l e f t - l i f e d

embarrassing experience of the day

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 20:25:18 GMT

I went to Nacional (one of the big supermarket chains here, for the uninitiated) to buy some groceries earlier. While I was there, I decided to print a couple of photos for the wall of orange couch photos in our apartment, so I stopped by the little kiosk and popped in my USB. I discovered that I had forgotten two things: a) that the kiosk automatically opens all folders and all photos on your USB, and b) that there was still a folder of disgusting STD photos on my USB for the charla I helped Elisa with. So I had to stand there and scroll through all of these nasty photos of rotting genitalia, looking for the ones I wanted to print and trying to block the screen with my body as much as possible, hoping that none of the people passing behind me could see what I was looking at! Of course, it was like the one time that any of the people working the little photo-shop-corner were at all attentive to what I was doing, and the assistant guy hovering around behind me probably got an eyeful, but he never said a word! Hahaha

to cos or not to cos

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 19:04:12 GMT

For a third time in my service, people are starting to ask me whether I really will be CoS-ing this time, whether I will extend (again) or finally take that plunge into a newly readjusted life. It's a good question, but ultimately, I think I'm finally ready to go home.

Sometimes it seems much longer than three-and-a-half-or-so years that I've been here. It's such a strange juxtaposition of relatively unchanging seasons and ever-changing faces and places. Looking back over old photos from my first days here, reminiscing about old friends and old memories, I start to feel - in Dominican terms - pasa'a. In other words, I'm really starting to feel like it's time to move on, like it's other folks' turn to have their own Peace Corps experience. It's my turn to do something new. I miss my family, and I'm starting to feel the wear of the constant changes that Peace Corps life brings.

It's been an incredible ride; and that's part of both what makes it hard to go and what makes it hard to stay. I'm deeply and eternally grateful for the people I have known here, for the things that I have seen and done and heard and learned here, for the wonderful relationships and experiences I've had here that have forever changed me. But life is calling me to something new, and I think I'm just about ready to answer.

a brief guide to musical styles

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:58:16 GMT

Music Styles

JAZZ
Five men on the same stage all playing different tunes.

BLUES
Played exclusively by people who woke up this morning.

WORLD MUSIC
Dozen different types of percussion all going at once.

OPERA
People singing when they should be talking.

RAP
People talking when they should be singing.

CLASSICAL
Discover the other 45 minutes they left out of the TV ad.

FOLK
Endless songs about shipwrecks in the 19th century.

BIG BAND
20 men who take it in turns to stand up plus a drummer.

HEAVY METAL:
Codpiece and chaps

HOUSE MUSIC
OK as long as it's not the house next door.

some wonderful words of wisdom - in English and Spanish

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 19:16:51 GMT

1. La verdadera felicidad está en las pequeñas cosas: una pequeña mansión, un pequeño yate, una pequeña fortuna…

1. True happiness is in the little things: a little mansion, a little yacht, a little fortune...

2. Algunas personas están vivas solamente porque el asesinato es ilegal.

2. Some people are only alive because murder is illegal.

3. Si buscas una mano dispuesta a ayudarte, la encontrarás al final de tu brazo.

3. If you're looking for a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm.

4. El que nace pobre y feo, tiene grandes posibilidades, de que al crecer, se le desarrollen ambas condiciones.

4. One who is born ugly and poor has great possibilities - there's nowhere to go but up.

5. Si la vida te da limones, pide sal y tequila.

5. If life gives you lemons, ask for salt and tequila.

6. Pez que lucha contra la corriente, muere electrocutado.

6. Fish that fight against the current get electrocuted.

7. Tener conciencia limpia es signo de mala memoria.

7. A clean conscience is a sign of a bad memory.

8. El que es capaz de sonreír cuando todo le está saliendo mal, es porque ya tiene pensado a quien echarle la culpa.

8. One who smiles when everything is going to hell, is one who has already figured out who to blame.

9. El que se ríe último, es porque piensa más lento.

9. He who laughs last thinks slowest.

10. El tiempo es el mejor maestro, desgraciadamente mata a todos sus alumnos.

10. Time is the best teacher; unfortunately, it kills all its students.

11. Si no puedes convencerlos, confúndelos.

11. If you can't convince them, confuse them.

12. El amor eterno dura tres meses.

12. Eternal love... lasts three months.

13. El dinero no hace la felicidad… la compra hecha.

13. Money can't make you happy. Shopping does.

14. Hay un mundo mejor… ¡pero es carísimo!

14. There is a better world... but it's really expensive!

15. La esclavitud no se abolió, se cambió a 8 horas diarias.

15. Slavery was never abolished, it just changed to eight hours a day.

16. Si la montaña viene hacia ti… Huye rápidamente ¡¡Es un derrumbe!!

16. If the mountain comes to you... run like hell! It's a landslide!!

17. La psiquiatría/psicología es el único negocio donde el cliente nunca tiene la razón.

17. Psychiatry is the only business in which the customer is never right.

18. Está muriendo gente que antes no moría.

18. People are dying that never died before.

19. Lo importante no es ganar, sino hacer perder al otro.

19. Winning isn't important. Making sure everyone else loses is.

20. Y finalmente: No te tomes la vida tan en serio, al fin y al cabo no saldrás vivo de ella.

20. And finally: don't take life so seriously. You won't get out of it alive.

a joke and a riddle

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 19:24:11 GMT

"A mother mouse and a baby mouse are walking along, when all of a sudden, a cat attacks them. The mother mouse goes, 'BARK!' and the cat runs away.
'See?' says the mother mouse to her baby. 'Now do you see why it's important to learn a foreign language?'"

==========

A man walks into a bar, calls over the bartender, and orders a glass of water. The bartender pulls out a shotgun and fires off a round that just barely misses the man's ear. The man lays a tip on the bar and leaves.
Why did he tip the bartender?
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The man had the hiccups!

more quotes I like

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 16:18:15 GMT

"Anyone who considers protocol unimportant has never dealt with a cat."

"I never learned from a man who agreed with me."

"One of the sanest, surest, and most generous joys of life comes from being happy over the good fortune of others."

"To be matter-of-fact about the world is to blunder into fantasy - and dull fantasy at that, as the real world is strange and wonderful."

"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea."

"Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afterwards."

-Robert A. Heinlein

this handmade life

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 20:51:51 GMT

"...I do think a lot about this handmade life we lead as knitters, people who make usable things out of sticks and string. It's an extraordinary thing in a larger culture that praises speed and disposability—our craft is methodical, meditative, thoughtful. Its gratification is delayed. But we do it for the joy of making wonderful things with our own hands, adding usefulness and beauty to the world with every stitch.

Of course, there are as many shades to the knitting urge as there are knitters, but I think that most of them boil down to this: We love being creators. Our knitting studs our lives with creativity; because of it, we're good problem solvers and thoughtful analysts, we know how to judge and take risks, we are at peace with the fact that you sometimes just need to start over again."

-Eunny Jang, Interweave Knits

when I fall in love...

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 05:07:42 GMT

I just fell in love with this song:

"When I fall in love, it will be forever
Or I'll never fall in love.
In a restless world like this is,
Love is ended before it's begun.
And too many moonlight kisses
Seem to cool in the warmth of the sun.

When I give my heart, it will be completely
Or I'll never give my heart.
And the moment I can feel that you feel that way too
Is when I fall in love with you."

-lyrics and music by Edward Heyman and Victor Young

fasting

Sun, 03 Apr 2011 20:28:10 GMT

"When Congress can seriously debate cutting food aid to pregnant women and children while giving tax breaks to billionaires—and the only question the media asks is whether the cuts are big enough—we have a crisis.

This week progressive faith leaders called for Americans to join an ongoing fast to protest the immoral budget cuts being debated in Washington.

I'm joining the fast along with thousands of people including the leaders of many leading progressive organizations including MoveOn.org. Will you join too? You can choose to fast for part of a day, a whole day, or until the budget gets passed. Click here to join:

http://pol.moveon.org/budgetfast/?r_by=26743-18877366-z5sg.Sx&rc=confemail

Thanks!"

some poemlings, older and newer

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 16:09:08 GMT

Why are they always in second person? No idea.
I'm not set on the titles either...

===

Keeper
You always say I'm a keeper;
But then I'm 'too good to keep,'
Too precious to lose,
Too pure for your world.
For your information,
There isn't much difference
Between a curio cabinet
And a trash can.

===

The Slow Assassination
killing time
is sometimes harder than expected
driving lonely, cold-blown city streets
slicked with lamps and the sheen of ice
if it were nice, the park would do
instead I eat fried greasy food
that sits in my gut like a lump of lead
but it's something, afterall, to do
time and memories put up a good fight
in the winter and the fog-breathed night
one by one, "closed" signs appear,
but as the city sleeps, I'm still wide awake,
watching ancient filmreels crackle and play
across the insides of my eyelids.
white-knuckled, I cling to that last ghost of nostalgia,
as I witness time slowly devouring
the last fading image of your face.

===

Undone
my hands move slowly downward in a line
deftly clasping khaki shirt buttons
that swell and fall gently with every breath
drawn into your warm, broad chest
as you hold open your browned and grease-stained hands,
I feel your breath brush softly against my hair
and imagine leaning forward into your embrace,
wrapping my pale arms around your muscled waist,
pressing my cheek to your well-buttoned chest
to hear your heart beating rhythmic and loud
to feel your strong arms closing silently around me

===

Ingenue
should I let this bubble swell and burst?
should I let these words escape?
I feel them burning, burning,
pushing at the doorway of my lips
aching to be told, to tell that I...
I start to think of things to tell you
when I'm not around you, but...
did I see you blushing
when you asked me not to go?

===

Forgotten, not Missed
for the first time in a long time,
I saw your grin in my mind;
so long since I thought of it,
the sensation of your loving arms
clasped around my waist...

it's been a long time since I loved you,

loved anyone.

===

more crazy English

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 21:34:57 GMT

(Thanks, Sandy Santana!)

· Those who jump off a bridge in Paris are in Seine.

· A backward poet writes inverse.

· A man’s home is his castle, in a manor of speaking.

· Dijon vu: the same mustard as before.

· Shotgun wedding: a case of wife or death.

· A man needs a mistress just to break the monogamy.

· A hangover is the wrath of grapes.

· Dancing cheek – to –cheek is really a form of floor play.

· Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?

· Condoms should be used on every conceivable occasion.

· Reading while sunbathing makes you well red.

· When two egotists meet, it’s an I for an I.

· A bicycle can’t stand on its own because it is two tired.

· What’s the definition of a will? (It’s a dead giveaway.)

· Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

· In democracy your vote counts. In feudalism your count votes.

· She was engaged to a boyfriend with a wooden leg but broke it off.

· A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.

· If you don’t pay your exorcist, you get repossessed.

· With her marriage, she got a new name and a dress.

· When a clock is hungry, it goes back four seconds.

· The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered.

· You feel stuck with your debt if you can’t budge it.

· Local Area Network in Australia: the LAN down under.

· He often broke into song because he couldn’t find the key.

· Every calendar’s days are numbered.

· A lot of money is tainted – It taint yours and it taint mine.

· A boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat.

· He had a photographic memory that was never developed.

· A plateau is a high form of flattery.

· A midget fortune-teller who escapes from prison is a small medium at large.

· Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.

· Once you’ve seen one shopping center, you’ve seen a mall.

· Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead-to-know basis.

· Santa’s helpers are subordinate clauses.

· Acupuncture is a jab well done.

english is a strange language...

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 16:39:57 GMT

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.

2) The farm was used to produce produce .

3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

4) We must polish the Polish furniture.

5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.

6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present .

8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum..

9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

10) I did not object to the object.

11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row .

13) They were too close to the door to close it.

14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.

15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Let's face it - English is a crazy language.. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France . Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?

In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship?

Have noses that run and feet that smell?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.

PS. - Why doesn't 'Buick' rhyme with 'quick'?

===============================

What's up with that??

You lovers of the English language might enjoy this.

There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is 'UP.'

It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP?

At a meeting, why does a topic come UP?

Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?

We call UP our friends.

And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver; we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen.

We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car.

At other times the little word has real special meaning.

People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.

To be dressed is one thing, but to be dressed UP is special.

A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP.

We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.

We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP!

To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary.

In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions.

If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used.

It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more.

When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP .

When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP...

When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP.

When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP.

One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now my time is UP, so.........it is time to shut UP!

a cheerful heart is good medicine

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 15:28:49 GMT

"Pastor's Business Card

A new pastor was visiting in the homes of his parishioners. At one house it seemed obvious that someone was at home, but no answer came to his repeated knocks at the door.

Therefore, he took out a business card and wrote 'Revelation 3:20' on the back of it and stuck it in the door.

When the offering was processed the following Sunday, he found that his card had been returned. Added to it was this cryptic message, 'Genesis 3:10.'

Reaching for his Bible to check out the citation, he broke up in gales of laughter. Revelation 3:20 begins 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock.' Genesis 3:10 reads, 'I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid for I was naked.'"

Hahaha!

"A cheerful heart is good medicine." (Prov. 17:22)

how lovely

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 21:29:23 GMT

hahaha

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 16:40:17 GMT

"A blind guy on a bar stool shouts to the bartender, 'Wanna hear a blonde joke?'

In a hushed voice, the guy next to him says, 'Buddy, before you tell that joke, you should know something.'

'Our bartender IS blonde. The bouncer is also blonde. I'm a 6' tall, 200 lbs. black belt. The guy sitting next to me is 6'2", weighs 225, and he's a rugby player. The fella to your right is 6'5" pushing 300 and he's a wrestler. Each one of US is blonde. Think about it, Mister. Do you still wanna tell that joke?'

The blind guy thinks it over for a minute, then says, 'Nah, not if I'm gonna have to explain it five times.'"

unacceptable

Fri, 17 Dec 2010 20:51:40 GMT

Another one click petition from Change.org:

Earlier this year Millicent Gaika, a 30-year-old South African woman, was tied up, beaten, strangled, tortured and raped for five hours by a man as he screamed that he would “cure” Millicent of her lesbianism.

Ndumie Funda, a local community activist whose lesbian partner was murdered in the course of a similar “corrective rape,” reached out to Millicent through a small local charity she set up to rescue and support survivors of “corrective rape.” But last month they both had to go into hiding after the South African government released the perpetrator they had helped to jail on 60 rand (less than $10) bail.

Ndumie, Millicent and others decided to fight back against the rapists and the lack of accountability for their crimes. From a Cape Town safehouse for survivors of ‘corrective rape,’ the women created a petition on Change.org targeting South African Justice Minister Jeffrey Radebe.

Please, they wrote, declare 'corrective rape' a hate crime, which would both empower and require South African police to take a harder line on the vicious crime.

Click here to add your name to the petition.

More than 500 “corrective rapes” are reported in South Africa each year, and more than 30 South African lesbians have been murdered because of their sexuality over the past decade. Worse, for every 100 men charged with rape in South Africa, 96 of them walk free.

We can help here. Last year, South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority went on record refusing to formally declare 'corrective rape' a hate crime, saying "It is not something that the South African government has prioritized as a specific project."

But with enough international pressure on the South African government, such heinous crimes might finally be taken seriously. More than 2,000 Change.org members have added their name to the petition created by Ndumie and Millicent. Click here to add yours:

http://www.change.org/petitions/view/south_africa_declare_corrective_rape_a_hate-crime?alert_id=SlPqUMmEGV_QCJHzuZTSV&me=aa

Thank you for taking action,

- The Change.org Team

P.S. Every time a new person signs the petition, the Justice Minister’s office automatically gets an email. So once you join, will you forward this to friends and family, and post on Facebook, so that they hear a global outcry?

help stop child trafficking

Thu, 02 Dec 2010 22:57:55 GMT

From Change.org - a one click petition.

"Demand that governments protect and uphold the basic rights of all children.

The numbers around child slavery and exploitation are simply staggering, and there aren't enough people fighting back.

More than 150 million children younger than 14 years-old are child laborers -- one in six children in the world. Those children do hazardous work in mines or on farms, often handling chemicals and pesticides or working near dangerous machinery. Others toil as domestic servants in homes or workshops.

Another 300,000 children under 18 are child soldiers used as combatants, messengers, porters, cooks, or sexual servants in some 30 conflicts worldwide. They are most often forcibly recruited or abducted, or feel so helpless and overwhelmed by poverty they are driven to join the fight.

Girls are particularly vulnerable. Some as young as 13 are trafficked as "mail-order brides." Nearly 90% of domestic workers trafficked in West and Central Africa are girls.

It's an epidemic that isn't getting enough attention from governments worldwide -- and Change.org members can help change that.

Click here to take a stand now against child slavery and exploitation and demand that governments protect and uphold the basic rights of all children.: http://www.change.org/petitions/view/help_stop_child_trafficking_and_exploitation

Once you add your name, will you forward this to friends and family? We can fight this, but only if people know how bad the situation really is.

Thank you for taking action,

The Change.org Team

P.S. You can learn a lot more about what Change.org members are doing to fight human trafficking of all kinds at http://humantrafficking.change.org."

free, fair, and inclusive elections in haiti

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 21:08:38 GMT

Returned Peace Corps Volunteers Urge US to Ensure Free, Fair and Inclusive Elections in Haiti as Condition for Funding: link

"The absence of democratically elected successors could potentially plunge the country into chaos, adding a political crisis to the death and destruction caused by the January 12 earthquake. - Sen. Richard Lugar's (R-Indiana) report, "Haiti: No Leadership - No Elections," to fellow members of Committee on Foreign Relations."

"In the face of a cholera epidemic that has claimed the lives of over 500 people, infected many thousands and is feared to intensify due to widespread flooding in the wake of Hurricane Tomas, officials have stated that the elections scheduled for November 28 will go ahead as planned. While some candidates have questioned the wisdom of holding elections during such turmoil, a rising chorus of critics is disputing the elections' very legitimacy and is urging the US, a primary funder, to take responsibility in guaranteeing a truly democratic process."

"... the volunteers' petition [urges] that the US condition funding for the Haitian elections on the full participation of currently banned political parties and active engagement to ensure that voters among the 1.5 million internally displaced Haitians are not disenfranchised."

You don't have to be a volunteer to sign the petition! link

I like this

Mon, 08 Nov 2010 17:06:33 GMT

A professor stood before his class of twenty senior organic
biology students, about to hand out the final exam.

"I want to say that it's been a pleasure teaching you this
semester. I know you've all worked extremely hard and many of
you are off to medical school after summer. So that no one
gets their GPA messed up because they might have been
celebrating a bit too much this week, anyone who would like
to opt out of the final exam today will receive a 'B' for the
test."

There was much rejoicing in the class as students got up,
walked to the front of the class, and took the professor up
on his offer. As the last taker left the room, the professor
looked out over the handful of remaining students and asked,
"Anyone else? This is your last chance."

One final student rose up and opted out of the final.

The professor closed the door and took attendance of those
students remaining. "I'm glad to see you believe in yourselves,"
he said. "You all get 'A's."

ha ha halloween

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 15:57:16 GMT

"RULES FOR A SAFE AND HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Just in case you have forgotten the rules for a safe and
Happy Halloween.

1. When it appears that you have killed the monster, NEVER
check to see if it's really dead.

2. Never read a book of demon summoning aloud, even as a
joke.

3. Do not search the basement, especially if the power has
gone out.

4. If your children speak to you in Latin or any other
language which they should not know, shoot them
immediately. It will save you a lot of grief in the long
run. However, it will probably take several rounds to kill
them, so be prepared. This also applies to kids who speak
with somebody else's voice.

5. When you have the benefit of numbers, NEVER pair off
and go it alone.

6. As a general rule, don't solve puzzles that open por-
tals to Hell.

7. Never stand in, on, or above a grave, tomb, or crypt.
This would apply to any other house of the dead as well.

8. If you're searching for something which caused a loud
noise and find out that it's just the cat, GET THE HELL
OUT!

9. If appliances start operating by themselves, do not
check for short circuits; just get out!

10. Do not take ANYTHING from the dead.

11. If you find a town which looks deserted, there's pro-
bably a good reason for it. Don't stop and look around.

12. Don't fool with recombinant DNA technology unless
you're sure you know what you're doing.

13. If you're running from the monster, expect to trip
or fall down at least twice. Also note that, despite the
fact that you are running and the monster is merely shamb-
ling along, it's still moving fast enough to catch up
with you.

14. If your companions suddenly begin to exhibit un-
characteristic behavior such as hissing, fascination for
blood, glowing eyes, increasing hairiness, and so on,
kill them immediately.

15. Stay away from certain geographical locations, some
of which are listed here: Amityville, Elm Street, Tran-
sylvania, Nilbog (you're in trouble if you recognize
this one), the Bermuda Triangle, or any small town in
Maine (or Alabama).

16. If your car runs out of gas at night on a lonely road,
do not go to the nearby deserted looking house to phone
for help. If you think that it is strange because you
thought you had half of a tank, shoot yourself instead.
You are going to die anyway, and most likely be eaten.

17. If you find that your house is built upon a cemetery,
now is the time to move in with the in-laws. This applies
to houses that had previous inhabitants who went mad or
died in some horrible fashion, or had inhabitants who
performed satanic practices in your house.

...and MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL... REMEMBER TO FLOSS AFTER
EATING ALL THAT CANDY!"

personal statement

Mon, 18 Oct 2010 17:50:53 GMT

PERSONAL STATEMENT
Amanda Hefner, Peru, English Teaching Assistantship

The name, "Gilbert Vargas!" had barely faded from the announcer's lips before the air was suddenly rent by the thunder of hundreds of hands and voices which seemed to lift Gilbert up out of the crowd and onto the stage to receive the singing competition's 10,000 peso grand prize. As I enthusiastically added my own cheers to the earsplitting din, my heart overflowed with pride for this shy, skinny, teenage Dominican boy, remembering the day he'd shown up on my doorstep over a year earlier, asking me to teach him about music.

This was hardly the Peace Corps service I'd anticipated, assigned as an Education volunteer to the small pueblo of Sabana Iglesia, Dominican Republic, nearly three years ago. This was better. Not only did I teach music, I helped revitalize and reorganize the library, designed educational programs for the local radio, organized a lecture series on women's rights, and taught over 100 students in 11 English courses. My students, while not all impoverished in economic terms, were products of an education rich in facts, but poor in meaning. My experience taught me that my role as an educator was about much more than teaching them how many flats are in the key of F Major or how to conjugate the verb "to be"--it was about connecting them with a wider world and empowering them to take their place in it.

I've been drawn to service and music since I was quite young. I grew up in a large, close-knit, working class family in a rural Nebraskan town, raised by my widowed father, who was the first to teach me about the importance of serving others through his work as a volunteer fireman, an emergency medical technician, and a leader and educator in our church, impressing upon my two siblings and me the values he was raised with: honesty, generosity, hard work, humility, and above all, faith. Music has long been part of my life: starting with school and church choirs, playing the flute since I was nine, participating in several honor bands and choirs, traveling to Europe twice: once with the national Sound of America high school choir, then again with the Nebraska Wesleyan University band. Especially now, as a Peace Corps Volunteer Leader in the Dominican Republic, I find myself constantly inspired by music's power to transcend language and cultural boundaries and connect us all on a level that is both primal and sublime.

While there are many musicians in my family, I am the first to seriously study music, interested not just in performance, but in the academic and cultural aspects of music: where it comes from, with which instruments it's made, what it means to the people who make it. With my bibliophilic and ever-curious nature, I made the most of my studies at in music, art, and Spanish at Nebraska Wesleyan University, which is where I began to contemplate a career as a professor of ethnomusicology. Combining my love of music, my passion for education, and my desire to serve, my goal is to become a professor of ethnomusicology who creates a dynamic academic experience for students that involves volunteer service work as a tool for developing them not just as scholars, but as compassionate and conscientious human beings.

In the more immediate future, during an English Teaching Assistantship, I would enthusiastically share my success teaching English in implementing and supporting multi-faceted courses, while improving my mastery of pedagogy in a formal educational setting. I would dedicate the rest of my time to conducting secondary research projects on Peruvian/Andean music and immersing myself in the fascinating, dynamic, and ancient culture of Peru. An experienced cross-cultural musician and teacher, I am a unique fit for this program. This valuable experience would serve me as an excellent context for graduate studies and, further in the future, as a reference point for excelling in my work as a professor of ethnomusicology.

statement of grant purpose

Mon, 18 Oct 2010 17:50:08 GMT

Thought I may as well share the two essays I had to write for the Fulbright to fill everyone in on what I'm hoping to do. I'm applying for an English Teaching Assistantship to Peru.

STATEMENT OF GRANT PURPOSE
Amanda Hefner, Peru, English Teaching Assistantship

Over the course of three years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic, I have honed my skills as an educator through 11 English courses, reaching over 100 students; an experience which, together with my passion for service and music, has given me both the desire to continue my humanitarian service abroad and the experience to excel in an English Teaching Assistantship. The study of a language is about much more than learning to express our thoughts correctly in new words. To really learn a language, it's necessary to explore its cultural context, and to understand, for example, why in Dominican Spanish a "guagua" is a bus, while in Andean Spanish, it's a baby. True fluency goes deeper than knowledge; it requires understanding.

This is the mentality with which I have approached my work teaching English in the Dominican Republic. Basing each of my lessons around a certain facet of US culture--greetings, transportation, dining, etc.--I made my classes as interactive, fun, and dynamic as possible, using review games and TPR (Total Physical Response) activities, while incorporating American art, music, idiom, and pop culture to tie learning into a cultural context. The community English club I formed for more advanced speakers focused on discussions of current events, movies, and politics, and included fun activities using flashcards, games, puzzles, and reading activities that could be adapted for each student. I collaborated with a fellow teacher at the local community technology center to design a range of English classes from basic to advanced, using the Rosetta Stone program as a didactic tool. We also wrote certification level tests to evaluate students.

I am ready to share these educational successes with new students in a new culture. Peru has fascinated me since my early college years, when I met a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer who served in Peru. I was inspired by her stories of Machu Picchu--a colossal monument to the unique way in which Peru’s rich and ancient past and its colorful, multiethnic present coexist--and knew I wanted to experience Peru for myself. As I researched the country, its story drew me in ever deeper: vast indigenous civilizations, violent colonizations, political unrest, coup d'etats, and a complex confluence of diverse cultures and ethnicities, set against the backdrop of Peru's dramatic landscapes. My interest in Peruvian music began around the same time, with my exposure to the Nebraska-based Andean musical group Kusi Taki, whose Quechuan name means "enchanting music." Kusi Taki's fusion of music from Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Chile employs traditional instruments like the charango, the quena, and the zampoñas. As a flautist of 15 years, I was captivated by the music of the Andes and the incredible impact that the music made by mountain people on simple bamboo flutes could have on an entire country's musical identity.

This is why, in addition to the English Teaching Assistantship, I plan to spend my time exploring the music of Andean Peru first-hand. Relying on Peace Corps contacts to help me connect with local communities to investigate Peruvian music in its authentic cultural context, I will adapt my diagnostic skills--including Participatory Analysis for Community Action (PACA) tools--to an ethnomusicological study, interviewing community members about the history and meaning of their music, as well as documenting the music itself through video, recordings, and photos. My goal is to move beyond simply absorbing the culture of these communities to building relationships with them. Wherever possible, I aim to go a step further still, volunteering my help in service projects, which I will find through my Peace Corps network.

Upon my return to the US, my immersion in Peruvian music, culture, and education will transition well into graduate studies in ethnomusicology, providing a wealth of relevant, real world experience to draw upon in my intended career as a professor of ethnomusicology.

future plans

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 17:42:20 GMT

This may sound silly, but this is one of those moments, one of those little vignettes I'll think back on when I'm eighty and most of life is behind me.

It's about 1:30 in the afternoon, on a Thursday - Dad's birthday, actually, October 7. I'm 25 years old, sitting at my desk in the PCVL office at the Peace Corps office in Santo Domingo. The sun's coming in through the ornate green bars on the window above my desk, highlighting the calendar dangling from the blinds, my giant post-it covered to do list, and the mess of other things taped up around my desk. Through the window, I can see blue sky and clouds through the branches of a mango tree, over the roof of the gazebo in the little courtyard below. I'm sitting here filling out a rather last minute application to the Fulbright program to go to Peru for nine months. And there, in bold, at the bottom of the second page: FUTURE PLANS, followed by a blank.

I have ideas, and I have plans, but really my future's still as open, as writeable, as full of possibility, as blank as that space on the application. Someday, when I'm embroiled in the noise and mess and confusion of real, live, grown up "adult" life in the "real" world, I feel like I'll look back from time to time on this moment and wish that everything and anything were still possible like it is now.

For now, though, it is possible, and my plan is simply to make the most of it.

the circle of hate

Thu, 09 Sep 2010 16:10:58 GMT

I've had several conversations with a variety of people over the controversy surrounding the ground zero mosque. My views are well-known, but I like the way this article juxtaposes the clash with another happening further south.

http://www.slate.com/id/2266535?wpisrc=newsletter

No one doubts the validity of the ongoing pain and outrage over the heinous crimes of 9/11/01. However, we have to realize that the driving force behind those attacks was a blind, all-consuming hatred, and that returning that hate with interest is not the way forward -it's the way into a never-ending cycle of violence.

I know it won't be easy, but let the cycle of hatred end with us.

some quotes I really like

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:52:12 GMT

Max Lucado:

"A woman's heart should be so hidden in God that a man should have to seek Him first in order to find her."

"Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want. It's the belief that God will do what is right."

"You are the only you God made... God made you and broke the mold."

"Forgive and give as if it were your last opportunity. Love like there's no tomorrow, and if tomorrow comes, love again."

"To lead the orchestra, you have to turn your back on the crowd."

"When you are in the final days of your life, what will you want? Will you hug that college degree in the walnut frame? Will you ask to be carried to the garage so you can sit in your car? Will you find comfort in rereading your financial statement? Of course not. What will matter then will be people. If relationships will matter most then, shouldn't they matter most now?"

"What you and I might rate as an absolute disaster, God may rate as a pimple-level problem that will pass. He views your life the way you view a movie after you've read the book. When something bad happens, you feel the air sucked out of the theater. Everyone else gasps at the crisis on the screen. Not you. Why? You've read the book. You know how the good guy gets out of the tight spot. God views your life with the same confidence. He's not only read your story...he wrote it. "

"Nature is God's first missionary. Where there is no Bible there are sparkling stars. Where there are not preachers there are spring times...
If a person has nothing but nature, then nature is enough to reveal something about God."

"I choose gentleness... Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice may it be only in praise. If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself. "

"To the loved, a word of affection is a morsel; but to the love-starved, a word of affection can be a feast."