LUGO 2018

April 13, 2018


LUGO has been a tradition that belongs to me and a good friend. Most of the time, other people have joined us on the adventure, but this year we decided to go just the two of us. We did run into someone that we hadn't seen in a long time, and so she joined us in the photo booth.

It was a very different experience from past LUGO events that we have attended (2013, 2014 & 2015) as this is the first time it has been held since the new art gallery opened -- Remai Modern -- and so it was wasn't the same close feeling that it had in the past. It also didn't feel as interactive as it had in previous years.

This is also the first year that we went for supper before the party, and I made the mistake of eating too much food -- like way too much, I couldn't even drink water or I'd burst. It totally worth it, though, except that I missed out on the opportunity of tasting delicious foods (especially deserts) from local restaurants.

There was some really great music to dance to, including 3 Ninjasks, and we had a lot of fun figuring out how to pose in the photo booth. There was a lady that was doing some lettering in chalk of things people are thankful for or appreciate, and so we would stop by every once in a while to see how it had progressed. I have learned not to devour both my starter and entree, and will have more space for snacks -- and water -- next time.


My carrot brooch is from Nuff Nuff Toys in Chile.



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Read It: Born A Crime

April 10, 2018
 
I started reading Trevor Noah's Born A Crime around the time that I began to be more aware of the plight of Indigenous people in Canada, and started my path in Truth and Reconciliation -- including the KAIROS Blanket Exercise. As I read, there were so many parts of the book that connected with what I was learning at the time, including aspects of the apartheid reserve system that are common in both countires.

My path in Truth and Reconciliation has not been very long, but it has winded, and turned, and bumped, made me make choices in my heart that I would never had made previously. To be able to connect with a book like Born A Crime while on this journey is why I love books so much.

I learned a lot from Trevor Noah while reading his book: about apartheid, about growing up in a culture different from my own, about how wise someone can be at a young age, and the fact that, even though we grew up in different countries and cultures, there were many similarities in some of our experiences -- like high school. But the most important thing that stood out to me was when he talked about a boy named Andrew that gave him the CD writer -- which cost a lot of money at the time -- that would make it possible for Noah to be able to create a profitable (teenage) business selling music. 

Noah says, "People always lecture the poor: 'Take responsibility for yourself! Make something of yourself!' But with what raw materials are the poor to make something of themselves...[They] say, 'Give a man a fish, and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he'll eat for a lifetime.' What they don't say is, 'And it would be nice if you gave him a fishing rod.'" 

That really got me. It was one of those moments where I wanted to shout "Yaaassss!" because that's exactly how it should work. We can do all these things to help out other people we see as less fortunate than ourselves, but it's absolutely pointless unless we give them a fishing rod to be able to fish for themselves! Unless we give them the resources they need to succeed, they are never going to "make something of themselves."

I saw a video of Martin Luther King Jr. recently where he talked about African Americans being told to lift themselves by their bootstraps, and that they should do all they can to do that, but that it's a cruel to say to a bootless man. My eyes have been opened to so many struggles that I have the privilege to never have because of my skin.

Trevor Noah goes on to say "Working with Andrew was the first time in my life I realized you need someone from the privileged world to come to you and say, 'Okay, here's what you need, and here's how it works.' Talent alone would have gotten me nowhere without Andrew giving me the CD writer. People say, 'Oh, that's a handout.' No. I still have to work to profit by it. But I don't stand a chance without it."

It is incredibly important -- to me -- to give people access to a good education, to clean water, to a safe place to live, and help them succeed. Giving people a fishing pole so that they can fish for themselves, or a pair of boots so that they may pull themselves up by their bootstraps, is not a handout. It's setting them up for success so that they have the opportunity to do what they want despite what their life has given them -- the opportunity to fulfill their dreams. An opportunity that I have taken for granted, but never will again.


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