First Hindi Song I Heard

This was the first Indian song I ever heard. It was actually performed at Calvin College's Rangeela event when I was in middle school. At that time I tried to burn the song into my memory, because I liked it and I was afraid I would never be able to find the foreign song again. But memory faded quickly, and for at least 7 years all I could remember was a chorus of "dola re dola re dola re dola.." Who could have predicted that since then I would not only find the song, but through Indian friends and classes I would come to understand the Hindi lyrics? And who could have guessed that two Michigan friends would be dancing in future Rangeela events? If none of this could be predicted in those years, then who can say how much further we'll go in the future experiencing what we never thought we'd find..

Beginning Again

Henceforth this blog is going to be my personal project to build sources of writing, and to try to make myself into more of a writer.

I've been a fairly decent failure of the English Writing major at the University of Pittsburgh (professors seemed to like my writings..), a fairly decent failure of a student of foreign language (Japanese and Hindi, neither of which I can speak fluently), a fairly decent failure of a volunteer English as a Second Language tutor, a fairly decent failure of an intern at www.sampsoniaway.org, an online magazine that promotes freedom of speech and press around the world. Through all of this, I've been interested in telling about other cultures, languages, and experiences, and I have been trying to confess things very carefully.

Maybe I could make a fairly decent failure of a writer, but one can't really know unless one really tries, and keeps trying.

Obviously, I can't really esteem myself, but I feel better by articulating myself in writing.

So, to make this regular, I'm going to try to push myself to write for this blog. I don't really have a forgiving schedule, I screw around too much, but I need to figure out how to write without feeling so intimidated by the act. As of now I'm writing after class at 3pm, and stopping at 4pm so that I can catch the bus to my part-time job at Lin's Asian Fusion, a Chinese Restaurant.

My blog was originally titled "alien nation". I chose this because it's my personal creed that we are all alone together in this alien nation. Everyone on this planet is an alien to each other, but we're all connected in this fractured collective of humanity around the world. Everyone has felt isolated and estranged, and we all reach out to each other tentatively, and touch each other powerfully, no matter where we're from. These words might seem melodramatic, but it's an idea I live with. I realized though, that this idea was more personally relevant to me because of my Asian co-workers, students, and friends, who inspired me to study foreign languages, and to understand their cultures.

As for feeling alien myself, I never really grew out that concentrated sense of being 'out-of-place' and estranged. In junior high school and high school I disliked physical and eye-to-eye contact. That, and my childhood interest in geography inspired by my father may have incited my interests and concerns for those who are aliens, and those who feel alienated.

I want to write about other people around the world, or maybe just as I'd imagine it, if I can. I'm acutely interested in foreign cultures, I've had some friends from different places, and my studies gravitated toward an interest in parts of Asia. Initially, I was a Japanese student, but now I'm a Hindi student, my best friends in Pittsburgh are Syrian, Indian, and Kazakh. I used to work with a lot of Russians and Uzbeks also. For the past year I've tutored English to women from Japan, Korea, and Turkey. Currently, I work at a Chinese restaurant. All their stories fascinate me, and I'm trying to learn more about the world.

If all else fails and I'm not much of a writer after all, I started an application for the Peace Corps today while typing this.

I have to run now.