Information Overload

Less than a week ago, Jason, Jonas and I got back from our trip to southern Japan. This week Jason is in the states for job interviews and we have a two week spring break in the schools here. This means that I am not teaching, but I still go to work everyday. Even though this is spring break, teachers go to work and some students still come to school in full uniform for club activities. The only days when nobody is at school are Sundays and the 20 or so national days that fall throughout the year.

So, I am at work with little to do. I have been reading and commenting on some essays the students wrote, but this is only taking a portion of my time. Since I am not a regular teacher, I don’t have the end of year reports and cleaning the other teachers have to do. I have offered to help, but since the reports are in Japanese, I can’t really help.

With this time, I am organizing pictures that we have taken since Jonas was born and reading every article in the international newspaper that my school subscribes to. This is causing a bit of informational overload for me. On the personal front, we have hundreds of pictures of Jonas’s first year and our time in Japan. I need to get these organized. I always see the articles about how the youngest generation is the most documented generation ever, but this data is just a big mess left unorganized. Yeah, the least of our problems in the world right now, but it can be overwhelming. And of course, I feel sentimental and really notice that we brought a baby to Japan and will be taking back a little boy. He has really transitioned from babyhood to full-fledged toddlerhood.

On the global front, I am just overwhelmed. When I have time to really read international news, my brain starts to work overtime as I attempt to process everything. For the majority of our time in Japan, I have read many articles on the sub-prime mortgage crisis that originated in the USA. Lots of talk about economic problems worldwide has followed. Of course the Iraq war is always in the news.

Often when I fly internationally I randomly sit next to a soldier. On a recent flight I sat next to an interesting young soldier. He studied Middle East history and knew a lot about the history of the situation in Iraq. From his perspective we are in the middle of a pretty nasty civil war and getting out of there will not be easy. He told me stories of waking up to mortar raids, and running to shelter. Later I sat next to a seasoned soldier who was about to leave his two kids at home for a 3 month job in Iraq. He knows a woman that is leaving her 8 month old baby and 2 year old toddler at home for a 12 month stint in Iraq. As a mother of a 22 month old, this got me. I just can not even imagine how hard that would be.

The situation in Iraq is just one example of the pain and suffering that is happening in our world. People are eating mud cookies for sustenance in Haiti. Riots are taking place in Tibet and the Chinese government is barring foreign journalists from going to Tibet, while they are blocking international news websites from Chinese citizens.

This week I also read about "Pay Day" Loans that people are using to pay their bills in the United States. According to the story, “the average borrower ends up paying back $793 for a $325 loan.” I am a big supporter of micro-loans in the international community and I wonder why we don’t have programs like this in the United States. It should be illegal to take advantage of people like this. While growing up in poverty and coming home to our electricity or water being shut off as a child, I witnessed the desperation of trying to make ends meet. I understand why people would turn to these ‘pay day loans.’ It angers me that there are people who take advantage of this desperation to make a profit.

As all of the things were swirling in my brain, I read a column that sums up some of the international issues facing our world right now. The article was a response to HRC’s quote about sniper fire in Bosnia. The author, Roger Cohen suggests that Obama could bring some new and creative thinking to the White House.

I can’t imagine being President. It is just too much to think about and understand and digest, but I do think Obama has a unique perspective and experiences that would guide his presidency positively. I know I have made it clear how much I love Obama. Lately there has been a lot of controversy over what Obama's former pastor said. I don’t know everything the pastor said, so I should be careful here, but from what I understand he indicated that we live in a racist, unjust world. I think we do live in a racist, unjust world and this needs to be said and changes need to be made. I think Obama understands this better than the other candidates, because he has had to live that reality in a way that some of us have not. This understanding is something more people need to grapple with as we progress in our world.

Whew. Do I sound preachy? I don’t mean to…I am processing. I told you my brain is working overtime…

After writing this I finally listened to Obama’s speech on race in its entirety. It is Friday afternoon and this was a good way to end my week of information overload. I think he powerfully says what needs to be said. If you haven’t listened to this speech yet, I urge you to, even if you are not an Obama supporter. Whether or not Obama becomes our next president, I see him as an important, unique and inspirational leader.