journal entry: june 21, 2008

Today was pretty awesome.  I finished my readings for class early and got to read some of the recommended readings I had printed out and brought with me.  I started with selections from Fred Pearce's  When the River Runs Dry, and found it highly interesting, readable, and informative.  I feel like I've read another piece by him before on a similar, but broader, topic.  Perhaps it was simply on a similar topic of water scarcity and crises.  I remember reading something back in 2006 that one of my Biology Professors sent out to the class... I wonder if I still have it somewhere back in the states?  Regardless I'd like to read the rest of his book when I return and can get my hot little hands on it.*  I'd like to learn about the other places (aside from India/Pakistan) where water is changing economics and causing ecological changes and/or destruction.  Wait... perhaps that's everywhere... I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm interested in watersheds, ecosystems relations to watersheds, etc.  I'd love to get into that.

Aside from reading and sleeping because today was the hottest day we've had yet, I got to go into Derha Dun for the first time today.  I felt much more comfortable in this setting than I had the entire time in Delhi.  Maybe I'm simply more comfortable with myself in this setting now and more confident about navigating it.  Or maybe Derha Dun wasn't nearly as intimidating as Delhi.  It makes me wonder how I'll feel when we get back to Delhi after 5 weeks on the farm.

Goddess G got her nose pierced today.  Its so cool!  She's got some guts though.  I'd be paranoid about sanitation.  It looks great... and I'm secretly keeping an eye on it to make sure it doesn't get infected and its overall healing developments.

While in town today, Kite and I joined up with Pavlos and the Doe and ended up talking about our life satisfaction at the current moment.  Turns out Pavlos is unhappy.  I felt slightly responsible.  Not because I have ever done anything rude, cruel, or whatnot to him, but for my peer's behavior that has hurt his feelings.  We're trying to be so sensitive to this culture (India) that some people are being insensitive to others (European).  People have been making fun of his accent and word choice without considering that he's fluent in three languages, English not being the first.  Hence occasionally he stumbles or misspeaks.  I'm glad he said something, because I feel like Kite, the Doe, and I can exert some peer pressure and keep others in check.

*Pearce's book was required reading for Freshman entering the University of Florida in Fall of 2008 and was part of a program connected to the water talk I participated in at the Harn in September 2008