BootsnAll Travel Network



Edwin's Blog, how's that for a title!

Quit my job and roadtripped across the US, traveled in Central America, cycled the Pacific Coast, got a new job (and worked for 10 months), now I'm back roadtripping up to Alaska!

Pics Finally Show Up

February 22nd, 2006

The pics from my previous posts have finally decided to make themselves viewable, on the right hand side the post “I Finally Went to McDonald’s” should have the pics as fully functional. 

Today I learned that “Mom” will in fact be leaving me starting tomorrow up until Monday.  She said this to me last weekend and she never left, so I’ll believe it when I come home tomorrow and she’s not there.  She did say that she left me yogurt, milk and bread.  Wow, that is so generous!  I’m surprised that she didn’t leave me any black beans, as that and eggs are my usually lunch or dinner every day.  The only problem with this arrangement is I haven’t decided whether or not to sign up for another week of classes.  Markus and I are contemplating bussing out to Tikal (all day ride) to hike El Mirador, while some other students are looking to take a week off at Lake Aitalan (sp?) for a much needed rest.  And after today’s awful awful session at school, I’m leaning towards taking some time off.  Instead of progressing, I feel like I have regressed and there just isn’t anymore room in my brain to soak up any more information.  It’s quite the frustrating struggle, it seems that some students who started their learning after me are further ahead with their “mastery” of the Spanish language.  Not a good day for learning, so I just spent the last 3 hours studying so hopefully tomorrow will be better.  But I will probably take a break from classes next week as I am really missing the green spaces, parks and clean air from Portland.  Today was very windy, which created a bunch of dust swirls and blew the car exhausts and fumes all around me everywhere I walked.  Choke Choke Cough Cough, someone get me some oxygen!  Okay, enough for now, dinner time (but it’s rarely ‘on time.’)

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Must Be A Case of the Mondays

February 21st, 2006

I don’t know what is with Mondays. I just can’t get going, my mind is still in weekend mode, and I find my learning to be a great, difficult struggle.

It didn’t help that the previous evening I couldn’t sleep. Not because of the dogs barking at every hour of the night. Not because of the cold. Not because I was trying to memorize Spanish words. Nope, it was because my mind couldn’t get off the fact that my rental bike had gone missing.

So, how much was this going to cost me? Now, the guy could be fair and say “Yes, the bike was old, not really in that great o’ shape, so why don’t I charge you $100 U.S. for it.” Or he could be an ass and say that it must be replaced with a new one for $500. I don’t know. I have a very very limited budget, and the most I could conceiveably part with is $100. Maybe I could work off the rest of the amount if it comes to that. I just couldn’t sleep thinking about this. My bike was freaking stolen! I had it locked up and everything! Still in disbelief. It was just outside Kokolokos. Granted, it wasn’t a very busy street and lighting wasn’t total illumination like a football stadium. But still….someone would have the NERVE to STEAL my bike rental just a short distance from where I am!

Okay, so I’ll eat the loss. Whatever the amount I owe, I’ll just pretend that I put money on the Seahawks to beat the Superbowl spread and I lost (even though in reality, I would have put all my money on Pittsburg to cover their 3 point spread). So I lost $100, $150, maybe more. It’s just money. I’d rather have the bike stolen than have been bitten by those crazy dogs. So it’s all a matter of perspective. It’s only money. Maybe I’ll have to come back sooner because my money runs out sooner. Whatever. I am prepared to face my responsibility. And pay up.

School. I told Olga, the director, and Rosario, my teacher, what had transpired in my very limited Spanish. Olga wanted Rosario to go to the bookstore during the break to ask how much the bike would cost. But I figured since the guy speaks English, it would just be better for me to face the music and talk to him directly.

That morning session sucked. Couldn’t concentrate, couldn’t remember the forms for conocer (to know). It was very frustrating. Nothing clicked. I felt pretty stupid, like I had fallen 2 steps behind. Maybe this will be my last week for taking Spanish classes? Or maybe it is just a case of the Mondays, coupled with the sting from my bike loss. The learning just wasn’t happening.

My break comes along. One of the students is having a birthday. We celebrate and sing to her with some fabulous cake. At least I have a treat to enjoy as I trudge up to the bookstore.

I get there and the guy, nor Alice is there. Some other American lady. I ask her when the main dude will be in. She says not til the afternoon. We talk a bit more. Then she says “Are you the guy who locked the bike to the gate?” Huh? What? “Yeah, Bob (or whatever the owner’s name is) came to the store last night and saw the bike was locked to the gate. He figured you were returning it for Sunday and since he had the key to the lock, he unlocked it and brought it inside. Plus I wouldn’t have been able to open the store this morning if the bike was still locked there.” She made a call to the guy. He didn’t realize that I had only locked it there temporarily while I was across the street watching the big game.

And so I was saved. I returned the key and my helmet, and everything was squared away. My bike had *NOT* been stolen after all. Big sigh of relief. A very GOOD sigh of relief. I returned to school and had a better late morning and afternoon session. The big monkey was off my back. And with my new found “money” that I didn’t have to pay for the bicycle, last week I blew my budget and enjoyed the fruits of the stolen bike that didn’t happen. Just a few hours earlier, I figured I had lost out on at least $100. Now I just decided to spend my money and enjoy eating the good food that I’m not getting at home. A case of the Mondays ended with an all is well!

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An Interview with the Man of da House

February 21st, 2006

A few housekeeping bits to start out:

* Boneprone: Darius and Theo for Penny?  How bout trading Ha Seung-Jin for an orange construction cone instead?  At least the cone won’t hurt anybody.  But I do like the idea of trading Darius.

 

* Jonas, Adam and Amy:  Thanks for the contraband, I hope it finds its way to me somehow in the next year or two.  Just hope that ice cream doesn’t melt before it reaches me.

* Aliscia:  I promise to visit your friends soon!  I just want to be able to get my Spanish down so that when I meet and have dinner with them, I won’t be a mute like I am in my current living situation.  Oh, and Fuentes Georginas is definitely THE place to relax in Xela (you just have to go on a nauseating 20 minute ride around those windy paths and hope that you feel just good enough to get into the water).  I promise to write to you more this week!

* Oftentimes I write things in my blog that I don’t recall if I’ve written before, I usually don’t have time to re-read or edit my posts as I’m usually just typing on the fly and seat of my pants (that is an expression, right?).  So apologies if you happen to read things I’ve already said or you find many typing errors!  Also, I’ll try to repost some of my previous entries with the pictures that should have been there in the first place.  Looks like the Superbowl Sunday post finally shows the pics.

Now, on to today…

 

Below is a condensed version of an interview that lasted 32 hours with the man of my house, Tonito.  For the simple pleasure of reading it in Spanish, I have decided to give you the short version in English.  Any questions or comments can be forwarded to his fan club in Orlando, FL.  Tonito is currently starring in the movie drama “Brokehouse Fountain,” playing the voice of Sammy, a confused catapiller who thinks that he is actually a butterfly.  Set to open in limited release on the Sundance and Cannes Film circuit, the role is generating great buzz amongst Hollywood insiders and think that Tonito can be the breakout star that Kevin Federline wishes that he could be.  Alas, the Interview.

Edwin:  Tonito, you are just 5 years old and already you command such a great presence on screen and off.  Tell me about your upbringing.

Tonito:  I was born in Xela and I learned how to act at a very early age, around 2 I think.  I am able to manipulate and get my mom to be my cook, waitress, cleaning lady, mom and slave all at once.  It’s a great life and the best part is that it is all free!

Edwin:  One day while I was trying to watch a movie on the only TV in the public areas, you came in and took the remote and changed the channel to your Cartoon Network.  Why did you feel the need to do that instead of watching it on your own TV in your room?

Tonito:  I just figured that it would be a great way to annoy you and I was right!  I figured that you would be a little perturbed that dinner was already 45 minutes late and that you didn’t have a good day at school.  I just wanted to show you that just because you are 27 years older than me, you gotta show the respect or else!

Edwin:  Ah, I see.  I also recall one evening I was watching TV and you decided to take a flashlight and shine it in my eyes the whole time I was trying to watch.  Were you trying to do the same thing? 

Tonito:  No shit Sherlock!  Yeah, but you had fun didn’t you?  It’s not like I took the flashlight and put it right in front of your head!  Okay, maybe for a little bit, but I was bored and you are fair game.

Edwin:  You are an up and coming movie star, tell me about school and how that factors into your plans.

Tonito:  Eh, school…I go for about 3 hours a day, but I like having mama there by my side in the classroom because I don’t like the other kids.  They are jealous of me anyways and wish that they could have the success that has eluded their miniscule lives of 5 years.  I already know how to count up to 10 and that’s all I really need to know.

Edwin:  Your mom frequently leaves you alone in the house.  How do you pass the time when she’s away.

Tonito:  Watch TV, sleep, make myself dinner.  My favorite is a tostado with queso and ranchero sauce.  And I like playing with my action figure toys.

Edwin:  You sure do.  I hear you at all hours of the day making loud explosion noises and going “POW!” and “BOAH” right outside my bedroom door. 

Tonito:  That’s called rehearsing and getting into my role.  I want to be in action pics and be the next Jean Claude Van Dammit or Arnold I can’t spell his last name. 

Edwin:  Who are the major influences in your life?

Tonito:  Me.  And Barney.  And my Batman action figure that is missing 2 limbs but I still make him win and beat up all the other action figures.

Edwin:  If for some reason your movie career fizzles out like other childhood stars like Ron Howard, Jody Foster and Bob Saget, what other line of work would you consider?

Tonito:  Gourmet chef.  You’ve seen me make my tostadas, my hamburger sandwiches and how I can get people to make me what I want. 

Edwin:  Well, this conversation has definitely been enlightening, I have run out of internet time so before I go is there anything you’d like to say to your millions and kajillians of fans out there?

Tonito:  POW!  BOAH!  HAIYA!  I’m really not as loud and obnoxious as he’s making me out to be, he is a biased journalist and he’ll say anything about me and twist my words to sell more copies!  I mean come on, I’m just 5 years old so give me a freaking break already!  All kids are like me, I’m actually a very sweet and adorable and lovable little kid.  So don’t get the wrong impression of me, Edwin has only skewed this interview to generate pity for HIM and not for ME.  I’m the one that doesn’t currently earn any money or even know what the word “Inconceiveable” means!  So take what he says with a grain of salt, maybe some of the events that happened really did occur, but AGAIN, I’m just a little kid for Pete’s sake!  That’s all I have to say.

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Test

February 21st, 2006

Test email sent 5pm PST, Monday 2-20. No photo attachments
“The world is wide, and I will not waste my life in friction when it could be turned into momentum.”
– Frances Willard

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Missing Posts Update

February 20th, 2006

Well, seems like they are starting to trickle in, but the photos are apparently not viewable.  Sorry about the off-date posts, the bug is still in place and no ETA, so I’m still hopeful that this will be resolved sooner than later. 

 Mom didn’t leave as she said she would.  So this morning I woke up to find some blended left over hot chocolate with rice and those leftover bananas.  In a bowl.  I took three spoonfuls of the stuff before I decided that I just couldn’t get anymore of it down.  So for only the second time EVER, I smuggled the concoction in a mug and dumped it out on my way to school.  The stuff I had for breakfast Saturday morning is still sitting in my room in a plastic cup.  That was the first time I smuggled food out, but haven’t found the best opportunity to dump it out yet.  Fortunately the cup is covered so it doesn’t smell too bad…yet.

Last week I overspent my weekly budget by 200%, and this week has not commenced a good start.  A bag of chips.  A hamburger.  My bag of mixed fresh fruit.  And an oh-so-good ice cream cone dipped in fresh chocolate and then covered with nuts.  I dread to see what I’ll have for dinner tonight.  For lunch it was fried chicken!  Yeah, but it was the part of the chicken where one can get, like 2 bites of meat.  All the rest was bone and fat.  So I might be eating out again tonight, as I did last night with another serving of a pizza pie.  How sad.  My posts have become predictable where all I can talk about it food.  I suppose I could talk about how weird it is to look in a Guatemalan newspaper and see dead bodies in full color.  You just don’t have that in the States.  We cover up our bodies.  But here, free reign.  The one last week was quite morbid with a whole bunch of uncovered bodies just lined up.  Yeah, so maybe I like talking about the food more than some of these other subjects.  The other thing that is hard to get used to seeing is little kids 6 years old working.  Here, you either go to private or public school or you work.  A bunch that do work do so shining shoes, or selling handicrafts, or carrying huge loads on their backs.  Internet time is up.  Later all!

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What a way to end the weekend

February 20th, 2006

>
> Superbowl Sunday. Seahawks vs. Steelers. I was not
> going to miss this one and Sunday would be a great
> day! Actually, it was for a while.
>
> The Friday before I went to the Vrisa bookstore to
> inquire about renting a bike for Sunday. The owner,
> an American who has lived her for probably I don’t
> know how long, provided me with a map outlining a
> nice 35 mile round trip ride around Xela. Since I
> wanted to rent it for Sunday and they would be
> closed, he said to come back on Saturday around 5pm
> to rent it and then return it during my school’s
> morning break on Monday. I also asked him where he
> might know where I could catch the Sunday Superbowl.
> He pointed across the street and said Kokoloko’s
> would be playing in on their big screen. Perfect!
>
> Saturday comes around and I get the bike from
> Alice, who also specializes in massage therapy. A
> one hour session is 70 Quetzeles — or the
> equivalent of $10. Since I haven’t been too
> faithful to my budget, I’ll have to “splurge” some
> other time. At any rate, the bike wasn’t that
> great. Basically a hybrid 12-speed bike with no
> suspension whatsoever and tires just slightly
> smaller than what you’d find on a mountain bike.
> But for riding the roads around here, it would have
> to suffice.
>
> Sunday morning I arose at 7am, and after my
> traditional bowl of hot milk with soggy corn flakes,
> I was on the road by 7:30. I was misdirected a few
> times but finally found my way on the map. And thus
> I spent the next 8 hours riding along dusty roads
> with little traffic visiting small villages and even
> smaller pueblos such as Chiquilaja, San Felipe
> Xejuyup, San Andreas Xecul, Olintepeque (where I
> later found out my maestra lives), Santa Rita,
> Cajola and La Esperanza….
>
> IMG_4058.JPG
>
> Chiquilaja. A one lane bridge crosses the small
> river. As you can see, some of the buildings didn’t
> quite make it when the river flooded back in
> October.
>
>
> IMG_4061.JPG
>
> The main drag of Chiquilaja. Someone was having a
> party or fiesta, hence the decorations.
>
>
> IMG_4065.JPG
>
> On the way to San Felipe.
>
>
> IMG_4068.JPG
>
> From San Felipe to San Andreas Xecul. Volcan
> Santa Maria is in the background.
>
>
> IMG_4069.JPG
>
> The road for cars to San Andreas Xecul comes to an
> abrupt end as piping work is being done for about a
> 1/4 mile through the only road in town. I walk my
> bike along the sides passing small homes and
> farmland.
>
>
> IMG_4074.JPG
>
> San Andreas Xecul, about 11km northwest of Xela.
> From Lonely Planet: “Surrounded by fertile hills,
> this small town boasts a bizarre church.
> Technicolor saints, angels, flowers and climbing
> vines share space with whimsical tigers and monkeys
> on its shocking-yellow facade.”
>
>
> IMG_4071.JPG
>
> A closer look.
>
>
> IMG_4082.JPG
>
> A competitive futbol game just outside the town.
> People young and old gather around the outskirts of
> the dusty field to watch early morning action.
>
>
> IMG_4085.JPG
>
> Back on the road.
>
>
> IMG_4091.JPG
>
> I took a wrong turn and walked my bike up a Giant
> hill, only to be turned back at the top when the
> road ended into a walkway to some homes. At least I
> was able to get a nice shot of the valley with
> Volcan Santa Maria.
>
>
> IMG_4097.JPG
>
> The road to Cajola. I had biked 2 hours from
> Olintepeque to Santa Rita and now to Cajola. My
> water was running low, I ate all my food, I was
> getting weak and it was hot. It didn’t help that
> there were two major hills I had to climb (well,
> walk).
>
> And just a few minutes before taking this shot, I
> had the biggest scare. I was cycling along minding
> my own business and enjoying the scenery. I see
> some kids and they start yelling. The next thing I
> know there’s one dog running towards me barking.
> Then two. Then three. And four. Fuck! It’s now
> EIGHT Dogs, and their barking is not friendly. I am
> surrounded. Behind me, both my sides, and one big
> ass vicious looking dog in front of my, his stride
> matching my bike speed. I didn’t slow down, I
> didn’t speed up, and didn’t look at them I just
> tried to ride one, look ahead and ignore them. But
> the whole time I was so freakin’ scared witless. In
> my mind I kept saying “Please don’t bite me, please
> don’t bite me!” I heard that dogs smell fear. Well
> I was definitely giving out that odor during those
> moments. They ran with me for a good 80 seconds.
> Doesn’t seem like much, but man those seconds went
> by soo slowly and I my mind just races. What if I
> did get a bite? Would I
> fall and then all the dogs hoover around me and
> attack? These dogs, for all I know, have no owners
> and are starving, rabid creatures! Where’s the
> medical facility? Will I find a place to get shots?
> How do I get there if I’m hurt? Will I need to fly
> back to the U.S.? Man this totally sucked, all
> these What If questions. I had no first aid kit and
> didn’t bring my ID. Did those kids tell them to
> come `sic`me? Terrifying! What should I have done?
> Stopped? Kick em? Throw out my emergency energy
> bar to distract them? Finally, finally, they
> relented and left me to continue on with my passage.
>
> My heart was racing and I haven’t been so scared
> in so long! You just don’t know about these dogs.
> The ones in Xela seem docile, but the ones outside
> in these other villages and in the middle of nowhere
> are another story. Totally sucks. Unfortunately, I
> had to come back the same way. I tried to find an
> alternative route, but there was none indicated on
> the map. So on my way back, I tried to bike slow in
> hopes that another person cycling was going the same
> direction and I could use him. But no to avail. So
> when I came upon the Billy Gruff section of the
> road, I just pedaled as fast and as hard as I could.
> Strangely enough, this time I had no encounter with
> any of the dogs. Perhaps the leader of the pack
> found something elsewhere. I was just so relieved.
> Thinking about those few moments of terror still
> gives me the chills.
>
>
> IMG_4100.JPG
>
> Cajola. The Sunday market at the main plaza just
> ended, and all the leftover debris and garbage
> drifts into the street.
>
>
> IMG_4105.JPG
>
> Riding back to Xela.
>
>
> I arrived back to Xela at 3:30 and treated myself
> to those fries and meandered through the market. At
> 5pm I cycled to Kokoloko’s for the Superbowl.
> Couldn’t really find a bike rack to lock my bike at,
> so I locked it to the gate in front of the Vrisa
> bookstore. I met Elliot, a 19 year old from Vermont
> who will start college at the University of Puget
> Sound this fall in Tacoma. It was just us two
> gringos and two other guys from Xela watching the
> game, all in Spanish. Forget about watching the
> famous commercials. All I got was local commercials
> for cars and telephone service. By halftime 3 more
> people from the states joined us, and Elliot shared
> a glass of Gallo beer with me while we ate chicken
> quesadillas. By 9pm the game had ended with a loss
> for the Hawks. Kinda boring, but it was fun to
> watch the big game on the big screen with some
> football fans. Time to go home and call it the
> night.
>
> I went out to retrieve my bike and head home.
> Just one problem. My bike was gone. Disappeared.
> Vanished.
>
> I walked home alone in the dark in mild shock and
> grief. To compound matters, I stepped in a pile of
> dog shit on the way home. And thus a fitting ended
> for a Not So Super Sunday. To be continued….

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Some News…

February 19th, 2006

Last night I ended up at the Royal Paris Cafe Restaurant, as part of a final outing with Kjersten and some of our friends.  I was still full from the pizza, but somehow still managed to pile an empty plate with samples from everyone elses’ entrees!  They had great music playing and aftewards we hung out playing Scrabble (in English!) and Uno.  It was quite satisfying since an hour earlier I went home and mom had only begun to prepare my dinner — the famous blackbean shaped turd and a serving of bananas left over from breakfast.  Okay, and I was supposed to eat this for dinner?

Alas, some news.  I suppose it could be good.  I just saved a BUNCH of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico!  Yeah!!  Well, that and the fact that mom and Tonito will be heading out of town until Wednesday.  So that means that I’ll have the whole place to myself.  Which means there won’t be anyone to cook meals for me except….me.  I am now the master of the kitchen and the stove and the microwave.  She left me with white bread, some bananas, and black beans and eggs.  So now it will be up to my creative genius magic to whip some edible food for myself, which will definitely require a trip to the supermarket.  I don’t mind spending my own money, as long as I am in control in what and how the food is prepared! 

And today I woke up quite early to meet with another student and a teacher to go to Chichi and the famous market.  The only problem is that they didn’t show up.  So I decided to go there by myself.  Lucky for me, as I walked towards the bus station, I ran into another school heading out to the same place for the day.  They rented a chicken bus to take them directly there and back.  So I stowed away and pretended to be one of the students.  Got a free ride — or so it appears.  I’m supposed to meet up with some of them less than 10 minutes from now at that pizza place, and the school’s group leader will be there and I’m sure at that time he’ll collect the fee.  Which is fine, I’d rather pay more and go on that hired chicken bus that the one that takes 3 hours and takes multiple stops at wherever.  And I was able to make some new friends, including a Bostonian who quit her graphic design job four weeks ago to travel in Central America and learn Spanish.  She’d been planning this for a year now, and one of her good friends just finished with the Peace Corps to travel with her.  It’s quite a diversity of folks that I come to meet, but it is a bit skewed to the “younger” generation.  Sometimes at 32 I feel old because there are so many travelers in their early 20’s just starting out their adulthood and having made the decision to hold off on careers or school or the perceived way of living to do their own thing down here.  Makes me wonder what took me so long to do this again after a 12 year hiatus.  Ah, to be young again!

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Stories….

February 18th, 2006

A fine Saturday, took a hike up to the lookout point above the city atop a hill about an hour’s walk away from the school with 3 other students.  At the top they have these slides made out of concrete that go down a hill a good hundred feet to a little clearing.  You can sit on your ass and make holes in your pants with all the friction and heat that you generate, or you do as the locals do and ride down on little plastic soda pop bottles…hard to explain, I have pics but will have to upload them when I get my replacement usb device.  Also took out my frisbee for the first time to toss it around, it is very hard in Xela to find any kind of clearing or space in which to throw a frisbee around, so this was indeed a great morning for a little exercise.

 Of course our 3 hour excursion made us all hungry, so we went out for real PIZZA and I almost ate a whole pie, soo ecstatic!  I have come to the decision that my time studying Spanish is like being on the game show survivor.  I’ll lose some weight with the limited food rations I get at home, but when I win the Rewards Challenge, then I’m going to town!  I even ordered a soda pop to go with the pizza, it was like heaven!  So I’m still quite full as I write this, and I will relish this feeling because tomorrow I’m heading 3 hours on a chicken bus to the BIG market in Chichistenango and I know I’ll be starving again…but just another Survivor test (in my mind).  I think it will be good to lose some weight, or so I’ve managed to convince myself.

Almost time for “dinner”, so I’ll leave you with this.  Kathy, working for the past 8 years for Habitat for Humanity in Georgia, gave us this account this afternoon at our pizza lunch.  In Africa, guess what animal kills more people than any other?  Perhaps a logical choice is a crocodile.  Maybe a beast like the rhino or a lion?  Nope.  Actually, it’s the hippo.  She took a “hippo cruise” during a visit in South Africa, and please make note.  When doing a hippo cruise, TAKE THE BIGGEST BOAT.  Don’t go cheap and go with a local on a wooden boat raft.  Umm, no.  And when you hear a sound in the water like “the wicked witch of the east cackeling (according to Kathy, that’s how it sounds like)”, LOOK OUT!  It means the hippo is about to charge something.  And on this particular day, it happened to be the little wooden raft thingy that some tourists decided to use.  The hippo charged the flimsy toothpick and flipped it over.  Fortunately her boat was nearby to rescue those in the water, no casualties fortunately. 

And one more thing.  Hippos will kill you, but they won’t eat you.  They’re vegeterians.  Kathy said that if she were to die from an animal, at least have the audacity to eat her!  What a poor way to die, to get killed by a hippo and just rot away at the bottom of the river…

One of the greatest joys I get from traveling is all the tales and stories I hear from my fellow vagabonders.  Since I can’t post pics for the next few weeks (and my previous posts with pics are still being worked on by the blog administrators), I’ll just have to entertain you with tales from other people since mine are pretty much about learning spanish (yawn) and my daily variety (or lack thereof) of food (boring).  It is amazing to learn about how many people have quit their jobs to either volunteer, learn spanish, or just travel.  And after hearing about some cut backs at my old job, I am pretty satisfied with my decision to do what I’m doing and am inspired by others through which what the world offers if one just steps out of the comfort zone to experience a different way of living.  Not so different from our own if you think about it, but just enough to notice subtle and marked differences.  Okay, I’m talking in circles now, must be the shock from all the food in my stomach.  3 weeks down and 15 more to go, now I feel like I don’t have enough time to do and see all that I want while I’m down here.  Okay, I’m over my interent limit, Ciao! 

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Que Pasa?

February 17th, 2006

Not feeling particularly creative this afternoon, my brain is fried from trying to cram in more vocab and verbs like “to resemble” and “to translate”, important words for sure.  I just learned that after someone sneezes, you say “Salud”, if they do it a second time, you say “Dinero”, and a third time you say “Amor.” 

 It is a bittersweet end to the weekend, as some of the friends I have made are leaving to continue with their plans.  After a while you get to know fellow students in the school as family and I always look forward to hanging out during our morning break and after class to sip hot chocolate at La Luna, try new street vendor food, or go in search of a new dessert place to study in.  Megan is going back home to Wisconsin — she, like me, quit her job to do some traveling and some learning of Español.  Kevin, from the UK, is also heading out, while Kjerste from Norway is off on her hike to the Lake and other points down south.  Next weekend will be another blow, as the Portland couple Preston and Judy return to the City of Roses and Chelsia from DC heads out.  I wonder if that will be a good time to leave as well?  Tales of great adventures in Mexico have made me change my initial travel plans, as I have received guidance and tips for where I should go and what I should do.  Mark and his girlfriend Lisa are currently in the 14th month of their worldly travels, and they will stay here in Xela for 3 months to learn Spanish and lead hikes for a local trekking company.  I really wish I had the capability to upload my pictures to the site, but I’ve made arrangements for a replacement device to be sent to me from the States and hope by then my missing posts will reappear.

As far as my addiction goes, today I walked to the Mennonite bakery (only open on Friday and Tuesdays) and treated myself to a real donut.  A twist with glaze, which I quickly scarfed down and immediately felt the ill side effects of too much, too fast.  And that bag of glazed donut holes was mighty tempting, but I had the control to resist–perhaps it was from feeling too sick to imagine eating any more sweet stuff that helped convince me to buy them on another day.  Well, at least my one donut made up for my dinner last night, eggs over hard, 1 tortilla, and instant soup.  I guess the good thing about eating so little calories over the last 3 weeks is that I’ve lost some weight and my body is now getting used to the smaller portion sizes and I’ll be able to travel “light” once I start my travels.  Okay, I’m starving right now as I write this so this is a good point to stop and go hunting for more street vendor food.  Buen fin de semana!

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Addiction: A Long Battle Ahead

February 15th, 2006

 

So this is a good forum as any to finally divulge a major secret I have been hiding in my life…okay, well for that past week.  I have an addiction.  And I don’t know if I’ll be able to confront this head on or be “cured” once I get back to the U.S.  I haven’t seen any support group posted down here, and I don’t have enough dineros to do spend time on the internet with one of those online support groups.  And even if I could find a treatment center or group down here, I doubt I would be able to understand or communicate my problem.  At least the first step is admitting that I have a problem.  But will I seek help?  Nah, and here’s why.

 

It’s because I love my addiction!  You all know how I haven’t exactly had the most glorious reviews of the food I have been eating.  And since last week, I’ve been spending more of my budget on eating out.  And you’d think that eating out means hunting down good, healthy food.  But the opposite is true.  My addiction is azucar, aka Sugar. 

 

As gifts to my family and respective members, my packing included:

 

1 Hershey’s Chocolate Almond Bar

1 Almond Joy Halloween fun size bar

1 Kit Kat Halloween fun size bar

1 Planters Trail mix 1.25 oz snack pouch

1 Nestle Super 8 chocolate bar (from Chile, thanks Katie!)

1 Jello fruit cherry flavored fruit snack pouch

4 Take Five candy bars

3 Baby Ruths

1 Peppermint Patty

2 Pay Days

1 Hawaiian Punch soft & chewy candy snack pouch

1 Wrigley’s Extra 15 stick hum pack

 

So how many of these items did I give to anyone?  Zilch.  None.  Nada.  Zippo.  Yes, I have been selfish and have hoarded them all to ME ha ha!  Surely I can’t survive on 4 eggs, purreed black beans and tortillas twice a day?  (I had it for dinner AND breakfast this morning!  except instead of tortillas, I had 2 plain pieces of white bread for breakfast).  At any rate, I’ve been happily munching away on my stash, and it has dwindled down to the very few!  To make up for this discrepancy, I have been making daily pilgrimmages (sp?) to the market, to XelaPan and to other food stands.  I have my daily “freshly” made ice cream cone, my empanada and waffle snacks from the Tawainese stand, and my cookies and sweet bread from Xela Pan.  I’ve had these weird fried donut holes drowned in some sweet sauce, hot chocolate, churros, sweet pineapples & papayas, cake, pastries, cookies and more.  I’ve been bouncing off the walls with energy, which is good, because yesterday we walked for almost an hour to a soccer — oops, excuse me, futbol — gaming area where some of the students and teachers could get a game going.  And walking an hour back to the school.

 

So there you have it, I admit my addiction.  I will try my best not to stuff myself with candy and other sweetened products.  And I do only have 10 more days with my host family before I make a switch.  I promise to try and give myself a little more variety — say, maybe some more fried papas fritas and I-don’t-know-the-name of the dish but it looks really good at the street side stand. 

 

– On another note, still no troubleshooting fixes for my previous posts, I’m still hopeful that it will be resolved by the end of the week, because there is quite a bit I previously wrote with a bunch of photos.  And as far as photos go, I might not have many in the next few days since I broke my USB portable memory card device.  And I know how I did it, no one to blame by myself!

 

– One cool thing about living here is the proximity you have to your neighbors and other people in the city.  People do ALOT of walking, or at least taking a microbus (basically a minivan where you stuff in as many people as you can for less than .25 cents a ride) for part of the way.  So, as you walk and pass by folks, it is common courtesy and just a cultural thing to say “Buenos” or “Buenos Dias, Tardes or Naches.”  You don’t get that much in the states, just walking around and saying “Good afternoon” or “Hello” to a complete stranger.  In general, folks here are pretty friendly, though I haven’t really made any friends with the locals.

 

Here’s my second “story” I wrote for my homework yesterday, using words that I learned.  I haven’t memorized them and doubt I could think of them off the top of my head, but here it is for purposes of prosperity.  And here’s the unedited, uncorrected version before my maestra got her red pen on it…

 

 La noche esta obscura y Carlos desiende las gradas cuidadoso.  El siente frio y espantado porque sus amigos no vuelven de caminar la noche antes.  Ellos no encntran a el arbol viejo a las seis la tarde y Carlos quier salir.  Despues un horas caminar, Carlos esta perder.  El tiene hambre y busca para alimentos.  Pero todos las tiendas cierra cuando Carlos esta cerca.  El restaurante cierran tambien.  Carlos no entienda y piensa la gente en la ciudad son locos.  Entonces el eschuchan uno nene llorando y Carlos corre para el sonido.  Done va?  Carlos atraviesa el puente y llama el nene.  Pero eso no es nene!  El es el dinosoro con dientes grande y el esta enojado!  El dinosoro piense Carlos estan platano y quiere comer para cena.  Carlos cierra sus ojos, entonces el siente uno memo a sus hombro.  Carlos abre sus ojos y ella esta sus mama — Carlos despierta porque el esta dormido!

 

That’s all for tonight!

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