First let me say that I haven’t been this proud of my country since the first time I saw Rocky IV. I know some of you hate me to espousing my personal politics on here but what’s awesome is that none of you can stop me. I feel bad for McCain, Bush screwed him in 2000 and managed to do it again this year. Besides getting a black man in the top office in the nation I’d say the second biggest step forward for race relations was CNN hologramming a black man during their coverage. It would have been a bigger [View Full Entry]

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So I’m home, overlooking Jesus once again.* Operation ‘Don’t Die in a Fiery Plane Crash’ was a success. Only in Latin America have I heard the passengers clap when the plane lands. The trip home was a mixture of awesomeness, best exemplified by having my arm around a black man while singing Dixieland Delight at Bob’s wedding and the not quite so awesome inability to score a QuikTrip hotdog prior to the wedding. Thanks to those who aided my poorly planned blundering by driving me places (mostly Madhu), lending me cell phones (mostly Matt), lending me a place to [View Full Entry]

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So after the trip Scott and Megan came back here and we all hung out in the traditional Caribbean garb, the linen suit. These are acceptable as both pajamas or attending your own wedding, which is more than I can say for the tux. Sadly they don’t include a tie which can be tied around one’s head at the reception marking oneself as a. drunk and b. retarded. It seems like forever ago that Scott and Megan were here. I made a lot of fun of Scott, but he was hilarious and I miss him. After getting back from several weeks [View Full Entry]

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While in La Paz we stayed with Adam’s aunts in laws (sister’s husband’s aunts). Two 50/60ish ladies named Marta and Lily. I never really did figure out which was which. They spoiled us like our own grandmothers, feeding us constantly and taking great care of Meghan who picked the right spot to get a little sick. Bolivia is super cheap, full of crazy markets and the city looks like it’s made out of nondescript shoe boxes. Everything is very tan, very high (altitude is 3660 Meters = 12,000 feet), and very dry. The Altiplano is a giant plateau that encompasses much [View Full Entry]

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I’ll begin with some general thoughts: - First, as you’ll notice, I have a problem with llamas. They started it. Think Conan the Barbarian and camels. - Adam is borderline narcoleptic with an uncanny ability to sleep anywhere although he lost several sleep offs to homeless men, shameful. - Colombian women are the most beautiful on the continent. Hands down, no contest. Argentine ladies come closest, but are still a distant second. This is to say nothing of the personalities, which is a completely different story. - The willingness to help and sense of community betwe [View Full Entry]

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Life is ridiculous struggle for an extremely large part of the earth´s population. Not a struggle against boredom or to find one´s purpose, but to survive, put food on the table, keep their kids healthy since they can´t afford health care. I see it in Santa Marta of course but there´s something about seeing it elsewhere that really drives it home. Started the trip with a long day at the pool then a 18 hour bus ride to Bogota. Spent some time with Piero for his birthday, our friend Chris who moved there and Angie and Angelica two reformed costenas. We [View Full Entry]

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Last weekend we went to Barranquilla to bid farewell to the saintly Chris Davies. He will be missed, and not just by the under aged underprivileged youth of the BQ. Saturday I went to pick up the esteemed Timothy Healy from the airport, I was of course late (transportation strike or something) and had failed to give Tim any information such as local address, phone number, etc. This gave him ample time to stew over the possibility that he had flown into the wrong airport. I left my cell phone on the bus, making it like #8 I’ve lost in my [View Full Entry]

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Almost all of the cell phones here, including my own, are prepay. Meaning that when your money runs out, and it does frequently, you hang up on who you are talking to. It makes for a quick easy exit from a conversation. Plus hanging up and claiming you ran out of money is oh so believable. The best is when you know they don’t have money to call you back. Great. Time and time again my tendency to not answer the phone is reinforced. I get punished for almost every pick up. I understand now why the elderly play at not [View Full Entry]

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The guy who does Jean Luc’s spanish voice dub is a poor replacement for the sonorous manliness of Patrick Stewart. I think facebook status updates are not the most appropriate place to express personal anguish over someone dying. Maybe I’m just old and out of touch. One thing I love about Spanish is than instead of paying attention you lend (prestar) your attention to someone. I don’t tend to lend mine too often or for too long. Like that stingy ass kid Neil with all the awesome toys from Loma Vista. Oh, Neil already has a friend over and I can’t [View Full Entry]

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Adam and I bought a couch because, to be perfectly honest, we needed someplace to sit. I’m pretty sure the slipping pass to Chalmers for the game tying three only happened because Jors Adam and I were flapping our arms like Angels in the Outfield. Jerry, THE HEAT. It has arrived, in full force. To escape it we went to San Lorenzo this weekend, a nearby mountain town that I visited once a few years ago. Last time our accommodations were pretty sketchy, this time they were amazing. It was like a ski trip, freezing cold outside, at 2200 meters (about [View Full Entry]

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