Mont Saint-Michel and St. Malo

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Book Club

Since being in Angers, I've discovered that I have loads more free time than in the States, which has given me the opportunity to catch up on my ever-growing reading list. So, I thought I'd keep people updated on what I'm reading, if they're ever looking for inspiration. I've added a box to the right that will always feature a little blurb on what I'm reading, and I'll post each time I update it. I'm currently reading The Invention of Heterosexuality by Jonathan Ned Katz, a former professor at Yale and NYU. The Invention offers a solid (although rarely spellbinding) argument against the claim that heterosexuality is completely natural and has been around since the dawn of time. Katz traces the history of the concept of heterosexuality and challenges many commonly held beliefs concerning sexuality and sexual orientation. It can get a bit wordy at times, but it's quite provocative nonetheless. For anyone whose interested in sociology of gender/gender studies, it's a solid choice. Katz also wrote a piece for PBS Frontline concerning the history of sexuality that can be found here.

Bonjour Tout le Monde!

Salut!

I've decided to begin video blogging my time in France! I'm going to try to keep each video around 5 mins--absolutely no more than 10. I'll be adding new videos about once a week so stay tuned. In the mean time, I'll be posting photos from Angers and my adventures in France! I'm also looking for a new photo hosting site so that my photos can be public, so once I find one I like, I'll add more.

Enjoy!

Jason

P.S. Please leave comments with your thoughts on the vlog (is that a word?). Let me know what you think, what ideas you may have, etc. I'm still deciding where I want to go with it and I'd love your input!

AIDS Walk San Francisco

For those who don't know, this summer I am spending 9 weeks in San Francisco, interning at St. Anthony Foundation as part of Notre Dame's Summer Service Learning Program. Seven other interns at St. Anthony's and myself have decided to take part in the San Francisco AIDS Walk. Needless to say, we are very excited to participate! We want to do as much as we can to make a difference in the lives of people living with HIV and AIDS. We have set an ambitious fundraising goal of $1000 and we need your support to reach it! On Sunday, July 18, more than 25,000 people will journey through Golden Gate Park, sending a vibrant and vital message of commitment and hope.

Since its conception in 1987, AIDS Walk San Francisco has remained an extraordinarily powerful demonstration of the community’s determination to overcome HIV/AIDS. Today, AIDS Walk San Francisco is the largest AIDS fundraising event in Northern California and is a crucial source of funds for San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF) and over 50 other local AIDS service organizations who benefit from the event. Last year’s event raised a near record $4.5 million!

Since 1987, AIDS Walk San Francisco has raised nearly $74 million for San Francisco AIDS Foundation and other HIV/AIDS organizations in the six Bay Area counties. Established in 1982, the Foundation refuses to accept that HIV transmission is inevitable. With the unrestricted funds raised by AIDS Walk San Francisco, the Foundation is able to provide direct services to promote health among those living with HIV and implement ground-breaking prevention programs to create sustainable progress against HIV. Even though there has been success with drug treatments that are prolonging some people's lives, they don't work for everyone. These treatments can also take their toll physically, and for many cause awful side-effects. I am also concerned that so many young people in San Francisco are getting infected. And above all, there is still no cure in sight.

Funds raised for the AIDS Walk benefit the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and other HIV/AIDS organizations serving the Bay Area communities. The impact of the walk, however, extends far beyond the West Coast. The hope and dedication shown by those participating in AIDS Walks across the country is a continued source of inspiration for people all over the world.

Everyone is affected by HIV/AIDS, directly or indirectly, and it will undoubtedly require the help and support of the entire community to find a cure for this destructive disease. Please consider sponsoring me for AIDS Walk San Francisco. There is no minimum donation, and every dollar helps. If you would like to donate, just click on the link below to make a donation using PayPal. PayPal accepts MasterCard, Visa, American Express, and Discover, and you don't need an account to donate! If you are unable to donate, I would greatly appreciate your thoughts and prayers for all of those suffering from HIV/AIDS, their friends, and their families.

Thank you for supporting AIDS Walk San Francisco and the fight to end HIV/AIDS!

Feel free to contact me (jgsell@nd.edu) if you have any questions about the AIDS Walk, how to donate, or how to get involved in your local community.

Sincerely,

Jason G'Sell

Minority Report

So, in class today, there was a point brought up that I had never considered (shocking, I know). Anyways, we were talking about what it was like to be a minority in a country. In South Africa, about 10% of the population is white, but in Cape Town it's closer to 20%. So, clearly we are a definite minority; however, to say that one finally understands what it's like to be a minority in The States is certainly a mistake. Emily brought up the fact that while we are a minority in Cape Town, it's not necessarily a bad thing. Whites are not the lower class, rather they are in the upper-most class, even 15 years after Apartheid ended. So, for us to say that we suddenly understand what it's like to be a minority would be a grave mistake. It definitely has taken some adjustment (more for some than others), but I feel like I got used to it pretty quickly. Maybe it's just my personality, because I will definitely admit that I've been pretty much surrounded by white people my entire coherent life (Chaminade? Notre Dame? Really, the most diversity I've got is Koch Park). Anyways, just a thought.

Class is officially over! It's kind of scary, but relieving. I leave tomorrow, which is weird. I'm not talking about it. Anyways, I'll be sure to post at least once more (Nica?).

Till then,

Jason

BrAwlma '09

So, one of the many topics to come up repeatedly in class is the Ingroup/Outgroup Effect. What this theory teaches is threefold:

1. People like groups.
2. People want to belong to groups [This coincides with Anre's theory that all people have a desire to be a.) loved, liked, and belong b.) unique, special, and different]. In order to belong to a group, there must first be a group. In order to make a group, there must be multiple parties with noticeable similarities and differences.
3. People will assign similar attributes to members of their Ingroup, thereby "creating" similarities, and assign another set of opposite or at least contrasting traits to the Outgroup, thus "creating" differences [I use quotes here because they can be made to seem apparent even if they don't already exist].

So, if we are to take Anre's theory as true, then people like groups because they allow them to belong to a group with which they assimilate with and feel different from another group with which they are dissimilar.

At Notre Dame, groups are incredibly apparent (see TNDSL #24). At Notre Dame in Cape Town, groups are also apparent. While there are only 14 of us, it is very easy to see the groups that are forming. The Dunvegan kids, the Alma kids, the black kids, the white kids, the girls, the boys, etc. There are also groups forming that have less to do with given attributes as they do with similar personalities and friendships. In America, these have come to be known as cliques (I'm sorry, I had to say it).

So, where does Brawlma '09 come in? Well, it all started with two cliques (I'll try to make this as non-West Side Story as I can but it's pretty hard). We were in someone's room when mounting differences started to divide us. At first, I thought that our differences were reconcilable, but I soon realized that wasn't necessarily the case. And then it happened, BrAwlma '09 (if you haven't figured it out, its a combination of Brawl and Alma, the name of our house). So there we are, duking it out, 4 stubborn-as-hell college students who are all refusing to budge. Never before had our differences been so clear, or at least so clearly vocalized. How did it end, you ask? Well, eventually I walked out because I had places to be, but I'm pretty sure there were no resolutions found, no concessions made, and certainly no compromises.

I find it interesting when things like a mass genocide happen over seemingly insignificant differences (Darfur, Rwanda, Uganda, the Middle East, need I continue?), yet I repeatedly fall victim to the same problem. I claim open-mindedness while I am cemented in my ways. I say that I hate intolerance, yet I am intolerant to those I hate.

In sum, people scare me.

Sincerely

Jason

Amerikaaner '09

Happy 4th of July!

That's all.

Jason

Just Breathe

So, I thought that since this journal is technically for Anre's class, I should probably incorporate some sort of blurb on race/poverty/Africa/etc.
But first, I'm going to start off on a slightly different, but nevertheless related note. So, one of my biggest (and many) pet peeves is when people claim to "understand," to "know what you're going through." A lot of times when people say that, they have no idea what you're going through. Yes, they're just trying to be nice by claiming empathy but really, sometimes I just want to tell a ho to shut their trap. So, we're walking through the townships and I overhear a few people make side comments, probably without really thinking, about this experience allows them to really know what it's like to live in poverty. And here I am wanting to scream, because they have no idea! Now, maybe I'm a little too particular with words, but when people say that they finally understand, to me, that just shows how little they understand. We're walking around these townships for a few hours max. We don't get to go inside any of the homes; we don't get to really see the kinds of lives these people live beyond the exterior walls. Most of all, we have no actual concept of what it's like to live there. I started thinking a lot about Nicaragua and how a lot of the people had similar comments. Again, we live there for a week, we work in the village, but we know that in a week we'll be going home to our posh suburban mansions and four cars. So how much are we really understanding? How can we ever really know what it's like to live in poverty? While I would say that it's possible, I would also say that it's incredibly extreme, radical, and dangerous. It would truly require one to give up absolutely everything for the sake of understanding, a step that 99% of the population is not ready to take (I definitely include myself in that group). I'm not trying to criticize these people, because again, I'm one of them, and what we are doing as teenagers is more than what most Americans will ever do in their lifetime. I just hope that people will be able to recognize their experience for what it truly is, and not for any more.

Sincerely,

Jason