#rahel writes exams

[natasha-barton]

My whole body is vibrating with anxiety . I am so scared

[shri-is-zoning-out-again]

The God of Small Things

“Perhaps it’s true that a few dozen hours can affect the outcome of whole lifetimes. And that when they do, those few dozen hours, like the salvaged remains of a burned clock, must be resurrected from the ruins and examined.”

   There are some books out there that make you feel like you’re part of the story yourself. The kind that makes you miss the characters after you’re done reading. “The God of Small Things” by Arundhati Roy was one of those books for me. Over the week that I read this book (mind you, it was my exam week), I got so deeply invested in the characters’ lives I didn’t even feel like I was living my own life. The writing, I thought, was very pretty. It was poetic and flowed so smoothly, perfectly imitating the way little children thought and capturing human mannerisms and the Indian culture in general. My heart ached for Velutha, Ammu and the little twins, and much less for Baby Kochamma, all of whose characters were extremely realistic and  well written. The novel explores the effect of small, supposedly insignificant moments can shape a person’s life. It also ventures into themes like casteism and family obligations in India. 

   Through a skillfully woven plot, Arundhati Roy tells the story of a family in Ayemenem, Kerala. The story revolves around Rahel and Estha, twins who were separated for around 23 years after the tragic events that befall their family including the death of their 9 year old cousin and the murder of Velutha after the disclosure of his illicit relationship with their mother. The scandalous bit about the relationship between their mother and Velutha was that Velutha was of a much lower caste that was looked down upon by practically the entirety of society. Roy also mentions something called the “Love Laws” which I found particularly interesting. “The laws that lay down who should be loved and how. And how much.” is how these laws are described. They’re a central theme in the book, often referring back to the prevalent casteism in India.  

  To reiterate, I really enjoyed the way this book is written, the way Arundhati Roy describes details and makes them sound significant and even dramatic at times, and the way the characters are written. They are all memorable characters- even Baby Kochamma, as much as I dislike her. I would recommend this book to anyone, really, it’s great and probably one of my favorites now. 

[hollywoodjuliorivas]

Photo Some Haitians had never been examined by a doctor or nurse before this one-day clinic. It was supported by a United Nations agency that is now losing all U.S. funds. Credit Nicholas Kristof/The New York Times PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — When President Trump and his (male) aides sit at a conference table deciding to cut off money to women’s health programs abroad, they call it a “pro-life” move. Yet here in Haiti, I’ll tell you the result: Impoverished women suffer ghastly injuries and excruciating deaths. Washington’s new women’s health policies should be called “pro-death.” When women and girls don’t have access to family planning and reproductive health care, they’re more likely to suffer pelvic organ prolapses, in which the bladder, uterus or bowel may protrude from the vagina. Or they suffer a fistula, a childbirth injury that leaves them leaking urine or feces, stinking and ostracized, and sometimes unable to walk. Women with prolapses or fistulas sit in their huts, humiliated, wondering if they are cursed, waiting to die. In a room here in the Haitian capital, women with cervical and breast cancer wait for nurses to examine their ulcerated bodies. Beyond their almost unbearable physical pain is their mortification that they smell of rotting flesh, and in some cases incontinence. They are heroic in their quiet refusal to give up. It’s not that these horrific conditions are caused by U.S. policy, but Trump is now halting all funds for many organizations working tirelessly to prevent this suffering. First came the “global gag rule,” ending funding to overseas health aid groups linked in some way to abortion, including counseling that mentions it as an option. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Continue reading the main story The latest is that Trump just cut every penny the U.S. provides the United Nations Population Fund. This organization has nothing to do with abortions but is a central player in the global effort to fight for women’s health. One Billion Condoms Accomplishments of the U.N. Population Fund, 2014-2016. PREVENTED • 35 million unintended pregnancies • 11 million unsafe abortions • 93,000 maternal deaths • 272,000 genital mutilations of girls • 8.3 million sexually transmitted infections (via one billion condoms) • 188,000 H.I.V. infections   HELPED • 54 million users of family planning • 33.4 million adolescents, who received sexual and reproductive health services • More than 16 million women and girls in crisis zones, who received sexual and reproductive health services and protection to prevent gender-based violence • 8.2 million women and girls, who had midwives’ assistance with pregnancies and deliveries • 39,200 women with fistulas Source: United Nations Population Fund “If the U.N. Population Fund has less money, more impoverished women in Haiti will die,” said Holdie Fleurilus, a nurse at Innovating Health International, which runs the cancer center I visited. Across town, Dr. Raymond Fleurimon, the medical director of the Isaïe Jeanty Maternity Hospital, was equally blunt: “If U.N.F.P.A. is out of the game,” he said, using the initials of the fund’s old name, “this maternity ward will collapse, it’ll be completely dysfunctional, and more women will die.” “What a nightmare,” warned Dr. Rahel Nardos, a women’s health expert, cautioning that less money for the fund meant more prolapses and fistulas. Republicans pushed to cut off the money because they think the fund colludes with China’s government in forced abortions there. But I lived in China for years, reporting extensively on the subject — and the critics have it all wrong. Yes, China has relied on forced sterilizations and forced abortions. The U.N. Population Fund initially was oblivious, and in 1983 it stupidly gave a gold medal to the Chinese official overseeing forced abortions. But that’s history, and for decades the fund has put strong pressure on China to end the coerced abortions. Moreover, the fund persuaded China in 1992 to switch to a more effective IUD, averting half a million abortions a year. Over the years, that’s 12 million abortions the Population Fund has prevented there. Can any anti-abortion group match that? ADVERTISEMENT Continue reading the main story Those affected by Trump’s cutoff of funds for women’s health are people like Darling Leonce, a pregnant 16-year-old I met when she showed up for a prenatal exam at a one-day clinic set up in a remote part of southeastern Haiti. The clinic was supported by the U.N. Population Fund, and it was the first interaction Darling had ever had with a doctor or nurse in her life. Sign Up for the Nicholas Kristof Newsletter Receive emails about each column and other occasional commentary. Sign Up Receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. SEE SAMPLE MANAGE EMAIL PREFERENCES PRIVACY POLICY Darling never went to school, can’t read or write, and had never heard of birth control. Yet here she received her first-ever physical exam and was encouraged to deliver in a hospital rather than in her village. A nurse coached her on breast-feeding, gave her prenatal vitamins and acquainted her with contraception. “Choose your partner carefully, and don’t have a kid just because you have a boyfriend,” the nurse advised. Politicians in Washington don’t have a clue about the hideous things that happen when women are marginalized and health care is unavailable. What the Population Fund does is help girls like Darling avoid unwanted pregnancies and the nightmare of a fistula, a prolapse or cancer. That’s why The Lancet medical journal called Trump’s cutoff of funds “misogyny.” Oh, and on abortion — one more thing. When contraception is unavailable, people find ways to get abortions even where it’s illegal, as it is here. On my way back to the capital from the one-day clinic, I stopped at a pharmacy in a small town and asked for misoprostol, an abortion drug. For $15, the sales clerk handed over more than enough pills for an abortion. The birth control provided by the U.N. Population Fund averted more than 3.7 million abortions last year alone, health advocates say. So if you’re against abortion, you should support the U.N. Population Fund, not try to destroy it. Yet a group of blundering men in the Trump administration posture as moral leaders, and the result is that women in places like Haiti will suffer fistulas, prolapses and agonizing deaths in childbirth or from cervical cancer. Some of these women will be humiliated by the failures of their flesh, but the real shame belongs to sanctimonious zealots in Washington who don’t have a clue what they’re doing. And this is pro-life? I invite you to sign up for my free, twice-weekly email newsletter. Please also join me on Facebook and Google+, watch my YouTube videos and follow me on Twitter (@NickKristof).

[natasha-barton]

should be studying for my truly very highly very important exam on Tuesday but instead, as one does, I’m reading a 00q fanfic

[natasha-barton]

I know I didn’t use the format correctly but this is how I feel rn

[natasha-barton]

I wrote ten pages today and my hand hurtsss grrrrrr and I didn’t even write down everything I wanted to write down

[natasha-barton]

freedom is at my fingertips , i can already smell it . the free time I’ll be having . no responsibilities . heaven. freedom.

[natasha-barton]

Making plans for the evening with a friend because otherwise I will not get anything done today . Feel like wet sock

[natasha-barton]

Guys I’m so fucking nervous . I’ve never been so nervous abt anything it does not. Feel nice

[natasha-barton]

I’ve decided to just fake confidence ‼️

of course I’m going to pass this exam 🙄I sat in that class four hours each week for two years ❓❓ I’ve done moderately well to well on the exams we wrote 🤭 I got a good grade for my oral contributions throughout the four semesters💁‍♀️ I’ve written everything down we did in those two years 📝 and memorized information because of that already💡 now I’m just going to read those 80 pages again and again 🔄 and do some past exam tasks ✅ also run through all the operative words/commands there are ✍️

🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️ 🕯️ And then I am going to be well prepared and I am going to do well in that exam. I am going to speak with confidence and not question my abilities🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️

[natasha-barton]

I’ve studied for two hours I think I deserve an animal crossing break ‼️

[natasha-barton]

I have 80 handwritten pages full of information I somehow need to get into my head by Tuesday ????????????? Girls this isn’t it . Why do they not give us more time ‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️ this is homophobic actually

[natasha-barton]

i think im gonna throw up . my exam is in three days but the anxiety is already everywhere in bodyyyyyy helpppp

[natasha-barton]

absolutely love how the Council of Europe, the European Council and the Council of the EU are three different things 🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭

[natasha-barton]

absolut bodenlos ist, dass der Europarat, der Europäische Rat und der Rat der EU drei unterschiedliche Dinge sind

[natasha-barton]

What if I study for my politics/economics exam by listening to this song on repeat 🕺🏻