me but now I would give almost anything to enjoy them once more, right now.

I miss the music. The random music that makes you laugh out loud at the bizarreness of the situation. One musical memory I hold dear is hearing Kenny G playing from a tape player in Motete, Lesotho. Motete is a mountain village located 5 hours away from the nearest city by a very winding mountainous rode. Or the four hour bus ride I, along with Nathan and Nicole, took to get to Semongkong. We were tortured with accordion music that entire bus ride, but now I realize how much that was an experience in African randomness.

I miss accelerated friendships. I think of the time I was stranded on a Liberian beach and was given a ride by some Doctors Sans Medicine (Doctors Without Borders) people that I met that day. They could relate to my need to get back to town before dusk and although we’d only known each other a few hours drove out of their way for me. I miss having an unspoken bond with a total stranger because of circumstances that we all share living in a foreign country, on the continent of Africa.

I miss Africa. I miss her people. I miss the friends I made. I miss the work that was often too tedious but always worth it. I miss my children – all the babies I “adopted” that found a spot in my heart and made me feel at home. Mary. Khotso. Prince. James. Kangaroo. Rose. I miss them the most.