Silence
DECEMBER 20, 2008
I just finished reading The Kite Runner this afternoon. I think the last time I read a book that fast was when I was young. I remember reading a lot of castle, knight, and alien books (by Bruce Coville). There was a part towards the end that I really admired. It's a little dark:
"It would be erroneous to say Sohrab was quiet. Quiet is peace. Tranquility. Quiet is turning down the VOLUME knob on life.
Silence is pushing the OFF button. Shutting it down. All of it.
Sohab's silence wasn't the self-imposed silence of those with convictions, of protestors who seek to speak their cause by not speaking at all. It was the silence of one who has taken cover in a dark place, curled all the edges and tucked them under (361)"
I give the book top marks. I'll surely recommend it to Erica. Next, I'll probably finish Charm Offensive so that Chris can read it before I go. Then comes Into the Wild.
I need some marshmallows...
"That is very Buddhist of you," Natalia said. I was trying to talk her out of leaving Playa Caletas prematurely. Leaving us here to carry her load, too. We're already short handed. Most importantly though, I was trying to talk her out of giving up. I don't think that she's the type that cares about those kinds of things. Things like defeat, commitment, duty. No. She said that she has no problem running. That she's not happy and she needs to go home. I tried to explain to her that there is only 3 weeks left here. That none of us are as happy here as we would like and that all of us want to go home, but we dedicated ourselves to the cause when we all individually accepted the offer to be here. That if she left, we'd have to carry her burden. That if I could do anything to make things better for her, I am extending my hand. This is only temporary. A blip in life. A moment, but a very important one. Where this is what it is, and this is where we are, and that we owe it to ourselves to stay and overcome. She proclaimed that she has done her time. She saw the turtles, the beauty that is Costa Rica. I don't want to pass judgement, but what is happiness in such a short scheme of time in our lives? Isn't the sacrifice worth the experience? That's what I keep telling myself. But I think her mind is set, and it's a damn shame.
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