The first real blog

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I walked into the first few classes, p[probably some religious readings, a few documentaries, and a grim reminder of how our planet is in peril. I will admit that some of that is true, but not exactly in the way one would expect. The second day of class after the usual teacher introductions we watched a very interesting video that was a compilation of nature scenes, my personal favorite is the one that dealt with the water crashing on the rocky island beach, and I also liked the waterfall. As the Teacher well knows I have a big love of aquatic environments. While we did this we had to write a haiku. This was mine
The water wakes the earth
Brings life to all, great mother
Home, pleasure, clean

Throughout this project I thought of the Henry David Thoreau piece that we had read. The activity fused the art of writing with the communication of nature. Although we did not get as in touch with nature as Mr. Thoreau did with Walking, the effects were similar. If nothing else I want to experience nature in a different more thoughtful way. The name of this blog is Beneath the Bodhi Tree for just that reason. We have read a lot of technical articles that I slightly understand, but as an English major I relate better to the literature.
Today in class I had my first experience with the service learning aspect of the class. The English language students came and I got a first hand experience talking with European cultures. The first gentleman that myself and my friend Heather talked to was named Francisco and he is a wonderfully charismatic guy. He was really friendly and I asked him if there was a lot of Environmental issues going around in Spain. He showed us an article about how America was beginning to look at Spain for ways of windmill energy. He also told us that he was writing his thesis on renewable energy because that’s what he was studying in Germany before he came to the United States. However, he also said how people in Spain were lazy and how he thought it was interesting that people in the US were interested in that. Our next partner was from France and he said that French people really don’t talk about environmental issues that much. On a personal level we really clicked because we are both fans of Horror movies.
Tomorrow I am going to Maymont Park to work and I am excited to report on those events. Looking back at the last few weeks I feel that I have been given a taste of what is to come. I have always been interested in both World Religions and the environment but I have never really thought about how they fit together. I feel a bit angry about the ways we have treated the Earth although I feel that the anger is a bit superfluous, instead I want to take the energy and focus it on learning and growing as both a person and as an environmentalist.

This blog is dedicated to the memories of Michal Jackson and Ferrah Faucet!