Bolivia-The Altiplano

"The Altiplano (Spanish for high plain), where the Andes are at their widest, is the most extensive area of high plateau on earth outside of Tibet." (Source-Wikipedia). The variety and beauty of the landscapes in this region of the world is astonishing. I was fortunate to get to experience the Altiplano in Bolivia with my friends; Vjen from Belgium, and Zoe and Giddeon from London. The four of us spent time in Sucre, Potosi, Tupisa and traveled on an organized 4 day/3 night trip through the Altiplano including the Salar De Uyuni. It was an outstanding adventure with a wonderful group of fellow travelers.

North American Homecoming

Date-Time: 6/25/08-About 5:30 in the morning (La Paz time).
Location: La Paz International aiport
Event: Flying back to the United States today after 6 months in South America.

I sit here at the call/Internet center at the airport composing this blog entry. The pace of my travel accelerated significantly upon leaving Banos in Ecuador on May 13th. It has been a bit of a "Whirlwind" pace the last 6 weeks moving through Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. Made a great group of new friends that I shared much of this last 6 weeks with. When I get back to the states I will put up many new photo galleries of Peru and Bolivia.

Looking forward to being back in the states and being with family and friends. Have an idea for a way to make some money while realizing a long held dream. Will mostly not say more about this until the end of the year. If my plan to make money works out, my return to South America will be much sooner. If it does not work out, the plan is to go to the United Arab Emirates in the Middle East to teach English. Regardless of whether or not my plan for making money from July to December works out, I will be pursuing my dream and that is what matters.

Big Love,

Don

Bolivia-Where the Rich People Live

Strange, finding myself here in Bolivia, in a city called Santa Cruz that is so wealthy it is leading an autonomy movement against Eva Morales who seeeks to keep power centralized. Today I went with my two traveling companions of the moment, Vjen from Belgium and Jill from Australia to an outstanding "Butterfly-Aviary-Swimming-Brunch" park in the jungle on the oustskirts of town. This city has oil, gas, cattle and massive agricultural enterprises that make it very prosperous. It reminds me a bit of Caracas, Venezueula where you have incredible wealth and many folks driving around in brand new SUV´s enjoying the "Good Life". There is also a beauty pageant culture here also and physical enhancement looks to be quite popular.

Kids' Chalk Art Project-Guiness Book of World Records

Late Notice-My friend Mark Wagner, along with thousands of kids and adults, is culminating a record breaking chalk art drawing at the Alemeda Naval Air Station. This is happening tomorrow, June 7. Everybody is welcome. Follow the links below for more information. Big Love-Don

Kids Chalk Art Project
http://www.reenchantingtheworldthroughart.org/

Blog on the Project
http://reenchantingtheworldthroughart.blogspot.com/

The Kids' Chalk Art Project is an event to celebrate and invest in the creative spirit of our kids.

Machu Picchu

The Lost City of the Incas, Machu Picchu is seared into my memory. Wow, the last 3 nights and 4 days, culminating in hiking up to, and all around Machu Piccu has been truly remarkable. I now have three new friends from Belgium and one from Spain that also shared this adventure. Here is a picture of the 6 of us with the driver of the van in the red outfit. When time permits, I will upload a gallery of shots from this four day adventure. Below is a brief description of the journey:

INKA JUNGLE-Mountain Bike and a Jungle Trek to Machupicchu

Itinerary
Day 01: Cusco to Santa Maria:
Tour Company Van with 3 Belgians (Valentin, Pierre, Mathias) Spaniard (Victor), My good Mexican friend whom I met in Banos (Victor), myself and the our Peruvian guide, Edgar. We started at 8 am and passed through the Sacred Valley, stopping in Ollantaytambo. Then climbing until the Malaga High Pass at 4,500 meters (1,4850 Ft). We then Rode mountain bikes down to Santa Maria, a Jungle Village(1,500m or 4,950 Ft.)

Day 02: Santa Maria to Santa Teresa:

Walk in the jungle on segments of the original Inca Road to thermal baths in Santa Teresa. Take a cable car across the Vilcanota River (River sacred to the Incas) . Thermal baths at Santa Teresa are 5 Star and very relaxing.

Day 03: Santa Teresa to Machupicchu:
Santa Teresa is at 1,900m (6,270 ft). We modify the planned all day hike to Aguas Calientes and take a Minivan to an area near a spectacular display of raw power with water coming out of the rocks. There is hydro electric generation going on here without a dam and it is also near a train station. We hike along railroad tracks to Aguas Calientes Village in the Afternoon and hike up a massive mountain that sits directly in front of Machu Picchu.

Day 04: Machupicchu - Cusco
At 4:30 in the morning, we begin to walk to Machupicchu. It takes us less than a hour to reach the site from our hotel and only about half an hour from the the river. All of us hike to the top of Wanna Picchu and I kike to the Sun Gate (Incapunktu). Hike back down the mountain and enjoy two massive dinners, some drinks and the combination train and bus ride back to Cuzco.

So much more to say about this adventure, but gotta run.

Machu Picchu

Headed off on a four day excursion that culminates at Machu Picchu. Will ride bikes for day one of the journey, hike parts of the Inca Trail through the jungle on day 2, more hiking on day three and finally on day 4 get to Machu Picchu at 6am and come back to Cuzco on a combination of train and bus. Very excited to see one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. My friend Oscar and I spent the evening of Corpus Cristi closing down various musical venues, dancing and generally having a really good time. We talked last night about our dreams for community and making the world a better place. We are doing the Machu Picchu trip together. Its great to have a traveling buddy who I can conspire with.

Cuzco

Arrived in Cuzco after a 20 hour ride on a luxury Cruz Del Sur bus. The ride took me through the Andes from Lima and it was very posh. They served us a very nice hot dinner and and even a breakfast. It was a double decker bus with a person assigned to each floor to serve food, drinks and give you blankets and pillows. We watched 5 movies; Harry Potter, Ghandi, Man of the House, Adrift (All in Spanish with English subtitles) and one Spanish only movie about a great teacher who, with the help of his kids, defeats the bad guys and gets the girl in a Mexican town. Had two seats to myself for most of the trip but at the very start, shared a seat with Fidel (pictured). On the second picture on the right hand side after going through the arch is the the Loki hostel where I am staying. The building is 450 years old. So many of the buildings go way back. Walked into one of the churches and it was built in 1523. There are no tall buildings here as they have a restriction that you can´t go over 3-4 floors. Walked up the hill to a community and am happy to say that the kids are curious and full of life. From first glance, Cuzco seems to be a pretty magical place.

Leaving for Cuzco today

Had a great breakfast with family from Canada who has been traveling the world for the 6 months. They have gone to Egypt, Turkey, Africa, China and many other places. The other two at the table are my friends I talked abootin my last blog entry. Bus trip leaves at 5:30 tonight and will take an estimated 20 hours. Will pass through Nazca but will skip spending the day there to maximize time for Bolivia. Definitely coming back to Peru. So much to see and do.

Peru

Covering some ground lately. Went from Cuenca Ecuador to Trujillo Peru in about 30 hours, with about 24 of those hours distributed on 4 seperate bus rides. Cruising through the Northern Desert in Peru was truly awesome. Reminded me of the immensity of the Black rock desert in Nevada at times, and then Death Valley at other times. The poverty in Piura and Chiclayo reminded of India. Grinding dirt poor, urban poverty is harsh on the sensibilities. Both cities swarmed with little three wheel motorcycle taxis. Unemployment is so high here that it seems that half the population drives a tax of some sort to make ends meet. I finally landed in
trujillo where I visited the ruins of Chan Chan and Huaca del Luna where we could also see the Huaca del Sol. These Moche and Chimu sites are Pre Inca and go "Way Back". After I got off the bus in Lima, after my 8 hour journey from Trujillo I "Bumped" into two friends from Banos. I had helped set them up for a jungle trip with my friend Shakai. We found a really nice hostel in the Mira Flores area, settled in for a great breakfast at place with really BIG chairs and talked about our Ayahuasca experiences. Spent the day exploring Lima. Will probably push off for the Nazca lines tomorrow.

Peru Getting Closer

Currently in Loja at the moment about an hour away from my 11PM bus to Peru. It´s great to be able to use the Internet at a bus station. Cost is $1 an hour. Really tough leaving Cuenca today as it has much to offer and I barely scratched the surface. It´s one of the underlying themes of this journey in South America that everyplace is hard to leave. There is so much to be experienced here. So many interesting people and incredible places to know. Plan at the current moment is to head back to the states from La Paz to be back for a big family wedding June 29th.

The Devils Nose Riobamba-Cuenca-Ecuador

New found friends and I all were glad we waited for the ride caused by United States Ambassador taking the earlier train as a big ceremony celebrating the 100 Year Aniversary of the Quito to Guya, it was Amazing! Arrive in Riobamba the the night before for some amazing views of earths highest mountain (measured from the equator) Chimborazo.

The Devils Nose is a famous section of a rail journey in Ecuador.

A Different View of History-For Your Consideration

Since are so called leaders have a difficult time telling the truth, isn´t it time we dicovered for ourselves what´s the truth is? I leave it to you dear reader to do what you will with the thesis put forward in the book by Riane Eisler called The Chalice and the Blade. It asserts that the period of Neolithic agrarian life from 8000-3000 BC was the basis for the development of civilization. That it was marked by Goddess worship that had people view the earth as alive and live in harmony with all life. Notice the message that the indigenous societies that still exist today convey a similar belief. In my short time in the jungle with a Shuar community it was clear that these people live in harmony with the land and treat it with reverence. Is it possible that the Bible, the Koran and other religious texts that have replaced the Divine Mother with the Divine Father, did this to brainwash the population? That they don´t want people to know the truth? Why has so called modern history been marked by a few people lording over the many through the use of force? Why have we come to this moment in history where the acitivities of man now threaten the very existence of the life support systems of the earth that human life depends on? Do the last remaining sections of the rainforrest need to be cut down to answer these questions?

Leaving Banos-Towards Peru

Headed South to Riobamba to take the Devils Nose train trip. From there I push further South to Cuenca. It has definitley been GREAT being here in Banos. It´s hard to leave this place that I have made so many great friends and feel really at home in. For me to make it through Peru and also have 2-3 weeks in Bolivia it´s imperative that I leave shortly, so my plan is to leave in a day or two. The one thing that is making it somewhat easier to tear myself away from this place is knowing that I will be returning someday. I have earned a nickname among some of my friends as the King of Epiphanies because I seem to have so many of them. This one came in the form of the need for a daily physical practice such as yoga and meditation to continually increase my health. To celebrate my realization I treated myself to a banana split at one of the local ice cream joints.

Total cost was $1.80 and it was fabulous.

Dream Home for Sale in Ecuador

This custom built home in Rio Verde is almost finsihed. It is set on a parcel of land 2000 square meters. There is already a healthy garden on the land. The back of the house sits on a river rich with trout. A short distance up the dirt road is a hiking area that leads to a lake that is fabled to be where the Inca´s hid all their gold. The house has three bathroms. The master bedroom upstairs looks out onto the river and has it´s own bathrom with tub. There are two smaller bedrooms upstairs with one shared bathroom. The house has it´s own septic system, and receives its water from a local aquifer. There is a deck on the main floor overlooking the river. Their are many custom features to this house including tile in the bathrooms, windows and reinforced palm support beams. The home is a beauty to behold and is located a short 10-15 minute drive from Banos. To see more pictures of the home click here. The seller of the house is Fredy Villamarin. Feel free to contact him at gasolinaextra@yahoo.com or by calling him directly in Ecuador from the U.S. at 001-593-327-40810 Fredy speaks perfect English having spent considerable time in the states. The asking price is $90,000.

Off the Gringo Trail-Into the Jungle and the Spirit World

Spending one week in the jungle, near Macas, within a Shuar community has given me an incredible experience to see the world in a different light (To see photos click here). My Shuar friend Herman Shakai took me the place in jungle where he was raised along with his 12 siblings. We visited his mother and fathers place and then went down the river by dugout to visit other comunities, finally ending up in community of about of around 50 people called Sant, named after the Shaman. We visited many of the homes here and in the surrounding area. We drank lots of Jungle Beer (a fermented brew of the Yucca plant). "The Shuar are the second largest and one of the most studied Amazonian groups. They have a long history of survival and defense against outsiders, and have long had a reputation as headhunters and savages. They live in the southeastern part of Ecuador between the Pastaza and Marañón Rivers, east of the present city of Cuenca along the contested border region with Peru".

In a nightime ritual in Sant, the Shaman guided us during an Ayahuasca ceremony where we drank a foul tasting combination of the liquid from two plants cooked together over an open fire.
I saw how the word "TO", as in; why is this happening to me?, implies being a victim and not responsible for ones life and the word "FOR", as in; why is this happening for me, implies gratitude and appreciation for everything that happens and being responsible for ones life.

We saw the devastation being wrought by a road being built nearby to the frontier border with Peru. In general the people were the happiest and healthiest of any group I´ve ever had the pleasure to meet. The children played together in freedom and their smiles were truly contagious. The people of the jungle don´t need so called civilization. IMHO, those of us in the so called "Modern World" need more of the simplicity in which they live their lives. These people are "Spiritual" in the best sense of the word. These people fiercely hold onto their land despite every attempt by the interests of so called "Progress and Development" to get them to sell off there land and be assimilated to more modern ways. These peole provide an anditote to a world of material affluence that has become disconnected from the world of spirit. I believe that the Shamans in the rainforest understand that the reason the rainforrest is being destroyed is this loss of connection to the spirit world. Giving our power over to something outside ourselves such as a priest or political leader. A great number of people in the west are asleep to their own power. Allowing themselves to be programmed from the outside to support the stupidity of war and violence in any form. It´s important to wake up to our own power so that we can protect the last remaining wild places of the earth so that human kind does not go the way of the dinosoaur. The Shamans stand waiting for us to ask for their help.

Listen to a youtube piece on reestablishing our connection to the world of spirit from an interview on Coast to Coast with Graham Hancock.

Thinking for Yourself is Now a Crime

Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration and in the story below he writes about a bill called HR 1955 that was passed by the House of Represenatives by a very wide margin. IMHO, it would be prudent for every American to know what this bill will do if it becomes law. One House Representative jokingly called the bill a "Thought Crime bill".

January 4, 2008
Jane Harman and Liberty's Lost Light
Thinking for Yourself is Now a Crime
By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS

What was the greatest failure of 2007? President Bush's "surge" in Iraq? The decline in the value of the US dollar? Subprime mortgages? No. The greatest failure of 2007 was the newly sworn in Democratic Congress.
The American people's attempt in November 2006 to rein in a rogue government, which has committed the US to costly military adventures while running roughshod over the US Constitution, failed. Replacing Republicans with Democrats in the House and Senate has made no difference.
The assault on the US Constitution by the Democratic Party is as determined as the assault by the Republicans. On October 23, 2007, the House passed a bill sponsored by California Democratic congresswoman Jane Harman, chairwoman of a Homeland Security subcommittee, that overturns the constitutionally guaranteed rights to free expression, association, and assembly.
The bill passed the House on a vote of 404-6. In the Senate the bill is sponsored by Maine Republican Susan Collins and apparently faces no meaningful opposition.
Harman's bill is called the "Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act."When HR 1955 becomes law, it will create a commission tasked with identifying extremist people, groups, and ideas. The commission will hold hearings around the country, taking testimony and compiling a list of dangerous people and beliefs. The bill will, in short, create massive terrorism in the United States. But the perpetrators of terrorism will not be Muslim terrorists; they will be government agents and fellow citizens.
We are beginning to see who will be the inmates of the detention centers being built in the US by Halliburton under government contract.
Who will be on the "extremist beliefs" list? The answer is: civil libertarians, critics of Israel, 9/11 skeptics, critics of the administration's wars and foreign policies, critics of the administration's use of kidnapping, rendition, torture and violation of the Geneva Conventions, and critics of the administration's spying on Americans. Anyone in the way of a powerful interest group--such as environmentalists opposing politically connected developers--is also a candidate for the list.
The "Extremist Beliefs Commission" is the mechanism for identifying Americans who pose "a threat to domestic security" and a threat of "homegrown terrorism" that "cannot be easily prevented through traditional federal intelligence or law enforcement efforts."
This bill is a boon for nasty people. That SOB who stole your girlfriend, that hussy who stole your boyfriend, the gun owner next door--just report them to Homeland Security as holders of extreme beliefs. Homeland Security needs suspects, so they are not going to check. Under the new regime, accusation is evidence. Moreover, "our" elected representatives will never admit that they voted for a bill and created an "Extremist Belief Commission" for which there is neither need nor constitutional basis.
That boss who harasses you for coming late to work--he's a good candidate to be reported; so is that minority employee that you can't fire for any normal reason. So is the husband of that good-looking woman you have been unable to seduce. Every kind of quarrel and jealousy can now be settled with a phone call to Homeland Security.
Soon Halliburton will be building more detention centers.
Americans are so far removed from the roots of their liberty that they just don't get it. Most Americans don't know what habeas corpus is or why it is important to them. But they know what they want, and Jane Harman has given them a new way to settle scores and to advance their own interests.
Even educated liberals believe that the US Constitution is a "living document" that can be changed to mean whatever it needs to mean in order to accommodate some new important cause, such as abortion and legal privileges for minorities and the handicapped. Today it is the "war on terror" that the Constitution must accommodate. Tomorrow it can be the war on whomever or whatever.
Think about it. More than six years ago the World Trade Center and Pentagon were attacked. The US government blamed it on al Qaeda. The 9/11 Commission Report has been subjected to criticism by a large number of qualified people--including the commission's chairman and co-chairman.
Since 9/11 there have been no terrorist attacks in the US. The FBI has tried to orchestrate a few, but the "terrorist plots" never got beyond talk organized and led by FBI agents. There are no visible extremist groups other than the neoconservatives that control the government in Washington. But somehow the House of Representatives overwhelmingly sees a need to create a commission to take testimony and search out extremist views (outside of Washington, of course).
This search for extremist views comes after President Bush and the Justice (sic) Department declared that the President can ignore habeas corpus, ignore the Geneva Conventions, seize people without evidence, hold them indefinitely without presenting charges, torture them until they confess to some made up crime, and take over the government by declaring an emergency. Of course, none of these "patriotic" views are extremist.
The search for extremist views follows also the granting of contracts to Halliburton to build detention centers in the US. No member of Congress or the executive branch ever explained the need for the detention centers or who the detainees would be. Of course, there is nothing extremist about building detention centers in the US for undisclosed inmates.
Clearly the detention centers are not meant to just stand there empty. Thanks to 2007's greatest failure--the Democratic Congress--there is to be an "Extremist Beliefs Commission" to secure inmates for Bush's detention centers.
President Bush promises us that the wars he has launched will cause the "untamed fire of freedom" to "reach the darkest corners of our world." Meanwhile in America the fire of freedom has not only been tamed but also is being extinguished.
The light of liberty has gone out in the United States.

Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page and Contributing Editor of National Review. He is coauthor of The Tyranny of Good Intentions. He can be reached at: PaulCraigRoberts@yahoo.com

Adventures In Ecuador

Banos is a place that I could stay a very long time. It´s a place that has a great climate, both from the weather and people perespective. If you like adventure, Banos is a great spot to be situated. The Jungle is close and many 6000 meter peaks are in easy striking distance. Like everyplace that I have been in South America, this one is tough to leave. If you want a Bike ride or a group hike or a solo hike, the Banos area is a great place. It even has some good night spots and don´t forget the reason many people come here is to soak in the thermal baths, get a massage and simply rejuvanate. Banos is small and enjoys that small town feeling.

Click here for my pics of my 4 days in the Jungle
Click here for Bike ride from Banos down canyon towards Puyo
Click here for pics of a group hike to view an active volcanoe
Click here for pics of a night out in Banos
Click here for pics of a solo hike from Banos
Click here for pics of city scenes in Banos

Banos Ecuador

Arrived in Banos today around 4pm from Quito. Finished one full month of language study with three weeks of that living with a family. Click Here to see some pictures of my recent trip to Otavalo, my host family and Banos. See that I really don´t have much passion for learning to write spanish, so my idea of doing my blog entries in both spanish and english resulted in me simply doing no blog entries at all. My time in Quito was really focused on studying spanish so I spent a great deal of time, including on weekends, with my hoist family. Stela, the 84 year old mother of 10 and her two daughters, Eualia and Emelia, adopted me and we would talk for hours about all manner of subjects. Albeit the conversations were not the most "correct" in terms of depth of vocabulary or proper usage, nonetheless communication with the big "U", UNDERSTANDING. Wow, what a miracle that is, to understand another human being. On the subject of understanding, Henry Block a mentor and friend who I felt really understood me, passed away last week. He had been battling cancer for some time now and his life is a testimony to how much one man can impact the life of countless others. A piece of Hnery will always live inside of me. Henry Block, Henry Block, Henry Block Welcome. The calling of the name three times comes from a ritual I learned in my mens group (The East Bay Nation of Men). For me this ritual helps me to visualize this person and remember them or send them my prayers if they are in need of some form of assistance. Many people would dimiss this type of ritual, ask me if I care? Back to Henry, a truly remarkable man and I am just happy that I got to know him and that he was part of my life, nuff said.

Richard Moore-Thelma and Loise

All, I just finished reading something from the moderator of the Cyberjournal.org website which is dedicated to the liberation of the human spirit and the establishment of a livable world. Richard Moore wrote the book Escaping the Matrix and the review for the movie Thelma and Loise that follows. I do hope you find the time to read this thought provoking review as it gets to heart of our current global predicament. Big Love-Don

Written by Richard Moore:
Friends,
I re-watched Thelma & Louise last night and finally understood what it is really about. It is neither about women's empowerment, nor is it anti-maie, although those have been the most common assumptions. Indeed it is a put-down to women to assume that a great film with female stars must be about "women's issues". Do we assume that a great film with male stars must always be a "a man's thing"? Thelma & Louise is an epic saga for every one of us – it is about liberation and empowerment on a universal canvas. I picked out two key lines of Thelma's to share with you that make this clear...

(1) As they're driving in the desert near the end of the film:
Thelma: I don't know, somthin's, like, crossed over in me , I can't go back, I mean, I just couldn't live.
When she says this, it is clear from context that she is not talking about a fear of going back and facing jail. She is talking about going back her old life, her old world, the 'normal' life with house & husband and all. Even with a battalion of police and FBI agents after her, if she had the choice, she wouldn't undo her predicament and go back to how it was. Freedom to be herself had now become the most important thing in the world to her, more important than life itself. She hadn't realized that she had given up who she was in order to live in her old world – our world, our society.
When she says, "I just couldn't live", she becomes the voice of all of those indigenous peoples throughout history who have preferred death to giving up their way of life, as the curse of civilization reached their territories. They had always been free and liberated and they could see what we can't see, that civilization is a cage they simply could not live in, a cage that no one could live in and still be free, even in a leading role. Thelma had experienced real freedom, and would never again give it up.

(2) Later, still on the road:
Thelma: Are you awake?
Louise: I think so.
Thelma: I'm awake. I don't think I've ever been this awake before. Everything seems different.
If you add to this the keenness in her eyes, and the radiance of her face, it is clear that she is talking about 'awake' in the same way the Dali Lama or Buddha uses the term. She had become fully awake to life and the universe, free of fear, a free spirit. This isn't a gender thing at all, or even a species thing; it's about the essence of life itself and about consciousness.
I've seen that look in eyes before, but only rarely in the eyes of humans. Many years ago I visited some friends in Nairobi and went on one of those low-budget safaris, where they take a group of us out in a truck to watch the animals doing what they do in the wild. It was migration season for the wildebeest and we had lots to see, so I stood up on the railings to get a panoramic view. At first I was trying to identify different species and similar tourist-type things. After a time, I just relaxed and let the whole scene sink in. And then it hit me – the gestalt of what it means to be wild.
Every wildebeest out there knows there are predators on the prowl, desperate for their next meal, formidable and dangerous. There are no sanctuaries to hide in, and no defenses other than alertness and fleetness of foot. I suddenly realized what that meant in terms of 'being awake'. Every moment they must be on guard, always ready to run for their lives. I could feel in my bones the heightened consciousness that is a constant part of being wild. It was a feeling of exhilaration, and of being fully alive.
I was feeling for the first time 'the call of the wild', and for the first time I could feel that we are missing something essential in the way we go through life, always worried about our future security, trying to insure all of our risks, subject always to stress or to boredom. Bob Dylan captured it, as he does so well in a single line, "...their life is nothing more than something to invest in". I thought of the others in the truck, who were mainly comparing notes of where else they'd travelled, unaware of the magnificent drama all around them, and I felt sad.
In the metaphor of the moment I felt the gestalt of civilization: it's all about being asleep to the world around us, doing everything we can to insulate ourselves from the world. We envy the wealthy, who can be idle and secure at the same time, and have no need to pay attention to the world at all. I said above that civilization is a cage, and if you responded to that at all you may have thought in terms of 'jobs we don't like', or 'taxes we must pay', 'restrictions on us', etc. But it's more than those kind of things. Civilization is a place where we accept the illusion of security and in exchange we give up who we are. We are in a zoo, and many of us have very comfortable digs in the zoo, but life is outside.
This is what Thelma and Louise is about, in their fleet-of-foot Thunderbird, pursued by formidable and dangerous creatures on the prowl, surviving only by their wits and by constant alertness. But of course we've seen desperate chase films before; there's nothing special about being on the run, and being alert. What's special about Thelma & Louise, and about Thelma in particular, is that we see much more than mere desperation – we see that desperation transform Thelma into being fully alive and awake. The desperation vanishes. She is ready for whatever happens, free of fear – and she could never go back to any other way of being.
I've found that the dictionary tells us a lot about our society, between the lines. Let's see what dictionary.com says about 'civilize':
Civilize: to bring out of a savage, uneducated, or rude state; make civil; elevate in social and private life; enlighten; refine: Rome civilized the barbarians.
Very, very, interesting. What we have here is an out-of-date anthropological perspective frozen into our language, imposing that perspective on us when we should know better. Over the past several decades, anthropological research has made it very clear that indigenous peoples are not at all savage in the sense implied in the definition above. One can certainly over-romanticize here, but we now know that 'wise' is closer to the truth than 'savage'. And I'm talking about mainstream anthropology, not a fringe view.
When a truth dictionary comes out, it will probably read like this:
Civilize: to domesticate to hierarchy; to cause a forgetting of the state of freedom. syn. domesticate: the horse trainer domesticated the wild herd
It is the trance of civilization that Thelma and Louise were escaping from, and in so doing they found a freedom they hadn't known was possible. They only experienced it for four days, but neither of them would have traded those four days for the comfort of the blue pill. They had learned that the comfort is fake.
None of us wants to think of ourselves as being in a cage. If you're getting upset with me about now that's your defense mechanisms protecting you from considering the possibility in your own case; it's a sign that the shoe might fit. If you are really liberated then my words on your screen cannot not upset you in that way.
After watching the film itself, I watched the making-of documentary in the special features section of the DVD. If you're into cinema I highly recommend the documentary. Ridley Scott is a genius, the one who gave us "Blade Runner", and its is great to see him interviewed on film. And it was Brad Pitt's first role in a big picture, making his interview particularly poignant. Geena and Susan's interviews are wonderful it goes without saying, but the interview I found most enlightening was that of the writer: Callie Khouri.
Callie said the story came to her all at once one night when she was in her car. She then wrote the script in her spare time. In the course of developing the film, and even while it was being directed, there were many attempts to make changes to the story, and considerable concern about the ending. But every time a change was attempted it didn't work. They tried changes out with audiences and they all flopped. The story had an internal coherence that couldn't be tampered with. The script barely changed from the first draft submitted to the studio.
Callie said that she later realized she had 'accidentally' stumbled onto an archetypal form, 'The Hero', ala Joseph Campbell. She said that's why the story couldn't be changed.
What this says to me is that the story was channeled, in the sense that it came from another level of consciousness than Callie's normal writer-consciousness. And as with all channeling, the channeler is not necessarily a reliable interpreter of the meaning of what is channeled. It is only as an outside observer that Callie surmises that the story might be of this or that archetypal form. She says explicitly that no such thing was in her mind when she was writing the story and she wasn't even consciously au fait re/archetypes at that time.
In fact the archetype of the film is not that of the Hero at all. The Hero goes out and slays dragons and then comes back home transformed and is recognized as a hero. (Almost every Hollywood film follows the heroic motif, typically with a love-interest side-plot.) Thelma and Louise certainly slay dragons, and Thelma is certainly transformed, but they don't come back home, and only the Keitel character can still see their humanity at the end – hardly a hero's reception.
Furthermore, the transformation comes too easily, compared to the classic hero motif. It took a lot for our female fugitives to decide to become dragon slayers, but once the decision was made the slaying became more a romp than a challenging exertion of will and strength. No, there is some other archetype at work here, equally profound but different. Thelma & Louise is neither about feminism nor is it about heroism, even if the writer, the director, the critics, and the actors all don't get it. And from the interviews, I'd say it was only Geena who really got it, whether or not she could articulate that in intellectual terms. It was still in her eyes in the years-later interview.
In A Long Kiss Goodnight we see Geena in the traditional hero motif. Her dragon-slaying there is very difficult indeed, calling for Herculean exertions and canny wit, and she is received as a hero at the end by the President himself. And in the last scene she returns happily home to the same unchanged husband and family, and she lays aside her sword and shield. As Thelma, she brandishes her sword and shield until the very end and beyond. They have become part of her, not merely her tools for a time.
The archetype behind Thelma & Louise is that of life itself. We are thrust into this life, it happens to us just like the attempted rape & killing happened to them, and once born we must use our wits to deal with whatever comes up. That's what life is really about – using your wits to deal with whatever comes up, and not fearing what might come up. Life is not about being always secure and having retirement funds saved up. Those amenities are veils of light that hide the bars of our cage. They are the opiate that helps us forget what freedom is about. We use our wits not to face the world, but to deal with the institutions and authorities that control our lives. Instead of not fearing what might come up, we live in a chronic state of insecurity about our futures, albeit unconscious.
There is no such thing as security in this world, and chasing the illusion of security is like cocaine addiction. The first time the addict does a line, he feels a pleasant high. He starts taking it regularly, and he spends a lot of time feeling high – not such a bad thing really. But over time something else happens; he needs the drug just to feel normal, and he always needs more and more.
Look at those who have the most wealth and power, the financial elites who control our societies. You'd think they'd be content. But no, they are more desperate than the rest of us. If they don't totally control the whole world, they live in constant fear that someone else will. Their security is their power, and they always need more and more. That's why the US is seizing oil supplies and surrounding Russia and China with military bases. That's why the elite's response to the resource crisis is genocide, rather than a transformation of our economic system. They are like Gollum and his precious, their moral universe narrowed to a pathetic grasping.
Our world is going to change, and very soon. You and I, my friends, are about to be thrust into a world totally unfamiliar to us. The world we now know it is going to disappear, gone with the wind, never to return. With 911 and the so-called war on terrorism we saw one pillar of our world fall down, the pillar that pretended we lived under the rule of laws and not men. With Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo the collapse of the pillar was rubbed in our noses, just to make sure we got the message, although many are so asleep they still haven't gotten it. We are reminded again every time we go to an airport, but still many don't get it.
Now, with the engineered subprime crisis, and the powerdive of the dollar into oblivion, another pillar is beginning to crumble, the pillar that pretended 'progress' was equal to economic security for you and me. Anyone who studies the history of Germany in the 1920s knows exactly what economic scenario we are going to be facing. The pattern is identical. First there was a credit crisis, arranged by the daddies of same folks who engineered this one. That was followed by hyper-inflation, where savings became worthless, and even those who were wealthy became paupers overnight. As we speak, the Federal Reserve is intentionally pushing us into hyper-inflation, as it conjures up out of nowhere trillions of dollars to save not us, but their own financial hegemony. The handwriting is not only on the wall, it is in the pages of every newspaper every day.
This will be very different than the Great Depression in the States. In that case cash was king. Those who had their wealth in liquid form became even more wealthy, in terms of purchasing power, than before the Depression. Mainly it was the lower middle classes and downward who were pauperized. This new collapse, modeled on the one in prewar Germany, will pauperize everyone except the super-rich. Scoff at your own peril. Already the homeless ranks are swelling, as millions are being evicted from their homes, and economic refugees from America are becoming a serious problem for Canadian authorities.
Whether we like it or not, our world is going to fall apart, and all the king's horses and all the king's men won't even be trying to put it together again. Our familiar illusion of security will be gone, and we will have no 'home' we can return to. We will be experiencing the inherent uncertainty of real life whether we want to or not. In psychological terms, we will soon find ourselves in the same place Thelma and Louise found themselves in. We can respond with fear and desperation, like the usual fugitive in films, or we can use this as an opportunity to wake up, and leave fear behind, as did Thelma. In either case, you will be better off if you realize your world is disappearing now, rather than waiting until that's totally in your face, and you have fewer options available to you than you do now.
Let us return now to the plains of Kenya, for there are more lessons there. As I was watching the panorama, and became aware of that heightened state of awareness all around me, I could also see that the wildebeest were not at all living in a state of fear. A band of young bucks were running around between clusters of adults, kicking up their heels, just like a band of children running around at a picnic. They were having fun, not worrying about predators. Those they would deal with if and when the occasion arose. Being wild is not about being afraid, or being chased, even though documentary makers love to seek out a chase when making their wildlife films, and they love to show the kill scene, as if that is what 'being wild' is all about. How comforted we are made to feel, sitting on our sofas in front of the TV, happy that we're not out there where lions roam. From our youngest days we are taught to fear the wild, to be grateful for civilization.
Meanwhile, those sitting down in the truck saw only a constant wave of nearby wildebeest, undulating away from the approaching vehicle. They never saw the exhilarating and dynamic pattern of the natural panorama. Then we came to a cluster of wildebeest who did not flee the truck, and in fact we had to slow way down and wend our way through them. They just stood around, not paying much attention to us, sensing that we were irrelevant to the game of life. I soon could see why they were standing around. One of their fellows had been injured and was on the ground. They could do nothing to help, but they knew if they left, the injured one would be visible, and predators would soon be competing for the meal. For as long as they could, and at increased risk to themselves, they were delaying their migration to lend comfort and protection from view to their fellow. Was I looking at a dog-eat-dog world? Not at all, rather a world of mutual concern and mutual aid.
That's how life is meant to be for sentient social species, survival through mutual concern and aid for our fellows. That's how our ancestors lived until they were subdued and corrupted by civilization and hierarchy. And as for the lions, we had no fear; lions were afraid of us. Once we had the bow and arrow, and probably long before, humans never lived in fear of predators. Of course there were occasional cases of humans being attacked, but that was no more a pattern of life than someone today being attacked by a turncoat pet dog. An exception to the norm. Even today, every thirteen-year-old Masai lad must kill a lion single-handed with a spear, as part of his maturation ritual. And a lone teen-aged girl protects a whole herd of cattle – out in lion country – simply by standing there unafraid in a red outfit holding a spear. I saw this myself, as our truck passed by, and the girls are not even trained to actually use the spears. They don't need to.
In fact it is not our real world that is going to fall apart, it is the fake world that is crumbling. We have been taught to think that 'our world' is that spectacle of events that we read about in our papers, and watch on our TV screens. Also we see 'our world' as the hierarchy itself, and we think the stability of that hierarchy is essential to our well-being. All illusion. Our real world is what's around us, the people and things we see everyday, directly with our own eyes. This is what we need to wake up to; this is the world we need to learn to live in, and the sooner the better.
Cooperation and mutual aid with our fellows is our only hope for survival as the hierarchy contracts its circle of concern to those at the very top, and our world-scale distribution systems begin to break down. We are not helpless, we are powerful, once we wake up and begin working together. If you want to see this dramatically demonstrated in a real-life documentary, check out The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil, http://www.powerofcommunity.org/cm/index.php, available from Community Solutions.
An important part of the Cuban 'world' had been its relationship with the Soviet Union, who supplied them with petroleum and bought Cuban exports. That 'world' fell apart all at once when the Soviet Union collapsed, and Cubans had to adjust or starve. Self-sufficiency for the island was forced on them. They started out in desperation, and as they worked together, planting gardens in every bare patch, and adopting non-petro-based organic methods, their desperation transformed into a new kind of community spirit and empowerment. In the documentary you can see the pride in their eyes, and you can see the same keenness and glow we saw on Thelma's face toward the end of that film. The collapse of their old world was a blessing in disguise, and now they eat better than they did when they had Soviet help.
I can't promise you a rose garden when you wake up to life and join hands with your neighbors to re-inhabit the real world. But then, no one every could promise you a rose garden; that was always an illusion and a deception. In the Cuban film we see the practical possibility of taking care of ourselves through our own cooperation and creativity. In Thelma & Louise we see the the precious peace and aliveness that comes from leaving fear behind, reclaiming our wild nature, and accepting life as the adventure it was intended to be by its creator.
rkm

Volunteer Project

It takes me about an hour including a twenty minute walk from my home, and then two bus rides to get to the elementary school that I´m doing a two week volunteer project. The school is very poor and the children wear tattered clothes and many are sniffling and coughing with runny noses. Its heartbreaking to see the wasted potential, but the kids, as all kids remain resilient and their energy is contagious. They know what time it is and hopefully we adults will stop short shrifting so many for our own egotistical reasons. After I finsih this project I will add some more pictures and thoughts to this post.

Semana Santa-Equinox

Semana Santa is the Name for Easter week in Latin America. Included in this week are ceremonies for the last days of Christ's life, the Crucifixion and Resurrection, as well as the end of Lent. Some people question whether Jesus as a historical person ever existed? Some suggest that religions came from mythic stories of birth, death, and rebirth of the sun. That Jesus represents a sacrificial king whom is connected with the sun as a dying and reviving god and its connection to the regeneration of the earth in springtime. Regardless, Christian churches were built on top Inca holy places, which in turn were built on top of the sacred spots of the Quicha´s. The myth that Latin America was NOT very densely populated for instance has now been shown be untrue, with just one example being that the Amazonian rainforrest was extensively cultivated for agricultural purposes and populated by a large number of people. This just goes to show that what we assume to be true is NOT always the case. Pictured to the left is a woman of Quichua descent selling fried bananas out on the street. Throughout Quito you will find lots of Quichua´s selling all manner of food items including an amazing array of fruits and vegatables. They live simple lives and continue to provide a powerful example of humility and kindness.

These 2 shots below taken on June 21´st are of the procession in Quito where the Old City was closed to cars and many, many thousands of people witnessed these folks in hooded blue and purple costumes called "cururuchos" along with multiple Jesus´s characters dragging crosses throughout the street.

Fonesca is the customary soup made only during the week of Semana Santa. Twelve grains are used in the soup to symbolize the 12 disciples. The lady in red sitting next to me is my teacher Carmen. I made everyone laugh and, me blush, when I said, talking about the peppers in the soup, "Estoy Calliente!", which literally translated means "I´m Hot" with sexual connotations. Learning a new language is filled with such moments.

After the meal at school, I took some of my fellow students over to my former home, Hostal Centro Del After the meal at school, I took some Mundo. My housemate Josh and fellow classmate Ben went up the El Panecillo

Living as we do in the New World, indigenous people such as the Quichua indians of Ecuador give us an opportunity to change course and treat the earth as sacred. It is NOT too late. In this modern world pollution of our bodies and the earth have reached epidemic proportions. Cancer being just one of many indicators of a massively contanminated environment. The Global Justice movement has documented how the health effects of industrial pollution disproportionately burden communities of color such as our Quichua friend shown above.

"A "green" religious movement is indeed beginning to grow. But people of faith can also address the environmental crisis another way: by celebrating. Australian environmentalist John Seed says, "I believe that loss of the ceremonies that acknowledge and nurture our interconnectedness with nature is a large part of the problem. We modern humans are the only ones— as far as I can tell— who have ever attempted to live without these rituals as an integral part of our lives." Among the holidays we observe each year, only Earth Day and Arbor Day honor the natural world. Both are worthy occasions, deserving of full "legal holiday" status, in my opinion, but clearly secular ones. Since 1995, "Earthlings" in Atlanta have been reclaiming the Equinoxes and Solstices as religious occasions. Four times a year, Atlanta's interfaith community is invited to come together to remember that the Earth is sacred, and celebrate the "birthday" of another season. Because the Solstices and Equinoxes existed before people did, they belong to all human traditions and therefore to none— fitting occasions to set aside our differences and pray and celebrate together.
These festive events have a serious intent: to remind city folks that whatever our beliefs, we all depend on nature for food, water, air, and Life itself, just as our ancestors did and our descendants will. It may be the one thing that people of all religions and no religion at all have in common. We call the entire spectrum of faiths together publicly because of the tradition of gratitude they share— and because what they share is just as important as each faith's uniqueness. Especially now, when the ethical discipline of religion is so desperately needed, we come together as members of Earth's spiritual community to say: Life is a miracle. Gratitude to the Creator is respect for Creation. Respect for Creation is essential to our children's future, as gratitude to the Creator is the essence of a spiritual life."

I think the family that I am living with heartily agree with what I quoted above, taken from the net". Estela is the mother of the clan and had 10 children. Two of her daughters, Amelia and Eulalia are shown here. The ten kids had 20 and the 20 had 40. Yes you read that correctly, Estela has 40 grandchildren. They have opened up their house to me and made me feel like a member of the family. Truly there is hope when love is around.

The Middle of the World

Quito, Ecuador: Sunday, March 16

Scott and Nick with the lovely Erika at her ChiQuito cafe.

Alejandro is a well known artist and partner of Erika. He took two years to build the home they now share and that also functions as cafe and as a gallery for Alejandro´s work. Erika is a fabulous baker and we really enjoyed her delicious offerings.

Scott and I met Nick at this cafe and we ended up staying for about 6 1/2 hours. Alejandro is truly a remarkable man and had us riveted in rapt attention as he shared passionatly with us on a wide range of topics . Can tell what we think of Bush and the U.S. policy towards Cuba.

Here I am lying on the Equator as determined by GPS. To look at some more information about the significance and meaning of the "Middle of the World", click on any of the three links below.

Quitsato
The Equator

Bad Corliolis

Big Sur in Quito

Across the street from my Swiss owned hostel is a gorgeous restaurant-bar called Big Sur. It is owned and operated by an American named Lars Klassen (click to see his blog) Lars worked the Latin American "Beat" for 30 years in the U.S. Foreign Service. He has been here in Ecuador for the last 6 years, but has lived in Central and South American countries such as Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador for years at a time as his job demanded. We talked a bit about why Latin America still stuggles so massivley with poverty and other social problems. I mentioned the book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man and Lar´s indicated that he did not think much of the book or the author, but that there was some truth to what the author was talking about. I look forward to continuing our discussion. He recommended 4 books to better understand the realities of South America:
The Soul of Latin America: The Cultural and Political Tradition . Howard J. Wiarda
Underdevelopment as a State of Mind: The Latin American Case . Lawrence E. Harrison
The Pan-American Dream Latin America's Cultural Values Discourage True Partnership with the United States and Canada?
The Liberators: Latin America's Struggle for Independence, 1810 - 1850 by Robert Harvey

Giti Neuman-Artista y Humaitario

Today I had the great honor of meeting a wonderful artist from Quito. Gita Neuman has her works exhibited on five floors of the Cultural Center at the Catholic University. I just happened to walk in off the street as I had a bit of time before my spanish class. Art exhibits usually don´t do much for me, but this one was different. As I wandered the floors, looking at her paintings and mutliple other pieces in various forms, I was moved by the presence of spirit. Her works spoke to me in a way that cut through all the words and got at what it is to be human at this point in time. Posing questions about war, mans inhumanity to man, the place and imprtance of sex and sensuality. Gita happened to be present and was gracious enough to spend time with me. We talked about her work and the painting we are standing in front of is called S.O.S for the time that we are in now. If there is an artist that matches what I am striving to convey with my words it is Giti.

El 21 de febrero el Centro Cultural de la Pontificia Universidad Católica inaugura la muestra antológica de la artista visual de origen checo y nacionalidad ecuatoriana, Giti Neuman.

Artista Ecuatoriana acreedora a la beca Fulbright como profesora, conferencista, e investigadora en la Universidad Estatal de San Diego. Ha exhibido sus obras de arte en Norte, Centro y Sudamérica como también en Europa. Actualmente es Presidenta Ejecutiva de la Fundación Museo del Papel en Quito, Ecuador.

La obra de Giti Neuman (n. Praga, República Checa, 1941) en gran medida está marcada por su cercana experiencia con la violencia de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Llegará con su familia a Quito en 1947 luego de que sus padres lograron escapar de campos de concentración nazi.

Quito on Foot

Walked about 12 hours today from 8am to 8pm thoughout both the Old City and the New City of Quito. Wandered through a wealthy enclave and watched a photo shoot of the bathing beauty
pictured here. So much money here in the hands of a relativley few wealthy families (old money), big international companies and a lucky few individuals. It struck me that Ego is at the root of how it is possible for a system of such radical inequity in wealth distribution to exist. The corresponding domination and exploitation of the majority of the population can be understood from the point of view of seeing how Ego operates. The illusion is that we have two systems, one capitalist and the other socialist. The socialist system is founded upon the belief in Noblese Oblige whereby the government makes policies for the broad social good. The capitalistic system is founded upon the belief that individuals (State Rights) should be left alone for the most part and decide for themselves how best to distribute the fruits of their industry. In fact there is no system, there is only life. It is only the ego that defends and explains and wants us to believe that there are these different systems. The only thing any one person can do is to diminish their ego to experience life more directly. This is actually quite radical and revolutionary. When the United States went through the Great Depression, individually and collectively, Ego was greatly diminished. People pulled together and the New Deal got people back to work through massive public works. This along with the sacrafices of many in WWÍI produced what is known as the Greatest Generation. Reminding me of this type of selfless service that exemplified the Greatest Generation was a young man named Josh from Austin Texas that was in the same dorm as me my first night in Quito. He is working for six months out in an isolated rural village to help make a health center. So far he says he has only been working on generators and basic electrical stuff(the vilage just got electricity two years ago) but he says people ride horses for two days just to come to the center they are working on. It is funded by a German Non Profit of sorts and has doctors from Germany and other Latin countries helping out. Josh has just finsihed college and is planning on going to medical school to become a doctor himself. It is in young people like Josh that there is much hope.

Ecuador-The Unbearable Lightness of Being

After three buses and more than 24 hours in transit, I am now esconsed at the "Backpacker´s Inn" here in Quito. I remember traveling in Prague in January of 1990 right after the wall came down, and I was struck with a similar feeling wandering through the bus station here in Quito. Time slowed down and my senses seemed to absorb everything. On the bus from the border I met a local indian woman named Rosita, pictured here. Crossing the border, I changed some of my extra Colombian currency for what they use in Ecuador, the U.S dollar. I was struck by the poverty and that this country got "dollarized" helps to explain its continuing exploitation.Before getting on the bus in Medellin I watched Uribe and Chavez on the television at the Rio Group meeting, (along with the rest of Colombia that was glued to the set), and was struck by the nodding heads of many Latin American presidents as Chavez spoke. In the past the United States would have gotten away helping to take Chavez out in 2003 and similarly not much would ahve come of the murder of Reyes. But now, the tide has tunned and many of the presidents of Latin America have escaped from being dominated by the United States. Bush and Company of course don´t like this and talk about fighting terrorism, but the majority of the world is really sick of the rhetoric. The cat is out of the bag and as Europe and Asia grow stronger, the United States is left looking more and more like the proverbial ""Emperor with No Clothes" living in a house of cards.countries nodded the and entering into Ecuador I was struck by the poverty

Adios Medellin! Hasta Ecuador

Today I leave Medellin, a city that has won my heart. Medellin reminds me of San Francisco. Yesterday there where large peace marches throughout Colombia and around the world. The march in Medellin had an estimated 15,000 participants and I walked the full route taking pictures, talking to to people and being moved to tears by a group of mothers who had lost loved ones. Click here to look at the pictures I took at the event. Much of the focus of the march was aimed at the paramilitaries, who have inflicted incredible violence on the people of this long suffering country. Take a look at this article to see a perspective you won´t find in the mainstream press, but represents the sentiments of many of the marchers. Compared to the march against FARC that I saw in Santa Marta in February, this one was represented a much more diverse cross section of Colombian society. Watching the demonstration against FARC, I was struck by the flawed logic of stating that they were against violence, yet that they were going to militarily eliminate FARC.
How can you end violence by using violence? Alfie, an International Relations student from Norway is pointing at the headline in the paper about the march. He is studying Spanish along with Joe, a Paramedic from New York, at one of the universities here.
They helped me figure out my signs that I proudly wore Yesterday.

Medellin Day 2

As the political conflict caused by Colombia´s incursion into Ecuador to kill the ¨Number 2 FARC Commander" heats up, it has been reported that the United States provided key information to facilitate the operation. I love my country and loathe my government. Someday it will be nice when people who justify the use of violence some to their senses and stop making so much ugliness. Onward to practical concerns, my visa expires this Sunday so I will be haded to Quito this Sunday. I took a bunch more pictures today and captioned them and if you want to see them Click here for my Medellin Day 2 pictures. I am doing a week of language school at one of the Universities here for two hours a day. I am glad to get back into the langauge learning mode. I see that spending so much time thinking and writing in English is counter to me leanring the Spanish. So you should see in the coming months a mark drop in the amount of chronicling that I do in English. Pictured are Alber and Katalina whom I met on the tram.