rufmita

Mud trek to el pico

2012-02-15T19:04:00.001-05:00

When someone asks me how my trip was I have a hard time just saying "fine", when it really wasn't fine. The problem is that people just want you to say fine so they can walk away. My problem is that I have a difficult time lying.

In one word the trip was disorganized. Sorry, it's not a positive word, but that would be a lie. Now, don't get me wrong, I am glad it's over. That's pretty positive, right?

Ok, so what was wrong? The main problem was that the trail is virtually destroyed. It is a national park, but being a 3rd world country, park maintenance is not a top priority and the trail has been mucked by not only people, but mules. Tons of mules. Carrying tons of weight. The mud was so thick in places that you would sink up to your ankles. It was impossible to go "around" the mud, because the trails have been stretched to their limits and the mud goes up to the edge of the cliffs.

The trail we chose is the shortest, but steepest. We knew we'd be in for a difficult three days...

But what we didn't know is that the first day, because of all the mud, would take 10 hours. Ten. Ten hours of dredging through the mud, slip sliding around, uphill. Try focusing on ONE thing for 10 straight hours. You can't zone out because you'll injure yourself, so just focus, focus on one thing, for 10 hours. You're already bored, huh?

The second annoying part was the water situation. We were told that we would be drinking from the streams and I was and still am skeptical. Who still does that? Water stop #1 was a little stream crossing the trail...

Here's where we filled up. Next stop? SIX hours away. Who plans a sweaty uphill hike with 6 hours between water stops without communicating that maybe you should carry more than one water bottle? I was almost crawling to water stop #2...

This stop wasn't so "fresh" looking, but at that point, who cares.

As we continued trekking up and up we entered the clouds...

The cloud forest is amazing and magical. Immersed in condensed H2O. It was this point that I spotted four hummingbirds zipping around from flower to flower. A moment of peace.

Many of the students had to get on the mules...

Finally at 6 pm, ten hours after we started hiking, we reached the camp.

Being so close to the equator the sun sets quick. One minute it's light and the next it's dark. There was a building where we were supposed to set up, but half of the building was taken so all of us, 27 kids, 4 parents, 4 guides and 3 teachers were supposed to cram into this space...

Needless to say the three teachers found a quieter place with harder floors. Oh, don't get me started on the sleeping situation. I moved to this country with 2 suitcases, so camping gear wasn't high on my priority list, however when this trip came up I ordered stuff from REI and asked about a thermarest, or some other pad for sleeping. I was told not to worry because we would get pads from the company. Um, no. The pad was paper thin and useless. Now we are up at over 8,000 feet and the temps are quite chilly. Try putting your sleeping bag on a concrete floor and lay there for several hours. Torture. Do I sound dramatic? Ok, do it. Tonight find a sleeping bag and put it on your tile floor in your kitchen and see how long you last. I have bruises on my hips to prove you won't last that long. I did manage to "borrow" a pad from a couple that only stayed one night - the other teaches weren't so lucky.

After a hellish night, I woke early to find this...

It's amazing what a sight like this can do to your soul. Instantly a wave of peace washed over me as I inhaled the fresh mountain air. You see the clouds below? We're on top of the world.

And then there's breakfast. I am not a picky eater when I hike/camp/travel. I can't be. I'd starve. You get used to eating whatever someone puts in front of you when you travel all over, especially in 3rd world countries. Mystery meat just becomes part of your diet. Don't ask, don't tell. Dominicans are known for rice and beans and I was looking forward to a little of both. After living in Burma I never eat rice unless I have no other option, so it's been a while since I sat down to a big bowl of rice and beans. Well, what I didn't realize is that one of the other Dominican specialities is fried cheese for breakfast. A hunk of cheese all greasy and fried with a side of potatoes or yucca, which is potato-like. Oh and a fried up piece of sausage. This is supposed to fuel me up for the next few hours? Luckily I brought granola bars and trail mix.

Now it's time to head to the summit. This is the easiest of the three days. Straight up and back down in 6ish hours. Sounds like cake compared to the 10 hour death hike.

But first, we have to pray...

Most of my kids are Catholic, but ask them how many go to church. It isn't like when we were kids and people actually went to church. I find it interesting to claim you are some religion, but you never attend the services. The prayer thing didn't suit me.

Now we can start the hike to the roof of the Caribbean!

Eight year ago there was a fire. I'm not sure what the cause was, but the forest was burned to a crisp. Two years ago when another group from our school went this area was totally brown. It's amazing what a few years and some rain can do. The mud and water is a bummer, but green sure is a great color.

Here we are in the Valley of the Lilies looking towards the peak. The 10,000 foot peak doesn't look that tall now...

Made it.

See that little blue opening at the top right corner? That's the Caribbean Ocean. On a clear day you can see the Atlantic and the Caribbean, but as you can see we had some clouds to deal with.

I only knew a few of the students before we left, but now I know all of them. A few days of torture sure does bring a group together. The kids liked the saying "that which does not kill us makes us stronger". For many this was the most challenging thing they'd ever done. When you've had a full time nanny and a few maids since you were born you aren't used to doing anything for yourself, so this truly was a great experience for many of these kids. I'm glad I got to share the joy of accomplishment with them.

Now we head back down to camp. The shorter day gave us a bit of free time and, of course, I took the chance to bond.

After one more night, it was time to descend back into the mud...

This last photo I stole from a parent who was on a mule...

40th birthday - part 1

2012-02-08T16:02:00.000-05:00

One of the teachers organized a surprise happy hour for a few of the February birthdays... I love surprises I really do, but not surprises that I am not expecting. This place is more like a family than any other international school I've worked at, but it feels more like a distant family. There are a lot of us, and maybe because of that I don't feel as connected to the group as I did to my smaller groups in the past. Living this lifestyle is an adjustment for sure, remember I just met all of the people a few months ago, so I don't really KNOW any of them, but we are a family, by default.

Ignore Tim, he was just crashing our photo, but the four girls all have birthdays within a week of each other - yeah.

I may have spent a lot of time complaining about turning 40, but it sure was nice to have a chocolatey desert to celebrate with. Can you tell I was taking my wish quite seriously. It's gonna come true, I just know it.

In a few hours I'll be 40. Well, actually, a wise friend pointed out that since we're born at 0, I have actually just finished my 40th year on earth, so I've been 40 all this time...

Pack the baby powder, I'm going camping!

2012-02-06T19:32:00.001-05:00

See those big mountains in the middle of the DR? Well, those just happen to be part of the Cordillera Central Range, and the home to the tallest mountains in the entire Caribbean. Pico Duarte at 10,164 feet is the tallest of the tall mountains and my 40th birthday destination.

Actually it's the destination for 28 ninth grade students as well... every year my school tries to organize a 9th grade team building trip for the 80 freshman, and each year it is a struggle to get kids to sign up for 4 showerless days of travel. This year 28 kids plus 5 teachers (including me) are headed up into the mountains. Of the 33 people there are probably 5 that have any experience camping or hiking, so this outta be interesting to say the least. With no experience the kids don't even know where to start asking questions and it wasn't til today that a few thought to ask about where they would take a shower. Hee hee, that's funny, huh? I can only imagine what they are imagining in their heads... showers? In the middle of the mountains in the DR? Right. I wish I had thought to snap a photo of her face as I explained what camping is. I'll have to share my baby powder trick with them tomorrow.

Random Thoughts

2012-01-31T19:18:00.002-05:00

Oh thank you calendar, for being DONE with that hellacious month of January.

Have you ever noticed that the Counting Crows, as good as their music is, is kind of depressing?

Remember when I LOVED the entire month of February, as it represented my birthday month?

40 is half way to 80.

It's one thing to be up at 7:30 am and it's a completely other thing to be functional and teaching a class.

I'm feeling motherly and proud at how much some of my former students have accomplished.

I think about getting a dog everyday.

I want to take more risks without being more reckless.

My guts have been sending me messages, and I've been listening.

I was going to put beans on my chips, but it was too much effort to heat them up.

someecards.com makes me laugh out loud.

Swear words are fun to say, it's just letters people, letters.

It has occurred to me that I haven't been posting pics from the DR...

You'd get more photos if it didn't take 8 minutes to load EACH one. Damn DR internet.

Stay-cation

2012-01-30T13:12:00.000-05:00

Had myself a little "stay-cation" this weekend, and it's a good thing...

Weekends are hard enough, as far as finding constructive things to do, but a three day weekend, forget it. I'm out, and by out, I mean out of town. Just one of the benefits of having zero ties. Well, this weekend was a three day weekend and as of Thursday I still hadn't made plans. Something was stopping me. Some "feeling" that I should just stick around my lonely apartment. I, of course, am second guessing my feeling. Do I really want to stick around here? I never reach out to people so chances are I'll fill my days with books and walking in the park and trying to illegally stream TV shows from the internet. I can manage that for a normal weekend, but a three day weekend? Friday rolls around and a friend says she's leaving that afternoon for the beach up on the north shore. Normally I would jump at the spontaneous chance of an adventure, but something stopped me. I declined her offer, even with her protests of feeling guilty that I'm not coming. I made up some excuse that I didn't want to leave until Saturday morning, but understood that she wanted to get on the road right away and that she should and not to worry about me.

She leaves Friday night, I hang out with some peeps from school and Saturday I get a call. She's been in an accident. She's fine, but while doing a u-turn in the road she missed seeing the motorcycle with 3 passengers coming down the road and they barreled into the passenger side of the car, smashing out the passenger window, crushing in the passenger door and making a bowling ball dent into the windshield on the passenger side. She is fine, a little scratched up from flying glass, the 3 motorcyclists are banged up, bleeding, cut, have to go to the "hospital". It is going to be impossible for you to imagine this town. This little beach town in a 3rd world country with something like a clinic for a "hospital". All I could think is having to be patched up in that clinic.

That instinct feeling, that gut reaction that caused me to pass up on a beach weekend could have saved me from being cut by glass and sitting in a dirty clinic, scared more of the treatment than the actual glass from the window. This gut feeling was strong, strong enough for me not to ignore. I'm a little freaked out about it actually. We are taught to ignore those feelings, not to be so emotional, but thankfully this feeling kept me out from under the dark cloud of drama that was following her.

It's seasonless sadness

2012-01-23T20:43:00.000-05:00

Is it possible to have winter time anxiety when it's 80 degrees and sunny? Is it my landmark birthday? Is it just that the end of January generally is a sucky time of year? I have moments of peace but they are just flutters.

Another earthquake shook the city today. This time I didn't feel a thing. Or maybe I did. I'm still not sure exactly what it feels like, other than the fact that my bed is on wheels and it rolled around the other night. That I felt, but didn't register the feeling until the next morning when people talked about the nighttime quake. Nothing like some movement of the earth's plates to make you reevaluate your life. I know, I know, I spend way too much time thinking.

Have you ever heard someone relate a chemical imbalance in your brain to diabetes? Ok, so in diabetes the pancreas isn't working properly, but you don't hear anyone saying, just suck it up and FEEL that your pancreas is working. Now, I did just read an article about placebos and sure enough just telling you your taking medicine plays a significant role in how you feel, so mind over matter? Can I give you fake insulin and you'll process sugar correctly?

It occurred to me that I should start documenting some of my training for my upcoming trip. Just as I was thinking about doing another big trip, sitting in Raleigh, not on a big trip, thinking, yup it's time, an email comes in and sure enough my University professor is headed to Nepal and Tibet. I'm in. In. In. In. It took a millisecond to decide and now I'm in "get in shape mode". My last big hike, well, I guess you could count the Inca Trail, but before that was Kili and that was in 2007 and I had just turned 35. So here I am 5 years later, about to cross into the darkness and it's time for another adventure.

So far training has consisted of just getting back into general shape, but this weekend I put on my boots for the first time in two years and the blisters have made their mark. I'll keep you posted on their progress...

The World is Wondrous

2012-01-19T18:54:00.000-05:00

I've recently accepted the realization that I do not believe in god, or a higher being, or a spirit, or anything you'd like to refer to that implies a purposeful designer/creator. Since as far back as I can remember I've been questioning the rules of religion, I was raised Catholic, but have had a bit of exposure to some other Christian religions and while living in Burma got to know Buddhism quite well. As a little kid I just didn't understand why I was a sinner, I didn't have evil thoughts, I just loved everything and that was smashed out of me by attending church and Sunday school and learning that I'd better be careful or I'd head straight to hell. Even waaaaay back then hell seemed like a ridiculous concept to me. Really, this all loving God is going to threaten me, a little kid, with hell? And if it wasn't God, but just these human people, why were they doing that?

Years went by and I decided, well, maybe I don't believe in this whole Jesus, God, religion thing, but maybe there is this creator spirit energy thing. Yeah, that sounds better. Then the whole like attracts like thing came out and that really didn't make any sense to me, I mean, have you put two like ends of a magnet together?

And then I moved to Burma and thought, let's see what this Buddhism thing is all about and found out it's basically the same macho crap as any other religion. You've heard of reincarnation and enlightenment and karma, right, but did you know that if you are a female right now that you can't reach enlightenment in this lifetime because you have to be in a male form to do that? Women are restricted from certain areas of temples and worship spaces? That's a load of crap and the same manipulative techniques that other religions use. Nope, not for me.

For the past couple of years I've tried to be open. Remember my "being saved" session in North Carolina? The Holy Spirit was supposed to speak through me. I tried to let go, open my mind and mouth, but sure enough, nothing came out.

This past Christmas I went to church with my family. It's important to my Dad and I decided to give it a go. You know, listen, really listen to what is going on, as a non-biased bystander. I was ready, open, waiting for that preist to communicate to us. You ready for this? The rote Catholic-ness leads to the sermon and I sit up straight, ready... First thing out of his mouth is a quote from some reading that apparently we are supposed to know, but many of us don't know, and he says - "well you all would know this if you actually came to church more than once a year" - or something to that effect. Really, that's your inspirational opener, criticism? Berating me for not coming to church and you think this is going to make me want to make church a part of my life again? Here is the opportunity to connect with us heathens and show us the way and you stoop to our level and tell us how evil we are? Done.

I'm no longer playing any reindeer games. I'm done. I'm not going to heaven, there is no heaven for me, and there has never been a hell for me, so that's out too. You can wish me there, or believe I'll be there, but that makes no difference to me because it doesn't exist. I have this one life and then I'll become part of the elements in the soil and maybe some will evaporate into the air. Until then I'm going to enjoy the wonders of the world.

Just take the fork and run

2012-01-18T19:16:00.000-05:00

So I think I've figured out why I'm so freaked out about turning 40.

You know how people say that 40 is the new 30? Well, actually, I agree. At 30 I had just gotten my teaching license and "decided" what I wanted to be when I grew up. At 30 I had landed my first "real" job. At 30 I started a path, a path where I was in charge, because I could be. In charge of my "career", in charge of whether I wanted a family or not.

Then, in a blur, my 30's passed and during that time I chose a few paths. A dysfunctional marriage path. A soul searching path. A homeowner path. A flee the country and move overseas path where I am virtually responsibility-less. I have practically no possessions, own nothing and owe nothing. Free. My current path, all chosen by me.

Now, here's my problem... since 40 is the new 30 and back "then" you had to grow up around 30, does this mean I have to grow up at 40, and what does that MEAN? Am I supposed to choose another path? What about this kid thing? Am I supposed to have a kid, because I'm a woman and that's what women do? Because it's a bond that is like no other bond and I'll miss out on it? Because it would be super cool to raise a kid? Or am I supposed to adopt? Help a kid that needs a family? Am I supposed to do this alone? Am I supposed to look for someone to do this with? At 30 it didn't matter that much because I was in charge, but at 40 my eggs are drying up. There is a huge difference between deciding not to have kids and not being able to have kids. I'm at this fork and I don't know which way to go.

This fork will have a significant impact on my future. Remain responsibility-less, because let me tell you, coming home to nothing and no one has it's perks. Living rent free and having more time than you know what to do with is quite enjoyable. Or do I want that dog, that house, that yard, that family? 40 is a big moment. My biggest moment yet. It's the oldest I've ever been. 40. It sounds horrendous.

Son feos

2012-01-11T20:46:00.000-05:00

Remember the post I did about "Normal Life" (if not scroll down a bit)??

Well, I only live about a 4 minute walk from school, but you know that we keep getting reminded about being robbed, so I got into the habit of taking the bus to school in the morning (actually takes about 20 min) and walking home in the afternoon. I figured that this strategy would, #1 have me walking during daylight, and #2 decrease my chances of being mugged since I just will be "out" less often. The bus comes to my house at 6:20 am and then does a round of pick ups before we get dropped off at school around 6:40. One Friday was a teacher workday and we didn't have to be to school til 8:00 am and I decided taking the bus so early was ridiculous and that I would walk, and low and behold the 4 minute walk in the dark wasn't so bad. So when I returned after break I decided that I would sleep in an extra half hour and risk my life an extra 4 minutes every day.

Now, I leave the house around 6:35 and it's still pitch black. We do have street lights here, but you know how your brain plays tricks on you when you are walking in the dark. Hey, what was that creepy shadow? Well, a friend brought me some mace back from the States and on the first day back I buckled up my chest strap on my backpack (this makes it harder to rip off) and I armed my right hand with mace and began the 4 minute walk in the morning blackness. Can you tell I had freaked myself out a bit... yeah.

So I leave the gate of my apartment complex and start walking on the sidewalk towards school. In the darkness I approach an area with trash cans and random floating trash pieces and

sssccrruunnchhhh, shuuuuuugggg, sssccccrrrrrrrruuuuuugggg,

WHAT
OMG

Heart beating faster, eyes wide open, sweat starting to bead on my forehead, my attention jerks to the left and what do I see

RATS

rats, rats, rats, rats, rats, rats, rats...

ew

ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew...

Now crossing chickens I can get used to BUT RATS????

Xmas in NC

2012-01-09T10:00:00.000-05:00

I'm back in the DR and thawing out. It is nice to bundle up in fleece every once and a while, but it is a lot nicer to hang around in shorts and a t-shirt. My skin is starting to plump up since it's not so dry, how did I live so long in Colorado, I guess that's where my lotion addiction really began.

I had a great break. I stayed mostly at my sister's house and it was really nice hanging out with her. I know I'm a bit biased, but she really is an amazing person. I can't wait to do another trip with her. One of the hard things about being home was being around dogs... I have been missing having a dog lately and being with Nala and Payton made it worse. Mary was dog sitting for Payton, a male lab mix, who is one of the most affectionate dogs I've ever met. If I were staying in the U.S., I would have pretended he ran away and stolen him for my new dog. I realized that even though I had my own place in Denver, I was never living alone, I always had Winnie. Here, I am in an apartment, by myself. No wonder it can get hard.

I ended up spending a freaking ton of money while I was home. One hundred dollars is the new five dollars. Every time you go to any store it seems that you spend $100. I did stock up on some comfort items, like candles and body splashes. I thought a lot about the environment while I was away, and reflected on the fact that no one else seems to be spending much time thinking about it at all. It felt a little hopeless at times, I just kept spending and contributing to the cycle.

I did decide to add some more art to my body while I was home. When I came back from Burma, I brought a book of Burmese designs with me and I ear marked a page of designs. Those designs have been in the back of my head for a few years now... One night my family was sitting on the couch watching TV, and Tosh.O was doing stand up and he did a bit on people asking a tattooed person if they were worried about what their bodies would look like when they were 90, and his joke was basically that no one that gets all tatted up can ever imagine being 90, and it got me thinking of my fear of 40, and it;s not a fear so much, but a fact that I never thought I'd make it this far... So, I decided that I should add the burmese design and looked up a place in Raleigh and broke my idea about going below my elbows. Heck, I'd love full sleeves.

Don't worry if you don't think it looks "done", that is kind of the point, a work in progress. Now that I've ventured into the forbidden forearm zone, I can continue with my DR tat there.

I am so glad I splurged on the NYC trip. It really was a great time. Here are two of my favorite photos from the trip...

75 is room temperature - anything below that is inhumane

2012-01-01T16:00:00.001-05:00

You know what's worse than a cold toilet seat?

NOTHING

I haven't been in the US in December since 2008 and I forgot how absolutely much I hate the cold. Well, no, that's a lie, I know I hate the cold, but I actually did forget just how miserable it is.

Our first night in Manhattan was COLLLLLD...

Our hotel was right in Times Square and you couldn't have asked for a better location. Our family loves exploring places on foot so we walked for miles and miles around the city...

Our first big stop...

The American Museum of Natural History - one of my favorite places on earth. We got super lucky, because one of the temporary exhibits features the giant sauropod Mamenchisaurus - a huge long neck found in China. The exhibit focused on the physiology of being SO huge.

Of course the dino hall was a must see too...

We walked up to the upper west side, so cut through Central Park. I'm not used to seeing bare trees.

My Aunt Nancy bought us tickets to see the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall and the show was amazing. I wasn't sure what I would think, or how many times they could kick their legs, but the Holiday show was super cool. The timing of 50 girls on stage was perfect and I have a much greater appreciation for how much physical fitness goes into being a Rockette. Thanks Nancy :)

There was even a couple of 3-D parts.

In our travels around the city we passed lots of delicious restaurants. The mini cupcakes were a big hit!

As a Today Show fan, my mom really wanted to get down to Rockafella center and get on TV. Mary and I weren't too excited about it, so we didn't get up at the crack of dawn, but we did squeeze ourselves in...

One of the things I really wanted to do before I die is see a Broadway show. 2011 was the year for my first show. I decided on the Lion King and bought my sister and mom tickets and we celebrated surrounded by lots of excited kids in the theatre.

No trip to NYC would be complete without heading to the top of the Empire State Building. I had to take out a loan, but we took the elevator up. What were my thoughts while I was taking in the view? Damn, I can't believe that NYC has to bring in all their water...

The trip was great, and I am glad that I came home and glad that I spent the holidays with my family.

Normal LIfe

2011-12-15T15:54:00.001-05:00

When does strange become normal? I mean, how many times can I walk past a group of chickens on the way to school and not think "haha, I just walked past a group of chickens on my way to school".

How many street dogs do you have to see without wrenching at your heart strings?

How many car alarms have to go off at all hours of the day before you don't hear them anymore?

How many skinny, dark-skinned, mothers with their sullen faced babies have to beg as you pass by before you don't notice?

And then there's this...

Will I ever get to the point where I don't do a double take?

moments

2011-12-11T09:39:00.002-05:00

December 11

shorts + t-shirt

doors and windows

open

crispy warm air

powder blue sky

splattered with white puffs

palm trees swaying

in the wind

perfect moment

A little dramatic, I know.

Oh - I KNOW - let's build a giant gorilla AND then decorate it with lights for Christmas!

2011-12-10T07:25:00.000-05:00

And just when you thought having a dead/fake tree in your house was ridiculous (you were beginning to think that, right) I find a GIANT concrete gorilla completely covered in lights in a small plaza near a big intersection next to a McDonalds and the IKEA in Santo Domingo.

We're talking about a country that has NO access to clean water. All water we consume is from bottled water plants. The water that is piped into our houses is dirty - we did some testing on tap water this week. Fecal bacteria, phosphates, nitrates. So, one of the concerns of the people should be access to clean water, right? I wonder how many government people are on the "what the hell are we going to do about clean water" board, and how many are on the "what kind of ridiculous holiday decorations can we come up with this year" board?

Christmas trees are a stupid, irresponsible, ecological unfriendly, wasteful tradition

2011-12-05T16:56:00.000-05:00

How do I write this post without sounding like a complete grinch?

Christmas trees are ecologically irresponsible and have NO place in the "true" meaning of Christmas, if you actually believe in Jesus.

How's that? Too harsh?

Seriously though, WHY do you have a dead tree in your house right now? Ok, you have a fake one, well, WHY do you have a fake, probably imported from China, non-recyclable plastic tree in your house right now? You have had the same tree for years, you say? Ok, well, keeping this tradition creates this drive to make more plastic trees than can possibly be sold, so where do these left over plastic trees go after they have been shipped around trying to be sold? Yes, the dump.

I know I sound like a miserable bitch, but I am teaching AP Environmental Science and I don't think you really understand the mess we've created. Resources are dwindling, clean water, clean air, healthy food, and here we are worried about a TREE - dead or plastic - to put in our house for a few weeks and then forget. Yes, it's tradition, I get it, but it's time to change our traditions. It was once tradition to sacrifice virgins to the gods, but we learned that wasn't very responsible and changed our ways. This is NOT "their" problem, this is YOUR problem.

And don't get me started on wrapping paper, seriously, you just wrapped a present so that it could be torn open in 3 seconds and trashed...

Caberete, DR

2011-12-04T20:09:00.000-05:00

After spending four days for Thanksgiving in Caberete, we decided to head back up this past weekend. The clock's ticking for time left before xmas break and most of us are going home, so we figured we better get in some more beach time before heading to the North American winter. I haven't been home for xmas in a long time, so this will be something different for me.

Caberete is one of those beach places where one wrong move and you could instantly become "lost". It has that party, reckless feel and although I can't compare it to Punta Cana, I am imagining that it is much different. There aren't "resorts" in Cab (that's what the locals call it). The water isn't that crystal clear calm water that you are thinking of, instead the winds and surf bring the kite boarders and surfers out and the town caters to adventure.

I thought I'd try and give surfing a go, but being that I'm not much of a water person it wasn't a thrilling first experience. I'll stick to wandering the beach looking for shells, or in this case, avoiding trash and plastics. We need to have a plastic discussion soon...

At one point I counted 19 kite boarders in my view. In typical tourist fashion some horses came trotting by. The water is clear, but the constant winds cause the crashing waves to stir things up.

You can't do too much without getting heckled. It is no where near as bad as Brazil, but you will get asked about 15 times a day if you want your hair braided, or some fruit, or some crappy jewelry from china.

This weekend I was grateful that although I don't live near the beach that at least I don't live here. There are tons of street dogs for me to befriend, though.

When in doubt, tell them you're Canadian

2011-11-14T16:33:00.000-05:00

This place is a tropical island and a destination spot for semi-adventurous people looking for that romance movie moment that they've played over and over in their head for years. The Cinderella story of tropical holidays... girl comes to island, meets local, gorgeous, dark skinned man, vacation romance commences. You think it's a joke? Not at all, in fact apparently it's so far from a joke that a popular DR website has devoted an entire article to this phenomenon of "Sanky Pankies", and if you are up for the condensed version there is even a movie...

1st Annual Yemma-girls trip

2011-11-10T17:02:00.000-05:00

I know I'm supposed to be practicing living in the moment, but GUESS WHAT - I'm going to NYC over break!!!!!! Yes, I'm already excited about December 18, and it's not even November 18 yet... That just happens when you are a teacher and thinking that the best thing about quarter 2 is winter break...

This will be my first Christmas back to North Carolina in many years. I started to freak out a bit, with the thought of having 3 weeks off back home, so I decided to plan a little trip for my sister and I. We toyed with the idea of kayaking in Belize and as we looked around we realized that the cost and time weren't going to be on our side. So then we thought, let's go somewhere in the US that we want to visit. I have 5 states left to make a perfect 50, so I thought, Seattle, Portland, but that's ALL the way across the country. Then we thought Chicago, but Laura is going to be sunning herself in Mexico over break and seriously, I can't go to Chicago when she's not going to be there. Then I remembered that Mary has never been to NYC and that's when the real plans began.

You all know that I have issues booking tickets. It's a combination of buyers remorse and the simple fact that I turn into an idiot and end up with the wrong dates or the wrong destinations. I'm always searching somewhere to visit so my brain gets all mixed up and when it's time to actually book a ticket I usually screw it up. So, I waited and waited and this week checked on prices, only to discover that tickets from Raleigh to New York have gone up almost $100 each... shit. I mustered up some impulse and thought, eff it, let's just make this happen. Sure enough I started getting more and more excited looking for hotels that I decided that my mom should come with us. Mary is getting married and we've never had a girl trip, so let's splurge!

Mary, Mom and I are going to New York for 4 nights! I've been to the city a few times, but in my life I have NEVER seen a Broadway show and for years I've wanted to see Lion King, so in an additional moment of splurging I bought us tickets for a show! Then my Aunt got wind of our trip and decided that we need to see the Rockettes, so we're going to that too! Yesssssssss

GIN Conference in Lima, Peru

2011-11-03T20:17:00.001-04:00

I've been a blog slacker, I know. I've wanted to write about my trip to Peru for the GIN (Global Issues Network) conference, but every time I sit down to start I get overwhelmed and end up downloading a bootleg show.

Where do I start? Remember the zoo project I did with the kids in Bolivia last year? Well, my old school decided to start a GIN group to present at the conference in Lima, and they chose to work on biodiversity, and education and focus their efforts at the Zoo. As you know I no longer work at that school, but I have kept in touch with many of the students and teachers there so I was in on their project. So then I come to my new school and am going about my own business when I read in the weekly announcements that they are sending our high school librarian to "scope" out the GIN conference. Wait, what? I KNOW what's happening! I immediately contact my principal to see if I can help in any way and possibly travel to Peru as well. After two weeks of no news I find out that the school doesn't have enough in their budget to send me. I had told my former colleague, but not any of the students, so I just decided to accept the answer and not worry about it. Yes, I know, it's unlike me. I'm not sure why I reacted that way, I chalked it up to maybe learning something over these years of making lots of mistakes, or maybe I was just so busy thinking about school that I didn't have time to worry... regardless I let it go.

Then 4 days before the flight I get a message that the person they were supposed to send from our school has dengue and under doctor's advice can't go. Wait, what? You mean I AM LEAVING FOR PERU IN FOUR DAYS??? Yessssssssss

This is perfect! Not too much time for me to tell all the Bolivia kids, so maybe I could make this a surprise! Yes! So long story short I got to travel to Lima, Peru to "scout" out the conference and hang out with my kids!

The conference was super amazing. It is based on a book that was written 10 years ago about the 20 global issues that we have to solve in 20 years. Well, it's been 10 years and ALL the issues have gotten worse. Issues like poverty, access to clean water, biodiversity, deforestation, air quality, waste management, etc... You know, global issues. The goal of the conference is that student groups present their projects and that by empowering high school students to make sustainable changes in their communities they will make a difference globally.

The conference was organized by an international school association of South American schools, and most of the groups were from Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Brazil. There were several well known and respected key note speakers in addition to the student run presentations.

I cherished every moment I had with my kids!

The conference was truly inspiring...

What are you doing in your life to help? Do you feel helpless? What can you do? Don't shy away from these questions. It's ok to feel overwhelmed and like your small part doesn't matter. It's ok to feel like a hypocrite and to feel frustrated that you live in a world filled with contradictions. This past week we reached 7 billion people on earth. 7 billion. How much is 7 billion? I found this...

1. Seven billion M&M’s would almost fill three Olympic-size swimming pools.

2. There are probably 7 billion bacteria in your mouth right now — or maybe even more!

3. Americans consume 7 billion bananas, the nation’s most popular fruit, roughly every four months.

4. If the Wizards played a game every night at Verizon Center, with every seat full, it would take 950 years to play for 7 billion fans.

5. When you are between 31 and 32 years old, you will have lived for 1 billion seconds. To reach 7 billion seconds, you would have to live to be 220 years old!

6. If you stacked up 7 billion sheets of copy paper, the stack would be 504 miles high — about the distance to the international space station and back again!

7. The Earth measures 24,900 miles around the middle. To travel 7 billion miles, you would have to circle the globe nearly 300,000 times.

That's a lot and difficult to imagine for our human brains. Population is a problem.

As the conferenced neared the end I knew, without a doubt, that I would see this group again. You know me, I get attached to my students, we become a family, but there is something special about this group, something unique. I will see them again soon!

Can you hear me now, more like can you read my text now?

2011-10-12T17:34:00.001-04:00

Why do Latin Americans love the Blackberry so much? I'd only lived here one week and the school took the new teachers on a little field trip to the mall so that we could all get cell phones. I'd already decided that I was going to splurge on my VERY first smart phone and that it was going to be an iphone! I'd spent the last couple of years with a $20 prepaid phone and I was ready to move up into modern times. There was a group of 6 teachers that were iphoners and we patiently waited in the typical 3rd world country line so that our smart phone dreams could come true...

Sounds simple, right? Well, as you know, absolutely nothing is simple when there is no customer service and we find out that the ENTIRE country is OUT of iphones! OUT. Not like, oh, we don't have any at this location, let us call another store, BUT all the stores in every city of this country is OUT OF IPHONES! Seriously? Can't we just float some over on a raft from Miami? Are you SURE?

Ok, so when do you expect to get a shipment? That question is like asking a Latino man to commit to monogamy with his wife, you're gonna be led around in circles and lied to and convinced that it is your fault that the shipment never makes it. Who knows? Damn, and I was all set on this purchase, had worked myself up to being a proud owner of an iphone, now what?

Blackberry?

Aren't Blackberrys for trashy people, you know super low class? Oh, most people in the DR have a Blackberry, figures.

Ok, I'll take a damn Blackberry.

After a couple of months I've developed quite an open love affair with my BB. Yes, we are on initial terms now. I can received instant notices, you know, important ones, like my facebook notices that some has "liked" one of my photos. I can find myself on a map and mapquest my way to an adventure. This is great. And to top it off I actually really like having the tiny keyboard. I bought a touch screen phone and honestly I never use the touch screen. My hand are either too cold or too hot and sweaty to touch any screen. Yes, I love my new phone.

So? So this morning I woke up and my phone had no messages to report... huh? That is WEIRD, because, you know I am super popular and all my junk email gets delivered overnight and in the morning I have at least 9 new messages from Amazon, Old Navy, and my bank. This is strange, what is going on? I fiddle and fiddle and even try the BB website... nothing. Huh, did my school not pay my bill? (yes, my school pays my bill) I'm about to throw my phone against the wall when a group of students walk into my room and I vent my frustrations... hey guys, what the freaking freak is going on with BB? OH MISSSSSSSS!!! You DIDN'T hear??? The WHOLE system has crashed! BB IS DOWN!

Wait, what? Next step... Google News... Blackberry:

BlackBerry outage blamed on 'extremely critical' network failure

Blackberry outage spreads to U.S. and Canada

BlackBerry outage runs into third day

I guess I'll have to use my computer to check my emails... The phone part is actually working, but who uses the phone part of the BB?

Cathedral Metropolitana Santa María de la Encarnación

2011-10-09T14:49:00.000-04:00

The OLDEST cathedral in the Americas is located in the Colonial Zone of my new city, Santo Domingo. Construction began in 1512 and was completed in 1540. Have you read Pillers of the Earth? I can't help but imagine the work that went into this massive church. I think of all the different people that contributed to the construction. The thick walls are made of limestone, which makes sense because that rock is readily available here. Here's an areal view of the church... obviously I didn't take this photo:

I read somewhere that Diego Columbus, the son of Christopher, set the first stone.

In the church plaza there is a statue of Chris, pointing north.

That's one of the church entrances in the background there. This is my first time hanging out in the plaza during the day. It was pouring earlier, so not many people out and about, but this place can get packed. At night there are artists hanging around, people drinking and of course feeding the nasty pigeons.

The church was open and set up for a wedding, so we snuck inside for a few minutes...

Looking towards the alter. The inside is huge and, in typical catholic fashion, a bit creepy.

Looking down the aisle at another exit. Surrounding the sides are several chapels, some with dead people, some with statues and one at the end was being used as a storage area for what I can only assume is going to be the nativity for Christmas.

Do you think there is going to be a rhino, or unicorn is this scene? I'll come back and check it out and let you know.

I needed a good cleansing

2011-10-08T08:24:00.001-04:00

Don't you hate it when people talk about the weather? I remember my grandmother would write me letters about the weather, and it was really cute, but I thought, geeze, I hope I don't turn into a person who talks about the weather, and here I am, updating you on the weather.

I woke up to pouring down rain and although we get monsoon heavy rains, they usually don't last very long, so after an hour of rain I decided to check out the current satellite image...

Looks like we're in for a bit more rain before the days out.

Here's a closer view...

eeek

Response to a stimulus, still?

2011-10-07T18:57:00.000-04:00

Sometimes you get in a routine and forget where you are living, and then on the way home, as you zone out, you almost walk into two chickens, and then it hits you, my life is a bit different. Sometimes I'm reading a book and could be anywhere and then I get up and the electricity has gone out and the water pump stops working for a few hours. Oh, yeah, my life is a bit different. I'll be listening to some music and then the avocado man with the horse cart goes walking by. I wonder how long it will take before I don't notice those small wonders of living 3rd world. When will I be able to walk by an enormous pile of trash, listening to the scurrying of rats, and not think, oh, yeah, I live abroad. In many ways this is the most normal of my overseas homes. The internet works, I have a real phone, there are actual roads that are actually paved here, the grocery store carries a huge variety of items, I can ACTUALLY get mail!! I have to say the mail thing has changed my life. I knew that I missed mail, but I didn't realize how much. It costs me a bit for the service, but it is totally worth it. Thank you CPS, you have made my life better! I know material things aren't supposed to matter, but there is something to be said for being able to get your favorite smelling candle delivered here.

Being home this summer made me realize that I don't have a home anymore, and I need to do a better job making my foreign home my actual home. This is where I live. I will have my DR residency soon and I think I'm ready to give up my US residency. It's actually quite scary.

I'm loving my solo apartment, but am wondering if it may not be a good idea for me to live alone anymore. I've always been a thinker, close to obsessor, actually and well, having my own place again, for the first time in two years, I realize how little thinking I did in Bolivia, and well, that may not have been a bad thing.

Botanic Gardens here in Santo Domingo

2011-10-03T19:10:00.000-04:00

My first field trip of the year! Thanks to the school having a science assistant I am able to do things that I would not have the time to do, like jump through hoops and organize field trips! My AP Environmental Science class is 11th and 12th grade students, an awesome, bunch. I know you want to think your kids are well behaved at school, and sometimes they are, but this is just one of those classes that I would be proud to be seen in public with! A rarity when you teach high school! So, with a little help, I organized a field trip to the Botanic Gardens here in Santo Domingo. We left at 7:45 am (school starts at 7:30 am) and spent the morning with an American woman who lives here and studies the endemic and migratory birds of the DR. Although my camera is awesome, it didn't serve me well to photograph many birds :( I did, however come away with some great nature shots!

There's Kate Wallace, aka the bird lady. She moved down to the DR in '94 to serve in the Peace Corps here and has never left! She is active in the local ornithological society and has her own tour company for bird watching. She graciously came to our school last week and gave a presentation about the local birds and here she is at the Botanic Gardens with us!

The Hispaniola Parrot

DR's national bird - the Palmchat.

Those little guys at the top of the tree are hummingbirds!! They migrate here! Seriously cool, I know...

The West Indian Whistling Duck

Fern spores

View through the palms

Spiked protection.

Giant caterpillars!

Huge trees - yeah, I should have written down the name...

My class of angels :)

Punta Bonita near Las Terranas

2011-10-03T18:41:00.000-04:00

Ok, you see that little peninsula on the northeast corner of the DR, the one where Las Terranas is located? Well that is where I spent my first 3 day weekend. All the new teachers arrived on August 10 and we've been working, working, working without a proper break, and well, you know how us teachers get when there aren't many breaks...

Just a 2 1/2 hour drive from Santo Domingo and you can be in paradise on this tiny, but largest island in the Caribbean. Las Terranas itself is a small 3rd world town that just so happens to be surrounded by pristine beaches. This side of the island in the Atlantic Ocean, but let me tell you, that it's all Caribbean. The crystal clear, warm, salty water lapping up against super fine grained sand lined with palm trees. I'm convinced that it's the palm trees that make all the difference for the paradise feel, well, that and the bright blue, transparent pool of goodness that is the ocean here.

Do you see the bay that is on the other side of Las Terranas? The side with Semana? That is the bay that the Atlantic Humpback Whales migrate to every winter so that they can either mate, if it's a mating year, or give birth, if it's a birthing year. Apparently the bay water is so warm and void of life that they aren't here to eat, they're here for protection, and because they parasites that suck off their bodies in the northern Atlantic cannot survive here and they die, relieving the whales of the pests. This happens from the middle of January to March, so if you are thinking of planning a trip to visit the DR, you might want to think of that time. Of course it's more expensive, but I'll let you know if it's worth it. I'm planning on spending my 40th birthday up there!

It ain't all roses

2011-09-17T21:33:00.001-04:00

The Top 10 Worst Polluted Places

The Top 10 worst polluted places in the world are:

Chernobyl, Ukraine
Dzerzhinsk, Russia
Haina, Dominican Republic
Kabwe, Zambia
La Oroya, Peru
Linfen, China
Maiuu Suu, Kyrgyzstan
Norilsk, Russia
Ranipet, India
Rudnaya Pristan/Dalnegorsk, Russia

This morning I headed out to the third most polluted place on Earth (depending on the source and criteria for choosing), Haina, DR, which is only 20 minutes from where I live in Santo Domingo. Haina was the site for a battery recycling plant that didn't comply to legal guidelines and the levels of lead in the area are the main cause of contamination. Of course since it is a "factory" town the people that end up living there are often poor and without human basic needs, like clean water. On the drive we encountered a road block where the locals were burning tires and trash to protest the fact that they haven't had clean water for 40 days....

Forty days without clean water. There is a river that runs through the town and dumps into the ocean within the city limits. This morning a group of teachers from school decided to head out to the "beach" area for a clean up day. I didn't make it to the clean up part (I was running on Island time today) but I did make it to the get together after. One of the teachers lives in a mini paradise compound like house in the town and we met there after lunch.

We decided to head down to the point where the river dumps into the ocean and here's what we saw...

Jarabacoa

2011-09-05T19:42:00.001-04:00

This weekend the school arranged free transportation to Jarabacoa, which is a mountain town here in the DR. If you head northwest from Santo Domingo, you'll see it in red before La Vega. This is sort of the adventure spot here in the DR, with rafting, canyoning, horseback riding (don't worry I'm never getting on another horse again), hiking, etc. A group of us decided to try out the rafting.

The woman on the far left is our human resources director, Nancy, and she is awesome. She has been super helpful in many ways and I cannot imagine my transition here without her. The man with his arm up is the director or some may call the headmaster of our school! I KNOW, how cool is it that he's right there with us! So far I've worked for some douche bag directors, so it is great to have one that supports us in many ways including having fun! The girl in the very middle is Miki, and she is why I have my OWN apartment. She was living here, where I am now, and she didn't like it because no other teachers live in the building. It's really close to school and to the park, but she just wanted to be around other teachers, so she was able to move into a building where a ton of teachers are and her place opened up and here I am. The other three are new teachers.

Now, I knew better to have high expectations... I'm practicing my low expectation philosophy, especially after getting burned a few times in the DR already... Here I am not ready for much!

We loaded up in a big truck and drove for a bit in some of the most beautiful scenery. I am going to ask for an underwater camera for christmas because it sure would have been nice to have been able to take some photos! One of the teachers stayed behind and I have pirated these photos from him...

The river that runs through this part of the island is called Rio Yaque (pronounced "Jackie").

We stayed in a resort-like place which was convient for planning the adventure trips. Are you ready to fly out here and explore? Check out their website and see you soon!

Here's a video taken by one of the spectators. You'll be able to see our boat, which is grey, and we are waving frantically to the camera. This was one of the most fun rivers I've ever rafted! The boys were focused on having fun and of course safety, but without the restrictions of US lawsuits the atmosphere was more relaxed and a great time was had by all!

My New Digs

2011-09-05T19:07:00.000-04:00

I really really really like my new apartment. Now, don't get me wrong, for the past two years I have loved having my roommates, but this time around was completely different. My life feels different here. I'm not sure how to describe it to you, but I feel like I've grown up a tiny bit - I KNOW, that's a huge statement coming from me, but let me clarify... I still think like a teenager in many ways and I'm not about to get super responsible on you, but I just feel, I don't know, more settled. Like I've found a little niche that I'm sitting comfortably in. School is challenging right now. The schedule is murder, but I'm going to do it and you know me, do it well. My days, afternoons and nights are filled with thoughts of lesson planning, but at least I can do that in a nice environment... My new apartment...

Let the fun begin!

2011-08-29T19:51:00.000-04:00

First day of school in the Dominican Republic - check.

I had a great first day. I'm overwhelmed with all the new names to learn, but I can already tell that the students are going to make me laugh - a lot. This is GOOD. Today was just an intro day and we met for a short time with all the classes, so tomorrow starts the "real" deal. I need to take a photo of my classroom to show you how much progress we have already had! I can post the before and after photo when I really get it going with student work...

Thanks for all your support - I feel much better now :)

Moving AGAIN

2011-08-27T20:18:00.000-04:00

Relax.... I'm just changing apartments. For some reason, out of all the new people, I was the only person placed with a roommate. It's not horrible, but our personalities don't match, at all, and she wants to have her boyfriend come stay for a month. On top of that I pathetically let her have the master bedroom and have been regretting it ever since. I let someone 10 years younger than me bully me into something I didn't want, and YOU would think I'd know better! This move has been quite a learning experience.

So, one of the single teachers was placed in an apartment where no other teachers live and she's been super vocal about wanting to be closer to everyone (she's not that far). The school found a place for her to move and now her place is open. It's much smaller than my place, but quiet, and closer to the park. Why doesn't my roommate move, you ask? Great question. Well SHE doesn't see a problem with the way things are and says that she wouldn't mind if I had a guest for a month, so she won't move because she doesn't care about living alone. All I can say is GET ME OUT OF HERE!

So it's a good thing I haven't posted any pictures of my new apt because I'm erasing it from my memory!

Come on Irene

2011-08-23T20:43:00.000-04:00

This is a crazy big storm! Apparently because of the 10,000 foot mountains in the Dominican the hurricanes and tropical storms that come our way are usually pushed north and tend to miss Santo Domingo... Whew, good for us, but bad for my parents who are in the direct path right now!

I'm not ok with this

2011-08-22T22:06:00.001-04:00

I'm in frustration mode right now... It's new, different, yes, but there's more. I think of myself as a little naive about things, especially when it comes to safety. I walk around with my head high like I own the place. I put my shoulders back and leave my scowl on and head out, on a mission. And being covered with tattoos has created this illusion of toughness that I've been playing off of. Here's the problem... I spent today hearing stories about how only a few months ago the EXACT apartment I live in was broken in to and robbed. How on the SAME street I walk to school on a teacher was robbed. How motorcycles drive by and rip your bags off your body. How the strategy is just don't carry anything you are not willing to loose. How almost everyone has had a mugging/robbery experience. How the strategy is to just give them your stuff. Wait? What? Don't carry a backpack, purse, anything. Ok, so where do you keep your stuff? Well don't bring stuff, ok, so what? Seriously. Yes, people are living like this. Like, oh, I may or may not get robbed today. If I get robbed I'm going to be PISSED. I appreciate the honesty, don't get me wrong, but how bad is it here?

I got home today and headed straight to run in the park without my ipod. Ok, so I'll get used to running without noise. I need some digestion time. I'm self medicating with music right now. You can make fun, but I've got Dave Matthews blaring as much as my computer speakers can blare. It's not like I'm going to be buying any serious electronics just so they can get stolen.

A little better

2011-08-19T20:15:00.000-04:00

I spent some quality time in my ugly classroom today and I must say that I'm feeling a bit better. You are all right, it's going to take some time to make that space my own. This is the exact same situation I'm in every time I move and I keep thinking that moving is a good idea, so I must learn to deal with it better.

One of the other new teachers has rented a car for the weekend. Another new teacher has her first visitor, her sister, and the four of us are heading east along the coast to Juan Dolio, a small coastal town with a bunch of resorts. I plan to explore every safe inch of this tiny country... if you want to join me check out Spirit Airlines and JetBlue! I have a spare room and everything, although the price will be that you have to bring me stuff :)

Out of sorts

2011-08-18T22:54:00.000-04:00

So I was supposed to be better about blogging, especially when I became "connected" again, but honestly, I've been out of sorts lately. You know, moving again. It all started when I found out that my plan to take three suitcases was foiled by the "embargo" on American Airlines. Ok, ok, so I'll zip my life up into two 50 pound bags. Thankfully the AA guy was nice enough to let me go just a tad bit over on each bag and now my life is condensed to 105 pounds. Well, that was until my AA flight was canceled because of weather in Miami (funny that everyone else from the school got to Miami just fine), and I was shuffled over to JetBlue. You've heard good things about them? It's probably true, except for the fact that the guy at the counter was not about to slip my 5 extra pounds into my checked bag and I was forced to drag around my belongings while I was rerouted to NYC. Just a few hours in the opposite direction, hey, at least I was on my way to my destination!

The human resources person had set up a nice welcoming in the VIP lounge at the Santo Domingo airport, but of course my delay put me in after the lounge closed, so I'll have to catch up with VIP at a later date in my life.

I've been in Santo Domingo for one week. Five days of teacher workshops and meetings, afternoons spent looking for sheets, towels, food, evenings trying to stay cool.

There are a bunch of new people, like 16, and for some reason my roommate and I are the only ones to have been assigned roommates. We have a three bedroom, 2 1/2 bath apt, with a decent kitchen, big living room and porch on the 3rd floor of a building on a busy corner about 3 blocks from school. The location is great in reference to the school, but caddy corner from my bedroom is a corner store (colmado) that is ridiculously loud and obnoxious. The bedroom situation got sticky right away because there is a master bedroom with a bathroom inside the room and then two other smaller rooms with a bathroom in between. Well, my roommate informs me that her boyfriend wants to come visit so it makes sense for her to get the master and I thought, ok, but I want both small rooms so that I can have a small office space to work. Well, this was before I knew that ONLY the two bedrooms have a/c. Seriously. THIS was something that I had not anticipated and although I am used to never knowing what is going on, I didn't see this coming at all! No other space in my apt is climate controlled, none. Right now Santo Domingo is super hot and sticky. We've had torrential downpours and blazing sun all in one day. I am told that by November the humidity will subside and I'll be find without a/c. Let's hope so. Actually I've already gotten a bit used to it. I still hold my breath when I come home, just waiting for that blast of cold air that never comes. We are told that the electricity is super expensive here so we'll be glad we don't have central a/c. Sure.

Not too much to say about school right now. I still have one more week of meetings before kids come, so I don't really know what to expect. The returning teachers start Monday, so I haven't even met anyone in the science department yet. I'm not super impressed with the classrooms, but it's hard to tell at the moment. My room is a dump, but maybe I feel so out of place since it's not mine yet.

I have my very first smart phone and I LOVE it. I ended up with a Blackberry because that is what everyone has here and it was more reasonably priced and they actually had them in stock. I've been a bbm'ing fool, talking to my Bolivia kids. It's hard not being there right now. I just keep thinking how much easier my life would be if I had just stayed. I know, I know.

should have taken a raft

2011-08-10T18:45:00.000-04:00

I know, I know, it's been a while since I've written, but I have a bunch of great excuses.... like - I was in Chicago, then Denver, then Hawaii and now I've packed up my life again and am headed to my new home in Santo Domingo, DR. You still don't buy it, well, I don't blame you, especially since in 2011 there is this cool thing called an ipad, or iphone, or things that you can access the internet anywhere on... soon, soon, I'll have one of those cool devices, but until then I need my laptop and free wireless. So I guess it's a good thing that my flight to the DR has been rerouted to New York where the wireless flows free unlike the ghetto Miami airport which is apparently to wet to accept flights from North Carolina, but ok for flights from other cities. I guess it was fate that brought me to this free land of internet.

News? Well, other than the fact that I have a new job, new apartment, new everything, not much... I did have a minor panic attack when the airlines told me that there is an embargo in affect for the DR right now and ALL I can bring is 100 pounds total. Damn. I really wanted a little more of my own things with me, but I guess I'll take my own advice and not worry about stuff so much.

I have lots of fun summer stuff to tell you, but that's going to have to wait and I'm sure I'll be needed to write about my first few days... until then

Relaxing, Recouping, Recharging

2011-06-19T11:35:00.000-04:00

I wish I could bottle these moments. You know, the ones where there is an overwhelming sense of peace and perfectness. There ain't nothing better than being surrounded by nature, life, the beauty and perfectness of the natural world. I've yet to see anything man-made that rivals a flower. Why aren't we, as a community, more concerned with preservation? Why are we so eager to rip up the earth to build a strip mall? We know the benefits of "stopping to smell the roses", so why don't we? I know ya'll are busy, but I have the summer off, well a few weeks anyway, and I'm going to take advantage of enjoying nature, for both of us :)

Graduation Party - June 4, 2011

2011-06-14T14:55:00.000-04:00

I just realized that I forgot to tell ya'll how the big graduation party was. This year around 35 students graduated and threw a party this is rumored to have cost $120,000, yes, you read that right, one hundred twenty THOUSAND dollars. Whew. Before I left I tried planting some seeds about maybe throwing a bit less extravagant party and donating the rest of the money, but I'm not sure how those seeds will grow without constant encouragement.

I was told that people would dress up - fancy, like prom fancy, like full length gown fancy. A gown? I didn't even wear a gown at my own wedding, well, I eloped on the continental divide, but still, a gown? After a week of stressing about the "gown", I decided to give it up and just borrow a dress from a coworker and not worry about looking out of place. I mean have you seen the way I dress? I pretty much look out of place anyway...

Laura was my date. That girl can make an empty room fun, so I told my principal that I would go as long as she could come as well. Here we are all dressed up and ready to impress :)

Laura has success borrowing a "gown" complete with sparklies. I had some sparkles too, but the knee length nature of my dress made it a bit less formal.

The party was scheduled to get underway at 10 pm or so with plans of serving dinner at 1 am, so we met my principal and his wife at a bar across the street from the party and made our entrance. The decorations were beautiful, I don't know about thousands of dollars beautiful, but the rooms were exquisitely decorated. Each student had 24 tickets and there was a teacher table for the few teachers that decided to attend. Many of the lower classmen were there, so I was able to see my girls all dressed up in their gowns.

Here are four of "my" girls, you know the homeroom group of all girls that I had this year. They will graduate in 2013.

After some mingling it was time for the graduates to make their entrance. Since it is such a small class each senior got to choose a parent to walk them down the "aisle". It was super cute. I felt overly motherly and thought that I MUST return in two years when my girls graduate.

The theme of the night was something like "we had the time of our lives". There was a live band and a huge dance area. It was nice to see the kids all dressed up and have time outside of school to say goodbye. It was a good way to close out my two years teaching at SCCS.

These four gorgeous girls graduated last year. I had them in a study hall class so we got close my first year at SCCS.

Nothing like 16 year olds to make you feel and look old :) Who needs children when I have my school family?

Back in America, well, North America, well, the United States of America!

2011-06-12T18:31:00.001-04:00

I've learned to specify where I'm from. You can't live in South America and say you're American, because people respond with "so am I", and then you can't really say North American, because the Mexicans and Canadians will be lumped in there with you, so you end up having to say "yo soy de los estados unidos" which just says that I am from the United States, but if you really get picky, then you might get asked, well isn't Mexico really the United States of Mexico and technically they'd be correct, so it all gets a bit tricky, until... you get HOME and then no one asks you where you are from and you can just go about your business!

It doesn't take much time when you are away from the US of North America to realize how awesome this place is. Yeah, yeah, taxes, politics, etc. can take its toll, but seriously, this place is awesome. Clean roads, well hell, there are actual roads! Clean water, organized cities, customer service, did I mention clean roads? Being a tourist here is so easy! Well, I suppose you need a car, because transportation, in general, is not easy, especially in North Carolina, but renting a car is quite easy, so get in your car and start exploring!

My aunt is here visiting and we decided to be tourists for a few days. First stop was Fort Fisher, which is very close to my parents' house. This fort was used during the Civil War and is slowly joining the other forts and eroding into the ocean. One of the unique features of this fort were the blockade runners that would bring supplies from Bermuda into the hands of the confederates.

If you haven't been to the south you might be surprised to hear that the confederacy is alive and well here. Thriving actually. Yehaw. Got me some camo pants, my rifle, some moonshine and my rebel flag. My parents have lived in North Carolina for 26 years and will be considered Yankees til the day they leave.

Next to Ft. Fisher is the Underwater Archeology Center which just pulled up Blackbeard's anchor from Queen Anne's Revenge. They've been working on the wreckage for over 10 years now and have waited to publicize to make sure it really was the pirate ship.

Next stop on the tour... another fort. We searched for some touristy things close to Wilmington and came up with lots of forts, lighthouses and old farm plantations. There is a battleship here, but I've been there a few times and it's already getting hot, so we decided to hop in the car and drive two hours towards Beaufort. Here, another Civil War fort, Fort Macon, is located. This fort was actually built by the US Federal Government in the 1850's and was guarded by one man when the confederate soldiers overtook the fort and used it during the Civil War. The fort was used in a few subsequent wars and is now a historic site.

On our way out of Beaufort I spotted an old cemetery and yelled "Let's stop, Dad!" So we spent a few peaceful moments wandering around the historic cemetery.

Hasta luego

2011-06-04T18:35:00.000-04:00

I'm leaving tomorrow. Two years, well, 22 months really, but we can call it two years, have passed in another blink of an eye. Have you moved around at all? The goodbye thing is always a struggle and seems to last just a few too many days. So much to wrap up, so many people to say goodbye to. Teachers are used to wrapping up each school year, saying temporary goodbyes and starting fresh every year, but international teachers are in a unique situation. I'm leaving a country that I have no plans to return to. I know, never say never, and I'm not saying that, but chances are slim that I'll be back in Bolivia. I do have to return to South America and explore Patagonia, both the Argentina and Chilean side but that is after I finish up exploring the caribbean.

Living and working in Santa Cruz has changed me in many ways. One of the hard things about returning to friends and family back home is that often times you are not really the same person anymore. Little things have changed, things that don't seem to big, until you are around people that knew you before. Before what? I'm not sure how to answer that. Each and every experience has left its mark on me, good and bad. It is hard not to become hardened when you've seen starving children and animals. I must have gone past 20 street dogs just today during a 10 minute taxi drive. Then there is the mark that my girls have left. Their kindness, compassion, honesty; they are a part of me and my family and yet won't probably ever know my other family. It is hard to go home and try to have conversations with people you haven't talked to. One plus for you is that I've kept a blog, so you can keep up with my travels, sarcasm, sadness and joys, but what do I have from you? Nothing. There is always facebook and that source has become my only link to some of you. I look forward to reading about your adventures, even if they are not far from home.

I know some of you think that I have crazy adventures, but believe me, those of you with kids and permanent homes are MUCH crazier than me. I like reading about your family, not so much the baby stage, I don't care that much until your kids start talking, but then, bring it on.

In my last few hours here in Santa Cruz I am going to the graduation party. The $120,000 party that kids have been saving for since pre-K. Parties in Bolivia don't get rollin' until about 10:30 pm. The dinner is planned for 1:00 am, so it'll be just enough time to say more goodbyes before jumping on the plane to Miami. See you all Stateside.

Stuff

2011-05-22T07:57:00.001-04:00

I knew this would happen. I knew that the end of my two years here in Bolivia would suddenly arrive and I'd be sitting here wondering where the time went. Two weeks from today I'll be on a plane headed to the States, and it's time to start thinking about the packing situation.

Next year I'm teaching Environmental Science and just last week I did an assignment to get the students thinking about the environment. During my research I came across this video

and it got me thinking about MY stuff. What "things" do I think I need and where are those other things that I've bought that I thought I needed? Why are we, as a whole, so wasteful, so ignorant about where our stuff comes from and what it's made of? I sold everything 3 years ago, well I do have 4 rubbermaid containers at my parents' house and when I moved to Bolivia I did so in two large suitcases and a carry on. Now it's time to pack up those bags I dragged down here and low and behold I have more stuff. In my two years here I haven't bought a lot, nothing compared to what I would have purchased in the U.S., but do I really need to buy more stuff? As a side note, I'd like to share that these thoughts are the thoughts that cascaded into the idea that when I travel or move places I should just get tattoos, you know, stuff that I can permanently carry around with me.

It saddens me that one of the things I'm looking forward to as soon as I get to Raleigh is heading straight to the Mac Store and then REI... I do not want to contribute to the cycle. Now, I have to say that my dad is pretty good at reusing and I certainly got that trait. He and I keep stuff forever, and although we sometimes get teased, I am glad that I got that trait. Each time I purchase something I think about why I'm buying it. What am I going to use it for and for how long? Am I shopping because I'm bored, or that's what I'm supposed to do? What else could I be doing to fill this "need".

And as I pack I realize that I don't have that much stuff, and how life is just free-er when you are not bogged down with stuff. So packing is actually going to be ok and I'm off on a new adventure.

And the winner is...

2011-05-13T21:47:00.000-04:00

Our school has a competition where each grade level competes for points and the winner earns an end of the year BBQ, off campus, for the whole day. Each teacher has their own homeroom class and each grade has three homerooms. This year, as you know, my homeroom was all the 10th grade girls. I have this theory about competitions and games... if you're going to play, you mind and well win, and win we did. Since December we have been earning points for small contests, like, the least amount of tardies, collecting supplies for flood victims, eating contests, etc. Herding a bunch of 16 year olds is no small task, but luckily I have a huge mouth and an attitude to match, so with a "little" encouragement from me and my 19 girls, the entire 10th grade earned a day off campus.

All our kids are in the elite class of Santa Cruz so anyone could have hosted a party for 40 people, but no one was stepping up to offer, so I just chose the student with the closest house to school and bugged him until he caved in and asked his mom. The school hired the BBQ man and in addition to the house full of maids we had ourselves a fantastic day celebrating our awesomeness.

Oh Snaps

2011-05-07T18:10:00.001-04:00

Teaching can really have its ups and downs and this week was a real downer. The week started off fantastic, as the president decided a few weeks ago that Monday would be a holiday and therefore we didn't have school. No better way to start the work week with a day off. With a short week ahead of me, and 2 exams planned the outlook was good. I thought. Then, after a staff meeting on Wednesday, a security guard at the school tracked me down to let me know that three students were caught in my room going though my desk. Huh. I was giving a Chemistry exam the next day. You know that class that I now have to teach because the "other" teacher ran screaming and crying from our school in December? Yeah, that class. Ok, I know that teenagers think that all old people are super stupid, but I am the exception :) At this point I don't have any "evidence" or "facts" that a test was looked at, photographed or taken, but on the way home I decided to suck it up and spend MY free time writing a new test. Have you ever tried to hand type a chemistry test? Didn't think so, but let me tell you it isn't a short process.

The next morning I get to school and meet with my principal and dean and we decide that I will definitely give the "new" test and that we'll keep our eyes out. We do find out that the day before the girls (three of them) told the cleaning lady that one of them had left their cell phone in my room and they needed to get in. Too bad the cleaning lady didn't know that I didn't even teach those kids on that day (we have block schedules). She unlocks the door and notices that the girls go straight to my desk and start rummaging through my drawers and take something. Now, the cleaning lady doesn't know my exam schedule, but she, too, is not stupid and realizes that something smells funny. She goes straight to her boss and you know what they do? They grab a yearbook and immediately identify the girls! Genius. The problem, however, still remains that we don't have any evidence that they took something. The class starts at 8 and I'm outside with the dean and we notice the three "suspects" acting "strange" and heading up to the library. It's 10 minutes before class, huh, what are they going to the library for? Could be lots of reasons, right? Well the dean decided to head up and weasel his way, unseen, to the back where the girls are sitting. Crouching below the shelves he heads toward their table and low and behold there they are, sitting pretty, with MY exam. Oh snaps.

Two summers is ALWAYS better than one

2011-05-02T19:43:00.000-04:00

I remember not too long ago, maybe 5 years, sitting on my little couch in Denver, wrapped up in a fleece blanket, sweater, wool socks, pajama pants, cup of tea, freezing my butt off, thinking... wouldn't it be super cool to teach in South America and enjoy the school year in the summer months and then return to North America to enjoy summer break? Those thoughts, way back then, seemed a huge stretch, but here I am people, sitting in Bolivia, watching the cool air encroach as fall sneaks in, thinking, in 5 weeks I'll be spending summer in North Carolina! I DID it.

For the past two years I have taught in Bolivia and enjoyed the tropical Santa Cruz air all school year. I did venture north of the equator in December when I traveled in Colombia, and I did spend some freezing moments in Ecuador during June and July, but for the past two years I've been soaking in the warmth and this summer I am headed back to the U.S. to soak up some more. I don't consider myself a sun worshiper, I don't lay out and tan, but I do love when the sun is shining. Don't get my wrong, I'll take a few clouds every now and then, but the sun better make an appearance soon.

Lately I have realized that I can accomplish anything. I know you are thinking, yeah, yeah, you don't have a family, kids, mortgage, and you are RIGHT, and you know why I don't have those things? Because I made the choice not to. My decisions, from years past, have led to this life I have. This life, that, although I complain and get frustrated, I love.

Now the trick is not to sit here and wish you could change things. The trick is to KNOW that you CHOSE what you have. You made the choice to be exactly where you are right now, so enjoy it. Love it. Live.

Try this. I bet you are exactly where you want to be.

Oh Rio

2011-04-30T10:26:00.000-04:00

January river, Rio de janeiro, City of God, Marvelous City, or just plain RIO is the most visited city in the Southern Hemisphere, and I finally decided to get my Brazilian visa, ignore the language issue and head to Rio over spring break. I always thought of Rio as a city of buildings and that the beaches would be a day trip from the city, but I was mistaken. Copacabana and Ipanema are RIGHT there, within the "cove" of the city, and the beaches combined with the mountains combined with the city is what makes Rio amazing. There's just something to be said about being able to get up on a "hill" and see a bird's eye view. The special thing about Rio is that it lets you do that from multiple angles, and that there is a lot to see.

The first image that pops into my head when someone mentions Rio is the Jesus statue on the hill. Well, technically the hill is called Corvacodo, and the statue is referred to as Christ the Redeemer.

Jesus himself measures 130 feet tall but then you have to add the 31 foot pedestal. Construction began on the statue in 1922 and was completed in 1931. Of course the movement to build a statue of Jesus on a hill was driven by Brazilian Catholics and after some deciding on the "pose" of the statue, the open arms Jesus was chosen.

Apparently there are small spikes on the statue so that birds don't land on it. I wish I'd have known that before I went, because I would have looked for them. I did wonder how they kept the statue so clean. It is constructed from a mixture of concrete and soapstone and was under renovation in 2008 after it was struck by lightening.

Now, what about Corcovado hill? Well this granite hill is over 2,000 feet tall and looms above the sea in Rio. What a fantastic place to build a statue to look over the city.

View of Corcovado and Christ the Redeemer from another hill in the city.

As a New Seven Wonder of the World, this place is worth a visit, just be prepared to empty your wallet.

"Big water"

2011-04-28T20:11:00.000-04:00

I've been doing a little research on Iguazu Falls and I think the reason that it is so awesome is a couple of things... First of all the park is clean, well managed, organized and self explanatory, which if you've done any traveling in South America you know is a rarity. The second reason is that on the Brazilian side you see the panoramic view of the falls (they boast that at one point you can be surrounded by 260 degrees of waterfalls.) There is a system of 275 falls and each time you turn a corner of the trail in Brazil, you see section after section, hence my 200 photos. The third reason is that in 30 minutes you can drive across the border into Argentina and be within the falls, up close and personal, and wet. Iguazu is accessible.

Now, it is a pain in the ass to get to initially, especially if you are carrying a US Passport. The location is a bit in the middle of nowhere and bordering not only Brazil and Argentina, but very close to Paraguay. I chose to skip Paraguay to avoid additional visa costs, as the Brazil visa alone was $140. Having said that, seeing Iguazu Falls was totally worth every penny, especially experiencing both sides. I met people that were skipping the Brazil side because of the visa, don't do that. There is a small airport on each side and I found it was cheaper to fly into the Brazil side, although it took 4 different planes to get there from Bolivia.

Statistically Iguazu is taller than Niagara Falls and twice as wide, however Niagara has a greater flow rate than Iguazu. The earth in this area opened up as a result of a volcanic eruption and the water started working its magic of erosion. Iguazu is in my top 5 favorite places that I've visited so far. In fact, I think I enjoyed Iguazu better than Machu Picchu. Get out that piggy bank and start saving for the trip of a lifetime!

One of the panoramic views from the Brazilian side of the falls.

Just another panoramic view...

The Devil's Throat, up close on the Argentinean side.

Boat ride into the falls. Now that's getting up close and personal.

Igua what? IguaZU!

2011-04-27T21:01:00.000-04:00

Thank you, spring break. For revitalizing me. For letting me take a deep breath and for helping me clear my head.

True confessions

2011-04-27T20:23:00.000-04:00

Ok, I'm about to say something out loud, well, type something on my blog. I've been thinking. Yeah, yeah, I know. I am a firm believer that when I say something and put it out there that whatever I say will come to fruition. This whole travel thing and the way I live my life right now is a product of my intentions. I've set goals and because I put them out there, they happen. So far my goals have focused on me and what I want to achieve personally, but as difficult as this is for me to admit, I am ready for the next step. What is that step, you ask? The step of sharing all this awesome, cool stuff with an awesome, cool guy. Since "the summer of Lisa" in 2007 I have focused on me, what I want, but now, almost 4 years later I am ready. So, here I am admitting something that is difficult for a feminist to admit. I am ready to be in a healthy, fun, adventurous relationship.

I've been thinking about this for a while, but given my past choices in men, I've been afraid to put this thought on "paper".

Now comes the hard part. You know that I consider myself a late bloomer, so it comes as no surprise that it's taken me until I'm 39 to figure all of this out. Now I just need to find another late bloomer (I'm kind of an age-ist), who loves to travel, likes adventure, is funny, honest, passionate about life and is not obsessed with watching sports or playing video games. Online dating creeps me out, so I'm going to have to put myself out there the old fashioned way.

Wish me luck...

the fine lines

2011-04-24T10:15:00.000-04:00

It's official - I like reading on my kindle better than an actual book. I know what you are thinking... those pages, turning each page, flipping back and forth, the smell of a book, well, I fought with that for a year or so, but have reached the point that the kindle is just better. Easier to hold, light, compact, had a built in dictionary, which I use constantly, and right now I have 86 books traveling around with me.

Another great quality... being able to open Amazon and push a button and start reading. Also, Amazon now has these "kindle singles", short stories, for less than $2. I bought "The Saint" by Oliver Broudy and am reading it now. Isn't it funny that sometimes you pick up a book that has EVERYTHING to do with the present moment in your life?

Well, I just returned from my last big South America trip for a while and spent a few days in Iguazu Falls, on both the Argentina side and the Brazil side. The views of the waterfalls are fantastically amazing. My limited english skills can not even begin to do the falls justice. But, of course, as my brain usually does, my thoughts wander in and out of the obvious. I start thinking and thinking deeper and sometimes I have all the thoughts figured out and ready to record, but the minute I try to form actual words, the idea escapes me. And then, I read.

I am 3/4 of the way through The Saint, a short book about a man's search. Search for what? Everything, feeling, spirituality, himself, meaning, you name it. I just read a section that I want to save for later, so that I can contemplate my search...

"... borders were good only for being ignored. Most were simply relics of a misbegotten attempt at organization that ultimately did more to hinder than to aid. They were strewn across the land like ancient railway trestles, like moldering wrecks. It was the nature of borders - whether separating countries or people - to gradually take on far more importance than was actually useful. They assumed for themselves and unearned air of permanence, which, when not checked, gradually became a hindrance."

"... borders are designed to make you frightened of what lies on the other side."

Is it Saturday yet?

2011-04-12T21:10:00.000-04:00

I know, I know, I'm not supposed to be wishing my life away, BUT on Saturday I am leaving for BRAZIL!! Laura and I got our visa all squared away and Brazil was nice enough to give us a 10 year pass so if you are planning a trip to Brazil in the next 10 years let me know and I may join you.

I usually wait until the last minute to research about where I'm going, but today I decided to take some time for myself and study some maps. I got the map studying gene from my father, who, in addition to studying maps also likes to study airport layouts. There is just something about knowing your place in the world.

I'm a bit nervous about going to Rio. I've heard horror stories and for some unknown reason I decided to buy the City of God kindle book. The movie is famous, but I never saw it so I decided to read the book and it is basically about gang bangers in the slums of Rio running around robbing people and fighting and doing drugs. Not the scene I wanted to set myself up for.

Laura and I decided to splurge on our time in Rio, so we found a place near the beach in Copacabana and are spending a pretty penny to stay for four nights. Here's the Windsor Martinique...

As you can see we are right along the beach and very close to Ipanema, which is just the next beach over.

Did you realize that Rio looked like this?

We've all heard of the Jesus statue on the hill, but I really didn't have a clue that this is what Rio looked like. I'm sure we'll do all the touristy stuff, but if you have any specific suggestions, please pass them along.

I'm getting a little ahead of myself really, because our first stop on Saturday is Iguazu Falls! You know, that waterfall between Brazil and Argentina. We found a flight straight to the Brazilian side of the falls, well after our connections in Paraguay and Sao Paulo, and our 12 hour travel day (you've heard me complain about living in Santa Cruz, right? well this is just another reason).

We'll be staying on the Brazil side, but skirting over to the Argentina side. Apparently there are unique views from each side and although the tourist prices are sky high, this is not to be missed!

I'm sure I'll take 100's of photos, so prepare yourself. As I do more research, I'll be sure to keep you informed. Hasta luego mis amigos.

Dear Spring Break, I need you ASAP

2011-04-10T18:03:00.000-04:00

Around the globe schools are winding down and thinking about their last few weeks and we haven't even had spring break yet! Oh good golly I still have one more week before our beloved week off. Yeah, yeah, you are playing that tiny violin for me, thanks.

It really is that at the end of each day I feel like I've given my ALL and I can't possibly do the same tomorrow. I've become bored with this routine. Society continues to belittle teachers and treat us like we are lazy bums, when in fact 90% of the public has no idea what goes on in a classroom, or within the "system". I'm getting tired of being treated like a lower class citizen that was too stupid to pick another career. Don't get me wrong I've worked and do work with some super lazy, not very intelligent people, but who amongst you doesn't? You're trying to tell me that all the people you work with are fantastic and it's just the entire teaching profession that's lazy and just wants summers off?

I'm also sick of this soap box. I've been speaking out for years and because of this martyr profession of mine we, as a whole, get no where, and when we do band together the whole country shivers in fear and tries to dismantle us. Sometimes I wish all the hard working, dedicated teacher would quit so that the US could see what would happen. You want a safe learning environment for your kids? Well it's gonna cost you, just like that brand new SUV you bought, or that fancy new TV you spent 4 grand on.

While I sit here and bust my ass to create an interesting lesson for your kid you don't even have the common courtesy to make sure they've done their homework?

RUFMITA organization for the protection of animals

2011-03-27T08:53:00.001-04:00

I am constantly talking about dogs, street dogs, Winnie, my sister's dog, any dog. Everyone around me knows how much I love dogs, even my students. Well I don't know if you've traveled to a 3rd world country, but living in one I see about 100 street dogs a day. Seriously. Sitting in the taxi - on the way to school - walking to the store - anywhere I go - there are street dogs. I've told you before how much my heart breaks every time I see a skinny, starving dog, but reality is that there isn't much I can do except donate money to a couple of good organizations, bring scraps with me on my walks, and just stop to give some love to the pups. I've come to accept that my small actions do make a bit of a difference, but the ugly truth is that I cannot save all the street dogs. I've actually come to believe that the love, the pets, and talking to the dogs that I give are more valuable than a scrap of food, especially in Santa Cruz where the pups are getting lots of trash scraps, but they have mites, ticks, viruses that prevent them from putting on weight.

So, you know that I teach kids that are "well to do" in their community. They have drivers that bring them to school in a brand new Mercedes SUV, they live in huge complexes with a 10 bedroom house, in general they are a bit sheltered to the realities of their city. I'm not sure if their car windows are so tinted that they can't see the trash accumulating on their streets and in their water canals, or that they have just become so used to it that they no longer notice. I often wonder how they can go grocery shopping in the vomit smelling store, but then realize they send their maids shopping. Whatever, it doesn't matter, what matters is that they don't think of their city as 3rd world.

On Friday, a group of my students headed to a local hospital where the doctors without borders have come to do surgeries on kids with cleft palates, i.e. Operation Smile. I love that our school gives the students an opportunity to help with such causes. The students will go for a few hours to the hospital where there is NO a/c, and help translate for the doctors who travel from all over, but especially the US to help.

Right after school on Friday my phone rings, and since I get about 2 phone calls a month, I am surprised and pick it up to hear a student's voice.

"Hi miss, it's me. We are just leaving Operation Smile and we FOUND two street dogs. We need your help! Can we bring them to your house? We want to save them. Can you help us?"

Me: "Uh, wait, you do realize that there are 10,000 street dogs in your community, right?"

Student: "Come on miss, help us."

Me: "No, I can't take those dogs, I'm leaving for spring break in a few weeks!"

Student: "Oh, come on, miss, they are street dogs you can leave them for a week without food."

Good thing I'm not a travel agent...

2011-03-20T13:26:00.000-04:00

I have a problem booking plane tickets. Seriously. For some unknown reason I can not seem to make an online reservation without either A. booking the flight backwards, i.e. the destination becomes the origin or B. booking the wrong dates. What is wrong with me? I don't have time for you to answer that, so please don't try.

My most recent debacle was discovered when Laura asked me to tell her which dates I was leaving Chicago and heading to Denver. I looked at my itinerary and said, Tuesday, June 14, wait, JUNE? Hold on, huh? Oh crap. How did I book the flights for the wrong MONTH? Are you kidding me? The nice people at American Airlines only charged me $160 to change the tickets to July. RUFMITA.

Body Map

2011-03-20T13:00:00.000-04:00

My Bolivia tattoo turned out way more fantastic that I could have imagined. My body map is coming along and so far I have 5 countries represented: the U.S., Burma, Thailand, Peru and Bolivia.

I love designs that have lots of different images in them and you have to look closely to see what you can find. My Bolivia design has a toucan that I love!

I'm already thinking about my Dominican Republic tattoo. I'm also pondering if I should get something when I go to Rio for spring break.

Hello hello to the distance

2011-03-11T19:33:00.000-05:00

I don't know about you, but I have this nasty habit of destroying relationships before I move from a place. In 39 years I've had 38 different houses, obviously not in different states or countries, but I have moved back and forth from Colorado to NC a few times, and in the past 4 years lived in three different countries, and well each time I have this pattern of picking fights or nitpicking relationships, both with boys and girls to the point that by the time I move I am so relieved to be out of there and away from those people. Since wisdom comes with age and eventually aren't we supposed to learn from our mistakes, I've really become aware of this little technique of mine and I want to stop it. Bolivia, specifically Santa Cruz, has been a pain in the ass to live in, and the school is a school with all the political crap that comes along with it, but I've really enjoyed the students. You know that. I talk about them a lot. Well, I can see myself beginning to distance myself. They are doing it too. They know I am leaving and I can feel the change between us. It's hard to imagine anyone older than you was once your age, but I was the biggest jerk when I was 15. I know what that looks like. It doesn't hurt my feelings that they are pulling away, it's normal human behavior. What does hurt is that I'm repeating the same pattern and pulling away too. I don't want to do that this time around. I want to pull my suitcase away from this house and feel good about the times I spent with the people here.

Miss that girl - a lot

2011-02-26T09:25:00.000-05:00

Three years, it's been three years since Winnie died. Whew. Not a day goes by that I don't think of her, but now three years later it's always with a smile and very seldom with sadness.

I got Winnie when I was 25, at a time where I was quickly realizing that I was not the center of the universe and when crap from my past started seeping its way into my life. This girl you see here in the photo was there for me through ALL of it. All the crap, the sadness, joy, delight, pain, desire, broken hearts, all of it, she was there. Through many relationships, friendships, jobs, she was waiting by the door ready to go for a walk. She kept me going through times where I questioned my own sanity, doubted my abilities, dragged myself through the mud. That forked tongue panting away was there to help me live in the moment. Forget about the troubles and just go to the park. I know that she wasn't a person, but that makes it all the more special. She didn't make person mistakes. She didn't accidently do something that I took the wrong way. She didn't gossip and try to make herself look better. She stood tall and out in front (much to Cesar Milan's dismay). She was an angel sent from heaven to live with me here on earth and to get me through a long period in my life that otherwise would have been much more disastrous. Even though she's gone, she not really gone. She changed me. In hard times, in desperate times, I think of her and remind myself that there is goodness, that finding those moments of delight, of sniffing the best smelling street ever, of the never ending excitement over dinner time, of curling up and snuggling with your favorite blanket, is how you are supposed to live. She showed me how to live in the moment and even though it's a struggle to not feel the stress of life, I can sit back and imagine her face when I picked up the leash. Absolute joy.

My dad sent me this quote and it pretty much sums up what it's like to be a "dog person". I know people who don't get "it" and never will, but I also know many many people who do get it. Here's to all my friends that get it!

Doesn't everyone have a tattoo plan?

2011-02-23T20:36:00.000-05:00

It all started when I had just moved to Burma and everything was new and strange. I was feeling way out of my comfort zone and found myself drawn to a tattoo shop in one of the central markets. Hanging out in a tattoo shop may seem like a torturous plan, but when you've spent some time getting tattooed you start feeling at home in them. It's kind of like being catholic, really. You can go into a catholic church in any place in the whole world and know what is going on, know the routine and feel comfortable in a place that is not new. The buzzing of the tattoo gun, the smell of disinfectant, all soothing to the soul.

So, I had moved to Burma and soon into my stay started needing comfort things. I thought, well, I should get a tattoo here and then it hit me - that I've been tattooed in every place that I've lived (as an adult) and sometimes in places I've just visited. North Carolina, South Dakota, Colorado, in Hawaii on a visit, and here I was in my first new country as an adult and the tradition was made. Since that Burmese addition, I've been tattooed in Thailand and Peru as a passer through, but up until this week hadn't taken the plunge for Bolivia.

I've thought a lot about my Bolivia tattoo. I've had a few ideas here and there, and talked to a few people, but nothing really struck me until I picked up a magazine at the pharmacy. I want the tattoos to reflect the places I've lived. As you know, Santa Cruz is tropical, I know you think Bolivia is high in the cold Andes, but I actually live in the tropical part. I've been thinking toucan, tropical flowers, etc, for a while. I took the idea to a shop in the city center and started the design this week. I didn't intend for my Bolivia design to take up so much space, I'm still on the move you know. But after he showed me the design he came up with I just couldn't reduce it or cut anything out. I love it.

I think I'm getting wimpy in my old age. I have less tolerance for pain, or maybe I'm tattooing more painful spots. In any case, I decided to do this one in two stages and just get the outlines first. I'm not coloring the whole thing, but there are so many cool, hidden images, that they need a little color.

Here's the first stage...

39 and NOT counting

2011-02-10T18:28:00.000-05:00

This all started around 35. 'This' being my obsession with the number of my age. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you are only as old as you feel, but you and I both know that is a bunch of crap and only young people say it anyway, a kind of way to settle down us old people when we get out of hand. I was talking to my kids at school today, they are between 14-17 and I asked them, hey, can you even IMAGINE turning 40??? Of course they said no, and I said ME EITHER and I'm 39! It's not that I have a death wish, but seriously I didn't think I'd live this long. I remember being in high school and I was the kid who couldn't imagine being married, having kids and a family. I couldn't picture myself in my future, and well now I'm in my future and I don't know what to make of it.

I got to thinking about this and I have concluded that this quality about me must be the reason I love being around high schoolers all day. You know how I feel about being a teacher. I have the perfect job for a person like me. I'm not the best role model, I don't pretend to be, I am honest, though.

February 9, 2011 started out like any other day, except that I was on edge. I have personal space issues, I have age issues, I just want to have a normal work day. I knew I wouldn't be overlooked, but I didn't want a huge deal made out of this day. I threatened my roommates within inches of their life to leave me alone in the morning.

The morning announcements always congratulate birthdays so that wasn't a surprise. I am now teaching an extra class and it is first block, so that was ok. Then came break. Yes, in private international schools we get a morning break for 25 minutes. It's awesome. I notice my girls running around and acting a little strange and I am called to the office, only to get immediately shoved out and back to my room. I sit down and a huge tray of food comes charging at me! It's breakfast :) My girls have bought me an awesome breakfast!

I think one of the reasons I like this group so much is that they really are kind people. Not that fake kind, but genuine kids. Honest. I love that. They are not fake, at all, and when they go out of their way to show affection, you know it is real and it means something. I look up to them, respect them and am happy they didn't listen to me gripe about not wanting to celebrate my birthday.

I can't remember if I told you, but in December when I visited Ana for her birthday I mentioned that mine was in February and the family excitedly invited me back to celebrate. The past few weeks, with that teacher quitting, has been crazy and I've been working to death and, of course, got sick. I waited til the last minute to call the office to see about visiting Ana, secretly hoping that they would have forgotten about my birthday...

As you can see, they didn't. It was awesome. A family that has next to nothing, zero, went out of their way to make me feel like a part of their family, special, loved. The kindness coming from the family was thick enough to smother yourself in. We have a sugar shortage in Bolivia. It's stupid really, but has affected so many people. There has been NO sugar in the stores and if you can find it the prices have doubled. Not a big deal to me, but what about a family of 11 that makes all their food and needs sugar?

I don't know what they had to do, but look at this cake! The dirt neighborhood that Ana lives in doesn't have a birthday candle selection so they got me a church candle to stick in the middle! Of course they sang Happy Birthday in English and then Spanish and in accordance with the Latino tradition I had to bite the cake. Chanting: bite the cake, bite the cake, bite the cake

I know I look super young for my age, but I know what that means...

Yup, I'm gonna get my face shoved in some cake! Even though this photo is blurry I LOVE the smiles.

I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend my birthday. All my grumbling and groaning and this day was fantastic.

thirty what?

2011-02-05T19:16:00.000-05:00

There is no possible way I'm about to turn 39. Seriously. It's not that I don't feel like I've accomplished anything, I just don't know what happened. I don't care about the family things, you know, kids and stuff, I just can't believe that 20 years has passed since I graduated high school. That I became a teacher 9 years ago. I feel better, actually. It is true what they say, that when you get older you don't care what people think. I am still hyper observant, but I can tell that my brain takes a bit longer to process things. My body gets stiff easier and I realize that my sitting still problem is due to my stiff joints. Sit too long in any position and I ain't getting out of it too easily.

The good thing is that I'm really more comfortable in my skin than ever and well, my skin ain't what it used to be.

I tell you one thing that pisses me off... my downright refusal to be careful in the sun when I was younger. Those of you who are under 35 are going to be in shock in a few years and yeah yeah I know you don't think it'll ever happen to you. I know you think you will stay the same way forever, but the fact is, you won't and you, just like me, are too stubborn to listen to anyone older than you.

Lately I've been struggling with being around people that are not in my age group. I know, you are only as old as you feel and all that crap, but really, there is something to be said for having a group of friends that are in the same stage of their lives as you. I brought this idea up to a wise friend in the same age group as me and here's what she had to say...

"...but after a while, the gap of our age and life experiences really kicks in. And after a while I just feel over it, over them, and just old. So I totally get what you are saying and the frustration of wanting to say, really, i know you think it will never happen to you, that you have all the time in the world, that you are different, but sweetie, just-please-fucking-listen-to-me: I KNOW, and I know better.

But they never do."

I don't know how all you parents did it. How you stood by and watched us act like ass holes knowing, knowing that we would look back and say, man I wish I'd listened to that advice back then. It takes a lot of patience and I have to practice it every day as a teacher, but it's different when it's someone really close.

So here, in my 39th year, what are my goals? What do I want to accomplish? It's a lot of stress thinking about the next birthday. What do I want to do BEFORE I'm 40? See there I go wishing away the time again. Patience. There's my mantra for the next 12 months.

Back to work - with a vengeance

2011-01-21T17:18:00.000-05:00

After a month long break I've jumped right back into being too busy. The other high school science teacher decided to quit Tuesday, leaving us with no chemistry and physics teacher. A huge ass whole move, but I really think he has a mental disability and am trying to not despise him. It's actually better he's gone because he did such a horrible job in every way a teacher could be horrible. No one is sad to see him go, but his short notice affected the entire high school this first week back after such a long break.

My principal came to me to see how I could help. It just makes sense for me to pick up his chemistry classes, so I am combining his two chem classes into one and adding it to my schedule. I like and respect both my principal and director, and I believe that all students deserve a chance at a good education, so it was a no brainer. Of course I will be compensated as well, so don't think I'm too much of a saint. However, those of you who really know me, know that I do nothing half ass and adding another subject to teach is going to drastically change my routine for the rest of the semester.

I want to work at a school that doesn't have to constantly put out fires. I started teaching in January of 2003 and was replacing a guy that quit midway through the year, putting out a fire. Every school after that has had to be reactive instead of proactive. I want to work at a place where we can grow and move forward. Where teachers want to be there and put forth their best effort AND succeed. Teaching is just not one of those jobs where you can wing it.

I've made a decision about next year. I actually made the decision before I left for break in December so it has nothing to do with the current drama, but have been keeping it to myself. I am moving to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic and teaching Biology and AP Biology at the Carol Morgan School. I am not only inviting you all to visit, but I am actually expecting visitors this time! I have a two year contract, so at least I can be proactive in my own life for the next two years.

Travel Lessons - yup, still learning

2011-01-16T09:43:00.000-05:00

It's the second morning I've woken up not knowing where I am. I don't how those Aussies and Germans travel for months at a time, after one month I am ready to regroup and get back to a routine. Of course after being back to a routine for a month I'm then ready to get back to traveling. A vicious circle, really. It's a good thing I'm a teacher and get lots of breaks.

Every time I travel I learn something new about traveling that I try to take back with me, sort out and then implement on the next trip. For example, back in 2007 I took out my credit card and decided to head to Tanzania and summit Kilimanjaro with a group of teachers from University of Colorado Denver. The trip was awesome, well planned out, but while I was there, grouped in a mass of overly white faces, only a bit tattooed at that time, I stuck out (not as much as now) and I realized, man, the local people don't even notice us, they just see walking dollar signs. White faces, hiking clothes, REI backpacks, polarized sunglasses, kindness, compassion - all those things are unnoticed and just translate into one big walking dollar sign.

I had no face, no name, no identity, I was just some source of easy money. The problem was at the time I had charged the trip and I owed more money to credit than I actually had. Yes, I had food, a house, way more than those eyes staring at me, but I felt assaulted, bitter. At that point I thought, hey, instead of just traveling for brief moments, maybe I should stay somewhere for a while, you know assimilate into the community. Hence, a year later, I picked up my life and decided try the international teaching thing.

I love this international teaching gig. Picking up and moving, getting to know new people, new situations, keeping myself on my toes. Of course I miss my family and friends. I miss Target and buying good smelling stuff, but I like being in the middle of a place I've never been. You ready for the but? Yes, I thought you'd be, so the but is that these new places are now my home. I live here now, so the day to day stuff is essentially the same. Well, I have to call some run down, pile of crap, falling apart taxi to take me to work, but I get up by an alarm, go to work and exercise, same daily stuff you do. It's got me thinking, huh, should I move closer to home and do this stuff and then travel from my home base? Maybe, but not for a couple more years, because I've accepted another job overseas, this time in the Dominican Republic.

For now I'll continue to live in a foreign country and travel from there.

My next thought, was ok, so I don't need to live in every place I visit, but how about staying in those places for a longer period to really get to know that place. That's how my Ecuador trip came to fruition. I had the whole summer vacation to travel and I decided, instead of trying to check off a bunch of countries, I should just stay in one. Five weeks in Quito turned into a routine and after the 4th week I planned a trip to the coast, just to "get out of there". Huh, maybe this isn't a good idea either. Then I had three weeks in the Galapagos and the positive is that I don't ever feel like I need to go back, but those last few days on Isabella were just spent walking around the same 5 streets I'd been wandering for a few days and reading.

Then it came time to figure out what to do for the month break we get around Christmas. Again, I was thinking, don't try to fit too much in, just relax, go to one country and really "see" it. There's the Colombia trip. Spend the whole month in Colombia. Move around within the country and after consulting the Lonely Planet (a book we lovingly refer to as the Lonely Liars) I realized that Colombia might not be the easiest place to get around, so I should look into a tour company to help me organize the trip.

The lesson this time, even though I was only in each new place for a few days, was that I was still a day or so too long in each place. It boils down to the fact that life is pretty much the same in most places. Once you see all the touristy stuff, the other stuff is just routine living. The travel books highlight the unique things in the area and anything on top of that is the same stuff you've seen and done in every other place you've visited. After you've gone to a few churches, shopped in the local market, eaten at a few typical restaurants, experienced the "special" in each place the rest is just the same.

Now I'm thinking I should plan a trip that is action packed, and full of movement. I'm sure I'll learn something from that too.

Colombian Reflection

2011-01-13T18:37:00.000-05:00

On my last night in Colombia, I thought I'd do some reflecting...

Top 6 awesome things about my Colombia trip:

1. The food, damn, I've eaten some good meals here. I think I have a tie for my favorite meal and they are both fish! The first was on Isla del Rosario where I had a huge delicious steak of some unknown fish, fried yucca, and coconut rice (oh man it's good). The second is while we were in the "coffee region" at Valle de Cocora and I ordered the trout with fried plantian. Who knew I liked trout so much.

2. The weather, well mostly, but we were super lucky to miss almost all the rain that has been plaguing Colombia for the past few months.

3. Spending time with my sister. I will always remember this trip as the first time Mary and I were able to travel together as adults! She's a great travel companion, and I'll snatch her away from Kyle again soon :)

4. San Gil - the little town considered the "adventure capital of Colombia" really lives up to it's name not only in adventure (puking 8 times is pretty adventurous) but the scenery and climate. It is the first time in my life I recall just being comfortable - not too hot or too cold, but just perfect. Goldilocks should have found San Gil.

5. Bogota, now my official favorite South American big city, sorry Buenos Aires, but you ain't got nothing on Bogota, ok, well, maybe the long summer nights, but as far as cities go, this place is pretty darn nice.

6. Having an awesome travel partner. Seriously, this girl is like a sister to me, and well, you all know how well I treat my sister sometimes... No, really, we are great travel partners and whenever the going gets too rough we just play "would you rather" and all things are put into perspective.

Top 6 "are you freaking kidding me" things about my Colombia trip:

1. Sleeping in a hammock that is hanging in an area with 60 hammocks under a thatched roof in the middle of the jungle.

2. Spending New Year's Eve in the jungle with nothing to do and $8 drinks :( AND having to suck it up and sleep in a hammock after that!

3. The Panaca farm. Now don't get me wrong, I'm glad we went there and I got some awesome animal photos, but I didn't come all the way to Colombia to go to an "amusement park" of over 4,000 domestic animals.

4. Colombians not living up to their widely known image as being highly beautiful people. Now don't get me wrong, my flaming gay dance partner was cute, you know, if you like stick thin, tiny little men that act like women, but man we've not seen one fabulously gorgeous man OR woman.

5. The tour we paid for... I should have known better. I just wanted our extra three weeks to be awesome and fun filled, and with our limited Spanish we decided to pay for a personal package through Mantayra Travel here in Bogota. DO NOT EVER use that company. Laura and I could have done a much better job on our own, next time...

6. I guess I should put puking on here. Who knew I'd be sailing around the sky, something I've thought of doing for a long time, and puke up my entire breakfast of eggs, toast, melon and coffee.

** Please note: there is no particular order in which I've described my trip. I certainly do not like food better than my sister!

The Bogota Bike Tour

2011-01-12T19:50:00.000-05:00

Got to meet up with a former colleague from Burma yesterday. She is now working in Lima and thanks to Facebook we realized that we would both be in Bogota at the same time. It was great to see her and catch up on all the gossip, and also some recommendations. She told us that we should go on the Bogota Bike tour which is lead by an ex-journalist from the US. So today Laura and I decided to head downtown at 10:30 to start the tour...

Bogota has some forward thinking laws, one of which is mandatory helmets, so we donned our helmets and set out on the smog filled, congested streets of La Candaleria (old town Bogota). First stop is the Simon Bolivar Plaza. Yes, you have heard me talk about and seen many many photos of status of Bolivar because he liberated most of South America from the Spanish and is well respected and honored throughout the Continent.

Of course, in true commerical fashion the plaza has been turned into an ice skating rink which was supposed to be only for the month of December, however due to the nice profits and thousands of kids lined up to skate, the rink is still here.

Manuvering through the streets of downtown Bogota was not very pleasant, they city does a good job with bike lanes, but mostly to the north and not in the downtown area. The cars, taxis and buses did seem pretty respectful of a group of gringos snaking through traffic.

I guess the US screwed Colombia out of keeping control of Panama and for a "settlement" the US gave Colombia $20 million. The Colombian government used part of the money to expand the streets on this block downtown. Now this area is a huge "marketplace" for emerald dealers and here you can see men lined up buying and selling emeralds. I like the man in the brown suit holding the emerald up to the light.

Next, Mike, the tour guide takes us to a fruit market and the first thing we notice is that it's actually clean. We got to try lots of tropical fruits like dragonfruit, passionfruit, tomate de arbol, and other random strange fruits that I can't remember the names of...

The next stop was the bull fighting collesium. Starting this Saturday and for the next 6 weeks bull fighters from around the world will come to strut their bull stuff. The tradition is that at the end of the fight the bulls are killed and then the meat is sold.

People are as serious about this as Southerners are about NASCAR. After the bull fighter puts in his best effort and hopefully doesn't die, it is customary to take out a sword and stab the bull through the spine and into his heart. The bull dies fast and the crowd cheers at the tradition. Apparently sometimes the fighter doesn't get a clean cut and the bull suffers, but the crowd boos, unlike in NASCAR when the crowd cheers when there is a crash.

Of course we drove through their city park and I had to catch a photo of a pup.

A pleasant surprise of the tour was stopping at the city cemetery. Here is a huge statue when you first walk in and the story is that this kid drown and for some reason the locals treat him like a saint and often times you'll find flowers all over his grave.

Mike used to live in La Paz, Bolivia so we had some good discussions about Bolivia and living there. We were sharing about the oh so fabulous custom of men peeing in the streets. Well, Mike made sure to show us this canal sign and model for us.

In Bogota they don't want you to pee or poo in the streets. Very forward thinkers, like I said.

Our tour is turning into 4 hours and we're all a little parched when Mike asks if we like coffee. Um, helloooo, yes. So he takes us to a coffee processing place run by a family. This is a very very small business and the family bags each batch by hand! Come to find out the reason you can't find a decent cup of joe when you travel is because they export all the good stuff. They seriously roast separate batches and the high quality gets exported and the low quality is sold here. Don't worry, we made sure to by the export grade.

They bought this coffee roaster in the 1920's from Germany and still use it today! I had a fabulous iced latte.

The next and last stop on our tour was the red light district. In this Tolerant Zone prostitution is legal and the girls, whether they were born girls or are just dressing like girls, can sell themselves in the zone. We were warned not to take photos of the girls, but let me reassure you - ewww. It was the middle of the day and the scantally clad "women" were standing all around. I guess they get enough business during the day. This building, the Piscina Club, is one of the most famous brothels in this area. We didn't stop in.

That concludes the Bogota Bike Tour. Mike did take a bunch of photos along the way and he told us he would email them to us, so if I get them I'll upload some more. Just like most of our travel adventures, we had no idea what to expect, but were not disappointed at all.

A Chocolate Massage

2011-01-04T16:55:00.001-05:00

First you take off all your clothes except your bathing suit, preferably a two piece strapless.
Next you lay on the massage table while a sweet salt mixture is scrubbed all over your body.
Then you go to the steam room for 5 minutes while your skin gratefully sucks in all the scrub and moisture.
Be sure to rinse off before heading back to the table.
Lay back down and relax for a nice oil massage.
Now comes the warm, delicious, heavenly chocolate. Sit back and enjoy being covered with lushious cocoa.
Wait 5 minutes while the chocolate dries and leaves you looking brown and edible.
Back to the steam room and the chocolate is soaked into each and every pore of your body.
Rinse again and prepare for chocolate lotion.
Find a quiet place to lay down and breath in the deliciousness of your skin.
You have just had a chocolate massage!

It's been an adventure for sure

2011-01-03T13:10:00.002-05:00

The past few days have been a test of patience and adventure... As is often commen with this kind of travel, you spend a lot of time not knowing what to expect, what's next, or being able to really communicate with anyone at all. We, of course, knew the limits of our Spanish, which is why we paid for a company to help us plan, but what we didn't expect is that hardly anyone speaks any English and when they discover that you understand a bit of Spanish they talk as if they are running from a fire. We also quickly discovered that the company we used is turning out to really suck. Living moment by moment can be fun, exciting, challenging, etc, however it does get old, especially after trying to "sleep" in hammocks!

We left Taganga, which as I look back, was not so bad. It was a challenging place because of the filth washing up on the beach, the starving people and dogs and the openly drunk people everywhere. Laura and I did end up at a club, Sensation, where we danced the night away. Sounds fun and it was until I saw a super, flaming gay man that was dancing so awesomely that I told Laura, I want to dance with him! Before you know it we are dancing away and he's swinging me around, even though his weighs 110 pounds and has a 22 inch waist, and wearing a white belt. I was having a fantastic time and laughing my butt off until... he decides to try and make out with my face! Huh? What? Wait! How old are you? 23??? Oh, hell no, and aren't you gay? Oh crap, how did I get myself into this? Before you know it I've managed to escape the tiny hands of Felipe, only to be swept up by Sideshow Bob. Yes, Sideshow Bob, a Brazilian man swept me of my feet. This is too much! I managed to sneak out the door and crawl safe into my cardboard bed at the Blue Whale.

Whew, I hope we don't run into anyone tomorrow.

We pack up and head toward Tayrona Park where we know we'll have to sleep in hammocks for three nights... We have NO IDEA what to expect. Just another one of the million occasions that we don't know what is in store for us...

It has been a really rainy season in Colombia. We have been SUPER lucky to have missed most of it. We arrive to Tayrona to find that the 45 minute "path" has been washed out and is just a muddy mess of holes and muck. We are supposed to carry our stuff through this? Oh, thankfully there are horses that we can pay to haul our bags through the slime. We slip slide to Arrecifes to discover a half way decent looking campsite like place. We are shown our hammocks, numbers 9 and 10 out of at least 60 and pack our belongings away in a locker. You've seen Indiana Jones, right, well this is the place. Huge boulders, palm trees, jungle, and beaches. It's beautiful really, but there is not one place to sit at this place. Seriously, we have a hammock to sleep in and that is it! No chairs? Where are we supposed to "hang out"? We have three days here and have booked a hike for one of them, but what in the hell do we do for a whole day with nowhere to sit or relax??? There's a nude beach down the way? Oh great, we can wallow naked in the sand for 10 hours. The water was super rough, huge waves crashing into the shoreline and a sign saying "Peligroso" - DANGER - 100 people have died swimming here, dont' be next! Not the caribbean beach I expected.

We endured, yes, endured two nights in the hammocks and decided that there is no way that we will stay for one more night. Especially after the site had no water for 6 hours and there was poo and pee all over the bathrooms. We also realized that if we waited to leave when scheduled that we would miss our flight the next day, so we got outta there a day early and headed to Santa Marta.

Of course this is where we were for New Year's Eve! In hammocks with NO fiesta! Muy triste :(

I love camping and hiking and all of that, however we weren't prepared for sleeping in hammocks and standing around staring at the dangerous waters.

The next day is a travel day, moving and I instantly feel at home and realize that I love being on the move. We take a flight from Santa Marta to Bogota, spend some quality time in the airport and then head from Bogota to Bucharamanga where we are supposed to have a person waiting to pick us up and drive us the two hours to San Gil. A lot of movement, but I'm ready.

The flights were smooth as silk. The airplane had a TV and we got to watch sitcoms. We arrive to Bucharamanga and walk out of baggage claim to see - no one. There is no one there waiting for us. We wait 30 minutes and then ask a taxi how much it would cost to San Gil and they quote $100-120. What do we do? Thank god we're together because Laura and I can just look at each other and start cracking up.

There are no public phones anymore, anywhere, but South America solves this problem by having a cell phone that they lend you and just charge you by the minute. Genious really, just walk up to a random "phone person" and ask to make a call. So we call the lady that booked our tour and apparently there was an accident so our driver has been delayed. We wait another hour and finally he arrives. Diego, our driver, speak 1 million miles and hour and only in Spanish. He just keeps going and going. Laura and I learned a long time ago, just keep saying "no" or "no entiendo", that didn't stop Diego, though. Of course our 2 hour drive, which started 2 hours late, took 3 hours and we arrived to San Gil around midnight. I won't bore you with the stupidness that took place when we got here. The receptionist couldn't find our "cabin", she literally didn't know where the number was, and at this point we've had no food, we are exhausted and Laura starts to loose it. We finally end up in a room with the neighbors blasting their TV until we had to call security. Whew, it was a RUFMITA moment.

Today we got up to head on our rafting tour. The guide was there right on time and we were pleasantly suprised! The company took photos and we bought the CD, so when I get a chance I'll upload them and you'll pee your pants laughing.

We get back to the hotel to be told they are moving us. Not sure why, NO ONE here speaks any English and when the conversation gets remotely complicated, we are stuck, but we are glad to be in a new room. We are staying in Hotel Cuchicute and it is very nice! So far San Gil seems much better than the places we've been. We're headed on an afternoon adventure to Barichara which is supposed to be "beautiful" so I'll bring my camera and let you know.

I'll keep you posted on what's next. Of course I have no idea really...

The glorious hammocks. There are more than 60 hammock hanging under one roof!

This little guy was jumping around the hammock area the morning of our escape. It was a nice way to close up the journey to Tayrona.

Taganga - what's going on here?

2010-12-28T17:54:00.005-05:00

I don't know how people can travel and not be affected by the starving people and animals! On the drive from Cartagena to Taganga we passed sections of the road where hundreds of people were lined up begging on the "highway". It was strange because they had rope stretched across the road, but I have no idea how it would have stopped a car moving so quickly along the road. We were in a 10 passenger van that was not only locked from the outside, but we were also locked in. As we traveled the road the shacks along the road were soaked in the recent rainwater and floating amongst piles of trash. A cholera village waiting to happen.

As we drive up to Santa Marta we are instantly reminded of Santa Cruz and the local junk markets lining the streets. We drop off a couple and the rest of us headed for the beach town of Taganga. We had google earthed and searched about Taganga and of course had some expectations in our heads... The problem with that, is the expectations are hardly ever met when you are traveling in a third world country. In the pouring rain we arrived to Ballena Azul which is listed as the nicest place here. Upon check in we realize that it's ok, but nice isn't the adjective that I would have chosen to describe this place. Adequate, but not nice.

Now, what to do in a very small town? We head out and instantly see that this place is where hippies come to hip it up. Street performers, beggers, starving dogs, and lots of booze. A fair description of Taganga. We pick a table along the "strip" and the people watching begins...

Like a magnet, the starving dogs and children slowly move towards Laura and I. A young boy begs from us and when he has no luck we notice that he is siting in the dirt eating plant material that has fallen on the ground. Serioulsy, eating pieces of leaves... A few minutes earlier I had contimplated buying a hot dog for one of the really skinny mama dogs and now decide that I'm buying a hot dog for this boy.

I use my broken Spanish to talk to him and we walk over to the hot dog stand and proceed to get a grande perro caliente. For 3,000 pesos, about $1.50 I gave the boy his meal and he follows me over to where Laura is waiting and eats on the ground in front of us. Laura decides to buy him a juice and his meal is complete.

The hot dog is huge and I can tell he's slowing down so I asked if he was full and he nods and throws the rest to some doggies near by. A starving boy with a good heart.

He scurries off and Laura and I continue to watch the scene. This place is a mess. We wonder if the local crack head has gotten stuck here by will or not. We watch male dogs chase the females with the persistance of a child. Some moments are funny and some very sad.

The rest on our beds of boards and no a/c was not as challenging as I would have thought.

Breakfast is good, but too much, so we pack up some eggs into a napkin and go in search of some hungry dogs. Oh, good, there are 15 hungry dogs right in front of us.

We head out to the front of our hotel and sit in the shade of a palm tree. Now that the rains have stopped you can see how really beautiful the bay is. In the Lonely Planet we read that there was a hike to a nearby beach and decide to check it out. Wait until you see the photos. Hundreds of people along the short beach. Hundreds. More people watching and then back to our side of Taganga.

While we are sitting in front of the hotel one of the mama dogs comes over looking for some food and we give her some love instead. While we are relaxing a young boy, around 10, comes over with a creepy looking finger puppet and starts talking to us with his puppet. He's nuts. Behind me is the snow cone man, so I decide to buy this little boy a snow cone. He's delighted, even more so when I let him keep the 50 cents change.

So far in Taganga I feel like a social worker. We'll see what the next few days bring.

View of beach next to Taganga.

One of the street dogs that we gave lots of love and food to.

Cartagena, Colombia

2010-12-26T16:45:00.002-05:00

How to sum up the last 9 days in Cartagena... after some flight delays in Lima and Bogota we (Laura and I coming from Bolivia) finally arrived in Cartagena. My sister was already there and waiting for me in the hotel lobby and it was so awesome to see her! It's been a year and a half since we have seen each other and for her birthday this year I decided to get her to Colombia so we could hang out. I try not to have any regrets in life, but my true regret is being a terrible sister when we were growing up. Mary is such an amazing human being and I was such a super huge bitch to her when she was little that I feel like I want to make up for lost time. We have never done a sister vacation, so this was it!

We decided to splurge while she was here and stay at the Hilton. Luckily one of Laura's friends was also here and had Hilton points so we got hooked up with an awesome free breakfast every morning and access to the "excutive lounge".

Our first big excursion was to get on a bus (Las Chivas) and do a night tour of the city. Of course we had no idea what to expect, but it turns out that you get a free bottle of rum and some coke and ice to go along with it. I think they sat us five girls in the very front seat because they could translate more easily and it turned out to be a benefit for us because we kept getting new bottles of rum. Of course we end up at a "disco" and the fun begins...

Next day we wake up early to head to Islas del Rosario to chill on the beach. The ride to Bocachica (the little mouth) was ok, but then we reached open waters... whew, not a fan. I luckily didn't have to puke over the side.

Not 10 minutes off the boat we decide to jump back on and go see some coral. Mary orders the extra huge fins and we jump overboard and get masked up. Mary couldn't get her mask on right and it kept squishing her ears and the guide must have asked her 15 times if she was ok. She was kind of pale and looked pathetic, but we adjusted and enjoyed the waters. It wasn't as clear as I thought it would be, but still nice.

Mary left after 5 days and it was really sad to see her off at the airport. I wish I had planned to go home with her and spend the holidays with the family. Actually Raleigh just had 8 inches of snow, so maybe I'm glad I didn't head home. Hanging out with her made me realize that I want to be around my people. Thanks to Larry we all have similar travel styles, you know, get out there and explore!

The last 4 days in Cartagena were really unnecessary. Laura and I didn't know when we planned the trip that 5 days is a perfect amount of time to see what you want around here. I have done a bit of exploring and have some great photos of the walled city. We went to another island and hung out for the day, did laps around the streets in the city, ate really good, expensive food and found the Starbucks of Colombia... Juan Valdez. We made friends with street beer sellers and jewlery vendors, and hung out in the ritzy plazas as well as the ghetto plazas.

Now it's time to have one last meal in the city and then get on a bus and head north to Taganga and some real beach time!

Camino del muerte

2010-12-11T20:07:00.001-05:00

Getting a month off for Xmas break sounds good until you realize that you have to give up breaks in the first semester to have enough days to do it. The fact is that pretty much all accredited schools require teachers to work 180 days, and if you take off a month you have to make it up somewhere else. Needless to say the first semester of school has been a long one. We did, however, get 2 days off for Thanksgiving, we are an "American" school after all, and a group of us decided to head to La Paz and try our luck riding bikes down the World's Most Dangerous Road.

Also known as the Bolivian Road of Death, this road was built by Paraguayan prisoners of war during the 1930's. This region of Bolivia is called the Yungas and the road connects the Amazon region to the capital city of La Paz. The statistics are gruesome. An estimated 200 - 300 people die per year on this road, about one vehicle every two weeks. This is because the road is a single track along steep cliffs and this region is often foggy and rainy. Of course there are no guardrails and when the vehicles drop, they drop.

A new road has recently opened that is paved and wider, and the Death road has become a downhill adventure on a bike. It's just one of those "things" that you have to do when you visit Bolivia, that and the Salt Flats. I've been in Bolivia for a little over a year now and it was time to give it a try.

You start the ride after a 45 minute bus ride from La Paz to La Cumbre at an altitude of 4,700 meters. That's 15,500 feet. The sun's intensity burns your skin cells and it's a struggle to catch your breath as you gear up with the rented equipment to head down 63 km of the World's Most Dangerous Road.

The company we chose is called Gravity Assisted and has the best reputation. They provide all the gear necessary to make the ride as comfortable and safe as possible. They take your height beforehand so that the bike is set just for you. My bike, "los gatos", my padded bike shorts and I were ready to go.

The first part of the journey is on a paved section of the road, which is not technically considered the death road. This part has more traffic and since it's paved you can really get going fast. I don't have many photos from my camera, since my main task was to pay attention to the road and not get hit by a car or go off the cliff's edge. One of our guides rode up ahead and took photos for us and we each got a burned disk to take home. Here's some photos from the first part of the journey.

After an 8 km uphill section, appropriately named, Heartbreak Hill, we caught our breath enough to continue on to the unpaved section which is where the death road begins. To the left you can see the paved section continues on, a recently completed project, but to the right is our destination... on the dirt death road.

The first section built my confidence but as soon as we hit the dirt, I hit the brakes. The brakes are very touchy. You have to be careful how you press them because that could cause you to wreck. Ahhhhhh, so many things to think about and all I want to do is look around and observe my surroundings. I had a boyfriend once that blamed my constant looking around while driving as the cause of traffic problems in our city... I guess I better stay focused.

There were no deaths on the death road, at least not today!

The chance to give

2010-12-01T19:36:00.000-05:00

As you know, my dad is sponsoring Ana as my birthday present from last year. She lives here in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, well out in an area called Plan tres mil, which is a dirt section of the city about 25 minutes from the city center. Traveling out to her house you pass cows, horses, hundreds of street dogs and chickens in the streets. The roads quickly turn to dirt and after the heavy rains Monday the mud was thick and gooey.

I don't know why, but it's taken me 3 months to call and make an appointment to see Ana again. The last time I visited I was completely overwhelmed and somewhere deep inside I just wasn't ready for that yet. Luckily I still have the strong desire to please my family, so after weeks of them bugging me, I decided to call and set up another visit. Perfect timing, actually, because Ana turns 15 on the 5th of December.

I went to a local clothes market and got 36 articles of clothing for $35. I went to a walmart-ish store and bought markers, notebooks, clay, pens, etc. My mom sent stickers and books. With three bags of gifts I headed to the CFCA office so they could drive me to Ana's house.

This time her mom was there and as we walk up to the "door" I see that she has set the table and cooked a feast for me! Ana comes running over and immediately hugs me and holds on to me, just like last time. It amazes me how close to her I feel when she is holding on so tight. We walk up to the table that is outside the house, and they offer me the only chair that actually has a back. The table is covered with a cloth and there is a bowl of empanadas and juice ready to be served. Ana's mom grabs my hand and starts talking, very fast, in Spanish.

The next thing I know, she is crying and grabs on to me.

You can't imagine what this feels like. The grace, and honesty of this women. This 46 year old women, who has 9 children and lives in a shack with a dirt floor. A woman who does not have a bathroom to clean or any running water to prepare food with. She is full of love and kindness. She is grateful. Grateful for the small amount my dad sends her family each month. She thanks me over and over. It touches my soul. Changes me. How can anyone care about those name brand things? How can I? I can't.

We gather ourselves and pose for some photos. There is a CFCA translator, driver and the church nun with us and they all want photos.

Next thing you know the whole family is there. Ana is next to me in the purple. Look at her smile. Look at her sister in the pink shirt. I'm the first to get frustrated at people who just keep having kids, but being with them changes me.

On the left is the nun that works with Ana. The driver for CFCA is on the right. In front of me is locro. A traditional Bolivia soup that is VERY basic. The family has chickens and one was slaughtered for my visit. Ana's father works out in the campo (country) so was gone working while I was there, but before he left he wrung a chicken's neck in my honor.

Empanada filled with cheese and sprinkled with sugar. Ana and I are goofing off. I just can't get over how big her smile is.

As the time to leave nears, her smile becomes smaller. She starts to get teary eyed. The family tells me that she has been sick and having problems breathing. She has not visited a doctor. I ask about vitamins and know that I will ask my mom to send some. They tell me that the kids have parasites and need the medicine before they can actually take vitamins. My mind is racing with things I can do for this family. Little things. Buy parasite medicine, vitamins. I feel butterflies in my stomach, thinking about how I can help.

Take a good look at their house. No door, dirt floor. It feels like a home. I know it's hard to believe, but it does. As we drive back to the city and I get closer to my big, comfortable house, with running water and toilets I am consumed with the thought that my dad and mom NEED to come here. My dad needs to see what his generosity is doing. Yes, he could save the money it would cost for a plane ticket and just donate it, but Ana and her family need to meet him. This generous, kind, compassionate man who's tiny effort is so huge. I am proud to be his daughter.

The country quinta

2010-11-20T14:07:00.000-05:00

As you know, my homeroom/flex/advisory class this year is all 19, 10th grade girls, and has become the best 30 minutes of my day. The easy part was to instill the idea that we are family, they have been in school together since pre-Kinder, but it has become more than that. The high school administration looks to us to be leaders in the school and we have stepped up to the challenge. After a tough first four months of working our butts off every day in flex, we decided that a celebration was in order!

I was thinking, let's take an afternoon and leave school and go eat somewhere as a group. Well that idea turned into - let's take the whole day off and go to one of the girls' quintas.

What's a quinta, you ask? Well I had that same question and it was explained to me that it is just an extra house that the families go to on the weekends to get out of the city. Santa Cruz is a crowded, dirty city and in just a short 20 min ride you can be "in the country". The State of Santa Cruz is huge and consists of lowlands, farms, jungles, very tropical. So the suggestion came up that we should leave the whole day and head out to the quinta and relax. What should we do there? Well, there's a pool in the yard, karaoke, and a big BBQ. Ok, sounds good.

Now, in my head I see this sort of Florida style house with a quaint yard, pool and grill... what I experienced was totally different!

We pile in a bus and head out of the city, past the swirling dirt, discarded trash littering the streets, smells of filth, and just past the airport, north of town we are in the "country". The girls have brought their bose speakers again and are singing at the top of their lungs. I've let them organize the day and only brought one activity with me - a thank you card activity. The other 8 hours was planned by the kids.

We drive and drive and drive for 45 minutes and finally come to a turn off down a dirt road surrounded by sugar cane. I look over into the field and an ostrich runs by. Palm trees line the drive and the dusty fields say that the rainy season hasn't started yet.

We pull up and here's what's in store for me for the day...

I know, seriously.

A Very Special Moment

2010-11-04T22:01:00.000-04:00

A month or so ago my school decided that a positive way to increase school spirit would be to have not only student of the month awards, but staff of the month. The assistant principal sent out a form and teachers got to nominate a student. As far as the teacher award, the students met in their homeroom classes and voted. Since that day a few weeks ago, I haven't heard anything. Of course I picked one of my favorites (of course I have favorites, I am human) and nominated her for the award. After that there wasn't much talk about it... until today.

Today was the awards assembly and the day that the AP announced the winners of the awards. The student award went first and it was really touchy feely and you could see the school spirit creeping higher. Well, second was the teacher announcement. On a big screen they projected a power point that started listing characteristics of the person and I have to admit now that I can't really remember them all... but I had a feeling...

Then, it was announced, I was chosen for the Staff Award. I was smiling inside and out and bowed my head and walked to the front of the gym. The entire high school student body and staff were there looking down on me and I started to shake. I am a confident speaker, I can talk in front of anyone, but today I got nervous. I was shaking, and started to tear up as my assistant principal, principal and director all shook my hand and in pure Santa Cruz fashion kissed me on the cheek. Whew, that was nice, but wait, I have to stay in the front? Yup, because down comes three of my students armed with little pieces of paper that they have written a speech about me on! Oh, here comes more tears... it was sooooooo sweet. They grabbed the microphone and started describing why I was chosen. I kind of blacked out during the whole thing, but the one characteristic I remember quite clearly is that one thing they like about me is that I've taught them not to take life too seriously! Really? I did that? Wow. You never know the impact you have on others... One thing I LOVE about being a teacher is that I often DO get to hear the impact I've had, even if it's years later. I am proud to be a teacher. I am proud to work with the young people of the world.

This was a very special moment indeed.

All Saint's Day

2010-11-02T19:47:00.000-04:00

Halloween is my favorite holiday, and I suppose since I'm always coming out of my candy coma, or sleeping late from a party I've never really thought about All Saint's Day. This year our school actually gave us the day off, so after going to school on Monday, we had Tuesday off. You've heard me complain that there is not much to do here normally, so having a holiday off was a scary thought.

I decided that since NOTHING would be open today, I would head to a cemetery that I haven't visited yet. The weather today was gorgeous. The smoke has cleared up (hopefully for good) and the sun was shining in a clear blue sky. Of course the city center was empty, but the cemetery was packed. Packed with families gathering to visit with their loved ones. They arrive with gifts of flowers, food, favorite items, and place the items on alters in or around the tombs. There are no grassy grave areas here, just cement walls of tombs, or huge mausoleums of rich families. I love the peacefulness even a packed cemetery brings. I find it fascinating to observe how people deal with death and burials. In another life I would like to study ancient burial rituals. I love the tradition of going together with your extended family to visit relatives.

What captured my attention today were the huge, beautiful trees in a cement filled cemetery.

No thanks, I prefer blueberries

2010-10-26T21:42:00.000-04:00

How about this... when life gives you lemons, and you don't like lemons, pass them on to someone who does and go pick your own fruit. Take charge, advocate, find your passion and go for it.

Who WOULDN'T WANT to live here?

2010-10-23T19:58:00.001-04:00

To travel and live in a 3rd world country you need a good sense of humor. That combined with sarcasm makes for some fun times. Laura and I have a very similar personality, I know, you love her already, huh? Today we decided to go for a walk from our house around where we live and document what we see...

First step is to leave the house, which often times is difficult because we know what is waiting out there for us. This afternoon we mustered up the courage to venture out on the streets of Santa Cruz. Here's our house...

Our little neighborhood is quite nice. We pay for it though. The fees to live here are high and without splitting it 3 ways there is no way I could afford to live here, but we do split it and we like it. The neighborhood is very small. There is no way you can just walk around INSIDE the condo complex because it would take 2 minutes. So we head out the entrance to the condo...

Here it is - Condomino Britannia. Today we decide to turn left and head on our walk.

Laura is standing at the wall of the condo and our house is right behind her. I'm on the road that leads to our complex. This section of Santa Cruz is not paved and when the dirt roads become potholed the solution is to take bricks and trash and fill in the holes. Yes, you are seeing a STREET. Oh, you want to see the same street from a different view... ok

Here's looking the other direction. If we go straight from here we would head towards our school, grocery store and downtown. Instead, today, we decide to go the other direction and do some exploring...

Not sure what is happening here, but this "factory" is directly behind our condo on the other side of the dirt road.

This is the other side of our condo, see that little shack looking thing? The guards sit in there and keep an "eye" out along the dirt roads.

Across the other dirt road, behind our condo is this lovely property. Not sure why they have 5 dogs running around, maybe they are guarding something special in there.

Walking along, we stop to admire the trash that has accumulated on the side of the road.

Here we are at the 5th ring of the city. I have no idea why the city department of transportation would decide to just stop paving RIGHT here.

The city is made up of concentric rings starting in the city center which is surrounded by the first ring.

We are now at the 5th ring (which isn't really a complete ring) and Av. Grigota and heading away from the city (South West corner of the map)...

This house is on the corner of the random dirt road we live off of and the 5th ring. Oh wait, what is THAT - over there... Look

A turkey? Yup.

Getting ready to go on Av. Grigota, which is actually called the doble via La Guardia out this way...

This is a MAIN intersection in our town.

Each of the "highways" in the city have a median with a sidewalk, and as we were waiting to cross into the middle this semi passed by. I'm sure it meets all highway regulations and remember safety first.

Here's the paved sidewalk in the median. Nice. Now, let me share some of the "attractions" on each side of the road.

This must be the distribution plant for Arcor, which is a company that makes candy and other sweets. Arcor - magical moments await you.

Just a little restaurant on the corner. Wish you could hear the music blasting from the giant speakers out front.

Need your car washed? I'm sure it's cheap.

Yup, this is on the side of the "highway".

The road to Motel Parus looks nice. Should I book you a room for when you come visit me?

Did you need an industrial sink? I know a couple of good shops.

One of my super pet peeves of this city is that someone has decided to put SPEED BUMPS in the middle of a HIGHWAY! I know, this isn't I-95, but it is the fastest roads here, so why in the world would you put in speed bumps???

I should show you some halfway normal stuff... this actually looks like a real gas station.

Of course, across from the gas station is the agency of beer, oh and some more sinks.

Because I have such a positive outlook on life and although I am super sarcastic and love to see the "funny" side of things, I know that life is what you make of it and I love my life. On our little journey today we also saw this -

Should I stay or should I go nowwwww

2010-10-23T17:02:00.000-04:00

It's that time of the year, well for international teachers anyway, to start looking for a new job for the following school year. I know it seems far out, but with the visa process and picking up your entire life, it's good to have a nice head start.

I am only a few months into my second year here and the school year is going MUCH better than last year. My group of students this year are heaven and I am thoroughly enjoying being their teacher, and since 80% of my life is my work (while school is in session) that is a major part to consider. The other part is the town I live in and, well, you know how I feel about that. Santa Cruz is a strange place. The people here have so much pride for their city. The other day my kids asked me if I thought people here were "nice" and I told them they needed to walk down the street a few steps behind me to answer that question. We, gringos, stick out here and let's just say that this town doesn't seem to be very welcoming to being "different". My roommate with her really blonde hair, my tattoos and our new adopted brother is over 6 feet tall in a society where 4'10" is more normal than 6'. Whew, we are a walking circus act... To bear it you have to put up some thick walls and just bust a move on the sidewalk. Now, even when I wear long sleeves the stares happen, I just like to blame it on my tattoos. Don't even get me started about when they discover I only have one partially brown eye.

Then there is the trash and chaos that is the city. Each time I leave the house I am reminded. Reminded that the quality of air here has my lungs smoking a pack a day. Reminded that men continue to just pee anywhere they feel, not bothering to even shield themselves in any way. Reminded that the canals built to deal with the monsoon rains during rainy season are filled with trash. I am a broken record with this stuff. Can I bear another year AFTER this one?

Then I think of my students. Those young beings that I have made a part of my family.

I have a mental pro and con list started, but I need to put it on paper. I am paying a colleague to "fix" my resume and think it would be irresponsible of me not to even look for other jobs, so let the fun begin.

Solicited advice

2010-10-19T20:43:00.001-04:00

What would you say if I told you that I was considering thinking about staying in Santa Cruz for another year? :: at this point I've covered my face, in case you decide to hit me :: but seriously, what do you think?

My dad is on some email list for quotes of the day and more often than not he forwards them on to the family because they have some significance in our lives... well this was one he sent recently:

I am glad that I paid so little attention to good advice; had I abided by it I might have been saved from some of my most valuable mistakes."

--Gene Fowler,
American journalist, author and dramatist

Mama Lisa

2010-10-14T18:55:00.001-04:00

My teacher lunch table has become so unbearably negative that I've decided to extend my girlosophy group into lunch and as a group eat together and chat. Today was the second day that we ate in my room and after finishing our food and some girl chat, my 19, awesome, 10th grade girls decided to practice their dance routine for the upcoming Halloween party. I'm sitting towards the back of the circle we've formed with the desks, and the girls jump in the middle and all together start dancing, laughing, and working on the routine. While I'm sitting back in my chair I had this overwhelming feeling of pride. I actually got a bit choked up while I watched them and at that exact moment, 1:35 pm on 14 October 2010 I realized, oh my god, I found what I'm supposed to do in life. This is it. I am their "mother". I am supporting, nurturing, disciplining, caring for, and enjoying 19 teenage girls and I'm loving every single minute of it.

I get asked all the time, "why don't you want kids?" and today is why. If I had my own family I would be 100% focused on them, but because I am not a mom, I can give all that love to my kids at school. They are my children. I know that sounds corny, but I feel like their school mother. I have no desire what-so-ever to replace their real mother, but let's face it, I probably spend more time with them than their home mother. And guess what, since I'm not really responsible for them I can focus on the good stuff. I can stay positive and help them see what beautiful beings they are.

Before the bell rang to release us from lunch two students came over to me and said, "Miss, we don't like our ears, we want to have surgery. Look at them, they are big, I have to pull my hair over them." Because I know what it's like to be self conscience and have a low self esteem I was able to take a deep breath and say, "Girls, I want you to hear me... I think your ears are beautiful and a part of you, and you look great, however, if you think about it more and want to change something I will support you no matter what."

I chose my all girl homeroom and we've become a family.

Thank you - sister!

2010-10-10T18:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to my newly designed blog - all thanks to my super creative sister! She is a fantastic artist and full of creative ideas. She gets that from my mother who can whip up anything you need if you give her a needle, some thread and material. I did not get that gene. My sister and I are definitely a combination of our parents, but in very different ways. We are also 8 1/2 years apart so that plays a role, especially when dealing with computer stuff. I'm like my mother in that way and just need direction on what button to push, which I'm sure is the reason that my sister just logged into my blog and designed it without trying to tutor me along.

A few summers back she created this little scrapbook page from our photo! I love it.

She also did a page for Winnie after she was diagnosed with cancer... it is awesome.

Every holiday I look forward to her cards, which are hand made! She has even managed to get them to me in Bolivia!

Pedigree = mutt

2010-10-09T19:04:00.000-04:00

I am curious about my ancestors. Who where these people that picked up and left everything they knew for an unknown land. What was it like back then? Was there so much buzz about the new world that people couldn't resist? What kind of people were they? I relate to those few that said, hey, what the hell, let's try it somewhere else, BUT they did this without google earth or internet at all. Did they have any idea what they were getting themselves in to? Can you imagine leaving for a trip without a map, or in these days, photos and a lonely planet guide, without having any clue was was ahead? Was life that bad in Norway or Italy, or was it just the draw of something new and different.

You know what else... I don't even know much about my grandmothers' heritage. Where did their families come from and why did they venture to the US, and when did that happen. In my liberal mind this is unethical. Everyone talks about the grandfathers, oh he did this and he did that, but what about the other side of the family?

I guess people want to know about their past so that they can justify their lives. Oh, I'm just like crazy Uncle Stu, or she's so smart, just like her Aunt Katherine. If we know that our weird quirks are in our genes, it some how justifies them a little more.

So here I am in the early stages of contemplating where I'm going to live next year and it has me thinking... which crazy relative am I like? It has to be the one that got on that boat and sailed off, not knowing where they were going and didn't worry about leaving a legacy behind. No kids, no genes to spread. Here I am thinking of my past and not planning to leave a future.

It makes sense to me that I would be a wanderer. It makes more sense to me than sitting in the same town with a family and never leaving. My ancestors were the ones that left! All four of my grandparents came from different places. Their families were the odd balls, the ones that said, let's do it, let's take a risk and leave everything we know. Doesn't it make sense that I'm doing the same thing?

Cave - what?

2010-10-05T21:56:00.001-04:00

Parque Torotoro is south of the city of Cochabamba in Bolivia.

I live in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, which isn't that far if there were decent roads to drive on and I had a car, so my roommates and I decided to fly to Cochabamba and then head south to the very small town of Torotoro (population 200). For some reason the government decided that it would be too expensive to actually pave the 110 km road from Cochabamba to Torotoro, so instead they had people place cobble stones - one by one - to build a "road". Needless to say the 110 km trip took 5 hours.

We knew the plan was to see dino tracks, waterfalls and caves. Living and traveling in 3rd world countries, one thing you learn really quickly is to lower your expectations for pretty much everything, so when we heard "cave" we thought, ooookaaaayyy...

Well, on rare occasions we are pleasantly surprised and this just so happened to be one of those occasions.

The cave... was... awesome...

We geared up...

and headed to the cave...

of course along the way, of course we saw some dino tracks...

as we got closer to the cave I started thinking... huh, this may not be so bad after all!

We go deeper and deeper, flick on the headlights and bam, we're in a cave.

We are in a large room and it feels cool and comfortable. We keep walking and all of a sudden the room gets smaller and smaller until I realize that I'm going to have to crab walk to fit...

I'm starting to panic a little bit. I have issues with tight spaces and this is certainly getting tighter. My heart is racing and I'm leading the way to get this part over with as quickly as possible. I haven't crab walked since elementary school...

Made it! Well, for a while anyway...

Wait, what, you want me to go where? No, I can't do it... ::heart racing:: I'll just stay here and hang out in the dark cave for the rest of my life... I wonder how long it would take before I go crazy? No, I can't, seriously, ok, I'll try, really, do I have to?

squeeze

drag

crawl

I DID IT! Whew! What a feeling! You know when you push yourself to the limit and force yourself to do something that you don't think you can do? Well, here I am at the end of that push and man does it feel good! This is the point that I decide - you know what, I'm not going to stress about getting older anymore! That's IT, I'm changing my brain thoughts and every time I start to complain about getting close to 40, or a wrinkle, or my sagging skin, I'm going to STOP myself and remember the feeling of pushing myself and succeeding. Corny, cheesy, I know, but what a relief! I don't have to worry about getting older. I can just enjoy the fact that here I am at 38 - living a fantastic life - a life I've dreamed of - exploring the world.

Dino Tracks 101

2010-10-01T18:56:00.001-04:00

Dinosaur tracks, footprints, traces, trails... the fossil evidence left behind when dinos roamed the earth millions of years ago. You need a nice sandy or muddy surface and a dinosaur to tromp across it, then you need it to get covered and stay covered, compress under pressure and turn to rock and, finally, get exposed millions of years later.

You can see from part A that an indentation is made by the dinosaur foot in soft sediment (deepness can depend on not only the size of the dino, but how soft the mud is as well). In the underlying layers there can be undertracks, which are just parts of the lower sediment layers that receive an indent, but are not the exact surface the dino was walking on. Usually these undertracks will not be as distinct or have claw marks. The layer above fills in the track itself, and forms a natural cast, if this consists of different sediment it can form a unique cast of the print itself.

In an area with the right aged rocks you can search under overhang layers and find tracks... which is exactly what I did on my drive from Cochabamba to Torotoro, Bolivia.

We stopped for lunch at a site of a newly built bridge. The river was trickling down the almost dry bed and snaking its way through the canyons...

The bridge itself was the only shade around, so we headed under to find a cool lunch spot. The distinct layers of sediment weather and erode differently, depending on the resistance of the sediment. Shale (ancient mud deposits) erode faster than sandstone. These shale layers break apart, fall out of the outcrop and the more resistant sandstone is left. Under that bridge last week is where I looked up and exclaimed, "Hey, those are dinosaur tracks!" Natural casts actually.

How does this happen? What is going on?

Imagine: A quick, three toed carnivore is running across a section of mud near a lake... as he runs he leaves behind footprints and in the really mucky areas he sinks deeper than in the drier areas. He's off to another spot, when the rains start. This time it's a heavy rain. Pouring. Flash floods bring sediment from the higher areas onto the mud flat and all those three toed tracks are filled with a fine sand. The storm lasts for days and the original layer is being covered by meters of sandy flow. The rains stop, the area dries out and in a few months the rains repeat and repeat and that footprint layer is buried forever. Well, not really forever, because then the continent crashes into an ocean plate and the earth rises into the air and forms mountains. These mountains are high up and this time the rains cause erosion. Chunks of rocks break off and make their way down river for more layer building, but that original layer has now resurfaced and we are ready to see it. Voila the tracks that were left 100 million years ago are now back on the surface!

If you are lucky the original surface was nice and flat and the dino left a long trail of tracks... Here you see a trackway left by an Ankylosaur type dinosaur.

Notice that the ankylosaur was not "turtle like" nor did it walk like an alligator. Dinosaurs had and upright stance with legs under the body instead of sprawled out.

Do you want another look at those tracks?

This photo was taken from outside our room at our hostel in Torotoro, Bolivia.

Notice that I said that these tracks were left by an ankylosaur type dinosaur. Tracks have their own classification system that is NOT the name of the dinosaur. Unless you find the skeleton still stuck in the footprint there is not enough evidence to say exactly which dino made the track. Instead tracks are divided into their own categories...

Can you identify the type of track from the photos?

Notice the claw mark on the middle toe. Can you see the pad impressions on the right toe? Imagine the soft mud as this therapod races across the surface.

Using my foot for scale, this is an obviously big track. Huge, roundish tracks, with a bit of overlapping between the back foot and the front foot.

Sauropods are my favorite dinos...

Whoa...

This is actually a close up of one of the tracks on a huge slab near the El Vergel waterfall in Torotoro.

Ye-haw I love dino tracks!