OBAMA (Cade, don't read this)

Obama is president. Yesterday was the first day I felt homesick because I seriously wanted to be in America for such a historic event. Alex and I ended up watching the inauguration streaming on the Internet. The quality sort of sucked, but I got the picture. I was screaming and clapping and Alex was giggling at me and mom was trying to Skype me.

Yesterday was a big day for America and it was a really big day for all of us who have been working so hard the past 8 years to get a bloody Democrat in the White House. The only time in my life I have ever truly felt depressed was the week after Bush was "reelected". I just walked around in this horrible daze feeling... hopeless. I remember some acquaintance came up to me while I was walking to class a few days after the 2004 election and asked me, "How are you?" Instead of the typical, "Oh, I'm fine." I was like, "Absolutely terrible." And then I walked away.

And here we are, four years later, and I want to run up to Ukrainians on the street and shake them and ask if they understand how amazing yesterday was.

(Side story: I was talking to Alex's friend Vara about politics yesterday and he told me he supports Democracy with some facets of communism and when he said that I laughed because that word still seems so... taboo... to me. I was surprised by my own reaction.)

One of the first things I thought about yesterday was the bumper sticker Mason had on his car that just had the date 1-20-08 on it. It seemed kind of unreal that it was that day. And not a moment too soon.

One thing makes me nervous though, and maybe this is totally rediculous, but there was this old Russian witch way back when who told the future and the last thing she ever predicted was, "The first black American president will be the last American president." Everyone keeps talking about it here and it terrifies me. What's happening with our world that makes that seem like it could be a possibility?

Good luck, Barack.