Post - posting guilt...

This is just a brief note to say that after I re-read my first posting, I felt I should make a comment. I am having a great time in Kazakhstan. Honestly. So please don't think you have to mount a big, "bring Lulu home from the Peace Corps" campaign. I have spent some time reading other Kazakhstan volunteers blogs, and they are hilarious. My friend Andy in particular, has a way with writing about life here that is hilarious. Andy actually is one of the funniest guys I know, though, so it's not surprising. And I am sure, if I expended the effort, I could come up with some witty anecdotes about living here, and my ignorance of the culture and language, and just how funny everything is. But the truth is, everything, although not bad, is not always funny. And the gender situation here bothers me. I am not saying that I am trying to change the world, or even one person here. They have their culture, and I have mine. Let's be honest, though, even in my culture, my beliefs often cause me trouble. How many of my friends now avoid saying certain words, not because my brillant oratory skills have changed their perception of why certain words are bad, but simply because they don't want to hear me go on about it? And if you are reading my blog and don't know me, you may possibly think that I am anti-Muslim because I go on about this guy threatening death to people like me should someone be stupid enough to give him a gun. I respect so many things about Kazakh culture, and so many things about Muslim culture, but the way women are treated is not one of them. Culture is not static, it changes, and it should not therefore be used as a tool for the continuing oppression of 51% of the population. Don't get me started on statistics on domestic violence, rape, or child sexual assault. Or the connections between the growing number of women living in poverty and violence against women and the increaseing rate of HIV infection for women worldwide. So I make no excuses for being a feminist, and loud about it. But please don't think I am unhappy. I just needed to vent after a particulary bizaare and threatening moment in my life. As a weird post-script, this guy keeps popping up at places with my friend (another PCV Criss) so I am constantly having to speak with him, which I find weird and annoying. How do you do that? Should I look at it as an opportunity to try and continue a dialogue with someone and possibly get them to see another point of view, or do I just ignore him and hope he goes away? I don't know.
I have figured out how to get pictures on my posts, now I need to figure out how some of you have stuff on the side of your blog, like links to other sights, etc....