Fa la la

So I don't have too much to write about at the moment since I'm currently home but I thought I would update anyway so I keep this thing going. I spent the past two weeks in New York working at a summer camp and staying at my cousins' house. I worked with 30 6-7 year olds with my 3 other counselors. I thought I didn't like kids, and although they definitely made me angry sometimes, they definitely surprise you and I think I changed my mind. They literally say the most ridiculous things and don't even care or realize what they are saying and I think it's so great because that kind of genuineness is hard to come by these days. It got very hot towards the end of the second week but we managed with mostly indoor activities and swim time, and thankfully it has gotten cooler (or should I just say less hot) than it was. I got to spend a lot of time with family which is good because I don't really get to see them very often since I live 2+ hours away and am in school. The weekend I was there though I travelled to Arts fest which was also great because I got to see my friends from school that I haven't gotten to see for a very long time. The art was nice, but the festivities were, as always, the best part of the trip there.

Tomorrow at 3 am we will begin our journey to Lake Tahoe and San Francisco and I am so, so, so very excited to spend my time there with my family and two of my best, most longtime friends. I'm sure it will be a wonderful time.
This summer I think has been one of if not the best yet and I think it's due in part to the fact that I've spent it just doing things that make me happy. If an opportunity presented itself, I took it with no hesitation and I am so happy and proud that I was able to do this. That's what life should be about, taking the chances that present themselves to you; doing things as they come and not planning too far in advance. Even though this is my last summer of "freedom" and I need to get a real internship next summer, I'm not planning on letting it stop me. Weekends are short, but not too short.
Stay happy, people. 

Stereotypes: my rant for my essay on the Ojibwe

Stereotypes

Stereotypes; you cannot escape them anywhere. They are the single way we are able to categorize an entire people together in a simple, timely manner.  ‘Americans’ are too materialistic, Africans are poor, Italians are loud, Southerners eat a lot of fried food, and all Mexicans are illegal immigrants. When it comes to Native Americans, or American Indians, the stereotypes are countless: poor, unsophisticated, alcoholics, hopeless, lazy…and many more. If I was going to sit here and explore all the stereotypes that have been placed on Indians, it could extend on for hours, or days. This, however, is not what I intend to do.  These stereotypes have been put on these people in articles, in the media, and in educational settings, setting up the misconception for Indian Reservations to look like the dark place that it is, or actually, the place that it is not.  

Although I did not spend a very substantial amount of time there, only three weeks, I can say that undeniably they do fall into some of these stereotypes. Reservations are poor places, and poverty sets people up to fall into lives of corruption and many different types of violence and hate. These are serious issues, of course, but in all sincerity there are just some stereotypes that are completely false and unsupported. 

For one, Indians, at least on the Red Lake Reservation and I assume most if not all reservations, do not live in teepees. They do not live in huts, mud houses, or any type of primitive burlap structure. Very oppositely, they live in, surprise, surprise, real houses! Yes, with running water and electricity. They light fires and camp outside just as often as “normal” people do. They eat pancakes for breakfast and hot dogs for lunch, and even cook them on… ovens! They live like we do; they are not archaic and are not complete outsiders on the world going on around them. They have their own newspaper, postal service, and their own school system.

Onto stereotype number two. Yes, they do go to school. They go to a normal school that has classrooms, teachers and chalkboards. I was fortunate enough to get to tour many schools. They varied from elementary, middle, high school, and even colleges. Many times the elementary, middle and high school were combined into one school.  I was pleasantly surprised with how nice the schools were. They all seemed fairly new, which made me happy because it was showing me that they are taking steps in the right direction. I was actually thinking as I was walking around the school that I wished I had went to a high school like this and that I wished mine was as nice and well kept. There are display cases of Indian artifacts and paintings of wolves, eagles, and other animals that are sacred to them on many of the walls. They have classrooms dedicated to culture. Yes, I did have the decision to take German, Spanish, or French… but what if I was not one of those nationalities? Or worse, what if I did not even know what nationality I was? I envy their culture because of their close ties and how connected they are to where they came from. It may not be somewhere that you would be proud of, but they do take pride in it and as far as I’m concerned, that’s what matters anyway.

Number three.  Most Indians, and this includes the Red Lake Reservation, do not make any money off of their casinos. I want to reiterate, they make no money off of the casinos on their reservation. There are a couple casinos on reservation, though. I visited two different casinos while at Red Lake Reservation, both which were very big and rather extravagant. To my amusement, most people at the casino, though, were white. There were definitely Indians gambling, however not a large number. Not all Indians gamble, isn’t that another stereotype? Indians do, though, pay taxes, which many people believe they do not. They may pay more than many other Americans pay. It would make sense that they pay taxes though since they have schools, roads, a postal system, etc. One of the interesting things though about ownership on reservations is that the people that live in the house do not own the land or house that they live in. All land is owned technically by the reservation, houses are built and families just live in them. Although this may sound a little strange and possibly cheap because they do not pay for the house or land, they pay for it in other ways. They have no form of collateral when going to the bank; so it is hard if not impossible for them to take out big loans, say for example, for them to go to college.

Number four. It is an enormous misconception that all Indians are alcoholics. Get ready for this…on the Red Lake Reservation alcohol is illegal. Illegal. If you are 18 years old, 21, or 95 and are caught with a can of beer or a bottle of wine, you are going to jail. This policy is enforced. While in Minnesota, we spent one night at a host family’s home. I stayed with an elderly woman named Anne, her daughter, Anita, and Anita’s cousin, Sunsun. Anita and Anne did not really address the issue of alcohol or drugs, but Sunsun opened up to us about these problems on the reservation. He told us that they would not talk about it and tell the truth about it, but he would tell us how it really is. He told us that although it is illegal, drinking of course still happens. This can be related to how high school kids drink alcohol, even though it is illegal, and they have to somehow get it since they are not allowed to purchase it on their own. People bring alcohol onto the reservation and bootleg, which means that they just sell it to people for a lot more than it is worth. The reservation police try very hard to prevent this and have routine stops to check people driving back onto the reservation in case they left the reservation to drink and are returning and driving under the influence. Alcoholism is a problem, but just as much as it is a problem in the normal American society. Like high school students, when you are not allowed to drink, you are going to want to even more and find a way around the rules.

From what I understood, alcoholism is not nearly as big of a problem is as drugs are. Overdoses are much more common than I would have thought or that I have ever experienced or learned about in any other setting. Anita casually brought up how her daughter died of an overdose on oxy cotton when she was only 17 years old. Later that day, Anita’s boyfriend also just as casually brought up that his daughter died of an overdose, two years after the death of Anita’s daughter. One thing I grew to learn about Indians is that they are very open. They are not afraid or ashamed to tell you anything. It happened and so it is knowledge and they feel obliged to let you learn from them. Unlike our society, they do not keep secrets or hide behind facades of people that they actually are not. They are real and they are honest. This is a truly endearing characteristic in my eyes. Even considering this characteristic, the ease and the monotone, neutral voice at which both of them spoke about their daughters’ deaths only instilled how common this was to them. This is a stereotype that they unfortunately fall privy to, but they are trying to take steps against this. You cannot drive or walk more than a mile without seeing a sign or a sticker that is anti-drugs. It will take time, but I do believe that eventually this is something they will be able to conquer.

Number five. All Indians hate all other Americans. I have to admit that for some time, I was scared to go on the reservation. I was scared that they would hate me because of what white people had done to them and are still doing to them. I was scared that they would not open up to me because they thought that I could not understand. I was scared that I would not be able to understand. I was wrong on all accounts, all but one. They welcomed us into their community. They let us participate in ceremonies that were sacred to them; they welcomed us into their homes and fed us food with money that they probably should not have had to spare for us. They told us everything. They taught us their teachings, told us their stories, talked about drugs, alcohol, and their experiences with Indian boarding schools. They were happy that we wanted to know and that we were open to learning and listening. The one thing I was not wrong about was that I am not sure if I do understand why they would not hate me. After hearing about all the injustice and about the boarding schools, which were basically concentration camps, I would hate the people who did all these horrible things to me. Indians, though, are not hostile people. They wanted us to know the truth and they were appreciative of the fact that we were not stereotypical and that we wanted to know the truth and we wanted to get it firsthand. A good friend of ours, Gimiwan, told us that we were not what he was expecting. He thought that all white people were stereotypical about Indians and was so thankful that we came to learn. He spent most of everyday for the last week with us, just hanging out with us, talking to us, and teaching us. We, in return were extremely appreciative of all the knowledge he had given to us.  He, to me was proof that the younger generation can keep the culture safe, but continue to move in a positive direction. He has been through a lot of trouble in his past, but is now a very sacred, and gifted person in his society. He is respected and is spreading his teachings and success to younger people on the reservation. He is inspiration to them that it is possible to lead a happy and healthy life there. I hope that he continues to do all of the wonderful things he is doing, but I am quite certain that he will.

Giving is something that is very important in the Indian culture. You never take without giving something first. Sometimes they do not even have to expect anything back in return for your gift. They give, and give and do not expect in return. They have a whole ceremony that is solely based on giving gifts. You give a gift to someone, and then dance around the drum with him or her. When the next song begins you must give a gift to this person in return and then dance around the drum for a second time.  This was one of the hardest things for me to comprehend because this is so different from the culture I live in. Everyone takes and takes, and does not believe that it is necessary to give back. I know that tobacco is something that is very important to them, but this is something else that I just do not get. We had speakers that would impart such knowledge onto us and teach us so many lessons, and in return we would give tobacco. They always accepted this with open arms but what they gave to us, in my opinion, was worth substantially more than tobacco. Perhaps this is also one of the things that is most frustrating to me as I have been struggling to put into words my experience on the Red Lake Reservation. I feel as though I was given so much, and did not adequately return the gifts. As I have come back home and have tried to explain my experience, I still get stereotypical responses in return. In an odd way, every time I respond to these accusations and fight back, I feel as though I am giving back, little by little. I know that many of the people I met in Red Lake would consider this a gift: that I am spreading the things I have learned and I am teaching people who Indians really are. Maybe as time continues I will finally feel like I have returned the gift I received, but for now I am just taking it one stereotype at a time. 

Epiphany

I have come to the conclusion that I am awful at blogging, this is probably due to the fact that I have a very short attention span so sitting down and typing about my day is not on the top of my list of fun activities. I wish that blogs could just be very short status updates like twitter.

Rewinding....
Going back to Germany was fun as always. We went on our usual hike in the woods and out to Bernkastel to bring back some wine for my mom. It turned out that Pentecost, which I was not even aware of, is a two-day holiday in Germany and so most things were closed. This just meant more time at home eating nice German foods and desserts. It was a short, but nice visit. And the weather was much more pleasant than the extreme heat in Greece.

Again, I was home only briefly before I was off again. Although this time only and 1.5 hrs away to the beach for my best friend's dad's wedding. It was a little weird for the family I think because it was a second marriage but we helped set up and decorate and it turned out beautiful. I was a little obsessed with the cupcakes, so I will add some pictures.

This is one of my favorite pictures of the couple.

Now that I learned how to upload pictures this could get more dangerous. 

Well the point of me starting this blog anyway was to get used to it, so I could be good at it when I go abroad, simultaneously recollecting my summer. As of right now I am on "Conditional Acceptance". Which means that my University has approved but now the University in South Africa needs to approve. Fingers crossed!

Fast Fwd: Crete

I never finished writing about Minnesota but I'll have to some up the last couple days quickly.
The Pow wow was not what I was expecting. It was much smaller and just had a couple of stands with stores and food places (that were all very greasey and fattening). The stands surrounded a grass circle in the middle with a small pavilion in the center. Indians with costumes danced around clockwise and the regalia was beautiful. We didn't get to camp out because of the rain but we still came back the next day. Most of the last days were filled with lectures and sleepovers; the lectures began to drag on but the sleepovers made it worth it. Larry Aitken had to be my favorite even though he called me out many times, it really forced me to think about some things. Although I was so sad it was over, the last day was hectic. I had to get dropped off at basically a random highway intersection, get a cab to the airport and then layover in Minneapolis. I had less than 24 hours at home to pack and get back on another plane. I still haven't really had time to comprehend the whole experience in Minnesota, but I will get there.

First, my dad and I flew to Germany and drove to my grandparents house. We spent the day and some of the night (flight to Greece at 6 am). I spent most of the day sleeping and my dad mowing the lawn. It is always so nice to be there and to be surrounded by German, it seems like a second home now. We even jokingly talked about me owning the house one day, which I wasn't so much joking about. I think it would be fun to have a house in Germany!
Crete has been amazing so far. The weather is beautiful (it hardly rains.. as in basically never, except for the winter) and the sun is always out. My dad refuses to go to the beach but we get ample time outside because of our long hikes everyday. The language is impossible to follow, to me it just seems like I'm in Greek-life central because all the letters are familiar to me but make no sense to me being in the order that they are. I have yet to wear anything AXO, in fear that it means something in Greek that I don't know about. The food is something that I'm not going to miss though. They eat tons, and tons of goat here. Goat meat, goat milk, and goat soaked things (like rice)... yuck. They also love to wrap things in grape leaves, although I do love my vegetables this is not something I think I could get used to. Every night we go out to dinner with my dad's scientist friends (he is on a conference after all...) which is quite interesting. They have a unique sense of humour that's for sure. I only understand 5% of the things they talk about.. but I was able to trump them in the Greek alphabet (thank you pledging..). It's the morning here now, so my dad is in a conference and I'm getting ready for the day. 3 more days in Greece and 2 more in Germany..
peace, love, and greece

Home Stay-Friday

On Monday we left for Redby, where we were split up to go to different homes on the reservation and sleep there for a night. I did not get a family the first stop but then we stopped at an old age home, which I was confused about at first. My instructor, Bruce, told us that the elderly woman here was very traditional and was known for bossing people around. He asked that two of us in my van stay there and so me and Kelsie decided to get out. Although the initial introduction was a little bit awkward, we all placed our bags down and gave Anna our gifts which she seemed to enjoy. The rest of the day we drove around the reservation with Anna, her daughter Anita and her boyfriend, and Anita's cousin, Sunsun. We stopped at "the point" which is where you can see both Upper and Lower Red Lake. We also got a tour of the Green House and a wild rice production warehouse. Our last stop was a random turn down a dirt road, which I have to admit worried me a little to begin with but we ended in a large open field that had two wig wams (What they used to use as houses; large sticks tied together with string that would when used, be covered with burlap). Anna informed us that this was sacred ground, no pictures where to be taken, and that very special ceremonies happened here. Although it seemed rather empty at first, it was soon very noticeable just the feeling that was there that told you this was a very important place. That night, Anita's boyfriend made us soup and Sunsun baked fried bread and talked to us about some of the alcohol and drug problems on the reservation. These were things he said he would tell us because he knew that Anna and Anita would never bring it up, out of respect. He said that these were problems that were not improving and this was not easy to miss because earlier that day both Anita and her boyfriend had told me about both of their daughters death because of a drug overdose; both which happened in the past 5 years. It is incredible how easy it is for these people to open up and I really respect there honesty. This kind of true honesty is hard to come by.
The next day was similar to the first, we drove around and toured the Natural Resources building and also the Fishery, which was kind of disgusting because I do not like being around fish, especially when they are getting cut up. We then met back up with the group and went to the High School (which is one building together with both the elementary school and the middle school). We had a tour of the school then a remarkable speaker. We closed the day with another talking circle.
Wednesday was a long day of speakers. We first met with the Tribal Council Chairman, Floyd Jourdain, which was a special honor. He talked to us about all of the economic problems and much about entrepreneurs and loans. Then we met with someone at the Tribal College and learned that only 70 students attend each semester in the 3 classroom college. We then went to a third lecture, with Larry and Violet, who are experts in recovery from substance abuse and the traditional use of the medicine wheel. We did an exercise with string to show our connectedness. We ended the day with a picnic not far from our last lecture and had some dogs. After everyone ate we played a couple fun games of musical chairs.
Yesterday, we went fishing right in the morning. This was the first time I ever fished, or ever even touched a fish. Although I was too scared to actually pull the fish out of the water when I felt it bite, I still learned how to cast and reel which was my goal. I also picked up a minnow but was too scared still to put the hook through its mouth so one of the young boys helping us did that for me. I not only picked up a minnow but also got one thrown at my face.. After this we headed to the hospital to get a tour and talk to a doctor for a while. We closed the night with a talking circle.
Today we went to Leech Lake Tribal College and talked to Judy who is a teacher there. She talked about the toxic pollutants that are in a small area of Leech Lake. This area has had to been evacuated because of the cancers and other diseases that it was causing. They are still having an extremely hard time getting the government to come in and try to clean it up and pay the medical expenses that it was causing. We then drove around the whole area and saw all the abandoned houses and swamps that are still there. Then we went to Rocky's house and he taught us how to make baskets, literally starting with a tree stump. We used axes and knives to cut thin strips of wood to weave. It was hard and took from 2 pm until 8 pm for the entire process. It was a fun day but was raining the whole time..
Tomorrow is the powwow and we're sleeping over in a tent!

Bemidji, MN

Coming to Minnesota was a spontaneous decision, and I can say now that I could not be happier with making it. This trip has been more than I ever expected. The people I met are amazing and everything we have done has almost seemed surreal.
On Sunday morning at 6 am we left from State College, PA and began our two day journey to Minnesota. 8 of us, including our instructor, randomly all stumbled into the same van that morning to escape from the rain that had drenched us and all of our luggage. Although I thought that this long 24 hour drive was unnecessary and that it would have made much more sense to take a plane ride, I was proved wrong. The 6 of us in the back of our van became close in such a short amount of time, sharing secrets, asking questions and playing games the entire time. We passed many of the Great Lakes and some even went midnight in Lake Michigan. This was the first time I remember seeing them and Lake Superior was a beautiful sight to overlook while eating breakfast in Munishing, Michigan.
The first day we were here in Bemidji was Tuesday and our day was filled with two speakers, Dr. Anton and Steve Smith. Anton especially was an amazing speaker and taught us so much about the Ojibwe people and history. This lesson really changed my view on the people and culture hear and I learned about how Indians (this is the name that is usually preferred over Native American) were treated when outsiders came to their country and decided to call it their own. The day was hard to get through because of how tired we all were so we ended the day early and went to explore Lake Bemidji.
Wednesday we spent the day canoeing on the Mississippi River for about 5 hours. It was a beautiful day outside and my knees and shoulders paid the price. I got very sunburnt and was sore from all the paddling. I also worked up the courage to swing off of a questionable rope into the river, which was extremely cold. That night we had our first talking circle where we passed a talking stick around and everyone said a few words.
On Thursday we had 2 more lectures. Anton, from Tuesday, came in again to talk to us about Ojibwe language which was very interesting but everyone was very tired from canoeing on Wednesday. Then Dennis Banks came in and told us stories and adding in drumming in between. This was our first experience dancing around a drum in the ceremonial way. This night was one of my favorite so far. At night we journeyed out to the reservation so that we could listen to the stories from Anne. We sat outside and her daughter, Annie sang us songs and played the guitar. They also made us amazing food and this was the first time we tried fried bread with a homemade butter. After she sand, Anne told us 3 stories that were passed down to her from her mother. She has been a storyteller for much of her life and is very talented. We then went inside and had special tea made and all crammed in and sat wherever we could and talked to Anne, Annie, and Annie's three children. Everything in their home was hand-painted and we took tons of pictures of all of the painted cabinets and tables.
Friday was strictly dedicated to learning about the sweatlodge and preparing for the ceremony. When we got to the lodge it was raining and we all sat around nervous and not knowing exactly what to anticipate. I was in the first group to crawl into the small, dark, dome shaped structure. It was an unreal experience and also an extremely hot and humid one. I also got named by a medicine man. I was named Maa Maa Gwa, which means moth. The moth is the animal of eternal life. It is capable of giving and taking life and giving eternal life with its touch. He also told me that I would be leading large ceremonies but he couldn't tell me which kind of ceremony. My color was all of the colors of the rainbow.
Yesterday we went to a big drum ceremony in East Lake. It was a very long day but we met a lot of children and got to take a tour of the school which encompassed a pre-school, a middle school, and the high school. We watched and listened to many of the ceremonies and it ended with a feast and a gift-giving ceremony. The feast was just bowls and bowls of various types of food in the center in which everyone just used their own spoons to take whatever they wanted. The foods varied from peas, to spaghetti, to potatoes, to fruit. After that we danced around the drums with the person that gave us a gift or that that you gave your gift to. I gave a painting that I had framed.
Today we had a speaker that talked about many of the current alcohol and substance abuse problems. He has written many books about all the Indians that he has talked to and had interviews with. I bought one of his books which I am really looking forward to reading. Tonight we have another talking circle as well and tomorrow we get assigned to our host families!