Project Proposal

Please help by sharing your thoughts.

I am applying for a research project scholarship and need some help with my proposal. I have three ideas and am open to thoughts and critics. I have never done anything like this and would love some feedback. The description says that it is an “academic research project” and that might eliminate my third idea. So here they are.

#1
Topic: Latin American
Description: I would like to investigate current Latin American literature that has been influenced positively or negatively by the relationship of the United State with the author’s native country.
Target countries: Bolivia, Venezuela, Chile
#2
Topic: Enlightenment literature
Description: To look at the Enlightenment movement in a literary context and investigate the effects they had in Europe and the United states in the 18th century.
#3
Topic: Study Abroad
Description: To write an account of my one year study abroad experience in Zaragoza Spain.
I understand that none of the ideas are filled out, but that will be the next stage in the process.

Goodbye

I said goodbye to a good friend today. As we walked to the bus station my emotions were surging within me. It sucks to say goodbye, not know if you will ever see that person again. She was my best friend here in Zaragoza, from our first conversation we connected in a way that only happens a few times in a person’s life.
Our friendship started when I asked if she would be interested in a language exchange. I wanted to learn a little French and she wanted some help in English, so we set up a time. It took us an hour before we actually started talking about French, the conversation flowed and it was beautiful. We talked about life and what it means to love people. We were two people with very different backgrounds, but we shared a common desire to love.
When I lost Josh, she listened as we walked around the cold streets. She shared in my sorrow and for that I will be forever grateful. She is gone now, and a part of me is now missing. Of course we have made plans to see each other again, but often times those plans never come to pass. It hurts, but I am thankful for the friendship that has been developed over the past four months.

coffee and brain vomit

Note: If you drinking strong coffee at night; the result is often times staring at the walls in your room and thinking about stuff like this…

What can we know? Can we know truth? Why do we have nose hair? Why are apples red?

So, here is some brain vomit for you.

Think about an event in your life, now think about how you understood it at the moment it occurred, and then think about how differently you view that same event now. It seems to me that as time progresses our perspective changes. With a little distance between us and the event we tend to interpret it differently. Some people will say that hind sight is 20:20, I tend to think its 20:18, and we are always a little far sighted, or maybe near sighted. I will contend that we see and understand things better with distance; it is always a little clearer but never perfect.

How does this work with the previously mentioned questions? Well, I am not so sure. But, it is interesting to think about how the things we “know” changes with time. It is a little disturbing to think about how there was once a time when everyone in the world thought the world was flat. Some people “knew” it with such certainty that they were willing to kill anyone who would challenge their idea. But, as time moved forth like a middle school marching band, we began to accept these new ideas. With time, the idea of a round earth was accepted as fact. (no source to back up anything I have just said)

Maybe asking such questions is just affirmation that you should not drink coffee late in the afternoon, or maybe we can learn something. To be honest I am not so sure, but that is ok with me (not really, these types of questions bug me a lot). Maybe we can’t really know anything; maybe “Truth” is relative. If God exists, it would make since that he/she/it would be the only thing capable of knowing any form of absolute truth because he/she/it is the only being capable of being outside of time, if outside of time then no change of perspective, if outside of perspective then no change in perception, if outside of perception then _____. (I got nothing, Zedler and Jimmy I could use a little help)


Next post subject: nose hair.

Here is a link to some pictures from Paris.

http://okstate.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2092014&l=cc867&id=17116554

Sermon on the Kingdom

http://www.whchurch.org/content/page_173.htm

If you have time, listen to the sermon "Holistic Kingdom" it is good and gives me hope that there is beauty in the Church.

Cannery Row

“’It has always seemed strange to me’, said Doc. “The things we admire in men, kindness and generosity, openness, honesty, understanding and feeling are the concomitants of failure in our system. And those traits we detest, sharpness, greed, acquisitiveness, meanness, egotism and self-interest are the traits of success. And while men admire the quality of the first they love the product of the second.’”

Cannary Row
John Steinback


This has been one of the better books I have read as of late. I recomend it if you are looking for something to read.

France

I don’t have the energy or the motivation to try and explain all that I saw and experienced while in France. Christmas with a beautiful family, New Years in Paris, reading “Catcher in the Rye” beside a fire in Brittany, eating wonderful food and enjoying the company of friends is only a start.

For the moment, I am back in Zaragoza preparing for exams and trying to just keep my mind from exploding from all the thoughts and questions that seem to be following me around. For this reason, my post will be short and vague until I can gain some clarity and muster some energy to write with a little more detail.

Friends and family, I miss you and hope that you had a wonderful Christmas and New Years.