Unbelievable, yet true.

I just finished a book that I have been reading for the past few days. It is called Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia. This book made me so angry I want to scream! I will try to contain my anger to explain rationally why it makes me so emotional. Sultana, the narrator of the book, is a Saudi princess. She was born in the late 1960s I'm guessing from other dates that were in the book. She describes her life growing up in the lavish palaces of Saudi Arabia. The focus of her memoir is on the horrific treatment of women. As a child, her and her sisters were completely ignored by their father. Her only brother was treated like a King and given absolutely whatever he wanted (like a Mercedes for his fourteenth birthday). The girls are given nothing. They are absolutely forbidden from receiving an education for fear that they will start to get their own ideas. As soon as they have their first period, they are forced to wear a black veil that covers their entire head and torso when they are in the presence of any male that is not an immediate relative. They are married, often just months after their first period, to a man as old as their father to serve as his second or third wife. If it is discovered that she is not a virgin, she will most likely be executed. Wives are expected to produce children for their entire child-bearing years. A baby daughter is considered reason for grieving, while a boy is lavishly celebrated.

Though all of this is horrible, what makes me most angry is the absurd laws and punishments the government and religious Saudi men enforce. In her book, Sultana tells of the fate of friends of hers to illustrate this. The most astrocious that stands out in my mind involves a thirteen year-old girl who was raped by friends of her older brother while their parents were out of the country. When she told her parents what happened, the boys said that she "seduced" them and they were helpless under her flirtacious influence. She became pregnant. The courts decided that she was at fault and would be punished. Immediately after she gave birth to the baby, she was taken into the street and publicly stoned to death. She was executed in a brutal and painful way for being raped. That is absurd. Another Sultana relates is of a young woman that she knew as a childhood playmate. Her father was unusually liberal, and allowed her to study in London for a while when she was 18. She fell in love with a man from California (a non-Muslim). When her father died while she was in London, her conservative Uncle became her guardian. He was outraged by this relationship (which was illegal because he was not a muslim) and seeked to punish her. Citing the Koran (SURA IV, 15: "If any of your women are guilty of lewdness, Take the evidence of four witnesses from amongst you, Against them; and if they testify confine them to houses until Death do claim them"), he banished her to live out the rest of her life in a dark enclosed room in solitary confinement. At 22, she was locked in an insulated, soundproof room with no windows or light and given 3 meals a day through a hole in the door. As you can imagine, she soon went completely mad, but is still imprisoned in that room to this day.

These are just two bits of the story that Sultana tells. And it is all true. Every bit of it. And this was happening 20 or 30 years ago. It is still happening today. I have never felt so passionate about anything as I do about this. The problem is, I don't know what to do about it. What can I do? Donating money will not help anything. That's obvious, because these women are filthy rich from oil. I just feel completely helpless. I am going to do some research and see what kind of movements are out there to help these women. I cannot sit here in this miraculous country of freedom and let that happen.

A damp Wednesday

Last night at like 3 in the morning I woke up. There was some major lightning and thunder going on outside! It must have rained too, because everything was wet this morning. Our windows were open because it gets stuffy in here during the night, but the thunder was so loud I had to close them so I could get some sleep. I'm surprised that I was only mildly anxious about it. Usually thunder really freaks me out, but last night it was kinda cool and exciting. However, this morning, a different phobia surfaced.

Daniel texted me and told me to wear tennis shoes because there were worms everywhere outside. I was confused. I mean, worms stay in the dirt don't they? I'm not going to be walking around in the dirt! So two hours later I had to go to class. I walked outside and talked to Daniel on the phone. I told him I didn't see any worms anywhere. We decided that they must all be on the other side of my dorm. We continued to talk, and then I looked down at the sidewalk and as I looked closely, I suddenly noticed that there were little tiny squirming worms EVERYWHERE! I screamed and jumped and ran, but there was nowhere that I could go to get away from them. For a few minutes I just freaked out, but then I took a deep breath and relaxed. I found a little patch of sidewalk with no worms and stood there. It's so ridiculous. I know that worms are completely harmless and there is no reason to be freaking out. But it didn't help. All day I was paranoid. My eyes were focused on the ground everywhere I walked, and if something brushed up against me I jumped and screamed. It was a stressful day. Now I'm freaked out that there's worm guts on my shoes and carpet and stuff. By the end of the day, the sidewalk was a graveyard of squished, fried, dried up worms on the sidewalks. Ewwwww it makes me shudder just thinking about it.

Last night I started to figure out my schedule for next year because registration is next week. I have some decisions to make. I will be taking chemistry and biology which scares me because that's two big scary classes at once. I also have to fulfill the one year language proficiency requirement. I am going to take a test to see how much I currently know, and if it's less than a year then I have to take spanish to graduate. I am also hoping to finish my university requirements by taking core classes (generic arts & humanities type classes) next year as well. If I end up testing out of spanish, then I am thinking about taking just 12 credits/ 3 classes next year to take some of the pressure off of the two science classes. I also will hopefully have two jobs so that will be a lot to do at once. However, I could also finish my physics minor or start my psychology minor. And I feel guilty taking only 3 classes when I could be taking 4 and finish school that much earlier. Choices choices. Ugh. I will have to think about this for a little bit.

It's National Teacher's Day

Today my physics professor kindly told us that today is National Teacher's Day and we should all email a favorite teacher of ours. So, in light of the occasion.....

Mrs. Kennedy,
Today is National Teachers’ Day and I wanted to thank you for being my teacher. I learned so much in your class. I really feel like your class set me up for the success that I have today. Not only did you teach me math and reading, but also organizational skills that I still use in my classes. I remember working with Crossing the River with Dogs and learning to think through difficult problems systematically. You taught me to think that way, and not to give up when I am given a difficult problem. That became especially useful in my first semester of college physics!
I also feel that I developed my love for learning in your class. I remember being frustrated with a particular difficult problem, and feeling pride when I mastered it. That is what I love about learning. Many books that I was introduced to in Honors Reading are still my favorites. I can’t count how many times I have read Number the Stars and The Giver! And overall, I had a good time in Honors, which made me happy to be at school.
I am almost finished with my first year at the University of Denver. My major is biochemistry (and a minor in Psychology and Physics). I don’t know if you could tell when I was younger, but I believe that my brain is hard-wired for science and math. Although I think in elementary school remember that I was much better at reading than math. I had such a hard time with pre-algebra in sixth grade. That has definitely changed! I hope to use my degree to do research for pharmaceutical companies and develop new medications to help people.
I will always remember you as one of my favorite and most influential teachers. I hope you tell all your students that they are lucky to have you as their teacher. And that they will have wonderful memories from your class for the rest of their lives.

Sincerely,
Rachel Burton

Thanks Mrs. Kennedy! You rock!

I am so so so excited!

In less than a year, one of my very best friends is getting married. And I'm a bridesmaid! I have never been in a wedding before and I am so happy for Beth and Jake and I think they deserve the most beautiful wedding ever. I am excited that I get to be part of all the planning and preparations and the wedding shower and the bachelorette party and makeup and hair and getting dressed that day and everything. It's going to be beautiful. Beth is going to be beautiful! I admire her so much for what she has done the past few years. I don't know many teenagers that could make a life for themselves like she has. She had a son when she was 17 and is such an incredible mom. You can just tell that she loves Tyler more than anything in the world. And she is raising him to be such an awesome little boy. Not only that, but she graduated high school while raising a baby and has a job that she works so hard at and even has a wonderful little house! How many 20 year olds can say that? I am so proud of her for going against all the odds and making such a loving family. And now her and Jake are getting married and I get to be part of it! I can tell how much they love each other and they are such a great team together raising Tyler and everything. And I can be excited for in a few years when she is one of my bridesmaids!

Today in physics, my professor taught us 'gang signs'. Not actually, but it was really funny. He flicked off the whole class. I promise it all was relevant to the physics lesson. It's hard to explain, but you should ask me if you see me. It's hilarious. On a related note, I got another B on a quiz. It's so frustrating!! I just want an A! What do I have to do to get a freakin' A? I'm really afraid that it's too late to get an A now. I'm pretty sure I can get a solid B though. Hopefully.

Last night my grandparents called. I love talking to my grandparents. I think that they are like the closest thing to Mother Teresa left alive on this earth. Seriously. They are the kindest, most generous, loving people I know. I feel lucky to have their genes. Especially because every woman on my grandma's side has lived to be like 97 years old. I'm in it for the long haul.

The Diamondbacks are losing. Badly. I believe it's 10-2 now (in the 8th inning). But I won't turn it off because I guess I'm afraid I'll miss something exciting. Not much chance of that huh. Well then I guess I'll do a little homework before bed.

Happy happy weekend!

I had a great weekend! Lexi drove us all up to Colorado Springs and we checked into our hotel and got all dressed and everything. The resort was absolutely beautiful. It was on a cliff so out our balcony we saw a whole bunch of houses on a mountain over a lake and a golf course. And the weather was gorgeous, if a little cold. At 6:30 we all went to Jimmy's room and had a champagne toast. I love all the people that were there. It was about 10 couples I think, the perfect size. All the girls were gorgeous and all the guys looked so cute in their suits. I hadn't eaten anything ALL DAY so I was starving and it may have been in my head, but I'm pretty sure the champagne got me a little tipsy. But then we went and took pictures overlooking the valley with the wind blowing and everything. Daniel told me I looked beautiful like 5 times (it never gets old). We walked into this little conference room and there were three tables with elaborate place settings and a dance floor in the middle. We had a three-course dinner and I had tea afterwards cause I knew I would need some caffeine to keep me up until 11 while drinking alcohol. Jimmy hired this DJ that was really good so we danced and danced for a while. Lexi, Eric, and I went to Tim's room and had a little drink before we went back to the dance floor. I had vodka and sprite. It was just enough so that I was relaxed when I went back to dance the rest of the night. Daniel was a little upset with me for drinking without him, but we still had a great time. I tell you what, Theta Chi boys can dance! And they can get hot dates too! So by eleven my feet were KILLING me. Some of the couples went to bed, others went to Tim's room to drink some more. I had enough, so Daniel and I went to bed. It was really nice. I felt beautiful and confident and fun. I danced like nothing mattered in the world. And I could swear I burned like 5,000 calories. I think they should make an exercise class that's just dancing.

When I woke up this morning, my head felt kinda stuffy and full. That's the only way I can describe it. All day it's felt pressurized and heavy. And my throat is a little sore. I'm sure it's just allergies, but it sucks. I was in bed watching the Diamondbacks game from 2-5:30. (We lost.) I just sucked it up and got up at 5:30 because Daniel took me out again tonight!

We went to Maggiano's for dinner (I paid) and then went to see A Chorus Line at the Denver Center for Performing Arts. Daniel bought these tickets for me and they were really expensive so I was so thrilled that he did. But we sat waaaay up in the balcony. And after he bought them he discovered that students get half-priced tickets. Oh well, next time. Anyways, the show was great. I love watching really good people dance because I can't dance for anything. I wish I could. But I have talents in other areas.

Unfortunately, not physics. Alas, I have gotten horrible grades (by my extraordinarily high standards) on the last few quizzes and I am very worried that I might get a B or two this quarter. I really really want to keep up my GPA so I am working hard. And on that thought, I think I will go to bed now. Goodnight.

I should be doing homework

but I'm not. I would much rather blog. The last few days, I have been so glad that I have Daniel here. Being in Boston for a few months really made me appreciate how incredibly lucky I am to have him here pretty much whenever I need him. On Thursday I was having a terrible day, mostly because of the big fat wet snowflakes that were falling (in MAY!!) and at 3:00pm I got to spend 45 minutes with Daniel in between classes and he cheered me up so much. I hope I never take advantage of that ever again. Just the simple pleasure of going out to dinner on the weekend and always having someone to eat dinner with makes me feel really lucky to be here with him. So I guess there was a reason that God put me in Boston for a few months. I'm sure there are many more reasons that I will come to realize in the future, but for now I will be happy for this one.

I also feel really lucky that I get to be Daniel's girlfriend (and hopefully future wife!). I think he is such a unique guy. He treats me like a princess. Seriously. He will do anything for me if he knows it will make me happy. He makes an effort to take me out for dinner every single weekend because he knows I freaking hate the dining hall. He bought me tickets to go see A Chorus Line because I have wanted to go for weeks and weeks. When I'm doing homework, he comes to my room to take a nap because he just likes being near me and listening to my typing. He is always telling me to drink more water, use hand sanitizer, take medicine, etc. because he cares about me. And he's so cute! I feel like I won the boyfriend-lottery.

Tonight we are going to his fraternity's formal. Honestly, I am most excited that I get to wear my pretty prom dress again and that we are probably going to get drunk. Oh, and there is going to be a catered dinner which will be nice too. To prepare for this evening I got my nails done yesterday and it's been so long since they have looked pretty. There's something about shiny painted nails that make me look beautiful no matter how the rest of me looks. That probably comes from biting my nails my whole life. I love it though :-) even if it does get a little expensive.

Last night I had lots of dreams about people back home. I know there was one with my family in it, and we were moving Nicole into a dorm and I think we were in New York City, except that me and my Mom went to the Smithsonian so maybe it was Washington, DC. Well, it's a dream, so I guess the Smithsonians could be in NYC anyways. Then, later, I had a dream with Beth and Jake and Tyler and I think other people from church were there. I think Beth's parents were there, and maybe my grandparents? I don't know I can't remember. But anyways, I woke up feeling surrounded by all these people that I love and I miss them a lot. Only four more weeks before I get to go home and see them all (except my grandparents). After living in a dorm and with all the renovations that my parents have done, my house feels like a five star hotel. I can't wait to have my big room and my beautiful (clean) bathroom. Yet another simple pleasure I hope I will never take advantage of again.

Well I guess I should get to my homework. This post has been long enough anyways.

Weddings

Last night Daniel and I watched a whole bunch of episodes on Food Network and coincidentally, it's wedding week. Which made me want to get married really bad. Like really bad. And now I know basically what I want my wedding cake to look like. (If you want Food Network Challenge: Wedding Cake Surprise, it's the blue and white one by the guy from Phoenix). But, alas, I must wait another four years until Daniel and I graduate from college. Because we're responsible and we know that we're supposed to finish school before we get married. And our parents will financially disown us if we get married before then. And I don't really want to plan a wedding while I'm in school anyways. And I want to have a big, beautiful wedding and I know that my parents will be willing to spend more once I have a degree. Not to mention the fact that I want to live in a beautiful house in a nice neighborhood and that's not going to happen if we get married right now. So I will pay my dues in college knowing that in ten years when we are rich I will be happy that I waited. And besides, we're practically living together now. I don't know what it is about the actual being married that I want so bad. Really, it's probably that I want to have kids. But if I want to be rich then that's going to be a long ways off. It sucks being responsible and mature. However, I'm sure there are many people that would be thrilled to be able to go to college and not have to work or worry about money for four years. I seriously have to have this whole conversation with myself at least once a week so that I don't get depressed and frustrated. I just want to get married NOW! No I don't. Yes I do. But I can't.