9.07.2008

Rapid City, South Dakotee

well folks. i made it. here to beautiful south dakota. who knew. that i'd be living in south dakota. may i just say that it is REALLY under-rated. this place is awesome. there is so much to do. so much to see, so much to experience here. 

for those of you that don't know, i moved here for six months to fulfill my internship/practicum for graduate school. I am getting my masters in Conflict Transformation. and I've had a strong desire to serve the Native American population of the US. as Americans, we forget that there is SO much work and service that needs to be done on our own soil. we think we need to go abroad, somewhere exotic...we don't. not that its bad to do that, but come on people. there is SO much work that needs to happen here in the US. so much change needs to happen!

I am working for SANI-T (the Society for the Advancement of Native Interests - Today) and the Restorative Justice org. here in Rapid. I am really really stoked about this opportunity. I will be facilitating dialogues between the Native pop. and the Rapid City comm., doing reconciliation and mediation work as well as all around using my Masters degree to best help serve this community. 

this work is going to be fruitful, but also extremely challenging; the racism here is extremely overt. and very painful to see...

Rapid City is amazing. well, south dakota is. i have slowly been taking pics. but until then, allow me to highlight some of the best highlights of my trip so far (without images, i know, i'm sorry, for those of you that love photos, as i do too):

1. a man in the mall with long thinning hair wearing a suede leather fringe jacket.  the fringe went ALL the way around his jacket. and he walked with his shoulders REALLY swinging. so you can only image how amazing the fringe looked; bouncing all over the place, swinging almost parallel to the ground he was strutting on. CLASSIC. Credence clearwater revival was blasting in the mall hallways. but the BEST part is that he was talking on a razor phone that had a BEDAZZLED phone jacket. so it was all pretty and sparkly. the BEST EVER.

2.  a van  with mickey mouse spraypainted on the side of it. (it was really bad)

3. a billboard that says, "Manage your wildlife: wear fur!" (wow. seriously?)

4.  my "landlord" talking on his phone (a truly amazing, wonderful, elderly Baha'i man) saying, "i like to think tears are like angels, expressing what words cannot."

5.  how lame mount rushmore is.

that's it for now, i will most def. take more pics so that i can do a whole blog post on the area that i'll be living in...

i cant help but think i can really see myself living here for a while...i hope baktash likes it. ;) 

SONGS I'VE LISTENING TO OVER + OVER :

1. "CAPE CANAVERAL" - CONOR OBERST
2. "BRAINY" - THE NATIONAL
3. "HOW DEEP IS THAT RIVER" - MASON JENNINGS

XOXO.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

miz moore,
how you managed to cover all of my favorite topics within a single blog I do not know, but this is very exciting. Conflict rez is great and all but lets face it: leather fringe blowing in the breeze and anything that is bedazzled is very hard to beat. I knew nuevo york was sorely missing something.

Thinning hairlines are the best hairlines.

I like to think of snot like angels, whispering sweet nothings down peoples cold faces.

I think if anyone could take a bite out of racism, it could be you. This morning I had a woman threaten to "throw my white mutha-fuckin bitch ass down those gaddamn stairs" so I hugged her and then we hand fed each other fried chicken. This is true.

Did you know that a mr. nicholas cage found a historic treasure under mount rushmore?

There are so many more things that this post got me all worked up about but enough is enough. This was a very long winded way of saying that I'm so happy you like your new home, excited that you are doing the things that more of us should be doing, and sitting on the edge of my seat to see the new pictures. Best of luck!

P.S.
your flickr identity picture is super sex.

Natascha said...

Sorry I can't beat the long comment before mine but I just wanted to say that what you are living now sounds really exciting and I look forward to reading more! And seeing pictures...of course!!!

Anonymous said...

Aye, Mt. Rushmore IS lame.

I lived in SD for a time - indeed, the overt racism can nearly beat a person down.

But if there's anyone I know who can help transform a culture in a meaningful way and help define true humanity, it is you.

Next time I'm in SD to visit relatives I will see the Layli.

:)

limonana said...

ahhhh...such a good post...love the verbal visuals...bedazzled razor phone? yes please. tears like angels? yes yes yes!! please post photos soon... we are dying to see what its like!

SAMIMI-EXTREMIE said...

i know! i cannot wait to put up photos myself! it is just that these first couple of days at work have been alot...and i dont have the energy to go shooting after work...it may have to be sunday, the way things are looking... :(

i wish it were sooner...

thanks for all your awesome posts guys! and for all your support! xoxoo.

flashlightfaces said...

OH MY LORD number four is the best i actually laughed out loud.

constructive crit: your font color hurts my retinas

dad agrees

SAMIMI-EXTREMIE said...

which colours??? all colours??? let me know! and i'll get on it!