Divorce and Mid-Terms...

Today in one of my ED classes we were discussing divorce and how it is hard on kids, etc. Then this non-traditional student (who drives everyone in the class crazy) pipes up and says, "Divorce didn't even really enter our society until the Women's Lib. Movement." And my prof agreed and said, "Yeah, I think you're right. I think a bunch of women got up and decided they didn't need the man to bring home the groceries anymore, so that's how we got divorce." I was irate. I so badly wanted to raise my hand, but was fearful because I thought I would lose it. So instead I came home and emailed one of my previous profs, Dr. McKinney, who is a sociologist and actually knows about this stuff. This was her reply:

"Idiots. If divorce were a product of women’s lib, why wasn’t there an increase in divorce during the Elizabeth Cady Stanton first wave of feminism? Divorce is directly related to the economic situation. In an affluent economy, people can afford to marry for love. Love is the least stable institution there is. When we focus on personal happiness (thus marry for love) we take all the stability out of any marriage."

I think her answer makes sense, and I am not nearly as frustrated as I was before. Well, I still don't like that student in class much, and if this topic comes up again, I will get the guts to raise my hand and debate it. I get the impression, though, that my ED prof isn't too fond of the women's studies. Hmm....

Off to mid-term #2: Math for Elem. Teachers. Ugh. I have two hours to take it, and can re-take it by Friday.
Mid-term #3 is Wednesday, over seriously NOTHING. We've had TWO days of lecture, and that's what he says the test will be on. And this is the class where the A range is 97-100. BAH!
Mid-term #4 is Thursday, Women in Christianity. I think it will be my hardest one, especially since Dr. Pope-Levison knows what I am capable of. That's sort of frustrating - I can't slack!

Where I've Been...

Well, it's obvious that I need to go further south and east! I'll take care of a few more states when I go to CA, AZ, and NV over spring break to see the Grand Canyon. Oh, and I plan on visiting Rach in Kentucky this coming spring, so that will add some, too! Now I just need to find a map of the world that I can highlight....

visitedStates - World66: "

create your own personalized map of the USA
or write about it on the open travel guide"

We Are Women...

The following is a poem that my friend Rachel Schneider wrote about us women who pilgrimaged together to Iona. She shared it with us our last night together, while we celebrated Communion together on the beach. Enjoy.



We are women on pilgrimage.

We are women who have suffered greatly but have somehow in someway in varying capacities fought to remain open or at least have the desire to be opened. We came to this place to be opened – longing for safety, longing for freedom, longing to leave false expectations and perceptions.

We are women who have been violated, broken and abandoned. We are women who have been discriminated against. We are women who have been oppressed.

We are women who have a need to know truth and to speak truth. Some of us are hard. Some of us are angry. Many of us know what it is like to wake up in the morning and have the world turned gray.

We are women who have heard a call – a call to seek peace and pursue it, a call of justice and liberation. We are women who live with our backs up against the wall. We are women who weep over injustice.

Teachers, ministers, actors, painters, thinkers, dreamers, musicians – we all strive for wholeness otherwise we would not be here at this time, at this place.

If we are silent the rocks will cry out.

We are women who have been silenced, kicked, raped, and abandoned. We are women who have fought and struggled to move through and move on.

We are women who cry in the darkness. We are women who have entered the darkness. We are women who are groaning and waiting for the dawn.

We are women of the moon and stars. We are women birthed in the womb of God. We are women created to be free, created to be whole, created to shine gloriously in the heavens. We are women of the Spirit.

We are women who emerge a little brighter, a little lighter – strengthened and rested within. We are women who have learned to laugh again and dance again in safety. We are women being reborn and transformed to color, light, and flame. Amen.

To Bring You Back Up to Speed...

It's high time I bring everyone up to speed with what has been happening in my life since I left Michigan last month, and boy oh boy, lots has sure happened! Here goes:

Holly and I left Michigan on Friday, the 18th of September, and drove all the Iowa/Nebraska border on the first day. The next day we drove up into South Dakota and made it almost through all of the Badlands when my car, Matilda, started to over heat. So I pulled her over, we got out and opened the hood, and flagged down a nice couple from IN to help us. After they pulled over, the Park Ranger (a real, live Park Ranger!) of Badlands National Park pulled over and radioed for a wrecker to come and tow us to Rapid City, SD. We realized that my radiator had a hole in it and that it would not be good for us to drive to Rapid City - or anywhere, for that matter - that night. So the wrecker came and took us to Rapid City, where we dropped my car off at a garage to be fixed the next day. So Matilda got fixed on Sunday, Holly and I went to Wounded Knee, SD (a place I've wanted to visit since I was in the7th grade), and to Wall Drug, and then headed up into Wyoming and spent the night there. The next day we drove all the way through Montana, which was beautiful. There was snow in the mountains, so we put in a Christmas CD and sang carols. It was great! We spent the night in Montana, and the next day (Tuesday) we drove through northern Idaho and all the way across Washington and into Seattle. Matilda was fine as we drove through the mountains and the pass, but as soon as we got onto I-5 and into 5:00 stop-and-go traffic, it started to over heat again. So we made it to a parking lot on Westlake, where these very friendly Aussies helped us out and told us that the problem was due to the electric fan in my car not working, thus not cooling the engine down when we were driving slowly or stopped at a red light. So that night Holly and I spent the night at the Travelodge downtown. We parked the car in the parking lot behind the building. I got up the next morning, took a shower, and went to the car to grab the belt I forget and realized that my car was gone. GONE. STOLEN. Yeah. I called the police, filed a report, called Emily, and went back to SPU. SPU let me move into my house early considering I didn't have anywhere else to go or any way to get there even if I did have someplace to go. Tami Anderson-Englehorn, who works in Campus Ministries and whom I went to Scotland with, had us spend the night at her home Wednesday night. That was awesome and a huge blessing. My roommates moved in Saturday, which was a good distraction. Holly flew back to MI Saturday evening and classes started last Monday. Last Tuesday I received a call from the Seattle PD saying that my car was found downtown and was impounded. So I went downtown last Wed, got my car out of impound, had it towed to a garage on Queen Anne, and ended up picking it up Friday afternoon. So now I have Matilda back, and she's doing fine!

That was really the nutshell version of my life. It's been crazy and rough. I keep having to deal with the insurance company regarding some of my stuff that was stolen, repair costs, etc. Last week I was on the phone with the Fraud Dept. for 45 minutes. These are things that you just don't think you'll ever have to do, let alone at age 22 and during the first week of classes of Autumn Quarter! My life has calmed down since last week and I am enjoying my classes for the most part. Lots of ED stuff with Women in Christianity thrown in for my minor. I'm my favorite prof's TA this year, and that has been fun so far, too. Life is getting better and things are looking up. All in all, I'll be okay.

Off to the library to find a book to read for fun. I am finishing The Poisonwood Bible tonight and need something else to delve into!