Out of Practice - or am I?

You have to have a certain type of chutzpah to make it in Africa.  There is just a constant bombardment of the senses that if you are not 'always on,' you might just get ripped off.  I think it's similar to the feeling you can get on stage when you are required to be completely on for the the course of the show.

My Peace Corps Country director said to me once in a dive bar near the border of Zimbabwe, "Volunteers have a 24/7 job.  The minute you wake up to the minute you go to sleep, you are working, representing America and that might be the toughest job you ever have."  I think people may also be curious on how we sleep!  But, I digress.

I was walking to downtown Windhoek today after work and passed by a section where the majority of registered hawkers set up shop to sell you all sorts of Africana.  Alot of it is the same that you'll see in Namibia, South africa, Swaziland or Mozambique, but I stopped by a stall because I saw something that comes from Mozambique.  I know it as 'pastas de palha' or palm wallets and like using them for the abundance of coin I get when traveling in southern Africa.  It's also very nice because it stops the coin from jingling in your pocket.  I asked the person at the stall how much and she said N$180! (20 USD). This is for something I would buy for 5-10 Meticais in Mozambique (20-40 cents)  I laughed at her out loud and said I felt insulted she thought I would be so stupid to pay that amount.  She immediately dropped her price to N$120 - which is still too high.

A man came over to me and asked how much I was willing to pay, I said N$4 because that is equal to MTn10.  He laughed at me.  Taking some words of advice from a friend in Vermont who had been to this part of the world since the recession of 2008, I asked if I paid N$100 (which he wanted), what would he give me?  He pointed to some small tschaky and I picked out what I actually wanted.  So, long story short.  I walked away from the market with a bag full of curios as presents for people for N$150.  All were happy and I don't think I'm as out of practice as I previously though.

Now, why would I say I am out of practice?  I lived in the Mozambican bush for 3 years after all.  But, the thing is, I've lived a cushy existence in America since then.  I felt particularly out of practice when my friend Lauren came to visit from South Africa.  She's lived in SA and Moz for the past 5 years save for a 6 month break back in PA.  We had gone out to a bierhaus on her last night in Windhoek and took a taxi home.  Naturally, most taxi drivers think that everyone coming out of this bierhaus is a tourist.  We asked for a taxi and were told it would be N$50 dollars for a 2 kilometer ride.  That ride is normally N$9 a person.

We eventually found a normal taxi and gave them a N$20 for us to get home.  But, on the ride home I thought things were bad.  I couldn't understand the driver and thought he was slurring his words.  I later realized he only spoke nominal English.  I admired my friend because she was just a chatty Cathy with the drivers and had them laughing with her or at her.  I felt that night I couldn't do things like that anymore and would rather stay home than have to deal with it.

Needless to say, we got home safely and after the experience in the curio market today, I might not be in such bad shape after all!

More soon,
Ian

Sandboarding in the Namib...

'Nuf Said... (In the Namib Desert 2/24/2013)

Trekking up

72 kph going down

Trekking up from the bottom

We survived!

Land is in Art

I used to make fun of my brother Noel and his obsession with land in his art, but not anymore.  Two weeks ago, I went to a wonderful exhibition af the National Art Gallery of Namibia called "Legacies of a Colonial Town."   The exhibition was built into a faux township shack and chronicled the life of Windhoek from a colonial German city through the South Africa occupation from 1920 to 1990 and then as the independent capital of the Namibian Nation.  2 things stuck out at me, well 3 if you count the mosquitos.  :)

1. Windhoek was originally founded by the local tribes in 1840 ish with help from some missionaries.  The locals liked the area around Windhoek because it has fresh water bubbling up from the //Ae //Gams below the city.  Pretty much below where I am right now.  Also, the city is 1,700 meters high so there are NO mosquitos.  Let me say that again, there are NO MOSQUITOS.  As someone who has had Malaria multiple times, that's nothing to joke about.  So, the local Namibians recognized a good piece of land, the Germans took notice and it's been the art of the Politic every since.

Christuskirche and the Independence Museum

2. A sacred space is well hidden in downtown Windhoek.  The above picture is pretty much the center of Windhoek.  That church is a Lutheran church, built in 1910 by the Germans.  I do want to go to service there because it's beautiful AND in German.  But I digress.  The big 'golden tooth' you see is situated on perhaps the most hotly contested part of Windhoek.  Just by the two palm trees in the right part of the picture there is a small building (well small in comparison to the 40 meter tall North Korean beheamouth) called the Alte Feste/Old Fortress.  It was the first building built in Windhoek as the German Administrative center.  During the wars of 1904-1908, the Germans had a concentration camp for the Herero and Nama people.  Almost 8,000 people 'lived' in an area the size of the Commons in Brattleboro ie NOT very big.  When the war was over, the Germans built a twice life sized equestrian memorial to all the German soldiers who died fighting the 'native rebellion.'  It was built right near where many of these natives perished (mostly women and children) at the hands of the Germans.  The monument stood at that place for almost 100 years.  However, 2 years ago - to celebrate 20 years of independence - the monument was moved.

Moving the Reiterdenkmal
  

The German-Namibians were up in Arms because they thought it would be destroyed.  It wasn't.  The Namibian government knew that it was a valid piece of Namibian history.  Yet now, the tallest building in Windhoek, arguably a work of art, called the Independence Museum, is built on a spot where the colonizer tried to wipe out the independence of the colonized.  One thing, it's not open yet....

3. Katutura - The Place We Do Not Wish To Settle.

There is a road in Windhoek called the Western Bypass.  It was built by the Apartheid SWA regime to skirt around the city and make travel north and south in the country much easier.  That was 50 plus years ago.  Now, the bypass is still a bypass but it passes right through the city. 

Windhoek is encircled by mountains on all but the western side and that is where the SWA government decided to move the 'dark spots' on 'white' Windhoek.  They moved people from a location relatively close to the city - at least within walking distance for all the day laborers who worked in town - and put them ten kilometers out.  Interestingly enough, it is right over a hill and out of sight from town.  Now, Katutura is the home of the majority of musicians, artists and culture in Windhoek.

I don't think I will ever question the importance of land in Art again.

More soon.

Ian

Two sides of a coin. (Take 2)

I had tried to write this on my iPad earlier but it didn't work. Yet for some reason, I wrote that first sentence on my laptop, now I'm on my iPad and it saved.... Oh the joys of piggy backing on any and all signals I can get!

I found a new cafe closer to my house than where I have been going. I think I'm going to give that other place a rest because of the story I'm just about to tell you.

My Internet at home is a USB stick that I buy vouchers for, punch in codes and get to use the Internet until the money runs out. I have had to severely modify my Internet use habits because the age of unlimited use with a very good bandwidth in America has spoiled me. There is no such thing as streaming, that'll eat up my credit in NO time as I found out my first week here when I wanted to finish the last episode of HUNG. It took 30 minutes to load and the credit was gone. (I can do Skype though, and voice calls through the Internet don't seem to be bad... As long as I'm doing NOTHING ELSE) So if anyone wants to Skype. Hint hint. The annoying part of it is that I have only found one place that sells recharge vouchers for over N$50. They only sell them for N$200 and most people I ask them for seem VERY confused. I've tried to develope a habit of buying at least a N$50 whenever I'm out.

I will be glad to return to the land of plenty in April if not for the mere fact that I've become too accustomed to having the Internet just at my fingertips.

Now, I've been going to a little shopping center around the corner from me. Near the DVD store and my local supermarket. There is a little cafe in there where you can get small snacks and good coffee or tea. There is also outside seating that they share with a fast food joint called Wimpy's. They are kind of like a cross between Denny's and Friendly's. The people there a nice and I've gone there a couple of times for coffee and a chance to upload some things to the Internet without taxing my connection too much. Once, when I first sat there, a guy came up to me and sat right down. He asked what I was doing, (reading on the kindle app) said his name was Peter and immediately asked for money. I stupidly gave him N$2 and he went on his way.

But fast forward to this past Friday - two days ago - and there was a different situation. I decided to get a coke at the Wimpy's and sat there soaking up the Internet. Peter came and sat down and immediately launched into a sob story about the tragedy at home. His grandfather died and he was the only bread winner at home. He then asked me for N$30 bucks. I said no. I didn't have it. He said well what about $30 USD - nearly 9 times the price! I got mad and told the waitress he was bothering me. She got a waiter who then proceeded to shoo him away for me. The manager asked if I could come inside to help her settle my bill, but she was really on the phone to security. They wouldn't let me go until Peter left. He was sitting just outside staring me down at this point. I ignored him.

M phone rang and a colleague from the embassy said she had some time to take me around town and show me spots where I could go work on other people's Internet without anyone bugging me. I was to meet her outside of the International Apotheke on the other side of the center. Not really very far away. The waitresses said she would escort me to the guards there and I could ain't there but she wouldn't leave me until Peter left. He didn't. He followed and started grabbing my bag and me, saying 'my brother, you promised me N$5!' I didn't. He wouldn't stop and so I made a scene. We were right in the local supermarket and it was pretty funny. Peter left cursing at me as he went.

My friend was there to pick me up, but her car was not yellow enough for the waitress who I had told I would be picked up by a yellow car. So she wouldn't let me go until my friend rolled down the window, said my name and I swore it was safe for me to go.

So, I'm not going to get upset about a local indecent person around here. I'm going to focus on the bright side that the waitresses like me and I feel safe with them around. I'm definitely enjoying my new place here at Utopia's Fresh n Wild cafe here. :) the coffee is better too.

Ian

Teach a person to fish....

Sometimes in Africa, you get a lot of time to think about things in your life.  I've had the pleasure of going 'back to Mozambique' this past weekend.  I knew that I had to get out of 'white' Windhoek so I didn't go crazy starting at walls.  So, I went to this place called Katutura, the location or township for Africans north west of the city.

Katutura (The place where we wish not to settle) is 10 kilometers outside of downtown Windhoek, but it could be another world.  As I took a taxi into the location, I noticed immediately that the sights, smells and sounds changed and I was transported to Mozambique.  I went out there to look at a project called KATU TOURS.   The project received some funding from the office I'm working in now and I wanted to work out some of the details of the project in order to help with some of the social media marketing.  Since, according to a recent CNN article, most Africans access the internet through cellular technology, it makes perfect sense to put your marketing there.  Also, when you're a start-up with little capital, it works to your advantage.

KatuTours is run by Anna from Angola.  She takes people from the city around Katutura to foster communication and some understanding.  The ride is 10 kilometers and you stop at shops, the market and other spots throughout the location in order to get a better view.  The best part for me was when we stopped at the Shebeen of Tate Buti.  He's one of the biggest singers in Namibia and I'll be looking for a CD soon.  While we were at the Shebeen, people were sharing with me beyond belief.  The meat was delicious and kept coming, the beer was cold and the conversation was great.  You need anything more?

What I like the most about this project, is that for N$350, I got 6 hours of a wonderful time with a woman who really cares about her community.  She lives where she works and teaches others how to ride bicycles.  Hopefully, she can get just a little bit of help because she is definitely learning how to fish.

Back to the beginning, I said in Africa you get alot of time.  It shows you what is important.

More soon.

Ian

A photo of me with Anna

And so it begins...

Malaria Dreams can be good and can be bad.  Mine have tended to be funny.  I'm grateful for that aspect because I've heard of some that are positively terrifying, mine not so much.  They always tend to involve different people in my life in rather strange ways.  I have the following book at home in Vermont and will be reading it AS SOON as I get home.  I'm curious what made this book so good - or so I've heard.

They've started.

My sleep schedule requires me to wake up at 5:30.  I know you can laugh all you want, but for the past year plus, I haven't been awake before 7 unless I was going somewhere and if I did, I would usually be back to sleep within the hour.  :)  Last night was weird.  I couldn't fall asleep right away because the altitude difference (300 feet to over 5,000 feet) has made the jet lag last longer than I'm used to.  That and my absolute willingness to read and or watch EVERYTHING might lead to some craziness.  Case in point tonight is a movie that, well, I wouldn't watch in America.  I doubt I would watch it here if I were living with someone.

So, I finally got to sleep around 11:30 and got a good nights sleep until about 4:30.  I had to get up because the alarm went off, but I was able to go back to sleep.  That's where the dream began.  Malaria dreams (I'm not even taking the medicine yet, Windhoek is Malaria free) for me tend to be in HD and this one was.  The entire SIT Admissions team had started up a little tuck shop/bodega here in Klein Windhoek.  They had to run the entire shop but for some reason, even though Namibia is an English speaking country, English wasn't useful in the dream.  I was speaking Afrikaans and helping them run the shop.  The thing that makes this dream a Malaria Dream for me, is that the colors of the Namibian currency in the till was in TECHNICOLOR.  Also, I woke up before the dream could be resolved.

If dreams are starting and I don't have to take the medication until I head up north, what's it going to be like there?

More soon.

Hello from the Windy Corner

Christuskirche & the as-yet-to-be-opened Independence Museum brought to you by the DPRK.

I am writing to you from //AE //GAMS.  A place you and I know as Windhoek.  There is a small shopping center here in Klein Windhoek with that name.

It reads

Klein //AE //GAMS Mall.    

There are two clicks in there.  They kind of sound like a horse call out the side of the mouth.  There are 3 or 4 different languages in that title alone, depending on who you ask.  Others will say it is only one ie Namibian English - which is proving to be an interesting version of English to master.  I know I definitely can't speak it, I don't know if I will be able to after 3 months, but I'm finding it easier to understand.  I think if I tried to speak like a Namibian though, it would come out VERY weird.

Positives today

Did it all by myself
everyone is so friendly
retracing some old steps from 4 years ago.
getting people to talk with me by saying just

hawayu!

More Soon.

Ian

Last Days in America....

I haven't written a post like this in awhile.  But tonight is my last day in Vermont before I head to the airport (JFK) to fly to Namibia.

This is the flag of the country which has been independent since 1990.  I'm very excited because independence day is March 21st (1990) and I will be there for the 23rd anniversary of independence.  I know this is a fanciful comparison, but I wonder what America was like in 1799 - 23 years after our independence from Britain.


I know the answer to part of this question.  I'm also not trying to compare Namibia to America or vice versa.  I'm just trying to process that I WILL BE GOING BACK TO AFRICA after an absence of 4 years.  It's going to be a different experience because I'll be living in the "best" neighborhood of Windhoek.  For those of you that may know Windhoek, I'll be staying in provided housing in the Klein Windhoek or Ludwigsdorf section of the city - depending on who you talk too.  I've also heard, that Klein Windhoek is the original settlement, i.e. the entire eastern section of the modern city and then Ludwigsdorf is the actual neighborhood.  Ahhhh Africa!  I'll let you know when I get there.


Some things I'm looking forward to the most about Africa:

-Heat , especially last night after sliding back down to the railroad parking lot by the river.  Man it was cold and slipper.
-Color
-Spicy smells
-Smell after it rains It'll be the dry season. :(
-Cheap, fresh food
-Music
and lastly, MOST important

GETTING ADAM CHRISTOPHE TO AFRICA!!!!!

My next post will be coming from Windhoek.  I love the fact that I am going from weather that's in the 30's Fahrenheit to 30's Celsius.

More soon.

Step by Step

I heard once that you learn with age.

I don't think so!

I remember when I was living in England for the first time.  I had wanted to go visit Germany and some of my friends from my exchange year there.  But my plane ticket back to America was from London so that presented a problem.  I was SO cheap, I wouldn't head back to London before I needed to leave for the USA.  So, I booked a flight from Germany back to London the morning of when I was supposed to fly back.  The catch was that the flight was from Switzerland.  I was in Germany....

So, my friend's mom woke me up at 4:30 and we went by car to Lake Constance where I traveled by boat over the border to Switzerland.  I then forged my EURAIL pass to get on the train to Zurich where I would get to London by plane.  The trip to London brought me to Gatwick and I was flying out of Heathrow.  I had 2 hours to make the transfer and got to Heathrow barely in time.   I was the last person on the plane and happy to be flying over the Atlantic.  I got picked up by Mag at JFK and drove to Connecticut.  This is still my personal record where I went through 4 different countries in 18 hours.  (Germany, Switzerland, the UK and the US)

So now, as I am writing a blog and not writing my capstone proposal, I am questioning my reasoning about accepting an intern position in Windhoek, Namibia so soon after I finish a position in Brattleboro.

I know it will be worth it, but... gulp!

More soon...

Back From The Dead

I'm 30, it's 2013 and I'm in my 2nd year of a Master's Program at SIT Graduate Institute.

Every aspect of that sentence has made me realize how quickly time has gone by.  Many times, when I am talking about Peace Corps, I'll say,  "Oh yes, I just got back...." four years ago.  I realized quickly, I had to rectify that.  Four years away from Africa is just too much time for me. 

Since I have been back, there has been alot going on, but I'm not going to bore you with that.  I'll just start in 2012.  I've been working with the marketing department at my school as an intern for the past 6 months.  The title of my job has been SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR and I've learned alot.  Most of my day is spent monitoring social media feeds and what not online.  It's proven fun and difficult.  Fun because I am learning new things and meeting many people online.  The difficult part is that I am online all day, so when I get home I don't want to be connected and don't do school work.  Thankfully that has changed.

December and the month of January up until yesterday were rough times here.  Long story short, my body realized I am going back to Africa so the thyroid and some skin on my back decided to act up.  I guess it is my way of saying that I can't do anything lightly and really had to ramp up the stress level before I left.  So, with a benign thyroid goiter and a scar from a remove melanoma on my back, I'm leaving for Windhoek, Namibia on January 31st.

I'll be living in Windhoek for 10 weeks and hopefully be getting back to Mozambique before I leave to come back to America.  I've decided to start up this blog again because I'm going back to Africa.  Also, my brother Noel is currently working in Barbuda down in the Caribbean.  So please follow him at www.noelhefele.com/blog as well.

Ate breve,

Ian

Trying to find the wow moments

started this blog over six years ago. I believe it was in March 2005, as I was winding up my life in the UK. Less than six months later I was going to Africa. When I started typing here, I didn't know where I was going. I just knew I was going. I was 22 and very naive (I see NOW!) but I was on the ride of my life. I started this blog as a way to mentally process where I was going and as a handy way to keep in contact with people "back home" whether in Germany, the UK or the USA. Sadly, I've been back over 2 years and have been pathetic at keeping this blog up and running. I admit, I got nervous at how scary the instant connectedness of the first world can infiltrate your life. But now as I've been thinking about what the Internet does I can make comparisons with Africa in a heart beat. There's this phenomenon in Africa called the Bush Telegraph. I distinctly remember hearing from people in VILLAGES in the interior that I was doing such and such on such and such night. I realized quickly that people were watching me where ever I went. It's similar with the Internet. Think about it. How many times in your life have you heard the "Oh yeah I saw that on Facebook..." or some variant thereof. It's just a bush telegraph with optical fibers instead of coconut fibers and fofoqueira.

Now on to the title, I've been called an adrenalin junkie before in my life. I tend to take that as a compliment. Nothing excites me more than to try and figure out life in some far flung corner of the world. Doing it in Pittsburgh has not had that rush. Unless I'm trying to understand Yinzer speak or this language they speak up in the mountains of West Virginia. But, I've been trying recently to find the "wow" moments of everyday. The past couple of days have been just that.

Starting a few days ago I had a two hour session at work where 2 of my students left early, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. So I sat down with the other woman who stayed for a little bit. She turns out to sit on the board of a charity in Zimbabwe. It is run (partly) by this ethnically Swedish woman who is from Finland. So this book is written in Swedish and I found with my German background I can work out some of the roots of words for the meanings and now I'm helping her translate it. After we got talking, she said there is an RPCV from Zim who also lives in my neighborhood here in Pittsburgh. She served under the same Country Director in Zim that I served under in Moz. That just made me yelp with excitement. The best is yet to come though. She said they send some Americans over to Zimbabwe every July and August to teach and work about 100 miles outside of Harare. It would be all expense paid. I need to do an internship for grad school and my internship seems to have fallen into my lap!!

SO, I'm translating a book, have a trip back to Africa on the horizon and saw someone randomly in Pittsburgh who I went to high school with. Oh yeah Freshlyground is coming to America as well.

The Universe is Smiling.

Ian

Preperation

I've spent a lifetime going through preparation for major life experiences. I think it may have come from a certain major life experience that I had no preparation for that changed my life. It happened on 10.5.1990 so I guess I didn't want to be caught unaware anymore. The list is quite staggering and someone actually pointed out at work the other day, "You know, for being 28, you've accomplished quiet a lot." There were a few more expletives than that, but you get the idea.

His comment actually made me go home a sit down to see what I have done. It started small but has been growing ever since. I prepared for various shows (which at that time I THOUGHT were life changing experiences) before I was 16. But at 13 I experiences London for the first time. Let me tell you I am STILL hooked. Went there last year and just loved it. Like always. Then came Germany (life changing) and hopefully A will gain as much of an appreciation for the country and the language as I have. Then came Friend's World (need I say more) but the "crowning" achievement would have to be Peace Corps. Africa is always going to be in my heart. It is what is pushing me for the Foreign Service Test.

Now off to salt the driveway! 6 inches of snow on the way!

More soon

Let it snow let it snow let it snow?

Growing up I thought Pittsburgh was always the back of beyond. I remember a certain 7th grade science teacher telling me that it was never advisable to fly into Pittsburgh in the winter. 3 different weather streams pass over the city. That just seems like a perfect storm to a 12 year old. Well, I've lived here since April of 2010 and have been HIGHLY disappointed by the snow we've seen so far. Today, we were supposed to get SNOWPOCALYPSE. It didn't happen. Not after the 76 inches we got last year in Philadelphia. But I will say, Pittsburgh is so much better at cleaning the streets than Philadelphia, or New York for that matter. It's been snowing maybe 6 hours and the street I am on has been plowed twice. Pittsburghers also know how to drive better in the snow. I'll never forget the winter I was in London and it snowed three inches. The city was shut down. :) I think they are getting better about it now. Are they Liz?

Last thing I want to talk about tonight is Global Warming. It was sooooooooo slow at work today we spent most of it on our computers. We were looking at the impending doom rolling across the country. She made a side comment "Well, I guess that means no more global warming,.." The stupidity of this country is sometimes astounding....

More soon

American "Traditions"

Ok, I've been back in America for two "Holiday Seasons" now, but I've only worked in a mall for one of them. :O) Or maybe I shouldn't be quite so cheerful. I am more than grateful for my two days off right now because the last day I was at the store, PEOPLE WERE CRAZY!!!

I am thinking about this because I walk around the mall on various breaks that I have in the day. It's amusing and upsetting the different kinds of people that you see in a mall. Whenever I start my day, I am sure to see some mall walkers. I just did a little search and was SHOCKED to see that there are mall walking clubs. Why I'm surprised I don't know. Everything seems possible in this country. That's a wonderful thing... I think. The mall walkers inevitably scare the crap out of me because when you get to work at 7:30 in the morning, there are not many other people around and it seems like geriatric McGee is walking at light speed around corners. I don't understand the appeal.

Another thing I don't like very much about my home culture is the absurdity of Black Friday. Scroll down on the link and look at some of the violent acts that have taken place just this year in 2010. How is some "macabre" tradition so important in this land? It's another product of Philadelphia. Some would say that's enough of a description (Adam) but I want to know where, in the years did someone say you have to be evil to everybody else. I always laugh when people come into my shop and say "I don't have much time, tell me in 1 sentence what is so great about a .........(fill in the blank.) As many of you know, I don't exactly work in a store where you walk in a walk out. My average interaction on the sales floor is about 45 minutes and I don't mind.

But, in the true tradition of American holidays, I don't have enough time to finish this...

Cherish what you have.

I've been trying to teach myself and live by the mantra of "cherish what you have" for years. First time I can really remember thinking this is when my uncle Tony got sick in 2000. 14 years of battling various diseases. Since I was only 18 in 2000, I realized that I would have been four if he didn't fight as hard as he did. I wish I cherished having him more than I showed. If my mom didn't fight as hard as she did, I probably would have been 3 when she died.

In the interim I have traveled to all inhabitable continents (in the British 5 continents terminology) to 28 countries and met a whole load of friends. What I want to know now is why I am focusing on certain people who I have lost in my life. (Friendship wise I mean) There is one in particular who I am mourning but I have to move on. This person was influential in some of my time abroad. Many times, we would just meet up at a Pub and chat. Last time I went to this person's country, I chatted on the phone and had a good time talking to her/him. Now, I wrote to them write before I left for California. This person also worked for my company at one point so I wanted to share. But, no response to the email and I went on to Facebook and saw that I have been "defriended." I also was defriended by someone who I actively divorced as a friend - or passively. I don't know.

What I'm wondering is why do I care about these people who obviously don't care about me. I need to cherish what I have.

this is something I was finishing up the last week I was in California. Didn't know why I didn't send it. Now I'll try to update more and more as the winter months shut us in here in Pittsburgh

Just plain sad

I had a horrible experience this morning with someone who I thought was intelligent and kind of cool. Needless to say, the moral of this blog (I know you normally don't hit the moral first but hey bear with me) is that even though we have come so far with rights and acceptance, we still have so far to go. I was waiting this morning in front of the hotel and we were just talking. Somehow, we got from talking about food to him making fun of a gay man who works at the hotel. I just stood there stupidly looking at him thinking, HE KNOWS who I am, he's got the same name as my husband and I remember telling him that. Well, he was talking to me about how this one guy who works there (typical SF area flaming gay man). Almost right away, the wrist starting flapping and the lisp got turned on. We were standing in a group of three - me, him and an Italian man, so no one he had to really be macho and show off in front of. But man, he just kept going! He went on to say that he takes the cookies this gay man makes every day for us and runs. He told me that he doesn't hang around because E (the gay) is winking at him all the time. I will say this guy had a nice look about him but the attitude he has just turned him into one of the ugliest people I've seen. And yet he kept going. He mentioned to the Italian that he was just too nice. The Italian hangs around the lobby for a bit talking to everybody who is there. He later told me he doesn't understand the Americans issues with gays. TO the American, I made sure to show my complete disgust on my face and made it as awkward as possible to be around me for him. I said to him, I'm sure you are just not that man's type. He looked at me and suddenly got beet red. It came to him who he was talking to. Score one for me.

I just have been thinking about this alot this morning. I don't know why we as a society sit around and accept making fun of gay people as something that is funny. If someone did that to say Hispanics, or say Blacks not many people would be laughing. Racism would be accused and the offender would be socially shunned. Now, on my side, people just laugh and nothing is thought about it. Hopefully though, this one guy will think twice before he makes fun of that again.

Probably not though.

PCV

Those three little letters can mean so many things. Many times as I said them over the years, I would mix up the last two items. I would naturally start calling them PVC's and now that I think of it, it could be fitting that we are compared to toilet plumbing. But I digress. I'm writing this today because I've had one of the best weekends out here with three lovely ladies who I worked with in Africa. They all live in the Bay Area and are just fabulous people. It was like we saw each other yesterday when in reality I hadn't seen them in 2 years almost. I love that about people who you meet overseas and have an amazing experience with. It is something I am thinking alot about as my brother transitions back from 14 months in the UK. It's the longest he has lived overseas and I am nervous for his re-entry into the US of A. It's not that I don't trust or believe in my brothers abilities, it's that I know how hard it is and this is where culture shock comes from. When someone goes overseas, you are expecting "weirdness." When you come home to your "home" country, you are not necessarily expecting the weirdness of it all. That's when the big Shock sneaks up behind you and hits you over the head. "Oh YEAH! YOU THINK ENGLAND AND AMERICA ARE THE SAME!! :::::bam::::" Good luck.

Now to bring myself back to the title of this post, PCVs are a strange breed. You willingly sign up to go live in a hut in a third world country for 2 years - electricity and running water optional. Sanity is lost along the way too. Shouldn't that be the first sign of telling us we've lost our minds? But no, we truck on...most people finishing two years, some people finishing three years of service. Last weekend, I noticed how that will ALWAYS be a huge part of me. There were three of us out at the bar in the Castro and it was as if we never left. And naturally the conversation topics were the same.

The power of Positivity

It's hard but I am trying so hard to do it. A said I was the eternal optimist when we got married. He's really been the person who has pointed it out to me. I didn't really notice too much before. I know see it almost on a daily basis. Two recent examples.

My bags got lost (very lost) on the way out to California. It didn't help that my original flight was outright canceled from Pittsburgh out here. I was in smelly smelly clothes by the end of the day on Monday and thought I would have to spend a record 3 days in the same set of clothes. Surprisingly, I have only lost my bags 2 times. Both had Pittsburgh International Airport involved. Is this the Universe telling me I should get the hell out of dodge while I still can? If the Republicans start repealing my very limited civil rights... God Save the Queen? :) Anyway, I had to keep reminding myself that I was in freaking California! I haven't been out here in 10 years and just kept smiling like a delusional idiot.

My other instance is when my feet starting hurting in San Francisco. This time it wasn't hard, I just had to look out over the bay. I mean I WAS IN SAN FRANCISCO!

I challenge anyone who still reads this to focus on the positive. Anyone who reads this obviously has electricity, running water and a soft bed to lie in. After that is there really anything we should complain about?

More soon

PS. I feel I REALLY have to comment on last nights Glee episode but I'm not sure my stream of consciousness writing would do it justice.

Old age?

I just turned 28.  I don't think that is anything big - most of my friends are older than me now and my age bracket does include 35 on most American forms.  However, I've noticed my age in the time I've been out here in California.  Take tonight for example.  A bunch of people are going to go out to dinner tonight at a Korean BBQ restaurant.  (That is still one thing I cannot get over, the sheer amount of choice in America)  A new episode of Glee is also on.  I'm torn about where I want to go.  I'm laughing though because when I was 20 and 21, living in the UK and Guatemala respectively, I went out EVERY NIGHT.  I think I took Sundays and Mondays off just out of sheer exhaustion.  When you are that young and can't drink at home, living in a country where you are an old fart on the drinking scene definitely helps.  Anyway, I was dead set on going out tonight, but I think I'll stay in.  It seems just as appealing to stay at home and enjoy the TV - maybe even more so.  Any thoughts on how we are getting "so old?"

PS.  It just blows my mind that I moved to Africa when I was 22 and moved back when I was 26.  3 years in Africa is 30 year over here?

Daily Examen part 2

Yesterday morning I decided to go to a Unitarian Universalist church here in San Jose. I've been going to them since about February 2009. It was one of the best jumps I've ever taken. Yesterday confirmed the fact. The church is a wonderfully old building that incorporates so many aspects of UU culture and history. It is called The First Church of San Jose. I feel like I've never seen a church that has incorporated so many different religions into one building. There were definite influences from the Roman pantheon, a Greek agia, Russian churches and Shinto Shrines. The stole the minister wore had the symbols of all the religions I definitely know. Of course there were some there that didn't jump out at me right away. I'll have to have a look into religious symbols. The most beautiful part of the church though was the altar. It was backed by the perfumed flowers of the Mexican Day of the Dead. All of this was draped over a Shinto Shrine which was topped by and Islamic crescent moon and a Hindu Om. It honestly was one of the most beautiful things I'd seen in my short experience with the UU's.

The topic of the sermon was a daily examen. It was founded by St. Ignatius many year ago. It's basic premiss is that you have to look at your life at the end of every day. While you do that, you have to identify a time when you felt life just coming out of you, "Working with the Universe" as the UUs would say. The other time you have to reflect upon is when you felt life just getting drained out from you. Then you have to look forward to the next day.

So, the first time I do this I'm going to focus on riding a Cable Car in San Francisco listening to Judy Garland sing San Francisco. My bad time is when I heard from the airline companies and had to go to SJ international airport twice just to get my bag.

Any thoughts?