04.26.07
It’s a freakin maze
Figuring out the discount european airlines can be frustrating. Not because there aren’t enough, but because finding the connections you need can be confusing. Particularly if you need to use more than one airline.
If anyone is better at navigating those waters, here is what I’m looking for:
Ideally, a flight originating in Sarajevo on July 23rd and ending in either Lyon or Geneva on the same day, preferably as early as possible. I don’t mind other stops or changing airlines as long as I can make it through customs and the airport in time for the flights.
I can also travel a bit to fly out of Dubrovnik, Split or Zadar Croatia. Sarajevo is hard to find flights, and these cities are better.
And I need it all for under $200, including bus fare from Sarajevo to wherever.
Best option I’ve found so far:
Bus from Sarajevo to Zadar. RyanAir from Zadar to London, RyanAir from London to Grenoble. Bus from Grenoble to Lyon. All this for about $200, but isn’t all in one day.
04.23.07
So last night I came to Xavier to hear Paul Farmer speak, among others. Every year, Xavier has a big “Town Hall” meeting on a global topic. This year the topic was AIDS. If you are not familiar with Paul Farmer, go get “Mountains Beyond Mountains” or his book “Pathologies of Power.”
All the panelists talked a lot about hope, and a lot about the role religion plays in the global AIDS crisis. During the question and answer time, I asked Paul what the role of the theologian was in his organization, since so much of what we had discussed was about religious belief and action. The question threw him for a bit and he said he’d never been asked that. I told him I was looking for a job. He laughed and did not offer me one.
Afterwards, I was walking across campus and I walked by the school parish. I saw a friend from the grad program inside so I walked in to say hello. We chatted for a bit and he asked me if I wanted to sing in the choir. So last night I sang in the choir for the 10pm catholic mass at Xavier. I did some mumbling every now and then and a few goofed up motions before I relinquished myself to not knowing what was going on. I was more comfortable being silent and still than I was mis-speaking and flailing around. I’m exaggerating though. It was a good service and I took communion with my friend, and for only the 3rd time with a catholic group. Jesus tastes like wheat…and a little bit of honey.
Today I picked up my cap, gown and whatever you call that thing that hangs off the back. My commencement is in a few weeks and while I have still to finish a class and write my thesis, I won’t be seeing much more of Xavier. My time there has been incredible and I’m very thankful for everything I’ve learned and experienced. For those of you who haven’t seen me much over the past couple years, I’m (again) a different person.
04.21.07
Blog links
You’ll notice I deleted the links to other blogs from this page. Don’t be offended. I assume most of you have them either bookmarked or you’re using something like Bloglines to let you know of updates.
I’ll be replacing them with a few links for stuff that I care about. 5 at the most, which will likely rotate pretty often. A blog may come in there every now and then.
So…
…I haven’t posted much lately, obviously. I’m not certain whether that’s from lack of interest, lack of motivation, lack of content, or lack of articulation.
Plans for my trip are coming along pretty heavily now. I’m setting up specific dates and times to meet with the organizations I have contacted and am moving along in finding free housing. Budget is still a huge concern for me, but I think things might work out. When I say budget is a concern for me, I really should say “The money the school gave me for this trip is pretty limited and I’d rather not have to use any of my own.”
I’ve been talking quite a bit, and thinking even more, about the idea of suffering around the world and what role we as Kingdom people are supposed to play in the alleviation of it. I’m not 100% sure that simply “suffering with” is enough, particularly because if you ask those who are suffering, they certainly would want to be relieved of it. But I do believe suffering with is a valid and noble task. I believe there are many who are called, and who are gifted in this way, to simply suffer with the poor, the vulnerable and the oppressed: Mother Theresa, Henri Nouwen, and others. I believe there are people who are gifted at being the prophetic voice, calling attention to these issues and holding Kingdom members and others accountable to what could be considered minimal standards of human relationships and conditions: Walter Brueggemann, Wendell Berry, and others. I believe there are people of action who address issues on the small scale and others who address them as global issues: Martin Luther King, Jr., Oscar Romero, and others.
Certainly almost any of those individuals named can fall into any of the categories depending on the period in their life or their mood for the day. So are we to criticize others for being only a prophetic voice? Are we to criticize those who never seem to “get anything done” in the world’s eyes (or even our own)? Are we to criticize those who live in relative affluence while they rail against the systems of the world for its sustainment of oppressive systems?
I don’t really know anymore. Do I have the nuts to criticize N.T. Wright because all he does is write nice books and give nice lectures and inspire generations of people to rethink what being a Kingdom member really is? After all, he lives in a pretty fancy place. Can I criticize Mother Theresa because she didn’t get all those poor and all those lepers out of their condition? After all, she was there a long time, surely she could have done something.
I’ve been wrestling with the role my passion will play in my life. Issues of violence, in particular religious violence, have consumed my thoughts over the last couple years. I’ve become very interested in working in the conflict resolution field. There are of course a couple problems. Many conflict resolution organizations are looking for people who have International Relations degrees, etc. There is a bit of a bright spot in that many are beginning to realize they cannot marginalize religion as a healing factor. The other problem is that I cannot simply drag my family from war torn area to war torn area. Neither would I enjoy being alone, away from home for months at a time. I might be able to make those decisions for myself, but I cannot make them for Missy and certainly not for any children we may have. Can I subject them to the violence and trauma I’m hoping to help heal for others?
I know my life with violence will not simply be academic, and that it will take some sacrifices on both my part and the part of my family. This summer’s trip is a beginning. I will hear and see those who have suffered through some of the worst violence (and the worst in the case of Yugoslavia) that Europe has seen since WWII. I think this summer, producing the thesis, and seeing what comes next will be very formative for the rest of my life. That’s a lot of expectation to put into a few short months…but I think that’s how it’s going to pan out.
Perhaps more later.
