Classes Rock!

So the anti-nausea patch has some crazy side effects I have had cotton mouth all day and have become far sighted and keep seeing doubles if I am too close to a textbook. I also get really confused and have been jumbling my words but honestly its better than feeling like shit all day. This morning I started class at 8 but went and ate breakfast with my friend Taylor at about 7:30. He is taking a class super early too. Its funny walking into the dining hall that early because everyone is just exhausted and looks terrible especially if they have been sea sick all night. Thankfully I was feeling fine minus the weird side effects. Class today really gave me a good perspective on why I am taking the path that I am in life. In my women and national development class we had a speaker. His name is Andrew Briggs and he works for an organization in Uganda where they try to create an outlet for children (especially ones affected by the war, AIDS, etc) through facilitating art workshops, they also have been working to provide better drinking water to the remote villages. He showed us a video clip he had taken during his time in one of the remote villages where he had a guy take him to their local water supply. The water that these people were drinking without even treating it is unbelievable. It was murky and in spots yellow from pollution or whatnot. Did I mention that Andrew is a complete hottie and I have a major school girl crush on him? Hes in his late 20’s I think but I am meeting with him to learn more about his organization. After that class we had Global Studies and had a lecture from a psychology professor on the ship named Dr. Kottler (I am actually attending one of his FDPs in Brazil). He told us an amazing story which I know I have to share. About 10 years ago he and some of his collegues traveled to Nepal to do field research. While he was there he started to notice that some of the girls were disappearing from the villages. Intrigued he began to investigate. The girls that kept disappearing were from lower castes (similar to the Indian caste system) and came from very poor families. Dr. Kottler asked many people what was happening to these girls and noone would give him a straight answer. Finally he cornered the local school’s principal and demanded an explanation the principal said this to him:

“Do you see that young girl over there? The one with the tattered school uniform? Her name is Enu. She is one of 3 children and is the youngest in her family. Her family is very poor and because schooling is only free up until a third grade level Enu will become forced to drop out of school. Because she is just a burden on her family she will be sold, taken to Mumbai and wil become a prostitute, probably being raped 15 times on her very first day. She will remain in the brothel for about 4 years until she become to sick and weak and then she will die, or be cast out on the streets.

Dr. Kottler looked at Enu and he looked at the principal and said what can I do? The principal laughed and said absolutely nothing that is these girls fate. They are girls who are low in the caste system and even if her family did not sell her she would not be able to pay her school fees. Dr. Kottler asked how much school fees were yearly. The Principal laughed again and said way to much, she would need a fall and spring uniform, books, money for food etc. Again Dr. Kottler asked how much. The principal said well for a years worth of schooling its very expensive and costs 2500 Rupees…the equivalent of 50 USD. 50 USD to save a girls life. The fate of these girls from being sold into slavery was separated by $50 USD a year. Horrific things happen to the girls of Nepal. Some Indian men believe that if they have sex with a virgin it can cure them of aids…these girls are as young as 9 years old and there first encounter within the brothel occurs with someone who has aids…Dr. Kottler reached into his wallet and pulled out 2500 Rupees and said to the principal make sure Enu goes to school. As he walked away one of his colleagues came up to him and said what are you doing? Bewildered Kottler responded by saying he was helping Enu. The colleague gave him a sad smile and said did you see where the principal put all that money? He put it right in his pocket, to make sure Enu goes to school you are going to have to go back to Nepal every year and make sure she is in school…10 years later and he is still visiting and working with the girls in Nepal now he helps to send dozens of lower caste girls to school, and Enu, his first girl is in college at one of the top universities in Thailand. I was enthralled by his story because it really shows how one little thing can completely change your life. That day 10 years ago he made a decision that has helped so many to achieve their dreams. It really goes to show that if you are passionate about something you can do it. His parting words to us were “ I hope that each of you can become haunted by an individual on this voyage, because those experiences will shape the rest of your life.” I know that I am going to see some amazing things as well as some really depressing stuff but I know that I will take his words to heart, because that is what I want to do with my life. Many people mistake what I want to do with the idea that I want to change the world and in that they are so wrong. I know that in many places I would never be able to affect entire communities, but I do know that empowerment can change lives, and that I have the willpower and tools to empower others. My grandmother gave me the most amazing gift anyone could ever give me when she helped to fund this semester, I cannot thank her enough because I know 100% that this is exactly where I am supposed to be right now. She empowered me through her generous gift and through that I hope to create a ripple effect. For the past few years I have been having fun but I never felt like I was doing what I was meant to with my time. Learning about poverty and how people can make a difference even on just a few has already changed my perspective. I hope that I can help to empower people to really reach their full potential and in turn they will continue to educate others. I hate my econ class but that should come as no surprise lol but I love my geology class. We have to pick a topic to really focus on and I am going to look at lack of drinking water in places like Ghana and India. All of my classes are super interesting (minus econ) and I know that I will really care about them which is a big improvement from last semester lol. The ships calmed down today and a lot less people were getting sick which was nice. Apparently a pod of dolphins were following the ship earlier but I missed it cause I was in class. Im starting to work on my video but its taking a bit longer than I expected. I will check in soon!