Day ??? - The Changing Face of the Coffee Beans Project

It's been a few weeks since I've posted a blog. When I posted my last blog, I was feeling a bit frustrated and overwhelmed. I was having trouble keeping up with writing a daily entry for my coffeebeandreams project, even though I thought the basic premise of the project was working out well.

It's easy enough in the morning to find 5-10 minutes to read about a subject that interests me. It's much harder to find time to actually write about what I read. Add to this the fact that I'm job searching and we've moved several times in the last few months, from temporary housing location to temporary housing location- all with a young infant, and things have been a little bit dicey.

Despite learning something new every day for the coffeebeans project, I was feeling a little lost. What would I do for work? Was my few minutes a day of quiet reflection and learning really making a difference? Maybe I should switch to a weekly blog post?

Somehow, out of all of this confusion in my head, I decided that it was the right time to work on writing a novel. I've been slowly outlining and working on a novel since about February. And by slowly, I mean SLOWLY. (But, give me a break- the newborn days were t-o-u-g-h!) I've always dreamed of being a writer. But, of course, that's not a real job, so I went to law school.

Uh huh.

Once I realized that law is not exactly the flexible, unlimited career it's touted as being, I toyed around with the idea of going back to my first love: writing. The great thing about writing is, you can do it while doing other things, like searching for a real job or chasing an increasingly mobile infant around the house. As a bit of a type A, however, I can tend to be all or nothing about things, so when I started writing again in earnest earlier this month, I went a little crazy. I'm now up to 78,000 words. I've probably got less than 10,000 words left to go. I've been spending every spare moment writing like a madwoman. the first draft will need a lot of work, I'm sure, but... you guys... I'm *this* close to being done with writing an actual novel. No. freaking. way.

So the point of this blog, I guess, is an update that yes, I'm still doing the coffeebeans project every morning, and will have a more detailed update at some point, and also, I'm still writing- just pouring my energy into finishing a book. I can hardly wait to see how it ends! :)

Xoxo,

Diana

Day 82 - Taking a Break

I've decided to take a break from this blog. I'm not sure when, or if, I'll start blogging again, but what I was hoping would be a nice stress reliever has become very difficult to keep up with.

I will probably still keep the essence of the project- reflecting each morning over coffee for a few minutes- but the time required to actually blog about it is too hard to find with a 4 month old. I have to wait until she goes to bed at night to actually write, and at this point, trying to care for her without any help from family or friends is too exhausting and I think I probably need to just take the time to sleep instead of write.

Thanks, everyone, for reading! I do love writing, so perhaps I will start this up again when things get on a more normal schedule! I hope you have enjoyed the posts that I have been able to write!

Xoxo,

Diana

Day 81 – Land of Monsoons!

Today I’m going to talk about the geography of India. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_India) India is pretty much a giant peninsula into the Indian Ocean, with coastline of about 4,700 miles. The mainland’s coastline is a mix of 43% sandy beaches, 11% rocky shores, and 46% mudflats or marshy shores. The Ganges is the longest river in India. The central highlands consist mainly of three plateaus. The northern part of Italy is largely defined by the Himalayan Mountains. To the west is the Thar Desert, the seventh largest desert in the world by some calculations.

The Himalayas and the Thar Desert influence India’s climate, which has summer and winter monsoons. The Himalayas block cold winds from blowing into the Indian subcontinent, keeping it warmer than most locations at similar latitudes, but across the total of India you can find climates ranging from arid desert in the west to alpine tundra in the north to humid tropical regions in the southwest. The country has four seasons: winter, summer, monsoon, and post-monsoon. During monsoon season, many areas remain flooded!

That’s it for today, but here’s a picture of monsoon season in India. As you can see, it is no joke!

Xoxo,

Diana

Day 80 – Moving on to India!

I’m going to look at India for my next (and maybe last?) country of this month’s topic. I’ve always been fascinated by the bits and pieces I know of Indian culture, and, now that I’ve moved to Silicon Valley, I’m surrounded by Indians on a daily basis, since many of them move here for work. I decided it’s a good time to learn more about their country. Also, since Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love, visited India on her self-improvement mission, it seems somehow appropriate that I learn about the country on my own little budget self-improvement project.

And there’s a LOT to learn. India, home to over 1.2 billion people, is the second most populous country in the world, and the most populous democracy. It has long been a region of historic trade routes, and four world religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism) originated here. India is one of the fastest growing major economies, but the country still struggles with poverty and corruption. It has the third largest standing army in the world (behind China and the United States).India is also home to diverse wildlife and habitats. And, let’s not forget- Indian cuisine is delicious! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India)

How’s that for an overview? I’m excited to spend some time delving more into this intriguing country! Stay tuned this week for more!

Xoxo,

Diana

Day 79 – South African Art

Wrapping up South Africa today, I wanted to briefly talk about the culture there- specifically, art. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_art). A large number of South African blacks live rural, impoverished lives, and it is amongst these people that traditional culture remains the strongest.

Some of the oldest works of art in the world are South African- drilled snail shells used for jewelry from 75,000 years ago have been discovered in a South African cave:

Scattered ancient tribes had their own artistic styles, seen in numerous cave paintings:

In the present era, traditional tribal art forms were affected by the divisive policies of apartheid. New art forms developed, using everything from plastic strips to bicycle spokes. Starting in about 1850, European influence mixed with traditional art, and gave South African art an eclectic style which is still evolving today. Here is an example of modern art in South Africa: 

I think that wraps up my time looking at South Africa - tomorrow I'll move on to a new country! 

Xoxo,

Diana

Day 78 – Sickness in South Africa

In South Africa, an estimated 5.7 million people live with HIV. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIV/AIDS_in_South_Africa) This is more than any other country in the world, and those infected are primarily black: while 13.6% of black South Africans are HIV-positive, only .03% of white South Africans are. Sadly, deaths from AIDS has resulted in approximately 1.2 Million orphaned children in South Africa. The infection rate in South Africa is staggering, at over 15% of the population.

In the past, South Africa’s leaders have denied tried to deny that there is a problem with HIV or AIDS in the country. Former South African President Thabo Mbeki denied that HIV was causing AIDS, and the Health Ministry hesitated to provide anti-retroviral drugs as treatment for those living with HIV. In 2006, the Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang even proposed a diet of garlic, olive oil, and lemon as a cure for AIDS. Such attitudes and policies have contributed to the deaths of over 300,000 South Africans.

Despite long-term denial, many governments in Sub-Saharan Africa are now working towards a solution to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The percentage of people receiving anti-retroviral treatment has increased dramatically, and efforts are being made to educate people on how the disease is spread and how it can be prevented. One of the biggest problems is combating people’s “fatigue” on the subject- many are tired of hearing about the disease since it has been such a widespread issue for so long.

It’s sad that so many people in Africa are sick, but it’s even sadder that so many children have been orphaned. Hopefully, the continuing work to advance education and treatment will prevent so many children from becoming orphans in the future. 

Xoxo,

Diana

Day 77 – Religion in South Africa

South Africa is a largely Christian nation- in 2001, Christians comprised 79.8% of the population. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa#Religion) This figure includes a variety of different Christian sects, and African Indigenous Churches make up the largest of the Christian groups. In fact, 60% of the estimated 200,000 indigenous traditional healers in Africa can be found in South Africa. These healers are called “sangomas” or “inyangas.” These healers combine ancient spiritual beliefs and a belief in the spiritual and healing properties of local flora and fauna to heal clients.

Other religions in South Africa are Muslims (1.5%) and Hindus (1.2%).

Xoxo,

Diana