A lot has happened in the past few months. I don't know how to go about explaining everything nor do I want to explain everything. In a nutshell, I'M FREE(!!!) in every sense of the word! I quit my jobs, took a flight to France, got into all the MA programs I applied to, broke up with Paul, I no longer work and I've planned a great escape for this summer.
I got into the Master's program and that's another source of indecision since I haven't chosen a program yet. In Paris, it's a great program and I really like it.... problem is it's quite expensive and living costs in Paris are also equally expensive, even in the outer banlieus like Villejuif or Ivry-sur-Seine. The minimum rent is about $700 or so, which is cheaper than in New York, but I don't think I'll be able to make even half as much money as I did in New York in Paris since I can only work part-time with my visa (20 hours or less). Strasbourg is a good program, not as great as the one in Paris, but it's right on the border of Germany (the campus is only about 2 miles from Germany) so it's a great chance for me to learn German by crossing the border every weekend. The third program is in Nice where the program is pretty good, but living costs are more expensive than in Strasbourg though the weather is much nicer. It's also close to Italy, giving me a good chance to practice that language. Right now... I'm actually leaning towards giving up Paris for Strasbourg or Nice since... though I love Paris with all my heart, it's really quite expensive and I fear I might become homeless at one point, haha, not that I haven't been before. BUT, I figure I can always try to transfer or live in Paris some other time if I really hate Strasbourg or Nice. Gotta stay within a budget, right?
Meanwhile, before I make a decision, I decided to hitchhike around the Balkans, to Greece, and to Turkey before my courses begin. Right now, I'm in Katowice once again, visiting good old Tomasz since he's turning 24 tomorrow to help him celebrate. Then I'll be hitchhike to Bratislava then onward south/southeast before heading back to France.
Currently, this is the rough draft of the "Great Escape":
July 17
Katowice -> Bratislava
July 18
Bratislava -> Zagreb
July 22
Zagreb -> Belgrade
July 25
Belgrade -> Sarajevo
July 28
Sarajevo -> Podgorica
July 31
Podgorica -> Tirana
August 3
Tirana -> Skopje
August 7
Skopje -> Athens
August 12
Athens -> Thessaloniki
August 16
Thessaloniki -> Istanbul
August 20
Istanbul -> Bucharest
August 24
Bucharest -> Budapest
August 25
Budapest -> Vaduz
August 26
Vaduz -> San Marino
August 27
San Marino -> Monaco
August 28
Monaco -> Andorra la Vella
August 29
Andorra la Vella -> Nice/Paris/Strasbourg
So wish me luck!!! I might actually need all the luck I can get if I want to do this in less than 2 months!
Today's Random Picture:
An interesting Wikipedia map I befell on noting the percentage of EU member states' and EU member applicant states' populations that believe in "God" (<- holy cow that sentence was really wordy).
Another long hiatus... and now I'm in Poland! But first, I wanted to respond to the last entry about mustaches and dictators. I do admit, there are dictators out there who don't have mustaches ;)
Name: Than Shwe
Years in Power: 17
Country: Myanmar (Burma)
Capital: Yangon (Rangoon)
RSF Ranking: 164 (of 169) ]
Failed States Index (FSI) Ranking: 13 (of 177)
Basic info: This country and dictator has been getting media attention, especially upon the media coverage of the protesting Burmese monks against the military junta. Though Burma's transition into democracy was hailed by Aung San Suu Kyi's election as prime minister, Than Shwe wouldn't let things happen that way and instead, placed the Prime Minister-elect under arrest and assumed power. As with all dictatorships, media within the country is controlled and as clearly shown in the responses against the peaceful protests by the monks, any opposition to the ruling junta is suppressed.
Name: Kim Jong-Il (김정일)
Years in Power: 16
Country: Democratic People's Republic of Korea (조선민주주의인민공화국)
Capital: Pyongyang (평양)
RSF Ranking: 168 (of 169) [1 = most free, 169 = least free]
Failed States Index (FSI) Ranking: 17 (of 177) [1 = failed state, 177 = most sustainable state]
Basic info: I think everyone knows at this point who Kim Jong-Il is. Succeeding his father, Kim Il-Sung, KJI has been just as bad, if not worse, than his father. The country is extremely impoverished and people die of starvation while the "Dear Leader" indulges in luxury goods. In the mid-1990s, a famine killed an estimated 3 million people, proclaimed one of the worst in the 20th century. Government has completely control of all forms of media and in order to further isolate the country and the people, all aid workers/organizations have been expelled from the country to keep out foreigners. There are some rumors that he died of diabetes or a combination of health problems and his double has been acting as a figurehead. No one can know for sure, but I'm surprised that no one has tried assassinating him.
Name: Islom Karimov (Ислом Абдуғаниевич Каримов)
Years in Power: 18
Country: Uzbekistan (Ўзбекистон Республикаси)
Capital: Tashkent (Тошкент)
RSF Ranking: 164 (of 169)
Failed States Index (FSI) Ranking: 31 (of 177)
Basic info: Not many people know about the dictatorship in Uzbekistan, but Islom Karimov has been in power for nearly two decades now. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan gained independence and along with it, a continued dictatorship under Karimov. In the last alleged election, he won with "88.1%" of the votes, quite apparently staged. Media is tightly controlled and censorship is stringent. The Uzbek regime has also been criticized by the UN and others, for human rights violations, more specifically revolving around torture of suspected criminals or defectors (i.e. boiling people alive). So, by means of controlled media, fake elections, and brutal torture methods, Islom Karimov has managed to stay in power.
Name: Muammar al-Gaddafi (معمر القذافي)
Years in Power: 40
Country: Libya (ليبيا)
Capital: Tripoli (طرابلس )
RSF Ranking: 160 (of 169)
Failed States Index (FSI) Ranking: 112 (of 177)
Basic info: After a military coup d'état, overthrowing King Idris I, the alleged reason was to get rid of the monarchy and set up a republic. Unfortunately, it was an empty promise since Gaddafi has been in power since the 1969 coup and is now the 3rd longest living head of state after the death of Gabonese dictator Omar Bongo (June 8, 2009). Any opposition or negative publications, comments about the existing regime results in life imprisonment and media is controlled by the government. Torture is commonplace and as if suffering from some sort of histrionic disorder, he bases his rule on pan-Arabism/Africanism, dubbing himself the "King of Kings" of Africa.
Name: Hu Jintao (胡锦涛)
Years in Power: 6
Country: People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国)
Capital: Beijing (北京)
RSF Ranking: 163 (of 169)
Failed States Index (FSI) Ranking: 57 (of 177)
Basic info: Communist in name, capitalistic in market, and dictatorial in government, China's Hu has been in power for over 6 years. Under this dictatorship, media is completely government controlled and monitored, internet (including private e-mails) is censored and there are restrictions on speech and religion. Political and/or religious defectors face going to "Reeducation through labor camps" for a few years without having a right to trial and since his accession, repression of minorities (i.e. Tibetans, Uighyrs, etc.) has greatly increased.
Name: Gurbanguly Mälikgulyýewiç Berdimuhamedow
Years in Power: 2
Country: Turkmenistan (Türkmenistan)
Capital: Ashgabat (Aşgabat)
RSF Ranking: 167 (of 169)
Failed States Index (FSI) Ranking: 59 (of 177)
Basic info: Berdimuhamedow succeeded another dictator, Saparmurat Niyazov, after imprisoning the original successor, Öwezgeldi Ataýew. He might seem a tad better than Niyazov since he hasn't renamed the months of the year after himself as Niyazov did; however, nothing has really changed in Turkmenistan. Despite the country's rich natural resources, more than half the population live in poverty due to poor governance. All media, as with all dictators, is controlled by the government. Practice of religion is restricted, opposition is "illegal", and prisons teem with political prisoners.
An interesting Wikipedia map I befell on noting the percentage of EU member states' and EU member applicant states' populations that believe in "God" (<- holy cow that sentence was really wordy).
