here comes the sun

Today was sunny for the first time in four or five days. I lost count. It was that dreary. Let me just say, it did wonders for morale considering that these papers aren't writing themselves. I took a trip to that goddess of tofu again today, and it was wonderful to sit outside for lunch because the day was so beautiful, not rainy at all.

This morning's lecture was on Agent Orange, which persists in the environment in both the fields and plants as well as food chains, and its lasting effects. The production of Agent Orange was done so rapidly in order to proceed with Operation Ranch Hand that proper precautions were not taken. Usually, pesticides and herbicides are heated in production to lessen or eliminate the dioxin present. In short, dioxin is really, really bad. It is a fat-soluble compound, meaning that it will stay in the food chain until it naturally degrades over time (which is a long time) and it can be passed from mother to child through breast milk. Dioxin actually alters the genetics of a cell, which is why it causes so many birth defects and cancers. When the mechanisms that drive the actions of a cell are altered, that cell can either multiply without stopping (cancer) or stop producing proteins (could cause deformations or absence of a limb for example) among various other possible issues. The most effective way of getting rid of dioxin in the environment is thermal shocking. With incredibly intense heat, the dioxin will degrade in the soil. Unfortunately, this method is incredibly expensive. All that can be done for now is to educate the people about how to eat more safely to limit dioxin intake and other positive health behaviors.

Now that I have some knowledge of the actual traffic laws in this nation. I like to point out all the things that people are doing on the road that are illegal or unsafe. It's a little something I do to entertain myself.

1. Driving on the sidewalk (illegal and unsafe)
2. Talking or Texting on a cell phone while driving a motorbike or car (illegal and unsafe)
3. Wearing insubstantial helmets (unsafe)
4. Driving your motorbike into me while I am walking on the sidewalk because you were too impatient to wait on the road (unsafe for you because you will incur my wrath)
5. Not stopping at a traffic light (illegal and unsafe)
6. Crossing the center line to pass someone (illegal and unsafe)

Really gives you confidence to walk around, right?

I've come to the conclusion that God is giving me a lesson in surrender this semester. Being so far from anything familiar, I cannot maintain independence to the degree that I usually do. I rely on my roommate to help me buy foods that won't destroy my stomach and get around the city because I don't know how to read menus or direct taxis. I cannot always know what is happening in the lives of my friends back home. I removed myself from them, for a time, and am now unable to be there to mitigate what is hurting them or rejoice in what is good. My main fear here is that, without me there to take care of it all, I don't know who is. Now, this is a silly notion as they are all taking care of each other, and, on top of that, God has got my back, here. That's the whole point of surrender: I don't have to concern myself with who is taking care of me or my friends at home. It's all taken care of.