Weekly Health Blog Returns: My Thoughts on Facebook

The social media hype: Facebook, YouTube and Twitter (what’s that?) are going to change how we communicate, get news, and live. Okay, sure. But remember you weren’t born with a Facebook profile.  Real life, with all its joy and pain, is happening right now. Your human connections and this moment are more important than your status updates (this 3 minute “Antisocial phone tricks” clip makes it clear). (more…)

Abroad On a Budget

Before my arrival, I heard through the grapevine that Copenhagen is one of the most expensive cities in the world. All the international students are baffled about the prices. At first, it took a lot of time for me to adjust from US dollars to Danish Kroners; my wallet is heavy from ores—1,2,5,10,20 Danish Kroner come in coin form—and (hating math) I find myself dividing everything by 5 to convert it to US dollars. In the beginning, I came with the mindset that everything will be pricey, but after a few weeks I’ve come to the conclusion that it really depends on what you are buying. Many things are actually only $1-2 dollars more expensive. I still have not found coupons yet (or ways to pay less than 320 DKK for a monthly 2-zoner Metropass without sneaking around the pass-checkers), but I just want to share a few tips of eating cheaper here, now that I have some knowledge about living cheap. (more…)

The Faith to Persevere

A few days ago, my fellow Daily Nexus political blogger Audrey wrote a piece detailing the “disinformation” that she believed Obama was spreading about health care reform. After reading her post, and feeling entirely unmoved vaguely interested, I knew that my terrible impulse control would, per usual, betray me and before I realized it, my fingers were already flying. While I will not deny that I left a somewhat snarky comment, her response to my comment bewildered me. She wrote, sarcastically of course, that next time she wrote a post she would not, and I quote, “back up [her] statements with so many facts; it might send the left into a tailspin.” While I would not exactly call my five sentence, one paragraph response a “tailspin,” it was her sheer confidence in her beliefs and unquestioning loyalty to her party’s line that really blew me away, not her attempt to hurt my feelings by referring me to the dictionary. (more…)

Partisan Politics Reach a New Low

American journalist H. L. Mencken said, “A national political campaign is better than the best circus ever heard of.” If Mencken were alive today and a witness to this week’s political happenings, I suspect a satisfied smirk would grace his face, as he realized that his observation is just as apt today as it was during his lifetime. Last week, President Obama’s speech to American children was heralded by much controversy and murmurs of the indoctrination of our country’s youth. Representative Joe Wilson then caused quite a stir with his outburst during the President’s address on health care reform. While it seemed as if partisan politics could not possibly reach a lower level, they did. (more…)

Turning Down Busta for Buduburam

On Friday, I was invited to attend a Busta Rhymes concert in Accra the next night by the hiplife group whose music video I was in (which is a long story for another blog post). They would purchase my tickets for me, I would sit in the V.I.P. section, and I was invited to attend the exclusive after-party.

It sounded like a good time… but I declined. I had plans to spend the weekend at the Liberian Buduburam Refugee Camp. (more…)

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