They're not doodles

They're class compositions.












If I can't have a proper cup of coffee in a proper copper coffee pot I'll have a cup of tea.


You can see these a little better if you click on them.

Hugo causes problems

How long does your juice sit in the fridge? A week or two before it is finished?

On Friday I picked up my free sample of this:

(You can't really tell. It's pretty small. )

And on Sunday I was already getting scolded for not drinking it. Peruvian fridges are a much more delicate balance than American ones.

Oh dear, I'm afraid that's one thing that I won't be sorry about leaving in a month. I love my host family. They've been great to me.

But living on my own or with my real family, definitely preferable.

(Translation: I'm selling a scooter model 83. Oh! And try peach Hugo!)

Spanish out the ears

So, there's been no official studies on this phenomenon, but I'm fairly sure that there's little filing cabinet system in your brain with all the information you've collected over the years. And if you start to overfill the drawers, especially the one labeled "Languages," the little file clerk in your head says, "Oh dear. I suppose we must just start throwing things out then!"

I formed this most excellent theory based on my own very solid and extensive evidence: the English has started to tumble out of my ears.

Examples:

I've caught myself framing English sentences as they would be in Spanish: "How do you call that movie?" instead of "What is that movie called?"

I use some phrases in English more now because they're direct translations of phrases I use in Spanish. Like "more or less" as a translation of "mas o menos" instead of using "about" like I used to say. "I think it will cost 10 dollars more or less."

I occasionally forget words in English. "And then they have to pay a...umm...a multa. You know, like, they charge you for doing something bad." "Fine?" "Yes, that!"

I sometimes stick Spanish filler words or conjunctions in English conversation. "Bueno, I need to do homework now." Or "Oh, yes, but the professor was late tambien."

Of course, I still have the same problems in Spanish.

I've noticed that we as study abroad students often like to "complain" about these slip-ups amongst ourselves or to other people. But of course the secret, which is not much of a secret at all, is that we're really quite proud of them. Hopefully they mean we've internalized the language to a certain extent.

If the little file clerk is already throwing things out, it must mean we've shoved in quite a lot of Spanish, right?

Or we just had very small file cabinets to begin with.

My own insanity and its bad coping strategies

How do you handle situations in which you're waiting to find out an outcome that you can't control?

Encourage yourself? Hope for the best? Relax and try not to worry about it? Not. Me.

My strategy is this: Figure out all the possible horrible outcomes, and then start to deal with them preemptively.
For instance, today, when the professor was talking about the midterm grades, this was my internal dialogue:

Oh my gosh, what if I failed? I don't fail things! It's over. I've failed.

What if I got like a 4 out of 20? Okay, okay, so I got a 4. I could still work harder on the final and the final project and bring my grade up to a C. This is a pass/fail class, not even in my GPA.

But what if grad schools can still see the C? NYU Steinhardt and Columbia Teacher's college ... They might think I slacked off while abroad! No no, I'll just do better in my other classes. They'll just think I challenged myself.

But what if I fail the whole class completely? All right, I have an extra space in my schedule. I can still graduate on time.

And then what if I don't get scholarships to grad schools? Does that mean I can't go to the schools I want? Well, maybe I still get in and just don't get loans. So it costs me a lot more. That's okay.

And then what if I'm paying off student loans until I'm forty? That's okay. I can learn to budget. It will make me thrifty. And that will make me be happy for the things I have and not a greedy money grubber.

See? Everything will be all right.

I swear to you all on my Starbucks addiction that I thought every one of those things while missing the lecture the professor was giving.

And then I got a 13. Since I was already prepared for a 4, a 13 was looking pretty good.

Feel free to use that strategy.

Of course, if you're not me, it might be counterproductive to completely restructure your life every time you can't control something.

Democracy and governors and guns

After much hopeful campaigning and treacherous mudslinging, Peru at long last has a new president elect: Ollanta Humala. And whatever your opinion of him, or whether or not you have an opinion of him, or have even heard of him at all, he was elected by the people in a fair democratic election.

And I helped make that happen. Rarely can I say anything with such genuine pride.

Last weekend, election weekend, (since I couldn't go out wild partying due to the dry law anyway) I helped with a mission of the Organizacion de Estados Americanos, or the Organization of American States, which, among other things, monitors elections in member states.

I was an "International Observer," which basically meant that I was assigned a district and a voting booth to...observe... and fill out charts about. So I went around awkwardly watching and taking notes and just generally making people alternately very nervous or very assured that someone cared to make things run smoothly and fairly. I don't know which was the prevailing sentiment.

Y'all know that I'm no fan of politics, but I am in fact a fan of democracy. And it was awesome to see the most basic process of democracy in action.

Plus, they paid well chickadees. Like, recontra well. Like, more money than I'll make in a few weeks of back-breaking menial jobs this summer well.

Not to mention that I met lots of amazingly interesting, odd, and inspiring people from all over the world: Chile, Paraguay, Canada, Belgium, Spain, etc. And former governor of New Mexico Bill Richardson. (Maybe that should have been more exciting? I was way more interested in the other folks, to be honest, and a little indifferent where the governor was concerned. Shhh.)

One drawback: The guns. The army was there, and they had huge guns. The Peruvians seemed all blase about it. I was freaked out. Which I suppose says a lot about the relative stability and advantages I've been lucky to live with in the states.

And then one of the Peruvian soldiers, with the gun, asked me for my number to go out sometime. Which I had not expected. Because I apparently continue to defy the saying "Live and learn."

'Twas a weekend to remember, without a doubt.

And possibly, a weekend to repeat? Some lucky people travel the world like this on a regular basis. I'm definitely sending an email to the coordinator with something to the effect of "Put me in coach!"


I'm afraid I got literally no pictures while on the job. Sadly, not even of me in the rocking vests they gave us. Professionalism, forgetfulism, and all that stuff. But they did give us a lovely show on the first night:

Tired of my yellow walls in the top picture yet? Not me!

Two truths and a lie

Which one, which one?

1. This bottle opener is on the back of a keychain for the new "informed vote" campaign...for your own especial home use while the Dry Law is in effect over the voting weekend. Because whatever's in that bottle will definitely sharpen your judgement.

2. This two different versions of the same side of the "nuevo sol." I love new coins! Although, you'd think they'd want it to resemble the old one a little more?

3. The image that they're going to use for a new gay rights campaign in Lima.... because Peruvians of course use the star rather than the heart as a symbol of love.


I like this game. I should put out a more serious edition of it some time.

Oh cruel fates!

Who will very soon forcibly oust me from the country by means of an already bought plane ticket...

I'm okay with that. Really. You do what you gotta do.

But please, send me to Buenos Aires! Send me to Asuncion. Send me to Montevideo or Santiago or Bogota.

Por favor, no me mandes back to the states.

Dear Reader, tomorrow I will probably be dying to go back. And you will have to hear about it. Tough luck.