I'm sure you are wondering why and how on earth I came to find the Dine College, the Dine Policy Institute, BYU International Field Studies, and myself. In time I will share pieces of my history so that you know and understand what steps brought me to this long awaited place in my life.
My stories and jottings will be written in the style of one of my heroes, Edward Abbey, as in his book Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness. The photo below is of Abbey with his shotgun and freshly bagged television in Tucson, Arizona.
As Abbey, I will write my activities, observations, experiences, thoughts, and reflections in a series of vignettes ranging from feelings from listening to medicine men, to stories of my first night staying in a hostile, hiking in Arches National Monument, being homesick and experiencing culture shock, enjoying Arizona sunsets and sand, to my views on religion, international development, research, anthropology, politics, and more.
Please remember as you read my thoughts and writings in this space that I am a learning and growing human being, and that I do not have enough time to depict a pure picture of my life here. As Abbey wrote in Desert Solitaire, "since you cannot get the desert into a book any more than a fisherman can haul up the sea with his nets..." I will seek not imitation but evocation. Also, keep in mind that this is my first time really ever doing qualitative and quantitative research and living in a somewhat foreign culture and society so forgive my shortcomings and naivety.
A note on names. All of the persons and places described in my writings of course will be real, but for the sake of their privacy, I will invent fictitious names for many of them.
Finally, a little bit about myself. I am passionate about many things in life such as being you and living a life with no regrets even in the face of all opposition. I look up to those who do this and pity those who don't. Even more so at this moment in my life, I am passionate about being who you are while also letting others be who they are even if it contradicts what you hold to be true.
I feel passionately about raising your voice for those whose voices are silenced in this world and making a difference however, whenever, and wherever one may be in life.
I feel passionately about living life beautifully, simply, and selflessly...celebrating life every moment of the day.
I feel passionate about being present and love to create with my hands, my heart, my mind. I want to grow my own food from the earth, to walk and not drive, to be self reliant and subsistent and not dependent upon the system, to paint and photograph on blank canvases, to write, to have children, to know the names of the plants and animals growing and living on the land around me...
I invite you to walk with me on one of the most life-changing experiences of my journey here on earth. I am sure, as has been foretold to me by a dear Lakota friend, that my time here on the reservation will change the way I see and experience the world for the rest of my life. I believe him. Please feel free to make comments and to read the posts that interest you. I invite you to be an interactive reader.
