August 2011
1 post
Reading Choices and Cleopatra
The Professional Pattern Identifier in my life, The Boyfriend, teased me the other day about a pattern in my reading habits. What? I asked, innocently. I’m not completely unaware of my tendencies; after all, I have a strict browsing order at Elliott Bay Books: Women’s Issues, History, Travel, New Fiction (and, if time allows, I look at journals and buy cute letter-pressed cards for my...
December 2010
1 post
Best of 2010
One caveat: these things weren’t necessarily first published/unleashed upon the world in 2010. They only came to my attention in the past year.
10. The Hunger Games trilogy. Or, more specifically, the debut novel, The Hunger Games. A page-turner depicting an eerie future where teens must fight to the death on reality TV. For young adult readers. And you!
9. The Maid, a Chilean movie...
November 2010
1 post
4 tags
WikiLeaks and Me.
Yesterday, I was annoyed that the New York Times front-and-center article was and continued to be about cables and foreign leaders and other such nonsense. Today, I am fascinated. Now this is the kind of political coverage I can get behind—it’s the People magazine of the politici. The perezhilton.com of people with actual power.
I will make light of the scandal, yes, because me...
August 2010
2 posts
“I’ve come to believe that people work for justice when their hearts are...”
– Paul Loeb, YES! magazine
July 2010
15 posts
4 tags
And in the tradition of any American who has ever traveled to a developing country: I am the white baby. It can be hard to recognize among other Americans. Then: the eyes of that adorable 4-year-old in Mexico light up because I don’t understand the asking price (typical) and instead give her the equivalent of $2 for a few bracelets. Today, I find that in my 20s, I own the same car as the...
To Market!
Strangely, it took me approximately three weeks to realize that I’m actually taller than nearly everyone around me. Here’s the set-up: it’s Sunday morning, and I have exactly zero plans for the entire day. Sigh. Museums, cathedrals and the like are closed, and I skipped the Saturday night revelry with school people, so I wasn’t in the know.
The host parents, Miguel and...
Chatting with Cabbies
Apart from the three hours of lessons, talking with my homestay family, and the occasional water bottle purchase, the most conversation I usually make is with cab drivers. After all, the drive to school/from home to the Plaza de Armas is $1. Or, when they want to make money, $1.50.
Yesterday, I had a very interesting conversation with the driver (in a super nice car that looked suspiciously...
The Real City Tour
I was so psyched for the Real City Tour offered by my Spanish school. A chance to see a poverty-stricken area, complete with how people work, live, drink, and learn? Voyeuristic, yes, but also my idea of a VERY interesting afternoon.
We started at an adobe brick-making site, where a number of small men mixed dirt, water, and straw, hauled the material, and fashioned adobe bricks. Backbreaking...
Learning Spanish, Pronto!
As you may or may not know, dear reader(s), I have just finished my first week of Spanish classes at Amigos Spanish School. Among the plethora of Spanish schools in Cusco, how did I choose Amigos? Well, you have only to know these two things: it has a socially-conscientious mission (giving tutoring to local kids) and that my worn guidebook recommended it. Done deal.
The rush of Mormon students...
Bungee Jumping
Just past the outskirts of a ghetto/barrio in Cusco, there is an adventure sports place. You can rock climb and bungee jump, among other things. Our driver told us that it costs $60 to go bungee jumping, but that they have an interesting promotion. If you´re a woman, you can bungee jump for free…if you´re naked! Apparently, Israeli women can appreciate some free bungee jumping.
Coca Tea
At our first hotel-sponsored tea time, we were given about 5 tea choices. Dad and I both chose coca tea. Me, because cocaine is made from the leaf—in a very disgusting and unhygienic manner—and indigenous people have been using the leaf for centuries as an antidote to altitude sickness. Dad chose coca tea because he thought the waitress said “coco.” He was expecting chocolate tea! Despite...
Latin American Time
Dad and I got a crash course on Latin American time early on during our trip to Peru. Upon arrival to the very tiny Puerto Maldonado airport (Passengers walk on the tarmac…like in Wichita!), our Amazon jungle lodge, the Explorer´s Inn, had our personal tour guide, Mariano, waiting for us. It had just began raining, a type of rain that is reserved for the rainy season in the jungle. The...
May 2010
1 post
Beijing on a Budget
This is the uber-budget taste of Beijing because, well, ahem, you don’t even need your passport. A staycation long-weekend or—go crazy!—a whole week exploring Chinese culture from the comfort of your own home (and occasional outings in the Seattle metro area).
Start immediately by putting 1421 on hold at the library. Maybe the historian in you will question some arguments in the...
October 2009
5 posts
Dr. Oz knew this all along... →
13 Reasons to Learn a New Language
13. Ask a Mexican! is a great column with salty Spanish terms and phrases. Can I understand any of them? No.
12. When my sister was a pre-teen, my father once called her an asshole, likely in response to her acting like an asshole. It was only the second or third time we’d heard him cuss, so the memory kind of sticks. My sister is still indignant and feels the reverberations of the trauma....
Oh, the Places I'll Go! And the Reasons for...
Gabon: Hippos frolic in the ocean.
English moors: Jane Eyre, duh!
Mumbai: I like to say it. Being there and talking about it afterwards would give me the perfect opportunity.
French Riviera: People could resent me when I would open sentences with, “When I was in the French Riviera…”
Seychelles: Possibly the most beautiful place on earth.
San Blas Islands, Panama: Uh, I like...
A Headache for 48 Hours? A Hypochondriac's Almanac
1. It’s probably toxic shock syndrome. Unless you’re a dude, in which case it probably isn’t.
2. Have you considered the animal protein in your diet? It’s undoubtedly slowly poisoning you through a) the toxins the animals were force-fed (like antibiotics and so on) and b) the fear that seeped into their fibers while being slaughtered and now digested by you.
3. Maybe you...
Places an Average-Looking White Girl Can Feel Like...
Osawatomie, KS, and its environs.
Paula Poundstone performances. Anywhere in Venezuela. Hutchinson Maximum Security Prison, Hutchinson, KS (or similar). All gas stations in the Central District, Seattle, WA.
September 2009
5 posts
“General Conference Mennonites recognize the zwiebach as a vestige of their...”
“Online dating enthusiasts recognize the true-to-form profile picture as a...”
“Osawatomians recognize the new and improved Sonic restaurant as a vestige of the...”
“Fremonsters recognize the quaint free Fremont branch of the Seattle Public...”
“West Virginians recognize the pepperoni rolls as a vestige of the state’s...”
– nytimes.com