Happy belated
Thanksgiving everyone! I am thankful for so many things in my life and this
semester, so after I tell about my parent’s visit here, I have made an acronym to represent Thanksgiving,
like I used to almost every Thanksgiving in elementary school.
I am thankful
for my parents and all that they do. They just spent a week here in London with
me! We were able to celebrate their 32nd anniversary, Thanksgiving, and
them coming to one of my favorite cities for the first time. They covered an
amazing amount of ground while they were here and I was able to join them at (just to name a few):
the Victoria and Albert museum, Trafalgar Square, Harrods, the evensong service
at St. Paul’s Cathedral, shopping, and lots of great food. And we even
took daytrips to Portsmouth, Bath, and Greenwich! It was fun to be a tourist
with them, but tough to be a student at the same time (this “study” part of
abroad sure does get in the way of things). I loved sharing this amazing city
with my parents and it was great to have them here for Thanksgiving. Although
it was strange to not be in the States for a proper Thanksgiving, I was still
with loved ones, and that made the day special.
The Parents – as I was just saying above,
Mama and Papa Smith are the best. I know it was a long trip to get here, but I
will never be able thank them enough for coming here and everything they do for me.
Left: HMS Victory
Right: Roman Baths
Home – I can’t believe this semester ends
in 2 weeks. Ready or not, the end of my semester here is coming, but I
am comforted that I will be returning to family in both Jacksonville and DC. I
know I couldn’t have done this without you.
Alex - I am thankful that I get to hug
Alex in 13 days. I am thankful that even though we have had a roller coaster of
a semester, are in two different countries, and have totally different
programs, we have managed to be keep each other sane(ish) through the changes, because we know we are in it
together.
New memories – Christmas is around the
corner and there’s nothing like making Christmas memories in London. It was so
wonderful to share the starting Christmas spirit with my parents.
Kool places – traveling around London and
the surrounding towns is so cool that it’s spelled with a “K”
Fish and Chips – Still my favorite
Unbelievable friends - I am thankful for
all of you reading this and the support you have given me while abroad. I’m
extremely humbled that our friends and family read this blog (and hopefully
find it interesting ;) ).
Life lessons – I have learned a lot here,
and I know that I will continue to learn things from this semester, even after
I return home.
So with my heart
full of gratitude to the One who’s blessed me with it all,
So as some of you probably know, Mandy's & I's Barcelona Dream didn't turn out the way that we wanted to. Due to circumstances outside of our control, Mandy was unable to join me in Barcelona for the weekend. I was heartbroken. You never realize how much you miss someone until you can't see them anymore. But it's okay! We're both safely in our respective countries planning a United Kingdom tour to take place in THREE WEEKS! AGH.
Thankfully Lyla, Ashley and Michael planned to be in Barcelona that same weekend so I had some people to play with for the weekend! Lyla & I took advantage of touristy things and went to a killer aquarium (where there were penguins!!!), walked up to find the jardins of Barcelona, and the next day went to Montserrat and climbed to THE TOP OF A MOUNTAIN. The weather on Saturday was awful and we were met with rain and heavy winds on the top of Montserrat. It was an exhausting weekend, but I was so thankful to have such a cute & patient travel buddy. Barcelona is known for it's nightlife and it's true. When I was heading to my flight at 3am, people were just beginning their nights! As someone who is not a big clubber, my favorite parts of the weekend were our long hikes through Spain and the Sangria tower that 5 of us couldn't finished (but we really tried!). It was good to be a new city for a little bit!
So, this was clearly a distraction on translating Dutch law.
Fun Fact: The Netherlands just passed new bill on lesbian parenthood which would make it so that if a lesbian couple is married and one of the mothers has a child the non-birth mother will have automatic legal parenting rights! My research now focuses on this bill and the immigration test. I currently can't get the term 'sexual politics' out of my head.
Wish me luck that I find interviewees in the next week!
xoxo
Alex
P.S. Next week, I am visiting one of my best friends from GW, Oliver, in Budapest, Hungary! He transferred to UCLA and I haven't seen him since May so I am ECSTATIC to be visiting him in his hometown!
This weekend I was invited by the VP of the Farm Animal
Protection Campaign at the Humane Society of the United States, Paul Shapiro,
to work on a campaign in NJ. This campaign seeks to override a recent veto by
Gov. Christie to ban the extreme confinement of pigs in gestation crates. Despite the fact that pigs have been proven to be smarter than dogs, and even smarter than some primates, a female pig in a factory farm is artificially inseminated and put into this
gestation crate where she cannot even turn around. Then she is pulled out to
give birth, and get artificially inseminated again, and the whole process
repeats itself for her entire life, until she dies from malnutrition,
exhaustion and/or disease. Already 9 states have banned these crates. (more info here: http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/confinement_farm/facts/gestation_crates.html)
The HSUS has been renting a giant beach house on the Jersey
Shore to house 20+ employees and volunteers from the HSUS, ASPCA, Mercy For
Animals and others. I just had to find a way to get there, and public transportation wasn't really an option.
Luckily, a friend of mine let me borrow his car, though I don’t know
why, because I hadn’t driven for the last year, and had never driven for longer
than about an hour. But I did it! Drove about 5 hours to north New Jersey to
meet the group at a rally at a local shelter. A freshman that I had only met
once at our first GW Animal Advocates Meeting replied to an email I sent out
and wanted to come with. So he was my co-pilot, and helped with directions
during the drive. After the rally, we went to a neighborhood and canvassed for
a few hours. (I received such a positive reception from almost every door that
I knocked on! I will talk more about this later).
Then we went to the house. The front door had a sign that
said “Welcome, Animal Advocates!” Immediately, we knew we had found the right
place. We walked right in and were greeted by everyone with a chant “Marissa
and Neil! Marissa and Neil!...” Apparently everyone knew who I was because everyone was around when Paul Shapiro answered my phone call
the night before. They all would not stop thanking us for being there, while I couldn't stop thanking them for having me!
People were sleeping on couches, sharing beds and using air mattresses. The dining room had been turned into a command center – the giant table had a large desktop computer at one end with an industrial-sized printer. Laptops and papers covered the rest of the table.
Once everyone had made it back to the house, we had the
nightly meeting where everyone went around with updates and highlights from the
day’s campaigning. I shared a story where I was invited inside a house to talk
about the issue. There happened to be several neighbors all gathered in this
one home. They were disgusted at the way pigs are treated and full-heartily
agreed to call all of their senators and assembly people. Then, one woman told
me all about her pit bull type dog who has been discriminated against for no
good reason. He loves children and saved this woman’s life once – she was against
to have a deadly seizure but before this happened, he went and woke up her
mother. Her mother was able to rush her to the hospital where she had to have
brain surgery! She asked me what she could do to fight local Breed
Discriminatory Legislation (also known by it’s supporters as Breed Specific
Legislation).
Canvassing team!
Everyone cheered when they heard my story, and many had
equally as exciting and inspiring stories from the front line. One volunteer
came in late with her dog, whom we all cheered for as well “Jake! Jake! Jake!
Jake!”. Then it was time for dinner. A small group had been working in the
kitchen making a giant meal of spaghetti with vegetables and a fresh salad. I
could barely eat, though, as I was so distracted by talking to all of these
amazing activists. Many of them are older than I, and work for the HSUS. They
gave me tons of advice and suggestions – most notably, do NOT go to law school.
Half of them said that if you really want to help animals, doing this type of
campaigning, as well as meeting with influential people/companies, keeping your
self educated and informed, and doing grassroots organizing. I haven’t yet made
that final decision, but I do believe that I want to work for HSUS for a bit
after I graduate. One HSUS employee has worked with the army base of Fort Lee,
VA to only use cage-free eggs. I told him that my father, though a Marine,
works at Fort Lee! They are now in contact to create Meatless Mondays on the
base.
Later that night I sat on the roof with some younger
volunteers (one a college student from Vassar and the other a wanderer), while
they smoked their medicinal drugs, and talked about life, relationships, and
the fleeting and temporary nature of emotions, particularly negative ones.
I shared a bed with someone, slept in a room full of people,
and never felt more at peace and safe. The next morning I awoke earlier than
normal, excited to start the day. I shuffled over to Paul’s room across the
hall where I received a lovely greeting, as well as all of the breakfast options
downstairs. There were many different types of healthy, fiber-filled cereals,
bags of frozen berries and about five different kinds of soymilk, almond milk,
and coconut milks. Oh, and that there was a pot of coffee already made. J (Obviously everyone in
the house is vegan! And health-conscious: most people were up at 7am running
around the neighborhood and working out. Love it!)
We had our morning meeting, while we were preparing the palm
cards that we would give out door-to-door. Teams were made, neighborhoods were
assigned, and we were off. The second day of canvassing was even more positive
than the first. It’s incredible the connections I was able to make with people
whom I never thought I would. Several houses were huge animal people. Many
people said that they would not only call their senator to vote for this bill,
but they would make their friends and family do the same. One old man, a former
Marine, was weary of me, but once I explained I wasn’t selling anything, he
quickly got on board with helping the pigs. He even let us play with his baby
bulldog. <3
GW Animal Advocates with Paul Shapiro! (A large part of my life is spent fan-girling over Paul Shapiro)
The vote on the bill S.1921 to ban gestation crates in NJ
was supposed to happen on Monday, Nov. 18th. However, last minute
some senators changed their vote, and the sponsor knew it wouldn’t get passed
so he had to pull it. He is reintroducing it Dec. 19th. The fight
continues! I plan on spending
more time up there.
I made so many great connections this weekend, and was inspired by so many healthy, happy, fun and effective animal advocates. There is a quote for Martin Luther King, Jr. that helps describe my decision to dedicate my life to speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves: “There comes a time when one must take a position that's neither safe, nor political, nor popular. But he must take that position because his conscience tells him that it's right.”
As well as another quote from him that gives me the courage to do this:
“Never, never be afraid to do what's right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society's punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.”
One former a clearance diver in the navy, and then a special operations sniper, has many insights on the animal protection cause. He says choosing to dedicate his life to this cause is the bravest thing he’s
ever done. His TEDTalk is here:
"So, 236 years ago in a bar in Philly called the Tun Tavern a bunch of drunks and criminals got together and formed what would become the United States Marine Corps. There were only two requirements for enlisting: you had to have your own musket and at least one tooth to tear open powder bags to load your musket."
Every year of my life I have had the honor of attending the Marine Corps Birthday Ball Celebration. This year, I brought my intellectual, hippie boyfriend. So, it was funny trying to explain everything from the Military culture to him ;) He was a good sport and danced the night away with my parents and I. It was a beautiful evening.
Now, something you may not know about Marines at the birthday ball, is that they LOVE to dance. Every year Marines choreograph dances and have dance-offs. This is just one video that represents thousands of similar situations:
And this was the party favor that we each received:
IT'S BEEN SO LONG SINCE I POSTED. Im sorry, I've been terribly busy. These past few weeks, I'm really lucky if I get a full night's sleep. So Im just going to make a few posts about some of my highlight events.
A week ago, I had breakfast with the Senator! I learned a lot of
things that makes being a senator fun. And now I want to be a senator.
1)there is a nap room next to the voting floor,
complete with recliners and blankets 2)the senate dining room is delicious and fancy. I
was treated to Fried Green Tomato Eggs Benedict. 3)on the senate floor there are two desks on each
side – one for each political party. These desks contain paperwork, as well as
one drawer that is designated for candy. On C-span when you see senators
huddled around the desk looking important, they are actually sneaking a
snickers.
Senators also carve their names in the drawers of their desks, and this goes back to the 1800's, to the famous Henry Clay and Daniel Webster. This is a picture of the Kenney's desk:
The desks usually stay within the same state - so Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) currently has this desk.
Breakfast started off with meeting the senator in the Senate
dining room. The photographer arrived and we each got a photo with the senator.
Then, we sat down to order large, delicious breakfasts. Then the senator’s wife
arrived and she went to each of us around the table. She had memorized our
names and our bios. WHAT! We’re just the interns! I was so honored. Then the
senator announced that he would have to leave at nine to make a ceremony to
celebrate the Marine Corps birthday. I then told them about how I recently went
to the birthday ball with my parents. We quickly had much to talk about,
Marine-wise. Their son has been a Marine for four years and the senator himself
was a Marine reservist for a few years. Their other son is training to be a
Navy Seal. What a family! The senator’s wife brought up a youtube video of a
Marine getting down to a Michael Jackson song from a Marine Corp Ball. This
reference made us all giggle – a senator’s wife watches funny youtube videos!?
They really are down to earth, despite being in Congress.
They are an older couple, yet they are so physically and
socially active that they put the rest of us to shame. She runs 2.5 miles
everyday, and was running on a fractured femur for a week before she realized
it wasn’t “just a sprain”. And the senator doesn’t ever seem to eat or sleep. Every
weekend the couple flies back to Connecticut to attend copious state events.
Apparently there is a saying that if you have a garage door opening in CT, Blumenthal
will be there.
This couple is truly a humbling inspiration. Learning about them and their busy lives
spent helping people made me think back on days that I feel like I can’t get
out of bed, or I skipped lunch and am grumpy because I’m hungry. Not only do
they do this on a regular basis, but also they are much older than am I, and
therefore, should have less energy and stamina. But they overcome so much, and
are so selfless because they are both working for a much bigger cause. They
have thousands of people depending on them. And they love every minute of it.
I think I’m realizing how fast time is speeding by, so I am
filling my time with all kinds of things, and I thought I would give an update (and
I admit, I am currently procrastinating writing essays…)
Saturday, I went to Brighton for a day trip, which was
filled with fish & chips, shopping, the sea, and great company! I hope to
visit again sometime…preferably when it isn’t so cold!
Sunday I attended the Remembrance Sunday service at the WWI
Cenotaph (similar to the tomb of the unknown soldier). It was an incredible
event where thousands of people lined the streets of London to honor veterans.
Most people wore poppies, and there was a parade of veterans that laid down
poppy wreaths at the tomb. It was a solemn ceremony that I was honored to
attend. Afterwards, I was able to fan-girl at the fact that I got to see all of
the Royal family (The Queen, Princes Charles, William, Harry, and Princess
Kate. Oh and England’s Prime Minister) participate in the ceremony! It was
pretty surreal to see them!
Then Monday was the Hunger Games: Catching Fire world
premier at Leister Square! Andy, Isaac and I stalked the red carpet and had a
great view, even though we got there only an hour early (some people had been
there since Friday!). We stood through the rain, but it was well worth it to
see some really great actors – Stanley Tucci, Jennifer Lawrence, Liam
Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Banks, and Donald Sutherland. Donald
Sutherland said in an interview on stage that he had attended the Dirty Dozen
premier in the same theater in 1967, which I just think is so cool.
And TOMORROW I get to see the biggest star of all – Alex
Copeland! Barcelona here we come!
I was going to write this post on Thursday after I was on a high from my Community Volunteer Experience, but that didn't happen so now I'm going to tell you all about my week.
Monday: I spent Monday really missing my sisters. I Facebooked about it, but it's genuinely true. It's ridiculous how much I talk about them and then it finally hit me that it's hard to live my life without them. So relieved Louisa is enjoying GW though and I cannot wait to run into her on campus!! And I'm sure Sam is loving adult life so much Facebook is too college for her.
Tuesday: Dil, Lindsey, Priya, Lyla & I bought last minute concert tickets to see Birdy at the Melkweg. What. A. Beautiful. Soul. It was a truly incredible concert and Birdy n' her band sounded beautifully haunting and absolutely flawless. I miss live music and it really turned my slumpy Monday mood into gratitude for the experiences I have had thus far. It was also great to share such an amazing concert with some truly amazing people. We treated ourselves to Burger King afterwards and for a Tuesday, had a pretty solid night.
Wednesday: I GOT AN ISP ADVISOR. His name is Laurens Buijs and he's one of our module coordinators/ lecturers for our class. His research was part of our pre-departure reading assignments (and he's only 31!) and he was hands down one of the classes' favorite lecturers. I am so excited to have his guidance on what's going to be a stressful four weeks of conducting my Independent Study Project.
Thursday: I had my Dutch Final. I'd rather not talk about it and move on. I had my real first day at my Community Volunteer Experience! I went to help with Future Kids, a program where social work students tutor kids after school. I was really early so I went to Starbucks with the coach of the student (who is a 4th year student herself). She was so so helpful in laying out what I would be doing at Profor and telling me all about her time studying Social Work in Amsterdam! Then, I went to the elementary school that they tutor at. My job was just to observe for the day and I had a blast doing it! The other Master student's there were so welcoming and friendly. I'm so excited to go next week and weeks beyond that! (It was also good to talk to people in their 20s who are from Amsterdam!) They were extremely interested in my sexuality studies and had lots of questions, but it was awesome to talk to people outside of my program!
**Also we went out for drinks to celebrate the wonderful, Priya Nair's 21st birthday. Priya may be one of the coolest people I have ever met in my life so I hope she has a wonderful birthday weekend. love you gurl.
Friday: We went on a field visit to HIVOs located in Den Haag. HIVOS is a NGO that does advocacy, programme building and funding for NGOs all over the world. We focused on the work they do for women's rights and LGBT rights. It was a really neat organization! We then went to the beach because it meant a lot to my Academic Director for us to finish where we started (we visited a beach in Heemskerk during orientation week). Oh, did I mention that was our last day of classes?
I feel like it’s
been a while, so here’s a post to catch up:
Last weekend I
had the most perfect weekend with the Anderson’s in Cheltenham! (For those who
don’t know, Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are the parents of my best friend from GW,
Phil, and his amazing sister Steph, who also goes to GW). I am so thankful that
they hosted me for the weekend. It made me miss Phil and Steph, but it was wonderful to be with their parents! It’s quite phenomenal how different it feels to
be in a real home as opposed to my dorm here or a hostel on the weekends that
I’ve been traveling.
The Anderson’s
were excellent tour guides as they showed me around the town and surrounding
areas. As much as I love London, there is nothing like the British countryside,
especially as all of the leaves have changed color for fall. The train rides there
and back were stunningly beautiful with rolling hills, fall sunlight, vibrant
colors, horses, and sheep, of course! We had great food (including lunch at the
best country pub - see picture below), successful shopping, wonderful company, and honestly, it
felt like I was with family for the weekend. It was exactly what I needed to
recharge for now the month and a half I have left abroad. The Anderson family
is so dear to me and I am incredibly grateful for a weekend with them - it had
been much too long since I had an Anderson hug. And it was so fun to finally
meet their sweet dog Nina :)
This week is my
reading week, but I still had 2 classes that I still had to attend that were somehow
perfectly placed so I couldn’t really travel. So I have spent the time catching
up on reading (I suppose that’s what reading week is actually supposed to be
for…). But tomorrow I am off to Brighton for a day trip and one week from now I
get to see, hug, and dance with the beautiful Alex Copeland in Barcelona, Spain
for a weekend that we have been dreaming about since January. My countdown has
officially begun.
This week also included
the 5th of November - Guy Fawkes Day! Friends and I went to see
fireworks in Southwark and enjoy the festivities.
Left: HMS Victory
