Saera

Dear Family,

I'm starting classes on Tuesday. This fall I'm taking Quantitative Methods in Geography, Portuguese I, Visual Anthropology, and Economic Geography. I've been wanting to take Economic Geography ever since I found about it and the professor, Julie Graham. Economic Geography studies how economic systems work and impact people in different geographic locations. It also examines capitalism, class, local and alternative economies. The language used to describe these things resonates with me strongly, and I believe it will help me describe my ideals as I work for sustainable and subsidiaristic community. I'm also very excited about taking Portuguese. So much is linked to Brazil and the Amazon, including indigenous rights, sustainability, and the divide between the economic "north" and "south". For me, there are also religious links, since the Soka Gakkai International has been greatly strengthened by the response of the people of Brazil to Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, the President of the Soka Gakkai International. In fact, very recently, Dr. Ikeda was presented with a doctorate by Rohdonia University of Brazil in recognition of his scholastic and active contributions to world peace. I am also looking forward to expanding my understanding of Anthropology, as it has already begun to prove its relevance to my goals. Daniel's starting school too, and working full time. I'm working part time, and we're continuing to be active with developing our Buddhist practice and activities with Soka Gakkai International - USA.

August was a very busy month for both of us. We both went to the Florida Nature and Culture Center near Ft. Lauderdale. FNCC is a conference center owned and operated by the SGI-USA. Daniel attended the Young Men's Conference August 7th through 10th, and I attended the Young Women's Conference August 14th-17th. We both returned from the conferences refreshed and more determined than ever to be victorious in our lives. A week later, I hosted a local meeting especially for young women, and it was the most successful one I held all summer! And last week was the New England Region Young Women's Retreat. 38 Young Women from all over New England participated. This was my third retreat, and it was a nice combination of reunion with people I'd met and worked with before, and new friends. Five people came from my area, and I was encouraged to see how they worked to overcome obstacles to get there.

This summer was a wonderful one for me. Although I was not as active with agriculture as I anticipated, I grew a lot in my faith, as a leader, and in my personal conviction and confidence. I have begun to change some deep-seated attitudes and trends, and I am becoming more capable than ever to fulfill my dreams. So I am ready to part with summer and plunge into the new beginning of this fall!

May all of you have a happy and productive fall, reaping the harvests from your summer endeavors!

-- Saera