Almost there....

I spent last night with my "Foreign Language Friends". We had dinner and spoke Spanish so that M could practice and C could learn. It reminded me of just why I loved working at G-F. I seriously couldn't have worked with a better group. K, one of the new Spanish teachers (and there are a lot) and the new department head, is also cool. I'm glad to know that there will be more good people joining the group, though I will miss being there.
Other than that, I got caught up on the G-F gossip - always fun.

Today I went to the clinic (finally!) and feel much better. I also took care of a few more pending issues and enjoyed pho' at my favorite Vietnamese place where they know me and know what I like. I really heart that place....

I'm just about set to go. Orientation starts the 25th and classes start the 27th. Holy geez, kids: I'm going back to school.... It's strange to be on the other side of the desk after all these years (three, but still). Alright, I'm getting back to packing mode.

Girls with curls....

So, according to this article, guys won't find me as attractive, but employers will perceive me as confident, independent, and low-maintenance.

The bottom line: I heart my curls, I hate to spend more than five minutes on my hair, and I'll rock my natural sexiness anyday over the straight look that takes so loooong for me to achieve.

Dang, that's some big hair! She might not be that pretty, but she sure seems independent and low-maintanance! ;)

Countin' down

I'm moving to the Philly area in FIVE days. I'll be on the road on Saturday, if all goes according to plan. My room is a wreck of boxes and half-packed ish. It'll all get done, I'm sure. Nerves are kicking in, I won't lie. But it'll all work out.



There is obviously something wrong with this countdown.

Any help would be greatly appreciated....

Notes on a (vicariously taken) Latin American Journey

I finally got a copy of "The Motorcycle Diaries" last Thursday, which I have been meaning to read for ages. I finished it on Tuesday - it was better than I'd expected it to be. I mean, the movie was magnificent: the story and the breathtaking landscapes of Latin America are the kinds of things that stir my heart. That, and the brilliance of Gael García Bernal.
But the book! There's so much in it about that connection with the mestizo and indigenous heritage of Latin America that I fell in love with. I do feel a connetion and affinity for my Taíno heritage. I've always been interested in it, even as a kid. Anyway, there's this rediscovery on his part of the origins of Latin America - the part that so many have tried to erase over centuries of colonization and oppression. Now I'm sounding a bit radical - which I'm not, not really.

But there's this beauty in the connection of Latinos, and in the sophistication of the tribes that were originally found in México, el Caribe, Central and South America, that I love. And that's what spoke to me as I was following Che before he was Che from Argentina to Chile, through Perú, and onward to Colombia and Venezuela (with an accidental detour into the Brazilian Amazon).
This has always been my favorite part of the movie, and it's the thing that sums up the book for me: Ernesto's toast on his final night in the lepers' colony in Perú:

"Although our insignificance means we can't be spokespeople for such a noble cause, we believe, and after this journey more firmly than ever, that the division of America into unstable and illusory nations is completely fictionalal. We constitute a single mestizo race, which from Mexico to the Magellan Straits bears notable ethnographical similariteis. And so, in an attempt to rid myself of the weight of small-minded provincialism, I propose a toast to Peru and to a United Latin America."

Yes, there's staggering diversity in Latin America, but the truth is that our shared history and our common language and that commonality of mixed blood unites us as well. Not, of course, that I'm advocating some new "Bolivarian" revolution a là Huguito (Chávez of Venezuela), but that I do believe we should, as nations and as individuals, help one another. We are, in a sense, brothers and sisters.

Also....

I freakin' love this word - it just sounds like what it means.

Sice
(Like "ice" with an "s" at the beginning)
Verb
to make something out to be more than what it is, especially when someone makes a smart remark aimed at another and a third party wants to see more come of it and starts "ooh"-ing.

PS - even though urban dictionary says it's DC/MD slang, I've been hearing it in VA for a while now. It's all the same area, anyway...

Before leaving....

Some things I'd like to do before I leave VA:

1. Learn to shoot a gun. Not that it has anything to do with moving to the Philly area, just something I've been wanting to do for a while - even though I hate guns, even if I never own one. I just want to say that I know how to use one.

2. Hit up Old Town Alexandria and try either the Greek place or the Lebanese place that I keep meaning to try, except that I just really stinkin' love Casablanca (fabulous Moroccan place).

3. Go to my pho' spot one more time and eat there - no carry out. I'll enjoy my usual pho ga and che. YUM! Also, eat at Taste of Tandoor and El Charro one more time. Geez, I love food!

4. Go to a museum and really enjoy it - no kiddies running around and hitting eachother or whining about how much they have to walk. Bask in the glory of FREE museums and the wealth of information stored there.

5. Admit, once and for all, that, no matter what happens, I have become an East Coast chica and a proud resident of NOVA - even if it is the southern end of NOVA. So much unexpected diversity here in VA, so much good food, such an important area in terms of national and world events. I'll enjoy the fact that people here know politics, have opinions, and are generally well-informed about such issues. Believe, that is a luxury not found in most parts of this country. I <3 VA.... Who knew it'd happen?!

Inmigración - Europa y las Américas

"Papeles Mojados" by Chambao
Here we have a song about illegal immigration to Spain. She's saying "What would you do in their shoes?" There's all this injustice, poverty, war, disease.... Wouldn't you risk it, too? Many don't make it, but those who do just want a better life. And across the pond....

"Mojado" by Ricardo Arjona and Intocable
Same story, different continent.

I could throw in "Visa para un sueño" by Juan Luis Guerra and it'd still be the same, with a slightly different geographical focus (DR-PR). The thing is, it sucks to be the stranger in every case. There are valid reasons for this movement of people, and though it can't continue unchecked, closing borders does nothing to resolve the underlying problems (economic and political instability, injustice, poverty, violence, disease, etc.).

Band-aids aren't enough.