Books

Are y'all bringing anything to read in Southie? I'm going to pack "The Short Stories Of John Cheever."

Status

Balling; shot calling.

Happy Birthday Katrina

She's four years old and just learning to walk.

Adios a México

So its almost been 3 months here now. Wow, time really does fly. So I dont really remember the last time that I posted, but it feels like a lifetime ago. So a quick recap of whats happened since then. I left Guanajuato, an amazing culturally vibrant city that I hope to go back to someday, and some good friends there. From there I went to San Miguel de Allende and my first WWOOF farm. San Miguel is an interesting place. I think its where every rich, eccentric Texan goes to retire. Some mexicanos told me that 80% are gringos, but others told me more like 40% which I would definitly believe. Anyway, it makes an interesting mix of American alternative culture and Mexican culture.

So the farm, not exactly a farm as in there werent any animals besides a half blind and deaf dog and 4 cats. La dueña, Teresa, is a 65 year old hippi from the states that practices permaculture and performs rituals like temezcales (sweat lodges) and other cures. There was also a Belgian shaman living there, and I mean that quite seriously...he knew things. He was leading transdances in San Miguel once a week and I went to see what it was all about and let me tell you... its trippy. You dance blindfolded for about 2 hours---it doesnt feel like it at all.

So one of the times we went into town, and I checked my email at an internet cafe I stupidly took out my wallet to check a number for my mom on my id card and left it beside the computer. Needless to say, someone took it along with my debit card, credit card, cash, drivers license and a copy of my passport--so then I had 30 pesos.

So we were just leaving town when it happened to a neighbors party, and I was able to borrow some American{s cellphone. Let me tell you, the phones are fucked up here. It is so difficult to call people. So it wouldnt call wells fargo to cancel the cards, so I called my parents to call the bank. I got them all the numbers and important info before the line cut out. What I didnt know was that it totally freaked my Mom out and she spent the next 2 days a nervous wreck because for some reason she thought that I would be in constant contact, even though I was on a farm and only went to town about 1 time per week. After about a week I was able to get some more money which I{m hoping will make it til I leave for Peru.

So now I{ve just arrived in Mexico City. Its huge, but I must say I like it better than big US cities like NY. For example, I arrived at the bus station and went directly to the subway. The Belgian shaman told me the stop to go to and the name of a hotel with a sketchy map but that was it. So, in the subway I just asked this guy how to go there, and fortunately he was going the same direction, guided me through all the transfers and out of the metro and helped me find the hotel, which took about an hour of wandering around. All for a complete stranger. Now who would do that in NY?

Everyone keep Stina in your thoughts/prayers. Her oldest brother Tyler died while skiing in Argentina the other day. She's flying home to CO for a while. We love you Stina boo.

Gives me pause

Just found out that my dear, unassuming little car (1992 Honda Accord) is the most stolen vehicle in the Seattle area. Wowee

mmm, good music

well, ive just been hanging around home, working, workingout. i leave for scotland in about 3 weeks and its come out of nowhere. but im reading a really cool book called How the Scots Invented the Modern World. im so excited to go, Scots are like the european underdogs... and i like that. Hope everyones having fun, im predicting some reunions and im super jealous buuut love yall!

mads

Some More

Also made a brain out of used tinfoil (probably hard to see). My job is very stimulating.

Some Art

They say to draw what you know.

Destination: Portland

Hey y'all. This is just to say that I'm comin' to Portland after all, on Wednesday. Maybe you heard that I had decided not to come. Well, I had, but Meredith convinced me to make it work; y'all may thank her if you wish.

so its not hypothetical anymore-I will definitely be in salem on the 29th. brett and meghan i will be in touch with you guys!

so, hypothetically, if I came into Salem on August 29th...would anyone have a floor I could crash on until the 5th????

Just FYI

There is no such thing as a desert island. It's impossible. There are deserted islands, though.

For those going to S.A., + Dan and Mads:

Just curious--why are you going? What's your motivation? What do you hope to have gained at the end? Is it good to know these things beforehand, or does it matter? I only ask because I'm still not sure. I feel afraid to form hopes or expectations.

Dan and Madeline, what were/have been your experiences with this?

im coming into salem on september 3rd

South

South America

Words I Wish I Knew The Definitions Of:

Electrolysis, ironmongery, jocose, soi-disant, anglepoise, penumbra, demerara.

Back

Back at the pool today after a long spell of foul weather.

Closing Time

It's a depressing time at the office these days. I have only two more weeks of work left and it's all very lacklustre. The OSPIRG crew, which has canvassed exclusively together for almost a month now and therefore has become very close, is finished for the year. For the last two weeks we have been driving everyday to Corvallis (even farther away from Portland than Salem is!), and we usually had sing-a-longs on the way back which were a lot of fun. Monday we will have to go back to the normal hubbub of the office and learn to intermingle again with different crews... Lame. Definitely the saddest part about the office right now is that my new summertime friends have all left or are in the process of leaving so they can start preparing for fall semester. Today was Ed's last day, and I think he must've been my greatest friend at the office. Kristin quit last week, so now it is only me and one more person left. It's so tempting to just be done now, but the extra two weeks will pay off when I am trekking through Peru and Chile... right?

My father is an architect, painter, and politician. He is very interested in the ingenious people of Ecuator, and every time that I ask him a question he brings me a book, usually one written by his friend or family member.

My favorite thing about Latin American families is when they disagree on something. Because they get a very serious tone and start talking really quickly in long sentences, and everybody joins in, back and forth. I think generally North Americans are more passive aggressive.
my 2 cents. Hope everyone's summer is going awesomely!

I <3 The Creole Creamery

Tonight was my first night back working at The Creole Creamery, which is the ice cream shop that I've worked at since I was a junior in high school. Man, it was so nice to be back, be productive and make some money. Weirdest flavor tonight: tea and scones- Earl Grey tea flavored ice cream with pieces of scone mixed in. And I even got to work with my bestie, Brou! Anywho, that's the most exciting thing to happen around here. Eat ice cream, be happy, mop the floor.

Yellerstone

Just got back from another quick trip to Yellowstone. What a beautiful place! We took our friends there for the night and saw a bunch of animals. A female black bear crossed a bridge while we were on it and came right up to our car. We went and stood near a huge herd of bison and watched all the bulls rounding up cows. They made all these really cool bellowing sounds that reminded me of hippos. Then we slept out under the stars and at 2 am it started raining! My parents and I jumped into the cab of the truck and I shared the backseat with Tipper and Sparky our dogs. It was pretty funny because Sparky, the poodle, who is pretty old, didn't want to move over and give me room so I had to curl up on one side and Tipper slept under my feet. Then we woke up at 5 and went to look for animals again. We didn't see much even though dawn is when they are most active usually. So we did an early mud volcano walk and a huge bull bison walked really close to us, a little bit scary! Then, as we were driving home we saw a wolf. That was super exciting for me because I have always wanted to see one but they are super elusive. We just watched it trot into the trees and another mile on there was a little grizzly bear by the road. We jumped out and joined a crowd watching it eat berries and were really close to it. It had both ears tagged and a big collar so we think it was pretty used to humans. I love Wyoming, it's like heaven up here with all the animals.

Today I trimmed my dog's mustache.

the other day i saw a sea lion attack a dog. Like the dog was just hanging out on the beach and then this sealion lunged at it. The dog yelped and barked a lot but it got away.

Thinking of uds

So about a week and a half ago I moved back to Gto, but continued working with the profesor in Irapuato. This last weekend, there´s been this international film festival here, and yesterday I watched this documentary of alternative rock bands fro the UK (the país invitado). There were some that reminded me of Motz-art, like animal collective, por ejemplo. I can tell they are an inspiration for you guys. All you music folk, you would love this city, theres so much live music all the time.
Other things that make me think of you: Meghan, you would not be happy with the treatment of animals here. There are many stray dogs, and if they´re caught they´re put down immediately. Also, I made the mistake once of looking under a piece of plastic down by the arroyo and there was a dead dog (not by natural causes) underneath. The smell was the most repulsive thing ever.
Well acutally I guess thats about it for now, I had more but forgot.
Anyways, now I´m going back to Irapuato to finish things up there and then will be heading on to my next farm. A WWOOF one this time. The owner is not Mexican, and I´m hoping that there are other mexicans there para seguir platicando en español. Besos todos

Katie