A Day at the Park

Powdered sugar and crumbles of cone stick themselves in the cracks of our chapped lips

We glide along the sizzling tar in our flip flops

To the peppy tunes filling the air with joy

Exhilarated shrieking and rattling on all sides of us

Neither endless lines nor blazing heat

Can shake our spirits today

Sure, our times here have never been perfect

We pass the pavilion where I was consumed by the crowd many summers ago

Gasping for air and yelling your first names

After “mom” and “dad” only got me confused looks

We pass the spot where icy sweetness splattered your legs

After plummeting to the pavement with a splat

We pass the galloping horses that ended their circular motion with a rusty screech

Just as we got to the front of the line

However, none of the tear-inducing memories can shake our spirits today

Mom thinks of the socks on the carpet, the unplanned dinner, the blank grocery list

The parents she hasn’t called in a month, the ever-empty cabinets a victim of young mouths

And yet, she sees her happy family and realizes she’s smiling too

Not even her guilt and concern can shake our spirits today

There’s the sign

My head easily reached the “Ok to Ride” green while you were deep in the red “Cannot Ride”

Your self-confidence and determination couldn’t boost you into the green zone

Your hands clung to the gate and you suppressed a pout

As I took a seat on The Orbit and it began to whirl about without you

And over there

Dad’s tight grip on our wrists yanked us out of line because we couldn’t behave

Past frustrations and family tension can’t shake our spirits today

As we lurch forward on the incline with a click, click, click

I find the lap belt clenched in my white knuckles

My eyes inch their way over the edge of the cart

As I evaluate how far below us the ants are

But as we reach the top click, the wind gusts the caution from me

Not even gripping fear can shake our spirits today

As we glide out of the park

I glance down at the inky blue star on my hand and remember our day

And the corner of my chapped sugary lips begins to rise

Amir and Baba's Relationship

This photo of heart stickers posted on a locker represents how Amir blatantly shows his love and admiration towards Baba, but Baba remains locked and stoic towards Amir. Parts of the hearts have been ripped off showing how Baba has almost ruthlessly denied Amir's attempts to connect with him and continues to isolate himself from his son's affection. However, some hearts remain intact, showing that Amir and Baba do have some connecting moments where they mutually have a connection. But, these small hearts are always overshadowed by the lock, which is the focal point of the picture. This inability to have Baba open up to Amir is also the focal point of their relationship at the beginning of the book.

Thirsty for Human Rights

Imagine a day where you can’t brush your teeth, wash your hands, take a shower, go to the bathroom, or quench your thirst with a sip of cold water. For thousands of Ethiopians, this is the daily reality. The unfortunate truth is that 58% of Ethiopians do not have the fresh water that most would call a basic human right (Shore).

While there are many factors that could be pointed to as an explanation for the water crisis, a recent cause of increased drought is the El Nino weather phenomenon. (Hilse) However, the problems involve much more than a one year drought. Social complications are slowing water access and physical problems are barring the path to sustainable permanent solutions.

Social factors throughout history have made clean water difficult to access for Ethiopians. For example, when the British took Egypt during the “Scramble for Africa” in the late 1800s, they instated laws that all of the water in the Nile and any of its tributaries belonged to Egypt. (Shore) This was not an issue when water did not pose a global health crisis, but now that water is becoming scarce, Egypt’s neighbors rely on the Nile water within their borders. However, the long standing law is hard to overturn, and until it can be, Egypt continues to receive any water in Ethiopian tributaries of the Nile, leaving Ethiopian citizens desperate for clean water. A more surprising water hindrance is that external support and attention is not doing the most it could because the efforts are not cooperative. The aide is not streamlined, and therefore it cannot make a significant impact. (Kakuri) With different charities and countries donating different amounts of money and water to different parts of Ethiopia, it is impossible to positively affect a widespread group of people. The social factors of antiquated laws and a lack of coordinated support are hindering expedient help for Ethiopians. Additionally, more tangible factors are preventing easy water access.

Physical factors are distancing people from the water they greatly need. “El Nino”, a shifting of weather patterns every 5 years or so, occured in 2015. The phenomenon changes air currents, bringing rain to some areas by taking it from areas used to water; it caused a serious drought in eastern Africa, further devastating Ethiopia’s water crisis (Hilse). With Ethiopia’s above-ground water quickly drying up, they are desperately turning to building wells, showers and toilets in the rural towns in the rural towns. (Karuri) When completed, these utilities will provide sustainable water access to Ethiopians, but often these processes take a while, and until they can be completed, getting water grows difficult for anyone in these rural areas. The time it takes to build these necessities is simply too long, and subpar equipment is just drawing out the process even more. Drought and slow construction are physically distancing many Ethiopians from the water they really need.

Overall, the Ethiopian water crisis, a dire situation that takes nearly 500 lives per day (Karuri), is struggling to be addressed in a quick fashion because physical and social issues are separating malnourished and thirsty citizens from water. To correct the problem, international aide needs to be streamlined and coordinated in Ethiopia so that combined efforts can pack a punch in areas of need. Egyptian water laws should be altered to address water crises plaguing surrounding countries. Finally, towns need access to better equipment so they can construct showers, wells, and toilets more quickly and provide their citizens with basic human rights everyone deserves.

Works Cited

Hilse, Gwendolin. "Up to 20 Million Threatened by Drought in Eastern Africa." DW.COM. DW.COM, 16 Feb. 2017. Web. 06 Mar. 2017.

Karuri, Ken. "Drought-hit Ethiopia Turns to Underground Water." Africanews. Africanews, 18 Apr. 2016. Web. 06 Mar. 2017.

Shore, Rebecca. "Water in Crisis - Spotlight Ethiopia." The Water Project. The Water Project, n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2017.

A Key to the Cage

Narrator’s Sheepskin Coat:

“I decided I would write directly onto the inside of my sheepskin coat… I copied out the chapter where Ursule somnambulates. I longed to be like her: to be able, while I lay asleep, to see what my mother was doing … Better still, like Ursule, I would visit, in my dreams, places I had never set eyes on before…” (58).

“After I had read the passage from Balzac to her word for word, he explained, “‘she took your coat and reread the whole thing, in silence. When she’d finish reading she sat there quite still, open-mouthed. Your coat was resting on the flat of her hands, the way a sacred object lies in the palms of the pious. “‘He touched the head of this mountain girl with an invisible finger, and she was transformed,carried away in a dream.It took a while for her to come down to earth. She ended up putting your wretched coat on.She said having Balzac’s words next to her skin made her feel good, and also more intelligent" (62).  

Four-Eyes’ Suitcase:

“So I could ask him what sort of treasure he had so securely hidden away in his secret cache” (49).

“We crept up to the suitcase. It was tied with a thick rope of plaited straw, knotted crosswise. We removed the rope and raised the lid in silence. Inside, piles of books shone in the light of our torch: a company of great Western writers welcomed us with open arms. On top was our friend Balzac, with five or six novels” (99).

Main Idea/Summary of the Two Symbols relating to a Novel Topic:

In the book Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, the locked suitcase full of books and the sheepskin coat represent Luo and the narrator’s journey to intellectual liberty during their re-education. The boys view the suitcase as a cage which locks their knowledge away and prevents them from learning. Once they get exposure to free thinking from the Balzac book, they want to experience the ability to think for themselves again. This makes the suitcase turn into their cage, because it denies them of the additional knowledge they want to gain. Eventually, the boys will do anything to break the cage open, which is for them stealing the suitcase from Four-Eyes. They succeed, allowing them a whole stash of books which gives them the knowledge they were craving. During the time that the knowledge is locked in the cage (when the books are in the suitcase), the narrator is desperate to feel close to this knowledge again. His sheepskin coat is the solution- he can feel close to the works and his intellectual freedom again when he writes the passage inside the coat. This allows him to remember the passages even when the book is gone, as well as feeling close to the books and reminding him to think freely despite this being something Mao looks down on. Overall, the books inside the suitcase represent the only knowledge the boys have access to up high on the mountain. The suitcase denies their ability to continue thinking freely, and to maintain this intellectual liberty, they turn to the writings inside the sheepskin coat for that access.

Just Relax

Honking horns, screeching tires, barking dogs, and sirens

Echoing through the empty air

Arguing, competing, fighting, hating

Events that are all too common and tightly intertwined with our lives

Blood pressures spike

People are physically, mentally, and emotionally hurt

Our heads spin from the noise,

The noise and the insanity,

The noise, the insanity, and the frustration

Of our world, always going and growing

Bigger, higher, faster, stronger, more powerful

Across all veins of the Earth

Anger, cruelty, and hate drive our society

How can we find a break in this madness

To live our lives?

How can we remove ourselves

From the never-ending cycle of negative emotions

What if we could take some time

To just relax?

Forget about work, jobs, social issues, and responsibilities

To just enjoy a week, or even a day

Completely carefree

To get some sleep, have some fun, laugh, smile, and love

To watch TV, make spontaneous decisions, and go with the flow of our own feelings

Unfortunately, the world will never stop

Cars will honk and slam the brake, mere seconds from a crash

Couples will fight stupid quarrels

And some people will continue to be affected by the utter chaos

That surrounds and makes up our lives

You don’t have to.

We know the world will never stop,

But we can control our own lives and our own choices

Stop micromanaging situations or blindly competing for mere trifles

Step back, and simply view the world

Prioritize your work

But take some personal time for fun when you can cram it in

Take a day off when you’re not feeling great

Show up unannounced to express your love to a friend

Go on vacation, turn off your alarm, or even just stop

And sit

For a few minutes

To find a sense of calm.

Carry this calm with you through our crazy world

And find a way to live.