domingo, 28 de diciembre de 2008
miércoles, 30 de julio de 2008
Trip to the campo
Two weeks ago, I went to countryside with the summer SIT students and some of their friends to a special spot they knew about. It was beautiful and relaxing. Here's the photos.
The Thursday before, we went out for drinks.
Andres, me, Nora, Emily, Andres' friend Berta and her bf Kike, Rachel, and Karlia
The drive out.
A view of the valley below.
Carmen (Nora's host sister), Nora, me, Karlia, Rachel.
Arriving at the waterfall.
check out that rock face!
the waterfall
me, Rachel, Karlia, Nora, Carmen, David (Carmen's boyfriend)
l-r
Nora, Carmen, Karlia, Rachel, me
l-r
The Thursday before, we went out for drinks.
Andres, me, Nora, Emily, Andres' friend Berta and her bf Kike, Rachel, and Karlia
The drive out.
A view of the valley below.
Carmen (Nora's host sister), Nora, me, Karlia, Rachel.
Arriving at the waterfall.
check out that rock face!
the waterfall
me, Rachel, Karlia, Nora, Carmen, David (Carmen's boyfriend)
l-r
Nora, Carmen, Karlia, Rachel, me
l-r
viernes, 25 de julio de 2008
Photos June and July
We moved into the new apartment last month... here are some photos. They're in backwards chronological order.
This week Shaamela (visiting from South Africa) and Leny came to see the view from the roof...
Mt. Tunari overlooks the valley of Cochabamba
As do the northern hills...
Leny and I, the sunset, and Mt. Tunari
Leny and Shaamela
Two weeks ago, Maria and the ever-adorable Andres Sebastian came over. I let the little one play with my camera... culminating in a series I like to call "Self-portraits of a three-year old". Here's a sample or three.
"hooded"
"angry"
"laughing"
Me & Andres in the kitchen
The first weekend we moved in, Andres' family came over to see the place. A major decision had to be made: their new puppy needed a name. It took three tries.
Diego pulls the first name from the hat.
The second name is read. In the end, we chose "Filippo" or "Pipo" for short.
The whole famiglia and me.
The living room without people.
180 degrees - the entrance
That's all folks! Maybe I'll take pictures of the rest of the apt later...
This week Shaamela (visiting from South Africa) and Leny came to see the view from the roof...
Mt. Tunari overlooks the valley of Cochabamba
As do the northern hills...
Leny and I, the sunset, and Mt. Tunari
Leny and Shaamela
Two weeks ago, Maria and the ever-adorable Andres Sebastian came over. I let the little one play with my camera... culminating in a series I like to call "Self-portraits of a three-year old". Here's a sample or three.
"hooded"
"angry"
"laughing"
Me & Andres in the kitchen
The first weekend we moved in, Andres' family came over to see the place. A major decision had to be made: their new puppy needed a name. It took three tries.
Diego pulls the first name from the hat.
The second name is read. In the end, we chose "Filippo" or "Pipo" for short.
The whole famiglia and me.
The living room without people.
180 degrees - the entrance
That's all folks! Maybe I'll take pictures of the rest of the apt later...
miércoles, 7 de mayo de 2008
And the seasons change...
I can imagine what May looks like there now - daffodils, azaleas, tigerlilies, roses; the light, delicate green of early buds giving way to the deep green of a robust summer.
A couple of weeks ago the deep green hills that surround the Cochabamba valley began to brown, and the trees started to drop their leaves. This week it's gotten colder; I leave my house in the morning with a jacket or a warm fleece. And the seasons change...
I miss you all, and would love to hear from you (send me photos)! My brother Craig is coming to visit, arriving tomorrow, which I'm very excited about. We have a busy month planned, and I promise to put up more images after he leaves. For now, here's my installment on the last few months.
The most exciting news is that I am now officially a published author, in translation. Our book "Desafiando la globalizacion: historias de la experiencia boliviana" came out in April. Again, I wrote one of the chapters - on Bolivian emigration - and the English version will be out in the UK in September and in the US next January. If you can read Spanish, it's up on the web for free at: www.democracyctr.org/libro . Unfortunately, our US publisher is not as open to letting us publish the book for free on the internet as our Bolivian publisher is, but I'll let everyone know when it comes out.
My housemate Alex
made headlines
in February
when he publicly
called out a
US Embassy official
for asking him
(a Fulbright scholar)
to spy on Venezuelans
and Cubans in Bolivia.
At a staff retreat in March...
Leny, Aldo, and Elliot
a photo from
Ismael (co-director
of my 2003 study
abroad program)'s
birthday - March 8,
dia internacional
de la mujer -
an event as unique
and wonderful
as he is.
From late March to April... vibrant summer to fall. I took these pictures when hiking to "the Cristo," the 33-meter-tall statue of Jesus Christ that stands on a tall hill overlooking Cochabamba.
late March
late April
Naomi Klein, author of No Logo and The Shock Doctrine, was in Bolivia last week. We presented the Spanish version of our book in a joint book launch with her in La Paz. Here I am with this amazing author and Ana Maria from Fundacion Solon, who helped us coordinate the event.
From La Paz, I went to chilly Potosi for the weekend to visit Andres, who has a month-long translating/interpreting gig there with a Japanese company. Here we found a bit of sun in the afternoon...
Speaking English Guides in Potosi. I love it.
A couple of weeks ago the deep green hills that surround the Cochabamba valley began to brown, and the trees started to drop their leaves. This week it's gotten colder; I leave my house in the morning with a jacket or a warm fleece. And the seasons change...
I miss you all, and would love to hear from you (send me photos)! My brother Craig is coming to visit, arriving tomorrow, which I'm very excited about. We have a busy month planned, and I promise to put up more images after he leaves. For now, here's my installment on the last few months.
The most exciting news is that I am now officially a published author, in translation. Our book "Desafiando la globalizacion: historias de la experiencia boliviana" came out in April. Again, I wrote one of the chapters - on Bolivian emigration - and the English version will be out in the UK in September and in the US next January. If you can read Spanish, it's up on the web for free at: www.democracyctr.org/libro . Unfortunately, our US publisher is not as open to letting us publish the book for free on the internet as our Bolivian publisher is, but I'll let everyone know when it comes out.
My housemate Alex
made headlines
in February
when he publicly
called out a
US Embassy official
for asking him
(a Fulbright scholar)
to spy on Venezuelans
and Cubans in Bolivia.
At a staff retreat in March...
Leny, Aldo, and Elliot
a photo from
Ismael (co-director
of my 2003 study
abroad program)'s
birthday - March 8,
dia internacional
de la mujer -
an event as unique
and wonderful
as he is.
From late March to April... vibrant summer to fall. I took these pictures when hiking to "the Cristo," the 33-meter-tall statue of Jesus Christ that stands on a tall hill overlooking Cochabamba.
late March
late April
Naomi Klein, author of No Logo and The Shock Doctrine, was in Bolivia last week. We presented the Spanish version of our book in a joint book launch with her in La Paz. Here I am with this amazing author and Ana Maria from Fundacion Solon, who helped us coordinate the event.
From La Paz, I went to chilly Potosi for the weekend to visit Andres, who has a month-long translating/interpreting gig there with a Japanese company. Here we found a bit of sun in the afternoon...
Speaking English Guides in Potosi. I love it.
viernes, 29 de febrero de 2008
02.29.08 - Happy Leap Day!
Happy leap day!
It's been a busy month...
Work - Retreat at Jim's new house out in the campo (see photo); distributing our magazine, Jallalla, to the four corners of the globe; giving my first-ever presentation in Spanish; a new project to bring voices from Latin America into the debate over US foreign policy; helping out with grant proposals (know anyone who wants to give us money?); finishing up the Spanish version of the book; writing and more writing...
Outside of work - I'm finally learning Quechua, the language of the Incas! Millions of speakers, mostly in the Andean countries, though I've heard it spoken in the Target near Seven Corners too... An hour and a half daily, Monday thru Friday. Imaynalla kachkanki?
Summer - Spent an entire morning harvesting pacay fruit at my house, then shared with friends. (See photos below of the pacay - and my house, long overdue, I know). It's raining once every 3-4 days now that the rainy season is winding down, as opposed to going entire weeks without seeing the sun. The flooding in the eastern lowlands is still awful, leaving people without houses, without crops, and in some cases, losing their lives or their loved ones.
Comadres - Ladies' night out with Eva and her many friends. Dice games and dancing, dancing, and more dancing! No photos, sorry.
Carnaval - Noon to midnight on a Sunday out in the country with a group of Andres' friends from forever. Water fights, yummy food, a band AND a DJ, and my first ever "Carnaval toda la vida" shirt. With any luck, I'll snag some photos from other folks that were there.
Ch'allando - Streamers, balloons, confetti, sugar candy confites in every corner of the house. People don't just do spring cleaning here, they do a midsummer harvest blessing too for the year to come. (See photos below.)
El Corso - Parade-viewing from the office balcony. Lots of guests, Jim out of town, and the neverending parade of traditional Bolivian dancers. Photos coming...
Party at my house - Alex (gringo roommate) and Luis (Bolivian roommate) organized a get-together at our house and were kind enough to invite me. I've never seen that many people at the house before. But fun. When I went inside to go to sleep (well after midnight), the drum circle didn't even keep me up. (Photos below)
Quechua words of the day!
Yachakuq - Student
Yachachiq - Teacher
Misi - Cat
Allqu (pronounced algo with the g way at the back of your throat) - Dog
Wasi - House
Wasiy - My house
Ayllu - Family
Masikuna - Friends
Raymi - Party
Warmi - Woman
Tusuy - To dance
Llamk'ay - To work
Qhillqay - To write
Asiy - To laugh
Pacay on the trees
Pacay I harvested
...and ate
My house from the entrance
(Notice the hammock)
My room.
It's all decorated for the Ch'alla
The main patio area and door to the living room, decorated for Carnaval!
L-R
Alex (roommate)
Raul (friend)
Luis (roommate)
Me & Andres
The drum circle I had to walk around to get into my room!
It's been a busy month...Work - Retreat at Jim's new house out in the campo (see photo); distributing our magazine, Jallalla, to the four corners of the globe; giving my first-ever presentation in Spanish; a new project to bring voices from Latin America into the debate over US foreign policy; helping out with grant proposals (know anyone who wants to give us money?); finishing up the Spanish version of the book; writing and more writing...
Outside of work - I'm finally learning Quechua, the language of the Incas! Millions of speakers, mostly in the Andean countries, though I've heard it spoken in the Target near Seven Corners too... An hour and a half daily, Monday thru Friday. Imaynalla kachkanki?
Summer - Spent an entire morning harvesting pacay fruit at my house, then shared with friends. (See photos below of the pacay - and my house, long overdue, I know). It's raining once every 3-4 days now that the rainy season is winding down, as opposed to going entire weeks without seeing the sun. The flooding in the eastern lowlands is still awful, leaving people without houses, without crops, and in some cases, losing their lives or their loved ones.
Comadres - Ladies' night out with Eva and her many friends. Dice games and dancing, dancing, and more dancing! No photos, sorry.
Carnaval - Noon to midnight on a Sunday out in the country with a group of Andres' friends from forever. Water fights, yummy food, a band AND a DJ, and my first ever "Carnaval toda la vida" shirt. With any luck, I'll snag some photos from other folks that were there.
Ch'allando - Streamers, balloons, confetti, sugar candy confites in every corner of the house. People don't just do spring cleaning here, they do a midsummer harvest blessing too for the year to come. (See photos below.)
El Corso - Parade-viewing from the office balcony. Lots of guests, Jim out of town, and the neverending parade of traditional Bolivian dancers. Photos coming...
Party at my house - Alex (gringo roommate) and Luis (Bolivian roommate) organized a get-together at our house and were kind enough to invite me. I've never seen that many people at the house before. But fun. When I went inside to go to sleep (well after midnight), the drum circle didn't even keep me up. (Photos below)
Quechua words of the day!
Yachakuq - Student
Yachachiq - Teacher
Misi - Cat
Allqu (pronounced algo with the g way at the back of your throat) - Dog
Wasi - House
Wasiy - My house
Ayllu - Family
Masikuna - Friends
Raymi - Party
Warmi - Woman
Tusuy - To dance
Llamk'ay - To work
Qhillqay - To write
Asiy - To laugh
Pacay on the trees
Pacay I harvested
...and ate
My house from the entrance
(Notice the hammock)
My room.
It's all decorated for the Ch'alla
The main patio area and door to the living room, decorated for Carnaval!
L-R
Alex (roommate)
Raul (friend)
Luis (roommate)
Me & Andres
The drum circle I had to walk around to get into my room!
jueves, 24 de enero de 2008
1.24.08 La vuelta
I put up some more photos from my visit in the US, and also a picture from when Andres and I went out to the campo (countryside) my first weekend back as a reintroduction to being here. moooooooo.
Being back... the things I notice. Some you've heard about, some you haven't.
Speaking Spanish all the time. How quickly you forget, how quickly you remember.
The rainy season. How brimming with life my neighborhood is. How hills that look down on Cochabamba have transformed from a dusty green-brown to a vibrant mix of the tender green of fresh growth and a deep happy forest green. How even though it's summer, the moment the sun is covered with clouds, it gets chilly. How the pacay fruit on the tree in my yard is all ripe. How good it tastes fresh off the tree. The fact that I have a tree in my yard that I can pick fruit off. How it's fig season again, and my co-worker brings in figs for us all to eat, just like last year.
Marketplaces lined with many different vendors all selling the same thing. Five hardware stores on one block. How crazy it is. How logical it is.
How easy it is to catch a bus... anywhere. How I can look out the window on public transportation instead of concentrating on the road driving. How I look forward to the moment when I cross the bridge into the center of town because I can see everything at once - the highest peak you can see from Cochabamba, Tunari, in the west; the hill up to the Cristo statue (a few centimeters taller than the far more famous one in Rio de Janeiro) to the east; the green hills in the north; and the skyline of the sweet city that I'm about to enter in the south.
How quickly Carnaval has snuck up upon us. How I'm never sure if it will be rain or a water balloon that will soak me on any given day. How amazing it is to see the diversity of dances and dancers.
How polarized politics are here. How little the different groups talk to each other. How strong racial/ethnic/class barriers are. How entrenched racism (intertwined with classism) is. How every group claims that *they* are the ones moving the country forward. How it makes the civil rights struggle in the United States ever more real, and me ever more curious to learn about it. The challenge of speaking out against racist attitudes while not treating with any less humanity those who are racist. How troubled it all makes me.
How Cochabamba is a city that most people in the world have never even heard of. How, in global social justice circles, this city is famous (for rejecting the privatization of its water system). How my other home, Washington, DC - the capital of the United States - is a city that just about everyone in the world knows exists.
Just a few Spanish words:
pacay: http://www.tradewindsfruit.com
higo: fig
ferreteria: hardware store
justicia y paz: peace and justice
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