Expat Nomad

home owner

2010-11-21T20:20:00.004-07:00

So I guess the time has come to officially change the profile here on ExpatNomad.com, time to take out the references to being a wandering fool and searching for the best burrito. It turns out that I have found my home and it is in New Mexico. And based on some facts that are observable in my life, it appears as though the nomad is no more.

Since starting my job at the Bosque School, I have found myself increasingly more and more happy. I found a school that I love where the kids are great, the community is small and interactive, and my superiors trust me to be a good teacher and don't check up on me in the slightest (it doesn't hurt that my classroom is on the outermost edge of school either). I am coaching volleyball and working with the girls makes me happy. The teachers with whom I work with are a good bunch and that makes me happy. The campus is beautiful and it makes me happy. What else to say, my career is work but it ... makes me happy!

My personal life has also made a change for the better. Married life is a challenge and while my wife does have her fair share of difficult moments, she is a part of my life that brings joy to me. She will be the mother of our children someday and while I do occasionally worry about what she will teach them (she has some unusual perspectives on things), I know she will be a great mother and do her best when it comes to raising our children. And before people get all caught up in that last sentence thinking that I won't be around to help out, y'all know better than that and know that I'll be around as much as possible as my child(ren) grow up. But kids are a future thing and we have to conceive one first and then I'll worry about how to raise them.

One item in my life that is recently changed is the fact that I am now, for the first time, a home owner. The getting married thing was grown-up but a lot of people still get married too young. Home ownership, that's something truly "responsible" and it signifies quite a bit for me. First off, no more wandering. Ya just can't walk away from a mortgage (unlike the last people who lived in this house) and travel the world. For the last 35 years or so of my life, I have been a nomad and seeing the parts of our globe that others may miss. I am extremely grateful for those experiences and wouldn't trade them for anything. But now I have the responsibility of a mortgage and after we have a child, all of the other bills are set on my shoulders. Nothing like putting the weight of reality on me but I think I'm finally at a point in my life where I'm ready for that challenge. Perhaps the wanderlust of the last 3 1/2 decades has led me to here and now my brain is ready to accept the responsibility that my peers have endured for quite some time. Ahh, always the late bloomer I guess.

Our home is awesome although moving in is going to take some time. The majority of our stuff is in the house, we just have to sort it all out now. The space for children is available and the process of starting a family has begun (just waitin' on some fertilized eggs to go!). The last year has been chock full o' changes but that's just fine with me. Here's to the next 40 years being as good as the first 40 were!

wonderfully dreary

2010-07-26T09:29:00.002-07:00

One of the things that I love about living in New Mexico is the weather. Most days the sun is shining and the humidity is low, making most days just very tolerable. Sure there are some hot ones (close to 100 F), cold ones (below freezing), windy ones (gusts over 50 mph), but rarely do we get the kind of day that we had yesterday and again today. Overcast and rainy - and I'm appreciating every minute of it.

I am sitting here looking out at what I can see of the Sandia Mountains and the sky is painted a lovely shade of gray. The clouds are covering most of the mountains and the rain is soaking our desert ground with much needed precipitation. It is on days like this that I am reminded of my years of living in Ohio when the rain was a common occurrence and days like this were far too frequent for my liking - the years in Holland were even worse. But it is with a fondness in my head that I sit and watch the raindrops fall as they bring back some memories of the greenness of Ohio and the humidity I left behind.

During my years of college, I had many jobs that I had to pay my tuition, room & board, and pizza expenses. One of those jobs was working as a laborer putting up tents during the summers while living in Akron. For three years I put up and broke down tents of all sizes. From our small 10x10 to the massive 80x440, I worked out in the elements of NE Ohio summers. Some mornings were fabulous - cool and brisk, crystal blue sky overhead; staying beautiful all day. Others started off hot and muggy, the water hanging in the air and smothering you like a thick cloud of smoke and conditions usually got worse as the day went on. Some days sunblock was only a charade of an attempt to beat back the searing sun.

Then there were mornings like today - the sky covered with a low layer of gray linoleum clouds that shrouded the sun, rain falling from above in random patterns of intensity. A rain jacket worked for days with the intermittent drops, full suits for those of constant downpour. Respite from the rain only came during lunch or in the truck between installations.

I was the 20' King, meaning I was in charge of putting up tents that were 20' on one side. The most common tent was a 20x30, some 20x20/40s thrown in for variety. Occasionally a 30x30 would sneak into the mix but mostly 20' stuff. I was the driver and I brought along another man to help with the installations. One person could put the tent up solo but driving stakes was much easier with two guys on "The Whacker"; a lawnmower engine welded to the top of a stake driver, it was an unwieldy device. The high center of gravity meant you and your partner needed to be on the same page but communication was difficult when you have an engine running next to your ear and the loud pinging of the metal driver as it crushed the rebar stake into the ground just below that. When it would rain, the water would flash to steam on the top of "The Whacker" as the engine heated up. Rainy days always seem to make the cacophony less obtrusive for whatever reason.

While I reflect on those days from college and the interesting summers I worked, I enjoy my summers much more now. It is amazing what a masters degree will do for a teacher's break from school.

tied the knot

2010-07-08T08:31:00.002-07:00

Now that the event is done and over with, I can take a moment to reflect on the day of the wedding and everything that transpired before it. While I truly enjoyed the day and all that happened, some tense moments were a part of the final stages; what wedding would be complete without them?

With two exceptions, one major and one minor, the wedding was perfect. Our friends and family showed up casual (as we asked) and ready to enjoy the occasion. Shorts and flip-flops, sundresses and golf shirts, khakis and sandals, our guests were definitely comfortable. Margaritas and beer in hand, our wedding and the subsequent party were just that - a party. Our glitches for the event were the screwing up of reservations (every person at the wedding got two double beds in their room, including us - but that was quickly fixed) and having an overpriced keg of pretty gross beer (Bud Light is bad to begin with but this tasted exceedingly bad). Aside from those two bumps in the road, our wedding was perfect in my eyes and I couldn't be anymore content than I am. I have a wonderful wife and the prospect of an amazing future with her. Life is good.

Our wedding itself isn't what I am truly happy about, it is the next 40+ years that has me really thinking. I've always been one to live in the present and enjoy all that life has to offer at the moment. Living overseas helped me to develop that outlook and I still do it everyday. I try my best to not focus on what could be but rather what I have and how amazing it is. But I can't helping thinking of the future and all the wonderful experiences there are to come. A home of our own (we rent currently) is something we are working towards and should be able to put a down-payment soon. We are off the pill and on our way to starting a family - something that I've wanted for years. Two examples of what we hope is to come and while today is a great day, tomorrow seems like it has so much more to hold. I often try to not look to far into the future but my optimism for it is overwhelming and as the Pointer Sisters say, "I'm so excited that I just can't hide it."

getting close

2010-05-10T11:29:00.002-07:00

So a lot of things are coming to an end here shortly and while some of it is familiar, other aspects are a bit on the unknown side. It got me to thinking about what changes my life is about to undergo and how that will affect me. In the next 60 days, I'm set up for quite a bit of "newness" and I feel like I'm ready for it. Good thing I've been in the process of getting myself ready for change in the last few decades of my life!

First up, my first year here at school will come to an end in about 2 weeks. I've been fortunate enough to land a job at a super school and while I do love my summer vacations, I am not eager for the year to be over. There have been plenty of years where I have counted down the days with my students in anticipation of the summer break but this year is definitely not one of them. I love my job and find myself teaching in what appears to be the perfect school for me. My kids are amazing and the people whom I work with are also pretty darn good as well. I think I've struck it rich here and I'm not so anxious to end the year. That's what happens when you like your job, right?

Shortly after school gets out, I embark on a venture that has been a long time in the making - marriage. I spent the last 20+ years being single and after years and years of searching, I've found a woman who I want to share my life with. While those years of being a bachelor had some advantages, I am looking forward to the prospect of starting something new. The last few decades of being single have been nice but the time to end that part of my life is almost over. I know there will be ups and downs in this long-term arrangement but I am ready to start this chapter in my life.

The future wife and I have also been looking at houses here in ABQ. I've never owned a house before so the prospect of not renting sounds like a great one to me. I can knock out walls, plant a garden, paint whatever color I like - all without having to ask permission. It also doesn't escape me that we will be responsible for all the repair and upgrade costs that go into home ownership but I want to take it on. The days of making payments for a place I can't build up equity in are almost over! Soon after the wedding we hope to get our first house and while it is a bit scary, I'm ready for the challenges it will bring.

As the summer winds down and school gets back into session, another landmark event will occur. The end of my 30's is not something I was truly looking forward to but hitting 40 doesn't seem like such a bad thing. I'm in decent physical shape, I'm active and mentally sound, and I've got a good medical system to support me. While many think that 40 was the beginning of the end and it is all downhill from that age, I disagree and think my 40's will be a great decade for me. I'll post in another 10 years and let you know how the reflection of that works out. ;-)

Last and certainly not least, I expect that my days of being without a child are just about over. The future wife and I have discussed the plans to start working on a family soon after our marriage and with a bit of luck, the birthday will come shortly before our announcement of starting a family (and hopefully the gap between the two will be very short!). I have known for years that I've wanted to be a father and now the prospect of being one has me excited. The stories of the first few years do have me a bit worried but if everyone else can survive it, I think I'll manage as well. Send me happy thoughts though, I'm sure I'll need it.

After all of that, I believe a cycle will begin again and the school year will start over. Volleyball will get into swing, the kids will grumble as they make their way back to school, and the temps will start to drop as summer wanes and fall wanders into New Mexico. But what a summer it should be!

if you plan it, they will provide funding

2010-03-19T11:14:00.002-07:00

So I go off and say that I'm going to add more posts to the blog this year and then I disappear for almost 2 months. Way to follow through, right? Trust me, there has been enough for me to write about recently, I just haven't done it. My wedding is coming up in the next few months and I could be posting about that, but I haven't. The kids at school are amazing and I could be putting those interactions down, but I haven't. There have been plenty of times when I thought to myself about writing down what has been going on and then something distracts me from doing it. A friend of mine said that I might have a certain syndrome called ADOS - Attention Deficit 'Oh Shiny' - and I'm inclined to believe it. Technology does such a good job of distracting me...

Most recently I took a trip to Crystal River, FL with a group of 6 boys and 9 girls from my school. Like another school I've worked at, this school takes trips to various locations and approaches education from a different perspective. Some schools call it a Week without Walls, we just call it Winterim. The focus of our group was to travel to Florida and learn something about conservation of the environment while swimming with manatees. (It's a rough life, I gotta tell ya!)

The details of the trip are too vast to go into with just a single post but the entire experience made me feel very lucky for what I get to do with my life. I am a teacher and being around young adults can be enriching in so many ways. They bring so much to my life that it is hard to quantify just what it does for my soul. Teachers often say that the job pays more than just a salary and that definitely is the case. I am fortunate in that my profession brings me joy on almost a daily basis and my wrinkles from smiling have only increased since I started working at this school. Swimming with manatees was a very cool thing to do, something that I've not experienced before and it was amazing to be able to do so. But the jewel in the crown for me was not being able to scratch the back of a 800 lb. mammal but the interactions I had with the 15 students that I shared the experience with. Just a few of the moments that I have stuck in my mind include:

A group of 4 playful girls who ransacked the boys' bedroom and put chocolate syrup on the toilet seat in the boys' bathroom - all with teacher (mine) permission, of course.

Watching a small group of kids fish in the Crystal River. Kids who had never fished before and then seeing what they caught that day - two baby crabs and a horde of mosquito bites.

Helping various groups make meals for the days we were there. Some meals were fabulous while others were merely filling (none were bad, just some were better than others). Grilling steaks and burgers, baking chocolate chip cookies, frying up eggs and bacon, spraying whipped cream on to ice cream sundaes.

Finding them passed out from exhaustion in various positions throughout the house. A personal favorite is a 16 year-old boy who was curled up in the fetal position with a spoon of chocolate chip cookie dough in his hand. Priceless...

Jumping into a non-heated swimming pool and hearing the expletive as soon as his head rose above the water. I guess he didn't think of what 64 F (17 C) water would feel like on the skin.

Our last night before returning to ABQ, seeing the girls wrestle the boys and not backing down. Rug burns be damned, those kids had some fun. And I laughed the whole time it was happening.

I am reminded of the final scene from A Field of Dreams when James Earl Jones' character talks about why not to sell the property and keep the field. He says that people will visit and "the memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces." That's how I feel about dealing with students sometimes, they leave me with indelible memories that I will keep for a lifetime.

personalized america

2010-01-19T16:09:00.002-07:00

In the time that I've been back in the States, I've noticed something that I didn't before I left - the desire to make everything a one-of-a-kind. No longer are Americans satisfied with having something, we've now found a way to take something and change it the moment it is out of the box.

I was gifted a car about a year ago, a 2000 Subaru Forester (thanks sis!) and as I drive it around, I notice other cars of the same year, model, and color. I feel a sense of kinship with those drivers, we all have the same car. We are a part of a small group and I often will wave at the other driver to acknowledge our bond. Aside from the fact that there are a bunch of Subarus on the road around here, our group has managed to hold on to our cars for a decade and not do much, if anything, to them. But as I scan around traffic looking for my brethren, I notice that there is another group of people on the road who have cars that look nothing like mine - or anyone else's for that matter.

As I started to think about it, cars are not the only things that are customized in this country. Cell phones have covers in a myriad of different designs, laptops mirror them with colors and/or stickers to show the owner's personality. Sports jerseys are adorned with a person's name, not the player, on the back. Cars have decals on the back window to identify the chronological order of the family members or children's names and the sport they love the most. Heck, even key chains and water bottles are venues for a person to give a "shout-out" as to who they are. For every purchase that Americans make, we probably spend even more money on the aspect of making it personalized.

This idea makes me wonder - why do we all have to show just how unique we are? Is there some general feeling of inadequacy in our country that makes people want to prove just how special each one of us is? Do we need everyone to see just how great we are with our accessories? Is that the true meaning of it all? Is it a national Napoleonic complex? With the fact that America's global influence is waning, is this attributing to our people wanting to make their own identity? Being American not enough? Or is there something else?

Growing up in "Brand America", I was constantly barraged with images from Timberland, Nike, Jordache, Calvin Klein, Revlon, etc., about how their product would make me more beautiful, popular, and athletic. But in this day, the corporate logo is starting to take a different look. A person can order a specific type of shirt with a specific logo and tell the brand what s/he wants to wear. The fashion is coming to us from a certain company but we still have the say on what the final product will look like. Perhaps this isn't a Napoleonic complex but rather a realization by industry that customer service means giving the customer exactly what they want. Maybe manufacturers have deduced that a person will buy their product if they just let the customer say what they desire it to be. Have we reached the point where the substance of making a personal statement is bigger than the prestige of owning a name? Are the days of kids bugging their parents for status jeans gone and the days of personalized jeans here? Could the idea of buying a brand for the brand name numbered? One thing is for sure, we seem to be able to afford it. Oh wait, we can't. That would be a reason for last year's financial crisis...

Generation X grew up in "Brand America" and many of us are still label oriented. I know Pipes will buy purses from Coach on them just because they say that they are from Coach. There's nothing wrong with that (aside from the fact that I can't understand paying that much for a purse) but I see that my students do not operate on the same wavelength. Coach purses are valued to some but not most. Generation Me would rather make their statement in another way and the personalization of their gear seems to be more important than who makes it. Part of me applauds that idea - that substance is more sought after than prestige. But part of me is also concerned that this trend could mean a fractured community - if the things that bonded my generation together are not present for this generation, what will bring them together? Is this the beginnings of the fracturing of America? While I doubt it, I still wonder what our new customization fetish will yield in our future.

not bad, not great

2010-01-10T09:00:00.003-07:00

As readers to this blog will note, 2009 was a bad year for posts. Looking back, there are very few things that I wrote about and I believe that it came from a general lack of desire to write anything down. 2009 wasn't a great year (aside from a few points) and I think I didn't want to dwell on some of the uncertainties of the year, hence why there were very few posts. But now that 2010 is here and things are looking better, I've made a verbal commitment to myself to put some more posts up this year. My friends have told me that they like my writing style (I still don't see why) but I do enjoy writing things down and letting those who do venture here read some of the thoughts that go on inside my head.

2009 had some highlights and going in chronological order seems like the best thing to do. First off, my future wife and I met in 2008 so that doesn't count as a lack of good things in 2009. Although our relationship was relatively new (we started dating around Thanksgiving 2008) at the onset of 2009, it doesn't count as a 2009 item. Before I lose you, my beloved reader, I'll move on.

January - ran a half marathon in January in Austin, TX. I must admit, I'm glad I signed up for it and even happier that I completed the distance. It wasn't as difficult as you might think.

February - got a hand-me-down Subaru from my sister, now nicknamed the Lesbaru. Great car and I look forward to passing it on to my kids when the first one turns 16.

March - Pipes' birthday (she was out of town when it happened). I also decide to move in with Piper and make a serious go at our relationship.

April - First job interview for a teaching position here in ABQ. Nothing became of the interview but at least I got the ball rolling.

May - Two more interviews with local schools, one for a science position and one for a social studies position. What to say, I guess that AA degree I got in Social Sciences got me something!

June - Got a second and third interview with an independent school here in ABQ, later that would turn into a full-time science position (Physics and Chemistry) at a wonderful place called the Bosque School. I also worked summer school for little kids at Sandia Prep as well as continuing at REI. Part-time employment is good but I was so happy to get the full-time position at Bosque and return to the classroom.

July - Even though my hours waned significantly at REI, I am not worried. I know that I can survive until the first paycheck at Bosque. Most of July I'm just passing time and looking forward to being back in the classroom to do what I am best at - teaching.

August - I quit REI and start work at Bosque. Along with regular classroom duties, I start working with the volleyball program as an assistant JV coach (volunteer). I had coached before but I knew that it was going to be different in the US. Months later, I truly understood that idea. No regrets though, I love coaching and I love being out there with my girls.

September - Piper begins to wonder where her boyfriend is as I spend a LOT of time on the road with my girls. She understands though and is happy that I am happy. It takes a lot of work but I never complain as doing something you love never seems like work. My life is hectic but the school is turning out to be my Panacea, I love my job.

October - While life is good and I'm am extremely content with my job, I decide to take my personal life to heart and make some changes. Piper is out as my girlfriend and in as my fiancee. I ask her to marry me one Friday night after ABQ's International Balloon Fiesta and she says yes. I am excited to be engaged to this woman and excited to move on to the next part of our relationship. Our wedding date is decided and while she doesn't have a ring that night, I would take care of that small detail at a later time. I feel like a logo on a t-shirt, life is good.

November - The volleyball season comes to a disappointing end but I am proud of our program and what we accomplished. The Varsity girls (whom I helped as an assistant as well) go farther than they ever have before in the playoffs, making it to the top 8. While they are crushed with their loss to Rehoboth, I am happy for their success. The conclusion of the season means Piper gets to see me again and I am glad for the downtime. As much as I love coaching, it does take its toll and I'm grateful the season is past. Of course, I can't wait until next season starts but I'm good with anticipation.

December - My hockey team reaches the championship game and you can read the previous post if you want more details on that. I travel to Tulsa to be introduced to my future in-laws and all goes well. The year is concluded with a New Year's Eve pajama party at our house and we end 2009 in subdued but fun fashion.

With 2010 now here, I'm fulfilling my verbal commitment to myself and posting something to begin the year. My goal is to post at least once a week, so feel free to check back when you can to take a gander at my latest thoughts. Next up, what I plan to do in 2010.

championship game

2009-12-17T21:18:00.000-07:00

One of the things that I've been up to since moving to ABQ has been playing hockey. Friends will recognize that this sport has been something I've enjoyed for over a decade (not including living in places where there is no ice - such as Peru) and it brings me a lot of joy to be out on the ice. I am a goaltender and everyone says that goalies are a little strange for putting on the pads and standing in front of slapshots but there is nothing like it, at least in my mind. The challenge of stopping the opposition is what fires me up and the desire to do my best is what keeps me coming back season after season.

Since coming to ABQ, I've been playing in a rec league called NM Hockey. Its a bunch of guys and gals who get together to play some hockey and drink a beer afterwards. I was fortunate enough to play this previous season with some strong players and we made it to the championship game. Although the stakes are relatively low (it is a beer league in Albuquerque), I still got rather keyed up for the game, its not every day that you get to play for a championship and I wanted to lead my team to hoisting the cup in victory.

Before the game, I was a bit jumbled up. My stomach was queezy and I made several trips to the bathroom before I left the house. Once at the rink, I did my best to calm my nerves, making jokes and playful banter in the locker room with my teammates. It took until we were all dressed for us to admit that each and everyone of us felt the same, each with our own set of symptoms and each eager to do our best in the game. As we walked out of the locker room and filed on to the ice, each of us noted something a bit different about the arena - the fans in the stands. Eleven players on each team and each person probably brought 5 people to cheer them on. With over a hundred people watching, it was the biggest crowd I'd ever experience (aside from performing with the 110) and I was excited to give them a good show.

The game started out a bit less than spectacular. It seems as though the nerves affected our team in different ways and quickly we fell behind. Three minutes in, a goal on us; a few minutes later, the second. We got our heads about us but still managed to fall behind 3-0 in just the first period. I didn't want to lose like we did previously to this team (11-0, it was a nightmare) and I knew my team was better than this. Being as positive as I could be, I skated over to the bench during the intermission and calmly reminded my team that we had overcome deficits like this before and we could do that again. Put some traffic in front of the other goaltender and just keep playing hard.

The second period went a bit better. We got a goal back, making it 3-1 and flushing our nerves out. Second intermission, same pep talk. If nothing else, I was satisfied that it wasn't a shutout for the other goalie, now we just needed to step up and make the comeback. I knew we could, execution just needed to happen.

We come out strong in the 3rd and put a goal up on the board quickly, its now 3-2. I'm feeling confident and making saves, just hoping that my teammates will find a way to put in the equalizer and take the lead. I know I can post a shutout for the rest of the period, I can just feel it; its up to the offense now.

Our captain takes a time out with three minutes left in the game and we come up with a strategy. Shoot like crazy and I'll come off the ice with 90 seconds to go, giving us an extra attacker. Two minutes to go and we go on the man-advantage, a penalty against the other team. A few moments later, a mini-breakaway over the other goalie's shoulder ties it up. Now just to see who gets the game/championship winner...

Overtime works like this - five minutes of 4 vs. 4 and if it is still tied after that, a shootout. After scoring the tying goal and going to overtime, I'm confident that I can carry the team to victory and stop everything that comes my way. As we start playing, both teams are skating hard and trying to put it away as quickly as possible. We've all played enough to know that quirky goals can happen and no one wants to lose that way. The time ticks on and on, it looks like we are going to a shootout. Less than a minute to go and we are deep in their end, the puck squirts loose and the other team brings it down the ice. My defender goes into the corner with her man with less than 15 seconds to go. She ties him up despite giving up a foot of height and probably close to 60 pounds of weight. She pushes hard and he pushes hard back. The clock ticks closer and closer to the end of the overtime period. The other players know she has him and that a shootout is mere moments away. And then it happens - his longer reach allows him to push the puck past her and into open space. My other defender is thinking the game will go to a shootout and misses the pass to the other player. The opposition gets the puck with less than a second to go in OT and flicks a quick backhand towards the net. I drop to a butterfly position, like I have thousands of times, to stop the puck and send it to the next part of the game. Only problem is my timing. As my pads are dropping, the puck trickles underneath them and into the goal. I hear the horn sound and know that we've not made it to the shootout, the game winner is behind me. The season ends with me missing my last save opportunity, a championship lost.

The team is disappointed more with themselves than with me. Some players comment that they should have been down low to help out. Others that they were already thinking of the shootout and lolly-gagging around. No blame is placed on me - we won as a team all season and we lost as a team on the final shot. I'm sad to have missed it but know that I did everything I could to win it for us. My reactions just weren't fast enough this time - age must be getting to me. ;-)

click on picture for larger version

And as you can see, a photographer in the stands was able to catch the moment of defeat. The puck is going between my legs (hence why the footnote of going 5-hole by the photographer) and on its way to the back of the goal. While I'd like to have my pad in the right spot, I still think this is an amazing picture and give kudos to the photographer for having his finger on the shutter at the right moment. What can I say, I'd love to have taken this shot myself - the moment of victory.

Despite being a bit saddened by the loss, I am still grateful for the opportunity to play and being in the position that we were. I cherish the times I had with that team and the thrill of being in the moment. But the season is over and our team will be lumped in with the other teams as we are divided into new teams starting in January, the process beginning again. I look forward to making another drive towards another championship game, perhaps June will have me writing about the victory and not the defeat.

tired of the bashing

2009-07-17T08:11:00.003-07:00

So I'm going to do my best and try to be as active as I can here on the blog. The last year hasn't been so good with staying up on my entries and I've even noticed that my main link to the page wasn't working (sorry folks!). If only I had logged on more frequently, I would have noticed that. Hopefully no one has issues with getting here. And just a note, this blog will be moving to blog.expatnomad.com here shortly.

My return to blogging has been predicated by the recent events that Republicans have been bitching about. I'm not mad at them but I'm a little pissed at the lack of patience they are having at this point in time. My parents are off at "tea-parties" and friends of mine are posting crap on Facebook about how this time will be known as the "Obama Misery". Frankly, I'm just a bit annoyed with all of it for a couple of reasons.

First - give the guy a frackin' chance to do his job. Nobody went after either one of the Bush boys when they had only been in office for six months, they understood that it was a time to grow and learn about how to be the President. Heck, Bush Jr didn't do crap until he was forced into action post 9/11. Obama has been in office for half of a year and Republicans are jumping down his throat saying that he is going to destroy the economy and wreak the health care program of the country. My take on those thoughts - give the guy a chance to do the job that he was elected for!

Second - over half the country voted for Obama (66M to 58M votes) and McCain/Palin lost, get over it. Protests were starting to be formed by Republican pundits almost as soon as he took office. Does the phrase "sore losers" come to mind? My parents listen to Rush Limbaugh and he was on his pulpit from the day after the election about how bad Obama was going to be. Some people are never going to be happy and that fat man is one who would only be happy if we ran the country as a fascist regime.

Third - during the campaigning, both parties claimed to be for change and now is the time that the change is going into effect. Obama is moving towards invigorating the economy by trying to inject some stimulus, just like Bush Jr did. Would McCain have just sat on his thumbs and done nothing? I doubt it; he was a proponent of change as well. If he just let things go and the economy didn't rebound, would they be the first to rally against him? Republicans are complaining about how Social Security & Medicare/aid costs are rising and Obama is going to drive the country into bankruptcy with his ideas. Excuse me but haven't analysts been telling us since the 2nd Reagan Administration that the program was going to go broke because of all the baby-boomers retiring? That was 20 years ago folks and no one, Republican or Democrat, has come up with a solution for it (aside from making the buggers work until they die). Obama won the election and is now trying to deal with the fiscal problem of paying for a program that was known to be a bust since the 80's. What would McCain do? He's currently in the Senate and no new legislation is in place to be voted upon to correct the problem - why hasn't he done that? If he was such an advocate for change, where is the help for the solution? Nowhere, people just want someone to blame.

I'm not a Democrat (although my Republican friends think so) and I'm not a Republican (although my Democratic friends think so), I'm actually right in the middle of the two sides. I agree with certain issues on both sides and what that means is that I'm willing to see both sides of the political spectrum and not shut out the other. I do occasionally watch Fox News and occasionally watch CNN to see how both sides of the media portray events. I understand that to be polarized towards one side or the other means you are closing off your mind to someone else's opinion and being disrespectful. When people are too centered on themselves, they fail to understand the greater picture and what we as a country can and must do. We are a union of two countries at the moment, fiercely divided on political lines. Right now the minority is pissed as hell that they lost the election and is doing everything they can to tell the world just how mad they are (and honestly, the rest of the world doesn't care, they're just glad to have Bush out of office). They're not even giving Obama a chance to do anything without putting up a huge fight, a sign of a poor loser. What I think they should do is this - show just how good they are without the bitterness. And here's how.

Republicans have long said that the goal of government is to govern as little as possible and let the people work it out - a good point to follow. In fact, hasn't Obama adopted this policy in some way by telling Americans not to wait for Washington to make their lives better but to do it on their own? How many times has the Commander-in-Chief come out and say 'don't wait for the government to solve your problems, make it happen yourself'? This message wasn't intended just for Democrats and their Green Agenda, it was put out there for the whole country to go out and be the instrument of change. Stop waiting for the government to tell you what to do, just go do it and be the example. Ride your bike to work because you know its good for reducing our dependence on foreign oil - don't wait for a stimulus package to be put into place for bicycle commuters, take that responsibility. Become more physically active so you are in better health because you know its good for lowering long-term health care costs - don't wait for a bill to go to Congress that will pay for your obese ass to get treatment, take that responsibility. Take an active role in your children's education because you know that parents are supposed to be integral in teaching the next generation how to act - don't hope that a law called "No Child Left Behind" will solve the educational issues our country has, take that responsibility. In other words, be a Republican and get big government out of your life and take a personal responsibility for your life and your actions - just like the Democratic leader told you to.

Stop the bashing of Democratic and Republican ideas and do the right thing - be a responsible citizen first and see what problems disappear. You might be surprised what the sides have common instead of what they differ on. I learned something a LONG time ago that serves me well to this day and maybe others should try it as well. 3 things to help you in life - 1. Ask questions 2. Keep an open mind 3. Trust your fellow man. I'd like to add a fourth, take responsibility for your life. Maybe if we all tried to be a little more open to ideas we'd not be as divided as we are. So give it a shot, try to not play the 'blame game' and see what good you can do on an individual basis. I think you'll be surprised. :-)

dance train revolution

2009-04-13T10:28:00.001-07:00

I know its been forever since I posted and while I have the greatest intentions to put something up, there just isn't the time today (or most days for that matter). So with the promise that I'll get something up soon (aside from this video), here's something I found on Yahoo! that was filmed in the Antwerp train station in Belgium. Funny, this never happened when I was there...

Sound of Music Train Station @ Yahoo! Video

FINISHED!!!

2009-01-27T15:11:00.001-07:00

FINISHED!!!
Originally uploaded by Expat Nomad

Here's a copy of a picture that Pipes took when I finished the Austin 3M Half Marathon. Read the entry entitled 13.1 (below) for the story.

13.1

2009-01-27T14:06:00.003-07:00

I first started running because I was dared by a certain Romanian P.E. teacher to do a 10K in Lima. There were a lot of teachers from school signed up (mostly women) and the challenge was set down to complete the task. So I ran my first 10K back in November 2007 and in doing so, proved to myself that I could indeed be a runner and all those years of not doing it because of a knee injury were a thing of the past. It was after I completed that 10K that the thought of doing something a little farther entered my mind and after a bit of research, I found a half marathon in Austin, TX to satisfy my curiosity.

The plans were in my head for the better part of 8 months although the training regimen was not. When I first moved to ABQ, the altitude was a butt-kicker and I was off the wagon for a while. As the months went on and the day of the race drew closer, I started to feel a sense of dread. I left for Austin last Thursday night with my longest run to date being 7 miles in the thin air of the Sandia Mountains. Lucky for me, Austin is a lot lower in elevation and the thicker air would help my run. So on Sunday, January 25th, I tied my shoes up snug and walked on to the race course, not really sure what I had gotten myself into but with the determination to complete the 13.1 miles (22K) no matter what. The front of my shirt accurately reflected what was going through my mind. It read - "This seemed like a good idea 3 months ago."

The morning was cold, 38 F (3 C) to start the race and my friends and I were bundled for the race. Waiting at the start area was surreal at times, I knew I was there but didn't know what to expect. In some ways, it was like waiting for a plane to leave and take you to another country - you have no idea what to expect as you venture forward. So we traded bad jokes and guarded smiles as not one of the three of us felt prepared. The starting gun snapped us all into the reality of the situation and from there, we just took it one step at a time.

Our first few miles were easy. My friends from Lima and I took it at an easy pace, being sure to not over do it in the first few miles of the race. I was happy to be with them; they were something familiar in a very unfamiliar environment. The small talk we traded was enough to keep us going but we all knew that there was a decently sized challenge ahead of us. Eventually the chatter died down as the miles progressed; partly due to fitness, partly due to mental uneasiness. I ran with my two friends for the first 5 miles but then I felt like I had it in me to go faster and left them behind (we would meet at the finish hours later). I picked up the pace and started running how I felt comfortable and with 8 miles to go, I ventured out on my own to see what I could do.

My normal running pace for distance is somewhere around 10:30/mile but that had only been tested when I was running less than 7 miles. I was pleased to feel my feet finding a comfortable rhythm at my normal pace and I ran the next several miles at that tempo. Silly me, I stopped for water at mile 8 and felt that comfort disappear. My body finally realized that I had run farther than I ever had before and told my legs that same idea - you've not trained for this and you're going to pay for your stupidity. I walked for a bit, reassuring my legs that with a little rest, they could indeed go the rest of the distance and shortly thereafter, I started back to pounding the pavement toward the finish line.

My legs were numb and if ever there was an upside to that, it meant that I couldn't feel what I was inflicting upon my calves during the run. My head started to clear of thoughts and I just concentrated on the rhythm of my feet. Zen and the Punishment of Road Racing is going to be the title of my first book, I think. But I pushed on and my legs responded. "Just keep running, don't stop." I said over and over in my head. The power of gentle persuasion...

Mile 12 was a wonderful sign to see and I wish I could say that I enjoyed the last 1.1 miles of my journey. Truth be told, mile 12 was the most difficult of the race and I swear the part of the U of Texas campus we ran through was uphill (even though that part was in a valley). The lactic acid in my legs and arms gave me a painful reminder of what I was doing and I am very grateful to 2 young ladies from the UT cycling team who cheered me on that last half of a mile to the finish with their simple words - "You're looking strong and you're not going to quit now, right?!" Damn straight girls, damn straight.

I came around a curve and saw two policemen blockading the road. "You're almost there, can you see the finish line?" Yes officer, I can and thank you for those wonderful words. At that moment the throbbing of my feet went away, the burning of the lactic acid subsided, and a warm, soothing feeling filled me from top to bottom - a sense of accomplishment. With the finish line in sight, I knew I had to finish strong. The people along the side of the road egging me on, "Push it hard to the finish, you're looking great!"; it elevated me to run harder and faster. I crossed the finish line in my best sprint, smiling as the announcer called out my name and my girlfriend took a picture. It wasn't the greatest of times (2 hours 38 minutes) but that didn't matter, it was the simple fact of accomplishment that made it special for me.

The numbness in my legs soon subsided and my calves and quads have been reminding me ever since of what I did on Sunday. I waited at the finish line for my friends who crossed a bit later but it wasn't until Pipes and I retraced the race course later that night in our rental car that it really hit me with what I had done. 13.1 miles is not a huge distance but it is a satisfying one and that's all that matters to me.

a new hope

2009-01-20T19:53:00.002-07:00

Like millions of Americans and millions more around the world, I tuned in today for the Inauguration of President Obama. I started off on NBC and was watching coverage there but soon got fed up with the constant babbling by the commentator and switched over to FOX. I was happy to watch coverage and appreciated the fact that Shepard Smith didn't talk all the time and frequently said, "Let's listen in and hear what's going on." Thanks Shep - sometimes its good just to live in the moment and not clutter it up with mindless background information on Nancy Pelosi...

This election was a strange event for me. Unlike many of my friends who knew exactly whom they wanted to vote for from the beginning, I took my time and it wasn't until 40 hours before the election that I figured out who I wanted to vote for. I didn't want to "drink the Obama kool-aid" just because he was a black man and I didn't want to vote for McCain just because he was a P.O.W. who has a hot wife. I took my time and weighed the pros and cons of each, eventually making my decision that I wanted the change that Obama promised and I wanted the possibility of a new, strong leader in the White House.

So today, Obama took the reigns from Dubya and I watched my TV as hundreds of millions of others did on this planet. The swearing in was fun - especially with both Chief Justice John Roberts and Barak Obama flubbing the oath - giving the situation a bit of levity. But what I really wanted to hear was President Obama's speech. I listened and was filled with hope as he said many things that I agreed with and I appreciated his ideas for how to make our country a better place. The "speech analyst" on FOX didn't think that his words said anything spectacular. I totally disagree - they spoke to the country and to the world about what America can do to be better.

I loved that Barak told us that it would be hard and difficult to make America a better place. The government isn't here to make our lives better; if you want a better life, do it for yourself. Don't look to the government for the 'easy life', do some hard work and follow in the footsteps that this country was founded upon. America is still seen as the place where anyone can be anything they want to be. Just ask the former bodybuilder who now runs the world's 4th largest economy in California.

The part of his speech that tickled me the most was his call for Americans to have a greater sense of responsibility. For far too long we, as a country, have relied on others to be our oversight and with morals constantly being shirked for the quick buck, we find ourselves in the situation we are in. Responsibility is something I try endlessly to get my students to understand and hopefully this new president will get a lot of other Americans to realize that we are all responsible for who we are as a country. Americans have seen been witness to plenty of our leaders not take responsibility for their actions; from Tricky Dick's "I am not a crook" to Slick Willy's "I did not have sexual relations", our role models have not exactly been worth following. I hope that Barak Obama's ideal of being responsible catches on - it certainly would set a great example, especially since America is the 'light on a hill' that many hold in high regard.

After the speech I came away with a sense of hope. I understand his message - its not going to be easy or quick but we all can make the United States a better place, if we all do our part in society. Unemployment may go up, the stock market down, war fronts move side to side. Old enemies may be new friends and new enemies may come from places we don't expect but we must remain true to our founding ideals. Nothing good ever came easy and make America a better place is going to be very hard but if everyone pitches in, we can all make this country what we want it to be.

And yes, I cried during the speech as I was filled with joy. Someone said that which I thought and didn't pull punches when he did so. He wasn't playing to a partisan crowd or trying to say the politically correct thing. For once, a politician came forth and laid out the truth for us to hear and I wasn't afraid. I know what my role ahead is and I am drinking the kool-aid that Obama is preaching. Now if only I can get another 300 million Americans to do the same... ;-)

looking back

2008-12-28T10:00:00.002-07:00

Its that time of year, the time when the calendar changes from December to January and the numbers on the year go up by one. The TV networks usually do something like recap what has happened over the year and I tend to do the same thing, reflecting on a year that has been and what really stood out over the last 12 months of my life.

I started the year in Cuzco, Peru with a nice headache - and not from drinking. I was on vacation with friends from FDR and the altitude of the city was doing more damage to my brain than any drinking did but I was better off than another person whom I was traveling with - he would have to get the assistance of a doctor to get over it. I went to Machu Picchu with Rik and Laurie (and her son Connor), friends of mine from school. About a week later, I joined up with another group of teachers from FDR and hiked through the Colca Canyon - as much as we could anyways. Five days of adventure later, we split up and my friend Tim and I headed out on an epic adventure down South America. After almost two months of traveling and having gotten close to the southern tip of the continent, I headed home and prepared for my last semester of teaching abroad.

I knew from the end of the first semester in Lima that FDR wasn't the school for me and March was the beginning of the end of my tenure there. I struggled at times to endure the second semester but had some fun along the way, making a trip to Huancayo with three lovely ladies (and good friends), and doing my best to stay focused on getting everything done that I could while still enjoying Peru. I may not have enjoyed the school but I did enjoy the country. Like many places I have visited or lived in, there are pluses and minuses with each and Peru was a good place to be in a lot of ways. But my time there was limited due to my displeasure with my job so in June I packed up my bags and ventured my way to New Mexico.

Albuquerque is not what I had envisioned, the city was different than I had expected but in a good way. I got here and decided to crash with my parents for a bit until something else came along. I thought that with my teaching expertise and ability to do just about anything that someone put in front of me, that getting a job in the States would be an easy prospect and I was in for a rude awakening. I came back to the country just in time for an economic crisis and the job market I was hoping to tap was a bit on the thin side. Some tough times ensued and I must admit that August and September were not good months as unemployment was not the most enjoyable of times for me mentally. Time off is good but the idea of not being a viable and/or usable commodity doesn't feel good for anyone's ego and I definitely fell into that category. Slightly discouraged but still optimistic, I trudged on. A glimmer of hope came from a surprising venue and a sand volleyball team led to an interesting turn of events.

I signed up for a co-ed sand volleyball team where I knew no one but I wanted to meet people in and around Albuquerque (ABQ). One of the people on the team was a teacher at a local private school and she got me in to substituting there. *The school will remain anonymous until I get a job there.* The school reminds me of the attitude that I enjoyed in Holland when working at AISR and I found that I really wanted to work there full time next year (09-10). The science department chair took a liking to me and subbing there has been a good way to get my foot in the door, hopefully it will pan out to something more in the following months.

The substituting also led to the fact that I needed a new pair of shoes and so I ventured into REI one afternoon to get me something more suited for the classroom. While walking in, I saw a sign that seasonal help was needed and so I applied. Sure enough, I got the job as a cashier and started working there around Halloween and have been enjoying the position ever since. Retail is never a ton of fun during the holidays but I gotta admit that working at REI is a whole lot better than if I was at Wal-Mart or something like that. And now with the holiday season over, I find myself being carried over as a regular part-time employee - a good thing indeed. So with employment being taken care of (sorta), I also had time this year to focus on something else - someone to start a family with.

Previous posts on here have told about my dating exploits and the problems that I have had with it. After some awkward dates, short-time relationships, and frustration with learning how to date again in the US, it looks like something has panned out. A young lady (11 years my junior) recently made her way into my life and while the romance is new (since Thanksgiving), I would like to report that all is well and progressing nicely. We share a lot in common and I would expect that readers here will here more about Pipes as we continue our relationship and I continue to blog here.

For me, 2008 was filled with a lot of news. I lost two members of my family (maternal grandmother in Feb and paternal aunt in Dec), I traveled most of the western coast of South America, I returned to my native country after 5 years abroad, and I learned what it was like to be an American once again. There have been a lot of ups and downs over the last 12 months but I am grateful for all that I experienced and cannot believe how wonderful my life is. My thanks to my family and friends for all their support and kind wishes with my return home. And here's to looking forward to 2009 and all that it may hold for me. What news will come out next? Tune in and find out...

veterans day

2008-11-11T14:07:00.001-07:00

NNPSgrad92
Originally uploaded by Expat Nomad

The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month - the time to remember those who served their country and possibly gave their life to defend what they hold most sacred in their heart. I salute those who came before and after me and especially those who currently serving.

As a veteran of the Persian Gulf War, I am honored to have people remembering what I did for those years I was on active duty. But my sacrifice was small, not anywhere near as great as those who didn't return. My thoughts are with those who made the greatest sacrifice on the altar of freedom and those who are currently standing on the wall to defend us.

Thank you one and all for keeping America free from all enemies, foreign and domestic. No matter what branch of service and no matter what you do, thank you for keeping our country safe.

scrum-deli-icious

2008-11-07T14:59:00.004-07:00

Galaxy Cupcakes
Originally uploaded by Whipped Bakeshop

Don't these cupcakes look amazing? I'm getting hungry just looking at them. I gotta go get some sugar in me now...

losing my religion

2008-11-05T14:59:00.002-07:00

No, I'm not going to comment on the famous R.E.M. song or how it was written or anything like that. If you want that, go to the wikipedia page for it and read for it yourself. Instead, I'm taking a note from my dear friend Mozzy who has given me yet another wonderful idea to blog about.

The discussion that he started had to do with souls and whether or not animals have them. The original discussion was started with his mother and he did a fine job of recapping it for me in an email and it got me to thinking. My religion as of late has been ALL over the place, from agnostic to atheist and nothing in between but perhaps this view that Mozzy has will help me to define my spirituality. So after thinking about what he had to say, I've thrown off the previous notions of religion that I've had and decided to go with something that makes a lot more sense to me.

In his discussion with his mother, Mozzy brought up the idea of Star Wars and 'the force'. His idea was that all living things give off energy vibrations and those can be sensed by the universe. People who have ESP or paranormal senses may be able to pick up on the vibrations of previously living people that the rest of us are unable to tune into - kinda like how dogs can sense higher pitches of sound than humans. I found a connection between the two in my mind. This connectivity really struck a chord with me and after thinking about this for the better part of almost 2 weeks, I've come up with something that I can grasp in terms of spirituality.

As a Physics teacher, I see how the universe is described through the beauty of its simplicity. Newton's laws of motion, Maxwell's equations for electromagnetism, Einstein's mass-energy equivalence principle - they are all simple in theory and explanation. Much like Ockham's Razor, which is often paraphrased as "all other things being equal, the simplest solution is the best", the description of everyday events by Physics are beautifully simplistic.

Current theories that are emerging from the field of Physics includes the idea of a unifying theory that will attempt to explain the way universe acts completely. Einstein searched for this, a grand unification theory, that would tie together the cosmos and the atom, his theory of general relativity with the realm of quantum mechanics. Don't worry if you don't know why those two don't work together, just know that they don't at this moment in time. Theoretical physicists have been working on a unifying theory, called string theory. It was when Mozzy said "vibrations" and "energy" in his discussion with his mother that my new spirituality became apparent.

String theory is the idea that the smallest particle of matter is actually not matter but a vibrating string of energy. Take the atom and break it down into smaller parts and you get protons, neutrons, and electrons. Break those down and you get quarks. Keep dividing subatomic particles enough and string theory predicts that you wouldn't have matter at all, rather a vibrating string of energy. Einstein's mass-energy equivalence principle (you all know it as E=mc2) fits perfectly into this idea (at least in my head it does) and how everything is interconnected.

For those of you whom have seen a movie called The Secret, you will note that the ideology put forth in the movie suggests that there is a natural harmonic to the universe and positive thoughts will yield positive results in life. While I don't subscribe to that specific philosophy, it does relate to the concept of interconnectedness of everything and has some aspects that I agree with. The book/movie talks about the 'law of attraction' where good thoughts attract good events/outcomes where negative ones will attract the same. While this sounds a bit hokey and many feel it falls into the realm of cult status, it does start to blend in scientific ideas with the parts of the universe we do not understand (the supernatural). Bare with me, let me try to explain.

If our body and mind is composed of energy, as E=mc2 demonstrates, and the energy we are composed of vibrating strings, then we each have a natural vibration - called a harmonic. Scientists over the years have also been great musicians as they believed that the universe was just a grand symphony, only out of our auditory range. Just like musical notes don't always work together well (dischord), people do not always get along. Is this due to the idea that their energies are disharmonious? Do people not have soulmates but rather have harmonious energies? If a person alters their mental energy by thinking different thoughts, do they possess the ability to change the energy that physically surrounds them? The Secret argues for this, I'm a bit more skeptical than that.

In a spiritual sense, this all ties together for me in cosmology - the study of the cosmos, not makeup application (that's cosmetology). There is a debate about the fate of the universe and the three possibilities are open, closed, and flat. Two of the three don't make sense to me (open and flat) but closed does. A closed universe suggests that the gravity of the universe will eventually pull everything back to one single point (a singularity) and the Big Crunch will possibly lead to another Big Bang. I like this idea. It says that the universe is like a giant balloon that is continually expanding and contracting, creating a universe over and over again in this process. It tells me that the entire cosmos is connected and comes down to a single moment of creation from destruction, life from death, the cycle of the Phoenix repeating forever. There is no God for everything is the creator and the created. Everything is interconnected. In essence, energy is divine and if we are all composed of energy, we are all divine.

Organized religion has bothered me in its pretense for years. Too many things are done in the name of an Almighty. Tithes are paid to build a church stripping money from people through guilt, a jihad is started to purge the land of infidels because of fear of difference, genocide is considered acceptable to attain a master race of genetic purity to reach a perfection. To me, organized religion is nothing more than people with charisma writing rules for people who don't think before they act. Why else would stoning by written into the Bible or jihad to non-Muslims in the Koran? People use fear to maintain an organized society and breaking the rules means punishment must be passed down. I think the basic premise of religion had it right - respect all life in all ways. And then man got his hands on it and found it a useful tool to control people to do what they wanted, altering meanings and using their charisma to convince the controlled that they were divine and beyond reproach. Organized religion is nothing more than a power play where people are instructed on how to live their lives because others deem it so. I've got plenty more I would like to say about that but that's for another post...

So it all comes down to this. Every creature, object, atom, whatever you want to look at, is the same at the basic level. The universe is energy and we are made of that energy. If a human has a soul, then so does a dog, a tree, your cell phone, a planet, and the Sombrero Galaxy. From the Big Bang, the cosmos was created and everything is a part of that creation, no matter how big or small, how warm or cold, how apparently life-filled or lifeless. You are connected to every person, bug, windshield, asteroid, drop of water, and star - whether you think you are or not. In cosmology it sometimes is overwhelming to think of how big the cosmos is and what is all out there, it can make you feel completely insignificant in the big picture. But that's not the way I see it anymore; I am a a part of this universe that is unique and will never be experienced again - the universe better enjoy me while I'm here just as I will enjoy it. And just maybe I'll see you all again the next time this universe is created once again. Hope to see ya on the flip side. :-)

something from my past

2008-11-02T21:36:00.001-07:00

Wake Up & Smell the Fish!
Originally uploaded by Burt Youngsters

I was cruising around on flickr and came across this interesting shot of the Kubuswooning (Cube Houses) in Rotterdam. Cool place to take a tour of, if you get the chance but then again, not many people take tours of Rotterdam!

i <3 my minivan

2008-10-29T11:49:00.003-07:00

It used to be the bane of my existence, my mom's Mercury Villager. "The Pickle" (its very green) was purchased new back in 1994 and has been my mother's prized possession until about a year ago when she bought a Honda Odyssey (I don't know about her fascination with minivans, we never had them when the kids lived at home). As a result of the addition of the Honda, the Villager became mine and I must admit that it has grown on me.

"The Pickle" was purchased in my waning days of my military service so I didn't see it much when it was new. A few years later I was given the keys to the green monster and sent off to my 10 year High School reunion. How embarrassed was I to show up to the reunion single, unemployed, having not completed my undergrad yet, and driving a minivan. I was mortified to have to take it but drove it because my normal car (Honda Accord) was in the shop getting work done on it. Who shows up for a reunion driving a minivan when they don't even need one? Talk about "ways to unimpress the chicks"...

This particular minivan has served the family well and we almost lost "The Pickle" about a year ago when my sister nearly donated it to some charity. It couldn't pass CA emissions and so she had no use for it. My mother knew that I was going to be returning to the States and would need transportation outside of my motorcycle. So she rescued the green beast and brought it back to NM where it awaited my arrival. I was being given "The Pickle" to use and I was gracious to accept it. I was (still am) in no position to look a gift horse in the mouth and drive my 'new' mode of transportation whenever the bike isn't a feasible option.

At first I was reluctant to take the beast out. I wanted to ride my motorcycle as much as possible and did so when I first came to Albuquerque. The summer weather was perfect and I had been sans scooter for the years in Peru and missing it terribly. Occasionally the need for driving "The Pickle" required that I use it to get places but I lived on that bike for the first 2 months I was here.

As the weather is starting to cool and the brakes on the bike are awaiting to be replaced, I've been driving my Villager a lot more. It is really starting to grow on me and not for the typical reasons. What I love about it is the fact that it is perfect for the utilitarian use that I need at the moment. I can easily throw in all my hockey gear without straining my back, I can change clothes in the backseat when I want to go for a run after work, there is a ton of open space (I took out the captain's chairs and only have the back seat) to lay down and sleep in the back if I want - this van completely serves my needs and I couldn't be happier with "MY Pickle".

This isn't to say that there aren't difficult moments. A packrat took up residence in it recently and chewed its was through a couple of sets of spark plug wires (he has been removed), the car has virtually no acceleration, the rust from living back in Ohio is starting to make its way to the surface, and the list goes on and on. I won't even go into the whole deal about being able to start it without keys in the ignition... But van accurately describes who I am at the moment and that makes me happy.

I have taken "The Pickle" out on dates and not been apologetic about it. I figure that if a girl wants a super fancy car and doesn't understand utility, then she doesn't understand me. My friend Gilles in Peru taught me that lesson well with his approach to life and I can't thank him enough for instilling that in me. In a way, the minivan and I have a lot in common. My rust is starting to show through, my acceleration isn't what it used to be, and I've needed to replace some of the things in life to keep me going. The key in the ignition? Let's just say that what starts me up at this point in my life has changed from what it was before - just like "The Pickle".

So yes, I do love my minivan for what it is, what it represents, and what it does for me. Unpretentious, utilitarian, and fun - is there anything better?

darth's gaze

2008-10-12T16:46:00.001-07:00

darth's gaze
Originally uploaded by Expat Nomad

Today marks the end of Albuquerque's International Balloon Fiesta and unfortunately, there have been no launches this weekend due to weather conditions. So I decided to put something up to remember the occasion of this, my first of hopefully many, balloon fiestas.

too much information?

2008-10-12T16:32:00.002-07:00

No rant this time, just a question that I'm asking of myself on a public forum. I have a site counter down at the bottom of the page and occasionally click on it to see who is visiting the site. I have friends from Maine to California, Canada to UAE (with a little Myanmar thrown in for good measure), and I know they will stop in from time to time to read on my latest ideas. And believe you me, I've had some interesting ideas float out on this forum. Some were political in nature, others on a more personal front, but clues as to whom I am and what I think about certain issues.

The site meter allows me to see who is clicking in from where and how they got to the site. Believe it or not, the most common search that brings people to my site is "how to drag your knee on a motorcycle" on Google. It comes from a post that I put up almost 2 years ago about a picture that I found on flickr. But there are a great deal of people from around the world that find this site and it brings me to the question posted in the title, am I giving too much information?

I guess the scare a few months ago with identity theft really got me to thinking about the whole issue. This site - expatnomad.com - also has an email address associated with it and I've been giving that email address to ladies whom I would like to date. Its not something that I thought about terribly much but it gets me to wondering which of my potential dates has stumbled upon this site and given it a read (site meter says 'none'). I've never been one to be shy of my opinions or telling anyone what I truly feel and I make no apologies for my stances on whatever issues are being discussed. I just wonder what brings people to this site (aside from wanting to learn how to drag their knee on a motorcycle) and how much information is enough and how much is too much. Are people using bots to gather information about others on their blogs and then using that information for mean, nasty things? Is it really a good idea to share your private thoughts and ideas on a public forum? Are blogs just the laypersons way of becoming a public icon? Is this the way that the average person gets their 15 minutes of fame? Hmmm....

sunrise

2008-10-06T21:46:00.001-07:00

sunrise
Originally uploaded by Expat Nomad

This week is Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque and it is amazing to see 650+ hot air balloons launch. I was able to go last Saturday morning and see the festivities. Perfect weather started off the day, as can be seen by the picture shown here.

And for once, its not someone else's photo - this one was taken by me. :-)

new banner

2008-10-02T09:50:00.002-07:00

Well, I figured that since its been a few months now that I've been gone from Lima, it was time to update the banner. Gone is the "Live from Lima, its Saturday Night!!!" which pictures of Tim surfing and the Cordilleras Blancas outside Huaraz in Peru. While I thought that was a great banner, I knew that I had to put up something that reflected the change of locale.

So this morning I put together something different, a new look at my new home, New Mexico. Albuquerque is known for its annual "Balloon Fiesta" and a picture adorns the left side of the banner to address that. The right side, my friend - the cactus. A bad experience hiking in the Sandia Mountains urged me to put something in that was something to chuckle at. And the tag line? I'm not sure why New Mexico is known as the "Land of Enchantment" so I merely had to question. Nothing against Albuquerque or New Mexico, I am enjoying both; its just a question.

A new look for Expat Nomad, enjoy.

ahoy captain - iceberg ahead!

2008-09-29T21:58:00.003-07:00

Well fellow Americans, how does it feel to be on the modern-day equivalent of the Titanic? After today's vote against legislation that would have injected $700 billion into the credit stream of our country and possibly save it from a recession, our elected representatives voted with the idea of saving their seat in Congress in the upcoming (and arguably worthless) November election. I say worthless because by that point in time, the US may actually be worth nothing. McCain and Obama will be vying for a bankrupt country and may have to pony up their campaign contributions to pay for moving expenses into the Citibank White House. I figure the government will need corporate sponsorship by that point in time.

Lawmakers said they rejected the bill because their offices were flooded with phone calls and emails from their constituency demanding that they not vote in favor of the bill. Ya know, the same informed public that can't find the home states of McCain or Obama on a map, the same informed public that more obsessed with what Britney's hair style is than figuring out their finances, the same informed public that bought the houses that they are currently defaulting on and have put the country in the crisis that it is in. Screaming and yelling, the constituents said, "Make sure those money-grubbing executives don't get one dime in severance!" even though the $700 billion is designed to pay for the mortgages that they couldn't afford (and I blame the banks too but they are run by the people who vote, hence why I say constituents). So Democratic and Republican members of the House voted against bi-partisan legislation in order to ensure that they got the votes of the people who may not have a clue about what is really going on and are quite possibly the reason for this mess to begin with. They voted to protect their seat in Congress instead of voting to preserve a country. Do they not get that it could be a Pyrrhic victory in that they will be re-elected to a country that may not exist by the time the election is over? Blinders on, the mantra of "must get re-elected" was heard out of more than one lawmaker today.

Listen, I am not a Bush fan, not by any stretch of the imagination. I've criticized him before on this blog and still think he's made some incredibly HUGE mistakes while in office. But I will grant him this - he understands the severity of this situation and is working his tail off to get this country upright before he exits from office. He's not trying to preserve his legacy at this moment, he's just trying to preserve the country so that history will be able to note his legacy. And on top of that, his own party put him out to dry? This was legislation that was proposed by his administration with bi-partisan help to draft it, and then voted down BY HIS OWN REPUBLICANS. When a President is stabbed in the back by his own party, you gotta question why and what motivation these people have. Even John McCain, the Republican nominee to be the next President, knew that it would be suicide for the House to vote this down; and yet down it went.

And so did the market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell by 777 points. Look it up folks, that's a record. Even during the collapse of the Great Depression the stock market didn't fall that much. Now to be fair, 777 points in today's market was 7.0% of the total value whereas the worst days in history saw a 20% drop. Nevertheless, I'm not thinking that this 777 is exactly a lucky number. Other measures of the American markets showed similarly bad numbers; NASDAQ was down 9.1%, S&P 500 was down 8.8%. American markets weren't the only ones affected. Japan - down 4.6%, Australia - down 5.3%, Canada - down 7%, England - down 5.3%, and the list continues.

Some blame Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for the failure because she made a speech criticizing Republicans as the voting was taking place and some think that some Republicans voted against the legislation just to smite Pelosi for saying that. I really hope for the sake of this country, and possibly the world, that those representatives were NOT that spiteful. Why the world? If the US falls, who becomes the superpower to take care of the world? Who stands up to aggression by terrorists or radical fundamentalists? Who patrols the seas to ensure that shipping isn't pirated? You think the Russians or the Chinese can step up at the moment? As a former sailor I can tell you this - neither one of those navies (or armies for that matter) is ready to step up and conduct operations on a regional or global scale.

So tonight I am absolutely amazed at the turn of events that has happened in the United States over the last 96 hours. The warning was shouted from the crow's nest long ago about the economic iceberg yet people still think that we are on the unsinkable ship. Can anyone think of a time in US history where they has been worse time in our country? Economic collapse is imminent, fighting a war on two fronts against a word (terror, or unknown opponent if you want to get more technical), and Janet Jackson was hospitalized tonight, unable to make her concert (had to throw in a jab at the entertainment press). We only need one more bad thing to happen and the four horsemen of the apocalypse will come riding into Washington to announce their own takeover. Citibank taking over Wachovia will look like nothing compared to that.

My rant to Congress is this - people with a whole lot more knowledge about the impending financial meltdown are telling you what to do and you're listening to people who can't balance their checkbooks. For once, defer to those who know and make the right decision. Fuck politics, fuck your re-election, fuck the pissed-off voters. Doing the right thing may be the hard thing, especially when it may cost you your elected position but in the end, at least you'll know that you did the right thing in trying to save this country from an epidemic of unemployment and depression.

a load of crap

2008-09-27T23:40:00.003-07:00

Forgive me readers but I'm not my usual self at the moment. However, I wanted to take this opportunity to express myself about a topic that is current and relevant to me, and maybe for others out there.

About a month ago, I celebrated my 38th birthday, marking a point of roughly 20 years worth of dating. Yes indeed, I don't know quite how I've managed to make it this far without finding the right woman for me (it must be a talent). I've also come to the conclusion that 20 years of any experience makes me an expert in the area and I've decided to put up a post about the load of crap that is put out by certain magazines and advice columnists.

"A solid romantic relationship should be built upon a solid friendship." Or something along those lines... The myth that is published over and over by gossip magazines or people who write for papers that have been married for a ba-zillon years. The people who write this crap are full of what they write. After 20 years of dating in different styles, I can assure you that this method does not work. Women do want their lover to be their friend but not vice versa. A tip to all the single boys out there who might read this - do not follow this advice of doing the friendship thing first.

Yes I am writing this because of a recently failed attempt at a relationship, one where I laid the ground work of friendship (to make her more comfortable) and then attempted to move this on to the next stage. What happened in this case, as has happened in the past, is that the woman knows she has a friend in waiting and can break glass in case of need of penis.

Being a friend first is the wrong tactic to take if you are interested in someone. The relationship that develops is one that puts the wrong ideas into each person's head. The interested party believes that being a friend first means gaining trust and becoming a significant part of the others life. To the person who is being befriended, they believe that they have made a friend of the opposite sex and that this opposite gendered friend will always be there but they also know they can take advantage of this friendship when needed (being horny does amazing things to people).

So since this last failure came to be, it got me to thinking about my tactics used when it comes to dating. I surveyed my memories of the last 20 years and thought of my successful (2+ years) romantic relationships and those that have flopped. Of all my successful relationships, precisely zero started off as friendships and progressed from there. To put that into perspective, that includes 3 significant others in 6 years of relationships (over 30% of my dating time) and a fiancee in the mix. While none of those relationships resulted in a long, lasting commitment (hence why I'm still single), I can relate back to those relationships and note the following. My long term relationships were not built on friendship but romantic intentions.

I then looked at my data for relationships that started off as friendships and the attempt to develop it into something more. I stopped counting when I got to 10 because I was starting to make myself depressed to think of the time that I wasted. The time that it takes to lay the foundation for a friendship and develop it further is many fold greater than if the woman knows where you stand up front. The relationships I counted spanned the time of almost 12 years (!) and not one has produced a single, viable, long term, romantic relationship (although I did get laid once by one of them; she was desperate I guess).

The last category is "women who know your intentions and still don't want to date you" and while there are plenty of women in that classification, at least the failed relationships took less time to fail than the friendship route. When a Dutch woman said she didn't want to see me again after the second date because I reminded her too much of her ex, at least it was quick and relatively painless. Another woman, this one from the States, decided she didn't want to continue our relationship of two months because she had found another man; it was over quickly again. In both of those cases (any many more), the romantic side was quashed and I was able to move on to the next person who could be a better match for me.

With time not exactly on my side, I've realized too late this fundamental flaw in the Cinderella media - friendship does not make good romance. The movies show it this way and the good guy/girl friend ends up being the best companion but that's just Hollywood. In my real world experience, this isn't the case and you shouldn't waste your time. So if you're in the dating world, take this advice: Be clear from the start what your intentions are and save yourself the hassle, heartache, and wasted time.

times of turmoil

2008-09-22T14:53:00.002-07:00

This culture shock thing sure has my brain looping all around. Or maybe it is the gravity of the situation that currently grips the country that I've just moved to. Or maybe its a combination of both of them - I can't quite tell. In any case, the days are feeling a bit on the surreal side here and I'm not having such an easy time wrapping my head around it all.

The government bailout of Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and AIG are unprecedented in history. The Albuquerque Journal's Saturday front page story was a black background with white lettering stating the severity of the financial crisis that was averted. Quotes from politicians and economists splattered across the black, crying out how the country was days away from a meltdown and ATMs across the country were hours away from being turned off. If things work out, Ben Bernanke could considered to be one of the smartest and greatest patriots of 21st century America.

My father called for a family meeting on Saturday to discuss what happened last week. He was furious with how we got into this crisis and how Democrats were to blame for this. The facts (not all verified by me) as stated by him were these:

In late 1999, Bill Clinton repealed the Glass-Stegall Act of 1933 (another bill taking its place, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, was sponsored by Republicans and voted into effect by Congress with such numbers that it was veto-proof). The act was created in the wake of the 1929 crash of the stock market to prevent investment banks and lending banks from becoming one in the same. When Clinton repealed the act, the division between investment banks and lending banks became non-existent and the two were free to dabble in the other.

Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank (D) then led the crusade to get homes for every American. Banks were fined for not lending to people and people were buying houses left and right - even ones they couldn't afford. Banks just figured that if an owner couldn't make their payment, the bank would repossess and the increased value of the house would make up for it. Only problem is that the bubble on the housing market finally started to pop about a year ago and foreclosures could no longer cover the costs. Lending banks took a gamble on investing (in real estate) and were losing - big time. Lehman, AIG, Morgan Sterns, Freddie & Fannie - all were in the papers last week as they became the beginning of what could have been the end of the banking system in the United States. Check your history; when banks fail, so do countries.

It took almost 9 years for the collapse to happen but it came to head last week and it instantly put my father into a tailspin. A quick flash to the Great Depression and its 25% unemployment had my father preaching to me to get a job, no matter what it was, just get a job NOW. My father rarely tells me what to do, leaving me to do what I need to in order to make myself happy and fulfilled, but the impending doom of another possible depression sent him reeling. I imagine that his exposure to the markets and with his company small enough to get crushed by a recession/depression, he has plenty of reason for concern. It is this turmoil that makes my return to the US an uncertain thing, one that makes my head spin in oh so many ways.

So what is to happen? My gut feeling is that Bernanke will prove to be a great patriot and this financial crisis averted. Hopefully Congress will keep their paws off of this and let the people who know best do what they do best and revive the economy. But it does put things into perspective and being unemployed isn't the greatest of feelings at the moment.

lost in transition

2008-08-29T10:15:00.002-07:00

A friend and former roommie of mine from Holland wrote to me yesterday and the conversation gave me some ideas to write about. Since he has the occasional minute to read this blog, I decided to take some of what he wrote and run with it. Going with the feelings of spontaneity, here goes.

The title of this post comes from a feeling that I've had recently; perhaps its been about a month now. A lot of people saw the movie "Lost in Translation" and didn't like it. This movie spoke volumes to me and perfectly put into perspective the idea of what its like to be a foreigner in a foreign land. The way that Tokyo was shot, the din of the city streets, the apparent bizarreness of it all - its something that I've lived many times over and while I love the experience, I'm no longer in translation, but transition.

Mozzy brings up something in his email me to that strikes a chord. "I have been back over a year now and find it still challenging every day. I believe that an experience similar to what we both shared changes you to some extent, permanently, in a way so that you can never go back to see the old things in the same light you used to see them. It becomes frustrating since you can't see the old familiar things in the same comfortable way you used to, and you see the changes in yourself from your experiences being projected into your daily life." Pretty good insight, even if he is an accountant... ;-)

Seriously though, Mozzy brings up several valid points and it sheds light on the process that repatriation is. What has happened is that the US has continued on for the last 5 years and I've not been a part of it. The experiences I've lived through while being overseas are not shared by the overwhelming majority of Americans and those experiences mean that I do see this country in a different light.

As a child growing up, I spent a good portion of my time living abroad and knew nothing different; it was my life and I didn't know that others didn't live like I did. When I got into high school, we settled down for a while and I spent the years of 1984 until 2003 living in the States (with brief periods of traveling abroad either on my own or while in the military). During those 19 years I became very adjusted to seeing the US from a certain perspective and that became my norm as I grew from a child to an adult. I came to know America in my own way and when I moved to Holland, my perspective of the world was going to change - especially how I view my native culture.

The process of repatriating is hard to explain although I think Mozzy did a pretty good job of it. While I'm an insider by birthright, I'm not an insider culturally. I've moved to New Mexico because I didn't know where else to go, making me an outsider to the community while being a virtual outsider to the nation. Yes, I am an American and yes, this is my home country but no, I do not feel like I am an American at home - that will take time. I don't see America like I did before and that's part of the reason why I feel a little lost.

But this is not designed to be a pity-post, instead a view into what it feels like to be in global transition. Combat vets talk about PTSD and not seeing the world as they saw it before. While my experiences in the world cannot compare to what they've endured, I understand their feelings of being different, outside and looking in. What to do in this case? The same as every other expatriate who comes home - take it one day at a time and appreciate the vision that I've been given. Seeing things, even countries, in a different light is a good thing and it makes you grateful for the life I chose to live.

Thanks Mozzy, my good friend and an awesome Jenga Warrior.

holy light.

2008-08-15T19:38:00.001-07:00

holy light.
Originally uploaded by bibo.aswan

Its been a while since I've posted a picture I found on flickr. Here's one I found today that I really like - a great play on light...

poco a poco

2008-08-15T17:07:00.003-07:00

"Little by little", a familiar phrase I learned while in Peru and now it is aptly applying to my life again. Originally it was used on me by locals to signify that I was learning Spanish and adjusting to Peruvian culture in small increments, now I use it to describe myself as I readjust to being in my native culture again.

I returned to the States about 6 weeks ago and haven't quite settled back in yet. The first few weeks I was in "teacher summer mode" and didn't get a whole lot done but that was the norm. My usual routine during my vacations was to take off a good portion of time and do absolutely nothing, rest the brain after the ordeal of the school year. At the end of the normal break, I took a couple of short trips to Colorado and Ohio before returning to New Mexico. Colorado had a strange feel to it but I couldn't put my finger on it; Ohio felt just as strange and it was there and then that I realized what I was going through. My brain was starting to wrap itself around the idea that I no longer was going to return to Peru (or any overseas location for that matter) and I needed to adjust to my new surroundings. I didn't have to learn a new place but rather relearn an old place. Driving around NE Ohio was interesting from the perspective that I knew the general structure of the place but I needed to relearn what it was like in a familiar place as things do change slightly.

The idea of driving around in Ohio perfectly reflects how I feel as a person who is repatriating. I know the general structure of the US but its still going to take me some time to get used to the changes that have taken place since I left. While five years isn't a long time and not a lot has transformed about this country, there are still small things that I need to become accustomed to and that will occur, albeit slowly.

When asked by my classmates whom I saw at the reunion in Ohio about the changes that I had noticed, I came up blank. I could feel there was a difference but I just couldn't put my finger on it. Yeah, traffic patterns can be slightly different and money has a weird red tint to it in some cases but when asked about other specifics, I just couldn't nail it down. And maybe it isn't the culture or anything else of the States that has changed that much, maybe its just me. Something tells me that it is more of the latter than the former but then again, I'm not the best of impartial judges.

So I find myself living in a land where I grew up, speaking my native language consistently and listening to accents that are almost the same as mine but still feeling like a stranger. I know that it is just the process of repatriation and all expats comment similarly about feeling the same way but this is my first time doing it as an adult. Why not record it on this blog like my other expat stories? So I have decided to put it down here and use it as a tool for reflection for when I do this again. And yes, I do plan on going overseas again in the future (Africa sounds like a great adventure) and perhaps writing it down this time will make it easier on the next move that involves repatriation. A tool for my use and for others, especially those are going or will go through it.

Getting over culture shock is a gradual process that I will go through, something that will take time. In other words, poco a poco.

gluttony gets a calling card

2008-07-18T09:49:00.004-07:00

The more I read the news the more I seem to notice that America is being served a big-ass portion of "shoulda thunk more about what you were doing". There are lots of signs out there that Americans have been overdoing it for over 50 years and now its starting to catch up with us, in a super big, ugly, nasty way.

We've been the gluttons of the planet ever since WWII came to a conclusion. Since the Americas were untouched during the colossal war, our resources were undamaged, infrastructure in place, and the United States was the big beneficiary of it. Mexico and countries south used this advantage to start building themselves up while Canada used the time to recuperate and get back to figuring out a way to make their cars not freeze so much (I joke, don't get upset).

America in the post-war era really jumped. Manufacturing was retooled after the war for the returning solider and his family to supply the needs of the family. America didn't have to spend billions on rebuilding and as a result, we spent the money on consuming. Over the course of the last five decades, Americans have become the very best at being consumers. From petroleum and all is by-products to food and all of its processed derivatives, we've done a great job of gobbling up everything in sight.

The time has come to pay for that gluttony.

The signs were evident in the 70s. Carter tried to get the country to realize its need for an energy policy and the gas crisis of his Administration should have awoken us to the upcoming dangers. Instead his ideas were buried when Reagan came to office as that Administration spent its time and money buying out communism and ignoring the need. We stormed ahead with giant cars, dubbed SUVs, and expected that cheap gas was something we would always have. The last few years have showed the error of that belief.

American industry was also given notice back in the 70s but it failed to listen as well. The environmental disaster of the Love Canal in western New York and the flammability of the Cuyahoga River in northeast Ohio were indicators that we couldn't treat our environment as a dump site and expect any type of animal to flourish - human or other. Yet Hinkley, California still made headlines as PG&E was sued by residents for the hexavalent chromium it polluted the water with some 15 years later, as made famous by the movie Erin Brockovich.

We lived for 50 years thinking that what we did would have no consequences and ignored the idea that "everything should be in moderation". Yet there was no moderation, no limits, no reflection to see if we were acting appropriately. We assumed that we could do no wrong, that the might of America would mean that our values were never questioned and our beliefs adopted by one and all. We now reap what we have sown and America looks much the worse for it.

Our economy is tied to oil that we do not control. We are currently spending hundred of billions (the numbers range from 330 to 600) of dollars EVERY YEAR in our demand for oil. Americans are the donors of the largest transfer of wealth from one nation-state to others ever seen in history. Pretty soon there American dream will be alive and well somewhere in the Middle East or Venezuela.

We raped our environment with over-fishing, over-ranching, and over-spraying of pesticides. The fishing industry in reeling now and realizing their error after 50 years of giving everyone what they wanted at a super-low cost; only the cost was passed on to the remaining sea-life, decimating the populations so that they are dangerously low today. Alaskan King Crab, Maryland Blue Crab, and Atlantic Cod are examples of over-fishing that have devastated those species to the point where they may not be available soon in your supermarket. In search of places to raise the almighty cow, native grasslands are chewed down to nothingness to feed the hormone-laced beast. We despise bugs so much that we are willing to put horrendous chemicals on our food to prevent them from eating it (bugs need to eat too ya know) and end up ingesting those poisons in the process. I won't even go into DDT and what that can do...

But all is not gloom and doom, there is hope for Americans - provided we take a long, hard look at our practices and recognize what moderation truly is. It may mean completely changing how we think but as a young country and we have that ability. Americans are known for overcoming the odds, never giving up, always fighting to the end. We show it in our movies and in our actions (United Flight 93) which is a testament to the idea that we can accomplish whatever we set out to do. We can change in a moment's notice, we can mend our ways, and we can show others what the true path to maintaining a sustainable environment is all about. American leadership is not waning but it could do better.

So America, when do we start leading again? Show it in your actions, not your words.

transition

2008-07-15T13:51:00.002-07:00

Life is always in transition but for me, this seems to be a common theme. Coming back to the US, I moved myself for the 25th time. Needless to say, I've become pretty good at packing and relocating quickly, Peru being the ultimate testiment to that. I was able to pack out my entire Peruvian life in just under 12 hours - and that included quite a bit of dawdling on the computer (damn Conquer Club!). When all was said and done, I packed up everything I cared to take with me into 4 suitcases and a box for a grand total of 100 kg (220 lbs) worth of cargo. $670 later, I had all my personal goods back to the States where it joined the rest of my crap, which had been waiting in storage for 5 years since leaving California to go teach abroad. Yes, my stuff is sitting currently in my parents' garage and I'm currently living in their basement - feel free to poke fun of me if you so desire.

Now that I'm back, I'm starting to settle in. One thing that I've noticed is that a lot of my friends that I had before I left the States are really starting to get in contact with me and they share a common theme.

"When are you coming back to visit?"

Sorry friends but I'm going to admit something publicly that may offend some of you but hey, its my blog and I'm gonna write what I wanna write.

My initial thought to answering this question was, "Soon, just let me get settled and I'll come out to visit." But then I got to thinking - why should I have to do all the traveling?

I've been traveling for the better part of 30 years and have always been the one to go somewhere else to visit my friends because they were located there. In my youth, that is completely understandable as kids are somewhat tied to their parents. But we've all entered a point now where we (as people in the 30something category) have the choice to travel anywhere we want with the family that we have. So when my brain got to pondering, it made me think, "Why don't you come visit me for a change?"

I recognize that vacation time is precious in the States as most people tend to get about 2 weeks a year when they start working. By now, most of my peers have been working long enough that they should be in the 4 week range, depending how long they've been with an employer. I also recognize that I've always been extremely mobile and willing to travel great distances to see my friends (its easier when you're single) but at this point in my life, I'm starting to get weary of being the weary traveler.

So my friends who are reading this - New Mexico is a wonderful place to visit and you should do so before I find a job and leave the "Land of Enchantment" because you never know when you might come back. For those of you who are reading just because you are reading, when was the last time YOU made the long trip to go see a friend?

recent shutdown

2008-06-03T17:14:00.002-07:00

If you've tried logging in much over the last few weeks, you will have noticed that you've been denied access. A precautionary measure was needed for a short period of time to ensure against a possible problem that crept its way into my life.

I got notification a few weeks ago that my personal information had been possibly compromised. As a result of the information superhighway, items that used to be confidential and personal can sometimes be accessed by people that we don't necessarily want to have that information. Since we rely on computers so much nowadays for all of our record-keeping, you have to be extremely careful when it comes to what personal information you share on the net. I always knew that but a recent set of events caused me to really look at what I was sharing.

With my personal information compromised by another agency, I was put on alert by said agency. I went through the process of having my credit checked and monitored to see if anything might happen. Sure enough, I was notified that someone attempted to get a credit card in my name. When I called the security company back to tell them that I was not the applicant, they took the appropriate steps to ensure that my identity was protected. Needless to say, I am happy to have paid for the service that monitored my credit and personal information. Peace of mind comes at a cost but a cost I was glad to have paid.

Now that all is said and done, my identity still intact (I think), I'm back to being up on the internet here at Expat Nomad. With the move to the US coming up very soon, check back for more posts in the near future that chronicle my journey back to the realm of repatriation.

outside looking in

2008-05-01T05:46:00.002-07:00

All I read about nowadays is the economic recession (the one not officially announced) in the US and how it is affecting the country. I read stories that people are digging around for aluminum cans to pay for their mortgage and having to choose between gassing up the car or paying for groceries. It was an article on Yahoo!'s MLB page that inspired this entry as I look in at America from the outside.

I understand that times may be hard in the States but I can't help but wonder just how hard they might be. The stories I read talk about the hardship that people are facing but when you start to read between the lines, it becomes obvious that the people mentioned in these stories could be making better financial decisions. For example - there is a couple mentioned in the baseball article that are having trouble making their mortgage payment. They scour Dodger stadium and its parking lot after games to get recycling products to attempt to get extra income, sometimes gathering $80-90 worth for their efforts. Oh by the way - they pick up the recycling AFTER they've watched the baseball game, which they own season-tickets to see. That's right, the two of them paid nearly $1600 for 40 Dodger games when they are struggling to pay off their mortgage. At $40 per game, it looks as though the recycling gig is a good one, helping to pay for their pastime as well as a little extra. But when you look at the cost of owning and driving a vehicle, cost analysis shows that this isn't the case - they are losing money by going to the baseball games. At least they don't buy the $10 beers or $5 hot dogs when inside.

But these two aren't alone. Major League Baseball says that attendance figures are up this year compared to last (which saw 2007 set an all-time attendance record) and there is no sign of slowing down, despite the tough times people are complaining about. The average cost of taking a family of 4 to a baseball game - $200 (tickets, food, drinks, souvenirs, gas, parking, etc.). If you take the family to one game a month for the season - that's close to $2000. For some families, that's a mortgage payment. Alas, baseball isn't the only drain on the American pocketbook and I shouldn't pick on just that.

Americans are currently complaining like crazy about the price of gasoline and they have no one to blame but themselves. No one has demanded an energy policy out of a President ever and no President has had one since the Carter Administration. Remember Carter? That guy in the 70's who saw the future of America being tied to oil and tried to change that path. He installed solar panels on the White House, he tried to push through legislation that would require car manufacturers to increase gas mileage, and he provided incentives for those developing and using alternative energy resources. And then came Reagan, who dismantled the solar panels (his first day in office), vetoed the legislation, and spent the incentive money on arms to fight the Cold War. Sadly enough, no President since - Democrat or Republican - has tried to ween America off of oil.

Before we all attempt to blame a select few in the government for not watching out for our best interests, let me remind you that we all share the blame. As consumers we dictate the marketplace and the car manufacturers will make cars that we demand and we've demanded large SUVs that have huge amounts of power but suck down the gas. We ignored the common sense that has been staring us in the face for the last 30 years (technically more but I'm only going back to Carter) and always figured that there would be an unlimited supply of cheap gas. Everyone knows that oil is a non-renewable energy resource and there is only so much in the ground. The more we take out, the less there is and the higher the price. And the cars we've been driving use A LOT of that expensive resource. Americans knew this was coming, we've been told this since we were kids in grade school, but we shirked the responsibility of telling the car industry what to make and got "security" with the SUV market. Our own damn fault...

If America truly is in a recession and there is a need to cut back, we are going to need to take a look at the "essentials" of life and seeing if they are truly essential. Cable/Satellite TV is not a necessity of life, you can do without the mindless entertainment that is modern television (I've been doing it for the last couple of years). You don't need to drive everywhere - try riding a bike or walking. Not only do you save gas but you also get exercise which could help with the obesity epidemic, a topic I won't go into here and now. Professional sports events are nice but you do realize that the money you spend makes the elite richer and you, the average consumer, poorer - right? Is anyone who plays a sport really worth $25 million a year? C'mon, its just a game. How about we value the truly important people of our society and pay them the big bucks? Aww, just a pipedream.

So America, take heed and start taking stock of the true essentials of your life. You need a house, food, and basic transportation to get from home to work and back. Meet those needs first and then see what else you can afford. Turn off your Dish Network, ride a bike to work, spend time with your family doing something rather than sitting at a game and watching someone else have the fun. There is a way out of the recession and it isn't on your Visa or American Express card...

watch your p's and q's

2008-04-06T19:49:00.001-07:00

So one of my friends had an interesting weekend, one that I'm sure he would rather forget as it brings to light some of the pitfalls that go along with living in a foreign country. In some places, the police and/or government are not to be trifled with and Peru is one of those places, especially for a gringo. This story all starts for me on Sunday night about 8pm when a phone call from my friend Michelle comes through.

"Hey Expat, I need your help. I need you to call Embassy Chick and see what we can do for Tim. He's been arrested by the Peruvian police and they've been holding him for a couple of hours."
"OK, I'll be happy to do so. What happened so I can tell her what's going on?"
"Tim got into a car accident this afternoon and doesn't have a valid international driver's license."
"That's not good. I'll give her a call and see what we can come up with."

I am the contact for Embassy Chick as she and I are currently dating and when the shit hits the fan, you normally call in the Calvary to bail your ass out. Embassy Chick is the Calvary and I'm the lucky man who gets to call her with this little gufaw that Tim has managed to get himself into.

So I call her and after a short conversation, I find out that the US Embassy can do nothing for my dear friend Tim. Just as the US government wouldn't want people asking favors of our police when a foreign national does something wrong, they don't get involved when it comes to something like this - you have to respect the authority of a nation's sovereignty. Regrettably, I called Michelle back and informed her of the lack of response the Calvary would be able to provide and that Tim was basically on his own. Embassy Chick suggested that we actually try contacting our school administration and see if that might grease the right wheels as they are probably better known here than the staff of the US Embassy.

To make a long story short, one in which they are multiple phone calls to me asking for the Calvary, I get to the heart and solution to the problem that Tim is in. Our Peruvian director went down to the station, bribed the cop with $100 (and the promise of a toaster oven on Mother's Day - I shit you not!) to bail Tim out of the custody of the police. He went home just before midnight, dignity shredded but ass still in tact.

I talked with Tim today, got the low-down on everything and told him why Embassy Chick wasn't able to come to his rescue. He nodded and appreciated the effort, recognizing that he got off lightly with what have been turned into a serious event. In a country where bribing the police is an every-day occurrence, you gotta be careful. My words of advice to Tim (and others who travel abroad) was this - keep your shit straight and don't ever try to pull a fast one on the local authorities (Tim had doctored his int'l driver's license and they figured it out). You never want to give them (police, military, government, etc.) any excuse to hold a gringo for whatever reason.

While you may be familiar with your native culture and customs, understand that other countries work differently and what may be a slight offense to you may not be to them. Keep all your documents in order and up to date, the more normal you appear to them, the less likely you are to be detained. Minimize your exposure to extraneous events and you're more likely to be able to walk away with everything still intact.

And don't ever forget to follow through with any bribes you may promise...

who's the idiot?

2008-03-31T15:42:00.000-07:00

So I checked my email this morning and found that a certain Anonymous user from Yucaipa, CA had left a comment on my previous entry. With a little investigation, I see that my dear, old friend Harry Ervin (of Yucca Valley HS and Colton HS fame and notoriety) left the comment. It read -

Mr. Curry,

As a reminder, you were an idiot under my administration and today I see nothing has changed.

Really? If that were the case, I would have been in the same situation as you. Instead, I've managed to find and keep employment in various locations around the world, including one of the top schools in South America. Yes Mr. Ervin - I'm such an idiot that administrators from excellent schools around the world recognize the value of a good teacher and have not only given me a job but also write wonderful letters of recommendation saying that I am an idiot. I've managed to be such a confounded idiot that my students are scoring in the top percentiles of the International Baccalaureate program and procure spots at universities such as Penn, Yale, Cambridge, TU Delft, Vrije Amsterdam, and other slouching institutions.

Or were you referring to my leadership skills within the MTA (Morongo Teachers Association)? Those leadership skills that led to a presidency at my school in Holland where I successfully led the teachers for 2 years. Or the leadership skills that allowed me to move into a coaching position that saw my team advance to the finals of South American schools? Perhaps you were trying to compare my leadership skills yours...

Let's take a look at Mr. Ervin - in less than 2 years you were relieved of being a principal in 2 separate school districts, one were a near-riot occurred. Now you have a position at Heritage College-Ready Academy in Los Angeles. Congrats on getting another job but when I visited the school's website, I noticed a disturbing trend. Is there any particular reason why 6 of your 18, fully 1/3 of your teaching staff, is leaving the school? Do they disagree with what is happening and looking to go elsewhere? Its not like THAT hasn't happened before. I also noted earlier that the message was sent from Yucaipa - why are you still doing long commutes to your place of employment? Is there some reason why you won't live in the communities where you work? What kind of message does it send to a community about a leader who won't live amongst the people? And why exactly did you write? Its been almost 5 years since I left YVHS and fully 3 years since the events at Colton. Were you saddened to see the top Google searches of your name come up with negative stories about you? Gee, so sorry to hear that your actions have consequences.

Sarcasm aside Mr. Ervin, I am happy (truly) that you have found employment and can continue to support your family despite the adverse situations you have managed to put yourself into. I appreciate that you are looking out for the best interests of students when you do some of the things that you do. You do have good intentions and I applaud your determination to improve the lives of those students whom you oversee. However, has it ever occurred to you that while your message is good, your method of implementation could be improved? I understand that in the Marine Corps, a chain of command is good and following that CofC is important to do without reservation or hesitation. And while classrooms may sometimes resemble a war zone, it may not always been necessary to adopt a Joe Clark of Eastside HS of Paterson, NJ mentality. Beating someone over the head with an idea doesn't mean they'll adopt it any quicker. Please keep that in mind when you are dealing with people - not everyone reacts as we would like when a certain stimulus is applied.

Mr. Ervin, let it go. You don't always need to have the last word (remember that wonderful email you sent to me when I left and the response it got?) and you've moved on in your career. Accept that people will not always be a fan of you or your decisions and go about your life. You've got a wonderful family, a well-paying job, your health, and the prospect of a good future, why trouble yourself with the petty aspects of someone who thinks ill of you on another continent? C'mon man, life is too short for that. Toss back a beer, chalk it up to another life experience, and enjoy the present. If you need a way to see how your life is so good, come visit me in Peru and I'll be happy to show you places where life isn't so grand, places where you'll appreciate the life you live and the hand you've been dealt in this world. Do yourself a favor and get out of Southern California on your next vacation - see the poverty of the world and then you can complain about something...

defending a position

2008-02-27T16:04:00.003-07:00

Thanks to Shamash who wrote a comment on my last post. I do love lively conversations and this looks like it could be a great one to discuss. I value her opinion and want to take this opportunity to answer the questions that she raised and also provide some clarification to ideas I previously posted. Her reply is in italics, my response is below that.

Hi, Expat.

I'm not sure of the qualities that the USA has for being, as you say, "the greatest nation on earth." Do you mean because we are powerful, and have more military might? How IS the USA "better" than, let's say, Canada? Or Denmark? Or Switzerland?

What I use as a premise to make the claim that the US is the "greatest nation on the Earth" comes from a few different markers.

One - economic strength. Despite the current weakness of the US dollar recently, the US economy is still the world's largest (the EU isn't a nation) and what happens to the US economy has immediate global effects. When the US markets tank, so do the Japanese, Korean, British, German, etc.

Two - military strength. In the arena of executing war, the US has no equal currently. While our exit strategies are less than optimal, the brute force of the US military is unmatched by any single nation on the planet.

Three - political strength. While there is the odd country that enjoys being the antagonist to US politicians, most of the world recognizes that having the US as an ally and maintaining good diplomatic relations with the country means that there is the possibility for good things to happen. When the US gets behind a certain political agenda, it is hard to win the counter argument, no matter how rational or legitimate that argument might be. Case in point, the Iraq War - it might not have been right and people around the world protested it (including many Americans), but the plan was still implemented.

To be clear, I didn't state that the US was any better than any other country although that is implied by my statement of being the greatest nation on Earth. I do not think that the US is better than any other place, every place has its appeal and disgrace. If I didn't believe that, I would have never left my native country to seek out the pleasure of living and enjoying other countries.

I know that being an American is important to you, and that your identity is deeply connected to your nationality.

I think everyone has some degree of nationalism in their blood. The Olympics are based nationalism (and commercialism) and the prospect of finding a common ground for people to come together - sport. In this day and age, we all belong to a country and are identified by the culture that is prevalent in that nation. I am proud of who I am - as an American, educator, and human being. Everyone's outward identity is connected to their nationality, I'm just not ashamed of mine like those whom I was criticizing in my post.

I'm of a different breed, I guess. When I look at a person, I don't see a nationality: I see a face. There are many people I know from different countries who, like you, think that THEIR country is the "greatest nation on earth", and their truth is no less valid than yours.

No arguments there. You are indeed a different breed because no one in their right mind would go for another master's degree after the perfection we shared at MSU. ;-)

Seriously, my opinion of the US being the greatest nation currently is up for debate and I gladly welcome it. I would like to hear from someone who does think that their country is the greatest nation currently and why they think so. As Shamash can attest, I am indeed open to all ideas, even if it means that I have to admit that I'm wrong.

Jingoism, though important for the armed forces and the enlisted, is actually the root for fundamentalist regimes who use the "we are better than them" ideal to rouse citizens to rally around a cause.

Once again, I couldn't agree with you more. When people start thinking that they are better than others, bad things happen. The Armed Forces do need to have that mentality for the main reason of staying alive. When you start to doubt yourself, your equipment, and your fellow soldier - the espirit d'corps goes to shit and before you know it, a lesser force rolls over your position and you're dead. If you don't believe your are the better trained fighting force, then you won't be.

To reiterate without beating a dead horse, I don't claim or believe Americans are better than anyone else - just different. Any regime that preaches they are better than another is only preaching one thing - discrimination.

Under the guise of "fighting for freedom", the war in Iraq has been about oil. Otherwise, the same military might would have helped Burma to free a leader who was elected by 80% of the vote and who, as a Nobel Peace Prize winner, has spent most of the past 20 years under house arrest. As thousands of of peaceful demonstrators, many of them monks, were teargassed and shot at, where was the USA?

Point #3 that I agree with Shamash. The Persian Gulf War and subsequent Iraq War were nothing more than a father and son team ensuring that America had oil in its immediate future. Despite the attempts of the Carter Administration to get American weened off oil with its energy policy back in the late 70's (and its idiotic repeal by the Reagan Administration), Americans are using an INSANE amount of oil. Regardless of how I think about W, I imagine that he will be viewed as the President who secured an oil source for our energy needs and America's future. The house of Saud will fall sooner or later and America is going to need another oil source if the country becomes less than friendly to the US. Until Americans stop being the energy gluttons that we are, there is going to be a high demand for oil and having Iraq and Saudi Arabia (and who could forget Kuwait!) as suppliers is necessary to keep the country running.

But what about Burma? Why aren't we there bringing democracy to a country that desperately wants it so? They have elections and still the military junta is in control, where is the US? You said it earlier - there are no resources that the US wants in Burma in the moment and as a result, it is easier to ignore such a travesty. I'm not saying its right; in fact, its completely wrong and off platform for Bush. If he really wants to show the wonders of democracy and what it can do, then he would have committed troops to Myanmar soil and returned it back to the Burmese. But no natural resources means no attention. I hate to admit it but that's what is happening with our inaction.

The government of the US, has, as "the greatest nation on earth" detained suspects without trial, tortured suspects, invaded a country under the pretenses that there were "weapons of mass distruction", and killed thousands of citizens of Iraq. Rather than spending billions on education and developing better energy sources, the US has raged an illegal war which has broken international law, and awakened anti-American sentiment across the world.

The United States of America is highly flawed at this moment in time, there is no doubting that. I feel that this comes from a lack of credible leadership in the White House and thank goodness there is an upcoming "regime change". The pendulum swung WAY to the right when Clinton (Bill) left office and the radicals have been in the driving seat too long. The Constitution implies that there is to be a separation of church and state (the First Amendment states there is to be no state religion), it has not been a practiced method for as long as I can remember. Since when did a person's ability to lead come from the fact that s/he has a relationship with God? I get scared when W says that God told him to do certain things - it makes me wonder if he truly has a brain or is a mindless cretin (enter your own "W being an idiot" joke here). I can't wait to be a part of an election where religion has no bearing on who gets elected - rather the debate on personal politics and leadership ability is the main focus.

America isn't being the moral compass that the world is looking for, we are massively underwhelming the world with how we conduct our business and I do hope that this comes from the current administration. I can't believe that the Bush Administration didn't make torture illegal (even though it is by the Geneva Convention, which we subscribe to) and still continue to do it. Its deplorable and the Administration should be held accountable for such. Clinton lied about getting his wiener polished by Monica and he almost got impeached. Bush commits the multitudes of violations of moral and ethical treatment of humans and nothing happens? I'm surprised no one hasn't tried to haul his ass off to The Hague to stand trial at the International Criminal Court. Its not genocide but it certainly is a crime against humanity.

As I said, America has a generous number of flaws at the moment but as the eternal optimist, I feel like the country can right itself and change to become the beacon we once were to the world.

Right now, I am NOT proud to be an American, and I do NOT believe that the US is the "greatest nation on earth." Instead, I believe it is the "greatest bully on earth".

I appreciate your opinion and respect it. You have reason to not be proud to be an American and even more reason to think that the Administration that runs the country is indeed a great bully. However my post pertained to the idea of not shirking your responsibility as an American and owning up to being one. Every though we are expats, we are still Americans and we enjoy the benefits of having that passport. Imagine this scenario - the 3rd world country you live is going through massive turmoil, something goes horribly wrong and you are abducted by radicals. Who do you want to come pull you out of the wreckage? I mean no ill-will towards any person, armed force, or creed when I say this - I'd want to have the passport of being an American citizen so I would know that they would do whatever it would take to get me out. If you are a captor with gringos sitting in front of you as hostages, who are you going to fear more - the Swiss, Danish, or Americans? And I don't just mean military options because we know that a lot of situations like that are resolved in diplomatic means. The eagle on our passport is clutching two items in its talons, olive branches and arrows; the head is facing the olive branches but when that doesn't work, there is a bunch of whoop-ass ready to fly. Personally, I'd want to be an American at that point in time but then again, I'm a little biased.

To wrap it up, you can be an American who has a beef with the country and a fed up with the way the country is being run or you can be an American who has a tattoo of an flag covering your entire back or you can be an American who is complacent and hasn't done anything to help the country out but just don't be an American who claims to be a Canadian, or Dane, or Swiss when its convenient. You are who you are and if you are embarrassed to be something, then change it. Whether its a personal trait or nationality, you have the choice to be whatever you want - don't be ashamed of who you are.

national pride?

2008-02-25T12:41:00.002-07:00

While on vacation this summer (that would be North American winter), my travel partner Tim and I had a lot of entertaining and spirited conversations. One that comes to mind is how poorly America treats its veterans and how there should be some way that they are compensated for putting their lives on the line. As a veteran, I completely agree with Tim and wish that there was something that could be done to recognize my service (aside from being a member of the American Legion) to my country but I'll live without it. But this isn't the topic I wanted to deal with, at least not directly. What I really wanted to write about is the lack of pride in being an American, especially amongst travelers.

We saw a lady wearing a hat with the Canadian flag on it while hiking in Torres del Paine in southern Chile. We listened to her and tried to determine where she was from in Canada by her accent but it was to no avail. It wasn't until days later that we overheard her say that she was from Ontario and then her accent became relatively apparent. But for a few days, we suspected that she might be an American incognito and was hiding behind the Canadian flag to avoid confrontations. Being an American outside of America at this moment in time can be rather tricky and many have taken to pretending that they are Canadian to avoid any problems. Spots on CNBC have even highlighted Americans buying Canadian flags to put on to their luggage to mask their nationality.

Tim and I both find this appalling. Tim's perspective was this - being an American comes with certain rights and responsibilities. If you are an American than you get the benefit of being an American just by your birth and believe me, there are plenty of benefits to being an American. So don't enjoy the benefits of being an American just when it suits you, live up to it all the time. When a President is unpopular, deal with the burden of being part of the society that elected him but don't pretend that you are something you are not.

I served in the US Navy from 1991-1995, making me officially a Gulf War veteran. Technically I didn't serve in the Gulf when we were "reclaiming" Kuwait from Saddam Hussein but I did have a part in making sure that things didn't go pear-shaped after the ground war was over. I didn't enlist in the military for some noble reason like defending the country or something like that, I joined for the same reason as a lot of others along side me - we were kinda lost and needed some direction, the military being it. People from the ghettos of Atlanta, the farms of Decatur (IL), the fishing towns of Kodiak (AK), and everywhere in between are the ones that sign up for duty. Those who don't have very much defending the rights and freedoms of those who do have a lot. The poor defending the rich, it sounds almost like modern-day serfdom.

People who don't ask for much and get paid even less, they are the ones who put their ass on the line for us and we repay them with being ashamed to be an American? When one person believes enough in an something to die for it, that is worthy of my respect. And while I do not think that the radicals of the Muslim faith are correct in their ideas about the West, I do respect their belief that they need to die for that faith. Now as for their gullibility...

As if on cue, Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" popped up on my iPod shuffled its way through the 4000+ songs that are on it and is playing in the background as I write. The lyrics are poignant as Lee sings them while I write...

I'm proud to be an American
Where at least I know I'm free.
I won't forget the men who died
Who gave that right to me.
I'd gladly stand up
Next to you
And defend her still today.
Cuz there ain't no doubt I love this land
God bless the USA.

So please, for all of those Americans who travel near and far, don't do yourself and those who died for your liberty any dishonor by claiming to be something that you aren't. You're not Canadian, or British, or whatever - you're from the greatest nation on the Earth and don't be ashamed to admit that. You're lucky enough to be from a country where questioning your leaders is not only allowed, its required. You are from a place that the world thinks is the promised land and that anything is possible. We are the example that the world looks to and sometimes we fall quite short of those lofty expectations. Even so, being an American is not easy and being a citizen can be trying at times but that's what makes being an American worth while. I'm not saying that you should be waiving the flag all the time and being an "ugly American" (which I must say there is a double standard for us, but I'll save that one for another post) when you are abroad, just live up to your birth rite.

The next time you are asked where you are from, hold your head up right and proudly (not arrogantly) state, "I'm an American."

invisible man

2007-12-27T20:43:00.000-07:00

Guess what, its been FOREVER since I've updated on here - I'm doing my own personal impression of Keyser Soze (The Usual Suspects). And from the looks of it, I'll be continuing that impression for at least another month.

I'm off for another great expedition, this time its Patagonia. I leave on the 30th of December and won't be back until near the end of February. I have a slight plan in mind but nothing too concrete - just me and a friend wandering Argentina and Chile for a month.

So while Expat Nomad is still my moniker and my website, I'm taking a little time off to enjoy the wonders of this continent while I still have the chance. More to come when I return from this adventure, stories and pictures to follow. Until then, Happy New Year and I'll see ya in 2008.

new way to wage war?

2007-09-13T09:58:00.000-07:00

I've been a TED junkie recently, watching video after video about many interesting things that are discussed at TED. One that I watched last night really made me think about the role of the military in the world (specifically the US military) and how things could be done differently - especially considering the quagmire that is Iraq. It looks as though someone else has done a good deal of thinking on that idea as well and his ideas are pretty sound in my mind. Give Dr. Thomas Barnett a few minutes of your time and see that people do care about what we've done in Iraq and how that should be changed in the immediate future; its interesting stuff.

what to talk about?

2007-09-04T20:02:00.000-07:00

“Great minds talk about ideas, average minds talk about events, and small minds talk about people.” - Eleanor Roosevelt

My friend Shamash sent me a message on Skype the other day, linking me to a video of some amazing technology that is being developed. I'll link to that specific presentation some other time, but it was that video that got me interested in what I am writing about today. Its called TED and iTunes was gracious enough to put up the BMW sponsored video podcast of what happens there.

TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design) bills itself with the tagline "Ideas Worth Sharing" and I couldn't agree more. TED is a conference where people come together to share their ideas with the world and now thanks to the internet, I can watch and absorb the ideas that people are thinking about and sharing. So I thought that I would do what I could to spread the ideas that people at TED are presenting, starting with this one.

reassuring comfort

2007-09-04T19:45:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since I've posted on here, mainly just because of what I needed to do after the earthquake(s). While the event didn't affect me much physically, there was some mental issues that I needed to deal with before I got back to the normalcy of my routine life. The time that it took for me to process has gone and I feel like I'm back to a sense of security now that I've had the time to go through it all in my mind. Thanks for your patience.

That sense of security was prevalent today as I made my way home from school this evening. Its Tuesday and while this is usually a day for practice, today was a bit different. We were scheduled to play another local team, our first match of the year, but that match was canceled; they had some bad excuse and I just took it and moved on. So I ran a haphazard practice and then came home afterwards. Leaving school at 7:30 pm means that I'm going to be running into high rush hour and it took me waving down a few cabs before I finally got one that wanted to drive me out to Miraflores for a decent rate.

As I climbed in the back seat of the taxi, I reached over my right shoulder and pulled the safety belt across my body and locked it into place. The cab motored away and I felt relaxed in this cab as we headed off into the fray of rush hour. In a lot of cabs here, seat belts are just starting to be put in to the back seats and there are plenty of vehicles out there without belts. Its not something that I look for when hailing a cab so its kinda luck-of-the-draw as to what you get.

The comfort that this seat belt brought to me made me realize just what little things in life can do for you. It wasn't just the belt itself but the symbol it took for me at that moment in the cab. The idea of the small things meaning the most and comfort being derived from the simple and mundane made me smile - sometimes life just gives you reason to smile, and for bizarre reasons.

So here's to the safety belt that I put on this evening. Cheers for the warm fuzzy!

sense of humor

2007-08-19T19:23:00.000-07:00

Well, I can officially say that I'm over the dread of the impending doom of continued earthquakes - at least after what happened today. This is a story that I plan on telling my grandkids.

People all have daily duties to attend to and my daily constitutional for the day was a bit later than normal. Rather than being bright and early, I made my way to the facilities shortly after 3pm local time. As I was sitting there on the throne, Mother Nature threw me a funny - one that you can only laugh about. At 3:11 pm local time, a 5.6 aftershock rumbled away from Chincha Alta (the epicenter for most of the quakes we've been having) and shook the ground quite nicely here in Lima. A nice little side to side saunter, gently massaging my posterior with the plastic seat that I was sitting upon.

Normally, this should be terrifying. Sitting down to do one's duty, pants around the ankles, and having an earthquake strike. But all I could do was laugh. And I mean like gut-busting laughter, laughing so hard you cry - its the only thing that you really can do. I mean, if you take it too seriously, you end up going insane. Instead, just laugh it off and chalk up another wonderful moment in life. Pardon my crass language but I look at it this way - I can literally say that I've experienced having something "shaking the shit" out of me!!! LOL Life is back to normal...

taletell signs

2007-08-18T23:44:00.000-07:00

Life has the look of being back to normal here in Lima but as I talk with many people, I am finding that we are all still dealing with the stress of life. Even though we all know that the majority of the energy was released back on Wednesday, the rather frequent and powerful aftershocks still remind us of the two minutes we endured just a few days ago. I will admit, the frequency and magnitude of the aftershocks does worry me slightly, more than 4 days after and we are still having quakes in the 5.0 - 5.8 range. I expected there to be more of a drop-off than this with the aftershocks and I'm sure that the surges of tectonic plates that we are feeling right now are the main reason for the tension that hangs in the air.

As I noted, Lima has the look of being back to normal but every conversation you have is laced with an air of uncertainty and doubt as people still wonder about their safety. A friend of mine from FDR showed the pictures of her apartment (major cracks running through the interior walls) and her hands began to shake as she relived the terror of the moments she felt. It didn't help that about 5 minutes after showing those pictures, we had another aftershock (5.8) shake us again. Her signs are more visible than the rest of us, but if we were poker players right now, our tells would be quite visible.

For me, my tell is the fact that I've been wearing a baseball cap for the last 48 hours and eating like there's no tomorrow. The mood I feel at the moment reminds me of how I felt after 9/11. While the scope of this situation isn't as intense as that day was, I still have that pit in my stomach. For me, I know my reaction to mild/moderate stress is eating food - for others, their reactions are a bit different.

My friends are bonding together as friends do but we are also coming together more in small groups rather than large gatherings. Conversations still focus on the fact that there are aftershocks and the fear that cracks in walls will lead to a structural failure when the next big aftershock hits. People talk about the rescue and repair efforts in Pisco and Ica yet you can hear in their voice that they wonder if soon others will be sent to Lima to rescue us. Stories of rioting and looting in Pisco and Ica worry many here as they know that if Lima does take a hit like those towns did, there would be the same problems on a massive scale. Lima is a city of 8 million and there aren't enough police/military in all of South America that would be able to maintain the peace if a more damaging quake strikes. And those are the stories I hear from cabbies...

I started to feel a little more normal today as I helped a friend put up some bookshelves. These didn't collapse in Wednesday's quake but were ones that were going up new. For me, it was a signal that my life was back to normal and I should start living that way. It was therapeutic to not think about what has been on my mind for the last 96 hours, a chance to put my energy and focus into something else (notice how both people and earthquakes can have energy and focus?). So as I go to sleep tonight, I head off to slumber with a more relaxed state of mind. While not free of the anxiety that goes along with being in a major seismological event just yet, I feel like I'm a whole lot closer to being back to normal - thanks in part to building some bookshelves.

return to normal, kinda

2007-08-17T09:35:00.000-07:00

Its Friday morning now and school is back in session - at least for the teachers. We came back today to do some safety inspections and training, to prepare for the return of our students on Monday. The mood was a rather somber one as we all gathered in the auditorium for a short message from Carol Klusnik, the superintendent of FDR.

We did what you would expect us to - we talked about it. Each of us chatted with our friends and professional peers with a genuine interest in how each experienced the 25 earthquakes that have rattled Lima over the last 36 hours. Those who live in high-rise apartment buildings got a bigger ride than those of us closer to the ground. Tim, who lives on the 13th floor, had water slosh out of his toilets. Troy and Sam's apartment has cracked interior walls. Jeff thought his windows were going to implode. Claudia was in a store where things on the walls and shelves were flying off, smashing when they hit the ground. Blake and Laurie had their water heater explode and flood their bedroom. I feel lucky to have gone through this all with the small amount of shaking (relatively speaking) I felt.

After our meeting, we were instructed to go back to our classrooms and do an assessment of structural damage. While in the process of doing my inspection, another 5.9 aftershock hit, causing some concern among certain staff members. I figure that most of the energy was released some time ago and the aftershocks are going to be relatively mild. Others are a bit more alarmist in their attitude and are a bit more panicked than I am. I'm not being critical of them because I know that we all react differently to stress, we all need to express our fears in different ways. I've sought the comfort of a baseball cap today, although it is unprofessional, because of the feeling it gives me as I begin to deal with the stress of the events that have unfolded.

The morning came to a conclusion with the entire school (meaning faculty and staff) having an earthquake drill and reassuring ourselves of the procedures we need to take when the students come back to us on Monday. If we do have another quake during school hours, we all need to be mentally prepared for the scenario so that we can be calm if the students begin to panic.

The routine is starting to return and along with it, a sense of familiarity about what is normal. While the aftershocks are still present, the fear of the moment is passing and we in Lima are getting back to something that resembles normal. As for the residents of Ica and Pisco, I can't even imagine their plight and my heart goes out to them. I wish I could go there and help although I don't know what I could do. Maybe donating some food and blankets to the Civil Defense is all I can do. Another feeling of helplessness...

life goes on

2007-08-16T19:35:00.000-07:00

Surreal. That's the only word that really describes the last 24 hours. Since the first quake hammered its way through about 27 hours ago, I feel like I've been having an out-of-body experience. Even though I know that its me going through this intricate set of events, it doesn't feel like it.

At 6:40 pm on August 15th, 2007, a magnitude 8.0 earthquake exploded from the ground and changed the surface of the Earth and the lives of many people that live around it. It affected me as well but not in the life changing (or life ending) way that it did for those that live in the cities of Ica and Pisco. For me, the earthquake took me out of my routine and made me examine more closely what it is that I am doing here in Peru and here in life. Only the experience wasn't truly mine, as I noted that it feels like a completely surreal event in my life - one that is more like a dream than anything else.

This morning I got an email from CBS News saying that they wanted to interview people in Peru about their experience with the quake. I agreed to be interviewed on camera but told them that I doubted my insight would be anything different than what the other 8 million people in Lima went through. In fact, my experience would probably be less dramatic since I live in an affluent neighborhood and damage here was rather minimal. But they said they wanted to interview me nonetheless and as I sat down in front of the camera, I noted how I felt an absence of emotion. It was though I knew what I had lived through but that my experience wasn't a real one. There was no Hollywood soundtrack, no explosions going off in the distance, or fantastic acts that had to be accomplished by the person occupying my body. And as I answered the questions that Miguel asked me, I felt a strange disconnect to everything that was my life for the 18 hours before the camera crew came to my apartment. To this moment, I still feel strangely disconnected from what has happened and the reality of it all is still so surreal.

My interview didn't make the CBS Evening News and I can't blame them for not putting my soundbytes in the segment. I wasn't traumatized, I had no extreme stories of survival, I was just an average person who lived through a large seismic event - just like the other 8 million people in Lima. I also didn't want to sensationalize what I had been through as it wasn't that sensational. All I did was stand in a doorway and wonder when the shaking was going to stop. The feeling of helplessness was shared by each and every person who lived through the quake; I was just one of millions that were reminded of just how powerless we are when dealing with Mother Nature. It has been noted that in news, "if it doesn't bleed, it doesn't lead" and I definitely didn't give them any ammunition to lead their broadcast with. What can I say, I didn't want to give the main stream media an inaccurate representation of what I went through - no sense trying to make my life look bad when it really isn't.

So as today went on, life in Peru took a different turn. Traffic dropped off dramatically as people stayed at home and tended to the frayed nerves that we all share. Those that I did see wandering the street today had the same blank expression that I did; I imagine they were feeling the same surreal moment that I was. Even tonight when I went to dinner with friends (we wanted to be around fellow "survivors"), we each described our day in relatively the same way. We each stayed in and tried to come to grips with the ground shaking and how it affected our lives. We each noted that it made us appreciate our friends and family a lot more, at least for the moment, as it reminded us what truly matters in life.

I've been surfing around the internet, seeing reports of how bad things are in Pisco and Ica, and finding myself grateful for the hand I've been dealt. I know the main stream media is doing its best to make it "bleed" for the viewing audience back in the States but I also know that within a week, the story will be off the headlines and people will have forgotten about it. Its sad really, that life events need to be sensationalized to get coverage but that's the media for ya.

In any case, tomorrow the teachers return to school for an attempt to return to the routine that makes life more real and less surreal. We will get things back to normal and go on because that's what you do. Life goes on...

surveying the damage

2007-08-16T08:09:00.000-07:00

Its the "day after" the big one, although we are still experiencing aftershocks here that are powerful in their own right.

SHIT! Why is it that I we get aftershocks while I'm blogging?! As I was writing that previous sentence, another one rumbled through. It was pretty small, I'll check on the USGS website to see how powerful it was. Hold on... That was a 5.2

Its 10:15 am and Peru is starting to come to grips with the aftermath of the series of quakes that we've had over the last 18 hours. It was a relatively easy night for me, considering what others endured in this country. I got up this morning and did a survey in my apartment to see any damage in the daylight. There is a thin crack in the wall that starts at the ceiling and runs a jagged line down towards the floor that is about 1m (3 feet) long. There is some concrete that crumbled off from where the ceiling and walls come together - evidence of the shearing effect the building withstood. My building was put together pretty darn good and I'm very grateful to the guys who put it together for the wonderful job they did. Unfortunately I fear that the workers who did construct this building may have suffered a lot more than I did as they can't afford to live in places where the brick or concrete is reinforced.

After my tour of my apartment, Lupe (my maid) came in to work for the day. She described some of the damage in her neighborhood and it sounds rather extensive. Not as bad as pictures that I see on the internet of places like Ica, but still a considerable amount of damage. A few houses crumbled to the ground, several houses lost walls, roofs slid a meter or two from where they were placed, etc. It makes me realize just how lucky I was to not only survive such a big series of quakes but come out relatively unscathed.

I hopped on the internet to see what happened throughout the night and found out that the USGS upgraded our 7.7 (what I initially thought) up to an 8.0. The aftershocks were powerful in their own right - as you can see by the list below. (Sorry about the formatting issue - the table seems to have dropped down WAY on the page. Scroll down - I swear its there!)

Local Time	Magnitude	Distance from Lima
6:40 pm	8.0	150 km SSE
7:02 pm	5.6	145 km SSE
7:19 pm	5.8	255 km SSE
8:02 pm	5.8	145 km SSE
8:35 pm	5.4	225 km SSE
9:17 pm	5.0	205 km SSE
9:54 pm	5.0	165 km SSE
11:04 pm	5.6	175 km SSE
11:16 pm	5.0	140 km S
11:23 pm	5.2	215 km SE
12:16 am	6.3	260 km SSE
1:10 am	5.0	225 km S
1:43 am	4.5	155 km S
2:46 am	4.7	125 km S
4:02 am	4.9	240 km SSE
4:43 am	5.3	240 km SSE
6:35 am	6.0	270 km SSE
10:11 am	5.2	150 km SSE

*all data courtesy of the USGS website*

And in case you were wondering - yes, I woke for each and every one of those. It wasn't really a night's sleep as brief moments of rest in between waking up thinking I was going to need to rush out of my building. I slept with my clothes on, shoes next to my bed, and keys, wallet, and passport in my pockets (ya never know what you might need). I estimated that the majority of the energy stored in the tectonic plates was released during the 8.0 quake but you never know just how powerful the aftershocks are going to be and prepared for a worse case scenario of needing to flee the country with what was on my back. After seeing scenes of utter devastation in places like Pakistan and Iran, you never know what might happen when you live in a 3rd world country.

Am I justified for being perhaps a little paranoid and thinking the worst? If you've felt Mother Nature unleash her fury on you without any warning, than you know that I probably am justified. There's something that just makes you a little jumpy when the Earth shakes for 2 minutes and the structures you think are rock solid move back and forth by as much as a meter - so thanks for the latitude with my paranoia.

Its now 10:53 am and I've gotten through the emails from friends and family, all are glad to hear that I'm ok (as am I). Phones and cell reception are back in working order for Lima although I doubt it is for the area of Ica that was hit the hardest (and is still getting these wonderful aftershocks right under them!). With school being canceled by Alan Garcia (president of Peru), today is a rare day to get your nerves back to normal and check out the damages that have occurred to buildings - especially school buildings. I'll venture out here in a little bit to see how the rest of Miraflores faired, I'll update more after I go for a walk.

Thanks to one and all for reading and taking the time to send your best wishes. Its nice to know that you are thinking of me in this time of uncertainty. More news as I know it.

big fuckin' earthquake!

2007-08-15T17:19:00.000-07:00

Well, here's something that I don't write about very much - the way the Earth moves under my feet. Literally. And it was a big honkin' earthquake at that, my biggest ever. Having a 7.7 magnitude earthquake roll through while you're eating dinner can sure change how your night goes. (an aftershock just hit while I was writing that last sentence)

The time is currently 7:20 pm local time. My land line and cell phone are both dead but amazingly my internet connection is still working. Its been an eventful last hour. At 6:40 pm local time, the earthquake started to shake the ground beneath my feet. I was reading some worthless article on the internet and eating dinner at the time. At first it was a gentle swaying from side to side, progressing more and more as the seconds passed. Eventually it got to the point where I started to get worried, the world was really shaking in a big way and I was sitting at my computer doing nothing about it.

The time is now 7:52 and I'm not normally a person who types slowly but I've been a little preoccupied with contacting others and seeing how my friends are doing. So here's how things happened next.

As the shaking got more and more violent, I decided that sitting at my computer wasn't the best place to be. I got up and stood in the doorway, thinking that it really wasn't the safest place despite what I remembered from living in California. I noted how the apartment building was REALLY shaking and I felt extremely vulnerable (AFTERSHOCK NOW!!!) while standing in the doorway.

I could hear from outside the breaking of glass from other buildings and car alarms going off. While standing in the doorway, I heard a loud pop and the saw a blue glow emanating from my living room window - a transformer on the street had succumb to the quake. But as I stood there, the shaking got more and more intense. Doors were swinging back and forth while the water I was drinking (next to my computer) was sloshing up and out of the glass. I went and grabbed the water - I didn't want it to spill on the computer - and returned to the protective cover of my doorway.

I stood there for what seemed like forever, what I now estimate to be about 90 seconds. I don't know if my approximation of time is correct, for all I know it could have only been half of that but it did feel like forever. All I did know is that the world was moving quite a bit and I was on one heck of a rollercoaster ride.

Its now 8:22 and I've settled down a little bit - answering a few phone calls on Skype from friends and family in the US but still no phone connection (land line or cell) to speak of. I wonder how long it will take to reestablish those lines of communication. In any case, I can at least tell my family and friends that I'm ok and that my building hasn't sustained any noticeable damage.

After the initial earthquake was over, I grabbed my phones and tried to start calling fellow expats to see how they were doing. I was amazed that my internet connection was still up so I got online and went to the USGS website to see how big it was. Initial reporting said that it was a 7.7 magnitude quake that originated about 160 km (100 miles) from Lima and fairly shallow - 10 km (6 miles).

Initially CNN originally reported that there were 3 earthquakes, a 7.7 and two 7.5s, but that has been since cleared up as a computer glitch at the USGS. Good thing they came out and amended that because I don't remember feeling 3 separate earthquakes, I'd hate to think that I'd lost my mind during the rumbling. ;-) As the night has progressed, there have been a few aftershocks to grace my evening - as you could tell by when I noted them during my entry. I went through and checked about them on the USGS website and they list the aftershocks as 5.9 and 5.8. Hopefully the worst of the evening is behind me and I can calm my nerves for a somewhat normal night's sleep.

Which brings me to now - 8:40 pm, exactly two hours after the initial rocking of my world. Its reminded me of just how exciting life can be - even when you aren't really wanting it to be. I know that being an expat has a certain sense of adventure to it, tonight is just another part of that adventure... right?

tale of two meanings

2007-08-10T12:44:00.000-07:00

My students and I were working through a problem the other day in class - one where a sign is hanging on a building - and an interesting question came up.

"Mr. Nomad - did you mean SIGN or SINE in your last sentence?"
"SIGN. While we have to take the sine of the number, we are looking for the tension of the wire on the sign."
"OK, just wanted to make sure we were talking about the same thing."

English just happens to be a language where one pronunciation can have more than one spelling. Like their, there, and they're; read and red; and as noted above - sign and sine.

So I turned the question to my group of expert Spanish speakers and asked, "Are there any words like that in Spanish?" I got a response that is quite intriguing.

The verbs casar and cazar in Spanish sound virtually the same but have interesting differences in meanings. Casar is "to marry" while cazar is "to hunt". Now there is one to ponder! Is it pure coincidence or is there a reason why the two words sound extremely similar?

dual personality

2007-08-08T15:55:00.000-07:00

In an effort to speak more about the things that I notice here in Peru as compared to other places, I took notice of something that happens to me on a daily basis - a taxi ride home. It is an eye-opening experience if you've never taken a cab ride in countries outside North American or Western Europe - mainly because of the way that traffic flows in these locations. Peru is no different in the fact that traffic lines painted on the road as mere "suggestions" as to where to drive and the rules of the road aren't the same ones that appear on the driver's exam.

A cab ride home for me from school is usually around S/10 (10 soles) or a little under $3. Considering the ride is somewhere in the vicinity of 18 km (12 miles), the cost of transportation is fairly cheap - even for a gringo. If I were a Peruvian, prices would be roughly 1/2 to 3/4 of what I pay but I'm not complaining, I can handle paying a little extra on my salary. The cost of the fare is arranged in advance, before you get into the taxi. You and the driver negotiate on a price and when a major difference of opinion occurs, one party or the other can walk (drive) away from the transaction. It's a rather unorthodox way to do things but good in the sense that it doesn't matter the route, time, or traffic involved - what you bargain for it what you pay. It puts a price on your ability to haggle for a deal and I'm not known as being the best negotiator in my circle of friends - mostly because I don't mind paying an extra dollar for going somewhere when they need the money more than I do and $1 extra for a cab ride is pretty good, considering that I'm always paying less than $4 for wherever I go.

But once you get in the car, the typical Peruvian (or Latin) image goes out the window. Latins in general are known for their laid back attitude and ambivalence for being on time. Heck, last year the Peruvian government issued a formal decree to the people to start being on time because business was starting to hurt from the fact that people were late for meetings and losing out on money from cultures where timeliness is a virtue. I've not seen a change in the timeliness of Peruvians since this decree, but at least the realization is there and they are thinking about doing something about it. *Side note - when the average Peruvian was asked about being late for meetings, 93% said that it was always the other person that was late.*

As I said, that image of the Latin/Peruvian goes out the window as soon as the car door closes. Drivers are always hell bent to get in front of the other person at whatever risk it takes. The machismo culture takes over when on the road and the internal fire starts to show. Racing to the front, honking all the time, flashing of the brights - all in an effort to get the car in front of them to move faster. Yesterday my cab driver employed all of these tactics as I headed home. During rush hour. In a traffic jam.

What did he think he was going to accomplish by honking his horn and flashing his lights at the car in front of him when we were all going about 5 km/hr (3 mph)? Did he think that traffic was somehow going to magically move faster because he wanted it to? I dunno - I didn't ask.

So he became frustrated and tried to maneuver around the car by cutting over a lane (and another car in the process) when he got the chance. As Murphy's Law dictates, when you are trying to move faster in traffic, you always end up going slower. And sure enough, the car he was trying to pass eventually ended up getting way ahead of us (because he kept trying to pass other cars) and we made our march to the rear. Latin fire only managed to do two things - get him more irritated at traffic and slow our progress.

In any case, I made it home with no battlescars or near-death experiences, so no worries there. But taking note of the small things is what I'm aiming to do and this is just one of those small things that I noticed. :-) Until my next tidbit of Peruvian culture...

change in focus

2007-08-05T14:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I know that I've been a bad blogger this year - my posts have fallen off considerably from when I lived in Holland but that's the way things go sometimes. Its not that I've been completely ignoring the fact that I have this place to chat with whomever what to read, I actually have been thinking about posting here, its just that I've always found a way to distract myself after coming up with a good idea.

So with the time that I have today, I thought that I would sit down and write something since I've not done so in a long time. At first I thought I would write about the upcoming space shuttle mission, STS 118, in which Barbara Morgan will finally be the first teacher in space. She was the backup to Christa McAuliffe on the Challenger mission in 1986 but never got the chance as the program was canceled after the accident. Since I am a NASA junkie, this seemed liked the way to go...

But then I realized that I should be doing something else with this blog. Plenty of people can go online and read about the launch that is going to take place on August 8th and the AP and NASA can do a better job of talking about the launch and this mission than I can. So I decided to focus on a different topic - the idea that goes into the name of this blog - the fact that I am an expatriate.

An expatriate is someone who is born in one country and lives in another. I am an American by birth but have spent many years of my life (almost 10) living in countries other than the US. This is something that most of the world doesn't have the opportunity to experience and I figure that it is here that I should focus my thoughts more often. I've been known to go on rants in the past and while I still will rant from time to time, I should start going with a more unified theme. So the theme is now going to reflect more about the life that I've led as an expat and how that differs from the culture that most people recognize on the TV as being American.

But that brought me to a mental block to start off with - just what exactly should I talk about? There are so many things that are different about living in another country that its hard to put your finger on one specific topic to talk about. And I've not had anything too "Peruvian" happen to me in the last 48 hours or so that I can comment on so I decided to go with something else - what it feels like to go home.

As an expat, we all get the opportunity to go home to our native culture sometimes and when we do, it can be a mixed bag of emotions. For me, my 'round the US tour that I did in July on my motorcycle was an interesting experience for me. I spent 3 weeks riding from California to Ohio and back, spending the time riding on small highways and seeing old friends. As I did so, I tried to get back in touch with my American roots as I will be leaving Peru at the end of this academic year. I didn't want to be too much of a stranger in my own country when I return.

The trip was magnificent and I can hardly wait to do something like that again. Riding on the open road is more a zen experience than anything else. You are so concentrated on riding and the road that most of the mundane things that float through your head when driving a car just don't exist. The problems I had in my head made their way back to my subconscious for processing there while I spent my time making sure I didn't get hit by any cars or fall off the twisty roads (like Colorado) I was riding upon. A truly cleansing time for me.

What I noticed and remarked upon my return to Lima was the ease of which I had with being in the US. I even felt a bit guilty for how easy it was; I don't know why, I just did. I made sure to challenge myself a little when I was in Manitou Springs, CO by speaking in Spanish to a Peruvian whom I met there - just to refresh myself as to the language I was going to return to and also to let this vendor feel a little more at ease by speaking in his native tongue. I know I appreciate it when people speak English to me here in Peru, so I thought I would return the favor.

But when I got back to Lima, I chatted with some of my friends who had returned to their places of origin and they made the same comment that I did - being home was very easy. In a way, being an expat is difficult in that there is a challenge to the way you live on a daily basis. You are immersed in a culture that is foreign to yours, speaking a language that isn't native to you, and dealing with people who have a different set of norms and values. It can be a little scary at times and I will admit that it can be overwhelming occasionally in trying to deal with that every day. But in another way, we all get into a rhythm and tend to forget about the differences we feel day to day. You get accustomed to a new routine and that's what makes this all feel so normal even though its so different. Its when you return to a place where you don't have to think about the differences that you begin to realize just how easy life can be.

My life has been enriched as a result of being an expat and I cherish the fact that my father had the gumption to leave rural Illinois and make a choice to try something different. I hope to give my children the same opportunity (when I have them) and allow them to see what the world has to offer. There's something gratifying about knowing that you've been able to experience and grow from something that most would dislike and can't even fathom trying. I'm not trying to pat my own back and say how wonderful I am; rather I'm saying that I feel lucky to have had the chances to make the choices that I have over my life so far. And from those choices, I've become a more knowledgeable person who has a set of unique experiences to share. My goal for the next year is to share more of these expatriate experiences with the world, wherever my readers may be. So tune in for "Life in Peru" over the next 10 months, I'll see what I can share with you.

living off the land

2007-07-09T13:47:00.000-07:00

I'm currently on a road trip around the US on my motorcycle and visiting old friends along the way. One such stop in Amesville, Ohio put me at Brad and Svea's house (Svea and I knew each other from our days as undergrads) and my stop there was quite an eye-opener.

Brad and Svea have a farm and really do live off the land. The meat comes from cows and pigs that they feed and maintain, the veggies are in a garden that are less than 20 meters from their backdoor. There are trees planted for apples and pears (maybe more, I can't remember) and soon fruit will be abundant for their family's use. The food is all homemade and comes from what they have and truly is organic in every way, shape, and form. Meals are made completely from scratch and love goes into everything that goes on the table. It is something that completely amazed me.

Grocery shopping doesn't happen very often and when it does, its nothing too dramatic - just grains and things that they don't grow at the house. I am in awe of this family of five in what they do and how they do it. It comes mostly from necessity but I'd like to think that they'd continue to do it no matter what; its just wholesome living. People who live in cities (such as myself) would love to have such amenities as having a garden with fresh food to eat but alas, that isn't the case. We rely on others to do it for us and pay them in return. The exchange of money seems to take the love out of food and somehow lessens the nutritional value of what makes it to the stores (or maybe its the pesticides...).

Whatever the case, Brad and Svea are rock stars in my opinion for doing what they do and it makes me wish I could do things a little different with my life. With this being said, I'd probably flop at the notion of doing a garden myself and would kill everything in a garden of my own if given the chance. But at least I got the chance to see someone doing it for real and doing it the way it was done less than a hundred years ago. Its amazing how technology has changed our world in so many ways.

Alternative Rugby Commentary - The Tri Nations

2007-06-25T20:18:00.001-07:00

Since I've not posted in forever, I thought I would put a little something that's grabbed my attention lately. A short that highlights a little about the ongoing Tri-Nations, which the All Blacks took the first match 26-21 over the Springboks in SA. In any case, I've enjoyed all of these shorts that were put out and I'll be posting more of his work (Frasier Davidson) later. Enjoy!

a day without english

2007-05-28T12:39:00.001-07:00

So yesterday was a day that I learned so much while being completely out of my comfort zone. I wanted to sit down and write about it last night but didn't have the mental capacity to put the words together that I wanted to. Why? I was out of my native tongue for pretty much the entire day.

A friend of mine named Erica is a Peruvian and she invited me out to the local zoo with her son, Joaquin, who is 4. I was a little uneasy about it but eventually said yes to the date and headed off into the unknown. I didn't know what I was getting myself into but that's part of the fun of trying a new experience - jumping out of the comfort area and seeing how things turn out. The key to my trepidation was the fact that she speaks no English and my Spanish isn't exactly the best; ok, its worse than that and I just don't want to take responsibility for it being as bad as it is.

We met at a nearby gathering place where she promptly got a cab to the park that would have cost me triple the bargained price. Being a large white man in a Hispanic populace means that I tend to pay more for things that what locals do and I was grateful for her expertise in that regard. When we got to the zoo it became rapidly apparent that the attraction that day wasn't to be the animals, rather the Peruvian woman who was walking with a pale Sasquatch next to her. I think I was stared at for the majority of the day but after the first hour, I stopped noticing as I was too busy trying to keep my brain from melting. Was it hot? Not even close (its winter here) but rather it is because I was trying to make conversation in a language that I'm not very good at speaking.

Erica was nice and patient with me for the day but the day didn't end after just a few hours. Her son was getting ready to meltdown (he's 4 and needs time to do such things) so we grabbed a cab and I was taken to her place for an introduction to the family. I wasn't anxious about meeting them at all, I really wanted to see what living conditions were like for a middle class Peruvian family. So I headed in to meet the 4 generations of people that lived in their tiny 3 bedroom apartment.

Grandmother, mother, daughter (Erica), and her son (Joaquin) all live in what would be considered "low income housing" in some cities in the US. The conditions aren't the greatest but they make the best of the cramped living spaces that they can afford. I was quickly introduced and welcomed into the house where I was inspected by the family, for reasons that need not to be mentioned. In any case, it was only a few minutes before the decision was made to go to dinner at a local restaurant - I'll let you guess who was doing the buying (my choice actually, I wasn't going to let them pick up the tab!). And during dinner, it was more Spanish and more fumbling for words, the status quo for the day. But it was getting easier as Erica did a decent job of helping me out and I was understanding more and more as the day progressed.

When the day was done, I got into a cab and headed home - having not spoken a word of English in the entire day. I felt relieved to get home as I no longer had to think about what I was going to say but also grateful for the experience of being able to truly be immersed in a foreign culture. That is one of the things that I truly enjoy about being an expat - being able to do things just like that. There is just something unique about being in a completely foreign environment and not only surviving but enjoying the experience.

The spell was broken however, after I got home. I just needed to do something in my native language and so I called my sister so I could catch up with her, and speak a little English. So while it wasn't a complete day without English, it was pretty darn close and while I enjoyed the experience of immersion, I gotta admit that sometimes hearing your own language can be quite soothing...

the domain name is mine!

2007-05-08T17:39:00.000-07:00

Well, it took me some time because I just wasn't sure if I wanted to do it or not but I finally made the choice to visit Go Daddy and buy the name of my blog. Effective immediately, this blog is expatnomad.com!

So change your links and come on back when you wanna see if there is something new here. I've been a little lax with posting this year but that will happen. Welcome to a new name with an old look.

- Expat

baseball and the life of being an expat

2007-04-19T14:12:00.000-07:00

I was having a discussion the other day with a friend of mine and we came up with an interesting analogy about two topics that I never really thought would go together but we managed to come up with a pretty solid.

The baseball season in the US just started a few weeks ago and I'm realizing just how much I did miss watching the sport when I lived in Holland. Granted, I coached the softball team there for two years, but its just not the same. And now with MLB.com broadcasting the games via the internet, I get my chance to keep up with baseball - especially the hometown faves, the Cleveland Indians. What can I say, a glutton for punishment and enjoy the moments of promise (the late 90s) where the team shines. In any case, I appreciate the game and what it takes to play it.

As a spectator's sport, it isn't the most energetic or exciting to watch. The game is exceedingly slow with brief moments intense drama. But the game isn't about the brief moments when the ball is in play, its so much more than that. Baseball is mostly mental and knowing the strategy of how to really play the sport is akin to being a chess master. Its not just a game where a guy goes out there and hurls the ball at 80-95 mph and another guys hopes to hit that ball to a place where one of nine defenders isn't. Each pitch influences how the game transpires and how each pitch is played depends on how the next one will go. Appreciating the strategy and athleticism of baseball is what keeps me coming back (even though I'm a hockey fan through and through).

During the conversation I had with Ilse, we got to talking about baseball and eventually it turned into how it is somewhat reflected in life as an expatriate. Baseball is played in many different stadiums around the world and none of them are the same, each field has its own feel. People who play on that field grow accustomed to those conditions and have home-field advantage (not to mention fan support). Traveling to another stadium means you have to adjust to those conditions and play your best under conditions that may not suit you. Maybe left field has a giant wall to hit over or maybe the bullpen is in foul territory and fielding fly-balls is more difficult. Whatever it may be, you have to adjust or fail miserably.

And then the parallels to being an expat started to take shape. Living overseas is like being on the road for baseball. A new country requires you to adapt to the conditions and learn how to play your game "on the road" if you want to succeed with your goals, whatever they may be. Not only do you have to adapt to the new surroundings, you need to adapt to the game as it goes along. You may see the same pitch more than once but when the timing of that pitch can dramatically change how you react to it. There is a strategy to being successful in baseball just as there is a strategy to being successful as an expatriate.

I've noticed in life that we rarely make HUGE life-changing decisions, rather we make a series of small ones that influence how our present plays out. I'm a product of those small decisions that I've made and as it turns out, I've made some good, small decisions (or else I'd be somewhere else in my life at the moment). A small decision to go to a party when I was a sophomore in college has turned me into the teacher that I am today (believe it or not, yes). Baseball is similar in that the small decision of whether to throw a fastball for the first pitch of an at-bat can dramatically affect how the rest of the AB goes and the cascade effect of the rest of the game. A small decision to start off with a fastball that just misses on the inside corner may determine how the game turns out for you.

Now just as one pitch doesn't decide the outcome of a game, neither does one decision in your life. Winning a game in baseball may mean that you must make another choice to correct a decision that you don't like the outcome of, like walking a batter. So you work hard to concentrate into trying to make a better pitch so the current batter grounds into a double play. The same can be said of living overseas (or just living in general) - sometimes you need to need to really concentrate on making the next choice to improve your situation rather than ride a bad decision into oblivion. Little choices turn into what our lives will be remembered as...

So at the end of our chat, she said that I should write this down as a way to let others in on my new-found knowledge and insight (a topic that I'm sure has been written about infinitely before) and so I did. In doing so, I made the choice to ignore my homework and write a blog that only a few people read. But hey, its my choice and that's fine with me. I'll just need to make sure that my next pitch is a slider that nibbles the outside corner for the strike-out.

mrs. smith, can bobby come out and play for a national championship?

2007-03-22T09:30:00.000-07:00

This rant comes at the suggestion of a former roommate of mine from Rotterdam. I agree with his stance on this issue and have decided to bring it to light. MO - I've got your back!

Its the time of year that I really like - the end of March is also the end of the regular season for the NHL. Its the time of year when the games take on different significance as teams become more desperate to make themselves eligible for the playoffs. *A classic case of people not performing when they should and now are panicking to get done what they should have done months earlier - win games.* Whatever the case, its a great time to watch hockey - too bad its not on TV since the NHL's commish screwed up and lost ESPN as a broadcaster (fuck us very much Gary Bettman...). However, if I were to be able to watch it on the tele, I would be presenting the same argument - even though my team is on the cusp of NOT making the playoffs.

Right now in the NHL there are 30 teams in two conferences (properly called the Campbell Conference and Prince of Wales Conference, but those names were stripped by the magnificent shithead known as Gary Bettman for easier names like Eastern and Western). In any case, there are 15 teams in each conference and of those 15 teams, 8 make it to the playoffs. In case you didn't do the math - that's over 50%.

That's right, the chance to play for the Stanley Cup - the championship of the league, is contended by over half of the people who play in the league. Wait - isn't a championship tournament supposed to bring the best teams together to vie for the ultimate prize? If that's the case, why is it that 53% of teams in the NHL make the playoffs? Oh yeah, I forgot - more revenue for the owners...

Don't be fooled, expanding the playoffs to 16 teams was done on purpose and that reason isn't going to change anytime soon. The owners realize that the more games their team plays, the more money they get. Believe it or not, there used to be a time when there were only 6 teams IN THE ENTIRE LEAGUE!!! And of those 6, only the top 2 regular season performers squared off for the Cup.

Its not exclusive to just hockey though, there are plenty of other money-hungry whores out there dying to get their hand on your money. Oh no, there is far worse than the NHL out there - at least the players in the NHL have a chance to earn some of the proceeds. The worst part is the NCAA and its plethora of bowls.

Last year there were a total of 118 Division I (now called NBS as to not confuse it with the D1 AA schools which will now be the NCS) that put a team into the NCAA football game. *Football is an expensive sport to run and as a result, not every school out there that is of the proper size can afford to run a program. Basketball is much cheaper and therefore more school participate in it.* Of those 118 schools that had a football team last year, 64 of them made it to a bowl game.

64!!!!

That's a greater percentage than the NHL puts into its playoffs. And the kicker is - only one bowl game decides the championship! The rest of the bowl games are just a way for schools to make more money on the athletes that play at those schools, many of them play for free. (I can hear people saying that they do get money in the form of scholarships and illegal contributions, but the majority of players aren't on scholarship and aren't getting money from scouts or shoe companies)

So why is it that this is happening? The NFL and MLB only take the top 4 in each conference (league for baseball), what's wrong with that model? Why is it that everyone thinks that they DESERVE to play in "the big game"? Why do people get mad when their school is "left out" of a bowl game when the team was barely won more than it lost? Does every Tom, Dick, and Harriett need to go play for a championship?

NO. Not everyone is a winner - deal with it. You're team had a lackluster season and should just go home and think about what you can do to make it better for next season. And this is coming from a person who went to a university that had its first bowl game since 1968 this year (and we lost that game just like the Tangerine Bowl of '68). I loved the fact that Ohio University made it to a bowl game - it made me proud to be a Bobcat but the simple truth is that the team lost in the MAC championship game and was only 2nd best in the conference. Simply put, they weren't the best and why should they have been rewarded with an additional game for not being the best?

Easy - money. Companies make fortunes off these games and Americans go farther into debt trying to do whatever they can to be a part of another Americans life. They want EVERYONE to feel special, EVERYONE to feel like a champion; ya know what? Get over it and go home! Stop paying so much money for all this crap and get a handle on your life. Spend the holidays with your college son/daughter rather than flying to Orlando to watch a team that plays for the school that you went to 22 years ago. Save some money on the fan gear and invest the time you would spend going the game with your family. Stop feeding the machine that is hyper-consumerism.

Alas, this rant has gone on long enough. Just thinking out loud...

consumerism takes a break

2007-03-12T17:01:00.000-07:00

I was logging on to my MSN Money account today when I came across an article that I really enjoyed reading. I plan on sending it to my friends that live in the States and see what their reaction is (click on 'consumerism takes a break' above for full story).

What I read really gave me hope - and I'm not being sarcastic. It gave me hope that someday the great treadmill of American consumerism would start to slow down and the country, as a whole, would start being a bit more fiscally responsible and not so far in debt. The author, Liz Pulliam Weston, put forth a challenge to her readers - only buy the necessities for a month and see what happens. In other words, stop buying the crap you don't need and just purchase those things you do to survive. No Starbucks frappachino, no extra pair of blue jeans that make you butt look good, no travel books to Machu Pichu that you want to go to - just the basics. What she and her readers found is refreshing to hear and there are some unexpected results.

The obvious bit about saving money is good. While some people did 'fall off the wagon' and make the occasional purchase they didn't need, the majority stayed the course and followed through with the experiment's design. Most found that they saved $400-$500 per month. That's an extra $6000 a year! One teacher managed to save $800 in the month of bare minimum spending - not too shabby at all. So from a financial perspective, it was a success.

But there was more to it than that. As people followed through with the experiment, they found there were additional side effects. In an attempt to save money, people started taking their lunch to work and lost weight through eating healthy. When they got bored, they didn't go to the mall to see what was on sale, they went for a walk in the park and gained in fitness. Instead of meeting for dinner and/or drinks at the TGIF's down the street, they went over to each other's place and spent time enriching themselves in the tranquility of a home.

How amazing! People who spend less can have the following habits - healthier lifestyle, greater depth of personal relationships, and a stronger sense of well-being from a lack of financial hardship. No longer do you have to worry about the idea of whether or not you can actually pay off your monthly bills. By doing things in moderation (like spending and eating crap food), you can achieve so much of what you are looking for without looking so hard.

So America - take heed. You may have the strongest and largest economy in the world but at what cost? Try putting the credit cards away and stop giving yourself everything you want, only meet your needs. Don't be so spoiled that you think you MUST have everything you desire; get away from the idea of keeping up with the Joneses. What you might find if you do just might be what you're looking for instead...

fired for doing your job?

2007-01-27T11:03:00.000-07:00

This blog originally was intended to be about issues relating to education and as you all know, it never really ended up being that. Its become more of a place for me to rant about one thing or another and make my opinion known. After reading this story (click on 'fired for doing your job?' above) about a teacher in Yonkers, this post is a flash back to what this blog was intended to be.

So a teacher in Yonkers is on administrative leave and will probably be fired for doing what his job. Jeffrey Kirby of the Pearls Hawthorne school in Yonkers teaches 7th grade there, or at least he did. Mr. Kirby was removed from his classroom for asking students to draw pictures of the male anatomy on the board.

Now when you first read that, you may think to yourself, "Well he should get fired for that. That's inappropriate for just any teacher to ask of his middle school students." Only Mr. Kirby teaches ANATOMY, or at least he tried to.

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't anatomy the study of the human body and I do believe the penis is a part of the human (male) body. What's wrong with asking a student to be able to draw or annotate a diagram of something that s/he is learning? Should we fire math teachers for asking their students to draw a parallelogram? Should english teachers be removed from their classrooms for asking students to diagram sentences? Heck, should I - as a physics teacher - be sent home with my pink slip when I ask my kids to draw a picture that represents the forces acting on an object?

The answers to each and every one of those questions is an emphatic and resounding NO! So why is the Superintendent Bernard Pierorazio saying that it (the content covered) was "age inappropriate" for the students of the class? Age inappropriate??? HE WAS TEACHING THE STATE MANDATED CURRICULUM!!! This guy was doing his job, educating kids about what the human reproductive system looks like and is being fired for doing what the state told him to.

This is just wrong and support needs to be shown for Jeffrey Kirby. I went to the Pearls Hawthorne school's website so that I could send him an email as a showing of my support. HE'S ALREDY BEEN REMOVED FROM THE STAFF LISTING. That's right, the school doesn't want anyone to know how to contact him to show support. While at the school's website, I checked to see if he was teaching the curriculum that was written. The curriculum maps are linked on the site but you get a 404 error (file not found) when you try to access the maps. So I went to the NY State Education website and found the pdf of their curriculum, to see if Mr. Kirby was indeed teaching was he was supposed to. Here's what the curriculum says he is supposed to teach.

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 1.2 - Explain the functioning of the major human organ systems and their interactions.
Major Understandings:
1.2a Each system is composed of organs and tissues which perform specific functions and interact with each other, e.g., digestion, gas exchange, excretion, circulation, locomotion, control, coordination, reproduction, and protection from disease.
1.2i The male and female reproductive systems are responsible for producing sex cells necessary for the production of offspring.

So what happens when kids, who are in the midst of puberty and wonder about their sexual self, ask a question about how the male and female reproductive systems work? Does the teacher say, "Sorry kids, I can only tell you that there are reproductive systems and that's what makes embryos?" No, because then parents would get in an uproar about how an ANATOMY teacher didn't teach them what the STATE MANDATED CURRICULUM told them to.

Look at Performance Indicator 1.2 - It says to "explain the functioning of the major organ systems". How exactly does a teacher get a student to understand how an organ system works without having them know the parts and be able to describe how those parts work? And what's wrong with asking kids to volunteer to come to the board to draw a representation of a major organ system? Would he be in this same mess if he asked someone to draw the circulatory system? No, but Lord help him if he had asked them to draw the excretory system - imagine a kid drawing an anus on the board...

I'm really chaffed at this one. I am embarassed that the Puritanical ethos of this country stymies someone when they try to educate people. What's wrong with learning about how the human body works? Aren't parents complaining that schools don't do enough to educate kids about the perils of sex and how to avoid teen pregnancy? How else are kids going to know how to prevent getting pregnant without knowing anything about how a penis or vagina work? Abstinence is great but most teens are sexually active and 7th graders are not known for making the best decisions. Some of them are mature enough to be fertile (and carry a child) and it would be a disservice to them to not educate them on their body and how it works.

Since I am a bit riled up about this, I've decided to write to the superintendent and let him know my opinion. There is a webpage specifically designated for contacting him. If you'd like to write to this spineless weasel who doesn't support his teachers, feel free to write to Bernard Pierorazio, Superintendent of Yonkers Public Schools. Be sure to tell him that he's a moron too.

whirlwind tour

2007-01-18T13:00:00.000-07:00

Hello 2007!

Its been a while since my last post and that comes from the fact that I'm on vacation. I've spent the better part of the last month traveling around and seeing other parts of the world - at least outside of South America. For Christmas I was down in New Zealand and enjoyed seeing such a magnificent place, it is amazing how diverse the islands are. Now I'm in the US, visiting family and friends across the Southwest. Man its been a lot of traveling!

And it got me to wondering just how much traveling I have done over the last 12 months. It all started last February when I left Rotterdam and flew to Waterloo, Iowa for the UNI Overseas Job Fair. Since that weekend in the beginning of February, its been a bunch of planes, trains, automobiles, motorcycles, and ferries. So I sat down with Google Earth and made an estimate of the distance that I've traveled in the last year and I was kinda amazed at how much I've covered.

90,000 km (55,000 miles).

That's more than twice the circumference of the Earth (at the equator). Most of that is via airplanes, as to be expected, and includes 4 trans-Atlantic and 2 trans-Pacific journeys. Some of it comes via trains, almost 4000 km (2400 miles) on 3 different continents. Automobiles and ferries account for another 4000 km (2400 miles) and that omits the small amount covered via motorcycle. 7 different countries on 4 different continents, its been one heck of a year. No wonder I'm so tired. ;)

But travel is why I'm an international educator and I relish the amount of travel I am gifted with my profession (and its vacations). So here's to the joy of seeing new places and experiencing new cultures. I wonder how long this personal record of 90,000 km in one year will last...

power of song

2006-12-21T07:32:00.000-07:00

Sometimes there are just certain memories that are made much more powerful through the stimulus that surrounds you at the moment it happens. The smell of fresh brownies in the kitchen for a birthday, the explosion of fireworks above your head during a first kiss, or the song playing on radio when driving home from a far away place.

The other night I was at the gym, happily stomping away on the elliptical for my cardio workout (and yes, I was in step with the music) when a certain song started to play on my headphones - "Let's Get Loud" by J-Lo. It instantly brought a smile to my face for the distinct memory it brought to mind.

When I was working in Rotterdam, we played a weekend match down in Luxembourg and the two teams drove down there in the school vans. It wasn't planned this way but it just happened that the Varsity piled in my van and the JV girls jumped in with their coach, Tracy. We had a successful weekend and the girls were in good spirits as we headed back to Rotterdam on the rolling highways of Belgium. And then it happened.

"Let's Get Loud" came on the radio and before I knew it, the volume was cranked and the girls were singing the song at the top of their lungs in the van. It was amazing, the energy of the girls flooded over me as the van bounced up and down the road as they jumped around singing - I was captivated by the moment. The song finished a few minutes later and the girls slowed back down to a more catatonic-like teenage state after their frenzy. I was smiling the rest of the way back to Rotterdam.

And so when the J-Lo song came on over my headphones, I was swept back to that moment and I smiled as I bounced on the elliptical myself. I was reminded of the wonderful girls I had on that team and the fun that we had playing volleyball. Cherished memory indeed.

get a thicker hide

2006-12-15T10:20:00.000-07:00

With apologies to MO, I'll do that story on college football here shortly. But for now, I've got something to rant about. Rosie O'Donnell and her comments made on The View that are getting groups up in arms.

From the Yahoo! news story (click on 'get a thicker hide' to read the full story), the following excerpt.

NEW YORK - Rosie O'Donnell says she's sorry for mocking spoken Chinese on "The View," but an association that represents journalists from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds, including Chinese American, says it wasn't enough.

In a Dec. 5 segment, O'Donnell joked about how Danny DeVito's recent — and seemingly drunken — appearance on the ABC daytime talk show had become international news.

"You know, you can imagine in China it's like `ching chong, ching chong chong, Danny DeVito, ching chong chong chong, drunk, "The View," ching chong,'" the 44-year-old comedian said.

On Thursday's show, she told the audience: "To say ching chong to someone is very offensive, and some Asian people have told me it's as bad as the n-word. Which I was like, `Really? I didn't know that.'"

Karen Lincoln Michel, president-elect of Unity: Journalists of Color Inc., said O'Donnell's remarks "really didn't sound like an apology to me."

Lincoln Michel said Unity was waiting for Barbara Walters, who created the show, to respond to a letter asking her to publicly acknowledge that O'Donnell's remarks were "patently offensive."

Ok, so Rosie is clueless and her apology may have been lacking but c'mon folks, you gotta have a thicker hide than to allow something like that to get you all riled up. She said that she didn't know it was a bad word (or expression) and while ignorance isn't an excuse for a lot of things, people have got to understand that it was unintentional and move on. Educate and tolerate. Accept that people don't always know what they are saying and help them to overcome their own ignorance. Don't get all huffy about what someone on TV said and demand a public apology.

Listen, I've made a lot of mistakes traveling to other countries and I can't even count the number of times I must have offended someone by saying something stupid or doing something even worse. And to top it off, I've not apologized to those whom I've offended since I've not known that I've offended them. But hey, at least they are tough enough not to take every little comment as a personal attack on their culture and society.

So America - stop taking everything to heart. You live in a country where free speech is not only allowed but encouraged. It means that you are going to be offended by what people say sometimes. It means you can offend people without fear of going to jail (depending on who you offend). However, it also means that you need to be tolerant of those who say things that you don't agree with. If someone says, "ching chong ching chong" because they don't know a lick of Chinese, accept it and move on. In this case, it was intended as a joke. Laugh at it and move on. Chinese (both versions) is a hard language and the tonal nature of it means that many words sound the same to Westerners. You don't see me getting all pissed at people when I hear someone describe English as two dogs having a conversation (some say that English sounds like a barking dog). I realize that English is a funny language and accept that someone else's perspective is different than mine.

Stop the Political Correctness. Don't be so worried about always saying the right thing, just say WHAT you mean and deal with it later. Holy shit, Americans come across as being the bitchiest, whiniest, non-tolerant bunch of ignorant red-necks on the entire planet. Get over the comment and live your life. Stop worrying about what she said about you or what he said about them and start worrying about the things that ARE important in life. If people spent more time and gave more attention to issues like poverty, homelessness, and lack of a decent standard of health care, imagine what the US could truly be like. Now THAT would be an amazing country.

drilled into me

2006-11-20T18:17:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I'm going to have to admit just how much of a marching band nerd that I truly am. I'm not saying that being in a marching band makes you a nerd, to the contrary. The respect that was afforded to me on the campus of Ohio University when I was in the Marching 110 was amazing and I gained non-nerd status at the time. However as time has gone on, I've reverted in my ways and rejoined the ranks of being a nerd. How you ask?

As any person who marches knows, you always start with your left foot so that the downbeat is always made when that foot hits the ground. It was drilled into me so much that its hard to get that out of my head. Throughout my years of marching (high school and college makes 7 years plus the 3 that I was the assistant band director when I was in California makes it an even 10 years), one thing that has always amazed me is how people can get out of step and not know that they are. For me, its just too hard to walk out of beat and just as hard to not hit the downbeat with my left foot. And tonight was no exception.

I was at the gym tonight, on the elliptical trainer, groovin' to the beat. I've stacked my media player with tons of fast paced music that keeps my feet moving at a substantially higher rate than they would if I were not listening to music. But what I noticed tonight made me accept my marching band nerd-ness. I found that no matter what, I was always trying to keep in sync with the music, just like when I marched. Not only that, but I would alter my cadence to ensure that I was getting my left foot to come down on the downbeat! It just felt wrong to have my right foot coming down when I knew that it should be my left. It must be all those years of Pete Ulrich drilling it into my head that left foot = downbeat.

So thanks Pete, you've managed to make my workouts a head game as I attempt to synchronize my feet properly to the music. And I'm probably the laughing stock of the gym as I make that transition because I know I'm not graceful and look as awkward as a middle schooler trying to kiss a girl for the first time. But hey, at least I know I'm a nerd and can live with it, even be a little proud of it because I am a white guy who's got rhythm, in some elementary form...

drag your knee

2006-11-12T18:04:00.003-07:00

For those who aren't familiar with how fun this picture is, you won't understand why I've posted this shot. There's something to be said for taking a motorcycle through the curves and leaning it WAY over, to the point where your knee is close to draggin' on the ground. You can feel the excitement pulsating through your veins as you hover above the ground and gently torque back the throttle. You exit the corner, accelerating your butt into the back of the saddle, trying desperately to wipe the silly grin off your face so you can concentrate on the next curve just ahead.

Ahh, the joys of motorcycling...

change in u.s. politics

2006-11-09T05:33:00.000-07:00

Congrats to the Dems, you've won back control of the House and the Senate after 12 years of Republican dominance. But this take-over, what does it mean? Somethings to consider...

First - the Democrats of recent have been known as the party without a spine, wishy-washy flim-flams who don't have the balls to stand up with an agenda of their own and get stuff done. Now that the Dems control the Congress, what will they do? I have the feeling that the American public isn't going to wait around and see if you can finally get your shit together. It was because of the lack of decisiveness that helped the GOP get elected in the first place. Time to grow a pair and put the country heading in the right direction.

Second - the right direction doesn't mean having American troops stage a race to see who can get out of Iraq the fastest. I agree that going into Iraq may not have been the best of ideas of President Bush (unless you look at this 'regime change' as a way to lock in an oil source) but pulling out troops just yet is going to lead to bad things. In the absence of a superpower, the vacuum left behind if American troops leave the country will probably produce a bigger threat to America's national security. Leave the troops there but there has to be a better exit plan than the one that is in place at the moment. Dems - its time to grow a pair and tell the CinC in the White House that he needs to get his act together with the troops he commands. There has to be a better strategy for progressive troop withdrawal that still leaves the Iraqi people with a country not mired in civil war.

Third - American politics are just that - American. I'm tired of reading of how the world reacts to our political arena and how everyone is a critic. Ya know what, if you don't like America, don't deal with America. If you don't like the way that Americans do business in the world, then do something about it. America is the superpower in the world right now for a reason, because we have the strongest economy with the greatest spending power, and a vast array of natural resources that drive the country. We also have the greatest military of the era and have spent billions upon billions to make sure that we have one. We are the mightiest because we worked our way to this position and if you don't like what happens in America, then do something about it. Seriously, if you don't like what Bush (or any American president) does, then create your own 'regime change'. Just be prepared to deal with the world's strongest and best funded military (which is at the direction of the Commander-in-Chief, the President). If enough countries are really that dissatisfied with how America does things, the US regime could be overthrown - just know that its going to take a war in which many countries are going to need to work together to overthrow the current administration (not just Bush's admin, but any admin) and that there are going to be a lot of casualties. The 3rd Reich was once a mighty power that did a great many things that people didn't like. Eventually the world had had enough of the antics of the Reich and overthrew it. The same thing can happen to the US and probably will one day. But until then, if you're a Frenchman and want to bitch about politics, complain about your own damn country. If you're a Cuban and want to voice your opinion about a dictator, speak up about your own dictator. If you're a North Korean - you've got enough problems to deal with considering the whack-job that is in control of your country so don't even think of talking shit about us. American politics are American and I don't want to hear how other countries want to see a change in our government. Worry about your own country and let the Americans deal with American politics.

I'm done with the rant for now, just needed to vent (especially that last part). Carpe Diem Dems, 'cause you may not get a second chance...

wrong side up

2006-11-05T18:16:00.000-07:00

I was asked by a friend of mine to recall my first time "off" the bike - meaning how did I crash. So I wrote down the story and send it to her as she had sent me a story of how she put a Yamaha R1 over a cliff. I thought I would save this story for posterity by putting it up here on my blog. And since its been a while since I've updated, this also serves a secondary purpose (keeping my readers with material).

The year is 2000 and I've been riding for about 5 months. At the time I owned a Suzuki Intruder 800, my first cycle and a nice bike to learn on. It was the end beginning of July, the 3rd to be exact. How do I remember the day so well? Easy - it was the day after my sister got married. The family and friends were gathered in a small town called Idyllwild in the mountains just outside of Palm Springs.

I was taking the bike home to where I lived (near Joshua Tree, CA) and enjoying the curves of the road as I descended down the mountain. A few miles into the trip, a blue BMW Z3 came up behind me, rather fast. I was going at my own pace and I remembered from the MSF training course that the quickest way to crash was to ride outside of your ability range. So I took my time, rode the bike to the best of my ability. The driver of the Z3 wanted to go a bit quicker and decided to pass me on a 100 yard straight-away on the road. As he started to pass, we both noticed an oncoming car. Rather than hit the brakes hard and slow to return to his spot behind me, he moved over back into the right lane, forcing me off the road.

I was fortunate enough that there was gravel by the side of the road as if there wasn't, I doubt I would have slowed down enough to avoid going off the side of the mountain. The front wheel washed out in the gravel and both the cycle and I hit the ground going somewhere around 30-40 mph.

The BMW never slowed, never came back, heck - never even touched the brakes. The oncoming car saw the incident and stopped to help me up. I had smashed the windscreen and lightbar on the bike, my jacket was a little messed up on the right side and my pants were slightly shredded. The bike and I both stopped about 4 feet from the guardrail, both a bit tattered but still in decent enough shape to make it home.

I ripped off the windscreen and got back on the bike after a short break. I got home and put the bike in the garage. My entire right side of my body was bruised but I didn't tell anyone except the girl I was dating at the time. If my parents or sister knew that I had crashed on the way home from her wedding, they would've freaked. So when my uncle punched me in the bicep the next day, I grimmaced and complimented him on how strong he was, not mentioning that I was in true pain from the crash.

But the safety gear did its job and I rode away. And any crash you walk/ride away from...

a fat ass costs more

2006-10-15T20:11:00.001-07:00

Halloween is coming up in the not to distant future and its kind of a big thing here at school. The kids love it because they don't have to wear their uniforms and the staff enjoys it because it allows us to let our hair down for a day. Being one of the new teachers on the block, I wanted to make sure that I fit in with everyone else and so I recently had an appointment with a local seamstress to get a costume made.

The kids here have given me the nickname of Mr. Incredible because they think that I look like said superhero. I'm not going to argue much, there are much worse things that I could be likened to and Mr. Incredible is my kinda superhero. Since this character has become part of my personality here at school, I decided that I would have the seamstress make me a Mr. Incredible costume. I looked online and you can buy them for about US$90 (plus US$25 S&H) but there is only one problem - the costumes are designed for people who aren't really close to Mr. Incredible dimensions. The costume you can buy online only fits people under six feet tall. So I am getting a custom made costume (just like the real Mr. Incredible) and it will actually fit me (unlike what would have happened if I tried to order it in the US).

Luciana came to school (she does a lot of work for the school) and we started to work out what the costume was, how it was going to be made, etc. I asked for some additional muscles (I'm natural in every other way!) to be sewn in to the costume and as she started to take my measurements, she made some mental calculations about how much it was going to cost for my outfit.

After a preliminary set of measurements of my upper body, she quoted me a price of S/ 250 (soles are Peruvian currency) which equates to about US$80. I was happy about it and kinda smiled; what a great deal I was getting.

Then she took the tape and measured the dimensions of my ass.

"Oh Mister, I think I'm going to need much more material, you are a very big man. I think the price is going to be more like S/ 300."

Now if that don't just crush your self-esteem, I don't know what does. She measures my bum and makes the comment about how she is going to need a lot more material - no doubting what that statement conveys...

So yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have a lot of "junk in my trunk". Maybe that's why I think J-Lo's posterior looks pretty darn good - its a reflection of my own image. Joy.

i hope to hell there is a hell

2006-10-02T17:55:00.000-07:00

Readers will know that from recent posts here, I am not a religious man. I believe that organized religion has been the major sparkplug for conflict in our world almost as long as religion has been spreading its own word. But after the events of the last few days, I do hope that there is a hell and certain people are in it.

I was fortunate enough to find a profession where I enjoy myself and I'm also really good at. I don't complain about my salary because as compared to other professions, I don't work the same number of months of the year that they do. This isn't to say that I don't work the same number of hours, rather I just do it during during a 10 month span instead of 12. I'm ok with doing the work that I do, I love working with teenagers (most people say I'm a glutton for punishment) but hey - there's nobody you'd want with your kid more than me.

Four years ago, I left the desert of southern California and headed out to the international teaching circuit and have been overseas since. I was having a hard time dealing with the status of American schools at the time (especially the one in California I was at) and I left the US to teach abroad. Luckily for me, I found a new sense of joy and pride in my work while working in Holland and at the end of my tenure there, seriously considered returning to the States to live and work.

After what has happened in education over the course of the last week, I'm not sure if I ever want to go back to a school in the US - even if you paid me hazardous duty pay. And like I said in the title to this post, I hope there is a hell and the assholes who committed those atrocities spend a long time down there suffering.

The teenager in Wisconsin who murdered his principal for disciplining him. He needs a serious mental exam and possible banishment to hell. His parents need to take a long look at what they didn't do when he was growing up and question whether or not they should be allowed to raise any more children. I have a good friend of mine that is a principal and gives out discipline to students. I truly worry about him because while a good and decent man, he is seen as a disciplinarian by many and I fear that his life could be in danger if he expels a kid. Imagine this - your life could be in danger for doing your job - even when you're not a member of the military or law enforcement. I pray for you Steve, I really do.

Then the sex-crazed lunatic that busted into a Colorado school to rape and shoot teenage girls - he's another winner of the purgatory award. This sick fuck molested the girls before turning the gun on them and himself. I guess he knew that his life would be a living hell on Earth if he was ever caught and sent to prison - imagine what the inmates would have done to him? Ahhh, only a small sample of the terror that those girls endured when he sodomized them. Send that bastard to hell after the correctional system gets done with him and let his soul think of what it did for a good long time.

And finally, today's crowning achievement - the milk truck driver who executed the young Amish women in Pennsylvania. This asshole needs to spend a long time burning in the depths of hell for his actions. His deep seeded neurosis that he had been wronged 20 years ago comes to fruition and he goes off on the Amish? What on Earth could an Amish person ever could have done to him that made him so whacked out that he would seal himself and the girls in that one room school house and execute them? I don't mean to generalize but the Amish are known as being one of the most kind and docile people of the western world - what could anyone from that community do to him that would make him bind the hands and feet of young girls and put a bullet into their brain? Did someone cut off his milk truck in their buggy? It sounds insane but clearly this guy was so it must have been something totally deranged that put him over the edge. To hell and no coming back for that motherfucker.

Excuse my language but I am passionate about my chosen profession and I, like so many others, are in it for the kids. I want the world to be run by these guys because my generation hasn't done anything to make it a better place. These kids are full of bright and innocent ideas that are pure and idealistic. They haven't been corrupted in their thought by what the status quo is and what other people say they can and can't do. I want kids from the ages of 14 to 18 years old to run the country for four years and see what happens - it can't be any worse than it is right now. And THAT's why I'm in education - to make things better for the future generation that will lead us out of the shittiness we have gotten ourselves into.

But how are they gonna do that if they fear for their lives every day they come to visit me? How can I teach the laws of physics and critical thinking skills when kids (and educators) are more concerned with survival from predators? Schools are soft targets (ever see a military checkpoint outside a school?) and until this generation pulls its collective head out of its collective ass, kids will live in fear of what might happen at school. Imagine Johnny coming home from a day at school and answering the question about how his day went with, "Not too bad, I think. I didn't pay too much attention because Sally got raped by some lunatic who walked into class and Mr. Johnson was stabbed trying to stop him. But that's about it, how was your day?"

mountain excursion (part II)

2006-09-29T12:06:00.000-07:00

Once again, forgive me for cutting and pasting from my other blog but this one is even longer than the last and I have no desire to rewrite the whole darn thing.

day 2 of the trip to huaraz was an eventful one indeed. it started out early with a 6am wakeup call for breakfast at 630 and leaving the hostel at 7 for the trip to lago (lake) 69. we had heard that it was a beautiful place to visit and take pictures of so we decided it was worth getting up with the sun in the morning.

the group of 9 of us piled into the van that was taking us to our starting point 3 hours down the road and 800 m higher than huaraz. it was an ok ride there, the lady from seattle was constantly asking to pull over so she could take pictures of the local scenery and it was getting fairly annoying, even for me. the tour guides were getting impatient to get to the start point so we could do the hike and so was i. after some flat and some bumpy roads, we made it into the park where the lake is located and got to our departure spot - located at 3900 m above sea level.

we ate a bit of lunch before and peed on the local trees before heading off on our hike. a conservative estimate said that it would be a 2.5 hour hike up and a 1.5 hour hike back. we were told that the lake was at 4450 m so it didn't look like it was going to be that hard of a hike, only needing to go up another 500 vertical meters. the guides said that it was an easy trail so we didn't expect it to be that hard.

slight problem - we weren't acclimated to the elevation.

we started off and on the relatively flat sections noticed that we had a hard time talking between ourselves for more than 4 or 5 words at a time. there just wasn't the oxygen there to breathe and speak. we tended to get tired quickly yet found that we recovered quickly when we took a break. after about an hour, our group was starting to fragment into the hikers who were doing ok with the altitude and those that were not. i am proud to say that i was in the group that was doing fine and i was setting the pace for the 3 behind me that were all 10 years younger.

there was a flat valley as we approached the 2 hour mark and at that point, we were at 4400 m. with the joy of knowing that we only had another 50 vertical meters to go, the group of 4 headed across the valley and towards the last trail that would take us to the summit of our journey. we came across some people coming down and they said that the view was amazing but the hardest part of the hike was still to come. no problem!!! we weren't that tired and the skies looked clear. for about 10 minutes and then it started to hail. little tiny balls of frozen water bounced off my cap and shirt (notice i didn't say jacket, cuz i didn't bring one) and the sky changed from being a lovely shade of blue with fluffy white clouds to a sunless day with dark rain clouds looming overhead. oh frackin' lovely, i thought. i'm gonna get soaked at altitude without a rain coat and in relative cold (it was around 8 C)...

the last slope was wicked steep with loose rocks and a lot of vertical ground to cover. the 50 m we thought we had to go was a slight (!!!!) understatement and the 4 of us began to splinter into single hikers as we ascended the last slope. i would take 10 steps and stop to catch my breath. i was amazed at how hard it was to breathe, and the pounding in the back of my head from the altitude was getting rather severe as i continued to climb. when i busted out the gps, i noticed that i was at 4500 m and still not anywhere near the top of the hill. i figured out then that it was going to be a long afternoon even though it was only slightly before 1pm.

i managed to push my way up to the top and towards the infamous lago 69. it was a beautiful sight and i would have appreciated it more only i was physically spent. the gps registered the lake as being 4616 m above sea level and it completely felt like it. at this point i was getting nausea from the altitude and couldn't eat the snickers bar that i had brought with me to eat at the summit of the journey. how sad must i be if i can't eat chocolate????

the headache and nausea were too much so i started back down after only being at the lake for about 20 minutes. the signs my body were giving me told me that i needed to get down from that elevation and back to somewhere that i could get oxygen to my muscles (and brain). i began the trek back to the van and found the walk back to be as difficult as the walk up. the rocks were sliding everywhere and i had to take tiny steps to ensure that i didn't bite it and roll my way down the mountain. after a while, my legs started to cramp up from the lack of oxygen in my muscles and things went from bad to worse. i was going slower DOWNHILL than i was when i was going uphill. the fatigue of the hike was setting in and i still had 1000 vertical meters to descend (which should have taken me about an hour). it took closer to 2.

after about 30 minutes of hiking, my brain disconnected. the altitude was getting to me and the constant walking meant that there was a relative lack of oxygen going to my brain. i got to feeling like i was drunk, with a hangover, and in jeopardy of falling off a mountain. not a good combination and the reality of what altitude can do to a person was really sinking in. the slower members of our group were passing me on the way down and noted that i couldn't walk a straight line no matter what the terrain. it was not a good experience and i have a new found appreciation for what high altitude hikers go through. not being acclimated was biting me in the backside and i went from having a pretty good day to a bad one.

the terrain leveled out a little as i got closer to the van and i struck up conversations with anything that would listen. the cows, the burros, my shoes, even my hat (i told you i was in bad shape). and somehow i made it back to the van and collapsed in the front seat with a massive headache and burning desire to vomit. ugh, i definitely was going to remember this experience...

the van departed for huaraz and as we descended back to the normal elevation of where i could breathe, my headache went away and the nausea with it. i never did throw up and somewhere around 3700 m is where i felt like a human again. the ride back to town went well and although i was tired, i wasn't sick. to finish off the day, a couple of us dropped by a local restaurant for some pizza before we hit the sack around 9pm that night. i haven't slept that well in a long time.

olympic home

2006-09-27T21:19:00.000-07:00

I would just like to say hello to the reader from Lake Placid, NY. I don't know who you are (and would love to find out) but wanted to give a shout out to one of my favorite places in NY. I lived in Saratoga for a short time and made it up to Lake Placid once while I lived there, a great little town indeed...

Not only is Lake Placid the home to Whiteface Mountain and the awesome skiing that the mountain provides but its also home to my favorite sporting event in history - the Miracle on Ice. Disney went on to make it into a movie (which I've watched too many times) but I still remember being a kid and watching the game live on a tiny B&W TV in my parents bedroom. "Do you believe in miracles? YES!!!!"

So to the reader from Lake Placid, thanks for tuning in and giving my blog a read. Better yet, thanks for reminding me of a wonderful place in New York. :)

The reader from Lake Placid can reach me at cavaliers948@gmail.com

to the mountains!

2006-09-26T20:45:00.000-07:00

I'm too lazy to type this again so here's a copy of what I wrote on my other blog about the recent trip to Huaraz I made with some other teachers. It will come in a few parts, so be patient while I get them all written. Cheers!

a group of us met at the bus station for our night-long journey to huaraz. the trip takes about 8 hours (350 km) and we booked our seats on a sleeper-bus. the chairs are big and comfy, reclining most of the way to horizontal to make it as nice as possible to sleep. i got stuck sitting next to the freaky woman from seattle who wanted the window seat yet constantly needed to pee. gee, thanks for that...

but i got some z's and was awakened at 7am on thursday morning when we arrived in huaraz. after getting off the bus, the first thing i noticed was how hard it was to get my breath. sure enough, 3100 m (10 000 ft) above sea level will do that to you. our group of 6 headed off to our hotel (hostel) to drop off our stuff and set off for the day. the crazy pee-woman from seattle had some idea of stuff to do for the day and so we followed this lady on her expedition to buy native goods.

what a mistake THAT turned out to be...

she said there was an artist's colony in some town called marcara, so we went there. it turns out that the place is there but doesn't allow visitors - they sell their goods in another town. so we piled back into a taxi cab and went to monterrey; another 25 minutes in a cab. we get there and have lunch before heading off to the artist's shop only to find out from the locals that the shop is actually a bunch of shops that are located up the road. grrrrr - we are not happy at this point. so she and some others head off to the hot springs that are in this small village (population 30, maybe...) while the rest of us decide to head back to huaraz to get a nap and relax for a bit.

so kelsey (a student teacher at the school) and i hop into a combi to head back into huaraz. what is a combi? its a mini-van that fits 17 people but are known to cram well over 20 people (like 27) into it. the cost to get to monterrey by cab - 25 soles. the cost to get back to huaraz from monterrey by combi - 1 sole. nothing like travelling like the natives - a true peruvian experience.

we all met at the hotel and relaxed for the afternoon, wandering about to take some pictures and shop at the local stores. alpaca (llama) sweaters and hats and all the other local wares were to be found. i think i found one in orange, i wonder if anyone would be interested in it... in any case, some shopping and some dinner eventually led us to planning the next day, a trip to lago 69 up in the mountains near huscaran (a glacier). friday was going to be a long day so we hit the sack earlier and prepared for our trek up to 4450 m.

details on the trip to lago 69 and the rest of the mountain expedition later.

the crusades - new and improved

2006-09-18T12:52:00.000-07:00

So here we go again, it seems as though just when you thought that the role of religion couldn't be used any more for non-sense, the latest bout of Islam vs. Christianity features the Pope's recent comments being used as fuel for the fire. Coming soon to a mixed neighborhood near you - the Crusades *new and improved*...

Once again, people are inciting the belief in their god as the reason why they should go forth and kill everyone else who has different beliefs. I think that historians will look back at this time in history as the time when over-population was controlled through the culling of humans through the process of war. Look back at the last hundred years and think of the hundreds of millions of people who have been killed for a set of beliefs. Nowadays it seems as though if any person wants to go kill someone else for whatever reason, they just claim 1) their god told them to do it or 2) their god is offended by the existance of infidels.

I'm going to go out and say it - organized religion is a bunch of crap and people need to stop listening to their leaders who base their decisions on what they interpret as what god wants. George Bush said that god told him to invade Iraq, Islamist fundamentalists say that Zionists are to be wiped off the face of the Earth because they are... Jewish? Ya know, in the past when people said they heard voices telling them what to do, we medicated the shit out of them, put them in "hug-me" jackets, and watched them roll around rooms with padded wallpaper through a slot in the door.

Now it seems like we are following the crazies to their own personal insanity. Since when did people lose sight of the fact that any creator, regardless of religion, gave us the ability to reason and determine who the crazies were? As far as organized religion is concerned, aren't the level-headed, god-fearing people of the community supposed to take care of those who can't seem to grasp reality?

Its no shock that I am agnostic, religion in its current form has just totally turned me off of a certain belief system. I believe that there is a creator (the universe didn't come from nowhere) but I am tired of the dogma that religious people subscribe to without even critically thinking about where that idea originated. Christ wasn't born in December and Mohammed probably didn't mind his picture being drawn (as long as it wasn't a caricature). To all the leaders in organized religion - GET OVER YOURSELF AND YOUR SUPREMACY ISSUES! No religion is the only way to "heaven" and stop killing people in the name of your beliefs. You don't see me running around and cutting off all your penises (or is it peni?) because I don't think you should be allowed to reproduce and spread your ideas, do ya? Its called tolerance folks and EVERY RELIGION PREACHES IT. Pay attention to your own beliefs and don't worry so much about the other guy, he's got his own godly problems to deal with.

small and insignificant

2006-09-07T18:30:00.000-07:00

Now here's a video that will let you know just how small we really are in the big scheme of things...

where does it hurt?

2006-09-01T17:05:00.000-07:00

The answer to that question is simply, "between my ears". Today was my first foray into the medical system of Peru, a journey into the surreal for me.

Last Saturday I strained my elbow while playing softball. It hurt like a son-of-a-gun at the time that I did it and I knew I had to get it checked out by a professional. Its amazing - the three years I was in Holland, I only had to go to the doctor once and that was because I got hit by a car. I'm in Peru for a little over a month and I've already managed to ding myself up. Nice job there sport-o.

The precedent has already been set for how bad my spanish is as my current hairstyle reflects. So I had no problems with asking others for a little help with arranging an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon. I was given the number by someone at school and after having no luck with getting an appointment with him, I was referred to another doctor who was able to see me today. At the conclusion of the day, I packed my bag and headed to the Clinica San Borja to meet with my doctor - Dr. Diaz.

I had no idea that the clinic was just part of the adjoining hospital and never even thought that there would be more than one Dr. Diaz. Ummm, yeah - one should never assume that of a last name like Diaz in a latin country. The clinic is seven stories tall and has doctors ranging from neurology to podiatry and every body part in between. When I walked in, I was greeted by a gentleman who I was hoping would steer me towards the elevators and tell me what floor to get off on. Nope, he put me in the line to get medical insurance sorted out (b/c that was his job) and after standing in the insurance line for a few minutes, I was directed to go see someone else since I evidently didn't have all the correct paperwork.

So I made my way through the blue door with the smiley face on it and sat down to talk with Karina. Not the Karina from my previous posting, but the Karina that works at the clinic. Her job was to figure out how I was going to get my insurance to cover the cost of the consultation and being the efficient worker that she was, she also spoke so fast that I could barely understand my own name being read to me.

I must have gone wide-eyed and had a total look of bewilderment on my face because she looked at me and said (in spanish), "Do you understand what I am saying?"

I replied in my best gringo-accented spanish, "No, could you say that again slower and in smaller words. My spanish is bad because I have live here only for one month." Upon hearing this, she repeated everything she had said earlier - only faster. I guess she enjoyed watching my eyes glaze over as she rambled away, it musta been fun to watch the white guy with his master's degree sit there in total befuddlement - I would have probably done the same if I were in her shoes.

We eventually figured out that I had to pay the doctor's fee up front and then be reimbursed by my insurance company. With that in hand, I finally got to make my way towards the elevators that I was hoping to ride 45 minutes earlier. I made my way up to the 7th floor where I was greeted by another gentleman - and yes, I was a bit nervous about talking with him b/c I thought he might send me back downstairs. He pointed me to the right desk and I walked over to check in with the receptionist.

"Hello, may I help you?" Oh thank God!!! Someone who speaks English!!! "Yes, I am here for my appointment, my name is Expat Nomad and I have a 4pm appointment." By the way, it was 5 pm when I said this to her. "Yes Mr. Nomad, Dr. Diaz will see you now."

I walked off the elevator and into his office for a brief consultation that resulted in some guy telling me (in English too!) the same thing that I figured out on the internet - I have tennis elbow. He gave me a prescription to reduce the swelling, told me to take it easy for a couple of weeks and that I should come back in a week to see him. I paid my S/ 170 (170 soles is about $60 USD) and hopped in a cab to head home. I was tired of using my brain for the day and flopped into the back seat and spoke only to the driver when I needed to tell him what street to turn on to get me home.

But I'm better off. I've been told by a licensed professional exactly what is wrong with me and what I can do to fix it. The hard part is going to be staying away from sports for the next couple of weeks until this heals. Grrrr!!!

Oh well, gotta run for now. I need to get some sleep, I've got a softball game in the morning...

small, small world

2006-08-23T11:40:00.000-07:00

So I had a pretty surreal experience last night. I found out just how amazingly small this world really is.

My co-worker Karina who lives above me in my apartment building had a guest stop in for a few days. She is a friend of Karina's family back in Colorado and was traveling around South America when she stumbled into some medical problems. Friends of the family are always great, you've never met them but you need to treat them like a long-lost relative even though you'll probably never see them again.

In any case, I stopped by to show Karina my new horrible haircut (my spanish DEFINITELY needs to improve) and get a woman's opinion about the extent of the damage. After I was assured by Karina that it wasn't too bad, she got a phone call and took it in another room. This left me alone with the familial friend, Mandee.

I found out that Mandee was a fellow international educator although not in the same vein as Karina and I are in. She teaches ESL to Bosnians in a language institute. We got to talking about how she got into the field since most people from Colorado don't rush off to Bosnia to teach ESL. It eventually came out that she had lived overseas as a kid (just like me) and chose her profession based on the idea of continuing to travel. Being the curious person I am, I asked her where she had lived and was surprised that we had a common school from our history - Jakarta Embassy School.

International educators will recognize that this is not the current name of the school in Jakarta currently - but it was the name of it back in the 1970s. I asked her when she was there and it turns out that we attended the same school at the same time! How amazingly weird! I've found this woman who went to the same school as I did 30 years ago.

I had goosebumps at this moment and couldn't resist asking her a question that men are never supposed to ask women, "How old are you?" When she replied that she and I were the same age, I was absolutely floored. At that moment we both realized that we were classmates from Kindergarden and 1st grade!!! Now THAT's something I never would have expected to happen on the average Tuesday night.

What a small world indeed...

the power of being bilingual

2006-08-20T18:43:00.000-07:00

Its been a month now since I've moved to Peru and I must admit, I am having a great time. Now if only I could find the time to actually get work done. Even now, at 8:45 on a Sunday night, I am finding it hard to concentrate on the task at hand and find myself making an entry here instead of doing my work. I guess those habits learned as a kid die hard...

I just got back from a brief shopping expedition. I needed to get some new shoes for VB practice and I also grabbed a new nalgene bottle so I can drink some water at work while I teach. I walked over to Larco Mar - an upscale shopping area here in Miraflores and made my purchases. The fun part - I never spoke a word of english in the process and I feel really good about that. There's something gratifying about speaking the native tongue and conversing in another language.

Long time (or even somewhat recent) readers will recall my former position was in another overseas school, in Holland. They speak another language there and yet I never made any post about speaking Dutch over the last 18 months. Truth be told, I was one of the many English speakers in the Netherlands that never learned to speak Dutch simply because I was never required to since almost everyone speaks English. That isn't the case here in Peru. Almost no one speaks English and if you don't have a basic understanding of Spanish, you're sunk.

I was fortunate enough to grow up overseas and having lived in Mexico for two years back in the early 80s, I learned to speak a little Spanish. Thanks to Mrs. Huijsman at ASF in Mexico City for making this transition to Peru a little bit easier. *Odd note - Mrs. Huijsman was my Spanish teacher yet her name is Dutch; mere coincidence?* I can't imagine what it must be like for the other newbies here that don't speak a lick of Spanish. I mean, I know what its like to feel totally isolated because you don't speak the language so I guess I can imagine but its still not something that I want to relive at the current moment.

So even though tonight's shopping expedition wasn't the most trying of situations to need another language, I still did enjoy it. Just like the conversations that I have with the cab drivers (except the one about American politics - I never learned those words from Mrs. Huijsman and found it difficult to express my true opinion) and the maid and the other locals that I've bumped into, I find it nice to have the background that I do in Spanish and a little comforting to know that I can at least carry on a conversation as if I were a 10 year-old native speaker.

A 10 year-old with a wicked sense of humor... ;)

So to all those out there who haven't learned a second language I give you this little piece of advice - try one on for size. Its truly an empowering experience.

home to pedophilia

2006-08-17T05:47:00.000-07:00

Ok, so its been a while since I've updated and I should be writing more about my arrival in Peru and all the changes that have been happening since I arrived. I know I should be doing that but honestly, I've not been in the mood to reflect on all that at the moment. Instead, I question the reputation of my chosen profession with the public at large.

I just got done reading that the found the murderer of JonBenet Ramsey - a grade school teacher named John Karr. He fled the US to avoid the investigation and tried to get a job - teaching - in Thailand. Its yet another case of a terrible thing happening to a child by a person who is an educator. Why is it that this profession is always making the headlines with child molesters and murderers topping the charts?

I'm a professional through and through. I wear a tie at least 4 out of 5 days in the week to look like a professional. I am prepared for my job on a daily basis and always ready to help a child learn. I spend extra time with them when the concept isn't completely understood, sometimes meeting with them after school. But because this profession is a great place for pedophiles to find prey, I worry that the parents of my children will assume the worst when I spend extra time with their child.

Many people say that teaching is a noble profession and that I should be proud to be such an influence in the lives of youth. After the incidents involving Mary Kay Letourneau, Debbie Lafave, and so many male pedophiles (so many that I can't even begin to name them all), how am I to feel any honor in my profession? I know that 99.9% of teachers are decent, kind, caring individuals who know to keep their privates private, I'm just tired of the teaching trade getting the reputation as the place where pedophiles can get their fix.

I swear there should be a more severe punishment for teachers who do such things with children. We are entrusted with children and their well-being, maybe if some form of neutering was involved with punishment, people would think more about becoming a pedophile while being a teacher. I'm not one to want more rules or laws in the world but c'mon, what needs to happen to someone to deter them from hurting a child when they are in a position of trust?

south of the border

2006-07-28T05:53:00.000-07:00

So here I am, finally in the land of Peru. Its been a while since I have had a chance to put in an entry so I thought I would tell of an interesting day I had about a week ago. It was my first day in Peru and our group of newbies had a trip around Lima arranged. We were taken to some of the sights by a local and told a little about the history of Peru.

Our first stop was at an archeological find just outside of downtown Lima. We were shown the remains of a wall that was built around the old city as a means of protection. From what you might ask? Well, pirates of course! You know, the infamous pirates like Sir Thomas Cavendish and Sir Francis Drake.

Yup, this version of history portrays the "explorers" of the western world as being pirates who were only set on plundering the gold that the Incas had. Gotta protect them riches!

But as the tour continued, it was explained to us that Lima was not an Incan city (such as the legendary Machu Pichu) but rather a Spanish built city on the coast. The tour guide was proud to point out that the Spanish that came to modern-day Peru were not conquerors but rather people settling an uninhabited land. Afterall, the Incas were hundreds of miles (or kilometers) away in Machu Pichu and they weren't doing any harm to the Incas, right?

Here's where history takes a little detour in my book. I was taught that the Spaniards that came to the New World were called "Conquistadores" and did a demo job on the natives of the continents via swords, guns, and germs. A relative few did a massive number on the native populations and thereby inhabited the region. Hence how they got the gold from the Incas, right?

But wait, who's right in this case? What is the real version of history? Is this woman (of Spanish descent) correct in her telling of what she had been taught? Did the Spaniards and Incas live in harmony (except the whole "germ" thing) and have I been misled all these years? And are "great explorers" like Cavendish and Drake really just pirates? The walls were built for a reason - to keep someone out, but who? Did the walls go up to protect them from pirates or Incas who desired their gold back?

All very interesting questions indeed...

bling

2006-07-11T00:23:00.000-07:00

DSC_3462.JPG
Originally uploaded by feelinMN.

I don't quite agree with what the rest of the bike has on it but that front wheel is BLING baby!!!!

troops

2006-07-08T10:38:00.000-07:00

Always be prepared
Originally uploaded by wiseacre photo.

Be careful when you go to the kitchen next time...

happy trails

2006-06-21T23:20:00.000-07:00

I do believe the boys from Van Halen said it best...

Nmmmmmm dip dip Mmmmnnnnmm
Bum-ba-deeda-bum-ba-deeda bum-ba-deeda bum-ba-deeda (continued throughout)

Happy trails to you
Until we meet again
Happy trails to you
Keep smilin' until then

Who (Ooh-ooh) cares about the clouds when we're together
Just (Ahh-ahh-ahh) sing a song and think 'bout sunny weather

(two, three)
Happy trails to you
'Til we meet again

distressed

2006-06-18T05:14:00.000-07:00

Author's note - this is a totally personal entry and is just me venting. Just wanted to write it down, maybe some cathartic remedy in putting it down on paper (electronic paper but you know what I mean).

I recently took a scouting expedition to Lima and found many new and exciting things there. My new home will be an exciting and fun-filled place to live. There is a lot to say about it and I will do so after grad school is done. I got back to my house in Rotterdam (its mine until Thursday) and crashed for the night. My roommate was out with friends and I had the place to myself to watch the US - Italy game.

When I got up this morning, I found out that my roommate was actually out with someone that I had dated during this school year. We started last fall and broke up soon after and then started again at Christmas and lasted for a couple of months. We had a somewhat tumultuous relationship both times we dated that stemming from issues dealing with trust. Needless to say, we weren't the best of couples.

We had known each other for 2 years before we hooked up. We went out with some friends to a local establishment and before I knew it, she was drunk (I was a little tipsy too) and we were becoming more acquainted. Though the communication side of our relationship was lacking, the physical side was just fine. It was the problems in communication that helped with the demise of our relationship - there were quite a few problems but that was the central one.

Since our split, she has been on the prowl for someone new. There was a rumor around school about a one-night stand with the concierge although there was no verification of it. She is known to frequent a few local establishments in search of someone else and last night she was successful in her attempt to fill the void in her life (needing a man). What floors me is that she went out, hooked up with this guy, and brought him back to her house the next morning - all while her teenage daughters were throwing a party in their new house where lots of alcohol was being consumed. The man was surprised to enter her house and find kids still littering the floor at 6am the next day (as I would be as well if it happened to me). *Roommate provided me with this information*

So what's the point of this entry? I have so many emotions coursing through my veins at the moment that its hard to pinpoint just why I am making this entry. I am sad for her because she feels the need to constantly find men for fulfillment in life. I pity her girls for the example that she sets for them because they are starting to follow in her footsteps. But most of all I feel used.

I don't know why I feel this way - it wasn't a long relationship or deeply meaningful for that matter. We went out occasionally, spent time at my place relaxing and having dinner, managed to alleviate some stress in our lives through sex - nothing too dramatic, I've had relationships with a lot more invested in them. But this one is the first where I feel like I was just used as a stand-in for the purpose of having a man. Someone wanted me in their life just for the sole reason of needing to have a penis close at hand for her fulfillment needs. I know it happens all the time to people but like I said in the beginning of this entry, I'm on a rant and this is more for my need to vent than your need to comment. I can honesty say that I have made it through my 35 years (dating for half of those) without ever feeling this manipulated before. I've usually been a good judge of character and never been hurt like this before and when it does happen, I go through the same gambit of emotions just like everyone else does. I don't have a problem with her dating other people, I want her to find happiness (in some shape or form) but what I don't like is how she seeks that happiness. I feel like I was picked up in the same way as these other one-night-stands and that our relationship was just another fling, a way to cure her sexual appetite. Once I was out of the picture, she just starting trolling the bars again, looking for another was to get her fix. Don't get me wrong, I understand the need to get laid once in a while but how she is doing it just makes me feel like I was used. Its not a feeling I am accustomed to and this is my venue to vent those feelings.

In my final days here in Holland, I'll enjoy the scenery and my friends before I leave. I will not miss the single social scene that I've been a part of here. The women I've dated in the last 3 years have all been unique and different and horrendous and selfish and so many other adjectives that I'll not comment on. Let's hope that Peru has something different to offer...

good night and good luck

2006-06-10T04:44:00.000-07:00

company logo
Originally uploaded by bcurry35.

Well my faithful readers, this is it. This is my final entry from Holland - I am off to terrorize other parts of the world - mainly Peru. So if you hear of any major disturbances on CNN in that region of the globe, you'll understand why.

My time here has been eventful and I am grateful for the opportunity I had to live in the Netherlands. I've learned so many new things and been exposed to a completely new culture and while I can't say that I've loved every minute of it, my experience in Holland has overall been good.

However my professional time here has been wonderful. Three years ago I felt like leaving education and making my way into sales or something like that. Due to a few strategically placed students, that thought has left my mind and my passion for teaching rekindled. Thanks to Weezie and Libero and a whole host of other students at the American International School of Rotterdam for reminding me of why I went into education in the first place (to warp young minds!!!). I am still feeling the sorrow of leaving those amazing students here while I move on to Lima. *I may not be in Rotterdam, but you'll always be in my thoughts.*

So farewell Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, and Nederland. Its been real, its mostly been fun, so that means that its been mostly real fun. :) Take care of my kids until I come back to see them again...

tot ziens!

2006-06-08T12:43:00.000-07:00

Well, the time has come and my days in Holland have come to an end. Tomorrow is the last day of school and I depart for my new home in South America on Monday. My tenure in Rotterdam has reached its conclusion - guess I'll have to change my tagline. The "Live from the Land of the Flying Dutchmen" will be replaced when I can think of something new - something that reflects my new home in Peru.

The last week has been filled with so much. I sold my motorcycle, packed my life into boxes and luggage for its impending departure to Peru or my storage facility in California, and have starting saying my farewells to my friends at school (both staff and students). Stress levels have been up and down, frazzeling me in every which way that I care to remember.

Luckily for me, I've found a great website to help me distract myself as I pack. Its called Pandora.com and you should give it a try. Its a great way to listen to your style of music while getting a broader perspective of what's in that genre. Personally, I wanted to find some more bands that have a funk feel to them (kinda like Tower of Power) and was happy to have this "radio station" play some new artists for me like Graham Central Station and The Drifters. You can customize your sound depending on your mood and make different "stations" for your different musical tastes. And just perhaps you'll give artists you had already written off a second chance. I never would have thought that I would like Prince without the New Power Generation - but hey, whaddaya know??!!

which iPod are you? it don't matter - just do it!

2006-05-23T12:04:00.000-07:00

An interesting new development that I read about today. The increasing merging of sports and technology brings Apple and Nike together. Here's a little something from The Street.com that I read today (click on title above to directly go to the story).

Long used on the run, Apple Computer's (AAPL) iPod soon will be customized for runners.

As part of a deal announced Tuesday with Nike (NKE), the company will soon release a kit that will essentially allow the digital music player to function as a pedometer, giving runners information on the distance they've gone, the calories they've burned, and the length of time they've been running. The kit will include a wireless antenna that will connect an iPod nano to specially designed Nike shoes.

Apple plans to release the package within two months for a price of about $30. Nike will begin offering shoes that include the pedometer sensor and the wireless antenna to talk to the one for the nano beginning next month. The shoemaker plans to update many of its shoe lines to incorporate the technology.

Many companies have been trying to tap into the success of the iPod. Car companies have been adding iPod connectors to their car radios and consumer electronics makers have come out with a raft of different iPod accessories, including speakers, wireless headphones and the like.

But the deal with Nike is one of the first efforts to connect the iPod to a nontraditional electronic device.

In addition to the pedometer information, the Nike+iPod kit from Apple will include software that will allow customers to designate a "power song" that they can play at the touch of a button during workouts, and to set up customized song play lists for use with particular workout routines. As part of the deal between the two companies, Apple plans to add a sports music section to its iTunes Music store.

Shares of Apple and Nike both rose following the announcement. In recent trading, Nike's stock was up $3.03, or about 4%, to $81.01, while Apple's stock was up 67 cents, or about 1%, to $64.05.

Hey, maybe this will help (not cure) in getting people off their sofas and into exercise a little more. Considering I detest both companies (Nike for the sweatshops they run and Apple on principle), this is a great idea. I might even consider this combo myself if my knee wasn't in such horrible shape.

modern roman orgies

2006-05-19T00:10:00.000-07:00

I hang my head in shame for what the world, more specifically America, has produced. In a day where there is still hunger and starvation in EVERY country in the world, a growing sport is emerging. It even has an official sanctioning body.

The International Federation of Competitive Eating sanctions more than 100 competitive eating events a year. That's two competitions a weekend of people ramming as much food into their bodies as possible. The participants involved call it a sport, some even call themselves 'athletes'. Heck, even ESPN is covering it (click on 'modern roman orgies' above). Flat out - its gluttony; one of the seven deadly sins, remember?

In a society where we acknowledge that kids and adults are too fat because of what they eat, we now have a "sport" where people try to do exactly what we tell them is bad for them - and the "sport" is growing both in the number of people involved as well as the caloric content being ingested. Why does an idea like this even enter a grown person's mind? I've seen teenagers attempt to out do each other just to prove their macho-ness but why didn't someone say, "That's just pure stupidity. Why are we promoting such behavior? Fire the the ad agency who came up with this idea and beat the moron who suggested it."

But no, this raw symbol of why people think Americans are the spoiled kids of the world continues to shine forth. Its greed and callousness and contempt all rolled into one. We know what the world needs but don't give a shit enough to help out. We'll free the people of a domineering dictator as long as they have oil, which serves our needs. We have so much stuff that we make competitions to see how fast we can make it go away. We are so self-absorbed in the drive to get all things materialistic that we ignore what simple needs others have. I think America would be better off giving the world the finger at the beginning of each press conference, at least there would be no doubt about our intentions.

So like the ancient lore of Roman orgies being one of the trademarks leading to the collapse of its empire, competitive eating has become a trademark of the good ole US of A. I'm ashamed indeed...

super slo-mo

2006-05-16T08:39:00.000-07:00

Bottles and_Bullets II
Originally uploaded by brynman.

This is a totally cool picture of a bullet smashing through a bottle of wine. The physics geek in me finds this amazing, especially the shockwave traveling through the wine. Its also cool in its artistic side as its well-lit giving it an etheral feel to i. The bullet striking it and the shattering of the glass is all frozen in a brief moment of time.

Art and science rolled into one. Wicked.

unphotoshopped

2006-05-07T02:02:00.000-07:00

eve
Originally uploaded by _rebekka.

I found this picture a while ago on flickr and decided to finally add it to my blog. The photographer has done a great job of composing this shot and getting the timing just right. What people can do with a camera absolutely amazes me sometimes and this is one of those amazing shots (at least IMHO).

credentials

2006-05-02T13:47:00.000-07:00

credentials
Originally uploaded by bcurry35.

Anyone think that they will take this as my 'official' credentials at my next school? Its worth a try, I'll send it tomorrow...

guilty conscience...?

2006-04-29T10:26:00.000-07:00

I just got through (literally moments ago) a unique situation to me. In my years of teaching, this was my first time dealing with something like this, although I know its happened to others. What's your opinion on the subject?

Here's the scenario - I gave an assignment to my 9th grade Earth Science class on Wednesday and told them to finish it for homework. Friday came and went and I forgot to collect the assignment, instead I put in a video and worked with a pair of my chemistry kids to prepare them for a test that they were to take the next period. I figured that I would collect it on Monday - something usual for my class (I often forget to collect assignments the day that they are due).

So its 7pm on a Saturday night and I'm chillin' on the sofa watching tv when a knock comes at the door. I open it to find one of my 9th graders standing there - trembling and on the verge of tears, let's call her April. She stammers out that she has something to tell me about what happened in school on Friday and I invite her in. I can hear some of you already - "Never invite a student into your house! Especially a female student! Oh my God, you're going to get accused of so many things!". I couldn't leave her standing on my doorstep like that, she was an emotional wreck at the moment and it would have been cruel of me to have her expose her crime while standing in a doorway.

April came in and the tears started to flow. She was sorry for what she did and wanted to tell me about it. Truth be told, I had no idea what she was apologizing for but I wasn't going to stop her from letting it all out. After a bit of stuttering and stammering, she finally let it go.

"Mr. Expat, remember how the lab was due on Friday? Well, I didn't get it done for homework and I copied the answers from a friend. I got caught copying the answers in another class and that teacher took both of our papers away. I told my mom and she said that I needed to come over and tell you about it ahead of time and be responsible for my actions." *the conversation has been paraphrased since I don't want to write it all down.

This was a first for me. A student was caught by another teacher copying answers to an assignment for my class and was confessing to the act before I even knew. But here's the kicker - technically she didn't turn in the assignment so technically she hasn't cheated yet. Or did she? I asked her if she intended to submit the paper as her own work and she replied that she did intend that, if she hadn't been caught.

Where does the line of cheating/plagarism start? While she did intend to cheat, she hasn't yet, in a technical sense. However she was caught before the act came to fruition and wasn't allowed to follow through with the actual act of submitting someone else's work. She should be treated like any other person caught cheating or is this something different? Our school states that cheating is punishable at the director's discretion, up to a day's worth of in-school suspension and a zero on the assignment. Does she receive the full broadside for the act when the act has yet to be completed yet? Does the letter of the law cover intent? What do you think should happen to April?

mama always said...

2006-04-25T13:33:00.000-07:00

With me at the point of departure, I'm getting ready to sell my motorcycle before I leave Holland. I came across this on Google video - perhaps its a good thing that I don't ride sportbikes...

darling cherub

2006-04-11T12:35:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of this year, I put up a post about what to do if you deal with the kids of teachers in your school. I only wish that one of the teachers at my school had read the article and taken it to heart. Today I was blindsided by this teacher, we'll call her Ms. Protective, and I wasn't too happy about it.

Ms. Protective's son is in my chemistry class. He has aspirations to go into the medical field and attend a good British university. Since I know this, I do my best to ensure that this darling cherub is ready for the rigors of university life. When he doesn't turn in his work, I ride him just like every other student. When he doesn't perform up to his ability, I 'promote learning' with a gentle nudge by privately saying to him, "If you want to get into dentistry school, you're going to need to do better than the C you just earned." In essence, I do what every other teacher does - encourage and cajole.

The darling cherub is also a musician. He is an excellent string player and attends many workshops aimed at promoting high-level musicians. Unfortunately for him, these workshops are usually a week long and he misses school as a result of it - throughout the course of this year he has missed 3 weeks of school to attend various workshops. Our school has a rule that if a student is going to be absent for functions such as this, they must see the teacher for work before they go on the trip. This darling cherub always waits until the last minute before getting his checkout sheet signed with his teachers.

Last Thursday was his last day of the week and he didn't have my signature on the sheet. No sig means no credit for work done during the week. So Ms. Protective bails him out by finding me at softball practice and asks me to sign his sheet. I do so but tell the mother that it is unacceptable for this to happen. A student needs to take responsibility and see me personally. I thought it was over and that the darling cherub would find me upon returning to school.

But no, it could never be that easy.

Ms. Protective finds me in the lunch line today and in front of staff and students alike, brings up the topic of his missing work. I tell her that I need to talk to her about it and that in the lunch line is not a good place. She keeps pushing and so I tell her that if she wants to get his assignments, she needed to come visit me in my classroom for them - just like every other kid would do. Hey, if she is going to take responsibility for his actions and cover him when he fucks up and doesn't get the necessary signature then she can go through the same song and dance that every kid has to deal with. She goes off on me in the lunch line about how I'm being rude (?!) and not giving her the assignments right then and there.

WTF???!!! I'm trying to eat my lunch here lady!!!!

So I tell Ms. Protective that enough is enough and that if she has a problem with the way I conduct my class that she can talk with the director about it. Being aptly peeved about the situation, I decide to bring the head honcho in myself. I'm tired of Ms. OVERLY Protective going off when her boy doesn't get what she feels is right or that he is "being screwed". Whatever lady, you've pissed me off one too many times. Let's get the powers that be involved.

We have our meeting after school (during which I miss a bunch of practice time with my softball players - ya know, kids that show up to school and are responsible) and it comes out that darling cherub is didn't get his sheet signed BECAUSE HE WAS AFRAID OF ME. Yes, that's right - he's afraid of me, the giant teddybear. His reason for being afraid - "Mr. Expat tells me that I'm not being responsible when I come to him late with my signout sheet."

No shit Sherlock, what else would I say?

"Congrats on being late for the 3rd time. This time you get a prize!"
"C'mere - lemme teach you how to be even MORE irresponsible."
Better yet -
"So my teeth are a complete mess because you didn't bother to get the assignment you missed in dentistry school?!?! No problem, I'll just eat soup for the rest of my life."

No - I think not. I'm a teacher for crying out loud. I teach. I teach more than just chemistry or physics or math. I teach your kid how to be a responsible adult. I teach your kid how to be a good and moral person. If you don't like it, then get your kid outta my class because I ain't gonna stop teachin' that way.

What did the meeting result in? More excuses from Ms. Protective and more allegations focused at me. Yeah, I'm the one whose wrong. I'm the one picking on the darling cherub because I think like the rest of the world. Whatever lady, I ain't teaching your kid anything more than what the curriculum demands.

And if I ever see the darling cherub's name on a dentist office door, I'm gonna run away screaming.

something different

2006-04-05T12:32:00.000-07:00

Elegance
Originally uploaded by patacancha.

Now here's a picture that you don't see everyday. How many white peacocks have you ever even heard of?

big brother

2006-04-01T03:23:00.000-07:00

I was reading an article a few days ago on the BBC (click on 'big brother' above) about how Apple has introduced a feature in its iPods that will allow parents to control the maximum setting that a person can listen to. One of the reasons that they are doing so is because of a potential lawsuit from an American as well as US politicians who are calling for congressional investigation about hearing loss. After reading all of this, I have decided that its time for another rant.

First of all, let me go off on the frivolous lawsuit that John Kiel Patterson is bringing against Apple. He is suing because his iPod is capable of producing a sound level of 115 db (the pain threshold for humans is 120-130 db) and that prolonged use can cause damage. He bought an iPod last year and isn't sure if he has suffered hearing loss as a result of using this product. His lawsuit is focusing on the potential of iPods to cause permanent hearing loss.

Lemme get this straight. A guy buys a product, frequently sticks it in his ear and cranks up the volume to the point of causing pain. Now he wants to sue the people because he is such a dumbass that he didn't bother to turn down the volume. This John Kiel Patterson (and his lawyers) is such an amazingly stupid person that he should have his reproductive organs removed so that he can't spread his idiocy to future generations. Seriously, if you can't figure out to turn down the volume when your ears experience a painful blast of music, you shouldn't be allowed to operate a reproductive organ.

My second point is about the fact that there are 2 US Congressmen that are calling for an investigation into the matter. Edward Markey (D-Mass) and Mike Ferguson (R-NJ) are wanting the National Institutes of Health to look into this 'new' problem that Americans are having with hearing due to media players. Statistics from the American Speech-Language-Hearing (ASHA) estimate that 10 million Americans suffer from hearing loss or impairment due to the portable media players. Markey and Ferguson rely heavily on the ASHA statistics as a reasoning for a formal investigation.

I will come out and say this - I am a conservative liberal. I believe in the idea that the government should do certain things to improve our country but also believe that they should keep their nose outta my business as much as possible. Democrats are often considered to be pro "big government" while Republicans were also thought of to be pro "minimalist government". But now we have government permeating every part of my life and now even the minimalist politicans are wanting to check to see how my hearing is after listening to an iPod. GET THE HELL OUTTA MY PERSONAL LIFE. IF I WANNA LISTEN TO AN IPOD AT 150 DB AND BE DEAF WITHIN A YEAR, THEN LET ME DO IT. Stop wasting money on stupid shit like a multi-million dollar investigation that is going to tell you that hearing loss can occur from listening to music at high volumes. We've known that since rock and roll started over 50 years ago. Why not spend that money on something a bit more important - like finding an alternative energy source to oil.

Thirdly, Apple. Apple came out during the SuperBowl in 1984 with their fancy commercial about big brother watching you and how should break out of the mold and buy their product. What a total bunch of hypocrites! Apple itself has turned into big brother through all their products. For example -

Mac OSX - despite the fact that Windoze (any version from 3.1 thru Vista) can be a total pain, it will allow you to do almost anything you like. If you want to erase files that are essential to your OS, it will let you. Whatever you want to screw with, Windoze will gladly oblige and let you nuke your OS into oblivion. Mac OS doesn't let you do that. It treats you like a kid and won't let you do anything too destructive (well, at least as destructive as Windoze). You are only given certain options and can only change certain parameters. Ever tried to change a registry on a Mac?

iTunes - how much more big brother can you get than that? The new version has a Music Store that will track what you are listening to and 'suggest' other artists that you might want to try. How on earth do they know what is good? Easy, they keep track of what you are listening to and what others are listening to. The software is built on the premise of watching everything you do. And limiting the number of computers I can listen to my songs on? While I understand that piracy is an issue, don't limit me on where I can listen to my purchased music. I paid for it, I should get to listen to it on 1 or 1000 different computers.

iPod - the final straw. Now there is a limit to the volume that I can listen to my Science Friday podcast that I listen to because some idiot (see above) can't figure out what relationship the volume control and the bleeding in his ears have. Granted this feature has to be activated but why is it even there to begin with? We've had "portable media players" around since Sony introduced the Walkman back the early 1980s. But now Apple has decided to be cautious for all of us and install a way to limit my listening experience.

Why this rant? I want a few things to start happening in my native land; being an American can be somewhat embarrasing at times. First - pull your heads outta your ass and stop blaming others for your incompetence. If you are such a boob that you f**k up your hearing, then I guess you learned a lesson the hard way. Second - fix what needs fixing in the US and stop wasting money. Why does the government need to spend money on a research project that we already know the answer to? It has more pressing concerns than hearing loss from earbuds. Thirdly - let me have my freedoms - life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Stop worrying about how I'm gonna hurt myself and let me ride my bike without a helmet. Sometimes I need to crash and smack myself good to learn my lesson. If you keep trying to protect me from all the "bad" things in the world, I'll never know how to make a decision when I need to because I've always been sheltered. Stop being my parent and make actual parents do that job (a topic for yet another rant). Let me be my own best advocate.

how far can they go?

2006-03-17T07:42:00.000-07:00

I've been a bit busy over the last week but I've been doing some research. It has to do with the topic that I've been thinking about recently. I'm curious as to what your opinions are on the following matter.

In the distant past, I had an issue with a student and their blog. I learned that students need to have a place to vent and have their friends chime in without having a grown-up checking in on them. Kids need to be kids and privacy is one thing that they demand as they get older.

Recently I was made aware of a situation here at school. A student wrote something on her blog about a teacher that she didn't like. Her remarks were what you would expect from a teenager - the usual bit about the teacher being horrible, dumb, and some other choice descriptions that kids are known to feel about their least favorite teachers - the usual stuff.

Well it turns out that the teacher found out about the blog and read her site. When the teacher stumbled upon the entry that said less than outstanding things, they took the issue to the director of the school. The student was called into the office, unofficially reprimanded and told to remove the entry. The student complied and then was directed to make a formal apology to the teacher. She did so and the issue is past.

But what this brings to light is the idea of free speech. The student attends a school were American values are at the forefront and one of our most treasured beliefs is the freedom of speech. I know that student newspapers around the US have battled the issue of free speech and censorship but what is the policy on blogs? Does a school have a right to enforce censorship on a student who has done nothing more than exercise their right to free speech when the blog isn't on a school site and wasn't written during school hours?

I've talked with a few people here at school on the issue and I find that there is a division. The students all feel that what was written on the blog was perfectly acceptable as each of us are entitled to our opinion. If a student wants to write bad things about a teacher, that's their opinion. The content of a blog is a personal statement and no one has the right to censor an opinion.

The teachers I talked to were a bit more divided. At what point does free speech become slander? Should a student be able to write their opinion publicly about a teacher? Shouldn't a teacher be allowed to do the same about a student? Teachers are expected to maintain a professional demeanor and not do such things - student affairs are supposed to be confidential. So since we are hamstringed from being able to talk about students, shouldn't they be required to follow the same guidelines? Or does freedom of speech allow us to write about our students? Is the student afforded some protection from the outside world when they are in a classroom? If they are, do teachers get the same protection from their students?

So what's your opinion on the matter? How far can they go? The 'they' in the question applies to student, teacher, and administration. Just what are the limits of freedom of speech, if any?

killed the flow

2006-03-09T13:48:00.000-07:00

Well, I can see from the lack of comments on my recent posts that I have successfully managed to kill the good vibe that I had going. How bizarre that my post about the winter olympics would garner the largest number of comments of any posting on this blog and then I have managed to have my subsequent postings illicit nay a single thought-provoking idea.

What can I say, its a talent...

But I'll see what I can do about coming up with some more entertaining posts that will get you all to talk a bit more. I hope you've at least enjoyed watching the videoes that I've posted. :)

Cheers,

Expat

what to write about?

2006-03-06T12:49:00.000-07:00

So I'm kinda struggling for a topic here. I spent the last week rolling about my house, doing a lot of nothing, and feeling good about it. It was our Crocus vacation at school and while my roommie was tromping around Prague, I spent time at home relaxing and being a single guy without any worries.

I also spent some more time on Google Video watching short and long movies. I saw a very provocative movie (shown below) about Sept. 11th called "Loose Change". Its done by a couple of filmmakers from NYC who attempt to bring to light new evidence about who was really behind the attacks on that day and what really happened. I'm not buying everything that these two filmmakers say but they do bring up some interesting arguments about the veracity of the stories that we assume to be true from those days' events.

Some of my time during vacation was also spent working on stuff that I need to do for the upcoming move to Peru and making arrangements for that. I'll get to spend a day walking around Amsterdam from consulate to consulate getting papers notarized and having people watch me sign other papers. Its all part of the fun when you're moving to another country. Shamash - you know exactly what I'm talking about, right?

Then today I made my way back to the classroom. Ahhh, a fish back in water. I never thought that I would be glad to get back to my job but the more time I spend doing my job the more that I realize how lucky I was to choose the correct profession. We are all given certain gifts and mine is dealing with teenagers who are too cool for the rest of the world - kinda like me. ;)

And now here's a little piece of conspiracy theory for ya - including the cheesy music and narration. Its about 80 minutes long so if you wanna watch, be forewarned.

piracy is good?

2006-03-02T03:30:00.000-07:00

I found the presentation by Mark Pesce at the Australian Film, Television, & Radio School. Its been posted up on Google and my recent trend of putting video up on my blog demands that I put it up for others to see. So instead of you going to look for it, I have brought it to you. The actual presentation is about 45 minutes and then there is time for Q&A. If you've got the time to watch, its an excellent, well-thoughtout presentation about how the model of television can/will change. Enjoy.

what is podcasting?

2006-03-01T16:23:00.000-07:00

I'm so glad you asked. The ninja has an answer for you - just like I said he did in the last post!

changing face of TV

2006-03-01T09:31:00.000-07:00

I've become addicted to a new podcast, Ask A Ninja. You can find it on iTunes or on their blog. Its a nice bit of humor that really challenges you to follow just what the ninja says. Adult humor at its finest.

But what the creators are doing is pushing the envelope of how content is being delivered. With the growing number of households adopting broadband as their way of getting electronic information, the number of people who are getting their content on their computers is on the rise. Couple this with the ease of storing that data on external hard drives (which are really cheap) and you've got a demographic that is getting their content (shows) instantly and watching them whenever they like. I am a part of this demographic - the nerds who download stuff to watch cuz they do want to be tied to a tv.

And that's just what is happening. Ask A Ninja's goal is to start breaking down the mold of today's content delivery (mainly tv) and to get a new business model in place for the new way that content will be delivered. I remember seeing a program given about a year ago called "Piracy is Good!" that I downloaded from Bit Torrent and the gentleman's presentation talked about how tv as we know it today can/will be totally different in 10 years. If you get a chance to see this presentation, I highly suggest it.

So Ask A Ninja is trying something new with content and Bit Torrent is a new way to deliver content. How long before tv figures out that they aren't the only source for video content any more and tries to adapt? Hmmm, sounds like we are about to see the beginning of something completely different. I wonder where this is gonna go...

best or nothing?

2006-02-21T13:14:00.000-07:00

As you are all probably well aware, its Olympic-time and I love watching them on TV. I remember being a kid and watching in awe as the all-powerful Soviets were beaten by a bunch of college kids from the USA in 1980. Four years later I remember watching an athlete hobbling across the finish line in agony and having tremendous respect for a man who had to complete the race even though he had ruptured a tendon while sprinting down the track. I am awe-struck with the physical accomplishments that many amateur athletes can accomplish even though many of them have no prospects of being a professional. They do it for the love of the sport and spirit of the games.

I used to think that Americans were satisfied with giving it our all and never giving up in any competition. As long as we gave it our best, that was good enough. A lot of times our best was better than what others could ever hope to accomplish, enough to win medals and break records. But I feel something different from certain athletes and members of the press this Olympics. Getting a medal isn't good enough - the only place on the podium is the top and not getting there is a "disappointment".

Here are some examples - Chad Hedrick was hoping to break/tie Eric Heiden's record of 5 gold medals in speedskating in one Olympics. Chad took the bronze in the 1500m (after winning gold in the 5000m) and proclaimed, "I didn't come here to finish third. I'm not happy with what I did. This is not what I sacrificed my whole life to do." Chad was also a bit peeved with teammate Shani Davis for not being on the team pursuit squad in an effort to help him attempt for more medals. Instead, Shani did an admirable thing and let others who had not had a chance to skate as much in the Olympics take to the ice and skate for their country. Chad - way too focused on himself and not understanding what it truly means to be at the Olympics.

Yi-Wyn Yen of Sports Illustrated is calling for the resignation of women's hockey coach Ben Smith because of the team's failure to win the gold medal - the team lost to Sweden after a 3-2 shootout loss in the semi-finals (the women would go on to win the bronze). She claims that Ben is responsible for USA Women's hockey going downhill because he chose to cut a player (Cammi Granato) who may have had an influence on the team's loss; if she had been there she would have saved the day. What total BS! She claims that since Ben has coached the team for 10 years that they have gone downhill. Hmmm, I distinctly remember them winning 3 medals (gold, silver, and bronze) winning a World Championship, and appearing in ALL of the championship games (except this Olympics) during his tenure. The only team that they've lost to in a big game is Canada - notably the best team in women's hockey. What the heck?! The team has a bad game, doesn't go on to the gold medal match, and now the media (Yi-Wyn isn't the only one) is calling for his resignation? I thought it was the players on the ice who decided the game, not the coach behind the bench. Yi-Wyn is calling for a man to lose his job because of a bad performance by his team. How about she loses her job if she writes ONE cruddy article?

And there are other examples but I don't want to be too long-winded; there's a bunch that I could say about Apolo Anton Ohno, Bode Miller, and the list goes on and on. My point is this - since when did we put such pressure on people to be the best or nothing at all? Yes, Americans donate a TON of money to train Olympic athletes (I know, I am one of them) and expect them to do well, but "gold or bust"? We've even gone so far as to make sure we have the best out there by allowing professional athletes to participate. So much for being a showcase for amateurs to strut their stuff...

As an American who is tired of the trash-talking, chest-pounding, showboating antics of what sports has become in America today, I thank Jay Hakkinen, Tim Burke, Lowell Bailey, and Jeremy Teela of the 4x7.5km biathlon relay for doing their best and coming in 9th; Eric Camerota, who placed 40th in the nordic combined; Katie Uhlaender, placing 6th in skeleton. You're not the best in the world but you're doing your best, and that's all anyone could ever ask for.