As part of my continuing effort to help the Tulongeni group to become successful with their new garden, I invited 3 other Peace Corps volunteers to come and put on a workshop. Dan, Dorothy, and Shawn are volunteers in the region and have been working together teaching gardening techniques to people at a community center in nearby Ongwediva. With the help of my translating sidekick, Nico, the 4 of them spent a day with 12 women teaching them gardening techniques that will hopefully better prepare them to tackle the difficult growing environment here in northern Namibia.

Shawn discussing nutrition theory with Nico translating under the community etala

Dorothy and Dan at the garden describing how to construct a planting bed that will allow the roots to grow deep and retain moisture

2.3.12   the little things…   I crawled from my nest this morning, like a zombie climbing from his grave. No sleep… again. It’s been weeks since i’ve slept through the night. I sit up on my bed, and let my eyes adjust to the light blaring in through the curtains. Reaching for the mosquito [...]

There are usually a lot of “Why?” questions that many applicants, and a lot of Invitees get  before actually departing for service in the Peace Corps. There are also  many well-intentioned questions from family and friends alike about whether it … Continue reading →

So as promised, here are some pictures of the school! Those buildings down the hill are our school buildings- library, offices, classrooms, etc. The green in the foreground is the tea plantation that surrounds the school, and the hills in the distance are Nyungwe forest. I could definitely do worse than this.

For the first time, Botswana has a flyer to distribute to the public to inform them of Children's Rights.

Botswana adopted the UN Convention on a Rights of Children and then passed its own legislation called the Child Act in 2009. Imagine, Children have "modern" rights legally since 2009 in Botswana. Most citizens of Botswana still don't know what's in the Child Act, hence, the District Child Welfare Committee, of which I'm the Vice-Chair of, will be holding Child Welfare Day on February 16.

As part of the Committee, I've created a flyer, drafted directly from the Child's Act that can be distributed to the public. With globalization, and Botswana trying to be a forward thinking country, the Child Act was written in English. Also keep in mind, that the Act was passed in 2009, yet copies of it didn't start circulating until late last year, 2011 to Police, Social Welfare Officers etc. The flyer is meant to be easy to understand, hence, while working with various people in my office and the Social and Community Development Office with Local Government here, we were able to translate the flyer into Setswana.

We will be distributing the flyer to the public at Child Welfare Day.

Of course, this does not go without challenges. Literacy Rates in Maun are about 85%, further up in the delta, only 60%. However, hopefully this will be a breakthrough, that can be replicated across the Nation and form a benchmark for other districts.

Dora the Explorer (left) is alive and well in South Africa. Hands down, pink if the favored color. Barbie and Tinkerbell in pink Children wearing backpacks returning from lunch break Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas any more. (Dorothy, Wizard of Oz) That may be the case, but one would never know it [...]

Running has proven to be a big challenge for me. If I want to go running, I have to go early in the morning. So, I try to get up at around 6:30 in the morning and go running when it is barely light out. I go so early because otherwise I draw too much attention. This is hard for me to do because I’m used to running later in the day. It’s hard to get up early and be motivated to go running. Another reason it’s hard to go running here is because the roads are not even. Sometimes it seems more like an obstacle course with me trying to watch my footing so I don’t fall. Sometimes I can manage to wake up, but I have no motivation to go running. I need to find another way to work out here. Suggestions are welcome.

My town thinks I am a white celebrity. EVERYONE yells Obruni at me. The babies, the kids, the old folks, the people my age. They are all calling obruni in the hopes I will look at them and grace them … Continue reading →

"Knowledge is a trick in the age of the internet. At any moment, you can become instantly and temporarily knowledgeable on any topic through 3G networks and wikipedia mobile. However, some people have information stored in themselves that they can summon at any time, information they use spontaneously from their being. This is devotion, information that is learned, invited, and accepted into who you are at your core as a person. Information that is felt, perceived, and stored is love. Goods produced and services performed via this love are one's craft in life. Every human being on earth needs a craft."

I wrote this on the train to work one morning. Why the death of Rubik's cube? A student here gave me a sticker with a Rubik's cube on it, one square incorrect. I thought about how it was no longer an engaging puzzle. Why? At one point, there was an intellectual endeavor to understand and deduce how to solve the puzzle. Today, the magic is gone -- solving a Rubik's cube is just a trick you can find on YouTube or other sites. I put the sticker on my watercolor palette -- it is a reminder that painting is my craft, that I have taken into my being information on the properties of painting and picture making, and that the internet does not have "tricks" to understand its workings.

- As I think most of you already know, we are helping to start a library here at our community's primary school. The school is made up of 500+ kids from grades 1-7. Although this is normally an age group of kids 6-13 years, there are still a number who reach to the age of 17. These kids either had to drop out of school at some point and are trying to catch up or are those who were required to repeat grades. School tuition in Swaziland is alarmingly high compared to the average household income in the rural areas. This makes for a difficult road for most students. Even if they are able to attend school, it is often disrupted a number of times by absence due to financial constraints thus leading to an inconsistent and incomprehensive education. The reading literacy at many of these rural schools is very low and we, along with our awesome deputy head teacher, are hoping to help improve this situation by the creation of a library!

The library project was actually pioneered by a PC couple a few groups before us and has been in operation ever since. Every year volunteers have the chance to help their schools apply and every year thirty of the applicant schools are chosen to benefit from this program. It is a group effort on the part of Books for Africa in donating the books, PC in covering a portion of the shipping costs and friends and families of the volunteers donating the remainder of those costs. THANK YOU TO ALL WHO DONATED! You all were able to raise $10,000 (or maybe more?) in no time. This is a huge contribution to the success of these 30 school libraries.

The school is also responsible for a small portion of the costs. Each school is given the task of coming up with creative ideas to raise E1,500 (approx. $200) in order to cover the cost of the books being transported from the shipping port in South Africa to Swaziland. This can be a challenge for a lot of schools. And ours was no exception.

The school its self was not able to cover the amount and we decided that giving the kids a chance to contribute will hopefully help them take more ownership in their library. So we decided to throw a "Movie Night" for the kids at the school and charge them a small fee to attend. As things always do it proved to be a little harder than we first anticipated. But in the end it was a success; after we were able to jump the hurdles of projecting a movie on a green chalk bored in a brightly lit room with out any shades, fitting 300 kids into a class room meant for 50 and deciding on a movie choice that took into consideration the age range or 6-17, low English comprehension and too many references to western culture and its humor. We chose UP, it maybe wasn't the best choice. However, regardless of our shortcomings, we were able to raise E600 in one day and learned a lot from the event for next time. We hope to have a few more "Movie Nights" with the kids in the weeks to come. But this time we are planning on splitting up the age groups, bringing a fan; we had to take a break mid-film once kids started pouring out with sweat dripping down their faces, and collecting money at the door.

- Anxious to get inside!

- Calling off the names of those who paid. Teaches took the money in class which posed a sizable problem. I'm fairly sure a lot of the little rascals slipped in without a contribution. I felt bad for all those who couldn't pay to watch the movie, but fairness is very important here and if we had paid for a few or let them in anyway it would of been a big point of contention.

- I wished I had taken more photos.....next time!

This week has been both the best and the worst that I’ve had here in Rwanda. It all began on Thursday, January 26th, when my students presented me with the ‘homework’ I’d given them the week before. It was a rice sack holding the smallest kitten I’d ever seen, and she was crying. I didn’t [...]

Some things you don't ask why in IndonesiaScottand I left Medan and headed into the central highlands in our mullet-guidedmissile (more commonly known as Indonesian minibus). Road travel in Indonesiais always interesting. There's acomplete lack of road laws, no police enforcement, and a strange Indonesiantendency to get carsick really easily. So you can always expect to beentertained, surprised, and/or terrified on your trip.

Scott and I keep it real on the mini-bus while the Indonesian family keeps it real carsickFor example, looking out the window while going up a twisty and busy mountain road and seeing a man standing and riding on the top of a minibus.

Surprising? Check. Terrifying? Check. Entertaining? Check.

Or having a guy almost fall out of the minibus after the door he was leaning on suddenly popped open. Surprising? Check. Terrifying? Check.

Or a little girl throwing up milk all over Scott's backpack.

Surprising? Check. Entertaining? Check (at least for me).

Or flying around blind corners in an old bus praying no one is coming around the other side.

Terrifying? Check. Check. Check.

Mainstreet Berastagi. Notice the cabbage monument: classyLuckily, we made it to Berastagi safely. We wandered around the beautiful highland town, and were sad we couldn't stay longer. There's some good hiking in the area, but after our Tangkahan elephant fiasco ate up 3 days, we had to keep moving.

Rice paddy view on the way from Berastagi to KetambeAfter one night in Berastagi, we headed to Ketambe. Situated just outside the entrance to Gunung Leuser National Park, the village of Ketambe is pretty much just a collection of guesthouses and a few scattered residents. Welcome to the jungleWe signed up for a day-trek through the jungle to some hot springs, with the hope of seeing some cool animals along the way. I've never been in a "jungle," so I was pretty stoked for the hike.

Sign at the entrance of the park. I think it means "one tree is important," i.e. don't cut it down illegal loggerCool vinesOur trusty guide wore a blue fedora, black sweatpants tucked into socks, and chinese soccer cleats so I knew we were in good hands. He also took various smoke breaks during the trip, but was remarkably less fatigued than either me or Scott.

Nothing like a smoke break in the jungleUnfortunately, we didn't see a lot of wildlife during the trek. We saw a couple varieties of monkeys and some shiny bugs, but that was pretty much it. The highlight was a brief glimpse of a horn-billed pelican.

Scott and the guide make their way through the vines (left side of the picture)

Surprisingly, the jungle itself was enough to keep our attention. Everything was enormous and there was various species of parasitic vines and trees that are constantly choking and killing each other. It just felt alive in a way that I haven't experienced before on a hike.Me and the treeAbout halfway to the hot springs our guide asked us, "Mau tarzan?" (Do you want Tarzan?) We gave a hesitant and confused "Ya??" and he directed us to a natural vine swing. "Oohhhh... Tarzan." What followed was a super fun swing that got about 25 feet off the ground.

I take a swing on the "Tarzan" vine, with Scott doing the same in the photos aboveAfter the vine swing, we continued our trek. The trail was often slippery and steep, and I took more than a few tumbles. Soon, the guide took it upon himself to hold my hand (literally and figuratively) at every difficult section. Even though I was decked out in a "Boulder, CO tuxedo" (waterproof hiking boots, quick-dry hiking pants and shirt, and technical backpack), I still needed help from a guy in a blue fedora and plastic soccer cleats. My Colorado outdoorsy pride was sufficiently crushed. The only way I could console myself was that at least I didn't get leeches.

Scott and the treeFor some reason, the leeches really liked Scott. It probably didn't help that he wore shorts during the trek. He ended up picking off 4 or so leeches over the course of the day. One latched itself between his toes when we were crossing a small river. He got the complete jungle experience.

Checking out the tree that sheds its barkLeeches aside, we finally made it to the natural hot springs in the jungle. After lunch and a relaxing soak, we safely made our way back.

Scott and the guide in the hot springsBoth of us were pretty tired from the day, but our chain-smoking guide was as fresh as ever. He grabbed us a fresh cocoa bean pod to try. About the size of a large potato, the inside is filled with white fleshy covered chocolate beans. The flesh has a nice sweet taste that's hard to describe (the closest thing I can think of is Mangosteen, but I'm not sure if you've had that either). I was happy for another "Oh, so that's where that comes from..." moment and a good day in the jungle. Our Sumatra Christmas would continue the next day as we headed north again. Sharia-law and excellent coffee would await us...

This is where chocolate comes from. The actual chocolate beans are inside the white fleshy stuff

Well hello there! It’s 10:40 AM on Friday here in the ever-bustling city of Delhi, and I’m ready for Day 2 of Indian adventures. Here’s a quick and dirty overview of my travels and first half-day in India: My flights … Continue reading →

January 16, 2012 -- Snowfall at dusk obscures the shores of a silver lake outside a little town called De Smet, South Dakota. Nearby, a sign points 275 miles east to Laura and Mary Ingalls' birthplace in the big woods of Wisconsin; 12 miles southwest to Laura's golden years at the Brewster School; and 2.5 miles north to her first four years on Almanzo Wilder's claim.

Tranquil beauty + harsh economic reality = pretty hard life.  Such is the conundrum for many villages in the interior. The Amazon’s allure draws many a visitor to experience a vast undeveloped landscape combined with a virgin eco-system.  Upon closer inspection they find it is also an environment that includes no clean water, no electric [...]

Smith College Grécourt Gate

Illinois reputation influences Peace Corps ranking

Daily Illini

By the numbers *The rankings are recorded in three different categories: small, medium and large, based on the size of the school's student body. The University is in the large category. The University continues to have a strong international volunteer ...

Smith Alumnae Rank High Among Peace Corps VolunteersSmith College Grécourt Gate

all 2 news articles »

My studies in international development are progressing nicely, and I like all of my courses this semester. In addition, I am involved in some excellent student groups and research projects. But beyond the heavy workload, I have been feeling very... distant. I think it is because I have been in school long enough now to feel very disconnected from the very issues I am studying. This feeling has reminded me how important it is to stay in touch in development. Extreme poverty, inequitable trade policies, famine, deforestation, oppressive governments... these are more than just words in academic papers. They all have real effects on people in real places. As do words like: innovation, activism, self-sufficiency, protest, and participation. The longer we stay away from the faces behind these issues, the more detached we become. I am in need of a reminder of why I am here and studying to become a development practitioner. I am working on that, trying to get back "into the field" soon. In the meantime, I can already tell that this will be a continuing concern throughout my career. And a concern for any practitioner or academic. Let us all endeavor to stay connected in a real way.

On a lighter development studies note, I totally agree with BlattBlog on this one.

My studies in international development are progressing nicely, and I like all of my courses this semester. In addition, I am involved in some excellent student groups and research projects. But beyond the heavy workload, I have been feeling very... distant. I think it is because I have been in school long enough now to feel very disconnected from the very issues I am studying. This feeling has reminded me how important it is to stay in touch in development. Extreme poverty, inequitable trade policies, famine, deforestation, oppressive governments... these are more than just words in academic papers. They all have real effects on people in real places. As do words like: innovation, activism, self-sufficiency, protest, and participation. The longer we stay away from the faces behind these issues, the more detached we become. I am in need of a reminder of why I am here and studying to become a development practitioner. I am working on that, trying to get back "into the field" soon. In the meantime, I can already tell that this will be a continuing concern throughout my career. And a concern for any practitioner or academic. Let us all endeavor to stay connected in a real way.

On a lighter development studies note, I totally agree with BlattBlog on this one.

I HAVE INTERNET IN MY HOUSE! It’s super slow and I have to go make myself a sandwich every time I want a page to load, but it’s here! Technology! Connection to the outside world! Hurray! Start expecting much more coherent and chronological blog posts! I’m so happy I could cry!

I'd been planning to confine my cooking posts to the other page on this blog, but I just couldn't restrain myself: Tonight, I made no-bake cookies of an Emily-created version that required only things found in our local store AND did not include sugar. Which normally would not be a requirement/concern, except when living in a place that could induce type 2 diabetes by sheer osmosis.

So, here's the recipe, in case you're feeling in a semi-healthy mood, as posted on our collective recipe blog, www.ReciPeaceCorpsColombia.wordpress.com

Ingredients:

-about 2 cups oats– Avena en hojuealas

-4 tablespoons or so cocoa powder. ORRRR non fat/diet hot chocolate mix – I found a nice sized bag of this in Surtimax (a budget grocery store chain) for 3 mil. Turns out Colombia’s version of diet chocolate mix is just…cocoa powder! For a fraction of the cost! amazing.

-2 bananas maduras/guineas

-1/2 cup leche

-good sized bar or two of Jet chocolate (I used only one, but would probably be even tastier with two)

-touch of salt

-vanilla if you have it

Makes about 12-15 cookies depending on size of balls and how much of the dough you eat prior to freezing.

Directions:

Mix mashed bananas (you can mash them right in the skin), milk, cocoa powder, and broken pieces of chocolate over medium flame. Heat til bubbling, then boil for 2-3 minutes. Mix with the oats. Then roll into balls and cool/freeze. The chocolate flavor comes out more after they’ve been cooled; it was pronounced at worst edible by my (sugar loving) host family, at best quite tasty….it doesn’t quite match the flavor of a traditional no-bake, but at under 5 mil AND no refined sugar added, they’re a pretty tasty substitute.

Overview:

Bananas: 500 pesos. Oats: 1000 pesos. Cocoa powder: 2000 pesos. Chocolate bar: 1000 mil pesos. Milk: 600 pesos. Creating a dessert liked by my host family that included no refined sugar: absolutely priceless

The picture I didn't post on the recipes blog--a zoomed out photo of freezing the cookies--right next to a nice and bloody bag of carne!

More delicious looking:

(For those of you who missed it, click here for my fat ass part one; here for my fat ass part two.)

Over the last few months, I’ve lost some weight. Not a lotof weight, maybe ten pounds or so, but enough that people in my village havebegun to take notice. Well, they notice everything anyway, especially mynot-so-fat-anymore ass. They’re worried.

To most Americans, losing weight is seen as good thing,which is understandable in a culture where the skinny are coveted and thechunky are seen as lesser beings. What’s fascinating is actually how hard it can be to havea healthy weight in America. We are inundated day in and day out with absurdfood choices, oversized portions, easy lifestyles (admit it, not many of us areout there slaving away in the fields) and very little time in our hectic livesfor moving our bodies.

We all know it’s become a problem: an epidemic of obesity.More than 30% of Americans are now obese and 50% are overweight. Childhoodobesity and diabetes rates are at an all-time high.

Life is just not the same in Madagascar. People here workvery, very hard their entire lives, with often little more to go on than ameasly bowl of rice and nothing else until they catch or gather it. Childrenhere have some of the highest stunted growth rates of any developing nation.Think your six-pack abs are hot in America? Well, they’re a dime a dozen inMadagascar.

So it should come as no surprise that having some heft toyou is seen as a good thing here. The bigger you are, the wealthier you mustbe; the bigger your booty, the more you must be sitting around raking in thecash. The biggest people I’ve seen in Madagascar are the ones with likely themost desirable job: taxi-brousse drivers. These guys sit on their buttsall day driving around, collecting money and eating roadside foods. Thinklong-haul truck drivers, beer bellies and all.

In any case, I wouldn’t have considered myself in the broussedriver category, but I definitely put on some pounds my first year inMadagascar. I was used to living a very active and healthy lifestyle in theU.S. and suddenly, there was all that sitting around wondering what to do in myvillage, coupled with the heat-induced laziness… and all those endless bowls ofwhite rice… and deep-fried bananas… and deep-fried cassava… and deep-friedbread… and deep-fried dough… and deep-fried fish… well, it all started to addup. To my fat ass.

And boy was my village happy! Everyone was always talkingabout my weight amongst themselves, because there’s no shame in it here. WhileI silently suffered every comment, they rejoiced in my ever-growing ass.

Except now those days are over. I stopped eating fried foods(no easy task in a place where there is often literally no other food optionavailable), exercise daily (the heat is my friend!) and feel almost like mynormal self (and weight) with the exception of a daily dose of sorely missedfresh vegetables and salad. Plus, I think I’ve just plain gotten used to beinghungry. All the time.

This has got my villagers very worried indeed. It’s the highseason in Ambolobozokely: winds are calm and the seas are fruitful. Everyone’seating their fish fill and raking in the Ariary with every kilo of fish sold. Iate at my girlfriend Sophia’s house last week; she couldn’t even zip up theskirt that six months ago was too big for her. She laughed merrily about hergut spilling out of her shirt, while I took note of my negative thoughts aboutit.

Suffice to say, every time I walk past a group of womenthese days, I hear them quietly whisper under their breaths, “Mahia eeee!”(Skinny!) They usually say it when I’m far enough away that they think I can’thear them. Sometimes they cluck their tongues, as if I’m been struck with someterrible disease. Some have a more direct approach, like the local shopkeeper(an exceptionally large woman): she just asked, “What is wrong with you?”

Some conjecture I must be sick (I did lose some weight whenI had Dysentery) while others exclaim “Ngoma!” (Missing someone!) Manyof them insist I don’t eat enough rice while neighbors have started bringingover food, such as coconut-stewed bananas or crab sauce. I just keep pointingout that my big ol’ booty is right there behind me just as it always has been.They laugh.

Recently a friend came to my village that I hadn’t seen fora long time. The first thing she said when she saw me was “Mahia eeeee!”When I told her I wasn’t skinny, just enjoying getting exercise, she had aninteresting reply. She told me that she knew it was a compliment for whitepeople to be told their skinny, but she couldn’t understand why. I shrugged. Somethings are better lost in translation.

What a funny world we live in. Americans are tryingdesperately to get skinny (and failing at that) while the rest of thedeveloping world struggles for just a tiny piece of the pie.

On Sunday, team Ngawinegoro led a regency-wide teachers’ workshop. How we got the deal is still a mystery. But because it happened—I was there, it’s worth unpacking some fresh reflections. Erin and I convened at John H.’s place the afternoon before. Aided by cookies, we hammered out a presentation in five hours (kira-kira). The assigned [...]

February 02, 2012 Well, thankfully today my “pan panned out” – haha, see?, I just made a Spanish/English pun. Oh my God, I’m turning into my father (who happens to be a wonderful man, but the puns aren’t necessary, haha.) Anyway, despite the pun, I’m happy to say that today my Filipino pan de leche [...]

I’ve been back at site for three weeks now.  It’s strange how much changes from one lifestyle to the other.  Now, the advertisements I see online implore me to “Become an American—get a green card” and remind me, “Do not miss your chance to live and work in the USA” as it shows a Statue … Keep reading →

February 2, 2012 If you’ve ever seen Eat, Pray, Love you’ve seen the “I’m having a relationship with my pizza” scene http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZY86k2NjTY (link provided if you have not!) Well, I am having a relationship with my cold peanut noodle sauce I just made – I am going to lick my bowl! Really, I am, because I live [...]

Do-It-Yourself Deportation - NYTimes.com: "From the time I was just a baby in Mexico, I lived with my grandparents while my parents traveled to other Mexican states to find work. I was 6 in 2000 when they left for the United States. And it took five years before they had steady jobs and were able to send for me. We’ve been together in this country ever since, working to build a life. Now I am 17 and a senior in high school in New York City. But my parents have left again, this time to return to Mexico."

'via Blog this'

I woke up in a good mood today. I found myself smiling excessively. I was downright jolly at times.

And I couldn't figure out why I was so dang happy. Had I gotten paid? Flirted with a boy? Been given a compliment? Anything? I really couldn't remember what was making me so dang glad to be alive.

And then I realized what it was.

I am working. I have purpose. I have income. I'm needed every day to contribute to something. I have importance. I matter. I am someone. I am happy! This is why the point of welfare needs to be to get people OFF of welfare! This is why we need less handouts, and more work opportunities. People need more than just food on their plates (but yes, they need assistance in the meantime to put food on their plates), they need self worth and independence. They need to earn and provide for themselves- so they can walk around and feel like they matter and so they can be happy!

It has been a year since I left the comfort of my home, home meaning Texas and where my family is. Up until that day I had been eagerly anticipating the adventure that lay ahead of me, preparing my allotted 100 pounds of luggage, saying ‘good-bye’ to friends and family and alleviating myself of responsibility [...]

Well, that flew by, didn't it? It's hard to believe that we are already in the second month of 2012. January was a busy month for us, starting with our trip to Corcovado [day 1, day 2 and day 3] and ending with three weeks of summer camp. January is perhaps one of the slowest months for Peace Corps Costa Rica Volunteers that work primarily in the schools, but we managed to stay on our toes and keep busy the whole time. We're hoping that the next couple of months follow suit and that we wrap up our two years of service with a bang!

Here's a peek into the busy days of January:

January 1

Well, I at least heard some fireworks in the middle of the night. I'm assuming that that was the community welcoming the arrival of 2012.

January 2

We'll head out bright and early tomorrow. Yay hiking!

January 3

Almost as soon as we hit the pavement a young boy was asking us if we wanted a taxi. His dad could take us. We assured him that we were fine walking. He told us that it was a long way, almost 28 kilometers. We had heard four, so we told him once more that we were fine.

We walked, and walked, and walked. It wasn't 28 kilometers, but it was about 14. Oh well. We had a nice cool river to cool our feet in every 5 minutes or so.

Read more here.

January 4

The congos would go crazy whenever the plane came through. The spider and squirrel monkeys were also pretty active this morning.

We watched the pack of peccary and moved cautiously down the trail until one spotted us and started grunting at us.

Read more here.

January 5

We could have easily handled another day in the park, but our reservation ran out so we had to pack up camp and head out.

We had heard that this was one of the most beautiful trails that another volunteer had ever been on. I had my doubts, but as the day went on I was more and more impressed.

Read more here.

January 6

We got to the bus station shortly after 4:30am and the bus was sold out. We wanted to get home though so we agreed to stand. We're hard core like that. Thankfully we had found an open panaderia on our way to the station so we at least had some freshly made bread to eat before the long journey home.

We had seats for maybe the first hour, but gradually the bus filled up and passengers would show us their tickets and kick us out of the seats we had claimed. As time went on the bus became so full that it was hard to maintain personal space while standing.

January 7

We both pulled little tick creatures out of our bodies today. Hopefully they weren't carrying any fun diseases.

January 8

Tomorrow we'll start another round of camp. Time to prepare some coloring sheets and craft materials.

January 9

Today we colored, made caterpillars and pop up frog faces. I think the highlight though was when the boys played with the magic capsules and grew an assortment of jungle animals and space creatures. They said that it was a very cool camp surprise.

January 10

Frog faces, monster masks, caterpillars and friendship bracelets abounded today. Kendall was able to make most everything by himself even - he's quite the five year old.

We walked out to the cole this afternoon. They were still hard at work which is what we like to see. Maybe they'll have it all wrapped up by the end of the month!

January 11

My favorite image of the day was of Josue making friendship bracelets while wearing his monster mask. Unfortunately I have to keep this image in my mind as the camera battery was dead.

Tonight at a junta meeting Chris was asked if they could take out a loan on the CRUSA money that still remains. Oh the headaches. Of course they cannot. He told them that the money needs to be spent now and receipts turned in. My goodness. The money is for the cole, just get it built!

January 12

I went out to Coyol this morning. One of the girls from Orquideas ran with me for a little while on her way to a friends house. On my way back through Orquideas she and her brother were waiting for me. As I approached he asked in a small voice, "a little race?" He's done this before and knows that I can't say no. The three of us raced to the nearest corner as usual. I did better than I have in the past, but I think that's because he ran backwards for the first couple of meters (so I don't think my improvement really counts).

Rafa came home for a little bit today. Maria had a little stroke last week and is staying with her family for the next couple of weeks. Hopefully she'll make a full recovery - it sounds like she is already doing much better. They'll be staying away until the end of the month.

On our way back home we ran into Michelle. We haven't seen her in almost a year. All that we could see was a shadow approaching on a bike yelling "Tarah y Chris!" She was pretty excited to see us and us her. She had thought that we already returned to the states.

January 13

Happy Friday the Thirteenth! It's funny how in the US you are more or less raised with a superstition toward Friday the Thirteenth (thank you media) but in other parts of the world it is just another day (at least here in Costa Rica). There is no mention of it. No movies. No nothing. It's just another Friday. I guess it always has been just another Friday to me too, but I'm used to hearing some mention of it at least (once again, thank you media).

We purchased our bus tickets to Nicaragua then Chris went to the mall and I to the office. I was approved for an eye exam and met up with Chris in front of the National Theater. We caught a bus to Curridabat and went to Talamanca Expedition and Sport to register for the Arenal Race. It's always enjoyable to visit the store. Phillipe came out of the office when he saw Chris was there and was super pumped to see him and catch up after last year's Irazu race.

We had an amazing lunch at the Veggie House and then I had an eye exam and ordered new glasses. I guess that means I'll be headed back to the city next week.

Chalupas for dinner and a bus ride home full of jokes from Hellen Dayana. It's been a good day.

January 14

Saturday. Chris went for a short run, but his knee is still bothering him. I started a new boot camp program. It was challenging for sure, but enjoyable (in a hard workout kind of way).

January 15

We celebrated workouts with pancakes.

Today's been a bit rainy. Chris tried patching the rusty hole in our bathroom roof without much luck. That happens when you only have tinfoil and electrical tape on hand. Perhaps later this week.

Chris found a giant beetle in the kitchen tonight. I went out to see it and when he swept it out from behind the fridge it took off in an erratic flight pattern, seemingly aimed at my head. I tried to get out of the way and hid behind the fridge door as Chris expertly batted it out of the air with the broom and swept it outside. Such excitement.

January 16

Camp went well this morning. We had an explosion of participants. We made snowflakes, frogs, monster masks, bracelets and even managed to color for a little bit.

January 17

Today blew up. All day long.

We had to send some kids home from camp after they got out of hand with paint. They started to paint the school building. Chris had them clean up and after that they were sent trekking. Thank goodness for super washable paint.

This afternoon the guy that was chopeando (weed whacking) the yard managed to puncture one of the water lines (plastic tube conveniently located above ground) to the house. Water was spraying everywhere. He talked to the Poppy (the landlord) and for now it is taped up. We'll see when it gets fixed for real.

And the rooster got out.

January 18

We had a much better day at camp today. We colored, made more bracelets and caterpillars and Chris read From Head to Toe to the kids. They had a great time acting out all of the animals' movements.

Chris later prepped materials for monster masks. We'll read Where the Wild Things Are tomorrow and act that out.

January 19

Kids started showing up at 8:30 today. Chris was showering and I was waiting to do the same. I told them that camp started in half an hour. They hung out in our yard and asked "how long until camp?" approximately every 2 minutes for the next 30 minutes. You'd have thought that they knew Steve was coming with cake!

We made monster masks, played some tag games and then read Where the Wild Things Are. The grand finale to camp today was Almond Joy cake from Steve (our country director). [note: We had bid on this cake during an auction to raise funds for a fellow volunteer whose apartment had burned down in October (it was well worth what we bid on it). As a surprise he brought us two cakes since we would be sharing with our little monsters!]

We had curry for lunch and wandered out to the cole with Steve. It was great to show him our community and talk a little bit about what we've been doing here and about life in general.

January 20

Chris had camp on his own today as I ventured into San Jose to pick up my new glasses. He had a hectic morning with a lot of kids and only his two hands to make things run smoothly.

Billy came to town today. How fitting that he was able to share some of the delicious cake that Steve brought us! (Billy is the aforementioned volunteer whose apartment burned down.) We had a great time catching up, it happens far too infrequently.

January 21

Crazy. Four months from today we'll be digging our toes into good old US of A soil. That is, if everything goes according to plan. It'll mean the start of a whole new adventure!

Chris worked on making sleeves for water bottles out of old bicycle tire tubes (preparing for upcoming races). They were pretty easy to put together and now he has a method for carrying energy supplements on his runs as well.

I finally labeled our world map this afternoon. It only took me about six months to track down a white marker for the dark colored countries. Thank you back to school supplies!

January 22

After breakfast I did laundry. It was a breezy, sunny day so everything dried. I could get used to this!

January 23

Abigail and Gabriel showed up for camp at 8:30am again. We now have a new rule. If you come to camp early you need to wait on the steps to the school, not in our front yard asking every 30 seconds when camp is going to start.

We made binoculars and flowers today. Camp is still fun but the kids are getting a little out of control now. They aren't showing respect to us, each other, the school or the materials that we are using. We want to spend as much time as possible with them, but we're getting to the point where it is sometimes difficult to keep on smiling. Sheirys is our star child though. She stays after every day to help clean up, she helps teach younger kids, is patient and has good manners. Can we clone her?

Work has continued next door. It is now nice and level. Perfect for the rondel (bull ring) and lots of noise during the town festivals. Can't wait.

January 24

The camp crew has started to shift to a bunch of me firsts and the gimme gimmes. If something challenges them they want to toss it aside. They don't want to wait for anything. They rush through things and then toss them aside. Are we seeing a new generation of a throw away society like the US has become? I sure hope not.

January 25

Our quiet month at home ended today around 7:30am when Maria and Rafa returned from their visit with family (they left December 24 saying we'll be home Tuesday...). It's nice to see them again and catch up.

Camp was a little better today. It was rainy out so we had a smaller crew. We made airplanes, bracelets and woven mats.

Liseth was at the house when we got home. We played statue with her for a while, but then had to sit down and rest for a little bit.

January 26

Place mats, origami, masks, recycled flowers and coloring. Just another day at camp!

Elvin stopped by today to talk about fund raising (or rather, he asked if we knew anyone that would give his group money). He now thinks that Chris is brilliant because Chris told him to ask each of the kids for 500 colones each week until they had raised all of the money they needed. They spend more than that each week on junk food, so they should be able to donate some if their project is important to them.

January 27

A month into camp and we had almost a completely new crew today. Go figure!

I spent a bulk of the afternoon teaching Sheirys how to make bracelets with words in them. We were chatting and working and before I knew it three hours had passed! She did a great job though and took some floss home with her to make more.

January 28

We came home to a smoke filled house. Spring cleaning. Maria was burning just about every piece of plastic that she could find in or around the house and the wind was blowing the smoke right into the kitchen. Hopefully the burning is done for a couple of weeks now. I had to hold my breath when going into the kitchen for water.

We finally finished our cake. We shared the last piece with Rafa. I have mixed feelings about the cake being gone. Oh so good, but oh so bad.

January 29

Emma got in around 3:15 and we chatted for a bit while Chris helped Maikol write a letter in English. It's nice to see her again [note: Emma is one of the students from the group that came in July]. Kennedys came over this evening and actually had a conversation with her [note: they are pen pals from a cultural exchange that we did with students from UNL]. A great change from this summer!

January 30

Camp went well this morning. We started the process of making papier-mache masks. The process should take us through the end of the week.

After lunch today Hellen Dayana showed up to talk Emma's ear off. She kept asking what time it was and after about an hour Emma gave in to her begging and took a ball to dos with her. They played some around the world and duck-duck-goose.

January 31

Oh the drama! Two of the balloons were deflated when we showed up this morning. I guess the kids will have to share now. No big deal, we can get two masks out of each remaining structure.

We walked out to the cole this afternoon to show Emma the completed student mural and the work that has been done on the school since July. Hellen Dayana (her little shadow) tagged along and talked her ear off the whole way. It was so cute. We rested for a while after our walk and Emma went out to dos again and drew quite the crowd of kiddos.

Kennedys came over to chat again. He hung out for an hour or so. It's nice to see a friendship that started in letters continue to grow. This is one of the great ways that we can connect the cultures between the US and Costa Rica.

And so we come to the end of the first month of 2012 (and the end of our second journal here in country). It's been an exciting start to what is sure to be a great year. One of big changes and new adventures.

I microblogged (diaspora, identica, twitter) the following statement a few weeks ago: First new year’s resolution, 10 days late: I will use ‘hereditary license’ any time I am tempted to say ‘viral license.’ Surprisingly, this generated quite a few responses (on identica and elsewhere)- some people liked it, but many people had their own alternative [...]

Where did the month go? Guess it is time to say Hello, February! Yesterday I went to Tarug, Mogpog to go rock climbing. Jean, who I met in Maniwaya a few weekends ago, invited Catherine and I to come over to meet her mother and to take us on an adventure to the caves and high stone near her house. Sarah and Jean are both students at the School of Tourism in Santa Cruz. I am thankful that our paths of life have crossed because I have been anxious to get out and see what this island has to offer, and what better people to show me than tourism students!

Catherine came Friday after school. The plan was to wake up early Saturday and go to Tarug. I had no idea where Tarug was. We took a jeep the bayan and then asked someone the best way to travel to Tarug. One person told us jeep, the next told us tricycle. We went with the tricycle. It ended up being further away than I anticipated. The driver dropped us off on the main road and showed us the hill we had to walk up to reach Tarug; it was literally on top of a mountain. The hill was so steep that after about only 50 steps I was out of breath. I don’t really know how long it took us to hike up the hill but I do know that sweat was racing down my face and body when we reached the top.

Jean and her mother we were. Her mother offered us Gatorade, which was actually perfect and just what I needed. The bottle was really fancy, can’t say that I have ever enjoyed Gatorade fancy style before. Tarug was a small barangay, hidden within the coconut tree covered mountains and steep terrain of the island. It was breathtaking. I always enjoy when I get to venture off the main road that goes around the island, you just never know the hidden treasures you might find down the dirt path.

After replenishing our body and a short rest, we began our hike. Jean’s friend Girlie also came to join us. She is also a student at the School of Tourism. Her personality was spunky and outgoing which made it easy to hold a conversation with her, getting to know her story. We had to walk a short while down a dirt road to get to the bottom point of the climb. Before we started we had to sign a book, guess it was just in case we never came back. With water and my camera at my back the thrill began… up, and up, and up…

Earlier that day it had rained so the path was a bit slippery. I always made sure that my hands had a good grip on a branch or part of the rock wall just in case my feet slipped and I had to have faith in my arm strength. I can thank however many days of my life when I spent hours swimming laps for my oversized and strong arms. We reached the first cave rather quickly. There was a window in the cave that you could climb up into and look out at the, like I have mentioned before, the beautiful scenes. There were also parts of the cave that had grown to look like animals. At the front of the cave there was a large piece that stuck straight out, my eyes caught sight of it straight away- it looks like a T-rex! The other animal that had been naturally created was a group of elephants. It was a carving in the side of the cave that looked like three elephants stacked on top of each other. After the first cave, things got a little more dangerous, my heart started to beat a bit faster. One wrong move of my foot going up to the high stone could have been bad. Good thing we had a good tour guide with us who had climbed the rock walls many times before and knew every step, every grasp of the way. We made it to the, and after I took a moment to let out a sign of relief, I began thinking about going back down. It was scary going down but we made it safely back to the flat ground. Those first few steps on the flat gravel ground felt strange.

Covered in mud and very sweaty, we were all very hungry so we went back to Jean’s house for lunch. After a little relaxation, talking, and eating Catherine and I were ready to go home. Jean’s mother had given the two of us a coconut and a bag filled with bananas to bring home so they made the trip back to my house with us. When we got back to Mogpog, we stopped at my favorite burger place to get burgers for a snack. We also stopped at a small store to get some ice cream, we definitely ate ice cream three times that night, it was the best ice cream I have had here. I am getting hungry just writing about it. What an adventure!

Right now, I am in Tagaytay City with some of my students, another English teacher, and the principal. Five of my students qualified to compete in the regional journalism competition. My favorite part of being here was watching my students take a video of our room that we are all staying in. They had never seen a ceiling fan, a window heater, the water heater in the bathroom, or a socket in the wall for a telephone. They were so excited I could not stop smiling watching them examine these new things. It is cold in Tagaytay, even for me, I had to wear a scarf today! Last night they were asking my about twitter, facebook and social networking in general. I told them everything I know. Today after one of the competitions, Kim was very excited because the topic she had to write about was related to our conversation the previous night about networking. Things really do happen for a reason!

Vision and Goals of BLC:

Since youth living in the interior of Suriname receive little encouragement to continue studies and face difficult obstacles in gaining education beyond the sixth grade, the BLC intends to encourage boys to further their education, expand their view of workforce opportunities, and take positive leadership role within their communities.

Also, youth face additional pressures to engage in sex at a young age. Yet, they receive little to no life skills based education in order to protect themselves and their loved ones from HIV, other sexually transmitted diseases, and teenage pregnancy. The Boys Leadership Camp will focus on providing the boys with information to protect and empower themselves to make healthy lifestyle choices.

Additional topics addressed through the various sessions and activities ate the BLC include: environmental awareness, drugs and alcohol abuse, leadership, career opportunities, and goal setting. The central theme imparted throughout the camp aims to encourage the boys to make good decisions and actively seek a better future for themselves and their communities.

Returned campers will sustain the camp's goals and benefits by spreading their empowerment and education in the areas of environment, drugs and alcohol, HIV/AIDS, careers, goal setting, and leadership amongst their peers through their school presentations and community service project.

On December 2nd thirty boys gathered at Tio Boto Ecolodge for 3 days of camp, lessons, and fun! I was so excited for all that they were going to learn and do. Peace Corps Volunteers have previously held a few camps for girls on the Suriname river, but this was the first for boys. Saramaccan culture can seem very male-dominated at a glance, but I think a leadership camp is just as important (if not more important) for the boys in the culture as it is for the girls.

The boys arrived Friday afternnoon, and after check-in and going over the rules, we played icebreakers and tie dyed t-shirts. Kyle and Jonathan led a lesson on the importance of taking care of the environment and the boys decorated reusable water bottles.

Saturday consisted of waking up to a workout and breakfast before starting lessons for the day. The boys attended lessons on drugs and alcohol and HIV/AIDS. I helped Harvey, a man from the city, facilitate the lesson on HIV/AIDS. It felt good to help facilitate a lesson in another language. I was pretty proud of myself. Harvey talked to them about preventing HIV/AIDS, what the letters stand for, and what the disease does to your body. After his talk I led a couple of games based on the information he gave them. We played a condom game race similar to musical chairs. The boys passed around condoms. If the music stopped on them they had to break the blown up condom and answer the question inside. We also passed around pictures from our HIV/AIDS visual toolkit, and the boys had to explain why someone could or could not catch HIV from the situation in the picture. After lessons and lunch on Saturday, a women's group from Masia came to perform a skit in which the stress the importance of guarding oneself agains HIV. The boys spent the afternoon playing soccer and making instruments out of recycled materials to use later in the camp. The night wrapped up with Harvey giving his testimony and talking to the boys about his living with HIV and the decisions he should have made differently.

Sunday the boys had lessons on goal setting and leadership. They played soccer again that afternoon, and we ended Sunday night with a bonfire ceremony, smores, and a battle of the bands using the instruments they made on Saturday. They were divided into four groups. Each group had to play their instruments and sing a song they wrote about one of the four lessons they attended. It was so much fun listening to all of them sing their songs and play their homemade instruments. After the battle of the bands the boys were able to stand up (if they wanted to) and talk about what they had learned that weekend. We sat around the fire while those who wanted to stood up and said thank you to all of the leaders and talked about the lessons they would take back to their villages. I have to admit I got emotional. I was so moved by the things they were saying, and was so excited and happy for all that they learned over those few days. I felt like I watched them grow up a little that weekend. For a few minutes I sat there thinking of my role as a Peace Corps Volunteer and being in this small country. There I was sitting around a bonfire at the end of a really fun weekend with thirty boys that would not have happened without the Volunteers in this country. I got to be a part of a change in the lives of those kids. I know that. What a cool feeling. The cooler feeling is the fact that they changed mine and they have no idea.

Before the boys left on Monday, we held a certificate ceremony and played capture the flag with them. After playing capture the flag, the boys huddled up for one last cheer. Before they finished the cheer, we Volunteers attacked them with water balloons. It was awesome.

What a great weekend for those boys, and what a great weekend to be a part of. I am so thankful for all the hard work and energy that went into hosting it. I am so thankful for the boys that came for being so involved. I am most thankful for all that they learned.

The whole group

Boys from the school in Masia (Masia, Malobi, Heikununu)

A single hand cannot lift the boat over the rapid.

HIV/AIDS lesson

Instrument making

WATER BALLOONS!

12/24/2011, Gainesville FL, USA

Like an already powerful river with seemingly endless numbers of converging tributaries, life has been pushing my modest raft forward at an ever increasing rate. I am already finding fewer and fewer opportunities to paddle towards the widening banks to gain prolonged relief from life’s strong currents. I can only imagine that this is a trend for the future! Today, however, marks the first day of one of those rare calms: two precious weeks of vacation following an end-of-the semester preceptorship at a local family practitioner’s office.

Don’t get me wrong! It’s not that these rushing currents are undesired.

In fact, God has blessed me greatly with many wonderful things that have kept me continually learning and growing. In the 6+ months since I left Nauela and Mozambique, I’ve knowingly paddled back out into the river’s center and its push has really picked up. So much has changed and yet almost all of it has been amazing!

Since I last posted on this blog, my first semester in medical school has already come and gone. In that time, I was voted by my classmates to be our Class President and between those responsibilities, school, family, friends, Amanda, and church, I’ve been pressed at times to simply stay afloat. That said, I performed extremely well in all my classes, made new friendships and strengthen old ones, delved into a new church family and made a lasting commitment to the love of my life – that’s right! Amanda and I finally got engaged on December 16th. We don’t know the date of our wedding yet, but we’ll keep you all updated :-)

One of our biggest considerations when choosing our wedding date was a mission trip to Angola that both Amanda and I know God has been calling us to go on. Some of you avid blog followers may remember the birth of this trip back during our time in Mozambique when we became good friends with the Fosters, a missionary couple that has been in Mozambique for over 25 years, whose brother has been a surgeon running a mission hospital in rural Angola for the past 11 years (http://www.ceml.net/). Even before our arrival back in the States we started an internet correspondence with him about the possibility of our visit and it has bloomed into a conversation about simply working out the monetary payments and travel logistics. While my role at the hospital will mainly be surrounding the medical treatment, Amanda is planning on being an auxiliary component for the hospital’s evangelical mission. We know that this will be an incredibly shaping experience for us, centering our marriage on God and towards the service of others.

If you are reading this blog now and feel compelled, we are currently asking all our friends and family for both monetary and prayerful support. The current expected cost of the month long trip for the two of us is $8000 including airfare, visas, and our daily costs of living. Checks can be made out to Michael Tudeen and mailed to 1210 NW 36th Rd. Gainesville, FL 32609 or if you want to receive a tax receipt, please let me know in advance and I can work with an associated mission to get you the tax deduction. If neither of those options work for you, please contact me and I’ll get back to you ASAP to talk with you.

If you have any questions for me or would ever like to catch up, please contact me at 352-278-5194 or drop me a line at mtudeen@gmail.com.

One Love,

Michael Tudeen

P.S. - Below are some pictures post-Mozambique

Amanda with Tricia (my brother's fiance), my mom, and my sister, Mariah.

Amanda and I at Mariah's wedding before the reception.

Amanda and I at her first Gator game! Go Gators!

Catching up on blogs typed over the week-end, so the photos from the previous posts are supposed to go with this below. Bleh, you’re smart, you had figured it out. Domingo, 29 de Enero 2012 This morning we went to “el campo”. José drove the old car, which really reminded of “la jeep”, for about [...]

January 28, 2012 It is Saturday afternoon, I’m isolating myself in my room to write this eventhough I won’t be able to post until the internet is back.  Luz and her friends are making donuts, and the eldest friend literally called her 27 year old to convince him to come and meet the foreigner who [...]

  Despite appearances, we did more than just drink adult beverages on our vacation. But it seems I had the most photos of our pretty, smiling faces on days where we actually did strange things like showering, putting on faces, and styling our hair. Set to one of the house music songs we heard several times while in OZ.

“Find out what you’re afraid of and go live there.” - Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/c/chuck_palahniuk.html#ixzz1lE6SzfTK

Happy Un-Anniversary! I can't believe Josh and I have been married 3 and a half years. I'm just going to keep posting wedding photos every anniversary (and apparently every un-anniversary). Our first year of marriage, we stuck to the paper theme- as first year is paper gifts.We made fun lists about different things- things we like about each other, places we want to visit, etc. We also got

BBC News - Malaria deaths hugely underestimated - Lancet study: "While most deaths were among young children and in Africa, the researchers noted a higher proportion of deaths among older children and adults than previously estimated. In total, 433,000 more deaths occurred among children over five and adults in 2010 than in the WHO estimate."

'via Blog this'

Another year begins…

I went to afternoon church the other week. That was unusual because I haven’t been to afternoon church for at least 6 months. Although the interminable Sunday afternoons can sometimes feel like “the long, dark tea-time of the soul” (thank you Douglas Adams), I really enjoy having that time entirely to myself.

This time, church was a special occasion. It marked the beginning of the school year. The tradition is for students to wear their school uniform, and the pastor says a special blessing for them and reminds them of their duties and whatnot as students in the upcoming year. I didn’t catch most of it because my Samoan isn’t up to it, but I got the gist.

However, I was surprised at how I felt. I went to the afternoon service out of a sense of obligation; I went to the service marking the beginning of the school year because I am a teacher at the school, but when I got there, I felt connected. I am a part of this routine, this ritual. Moreover, I’m ready for it. I know what is coming this year. I don’t even remember this service from last year, except that a bunch of kids were in pink and green, and the older kids were in shades of blue. This year, it mattered. Of course not all the students from my school were there, and not all the students at church were from my school (I don’t teach at the secondary school), but I felt so proud of my students. I want them to begin the new school year with a fresh outlook, a positive attitude, and the belief that they are improving themselves by trying their hardest at school. I also felt horribly sentimental and on the verge of tears at one point because – as many people in my village have already pointed out to me – this is my last year. This is the last year I can hope to pass something on to my students. This is the last year I can hope to make them love reading as much as I do. This is the last time I will lead my students into their new endeavors and ideas at school – or really the first year I will lead them at school because I didn’t know what I was doing last year. And then I’m gone. I won’t be at that church service next year. 26 months was unfathomable, but 10 months…is nothing. This is it.

Brida – Paulo Coelho

Brida is the story of one woman’s search for magic – for meaning in life, to find a way to love others, and how to relate to the world. Set in Ireland (read the introduction – I’m not sure if this is a true story or not), Brida tells us about the spiritual journey of the main character, Brida. She sets out looking for a path to follow. She finds the Tradition of the Sun, which in turn leads her to the Tradition of the Moon, commonly known as witchcraft. As she learns the secrets of the tarot, practices ceremonies and ritual dances, and learns to listen to her soul in an effort to awaken her Gift, Brida struggles with the difficulties of trying to pursue one path in light of vague lessons and a personal desire to remain free to choose any path. The story culminates with her Initiation into the Tradition of the Moon. She learns to combine both male power (the Tradition of the Sun) and female transformation (the Tradition of the Moon) into Wisdom that helps her to understand that we can’t understand the world. Brida is a great story in places, but it didn’t grab me like The Alchemist. Personally, I think the idea of magic and tarot cards and rituals are fun, but I have a hard time accepting them as reality. While I can relate to her story – especially the part about not wanting to limit herself to one path when there are so many other potential paths to take – I never really felt connected to the story the way that I did with The Alchemist. Brida goes through personal struggles, deals with disappointment, and has difficulty making decisions – everything from normal life that people can always relate to – but I was never really grabbed by a sense of pathos. I never got pulled into the story. I can relate to her, but I couldn’t relate to the book. What is the shape of the overall story? What is her primary struggle and why do I want her to overcome her challenges? There was too much emphasis on the magic and the rituals, and not enough information about Brida’s life, so I felt it lacked direction and connection. However, Paulo Coelho is still an amazing author, and it was a fairly quick read, so I would still recommend it if you find it lying around somewhere.

A sea of water was no where to be found. A sea of hands was there instead. No religious teachings were being said but music listeners seems to be receiving religious messages.

At my first ever trance show with Above & Beyond this is what I saw. Eagerly waiting on the floor at Necto in Ann Arbor I couldn't believe I was there to see the three member electronic group from England.

The crowed started off small but grew and grew. An opening act of yet another one of my favorite electronic artists Kenneth Thomas started by about 11pm. By midnight two of the three members of Above & Beyond were above us beginning to move our spirits with their moving beats.

From start to finish I had an amazing and memorable time. I barely stopped dancing once. The music flowed through my veins just as natural as my blood and I couldn't take my eyes of the group whose music nourished me through lonely times in Morocco.

Paavo Siljamäki, the Finnish member of the group was like an entertainer of sorts I had never seen before. It only takes on person to DJ at a time so between switching with his partner Jono Grant he grooved with a spirit that made it clear trance music was his life. With a constant smile and jolly blissful demeanor he helped the music feel like a liquid does of pure happiness.

We never heard a word from either of the men but Paavo showed us messages he would type on his Mac that let us know we were all on the same page. He said things like thank you Ann Arbor and one that I couldn't agree with more, "life is made up of small moments like these."

Being at Above & Beyond's show was like being in a class where you understand all the material. It was finally being able to feel all the feelings I feel for trance in a supercharged room where I was not alone. Above & Beyond blends dynamic and soothing beats with passionate lyrics to achieve a result that is euphoric for me.

If you want to take a listen I'll leave you with my current favorite.

After nearly 6 years on the road, I have been accustomed to always think first, if I need something and or how will I transport it on my next move. Naturally, I do not buy many things, nor do I even have any idea of what stocking a flat or arraigning a house with things is like. Along my journeys living from a suitcase or two with my couple of shoes, jackets, and changes of clothes, I have missed the things that I saw others enjoying and those things I used to enjoy using when I lived at a home.

I have bought a bike every year about, yet usually resell them or have them stolen. The overall cost was minuscule on my transportation costs saved and free gym membership fee with 3D changing views and special effects etc. Still, I dream of buying a nice mountain bike or a trekking bike to travel throughout the USA or even around the world with a little boating across the oceans. Do you have any recommendations for a nice mountain bike or a trekking bike? I will buy one in the near future and have found some great reads on trekking across the US, yet most of the best bikes are personally built. I need to learn much about the buying of things and becoming an expert on parts, brands, and building my own bike.

I have practiced many sports, yet I try to limit them to those that require little to no equipment or gear, as I am always moving and not willing to carry things. Thus, I stick to a bike, capoeira, soccer and basketball (only a ball), and swimming/running. I used to want to snowboard, yet find the cold snow nothing like the alive ocean. It is fun flying down powder and having a spill into white beard decorations of snow. Still, the ocean is alive, while the mountain is in a frozen state as you plummet downwards to the warm hut and hot drinks/girls. My desire is to surf and be in the ocean, yet I have only a couple of weeks experience and no gear. Still, I would love to suit up to catch some waves on the weekend, or even use my dive master experience to enter the realm below the ocean's surface. Perhaps, I can even rekindle my golf game or improve my tennis game, which both require memberships in expensive clubs or a partner with a similar skill level.

I have often marveled at people's home theaters, yet never invested in one or thought of all that goes into one. Now I am interested in buying a flat screen TV or projector with a white wall with a great sound system. I only would watch movies or sports on it, as I think I have only watched a year+ of TV, which bores me utterly now. Still, it would be fun to be able to invite people over and have a nice place to relax, instead of having to go to the expensive not so interesting movies at the theater or the pub with expensive drinks and not just your friends.

I have the peace corps disease, as I call it, which means that I start getting angry at everyone shopping wastefully for society and themselves after about an hour of being bombarded with sales blah. I used to make it to 3 hours, yet now I just want to yell at all those selfish people worried about wearing their blah blah flashy stuff. Still, I am tired of wearing the same things from years back and updating my wardrobe with some new additions, which I can put into a closet, not only a suitcase. It is time to buy good quality for a decent price, as people listen to the guy with brand name clothes over that guy without studies prove.

I used to enjoy music, yet currently I devote no time to music, minus the occasional karaoke or harmonica. Still, I used to pass by the violin store on my way to the bank in Vienna, yet the prices kept me from buying one of the most beautiful instruments in the world. Once I feel stable in life, I will try to regain some of those youthful skills on the violin. While I will return to the classics, I always wanted to play gigs, the fiddle, and more modern pieces, which is how I will rekindle my passion for the violin or fiddle.

Strangely I always wanted to have a horse to ride, yet never was able to buy one, have one or even make a friend, who had one to ride for fun. Eventually, I will buy a horse to ride into the wilderness, forests, mountains to explore and discover the beauties of nature at the speed of a trot or gallop, instead of walking or strolling along paths. I really enjoyed exploring with my dog as a youth, yet find the exhilaration of moving as one with a horse over the earth much more invigorating. Naturally, I would enjoy having a dog run alongside to help spook the animals along the way, yet the horse is the dream, the dog the side kick. Now to obtain the means to care for a horse or just keep dreaming.

I have had many good memories of shooting the longbow or even a homemade short bow, yet as I grew older the regulations required a license and a professional bow. I humorously learned to shoot on the left side of the notch, which made my switch to compound bows slightly more complicated, so that my near perfect aim from 25ft turned to the occasional bulls eye or even no points. I never had more than a 30 kilo bow or 30 something, so as I started shooting deer, birds, and bunnies, only the latter were affected. Thus, I lost interest with my inability to make the switch from play to real hunting with compound bows, expensive razor sharp arrows, and the patience needed to nail the buck. I think the stalking and peace and quiet required for bow hunting would be something very enjoyable. Then my rides or hikes would give a reward with a guaranteed story and occasionally something good to eat. This used to be one of my most enjoyable hobbies, yet time and the lack of weapons have limited my ability to return to the hunt. Soon I will be able to rekindle my hobby with the things a stationary and consumerism based lifestyle afford.

I have an itching to buy many things, yet I have a sleeping bag, hiking boots (from 2000), and plenty of clothing, yet I lack a real tent and camping equipment. I will have to invest in some of the best or learn about the positives and negatives of each product, as I slowly start to collect and own tools and equipment.

Currently, I still have an outdated windows dell, which is running out of ram, so that I can hardly store documents on it, as all my music, movies, most of my documents, and pictures are on my external hard drive. Thus, I want to buy one of the mini computers to increase the speed of my computer, ease of transport, and stay up to date on the tech trends. As I leave Japan and their flip phones and have Honduras's light and tiny semi waterproof phone, I am itching to enter the smart phone world. My zune, not a bad mp3 player with radio functions, weighs too much, can't store music not stored on my computer, which has no space to store music. Thus, I can make the switch directly to an iphone or android to have a mp3 player, mini camera, email checking and webpage checking device and something resembling a phone. I just hope that I can understand it and be able to use it without paying an arm and a leg to become a modern technologically advanced individual.

please feel free to recommend and or highlight your favorite products, so I can buy a good one to last, as I am tired of living out of a suitcase and want to enjoy things. I hate shopping for things I do not need, like cute shoes or another pair of jeans. However, I find that these products will allow me to live my passions, hobbies and be a fuller person, not bored with merely the internet to entertain me. The internet and technology allows one all the possibilities to learn, see and do, yet we spend way too much time doing just that through technology, instead of doing it first hand without a screen.

I would love comments, recommendations and anything else you think I should own, which you could not live without. I have spent my life living without, so I could remember what I really enjoyed having or find worthwhile investing in to live fuller. Now I know, yet must find the best product and return to consuming things, owning, instead of traveling and living from a suitcase and everything I can carry on my back.

I looked up and saw a chameleon. Not wanting him to be knocked out of the tree, I decided not to tell a single soul.

I have an excess of photos of guinea fowl and dogs. I could just keep them to myself. Instead, I''ll have them randomly appear in unrelated posts for at least a few weeks.

I wrote this a week ago: Tonight I will load all of my belongings into a blue and white Lada taxi that was built in Yugoslavia and imported to Ethiopia during the cold war. The taxi will take my bags … Continue reading →

If I knew that you could bribe kids to read by taking them running I would have started doing that approxiametly one year ago when I got here. Today was our first read and run meeting. Every Thursday we will read for 30 minutes and then go on a run. Super extra awesome bonus is that we pass around my ipod as we run. I rather hastily also said that for the rest of the time I am here, whoever comes to read and run the most will win my ipod. Good thing I just have a refurbished ipod nano off of ebay.

I haven't posted any pictures in a long time, so here are some!

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn

Before arriving, the romantic idea of Peace Corps was one of dueling mosquitoes and hippos in African face paint, one of a understanding the world a bit better via a dose of minimalism and even mild suffering. Dancing with the crianças, catching dinner with a net and wooden spear, being the only man in the province with a college
education. SHARING that education.

And Peace Corps is all these things, but since arriving, I’ve seen that the experience is also so very much about the other volunteers, perhaps the only other people on earth that can fully understand and sympathize with the absurd situations we find ourselves in. It’s nearly impossible for us not to bond and seek comfort from each other. And in the wake of the accident, it looks like two of my favorites, Bitsy and Jill, will be returning to the US early.

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BITSY and JILL! Wreck aside, I just can't remember ever being unhappy when I was with you girls. Jill, I’ll grant you one uncomfortable moment, but let’s do ourselves both the favor of not labeling it bad. Yall are ridiculous and wonderful and do a damn good job of smiling. Though I know that seems like a stretch right now…

FORGIVE ME terribly, gals, if I made this sounds like a farewell. I plan on feeding you so much pro-PC propaganda that you won’t be able to imagine life outside of your site. Alas, whether or not it works, we’ve got future plans.

CALIFORNIA: Bitsy, you better take me out for $45 Orange County shots to compliment the 20 met teachers shots, some filthy Cali Mexican food (VIVA SOUTH CAROLINA!!!), and prepare for about a month of hitchhiking
along Cali’s beaches. I’d even do it in my jeans. Ketchup sandwiches (perhaps I’ll even bring back some xima) with God-blessed Kosher dills and all the other foods we love in common. Oh wait, eh pah. I’ll show you a proper dog house and you can show me your grill area, pool, hot tub, non-yard. Chase some cock-a-mice. You can teach me to belch and be manly and I’ll teach you to stop being so dang butch. I’ll tell you about how I broke my nose (the anticipation must be killing you) and LAWD KNOWS I’ll bring along my football so we can re-up the Thanksgiving day game at Mary’s bar that was cancelled due to laughter. We should probably chase tequila with Gato Preto with termites and then dance to some base-heavy rap music and charming boy band jams. Dance like its freaking Halloween, or so I’m told. Finally compose that duet. Watch some rat midget men jump out on unsuspecting victims on Youtube. More importantly, view your old profile pics. Twice. Maybe peek in some mosques, maybe head south with Elena for a discount sex change. We’ll wreak havoc on the local bars; me on the mangria, you on the chairs. Leave your cursed machete at home. We’ll make forts on concrete, which my Southern charm will soften only for myself and Agnes, and smuggle Joao and Dylan into the
background to comment on all sorts of nonsense we didn’t think they were conscious to hear. Maybe we can make that stupid _______ cricket noise again for Joao. Oh wait, no, it’s impossible. You WILL tell me
what happened with that cowboy hat. I’ll probably have you wear one for the whole trip too. Leave Faithfully and Total Eclipse of the Heart on repeat. We’ll finally find a water tower to climb, actually climb it, and probably do some body shots on top. Hahahaha, you fool. So gross you did it four times. If you’re still conscious afterward, I’ll Sharpie some lovely images on your face and only by miracle of the fluffy bunny will they erase themselves before you awake. And when you finally become encumbered by how cool I am, you can challenge
me to a fast again and get yo ass kicked because I’ll be practicing not eating for the next two years. As a celebration of victory and exercise of dominance, I’ll toss you into the crocodile infested waters of California, BUT only after A) properly testing the water for shisto and B) sequestering a crocodile-free boat-cage. This will be California 2014, and I swear we won’t shower a single time the whole trip.

NOVA YORK: Jill, OBVI you’re going to take me to my first Bills game. Thank God I’m finally an NFL fan, though I’ll tell you Joao is lobbying for my Sainthood. You should probably lose your shades and then get picked up by the lucky man who picks them up. And we’re still going to talk shit about those filthy Patriots fans even if it’s not in Swahili. Tip that shot ski, wear all the red and blue I can accumulate in this country. I should probably get a matching buffalo tattoo and should probably name it Jill. And as long as it’s not on my chest, back, or cheeks, it’ll grow a little fur. [Gross] But I’ll still avoid shaving and musk up because you’re the only person on earth that appreciates either. Just to be inappropriate, I may bear a thigh. Probably call up Ramiro to hold a hub day just so we can keep each other entertained. (As if watching Ramiro wasn’t entertaining enough?!?!) Publicly brand your other shoulder with my PEN15 foundation emblem. You can adopt me into your family after I charmingly greet your father (I swear) and at long last I’ll have a slew of my own cousins. Buy some cheap plastic bottles of booze and then construct shoes out of them as Ledito taught us. GOLD! Finally
watch Star Wars (you haven’t seen it yet, have you???) and let you tell me all your best stories again, like I never heard them in the first place. Here lie the benefits of my memory. Brew up some bangin brownies and eat way too many. List creative Larium puns to exchange EVERY Friday to come. Celebrate the existence of the sky and stars and mooooon! I’ll bring my brothers along so you can steal their hearts like you did with lil Moses. We’ll go on this sought-after, rambunctious canoe trip and finally break out that cursed Frisbee at night time. Rally a bundle of altruistic youngsters into a scavenger hunt and crack down on the hoodlums trying to cabular. We’ll probably end up participating in the hunt ourselves just because we’re too dang excited no to. Perhaps hike a mountain, negar a free ride on the trek back, then suffer sun poisoning exhaustion (and diarrhea … unrelated?) for the next week. And when it’s all said and done, we’ll probably make each other cards with drawings and/or pictures and/or Etty quotes to express that we do indeed think that the recipient is among the
greatest people to live. And finally, avoid hugging each other all night to save the best for last. This will be Buffalo 2014 and, just because I’m filthy, you shouldn’t expect me to shower on this adventure either.

YALL COME BACK NOW!!! But in case you don’t, prepare yourselves for a mad 2014.

ALL MY LOVE!!!

Sorry about that title. I couldn't think of anything better.

Uploading this picture would have taken 10 minutes in Senegal. In America: 0.003 seconds.For those of you who haven't heard the news yet, Rachael and I are back in Kansas. I discovered an abnormality in my right testicle while in village shortly after New Years. I went into the med office right after WAIST to get examined by one of the PCMOs, who immediately sent me off to have an Ultrasound of the area. They discovered that I had a tumor, and within two days I was medevaced back to the US. Poor Rachael had to travel all the way back to Bakel to pack up our things before she could follow me. Luckily she was fortunate enough to have a lot of help from some fellow volunteers. Rachael was forced to ET, while I'm technically on medical leave for my first 45 days back in Kansas, after which I will be medically separated from service. However, before leaving we spoke with the country director and he assured us that it would only be a matter of obtaining medical clearance and we would be able to come back and finish our service.

Once in America, I was send to a Urologist who concurred with the Peace Corps findings and scheduled me for surgery the next day. So, I had my right testicle removed. It was a day of several new experiences: first IV, first time being put under, first time having my right testicle removed, ect. A few days later, while awaiting the results of the tumor biopsy, I had a CT scan done to see if the tumor had spread anywhere else in my body. Today we got the answers. My tumor was indeed malignant, and has spread to my lymph nodes. This means that I'm going to need chemotherapy, however the Urologist assured me again and again that the kind of tumor I have is very susceptible to chemo so there's really nothing major to worry about. The only question is if/when we'll be able to continue our service in the Peace Corps.

Right now the rest of our stage is in Thies for their In Service Training. We Skyped with a bunch of them yesterday, and it was good to see everyone. I just wanted to say that we miss you all very much, and that the joys of being in America seem less special, knowing that you all are not enjoying them too. I also want to thank everyone who's been so helpful and supportive to us over these last few weeks. I'm so lucky that this happened to me during a time in my life when I have such an amazing support network to draw strength from.

I would also like to take a moment to give a special, pain med induced shout-out to my amazing wife Rachael. She's had to deal with a lot of crap from me over the last few years, but nothing as stressful as this; and I just wanted to say how lucky I am to have her and how special she is to me. She's handling all this as well as anyone can be expected to and I'm really proud of her.

I'll try to keep everyone updated as we learn more, and hopefully I'll kick this cancer stuff sooner rather than later.

Inchallah!

my story of peace corps / bulgaria, kari strange, 2009-2012

This is my attempt to show, in video and photographs and dance and song, the magic of my Peace Corps service from 2009 to 2012. It is my first time using iMovie, so please forgive any mistakes in the formatting. Also, please note that the contents of this video are mine and do not reflect the US government or the Peace Corps. Thank you and I hope you enjoy! From: MsStrangeK Views: 7 0 ratings Time: 06:22 More in Nonprofits & Activism