Today I plan to start the painful business of transcribing and organizing all of my audio. I can't begin any other editing (except for photo editing) without it, and it's the backbone of my work.
It will be sad to hear some of the voices of the people I interviewed knowing that I won't be able to speak to them easily again. I also worry about an escalation in violence in the coming days and weeks. The people of my documentary aren't just strangers; some are good friends that I've come to know well over the last 12 months. Others are new friends who I speak with online every few days about the mundane things in life (classes, cars, jobs, etc.)
Part of me feels like I should still be there instead of here. I know it's more dangerous and I know there's not a thing my being there would do--but I feel almost like I abandoned them when things got hairy and I got what I wanted. I know that's not the reality, and I truly hope my documentary and mini-docs do something, but I have no idea what they can do other than create a little more empathy all around...which I guess is a good thing.
I'll never be able to live a quiet life at home. What I have is more than a severe case of wanderlust. I need to be experiencing the world--the good and the bad, and I'm compelled to tell people about it (maybe this is what people who are truly religious feel when they try to convert others...)
Okay, I'm done boring you all for the time being. I promise.
