asacksteder's Xanga

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 01:50:00 GMT

I'm in the Amsterdam airport, finally, after a surprise day layover in NYC. I loved seeing my uncle and aunt.. even if I was way sleep deprived. And what's the use of going to NY if you're not going to see the place. I'm feeling the same about Amsterdam itself. I can see the skyline from here, and I here it is an amazing city. But I've only got five hours to kill before I leave for Accra, and that seems like an awful short time to go through customs, grab a train, walk around a block of the city, then come back to go through customs AGAIN, and hopefully catch my flight. I am sad. It sounds like me and the city aren't meant to be.. Sigh... Maybe on my way back. I'll have another surprise layover and get to stay a little while. Ah.. a girl can dream can't she? Wish me luck.

Guess What!!!

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 11:30:24 GMT

Hello Everyone,

As most of you know I have an exciting future in front of me. While completing my degree at Ohio University I felt the call to teach overseas. Much to my surprise, opportunities opened up for me in a couple of different areas and schools in Africa. So, on Sunday I’m going overseas for the next nine months to do service on the Continent.

The first is at Mary Queen of Peace, in Cape Coast, Ghana. I just recently got my placement, and it looks like I will be teaching general education to a class of fifty third graders. My life will not be completely absorbed by students, I will be also staying with a family nearby. Right now, all I know is that there is a mom and a dad, with two grade-school age girls. It is quite intimidating, but I’m sure that I will be just fine. The school itself is a Mission school run by American nuns, so I will not be completely on my own. I will be serving there for one trimester, lasting from September 2 to December 17 of this year.

In mid December I will be flying even farther away from home to St. Jude Academy in the Central Province of Kenya. I am very excited about this. St. Jude Academy is a small Catholic school, which takes care of orphaned and destitute children by providing food and schooling for them from kindergarten through sixth grade. They are growing year by year and will reach grade 8 in the next two years. More than a quarter of the school is made up of kids orphaned by HIV/AIDS. The school is situated in one of the poorest parts of Central Kenya and does not have much in the way of resources. I’ll be there, until May 20^th of 2008, at which time I will fly home.

Both schools are poor, and desperately need help. For this reason they are not able to compensate their volunteers beyond basic help such as food and board. Any assistance you could provide would be much appreciated, from prayers to donations to items for the community. I believe the most basic service I can do is connect people to people. During my stay I will have a website where I will post pictures and news from my service sites at http://www.xanga.com/Ann_in_Africa. On the site will also be a link to my PayPal donations site. The same link will appear at the bottom of this post. All you have to do is click, and donate. I would love to hear from you by emails, posts on my blog, or even real letters. If you’d like to get my address or other fun updates by email, please email me at asacksteder@yahoo.com. I will also be posting my mailing addresses on my blog as soon as I have them.

I would like to thank you in advance for your help during this next nine-month adventure. Your support will go a long way for these children, and the experience will do amazing things for me.

Thank you,

Annie Sacksteder

Sunday, August 05, 2007

Sun, 05 Aug 2007 17:57:29 GMT

I just spent awhile looking back through my old Xanga entries, and I found two quotes that I think relate to my life really, perfectly well right now, but for different reasons. History is a funny thing, isn't it? And it is amazing to see that, for all I've changed, I'm still the same basic girl.

"I don't want to lie, especially in this most serious aspect of my life. It would be self defeating, as my friend's lives so excellently live out. I want what I want. I know what I deserve. And I will not settle for less. Thank you. I would rather have nothing at all, than to compromise myself to have something mediocre. That way I loose twice, and I may never get my self respect back."

"I’ve got two weeks to get my life figured out and run off to school. You’d think I’d had prepared myself better or something. Huh.. nope… Here I want to quote Marilyn Monroe in "Some Like it Hot".. She says "I’m not too bright… see?" When she tells Tony Curtis how she always falls for the slime ball saxophone player, gets her heart broke, and then does it again with the next guy. Except, when I do it, I have to refer to non-romantic things like… registration deadlines, and paperwork."

The End.

Sunday, August 05, 2007

Sun, 05 Aug 2007 17:10:45 GMT

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I just bought all my airplain tickets to and from Africa. AAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday, August 02, 2007

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 10:19:50 GMT

Monday, July 30, 2007

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 16:12:33 GMT

Sometimes I wonder about myself, my inner workings, and especially, the titles I put on myself. For example... I call myself an artist. I've grudgingly accepted this title for the last year and a half now. In my life this title is continually supported by my inability to stop writing and my acquisition (or admittance) of Artist Issues,(and Oh Baby, I've got them.) but sometimes I still wonder if it is true. Or am I really just trying to fool myself in a strangely perverse way....

Today, there is no question about it. I am going through what I like to call Creative Hangover. So far it mostly comes after I write a short story. ( I think poetry is just too short a stay in my subconscious to wig me out, and I don't know how I'll react when Slavvy is done. It should be interesting though.) The writing process itself tend to be pretty easy (intense, and Zen like a river), and rather short, honestly lasting just a few hours, but the next couple days are full of up and down emotions, a strange tiredness, and a feeling of emptiness. It is weird, and un-understandable. Good Lord, my life is full of mysteries and I'm the biggest one.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 16:04:47 GMT

Hey.. Check this out! http://underground.yahoo.com/feature/3961/aq:bollywood+dance/jc:id-1060/pm:/rp:id-1061/ss:id-1062/sb:id-1063/vi:id-1065/pl:27407/

It is all about Bollywood Dance competitions. Ausome, Huh? And I thought my family was the only one. They even have video's. Totally Cool. But the following first three paragraphs of the article are priceless.

Next time you find yourself with a gun to your head, a suggestion: Slap on an outrageous grin and bust your best moves through undulating bolts of colorful fabric and a phalanx of bhangra-ing backup dancers.

If you know anything at all about Bollywood movies, you'll know it works every time: A (literally) loaded situation is abruptly forgotten — at least for the duration of a song — in favor of a show-stopping, pop-hop, Hindi song & dance number that invariably celebrates the loveliness of love and the manliness of men.

Turns out it's not just in Bollywood movies where that ploy works. I met all kinds of college kids employing the maneuver earlier this year at the Hindi film dance competition known as Bollywood Berkeley (as in University of California, Berkeley).

I swear, there is nothing like it.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 14:50:45 GMT

Often, when I think about myself and my placement in the world, it seems to me that there is nothing that I can do that none of my family has done before. Not even serving in Africa or going to jail. I don't even have the record for being in school the longest. It's all been done. I've had a love / hate relationship with this concept for awhile. For the majority of my grade / high school experience it was depressing and defeating, but now I generally find it comforting and freeing. It allows me to do what I want. Period. And that is good.

But the thing is.. I'm wrong. There is a whole area of the exsistance where I've been first, and so far, the only. And it is the world of Not Bloody Natural Hair DYE! WOOT! I am now the proud owner of a head full of bright pink hair, and will wear it with a vengeance until it leaves me, oh too soon. I've been wanting to do this for awhile, and finally asked my boss if it was OK. She was down with it, so yesterday I got it done, so I could go to a party with it and surprise everyone. Well, no one was surprised, but pictures are coming. And DUDE, do I look cute. I can't wait to see the two year olds reactions though.

Oh.. There are a couple things I've done that no one else in the family has, so far. Gone to Scotland and Portugal. See the moores. I was the first to get a tattoo, and I think, the first to get seriously drunk (ie.. puking, not so proud of that one). Um.. that's it. It is a short list but it comforts me, just like the list of the things I can do better than my super shiny younger sister. (no.. I don't have issues.. Not me. No sibiling rivalry hear. *look away, look away*)

It goes like this: Run

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 15:37:12 GMT

Here is another one... although it is not as perfect as the last one.. it gets the point across though, especially the highlighted part.

Romeo and Juliet
by Mark Knopfler

A lovestruck Romeo sings the streets a serenade
laying everybody low with a love song that he made
Finds a convenient streetlight, steps out of the shade,
and says something like "You and me, babe, how about it?"
Juliet says, Hey, it's Romeo! He nearly gave me a heart attack,
He's underneath my window, now she's singing "Hey-la, my boyfriend's back."
You shouldn't come around here singing up to people like that
Oh, anyway, whatcha gonna do about it?

Juliet, the dice were loaded from the start
And I bet, and you exploded into my heart
And I forget, I forget the movie song
When you gonna realize it was just that the time was wrong, Juliet...

We both came up on different streets, and they were both the streets of shame
Both dirty, both mean, and even the dreams were the same
Well I dreamed your dream for you, and now your dream is real,
so tell me, How can you look at me as if I was just another one of your deals?
Now you can Pawn your chains of silver, and you can pawn your chains of gold.
You know You fall for pretty strangers and the promises they hold
Well you promised me everything, and then you promised me thick and thin
and now you just turn away and say, Romeo? I think I used to have a scene with him.

Oh, Juliet, hen we made love you used to cry
You said "I Love you like the stars above, gonna love you till I die."
There's a place for us, I know you know the movie song
When you gonna realize that it was just that the time was wrong? Juliet...

But I can't do the talk like they talk on my TV screen,
and I can't do a love song, not the way you sung it to me
I can't do anything, but I would do anything for you,
I can't do anything except be in love with you,
All I do is miss you and the way you used to be,
And all I do is keep the beat; I keep bad, bad company.
And all I do is kiss you through the bars of this rhyme,
well Juliet, I'd do the stars with you anytime.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Tue, 17 Jul 2007 13:00:13 GMT

Ever had a time when all you wanted to do was stand on top of a nearby hillside and sing a song as loud as you can for all the world to hear? Well, here is mine.

Joking - Indigo Girls - Rights of Passage

you said the world was magic
i was wide-eyed and laughing
we were dancing up to the bright side
forget about your ego
forget about your pride
and you will never have to compromise
and you were only joking
you were only joking brother
we talked about our mothers
kissed the wounds of our fathers
i could have been your sister
i would have been your brother
you kissed me like i was a soldier
headed for a war
i dying man but i don't know what for
and you were only joking
you were only joking brother
you were only joking
(wide-eyed and laughing)
you were only joking brother
(dancing up to the bright side)
gravel and glass on the bottom of my feet
i bruised my heels on the swollen street
we were girls in bars
boys on the town
bumping like a pinball off a careless crowd
you said good friends are hard to come by
i laughed and bought you a beer
it's too corny to cry
well sentiment given
oh sentiment lost
you shake it off with a smirk and a toss
and you were only joking
you were only joking brother
you were only joking
were only joking brother
and you were only joking
(gravel and glass on the bottom of my feet)
you were only joking brother
(i bruised my heels on the swollen street)
you kissed me like a soldier heading for a war
(joking)
i'm a dying man
(you were only joking)
and you were only joking
(don't know what for)
(dying man)
you were only joking brother
(don't know what for)
and you were only
and you were only
and you were only joking
brother
one two three four
ah yeah
sha la
sha la
sha la
sha la
sha la
(wide eyed and laughing)
sha la
(dancing up to the bright side)
sha la
(wide eyed and laughing)
sha la
(dancing up to the bright side)