tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39466628546907191882012-01-29T15:43:40.662+02:00Melnoreply@blogger.comBlogger511100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-81506283418133581592008-08-12T17:09:00.001+03:002008-08-12T17:18:26.303+03:00

Right now I am really enjoying the view from my second floor, kitchen/living room window. The day is absolutely gorgeous, just the right temperature with a mild breeze, and our two trees in the front yard, which are interestingly melded together, are creating a nice mixture of shade and reflection of sunlight.My washing machine/dryer (yes! It is an all-in-one machine) is making a gentle vibration

Melnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-6575202959921865332008-06-25T05:30:00.003+03:002008-06-25T08:00:25.186+03:00

Although I took far too long getting around to updating my blog, I am finally doing one stateside. For those of you I haven't had the chance to speak to, we are safely in Washington DC and slowly on our way to being fully settled. Alex and I returned a little over 3 weeks ago and it has proven to be a tumultuous return. We will get to that.I must apologize for my neglect to blog about the rest of

Melnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-37830198360420619932008-05-10T22:04:00.002+03:002008-05-10T22:23:09.225+03:00

Rovinj is a cute little village on the Northern Croatian border, and Alex and I found our way there today. We were planning on staying in Dubrovnik, but somehow we overlooked the fact that there are no ferries to Dubrovnik from Venice. Oh well. That was the least of our troubles the last two days.Thursday night we decided to sleep overnight in Casablanca airport because there were no trains early

Melnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-13351088272899277542008-05-08T22:58:00.004+03:002008-05-09T00:16:00.799+03:00

In one of my previous posts I added a little commentary about an interview I had for an internship position in Washington DC, and said that I would not name the organization so as to not jinx my chances. Well, it worked! I was accepted as a summer intern at International Peace Operations Association!In other news, Alex and I are flying out tomorrow morning at 7 for Italy. We will be spending a

Melnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-89282634149791641032008-05-01T22:33:00.001+03:002008-05-01T22:38:58.940+03:00

Last weekend I attended a conference in Morocco’s capital of Rabat, and had the opportunity to hear some of the opinions and concerns of Morocco’s youth. Alex and I both agree that our experience in Morocco differs quite a bit from our stay in Beirut, in that we have not had a chance to befriend or discuss any important issues with Moroccans of any age. In fact, up until last weekend, the extent

Melnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-47345495586320748492008-04-23T15:34:00.003+03:002009-01-12T00:43:20.436+02:00

My stint in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is coming to an end, in about two weeks. I have a few last adventures, and then its back to the Western world for Alex and I. Admittedly we are more than looking forward to our return, but of course I am leaving with great memories and a desire to return sometime in the near future.Our last two weeks are jam-packed with plans and here is

Melnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-11773243279028973412008-04-22T00:33:00.001+03:002008-04-22T00:37:32.851+03:00

A friend once turned to me and said, “In a culture that was once known for its hammams, soaps, perfumes and cosmetics, there is truly a lack of cleanliness among the people now.” And in a sense he is right. If you casually walk down the street and take a look around, you will find many children and people covered in filth.Of course some of there people may be beggars and do not have access to

Melnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-4129131699368802942008-04-18T19:47:00.004+03:002008-12-09T13:16:08.485+02:00

While at lunch yesterday, Alex made an interesting observation about the people we have become while in the Middle East and North Africa. Of course, we have essentially adapted to a new culture with different standards and taboos but this has translated into disturbing changes in our attitudes.So here was the situation: we were eating chicken and rice at one of the restaurants we frequent in Fez,

Melnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-71880717554760870142008-04-05T13:02:00.001+03:002008-04-05T13:06:03.103+03:00

My birthday is not going to be like most other 21st birthdays. I’ve known this for a while. Not only have I experienced alcohol many times, Morocco is the kind of country in which liquor stores probably wouldn’t care if a ten year old walked in and put down 15 dirhams for a shot of straight vodka.Furthermore, Fez, a city in a Muslim-dominated society (and where Muslims are banned from converting

Melnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-12872605366150692102008-04-04T16:45:00.004+03:002008-12-09T13:16:08.757+02:00

Finally the weather is beginning to resemble springtime, so I’m going to make the most out of it by blogging under the sun. I have a wonderful Arabic professor, who goes by Usteth AbdelHafid, and he says the most interesting things during class. I would just like to share a bit about him.Not only is he one of the greatest professors I have ever had, at least in the language department, he is one

Melnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-44625893572178690682008-04-01T12:37:00.003+03:002008-12-09T13:16:08.962+02:00

The funniest thought occured to me the other day, while atop a camel: What the hell am I doing in the Saharan Desert? I couldn't help but laugh outloud, but it was a bad idea because all I got in return was a mouthful of sand.Seriously, I really could not recount how I ended up traveling in a caravan two hours into the dry, expansive Sahara. It wasn't my short term memory I was having problems

Melnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-33341493792739297242008-03-18T00:08:00.002+02:002008-03-18T00:16:02.771+02:00

Usually I think of idiosyncrasies as the building blocks of great personalities (usually), but I am starting to notice that some of mine may be a bit unhealthy. Of course everyone has their “thing” or multiple peculiarities, but there is a point to where it becomes a bit much.Case in point: when someone begins to joke around about themselves in the third person – like John saying to Jim, “Well,

Melnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-29962271374331527202008-03-13T12:08:00.001+02:002008-03-13T12:10:44.072+02:00

Alex and I have taken Morocco by storm. We are sticking to the same mentality that we had in Beirut, which is to get our shit done during the week and then take off on the weekends. In Beirut we were absolutely successful and we hit all the spots outlined for Lebanon in our Middle East travel guide, and more.In our couple of weeks in North Africa, we have been able to travel to the mountain

Melnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-54116620700701712392008-03-12T11:06:00.003+02:002008-12-09T13:16:09.148+02:00

A couple of weeks ago, in small town Utah, 30 miles West of Salt Lake City, the Crossfield City Council organized a talent show as a community builder. Crossfield is a town known for its musicians, at least for the neighboring towns whose families travel there on the weekends to hit up the local bars and cafes. It is something straight out a movie. You can go to any hang out place and find a

Melnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-67705694402510333622008-03-08T21:18:00.002+02:002008-03-08T21:20:31.794+02:00

Our adventures have taken us from the Levant and into the Maghreb. Alex and I are now as settled as we can be in Fez, Morocco and are beginning to enjoy the Moroccan culture. If you can call my adaptation to the Lebanese way of living culture shock, then Morocco has turned my world upside down. Moving from one country, with its own set of customs and way of life, to one so different has been

Melnoreply@blogger.com56tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-88036853481121547032008-02-07T18:48:00.001+02:002008-02-09T21:14:57.222+02:00

I miss about thirty percent of life. Although Melissa and I have traveled a lot and seen a lot of interesting things, I miss the little things. Only recently have I realized that this could be a bad thing. I spent a solid ten minutes on the toilet today and didn't have any reading material, so I looked around the bathroom and the things that give it its character. I noticed the wet towels on the

Double Anoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-36834203131409031142008-02-06T14:12:00.000+02:002008-12-09T13:16:09.454+02:00

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would agree to do research for a journalist on suicide bombings in Iraq. In all actuality, I didn't really agree to it, rather my boss kind of signed me up. But I probably would have anyway. Just for the experience.Anyway, even as a Middle Eastern Studies major, I really never took an interest in America's current war in Iraq. To be perfectly honest, the

Melnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-73305474494916705542008-02-03T21:39:00.000+02:002008-12-09T13:16:09.648+02:00

RecentlyI interviewed a woman who just launched her first comic book in Lebanon, and I submitted it to a popular Middle Eastern women's/fashion magazine. Then I realized that my American audience is missing out on all the fun! Just a fun little interview with a talented young writer/artist (And you are getting the better, more fun version!). *Cool cover, eh? ------------>>>*Joumana Medlej just

Melnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-77419829476286947852008-01-30T19:07:00.001+02:002008-12-09T13:16:09.778+02:00

As some of you may have seen on the news, Lebanon is not in a good state. Two posts ago I detailed Lebanon's ongoing political crisis. There have been no developments on the political scene, but there has been an increase in violence. Last Friday there was a bombing in the Christian suburb of Hazmiyeh, and Capt. Wissam Eid, a senior police intelligence official, was killed along with ten others

Melnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-92072174707609898632008-01-24T19:04:00.000+02:002008-01-24T22:25:59.069+02:00

One year ago I had something of an identity crisis. I just officially ended it with my long-time, on-and-off-again boyfriend, was unhappy with the major I had chosen as a senior in high school and didn't know exactly what I was going to do about it all.I always thought of myself as an "independent" student and woman. I wasn't living at home, was putting myself through college, had a couple of

Melnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-60903245964942213452008-01-22T20:12:00.000+02:002008-01-23T20:01:16.238+02:00

Blogging is not in my job description, but as I am reading the news this morning at work, I realize that I have not updated my readers on the situation in Lebanon for a while. I am sad to say that the situation is getting worse, and I am relieved that we are leaving in a month. Last week there were riots in the southern suburbs of Beirut over a rumored increase in the price of bread. Yesterday

Melnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-15338119551591225702008-01-15T18:54:00.000+02:002008-02-01T16:56:34.537+02:00

Lately I've taken the initiative to really think about what path I want to take with my studies, once I return to America, and explore a few career options. I am, of course, set on completing my undergraduate degree in either Middle Eastern Studies or History, the former being most preferable. As I register for classes this upcoming fall semester, I will be considering which classes will benefit

Melnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-68743703000932256952008-01-14T17:54:00.000+02:002008-01-18T15:02:43.487+02:00

Go-karting was once an activity that I would boast as my favorite diversion from work and life, and that I was the champion go-kart racer. Last time I went go-karting, in fact, my fiance Alex saw the competitive side of me, and witnessed me mercilessly running my little brother off the track and then get a warning from the staff. Yea, I'm pretty hardcore. What can I say, I just like to go fast.

Melnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-17159524203189243422008-01-10T21:29:00.001+02:002009-01-12T00:36:52.468+02:00

 After much deliberation the past few months, Alex and I have decided what we are going to do with the rest of our time overseas. We traveled to Syria last year to look into the language programs there, and were more than a bit disappointed. So Alex suggested the intensive language study in Fez, Morocco. We looked into it and decided we would rather spend the money taking 20 hours of classes a

Melnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-27234621740236352662008-01-04T19:34:00.001+02:002008-01-18T15:05:29.276+02:00

Everyone hates New Year Resolutions. It is fun to think about them and coming up with creative ones, but they are so despised because it is so hard to keep them. So unless you are one of the lucky ones with enough motivation to see it out, they just make you feel bad in the end.I think I may have a solution to the problem. Instead of just doing one for one year, I’m going to create a rolling list

Melnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-66852625557963165822008-01-03T18:36:00.000+02:002008-01-18T15:06:42.099+02:00

I am exhuasted. I am sitting in yet another airport and I am officially exhausted. And not just nap tired, I mean I’m running on virtually no sleep. Alex and I decided for our last day in Budapest we would not pay the $150 for another night at the Radisson. Instead we walked around all day and then took a late night bus to Budapest airport.We arrived at Budapest airport around 11:30 and then

Melnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-85127928449295769662007-12-31T20:38:00.000+02:002008-01-18T15:07:49.064+02:00

I cannot believe that our vacation is coming to an end! The time has just flown by, but in a very good way. Alex and I accomplished so many things in such a short amount of time.In every city we were in we utilized, and came to know pretty well, the public transportation systems. We were able to explore all parts of each city, the center and surrounding areas, and really get a feel for each

Melnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-88887608007013892032007-12-31T11:50:00.000+02:002008-01-22T19:17:34.588+02:00

Right now my life could be something straight out of a movie. Alex and I have just ended a busy two days in Vienna and are now bundled up in a cold train on our way to Budapest. Its foggy, gray and cold outside. We are passing miles of farmland, littered with fields of trees and rows of windmills. And here I am just staring out the window huddling under my long coat and scarf. Everything seems so

Melnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-84403924880109012362007-12-28T18:06:00.000+02:002008-01-22T19:19:01.932+02:00

*Disclaimer: Our last hotel did not offer internet connection in our room, thus this blog on our last day in Prague is three days late. Sorry!Sadly we are leaving the ornate city of Prague. And we are riding out in style, on a European train to Vienna. We will only be in Vienna for three days so our stay will probably not be as relaxing as Prague, but just as exciting. I’ve decided to sing Sound

Melnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-64527305361644782892007-12-25T10:59:00.001+02:002008-01-22T19:21:11.055+02:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! According to custom in Prague, Alex and I celebrated Christmas today. Like many Christmases before this one, I got up much later than usual. It must just be something about the day, where you just want to lay around and just enjoy doing nothing.After a big breakfast we went back to our room to lay around again. I’m telling you, its just something about the day.We began our

Melnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-37731456048169562492007-12-24T01:08:00.000+02:002008-01-22T19:22:24.046+02:00

Not breaking our Sunday tradition, we woke up late today and took our time to eat breakfast and get ready. Unfortunately we missed Mass, but we are planning to attend one in Budapest. Around noonish, we stepped out to confront the cold and do some more exploring of Prague.It was nice to just stroll around the city and see all the Christmas shoppers. We even saw some people carrying Christmas

Melnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-30009216631328587022007-12-23T00:19:00.000+02:002008-01-22T19:25:05.360+02:00

Despite the cold, our first full day proved to be really satisfying. We woke up pretty early, ate a fulfilling Czech breakfast and we were out the door by 9:30, ready to do some exploring.We first walked up to Petrin Hill, which is a little touristy village very close to our hotel. We rode up a funicular tram to the top of the village where there was a small replica of the Eiffel Tower. Two

Melnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-84494030935491155182007-12-22T23:02:00.000+02:002008-01-22T19:26:33.984+02:00

We safely landed in the snowy city of Prague, after a comfortable 5 hour flight from Beirut. Leaving Lebanon at four in the morning was ideal – I slept through the whole 3 hour flight to Milan, and through the 2 hour flight from Italy to the Czech Republic.Our first view of Prague from the plane was what looked like a blanket of snow covering the whole country. Literally it looked like nothing

Melnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-11915033596156819672007-12-19T18:14:00.000+02:002008-01-22T19:28:06.320+02:00

Updates on everything:*The Thanksgiving dinner went extremely well. All of our guests, and about 25 people came, really got into it and helped out so much. They brought pies, dishes, drinks and we had more than enough for everyone. The two turkeys I made turned out great and so far no one has reported any food poisoning. The stuffing tasted like Grandma’s recipe and that alone made me more than

Melnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-88174499665053167542007-12-08T18:29:00.000+02:002008-01-22T19:30:46.108+02:00

Today will go down in history as a day of mourning…for all those women who have experienced really really bad haircuts. And I don’t mean a bad experience with a hairstylist who has a few unresolved issues, or a few hairs out of place. No! I mean the kind of haircut that stays bad until it grows out, and nothing less than scarves or a wig will make it remotely cute. Will explain later….So today

Melnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-78663776775042048772007-12-02T12:11:00.001+02:002009-01-12T00:34:08.470+02:00

I think I should see a psychotherapist…I am officially addicted to Christmas music and am getting too excited about the holidays. And we haven’t even had our Thanksgiving dinner yet!Actually, I’ve been a little homesick this past week. Alex and I went out to get a Christmas tree and some decorations, and I’m really missing the American way of Christmas. What I really love about the season is that

Melnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-30501393522659674422007-11-22T19:27:00.000+02:002008-01-22T19:36:09.573+02:00

Happy Thanksgiving! So we are not having a lick of Turkey today, but don’t worry we are saving it for our Thanksgiving party next week. However, we are really missing the holiday spirit. Tomorrow Christmas music will start playing on radios across America while dedicated mothers and daughters get up in the wee hours of the morning to go Black Friday shopping….(big sigh) oh how I miss it.But! It

Melnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-54318788952010791192007-11-08T14:00:00.000+02:002008-01-22T19:57:03.304+02:00

Diplomacy is so funny sometimes. I never realized how amusing it is until I began to read the news everyday. Some of the statements I read by politicians really baffle me. In today’s news Iranian President Ahmadinejad released statements on Interpol’s issue of five arrest warrants of Iranian citizens suspected in the 1994 bombing in Argentina. Interpol can issue warrants, and last year it issued

Melnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-43251669986688269052007-11-07T21:09:00.000+02:002008-01-22T19:58:40.083+02:00

We had our first winter rain! It’s almost mid-Nov. and we finally had a heavy and cooling rain. It’s about time – we have maintained 80 degrees during the day here and its starting to really take a toll on my body. I just shouldn’t be sweating so close to xmas!I have restarted the process of filling out university applications. I’m starting to get that senior year (of high school) giddiness all

Melnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-11695390016635226812007-10-29T20:42:00.003+02:002009-01-12T00:33:14.800+02:00

A dying laptop can be really annoying. For the past month our internet time has been really limited and unproductive because our universities laptops, which we had to pay outrageous fees for, couldn't handle two years of usage. We initially wanted to wait to buy our next laptop until we were back in America; our IBM thinkpad thought otherwise.Constant bluescreening and random shut-downs severely

Melnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-13607609248715536642007-10-17T16:26:00.000+03:002008-01-22T20:04:52.312+02:00

From 8 am to the early afternoon I am constantly reading coverage of the Middle East - this is basically my job description as copy editor of the Middle East Reporter. Compared to my understanding of current events in the Mid East region my first two years of college, I feel like a Mid East expert.During the four weeks I have been at the Middle East reporter I have read stories on every major

Melnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-67860764987810042212007-10-14T21:25:00.000+03:002007-10-14T21:34:12.020+03:00

Before I break out with a recount of our trip to Damascus, I have a few announcements. They may be surprising, so sit down. After a week of frustration with the AUB staff and a following week of exhausting studying and emotional breakdowns, Alex has decided to drop out of the Economics graduate program and be a full-time language student. He is also looking into an internship.Consequently my

Melnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-72403770138831102782007-10-03T14:19:00.000+03:002008-01-18T14:35:43.738+02:00

Am I feeling a bit sentimental? I am definitely feeling a bit lost in nostalgia. Perhaps it's the chamomile tea I'm sipping on, the Beatles-Elton-Sinatra-McGraw compilation I'm listening to or the overall feeling of relaxation coming over me as I lounge out on our balcony. Regardless, I've taken a break from studying and relapsed into the old me.I'm surprised that I haven't gone through some

Melnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-27762309889734787532007-09-30T17:37:00.000+03:002008-01-18T14:34:53.895+02:00

Until now the only way I’ve eaten cabbage is boiled, usually on St. Patrick’s day or with Polish sausage. But I’ve joined the cabbage leaf revolution! I first had it raw with Tabouli, a traditional Lebanese salad made primarily with burghal (type of wheat) and chopped parsley. Instead of eating with utensils, we simply broke off a piece of cabbage leaf and scooped up the salad with it.I recently

Melnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-10674508402255207282007-09-26T22:43:00.002+03:002009-01-12T00:31:16.262+02:00

My schedule has become as such: getting up at six in the morning, working until one-ish, studying, napping, class and then trying to fit in more studying before I collapse from exhaustion. Alex and I are still working on finding time for each other and to go out and have fun, but we have the weekends. Most importantly I’m relieved that I am now on a schedule because for a while I thought I was

Melnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-37334003287874070822007-09-19T13:44:00.000+03:002008-01-18T15:00:54.874+02:00

Heavily-industrialized and overwhelmingly populated, Beirut should have a comprehensive and well-equipped recycling center. All the reconstruction projects and aims to make Lebanon more attractive would lead one to believe organizations exist to take more care of the area. Yet, other than the hired trash collectors on Rue Hamra, there are no signs of initiative to clean up the highways and

Melnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-28764965756030242132007-09-14T18:18:00.001+03:002009-01-12T00:30:26.718+02:00

Today we took a trip down to the Sûrete-General to ask a few questions about residence visas. Not surprisingly we hit a dead end and Alex and I will have to wait a few more days to get any questions answered.While we were there we stopped off at Agence universitaire de la francophonie (AUF) just to look around. It is a small campus with a fresh looking central building and a small green. The

Melnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-59286700689476322932007-09-12T00:15:00.000+03:002008-01-18T14:31:07.950+02:00

The couple weeks before the big move to Lebanon, I had trouble finding the motivation to study. However, one week in Lebanon and I’m well on my way! I began Arabic classes at the American Language Center (ALC) this Monday. The ALC’s location is perfect as it sits directly in front of AUB’s main gate.I have the class from 7pm-8pm, Monday through Thursday. That may not seem like much time in class,

Melnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-68147601497916227252007-09-09T22:34:00.000+03:002008-01-18T14:27:37.688+02:00

This is my first posting since landing in Beirut and it has been difficult to start. I’ve sat down with the intentions of beginning this blog at least four times, but each adventure leaves me determined that my former thoughts were just too boring.Brace yourself, this may be a long posting! First, the flight itself was a riot. Before we even boarded the passengers were being “processed” by

Melnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-17249714590922519792007-08-29T18:35:00.000+03:002008-01-18T14:22:27.376+02:00

After a bit of thought and great suggestions from close friends, the format of my blog is changing a bit. Instead of the overly ambitious, strictly academic style I first proposed, I'm going to stick with more of a personal blog. Having to split time between packing, working, the release of the last Harry Potter book (and of course the need to take two weeks to rerd the last six), and visiting

Melnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946662854690719188.post-13762447312082813112007-07-09T06:24:00.000+03:002007-07-13T04:28:18.235+03:00

Is man inherently good or evil? Has religion even been the actual cause for wars, past or present? Will states ever solve the pollution problem? These loaded questions have certainly been through their share of debates, each person finding select historical proof to back up their conclusions. As difficult is trying to convince family and friends that traveling to a conflict-torn region is

Melnoreply@blogger.com1