Oh, Halfway there...

Two weeks...two weeks until I get home. I think the last weeks before you go home (as a TCK) are the worst. There's this longing, this...feeling of knowing that what you want, what you need is just at your fingertips. And you don't want to wait and go through finals, and sit on planes for 14 hours, and wait in airports for 6 hours, go through immigration....you just want to see your family! And from reading posts on Facebook, I think it's trying both my and Josh's patience, and at this point I think we both just want to go home. We've come pretty far from where we were, though. And I'm proud of us. And I know we're gonna stick it out until we can finally go home.

It's a grey area...

So, this evening, I decided that I would finally go and do something with the people of color student groups on campus. What there was, was a screening of a web series called 'Awkward Black Girl'. It's a funny show, but you have to have a sense of humor to watch it. Anyways, after the screenings, the creators of the series sat down and answered the audience's questions. It went back and forth, and people were saying how they really related to J (the main character), others were asking about starting their own web series, and then...then someone said:"Well, I'm part of the Black Student Union at my school..." and as I turned around to see who was talking, to my surprise...it was a white girl (oh, sorry. I meant Caucasian woman.) Not only did I do a double take, but, I had to try to stifle the fits of laughter that were taking over me. But in the end, I was laughing so hard I was crying. And it's not because 'Oh, my gosh, there are white people in the Black Student Union!', it was just because...I just didn't understand! I guess that it's not an exclusive thing. When I was talking to a friend about it later, she compared it to a GSA, as in 'you don't have to be black to join.'...I learn new things every day in America.

It's a dead tie

Hokay... So I was invited to a formal party/dance about a week ago. The theme (I hate themes so much) is futuristic... So my "date" decided that we would just wear silver shirts or something. So we got the bright idea that I could wear a silver tie with a black shirt instead. Makes perfect sense right? Right. But wal-mart didn't have any plain silver ties, so being the cheap losers we are, we went to the salvation army store, got a 50 cent tie and some spray paint... Yeah... In hindsight. This was probably not the best idea I've had. But anyways. After spending several minutes painting the tie and my hands silver, fumigating myself in my room (my poor roomate) and waking up early to put a second coat on it I got back outside to re-paint it for a third time but I can't find the tie. I had been painting it behind the dumpsters outback to avoid awkward questions and/or wind. I only managed to avoid the questions. Next thing I know the guys who pick up the card board recycling stuff found my tie and threw both the tie and the piece of cardboard it was sitting on in the dumpster... So not only were they not doing their job but they messed up what was going to be a pretty sweet looking tie.

So now I'm having to go to J.C Penny's with the money my awesome grandpa gave me (just for this occasion) and hope they have a tie that works... #fingerscrossed

Greetings!

Hey guys! My name is Joshua Burton, I've been friends with Shanti for over a year now and it's been a blast. We met at our high school TASOK (best on the planet) and now she has graciously granted me publishing privileges on this here blog. I'm currently a freshman at Truman State University in Kirksville Missouri and in case you don't know where that is. I'm as far away from everywhere as the middle of nowhere can be. But it's great here and I hope to update you a bit more as time goes on. Thanks!

Wanna get ma hurr did

One quick thing.
I'm from Africa. I want to get my hair braided. Now - back home, it would only cost, maybe about $15 to get braids, maybe more for micros or invisible. And so, in my search here, I'm all: "Oh, it's not gonna be that expensive. I'll pop in, sit down for a couple hours, pay $15, and come out with a new do." What happened in reality: "Hey, how much would it cost for me to get micro braids done?" "$150." "Kthxbai". And I was outta there. $150? (May I also point out, that in Kin, weaves cost $60-$80. In America, they're $120-$200. Ugh. The plights of being a black woman in America. I don't know how people here do it!...Well, that's my rant for today. If you need help understanding why I need my hair done, refer back to the picture of me combing my hair with a fork.