“Give me your FACE!!”

One of the movie's inspiring messages: Women are to be dragged around and are basically useless, BBB - boobs before brains. Wow, thanks Michael Bay!

Wednesdays are 1000c ($1.75!) movie nights, so a bunch of us decided to go see the new Transformers movie. The action was fun and well-done, but the rest was just corny dialogue and trashy rubbish imho. What’s interesting is how Americans are so full of themselves. The only possible options to “save the world” were to call the American troops, or ask the autobots for help. The two Jordanian helicopters that tried to help got a grand total of 2 minutes screen time before they were shot down, while the American fighter planes swooped in and saved the day, nuking everything in their paths. And don’t even get me started on “subtle” American flag
and product placements. Physical distance and exposure to the thoughts of the locals and the international EWH kids have made me more detached and aware of what people think of us, representatives of the rock 'n rolling USA: arrogant, rich, nosy, irreligious, world police. But provider of much-appreciated entertainment (RIP Michael Jackson). Anyways, I hope my sensitivity and humility will continually increase as the weeks roll by.

Only one more weekend before we’re sent to our hospitals in Nicaragua and Honduras! We're crossing our fingers that the political environment in Honduras will have settled by then – otherwise, the people assigned there may just be sent home, or possibly reassigned to our hospitals in Nicaragua, which I wouldn’t mind. I heard that the DukeEngage EWB kids in Honduras can’t leave the country right now though, woa! I wouldn’t mind not being able to leave Costa Rica, honestly. Anyways, I can’t believe President Obama and so many other countries are supporting Zelaya. Sure, he technically didn’t complete the last 5 months of term, which violates the democratic sentiment, but if he’d stayed, I’m pretty sure he would’ve been able to successfully change the constitution and give himself more terms in office – read: dictatorship. In fact, it seems like the majority of Hondurans don't even consider Zelaya's removal as a coup, and are instead proud that they're the first Latin American country to stand up against a tyrannical leader who's tried to topple democracy and peace in their country. The whole thing makes me wonder when it comes down to it, does the checks and balances system really work? If one group is stronger than another, if one branch can veto another can veto another can.. really, who has the final say? Shouldn’t government ultimately operate according to the people, to the majority consent, without the interference of other nations? Anyways, hoping that Zelari’s return on Saturday will be peaceful and smooth.